Duck

When you don't know the language or the culture very well it can be difficult to know what is going on sometimes.
Like the preaching. Last week the preacher was a guest and he preached from a familiar passage, but, as often happens here, with a completely different slant. Later we bumped into him as we were out for a walk and he was cycling home. "Did we understand?" he asked, so I related what I thought it had been about and he agreed. I am glad I remembered! Still, that is another aspect of working in your second language, you have to concentrate that much harder. He had spoken about the destiny of the wicked and appeared to take personal comfort in the righteous judgement. Normally the passage is used to inspire us to trust God despite the circumstances. It is a different culture!
Then today the preach was from a passage often used to support tithing. However today we heard that our standard of commitment to God is often poor. Later I had the opportunity to ask what standard was acceptable? and we were able to agree that only the free gift of pardon by Jesus' sacrifice on the cross made us acceptable at any level - that nothing we do of our 'self life' (Biblically the 'flesh') could meet a standard of perfection.
But this is the different culture. So often the preach covers "the things that stop us" rather than what I have been used to which tends to emphasise "that which enables us". Things that 'stop us' indicates that there is some self effort in which we are opposed. But self effort to gain the favour of God will never work. We are saved by what He has done, not by what we have done. So then, explaining what stops us is not as helpful to my mind as explaining how Jesus has enabled us. I know the opposition in my flesh, I need the means to overcome it!
From what I understand, there is a strong Catholic background in this country. You see its roots in the habits and prayer styles. That does not make it wrong of itself, but tradition can, at times, oppose the Biblical truth; and when it does good teaching will set people free.
You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
It is religion that tries to please God by our efforts. It is Jesus who paid the price of our failure. God wants to give to us, so He finds a way to do it. I recall my father's account in his life story where he considers what he was told as a child - Jesus is watching you! How terrible, he thought, to be judged all day long. And I agree, it is. This is exactly what I mean by 'religion'; the self effort and judgement that results from trying to be 'good enough'. How wonderful then to find out that Jesus is there to provide freedom for you. He is not there to judge, but to liberate, and to liberate for free!
So why "duck"?
Well as part of not knowing what was going on, we discovered today that the midday meal was provided. Normally we all bring something and June had got up early to finish our dish. Everyone else seemed to know that we were having duck in red wine with potatoes, carrots and salad; but not us. We missed the news somewhere along the line.
So we did not bring our food offering but went out and bought some bread (you have to have bread with your meal) and sat down to a very tasty lunch. Duck in wine is lovely. "Very simple, but it takes a long time" explained the cook. "Well worth it", says Terry. In the church, there is such a thing as a 'free lunch'!
In the same way we can miss the news somewhere along the line, as those who told my father he was being watched obviously did. And we can think that we have to bring something to be acceptable to God, when all along it is a 'free meal', or in this case salvation, the free, unmerited, gift of God.