Something silly

OK, it's time for something incredibly silly. Wendy Francisco wrote a new song a couple of months ago, now she's produced a video to go with it.

For best results, watch this in high definition and full screen if possible.



Despite (or perhaps because of) it's utter silliness, this song has a disarming way of getting its message across clearly and deeply.

Here's a link to Wendy's website for anyone serious enough to want to know more.

Walking like Enoch

We're like Enoch. If we walk with Yahweh, staying close to him at all times and in all situations, we will hear his voice all day every day. And he will take us out of this world into a place we could not have imagined and we will be hidden from view.

Do you see how this applies to your own life? Do you sense how true it is in the here and now, how Enoch is a prototype of all who believe and become deeply focused on Christ?

We will no longer be bound by the world's ways, demands, and needs. We will fly! We'll be hidden from view because the world will not understand us, will not see what we do, will not comprehend the source of the new life that flows in us and through us.

We will be no more because Yahweh will take us away (Genesis 5:24)

In other words the old 'me' will no longer be present in the world, the new 'me' will be 'hidden with Christ' (Colossians 3:3).

There is a rich and encouraging truth here. All of us who walk with the Lord are like Enoch and are affected like Enoch.

HalleluYah!

His Church and His Heart

I wrote the following text and posted it on the Relational Christianity website almost four years ago. You can still find it there.

It provoked little interest, but the Spirit impressed upon me at the time that 'it will return to you and then you will know that its purpose has been fulfilled'. I thought this had happened two years ago though now I'm not so sure.

But Frank Viola's book 'From Eternity to Here' and 'The Jesus manifesto' (written with Leonard Sweet) have made me wonder if now is the time.

For that reason I'm republishing it. The text is covered by Creative Commons copyright but free for anyone to copy, edit, and republish.

Christ's love for the Church

Perhaps these words are a wake-up call to the Church. Turn away from worldly ways, put all your energies into just loving Christ - it really is that simple. For all those who read it and understand it, this letter is a challenge. It is a call for real and lasting change in the way we 'do' church. The focus must shift from adherence to traditions, structures, and practices to merely loving the one who says, 'I will build my Church'. Does his Church love and trust the King more, or does she love and trust the World more? She can't choose both, it has to be one or the other.

A Letter to the Church – His words

My dear people, I love you so very much and I know the love that you have for me as individuals. But I have to explain to you that it's not enough that you love me as individuals, I also need to feel the warmth of my Bride's embrace, I need to see her eyes filled with adoration and love for me. The Church is greatly loved yet she's estranged from me, and I want you to know and understand how I feel.

When you are far away from someone you love there is a deep longing in your heart, a sadness, an incompleteness, a hollow emptiness. And when the one you love is devoted to someone else, then your heart truly grieves. Every thought, every movement, every sight and sound is changed to heaviness and sadness and yearning. And that's how I feel towards the Church.

How can this be?

My Beloved, my Church, my Bride-to-be, where are you? How can you be so far from me? Who has stolen you from me? It is the World that has stolen away my Beloved. Every day she gazes lovingly into the eyes of the World, she walks in the World's ways, talks with the World, rejoices in the World's companionship.

I am grieving for my Bride-to-be. Every moment of every day I think of you and long to be with you, but you don't hear my voice calling. My love goes out but doesn't return to me, my heart aches to be close to my beloved, but she gazes into the eyes of another. I want to walk with you, talk with you, hold your hand, spend each day with you. But my Beloved prefers the company of another. Now do you see how I feel?

Ah, what pain you cause me. How you wound my heart as with a knife. I watch you pass by, hand-in-hand with another. I see you talking and laughing with the World, planning your life with the World. How I long to be close to you, but you are already close to the World. How I long to see you smile at me, and laugh with me – but you smile and laugh with the World. I want to take you to my favorite places and show you all the wonders of creation along the way, but all the time you are walking with another.

Now do you see how I grieve over my Beloved, and why? To understand, to truly understand, you must see how the tears rise in my eyes, feel the wretched hollowness that fills my being, know how I yearn and yearn to gather you to myself.

I will never tear you from the world. Love cannot do such a thing because love does not coerce or demand. Love will only wait in desperate hope, broken-hearted and full of emptiness. I need to show you this, you need to understand how I feel even though it will be no more than the merest hint of what is in my heart.

I am calling you to turn away from the World and return to me. I am calling you, my Church, to stop and retrace your steps.

I am calling you to hear and obey my guiding and leading voice, not the voices of men and women. Turn away from every method, every technique, every system and turn instead to me for I am the Source, the Truth, the Light, and the Life. Above all I am Love. Look into my eyes and see yourself reflected there for I am always gazing upon you.

Don't misunderstand what I say, there are many individuals who love me, walk with me, and dance with me. I love you as individuals, but I also love the whole and it is of the whole Church that I speak here. The fullness of my desire is for my Church. I will dance with her, my Bride, my Beloved. I will rejoice in her when she returns my love, but until then I will walk in pain and anguish as she gazes into the eyes of the World.

Some further thoughts – Merely my words

We must track back before the House Church, back, back before the Charismatic Renewal, back even before the Pentecostal Azusa Street outpourings. We must retrace our steps back before the Methodists, before the Puritans, before Martin Luther. Back, back, back, before Paul wrote his letters, before the events of Acts. Right back to Calvary where our Lord poured out his very life in love.

And when we arrive back at that point of beginning, then and only then can we see the Church stripped of all her love for the World. Why? Because love of the World began to creep in right there, right after the beginning. Just as, in the Garden of Eden, love of the World crept in right at the completion of creation, so in the Garden of Gethsemane it began to creep in at the completion of the work of redemption. We see it even before Love gave himself up to death, we see it in Peter's use of the sword. We see it later in Peter's denial. We see it in Ananias and Sapphira, in the divided Corinthians, in the foolish Galatians.

Now is the time for the Church to throw off her love of the World, and to turn to Christ who loves her and aches unceasingly for her love in return. He demands her undivided attention, He will accept nothing less.

What does this mean in practice? It means we must stop working for Christ and instead just love him and let him begin working in us. It means we must stop looking for the latest book, and listening to the finest teaching; instead we must look into his eyes and listen to his sweet voice as he teaches us and reveals his purpose. There are many who already know him as a personal Saviour and friend, now the Church as a whole must come to her Lord as Saviour and friend. Do you see the distinction between the many and the one? Although he loves us greatly as individuals, his best and finest is saved for pouring out on his Bride, the Church, in her wholeness. But this can only happen when she turns to him and walks with him along the paths he will choose.

Come, Church of Christ, come. Turn and see his love upon you and respond. Receive his love, dance with him, rejoice in him, make him glad. He is waiting for you, patiently and in great pain.

Chris Jefferies – August 2005


This work is licenced under the Creative Commons Attribution License. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305, USA.

Eaton Ford (day) - Family

Only Paul and I met this morning, the theme that emerged was 'family', particularly the family of believers living and meeting in a place.

We talked for a while about this and that, remembered a number of friends and neighbours, then prayed for a while before making lunch with fresh salad from Paul's garden.

Paul read from 1 John 4:7-12 and said that the word 'family' had been in his mind.

Friendfeed as a personal hub

Spyros Heniadis, writing on his blog about Facebook and Twitter, makes some very good points as he compares and contrasts the value these two giants have for him. He finds Facebook less than totally appealing, and he finds Twitter much more useful that it might appear at first sight. (And Twitter's raging success must have some basis other than sheer fadness.)

I agree with Spyros, I have a lot of friends (real ones almost entirely) on Facebook but I don't spend nearly enough time there to keep up with all the stuff they post. And the Facebook applications mostly drive me mad with their inane and persistent in-your-faceness. I always click the 'Ignore this request' button with a slightly guilty feeling of having 'jilted' someone I care about.

And I agree with his remarks about Twitter too. It took me a long, long time to understand it, but now that I do I'm beginning to appreciate it. I also use Friendfeed - a lot. If you want to see how, just visit my stream.

You'll notice it contains posts from Twitter, Delicious, Moblog and many more. All of them are added automatically whenever I post to those sites. And when I write an item on my blog Friendfeed picks that up and adds it for me too along with all those other sources. And I can fill in my 'status' on Friendfeed just as I would on Facebook or Twitter. All the output from Friendfeed can appear in Facebook, Twitter, and anywhere else I like without me lifting a finger or striking a key. I love it!

It's well worth a try. Like Twitter it's really simple and very easy to use.

A turning point for Iran

Today is a turning point for Iran.

Either there will be a change of direction as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei backs down and is, perhaps, replaced by the Assembly of Experts; or more likely he will continue along the path he's chosen and will try to stifle the opposition and return to some semblance of the repressed normality that has been Iran for so many years.

If he does continue to threaten violence and pretends to pin the blame on the opposition, there could be a rapid growth of upheaval and things would then become extremely unpredictable.

So, if there is violence, who will really be responsible for it? When a member of the Basij points a gun at unarmed people in a crowd and fires indiscriminately, fear has become cowardice and the responsibility for injury or death lies with the one who fired the weapon. To say that peaceful disobedience to the Supreme Leader shifts the blame for violence onto the crowd or onto Mr Mousavi is a strange argument. Surely it is an argument rooted in fear and desperation!

If you strike me or shoot me or burn my house it's my fault, not yours? I don't think so! Responsibility lies with the one who pulls the trigger and with those who give the orders to do so or try to justify such an act in advance.

Ali Khamenei is no more a Supreme Leader than I am! The very title is an affront to the Most High in heaven for he alone is Supreme Leader over Iran, the entire world, and indeed the Universe. It does not befit men or women to act as leader because there is One who has true authority. The Koran instructs its readers to also read the Injil (the gospel), and there every seeker of truth will find Isa (Jesus) who said, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life'. He is King, he is the Great Shepherd of the sheep.

No mortal man or woman has a heart great enough, a mind wise enough, a spirit true enough, or an ego humble enough to be a Supreme Leader. No, not one! And we also know that every single one of us has sinned. Let no one stand against the Most High, for he alone has the true authority and power over the lives of men. He will have his way, better not to stand in his path for he will sweep aside everyone who opposes him.

What did Isa say about the law? He said that to love the Most High and to love the people around us (even if they are our enemies) is the fulfillment of the entire law. How can anyone do harm to those they love?

To the reader I say, 'Pray for the people of Iran, for Khamenei, for Mousavi, for Karroubi, for Khatami. Pray for peace, pray for wisdom, pray for the Almighty's will to be done. Pray for those who may decide to go out on the streets today, for the police, the army, the Basij. Pray that they will all hear and obey the voice of their Maker.'

This is a turning point for Iran, a turning forward or a turning back. It could be a disaster or it could be a wellspring of hope. Time will tell.

Speaks for itself...

A video from Iran - poetic, moving, heart rending, quiet, powerful...

Eyewitness report from Tehran

This is an eyewitness account of the events in Tehran on 15th June 2009. It was posted on Facebook, where you can read the original version.

In case you can't see the Facebook copy, here it is in full...

I left my home in Tajrish along with my family at 3 p.m. We went down Valiast Street which is the main northern-southern avenue in Tehran and entered the Evin Exp'way which leads to Enghelab Street. We knew that people are supposed to gather in Enghelab Sq. (Revolution Sq.) at 4 and march toward Azadi Sq. (Freedom Sq.). From Gisha Bridge onwards, we saw people walking down. Cars were blowing their horns and people were showing victory sign. We went to Navvab Street and parked our car at the end of the street. Then we took a taxi to bring us back to the Enghelab Street. On our way, near Jomhouri Sq. (Republic Sq.), I saw a group of about 20 militia with long beards and batons on motorbikes. My hand was out of the car window with a little green ribbon (the sign of reformists) around my finger. One of the militia told me to throw that ribbon away. I showed him a finger. All of a sudden, about 15 people attacked me inside the car. They beat me with their batons and wanted to pull me out. My wife and my daughter who were sitting in the back seat cried and hold me tight. I also hold myself tight on the chair. They wanted to shatter the car windows. The driver went out and explained that he is a taxi and we are his passengers and he has no fault. After about 5 minutes,they left. My elbow hurts severely. Then, a young man from their group came and kissed my elbow! I told him: You know, I don't hate you. I am like you with the only difference that I know more and you are ignorant. He apologized and left.

We joined the crowd in Enghelab Street.

Read carefully:

What I saw today was the most elegant scene I had ever witnessed in my life. The huge number of people were marching hand in hand in full peace. Silence. Silence was everywhere. There was no slogan. No violence. Hands were up in victory sign with green ribbons. People carried placards which read: Silence. Old and young, man and woman of all social groups were marching cheerfully. This was a magnificent show of solidarity. Enghelab Street which is the widest avenue in Tehran was full of people.

I was told that the march has begun in Ferdowsi Sq. and the end of the march was now in Imam Hossein Sq. to the further east of Tehran while on the other end people had already gathered in Azadi Sq. The length of this street is about 6 kilometers. The estimate is about 2 million people. On the way, we passed a police department and a militia (Baseej) base. In both places, the doors were closed and we could see fully-armed riot police and militia watching the people from behind the fences. Near Sharif University of Technology where the students had chased away Ahmadinejad a few days ago, Mirhossein Mousavi (the reformist elect president) and Karrubi (the other reformist candidate spoke to people for a few minutes which was received by cries of praise and applause. I felt proud to find myself among such a huge number of passionate people who were showing the most reasonable act of protest. Frankly, I didn't expect such a political maturity from emotional Iranians who easily get excited. My family and I had put stickers on our mouths to represent the suppression. Placards that people carried were different; from poems by the national poet Ahmad Shamlu to light-hearted slogans against Ahmadinejad. Examples include: " To slaughter us/ why did you need to invite us / to such an elegant party" (Poem by Shamlu). " Hello! Hello! 999? / Our votes were stolen" or " The Miracle of the Third Millenium: 2 x 2 = 24 millions" (alluding to the claim by Government that Ahmadinejad obtained 24 million votes) , "Where is my vote?" , " Give me back my vote" and many other.

We arrived in Azadi Square where the entire square was full of population. It is said that around 500,000 people can be accommodated in this huge square and it was full. Suddenly we saw smoke from Jenah Freeway and heard the gunshot. People were scared at first but then went forward. I just heard the gunshots but my sister who had been on the scene at that part told me later that she saw 4 militia came out from a house and shot a girl. Then they shot a young boy in his eye and the bullet came out of his ear. She said that 4 people were shot. At least one person dead has been confirmed. People arrested one of the Baseeji militia but the three others ran away when they ran out of bullet. At around 8 we went back on foot. On the way back people were still in the street and were chanting Allah Akbar (God is Great).

I was coming home at around 2 a.m. In parkway, I saw about ten buses full of armed riot police parked on the side of the street. Then I saw scattered militia in civil clothes with clubs in hand patroling the empty streets. In Tajrish Square, I saw a very young boy (around 16) with a club who was looking at the cars to see if he can find something to attack. I don't know how and under what teachings can young boys change into militia.

I came home. Tomorrow, people will gather again in Valiasr Square for another peaceful march toward the IRIB building which controls all the media and which spreads filthy lies. The day before Yesterday, Ahmadinejad had hold his victory ceremony. Government buses had transported all his supporters from nearby cities. There was full coverage of that ceremony where fruit juice and cake was plenty. A maximum of 100,000 had gathered to hear his speech. These included all the militia and the soldiers and all supporters he could gather by the use of free TV publicity. Today, at least 2 million came only relying on word of mouth while reformists have no newspaper, no radio, no TV. All their internet sites are filtered as well as social networks such as facebook. Text messaging and mobile communication was also cut off during the demonstration. Since yesterday, the Iranian TV was announcing that there is no license for any gathering and riot police will severely punish anybody who may demonstrates. Ahmadinejad called the opposition as a bunch of insignificant dirt who try to make the taste of victory bitter to the nation. He also called the western leaders as a bunch of "filthy homosexuals". All these disgusting remarks was today answered by that largest demonstration ever. Older people compared the demonstration of today with the Ashura Demonstration of 1979 which marks the downfall of the Shah regime and even said that it outnumbered that event.

The militia burnt a house themselves to find the excuse to commit violence. People neutralized their tactic to a large degree by their solidarity, their wisdom and their denial to enage in any violent act.

I feel sad for the loss of those young girls and boys. It is said that they also killed 3 students last night in their attack at Tehran University residence halls. I heard that a number of professors of Sharif University and AmirKabir University (Tehran Polytechnic) have resigned.

Democracy is a long way ahead. I may not be alive to see that day. With eyes full of tear in these early hours of Tuesday 16th June 2009, I glorify the courage and bravery of those martyrs and I hope that their blood will make every one of us more committed to freedom, to democracy and to human rights.

Viva Freedom, Viva Democracy, Viva Iran

A free vote?

Here are the crowds in Tehran, protesting about the election results. This picture was posted on Twitter just a few minutes ago.

Read the latest news from Tehran as it develops on Twitter. Some of the streams of tweets are coming from people on the streets in Tehran, posted from mobile phones (this guy deserves a medal but is probably in line for something much harsher). Others are comments from others not involved in the protest. And then there are also comments, good wishes, prayers, and thoughts from people world wide.

There are more photos online, and the major news channels have reports, for example the BBC. It'll be all over tomorrow's front pages for sure.

Live news reporting is one of the things that Twitter does best.

Eaton Ford - Freedom?

We discussed the final details of the leaflet for the Eynesbury kids camp, and we also talked around the issues in reaching out openly when this might put our families or friends in danger. Although this is not something that is a problem for us in the UK right now, it is a severe problem in some countries. It's interesting to ask ourselves how we'd react if this happened for us. We have no idea how the political and social scene will change, wherever we may live!

Chris asked, 'What are the two most important things we can do to make the church more successful?'. The major points seem to be that we should listen to the Lord's direction and follow it, and that we should give one another the freedom to do the same. After all, we must love the Almighty with all our heart, mind and strength and we must love our neighbour the same way we love ourselves (Mark 12:28-34, Romans 13:8-10). If we have that kind of love in our hearts we cannot help following the Lord's commands and giving one another the freedom to do so too.

Yahshua set us free so that we could live free (Galatians 5:1). And if he has set us free, we really are free! (John 8:36) Does this mean we are free to follow whatever men and women tell us? No! We always had that freedom, Israel demanded a king 'like the other nations' and in modern times people have followed all sorts of leaders.

No, we were set free to follow the Lord! We are free to hear his voice, to walk as he reveals, to love, and to give that same freedom to one another.

Eaton Ford (day) - Moggerhanger

We made very brief notes this week, there were only two of us as Roger and Jules were unable to join us. We brought one another up-to-date on news from friends, prayed, and talked about a range of other topics.

Then we visited Moggerhanger Park for lunch as a change. We sat inside, ordered our meals, and later Jim come out of the kitchen and joined us for a chat. It turned out to be a useful time as Jim and Paul had not met before, but also because Paul may be able to use the Moggerhanger facilities for his Acorn Group in future.

Eaton Ford - Family tragedy

We have only brief notes from this meeting.

Jim mentioned King David who was 'a man after the Lord's heart'. Despite this, he had some major issues in his life. One of his sons raped his own sister, and then another son killed the first. We thought about what a dreadful experience this must have been for David. What a tragedy to overtake a family.

We also talked about street pastors, an opportunity has come up to take part in training for this.

Great Doddington - Can't see me!

We read Exodus 20:1-21 which concerns the law. As believers we are free from having to meet all the conditions of the law, free providing we don't cause a weaker one to stumble in some way. So our freedom is constrained by love.

Jesus told us that loving the Almighty and loving your neighbour actually fulfils the law. Matthew 5:17-20 also discusses the law. It is not abolished, and unless our righteousness is greater than that of the Pharisees and law teachers we are certain to be barred from the Kingdom. How can we ever have this kind of righteousness? Only because of Christ, for he is our righteousness.

We considered the fruit of the Spirit as this seem to have a great deal to do with how we relate to other people, in other words how we love our neighbour.

Barbara read Psalm 106:1-3, the Lord's love endures forever! We are blessed if we are constant in doing right, but again Christ himself is our righteousness. We also thought of Zechariah 14:9 where we read that there will one Lord and his name will be holy.

Chris prophesied, 'You are struggling, aren't you! You are heavyily loaded. Come to me and I will give you rest. I didn't call you to great faith or love or power but to walk with me day by day and speak the words I give you and confort one another. You are my children.'

Rachael described three visions. In the first she saw a woman bound in chains.

In the second vision she saw a little girl with here hands covering her eyes, and she was thinking, 'If I can't see, nobody can see me!' But Father says, 'Just because you can't see me doesn't mean you're not in my mind'.

And thirdly, she saw a large boat with sails caught up in a great storm. And she knew that no matter what the world does, this boat was not going to sink! Instead it will stay afloat and it will arrive at its destination no matter how big the storm.

Then Jody prophesied, 'I will release you from those chains. You are not invisible, I'll carry you through like a small child. I'll be your protector. You are like golden beams of light shining across a golden land. Like beams of light you will get past the darkness. I have shone beams of light for you so you will certainly get past the obstacles.'

'You just need to focus on being in me. You are not standing still, you are walking along the path, you will get through and you will be triumphant.

Rachael spoke another word from the Lord, 'I'd encourage each one of you to raise your head and see my face. I'd encourage each one to raise your eyes and see my eyes and know that I am here.'

Finally, we read Psalm 45, especially noting the verses about the bride, the princess (9-16).

Wilstead - Church in a cafe

Rupert began by reading some passages from 'The Message', Psalm 23, Isaiah 55, and Matthew 11:28-30. All of these remind us of the peace we have in his presence. When times are hard and we have to work all hours, when it seems there's a situation we'll be unable to come through, Jesus is our peace and our comfort, the Almighty is our sustainer and refreshment.

Pete described a tree with birds sitting in its branches. This was a vision that had been shared with him some fifteen years ago. At the time the vision had encouraged them that there would be provision for every need they had at that time. And everything had worked out just fine.

We talked for a while about how we 'do' church. Chris shared the story of 'The Church at Table Number Two' (meeting in a restaurant) and was amazed later to discover that Rupert and Uli had been at the American meetings where those events were originally aired!

The point of the story however is that we need to do whatever he leads us to do, not what we have planned for ourselves. And we need to do what he shows us irrespective of whether we think it is likely to work on not, safe or dangerous, foolish or wise.

Uli wanted to read Romans 9:10-13 because this carries something of the same idea. Our choices and what we think appropriate count as nothing, the Lord will have it his way. He knows what is best.

Eaton Ford (day) - Not condemned

Roger was unable to make today's meeting.

Chris read parts of Romans 7:14 - 8:2 and noted that even Paul, a truly admirable apostle, suffered from issues with sin. We shouldn't be devastated when we fall, but we do need to pick ourselves up, turn back to the Lord, and continue as he gives us direction. We are not condemned because Christ has set us free. HalleluYah!

The Internet Protocol

Did you know that your connection to the internet is dying on its feet? Honestly, it really is! And the consequences are simply horrendous. 'The Internet Protocol' sounds like a film title, but it's the name of an important underlying mechanism that is the foundation of email, web browsing, and much, much more.

Most of the world's computing devices are using version four of this protocol (IPv4). Its replacement, IPv6, was introduced more than a decade ago to provide a huge increase in the number of available addresses and a raft of improved functions including assured service quality, security, and more.

What does it all mean? - You might like to read what Carl Bialik of 'The Wall Street Journal' has to say on the subject. Hint, read the comments as well, some of them are illuminating.

Carl writes...

The increasingly crowded Internet [is] running out of Internet Protocol addresses, used to identify computers and Web sites on the network.

He quotes industry experts as saying...

The chaos that follows is difficult to predict. (Tony Hain - IPv6 Forum)

Individual users may not be able to view websites and communicate with certain Internet destinations - Corporations may not be able to communicate with certain critical government resources, clients, and potential customers - Governments may lose the ability to see and communicate with the 'whole Internet' - Citizens may not be able to access government information online (John Curran - American Registry for Internet Numbers)

And readers comment...

Internet technology was one of the last areas that the U.S. was a leader in, and that has now disappeared. (Lawrence Hughes - InfoWeapons)

There is the potential for big disruptions unless more enterprises and the public sector begin migrating. (Jennifer Geisler - Cisco)

The Wikipedia article on IPv6 explains that it was selected as the successor to IPv4 in 1998, and takeup at the end of 2008 was estimated as follows - Russia 0.76%, France 0.65%, Ukraine 0.64%, Norway 0.49%, United States 0.45%. Asia leads in terms of absolute deployed numbers, but the relative penetration was smaller (e.g., China 0.24%).

IPv4 addresses are expected to finally run out in 2010, or possibly 2011. We have very little time.

There is no excuse for the slow rollout, IPv6 is available on all major operating systems in use in commercial, business, and home consumer environments. IPv6 networking gear has been increasingly available for many years.

How will this affect the end user? - At worst, large chunks of the internet will be unreachable. It will be as if those countries and companies don't exist.

However, it's likely that losses of connectivity will begin slowly and then accelerate. This might increase the sense of urgency as customers begin complaining to their service providers.

Sections of the internet where IPv6 is not yet supported will become islands of poor and incomplete service and will be increasingly isolated and unusable. IPv4 is likely to wither away, but it may take a long time to disappear completely.

With less than 1% of the network already converted and less than two years remaining before we start to see a real impact, anyone who can influence the rate of IPv6 uptake should begin lobbying hard right away.

Further sources of information

• IPv6.org - the official home page for the new protocol.
• The IPv6 Portal - lots of useful information
• The IPv4 Address Report - generated daily with the latest details of IPv4 address availability
• The Choice - a 2007 document by Jordi Palet examining ways of alleviating the dearth of IPv4 addresses (PDF)

Eaton Ford - Grass and flowers

This was a very unusual evening. Dot joined us and arrived ahead of everyone else, Chris was still pushing the vacuum cleaner around as they were late home and had run out of time so she helped finish the washing up and then we took coffees through to the conservatory. Donna also joined us this week, then Sean arrived and told us that because of family committments he'd need to leave early tonight, and the minutes ticked by and there was still no sign of Jim. Then finally, just as Sean was leaving, Jim arrived after a meeting at work that had overrun.

We did spend some time in prayer, but most of the time was spent planning out the basic design for the youth camp leaflet. We showed Dot the 2007 camp video which she hadn't seen before, and we decided on a folded A4 leaflet with the main details on the front in colour, a centre spread of further information for parents, and notes on how to apply on the back cover.

Dot shared a vision she'd had recently. She was walking through a desert, a barren landscape of boulders and sand. The boulders were too large to move and it was terribly hard work walking in the dry sand. Then she noticed that the path she was walking along was turning green and there were little flowers underfoot too. The green path stretched behind her, marking out the route she had taken. Ahead she could see only desert and a little gully where there was a stream. And she understood that when she walked near the stream, the green path became more lush and healthy, but if she strayed away from the stream the green carpet thinned out and became more sandy again.

Great Doddington - Tiny buds

There were many people on our hearts for prayer today, family and friends.

Sherrelea spoke about the judge and the nagging widow and how we should never give up in prayer. Jody mentioned Lamentations 3:22-25. The Lord's compassion and grace are 'new every morning', that is how faithful he is!

Then Jody saw a dead-looking branch of vine, but when she looked closely she noticed that there were tiny buds. And she prophesied, 'When things seem to be dead in the winter, there is still life. It may look dead to you, but it's not dead to me. So don't be anxious. Enjoy the sunshine and the clouds in the sky above, rest in me, have no fear or doubt.'

Chris shared a picture of a tethered goat. And Father said, 'You are not goats, you are the sheep of my flock. You're not tethered to a stake by a rope, but you are tethered to me by my love for you and by your love for me. You are free to wander within the range of my love, and my love reaches you everywhere. You are never beyond reach, you are safe wherever you go, whatever you do - for you are mine.'

In connection with someone Sherrelea knows, Sue said, 'J is going down a corridor, and the doors are closing as he passes by. he is being guided into the truth.'

Glenn read proverbs 31 about the wife of noble character and he felt this was especially relevant for one of us in the meeting. He also shared an experience he'd had many years ago when he'd been afraid of financial failure and was reluctant to pay some bills because there was no income to cover them. But the Lord took away this fear and he went ahead and wrote cheques to cover all the bills (though the funds were not in the bank). On his way home the following day he had a call from a client to say that a large and unexpected cheque was on the point of going out to him. This unexpected amount covered all the outstanding bills.

And finally Sherrelea read Ecclesiastes 3:9-11

Eaton Ford - Empty barn?

While we were chatting this evening and considering prayer needs, Jim's mobile rang with news that a friend's toddler granddaughter had just fallen downstairs and been taken to hospital. We prayed for her and for all the family, and heard later that she was home from hospital with no ill effects.

As we moved into a time of quiet peace in the Lord's presence, Jim reminded us that, 'Even though the barns are empty, I will rejoice in the Lord' (Habakkuk 3:17-18). He pointed out that when we face difficulties in our lives we have to get through them, and often this involves praise and thankfulness despite the problems.

We spent most of the evening considering how to proceed with the youth camp now that we know the school field will not be available. We discussed the kind of leaflet we would need for a door-to-door drop and what information we should put on it.

Eaton Ford (day) - Talking and eating

Roger was unable to make it today, but as usual we spent some time discussing issues in our lives and the lives of friends and family, prayed for some of these needs, chatted informally, and shared a simple lunch together.

Great Doddington - Forest bridge

We talked about Canada for a while, and Jody wondered whether it's right in principle to go or not. We often know what we would like to happen in our lives, and obstacles and difficulties often get in the way, but how do we discern what is right?

Glenn referred to Jeremiah 32 in which Jeremiah buys a field. He has to follow the right process and there is a due process we must go through in everything we do. There's a promise of restoration here, nothing is too hard for the Lord to do.

Jody had a vision of a forest. She saw how the light changes, and there were so very many different shades of green. Looking deeper into the wood she saw a bridge made of the materials produced by the woodland itself. Trunks of trees, rough-cut branches, but with a wire mesh on the footway to prevent people from slipping. She felt that Father wants us to see that the walk we are on encompasses the whole wood, not just one little part of it.

Rachael saw a picture too, this time of people going both ways along a road. Some of them seemed to be on fire, and this seemed to suggest the Holy Spirit. She prayed, 'We want to be on fire for you, burned up by you'.

Chris brought a prophecy. The Lord said, 'I have a throne-room, and it's in your heart. But who will you place upon that throne? Will you put my Son in that place, will you enthrone him in your heart. Or will you put yourself in that place?

We spent some time praying for various people and situations.

Are you an edgling?

Stowe Boyd is a computing/internet/techie guru. He's the kind of guy who tweets from conference sessions every few seconds and he's almost always worth following. He has his ear firmly on society's sounding board, and he picks up and comments on the most subtle of vibrations.

Back in 2006 he wrote a blog post highlighting the way that influence in modern society is moving from 'centroids' to 'edglings'. You might like to consider which term best describes you.

What he wrote about industry, government, and society is equally true for the church. It's uncanny. We think 'house church' is unrelated to developments in society generally, but it's just part of a much wider trend. House church folks are 'edglings' par excellence.

Stowe Boyd - Stowe is what Wolfgang Simson would rightly call a prophet. He may or may not be a believer, but he is a man who sees core issues. He recognises the difference between the day-to-day view of the majority and unborn megatrends that are bubbling beneath the surface. He knows they will burst out soon and surprise everybody. How does a prophet know these things? Prophets don't know in some mysterious way, they are sensitive to tiny vibrations that others miss, subtleties of heart, mind, spirit. When they speak of these things they often go unheard, they are commonly rejected as fools, interfering busybodies, or enemies of the state.

Here are some quotes from Stowe's 2006 post, see how they mesh with the recent growth of house churches worldwide.

Personally, I favor the term Edgling because I want to move away from media metaphors, and use economic or sociological ones. This is not about who is "producing content" and who is "consuming" it: which is the basic paradigm of media thinking. Instead, it is about control moving from the central, large, mass-market organizations -- which includes media companies, but also other large organizations, like government, religious organizations, and so on -- out to the individuals -- we, the people -- at the edge.

As power moves from the center to the edge the "Centroids" -- those that hold with the centralized power of an industrial era -- will scream about all the negatives that they perceive in the out-of-control future that threatens the basis of their worldview. But the Edglings will find it liberating to get out of the stranglehold on information, communication, and the marketplace that centralized organizations attempt to impose.

Centroid or edgling? - Does that ring any bells? Take a look at Stowe's list of characteristics...

	Centroids	Edglings
Work and Politics	Top-down, authoritarian	Bottom-up, egalitarian
Point-of-View	Objective, Impartial	Subjective, Partial
Belonging	Hierarchies	Networks
Family	Nuclear	Post-nuclear networks
Political scope	Nationalism	Regionalism
Media	Mainstream	Participative
Culture	Monocultural	Multicultural
Environment	Exploitative, Unsustainable	Restorative, Sustainable
Spirituality	Centralized, Dogmatic, Outside of Nature	Decentralized, Enigmatic, Nature based

George Barna - You might like to compare this with George Barna's comments in his book 'Revolution'. Here's an extract from p 13-14...

I want to show you what our research has uncovered regarding a growing sub-nation of people, already well over 20 million strong, who are what we call Revolutionaries ... They have no use for churches that play religious games ... worship services that drone on without the presence of God ... ministries that compromise ... people in ministry ... who seek popularity ... man-made monuments ... accredited degrees.

There's a fresh wind blowing through the church as also through society. People sense that it's time to move on, to change the rules, to move from organisations with centralised authority to organic groups at the periphery, where the edglings are living and meeting in a fresh, new way.

It's no longer about organisations, it's about an organism that is alive and can reproduce in a natural way.

Eaton Ford (day) - Flowers in the branches

We watched the DVD about 'The Church at Table Number Two', we all enjoyed it, and Roger in particular felt it was relevant and helpful in his situation in the Offords. A group had been meeting at home and trying to plant churches - but it wasn't happening. Father had another plan and opened it up for them, step by step.

Chris described a vision of an ugly tree, it had dead-looking branches and was not attractive in itself. But a beautiful clematis was growing through its branches and flowering profusely. And we realised that Yahshua is the clematis! It him who gives us colour and fragrance and beauty, though we have none in our own right.

Paul also shared a vision, in this case a picture of darkness and light. And he knew that we have to get people out of the dark into the place where there is glorious light. As we go along through life we need to notice the doors that Jesus is opening, we need to spot them and use them.

Little Paxton - Eating the scroll

Sean wasn't able to join us this week, so Jim and I sat in the garden and chatted. We enjoyed the view and the balmy evening. Jim's back garden overlooks a footpath, and beyond this a large stretch of the Paxton Pits Nature Reserve; what a beautiful, peaceful place.

We talked broadly about the terrible state of Britain today - young people who are more and more doing whatever they want, not respecting other people, uncaring, and often selfish - parents who have largely been responsible for this behaviour by not raising their families properly, broken homes, single parents struggling to cope, living on benefits, having no self respect - the economy in a dire state, mostly due to a borrow and spend mentality encouraged by the banks and a consumer-driven society.

We hold all these things before the Lord in prayer. He is the only place we can turn! We don't want to see people suffer, we want to help wherever we can, but the problems are too big and are way out of control.

Jim read out Ezekiel 1 which had greatly impressed him when he started the book on his own earlier in the day. It is an amazing display of Yahweh's power and glory. It seems strange, almost unintelligible, yet it speaks volumes about the Almighty.

Chris remarked on the parallels between Ezekiel and Revelation. There is the scroll with words of lamenting and woe, it tasted sweet like honey but turned the stomach sour (Ez 2:8-3:4, Rev 10:8-11). And there is mention of shepherds and sheep in Ezekiel and the Lamb on the Throne in Revelation (Ez 34, Rev 5:1-14, 14:1-5). There's the fallen Jerusalem in Ezekiel and the new Jerusalem in Revelation. Then there is the water flowing out from the Temple gate, the River of Life, and the trees on the riverbanks for the healing of the nations (Ez 47:1-12, Rev 22:1-5).

And we also considered that amazing passage about the valley of dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14), and how the vision is being played out today in the coming together and remaking of the church. The end result will be a mighty host of the newly alive, ready to function and serve. Now that is indeed something to look forward to!

Wolfram Alpha

Wolfram Alpha is about to hit the streets (or at any rate, a computer screen near you). Created by Stephen Wolfram and his company, Wolfram Research, it will look superficially like a search engine but is fundamentally different in nature.

Like a search engine it comes with a text entry box where you can type in a query, like a search engine it goes away and thinks and then spits out results on a webpage. But what goes on behind the scenes and the nature of the returned webpage couldn't be more different.

Wolfram Alpha depends on two earlier developments from the same stable. Mathematica is software that enables mathematical manipulations to be entered, processed, and displayed on a computer, while NKS (which stands for 'A New Kind of Science') is an alternative to the normal tools used by scientists to model the way the universe works.

Using both of these innovative tools, Wolfram Alpha takes a free text query, decides what the user wants to know, looks up the relevant information in its enormous collection, processes the information to create an answer to the original query, and builds a webpage on the fly to display the response. The webpage may include text, images, graphs and charts etc. The end result is a tailored report that might have been written by an expert. Indeed, in many ways Wolfram Alpha is an expert!

Steven Wolfram is an extraordinary person. He is, frankly, a genius - one of a handful of truly great minds in our own time. He looks at things in new ways and comes up with fresh insights, testing them, proving them, and then publishing them. Here, in his own words, is how he's spent his life so far.

Major periods in my work have been:

• 1974-1980: particle physics and cosmology

• 1979-1981: developing SMP computer algebra system

• 1981-1986: cellular automata etc.

• 1986-1991: intensive Mathematica development

• 1991-2001: writing the book, 'A New Kind of Science'

(Wolfram Research, Inc. was founded in 1987; Mathematica 1.0 was released June 23, 1988; the company and successive versions of Mathematica continue to be major parts of my life.)

You can see right away that he is not a man in a hurry. He is not afraid to spend five years or more on a single project. Learn more about his background and work from Wikipedia.

Not everyone agrees with Wolfram's work on NKS, a range of reactions are included in the Wikipedia article on the book.

In the end, 'wait and see' may be the best advice for both Wolfram Alpha and NKS. As far as Alpha is concerned, we'll all get a chance to try it and draw our own conclusions when it's released. Hopefully that will be next month (May 2009).

Meanwhile you can watch video of Stephen Wolfram demonstrating the new technology at Harvard on 28th April.

For news about the new tool, take a look at the Wolfram Alpha Blog which will be updated regularly with further announcements and background information.

Great Doddington - Unexpected life

This was another great meeting, full of rich thoughts and the touch of the Spirit. What a privilege to be present!

At first we drank tea or coffee and shared news of family and friends. As we talked and prayed, several Bible texts were mentioned, in particular Psalm 31 ('let your face shine on me' - verse 16), Numbers 6 ('the Lord make his face shine upon you' - verse 25), and Psalm 37 ('he will make your righteousness shine like the dawn' - verse 6).

Sherrelea prophesied, 'Do you not know? Have you not heard? You will soar on wings like eagles, you will walk and not be faint.'

Chris had a picture of a tree and shared it. So many trees lose their leaves in the autumn and are bare all through the winter period, then in the spring they produce fresh, new leaves. But the tree in the vision remained bare after all the other trees had come into leaf. It looked dead. But then beautiful flowers burst out of the dead wood and the branches were smothered in pink blossom. And only then did the new leaves begin to grow. Sometimes when nothing seems to be happening the Lord can touch us just like the barren tree and a new season starts unexpectedly in our lives.

Rachael saw an old water mill though it wasn't turning because the water had been blocked off. It was flowing along the river, but not to the wheel. Father said that the wheel on its own is nothing and produces nothing, and the same is true of the water. But he said, 'When my water of life reaches people, my power reaches them and fills them'.

Barbara read Mark 11:22-26 and then prayed for salvation for one of the people we have had in mind. We must ask and believe, and have hearts filled with forgiveness.

Jody had seen a TV program about Nepalese tribespeople collecting honey from wild bee colonies on the sheer face of a forest cliff. These bee colonies were enormous. The method used was to lower someone on a rope to get them close to the nest, and then they would use a knife on a long pole to cut out part of the honeycomb. The idea was to catch the falling honeycomb in a basket suspended from a second rope.

The people know to take no more honey than the bees can cope with so that the bees will be able to survive the winter and collect honey again the following year. In the same way God has given us all we need in our current position. Father reminded us, 'Don't worry about the supply, don't worry about tomorrow'.

Glenn expanded on this idea, the bees coming back are like the next stage in our life. We have no children, later we have children, and eventually grandchildren. Glenn read Lam 2:11,19, and he thought that whatever we go through we have to defeat it because of our children. Our attitude should be, 'How dare the enemy attack my children?'

Chris saw treasure lying on a path, and Father said, 'Some people trip on the treasure and curse it, some step over it without even noticing that it's there, and yet others see it but think that it's worthless. They think if it was real treasure it wouldn't be lying there on the path. But you, my people, have seen the treasure, recognised its worth, and have made it your own. You have found the treasure.'

Eaton Ford (day) - the hills

We shared news and thoughts about the various friends and family members we regularly pray for.

Once we had done this we spent some time in prayer before moving on to more general thoughts.

Jules read Psalm 121 which is quite short, but really very encouraging. The first two verses read...

I lift up my eyes to the hills -
Where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,
The Maker of heaven and earth.

We though about our own situations too. Roger explained that he'd attended the PCC meeting in Offord d'Arcy, and told us how he had felt about it. We shared some thoughts on meetings at home, and particularly hoped that Roger and Ruth might have an opportunity to host such meetings themselves.

Eaton Ford - Japan

Sean told us about the trip to Japan he'd made with his son Joe who is learning Japanese. They spent some time in Tokyo and also in Nagasaki which Sean felt is a beautiful city.

Apparently you can't buy a car in Japan unless you can house it off-road, so car ownership is less common than in Britain and city traffic is not as congested as it is here. Public transport is good. They travelled by train while they were there and were impressed by the punctuality, the politeness of staff, and the respect that people show one another.

We talked about meeting at home in small groups and the sometimes subtle differences between church home groups, the cells of a cell church, and a network of house churches. Jim felt there is a real need for a group to feel like a family.

We also discussed holding another Moggerhanger-style meeting. If we do, Jim thought it would be useful to ask each group to share something about the style of their meetings, how they got started and so forth.

Jim explained that in the River Church's life group they had looked at Psalm 19. Verse 105 is especially striking, 'Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path'. The psalms have themes, for example comfort is the theme of Psalm 23. It's important to recognise we have light for the journey.

Chris mentioned Job 23 which he'd read recently. It's clear that Job wanted a chance to meet Yahweh so he could put his case before him. The problem for Job was that Yahweh was unavailable. Wherever Job searched he was nowhere to be found. And the 'thick darkness' Job speaks of is mentioned a number of times in the Old Testament. This darkness (or hiddenness) prevents the contact Job so craves. Yet we learn from Paul that we are now 'hidden in Christ', in other words we are now on the other side of the veil of hiddenness, and that explains why the world cannot understand us. What a privilege we have!

Jim ran with this thought, reminding us that we know where we're going because Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place for us. His love is so deep, so high, so long and so wide! HalleluYah!

Great Doddington - We're nothing special

Right at the start we talked about friends and family who needed prayer. We also discussed the need to help our neighbours without neglecting one another in order to do it.

Chris mentioned that it's not really about us at all, it's all about Christ. And although we know how grubby and ugly we really are, even so - he loves us!

Jody explained how they'd visited Fountains Abbey as a family and although the foundations and much of the walls remain, the whole place is being reclaimed by nature. Grass is growing between the pillars, and it's absolutely glorious! She said that it's just like Christ in us, we are becoming absorbed into him. We need to allow his living nature to overtake and overwhelm our dead nature.

She also mentioned Susan Boyle, the newly discovered singer made famous by the TV show 'Britain Has Talent'. This amazing woman has no great natural beauty, but when she sings it really does come from the heart. In this she is a picture of us as believers, we are nothing special in our ordinary day-to-day lives, but there is something very special in our hearts.

Jody shared a picture of something that looked like blueberry jam with a slice of white bread floating in the middle. But instead of jam it turned out to be black tar! Sherrelea was reminded of a bird floating on an oil slick, unless somebody rescues it it will eventually sink. She felt that the Lord has brought us together in this little group to support one another and rescue one another from the blackness. And like the bird in oil, the rescue demands more than just picking us out from danger, it also requires patient, gentle, careful cleaning, feather by feather. And we need protecting while we recover and regain our strength before we can be set free.

Jody prophesied, 'You are new wine to be poured out for a new purpose to show the world who I am and what I will do. Despite the credit crunch, and war, and distress of all kinds, I have come to bring you (and them) to be in the light and love - to share - to take and share. Don't put it in a cupboard or under a blanket, take my joy forward. Be my servants.

We listened to a track from Nicky Roger's first CD, 'Colour Scheme'. The song 'One Thing' reminded us that Jesus is the 'One and Only', and he is the one, the only one who matters in our lives.

Eaton Ford/Little Paxton - Cup of tea!

This was a very unusual evening. We began by visiting the hospital to see a friend, but discovered that he'd already been discharged. It was a wild goose chase!

Then we spent some time at John's house in Eaton Ford and met one of his work colleagues, Pete. We spent the time chatting about old times, events that had happened at work, trips abroad. It was fun and very entertaining.

Finally, Jim and I returned to Little Paxton and finished the evening in discussion and prayer over a cup of tea.

Eaton Ford (day) - News from family

Once again we began by sharing news of friends, family and others with needs. Some are ill, some need work, some have difficulties or unhappiness or loss of some kind.

Roger read Psalm 37 and we noted that the Lord has several instructions for us here.

Verse 3 - Trust in the Lord, verse 4 - Delight yourself in the Lord, verse 5 - Commit your way to the Lord, verse 7 - Be still before the Lord.

Paul read Matthew 11:25-30 which includes the words, 'Come to me ... and I will give you rest', echoing the theme from the psalm.

We ate lunch together and enjoyed talking , and finally Roger read 1 Cor 11:23-26 and we shared bread and wine together.

He is risen!

There's a delightful little story going around as one of those email circulars, a friend sent me a copy of it recently.

The story goes that when Peter and John arrived at the empty tomb, they saw that the grave wrappings had been thrown in a heap, but at the other end of the tomb, the napkin that had covered Jesus face was neatly folded.

There was a convention that when a man ate his meal, the servant would watch. If the master threw his napkin down untidily this was a sign that he'd finished and the servant would begin to clear the table. But if the master folded his napkin this showed he intended to return to finish the meal later.

So the folded napkin in the tomb was significant because to Yahshua's followers it meant, 'I am coming back in a short while'. It's still a great story even though it may not be true. But what is true (and is important) is that Jesus did rise from the grave and that he will indeed return!

Here's a link to the full version that's been doing the email rounds. This article repeats the full text of the story and then explains why it's not really true.

I also found a post on an internet forum that quoted some great notes from Athol Dickson. You'll need to scroll down quite a way to find it, so for convenience I've included it in full below. (Athol Dickson is an acclained Christian author, winning the Christy Award in 2006 and again in 2008.) Not only does he explain that the story is incorrect, he also explains and expands on other aspects of the graveclothes and draws out a good deal of valuable insight.

Lent Among the Folds
Wednesday, February 6, 2008

Beginning with the end in mind I pondered the empty tomb on this first day of Lent. I remembered an email someone forwarded to me recently, one of those sentimental legends people pass around the Internet. It starts with one verse from the Apostle John’s eyewitness description of Jesus’ empty tomb: “He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the burial cloth that had been around Jesus' head. The cloth was folded up by itself, separate from the linen.” (John 20:6-7) Focusing on that last detail, the folded cloth, the email says:

“In order to understand the significance of the folded napkin, you have to understand a little bit about Hebrew tradition of that day. The folded napkin had to do with the Master and Servant, and every Jewish boy knew this tradition. When the servant set the dinner table for the master, he made sure that it was exactly the way the master wanted it. The table was furnished perfectly, and then the servant would wait, just out of sight, until the master had finished eating, and the servant would not dare touch that table, until the master was finished. Now if the master was done eating, he would rise from the table, wipe his fingers, his mouth, and clean his beard, and would wad up that napkin and toss it onto the table. The servant would then know to clear the table. For in those days, the wadded napkin meant, "I'm done". But if the master got up from the table, and folded his napkin, and laid it beside his plate, the servant would not dare touch the table, because… The folded napkin meant, ‘I'm coming back!’”

It is a nice little story, but I’ve made something of a study of Judaism, including Jewish traditions and cultural practices at the time of Jesus, and never have I heard of such a tradition. So at first I was skeptical. We Christians often try to read too much symbolism into Jewish practices. For example, you will hear it solemnly pronounced at churches around Easter time that the baked brown stripes and rows of little holes in those unleavened wafers Jews use in their Pesach seder (a Passover supper, or service) symbolize the wounds on Jesus’ body when he was crucified. But those stripes and holes only came about in modern times when people started baking matzo mass-production style in factories. Unleavened bread in Jesus’ time would have had neither stripes, nor holes. So we need to use some common sense when we read or hear these kinds of quasi-Messianic theories about Judeo/Christian symbolism.

Still . . . the little story did get me thinking about the folded cloth in the empty tomb, and a certain ancient Jewish dinner table. Since at least the time of Jesus many Jewish families have used a folded napkin in the Pesach seder to hide the afikomen, which is a broken piece of unleavened bread hidden away until the end of the meal, when it is “found” and eaten. We know it was this last piece of bread—the broken afikomen quite possibly retrieved from a hiding place within the napkin folds—that Jesus held aloft and said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” We know this because the next words in the Last Supper account are, “After the supper…” and the Talmud tells us this broken piece of bread was the last food eaten in the seder.

Only three days separated the empty tomb from the moment the disciples witnessed Jesus comparing his own broken body to the afikomen taken from the napkin folds. It makes sense that the folded cloth in the empty tomb would symbolize what Jesus had just accomplished, his broken body risen from the folds of the earth, rather than evoking a second coming thousands of years in the future as the little story above would have us believe. Foremost on Jesus’ mind as he folded his burial cloth would have been the disciples, the people for whom he had just risen from the dead, the people who must now be taught the meaning of the cross and empty tomb. If the gesture of that folded cloth was connected with a dinner table tradition at all, it was not just any Jewish master’s supper, but the Master of all Master’s own Last Supper. Jesus was not thinking of his second coming; he was reminding his disciples to “take, eat, and remember me.” Or so I thought.

Then I remembered the Lord never does just one thing at a time.

It is a sign of God’s omniscience that He accomplishes countless good things with a single word. And in perfect keeping with this fact, God’s “word,” the Bible, often speaks of many things at once. So I began to wonder if that folded cloth might be about both of those Jewish dinner table traditions, the Pesach seder / Last Supper, and a typical Jewish master’s signal to his servant. With that in mind, I remembered this: “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11:26) There they are together in one verse: the gospel and the second coming, and both of them connected with the Last Supper. If the bread and wine proclaim the Christ’s death in our place until he comes again, perhaps the folded cloth does the same, pointing to the meaning of the Gospel and to the promise Jesus will come again.

My Lenten meditation was producing fruit. I began to ponder other possibilities, and of course, the Bible being an endless divine self-revelation, several came to mind.

I have not read Sigmund Brouwer’s book, The Carpenter’s Cloth, but I understand it says carpenters and other manual laborers in first century Palestine, as today, kept a cloth handy to wipe away their perspiration as they worked. Being illiterate for the most part, they could not leave an invoice or a note to their customer when a project was finished, so it was a common tradition to signify a completed contract by leaving that cloth on or near the work, neatly folded. It was a tactful way of saying, “I’ve completed the work.” Jesus was a carpenter after all, so the folded cloth might have come naturally to him as a fitting gesture that his Passion was complete. This ties in nicely with the fact that the afikomen was the final piece of bread, and with Jesus’ own words on the cross, “It is finished.” But when the workman sends that signal, he also sends another. The workman’s folded cloth also asks for something. It tells the one for whom the work was done, “I’ve finished my part, now it’s your turn to deliver payment.” We can never repay Jesus for giving his life in place of ours, nor does he expect it. But he does expect our faith to lead to Christian love—to righteous action—otherwise we have no faith at all. Jesus was very clear on this: “If you love me, you will obey what I command,” (John 14:15), and of course we have James writing these famous words on the same subject: “Faith without works is dead,” (James 2:26).

Once I really started looking, I kept finding more. John tells us the head covering was neatly folded while the rest of the linen that covered Jesus’ body was only “lying there.” If that means only the cloth around the head was folded, signifying completion, while the cloth from around the body was wadded or disheveled, it might relate to these words, which Paul wrote about the very moment when Jesus rose from the dead: “[Christ] is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead….” Might the contrast between that neatly folded head cloth beside the disheveled body cloth signify that Christ’s “body” on earth, the church, must respond to what the head has done? While for Jesus “it is finished,” we still have work to do on earth. Surely Jesus knew his followers in later years would cherish Paul’s abiding metaphor for the church as his body. Surely Jesus also knew that some of us would look back on those two cloths in the empty tomb and connect them with Paul’s metaphor, and be reminded in yet one more way that “Faith without works is dead.”

I found another, more mundane explanation in Adam Clarke’s great old commentary: “The providence of God ordered these very little matters, so that they became the fullest proofs against the lie of the chief priests, that the body had been stolen away by the disciples. If the body had been stolen away, those who took it would not have stopped to strip the clothes from it, and to wrap them up, and lay them by in separate places.” Matthew Henry agrees with Clarke: “Any one would rather choose to carry a dead body in its clothes than naked. Or, if those that were supposed to have stolen it would have left the grave-clothes behind, yet it cannot be supposed they should find leisure to fold up the linen.” In other words, that folded head cloth might have been Jesus’ way of saying, “No one stole me away. On the contrary, I rose up alone. I walked out alone. I alone did this, for I alone could do it. I am Almighty God.”

Still meditating on the layers in the folded cloth, I realized John has some kind of fascination with cloths and clothing. In an earlier part of John’s gospel, he writes of the resurrection of Lazarus, using language very similar to his description of the cloths that Jesus left behind. He tells us of Lazarus’s face cloth and the “strips [note the plural] of linen” that Lazarus had upon his body. When John gets to the crucifixion, again he writes of a cloth that covered Jesus. Strangely, out of all the details he might have mentioned at the outset of this all-important portion of his story, John chooses to begin with soldiers casting lots for Jesus’ underclothes. He takes pains to tell us the garment was “seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom.” It is as if he wants us to compare Jesus’ clothes in a before-and-after kind of way. He wants us to notice that Jesus wore one seamless cloth before his death, and many pieces after. But why? Why should this “disciple whom Jesus loved” describe Jesus' underwear of all things, instead of starting the crucifixion scene with his dying rabbi’s suffering? Why take the trouble to tell us very specifically Jesus wore something “seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom” before the crucifixion, but left behind many separate pieces afterwards?

Before Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross, the tabernacle / temple was the site of countless animal sacrifices for the sins of God’s chosen people. This sacrificial process was overseen by a high priest. The first century Jewish historian Josephus tells us this high priest wore an undergarment that was “…not composed of two pieces, nor was it sewed together upon the shoulders and the sides, but it was one long vestment so woven as to have an aperture for the neck; not an oblique one, but parted all along the breast and the back." (See Antiquities of the Jews, book 3, chapter 7, sentence 4.) In other words, the Jewish high priest wore something seamless, woven in one piece. The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews tells us the tabernacle (which later became the temple in Jerusalem) symbolized God’s dwelling place in heaven, the animal sacrifices were symbols of Jesus’ crucifixion, and the high priest symbolized Jesus, the ultimate priest, who entered God’s actual dwelling place in heaven to offer himself as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. The rituals at the Jewish tabernacle and temple were living prophesies, intended to prepare the Jewish people to recognize their Messiah when he came. Hebrews also tells us Jesus’ sacrifice was perfect and final, unlike those of the high priests. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, there is no more need for Messianic prophesies, because the real thing has been done. So the contrast between the single, seamless garment Jesus wore closest to his skin as he offered the final sacrifice, and the many cloths he left behind afterwards, symbolizes the fact that there is no more need for the temple, or the sacrifices, or the high priests, or the seamless garments they wore. The ultimate high priest has offered the ultimate sacrifice, which is all anyone will ever need from now on, and forevermore.

In close relation to that, yet another possibility occurred to me. I remembered Numbers 4:5-15 where the Bible says whenever the tabernacle was moved, all of the mysterious, prophetic items within it from the Ark of the Covenant to the Bread of the Presence were to be covered from sight with some kind of cloth. Only when the tabernacle was set up again and those items were again out of sight behind curtains could the covering cloths be removed. We know the main purpose of the tabernacle from God’s own words in Exodus 25:8: "Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.” It was built for prophetic symbolism as I already mentioned, but the purpose of the symbolized Messiah was to establish intimate fellowship between us and God. We know this, because John used the very words of Exodus to describe Jesus’ mission: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” But look at the next thing John says of Jesus in that same verse: “We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

To see the glory of the One and Only, the Lord Most High . . . what an extraordinary claim.

Any Jewish student of the Torah will tell you it's impossible. The purpose of the cloths in tabernacle days was to hide even the symbols of the Lord from unclean human eyes, lest the people be literally consumed by God’s perfect holiness like moths flying too close to a purifying fire (as were Nadab and Abihu). There was a time, as the Lord told Moses, when no one could see His face and live, but Jesus came to change that, and Jesus did change that, as John says very clearly: “we have seen his glory.” There was a moment when John saw a hint of Jesus’ glory. But I don’t think that’s what John meant. The glory John described as “the One and Only” was not just the risen Christ, but also the fearfully holy Creator of Everything, somehow (we can never know how) made visible and touchable. Remembering his warnings to Moses thousands of years before (“cover the Ark”, “you must not see my face”) the God who was Jesus took time to fold that face cloth so those who knew his Torah would notice it, and think about it, and perhaps come to understand some small portion of the wonderful fact that it was no longer necessary.

I enter Lent this year acutely aware that I once hid from God instinctively. But the need for coverings between God and me is over. Jesus died, and the temple curtain hiding the Ark of the Covenant was split from top to bottom (another covering cloth divided, of course). Jesus rose again, with his holy face uncovered. And Jesus can lift away all the other barriers between me and my Creator, if I will just believe.

Just as there is no end to God, so everything Jesus said and did means more than I can ever fully know. In fact, I’m still far from understanding everything there is to know about even one detail: that little folded cloth. But beginning with the end in mind on this first day of forty in the wilderness of Lent, I have come to see the empty tomb as far from empty. It is filled to overflowing with eternal riches, so it is not the end I had in mind at all, but the best of all beginnings.

Posted by Athol Dickson

--------------------
"One thing I have asked of the Lord and that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life and to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in His temple."