John 3: 16- 21: (Supplementary Reading)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.”
Isaiah 3: 1-4 ( Scripture Emphasis)
“See now, the Lord,
the Lord Almighty,
is about to take from Jerusalem and Judah
both supply and support:
all supplies of food and all supplies of water,
the hero and the warrior,
the judge and the Prophet
the diviner and the elder,
3 the captain of fifty and the man of rank,
the counsellor, skilled craftsman and clever enchanter.
4 “I will make mere youths their officials;
children will rule over them.”
5 People will oppress each other—
man against man, neighbour against neighbour.
The young will rise against the old,
the nobody against the honoured”.
WHY BELONG TO A CHURCH?
There is a haunting message in the Old Testament’s book of Isaiah pertinent to the unfolding of present world history.
Isaiah, who began his ministry in 740 B.C., spent most of his life in Jerusalem. He wrote during the turbulent period marking the Assyrian empire’s expansion and Israel’s phenomenal decline. In response to this decline, the Prophet concludes that Israel’s lacklustre performance of their religious observances is the reason for their present historical crises. Consequently, he announces God’s judgement ( Isaiah 3: 1-4). Isaiah warns that shrinking one’s dependency upon God will result in catastrophic deprivations.
The covenant relationship between God and Israel was the making of a sacred promise to each other and to God to honour, love and cherish each other forever. They are to be God’s chosen people; He is to be their God.
However, changes in situations and circumstances are prominent features of life in this world. One day announces a conviction of an unseen Presence; the next may demand a show of human prowess. Consequently, change dressed in a garb of normalcy quickly gains dominion over human lives. But, then, experiences once valued as life-changing lose their empowering influence when their recall becomes neglected and soon becomes relegated to the zone of lost memories. Life in this world is rich in the elixir, which induces the state of forgetfulness of those very experiences meant to enhance human fulfilment.
Relationships and experiences become even more essential when it dawns upon us that they are no longer present. It is true that ” sometimes you don’t know what you have until it’s gone”.The mere thought of such deprivation induces such excruciating pain, as George Bernard Shaw’s tragedy, Saint Joan”, expresses.
The judges had sentenced Joan to perpetual imprisonment. Shaken with disbelief, she responds:
“Send me to the stake rather than that,” she cries.
To shut me from the light of the sky, and the sight of
the fields and the flowers to chain my feet so that I
can no longer climb the hills – that is worse than
the furnace seven times heated. Without these
things I cannot live, and by your wishing to take them
away from me; I know your counsel is of the devil
and that mine is from God”.
Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the people of Israel is equally devastating in the wake of their relationship with God. Accordingly, Isaiah warns his fellow citizens that losing a right relationship with God is but the beginning of deprivations to follow.
The Church in modern society is the custodian of the mystery of a New Covenant between God and the New Israel, the Church. Effectively, in the Spirit of the Risen Christ, the New Covenant will recreate the world according to the vision of God’s Love for His world.
But are we ready to ask, ” How different are we from the keepers of the First Covenant relationship?”
The sad fact, evident even to the least observant of such matters, is that the fire that once characterized the Church seems now to be little more than smouldering embers. The warm glow of that living, vibrant Faith designed to unite strangers in a fellowship of love and Mission is becoming little more than another social club. Churches commissioned to be the ‘Keepers and Protectors of the faith’ are witnessing the closing of the doors to the faithful and would- be- seekers, not because, like our Saviour. His Mission is declared finished; ours is always beginning anew. The time is now for the Church to rediscover its Mission and Purpose in the Spirit of its Founder and its Lord. The Church cannot be a cold-storage facility for the preservation of the saints; it must be a loving and caring fellowship that ministers to the lost, the least, the loveless and the lonely.
Loneliness, depression and defeat are found worldwide due to the absence of human dignity, respect, and genuine caring for one another. When presented to Church members as a mission big enough to demand an absolute surrender of their being, that challenge shall fulfil God’s vision of expressed love, thus fulfilling the Church’s purpose for which it came to be. The only viable reason for belonging to a church is not to believe in some Creed or adhere to dogmas to satisfy one’s taste. Instead, the Church is TO BE THE BODY OF CHRIST in this world.
The community church with shuttered windows and leaning steeple may not impact you until it becomes your experience. Yet, many such churches hauntingly recall the memory of the congregants whose sacrifices made the edifice that grace the skyline possible. Even more importantly, these Churches preserve the fact of a crucial dependency upon FAITH in the Eternal. Therefore, the determination to weave such belief into the social fabric of their community’s life was but one more indication of their Covenant Relationship with their God.
Still, Let the trumpet of Hope resound throughout the world yet again. Since the day of Isaiah’s Prophecy, the WORD became FLESH and dwelt among us, and through His Resurrected Presence, abides powerfully still today.
Perhaps in this present, we each need to review those things that give meaning and purpose to our lives. Then, unabashedly, face those experiences that lent meaning and purpose to our very being; activities you used to do, people who inspired you, places you used to attend, etc. Does the truth, ” some things are never missed until they are no longer available to you,” dawn painfully upon you now? So now, with brave determination, examine those things that may be on the threshold of fading memory!
May the sound of that trumpet announcing His triumph over death awaken you from your reverie. Consequently, may you be blessed with a renewed vision to see the fulfilment of the Prayer Jesus taught us to pray always, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.”
A Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Father, I hear Your gentle tapping upon my soul’s door. And I cannot wait a moment longer to throw wide the door to welcome You!
I didn’t take the time to clear away the clutter within. I needed so badly to receive You, talk with You, and hear You speak to me!
In tones that quieten my trembling, embarrassed soul, You put me at perfect ease. You remind me again that beasts of burden shared Your Son’s place of birth in this world; His first cradle was a manger borrowed from one of them. Yet, Heaven’s effulgent light transformed that so ill-prepared place into something fit for a king.
After all these years, I still have so little to offer You.
The world’s voice is so loud, and I am still learning to teach my soul to listen above the din for Your still small voice of calm. But, the world is always so there, always in my face, while love, truth, and goodness are elusive. These are not always evident here. Please open my eyes to see You, my heart to love you, my soul to live for You and my spirit to reflect the Presence of Jesus. You alone possess the power to make this world through its inhabitants to be a home resembling Heaven.
In silence, You listen as I prepare to enumerate my
shortcomings. Then with such tenderness and, O, such love, You intercept my flow! “It is not that which you have failed to do and the mistakes that you have made that decide your future and that of the world; instead, it is your willingness to allow that effervescent light to shine on your whole offering, your perceived defeats, as well as your victoriesyour victories! Together we shall weave them into a mantle of Hope and love to wrap around the hurting shoulders of the world. Always remember, He continued, how the light from Heaven transformed even a stable setting into a royal palace, fit for a King!”
Such is the Faith that will save the world and revive the Church. In the Name of the Baby born in a manger and for His sake, we offer our Prayer. Amen
Hymn: Go To The World
Editorial Notes
1. Scripture references are taken from the
NIV translation.
2. From George Bernard Shaw’s Play, SAINT JOAN.
St Joan By George Bernard Shaw [PDF] [24f85jnqc9jg] (vdoc.pub)
3. The photographer is unknown to me, but I express my deep and sincere appreciation for this beautiful photo of Brigus.