The message we find in today’s reading of Matthew’s gospel is often called “The Sermon on the Mount” and it starts with something called “The Beatitudes”.
I like to call them the Be-attitudes, because Jesus is showing us how we should “be”.
 
Jesus starts his sermon with “Blessed are the poor, the sad, the meek, the thirsty, the merciful, the sincere, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for their faith in Christ.”
Near the end of the sermon, (read Matthew Ch 6), Jesus speaks with engaging, poetic words about the carefree birds of the air and the wildflowers in the field, followed by the admonition: “Your heavenly Father knows your needs before you ask him. Therefore, don’t be anxious. Don’t worry.”
This is a call for complete trust in the graciousness of God.
Jesus concludes this sermon of the highest ethical values - with an affirmation of the graciousness of God.
 
Every sentence in the Beatitudes has echoes from Old Testament passages.
Jesus, giving us these “new” Scriptures, was obviously well schooled in the “old” Scriptures.
 
Matthew wants us to recall the story of Moses, who went up the mountain and came back to the gathered people with the commandments of God; the laws by which the people of Israel were to live.
Jesus, on noticing the crowds that had gathered, went a little way up a mountain, to deliver his own manifesto - he was like the new Moses.
 
Much of what follows through the subsequent verses and chapters is ethical teaching.
It’s about how to live, loving God and loving one’s neighbour, but it goes much deeper than Moses.
Jesus goes from the external (i.e. obedience to the law), to the matters of feeling and thinking.
From outward observance - to motives and intentions.
 
“You shall not kill” is extended to “You shall not harbour anger and resentment.”
“You shall not commit adultery” is elevated to “You shall not harbour lust.”
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” is surpassed by “Turn the other cheek, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.”
Jesus raised the religious and ethical bar to a new height.
 
So much so, that if this were all there was to the “Sermon on the Mount”, then Jesus would have been thought of as just an extremist law giver, who made the burden of goodness even greater for us to carry.
In fact, this extreme teaching had the potential to make the devout person even more anxious and desperate about their ability to please God.
But that’s not the whole truth about Jesus - there’s something new here.
A deeper and more hopeful message is present in his sermon.
 
There are Old Testament echoes everywhere in what Jesus had to say.
But they’re all with a new twist and a new message.
 
Jesus pronounces God’s blessing on certain groups of people. “Blessed are........”
That word “blessed” in the Greek text is makarios.
For Greeks, it was originally used for the happiness of the gods.
In the New Testament it refers to a God-given happiness.
 
It’s hard to find a contemporary, English word to bring out the full impact of this blessing.
 
Maybe it could be translated, “The meek have struck it rich!” or “How lucky are the meek, for they’ve hit the jackpot!” 
This would be okay as long as we see this kind of luck, not as chance, but as coming from God’s overflowing generosity. 
 
Whatever word we employ, the key point is that it describes the boundless joy which comes to those who follow Christ and completely trust in the kingdom of heaven.
 
Have you noticed that the blessedness which Jesus affirms, is like a bonus?
This blessedness is a free gift of God, and the recipients don’t have to do anything to earn this blessedness.
Therefore, the Beatitudes are about God’s grace. You don’t have to do anything to earn this happiness. In truth, it can’t be earned, only received as a gift from God.      It’s a pure gift - grace.
 
This is in sharp contrast to the blessings of the Old Testament, where the happiness was conditional and people were urged to act or pray in a certain way, for only then would they receive blessedness.
 
Psalm 15 offers readers a happiness which is totally dependent upon conditions.
It depends on living blamelessly, speaking the truth, never gossiping, not seeking revenge, shunning reprobates, honouring God-fearers, never taking a bribe and keeping promises even though such integrity proves costly - conditional blessedness.
 
However, the beatitudes of Jesus aren’t like that.
There are no conditions to be met before someone can be called blessed.
 
And why is it offered to these people? I mean, think about it, the people Jesus names as blessed, most certainly are not the people society considers blessed, which, come to think of it, is partly why Jesus chooses them.
Because in this sermon, he’s not offering a recipe for success, or the keys to happiness, or a roadmap to having your best life now.
Rather, he’s demonstrating once again that God regularly and relentlessly shows up just where we least expect him to be, in order to give to us freely what we can neither earn nor achieve: blessedness.
 
I think that Jesus chooses these states, or conditions, to lift us up, because it’s precisely in our moments of disappointment, or despair, that we’re likely to finally abandon cultural stereotypes about blessing (understood as happiness, wealth, fame, or power) and be open to the presence of God that gives without asking in return and blesses us that we might be a blessing to others.
 
There’s abounding grace for those who are poor, thirsty, sincere, merciful, and humble enough to simply receive it.
Accept the gift of divine happiness, for that’s where things commence for the Christian -  with God’s free, unconditional love.
 
Now what are we going to do with this gift from God?
 
We could just store it away and feel good – safe in the knowledge that we’re blessed by God.
But I don’t think that’s why God gave you the gift, is it?
 
Instead, he wants us to do something with it - to be a blessing to others in the actions we take.
In prayer, ask God what it is that you can do for others in the Kingdom and then go out and bless others.
​
Pastor Rick

As I’m sure you’re aware, we’ll celebrate Australia Day next Thursday and I’m guessing that it’ll mean different things to different people.
Officially it marks the anniversary of the 1788 arrival of the First Fleet of British ships at Port Jackson, New South Wales, and the raising of the flag of Great Britain at Sydney Cove by Governor Arthur Phillip.
To some, that meaning has gotten a bit lost and to some, it’s just a good excuse for another public holiday.
To our aboriginal brothers and sisters, it has a much darker significance, but we don’t have the time to fully delve into that today, other than to recognise the pain that it causes them.
 
So, what have we, as a nation, learned in the last 235 years?
Have we learned how to stand on our own feet and not be reliant on the nation that sent those convicts, soldiers and sailors to our shores so many years ago?
We still have a tenuous link to Great Britain and the US is a great ally, but, essentially, we are self-governing and we follow the laws and statutes set down by our own politicians.
So that raises a question for me - who should we follow?

Should we follow everything that Canberra dictates?
Do we follow the state of NSW?
Prior to 1788, the aboriginal people were the only custodians of the land, but since then, Australians have come to this land from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and religions.
Today we are a mixture of all these peoples, ancient and modern and we must all learn to accept each other’s differences and embrace them.
 
The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the fledgling church in Corinth, urged the people not to get distracted by following any one particular cult leader, but, instead, to focus on the gospel message - that Christ died for us.
I would hope that, as Christians today, we can see that our primary role is also to follow Christ – and all that he teaches us through the bible.

However, as we find in this week’s readings, it isn’t as straightforward as it seems.
Sometimes people can be distracted by one religious denomination or another, professing that it has the “right” message.
It can even happen within congregation, when one person, or group, seek the be the owners of “the way” to do things.

Often, like in Corinth, these groups are seeking to sway people to their brand of Christianity and are forgetting the main message of the cross – that Jesus Christ is the one we follow – and no-one else.
Reconciliation with God must surely mean reconciliation with others. Paul lived his life from the logic of that gospel.
It left room for disagreement and for diversity, but certainly not for factionalism.
Paul saw no place for loyalty towards himself, or anyone else, because it just got in the road of true faith.
In one sense it was a problem of idolatry.

The Corinthians were putting certain leaders into a place that really belonged only to God.
In that sense they were becoming 'cult figures'.


In today’s gospel reading, we encounter Jesus saying to Andrew, Peter, James and John, by the Sea of Galilea, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
This simple, yet profound, command began a remarkable transformation in the Western World.
Like cells dividing, Jesus, the one human form of God, became the four fishermen and then the 12 apostles.
The 12 became 500 disciples, the 500 became thousands, and thousands became millions of Christians – all over the world.
Serving as a Jesus-kind of fisherman is called evangelism.
That is, sharing the Good News about Jesus by helping others find and live by the power of God’s love.
It’s helping them learn how to share, with more people, what it is that they’ve found in our joyous and meaningful faith.

But just how DO we fish for people?

Like fish, people exist as many varieties.
To become successful fishers of people, we can do well by copying good fishing techniques.
Firstly, we need to develop a plan that will attract them - because we want to share the same love that we have come to know in the Lord.

We need to recognize, and take into account, individual differences, perspectives and cultures.
We also need to remember that those of varying ages and generations were formed in distinctive historical eras and, consequently, they will often respond differently and have separate characteristic needs. Those we seek must be approached with the kind of respect and care that honours both their dignity and their differences.
We share with others the value of what we have found in following Christ, becoming conscious of where the needs of others lie, using appropriate methods, taking care about proper timing, and seeking repeatedly to learn how other people think and communicate.
Just as a fisherman cannot force a fish to be caught, we must also try to draw others into the Christian circle, not by coercion, but by loving attraction.

We must constantly study, practice and experiment, as we strive to present the gospel in such a way that it becomes clear, understandable and meaningful to them.

We need to find the best method to feed them spiritually, so they can grow within the faith.
Then, in their own ways, they can continue the process that Jesus began with Peter and Andrew and James and John - as the newest in the spiritual chain of cell division, reaching out to others and expanding the great body of Christian disciples.

Maybe for us, the best example of fishing comes from the “catch and release method,” following the principle that a fish is more valuable in the water, than on the angler’s dinner table.

Let’s imagine ourselves as Christians engaging others in the faith, helping them stay alive in the faith, caring for them and teaching them to know the Divine One who loves us all.
Then, imagine yourself respecting them, regardless of how they choose to respond to our help, in bringing them to a deeper knowledge of God, regardless of how they live out the faith we now share.

Does it seem to be what Jesus means for us to do?
Is it what he intended for Peter and Andrew and James and John?
Certainly, he didn’t want his disciples to take advantage of anyone they “caught”, but to embrace and serve them.

The church’s task – as fishers of people – is to find the best ways to invite others to Christ, offering them what we have and letting them prosper if they choose to remain in our environment.

We can follow Jesus’ call by meeting them where they are and fostering ministries and activities that are suitable for their needs. Eventually, we can offer them the opportunity to serve God and others as they deem best.
 
We do this because we understand that Jesus calls us into the most precious ministry there is: fulfilling the mission of the church, which we say is “to restore all people to unity with God and each other in Christ.”
As fishermen for Christ, we can gain strength in this task by remembering first the needs of others and praying always the words of this prayer:
“Give us grace, O Lord, to answer readily the call of our Saviour Jesus Christ and proclaim to all people the Good News of his salvation. That we and the whole world may perceive the glory of his marvellous works. This we pray in the name of the one who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.”     Amen.                   

Pastor Rick

Today’s readings from Isaiah and from Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians both begin with words about being called, about being set apart by God, and these fit right in with today’s section of John’s gospel, in which we hear his account of what is usually called “The Calling of the First Disciples.”
 
In the days after the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan, John points to Jesus and says of him, “Behold the Lamb of God.”
Two of the future disciples of Jesus hear this and decide to check him out a bit more, before ending up making a choice to follow him.
It’s this call, the call of these first two disciples, that we one we need to pay special attention to, if we want to understand what it’s like to be called by God into a special relationship with him.
 
We often talk of being called to be a specific role in ministry, or some form of service, usually within the church.
But, by looking at things in this way, most of us would listen to the story of the call of these disciples and neatly separate what happened to them - from what’s going on with us.
We’d say: “they were called especially by God, but we’re just ordinary folk, so we’re safe from all that ‘call’ business, which must be about other people, not us.”
But ordinary people, who think that they might be called to ordained ministry, spend time with other Christians in their congregation and Presbytery and examine their thoughts around this concept of “calling”.
Over a time of discernment (often up to a year), they will discuss the reasons behind the feeling and look ahead to what it means to accept this call.
 
The fact is that this type of “call”, whilst important, actually misses the main point that we find in the scriptures.
A call from God is not just being asked to perform a specific job, or a task – it can be much wider than that.
There certainly are special calls on people to a specific ministry, or type of service, but it’s not the norm.
It’s not exactly that type of call that the Bible’s talking about when it refers to being called; it’s not what’s really what’s going on in the gospel reading we just read; and it’s not what’s usually going on for us when God calls us.
 
Being ordained, being a missionary, or something like that, is secondary to the central call we all have from God.
Those two followers of John, who Jesus asked to “come and see”, were called in exactly the way we are called.
They were called to enter into a relationship with Jesus – to be his disciples – just as we’re called to be disciples. They were called to be disciples in their place and in their time, for the sake of their generation.
One of the things this means is that we don’t have to imitate Andrew’s, or John’s, or Peter’s actions, in order to see, with some clarity, how their call is like the call of Christ to each of us - and to all of us.
The first thing to notice is that Jesus doesn’t initially, or primarily, call them to do a particular task, or to fill a particular role - indeed, he doesn’t ask them to do anything, other than “Come and see.”
 
So, today, our call as Christians is not initially a request for us to perform a task or a fill a role.
It is, instead, an invitation into a relationship.  
Only later, does Jesus give specific content and direction to where that invitation might lead.
There’s a big difference between a call to a task and an invitation to relationship.
 
To respond to a call for relationship, for intimacy, is very different from signing up to do a piece of work – in the same way that falling in love is very different from getting hired to a new job.
To set out to do a job requires some clarity about what is involved, it’s negotiable, it has its limits.
You generally know what it’ll look like when the job is over, and so on.
But to be called into relationship – to be called into love – this is an invitation to enter a mystery;
it’s to move out, blindly, into uncharted waters.
 
When Jesus says, “Follow me,” he’s calling us primarily to himself – to a personal intimacy and a shared life.
That’s what matters, that’s what is primary.
Everything else is left behind; everything else becomes secondary.
Now, if we look at Jesus’ call from the perspective of what’s left behind, it’s actually a call to repent.
It’s the same thing that John was doing - calling the people of his time to repent – to turn their lives around.
But if we see that same call from the perspective of what comes next, then it’s a call to seek him first, to know him better and to move toward making our relationship with him the central focus of our lives.
 
When we’re called – and make no mistake - we are called by God - each and every one of us – this is primarily a call to be held by Jesus for a while, and not to go anywhere, not to do anything.
It’s a call to find out where and how Jesus lives, and to spend some time living there.
By and by, this will lead us somewhere, but we won’t know where for a while, maybe not for a long while.
 
This is why a sense of call – something that wanders through our lives from time to time – can often be both frightening and frustrating.
We sense that something, perhaps something very important, is going on; something that affects our whole life.
Then, grabbing on to the wrong notion of a call from God, we start looking for what it is that we’re called to do.
After all, we live in a society that insists that for something to be important it has to produce results.
 
Instead of that, we are, especially at the beginning, simply asked to get to know God and Jesus a little better.
It’s a call to listen, observe, and wait.
It’s a time to imitate the psalmist, a time to “listen to what the Lord God is saying.”
We need to do that first, we need to do that most of all.
 
This is what happened to those first disciples – they stayed close to Jesus for a while.
They learned what they could and came to know him a little.
Then, admittedly, long before they thought they were ready, Jesus gave them tasks to do.
For some, these were dramatic, for others they were quiet and invisible.
 
The call to Jesus will always, in one form or another, find expression in ministry. But the call comes first.
There can be no real, abiding and sustaining ministry without relationship with Christ, without obedience to him as he calls us to himself.
We’re not all called to be ordained ministers, but we are all called to be disciples.
Each one of us - you, me and the person next to you.
 
That call to relationship and ministry will haunt us and track us down.
It’ll trouble our sleep and whisper in our ears at the worst possible times.
It’ll grow stronger and weaker and stronger again.
It may seem to go away, but it always comes back, because, in the end, it’s our Lord calling us to himself.
It’s his call to life, to joy and to true peace - a call to all of us.
 
It may seem scary at first and we know that change can be a bit daunting.
But change is inevitable, and, like the tomorrow we worried about all of yesterday, today can actually be quite a nice place to live and be of service to God.
 
So now it’s over to us.
Is God calling us to do, or be, something that’s different from where we currently are and how will we know?


My recommendation is that you ask him, in your prayers, and listen carefully to his answers.
You may feel that you have nothing to offer God, but I assure you – he didn’t make you who you are (i.e. in his image) for you to just live out your years without making an impact on this world.
 
I encourage you, maybe when you get home, to talk to God and listen to just what it is that he wants you to do. It may be just a time to pray for others, lobby politicians to treat refugees better, volunteer your time to a charity, accept the inevitable changes in your life, or something else that only God knows.
 
I can’t tell you what it’s going to be, but I can pray that you’ll hear and accept God’s call on your life and then live it to the fullest. 
​
Pastor Rick

This Sunday is the First Sunday after Epiphany, but some of you may be wondering what “epiphany” means?
In common language today, it means “an insight, realisation, or revelation.”
eg. I had an epiphany, and now it’s meaning is clearer to me.
 
Even in biblical terms, it has a similar meaning, as it was the time when the Messiah, Jesus, was revealed to the non-Jewish world, through the visit of some gentiles, often called the Three Kings, or Magi.
Through this visit, they came to understand what God was doing in the world and that God’s gift was to the whole world, not just the Jews.
What gifts can you think of that would add to the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, brought by the MagI?
Maybe we can’t now bring physical gifts to Jesus, but we can surely honour him with our gifts of service.
Gifts we give to those less fortunate than ourselves would surely please our Lord.
 
In our reading from Acts this week, we hear Peter explain the importance of the birth of Jesus to the gentiles.
Jesus did not come just to save just the Jewish people, but to erase the sins all of humanity who would put their belief in him.
 
The second instance regarding the “Epiphany of Jesus”, was where he was baptised in the River Jordan by John the Baptist.
As he rose from the water, a voice form heaven was heard:
“This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”
At the time, the onlookers may have been wondering why Jesus, if he really was the Son of God, would need to be baptised by his cousin John, before beginning his ministry in Galilee.
They would probably have thought: surely the son of the most-high God would not need to repent of his sins in a ceremony of Baptism.
 
Jesus explained it in Matthew 3, when he said to John: “it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”
By that he meant that he was validating John’s ministry of baptism, as a way for the people to come to a belief in God, and by being baptised, the people could follow him.
He was stating his humanness, as well as his divinity, in front of the people at the river.
It was also a way of showing that his ministry was for all people, not just those of the Jewish nation.
He was now “one of them”, baptised by John, and that would make it easier for the people to put their faith in him.
 
At that time, the right of baptism was mainly used by the Jewish Rabbis to purify a gentile, when they wished to convert to Judaism.
Jesus was now opening the ritual to both Jew and non-Jew.
 
But the act of baptism, in itself, doesn’t make you holy.
Baptism doesn’t save you or secure you.
Baptism doesn’t provide some on‑going power that you can wield over those who aren’t baptised.


What baptism does is demonstrate your obedience to God, giving you the joy and blessing of serving the Lord and brings you into the church family, where all family members will look out for your spiritual growth.
It can also lead to an understanding of the love that God has for all his children.
 
We were blessed by these acts of Jesus many years ago - and now he tells us to go out and be a blessing to others.
 
Another example of the epiphany that came from the ministry of Jesus occurred on the night before he was killed, some 3 years after his baptism.
 
Jesus and his disciples had journeyed to Jerusalem, taking what we now know was to be his final journey.
 
Like many Jewish families at that time, they observed the Passover Meal on the evening before the Sabbath.
To the Jews, it was a reminder of the time that the Angel of Death “passed over” their houses, before killing all the firstborn of the families their Egyptian masters.
This was a final act brought on by God, through Moses, to get the Pharoah to release the Jews and let them free from their slavery, allowing them to return to their “Promised Land”.
 
In the ensuing years after their occupation of Israel & Judah, it became the responsibility of every Jewish man to celebrate the Passover Meal in the holy city of Jerusalem, at least once in his life.
 
Therefore, in an upper room in Jerusalem, Jesus and his disciples celebrated the traditional Passover Meal.
On that particular night Jesus changed the meaning of the elements of the meal into those that we use today in the sacrament of Holy Communion.
 
The bread that they used and the wine that they drank were renamed at the “body” and “blood” of Christ, that were given to the people, so that they would remember his body that was hung on a cross, and his blood that was shed to forgive their sins.
 
Again, the revelation, or epiphany, was that this sacrament was for all people, not just those who “belonged to the club”, not just for the Jews and not just for the baptised ones.
 
May your eyes be opened and you understand the majesty of God.
 
Pastor Rick
 
“God calls us to live right and to live well.
God has taken responsibility for us and kept us safe.
God has set us within neighbourhoods and communities to gather and unite people.
God has asked us to be a beacon of light to the nations.
So go, get on with the work of opening blind eyes and emptying prisons –
new life is bursting on the scene, and you’re an active part of the hope.
May the honour of partnering with God humble you,
may Jesus' servant-heart ache within you,
and may the indwelling Spirit empower you for loving service.   Amen”
​