The Narrow Path

  Wednesday, March 1, 2023 Psalms 1; 2 Genesis 41:1-36 Luke 11:45-12:7 Observance: David, bishop of Menevia, Wales (d. 601) When Jesus went outside, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile toward Him and to cross-examine Him about many things, lying in wait for Him, to catch Him in something He might say. One thing we could do this Lent to take advantage of this season of spiritual development is to honestly reflect on what we think of Jesus’ words as recorded in the Bible. Over the last couple of days, He has really demonstrated just how powerful a public speaker He was. All this talk of unmarked graves and murdered prophets, a return of the Queen of the South, the sign of Jonah; it really is quite powerful stuff. In addition to His excellent rhetoric, Jesus is also crystal clear in His message: repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. There are plenty of people around today who don’t like Jesus’ words. We don’t have to look far on the...

  Tuesday, February 28, 2023 Psalms 143; 146 Genesis 40 Luke 11:29-44 The Pharisee was amazed to see that He did not first wash before dinner. We humans are a rough-and-tumble bunch. We are like snotty boys who, in our interactions in the world, have gotten dirt under our nails and mud behind our ears. We Christians are commando soldiers, crawling through the bush as we lob grenades at the enemy in our daily spiritual warfare. Our Captain is clean and immaculately dressed in finery as befits the One who holds the rank of Lord Commander. Even though He leads the battle from the front, no dirt can stick to His clothes. He charges forth, eyes flashing, blazing a clear path for us to follow. All the mess of spiritual warfare, the dirt, the sweat – it is all superficial. Christ cleanses us from the inside out. We are beautiful in His sight. When the Father gazes upon us, He does not see the grime we have picked up; rather, He sees the glorious radiance of Ch...

  Monday, February 27, 2023 Psalm 140 Genesis 39 Luke 11:14-28 Observance: George Herbert, parish priest, poet (d. 1633) “ How then could I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” What I would give to be able to go back in time and meet this Joseph, just to find out what type of man he was. From here, all we can do is infer, based on how he was treated by other people. From what we do have, it seems like he was the type of man Jesus spoke of in today’s parable: that Joseph had a soul cleared of intruders and swept clean. He must have been such a trustworthy and noble man. Joseph held an enviable position in life. I am not referring to his place as the favourite child. Nor am I referring to his apparent excellence in the field of administration and management. Even the fact that he was “handsome and good-looking” ended up being more of a curse than a blessing. What Joseph had, and what we all desire, was the fact that the Lord blessed the work of hi...

  Saturday, February 25, 2023 Psalm 135 Genesis 38:12-20 Luke 11:5-13 “ How much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” It wasn’t all that long ago that we were in the season of giving gifts to one another. Gift-giving is hard work; receiving gifts even more so. Probably the most difficult part is unwrapping a gift that has been given with much pomp and ceremony – that this gift is exactly what you asked for – only to find it is slightly off: perhaps it is the wrong brand of doohickey, or an older book in the series you have been reading. A phenomenon that no-one has been able to replicate under the Christmas tree is the gift that God has given us in the person of the Holy Spirit. Our heavenly Father is our good father, a father who loves us perfectly, will never do us harm, is always there to care for us, and knows us perfectly. What kind of gift does this kind of Father give? He gives us the greatest gift He has to gi...

  Friday, February 24, 2023 Psalms 130; 131; 133 Genesis 37:25-38:11 Luke 10:38-11:4 Observance: Matthias, apostle and martyr [ May be observed on May 15 ] “ Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing.” It would not be controversial to claim that all Christians would agree that Christ should be at the centre of our lives. But what does that look like in practise? One teacher suggested that many of us see a Christ-centred life as having a shelf full of Jesus, with a whole bunch of other shelves mostly empty, and when we do engage with those other things, we feel a bit guilty for looking away from the Jesus shelf. He suggested we should instead honour Christ by filling all those shelves – that is, having a full and rich life – while keeping Christ at the centre of all those things we do. Martha is frazzled – we all know the type who flagellate themselves at the end of a dinner party by taking the lion’s sh...

  Thursday, February 23, 2023 Psalms 124; 125; 126 Genesis 37:1-24 Luke 10:25-37 Observance: Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, martyr (d. c. 155) But when Reuben heard it, he delivered him out of their hands. What does it mean for our relationship with God to have our heart of stone replaced with a heart of flesh? Before we were saved, we were found “kicking against the goads”; resenting God for asking us to love Him and one another. God really likes the idea of us being holy, as He is holy. In the great mystery of God’s sovereignty and how it interacts with our responsibility, God gives us both the carrot and the stick. Behave in a holy manner: because that is the road to life. Do not behave in an unholy manner: because that is the road to death. Particularly in this season of Lent, it can be easy to fall into the temptation of seeing God as giving us all stick and no carrot. Fasting, prayer, Bible study and works of charity can become laborious chores, p...

  Wednesday, February 22, 2023 Psalm 38:1-4; 18-21 Daniel 9:3-6 (7-14) 15-19 Matthew 6:7-15 Observance: Ash Wednesday We do not present our supplication before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great mercies. I must begin this season of Lent with a public confession: I am not a fan of icing on cake. Only very rarely is icing as good as it seems. Too many times to count has a big slice of delicious, moist cake been ruined with an inch-thick layer of artificially-coloured sugar crystals, ruining the entire experience. This is one of the ways I think of sin’s role in the world. It seems nice; like a good idea at the time. Sweetness is a taste universally accepted across all cultures. Everyone likes the idea of a bit of a sweet treat. But icing is nothing but nutritional emptiness and a disappointment on the tongue. The more you have, the worse you feel. And there is a very great risk of developing a sweet-tooth; a crippling add...

  Tuesday, February 21, 2023 Psalms 121; 122; 123 Genesis 35:16-29; 36:6-8 Luke 10:13-24 At that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit. If you or I were to “rejoice in our spirit” it would describe something very deep and central to our being. That kind of rejoicing would take over all other inclinations. We probably wouldn’t care what we looked like, or what people thought of us (because we would probably be dancing). We would forget about the tiredness in our feet, the ache in our back, and that upcoming bill we have to pay, because our very spirit would be consumed with the act of rejoicing. In this sentence, Jesus is rejoicing in “the spirit which is holy”, if we want to be pedantically literal with the translation. It gives us an insight on one level which is that Jesus was rejoicing in His very spirit at what He had heard from His returning missionaries. But, as we know from other places in the Bible (and which are reflected in our creeds), t...

  Monday, February 20, 2023 Psalms 114; 115 Genesis 35:1-15 Luke 10:1-12 Observance: William Grant Broughton, first bishop of Australia (d. 1853) Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” So far in our journey through Genesis, we have not yet run into any God except the one true God: God Almighty, El-Shaddai . For those of us who have read ahead and know what is coming (or have read the Psalms closely), we know that eventually the people who God is leading will run into pagan religion and false idol worship. It may seem like a silly thing for us to worry about: we have no temptation of false gods here in our enlightened, 21 st Century, western society. But the teaching is just as relevant today as it was several thousand years ago. I am a Christian chauvinist: that is, I believe that the triune God as revealed in the scriptures is the only God, and that Christianity is the only true religion. This is because I can confidently separate all re...

  Saturday, February 18, 2023 Psalm 107 Genesis 30:25-43 Luke 7:11-23 “ And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard.’” So many people are trying to tell us what to think; how to feel; where to find fulfilment. Eat some fried chicken; buy a new TV; release oneself from the tether of loyalty and pursue carnal pleasures. Our Lord is the creator of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. His holiness burns like a fire that abides no evil, and gives off light that sends all darkness into flight. Each one of us, and the world we live in, is sustained by the word of His power, and it can be ended in an instant, should God so desire. Yet He has a heart of humble and gentle love. Go and ask Him the same question He was asked by John’s disciples, and you will be answered in the same way. An honest pilgrim who truly desires to know the truth of Jesus need simply ask, and will be given spiritual eyes and ears to perceive...

  Friday, February 17, 2023 Psalm 106 Genesis 29:31-30:24 Luke 7:1-10 Observance: Holy Innocents [ If not observed on December 28 ] When Jesus heard [the message from the centurion] He was amazed at him. We have an uncomfortable relationship with authority. When it serves us, we are happy, like when a copper wins against a robber. When it tells us to do something we don’t want to do, we grumble, protest, or vote. It is almost animalistic, this binary nature of being satisfied by fulfilled carnal desires, and lashing out with violence when our toys are taken away: “ When you vote, you are exercising political authority, you're using force. And force, my friends, is violence. The supreme authority from which all other authorities are derived.” Such was the conclusion of science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein, writing in the wake of the Second World War. Our centurion friend saw things differently. In a perfect universe, with all things ordered correctly, ...

  Thursday, February 16, 2023 Psalm 105:1-22 Genesis 29:1-30 Luke 6:39-49 “ [The one who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them] is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built.” During the time of the viking invasion of England, a certain poem was composed by a defeated Anglo warrior. The poet laments the loss of his home and way of life at the hands of the invader. In our comfy beds, in our homes with fences, locks, roofs and electrical power-points, we can find it difficult to comprehend just how complete a defeat it is to the spirit to lose it all. Some, through painful experience, do know: natural disasters and the winds of fate both blow fickle and can take everything from us: “ Where has the horse gone? Where are my kindred? Where is the giver of treasure? Where are the benches to bear us? Joys of the hall...

  Wednesday, February 15, 2023 Psalm 104:1-25 Genesis 28 Luke 6:27-38 And he was afraid, and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.” I wonder how you conceive of the fact that the Bible describes two realms: a physical, and a spiritual. There is enough material in the scriptures that talk about the earth, or the world, in contrast with the heavenly, or the spiritual. Is the spiritual somewhere “over there”? Is heaven somewhere “up there”? Is this plane of existence, the planets, the stars, the plants and the animals, “down here”? If there is a contrast, it is not a divide. Almost two thousand years before the incarnation, God was already showing to Jacob that He has no problem with leaving His throne to visit His footstool. Earth is not an unpleasant place for God to be. In fact, God loves to be here with us. This is why Jesus’ instructions on holy living are not scary. If ...

  Tuesday, February 14, 2023 Psalms 108; 109:29-30 Genesis 27:30-46 Luke 6:12-26 Observance: Cyril (d. 869) and Methodius, bishop (d. 885) missionaries to the Slavs Now during those days Jesus went out to the mountain to pray; and He spent the night in prayer to God. Do you believe prayer works? Do you believe blessings are effective? Jacob, Esau, Isaac and Rebekah certainly did. They were desperate for God’s blessings to be made manifest. Their understanding of how it all worked was perhaps less mature. Jacob had already been given the blessing, and not from Isaac, but from the LORD God Himself. (Gen 25:23) Jacob’s future as the inheritor of the promise was never in doubt, and there was nothing Jacob could have done, as when he swapped a meal for Esau’s birthright, or Rebekah, when she cooked up this ridiculous plan to deceive Isaac. Jesus gives us a list of blessings in our gospel reading this morning. He does not put any obligations or requirement...

  Monday, February 13, 2023 Psalms 101; 102:1-11 Genesis 26:34-27:29 Luke 6:1-11 Those who deride me use my name for a curse. “What’s in a name?”, or so the idiom goes. Sometimes it is just something surface-level. A 10 th century archbishop of Canterbury went by the name Aelfric, which simply translates literally to “ruler” or “king”. A name can be something more, though: living in Australia, where we tend to lose the ethnic or cultural identity of our forefathers by the third or fourth generation, a last name can give us some uniqueness. Sometimes a name can even open doors: we still have exclusive clubs in Brisbane, no matter how much pressure Tattersall’s has faced. A name has history; meaning; identity; power. The name of Jesus has the ultimate value; the ultimate power; the ultimate meaning. Peter and John were being frisked for donations at the Temple. They had no money, but Peter gave the beggar what he did have: healing in the name of Jesus. Then the...

  Saturday, February 11, 2023 Psalms 95; 96 Genesis 26:18-33 Luke 5:27-39 “ You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?” There is nothing worse than picking up a cold on a Friday. You have been slaving away all week, punching time sheets, sweating and stressing just for a paycheck. The light at the end of the tunnel is that big party planned for the weekend: there will be feasting and festivities, all your friends will be there, you will be allowed to play loud music way past bed time without getting a knock on the door from the police. But then, the dreaded loogie descends, and instead, your time off is just spent with more work: working off a sickness. Jesus is presenting eternal life spent in His presence as a party. He compares His work of salvation with the curing of a sickness. This attitude, of looking forward to a big party with no fear of being rudely interrupted with a last-minute health condition, is why we...

  Friday, February 10, 2023 Psalms 92; 93 Genesis 26:1-17 Luke 5:12-26 “ I do choose.” The Lord Jesus is King; He wields the power to create, and sustains the universe. He wears His strength like royal vestments; the roaring of the sea is the closest material thing we can experience that reflects His majesty. Everywhere He goes, sickness is vanquished, demons flee. Light and life mark His path, leaving a trail of wonder and joy. It is enough for Him to remain in heaven. It is more than enough to continue His Word of power sustaining the universe as it is. It beggars belief that He would condescend to take a human body and live among us. His choice; His preference; the desire of His heart – is to forgive sin and save a people for Himself. This is beyond comprehension. What does it say about our God that He would do such a thing – for us? It melts the heart. In another place, St Paul teaches us that the Spirit helps our prayer, praying o...

  Thursday, February 9, 2023 Psalm 89:39-53 Genesis 25:5-11, 19-34 Luke 5:1-11 “ Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” Why does God ask us to do things for Him? After all we have learnt, from the stirrings in our heart, the whisperings of the Holy Spirit, and the teachings in the scriptures, dare we now turn around and demand God explain Himself anew every time we are pushed from one place to another? God is here with us. He sees everything that is going on. He knows the intimate details of our heart: all the stress, heartache, worry, and heavily guarded optimism that plague our every decision. God knows we cannot see the future, and that even if we could, we would not be able to plan every step perfectly. Jesus was tempted just as we are, and while He did not sin, He does know first-hand exactly what we are going through. His heart goes out to us; that infinitely deep heart of burnin...

  Wednesday, February 8, 2023 Psalm 89:1-18 Genesis 24:50-67 Luke 4:31-44 But Jesus rebuked the demons and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Messiah. There is a very great difference between knowing a fact, and that fact affecting your will. Sometimes this difference is referred to as “head knowledge” and “heart knowledge”. When we read about how Jesus met demons who knew that He was the Messiah, it reveals how limited our English language is when it comes to describing “faith”. St John often uses the phrase “to believe in” when he refers to this concept in his gospel. Is the faith that saves us a question of whether we believe the facts of the Bible to be true or not? Or is it whether those facts have “done something” to us, and changed who we are? While the demons knew that Jesus was the Messiah, this knowledge made no difference to how God treated them. It makes the modern phenomenon of mass-delusion known as “atheism” seem e...

  Tuesday, February 7, 2023 Psalm 90 Genesis 24:22-49 Luke 4:16-30 So teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise. Moses, the author of today’s Psalm, has some sobering words for us on the topic of ageing and death. If the topic weren’t so serious, we could be tempted to think he is being prone to melodrama. Sin is the cause of ageing, according to this Psalm. Humans, in their sin, pop up and blow away like little blades of grass, in a cosmic instant, all because of God’s righteous indignation at our presumption. We get seventy years on this earth tops, eighty if we’re lucky (although in some cases, like Moses, we can find it stretched up to 120), and in God’s time frame, that is barely one shift on the night watch. But Moses was a man of God. He understood that depressive nihilism is not the logical conclusion to the question of ageing and death. There are two important insights he left us with this Psalm, one explicit, the other an example...

  Monday, February 6, 2023 Psalm 86 Genesis 24:1-21 Luke 4:1-15 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the LORD had made his journey successful. There is an episode of The Simpsons where Homer betrays his pagan theology of prayer. Celebrating that his life is “absolutely perfect, just the way it is”, he asks God to freeze everything as it is and he won’t ask for anything more. His prayer follows: “If that is OK, please give me absolutely no sign.” This is considered a pagan approach to prayer, because it is assuming that God works His miracles as if we were in a marketplace of giving and receiving, similar to, for example, our global economy. At first blush, Abraham’s servant seems to be reading from a similar prayer book: he asks God for a sign in order to know who is to be married to his future employer. There is nothing inherently wrong with asking God for a sign. In fact, it is totally reasonable: prayer is inherently a two-way communi...

  Saturday, February 4, 2023 Psalm 80 Genesis 23 Luke 3:23-38 Observance: Anskar, missionary bishop in Sweden (d. 865) But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand, the one whom you made strong for yourself. Last night I tasted the most fantastic baked treat I have ever had in my life. You will know the type. Picking it up, it just looks like some sort of baked slice, but when you bite into it, you find there a bits and pieces of chocolate all through it. This is how the Christian life works, too. We receive the Holy Spirit, who points us to the truth and beauty of Christ and the empty tomb. Life becomes enchanted: we have meaning, and all the mystery of life slowly begins to wisp away like the dawn fog. Then, as we bite into what it really means to be a follower of Jesus and begin this trek of pilgrimage, we see glimpses of glory here and there. Little flashes of dazzling light of God’s true glory shining through for us. The sentence f...

  Friday, February 3, 2023 Psalm 78:16-38 Genesis 22 Luke 3:15-22 Observance: First Anglican service at Sydney Cove, conducted by Richard Johnson, Sydney 1788 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.” There is no getting around it: the fact is, this is another horrifying scene. God has already pushed Abraham seemingly to the limit: three times, Sarah and he have connived plans that involved breaking God’s law in order to try and manipulate the success of the covenant promise. Now, God is asking Abraham to kill his own son. What amount of trust does God demand of us that He will fulfil His promises? Finally, there seems like there is a chance that God actually will create a nation from Abraham’s children, and now that chance is to be dashed like all the others, bloodily executed on top of a lonely mountain? Before we try and work out just what is going on, let’s take a moment to think about the lectionary. Read...

  Thursday, February 2, 2023 Psalm 77 Genesis 21 Luke 3:1-14 Observance: The Presentation of Christ in the Temple And God heard the voice of the boy. There are babies just flying out everywhere today! Abraham and Sarah have finally seen the promises of God fulfilled in Isaac; Abraham’s son by Hagar is playing with his baby brother; the miracle child John the Baptist has entered into his manhood and calling; and he is preparing the way for his cousin, the Lord Jesus, who we have seen grow from newborn to adolescent to grown man all too quickly. Abraham and Sarah’s neuroticism over the baby Ishmael is, for us with the wisdom of time, embarrassing, to say the least. What began as the couples’ only hope turned into a point of contention and eventually a criminal act of banishment. When John the Baptist comes along, he preaches to the crowds, exhorting them to repent and return to God. Their response is that they already have God’s favour by virtue of bei...