Over the past week these are the Thoughts that were shared with our church community at Montrose Baptist Church. Every week we have done this since March 23, and it has become an important part of our shared life. It will continue beyond the current crisis.

We have resumed services, with all health measures in place, and are adapting to the strangeness. But whatever the limitations, there is something deeply hopeful about us gathering to pray, to read Scripture, to see each other, and listen to music and word. 

Thought for the Day

Monday

2 Corinthians 1.3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort…”

Compassion and mercy have their origins and starting point in the heart of God. Jesus taught us to call God our Father, and Paul gives praise that the God and Father of Jesus is one whose compassions never fail, and whose presence is comfort enough, because it is the presence of eternal love in the daily time scale of our lives.

Tuesday

Romans 15.13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Read that verse again. Pick out the big words. Hope. Joy. Peace. Trust. But the first one is hope. Hope is so closely tied to God, that God is described as the God of hope. All hope starts in the eternal purpose and inexhaustible love of God. And as we trust in Christ who is the hope of God incarnate, so joy, peace, trust arise in our hearts.

Wednesday

Hebrews 13.20 “Now may the God of peace…equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever, Amen.

The God of peace has his work cut out, in a world that is fragmented and divided by all kinds of differences, prejudices, hatreds and inequalities. But all the resources of eternal love, infinite grace, and creative power came together in our Lord Jesus, crucified and risen. The God of peace is at work through the church, and through every follower of Jesus who shines like the stars on a dark night, as we bear witness to the Gospel of truth and life.

Thursday

James 1. 17 “Every good and perfect gift is from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” 

“Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these stars, the One who brings out the stars by number and calls all of them by name.” (Isaiah 40.16) If God is the absolutely trustworthy curator of the stars, he can be depended on to look after us. In all the shifting shadows of life circumstances God is the one true constant. “Great is thy faithfulness….thou changest not, thy compassions they fail not.”

Friday

John 4. 24. “God is Spirit, and those who worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The Bible is very clear about what true worship is. “Surely you desire truth in the inward parts…” cried David. He went on to pray, “Create in me a pure heart O God.” Integrity is when what we say to God in our hearts, is lived out in our actions, spoken in our words, and thought in our minds, so that our prayers and actions are integrated. That is true worship, the integration of prayer and life.

Saturday

I John 1.5 “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

Light is one of John’s most used ideas. If we want to know what it means to live in the light of God, John said that very clearly in the Gospel: “Whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.” In the end truth isn’t only about telling the truth, it is about living the telling truth, that we are followers of Jesus, and witnesses to the love of God.

Sunday

1 John 4.16 “God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him. In this way love is made complete in us…”

‘God is love’ doesn’t mean we have a free ticket. If we say we love God but hate someone, we are not doing the truth. If we can’t bring ourselves to love people we see every day, family, fellow Christians, neighbour or colleague, how can we say we love God whom we haven’t seen? To ask the God who is love into our lives, is to commit to being a person through whom the love of God is there for all to see. 

I will quote the inestimable F F Bruce somewhere in the service tomorrow:

"The Christian community is to be a little welfare state,

a society practicing mutual aid among its members

in spiritual and material respects alike.

Within its fellowship those who need help should be given the help they need….

it is a ministry in which all can have a share.

The timid must be encouraged,

the weak must be strengthened,

those who stray must be led back to the right path,

and all must be treated with patience –

especially those who make the greatest demands on the patience of their fellow Christians."

(Thessalonians, Word Biblical Commentary, pp. 126-7.)

Act of Remembrance.

Today we remember those who are casualties of war and military conflict – men and women of armed forces; families who live in dread and those who have lost sons and daughters, parents, wives and husbands; those who now live with the ongoing legacy of injury to body and mind, traumatised in spirit, memory, and seeking to rebuild their inner world.

We remember all who are caught in the crossfire of conflict, the wrong place at the wrong time, acceptable losses, collateral damage, civilian casualties, the vocabulary of evasion because we know that such loss and suffering is wrong, however right any cause.

So we acknowledge our capacity to hurt and to waste, to see the other as the enemy. Yet we ask with anguished hearts, how else can we protect our lives and our own nation – the double bind of making peace by conflict, of making secure by making war, of having to threaten and retaliate when threatened or attacked.

May God lead us in the ways of peace – make us witnesses of reconciliation – give us a holy impatience with the short cuts and the political expediencies. And yes, give us courage to question assumptions that conflict is inevitable in a globalised, polarised and destabilised world. God help us to see all those structures of violent power, of oppressive ideas, of instilled hostility, as part of that great song of the ruthless, and help us to silence it –

by persistent, patient actions of peace,

by resilient, responsive acts of reconciliation,

by gentle, gracious words of goodness,

by faith-filled, faithful prayers of friendship,

by holy, hopeful gestures of  healing.

Let us, therefore, remember in silence before God, all those who died in the two World wars, and those who have died in the conflicts that have continued to ravage our world. In the silence we pray to the God of peace, for those whose lives have been taken in conflict, those who have suffered injury of body and mind, and we will seek the healing peace and reconciling forgiveness of God.

The life and thought of Dietrich Bonhoeffer persists as an essential and critical voice even seventy five years after his death. There are so many reasons to pay attention to the occasional writings and speakings of Bonhoeffer; but in our time of fractious politics, slow and sometimes blatant power grabs, growing support for right wing populism and uncritical adulation of the strong leader, it is the radically uncompromising call and cost of discipleship in following Jesus that challenges Christian communities to decide where ultimate allegiance lies. This is Bonhoeffer the pastor, preaching a Confirmation sermon in 1938. The date is essential context, and the words are explosive in their political as well as theological and spiritual reverberations:   

"You have only one master now…But with this 'yes' to God belongs just as clear a 'no.' Your 'yes' to God requires your 'no' to all injustice, to all evil, to all lies, to all oppression and violation of the weak and poor, to all ungodliness, and to all mockery of what is holy. Your 'yes' to God requires a 'no' to everything that tries to interfere with your serving God alone, even if that is your job, your possessions, your home, or your honour in the world. Belief means decision."

Preached to young Christians facing what we now know as life in one of the most violent, lethal and merciless regimes in European history. The use of the word "master" is likewise laden with intentional contrast, and implies an either-or from which there can be no compromising third choice. One master. Who is it to be? Yes to God means 'no' to all other powers demanding final loyalty of mind, heart, soul and body. Belief means decision, not only one single decision after which it is business as usual; but a confirming decision that means all other decisions take their direction from that living and central commitment to Jesus Christ.

What makes Bonhoeffer such a necessary discomfort to those who are at ease in Zion is his reiteration of the radical, risk-laden demands of the Gospel of Christ. Earlier translations of his book on discipleship were titled, The Cost of Discipleship.The critical edition is more accurate in the technical sense of the one word title: Discipleship. However commendable that title, it remains the case that Bonhoeffer's relentless emphasis on the nature of Christian following of Jesus focused on the cost of discipleship. That cost was inevitable and the sine qua non of faithfulness to God, and the authenticating hallmark of a life following the way of Jesus Christ, bearing a cross and headed for Calvary.

The words from the confirmation sermon were not intended as comfortable invitation to convenient respectability, but as warning and call to a lifestyle and inner orientation at odds with all that is at odds with the way of Jesus. In other words this ongoing 'yes' compels a recurring 'no' to all that demands a different loyalty to alternative values and competing life goals. The life goal of the disciple is to be faithful to Christ, the values are rooted in the commitment of God in Christ to a reconciled world, and that 'Yes' carries within it a lifelong capacity for saying no; and Bonhoeffer is explicit in what is to be contradicted.

"God requires your 'no' to all injustice, to all evil, to all lies, to all oppression and violation of the weak and poor, to all ungodliness, and to all mockery of what is holy."

Those words are freighted with responsibility for the way we live our lives in the 2020 world of political and social divisions. One of the more easily overlooked features of contemporary life is the mockery of what is holy. That isn't new either, it was a social toxin flowing through the veins of National Socialism and its effect was the weakening of the immune system, making minds and wills less receptive and increasingly resistant to moral values of human worth, dignity and fundamental rights. 

The mockery of what is holy is a theological version of the cliche 'nothing is sacred anymore'. But when that which one group in society reveres and holds as of essential value to their lives is mocked, ignored, or treated as trivial, the result is a dangerous diminishing of human capital and ethical safeguards. Bonhoeffer saw that happening over the years before the 1938 sermon. The mockery of what a society has deemed to be holy, pushes back boundaries and rewrites in coarser and less humane language what is acceptable, decent and for the common good. Eventually people themselves, those who hold on to what is holy and to be respected by consensus, are themselves mocked, diminished, and devalued.

At that point Bonhoeffer could see with prophetic clarity, the fundamental Yes to God which orients the whole of life, demanded a faithful No to all in life that contradicts justice, goodness, truth, freedom, care for the weak and poor, and reverence for the holy. Yes implies No. You cannot serve God wholeheartedly and something else at the same time. The criterion for the Christian is the cross of Christ, a dying to all other claims on our will, conscience, heart, mind and body.

I find these words of Bonhoeffer so uncomfortably apt in 2020 Britain and beyond. But I know of no other way to be faithful to the fundamental Yes I've said to God as a Christian, than to say with continuing conviction, and with relentless faithfulness, No. No to words that are lies; No to policies which humiliate and threaten the poor; No to policies of injustice and callous disregard for refugees and immigrants; No to hostile environments, to racism and antisemitism; No to the abuses of power when it is used to remove the very levers put in place to hold power accountable; No to the rhetoric of division; No to the deifying of capital, money, wealth, stuff and its consequent global inequity; and No to the laying waste of the only planet we have, in pursuit of all the above.

And in all those sayings of No, those who follow Jesus faithfully in the 21st Century do so fully  recognising that the cost of discipleship is stated very plainly. Say Yes to God, and you say No to much else that is taken for granted as the way the world works. 

(The sermon 'The Gift of Faith', was preached on April 9, 1938. See The Collected Sermons of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, (ed) Isabel Best, (Minneapolis: Fortress, 2012, pp. 201-206)   

An autumn red leaf,

beside green clover wet with still falling rain,

resting an inch from the dirt path.

A serendipitous coalescence of images,

gifted to us in those rare unlooked for moments of significant seeing,

when we are spoken to,

and the word we hear is Yes.

   Whimsical Haiku
Beside today's path,
a providential arrow
or mere fallen leaf?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thought for the Day 

Monday 19

Psalm 23.1 “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

The first word is the name of God, the one who promised to be the faithful guide and strong protector of Israel. And it’s personal, because the Lord is my Shepherd; he knows your name, your face and your heart. In Scripture the shepherd is often to illustrate God’s strength, care and always promised presence. The Lord is the Shepherd of the ninety nine, and the one who is in trouble. 

Tuesday 20

Psalm 23.2 “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, he restores my soul.”

There is both tenderness and toughness in the shepherd who knows how to look after sheep. Rest and nourishment are needed to keep the body healthy; but the Shepherd of our souls cares for our whole being. Sometimes our inner spirit is frayed, and our heart is weary. The Lord, our Shepherd looks after us, providing the nourishment of his Word, inviting us into the stillness of prayer, and the ministry of the soul-restoring Holy Spirit.

Wednesday 21 

Psalm 23.3 “He guides me in paths of righteousness, for his name’s sake.”

This Psalm is about God taking initiatives. “He makes me lie down…he leads…he restores…he guides.” God leads us in right paths. Sometimes we might think we know better, but God knows the future, as well as our past and present. He will bring us to the right place. God’s name is true and his promise is faithful, and for his name’s sake he will go ahead of us, guide us and be there with us and for us.

Thursday 22

Psalm 23.4 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

Faith sometimes has a note of defiance. “Even though, no matter what, I will fear no evil…” Fear isn’t a choice; sometimes we are afraid, scared and anxious. Faith is not the absence of fear, it is the movement of the heart turning from whatever we fear, to the God we have learned to trust no matter what. Even though life becomes scary, God is still there, “you are with me”. Comfort is the sense of being surrounded by a strength greater than our own. “The Lord is my Shepherd…..you are with me.”

Friday 23

Psalm 23 5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.”

This is God as host, the hospitable God who provides rest, friendship, food and his own presence. To anoint the head is a sign of honour and welcome. The table is laden, the cup is never empty. We are shepherded to the best seat, at the best table, to eat the best food. In the presence of all in life that threatens us, God sets a table, and anoints us with the Spirit. Think of bread broken, and wine poured out, Christ’s presence and the communion of saints.

Saturday

Psalm 23.6 “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.” 

The Shepherd goes ahead, leads, guides, protects and looks after the sheep. The Psalm finishes by saying that all the way we have travelled we have been followed, by goodness and mercy. God’s blessings are often most clearly understood when we stop and look back the road we have come. Then, looking forward, the confident hope that “in my Father’s house are many dwelling places”, and one of them has our name on it.

Sunday

Revelation 7.17 “For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Psalm 23, and this verse are often sung or read at a funeral service. There’s a reason for that. Sometimes we need pictures and memories to express our faith in the hard to describe grace, love and mercy of God. The Lord is our Shepherd, Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Through Christ we come to springs of living water, springing up to eternal life. The image of God wiping away tears is one of the most tender verses in the whole Bible. The Lord of all creation moved by the tears of his creatures.

We've all had to find our own ways of coping with a restricted way of life while we co-exist with Covid 19. Apparently lots of folk have been tuning in to Bob Ross, the American painter, instructor and television host on his own programme, The Joy of Painting. It helps them sleep during the anxieties of daily life that have become everyday experience for all of us, they say. If you've never watched him, he can be found on BBC 4 IPlayer and there are dozens of programmes.

His soft playful voice, gentle enthusiasm, conversational style, make watching him at work a form of therapy for the imagination. Even the titles, often in unapologetic clichés,  sound like an invitation to somewhere not far from Eden: Twilight Meadow, Bubbling Brook, Winter Stillness, Cabin in the Woods, Lazy River. But nearly all of his paintings have trees; foreground, background, on horizons, up close, forests of fir trees, dominant, solitary majestic pines, unobtrusive thickets, low hanging branches over lakes and streams – all over the place, trees. This is the man whose words became a meme, “There is nothing wrong with having a tree as a friend.” I agree. Wholeheartedly. Without reserve. 

I don't paint, at least not with oil, acrylic or watercolour. If mixing and working stranded cotton counts, then I paint in textiles. But I do take photographs, and amongst my favourite subjects are trees. During these past months we have done a forest walk most days. The paths, the trees, the flora, lately the fungi, the wildlife, all have been sources of healing and quietening. But the trees? They have become familiar companions, known faces, and we have enjoyed them through early spring, summer, and now well into autumn. 

Trees are a big deal in the Bible. From the Tree of Life to the avenues of trees in the Holy City, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. My favourite prophet, Deutero-Isaiah,had a soft spot for trees. There is that word painting of nature's loud applause of the Creator at the end of chapter 55:

You will go out in joy
    and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
    will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
    will clap their hands.
   Instead of the thornbush will grow the cypress,
    and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the Lord’s renown,
    for an everlasting sign,
    that will endure forever.” 

Walking along the banks of the River Dee yesterday, these trees were applauding in colour. Isaiah 55 is a chapter deeply rooted in faith and hope, faith in the God of new beginnings, and hope that the prophet and people will be part of that new thing which God will do. That phrase, "Instead of" is a summons to comparisons. Instead of this, that!  Instead of the wounding scrubby thornbush, the elegant tall cypress; instead of tearing briars, the beautiful myrtle, its flowers and leaves used by brides and in victory parades. Isaiah is anticipating the reversal of the curse and the fall, when God renews the earth and the whole creation rejoices and bursts into applause.

Going back to people who have found some solace and quietening in watching Bob Ross painting, it isn't difficult to imagine the sheer tedium of chronic anxiety, and for many the slow erosion of emotional nutrients as we all try to cope with distancing, face coverings, and the prohibitions on gathering together for mutual comfort, support and companionship. Isaiah's words are a promised interruption to the tedium, and a confident looking forward to the shared rejoicing of those who may now be near despair. The words that come before the promise of applauding trees are the words from which faith springs and hope flourishes:

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
 As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

The uncertainty and widespread suffering caused by Covid 19 has taken a huge toll across our world. There is no end in sight and while there are many reasons to be hopeful, and much that encourages us in the kindness, cleverness and commitment of all kinds of people, it's clear that life will not be back to normal any time soon.

Isaiah, and his love of trees, is a contrary voice to those inner anxieties and persistently negative voices that are in danger of undermining our faith and our hope. We will rejoice together again. Our thoughts are always limited, often self-concerned, and understandably preoccupied with those corrosively worrying what ifs. God's thoughts are different. There is a heaven of difference between God's thoughts and ours, between God's words and our speechless fears. God's promises are made in words, and his words don't bounce back empty – they accomplish and achieve God's purposes.

These trees I have come to know as signposts on our walks. One day they, or their seeds some time down the years, will clap their hands at the surprising joyfulness that surges through a creation being made new. The cypress will point the way, and the myrtle will clothe the roadsides with the flowers and foliage of a cosmic celebration. Sometimes, just sometimes, theology requires imagination unplugged. That's how hope is sustained, by thinking the previously unthinkable, and by a vision as ludicrously hopeful and Godlike as trees applauding a world made new.