Broken Jars

following the fire in Notre Dame Cathedral the other week

the French Minister for Culture

was reported by the BBC

for saying that the most precious treasures

belonging to the church have been saved

the most precious treasures of the church

that phrase reminded me of a story that took place approximately

1,000 years before Notre Dame Cathedral was built

it was the year 258 and the Roman Emperor Valerian was busy persecuting the Christian church

he ordered that all clergy be put to death

and gave order to the imperial treasury

that they had power to confiscate all money and possessions

that belonged to the church

the Pope Sixtus II

had just ordained a young Spanish theologian

by the name of Lawrence and he had appointed him Archdeacon of Rome

this put Lawrence in charge of the church's property

and responsibility for its outreach

well it was August the 6th

the year 258

and Valerian the Emperor

captured the Pope

during a worship service

and had him beheaded

then he set his sights on the young Lawrence

who had been appointed

as the Archdeacon of Rome

the Emperor demanded that Lawrence

turned over all the treasures

of the church

and he gave him three days

to round all the treasures together

Lawrence knew that he had to act swiftly

he managed to round up

all the chalices and vessels

and pieces of silver

communion plates

all of those sort of things

as quickly as he could

everything he could lay his hands on

he sold the lot

and distributed the money

among the most vulnerable

and the poorest people

that he could find

that third day came

and he approached the Emperor's Palace

he walked in through the door

completely empty handed

the Emperor demanded

the treasure of the church

at which point

Lawrence gestured

beyond the door

that he had just walked through

and pointed outside

where he had gathered

crowds and crowds

of ordinary

broken people

these

he said

to the Emperor

are the treasures

of the church

the church

is truly rich

far richer

Emperor

than you will ever be

the Emperor didn't like that

very much

and he gave instruction

to have him

burned alive

that same day

but it's a story

that reminds us

very powerfully

that the church

in the widest

broadest sense

is unfathomably rich

but not in the way

that the Emperor

and just about

everybody outside

of the church

since the Emperor

might think

Paul puts it like this

we have this treasure

in jars of clay

we're wasting away

we are broken people

every single one of us

we're dying

we're on the course

to die

we're weak

we're frail

we're broken

but there is something

inside

that is priceless

we are all broken

we're wasting away

everything

is broken

that phrase

broken home

even the phrase

broken marriage

broken family

those

those are phrases

that ought not to be

singled out

for a particular

situation

they apply to everyone

every person

is broken

every marriage

is broken

every home

is broken

every family

is broken

every business

is broken

every church

is broken

every society

is broken

now that's not

being bleak

it's not being

mordered

that's reality

the wonder of the gospel

is that it tells us

how in our brokenness

in our weakness

whatever that looks like

the spirit of God

who is eternal

chooses to live

within us

very often

Christianity

is talked about

as though it were

a belief system

you believe

this that

and the other

a set of

theological

propositions

doctrinal claims

and that's what

makes you a Christian

or maybe

as a kind of

pattern of behaviour

the things that you do

if you live a morally

good life

if you're engaged

with a church

if you're an active

member of a church

if you live your faith

out in those

practical ways

that's

that's Christianity

all of those things

kind of get

sort of close

to what being

a Christian is

but they miss

the thing

that is at the very heart

and it is this

that to be a Christian

is not so much

just what you believe

or even what you do

it is a state of being

a state of being

which

which means

that the spirit

of the living God

actually lives

inside you

treasure

inside a jar

of clay

elsewhere

Paul says

that

our bodies

are like temples

for God's

Holy Spirit

God

himself

lives

in us

John Wesley

the founder

of the Methodist

church

was fond

of saying

that his

favourite

definition

of a Christian

was actually

the title

of a book

written by

Henry Schuble

in 1691

the life

of God

in the soul

of man

that's a

breathtaking thought

God

the author

of the

universe

actually

has

a living

presence

not just

around

about you

but in you

I recently

re-read

what is

considered

by many

to be

something

of a

classic

of the

20th century

a book

by Dr

Martin Lloyd

Jones

called

Spiritual

Depression

Martin Lloyd

Jones

was a

medical

GP

he went

on to

become

a pastor

at

Westminster

Chapel

in London

for over

three

decades

that book

that he

wrote

Spiritual

Depression

was written

nearly half

a century

ago

now

and putting

aside some

of the

language

that he

uses

honestly it

could have

been written

today

because it

speaks into

the realities

of life

and its

struggles

and its

brokenness

and its

pains

today as

much as

in any

age

his key

idea

was this

that no

matter how

we as

human beings

might feel

in other words

whatever our

circumstances

may be

whatever our

state of

mind

our emotional

state

might be

whatever

that might

be going

on inside

us

whether we're

talking

depression

as the title

of his book

or anxiety

or fear

or exhaustion

whatever that

might be

that our

feelings would

say to us

he says that

as a

Christian

you have a

different

identity

because God

is in you

the spirit

you have

within you

is not a

spirit of

fear

it is

something

radically

different

and we

need to be

reminded of

that

you are a

child of

God

and God

himself

lives in

you

that treasure

in a jar

of clay

and he goes

on to say

at length

if you are

a Christian

you need to

be reminded

of this

and remind

yourself of

it time

and time

again

because the

reality

is very

different

to what

your

feelings

will tell

you

and what

your

culture

and what

your

circumstances

will tell

you

in a sense

you are

no longer

ordinary

if you are

a Christian

believer

well you are

ordinary

but he

who lives

within you

is not

now that

doesn't always

correspond with

the way we

are feeling

emotionally

mentally

psychologically

and that is

all the

reason

said Lloyd

Jones why

we need

to remind

ourselves

that we

have this

very peculiar

relationship

with God

that God

isn't just

believed in

God lives

within us

and so he

goes on to

say that we

spend too

much time

listening to

ourselves

instead we

need to

preach to

ourselves

ourselves

rather than

paying too

much attention

to what our

feelings our

thoughts our

emotions our

circumstances are

saying to us

we need

to preach to

ourselves he

said this

we must not

think of

ourselves as

ordinary people

we are not

natural men

and women

we are born

again

God has

given his

holy spirit

and he

is the

spirit of

power and

love and

of a

sound mind

therefore to

those who are

particularly prone

to spiritual

depression through

timorous fear of

the future

I say in the

name of God

and in the

words of the

apostle

stir up the

gift

talk to

yourself

remind

yourself of

what is true

of you

instead of

allowing the

future and

thoughts of

it to grip

you

talk to

yourself

remind

yourself of

who you

are and

what you

are and

of what

spirit is

within you

and having

reminded yourself

of the

character of

the spirit

you will be

able to go

steadily forward

fearing

nothing

living in

the present

ready for

the future

with one

desire

only

to glorify

him

who gave

his all

for you

next week

as a church

we begin

a series

that will be

running through

May June

and July

called the

fruitful life

we're going to

be looking at

discipleship

and the

fruit of the

spirit

what it

means

to pay

very careful

attention

to that

treasure

that is

within us

it's not

inward looking

it's not

spiritual

navel gazing

it's putting

at the very

centre of

our thoughts

that which

is most

precious

the fact

that the

living God

chooses to

come and

live within

our brokenness

is the

very thing

that transforms

lives and

makes mission

happen and

changes and

transforms the

world around

us

and over

these coming

weeks

that's

what we're

going to

be thinking

about

the treasure

of the

church

this

treasure

that is in

jars of

clay

we're

right

we're

we're

going to

get

out

to

us

we're

we're

we're