Staying Hope Filled

Today is Pentecost Sunday! The Church’s Official Birthday, and for believers across the world, celebratory vibes should be the order of the day. However, I have a confession to make: birthdays are a bit of a mixed blessing of late, even with mine a little over a week away. On the one hand I can safely say I will never tire of cake, dressing up, opportunities to gather loved ones together, dance until limbs ache and generally have a fantastic time. However, there is also the horrible march of time thoughts; moments where I look back on years passed with a twinge of if only and why-ever-not?  Also, things might take a tiny bit longer to do than before and let’s not even begin talking about a face and body that might not have entirely kept up with your internal (delusional perhaps?) recollection of it!

Perhaps because as Christos we are always looking at our faith from the rather pleasing lens of both Jesus arrival and resurrection and the all-important outpouring of the Holy Spirit that happened at Pentecost, we forget how much waiting preceded it. We aren’t talking a few weeks as was the case with the disciples, we are talking whole centuries. Generations of people were born, went through life’s milestones, grew old and died and still with no Jesus arrived.  It must have been pretty hard to stay poso and upbeat in I-don’t-know-which hundred BC with stretch marks, crow’s feet, a scratchy tunic to wear and stuck in a dead-end position working one of the fields with less glamourous crops growing in it. And yet that was the lot of many believers during the ages of the Prophets. A time filled with hardship and bleakness, and the proverbial locusts eating years, opportunities, chances and joy.

Joel, one of the Minor Prophets in the Old Testament brings all of this to the fore: he talks about he years of lack vividly, evokes those wretched swarms of locusts eating people’s good years and captivity and every sort of hardship going. But then there is a change of tone, one that happens with the arrival of the Messiah and the restoration that follows:

“It will come about after this that I will pour out my Spirit on all mankind. And your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, your young men will have visions.” Joel 2:28

Joel was writing these words centuries before Pentecost Sunday, but there it is a promised - an outpouring of the Spirit of God. As we read the verse we see the extent of inclusiveness of this outpouring – it is for all mankind; men and women are equally blessed with the gifts of prophesy, and regardless of age all are mightily used by God.

We live an age that is obsessed with measurement. You are only as good as the external parameters out there and Youth and Beauty and Wealth are the new trinity rather than Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is simply untrue. The greatest gift, until Jesus returns once more is the Holy Spirit – which in other verses is referred to as the ‘Counsellor’.  Instead of seeking approval in the different trinities made by man, seek advice and direction from the Holy Spirit first. Trust that whatever your life stage, you are still of value to the Creator and that your contribution is vital and unique to you and of infinite import to the Kingdom. And if that piece of good news does not get you in a party mood, then just know we are living in the hope filled aftermath of all that happened before and as such can tap into the Holy Spirit whenever we need. I am off to sip some fizz and dance vigorously, I suggest you do the same!

Unlucky For Some

It’s almost over in most parts of the world, but let’s be real – did anything actually bad happen? Well, maybe one thing – the Air Conditioning in our offices stopped working which rendered any matte and chic make-up look a complete waste of time – but really did Friday 13^th live up to all of it’ expectant horrors, fears and general anxiety upping expectations?

I have always been struck about the power superstition plays on the heart and mind of the believer. From walking under a ladder to avoiding planning anything significant falling on the 13^th, the date has historically been so heavy with portents of the more negative kind. People having major issues with the date go back to mediaeval times when both the date of the Original Maundy Thursday (13^th of Nisan for all you theology buffs out there) was considered auspicious for all of the wrong reasons as it precipitated Jesus’ death. Furthermore, overt dislike for the number 13 really took hold when believers considered the number of diners in the Upper Room that fateful night: As the Bingo Caller rhyme goes ‘Unlucky for Some, Three and One!’ 

But let’s take a step back. How unfortunate would it have been to be there? Dining with Jesus – with only eleven other people fighting for his attention. How intimate and enthralling, inspiring and flipping exciting would that supper have been?! And maybe it is because I am a foodie, but I have this consistent thought that the unleavened bread would have been the lightest and most delicious bread ever, maybe even dusted with Sumac or another exotic Middle Eastern spice, the wine would make Chateau Latour seem vinegar like in quality and the Lamb would have been fall of the bone tender. But I digress, there couldn’t really be a greater privilege than to have been one of Jesus’ chosen twelve. The Gospels all talk of greater numbers being followers, but it is the twelve who were the strategic ones. They got a front-row seat on Jesus’ glory. Hung out with him on quiet days, witnessed the remarkable and observed the mundane.

When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table. And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.” After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, “Take this and divide it among you.  For I tell you I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” Luke 22:14 -20

There was nothing unfortunate about the Last Supper. Firstly, it was planned: Jesus told the disciples to make arrangements ahead of time. Tellingly, there was a specific purpose to it aside from observing the Passover: Jesus wanted to have that one last meal with his closest friends before his Passion. He knew explicitly that suffering lay ahead. He promised not to drink again until the fulfillment of God’s Kingdom and finally the first Communion was held with bread and wine blessed ahead of being shared, something that believers still do to this day.

But perhaps what should banish any aspect of fear and dread around the 13^th is the knowledge of what happened afterwards: the resurrection and its promise of reconciliation for us all. There is nothing random about the God we serve and the life, death and resurrection of his only son are central to his good plan for all of humankind. As were the number people at the Last Supper and everything that has followed since. Jesus’ Passion expresses love at its most selfless and boundless. And unequivocally proves that we are the luckiest of all. 

The Temporary Farewell

I am completely rubbish at goodbyes. Take me to an airport and even if I do not dissolve into tears at the Departure Gate I will be guaranteed to either back home (if I am not the one travelling) or be bleary eyed as the other travelers excitedly bag bargains in Duty Free. Today, on Ascension Day, we are reminded of the ultimate goodbye, when Jesus having risen and hung out with the disciples for a further forty days ascended to heaven. 

Ascension Day has somewhat faded in the average Christo’s relevance and importance. Sandwiched between the very exciting extravaganzas that are Easter and the Church’s very own birthday which is Pentecost, it is often a bit of a by-the-way. But in light of my own attitudes to farewells from loved ones, how flipping traumatic the preceding couple of months must have been for the disciples, much less Ascension Day? They rock up in Jerusalem thinking that they are going to start a revolution, instead see their Master crucified, breathe a collective sigh of relief when he resurrects only to see him go in a cloud to heaven.  Surely there would have been some who said something along the lines of ‘Why are you going and leaving in this hectic, messy, difficult to navigate world? Surely your resurrection means we can really kick-off, get rid of the socio-political oppression of Rome and the Pharisees, vanquish everyday hardships, Hey get rid of death itself. But please don’t go and leave us alone!”

But if that had been the case then the story would have ended there. Mark’s Gospel gives a clue into the purpose of Jesus’ Ascension:

“After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God. Then the disciples went out and preached everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs that accompanied it. Mark 16:19-20

Apart from the very serious business of being at the right hand of the Father, no longer separated from him as he had bought back our salvation, Jesus had very clearly handed over the baton. To us. Yes, pretty amazing. He ascended to heaven AFTER he had spent time with the disciples, taught them, fortified them for the journey ahead and given them the great commission  - that this great gift of Jesus in one’s life – could not just be hogged by them alone but must be shared with all of humanity. The disciples good on their word went about the business of preaching and Jesus for his part confirmed that all they were proclaiming was not elaborate hog-wash, but the real deal as ‘signs accompanied it’ as stated in the verse.

The journey then and now is not easy for Christos. There will be times when you just wish the Second Coming could hurry up and come already, especially when one witnesses the scale of brokenness around the world or even closer to home. The Book of Acts hints at the duality of Ascension Day with angels having to give some of the disciples a kick up the proverbial to get on with the work in hand that Jesus has entrusted them to participate in.

“They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” Acts1:10-11

There will be times when you will look up to the heavens and want a celestial hand to sort things out for you, and sometimes prayers, assistance and comfort may come immediately. But the God we serve has actually entrusted us to partner with him in his Divine Purposes. We are told he will return but in the interim we are to love, work, heal and teach just as he did. So let’s rise to the occasion of his expectations, knowing that when we need help and encouragement he is with us always.

Why I follow who I follow

Today in the sweltering heat of Lagos, I walked the Stations of The Cross from our local church, The Church of Assumption. It is not the first time in my life I have done a Stations walk, but there was something different in it today. Perhaps it was due to the fact that traffic around Falomo Bridge and Awolowo Road came to a standstill to make way for the hundreds of us who had gathered to process, perhaps because my foolhardy choice of footwear added an extra element of ‘trial’ to the experience, or maybe because this is the first Lent that I have consciously decided to blog as I fast (harder than one thinks, trust me), but if felt more potent.

The Stations of the Cross are pretty ubiquitous. Go into most old church buildings anywhere in the world, and there they are: either carved in stone, painted or in fresco. Jesus condemned, scourged, given a cross on his back, helped by Simon the Cyrene, falling not once but thrice, his bloody face mopped by Veronica, nailed to a cross, dead and then buried. Pictured on their own, they are a sad and pitiful sight. In fact without the knowledge of what is to come; his final words, ‘It is finished” sound like the worst sort of defeat. No chance of a re=match, or an extension of time so that the scared and long gone disciples could mobilise troops and fight back in Jerusalem.  The battle was concluded.

I am often asked why it is I choose Jesus over the pantheon of other belief systems out there. Why this man, who in today’s lectionary reading from Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12, is described as unremarkable looking, full of sorrows and despised and rejected? I choose Jesus every time because of what he did rather than who he was:

“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4

It takes a lot to take a hit for one person, much more to take it for the whole of humankind as Jesus did. As we processed, we were reminded of the humanity of Jesus. Though wholly divine, he still bled, stumbled and struggled to carry the cross, felt the isolation of his friends deserting him, chose silence in front of Pilate rather than robust defence. He bore it all, excruciating death to boot, for us. In this verse we are told he was pierced for every sin that we have done and will likely do. He was crushed in body so that our wrong intentions, actions,  complaints and excuses won’t come back and bite us. The serenity that we oftentimes seek in external sources comes from him alone and that inner healing we all yearn from comes via each open wound mark. In the violent violation of his body comes eternal fulfilment for us all.

I choose to follow Jesus not only because he died for me, but also because he opens a door for possibility, He would have died if it was just for the one person, much less all of us. He could have chosen to show his glory with a SWAT team of Angels, but that wasn’t the point. Those of us who choose to believe, and it is a choice, because the God we serve is neither a bully or boaster, do so because of the nature of Jesus. He is Divine but he is Love Incarnate, He is the suffering servant, choosing to assist, when he could have so easily let the cup pass him. Opting for obedience rather than defiance and right to his last breath showing compassion and understanding, even to the thief crucified beside him. Following him though challenging is all too beguiling, and I challenge anyone to read the four Gospels and not fall in love a teeny tiny bit with his character and nature.

Although Good Friday is a time of gratitude as we remember the cross. It is also a challenging time as we are reminded of our duty to serve, to bear our own crosses with grace and be certain that our Loving Saviour will assist when it all gets too much. It is a time to do our small sacrifices and to do them with cheer. Many joined in fasting today, some abstained from meat (I enjoyed a sublime red snapper that I cooked ), but Good Friday is so much more than these traditional observances. It is humanity’s  road to freedom; a life where we are reminded that if God could love us so much then we should love ourselves too and with that deposit of love working in us, love those around us and bring heaven on earth. The workers may be few, and the days might be flipping evil but in him and with him and through him all things are possible and all circumstances turn out for good. 

The Love Embassy

This week has been one where the Lenten Lectionary readings have left me thinking about Church Life. Does it feed, inspire heal and console? Or does it judge, accuse, condemn and cast out? A few weeks back I blogged about Church cliques and how many newcomers are discouraged not so much by the message in the bible, but by the reception they receive from members of the congregation. Today, however, my focus is on leadership: how far is it okay for cultural relativism  to be the main reason things are done the way they are in church, rather than what is written in the bible? I begin my post with some encouraging words from one of this week’s readings, from 2 Corinthians 5:16-21:

 “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who has no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:20-21

If we are Christ’s Ambassadors, and God is Love incarnate, then our churches are Love Embassies. Places where people grow in Love and Understanding, until their visa comes through for the greatest destination of all, Heaven.  In light of this what is with the judgment and worse, the fear of punitive measures if you don’t toe the party line in most churches here, and I speak as one who has had the pleasure of attending Anglican (my tradition), Catholic (my husband’s) and Pentecostal (followed many who are dear to me) churches. Like anywhere one adjusts; one of the lovely things about living in many parts of Africa is that being a believer isn’t as ‘fringe’ an activity as it is in the West. I quite like that people entreaty the Lord even in general conversation. It points at a faith that is alive, that doesn’t just exist for Sunday.

However, at odds with this are the rules and regulations that govern church life.  The policing can be severe: alongside the times of worship on one church’s noticeboard was the rather ominous “Women wearing lipstick cannot take Communion.” Why? Where is the sin in beautification? Yes, we all know Jezebel had a penchant for mascara, but does that make every female that swears by a double swipe of Maybelline and some tinted Lancôme lip-gloss in possession of a Jezebel Spirit and forbidden from participating in the Eucharist?

Condemnation seems to be the main currency in many of these churches: attached to this post is a genuine notices section taken from a leading church in Lagos. No, I won’t name and shame but reading the section on bridal dressing and tithes made me feel that we Christians have got our priorities so mixed up on what is really important and what it is to be an ambassador of Christ. Exactly what is meant by a dress covering ‘all of the body’?  What if the blushing bride still has a figure worthy of a Victoria’s Secret’s Angel, covered frock or not, do we send her away for being a little too smoking hot? My challenge to all of those who accuse people of immodest dressing is where is YOUR mind? It is the gaze rather than the gazed that is sexualised, and it brings to mind Jesus’ entreaty to focus on the plank of wood in our own eyes before we attend to the sawdust in our Christian brothers or sisters (Matthew 7:4-5).  Furthermore, a sense of shame is what will often drive people into having an inauthentic spiritual life, more focused on pleasing the cultural norms than connecting with the risen Lord.

Fear is so at odds with a life in Christ. By this I am not referring to the fear of the Lord, which echoes reverence and total acceptance of God’s authority. I am talking of the fear associated with shame and self-loathing and doubt that God might not love us as much as he does. I was flabbergasted to read tithing being correlated to unanswered prayer; with everything from delay in getting pregnant or getting a job promotion being down to a lack of commitment on the believers part. How can the size of your offering be compared to one’s level of piety?  Or regular giving be the reason that cancer and sickness have not visited your household? It’s sacrilegious to make such claims, but there they are, in black and white. We serve a God who wants to give all his children, rich and poor, good gifts. Sadly, in the case of this church, it seems the size of the church’s coffers were what was of most import, otherwise why the sentences that are at odds with the foundation of all our faith, so beautifully expounded by St Paul? Reconciliation with God comes from the Cross and the Cross alone. Blessings in their many forms, abundance, joy and laughter, all of them come from Jesus.  They are not contingent upon arbitrary rules made up by leaders in the church, most of which are rooted in social control than the freedom found in God’s love.

As a fellow Christo, I pray that things really begin to change. I cannot imagine a deep, rich and honest faith walk developing with so many rules that stifle honesty,  expression, discourse, creativity, a ‘com- as-you-are’ message  and most important of all love. Let’s all do our part to sort out the Love Embassies, whatever denomination we attend. After all, there are so many people out there in need of a Divine visa.

So, what exactly is the point?

Social gatherings always seem to bring out all sorts of odd but familiar human behaviour. From the guest who stands close to the food and drink station, hoovering up as much as they can before others have had a chance,  to the clichéd small-talk questions that are all about figuring out your importance, relevance and proximity to the host: “What do you do?”, “Where do you live?” and  “How do you know X?”

On one level one could argue that such questions have an important role to play; they are about discovering common ground, finding topics to talk about further,  even potentially cementing future friendships and indeed that might be the case. But all too often they are about assessment and judgment, the two forces that reign in our modern world we live in. I laughed inwardly when for a joke, I declared myself unemployed and living in penury in a very bad neighbourhood at a terribly posh event only to see one guest gasp audibly and another excuse themselves from our group never to return again! But the responses speak much to what our true concerns are, what we put the most importance and trust in and on a deeper level what motivates us to do what we do in our lives.

This week’s Lectionary for Lent, features a passage from Isaiah that is at odds with much of what preoccupies us today:

“Come, all of you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labour on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare.” Isaiah 55:1-2

The invitation to be in Christ is the best one we all get. We are called to come not once or twice but four times in these two verses alone. The call is plaintive, God knows that his people are thirsty, he knows that they are poor too; not necessarily because their finances are shredded to pieces due to spend-a-thons of a gargantuan scale, but they are poor in spirit, as it him alone that can satisfy the depths of us. The invitation is open, God does not force anyone to follow him, but he does implore that we listen, but what an invitation, the choicest and in ancient times when Isaiah was written, the most costly items   - wine and milk – are available at no cost at all and the richest of fares are promised if we choose to consume what is good and in him.

Also of note is the question at the centre of the verse: “Why spend money on what is not bread, and labour on what does not satisfy.” This particular sentence is a tough one for those of us who have worked diligently to get to a certain point in life.  Yes, it is fantastic to be able to enjoy life’s luxuries, to dispense generosity of a mammoth scale on those we love and to be acknowledged for our hard won achievements. But none of it truly satisfies. The money we have in our life be it the physical kind that we store in banks is finite.  Toiling in the earthly realm is not the point of our lives at all. It is essentially a zero sum game. There will always be someone who will surpass what you have achieved, and those moments that are great? By their very nature they are fleeting and will fade into the horizon of memory faster than you may think.

What all of us believers should consider, is that Jesus, our Lord and saviour laboured in his ministry and on the Cross so that we  could all eat and drink our spiritual fill. Our spiritual fill is infinitely more important than what is happening today because by its very nature it is BEYOND today. It is forever, and it is freely given, our own part is to merely agree to participate.

As I write this, slightly peckish (fasting does not come naturally to me!), I am comforted that in spite of all of my earthly wants and desires the pivotal point of my life is to Come to Christ (which I have done already – hurrah!), Listen to him (which I am definitely still a work in progress), and labour as he did, thinking not of what I will receive today, but what is in store in heaven. 

Sticking Through It

Week two of Lent has been a stresser;  so much so that this post almost didn’t happen at all. Between the minor (the Gunners losing to Barcelona in the first leg of their UEFA Cup tie) to the major, continued injustices and casual cruelties that I witness going unpunished, the lazy folk  getting rewarded and the fact that many seem to believe kind is a synonym for doormat and behave accordingly. I have been left wondering maybe quit the whole fasting thing and order myself a double tier cake. Prayer, fasting and contemplation seem to be a long arduous road, punctuated by hunger, seeming silence from the heavens and no definitive answers.

To the Lectionary I went seeking hope in a verse or three. As I said in my previous post, I am doing Lent the old school way and meditating on the set readings provided. The passages from Luke and Philippians could have been customised for the week I had as both focused on the deeper question of how to maintain hope, confidence most of all faith in situations that seemed terminal.

In Luke9:28-42 we read about the Transfiguration. Peter’s response, wonder, fear and the random suggestion of building dwellings for Jesus, Moses and Elijah is typical of the confused believer. Far easier to babble and make suggestions that seem useful than focus on what is truly at hand.

‘A voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, whom I have chosen; listen to him.” ‘ Luke 9:35

Critical to any believer is steadfast following of Jesus. Everything else is secondary, even if a prophet and the receiver of the 10 Commandments rocks up, nothing , but nothing tops following Jesus. Instead of letting all the irritating aspects of the week get to me, or wondering what I should be doing next to get to the next Spiritual milestone, all I had to do was keep listening to my Lord and Saviour. No one and nothing is above or beyond him.

In Philippians, Paul reminds us where our true confidence, identity and belonging should stem from:

“Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ.” Philippians 3:19-20

Concerning myself with the four letter words that sprinkle every society and the other wrongs that happen ad-infinitum is  distracting. Even when there are gross injustices, it is not for me to judge, comment or get myself in a tizz about. As all those who choose that direction have already received their reward in the earthly realm and that is precisely where it will stay. For me to froth and fret about things not being righted is to be as in the flesh and concerned with the temporary as those short-cut crew members. Although we occupy this world, as believers this world is not our final destination or indeed the place our spirit really wants to reside. Our home is in heaven, where our Lord and Saviour reigns eternal. As we look forward to the Easter story with the resurrection and indeed to his earthly return, one is best to participate as cheerfully and positively as possible, so that he too will be well pleased with me.