Sunday 20 March

Numbers 9:15-11:3

It is such a captivating and inspiring image of God’s desire to draw near to his people.  Could anyone ever have dared to consider such a possibility as God clinging to little particles of dust and moisture and revealing himself as a cloud to guide his people?  I suspect it may have been slightly frustrating for the Levites when they had spent all day putting the tabernacle together only for the cloud to up and leave the moment they sit down for their evening meal but, that would have been a small factor compared to the incredible reassurance and delight of having the command of the Lord so clearly manifested.  I have occasionally thought that life would be much simpler if I had lived in those days but, of course that is to deny the overwhelming great gift of the Spirit of God living in me and empowering me rather than just directing me from afar.  No, we are far, far better off now, with the Spirit that gives life and that says “this is the way, walk in it”.  The immense appeal of this cloud though is the immense appeal of intimacy with God, of seeing God and of knowing his will.  And, on that, the message of the Book is consistent from start to finish - we serve a God who loves to disclose his will to his people.  If we approach Him with due fear and careful attention God will only be too pleased to reveal to us his desires.

Luke 3:1-22

I don’t remember hearing a sermon on John the Baptiser other than to focus on what he said about Jesus.  But what he preached as his own message is actually really helpful for understanding the fundamentals of the message of the Christ.  Luke tells us that John’s message boiled down to one thing - a message of repentance.  This repentance, as Luke goes on to explain, is firmly rooted in the conviction that being a child of Abraham is not enough for salvation - God is opening this whole thing up to all mankind, so if you want in on it, sort yourself out and start living right.  We see unleashed in John’s declaration of repentance, therefore, the two mega-themes of the “good news”. Firstly, this thing will be defined by right living - generosity, integrity and being baptized in the holy spirit. Secondly, there will be an unstoppable commitment to benefit the whole of the globe - through God’s miraculous action and signified by baptism.  Appetites having been awakened and minds alerted, John slides to the back of the narrative to leave Jesus front and centre; the Son who is deeply loved by God, the one who will baptize in the Spirit, the one who will bring right living and mission to the attention of the world.

Psalm 35:19-28

I like the way that David, even though he is struggling, has not become intraspective but is praying for those who sympathise with him - for his people, as much as for himself.