Set Free after being weighed Down by Sin

Mostly it’s lists of sins that I remember from my religious lessons at secondary school. On one occasion a priest gave us a retreat. I remember the foam at the corners of his mouth when he told a group of 30 teenage boys that there might still be one of us who had not committed a mortal sin.

On another occasion I heard that the best thing that could happen to me would be to make a good confession then be knocked over by a bus outside church. It isn’t difficult to see why I rated as fairly low the probability of my seeing heaven. I found myself on a treadmill of sin and forgiveness and I couldn’t see beyond it.

We were never forbidden to read the Bible but we weren’t encouraged either. When I did read it I found in Romans 7 that Paul had suffered from lists of sins too. It was at the beginning of the next paragraph that I found the life-changing verses:
‘Thus, condemnation will never come to those who are in Christ Jesus, because the law of the Spirit which gives life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.’ Rm 8:1-2

What a revelation! I was not condemned after all! That’s not to say that I can’t fall away but I know I’m on the winning team now, working in the freedom that the Spirit brings.

James Wilkinson

The WOMAN, The WELL & The WORD Jn 4:1-42

Following Shaun Growney’s account of his favourite scripture in the last issue of Goodnews, here, with a contrasting perspective, is another on the same passage.

For me, one of the most dynamic encounters in the Scriptures is John’s account of Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan Woman at the Well of Sychar. Two very real people meet and interact and both are better for having met. Jesus is tired, hungry and thirsty.

His physical needs reflect the deeper spiritual needs of the woman, coming for water at the hottest time of the day to avoid the criticism and condemnation of her community. A spirited, wide- ranging dialogue ensues as Jesus breaks through the social, religious and sexual taboos of His culture. Probably for the first time in her life, a man is relating to her with no personal hidden agenda. She becomes freer to reveal something of her own truth and her thirst for “living water” comes bubbling to the surface. The breakthrough moment comes and Jesus reveals to this foreign, social and religious outcast that He is the Word – the longed for Messiah. This life changing moment is dynamic. The very people the Woman had been avoiding are the first to witness her conversion. She tells them that Jesus has told her everything she ever did.

For a time I realise I had mentally added “bad”. On reflection I now think he must have really affirmed all that was good in her and her past life, otherwise the enthusiasm to evangelise does not ring true for me psychologically or emotionally. In ministering to the Samaritan Woman, Jesus is re-energised, the Woman is freed and a whole community comes to faith. This challenges me to keep my spiritual antennae tuned into the unexpected and unconventional times, places and people God puts in my path.

Pauline McDougall

Jesus looked around and saw them [Andrew and John] following. “What do you want?” he asked them. They replied, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” “Come and see,” he said. (John 1:38f, NLT)

The simplicity of this early scene from John’s Gospel reflects the uncomplicated invitation of Jesus that I need to hear every day of my life. Jesus asks ‘What do you want?’ - a question that invites me to express to Him my troubles, concerns and desires. And it causes me pause and to re-engage with my need for something deeper.

I’m fascinated by my resonance with the peculiar yet perfect answer that John and Andrew give. Their concerns are not self-focussed (‘How long might it take to follow you, Jesus?’), nor are they looking to verify his credentials (‘Are you really the Lamb of God?’) Instead, they seek to know Him by living alongside Him.

Whenever I share an experience of living together with somebody else – whether that’s with my partner, family, flatmates, or on retreat – I begin to develop a bond with them. Sharing John’s and Andrew’s response to know where Jesus lives, I express my desire to capture those hidden, sacred moments with Him – the humour, the gentle affirmation, the profundity of still silence together.

Jesus invites me as his follower to become a partaker, to ‘come and see’. His life is authentically laid bare for me to experience. He longs to share an experience of his intimacy. And in response, I desire to offer my simple, wholehearted intimacy in return.

Matthew van Duyvenbode
A leader in the Northampton Diocese
Youth Ministry Team