Author: Jonnyfun.E

Now retired, and enjoying making music and writing. Living in Gloucester, historically an important port on the river Severn, and situated with The Forest of Dean and the Brecon Beacons to the west, and the beautiful Cotswolds to the east.
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Be Careful

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We must take care how we read … whether it’s a news report, or a blog, or the scriptures.

Before I go back into Mark’s Gospel, I remind myself that it is important how I read these words.   I come to these words believing that they speak with authority.  I pray that through God’s Spirit, the words of the scriptures will shape my life.
When we come with our agenda to much to the fore, it can easily distort, or obscure what the scriptures are saying to us.  We can easily then make the scripture say just what we want it to.  For example, christians have often made the mistake of reading the scriptures asking only what it says to me as an individual, about salvation for example.  The result is a very individualised form of religion that in the end is human centred, and not God centred, and is only concerned with whether we go to heaven or not.
I am trying to read Mark’s Gospel with issues of injustice, oppression etc in mind.  And that’s fine.  We can’t read the Bible in a vacuum.  But I must be careful to let God’s word speak to me on its own terms, and not on mine.
I use this prayer a lot, because it makes God the centre of action in shaping our lives and our worship.
Faithful One, whose word is life, come to free our praise, inspire our prayers and shape our lives, according to the kingdom of your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.
(From Common Worship in the Church of England)
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Jesus Prays

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Mark 1:35-39

Even Jesus needed to get away from it all.  After all the activity in Capernaum, he gets up in the middle of the night, and finds a deserted place to pray.  It doesn’t last long!  Simon and the others soon find him.
I suppose this is what I am trying to do in these nine and a bit weeks.  Refreshment of body, mind and spirit is what it’s all about.  Maybe regaining things that have been lost in the busyness of life and ministry.  Maybe discovering new things about myself, the world and God.
These verses about Jesus going off the pray and get some spiritual refreshment are very appropriate for today (Sunday), and in a few minutes, I’m heading off to St Columba’s in Hull, where I was a curate for three years.  It’ll be good to be sitting in the pew, receiving.
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After Sunset

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Mark 1:29-43

Here it is again – (euthus – immediately) – Immediately they left the synagogue, and go to Simon and Andrew’s home, where Simon’s mother in law is sick with a fever. Jesus heals her and then heals many who are brought to the house.
So – all this happens on the same day. A healing in the synagogue, a very personal healing in the home, and then the healing of a whole crowd of people.  And it’s the sabbath.
So is it significant that the large crowd only come to the house ‘after sunset’ ?  That is, when the sabbath is over.
Jesus sabbath activity would quickly become a cause for conflict between himself and the religious leaders.  We have the seeds of that conflict already, and in those two words ‘after sunset’, an idea of how much influence the religious laws had on the people, so that they wait until the sabbath is over and it is safe to come to Jesus.
As I ask how this gospel might speak into situations of oppression, it makes me think of situations where there are obstacles that prevent people from accessing health care, and other basic necessities.  
For Palestinians, the many regulations and checkpoints mean that people cannot live normal lives.  Every morning from 3 am, hundreds of Palestinian men will come to the Gilo checkpoint in Bethlehem to go through to work in Jerusalem.  They have to arrive this early to be sure of getting work.  They leave their homes while their families are asleep, and arrive back when they are once more asleep.  The checkpoints open at dawn, and they must wait in line, directed to move by red and green lights.  They can be turned back after waiting several hours even though they have been security checked.  It is a life without dignity and respect.
Next week, Pope Benedict will visit Jerusalem.  He will pass through the same checkpoint. But he will arrive at 8 am, when the authorities have dictated that he will arrive, and it will be quiet. 
So I have two pictures in my mind.  The first is a crowd of people in Capernaum, waiting for sunset, when it will be safe to come to Jesus.
The second is a crowd of people in Bethlehem waiting for sunrise, and eventually passing through to work, and an hour or so later the Pope arriving.
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7 Days

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In just 7 short days, we will be in Washington. (D.C. that is)  Can’t wait!  Just planned the itinerary and booked some motels.  The theme of conflict will be well served by a visit to civil war battle sites at Manassas. (Which made me think of an album by Stephen Stills ‘Manassas’ which I am now listening to on Spotify)!

I’m trying to decide whether to take the laptop … it’ll make blogging easier …
Proposed itinerary:
Day 1 – 3 Washington … the sights, including Smithsonian Institute, Native American Museum
Day 4 – 6 Shenandoah National Park – including white water rafting, a hike and a drive down the Skyline Drive
Day 7 Charlottesville
Day 8 Williamsburg
Day 9 ??
Day 10 Manassas Battle Site and home for Bev and Joel, while I head off to Eastern Mennonite University at Harrisonburg for my course.
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Authority

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Mark 1:21-28

Jesus rebukes an evil spirit.  Those around Jesus soon learn that he speaks and acts with authority.  The root of authority is author.  If I’m the author of a book, then I speak with authority.  Jesus is described elsewhere in the Bible as ‘The author of life’.  (Acts 3:15).  Who better to speak and act with authority?
The way that Jesus influences situations is to do with who he is, and not the power that he has.  Contrast that with the comment about the scribes -the religious leaders-  who do not speak with authority.
Power is about position, and strength, and being able to make people do things even if they do not want to.  Authority comes from who you are as a person.
I discovered early on in my teaching career that although I had a limited amount of power, in the end, what I needed was to have authority. That authority needed to be a part of who I was as a person, and what I said and did needed to be fair, if the students were to respect me.
I’m reminded again of EAPPI, (Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme for Israel and Palestine), which is based on acting not with power but with the authority that comes from resistance to evil in a non violent manner.
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Consuming Passion

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I’m reading a book of essays about the cross – about why the death of Jesus really matters.

If you’re a Christian you’ll have thought, prayed, sung about the cross.  If you’re not – (a Christian that is) – you may have never given it a second thought.
I think about it a lot.  And because I believe it’s at the heart of what it means to be a Christian, I want to be able to talk about it intelligently and accurately.  (As far as that is possible).  Because it is SO important a part of Christian faith, it’s important not to get it wrong.
There’s a school of thought that says it something like this.  People are sinful. Sin needs punishing.  We can’t be in relationship with God because sin has created a barrier between us and God.  We deserve to take the punishment, but God has provided another way.  Jesus, the sinless one, is punished for our sin.  God punished Jesus instead of us.  If we accept this, then we can be saved.
It’s what I grew up with, and I accepted it completely.  (Although there was always something at the back of my mind that didn’t really like it as a good solution to the problem).  The roots of this way of seeing the cross go back a long time, but it was only really expressed as ‘God punished Jesus instead of us’ in the 19th century.  Increasingly over the last 10 years or so I’ve changed my view on this.  In its pure form, this ‘Penal Substitutionary Atonement’ theory of the cross is based on some pretty dodgy ideas.  
1.  That God is violent.  (Well, you have to be violent to punish someone by crucifying them)
2. That violence can solve things. (Might is right).
3. That broken relationships can only be restored by punishment
There may be more … but I’m going to come back to this, don’t worry.
By the way, leading evangelical and social activist Steve Chalke got himself a lot of hate mail when he called this theory of the cross ‘Cosmic child abuse’
I’m hoping that one of the things I’ll be able to do in the next two months is give this some more careful thought – watch this space.
see here for some more http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/content/news_syndication/article_050726consumingpassion.shtml
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Follow me

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Mark 1:16-20

This is the bit where Jesus calls four named disciples.  The word ‘euthus’ (immediately) comes in twice here.
Two disciples are casting their nets – fishing.  The other two are mending their nets.
The call is to follow Jesus.  The call comes to them, not in church or synagogue, but at work.  The call is not to go it alone, but be part of something bigger, with Jesus leading the way.
The two aspects of their old life will also be a part of their new life.  Instead of catching fish, they will be catching people.  Instead of mending nets, they will be involved in mending (making ‘perfect’/whole) people.
But following Jesus will mean much more than that.  If we follow him all the way, it will take us to places where we might not choose to go.  Places where we are not comfortable, places where we risk losing our dignity, or our freedom of action.  
So when I think about following Jesus, I am trying to put myself with those who have not chosen to be where they are.  Those in hospital.  Those without work.  Those going through a breakdown in a relationship.
And I think of those who, like the EAPPI volunteers, are aligning themselves in a practical way with the oppressed.
Bible · faith · Political

Conflict With The Ruling Powers

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This is an aside/reflection to my general notes.  I’m just getting into this frame of thinking – where Mark’s Gospel is the framework for these next two months, and situations of conflict/oppression are the context for today.

I’m remembering also that Mark’s Gospel could well have been written for the early Christian community in  Rome – a community that knew something about being in conflict with the ruling powers.  So it seems entirely appropriate that I write my thoughts on Mark’s Gospel whilst being attentive to what is happening in places like Israel Palestine.
Bible · faith · Political

The (Kairos) Time Has Come

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Mark 1:14-15

The world tells the time with clocks and appointment diaries.  We like to control our time.  But in these verses, Jesus says the time (kairos) has come.
Kairos time is God’s time.  Like good comedians, God has a sense of timing.  In the context of Jesus, Kairos is the time for God to do something unique, never to be repeated.  Everything that God has ever done finds its centre, its heart in the presence of Jesus in the world.  Everything has been leading up to this time, and everything leads from this time. The western world has acknowledged this in dating our calendar from God’s kairos time.
(Although the world probably no longer accepts or realises what it really means to date time from the coming of Jesus into the world).
I was hearing about the experiences of a South African woman yesterday.  She grew up under the apartheid regime, and never expected it to end in her lifetime.  South Africa still has its particular problems, and no doubt some of them are as a result of years of apartheid, but there is no doubt that things are different now.  The kairos time came for that inhuman regime to end.  
And what about Israel Palestine ?  It seems – well not hopeless because there are cracks of hope – but certainly not hopeful as far as a lasting, just solution is concerned.  But if it could happen in South Africa, where there was also little hope at times, then it could happen in Israel Palestine.
There are people, both Palestinian and Israeli, who are doing good work.  There are those on the outside who have influence.  What we need is a combination of the two, so that there will be a kairos time for change.
For more on this see: