Stairway to Heaven

Not the classic song… but the vision of Jacob in Genesis 28:10-22 as he lay with his head on a stone in the wilderness. Our sermon from last Sunday can be found here.

Verse 16 of the Genesis passage reads; ‘When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it." ‘ It raises the question of our own awareness of the nearness of God. Although in our doctrine we speak of God as omnipresent – always with us - we do not excel at practicing the presence of God.

I suspect that this is partly due to the fact that the spiritual journey is one that takes place within relationship. We are often in the presence of people with whom we have no relationship. Every time we walk a busy street, take a train ride or go to the shops there are a whole lot of folk around us we have no interaction with. If we enter a crowded elevator alone it seems we positively try and avoid even making eye contact with our fellow travelers!

Human relationships do not take place simply because we are in the presence of other people. Communication has to be initiated and pursued. Friendships take a while to grow. Love even longer.

God is always present. But a relationship with God has to be nurtured through interaction with God. It doesn’t just happen. God is there for us but we need to take active steps to be there for God. Prayer. Meditation. Reading Scripture. Worship. Service. In such ways the presence of God becomes evident.

Prayer: Lord. Thank You for the promise of Your presence this day. Help me to be present for You! Amen.

Who Did Jesus Die For?

This past Sunday as we gathered together around the communion table we explored the question “Who did Jesus for?” Normally I’d post the sermon, but as it was as much visual as spoken, there was no transcript. However one of the verses we focused upon was from Romans 5:8 “God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”

This is an amazing verse to focus upon as we come to the communion table. Upon that table we place visible signs of the broken life of Jesus. His body that was shattered upon the cross. The wine representing His blood that was shed for the sake of love.

Who did Jesus die for? For sinners. For all those who are prepared to admit they are broken and lack the strength in themselves to live in the way God calls them to live. To those who are prepared to receive Him, through faith, there is the experience of life being transformed by the same God who raised Christ from death.

We rightly call the sacrament a mystery. I really cannot properly explain how sharing bread and wine together nurtures our life with the love of God. It just does. The Holy Spirit has a way of interpreting the common actions of taking, tasting and sharing in a way that touches our hearts.

As with so many other things in Christian life it is all about grace. It is not our own actions, but our response to what God has done that changes us. ‘While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’. I love the words of Horatius Bonar’s communion hymn, written in 1855.

‘Here, O our Lord, we see Thee face to face,
Here would we touch and handle things unseen,
Here grasp with firmer hand eternal grace,
And all our weariness upon Thee lean.

We have no help but Thine, nor do we need
Another arm save Thine to lean upon.
It is enough, O Lord, enough indeed;
Our strength is in Thy might, Thy might alone.’

Prayer: Lord, you nurture our lives in many different ways. We confess our great need of Your love to forgive us, renew us, change us and guide us. We place our lives into Your hands this day. Amen.