all saints Lindfield

'Do you love me?'

15/04/2012

 
Jesus and Peter:
John 21:15-19
In this post-resurrection appearance to his disciples, Jesus turns to Peter and asks him three times, ‘Do you love me?’ We all know why Jesus asked Peter this question. At the time of Jesus’ trial before his crucifixion, Peter had denied Jesus three times. Peter was afraid of what might happen to him if he confessed to being one of Jesus’ disciples.

But notice what Jesus asks. He doesn’t mention Peter's fear and denial; he doesn’t remind Peter he had predicted this would happen. Rather, he asks, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love me?’  Jesus didn't say it, but Peter must have been left thinking, ‘If I love Jesus, how could I deny him three times?’

Jesus is in the business of restoration. He knew that Peter loved him. He knew that Peter would end up being one of the leaders of the Jerusalem church. He knew – as we do from church history – that Peter himself would be crucified, following his Lord even in death. He knew that Peter loved him. It’s as though Jesus is reminding Peter of the true test of love. As Jesus had taught his disciples earlier ‘Everyone who acknowledges me before men, I will acknowledge also before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.’ (Matt 10:32).

It’s still the same today. If I love Jesus then I will confess Him and not deny Him. I will not be ashamed to confess Him before others. The bottom line is this – that the Lord Jesus wants our love. He wants our love, no matter what. He wanted Peter's love despite his denials. He wants our love too, no matter whether we have denied him or professed him, no matter how we may have fallen into sin or tried to do the right thing, no matter how strong or weak our faith may be.

When we can truly answer ‘Yes Lord, I love You’, then Jesus says to us, as he said to Peter, ‘Follow me!’ Let’s re-affirm our love for our risen Lord by following him more closely, whatever challenges may come in the future.     

 

Do you struggle with doubt?

22/05/2011

 
Within the Easter story there is at least one disciple, Thomas, who doubted the resurrection.

Doubt is a common response to life as we see it. Doubt can be a good thing, it often prevents us from rushing into something without due caution. It is not a sign of weakness nor is it a lack of faith. Doubt only becomes a problem if we persist in an attitude which refuses to accept the revealed truth and person of Jesus Christ.

Do you ever look at other Christians and wonder: ‘Do they REALLY believe this stuff? That Jesus really was the Son of God who rose again, and is alive today?’

Doubt is an honest place to be, and is not the opposite of Christian faith. To believe is to be in one mind. To disbelieve is to be in one mind also. To doubt is to waver between the two minds. To doubt is to be willing to believe it – IF you can find evidence to back up the story.

If you are in this state of ‘two-minds’ over the Easter story, you may find the story of the disciple Thomas (John 20:24-29) to be helpful. Unlike the other disciples, he was not present on that first Easter night when Jesus appeared to the other disciples. Instead, Thomas was told some-one whom he’d seen crucified and dead was alive again three days later, in perfect health.

Thomas had been devoted to Jesus, but the fact that dead people don’t rise again was just too much for him. So despite the joy of the other disciples, he could get only as far as: ‘unless I see the nail marks... I will not believe it.’

It was a week later that Jesus appeared again to his disciples and confronted Thomas. He said simply: ‘Put your finger here; see my hands . . . stop doubting and believe.’

Jesus then looked forward to all the millions of people in the future who would never meet him in person, and so would have understandable grounds to doubt. ‘Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’

Thomas needed physical recognition before he could say ‘My Lord and My God.’

Today, if you want to believe, but honestly struggle with doubt, talk to someone about it and try using this simple prayer:

‘Lord Jesus, I have never seen you in person. So I sometimes doubt that you exist. The Bible tells us that it’s only the Holy Spirit who can open our ‘spiritual eyes’, and so I ask you to do that for me. Please give me not physical recognition, but faith recognition. I will do my bit, and read about you each day in the Bible. Through your Word, please open my spiritual eyes so that I can see you clearly as Jesus, the risen Son of God.”

Alan Tuddenham
 

THE LINK BETWEEN LOVE AND SUFFERING

10/04/2011

 
Palm Sunday has a story of its own, and by Easter Sunday it’s too late to think about the death of Jesus, so the fifth Sunday in Lent is often used by Christians to focus on the story of his suffering. That’s why it’s sometimes called Passion Sunday.

As I explained this to the class one young lady jokingly protested, ‘But when I’m passionately in love with someone I’m not suffering!’

‘Then you’re obviously not doing it right,’ I replied, ‘What about the sighs, the tears, the sleepless nights, the stress, the fear of rejection…?’

The link between Love and Suffering is one that seems to have been missed also by the advertisers who claim to be ‘Passionate about Quality’, or service, or chocolate, or whatever. Where is the suffering in their ‘passion’?

If you look again at the account of Jesus in Gethsemane – in Luke’s Gospel, maybe – you’ll see that he certainly had his share of stress, tears, sighs and fear. Jesus knew what was coming. He had seen crucifixions before. To stay in Gethsemane, knowing that Judas and the guards were on their way, would inevitably lead to beatings, mockery, torture and death. No wonder ‘his sweat was like great drops of blood…’. The anticipation of what would happen over the coming hours must have been truly horrifying. It would have been so easy just to forget the whole thing, leave the sleeping disciples, slip away in the darkness and go back to being a carpenter.

And yet he did stay. Because of love.

In Jesus the link between love and suffering is very clear. His love – his passion – for us was so deep it led him to make that sacrifice.

And the slogan in the Supermarket can be a reminder of that each time we see it.

Simon Brickell