Trinity???

A slightly different service today, in that I am looking briefly at Isaiah early in the service, followed by the Prayer of Confession, and we will read the Psalm together, as well as hearing the Gospel.

The Sermon is preceded by a litany from Spill the Beans which ends with the question how would explain what no one yet has been able to …? - see  http://spillbeans.org.uk/

Reading: Isaiah 6:1-8
Notes: Guess What Happened in Worship

Here we read of Isaiah’s experience of worship; Isaiah had a significant encounter with God. Which tells us something about worship.

Firstly, Isaiah was aware of God ‘he saw the Lord’ Genuine worship starts with God, and recognising the holiness of God.

Then when Isaiah is awed by God’s presence, he sees himself realistically, and he becomes aware of his sin;  "Woe is me! I am lost” .

God wants us to recognise our frailties and failings, but God also has  a way of dealing with those things. God’s forgiveness not only removes our sin, but also the guilt that so often accompanies our awareness of our sin.

Isaiah’s encounter with God does not end with recognising God and being overawed by the scene; nor does it end with his guilt and sins being removed. The encounter win the temple finishes with Isaiah going to serve in God’s world. To meet human needs, God uses people.[i]

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[i] Ideas from http://www.ministrymatters.com/all/article/entry/2823/sermon-options-june-3-2012

Gospel : John 3:1-17 Proclamation

 The question got me: how would explain what no one yet has been able to …? That question could refer to a range of things, like how will you know when you are in love; how can I have faith; why do cows eat grass; but here the question refers to the Trinity. I am told that this is one day of the year when ministers will try and find a lay preacher. Trinity is one of those ideas that we have in the church, one of those ways that we have of expressing something about God, when really trying to describe God is so difficult within the constraints of human language.

 In the reading from Isaiah, we have Isaiah attempting to put into words his experience of worship. Isaiah describes the hem of God's garments as filling the whole of the temple, and the six winged creatures flying around singing holy, holy, holy. I don't know about you, but I don't think I've been in any worship experience where I've encountered six winged creatures flying around. When asked to explain what worship is like for many of us we think about prayers and music and readings and the functional things that happen in worship. Other times we might try and explain the experience, the sensation, the mystery of encountering God when we meet together and worship together as a community of faith. The functional stuff is much easier to put into words than the sense of awe and mystery.

Turning now to the gospel reading, Nicodemus comes and speaks to Jesus. Nicodemus is a Pharisee, which means he was well versed in the Jewish religion. It also means he was one of the guardians of the Jewish faith. We hear of him coming to Jesus, and discussing the kingdom of God. It seems that in many encounters with people who think they know the truth, or the set answers, Jesus doesn't make it easy for Nicodemus.

Reading of Nicodemus’s encounter with Jesus, reminds me of how hard it is sometimes to understand faith, to be articulate and put into clear words what our faith means, or even what faith is. Nicodemus is correct, in a functional sense, you can't be born a second time, so what else might this mean.

Back to the Trinity for a few moments, something I read this week[i] talked about Trinity by starting with the creation story, in the first chapter of Genesis verse 26 it says :

‘then God said ‘let us make humankind in our image according to our likeness’ ”. The Genesis story begins with a sense of God who is plural, while the Jewish faith is monotheistic, the creation story has a sense of God being part of community. If God was a single creator God, we could worship, we could pray, we could bow down, but it would be about paying homage to, not being in relationship with, or being transformed by. Because God is God in community, because creation is an action of voice of God, word and Sprit, God calls us into community.

The doctrine of the Trinity does not give us a way to explain the details of God, or of faith. What Trinity does is allow a framework, a tool, for seeing God in a new way.

The challenge for Nicodemus in his encounter with Jesus is to let go of what he knows of the physical world, to let go of the certainty of the religion that he knows so well, and to risk being in relationship with God, to allow himself to be swept up into the community of God.

That is our challenge as well. It is easy for us to focus on the physical in life, that which we can touch and see; it is easy for us to be comfortable with what we know; but as we worship we open ourselves up to God; as we come together around the Lord's table we are allowing ourselves to be part of something more, that can be wonderful and joyous and challenging and frightening. Because when we open ourselves to God, when we allow ourselves to be swept up into the community of God and God's people, we don't know what will happen. God being Trinity, God in relationship with God and with us, is part of the wonderful mystery of faith.

Let us take some time to sit in the mystery.

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[i] Nadia Bolz-Weber  http://sojo.net/blogs/2012/06/01/some-thoughts-holy-trinity/

Don't know where I got this from - an Ascension story.

I heard the story from someone who’d read it in the works of Abba Sayah …He admits that it’s a pretty shaky story when it comes to reality but there is no doubt whatsoever that it’s true.
As the gospels tell us, after forty days of resurrection appearances, Jesus knew it was time to leave his disciples – his mother, his brothers and sisters, all his companions in the Way. It was hard to say goodbye, but he knew that the time had come. After all, he was the Truth and we humans can only take so much of that.
So Jesus called them all together on the mountain top, and made his farewells. It was a tearful moment. Mary was crying. John was crying. Jesus was crying. Even Peter, the immovable rock, was reaching for his handkerchief.
They knew that Jesus had said he would always be with them. But they also knew it wasn't going to be the same. There would be no more breakfasts by the seashore, no more late night discussions around the campfire, no more unexpected jugs of wine…and so they wept.
Jesus was sad too, but he was glad to be returning to his Father, and he knew it was all part of the plan. And so he began to ascend.
As Abba Sayah told the story, as Jesus began to rise, slowly and gracefully into the air, John just couldn't bear it. He grabbed hold of Jesus' right leg, and refused to let go.
"John?" said Jesus “What are you doing?”
And John shouted back,
"If you won't stay with us, then I'm coming too."
Jesus calmly continued to rise, hoping that John would let go. But he didn’t. And then, to make matters worse, Mary suddenly jumped up and grabbed hold of Jesus' other leg.
"I'm coming too," she shouted.
By now, Jesus’ big exit had obviously been ruined, but he looked up into heaven, and called out:
"Okay, Father... what do I do now?" And a voice came out of the clouds, deep and loud like the rumbling of thunder in the distance.
"Ascend!" the voice said.
"Ascend?" Jesus asked
"Ascend!" the voice replied.
So Jesus continued to rise through the air, with John and Mary holding on until they too were lifted off the ground. But the other disciples couldn't bear to be left behind either, so they too jumped on board…and within moments there was this pyramid of people hanging in the middle of the sky. Jesus at the top. John and Mary next. The other apostles hanging on below. Quite a sight, if anyone had been watching...
And then - what was this? Suddenly all kinds of people were appearing out of nowhere…friends and neighbors from around Galilee, people who’d heard Jesus’ stories, people whom he had healed, people who just knew that he was something special…Young and old,- men, women, children, Jews and Gentiles…a huge crowd – and they too refused to be left behind…So, they made a grab for the last pair of ankles and hung on for dear life. One way and another there was quite a kerfuffle -people squealing “Wait for me” -then startled yelps as they felt themselves seized by the ankle -and above it all the voice of God calling out, “Ascend!"
But all of a sudden, from the bottom of the pyramid, there came the voice of a small child.
"Wait!” he shrilled, “I've lost my dog! Wait for me”
"I can't wait," Jesus called back, "I don't know how this thing works."
But the little boy wasn't going to be left behind, and he was determined his dog was coming with him. So, still holding on with one hand, he grabbed hold of a tree with the other, and held on with all his might.
For a moment, the whole pyramid stopped dead in the air - Jesus pulling upwards, and the little boy holding on to the tree, scanning the horizon for his lost dog. But Jesus couldn't stop. The ascension had begun, and God was pulling him back up to heaven.
At first it looked as if the tree would uproot itself. But then the tree held on, and it started to pull the ground up with it. Sort of like when you pull a rug up in the middle, the soil itself started moving up into the sky. And hundreds of miles away, where the soil met the oceans, the oceans held on. And where the oceans met the shores, the shores held on. All of it held on, like there was no tomorrow.
Jesus DID ascend to heaven, He went back to his natural habitat, living permanently in the presence of God’s endless love and care and wholeness and laughter. But, as Abba Sayah tells it, he pulled all of creation – the whole kit and caboodle – everything that ever was or is or ever will be – he pulled it all up into heaven with him.
There's a sense in which we can think about the Ascension as “Christmas backwards”. At Christmas, we concentrate on Jesus coming to earth to transform us with the presence of God. At Ascension, we focus instead on Jesus taking earth back with him into heaven…
Whichever way you look at it, the work of Jesus was to transform us and the world we live in by infusing everything with the presence of God. Heaven meets earth; earth is drawn into heaven.
And, as Abba Saya said. that's where we've been ever since.
If you have a source for this let me know and I'll be glad to credit it. I have no idea where I got it.

Joy

John 15: 9-17

Last week we thought about what it means to abide, or dwell, in Jesus. the passage we heard today follows on from the image of the vine and the branches, and continues on with the theme of being in relationship with Jesus, and of Jesus being in relationship with ‘his Father’.

Today we read this passage which mentions ‘love’ so many times, I wonder if John was in a contest to see how many he could use the word in a paragraph. 9 times in this section of text, including 5 times in the first 2 verses. So we could say this passage is about love. Love is a word that gets used lots these days, but I wonder what we mean when we speak of love.  I doubt it is the same love that Jesus was talking about. I love your new haircut, car, dog, whatever; I doubt that is what Jesus is talking about here with his disciples. Jesus is talking with the disciples after the last supper, before the betrayal in the garden. 

Jesus knows that the world was not an easy place for his disciples, nor would it be easy for them after his death. The idea of crucifixion was that the ring leader would die in this very public way, then everyone else would return home and be ‘good’ citizens, and not cause the Roman or Jewish leaders any more trouble.  There are still places around the world where this method of control is still in use.

Jesus is telling the disciples to remain in his love, to abide in him as he abides in God; to love as he loves; and he calls them friends, not servants; tells them to go and bear fruit; and a final love one another, just in case they haven’t got the message.

Love one another as Jesus has loved you. If this is the standard we need to reach, I am doomed, and I am guessing you are all doomed as well. It is a standard we cannot possibly reach, it is not possible for us to love as Jesus loved, as purely, as unselfishly, as courageously, as honestly, as perfectly as Jesus loved. So we might as well just give up and go home, because of that is the standard we have no hope.

But what if Jesus is not giving a standard, an absolute so impossible for us to even think about ever reaching; what if Jesus is telling the disciples, and us, that life is about relationship, relationship with Jesus, with God, with each other. And yes our relationships with God and each other should be characterised by those qualities I mentioned, courage, honesty and purity; but maybe this is saying that when we abide in Jesus, when we our lives are saturated by Jesus and his love, our loving will be like that. We won’t be perfect, and we will not always be loving, but when we stay in relationship with Jesus, we live out the life he gives us, and we bear fruit for the kingdom.

Imagine your life saturated by Jesus. Wouldn’t that be amazing!

Now I said the theme today is Joy -  and that comes from one of the verses in this reading: I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Our joy may be complete – after being told to love another as Jesus has loved us, it is so our joy may be complete. When are people joyful – when their team wins, when they do well in a test, get a job, buy their dream house – such joy is short lived.  Looking up the word joy on my computer’s dictionary, it means happiness or delight.

What brings us joy, what might this joy be. Again I think it has to do with relationship with Jesus. by living this closely with Jesus, by abiding in, dwelling in his love and life, our lives will be full of joy. Joy that comes from knowing we are loved by God, joy that comes from being in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, joy that comes from living deeply with Jesus.  Now that isn’t to say that life will be all smooth sailing.

The next part of this chapter of John talks of persecution, the disciples will be persecuted just as Jesus was, now how is that for a message of hope.  Yet I think it is. If we live as Jesus lived, love as Jesus loves, if we feel his joy, are his friends, bear kingdom fruit, why should we expect to be treated any differently to the way he was treated.

Jesus said: I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.

Joy to me is deep within me, it is an awareness and acceptance that I am loved by God, valued by Jesus, that I abide in the vine, that I have been chosen, called and sent. Jesus came that we might have life, abundant, overflowing life.

Is the joy of Jesus part of your life?

vine of love

1 John 4: 7-21

John 15:1-8

This reading reminds us of our dependence on Jesus, the vine, as the source of life, but also how interconnected we are. From the biology I learnt many years ago, I remember something about sap moving through plants, as part of the way they live, sounds to me a bit like blood running through our bodies. Plants have sap. Looking at the image of the vine, and the reading from the first letter of John, I wonder if love is the sap in the vine that Jesus is talking about. I wonder if love is the life force that keeps the church alive and growing. I wonder if love is the life force that keeps us alive and growing.

Jesus tells the disciples : ‘abide in me as I abide in you’

We live in a time when we are judged by what we produce or how much money or status we have. We are valued for our busyness. Here we are reminded that what matters most in life is relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  In the paper yesterday there was an article about the things that worry people the most, and 3 of the top five were future career, achievement and the future. These are amongst the issues that worry people enough to affect their quality of life and their health. The message of the gospels is that relationships matter more than anything, and our most important relationship is with God.

Jesus says : ‘abide in me as I abide in you’

How do we abide in Jesus? Abide is a word we don’t use all that often these days, it means to dwell in, so Jesus is saying we should dwell in him, as he dwells in us – it is an intimate relationship, and one which is in every fibre of our being. This isn’t some God who is miles away. This is a god who wants a close relationship with each one of us; a close, personal, profound, relationship. and Just thinking about it is amazing, and as you can tell I am struggling to put this into words.

So how do we abide in Jesus? or maybe the first question is do we abide in Jesus – is the love of Jesus what runs through our veins?

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Thinking back to the image of the vine for a few moments, when the sap stops flowing through a branch, it dies, gets pruned off and burnt. And sometimes you need to prune the plant where it is still growing to get the best out of the plant. When the love of Jesus isn’t flowing through our lives, we become ‘dead’, even though we may still be breathing and eating and talking, we are no longer living in Christ, we are no longer connected to the vine that is the source of life.

So how do we abide in Jesus? a few ways I think of are: prayer, scripture, sacraments, worshipping together; and some people will have others, for me drawing is helpful, for some I know gardening or bushwalking. I encourage you to find those things that keep you in close relationship with Jesus. again I say I think for all Christians, prayer, scripture, sacraments and worshipping together are important in being part of the vine.

This image of a vine also reminds us that we do not produce fruit by our own efforts, by trying harder, fruit is a by-product of staying connected to the vine. ‘Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing’.

I am surprised how often we get caught up in negative, pessimistic talk about the church. Yes, fewer people attend worship than fifty years ago; and prioritising budgets, at all levels of the church is difficult; and it seems that the church has less influence in the community. But, looking at the readings in John’s gospel, back in chapter 13, the Passover meal is eaten and Jesus washes the disciples feet, then comes about 3 chapters of teaching – Jesus was a long- winded after dinner speaker if this all in one go – here John has included sections on loving one another, dwelling in the house of God, the coming of the Holy Spirit, the vine and the branches, offering peace and Jesus praying for the disciples. For me it is like a long ‘last words’ to prepare the disciples for the time when Jesus isn’t around. Jesus is reminding them of the basis of his teaching, relationship and love.

Being part of the vine means we are not isolated individuals, nor are we isolated congregations, we are all connected to the one true vine, Jesus. Which means we are in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and we are called to abide, to dwell, in Jesus. That isn’t the end of the story, because when we abide in Jesus, when we are in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, then we have the love of God flowing through us, we have the Spirit as part of us, and that means we will bear fruit, we will be part of the kingdom of God here on earth. That is what happens.

And Without Jesus we can do nothing.

Just as no matter how hard it tries, a branch on its own cannot bear fruit, to bear fruit it needs to be connected to the vine; so we cannot try harder to bring the kingdom into being, we can only stay true to our relationship with Jesus.

Jesus says : ‘abide in me as I abide in you’

Take some time now to abide in Jesus.

handing on

a very short sermon this week.

The disciples were in hiding, they were afraid, Jesus had been killed, there was talk of resurrection, but?

Then Jesus appears. Notice what Jesus says to the group, "Peace be with you." Not why are you hiding, or why did you run away when I was arrested. Jesus doesn’t have a go at them for not having enough faith, or courage, or vision. Jesus stands in the room, in the midst of their fear, and says "Peace be with you."

"Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

In both John’s gospel and the first letter of John we are told of what people have seen and touched and heard. The people writing this down are writing so that we too may know the story of Jesus, and that we too may come to know Jesus, to have relationship with God, to live as people of God.

I wonder what do we hand on to people? judgement? criticism? do we heap guilt and shame onto people? Do the pronouncements of the church bring people into relationship with Jesus? or drive them further away?

Sin is real, I am sure of it. Sin exists in the world and in each of our lives. When looking at the gospel stories, notice what happens when someone accused of sin is brought before Jesus – does he condemn? does he give a lecture on keeping the ten commandments? No.  Jesus is the one who offers forgiveness and life.

 "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you."

I wonder what we hand on to those we meet, I wonder what we will hand on to Abileigh. Will she learn from us about fear and judgement, or above love and grace. And what of others in this community, what of the young people wondering what life is about, single parents, people who are unemployed, people isolated through illness and age and grief, people who are busy with work and family responsibilities, people, any people, what do they hear from us, what do our words and our lives say.

We do we hear from each other?

The stories of Jesus are handed down to us, through the writers of the gospels and the letters. But living a life of faith is more than knowing the stories in our heads.

We learn to live as faithful people by hearing the stories, reading the Bible, but also by being around people who hand down the faith to us.

‘We declare to you what was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. … We are writing these things so that our [or your]  joy may be complete.’

What do we declare? What do we tell others about?

What do we know from living as people of faith, what are some words you would use to describe the way Jesus.

Hope, peace, love, grace, mercy, forgiveness, …

Here some people are writing about their experience of God in Jesus Christ. They are writing so that others will hear about the possibility of relationship with God through Jesus, and that in hearing and responding, others will come to the same joy that the authors have.

In what ways do our lives tell people about Jesus?

we are resurrection

Mark 16: 1-8

The story we reflect on each Easter Sunday is one that makes some people anxious, it stretches the limits of our rational thought, the idea that a person could die, and then not be dead? Who are you kidding!

So up front I want to say, I don’t understand this story, I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know in what form Jesus appears, we will think about resurrection appearances more in the coming weeks. Some people are certain of these things, and have explanations for them, but I don’t.

But given that we are here 2,000 years later; suggests to me that something did actually happen, something amazing and momentous.  And just because I can’t explain how doesn’t mean it didn’t happen; because if that was the test I wouldn’t drive a car or use a computer.

There are lots of things in life I don’t understand, but that doesn’t make them any less real.

So what do we make of this story, of a man who died, a man who died a violent, brutal death at the hands of an oppressive regime, because he would not stop being who he was, the living God. He would not stop loving, healing, teaching; he would not stand by and be silent while religion was used to abuse people; he would not stand by and watch while people were excluded; he would not stand by and pretend it was OK while people lived bound by the law.

This man who died, whose death we remember each day, but especially on Good Friday, died because of the sins of the world, the violence, the oppression, the self-centredness, the hunger for power; the lack of compassion; and these things still exist in the world today, and we are all implicated in systemic oppression and violence.

What does it mean that this man did not stay in the grave?

We can read in the gospels and New Testament letters what it meant to some people in the first century, but what does it mean now, to us?

What does it mean for us to say Jesus rose from the dead?

What does it mean for us to believe Jesus lives?

What does it mean for us to live as people of the resurrection?

A quote:  “Every single thing the Resurrected Lord does on earth now he does through our bodies.” In a way she’s saying, “We are the resurrection.” It’s not a one-time only event. The Resurrection as an unfolding thing with Christ continually being resurrected in those who follow him.”

http://revalli.wordpress.com/2012/04/05/the-resurrection-really-how/

I have a story for you: Picture book – The Last tree in the City

http://treeday.planetark.org/documents/doc-430-last-tree-in-the-city.pdf

I wonder what we carry around with us, what is it that we value above all else.

What brings colour into our lives, and the lives of those around us.

We can sit at the foot of the cross and mourn what was, and at times we need to do that. But at some point we need to move beyond the pain and grief and look for signs of life.

We are the resurrection.

Deceit, disloyalty and discipleship

As we continue our way through Mark’s record of what we now call Holy Week, we are up to Wednesday. Notice it is called 2 days before Passover. Passover was the significant point in the religious year, just as we count down to Christmas, people counted down to Passover, making sure all the preparations were in place.

A few weeks ago I mentioned a literary device that Mark uses, it is called ‘frames’ or ‘sandwich’; in which Mark surrounds an event within another event. We saw it with the story of the Temple being framed by the withered fig tree.  This passage is also one of Mark’s frames. We will look first at the frame, then at the story of the woman.

The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus^* by stealth and kill him; for they said, ‘Not during the festival, or there may be a riot among the people.’

The chief priests and scribes, not all of them, but many of them, were wanting Jesus out of the way. These were people in collaboration with the Romans, and Jesus could upset their privileged place.  The thing people were scared about were the crowds, crowds that were following Jesus, crowds that showed his popularity, crowds that made it difficult to keep people in their ‘right’ place; the religious leaders were concerned about Jesus’ popularity, because if they lost control of the ‘religious practice’ and the people were not controllable, then the Romans would come down hard on the whole population.

The religious leaders were wanting to get rid of Jesus because of the crowds, but it is also the crowds that prevented people getting to Jesus. The leaders were concerned at what would happen in they openly arrested Jesus.

The second part of the frame:

Then Judas Iscariot, who was one of the twelve, went to the chief priests in order to betray him to them. When they heard it, they were greatly pleased, and promised to give him money. So he began to look for an opportunity to betray him.

The chief priests and scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus, but were prevented by the Crowd, they had given up, and here is Judas offering to betray Jesus. Often we think of the crowd as being against Jesus, but the problem was that Jesus was popular. The only way the religious authorities could arrest Jesus was to know when he would be away from the crowd, arrest him and execute him before the crowds knew what was happening.

A side note, when we read of the trial before Pilate, and the crowd calling for Jesus to be executed and Barabbas freed, Mark notes that this crowd was stirred up by the chief priests, it is quite likely that it was a select crowd that had been allowed into the governor’s grounds.

Now to the story that is framed by deceit and betrayal; the story of an unnamed woman who poured expensive ointment on Jesus’ head, anointing him for burial before his death.

Jesus has told the disciples a number of times that he will be arrested and put to death, but they disciples just don’t get it, then we have the unnamed woman come and anoint him. Nard was used to anoint a body before burial, but if Jesus is to be killed as a criminal, there is not usually the opportunity for anointing, so she has done it beforehand.

And the response of those around her, how outrageous!, wasteful! This could have been sold and given to the poor. Jesus responds: you always have the poor with you… you can show kindness to them whenever you wish. but do we? We may talk about the poor, pray for the poor, but do we do anything to prevent  or alleviate poverty? Or do we ignore the problem, and imagine that it is for people with more power and influence to do something about such issues.

Jesus recognises her actions as preparing his body for burial ahead of time, but others in the room see only expensive perfume being wasted.  Jesus commends her for doing what she can. We might think we have little to offer to Jesus, or the world; but here we have an example of a person with limited opportunities, offering what she can.  “In the midst of deception and disloyalty we find an act of dedication to Christ and his cross”.[i]

We have a contrast here between the deceit of the religious leaders, the disloyalty and betrayal by Judas, and an act of generosity by the unnamed woman, she is a true disciple because she has believed. What will we be remembered for?

I wonder what we can learn from this story? about Jesus, about ourselves?

One thing I notice about Jesus is how aware he was of what was going on around him, he could read the signs of his impending arrest and death. He was challenging violent political power and unjust religious collaboration, that was, and still is, dangerous.  We need only look at people like Oscar Romero in San Salvador, and Nelson Mandela in South Africa, people who challenged oppressive situations, and were killed or imprisoned for doing so.

Jesus also recognised the actions of those around him, he saw something in the actions of the woman, he saw devotion and discipleship where others only saw waste.

What do we learn about ourselves? This story happened in a different time and a different culture, what can we learn about ourselves.

I wonder how often we look for bad things to happen to those we consider are in our way. I remember an incident with Ice skating where one competitor’s family attacked another competitor so she was unable to compete in National Championships.  I am sure we don’t do anything so obvious, but how often do we want people out of the way. The problem child in our child’s class at school, the problem person in the office?

I wonder how often we miss the generosity and beauty that is around us; because we are too busy looking for something else? In the story of the woman anointing Jesus there are some in the room more concerned about money than about devotion. In our busy lives, and these days everyone seems to be busy, I wonder what we miss out on?

And I wonder what we make of Jesus? is he is a pest to be eliminated or avoided? Is he causing us to question the way we live? Do we listen to these stories and, like the twelve, wonder what Jesus is talking about, or do we live out our faith like the woman, step out of the shadows and have the courage to do something beautiful, generous, daring;  

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[i] http://www.lectionarystudies.com/studyg/passionsundaybig.html