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The price of following Jesus

September 6, 2025

Pentecost 13 – 2025

Luke 14:25-35

Marian Free

In the name of God, who stands with the poor, the vulnerable and the oppressed and who asks that we do the same. Amen.

Decades ago, I read Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s Letters and Papers from Prison. At the time I was struck by his courage and by his clarity of vision. He has remained for me a hero of faith and an example of Christian witness in difficult times.

Bonhoeffer was in his twenties when Hitler was installed as Chancellor of Germany, yet despite his relative youth he perceived the danger of the cult of the Fuhrer and publicly warned that the leader might become the ‘misleader’. He was among many church people who resisted the incorporation of Nazi ideology into the church’s theology (a compromise many churches were willing to make in order to keep peace). Bonhoeffer consistently critiqued both the government and the church and was part of a break-away movement which formed the Confessing Church – a coalition of those who refused to accept the Nazi influence in matters of faith.

Bonhoeffer’s willingness to criticize the government led to his being forbidden to speak in public and having to report regularly to the Nazis but, ironically perhaps, through the influence of his brother-in-law he became a member of the Abwehr (the German military-intelligence agency). It was through his connections there that he became part of a group who plotted to kill Hitler. He said of this decision: “If I sit next to a madman as he drives a car into a group of innocent bystanders, I can’t, as a Christian, simply wait for the catastrophe, then comfort the wounded and bury the dead. I must try to wrestle the steering wheel out of the hands of the driver.” 

His involvement in this plot led to his arrest and imprisonment.  He was sent to Tegel Prison for 11/2 years. Then, as the Allies advanced and defeat became inevitable, the Germans moved Bonhoeffer and others east to Buchenwald and then to Flossenberg concentration camp. He was executed there on April 9, 1945. He was only 39 years old. It is reported that as he was led away to the place of execution he declared: “This is the end—but for me it is the beginning of Life!”[41]

Many of Bonhoeffer’s overseas colleagues understood the dangers he was facing by remaining Germany and offered him sanctuary in both Britain and the USA, but he refused both offers believing that he: “should live through this difficult time with the German people.” To fail to do so, he believed, would prevent his having any part in the rebuilding of that nation.

Bonhoeffer, along with Oscar Romero, Martin Luther King and the many martyrs of our age understood clearly that following Jesus and living by gospel values sometimes comes at a cost. Speaking truth to power, resisting Empire, standing with the poor and the vulnerable, seeking justice for the oppressed, confronting corruption and exploitation is not always welcomed by those who do not wish to rock the boat, or by those who want to maintain their power, protect or build their wealth, or to shield themselves from suffering.

Today’s gospel is a stark reminder that following Jesus is not just about accepting God’s love, but means living by gospel principles and, if necessary, dying for them. At this point in the gospel story Jesus is being followed by large crowds who may be caught up in the excitement of the Jesus’ movement, who may be hoping to witness a miracle or to be cured of an infirmity or disease. Jesus needs to let them know that discipleship is much more than comradeship and miracles. Discipleship demands that followers are true to the principles of justice, integrity and compassion – no matter how uncomfortable that may make the society around them. 

Jesus wants to know who among the crowd has the sort of commitment that will see them to the end.  “Whoever comes to me and does not hate life itself cannot be my disciple.”   Or what king, going out to wage war against another king, will not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to oppose the one who comes against him with twenty thousand?” In other words: “How many of you have truly considered the price of following me and asked yourselves whether or not you have the capacity to meet the cost?”

Ever since Constantine made Christianity the faith of the Empire, the church has been entwined with the state and the establishment. As a consequence, except for brief occasions it has often been difficult to distinguish Christian values from cultural values. Times are changing, the community in which we live is becoming increasingly fractured and the disparity between rich and poor continues to grow. Homelessness is on the rise and those who can afford homes cannot find homes to buy, food insecurity is a very real issue for too many families, and too many young people are finding themselves on the wrong side of the law. 

It is time to reclaim our role as a voice for the voiceless, a supporter of the weak and protector of the vulnerable. It may be that we will be called to critique the power that would exploit the vulnerable, take advantage of the weak and enrich itself at the expense of the poor. 

It is time to remember Bonhoeffer’s words of caution:  “Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness and pride of power and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear rather than too much. Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offence, shock the world far more, than they are doing now. Christians should take a stronger stand in favour of the weak rather than considering first the possible right of the strong.” 

We must remember and teach those who come after us that following Jesus is not a crutch but a cross, not only a comfort in times of difficulty, but a challenge to act when to act is costly and it is not a defence against harm but is sometimes a call to put oneself in the path of danger.

“Whoever comes to me and does not hate life itself cannot be my disciple.” 

Do we, with all our privileges and advantages really understand the cost of discipleship and, if we do, are we willing, if called upon, to pay the price?

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Shaking off the dust -sending out of seventy

July 16, 2025

Pentecost 4 – 2025 (out of order due to holiday)

Luke 10:1-12, 17-24

Marian Free

In the name of God who desire is that we love God of our own volition and not through force. Amen.

Love that is forced is not love, obedience that is coerced is not obedience, faith that is demanded and enforced through fear is not faith.

In many countries today, the rules and tenets of a particular faith are imposed on the entire population. (More accurately, one particular interpretation of the rules and tenets are imposed on peoples who have a different understanding of the faith, or no faith at all.) Such regulations, rather than being ideals and values to which all might aspire, become burdens under which many are oppressed – forced to live according to “religious” norms which prevent them from living life to the full. The weight of such restrictions falls primarily on women, but their oppression affects the lives of those around them.

Of course, external signs of adherence to a particular faith – conservative or distinctive forms of dress, the eating or not of particular foods, time spent in prayer – are no indication of an inner state of being. (The recent exposure of child sex abuse within institutions including the church, is evidence that the most vile behaviour and thought can be disguised by an outwardly pious and conformist deportment.)  

Faith that is imposed is not faith. Codes of behaviour that are conformed to but not embraced have no meaning at all but rather lead to resentment, fear and deceit.

The history of the Christian church provides many instances when this premise has been forgotten. When Constantine made Christianity the faith of the Empire, those seeking public positions had to declare an allegiance to the Christian faith. In the time of Empire building, missionaries of all denominations spread out through the world imposing the faith (and with it Western values) on the nations which had been subdued. There are success stories, but there are many who mourn the loss or degradation of their own cultures and traditions to. Christianity that was difficult to distinguish from Empire.

Jesus’ approach was quite different. He was confident in his message of good news, certain of God’s love and the inclusion of all, and sure that following him would give life to those who followed in the present and in the future. But he did not insist on faith as a prerequisite for healing or exorcism and his condemnation was not for those who did not believe but rather for those whose outward behaviour belied unthinking, callous hearts.

Above all Jesus did not impose faith on anyone. He did not insist that those who needed healing become card-carrying believers first, he responded to the needs of those who did not conform to the society around them and paid attention to rank outsiders – the Samaritans and even the representatives of the Roman Empire. 

Last week we observed the enthusiasm of James and John who, when a Samaritan village refused Jesus a welcome, wanted to call down fire and destroy them. Far from supporting their passionate response to the lack of faith, Jesus chides them for thinking that the alternative to accepting Jesus’s message is destruction of all those who refuse it.

Today’s reading is a little more subtle and often misinterpreted but has the same issue. Jesus is sending out 70 of his disciples. They have strict instructions about what to take (or more specifically what not to take). And Jesus gives this instruction: “But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’”

It is easy to read (and often is read) this as Jesus’ condemnation of those who refuse his message, but in the context of first century Palestine the phrase has the meaning: “Don’t stress, let them be, leave them behind you.” The message is preached, the good news shared and a choice is given. If the choice is ‘no’ don’t worry, move on to the next village. Share the message as widely as possible and allow people to make up their minds as to whether or not to accept. (In much the same way as the sower tossed the seeds randomly and let it grow as it would, so the disciples are to spread the good news without being concerned about how it was received.)

Sometimes I think we take evangelism too seriously. We measure our ‘success’ in terms of number of converts, as if God is taking an inventory. In the light of the gospel perhaps we should turn this idea on its head. Maybe it is more important that as many people as possible know about the good news, and are left to make up their own minds, today, tomorrow, in a distant future or never at all. It is not about us, it is not about numbers, it is simply about sharing what gives our lives meaning and direction and accepting that the rest is up to God.

How often and to how many times have you shared what you know to be the good news of having Jesus in your life? 

Don’t worry about how articulate you are, don’t worry if they don’t want to hear. If Jesus’ good news has been good news for you, just share – leave the rest to God.

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Discipleship – foxes have holes

July 1, 2025

Pentecost 3 – 2025

Luke 9:51-62

Marian Free

In the name of God who asks that follow whole-heartedly, that we know what we are and what we are not. Amen.

“Jesus set his face towards Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51) This verse marks a significant change of direction for Jesus. By and large his ministry in Galilee is over and he and his disciples embark on what will be Jesus’ final journey, his journey towards Jerusalem.  That Jesus knows what lies ahead – his arrest, trial and crucifixion – is clear in the terminology – he set his face. This is a journey that will take all of Jesus’ courage and determination. It is not simply a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover, but an essential part of his mission and purpose. “He set his face” suggests an action of will not desire. From now on, with some exceptions, Jesus’ teaching will be directed primarily towards his disciples. 

It is perhaps not surprising that this section of the gospel begins with two – albeit very different – reflections on discipleship. 

For reasons unknown to us, Jesus chooses to travel through the territory of the Samaritans on his way to Jerusalem. Given the antagonism between Jew and Samaritan, most Jews would avoid this, the most direct route from Galilee. It is no surprise that the Samaritans refuse hospitality. However, the disciples, perhaps still flushed with the success of their first mission, their ability to heal the sick and to cast out demons, presume to know what it is that Jesus wants. James and John ask if Jesus wants them to call down fire from heaven to consume those who have refused to offer them a welcome. 

These two – the Sons of Thunder – have completely misunderstood Jesus’ mission and their part in it. Jesus has not come to impose his will on those who are not ready for or not receptive to his message.  Nor has Jesus come to destroy all opposition to the good news he has brought. Despite Jesus’ example, James and John have mistakenly let power go to their heads. They have come to know what they can do, but have yet to understand what they cannot and must not do. They are behaving as though they know and can execute God’s will. They have failed to understand that any power that they have has been given to them by God and is to be used in service of God’s will.  James and John have yet to comprehend that following means submitting, that loving includes love of enemies and that it is God, not they, who is the final arbiter and judge.

The next reflection on discipleship deals with those who are not yet followers of Jesus. Jesus’ apparently stern responses to them suggests that he discerns that they may be wanting to follow for the wrong reasons. Like James and John, they do not seem to fully comprehend what it means to be a disciple. James and John may have left homes and incomes to follow Jesus, but as we have seen, despite the fact that Jesus has empowered them as disciples they have a long way to go in their understanding of the role. 

When others ask if they can be followers Jesus needs to be sure that they understand the costs and consequences of following him. Following Jesus does not offer security or power. Being a disciple means recognising that life does not have to be lived according to cultural norms but can be lived according to the standards of the kingdom. Those who want to follow Jesus need to understand that he cannot offer security (foxes have holes, the Son of Man has nowhere), that he expects them to realign their values to those of the kingdom and not to be held back by societal expectations (let the dead bury the dead) and to be clear about their decision not half-hearted (don’t look back).

Each of these sound like stark impossible demands if taken literally – living rough, abandoning familial duties, never looking behind – but the meaning is plain. Being a disciple of Jesus has to be a decision, a decision to put one’s trust completely in Jesus, to refuse to be distracted from the primary goal and to have no regrets. In the first century, this would have been a much harder decision than it is for us. Followers of Jesus would have to make definitive breaks with their families and society; a consequence of their decision might have meant loss of income and home. It would have been tempting to look back with longing for the relationships lost. 

The reasons Jesus demands look so harsh to us is that modern day discipleship does not look so different from citizenship in a notionally Christian nation and the costs of faith are minimal. That is not a reason to take a decision of faith lightly. There will be times when we are called to be counter-cultural, times when others do not understand what we do and why we do it and we will be tempted to fit in – with the values of our families and our culture. There will be times when we have to remember that Jesus didn’t promise us comfort and ease and times when we will have to stand up and be counted. There will be times when we are called to step out in faith without having the security of a fixed direction or safety on the journey.  If such times and trials come, is our faith strong enough to keep us looking forward (rather than looking back with longing at the past).

Put together the readings remind us that discipleship is a decision to follow one whose life of obedience led to death on a cross (not power over nations), discipleship empowers us to bring healing to others, but it does not make us God.

When we give lives to Jesus, we give everything we have and we trust God to give us all that we need.

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The art of not knowing (Mk 10:35-45)

October 20, 2024

Pentecost 22 -2024

Mark 10-35-45

Marian Free

In the name of God whose ways are not our ways and whose thoughts are not our thoughts. Amen.

The Book of Job can be a difficult read but in summary it is a reflection on the limits of human knowledge and how little we know in comparison with all that there is to know. It provides us with a reminder that in this life there are some things that we will never understand, and it confronts our simplistic, pious ways of explaining away trauma and tragedy. 

Job has had everything stripped away from him, wealth, family and even health. His well-meaning friends have come to visit and, believing that Job’s current state is a consequence of something he has done, proceed to use their misinformed theology to try to get Job to admit to his fault. Job, convinced that he has done nothing to offend God, maintains his innocence. The discussion goes on and on and on and on.  

All this time, God is silently listening and holding God’s tongue. Finally, when God can stand it no more, God interrupts and speaks directly to Job.  

This morning’s reading gives us just a taste of God’s speech (which continues for three whole chapters).  “Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind: 

2                “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? 

3                Gird up your loins like a man,

                                    I will question you, and you shall declare to me.”

As we read further, we can sense the irony and even the sense of playfulness in God’s words. Take these from chapter 41: “Can you draw out Leviathan with a fishhook,

                                    or press down its tongue with a cord? 

2                Can you put a rope in its nose,

                                    or pierce its jaw with a hook? 

3                Will it make many supplications to you?

                                    Will it speak soft words to you?”

You can almost hear God smiling. God is using exaggeration and sarcasm to make a point – all human knowledge and wisdom is limited, and the mind of God is ultimately beyond our comprehension.

The comparison of how much we think we know with how little we actually understand provides a useful background to today’s gospel (indeed to much of the gospel story). Over and again, Jesus finds himself in the position of correcting the misunderstandings of his opponents, of enquirers and even of his disciples. The Pharisees think they can trick Jesus with questions such as the one about divorce, the rich young man thought (hoped) that rigid adherence to the law was all that was required for salvation and James and John who thought that Jesus was seeking to take control. 

Jesus was so different from what anyone had expected that followers and opponents alike struggled to adjust themselves to reality – even though it was right in front of them. After all that Jesus has said about the last being first, the lowliest being the greatest, In today’s gospel, James and John (believing that Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem to usurp the power of the Romans) have approached Jesus and to ask that they be given places of honour – to the right and to the left of Jesus – when he takes the throne. 

Did they not hear what Jesus had just said – that in Jerusalem the Son of Man (Jesus) would be handed over to the chief priests and scribes who would condemn him to death???   Have they not understood anything that Jesus has taught them during his ministry?

Remember these are not just any followers.  James and John are part of Jesus’ inner circle. They are not only among the twelve disciples, they, with Peter are the ones to whom Jesus entrusted the experience of the Transfiguration, they with Peter, will be invited to pray with Jesus in Gethsemane, and yet they don’t get it. No matter what Jesus says, no matter how little he conforms to their idea of a Saviour they simply cannot change their preconception that God would send a triumphant saviour – not a suffering servant.

Jesus confounded and continues to confound all expectations. He was not a king. He was not a warrior. He was not a priest. Jesus did not build an army. He did not take on the might of Rome. He did not restore the historic priesthood. There was no existing model of a Saviour that matched the reality that was Jesus. And because Jesus did not conform his followers, even his inner circle could not grasp what he was really about. However hard Jesus tried to confront the preconceptions of his disciples, they kept trying to impose their presumptions on him, they kept trying to make him fit the mould they had in their heads. 

The problem was and is that Jesus just won’t fit. His life and death defied all previous expectations. Jesus’ birth, his life and his death were the polar opposite of what the people of Israel were looking for. His very existence, instead of being comforting and assuring, instead of. shoring up the hopes of the people, was destabilising and disquieting. 

In his person, Jesus is an illustration of the point made by God’s response to Job. By turning everything. Upside down, Jesus demonstrates in his own person that God cannot be defined or limited as is ultimately beyond our understanding.  

Over and over again the disciples tried to make Jesus fit their expectations, much as Job’s friends tried to get Job to agree to their understanding of his suffering. The problem is that Jesus doesn’t not fit. Jesus unsettles and challenges pre-existing ideas and confronts the limits of our knowledge in the hope that our hearts and minds might be set free from what we think we know and that we might find the courage to enter into the emptiness of unknowing.

The spiritual journey, as the disciples discover time and again, is a process of unlearning and unknowing what we thought we knew so that in the end it is our unknowing not our knowing that will lead us into the heart of God.

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Hearing the call of Jesus

January 20, 2024

Mark 1:14-20

Third Sunday after Epiphany – 2024

Mark 1:14-20

Marian Free

In the name of Gods who insistently calls us. Amen

In his autobiography Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis tells of his long and convoluted journey to discipleship. Lewis’s mother died when he was quite young, and his childhood appears to have been emotionally deprived. Like many fathers of that era, his did not know how to relate to children, and again, like many children of that generation, Lewis was sent away – first to a tutor and then to boarding school. At a young age Lewis abandoned Christianity but, while he felt that that was unsatisfactory, he did not stop searching for meaning (joy), particularly in the works of various philosophers[1]. Over time however, his resistance to the faith was worn down and one evening he finally gave in. He describes the moment as follows:

“You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”

Earlier in the book, Lewis describes the slow drip that wore away his resolve not to believe, concluding:

“The odd thing was that before God closed in on me, I was in fact offered what now appears a moment of wholly free choice. Without words and (I think) almost without images, a fact about myself was somehow presented to me. I became aware that I was holding something at bay, or shutting something out. I felt myself being there and then, given a free choice. I could open the door or keep it shut; I could unbuckle the armour or keep it on. Neither choice was presented as a duty; no threat or promise was attached to either, though I knew that to open the door or to take off the corslet meant the incalculable.”[2]

People come to faith by different routes – by straight lines or circuitous, by gradual revelation or sudden conversion, by a slow burn or a bright light. What Lewis makes clear is that we have a choice – to open our hearts and let God in, or to close the door to God’s insistent knocking and to retain our separation and independence. There is always a choice, though as Lewis reports, it is often more like a compulsion – the lure is so strong that it becomes almost impossible to say ‘no’. Closing the door on God is possible, but it can take more effort to keep the door closed that to open it. Locking God out can feel like committing oneself to a life, if not of regret, then at least of constant curiosity as to what lay beyond the door (and to what we had said ‘No’.)

In today’s gospel, we hear the account of Jesus’ call of the four fishermen. As the story is told, Jesus walks beside the sea and calls first Simon and Andrew and then James and John. All four respond without hesitation. Their reaction to Jesus is often held up as a model response to the call to discipleship– leaving everything without question and without regret.

One wonders though. Did Jesus’ call really come out of the blue? Or had word of his mission reached Galilee? Or were the fishermen in touch with the Zeitgeist of the time – dissatisfaction with the current religious leaders; a degree of scepticism about the value of Temple worship; a desire for religious reform and were they waiting for a leader? Alternately, did they see in Jesus an integrity, an openness and a Spirit-filled life that was absolutely compelling? Or – was Jesus’ presence so authoritative that they knew that they could have complete confidence in him? 

Of course, it could have been a combination of things that led to the fishermen abandoning their nets (and their livelihood) to follow Jesus. One thing is sure that though they followed without question, it took the rest of their lives to truly become disciples. The choice that they made beside the sea was a choice that they had to make over and over again. Mark’s gospel tells us of their faltering beginnings, their questioning, their foolishness and, in Jesus’ moment of need, their terror and their abandonment. 

There are many ways to come to faith. For the fishermen, it seems that it was immediate and without question. For C.S. Lewis, it was the result of years of following false trails and dead-ends. 

In the same way, the journey of discipleship is not uniform. The fishermen, for all their enthusiasm took time to learn the ways of the gospel and to change their lives accordingly. Lewis, for all his scepticism was well-informed when he came to faith. Lewis’ reluctance sprang from his prior knowledge, the fishermen’s eagerness, reveals how little they knew of the cost of discipleship.

However enthusiastically or however reluctantly the fishermen and Lewis made a choice. A choice to live as they always had, or a choice to leap into a future in which God, not they, is in control. 

Our choice may have been made for us by our parents, or it may have come on us so gradually that we cannot put a finger on the time and place. We may have felt the insistent call of God or experienced a sudden transformation. It matters not how the choice came about, but that a choice was made and that a choice continues to be made to give our lives to Christ, to place our selves at the disposal of the living God. 

Do you hear the voice of Jesus? or the nagging tug of God? Is your answer ‘yes’ – this time, next time and every time?  

[1] This is my memory of his story. The book is readily available.

[2]https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/questionofgod/ownwords/joy.html#:~:text=by%20Sigmund%20Freud-,From%20Surprised%20by%20Joy%3A%20The,of%20My%20Early%20Life%20(1955)&text=%22I%20gave%20in%2C%20and%20admitted,reluctant%20convert%20in%20all%20England.%22

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Who or what is a disciple? some thoughts.

January 13, 2024

Second Sunday after Epiphany – 2024

John 1:43-51

Marian Free

In the name of God in whose kingdom all are welcome. Amen.

If I was to ask you to tell me the story of Jesus’ calling the disciples, I am sure that your default option would be to tell me the story of the fishermen – Peter and Andrew, James and John. It is the story that we will all have been taught in Sunday School and many of us will still be captivated if not in awe of the way in which the fishermen, without hesitation, left their trade and their families to follow someone who, to all intents and purposes was a. complete stranger. At this point in Mark’s gospel, nothing has set Jesus apart from the crowd and still they follow.

John tells a very different story. In the fourth gospel Jesus does not choose the first disciples – they choose him – which is more in keeping with the Jewish tradition. In this gospel, Jesus is not a complete unknown. John the Baptist has already declared Jesus to be the “Lamb of God” the one who takes away the sins of the world – the one who comes after John but who ranks ahead of him. It is perhaps no surprise then, that on the following day when John points out the same “Lamb of God” that two of his disciples follow Jesus. One of those is Andrew – the brother of Simon Peter. It is Andrew who brings Simon to Jesus (not Jesus who calls).

The setting of this scene is Bethany which is not far from Jerusalem but something like 160 kilometres from Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. So, it is at Bethany on the Jordan that Andrew and one other decide to follow Jesus.

It is only on the following day that Jesus leaves the place where John has been baptising and makes his way to Galilee. There Jesus finds Philip and asks him to follow him. Philip finds Nathaniel who famously cannot believe that Nazareth (a tiny village) can produce anyone of note. We are not told whether or not Nathaniel becomes a disiciple, but what is clear is that Jesus does not take offense, rather that he is happy to engage with the cynical Nathaniel and to reveal something of himself.

This introduction to Jesus’ ministry illustrates two ways in which the Johannine gospel differs from the Synoptics. In the first instance, the characters that populate this gospel are different, or have different roles. The second is that one of John’s teaching methods is to have Jesus engage in conversation – with people who question him and his role (Nathaniel, Nicodemus), with outsiders, like the woman at the well.

It is the people I would like to focus on.

In the Synoptic gospels, the key characters – Peter, James and John are the members of Jesus’ inner circle, but we look for them in vain in John’s gospel. Here the key people include Andrew one of the first to follow and the disciple who finds a boy with five loaves and who brings the child to Jesus. Thomas, of whom we hear nothing in the Synoptics is the disciple who, in this gospel declares that he will go to Jerusalem with Jesus – even if he must die with him (11:16) and who says when Jesus announces his departure: “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” (14:5). Martha and Mary play a leading role in the account of the raising of Lazarus. It is Mary Magdalene to whom the risen Jesus reveals himself, and who is entrusted with a message to the disciples. Peter, James and John do not even have speaking roles until the last (disputed chapter).

It seems that the heroes in John’s community were very different from those know to other early communities. This is interesting, but it is also important. It tells us that the early church was not monolithic and that Jesus’ disciples were not remembered equally in all places. It tells that perhaps the disciples spread out and formed churches and that they were (of course) better known by the communities they formed or within which they found themselves.

Perhaps more importantly, John’s gospel widens our perspectives as to what it meant to be a disciple. A disciple did not have to be rash and foolish like Peter, or ambitious like James and John. A disciple was not only someone who followed blindly, but someone who followed only when their questions were asked. A disciple could be brave enough to ask questions without feeling that they would be made to look foolish. A disicple could challenge Jesus (If you had been here our brother would not have died). And a disciple could weep at the empty tomb and cling to the risen Jesus.

Knowing the disciples in John’s gospel, broadens our understanding of Jesus’ followers and knowing their cynicism, questioning, challenging natures, makes it easier to find our place among them.

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Giving cups of water. Who is in and who is out?

July 1, 2023

Pentecost 5 – 2023
Matthew 10:40-42
Marian Free

In the name of God, who reveals Godself to us in many and varied ways. Amen.

If I am honest, I would have to say that these verses from Matthew have always troubled me, partly because I am not entirely sure what the author is getting at and partly because Matthew’s retelling of this saying is so different from the accounts in Mark and Luke.

There are only three verses in today’s gospel, but they are quite complex. What does it mean for example when it says: “whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous?” The implication seems to be that the person doing the welcoming is themselves righteous and even that the one welcoming a prophet, does so at least on behalf of a prophet. If this is the case, Matthew is drawing a line that we do not find in Luke or Mark.

Matthew records these sayings in the context of Jesus’ sending the disciples out into a hostile world in which they risk being handed over to both the religious and civil authorities and in which families will be divided, “brother will (even) handover brother to death.” Jesus has warned the disciples that he has come not to bring peace but a sword and that whoever loves father or mother more than they love him, is not worthy of him.

It seems that in this context Matthew is using these sayings of Jesus to encourage believers to look inward – to protect and support their own. If the world is not a safe place, the believing community will have to pull up the drawbridge to protect themselves and at the same time they will have to ensure that they take care of each other. Certainly, in Matthew’s gospel the expression: “little ones”, used in connection with giving a cup of water, is a Matthean term for members of the community.

Understood in this way, Matthew’s language is inward looking not outward looking.

I don’t have to tell you that the authors of the Synoptic gospels tell the Jesus’ story very differently. Depending on their particular agenda, they arrange the material in a particular way and place their emphases in different places so as to give Jesus’ sayings a nuance that is relevant to their purpose. As I have studied and preached on Matthew over more than two decades, it has seemed to me that the author of Matthew presents the gospel as more exclusive – more inclined to define those who are “in” and those who are “out.”

Of course, we don’t know exactly when Jesus said what or where he was when he said it, but the sayings recorded by Matthew in this setting include two that are unique to him and two that occur in some form in Mark and Luke. Both Luke and Mark have the saying about receiving a disciple and Mark also has the saying about someone giving a cup of water. According to Mark (Chapter 9) the disciples have been arguing about who is the greatest. In response Jesus takes a child and says: “Whoever receives one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever receives me receives not me but the one who sent me” (9:36). Immediately following this, the disciple John complains to Jesus that he saw someone (not a disciple) casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus replies that anyone who is not against them is for them and “whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.”

Mark’s memory or intention is to give the impression of an open community in which whoever acts in a Christ-like way cannot by definition, be against the community of faith, but rather is sympathetic. towards them and as such is entitled to be rewarded. Mark’s context for the sayings is one of chiding – not encouraging – the disciples.

In Luke (Chapter 9), the saying is reported in much the same way as in Mark – that is the first saying is Jesus’ response to an argument as to who is the greatest. Again, Jesus takes a child and says to the disciples: “Whoever welcomes this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me; for the least among all of you is the greatest.” Again, the complaint about someone casting out demons follows, to which Jesus says: “Whoever is not against you is for you.”
Matthew does include the saying about receiving a child (18:1), but he leaves out the story about the non-disciple casting out demons thus forgoing an opportunity to demonstrate Jesus’ inclusivity, Jesus’ understanding that those who were not signed up members of the community were to be valued, not ostracised, and that those who were sympathetic to the movement were to be treated as if they were members. In other words, Mark and Luke seem to avoid the hard and fast boundaries that are beginning to appear in Matthew’s gospel.

That, I know is a lot to take in, especially when, unlike me, you cannot place the texts side by side. What is important to note is that the gospel writers are quite liberal in the way in which they use Jesus’ sayings, both in the actual wording and in the context in which they place them.

The choice of gospel today and the parallel texts in Mark and Luke provide a good example of the need to see scripture as a whole, rather than focusing solely on one passage. Our scriptures – the Old and New Testaments – were written at different times in history and for entirely different purposes. A close reading will throw up contradictions, multiple versions of one event and differing interpretations of the same. The Bible also contains a variety of forms of expression – history, prophecy, poetry, letters – which need to be read and understood in ways appropriate to their form.

None of this is intended to undermine the value of individual accounts, nor does it give us permission to neglect or dismiss those things that do not fit our idea of what the scriptures say. Studying scripture enables us to understand why differences exist, the contexts in which the differences arose and what they might have meant to those who first heard them. When we study the gospels, we are better able to understand the experience and the needs of the believing communities in the latter years of the first century and to allow that understanding to inform and shape our own practice and ministry.

When we compare the ways in which the Synoptic gospels have recorded the sayings that we heard from Matthew today, we might conclude that they first occurred in a missional context, in which Jesus is telling the disciples, that those who respond positively to them are already on their way to receiving Jesus, and that those who support them (be it simply with a cup of water) will be rewarded – even if they are not card-carrying believers.

Are these words that we need to hear and does it help us to be less anxious that people are not coming to church, and more willing to affirm and encourage the good will that they show and the good that they do?

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Models of ministry

June 10, 2023

Pentecost 2 -2023
Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
Marian Free

In the name of Source of all being, Word of Life, Eternal Spirit. Amen.

Have you ever read or tried to read Tolstoy’s War and Peace? From memory, the list of characters extends over two pages. That, and the unfamiliarity of the names, made it impossible for me to read beyond the first chapter. Dicken’s Bleak House was not quite so challenging but, because it was written as a serial, and because there are several sub-plots, I found it difficult to follow the thread of the separate stories and to remember a character whom I hadn’t heard from for four or five chapters.

Thankfully, the gospels do not pose such a problem because the vignettes are short and the primary characters consistent. In today’s gospel, there are several unrelated sub-plots – Jesus encounters several unrelated characters whose stories do not appear to be making a particular point or leading to a conclusion. The passage begins when Jesus sees Matthew and calls him to follow. Jesus then has dinner with tax collectors and sinners and responds to the criticisms of the Pharisees. Then in the paragraph omitted by the lectionary writers (a few characters too many?) Jesus answers a question about fasting that is posed by John’s disciples. In the verses given to us for today, Jesus is approached by the leader of the synagogue and while he is on way to raise the synagogue leader’s daughter, he is touched by the woman with a haemorrhage. Finally, at the house of the synagogue leader, Jesus has to confront the grieving crowds. (Were we to read on we would see that Matthew continues the story with the healing of two blind men and healing a man who was mute.)

In only one of these encounters is Jesus’ identity mentioned – when the blind men call out: “Have mercy on us Son of David.”

The purpose of the stories then, is not to tell us who Jesus is, but more to give an insight into how Jesus is. The encounters tell us about the character of Jesus, how he behaves, with whom he interacts and, to a lesser extent, what he teaches. The reactions to Jesus, the questions of the Pharisees and John’s disciples, and the grief of the crowds. are indicative of the very human responses which Jesus’ actions elicit – criticism, confusion, lack of trust.

Through the eyes of this gospel writer, we are shown that Jesus was a risk-taker. He sees Matthew at the tax booth and says simply: “Follow me.” There is no job-interview, test of character, or referees. Jesus sees in Matthew something that no one else has seen and trusts his intuition that Matthew will make a suitable disciple.

Jesus sets no boundaries on his ministry – who might join him and with whom he might associate. He and his disciples are not discerning about whom they dine with, drawing criticism from the Pharisees (who believe that God insists that Jews keep themselves separate from Gentiles and sinners). In response to their criticism, Jesus uses his knowledge of scripture to firmly correct the narrow, judgmental, and smug attitudes of his critics.

When John’s disciples express their confusion about the differences between Jesus and John, Jesus uses practical, everyday imagery to help them understand that there is a proper time for everything. It is appropriate that John’s disciples fast, but the time has not yet come for Jesus’ disciples to do the same.

Jesus doesn’t hesitate when the synagogue leader asks him to do the impossible, but he is not so focussed on raising the young girl that he cannot stop and give his full attention to the woman with a haemorrhage. Nor is he deterred by the mourners when he reaches his destination but remains focussed on what he has come to do.

The way in which Jesus responds to each of these situations reveals something about the nature of Jesus and of his ministry. Through these encounters Jesus shows us how to be courageous, inclusive, non-judgmental, open, empathetic, unhurried, and life-giving. By the way in which he interacts, he makes it clear that he doesn’t have criteria by which he determines who may or may not be a disciple, with whom he will or will not associate or whom he will or will not heal. He is not cowed by the Pharisees, confused by John’s disciples, or caught off guard when the woman touches his cloak. He will not be bound by social convention, religious expectation, or stereotypical definitions.

From these encounters we can deduce that Jesus is self-assured and confident of his role. He will not be rushed or forced to do anything he does not want to do. So, while we might hold our breath when Jesus stops to attend to the woman with a haemorrhage – instead of hurrying to the already dead girl – Jesus is clear that attending to the person in front of him will not detract from his ministry to the person who awaits him. (He is not so full of his self-importance that he feels he has to ignore the woman to get to the child and his closeness to God enables him to trust that all will be well.)

This lengthy passage, with its variety of scenarios, provides a model of inclusive community and of pastoral care. Jesus demonstrates through his reactions to those whom he meets that no one is to be excluded and no one is to be given priority over anyone else. He makes it clear that ego has no place in ministry and, in stopping to address the woman who has touched him, Jesus proves how important (and life-giving) it is to be fully present to those whom we encounter – rather than worrying about where we have to be and what we have to do.

Jesus’ interactions become a model for our interactions and his character a model for us to aspire to. The responses of the Pharisees (and of John’s disciples) provide a yardstick against which to measure our own reactions especially to those who like Jesus, break cultural norms or religious expectations.

May Jesus always be our model and our guide, and may we with him be open and compassionate, confident and wise, responsive and present, that our interactions with others may be sensitive, respectful and life-giving.

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Care for some fishing?

January 21, 2023

Epiphany 3 – 2023
Matthew 4:12-23
Marian Free

In the name of God who sees us as we are, draws us out and uses our gifts for service. Amen.

I wonder what your idea of discipleship is. Is it about bringing others to faith or about living a faithful life? Is it about saving your neighbour from the fires of hell or about creating a life-giving environment in which all might live in peace and joy? Is it about repentance for sin, or about enabling others to change their lives around?

For many, the idea of discipleship has been formed by Jesus’ call of Peter and Andrew, James and John. This morning’s gospel passage appears to be quite clear. When Jesus calls his first disciples (or insists that they come after him), it is so that they will fish for people. Jesus is asking them to join him in his mission in turning the hearts and minds of the Israelites towards God.

We would be mistaken however if we understood that this was the model for all disciples. In the first instance Jesus’ words are contextual. He is speaking to fishermen and therefore uses language with which they would be familiar. It is not language that resonates for those, who like myself, find the imagery of fishing (gathering the unwilling on to a hook or into a net) more than a little distasteful. Nor is it language that really makes sense outside of a first century rural setting.

Only Peter, Andrew, James, and John are called to “fish for people”. Jesus is speaking into their situation, using imagery that they will understand, the language of their own lived experience. In asking these four to come after him, Jesus is making it clear that in calling them to follow him, he will not take them out of their comfort zone or make them do the impossible. They will not have to retrain in order to become disciples. By calling fishermen to fish, Jesus is indicating that he wants them as they are right now. He will not expect them to be what they are not, but will take them as they are and use and build on their existing strengths and skills. He will enable them to use what they already know and to apply those skills to a new situation. The disciples will not be leaving their profession simply changing direction, using their gifts of patience and endurance in a new way.

For those of us brought up on the image of fishing for disciples, it is important to notice that it is only these four who are fishermen who are called by Jesus to fish. Jesus doesn’t say to Matthew the tax collector (Mt 9:2) “I will make you fish for people” and what we know of the other disciples does not lead us to think that he is asking others – non fishermen – to fish. The ways in which other disciples are named, does not tell us anything about their call. to follow. There is a second James who is identified as the son of Alphaeus, a Judas who we are told is the son of James, Simon is alternately known as a Zealot or Cananaean, and Philip we are told, was from Bethsaida.

The call to follow Jesus, to become a disciple is not a generic call. It is not a matter of one size fits all. No one is called to be what they are not. In general, anglers are not called to be great musicians, agriculturalist are not called to be herders and bookworms are not called to be athletes. When Jesus calls us to follow, he calls us to follow as our most authentic selves. Discipleship does not entail becoming what we are not but being whom we truly are. When Jesus calls us to follow, Jesus expects us to use our existing skill sets and strengths – including those we not yet identified or developed.

This means that those who answer the call to follow do not leave behind the gifts and training that they bring with them but build on them but often find themselves doing things, having the skill to do something they never expected to be doing. For example, someone who has had little opportunity for further education, may unlock a talent and a passion for engineering, farming, biblical languages, which they can use to further the kingdom. Another person who has had little experience of working with children or the elderly may discover hitherto unrealized abilities. Whether on the mission field, in Parish ministry, or in one’s day-to-day work, I am sure that there are many others, who, having been called to follow Jesus, have been surprised where it has taken them, and astonished, to see what gifts that call has drawn out. Others yet will continue doing what they have always done, but as disciples will be doing whatever it is more intentionally for the furthering of the kingdom. No matter what, almost certainly Jesus will not be surprised, because Jesus will have seen what we are doing and what we can do, before Jesus issued the call.

Jesus’ call on our lives may not be a universal call to fish for people, to make disciples. Jesus’ call to discipleship will recognise who and what we are now and who and what we can be. If we allow him, Jesus will use our gifts, develop our potential, and give us the courage to trust wherever he may lead.

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How do we measure up?

September 2, 2022

Pentecost 13 – 2022
Luke 14:25-33
Marian Free

May I speak in the name of God, Earthmaker, Painbearer and Lifegiver. Amen.

Some time ago a friend of ours who is a clinical psychologist was an advisor to the reality TV show “Big Brother”. It was her responsibility to assess whether or not potential competitors would be psychologically able to cope with the rigors and demands of the competition. In other words, she had to assure the producers of the programme that potential candidates would be able to go the distance without experiencing any sort of psychological breakdown. The show depended on the resilience of the participants and not only did the producers want to protect their brand and to entertain their audiences, but they also had an ethical and moral responsibility to the successful entrants. I only watched a few episodes, but they were enough to persuade me that the psychological stresses faced in the “house” and the mind games that were played were enough to send the sanest person mad .

Jesus did not have the advantages of modern science to screen potential followers, but he did have some idea of the sorts of hurdles that they would encounter and therefore the personal characteristics that would be required for the journey they were undertaking. He knew that being a disciple would be challenging, uncomfortable and, in some cases, life threatening. For proof, he only needed to look at his own experience. His efforts to relieve the suffering of others and to share the good news of God’s love, were met with scepticism, censure, and downright opposition. Among other things, Jesus was criticised for healing on the Sabbath, for telling people that their sins were forgiven, and for allowing a woman to anoint him. The authorities were threatened by him and were constantly trying to discredit him. Not that Jesus made it easy for himself. He didn’t play it safe – he exposed the hypocrisy of the religious leaders and inverted their sense of the proper order of things, he ate with sinners and tax collectors and generally behaved in ways that flouted the religious and cultural norms his day.

For many, Jesus was not a comfortable person to be around, and, from the very beginning of his ministry, there were attempts on his life (Luke 4:28). It is little wonder that Jesus wanted to be sure of the commitment and the determination of those who expressed a desire to follow him.

In the passage from today’s gospel, it appears that Jesus recognised that in the crowd that followed him were those who were simply caught up in the excitement that surrounded him, those who were only interested in the miracles that he performed and those who were attracted by the fact that he was not afraid to confront the religious authorities. He was conscious that there were some among them who had the potential to discredit his movement by their weakness, their self-interest and their shallow understanding of his mission. Perhaps too, he wanted to protect those who would be unable to withstand the hardships that might come their way as a consequence of their being his disciples. So, he did his own, crude, form of screening.

In a manner that seems to our sensibilities to be abrupt and uncalled for, Jesus “turns on” the crowds who are following him, implies that they are not really committed to the cause and sets what seems to be impossible standards for them to prove their worth. “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” I mean, imagine it – it’s rather like me saying to you: “Don’t bother coming to church unless you are prepared to abandon everything else including those whom you love the most. In fact, don’t pretend to be a follower of Jesus unless you are prepared to die for him!”

It is confronting language and doesn’t fit the Jesus who heals the sick, seeks the lost and eats with sinners. Sure, there are times when Jesus is firm, even angry – but he reserves his disapproval for the self-righteous Pharisees and the self-protective priests. So why now does he turn on the crowds – those who are not connected with the establishment; those who have apparently already left their homes to follow him to Jerusalem? In other words – why does he seem to turn on us?

Jesus, it seems, wants to be sure that we can finish the journey in a time and place that is vastly different. Might we fall away because our expectations have not been met? Could we be accused of hypocrisy because our lives and our faith do not match up? Is there a possibility that disappointment and bitterness would lead us to disparage him and to discredit what he stands for.

Our lives are not in danger as a consequence of our faith, but that does not mean that life is entirely without its hurdles or that there will not be times that will test our trust in and our reliance on Jesus. Life can and will throw us all sorts of curved balls – the death of a child, the loss of our job, our health, or our home. Our reaction to events such as these will reveal whether we follow Jesus for the sense of security and comfort that our faith gives us – or whether we have completely abandoned ourselves to God and to God’s will for our lives. Those whose faith is based on a belief that God will take care of them and protect them from the dangers of this world, will be confused and hurt by trauma and loss. They will bear the wounds of perceived betrayal that may never heal, and their bitterness and anger will cause them to speak ill of God and of Christ. They did not understand what they were committing to.

Those who faith is deep and strong and who truly understand what they have signed up for, will grieve their loss and acknowledge their pain, but will hold fast to Jesus, knowing that he did not promise a pain-free life and understanding that faith alone will see them through their anguish.

If today’s gospel is a form of screening for discipleship – how do we measure up?

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