The Sound of Music counsels us to ‘start at the very beginning’, but it’s not always easy to know where a story begins! It’s very easy when looking at the Easter story to focus on the last week of Jesus’s life, to concentrate on His crucifixion and resurrection, and certainly all four gospels give us more information about this last week of His life than they do about anything else. But in Luke’s gospel, we see that the story began much earlier even than the start of His ministry or than His birth. Luke spends a large part of chapter 1 telling us about relatives of Jesus (Zechariah and Elizabeth) and the miraculous conception of their son, John.

John, the herald who prepares the way of the Lord, was a baby born to an elderly, childless couple, testimony that with God, nothing is impossible. We see also in this story the fact that it’s not always easy to deal with the miraculous. Zechariah’s ‘mistrustful words’ when the angel announces God’s plans to him lead to nine months of silence: he is not able to speak until he testifies in writing to what the angel has told him when his son is actually born.

This reminds us that waiting and silence are as much a part of God’s story as miracles and speech. Sometimes, it takes time to process what God is doing and we have to ‘wait it out.’ If you’re in a waiting time now, don’t give up. You’re in good company!

As a church, we support three children overseas: Bedline in Haiti (who will be 11 next Saturday), Innocent in Uganda and Amshika, a girl with disabilities in India. We are very grateful for your financial support for these children and are pleased to have just received a new photo of Bedline.

At our Bible study on Thursday evening, we looked at the topic of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, particularly in the Gospels. George Sweeting tells us, ‘ONE IN EVERY 30 NT VERSES REFER TO THE SECOND COMING! – More than a quarter of the Bible is predictive prophecy. Approximately one-third of it has yet to be fulfilled. Both the Old and New Testaments are full of promises about the return of Jesus Christ. Over 1,800 references appear in the Old Testament, and seventeen Old Testament books give prominence to this theme. Of the 260 chapters in the New Testament, there are more than 300 references to the Lord’s return – one out of every thirty verses. Twenty-three of the twenty-seven New Testament books refer to this great event. Three of the four other books are single-chapter letters written to individuals concerning a particular subject, and the fourth is Galatians, which does imply Christ’s coming again. For every prophecy on the first coming of Christ, there are eight on Christ’s second coming.’ It’s vital, therefore, that we look at this subject, given its importance in the New Testament writings.

Through Scriptures in Matthew 24 & 25, Luke 21 & John 5:28-29, John 6:138-40 and John 14:13, we see that although we do not know when Jesus will return, we are to live in anticipation and expectation of this return, which will be in glory, surrounded by angels, coming on the clouds. The reference to clouds reminds us of the pillar of cloud (symbolising God’s presence) which guided the Israelites through the wilderness and how the Lord appeared to Moses from the dense clouds (see Ex 16:10, Ex 19:9, 16-17, Ex 24:15-16, Ex 34:5). We are told that the glory of the Lord filled the temple (‘When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple.’ 1 Kings 8:10-11) Jesus will come again in triumph and glory.

The Apostles’ Creed tells us that  Jesus ‘will come again to judge the living and the dead.’ (see John 5:29) It seems there are two judgments to come: the first judgment will be based on whether people have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for our sins and will determine our eternal future; the second will be for believers and is a judgment of rewards, not punishment (see 2 Cor 5:10, 1 Cor 3:11-15). The fact that Jesus is coming again should motivate us to live holy, pure lives and should fill us with joy in the trials of life, because when He appears, we will be like Him (see 1 John 3:2) The cry of our hearts should be ‘Maranatha!’ – ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.’ (Rev 22:20)

Matthew 6:9-15 gives us as disciples a framework for prayer. He gives us more information about forgiveness at the end of the prayer, underlining its importance for us. Matthew takes us beyond our everyday world of bartering and bargaining and reminds us that forgiveness, although freely given, is inextricably bound up with repentance. “Unless we let go of the things that hold us back in our relationship with God – our selfishness, our lack of love, our clinging on to old resentments and past hurts – there will be no room for forgiveness.” (“Sharing The Easter Story”, P 62)

The Lord’s Prayer reminds us of the limitless love of God, but also shows us that we need to place ourselves constantly within the scope of that love.

In John 4, we see the story of how a conversation with Jesus can not only transform the life of an individual, but how that individual can then reach out to a whole community. Telling the story of what Jesus has done for us and inviting others to come and see are all vital parts of living out faith.

The woman in the story was shunned by her society because she did not live according to the rules, and no doubt this was not only personally difficult for her but also left her feeling both shame and resentment. Yet when she realised that Jesus was the Messiah, the one sent by God, she did not keep this news to herself. She did not let resentment prevent her from wanting others to know Jesus too. Often, we hold back from speaking of Jesus to other people out of fear but sometimes also (like Jonah) because we think they don’t deserve the good news or to be forgiven. When we truly realise what Jesus has done for us, though, this becomes a greater motivator to share the good news with everyone. Knowing that we are forgiven sets us free to live a life of forgiveness and to want others to know this forgiveness too.

One of the most remarkable stories of forgiveness in the Bible occurs in Genesis 45:4-8 and Genesis 50:15-21, the story of Joseph forgiving his brothers. The story of Joseph (known to many who never read the Bible from the musical which focuses on his multi-coloured coat!) takes up a large part of the book of Genesis and gives us family rivalry and its consequences as well as showing us how Joseph’s integrity holds up under tremendous temptation and pressure, eventually leading to his political success in saving the world from famine. God’s presence with Joseph throughout all his trials reminds us that a life of faith won’t be trouble-free but will be part of a much bigger plan! It’s Joseph’s conviction that God is working for good in every situation that enables him to forgive his brothers for their part in his misery (selling him into slavery because of their jealousy when he was just a teenager.)

Joseph certainly had to work through anger and resentment before he could come to the place of lived forgiveness. No one should think that forgiveness is easy, but it is possible to forgive when we realise that what others mean for evil, God turns to good. Wherever we are on the journey of forgiveness, if we keep this fact (Gen 50:20) at the forefront of our minds, we will be given the grace to let go of the bitterness and resentment and move forward.