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Sunday 8am
service
by Rev. Jonathan Gale
3 April
2011 – Holy Trinity Devonport
Reading
Ephesians 3: 2-6, 9-11
2for
surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was
given to me for you,
3and
how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a
few words,
4a
reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the
mystery of Christ.
5In
former generations this mystery*
was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy
apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
6that
is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and
sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
AND
,
9and
to make everyone see*
what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in*
God who created all things;
10so
that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be
made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
11This
was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in
Christ Jesus our Lord,
Luke 18: 31-34
A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death
and Resurrection
31 Then
he took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to
Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the
prophets will be accomplished.
32For
he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted
and spat upon.
33After
they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise
again.’
34But
they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was
hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
Isn’t it amazing that after 3 yrs with Jesus, listening to his teaching,
both in private and in public, the disciples still do not understand? We
know this is near the end of Jesus’ ministry because Jesus is on his way to
Jerusalem when he tells his disciples (for the 3rd time) of the
type of death he will undergo, and the fact that he will be raised from the
dead. This is only one healing, the meeting with Zacchaeus and a parable
away from the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem, which we celebrate on Palm
Sunday. It’s towards the end of his life – and yet the disciples haven’t
grasped it.
But then again, perhaps it’s not that surprising because Vs 34 tells us
34But
they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was
hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
It was hidden from them. I’ve often wondered why. Perhaps God thought an
understanding of the awful events about to unfold would panic the disciples
to the extent that they might all flee, or worse still, resort to arms to
defend Jesus in the hope that they’d force his hand to reveal himself as a
conquering Messiah and usher in the glory days. I don’t know.
Perhaps the NATURE of the Kingdom of God (illustrated here in Jesus’ death)
was simply too much to bear. Jesus had so plainly taught that the first
would be last and the last would be first, and that the pinnacle of Kingdom
status was being a servant to all. Perhaps without the enlightenment and
power of the Holy Spirit, this “death to self” ethic would at this point be
overwhelming for them. I don’t know.
Perhaps before an experience of the fact of the resurrection, they would
never have grasped the hope, the unexpected victory, the sense of
vindication brought about by Jesus’ cruel death and astounding resurrection.
I don’t know.
But what I do know is that God hid it from them, and he still hides much
from us today. We don’t know the end of much that we embark upon in faith.
We cannot predict the future with accuracy. God shows us enough of the road
to go on for the moment, and expects us to trust him for the rest. We might
see as far as the first bend but not round it.
In one sense, possibly like the disciples, we probably wouldn’t be able to
bear knowing everything about the future.
Or, as any salesperson will tell you, if you tell someone too much they feel
(rightly or wrongly) that they’ve won something from the encounter and lose
interest in the product. They need to be kept in a state of wanting. If God
shows us too much we’ll grab the morsel of information and not hang around
for the feast of knowledge.
And especially not the knowledge of getting to know him! God will do
everything to keep us close because he knows that is the only way our
character will change for the better – and we need changing if we’re going
to be comfortable around God!
That’s one of the reasons why God expects us to pray. It’s not that he
doesn’t know what is needed. It’s that he knows what’s needed in our
development: a closer walk with him. A growing dependence upon him.
God wants to be friends. That’s how he operates. That’s why he makes
covenants: to set up relationships, relationships that are overwhelmingly
for our benefit. And the greatest benefit any of us can have is to embrace
(not run away from) the cross of Christ. Whether we’re talking salvation
from sin, or the reduction of our selfishness, we need to embrace the cross
of Christ. The blood of Jesus is at the heart of the Good News.
We make that as a statement of faith every Sunday in taking Holy Communion.
Draw near and receive. Make room for God in here by applying the cross to
the rubbish we pick up – what the Letter to the Hebrews calls “the sin so
easily entangles”. Walking close to a God who gradually reveals himself.
It’s the NATURE of the Kingdom of God that some things are hidden from us so
that we are encouraged to walk with God.
But there’s a PURPOSE for the Kingdom of God too, and we see this
demonstrated in our epistle reading this morning, and it also involves
something hidden.
Paul says to
the Ephesians that
the mystery was
made known to me by revelation.
He speaks about
the
mystery
of Christ.
He speaks of
the mystery hidden for ages,
that
5In
former generations this mystery*
was not made known to humankind as it has now been revealed to his holy
apostles and prophets by the Spirit:
6that
is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and
sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
This is a pretty shattering revelation: God has for generations hidden the
largesse of his love to wards all humankind. He’s hinted at it through the
prophets. He’s told them that Israel should be a light to the Gentiles,
and now he’s revealing to Paul that the Church has got the job. In Vs 10
he says
10so
that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be
made known.
This is our PURPOSE as kingdom of God people.
This is our mission. Oh dear! There’s that word again. It’s closely
related to missional!
So this morning, as we contemplate that the NATURE of the Christian is to
be a servant, and the PURPOSE or TASK of we servants is to reach out with
the Gospel to the Gentiles (those not in the new Israel – i.e. not in the
Church), let’s be reminded of God’s strategy in getting on board with
Israel in the first place: God made friends with Abraham. That’s
how it all started. It was a friendship of absolute commitment.
Not everything is revealed to us. We walk hand in hand with God, trusting
him to help us. And he will as we seek to be his hands and feet here in
Devonport.
May God bless you this morning as you determine in your heart, to follow
in Christ’s footsteps and be an intentional blessing to those round about
you.
Let us pray:
Mysterious God, you reveal just enough for us to do the job. Thank you for
the revelation of yourself in Jesus
who, though he was
in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
7
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
8 he
humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Thank you Lord, that you
also highly
exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
10
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Thank you Lord, that you are inexorably taking over the entire creation in
love and in healing re-creation. We say to you, our God, that we willingly
play our part in reaching out in true friendship and love to our fellow
creatures.
In Jesus’ name, AMEN
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