By Canon Derek Smith, locum priest October and November 2021

Advent Sunday – November 29 to December 4

The book of the prophet Isaiah has been described as the Bible in miniature. 66 Chapters in Isaiah mirror 66 books in the Bible. The first 39 in each case tell the story of human sin and failure bringing judgement on the earth. The chapters or books from the 40th in each case tells of a Saviour who has not abandoned His people, but who reaches out in love and mercy to rescue them. Another commentator said if you want to know about Jesus, read a Gospel; if you want to know about the Holy Spirit, read Acts; if you want to know about God, read Isaiah. We may not be surprised then to discover that the Old Testament readings commended in the preparation for Christmas and Easter draw heavily on this book.

As Advent begins, we are invited to read the early chapters of Isaiah. We have already noted the fact that this great prophet is called to be a messenger of God’s judgement on His people. Look at the consequences of your behaviour, says the Lord. Yet even in the midst of these warnings, there are moments of glory. “The holy One of Israel” is a favourite title used of the Lord in Isaiah. Perhaps the clue is in the prophet’s experience of God’s call in chapter 6. He is a priest on duty at the temple in Jerusalem, when he meets with God in a terrifying way. The angels worship in their timeless song “Holy, Holy, Holy.” A religious duty becomes an encounter with the living God. He is overwhelmed by the awe-inspiring nature of the living God, who calls him to be a major spokesman through the reigns of several kings in the eighth century B.C. This prophet becomes the mouthpiece of the King of Kings.

In the opening chapter of Isaiah there is a verse that has changed the images we have of the birth of Jesus. In this opening oracle of denouncing the nation the prophet compares the people unfavourably with the animals. “The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s crib.” We think Francis of Assisi was the first to use crib scenes as a way of showing people the story of Jesus’ birth. The place of the ox and the donkey as crib figures derives from this verse. The evils denounced by the prophet and the call to repentance later in the chapter may sound all too contemporary: “cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” If we repent, then we shall receive the Lord’s forgiveness: “though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.”

Isaiah, Ugolino di Nerio, The National Gallery

Chapter 2 has a wonderful prophecy of the peace that will come beyond the day of the Lord. Isaiah shares with his contemporary Micah the hope of that day when “they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks,” a day beyond war. But that day was not yet. Before the days of promise there are days of evil to endure.

There are further glimpses of long term hope that echo through these early chapters as we move through the season Advent. Each has a context in the prophet’s own lifetime, and a future hope to which it points. Chapter 7 describes a conversation between Isaiah and King Ahaz. The Lord gives a sign to the king. “Behold the virgin is with child and shall bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.” Hundreds of years later Matthew would show us that these words found a special fulfilment in the birth of Jesus.

Carol services often include two more prophecies from these chapters of Isaiah. Chapter 9 has the promise of God’s true ruler, His anointed One – in Hebrew that is Messiah, and in Greek it is Christ. Verses 6 and 7 are among the great words of the Bible: “For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests on his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace…”

The last great prophecy I want to mention is significant at Confirmation services as well as Carol services. This prophecy reveals the character of God’s Spirit. As we pray with a Bishop in Confirmation for the strengthening of the Holy Spirit in the life of the candidates and of the whole Church, we see that the Holy Spirit is indeed the Spirit of Jesus. Whether you can be at the Confirmation on 11th December in person or not, pray for Lucia, Marieke, Josephine, Adelchi, Margaret, Emily and all the candidates, that the Spirit of the Lord may rest on them. The Spirit of the Lord is “the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” May their delight and ours be in the fear of the Lord. We are not looking for the fear that disables, but for the respect, awe and honouring of the Holy One of Israel, the Light of the nations, revealed to us in the birth of Jesus, Immanuel, God is with us.Yes, I think that person I mentioned at the beginning got it right about this book revealing God’s character uniquely. Prophetic books are not all easy to read, but this book of Isaiah really does show us the character of God and our calling to follow Him.

Sunday next before Advent – November 22 to 27

The Revelation to St John the Divine or the Apocalypse provides the New Testament readings in the week before Advent begins. Apocalyptic writing began with the book of Daniel, and especially the second half. It is a genre of writing designed to encourage believers facing persecution and it developed whole patterns of style and content. Typically, it is giving a message to say remain faithful and God will deliver you from this evil age and inaugurate the age to come. Revelation conforms to this pattern. It may have been written during the reign of the Emperor Domitian, who inaugurated the first Empire wide persecution of Christians towards the end of the first century.

Most people in our era do not read apocalyptic books in the narrow sense. We do use the word apocalypse in the contemporary world, but with only a rough parallel to apocalyptic books in biblical times. There are genres such as science fiction and dystopian novels that share some characteristics, but they are not quite the same. This means that readers in our world will have to work hard to see the messages that were more obvious to the book’s first readers and hearers. We can get lost in features of the genre and miss what this author is saying in this particular apocalypse.

What is this last book of the Bible specially telling us? 

  • It is a book about worship, the worship of God in heaven
  • It is a book full of titles for Jesus, telling us who Jesus really is
  • It is a book addressed to seven churches challenging human assumptions about which ones are performing well
  • Like other apocalyptic books, it is an encouragement to hold on, for God will deliver His people

Chapters 4 and 5 show us the worship of God in heaven. These chapters and other parts of the book keep breaking out into songs of praise. Worship in song is a powerful element in the Christian faith. We may become so accustomed to music in worship that we forget or neglect its power. Revelation makes clear that Jesus is to be worshipped, but men and angels are not. It does not describe or define the Trinity, but it demonstrates the divinity of Jesus by clarifying that Jesus is rightly worshipped. The language is poetic rather static; so, the one true God is seated on the throne, and then the Lamb is on the throne. The Lamb who was slain is Revelation language for Jesus, extending the Lamb of God title from the Gospels. The Father is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end; so is the Son.

S0081526 The Adoration of the Lamb, detail from the Ghent Altarpiece, 1432. Image licenced to Joseph Hinckley Brigham Young University by Joseph Hinckley Usage : – 4600 X 4600 pixels (A3) © Scala / Art Resource

The Lamb of God is also the Lion of Judah. Isaiah described the day when the wolf would dwell with the lamb, and the lion would lie down with the calf, but now the Lion and the Lamb are identified in clear references to the person of Jesus.

Jesus is the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. He is the living one who died and is alive for evermore. He has the keys of Death and Hades. He is Faithful and True, the Word of God, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the Root and Descendant of David, the bright Morning Star. All these titles and descriptions are added to the usual New Testament titles of Lord and Christ. This Jesus is coming soon, and His people pray for that return, Maranatha, come Lord Jesus, come.

The Spirit is also a living presence in this book. We sometimes need to discern between the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit and the human spirit. New Testament Greek was not written in upper and lower case, nor with punctuation. It is hard work for translators.

Revelation has probably been misused more than any book of the Bible. People love to try and use it to predict timetables of the end times. Revelation might have more codes than a James Bond film, but this was never designed to be a secret code for the initiated. That approach is described in church history as Gnosticism and has always been a heresy to mislead the faithful. These are features of apocalyptic writing; they are the background not the point of the book. When the meaning is uncertain, it is always a good idea to interpret this book in the light of what we know from other parts of the Bible rather than the other way round.

One of the rich treasures in the book is the collection of letters to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3. They run from the challenge to Ephesus, return to your first love, through to the challenge to Laodicea, beware a lukewarm attitude to faith in Christ. In the midst of criticisms and calls for repentance come the commendations for faithfulness in the face of suffering. God is not fooled by the trappings of outward success in His church. These are not the measures of the truth or of His opinion. This is the God who sees and knows the heart. People who suffer for their faith are those to whom Revelation brings greatest hope and comfort like those at Smyrna and Philadelphia.

The end of the book is one of cosmic hope and promise. Evil is defeated and the Lord God triumphs at the last. Hold on; trust the one who is faithful. Even those who witness [the Greek word for witness is martyr] at the ultimate cost will be honoured and rewarded in His kingdom.

Trinity 23 – November 15 to 20

Acts chapters 9 – 15 form the next set of New Testament readings in daily prayer. Chapter 9 brings Saul of Tarsus centre stage. He has been at the martyrdom of Stephen approving the violence of the mob. Now Saul plans his own campaign of violence to stamp out this heresy, as it seems to him. He obtains human authority to arrest and imprison the people of the Way, as the early Christians are known. The dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus is such a key event, Acts relates it three times over.

Saint Paul the Apostle, Public Domain

Saul is blinded by the light and helped into the city. An unsuspecting Christian called Ananias is conscripted by God into becoming the instrument of Saul’s physical and spiritual healing. Not without some understandable alarm on Ananias’ part, he brings Saul into the light and baptizes him. Like many characters in God’s purposes in Scripture Saul is given a new name becoming Paul. The very man who had set out to destroy the Way becomes its leading protagonist. For much of the rest of Acts the leading Apostle we read about is Paul.

Before we see Paul in full flow, we have another major transformation. Peter is given a life changing dream preparing him to accept an invitation to the home of a Roman centurion Cornelius. Food laws were one of the key distinguishing features of the people of Israel. God uses a dream to call Peter to break through the barriers between Jew and Gentile. He also uses a dream to prompt Cornelius. So, when the Godfearing Cornelius invites Peter to come and tell him about Jesus, Peter responds. Along with his companions Peter enters the home of a Gentile, an officer in the army of occupation, and begins to tell Cornelius the good news of Jesus, crucified and risen. Before Peter can finish his sermon, the Holy Spirit has fallen on the Gentiles as He had fallen on the Jewish believers at Pentecost. Seeing God at work Peter baptizes the household.

Peter returns to the other Apostles to tell them about the Holy Spirit’s work in evangelism beyond their boundaries. Soon martyrdom touches the Apostles themselves with James killed by the sword. Peter is imprisoned and miraculously released. He finds it hard to believe, and soon the maid Rhoda is struggling as are the other leaders. Again and again in Acts God goes ahead of His people, and they try to follow making the best sense they can, as they witness the mighty acts of God.

Paul and Barnabas at Lystra  
Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem 1650
Wikimedia Commons 

The scene switches back to Paul through one of the most appealing characters in the Bible, Barnabas. This nickname means the encourager. Every congregation and every mission team needs its encouragers. First he persuades Paul to help instruct the Church at Antioch, a key Christian centre in these early years. Then he and Paul are sent on mission together. This follows prayer, the exercise of spiritual gifts and the laying on of hands. Together they travel to the island of Barnabas’ birth, Cyprus, and travel from Salamis on the east coast to Paphos on the west. Then their journey heads north into Asia Minor. I recall a British lady in Cyprus who was trying to buy an icon of Barnabas, and the monk refused her money. “No, we cannot receive money for this Cypriot saint” explained the monk. The lady found it really challenging to accept the gift. Receiving grace and being unable to pay for what we receive comes as a big challenge to many.

Paul and Barnabas fall out over whether John Mark should be a companion on a subsequent mission having returned home early from the first. It is an example of God even using human disagreements to further the work of his kingdom. For the outcome was two mission teams instead of one. It is not a strategy for Christians to aim at, but it is helpful to know that even our faults and failings can be used by God to further the kingdom of His Son.

Then chapter 15 tells us of the first great Council of the Christian Church. The Apostles at Jerusalem hear reports of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles and convene this meeting to work out how to respond. They have to reflect prayerfully on what the Holy Spirit is doing. In the light of this how are Gentile Christians to live? God is not asking them to become Jews first, but what are the essentials for them to observe. In every generation we must see how God is speaking to new people. What will it mean for people of a particular type and background to follow Jesus? I remember being surprised by men coming into a church and not removing the hats they were wearing. I was brought up to regard that as unrespectful. It came as a shock to realise others did not see it that way. Each time Christians reach out across cultural boundaries we are called to think afresh what is essential to faith in Christ, and what happens to be our own customs.

Acts 15 had been the reading and sermon topic at a service I led a couple of years ago. A few months later a friend explained that he had been approached by people in a far eastern religious context. They were wrestling with differences between conservative and radical interpretations of a particular tradition. He remembered our service and explained this was how the early Christians dealt with a parallel issue and commended the approach of Acts 15 to them. When we differ from one another about Christian teaching and behaviour, there is no need to panic. Christians have faced and overcome these challenges before. Prayer and humility will help us to love one another with the love of Christ.

Trinity 23 – November 8 to 13

Acts chapters 1 – 8 are our New Testament readings this week. How the book is titled in Dutch I have yet to discover. English Bibles print “The Acts of the Apostles,” but the original Greek has no definite article; “Acts of Apostles” is what it says. This is a more accurate description of the contents. Principally it tells us about Peter and Paul with a little about James and John and about the first Deacons, especially Stephen and Philip. You could even argue that Luke might have called this book “Some Acts of the Holy Spirit through some Apostles.” That sounds a bit cumbersome though.

Saint Luke the Evangelist, Claude_Vignon_

The opening of Acts mirrors the opening of Luke’s Gospel in its address to Theophilus. People guess that Theophilus might have been some important official in the Roman Empire. Geographically the movement of Acts is from Jerusalem to Rome. This geography is important in the narrative Luke gives us. After all he cannot have told us every act of every Apostle. He has chosen some key leaders whose own journeys went from the ancient city of God, Jerusalem, where He had chosen as His dwelling place under the old covenant. He brings us to Paul’s time of being held prisoner in the city that ruled the great Empire of the world, the city of Rome. The narrative stops short of describing the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in Rome. Equally the narrative omits the whole missionary thrust of the early Church eastwards. Thomas went on an extraordinary missionary journey through the Middle East converting people in Nineveh [even now the Christian heartland of Iraq] and on to South India, where he was martyred at Chennai [the city English people used to call Madras]. Other Apostles did remarkable things too. Early Church traditions record these things, but Luke’s choice is specific. We cannot be sure how much of these other acts of other Apostles he knew. 

Luke teaches us about the saving work of God in Christ by separating it into distinct events – the birth of Jesus, the baptism, the temptations, the life, the cross, the burial, the resurrection, the ascension, the promise of the Holy Spirit, the coming of the Holy Spirit and the mission of the Church in the power of the Spirit. In John’s Gospel these events merge, as it were, into one big act of salvation. It is a more poetic or philosophical approach in John. So, in a way the Christian calendar derives from Luke’s account. Luke is the storyteller, the narrative artist.

Acts takes us through the ascension of Jesus and the need to replace Judas among the twelve. Matthias is chosen as the new apostle. The Apostles, the Mary, the mother of Jesus, and the other disciples wait together, as Jesus had instructed them, for the fulfilment of the promise of the Father. Then that promise is fulfilled in the drama of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit comes in wind and fire transforming the apostles from fearful disciples into world changing men of spiritual power. Tongues are spoken, people understand in their own languages, Peter preaches and 3000 are converted. Peter and John heal the man lying at the gate called beautiful. There is a pun in English that the man asked for alms and was given legs. This brings the Apostles into conflict with the authorities, but they continue to speak boldly in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Spirit.

Luke points to spiritual gifts operating in healing, prophecy, tongues and discernment through his narratives. The work of ministry expands [and it still does]. This leads to the appointment of deacons. They appointed for administrative and serving tasks, which in turn lead to further ministry [as they still do]. Further spiritual gifts are manifested through Stephen and Philip, in whom we see evangelism, prophecy, wisdom and martyrdom.

Ecclesiasticus has an alternative name The Wisdom of Jesus Son of Sirach.

The name is close enough to Ecclesiastes to confuse us, and so the alternative name may help. It is found in the Apocrypha. This is a collection of books that were added to the Greek translation of what we now call the Old Testament, but were not in the Hebrew. The Church of England followed Lutheran and Calvinist Churches in regarding the Hebrew books as having divine authority, and the Greek only books as being useful “for example of life and instruction of manners.” This is set out in number 6 of the 39 Articles of Religion, the foundation document of Anglican theology from the 16th and 17th centuries.

Manuscript Fragments from Ben Sira, copyright JewishEncyclopedia.com

Broadly these books were written in the two centuries before Christ, by which time many Jews were living in a Greek speaking world outside the Holy Land. [Some of us prefer the expression “the land of the Holy One.”] So Hebrew books were translated into Greek and other books were written in Greek. All of this explains why many Protestant Bibles do not have these Apocryphal books included. The lectionaries used in our churches do often include a number of readings from these books: Tobit, Maccabees, the Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus are perhaps the most familiar from such use. Wisdom literature in the Hebrew Scriptures is represented in the widely differing books of Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiasticus stands in this tradition.

Right from chapter 1 reflects Proverbs 8 we may notice, as it considers the fear of the Lord and the personification of wisdom from the beginning of creation. This book is particularly similar to the book of Proverbs, and sometimes a bit easier to read. Perhaps the best known passage is chapter 44 beginning “Let us now praise famous men.” In fact, we heard this passage in one of our All Saints day services. The chapter unfolds in a way that suggests the author of Hebrews chapter 11 knew this passage well, when he wrote about heroes of faith.

Another surprise for some of us from Protestant backgrounds is the name Jesus in the alternative title. Yeshua or Jesus is the same name as Joshua meaning saviour. It was a popular personal name, as it remains in some cultures. It was no more shocking than the name Mohammed is in a Muslim family. English people today are discovering the name Jesus as a Christian name or surname among football players from other countries. A generation ago we would have been surprised and maybe shocked. There is nothing surprising or shocking in its use here.

Derek

Trinity 22 – November 1 to 6

Ecclesiastes is an unusual book. In broad terms it falls into the category of Wisdom books together with Proverbs and Job, and sections of other books both in the Old Testament and outside it. However, you will find Ecclesiastes reads quite differently from Job or Proverbs. In fact, I can’t think of anything quite like it.

There are some proverbial sayings and some longer wisdom reflections on the wise man and the foolish man or good government and unjust government. These are familiar themes from Proverbs, but from the opening of the book we are placed in a different kind of world. Qoheleth, the preacher or teacher, cries out “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” He is talking about vanity in the sense of emptiness, pointlessness. Here is a book of the Bible striking up a note of world weariness, even pessimism. This is a far cry from the politics of spin, which assumes everyone wishes to hear positive optimistic messages. Ecclesiastes is unashamedly realistic in facing the darkness of a world which does not conform to the instructions of its Creator. “All things are wearisome, more than one can express” and “There is nothing new under the sun.”

Colorized version of King Solomon in Old Age by Gustave Doré (1866); a depiction of the purported author of Ecclesiastes, according to rabbinic tradition.

You might think this is an unpromising start, and bizarre for a book of Scripture! Yet this unusual recipe means Ecclesiastes can tackle issues in a direct and challenging way. It is refreshing and at times feels startlingly contemporary. “What do people get from all their toil under the sun?” is the kind of question he asks. “Eat, drink and enjoy your work” is a typical response. There is a philosophical tone to some of the pages. It reaches poetic depth in passages like chapter 3: “For everything there is a season…a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted…” People of my generation will remember singers like Bob Dylan putting these words to twentieth century music. Some choose the words for reading at special occasions like weddings or funerals.

It is a book that expresses, like the prophets, a care for the justice of God in the affairs of the world. “Again I saw all the oppressions that are practised under the sun. Look, the tears of the oppressed – with no one to comfort them! On the side of their oppressors there was power – with no one to comfort them.”

Some of the lines in this book provide texts for preachers. “A threefold cord is not quickly broken” lends itself to wedding sermons about a couple inviting God to be the hidden presence in their marriage lending strength and stability to the relationship. “Guard your steps when you go to the house of God” is a text sometimes written above church doors or arches.

Other lines lay the ground for New Testament teaching, such as “Do not be quick to anger”. Some is practical wisdom for us as we get older: “Do not say Why were the former days better than these? For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.” Other words are addressed to the young: “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the days of trouble come.” Some should perhaps be kept away from many students until their courses are complete: “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” Remember wisdom always needs to be applied. The application calls for the Spirit’s gifts of wisdom too.

The Good Samaritan, Van Gogh

I have never checked this but do wonder whether Ecclesiastes speaks to some people going through the darkness of depression. Certainly it catches those moods of dark thoughts. The book ends by returning to the opening cry “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Summing up the preacher tells us “Fear God and keep His commandments.”

The Gospel of Luke continues to provide our New Testament passages. This Gospel contains many of the best loved narratives – we have already looked at the birth narratives of Jesus and John the Baptist. These middle chapters of Luke include some of the great parables of Jesus including the Good Samaritan. Chapter 15 is one of the great chapters of the whole Bible: three stories of lost and found tell of the lost coin, the lost sheep and the lost son. We had just arrived in one church and lost our children’s new kitten. After choir practice a number of them joined in the search. The following Sunday I was able to announce that those who wanted to know the outcome of our lost kitten should read Luke chapter 15!

Trinity 21 – October 25 to 30

The Book of Proverbs features in the Bible readings during this autumn.

The usual understanding of an English proverb is a saying that conveys some popular wisdom. When my grandmother told me “Never a lender or borrower be”, she was quoting a proverb from somewhere. You might think it is good advice or good in certain circumstances. Proverbs are typically like that. Sayings may be good guidance especially if you know how to apply them.

The biblical Book of Proverbs has some proverbs along those lines. One example is 25 verse 20 “Like vinegar on a wound is one who sings songs to a heavy heart.” It will usually be the case that jolly singing is not the way to bring cheer to your friends, when they are feeling down. However, there might be rare exceptions when it does help. It’s not just the saying, but the application of the saying that is part of the wisdom. Some sayings look as if they might be universally true. Verse 28 says “Like a city breached, without walls, is one who lacks self-control.” That seems like a description that would always hold true. Perhaps the application here is recognising in ourselves that lack of self-control. Some sayings are perhaps intended to be funny: 27 verse 14 “Whoever blesses a neighbour with a loud voice, rising early in the morning, will be counted as cursing.” Another family proverb I remember says “Many a true word is spoken in jest.” 

There are other things to discover in the biblical Book of Proverbs. The biblical understanding of wisdom has far more to it than one line sayings. The last half chapter in the book is a poem in praise of the “ideal wife.” Husbands beware! Not every wife will welcome this comparison! Again notice that wisdom includes recognising the time and place to apply wise words.

What is the difference between everyday wisdom, like that of my grandmother, and Bible wisdom? This is spelt out in the early chapters of Proverbs. As it says elsewhere in Scripture “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” What is this fear? After all, the Bible tells us that perfect love casts out fear. The fear of the Lord is about recognising who God is and who we are. You and I are not the centre of the universe, even if advertisers try to make us think we are. We are called to cultivate an attitude of awe and respect for the living God. When we do so, and only then, can we recognise how amazing it is that He makes us His children. We come to Him as Abba, Father, in a miraculous approach won for us by the Lord Jesus Christ. This is pure gift [grace is the New Testament word] and never an entitlement.

The Agia Sophia

Sometimes wisdom is very close to knowledge, but it also transcends knowledge. One of the famous quotations from this book, 3 verses 5 and 6, tells us “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths.” We are not to spurn knowledge or science, but we are called to set it in a context of honouring the Lord. There may be things scientific knowledge makes possible, but it does not tell us whether those things are wise.

The early chapters of this book talk about wisdom as if she were a person. This tradition of “holy wisdom” is so strong that many churches have been dedicated to her, none greater than Agia Sophia in what was Constantinople, now no longer used as a church in Istanbul. For centuries it was the greatest church building known in the world. More important than any building is the description in chapter 8. Wisdom calls out her challenge to people to learn from her and discover true life. Verses 22 to 31 in particular describes wisdom at the beginning of creation and its role in the whole creative purpose of God. This passage is almost a bridge between the account of Creation in Genesis 1 and the account of the Incarnation in John’s Gospel chapter 1.

Yes, wisdom has the practicalities of daily life in its sights, but it is also so much more. Wisdom is at the heart of God’s purposes in Creation and Salvation. In the visionary prologue to the Gospel of St John wisdom is lying just below the surface as part of the very life of God Himself, the mystery of the Holy Trinity, come to earth in the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Trinity 20 – October 18 to 23

2 Timothy and Titus are among this week’s passages. Together with 1 Timothy which we read recently these form the Pastoral Epistles. We meet Timothy and Titus as companions of Paul in the Acts of the Apostles. Paul was training a new generation of church leaders. Paul writes of their relationship with him as one like that of father and child.

Timothy and Lois, Willem Drost (1650s)

2 Timothy displays particular affection. Paul describes the faith of Timothy’s grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Timothy’s own faith is seen as something passed on by these godly women in the family. It also describes Paul laying hands on Timothy. Paul says the gift of God came to Timothy through this laying on of hands and encourages Timothy to rekindle this gift. One of the memorable verses comes at this point. Timothy had received a spirit of power and love and self-control. This self-control is a word that can describe horse riding. Picture that Olympic discipline of dressage when a rider directs the horse with the lightest of touches on the reins. Such is the self-discipline or control being described here.

This short book has many other personal references to those who have been supports to Paul and his ministry as well as those whose behaviour has been destructive. Timothy is warned to beware of some, who oppose the message, sow divisions and undermine sound teaching. He receives commendations of others and even bits of personal information. There are journeys described around the Roman Empire such as Thessalonica, Ephesus, Dalmatia and Troas. In contemporary political arrangements this includes Greece, Turkey and Croatia. Manuscripts have a variant about whether Crescens had gone to Galatia or Gaul. [We can only hope that Crescens knew whether he was heading for Turkey or France]! Extraordinary journeys were made possible by the engineering and political power of the Roman Empire.

The personal interest level is raised by mention of Titus, Mark and Luke. Titus is the other companion we come to next. Luke probably refers to the doctor companion of Paul we meet in Acts. The real teaser is Mark described as “useful in my ministry.” Is this the same John Mark who abandoned Paul and Barnabas on the first great missionary journey in Acts 13? His desertion, as Paul saw it, became the cause of Paul and Barnabas going on separate missions the next time. It would certainly be inspiring if this Mark is the Paul now describes as useful in his ministry. In fairness we should recognise that Mark was one of the more common names at that time.

The themes of this letter emerge clearly. Suffering is a description used again and again of Paul’s ministry. Timothy is urged to courage in his ministry. This suffering should not put him off or interfere with his commitment to the faith and to sound teaching. There are others who use false teaching as a means for their own advantage. These are the very ones the letter warns against. At the end of chapter 3 Timothy is encouraged to stand firm in the teaching of the Scriptures he has known since childhood. The text provides a classic account of the value of Scripture. One of the words used means God-breathed. Books such as this one were originally written for a particular purpose, yet God works through these words to breathe the life of His Spirit to people of every time and place.

Titus ordained by Paul

The Letter to Titus has all kinds of similarities to 1 and 2 Timothy. Again we find an exhortation to a younger church leader to be confident in his calling and equipping against those who would undermine godly teaching and behaviour. Again we find personal references. The personal names receive commendation in this letter, but Paul must have had a bad experience of Crete, where Titus was serving. Since the New Testament age Crete has been a place of great faithfulness to Christianity through much suffering. It would be nice to think this letter had been a spur to faith and action.

Titus has a description of the qualities desired for bishops or overseers in the church just like that in 1 Timothy. Older men, older women, young men and slaves each receive advice on godly living for their situations. In a different kind of world we may work out the equivalent advice for how to live godly lives ourselves. The letter discourages myths and speculations, preferring a faith that expresses itself in good deeds.

A word at the start and end of this letter also inspires a key section in the middle – grace chapter 2 verse 11. Grace is that overflowing generosity of God. We receive it undeserved because off all that God has done for us in Christ. The other great outburst of theology and faith comes in chapter 3 verses 4 – 7.

God is our Saviour full of goodness, loving kindness, righteousness and mercy. He appeared through Jesus Christ and brought us the water of new birth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. His justification makes us heirs of hope in eternal life.

Trinity 19 – October 11 to 16

Luke continues in the sequence of readings. We had those first 2 chapters, a unique piece of writing. Now we follow chapters 4 to 9. These are covering similar ground to parts of Matthew and Mark such as the parable of the sower. First though, a word about chapter 3 may help us notice a particular interest in this Gospel. Luke roots his account in history. He does so in at least two ways. The beginning of John the Baptist’s ministry is dated by cross referencing rulers in half a dozen territories. Then Luke traces a genealogy of Jesus right back to Adam. Matthew has a genealogy from Abraham to locate Jesus in the salvation history of God’s people Israel. Luke is locating Jesus in the context of the whole human race. Luke is going on to show how Jesus crossed boundaries to reach people of different backgrounds.

St. Luke by Frans Hals (1625)

Many people are familiar with the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5 – 7. Luke has a shorter Sermon on the Plain in the later part of chapter 6. It covers similar ground but may strike some as political. Where Matthew recalls “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Luke recalls “Blessed are the poor.” In some parts of the British Empire in centuries past, the church was told to avoid singing Mary’s song in Luke 1 about “lifting up the lowly and meek” and “bringing down the mighty from their seat”. I have forgotten too much of Pieter Geyl’s history of the Netherlands to know if the anxieties of the rulers of the Dutch Empire were similar.

These chapters also include the healing of a Centurion’s servant, the raising to life of the son of the widow of Nain, the visit to the home of Simon the Pharisee and the naming of several women disciples. There are some parallels to these in the other Gospels, but Luke is the most obvious in his emphasis on Jesus reaching out to the vulnerable and his focus on Jesus forgiving sinners. It is sometimes these features and emphases that make this the most readable of the Gospels.

1 Timothy is one of this week’s books. What helps us unravel its content?
It is generally regarded as the first of a set of 3 letters collectively known as the Pastoral Epistles. The other two are 2 Timothy and Titus. These letters address issues arising in the second phase of life in the New Testament church. The first phase is represented by such letters as Galatians written in the heat of argument or Romans addressing matters in a more measured way.

What seems to be going on in the background of 1 Timothy? Or, to put that differently, what kind of questions prompt these sorts of answers? The correspondence is between Paul, the founding missionary of many New Testament churches, and Timothy, one of his chief helpers. Their relationship is portrayed as spiritual father and son. In a culture which held old age in high esteem, Timothy is urged to exercise leadership in spite of his youth.

The key qualifications and qualities of leaders are a major issue in 1 Timothy. Overseers/bishops are one set of leaders discussed and deacons are another. Before long this distinction would find a more settled pattern of bishops, priests/presbyters and deacons. Earlier than this the patterns of leadership were described in terms of apostles and deacons. Exactly what each label might have meant in New Testament churches is a source of endless discussion. Firm views about these things may tell you more about the person with the firm view than it does about New Testament churches.

What we can see emerging is a set of criteria to describe people suitable for public ministry. The criteria tell us something about the people who are forming the church at the time 1 Timothy was written. So, the fact that “married only to one wife” is specified for overseers and for deacons implies that some church members had more than one wife. Converts were coming from different backgrounds, cultures and experiences in the cosmopolitan cities of the Roman Empire.

The Library of Celsus, Ephesus

The particular city concerned here was Ephesus, an important trading centre with a prominent religious devotion to Diana or Artemis [Roman and Greek names respectively]. The rituals and words of this local religion were expressed by priestesses. It could well be that the section of the letter requiring silence of women and requiring them not to teach were particular to this situation where converts among the priestesses, or other women copying their behaviours, were causing problems in the Ephesian church. The scandalous behaviour deemed appropriate in the religion of Diana/Artemis was not acceptable in the Christian church. Silent learning for women was a means of building the church at that time in that place.

My friend Don grew up in a twentieth century church that believed this letter should be directly applied to its own situation. The curious result, he said, was that women went out from this church into the mission field converting many [not silently], while the home church withered and died.

So, it is important to identify what questions were being asked, before we apply the answers in other contexts. This is an interesting question to explore in relation to what the letter says about widows who will be put on the church’s “widows to be supported” list. There are some assumptions about most women being married which look reasonable in some churches I have seen, and completely wrong about other churches I have seen. There are other assumptions about economic status and freedom for women in first century Ephesus that seem not apply to twenty first century Utrecht.

Therefore, the task of application is to try and ascertain the underlying principles, before seeking to apply them. There are responsibilities of mutual care in church life, and it is important to prevent people taking advantage of the provision arising out of this mutual care. It is not the church’s role to replace the human family and take over its responsibilities. It is the church’s role to try to be aware of the gaps in human families and societies, especially among its own members, and to have a special care for those who might slip through these gaps.

Among the issues addressed in this letter are prayer for governments and the love of money. Notice that governments need our prayer, irrespective of how wise, competent and godly we consider them to be. Notice too, that it is not money in itself that is the root of all evil, but the love of money. You can go on finding questions raised in this letter. What can you find?


Trinity 18 – October 4 to 9

Ephesians is just 6 chapters, but its importance to our faith is hugely more than its size might suggest. It is later than most of Paul’s letters and has fewer references to individual Christians. Whatever the scholars make of its character they agree that there is a mature theology in this letter. Not knowing the Dutch language I had first thought Belegen as a label on cheese was a placename like Gouda, and then realised it described something about age and development! If it’s not irreverent, Ephesians is a bit like this, a matured understanding of the Gospel.

The first 3 chapters contain amazing insight into the plans and purposes of God in Christ from before the foundation of the world. It tells of God’s desire to rescue His whole creation. It tells us of God’s Spirit bringing unity to His people through the saving work of Christ. Often the theological revelation bursts into prayer and praise. It is written not just with profound ideas but with excitement. It is nothing to find ten verses in a single sentence. Maybe Paul was speaking it aloud and some poor secretary was scribbling away furiously to keep up. He does tell us in some letters that he is dictating to a faithful assistant.

Chapter 4 has a key word, “therefore”. This is the turning point from “look at what God has done” to “what do we need to do about it?” A similar turning point comes in Romans 12 verse 1, for example. So, in Ephesians chapters 1 -3 we have seen God’s work in Christ by the power of His Spirit. He has created unity between the rational and the spiritual, between male and female, between races and classes. Now we are called to live out that unity He has created. God equips His people with gifts. Now we are called to use those gifts for the building up of the body of Christ, the Church. He has created human families. Now we are called to live family life in mutual love and respect. He has conquered the powers of evil. Now we are called to confront evil in His strength, with His spiritual protection and without fear. These are the chapters for this week. You could read the whole letter in a few minutes, and you could find yourself just scratching the surface after a whole lifetime. When Sunday readings are put together in a lectionary [the bits chosen for reading in church], there is a very good reason why Ephesians features prominently. Don’t let that put you off; this is not just a letter for great minds; it is a letter for all who are learning to follow Jesus.

Scenes from the life of Job, Unknown Master, Flemish (active 1475-1500 in Brussels)

Job is an unusual book in so many ways. When was written? I have seen claims that it was one of the earliest books of the Bible written and claims that it was one of the last books of the Old Testament to be written. There must be more productive questions to bring! The first 2 chapters and the end of the book tell the story of a righteous man experiencing unspeakable suffering and then finally experiencing God’s restored blessing, that Shalom, that peace which passes human understanding. The vast bulk of the book in between is in poetry rather than prose. Most of it is a series of speeches representing a dialogue, an impassioned debate between Job and his friends about the reason for this suffering. At its simplest the “friends” tell Job that sin causes suffering. They try to defend God’s honour and assume that Job must be in the wrong. Job pleads his case as an “innocent” man struggling to make sense of the situation. 

Eventually God declares against the friends who are wrong about Job and wrong about God. God goes on to address Job and challenges him for presuming to understand things beyond man’s grasp. Job agrees that he cannot begin to fathom the mysteries of creation, life, and suffering. Along the way we have some awe and wonder interludes about the depths of the earth in chapter 28 and about the creatures of earth and sea.

 There are all sorts of implications. One is that we need to be especially careful about quoting verses from this book out of context. There are views presented which we are later told are wrong or at best very partial. So suffering is not a litmus test of faithfulness to God. Beware preachers who promise health, wealth and prosperity to their followers! There is no simple answer to the mysteries and problems of suffering. The Bible does have things to say about these matters, but not neat and tidy answers. We need to be so careful of thinking we have “answers” to the challenges of other people’s lives. The best thing Job’s friends do in this book is probably when they sit down in silence with him. Even so, there are points along the way where God speaks very clearly to us.

At one time I used to meet an organist a few minutes before a funeral service, and she would ask me about the music. If the person who had died was a farming family like herself, she would play “Sheep may safely graze”. Where I felt we all needed to hear the good news of God’s promises afresh, I would ask for Handel’s music to the verse from Job “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” The glorious good news at the heart of our wrestling with suffering. However many things we do not know or understand, we do know that the Lord Jesus is alive now and for ever.   DS


Trinity 17 September 27-October 2

Philemon is the shortest letter of St Paul and one of the shortest books in the Bible. It is a person to person letter more than any other. [The letters to Timothy and Titus are partly personal but go on to address matters of church order and organisation]. A question I often find a useful way into a Scripture is to ask “what is it doing here?” In other words, why would God have wanted this document to communicate with us? 

Philemon is a delightful and moving appeal by Paul to a fellow Christian, Philemon, on behalf of Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus. The letter and other parts of the Bible assume the institution of slavery in the background, which we may find challenging. Christian relationships and mutual responsibilities are addressed in a fallen world, where institutions as well as individuals are fallen. God’s salvation can begin now, even though the fulfilment of His kingdom lies in the future.

One of the features of this is the circle of fellowship among believers both around Philemon and around Paul, who is “in prison”, perhaps in modern terminology under house arrest. Greetings are being sent between these people separated by huge distance, and presently unable to greet one another in person. How many of our family and friends are far away, out of reach, separated for long periods during a pandemic? Christian fellowship may be even more keenly felt in such times.

Simeon welcomes the infant Jesus as the Light of the world

St Luke chapters 1 and 2 are a distinctive section of the Gospels. Mark and John begin their accounts with John the Baptist and the Baptism of Jesus at perhaps 30 years of age. Matthew addresses Joseph’s story, the visit of the Wise Men, the role of Herod and the flight into Egypt. Luke covers different ground entirely. These two chapters introduce a series of characters, Zechariah & Elizabeth, the birth of John the Baptist, Mary & Joseph, the birth of Jesus, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna. To this impressive cast we should, of course, add Gabriel and the host of angels.

Think of the impact of these two chapters on art through history. That would include the stained glass windows of Holy Trinity Utrecht. Early Christian tradition depicts Luke as an icon painter, in particular painting Mary and the infant Jesus. Certainly, this Gospel paints an amazing narrative picture. What do we find here?

We find faithful servants of God receiving revelation about God’s initiative of salvation. Zechariah struggles to believe at first, but he comes through in the end. Echoing Old Testament Psalms and prophecies the characters keep bursting into songs of praise under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Zechariah’s song we call the Benedictus, Mary’s song we call the Magnificat and Simeon’s song we call the Nunc Dimittis, each by their opening words in Latin. The angels are singing too.

These two chapters overflow with the work of the Holy Spirit, with God’s work of salvation, with the coming of the Messiah, with ordinary people of God released into praise. As people might say, this is not just a message for Christmas. Now as then, God comes. He comes to people ordinary in the eyes of the world. He comes to save. He invites praise and releases His people in praise. What kind of response can we begin to make to such an amazing, generous and loving God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit? 

Derek Smith