Category Archives: Daily Reflection

Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.

Matthew 5:5

Many years ago I found myself on the management training programme of a major company. It proved to be an interesting experience. I found that I naturally have a fairly quiet and gentle management style, which was not to the taste of my bosses. They send me on a week-long residential course called ‘Developing Management Skills’, which they told me would ‘break me down’ and mould me into the kind of manager that they expected me to be. Actually, completely the reverse was true. I came away convinced that my way of managing people was not just effective, but potentially more effect than the style favoured by my bosses – the bombastic, borderline bullying approach. The course did, however, teach me that I should not always accept at face value what people tell me, but must be willing to fight my corner when necessary.

Time and time again the world tells us that in order to get on in life we have to be forceful, strident and not afraid to trample over people in order to succeed. That is not the impression we get from this beatitude, though. Whilst the world might be surprised to hear that it is the ‘meek’ who ‘will inherit the earth’, those of us who follow Christ should not be. Here once again we see the counter-cultural message that Jesus brings to his followers. Jesus was not afraid to exert himself on occasions, but the overriding image we get of him in the gospels is of someone who was gentle and humble in the face of others. Since, as Christ’s followers, we are striving to make ourselves more like him, we should follow his example and aspire to meekness.

Where will this get us, though? Is it possible to progress in our careers if we strive to be meek? Maybe not – but then we have a far higher calling as Christians than to a senior leadership role in our business. Equally, though, it could be said that any company that expects its staff to trample over each other and stab their colleagues in the back for promotion is one in which we should not be happy to work; perhaps we’re better off seeking other employment. The ultimate calling of Christians is to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven – God’s kingdom both here on earth right now, and after our bodies have died. If we follow Christ, the Bible describes us as ‘co-heirs with Christ’ (Romans 8:17). Since the earth and everything in it belongs to Christ, we will ultimately inherit the earth – just as Jesus tells us we will in this beatitude. What better reason could we have for working to live lives that are meek?

I personally find this beatitude very tricky. It’s very tricky to be meek in the western world today. We are conditioned to be pushy, to stand up for ourselves, to push ourselves forward, and to strive for success. Trying to do one’s best in the career in which we have been placed whilst also being gentle and humble is incredibly difficult. That is how we are called to live, though. I will be praying in the coming days that the Holy Spirit will work within me to make me meek like Christ. Will you join me in this prayer?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 5:3

I once found myself caught in the midst of a rather tricky situation in our school. The Head of Lower School announced his retirement, and the Headmaster advertised the vacancy within our school. One of my friends (we’ll call him Roger), who had put in many years of distinguished service, including well over a decade as a form tutor in the Lower School, applied for the post. Roger was convinced that he would be given the job. He felt that he was entitled to the job. Meanwhile, another friend (we’ll call her Jennifer), who had only worked in the school for a couple of years, and was a Sixth Form tutor, also applied. When Jennifer got the job, Roger was absolutely furious. He was convinced that there had been behind the scenes machinations that led to him being passed over for the job that he felt was rightfully his. Of course, there was nothing of the sort. Jennifer got the job because she had proven herself to be a good candidate and got the job entirely on merit.

I often come across people like Roger in the context of gaining salvation. People tell me that, since ‘my’ God is loving, and they have led a good life, they will get into heaven. Other people seem to think that because they have given money to the church, or chaired the PCC, or led services, their place in heaven is assured. They believe that they are entitled to their place in God’s kingdom. Of course, these people might well have gained their salvation, but if they have, it certainly isn’t because of anything that they have done.

The first beatitude must have come as a bit of a wake up call for Jesus’ listeners, and indeed it should to us too. It is the ‘poor in spirit’ who will find their way into God’s kingdom. The poor in spirit are those who acknowledge their weaknesses, who accept that they are nothing more than wretched sinners, who accept that they are absolutely nothing if they do not crawl to the cross of Christ for forgiveness. If we want to be assured of our salvation, if we wish to be citizens of the kingdom of heaven – both in this life and the next – then we must confront our own weakness and our own failings. We must turn to Christ and admit that without him we are worthless, and ask for him to have mercy on us. We must accept that it is only through a genuine relationship with him that our future hope is secure.

Jesus’ statement that it is the poor in spirit who have a claim on the kingdom of heaven should be seen not just as a statement, but as an urgent call to us all to examine ourselves closely. Are we ‘poor in spirit’? Do we approach Christ aware of our own wretchedness? Do we pledge everything we have, everything we are, to serving him? It is worth reflecting on this today and in the weeks ahead.

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

He said:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven
‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5:1-12

Every morning I catch the 0635 from Haywards Heath to Clapham Junction. This is not a fun experience. The struggle begins on the platform where there’s always one person who chooses to stand between me and the edge of the platform. Then there are those who try to push me out of the way in order to beat me onto the train. If I am lucky enough to get one of the remaining seats I have to endure the ‘tutters’, who think it is a great imposition when someone sits next to them. To make their displeasure clear they sit with their legs as widely apart as us humanly possible, and stick their ribs into my side for the whole journey. Then there is the joy of the commuter sat opposite who refuses to give me any room for my legs. On more than one occasion my legs have taken a brutal kicking from a commuter opposite me who believed that he should be allowed more space.

Now, the temptation for the Christian commuter is to descend to the level of the ordinary rail user. It is very tempting to push through the crowds to be first onto the train, to knock people down who dare to get in the way, and to lay claim to the space around them by spreading out their arms and legs as much as possible. After all, the winner of this particular game is the person who manages to grab as much of the cramped space as it is possible to do so.

Today’s passage is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, often recognised as the most important part of Jesus’ teaching. Jesus has withdrawn from the crowds and climbed a mountain to teach his disciples. He begins by giving his disciples nine qualities that represent the characteristics of someone who is living in the Kingdom of God. In other words, here we see nine traits that Jesus expected his disciples – and us – to live up to in our lives.

These traits all turn the wisdom of the world on its head. They are what we might describe as ‘counter cultural’, that is, they go against the culture of the world in which we live. Jesus wants his followers to be poor in spirit, to know that they are inadequate. He wants them to be mourners, to be meek, to hunger after Godliness, to be merciful, and be pure in heart. Jesus expects his followers to be peacemakers, yet be persecuted. He says his followers will be blessed when they are insulted and lied about.

The world looks at these beatitudes and sees folly. It is not the meek who are powerful in their eyes; they are the ones who are trampled into the dust of the world. It is not those who set out to make peace who achieve glory, but those who lead triumphant armies. It is not those who acknowledge their own weaknesses that become great, but those who put a positive spin on their character, their personality and their achievements.

This, though, is the way of God’s kingdom. Those who will achieve glory in God’s kingdom are those who accept their weaknesses and their failings, who put their needs and demands behind God’s priorities for their lives. To be ‘blessed’ by God means making oneself a servant to those around us, being willing to turn the other cheek, to not join in the madness on commuter trains but to leave others to their foolishness and rise above it.

How hard that is. How difficult it is to consciously go against the flow of the world . But how great the reward that follows for those who choose to live this way, for they will be blessed by God. They will inherit the earth, and the very kingdom of God itself.

So why not today and in the days ahead try to live in a way that is counter-cultural, to leave the world to its foolishness, and instead embrace the blessed lifestyle of a follower of Christ.

As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22

Some years ago, I was (confession coming) fairly politically active. In fact, that’s something of an understatement. I helped run a couple of local general election campaigns and manned the phones in a national call centre cold-calling voters (sorry…). I even stood for election to my local council on a couple of occasions. During this period of my life I met a number of interesting people. One of these had worked in America supporting a congressional candidate. He told me about a rally that he once attended that was being addressed by Bill Clinton. My friend had a front row seat. Although my friend was not, by any means, a Clinton supporter, he found himself inexplicably drawn to the ex-president. Clinton was just so charismatic that he managed to get even his opponents out of their chairs, cheering him on. It was not until after the rally that my friend even became aware of the impact that Clinton had had on him.

I’m struck in the passage from Matthew above by the reaction to Jesus from the people that he met. Jesus was, presumably, unknown to Peter, Andrew, James and John. But look at the response that they have to Christ. Jesus saw Peter and Andrew fishing, and called to them to follow him. If a stranger walked past my classroom whilst I was teaching and said, ‘Simon. follow me!’ I would probably ignore them, deciding that they were pulling my leg or a little mad. Even if there was something that drew me to the stranger, I’m not sure that my boss would be very impressed if I just walked out! This was not how Peter and Andrew responded, however. They left their nets at once and followed Jesus. The same is true of James and John. They too were fishing, and when Jesus called them, they immediately downed tools and followed him. I wonder what it was about Jesus that led these four tough fishermen to stop what they were doing and follow him?

In contrast to the fishermen, we are deeply privileged. They knew nothing about Jesus when he called to them. We, though, have the Gospel accounts readily available that give us a real insight into the identity of Jesus. We also have the testimony of millions of Christians who have gone before us, and had their lives transformed as a result of a personal relationship with Christ. As a result we know his teaching and his miracles, and we know about his death and resurrection. Despite having so much more evidence about Jesus available to us I suspect that few of us respond to Jesus in the same way that the disciples did. Even if we profess to follow him, that enthusiasm is sadly rarely seen. Perhaps we need to take a leaf out of the fishermen’s book and be more enthusiastic and excitable our our relationship with Jesus!

I wonder if we jump to follow Jesus in the same way that the first disciples did? Is following Jesus the absolute priority of our lives? Do we turn to the Gospel accounts day after day, seeking to understand him better? Do we pray to him, to share our deepest thoughts with him? Can we really say that we have a relationship with him and follow him unconditionally? Are we as enthusiastic as Peter, Andrew, James and John? How do we respond to Jesus’ challenge to come, follow him?

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”

Matthew 4:1-4

I’ve always struggled to know precisely what elements make up a square meal. It’s something like protein, carbohydrate, and vegetables – I think? Having got that far I struggle with what protein and carbohydrates actually are! Am I right that meat is protein, and that potatoes and pasta are carbohydrates? What about rice? Despite my appalling lack of knowledge (which I promise to rectify post haste) I have, somehow, managed to remain fit and healthy!

I like today’s verses because they place the importance of diligent Bible study right up there with food as a source of nourishment. Jesus, having been baptised by John, found himself driven by the Spirit into the wilderness in preparation for his ministry. Whilst there he finds himself tempted by the Devil. Jesus chose to fast, and by the time the Devil appears in the verses above, I should think that Jesus must have been rather hungry. The Devil spies this potential chink in Jesus’ armour and goes straight for it. You’re hungry, the Devil seems to be saying to Jesus, and you’re powerful. You’re the Son of God, he says. Why not just command the rocks to become bread and you won’t be hungry? Jesus knows what the Devil is up to, though. He knows that he is identifying his weaknesses and attacking him in these areas.

How does Jesus respond to the Devil’s temptation? By showing the importance of God’s Word. By quoting scripture (Deuteronomy 8:3), Jesus shows that a thorough knowledge of the Bible is a useful defence against the Devil and can stop him at a stroke. By quoting the verse he does, Jesus also makes clear that food for our bodies is not enough to truly sustain us. We also need to feast on “every word that comes from the mouth of God” to sustain our souls. We need to nourish our souls with God’s word, as well as nourishing our bodies with food, if we are to lead healthy lives.

Every day I struggle to find time to read the Bible. Most days I find myself fighting tiredness, or poor concentration, or just general busyness as I try to read God’s word, the Bible. Yet Jesus is absolutely convinced of the importance of feasting on the word of God. If we don’t nourish our bodies, they will become weak, and eventually wither and die. The same is true of our souls – if we don’t nourish them, they will wither and die. We need to make the study of God’s word a key priority in our lives. Maybe, like me, you find this a struggle. But maybe, like me, you’ll keep recommitting yourself and try to find time each and every day to feast on “every word that comes from the mouth of God.”