SOUL SURMISE

INTERRUPTIONS OF GRACE (Pt 2) - OUTSIDE OF KARMA

(part 2 of a series of blog size sermons from a series I did in The Cathedral Of The Advent in Birmingham, Alabama during Lent 2014 and repeated in McCracken Memorial, Belfast - you can listen to it at the bottom of the blog)

In Part 1 of this series we looked at Bono’s idea of interruptions of grace and how Jesus birth in Bethlehem was a grace interruption in the history of the world. In part 2 we see how Grace for Bono is an interruption of his very own life. 

That interruption is as a result of Jesus actions on the cross that first Good Friday. Bono has been singing about it for years. On 1981’s October album in a song called With A Shout (Jerusalem) - 

“I want to go, to the foot of Mount Zion
To the foot of He who made me see
To the side of a hill blood was spilt
We were filled with a love”

And again on 1987’s Joshua Tree in the song I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For - 

“You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it”

Then on 2001’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind there is a song actually called Grace -

“Grace

She takes the blame

She covers the shame

Removes the stain”

The cross of Christ is crucial to Bono’s belief about himself. This is where grace actually interrupts his own life. As he sings on that song Grace “she travels outside of karma.” To Michka Assayas Bono said,  “I really believe we’ve moved out of the realm of Karma and into one of Grace…You see at the centre of the all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, or in physics – in physical laws – every action is met by an equal or opposite one. It’s clear to me that Karma is at the every heart of the Universe. I’m absolutely sure of it. And yet, along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that, “as you sow, so will you reap” stuff. Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is every good news indeed, because I’ve done a lot of stupid stuff…I’d be in big trouble if Karma was finally going to be my judge.

I’d be in deep shit. It doesn’t excuse my mistakes, but I’m holding out for Grace. I’m holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the cross, because I know who I am, and I hope I don’t have to depend on my own religiosity.”

That realisation that he shouldn’t depend on his own religiosity is identical to the apostle Paul’s understanding of himself and his need of a grace interruption. Philippians 3 particularly comes to mind - 

7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in[a] Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.

Paul like Bono came to trust God’s interruption of grace to make his relationship with God right again. Another rock star theologian, Marcus Mumford, has put this radical idea of grace succinctly in his song Roll Away Your Stone - 

“It seems that all my bridges have been burned,
But you say that’s exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive with the restart”

Grace is not something you earn but something you are gifted by God.

There is more. Let us stay in this Philippians 3 passage and compare it to I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. In that song after a succinct definition of redemption - 

“You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it”

Bono goes on - 

“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”

That was a controversial phrase when Joshua Tree was released. How could a Christian claim he hadn’t found what he was looking for. Well a closer look at that Philippians 3 will tell you - 

“12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

Christians believe that Grace interrupts at the cross. It interrupts the Karma. It immediately changes our standing before God. We are welcomed at the restart. But it is only the restart. Grace interrupts our positional place before a Holy God. Grace also fuels the practical turning around of our lives. Grace then becomes the very constitution of the news Kingdom. 

“What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things.”

Listen to the sermon here...

 

INTERRUPTIONS OF GRACE (PT 1)... IN HISTORY

(part 1 of a series of blog size sermons from a series I did in The Cathedral Of The Advent in Birmingham, Alabama during Lent 2014 and repeated in McCracken Memorial, Belfast.)

Readers to this blog will know that I wrote a book on U2 (Walk On; The Spiritual Journey of U2 and have been quoting the band, and particularly their lead singer Bono, for thirty years! There is a resigned raised eyebrow every time I do! I used to apologise for such actions but more recently have come to acknowledge that I no longer quote Bono to grab attention but because he is a fine theologian; perhaps an amateur theologian but a theologian all the same.

I have become particularly fondness of his idea that grace interrupts. The poet or the songwriter have that way with words that can often just open up a concept in ways that are so insightful. In a book Bono In Conversation With Michka Assayas Bono says, “Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which is in my case very good news indeed.” I want to connect that phrase with three big moments in the Gospels, three of the biggest moments in history in my opinion, and develop Bono’s phrase. 

In the first three chapters of Genesis we read an explanation for the default position of our world. The story goes that humans reached to be more than they are… and ended up less than they were created to be. They thought they could be God and ended up less than the fullness of their humanity. They lost their place, their purpose and their intimate relationship with God. 

Bono unpacks the implications of this event known in Christian theology as “the fall” by saying, “the idea that God says: ‘Look, you cretins, there are certain results to the way we are, to selfishness, and there’s mortality as part of the sinful nature, and, let’s face it, you’re not living a very good life, are you? There are consequences to actions.’”

History goes on with such implications and then grace interrupts. Bono tells a story about being back from a tour and going to a Carol Service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. In his tiredness he focuses on the events of the nativity in order to keep himself awake and gets a fresh perspective on this interruption of grace. He says, “The idea that God, if there is a force of Logic and Love in the universe, that it would seek to explain itself is amazing enough. That it would seek to explain itself and describe itself by becoming a child born in straw poverty, in shit and straw…a child… I just thought: “Wow!” Just the poetry … Unknowable love, unknowable power, describes itself as the most vulnerable. There it was. I was sitting there, and it’s not that it hadn’t struck me before, but tears came streaming down my face, and I saw the genius of this, utter genius of picking a particular point in time and deciding to turn on this.”

The word advent comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning "coming". It seems to me that Bono’s translation of the Greek as “interrupting” works! I have two images of that coming that describes the deeply felt impact at the core of the world when the baby hits the straw. The gentle meek bundle of baby arrives having flown across two terrains. 

The first is the hurtle through history. From a hint in Genesis chapter 3 that something would happen down the line The Word has been rocketing through all the millennia of history to become flesh. The second is that idea that in Graham Kendrick’s hymn, “from heaven you came helpless babe”. From somewhere way far out there God arrives in skin and bone like a heavenly meteorite hurtling!    

When the God of all the universe landed wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying softly on a bed of animal straw we should not be fooled by the gentleness of his arrival. In that moment the world shuddered. It was as if the God who filled the entire Universe squeezed his vastness into a tiny little piece of semtex explosive and hurtled it from the far end of the Universe like a meteorite that crashed into planet earth knocking it from the way things were to a hopefulness of the new way that it could be. 

Here, in the nativity we see this absurd almost crazy revolution; King of the Universe in some backstreet manger; the humility of God becoming a servant of his creation; a God of justice loving and welcoming in those whom he was at enmity with; the blessedness of the poor. 

The King of the day felt the tremor and sent his death squads to kill it at birth but on and on down through history this explosive thud has drawn people to turn the way things are on their heads and attempt to interrupt the status quo of the first being first and the last being last with a strange concept called grace. Suddenly there arrives this insane notion that no matter who we are or what we have done we are like the shepherds and Magi, welcomed, forgiven, redeemed, adopted, loved. It seems crazy but this grace interruption to history is our only hope! Remember the way Bono put it, “Grace defies reason and logic. Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which is in my case very good news indeed.”

Listen to the sermon here

 

THE PRAYER AND THE GLORY - JOHN 17

(in this series I blog size a sermon...this was last Sunday's...you can listen to it all in a link at the end...)

John 17. Jesus has done the final team talk before the big event to come. He now looks to heaven and prays for himself, the disciples around him and those of us who would believe in the future.  

There is one word that dominates this chapter and indeed is a crucial word in the entire Biblical canon - glory! Jesus is seeking to glorify God, be glorified, seeks that the disciples would finally see his glory. 

In his commentary on John, The Light Has Come, Lesslie Newbigin writes:

“Glory” is plainly one of the fundamental words of the Bible. It expresses that which is - so to speak - constitutive of God’s being and nature, and at the same time it denotes the honour which ought to be paid to God. BUT - and this is what the whole Gospel tells us - these two meanings are mutually bound together…”

So, from Newbigin’s exposition glory is a revelation of God and also the praise and honour we give to God.

Psalm 19 tells us, “The heavens declare the glory of God”. In Chronicles 16: 28 we are asked to, “Ascribe to the Lord, all you families of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.” Yet, the phrase that struck me most here in John was when Jesus says in verse 22, “I have given them the glory that you gave me… 

This is a sensational phrase. Jesus passes the glory that is the revelation and manifestation of who God is on to us, his followers. Jesus gives us the glory! Goodness! It opened up for me with clarity and power the most famous phrase in the Shorter Catechism, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever”. 

Humanity’s vocation is to live the image of God. That is the original intention of Eden and now that Jesus is glorifying God in his life, death and resurrection humanity can once more be displayers of God’s glory. Hence Paul will tell the Corinthians,  “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” and Jesus will tell his disciples, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Jesus is not a prophet giving some advice about how to live by some middle class behavioural pattern. He is not just saying be nice to your neighbour. This is about the right to become children of God (John 1). Jesus is on about living life in all its fulness (John 10) about a new life from above (John 3). It is about having the glory of within us, living lives that reveal his grace and holiness and justice to the world. 

Listen to the entire sermon here...

 

 

 

 

 

FITZROY 200 - THE 4 KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

Last weekend Fitzroy celebrated 200 years of since its genesis and as we gave God thanks he hurled us into the future with like a full force gale, to quote the Van Morrison song sung at my installation into this history. There were four key note addresses over the weekend and I would love to recommend that you give all four of them a listen. They were challenging, inspiring and encouraging, all leaving us believing but aware of the correcting we all need to do!

I led off on Friday night and afterwards someone said it was the best they had ever heard me. I am not so sure but I certainly was challenged in my own soul as I looked at Jesus the Way. Yes, we reminded ourselves that Jesus life, death and resurrection is the way back to God, to salvation and ultimately heaven. There is much more though as that way is not something we wait for until we die. It begins now. In following Jesus. We took a little audit at what Jesus might say in our prayer meetings, BT addresses etc and how we connect with this generation and neighbourhood to guide them onto the way. What most challenged me was perhaps a too familiar verse, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I have been wondering how much energy we are all spending on all the things that will be added and how much we are spending on the seeking God first. More to come on that.

hear Steve Stockman's Jesus - The Way here

On Saturday evening took on Jesus - The Truth. David is a world renowned academic with a marvellous mind and gift at communicating Christian truth amidst the intellectual challenges of the real world. David took on the two worldviews that are trying their hardest to shape us; scientific arrogance and postmodern anything goes. With well read knowledge, brilliant illustrations and a command of the Biblical context where Jesus said he was the truth David brought out that truth of Jesus as intellectual, incarnation, ethical and beautiful.

hear David Livingstone's Jesus - The Truth here...

On Sunday my predecessor Ken Newell opened up the idea of Jesus as the life. Ken is a wise spiritual sage who has in his own life prophetically lived out his faith on the streets of his city. He shared much of that journey, soon to be available in his Memoirs, and showed us what a life on fire is all about. It was a great challenge to live out the passion that God gives us. Northern Ireland has too many people with small ears and clenched jaws he said. How do we live Jesus peacemaking now. Again we were drawn back to two recurring Fitzroy themes these days - “word made flesh” and “life in all its fullness”.

hear Ken Newell's Jesus - The Life here...

Last, but far from least, Alain Emerson, pastor in Emmanuel Church in Lurgan and a leader in 24/7 Prayer. He is the new generation of young Church leaders, making Jesus as relevant today as he was down 200 Fitzroy years. Alain was my choice to take us out of celebration to the future, with particular reference to our youth. His Sunday night keynote was simply astounding. Alain came into a context he knew little about and set us on the next part of the journey with real Biblical insight and spiritual wisdom. How encouraging for the pastor when Monday morning’s Facebook was alive with quotes from the Sunday night’s talk. Alain took Numbers 13 and inspired us to be Moses, Caleb or Joshua, all generation running alongside each other as we build on the legacy of our past towards God’s desire for our future. “We can certainly do it!”

hear Alain Emerson's Building On A Legacy here...

FITZROY 200 - THE 4 KEYNOTE ADDRESSES

Last weekend Fitzroy celebrated 200 years of since its genesis and as we gave God thanks he hurled us into the future with like a full force gale, to quote the Van Morrison song sung at my installation into this history. There were four key note addresses over the weekend and I would love to recommend that you give all four of them a listen. They were challenging, inspiring and encouraging, all leaving us believing but aware of the correcting we all need to do!

I led off on Friday night and afterwards someone said it was the best they had ever heard me. I am not so sure but I certainly was challenged in my own soul as I looked at Jesus the Way. Yes, we reminded ourselves that Jesus life, death and resurrection is the way back to God, to salvation and ultimately heaven. There is much more though as that way is not something we wait for until we die. It begins now. In following Jesus. We took a little audit at what Jesus might say in our prayer meetings, BT addresses etc and how we connect with this generation and neighbourhood to guide them onto the way. What most challenged me was perhaps a too familiar verse, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I have been wondering how much energy we are all spending on all the things that will be added and how much we are spending on the seeking God first. More to come on that.

hear Steve Stockman's Jesus - The Way here

On Saturday evening took on Jesus - The Truth. David is a world renowned academic with a marvellous mind and gift at communicating Christian truth amidst the intellectual challenges of the real world. David took on the two worldviews that are trying their hardest to shape us; scientific arrogance and postmodern anything goes. With well read knowledge, brilliant illustrations and a command of the Biblical context where Jesus said he was the truth David brought out that truth of Jesus as intellectual, incarnation, ethical and beautiful.

hear David Livingstone's Jesus - The Truth here...

On Sunday my predecessor Ken Newell opened up the idea of Jesus as the life. Ken is a wise spiritual sage who has in his own life prophetically lived out his faith on the streets of his city. He shared much of that journey, soon to be available in his Memoirs, and showed us what a life on fire is all about. It was a great challenge to live out the passion that God gives us. Northern Ireland has too many people with small ears and clenched jaws he said. How do we live Jesus peacemaking now. Again we were drawn back to two recurring Fitzroy themes these days - “word made flesh” and “life in all its fullness”.

hear Ken Newell's Jesus - The Life here...

Last, but far from least, Alain Emerson, pastor in Emmanuel Church in Lurgan and a leader in 24/7 Prayer. He is the new generation of young Church leaders, making Jesus as relevant today as he was down 200 Fitzroy years. Alain was my choice to take us out of celebration to the future, with particular reference to our youth. His Sunday night keynote was simply astounding. Alain came into a context he knew little about and set us on the next part of the journey with real Biblical insight and spiritual wisdom. How encouraging for the pastor when Monday morning’s Facebook was alive with quotes from the Sunday night’s talk. Alain took Numbers 13 and inspired us to be Moses, Caleb or Joshua, all generation running alongside each other as we build on the legacy of our past towards God’s desire for our future. “We can certainly do it!”

hear Alain Emerson's Building On A Legacy here...

LAST SUNDAY'S SERMON: Ulster Covenant and Ephesians 2 in Dialogue

 

On Sunday I was to preach on the second half of Ephesians 2 and in being contemporary to my local context I found myself applying it to Northern Ireland’s Centenary commemorations of the Ulster
Covenant. It didn’t need to be contrived as Ephesians 2 verse 12 mentions “covenants.” Always trying to be aware in our liturgy to be in touch with the news we used a prayer written by the Centre of Contemporary Christianity In Ireland and we added to that a song Dave Thompson, a member of our congregation, had written and that had won an Orange Order song contest for songs written about the Ulster Covenant. Again by some uncontrived coincidence Dave had also written a hymn based on Ephesians 2. The two songs became a
fascinating dialogue between a letter of St. Paul and the Ulster Covenant of 1912.

Before I started to preach I feared that I had bitten off more than I could chew. In the end I felt that the best part of the sermon
was my exposition of Paul’s intent in Ephesians 2. I admitted that life was different in 1912 when Dave’s Great Grandfather, who Dave’s song was about, signed that “by any means” he would defend his people.  On the way home I wondered if I had been too hard on my forefathers who signed the Covenant. It is hard to sweep across the
history of 1912 in a sermon and I hoped I hadn’t been glib; judge that for yourselves. Whatever the weaknesses of the history lesson I still believe that the text of Ephesians 2 transcends the events of 1912 and the legacy we still live with in 2012. I looked at where our security is found, what our identity really is in Christ and how the eternal Covenant that God gave his people was not just for their blessing but for the blessing of all nations. Please hear that text
and apply it to our situation.    

Dave songs and the sermon can be listened to here...

http://www.fitzroy.org.uk/Groups/80917/Fitzroy_Presbyterian_Church/Worship/Sermons/Sermons.aspx