Welcome to a New World - Part 1

Focus Scripture

2 Corinthians 3 : 13-18 (NRSV)

... not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

Daily Byte

After forty days on the mountain with God, Moses rejoined the people, but they were afraid to look at him because his face was radiant with God’s glory. In those days they believed that if they looked on God’s glory they would die because sinful people cannot bear the holiness of God. But, now, for us everything has changed. Jesus has made it possible for us to enjoy intimacy with God, and has also made it possible for us to reflect God’s grace and mercy through our lives and relationships. We need no veil. We don’t need to hide from God’s presence, and we don’t need to hide the character of God that is beginning to be revealed through us. As we worship, we are invited to become people who encounter God, who “see” God face to face, and to be people who carry the radiance of God with us into the world.

Who have you known that has reflected God’s glory and grace to you? What was it about them that touched you? How have you experienced being changed by worship to be a little more like Jesus? Has this change been noticed by anyone else? What can you do this week to allow God’s presence to be seen through you?

Pray As You Go

You are God and I am me;
and yet you welcome me into your presence, into your heart;

You are God and I am me;
and yet you fill me with your Spirit, with your glory;

O Glorious God,
May my worship keep drawing me closer to you,
and may my worship change me,
so that everyone I meet in whatever time or place,
may know your awesome goodness,
through the ordinary person that I am.

Today’s devotion is taken from Rev John van de Laar’s outstanding book ‘The Hour That Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be.’ Used with permission.

To order copies of this book and for other superb worship resources visit http://www.sacredise.com

An Invitation to Intimacy - Part 5

Focus Scripture

Philippians 2 : 6-11 (NRSV)

... who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death - even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Daily Byte

This ancient hymn of the Church tells the story of Jesus in a concise and poetic way. This demonstrates both how God’s story formed the foundation for the faith of the early Christians, and also how this story was told and retold in their worship. The call of this worship is for followers of Christ to embrace this story-telling not just as mindless repetition, but as an opportunity to open to God’s Spirit again, and move into intimacy with God.

In what ways does the hymn of Philippians 2 speak to you of God’s story? Read it again slowly, as an act of prayer and worship. As you do, become aware of God’s Spirit reaching out to you through the words. Reflect on how this experience feels for you, and ask yourself how you can develop a regular discipline, both in church and on your own, of listening to God’s story.

Pray As You Go

Lord Jesus, in You we recognise what life can be;
Recklessly loving, abundantly forgiving, and limitlessly free.
Thank You for offering this life to us again, now.

Thank You for removing the barriers that would keep us from this life,
and for making us new again.

We praise You for the way You lived - opening doors of pain and guilt, and releasing captives.
We praise You for the way You died - forgiving sinners, and denying revenge.
We praise You for the way You returned from death - opening graves,
and re-awakening our hopes and dreams.
And we praise You for the way You come to us now - stirring love in our hearts, and passion in our lives.

Amen.

Today’s devotion is taken from Rev John van de Laar’s outstanding book ‘The Hour That Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be.’ Used with permission.

To order copies of this book and for other superb worship resources visit http://www.sacredise.com

An Invitation to Intimacy - Part 4

Focus Scripture

Isaiah 6 : 1-9a (NRSV)

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him; each had six wings: with two they covered their faces, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And one called to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory.’ The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts!’

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: ‘Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out.’ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I; send me!’ And he said, ‘Go and say to this people: “Keep listening, but do not comprehend;

Daily Byte

In a nation that was in turbulence after the death of good kin Uzziah, Isaiah finds his way to the Temple. Here he is confronted with a glorious, disturbing, transforming vision of God. Notice how, although Isaiah is fearful, expecting God’s judgement, God is kind, inviting and gracious. It is clear here that although God is glorious and way beyond Isaiah’s - or our’s - attempts to understand God, the Diving Lover seeks relationship with human beings. And as Isaiah accepts God’s invitation, he is able to hear God’s call, and become a partner with God.

In what ways do you find encountering God frightening? Are there times when you expect nothing but judgement from God? When have you been surprised by God’s grace? Think about what it means that God is God - the majestic, eternal Creator of all - and yet, that God seeks relationship with you. How do you feel about this? In what ways can you offer yourself to be God’s partner today?

Pray As You Go

We would never have expected it,
but you chose us.
We would never have believed it,
but you have called us to follow you.
We would never have known it could happen,
but you have given us a place in your liberating work of salvation

We are people of unclean lips,
sinful men and women, weak and unworthy to be called by your name;
and yet, against all expectations,
not because we deserve it,
but because you are gracious and loving,
we are chosen.

Amen.

Today’s devotion is taken from Rev John van de Laar’s outstanding book ‘The Hour That Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be.’ Used with permission.

To order copies of this book and for other superb worship resources visit http://www.sacredise.com

An Invitation to Intimacy - Part 3

Focus Scripture

John 17 : 21-23 (NRSV)

... that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Daily Byte

This prayer is often called “The High Priestly Prayer of Jesus”. Here Jesus comes to God and prays on behalf of his followers - those who were with him back then, and those of us who have chosen to follow him throughout the ages since. One word summarises the content of this prayer - “unity”. Jesus prays that all his followers would be one; inviting us into the unity Jesus enjoyed with God the Father and the Holy Spirit. The intimate union of the Godhead is available for us to share! And it is in knowing God - that we find eternal life, abundant life, life to the full (John 17:3). What grace and generosity we find in God. What a wonderful opportunity God gives us to live lives that are filled with God’s presence.

What do the words “one with God” mean for you? In what ways do you already experience being on with God? How do you think worship can help you to connect with God even more? Why not try and spend today in a constant sense of union with God, and see what kind of difference that makes?

Pray As You Go

You never really get tired of knocking, do you, Jesus?
Your gentle persistence as you seek a welcome
is both amazing and disturbing;

There are times when I wish you would just leave me alone;
times when I don’t want to have to deal with you;
Your constant seeking of attention
for the hidden and voiceless ones,
your gentle call to live always from the best of me,
your persistent presence making itself known
in all that I do and say and think.

But, most of the time, I am grateful that you seek to be welcomed;
I am glad that you give me the voice to invite you in
and that you welcome me so freely;

It seems strange that, as God, you don’t just demand entrance but wait for me to open the door;
that you don’t just radiate your glory and make your knocking unmistakable,
instead of hiding in the faces of children and creatures, earth and sky, broken and wounded ones.

But, for all its mystery, your coming, your knocking
your gentle asking for access is a gift beyond measure;
A gift that I receive, when I remember who you are, with humble thanks and open submission.

Amen.

Today’s devotion is taken from Rev John van de Laar’s outstanding book ‘The Hour That Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be.’ Used with permission.

To order copies of this book and for other superb worship resources visit http://www.sacredise.com

An Invitation to Intimacy - Part 2

Focus Scripture

Song of Songs 1 : 1-4 (NRSV)

The Song of Solomon

The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine, your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is perfume poured out; therefore the maidens love you. Draw me after you, let us make haste. The king has brought me into his chambers. We will exult and rejoice in you; we will extol your love more than wine; rightly do they love you.

Daily Byte

The Song of Solomon is an ancient love poem, thought to have been written by King Solomon. The language is passionate and, in places, quite explicit. It is clear that the Scriptures are very comfortable with sexual language.

Throughout the centuries this song has been seen as an allegory of God’s love for God’s people. It resonates with the sexual language that is used in the Bible to describe our intimacy with God, and invites us to become passionate in our worship of our Divine Lover. There are some reasons why we sometimes get uncomfortable with entering worship in this way, though. For some of us we have separated the spiritual and the physical aspects of our lives to much that it seem wrong to think of worship in this way. For others, particularly men, we have become so used to masculine language - or other-worldly language - for God that we find it uncomfortable to think of God as a “Lover” like this. But, perhaps, if we can open ourselves to this idea, and invite God to show us what it might mean for us to experience God intimately and passionately, we can find a new joy and energy in our faith and our worship. Are you willing to try it?

Read the passage again, slowly. How does this language feel to you? In what way could you begin to explore the metaphor of “Lover” in your relationship with God? How do you think it might change your faith and your worship to begin to embrace true intimacy with God? What might be standing in your way and keeping you from this journey?

Pray As You Go

O Divine Lover,
How relentless You are
in drawing our attention to Your devotion to us:
You embody Yourself in planets and worlds,
in creatures and beauty
and You fill our lives with colour and with joy.

You decant Your desire for us
into the hearts of our friends and families and touch us through their comfort and their compassion.

Yours is a subversive, uncontainable love, O Beloved.
It finds us even when we try to hide;
It reaches us, though all the world would seek to build walls against it.
And it has invaded our hearts,
softening them and igniting love for You in us.

We praise You for this love.
And we bring the love-token of our worship in return.

Amen.

Today’s devotion is taken from Rev John van de Laar’s outstanding book ‘The Hour That Changes Everything: How worship forms us into the people God wants us to be.’ Used with permission.

To order copies of this book and for other superb worship resources visit http://www.sacredise.com

An Invitation to Intimacy - Part 1

For the next few weeks, our BDCs will be based on the daily devotions from the book “The Hour That Changes Everything” by John van de Laar. Join us as we journey…

Focus Scripture

Read Psalm 42

Daily Byte

The cry of the psalmist is the cry of every person who has ever lived. Whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we use the name “God” or not, we all long for intimacy with God, with Spirit, with the transcendent reality that sustains the universe. Like the psalmist we can all remember times when we had a glimpse of this reality, when, in an unexpected moment, we became gloriously aware of God’s presence and love. In this psalm, the writer uses his memory of such a time to inspire and encourage him to hope for the future. God is still present even through he may not feel it, and he is able to commit to the quest for intimacy again.

How does the psalmist’s longing resonate with you? When have you experienced times of close connection with God? To what extent do you feel that worship draws you into intimacy with God in your life now? How can you commit to the quest for intimacy in a more purposeful, intentional way over the next seven weeks?

Pray As You Go

I am one who seeks after love,
I long for its touch, I yearn for the warm softness of its kiss
In this place I wait
and open my heart.
I am one who remembers my Lover,
The God who seeks, the God who calls my name;
The God that I love because God loved me first;
The God who invites me into joyful intimacy;
The Lover whose offer I will not neglect.
This is my time to respond and worship.

Alleluia.

Amen.

Settling for second-best

DAILY BYTE
This week we’re exploring the theme of abundant living. Yesterday I shared the story of a man who took an ocean cruise, but settled for cheese sandwiches instead of the delicious meals that were freely available on board. I suggested that this is often true in the ways in which we live our lives.

It seems crazy that we’d settle for stale, mouldy cheese sarmies when a five star banquet is on offer. And yet, that’s exactly what we do. Instead of living extraordinary lives, there’s a mediocrity that often characterizes our existence. Listen to these words of Eugene Peterson. He writes:
“The puzzle is why so many people live so badly. Not so wickedly but inanely. Not so cruelly, but so stupidly. There is little to admire and less to imitate in the people who are prominent in our culture. We have celebrities but not saints. Famous entertainers amuse a nation of bored insomniacs. Infamous criminals act out the aggressions of timid conformists. Petulant and spoiled athletes play games vicariously for lazy and apathetic spectators. People, aimless and bored, amuse themselves with trivia and trash. Neither the adventure of goodness nor the pursuit of righteousness gets headlines.”

What a telling comment about the ways in which people settle for second best, mediocre lives. In what ways might this be true for you? And why do you think it is so? Is it because you don’t really believe that you deserve the best? Is it because you’re afraid of being disappointed again, and so have lowered your expectations of what your life can be like? Is it because you “know” that you’ll just end up messing-up, so are hesitant to even try? Is it because you’ve been burned and broken by life in ways that have left you feeling bruised and bitter, and so you’re hugely resistant to risk anything that might expose you to being hurt again?

If any of this is true for you, then hear the good news of the gospel. It doesn’t have to be this way! There is another alternative. You don’t have to just go-through-the-motions of living. Your life can be extraordinary! You can be vibrantly alive! You can live in a way that adds to the beauty of the world!

How? Through the grace of God, of course. But more particularly, by allowing God’s dream for your life to begin to shape how you see yourself and your place and purpose in the world.

That will be the focus of our devotions for the rest of this week – God’s dream for our lives. As you prepare to reflect upon that, maybe you’d like to make the prayer below your own.

PRAY-AS-YOU-GO
God of extravagant love and grace. I long for my life to be shaped not by the mediocrities of my past, but rather by the daring dreams that you have for me in your heart. Help me to trust you, and show me the practical ways in which I can co-operate with you. Amen

SCRIPTURE READING
Jeremiah 29:11
‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.’

Cheese Sarmies

DAILY BYTE

A man had a life-long dream to go on an ocean cruise. For years he saved the little money he could until finally he had enough to take a seven day cruise. However, he only had enough money to pay for the cruise itself, not for any of the meals on board. But that didn’t worry him. Because he loved cheese sandwiches. And so he packed a big Tupperware container full of cheese sarmies to last him the duration of his trip.

The cruise began and for the first couple of days it was fantastic. At mealtimes, others would go off to the dining room, but he’d head back to his cabin to tuck into his cheese sarmies with relish. They were delicious and life had never been this good.

By the third day he was getting a bit tired of his cheese sarmies, but he reminded himself that it was a small price to pay to be on his dream cruise. On the 4th day he found himself looking through the windows of the dining room at meal times, fantasizing what it would be like to be inside. By the 5th day he couldn’t stomach another cheese sarmie, and by the 6th day the incredible aromas that would waft out of the dining room were enough to make him think about jumping overboard.

On the final morning of the cruise, just before the liner returned to port, he could take it no more. He found a crew member, and pleaded with him to bring him something from the breakfast buffet – a rasher of bacon, a muffin, a piece of fruit, anything. The crew member looked at him and said, ‘But sir, all the meals are included in the price of your ticket.’

How does that story make you feel? It hits me in the gut – ahhh, what a waste! That poor guy, he could have been in the dining-room all along, feasting to his heart’s content. Instead, he’s missing out – eating cheese sarmies. What a pity! What a disappointment! What an idiot!

It’s a made-up story, but the sad and tragic truth is that it happens in the real world all the time. Yes, even in our own lives. We end up missing out on so much abundance that’s freely available, settling for cheese sarmies when in fact we could be feasting on the most sumptuous fare.

This week we’ll explore this theme, as we consider how we can live juicier, richer, more soulful lives.

PRAY-AS-YOU-GO

Lord Jesus Christ, you came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. Forgive us the many ways in which we settle for so much less than what you intend for us. Help us to see the ways in which this is true in our lives, and give us the courage to take hold of the fuller, freer lives that you hold out to us. Amen.

SCRIPTURE READING
John 10:10
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”

The Promises of Baptism

DAILY BYTE

I have always been fascinated by baptisms, especially as a child. I would watch my mother, who was one of our church’s ministers, go through the ritual with the water and prayer, but that wasn’t the end of it. At every baptism, there was a time, when I – we, as a congregation – also had words to speak!

We acknowledged yesterday that baptism is about being named a beloved child of God, and that this is a mysterious gift that God gives to each one of us, personally.

And yet, baptism is not only about being an individual child of God. Baptism is actually about being children of God in community. When we baptize someone into the community of faith, in the Methodist Church we commit all together to these promises: with God’s help members of the body of Christ will so maintain the common life of worship and service that all children among us may grow in grace and in the knowledge and love of God and of his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. This is anything but a selfish and individualistic act.

In baptism, we understand ourselves to be beloved, but we also affirm the belovedness of others around us – even when we don’t feel like it or we’ve been hurt by others. Just as no one is prevented from being baptized, God affirms all of our belovedness and uses all of us in this family to transform one another gracefully and walk with each other through times of being in the desert wilderness.

We are all called to different things – but no matter what our specific gifts or vocations, each one of us has the ability to accept and extend grace, following the example of John the Baptist and preparing the way for Christ to do his great work of forgiving and redeeming.

And so, if you have already been baptized, think today about what that really means. How does your baptism change the way that you relate to others? Do you allow yourself to receive grace from God and from other people?

If you have not been baptized, think and pray about whether or not this is the time to accept God’s grace and become a part of a community that shares grace and love with one another. If you desire to be baptized, do not be afraid to speak with a minister!

PRAY-AS-YOU-GO

Gracious God, we thank you for giving us your grace in baptism. Thank you for that sweet mystery and for the way it draws us together as a community – as a family. Together we die to ourselves and our own selfishness and desires, and together we rise to be born again and named as your beloved children. Help us to accept your grace and love, as it overflows in us, so that we learn to share it with others. Amen.

Who Baptizes?

DAILY BYTE

What makes us unworthy of a calling, whether we’re ministers or teachers or auto-mechanics or prophets or prayers - one minute and seemingly worthy the next?? What makes us un-baptized one minute and baptized the next? Crazy people struggling in the wilderness one minute and holy people the next? For a response to that, we have to return to our friend John the Baptist. But John the Baptist is a bit deceivingly named. Because he may have dunked Jesus in the water of the Jordan River, but it was someone else who made that water holy.

John couldn’t - We cannot - be the people we are called to be, struggling through the wilderness and doing what we’re called to do, without recognizing that before anything else, our first calling in life is to accept the grace offered to us as beloved children of God. Before anything that we do on our own, we must see that the Holy Spirit has been working beforehand in ways that we can’t fathom. We must acknowledge the one who does the real work baptizing Jesus, calling out from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

In the Gospel of Mark, the Holy Spirit descends soaring down like a dove to let us, the hearers of this story, in on a sweet mystery – that Christ is the beloved child of God. This is how the whole Gospel story of Mark begins. The fact that Jesus is a beloved child of God is the key to understanding everything else. The disciples in Mark trip up over their problems and imperfections constantly. But, even though they fail - even though we often fail today and feel unworthy of the callings we have in our lives and the opportunities to be a part of holy times like baptism - we are made worthy and given strength to do these things purely by the grace of God and the constant workings of the Holy Spirit around us and within us. Being in that water with that power of God is where we hear our true identity. Just as Christ was, we, too, are named beloved children of God. If you have not been baptized, God still loves you! God is simply still anticipating a time when you will accept the grace offered to you.

I remember when I performed my very first baptism just over a year ago, and it was a very special time. This was the moment, when so much of my training for ministry and learning about the theology of baptism would come to fruition – I would finally get to be “Anna the Baptist!” But then I dipped my hand into the water and found it to be surprisingly warm and enveloping, and I held a squirming baby who felt like he was trying to leap into the baptismal font on his own volition. I splashed some water on his head and signed him with a cross and prayed for him, and I could not have been more aware of the fact that this baptism had very little to do with me and my own strength and power and training – and it had everything to do with the power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit, making that water and those rituals and that child anything but ordinary. God made him worthy of receiving grace – God named him a child of God, and there was nothing I, or he, could have done to earn it, deserve it, or change it.

GUIDING SCRIPTURE –

Acts 19:1-7

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied – altogether there were about twelve of them.

IF YOU ARE FEELING BRAVE…
Ask yourself: How is the Holy Spirit working in my life? How do I understand my identity, as a beloved child of God?

Beloved Rain

DAILY BYTE

I’ve seen that we can have quite hectic rainstorms here in Durban. So, think today about the last rainstorm that you experienced. A significant one for me occurred while during the spring term of my last year at varsity in Minnesota in the United States. I was really struggling and had recently learned that the most precious person in the world to me was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I didn’t care about school anymore – I was tired of life – tired of searching for purpose in a world that seemed clouded by death. I was angry – that God would allow such horrible things to happen to the people I loved and frustrated that my faith couldn’t seem to cure. And, I was too proud to admit that under my façade of togetherness, I was falling to pieces under the stress and pressure to survive and perform – to show my friends, my mentors, and my family that I could make it on my own and was good enough and strong enough.

Well, winter in Minnesota – a time when it snows virtually every day – was fading into spring, and the snow was melting and giving way to some warmth. I sat at my desk one night, feeling pretty sorry for myself and trying to do some work when a friend knocked on my door. She was a sweet, Christian woman but also struggled with family problems and feelings of being defeated. It was not unusual for her to knock on my door just to sit and talk. But on this night, she banged on my door and said, “Come, Anna, see! It’s thundering and raining and hailing outside!” Now, under ordinary circumstances, it’s no one’s first choice to go stand outside and get pelted with ice, but I cared about my friend, and this was clearly important to her, so before I knew it we were standing together outside in the dark, our clothes dripping, in the rainy cold, and ice was stinging my face and arms, but it started to mix with tears from my eyes. I looked over and I could see my friend’s face glowing, smiling through the rain and the hail. From out of my chest, laughter and crying erupted all at once, as water soaked my feet and hair stuck to my face.

In that moment, it seemed God was saying, this is it – this is life. You may feel like you are alone, subject to the rain and hail of life, but I am here, all around you, stronger than you are, and yet, your tears are my tears. Your joy is my joy. You were forgiven and accepted into my family with everyone else, as a child of God in the waters of baptism, and you are accepted and loved again today and for all eternity. I heard God saying, I am the giver of the water of life, even in the midst of a world that seems to be drowning in death. Let me surround you with that life. Let me embrace you with it – let me say, you are forgiven and loved! Let you put down your bundle of pride and believe it, and let you live in peace.

Since we are not good enough and strong enough to tackle life on our own, in what ways is God raining his grace and love down on you? When you feel the rain this week, allow it to remind you of the waters of baptism, whether you have been baptized, or not. Picture grace for you in that rain from heaven, and be at peace.


PRAY-AS-YOU-GO

O God, our heavenly Father, you who by your Son Jesus Christ promised to all those who seek your kingdom, and its righteousness, all things necessary for their sustenance: Send us, we pray, in our great need, such moderate rain and showers, that we may have water to drink, for our homes, gardens and fields, and also receive the fruits of the earth to our comfort, and your glory. May these rains remind us of the grace that washes over us in baptism and remains with us our whole life long, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

- Adapted from the Book of Common Prayer

The Problem Child

DAILY BYTE

I once assisted with the baptism of a kid who was approximately six years old. He was a pretty ordinary kid – a bit rough around the edges with a cheeky sort of grin. But what I remember most about this child was that as he faced the baptismal font and turned his back toward me, I saw scrawled across his black t-shirt in menacing, lightning bolt-like font, “Beware – I’m a Problem Child!” I thought, what is going on in the life and family of this child that he would wear such a label, especially to his baptismal service?

We read today in the holy scriptures of a man who seems to be a bit of a problem child – maybe even crazy and doing some very strange things. Picture for yourself someone wandering around in the desert wilderness, wearing only the hide of a hairy animal, eating nothing but bugs and honey. This man clearly is not perfect – he doesn’t look perfect. I’m sure he doesn’t smell like honey, and he may seem a little bit crazy preaching not in the normal temple but out in the wilderness. Life seems a bit confusing for this guy, and life is problematic for us too, isn’t it?

Sometimes, we spend a lot of time wandering around in the desert wilderness feeling parched and confused. As we come into this new year, some of us are coming out of times of wilderness, some of us are smack dab in the middle of them, and some of us are about to enter some pretty tough times where we feel like our lives are full of craziness and confusion, our priorities need some serious re-evaluating, and we feel like our identity is consumed by our problems.

But you see, when John’s in the wilderness, he’s not just sitting by a cactus bemoaning his fate. He may be doing some very strange things, but his identity is not that of a person who has nowhere to turn for help in the wilderness and water in the desert. The Gospel of Mark doesn’t portray John as just an ordinary man with problems. John heads out into the wilderness knowing that even there, he has a specific calling – pointing to “the one who is more powerful than [he].” Even there, the waters of baptism are waiting for him to plunge in.

We don’t call this man, “John the Problem Child.” We call this man a prophet – someone who struggles through the scariness of life to use the gifts and callings they have been given to point the way to the Lord, the Holy One.

How do you identify yourself? As a problem child? As you think about specific wilderness problems or issues in your life today, where are you receiving water and in the desert and strength for the journey? In what ways might you also be a prophet?


GUIDING SCRIPTURE:

Mark 1:4-8

John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

The question of baptism

DAILY BYTE

I remember the first time in my that I was privileged with the task of baptizing a baby. This was an extremely exciting day for me, and I knew the parents of this child were also anticipating this momentous time.

Everything went well, as we went through the service and began the baptismal prayers. And then, it was time. I said something to the effect of, “And now we will baptize this child…” Only to be interrupted mid-prayer, as the baby, not even a year old, piped up with a clearly stated, “NO.”

No. The whole congregation had a good chuckle, as I did I, as I quickly interjected, “Yes!” But, I have thought often of this moment ever since. What is it that makes us say “no” to baptism? Or, if we are already baptized, what prevents us from living into that baptism and continuing on the baptismal journey of discovering more about the covenant that either we, or our parents, have made with God?

Are we afraid of the commitment? Do we think ourselves unworthy? Do we struggle to understand what the point of baptism really is?

And if we were baptized as children, do we lack a clear understanding of what took place in our baptism and why our parents or guardians made the decision they did on our behalf? Do we feel like our baptism has less meaning because we didn’t make the decision ourselves?

Are we struggling with the difficult questions that are asked at baptisms? Do we feel like we have slipped back and are no longer worthy of the vows we made? Have we simply forgotten or lost sight of the power behind this act?

Do you desire to say yes to the life-long journey of baptism, or do you feel yourself proclaiming a loud, ‘NO’?

CHALLENGE

This week we will be exploring the meaning of being baptized into the family of Christ. Take this opportunity to think back to your baptism. If you were too young and cannot remember it, take time to ask someone who might remember if they could tell you about it. If there is no one to tell you the story, or if you have not been baptized, spend time in prayer this week, asking God to reveal to you greater understandings of baptism in the name of Jesus Christ.


GUIDING SCRIPTURE
Acts 19:1-7

While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the interior regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” Then he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They answered, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied – altogether there were about twelve of them.

The spirit of the new year

By Rev Roger Scholtz

Today we bring this week’s reflections on the new year to a close with one final Calvin & Hobbes cartoon. In it, Calvin has made a snowman which depicts the spirit of the new year.

Calvin describes his snowman in glowing terms: ‘Looking ahead, he strides forward with confidence and determination. He challenges! He imagines! He invents! He calls forth the best qualities of human drive and ingenuity.’

But next to this ‘inspiring’ snowman there are others lazing about, fighting or laughing mockingly. In referring to these Calvin says, ‘This is why we’re always glad when the old year is over.’

Which of these snowmen can you more readily identify with now? As you think about that, why don’t you join in this prayer and make it your own?

PRAYER

Almighty God, in the midst of an ever-changing world you are an unchanging God who yesterday, today and tomorrow is ever the same. We take comfort in the fact that you are like a rock in our lives - solid, dependable, utterly secure. Rock of ages, thank you that our lives can be built on you with confidence.

As we acknowledge your dependability as an unchanging God, so we have to affirm that you are also the God of new things. Your unchanging nature in no way hinders your capacity to move, to stir, to refresh, to renew, to invigorate, to enliven. You are not only a rock in our lives, but also a surging stream, cleansing that which is impure, challenging that which is unyielding, refreshing that which is old and tired, carrying us on to new shores of discovery. You are the living water that quenches our souls deepest thirst, for which we thank you.

And so we come to you O God, at this the start of another year. As we consider the future, so much of it is uncertain. There is the fear that what lies in store for us might cause us to falter and fall. We long for our feet to be firmly established on the rock of your strength, that in the uncertainty of the future, your strength might become our strength. Do this for us we pray O God.

As we consider the future, so we also realise that much of it is predictable. For our lives so easily follow familiar paths, and we so quickly become entrenched in monotonous ruts of habit and routine. We long to be swept away by those life-giving waters that will lead us more deeply into that exciting life of faith that you call us to. Do this for us we pray O God.

And may this new year be for us all a season of grace. Amen.

Progress?

This week we’re reflecting on the new year in the light of the wisdom of Calvin & Hobbes. Our cartoon today deals with the subject of technological progress, and is very appropriate as we move into a new decade.

Hobbes says, “A new decade is coming up.”

Calvin replies by going on a big rant. He says, “Yeah. Big deal. Where are the flying cars? Where are the moon colonies? Where are the personal robots and the zero gravity boots, huh? You call this a new decade?! You call this the future?? Ha! Where are the rocket packs? Where are the disintegration rays? Where are the floating cities?”

Hobbes replies, “Frankly, I’m not sure people have got the brains to manage the technology they’ve got.”

Calvin continues, “I mean, look at this. We’ve still got weather?! Give me a break.”

Calvin’s wildly inventive 6 year-old imagination of what the future should be like is a tonic, and then his bitter disappointment that none of it has happened is really pretty funny. But there’s also a serious point to this cartoon. Technological progress needs to be carefully weighed, as it’s not always a positive thing – certainly in the way in which it’s often used.

So here’s an interesting question for you to think about today, ‘In what ways does your use of technology (for example e-mail, social networking, mobile applications) actually disconnect you from people?’

There can be no doubt that this technology has hugely increased the speed and ease with which information can be exchanged. But we must be careful not to confuse the exchange of information with authentic connection. It can, of course, lead to authentic connection, but it’s not the same thing.

And so it’s quite possible, and in fact is very common, to make great strides forward in our use of all kinds of technology that promise to better connect us with others, without realizing that in the process we are actually taking great strides backwards in our capacity for truly life-giving relationship.

Maybe it’s significant that when God wanted to connect with humanity, God didn’t send an SMS or an e-mail, but rather sent His only Son. I’m sure you’ll agree, there is a difference.

What could you do today to really connect with someone with whom you haven’t really connected in a long time?

PRAYER

Lord God, in this world of rapid technological progress it is so easy to forget what life-giving relationship requires. Guard us from the dangerous tendencies we all face in this techno-crazed world that is increasingly encouraging friendship without commitment, connection without responsibility and intimacy without truth. Amen.

A fresh, clean start

As we ease into this new year, for the rest of this week we will continue to allow the wisdom of Calvin & Hobbes to stimulate our reflections.

There’s a cartoon where Calvin & Hobbes are outside with their sleigh after a heavy snowfall. Everything is blanketed in white, and this conversation unfolds between them:

Calvin: Wow, it really snowed last night. Isn’t it wonderful?

Hobbes: Everything familiar has disappeared. The world looks brand new!

Calvin: A new year… a fresh, clean start.

Hobbes: It’s like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on.

Calvin: A day full of possibilities! It’s a magical world, Hobbes, ol’ buddy... Let’s go exploring!

In the brutal mid-summer heat that we’re currently experiencing here on the southern tip of Africa, it’s difficult to imagine a landscape blanketed in snow, like that in the cartoon. But it’s an enticing image all the same – not just because it would provide respite from the heat (and the mosquitoes!), but also because a snow-covered landscape suggests a fresh, clean start. As Hobbes puts it, “It’s like having a big white sheet of paper to draw on.”

Is a fresh, clean start a real possibility in the world in which we live? Or will the consequences of our actions and the muddy marks left by foolish choices always be a blemish on the landscape of our lives?

The startling good news of the gospel is that with God a fresh, clean start is possible, thanks to the free gift of God’s forgiveness. This does not mean that we can simply avoid the consequences of sinful living, with a cheap ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ card. It does mean that the consequences of our sinful living are covered by God’s grace in a way that makes healing and reconciliation possible, and enables us to start exploring new ways of living that are more life-giving.

PRAYER

Thank you Lord that your gift of forgiveness is such that it really is possible for me to make a fresh and clean start. Open my eyes that I might see how wondrous is the world of your grace, and give me the courage to go exploring within it. Amen

SCRIPTURE READING

Isaiah 1:18
“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…”

The problem with the future

Here’s a great Calvin & Hobbes cartoon that talks about New Year and the promise of newness that it brings, and the grim fact that the promise of a better future is seldom realized.

In the cartoon Calvin says to his pet tiger, Hobbes:

“I'm getting disillusioned with these new years. They don't seem very new at all! Each new year is just like the old year! Here another year has gone by and everything's still the same! There's still pollution and war and stupidity and greed! Things haven't changed! I say what kind of future IS this?! I thought things were supposed to improve! I thought the future was supposed to be better!”

Hobbes remarks, “The problem with the future is that it keeps turning into the present.”

That is the sad story of many people’s lives – how the rich promise and exciting potential of the future so frequently turns into the monotony and mediocrity of the present. And certainly if we’re honest, we’d have to acknowledge that if our track record is anything to go by, our capacity to make new and lasting changes to our lives is really limited.

If we’re serious about finding newness in our lives this new year, then we have to acknowledge that we need help. Thankfully, that help is at hand in the person of a loving and gracious God, who promises to make all things new.

Which means that the most decisive step that you can take in stepping into the promise that the future holds is to say to this God, ‘I need you! Help me, please!’ And then to trust that this simple prayer is one that God will hear and will graciously answer.

PRAYER

Gracious God, I need you! I cannot effect the kind of lasting change in my life that I need. But you are the God who makes all things new. Help me please, and may the future that you have promised become part of my present. Amen

SCRIPTURE

‘Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?’ (Isaiah 43:18-19)

ONE FURTHER THOUGHT

“If the present is the antithesis of the ills of the past, forgive that past,but if the present endorses that self-same past, move away and move on.”
Kayete

God’s ways are best

DAILY BYTE

Happy New Year!

As you embark on this New Year, as you make your plans for all that you hope to accomplish in 2011, have you considered what God may be asking of you? And whatever it may be, do you trust that God’s ways really are best?

There’s a great story that illustrates this truth in a humorous way.

A man who was sitting quietly under the shade of a great oak tree one day. Nearby a pumpkin vine was growing. As he looked at the large pumpkins growing on the vine, and then up at the small acorns growing on the oak tree, he thought to himself, ‘God really got this one wrong. He put the large pumpkins on a spindly pumpkin vine, while the little acorns he put on a massive oak tree. If I were God I’d do it the other way around. I’d put the big pumpkins on the strong oak tree, and the small acorns on the spindly vine.’

And he felt very pleased with himself and not a little bit smug about his improvement on God’s creation. Just then the wind rustled through the tree and dislodged an acorn that fell and hit the man smack on his head. As he rubbed his head he thought, ‘Suppose a pumpkin had been up there instead of an acorn! Thank God that God’s ways are best.’

SCRIPTURE READING

Jeremiah 29:11

‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.’

PRAYER

Thank you Lord that your ways are best. Thank you that you have plans for my life that really are for my blessing and benefit. Help me to trust that this new year. Amen