Death : How will you die? Choosing a good death

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

John 18:1-19:42

DAILY BYTE

It seems that when people reach a time of death - their own or their loved ones’ - they find that it is the definitive crossroad moment of all of life. It is in at this juncture when we realize the hope that our death and the deaths of those we love will be good.

But, what is a good death? As we reach the cross today, we see the death of Christ, feel its agony, sense its passion, and grieve over its tragedy. If we have lost someone or are, indeed, anticipating our own death, then we know that all death holds a deep sense of grief and loss.

But we see in the beautiful, weighty and yet free words of the church liturgy for Ministration at the Time of Death in the Book of Common Prayer, that if we choose to die with Christ, although the grief is real, God still is able to reveal something good. And though many of our loved ones die an earthly death without our knowledge that they know Christ, we do know that God’s deepest desire is for every person to live and die and live again with him, and so even in the most tragic circumstances, we are a people who live in hope.

As we ponder how Jesus chose to die, hear these words of how the church - the body of Christ - approaches a good death from the Book of Common Prayer and ask yourself, how might I choose to die? Do I choose to die with Christ?:

Almighty God, look on this your servant, lying in great weakness, and comfort him/her with the promise of life everlasting, given in the resurrection of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

At the time of death - preferably surrounded by family and friends:
God the Father, Have mercy on your servant.
God the Son, Have mercy on your servant.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on your servant.
Holy Trinity, one God, Have mercy on your servant.
From all evil, from all sin, from all tribulation, Good Lord, deliver him/her.
By your holy Incarnation, by your Cross and Passion, by your precious Death and Burial,Good Lord, deliver him/her.
By your glorious Resurrection and Ascension, and by the Coming of the Holy Spirit, Good Lord, deliver him/her.
We sinners beseech you to hear us, Lord Christ: That it may please you to deliver the soul of your servant from the power of evil, and from eternal death, We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.
That it may please you mercifully to pardon all his/her sins, We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to grant him/her a place of refreshment and everlasting blessedness, We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

That it may please you to give him/her joy and gladness in your kingdom, with your saints in light, We beseech you to hear us, good Lord.

Jesus, Lamb of God: Have mercy on him/her.
Jesus, bearer of our sins: Have mercy on him/her.
Jesus, redeemer of the world: Give him/her your peace.

Deliver your servant, (name), O Sovereign Lord Christ, from all evil, and set him/her free from every bond; that s/he may rest with all your saints in the eternal habitations; where with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Depart, O Christian soul, out of this world; In the Name of God the Father Almighty who created you; In the Name of Jesus Christ who redeemed you; In the Name of the Holy Spirit who sanctifies you. May your rest be this day in peace, and your dwelling place in the Paradise of God.

Into your hands, O merciful Saviour, we commend your servant,(name). Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him/her into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

May his/her soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Question for reflection:

As you ponder the tragedy and wonder of Jesus’ good death on this Good Friday, how might you choose for your death to be “good”?

PRAYER

Pray the prayer from the Book of Common Prayer as your own or on behalf of a loved one in remembrance of Christ and in hope of the presence of that same Christ with you for the future.

Death : How will you die? Choosing to sit in darkness

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

John 3:17-21

DAILY BYTE

Tonight, we ponder the meaning of tenebrae - a word, which means, darkness. There is a time in every person’s life where the path leads to darkness - because of a choice we have made or because of an experience that has been thrust upon us. Even if most of the time, life feels bright and full of possibility, light cannot exist without the contrast of darkness.

Services of Tenebrae often begin with these words, taken from the scripture passage for today in the Gospel of John:

God is light, in whom there is no darkness at all. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and we loved darkness rather than light.

We loved darkness rather than light.

Often, when given the choice - do we follow the light? Do we follow the example of Christ? We choose no.

And as we confess together that we love darkness rather than light, we find ourselves wrapped up in the passion and darkness of Christ’s death on the cross. Each time I sit in the darkness of a Tenebrae Service, I find that although I was not actually there as darkness descended and death came to Jesus, somehow it feels as I if I was - as if the choices that I have made that have brought darkness to myself and others are all there in the darkness, too.

The darkness of Christ’s death should not be cause to drown in a pool of guilt. But it should convict us of the ways we have fallen short - the ways we have chosen not to shed greater light on the world.

And sometimes it is important for us to sit in that darkness - to pause in our fast-paced decision-making instead of breezing straight through without reflection. How important it is to have moments of reckoning, where we acknowledge that we are not perfect. That we are responsible for the decisions that we make. That we even commit sins without consciously realizing the way our lifestyle often brings spiritual and physical death to others in the world. If, for at least one day out of 365 in a year, we contemplate the darkness that exists in the world and our complicity in causing it, our hearts might learn to see differently. Perhaps then, after choosing to sit in darkness for a short while, we might better appreciate the light and seek to live in it more fully. Have you been choosing to live in darkness out of sin or choosing to sit in darkness so that you might be more aware of your sin? When given the choice, which do you choose - darkness or light?

Questions for reflection:

1. What areas of your life feel dark? Are you choosing to sit in that darkness?
2. What might God be revealing to you in times of darkness? To sense the darkness more tangibly, take some time simply to sit quietly in the dark. What do you sense? When everything else fades away, what does God speak to you?
3. Even in the darkness of death on the cross, how might God’s saving purposes for your life shed light on the options before you and the choices you are currently making?

PRAYER

Jesus, I confess that I love darkness rather than light. As I sit in this darkness, show me your path of light and life. Amen.

Death : How will you die? Choosing to wash

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

John 13:1-17; 31b-35

DAILY BYTE

All throughout Lent, we have been pondering the crossroads moments and issues of our lives and the paths we choose to follow. It is, therefore, right and good that as we come to the end of the journey, approaching the ultimate crossroad, that we take a moment to consider the overall picture of our lives and any new paths we may have been called to take.

It is entirely possible that this journey has simply affirmed the paths you had already chosen, celebrating the vision and direction you have had and are deepening through your relationship with Christ and the church.

But if, in some areas of your life, you have discovered a new way of thinking, being, or acting and you are preparing to bury the old way, learning to walk the new way, it is a good time, perhaps, for you to let someone on the journey with you wash your feet.

Our feet carry us on long paths - they get weary and calloused. When our souls find refreshment and new direction, the washing of our feet reminds us symbolically and physically that we humbly are committing ourselves to a new, fresh, clean way of being.

But it is our choice, whether or not we want to be washed clean from the old and prepared for the journey ahead.

During a renewal of marriage vows, a moment in life where my spouse and I chose purposefully to reaffirm our path in relationship with God and one another, we washed each others’ feet. We could have walked into that new segment of our life together carrying remnants of the old life on our heels, but we desired a tangible symbol that we had chosen to walk together in a life where we serve one another the way that Christ first showed us to serve humbly. We wanted to have a share in the path one another chose. We see Christ’s example of this in the passage from John for today.

Jesus says boldly, “Unless I wash you, you have no share with me.” Jesus knows that the path we walk with him is difficult. It holds windy, unexpected turns. It demands that every inch of our bodies and souls become shaped to God’s will, and so sometimes in order to prepare ourselves for this challenging adventure, we first need to be washed.

But, Jesus does not expect his disciples to wash others’ feet before Jesus himself washes their own. When we experience Jesus’ powerful, humble, refreshing touch on our own feet - our own paths - we realize with thanks that we are not asked to walk the exact path that he walked. He says “Where I am going, you cannot come.” He walked the path to the cross, felt the nails in his weary feet, all so that a world would be created where we would not have to meet the same fate.

He calls us instead to die to ourselves and walk a path where we “love one another.” He says, “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

As you reaffirm old directions and commit yourself to new ones, consider that the path with Christ to the cross requires that we let him wash us and that we then go into the world to wash others’ feet, helping them on their new journey with Christ, as well.

Questions for reflection:

1. Before you reach the cross this week, consider what needs to be cleansed from your path. What refreshing and renewing do you still need, as you journey with Christ?
2. Whose feet might Christ be asking you to wash? Who do you journey with? Who are you called to serve humbly on this journey?

PRAYER

Lord, I hear and speak the words of Psalm 25 today: Make me to know your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all day long.

As I walk new and old paths, let me share in your washing and share in your loving, O Lord. Amen.

Death : How will you die? Choosing to be anointed

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

John 12:1-8

DAILY BYTE

Earlier in Lent, we read the parallel passage of Jesus’ anointing at Bethany in the Gospel of Matthew. Today we read the story from the perspective of the Gospel of John where we find Jesus at the home of Lazarus, being anointed by Mary, his friend. Not long before, Jesus had brought Lazarus to life from the dead. He had wept with this family and celebrated with them. They had literally been through life and death together. And so when Jesus knew his decision to go to the cross was imminent, it was appropriate that he share intimate moments with people he loved and who knew him well.

It was and is a common practice to anoint those we love for burial. The word for anoint comes from the idea, to “smear on.” So, when our foreheads are anointed with oil, we are physically being smeared by loving hands with the working of the Holy Spirit and the healing presence of Christ. Every time we are anointed, whether in seeking healing and blessing because of sickness or sin we remember that Christ, too, was anointed, as he prepared to die.

As we walk with Jesus to the cross and his burial this week, what crossroads are you reaching in your own life that might crave the loving touch of anointing? Are you at the brink of making decisions - big or small - in your life that lead to the death of a certain kind of sin with which you have been struggling? As Jesus shows us in his acceptance of Mary’s anointing, we are called in times of preparation and struggle to accept the anointing of those who love us - to let them communicate the gift of God’s presence to us in ways that bring comfort, confidence, and peace.

If you have been choosing to keep a decision or struggle private, wanting to sort things out for yourself because of embarrassment or pride, consider today allowing a friend or minister to enter into that struggle with you. Consider that when confronted with life’s greatest challenge - the cross - even Jesus required preparation and loving intervention from the people he trusted most. He boldly made himself vulnerable to the intentional care of someone who knew the precious and limited nature of his life.

If God is calling for some aspect of your character or actions to die and be buried, perhaps the act of anointing with prayer might allow that death to be a good death - one that acknowledges that our lives are limited and are precious. One that says, the time that I have here is too short for me to remain proud and alone in my struggles. One that says, I need others to help me live and die well, and so I am unafraid to share my life and struggle over decisions with a community that has vowed to pray for me, uphold me, and be an anointing of the Holy Spirit in my life . So that when it comes time for us to die a bodily death, we don’t discover that we have not truly lived.

Questions for reflection:

1. What decisions are you making that may need the intervention of a friend and the ultimate advocate, the Holy Spirit? As you walk the path to death, what aspects of your life crave anointing so that when you do come to die, you know that you have truly lived?
2. What steps do you need to take to open yourself to the gift of God’s anointing in your life? Do you need to lay down pride or fear? Do you need to choose someone you trust to share your crossroads with them? Do you need to trust God more?
3. If you were given the opportunity to anoint another person that you love, who would you anoint, and what would you pray?

PRAYER

Pray this prayer, on behalf of others and yourself, which is often used at services of anointing:

Almighty God, we pray that our brothers and sisters may be comforted in their suffering and made whole. When they are afraid, give them courage; when they feel weak, grant them your strength; when they are afflicted, afford them patience; when they are lost, offer them hope; when they are alone, move us to their side; when death comes, open your arms to receive them. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.

Death : How will you die? Choosing how you die

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

John 11:1-16

DAILY BYTE

Lent comes to a close this week, and as Jesus faces his death, so do we face our own.

The movie, When Harry Met Sally, begins with a hilarious scene where Billy Crystal (Harry) and Meg Ryan (Sally) are driving a car from Chicago to New York after college. Because the trip is long, they begin to ponder the facts of life together. Harry asks Sally: Don’t you have a dark side? No, you’re probably one of those cheerful people who dot their i’s with little hearts. Sally replies: I have just as much of a dark side as the next person! Harry: Oh really? When I buy a book, I read the last page first. That way, in case I die before I finish, I know how it ends. That, my friend, is a dark side...Do you ever think about death? Sally: Yes… Harry: Sure you do - a fleeting thought that drifts in and out of the transom of your mind. I spend hours. I spend days. Sally: And you think this makes you a better person? Harry: Well...I’m going to be prepared, and you’re not. Sally: And in the meantime, you’re going to ruin your whole life waiting for it.

We tend too often to push thoughts of death into the dark, morbid, depressed part of our minds. We find it painful and awkward to think and talk about it - our own and other peoples’. And so instead of choosing to think about it seriously, we either joke about it, live in fear of it, or callously try to ignore the possibility that it exists. But death is real, and although none of us can be certain exactly how or when we will die, we know it will happen, and we do, to a certain extent, get to choose how that death will be for us and for those around us.

As we read the passage from the Gospel of John for today, we realize that we can decide if we want to choose the path to death that leads to a death with Christ - a path that doesn’t ruin our life but only makes it more purposeful and beautiful.

Jesus chooses to go to Judea, even though, as his disciples point out, the Jews have just tried to stone him there. Why on earth would he want to walk back into an ambush? But Jesus chooses to walk a path that brings life to others, knowing that it would also bring death to himself. Seemingly unafraid of the presence and threat of death, he chooses to go to his friend, Lazarus. And his disciples must choose whether or not they want to go with him. They know the dangers that walking with Jesus might bring, and yet, we find Thomas - the one we usually label “doubting” in an accusatory way, Thomas is the one who says to the other disciples, “Let us go too so that we may die with Jesus.”

He chooses the path to the cross.

We know that when we choose the path of death on the cross - dying to ourselves - with Christ, then we also receive new, resurrected life with Christ. But Thomas didn’t know that. He only knew that no matter what the cost, he wanted to follow Jesus. Are you preparing yourself well for death? Will you choose to follow Thomas’s lead, risking a path that goes to die with Christ? Will you lead others with you?

Questions for reflection:

1. Take some time to contemplate the fact that one day, you will die. Try to reflect without fear or morbidity - simply looking for deeper understanding. Knowing you will die, do you choose to die with Christ? Are you allowing Christ to lead you and work within you in your life now? How might you want to follow Christ’s leading more closely in life and death?
2. What sins in your life may need to die in order to follow Jesus in the path he chooses?
3. What practical steps can you take in planning your own funeral and burial that might help others who are left behind to grieve well and now that you are with Christ? What songs would you have them sing? What prayers would be prayed?

PRAYER

Jesus, help me not to shy away from acknowledging my humanity and mortality. Show me how to face life and death unafraid, choosing the path that you walk and leading others to follow you. Amen.

Purpose: What are you giving your life to? - Ordination

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Luke 4:14-21

DAILY BYTE

In 1983 Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple Computers, approached John Sculley, who was the vice-president of PepsiCo at the time, to ask him to become the CEO of the fledgling computer company. The legendary question that Jobs asked him that finally convinced Sculley to accept the new position at Apple was this: ‘Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want a chance to change the world?’

This week we’ve been challenged by the question, ‘What are you giving your life to?’ as we’ve reflected on our purpose within the world. All of us, deep down, want to live lives of purpose and substance. It’s not just high-flying executives like John Sculley who want a chance to change the world - we all do!

God delights in these grand ambitions of ours. In fact, it was God who planted that yearning for significance within us in the first place. And the church, in her wisdom, has sought ways whereby this yearning for significance can find expression.

One of the ways is through the sacrament of Holy Orders, or what we, in our tradition, simply refer to as ordination. Ordination is the process whereby the church discerns the call of God upon an individual’s life to be set aside in a special way as a minister of the gospel, and then consecrates that person to God for that life-long work. In our Methodist tradition, people can be ordained either as deacons or as ministers, and those ordained are referred to as the clergy.

Two important points need to be made about ordination:

1. One of the things that sets ordination apart from other forms of service within the church - for example, being a Society Steward - is the life-long intention for ministry that ordination presupposes. Of course, ordained people do sometimes leave the ministry. But a bit like getting married, when someone gets ordained, the intention is that it’s for keeps. As such, ordination stands as a powerful reminder to the whole church that people can, and do, commit their entire lives to the service of the gospel. This is something we all can do, whether we actually get ordained or not.
2. It’s a mistake to see ordination as a ‘higher’ form of service within the church, but it’s also a mistake to suggest that there’s no distinction between the laity and those ordained. Yes, we believe in the priesthood of all believers, but the church continues to recognise the importance of setting aside women and men who are called to this work, who represent the wider church within the local community. As such, ordination reminds the whole church that our ministry is always part of something much broader and wider than just ourselves. Again, this is true for us all, whether we are actually ordained or not.

In a secular world where people are constantly changing jobs and career paths; where the focus is very much on individuals climbing the ladder to success and where the commitment they offer to their employer is largely dependent on their own personal needs being served - in such a world the whole concept of ordination is a little crazy!

But ordination is a reminder to us all of the need to give ourselves to something bigger than ourselves in a life-long way! There is something gloriously liberating when this happens. Of course, ordination itself makes it a lot easier for those ordained than it is for the laity. But all of us are called to give ourselves to a purpose beyond ourselves in this kind of way.

Questions for reflection

1. Reflect on the following words from an Apple Inc. advertising campaign in 1997 entitled ‘Think Differently’, or ‘The Crazy Ones’ as it is commonly referred to:
   

   Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
   The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
   About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.
   Maybe they have to be crazy.
   How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?
   While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

2. If you could change the world, what would you do? What’s stopping you?
3. Read Jesus’ personal purpose statement in Luke 4:18-19. How does it challenge or inspire you?

PRAYER

Gracious God, thank you that you believe in me. Thank you that you call me to be a part of something so much bigger than just me. Help me to offer up my whole life in devoted service and surrender to you. Amen.

Purpose: What are you giving your life to? - The upside-down Kingdom

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Matthew 5:1-12

DAILY BYTE

If you find yourself at a crossroads in your life, unsure of the path you need to choose to follow your true purpose, what are the values and principles that will influence that decision? It’s essential to recognise that compared to the values and principles of this world, the values and principles of God’s kingdom are upside-down. Donald Kraybill in his excellent book The Upside-Down Kingdom writes:

The gospels suggest that the kingdom of God is inverted or upside down when compared with the conventionally accepted values, norms and relationships of ancient Palestinian society and of modern culture today…. Patterns of social organization which are routinely taken for granted in modern culture are questioned by kingdom values. Kingdom ways of living do not mesh smoothly with the dominant society. In fact they may sometimes appear foolish. The kingdom way often elicits responses of surprise and astonishment from the secular audience...

Again and again in parables sermons, and acts Jesus startles us. Things are not like they are supposed to be. The stories don’t end as we expected. The Good Guys turn out to be the Bad Guys. The ones we expected to receive a reward get spanked. Things are reversed. Paradox, irony, and surprise permeate the life of Jesus. The least are the greatest. The immoral receive forgiveness and blessing. Adults become like children. The religious miss the heavenly banquet. The pious receive curses. Things are just not like we think they should be. We are baffled, perplexed, and most of all surprised. We are caught off guard. We step back in amazement. We aren’t sure if we should laugh or cry. The kingdom surprises us again and again by turning our world upside down.

Some of the surprising, startling, alarming values and principles of this upside-down kingdom include the following:

• The way up is down.
  Climbing the ladders of material success, political influence and social prestige may raise your status in the eyes of the world, but in God’s Kingdom the exact opposite is true. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:43-45).
• True strength is found in weakness.
  There was an area of weakness in the Apostle Paul’s life that was a source of frustration to him. We don’t know what it was, but he called it “the thorn in my flesh” and he pleaded for it to be taken away. But then he heard these words spoken by Christ to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul discovered that this was true, that it was in his weakness that he came to experience God’s great strength like never before, and so he was able to say, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10) or as Eugene Peterson’s wonderful translation of one of the beatitudes puts it:  “You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” (Matthew 5:3).
• The way to find your life is to lose it.
  Using the analogy of a grain of wheat that must ‘die’ (i.e be buried in the ground) if it is to realize its true purpose and potential, Jesus said that those who try to hold onto their life, unwilling to risk giving it away in service to others and the world, would discover that theirs is a hollow, empty and ‘lifeless’ kind of life. But those who give their lives away will discover what real living is all about.
• The last shall be first
  In the eyes of God, the poor and the marginalized, the weak and the vulnerable, the widows and the orphans, the homeless and the unemployed, the sick and the handicapped, the destitute and the dying, the frail and the forgotten - in the eyes of God these have a special place and are recipients of God’s special care. In fact, in the eyes of God, these are the ones who are first in line for the blessings and riches of the Kingdom.

Question for reflection:

Which of these upside-down Kingdom principles is most difficult for you to accept? Why do you think that is so?

PRAYER

Lord, the upside-down ways of your kingdom upset so many of the accepted customs and conventions of this world that so many people simply take for granted. And to be honest, sometimes I’m not sure what to make of all of this. But as I look at the mess of this world and its ways, I know that something radically different is needed. And I can get a sense of the incredible life and freedom that the values and principles of your Kingdom bring. Help me to embrace the upside-down-ness of the gospel message, taking it to heart and so allowing it to re-align my life according to that which is excellent, life-giving and true. And whenever I find myself at a crossroads moment in my life, unsure of the path I need to choose, remind me of the upside-down nature of your Kingdom, and give me the courage to follow the path that most closely corresponds with that. Amen.

Purpose: What are you giving your life to? - True evangelists

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

1 Peter 3:8-22

DAILY BYTE

A common purpose that we all share as the followers of Jesus is to be true evangelists!

‘Evangelism’ has been described as a word with a good heart but a dirty reputation. Certainly, in many church and social circles, ‘evangelism’ has virtually become a swear word. And sadly, there’s good reason for this. For there have been far too many stories of things being done in the name of ‘evangelism’ that have in fact violated the good news of the gospel and the principles of God’s kingdom - things that don’t look like anything that Jesus would be caught doing. Just think of the caricature of the overly zealous college student, with a bible held high in his hand, running after someone who is desperately trying to get away, shouting at them that they need to be saved. Or the painful office worker who tries to turn every conversation to religion, and then insists that her experience of faith is the only one which is valid.

Stories like these, and there are dozens more, have quite frankly given evangelism a bad name, and have caused many Christians to distance themselves from any form of evangelism whatsoever. Talk about throwing the proverbial baby out with the bathwater.

The sad irony is that the word ‘evangelism’ literally means ‘sharing good news’. So what is so scary or offensive about that? And the answer surely is, ’Nothing much.’ But the problem arises when those sharing the good news forget what makes it good in the first place. And when that happens, what they say starts sounding more and more like bad news in the ears of their listeners.

So what makes the good news good? Well, the good news of God’s saving work in Christ and the new life that is available in him is good because:

• It speaks of God’s unconditional love for all people.
• It celebrates the intrinsic value and worth of all people in the eyes of God, who has created us all in his own image, which even our sin cannot undo.
• It reveals the nature of God’s mercy and grace - i.e giving us the good things we don’t deserve (grace), and not giving us the bad things we do deserve (mercy).
• It affirms our freedom to choose, and refuses to coerce us in any way.
• It addresses our plight as people, it touches our places of deepest and most desperate need, and promises real transformation for our lives.
• It is based on hope and love, not shame and fear.
• It reminds us that God is much, much bigger than what our human minds can comprehend or contain.

When the good news is shared in ways that are consistent with these things, it is good news indeed. In fact, it’s nothing less than evangelism as God intended. And when we become true evangelists, in the way in which we are bearers of good news, we are faithfully following one important part of our life’s true purpose.

Questions for reflection:

1. What experiences of ‘evangelism’ have you had that made you feel uncomfortable? What was it about the person’s approach that made you feel this way, and what can you learn from that experience?
2. In 1 Peter 3:15 the Apostle Peter says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect.” What would be the reasons you would give for the hope that you have? Write down some of the key points as part of your preparation to be ready to share this with others.

Choosing New Paths:

If people were more practiced in telling their story of faith, chances are they would tell it more. Find a Christian friend whom you trust enough to ask to listen to your story of faith. Contact him or her as soon as possible to set up a safe time and place when you can do so. It might feel a little strange or awkward at first, but practicing the telling of your story, or even little parts of it, can be a great way to put you in a place of greater preparedness to share it with others.

PRAYER

Forgive me Lord for the times when I have shied away from sharing the good news about you with others who really needed to hear it. Forgive my hesitancy and reluctance to be a bold witness, for fear of being labeled a religious nut-case. Remind me that there is nothing judgemental, coercive, manipulative or deceptive about authentic evangelism, and so it is an aspect of the gospel that I can embrace without compromising the values of dignity, tolerance and acceptance. Help me to grow in this area of my faith. Amen.

Purpose: What are you giving your life to? - Holy and beautiful lives

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

DAILY BYTE

The kind of lives we live really matters. The way we treat others, the way we treat our own bodies, the language we use, being true to our word, honouring our commitments, being honest and truthful in all our dealings, acknowledging our mistakes and not being too proud to say sorry - all of this really matters. We’ve all heard the saying, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven” and of course that is true. But it’s a perversion of the gospel and a cheapening of God’s grace to use a saying like that to justify a mediocre, undisciplined life. No, God wants us to live holy lives. Not ‘holier-than-thou’ lives - but holy lives. Lives that reflect the Spirit of God living within us. Lives that are qualitatively different because God is at the centre. Such lives are truly beautiful!

This is the most eloquent testimony we could ever give. It was Ralph W. Emerson who once said: “Who you are speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you are saying!”

In a very real sense, what’s inside of us cannot remain hidden. Who we really are becomes evident in the lives we live. So if we are serious about being a faithful witness to Jesus - which is the purpose of every disciple - we have to pay careful attention to what is happening in our hearts:

• the recurring malicious thoughts and cynical attitudes that are ours,


• the anger & rage that simmers below the surface,


• the destructive patterns of behaviour that sabotage our relationships,


• the festering bitterness caused by old hurts that we have not forgiven

The list could go on and on. We need to enter the “inner room” of prayer each day to acknowledge these things before God, in order for God’s work of healing and transformation to reach deep within to these our places of most profound need.

This is, of course, a lifelong process - but so long as we are on that inner journey of healing and transformation, it becomes possible for us to offer a truthful witness to our faith that will “command the respect of outsiders” as we live holy and beautiful lives.

Sara Groves sings a stunning song called ‘Add to the Beauty.’ Here are some of the lyrics:

We come with beautiful secrets
We come with purposes written on our hearts, written on our souls
We come to every new morning with possibilities only we can hold

Redemption comes in strange places, small spaces
Calling out the best of who we are

And I want to add to the beauty, to tell a better story
I want to shine with the light that’s burning up inside

This is grace, an invitation to be beautiful

Questions for reflection:

1. Read and reflect on this quote from Malcolm Muggeridge:“Doing something beautiful for God is, for Mother Teresa, what life is about. Everything, in that it is for God, becomes beautiful, whatever it may be; as does every human soul participating in this purpose, whoever he or she may be. In manifesting this, in themselves and in their lives and work, Mother Teresa and the Missionaries of Charity provide a living witness to the power and truth of what Jesus came to proclaim. His light shines in them. When I think of them in Calcutta, as I often do, it is not the bare house in a dark slum that is conjured up in my mind, but a light shining and a joy abounding. I see them diligently and cheerfully constructing something beautiful for God out of the human misery and affliction that lies around them. One of the leper settlements is near a slaughter-house whose stench in the ordinary way might easily make me retch. There, with Mother Teresa, I scarcely noticed it; another fragrance had swallowed it up.” (From Something Beautiful for God by Malcolm Muggeridge)
2. Make a list of people (from the pages of history as well as your own personal experience) who have been an example to you of inner radiance reflected outward into lives of great beauty and inspiration.
3. Think of a few ways in which you can ‘Add to the beauty’ today. Write them down and allow them to shape your purpose as they point you to the particular paths that you need to choose today.

PRAYER

Thank you Lord for the many people who have been a witness to me of what a life of authentic discipleship can look like. Thank you for the challenge of their example and the inspiration of their faithfulness. Help me to embrace your calling for me to live a holy and beautiful life. Amen

Purpose: What are you giving your life to? Instruments of God

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

John 9:1-41

DAILY BYTE

If the path you’re on is not allowing you the opportunity to give yourself fully to your life’s true purpose, then you’re on the wrong path! It really is as simple as that! The devotions this week provide us with the chance to reflect deeply on our life’s true purpose, and will encourage us to make the kinds of courageous choices necessary to get on or to stay on the right path. While this may be uncomfortably challenging, it is of course good news. Because deep down all of us long to give our one miraculous life to some magnificent purpose. Deep down, we all long to be instruments in the hands of God.

Consider this beautiful poem by Joyce Rupp:

A small, wooden flute
an empty, hollow reed,
rests in her silent hand.

it awaits the breath
of one who creates song
through its open form.

my often-empty life
rests in the hand of God;
like the hollowed flute.
it yearns for the melody
which only Breath can give.

the small, wooden flute and I,
we need the one who breathes
we await one who makes melody.

and the one whose touch creates,
awaits our empty, ordinary forms,
so that the song-starved world
may be fed with golden melodies.

Jesus is of course the greatest example of someone who offered his life as an instrument in the hands of God. His stated purpose was to bring abundant life (John 10:10). Or to use the language of Joyce Rupp’s poem, he came as a golden melody for a song-starved world.

The passage in John 9 is a beautiful example of how this was true for one individual. It tells the story of how Jesus restored the sight of a man born blind. What a transformation. What joy was his at being able to see. One of the most moving testimonies in scripture comes from the lips of this man when he simply says, “Once I was blind, but now I see.” In his words we can hear the golden melody that flowed from Christ’s purpose-filled life, offered as an instrument of healing and transforming love into the hands of God.

But tragically, there were those who refused to hear the beautiful cadences of grace that echoed from the life of Christ. They refused to see the light that was coming in to the world. In the story in John 9, the religious authorities even turned on the man who had been healed. They were blinded by their inability to recognize the purposes of God at work in ways that were beyond the narrow and rigid categories that they had prescribed.

It’s a story that reminds us that giving our lives to some magnificent purpose as an instrument in the hands of God is not without its difficulties. But in the end, would we honestly have it any other way?

Questions for reflection:

1. Think of somebody who knows you very well - your spouse or a close friend perhaps. What do you think they would say if you asked them to list the ways in which you make their life richer and more meaningful?
2. Why not ask them? Listen to what they say - it will surely point to the ways in which you are being an instrument in the hands of God.
3. The things that we find life-giving for ourselves are often life-giving for others also. What are the things that are life-giving for you? How might these things be a part of your life’s purpose?

PRAYER

Thank you Lord God for the example of Jesus, who was so vibrantly alive, unapologetic about his purpose to bring life and wellbeing to others. Give to me the same clarity of purpose for the living of my life, that I may be shaped more and more to be an instrument of praise to you, that will add to the beauty in this world. Amen

Intimacy: Who do you love? - Do you choose to love your significant other?

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Matthew 1:18-25

DAILY BYTE

If you are reading this and are not in a romantic or married relationship, please keep reading anyway! Sometimes we have the option in life of engaging in such relationships - sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we choose them and sometimes we choose to live without them for a time or even for our whole lives. However, even if our relationships are not romantic, every person is called to choose to be in relationship with others, and the vision of marriage the scriptures present can inform all of the ways that we love each other. The scriptures describe the church (thereby all of us in it) as the bride of Christ, and so in a very real way, our “most significant other” is Jesus. Our culture’s understanding of romance and marriage is often bogged down in pop culture’s stereotypes of what relationships should look, which means our focus is diverted away from the real question: Do you really love the person you say you love - the most significant other person in your life, and if you do love that person, how do you love them?

People who’ve been married for a while often say there’s no question that real, committed, intimate love is a choice that must be made newly each day. For those who make this choice, stepping over that threshold is a huge crossroad. It’s one that we usually choose to celebrate in a big way! But in the midst of the hoopla, in the Methodist tradition a wedding service begins with a crucial “Declaration of Purpose.” What, after all, is the purpose of vowing to love someone for as long as you live? Within the Declaration of Purpose, it is written that the choice for marriage is “not to be entered upon or thought of lightly or selfishly; but responsibly and in the love of God.” We often enter into relationships flippantly and self-seekingly. Once when considering the future of a potential relationship, a very wise person said to me, ‘You would never go into a car lot, glance at the cars in a row, point out the one that looks best to you, and buy it without taking the time to look under the hood, research the safety features, ask about fuel consumption, etc. And yet, so often, we make the biggest decision of our life - choosing a life partner - by using just that method.” We too often seek after what we want on the surface level in other people, and the minute what we see that’s pretty in them fades, our “love” for them fades, as well. But when we read the story from Matthew for today, we see that when Joseph struggled with the choice of whether or not to marry and to love Mary, God called him to look beyond the surface level of her appearance and her situation to see that there was actually Christ - God - growing within her - that when he married her, he also would marry the powerful movement of the Holy Spirit within her. And he chose that. He chose to commit himself to her and also all that God would do through her. He chose to trust that through their union, God would work more powerfully than through their separation. And so he gave himself to her and to God. The Declaration of Purpose in the marriage vows says that such a union is “compared to the union of Christ and his Church, for he loved the Church and gave himself for it.”

How do you love the person or people to whom you are committed through marriage and through Christ? Do you choose to love them in a way that encourages the growth of Christ and the movement of the Holy Spirit within them and through your relationship? Or do you approach your relationship in a way that is selfish - that seeks your own gain and fulfilment before the fulfilment and wholeness of the other? Do you sacrifice for them, as we see in the stories from scripture for this week, intimate love with Christ and others cannot occur without sacrifice...

Questions for reflection:

1. If you have chosen marriage with another person, are you actively choosing to love them each and every day? How might your love be expressed more fully? What acts or attitudes of selfishness might you need to lay aside in order for Christ to grow more fully within the person you love and within your relationship?
2. If you have not chosen marriage, or simply are not married at this point in your life, in what ways does Christ’s love for the church inform your views of marriage and love in general? How might your choices about the people and church you love be affirmed or shaped by the way that Joseph loved Mary and that Christ loves the Church?

PRAYER

Pray today this prayer, adapted from the marriage liturgy in The Methodist Service Book:

Praise God, King of the Universe, who has created all things, and us in his own image. Praise God, who has created courtship and marriage, joy and gladness, feasting and laughter, pleasure and delight, love, unity, peace and fellowship. Praise God, who has sent Jesus Christ to save us from sin and redeem our love from selfishness, and has given us the Holy Spirit to make us one with each other and with him. Praise God.
Amen.

Intimacy: Who do you love? - Do you choose to love yourself?

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

John 15:9-13

DAILY BYTE

During counselling before marriage, one of the best pieces of advice I was given was that you must acknowledge your own, personal issues and make a plan to work through them before walking down the aisle - because everything that is unresolved at one end of the aisle will remain unresolved at the other end—only there, every issue of yours is doubled by the issues of your new life partner... Our own love (or lack thereof) of ourselves affects those we love!

Often, as Christian people, we concentrate so hard on how we are supposed to share love in our interactions with others that we forget quite easily God’s call for us also to love ourselves. That doesn’t even mean that we need to like ourselves all the time - it means much more than that. We are called to be committed to a way of life that allows love to “abide” within us, as the scripture for today from John says.

Before we can love anyone else, as the Gospel of John calls us to in verses 12 and 13, we are first called to let God’s love live in us. In his book, Life of the Beloved: Spiritual Living in a Secular World, the well-known writer, Henri Nouwen, writes to a friend, saying “The greatest gift my friendship can give to you is the gift of your Belovedness. I can give that gift only insofar as I have claimed it for myself. Isn’t that what friendship is all about: giving to each other the gift of our Belovedness?”

I remember waking up one groggy morning in seminary, rolling out of bed with the tiredness of a few hours’ sleep weighing down the bags under my eyes, and as I trudged into the bathroom and switched on the light, I noticed a small slip of paper stuck to the mirror at eye level. You are beautiful, it said. You are beloved. It felt difficult to believe, and yet, there it was. The love and belovedness that lived in the heart of one of my roommates had overflowed onto a simple piece of paper to bring me a reminder that I was beloved, too. I left that paper there for the whole rest of the year.

We all need a reminder in the mirror that before anything else that we do or say or fail to do or say, we are simply beloved children of God. Sometimes when we look in the mirror, seeing our wrinkles - some from past grief and some from anxious hope - seeing the things about ourselves that are in need of improvement, as we paste our hair down with wax and our pores closed with makeup - we fail to see first that we were created by a loving God who wants to shower that love on and through every intimate part of who we are.

Perhaps you’re thinking that you have quite a good relationship with yourself, and you know that you’re a child of God. But we all choose parts of ourselves to fill with disappointment and frustration, even just annoyance. God wants us actively to choose to open every part of ourselves and make it a living space for God’s love. God wants us to care for our whole beings in ways that reflect our understanding that every part of ourselves is beloved. Do you choose today to accept that belovedness and love yourself?

Questions for reflection:

1. Can you choose today to look in a “mirror” - examine yourself carefully - your appearance, your personality, your style of developing and maintaining relationships with God and with other people, your mind’s functioning, your heart’s longings, your body’s abilities and aches, and be honest with yourself. Which parts do you love? Which parts need the abiding presence of God’s love?
2. How can you choose to open yourself more deeply to the presence of God’s abundantly generous and accepting love in these particular parts of your life? How can you celebrate who you are and the things that you already love about yourself? How might God celebrate these things about you?

PRAYER

God, help me to accept that I am beloved in your eyes. May I come to love myself with humility and grace, as you have loved, do love, and will always love me. Allow the love the lives within me to overflow into the lives of others. I pray this in Jesus’ name, who taught us how to love with his generosity of spirit and his sacrifice. Amen.

Intimacy: Who do you love? - Do you choose to love people of other races and cultures?

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Romans 12:9-18, 1 Cor 13:1-13

DAILY BYTE

The other day, I stood in the till line at Spar absentmindedly watching carrots, toothpaste, and cereal go through the scanner and be scooped up by the bagger. In a bit of a dream world, I awoke when the cashier began to chat passionately with the bagger in isiZulu. My understanding of the language is minimal, but I knew a few words in their conversation — enough to gather the gist of what was being said. I smiled right as the bagger looked up and noticed the giggle on my face. She burst into a huge grin and said - ohhhhhh - you understand! And everyone laughed all around. As I walked away, I realized that I wished such moments would happen more often. Moments of connection and pure joy, moments of understanding between people who on the outside have little in common.

And then I realized that I am largely responsible for the fact that these moments do not happen more often. I claim to love people of other races and cultures, but l expect them to bend to my way of doing things, and there is no such selfishness in the love that God teaches us. I am fascinated by the diversity of people and traditions that the world holds and that I believe, is a delight to God. And yet, with the excuse that there is simply not enough time, I fail to learn the language of so many people around me. A language that might offer me an insight into their lives, a key to unlocking a deeper relationship with them and with God.

We read in Romans today that we are to “live peaceably with all” - that we are to “live in harmony with one another” - that we are to “rejoice with those who rejoice” and “weep with those who weep.” And of course it is true that much communication can happen without the use of words, but even God uses the spoken and written word to communicate with us. God is The Word. And so if we fail to reach out with language to others, perhaps we are failing to be like Christ to them. If we are avoiding the traditions of other cultures, afraid that we don’t have the words or viewpoints to understand them or appreciate them, then perhaps we are not loving in the way that 1 Corinthians describes it - patient and not insisting on its own way.

If we fail to make listening and speaking with others who are different from us a priority, even if that requires the learning of a whole new language, then perhaps rejoicing and weeping with others will not be possible to the depth that we and God desire.

If we claim to love others who are different from us but only notice them from a distance - only talk about them instead of with them - only listen to voices that sound like our own instead of opening our ears to hear a different way of describing and living in the world, are we really choosing to love others? Are we keeping many people around us at arm’s length, away from the intimate parts of ourselves? Are we complacent, choosing only to love those who look and sound like we do? As we seek to love those who are different from us more deeply, may the words of Psalm 19:14 be made real: Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Question for reflection:

Do you choose to listen - truly listen - to people of cultures and languages that are different from your own? Or do you find yourself ignoring the sounds of their voices? If you are listening, what have you heard? How might that lead to greater understanding and harmony? If you have been a little deaf, what steps might you take to choose to hear and communicate more clearly? Might you need to learn a new language - either linguistic or of the heart?

PRAYER

Pray today the Prayer of St. Francis, asking that in our choice to seek understanding of others through our words and actions, we might bring greater peace to the world.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred, let me sow love.
Where there is injury, pardon.
Where there is doubt, faith.
Where there is despair, hope.
Where there is darkness, light.
Where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive.
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Amen.

Intimacy: Who do you love? - Do you choose to love your family?

 

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Luke 15:11-32

DAILY BYTE

There is an old saying that you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family... This is true, except, of course, in some cases of adoption, but even then, there is often little choice over who becomes a part of the family. We cannot choose whom we are bound to through blood, genetics, and family bonds, but we can choose the way that we love these people.

It seems that often we save the worst of ourselves for our families — the grumpy early morning, late evening selves, tired from the daily grind and lacking in patience. The people we live with particularly see the most “interesting” sides of our characters, as we try to work out on a daily basis how to navigate some of the smallest crossroads like who gets to use the bathroom mirror first, who takes out the rubbish, and who pays the bills. These are minor crossroads that easily can turn into medium to large sized arguments, if we choose to be irritable, selfish, lazy, or power-hungry. Likewise, we often take advantage of our family in terms of time. We over-schedule ourselves with work, recreation, and friends so that often spending quality time with our children, our spouses, our parents, and our extended family gets squashed out, since we “know” that they’ll “always be around, and we can do that later.”

We often hold onto grudges in families much longer than any grudge we might hold with a friend because we have a closeness with family, even if only in terms of blood, that cannot be matched by anyone else, and because they are so close, they have the greatest ability to wound us. And oh, aren’t we good at wounding in return.

In the parable for today from the Gospel of Luke, we see members of a family in a fairly familiar picture — a parent who has been betrayed by a black sheep of a foolish child. We see a child who has taken advantage of a parent’s generosity, and we see another child who is trying to be obedient to the parent. And as life does, it takes a turn, and each family member has a choice to make. The foolish child chooses whether or not to return and face up to shameful choices. The parent chooses whether or not to welcome the wandering child home. The sibling chooses whether or not to hold onto a grudge and the sting of jealousy.

They all must choose whether or not they want to offer and receive grace. They must choose if they want to give each other the gift of time and celebration of one another’s life and relationship. They must choose the attitude they want to show to the people who are tied to them by blood and family bonds, no matter what has happened between them since they last met. They must choose vulnerability and humility or anger and abuse. They must choose what is more important — all that they have made and acquired or squandered and lost — or all that the bonds between them continuously hold. They must choose if they want to withhold what they have or sacrifice for each other. We must choose these things. God calls us not to take the family we have been given for granted. We are called to work at shaping our families to look like God’s family.

Questions for reflection:

1. Are you choosing to hold grudges within your family? Do you find yourself at an impass in your relationships with other family members? How might God be calling you to show love to the other person? What is preventing you from doing that?
2. How does your family choose to show love through traditions and celebrations? What traditions are precious to you and signify God’s love for you? What traditions might you like to begin?

Choosing New Paths:

1. Intentionally reach out to a family member you have not spoken with for a long time, for whatever reason. Apologize, if necessary. Ask to hear any stories that they have of your wider family life.
2. Carve some special time out of one day this week purposefully to spend quality time with another member of your family. Go for a walk, cook a meal together, etc. Love does not need to be expensive. Celebrate your relationship together in some meaningful way.

PRAYER
Father God, may I love every member of my family the way that you love every member of yours. In Jesus’ name I pray this. Amen.

Intimacy: Who do you love? - Do you choose to love people of different socio-economic “classes”?

 

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Luke 14:12-14; Galatians 3:27-29

DAILY BYTE

A while back, I went to speak at a school in a township around Durban, and while on my way driving there from the Berea, I realized with shock that I had not left the Berea in over two months. I had done my shopping, my recreating, my working, my worshipping, my everything within about a six block radius. I didn’t have to leave - everything I needed physically was at my disposal. Of course, there’s plenty that God wants us to do and become exactly where we are. And yet, when I moved into another area, my awareness of the difference in peoples’ life circumstances was heightened. I realized that I had been spending a whole lot of time associating only with people who are just like me - somewhere in the upper middle of the socio-economic spectrum.

Likewise, I attended a workshop at the home of a wealthy person in another part of Durban and realized I had not been in such company for a long time. My eyes immediately began to judge, as they touched on the mounds of expensive things.

I claim to love everyone – to have wealthy friends and poor, and yet, in these instances I was shocked by how little close contact I truly had with people who live in different life circumstances from my own. Of course, we encounter a vast spectrum of wealth and poverty in our own neighbourhood every day. At each traffic light we are reminded by the homeless and young boys begging for change and rubbish that we live in a society where there is a vast disparity between poverty and wealth. And it is hard to live in this place. It is hard to be confronted with that reality constantly, no matter which side of the spectrum we’re on. And so we turn our eyes. We avoid the stares of people who want and also the stare of people who have more than we do. We give to the Poor Fund and work with those who have more money than we do, but how often do we truly choose to make these people our friends? What does it mean not only to agree to live in the same community together but also actively to love each other?

In the scripture from Luke for today, Jesus reminds us that true love is lived in humility, choosing not to place ourselves higher or lower than any other person but choosing to sit around a table and share meals and life with those who live differently. How rarely we open our tables with intimate and radical hospitality in this way – even though we know that it is often at the table where the grittiness and joy of our lives are shared and where we learn to love each other more deeply.

And in Galatians, we are reminded that no matter what our social situation, we are all one, bonded together through the love of Christ. Surely, even though it is difficult, we must be able to learn from this example how to broaden our ways of loving to include those who are both wealthier and poorer than we are. Surely if we do this, we will become less judgmental and understand more fully what the love of God looks like. Surely.

Questions for reflection:

1. In what ways are you choosing to love those within your neighborhood and beyond who are in a different socio-economic bracket than you? 
2. If you found that you could not answer the previous question, or if you found that you would like to deepen the response you gave, what practical steps might you take to reach out lovingly to both the rich and the poor?

PRAYER

Lord, teach us to share a love that reaches through socio-economic circumstances deep into your heart. Help us lay aside our judgment, weariness, and complacency, instead taking up your compassion. In Jesus’ name we pray this. Amen.

Integrity: What do you stand for? - Confirmation

 

FOCUS SCRIPTURE

Acts 8:14-17

DAILY BYTE

The theme that we’ve been exploring this week has been integrity. And the question that has guided this exploration has been, ‘What do you stand for?’ As we bring this week’s devotions to a close today, we do so by considering a special rite of the Church that connects directly with this theme - Confirmation.

It’s important to acknowledge that within different churches there are different understandings of confirmation, and so the practices around confirmation in various churches differ accordingly. Some churches regard confirmation as a sacrament - an outward sign that points to the inner workings of God’s grace in someone’s life.

Within the Methodist tradition, confirmation most commonly happens for high-school youth after a period of instruction in the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Those being confirmed make a public profession of faith in Christ and receive the laying on of hands as the church prays for the Holy Spirit to confirm in them all that was claimed for them and promised to them when they were baptised. It is a special and beautiful moment!

The particular significance of the practice of confirmation in our tradition is that it marks a transition point in the life of the person being confirmed, from being a “child in the faith”, to someone who is now regarded as a “responsible adult in the faith.” As such, confirmation could rightly be regarded as a spiritual rite of passage - ushering the confirmand from spiritual childhood, through adolescence (the period of instruction in the confirmation process), into the maturity of responsible faith.

Of course, in one sense we will always remain ‘children in the faith’, wholly dependent upon the grace and goodness of God, and ’beginners’ when it comes to grasping the mysteries of God’s love. And retaining a child-like spirit is so important for entering the Kingdom of God. But in another sense there comes a point for all of us when we need to grow up in the faith and decide for ourselves - ‘Where do I stand? What do I believe?’ In fact, this doesn’t happen only once in our lives, but repeatedly. And every time those core questions are raised for us, and we’re able to affirm or re-affirm our commitment to stand on the side of truth as a believer of the gospel, it’s like Confirmation is happening all over again, as the Spirit is poured out upon us, equipping us for the tasks of faithful discipleship in the world.

There’s something truly exciting about this, but it can be quite uncomfortable too. As we’ve seen in our devotions this week, living lives of integrity as we seek to stand for what is true can be very costly. But God is far more concerned about the formation of our character than the preservation of our comfort, such is the nature of God’s love. What a beautiful reminder how prized and precious and dearly valued our lives really are, that God refuses to settle for second best for us!

Questions for reflection:

1. Think of some of the experiences that you have had in your life that really stretched and grew your faith. What happened? How do you feel about those experiences now?
2. If you were to stand up and make a public profession of what you believe, what would you say? Why not start working on your own personal creed now, beginning with the words, ‘I believe.’

PRAYER

An Uncomfortable Vision (by Rev John van de Laar)

We say that we long for the day of your coming, Jesus,
that we watch the sky, eager for a glimpse of your glory,
that we thrill at imagining the last trumpet call.
But we don’t really; not, when we are honest about what we know it would mean.

When your reign is fully revealed in our world, Jesus,
it will be an uncomfortable vision for us,
one of simplicity that challenges our excess;
one of egality that undermines our privilege;
one of meekness that disarms our aggression;
one of temperance that subjugates our appetites.

Yet, in truth, as uncomfortable as it is,
we know that it is only in your justice that life can be found.
So, prepare our hearts, help us to make straight paths,
and lead us in songs of praise, as we celebrate