Come and See

Posted on by korgrocker

“The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could he possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see him.”
John 4:28-30 NLT

Something remarkable suddenly happened after the disciples returned from their quest for finding their lunch. The Samaritan woman left her water pot by the well and rushed off in the direction of the village, which was about a kilometre away. Water pots were valuable items so to leave one behind was practically unheard of. And then she ran, we are told in John’s account. No-one ran in that climate, at least in the middle of the day. But it was the message that made an impression on the village of Sychar. Why should anyone have taken any notice of her, particularly in view of her reputation? But because of her message, which must have been totally out of character, those people who were available “came streaming from the village to see” Jesus.

It is a sad reflection on the society in which we live, that if I rushed out into the street where I live and started to shout out a message of what Jesus had done for me, then the most likely outcome would be that the police would be called and I was subsequently cautioned for disturbing the peace! There may even have followed some form of encouragement to go and see a doctor or psychiatrist. But in 1st Century Samaria, there was a significant response to what the woman had to say. People there responded to the message.

So in 21st Century society a different way of communicating excitement about Jesus has to be found. But how do we pilgrims connect with this cynical and sceptical generation? The people around us mostly consider that they are too sophisticated or intelligent to believe in this Jesus. Their minds have been corrupted by science and technology to believe lies. The people have become hardened against hearing the whisper of the Holy Spirit. The people’s consciences don’t work in the way they should anymore. Instead, false religions are springing up to deliver the words that they want to hear rather than the message they need to respond to. False religions that deny the existence of God and replace Him  with their man-made ideologies and idols. But Peter warned believers about this, in 2 Peter 4:3-4, ”For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths.“

We pilgrims pray for this generation, and keep on praying. And our prayers reverberate around Heavenly places right to our Father’s throne. We pray for hearts to be softened, and for the Holy Spirit to cut through all the lies and deception that prevail. We lift up our friends and family into God’s presence with our prayers, believing for miracles of conversion, believing that God can change hearts of stone into hearts of flesh once again. “Come and see” is the message we proclaim, because Jesus brought healing and salvation to us believers. But when those around us look at us, what do they see? Is it worth coming for? Are we closet Christians who are hunkered down waiting for the time when we cross the Great Divide into God’s presence? Or have we left our “water pots”, things that are precious and even necessary in this life, to cry out “Come and see”. Only Jesus has anything worth saying in this life, and we pilgrims are the only ones who can encourage those around us to join us in His presence.

Dear Father God. In a generation that is inventing its own religions, we know that there is only one way to You. Please help us reach those who are desperately searching for the truth, but are looking in all the wrong places. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Change the Subject

Posted on by korgrocker

““I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!” “Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?””
John 4:17-20 NLT

The conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman turned from talking about water to a prophetic word of knowledge from Jesus about the woman’s marital experiences. To have five failed marriage behind her and now a less formal relationship with number six, was remarkable and presumably uncomfortable and embarrassing for the woman. So she hurriedly moved the conversation on again, this time to introduce what was probably a contentious situation between the Jews and Samaritans over worship and where it could legitimately take place. 

The Jews of course focused their worship on the Temple in Jerusalem, but there was also much history behind Mount Gerizim. We read in Deuteronomy 27 how Moses instructed half of the Israelite tribes to stand on Mount Gerizim, with the other half standing on the other mountain across the valley, Mount Ebal. We read in Deuteronomy 27:11-13, “That same day Moses also gave this charge to the people: “When you cross the Jordan River, the tribes of Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin must stand on Mount Gerizim to proclaim a blessing over the people. And the tribes of Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali must stand on Mount Ebal to proclaim a curse”. Gerizim became known as the Mount of Blessing, and the Samaritans built a temple there.

So the Jews and Samaritans sadly found something else to argue about, and the Samaritan woman used the conflict  to try and regain the initiative in the conversation with Jesus. She wasn’t sure what was coming in the debate about husbands so finding safer territory about something less personal became important. This is a technique found in conversations in society today, and publicly many politicians have honed this diversionary tactic to perfection. So often a question is asked and the answer seems to be totally unrelated and unexpected. Attempts to refocus the question generally fail.

So how do we pilgrims converse with others, particularly in a society which is becoming less tolerant of “free speech” and wishes to promote ideologies at variance with Biblical beliefs? Two words regularly crop up in Scriptures – honesty and integrity. Using evasive methods to avoid answering questions brings us, perhaps, to Proverbs 12:22, “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, But those who deal truthfully are His delight“. Once again, in a world of change, with a society becoming more and more secular, with the rejection of God and His Book, the Bible, it is good to delve into the Scriptures that have stood the test of time and are as true today as when they were written. So we pilgrims pursue honesty and integrity, speaking truths on every occasion. There is no other way.

Dear Father God. Your Son Jesus said He was “the way, the truth and the life”. So there is no better way than to follow Him all the days of our lives. Amen.

Get Your Husband

Posted on by korgrocker

““Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied. Jesus said, “You’re right You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!””
John 4:16-18 NLT

The woman at the well seemed to have a problem with men. To be in the sixth relationship is going some, even by modern standards. The fact that she came to draw water on her own probably indicated that the other women in the village wanted nothing to do with her. For all we know, she had a local reputation for being a bit of a marriage wrecker. But how did Jesus know about her private life? It wouldn’t have been posted on the local Facebook page, or mentioned in a flyer pinned to the wall above the well. We can try and make sense of why she was so active in husband recycling, and presumably psychiatrists would have a selection of answers to her problem, but none of this matters very much. What does matter is that Jesus grabbed her attention and lifted her thoughts out of the drudgery of drawing water and forced her to consider her situation.

Jesus, of course, was in constant communication with His Father. We read in John 5:19-20, “So Jesus explained, “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he is doing. In fact, the Father will show him how to do even greater works than healing this man. Then you will truly be astonished“. So communicating with His father through the power of the Spirit, Jesus would have known who the woman at the well really was. He saw right into her very soul and put His finger on the main issue driving, and destroying, her life. And by doing so He laid the foundation for a revival that was soon to happen in that Samaritan village. An uncomfortable and embarrassing experience for the woman led to her life, and the lives of others, being transformed.

We pilgrims also have access to situations where, through the Holy Spirit, a prophetic word, a word of knowledge, can expose the truth and transform the life of a sinner. We have a “still small voice” within us that we need to listen carefully to. It needs practice to hear it, but the Holy Spirit within us constantly speaks. A question we must often ask is, “What do You want me to know about this person, or say to them, Lord?” We pray for that insight that will unlock an otherwise lifeless conversation. And at the start of a day we pray for divine encounters, or opportunities to share the Good News with those around us, with people trapped in hopeless situations like the woman at the well. 

Dear Father God. We pray today for a fresh infilling of Your Spirit, revitalising us and equipping us for the day ahead. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Living Water (2)

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” “Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.””
John 4:13-15 NLT

In John 4:10 we read, “Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”” Tantalisingly and perceptively, Jesus had put His finger on an important, if not the most important, aspect of the woman’s life. Drawing water was a daily and menial task for women in those days and it was an unceasing demand that could not be avoided. But Jesus seemed to be offering the woman a way out of her drudgery. All the woman could focus on was the water lying at the bottom of Jacob’s well, but Jesus had something better for her. The “living water” Jesus was talking about was the Holy Spirit – He could not remove the harsh and repetitive demands of fetching water from the woman’s daily schedule, but He could give her something meaningful in her life instead. Sadly, even by this stage in the conversation, the woman could still not see beyond water pots, wells, ropes and the water she and her dependents needed for their natural lives.

As we fast forward to 21st Century Planet Earth, we notice that in certain parts of the world, water supplies are extremely vulnerable. In fact, it has been calculated that over half the world’s population (4 billion people) suffer some form of water stress for at least one month every year. Even here in the UK, climate change has brought times of drought leading to water shortages, stunted crops, and hosepipe bans. It was no different in the Western Mediterranean countries in Biblical times – the scarcity of water was a constant concern for the people who were growing crops and tending livestock. 

But Jesus was concerned about His Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. In His Kingdom, then as now, spiritual water was and is an essential commodity, and there is no limit to the life-giving Spirit that is accessible to all. There are no hosepipe bans in Heaven! However, there is one essential caveat. In John 7:38 Jesus said, “Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” No-one can drink the Heavenly water unless they embrace, and believe in, the Saviour, Jesus Himself. The word “believe” implies an intimate trust and faith in the God-Man Jesus, and a personal relationship with Him that will never die. It is so sad, though, that many believers fail to drink deeply of the life-giving spiritual water so freely available to them, preferring instead to soldier on in their own strength. We need to drink Jesus’ living water every day. Sometimes several times during the day. Just as physical water needs replenishing in our physical bodies, so does the spiritual water in our souls. 

So today, right now even, let us open up our hearts and ask the Saviour to fill us anew. And “Rivers of living water” will flow, and flow, and flow. Until we are overflowing. We may still have to do the menial equivalent of going to draw water, but we will do it with joy and gratitude, full of the Holy Spirit.

Dear Lord Jesus. We do believe in You. Please fill us afresh with Your Living Water again today. Amen.

Please Give Me A Drink

Posted on by korgrocker

“Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime. Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food.”
John 4:6-8 NLT

So, we have a well, Jesus, tired from the journey and sitting by it, and a Samaritan woman coming out to get some water. Nothing remarkable about any of that, until we realise that Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink. And worse, there was only the two of them at the well that hot day. In those days Jews didn’t even talk to Samaritans, trying their best to avoid any sort of contact with them. And then there was the social etiquette of a man talking to a woman not known to him, something else forbidden in that rather misogynistic culture. But why was a woman coming out to draw water from the well in the middle of the day anyway. This task was normally reserved for the cooler times in the day, with groups of women coming out together. A simple scene but one that to an onlooker would have seemed a bit strange. 

Jesus was obviously tired and thirsty and asked for a drink. We of course remember the first temptation that Jesus endured while He was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness. The devil knew that he had the power to turn stones into bread and this would have applied to water to drink as well. But Jesus replied with a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3b, “ ….  people do not live by bread alone; rather, we live by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord“. ‭‭So without a doubt Jesus didn’t need to ask for a drink. He could have spoken the word and a jug of water, cool and refreshing, could have immediately appeared before Him.

I wonder what the Samaritan woman was thinking. As she walked out of the village, she could see this figure, obviously a Jew, sitting by the well. Would she have been feeling rather unsure and even vulnerable? After all, there was no-one else present. What was He sitting there for? Was He waiting for someone? All sorts of thoughts would have been going through her mind. And then there was that question, polite and to the point, “Please give me a drink”. That was the question that started a remarkable conversation between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, that culminated in a revival bursting out in the village of Sychar.

We pilgrims often come upon other people not known to us. In the supermarket. At the bus stop. In the work place. But for all we know, God has a message for them, something tailor-made just for them at this point in their lives, and He wants us to provide it. Often there is a bridge over which a conversation can be started. I recently spoke with a lady who was walking a dog along a woodland path. The dog was an unusual breed, so I asked her about it, and where it had come from. There then followed a tragic tale of an estranged son who had died on his own and prematurely in his early thirties from a congenital heart problem, and all she had to remind her of him was his dog. I believe God brought about that meeting that day because I was able to encourage her with a few words of comfort.

But none of us know what is around the corner. Are we heading for a well and water experience today? Is there someone God wants us to encourage? It may not be with a Gospel message but it could be with a cheery response, or a listening ear. The Holy Spirit will guide us in God’s ways and plans if we are open enough to hear His voice.

Dear Father God. You have plans for each one of us and often You ask us to share Your love for them. We commit to hearing Your voice today and every day. In Jesus’ holy name. Amen.

On The Move

Posted on by korgrocker

“So he left Judea and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; and Jesus, tired from the long walk, sat wearily beside the well about noontime.”
John 4:3-6 NLT

In Jesus’ day, there was no quick way of getting from A to B. It was a case of travelling by foot, or possibly by a horse or donkey, but 20-30 miles per day was the norm. To get from Judea to Galilee by the quickest route involved a journey through Samaria, a place that was not popular with the Jews, as it would mean potential contact with the hated Samaritans. This journey took about three days to complete, though the longer route skirting Samaria, and favoured by some, took five to seven days. But Jesus and His disciples took the route through Samaria, and ended up at a village called Sychar. But who were the Samaritans and why did the Jews hate them so much? “In Jesus’ day, the Jewish people of Galilee and Judea shunned the Samaritans, viewing them as a mixed race who practiced an impure, half-pagan religion” (quote from Gotquestions.org). But more on that in a later blog.

Jesus and His disciples had apparently walked some distance to get this far, and we read that Jesus was tired. It was the hottest part of the day and Jesus was resting, sitting by the famous well that had a history stretching back to the time of Jacob. But some people perhaps have a problem with the thought that Jesus was tired. After all, they think, how can the Son of God, with all the divine resources at His disposal, be wearied by a journey? Jesus came to this earth, taking on human flesh and all the baggage that came with it. So like us, He would have needed to eat and sleep, and even use a toilet, something that perhaps we Christians don’t like to think about. In Romans 8:3, we read, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins”. 

So on the journey from Judea to Galilee, how would we feel if Jesus, the Son of God, was suddenly transported there by some divine process, leaving His disciples to make their way on foot? At a stroke, it would destroy the reason why He came – to live in the likeness of a human being from His birth all the way to Calvary. It was important that Jesus’ humanity was seen by those around Him because through it He gave sinful mankind a hope for the future, a hope that promised them that they could be forgiven their sins and one day join God in Heaven. Jesus was on the move as part of Father God’s plans for Him. He was sent to His people the Jews and there would come a time when He would return to Judea and Jerusalem. But on the journey to Galilee He stopped at Sychar. A divine appointment was about to emerge.

Dear Father God. You have plans for us, plans that amongst other things provide us with a hope for the future. We are so grateful. Amen. 

His Testimony

Posted on by korgrocker

“He testifies about what he has seen and heard, but how few believe what he tells them! Anyone who accepts his testimony can affirm that God is true. For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the Spirit without limit.”
John 3:32-34 NLT

The importance of having a testimony is, without doubt, something that every Christian should take note of. As a minimum, we have that date, even a time of day, when we made that momentous decision to follow Jesus and to believe His testimony that He was (and still is) the Son of God. We add to our testimonies those occasions when God blessed us, healed us, helped us – the list of divine interventions can be endless. Often we don’t know what God is doing for us behind the scenes, so we need to be open and sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s ministry. There are some big things that God has done for me, but there are also times when He showed favour apparently against the odds. That time when a car crash of a job interview still resulted in an offer of employment. The beautiful young girl who, by a series of coincidences, appeared in my life, and who is now my wife of many years. We must always be ready with a testimony so that we have an answer for those who ask. 1 Peter 3:15, “Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it”. 

Jesus had a testimony but when He testified about “what he [had] seen and heard“, only a few believed Him. Only a few, even though He spoke about God, their Heavenly Father. Isn’t it strange that people in general only believe what they want to believe. If what they are hearing doesn’t fit in with their world view then they refuse to believe it. Speaking about the “man of lawlessness”, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “He will use every kind of evil deception to fool those on their way to destruction, because they refuse to love and accept the truth that would save them. So God will cause them to be greatly deceived, and they will believe these lies. Then they will be condemned for enjoying evil rather than believing the truth“. Jesus had the words of eternal life, words of truth, words that, if applied in their lives, would ensure the people’s eternal life with God in Heaven, and yet they refused to believe them.

The devil is a master of lies and in every generation he concocts evil ideologies that are based on his lies. So just now in 21st Century society, he has propagated a raft of lies over sexuality and gender. So impressionable people have been deluded to think that they can change their gender. Homosexuals think that they can still become a Christian while practising their same sex acts. Politicians here in Scotland are now trying to introduce laws that will criminalise a pastor praying for someone who has gone to them asking for advice over their gender confusion. All actions emanating from lies planted in people’s hearts by the devil. A quotation from best selling Christian author Dr Rosario Butterworth, “The Biblical truth is that homosexuality and transgenderism are found in the flesh, forbidden in the Law and overcome through the Saviour”. When our minds are assaulted by all sorts of strange ideologies, we pilgrims instead lift and open our Bibles and find the truth, free from the devil’s lies.

Jesus had a testimony, but He never forced it upon people. Then, and now, people have a choice. To believe His testimony, or to reject it. One way leads to eternal life and the other to eternal death. As for me, I know what choice I have made.

Dear Lord Jesus. Only You have the words that lead to eternal life. I believe them, and I pray that those I meet day by day will believe them too. Your testimony is truth and life. Thank You Amen.

He Who Comes From Above

Posted on by korgrocker

“He who comes from [heaven] above is above all others; he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks [about things] of the earth [his viewpoint and experience are earthly]. He who comes from heaven is above all. What He has [actually] seen and heard, of that He testifies; and yet no one accepts His testimony [as true].”
John 3:31-32 AMP

‭‭There are some potentially difficult thoughts in these verses. John the Baptist was setting out the differences between the inhabitants of Heaven and the inhabitants of earth. And, sadly, he pointed out that no one accepted what the Man from Heaven had to say about what He had seen and heard. Of course, we see the difficulty straight away because we look at these verses from a human perspective. We imagine in our minds a human being from Heaven and an earthly human, but of course this is not the case. Heaven is populated by spiritual beings and earth by natural beings. And the Man that John the Baptist was talking about had left Heaven as a Spirit and had taken on the form of a human being.

The Apostle John started his Gospel with the statement that “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). And a few verses on we read, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). Paul wrote an explanation in Romans 8:3, “The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins“. 

We pilgrims all understand that within our human bodies is a spirit, and this spirit connects with our Father in Heaven through Jesus. But this isn’t the case for everyone. Those who don’t know God still have something within them that yearns for a spiritual connection with something or someone. So they try and satisfy that yearning by exploring other avenues. There are of course the other spiritual outlets emanating from the devil – he will always try and counterfeit the things of God. Then there are drugs like alcohol that seem to offer some sort of relief from the emptiness inside, but this is only a temporary solution. Some will try sex in all its deviancies, but find a downward path to oblivion. But John the Baptist knew the answer, and he pointed out that the Man with the solution to the spiritual yearnings, the Man who came down from Heaven, the Word of God Himself, but sadly He was not believed by the people of His day.

So what can we pilgrims learn from this? We too have seen and heard amazing things in the Spirit. We have glimpsed God Himself through Jesus. We have felt His loving arms around us. We have a testimony to tell others, a testimony about our amazing Heavenly Father. But we find that as we share our testimony with those around we are mostly greeted by scorn and derision, by ridicule and rejection. But, like Jesus, we never give up. In the background God works in the hearts of those around us, and we will find receptivity from those open to the truth.

Dear Father God. You have graciously given us a glimpse of Your heart, and have given us the privilege of sharing that with those around us. Please lead and guide us to those You have chosen for Your kingdom. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Generosity of Spirit

Posted on by korgrocker

“John replied, “No one can receive anything unless God gives it from heaven. You yourselves know how plainly I told you, ‘I am not the Messiah. I am only here to prepare the way for him.’ It is the bridegroom who marries the bride, and the bridegroom’s friend is simply glad to stand with him and hear his vows. Therefore, I am filled with joy at his success. He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less.”
John 3:27-30 NLT

How generous John the Baptist was, in deference to the Messiah. To say “ He must become greater and greater, and I must become less and less” was truly counter-cultural. John had a particular calling from God and he stuck to it, knowing that one day his ministry would decline. But he came out of the wilderness at just the right time, and with an assurance of his mission, which was “to prepare a way for Him”, the Messiah. 

Over the years I have discovered that God introduces “seasons” to His church and to His people. John the Baptist introduced a season of baptisms and people came to him, acknowledging that he was a prophet and anointed of God. In that religious culture, people were desperate for another prophet to emerge in Israel, because there had been a long prophetic silence of over 400 years. John introduced a season of revival in a moribund spiritual environment. 

But John was comfortable with his relationship with God, to the extent that he knew that whatever happened God was with him. God had called him to preach repentance and baptise the people who responded to his message. Of course, all of God’s children have a mission on life. It may be a high-profile role such as John. Or it may be something less public. Some people are called to be intercessors. Others to be evangelists. Even others to be pastors and teachers. But most of us are called to be salt and light in our working or educational environment. This is however not to say that any role is greater or lesser than another. The joy comes from knowing that what we are doing is in the will of God.

Sadly, there are those in public ministries who want to hang on to their “ministry” regardless of what God has planned for them. It is particularly hard for a pastor leading a declining congregation, to realise that perhaps that particular ministry, that season, has come to an end and God has something else in mind. The secret lies in being open to what God wants us to do.

A dangerous prayer to pray goes like this. “Dear God, what do You want me to do for You today?” The answer might be a shock or a surprise. Or it might just be “keep going – you’re doing well”. There was a man called Ananias living in Damascus, going about his everyday business, when all of a sudden he heard God say, ” … Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight” (Acts 9:11-12). God can speak to us directly, as He did to Ananias, but are we listening? What if Ananias wasn’t listening that day? Or if he said to God, “No, this man Saul is bad news and I’m not going to risk my life for him”? 

But we pilgrims are here for this season, both in the society in which we live, and in this stage in our lives. Perhaps, though, God has a different plan for us, one that involves a decline in what we are doing and a door opening somewhere else for a new season. To be a Christian is not a boring, pew-warming experience. God has exciting things for us to do and it starts with “Yes Lord, Your servant is listening”. Are we prepared to lay down what we are doing, and move over to allow someone else to take our place? John the Baptist did, and so can we – if God wishes it.

Dear Father God. You have a mission for each one of us. Please help us to relax in You, our Leader and our God. Amen.

Ceremonies

Posted on by korgrocker

“At this time John the Baptist was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim, because there was plenty of water there; and people kept coming to him for baptism. (This was before John was thrown into prison.) A debate broke out between John’s disciples and a certain Jew over ceremonial cleansing.”
ohn 3:23-25 NLT

Oh, don’t we love ceremonies. The wedding services with all the frills and fancies. The changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. The graduation programme at our colleges and universities. The church prize givings. Naming ceremonies for new born babies. Funeral ceremonies for those who have recently died. Baptismal ceremonies for new believers. The familiar acts incorporating rituals is somehow a natural part of societies everywhere and they bring a degree of comfort in times of distress, or joy and happiness in times of celebration. Human beings love a ceremony and I’m sure we could list large numbers of ceremonies that happen today, but also in ancient civilisations. The Jewish faith in Jesus’ day demanded involvement in many ceremonies. The argument with John’s disciples took place over the ritual washing of hands, and Book of Leviticus has many verses pertaining to washing. In some cases a practical as well as spiritual purpose was behind them, but the Jews of Jesus’ day had made it a ritual with little spiritual meaning. 

We believers can sometimes fall into the trap of replacing spontaneity with a ceremony. For example, it’s easier sometimes to read a pre-prepared prayer rather than make up one of our own from our hearts. Making the sign of the cross is good when we consciously know what we are doing, but if it is an automatic gesture, what is the benefit of that? Sadly, the intent behind the ceremonial washing of hands had become a ritual much followed and loved by the orthodox Jews of those days. But Jesus was having none of their hypocrisy. We read in Mark 7:6-7, “Jesus replied, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God'”.

But not all ceremonies are bad or useless. The ceremony of the Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, comes to mind, a ceremony that is very precious to us pilgrims. Paul wrote, “For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it”” (1 Corinthians 11:23-25). We take part in a sacrificial meal, eating the bread and drinking the wine, in remembrance of our Lord and Saviour. The Last Supper is probably the most significant ceremony for a Christian today. 

If we pilgrims find ourselves in a church of fellowship where ceremonies and rituals are involved, then perhaps we should pause and think sometimes about what we are doing. Have we become caught up in a meaningless ritual or is there something here that helps me connect with God? Ceremonies can provide a platform for our interaction with God but they can also be a hindrance to our praise and worship.

Dear Father God. Please help us to to worship You “in spirit and truth” unhindered by man-made ceremonies and rituals. In Jesus’ name. Amen.