An invitation to a journey of change
Lent is an invitation to a journey. 40 days to walk with Holy Spirit and 'be formed’.
Where do you want to see change in your life?
How do you want to be different come Easter Sunday?
You are invited to journey with us online, starting on 10th February, and leading up to Easter Day.
Each week we will post a blog type article here to help one another navigate the journey and prepare for Easter.
We will be looking at seven questions Jesus asked in the gospels, and what each question means for us now.
Where do you want to see change in your life?
How do you want to be different come Easter Sunday?
You are invited to journey with us online, starting on 10th February, and leading up to Easter Day.
Each week we will post a blog type article here to help one another navigate the journey and prepare for Easter.
We will be looking at seven questions Jesus asked in the gospels, and what each question means for us now.
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3. What do you want me to do for you? Luke 18: 35-42
Perhaps it was the first time someone had asked him what he wanted. Perhaps it was the first time someone had asked to be near him. Perhaps it was the first time someone had stopped and talked and not just thrown a coin or insult as they passed. Perhaps it was the first time he wasn’t told to be quiet. Whatever the backstory, the dignity that Jesus placed on Bartemaus' in this story is a powerful example of how we interact with our neighbours, particularly those who we might see as ‘lesser.’ Jesus approaches him and asks the most amazing question; ‘what do you want me to do for you?’ We can almost hear the crowd, although it’s not recorded, sighing a collective ‘der!’ Jesus gives this outcast, this beggar, the dignity of a beloved child of God.The dignity that is rightly his as a human created in the image of God He makes no assumptions about Bartimaeus’ desires. When we rush to hush someone, we miss the opportunity to see the God reflecting person in our path. Our neighbours bear the image of God and we get to see that close up. Sometimes we can be so quick to respond with what we think is the best, that we miss the individual and brush past with our agenda. We do not know better than Jesus; if he pauses to ask the seemingly obvious question of the blind man ‘what do you want?’ how much more, in our interactions with our neighbours, must we stop and ask ‘what do you want?’. The answers might surprise you but the dignity that offers to someone in need will have a profound impact.
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2. Who do you say I am? Have you ever had an experience that changed you permanently? There was a moment in my student days when I visited the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam. I saw his painting ‘The Irises’ close up for the first time. The intensity of the real thing so moved me that I could not accept the tacky postcard replicas available in the gift shop. The beauty of the real image eclipsed the replica.
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In our reading this week,( Matthew 16:13-20 ) Peter has an encounter with Jesus and for a moment saw the real thing, actual Jesus and was changed permanently. Jesus asks the question:
Who do you say I am?
The strength of conviction in the moments that followed is vast as Peter declares ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.’
The story of Jesus and Peter does not end with this revelation, Peter had ups and downs and big disagreements with Jesus about who knew best. Jesus never reminds Peter of this moment. He never says ‘You know Peter, I am the Christ, you said it first.’ The Holy Spirit revealed something to Peter. Jesus waited for Peter to be ready; Peter was never the same again. As we are on this journey of formation let’s pause and reflect on this story and ask Jesus to reveal something of Himself to us that we might never be the same again. That we would only be satisfied with the real Him and not an inferior replica.
Questions for reflection:
1) Spend some time answering the question who do you say I am?
2) What has Holy Spirit revealed to you that Jesus is calling you to live inside?
3) What happens to you as you see Jesus for who He is?
The story of Jesus and Peter does not end with this revelation, Peter had ups and downs and big disagreements with Jesus about who knew best. Jesus never reminds Peter of this moment. He never says ‘You know Peter, I am the Christ, you said it first.’ The Holy Spirit revealed something to Peter. Jesus waited for Peter to be ready; Peter was never the same again. As we are on this journey of formation let’s pause and reflect on this story and ask Jesus to reveal something of Himself to us that we might never be the same again. That we would only be satisfied with the real Him and not an inferior replica.
Questions for reflection:
1) Spend some time answering the question who do you say I am?
2) What has Holy Spirit revealed to you that Jesus is calling you to live inside?
3) What happens to you as you see Jesus for who He is?
-Serena, 17th Feb 2021
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1. How do you want to be different?What do you want to be different on Easter morning? We know the one thing, but beyond that, what do you want? Perhaps, a better question is...
How do you want to be different?
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Typically, at this time of year followers of Jesus deny themselves of something or take on an act of devotion. I have never understood why, until I recently heard someone say this – ‘walking with Jesus is a re-education of your desires.’ They were quoting Prof. David Ford.
Gently and humbly, throughout a lifetime, we find ourselves with a desire for something different because our walk with God has re-educated our desires to better fit with who we were before society told us who we ‘should’ be.
When I was a teenager, I wanted a pair of Orange Converse, before the end of September. I was going to visit a friend from my Summer camp for the weekend and she had a pair. I saved like crazy and scraped the money together the day before the visit. When I got there, proudly wearing my new Converse, she sneered and said no-one was wearing them anymore… Did I still love them? No, my desire for those shoes had been shaped by her vision of the world. Our desires are educated by something, either by accident or intention.
Jesus was a bit of a genius; throughout his ministry, he asked the people he met incredible questions because he cared about their desires. He also cared which vision of the world shaped their answers. This lent season there is an invitation to a journey which explores some of the questions Jesus asked and how our answers to them can shape how we are different on Easter morning.
There is only one question for reflection this week:
1) How do you want to be different on Easter day?
Gently and humbly, throughout a lifetime, we find ourselves with a desire for something different because our walk with God has re-educated our desires to better fit with who we were before society told us who we ‘should’ be.
When I was a teenager, I wanted a pair of Orange Converse, before the end of September. I was going to visit a friend from my Summer camp for the weekend and she had a pair. I saved like crazy and scraped the money together the day before the visit. When I got there, proudly wearing my new Converse, she sneered and said no-one was wearing them anymore… Did I still love them? No, my desire for those shoes had been shaped by her vision of the world. Our desires are educated by something, either by accident or intention.
Jesus was a bit of a genius; throughout his ministry, he asked the people he met incredible questions because he cared about their desires. He also cared which vision of the world shaped their answers. This lent season there is an invitation to a journey which explores some of the questions Jesus asked and how our answers to them can shape how we are different on Easter morning.
There is only one question for reflection this week:
1) How do you want to be different on Easter day?
-Serena, 10th Feb 2021
