The Richmond Briefing

A weekly Bible reading for Bridge Builders

The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here

Reading – As With the Priest (Luke 7:24-35)

The Old Testament prophet Hosea ministered in the eighth century BC at a time when Israel was guilty of great sin and God, through the prophet, brought his charges against his rebellious people. They were guilty of spiritual adultery, of turning to idols and false gods, of using shrine prostitutes, of sacrificing to pagan deities, of rejecting the knowledge of God.

The priests excused themselves by insisting that they were ministering Israel’s religion and the people justified themselves by insisting they were following the priests but God made clear that the priests were simply going through the motions while worshipping foreign gods and the people were not guiltless but would be held to account and their religion would finally not satisfy or feed them. Because they had rejected true knowledge God would reject them and none would be left with excuse.

“And it will be: Like people, like priests. I will punish both of them for their ways and repay them for their ways.” (Hosea 4:9)

The greatest and clearest knowledge of God is found in Jesus Christ. John tells us:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn.1:1, 14)

The writer of Hebrews wrote:

“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being...” (Heb.1:3)

And Jesus said of himself:

“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (Jn.14:9)

Yet in this week’s passage we find that, while Jesus demonstrated his identity and authority, “[curing] many diseases, sicknesses, and evil spirits and [giving] sight to those who were blind” (Lk.7:21) nevertheless “The Pharisees and experts in the law rejected God’s purposes for themselves, because they had not been baptised by John”. Like the priests in Hosea’s day, they argued their case on a technicality, that is because they had not been baptised by John and therefore were not required to accept God’s purposes in John or Jesus (they were ‘experts in the law’ after all).

Jesus ridiculed these leaders because they rejected John on the basis that he was dangerously zealous and they accused him of being possessed of a demon and then rejected Jesus because he mixed with ordinary folk and looked like everyone else. They had so many rules and so many excuses for why they shouldn’t change. Many people believed Jesus but others rejected him because they saw their leaders reject him. The responsibilities of leaders are onerous and God will hold them to account for how they have handled their stewardship over God’s people. However, everyone will be held to account for how they respond to God and his messengers.

Are we clear and faithful in the way we share the message of salvation and are we honest and challenging in reminding people that each will be accountable for how they respond? Do we pray for our leaders that they will remain humble and faithful and do we encourage them in the ways of the Lord as they encourage us?

Can You “Heft” These Plates?

The Mormon Pageant in Manti has thrown up some interesting encounters and conversations this year. Some of the most interesting involved Bill McKeever of Mormonism Research Ministry who explained the above picture thus:

Our Manti outreach began last week. Once again I've been using my "gold plates" as an illustration. When a Mormon tells me they believe Joseph Smith had gold plates I challenge them to lift my plates (10, ten-pound barbell weights). Most can, but then I explain that my 100 pound plates are only half of what Smith carried if they were gold. The responses are priceless.

So many insist that Joseph Smith was a "strong" farm boy and could have carried the plates. I find myself repeating the phrase " Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime couldn't carry 200 pounds under his arm for a distance of three miles." I have yet to have any Mormon offer proof that God gave Smith supernatural strength (a popular argument), although many see how that excuse doesn't work well after I explain how the likes of FARMS and FAIR are trying so hard to get the weight of the plates down to a reasonable level.

Tumbaga anyone?

Mormons seem to be prepared to go to any lengths to lend credibility to the incredible story of the fabled “Gold Plates”. The latest theory is that they were not made of pure gold but of tumbaga, a non-specific alloy of gold and copper used in pre-Columbian America and discovered by the Spaniards.

Should Britain ban the burka?

The Big Questions, BBC1, Sunday 28 June 2009, hosted by Nicky Campbell.

This fascinating discussion began with Campbell asking the one woman in the studio with a burka why she wears it. Throughout the programme, she consistently maintained that it was an expression of her own personal choice, and that she was not under duress in any way. Nevertheless, she did say that she wore it because certain scholars said so.

Campbell's opening 'googly' bowled the poor woman for a duck. His question: If men and women are equal, why shouldn't men cover their faces too? No answer. Even more interesting was the tirade from the moderate Muslim preacher who insisted that the burka is a pre-Islamic cultural item of dress, which is a relatively new introduction in the UK. He was angry about the infiltration of Saudi Wahhabism and its non-Qur'anic dress codes. He asked several times where the words 'niqab' and 'burka' were in the Qur'an, and criticised the Hadith as erroneous in many places.

Peter Hitchens of The Mail on Sunday was in typically robust form, asking whether the freedom for women to wear what they pleased in a pluralistic culture like the UK would be reproduced in an Islamic culture. Essentially, those who support 'a woman's right to wear a burka' are a walking contradiction (if not, in a French politician's words, "a moving prison").

Islam does not appear to be a religion of choice; but a religion of power, of law, and of force. The Lord Jesus Christ, on the other hand, is the one who came to affirm and liberate all women who will turn to Him in repentance and faith, whatever they wear and, like the woman at the well and the woman caught in adultery, whatever their background.

The Richmond Briefing

A weekly Bible reading for Bridge Builders

The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here

Reading – What Did You Expect? (Luke 7:18-23)

In Matthew’s gospel Jesus speaks of the signs of the end of the age and gives a very clear warning about wrong expectations:

“At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or, ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect – if that were possible. See I have told you ahead of time.

So if anyone tells you, ‘There he is, out in the desert,’ do not go out; or, ‘Here he is, in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as lightening that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Mt.24:23-27)

He addressed a common human problem and weakness, especially in the community of faith; a tendency to anticipate God’s purposes, work it all out beforehand and gain some degree of control and, dare I say, kudos. We see it in people who become pedantic about particular forms of church organisation and government; in those who scour the text of the Bible looking for ‘signs of the times’; in people who slavishly follow after signs and wonders, revival and refreshing, anything other than the steady and unspectacular growth in faith and understanding that is the lot of most Christians in this world.

There is nothing wrong with revival, refreshing and an understanding of the times of course and the cry of every Christian should be ‘Come Lord Jesus!” However, the work of the Lord goes on all around us in our every-day lives and not just in the so-called mountain top experiences so beloved by some. We can have a tendency to construct our own elaborate picture of what it will look like when God fulfils his promises, to say more than God has said and promise things other than what God has promised and this is what happened to John in this passage.

Like so many of his generation he had a picture of the Messiah coming, driving out the invaders and restoring the glory to Israel and the reports he received of Jesus’ work from his disciples did not fit the picture. Jesus was not exactly behaving like a liberator in the commonly understood mould and John, languishing in prison, had understandably begun to have doubts. In an ascending scale of works Jesus reminds John of the things predicted of the Messiah:

“Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor” (Lk.7:22, see Is.29:18-21; 35:5-6; 42:7; 61:1)

It is as if Jesus was saying, “Did you expect something else?” or, “What did you expect?” John had seen less than he expected while Jesus was, in truth, delivering more than anyone could imagine. The focus of Messiah’s work was people and not just abstract concepts of leadership and politics or spectacular shows of power. Jesus sent this message back to John:

“Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me”

We should take care that we don’t fall away because Jesus’ focus and work does not altogether fulfil our expectations. He is not in the desert, or in the inner room and nor does he associate with an elite; signs and wonders are no guarantee of his presence and he does not live to accommodate our misguided interpretations. But if we will look we will see him with the blind and the lame, the deaf and those who are dead because of lost hope in this world and preaching good news to the poor. Perhaps we should ask ourselves what exactly we have expected and compare it with what God has promised and Jesus has demonstrated to be God’s work and maybe we need to be with this Messiah for the common man among the people he loves most, people like you and me.

Scientology

Scientology has been much in the news lately and one wonders if there will be some changes ahead. The trial in Paris could lead to their work being curtailed or banned altogether in France. The trial is still in its early stages but here is a recent update:

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/273868

However, what is already clear and out in the open is a report that appeared in St. Petersburg Times in Florida. Mark C. "Marty" Rathbun left the Church of Scientology staff in late 2004, ending a 27-year career that saw him rise to be a top lieutenant to Miscavige in the organization. For the past four years, he has lived a low-profile life in Texas. Some speculated he had died.

In February, Rathbun posted an Internet message announcing he was available to counsel other disaffected Scientologists.

"Having dug myself out of the dark pit where many who leave the church land," he wrote, "I began lending a hand to others similarly situated."

Contacted by the St. Petersburg Times, Rathbun agreed to tell the story of his years in Scientology and what led to his leaving. The Times interviewed him at his home in Texas, and he came to Clearwater to revisit some of the scenes he described.

Seeking to corroborate Rathbun's story, the newspaper contacted others who were in Scientology during the same period and have left the church: Mike Rinder, one of Rathbun's closest associates for two decades; Tom De Vocht, who Rathbun named as key to his decision to leave; and later, Amy Scobee.

Rathbun and Rinder were well known to the reporters, who had interviewed them dozens of times, sometimes combatively, through years of controversy in Clearwater. They also hosted the reporters in Los Angeles in 1998, when Miscavige granted the only print media interview he has given.

Two reporters met Rinder in Denver, where he now lives, but he declined to be interviewed. About a month later, two Washington-based lawyers who work for the church showed up unannounced in Denver, informed Rinder that they had heard about the newspaper's visit and asked what he had revealed.

Full details of the revelation of what is described as a culture of intimidation and violence under David Miscavige can be found at the following link:

http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/

All this is happening just as the book Deceived, one woman's stand against the Church of Scientology, is published. In June 1999 Bonnie Woods won a ground-breaking High Court libel battle against the Church of Scientology. In this moving book Bonnie tells of her wasted years with the Scientologists, the intimidating dramatic court battle and the Christian faith that sustained her as she sought justice.

A special offer on this book is available at:

http://shopping.reachouttrust.org/shopping/reachout.nsf/(ProductsByCode)/BV004

ldsapology.org Petition to the Mormon Church, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for reconciliation with Gays and Lesbians.

Here is an interesting development. A blog to petition the Mormon Church to change its policy on homosexuality – by Mormons. Whatever your view on the issue this is a thoughtful blog and a very interesting development. Another example of Mormons beginning to think for themselves and face the issues of the modern world without simply toeing the party line.

"We the undersigned, in the spirit of love and peace, earnestly seek to create a climate for reconciliation between the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and gays and lesbians who have been affected by the policies, practices and politics of the Church. We recognize that issues surrounding sexuality and gender orientation are complex; that understanding of these matters has evolved, especially over the past several decades, and are continuing to evolve as scientists, therapists, theologians and others continue to explore and ponder their meaning and significance; We believe that people of good will may have differing views about homosexuality, while maintaining amicable relationships."

ldsapology.org Petition to the Mormon Church, or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for reconciliation with Gays and Lesbians.

The Richmond Briefing

A weekly Bible reading for Bridge Builders

The Richmond Briefing has been a weekly feature of the Reachout web site for five years and is now available on the blog. To find out more and read earlier briefings go here

Reading – The Test of Faith (Mark 8:1-30)

Faith is a strange thing. Everyone thinks they know what it is yet many people you might expect to have it fail to exercise it. We are told that “Herod feared John [the Baptist]...knowing him to be a righteous and holy man” (Mk.6:20) Yet Herod had John beheaded at the whim of his wife. Knowing things to be true is not the same thing as having faith it seems.

When Jesus was moved by compassion for the people that had followed him for three days he shared his concern with his disciples (Mk.8:1-4) who began to wonder where on earth they were going to get food for so many in such a remote area. Jesus sat the crowd down and fed them. The disciples had seen Jesus do this and many other miracles before but were slow to realise what was really going on. Being around holiness is not the same thing as having faith either. You don’t ‘catch’ faith from others or absorb it by osmosis and you can’t live on borrowed light.

The Pharisees came to test Jesus and asked him for a sign from heaven (Mk.8:11). Of all the people who had followed Jesus the Pharisees seem to have been among the most consistent as they sought every opportunity to catch him out. They had probably seen and heard reports of more miracles than anyone, yet they were not convinced and demanded greater proof. Jesus’ answer is very interesting:

“Why does this generation ask for a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given it”

Jesus had already given ample proof of his credentials and no further sign would be forthcoming not because he couldn’t perform more miracles but because the request for proof came from unbelief. They were not interested in signs and proof and even when Jesus gave the greatest sign of all in his resurrection they remained sceptical. Seeing wonderful things done in the name of God is not the same as faith. Having faith is not a spectator sport.

When Jesus warned them to “beware the yeast of the Pharisees” (Mk.8:15) they totally misunderstood him and thought he was angry that they had not brought bread with them. But Jesus was not talking about bread but about the sin of pride and unbelief that refused to see the clear evidence presented in Jesus’ teaching and miracles. Faith is not simply outward things evidenced in the religious observances of the Pharisees or the finery of the court of Herod and their lip service.

The miracle at Bethsaida (Mk.8:22-26) illustrated very well how faith comes gradually. Just as the man began to see people looking like trees walking around so the disciples and followers of Jesus, because of hardened hearts, did not see everything clearly immediately. But just as the man’s “eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly” so the disciples would eventually see everything clearly. Of course, Herod and many of the Pharisees were so hardened in their hearts that they would remain blind because they refused to see.

Finally, Jesus asked them directly “Who do people say I am?” There had been much speculation and people accepted he was one of the prophets but couldn’t agree on which one.

’But what about you?’ he asked. ‘Who do you say I am?’

Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ’

Here Peter identifies the focus of Christian faith. It is the most important question anyone will ever be asked – who is Jesus? When we come to see, like Peter, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God and confess it then we enter into a living relationship with him (Ro.10:9-13) We may not see everything clearly at first but as we trust him (which is what Christian faith is) so our vision clears and we trust him more because he alone can save us from our sins, from the hardness of our hearts. Indeed, he alone can transform our hearts so that we come to trust him completely. Only transformed hearts and lives can live for him and only such hearts can issue in works of service that are acceptable to God (Eph.2:10)