We are currently in ‘Ordinary Time’ in the church’s year. The excitement of Christmas is finished some time ago and Lent is on the horizon. For now, we wait. Sometimes. In these quiet times, it is not easy to remember the experience of God. Yes, we know about Him. We know Him. We move from a head-knowledge about God, to a heart/soul knowledge of God - that is the move of faith. But we can forget the ‘tingle’ factor.
In this talk I want to help us to reconnect:
- To remind us of the primary fact of faith, Jesus
- To look to Jesus and what he did
- To see new ways of experiencing the presence of God.
First, the primary fact of our faith, the truth:
- Jesus
- Son of God
- Lived on earth
- Revealed the love of God
- Died in our place, paying our penalty for humankind’s sinfulness
- Rose again – to new life
- Is now in heaven
- Is The Way we can live
That is hope.
Paul writes so powerfully on the fact of the resurrection. One Corinthians, chapter 15 is one of Paul’s longest chapters, and devoted to proclaiming and explaining this truth. Let us look at the first reading: The Resurrection of the Dead (1 Corinthians 15: 12-20)
12 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. 15 More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
This dense passage, where we can almost imagine Paul’s train of thought, can be summarised as follows:
If there is no resurrection:
- Then Christ is not raised
- Our proclamation is in vain
- We have lied about God
- Faith is futile
- We are unforgiven
- We perish
Indeed, a picture of profound hopelessness.
But then we read “but Christ has indeed been risen from the dead…”. It is worth reading the whole chapter – 57 verses tackle the subject of the resurrection from different viewpoints and then comes one of Paul’s great ‘therefore’s. After saying “but thanks be to God! He gives us the victory to our Lord Jesus Christ”(57), Paul writes “Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you”.
Second - let’s look at how Jesus models the telling of this story, how Jesus shows us how to experience God.
Blessings (Luke 6: 17-23)
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.
I want to bring out three words from this passage:
- Level: We read that Jesus find a level place, it is as if he is standing alongside us, with open arms, saying “come to me”. There is no need to climb up to him.
- All: Jesus is for everyone. The word “all” occurs often in this passage – all listened, all received. Jesus is for everyone. There is no hierarchy> There are no ‘elite’ Christians – no first class/second class Christians.
- Power: Yes, we can experience the power of God, through prayer often with the laying on of hands. This is the Holy Spirit.
Jesus now proclaims blessing for the poor, the seekers, the weepers and those who feel excluded, reviled or defamed. Jesus is saying “you can rejoice”.
Third, so how do we apply this to us today, as we seek to experience God?
- The beauty of this space speaks of God – let us look
- The joy of worship – our music, our choirs – let us feel
- The value of his word – let us listen
- The breaking of bread – that most intimate moment of communion – let us experience
It is as if we use all our senses – all antennae out.
Jesus gives life, vitality and variety. Why not try out different services and worship styles. Let us pray that we can all look, feel, listen and experience; and so rediscover the ‘tingle’ factor of God’s presence.
Nigel
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