35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness.36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; 38 therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’
Matthew 9:35-38
Do you feel ‘harassed and helpless’? The gospel writer could have had us in mind as he wrote these words! COVID, inflation, rising fuel costs, reduced availability in the supermarkets. This is the reality of Britain at the end of 2021. It would be no surprise to me if you said you felt harassed and helpless.
I’m sure these feelings are timeless. There must always be something happening in the world that leaves people feeling stressed and as if they have no control over their own lives.
It’s no surprise then to read that when Jesus saw the crowds around Galilee, he found them to be harassed and helpless. His response was to have compassion on them. He felt pity towards them. He had sympathy for them. He loved them. Most of all, he saw them as sheep without a shepherd. They lacked a figure in their lives who would protect them, guide them, provide for them. They lacked someone who loved them and cared for them so much that, if necessary, they would lay down their life for them.
Jesus is the shepherd these sheep need. He says of himself, “I am the good shepherd” (John 10:11,14). He is the one who can end those feelings of harassment and helplessness. He brings protection, guidance and provision to all those who follow him. He laid down his life so that all those who follow him know exactly where their lives are leading – to an eternity with Jesus in God’s new creation.
What’s more, he wants those who know and love him to take his message of compassion to others. There are many who do not know Jesus as their good shepherd – the harvest is plentiful. So he calls on us to take this message out into the world, to number ourselves amongst those labourers send into the harvest.
Do you feel harassed and helpless? Turn to Jesus the Good Shepherd and find the peace that only a relationship with him can bring.
Question for reflection: Do I feel like “a sheep without a shepherd?” How could faith in Jesus change this?
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Big Mail is an interesting proposition; an email app for iOS and MacOS that “brings a fresh new look to your inbox, as well as an entirely new way of working with it.” Always a sucker for a new email app, I kept a close on their impending launch back in early 2021. British developer, Phillip Caudell, experienced a few issues with Apple’s App Store which delayed the launch a little. This only led to the anticipation of many potential users, desperate to try out Big Mail. I was one of them, and signed up as soon as I could.
The experience was not all plain sailing. A number of issues with the app, including a rogue blank dialogue pop up, plus sync problems, marred the experience somewhat. It was clear to me that Big Mail has great potential, but what was launched in May 2021 felt like a fairly rough beta. I stuck it out for a couple of months, and all credit to Caudell, updates came quick and fast. They were not enough to tempt me away from Superhuman, however, the email app which I struggle to tear myself away from.
In November, however, I decided to give Big Mail another go.
Here are a few thoughts on things I like, and things I don’t like about Big Mail:
Things I like about Big Mail:
The Bouncer: when I tried Hey email, one of my favourite elements was the ability to decide who should be allowed to send me an email – or rather, whose messages should be allowed to make it into my inbox. Big Mail has adopted a similar feature. When a message arrives from a new sender, it is sent to “The Bouncer” where you can decide whether messages from this sender are allowed into your inbox. Click thumbs up and it Big Mail filters the message and places it into the right scene. Click thumbs down, and the message, and all future messages from this sender, disappear into the ether. Made the wrong decision? Just click on “Bouncer” in the menu and you can review every decision you have taken and change your mind.
‘The Latest’: The opening screen of the app is a good idea-all your latest emails (as the name suggests!) grouped for easy access, split into the various scenes. Initially this struck me as rather messy – I’d see, for example, all the latest newsletters to arrive right on the home page. I don’t want to see these every time I open my email app, though; I want them tucked away somewhere where I can access them as and when I want. That’s no problem though – the latest is highly customisable, so you can choose which scenes are allowed to display messages here. I customised mine to show only new messages from the Conversations and the Purchases scenes. Everything else is just a click away.
Email sorting: I have developed a fairly complex system of filters and splits in Superhuman to sort my email into specific locations based on the type of message. Big Mail tries to sort incoming messages, and does this pretty well. At present messages are sorted into Conversations, Purchases, Newsletters, Notifications and Events. If a message lands in the wrong place, you can tell Big Mail to always deliver messages from a particular sender to a different location.
Scenes: Once Big Mail has sorted messages, it places them into specific scenes, along the same sort of lines as Superhuman’s splits. Unlike Superhuman, Big Mail presents messages in each scene differently. Messages in the Conversations scene, for example, are presented similarly to how emails are presented in most apps. Notifications and Newsletters are treated rather differently. When opening one of these scenes, you’re presented with a row of big, colourful, message previews to scroll through. Below this, there’s a row of top senders, and beneath this, all messages from this scene presented more traditionally, in a vertical list. This presentation is great-it makes reading, or scanning through, messages much more pleasurable, and definitely has the edge over Superhuman.
Customisable views: In each scene you can select from three different views – the bespoke Big Mail view with a carousel of large previews at the top (The Latest), then a horizontal display of Top Senders, then a list of all messages. Want something a bit more traditional? No problem – switch to a view with messages down the left hand side and a reading pane on the right (only on an iPad or Mac). Want your email old school? Switch to a good, old fashioned list view of all messages.
Email presentation: this, for me, is undoubtedly the best feature of Big Mail. Emails look beautiful, particularly newsletters. In the Newsletters scene, emails display edge to edge on a phone, and with all the usual unnecessary elements removed-sender’s email address, reply options etc. On an iPad or Mac, they look even better.
Things I’m not so keen on:
Inconsistent actions: Some actions are inconsistent across the app. For example, when displaying messages in the Conversations scene, swiping left deletes the message. In other scenes swiping left does, well, it does nothing.
Deleting/archiving messages: This is all a bit confusing. When long-pressing a message in the Conversations theme, a menu is presented which gives lots of options, including to archive or trash a message. This is generally also the case when in other scenes too. But when doing the same action to an unread message in ‘The Latest’ at the top of each scene, only the option to archive OR trash is given, depending on what is chosen in the settings. When scrolling through messages, it is possible to archive or trash a message, but when this is done, there is no indication that anything has happened. The message stays in view. You’re not taken to the next message or back to the Scene. This seems odd; I would expect something to happen to show that an action has been taken. Interestingly if you try this on an iPad, it does switch back to the Scene view – but not on an iPhone.
Sender Profiles: These work great in most scenes, but not in Conversations. Whilst I can click on the BBC News in the top senders list and get all the emails they’ve ever sent me grouped together conveniently in one place, I can’t see any way to do the same for emails from actual people. Why can’t I pull up all the emails from my wife, for example, or from my friend Ian?
Swipe actions: I’ve already mentioned how these are inconsistent. Even when they’re present, they still fall short of what I would like. It would be great to be able to swipe left to delete and to swipe right to archive on every message, in every Scene. This would make dealing with email much faster.
Inability to create custom scenes: It would be great to be able to build custom scenes and not rely on those built into the app. The developer says that these will be added in a future update, so fingers crossed!
Bugs: whilst the app has improved considerably between May and November 2021 and is far less buggy, I’m still experiencing some glitches every now and again. I periodically still get a blank dialogue box pop up for some reason. The app still crashes too often, particularly on my iPad.
Price: as a Superhuman super fan, this may seem unreasonable, but I feel the price point of Big Mail (£8.49 a month on a rolling subscription) is a little high. I have no objection paying a subscription – the developer has demonstrated that he is committed to constant development and improvement of the app, and does not make revenue by selling data (hurrah) but I would be happier with a price point of £4.99 a month.
Conclusion
I really like Big Mail. It is a fresh take on email that works well. It looks good and brings some new ideas to what has been a pretty stagnant field. Will I switch to Big Mail? Probably not, although I will continue using it for the remainder of the month I have paid for. I am, however, massively impressed with the ambition of the developer. The fact that there appears to be a single person (based in the UK no less) behind Big Mail is really impressive, and he deserves to get a large client base for this impressive app.
Big Mail offers a free seven day trial, and it is well worth giving it a go, even if you ultimately decide it’s not for you.
The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark 1:1
When I was a Year 7 tutor, I always used to quite enjoy meeting my students at the beginning of the year. One of the first things we used to do was process together down to the Sports Hall, where we would have a class photo taken. Once the photos came back, my colleagues and I used to have great fun trying to determine just from the picture who the well-behaved pupils were, and, perhaps more importantly for us, who the naughty ones were! Sometimes we would be quite accurate, but more than occasionally we would fail to spot a troublemaker amongst the group!
First impressions are very important. We’re always being told, “you only get one chance to make a first impression.” When we go for job interviews, we always make sure we’re smartly dressed, with hair freshly cut and new clothes, so that we don’t let ourselves down before we’ve opened our mouth.
Mark seems to understand the importance of first impressions. He makes it absolutely clear from the very first sentence of his gospel who he believes Jesus is. He believes that he is the Christ, the promised Messiah whom the Jews have been waiting for generations. He wants the reader to be in no doubt at all that this short book is about the Son of God – not a good teacher, not a thoroughly nice bloke, but the son of God.
Here at Crossring, we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the chosen one, the Son of God. If you haven’t made up your mind who you think Jesus is, stick with us for the next few months, and we’ll go through Mark’s Gospel together.
Deciding whether to accept that Jesus was the Son of God, or to reject this claim, could be the most important decision you take.
[1]My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, [2] for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. [3] Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. [4] Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. [5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. [7] Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. [8] This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. [9] Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; [10] then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. [11] My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, [12] because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. [13] Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding, [14] for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. [15] She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. [16] Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. [17] Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. [18] She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed. [19] By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; [20] by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. [21] My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; [22] they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. [23] Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. [24] When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. [25] Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, [26] for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared. [27] Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. [28] Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you”—when you already have it with you. [29] Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. [30] Do not accuse anyone for no reason—when they have done you no harm. [31] Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. [32] For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. [33] The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. [34] He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed. [35] The wise inherit honor, but fools get only shame.
Proverbs 3:1-35
What follows is a sermon I preached at Connect Southwater Community Church on 20th June 2021. Scroll to the bottom for an audio recording.
“Could I have the next slide please.”
No, don’t worry, I’m not going to bombard you with PowerPoint, but I am amazed at how that phrase has become part of life in pandemic Britain.
Whether it’s Chris Whitty, Patrick Valance, Jenny Harries, or Jonathan Van Tamm, we must have heard that phrase dozens and dozens of times over the last eighteen months at the Downing Street Press Conferences.
These prominent doctors have become well known to us all as we live through a global pandemic.
They have become a great source of wisdom for us, and for the government.
But I wonder where you turn for wisdom? Perhaps to relatives? Or maybe to a wise friend? Or maybe you turn to God’s word?
Today we’ll take a look at wisdom in the book of Proverbs, and look at some of the key characteristics of wisdom. We’ll do this by reflecting on three key points: wisdom is valuable, wisdom improves life, and wisdom needs a response.
Firstly then, wisdom is valuable.
What’s the most valuable item in your life? How would you answer that question if I put you on the spot right now and asked you that?
My immediate response would probably be, my house. It certainly sucks up a lot of my money! If I pondered the question a little longer, I might give a different answer – probably my family, my wife and my children. It’s them that I would struggle to be without.
The writer of the book of Proverbs provides an extraordinary answer to this question. Look at verses 13 to 16.
“Blessed are those who find wisdom,” he says, “those who gain understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.”
How remarkable! Nothing you desire can compare to wisdom. Nothing! Wisdom, in this writer’s view, is more valuable than even the most precious items on our planet.
But what is this wisdom that is so valuable?
There’s no definition here, but we can get an idea of what precisely Biblical wisdom is by searching elsewhere in the Bible. In Job 28:28 we see that, “the fear of the Lord – THAT is wisdom.”
Similarly, later in Proverbs, 9:10 we read that “the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.”
Fear in this sense means to have reverence for God, to respect him, to obey him, to submit to him, and to worship him. Having this attitude to God is to have wisdom.
And it is this that is so valuable – a reverence for God that leads us to submit our lives to him.
Maybe this sounds daunting. Maybe it sounds intimidating. Maybe living your life fearing God doesn’t sound particularly wonderful, but if we return to verse 13 of our reading, we see that the writer believes that those who find wisdom, who understand the value of submission to God, will be blessed. Blessed here, just like in the beatitudes in Jesus’ teaching on the sermon on the mount, means happiness. Happy, the writer says, are those who find wisdom and who understand the necessity of placing God first in our lives, because it leads to riches beyond our wildest dreams – those of knowing God, and being able to enjoy a relationship with him as a consequence of the death and resurrection of his son, Jesus Christ.
The promise of forgiveness, of salvation through Jesus – this is worth more than any gold, or silver, or rubies. Knowledge of this is wisdom, and it is this to which nothing else can compare.
My children are six and four. They both love watching television – probably far too much. My sonis now of an age where he has graduated from CBeebies onto programmes for older children. He’s also worked out how to use the remote control and can work our television far better than I can! His new favourite channel is CITV because they have lots of great cartoons, he says. This means that he and Lily are far more exposed to adverts than they have previously been. As each advert comes on, either he or my daughter remark, “oh, I’d really like that!” Or, even worse, “I want one of those!” They envisage that their lives would just be so much better if mummy and daddy would only succumb and buy them this new object of desire.
But of course, most, if not all of us fall into this trap. Maybe we’re influenced by the power of television adverts. Maybe we think our lives would just be so much easier if we could buy the flashy new home appliance being demonstrated on screen. Perhaps it’s not something we’ve seen advertised. Maybe we think our lives would be so much better if we only had less stress in our lives, or had more time. Perhaps it’s a better job we hanker after – one that would reward us more fairly for the work we do, or enable us to spend more time with our family and friends.
The writer of Proverbs makes it clear in this chapter that rather than a new washing machine or a better paid job, it is wisdom that really has the potential to improve our lives.
Look at how he says our lives can be improved.
In verses 25 and 26 he says, “have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overstates the wicked, for the LORD will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.”
Probably, like me, you’ve known rather more fear than you would have liked over the last eighteen months or so. I remember last March watching the awful pictures of hospitals around the world being overwhelmed. I remember hearing how virulent coronavirus was. I remember the fear as people I knew started succumbing to this virus. I remember the fear I had as my wife,went to work in a busy A&E department, coming into contact with people with COVID every single day. I remember the genuine fear I had that this thing could wipe out my entire family.
But here in Proverbs we’re told, “have no fear of sudden disaster.” But how can we have no fear when we find ourselves thrust into the heart of a global sudden disaster?
Precisely because wisdom improves our lives. Because if we “fear the Lord,” if we trust him, follow him, put him first in our lives, if we worship him, he will be with us.
That’s not to say that we won’t find ourselves encountering sudden disasters in our lives. It is inevitable that we will find ourselves contending with difficulties and traumas, but God will be at our side. If we place our trust in Christ, we can know his Holy Spirit working in us and through us. And our ultimate hope is for a new life in God’s new creation after our earthly bodies wither away. As Paul writes in his second letter to the Corinthians, “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” That’s 2 Corinthians 4:17-18.
Wisdom puts everything in our lives into an eternal perspective. Wisdom shows us that the troubles we encounter in this life are only light and momentary taken from an eternal perspective. Wisdom points us to an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.
Wisdom improves our lives by helping us to have a broader context for all that we experience in the here and now.
If we understand that, we can see in this chapter how else wisdom improves life. Let’s look at some of these ways quickly now.
Wisdom will prolong our life many years and bring us peace and prosperity. That’s there in verse 2. Wisdom encourages us to honour God with our bodies, and doing so will encourage us to live healthy lives and not abuse ourselves as others might do. The end result of this is longer life. This point is also made in verses 7 and 8. If we put God first in our lives and shun evil ways, we will be healthier and well nourished.
If we have an eternal perspective, our lives will be peaceful. If we are settled in our faith and know and trust that we are destined to have eternal life, we are less likely to experience the existential angst and stress that others without this comfort face.
Look at verses 3 and 4. If our lives are marked out by love and faithfulness, we will win favour and a good name in the sight of God and man. We will have lots of good quality friendships, and the respect of others, because we are known as trustworthy, kind, loving people.
Verses 5 and 6 are particularly well known and loved by many. They make it clear that if we trust God and submit to him in all we do, our paths through our lives will be straight and focused, with a clear sense of direction, and much less meaningless meandering.
Verses 9 and 10 show us that if we give all that we have to God, he will provide us with all that we need day by day.
Finally for now, wisdom means that we will not know fear when we lie in our beds, and sleep will be sweet, according to verse 24. If we place God first in our lives, life will make much more sense to us, and we won’t be kept awake at night worrying about all of the horrible possibilities that might lie ahead. Our hope lies in eternal life with Christ, and there’s no reason, therefore, to fear what we may experience.
Wisdom is not just a philosophical concept, but something that can really make a difference to us every day.
Wisdom really does improve life.
If we want go have a better life, we need to forget all the world tells us about looking for a better job, or making more money, buying a new house. If we really want to improve our lives we need to submit in all that we do to God, to worship his son and honour him for the sacrifice that he made for us upon the cross.
A couple of weeks ago the children in my school sat exams. The expectation that they had, and their parents, and my employers, was that I would then sit down and mark these, and provide the children with feedback on how they did. A response was required from me.
Of course, I could have gathered their papers up and, at the end of the exam, just dropped them into the bin.
But what, then, would have been the point of them sitting these exams in the first place? There would have been no point at all. It would have been an entirely pointless exercise.
Wisdom, too, needs a response.
What would be the point of “fearing the Lord” if this didn’t change how we acted?
The writer of Proverbs highlights just some ways we should respond to wisdom.
Look at verse 27. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”
If we are in a position to do something to improve the lives of others, then we should grab the opportunity to do so.
It might be making ourselves available to them for a chat.
It might be helping them out when we can, supporting them practically.
It might be lending them something, or giving them something.
Ultimately it means being a presence in their lives, loving them for who they are, and helping them so see the value of wisdom, and the impact that wisdom can have in their own lives. It means being clear with them how our relationship with Christ is at the heart of all that we do, how it improves our lives and gives us hope and purpose, and how it could do the same for them too.
What’s more, we should do this now, straight away, whilst we have the chance. As the passage says, “do not say to your neighbour, “come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you” – when you already have it with you.”
The passage also instructs us in verses 29 and 30, “do not plot harm against your neighbour who lives trustfully near you. Do not accuse anyone for no reason – when they have done you no harm.”
We must be positive, kind and loving in all of our interactions.
Wisdom needs a response.
And that response is, as Peter writes in his first letter, to live such good lives among the pagans [as he puts it] that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”
Our lives, informed by wisdom, should point those around us to the life-giving gospel of Christ.
So what are the characteristics of wisdom?
In a nutshell, wisdom is valuable. Wisdom improves life. And wisdom needs a response.
40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).
John 1:40-42
Sometimes something happens at work, or I read something in the news, and I can’t wait to get home to share the news with my wife, Claire. I think the last time this happened was when I read news that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office was no longer advising against non-essential travel to the Canary Islands. We have no imminent plans to travel to the Canaries, but just the thought of flying to somewhere sunny, reading my book on the beach and swimming in the sea was enough to lift my spirits, and to excite me enough to want to pass this news on.
In John 1, two of John the Baptist’s disciples saw Jesus passing by. John told them that Jesus was “the Lamb of God,” and they were inspired to follow Jesus. In the passage above, John tells us that one of these two disciples was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. Andrew was lucky enough to spend the day with Jesus. This must have been a powerful and memorable experience for Andrew, because he immediately sought out his brother, Simon Peter, to tell him all about Jesus. He could not keep the news to himself, and was desperate to tell his brother all that he had seen and heard.
What’s more, Andrew has a real sense of the significance of Jesus. He doesn’t simply say to Simon Peter that he’s found an inspirational teacher. He tells his brother, “we have found the Messiah”! The Messiah was God’s promised deliverer, who the Jewish people had been waiting for for thousands of years. They knew that the Messiah would one day come to liberate God’s people, to save them. For generations, Jews had been praying for the Messiah to come, hoping that he would arrive in their own lifetime.
And now Andrew is convinced that he had encountered the Messiah! I wonder what it was that Jesus said and did in those few hours to convince Andrew that he was God’s deliverer? Whatever it was, Andrew is overjoyed, deeply excited and desperate to share the news with his brother.
That was undoubtedly a significant moment, not just for Andrew and his brother, but for the whole of humanity. Simon, known as Peter, would go on to become one of the most significant figures in the early church, teaching and preaching throughout the known world, telling people about Jesus, writing some significant letters, and ensuring that Christ’s message of hope and salvation crossed the ages, and eventually found its way to us.
Wow!
Do you feel as excited as Andrew when you encounter Jesus in scripture? Do you find yourself desperate to tell anyone who will listen that you have found the Messiah, God’s promised liberator who has saved humanity from our sins?
I wonder if you have considered the impact that you might have on others, and indeed the world, by sharing Jesus with those you know and love? Maybe you yourself will be a ‘Peter’ figure in the history of the Church. Or maybe someone you tell about Jesus will go on to play a prominent role in spreading the Gospel message around the world.
35 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!” 37 When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus. 38 Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying, and they spent that day with him. It was about four in the afternoon. 40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.
John 1:35-40
What do you want? How many times have you been asked this? Quite a number I should think! Maybe when ordering your coffee. Maybe when entering a room. Maybe when thinking about important life decisions.
What do you want?
Sometimes the answer to this question might be simple. Sometimes the answer might be more complicated.
In a coffee shop my answer to this question is generally, “a flat white please.”
The Lamb of God
If you asked me what I want in life, it might take me slightly longer to come up with a response!
These are the first words that Jesus is recorded as saying in John’s Gospel.
John the Baptist is out with two of his disciples when they see Jesus passing. John immediately recognises Jesus, and tells his disciples that this is the Lamb of God. In five words, John conveys the entire purpose of Jesus’ presence on earth. Here is the sacrifice that God has provided to atone for the sin of all humanity. Just as Jewish people had for generations sacrificed lambs to try to make themselves right before God, here is the ultimate sacrifice, the ‘lamb’ for the sacrifice that has been provided by God himself. Indeed, this ‘lamb’ is God himself! And here he is, casually walking past!
I’m not surprised that John’s two disciples were inspired to follow Jesus upon hearing that he is the “Lamb of God.” I doubt that they grasped the full enormity of what John was saying, but they were sufficiently interested to follow Jesus to see what he was up to.
When Jesus saw John’s disciples were following him, he turned to them and asked them, “what do you want?” A natural question to ask, I suppose, when you become aware that someone is following you. This being Jesus, though, I’m, sure that he wasn’t simply asking them why they were following him. I have no doubt that he was asking them what they really wanted. Were they happy with their lives? Were they happy with their jobs? Were they searching for identity? Were they searching for meaning? Were they searching for truth?
What do you want?
The men’s answer, therefore, seems rather simplistic. “Where are you staying?” Perhaps they thought that he was simply a teacher who was passing through and would be gone tomorrow. Perhaps they wanted to spend time with him before he departed. Maybe they had questions that they wanted to ask him. I suppose we can’t really be sure!
Whatever the reason that they chose to follow him, follow him they did, the first of many billions of people who have done so. How lucky they were to have had the opportunity to spend the day with him. Of course, they subsequently went on to spend many more days with him, and are undoubtably continuing to spend eternity with him.
How would you respond to that question, “what do you want?”
What do you want from life?
Do you want fame, celebrity status, wealth and earthly satisfaction?
Good luck to you.
Or do you want to know God, to have a relationship with him, to know his presence in your life, and to enjoy eternal life in his new creation?
Ask and you will receive
Jesus does not just want to know what we want, but is able to give it to us.
Later in John’s Gospel, Jesus says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15:7-8).
In the next chapter Jesus says, “very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete” (John 16:23b-24).
If we want want Jesus wants, and ask for it is his name, God will give it to us. What a remarkable promise!
Why? So that we display to the world that we, like John’s two disciples here, follow Christ, and so that we might be witnesses of the Gospel to those around us.
What’s more, if we want what Jesus wants, and ask for it his name, not only will it be given to us, but “our joy will be complete!” We will find true satisfaction because we have aligned our desires with Christ’s and will find that those desires are met. And that way lies true joy, true happiness.
1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through him we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Romans 5:1-4
2020 was a very difficult year for us all. 2021, in the UK at least, looks a little more promising, but certainly the first part of it has also been very tricky. The global COVID-19 pandemic has brought difficulties to us all. Maybe our own health has suffered as a consequence. Perhaps we’ve lost loved ones to the virus. It might be that we’ve lost our job, or found our business forcibly closed. No doubt we’ve missed spending time with loved ones, going out for a meal, visiting the local leisure centre, or flying away for a week of sun. I suspect we’ve all, in our own way, experienced far more suffering in a single year than we would have liked. Like me, you’re probably desperately hoping for a return to some sort of normality soon.
The Bible has much to say about suffering. Paul writes about suffering to the Romans, as we see in the passage above, Sometimes we might think that being a Christian precludes us from suffering, but Paul is clear that this is not the case. It might be that our approach to suffering is a little different to those around us, but suffering is just as inevitable for a Christian as it is for anyone else.
So, what can we learn about suffering as a Christian from these verses?
Firstly, that we we can “glory in our sufferings” (verse 3). This suggests that as we contend with the difficulties life throws at us, we can maintain an attitude of joy. We don’t feel joy because we suffer, but we are able to feel joy despite our suffering. This attitude is possible for a Christian for the reasons that Paul outlines at the beginning of this chapter: despite our suffering, we know that “we have been justified through faith,” we “have peace with God,” because “we have gained access by faith into [Jesus’s] grace,” and because we are able to “boast in the hope of the glory of God.” Once we were God’s enemies, but now we are his friends, and because of our understanding of our relationship with God, our lives now have purpose and an eternal perspective. We can take a positive approach to life despite our suffering because our perspective is eternal, not limited to our earthly existence. As Paul writes to the Corinthians, we understand that our troubles are only “light and momentary,” and suffering is “achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Corinthians 4:17).
Secondly, we can draw comfort that despite our current difficulties, our suffering is teaching us perseverance. Paul tells us that “suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.” When we find ourselves confronting dark periods in our lives, we can give up, or we can persevere. Since we have an eternal perspective we are more likely to persevere through our suffering, since we know that even when we find ourselves going through the darkest periods of our lives, we have a future hope to look forward to.
Then the question is – where do we find the strength to persevere when everything is so bad, so horrible, so bleak in our lives that we just feel like giving up? For Christians, we can draw that strength from our relationship with God. We can lean into God, and he will support us, and equip us to persevere. As the Psalmist sings,
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 121:1-2
A Christian is able to endure suffering, and cope with problems and trials, because they believe that their help comes from God. God supports us inn our perseverance by listening to us, offering comfort when we experience trials and tribulations, and by reassurance that ultimately, things will get better. He may not end our suffering straight away, but he does walk with us as we suffer, shares our pain, and gives us hope for a brighter future.
Thirdly, by choosing to place our trust in God as we suffer, our character changes and develops. As Paul writes, perseverance produces character.
It’s often said that we take on some of the characteristics of those we choose to spend time with. If we lean into Christ when we are enduring suffering, it is he who we are choosing to spend time with. It is Jesus, therefore, that we will come to resemble, it is his character that will shape our character. Simply by virtue of our suffering, and our desire to lean into Christ, we will become more like him.
Fourthly, Paul tells us that character produces hope – hope of a future with Christ in God’s new creation, where there is no suffering, no sin, no pain and no death. Hope of an eternity with Jesus as a consequence of his death and resurrection. As we become more Christ-like, we become more aware of our ultimate destiny, the final destination of our journey through life on earth – salvation, eternal life in God’s perfect new creation.
There is no doubt that suffering hurts. It is painful. It can sometimes feel like it is more than we can bear. But because of our justification by faith, and our peace with God, we can find joy even as we suffer. We can be joyful because of the future hope that our relationship with Christ gives us. By leaning into Jesus and drawing comfort from him, we can find the energy to persevere, to keep going when life gets really tough. And by leaning into Christ, we find our character developing, and Christ in turn shaping our character. Our lives are transformed to more closely resemble Jesus’ life, and his character. Becoming more Christ-like, we can draw on new hope – a new hope of our salvation. We place our confidence and trust in Jesus, and consequently find hope in his suffering, and his death on the cross, and his resurrection. We trust that he suffered in our place. We trust that he died in our place. And we trust that just as Christ rose to new life, so too will we. After all, from an eternal perspective, “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
32 They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” 33 He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 34 “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.” 35 Going a little farther, he fell to the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. 36 “Abba , Father,” he said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” 37 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Simon,” he said to Peter, “are you asleep? Couldn’t you keep watch for one hour? 38 Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Mark 14:32-37
We all experience suffering in our life. Unfortunately it is inevitable that we will all find ourselves experiencing situations that we would rather not, situations that bring hurt, or anger, or upset, or frustration, or pain, or any combination of all of these. Those outside the church might see the existence of suffering as evidence for there not being a God. How, they might ask, could a God of love simply sit back whilst there is so much pain, hurt and upset in the world? For a Christian in anguish, it is only natural to wonder why God has led us into this painful scenario. We might wonder if we are being punished by God, and if so why? We may even begin to doubt our faith. Suffering is hard. Suffering can be really hard. Sometimes it can feel as if we are experiencing more hurt than we can possibly bear.
Writing in May of 2021, in a world that has been so significantly shaped by COVID for more than twelve months, I suspect that many of us have experienced suffering in a way that we wish we hadn’t.
What I find remarkable about this passage in Mark’s Gospel is that Jesus, too, experienced the same mental anguish associated with suffering that we all experience from time to time. He went to pray, and, as Mark records, “he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.” Jesus said to his disciples, “my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
I wonder how many of us have experienced such a deep, painful sense of sorrow that our soul, our very person, feels like it is broken? How many of us have been so overwhelmed that just carrying on seems more than we can bear. And here is Jesus, experiencing that same emotion, that same overwhelming burden of grief, of pain, of distress.
It’s not clear precisely what is the cause of Jesus’ anguish. Maybe it’s the prospect of what he knows is coming – his painful death on the cross. Maybe it is the realisation that his death is going to necessitate abandonment by his father, the breaking of that deep, mysterious bond between God the Father and God the Son. Maybe it is the prospect of the overwhelming burden of the sin of all of humanity being piled upon him. Maybe it is just the reality of the human condition, the sense of how broken, how fallen, how sinful, how far from God people are, and yet so many are completely oblivious to their condition.
Whatever the cause is, here is Jesus, the Son of God, overwhelmed by sorrow, experiencing those deep and bleak emotions that we all feel from time to time. Here he is experiencing the emotions that often drive people from God, feeling that God cannot understand the weight of their anguish, since they do not feel his presence.
Yet Jesus can, and does understand our anguish, since he has been there for himself.
What is Jesus’ response to this overwhelming sorrow? He calls out to God with one of the most profound and moving prayers in the Bible: “Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” Jesus knows that God the Father is in control. He understands that God the Father can do anything. And, whilst Christians believe that Jesus is God, we see Jesus here demonstrating his full human-ness too. He sets before God his Father what he wants – take this cup away from me. Stop my suffering, he prays to his Father. How many of us have prayed that very same prayer? Please, Father God, take away my suffering. Stop my pain and anguish. I know you can, Father, so please, I beg you, end my suffering.
When we think that God cannot possibly understand the depth of our pain and anguish, the hurt that we are experiencing, we should remember this moment of anguish that Jesus experienced in the Garden of Gethsemane. God does understand our suffering, because he has been there himself, in the person of Jesus Christ.
What a truly remarkable thought that is.
Jesus follows up this plea to his father with the affirmation, “yet not what I will, but what you will.” He affirms that he desires to bring his will in line with his Father’s will for his life. Whilst he might want his cup of suffering taken away from him, he understands that his Father has a plan, a plan that involves him experiencing despair and sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane, a plan that involves him experiencing separation from his Father, a plan that involves him suffering a painful death upon the cross.
Jesus knows and understands that there is a purpose to his suffering. The cup that his Father would have him drink is the cup of God’s wrath, God’s anger towards and judgement of all humanity because of our sinful nature. Jesus knows that if he drinks fully from this cup, his actions will save humanity, bring us freedom from sin, and allow us once again to enter into a relationship with God.
Whilst the cost to Jesus is immeasurable, the benefit to humanity is also immeasurable.
And so Jesus accepts his Father’s will for his life, even though it brings him “sorrow to the point of death.”
What can we learn from Jesus’ approach to his suffering in the Garden of Gethsemane?
It’s alright for us to despair. It’s alright for us to feel sorrow, and pain, and anguish. Suffering is not necessarily a consequence of our own wrongdoing, but a consequence of living in a fallen, sinful world.
It’s alright to cry out to God. It’s alright to tell God how we’re feeling. It’s alright for us to beg God to take away our suffering.
But as we cry out to God and ask him to take away our suffering, we must remember that he might not do so. Jesus’ cry out to his father did not stop his death on the cross. Our pleas to God similarly might not end our own suffering.
Our suffering might be part of God’s will, or an enabler of God’s will, and whilst asking God to end our suffering, we, like Jesus, should affirm that ultimately we want to follow God’s will for our lives. And if that will involves suffering, so be it.
This is hard. This is tough and difficult. When we experience sorrow to the point of death, being told that it may well be God’s will for our life is incredibly painful. It can seem unfair and unreasonable.
But if it is part of God’s plan for our lives to suffer, we might find it reassuring to know that there is a purpose to, or despite, our suffering. There is a reason for the pain and anguish that we’re going through.
Jesus’ suffering led to our liberation from sin.
Our personal suffering might refine us, and mould us, and shape us into people that God can better use to bring hope and love to his creation.
Our personal suffering might teach us how to place our trust more in God, to be more faithful to him, to serve him better, to persevere more in our journey of faith with him.
Our personal suffering might enable us to get alongside others experiencing pain and anguish, and to understand them better, to empathise better.
It may well be that our personal suffering has no discernible benefit for us, or anyone else. It might feel that our suffering is utterly pointless. But even if this seems to be the case, we can draw hope from the fact that God can work through our pain and anguish, and that even if we cannot see it or understand it, we are playing a role in the creation of God’s kingdom here on earth.
There is no denying that this is difficult. This is really difficult. Yet I draw great comfort from understanding that Jesus went through exactly what we all go through, that he experienced the full range of human emotions and understands what it feels like to really suffer.
And Jesus’ prayer, “not what I will, but what you will”? What a challenging prayer to pray, but one which can bring us hope just by virtue of the fact that we are trusting that God has a plan for our lives, and that there is nothing better for us to do than asking God to bring this plan to fruition.
24 As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is what he promised us—eternal life.26 I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. 27 As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit—just as it has taught you, remain in him. 28 And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
1 John 2:24-29
GCSEs seem like a very long time ago to me now. Probably because they were. It was, in fact, 1995 when I sat my GCSEs. Whilst I don’t remember a huge amount about this process, I do remember my Year 10 History lessons. Partly because I loved History (perhaps why I’m a History teacher now!), but mainly because of the stand in teacher we had whilst our usual teacher was away from school on maternity leave. He was an interesting character to say the least. He used to carry everything around in a carrier bag – from Harrods no less! He used to challenge my friend Robin to chess matches. He gave every piece of work 30/30, then distinguished between a good and bad piece of work through the number of ‘v’s he awarded (for example, a less good piece of work might be graded 30/30 v v v good, whilst a superb piece of work might be graded 30/30 v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v v good). But I remember him most of all because he taught us completely the wrong material for our exam. This meant that our usual teacher had a lot of ground to cover upon her return.
In this section of John’s letter, he warns about false teaching. The false teaching that concerns John, however, is the teaching of the ‘antichrists’ that has the potential to mislead Christians, to confuse them, and to corrupt the true Gospel message. John warns that those who engage in false teaching are deliberately trying to lead his readers astray. They are actively preaching an anti-Jesus, anti-Christ message in order to lead people away from the Church and its true teachings. This is, in fact, John reveals in verse 26, one of the primary reasons for him writing this letter in the first place.
Yet John says that those who hold firm to pro-Christ teaching, as opposed to anti-Christ teaching, need not worry. They have received an anointing from the Holy Spirit who reveals the truth to them through the Word of God in the Bible. They do not need teaching from elsewhere; the message in the Bible is sufficient. The Holy Spirit, through the anointing of Jesus’ followers, illuminates God’s word, and through this teaches us all things. Unlike the false teachers, whose message is, by definition false, there is nothing counterfeit about the Holy Spirit. His anointing of believers is real, and his teaching is not counterfeit. Of course, none of this negates the need to be taught, to have scripture explained, but it does mean that there is no need for any other teaching that is not already made known to them through God’s word.
There is good reason to hold firm to Biblical teaching. John implores his readers to “see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you.” They need to keep in mind the Gospel message that led them to follow Christ. If they do, then they will “remain in the Son and in the Father.” By remaining firmly rooted in the teaching that lead to their conversion, their relationship with Jesus will be maintained, and, through Jesus, so will their relationship with God the Father. Ultimately, the result of this relationship is eternal life, a guaranteed place in the new creation, God’s perfect kingdom.
John concludes this section of his letter by imploring his readers to “continue in him,” to continue to place their confidence in Jesus and to strive to live lives that honour him. If we do, we can be “confident and unashamed before him at his homecoming.” Whilst those who have deliberately sought to mislead and deceive Christians will ultimately have to answer to Christ for their actions, those who continued to make Jesus the priority in their lives can be confident of being gifted eternal life by him.
Ultimately, if we know who Christ is, we know that everyone who honours and glorifies him has been born again as one of God’s children. We should be able to tell one of God’s people, a Christian, from their actions.
To conclude, we need to be aware of those who seek to mislead us with false or corrupted teaching. We need to ensure that we hold on to the established teaching of God’s Word, illuminated to us by the Holy Spirit which, if we are true believers, has anointed us. It is the Holy Spirit that will teach us real truths, not false truths. If we hold onto this then we will remain firm in the Son and in the Father, and can be confident before Jesus when he returns again. Ultimately will be rewarded with eternal life, eternity in God’s perfect kingdom.
18 Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us. 20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. 21 I do not write to you because you do not know the truth, but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth. 22 Who is the liar? It is whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a person is the antichrist—denying the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father; whoever acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
1 John 2:18-23
It’s always sad when friends leave our church and head off to live or work in new areas. Of course, we wish them well and pray for them in their future endeavours, but it is sad to lose people who might have been close friends prior to their departure. This is particularly the case when these friends have not just been members of the same church, but members of the same home group. There’s a bond that develops between members of a home group that is always close. Studying the word together, sharing prayer together, will always develop that bond. It’s a closeness that we might not really experience anywhere else. Of course, usually in these circumstances our friends leave for positive reasons, and will quickly establish themselves in a new Church family.
Sometimes, though, people leave the Church because they have lost their faith. For whatever reason, they no longer believe that Jesus Christ was born on earth, the Son of God, who ultimately died on the cross, taking the sin of the world on his shoulders, and rising three days later.
In this passage, John is writing about the “last hour,” the time between Jesus ascending to heaven and returning to the world. He warns that this time is marked out by the coming of the antichrist. Even now, though, he says, many antichrists have come. Who are these antichrists? They are people who were previously members of the Church but have now left. These people are not like people who leave to move on to new Christian adventures; they have left because they have lost their faith. They are denying that Jesus is the Christ. Since Jesus is the only link we have to God the Father, they are denying not only Jesus, but God himself.
The departure of these former friends reveals the sad truth; they were never really Christian believers at all. They might, for a time, have professed their faith with their mouths, but in their hearts, they had not been transformed by a genuine relationship with Jesus. They might have said all the right things to those around them. They might have signed up to the church rotas, and played their part in the life of the Christian community, but the sad truth is that they never really, fully believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. If they did, they wouldn’t have left. By going, they showed the truth; they were never really members of the body of believers at all.
These former friends haven’t walked away quietly. For John to refer to them as antichrists suggest that they actively taught a message that was counter to that of Christ, a message that was indeed anti Christ. They tried to convince people that Jesus was not the Son of God. They may have been overt in their anti-Christian teaching, or they may have been more subtle, leading people astray by seeming to teach the Christian gospel message, but with tweaks and changes. Perhaps they were trying to make the gospel more palatable to those around them. Maybe they taught that Jesus was not born of a virgin, but was the offspring of Mary and Joseph, or Mary and a Roman centurion. Perhaps they taught that Jesus didn’t really rise from the dead, but that his body was stolen from the tomb. Maybe they taught that Jesus was not the Son of God at all, but simply a good teacher, or just one more prophet. Does it really make a difference, they might have said, if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead? Does it really change your faith?
I sense in John’s writing that the people he was writing to were greatly concerned by this situation. It looks like they have been called liars by the ‘antichrists’ for holding firmly to the message that they had been taught. Maybe those who remained faithful were worried that perhaps it was they who had the message wrong after all. Maybe their former friends were right, they might have pondered. I’m sure that this was a worrying time for them.
John wants to reassure his readers, however. It is they, he says, who are right, not the leavers. They have been anointed by the ‘Holy One,’ unlike those who had abandoned them. In contrast to those who had left the Church, they acknowledged the son, and consequently, had a firm connection with God the Father. No lie comes from the truth, John tells them. It is not they who are the liars, but the leavers, who are denying Christ, and spreading false teaching about him.
This passage addresses two big issues confronting the Church at the moment. The first is one of declining membership of the Church. Scarcely a day goes by without the media reporting falling attendance at churches. Those of us who remain, reading this news so regularly, might find ourselves wondering if the Church has a future in our country. Yet John suggests that those who stop attending churches didn’t ever really belong to the Church. If they did, they would have stayed. They may have known the Gospel, they might have played their part in the organisation, they may even have had positions of leadership. Yet the harsh truth is that it is almost certain that their hearts and minds had never really known Jesus. If they had, they would not have denied him. If they had been anointed by ‘the Holy One’, they would have known the truth. In all likelihood, therefore, they had never known this anointing.
I remember, years ago, listening to Dick Lucas preaching, and hearing him say that he was pleased that church attendance was declining, because it meant that those who did not truly believe, for whom church was just a social club, had removed themselves. Those who remained were those who truly believed, who knew Christ, accepted his death and resurrection, and who strive to follow him in their daily lives. Lucas was suggesting that departures from the Church make it stronger, not weaker.
The second issue addressed by this passage is deceptive teaching by antichrists, deniers of Christ. The media regularly has stories of bishops outlining beliefs that run contrary to mainstream, Biblical teaching. It might be denying the virgin birth, or teaching that the resurrection did not happen. It might be bending of Christian teaching to fit the contemporary world, perhaps by attempting to redefine marriage or relationships. They might still claim to have a Christian faith, they may still identify themselves as Christians, but the reality that John sets out here is that these people are liars, who, in denying Jesus, are denying the Father. These are people who never really belonged to the Church, who have never truly experienced anointing by the ‘Holy One’.
We need to recognise antichrists when we see them. It is important, though, that those of us who remain in the Church hold firm to the truth, and don’t have our heads turned by the lies emanating from these antichrists, whether they speak from within or outside the Church. If we have been anointed, if we acknowledge Jesus as saviour, and if we consequently acknowledge God as Lord, master and creator, then we know the truth and will not be swayed by lies and half truths,
How do we know if we’ve been anointed by the Holy One? I would suggest that if we make following Jesus the centre of our lives, study his word and listen to all he says to us through it, and speak to him in prayer; if we put him first in all we do; if we humbly accept his will for our lives, then we can be confident of our anointing. If we’re worried that we haven’t, simply having that worry might suggest that in fact we have been. It nevertheless does no harm to pray that the Holy One will anoint us, and that God will equip us to stand firm against lies and deception.
It is clearly sad when we see people leave our fellowship. It is enormously sad when people we have looked up to start teaching ideas in direct contradiction of mainstream Biblical teaching. We should not dwell too much on the departed, though, or listen to teachings and philosophies which contradict the teaching of Jesus. Instead, we should hold firm to the traditional teachings of the Church, knowing that by doing so we are acknowledging Jesus, and through him, his Father.
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