In the aftermath of Jesus' death, the disciples were required by Jewish law to do nothing, it was the Sabbath, a day of rest. The day that Jesus is crucified was waining on, after a hasty burial preparation, Jesus is laid in a nearby tomb and a stone is rolled over the place, with expectation that his followers would finish the preparation for burial once the Sabbath was over. And now they were to rest. But how did they rest when they are grieved so deeply? How does anyone rest in sadness, when all hope is drained, when life does not make sense...how does one rest at that point? The body can stop moving, chores can remain undone and work stands still, but does the mind and the soul stop feeling and thinking?
The appearance of Mary at the tomb early on the 3rd day (John 20) tells the story that she was crying, a wailing kind of cry--deep guttural soul cry; the other gospels tell us that the disciples are hiding and afraid. So you have a day of rest, and yet they are stuck in grief, fear and shock. We who have had the luxury of knowing the 'end of the story' may not have much compassion for these followers, because we know that in a day their grief will turn to joy!
But what I suspect made that day so painful was they did not remember or believe Jesus when he told them (at last count 3 times!) that he would rise again on the 3rd day. They were thinking of going back to their previous way of life, melting back into society and trying to forget the past 3 years. That's if there was no resurrection.
The picture that is given of the disciples on that dark Sabbath, is what Paul discusses in his epic chapter of the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15. He says there that if there is no resurrection then we have every reason to despair, we should grieve and be dumbfounded because we are stuck in our sins, stuck with this broken life with little hope. In fact, he makes it very clear: "If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone." 1 Cor. 15:19 The disciples are a pitiful group that day of waiting...but oh, it will change in just a day. Their lives will change, history will shift, grief turns to joy, guilt to grace and death to life...if only we could have whispered it to them and bring them out of that cloud. But, I suppose only meeting Jesus will draw back the curtain they were under, only meeting Jesus takes the sting out of death.
Saturday 31 March 2018
Monday 19 March 2018
Sowing to the Flesh
March 19, 2018
After yesterday's sermon a number of fine folk had asked me to post up John Stott's quote on sowing to the flesh...so here's his remarks:
"To ‘sow to the flesh’ is to pander to it, to cosset, cuddle and stroke it, instead of crucifying it. The seeds we sow are largely thoughts and deeds. Every time we allow our mind to harbour a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read (gaze) at pornographic literature, every time we take a risk which strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh. Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where we sow.”
I will add on his follow up comments (which didn't make it into the message):
"Paul distinguishes between the two harvests as well as between the two sowings. The results are only logical. If we sow to the flesh; we shall 'from the flesh reap corruption'. That is, a process of moral decay will set in. We shall go from bad to worse until we finally perish. If, on the other hand, we sow to the Spirit, we shall 'from the Spirit reap eternal life'. That is, a process of moral and spiritual growth will begin. Communion with God (which is eternal life) will develop now until in eternity it becomes perfect. Therefore, if we want to reap a harvest of holiness, our duty is twofold. First, we must avoid sowing to the flesh, and secondly we must keep sowing to the Spirit. We must ruthlessly eliminate the first and concentrate our time and energies on the second. It is another way of saying (as in Gal.5) that we must 'crucify the flesh' and 'walk by the Spirit. There is no other way of growing in holiness."
This is part of 'The Bible Speaks Today' commentary series, published in the late 60's--still relevant to today. I'm very grateful for the work of John Stott over the years, his words sometimes sting but wounds from a friend are trustworthy.
After yesterday's sermon a number of fine folk had asked me to post up John Stott's quote on sowing to the flesh...so here's his remarks:
"To ‘sow to the flesh’ is to pander to it, to cosset, cuddle and stroke it, instead of crucifying it. The seeds we sow are largely thoughts and deeds. Every time we allow our mind to harbour a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read (gaze) at pornographic literature, every time we take a risk which strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh. Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where we sow.”
I will add on his follow up comments (which didn't make it into the message):
"Paul distinguishes between the two harvests as well as between the two sowings. The results are only logical. If we sow to the flesh; we shall 'from the flesh reap corruption'. That is, a process of moral decay will set in. We shall go from bad to worse until we finally perish. If, on the other hand, we sow to the Spirit, we shall 'from the Spirit reap eternal life'. That is, a process of moral and spiritual growth will begin. Communion with God (which is eternal life) will develop now until in eternity it becomes perfect. Therefore, if we want to reap a harvest of holiness, our duty is twofold. First, we must avoid sowing to the flesh, and secondly we must keep sowing to the Spirit. We must ruthlessly eliminate the first and concentrate our time and energies on the second. It is another way of saying (as in Gal.5) that we must 'crucify the flesh' and 'walk by the Spirit. There is no other way of growing in holiness."
This is part of 'The Bible Speaks Today' commentary series, published in the late 60's--still relevant to today. I'm very grateful for the work of John Stott over the years, his words sometimes sting but wounds from a friend are trustworthy.
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