A fairly new minister, attending the same meeting as me, spoke about
the fact that passing the diving test does not make a person an expert
driver. The learning must go on. He offered this as a view of what it means to
be a Christian minister. No matter how
long you have been in ministry, you should still remain a learner.
Intriguingly, the next day I followed a car being driven along a local
road, and observed how carefully it was being driven. While the driver was happy to go at the
national speed limit, he was also careful to drive within the speed limit for
the three villages we passed through. I
also observed that he took up the correct road position when approaching bends,
and wondered if he had taken advanced driving lessons. It made me reflect on my own driving
style. I pondered on the thought that to
be a good driver you need to keep learning from the experience of your own
driving and observing others.
I must have consciously celebrated a Christian Easter for more than 60
years, so finding something new to learn might seem impossible. But Easter is not only about the story; it is
also about the impact that the wonder of the sacrifice and the resurrection
have on our emotions and spiritual lives. In my ministry this year, I have
focused on the way in which the Easter event produced different kinds of
turnaround experiences for four people in scripture.
For Cleopas and his companion life had been very confusing. The prophet, mighty in deed and word, whom
they hoped was the Messiah, had been brutally killed. Although some women were reporting that he
was alive again, in those days the testimony of women was considered unreliable. They were in the depths of despair. As they walked the seven miles a stranger
helped them see all that the scriptures showed about the Messiah and his
resurrection. With their hearts burning
within them, they invited the previously unbidden companion to spend the night
with them. As a result of welcoming him,
they discovered the ‘stranger’ was the risen Christ.
Such was the impact of this discovery that they could not wat until
morning, but left all and hastened back to Jerusalem to share the news with
others. The way was probably difficult, dark and dangerous. They may have been tired. But their Easter experience led to a real
turnaround. Easter changed their
priorities.
The apostle, Paul, writes about his Easter experience in 1Corinthisnas
15. He met with the risen Christ as he
was about to enter Damascus. Saul of
Tarsus was not a bad man. He was
ultra-sincere, but sincerely wrong. It
was not just his name that was changed; Paul was truly a turned-around man. The passion he had poured into persecuting
those of the Way, was now spent in proclaiming the identity of Jesus as Messiah
and Saviour. At the heart of his ministry
was the fact of the resurrection.
For seven days Thomas found himself at odds with the other disciples of
Jesus. They had met the risen Christ and
knew the testimony of the women to be true.
He was alive! But Thomas had not
been able to share that same experience and was left with his doubts. I wonder, why the Jesus who had so soon
revealed himself to Mary and the two walking to Emmaus, chose to leave Thomas
struggling with doubt while surrounded with confidence. On the eighth day, finally he too met the
risen Saviour. Now he had no need to
tough the wounds in those hands (I love Frank Topping’s description of the nail-prints
as ‘chasms of love’)I, or thrust his
hand into the wound in his master’s side.
Doubt gave way to that amazing statement of faith: “My Lord and my God”.
In Luke 22, we read about the conversation between Peter and Jesus in
the guest chamber on the evening in which Jesus was betrayed. How vehemently Peter proclaims his
loyalty. But only a few hours later, in
the courtyard outside the place where Jesus was on trial for his life, three
times he denied ever knowing him. As the
cock crowed, and the door opened, Jesus turned and looked at Peter, and Peter
remembered. Rising from his place by the
fire, Peter went outside and wept bitterly.
He was not the man he thought he was and hoped others would see him too.
Meeting once more, the one he had failed and denied would not have been
easy. I sense some uneasiness in Peter’s
decision to go back to fishing. I
suspect that breakfast may have been eaten in silence. But when the silence was broken as Peter
walked with Jesus, how painful were those questions that drilled into Peter’s
heart. They emphasised his failure, but
were accompanied with words of reassurance.
There was still a place for him.
As Jesus had urged him in that mealtime they had share before Jesus was
arrested, “When you are converted, strengthen your brethren”.
Endeavouring to understand and empathise with all that Peter went
through emotionally over those few short days, has led me to believe that the Peter
we see on the Day of Pentecost had been changed, not only by the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit, but by his Easter turnaround experience.
So, four turnaround experiences, from moping to mission, from
persecutor to apostle, from doubt to extraordinary faith, and from cowardice to
courage. Easter impacts our lives in
different ways, all of which should lead to a real turnaround. For me, Easter 1963 turned me from a nominal
believer into a young man with a passion for sharing the good news and
encouraging others to trust the Saviour.
But the learning should go on. So, this year I am asking, what is there
in who I am, in what I do, in how I speak and in my thoughts, and in my
relationship with God and others that needs an Easter turnaround.
I have one further thought. In
each of the examples above, people were found, or found themselves in a
non-ideal situation. Cleopas was
confused and unhappy. Thomas found
himself at odds with his friends. Paul
was obsessed with destroying heresy. Peter was probably struggling with
shame. I had a faith that was
ineffective. Each remained in that state
until Jesus breaks through in his own time.
It was the presence of the risen Lord – and that alone – that made the
change. Easter is about triumph, but at
the personal level that cannot be manipulated or brought about by our own
efforts. We may not be where we would
prefer to be in experience. Maybe, all
we can do is pray, “Come, risen Lord, I open my heart, mind and life to the
power that raised you from the dead. Do your turnaround work in me.”
From the Diary
On Tuesday 2nd June,
I shall take a service interring ashes following a thanksgiving service
conducted recently. I will also be
working at HMP Gartree. On Friday 5th I share in a meeting
exploring how to make church premises more inviting. On Sunday
7th, I am booked to lead the evening service at Welby Lane
Mission, Melton Mowbray. In between
these engagements I will be busy preparing for an outreach planning meeting (8th
May), a Sunrise Ministries Trustees Meeting (15th May), a Safeguarding Training Day (17th
May), and our next
webinar on Summer Mission Ideas (20th May), and much more.
At present my work at prison is frustrated by delay in getting my security
clearance renewed. This impacts not only
my ministry in the prison, but also affects all my colleagues, as it limits my activities. Please pray for a speeding up of the process.
Thank you for your prayers.
Please pray that the Lord will keep us close to himself, keep us
learning, and make us a blessing to others.
Barry
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