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Are you ever surprised by whom Jesus calls to be his disciples and missionaries? I am. And it amazes me that he chose me to be a church leader. When my high school friends first learned I was studying to be a Church minister they laughed. They thought I was the most unlikely candidate. I was a bit of a rebellious teenager and that’s how they remembered me. And I am reminded that Jesus calls the most unlikely people. To be honest, I think all people are a bit unlikely in a way. He doesn’t call any of us because we are good enough or righteous. Each one of us are called only by his mercy and grace.
The calling of Matthew in his Gospel (chapter 9:9-13) reminds us that it is God’s good pleasure and will to call sinners and rebellious people to himself. He wants to save them through faith and relationship with him. Matthew was a perfect example. He was a despised tax collector who mixed with the other outliers of his day. The Pharisees (religious people) frowned upon Jesus mixing with such sinners and tax collectors. They thought Jesus was terrible at teaching the people about God’s ways. But Jesus told them that he came to seek the lost and heal the sick and bring sinners to repentance, like those church leaders should have done. Instead, those Pharisees were judgmental of sinners and stayed away from sick people. They were keeping God away from people. So, Jesus challenged them saying they don’t know their own scriptures. He told them to go away and read their bibles and try to understand what God meant when he said, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”. God desires that all sinners (which is all people) receive God's mercy through faith in him and what he’s done for us. He wants all of us who are recipients of his mercy and grace to show mercy and grace to others like Jesus did. The self-righteous Pharisees wouldn’t admit they were sinners in need of grace, who failed to enter the kingdom of God, and kept others out too. Take time to reflect who you are more like; judgmental pharisees or Matthew who responded to Jesus’ call to follow him and repented of his sinfulness and introduced Jesus to all his friends, so they could receive his mercy too. Will you be like Matthew and share the good news of Jesus with your friends this week? Maybe you could bring someone along to church this week as Adam Copeland brings us a meaningful message based on this scripture. Peace to you in the name of Christ, Rev. Tanya
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On Monday afternoons, Amy and I have been reading the Gospel of Mark with two of our youth. I love reading the gospels and reflecting on the way Jesus made disciples. He chose Simon and Andrew to come follow him and taught them to make more disciples (followers) of Jesus. He also called James, John, then Levi and others to join them. Jesus took his team with him as he went out and taught people about the kingdom of God, healed people and set people free.
Jesus' message was good news and his popularity grew. More and more people started to follow him. Christianity (following Jesus) was a movement! It wasn't about going to church on Sunday. It was about sharing the good news about the kingdom of God in the local community. As a result, more and more people became Christians. When my Nana was young, it seemed almost everyone went to church and that was their expression of being a Christian. They didn't necessarily make disciples though, and as a result church attendance has declined. Last week I sat with a network of local Church and community leaders, under the teaching of Phil Mc Creddan, principle of Ecclesia Leadership to ponder the decline in Church attendance, and what we ought to do, or not do, to be more relevant to our world today. I don't have all the answers, but I think we are on the right track with trying to include more discipleship pathways in our Mission Action Plan. We need to get back to making disciples: one person, one relationship at a time, and helping people to grow in their understanding of God's Kingdom and what it means to be a follower of Jesus today. I believe Jesus is calling his followers today to go back to the grass roots of Christianity and be disciples who make disciples, as he always intended. Jesus wants his followers to share the good news of His Kingdom with those around us. He wants to set people free from all that holds them back from living life as God intended, in relationship with him. He is still Goodnews in our post-modern, post-Christendom, western culture and context. The idea of going to church each week, like our grandparents did, may not appeal to younger generations, but they still need Jesus and the Hope he gives to us in this life and the next. Thats why I'm excited about HOPE 25, an initiative of the Anglican Diocese to help churches consider afresh how we can connect with the people around us and share the good news of Jesus with them. At Synod, we spent half an hour with our teams, considering what the Church needs to change (let go of/take on) to make disciples of Jesus today. What do you think we need to do differently? How can we share the good news of Jesus in our local community/networks? Who are you discipling? It's up to every one of us to fulfil the call of Jesus on our lives. We are called to be disciples who make disciples, and when we do that, the church will grow. I'm excited for our future, and I love being in this with you. Yours in Christ, Reverend Tanya Cummings "Taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34:8). I've quoted this bible verse to several people this week. This is an easy and non-threatening way to invite people to seek God for themselves and discover that he is good - all the time, even in the storms of life.
In Australia we are unlikely to be persecuted or suffer for sharing our faith, and yet many Christians here are complacent or frightened of rejection. We need to remember that Jesus said, "pick up your cross and follow me". This is an aspect of discipleship that we don't like to talk about much. None of us want to suffer and many of us fear rejection. The reality is that our neighbors and friends are likely to respond well if we share our faith and encourage faith in others in a gentle and respectful way. If we do happen to get an unpleasant response, we can turn our eyes to Jesus and be encouraged that we can be so identified with him. We need to be reminded to "Keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3) In other parts of the world, Christians face persecution and suffer like Jesus did. In some places they are killed, tortured, put in prison, and opposed. This is to be expected as Jesus said that the world hated him and if we follow Jesus, it will hate his followers too. This Sunday, we will hear more about this from our visiting speaker, Lachlan, from Barnabas Aid (another mission agency we support with our financial giving through MEAC). I hope you will join us. This week I pray we will all be emboldened to share our faith with those around us when opportunity arises. We need to always have an answer for the faith we have when people ask us. This is how people come to saving faith in Jesus Christ, and grow in maturity, one conversation at a time. Are you ready to tell people that you have tasted (sought and come to know) the Lord, and know that he is good? Will you encourage others to taste him and come to know him for themselves? Are you willing to suffer for the gospel, if ever needed? Keeping your eyes on Jesus will enable you to endure anything you come up against. God is with you and for you, Reverend Tanya Cummings |
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