Gather Team

Holy Week – Day 5

Thursday (Matthew 26v17-56)

Up till now, Jesus has been teaching in relatively public places. First in the Temple, walking to and from Bethany, in homes, which were mostly open to visitors. Now, an element of danger and secrecy enters the narrative. Jesus tells the disciples to follow a man carrying a water pot and he would lead them to the place where they would celebrate the Passover. How did they know they were following the right person? Carrying water was women’s work, so a man doing this work would be unusual.

It could also be that this man was one of a group called the Essenes, a male only society of strictly devout Jews. Jesus knew he was going to be betrayed and arrested, so this secrecy allowed him to share the Passover meal with his disciples, without interruption.   This meal morphs into what we now call communion/Lord’s Supper/Eucharist. Jesus had perfectly fulfilled the requirements of the law and brought about a new relationship or covenant. From now on, all peoples from all nations throughout all history would be able to understand and share in this new relationship with God the Father, through Jesus.

Jesus then warns his disciple  that they will run away that one of them will betray him and that Peter will deny knowing him. Now he  goes to Gethsemane to prepare himself for what was to come, again, out in the public arena.  The disciples accompany him, but sleep as Jesus prays.

Judas brings the soldiers to arrest Jesus, his disciples try to fight back, but Jesus tells them this is how it must be. He makes it clear that he can call on thousands of angels if he desired, but he has set his will to fulfil the law for us. Jesus is not the accidental victim of a series of random events. This was planned and purposed from the moment Adam and Eve chose to obey Satan rather than God.

Selah: We are not random spots of dust in an impersonal universe. God knows us and has purpose for us, that is why Jesus came.

 

Holy Week – Day 4

Wednesday (Matthew 26v6-13)

Jesus was again at Bethany, at the house of Simon, called the leper. He had probably been healed by Jesus and the name had stuck even after healing. If he still had leprosy, he would be living in a community outside the village/town as a quarantine measure, not in his own house. As the meal was in progress a woman came and poured a flask of expensive oil over Jesus. There was a mixed reaction, embarrassment, jealousy, indignation at the perceived waste, and general incredulity.

Jesus commends the woman for her extravagant gift, essentially an act of worship and calls the anointing a preparation for the ordeal he is soon to undergo. Jesus promises that whenever this story is recounted, her act of worship would be remembered, and here we are doing so. Sometimes Christians do odd things when worshipping God. Taking shoes off, raising hands, singing in an unknown language, prostrating themselves on the floor, kneeling and if we are not used to this, we might  react like the people in this story. God looks on our hearts and is OK with us being a bit odd at times!

Selah: If Jesus was with us today in the flesh, what gift would you like to give him?

Holy Week – Day 3

Tuesday (Matthew 22v1-15)

Jesus does some intensive teaching here, recorded in chapters 22-25 of Matthew. He tells many stories or parables, mostly about being ready for his return, which was a bit odd, as he had not gone away yet!  We need to picture Jesus teaching in a public place, probably the temple precincts, from which he had evicted the bootfair. His audience would be mixed, the disciples, women and children, non-Jews, ordinary worshippers from all over the known world, and of course the religious leaders. He tells a story about a wedding feast, in reality, the story of how God and his representatives, the prophets, had been treated and at the last, how the Son would be treated. Needless to say, the religious leaders hated Jesus all the more when they realised they were the ‘bad guys’ of the piece.

The part about the man being thrown out owing to not wearing a wedding garment might seem a bit odd to us, because when we are invited to a wedding, we usually look on it as an opportunity for some retail therapy.  At the time of Jesus and in some cultures round the world today, it is customary for the bride and groom to provide wedding clothes for the guests (assuming they are wealthy enough). This ensures that everyone is equal and that the poorer members of the family are not shown up by their lack.

When we become Christians, we all receive the same wedding garments (salvation) it matters not a jot if we are rich, poor, have a degree, are stunningly beautiful, homely, before God, we are all in need of Jesus and only he can qualify us for heaven. hol;

Selah: Worship the one who makes us all that God requires.

Holy Week – The Journey to the Cross – 7 Short Reflections

Passover was the annual celebration of Israel’s freedom from slavery in Egypt under Pharaoh. Jewish people came to Jerusalem, from all over the known world, for this important festival. There would have been thousands upon thousands of people in and around Jerusalem, staying with friends or camping out in the surrounding countryside.

There is a map of Jerusalem and the temple at the time of Jesus, this will help you locate the events of this week.

Last words are important and generally, people who are about to leave this world, do not waste their breath on trivia. Jesus was no exception, in his last week he positively crammed his disciples and other listeners with teaching, parables, and examples.The gospels do not agree in every way on the timing of the events of the week, but they do agree that they really happened, are true and we can believe and trust in Jesus.

Each day will have a ‘Selah’, think about this, moment. No prayers have been suggested, so pray as each day’s notes inspire you.

Palm Sunday (Matthew 21v1-16)
This day when Jesus entered Jerusalem to much acclaim, became known as Palm Sunday, on account of the branches that were waved in celebration. If you can source a picture/map of Jerusalem and the Temple, identify the Golden Gate. This gate led from the Mount of Olives straight into the outer court of the Temple. This was the most likely route that Jesus took and it certainly makes sense of what happened next. This outer court was the place set aside for non Jews who wanted to pray. This area had been taken over by the equivalent of a combined boot fair/jumble sale/auction, with traders shouting out their best price for a sheep/goat/pigeon/dove.

Also, people who had travelled a long way, bringing their sacrificial animal with them, would have it checked by a priest to make sure it was fit for God. In most cases, it was rejected and the worshipper had to purchase another animal at a grossly inflated price or take the risk of being rejected by God. The religious leaders were responsible for this market and lined their pockets at the expense of the ordinary people. Jesus then commenced healing people who were unable to go any further into the Temple, because they were probably ritually unclean. Then the religious money makers complained that the children were calling Jesus Son of David, one of the names of the Messiah.

Selah: Jesus singled out three groups of people for his attention, what does that tell us about him and about us?

Monday (Mark 11v11)
The Temple in Jerusalem had been built by Herod the great 37BC-4AD (the one who ordered the death of children under two during Jesus childhood), with his fortress in the top left corner overlooking the Jewish religious services. This was a security measure because if trouble was going to begin, it would be from the Temple. Herod built this temple to curry favour with the Jewish religious leaders, because they controlled the people. This temple had some of the features of the original portable worship tent that Israel centred life on in their wilderness wanderings.

There was an altar for sacrifices, a washing basin for the priests to keep themselves ceremonially clean. A lamp stand with oil lamps, a table with special bread offerings and an altar for burning incense on. In the most holy place, separated from the rest of the temple by a very thick curtain, was the Ark of the Covenant. The main feature missing was the actual presence of God himself, which in the tabernacle was visible in a pillar of cloud and fire. Jesus would not have been able to enter the most holy place, so he would have been limited in what he could look at. What was he thinking, was he reflecting that in a few days, this temple and all the sacrifices would no longer be necessary, because he would have fulfilled all the sacrifices and requirements of the law?

Selah: Give thanks that Jesus is not only the one who has dealt with the requirements of the law, but is also a real presence with us.

The Future Is Very Local – Churches That Love The Place They Live

Gather Collective is really interested in how we impact our locality. As part of the Pioneer Network we value their insights into community engagement and an embodied faith. So we really enjoyed Saturday morning at the recent national online conference and the two speakers, Joe McSharry and Lukundo Fagade, who shared their experience of loving where they live.

Watch them below

Jesus the Liberator – A new series on Jesus & Justice

If you need to know what God is like you look at Jesus. Jesus says that he does what he sees the Father doing. The prophet Isaiah says that God loves justice. So how would we anticipate that being demonstrated in the accounts of Jesus life. Dave Roberts introduces a new series on Jesus and Justice and suggests that their are rich veins of wisdom, compassion and embodied faith in all that we learn about Jesus and his grace towards women, children, people from other ethnic groups, the excluded and the poor.

Gather Team Attend Pioneer Women Leaders Conference

It was a first for Gather as 3 of our ladies attended the online Women Leaders Conference. Here is a report from from Ruth Kenward.

It was a great day with rich and relevant content for this challenging season.

The opening session, Replenished to Rebuild – was based on Isaiah 43:14-21 – the new thing God is doing: “NOW it springs up; do you not see it?”  It was spot on. We’ve had the rug pulled out from under us, and we need to be refreshed by drinking from HIM, so that we can overflow to others at a time of huge societal need.

The session I attended on communicating via a screen was full of sound practical advice, which we can share with everyone at Gather as so many of us take a turn at preaching.  (I’m a wee bit terrified at the thought of having to watch back video of myself to check my style, but recognise it needs to be done!)

The final session was on resolve and resilience, and we certainly need those things right now.  Ness Wilson introduced us to the idea of a glass cliff (as opposed to glass ceiling), the notion that women often find themselves being recognised as needing to be in leadership during a crisis. The strength of female leadership during the current crisis is certainly evidenced by e.g. Jacinda Adern, Nicola Sturgeon and others.  Ness encouraged us with the parable of the talents, reminding us NOT to bury our gifts!  She said:  “Step up.  Choose growth, which will cause the kingdom to grow.”  And this applies to ALL of us of course.  She also said: “Fear drives us to underestimate ourselves and overestimate the risks. If we cling to our comfort zone we will never do what we’re capable of, and we NEED to replenish so we can rebuild the church, our society and our ravaged communities… We are charged with a God assignment – we need to pick it up, own it and walk in it.”

Inspiring – and confirms that Pioneer is already the rich source of sustenance and support for us that we hoped it would be!

Journeys into Silence – Dave Roberts

Jesus retreats several times in the Gospel accounts to pray alone. This often happened before major decisions or challenges. What can we learn from Jesus actions that will impact our lives today. What journeys into silence could you take. Dave Roberts shares his insights.

Pioneer Network February Update

2021’s first Pioneer Update comes from some of our Core Team and Staff as they share news and updates on the recent Women Leader’s Conference, our upcoming Annual Leader’s Conference, 40 Days of Prayer, Safeguarding and Pioneer RISE!

Judith on ‘Choosing to Rejoice’.

Choose to rejoice. Those were the words on our Lectio365 daily devotional which resonated. CHOOSE to rejoice. I find these long lockdown days I am having to do more choosing to rejoice- don’t know about you.

I’ve been thinking about Hagar recently when she fled into the desert after being mistreated by her mistress Sarah because she had become pregnant by Abraham, at Sarah’s suggestion. Now I can’t compare my experience with Hagar’s, but it does feel a bit desert like as we live our lives without seeing close friends and family, without hugs, without seeing people except on screens, without being able to work in the usual way, without our usual income, without gathering for worship together, without being able to confidently plan any of the above.

Read the whole article here