John 21:1-15 - Final Things
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- Written by Chris Appleby
Final Things Audio
Jesus has risen. He’s appeared twice to his disciples as a group. The second time he tells Thomas that those who believe in Jesus without having seen him are blessed, and John concludes chapter 20 with the statement that the things he’s written are here so that we who read them later may believe and believing, may have life in Jesus’ name. But the story isn’t quite finished. There are still some loose ends; and there’s still the future ministry of the Church to come. And so he lets us in to a brief incident that occurs in Galilee while the disciples are awaiting Jesus return to the Father.
The disciples have returned to Galilee at Jesus command to await him. There are 7 of them this night, and they're obviously getting restless. You can sympathise with Peter can’t you? Jesus has told them to wait for him, but as we all know, waiting can be hard. Eventually Peter jumps up and says "I am going fishing." He's a man of action. He's sick of sitting around doing nothing. It can't hurt to do a bit of fishing while they're waiting. They need to eat and they can use the money. Well, the other 6 think this sounds like a great idea. "We'll go with you," they say. So they go, but they catch nothing.
Col 3:1-17
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- Written by Chris Appleby
A New Start audio
As the year rolled over last Monday night did you think to yourself, “That’s one year I’m happy to forget”? Or “Let’s hope next year is better than last year”? I can’t be sure that 2018 was worse than any other year but it sure felt like it. When you think back on 2018 there was no shortage of controversies, scandals, bad behaviour at every level of society. Domestic violence, murder, house invasions, gangs terrorising suburbs, 2 Royal Commissions, reporting, first, sexual abuse by priests, school teachers, scout leaders, etc. added to by accusations against parliamentarians, actors, movie producers, international aid workers, etc., then banks and other financial institutions who’d been ripping off their customers. And let’s not forget national leaders who’d committed fraud and embezzlement, or threatened their own citizens or other nations, closing borders, inciting civil war and so the list goes on. It’s not a pretty picture of the world we live in is it?
Matt 21:1-27
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- Written by Chris Appleby
Jesus Enters Jerusalem audio
Everyone likes a parade don’t they? Whether it’s the Moomba Parade or the Anzac Day Parade, or the Grand Final Parade, we all love to get out and watch our heroes. Probably for some Australians the greatest parades are when the Queen comes to visit - or these days William and Kate. People come out in their thousands with flags to wave, cheering as they pass by.
Well that’s a bit like what happened when Jesus entered Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday. The city was buzzing. The word had got around. Jesus, the great teacher and healer was coming to Jerusalem, despite the danger from the Jewish leaders. Word was that he'd even been talking about death, predicting that he was going to be crucified, and saying that people had to be willing to take up their cross if they wanted to follow him. But that hadn’t stopped him from teaching and healing people and he was still arguing with the Pharisees.
Matt 5:1-15 - Jesus through Other Eyes
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- Written by Chris Appleby
The Key to Gaining the Kingdom audio
What does the word blessed – or bless-ed mean to you? I remember it was the closest thing to a swear word that my mother used to use: – “Those blessed ants are back in the kitchen!” More seriously though, it’s used to describe saints – “Blessed Saint Patrick”, “The Blessed Virgin Mary. If an ordinary person is described as blessed we generally mean they’re enjoying good fortune; God has been kind to them; they’ve received the rewards for their good life.
But what does Jesus mean when he describes this list of people as blessed? What did his hearers understand by it?
As we so often find in English the one word can mean various things, depending on the context. But in Hebrew and Greek there were two different words used for blessed. The first was used when you were talking about God doing something good for you. e.g. “The Lord bless you and keep you” is a prayer that God will look after you and bring you prosperity” But the other word that’s used speaks of a state of blessedness, or being at rest, at peace. It’s a bit like the idea of “Shalom”.
Matt 20:20-34 Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom?
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- Written by Chris Appleby
Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom? audio
I had to get a new pair of glasses a few years back. These weren’t everyday glasses. These were ones that are made so I can see what’s on my computer screen without ending up with a cricked neck. They’re fantastic. They make the characters on the screen look perfectly in focus. They just have one drawback. If I forget to change them over when I leave my office I can’t see anything clearly unless it’s right in front of me. It’s not that I’m totally blind. It’s just that everything is blurred.
Of course being unable to see things clearly doesn’t just apply to physical sight, does it? There’s an even worse affliction of sight that some people suffer from. That’s the sort of blurred vision that comes from prejudice or from unthinking acceptance of a particular set of presuppositions or perhaps from listening to too much talk back radio. For example it’s the sort of blindness that might prevent us from understanding the various issues in the debate over asylum seekers or youth gangs. It’s the sort of blindness that leads some people to suggest that the Churches have no right to speak out about social issues.
Well, both of these sorts of blindness appear in Matthew chapter 20. There’s physical blindness in the two blind men, mixed with clear spiritual sight, and there’s spiritual blindness on the part of the disciples and others we meet in this passage.
Read more: Matt 20:20-34 Who is the Greatest in the Kingdom?
