A New Command

Today is known in the Christian calendar as “Maundy Thursday.”  It is the day on which many Christians around the world remember the Passover meal which Jesus shared with his friends shortly before he was arrested, tried and crucified.  That meal has become known as “The Last Supper.”

‘Maundy’ is a rather strange word, thought to derive from the Latin mandatum, the first word of the phrase "Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos" ('A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.')  The gospel writer John includes those words of Jesus in the passage in which John describes the events surrounding the last supper.

John also tells us about a quite remarkable incident which occurred at the last supper.  It was customary in that society for a servant to wash the feet of guests; this was a role reserved only for someone on the very lowest rung of the social ladder.  Apparently on this occasion no-one had come forward to perform the duty.  The disciples were shocked when Jesus himself began to wash their feet.  In doing so he was setting them an example, and reminding them that to be a follower of Jesus is to be ready to serve others.

The apostle Paul puts it like this: ‘Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 2:3-5).

And that’s the challenge for all who claim to follow Jesus Christ: we are called to be like him!  Jesus reminded his disciples that their love should be the same as the love they had experienced in him.  And not long after he had spoken those words, he gave his life as he died on a cross to pay the price for our sin.  He laid down his life for this desperately broken world, for each and every human being.

As we mourn this week with the victims of terror, not only in Brussels but around the world, and as weep at the inhumanity of human beings to one another, how can we even think that the life and words of Jesus are no longer relevant to today’s society?  If only we would heed Jesus’ words, ‘love one another as I have loved you.’

I love

Just thinking back to the days of my teens and early 20s when car stickers were all the rage (not to mention stickers for a multitude of other occasions).  We Christians seemed to be particularly into stickers, believing that this was a great way to spread the message.  No doubt Jesus would have made abundant use of "Jesus loves you" smiley face stickers if they had been around in the 1st century!

Of course not all church folk appreciated car stickers, especially if they involved humour, which was frowned on in certain quarters.  Many years ago we had a car that just about got us from A to B most of the time (we were struggling to start it on one occasion and our daughter Caroline called out from the back seat, "It won't start because you haven't prayed about it yet!")  Our affectionate name for the car was Galeed, which is a Hebrew word found in the Old Testament which can be translated "witness heap."

Of course our struggling but faithful car was a witness heap because it was adorned with several Christian car stickers.  The sticker in the back window stated, "Don't laugh, Jesus travelled by donkey!"  On one occasion Sue and I were berated by a very serious gentleman who was most concerned that we were, in his opinion, using the name of the Lord in vain!  We did try to explain the concept of humour to him but he was having none of it (bless him).

The heighday of Christian stickers has long since passed, but there are still various sorts of car stickers around.  One of the most popular seems to be the "I love____" sticker, with a heart symbol representing love, and with various words being offered as the subject of the love (N.Y. music, dogs, pizza - the list is endless).  A few days ago I noticed an "I love" sticker in the back window of the car in front of me as I was driving along.  The wording after the heart was so small I couldn't read it, so the sicker simply appeared to say, "I love.

 

That simple message really struck a chord in my heart, because it spoke of a generous, unrestricted love, freely offered: the kind of love which the Bible describes as being seen supremely in God.  John puts it like this: 'God is love' (1 John 4:8).  It is that amazing, abundant and overflowing love of God the Father we focus on at Easter as we think of the gift of his Son ('God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners' (Romans 5:8))

What's more, God's plan for us is that as he pours out his love into us, we should allow that love to flow from us into the lives of others.  In fact, Jesus himself said that the most powerful sign that we are his followers will be through the love that is seen in our lives, 'Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples' (John 13:35).

How amazing it would be if we Christians were known primarily for our love.  Sadly it has not always been the case, and sometimes our love has been restricted to those who are like us, or those whose behaviour and lifestyle we approve of.  Yet as Wallace Brown so rightly states, 'We are called to love people where they are, not where we think they ought to be.'

It seems to me that the message "I love" summarises in a simple yet profound way exactly what God longs to see in us all.

Staying connected

Last month Sue and I celebrated our 38th wedding anniversary.  We didn't do the normal kind of thing like going out for a celebratory meal; instead we went along to a Pantomime at church!  Sue tells me that before we were married I said to her that ours would be the first perfect marriage.  I can't actually remember saying that, but if I did, my prediction was a long way from reality.  We've had our fair share of ups and downs over the years, and there have probably been times when we've felt like we were in a pantomime, but I know that I have been enormously blessed to have Sue by my side over the past 38 years.  I don't imagine that I would be where I am without having had her support and encouragement.

A few days ago I received an e-mail to advise me that my TomTom navigation device was in need of updating with the latest road information etc.  I have to say that when we first owned a sat-nav it did immediately improve our marriage, because one of the areas where Sue and I regularly fell out was over driving and navigation.  For whatever reason, our teamwork as a couple often fell apart when it came to navigating our way round the country.  Now that we can rely on the sat-nav, we have far fewer in-car arguments!

But the reality is that new roads are being built all the time, and junctions and speed limits are regularly being amended, so it is important to keep the device up to date.  I therefore had to connect the device to my laptop and download the revised information from the TomTom website.  It didn't take too long and was a fairly simple procedure.

As I looked at the screen and noticed the message, "Updating.  Do not disconnect your device," into my popped the thought that this is an image of how it is with our relationship with God.  Unless we keep 'connected' to God, our relationship with him can become stale and out of date.

It is quite clear that Jesus modelled the "connected" life.  For example, he said of himself on one occasion, "the Son can do nothing by himself. He does only what he sees the Father doing. Whatever the Father does, the Son also does" (John 5:19).  He also said, "I don't speak on my own authority. The Father who sent me has commanded me what to say and how to say it" (John 12:49).  In other words, Jesus lived each moment in intimate and constant relationship (connection) with the God the Father, so that all he did was in response to what Father was showing and saying to him.

How I long for such a connected relationship with my heavenly Father.  And I also thank God for the invention of the sat-nav!

Making the most of Days of Grace

I have recently read one of the most moving and thought provoking books I remember coming across.  It was both tremendously sad and yet heart-warmingly uplifting.  Harrold Parry was born in December 1896.  In January 1916 he felt compelled to volunteer for Army service in WWI.  Sadly he was killed in action at Ypres in May 1917 at the age of just 20.  The book includes many of the letters which Harold wrote home to family and friends during his period of military service.  They reveal a harrowing picture of the terrible experiences of those who fought on the front line.  He was clearly a remarkable young man.  In one passage he writes,

“Death itself I do not fear, but I have rather a dread of the manner of death.  I don’t want to be mangled badly and to be out in No Man’s Land until I die, and I don’t want to die at all – yet.  It seems so difficult to face the prospect with so little in life and so much to do.  The world is in such terrible need of love and beauty, and when one thinks that it might be possible for oneself to help, even in a limited and confined way, in a truer appreciation and perception of the things that really matter – well, until one has done something, death seems a poor ending to all hopes and fears, all desires and ambitions.”

Though it is clear that Harold had a strong Christian faith and did not fear death, at the same time he had a desperate desire to make his life count for something before he died.  The imminence of death as a front line soldier somehow brought into clearer perspective for him the value of each new day, and highlighted the things in life which really matter.

This train of thought was reemphasised to me earlier today in conversation with my brother, Phil, who lives in New Zealand.  In the early part of last year Phil was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and given a mere few months to live.  In the intervening period he has been through some desperately hard times, and felt at one point that death was approaching.  Remarkably, he is currently feeling as good healthwise as he has for a very long time.  Because he has now outlived the most optimistic original prognosis, he now sees the gift of each new day as a “Day of Grace”.  Coming so close to death has helped him, like Harold Parry, to see how precious is the gift of a new day, and given him an urgency to make every day count for good.

All this links in with the fact that I was introduced, in the past couple of weeks, to a remarkable and challenging poem, “The Dash” (you can read it HERE). The challenge of the poem is to consider how we use the limited time which we all have on planet earth.  Perhaps our waking thought for each new day ought to be to thank God for another Day of Grace, and to ask for his help to make it count for good.

A creative challenge for Lent

Apologies for those of you who have no interest in football, but I just had to mention the tremendous success which Leicester City are having this season!  When one considers that around 12 months ago they looked to be heading for relegation from the Premiership, it is remarkable to see how the club has remained towards the top end of the league for much of the season, and as I write they are sitting proudly at the very top of the Premiership.  Before the season commenced, the odds against them winning the Premiership title were around 5000/1.  They have since been slashed to 5/2.

I was delighted to be able to attend City’s home match against Chelsea in December, a match which they deservedly won.  Although I thoroughly enjoyed the experience (and was even given a free limited edition packet of Walkers Jamie Vardy crisps!), it was a little annoying having to sit next to one particular fan who spent a lot of the match moaning at the Leicester players.  I found it hard to believe that when the team were playing so well, this gentleman found so much to be negative about.  Some people are never satisfied!

The truth is, of course, that we can all be unnecessarily negative at times.  To criticise and to moan about things is easy.  I was fascinated to read recently about someone who had decided to try and give up negativity for Lent!  It immediately struck me as a great idea and potentially a much more creative and fruitful act than to give up something like chocolate or biscuits. 

What a difference it would make to life if everyone made a determined effort to be more positive.  There’s a verse in the Bible which says, ‘Speak encouraging words to one another.  Build up hope’  It’s so much better to speak words which encourage and build up rather than discourage and tear down; so much better to try to see the positives in situations.  And not just for Lent!