This road before us

 ‘… he set his face to go to Jerusalem.…’ (Luke 9:51)

Luke 9:51-62 (Year C: Trinity+5)

Jerusalem

Although I was never there Jerusalem puzzles me. The name of the city is understood by many to mean ‘foundation of peace’. According to a wikipedia entry the word ‘Shalom’ means peace in modern day Arabic or Hebrew (surely not the exact same word?). Jerusalem has been fought over back into the mists of time when Canaanite gods were on the rampage right up to modern times where the city is a symbol of division and strife.  There is conflict not only the squabbling among Jews, Christians and Muslims about the holy places but among Christians of various traditions about who gets to own and manage particular sites and churches.  Yet, the very clothes of the crucified Jesus had to be parcelled out and distributed as John 19:23 tells us.  Wouldn’t it be a wonderful world if Jerusalem were declared an international city – all of it – belonging to nobody and to everyone. Dream on.

The mission of Jesus was to draw all people to each other to the Father through himself. Those who came after Jesus – enlightened by his Holy Spirit – and including those who wrote down the sayings and events associated with Jesus knew that the old game was up and a new era was breaking in on the world. The Temple of Jerusalem was gone by the time the gospel writers put pen to paper and the place God would be worshiped included not only Jerusalem but everywhere else in the world where people put their trust in God.

But, Jesus was rejected not only by his own people (at least some of them) but also by many Samaritans, as this Sunday’s gospel informs us. The Samaritans were outsiders to the Jews and were not properly Jewish or on the side of Correct Teaching (does this sound familiar to Christians today and over the centuries?). The Samaritans ‘did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem’.  That was enough for them: ‘he is not one of us’.  But Jesus had no time for petty squabbles. He was much too preoccupied by the ‘big picture’ and, at the same time, the exigencies of healing and caring those immediately around him.  Indeed, the events and details of Jesus’ final journey to Jerusalem were all about grounding the ‘big picture’ in the detail of compassion. The capacity to keep going and to have a goal before one’s face was vital.  Jesus was on a mission. By now he knew well where it was leading even if his disciples had not grasped the ‘big picture’ yet.

Line by line

“When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (v.51)

We are now nearing the end of Jesus’s mission on earth during his own lifetime here. His face is resolutely set on Jerusalem. There is no turning back now. It is a case of ‘This Road Ahead of Me’ (thinking of that poem An Ród Seo Romham). Trial lie ahead but it is necessary to continue on this road.

‘And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him” (v. 52)

We are, today, his messengers sent out one by one and two by two as the case may be to witness even in hostile places or in communities and settings far from our familiar surroundings. This takes courage.

“but they did not receive him, because his face was set towards Jerusalem.” (v. 53)

How often we meet scepticism, cynicism, apathy, even outright rejection and opposition. Every undertaking is particularly difficult at the beginning and at the end.

“When his disciples James and John saw it, they said, ‘Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?’ But he turned and rebuked them” (v.54-55)

The bad behaviour of others might lead us to responses that are less informed by the gospel and more by the rules of personal selfishness, revenge, bitterness, revenge and collective self-righteous anger. This is not the way of the gospel.

“The they went on to another village.” (v. 56)

Moving forward and not looking back is key to discipleship. This verse opens the way for the next verses where Jesus spells out the demands of discipleship no matter where we are at.

“As they were going along the road, someone said to him, ‘I will follow you wherever you go.’  And Jesus said to him, ‘Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.’” (v. 57-58)

Told that way, this last verse sounds like an abrupt reply to a generous proposal!  Going the way of Jesus whether as someone sent to another place or sent to stay here or to provide the love and support to another in a family setting is demanding. We might like our personal spaces and times of diversion. And we should create times of rest alone or with others if only to given thanks, recharge and re-start.  But, it is a hard and unrelenting path that of discipleship and, like our leader and pioneer, we have ‘nowhere to lay’ our heads and hearts for too long. A parent nursing a sick child at 3 a.m. in the morning knows this.

“To another he said, ‘Follow me.’ But he said, ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father.’  But Jesus said to him, ‘Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.’ Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’” (v. 59-61)

Another abrupt reply to what was surely a ‘reasonable’ request!  The sense of this saying (another ‘hard saying’ of Jesus) is that we have choices to make and commitments to honour.  Sometimes, we need to let go of things, persons, relationships that are not helpful. This takes time, patience, discernment and wisdom.

“Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.’” (v. 62)

An agricultural worker or farmer (Jesus spoke to real people in a real historical and cultural context) knows that when ploughing you must keep watching carefully ahead of you. Looking back over one’s shoulder for any reason or constantly looking to your right and to your left is not good for proper forward ploughing! We need to be grounded in the present moment fully attentive to the task immediately before us and keep going.

Peace be upon you on your way

The writer of Luke’s gospel knows how to link the incident in Samaria (which is unique to Luke among the four gospels) with a hard and painful experience of the early Christian communities – on the run, in hiding or torn apart by internal strife. The messengers sent ahead of Jesus into the Samaritan village got a very negative reaction. As disciples of Jesus we can expect the same at any time anywhere.  Anyone who would follow Jesus must be (i) ready for hardship and (ii) ready to persevere and keep going. This is the point of what might appear to be cold and heartless advice (also found in Matthew 8:18-22) to leave one’s parents or fortune behind. Anyone who puts his or her hand to the plough must not look back. A modern day example might implicate a missionary in a dangerous city somewhere in the middle of a city in a far-away place. Keep going and face the danger with God’s grace behind you. Another case might implicate a refugee who has flown with her family the wars and terrors of Aleppo only to find herself and her children in terrible suffering and trauma in some camp by the Aegean sea. Keep going. Keep trusting. Keep hoping. God is with you. There is no turning or looking back. In time we will all get to ‘Jerusalem’ and, there, we will find that everlasting, grounded peace that nobody can take from us. Dear fellow pilgrim, peace be upon you on your way there.

Sent back home

‘… return to your home.…’ (Luke 8:39)

Luke 8:26-39 (Year C: Trinity+4)

Reading the scriptures in the 21^st century

Reading the gospels in the 21^st century has many challenges. One of these challenges is to understand as best as one can the cultural context in which these sacred writings were composed and honed from word of mouth to the written parchment to assembly into a set of writings. These writings gained authority and credibility in the emerging community of followers of Jesus in the decades that followed his life on earth. 

This Sunday’s gospel raises some puzzling issues. The writer or story-tellers behind Luke lived, thought and assumed – as we do today – in a particular cultural and scientific context. It was believed then, and was believed until recent centuries, that people with various characteristics of behaviour, thought and speech were ‘possessed’. In the Irish (Gaelic) language there was a saying until comparatively recent times ‘Tá na seacht ndeabhail ar an té sin’ (literally meaning that the seven devils were upon that person). 

Thanks to the insights of psychiatry and other disciplines as well as a rediscovery of the ageless virtue of compassion we understand various ailments, conditions and patterns of behaviour in a different light today. That is not to deny the very reality of serious ill-health or, indeed, serious evil allied to ill-health or not as the case may be (one certainly does not need to be unwell to be very evil). Our daily world newsfeed is a reminder of this.

The idea that the man from the country of the Gerasenes ‘had demons’ would have been quite common in the context of the 1^st century middle eastern world.  The ‘Gerasene demoniac’ in this story was by all accounts a troublesome sort – he refused to wear clothes and would not live in a house but hung out in caves probably shouting and terrifying anyone who came near him and he was given to intentional self-harm. Little wonder that he was subject to involuntary restraints by others.  Luke tells us that he was frequently bound in chains only to be broken loose as he wandered about in the wilds. He didn’t even have a name in the gospel story. When confronted, he described himself as ‘legion’ implying meaning persons or personalities in conflict with each other.

……We get the picture.

Enters Jesus in the story….

‘What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God?

Steady on….

What did the demoniac just say?

He uttered a profound statement and confession of faith in Jesus as ‘Son of the Most High God’. He may not have been to theology school and may have had serious health issues and for all we know he might have been ‘possessed’ by evil forces (which again is not to be confused with mental ill-health which may or may not be the symptom of such forces), but he recognised at once Someone who went beyond the normal or prosaic. Confronted with such a force for good the ‘Gerasene Demoniac’ was aware of a confrontation of values. He had no desire to be troubled by the goodness and healing of Jesus?  I suspect that the answer is complicated. Wallowing in his captivity to forces outside his control Ger (lets give him a name and not just a label that was assigned to him by the village community that would have nothing to do with him) was open – just a little bit open perhaps to something that was new, positive, life-giving and healing. Nobody was pushing their way into the secret world of Ger.  But, Ger spotted Someone passing by on his way. We do not know if had ever heard of Jesus (after all who spoke to Ger anyway for years?). The point is that deep called unto deep. The compassion, gentle power and insight of Jesus brushed up against some spark that had been planted in the being of Ger. In other words Ger – by the grace of God – was more than just his demoniac behaviour or his disturbed state of being. Ger was, too, a child of God like everyone else impossible as it was for everyone in the country of the Gerasenes to see this.

(The transfer of evils spirits from Ger to a herd of pigs raises questions. Was the owner of the swineherd ruined financially? And what about the swineherd workers – were they out of work for a time? If pigs could fly).

The story of the healing of Ger has a curious ending (verses 38-39):

The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him; but Jesus sent him away, saying, ‘Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.’ So he went away, proclaiming throughout the city how much Jesus had done for him.

Wanting to follow Jesus on our terms?

Such was the impact of this extraordinary inner and outer healing of Ger that he ‘begged’ Jesus to let go with him as of his disciples. But, Jesus ‘sent him away’ to his home with a clear mission, viz., to ‘declare who much God has done’ for him. There are times when, perhaps, we are so overcome with an experience of grace and favour that we want to follow Jesus in a particular way. In Mark’s version of this story we are told that Ger ‘went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him’ (Mark 5:20)

Not a few will tell a personal story of wanting to follow Jesus in the way of a special commitment and path only to discover that their call was to follow Jesus where they were among their own families, neighbours, work colleagues and friends.  This can be a difficult path because those who know us closely know our strengths and our weaknesses.  We may feel that we would be better appreciated somewhere else or that we might achieve more somewhere else. Alas, staying where we are, contending with the problems of the place in which we have been planted and conquering our own selfishness and lack of kindness is the call directed to us. We should note that Ger was among the first Gentile evangelists. In other words, someone from outside the boundaries of the chosen tribe of God was enlisted to witness to the power and healing of a loving God.

Can others say of us the following?

Your insight, care, or sensitivity, or compassion, or generosity, or humility, which may be so evident to other people, has come out of your broken past. If they only knew what you know. God knows. Jesus has promised to seek and save the lost, which may apply to some part of your own past, where you were lost and are now found. (Br. Curtis Almquist of the Society of Saint John the Evangelist – Wrestling with God)

A touching story

‘… go in peace.…’ (Luke 7:50)

Luke 7:36-50 (Year C: Trinity+3)

                                                       pic:  Carmelites - Lectio Divina

An intruder gets into the diner party

Just imagine you were invited to the embassy of a well known European country in your home city. You have passed from the drinks reception to a nice dining table with stiff white table cloth and perfectly arraigned glasses, cutlery etc. The waiting staff are primed and ready with bottles opened and on the ready for tasting.

Then, there is a commotion.  You feel someone touching your feet (having removed your shoes first).  I don’t believe this …. a person of the opposite sex (or the same as the case may be) is rubbing premium Cretan olive oil into our feet as she/he wipes the with her/his hair and kisses your feet over and over again. The evangelist Mark is more dramatic and says that the woman ‘broke open the jar and poured the ointment on his head.’  No half measures there!.

Fetch the security person and have this crazy person thrown out! 

Jesus ‘misbehaves’ yet again

However far fetched and ridiculous this story might sound like in sophisticated 21^st century Europe consider how ridiculous, abnormal and scandalous such an outburst of affection and emotion would have appeared in 1^st century Palestine in ‘respectable society’ and ‘respectable’ male society at that.  Not only would the gesture have been derided and condemned as inappropriate but the very notion of a ‘sinful woman’ entering ‘respectable’ society to do such a thing would have been an outrage.  Jesus’ crime, in the sight of the religious authorities was threefold:

1. He knew who this woman was and what she had been up to and yet did not push her away when she proceeded to show affection in front of everyone at table;
2. He was complicit in touching a sinner and unclean soul (a big taboo in Jewish society then); and
3. He, himself, forgave sins which was seen as blasphemy for the religious authorities

‘Respectable’ society of the 1^st century had very definite and self-assured notions of purity, righteousness, punishment, reward and deference in a society run by some wealthy, powerful and ‘respectable’ men for the same wealthy, powerful and ‘respectable’ men. It was a boy’s club for the righteousness even if the club had its significant share of corrupt, abusive and dishonest members and many clubs these days also have.

Forgiven much, loved much

But, did this woman care? She did not.  Moreover, she acted confidently clearly indicating that she knew that she would not get a hostile reaction from Jesus. Her intuition and trust told her that.  In she went with the alabaster jar (presumably circumventing some checks and questions on the way in) and determined she was to make contact with the one whom she loved in a special way.  She loved much because she had been loved – in this case by a mercy and a compassion that none of the members of the ‘respectable’ club had a notion of. They saw only the negative in this interloper. And their idea of greeting and providing for a guest was based on norms that left no place for tender, loving compassion. Indeed, their very notion of God was of an impossibly impassible God without feeling or heart.  And as for emotions – leave that to those silly people wracked by guilt and beyond rational order, so it is said.

But the gentlemen at the club has missed the point.  Trust, gratitude and humility in abundance had drawn and inspired one person to come forward and return the kindness, love and forgiveness. Those who have known love – really – are much more likely to love – genuinely.  We love from what we have and have experienced. It is a two-way street (one of the biggest tragedies in high-income as well as low-income societies in the world today is that many millions live and die without ever having really known true and loyal love in their lives).

God is near to the broken hearted as it says in Psalm 35.  God-in-Jesus was near to a grateful and broken heart that met healing and was sent back ‘in peace’ (verse 50).

Reclaiming a true and healing ministry of touch

Touching and ‘kissing’ (it comes in many radically different forms and contexts) can be a challenge in stiff upper lip Northern European and especially anglo-saxon cultures.  That, it is suggested, is what the more tactile, expressive and volatile Mediterraneans do (ever wondered why many of them live longer ? – it can’t all be down to a drop of vino and a diet of lettuce and olive oil!).  The MOT ‘Ministry of Touch’ is an important source of healing for us. We are no disembodied spirits but gifted persons with bodies, minds and souls all wrapped into each other and not entirely separable). The great tragedy in Northern Europe is that just as we were beginning to get over Jansenism (with all due respects to Jansen), Calvinism (with all due respects to Calvin) and related schools we were struck by a tsunami of heart-breaking evidence, stories and witness to evils which are a million miles removed from the life-affirming sacramental ministry of touch. It may take a few generations to get over this.

Was Luke and the other gospel writers influenced by a line from the Song of Songs?:

Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!  For your love is better than wine, your anointing oils are fragrant, your name is perfume poured out; therefore the maidens love you. (Song of Songs 1:2-3)

In this story Jesus responds to a tactile situation of profound emotion, affection, tenderness, gratitude, appreciation and passion.  The woman had courage as well as trust and gratitude. Jesus saw in this situation the fruits of mercy and healing. He also saw through the false religion (yet again) of the righteous of his day. As Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 16:20):

 All the brothers and sisters send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Not to us any glory but to the one who loved us from all eternity and called us into being and named us in his own heart (Ephesians 2:8-10):

 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God— not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.

The display of love in this story has overtones of Jesus’s impending burial. Matthew’s account refers to this gesture as a preparation for Jesus’ burial. It is significant that this woman is preparing Jesus for what is to happen. And it is women who will be the primary witnesses to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.  Among others, was Mary the mother of Jesus an important source of information for Luke?

For us today in our homes, villages, offices, factories and churches how can we not take to heart the saying found in Ephesians 4:32:

and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

A 21^st century theologian, Lucy Hogan put it this way:

Our healing comes when we, like the woman, kneel at Jesus’ feet and pour out our love.

Compassion in this broken, crazy world

‘….When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep. .…’ (Luke 7:13)

Luke 7:11-17 (Year C: Trinity+2)

Pic: science for women

A recurring theme

Sometimes people complain that religious ceremonies and liturgies are ‘boring’ and ‘irrelevant’ to them.  Certainly, there is a large measure of monotony to fixed, pre-determined liturgical pieces. But, thanks to this repetition we are the heirs of incredibly beautiful poetry, prose and narrative. The liturgy is like a spring board for spontaneous prayer and practical social action.

Drawing on the Bible and other sources William Shakespeare helped shape English as we speak and hear it today.  Yet, there is another angle to repetition. Again and again we keep hearing stories in the Gospel about ‘compassion’, ‘healing’, ‘faith’ and ‘salvation’.  In Luke 7:11-17 Jesus is at it again – being moved by the suffering of others (God in Jesus was a moveable God and not a master watch maker controlling the universe) – Jesus worked a miracle in the face of overwhelming sadness, loss and economic insecurity. There was no state pension (that was introduced here in 1909); neither was there any life assurance policies. There were families and there were communities. And for fear readers might think that this is an apologia for a former UK Prime Minister (‘there is no such thing as society. There are individual men and women, and there are families’) I am merely drawing attention to the way God’s compassion worked 2,000 years ago in a dramatically different set of social circumstances and norms to what we experience today. But, God’s compassion is still powerfully at work whether on the seas of the Mediterranean or on a quayside in Buncrana in Ireland.

Line by line

As is the case so often across the gospels, the gospel writer (TERS):

• Tells a story;
• Explains what happened;
• describes the Results; and
• provides a concise ‘So what’ reflection.

In this short story we hear of a widow whose only son had died. Jesus is moved by compassion for the intense suffering witnessed to work a miracle. The results are evident in the amazement and fear of the crowds. Finally, a theological reflection is provided on the lips of the crowd who declare that a great Prophet had arisen among them and God had visited his people.

‘Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him’ (v. 11).

The context is set by an early missionary journey of Jesus and his disciples in the area around the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. Clearly, his teaching and his healing has already drawn a large crowd of people – both the curious and those in need as well as those who were out to look for evidence to attack and eliminate Jesus.

 ‘As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.’ (v.12)

This could have been a funeral procession down the main street of a village in 21^st century Ireland where attendance at a funeral – even someone hardly known – is presumed. It is different in other cultures where one does not presume to attend a funeral unless invited.

In this case, one large crowd meets another. The scene is set for a meeting of utter grief and tragedy on the one side and compassion on the other.

‘When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep.’ (v. 13)

Jesus was moved by what he saw and what he heard.  Weeping for the loss of a child is heart breaking. On top of this is added the very real prospect and likelihood that a widow in this situation would be left in poverty. Compassion for ‘widows and orphans’ is a recurring theme and emphasis across the scriptures. See for example the Letter of Saint James (1:27):

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

And Jesus was about to demonstrate to the people of this town what pure religion looks like. It means compassion – literally suffering with in Latin (com passio). Jesus is more defined by com passio than com petere – to contend or seek with.

‘Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, ‘Young man, I say to you, rise!’ (v.14)

Although the story of the raising of the son of the widow of Nain is unique to the Gospel of Luke there are a few stories with parallel. For example, in Mark 5:41 Jesus raises the young daughter of the leader of the synagogue by saying ‘Young girl, get up’.  In Acts 9:40 the disciple Peter prays by the dead body of Tabitha and says ‘Tabitha, get up!’

Sometimes we may think that all is lost and hope is extinguished. But, the compassionate power of God can bring about transformations that we never dreamt of. People may not be coming back from the dead or people may not be walking on water in the 21^st century but the power of God’s love is no less miraculous and no less real today as it was in first century Palestine.

‘The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.’ (v. 15)

And what did the young man say when he ‘began to speak’?  We are not told. It must have been a little like waking up from a deep sleep in the recovery ward of a hospital operation theatre. Let’s say it is a pleasant sensation, typically!

‘Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, ‘A great prophet has risen among us!’ and ‘God has looked favourably on his people!’ (v. 16)

Fear is a powerful emotion and is not far removed from violence. But, on this occasion fear is the fruit of such a powerful and dramatic event that those witnessing it have no option but to declare that only God could have done this.  To borrow a current phrase imported into Europe ‘It was awesome’. You bet it was!  But awe was not the object of this miracle. In the first place it was compassion. Such a powerful and practical display of compassion had another desired effect: people saw compassion in front of their own eyes. Surely, God has looked favourably on his people. Some translations of this passage render verse 16 along the lines that God had visited his people. Those familiar with the daily recitation of the Benedictus in morning prayer will recognise this phrase (refer to Luke 1:78)

‘This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.’ (v. 17)

#MiracleNain

In modern day parlance this is the equivalent of saying that #MiracleNain was trending throughout Judea for weeks after!

Compassion is far from absent in our lives, hard as it is to believe this at times. Contrary to distorted theologies God is not absent in his stately mansion controlling, rewarding and condemning from afar. Rather, He (we use human analogy) is involved in the messy here and now of human vulnerability and suffering. But, why can’t He just fix things so that really ‘bad things’ do not happen (very often to ‘good people’)? I have no satisfactory answer to that question other than to say that we were made in freedom and God’s compassion in the world working through you and me is inexhaustible.

Hear again the various translations (in English) of verse 13:

When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, ‘Do not weep. (New Revised Standard Version)
When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry." (New International Version)
When the Lord saw her, his heart overflowed with compassion. "Don't cry!" he said. (New Living Translation)
And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. (King James)
But Yeshua saw her and he was moved with pity for her and he said to her, “Do not weep.” (Aramaic Bible in plain English)
Whom when the Lord had seen, being moved with mercy towards her, he said to her: Weep not. (Douay-Rheims)

And so ....

So, how might we bring that poetry, story-telling and beauty found in the scriptures back to life again? By listening more carefully than ever to the words and actions of Jesus. Luke is an excellent place to listen again and here we are in Year C with Luke featuring in each Sunday Gospel from here to December. If we listen extra carefully what we thought was the same old fare year in year out becomes real food to fire us up and forward in ways that make us channels of compassion in this broken, crazy world.