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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8. Do you love me?John 21:15-19
For the final blog, we are back again with our friend Peter. The one who saw Jesus for everything that he was as the Christ the Son of the Living God. Peter has since that time, messed up. He denies Jesus and then flees. In this story, we find him returned to his career as a fisherman. Jesus sits with Peter, feeds him and then asks him this question: |
Do You Love Me?
He actually uses the word agape in His questioning. He says Peter, do you love me unconditionally? Peter responds, ‘Yes Lord, I love you like a brother.’ He does not use the word that means unconditional love. Jesus asks Peter this same question three times; Peter responds the same way each time. Then Jesus gives this interesting answer. He says, ‘Peter, it’s all right that you do not feel this way right now; because one day you will.’
Jesus recognises that recovery takes time, discipleship takes time, and as Peter recovers from the trauma of letting someone he loves down, his love will deepen to the point where he will love him unconditionally. So, how are you feeling right now? On the scale of love from brotherly to unconditional. Where ever you are there is space for you to be honest and to feel those emotions. Perhaps, you are going great, willing to die for Jesus, or maybe you need to sit, and eat with Jesus and allow some time to process your disappointment and grief. As we walk through this Holy Week through Easter and toward Pentecost. There is space for you to sit, rest and recover.
Questions for reflection:
1. How would you respond to the question Jesus asked Peter, ‘Do you love me unconditionally?’
2. How do you create space for people to process their love for Jesus and move to that place as an unconditional disciple?
3. How are you going to share the good news of Easter?
Jesus recognises that recovery takes time, discipleship takes time, and as Peter recovers from the trauma of letting someone he loves down, his love will deepen to the point where he will love him unconditionally. So, how are you feeling right now? On the scale of love from brotherly to unconditional. Where ever you are there is space for you to be honest and to feel those emotions. Perhaps, you are going great, willing to die for Jesus, or maybe you need to sit, and eat with Jesus and allow some time to process your disappointment and grief. As we walk through this Holy Week through Easter and toward Pentecost. There is space for you to sit, rest and recover.
Questions for reflection:
1. How would you respond to the question Jesus asked Peter, ‘Do you love me unconditionally?’
2. How do you create space for people to process their love for Jesus and move to that place as an unconditional disciple?
3. How are you going to share the good news of Easter?
7. Who are you looking for?
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John 20: 10-18
This week we are looking at the second question that Jesus asks Mary before he reveals to her his identity. In this season it is worth our time to consider our answer to this question, after Jesus asks Mary, ‘Why are you crying?’ His next questions is: Who are you looking for?
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Jesus is inviting us into that question today; Who are you looking for, a King on a throne with a sword, a powerful Jesus that destroys our enemies, a Jesus that fits your view of the world? Tim Keller said this ‘If your God never disagrees with you, you might just be worshipping an idealized version of yourself.’ In this season of lent as we have examined some of the questions that Jesus asks, it is important to stop and remind ourselves that we are looking for Jesus, the one that Peter declared was The Christ, the son of the living God. The danger of making God in our image is that we miss out on so much of who this wild Jesus promises. Even the most ideal version of myself pales in comparison to all that Jesus is and promises. Walking into Easter next week, I want to walk in the fullness that Jesus is all He promises to be and He is our only hope. There is not enough space here to write all that He is and all that He promises.
Questions for Reflection:
Questions for Reflection:
- Spend some time reflecting on the question Who are you looking for?
- Write down everything you know Jesus to have been in your life, is there a specific time when His presence has surprised you?
- Think who you can share this authentic Jesus with this week.
6. Why are you crying?
John 20: 10-18
Tears are legitimate, groans are real, and sighs communicate with God. In short, your emotions, your sadness and your grief are important to the one who created every part of your being and loves it unconditionally. If they matter to Jesus then people's emotions are important. Often the reason someone is crying is unknown to them until someone asks the question. Why? Jesus asks this question of Mary, a woman he knows well and is also standing outside HIS empty tomb.
Tears are legitimate, groans are real, and sighs communicate with God. In short, your emotions, your sadness and your grief are important to the one who created every part of your being and loves it unconditionally. If they matter to Jesus then people's emotions are important. Often the reason someone is crying is unknown to them until someone asks the question. Why? Jesus asks this question of Mary, a woman he knows well and is also standing outside HIS empty tomb.
Why are you crying?
Here, Jesus is asking the question what’s the thing, behind the thing. Is it that He was the only person who didn’t see the former crazy lady, didn’t label her past mistakes as part of her identity? Is she crying, because no one said her name quite the way he did? This week marks one year since the Covid pandemic began. We have adjusted, but it would be foolish to avoid or ignore that we have also grieved and we have also cried. From big things to little things we have all missed out.
As we look at the loss and grief that we have all experienced over the last year it’s important to remember that it has affected everyone in different ways. And yet the Jesus who knows us intimately and individually understands and weeps with us in our loss. There’s a line in a famous hymn that says this, ‘Hath need or grief ever had want of relief? Wings of His mercy did shade us.’ We have grieved this year, but we have also known comfort. As we are walking toward Easter, let’s remind ourselves that we have this hope as an anchor for our soul, our grief is holy to God and in our sadness, He is our consoler.
Questions for reflection:
1. Get honest with yourself, and with God, and explore the question, Why are you crying?
2. Spend sometime reflecting on how you have known God's comfort this year
3. Who are you going to console as you understand how Jesus has been your consoler and comfort this year?
As we look at the loss and grief that we have all experienced over the last year it’s important to remember that it has affected everyone in different ways. And yet the Jesus who knows us intimately and individually understands and weeps with us in our loss. There’s a line in a famous hymn that says this, ‘Hath need or grief ever had want of relief? Wings of His mercy did shade us.’ We have grieved this year, but we have also known comfort. As we are walking toward Easter, let’s remind ourselves that we have this hope as an anchor for our soul, our grief is holy to God and in our sadness, He is our consoler.
Questions for reflection:
1. Get honest with yourself, and with God, and explore the question, Why are you crying?
2. Spend sometime reflecting on how you have known God's comfort this year
3. Who are you going to console as you understand how Jesus has been your consoler and comfort this year?
5. Didn’t the maker of the outside make the inside also?
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Luke 11:37-53
‘Wholeness is when the truth of your being, matches the way of your being.’ William Young This quote from William Young summarises this interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees. They were focussed on outside appearances and Jesus knew their hearts were far from God. This outward show of perfectionism made it impossible for people to draw close to the father. Jesus gets to the centre of their issues when he asks this question: |
'Didn’t the one who made the outside make the inside also?'
My favourite episode of the bake-off is the one where the contestants have to make an illusion cake. I love the creativity as they attempt to, varying degrees of success, to create a cake that looks like a fried breakfast, tennis racket, or Picasso painting. Then the judges cut into it and act surprised that it’s cake at all. If Jesus were around now I think he would contrast these ‘illusion cakes’ with another favourite confectionery ROCK! It has the name running all the way through it. Wherever you cut it you get the same message. Is this true about us? Is what we present to the world an authentic picture of who we are in private?
In this conversation with the Pharisees Jesus highlights six ways that the insides are different to the outside and the effects that has on the people they meet. There are some challenges here for us as we try to live authentic lives where our hearts are pure and our actions are a result of that purity.
Questions for reflection:
1. How would you answer the question ‘Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?
2. Where are situations where you know the inside and the outside don’t match in your life? Spend some time asking God for Grace to change to better reflect Him.
3. Thinking back to your answer for the first week, how will this practice help you reach that goal?
In this conversation with the Pharisees Jesus highlights six ways that the insides are different to the outside and the effects that has on the people they meet. There are some challenges here for us as we try to live authentic lives where our hearts are pure and our actions are a result of that purity.
Questions for reflection:
1. How would you answer the question ‘Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also?
2. Where are situations where you know the inside and the outside don’t match in your life? Spend some time asking God for Grace to change to better reflect Him.
3. Thinking back to your answer for the first week, how will this practice help you reach that goal?
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4. Where are they now?John 8:1-11
A friend recently commented that Jesus always saw the person and not the problem in His ministry. This is most certainly true in our story this week. The Pharisees were trying to trick Him and Jesus, who understood their agenda, halted their scheme with this comment: ‘Let you who are without sin cast the first stone.” Then turning His attention to the woman asks this question: 'Where are they now, does no-one condemn you?'
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A few years ago, I was driving a borrowed car, for a week. Less than three feet from the curb, at the end of the week, I slid on some ice and crashed into the storm drain bursting a tyre and denting the door. I was terrified of the response I would get from a friend, who from blessing someone had the inconvenience of a damaged car. Before I could get to the door, the owner ran outside, made sure I was not injured and spoke gently and kindly to me. Reassuring me that the vehicle would be fixed by lunchtime. Honestly, I wanted him to be a bit angry, I felt like that was what I deserved. I think the woman in this story was probably expecting the same thing, and yet she received kindness. It can be overwhelming.
When others want to humiliate, Jesus consoles and releases. His gentleness with this woman, who was being used as a pawn in the games of the Pharisees, is worth some consideration. Are there times when you have received the angry tongue rather than the kind word? How did that feel? Are there times when you have missed the person and raged at the problem and humiliated the person to be loved, right in front of you? It is easy to do. Jesus’ mission, was to people, not problems, and as we follow him, we would do well to keep our mission the same.
When others want to humiliate, Jesus consoles and releases. His gentleness with this woman, who was being used as a pawn in the games of the Pharisees, is worth some consideration. Are there times when you have received the angry tongue rather than the kind word? How did that feel? Are there times when you have missed the person and raged at the problem and humiliated the person to be loved, right in front of you? It is easy to do. Jesus’ mission, was to people, not problems, and as we follow him, we would do well to keep our mission the same.
- Have you ever experienced humiliation, when someone saw the problem, not the person?
- Reflect on Jesus' response to the woman ‘then neither do I condemn you.’ Journal how that feels as Jesus whispers that to you
- Ask forgiveness for times when you have lost sight of the person and become angry at the problem.
-Serena, 3rd March 2021
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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.
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.
- What would your response be if Jesus asked the question, What do you want me to do for you?
- Can you think of a time when you missed an opportunity to show someone the same dignity that Jesus showed Blind Bartimaeus? How would you act differently now?
- Reflect on where you fail to see the image of God in yourself and ask for help to see that, so you might better see the image of God in other people.
-Serena, 24th Feb 2021
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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
