Tonight I have to complete two particularly yukky jobs - the annual 'Minister's Report' for the AGM and the monthly 'from the minister' bit for the newsletter.  The good thing is that if they are done I can start to write an essay tomorrow!

The former always strikes we as a minefield - I'm bound to miss someone or something out, and you can be sure that whoever or whatever it is, it will matter.  It has been a tough year for my little church and we're all tired - I am pretty sure that comes through in what I've written, but it needs to be honest, albeit with necessary circumspection on some topics.  In the end, I opted to begin it with some words from an old hymn and end it with some words from a new song.  These two bits I have confidence in, the rest, well, people will have to make of it what they will.

So we begin...

Through many dangers, toils and snares

We have already come;

Tis grace has brought us safe thus far

And grace will lead us home.

 

John Newton

And we end

Lord of mercy, You have heard my cry;

Through the storm You’re the beacon,

My song in the night.

In the shelter of Your wings,

Hear my heart’s reply,

Singing what a faithful God have I.

 

What a faithful God have I,

What a faithful God.

What a faithful God have I,

Faithful in every way.

 

Robert & Dawn Critchley.  Copyright © 1989 Kingsway’s  Thankyou Music

 

I have yet to write the monthly bit, but I expect it will draw on some similar ideas.  There is a lot that is good in our life together but at the moment the storm clouds do seem to be gathering, so reminders of Gods faithfulness and protection in (not from) the storm are pretty important!

(-odemus)

Today I have been re-re-reading the John 3 story of Jesus and Nicodemus, which starts to feel like one of those Two Ronnies sketches where one of them is answering the question before last, or some such...

Nic - hello, we all know you're a great teacher and must be Godly because of what you're doing

Jesus - you must be born again/from above/whatever to see the Kingdom of God

Nic - how can a person go back into his mother's womb and be born all over again?

Jesus - flesh gives birth to flesh, Spirit to spirit, the wind blows where it will...

etc, etc

I think I'd have got confused too.

So, after thinking and puzzling my way through this story and what some clever scholars say about it here's where I ended up.

Nicodemus came to see Jesus at a time of day when they were unlikely to get interrupted - they both had a 'day job' of some sort and night might well have been a good time to meet.  It might be highly symbolic, it might not.

Nicodemus believed Jesus to have something going for him, and he came to find out more.  What we don't know, because the conversation took a very strange turn.

Nicodemus wasn't afraid to question Jesus when he spoke in riddles (which he does most of the time in the fourth gospel).  Nor was he afraid to say 'no, I still don't get it.'

The story more or less peters out by mid-chapter, there is no sense of resolution, so presumably at some point Nicodemus went home.

Nicodemus makes two more, equally brief, appearances in the gospel, and each time his nocturnal visit to Jesus is alluded to, so I half wish I really could crack the code and discern the significance of 'by night.'  In chapter 7 Nicodemus seems to me to be speaking up for Jesus when he asserts "does our law condemn people without first hearing them to find out what they are doing."  Then he accompanies Joseph of Arimathea to bury Jesus, bringing with him about 75 pounds (almost 5 stone) of myrrh and aloes.

I know that some people think Nicodemus is a 'type' of at least some of the religious leaders and not a real person; I also know that most people give him a pretty bad press, asserting he was an unbeliver, one who came by night to trap Jesus; I know others think that he never came to 'new birth' because he didn't undertsand the words of Jesus.  I'd like to take a more positive view of him, as someone who was earnestly seeking, someone who was sufficiently humble not to think he knew all the answers, someone open minded enough to hear what Jesus had to say and brave enough both to ask questions and admit his own inability to grasp concepts.  His presence at the tomb for me suggests that he remained at least curious about Jesus, and the provision of anointing spices suggests much more.

What I like about Nicodemus is his humanity and his frailty.  I also think his encounter with Jesus is a helpful model for the rest of us when faced with some of the more mysterious and ambiguous things recorded in the gospels - taking time, asking questions and admitting to confusion.

Not for those who are easily offended!

Thanks to Graham for this example of the nadir of Baptist preaching.  I was not sure whether to laugh or cry when I watched/heard it.  How on earth the preacher got from his text to his conclusion I really cannot begin to fathom.  Still, credit where it's due, he got away with using a word in worship most of us would never be able to jusitify (unless of course we reverted to the KJV). 

So, there I am, reading chapter 2 of Life Conquers Death (which is proving a good read) and the author refers (page 37) to the picture on the front cover, used with permission, as being Rembrandt's Holy Family With Angels. No!  My paperback copy has a rather striking photograph of a tree with the sun just skimming the uppermost branches (I don't seem to be able to track down a hardback version, if there is one, to see if this is different).

Fortunately the author of the book (John Arnold) includes a detailed description of the painting, so the book still works.  What was intriguing was to compare the image as I imagined it from his description with the relaity when I found it online.

Just in case anyone else is likely to be in the same predicament, here is a version as a soviet postage stamp (I liked the irony of this) from 1976...

Earlier in the week, I had decided that rather than me writing and leading prayers of approach, I would use 'open prayer' allowing people to offer their own praise and thanks.  By the time I got to worship this afternoon, I had changed my mind, and decided I would do what I sometimes do with the girls in Brigade, and ask everyone in turn to offer a one sentence 'thank you prayer.'

I duly introduced the idea, warned the person who would be asked to start us off, and told people they had to use the (hand held) microphone so that everyone would be able to hear.  I wasn't sure if people would play ball or not.  But, miraculously everyone did - and I feel the mike as a prop probably helped.  Some prayers were unintelligble because they were bellowed or mumbled into the mike, but everyone made an attempt

The prayers were no more, and no less, profound than those my five year olds offer.  Thanks for family and friends, for church, for freedom of worship, for Jesus, for the sunshine (which was gorgeous), for the school building where we meet.

It would be lovely to think that suddenly everyone would be confident to offer extempore prayers, but I think that would be a little optimistic.  But at least now we've done this once, we can do it again, and people will hopefully feel a little less intimidated by prayer.

Pay back came in the form of the duty intercessions leader forgetting all about it, so I had to step into the breach - my turn to be put on the spot and pray extempore with no chance to think about it first.

Still, overall I think the service went quite well and allowed us to think afresh about the theme of temptation, sin and forgiveness.