Headline News by Anthony Leaver

Criminal trials can make headlines – much media space last month was given over to the confession by ex-MP Chris Huhne and the two trials of his former wife, Vicky Pryce for perverting the course of justice.  Jail sentences followed.

Only those who have ever been accused of a crime, can understand the thoughts that go through the mind of the prisoner as they await the verdict of the jury and the sentence from the judge. Hope, anguish, despair and resignation – even more so if they actually know that they are not guilty.

Although this is the April edition of the Magazine, many readers will have it before Easter which is at the very end of March. And it was at that first Easter that the most extraordinary and important trial in history took place.

In essence, Jesus , the Son of God, no less, was falsely accused,  tried by an illegally convened ‘court’, was convicted and sentenced to death by crucifixion. And three days later He rose again from the dead. That is the factual sequence of events.  

Immediately before His arrest, Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying to God:  “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.”  Of course He dreaded the horrendous physical pain of crucifixion but perhaps, even more so, He dreaded the separation from God even for just three days as He took on Himself the guilt of us all.

Some people have questioned  the evidence for the Resurrection but it is very powerful and many who have approached it sceptically have been convinced afterwards.  Read, for example “Who Moved the Stone” by Frank Morrison.  Morrison was legally trained and sought to write a book disproving the Resurrection but in the course of his meticulous research he became convinced that it was real.  Read also the short book by lawyer and spiritual sceptic, Lee Strobel, “The Case for Easter”.

Rev Chris Thom observes that the Resurrection authenticates Jesus’ victory on the Cross. Once you accept Jesus was who He said He was – the Son of God – the question is not only about why He rose from the dead but also why He allowed Himself to be killed in the first place.  Jesus died as a ransom – His death paid the penalty for the sins of the world – yours and mine. His crucifixion was not a terrible blunder, not a defeat. His crucifixion and Resurrection were a victory, the means by which we can be forgiven, declared innocent and can be brought into a right relationship with God.

The Resurrection means that Jesus is alive now.  He was raised from death and is alive for all time and eternity. He is alive today and can be known today and He wants us to share eternity with Him.  His Resurrection means that we will rise too! Death is not the end : eternity lies beyond it. What a privilege! What an invitation!

And if Jesus shrank from the prospect of just three days separation from God, how important is it that we accept His offer and so share all eternity with Him?  The alternative is the awful, everlasting pain of emptiness and separation.  The regret of refusing the invitation given to us from that first Easter.

So the wonderful “Headline News”  is that Jesus is alive and can be encountered and known today. As Jesus rose, so also will all those who put their trust in Him.

Want to know more ?: Come to our next Christianity Explored course starting on April 15^th.

Anthony Leaver

Vocation & Preparation by Anthony Leaver

Chapter 3 of the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament starts with the words “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven”. And at times in our lives, when faced with a specific challenge, one of those activities is preparation.

There is a temptation to turn procrastination into an art-form. I can quite easily make lists, make lists of lists and then prioritise lists without ever moving from my desk.

In Shakespeare’s play, Lady Macbeth challenges Macbeth :

Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem’st the ornament of life,

And live a coward in thine own esteem, Letting “I dare not” wait upon “I would, ”

Easy to find excuses and in so doing, deny ourselves and others the blessings which could be uniquely available.  We doubt our ability and capacity to achieve and we fear the possibility of failure.

Moses was a classic example of such a perception of personal inadequacy when God told him to prepare to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. At one point, having listed his lack of skills, he says “O Lord, please send someone else to do it” (Exodus ch 4 v13).

Of course, we are all faced with everyday jobs and routine tasks for which the practical solution is simply to ‘just do it’.  But there are times when the challenge is much more significant. There is a well-known saying “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail !”  Preparation, whether by deliberate planning or by learning from experience, is essential to the success of any venture. And humble self-examination is necessary so that we can be convinced that we are the right person for the job.

Winston Churchill effectively endorsed this when after an eventful life, at the outbreak of World War 2, he remarked that “I felt as if I were walking with destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial”.

In this respect, we are now well into the season of Lent – a time when Christians remember the 40 days and nights Jesus spent alone in the desert without food being tempted by Satan. Jesus used this time to prepare for His work by fasting and praying. He knew He had a unique role to fulfil, even if the prospect was daunting.

Jesus knew of His mission since the start of time.  Churchill had some inkling of his purpose, years beforehand.  But sometimes we are called to our vocation at short notice. The appointment of Justin Welby as Archbishop of Canterbury is an example.  An article in The Times reports that “he regarded his application for the job as a “joke”. He described how he was ordered by the Church of England to apply after just seven months as Bishop of Durham even though he thought it ridiculous.”

Following his appointment, he asked the congregation to join him in prayer, and added: “I know I will disappoint a lot of people in this job. The thing about the Church is that we are so human . . . I’m just a very, very ordinary Christian.”

And as I write this, I hear that the Pope has resigned and so before Easter there will be a man, as yet unidentified, currently a Cardinal, for whom the papacy will be his vocation.

None of us may be destined for quite such challenges, but we all have unique roles to undertake.  Let us use the season of Lent to examine ourselves prayerfully, and to be prepared fulfil God’s purpose for our lives.

Anthony Leaver 

Nothing in Excess by Anthony Leaver

A recent report by The Institution of Mechanical Engineers said that as much as half of the world's food, is wasted. The waste is caused by poor storage, strict sell-by dates, bulk offers and consumer fussiness.

Coincidentally, I saw a TV programme about Delphi in Greece, the site of the ancient Oracle.

I visited this site some 45 years ago whilst staying in Lindos on the island of Rhodes. On a nearby headland is the tomb of Cleobulus – a tyrant who ruled the island around 600 BC.  He was one of seven sages each of whom represented an aspect of worldly wisdom, summarized by an aphorism.  For Cleobulus, his wise saying was “Nothing in Excess”.  These words were carved into the temple of Apollo at Delphi and are still visible today.  Cleobulus might have been a tyrant, but his exhortation to moderation is in tune with the Christian approach.  At a global level, the world is an awful mosaic of surplus and shortage. Zoom in, ‘Google-Earth’ style, and the same applies to localities – the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots’, the unemployed and those needing work, the hungry and the over-fed, all not very far apart.

Now, there is nothing  wrong in being one of the ‘haves’, provided that one doesn’t move into the position of excess and in so doing, deprive others, driving them into being ‘have-nots’.  This can apply to business who indulge in tax avoidance (even if actually legal) whose activities restrict Government revenues which could be used for social purposes. It also applies to the food waste referred to above. Walk through the autumn fields close to Loose and one sees so much fruit left to rot, because it is not economically viable to harvest it. And yet only a few miles away, there are food banks to feed those who cannot afford the premium, even excess, quality products in the supermarkets. For some, the excess is not accessible.

Of course, this has always been the case and the Bible records many examples of excess for some and deprivation for others. But it was John the Baptist who taught on this aspect “The man with two coats should share with him who has none, and the one who has food should do the same”.(Luke ch 3 v 11).

In our society today, ‘excess’ may not necessarily be simply money or material things – some people have an excess of time to share whilst others are in dire need of care and attention, because Social Services have very limited time to spare for each personal visit.

A second carving on the wall at Delphi bears the words “Know Thyself”.  It perhaps echoes the saying of another Greek philosopher, Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living."   Business consultant Karl Palachuk remarks “People who do examine their lives, who think about where they've been, how they got here, and where they're going, are much happier people.”

Christians who have come to faith have done so by examining their lives, realising their need to return to God and accepting the invitation to have a proper relationship with Him.  That certainly doesn’t guarantee material blessings in this life: nevertheless,  in the Bible, there are numerous examples of excess. In writing to the church at Ephesus,  St Paul refers to Jesus as he promises excess:  “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us…”.  

Time to examine one’s life again ?  To know more about that invitation to spiritual ‘excess’, register for our next Christianity Explored Course after Easter.