We had our second ‘Alpha Night’ at the Inchyra last night. There was a good mix of people from different backgrounds and I’m sure its going to be once again an interesting life changing experience for a number of people.

Our theme last night asked the question” Why did Jesus die?” It is an opportunity to talk about the central theme of Christianity namely, “Forgiveness” it seems to me that this is one of the central issues that faces all of humanity. All over the world people are looking for ways and means where by they can forgive. Last night I tried to explain the classic Christian doctrine of Justification. I also tried to explain the fact that the cross of Christ is like a diamond it has many sides to it and each side has an explanation that seeks to illuminate our hearts and our minds to the nature and power of the love of God.

One thing is for certain the cross of Christ has much to say to people who feel they are carrying sacks of guilt about with them. The cross is where God in Christ took upon himself our sinful humanity and became sin for us so that we might feel free from the consequences of our actions.
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A few years ago we filmed the above clip as part of our TGI Sunday Service in may ways it is another facet of the cross and it is a diamond worth reflecting upon. I think the idea that total forgiveness invites us to let go of the things or the feelings that have hurt and abused us and then asks that we might never speak about it again is all about forgiving and forgetting. Finally receiving the grace to remember to pray a blessing for those who have wronged you is the ultimate sign of forgiveness. These three steps hopefully will be purued our various Alpha Groups. So what do you think of the idea of forgiveness?

In my last post I invited ministers and others to get out on the streets this Good Friday and share the Good News that sins can be forgiven. This forgiveness thing , is really causing a lot of heart searching in the congregation of St Andrew’s Bo’ness.  R.T. Kendall’s book on “Totally Forgiving Ourselves” has caused many people  over this Lenten period to reflect upon the importance of receiving the wonderful gift of “Grace” for themselves. Until we face up to our need to be forgiven, we can never truly understand what Easter is all about, and why Good Friday is so called.

However what has amazed me is that people who have professed Christ as Saviour are being re-awakened to ponder the implications of the cross. If I receive forgiveness for myself then I must begin to engage with the long journey to Calvary and in doing so face up to the cost of forgiveness.I’m glad ministers are getting back and making their posts on the blog. I too believe that preaching should accompany the sacrament, but I also believe that the sacrament can be a  converting experience because it points us to and invites us to, handle the cost of our salvation - the broken body and blood of our Lord.

Now what I am trying to achieve by taking the bread and the wine to the streets is to cause people to draw breath, to think, what is this? To reach people who have been far away from God and bring them near. Is it a communion service? No its not, its a preparation for them coming to the table some day. Its a reminder that something of  a universal significance happened the day that Jesus of Nazareth was crucified, on a rubbish dump, near a busy street, beside a thief and a murderer.

 A few years ago when CH4 was being written, there was a shortage of songs on  penitence. Iain Cunningham  told me the committee were looking for material that would address the shortage. Colin Jamieson and I put pen to paper and submitted the following song, but alas it never made the big purple book. This is just a rough mix of the song which will be remixed in our next album. I wanted to put this film up because it is part 2 of  the little film that went up in the previous post.  

Last year  on Good Friday I took some bread and wine and placed it on a busy Edinburgh Street. I was interested to see the response that people would have to the image. Click here to see the video.This year I feel drawn to take the whole image a bit further forward. I’d like to invite ministers the length and breadth of the country to join with me on Good Friday and take the Bread and Wine back on to the streets. I wonder if we should take the symbols of Calvary  out to the people and see how they respond.The question many will ask is this, by doing such an act are we promoting cheap grace? Is it right to offer Christ to the world as they pass by? Yet I’m reminded that the Calvary was a rubbish dump outside the city. God offered himself up in the midst a jeering crowd, in the middle of a busy crowd looking to be entertained.Was it not for the world that Christ died?How can they,  the world), respond if they are not confronted with the truth of the Gospel? The bread and the wine are the symbols of the broken Christ. So unless convinced that I am doing something wrong I’m looking for ministers of the Gospel all over the country to join with me on the streets of our villages and towns, cities and hamlets, to take the gospel on to the streets.Could you pass this message on to a minister you know who might take up this challenge. Let’s look for 100 ministers who will take to the streets and lets see who will join us.If your up for this and going to do it would you get back to me by making a comment, If you have questions to ask about it I’d also love to hear from you. Wouldn’t it be amazing if people were converted to Christ on Good Friday because we shared bread and wine with them and reminded them that his body “was broken for you” Is it a communion service I hear someone ask? My reply, I simply offering Christ to a broken world as they pass by just like the first Good Friday. If I get a good response, I’d be surprised if  this will not  cause a debate in the national papers and also the radio and television.  This is truly a Church without Walls engaging with the passerby.

Well, iTalker is back after being silent for a couple of weeks. Life has been pretty hectic trying to catch up with the work of the parish, after the trip to Peru. Some things have got to go or take a back seat  in order to make sure the essential things are completed. I guess the blog falls into that category. Now its not that you guys who read this are not important, its just that some things have to take that higher priority.

Anyway I’m trying something different this week. So here is a sneak preview for those who read the blog.  I thought it might be an idea to put together a wee clip that promotes the services on a Sunday. I suppose a bit like a film trailer. So here is what Rae and myself have come up with. I’ve entitled the next lot of sermons “Seeing is believing” even the sermons in the morning on “Forgiveness”.  I believe as people see things in action they begin to believe the truth and reality of the teaching.

When we started out on this whole adventure of taking the message to the streets I never thought it would end up back here in Bo’ness. Yesterday was Good Friday, we took to the street with our Labyrinth and it was an amazing success just listen to how people in the streets of Bo’ness responded to the event. We were asking the question, ‘Is Easter Fact or Fairytale?’ ‘Is Easter Fact or Fairytale?’

This will be the topic that I plan to speak about tomorrow in church. It is my hope that more and more people will meet the risen Christ for themselves. It was really quite moving to hear 21st century disciples in Bo’ness professing their faith and love for Jesus. In a week where Bishop Jeffrey John, has denied the meaning of the Cross, suggesting that it is insane to believe that one man can and has died in the place of others for the forgiveness of sin. It seems to me that this is what makes the preaching of the cross look foolish to them who are dead to Christ. Its not about head knowledge its about the heart being stirred. Its about facing the dire consequences of our sin, and realising that a loving God is not one who turns his back on sin, on the contrary he pays the cost of removing it from our lives just like a cleaner would do. Now that idea comes to us through revelation not academic thinking. Have a look at this video, entitled In My Place ‘In My Place” recorded a number of years ago, but still very much to the point.

We’re planning to show the “Passion” on Good Friday afternoon in the church at 2.00pm. We decided to do this because we felt that some people might find it helpful to come and sit in the quiet of the church and reflect upon the reality of Calvary.

However this film is not for the faint hearted. I can well understand why it has been described by some critics as ‘religious pornography’. To the uninitiated, it could appear to be yet another piece of sanctified Hollywood violence. For Gibson it is a graphic study of Isaiah chapter 53. . “He was wounded for our transgressions… and by his stripes we are healed.” This is the scripture that appears on the screen before a word is spoken and it is the key to understanding the movie.

I have no doubt about the sincerity in which the film was made. No doubt Gibson knew what he was doing when he made the flogging scenes last forever. I’m not sure if his judgement was right, though? I also wonder about the wisdom of trying to separate the death of Christ from the context of his life. Gibson tries to make links with Christ’s life through flashbacks and when he does this it works really well. However, these are too few and some of the flashbacks may have fallen victim to the demands of editing. The question is, can you truly speak of the passion if you only reveal a limited knowledge and understanding of the ministry and life of the sacrifice? Jesus appears as a stranger to the viewer. You only meet him during the last twelve hours of his life. Very little history goes before the great sacrifice and we never really get more than a glimpse into the life that was being laid down.

It was a brave thing to attempt, but is it possible really to understand the Christ if you have only encountered him suffering? This, of course, is the question Gibson poses when he introduces Simeon the Cyrenean to carry the cross. Here is a character who resents the implications of being involved with a criminal and ends up a believer. Maybe we all run away from suffering too quickly; maybe this is what this movie is trying to tell us?

I’m arguing that the story of Christ’s passion on the cross needs to be contextualised; but, having said that, the film is a powerful meditation of the suffering of Christ. Paul speaks in Philippians of entering into the sufferings of Christ. No one can truly do that; but from a Roman Catholic perspective Gibson sees himself as a believer who is putting the sacrifice of Christ out there for all to see,” Behold the Man” . This is a visual representation of the Mass. In the Mass, he sees the body of Christ being perpetually broken for the sin of the world. To him there is a sense in which this is still going on. This is the detergent for all our souls. We turn our eyes away. We dare not look. The death of Christ is shocking! Gibson has given the world an understanding as to why many in the ancient world saw crucifixion as a scandal.

From a reformed viewpoint, we believe that the sacrifice was once and for all, hence we tend to speak of the glorified Christ. However to get to the Glory there has to be the suffering. In all this there is perhaps a balance we Presbyterians need to reflect upon. I won’t take bus loads to see this film because I think you can only go to the cross by yourself.

It may well be that I find myself slipping in to a cinema within the next few weeks to reflect on aspects of the film that I’m sure I have missed. I’d like to view the resurrection scene again. I’m not sure if Gibson’s resurrection scenes actually do what he wanted them to do? There are clever links with the Turin Shroud and I believe much research went into making these parallels. The moving of the stone and the empty grave clothes were all powerful statements of the physical resurrection. The appearance of the risen Christ was less convincing.

As a film and a piece of art it will remain controversial, as does the theology of the cross itself. If you go, don’t expect to be entertained. Ask yourself. “What do I really think about Jesus of Nazareth who is called the Christ?”

Well we started filming in Edinburgh this afternoon. We had quite an interesting reception. Put the table out with the bread and wine. Guess what? People stopped and read the notice. I overhead one young guy say to his pal, “that’s all about Jesus, he’s sound”. Another young woman came up to me and asked what we were doing? I told her we were taking the bread and the wine outside the church for the people on the street. She thought I meant homeless people. “No”, I said, ” Do you not get it? It was for you he was broken, its for people like you on the street.” The penny dropped, she waved her hand in front of her mouth and nose, I don’t know if she was holding back the emotion. ” I get it now”, she said as she turned and walked away.

I think there is more faith on the streets than we imagine. Oh and one other little incident. We left Bo’ness without our printed notice, saying ‘This is my body broken for you’. I decided to go into an office in Rutland Square and ask for assistance. It was quite an interesting conversation, I had with the receptionist. I asked if she would print out an A4 sheet with the words,’this is my body broken for you’. The lady tried to explain her difficulty in delivering the request. I reminded her of the great difficulty that Jesus faced on the cross, in comparison I was asking of her very little. She smiled asked her boss who appeared, and shortly the notice was being printed. I think there is a sermon there in that little incident. ‘Blood on the street’, is turning out to be quite an interesting little theological project. Just to give you a flavour of the afternoon’s work here is a wee clip I prepared earlier.
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It’s true what they say songs take on a life of their own. If you are a songwriter you always have to be prepared to give it away. In reality it never belongs to you in the first place. Many people contribute to the ideas that make up a song. A few years ago I wrote this song after hearing a story Willie MacPherson told me. He was describing the above shanty town known as Port of Belen built on a sewer that serves the city of Iquitos deep in the Amazonian Jungle. I was shocked when he described how a father of a 10 year old girl offered him his daughter for thirty cents. I was full of righteous anger how could anyone do such a thing. The world is a dangerous and desperate place. The story of Lent is all about encountering a God who makes his home in the gutter, who takes the sin of the gutter into himself. He is the God who dies on a rubbish dump outside a city on a Friday Night just before night fall. A few months later New York would never be the same again. In all our dark Fridays we need to believe that there is a Resurrection Sunday. If I got an idea for a song from Willie, I got the hook line from Tony Campolo telling his story about an old black preacher who could sum up the power and expectation of the gospel in six words, “It’s Friday night but Sunday’s comin’”. As for the rest of the song well Iain jamieson my song writing partner contributed as did Graeme Duffin whenit came to production. So you see song writing is never or seldom the domain of one person. Now when it comes to the video making its a team effort again, with a huge thank you to Rae Manger the best film editor in Bo’ness
 

Most people just live their lives oblivious to the reality of the world that is all around them. We drive past so many things of beauty and worth. My wife Martha is continually encouraging me to get out of the car and start walking. She’s right. When you take to the streets you see things that you’ve never noticed before. It’s the same with our spiritual journey. When we start walking through our lives at a slower pace we find ourselves being confronted with ideas that challenge us. We might even begin to understand people and things we’ve written off. A few years ago during lent we put together a short video highlighting the things that sometimes go right over our heads when it comes to trying to understand who Jesus really is. We recorded this video using a script we found in a book somewhere. We’ve since lost the book so we can’t give the scriptwriter credit. If you recognise the script pass on the authors name. If not I’m afraid he’ll have to continue to be living in oblivion.