It is the second Sunday of Advent. A reminder that the word ‘advent’ means “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.” And remember we are not just talking about the ‘Christ-child’, but also the 2nd coming of Jesus, and Jesus coming to us 24/7 in the person of the Holy Spirit. All three of these sum up the meaning of Advent. Today we are in ‘wonder’ of the Holy Spirit of God! Everything about Jesus and everything about God is in us, written in our hearts, an integral part of who we are, because of the Holy Spirit. Everything God has said and done – beautiful creation speaking so clearly to us, pain and suffering turning into gladness and joy, we know intrinsically as true because God has planted his Spirit into us. Everything about Jesus, every word he spoke, every act of healing, kindness, grace and truth, everything of Jesus is in us because God has planted his Spirit into us. Our spirit, the deepest truth about us, the God DNA in us, is joined to God’s spirit. Unworthy, stumbling around in sin, clay feet, you and me, are home to God! Yes, we are in ‘wonder’ of the Holy Spirit of God! Joined to God, even more than husband/wife/parent/child, joined inseparably, adopted as God’s child with exactly the same rights as Jesus his son, invited into the eternal circle of love between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – all because of the indwelling spirit of God. The Westminster Confession captured this brilliantly in these words: The Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Give of Life. The astounding miracle of Jesus’ life, the Father’s plan from the beginning of time to include you and me and all creation in Him, is all worked out by the Holy Spirit. “It is better for you I go away…” Jesus said, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift I told you about, the gift my Father promised, the Holy Spirit.” We marveled at the arrival of the babe in the manager, God becoming like us, one with us. Little did we know this was just the beginning, that God would eventually make his home in us by the indwelling of his spirit.

We begin the season of Advent this Sunday. A reminder that the word ‘advent’ means “the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.” And remember we are not just talking about the ‘Christ-child’, but also the 2nd coming of Jesus, and Jesus coming to us 24/7 in the person of the Holy Spirit. All three of these sum up the meaning of Advent. We start today with the 2nd coming of Jesus, so often for us a far away, sensational event we don’t pay too much attention to. Here’s the secret to the end times! Whatever is going to happen then, and we should pay attention to it, is happening now too, and contains is a message for how we live in the here and now. Every generation experiences the signs of the coming Jesus. Sadly few generations pay attention to it. Here's why we should pay attention: o In almost every ‘end time’ story Jesus told, and there are several of them, he emphasized the ‘urgency’ of our faith now! For example in Matthew 24:44 he concludes his ‘end time’ story with these words, “So then, you also must always be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you are not expecting him". Jesus constantly reminds us to check our complacency – it seems he thought this to be of major concern. So did John think this, as in his seven letters to the churches, the Spirit says to the church in Laodicea, “But because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am going to spit you out of my mouth!” Because there are so many sensational, ill directed and wild statements made about the end times, we have grown indifferent to them. The marginal fringe have all but ruined the ‘end time’ message for most of us. If not even Jesus knew the time, "No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come - neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows, (Matthew 24:36), how on earth do such fringe lunatics know? o 'End times' helps us interpret and understand what is happening around the globe now (war, crime, brutality, climate change, ‘haves versus the have nots). If it going to happen then, it sure is going to happen now! It is as Ecclesiastes says, ‘there is nothing new under the sun’, every generation points towards a final consummation, and up until now every generation has had to live through much trial, tribulation, and terror, both globally, and for many very personally. o The end is going to happen one day, it is an integral part of our common history and destiny. We must not think God is a fool and his warnings irrelevant. History is not spinning around in a pointless circle, as it appears to. God is still in control, and has plans for a new earth and a new heaven, for us in the here and now when we die, and then one day when it all comes together.

One of the most powerful, if not the most powerful force, at play in our subconscious lives is memory, both positive and negative memory, and both equally as powerful. Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, has a huge wall mural with the words, “We remember lest we forget.” They turned a negative memory into a positive memory, and a memory to ensure they never go back there again. Whenever Israel felt down and discouraged they remembered what God had done for them in the past, then they pulled themselves up again, and renewed their faith in God. Palm 77 is just but one example of many. Google ‘Old Testament remember’, and see how many hits you get! You can confidently say Israel built their faith in God through memory. This is how powerful memory is, and the reason why bad memories need to be healed and transformed, and good memories are treasured and built upon. Our very lives depend and revolve around our memories. The can both capture us and hurt us, and they also make us strong and positive. No wonder Jesus said, ‘When you eat this, and when you drink this, remember me.’ He knew the power of memory, and especially our memory of his love, grace and sacrifice. This memory, lived out in us, transforms everything about us. One last thought about memory. Last Sunday was All Saints Day, the day we remind ourselves about the ‘saints’ (some alive, and some dead, some we know intimately, some we don’t even know) who have influenced and shaped our lives. Why don’t you take a moment to reflect on the ‘saints’ in your life? Make a list of them and give thanks. And let me remind you a ‘saint’ is not necessarily a ‘good’ person as we are inclined to think, but that powerful, loving, influencing person that made you who you are. Most ‘saints’ I know have clay feet! It may be a national figure like Gandhi or Mandela, a family member like a Mom or a Dad, an author, a speaker, a friend, a boss, etc. etc. Let’s remember and give thanks. And if there is a bad memory, place it in God’s hands and ask him to transform and renew your mind, like he did Israel’s at Yad Vashem.

I’m following the lectionary reading this week. They say every preacher should preach from this three-year cycle. I have done it twice in my life, and since I am now falling into the trap of preaching my favourite hobbyhorses, I think it is time I go back to the lectionary! The Old Testament reading is the first four verses of Habakkuk, chapters one and two, whilst the gospel reading is the story of Zacchaeus, a story of Jesus ‘seeking and saving’ the lost. At first the two readings seem quite unrelated, but upon reflection they are really not. In chapter one Habakkuk is bemoaning the destruction and violence all around him, which in his context of the 722 BC Syrian exile, was extreme. The present day atrocities in Syria and of ISIS somewhat equate to what Israel were experiencing back then. They were indeed dire days. Jesus, familiar with suffering and pain himself, tackles the problem of ‘violence and destruction‘ by including the ‘outsider’, who is a representative of all that is wrong! Befriending Zacchaeus, the loathed tax collector, who is a symbol of Israel’s enemies, is how Jesus preached the gospel. It seems lost on us today that Jesus’ solution to the problems we face (at least in part) is to preach the gospel to those we disregard. We are more comfortable to isolate, make fun of, and scapegoat the problem-makers, rather than befriend them with the gospel. The Lord’s answer to Habakkuk, the first four verses of chapter two, is, “But the time is coming quickly, and what I show you will come true. It may seem slow in coming, but wait for it; it will certainly take place, and it will not be delayed. And this is the message: "Those who are evil will not survive, but those who are righteous will live because they are faithful to God.'” Note, how in the midst of Habakkuk’s ‘crying out’, he goes into the watchtower to wait for God to answer him and to act. The more dire it gets, and the more we long for God to say something or do something, the more we need to be still, pray, and wait. God’s answer, whilst we befriend and preach, is that good will overcome evil, but we will have to wait, and remain faithful.

Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” These words of Jesus describe the essence of Christian faith. It is the following of Jesus that distinguishes the Christian from any other. It is following that defines who we are and how we live. Anyone can believe (take a look at James 2:19), but not everyone follows, and it is the follower, the imitator of Jesus, who is the essence of faith. The power of following is two fold: 1. Following is based on thinking that leads to action. Romans 12 says we should be ‘transformed by a complete change of mind’. Following ‘transforms us by a complete change of mind’, because to follow engages the mind. To follow means I am reading, and thinking, and reflecting on who I am and how I act. There is no other way to know how to follow than to read up on the one you are following. Follow him carefully and he WILL transform you inside out. It is as simple as that. 2. Following is also an act of the heart. A transformed mind is not enough on its own, transformation coming from following Jesus goes much deeper than that. Following is also a matter of the heart. Jesus was totally comfortable with tears, pain, suffering and sorrow. In other words he was human, in touch with his emotions and the emotions of others. So we easily and readily talk about the passion of Jesus. Ours is just not an intellectual faith, but also a passionate faith. If we are not in touch with ourselves and with others, we may not be in touch with God? Is this not why Jesus hung out with folks from the other side of town, because he was in touch with humanity? Following Jesus changes both our minds and our hearts. Following Jesus is both and; not either or. I invite you when you read this to take a moment, pause a while, take a seat, make a cup of tea, and ask yourself: “Am I following Jesus?” “Am I reading up on Jesus, and knowing Jesus as best as I can, so I can follow Jesus as best as I can?” “Is my heart in my faith?”

Every now and again, in a moment of vision, or hope, or faith, or clarity, you see something great in the struggling and challenging circumstances you find yourself in. Be you a minister in the rural eastern Free State like me, or a farmer, or a businessman, a businesswoman, or wherever you are. The talk of the town is quite depressing right now. Numbers are down, finances are down and optimism is down. And here in this part of the world the change of season has brought with it all kinds of illness and ailment. I am having one of these ‘great’ moments that defy logic and explanation! For some time now I have not been sure how to lead the church through these difficult times. Most everything I know, and have tried, has failed. Then the other day I prayed the prayer of ‘relinquishment’; to surrender, and to let go to God all the things that seem beyond me. To relinquish, NOT to give up, but to rather say, “I can’t do this anymore, can you do it, God?” Right now, in the churches I serve in Bethlehem, Bohlokong, Clarens, Senekal, Fouriesburg, Kestell, Paul Roux and Lindley, and in neighbouring Ficksburg and Marqaurd – amidst great financial struggle, dwindling numbers, and races still separated by years of division, I ‘saw’ and ‘experienced’ who we really are as a church, and what we can become together. What for months has looked bleak, and has made me feel despondent, suddenly looks brighter. And it’s not because I am on top of the world, and all hyped up and optimistic. Actually, to the contrary. It’s like an invisible corner is turned. Suddenly things that have been stuck are becoming unstuck, plans that just seemed not to get off the ground, are getting off the ground. People are opening themselves, and risking themselves. I don’t want to think about it too much, or analyze it too much. Rather just enjoy it, and let it have a course and an energy of its own. It feels like the rain that fell into a ravine and filled up everything in its path until it ran into a huge desert. Try as it might it could not cross the desert, and began to dry up. Eventually it let the wind carry its water into the clouds, and blew across the desert, and carried on watering the earth, bringing life and energy where previously there had been none.

Joy is the most elusive attribute I know, and I suspect not just for me, but for most of us. I mean real joy in life. Alive inside, more often than not, regardless of circumstance! A couple of months ago I read this quote from CS Lewis. "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desire not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, we are like ignorant children who want to continue making mud pies in a slum because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a vacation at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." To live with an ongoing sense of joy has to first mean we have come to terms with our sufferings, and have leant to embrace them as teachers and growers of our character. In my own ramblings with joy I’m discovering joy also requires some deliberate intention and effort. As much as I would like joy to flow naturally, it seems to have a nature that needs purpose, and goal. I don’t think CS Lewis meant ‘drink, sex and ambition’ are not common with joy, rather he meant discover these, and other pleasures, in a far deeper way. Rather than fool with them as though they can satisfy, find the source of joy and let it inspire and strengthen your life. So what is the source of joy? Methinks it is seeing God/being in God, that reduces your own sense of importance and entitlement, which allows you to live with a greater sense of freedom, spontaneity and generosity that would normally otherwise escape you. The source of joy is to really know your life is not all about you, but actually all about God and others. Isn’t this why Jesus repeatedly said we should die to ourselves? Joy is when we get ourselves and our own (often) petty agendas out of the way. Then we are free to love with joy. I honestly don’t believe it gets better than this!

Continuing with Jesus and his family… I think it is one of the lesser known facts about Jesus’ life that he and his family had more then their fair share of misunderstanding and confusion. Most family encounters took place in his hometown of Nazareth, a nothing little village inhabited on the whole by Jesus’ wider family, “They rose up, dragged Jesus out of town, and took him to the top of the hill on which their town was built. They meant to throw him over the cliff, but he walked through the middle of the crowd and went his way.” On another trip to Nazareth, after he taught in the synagogue, they said, “Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him. Again, in Nazareth, “a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, "He's gone mad!” Still in Nazareth, because Jesus was avoiding the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem who were wanting to kill him, his brothers came to him and had this conversation with him, “The Festival of Shelters is near, "Leave this place and go to Judea, so that your followers will see the things that you are doing. People don't hide what they are doing if they want to be well known. Since you are doing these things, let the whole world know about you! (Not even his brothers believed in him). Jesus replied, “You go on to the festival. I am not going to this festival, because the right time has not come for me." He said this and then stayed on in Galilee. After his brothers had gone to the festival, Jesus also went; however, he did not go openly, but secretly.” The next time we see the family all together, it is at the cross, and they are united, albeit in grief and sorrow. Jesus saw his mother and the disciple he loved standing there; so he said to his mother, "He is your son." Then he said to the disciple, "She is your mother." From that time the disciple took her to live in his home. Lastly, they are all together again, this time in Jerusalem, as recorded in Acts, “They gathered frequently to pray as a group, together with the women and with Mary the mother of Jesus and with his brothers.” The perfect family? By no means! A family called by God, in all their humanness, to be the instruments of God – through their confusion, misunderstandings, pain, sorrow, and suffering? Oh yes, just like our families.

Let's do some thinking about Jesus, and the ups and downs of his family life. We will start with his mother, Mary, and the seven sorrows she carried. Jesus’ family were real people with real problems. The first clue Mary got about the sorrow she would bear through the life of her son, was from the prophet, Simeon, when he said to her, “This child will be a sign from God which many people will speak against and so reveal their secret thoughts. And sorrow, like a sharp sword, will break your own heart.” Soon after Jesus’ birth, Mary’s family endured the plight of refugees, whose world of suffering, pain and hopelessness are transparent before us today. It was no different for Mary, and her toddler, Jesus, as they fled for Egypt in the middle of the night, and lived in a foreign land in fear of their lives. The next drama Mary faced was losing Jesus in Jerusalem, for three days, when he was twelve years old. Think of that happening to one of our children today! Perhaps these events were all preparation for Mary for what was still to come. Following Jesus’ journey of carrying his cross through the streets of Jerusalem, were a group of weeping women, one of which was Mary. If that was not enough, Mary then endured Jesus’ crucifixion itself. We read; “Standing close to Jesus' cross were his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.” Then again, Mary grieved, as Jesus was laid to rest, “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph were watching and saw where the body of Jesus was placed.” What do we make of all of this? Are Mary’s experiences not a guide for family life today? The ups and downs we experience, the losses, tragedies, sufferings and sorrows that come our way, shape us, like they did her? Do Mary’s experiences not teach us that life’s most true and profound lessons are learnt the hard way? Were Mary and her family not who they were, to some extent because of what they had gone though, together? Is there not also some insight into a mother’s heart? Indeed, Mary is deserving of the title ‘a most blessed woman’, as so many parents still are today.

The words written here have been a long time in coming. Only recently have I been able to put this belief and conviction into words. It all has to do with the mystery, power and wonder of the cross, or as Paul said in Corinthians, “The message, which is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles, the message that makes sure Christ's death on the cross is not robbed of its power.” Forever, it seems to me, the message of the cross has been told as an act of violence (sacrifice) God engineered in order to put humanity right with him. Or in other words God had to violently sacrifice his Son so that he could love those who had become unlovely to him? Truthfully I have never really understood this. It suggests two things: o Firstly God’s love can be restricted by our behaviour. o Secondly, and much more significantly, it suggests violence is the way to deal with the human condition of evil and sin. So entrenched is this idea in modern thought that we follow it, almost without exception. If there is a problem, you get rid of it – hate, division, prejudice, war, assassination, divorce, revenge, terror, murder, take sides, split – are all spurred on by this philosophy. If God used an act of violence to solve a problem, then so can we. And we do, in so many different ways. Think about it for a while. Rather than buy into this way of thinking about the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, I see it differently now, like this: Humanity (through the specific context of the time) murdered Jesus in an abhorrent act of violence. God knew this would happen all along (Ephesians 1:4,5), and he allowed it to happen as it was the perfect opportunity for God to show what redemption and love is really all about. He took all that happened on the cross on himself without reserve, and loved us in return. There was no violent sacrifice by God (it was done to him by us, He didn’t do it), just open arms of love, love which has always loved and always will, love which said, “Father, forgive them for they know what they do.” We choose the substitutional, sacrificial, way of seeing the cross, God having to use violence on himself to buy his love for us back, over God voluntary receiving violence and rejection in a great act of love without retaliation, mainly because we are hard wired to retaliate, to act negatively, hatefully, violently, and prejudicially, rather than loving those who hurt, offend and reject us, just like God did. The first way allows us to believe without a real change of heart, the second way requires a profound life changing transformation.

I remember growing up with the saying, “Stick and stones may hurt my bones, but words will never harm me.” Now I am not sure in what context this saying arose, but it certainly ‘ain’t true’! Words are powerful, both negative words spoken, and positive words spoken. Think about it, God spoke the universe into being! Jesus spoke the word and the sick were healed, the dead raised, and even the wind heard him and obeyed his command. Poems, and songs, and books are written, using words to communicate truth. Lover’s whisper into each other’s ears, using carefully chosen words to describe how they feel. Words of correction and discipline need to be prudently chosen so the right message comes across. The Apostle John said it all in the opening line of his gospel, “In the beginning was the Word.” Words are eternal, ‘in the profound moment of being heard,’ they can shape us forever. Words have an immense, vast, immeasurable power to shape and form and influence, whenever they are spoken John goes on to say, “The Word was with God and the Word was God.” Words have their powerful origin in God. A scary thought that we are entrusted with a power to speak that comes from God! And I am not just meaning spiritual words spoken in a spiritual context; I mean all the words we speak! Words spoken, language used is all sacred text. Put like this, and I think we can and we should, highlights the absurdity and danger of the loose words we speak, the words of hate, judgment, anger, sarcasm, bitterness, violence and revenge that all too easily flow from our mouths (and hearts). I think the Bee Gee’s got it right… You think that I don't even mean A single word I say It's only words, and words are all I have to take your heart away

Deep down in the soul, most of us I believe, from decades of religious instruction, try our very best to please God through our good behaviour, and when we fail in these endeavours, we feel guilty that we have disappointed God and ourselves, and ask for forgiveness. It is a repetitive cycle of guilt and failure, but we determinedly and doggedly hold onto this pattern of trying to please by God by being good (attending church on Sunday, not committing adultery, not being a thief, etc.) Whilst we do this we look down on those who are not trying as hard as us, the ‘sinners’ out there, as though we, the people of God, have the moral high ground. Such behaviour is what the bible calls self-righteous, a perfectly descriptive word. It is our ego trying to become righteous on its own. Self-righteousness will always be self sufficient, judgmental, and superior, whilst at the same appearing spiritual and godly. Jesus called this behaviour that of the religious order of his day – the Pharisees and teachers of the law. Many church members today are no different. Jesus never emphasized the promotion of our good self-image because it can be achieved without really loving God or our neighbour, in fact without even really a true conversion. A good self-image achieved by thinking and believing correctly, is not a true change of heart, which results in real gospel values such as loving enemies, caring for the powerless, overlooking personal offenses, living simply, eschewing riches. God doesn't love us because we are good. God loves us because God is good! Our long standing belief that to be perfect means we have to become a person who pleases God all the time turns out to be false. Read what Jesus said to the carriers of this belief in his time, the Pharisees and the teachers of the Law. Rather to be perfect is see your imperfections first, then see them reflected in the imperfections of others; in other words to take the log out your own eye first. When we do this, when we are honest first in the appraisal of ourselves and our need of mercy first, that we are not that good, then we are free to love (even our enemies), forgive, heal, serve and sacrifice. We are right with God through surrender and in participation of his mercy. It has very little, if anything, to do with our good behaviour.

I’m always surprised to hear congregation members say they never hear from the book of Revelation from the pulpit. This is going to be rectified on Sunday! I’m calling the sermon, ‘Reading Revelation’. Revelation is very detailed and also very confusing. So here are just a few simple guidelines… o Don’t get lost in the minute detail, stay with the general themes, chronologically - a vision of Jesus, seven letters to the churches (read them as though they were your church), worship, the seven seals, tribulation, victory, defeat of Satan and judgment, a new heaven and earth, and the final coming of Jesus. Eugene Peterson calls the themes, The Last Word on Scripture, Jesus, the Church, Worship, Evil, Prayer, Witness, Politics, Judgment, Salvation and Heaven. Read the book slowly and you will easily find these themes. o There is nothing new in Revelation. Everything you read in Revelation has been said before in the scriptures. This is why Peterson says Revelation is the Last Word…Christ, scripture, worship, prayer, witness, politics, judgment, salvation and heaven are the first constant themes in Old and New Testament. The book constantly references backward. o Whatever Revelation says is going to happen one day, (and we believe it will), has happened before throughout history, and is still happening today. Every generation sees the signs of the coming of the Christ; it is simply a case of when, rather than if. E.g. the first four seals of chapter 6 - the white horse of victory, the red horse of war, the black horse of famine and the white horse of sickness and death have been riding the waves of history since time began. Christians have always been martyred for their faith; the church is steadfast in worship, witness and prayer. When the church stands up for what it believes, it and its members, will always be in trouble. Let me say it again, get lost in the detail and you will get lost in the book. Stay with the themes, look for them happening in history and today, and you may find Revelation a comfort you did not know it could be.

A few thoughts about the Sunday worship service… I have always leaned more the way of experiencing God in serving others, than experiencing God in a worship service. It makes sense to me that faith is doing something with your life, more than it is feeling something on a Sunday. However I spend most Sundays every year designing and leading worship services with the express purpose of enabling people to better engage and experience God in worship. Here are some discoveries I have made… 1. My leaning is right! The entry into deeper, more experiential worship parallels the church’s involvement in reaching out and serving others. I saw this best in the Edenvale Methodist Church – the more we did, like run a soup kitchen, a nursery school, a hospice, or conduct the Alpha Course, the deeper our worship went, without even really trying to do this. They (worship and service) feed each other, like a never-ending circle, but I would start with outreach… 2. Modern songs using modern means are more likely to lead to experiential worship. Personally, I would keep the old with the new, and throw in some good old hymns with the contemporary music, but the fact remains the new music lends itself more to experiential worship. 3. A group leading the worship (the modern way, with vocalists, guitars, drums, keyboard, etc) are more likely to draw others into experiential worship than a solo playing pianist or organist. There is a place for solo items but the group dynamic seems to me to be more inviting and easier for congregational participation. 4. I am a great believer in perspiration before inspiration. On the same lines also in planning and structure before ad-lib what feels best on the day. So I am saying hard work, plan and practice first, then the freedom to change, be spirit led and flexible ‘on the day’.

A while ago I preached on the blood of Jesus, more specifically, the power of the blood of Jesus. When Jesus laid down his life as an act of love toward us, his blood, which is his life, took away our sins. I preached how this spilling of blood is really the supreme divine act of love. Jesus blood is God’s love, the power behind the forgiveness and renewal of our lives. Today I focus on the bread. Jesus said take this cup and drink my blood, and take this bread and eat my body. If the spilling of his blood is all embracing love and forgiveness, then the breaking of his body is the giving of life. The giving of life! This notion of life is written in the prophets. Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, preceding the birthplace of Jesus, means, “House of Bread”. No wonder Jesus called himself the ‘bread of life’, it is where he comes from, who he always was, and is, right down to his roots and origin. “If I am ‘in’ you,” Jesus says, “You will live.” Every time we take the bread of Holy Communion and we eat it, we are saying ‘I am alive’. In a very simple way, and, at the deepest level we are alive because He is alive in us. We ‘eat him’; he is the source of our life, springing up inside of us like a never-ending spring of life. No wonder Jesus also called himself the living water. Every time we come to the altar of Holy Communion and drink from the cup, and take the bread, we are saying these two things: o God’s love takes my sins away, and renews my life. o God is in me and I am alive inside.

I am indebted to the American Old Testament scholar, Professor Walter Brueggemann for the thoughts expressed in this Rhodeside. Professor Brueggemann says the Old Testament can be divided into three major parts – The Torah, the Prophets and the Wisdom literature. He describes how these three parts of the Old Testament parallel our spiritual growth. The Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, correspond to the first half of life, where we shape our identity “through law, tradition, structure, certitude, group ritual, clarity, and chosenness.” Here we feel loved and safe. The Prophets introduce the necessary suffering, "stumbling stones," and failures that initiate us into the second half of life. Prophetic thinking is the capacity for healthy self-criticism, the ability to recognize your own dark side, as the prophets did for Israel. Without failure, suffering, and shadowboxing, most people (and most of religion) never move beyond narcissism and tribal thinking. This has been most of human history up to now, which is why war has been the norm. But healthy self-criticism helps you realize you are not that good and neither is your group. Wisdom literature, (Psalms, Ecclesiastes, the Song of Songs, and the Book of Job) introduces us to the language of mystery and paradox. We are strong enough now to hold together contradictions, even in ourselves, even in others. And we can do so with compassion, forgiveness, patience, and tolerance. We realize that our chosenness is for the sake of letting others know they are chosen too. We have moved from the Torah's exclusivity and "separation as holiness" to inclusivity and allowing everything to belong. Richard Rohr describes Brueggemann’s pattern of growth as order-disorder-reorder, saying, “After order (Torah) we must go through disorder (Prophets) or there is no reorder (Wisdom)! No exceptions.” What a profound pattern of life found in the Old Testament books!