a prophet v 2

Proclamation of the Word

I know some of you have family who visit from time to time, and they come and worship here. We look at people who we have seen grow up here, and think about what they were like as children, and how they have turned out. How much they have grown and changed. And then their children come, and there are comments about how much this grandchild is like their parent or aunt or uncle was growing up. It seems to be part of our human make-up to look for family resemblances.

Jesus was back in his home village, visiting his family, and teaching in the local Synagogue. At first the people were astounded, amazed, at what Jesus was teaching, then they look at him, and see it is a home town boy of suspicious parentage – he is called Mary’s son rather than Joseph’s son. The villagers have seen Jesus and his sisters and brothers grow up.

And they wonder - Who does he think he is?!

Sounds like the Aussie ‘tall poppy’ syndrome. I can remember watching sport with my father, who was similar physical build to me, and he would say, I could do that, I just don’t want to show off. Now there was no way he could run a sprint or a marathon, or swim or dive or any of the other amazing things we will at the Olympics this year. In Australia we have habit of knocking those we deem to be too much ‘in the spotlight’.

And the people of the village wonder - Who does he think he is?!

This Jesus, this carpenter, this boy who grew up with our sons and daughters.  Who does he think he is?!

The reactions of the people in the village is not unusual.

I wonder how we respond to Jesus?

When Jesus asked his disciples ‘who do people say I am?’

“[The disciples]  replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”. “ [Matthew 16:14]

Jesus reminded people of the prophets.

Prophets were, and are, people who speak God’s word into a situation. People who speak up, and act, for the marginalised, for the whole creation, for the hungry, for the abused.

We can think of Jesus as a friend and companion, healer and teacher – and he is those things. But that is only part of who Jesus is.

I wonder, have we grown so comfortable, so familiar, that we don’t hear what is being said anymore, that we miss the strangeness of the Gospel.

The gospel which tells us of Jesus including the excluded, healing the sick, calming the storm, teaching, calling disciples, challenging those in leadership. The Gospel is good news, but it isn’t about being good in terms of middle-class western respectability.

For many people today, Christianity and the Church is about respectability, being good and nice. 

But Jesus was not that.

Jesus was not respectable.

Jesus did not stay on the ‘right’ side of the powerful and important.

Jesus broke the rules.

Jesus challenged the way things were.

What might Jesus challenge today – our treatment of asylum seekers, our fixation on ourselves, the cult of individualism, the way that economics decides what health and education are available for those unable to afford private schooling and healthcare.

What might Jesus challenge today –in your life?

In this community?

In this nation?

Who does he think he is?! This Jesus, who comes asking the difficult questions.

This Jesus who comes as challenges us to step out of our complacency, to see beyond our own life.

Who does he think he is?!

a Prophet in town

After a three week break, a weekend off, then 2 weeks ill, back preaching this week.

I know some of you have family who visit from time to time, and they come and worship here. We look at people who we have seen grow up here, and think about what they were like as children, and how they have turned out. How much they have grown and changed. And then their children come, and there are comments about how much this grandchild is like their parent or aunt or uncle was growing up. It seems to be part of our human make-up to look for family resemblances.

Jesus was back in his home village, visiting his family, and teaching in the local Synagogue. At first the people were astounded, amazed, at what Jesus was teaching, then they look at him, and see it is a home town boy of suspicious parentage – he is called Mary’s son rather than Joseph’s son. The villagers have seen Jesus and his sisters and brothers grow up.

And they wonder - Who does he think he is?!

Sounds like the Aussie ‘tall poppy’ syndrome. I can remember watching sport with my father, who was similar physical build to me, and he would say, I could do that, I just don’t want to show off. Now there was no way he could run a sprint or a marathon, or swim or dive or any of the other amazing things we will at the Olympics this year. In Australia we have habit of knocking those we deem to be too much ‘in the spotlight’.

And the people of the village wonder - Who does he think he is?!

This Jesus, this carpenter, this boy who grew up with our sons and daughters.  Who does he think he is?!

The reactions of the people in the village is not unusual.

I wonder how we respond to Jesus?

When Jesus asked his disciples ‘who do people say I am?’

“[The disciples]  replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”. “ [Matthew 16:14]

Jesus reminded people of the prophets.

Prophets were, and are, people who speak God’s word into a situation. People who speak up, and act, for the marginalised, for the whole creation, for the hungry, for the abused. A few weeks ago you watched a DVD about the Uniting Church’s Statement to the Nation from 1977. To me this is a prophetic statement, even now. There are some copies available at morning tea, here are

[The] six affirmations of the Uniting Church in 1977 were: [on PP slides] [Rev Dr Dean Drayton retiring address as President of the Assembly

http://assembly.uca.org.au/component/k2/item/295-church-members-called-to-act-on-historic-statement]

1. We will challenge values which emphasise acquisitiveness and greed in disregard of the needs of others …
- compare this statement to the response of people to changes in interest rates, tax tables and various charges for services. How much do we respond from our situation rather than the poorest, the least?

2. We affirm that the first allegiance of Christians is God, under whose judgment the policies and actions of all nations must pass. We realise that this allegiance may bring us into conflict with the rulers of our day.
- are we, like Jesus willing to be in conflict with the rulers of this country – religious and political and social?

3. We are concerned with the basic human rights of future generations and will urge the wise use of energy, the protection of the environment and the replenishment of the earth’s resources for their use and enjoyment.
- are we aware of how our consumption undermines our grandchildren’s future?

4. We affirm our eagerness to uphold basic Christian values and principles such as the importance of every human being.

- Do we treat some people as less important than others? Why is the death of one person in Australia more newsworthy than hundreds in another country?

- How do we respond to the Government intervention in the Northern territory and now Bankstown and some others cities, are the human rights of some more important than others, do we afford more dignity to some people?

5. We affirm … the need for integrity in public life, the proclamation of truth and justice.

- where do we get our information from? It seems that much of the public discourse on important issues is what we get in a  30 second sound bite on the nightly news. Or from people who make a living by creating conflict and division.

6. We pledge ourselves to hope and work for a nation whose goals are not guided by self-interest alone …

 - how do we as a nation make decisions?

- ----

How do you feel about this list, about being part of a church that runs a medically supervised injecting facility, that has chaplains in prisons and detention centres, that speaks out on behalf of refugees and asylum seekers, that calls politicians to task for their double standards. What is it like being part of a denomination that doesn’t always agree with other denominations?

It can be easy to worship each week and forget about some of that the Uniting Church stands for – justice, human rights, the dignity of all people and all of creation.

We can think of Jesus as a friend and companion, healer and teacher – and he is those things. But that is only part of who Jesus is.

Have we grown so comfortable, so familiar, that we don’t hear what is being said anymore, that we miss the strangeness of the Gospel.

The gospel which tells us of Jesus including the excluded, healing the sick, calming the storm, teaching, calling disciples, challenging those in leadership. The Gospel is good news, but it isn’t about being good in terms of middle-class western respectability.

For many people today, the Church is about respectability, being good and nice. 

But Jesus was not that.

Jesus was not respectable.

Jesus did not stay on the ‘right’ side of the powerful and important.

Jesus broke the rules.

Jesus challenged the way things were.

In this passage Mark records that Jesus was unable to perform many miracles, because of the unbelief of the people. Now it would take a long time to explore this in detail, but I wonder how often we miss what God is doing in this community, and around the world, because we only see the Jesus we are comfortable with, the one who is kind, our friend, our support, our comforter.

What if we looked for, encouraged and supported the prophets in our midst, the ones who call politicians to account, the ones who question our lack of concern for the excluded of the world, the ones who make us feel uncomfortable in our comfortable lives.

Who are the prophets today, where do we speak God’s word into the world.