The person you need is...

Have you and your family seen “Nanny McPhee”? Well if you haven’t then shame on you ;)

(**Spoiler Alert**) 

Mr. Brown’s children are monsters and have driven away over 15 nannies. He is at his wit’s end until he is visited by a mysterious stranger who calls herself Nanny McPhee. There’s a scene in the kitchen that’s a vivid illustration of Romans 1. The children have tied up the cook and are up to all sorts of disgraceful behavior when in walks Nanny McPhee. With a thump of her magical cane the children are unable to stop what they were doing. Their naughtiness escalates until they are about to do something that even they realize is horrific. She has given them over to do whatever their shameful heart’s desire and they must live with the consequences. 

As time goes on and Nanny McPhee shows her care for the children their perception of her changes. What at first they thought was an ugly, old, unwanted spoil sport slowly becomes an attractive, loved lady. 

When I didn’t know much about God I struggled with an “ugly” perception of His character. He seemed judgmental and unreasonable. How could it be fair that He chooses some for salvation and not others? That didn’t seem right. I didn’t like him very much at all. But as I saw the great love this “unlovable” God showed me by dying for me despite my rebellion against him He became more attractive to me. Now I see that He has given me the Bible and good teachers who teach me about Him and the better I know Him, the more I love Him. 

Unlike Nanny McPhee who had to leave when the children no longer needed her, Jesus has promised that He will never leave me, nor forsake me and I’m thankful for that because I know there’ll never be a time when I no longer need Him.

Whoomp! there it is: a sermon by Jesus

A friend and I have been going through the book of Luke and we got to Jesus’ first sermon: the sermon on the plain. At first reading it’s like “So Jesus is a great teacher huh? What on earth is he talking about?” Here’s my two cents…

I think the sermon is one of those three point deals. The first point is a description of two groups of people: true and false prophets. What is a prophet? Someone who tells others about God. This section is a reversal of the Deuteronomy blessings and curses. In Deuteronomy the obedient people are blessed and the disobedient are cursed. But Jesus says that the “disobedient” people who realize that they have nothing to offer God, weep over their sin and are persecuted by men because they believe in Jesus will be the blessed ones. The “obedient” people who think they are making it in God’s eyes and teaching others that they can keep God’s laws are loved by men but they will be cursed by God.

Then Jesus goes on to lay down the heaviest law you have ever heard on his listeners; Love your enemies, give to those who steal from you, do not retaliate when you are insulted, give away your stuff, don’t look down on others, forgive others. All this law comes with a large side helping of hardcore self examination: look at your heart, is it good or evil? You correct your neighbour for tiny sins but you have a huge log in your eye called self righteousness etc. Just when you can’t take it anymore Jesus finishes the sermon with the “two builders” parable.

If you obey all of the law Jesus has just laid out, you will be sitting on the “solid rock” of righteousness (perfection). When God’s judgment sweeps through like a flood you will be safe. But if you examine yourself and you have broken any of it then you will be swept away like a man who builds his house on sand when a flood comes. Well I’m screwed, so much for Jesus meek and mild.

But this is not the end of the story. Go back to section 1. Doesn’t Jesus start the sermon by saying that the person who knows they are on sinking sand before God (poor) and weeps over their sin will actually be blessed by God? Huh?

Yes!  And Jesus can say that because this sermon is not the end of the story. Jesus' whole reason for coming to earth was to look for people despair because they can’t keep His laws, then save them and He’ll do it by dying on a cross. His original listeners don’t know about this yet but we do! On the cross He took your sinfulness and gave you His righteousness. So if you recognize that you are on sinking sand because of your sin and you put your trust in Jesus to save you from God’s judgment then you are actually on solid rock and blessed because you wear Jesus’ righteousness! You are safe!

I think legendary 90’s hip hop group Tag Team sums up Jesus’ description of God’s kingdom best:

“Upside down and inside out

I’m bout to show all you folks what it’s all about”*

(*If you click on the link be prepared for some bad language)

Happy New Year everyone ;)