Three serious questions

‘… Whoever comes to me will never be hungry’. (John 6:35)

Exodus 16: 2-4, 9-15

Psalm 78: 23-29

Ephesians 4: 1-16

John 6:24-35

The Scripture readings, above, are from  the appointed 'paired' readings for the principal service of the day from the Church of Ireland while hyper-links to the readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © http://nrsvbibles.org

(Year B: Nineth Sunday after Trinity, 1 August 2021)

Three serious questions are asked here.

What is it that we seek in life?

Pause and think. Don’t force a quick answer. Be honest. Let it emerge. Hints are allowed.

Where do we find joy in our lives right now?

Pause and think. Don’t force a quick answer. Be honest. Let it emerge. Hints are allowed.

Do we find joy in what it is that we seek?

Pretty basic questions about basic matters in life? And yet, do we think through what we are doing and why and for what and for whom and how?

Do ever find yourself in company with someone and they are looking and listening – or so you think? And then you have a faint feeling that, somehow, the other is present but not entirely present; the other is listening but not completely. Perhaps they are in a different place right now preoccupied by some patterns of thought and concern?

Now, consider what it might feel like for someone who is telling their story to us. Might they feel that we are present but not 100%; listening but not completely with all our hearts and minds; caring but not that much as to be ready to sacrifice for another?

Life is a university for everyone. No Letters or Formal Qualifications are required. You are learner and teacher for whom the world and all that is in it is your oyster and which waits for your story and your light. We are never alone. Others cross our paths and we cross theirs for a purpose. I am not among those who believe that life and all that is has no meaning other than what we give it (yet this does appear to be the prevailing ideology or our time here in the West and in the North of the globe}. Neither am I among those who believe that our fate is set in the stars or by some controlling spirit that seals our destiny. We have free choice. But, we have responsibility and purpose and that purpose is as much given to us as it is chosen by us. It is a two-way stream.

Desire, hunger and hope drive all human activity and behaviour from cradle to grave and even before cradle and – who could deny it – even after grave (‘I believe in the communion of saints….’). From the most basic needs of bodily sustenance up to the highest (or down to the lowest) of human motivations we are driven to go forward, to seek out, to protect, to aim high (or low) and to join with others in a shared effort.  The curious aspect of desire and motivation is that we may be only half aware of what it is that drives us forward (or backward). In fact, some of the time we may be skilled in not facing up to or acknowledging those drivers. It is never so straightforward that we can divide up ‘good’ motives and ‘less-than-good’ motives. Life is not that simple and people are surely not that simple. An intense and consuming desire to achieve may reflect needs stemming from much earlier in our lives and our relationships to others – not least our parents or parent.

We may be motivated by the highest of motives to do good and to serve a good purpose and cause and, yet, if we are honest with ourselves and others, it not that cut and dry. The personal ego is an important driver. In some cultures the notion that someone is ‘full of themselves’ or that they are characterised as an ‘egotist’ is a mark of strong criticism and put down. However, a sense of self and self-achievement may be a positive source of energy and creativity.  Egotism may be understood as a sense of self at the expense of others and based on a false or exaggerated understanding of one’s abilities. Care is needed in assessing what motivates others let alone oneself.

And what drove the crowds to seek out Jesus....

When Jesus and his disciples saw the crowds looking for them on the other side of sea in the area of Capernaum they knew that the miraculous and the extraordinary had drawn them.  The people were seeking the miracle more than the sign that the evangelist John wishes to highlight. The crowd was hardly to blame.  Announce a weekly liturgy in a church near to you and you might be fortunate to draw a crowd of a few dozen or more. Announce miracles and healing backed by evidence of such phenomena and you will draw thousands if not tens of thousands to such an extent that traffic chaos, media sensation and ecclesiastical investigation will follow!  People are only human! After all, the sensational, the scandalous and the seductive make newspaper headlines and sell papers; not the everyday, ordinary, virtuous and deeply significant things that make up the lives of individuals and communities.  We don’t read a headline along the lines “It is widely reported this morning that over six billion million persons went about their lives yesterday in various parts of the world doing their daily tasks, caring for others and, for the most part or some of the time, showing kindness and concern for others”. That’s not news; that’s just a sign of human life.  But, this is where the life of God is revealed and where the Sign of God’s loving presence is made evident if we just stop and look and look again. In the midst of pots and pans, books and tools, toys and gadgets the Glory of God is revealed in people fully alive – no matter how they think about it or how to rationalise or explain it by reference to some a-theological mental framework.

Nobody who seeks Jesus will be turned away....

Like the people who followed Jesus to the other side of the lake we can miss the Signs of God in our chaotic, broken but beautiful and mystery-laden world. We seek the wrong type of bread in the wrong sorts of places when the real bread of God’s word and loving presence is freely on offer. This is the true bread ‘come down from heaven’ and it is also freely available to those who seek and come to be nourished in the Sacrament. And, ultimately, nobody can take this gift from us.

A key saying of Jesus is found in verse 37:

‘He who comes to me I will not cast out’ (verse 37)

It seems a pity that this Sunday’s passage cuts short just at verse 35 and will not reappear in the following continuous reading from chapter 6 of John. A key message and lesson in reading the entire chapter 6 of St John is that Jesus assures us that he will not turn anyone away. Rather, he asks that we trust or believe in him (verse 29) and be open to the gift of love. Nobody gets turned away even if their motivations are mixed.

There is a strong echo of Isaiah 55:1-3 where the prophet  Isaiah speaks of a people who need to come to the source of lasting nourishment and in so doing to hear again the message of ‘my steadfast sure love for David’. Food, Word, Love and Life eternal – this is what is on offer if we just trust and come to the Lord in expectation and desire.

Right now each of us can say to God-who-is-love that ‘I am:
Waiting for you 

Hoping for you 

Longing for you’

And these words might be possible to say in the minutes and hours as death approaches if time and circumstances permit. Some may be called, in a special way, to be the channel through which another meets God-who-is-love. That is a special and life-giving and life-lasting gift that purifies motives and lifts us up to a new plane of living. We can be bread for each other.

Could attaining to this gift be the doorway to joy that lasts and that sweeps us off our feet? Is this what the world is hungry for and thirsting for?  A serious question.

Abundance and welcome

“…Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” (John 6:5)

2 Kings 4:42-44

Psalm 145:10-19

Ephesians 3:14-21

John 6:1-21

The Scripture readings, above, are from  the appointed 'paired' readings for the principal service of the day from the Church of Ireland while hyper-links to the readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © http://nrsvbibles.org

We are on the western slopes by the Sea of Galilee two thousand years ago.  Many are gathering from far and wide to hear and see, and, maybe even touch this extraordinary prophet and teacher who comes from the North.

Five thousand people is a fair number to be gathered in one place. That number of people would not fit into the Waterfront Auditorium in Belfast. And as for ‘has five barley loaves and two fish’ (verse 9), that would fit into a small supermarket trolley. Whatever the numbers involved and the detail of what unfolded that day, we are listening to a story told a little differently in all of the gospels. 

People hunger for food in every sense of the term. Jesus sees this hunger and responds. However, he responds by showing them the real meaning of their deepest hunger.  It is not primarily the miracle or the ‘sign’, as John calls it, that is the focus, here, but the revelation of a deep hunger within human beings to be connected, to be filled and to be saved from meaningless.  But, people need to be literally fed in order to understand their deeper hungers. The two are linked. In a world where much food is wasted and many of us consume far more than we need, hundreds of millions go hungry every night. Perhaps, it would be good for us to experience just a very little of it, ourselves, now and again lest we ever forgot what ‘hunger’ really feels like even if a little self-imposed.

Many Christians see in this story the beginnings of a theology of the Eucharist. Surely, the gospel stories of the feeding of the 5,000 and the extended teachings by Jesus for the entire 6^th chapter of the gospel of Saint John reflect the sacramental experience of the second and third generation of Christians for whom these gospels were written.  Jesus feeds his people with his own life and the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish lead us on to a conversation about Jesus, himself, the Bread of Life broken and given for the life of the whole world.

Just imagine being at a concert where you are among thousands seated to hear a band or a speaker.  Free food is being handed out. No questions. No front rows and back rows. No vouchers and no limits (and no need for vaccination certificates!). No distinction of race, social class or ethnic belonging. And no ‘religion’ as we normally understand and apply the term. Just ‘imagine’ as the title and saying goes in that famous song by pop star, John Lennon.  In short, we might imagine a world free of fighting, rivalry and distrust where there is an abundance of what is essential.

And this is the Kingdom of God on earth and beyond our earthly imaginings.

We are so accustomed to an idea of reality based on scarcity of means, infinity of objectives and hard choices to meet at least some of these objectives. The paradox of modern living is that as some of us acquire more and more by way of material goods, conveniences and options for communication and travel the more we fret and worry over the distribution of spoils.  The mentality of scarcity, non-affordability and general angst over the future takes over. 

The kingdom of heaven turns this mentality on its head by declaring that there is an abundance if we are prepared to take baby steps in trust.

The story moves along from searching for Jesus to sitting down together to eating together to being taught.

Eating together has a profound significance that is often missed in 21st century Western cultures. In many places and times, the act of sharing a meal has more than functional relevance. It is a time of renewal, friendship and conversation.  In some mysterious way it is a rite of passage as we move from one day to the next and from one phase of life to another. The ‘last supper’ taken on the eve of Jesus’ execution was the first of many suppers in which he would continue to share his bread with his friends. Again and again meals are a sign of something living and continuous in the life of Jesus and his disciples. The various miracle meal stories to be found in all four Gospels including chapter 6 of St John tell of a time of renewal, friendship, teaching and joy. In some sense the reality of sharing a meal hints at sacrifice past or in the future.

We celebrate together what has been and what is to come. (Not only is a funeral the central social ritual in Irish culture but the meal that follows – even if it is only soup and sandwiches – is part of the ritual).

And so, at this feast, there is a distribution of the goods without limit to everyone who is in need and as much or as little as they need. Nothing is left to waste as the fragments are gathered up (note that they tidied up after themselves at the picnic!). There is no evidence of preferential treatment or front row pews for some with an offer of extras for these. It is a radical egalitarian meal of equals characterised by God’s fathomless generosity.  In a way the story is a model of how we should live out the Eucharist in today’s world. It is far from the fractious abuse of the Eucharist described briefly by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:17-22. But, alas, in the 21^st century the Eucharist is still a battleground among those who seek to control access and exclude dissenters and those who do not conform to a particular theology or preferences. We would do well to pause and ask ourselves who is the chief Host at this feast (pun intended!) and who is any one of us to decide that we are more worthy or deserving or needy than any one else?

The heavenly banquet has already begun and the lame, the wounded, the sinful, the unsure, the tormented, the hurt, the broken, the needy are all invited. Go out and let this be known. To conclude let us consider the uncensored words of John Lennon who sought for something beyond this world and is now somewhere in another world:

Imagine there's no heaven
It's easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky
Imagine all the people
Living for today...

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for
And no religion too
Imagine all the people
Living life in peace...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man
Imagine all the people
Sharing all the world...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will live as one

http://bit.ly/1flnY4w

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Further reading: notes and questions, verse by verse

Preliminaries

This story of the feeding of the 5,000 (or was it 4,000 or was it the first of two miracles reported in Mathew and Mark?) matches those in the synoptics. This was an important moment in the ministry of Jesus where he identifies himself as the Bread of Life and the Word of God. The story, as recounted by John contains some mysterious numbers like 5 loaves and 2 fish = 7 and 12 baskets of left-overs.

John more than hints at a link to the early Eucharist when he writes, in verse 4, that the Passover was near.

Is this passage pointing towards the Eucharist as we have received it in Christian tradition?

It is.

Clearly, it echoes something from the witness of Jesus and the understanding of the early Christian community in which John was written. But the Eucharist as we have received it is, at the same time, about what we hear and see in John 6. There a bigger picture, here, than the particular tradition in which we have received the sign of bread and fish multiplied.  It is the reality of an outrageously over-generous and inclusive God who feeds everyone who comes to be fed and restored. The dispensers of this food are the keepers and messengers but they do not own the message and the bread and do not control, ultimately, who gets to eat and stay. In modern day terms, such a festival of sharing in the divine banquet might leave us shocked and perplexed at who turns up to be fed as well as who doesn’t turn up because they find the whole business unsavoury and scandalous.

6:1       Jesus on the move

‘After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.’

After this refers to his time teaching and healing in other regions. We are on the way to Jerusalem sooner or later. The Sea of Tiberias means the Sea of Galilee which is actually a freshwater lake and not a sea in our sense of the term. This Lake forms the background for much of Jesus’ initial ministry of healing and teaching. The names of the towns and places scattered along the shores of this lake are familiar to us from across the Gospels.

 6:2      The yearning of the masses

‘A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. ‘

The crowds yearned for some truth, some light or some healing. Or, was it that among them were persons merely looking for some ‘sign’ to reassure or excite them in an otherwise dull and tough life in 1^st century Palestine? What do we seek? And, were we to find what we seek how would life be, then?

6.3-4    Teaching on the mountain

‘Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near.‘

The reference to a mountain echoes the giving of the Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. Here, we can see a gathering around the new Teacher and Giver of the Law of Love. What is about to happen mirrors a story from 2 Kings 4:42-44 when the prophet Elisha mandated the giving of bread to a hundred men. This ties in Jesus as the new Moses who gives a new Law and opens up a new passage or exodus or Passover.

There are strong hints of a great new prophet – like Moses - sitting down on raised ground to teach God’s people.

The bread that comes down from heaven is no mere ordinary bread. Something transforming is happening in this story and it is beautifully summarised in the very ancient writing of the 2nd century Didaché (9):

Just as the broken bread was scattered here and there over the hills and when gathered became one, so now, may your Church be gathered in your Kingdom from the ends of the earth.

6.5a     They came to Jesus

‘When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him’

The crowd seek a saviour. The saviour sees them coming and immediately sense what is required now.

6:5b-10            Who will feed the people and with what?

‘Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all.’ 

Some practical matters are raised about how such a  large crowd can be fed. It seems impossible and beyond reason that this can be done. Jesus is testing the faith and the capacity of the disciples to go an extra distance. We may note that the food is brought from a boy or a little one paidarion (using the double diminutive just as ‘boyeen’ in Hiberno-English). The same term is used of Gieza, the servant of Elisha in 2 Kings 4.

Sensitivity to the rich Hebrew and ancient scriptural traditions of Jesus’ time is useful as a way of understanding what was going on here. In 2 Kings 4:42-44, the prophet Elisha is involved in another miracle of loaves.  Again, we see a stretching of faith and possibilities when we allow our meagre resources to be used by God in ways that surpass our wildest expectations and dreams.  The ‘little lad’ who had the five humble barley loaves and 2 fish (in other words the common diet of common people in Jesus’ time) played a key role in making it possible for a doubting band of apostles to distribute God’s bounty. Entrusting our cause even to those of limited means and standing in the community could open doors and possibilities for God’s miraculous everyday work.

6:11     Jesus gives the bread

‘Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks [….eucharistēsas in the Greek and not euologēsen as in the synoptic gospels…], he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.’

Jesus took the barley bread (which was the ordinary bread of the people), gave thanks and distributed it. This has a strong Eucharistic tone in the four actions of: taking, blessing, breaking and giving (the breaking being implicit in the act of giving the five loaves among a large crowd). To be noted is that fact that another provided the bread and the disciples (at least in the synoptic gospels accounts) helped distribute the bread and gather up the remnants. There was plenty for everyone, hungry as they were. Jesus fed and taught and the action created single community on a mountain anticipating, as it did before, during and after the Last Supper the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:17:

Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.

Curiously, Matthew and Mark who, each, recount two stories about feeding the masses use the word eucharistēsas in the second of their second account of the multiplication of loaves (Matthew 15:36 and Mark 8:6).

6:12-13            No waste left behind

‘When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’  So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.’

As they say in some parts of Ireland, they were stall-fed.

Like the people on the side of the mountain fed by Jesus, most of us are lucky to have plenty of food and all manners of substances for drink including plain water in plastic bottles!  The gathering up (the synagein in Greek and also found in the text of the Didache) is an important part of our gathering to be fed. We are responsible to one and another including those not present. The gathering up symbolises (a) abundance and plenty, and (b) the desire to conserve and use again for good purposes.

Didache 9:4 states:

As this broken bread was scattered upon the mountains, but was brought together and became one, so let thy Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into thy kingdom, for thine is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever. 

14-15   Jesus is no King of this world’s making

 When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’   When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Time to stay close and rest a while

“…Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while” (Mark 6:31)

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Psalm 23

Ephesians 2:11-22

Mark 6:30-34, 53-56

The Scripture readings, above, are from  the appointed 'paired' readings for the principal service of the day from the Church of Ireland while hyper-links to the readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © http://nrsvbibles.org

(Year B: Seventh Sunday after Trinity, 18^th July 2021)

Rest is a natural part of lives.  If we are lucky to attain the age of say 60, we are likely to have spent somewhere between 15 and 20 years lying in various beds (which is a good reason, if you can afford it, to buy a good and back-friendly mattress!). 

Once upon a time, people in these parts of the world were very mindful of Sunday as a very special day of rest where only ‘essential’ work was allowed like milking cows or selling Sunday newspapers and ice cream!  In some places on this dear Ireland, the principle of a ‘day’s rest’ was taken so far as to have children’s playgrounds closed (not that such arrangements ever prevented children from playing even on the Sabbath!).

Today (regrettably), Sunday is like any other day – traffic volumes are high but more evenly distributed across the day, stores are open around the clock and people who are not working in paid employment use the time to catch up – wash, organise the house and meet up with family and friends.  Sunday morning sports among other things have replaced, for many, the altogether special thing of getting ‘dressed up’ and going together as family to mass or Sunday service. Nostalgia might beckon but the reality is that we live in a very different world.

Yet, people are possibly more interested than ever in doing courses on meditation, mindfulness, yoga and similar exercises. Even the term ‘retreat’ is in popular vogue again and not as some school-imposed day in a convent or other religious house but in a ‘barn’ with lots of scented candles, cushions, green lentils and people standing on their heads. Namaste be with you!

Yet, we can find treasures in our own Christian faith if we look at where we stand or have come from. Let’s pick up the story of Jesus in the sixth chapter of Mark. The tranches of Mark 6 chosen by the liturgists, this Sunday, skips over verses 35 to 52 and takes up the story after Jesus and his disciples had crossed over to Gennesaret where crowds were running about gathering up sick people. Between heading off to ‘a deserted place by themselves’ (verse 31) and the healing of the sick recounted in verses 53 to 56 in the selected readings of the day, Jesus fed five thousand people after which he went away again for a night to pray on his own in the hills where a storm suddenly blew up and Jesus had to walk across the water to rescue the terrified apostles. It does not appear that the disciples or Jesus got a huge amount of rest during all of these happenings as recounted by Mark!

What pressed upon Jesus the most? It was four things that amount to the same thing:

Compassion for the crowds who looked for encouragement, leadership and understanding (‘they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.’ – verse 34).

Compassion for the people’s hunger for food – ordinary and not ordinary – whereby Jesus feeds the crowd from the little that the apostles could muster.

Compassion for the apostles’ hardness of heart and lack of trust (verse 50).

Compassion for those who were brought to him – the sick and those in need of healing.

Compassion incited Jesus to show practical concern for his friends by proposing a time of rest and withdrawal together as a group. Yet, the crowds demanded further healing and instruction and Jesus continued to show the same compassion by changing his plans and attending to the needs of a people who were ‘like sheep without a shepherd’ (verse 34). This change of plan tells us that (a) rest is essential and to be embraced as a sacred human obligation for ourselves and others, and (b) a ministry and service governed by compassion means that the timing and extent of such rest should be flexible. ‘Out of hours’ and not available doesn’t work when someone is seriously sick, troubled or in danger. When in doubt ‘err on the side of compassion’.

And so it that time of year, again, when some lucky people in the Northern hemisphere of the globe can afford a break from the everyday routine and to ‘take some air’ and enjoy the fruits of the earth.  In our daily and pressurised lives we need to seek places and times of quiet where we can simply be.  Whether this be accompanied by walking, exercising, reading, listening, looking or simply enjoying the company of loved ones there must be time and space for rest.  After all, on the seventh day God rested from all his work (Genesis 2:2). The writers of Genesis wished to press home the good example the creator of the universe showed to us his creatures! We owe our seven day week to these ancient scribes among others. And to press home the point further there is the biblical injunction of a seventh year of rest when the fields are not to be sown or vines pruned (Leviticus 25:4). All of this made good ecological sense and probably still does (I am no ecologist!).

St Augustine of Hippo hit the nail in the right place when he said ‘God, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.’ [Confessions, Book 1, chapter 1(2)]. We seek rest in the wrong places and in the wrong ways only to find our hearts still more restless. All ‘things’ can be arranged to serve good ends if we know how but when we make an end of these ‘things’ we end up in a loop of frustrating anxiety.

Rest is important for those moved by compassion to lead; to teach; to help heal; and to proclaim.  Might I add that it is important for everyone.  At this time, I am thinking especially or our frontline doctors, nurses and carers who are exhausted after four waves and four lockdowns. What will the coming months hold for them and for all of us? We need to rest a bit now if we can and do so in a way that is safe and compassionate to our very own selves and to each other.

Might we just grab a few moments of particular rest today? How about breathing in the spirit (breath) of God’s holy presence and breathing out compassion in a prayer for the one next to me at this present moment in life? Might we create a number of such moments throughout the day – consciously remembering to stop and breathe in and breathe out again?  And, if we are fortunate enough to enjoy health, time and financial resources to use some of our holiday time away to have more moments of such prayerful rest?

And as it says in the concluding prayer for one of the night offices:

……grant us the rest we need that we may be ever more willing to serve you….

A tough calling

“…And Herodias had a grudge against him, and wanted to kill him” (Mark 6:19)

  

Amos 7:7-15

Psalm 85:8-13

Ephesians 1:3-14

Mark 6:14-29

The Scripture readings, above, are from  the appointed 'paired' readings for the principal service of the day from the Church of Ireland while hyper-links to the readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © http://nrsvbibles.org

(Year B: Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 11^th July 2021)

The readings for this Sunday, including the account of how and why John the Baptist was put to death do not make for easy reading.

Though John the Baptist is mentioned frequently throughout the gospels, but especially in the earlier life and ministry of Jesus, he is something of an unknown figure paving the way for our Messiah and then fading. ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ John says (John 3:20). Again, the message from John is clear:

Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near (Matthew 3:2)

What does the story of John’s birth tell us? Here is the one who leapt for joy when, as an unborn child, he heard the greeting of Mary who was carrying the Saviour of this world.  John’s mission was summed up in what we sometimes call the Benedictus – those verses in the first chapter of the gospel of Saint Luke when John’s father, Zechariah, utters a prophecy about his son, John.

John had a special role to play in pointing the people of Israel to its saviour. By all accounts, John was a rough and ready sort. We can imagine him by the river Jordan in the full swing of his ministry: unshaven, shabbily dressed, emaciated and sunburnt and possibly a bit smelly as well notwithstanding the frequent dips in the River Jordan as he baptised those who came to him including, one day, his cousin Jesus.

In today’s Gospel reading, we get a sense of the drama about John when his life came to an abrupt end. Like Jesus who came after him, he overstepped his mark. He spoke out clearly and boldly without fear of the consequences. In the case of Herod (Antipas), he called out bad behaviour and unacceptable values.  For his labours, he was rewarded with beheading – a not unknown practice for many disciples of Jesus in certain parts of the world in very recent times.

What is the message from this Gospel passage?  We need to draw on John’s passion for the truth and justice and, at the same time, his love for people which saw him lay down his life for all three. His sacrifice was a key trigger point in the emerging ministry of Jesus and the call of his first disciples. Things would never be the same again. A pattern had been set and the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary would open up a way for us that would never end.

John did what others might be inclined not to do: speak the Word of God in plain terms and without fear of the consequences.  Not just that: he lived the Word of God in his life.

What might we take from the example of John? I suggest three points:

1. The one who speaks out to others and up to those in authority may do so from a position of moral authority having lived and experienced what they profess (‘No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ in John 15:13).
2. Second, each of us in the Body of Christ has our own gift, calling and responsibility.
3. Finally, whatever we say or do must be for the good of others.

Lord God, teach us to love and live by your word. Like John the Baptist, help us to be fearless, faithful and gentle witnesses to your truth in the 21^st century. Amen.

Meeting rejection in one’s own village

‘…Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ (Mark 6:4)

                                                   The hill outside Nazaerth where Jesus nearly met death...

Ezekiel 2:15

Psalm 123

2 Corinthians 12:2-10

Mark 6:1-13

Scripture readings are based on the appointed 'paired' readings for the principal service of the day from the Church of Ireland. Links to the readings are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

(Year B: Fifth Sunday after Trinity, 4^th July 2021)

What is it about many communities that welcome the outsider ‘prophet’ but not ‘one of their own’? It is a good question.  Perhaps, in receiving the outsider we do not need to take responsibility when she or he has moved on. The insider is too much of a sign of contradiction and reproach. At the same time, we may know the insider much better than others do and, as often happens, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’: we know the negative traits and past histories of the insider and we dwell on these more than the positive. The Gospel of Mark reports the prophetic sentence of Jesus (verse 4)

Prophets are not without honour, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.

All four ‘canonical’ gospels – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – report the phrase used in Mark 6:4.

In Luke’s account we are told that Jesus was run out of Nazareth after he taught there (Luke 4:28-30). He could have been murdered, prematurely, having been led to the brow of the hill overlooking Nazareth where he was to be thrown. Whatever the precise detail, we know that Jesus was not welcome in his hometown or village and this lack of welcome may have involved his closest relatives and neighbours. Could we imagine the ‘headlines’ in the Galilee Times: local Nazareth man beaten up and murdered after riot outside Synagogue…..

There was something different in the way Jesus worked. If only he adapted to the ways of those in authority and if only he worked in a pragmatic way avoiding saying or doing things that, inevitably, would infuriate and antagonise the religious authorities or the local community of his day. If only he avoided controversy and saying things that upset or embarrassed ‘his own’, and if only he settled down into a quiet life in Nazareth practicing his trade or occupation and using some spare time to impart words of wisdom in the synagogue. 

If only...

Not only did the neighbours in this hometown take ‘offence’ (some translations use the term ‘stumbled’) but his very own ‘family’. Yes, his only family. We are left guessing what exactly this means. There is more than a hint, here, that Jesus’ own family were not happy with his behaviour (see Mark 3:21).

It is likely that the experience of rejection and exclusion even up to permanent expulsion was the lived experience of many followers of Jesus when the Gospels were transferred from oral tradition to written records. Many disciples, both then and now, will experience the tension and conflict between inhospitable communities or relationships from which they have emerged and the duties of care and covenantal obligation. 

Three take-aways:

1. Listen to one another – the one who asks the awkward question or challenges our ways of thinking may be telling us something we need to hear or take on board.
2. Welcome the insider as well as the outsider and we ought not to miss hidden wisdom in our own ranks and families.
3. Have courage and do not be afraid to live by gospel values even if it costs much.