This time last week I had put up my tent and was getting ready to get stuck into the Greenbelt festival at Cheltenham racecourse.
One of the keynote speakers this year was Tony Campolo. He is a 78 year old Professor of Sociology at Eastern University in Pennsylvania and is as an associate pastor in the Baptist church. I’d heard the name, and had seen references to things he said in the Christian press over the years. I knew he was an Evangelical Christian and assumed, (wrongly as it turned out), that as an American evangelical he would be verging on the fundamentalist. (If you want to find out more about him go to www.tonycampolo.org.)
During his talk he referred to himself (and another Greenbelt speaker Shane Clairborne) as “Red Letter Christians”. This was not a phrase I’d come across before, but during the course of his talk, (and subsequently reading one of his books), I came to understand what it means.
Apparently the phrase was first used by a radio journalist interviewing another American theologian Jim Wallis. The interviewer was trying to pigeonhole Wallis as a certain type of Christian – Evangelical, Liberal, and Charismatic? Having failed to do so, the journalist said to Wallis “So you’re one of those Red Letter Christians – you know – the ones who are really into the verses of the Bible that are in red letters.” Wallis agreed he was. (Quote taken from “Red Letter Christians – a citizen’s guide to faith and politics” Tony Campolo)
In some versions of the Bible, the words spoken by Jesus are printed in red. So Red Letter Christians seek to follow the teachings of Jesus and are committed to living out the things that Jesus taught. Sounds good to me!
You’d think all Christians would be Red Letter Christians, but the reality is that many aren’t, particularly in America. Why? As Tony Campolo points out in his book “Red Letter Christians – a citizen’s guide to faith and politics” what differentiates Red Letter Christians from other Christians, is the commitment by Red Letter Christians to social justice. And sadly many Christians do not have the same commitment.
I think it is important though to make sure that social justice doesn't become the be all and end all. And Campolo tends to agree as he says in his book that Red Letter Christians:
1. Hold to the same theological convicitions that define Evangelicals by beliving in the doctrines set down in the Apostles Creed which are central to what the Church has held over the centuries.
2. RLCs have a very high regard for scripture. They emphasise the "red letetrs" becuase they believe that the Bible can only be understood from the persepctve of Christ Jesus.
3. RLCs believe that Jesus can be alive and present in everyone and that salvation depends on him alone.
In fact Campolo would argue that these three have to be present and then following the red letters is a response.
I am pleased to call myself a Red Letter Christian.
For more information see http://www.redletterchristians.org/
Friday, 31 August 2012
Monday, 27 August 2012
Faith, Hope but which Charity?
Back from Greenbelt 2012. Had a great time and heard some great talks from Shane Claiborne, Tony Campolo and Peter Owen - Jones. Trying to process what I've heard. The talks were of faith and through we all live in challenging times, contained a great deal of hope.
And that brings me to charity.
Whilst I'm trying to process what I've heard, I've come home feeling that I should be giving a bit more to charity. But which one / ones? Home? Abroad? So many to choose from and in so many sectors.
But I feel I would like to support something to do with housing (given my mortgage lending background) or environmental.
Have spent the evening looking at various options but have got no further. So blogger friends I'm asking you for some ideas. Have you got any experience of charities in these sectors? Christian or otherwise.
Let me know.
And that brings me to charity.
Whilst I'm trying to process what I've heard, I've come home feeling that I should be giving a bit more to charity. But which one / ones? Home? Abroad? So many to choose from and in so many sectors.
But I feel I would like to support something to do with housing (given my mortgage lending background) or environmental.
Have spent the evening looking at various options but have got no further. So blogger friends I'm asking you for some ideas. Have you got any experience of charities in these sectors? Christian or otherwise.
Let me know.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
The wisdom of Solomon
You may have seen on the news recently the story of Tony Nicklinson from Melksham. In 2005 Mr. Nicklinson suffered a severe stroke which has left him totally paralysed. But he still has all his mental faculties. He can communicate via a computer but otherwise can do nothing for himself. He has now gone to court asking for the court to allow someone else to end his life.
In a recent interview with BBC Wiltshire Mr. Nicklinson said:
I have locked-in syndrome and it makes my life a living nightmare. I cannot speak and I am also paralysed below the neck, which means I need someone to do everything for me. For example, 90% of itches have to be endured because by the time someone comes to scratch it and I have laboriously explained where it is, the itch has gone. Now I just put up with them.
We live in a wonderful age where people (in the developed world anyway) have access to wonderful medical care meaning people are living longer and doctors are able to treat diseases and illnesses that in the past would have meant people dying. But the other side of this is that people are being kept alive through what the medical profession called “heroic measures”. This means “ … a treatment or course of therapy which possesses a high risk of causing further damage to a patient's health, but is undertaken as a last resort with the understanding that any lesser treatment will surely result in failure.”
Interestingly, one of the doctors who treated Mr. Nicklinson for the stroke back in 2005 has said that he would have withheld treatment had he known the long term outcome.
In recent months I have found myself dealing with many people who have been faced with seeing a loved one slowly die, and the tacit question is whether it would be more humane for some kind of assisted suicide. The gut instinct is “Yes”. However, it is not as simple as that. There are many issues associated with this topic not least (from our perspective) what is the Christian stance. And that stance can be summarised as that human life is a God given gift and should not be taken away.
I have found a helpful article by published by the Massachusetts Council of Churches in the USA on the internet http://www.masscouncilofchurches.org/docs/doc_suicide.htm#statement.
The article (although 11 years old) tries to set out Christian thinking. Put simply it says that assisted suicide carried out by a doctor is not desirable but equally neither are “medical heroics”.
The above was the basis of my newsletter to my churches in July. On Friday 17th August the High Court ruled it would be illegal for someone to assist Tony Nicklinson to die. The thrust of the argument seems to be that someone would have to kill Tony Nicklinson and that is murder. The judgment said it was something for Parliament to decide.
Who would be a judge? Who would be a doctor? But who would be Tony Nicklinson?
In a recent interview with BBC Wiltshire Mr. Nicklinson said:
I have locked-in syndrome and it makes my life a living nightmare. I cannot speak and I am also paralysed below the neck, which means I need someone to do everything for me. For example, 90% of itches have to be endured because by the time someone comes to scratch it and I have laboriously explained where it is, the itch has gone. Now I just put up with them.
We live in a wonderful age where people (in the developed world anyway) have access to wonderful medical care meaning people are living longer and doctors are able to treat diseases and illnesses that in the past would have meant people dying. But the other side of this is that people are being kept alive through what the medical profession called “heroic measures”. This means “ … a treatment or course of therapy which possesses a high risk of causing further damage to a patient's health, but is undertaken as a last resort with the understanding that any lesser treatment will surely result in failure.”
Interestingly, one of the doctors who treated Mr. Nicklinson for the stroke back in 2005 has said that he would have withheld treatment had he known the long term outcome.
In recent months I have found myself dealing with many people who have been faced with seeing a loved one slowly die, and the tacit question is whether it would be more humane for some kind of assisted suicide. The gut instinct is “Yes”. However, it is not as simple as that. There are many issues associated with this topic not least (from our perspective) what is the Christian stance. And that stance can be summarised as that human life is a God given gift and should not be taken away.
I have found a helpful article by published by the Massachusetts Council of Churches in the USA on the internet http://www.masscouncilofchurches.org/docs/doc_suicide.htm#statement.
The article (although 11 years old) tries to set out Christian thinking. Put simply it says that assisted suicide carried out by a doctor is not desirable but equally neither are “medical heroics”.
The above was the basis of my newsletter to my churches in July. On Friday 17th August the High Court ruled it would be illegal for someone to assist Tony Nicklinson to die. The thrust of the argument seems to be that someone would have to kill Tony Nicklinson and that is murder. The judgment said it was something for Parliament to decide.
Who would be a judge? Who would be a doctor? But who would be Tony Nicklinson?
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Ark anyone?
Our summer holiday was interrupted by rain. The plan was to attend a music festival in in Dorset for 5 days and then travel to Pembrokeshire for 10 days. There was only one flaw – we intended to camp!
We managed to endure the music festival – despite liquid mud lapping round us – but decided a campsite perched near a cliff, one field away from the sea was going too far. So we cancelled and spent time at my parents’ home instead. (Thankfully by then we had some decent weather.)
The music festival - http://www.larmertreefestival.co.uk - is fortunately not on the scale of Glastonbury; and whilst it had Glastonbury like mud, it also has posh facilities like showers. And it was whilst queuing for a shower one morning that I got talking to a man called Adam. Inevitably, we started talking about the weather and we both said we couldn’t help but wonder if the poor summer was down to climate change. We both felt that the summers over the last 10 years or so have been very wet and perhaps this was down to climate change.
Of course we cannot know for sure. But just because we cannot be sure, does not mean that as Christians we should not be concerned about the potential impact of climate change.
A Christian group that lobbies on the need to do something about climate change is Operation Noah. http://www.operationnoah.org/
In its declaration issued at the start of Lent 2012 Operation Noah said:
“Humans, made in God’s image, have unique responsibility for the wellbeing of creation (Genesis 1:26, 2:15). We are to care for the earth because it is gift, the product of God’s love. No sparrow falls without God knowing. Humanity has always had the capacity to destroy our environment, but today we have this to an unprecedented extent. Whereas previous generations did not know the damage they were causing, we do. We must use our power wisely to promote the flourishing of future generations and the diversity of life on earth. This is the responsibility of every Church and every believer.”
This statement sums up what Christian theology about creation is. That we are God’s custodians, his stewards, created by him to care for his planet.
The Methodist hymn writer Fred Pratt Green wrote these words:
Earth is the Lord's: it is ours to enjoy it,
Ours, as God's stewards, to farm and defend.
From its pollution, misuse, and destruction,
good Lord deliver us, world without end!
Whether or not you are a person of faith, and merely a person of science, all of us have a duty to care for our planet and be concerned about what seems to be happening to the climate. And it seems to me that even if the climate isn't changing, taking steps to ensure that people minimise our impact on our hom,e has to be a priority regardless.
We managed to endure the music festival – despite liquid mud lapping round us – but decided a campsite perched near a cliff, one field away from the sea was going too far. So we cancelled and spent time at my parents’ home instead. (Thankfully by then we had some decent weather.)
The music festival - http://www.larmertreefestival.co.uk - is fortunately not on the scale of Glastonbury; and whilst it had Glastonbury like mud, it also has posh facilities like showers. And it was whilst queuing for a shower one morning that I got talking to a man called Adam. Inevitably, we started talking about the weather and we both said we couldn’t help but wonder if the poor summer was down to climate change. We both felt that the summers over the last 10 years or so have been very wet and perhaps this was down to climate change.
Of course we cannot know for sure. But just because we cannot be sure, does not mean that as Christians we should not be concerned about the potential impact of climate change.
A Christian group that lobbies on the need to do something about climate change is Operation Noah. http://www.operationnoah.org/
In its declaration issued at the start of Lent 2012 Operation Noah said:
“Humans, made in God’s image, have unique responsibility for the wellbeing of creation (Genesis 1:26, 2:15). We are to care for the earth because it is gift, the product of God’s love. No sparrow falls without God knowing. Humanity has always had the capacity to destroy our environment, but today we have this to an unprecedented extent. Whereas previous generations did not know the damage they were causing, we do. We must use our power wisely to promote the flourishing of future generations and the diversity of life on earth. This is the responsibility of every Church and every believer.”
This statement sums up what Christian theology about creation is. That we are God’s custodians, his stewards, created by him to care for his planet.
The Methodist hymn writer Fred Pratt Green wrote these words:
Earth is the Lord's: it is ours to enjoy it,
Ours, as God's stewards, to farm and defend.
From its pollution, misuse, and destruction,
good Lord deliver us, world without end!
Whether or not you are a person of faith, and merely a person of science, all of us have a duty to care for our planet and be concerned about what seems to be happening to the climate. And it seems to me that even if the climate isn't changing, taking steps to ensure that people minimise our impact on our hom,e has to be a priority regardless.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Why bother qualifying to teach?
On 31st July I sent an email to Michael Gove the Education minister:
Dear Mr. Gove,
I have seen reports in several newspapers over the weekend stating that you are planning to allow academies to employ unqualified teachers. As a chair of governors at an academy I find this move concerning.
Over the last 20 or so years moves have been made by Conservative and Labour governments to raise the standards of the teaching profession. And rightly so. The consequence is that now the vast majority of teachers at the school I am involved with (and I suspect most other schools too) are professionals seeking to encourage young people to learn and develop the skills they need for an increasingly uncertain world.
Your latest initiative sends a clear message to qualified teachers “They are not good enough” and their qualification is worthless. Moreover, this idea of yours further knocks the confidence of an already demoralised profession.
Of course why stop at teaching? I have a degree in law (though did not take the professional exams needed to qualify as a lawyer) But why shouldn’t I now be able to appear in court? Is Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke proposing to do the same as you? No of course he isn’t because the professions need properly trained professionals. So why should teaching be treated differently?
Please drop this silly idea.
Today I've received a reply from one of his minnions:
Dear Rev'd Gray
Thank you for your email of 31 July addressed to the Secretary of State regarding your concerns about the employment of unqualified teachers in academies. I hope you are able to appreciate that the Secretary of State for Education receives a vast amount of correspondence and is unable to reply to each one personally. It is for this reason I have been asked to reply.
It was announced on 27 July that academies can employ teaching staff who they believe to be suitably qualified without the requirement for them to have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The Government remains committed to the importance of QTS as a benchmark for teacher quality and the vast majority of teachers will continue to have QTS which remains the highly respected professional status for teachers. We know that we have the best generation of teachers ever, while the quality of people training to teach and meet the QTS standards is rising each year.
The new freedom recognises that academy headteachers are best placed to make appointment decisions, including on occasions where, in their judgement, a suitably qualified teacher without QTS is the best person to employ. It will enable academies to employ professionals, such as scientists, engineers, musicians, trainers or experienced teachers from other sectors, who are well qualified and excellent teachers but do not have QTS. The highest quality of teaching is paramount to the success of each school and we trust headteachers to employ staff they believe to be well qualified for the job. All schools will remain accountable for the quality of teaching and the publication of school performance data.
Once again, thank you for writing.
Yours sincerely
David Chapman
Public Communications Unit
www.education.gov.uk
The message is very clear, Gove doesn't value teachers as he thinks anyone can teach.
I have two degrees; one in law and one in theology. They indicate that, at the time I was awarded them anyway, I knew something about the respective subjects. But that doesn't mean to say that I was capable of teaching the subject. Teaching isn't just about passing on knowledge. It is about encouraging, enabling, mentoring and communicating. Skills that someone who posseses knowledge doesn't necessarily have.
Dear Mr. Gove,
I have seen reports in several newspapers over the weekend stating that you are planning to allow academies to employ unqualified teachers. As a chair of governors at an academy I find this move concerning.
Over the last 20 or so years moves have been made by Conservative and Labour governments to raise the standards of the teaching profession. And rightly so. The consequence is that now the vast majority of teachers at the school I am involved with (and I suspect most other schools too) are professionals seeking to encourage young people to learn and develop the skills they need for an increasingly uncertain world.
Your latest initiative sends a clear message to qualified teachers “They are not good enough” and their qualification is worthless. Moreover, this idea of yours further knocks the confidence of an already demoralised profession.
Of course why stop at teaching? I have a degree in law (though did not take the professional exams needed to qualify as a lawyer) But why shouldn’t I now be able to appear in court? Is Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke proposing to do the same as you? No of course he isn’t because the professions need properly trained professionals. So why should teaching be treated differently?
Please drop this silly idea.
Today I've received a reply from one of his minnions:
Dear Rev'd Gray
Thank you for your email of 31 July addressed to the Secretary of State regarding your concerns about the employment of unqualified teachers in academies. I hope you are able to appreciate that the Secretary of State for Education receives a vast amount of correspondence and is unable to reply to each one personally. It is for this reason I have been asked to reply.
It was announced on 27 July that academies can employ teaching staff who they believe to be suitably qualified without the requirement for them to have Qualified Teacher Status (QTS). The Government remains committed to the importance of QTS as a benchmark for teacher quality and the vast majority of teachers will continue to have QTS which remains the highly respected professional status for teachers. We know that we have the best generation of teachers ever, while the quality of people training to teach and meet the QTS standards is rising each year.
The new freedom recognises that academy headteachers are best placed to make appointment decisions, including on occasions where, in their judgement, a suitably qualified teacher without QTS is the best person to employ. It will enable academies to employ professionals, such as scientists, engineers, musicians, trainers or experienced teachers from other sectors, who are well qualified and excellent teachers but do not have QTS. The highest quality of teaching is paramount to the success of each school and we trust headteachers to employ staff they believe to be well qualified for the job. All schools will remain accountable for the quality of teaching and the publication of school performance data.
Once again, thank you for writing.
Yours sincerely
David Chapman
Public Communications Unit
www.education.gov.uk
The message is very clear, Gove doesn't value teachers as he thinks anyone can teach.
I have two degrees; one in law and one in theology. They indicate that, at the time I was awarded them anyway, I knew something about the respective subjects. But that doesn't mean to say that I was capable of teaching the subject. Teaching isn't just about passing on knowledge. It is about encouraging, enabling, mentoring and communicating. Skills that someone who posseses knowledge doesn't necessarily have.
Sunday, 20 May 2012
The story of a wounded knee
The Bible’s Society is running the Diamond Geezer campaign. Jubilee was a special year when wrongs were forgiven and debts written off. So in this very special Jubilee year, Bible Society is asking Christians across the country: ‘who are you indebted to?’
It could be an old school teacher, a midwife who delivered a baby or someone who prayed steadfastly for you – just someone to whom you feel ‘indebted’ because of their kindness and help.
http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/about-bible-society/what-we-do-in-england-and-wales/diamond-jubilee/
But equally we can feel “indebted” to someone because we have done them wrong and need their forgiveness to set free from a weight of guilt.
For over 30 years I carried round a sense of guilt for something I did to a friend at school. Or rather something I didn’t do.
My friend Shaun had a serious accident in the sports hall at school. He was running whilst playing basketball and crashed into a wall. It sounds funny but Shaun broke his knee and was in plaster for several months. It was just before the summer holidays and I promised him I’d visit.
And one day I set out to the next village where he lived. But on the way I met a girl I had a crush on and the hormones kicked in and instead of visiting Shaun I spent the afternoon chatting up the girl.
Back in school during the next term I felt really bad about not visiting my friend. And although he said he didn’t mind, boys will be boys after all, I was reminded of the incident every time we used the sports hall as there were skid marks from Shaun’s trainers on the gym floor!
This seemingly small incident niggled away in the back of my mind for some time until last year Shaun and I got back in touch on Facebook and I sent him an email apologising and he said he forgave me. It meant a lot.
Now as someone who has trained as a counsellor I know that many people feel weighed down by a sense of guilt for things they ought to do or should do. “I really ought to visit my elderly aunty” “I should go home and get dinner ready for the family rather than talking to my friend.” And these shoulds and oughts can become heavy chains for some people.
At the time of Jesus many people felt weighed down by the many hundreds of rules the Jewish faith imposed upon them. In fact this was commonly described as being “Yoked to the Torah”. The Torah being the Jewish law.
In Matthew 11: 28 – 29 Jesus says
28 If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. 29 Take the yoke[a] I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest.
What Jesus meant was belief in him isn’t an invitation to an easy life but a life of being set free from the artificial burdens people impose on one anther whether through religious rules or the “Oughts” and the “Shoulds”.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, all of us from time to time carry around the weight of guilt whether for the bad things we have done, the good things we have not done, the things we have said or the things we did not say.
We are sorry and ask, that by knowing you forgive us, the burden of guilt may be taken from us.
Amen.
It could be an old school teacher, a midwife who delivered a baby or someone who prayed steadfastly for you – just someone to whom you feel ‘indebted’ because of their kindness and help.
http://www.biblesociety.org.uk/about-bible-society/what-we-do-in-england-and-wales/diamond-jubilee/
But equally we can feel “indebted” to someone because we have done them wrong and need their forgiveness to set free from a weight of guilt.
For over 30 years I carried round a sense of guilt for something I did to a friend at school. Or rather something I didn’t do.
My friend Shaun had a serious accident in the sports hall at school. He was running whilst playing basketball and crashed into a wall. It sounds funny but Shaun broke his knee and was in plaster for several months. It was just before the summer holidays and I promised him I’d visit.
And one day I set out to the next village where he lived. But on the way I met a girl I had a crush on and the hormones kicked in and instead of visiting Shaun I spent the afternoon chatting up the girl.
Back in school during the next term I felt really bad about not visiting my friend. And although he said he didn’t mind, boys will be boys after all, I was reminded of the incident every time we used the sports hall as there were skid marks from Shaun’s trainers on the gym floor!
This seemingly small incident niggled away in the back of my mind for some time until last year Shaun and I got back in touch on Facebook and I sent him an email apologising and he said he forgave me. It meant a lot.
Now as someone who has trained as a counsellor I know that many people feel weighed down by a sense of guilt for things they ought to do or should do. “I really ought to visit my elderly aunty” “I should go home and get dinner ready for the family rather than talking to my friend.” And these shoulds and oughts can become heavy chains for some people.
At the time of Jesus many people felt weighed down by the many hundreds of rules the Jewish faith imposed upon them. In fact this was commonly described as being “Yoked to the Torah”. The Torah being the Jewish law.
In Matthew 11: 28 – 29 Jesus says
28 If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. 29 Take the yoke[a] I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest.
What Jesus meant was belief in him isn’t an invitation to an easy life but a life of being set free from the artificial burdens people impose on one anther whether through religious rules or the “Oughts” and the “Shoulds”.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, all of us from time to time carry around the weight of guilt whether for the bad things we have done, the good things we have not done, the things we have said or the things we did not say.
We are sorry and ask, that by knowing you forgive us, the burden of guilt may be taken from us.
Amen.
Wednesday, 25 April 2012
Breaking bread with Trevor
For me the story of Jesus’ appearance to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is the loveliest of the resurrection stories. And it is certainly the most developed story. Its plot revolves around the failure of the two disciples to recognise their fellow traveller. The suspense builds until the moment when the two recognise the risen Lord and then he disappears from their presence. It is a wonderful story and I think most of us can picture it clearly in our minds.
As drama it has everything – sorrow, suspense, puzzlement, gradual dawning of light and then unexpected actions, astonished recognition, a flurry of excitement and activity. It is both a wonderful, unique spell binding tale and also a model for what being a Christian, from that day to this, is all about.
The origins of the story are debated and difficult to reconstruct. In fact some scholars – such as Dominic Crossan - argue that it probably didn’t happen and is included as a parable involving Jesus rather than a parable told by Jesus. We think nowadays that Luke’s gospel draws on Mark’s gospel and in Mark 16: 12 – 13 we are told:
12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
And it could be that Luke constructed his story of the road to Emmaus from these two verses in Mark. But do you know what? I don’t think it matters. I’m happy to accept it did happen as Luke describes but even if it is as Dominic Crossan says a parable involving Jesus, it still holds a huge truth.
Anyway, let’s look at the story for a moment. Over the years it has proved difficult to identify exactly where Emmaus is. There are several possibilities. The most likely place is mentioned in an ancient document that describes it as being 60 stadia from Jerusalem. A stadium was a Roman measurement of 600 feet, so 60 stadia or 36,000 feet equates to about 7 ½ miles. Other manuscripts place Emmaus as being about 160 stadia from Jerusalem or 19 ½ miles.
The opening of the story tells us it is the evening of Easter day. And we find two followers of Jesus going to Emmaus. We don’t know why. Are they going home? Are they going on business? Are they just running away from Jerusalem because they are afraid they may be arrested? We don’t know.
Initially we don’t know their names – though later we learn that one is Cleopas. (It is often said that the other one may have been Cleopas’ wife.)
And of course as we know so well from the story, when Jesus appears to them they do not recognise him. Or rather:
16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
Something, someone, (God perhaps?) kept them from recognising Jesus.
Those of us reading the story are told that the two are meeting the risen Jesus. But they do not know themselves.
Jesus starts a conversation with them by asking what they are talking about.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
Or as the NRSV puts it:
“Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”
Of course the irony is that Cleopas thinks the stranger is the only person who doesn’t know about the events of the last few days. Whereas in fact it is the stranger Jesus who is the only one who does know the full meaning of all that has happened.
The two disciples assume they know much more about what has happened than the stranger who has joined them and Jesus plays along with it
19 “What things?” he asked.
And then the disciples tell the story no doubt tumbling over each other to fill in bits of information. And after having listened to them Jesus says to them:
25 ….. “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ[b] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Despite this they still do not recognise Jesus. But even so, when they arrive at the village and the stranger Jesus is about to walk off they urge him to stay with them.
And for me this is where this wonderful story suddenly takes on great significance. This is the turning point in the story for us.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.
Or as the NRSV puts it “he walked ahead as if he were going on”
In the custom of the time of Jesus, a guest was obliged to turn down an invitation to dine until it was vigorously repeated. So it could be said that Jesus is complying with the custom. However, there is deeper meaning to what Jesus does. Jesus’ action demonstrates that he never forces himself upon others. Jesus’ action shows that faith must always be spontaneous. Faith must be a voluntary response to God’s grace.
There is also meaning in “ … as if he were going farther.” “ … as if he were going on”. In Luke’s Gospel there is always a sense of Jesus journeying. He was journeying round Galilee and from the end of chapter 9 to the end of chapter 19 Jesus is journeying on the way to Jerusalem. For Luke then Jesus was always going further.
Once indoors, the scene shifts to the table for the evening meal.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
There is something about this that suggests other meals we know of involving Jesus such as the feeding of the five thousand and of course the Last Supper. The guest become the host and Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to the two disciples.
As Alan Culpepper puts it in his commentary on Luke “The four verbs are Jesus’ signature in which the disciples (and readers) recognise Jesus”.
Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to the two disciples.
We can tend to think of the meal at Emmaus as being like communion as if it was a special meal. Or a sacred act. It was these things but also it wasn’t either of these things. This was Jesus enjoying table fellowship with two friends and showing that such fellowship can become sacred.
Cleopas and his companion discovered at the table that their travelling companion was the Lord Jesus himself. And when they laid out the table and prepared the meal they did not prepare it as if it was going to be a sacred meal. It was a meal at which two companions invited a guest to dine with them. But in the act of sharing their bread with a stranger, they recognised the risen Lord in the stranger.
I mentioned Dominic Crossan earlier. In an interview he gave for the "Living the Questions" DVD discussion series, he says that whether we take the Emmaus story as an account of what actually happened, or merely as a parable involving Jesus, the truth remains the same. The real meaning of the story is that we find Jesus not through studying the scriptures – though that is preparatory and important – but by taking the stranger in. Not to eat your food but because if you believe everything is from God then the food you are sharing is God’s food.
When we sit with someone over coffee on at a church coffee morning or talk to some having a bowl of soup at a lunch club (or elsewhere)we are sharing communion. In that moment Jesus is with us.
An American pastor Wheaton Webb tells about a time when a stranger approached him and asked, "You couldn't let a man have a dollar for a meal?" A group of people was about to eat a potluck supper, so the pastor invited the man, who had the look of one who hadn't had a good meal for some time, to join them; they sat down at the end of one of the tables by themselves. "How long have you been on the road?" asked Webb. "A long time, a very long time," came the answer. "And it never occurred to you to settle down and take some steady work?" "No," the man replied, "I used to be a carpenter. But I'm one of those who has to be on his way. I'd never be happy settled in just one place." Webb comments: "It was odd the way he said it - like the wayfarer who visited Emmaus and who made as if he would have gone further until Cleopas and his companion (in the earlier episode) invited him to stay for supper." Webb asked him his name and he answered, "Mr. Immanuel."
As we know, Immanuel means "God-with-us."
Wheaton Webb concludes the story this way: "Presently he said his thanks and was off on his lonely journey that has no ending. And I thought: He still goes on his way, the hungry man, Mr. God-with-us, in his shabby coat, and always a look in his eyes as if he would go further. But when he had gone, my heart began to burn within me, and I had no doubt that Cleopas and his companion, in that silence that suddenly fell over their table, would have understood."
So would the eleven on the occasion when Jesus asked for something to eat, and so do we when the Lord occasionally appears in others who come to our tables hungry and lonely.
Much of this blog was the basis of a sermon I preached last Sunday 22nd April. After the service a young man who comes to the church occasionally - I'll call him Jason - came and spoke to me. "What you've preached on has just helped me make sense of something that happened to me a couple of weeks ago. And Jason told me his story.
Jason had been driving back home from the north of England. He stopped at a motorway service station for something to eat. The cafe was crowded and Jason was soon joined at his table by another traveller. In a very un British way they started to chat. And the other traveller said he was called Trevor and was a lorry driver. Jason said they talked for the best part of an hour and then Trevor left.
Jason told me he was left with a sense of something he couldn't put his finger on. But after hearing the idea of encountering Jesus through breaking bread with a stranger it all seemed to make sense.
Acknowledgements
Dominic Crossan interview from Living the questions 2. Study 12 "Practising resurrection" 2007 livingthequestions.com
Alan Culpepper - The New Interpreters Bible commentary Vol IX Luke
Wheaton Webb story via esermons.com
And of course thanks to Jason and Trevor.
As drama it has everything – sorrow, suspense, puzzlement, gradual dawning of light and then unexpected actions, astonished recognition, a flurry of excitement and activity. It is both a wonderful, unique spell binding tale and also a model for what being a Christian, from that day to this, is all about.
The origins of the story are debated and difficult to reconstruct. In fact some scholars – such as Dominic Crossan - argue that it probably didn’t happen and is included as a parable involving Jesus rather than a parable told by Jesus. We think nowadays that Luke’s gospel draws on Mark’s gospel and in Mark 16: 12 – 13 we are told:
12 Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either.
And it could be that Luke constructed his story of the road to Emmaus from these two verses in Mark. But do you know what? I don’t think it matters. I’m happy to accept it did happen as Luke describes but even if it is as Dominic Crossan says a parable involving Jesus, it still holds a huge truth.
Anyway, let’s look at the story for a moment. Over the years it has proved difficult to identify exactly where Emmaus is. There are several possibilities. The most likely place is mentioned in an ancient document that describes it as being 60 stadia from Jerusalem. A stadium was a Roman measurement of 600 feet, so 60 stadia or 36,000 feet equates to about 7 ½ miles. Other manuscripts place Emmaus as being about 160 stadia from Jerusalem or 19 ½ miles.
The opening of the story tells us it is the evening of Easter day. And we find two followers of Jesus going to Emmaus. We don’t know why. Are they going home? Are they going on business? Are they just running away from Jerusalem because they are afraid they may be arrested? We don’t know.
Initially we don’t know their names – though later we learn that one is Cleopas. (It is often said that the other one may have been Cleopas’ wife.)
And of course as we know so well from the story, when Jesus appears to them they do not recognise him. Or rather:
16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
Something, someone, (God perhaps?) kept them from recognising Jesus.
Those of us reading the story are told that the two are meeting the risen Jesus. But they do not know themselves.
Jesus starts a conversation with them by asking what they are talking about.
18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you only a visitor to Jerusalem and do not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
Or as the NRSV puts it:
“Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?”
Of course the irony is that Cleopas thinks the stranger is the only person who doesn’t know about the events of the last few days. Whereas in fact it is the stranger Jesus who is the only one who does know the full meaning of all that has happened.
The two disciples assume they know much more about what has happened than the stranger who has joined them and Jesus plays along with it
19 “What things?” he asked.
And then the disciples tell the story no doubt tumbling over each other to fill in bits of information. And after having listened to them Jesus says to them:
25 ….. “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Christ[b] have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Despite this they still do not recognise Jesus. But even so, when they arrive at the village and the stranger Jesus is about to walk off they urge him to stay with them.
And for me this is where this wonderful story suddenly takes on great significance. This is the turning point in the story for us.
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus acted as if he were going farther.
Or as the NRSV puts it “he walked ahead as if he were going on”
In the custom of the time of Jesus, a guest was obliged to turn down an invitation to dine until it was vigorously repeated. So it could be said that Jesus is complying with the custom. However, there is deeper meaning to what Jesus does. Jesus’ action demonstrates that he never forces himself upon others. Jesus’ action shows that faith must always be spontaneous. Faith must be a voluntary response to God’s grace.
There is also meaning in “ … as if he were going farther.” “ … as if he were going on”. In Luke’s Gospel there is always a sense of Jesus journeying. He was journeying round Galilee and from the end of chapter 9 to the end of chapter 19 Jesus is journeying on the way to Jerusalem. For Luke then Jesus was always going further.
Once indoors, the scene shifts to the table for the evening meal.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.
There is something about this that suggests other meals we know of involving Jesus such as the feeding of the five thousand and of course the Last Supper. The guest become the host and Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to the two disciples.
As Alan Culpepper puts it in his commentary on Luke “The four verbs are Jesus’ signature in which the disciples (and readers) recognise Jesus”.
Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it and gives it to the two disciples.
We can tend to think of the meal at Emmaus as being like communion as if it was a special meal. Or a sacred act. It was these things but also it wasn’t either of these things. This was Jesus enjoying table fellowship with two friends and showing that such fellowship can become sacred.
Cleopas and his companion discovered at the table that their travelling companion was the Lord Jesus himself. And when they laid out the table and prepared the meal they did not prepare it as if it was going to be a sacred meal. It was a meal at which two companions invited a guest to dine with them. But in the act of sharing their bread with a stranger, they recognised the risen Lord in the stranger.
I mentioned Dominic Crossan earlier. In an interview he gave for the "Living the Questions" DVD discussion series, he says that whether we take the Emmaus story as an account of what actually happened, or merely as a parable involving Jesus, the truth remains the same. The real meaning of the story is that we find Jesus not through studying the scriptures – though that is preparatory and important – but by taking the stranger in. Not to eat your food but because if you believe everything is from God then the food you are sharing is God’s food.
When we sit with someone over coffee on at a church coffee morning or talk to some having a bowl of soup at a lunch club (or elsewhere)we are sharing communion. In that moment Jesus is with us.
An American pastor Wheaton Webb tells about a time when a stranger approached him and asked, "You couldn't let a man have a dollar for a meal?" A group of people was about to eat a potluck supper, so the pastor invited the man, who had the look of one who hadn't had a good meal for some time, to join them; they sat down at the end of one of the tables by themselves. "How long have you been on the road?" asked Webb. "A long time, a very long time," came the answer. "And it never occurred to you to settle down and take some steady work?" "No," the man replied, "I used to be a carpenter. But I'm one of those who has to be on his way. I'd never be happy settled in just one place." Webb comments: "It was odd the way he said it - like the wayfarer who visited Emmaus and who made as if he would have gone further until Cleopas and his companion (in the earlier episode) invited him to stay for supper." Webb asked him his name and he answered, "Mr. Immanuel."
As we know, Immanuel means "God-with-us."
Wheaton Webb concludes the story this way: "Presently he said his thanks and was off on his lonely journey that has no ending. And I thought: He still goes on his way, the hungry man, Mr. God-with-us, in his shabby coat, and always a look in his eyes as if he would go further. But when he had gone, my heart began to burn within me, and I had no doubt that Cleopas and his companion, in that silence that suddenly fell over their table, would have understood."
So would the eleven on the occasion when Jesus asked for something to eat, and so do we when the Lord occasionally appears in others who come to our tables hungry and lonely.
Much of this blog was the basis of a sermon I preached last Sunday 22nd April. After the service a young man who comes to the church occasionally - I'll call him Jason - came and spoke to me. "What you've preached on has just helped me make sense of something that happened to me a couple of weeks ago. And Jason told me his story.
Jason had been driving back home from the north of England. He stopped at a motorway service station for something to eat. The cafe was crowded and Jason was soon joined at his table by another traveller. In a very un British way they started to chat. And the other traveller said he was called Trevor and was a lorry driver. Jason said they talked for the best part of an hour and then Trevor left.
Jason told me he was left with a sense of something he couldn't put his finger on. But after hearing the idea of encountering Jesus through breaking bread with a stranger it all seemed to make sense.
Acknowledgements
Dominic Crossan interview from Living the questions 2. Study 12 "Practising resurrection" 2007 livingthequestions.com
Alan Culpepper - The New Interpreters Bible commentary Vol IX Luke
Wheaton Webb story via esermons.com
And of course thanks to Jason and Trevor.
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