!Jan 15 Day 121 The God of Surprises The God of Surprises is the title of a book, written by Gerard Hughes in 1972. It is a very apt title. God so often surprises us. At the age of eighteen I set out to read the entire New Testament in order to disprove Christianity. As I read, I was surprised to find that I became convinced that it was true. The last thing that I wanted to do was to ‘become a Christian’. I thought that would ruin my life and make it boring forever by stopping me having any fun. Yet, knowing in my heart that it was true, I felt I had no option but to say ‘yes’ to Jesus. The moment I did so I was – to use the words that C.S. Lewis chose for the title of his own account of encountering Jesus – Surprised by Joy. Ever since, Jesus has never ceased to surprise me. God surprised his people in the Old Testament. Jesus, especially in his revelation of what God is like, surprised and continued to surprise. In each of the passages for today we get a glimpse of some of these surprises. 1. Surprised by attacks Psalm 54:1-7 David says, ‘strangers are attacking me’ (v.3a). It is always surprising when we come under attack from people we do not know. I remember how surprised I was when I first started to read articles by people I had never met attacking Alpha, HTB and, sometimes, me personally. Surprise attacks can come from neighbours, work colleagues or other sources. What I have found even more surprising is how God intervenes when we face attack. He helps us: ‘Oh, look! God’s right here helping!’ (v.4a, MSG), he sustains us (v.4b) and he brings deliverance from our troubles (v.7). As I look back over my own experience, deliverance has not always been instantaneous; it has sometimes taken months or even years. Yet I am challenged by David’s response. In the midst of the attacks, he says, ‘I will sacrifice a freewill offering to you; I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good’ (v.6). The point of a freewill offering was that there was no condition placed on the sacrifice. David did not say that he would only offer a sacrifice if God rescued him. Regardless of the outcome of the attack, he praised the Lord for his goodness. Lord, I praise you for all the attacks that you have already delivered me from. Thank you that you have delivered us and we can trust that you will deliver us in the future. Thank you that one day we will be able to look back and see that you have delivered us from all our troubles. 2. Surprised by Jesus John 2:1-25 The ministry of Jesus was full of surprises. Jesus is constantly calling us to go deeper in our lives with him. He wants to surprise us in new ways. Surprisingly enriching Some might be surprised that not only were Jesus and his disciples invited to parties (like this wedding banquet), but they actually accepted and went. Perhaps what is even more surprising is that rather than condemning those drinking wine, Jesus transformed over one hundred and twenty gallons of bath water into the very best wine. Simply letting Jesus know what the problem was (‘They have no more wine’, v.3) led to this surprising miracle. Jesus not only answered the need, but he answered it beyond anything they could have expected or even imagined. The master of the banquet was surprised when he ‘tasted the water that had been turned into wine’ (v.9). He called the bridegroom aside and said, ‘Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now’ (v.10). This can also be seen as a picture of our own lives; Jesus turns the water of life without him into the wine of life with him. I thought that following Jesus would mean a life that was ‘watered down’. In fact, it is the very opposite. Jesus constantly surprises us by how he enriches our lives. In particular, we see here how he enriches weddings and, indeed, marriages. He can turn the water of an ordinary marriage into the wine of an enriched one. Through this miracle Jesus ‘revealed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him’ (v.11). For many this must have been a very surprising revelation. Lord, thank you for the way in which you transformed my life and you transform the lives of all those who encounter you. Thank you for the way in which you have enriched our marriage and every marriage where you are invited to be a guest. Surprisingly passionate Jesus must have amazed everybody when he went into the temple courts and found people selling cattle, sheep and doves and others at tables exchanging money: ‘The loan sharks were also there in full strength’ (v.14, MSG). He made a whip of cords and drove them all out of the temple area. He said, ‘Get your things out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a shopping mall’ (v.16, MSG). His disciples remembered the words: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me’ (v.17). There was a terrible temptation then, as there is now, for money making to interfere with the worship of God. Of course, there is a practical side of worship, both in the temple and in churches today. However, when the object of our focus becomes money, we are in serious trouble. Jesus surprised people by how passionate he was about this. Lord, I pray that you would give us as a church the same passion that you had for your Father’s house. May your name be glorified in every place of worship. Surprisingly accurate This event in the temple is right at the beginning of John’s Gospel because John wants to emphasise just how important this clash is. Jesus comes against the temple. Jesus’ body is the true temple. Jesus says to them, ‘Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days’ (v.19). The true temple will be destroyed, but God will rebuild it again in three days, through the resurrection. They are surprised and cannot understand this – they ask Jesus how on earth he thinks he can rebuild this temple in a mere three days. But John adds, ‘the temple he had spoken of was his body’ (v.21). Father, thank you that the body of Jesus is the true temple that you rebuilt again in three days. Thank you that you promise that one day you will raise us, like Jesus, to full and eternal life. Surprisingly realistic When people saw the miracles Jesus performed and what he was doing, many ‘believed in his name’ (v.23). ‘But’, John tells us, ‘Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. He did not need human testimony about them, for he knew what was in people’ (vv. 24–25). It is surprising to read that Jesus did not immediately trust these people – especially when we read that love ‘always trusts’ (1 Corinthians 13:7). Jesus is realistic about human nature. We tend to look for the perfect spouse, perfect parents, perfect children, perfect friends and the perfect church. But these don’t exist. All of us are flawed human beings. Recognising this helps us to be more realistic and less disappointed and more forgiving in our relationships. We need the wisdom of Jesus in our dealings and in our relationships. We need to balance openness and loving trust with the wisdom and understanding of the human heart. Lord, help us always to seek to go deeper with you. Help us in our own lives to balance the fact that love ‘always trusts’ with the wisdom and discernment of Jesus about the human heart. 3. Surprised by humanity Joshua 19:1-21:19 We are often surprised, even shocked, by parts of the Old Testament law. The Israelites would also have been surprised, though in a different way, because these laws were surprisingly humane by the standards of the time. If a situation arose that seemed to be an accidental homicide, a person could be admitted to a city of refuge. Thereafter they could stay if, after the trial, the avenger failed to prove it was murder. The city had a duty to protect until it was time for them to return (Joshua 20). These laws preserved the sanctity of human life. Every human life is of infinite value to God. When a person’s life is taken, even if accidentally, it is a very serious matter. On the other hand, there is a humanity about these laws that protects the person who has killed accidentally. This humanity would probably have surprised people at the time. As God’s people today we should, of course, be passionate about justice, just laws and deterring and reducing crime. But we should also be those who seek to ensure that our justice systems are humane. Thank you, Lord, for your love, compassion and mercy. Help us not only in our individual lives but also in our societies to work towards just and humane laws. Pippa Adds John 2:1–11 I love weddings. We have had two weddings in our family recently. There are so many preparations that go into organising the day. This passage reminds us that the only thing that really matters about a wedding is that Jesus is there (and he cares even about practical things like the wine). The interaction between Jesus and his mother is very touching. We see already Mary’s faith in her son.