Jesus. The Way. The Truth. The Life.

What is the mission of the Christian Church?  In Luke 4: 18-19, Jesus declares his mission from God, using this direct quotation from Isaiah 58: 6 as follows: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour."

The Boshoff Street Methodist Church in downtown Pietermaritzburg has been partaking in this mission since 1882, and the picture shown is of the inside of the church building, with its choir pews upon which wooden carvings of the words "Jesus.  The Way.  The Truth.  The Life" have been mounted.

Sadly, the choir is no more.  In fact, the congregation this morning comprised six attendees.  For reasons that I'm not at liberty to go into here, this once-thriving congregation has declined to its current sad state.  Yes, granted, the demographics have of the inner city have changed, and many people now worship at one the many suburban churches that have sprung up over the years, both Methodist churches and those of other denominations.  But these factors are not the full story.  Suffice to say that there have been issues brewing for a number of years, culminating in a recent upheaval that included the resignation of the former minister and the mass-exodus of a substantial portion of the membership.

With the Circuit looking to consolidate the ministry work in the inner city, and now this latest crisis, one could be forgiven for sensing that the vultures are circling.  And the question on the lips of those faithful few, who remain committed to a Society that may not be dead yet but is showing serious signs of coughing up blood, is this: Where to from here?  Is this it?  Is God finished with ministry at Boshoff Street?

Perhaps the beginnings of a possible answer to this question lies in the sermon that Rev Diane Worringham conducted this morning.  Preaching from John 11: 1-6; 17-37, which is the well-known account of the death of Lazarus, she asked, among other things, the question most of us would have asked if we were Mary or Martha: "Jesus, we sent for you - why on earth did it take you four days to get here?"  One can sense the anguish in Martha's voice when she said to Jesus, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died".

I must confess, with apologies to Diane, that my attention began to wander at this point, for I was beginning to say the same of Boshoff Street Methodist Church: "Lord, if you had been here, this church would not have died".  And in the same way that Jesus wept when he saw that Lazarus had indeed died, I believe that he is also weeping for Boshoff Street.

But when one goes back a few verses, we read that Jesus said to Martha, "I am the resurrection and the life.  The one who believes in me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die".  And it was at this point that my eyes became fixed on the empty choir pews, and the words inscripted thereon.  "Jesus.  The Way.  The Truth.  The Life".

I must confess that I had questioned why the Seminary had chosen to attach me (together with two of my colleagues) to Boshoff Street for the remainder of my stay at SMMS.  After all, I've been happy at Prestbury, getting involved with ministry to the senior citizens (which included monthly services at the Sunnyside retirement village).  What is our brief, anyway?  Are we here to bring about healing?  Or are we here simply to give this nearly 130-year-old Methodist witness a decent and dignified burial?

Yet as I sat there, looking firstly at the choir pews, then secondly into the eyes of the six congregants as we shared the benediction, I had a deep sense that somehow God is not yet finished with Boshoff Street.

Time will tell.  At this stage, our task is to be faithful, diligent, and caring - and to proclaim the Kingdom of God.  And to help the Boshoff Street congregation rediscover that Jesus is indeed The Way, The Truth, and The Life.

Ouch!

As I sat down in front of my computer, I smashed my big toe against the desk.  Sometimes I'm convinced that the reason why God gave me toes is so that I can find my furniture in the dark...

:-)

Big words I sometimes don't fully understand

I've been having some interesting online discussions around the "Blogroll" that Mark Penrith has published on his blog, Because He Lives - mainly because, in an attempt to provide himself with a sort of "ready reference" of where various Christian bloggers stand theologically, he has attempted to classify the various bloggers according to their denominational affiliation (or non-affiliation, where applicable), and provide a basic theological framework that each blogger subscribes to.

As is normal with classifications such as this, there is often a degree of subjectivity involved, which Mark readily acknowledges - accompanied by a great deal of good-humoured leg-pulling as we compare our different labels (in pretty much the same way as a Sharks / Bulls debate or one over whether or not Sri Lanka's fast bowler Malinga "chucks" or not).

But then there was an interesting request from "Elmarie" (who is / was? also a regular contributor to website Discerning The World), asking Mark to include Biblical Christianity as a sub-category along with Calvinism and Arminianism.  This led me to question what is understood by the term "Biblical Christianity".  Together with my question, I made the statement that "I don’t consider myself to be a literalist, yet I regard myself as a Biblical Christian".

A response to this statement by "Grant" was somewhat surprising.  Although he stopped short of branding me as a heretic, he was clearly purturbed by my statement, questing whether my position is "even attainable by an individual?  To me [Grant] that is like saying: 'I don’t consider myself to be literate, yet I regard myself as being able to read'."

Well, either Grant has misunderstood my question, or I've misunderstood the term "literalism", which led me to fire up the trusty Free Online Dictionary, which defines literalism as follows: "(1) Adherence to the explicit sense of a given text or doctrine; and (2) Literal portrayal; realism."

Very few (if any) people use language that is always meant to be taken in a literal sense.  For instance, in South Africa, when one refers to a usually used and invariably neglected car as a "dog", they don't mean that this four-wheeled vehicle has become a four-legged canine animal.  Rather, the term figuratively means that the car is a "lemon" (to use the equivalent American metaphor) - it is dilapidated, in poor condition, and likely to be extremely unreliable.

Using a simple example from Scripture (appropriate, since I am a simple person), let's have a quick look at the version of Matthew 16: 18 in the Good News Bible: "And so I tell you, Peter: you are a rock, and on this rock foundation I will build my church, and not even death will ever be able to overcome it."

Jesus was obviously not literally saying that Peter was a boulder, and He was probably not even referring to the rocky outcrop of the area in which this statement was made to literally denote the physical building of a church, either.  In the original Greek, Peter's name - petros - means "rock", or more specifically, "smaller rock".  Jesus used this metaphor to depict Peter as the kind of person, who has seen Jesus for who He really is, to carry forth the message that Jesus is the Messiah - at the appointed time.  However, the "rock" on which Jesus will build His church - petra - depicts a firm foundation.  This firm foundation on which the church will be built will be Jesus Himself.

Clearly the use of the two Greek words for "rock" are not meant to be taken literally.

The fact that I have explored and (hopefully) understood the metaphors used, and the context in which they are used, means that I would not be a literalist in this sense.  Yet, if I have understood the truth of this passage correctly, and accepted it as being God's Word, then I can at the same time claim to be a Biblical Christian.

Another example would be Deuteronomy 22: 22, in which the penalty for anyone caught in adultery is death by stoning.  If a literalist were to in fact encounter such a person engaging in adultery, he or she would be duty-bound to ensure that the guilty parties receive the mandated punishment.  Failure to do so, according to my understanding of literalism, would be to fail to be a Biblical Christian.

So am I saying, then, that being contextual is Biblical and being literal is not?  Not exactly - besides, there are a number of passages in Scripture that appear to be self-evident on the face of it.  However, if one is to admit - however grudgingly - that all Christians do apply some degree of contextualisation, the challenge, if one wants to honour Scripture, is to discern which passages are contextual, and which ones are of universal application.  (The two terms are not necessarily mutually exclusive, either!)

Anyway, over to the theological "brains trust" for comment and discussion.  But please, lay off the "flame wars" (whether contextual in terms of hurling abuse at me on this blog, or literal in terms of trying to set fire to me with a flame-thrower) - I'm not trying to score theological brownie-points, but rather am earnestly seeking to grow closer and closer to Jesus each day.

It's a journey, folks - none of us can claim to have "arrived"...

Reflections from a prison cell

"... I was in prison and you came to visit me ..." (Matthew 25: 36b, NIV)

This morning, as part of our Field Education and Ministry course here at SMMS, we went to what is known as the "new" Pietermaritzburg Prison to start the first practical phase of our training for prison ministry.

As I entered the gates of the facility, the first thought that went through my mind was, "right, this is it - this is where the tyre hits the tarmac".  And I must confess to having had very mixed feelings as I walked through the door.  One part of me - the "grace" part - hoped that the conditions would be decent and humane, in keeping with the right to human dignity.  Another part of me - the "law" part - wanted the conditions to be as harsh as humanely possible (forgive me if this sounds like an oxymoron).  To be honest, part of me deems it to be unfair that prisoners are granted amenities such as sports facilities, television, study opportunities, etc. when there are many people outside of prison who are deprived of such amenities - particularly the victims of the crimes that the prisoners had committed.  But then again, if the aim is to rehabilitate offenders, then one needs to employ such means as part of the rehabilitation programme.

It sure gets confusing at times.

When we went into the maximum security section, I must confess that I was feeling rather claustrophobic, and not just because of the confined space in the corridors.  I could not imagine spending 25 years to life in such a place - personally, I didn't feel as though I wanted to spend more than 25 minutes there!

Our first encounter with prisoners was in an open area, where prisoners are allowed a certain amount of time each day for exercise and recreation, and our first task was to introduce ourselves with two of our group being called upon to give a short message.  I must say that, contrary to my normal willingness to step forward with a message, I held back this time.  As someone coming from the freedom of outside, to which I would shortly be returning, I didn't feel as though I had yet earned the right to stand up within a minute or two of first sight, and immediately begin to preach a message.  That will undoubtedly come once relationships and credibility have been established.

Certainly, there is a sense that being imprisoned is a very "in-your-face" experience for the prisoners - over and above the obvious condition of being locked up in a correctional facility.  I cannot imagine what it must be like to wear orange fatigues with the words "prisoner" emblazoned thereon - all day, every day.  To be honest, being labelled like this, in a manner not too dissimilar to the purple meat grading stamp that is embossed on beef carcasses, would probably drive me insane within a fairly short period.

After my two colleagues had shared a short passage, we were then given the opportunity to interact one-on-one with the prisoners, and it was at this point that a flicker of light began to shine.  The young man I spoke to was articulate and quite willing to talk to me, opening up about his background without actually going into the crime he had committed (perhaps they are instructed not to discuss their crimes; we have been instructed not to ask).  There was even an element of being "kindred spirits" since we both hailed from Johannesburg.  He was quite candid about why he ended up being imprisoned - falling in with the wrong crowd, getting involved in drugs, etc.

But the revelation for me was that he saw prison not as a place of punishment, but as a place of redemption.  He admitted openly that had he not been ultimately been arrested and imprisoned at the time he was, his life of drugs and crime would probably have resulted in his death by now.  At this point the thought went through my mind: If prison was the "turning point" in this young man's life, what should we as a Church be doing (that we aren't doing now) to be a "place of turning points" in people's lives?

We were then escorted into another room where a group of prisoners had gathered for a church service, normally conducted by a visiting pastor who graciously allowed us to "hijack" the session while our facilitator led with a short lesson based on 1 Corinthians 13:11, in which he exhorted us to leave our childish ways behind (note: not "child-like") and become adults in Christ.

When we bid our farewells and shook hands with the prisoners, one enquired of me where he could make contact with me.  Having been forewarned in our classroom sessions that this might happen, I could only respond that our only contact could be when we actually visit the prison itself.  Reflecting on how this relates to ministry in an ordinary congregational context, I was once again torn between the need to be available and the need to protect oneself, privacy issues, etc.  In a sense it was easier in this case to hide behind the "we're not allowed to" moniker, but this is one of many things that I need to come to terms with.

As we ventured down the corridors on our "long walk to freedom", our spirits began to lift as we sensed that we were about to be freed from our prisons in both a literal and a spiritual sense.  This is without a doubt different to anything I have experienced before in ministry.  I'm not sure that I'm entirely comfortable at this stage, but then again, much (if not most) of ministry takes us out of our comfort zones.

Returning to the seminary campus was a bit of an anti-climax.  Having gone through what was an extremely emotionally taxing and spiritually challenging experience, I would have ideally liked to have gone through some form of "de-briefing" in order to process my thoughts, feelings, and emotions.  One of the facilitators, recounting his first visit to prison, indicated that it took him almost a week to find the words to adequately express how the experience had impacted him, and I'm in more or less the same place right now.  Still, it's early days yet - hopefully, like anything else in life, it gets a bit easier the more we do it!

Mm, Mm, sweet nothings...

After the "blitzkrieg" of last week, which included having to prepare eight separate pieces of work as well as moving flats, this past long weekend was just what the doctor ordered - three days of doing as little as possible!

Well, okay - I DID take the service at Sunnyside on Sunday. However, even though I've just started my third year in ministry, I still struggle to see preaching as "work". (Long may this continue!)

But with James busy with an aptitude test on Monday morning for one of the schools we've applied to for 2012, Belinda and I managed to enjoy some "us" time, starting with breakfast, an aimless wander around the mall, some coffee stops ... and some of what Brenda Lee best described in her 1959 hit ...

My baby whispers in my ear
Mm, Mm, sweet nothings
[She] knows the things I like to hear
Mm, Mm, sweet nothings

Things [she] wouldn't tell nobody else
Secrets, baby
I keep them to myself
Sweet nothings Mm, Mm sweet nothings

We walk along hand in hand
Mm, Mm, sweet nothings
Yeah, we both understand
Mm, Mm, sweet nothings

Sittin' in class or trying to read my book
My baby, give me that special look
Sweet nothings
Mm, Mm, sweet nothings

Bible study material: Wisdom in sexual behaviour

One of the requirements for our HIV and AIDS course at seminary was to put together a Bible study that deals with wisdom in sexual behaviour.  This was my attempt at such a study.  I'd be interested in readers' comments and suggestions as to what other pertinent issues could be covered in such a study.  Suggestions concerning other readings that deal with sexual ethics would also be welcomed.

Bible study material: Wisdom in sexual behaviour

Scripture reading: Genesis 39: 5-20
Target audience: Adults (25-40); both male and female; both married and single; university graduates / professionals
Purpose of study: Sexual ethics amongst young adult professionals

Summary of passage
Joseph had been sold into slavery because of the jealousy of his brothers, and had been taken into Egypt where he was purchased as a slave by Potiphar, the captain of Pharaoh’s guard. The passage picks up where Joseph, having portrayed evidence of God’s favour upon him, is appointed head over Potiphar’s household where he served with diligence. Having proved himself in this role, Potiphar gradually transferred total responsibility for his affairs to Joseph.

However, Joseph was not only an astute administrator, but was also handsome and had a well-built physique. These traits had come to the attention of Potiphar’s wife, who became physically attracted to Joseph. Taking advantage of their relative differences in status (bearing in mind that, despite his responsibilities, Joseph’s status was still that of slave), Potiphar’s wife made sexual advances towards Joseph, which were emphatically rebuffed. She was however quite persistent in her pursuit of Joseph, and made a grab for him when none of the other servants were around. Deciding that a good run was better than a bad stand, Joseph fled the house, leaving his cloak behind in the scuffle.

Since “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, so the old saying goes, Potiphar’s wife cried foul, accusing Joseph of attempted rape. Given that Potiphar would invariably take his wife’s word over that of a slave, and believing that Joseph had broken his trust, he had Joseph imprisoned.

Questions for reflection
What evidence can be found in this passage that Joseph was a God-fearing man who obeyed God’s laws? Comment on similar character traits that would apply today that would indicate to the world that a person is God-fearing and obedient to God’s laws. Discuss how the above character traits would apply specifically to sexual ethics and morality.

Joseph is described as being “well-built and handsome” (verse 6). When a woman is raped, some people make statements to the effect that she “asked for it” because of her attractiveness, wearing revealing clothes, being in the “wrong place at the wrong time”, etc. In this reversal of roles where the woman (Potiphar’s wife) is portrayed as the sexual predator, would Joseph’s handsomeness have been a contributing factor to Potiphar’s wife making advances towards him? Discuss and critique the fairness (or otherwise) of this statement.

Do you think that Potiphar’s wife took advantage of Joseph? If so, ignoring for the moment the constraints imposed by the master / slave relationship, what measures do you suggest that Joseph could have taken to protect himself from being taken advantage of in this manner?

Having had her advances spurned, Potiphar’s wife falsely accused Joseph of rape. Because no-one else was around at the time, it boiled down to Joseph’s word against that of Potiphar’s wife. In 2006 the future South African President Jacob Zuma faced a similar accusation of rape. Although the court subsequently acquitted him, his reputation was harmed to the extent that people still talk about it five years later, with cartoonists such as Zapiro still parodying Zuma based on that alleged incident. Discuss some of the consequences of allowing oneself to be in a compromising position such as this (once again, ignoring the constraints imposed by the master / slave relationship in this passage).

Referring to the above question, Jacob Zuma is widely believed to have been guilty of the rape he was accused of, notwithstanding the findings of the court. Without getting into the merits of the particular issues around Zuma personally, discuss the obstacles that a rape victim faces in terms of being believed, and seeking justice. What role can the Church play in creating a climate that can overcome these obstacles?

If, hypothetically, Joseph had consented to having sex with Potiphar’s wife, there would still have been the issue of adultery to deal with. Discuss this in the light of today’s permissive sexual morals, including some of the risks and potential consequences (both in terms of relationship, as well as from a health perspective) that could arise from unsound sexual ethics.

Did Potiphar have a role to play in contributing to his wife’s dalliances?

What other lessons can this passage teach us today?

God's Word for Today - the right Word for the right moment, always!

Oh Lord, You are so amazing!  Given some of the emotional stresses I've been dealing with over the past couple of weeks, it was particularly apt that I've just glanced at today's verse that feeds through to this blog from BibleGateway.  It comes from Romans 8: 28, and reads as follows: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose" (NIV).

As Jenny often says on a number of her posts, God is SO good!