God

A Tongue In Every Wound - A Meditation for Ascension Day
The U in JesUs
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: What evidence is there for the Ascension?
Praying With The Prayers Of The Bible: Praying with Penitential Tears
Growing into Christ
SERMON NOTEBOOK – the Samaritan woman

A Tongue In Every Wound - A Meditation for Ascension Day

By the Revd Dr Herbert McGonigle

A tongue in every wound! These words come from the eloquent oration of Mark Antony for the murdered Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play of that name.

Brutus, Cassius, Casca and the other conspirators believe the people of Rome will support their treachery - but that was before Antony's speech.

Antony begins his oration in low key, saying he has not come to praise Caesar, just to bury him. He reminds the citizens of Rome of all that Caesar did for them. Was Caesar ambitious for his own glory? Brutus says he was and, adds Antony, we all know 'that Brutus is an honourable man.'

Four times Antony speaks of Brutus' honour and with each mention of it the tension rises in the crowd. Soon Antony has the people crying out for vengeance on Caesar's enemies. As they hang on his every word, he declaims with unsurpassed dramatic eloquence:

“I show you sweet Caesar's wounds and bid them speak for me. But were I Brutus, and Brutus Antony, there were an Antony would ruffle up your spirits and put a tongue in every wound of Caesar, that should move the stones of Rome to rise and mutiny.”

A tongue in every wound! As Antony stands by the bloodied body of the murdered Caesar he declares that every wound, made by the traitors' swords, cries out for justice. The murderers have been exposed! Their crime is plain for all to see! Antony had made the wounds of Caesar speak! He put a tongue in every wound!

Charles Wesley, in a great hymn on Christ's heavenly intercession, did likewise with the wounds of Jesus. The believer can have perfect confidence. Not only has Christ died and risen but now He intercedes.

Arise, My soul, arise,
Cast off thy guilty fears
The bleeding sacrifice
In my behalf appears.
Before the Throne my Surety stands
My name is written on His hands.

Five bleeding wounds He bears
Received on Calvary...

Julius Caesar, too, had bleeding wounds, and in every one a 'tongue' cried out. Their cry was for vengeance, for retribution; murder must be atoned for. But the wounds of Jesus cry out, not for vengeance but for forgiveness, for mercy, for pardon!!

'Forgive him, O, forgive,' they cry
'Nor let that ransomed sinner die.'

What love! What grace! What a gospel! He who prayed for his enemies while He hung on the Cross now prays for you and me! 'My name,' the hymns tells us, 'is written on his hands.' He knows us! He loves us! He prays for us! A tongue in his every wound pleads on our behalf. And then Charles Wesley comes to the climax of his oration. God accepts the great redemption accomplished by his dear Son. We can know and be assured of our acceptance in Him!

The Father hears Him pray
His dear Anointed One
He cannot turn away
The presence of His Son.
The Spirit answers to the blood
And tells me I am born of God.

Dr McGonigle is Senior Lecturer in Historical Theology & Church History, Nazarene Theological College, Manchester

The U in JesUs

Before U were thought of or time had begun,
God even stuck U in the name of His Son.

And each time U pray, you'll see it's true
You can't spell out JesUs and not include U

You're a pretty big part of His wonderful name,
For U, He was born; that's why He came.

And His great love for U is the reason He died.
It even takes U to spell crUcified.

Isn't it thrilling and splendidly grand
He rose from the dead, with U in His plan?

The stones split away, the gold trUmpet blew,
and this word resUrrection is spelled with a U.

When JesUs left earth at His upward ascension,
He felt there was one thing He just had to mention.

"Now go into the world and tell them it's true
That the love I have shown is not just for U."

So many great people are spelled with a U,
Don't they have a right to know JesUs too?

It all depends now on what U will do,
He'd like them to know,
But it all starts with U.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: What evidence is there for the Ascension?

Question: I have been challenged by a critic that there is no evidence among the Gospel writers that Jesus ascended to heaven; that Mark 16:19 is not part of the original Greek text, and that Luke 24:51 is not supported by the best early manuscripts. How valid is this criticism?

You are referring to the phrase that Jesus 'was carried up into heaven'. Certainly Mark 16:9-20 comes within the category of a footnote rather than the main gospel text. But although not all the early Greek manuscripts of Luke 24:51 include the phrase 'and was carried up into heaven', “it is found in manuscripts and versions of the highest character, and ought certainly to be retained.” (W B Jones DD, The Speaker's Commentary, 1878). Supporting documents include the major 'Alexandrinus' and 'Vaticanus' manuscripts.

Actually, if your questioner had read more widely, he would have learnt that Christ's Ascension is a theme running through the Scriptures.

1. The Ascension of Jesus is consistent with the ancient prophecies.

Psalm 68:18 which refers to 'God' ascending on high, and leading captives in his train, is quoted in the New Testament, and directly connected with the Ascension of Jesus (Ephesians 4:7-10). Other references include Psalms 47:5; 110:1.

2. The Ascension of Jesus is recognised as the goal of the gospel story.

Your friend evidently missed other instances of the phrase in question: 'As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven...' (Luke 9:51). The Ascension is seen here as the end goal of Christ's journey, the triumphant celebration of his saving work at the Cross.

3. The Ascension of Jesus was directly announced by himself.

The risen Jesus told Mary Magdalene, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God' (John 20:17).” It couldn't be clearer.

4. The Ascension of Jesus was directly reported by the Gospel writers.

Luke 24:51 has already been referred to. But here is Luke again in his sequel book, the Acts of the Apostles. He declares that his gospel took the reader through the story of Jesus 'until the day when He was taken up...' (Acts 1:2). Luke now goes on to relate how '...He was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight (Acts 1:9).' Clear enough?

5. The Ascension of Jesus is interpreted in the light of his return.

Luke again – 'And while they were gazing into heaven as He went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10, 11).'

Let's get these and other references into our heads (John 6:62; 16:28; Acts 3:21; Ephesians 1:20-22). We want to help both ourselves and our friends understand the ascended triumph of our Lord.

From 'The Top 100 Questions – biblical answers to popular questions' by Richard Bewes (Christian Focus)

Praying With The Prayers Of The Bible: Praying with Penitential Tears

By the Rev Dr Herbert McGonigl,

Psalm 51:2; 'Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.'

Psalm 51 is the most personal, the most passionate and the most profound prayer for forgiveness found anywhere in the Bible.

Without any introduction, explanation or excuse, the Psalmist cries out, 'Have mercy on me, O God.' Jewish and Christian scholars have almost been unanimous in seeing this Psalm as David's personal prayer for pardon, following his sin of adultery with Bathsheba and then scheming to have her husband Uriah killed (2 Sam. 11).

As we go through the Psalm, its various stages take us from deep contrition to joyful testimony. First, the confession; vv.1-4. As David bares his soul to God, there is no blaming other people, no excuses made, no pleading special circumstances.

'Have mercy on me O God.' Notice the personal pronouns. 'My transgressions,' twice (vv.1 and 3); 'my iniquity;' 'my sin,' twice (vv.2 and 3). And David knows that while he has sinned against his own family and against the murdered Uriah, all sin is ultimately against God. 'Against thee, thee only, have I sinned' (v.4).

Second, the condition; vv.5-6. While David alone is responsible for the sins he has committed, he recognises that he is part of fallen, sinful humanity. Both Judaism and Christianity have a doctrine of original sin. So deep and all pervasive is the condition of fallen humanity that he speaks of being 'conceived' in sin and 'brought forth' in iniquity (v.5).

Although some commentators have tried to dismiss this teaching here by saying that David was conceived out of wedlock, its implications are far more profound. In v.6 he speaks about 'the inward being' and 'my secret heart.' David knows only too well that behind the sins he has committed lies a human heart prone to sin, attracted by sin

and enticed to sin.

Third, the cleansing; vv. 7-12. With this deep, penitential confession of his transgressions, his iniquity and his sin, David now cries out for the only remedy – God's power to conquer human sin. The prayer began with a plea for mercy (v.1) and then followed the repeated petitions for the 'blotting out,' the 'washing' and the 'cleansing' from sin. Now the plea is for something deeper still; 'Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean; wash me and I shall be whiter than snow.' (v.7). But David wants more and so we have the prayer in v.10; 'Create in me a clean heart.' And still David prays, 'Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.'

Resulting from this sincere confession and heart-felt prayer for forgiveness and cleansing, comes the assurance of God's gracious answer. When David is spiritually restored he will teach others the way of God's salvation (v.13) and praise God for his own deliverance (v.14).

So Psalm 51 promises forgiveness, cleansing, restoration and a place to serve God when we, in true penitence, make the same unqualified confessions of our sins.

Dr McGonigle is Senior Lecturer in Historical Theology & Church History, Nazarene Theological College, Manchester

Growing into Christ

We have been called by Jesus to follow him, and so we have dropped what we are doing, picked up our rucksacks (some heavier than others) and changed our direction in life, but it does not end there. Following Jesus is more than walking in his footsteps or his shadow, further than being called to be 'more like Christ'. It means growing into Christ.

How do we meet the challenge of truly growing into Christ? A focus for this is the Eucharist, where in a special way we are united with Christ. He comes into us and we move into him and become one. So spiritual growth can continue. St. Paul uses two analogies in his first letter to the Corinthians to help us understand what this means. In chapter 12 he describes us as the body of Christ with many parts; and in chapter 13 he illustrates growth from childhood to adulthood.

We cannot grow into Christ alone; we need unity with others and with God. Just as the body has many parts, we each have gifts to offer and we cannot discover and use these independently without support from others. But equally we must also have time alone with God to learn how Jesus wants us to use them.

We can be childish about our faith. We can get obsessed with things that really do not matter, such as what others might think of us, or who is right on a particular issue. We can put our own dignity and pride first, deciding what we want to achieve rather than what God is asking of us. We need to move from individual to unity, ignorance to understanding, impetuousness to wisdom, and from child to adult. So it is as we grow into the full stature of Christ.

SERMON NOTEBOOK - “People Like Us”

Samaritan Woman: John 4: 4-30

Jesus' conversation with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well is a wonderful example of how Jesus changes lives. Her empty water jar is a powerful symbol of the woman's search for meaning in life, like many people today.

Jesus opened the conversation (4-9)

By asking the woman for a drink, Jesus seriously broke social conventions, as men did not speak to women in public, or Jews talk to Samaritans. Jesus accepts everyone, irrespective of who they are, and what others think about them.

How comfortable are with those who are not like ourselves?

Jesus gained her confidence (10-15)

Jesus recognised the woman's spiritual emptiness by offering her 'living water'. This gift of God's life is the only thing that can truly quench spiritual thirst.

Why do we find it so hard to admit our own spiritual thirst?

Jesus touched her conscience (16-24)

The woman went to the well at noon (the hottest part of the day), because she wanted to avoid others. Her relationships were messed-up, as shown by the fact that she was living with her 6th man. She tried to avoid the issue by talking about worship (sounds familiar?). However, Jesus touched the real issue that she struggled with, just as he wants to do in our lives.

Are we prepared to be honest with God about our own struggles?

Jesus changed her life (25-30)

The woman's life was changed when she saw that Jesus was the real promised Messiah; the One who told her everything she ever did. Jesus can become real to us when we acknowledge that he is Lord of the whole of our life.

What is our understanding of who Jesus is?

The woman left her water jar unfilled demonstrating that she had found spiritual meaning and satisfaction in Jesus.

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