As much as I am partial to the revelation of God in the Old Testament, I just love reading the accounts of Jesus' interactions with people, in the Gospels. He is so politically incorrect by today's standards as he sees people for who they are, and not how they are presenting themselves. Of course he is the master of every situation and this could not be made more clear than at the kangaroo court of Caiaphas the high priest and his father-in-law, Annas.

Over recent years, politicians at judicial inquiries have perfected the phrase ' I don't/can't remember' to avoid answering questions, but at Jesus' 'trial' he just refused to  answer many of their questions or justify his actions. Silence was his chosen method and by the reactions of those present, it wasn't a head bowed frightened silence. The longer Jesus refused to play their game, the more worked up, angry and threatening they became, while all the time Jesus remained calm, and by his silence or occasional replies, it is so obvious that he was in total control of the entire proceedings. This was no 'gentle Jesus meek and mild' but a Jesus determined to allow proceedings to take him to a horrible death, physically and spiritually, so that all people could experience God's love and forgiveness for themselves. And what a wonderful outcome that first Easter morning!

I sometimes wonder what was going on in Judas' mind during the three years he was with Jesus. My take on his character is that as a follower of Jesus, he hoped to become 'rich and famous', for surely Jesus really was a messiah come to rescue Israel. Ever watched a race where you really thought you had chosen a winner, only to see your chosen one gradually slip back and back, despite all the positive thoughts and encouragement you could muster? I think that is what happened to Judas. We are told that he was the treasurer of the group and in the process, lined his own pockets, so obviously he had hoped to become rich but as those three years progressed, Judas became deaf and blind to Jesus' message and more desperate to fulfil his own empty dreams. At least a decent payout of 30 pieces of silver from Jesus' enemies would be some compensation but alas, too late, Judas realised his own mistakes and took himself beyond forgiveness. How many times had Jesus spoken just to Judas, but Judas chose not to respond to Jesus' warnings. What a sad ending and a wasted life.

The 'sad ending' brings to mind my Easter blog 'Why Were You There?' of last year. I am still concerned about Easter Celebrations where the emphasis is on Good Friday and little is heard of Resurrection Sunday. Now don't get me wrong; there would have been no resurrection without the cross and Jesus' death, but I do feel there is a subtle  emphasis on what I do at Easter  and the physical sufferings of Jesus, instead of  focusing on what Jesus did and the spiritual significance of that and his resurrection. Doing things that make one 'feel good' about how Easter has been celebrated will have as much lasting spiritual benefit as Judas spending three years in the company of Jesus.

Easter is all about reflecting on and celebrating what Jesus did for us but life for Jesus' disciples and friends didn't stop there. Matthew chapter 28 contains the last words of Jesus "Go into all the world....."   accompanied by that wonderful promise "I am with you always".

 

King David was king over Israel in the north and Judah in the south as the country was now united under his rule. His wives had given him heirs and spares and he had built his palace. All was going well till one day he realised that here he was with everything, and the Ark which was central to the worship of God, was residing in a tent. Something had to be done about that.

David sent for Nathan the prophet to bounce off him the idea of a temple for the worship of God, and Nathan’s reaction was “go for it, for God has said he will bless you in all you do”. But God had other ideas and gave Nathan the message “Thanks, but no thanks”. David accepted this and did not proceed with his idea of building a temple, for that would be the task of his heir, Solomon.

It is interesting how we react to a ‘thanks but no thanks’ response. In this magnificent part of the world, the Whitsundays, there is no visible church or  not like there used to be. Yes, there are plenty of Christian clubs meeting but unless you are in the know, you wouldn’t know where when and why they exist. I would love to be involved in a Christian group/church which is mission/outreach orientated and use the talents which God has given me, and although I have constantly asked God to help solve this problem here, the silence seems to be the equivalent of ‘thanks for asking me but no thanks’. Because of this situation, I can no longer teach Religious Education at the local school, something I have loved doing for 25 years, and I must admit it hurts not to be involved in just this one mission activity. So as not to become bitter or even angry with this situation, my thoughts towards God are “although I don’t necessarily agree with your outcomes or lack of outcomes, I know that I can still trust you.”

It is very easy to become negative about all sorts of subjects, even more so for people in my age group – the more mature. When you have been around for a while and have degrees of wisdom, it is so easy to dwell on the incompetence of political parties, institutions and anything else that comes to mind. Your thoughts and ideas may well be correct  but there needs to be a balance in our conversation. Not everything in this world is wrong even if it looks that way at the time.

‘Count your blessings’ has been around for a long time, but this  really is a good way to balance a ‘Thanks but no thanks’ situation. King David made plans and preparations for the temple which he would not see but at the same time, accepted God’s decision that he, David, was not to actually build the temple. There are times when we may not agree with God’s decisions and learning to accept that can be hard work, but in all we do, our responsibility is to continue to trust God.

‘Thanks but no Thanks’ may be hard to accept but what a comfort is the assurance that God knows exactly what he is doing.