T.M.I.

Romans 5:1-5

Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

John 16:12-15

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

As you know, I've spent the last week as chaplain to the Youth Delegates at General Assembly.

An exhausting, exhilarating, frustrating and inspiring week - sometimes all at the same time!

The Assembly Hall is now equipped with amazing technology.

Including webcams.

Many colleagues were watching at home, following the various debates.

And there was also a twitter feed. #GA13.

So folks can comment on what is happening and can be kept right up to date with proceedings.

Many took advantage of that technology, particularly last Monday, when we debated ministry and same sex relationships.

Of course that was widely reported (or misreported) in the media.

It was interesting to see the young folks' take on all the different debates.

Although days were long and there was lots to take in, the youth delegates were really passionate and enthusiastic about the church.

They were excited about the work the church does in its world mission programmes, in its social care, in its chaplaincy to the armed forces, in its mission and discipleship.

They participated in the formal worship in the Assembly hall and in the informal worship we shared morning and evening back at our accommodation.

These were ordinary young people from many different walks of life, some in employment, who had taken holidays to be there, some students who were juggling their time at assembly with essays and exams.

And although their behaviour and participation was exemplary, they also had a very healthy sense of humour, their seriousness matched by their healthy irreverence.

During some of the more tedious debates about procedure, they posted comments on twitter and on Facebook which were hilarious.

In that way, they remained engaged and relieved the tension and tedium.

Most young people are simply comfortable with that kind of technology.

Technology that produces a whole different language.

The language of text speak.

A hundred years ago, when Idris used to send me cards, he would sign them LOL - lots of love.

He does that now when he sends me a text.

But LOL doesn't mean lots of love any more - it means Laugh Out Loud.

So I asked the young folk last week to tell me about some more of the abbreviations they use when texting.

BTW - by the way.

ATM - at the moment

TBH - to be honest

TMI - too much information.

It's this last one, Too Much Information, that Jesus was trying to avoid when he began to say farewell to the disciples.

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.

Jesus didn't want to overload the disciples with information.

They had more than enough to digest.

He knew they simply could not process any more.

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.

Jesus knew that they would have the rest of their lives to work things out, to measure and weigh things in the light of all that he had taught them and shown them.

But, more that that, Jesus knew that they wouldn't have to wrestle with it all on their own.

Too much information is not good for any of us.

We do not and can not know everything.

But Jesus reassured his disciples that they would not be left to their own devices.

The Spirit is our guide.

Sadly, we often drown out the soft whisper of the Spirit.

We fail to hear her prompting and make the wrong choices.

Jesus intentionally did not overload us with too much information.

His intention was that we should listen carefully for the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

And so, as our world changes, and as we are faced with more and more perplexing choices, the example of Jesus and the guidance of the Holy Spirit leads us to make loving choices.

Choices that reflect the loving nature of God.

Each morning, in opening Devotions at the Assembly, the Moderator preached on hope.

She spoke of how Gods people in every time of adversity are characterised by their ability to demonstrate hope.

Hope against the odds.

Hope that, at times, seems irrational.

Hope that perseveres.

As we read in Romans 5:

We boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

Suffering, endurance, character and hope.

Hope that does not disappoint.

Being involved in the General Assembly this week, despite all the predictions that the church was about to split, I saw lots of cause for hope.

It is always good to be reminded of all that the church is involved in.

Of all the ways Gods people serve.

But, as well as all that, spending time with young people this week who have hope for the church and who want to be a part of the Church of Scotland despite all its flaws has given me great encouragement.

Those young people who choose to persevere, who choose to go on serving and go on hoping, bring new life.

A wonderful quote the Moderator used last week came from Rubem Alves:

" Hope is hearing the melody of the future, faith is to dance to it now."

Pray today that we may be attuned to hear that melody of the future and inspired to dance to it now.

Practising faith, hope and love, against all the odds.

It’s a funny old journey,

the journey of faith.

Does faith change or do we?

Those things that seemed so important 

when we started out

have given way to other issues.

The deal breakers

become the room makers,

the passions we held

become mellowed

by the passage of time

as we learn and grow,

as our hearts swell with love.

And, as we begin to understand better

the God who lives beside us,

the God who will not be fettered

by any limits

that we place

on compassion.

The God who calls us

to ignore the limits too.

The God who promises that,

one day it will all become clear.

But, until then,

we should carry on loving

along the way.

It’s a funny old journey.

" Hope is hearing the melody of the future, faith is to dance to it now."

May we have that hope, faith and love that we need for our life and for the life of the world.

For the glory of God.

Amen

I went down to the river to pray...

Acts 16:9-16
During the night Paul had a vision:there stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
The Conversion of Lydia
We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days. On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there. A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.
On we journey with the apostles and the early church.
Last week, we considered the implications of the gospel becoming inclusive, Gods grace being offered to Gentiles and all those previously considered unclean.
We reminded ourselves of how the notion that all are welcome was as problematic to some church folk then as it is today.
In today's reading, we find that net spreading even wider.
Paul is accompanied by Silas and Timothy and they are actively seeking where to go next with the gospel.
They try a couple of places that they imagine will be good places to spread the word - but it seems they are blocked from going to the places they'd thought on.
Then, from left field, comes a prompting to go to a place that they hadn't considered.
Paul's vision, this time, is a call to go to Macedonia and preach the good news there.
Its important to note, from this passage, that even a vision that seems as convincing as Paul's to go to Macedonia requires to be backed up by the rest of the worshiping community - by the rest of the ministry team.
They all need to own this work and discern that it is God's will for them before they chase off to follow the Spirit.
Often, we imagine that our ideas are also God's ideas.
We can run off in all sorts of directions and discover, in fact, that its not where God wants us to be.
What we can be sure of, however, is that God will keep on prompting until our ways and God's ways collide.
That collision is worth waiting on!
Just this week, we've had a very real example of waiting on God as we seek to determine where next to develop our outreach in the parish:
I've been thinking for some time, that it might be good to set up Messy Church in our parish.
So I've been gathering resources, finding out about it.
But, for all sorts of reasons, the time didn't seem right.
I mentioned that desire at our Annual Meeting this year and a few people were supportive about it.
Then I organised a meeting for those interested in helping - and discovered that, while there are quite a few people on board, lots of other folk aren't sure what it's all about.
Because I've been living with it in my head for some time, I forgot that that doesn't mean that everyone else is as conversant with the idea of Messy Church as I am.
And folk need time to find out more and then decide whether or not to get on board.
That collision of Gods Spirit and our ideas hasn't quite happened yet.
And, while I'm sure it will, its worth waiting until that collision occurs.
Because the journey is much more exciting when God is on board.
In our Acts passage, with Paul's vision, we find the apostles back on a collision course with God:
Go to Macedonia and preach the good news there.
There's a wonderful sense of urgency about the gospel in this passage.
When he had seen the vision, we immediately tried to cross over to Macedonia, being convinced that God had called us to proclaim the good news to them.
Before they know it, the disciples are in Macedonia and ready to find out what this call to Macedonia entails.
They were all set.
And the delays and setbacks they had encountered only served to make them even more prepared when the time was right.
So God revealed to Paul that Macedonia was the next place for them to evangelise and they were immediately up and running.
They got to Philippi and there, in spite of the seeming urgency of the call to Macedonia, the apostles take a few days before setting to work.
And when they do get to work, preaching the good news in this Roman Colony, it is not in the synagogue as you might expect, but another gathering place.
On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer...
Isn't it wonderful to have familiar landmarks - those places you know that, even if they're far away from your normal haunts, they will seem familiar - they will have enough recognisable elements to make you feel at home.
When we were away just after Easter, in the mountains of Virginia, we spent quite a bit of time around rivers and creeks and waterfalls.
I just love to be around water - and I can't imagine living somewhere that that wasn't an option.
Wherever we are, whatever time of year, before you know it, I'll be paddling in the water.
In the mountains, the snow was just beginning to melt because the temperature had risen - so that made the rivers extra cold.
But it was wonderful.
As I said to someone there- water soothes my soul.
So what a great place to go and pray.
The apostles, in Philippi, went to the river where they imagined folk would meet to pray.
When they got to the river, sure enough there was a group of women gathered there and the disciples got to work - speaking to the women about things of the faith.
One woman in particular, Lydia, responded to them.
She was a "worshiper of God" but, that day, in response to Paul's preaching, she and her household were baptised.
She then extended hospitality to the apostles.
Isn't it wonderful that her first act as a baptised believer was to offer hospitality.
A simple gift of which we are all capable.
Sometimes we overlook the simplest of gifts and underestimate their importance.
But there is nothing more sacred than to be made welcome and to be offered hospitality.
And so the spread of the gospel continues.
But, wait a minute...
Wasn't it a man Paul saw in his vision, beckoning to come over to Macedonia?
There stood a man of Macedonia pleading with him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
And yet the first congregation the apostles preached to in Macedonia was a group of women, of whom Lydia, not even a native, responded.
This encounter, down on the riverbank, seems miles from their usual style of preaching to crowds of folk.
Women - down by the river.
But it was Paul's simple encounter with these women that brought an immediate response in a confession of faith.
Such is the will of God.
And the work of the Spirit.
Unpredictable.
Surprising.
Whimsical at times.
Yet worth following.
We cannot know where God might lead or what the Spirit of God might enable.
And, lets be honest - there are times, had we known the outcome, we might not have bothered.
But we have to trust in that collision of God's spirit and our faithful action.
God's big, bold Spirit is not honoured by our being tentative.
Or timid.
It demands that we dream big - and go for it!
God calls us to demolish barriers, to reach across boundaries and to preach the gospel by our living.
And, in it all, to expect to find the Spirit of God in all sorts of unexpected places.
Let's do it - for the glory of God.
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