Category Archives: Christianity

Arts, Bible, Christianity, Culture

Preparing the way so that people can meet with God

OLD TESTAMENT

– A narrative on Isaiah 40:1–11

PICTURE two remote towns in a hilly area with only a footpath between them. Laying aside any conservation concerns, imagine the earthmovers carving a swathe through the hillside. You are building a road.

In ancient times there were only footpaths or sheep tracks outside the towns. The main caravan routes were only trodden-down earth. If a king or army wanted to get somewhere quickly, a battalion of engineers was sent ahead to clear the path of obstacles, bridge the worst ravines with rubble, lessen the steepest gradients, and tread down the path to reduce the risks of tripping.

The context of this prophecy is the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon. They faced a 900-mile trek on foot. They could not build roads, but they still had to prepare for such an arduous journey. It provided the prophet with a timeless image.

It was applied in the New Testament to the ministry of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:1–3). It can be further applied to any Christian’s witness. There are boulders of prejudice and stumbling-blocks of ignorance to clear away; there are rifts in relationships to bridge, and steep uphill paths we must travel to win people’s confidence and respect.

Preparatory work is boring, as anyone who has wallpapered or painted a room will know. Stripping off the old layers is hard but essential work. If we want people to meet God, we have to prepare them to recognise and welcome him.

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Arts, Bible, Christianity, Culture, History

Losers find God

Judea, c. AD 32

– (Matthew 18:12– 14; Luke 15:1–10; John 6:44)

GOD does not keep polite company and the ‘losers’ in this life are the ones who are most likely to find him. Indeed, he goes out of his way to search for them, rather than waiting for them to seek him. This is the message Jesus of Nazareth has told a gathering of lawyers.

He was responding to criticism that according to the Pharisees’ rule book no religious teacher should associate with people who are religiously and socially beneath God’s dignity. Jesus has repeatedly rejected this exclusivity and has eaten with and taught the so-called ‘ungodly’ who include professional ‘sinners’ such as prostitutes and people who work for the occupying forces.

In a strong rejection of religious exclusivism, he has told a series of parables illustrating God’s intense desire to comfort and welcome such people. For instance, a shepherd who loses a sheep will pen up the remainder and go and look for it. It may only be one in a hundred, but it is still important to him. Or, if a woman drops a day’s wages on the earthen floor of her dark cottage, she will light a lamp and go on hands and knees until she finds the lost coin.

People like that who find what they have lost give a big shout and the whole world knows. So, God searches out the lost and rejoices when he finds them and they recognise him, says Jesus. This is a big development of current Jewish thought, which acknowledges that God welcomes the penitent but does not conceive of him taking the initiative in contacting them.

Jesus has also spoken of God ‘drawing’ people to himself, creating in them a hunger which only he can satisfy.

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Arts, Bible, Christianity, Culture, History

Private lives exposed

Ephesus, c. AD 64–65

TWO confidential letters sent by Paul to his assistant Timothy have been released here. The most recent one, written from Rome shortly before Paul’s execution, contains the apostle’s last known instructions concerning Church life and Christian conduct.

The first letter to Timothy, probably written from Greece during Paul’s travels between his two trials, shows that the false teachings he had rebutted in Colossae have spread to other churches in Asia. They include attention to genealogies, speculative myths, enforced celibacy and strict dieting. Arrogant claims to special knowledge, and human desire for wealth, lead to division, he says.

Church leaders are to have exemplary personal and family lives. Bowing to the social mores of the area and the Jewish community, Paul warns women not to disrupt worship meetings nor to assume the role of teachers.

The second letter depicts a more lonely figure. Back in prison, Paul has been disowned by some former associates while others have been sent on foreign missions – Titus to Yugoslavia, Crescens to Galatia, and Tychicus to relieve Timothy in Ephesus. “Only Luke is with me,” he complains, suggesting perhaps that he had taken up the scribe’s pen as the language and style is more like Luke’s than Paul’s other letters.

Timothy, he says, in both letters, is to guard the gospel against false teachers and overbearing leaders. He is also to guard himself against the weakness of the flesh by being bold rather than timid and by drinking wine to prevent his frequent illnesses – a prescription, perhaps, directly from Doctor Luke.

Ambassador’s hard tasks

– (1 & 2 Timothy; Titus; cf. Acts 16:1f; 20:4f)

TIMOTHY AND TITUS are among several ambassadors sent by Paul to assist new churches. Although carrying his authority, they act as advisers rather than leaders.

Timothy was to many observers an unusual choice for a hard job. Quiet, subject to depression and illness, he was thrown like a Daniel into a den of roaring opponents ready to maul his theology and savage his tactics. He was born of a Jewish mother and Greek father in Lystra, where he probably became a Christian through Paul. Set apart for service by prophecies, he has travelled widely with Paul.

Titus is a more robust person and a good organiser. Like Timothy he is Greek, but unlike Timothy has never been compelled to be circumcised as a token gesture to Jewish Christians. Before going to Crete, he had already smoothed ruffled feathers in Corinth. He is said to be Luke’s brother.

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