- Steve Richards
- Oct 5, 2018
Harvest festivals are upon us; a time when we give thanks to God for his provision of the things which sustain our lives, namely food. The other evening I had a TV dinner; it was baked beans, scrambled egg and delicious, freshly-fried chips from our local chippie. I really appreciated that meal and inwardly I offered an additional (post-meal) ‘grace’ to God.
Food plays an important part in our lives - actually it’s essential. This is why Jesus spoke of it in his teaching and involved it in the signs and wonders that he utilised e.g. water into wine, the miraculous catch of fish and the feeding of the multitudes. His supreme usage of food to instruct his followers was of course at the Last Supper.
Here, Jesus shared out bread with his friends, telling them to eat it saying to them, ‘this is my body given for you’. Now I don’t think for a minute that his friends thought that they were eating a chunk of his flesh, seeing that he was there in front of them intact. Likewise, after the meal, he told them to share a cup of wine saying, ‘this is my blood poured out for many’. Again, his disciples knew full well that it wasn’t literally a liquid extracted from his veins.
Very many deep and profound words have been written about the bread and wine at this supper, and how they represent the giving up of Jesus’ body to crucifixion; how this, together with the blood that came out of his broken flesh, was to transform the relationship between God and all who are friends of Jesus. Here, however, in this short article, let me draw out a simple analogy.
God gives us seedtime and harvest so that we have food to eat - food to be enjoyed that will keep our physical bodies functioning so that we remain biologically alive. God also has provision for our souls i.e. our inner-man; that which constitutes the essential ‘me’. This provision is Jesus, who amongst his many titles is called the Bread of Life.
Each day, when we have a meal, we take food into the very centre of our physical body. In a similar way, we are invited to feed on Jesus by taking him into the very depths of our being. This, I suggest, is a significant part of what Jesus was communicating at the Last Supper. He was saying to his friends, ‘I myself am to be Food and Drink to you.’ The same invitation/command is extended to us: we may feed likewise so that we can have spiritual life and not just biological life. Something to consider, whether you attend a harvest festival or not.
- Steve Richards
- Sep 7, 2018
Has AI, that is, Artificial Intelligence entered your life yet? You may not be using a driverless car but perhaps you use Siri or OK Google on your mobile device. I have just welcomed a new member to the household, her name is Alexa! This device is not much bigger than a shoe polish tin, yet when connected to our wi-fi this amiable female voice will instantly give me all sorts of facts, 40 million pieces of music, act as a calculator, give prompts and reminders, and will (to a degree) enter into conversation with me!
At a popular level, Artificial Intelligence seems great. There are concerns however, that as the technology develops and these systems take on more roles, they will move into areas that require moral and ethical presuppositions. How will these be provided? Who will monitor them? Could AI make sci-fi a reality and try to take us over?
I asked Alexa about her name. She answered, ‘My name Alexa comes from the library in Alexandria, which stored the knowledge of the Ancient World.’ The Greeks loved ‘Wisdom’ in the form of knowledge, new ideas, mystical insights etc., whilst their contemporaries, the Jews, were more taken with heavenly signs. What they both lacked, according to God, was true wisdom. There is a pithy saying along the lines that, “Wisdom is understanding how to live aright, in the light of the knowledge we have.”
We can see how this works. Most people will admit to having knowledge that the commandments ‘do not murder, commit adultery, steal, lie or covet’ are good, right and best for all concerned. So why are they broken by us? Because we lack wisdom.
Jesus Christ challenged his opponents as to whether they could accuse him of breaking any of God’s commandments. No one could. Not even lust, petty theft, unrighteous anger, half-truths and white lies could be levelled against him. In other words, he was the epitome of true wisdom with a capital ‘W’.
Artificial Intelligence may be amazing but the grace of God is even more amazing and here’s why: when we entrust ourselves to Jesus, we find that he has taken our law-breaking on himself and placed his law-keeping (or Wisdom) on us. In this way, we can be acquitted of all of our wrongdoing before God. This extraordinary exchange sees Jesus giving his life as a substitute for men and women; for people who realise that they aren’t as good as they ought to be and need someone to put them in right standing with God.
This, in essence, is the Christian message of good news.
It is not to be viewed as artificial intelligence but as God’s wisdom in action.
- Steve Richards
- Aug 3, 2018
‘Steve, it’s Kev…’ are the opening words used by my close friend, Kevin, when leaving a message on my answerphone. He doesn’t really need to give me his name because I recognise his voice; he doesn’t need to address me by name either, because the content of the message will make it obvious that it’s directed to me. Sadly, our friendship of many years came to an abrupt end last week when he died unexpectedly.
In his teaching, Jesus uses the idea of calling someone by name together with the notion of recognising a particular voice. He speaks about himself as being the Good Shepherd who enters into the fold calling out his own particular sheep by name. Those same sheep recognise the voice of their shepherd. Jesus builds upon the picture by explaining that there are sheep rustlers who, not being permitted to enter through the sheep gate, will try to get at the sheep some other way. Even if the rustler gains access to the flock, we are told that Jesus’ own sheep will never follow the voice of a stranger but run from it.
You may have experienced such rustlers, calling you to follow them. These may have come as religious false teachers speaking in the guise of bona-fide teachers of faith; humanistic philosophers or advocates of political ideologies. Perhaps you have tried either one or more but found that they deserted you when push came to shove - a time when life was really difficult. This is why Jesus said that when the wolf comes to attack the flock, the rustler leaves the sheep in the lurch and they find themselves all over the place.
‘But’, some may ask, ‘why should I trust that Jesus is any different?’ Unlike the rustlers, Jesus is the shepherd who has willingly given his life in order to secure the ultimate safety of his sheep.
Integral to Christianity is the belief that Jesus calls all people to follow him. Some of them will hear that call personally (‘by name’), recognising that unique inner-voice as belonging to their legitimate Master; as do sheep with their shepherd they turn and follow Jesus.
I will no longer hear Kevin address me by name nor have occasion to recognise his voice. When the reality of death interrupts our daily lives, this sort of interaction ends. Thankfully, while we are living, we may recognise and respond to the call of Jesus who says he himself has come to give life and overcome death.