One thing remains Part 2

Part 2

In part One of this blog reflected on  what true worship looks like. If we don’t remind ourselves to keep the main thing the main thing we will quickly be reduced to but an empty shell – a form lacking content.

This is the essence of worship: that God is glorified and exalted and He comes to us with his tangible presence. It’s his presence that distinguished us from every other people group on this earth. When people encounter His presence, they are changed forever because they have encountered the living God. This is what happened to Abraham. Moses, Jacob, Joshua, the disciples, Paul and you and I.

Concluding thoughts for Worship leaders and Worship bands.

Therefore we stand there to firstly worship ourselves and then to facilitate the congregation to worship. We are always pointing to Jesus and the finished work of the cross. 

Therefore our preparation is vital. We are seeking God through the week on what we ought to focus on, we craft our set list based on our meditations and what we feel the Holy Spirit prompting us to do. The songs selected need to strong in doctrine and cross centered. The people should hear the gospel through the worship and not just the preaching. There needs to be a running theme – a clear direction as to where we are going in the worship. It’s not a bunch of my favorite’s songs or what makes me sound good.

I have often heard this said “If you come with a set list you are leaving no room for the Holy Spirit to work”. I find that a lame excuse for laziness and lack of preparation. We belong to a God who speaks to us and who foretold of His son’s sacrifice thousands of years before the event took place. Can He not prompt us and guide us with our set list a few days before Sunday?  Having said this one must always be open to a change in direction and the promptings to the Spirit in that moment. However more often than not, we have found the worship, the prayers, the public reading of scripture, prophecies, the preaching all in complete sync with each other because it is the same Spirit at work. What a wonderful demonstration of the power, presence and unity in the Spirit. This is what it is all about.

  On the one hand you can have one musician and usher in the mighty presence of God and on the other you can have a 5-8 piece band and have great music but no presence.What a tragedy!!! Let us resolve never to go there.

I am not saying big bands cannot usher the presence of God. I am not against being relevant to the youth etc . My plea is to pursue His presence and exalt Jesus   Every Sunday I pray a Mosaic prayer which is for God’s presence to be with us or else how will the people know that his favour is with us, how will the unbeliever know that God is in our midst? Let’s not settle for anything less.

As a worship leader I am first of all to be a worshiper myself. Then when I worship public ally, I am also a servant. I am there to serve my congregation and my band. I am there to help my congregation engage with God. I am sensitive to where the congregation is at, sensitive to my worship team and where they are at. This is a far cry from some of the super star images we sometimes see in the Christian circles.

As I close my reflection I want to add a footnote on a very important but neglected area :

A note on TEAM

It’s not about a superstar and everybody else in the band is their side kick. It’s TEAM. Together we worship, and we lead together. Together is very important. I have been in bands where there have been several egos on display. There has been no cohesion or unity; there has been no considering of the other musicians.

 Keys are chosen without taking so many other parameters into question viz most importantly can the congregation sing in that key? Are all the musicians comfortable with the key etc? Do you turn up your mike or instrument up and drown everybody else out and not care? Can you hear the others on the monitors? Do we make room for other members of the band to contribute musically, vocally, in prayer, prophetic song etc. The worship leader does not have to lead out every song in order to lead.

It is team work – the whole team carries the worship in their playing, singing and in their hearts. They do not zone out but are actively engaged in the worship and participate. When we do this it catches on and  it also helps the congregation engages in a meaningful way.

One of the comments I have often heard from visiting preachers to our church is how the entire band is involved in the worship in that they are praying, prophesying, singing out etc. This will happen only when we are Band Leaders make this a part of our culture and practice, making room for everyone’s gifts to emerge for the glory of God.

When we engage in true worship it takes the performance out of it and it becomes a sweet sound in our God’s ears.

So let’s go and worship our God and if you are a worship band leader/musician/singer etc. , let’s remember to pursue His presence always and keep the main thing the main thing.

Navaz D'Cruz

One thing remains.

Lights, sound, action!! There is a roar as the music starts. The musicians wear this very intense focused look, gazing down at their instruments. The lead singer prances about the stage encouraging the audience to join in and connect with what is happening on the stage.

It’s really good on so many levels – the musicians, sound quality, enthusiasm on the part of the audience etc etc are top quality.  There is great participation, a sense of oneness. Everybody seems happy and are enjoying themselves. But one thing remains!!

What I have just described has now become the ‘normal experience” of what a charismatic church meeting  may look like every Sunday morning. Yup!! I was not describing a rock concert, just in case you thought I was!!

Before I make enemies with my music/worship band fraternity let me explain. I am not passing judgment or criticizing on this form of worship. Also, this is not an exhaustive study on what worship is but a reflection on just a few aspects. A whole blog series would be needed to cover all the aspects of worship.

I have been a musician since the age of 7 and been a part of several worship bands (but mostly with the local church that I have been a part of) since the age of 11 spanning a little over three decades.  I have been a part of a Methodist church in the early years of my life. So I have seen the transition from church organs, to tambourines and guitars to full -fledged bands with grunge pedals, smoke machines , lights and all the other trappings; from clergy –laity divide to the priesthood of all believers upheld and celebrated. So please don’t get me wrong.

It’s not the form of worship that is in question or is a problem. Not at all!! Societies go through change - from one decade to another. Technology is making huge advances and pervades all of our lives. So it is only natural that some of it will spill into ecclesiastical quarters as well. The style of worship therefore will reflect the culture in which it is practiced and it should in order to be culturally relevant (though biblical sound at all times). In fact history shows that church music and art was the fore runner of the Arts influencing the other expressions of art in society.

I have, and continue love the grand old hymns and The Handle’s Messiah as much as I love Matt Redman and his contemporaries. What then is the point of this reflection? What is on my mind? What am I getting at?

As I said earlier, one thing remains. Let’s think about it. Come reflect with me if you may.

I have often paused to ask these questions to myself and the worship team I have the privilege of leading.  If we don’t remind ourselves to keep the main thing the main thing we will quickly be reduced to but an empty shell – a form lacking content.

So what is this “main thing? “ .  

  

So here are some questions I ask myself and those I mentor.

1. Who is worship for? Jesus made it very clear, “Love the Lord your God and worship Him only”. Therefore worship needs to be God ward. Songs need to be song primarily “to” God and not just “about God”. We need to praise His attributes which are so many. We need to declare truth that is found in scripture. We sing about His love, his faithfulness, power, sacrifice, who He is, his return etc.

2.  What is worship? Today there are many songs being written, the object of which is unclear because there is no reference to the person of Jesus or the cross. They could be sung to anyone or any God. We need to be careful. It’s the content of the songs, the lyrics that make song worship to Jesus or not. We need to be careful that we are not engaging in singing “something”, but are engaged in worship to the living God.

3. Presence – This I believe is the main thing. It’s sad to see worship being reduced to a performance of some random selection of Christian “pop hits” “blockbusters’ “chart busters” that have no focus or purpose.

The greatest privilege we as Christians enjoy is to be called a people of His presence. God dwells in our hearts and when two or three are gathered, His presence is with us and goes with us wherever we go. We are the only people on the planet who can boldly and confidently say that God we can speak to God and He hears us but more amazingly He speaks to us too.

In the OT when the Levites worshipped, God’s presence came down and filled the temple and the people fell face down in worship.

This is it!! This is the essence of worship: that God is glorified and exalted and He comes to us with his tangible presence. It’s his presence that distinguished us from every other people group on this earth. When people encounter His presence, they are changed forever because they have encountered the living God. This is what happened to Abraham. Moses, Jacob, Joshua, the disciples, Paul and you and I.

When people come together to worship we want to engage their whole being, not just their emotions where it becomes soulish and self centered rather than God centered. Too often songs are sung about our longings and desires, and the whole worship revolves around our needs rather than our God who is worthy of honour, praise, thanksgiving and worship. We can worship the desire to worship singing endless songs asking for His presence and the Holy Spirit rather this presence.

 I don’t think we are to dwell too much on asking the Holy Spirit to fill us because the Holy Spirit Himself always points to Jesus and wants Him glorified.( Having said that we are to ask Jesus to keep filling us with the Holy spirit. So "waiting on" and being  filled with the Holy Spirit continually is a good thing).As we glorify Jesus we are filled with the Spirit. When Paul and Silas were in jail they were exalting God and praising Him and look what happened – the place shook, there was an earthquake and they were set free. That should tell us something about the power or praise and exalting Jesus name!

Random repetitions of one liners of “come Holy Spirit” etc is not worship. It is only an expression of a desire to worship therefore one must not dwell on it too much but press into actual exaltation of a wonderful Lord.

When worship is in Spirit and in truth where the lyrics are solid, sound, biblical and full of rich doctrine, faith begins to arise in one’s heart and we begin to truly worship. It is no longer an emotional experience but a spiritual journey where we encounter the living God , experience His presence, hear his voice speak to us through the various gifts of the Spirit that begin to operate through the worshiper And yes our hearts are touched and filled with joy and gratitude.

Worship of Jesus also releases the prophetic and people go way with the certainty that God was in the place and that they met with God. Even the unbeliever begins to testify to the presence of God. This is what they take away with them rather than “the music was good, didn't she sing so well” etc.

I have always encouraged our team to continually seek His presence in worship.  And as we have done this week after week people tell us of how they met with God in the worship, how they were comforted, some physically healed in the worship etc etc.

(To be continued...... )

Navaz D 'Cruz

Simple Equations

In today’s world performance outstrips everything else. All can be and will be overlooked if one brings in the results – whatever that may be. The bottom line is the bottom line in a balance sheet: do the profits look good? The end is more important than means therefore collateral damage is the catch word.

 Walking the straight and narrow is becoming a thing of the past or is certainly under threat.

Ethics and Character have no part to play in this game of success and being opportunity driven rather than value driven is becoming the norm. One only needs to look at politics to see it at its best.

All that is very well; we can moan about all the lack of integrity out there and how rotten the system is, how immoral x, y and z and shake our heads at “them”.  But, what about us Christ followers? My daily Bible reading and meditations have made me reflect much on this. Let me share my thoughts and reflections with you.

I have been in the book of 1 John for some time now simply because it’s not an easy book to read through and walk away from unchallenged or unprovoked.

John throws a challenge to the Christ follower to love. One would think he is stating the obvious – of course we are called to love !!  Easier said, than done !

I feel 1 John and 1 Corinthians 13 are two sides of the same coin. One challenges our beliefs and allegiance to God and the other challenges our practice of this confession and the attitudes of the heart that underlie everything we do – even the use of the great gifts.

Often  these days we are willing to side step the character issues that crop up; turning a blind eye simply because we are blinded by the gifting before us and to the opportunities that are presenting itself to us.

While it’s all very well to point fingers, 1 John brings the truth starkly home. He addresses “me” and not “them”. He hammers away mostly at one point from every angle even at the risk of over repeating himself in every little chapter in this even smaller book. I think he knows how easy it is for us to want to skip what we don’t want to hear to the other “interesting “bits that we want to .

But he comes at it again and again. He puts before us some very simply equations so that we don’t miss it.

Here are some I have jotted down

1:5 God is light = no darkness In Him

2:3 Knowing God = obeying Him

John is establishing where he is coming from. Then he homes in on what he wants to focus on.

2:5  Light= no hate

Hate = darkness. The math is pretty simple, clear cut as black ≠ white

Let’s  go further

2:12-14   John reassures us of our forgiveness and position of being over comers in Christ.

2:15-17 Love  God = hate the world

John seems to have been contending with a lot of liars and deceptive people!! Is it different today?

3:10 Children of God = those who love their brother

 Doing what is right = a child of God

3:11 Love one another is the bottom line

3:15 Hate one’s brother = a murderer

Murderer = hell

3:6 Love = Jesus dying for us

 Brotherly love = laying down our lives for each other.

3:17 Love = meet each other’s needs.

3:18 Love = action

3:22 Obedience to God =  answered prayers

4:16 God is love = we should love = God lives in us

4:19 Hate your brother = liar = hates God. WOW!! John is turning up the heat. He is not mincing words.

4:21 Love God = Love brother

5:1 Love God = Obey God

In such a short book John packs a solid punch! That’s a lot of emphasis on one point. Interesting to note John is not encouraging us to love the unbeliever, the persecutor. He is commanding us to love our brother!!!

What he is saying is (and I paraphrase) : don’t you get it ? You don’t have a choice in this one. You have to love. And if you can’t, there is no fudging it. It’s as clear as crystal, as plain as day. There is no second interpretation, no further explanations, contextualization’s and all the other lame duck excuses you give not to obey a passage in scripture. Bottom line – you have got to love your brother no matter what.

Even as I write it send shivers down my spine. This is ruthless coming from the apostle of love. It’s downright radical. Take or leave it – that’s what John is saying.

Who is my brother? Is a clever devious question I might throw to save my skin, in my defense trying to justify a lack of brotherly love across borders or denominations, churches, apostolic movement I belong to etc etc. Let’s not try and see much hate I can get away with. The truth is God is love and I have to love at all times and EVERYONE. Jesus once said on the Sermon on the Mount “Love your enemies…”  There goes my last chance at hate! – All excuses crumble at the cross.

The point I think John is making is – guys love is not an option you can opt out of, we have to love everyone. If we can be forgiving and tolerant toward the unbeliever,  how much more our own brothers.

I find the book entirely rhetorical in nature. John states the obvious because sometimes it needs to be said. It’s like saying you drive a car you don’t push it. If you push it around, it’s not a car anymore. Therefore get into the car and drive for it to be a car!! Get it?

I think I  am getting it  - therefore no room for grudges, hurts, nursing old wounds, playing  politics and all the others thing even we Christ followers have got cozy with simply because rationalizing comes easy when the shoe is on the other foot.

As I reflect I think of those I find hard to love, I think of those old wounds that won’t heal because I keep pulling the scab off, etc. Can we resolve to deal with these things before we grow old and bitter and realize that all the hate was not worth it after all? There is so much in life to appreciate and love and be thankful for.

So this brings me back to where I first started . I can be very gifted, very well known, very liked , even in the Christian circles but that does not really count. In the final reckoning of things if i do not have love I am nothing ( 1 Corinthians 13 lays it our starkly). In the final scheme of things "success" as everyone sees it may not necessarily be so because I have neglected this one very important thing called love. Sobering isn't it?

Let’s drop all that stuff and just do it – LOVE.

Navaz

 Image credit - http://amandapanda84.wordpress.com/

The Pause

Life  can sometimes seem to be an unending unstopping treadmill that feels like a runaway train. This crazed pace is something a lot of us have got used to; the nonstop humdrum of life.

In the midst of this there is also the challenge of the pause.

 Today everybody is in a hurry to get on in life, to get to the top, to go somewhere, and to become someone. We have very little tolerance for any delays, for waiting or, even for a pause.

And yet life is full of pauses and waiting. I could react to them, kick hard at them; and punch my fist into the air, scream, shout and get frustrated.

We all have dreams, desires, hope, longings that are punctuated by pauses in our lives – the waiting that we would like to skip and rush to embrace what we yearn for. Life does not always turn out the way we want it. What should my response be? How do I cope?

 As I reflect on this I am reminded of the Psalmist who says: “Be still” to “wait patiently”, to “trust in His unfailing love”. Romans 8 remind me that He will work all things out for my good. Ecclesiastics tell me that God will make all things beautiful in His time.

I look at the heroes of faith and see that many of them had to deal with long pauses in their lives. Many received great promises and then had to cope with long pauses. Look at Abraham and Sarah who were promised a child and that their descendants would be more numerous than the stars. Look at Isaac who had to deal with a long pause, so did Jacob and Joseph. What about David and Moses? 

What about those men and women who gave their lives for the advance of the kingdom had to battle long and hard for the first fruits? The list can go on All had to contend with very long pauses between the promise and the possessing of it.

Actually when one thinks of the whole Christian life – we are in a pause period – awaiting His glorious return. While there are things to be done here the greatest longing and yearning of the Christian heart is the return of the King our glorious savior Jesus. We live in the greatest pause of all of history – between the resurrection and the return.

But we have a Hope that is steadfast and certain and that will never spoil or fade away. So the promises that are punctuated with this pause in life are pregnant with Hope.

This helps me wait patiently and to cope with the longings, the dreams and desires and promises. I know that in His time He shall bring them to pass.

The Offense of taking Offense

Walking on eggshells, tip toeing around someone, wearing kid gloves and scared to say something that can be misunderstood, measuring each word before you speak and each action before you do. How many of us have been in such situations with different people?  

How many of us have been this person? I was recently reminded of this and then someone spoke about the very same thing. It’s the offence of taking offence. I don’t know about you, but I have been on both sides of the fence.

I have been reflecting this in my own life and my life experiences. Here are some thoughts and observations.

What is it that causes us to take offence? What should I do when offense is given? Why do I take offense?

At the risk of sounding over simplistic I’m going to say it – PRIDE

The bible reminds me often, not to think too highly of myself. ( Romans 12:3) I ought to on the contrary  have a sober judgment or assessment of who I am and what kind of person I am in relation with others. I need to be humble and not expect everyone to treat me like the “Queen of Sheeba”.

What should my view of other be? Well the Bible tells me in no uncertain terms to “think of others better than yourself” ( Phil2:3) I should give others the benefit of the doubt rather than jumping to conclusions about their motives , thoughts and behavior. Love always hopes, always protects, and always trusts. ( 1Cor 13:7) This ought to be my posture with everyone.

One might argue that this could lead to false modesty. I don’t think the Bible is suggesting that in any way. I could be a better tennis player than my friend; however she could be good at something else so I can appreciate that in her.

What about this offense thing? It’s basically putting a very high standard and having a high expectation from everyone else’s behavior, speech. It’s expecting others to be perfect while letting yourself off the hook on the same issues.

The Bible talks about picking dust from one’s brother’s eye while we have a huge tree bark jutting out of our own. Another word for this is hypocrisy or a pharisaical spirit. When we behave like this we expect everyone to treat us with kid gloves.

What is the result of such behavior? Here are some of my observations :

• ·       Often these people are blind to their own faults while expecting everyone else to toe their line.
• ·       They are slow to forgive and harbor unforgiveness for a long time. They like licking wounds, imagined or real
• ·       They are not open to any feedback themselves , so when it  given offence is immediately taken at how one spoke, when one spoke, what tone of voice etc., etc. rather than the issue at hand.
• ·       They are fault finders with everyone.
• ·       When they take offence they often retreat or go cold on the friendship and are not interested in dialogue or reconciliation.
• ·       The end result is because of this negative behavior pattern, people begin to avoid them and they feel rejected
• ·       They are unable to discern who are their true friends, hence never form deep relationships because whenever there are true friendships there will be honest open talk which they cannot face.
• ·       They can be controlling people because they want things to always go their way and have everyone toe their line
• ·       Any criticism is taken as being against them personally and seeing as rejecting them personally
• ·       Often time expectations are not voiced but they expect you to know and read their minds and when you don’t, offence is taken.
• ·       In a church setting which is so much a part of my life I have seen this behavior pattern as very dangerous and detrimental to the unity and harmony in the church family. More so our prime enemy has a field day sowing thoughts of discord in our minds and before we know it we’ve got an issue with almost everyone or a lot of people and the poor souls are blissfully unaware of the offence they are supposed to have caused!! How silly is that?

What is the remedy?

• It is simple but not simplicistic. 
• It takes a battle of the mind not to fall into that terrible trap. 
• It takes courage to speak up and clear doubts. 
• It takes humility to hear what the other person has to say and receive it well. 
• It takes strength of character to have a sober judgment of oneself.
• It takes much grace and oodles of love and self sacrifice to appreciate others, to give them the benefit of the doubt, to let go petty issues. 
• It takes fortitude to forgive even when one has been offended.
•  It takes determination not to take offence even when it is given. WOW!!! How do I know this? Been there, done that.

But this looks like a list for a super heroes or something. Yes if tried in one’s own strength.

Thank God I don’t have to! The Bible tells me that Jesus was tempted in every way thereof is able to sympathize with my weakness.( Heb 4:5) When I am tempted to sin He does provide me with a way out- an escape route and will not allow me to be tempted more than I can handle.(1Cor 10:13)

I need to remind myself that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and that when I am feeling weak, His power is perfected in me and then I am strengthened.

I can win and lick this problem. I have a choice – to be offended or not. I also have a responsibility not to cause offense – that my speech is gentle and seasoned with salt, my behavior is loving and kind at all times and I will be quick to forgive and not harbor ill in my heart. My prayer is that I would be a channel of peace.

 Confession: I at times have not reacted in the best way when offended and have taken offense when there has been no need to. I too am learning not to react but initiate reconciliation and restoration and give the other party the benefit of the doubt. It’s not easy but when it’s done, it’s greatly rewarding. You win a friend back that you could have perhaps lost forever. Life is short. Let’s keep short accounts and be on the offensive about this offensive habit of taking offense!

Here is an old hymn I end my reflection with

Make me a channel of your peace.

Where there is hatred let me bring your love.

Where there is injury, your pardon, Lord

And where there's doubt, true faith in you.

Chorus:

Oh, Master grant that I may never seek

So much to be consoled as to console

To be understood as to understand

To be loved as to love with all my soul.

Make me a channel of your peace

Where there's despair in life, let me bring hope

Where there is darkness, only light

And where there's sadness, ever joy.

Make me a channel of your peace

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned

In giving to all men that we receive

And in dying that we're born to eternal life.

( Author: St Francis)

Navaz D Cruz

Sept 2013

Why write songs when we have Matt Redman?

Why write songs when you have Matt Redman? That question was enough to put the breaks on any initiative. In not so many words, a similar question was posed to me several years ago. 

At first it stumped me, and I thought to myself,” yea you’re probably right, what’s the point. I’ll never be able to write like him !” Then I thought to myself, “Hang on a minute, who says I need to sound like MattRedman?” Now just to set the record straight, I am a huge admirer of Matt Redman’s great gift and have learnt a lot about the heart of worship from this great lead worshiper and have even had the privilege of meeting him and having him in our home in Mumbai.  Having said that I believe God has blessed each one of us with a unique set of gifts that will be expressed uniquely because we are all made different. There are no clones in God's scheme of things.

You may say India is a land for  Hindi and all the other languages in between. Might I add, and  English too? There is a rising urban populace in India whose first and heart language is English, as is in my case. So though my heart language is English, my life experiences are special because they come with the flavor of my land and I have a new song to sing and to give the world. How do I know this? Revelation talks about people from every tribe and tongue and nation worshiping before the throne of God. The Psalmists encourages us to sign “new Songs “ to God . So this includes the English speaking of India. Also in keeping with the prophetic words over my life I have begun to take steps of faith. 

God wants to hear new songs being sung that are coming out of India and not just America, the UK or Australia ( good as they might be)This conviction has helped spur me on among other things 

 Many of us have gotten stuck because we have got caught in the web of comparison and trying to be like someone else and then being discouraged because we will never match up.You were never meant to ! I will never be like Matt Redman and God does not want that of me. He wants to hear my sounds and my song.He wants to hear my hearts devotion and He wants me to write songs that will help others express their devotion to him.

 So even though we have Matt Redman and all the other excellent song writers ( and may their tribe increase !) I have a new song to sing to my God and I shall write and sing  them to the praise of His glory.

 I could write a lot about different styles of music and all that, but I think the point is made and in my reflections I hope I have encouraged you to begin to think, to dare to dream, to step out, to do something you've always wanted to do but not had the courage to. I would love to hear your stories as well. 

Do you have a song to sing? A story to tell? A poem to pen? a canvas to colour? a delicious cake to bake?The world will be a better place because of your gift. Imagine if no one painted because there was Leonardo Da Vinci, no one sculpted after Michael Angelo, no one wrote music because there was Mozart, no one discovered anything after Galileo . The list can go on. Wouldn't the world be such a dull, boring place?

Now go and write or do what ever it is you are gifted at. The world needs more and God deserves to be worshiped and glorified in all the richness that diversity has to offer. 

Navaz D Cruz

Sept 2013

A case to defend

Over  the past few weeks we at church have been looking at the whole area of relationships, conflict resolution, forgiveness etc in a series called Family Matters.

 I have been reflecting on various aspects of this especially in the realm of conflict resolution and forgiveness. 

What I have observed over time is that often conflicts that don’t get confronted stay unresolved and tend to harden into bitterness, resentment toward each other and cold wars. The irony is that neither party are clear on what went wrong not do they know what to do about it. Have you been there?

Conflicts stay unresolved when stuff gets swept under the carpet and over time everyone is scaling Mt Evert yet unwilling to face the mountain of unresolve looming large in the face! What is to be done?

There is also the view that one must not say anything in ones defense because God will vindicate you and Jesus’ silence before his accusers is the quoted example to follow.

I have thought about this and it raised a few questions in my mind. I believe a lot of conflict in relationships happen because of assumptions or misunderstandings and these can be sorted out if we do not take such a stand  in any and every situation.

Jesus as I see Him in the Bible was outspoken when he needed to be, and explained himself to the disciples who were lacking in understanding at that time.

What does Jesus say about Conflict? We have two classic passages of scripture quoting our Lord himself.

Matt5: 23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court.

Matt 18:15 “If your brother or sister[b] sins,[c] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[d] 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

Nowhere in these two passages do I see room for being silent as the answer to resolving conflict. In fact, I see the very opposite. Jesus encourages us to go and have a chat and sort it out whether you are the perpetrator or the victim. The rule of thumb seems to be that when in doubt, speak up and not shut up.

I think if we practice this, it will end so many misunderstandings and cold war between friends and families. I have seen this in my own life. A friend who heard only a part of a conversation I had had with a common friend drew certain conclusions that resulted in a standoff in our friendship and sadly for many years. This disturbed me greatly but I did not know what the matter was, till I applied Matt5. However, when I learned the reason for the standoff I choose not to say anything in my defense and applied the “silent as a lamb” principle here. The result was the situation never changed which only added to my sorrow. Finally I decided that I needed to speak up and bring clarity to the situation. We visited these friends of many years and spoke face to face, heart to heart. The light came on! The assumptions crumbled in the face of clarity and truth and there was reconciliation in the relationship. What would have happened if I had continued to stay silent?

When then do we stay silent as a lamb? Look at the context in which Jesus was silent. It was in the presence of his enemies that were falsely accusing him with malicious lies wanting to crucify him. It was not a case of misunderstanding between friends. This was an evil plot to kill the King of Kings. I believe that when we are falsely accused like this we need to commit ourselves to our Father in heaven who will vindicate us.  We have experienced this time and time again. When vicious tongues wag and aim to slander us, our character and reputation with no intent of finding out the truth or seek clarification, we need to keep silent and let the Righteous Judge take over.  And we have seen God come through for us. If opportunity presents itself to explain ones actions one must do so in all humility, grace and wisdom.

But in most cases I suspect it is a case of applying Matt 5 or Matt 18. So let’s go sort out those misunderstandings. Sometimes the other party does not have the moral courage or the fortitude to face the situation. In those cases we are called to forgive unilaterally and let by gone s be by gone s and continue to express love to that person as Jesus would have us do. We are to trust God to grant us grace for such a situation.

I have realized that life is not made up of nice neat boxes all well stacked and labeled. We cannot dot every “I” and cross every “t”. We have to move on throwing aside everything that hinders and run the beautiful race in life that Jesus has marked out for us.

I end my reflections and rest my case knowing I rest in the shadow of the Almighty, my ultimate defense and deliverer.

Navaz D Cruz

August 2013