Thursday 29 October 2009

Reading Romans 8: 31 – end

31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

32 He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

33 Who will bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

34 Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36 As it is written, ‘For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel Luke 13: 31 – end

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day – for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Sermon

Last week we read a passage from the mid part of the journey to Jerusalem. It came from Luke 12. Jesus talked about bringing division and strife to families rather than peace.

Today’s gospel is from Luke 13. It is the climax of the first half of the journey. It is apt that the passage offers a challenge to Jerusalem that actually prefigures the events of Palm Sunday.

The Pharisees warn Jesus of the danger he is in. Are they being ironic, or friendly? We don’t know. He issues a challenge to Herod the king calling him a fox. That itself is risky given what happened to John the Baptist.

After Palm Sunday comes the trial and crucifixion. Jesus is executed, then there is the evening and the morrow. On the third day the tomb is empty and he has completed the work he came to do.

Likewise in this passage Jesus says “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’”

Luke is here reminding us, his readers, of the significance of the journey to Jerusalem. By exorcisms and healings, Jesus is already sowing the seeds of the Kingdom. This is ‘today and tomorrow.’ Then on the third day he will complete his work.

What completes his work is the cycle of events in Jerusalem. The passion, the resurrection and ascension. Through these events, he is exalted and gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to his people.

Like the prophets of the Hebrew Scriptures, Jesus must suffer and be prepared to die. He says that can be nowhere else than in Jerusalem, where his ministry started and where it will end. That’s where Luke’s gospel starts and ends.

For now, he laments over the city as he will also do when he enters it for the last time. Jerusalem is the holy city, but it will eventually reject him and bring about his death.

But as we read in Romans 8, that is not the end but only the beginning. In this we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. As Paul says:

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

39 nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Bible Sunday at St Marys Mentmore

First Reading Isaiah 55.1-11

The LORD says this:

¹Everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters;
and you that have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without price.
²Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labour for that which does not satisfy?
Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
³Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.
I will make with you an everlasting covenant,
my steadfast, sure love for David.
⁴See, I made him a witness to the peoples,
a leader and commander for the peoples.
⁵See, you shall call nations that you do not know,
and nations that do not know you shall run to you,
because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,
for he has glorified you.

⁶Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
⁷let the wicked forsake their way,
and the unrighteous their thoughts;
let them return to the LORD, that he may have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
⁸For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
nor are your ways my ways, says the LORD.
⁹For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

¹⁰For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Psalm 19.7-14

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; ♦
the testimony of the Lord is sure and gives wisdom to the simple.

8 The statutes of the Lord are right and rejoice the heart; ♦ the commandment of the Lord is pure and gives light to the eyes.

9 The fear of the Lord is clean and endures for ever; ♦ the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,
more than much fine gold, ♦ sweeter also than honey, dripping from the honeycomb.

11 By them also is your servant taught ♦
and in keeping them there is great reward.

12 Who can tell how often they offend? ♦
O cleanse me from my secret faults!

13 Keep your servant also from presumptuous sins
lest they get dominion over me; ♦ so shall I be undefiled, and innocent of great offence.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, ♦ O Lord, my strength and my redeemer.

Second Reading 2 Timothy 3.14-4.5

¹⁴Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, ¹⁵and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

¹In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I solemnly urge you: ²proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favourable or unfavourable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching. ³For the time is coming when people will not put up with sound doctrine, but having itching ears, they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, ⁴and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander away to myths. ⁵As for you, always be sober, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, carry out your ministry fully.

Gospel John 5.36b-47

Jesus said to the Jews: ³⁶‘The works that the Father has given me to complete, the very works that I am doing, testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. ³⁷And the Father who sent me has himself testified on my behalf. You have never heard his voice or seen his form, ³⁸and you do not have his word abiding in you, because you do not believe him whom he has sent.

³⁹You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. ⁴¹I do not accept glory from human beings. ⁴²But I know that you do not have the love of God in you. ⁴³I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. ⁴⁴How can you believe when you accept glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the one who alone is God? ⁴⁵Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; your accuser is Moses, on whom you have set your hope. ⁴⁶If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me. ⁴⁷But if you do not believe what he wrote, how will you believe what I say?’

Sermon

Bible. Scripture. Word of God. Holy Writ. Old and New Testament. Authorized version. All words for the Bible.

Today = Bible Sunday. Christianity and Islam both People of the Book. What strikes you when you think of the Bible?

Old language

Readings in church and at school

Impenetrable language

Parables and stories

Genocide, cruelty, a vengeful God – out of step with modern times and even NT

Bible Sunday tells different story, paints different picture

Take today’s readings
This addressed to the Jews:
³⁹You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf.
This to Timothy from Paul:
¹⁴Continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it, ¹⁵and how from childhood you have known the sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.

Here are two different attitudes to the Bible.

Jews read the Law and Prophets

By following the law they seek the salvation of their souls

But Jesus says the scriptures testify to him – salvation comes through faith in him and not by anything we do or don’t do

Isaiah liked Scripture to food and drink. It’s water, wine, milk and bread in plenty to those who are hungry and thirsty:
⁶Seek the LORD while he may be found,
call upon him while he is near;
¹⁰For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there until they have watered the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

These readings direct us to God’s Word – another name for the Bible

But interpreting Scripture is not always clear and understanding what we read is not always straightforward

Some passages are easy enough

Beatitudes

Passages about love, forgiveness, redemption

Others are harder – far more so than some Christians would have us believe

Can we be expected to follow rules laid down for human society 2 – 3,000 years ago?

To do so would give us a peculiar idea of God

A God stuck in the past who refuses to budge?

Surely God does not expect us to be stuck with rules that made sense to our ancestors, and not adapt them to the gospel

God is not a God of the past

God is our contemporary

In reading the Bible, God does not expect us to be a blank canvas on which he can write whatever he likes

No, God engages us in dialogue

Thoughts

Plans

Intentions, arguments, even.

We are made in God’s image

Mentally

And spiritually

The God of the Bible does not dominate

He does not intrude

He prods, suggests, and leads

He speaks in the sound of sheer silence – still, small voice”

The God of the Bible gives and receives

Not a one-way street

Sometimes we give, sometimes receive

How can we get to know this God?

Of course, by hearing his Word, and applying our God-given reason to interpreting what we hear

Maybe by reading, maybe through prayer, maybe through leading – doors opening and closing

Maybe by learning about Jesus, who is God incarnate

In all these, the Bible plays an important part

Buy a new one

TNIV Anglicised - £8 from Amazon - £10 leather

NRSV Anglicised - £6 from Amazon

Read it online

For example, search for the word baptize and you find 50 references

Many about baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist

But here’s a story relevant to today. It’s about an Ethiopian who was reading the Hebrew Scriptures and not understanding what he read. Philip cadged a lift in his chariot, and helped him understand the passage from Isaiah.
³⁴ The Ethiopian asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" ³⁵ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

^{36 -37} As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?" ³⁸ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. Acts 8

So now that’s what we are going to do today – baptising Maddison Emily Bullivant. After the baptism, we will welcome her into membership of the community of faith. We will present her with a candle, symbolising the light of Christ in her life. Finally we will present her with her first Bible, in the hope it will be read to her. Then when she is of age, she will have the knowledge and understanding to make an informed decision of her own.

Thursday 15 October Cheddington

First Reading Romans 3: 21 – 30 TNIV

Righteousness Through Faith

²¹ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the "law" that requires faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from observing the law. ²⁹ Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, ³⁰ since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. ³¹ Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.

Gospel Luke 11: 47 – end TNIV

⁴⁷ "Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your ancestors who killed them. ⁴⁸ So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs. ⁴⁹ Because of this, God in his wisdom said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.' ⁵⁰ Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, ⁵¹ from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.

⁵² "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."

⁵³ When Jesus went outside, the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose him fiercely and to besiege him with questions, ⁵⁴ waiting to catch him in something he might say.

Sermon

Justification through faith

Heart of letter to Romans

Paul’s theme – righteousness of God

Faithful, gracious, forgiving, merciful

This God revealed through Christ

Almost a different God from OT

Death of Jesus

Sacrifice for sin

Effective through faith in him

God has done what he always intended through the law and the prophets

But as in gospel, they were ignored, treated harshly, killed

Leaders of the Jews built their tombs

Language of sacrifice familiar to audience

Christ died for our sins

Like sacrifices of atonement in OT

But key verses are 23-4
²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

For Paul (and authors of Reformation)

Justification is by faith

Not reward for things done or not done

It has been purchased for us by God’s work in Christ

Our sins have and will be passed over

We are still fallen beings and will continue to sin

We say Confession at every service

But faith in Christ is sufficient atonement and redemption for sin, by free grace of God

So we have contrast

Law of works

Law of faith

Paul as a Jew cannot bring himself to nullify the Law but Jesus effectively does so by condemning the interminable interpretation and codification of the Law, making it impossible for ordinary people to be able to follow it:
⁵² "Woe to you experts in the law, because you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering."

So now, all have the alternative of Righteousness through faith

Through the action of a gracious, forgiving and merciful God

Through faith in the effective sacrifice of Jesus

Carol Doyle’s thoughts

Back from Africa

This Sunday 11^th October I attended Holy Communion. It had been many months since I had attended an Anglican Church as most of my Sundays in Tanzania involved visits to either Evangelical/Pentecostal or Winners Chapel ~ all with their own version of Praising God. However this Sunday it was like putting on a comfy pair of slippers everything was welcoming, warm, familiar and comfortable ! Great too seeing all those friendly familiar faces in the congregation.

I am prompted to write because I was amazed how the readings hymns and sermon seemed to have been tailor made for me this Sunday!

Why ??

In the first hymn

“Father Hear the Prayer we offer” we sing of asking for strength to live our lives courageously, rejoicing in treading steep and rugged pathways and asking “Be our strength in hours of weakness, in our wanderings be our guide through endeavour failure danger Father, be thou at our side” How often I had asked for this in my times of sadness or doubting moments in Africa.

The 2^nd Hymn

Ask and it shall be given unto you

Seek and ye shall find

Knock and it shall be opened unto you

reminded me of my trepidation before leaving for Tanzania… was I doing the right thing, would I make a difference etc. Well I did Seek and I found a new place in my heart, I did Ask and was given strength and joy, I did Knock (metaphorically)on many doors to find a wealth of new experiences and a welcome everywhere.

Ryder’s sermon was about material wealth, attachments and possessions and how these things may hamper our way into the kingdom of heaven, (based on the Gospel reading from Mark 10 17-31)

Looking at all the hundreds and hundreds of people : men women and children in all the churches I attended in Mwanza I can see the meaning of Jesus’ words. These people have very little in the way of material possessions and riches but they are so obviously nearer to God in many ways. They are open, untainted and unfettered by attachments, in fact almost childlike, as God would have us be, in order for us to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. I am not suggesting that we throw out all our possessions and have an almighty gigantic car boot sale, but living for a few months with very little in the way of luxuries, foodstuffs or choice has shown me what in fact we could do without if we tried !

“Blessed is the hand that gives” was a frequent rejoinder in Tanzania, unfortunately it sometimes meant a bribe to get something done by an official.. but the true meaning when sincerely applied is indeed something to aspire to.

And finally… One constant worry whilst I was away was how would my 95 year old Mum be during my absence. Thankfully she is very well and has been looked after by my grown up children.

How apt then that Hymn number 106

“Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” should be sung…

My Mum’s favourite hymn!

So.. Thanks be to God

Carol Doyle

Marriage and Divorce

Cheddington St Giles 4 October 2009

First Reading

Genesis 2.18-24

¹⁸The LORD God said, ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner.’ ¹⁹So out of the ground the LORD God formed every animal of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. ²⁰The man gave names to all cattle, and to the birds of the air, and to every animal of the field; but for the man there was not found a helper as his partner. ²¹So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then he took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. ²²And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. ²³Then the man said,
‘This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
this one shall be called Woman,
for out of Man this one was taken.’
²⁴Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Gospel

Mark 10.2-16

²Some Pharisees came, and to test Jesus they asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ ³He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ ⁴They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.’ ⁵But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote this commandment for you. ⁶But from the beginning of creation, “God made them male and female.” ⁷“For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, ⁸and the two shall become one flesh.” So they are no longer two, but one flesh. ⁹Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’

¹⁰Then in the house the disciples asked him again about this matter. ¹¹Jesus said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; ¹²and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.’

¹³People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’ ¹⁶And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

Talk

Today’s readings from scripture are about human relationships. Particularly marriage. How many clergy this morning up and down the land will base their sermons on these readings, I wonder? How many will think of another topic that is easier and safer to address?

Why? – because all aspects of human sexuality and different kinds of human relationships have become the hot topic that threatens to cause irreparable schism within our church; causes bishops to refuse to receive communion alongside each other; and consumes more column inches in the press than anything else.

Most people are bemused, whether or not they are regular church goers. What is so crucial about human relationships that it overrides the very gospel itself?

Faced with these readings, I won’t duck the issue – but in only 8 – 10 minutes I only have time to talk about marriage and not other forms of relationship. After all, that’s what these readings are about. But the same arguments in some ways apply to other types, as we shall see.

It’s tempting to dismiss the controversy as a falling-out between one wing of the church and the other. Evangelicals, you might say, take a more strict view of the authority of scripture. They tend to quote passages from the Bible which concern human sexuality and claim they are universal laws that are applicable today just as much as when they were originally written down. To them, all of the Bible is divinely inspired in a literal sense.

The more liberal wings of the church also believe there are natural laws that apply universally – do not kill for example – and they also believe in the divine inspiration of scripture, but in a less direct way. They put passages into context, social and historical, and believe in the application of human reason to interpret scripture. They believe the Bible writers were inspired by God to put down what they wrote, but not every word should be taken literally.

It’s a gross over simplification of course, but what about the large number of congregations like ourselves who are more middle of the road as it were? What approach should we take? Well, I suppose we are all different, and we all vary in our attitudes and the way we work out our own interpretation. I won’t pretend to speak for any of you: I can only speak for myself – but let’s look at today’s readings and see what we can derive from them.

The reading from Genesis is about the creation of man and woman. Very few people whatever their beliefs about divine inspiration of scripture take a literal view of the creation stories, but this passage does not confine itself to the creation of woman. It talks about marriage. In verse 24 we read:

²⁴Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Jesus quotes this verse almost word for word when the Pharisees ask him about divorce. Notice he does not forbid divorce, but adds what God has joined together, let no one separate.

A Jewish man could divorce his wife in those days very easily, just by giving her a piece of paper annulling the marriage and sending her away. He did have to pay heavily if he did so, by refunding twice the woman’s dowry. Jesus makes the sanction sterner: if either marry again, he says, they are committing adultery.

The church calls this the sanctity of marriage. But here’s where a genuine Christian approach to all relationships should override the few reported words of Jesus on the subject. He was not a stickler after the law. He did not refuse to speak to outcasts as any other Jewish man of his day would have done. He did not turn away the sinful woman who let her hair down to wipe her tears from his feet. He did not condemn the woman taken in adultery. His test was simply one of love.

How can we approach the same tricky questions about human sexuality and relationships today? True, the church teaches that marriage is indissoluble but scripture acknowledges our fallen nature.

When the Pharisees asked Jesus about divorce, he did not duck the issue and list exceptions to the sanctity of marriage. But his stern words do not override the whole of the rest of his ministry. The gospel of redemption and compassion in other words.

If a marriage is on the rocks, the sanctity of the relationship and especially the interests of children should mean we do everything we can to help the troubled couple towards restoration. But if the relationship breaks down irretrievably, we should not be seeking to apply rules derived from a few verses of scripture but acknowledging our fallen nature and seeking the gospel of redemption and compassion.

Surely the same applies to other forms of relationship too. They might not be orthodox or conventional, but as Jesus says elsewhere in the Sermon on the Mount, ‘Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make, you will be judged...’

In the book of Revelation, John the Divine has a vision of heaven. A great multitude standing in front of the throne worshipping God. One of the elders asks who are these people in white robes approaching the throne? The answer came back that they are those who have come out of great tribulation whose robes have been made white by the blood of the Lamb. The Lamb, it says, will feed them and ‘God will wipe away all tears from their eyes.

So it is God himself who shows compassion by redeeming those who have persevered in the face of tribulation. They were not perfect. They made mistakes. They constantly fell away and missed the mark, which is the definition of sin. But the gospel teaching is that God will show ultimate love, and faith in his love on our part leads to happiness.

Ezra Nehemiah and the Mission of the 70

Thursday 2 October 2009 Cheddington

Reading Nehemiah 8: 1 – 12 TNIV

¹ All the people assembled with one accord in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the teacher of the Law to bring out the Book of the Law of Moses, which the LORD had commanded for Israel.

² So on the first day of the seventh month Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, which was made up of men and women and all who were able to understand. ³ He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law.

⁴ Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.

⁵ Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. ⁶ Ezra praised the LORD, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, "Amen! Amen!" Then they bowed down and worshiped the LORD with their faces to the ground.

⁷ The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. ⁸ They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear ^[a] and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read.

⁹ Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, "This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep." For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law.

¹⁰ Nehemiah said, "Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength."

¹¹ The Levites calmed all the people, saying, "Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve."

¹² Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

Gospel Luke 10: 1 – 12 TNIV

Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-Two

¹ After this the Lord appointed seventy-two ^[a] others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. ² He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. ³ Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. ⁴ Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the road.

⁵ "When you enter a house, first say, 'Peace to this house.' ⁶ If the head of the house loves peace, your peace will rest on that house; if not, it will return to you. ⁷ Stay there, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for workers deserve their wages. Do not move around from house to house.

⁸ "When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. ⁹ Heal the sick who are there and tell them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' ¹⁰ But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, ¹¹ 'Even the dust of your town we wipe from our feet as a warning to you. Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God has come near.' ¹² I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that town.

Sermon

Last week – Haggai – dated 520BC

This week Nehemiah – prob. 458 – 446BC.

Ezra-Nehemia – between II Chronicles and Esther then Job.

Made up of memoirs from these two figures, possibly to be sent to Persian emperor, or as evidence they were doing their job and not plotting against him. Both Ezra and Neh. Given permission to return to Judaea by Persian emperor – so both had reason to justify what they had done.

Main issue in Ezra-Nehemiah is restoration of the Judaean community returning from exile. Nehemiah was governor – Ezra a priest. So Neh. Concentrates on rebuilding walls around Jerusalem. Ezra more interested in scripture.

In today’s reading, Ezra reads Torah (law of Moses) to all assembled people. In exile, seems they were unfamiliar with it. Promise to obey the law – has terrible consequences on mixed marriages. Non-Jewish wives had to be sent away and divorced.

Jerusalem then repopulated, walls rebuilt and dedicated with procession, and further reforms introduced.

Like Haggai – is this important or just interesting history? In gospel reading, we have Mission of 70 or 72. Depends on translation. Were there 70 or 72? Why is number important?

You have to understand the OT. Gen 10 has list of 70 nations.. In Num 11 Moses chose 70 elders (sermon on Sunday about delegation).

70 may just mean a big number in OT speak. Remember in Matt 18 Peter asks Jesus how many times he must forgive a brother who sins against him? 7 times? No says Jesus – 77 times or 70 times 7. Many many times in other words. Not literally 77 times then he’s for it.

So we have to read and study the OT in order to fully interpret the gospels.

What did the 70 or 72 do? They went out to reap the harvest of souls. Like lambs amongst wolves, they were ill equipped in a worldly sense. No money. No spare shoes. No bag. But in another way they were well provided for. They relied on others for hospitality, and on God for protection. Woe to those who rejected their mission. Sodom and Gomorrah those condemned cities were better off, it says, than those who rejected the Kingdom of God.

But here’s a thought to take away. The 70 were not to announce the arrival of the Kingdom. No. They were to say The Kingdom of God has come near.

What does that mean? Is the Kingdom a present reality or only in the future? Is it spatial or temporal? I leave you to reflect on what this means in the coming week. Amen