Following Jesus: Compassion, Healing and Liberation

After Lent and Easter seasons, we now go back to earlier chapters of the gospel of Matthew, picking up not far from where we were in late February.

Chapters 5, 6, and 7, are the Sermon on the Mount. After Jesus comes down from the Mountain, there are lots of healings, and the stilling of the storm. Then this section we heard this morning.

Jesus sends out the disciples, in pairs.  But why?

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. [Matthew 9:36]

Jesus saw the crowd, not noticed them, or pushed them away, but saw them, really saw them and their deepest needs, and had compassion for them.

And Jesus sees us, and has compassion on us.

We live in a time when many people feel pressure to have the perfect home and family and job and life;
     to have it altogether;
     to be successful
     not to be seen to have any failings or doubts.

The good news is that:
“God loves not the persons we’re trying to be
or have promised to be
or want to be,
but the ones we are.” [i]  

Jesus sends out the disciples, in pairs.  Who are they?

The disciples are a motley crew,

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon, also known as Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax-collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Cananaean, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed him.

Peter is the one who will deny Jesus, Judas betrays Jesus, Matthew was a tax collector, and therefore working with the Romans, and Simon the Cananaean or "zealot" worked against them.  What a mixture.

Jesus didn’t wait until there were 12 perfect disciples;
twelve people who knew exactly what they were doing.
Jesus sent the disciples,
a diverse group in terms of temperament,
political leanings and
previous jobs.[ii]

Jesus sends out the disciples, in pairs.  For what?

As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. [Matthew 10: 7-8]

The disciples were sent to the people to do as Jesus has been doing: healing, liberating, speaking the good news in word and action.

….

Jesus sends out the disciples, in pairs.  What about us?

Surely, he didn’t mean us???

As we approach the UCA anniversary next week, I have seen a number of articles asking what it means to be church, some general, and some more specifically about the Uniting Church.

In General, what does it mean to be Church, or part of the church?

a group who gather to read scripture and sing hymns
people who care for each other
defenders of God and Jesus
fans of Jesus

Are we also sent out to heal and liberate, to speak good news of love and forgiveness?

From the third Paragraph of the Basis of Union:

…… The Church's call is to serve that end: to be a fellowship of reconciliation, a body within which the diverse gifts of its members are used for the building up of the whole, an instrument through which Christ may work and bear witness to himself. …[iii]

In a world where violence and war,
poverty and oppression
flood and drought
corruption

and pain and grief and despair

fills our days and nights;

what do we, as church,
     the people of God,
     the body of Christ,
     the fellowship of the Spirit;

do?
what is our role?

…….

In Romans, we read of faith, grace and hope;
and God’s love being poured into our hearts.
I wonder if that is like getting a heart transplant,
or at least a blood transfusion?

If God’s love has been poured into our hearts,
does this mean we now feel compassion
as Jesus felt compassion for the crowd,
who were harassed and helpless?

Paul doesn’t speak of any easy life, but speaks of suffering and endurance. A life that is full of hope, where we are held in the grace of Christ, have peace with God, and God’s love is in our hearts.

That sounds like a lot to offer to the world around us:

     lonely neighbours
     grieving friends
     soldiers with PTSD
     families at breaking point.
How can bring healing and hope and liberation?

One thing that surprises me about Jesus in this passage from Matthew, is that he trusts this diverse group of people, ordinary people, to go and heal and liberate and speak Good News.

We can give money to charities researching disease,
we can give money to overseas development programs,
we can give to environmental and advocacy groups,
and all those things can bring about positive change in people’s lives.

But maybe Jesus is calling us to not only give money,
but to be transformed by the love of God,
the compassion of Jesus and
the indwelling and unpredictable Holy Spirit blowing in our lives.

And when we have been transformed by compassion and love,
we are sent to do the same:
to show the love we have been shown
to have compassion as Jesus has compassion for us
wherever possible to speak Good News.
Remembering the words of St. Francis of Assisi,
"Preach the gospel, and when necessary, use words."[iv]

The disciples were sent to the people to do as Jesus has been doing: healing, liberating, speaking the good news in word and action.
Maybe that is what church is about, to accept the commission of Jesus, to be sent to offer healing and hope and liberation.

While I know some people have been physically healed, for me the emotional healing in me has been life changing, enabling me to no longer the burdens of dashed hopes and hurtful words.
While I may not be able to stop someone from dying, I can speak words of comfort
I can’t take away the grief of the death of a loved one, I can sit and hold the sacred space for their tears
I can’t take away the horror of violence and war, I can use words of peace and value each human life.

The disciples were sent to the people to do as Jesus has been doing: healing, liberating, speaking the good news in word and action.

“We are expected to resemble him [Jesus] in word and deed. To be sent by Jesus is, in some sense, to be sent as Jesus.”[v]

When have you been Jesus for someone?

When has someone been Jesus for you?

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[i] David Lose: In the Meantime http://www.davidlose.net/2017/06/pentecost-2-a-telling-the-truth-twice/

[ii] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3299

[iii] https://assembly.uca.org.au/images/stories/Regulations/2012/Basis1992.pdf

[iv] http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_18_2017

[v] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3299  

Creation, Responsibility and Promise

Something I read this week: “This is the big lie that the world tells us: The world is connected by trade agreements, electronic banking, computer networks, shipping lanes, and the seeking of profit - nothing else. This is the truth of God: Creation is a holy web of relationship, a gift meant for all; it vibrates with the pain of all its parts; its destiny is joy."[i]

Others would tell us we are consumers, clients and customers; our only contribution and identity is in our financial fingerprint.

When we watch the news, we see war and greed.

We hear of death and division.

The story we tell of creation, of the earth or an organisation, or a congregation, says something of the values of the entity.  In 2 weeks we celebrate the anniversary of the Uniting Church, I wonder what story we tell about the formation and identity of the UCA?

Is it one of joy and trust, unease at change?

For me one of the great things about the formation of the UCA is “... that its primary concern was not simply with the mechanical problem of how to achieve a merger of three institutions, but with the existential question of what it means to be the church in Australia in the second half of the twentieth century.”[1]

If we look at Genesis 1, looking for truth not science or history, we just might find out who we belong to, and our role in life.[ii]

There are many creation stories, and one commentator ‘describes the shaping of the creation narrative of Genesis as a counter-cultural protest of the people of Israel against the creation story of their Babylonian captors. While their oppressors saw the origins of the universe as violent and bloody, the Israelites told their children a different story, a story rooted in goodness and blessing’.[iii]

We are connected to each other and the whole of creation.

In Genesis, we read of God making people in the image of God.

In psalm 8, people are a little lower than God.

And both the Psalm and Genesis give humanity ‘dominion’ over the creation. We have animals and birds and fish and plants to eat. 

With dominion comes responsibility, for each other and all of creation. We are given this responsibility by God. We may be ‘over’ the rest of creation, but only at the pleasure of God, as an ambassador.[iv]

Our role is the care for the earth and creation, as God does. We are told in Genesis that God saw the creation as good, do we treat creation as good and beautiful, or something to be used with regard for the future?

It is easy to act out of a sense of entitlement rather than one of responsibility. [v]

As people created in the “image of God,” Christians are summoned to reflect God’s care for the world of creation and for human community. In that calling, we have an example and a model in Jesus, the quintessential image of God.[vi]

We are created in the image of God, we have been given responsibility for the care of creation, but we are not God.

Matthew’s gospel ends with what is generally known as the Great Commission, Go and make disciples of all nations …, how do we do this?

By baptising and teaching. The baptism formula is Trinitarian – today, we still baptise in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

There is also a promise in this passage: ‘And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’ One person calls this passage the Great Promise. [vii]

The promise that we are not on our own.

The creation story reminds us who we belong to – God

That creation came out of goodness, love and blessing

And that shows us how to take on our responsibility for the earth – with goodness, love and blessing

And in all this we are not on our own, we are:

Created in the image of God

Accompanied by Jesus

Filled with the Holy Spirit

What would you dream, dare, and do if you believed that Jesus is with you, no matter what.”

what would you do if you knew that God was for you and with you no matter what and forever.[viii]

---

[1] Dutney, thesis, p53; see also second report of Joint Commission, p8

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[i] I like this quote from Julie Polter, from Facebook Nicked off Sue Weller McKinnon's page

[ii] Rev. Dr. Rachael Keefe in https://revgalblogpals.org/2017/06/07/revised-common-lectionary-it-was-good/

[iii] Kathryn Matthews in http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_11_2017

[iv] https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3298

[v] Kathryn Matthews in http://www.ucc.org/worship_samuel_sermon_seeds_june_11_2017

[vi] Walter C. Bouzard  in https://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=3300

[vii] http://www.davidlose.net/2017/06/trinity-sunday-a-the-great-promise/

[viii] http://www.davidlose.net/2017/06/trinity-sunday-a-the-great-promise/

Trinity Sunday

Today is Trinity Sunday – that day when I am told that Ministers take the day off to avoid talking about the Trinity.

Picture of kitten: How not to commit heresy preaching on the Trinity
Say nothing and show pictures of kittens instead.

As Christians, we have a Trinitarian faith. The God we hear of in the Old Testament and New Testament are one God. The Creator, is the same God who walked the earth as Jesus, is the same God as the Holy Spirit.

For me the Trinity is a reminder that we cannot fully understand or explain the mystery of God, and God is not limited to what we can imagine or understand.

One of the implications of the doctrine of the trinity is non-hierarchical relationships; living in community, being co-equals, even when gifted differently; none of the ways in which God relates to us being more important than others. At various times, some images of God, or ways of thinking about God will be more important to us, individually, but that doesn’t mean they are more important. One of the traps Christians can fall into is taking one part of the trinity out of the relationship.

If we see God the Father, as God, and leave out the Son and the Spirit, we can live as if God is distant, or only interested in a particular ethnic or religious group. ^[1]

Where the main object of devotion is Jesus, we can have a religion of pious devotion, where salvation is in the next life and there is little or no effort in overcoming oppression or poverty in this life. ^[2] This type of religion can also be authoritarian as the words or deeds of Jesus become codified rather than living as part of a Trinitarian faith. ^[3]  

Worshipping the Spirit, without the Father and Jesus tends to elevate the experience of the believer above all else. Here the Spirit is disconnected from God and Jesus. ^[4]

Trinitarian faith helps us to see God more fully, and to see ourselves more fully. As we worship God in trinity, in relationship, we can be aware of our sin, and our need for forgiveness and transformation. We can be aware of our tendency towards individualism and our need to live in community with God and each other. We can be aware of the injustice around us and work with God to transform society. 

A quote: “God loves in freedom, lives in community and wills creatures to live in community. God is self-sharing, other-regarding, community-forming love.”^[5]

That means we are included in the love relationship that is God, a relationship that leads to community and allows us to live in freedom.

---

[1] Migliore, p 64.

[2] Migliore, p65.

[3] Dicker, p53.

[4] Migliore, p65

[5] Migliore, p 64.

Risking the Holy Spirit

Just now we have heard two different version of the Holy Spirit coming into the lives of the disciples. In the gospel of John, the disciples are in hiding, locked against the outside world, on the evening of Easter Day. Jesus appears and breathes on them and says:  Receive the Holy Spirit.

And then the story from Acts that we hear every Pentecost Sunday.

Luke records this remarkable scene. A story of a noise like a strong wind, and like tongues of fire around the people; a story of people being able to communicate the gospel across language and cultural boundaries.

Pentecost is a celebration in the life of the church, a celebration of the life of the church. Pentecost is a celebration of gift and giftedness, of the remarkable and the everyday. It is sometimes referred to as the birthday of the church.

The spirit gave the disciples courage, courage to be themselves. Peter: impetuous, Jesus-denying Peter, now filled with the Holy Spirit addresses the crowd. Some in the crowd made fun of the disciples, suggesting they are drunk. But Peter stands there and tells people, that no, the disciples are not drunk. This is what the prophet Joel had talked about: the coming of the Spirit of God that would enable people to see visions, to dream dreams and to speak God’s word, which is what prophesy means.

Peter stands there and tells the crowd about Jesus, and quotes many passages from the Old Testament to illustrate how Jesus is the fulfilment of the words of the prophets. The people in the crowd are in Jerusalem for the Festival of Pentecost, a major Jewish festival to celebrate the giving of the law. The people in the crowd would have been Jews, Jews from all over the Middle East. Later in chapter 2 of Acts you realise how large the crowd was, for three thousand people were baptised that day. 

The coming of the Holy Spirit into their lives at Pentecost was transforming for the disciples, this group of people who didn’t seem to get much of what Jesus spoke about, this group of people who didn’t know what to do after the crucifixion, this group of people who didn’t know what to make of the empty tomb, this group of ordinary, faithful, confused, bewildered disciples spoke and lived with such faith, such fervour, that they changed the world.

The Holy Spirit transforms us, changes us, and challenges us. It isn’t that God’s spirit makes us do things we can’t do, but gives us courage and strength, so we can be the people God made us to be.

Look at this. [timber whistle]

It looks like a stick, well it is a stick with a hole in one side, and part of one end blocked off. What might it be used for? I could burn it, or throw it for a dog to fetch – but is that its true role in life?

No, it is a whistle.

And just as it needs breath blowing through it to be what it was created to be. In the same way we need the Holy Spirit blowing in our lives to be who we were created to be. 

Here is a picture, a Windmill – [photo on screen]http://investabull.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Investabull-Finance-for-Smart-Farmers-Affordable-cheap-farm-finance-lease-family-farm-cattle-stud-breeders-Australian-Farm-Windmill.jpg

In a country as dry as Australia, water is very important.

One way farmers make sure that stock have enough water to drink, is to have water troughs in paddocks, and they use windmills to raise the water from deep underground into the troughs.

This style of windmill usually has 3 or 4 legs, with a circular section at the top. This has a large number of blades attached to it. Some are able to swivel on top of the tower so that the blades are always facing into the wind. The more blades the better, though if the wind is blowing a gale, a few missing blades doesn’t matter too much. The blades that are not attached to the rim are not any use in the action of a windmill. Those lying rusting on the ground, are of no use.

Even though the windmill is a very useful item, it is of no use if the wind isn’t blowing, on its own it can do nothing. The reason a windmill exists is to bring water from underground for stock to drink – a very important task in a dry land.

  

The church can be compared to a windmill. The church exists to bring the life-giving water of Jesus to a thirsty world. It works by the wind of the spirit blowing in the world. It works best when all the people are working together in unity. There is no room for spectators.

The point of the windmill is to catch the wind, even the slightest breeze, and from that raise water up from underground for stock to drink.  If we are like windmills and the spirit is blowing in the world, then we will have the life-giving water of Jesus to offer a thirsty world.

..

You each have a flame, a sign of the Spirit. 

Just as wind can be powerful destructive, creative or soothing

Just as fire can bring warmth, light, destruction or cleansing

The spirit brings peace and forgiveness,

The spirit challenges and confronts

our prejudice,

our cold heartedness,

evil and injustice

The spirit destroys arrogance and hate.  

The spirit brings new life and new purpose

The spirit plants seeds of compassion and mercy.[i]

Take your flame home, and each time you look at it, I encourage you to think about the Holy Spirit in your life:

Where is it blowing?

Where is it bringing light?

Is it challenging?

Or offering peace?

Lest we think only of the ‘nice’ side of the spirit, here is a quote:

On the whole, I do not find Christians, outside of the catacombs, sufficiently sensible of conditions. Does anyone have the foggiest idea what sort of power we so blithely invoke? Or, as I suspect, does no one believe a word of it? The churches are children playing on the floor with their chemistry sets, mixing up a batch of TNT to kill a Sunday morning. It is madness to wear ladies’ straw hats and velvet hats to church; we should all be wearing crash helmets. Ushers should issue life preservers and signal flares; they should lash us to our pews.[ii]

Do you believe that the Holy Spirit is powerful and present in your life?

Are you willing to take a risk and see what happens?

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[i] Ideas fomr Dirt, Mess and Danger pp102-106

[ii] Annie Dillard, Teaching a Stone to Talk, 58. https://mwerickson.com/2011/10/25/wearing-crash-helmets-to-worship/

How are we witnesses?

So much has happened in the past week:

·         Gunmen in Egypt killed more than 24 people and wounded 25 after they opened fire on a bus carrying Coptic Christians on [Friday] May 26.[i]

·         Floods and torrents of mud unleashed by heavy rains in Sri Lanka have killed 91 people and left 110 others missing, and authorities have appealed for international help. More than 61,000 affected by heavy rain that started early on Friday. [ii]

·         An explosion at a concert in Manchester killed 22 people, and many more were wounded.

We yearn for a simpler time.

1997, Twenty years ago[iii],

·         Both Mother Theresa and Princess Diana died

·         58 tourists and four Egyptians were shot dead outside Luxor’s Temple of Queen Hatshepsut.

·         Peruvian commandos successfully stormed the Japanese ambassador’s house in Lima, where hundreds of hostages had been held for 126 days by 14 members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA).

We back a bit further:

1967, 50 years ago[iv],

·         The Vietnam war

·         The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were in the charts

·         Israel won a six-day war with Egypt, Syria and Jordan, capturing the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

1917, 100 years ago[v],

·         Albert Einstein published his first paper

·         Russian Revolution

·         The First World War

Over 2 centuries ago, what do we know about life then?

·         In the first century, Romans ruled the Mediterranean area known as Palestine (modern day Israel), …. In the hierarchy of power, the Jewish self-government reported to the authority of the local Roman government (King Herod), which reported to Rome (Emperor Caesar).

·         The economy of first century Israel was supported by three key segments: agriculture of olives, figs, grains, dates, and vineyards; trade fostered by Israel’s key location on the Mediterranean Sea; and large government building projects sponsored by King Herod. There was a very large disparity between rich and poor.[vi]

·         Essentially the Roman Empire of the first two centuries A.D. was a slave state with a small minority who had any pride or freedom in their lives, …. There was little of what we should call family life, few homes of comfortable living and active thought and study; schools and colleges were few and far between.[vii]

This is the world at the time Jesus – foreign occupiers, fear, slavery and following the traditions of the village that you were unlikely to ever leave.

Into this world, we hear from Luke in his second Book, the book of Acts.

For forty days after his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples in a variety of ways. Then we hear that Jesus told the disciples:

the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world. [CEV]

These are the last words of Jesus that are recorded by Luke.

Just focus on this:

The Holy Spirit will flood over you

and drench you with power,

giving you the passion

and courage

to be my witnesses.

Then you will be able to tell everyone about me, ….” [©2002 Nathan Nettleton ][viii]

Next week we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples as recorded in the book of Acts. 

Wind.

Flames.

Voices.

Good news spoken.

Lives changed.

This week, we heard how the risen Jesus, gave a few final words to his disciples, and then drifted off up to the clouds.

Jesus passed the baton to the disciples. Go and tell everyone, everywhere about me.

And the rest, is history – after Pentecost, the early church grew like topsy, and not just in Jerusalem, but all over the known world. And it wasn’t easy, people were killed for being Christian.

What about us?

Where are we in this story?

Into all this stuff happening in the world,

The violence and pain we see on the news,

as well as the pain of grief,

the despair of unemployment

and the loneliness many people feel.

How are we witnesses,

how do we tell with our lives?

not just our voices,

what Jesus has done.

What would you like people to learn about Jesus from your life?

In what ways do you think your life shows those facets of the life and teaching of Jesus?

Our lives are witnesses to Jesus.

Not only when we think we are talking about Jesus.

Jesus was a person of

• ·         prayer
• ·         compassion
• ·         forgiveness

he was a

• ·         healer
• ·         teacher
• ·         companion

he spoke against those people and practices

• ·         that ripped people off,
• ·         that labelled people unclean
• ·         that judged people for being ill or poor.

What would you like people to learn about Jesus from your life?

In what ways is your life a witness to the life of Jesus?

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[i] https://sojo.net/articles/gunmen-kill-more-20-coptic-christians-egypt

[ii] http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-27/sri-lanka-mudslides-leave-thousands-homeless/8565096

[iii] http://metro.co.uk/2007/12/05/top-10-stories-of-1997-579195/

[iv] https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/02/50-years-ago-a-look-back-at-1967/516174/

[v] https://worldhistoryproject.org/1917

[vi] http://www.swcs.com.au/firstcenturypalestine.htm

[vii] http://www.bartleby.com/86/35.html

[viii] http://laughingbird.net/ComingWeeks.html

National Reconciliation Week 2017

National Reconciliation Week is from 27 May to 3 June.

50 years ago, Australians voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to include Aboriginal people in the census, and to allow the Commonwealth government to make laws for Aboriginal people. Up to this point each state or territory had different laws.[i]

It is also 20 years since the report” Bringing them Home”

Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families [ii]

This week has been a time we remember some steps that have been taken in Australia, to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Until 50 years ago, people of aboriginal background were not counted in the Census. Each State had different laws, in some states they could marry and own property, but not in other states[iii]. It was only in 1962 that Aboriginal people were allowed to vote.

This week over 250 Delegates gathered at the 2017 First Nations National Constitutional Convention, which was established by both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition. The Referendum Council was charged with seeking out the views of First Nations people from across the country and reporting back. Here is a comment from that meeting:

“In 1967 we were counted, in 2017 we seek to be heard. We leave base camp and start our trek across this vast country. We invite you to walk with us in a movement of the Australian people for a better future.”[iv]

At the Assembly meeting in 2009, a new Preamble to the Constitution was adopted, subject to agreement from a majority of Synods and presbyteries. In 2010 the Preamble, much of which is printed in the Grapevine [weekly newsletter] this week. The preamble recognises the hurt and damage done to Aboriginal people by over the past 200 years. The Preamble also includes the hope of “a destiny together, praying and working together for a fuller expression of our reconciliation in Jesus Christ.”[v]

The following prayer was prepared by Wontulp-Bi-Buya Indigenous Theology Working Group in 1997.

Holy Father, God of Love,

You are the Creator of this land and of all good things.

We acknowledge the pain and shame of our history

and the suffering of our peoples,

and we ask your forgiveness.

We thank you for the survival of indigenous cultures.

Give us the courage to accept the realities of our history

so that we may build a better future for our nation.

Teach us to respect all cultures.

Teach us to care for our land and waters.

Help us to share justly the resources of this land.

Help us to bring about spiritual and social change

to improve the quality of life for all groups in our communities,

especially the disadvantaged.

Help young people to find true dignity and self esteem by your Spirit.

May your power and love be the foundations

on which we build our families, our communities and our nation,

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.[vi]

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[i] https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/australian-1967-referendum#axzz4iFW9dP3Q

[ii] https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/bringing-them-home-report-1997

[iii] https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/history/australian-1967-referendum#axzz4iFW9dP3Q

[iv] https://nacchocommunique.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/uluru-statement-referendum-council-pat-anderson.pdf

[v] https://assembly.uca.org.au/resources/covenanting/item/668-the-revised-preamble

[vi]https://www.facebook.com/InsightsMagazine/photos/a.269282996426039.64620.146115232076150/1587945034559822/?type=3&theater