Focus

In our reading from Luke 13 this week the Pharisees, of all people, come to warn Jesus about Herod’s plot to kill him.  They are not Jesus’ friends!  They are trying to scare him off!  Last week we talked about temptations, well here is another one.  If you don’t stop doing what you are doing you’re going to die.  Certainly Herod had form.  He had killed John the Baptist and it is reasonable to think that he could have Jesus killed too.

But Jesus sees through their trickery and refuses to be distracted. His reply is for both Herod (that fox) and the Pharisees.  He will continue with his healing mission until it is complete.  He will not be distracted.  It is interesting that Jesus uses a three day formula.  It reminds us of Easter.  The three-day formula of death and resurrection.  He then underlines this point by referring to the fact that a prophet must die in Jerusalem.  It is his mission that is the focus of his life and he will not be distracted by any temptation or threat.

As we have been emphasising over the last few weeks, our primary focus is to follow Jesus with the same absolute conviction, and yet the distractions are many.  Following Jesus is about being and making disciples for Jesus who will be, and make disciples.  But very often we are distracted by a multitude of programs that are designed to make us comfortable, entertained and feeling surrounded by good and close friends.

This is a product of our way of thinking about the church and what it means to be Christian.  During the weekend, at the Leaders’ Retreat we were thinking about the ways the church has been distracted from it mission which have led to a Declining Church. On the other hand we have been discussing those things that we need to focus on to be a Thriving Church.

Now we need to take stock, discover the essential elements of our purpose and ensure that our model of community (church) and our way of thinking reflects that.  We must establish our focus and be true to that.

I have a saying in question form which says, “When faith dies what do we have left?” My answer is, “The Church.” (By Church here I mean the organisation and buildings.)

It is then that we become obsessed by numbers.  This is when the church building takes priority. People become distracted by complaining about the music “I don’t like” in worship, the mishaps that happen with communion serving or whether the Minister has visited me in the past year.  This is when we maintain programs not for sake of the mission of Jesus, but because they have been going for a long time and some hero of the church started them years ago when they were successful.

I am proud that the Church of Christ community at Lorraine Drive, when they were confronted by a choice between maintaining their building or expanding their ministry, they chose the latter.  And I am inspired by the fact that the Uniting Church, here at Grimshaw Street, saw a vision of expanding their ministry by taking the risk of cooperation.

Now it is time to take that spirit of adventure and obedience into experiments in mission, as with Jesus we focus on our core business, with the same determination that Jesus expressed, today, tomorrow and the next day.

Adrian