What does it mean to love?

The Hebrew Bible has lots of rules to follow, there is the ten commandments, but also many rules in the old testament that cover what to plant, and what and when to sacrifice, and tithing and numerous other rules. Rabbis were often asked to interpret these rules. Here Jesus is asked what the most important of the rules are; and he responds:

“The most important one is this: ‘Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only Lord. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second most important commandment is this: ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ There is no other commandment more important than these two.” [Good News version]

He doesn’t speak of tithing, or sexuality, or what clothes to wear, or how to worship, or what structure the church should follow. He speaks about loving God and loving neighbour.

Reminds me of the song: All you need is love. it is just so simple, all you need is love, so says the Beatles classic.

“All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love,
Love is all you need”

But what do we mean by love?

These days we think of love as a romantic feeling.

I wonder what it means, to love God with all that we are, and to love our neighbour as our self. 

Loving God has to be easier than loving our neighbour, maybe we should start with the first one: Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. Maybe not so easy, so we will come back to it later, and move to the second most important commandment: “love your neighbour as you love yourself” .

In Luke’s gospel we have the story of the Good Samaritan in response to a question about who is my neighbour? Our neighbour is someone who is in need, and I get that we can, and should, help such people, but love them???

We heard a few weeks ago about the rich man who went away sad- Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor – is that what loving people is about, giving them what we have worked hard for? It doesn’t sound like love.

Matthew has the story of the Sheep and Goats at the judgement, and the sheep asking when they have visited or fed or given water or clothed Jesus and the response is : “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.” [Matthew 25 CEV]

Love your neighbour as yourself, doesn’t sound simple either; maybe we can start with the part about yourself, loving our neighbour in the same way as we love our self.  I can remember early in my time as a Christian being told that I was at the end of the list, J O Y, Jesus first, yourself last and others in between, , there was a song about it. Yet, Jesus is saying that the second most important commandment is loving our neighbour, the person who is in need, in the same way that we love our self.  One person explained this by thinking about it like the oxygen masks on an airplane: the instructions are to ‘ “attach your mask first before assisting others.” The point is clear: If I do not take care of myself, I cannot take care of others. If I do not love myself, I cannot love others.’ [Seasons of the Spirit]

This passage then is about love, but not love that is a warm, romantic, sentimental feeling; love of neighbour = non-exploitation [Binding the Strong Man p318 Ched Myers].

I wonder what loving God and loving neighbour means in our world today.

·    In a world where people are cleaning up after the super storm Sandy [2 pictures]

·    In a world where making changes that mean a more liveable environment is thought of as strange [1 picture]

·    In a world where wanting to learn is considered dangerous [1 picture]

·    In a nation where the entire country has been removed from the migration zone

·    In a city divided by geography, wealth and education.

What does loving God and loving our neighbour as our-self mean?

Well, first of all we need to love our self, which can be difficult for many of us, because if we don’t love ourselves, how can we love others? This doesn’t mean thinking we are better than others, or that we never get anything wrong, but it does mean recognising and valuing the person that God has made you.

Loving our neighbour, living in ways that do not exploit people, in Biblical times this meant leaving grain for people to glean, which you can read more about in the Ruth story; not oppressing your workers; not discriminating against the disabled; not speaking falsely about people. Loving our neighbours seems to me to be about living in ways that offer life to all people, the fullness of life that Jesus speaks about.  

Which brings us back to the greatest commandment - Loving God with all out heart, soul, mind and strength. What might loving God look like? The scribe agrees with Jesus’ answer, and continues on that these two commandments are more important than burnt offerings and sacrifice - remember this was a time when ritual and sacrifice was considered very important, more important than how you treated people.

This is a reminder that loving God is not shown in burnt offerings, or these days we might say in an abundance of good works or giving to charity or pious living.

I have one more picture for you this morning, it was on the front page of the Leader on Thursday, this woman is recipient of the carer category of the NSW Grandparent of the Year awards; she has raised her grandchildren from the time they were quite young due to the breakdown in relationship of the children’s parents. The headline caught my eye.

All you need is love.

Maybe that is all we need, maybe the Beatles song isn’t too simplistic after all.

All we need is love

Love God with all that we are , and love our neighbour as we love our-self.

What does this mean in your life?

The Challenge of Grace

Another of the hard sayings of Jesus, last week it was about divorce, and this week about money, or rather giving it away.

No wonder these are called the hard sayings. Last week’s reading had us thinking about law and relationships. Jesus was not trying to do away with the law, but was reshaping the way the law was interpreted. For Jesus the law about divorce wasn't about when it was or was not permissible for a man to divorce his wife; but about people in relationship.

In  a society where women and children were possessions, Jesus treats both groups as people, as just as important as the men who held power. I don’t think Jesus was condemning divorce per se, but the way that it was, and is, possible for people to be discarded. Women and children are not possessions in the Kingdom of God, and therefore should not be treated as possessions, but as God’s precious people.

Today’s reading is another reminder that Christianity is about more than keeping a set of rules.  For many people that is the image of religion; a set of rules, about how what you wear, about alcohol, about money. Christianity is about more than keeping rules.

While this reading is often referred to as the rich young ruler, in Mark he is simply referred to as a man. This man is looking for something, he has been an observant Jew, aware of the law and has followed it. Jesus doesn't question if he has really has kept all the laws. For the Jews it was considered quite reasonable to be able to keep these laws. He comes to Jesus, looking for reassurance, security; it is like he knows there is more to life than keeping rules.

Other people who came to Jesus and knelt before him were looking for healing, I wonder what this man was looking for healing from?

We was rich, Jesus tells him to go and sell all he has and give it to the poor. This is a difficult reading for somewhere like Australia, and especially like the Shire. While there are people living in poverty, people who are homeless, people without regular meals, in Australia that is not the norm. Most people in Australia, including those of us here today, are not poor, we have enough and often more than enough. This reading is again about how we relate to God’s people, all of them.

In first century Israel, wealth was at the expense of the poor. Just as today that may not be intentional; but when we buy cheap goods manufactured in sweatshops, so we can afford some luxury, who pays for that? Much of the inequity in the world is not because we plan it that way; but we are complicit, because the structures that serve our interest, keep many of the poor, poor.  There are options, such as fair trade goods and food, but it is easier and cheaper to go a supermarket and buy the cheapest products.

“How would we spend our money this week if we trusted God? What would we buy? What would we refrain by buying? What would we save, and for what purpose? And what would we give - how much and to whom?” [David Lose : Working Preacher]

The man is challenged to give to those, whose poverty has allowed his wealth. How does it feel to realise that you have more than enough? To be challenged to spread around the resources that we have, so that all may have enough?

This isn't only for the benefit of those who receive. Possessions, by their very nature are things that belong to us, but in many ways they own us.  The larger house you have, the more time in cleaning. Some cherished items need special cleaning and maintenance. The swimming pool or tennis court takes time, or money, to maintain. Possessions have a way of keeping us focused on them.

Our possessions do not bring us life, or hope, or peace, or the security we crave. Life in Jesus provides life, and hope, and peace, and the security we crave. Life in Jesus, the invitation is there, but do we accept it, along with the challenges that life in Jesus entails? The challenge of investing resources in all God’s people and all of creation; the challenge to live not only by the law, but in the spirit of grace; in relationship with each other, with all people.

The man who approached Jesus wanted to know how to receive eternal life. In Matthew’s Gospel we are  reminded that we should store up our treasure in heaven “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” [Matthew 6]

When our treasure lies in possessions, that is where we focus our time and our energy. In challenging the man to sell his possessions and give to the poor, he is being encouraged to put his resources, his treasure in God’s people. Investing in God is investing in the poor, the homeless, those seeking education, clean water, sustainable food.

Maybe that is what Jesus is telling this man, invest your wealth where it counts. How to do that? That is hard, for some of us, almost impossible. No wonder the man went away sad.

And  then we get to the part about the rich not entering the kingdom of God. Where does that leave us, we all have shelter and food, that means each one of us is rich. Does this mean we can’t enter the kingdom of God?

If it is up to us, to our resources and our willpower, yes it means we can’t enter the kingdom of God. But it is not up to us, entry into the kingdom of God, into heaven, is through God’s grace, not our wealth, or our poverty or our keeping the rules.

It is God’s grace, that brings us life, abundant life, now and forever.

“God doesn't want us bound up in rules as the Pharisees were.  God offers us transforming love, that we might live as God intended, disciples with an active, daring, self-risking faith.” [Texts For Preaching]

Imagine that you are kneeling before Jesus, as he heads towards Jerusalem. What do you need transformed in your life?

What does Jesus challenge you to let go of, to give away?

law and love

I'm sure you are all wondering how I'm going to speak about the gospel reading on a day when we are also celebrating B and Y’s 50th wedding anniversary.

This passage has been used at times to define relationships, there are people who are divorced, remarried, or in same gender relationships, and at some time or another this passage will have been quoted to them to point out their sinfulness.

 While this reading does have something to say to us about marriage and divorce; it is about much more than that.

 The question that the Pharisees ask, as in many of the questions Jesus is asked, is intended to trap Jesus. There were different Rabbinic Schools and each has different interpretations of the laws of Moses. In the same way that if we were to discuss the Bible passage here today different people would have different understandings and would all have a good reason for thinking that way; the thing is when Jesus was alive it wasn't just a Bible study discussion it was law, it determined your ability to be involved in religious life and in community life.

The Pharisees asked is it lawful? “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?". Jesus responds in good Jewish fashion, and refers to Moses, the great lawgiver.

And then Jesus brings in a completely different dimension. He doesn't talk about when divorce is or isn't lawful or permitted, he doesn't talk about custody disputes, or even the unjustness of a system that allowed men to divorce their wife but not the other way round. A  system that left many divorced women destitute. A system that treated women and children as property of father or husband. 

Some commentators point out that the Pharisees asked about divorce, and Jesus talked about marriage, but this is about much more than divorce or marriage. It points to a different place for the Law, a different understanding of relationships, a different way of looking at God.  

Firstly, looking at the Law. For the  ‘ordinary Jews’ that Jesus met, the Law was important. The Law was important for how you related to God and to others. The Law was the central point of the community. The Law was also under debate. Just as lawyers now debate in the High Court how legislation and constitution should be interpreted, so Rabbis debated various interpretations of the Law.  

Jesus doesn’t align himself with any one view of the Law, but points to behind the law. Jesus talked about God’s intention in creation. The question is asked: is it legal, is it allowed; Jesus responds by showing he knows the law, but that there is something that overrides the law. God’s will, God love, overrides the Law.  

Relationships are an area we could spend days talking about, parents, children, siblings, wider family members, in-laws, step parents, half siblings and on and on, as well as partners and spouses and friends. Relationships come in a myriad of shapes and sizes. I think here Jesus is emphasizing that people are made, created, intended by God, to be in relationship. Not necessarily marriage. People are not intended to live isolated lives, humans are ‘herd’ animals.  

For many people, even today, following God’s law is in expectation of future reward. For many in our community this is part of  their understanding of religion and the role of religion. Yet the actions of Jesus show that religion is about love, not law. Religion has been used, and still is in places today,  to keep people under control, to limit freedom, to close of criticism and keep people compliant in their servitude. That is not the way of Jesus.  

Looking at the second part of the reading, Jesus shows again how radical he is. Children were not considered cute, children were property, they had no status. When the parents are bringing their children to Jesus, the disciples behave as any reasonable adult would. Why waste time on children, they have little value, no status, nothing to possibly gain from them, so why waste time on them. But Jesus rebukes the disciples and calls the children to him, and blesses them.  

These two stories may seem unrelated, but together they point us to a picture of Jesus that is about inclusion, welcome of the least, and the marginalised.  

A picture of grace.  

During much of September we looked at the creation, the  world, people, animals, plants and the sky, we thought about their interaction, and how all of God’s creation was seen by God as good. We acknowledged the way that the whole creation worships God, and tells of God’s glory. 

Here Jesus is reminding people, that God is not about what is lawful, but about living in relationship, interdependence, harmony of all things.  

Do we spend our time trying to find loopholes in laws, so that we can do as we desire?

Do we treat people as disposable? 

Another thing I notice in this reading is that people brought their children to be blessed by Jesus, which reminds me a bit of parents bringing their children to church for Baptism and blessing.  

We all need to be blessed by Jesus, and here we have three different interactions with Jesus.

One group thinks they know the Law, and therefore the religion, they don’t ask for a blessing, they try and trick Jesus with their question.  

Another group try and keep Jesus ‘safe’ from people who are not deemed ‘worthy’ of Jesus’ time or attention. This is not the only place the disciples try and keep people away from Jesus.   

And the last group come asking for a blessing, they come not with lots of knowledge, they come with little status, they come with their children, and they come hoping that this holy person will bless their children.  

Do we come to worship today comfortable in our knowledge about God?

Do we live in ways that tell people that they are not good enough to be around God’s people?

Do we recognise our frailty and seek God’s blessing?

mountain of peace

Isaiah 65: 17-25

Mark 16: 14-15

 

The reading from Isaiah, comes from the second part of Isaiah, this was written when the people of Israel were in exile. For the people of Israel, being defeated and taken into captivity signified that their God was not as powerful as the Babylonian God. After years in exile, the captives are economically better placed than those left in Israel. However, there is concern that they are losing their identity, assimilating with the people around them.

And they blame God.

I am sure you have all met people who blame everything in their lives that has not worked out as planned on someone else. Nothing is ever their fault.

The prophet is telling the people of Israel to quit blaming God and take responsibility for their situation.  The prophet points to their self-centredness[1].  sound familiar??

This passage from Isaiah is about a peaceful future on God’s mountain, it is a vision of a new earth and heaven, a new way of living as God’s people, in harmony with all creation.

Do we know that peace and harmony?

Isaiah writes about peace with all creation, the original talks of the lamb lying with the lion.

The modern version we heard this morning talks of love, life being grounded and based in love, fullness of life, no more destruction, no more selfishness.

Friday was The International Day of Peace, Isaiah writes of the peaceable kingdom, what is peace? The absence of conflict and violence, yes, but more than that. The word “Shalom means completeness, wholeness, health, peace, welfare, safety soundness, tranquillity, prosperity, perfectness, fullness, rest, harmony, the absence of agitation or discord.” [2]

That is the kind of peace the prophet speaks about, peace that is a life lived with contentment, in harmony, at peace with creation, with each other, with our self and with God.

Where does this peace come from?

What might the Mountain of peace be?

 

Earlier we thought about Mountains in general, what Biblical stories that include mountains come to mind?

-      Noah’s Ark

-      Moses and 10 commandments

-      Transfiguration

-      Sermon on the Mount – beatitudes

-      Elijah and the still small voice

-      Mount of Olives, where Jesus wept over Jerusalem

-      Calvary

-       

 

amazing things happen on mountains, people talk with God, God talks with people, visions, teaching, …

Mountains are places where the interaction with God somehow seems closer.

We talk even today of ‘mountaintop’ experiences.  Moments and times that are special, often so special we can’t find the words to describe them.

Times of peace, of calm, of being totally present in that moment and space.

In some ways the Mountain of peace, the vision of Isaiah of shalom, wholeness and harmony, does not exist. Not only are there wars and violence in the world, but people live in ways that diminish them, due to poverty and oppression; there are places where the water is not suitable for drinking, the air makes people and animals sick such is the pollution; there are animals and plants that are extinct or near to extinction. The Mountain of peace seems like a distant dream, pushed further away by our self-centredness, just as it was for the people of Israel.

Yet, we do have hope, we can live in peace, peace within and with God, that will show in the way we live. This is because of an event on another mountain. Calvary, Golgotha, the place of crucifixion.

It seems bizarre to me, that death is what leads to life, yet that is our experience of the gospel. The life and death and resurrection of Jesus, gives us hope, peace and joy; the life and death and resurrection of Jesus allows to live fully, to lives selflessly; the life and death and resurrection of Jesus is a sign of the coming kingdom, a kingdom of shalom.

What do we do with this peace, with the invitation to life?

Mark records Jesus as saying that the disciples should proclaim the good news to all creation. We rarely read this part of Mark, we read the commission to the disciples in Matthew, go into all the world and make disciples. Here in Mark the commission to the disciples is telling, living the good news, for the whole creation.

For the past 4 weeks we have looked at some areas of creation, at Genesis one and the story of creation out of chaos, a reminder to people in exile that God can create order out of the chaos of their lives. A reminder of the interwovenness of all creation. And God saw that it was good.  How do we think about God’s creation?

Then we looked at humanity, and how people are part of God’s creation, and God named people as good. All people are made in the image of God, fat people, brown people, broken people, babies and old people and everyone, all made in the image of God – WOW!!!

And last week we thought about the sky and how the sky tells the glory of God, where do we see God’s glory, in what ways does our living show God’s glory?

And then today Mountains, and peace.

We are made in the image of God and God declares us to be good. A good part of a good creation. A part of God bringing order and beauty out of chaos.

May our lives speak of God’s glory, God’s love, mercy and grace to all people and to all the creation.

 

Let us take some time to reflect.

---

[1] Hanson, Interpretation Isaiah 40-66; pp. 1,2,241

[2] http://www.therefinersfire.org/meaning_of_shalom.htm

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

Jeremiah 4:23-28

Psalm 19:1-6

Mark 15:33-39

 

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

Who has time to look at the sky?
 

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

What about when the sky turns dark?
 

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

But it isn't enough to capture our attention.

The Psalmist tells us that the heavens are telling the glory of God. In the Old Testament heaven refers to the sky, it is a reference to the sky above us, not to some place where God might be. In Mark's gospel we hear of the sky turning black at the death of Jesus. The passage from Jeremiah reminds us of the interrelationship between our living and the creation around us.

Jeremiah isn't particularly talking to individuals, he is speaking to a community that are about to go into exile. Jeremiah tells the people that they have forgotten who they are, they are ignoring God's way, they are living for themselves and themselves alone.

 

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

In many places it's hard to see the sky, tall buildings cast such long shadows, pollution, bushfires and dust storms cloud the sky at times. The heavens are telling the glory of God!  what does that mean when we can't see the sky, or we don't look any more.

On the news this week there have been reports of violence in parts of the Middle East, targeted against Americans. This hasn't happened in a vacuum.  A filmmaker based in the US made a movie which he acknowledges was  ‘intended [his film] to be a provocative political statement condemning the religion.’

People's concern about the movie, and the way that the Prophet Muhammad is presented, has led to demonstrations, rioting, injury and death. There is a place for discussion about different religions and their role in the community and in the world, but making a movie of this nature reveals an ignorance about the interconnection of life.

We live in a time when self overrides community. It's the time of the ‘I’ Revolution, iPhones, i-Pads, iPods, a whole range of technology that puts us, as an individual, into the centre of our world. Can we all really be the centre of our own little universe? We live in a culture that tells us that we can have what we want, and be what we want, and say what we want. That is not the message of the gospel of Jesus. The good news of the gospel is about losing our life so that we can find it in Christ, together we are the body of Christ. The gospel is not about me or you, the gospel is about Jesus, about God acting in and through creation, God coming in human form.

The Psalmist writes:

“There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
⁴ yet their voice^* goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.”

 

We live not only in a culture where it is normative to be the centre of our own little universe, but all so a culture are which relies heavily on words. Or it seems that the way to get your voice heard is to yell louder, to be more controversial, to the point of obscenity. It is not only our words that can hurt or heal relationships and the universe, our actions, our behaviour, also have the ability to hurt and to heal.

Our actions have consequences, consequences for people, for creation. When we forget who we are, when we forget that we are part of the whole Web of creation, when new live as isolated islands, we no longer live as the people that God created us to be.

Over the last two Sundays with been reading the creation story from the first chapter of Genesis. We read about the various parts of the creation, night and day, land and water, plants and animals and treatments. And we read of God seeing that all is good, the creation in its wholeness, its Holiness, is good.

Our words, our actions, the way that we treat people and all of creation tells about who we are and what we value. The only value our little i-world own little i- universe that we create for ourselves; do we value people, human beings, over other parts of creation. Is it only people like us that we value?

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

In the gospel reading that we heard from Mark this morning the heavens declare that Jesus is the son of God, not in bright shining stars or clear blue skies but in the darkness of his death. It is like the whole creation was grieving at the death of the Messiah, the one who came to heal and renew the whole creation.

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

In Jeremiah has a picture an image of a world gone awry, of the world are no longer living in harmony of all creation, no longer living as a community of God's people.

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

in the Psalmist reminds us that our lives our actions are relationships our behaviour speak just as loudly as our words.

The heavens are telling the glory of God!

In what ways do you see the glory of God in the world around you?
In what ways does your living reflect the glory of God?

 

the image of God?

Genesis 1: 26 - 2: 3

The section of Genesis we heard read this morning, continues last week’s poem of creation.  The same pattern; God said.. let there be.. and there was and God saw that it was good, then evening,  and morning,  etc. Last week we heard about light, and separation of light and darkness for day and night; then the separation of water above and below the dome of the sky; then the land appeared amidst the water and plants grew;  then the sun, moon and stars appeared; the fish and birds and finally the animals that move on the ground.  The next part, which was read this morning is about humans, or rather God and humanity:

 “²⁶Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness;…..²⁷So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
³¹God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” [Genesis 1:26a, 27, 31]

I wonder what it means to be created in the image of God, what does it mean to us as we live out our discipleship.

The people of Israel had avoided the making of anything that could be considered an idol, an image of God. Other religions in nearby countries at that time used images made of wood and stone in places of worship or in rituals. The people of Israel did not make images of God. The idea of each person being in the image of God, a living image may have been quite shocking to people whose tradition banned images of God.  Yet this image is not in wood or stone, but living images of God.

What might it mean to be created in the image of God? As we reflect on that question, here is a possible conversation:

Jesus and Peter: In God’s Image [pp. 71-74]

One way in which we are made in God’s image is that each of us is unique. Looking at what we know about God, how else might we be made in God’s image? Creativity, seeing the good in creation, resting.

An issue which this passage raises is how we relate to the rest of creation. When it says that God created people and gave them dominion of the earth, gave them plants and birds and fish and animals as food, what kind of relationship is this meant to be.

If we had read a little bit further and looked at the second account of creation in Genesis chapter 2, we find different words to describe the relationship; here God takes the man and puts him in the garden to till it and keep it.

The first version has suggested to some people that we can do what we like to the creation, the second version has a more nurturing aspect to it; but maybe part of being made in the image of God is that we are to care for the creation as God cares for it: relating to the creation as God does.

Another aspect of being made in the image of God is that there are is an openness from God about some of the characteristics of God. God is not some distant, mysterious, unknowable God; by the God who was present and engaged in relationship with all of God's creation.

We are made in the image of God, but do we live as if we are made in the image of God?

--------------

This week I have heard of 2 different ways people are trying to come up with an alternative to the Gross Domestic Product, or GDP, as a way of measuring the health of the nation. GDP measures how much money is flowing through the economy, that means the more people in prison the better, because it costs money, and health counts in the amount of money spent, not how healthy we are. The terrible bushfires in Victoria last year add to the GDP because of the extra building activity. GDP is a very limited and limiting way of looking at the progress of the nation.

On the front page of the Herald yesterday there was an article about The Wellbeing Index, another alternative to GDP is the Australian National Development Index – these are different to each other, but both aim to look at more than how much money is flowing through the economy. Mental well-being, education, social inequality, being healthy, volunteer hours, are all included in these alternative indices, whereas GDP only measures economic activity.
-----

If we remember that we are made in the image of God, whatever that may mean for each one of us, what would we value and promote:

• Rest as well as work
• Relationships
• Creation itself
• The uniqueness of each individual
• The ‘good’  in life – remember “³¹God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.” [Genesis1:31]

In what ways do our lives reflect these values? Are there areas where you can see a need to challenge your existing patterns of living? I have heard from people who are retired how hard it is to find a few weeks to go on holidays - yes we will miss you, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have holidays.

 “God rested from all the work that he had done in creation”

The idea of resting from work, or keeping the Sabbath, is that life is about more than work, more than economic activity.  When we don’t allow ourselves down time, away from work, computer screens, committees etc., we make work more important than life. Work, Church, community groups are all important, and being involved in the community is a great way of living out our faith; but not at the expense of time with God, times of refreshment. All too often I hear people say: I am so busy, and I am one of those people at times.

But we all have the same amount of time in the each day and each week, we need to make choices about what we do or do not do. When we say yes to every request or opportunity, when we fill all our days with activity, is that living in the image of God?

We hear a lot about fulfilling our potential, I agree that is a good goal. But what is our potential? what is it that God created us to be? We are made in the image of God, unique, creative, and nurturing;

In what ways does your living show the image of God?

Canaanite Woman and Jesus

Matthew 15:21-28 The Canaanite Woman

[an assignment for preaching class, which was preached in field education placement] 

Sunday 14^th August 2005

 

Let us pray:

 

God,

Who is known to us as creator and redeemer;

Who is known in the breath of the spirit in our lives;

Be present with us as we explore your word

We pray confident of your knowledge of your presence

 

This passage raises some difficult issues for me. There are places where I don’t like what I read, and there are places where I don’t like where it leads me. So if at times you feel a little uncomfortable in what I am saying, please stay with me, hopefully by the end of this time we will all have some point of hope, even if there are still some questions unanswered and some uncomfortable places.

 

There are many ways in which I could speak today about this passage from Matthew’s gospel. A friend is preaching on this passage today as well and she has taken a completely different tack. There are issues of who is an ’insider’ and who is not; issues of race and gender; of crossing boundaries, and these issues still exist in our church and the wider community today.

 

Jesus initially comes across as not being compassionate and the disciples’ response is to get rid of this noisy, annoying woman.  As I said this may not be an easy journey for any of us. 

 

In some ways I can identify with the Canaanite woman. To start with I am also a gentile woman. I am not a Canaanite, but I’m also not a Jew. The Canaanites were originally enemies of the Israelites, then enslaved by them. Interaction was minimal. They were to be stomped on like ants. This woman is more than a non-Jew; she is less than a person because of her race. She is even referred to as a dog in this passage.  While I said I hoped there would be some good news for us, I have to concede, initially it doesn’t look all that promising.

Jesus lets this woman know, firstly by ignoring her, then by telling the disciples, and finally by telling the woman, that she is of no consequence or importance to him. Because of her race she is a non-person. Jesus ignores her pleading and cries for mercy and help. Eventually Jesus does help her, in spite of her race and gender. This is not a picture of the gentle compassionate Jesus we like to think about.

 

Do you know people who are so focussed on where they think they are going, on getting ahead at work, losing weight, or training for sport, that they don’t notice what else might be in their life?  Jesus in this passage reminds me of those people. He is so focussed on bringing salvation to the Jews, that when this woman asks for mercy, he doesn’t respond to her request. Jesus was very aware of what his life was for, bringing the Jews back into relationship with God. But he found that many of the Jews he met, especially those who were in the religious institutions, were not all that interested in what he had to say. Here we have an outsider, an enemy, who knows that Jesus is the one person who is able to help. She accepts that to Jesus and to Jews in general, she is not worth speaking with; that to a Jew, especially a Jewish man, she is a waste of space. But she is also a woman of great faith, and Matthew uses this story to contrast the difference between those who were Jews yet did not recognise Jesus for who he was; and this woman, who wasn’t a Jew, but recognised Jesus as the means of healing and liberation and salvation.

 

While I can relate to the woman, in some ways I can also relate to the disciples. Who does this woman think she is, a gentile, a non-Jew, a Canaanite even, expecting help from the one sent by God to bring salvation to the Jews. I see this response in myself and the church at times. There are people in our community who recognise what God can do in their lives, yet they are not part of any church community. How do we treat such people? Especially when something about them, their life, their background, is offensive to us. Even after Jesus helped this woman, she was still a Canaanite woman, about as low in the status as a person could get.  Yet by recognising her faith and healing her daughter,

Jesus acknowledged her humanity, and in the process challenged the religious assumptions of his time.

 

 There are some things I like the disciples, their lack of understanding, their slowness to pick up on what Jesus is telling them, their inability to see beyond what is happening at the present. They remind me that Jesus, and God, doesn’t only associate with clever people who have it all together in life. They help me feel better about myself when I am slow to understand what God is saying to me. They stick around Jesus even though they don’t understand everything that is happening. And while the disciples stick around and are with Jesus throughout the gospel account, this is the only place we hear about this woman.

 

This woman, who is not even named in the gospel account, is different to the disciples.  I have heard people talk about faith in terms of being passive and submissive. And there are some in our society who think being a Christian is about nice and polite and inoffensive. Now there is a place for submitting to God’s will for our lives, but this woman shows us, that even in our relationship with God, there is room for taking initiative. She is bold. She asks big things of Jesus. She is confident and persistent.  Unlike the disciples who have to have everything spelt out for them, she takes Jesus on. Her life is changed by her encounter with Jesus. In this, while she is not a Jew, she follows a very Jewish pattern.

 

In the book of Psalms, there are some that are known as lament psalms. These psalms record the pleading of Israel with God.  These are psalms that express some very human emotions.  

There is a regular pattern to these psalms. If you would like to look one up, psalm 13 is one of the shorter ones, and shows the basic pattern. The Psalmist addresses God, complains about his or her current situation, and asks God to act to change the situation. The mood of the psalm changes, there is assurance of being heard, the response of the Psalmist and then praise. The complaint is not addressed into thin air hoping that someone will hear and respond.  The person writing this psalm, like the Canaanite woman, knows exactly who they are asking for help.

 If you look at the words the Canaanite woman is recorded as saying, they follow the same pattern as the lament psalm.

 

When we are crying out for mercy, when our lives seem like a mess and we have no way of sorting things out, we can be clear about who we are asking for help. When we pray we can be like the psalmist and the woman, clear as to who we approach, clear in our complaint, honest about our lives and our feelings, our hopes, our dreams, our failures. We can trust that God hears our cry for help. We can be confident that God cares about how we feel and what is happening to us.  I remember a time in my life, when I couldn’t believe that God was concerned about me, I couldn’t imagine why anyone would care about me, and a very wise person told me that God was not judging me, but was wanting to hug me, to sit with me in my despair and to cry with me in my sadness. And the way I looked at my life was transformed!

 

I think we miss a lot in our relationship with God if we think we can’t tell God what we really think. Expressing doubt, asking difficult questions, doesn’t mean lack of faith. It takes faith to be bold, to be honest with God, to risk acknowledging and asking the hard questions of God. I don’t promise you will like the answer.  When we are open and honest with God, we too are changed by the encounter.

 

It takes great faith to challenge the structures of society; it takes great faith to recognise who we are in the sight of God, both sinner and forgiven; it takes great faith to approach God, knowing that God will hear our complaint, our shattered hopes, our dreams and hold them as precious; it takes great faith to believe that God will hear and respond to our cries for help, and that our mourning will be turned into joy.

 

This story is an example to us in our relationship with God and with people. When we are approached by people asking for mercy, grace, healing and inclusion, we can choose to ignore and reject them, or we can offer what we have in Christ. When we speak with God we are able to be totally honest, to be bold, persistent and confident as we approach God with all our thoughts and feelings.

Open to God, open to ‘the other’. Remembering that for some people we are the other. This woman saw that there was a possibility for a new way of living, wholeness, healing, liberating, life. She imagined what others could not. What a model of faith and discipleship, and she isn’t one of us, we wouldn’t find her in church on Sunday morning. Can we learn from her example?

 

Can we be open to ‘the other; can we be open to God?

 

My hope; my prayer is that we be open to the other, the one who is different, even those we name as enemy.

I also pray that we each might be open to God, who knows our name, who hears our cries for help, heals our wounds, and offers us a new way of living, blessing us abundantly.