Interruptions on the road to death

 The beginning of this passage is the third time Jesus has told the disciples he will be killed. The first time Jesus tells the disciples:

Jesus told his disciples, “The nation’s leaders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law of Moses will make the Son of Man suffer terribly. They will reject him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.” [Luke 9:22 CEV]

Then later in the same chapter:

“Pay close attention to what I am telling you! The Son of Man will be handed over to his enemies.” But the disciples did not know what he meant. The meaning was hidden from them. They could not understand it, and they were afraid to ask. [Luke 9:44-45 CEV]

And in the passage this morning:

He will be handed over to foreigners, who will make fun of him, mistreat him, and spit on him. They will beat him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life.

The apostles did not understand what Jesus was talking about. They could not understand, because the meaning of what he said was hidden from them.

 As the disciples travelled with Jesus, there were many times they did not understand, yet they continued to follow.

 Then we hear two events when Jesus stops on his travels. Jesus is intent on travelling to Jerusalem, next week we read later in this chapter as he enters Jerusalem at Passover.   

 As Jesus and the disciples enter Jericho, a man who is blind hears the noise of a crowd forming. He is told that Jesus of Nazareth is walking past.

The man who is blind seizes the opportunity

He calls out

The crowd try to stop him

Too much shouting could draw the wrong kind of attention

But he continues to call out: Son of David have mercy on me!

 

There is so much wrong with the actions of the man who is blind.

Calling out Son of David is a political statement

Yelling was considered disorderly and not showing honour to Jesus.

 

But this man who cannot see gets who Jesus is.

He has heard, or knows, or senses that Jesus is the Son of David – a bold statement.

 And Jesus stops.

And asks the man what he wants.

Jesus doesn’t heal him; he asks what he wants.

And the man has the guts to say: I want to see again.

Not making excuses for his life or blindness

Not if you can or want or ….

 

I want to see again.

 

Do you have the courage to be honest with yourself and Jesus about what you really want?

Are you willing to risk asking for what you want?

Maybe when you think about it,
you don’t really know what you want.
Or you think it is too hard even for God,
or that God has more important things to do …..

 The man who was blind can now see, he follows Jesus and praises God.

 Jesus and the disciples continue their journey. The crowds continue milling around and people line the streets to catch a glimpse of Jesus.

By this time, he has been travelling around for three years, word about him has spread. We come to the meeting of Jesus and Zacchaeus.

 Here is what a friend wrote a few years ago:

“So, you’re in the crowd, watching and waiting for Jesus; suddenly you notice that there’s a bloke in the gum tree next to you, six feet up and climbing. …..

He is wearing a good suit and carrying a briefcase; he looks like he hasn’t negotiated a tree in his life. His balance is, to say the least, precarious. However, his ineptitude is outweighed by his energy, searching the road.”[i]

 

Zacchaeus, like so many others, wanted to see Jesus.  
Did he want something from Jesus, we don’t know.

While Zacchaeus was up a tree trying to get a glimpse of Jesus,
Jesus saw him,

and says: Come on Down!

“Zacchaeus came down at once, happy to welcome Jesus.”

The text doesn’t suggest that Zacchaeus is upset or ashamed to have Jesus come to his house.

Jesus doesn’t mention guilt, shame, or sin.

It is the crowd who get upset! Why him! He is a sinner!

Jesus is going to the house of the villain!

 The crowd are upset that Jesus is going to the house of Zacchaeus,  Zacchaeus responds by saying – “I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.”

 These two ‘interruptions’ in Jericho,

the man who is blind and the one who collects taxes,
both told by the crowd to stay out of the way,
both reminded they do not fit into proper society

Both have their lives transformed by their encounter with Jesus.

In both events we are told they are saved.

 

The one who was blind recognised Jesus as the Son of David

Sight restored

The one who collected taxes

Welcomes Jesus into his home

In both events we hear of the crowd
who tried to stop the man calling out

And told Jesus how sinful Zacchaeus was

 

I wonder how much we are like the crowd

·       This is the way to behave

·       We are Christians we don’t march/shout/upset the status quo

·       We don’t associate with sinful people, you know the ‘bad’ ones

 

The man who was blind saw Jesus in ways the disciples did not until after the resurrection

The one who associated with the roman occupiers went up a tree in the hope of seeing Jesus.

 

I wonder if our Christianity, our discipleship, is too orderly

too proper

too perfect.

 

What are we missing out on by not being honest with ourselves
with each other
with God

I wonder what we would be willing to do to see Jesus
to help others see Jesus
for eyes to be opened

for lives to be transformed.

even our lives.

---

[i]  https://talbragar.wordpress.com/2016/10/27/tree-change/

Love and Wealth

 It is one year since churches and other groups were closed due to COVID. In that time, we have seen how different approaches to the pandemic have played out. We have also seen inequality around the world.

Inequality of access to health care, to medicine,
we have seen some health systems having to decide who gets a ventilator and who does not.
we have seen some people refuse to follow health advice and stay home, wear masks, wash their hands – because they feel their liberty is being infringed.

Now with the vaccine becoming available, we see an uneven distribution of vaccine between countries and within countries.

In Australia, in the past 2 months, we have seen an increasing number of women speaking out about sexual harassment and rape.  

again, we hear that women need to protect themselves
         not be out after dark

         be careful about what we wear

         always take a trusted friend with you

         ………

 

 

For many of us this parable hits a nerve, a comfortable middle class, I have all I need nerve. This is a challenging parable. But for some people, for the “Lazarus’s” of the world this parable is empowering and offers hope that things will not always be this way.

Luke isn’t saying that being wealthy is a bad thing in itself. We know the rich man is wealthy, he is called ‘the rich man', but he also wears purple and fine linen, he lives in the equivalent of a palace, with gates and security. This all adds up to serious wealth!

There is nothing to suggest the rich man gained his wealth by exploiting people. The problem is that being wealthy isolated him from the community around him.

Then, as now some people will see wealth as confirmation of being blessed by God, which also means being poor is a sign of being lazy or not being blessed by God – and you must have done something to deserve God not blessing you.

Wealth and poverty are not a sign of God’s blessing, or lack of blessing.

 A quote from a sermon by Martin Luther King Junior:

There is a gulf that originates in the accident of circumstance. Circumstances make it possible for some people to get an education, while other people are denied the opportunity. Circumstances make some people rich, social prestige, while others are left gnawing on the crumbs of obscurity. There are certain gulfs in life which originate in the accident of circumstance. So, in the parable Lazarus was poor, not because he wanted to be, but because tragic circumstances had made him so.

On the other hand, (Dives) the rich man was rich because fortunate circumstances had made him so. There is a circumstantial gulf between Lazarus and (Dives) the rich man. Now (Dives) the rich man’s sin was not that he made this gulf between him and Lazarus; this gulf had come into being through the accidents of circumstance. The sin of (Dives) the rich man was that he felt that the gulf which existed between him and Lazarus was a proper condition of life. (Dives) the rich man felt that this was the way things were to be.[i]

 

It is so easy to think that this is the way things are.

There will always be some people with more money or resources than others, but why do we accept a society where some people are homeless, hungry, and cold.

 

Through the ages:

people having slaves was the way things were meant to be

coloured people were considered to be inferior to white people

women were thought of as less than men

children did not have a voice

people with a disability were isolated

 

it can be easy for us to think that

low wages,
poor health outcomes,
shorter life spans
addiction and
poverty

are just the way things are for some people.

That there is nothing we can do about these things.

 

As individuals we cannot solve any of those issues on our own, it is easy to think we cannot do anything.

But notice, the rich man asked for a drop of water to ease his torment. He didn’t ask for all his problems to be solved.

 

Remember the story of the starfish-

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean.

 Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?”

 The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”

“Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!”

 After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf.

 Then, smiling at the man, he said…..“I made a difference for that one.”[ii]

 

as an individual the problems of the world can seem overwhelming, but many of those problems come from a lack of love for neighbour.

 

In the parable, Father Abraham tells the rich man that his brothers should listen to Moses and the prophets.

 The prophets in the Bible were a feisty lot, Isaiah and Jeremiah, Amos and Hosea, Micah and Malachi. Have you noticed that many of the prophets did not speak to individuals but to the nation of Israel and Judah, and at times other nations?

 There are some comforting messages, but mainly speeches telling of the demise of nation because they haven’t lived in Gods ways. Forsake your idols and return to the Lord; return to God’s righteous ways and don’t make yourself rich at the expense of others; trust in God’s love. 

What will it take for us to really hear the prophets, to hear and act on God’s call to justice and righteousness?

 A few weeks ago, we read parts of chapter 10,

An expert in the Law of Moses stood up and asked Jesus a question to see what he would say. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to have eternal life?”

Jesus answered, “What is written in the Scriptures? How do you understand them?”

The man replied, “The Scriptures say, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ They also say, ‘Love your neighbours as much as you love yourself.’”

Jesus said, “You have given the right answer. If you do this, you will have eternal life.” [Luke 10: 25-28]

 The rich man’s crime was not his wealth but inordinate self-love.[iii]

 Until we know people

living with a disability,

living in poverty,

homeless,

until we recognise the systems that continue to treat some people as less than others

until we are prepared to listen to women when they speak of harassment and rape

we deny people their humanity and dignity.

 

We go back to the beginning of the reading:

The Pharisees really loved money. So when they heard what Jesus said, they made fun of him. But Jesus told them:

You are always making yourselves look good, but God sees what is in your heart. The things that most people think are important are worthless as far as God is concerned.

 The rich man looked good, threw lavish parties, dressed well, but, as Paul writes: without love, we are nothing.

 

---

[i] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/impassable-gulf-parable-dives-and-lazarus-sermon-dexter-avenue-baptist-church?fbclid=IwAR0ngxWcuTccjJhiiugq06lkFragoopvMwc_QgKBN_K8Q5yGqKv98lr1HKg

[ii] https://academictherapycenter.com/about/the-starfish-story/

[iii] https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/impassable-gulf-parable-dives-and-lazarus-sermon-dexter-avenue-baptist-church?fbclid=IwAR0ngxWcuTccjJhiiugq06lkFragoopvMwc_QgKBN_K8Q5yGqKv98lr1HKg

sin, patience and lament

 Luke 13:1-9, 31-35

If something bad happens to you, it is because you deserve it

•       if your crops fail, it is because you have displeased God;

•       same with illness,

•       untimely death,

•       any sort of disaster –

•       it is because of something you have done,

•       it is God’s judgement upon you.

 

Ever heard anything like that?

 

Blaming the victim was common in the time of Jesus, and it still persists today.

 

Except, it isn’t true. When illness or disaster or suffering comes, it isn’t because we are being judged as more sinful than anyone else. It is not a form of divine punishment.

 

It is easy for us to think that some people are more sinful than we are. There isn’t a list of sins where some are worse than others; sin is anything that separates us from God. In the letter to the Romans, Paul writes: all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God [Romans 3:23 NRSV]

 

Sin does a have role in suffering.

•       Pilate’s brutal reign was sinful - God calls leaders to be shepherds, not murder their own people, or line their own pockets.

•       Workers are injured or killed when profits rate higher than safety

 

We want to think that we are immune from seemingly random events; so, it is easier to say that such events are a judgement from God. But now, as then, cyclones, tsunamis, workplace accidents and murder are not the fault of the victim. 

We all sin, we all need to come to God, to repent, to turn our lives around.

And then Jesus tells another story:

 

The parable of the barren fig tree turns our attention away from judging others to looking at our own lives.

It certainly sounds like it has branches and leaves, it doesn’t sound like it is dead, just not bearing fruit. If it was dead there would be no reason to keep it at all.

The parable is a reminder to us that we need to not only stay alive but to bear fruit. I wonder how often we are even aware of our lack of fruitfulness, we appear to be going OK, with nice leafy branches providing shade, strong sturdy trunk to withstand storms, yet a fig tree that doesn’t bear figs, no matter how healthy-looking, is just not doing what it was planted for. The tree gets another chance, and we too get another chance, and another – not because we are particularly worthy, but because God is gracious and merciful to us.

 

The final part of our reading:

 

Jesus, looking over Jerusalem says:

“How many times I wanted to put my arms around all your people, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me!”

 

The image of the mother hen is a powerful one.

A quote:

"If you have ever loved someone you could not protect,

then you understand the depth of Jesus' lament.

All you can do is open your arms.

You cannot make anyone walk into them.

Meanwhile,

this is the most vulnerable posture in the world

--wings spread, breast exposed --

but if you mean what you say,

then this is how you stand. …

Jesus won't be king of the jungle in this or any other story.

What he will be is a mother hen,

who stands between the chicks

and those who mean to do them harm.

She has no fangs,

no claws,

no rippling muscles.

All she has is her willingness to shield her babies with her own body.”

[Barbara Brown Taylor   Christian Century 2/25/86]

 

In the reflecting this week, I have been thinking about the other side of this mother hen imagery.

Jesus is like a mother hen, lamenting because the chickens will not come under her wings. 

But I am not Jesus.

I am one of the chickens,

and I confess at times I am one of those chickens who thinks she doesn’t need to be under the wing.

 

What are you like Jerusalem?’ said, Jesus.

‘I’d like to be a big warm feathery mother hen,

so that I could gather your children

under my wings and keep them safe and strong.

But you wouldn't let me do it Jerusalem.

And I can’t help you if you won’t let me.” [Spill the Beans]

 

These readings take place as Jesus is travelling toward Jerusalem,

he knows he is unpopular with the religious leaders,

he knows they see him as a threat to their power-sharing deal with Rome.

But Jesus continues the journey.  

 

This morning there are lots of words,

what I hope you take away from worship this morning,

is that God loves you,

God wants you to come and rest in that love

to find your security and identity in your relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Loving God and Neighbour v2

 

This morning we heard 2 well known stories. We all know that the Good Samaritan story means help other people, and the point of the story about Mary and Martha is to listen to Jesus and leave the dishes in the sink.

I wonder if that is all they tell us, or if there is a different purpose in these two stories.

Starting with the Good Samaritan – it is a parable, so not an actual event. Oh, and nowhere in the story is the Samaritan called good, as if Samaritans are expected to be bad.

That started me thinking: how often do we make assumptions about people based on how similar they are to us, in terms of race, gender, political and religious views, work status, postcode, dress style ….?

These assumptions devalue people, including ourselves.

I hear people talking about ‘no good’ blacks, Muslims, Indians, druggies, unemployed ….

You get the idea.

I have not found a place in the Bible where Jesus says some lives are worth more than others:

that your life is worth more than the life of a Pacific Islander,
or a person of different faith,
or someone in an unskilled job,
or a beggar,
or someone with a disability,
or even someone who has made poor life choices.  

I know some people were troubled by the Black Lives Matter movement, but the reason for the movement is because traditionally black lives have been devalued, as we have seen in the USA with the number of black people killed by police.

In the newspaper this week has been stories about aged care, asking if we do care about people living in residential aged care. We would say we do, but the conditions in some centres shows that as a society we do not.

This parable is told in response to an educated man asking Jesus about eternal life.

Jesus asks the man what he knows from scripture, and the man answers correctly:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ and, ‘Love your neighbours as much as you love yourself.’”

 That could have been the end of this story, except, the clever man asked another question: Who is my neighbour?

 As with other people who asked Jesus about the requirements for eternal life, each story ends slightly differently. Here the man asks who my neighbour is, in chapter 18 the rich young ruler is told keeping the commandments is not enough, sell everything.

As we often see with Jesus, his response to people’s questions and situations are different for each person.

 As with some other situations, I wonder how genuine this question is.

By asking: Who is my neighbour?
he is implying that some people are not his neighbours,
and therefore he does not need to love them.

I wonder if we also try to circumvent the wideness and generosity of God’s love?

 And I wondered about the questions we ask of Jesus?

“what must I do to have eternal life?”

Who are my neighbours?”

Lord, doesn’t it bother you that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself?

It reminded me of a song:

Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz?

 

In the gospels Jesus is asked many questions:

Eternal life?

Who is the greatest?

Can my sons have the best seats?

Heal me?

Help me?

Have pity on me.

 

I wondered about the questions we ask God.

Like this one:  

 

this cartoon, during the sermon

http://www.jasonvalendy.net/blog/2013/3/30/the-poor-will-always-be-with-you-is-jesus-a-hypocrite

 

The clever man asked Who is my neighbour?

Then Jesus tells this parable, a scenario they would have known, of a traveller being mugged and robbed.

Who will help?

The unlikely one.

 

This parable tells us how to be neighbours, being a neighbour means accepting help from the unlikely as well as helping those in need.

Notice the person who was mugged had no say in who did or did not help him.

 Who are you willing to accept help from?

 

Then we come to Martha and Mary, in my reading this week I came across some other ways to think about this reading.

I studied Greek in my first year of college but am not an expert. I rely on Greek Interlinear Bible or people whose Greek is better than mine to look into some of the technical aspects of the readings.

 [https://www.marystromerhanson.com/blog?fbclid=IwAR2FVERJr_rxCh1aJKxdU_McBycFPccrLIlVlR1NP5SDslYe6EUyyV2PBy4 gives more detail of what follows]

 A little bit of Greek.

1.   When Martha is serving, the word is diakonian – where we get our word Deacon from. It is about ministry. She is anxious because she has so much to do – ask anyone involved in Ministry, lay or ordained, and they will know that feeling.

2.    “sitting at the Lord’s feet” isn’t a literal, physical thing — Mary wasn’t actually sitting at Jesus’ feet when this happened. Instead, this was common way of indicating discipleship. These two sisters were disciples of Jesus — Martha in the village of Bethany: Mary out with other disciples in the countryside as a traveling disciple.

3.   Some translations end with Jesus telling Martha that Mary has chosen the better part, but the Greek is the good part.
 

Jesus listens to Martha, tells her he understands, but Mary has her work and Martha has hers. It is not necessary to choose one or the other, but to follow where we are called.

This is a short passage that has been used to devalue the work of people who serve in practical ways like meals, caring for children, cleaning etc. The story is about two female disciples, fulfilling their individual callings as they are gifted. One is taking care of the sick, orphans, new believers, or whatever is required in a first century Jewish village. The other is evangelizing in the countryside.

 …

what does all this mean for us? today if we find someone lying on the side of the road, we can call an ambulance, we don’t need to carry the person to the hospital or a hotel.

And what is considered ‘women’s work’: caring for children or the elderly, cleaning, cooking etc. is still undervalued.

 One thing that stands out for me is: Love your neighbours as much as you love yourself.

Love your neighbours as much as you love yourself.

I sometimes wonder if that should be changed around to Love yourself as much as you love your neighbours.

Love yourself as much as you love your neighbours.

I wonder if Martha loved herself as much as she loved her neighbours, she would take enough of a break to feel whole, not torn in many directions.

Or ask or allow her neighbours to help.

I wonder if the clever man loved himself, he might be able to accept his imperfections.

It is hard to love our neighbours,
all of them,
the smelly and annoying,
and those who live so far away we have never met them,
when we don’t recognise our own humanity
when we don’t love ourself.

A quote from Mitzi J. Smith, Professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

Self-love is neither egocentric nor individualistic. Self-love is not obsessed with self-preservation; it takes risks for violated, vulnerable humans living in the borderless neighbourhood we inhabit[i]

 

Do you love yourself enough to love your neighbour?

Let God love you,
let God teach you to love yourself and your neighbour.

---

[i] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/good-samaritan-2/commentary-on-luke-1025-42-3

loving yourself and your neighbour

 

This morning we heard 2 well known stories. We all know that the Good Samaritan story means help other people, and the point of the story about Mary and Martha is to listen to Jesus and leave the dishes in the sink.

 

I wonder if that is all they tell us, or if there is a different purpose in these two stories.

 

Starting with the Good Samaritan – it is a parable, so not an actual event. Oh, and nowhere in the story is the Samaritan called good.

 

How often do we make assumptions about people based on how similar they are to us, in terms of race, gender, political and religious views, work status, postcode, dress style ….?

Do these assumptions devalue people, including ourselves? I hear people talking about ‘no good blacks, Muslims, Indians, druggies, unemployed ….

You get the idea.

I have not found a place in the Bible where Jesus says some lives are worth more than others. That your life is worth more than the life of a Pacific Islander, or a person of different faith, or someone in an unskilled job, or a beggar, or someone with a disability, or even someone who has made poor life choices.  

I know some people were troubled by Black Lives Matter, but the reason for the movement is because traditionally black lives have been devalued, as we have seen in the USA with the number of black people killed by police.

In the newspaper this week has been stories about aged care, asking if we do care about people living in residential aged care. We would say we do, but the conditions in some centres shows that as a society we do not.

 
This parable is told in response to an educated man asking Jesus about eternal life.

Jesus asks the man what he knows from scripture, and the man answers correctly:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind.’ and, ‘Love your neighbours as much as you love yourself.’”

 

That could have been the end of this story, except, the clever man asked another question: Who is my neighbour?

 

As with other people who asked Jesus about the requirements for eternal life, each story ends slightly differently. Here the man asks who my neighbour is, in chapter 18 the rich young ruler is told keeping the commandments is not enough, sell everything.

As we often see with Jesus, his response to people’s questions and situations are different for each person.

 

As with some other situations, I wonder how genuine this question is. By asking: Who is my neighbour? he is implying that some people are not his neighbours, and therefore he does not need to love them.

Do we try and avoid the wideness and generosity of God’s love?

 

I wondered about the questions we ask God.

Like this one:  

 

this cartoon, during the sermon

http://www.jasonvalendy.net/blog/2013/3/30/the-poor-will-always-be-with-you-is-jesus-a-hypocrite

The clever man asked Who is my neighbour?

Then Jesus tells this parable, a scenario they would have known, of a traveller being mugged and robbed.

Who will help?

The unlikely one.

 

This parable tells us how to be neighbours, being a neighbour means accepting help from the unlikely as well as helping those in need.

Notice the person who was mugged had no say in who did or did not help him.

 

A story I read on Facebook this week, it may not be true, but I think it contains some truth. A woman had left a violent partner and moved to a new town with her children, she had a job and was staying with someone who befriended her. They shared living expenses, until one night, after taking the children to a park after school, she returns home to find the house empty.  It turned out her new ‘friend’ was evicted for not paying the rent.

They sleep in their car overnight and in the morning, she goes to a park with a toilet. The girls wait while Mum rings and tells her boss what has happened, and the boss says she will see what she can do, ring back later.

In this same park, a group of people are rummaging in garbage cans. The woman sees them talking to each other and putting money into a hat.

She uses her last ten dollars to go shopping for some food for breakfast and goes back to the park to eat.

When she rings her boss back, it is good news, they will give her her wages today, a few days early.

One of the homeless men comes to her and offers her the money, he had heard her talking to her boss, they put some money together for her.

 Who are you willing to accept help from?

 Then we come to Martha and Mary, in my reading this week I came across some other ways to think about this reading.

I studied Greek in my first year of college but am not an expert. I rely on Greek Interlinear Bible or people whose Greek is better than mine to look into some of the technical aspects of the readings.

 [https://www.marystromerhanson.com/blog?fbclid=IwAR2FVERJr_rxCh1aJKxdU_McBycFPccrLIlVlR1NP5SDslYe6EUyyV2PBy4 gives more detail of what follows]

 A little bit of Greek.

1.   When Martha is serving, the word is diakonian – where we get our word Deacon from. It is about ministry. She is anxious because she has so much to do – ask anyone involved in Ministry, lay or ordained, and they will know that feeling.

2.    “sitting at the Lord’s feet” isn’t a literal, physical thing — Mary wasn’t actually sitting at Jesus’ feet when this happened. Instead, this was common way of indicating discipleship. These two sisters were disciples of Jesus — Martha in the village of Bethany: Mary out with other disciples in the countryside as a traveling disciple.

3.   Some translations end with Jesus telling Martha that Mary has chosen the better part, but the Greek is the good portion.
 

This is a short passage that has been used to devalue the work of people who serve in practical ways like meals, caring for children, cleaning etc. The story is about two female disciples, fulfilling their individual callings as they are gifted. One is taking care of the sick, orphans, new believers, or whatever is required in a first century Jewish village. The other is evangelizing in the countryside.

that Jesus listens to Martha, tells her he understands, but Mary has her work and Martha has hers. It is not necessary to choose one or the other, but to follow where we are called.

 

…

what does all this mean for us? today if we find someone lying on the side of the road, we can call an ambulance, we don’t need to carry the person to the hospital or a hotel.

 

One thing that stands out for me is: Love your neighbours as much as you love yourself.

I sometimes wonder if that should be changed around to Love yourself as much as you love your neighbours.

I wonder if Martha loved herself as much as she loved her neighbours, she would take enough of a break to feel whole, not torn in many directions.

Or ask her neighbours for help.

I wonder if the clever man loved himself, he might be able to accept his imperfections.

 

A quote from Mitzi J. Smith, Professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

Self-love is neither egocentric nor individualistic. Self-love is not obsessed with self-preservation; it takes risks for violated, vulnerable humans living in the borderless neighbourhood we inhabit[i]

 

Do you love yourself enough to love your neighbour?

Let God love you, let God teach you to love yourself and your neighbour.

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[i] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/narrative-lectionary/good-samaritan-2/commentary-on-luke-1025-42-3

Transfiguration exercise

 

Luke 9: 28-50

 We come to the end of the season of Epiphany, the time we think about the revelation of Jesus – his baptism in the Jordan by John, the calling of the disciples, healings, preaching good news to the poor and release to the captives.

And next week, we move into the season of Lent, the journey with Jesus to the cross.

 Each year we hear a reading about transfiguration, and I will not attempt to explain what happened, because it is an event that we cannot explain.

 It occurs on top of a mountain, that is like in a movie when the music gets dramatic, and you know something is about to happen.

 There are other stories in the Bible that include mountains – Moses and the ten commandments, Elijah defeating the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel [1 Kings 18:13]; Elijah and the still small voice; Jesus and the woman at the well discuss which mountain to worship God on; the sermon on the mount and many more. Mountains mean something important is happening.

 We still talk about a mountain top experience, meaning something wonderful or amazing has happened; something life changing; something remarkable and out of the ordinary.

 That the transfiguration happened on a mountain is not surprising.

 While Jesus, Peter, James and John were on the mountain, the voice from heaven said, “This is my chosen Son. Listen to what he says!” Earlier, at the Baptism of Jesus in the Jordon, we also are told of a voice speaking from heaven, this time speaking to Jesus, “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.”

It is like the first time, at Baptism, was for Jesus, this time for everyone else.

 

 

What do we do with this story, recorded in three of the gospels.

How might it relate to our lives.

Well, it is a mystery, and life is often a mystery. There are times it is better if we go with the flow, and not try to understand everything. A coffee cup I was given had written on it: Life is a mystery to be lived not a problem to be solved.  Maybe not the best quote for a research engineer😊 but a great quote for a Christian.

 

The Synod theme this year is: Where the wild God is

It reminds me that God is not tamed, or caged, or controlled by us. God is like a wild animal, not a pet or in a zoo or being farmed.

It reminds me of the part of the trinity that we often refer to as the Holy Spirit, the wind that blows where it wants.

 

I have an exercise for us today.

You will have all seen a cartoon strip, with three boxes that tell a story.

 3 squares on screen

Here is an easy example.

Think of a memorable meal.

First box – where are you.

Second box – what made it memorable

Third box – then what happened.

For me, a meal in Tasmania, I think it was in Launceston at the beginning of a coach tour.

What made it memorable, our soup course arrived with a small tower in the centre of our bowl, and no soup.

Then – the soup was poured from a teapot into our bowls – carrot and coriander soup, barely covering what was in the bowl.

The soup was lovely, but it was the theatre of it that makes it memorable.

 You get the idea.

 

Now, can you think of a time when you were aware of the presence of God/Jesus/Holy Spirit?

Since we started reading the Gospel of Luke, we have read of an angel appearing to Zachariah and later to Mary.

Over the past few weeks, we have read about people encountering Jesus, in the river,
on the beach,
in a boat with so many fish that the boat almost sinks,
in healing,
in acceptance,
and this morning another healing
and the momentous events on the top of the mountain.

 Our experiences of the divine are not all the same, but they are all transforming.

 Our three boxes again.

Your experience of the divine,

Where were you

What happened

What happened next

 

An example

I was on retreat in a bush setting, and I was struggling, I had a cold and some difficult conversations with God.

I woke up one morning and walked outside, it was overcast. I knew the sun was behind the clouds even though I couldn’t see it. I realised that God was with me even though I couldn’t sense it.

I sang, away from the cabins, because it was silence until after breakfast.

 

 

Have you thought of a time when you were aware of the divine?

silence

reflection Not on a mountain-top from spill the beans, issue 21