The Resurrection Dance.

A glorious joyous Easter to you. My last post's reference from Mere Christianity triggered C.S. Lewis' memorable summary of living the resurrection life as Easter people. It has a contemporary ring and reminds me of Richard Rohr's book Divine Dance (2016) which invites readers into encountering Trinity life - God as community, friendship and dance. 

The whole dance, or pattern of this three-personal life is to be played out in each one of us: or (putting it the other way round) each one of us has got to enter that pattern, take his place in the dance. There is no other way to the happiness for which we were made. Good things as well as bad, you know, are caught by a kind of infection. If you want to get warm you must stand near the fire: if you want to be wet you must get into the water. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into the thing that has them They are not the sort of prize which God could, if He chose, just hand out to anyone. They are a great foundation of energy and beauty spurting up at the very centre of reality. If you are close to it, the spray will wet you; if you are not you will remain dry. Once a man is united to God how could he not live forever? Once a man is separated from God what can he do but wither and die.

What happened that first Easter is 'the very centre of reality'. Encountering the risen Jesus, with willingness to remain close, also places us in relationship with the Father and Holy Spirit that overwhelms. If you want joy, power, peace, eternal life, you must get close to, or even into the thing that has them.  I love Easter Sunday. The Cross and Resurrection are the very centre of reality for my life, my everything.  May it be a deep joyful day for you too. 

Holy Week

This Holy Week I have been reading one of my old books by W. E. Sangster ( a renowned Methodist preacher 1900-1960) titled: They Met at Calvary.  Its sobering to reflect on: the teachers who hated him, the priests who bought him, the traitor who sold him, the crowd who cried, 'Crucify him!', the judge who sentenced him, the thieves who died with him, the people who ministered to him.  For the most part it's an extraordinary tangle of dark motives unfolding in fast real time. The book's last chapter is a typical gospel challenge from this master preacher who coined the expression ' preach to convict'. It's called I was there!

If you come to Calvary with some admiration of His life and some pity at His death and see in Him nothing but another good man beaten by the wickedness of the world, you have not really come to Calvary at all. No mere man could save you.

If He was a man, it was murder; if He was God it was an offering.

If He was a man it was martyrdom; if He was God it was sacrifice.

If He was man, they took his life from him; if He was God, he laid it down of himself.

If He was man we are called to admiration; if He was God we are called to adoration. 

The teaching of this Church Universal is this: the immortal God has died for you.

All the happenings of his week that changed the world are complex as they lead through to the death of Jesus.  To think that there are so many haters in the story which leads to the most glorious foundation of Christian faith in the Cross and Resurrection. I was reminded of C.S. Lewis' comment in Mere Christianity.

If Christianity was something we were making up, of course we could make it easier. But it is not. We cannot compete, in simplicity, with people who are inventing religions. How could we? We are dealing with Fact. Of course, anyone can be simple if he has not facts to bother with.

 We are called to adoration before the Easter facts.

Acorns

Opposite the Cambridge church (nicknamed St A's by the students) where I was minister 1980-1993, Emmanuel College has inscribed words to describe their past students: I have set an acorn which when it becomes an oak, God alone knows what will be the fruit thereof.  When the new minister, Simon Cragg, was inducted a couple of Saturdays ago at a full and joyous service he reproduced this quote with a picture of an acorn on the front of the printed service sheet.

I was thrilled that the church was jam packed for Simon's new beginning - in fact they had prepared 200 hot lunches for guests and found 320 stayed. Careful stewardship (!) fed everyone though several, like myself, were unable to stay.  

To my surprise it turned out that the acorn theme proved personally significant. Simon explained in his description of the steps leading to his call to pastor St A's that he had heard Michael Quicke (that mention jolted me!) when he was a child.  Apparently I preached a sermon that struck him as a 5 year old. When he was 15 years old he found a cassette recording (remember those?) of the same sermon in his father's collection. His re-listening led directly to his calling from God into ministry. Wow!  I had no idea that this happened and his father told me afterwards it was news to him.  Simon referred to the inscription, how he was an acorn planted in the church's past ministry and how he shares the vision of many acorns being planted to flourish in the future.

At the end of the service I was met by one of the former students who is now a local Baptist minister. 'You baptized me', he said. Right behind was another former student who told me he was now in Anglican ministry in a church not far away. Talking with them I heard of two more former members of the church who are now in ministry,  One of them remarked how these were all acorns planted in my time.  

We can never tell this side of heaven what God is doing in the lives of others but as you grow older it is one of the greatest encouragements to learn stories like this.  

Missing punchline

Preaching without notes (in my case) involves careful oral writing of a full, timed script which I 'internalize' so that I can preach from the heart. (This is not memorization but a holding of structure in mind with certain key phrases that stay with me when I first preached it to myself).  I always leave the ending open for you never know where the Holy Spirit will lead. However, I do prepare some possible endings as I have sensed God moving my preparation.

With Zacchaeus Richard's contemplation piece was delivered so effectively.  He used his smart phone in the conversation with his wife and the end result registered so powerfully that one visitor said he was nearly brought to tears by its portrayal of Zacchaeus' transformation. It was powerful. It led me to conclude with a brief challenge about the way Jesus views us all as lost when he first meets us. 

This meant that I failed to use one of the ways I might have ended!  Only one commentary I consulted mentioned how one of the early church leaders (and preachers) called Clement of Alexandria, referred to Zacchaeus in his homily 3:63.  And guess what? He writes that Zacchaeus became Bishop of Caesarea in the early church. I love that detail.  There's a factual follow-up to the Luke 19 story.  Zacchaeus' momentous declaration to Jesus, right there and then at the foot of the tree, that he would give away half his possessions and repay any he had cheated, is a prelude to such changed character that he becomes a leader in Jesus' church. I wish we knew more. You can only imagine how that the personality that once took him to chief tax collector position, with gifts of leadership, organization, and team work is turned on its head. As a generous, gracious bishop his caring, compassion and ability are refocused on the kingdom of God, living for Jesus, in his way with his people. Maybe he told his testimony. It would have made a great evangelistic story. This outcast up a tree, found by Jesus.

On reflection I believe I was right to finish the sermon as I did. but follow-up stories have their own gospel power too. And that leads me to another recent experience.....

Zacchai

 Zakkai phones home    Reading Luke 19: 1-10

Zacchaeus is the Greek form of a common Jewish name, Zakkai. I often wonder what happens after someone encounters Jesus in the gospel. Imagine the crowds have gone and Zakkai is left to ring his wife to tell her that a special guest is coming for dinner. (To date no archaeological excavation has dug up a mobile phone dating back to the first century!)

Hi there my dear, Zakkai here. Just wanted to let you know that we’ve got an important guest coming to dinner.........

Yes, I know tonight’s our night out but I think we’ll have to give it a .......

Who’s the guest? Oh, it’s that preacher everyone’s talking about, Jesus. (Pause). Well actually, it may not be just the meal, it may be a bed too. (Pause) And it may not just be one guest....... 

Well he has a few disciples who go with him everywhere and it would be rude to exclude......

Oh just a dozen, but they’re used to sleeping rough.........

 Yes, I know it’s very short notice, and it’s the servants day off, but he sort of invited himself! ....

What do I mean? Well he looked up at me .........What?  No, I haven’t found someone in Jericho shorter than me....... Yes that right, I’ve been climbing up trees again. Anyway, he looked up and said,’ Zakkai, I must stay at your house today’.  So I clambered down the tree and gave him a hug. And he hugged me back.....

Why me? Well I’m not really sure. With all the crowd surrounding him it was as if he was searching for just one person –me! He knew my name, and he didn’t condemn me for who I am and what I’ve done. And what’s more, he wants to meet you.... Yes, and the children.... and their pet rabbit. It was wonderful. Oh and my dear wife there’s one more thing. I’m sorry but we need to cancel our Mediterranean cruise......

 Yes, I was looking forward to it too, but I think we may be a bit short this month......

 No I haven’t been throwing my money around again to try to gain friends. But in a way perhaps I have. I told everyone that I’d give um, a generous donation to the poor!.... to be more precise, half our money...

That’s right, one half of everything we posses. Ridiculous I know, but perhaps a downsize would be good for us at our time of life.....

No, that’s not quite the lot. Tomorrow morning there will people knocking at the door looking for compensation for money I’ve overcharged them. ...

What?  How many?  Well, most of Jericho I would think.  And I told them I’d repay them everything -  plus a bit more....

 How much more?  Oh, um 400 per cent more....... Yes I know that’s four times more. It’s quite ridiculous. We will be penniless – but I don’t care!.......

 No I haven’t lost my marbles. You see Jesus looked at me, and for the first time I felt accepted, a real person again, not just a cheat, a fraudster, a sinner beyond redemption. For the first time I can hold my head high and know that when I go to the temple to pray I have a clear conscience, my wicked past forgiven by God. And do you know what Jesus said? ‘Today salvation has come to this household’ This household – that means me, you, the children....... Not sure about their pet rabbit , but yes pet rabbit as well. He said ‘For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost’. And if he can save me – he can save everyone! See you soon, Bye.

Overwhelming spiritual encounter

My narrative sermon on Sunday followed the moves in the story. From a negative beginning to holy curiosity and then overwhelming spiritual encounter. Verse 5: When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him: Zacchaeus come down immediately. I must stay at your house today. So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly. I invited the congregation to imagine this moment. Jesus takes the initiative. Perhaps he knew Zacchaeus' name but he would have certainly heard it from the crowd around who couldn't believe it was odious feared Zacchaeus up a tree. For goodness sake. This wealthy man of status actually peering down through branches.

And what authority Jesus shows!  Has anyone ever spoken to Zacchaeus like this before? Come down immediately. But he had never met anyone like Jesus before! Jesus must stay in his house today. This unpopular man is suddenly the focus of attention and the crowd can't bear it.  Doesn't Jesus know what kind of man this is? Yes, of course Jesus knows.

When he looks up at Zacchaeus he's not seeing a wealthy, successful man, or an extortioner and betrayer of his own people. He sees a man who is LOST.  It's unlikely that Zacchaeus would have ever considered himself lost.  He mapped out his life like his finances. His personal GPS had a route of continuing success  But from God's point of view he has missed his way to true living.  His life so far is empty of God's purpose. Within  Zacchaeus God's loving Spirit is working to help him recognize the truth of this moment. He shins down the tree and greets Jesus gladly.  He's been found.  Jesus will sum up his ministry: The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (verse 12) and Zacchaeus is bowled over by the spiritual reality of being found in God's love and purpose.

The transformation is extraordinary. For someone for whom money was everything it is now as though it's nothing. Look Lord, here and now, I give half my possession to the poor. If I've cheated anyone out of anything I'll pay him four times the amount. Being found upends all he has been living for. Everything is different.

One of the Histon church members, Richard Pike, read my earlier postings about preaching on Zacchaeus. He mentioned that he had written what he calls an 'imaginative contemplation' on this story, when he was engaged in a project a few years ago. I asked to see it and when I read it I knew that it just had to be included in my sermon. 

So get ready....

Holy Curiosity

A French painter James Tissot, who painted at the end of the nineteenth century and beginning of the twentieth imagined the scene in a watercolour picture. 

Zacchaeus is centre-stage, wearing a gold robe with jewelry and headgear. Others are in the trees alongside him, dressed simply, as are members of the crowd with Jesus on the road below.  As I look at the figure of Zacchaeus he seems to be straining to get as good a view as possible. There is nothing casual about his stance. He wants to see who Jesus is, he wants to know.

The truth is that something is happening inside Zacchaeus. Bluntly, God is at work.  I heard someone on the radio interviewed about their life who said that he was fuelled by a 'furious curiosity', not furious in the sense of being angry but with such passionate desire that he had to know.  I think I would call the happening inside Zacchaeus as 'holy curiosity' because he really needed to know more about Jesus. Whether it was the celebrity news surrounding Jesus that aroused his interest, or someone shared a story about what Jesus had done, or Zacchaeus had let his faith in God lapse and felt strangely drawn to see Jesus.  Whatever the reason, and there are tens of other possibilities, it's the way that God works in the lives of people who find themselves wanting to know more. I guess Zacchaeus doesn't realize that.

Currently a large group is on an Alpha course at our church and I guess some are there because God has been working - through a friend who invited them, or a reminder of past days of believing, or a sense of need.  One of the great mysteries of Christian life that many of us can testify to is that along the way through family, friends, needs, questions we were led to the point where we wanted to see Jesus.  God was working in our lives before we realized it.