A Few Stray Thoughts for Easter Monday

“I haven’t always been a Christian. I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” - C S Lewis

“We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are.”  - Max DePree

“A ship in a harbour is safe, but that’s not what a ship is built for.”  - John A Shedd

So what happens now?
(Another suitcase in another hall)
So what happens now?
(Take your picture off another wall)
Where am I going to?
(You'll get by, you always have before)
Where am I going to? - lyrics by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber

• May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships,so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
• May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
• May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
• May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
• And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore. Amen. - A Franciscan Blessing

Job's Comforter

noun -  a person who aggravates distress under the guise of giving comfort.

Boy, are there plenty of these around! Like the extremely helpful (!) individual who told me this week how much he was trying to help me - not only did he fail, he ended up making me feel much worse....

The title of course comes from the biblical story of Job. Unlike me, he had three 'comforters'. These were people tried to console Job, who was otherwise an upright man, telling him that his troubles must surely be divine retribution for his sins.

Is that right?

Actually, I don't think that God - the loving and caring Father that I read about in scripture - is one that sends 'divine retribution' to make people's lives more miserable.

He doesn't send the trials.

But He doesn't leave us alone in the midst of them. 

And that's more a comfort to me. 

It's A Wonderful Life - Really (part two)

Last time, I explored a little about how life can often get more than a little uncomfortable for a Christian. However, we are comforted by the fact that we don't face these things on our own...

Whoever said that following Jesus was going to be easy? Well, they were wrong. Those of us who follow the teachings of Jesus are called to be disciples. The term 'disciple' is derived from the Greek word mathetes, which means a pupil (of a teacher) or an apprentice (to a craftsman), And by necessity, a disciple undergoes discipline (it's from the same Latin word). That means commitment, and that means training.

This discipline doesn't mean that God is angry with you. Quite the opposite. Jesus became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21), so that we are no longer condemned (Romans 8:1).

No, this is more like military basic training. Combat situations are difficult to handle, so training has to be tough. You need to be prepared for all situations, Troops need to be ready to follow orders instantly -  it could save their life and that of their comrades.

Jesus can be just as relentless in his training. As mentioned last time, we may even be tempted to think that He is cruel because of the amount of pain He puts us through. Training can be hard - because life can be hard. He wants you to trust Him - in all things - at all times.

Think of a couple of experiences in your own life - the ones you learnt from most. How many of those experiences were comfortable? None, probably.  How often did you want to give up? How often did you wonder if it was worth it? How often did you get mad at your instructor for pushing you beyond what you thought necessary?

Some teachers give up on their students if they don’t get it after one or two attempts. In military basic training, those who can't hack it are forced to quit or are 'washed out'.

God isn't like that – He perseveres with us, no matter how long it takes us to understand his message. "They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness." (Hebrews 12:10).

He really does care for us. He wants us to be comfortable. He wants your ultimate comfort so much, that He will make you very uncomfortable in order to give it to you.

Does that make sense?

Out there or in here?

Yep, I think I'm getting it now.

I've been blogging a lot recently about learning to work outside my comfort zone. As if that's the only way to get anything done.

However, surely my ultimate objective should be to find an ideal state - one where I am most productive, one which is just right for me, which is right in the middle of my comfort zone...

It's not a case of "coming out of your shell"; in trying to be somebody you aren't.
It's not a case of being stripped of the protection of my comfort zone.
It's not a case of sticking my head above the parapet, waiting for it to be shot at.

It's a case of expanding that zone. Learning to be comfortable with more and more. Pushing the boundaries, every day. From in here, not out there...

Am I right?

Change, My Dear. And It Seems Not A Moment Too Soon

A podcast that I've been listening to recently reminded me of the need to expand the boundaries of my own particular Comfort Zone. It's essential to keep pushing yourself to new things if you want to grow. And I do.

However, the host warned me of the dangers of trying to make too many changes, too quickly. You still need to have a different degree of comfort left to retreat into when the day is over. That little place of calm. Changing too many things, say, in your work and in your personal life at the same time, could be problematic - too much, too soon.

Having said all that, here's a question that I've been left with to mull over:

• Should I change my inner passion to align with my circumstances?
• Or should I, perhaps, change my circumstances to align with my inner passion?

I know what I think. But dare I make that change? It will impact on everything! Will that be too drastic a change?

(picture: 'Change, My Dear' by Leda74. One for the Doctor Who fans! This blog entry's title comes from the first few lines spoken by the Sixth Doctor - "The Caves of Androzani", 1984. )

In His Time

I have been reflecting on one particular incident from Jesus' life this week. Do you sometimes have a problem with understanding God's timing? I must admit that I do - and so did the disciples. Have a look at the events recorded in John chapter 11, as I try and unpack my thoughts here.

It is easy to understand why Martha and Mary chose to send for Jesus when Lazarus became seriously ill (verses 1-3). Jesus knew the family well; He had stayed at their house before. However, He simply didn't turn up. In fact, He chose not to go. I suspect that the sisters kept looking anxiously along the road for signs of His arrival, but He was never there. In fact, the funeral service had been over for 4 days when Jesus finally arrived (verse 17).

Were there good reasons for not turning up? Sure: it would have been incredibly dangerous for Jesus to go there. The disciples knew that. “Rabbi, you can’t do that. The Jews are out to kill you, and you’re going back?” they said (verse 8). There had already been five separate documented attempts to arrest or murder Jesus. In John 10:39 Jesus had slipped away after the latest attempt - and then the word came that Lazarus was ill. Would He go back? It's normally expected that a close friend would rush to a sick friend's bedside - particularly if you loved them - and hang the consequences.

He chose not to go. Didn't He care? Of course He did. Undoubtedly Jesus was looking at the bigger picture. God's ways are not man's ways... He already knew what He had to do. If Jesus had turned up whilst Lazarus was alive, yes, it's likely that Lazarus would have been healed. However, other circumstances might have played out a lot differently.

Interestingly, Jesus said the following in verses 14-15, once He heard of the death: “Lazarus died. And I am glad for your sakes that I wasn’t there. You’re about to be given new grounds for believing. Now let’s go to him”.

Once Jesus had arrived, Martha was, not unreasonably, quite upset. In her own mind it was, by then, too late. She runs out of her house to meet Him, while her sister Mary stays in the house. "Master, if you’d been here, my brother wouldn’t have died", Martha says (verse 21).

And yet, there was still hope in her heart - there was still faith. “Even now, I know that whatever you ask God he will give you.” (verse 22). It's not clear exactly what she expected. Lazarus was dead, and Martha was extremely wary about Jesus' comments about opening the tomb. Understandably - apart from the whole trauma of the event, it was forbidden by Jewish custom to open a grave after the stone was placed upon it. But Jesus loves to turn our usual patterns of thinking upside down...

At a word from Jesus, Lazarus’ spirit returned to his decaying body (verses 41-44). Jesus had bypassed simply healing His sick friend, in order to perform the far greater miracle of bringing him back to life.

There's a tremendous truth here - and it's not an easy one to accept. Sometimes Jesus does not grant the healing or give the resolution that we ask for. Not everyone we pray for gets healed; many of our requests seem to land on deaf ears. Often we feel that all is lost - and turn away from God.

And yet, like Martha, if we step out of our comfort zone and meet with Jesus, talk to Him, and dare to trust in Him (verse 25), we find help to overcome any obstacle. And He may also give us a greater miracle than we had ever hoped for.

Time spent waiting on God is never wasted.

(All scripture quotes from The Message translation).

Outside Your Comfort Zone

I've been encouraged to stretch my own boundaries - to spend longer and longer outside my comfort zone. I think I have done very well.  In the last seven days I have:

- talked calmly to people even though they had been extremely rude and offensive about me (is that justified?);
- tried to socialise with other people that I personally find it 'hard to love';
- spent time working out how to do the impossible in no time at all;
- continued to work through pain and tiredness (because I didn't want to let down others who were just as tired and pained as me!);
- gone the 'extra mile' when so many others said that I shouldn't;
- taken the tube when it was exactly where I didn't want to be (crowded, cramped, noisy!) ;
- been calm and pleasant in a hostile and threatening environment.

It's the end of a busy day now and, quite frankly, I've reached the end of my patience. I've had just about all I can take.

And I have to get up again tomorrow morning and probably do it all again.

Lord, help me.

Pushing The Boundaries

It's interesting to read about people stepping outside their comfort zones, or pushing their boundaries to see what happens. Because I've tried it. In fact, I've been trying it for a while now.

In some areas of my life, the whole process can be long, slow and arduous. Scary, even. Fighting strongholds of fear, steadily building up confidence, dealing with minor setbacks which often look like major mountains to climb. Sometimes it feels like I'm simply not winning - it's often a case of not losing ground, not letting myself slide back. It's most challenging, and hard work: no fun at all!

However, it's not always like that. In some other areas of life, you try something new and wow! This is so easy. I can do this. It seems to be second nature; as if I am born to do it.

I'll still endeavour to push through on the difficult areas; but, should I also be trying to understand my obvious 'gifting' in the easy areas?

Not The Comfy Chair

The words mentioned above refer back to the well-known 'Monty Python' sketch which featured a parody of the Spanish Inquisition. An odd way I know to introduce the subject for today's post: the concept of comfort in our everyday Christian lives. Bear with me a little...

You see, some people have a hard time coming to terms with some of the difficulties in following the Christian path, particularly when a number of scripture verses describe the Holy Spirit as a 'comforter'. They don't see anything comforting about it - in fact, the whole experience makes them most uncomfortable.

A dictionary definition of comfort:
"Experiencing physical well-being or relief; free from stress; having or affording peace of mind."

Okay, let's look at that word 'comforter' a little deeper. The Greek word used here for the Holy Spirit here is parakletos , which etymologically means "called to one's side." In fact, that where we get the English word 'paraclete' (a word that is not in common usage but which I really like). Modern English translations prefer to use the words "comforter", "helper" or "advocate". Incidentally, the Hebrew version of the word is to be found in Job 16:2 in the plural, referring to the "comforters" who came to Job when he was in distress. Not very comforting, were they?

The word 'comforter' then isn't anything to do with rest or ease - it's more about encouraging you in your quest for truth. Helping you along. Steering you the right way. Lifting you up to greater things. Giving you peace of mind that you're on the right path.

As far as I am concerned, part of that 'comfort' is an encouragement not to sit there at home, but to be out there in the community, out of my comfort zone.

And not sitting in the comfy chair.