The beginning (1 John 1:1)

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.

 

I want you to notice that the one who writes this is a man intimately acquainted with your saviour.

Matthew, when you read this, these very words, you are only one step removed from Jesus himself. This man touched Jesus, reclined against him, spoke to him, laughed with him. he gazed in awe as his master healed blind men and lepers. When Jesus cooked on the beach after the resurrection, this man smelt and tasted the fish. He is the man to whom your Lord entrusted the care of his very own mother. This man is someone who was not only in 'The twelve' but was in 'The three' and describes himself as 'The one Jesus loved'. Only one step removed from Jesus himself! How amazing is that? This man is someone you want to listen to, Matthew.

 

And look how convinced John is! This man he hung out with must have been something special. I know you know that, but stop looking through your Christian-eyes, Matthew. Think what that would have been like for a devout Jew like John. What would it take to convince him that this flesh and blood, meat and two veg human that he spent these years with, was the eternal word, pre-existent before creation, giving life to all? When did he realise? Was it only once he had risen from the dead? Think about that. How phenomenal would that have been. The realisation that not only was this a Holy prophet, but that he was God the son, the incarnate one. And he, John, had lived with him for three years, and seen some mind-blowing stuff.

 

This Jesus was from the beginning. As John states in his gospel, he was with God and he was God. Woah. That gives you chills.

I think Matthew you are going to have to listen to what this man has got to say.  Don't skip through it like you usually do. Don't just use it to get affirmation on social media. Linger with this a while. Spend some time in the company of the words of the man who was the disciple Jesus loved. Put your ear to his lips, because those lips proclaim the words his own ears heard from Jesus' lips. And you love him, Matthew. He is the one you love and his words are life.

 

Now settle in. What does John proclaim concerning him?

 

In Quietness and Confidence (a Eulogy)

This morning at 04:00 a man called Ted Ripley passed from death into life.

Ted, I believe, was 90 years old and he'd been ill for the last few weeks with a lung disease.

I shouldn't be shocked. He was of what we often call 'a ripe old age', and although we were warned during the weekend, that he would probably not make it much further, ( I was at least a little mentally prepared) it has come as a real surprise at what an emotional impact it has had, and it came up on me sideways.

Imagine you live next to a mountain and when you moved to that area it was a thing of great spectacle. You would often just sit in your garden and look up at what the hymnist refers to as 'lofty grandeur'. You would just drink in the majesty and the beauty of how it off set every weather type, the sun picking out its peaks in the morning, whilst your garden is still in darkness. The way clouds would roll over it, the seasonal change in its greenery, from green to yellow to brown and then almost grey, and the snow capped peaks in some winter weeks, and the way the sun would set behind it every night and etch its silhouette onto your retina by giving it a golden halo.

But human nature being such that although you would always appreciate its beauty and majesty after a decade or so it wouldn't quite take your breath away like it used to. Your appreciation if anything is enhanced but the impact is lost. It is just there. It is always there. You will be long gone into your retirement home and it will be just the same, and it will continue to be the same after you have slept the final sleep.

Now imagine you come out one morning and that mountain is gone.

That is how I feel about Ted. He was always there. He looked the same. He never changed. He wasn't ill. He showed up and he kept showing up. And I never imagined my life without him in it. When I lived in Brighton I felt the same about the sea. When I moved I went to visit it every week. After 5 years that had changed. It was for the most part, enough to know it was there and smile when I occasionally passed it. It orientated me. I knew where it was and where everything was in relation to it.

Now if Ted was a mountain, perhaps he wasn't a particularly spectacular one at fist glance. He was not given to flashness, he didn't dominate conversations or dazzle you with his humour and he didn't suck up the limelight. Ted was dependable, faithful and yes, understated. But don't think for a second this undermines his mountain status. Mountains are built on something. It is their substance rather than their outline that make them count. And so often the best treasures are within the mountain, waiting to be mined.

Anyone who knew Ted will know of his phenomenal commitment to prayer. Ted was faithful. Ted had time for everyone. He was patient and considered, and had a lot of wisdom. He will be deeply missed.

The fellowship I grew up in (and returned to) started at the same time I did. My dad tells me that one of the formative moments in recognising that they were effectively a church (after having left the Baptist church) was during a gathering for prayer at the time of my traumatic birth. I don't know if Ted was at that meeting but as a founder member of our church I think it is very likely that he would have been. About 99% I'd say, like it was about a 99% chance of him being at any church prayer meeting you might deem to turn up to. (Some poetic licence here).

He was there at the beginning and, now I am here at the end of his earthly life, I want to say his faithful, gentle, unobtrusive mountainous presence was something , like the man himself, I never expected to not be there. And we all who knew him are bereft at its absence.

And I have a theory. We honour great speakers and charismatic leaders. We honour bombastic people and successful people, but God honours the faithful. He will not say "Well done good and successful servant". It is the prayer sayers and the tea makers, and the chair stackers that will receive his reward. I know faithfulness has its more glamorous sides but it is the humble who God exalts, not the proud.

1 john 3:2 says 'What we will be has not yet been made known' (But when Jesus appears we shall be like him). and we are told in Romans 8:19 that creation itself  'waits eagerly for the children of God to be revealed'.

 I think when Teds true nature is revealed it will be a thing to behold. That those less showy characteristics of his (which still spoke volumes in their own way) will be shown to have a spiritual glory that is beautiful and breath-taking in the extreme. And all the glory for it will go to God, and that will please Ted no end.

I honestly think there will be platform speakers who would be waiting in line for an audience with Ted. Those who do their deeds to be honoured by others will have already received their reward in that end, but those who seek to honour God have a reward to come which must surpass all the praise of men.

I suppose in the end I am guilty of treating Ted a little like I treated the sea whilst living in Brighton. He was like the Mountain whose presence we come to take for granted, but what I am trying to say is that God sees everything and he sees it as it is. Within our faith community Ted was still held in honour and the sadness and grief at his parting will speak volumes in the coming weeks, I am certain. But the true depth of what made him so sturdy, I believe, are only seen by God and will be truly honoured by him and I believe in our earthly state we would be surprised to see it's depths and heights. Don't get me wrong, Ted was just a down to earth 'normal' guy. But that's just the point.

Ted we are grateful to have walked with you. We salute you. We stand on your shoulders.
Thank you for all your faithfulness. Thank you for all your prayers. Thank you for your example.
You once directed me to a book called 'Finishing Strong', saying it had spoken deeply to you. I think you finished strong. And you will go on from strength to strength.

Until we meet in glory.


 "In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength"