From the Bishop
Dear friends,
Just over a week ago I was experiencing the riches of the Church of England.
On my surprising extra Sunday there, I found myself in a low-church evangelical parish which used the Book of Common Prayer for Communion and happily prayed for Emma as the Acting Bishop of London. We explored faith through the lens of the wardrobe in Narnia.
In this edition of Living the Word we open ourselves to being challenged by the fact that God is wider, deeper, and greater than our expectations.
John invites us to explore the fullness of God revealed in Jesus: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
In John’s Gospel the Word is not a text. The Word is the eternal Son – the second person of the Trinity – through whom all things were made. John then speaks the centre of the Christian faith: “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
One of the ways we encounter God is in the Bible – the Christian Scriptures. They bear witness to the living Word.
Through lawgivers, prophets, poets, correspondents and apostles the Church refreshes its knowledge in every generation. Through them we come to know Jesus Christ and the saving work of God.
Scripture stands at the centre of our Anglican life. As the Constitution of the Anglican Church of Australia states, we receive the canonical Scriptures as “the ultimate rule and standard of faith… containing all things necessary for salvation.” Through them we hear the voice of Christ and are continually called back to the gospel.
At the same time the history of the Church reminds us that the Scriptures themselves were received and recognised within the life of the early Christian community. The canon of the New Testament emerged over several centuries as the Church discerned which writings faithfully bore witness to the apostolic faith. Scripture is therefore both the Church’s supreme authority and a gift recognised within the life of the Church under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
John’s prologue invites us to humility. The Word who was with God in the beginning is not contained by our formulations about him. Scripture draws us into the life of God revealed in Christ. The authority of Scripture is honoured when we allow its witness to lead us more deeply into the truth of Jesus Christ.
Across the Anglican Communion there are strong statements being made about Scripture and the life of the Church. At the same time the world around us is marked by deep suffering, including the ongoing violence and loss of life in the Middle East. In such a time the Church returns again to the Living Word, where we encounter the God whose light shines in the darkness.
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.”
As we continue our diocesan reflections on Scripture, the prayer is simple: that in reading the Scriptures together we may be drawn more deeply into the life of Christ, the Living Word who continues to call his people into truth, love, and hope.
Every blessing,
Bishop Peter Stuart
Anglican Bishop of Newcastle
John 1
By Bishop Charlie
‘You will see greater things than these…you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
Sometimes an old friend says or does something disconcertingly surprising. Even if it’s a good and enriching something, at first the shock of the new is disorienting. Is this who they always were, and just how does this change the meaning between us?
Longstanding readers of John know signs Jesus did are written in this book so we may come or continue to believe and have life in Christ.i From the beginning John’s elevated language evokes how after coming to life in Christ, continuing in it is not static. Disciples of Jesus can have John as a life companion in hoping to come ‘farther up and farther in’ abundant life in Christ.ii
After the lyrical prologue comes a story in four days. The possible identity of the Messiah disconcerts expectations and questions the status quo. Encounter and reflection might lead to surprising responses.
Everyone in this story is a Jew. Owning that John has been used to justify profoundly unjust Christian antisemitism, it helps me as a religious leader to imagine priests and Levites sent from Jerusalem by Pharisees as earnest in their commitment to controlling the bounds of faith in their expression. That doesn’t mean they are not mistaken and cast here as opponents of Jesus from the outset.
There’s a contrast between the Jerusalem authorities and John the Baptist. In his testimony he’s not the Messiah but a voice…straightening the way for him, John relinquishes control and gains authority.
On the second day, John introduces Jesus as the Lamb of God. It’s hard to hear how disconcerting this image is applied to a human, evoking as it does the temple animal sacrifice system. And this Jesus John says was before him, the Holy Spirit descended from heaven remains on him, the chosen one. Anybody listening to John must wrestle with how a sacrificial lamb can also have the authority of heaven, and what has this got to do with any traditional expectations of the chosen one anointed to reign? These categories have not been juxtaposed this way before. And here John attaches them all to the specific person Jesus.
The third day across the Jordan, John points two of his disciples away from himself towards Jesus. Presumably John has baptised them. They’re looking for something to change. Who knows what they expect and what dissatisfactions have motivated them to follow John. Clearly, they’re open to John’s prompt and a bit open to what they might learn from Jesus. They elect to address him teacher, not Lord, not Christ, not yet. John has told them, but the dots are yet to join.
‘What are you looking for?’ They don’t know that yet either, but they know there’s something to look for and the text intrigues hearers something like, ‘do you know yourselves to be looking for something, someone too?’ if it’s not our first time through the story, something in us knows that remaining with Jesus for life might yet change our perception and so our language and even our orientation to life.
Andrew doesn’t find Simon to tell him we’ve found another teacher John knows, but ‘We have found the Messiah.’ I think John’s gospel invites us to see that much more than staying where Jesus is camping by the river, Andrew and the unnamed first disciple have had an inkling about staying with Jesus who the prologue has told us ‘is the only Son, himself God, who is close to the Father’s bosom/heart who has made him known.iii
The fourth day sounds great read out loud. Jesus and Nathanael sound like they’re pulling each other’s leg to me, but not frivolously or dismissively. Nathanael is weighing whether this is the real deal. Nathan wrestles with ‘Son of God’ and ‘King of Israel’ attached to Jesus from Nazareth nowhere. Jesus contrasts this true Israelite without guile with that other wrestler, Jacob the trickster, original ‘Israelite’.iv Then Jesus replaces Jacob’s ladder from the dream. ‘You will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’
And there’s an echo of the elevated language of the Word who was in the beginning…and came down from heaven, earthly among us that we might come to live in him and have surprising inklings of earthly things drawn heavenward towards abundant life.
i John 20:31 NRSVUE footnote e.
ii C.S. Lewis The Last Battle, 1973 Penguin paperback.
iii John 1:18 NRSVUE footnote g.
iv See Brendan Byrne Life Abounding: a reading of John’s Gospel pp50-51
Points for Prayer
By Reverend Canon Dr Christy Capper
As we continue into our Lenten journey, we pray:
- that we may focus on God in all our life and continue to grow more into the likeness of Jesus.
- for patience and courage as we continue to wait for the fullness of God’s Kingdom on Earth, as it is in heaven.
As we consider God’s good creation, we pray:
- for those impacted by sea level change around the world.
- for those working in industries that are rapidly changing.
- for wisdom, courage, and compassion from our leaders in politics, business, and science as they chart a path for our planet that will honour God’s good creation.
As we consider those who are hurting, we pray:
- for those who are struggling with the cost of living.
- for those who are carers and those for whom they care.
- for those experiencing loss and pain.
Teaching on Prayer
It’s a remarkable thing that God made each of us differently, but it does mean that what helps some of us to pray, won’t help others. For many people trying to focus your mind on prayer can be a tricky thing. If that resonates with you then one of these suggestions might help.
Prayer walking: try going for a walk and praying for those things on your mind and heart as well as the things that you see, hear, and feel. Rather than seeing those “distractions” as a diversion from prayer, try praying for them as they come to mind.
Prayer beads: having some prayer beads can use the sense of touch to help to focus your mind. Most prayer beads will come with some suggestions about how to use them for prayer. The routine and rhythm can help some people to pray.
Posture: there is not really a “correct” posture for prayer. But for many, sitting, standing, kneeling, or lying down can be a helpful embodiment of what we are doing.
Help us build the community
We would love to hear your stories of prayer. Please send them to [email protected]
