Swallowsrest

GOOD FRIDAY LITURGY 2011

MARIAN FREE

Greeting:

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

 

Introit: 339 O sacred head sore wounded

 

Eli Eli – by Judith Wright

 

Reflection:

 

(Read slowly, reflectively)

When I read the poem by Judith Wright, I think of Jesus – tied to the cross – watching helplessly as humankind chooses not to respond to his message, but to continue down its path of self-destruction.

I remember too that figuratively or literally, God gave humankind the freedom to choose from the moment of creation. God must have known the outcome of this decision but God knew that true service and love must result from freedom to choose that love and service.

For centuries God watched – helplessly but not hopelessly – as his creation misused his trust –perpetrating acts of genocide, allowing whole nations to live with hunger, disease and poverty and destroying the environment, not to mention the daily pettiness of jealousy, anger and greed.

God’s solution to the problem is not (as we might expect) to rain down fire and brimstone or to bend out will to his. Instead, in Jesus, God comes himself – placing himself completely in the hands of his flawed creation. There is no compulsion for us to respond, only a hope on God’s part that we will see that a life aligned to God is so much better than a life that chooses to go its own way.

Nowhere is God so vulnerable, so impotent, so unable to compel obedience than on the cross. Given the choice – humanity has chosen to go its own way, to destroy the love held out to it.

In the poem, Jesus watches soldiers, children and women in the river and does not intervene – because it must be our choice to turn to him.

Jesus knows that it is humankind that has built the barriers between the human and divine. He knows too how much heartache and pain results from that separation. Jesus’ real grief in the poem lies in the fact that he knows that the separation is not necessary.

There is no river – only a separation caused by our own determination to go our own way and God’s unwillingness to force us to return. The choice is ours. The irony is that in aligning our wills to that of God we would discover that we are not bound or limited, not coerced or compelled and that having given our lives back to God we with Jesus will be raised to newness of life – set free from the restraints and limitations of our human nature – truly alive and truly free.

Therein lies Jesus’ pain. Our failure to see, our determination to go our own way, our failure to see that there is no river, causes more pain than the cross itself, but Jesus will not force us to see, we must come to that ourselves.

 

Let us pray:

Liberating God, {God of freedom}

as you made yourself vulnerable for our sake,

so may we make ourselves vulnerable for yours.

As you allowed yourself to be dependent on us,

so may we  learn to depend entirely on you.

As you gave your life for us,

so may we give our lives over to you.

As we ponder the mystery of your passion,

may we understand that you withhold nothing from us.

 

The only thing that separates us from you is ourselves. Amen.

 Collect:

Creator God,

who chose restraint over control

and who trusts us to choose between good and ill.

Help us to understand the cost to you of our freedom,

to learn to choose wisely,

and to know that it is in you and you alone that true freedom lies.

Amen.

Ministry of the Word

Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12

Psalm 22

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me:

            why are you so far from helping me

            and from the words of my groaning?

My God, I cry to you by day, but you do not answer:

            and by night also I take no rest.

But you continue holy;

            you that are the praise of Israel.

In you our forebears trusted:

            they trusted and you delivered them.

To you they cried and they were saved:

            they put their trust in you and were not confounded.

But as for me, I am a worm and no man: 

            the scorn of all and despised by the people.

Those that see me laugh me to scorn:

            they shoot out their lips at me

            and wag their heads, saying,

“He trusted in the Lord – let him deliver him:

            let him deliver him, if he delights in him.”

But you are he that took me out of the womb:

            that brought me to lie at peace on my mother’s breast.

On you have I been cast since my birth:

            you are my God, even from my mother’s womb.

O go not from me, for trouble is hard at hand:

            and there is none to help.

Many oxen surround me:

            fat bulls of Bashan close me in on every side.

They gape wide their mouths at me:

            like lions that roar and rend.

I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint:

            my heart within my breast is like melting wax.

My mouth is dried up like a potsherd:

            and my tongue clings to my gums.

My hands and my feet are withered:

            and you lay me in the dust of death.

For many dogs are come about me:

            and a band of evildoers hem me in.

I can count all my bones:

            they stand staring and gazing upon me.

They part my garments among them:

            and cast lots for my clothing.

O Lord, do not stand far off:

            you are my helper, hasten to my aid.

Deliver my body from the sword:

            my life from the power of the dogs;

O save me from the lion’s mouth:

            and my afflicted soul from the horns of the wild oxen.

I will tell of your name to my companions:

            in the midst of the congregation will I praise you.

O praise the Lord, all you that fear him:

            hold him in honour, O seed of Jacob,

            and let the seed of Israel stand in awe of him.

For he has not despised nor abhorred

the poor man in his misery:

            nor did he hide his face from him,

            but heard him when he cried.

The meek shall eat of the sacrifice and be satisfied:

            and those who seek the Lord shall praise him –

            may their hearts rejoice forever!

Let all the ends of the earth remember

and turn to the Lord:

            and let all the families of the nations worship before him.

For the kingdom is the Lord’s:

            and he shall be ruler over the nations.

How can those who sleep in the earth do him homage:

            or those that descend to the dust bow down before him?

But he has saved my life for himself:

            and my posterity shall serve him.

This shall be told of my Lord to a future generation:

         and his righteousness declared to a people yet unborn, 

         that he  has done it.

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Hymn: 350 There is a green hill far away

.The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark Chapter 15 beginning

at verse 21.

Glory to you Lord Jesus Christ.

For the Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ.

Hymn: 345 Were you there when they crucified the Lord?

(During the hymn a collection will be taken up for the Anglican Diocese of Jerusalem)

Intercessions:

God of freedom,

be with all those whose lives are circumscribed

by disease, poverty, violence and oppression.

Give to all world leaders a desire for peace and justice,

and to all people a willingness to share equitably the resources of the earth.

God who sets us free.

Hear our prayer.

God of love,

give us an openness to your love,

a willingness to trust in your direction,

a hopefulness for the future.

God who sets us free.

Hear our prayer.

Compassionate God,

encourage all those in our community who feel lost and alone,

those who are house-bound, those who suffer from mental illness

or any form of addiction.

Be with the victims of violence,

especially those who suffer violence at the hands of those who proclaim love for them.

God who sets us free.

Hear our prayer.

God of  Grace

comfort and sustain all those in need of your healing power

give them confidence for the future and a firm trust in your love.

God who sets us free.

Hear our prayer.

Living God,

Open us to your presence that is always with us,

Help us to trust you in good times and in bad,

And to come at last with all your saints to life everlasting.

Lord’s Prayer: Accept our prayers through Jesus Christ our Lord,

who taught us to pray.

            Our Father in heaven,

                        hallowed be your name,

                        your kingdom come,

                        your will be done,

                        on earth as in heaven.

            Give us today our daily bread.

            Forgive us our sins

                        as we forgive those who sin against us.

            Save us from the time of trial

                        and deliver us from evil,

            for the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours

                        now and forever. Amen.

 

Confession:

At creation, God gave us freedom, so that we could choose how to live.

In the Incarnation, Jesus showed us what that freedom could look like.

On the cross, God willingly submitted to the choices we had made.

We have abused and misused the freedom God has given us, and still God withholds the power to control and direct our lives. Let us therefore confess our sins, accept our failure and trust in God’s infinite love and goodness.

God of freedom

we confess before you

and before each other,

that we have used our freedom for ourselves,

and have trusted ourselves and not you

with our fate and the fate of the world.

Free us from the desires and constraints of this world.

Forgive our self interest, our greed and our absence of vision.

Transform and heal us by your spirit with us.

Renew and encourage us by your life in us.

Give us a trust in your goodness, a willingness to submit our lives to you, and a commitment to share with you a love for all creation. Amen.

Absolution:

On the cross, Jesus affirmed our freedom.

Use that freedom wisely, for yourself,

and more especially for others.

Know in God’s forbearance, the deep love God has for you.

Understand that you are forgiven and extend that forgiveness to others

for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Recognition of the cross:  341 (During the singing of the hymn you might like to come forward and acknowledge the cross. Alternately you are welcome to sit or stand in quiet reflection.)

Blessing:

 

Hymn: 344 Glory be to Jesus

Please leave the church in silence

Copyright. Marian Free , 2011

Lent 5

John 11

Marian Free

In the name of God who opens the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf and raises the dead to new life. Amen.

The invention of the telescope changed the way we see the world. By using the telescope to follow the movement of the stars and the planets, Copernicus, followed by Galileo came to the conclusion that the earth was not the centre of the universe – instead of the sun revolving around the earth, the earth revolved around the sun. A similar seismic in the way we view the world occurred later when Darwin released his theory of evolution. For most of us it is impossible to think that the world is flat, to imagine that the universe is centred on planet earth or to believe that nature is static and unchanging.

Even though we are not all scientists, all of us have, from time to time what you might call “aha” moments – moments when we see something from a completely different perspective, moments when something that had previously seemed completely incomprehensible suddenly becomes crystal clear, or moments when we finally understand why it is that someone else appreciates a particular piece of music, or enjoys watching a particular sport. At such times it is like the fog has lifted and we see the world in a completely new light. Once our eyes have been opened, our lives can never go back to the way they were.

As we have seen over the last few weeks, the author of the gospel of John appears to be trying to move his readers to such an experience, to bring them to a place in which they see things in a completely new way. Through conversations and acts of healing, Jesus tries to open the eyes of those around him, to help them to think in a radically new way. He talks about ideas which to his listeners are at first completely incomprehensible – being born from above, living water, the light of the world. He is teasing them, tantalising them with new concepts in the hope that he will be able to break through their conventional view of the world and enable them to see the world through God’s eyes.

And now we come to the crunch – Jesus does something totally shocking and unbelievable – he brings a man from death to life. The new form of existence, this new way of being to which Jesus points is literally new life, it is like being raised from the dead!

For the author of John’s gospel, the raising of Lazarus is the climax of the gospel. John been carefully building up to this point – challenging his readers to see things differently, to look beyond the obvious, to see the new dimensions of being that are now dramatically and visibly illustrated in the raising of Lazarus. Faith in Jesus leads to new life in the present as well as in the future. Those who believe in Jesus are radically changed. Through faith in Jesus they become truly alive, they recognise the emptiness of their existence and the possibilities that faith in Jesus makes possible.

John’s gospel aims to open the eyes of his community to this new life that is possible through faith in Jesus and the raising of Lazarus is the most eye-opening event that has happened so far.

More than any other gospel, John is written for a community of believers. It assumes that the readers/hearers know the story and how it ends. In some sense the gospel is written as an elaboration of the story. It endeavours to do more than simply tell the story of Jesus, it wants to move its readers to faith – a faith that will totally redefine their understanding of reality, to move them beyond the superficial and material to a deeper more spiritual existence. It is not that the story of Jesus is not important – of course it is – but John assumes that those who will read or hear his gospel already know the story of Jesus. John wants to ensure that the way in which he tells the story leads to a life-changing experience for those who hear it. John wants to do is to move his readers from an intellectual faith to a relationship with the living God.

In a sense the gospel is a spiritual handbook to help the community live that faith. So it gradually brings its readers into this new awareness until it reaches the climax in which Martha declares Jesus to be the Christ, and the life that Jesus offers is vividly demonstrated in the raising of Lazarus. Having reached the climax – faith in Jesus leads to new life, not only in the future, but in the present -the author moves to the mundane instructions for the community – a community changed and charged by faith in Jesus.

This is the point that Jesus is moving his readers to – an awareness that faith in Jesus is life-changing, and life-renewing. That knowing Jesus means that their lives will never be the same again, they will see the world differently because their eyes are ears will be open to new possibilities. They will see and experience life in a new way. They will move as it were from death to life. Alive to God in Christ, enlivened by the Holy Spirit in them, free to live life and to live it to the full.

We can choose to remain within the safety of the tomb, safe and secure in the life we have always known. We can hold on to the past, allowing our lives to be circumscribed and limited by what we can see or touch or feel. Or we can respond to the voice of Jesus calling us out of the tomb into new way of living, into an adventure of faith that refuses to be defined, but which constantly opens and expands our horizons as Jesus draws us deeper and deeper into the truths that he reveals.

The story of Jesus is so much more than a story. It is an invitation into a journey of faith, a journey that will lead us into the very heart of God. We are invited to throw caution to the wind and embark on the adventure of a lifetime that will take us all the way to eternity. How can we not respond?

Lent 4

John 9:1-41

Marian Free

May the God who opened the eyes of the blind, open our hearts and minds to see what he is doing in our lives and in the world today. Amen.

When I was in theological college and our year group were doing the hospital chaplaincy course, we were asked to write a number of verbatims of the conversations we had with the patients we visited. A verbatim is a word for word record of what was said by each party. The object of the exercise was to help the writer to re-visit the conversation and to understand how what they did and did not say affected the direction of the conversation. A verbatim helps the student to see in what way his or her own issues may have crept in and influenced the exchange.  For example, someone who is the child of an alcoholic may discover that whenever he or she is pastoring to someone who is an alcoholic, they tell their own story instead of listening to the person they are visiting. The verbatim may reveal other ways in which the visitor may be limiting the conversation or preventing the one being visited from sharing what is important to them.

Of course, most of us in the course of our lives have wished something unsaid, wished we had used more sensitive language in a difficult situation. We don’t need a verbatim to tell us that we could have done better. In a social situation we hope our friends will forgive us our awkwardness and we trust that we can learn from our mistakes. For those whose profession requires them to listen to others, a thorough examination of their conversation technique can make them a much more effective listener, ensure that they recognise their weaknesses and enable them to learn techniques that will improve their skills.

Thank goodness Jesus was not required to attend theological college! Verbatims of Jesus’ conversations would have revealed him to be deliberately obtuse, failing to listen, being directly confrontation and having a tendency to railroad his conversation partner for the purpose of getting his own message across. As we have seen in the last two weeks, Jesus doesn’t respond to Nicodemus’ flattery or to the questions of the woman at the well. Instead he talks about “being born from above” and “living water” – teasing and confusing them in the hope that they will move, with him, beyond the obvious and the external to something deeper and more spiritual.

In any other situation, we might think that, even though we are talking about Jesus, it is the height of rudeness to speak as he does. However, hopefully, we understand that the purpose of the gospel is to bring readers to faith. The author of John’s gospel is using Jesus’ conversation as a literary tool to help his audience understand that faith in Jesus is a life-transforming experience that moves a person from one realm of existence to another, from the earthly to the heavenly, from the physical to the spiritual. For this reason, the style of the conversation doesn’t matter. What matters is that the reader’s life is changed, by what they read or hear.

Today’s gospel is very different from those of the last two weeks, but it is still possible to observe that it is through conversation that the author of John makes his salient points and moves his readers to a particular conclusion and a new way of being. The healing of the blind man and the ensuing conflict with the Pharisees is not so much an account of healing but a revelation as to who Jesus is and an expose of the ‘blindness’ of the Pharisees who fail to recognise him. John’s gospel is using the account of the healing of the blind to open the eyes of all who read or hear it such that they understand that Jesus is the Saviour (the light) of the world. It is intended to move them from the superficial, to a deeper, more meaningful existence.

The Pharisees and their followers were good people who kept the commandments. However, they had become so sure of themselves and so confident in the way that they practiced their faith that they did not allow any room for God to reveal Godself. They relied on a person’s external behaviour to tell them about that person’s relationship with and position before God. They were so sure that they knew what to do and what not to do, that they were unprepared for the person of Jesus. Jesus did not fit into their nicely prescribed rules and regulations, he didn’t toe the line that they had drawn, he didn’t belong to their “in group”. Nothing in their rigid and rule bound practice of faith had prepared them for the person who God sent to save them.  He didn’t have any of the characteristics that they had come to associate with someone who came from heaven, he was just a man, and worse than that, he was a man who broke the commandments of God. How could such a man be someone sent from God?

To this extent, the Pharisees were blind. God, in Jesus was present among them, yet, because Jesus did not fit the pro forma that they had developed, not only did they fail to recognise him for who he was but they labelled him a sinner. This, according to Jesus provided ample evidence of their inability to see. The Pharisees were so bound to their literal interpretation of the law, so confined by their narrow outlook on life and faith, that they could not see the goodness of God in Jesus’ action of healing. All they could see was someone who broke the Sabbath law.

In his conversations with Nicodemus and the woman at the well, Jesus is obtuse, using unfamiliar expressions and ideas to force them into a new way of seeing things. When Jesus speaks with the Pharisees in today’s gospel, he is much more direct, Their attitude, revealed in their refusal to accept what he has done confirms that they are firmly established within the earthly realm and completely unable or unwilling to risk venturing into the spiritual realm. The Pharisees are comfortable in their neatly prescribed life. They have rule books to tell them what to do and how to behave, they simply cannot cope when the spirit breaks through and disturbs their settled existence. In their minds. anything which doesn’t fit the world as they have defined it, doesn’t belong – even if it is a man who is able to heal the blind.

Two thousand years after Jesus walked the earth, we must be careful that we do not allow habit and complacency to close our minds to the possibility that God is active in the world. We must allow the gospel to keep us on our toes, to tease and confuse us, such that we retain an openness to God’s revelation. We must always be alert and expectant, hoping to be surprised by God and seeking a life that is determined by the spirit and not by the demand and restrictions of the material world. If we say that “we see”, we can be certain that we see nothing at all. If we allow God to open our eyes, we will see and experience more than we could ever imagine.

 

Lent 3 – 2011

John 4:4-42

Marian Free

In the name of God, source of our life, centre of our being. Amen.

As many of you know, a few years ago Michael and I had the privilege of travelling to South Africa and Tanzania. The trip was truly wonderful. We saw the most amazing variety of bird and animal life from the statuesque Marabou stork to the cheeky little splendid starlings. There were giraffes and zebras in abundance, elephants and lions only feet away from the vehicle and my favourite – the hippopotamus doing somersaults in the too shallow water. Even as I recount the adventure, I can’t believe how lucky I was to have that opportunity.

However, if you were to ask me about the first picture that comes to mind when I think about the trip, I would have to say that it is not the wildlife or the birds, or even the people or the beautiful scenery. My strongest memory is of the men, women and children ignoring the heat and hurrying along the road after the water truck – apparently anxious lest they miss it.

So that is the picture that most stays with me – a vivid reminder of my position of privilege and a heightened awareness that water is a precious commodity, essential to life and yet not everyone has equal access to it. Millions of people around the world do not have access to running water, let alone clean drinking water.

The now-broken drought has made even us aware that water is not a limitless resource yet, despite our drought-related restrictions we could still turn on a tap to obtain clean drinking water, enjoy the luxury of a four-minute shower and, on occasion, water plants which were not necessary for our survival. It is almost impossible to imagine going without such (to us) basic necessities. However, recent weeks have shown us that even in the industrialized west, access to water is not assured. In Christchurch, thousands of homes had no water for weeks– nothing to drink, no washing facilities, no sewerage. Hundreds queued for hours to fill containers with water to drink – showers for a time becoming an unnecessary luxury. Similar scenes are currently playing themselves out in Japan, only worse. Today we can only be too aware of how essential water is to our existence.

Without water we die – no wonder the Israelites complained in the desert, no wonder water was such a compelling topic for the woman who met Jesus at the well.

In first century Palestine water was only available from wells. Residents, usually women had to come to the well each day to water the animals and to fill their water jars for the home They would come in the morning while it was still cool. On this particular day when Jesus is passing through Samaria, he meets a woman coming to the well in the heat of the day. This is unusual, but the nature and number of her relationships with men mean that those of her community hold her in contempt and her shame makes her come to the well when no one else is about.

Today, she is lucky – someone else is at the well, and what is more he speaks to her, asking her for water. She is surprised that he should ask her – after all a, Jewish man should not be speaking to a Gentile, let alone a woman and a woman with a bad reputation at that. Jesus doesn’t explain himself to her – instead he takes the conversation in a new direction. If she knew who he was, he says, the situation would have been reversed and she would have asked him for living water.

The woman fails to understand what he is getting at. She knows that it is impossible for him to get water – he has no bucket and the well is deep. Is he greater than their ancestor Jacob that he can do such a thing?  Again Jesus doesn’t respond her question – he continues with his own line of thought – the living water that he will give will ensure that the woman will never thirst again! In a dry and thirsty land, this is a seductive offer – imagine never have to come to the well again! The woman can’t wait to get this living water!

The problem is that the woman is taking Jesus literally when Jesus is speaking figuratively. Her physical needs blind her to the deeper meaning of what Jesus is saying. The water to which Jesus refers is a relationship with him, a spiritual existence not bound by human limitations. Jesus wants to free her from the constraints of her current existence, to move her understanding from the superficial and material to the inward and the spiritual.

Using water, a necessity of the physical life, Jesus tries to open the woman to the possibility that there is another dimension in which she can live, a dimension that will not measure her by her past but by her present and her future, a dimension of existence that will ultimately be more meaningful and more satisfying than her current life. The woman tries again and again to bring the conversation back to the situation that she knows, but Jesus refuses to be distracted from the message he wants to share with her.

Jesus will not get caught up in a discussion of mundane, everyday things. He is using the situation, the context of life-giving water, to point to deeper realities. He wants to move the woman beyond the physical and the external to the spiritual and internal. He wants her to discover a relationship with God that cannot be bound by time and place, a relationship with God that detaches one from the concerns, demands and ambitions of earthly life and frees one to live according to the values and ideals of the kingdom of God. What Jesus is offering the woman is more satisfying even than water in a desert. He is offering her a gift that will not only sustain her in the present but that will also assure her of eternity.

At the well Jesus meets a complete stranger, and engages in discussion a woman shunned by her own people. He challenges her to reconsider the way she sees herself and the world, to stop measuring her happiness and sense of satisfaction according to the values of the world. He shows her another way, a way that is not reliant on the material world, a way that will fulfill her deepest longings and meet her every needs and will take her out of her mundane human existence into a world that has no beginning and no end. He offers her the life of the spirit, a relationship with himself that is a relationship with God.

It is easy for us to be bound by what we can see and touch and feel. It is tempting to get caught up in and bound by the values and expectations of the world. It is only human to think that we can work things out for ourselves. Jesus shows us a different way, he opens the door to a new reality and shows us that if we place all our trust in him instead of in the transitory things of this world, we will discover that we no longer hunger and thirst for what we do not have, for in him and in him alone we have all that we could ever need or could ever want.

 

Lent 2 2011

John 3:1-17

Marian Free

In the name of God who asks that we find our true nature only in and through him. Amen.

Recently, a great many Brisbanites went to see an exhibition of lifelike sculptures by the artist Ron Mueck. The exhibition featured incredibly realistic representations of people – some life–size, some miniature and some gigantic. They were all amazing in their detail and their poignancy.  The image that most struck me was that of a giant baby. It was seventeen foot long and even lying down it would have been nearly twice my height. Yet – despite its size – there was no denying that it was a newborn child – the umbilical cord was still attached, there were still signs of blood smeared on it and the face was distorted from the birth. The sculpture is so confronting that the Transit Authority of Calgary (Canada) refused to have a poster of it on display on its buses.

It certainly is a challenging image – which is no doubt the intention of the artist. The baby girl is also compelling and strangely touching. I found something unbelievably moving in the juxtaposition of the enormity of the sculpture and the attendant vulnerability of the subject. That something so huge could be so utterly defenseless did not compute with my normal view of the world – a view in which bigger is usually stronger and less able to be hurt or destroyed. In the case of the sculpture, it wouldn’t have mattered how big it was, the subject would still be utterly dependent on the goodness of those around it for life itself.

No matter whether is it nine inches long or seventeen feet long, a human baby it completely dependent – unable to feed itself, dress itself or even to adequately communicate its needs. Ron Mueck’s baby is even more vulnerable because it is alone.

In today’s gospel, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. Even though he is one of the Pharisees – a member of the opposition – he has sensed that Jesus is no ordinary person and that his teachings have a power that is more than human. He says: ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ You and I might think that Nicodemus deserved acknowledgement of his courage in coming forward, when his fellow Pharisees dared not, or we might believe that at least he had earned recognition of his faith.

We are surprised then, that instead of commending Nicodemus for his wisdom and insight, Jesus responds with a challenge: ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus, understandably, is confused. How can one be born from above? How can one who is now an adult be born a second time? Must one do the absurd, if not impossible, and enter into their mother’s womb and be born again? The image is ludicrous – even for us. It is hard enough to imagine that a baby can safely exit the womb, let alone imagine that an adult can return and be born a second time.

Like Ron Mueck’s baby, Jesus’ statement is intended to challenge and confront his hearers. Just as the life-like baby forces observers to re-think their notions of size and power, so Jesus demands that Nicodemus re-consider his ideas of reality and his practice of his faith. Jesus wants him to see that entering the kingdom of heaven is not a matter of Pharisaic adherence to the law, but a way of life that expresses complete trust in and dependence on God.

By presenting Nicodemus with an impossibility, Jesus is trying to force Nicodemus into a new way of seeing things. He is encouraging him to think outside the frame of reference that he has as a member of the Pharisees – to understand that righteousness is not a matter of law, but of grace. Jesus wants Nicodemus to understand that what is required is more than mere intellectual assent to who he is. What is required, Jesus knows, is a suspension of rational thought, a willingness to be dependent on God and reliant on the Holy Spirit. It is, as Jesus suggests, a re-birth into a different dimension of existence which enables one to enter the kingdom of heaven.

The riddle about being born again is intended to free Nicodemus from his previous way of thinking and to open him to a new way of seeing things. Jesus wants to help Nicodemus to understand the new economy – to grasp that salvation is not so much something to be earned, but something to be received. Righteousness is not a matter of works but of faith. Nicodemus needs to learn that nothing he can do – even recognizing that Jesus is from God – will earn him salvation. On the other hand, if Nicodemus can learn to place his trust in God and not in himself, if Nicodemus can learn dependence instead of self-reliance, he will be on his way to understanding how it is that one enters the kingdom of heaven. Then he will be born into a new reality – a reality in which God’s grace, not human striving leads to salvation.

In the wilderness, Jesus had to face the test of whether he would rely on his own resources or whether he would place his trust in the goodness of God. Jesus chose dependence on God over self-reliance. By rejecting the temptation to go it alone, Jesus reversed the action of Adam and Eve who chose to turn their backs on God and to go their own way.

Jesus wants the Pharisee Nicodemus to know that grace, not the law has the power to save. Jesus wants Nicodemus, and therefore us, to know that only God and not our own endeavours can save us. This means letting go of all the striving, attention seeking and self-reliant ways of the world and becoming as vulnerable and dependent as a newborn child – utterly dependent on God’s goodness and grace. It means relying on God and not on our own ability to be or to do good. It means being born again as a child of God, allowing oneself to be led by the Spirit, and understanding that the economy of the kingdom is vastly different from the economy of the world.

Nicodemus thought that he understood the way to salvation. Jesus turns Nicodemus’ ideas on their head, asks him to suspend his intellect and his notions of reality and to trust God with his life instead of trying to enter the kingdom of heaven on his own (dubious) merits.

Through baptism, we are born again by water and the spirit, we are called to live our baptism reality day by day – living not according to the values of the world, but by the values of the kingdom. We are called to a relationship with God in which we are as dependent on God as a new born baby and totally reliant on God for our salvation.

{Original ending}

At our baptism we are born again by water and the spirit, but like Nicodemus, we continue to believe that it is what we do, not what God does that matters. Over and over again, we are called to die to ourselves and our own efforts at self-determination and to be born again into that spirit filled life which leads to the kingdom of heaven. Let us then live our baptism promises, place our trust wholly in God, knowing that then and only then, will we enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

 

 

Lent 2 2011

John 3:1-17

Marian Free

In the name of God who asks that we find our true nature only in and through him. Amen.

Recently, a great many Brisbanites went to see an exhibition of lifelike sculptures by the artist Ron Mueck. The exhibition featured incredibly realistic representations of people – some life–size, some miniature and some gigantic. They were all amazing in their detail and their poignancy.  The image that most struck me was that of a giant baby. It was seventeen foot long and even lying down it would have been nearly twice my height. Yet – despite its size – there was no denying that it was a newborn child – the umbilical cord was still attached, there were still signs of blood smeared on it and the face was distorted from the birth. The sculpture is so confronting that the Transit Authority of Calgary (Canada) refused to have a poster of it on display on its buses.

It certainly is a challenging image – which is no doubt the intention of the artist. The baby girl is also compelling and strangely touching. I found something unbelievably moving in the juxtaposition of the enormity of the sculpture and the attendant vulnerability of the subject. That something so huge could be so utterly defenseless did not compute with my normal view of the world – a view in which bigger is usually stronger and less able to be hurt or destroyed. In the case of the sculpture, it wouldn’t have mattered how big it was, the subject would still be utterly dependent on the goodness of those around it for life itself.

No matter whether is it nine inches long or seventeen feet long, a human baby it completely dependent – unable to feed itself, dress itself or even to adequately communicate its needs. Ron Mueck’s baby is even more vulnerable because it is alone.

In today’s gospel, Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night. Even though he is one of the Pharisees – a member of the opposition – he has sensed that Jesus is no ordinary person and that his teachings have a power that is more than human. He says: ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.’ You and I might think that Nicodemus deserved acknowledgement of his courage in coming forward, or that at least he had earned recognition of his faith.

We are surprised then, that instead of commending Nicodemus for his wisdom and insight, Jesus responds with a challenge: ‘Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.’ Nicodemus, understandably, is confused. How can one be born from above? How can one who is now an adult be born a second time? Must one do the absurd, if not impossible, and enter into their mother’s womb and be born again? The image is ludicrous – even for us. It is hard enough to imagine that a baby can safely exit the womb, let alone imagine that an adult can return and be born a second time.

Like Ron Mueck’s baby, Jesus’ statement is intended to challenge and confront his hearers. Just as the life-like baby forces observers to re-think their notions of size and power, so Jesus demands that Nicodemus re-consider his ideas of reality and his practice of his faith. Entering the kingdom of heaven is not a matter of Pharisaic adherence to the law, but a way of life that expresses complete trust in and dependence on God.

By presenting Nicodemus with an impossibility, Jesus is trying to force Nicodemus into a new way of seeing things. He is encouraging him to think outside the frame of reference that he has as a member of the Pharisees – to understand that righteousness is not a matter of law, but of grace. Jesus wants Nicodemus to understand that what is required is more than mere intellectual assent to who he is. What is required is, to some extent, a suspension of rational thought, a willingness to be dependent on God, reliant on the Holy Spirit. It is, as Jesus suggests, a re-birth into a different dimension of existence which enables one to enter the kingdom of heaven

The riddle about being born again is intended to free Nicodemus from his previous way of thinking and open him to a new way of seeing things. Jesus wants to help Nicodemus to understand the new economy – to grasp that salvation is not so much something to be earned, but something to be received – righteousness is not a matter of works but of faith. Nicodemus needs to learn that nothing he can do – even recognizing that Jesus is from God – will earn him salvation. On the other hand, if Nicodemus can learn to place his trust in God and not in himself, if Nicodemus can learn dependence instead of self-reliance, he will be on his way to understanding how it is that one enters the kingdom of heaven. He will be born into a new reality – a reality in which God’s grace, not human striving leads to salvation.

In the wilderness, Jesus had to face the test of whether he would rely on his own resources or whether he would place his trust in the goodness of God. Jesus chose dependence on God over self-reliance. By rejecting the temptation to go it alone, Jesus reversed the action of Adam and Eve who chose to turn their backs on God and to go their own way.

Jesus wants the Pharisee Nicodemus to know that grace, not the law has the power to save. Jesus wants Nicodemus, and therefore us, to know that only God and not our own endeavours can save us. This means letting go of all the striving, attention seeking and self-reliant ways of the world and becoming as vulnerable and dependent as a newborn child – utterly dependent on God’s goodness and grace. It means relying on God and not on our own ability to be or to do good. It means being born again as a child of God, allowing oneself to be led by the Spirit, and understanding that the economy of the kingdom is vastly different from the economy of the world.

Nicodemus thought that he understood the way to salvation. Jesus turns Nicodemus’ ideas on their head, asks him to suspend his intellect and his notions of reality and to trust God with his life instead of trying to enter the kingdom of heaven on his own (dubious) merits. At our baptism we are born again by water and the spirit, but like Nicodemus, we continue to believe that it is what we do, not what God does that matters. Over and over again, we are called to die to ourselves and our own efforts at self-determination and to be born again into that spirit filled life which leads to the kingdom of heaven.

 

Lent 1 2011

Matthew 4:1-11

Marian Free

In the name of God who alone knows the difference between good and evil. Amen.

Many of you will know the story Lord of the Rings by Tolkein and it is possible that many of you have seen the movies produced in New Zealand by Peter Jackson. The story is, of course, about a ring, a ring which has the power to enslave the world. According to the story, the ring must be destroyed so that the evil it wreaks may be destroyed and that all may be free. An unlikely hero, Froddo and his sidekick Sam, must take the ring to Mount Mordor where Froddo must throw it into the fire. To do this, they must evade the evil powers who seek the ring so that they can use it for their own purposes. Two difficulties face the ring bearers – the ring wants to be found and the second is that the ring wants to bend the bearer to its will and not even Froddo is immune from its power.

It is an awesome task for Froddo who is a hobbit with no knowledge of the world outside his village except what his uncle, the finder of the ring, has told him. What he has in his favour is his basic goodness, his willingness to fulfil the task and the determination and moral fortitude of his friend Sam.

I am not in general a reader of fantasy, but when I do read it, I find a complex study of human nature, in particular the fine line between good and evil. Lord of the Rings is no exception. In this tale, the real hero is Sam, because ultimately Frodo is seduced by the ring and destroys it almost by accident. Sam, who has never had the ring in his possession remains steadfast against its power.

It is not only Frodo who finds the power of the ring difficult to resist. More than once the forces of good are tempted by its power believing that they will be able to control it, not it them. The wise wizard Galdalf cannot trust himself with it. The elf queen Galadriel likewise recognises that she could not resist its power. Brothers Boromir and Faramir go so far as attempt to take the ring from Frodo believing that the ring could give them victory over their enemies.

There is a powerful scene in which Froddo, believing that Galadriel could use it wisely, offers the ring to her. Galadriel suddenly changes, she towers over him dark and threatening saying “I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired this. Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!”

Her intentions might be good, she might believe that power in her hands might be used for the betterment of all, but she knew that over time the ring would turn even her goodness to its evil purposes.

Jesus is the Son of God. Whatever he knew before his baptism, he knows this now.  As the Son of God he has the power of God, the world lies at his feet – he can do anything! With the clap of his hands he could solve the problems of the world, with very little effort he could demonstrate that God was at his command and without any trouble he could compel the world to obey him. For these are the temptations – stones into bread, throwing oneself off a cliff, bowing down to the devil – temptations to do good, to prove that God will protect you and to rule the world.

From the moment of his baptism, Jesus knows that he is the Son of God and he knows with what that status endows him. The knowledge of who he is so great that it drives him into solitude in the wilderness. Here, without distraction, he can reflect on what it all means and ask himself what he will do with this information. Will he claim the power that is at his fingertips in the belief that he could use if for good. Will he take the easy way out and wave a magic wand to make the world right, to compel the nations of the world to submit to him – and in so doing deprive the world of the freedom God has given it?

Jesus knows that the use of power is not the way to victory – it will not achieve God’s purpose. Bending people to his will is not God’s way or God would have given us the freedom to choose. Jesus will not use his power to take the easy way out. He knows that there is only one who cannot be corrupted by power. There is only one who can ensure that power and authority are at his service not vice versa. That one is God. Only God can exercise power without that same power corrupting God. Only God truly knows the difference between good and evil and only God can consistently choose good. Only God has the courage to give people freedom even if it means that they will turn away from God.

In the desert Jesus has to decide whether he will serve God or whether he will compete with God. He chooses service. In this is our redemption for, in making that choice, Jesus, as Paul tells us, reverses the sin of Adam who chose to compete with the one who created him. Instead of seeking power for himself, Jesus leaves that power where it truly belongs – with the God the creator.

From the beginning of time, the problem for humanity has been that it puts itself in competition with God. Instead of working with the Creator and instead of believing that the one who created us, has our best interests at heart, humankind continues to go its own way, to taking for itself the power and authority which truly belongs to God – often with disastrous results.

God created us to live in harmony with God. It is when we take things into our own hands that they go badly wrong. Jesus shows us a different way.  By refusing to exercise the power that was truly his, Jesus  – fully human – restored humanity to its original (intended) relationship with God. The choice is ours – to go our own way and face the consequences, or to give up personal power and glory for the reward of knowing God and a lifetime (eternity even) of living in harmony with the one who gave us life, and who over and over again brings us to new life in him.

Transfiguration 2011

Matthew 17:1-9

Marian Free

In the name of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Son of Man. Amen.

It might shock you to know that there are at least two artistic representations of Jesus as a woman. One is a painting of the crucifixion by (I think) the Australian artist Sydney Nolan, the other is a sculpture which hangs in a Church in Toronto, Canada. The latter is particularly confronting because it is three dimensional, life sized and naked and because the last place that you would expect such a controversial image is in a Church. To many such an image would be offensive and even irreligious, but to at least one woman it was an image which helped her to see Christ in her own suffering and so to begin the process of healing the wounds which resulted from the sexual abuse which she had experienced as a child.

It is not unusual for images of Christ to reflect the culture which gives them birth. For many people it is important to see Jesus as one of them to understand the human Jesus who shares their human experience. Images of Jesus change according to time and place. The blonde effeminate paintings of the nineteenth century gave way to images that were much more real and which allowed people of non-Caucasian backgrounds to connect with the person of Jesus. I’m sure that you have all seen painting of a black Jesus, a Chinese Jesus, a Maori Jesus and so on.

According to the needs of the culture, or the experience of the artist, Jesus has been depicted as benign or powerful, strong or vulnerable, stoic or in great pain, triumphant or defeated. There are images of the crucifixion which present Jesus as a bishop hanging resignedly on the cross and others which dramatically portray the screaming agony of one who is experiencing excruciating torture.

The huge variety of images enable artists to describe their own experience of Jesus, but they also provide an opportunity for a wide variety of people to identify with the person of Jesus and recognise that Jesus not only identifies with them, but shares with them the highs and lows, the suffering and the exaltation of human existence. It took a depiction of Jesus as a woman to allow the victim of sexual abuse to finally accept that Jesus was “with the violated girl caught in helpless suffering”. So too, the graphic images of the screaming, agonized man speak to the experiences of those who have suffered cruelty and torture at the hands of their oppressors.

The incarnation – God’s presence with us in the world – becomes vividly real when we see Jesus depicted in a way which speaks to our own experience. Intellectually we might know that Jesus understands what it is to feel pain and grief. We can accept that Jesus knew what it was to have his friends betray and abandon him, but when we see a Jesus who looks like us, who is depicted in our own context and culture his pain and disappointment become alive for us and we can know for certain that we are not alone and that Jesus stands beside us in our sorrows as well as our joys.

On the other hand, a Jesus with whom we can identify is a Jesus who is powerless to help us. A Jesus who is only vulnerable cannot fight the evils that beset us. There are other images of Jesus – images which set Jesus apart from human experience, which depict Jesus in command of the situation and which give Jesus authority and power and dominion. I think of the images of Jesus as King enthroned in glory, Jesus, Jesus ascending into heaven, the extraordinary statue of Jesus that towers over Rio de Janeiro, images of Jesus in command of the situation – turning water into wine, multiplying loaves of bread.

The images of the transfiguration belong in this latter category. On the mountain top Jesus meets with Moses and Elijah – the prophets of old – his face shines like the sun and his clothes are dazzling white. It is clear to any observer that this is a heavenly figure – one whom we can worship, not one with whom we can immediately identify. On the mountain Jesus is revealed as he truly is – the Son of God, a reality which is affirmed by the voice from heaven which sends the disciples to their knees in fear. But here is the paradox. Almost immediately, Jesus is as the disciples have always known him, and it is the very human Jesus – the Son of Man who urges the disciples to get to their feet and tells them not to be afraid.

Son of God, Son of Man. As Son of God Jesus knows no boundary between heaven and earth, as Son of Man, Jesus reassures, comforts and advises Peter, James and John.

Week after week in the Nicene Creed we affirm that we believe in Jesus Christ fully human and divine. It is important to retain the tension. If we make Jesus entirely in our image, we deprive him of his power to save. If on the other hand, we know Jesus only as a remote and heavenly figure we make a mockery of the Incarnation and empty Jesus’ presence in the world of its meaning. The transfiguration reveals Jesus identity as God and reminds us of the awe in which we should hold him. At the same time, the Jesus who calms the disciples, is the Jesus to whom we can look for consolation.

That Jesus became one of us, reminds us that God knows and understands human experience, but that doesn’t make Jesus any less God. That God took on human form does not make Jesus any less God. The account of the transfiguration holds the tension of Jesus as both human and divine- both utterly like and utterly unlike us.

If we are able to hold the tension and to make peace with the paradox, we will know both the Jesus/God whom we can worship and the God/Jesus with whom we can identify. To do anything less robs our faith of its richness and deprives us of the depth of relationship which God through and in Jesus offers to the world.

Epiphany 6 – 2011

Matthew 5:21-37

Marian Free

In the name of God who calls us to radical obedience in service of the kingdom. Amen.

Most of you will know that the readings which we use at our services are pre-determined – not chosen at the whim of the celebrant. At St Augustine’s we use the Revised Common Lectionary which provides us each week with an Old Testament lesson, a Psalm, a New Testament reading and a portion of one of the gospels. This most recent lectionary has created a cycle of readings to ensure that over three years we cover as much of the Bible as possible. During that time, we read Matthew, then Mark then Luke. The gospel of John is read during Lent this year and during the season of Easter next year.

Readings from the Old and New Testament are similarly spread over three years.

This is year is the first year of the cycle – for convenience known as Year A. That means that with the exception of Lent when we will read from John’s gospel, we will be following the gospel of Matthew throughout the year –  hearing the story of Jesus from the point of view of the author of the gospel bearing that name.

You may have already noticed some aspects of Matthew’s narration of the story that are different from those of Mark and Luke.  For example, Mathew’s gospel begins with the genealogy of Jesus and in Matthew’s gospel, it is to Joseph that the angel appears. Only in Matthew do we find the story of the Magi, the flight to Egypt and the return to Nazareth. Five times in the first two chapters we are told “this was to fulfil what is written in the scripture”, indicating that the author wants to demonstrate the continuity of his community with the promises to Israel.

It is widely believed that the author of this gospel was a Jewish Christian whose community was engaged in a debate with a community of non-believing Jews. Evidence for this point of view is supported not only by the fulfilment sayings, but also by the author’s attitude to the law – “not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished” and by his insistence that the community for whom he writes are more righteous than the Pharisees.  Among other things, it appears that the author of this gospel wants to demonstrate to those with whom he is in conflict that his (Christian) community is not only heir to the promises of the Old Testament, but that it is within his (Christian) community that the law, as Jesus commands it, is truly lived.

The conflict between Matthew’s community and the synagogue forms the background for today’s gospel.  In chapters 5 and following, Matthew has collected together a number of sayings that he believes contribute to a common theme – in this case the law. The scene for today’s gospel is set in the preceding verses which include the saying about fulfilling every letter of the law, insist that who ever loosens even the least of the commandments will be considered least in the kingdom of heaven and state that unless the communities’ righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees they will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

According to Matthew then, Jesus does not abolish the law, but more firmly establishes it. The difference is that Jesus is not the servant of the law, but its Master. Jesus appropriates the law, radically interprets it and places at its centre the love, justice and mercy that Deuteronomy commends.

It was and is relatively easy to keep the laws that were recorded on the second of the tablets which were given to Moses – do not steal, do not kill, do not bear false witness. According to Matthew, Jesus demands that his followers go beyond this. It is not enough to stop short of killing someone – any negative attitude towards another is just the same as murder.  In the same way it is not good enough to simply avoid adultery – looking at someone desire indicates a propensity to that sin.

These demands of Jesus seem almost impossible, as do his remedies – plucking out eyes and cutting off hands. Jesus is taking the law much further than anyone else has dared. The repeated statement: “You have heard it said …. but I say to you …..” indicate that this is Jesus’ re-interpretation of the law. Jesus is making the law his own and demanding that the community formed in his name adopt his radical approach to the law of the ancients.

Jesus’ attitude to the law, especially as it is represented in Matthew’s gospel, does two things. Firstly, it challenges us to try to understand and to keep all that the law implies. A superficial understanding of the law is not sufficient because it leads to duplicity, hurt and misunderstanding. A minimalist approach to the law is not only simplistic, it also reveals a certain laziness on the part of the person who does only what is absolutely necessary to observe the law.

Secondly, by elaborating on the law in the way this way, Jesus confronts the complacency of those who congratulate themselves on keeping the law and who believe themselves to be right with God as a result. In effect, Jesus is saying that there are not degrees of sin – a person is either sinless or they are not. We can’t congratulate ourselves on being less sinful than our neighbours unless we do not sin at all. Jesus’ statements with regard to the law have the effect of reminding us that we are all sinners because it is impossible for any of us to achieve the sort of perfection under the law that Jesus demands.

It is shocking, confronting and humiliating to recognise that if we are angry with someone or think them to be a fool, that we are just as much a sinner as if we had in fact, committed murder. If this is the case, what hope do any of us have? It is as impossible to keep the law as it is to be perfect,  however that is no reason for not trying. The more we try, the more we realise how far we fall short, the more we realise how far we fall short, the more we place our trust in God, the more we place our trust in God, the more we allow God to work in us, the more we allow God to work in us, the closer we become to that perfection which Jesus demands.

It is not a matter of being good enough for God, rather it is a matter of recognising that even though good enough is beyond our reach nothing is impossible for the God who loves us and who died for us and who, if only we will allow him, will transform us.

 

 

 

Epiphany 5

Matthew 5:13-20

Marian Free

In the name of God who calls us to be salt of the earth, light to the world. Amen.

Among other things, the recent flood, and now cyclone, has demonstrated that you do not have to be a card-carrying Christian to respond with love, compassion and action to a situation of need. In fact, one of the most interesting phenomena over the last few weeks has been the frustration, even anger of those who wanted to help, but could not. Men, women and children from all over Brisbane, those of different faiths and those of no faith, descended on volunteer stations and devastated communities anxious to be of use.  Similarly, many of the fundraising events are not being driven by those who identify as Christians but by anyone who feels that they have something to offer – musicians, comedians,. manufacturers, racing associations and local businesses.

Of course, that is not to deny the huge role played by Christian churches – in providing relief, food and shelter and by raising much needed funds towards the recovery – but it does remind us that we, as Christians do not have a monopoly on love and compassion.

This raises the question – if good works and a willingness to help others in need are not a means of distinguishing a Christian from the crowd, what is it that makes a Christian any different from anyone else? This is a question that good people have been asking for decades, though it is usually heard in the form of a statement: “You don’t need to go to church to be good.” One certainly can’t dispute that coming to church doesn’t make one any more good than anyone else.

The answer to the question is far from clear cut. In the West, society has been nominally Christian since the time of Constantine. This has had the effect that the culture itself have been christianised. Many people who would not claim to espouse the Christian faith would still demonstrate Christian values in their lives. In an increasingly secular society, gospel principle still permeate our society and determine how people behave towards one another. This of course, is a good thing but it does mean that oftentimes there is little to differentiate believers from those around us.

If not all good people are Christians then what are Christians if they are not just good people?

This is the question that the author of Matthew’s gospel addresses in what we have come to know as the sermon of the mount. The author has gathered together a collection of Jesus’ teaching which challenges the community to be better than good – to demonstrate a radical goodness which runs counter to the values and expectations of the world. Jesus demands that his followers do not just fit in with the society around them, but by their attitudes and behaviour act counter to the prevailing values.

The sermon begins with the list of blessings, that series of statement which turn upside down the values of the world. No right thinking person would really believe that being poor or persecuted was a blessing or that grief was something to be welcomed. Jesus overturns the normal interpretation of the believer’s experience of the world to open them to the values and ideals of the kingdom. Holding on the values of the world exposes one to their temporal, petty and ephemeral  nature and limits a person’s experience to the strivings and materialism of this life instead of liberating them from the cares and distractions of the world.

Following the section of the gospel which we read this morning, the sermon goes on to describe in even more detail the radically different values by which a Christian’s life will be determined and in which therefore the community of believers will be distinguished from the world around them. According to Jesus, in the kingdom – love your neighbour becomes love your enemy and an eye for an eye becomes turning the other cheek. Those who follow Jesus are not known just for their goodness – anyone can be good – a follower of Jesus is expected to go the extra distance, to demonstrate a willingness to go above and beyond. Jesus demands that those who follow will act out of love and not out of a sense of obligation, that they will understand that the smallest act of meanness against another person has the same consequence in kingdom terms as the murder of another person. There is no room for complacency, if we take the sermon on the mount seriously we have to act radically differently from the world – even if on occasions that leads to censure or persecution.

Our gospel today began with salt and light. Salt that has lost its flavour is not good for anything and a flame that has been covered is extinguished. Jesus’ statements about salt and light have something of a prophetic nature. “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” Words of commendation are followed by words of warning – salt that has lost its flavour can only be thrown out and trampled underfoot. Without flavour it has nothing else to recommend it. Light is only of value if it is light. There is absolutely no point in having a light and then putting it out.

One wonders if Jesus could see a time when the Christian community would become indistinguishable from the world. If he could foresee a time when his radical teaching had been appropriated into the blandness of goodness.

Jesus’ challenged the complacent goodness of the Pharisees who believed that there was an easy formula for getting on the right side of God. In his own life, Jesus lived the radical goodness that went above and beyond what was expected – he withheld his censure from those whom society condemned, he made no distinction between people no matter what their background or their status and from the cross he forgave those whose violence would kill him.

What would he have to say about our saltiness? Would he be able to see our light?