Called to be family

We are called to be family.

What does it mean to be church? There is a temptation to think and talk about it like we would any other organisation. It has members, it has leaders, it has meetings, it has activities and mission statements.

I think there is a danger of this being so strong, that we fail to understand the upside down nature of the church and the radicalism of Christ.

Mt 12:46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

Mt 12:48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

Being a Christian is joining Jesus' family.

1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 10

Please note it does not say that some of you are priests, but the whole of the church are priests. Peter being a Jew knew what he meant by being a priest it was a very special and important position, and yet Peter was saying that everyone was a priest. We tend to weaken the idea of the Priesthood of all believers to a form of equality, however when Peter talks about being a Royal Priesthood, he knew the power of what he was saying.

Paul takes a functional view,

1Co 12:27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 28 And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. 29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret? 31 But eagerly desire the greater gifts.

Again Paul knew exactly the power of what he was saying when he called the church the body of Christ. Please note that he does not use terms priest, father or leader. Apostles are special messengers, and are people who are given a special task. It is not a role designed to operate within one local church but one that has a ministry across an area (that could be geographic, demographic, cultural etc.) The next is prophets, which is interesting because our perception of the Old Testament prophet is not connected with church life, but the person who lives in the wilderness. The importance of prophecy is that prophets are people who call people to follow Christ. Teachers are people who teach.

It is easy to see how such gifts rather than competing for importance build up the body of Christ. Paul talks about miracles and gifts, but then goes on to talk a long time about the greater gifts and emphasises love in 1 Cor 13.

The Jews saw themselves as one big extended family, and therefore we see this in both the Jews addressing the Christians, "Brothers, what must we do to be saved," and also the apostles addressing the Jewish people, Ac 3:17 “Now, brothers, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders."

So when Peter calls them a people, he may have in mind the story of Ruth. Your God will be my God, and your people will be my people.

The community of the early church demonstrates this idea not just in theology but in action. They loved and cared for each other and sold their possessions to look after each other. It was commented about them, "

Loving one another is a big theme of the New Testament, of the whole Bible.

In a broken and hurting world, that struggles to do biological family, we are called to be a supernatural family.

These are incomplete thoughts, because the subject is so big, but it is such a challenge to us and to every age. We are called to relate to each other in a radically different way, based not on what I can get, and my own self-realisation, but on the needs of others and on serving God.

We are called to be different.

Saved by grace

I read an article in The Guardian recently (Sat 27 October, see The sins of the father) about Simon Crowhurst and how he lost his father at sea.

Donald Cowhurst was the final entrant in the Sunday Times' Golden Globe race, a round the world sailing trip with a £5,000 prize - a lot of money in 1968. He was an amateur but he managed to get sponsorship to do it on the basis that he would complete the journey.

At first it went disastrously badly, but then reports began to come in that he was doing much better. However, not far from the final finish line, two policeman appeared at the family home.

It turned out that in reality he had been lying, rather than sailing all around the world, he had decided to loop back to the start. He was only trying to finish the race and save him and his family from bankruptcy. Though in reality his backers were prepared to release him from that and he probably would not have been ruined if he had stuck to the race.

The problem was he cheated, he knew he had cheated, and yet he was on line for winning the race. He knew that as soon as his voyage was checked he would be found out, and therefore he threw himself overboard and drowned.

You can imagine what would happen to the family next. The disgrace at the suicide, the financial ruin, and what that would do to the family.

Except when you read the article you discover that Simon is a research technician at Cambridge, married with children, and when talking about his father seems to have his head firmly on his shoulders.

So what happened? What went right?

Donald Cowhurst did not win the race Robin Knox-Johnston did, however he donated his £5,000 prize money to the Cowhurst family saving them from financial ruin. Simon comments that, "He's an incredibly generous man - a real hero."

The history that would have happened did not happen, Simon Cowhurst and his family were saved by grace. His father did not win the race, but Knox-Johnston who won donated the £5,000 prize money that saved his family.

The term saved by grace generally means little to most people today, but I hope this illustration from real life helps.

Still running for the bus

I was late leaving the house this week, and though I ran at points I was still a distance from the bus stop when I saw the bus driving up. I was not yet late, but the bus was early. I broke my ankle a while ago and it is still not right, and therefore I was not quite quick enough. I did run for the bus, but it drove off just as I got to the back of it.

I was discussing this with a colleague at work and he told me that he no longer ran for the bus. He had run too many times and it seemed like the bus drivers took a perverse pleasure from driving off just as he was almost in reach.

It struck me as an image of lost hope and disappointment.

Bill Clinton famously said, "I still believe in a place called hope." (well he was born there), but sometimes it is difficult to hope.

People talk about clinging onto hope, but the image that we have of hope from the Bible is of something far more certain.

1 Cor 13v7 says about love "It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." (NIV)

The passage later states, v13 "And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." (NIV)

Do we have a hope that remains?

There are other famous passages on hope,

Psalm 25

3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse. (NIV)

Great as a promise but what exactly does it mean?

Psalm 62 provides an incredible image.

3 How long will you assault a man?
Would all of you throw him down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

4 They fully intend to topple him
from his lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
Selah

5 Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.

6 He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. (NIV)

Man is shown as a leaning wall, as a tottering fence. That does not sound like a very hopeful image. Leaning walls and tottering fences have a tendency to fall down.

David though refers to God as my rock, my salvation and my fortress. Those are all images of strength and images of hope.

Hope in itself is not the issue. If I put my hope in the things of this world then I am looking for trouble. If I hope that I will get the bus then too many times I will end up being disappointed.

If my hope is in God then I will never be disappointed.

We can give great rhetoric about how we should not lose hope, about how we should always keep running for that bus, always keep believing. My friend is being quite sensible though, don't put your hope in something that is going to disappoint you. Buses and bus drivers are not great things to put your hope in.

There is and there has to be something more. Don't put your hope in the number 20 bus, put it in your rock, your salvation and your fortress.

Don't place your hope in buses, place your hope in God.