you cannot be serious!

Yesterday morning I was preaching at our church from what, at first glance, looked like a pretty mundane part of the Bible: Luke 6:12-19. Not a lot happens. It might even be considered boring. Yet (and at this point I can almost hear members of our congregation saying this over their lunches) there was still a lot to be said. Including a reflection on answered prayer.

One of the things that struck me was how, having spent a night in prayer, Jesus chose his 12 apostles – those who would be closest to him and would be mandated to take his message and mission onwards after his death, resurrection and ascension. And, after having spent a night in prayer, included in the 12 was a certain Judas Iscariot. Was he serious?

Now from a human perspective that looks like a dodgy choice, at best. We know from our perspective of history that he turned out to be the betrayer, the traitor. Yet Jesus chose him having spent a night consulting his Father in heaven. Was he not listening properly?

Judas gets a bad press in the Bible. But whatever it was that led him to betray Jesus (greed, disillusionment, an attempt at forcing Jesus’ hand, or something else) that betrayal moment was a significant moment in our story of salvation. It seems that God did not make a mistake, even if Judas did!

This leads me to two thoughts. One is a reminder that I am no saint either, and before I condemn Judas I ought to remember that I have let Jesus down plenty of times. The difference is that I have also known and experienced his grace and forgiveness. The second thought is that I really should trust that God knows best, even when what he is saying in response to my prayers does not seem to make sense, or does not match what I want.

Be blessed, be a blessing.

This has been around for ages, but it still makes me smile and brings me up short…

Jesus, Son of Joseph
Carpenter Shop
Nazareth
Dear Sir,

Thank you for submitting the CVs of the 12 people you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; we have not only run the results through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant.

It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education, and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the “team” concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability.

Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale.

We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot (Thaddeus) definitely have radical leanings. They registered a high score on the manic depressive scale.

One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious, and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and right-hand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.

We wish you every success in your new venture.

Sincerely yours,

Jordan Management Consultants