Author Archives: matt

Sarcastic Jesus

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I came across Luke 13:31-34 today, an account of Jesus’ remarks about Jerusalem when he was told to leave because Herod was looking to kill him,

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.”

He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! Luke 13:31-33

I was mildly amused at Jesus calling Herod a ‘fox’, you don’t hear that kind of language very often from Him, but I was really surprised at Jesus’ painfully sarcastic comment, “for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” Jesus was heading to Jerusalem in the full knowledge that He would die there.

Isn’t it amazing thar our Lord and Saviour, Who died by crucifixion for our sins, was able to maintain a sense of humour about it all. Then again, perhaps, that old saying, ‘if we didn’t know how to laugh, we wouldn’t know how to respond to some things’ may apply here.

Note, also, that His use of sarcasm was directed at Himself. It is our modern use of sarcasm against others that can hurt so very deeply.

Lest we overemphasize Jesus’ sometimes flippancy, His very next words leave no room for trivializing his remarks or deeds,

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Luke 13:34

To me, reading the gospels again and again has shown me something new each time. I’m always hit — hard –  by some sections and I always seem to come out with something new. It’s a gold mine in there. In this case, I see again just how completely human Jesus was alongside his wholly divine nature.

G.K. Chesterton, of course, might suggest that what we think of as completely human may be more like God than we suppose…

There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth. (Orthodoxy, 1908)

Selah.

Saeed Malekpour: A Canadian on Iran’s death row

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Saeed Malekpoour: A Canadian on Iran’s death row:

In the 1,232 days and nights since his arrest, Saeed Malekpour has asked himself that question. Each day takes him no closer to the answer, but closer to the enigma of his death.

For most of his 36 years Malekpour was a problem-solver, a man with a workaround mind. His family’s troubleshooter. The cleverest in his class.

The Canadian resident, top-ranked engineering graduate, software designer is now awaiting execution in Iran’s Evin Prison.

Write your MP. Find your MP.

In this painting…

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In this painting, lines of truth emanate. Light bursts forth, shattering a rigid picture, reaching beyond grasp, in bold strokes, defying a frame.

In its edged background, darkness seeps through. Something corrosive. Staining. But wherever the light reaches, there is darkness dispelled.

In its fierce foreground, a radiant star-burst flares forth from the form of a cross. At its center, a deep blue, shining, as arms and hands. They fly to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, transforming from bright blue to blinding white.

Between these arms fly a thousand rays, reflecting their source, in hues of yellow and tinged orange. They warm instead of dazzle, and they draw the eye to their graceful metamorphosis from one strong arm to another.

In this painting, I see you. The artist I see in motions of creation, hovering over the surface, applying a foundation in broad, full strokes, and your hand, in dance, as you guide the light, and fill in the empty spaces. I see your moves in symphony and concert with love, shaping what will be, and exhausting care and consideration into a painting, radiating in the act of reflecting its maker.

In this painting is the source of which was said, “sunshine can be seen breaking forth from the frame, does strike my face, and warms again my heart to hope.”

Sweet Song (Sweet Return)

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Come back unto me, oh please,
and I’ll tend to your ease;
soothe again with your sweet song,
I will sing well along;
long have I longed unto you,
o’er nights never a few;
vicious is this vile space,
e’ermore long I your face;
your fair words make me as dumb,
or your absence as numb;
under these long years return, oh please, and I’ll tend to your ease.

Did Jesus wrongly kill the fig tree?

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I came across Mark 11:13-14 in my reading today,

Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.

My immediate thought was something bordering on fear because I applied the passage to myself – I must always be in season! I must always be baring fruit! God can come back and any time and what if I’m not helping build the Kingdom at that exact moment!

Now, all that is true in some regard. We are to be about the Master’s business and we are to be watchful for His return, which could be at any time. But what about sleep? Rest? Time to eat? Time for relationships? Time for fun? Time for reading? Time for education and learning? All of these could be considered taking away from the ideally direct tasks of the Great Commission, but, really? Withering a fig tree because it didn’t bare fruit out of season? Something doesn’t sound right to our sense of fairness and justice…

So, I did what I always do when I have questions about the bible: I googled it. After a quick (five second) google I found tektonics.org, which I respect. I  read their article about the same passage, Did Jesus wrongly kill the fig tree? And it seems there is a much more immediate meaning to the passage. Give it a read, here’s an excerpt:

A common explanation that the fig tree in question had not produced the “pre-figs” (somewhat edible, very young figs) that it should have borne along with the leaves. Hence, it was barren and useless – and thus became a prophetic symbol and an object lesson: That which does not produce fruit will be cut down – just like a weed.

This is correct, but incomplete. Throughout the OT, and in the NT, the fig tree as a symbol is tied in with expectation — and withering is tied in with judgment…

Give it a read, and then pause, and calmly think on it.

Selah.

Undead ACTA Still Thrashing

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Check out Michael Geist’s latest update The ACTA Fight Returns: What Is at Stake and What You Can Do. Here’s an excerpt:

The reverberations from the SOPA fight continue to be felt in the U.S. (excellent analysis from Benkler and Downes) and elsewhere (mounting Canadian concern that Bill C-11 could be amended to adopt SOPA-like rules), but it is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement that has captured increasing attention this week. Several months after the majority of ACTA participants signed the agreement, most European Union countries formally signed the agreement yesterday (notable exclusions include Germany, the Netherlands, Estonia, Cyprus and Slovakia).

This has generated a flurry of furious protest: thousands have taken to the streets in protest in Poland, nearly 250,000 people have signed a petition against the agreement, and a Member of the European Parliament has resigned his position as rapporteur to scrutinize the agreement, concluding that the entire review process is a “charade.”

It’s a democracy folks. Let’s make our voice known.

New Year’s Day 2012

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Happy New Year! May your heart warm again to hope by the very sunshine shone forth only from the trust put in Jesus Christ, Saviour of your soul, God, Who knows the good plans He has for you!

Allow me to open 2012 with an old stand by, for the “old school Sanctus Real fans…”

Things were better last year. Things will be better this year.

Thank you, God, for blessing me, thank you for helping me be a blessing, thank you for changing me. You have shown your faithfulness in spite of my unfaithfulness. You have answered my prayers, you have carried me through, you have lead me and guided me according to your Will for me, revealing to me day by day your plans to bless me so incredibly. I am amazed that you care for the things that I care about. Forgive me for having such little faith. I believe, help my unbelief! Thank you for the sacrifice of Your Son on the cross for me, a sinner. May I ever more and ever better be Your servant.

Lord, you know my heart’s desire. Please bless me with opportunities to be a blessing, please bless me with courage and confidence to seize those opportunities, please bless me with Your creativity to create opportunities! I believe your best for me is yet in my future. This I know because I have seen Your great hand at work! I will wait on You, I will trust in You.

The Lord, God, He is Good. Come, Lord Jesus, come.

Selah.