The Narrow Path

  Friday, November 1, 2024 Psalms 1; 2 Nehemiah 6:10-7:4 2 Peter 3:3-10 Observance: All Saints [ unless translated to November 3 ] With The Help Of Our God (Nehemiah 6:16) The grand project is finally finished – the mighty walls of the holy city of Jerusalem have been rebuilt. Yet even after all that minute, specific detail about who built what and where, Nehemiah reflects on how it all only happened because God was with them. This is indeed the only way that anything will happen in the church – if God is with us. Nehemiah was living several hundred years before Christ, yet he still understood that our God is the God who is with us. Thousands of years on the other side of all that, we look back and we agree that, yes, our God is the God who is with us: and his name is Emmanuel, God With Us, Jesus of Nazareth. Without the aid of specialist workers, the people did a mighty thing, all on their own backs. By all rights, it should never have happen...

  Thursday, October 31, 2024 Psalm 83 Nehemiah 5:14-6:9 2 Peter 2:12-3:2 Observance: Martin Luther (d. 1546) and other Continental Reformers An Unsealed Letter (Nehemiah 6:5) When considering the type of opposition the Christian faces, one realises that there is actually not much substance to that opposition at all. St Peter describes opponents to the Christian faith as “springs without water and mists driven by a storm”. (2 Peter 2:17) If the consistent message of scripture is to be bold, to be courageous, to hold faith in the Lord and trust in his willingness to save, then it all actually seems a little silly to have to say it out loud. Nehemiah was facing opposition to his work leading the rebuilding of Jerusalem. And his opposition was so ridiculously obvious he didn’t bat an eyelid. Four times they tried to trap him on the plain of Ono; four times he saw through their silly scheme to harm him. And on the fifth time, they included a letter, this ...

  Wednesday, October 30, 2024 Psalms 148; 149 Nehemiah 5:1-13 2 Peter 2:1-11 Fearing God To Avoid Reproach (Nehemiah 5:9) Once upon a time it was quite the compliment for a Christian to be referred to as a “God-fearing” man or woman. Nowadays the term seems to have fallen out of favour – a tragic casualty in the unstoppable forward march of language. Yet there is something to this concept, and to lose it is to lose a great deal of the confidence and bravery we rightly deserve as the people of God. Indeed, Jesus taught us to fear: to fear not the one who could destroy the body, but the One who could destroy both body and soul. (Matthew 10:28) Perhaps we have lost the idea of fearing God over misguided yet noble concerns that it would harm our witness; yet that approach loses sight of two basic facts. One is that to fear God is lauded in the Bible as a Christian virtue, and we should never pick and choose which bits of the Bible we like and which bits we don...

  Tuesday, October 29, 2024 Psalm 145 Nehemiah 4 2 Peter 1:12-21 The Sword And The Trowel (Nehemiah 4:14) For the past several months, we have been reviewing a certain portion of Israel’s sacred history with the intention of discovering what, if any, comparisons we can make with our own time. Having done so, we have then been seeking how to apply those lessons and therefore do a better job ourselves. The title of this series has been “The Sword And The Trowel”, and today we read the passage that has inspired our entire study. This is no backyard renovation; the mighty walls of the holy city are being rebuilt. If we are to take this moment in time as an inspirational illustration for our own lives, then note how the work proceeds. First, it is by the people themselves. While the lectionary skips over chapter three, take a glance at it anyway, and notice how there are no sub-contractors. Everyone in the city is responsible for their own portion of wall. Thos...

  Monday, October 28, 2024 Psalms 143; 146 Nehemiah 2:9-20 2 Peter 1:1-11 Observance: Simon and Jude, apostles and martyrs What Is This You Are Doing? (Nehemiah 2:19) Secretly stealing out of his quarters in the middle of the night, Nehemiah takes a little donkey and starts taking stock of the situation. The walls are in ruins! And some of the ruins are so bad the donkey has to go around them. Walls mean protection, and a lack of walls is cause for “disgrace”. This is the task that everyone must now work on. When we consider what these walls are speaking to in our lives, it is difficult not to think about the power of God: when was the last time you sang “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”? The Lord is our protection; he is our fortress wall. And to be without God is to be in a state of disgrace. Yet there are fellow-governors that would keep Nehemiah from this work: scoffers, mocking and ridiculing Nehemiah, trying to leave those walls in ruins. This...

  Saturday, October 26, 2024 Psalms 137; 138 Nehemiah 1:1-2:8 1 Peter 5 What Is It You Want? (Nehemiah 2:4) After yesterday’s distressing conclusion, we move across to a contemporary of Ezra, Zechariah and Haggai: Nehemiah. All four of these men had instrumental parts to play in the return of the exiles and the rebuilding work. Haggai and Zechariah were prophets, providing their own form of encouragement: Haggai, the gentle encouragement of a thoughtful man of years; Zechariah, the contagious enthusiasm of youth. Ezra was full of love of the Lord and his ways, and came to teach the people what he had learned from reading the scriptures. Now we turn to Nehemiah, a cupbearer to the king of Persia. Do you remember your Arthurian legends? The old stories of kings and queens in palaces, attended to by armies of servants, courts filled with intrigue? A cupbearer was more than a royal waiter. He was in the inner circle; he was trusted to taste every thing that wa...

  Friday, October 25, 2024 Psalm 135 Ezra 10:1-19 1 Peter 4:12-19 A Distressing Occasion (Ezra 10:9) The situation has come to a head. Full of hope for the future, hopes dashed into weeping, Ezra sits and waits for the people to decide how to move forward. A great sin has occurred amongst the people, and something must be done about it. Once again we must move past the contextual commandment to the principle behind that commandment, and see how the principle lines up with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Beginning with the principle: God originally raised up a nation for himself, first by calling Abraham, then through Joseph and Moses keeping them safe and then rescuing them, and then giving them a king, David. A people called to be holy, as God as holy; a blessing to all the surrounding nations. By inter-marrying with those surrounding nations, the point of everything that God has been doing up to that point was made void: hence, a sin was committed. An...

  Thursday, October 24, 2024 Psalms 130; 131; 133 Ezra 9 1 Peter 4:3-11 Observance: United Nations Day, inaugurated 1945 A Brief Moment (Ezra 9:8) Emotions can be an unpleasant thing. Back in Persia, Ezra must have been filled with joy at hearing the exiles were to be returned, and the temple rebuilt. The picture in his head must have been wonderfully optimistic. Having been laid low for their sins, the people would be restored and, having learned the lessons of their ancestors, never sin again. A new golden age for the people of Israel must have been the prize Ezra was reaching out for. And then, with the episode during the journey, when he realised he needed to pray even harder for God’s grace and protection, and his prayers were vindicated – he must have had high hopes for the future. Yet now, having arrived in the city, he is told that “there is nothing new under the sun”. It is good enough to be back home, apparently; the people are more than ...

  Wednesday, October 23, 2024 Psalms 124; 125; 126 Ezra 8:15-36 1 Peter 3:17-4:2 Observance: James of Jerusalem, brother of our Lord, martyr (d. c. 62) Looking To God (Ezra 8:22-23) When he was in the Persian capital and given this life-changing decree to rebuild the temple – of gold and silver, and a blessing from the king – Ezra must have felt bullet-proof. And so, filled with wonder and awe and confidence in the protective providence of the Almighty, he declined any human protection for his voyage down to Jerusalem. Half-way through, however, the sheen of those heady days began to wear off, and reality began to sink in. Here he is, in the thick of bandit country, with a king’s ransom worth of sacred treasure, and all the women and children about as well. And so, he gathers the people, and calls them to prayer. He may have even led them in words similar to those in our prayer book: “Give peace in our time, O Lord. Because there is none other that ...

  Tuesday, October 22, 2024 Psalm 118:1-18 Ezra 7:11-28 1 Peter 3:8-16 Why Should There Be Wrath? (Ezra 7:23) One of the main reasons we are looking at these readings with a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other is so that we can figure out what we should be doing today. As these returned exiles are rebuilding the holy city, so too we are rebuilding this broken and yet redeemed world into the model of the kingdom of heaven. As the example of the renewed temple worship shows, we are to focus on our own worship first: get that right, and then we can worry about everything else. But now that we are approaching the table of the Lord Jesus with a renewed interest, understanding, reverence and joy, a new question arises: in order to do what? At the end of every Sunday service, we are told to go, to get out, to leave that holy place and do… something outside the church walls. Worship is good in and of itself – but it also has a further purpose. This m...

  Monday, October 21, 2024 Psalms 121; 122; 123 Ezra 6:16-7:10 1 Peter 3:1-7 Celebrated With Joy (Ezra 6:22) After so much heartbreak, destruction, false starts and misery, we are finally back on track! The temple has been rebuilt; the religious offices have been reinstated; and the festivals are back in the calendar. This land, having completed its divinely ordained seventy years of rest, is back up and running again, with the Law of Moses being carefully studied, the smell of animal blood in the air, and songs and laughter filling the streets. God has saved his people, once again. God is in the salvation business, and business is booming. I’m sure, however, that one of these things seems to stick out. The priests are back to leading worship – good. The Levites are back making music (for that is one of their primary tasks) – also good. The joy of the God Who Saves is in the hearts of the people – also also good. But all these animals, being led up to...

  Saturday, October 19, 2024 Psalms 110; 111 Ezra 6:1-15 1 Peter 2:18-25 Observance: Henry Martyn, missionary and Bible translator in India and Persia (d. 1812) Do Not Interfere (Ezra 6:7) Earlier in these studies we wondered about how God brings about his plans and purposes using unlikely means, such as a pagan government. Today’s reading from Ezra reinforces this wonder: king Darius seems to have been hedging his bets, spiritually speaking, and encouraged the work of the temple so as to have a place and a people praying for him and his sons. The force of a mighty human empire supporting such a work is also impressive, with this gory threat of impalement as punishment for disobedience. I’m sure Darius thought he was being very scary, and I’m sure everyone at the time agreed it would be an unpleasant thing to happen. But this was the work of the kingdom, and one is reminded of Jesus’ reminder to fear not the one who can destroy the body, but the one ...

  Friday, October 18, 2024 Psalm 107:1-22 Ezra 5 1 Peter 2:11-17 Observance: Luke, evangelist and martyr With Help From The Prophets (Ezra 5:2) There’s nothing like the feeling you get when you are doing the right thing, and you know it. So often we get caught up with trying to decide what the right thing to do is, we forget how good it is for the soul to just decide on a path, in good conscience, and march right down it to the end. Rebuilding the temple fits into this category perfectly. The people had gotten to work rebuilding the temple and the prophets of Jerusalem, who are so often pointing out when people do the wrong thing, are helping them. So it is with the Lord: when we turn away from him, his Holy Spirit speaks to us in strong words, turning us back. But when we follow the Lord, he steps in and gets stuck into the work at hand. How wonderful as well the confidence of the elders to the interrogation of the Persian governors! Whenever ...

  Thursday, October 17, 2024 Psalm 106:1-24 Zechariah 8:9-23 1 Peter 2:4-10 Observance: Ignatius of Antioch, bishop and martyr (d. c. 115) Happy Festivals (Zechariah 8:19) One of the tricky things about reading the Old Testament is trying to separate out what words were for the original audience, and what words we can take as promises for ourselves today. If we had only read the prophets before the exile, with the invading army just over the horizon, then we might risk falling into pessimism. With only that picture in mind, we would be walking around with a cloud over our heads, worried of stumbling, because at any moment the Assyrians or Babylonians might come in and destroy everything as a result. Adding in more context – as we have today, with Zechariah prophesying after the return of the exiles – the commands from God to “speak the truth to each other, and render true and sound judgement in your courts; do not plot evil against your neighbour, an...

  Wednesday, October 16, 2024 Psalm 105:1-22 Zechariah 7:1-8:8 1 Peter 1:18-2:3 Observance: Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, bishops and martyrs (d. 1555) Marvellous? (Zechariah 8:6) There are several phrases that, when we see them in the Bible, should make us sit up and pay attention. Anything to do with the “Day of the Lord” is one of them; another is when God speaks about when “they shall be my people and I shall be their God”. This second phrase, which, because of its frequency, risks becoming bland to our hearts, is so tremendously deep and rich in what it speaks of, is nothing less than the gospel of Jesus Christ. We remember way back in Genesis that God would walk through the Garden of Eden in the cool of the afternoon and speak with Adam and Eve about their day. One can imagine the scene: an enchanted place, a place with no evil, our first parents probably bouncing along, joyfully telling their loving Maker about all the wonderful things the...

  Tuesday, October 15, 2024 Psalm 104:1-25 Zechariah 6 1 Peter 1:10-17 Observance: Theresa of Avila, teacher (d. 1592) The Priest On His Throne (Zechariah 6:13) Our prophet’s series of visions now come to an end – the most incredible night of his life draws to a close – and what a glorious end it is! This Branch, the coming Messiah, is to be enthroned in the temple as both priest and king. No mere human could ever hold both titles; there has always been some degree of separation between church and state. Only the Lord Jesus Christ, Lord of heaven and earth, the Incarnate one who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, is worthy and able to sit on this throne of thrones. The promise towards, and aspiration of, all of God’s people has been for a government that loves God. How exactly we are to work this out has been an ongoing effort; our current phase of this effort is a pretty poor one, however. A separation of church and state ...

     Give It Away ... And Follow Me 21 st Sunday After Pentecost Hebrews 4:14-16 Mark 10:21 It is truly wonderful to be able to preach at a baptism. Very soon, our priest will take our two newest saints, baptise them in the name of the living God, and heaven will thunder with the sound of the angels rejoicing over these precious little lambs. Baptism holds so much for what it means for us to be brought close to God. Our second reading from the letter to the Hebrews describes Jesus as our “great high priest”. This is one of three titles given to him in this letter: the full, threefold position Jesus holds is prophet, priest and king. As prophet, Jesus speaks the words of God; he speaks for God; he speaks as God. As king, Jesus governs the church with spiritual prosperity and protection. And as priest, Jesus brings us to God, and God to us. In the years before Jesus of Nazareth walked the earth, a priest had a full-time job making sure everything was...

  Monday, October 14, 2024 Psalms 108; 109:20-30 Zechariah 4:8-5:11 1 Peter 1:1-9 For All To See (Zechariah 5:1) As we get further into these visions of Zechariah, one cannot help but feel the same sense of overwhelming confusion one gets when reading through the book of Revelation. Something very profound is being communicated to us here, and God has spoken through Zechariah to us in the form of visions, rather than propositional statements. In our lectionary reading we have been given two visions: a flying scroll, and a basket being carried by winged women. Perhaps in three years’ time, when this reading comes back around again, we can look at the basket. Today, though, lets look at the scroll. This picture of a flying scroll reminds me of those planes that sometimes fly around with a banner behind them, or perhaps of those sky-writing planes. Big letters, up in the sky, for all to see. If you are an advertiser and want to get your message out, then ...

  Saturday, October 12, 2024 Psalms 99; 100 Zechariah 3:1-4:7 Philemon 15-25 Observance: Elizabeth Fry, prison reformer, England (d. 1845) Given A Place Among Them (Zechariah 3:7) This must have been quite a night for young Zechariah: these visions are coming thick and fast. God opened the evening with the vision of the horsemen, reassuring him the love God has for the people. Now God is starting to get more specific – well, as specific as apocalyptic literature can get – and Jesus is beginning to become clearer and clearer. Joshua is the name of the current high priest, and his clothes are filthy. This is no way to be dressed before the Lord of creation! But, just as God gave Adam and Eve clothes of animal skin, and this high priest clean clothes of religious office, God has taken away our filthiness and dressed us in the pure linen of the saints. God did not have to do this for us. But (have we got the message yet?) God’s love for us burns so brigh...