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Sunday 7th March 2010 - Lent 3
Judgement! - Isaiah 55:1-9 & Luke 13:1-9
As a child I grew up with some of the irrational fears and superstitions that seemed to pervade rural Southland and govern the lives of some its people. As children we would spend a considerable amount of time looking for a four leafed clover knowing that if we found one it would bring us "good luck." Not that it ever seemed to – but I suppose it kept us occupied and out of harms way.
Other superstitions I can recall were of people wearing a rabbit’s foot around their neck as a good luck charm, or carrying with them some item of clothing or article of jewellery that had bought them "luck" at some earlier stage in their life. I also learnt that walking under a ladder would bring bad luck or that breaking a mirror would bring seven years bad luck. I’m sure there were others which I have long forgotten. Some may have had good advice attached to them – such as not walking under a ladder; for walk under a ladder is to risk having a hammer or some other object dropped on your head by the person up the ladder. Other than that walking under a ladder, in my opinion, has no influence on your life in terms of ‘luck’ or ‘bad luck’ any more than a black cat crossing your path does.
My uncle, who piloted Lancaster bombers during World War II, told me that when the crew were taken to their aircraft they normally were very tense and nervous. Prior to boarding the aircraft they would all follow the same pattern they did on previous flights over occupied Europe, down to relieving themselves on the same wheel they had before every other bombing mission. Why? Because they hoped that by following what they had done of previous flights and returned safely would protect them in some way for the next flight. That is understandable in face of their fear – but superstition does not protect one from flack or cannon fire and all of the crew knew that in their heart of hearts.
I am sure that many of you can think of many other irrational fears which you heard of when you were younger. Today, I suspect, rabbit’s feet and four leaf clovers have been supplanted by crystals and all the other objects which are readily available from spiritualist shops and mediums to provide protection or luck.
All of these numerous irrational fears and superstitions which lurk within our psyches probably are a hang over from our not so ancient primitive past when we felt certain events influenced the future direction of our lives.
One of the superstitions we still often hear is when people ask, "What have I done to deserve this?" Often, when that question is asked, lies the undergirding belief that the person must have in some way offended God and God is exacting righteous judgement on them. Their view of God is that God is a God of punishment and retribution sitting in heaven just waiting in some way to God’s own back. Sickness and death, rather than being seen as a normal, natural everyday part of life and being human are viewed as punishment from God. The superstitions we have inherited from our ancient and not so ancient past are attempts to ward of God’s judgement and retribution.
There are of course some still today both within the Christian faith and other belief systems who view faith in God as a protective devise to ward of God’s wrath and anger. There are others who portray faith in God as a means for both well being and prosperity. Basically what they convey faith as is a means of getting on the right side of God who will reward with prosperity and health the ones who side with God.
Many of the people in Jesus’ day believed in such a punitive God - a God who punished the bad (or their descendant through succeeding generations) and rewarded the good and those who had faith. They went so far as to say: If you live in poverty or have a bad accident or disease, you are a sinner whom God has exacted judgement punishment on. Numerous are the references to this in the Old Testament. Numerous also were the prophets of our age who told the people of America that the destruction of the Twin Towers on 9/11 was God’s act of wrath and judgment. How sad. How sad to proclaim such judgement and wrath as God’s action on innocent people – many of whom were faithful followers of Jesus.
Jesus didn’t go along with this view of God. He agreed with Job that neither happiness nor misery could be equated with reward for goodness or badness. Jesus didn’t portray God as a disciplinarian teacher waiting to cane us for our breaking the rules.
In our Gospel reading for today Jesus takes up the headline News as a subject for a sermon. Jesus when he said, "Do you think that those Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices were worse sinners than other Galileans? I tell you NO! Or those eighteen men who were crushed when that tower in Siloam fell. Do you think they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you NO!"
You can easily picture this construction accident. Builders labouring in the hot sun erecting a stone tower near the Pool of Siloam. For whatever reason something goes wrong, the tower collapses and 18 men die. The question is Why these men and not others? Were they sinners on whom God was exacting retribution?
"No" said Jesus. "If you believe such a thing then you’ve got God all wrong."
The old superstitions are a lie. The God of retribution and punishment, whom some would have us fear, is a lie. You have Jesus' word on it.
In fact you have Jesus’ word on it that we are all accountable to God for the way we live our faith and lives. Not just some, as the questioners of Jesus seemed to imply.
Jesus lets us know quite clearly that good and evil do matter. Accidents and natural disasters do occur – but these are not God’s judgment on us.
Jesus is letting us know that rather than looking at others and finding fault in them we are better to remember that God treats us all equally and God loves us all equally. Jesus is not talking about God exacting harsh punishment for our misdemeanours; rather Jesus is saying that with rights comes responsibility and accountability. That is not just for some people – rather it is for all people including us – the righteous and the unrighteous for all finally fall short of the glory of God. There are consequences for belief and actions – not only on an individual basis but also corporately, nationally and globally.
To God be the glory. Amen
David Coster
Sunday 28th February 2010 - Lent 2
It seemed like the right thing to do - Psalm 27 & Luke 13:31-35
A few weeks ago I phoned my brother Ray, who Ministers at St Andrews Mount Maunganui, to inform him of the death of a retired colleague, the Very Rev Tom Corkill, to whom Ray had been assistant minister.
Ray was both upset and annoyed with himself. He said that he knew Tom was ill but not near death, as Tom had written to him prior to Christmas. Ray had meant to write back but had not managed with the Christmas and holiday period to get around to it. His annoyance with himself was that he wished he had taken the time to write indicating again just how much he had appreciated the support and guidance of Tom during his formative years of ministry.
This lead Ray and me into a conversation on how at times we have a prompting, a feeling, an insight that we should do something or visit someone. When we do, we discover that it was the right thing to have done. The person was praying we would call but did have the courage to ring and ask in case we were too busy. On other occasions, such as Ray delaying his letter to Tom, we have ignored the Holy Spirit’s prompting and found to our detriment that that was not a wise thing to do.
How is it for you? Have you ever felt that niggling prompting thought that you should do something and ignored it and found later that that was not a wise thing to do? Or have you responded to that, can we call it a feeling, to do something and then found that that was exactly the right thing to do?
All of our lectionary scriptural readings for today, those David and Rosemary read for us and those they didn’t, focus on what I have themed "It seemed like the right thing to do!"
In the Genesis reading Abram, that great founding father of the faith of Israel, is anxious. He is worried about what will become of him and his family. What is remarkable is that his anxiety is prompted by a vision (can we call that vision a prompting or feeling?) in which the Lord tells Abram not to be afraid for the Lord will protect and reward him.
Specifically Abram is worried about the future. He is afraid that all his efforts and hard work will come to nothing, for he has no children to inherit the great estate. His fear is that all he has done and worked for will be for naught.
Even though Abram is aging the Lord tells him that he will not remain childless. He will have an heir born to him and his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the sky. The question for Abram is whether to believe the vision he has received and will he act upon it?
There is a little word of warning for all of us we listen to this story. We should note that Abram is given a promise that he will never see fulfilled. He will not live to see his descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky.
Now that Abram has this promise from God we would expect that his anxiety would be alleviated. But not quite! He is now anxious as to where his family will live. If he is to be the founder of a new nation then where will that nations be? He is desirous of a sign – a message, some assurance that what the Lord has promised will actually be.
Now the Lord gives Abram a sign through a ritual which to us today may seem rather bizarre. Abram learns the exact boundaries of the Promised Land, and more importantly the Lord establishes with Abram a covenant to seal the promise. So long as Abram’s descendants are faithful to the covenant they cannot fail. Abram takes a journey and strolls around the land the Lord has given him.
There is something of Abram in every one of us. We too can be anxious about what the future holds for us and our children and grandchildren. We too can fret about the significance of our lives and whether the government will take all we have earned for care in old age. We protect ourselves and our assets through Family Trusts and other means to secure what we have for the future.
Yet despite our best efforts the future always remains out of our control. Like Abram we too must place our hope in a future that we will never see fulfilled.
Like Abram too we want some solid reassurance – some visible sign that God actually is blessing and keeping God’s side of the bargain. Usually property, fame, fortune, good health, upstanding reputation and the like are the signs we desire.
But the subsequent history of Abram’s descendants demonstrates that once we have a little we desire more. What we have is not enough. The signs can become idols and rather than worshipping God we begin to worship the signs of material blessing. Rather than viewing these as gifts of God entrusted to our care we see them as possessions at our disposal.
This brokenness in the life of Abram’s descendants is revealed in Psalm 27. Rather than regarding the land as a tabernacle and gift: a place of food, shelter and rest where songs are to be sung to the glory of the Lord, the land and its resources are viewed as possession to create further wealth.
The questions niggle at us, if only we will listen, as we attempt to work out what is the right thing to do?
Anxiety usually haunts us because we are afraid of what the future holds for us and our descendants. Anxiety is a not so faithful companion when we expend much of our energy and resources protecting what we have as being rightfully ours. Israel and Palestine find themselves in conflict today because of this.
And finally in our reading from the Gospel we find Jesus also being confronted with "what is the right thing to do?" Should he back down or should he hold his ground being true to what he knew God wanted of him?
Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. He had rightly or wrongly (I suspected it depended which side of the fence you were on) gained a reputation for being a trouble maker. King Herod preferred that Jesus stay out of his city so he sent messengers to Jesus delivered a threatening warning. But Jesus is not easily put off. He sends a message back to Herod to tell ‘that fox’ that there is nothing he can do to prevent Jesus fulfilling his God given mission.
What for Jesus was the right thing to do? Should he heed the warning from the political authority and the religious authorities or should he do what seemed to him to be the right thing to do? Should he stay true to what God asked of him or should he submit to the Political and Religious leaders desire to play it safe?
I am sure some viewed Jesus as being both stubborn and an idiot. Rather than listening to the voice of God, the prompting of the Holy Spirit, to remain true to his God given mission they felt Jesus should have played it safe and secured his own best interests.
Jesus didn’t play it safe - rather he like Abram before him did what seemed to him the right thing to do. Doing that right thing cost him his life but secured our salvation. Jesus paid a cost.
What about us? Do we do what seems to be the right (Godly) thing like Abram and Jesus or do we play it safe and protect our best interests?
The answer to that question is not easy for we live in a complex world where not everything is black or white, right or wrong. But if you want a measure – a benchmark – to base your decision on then use the example of Jesus, God’s son, as your benchmark. His decisions were always motivated by love and so should ours be. When something gets in the way of love whether it be principle, truth, justice, the true faith, my rights, my best interests then we are in grave danger of making a stand for something far less than Christ.
To assist you in your decision making God has given you:
- Prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit
- The Gospel teaching of Jesus
- The counsel of Christian ministers and friends who hopefully will not pander to your need but will be brutally honest with you.
Lent is a good time to assess whether we are "doing the right thing." So often we see Lent as a time when we deny ourselves of some pleasure – but it really isn’t a time for that at all. It is a time for transformation. It is the season in which we prepare to encounter Christ’s sacrifice by endeavouring to become more Christ like ourselves. Transformation as Abram and Jesus discovered is about letting ourselves be filled with God’s presence so we can be shaped by God’s grace.
To God be the glory. Amen
David Coster
Sunday 21st February 2010
THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS - LUKE 4/1-13 (Also MATT 16/21-24)
Jesus had just been baptised in the river Jordan in which he had a powerful experience of being in a special relationship with God as God’s Son. Popularly that meant he was the Messiah and that took some getting his head around. The only way to go was to take himself into the desert to reflect on his mission, and sort things out for himself.
Our reading said he was .’led by the spirit’ but ‘led’ is better translated ‘driven’, driven into a vast desolate area near the Dead Sea, called Jeshimmon meaning ‘the devastation.’ There he prayed and fasted it says ‘for 40 days’ but 40 in Bible terms simply means a long time. During that period Luke says, ‘Jesus was tempted by the devil.’ Again in Bible terms, the devil is a mythical figure, and myths are there to tell us something about ourselves.
The truth is that our natures are such that all kinds of things come into our minds tempting us to act upon them. The worst time that happened to me was when my first marriage broke up. All sorts of awful thoughts came into my mind in anger and revenge. I didn’t know I was capable of thinking such things, and I had to be very careful not to put them into practice. Some separated people do do some awful things.
Now it is easy to blame the devil for such thoughts and actions. There is a story about a traveler who came across the devil crouched down at the side of the road bawling his eyes out. “Whatever is the matter?” asked the traveler. “It’s these Christians,” the devil answered between huge sobs. “They blame me for everything and I can’t take it any more!”
Joking aside we all must take responsibility for our actions. Blaming the devil or other people doesn’t let us off the hook. We choose to act the way we do. There’s an old story about a poor minister’s wife who desperately needed a new dress. She saw one in a shop window at sale price, and when she tried it on it was perfect so she bought it. The minister reacted typically, “We can’t afford it. Whatever possessed you to buy it?” “The devil tempted me,” she said. “Well you should have said, “Get behind me Satan.” “Oh but I did, and he said ‘It looks very nice from the back as well.’”
Let us remember there is nothing wrong with being tempted – it is what we do about it that matters. Let us look at the temptations of Jesus and see how he handled them. A few days into his fasting he naturally felt very hungry. He was also aware he wasn’t the only one hungry that there were many people who lived below the breadline in poverty, and he was very concerned about the poor and the hungry. Furthermore one of the popular expectations of the Messiah was that he would feed the hungry. How could he do that? Looking at the whitish limestone rocks about him they reminded him of bread. Maybe he could turn rocks into bread and not only feed himself but many many others as well. That would not just be a popular move but more importantly one of compassion as well. So Jesus was tempted on the basis of his COMPASSION.
If he did it it would be never-ending. Taken to its logical conclusion the earth would be gradually stripped of its surface, the crust denuded, the seas rush in and volcanoes explode so that the last state would be worse than the first.. Anyway hand-outs strip people of their dignity, and most people prefer not to be given hand-outs. When a young lad went to an overseas aid agency for food, they gave him some fish. When he came back next day for more, they gave him a fishing-rod.
Jesus knew that giving out bread helped people only to exist, and his role was to help them to live, and live life abundantly. “People cannot live by bread alone,’ he told himself. Life is more than food and clothing and housing, important though they are. His compassion had to be channeled into the wholeness of living.
So what did he do in his ministry? He taught people about practical things being part of the Kingdom of God. So the sower went forth and sowed his seed with varying results; or another farmer sowed his field and left it in faith, got on with his usual routines until it was time for harvest; or the Kingdom of heaven is like a woman putting yeast into the bread-mix; or he encouraged fishermen not to give up after catching nothing but to put out again into the deep in faith and let their nets down. So he taught us to see that the physical and spiritual are bound up together, the spiritual giving a whole new dimension to the physical
After all, what is compassion? It is a spirit of concern for the needy that prompts us toward action that has a positive outcome for the whole person in the whole of their life. It also feels good because it is something of the Kingdom of a loving God happening through us.
The SECOND temptation of Jesus challenged his COMMITMENT.
By the time it arose Jesus was probably feeling rather light-headed, and his imagination was taking off. He imagined himself on the top tower of the Temple with a commanding view of the country far and wide. Beyond that were all the other countries of the then known world. If he was the Messiah the Son of God he was expected to take over all those Kingdoms and establish the reign of God. Immediately that meant over-ruling the hated Romans, and that would need a massive powerful army to overthrow Caesar and rule the world.
My wife and I have been reading some historical novels some parts of which describe in graphic terms circumstances in the First World War in Europe. We have been disgusted with the futility and suffering, death and destruction of both sides determined to blast each other off the face of the earth and leave it in desolation. It has put me off wanting to watch ‘Band of Brothers’ on TV. Still the world hasn’t learned that force and power cannot usher in justice and peace. Where there is force there is no love. Where there is power there is no peace. The end does not justify the means. Use of evil methods does not serve the purposes of God. Sorely tempted however, Jesus got his priorities right by reminding himself of two verses from Deuteronomy 6 v 13 & 14: “Stand in awe of the Lord your God and worship only him. Make your promises in his name only. Do not worship other gods, any of the gods of the people around you.”
The name of God is love, and in the greatest commandment Jesus affirmed that that is our task, to love God with all our powers, and love our neighbours, and also love ourselves. These three directions of love are to be carried out equally. When we love God with all we’ve got, we are better equipped to love our families more, and to love each other in this congregation, and lovingly open out into the community where we live. So love will ripple out into all the world. Like Jesus, it is important to get our commitment right.
The THIRD temptation got at Jesus through his TRUST.
By this time I think he was getting rather euphoric. He was almost ready to begin his ministry. How could he get it off to a flying start? What spectacular event could be staged that would attract attention, and people would know he was beginning in earnest? The Temple in Jerusalem seemed a good place to start. Pilgrims and travelers on the roads leading up to the city looked up to the Temple crowning the skyline. If he was to jump off a pinnacle of the Temple in view of the crowds, being the Son of God God would surely not let him come to harm. The angels would take care of him, not allowing his ministry to end before it began.
Coming back to reality Jesus knew that people jumping off the walls of the city or the Temple, committed suicide. God’s angels have charge of us in life and in death To put it in perspective, you may well have heard the story of the absent-minded monk who wasn’t looking where he was going, and fell over a cliff. To break his fall he managed to get a precarious footing on a rock but knew he couldn’t hold on for long. “Is there anyone up there?” he shouted. “Yes” came an answer. “Who are you?” he asked. “I’m God” “Well can you help me?” “Yes, providing you do exactly as I tell you.” “OK” “Then let go!” “Oh. Is there anyone else up there?”
Jesus knew better than to force God to act in a certain way. We can ask anything of God and we must then allow God to move in whatever way he knows is best. We have to trust God, not test him. Trust is not blind or foolish Trust is realistic hope.
Like Jesus we too are tempted in terms of our compassion, our commitment and our trust. Like Jesus we have to search our hearts for God’s way, the way that promotes the Kingdom of God in our lives and in the world about us.
Amen! So let it be.
Ivan Pierce
Sunday 7th February 2010 - Epiphany 5
The Power of the Word - Isaiah 6:1-8 & Luke 5:1-11
One of my good friends and colleagues is the Rev Dr John Campbell who is Principal of Northern College, of the United Reformed Church in Manchester, England. John and I were on Study Leave together at Westminster College, Cambridge in 2000. Since then John has visited us in New Zealand, travelling the South Island to view both the magnificent tree ferns and the scenery. John is a Scotsman, but serves the church in England. He is one of the most powerful preachers and teachers whom I have known. He has been invited by the United Reformed Church to head a Commission and to be Guest Speaker at their Assembly. He researched and wrote a considerable portion of his book, "Being Biblical" while we were on Study Leave together in Cambridge.
Although John has a Doctorate, it is not in theology or biblical studies. His PhD is in botany – specializing in genetics. Hence his interest in the tree ferns of New Zealand.
One of the other specialties of John is hymn writing. John once said to me that people learn more of their theology and faith from hymns than they do from sermons. They do this because they remember what they sing. Hence John’s keen interest in hymn writing as a means of Christian faith formation.
Two of the songs John wrote are these. Both were written to be sung before the biblical readings.
SONG ONE: Tune: 8 7 8 7 D - Scarlet Ribbons, or Abbots Leigh or What a friend (Converse).
Speak, Dear God, through all the strangeness
of the texts we’ll share today -
as we host and entertain them,
let them breathe and let them stay.
May they linger with their challenge
till we’re changed by what they say,
till we find it’s You who welcomes,
walking with us on Your way.SONG TWO: Tune: The Church’s one foundation.
Grant us the wit and wisdom
to grapple with your word -
with eager, playful list’ning
to hear what can be heard -
that hosting what You offer
we may ourselves receive,
then share by word and action
the God whom we believe.The reason he wrote these two songs was to highlight the importance of the biblical word and to increase expectancy as people heard the word.
Being the scientist and theologian that he is John approached biblical research with the ‘how’ questions in mind.
Everyday we read scripture as part of our worship of God. We quietly listen as one of our members reads for us an ancient text that we understand to be the Word of God speaking to us. But John in his book rightly points out that as followers of Jesus we have little unity in our interpretative understanding of what God is actually saying. We often hear, "So what? That’s just your opinion. Mine is just as valid."
One of Shakespeare’s characters notes that, "The devil quotes scripture for his own purposes." There is more than a grain of truth in that for we all tend to take from Scripture that which suits us. In other words rather than allowing scripture to mould us we tend to want to mould scripture. We can use scripture for our own selfish agendas. We can rummage about in the Bible, using dislocated proof texts to make some point that is more our belief than God’s truth.
Rather than thinking of the bible as a roadmap that tells us every single step to take in life we should think of scripture as a compass that keeps truthfully pointing us in the right direction.
Isaiah is given a stunning heavenly vision where he is face to face with the living God. And how does he respond? "Here I am, send me!" The response of Isaiah is at the heart of our biblical Christian faith – vision, encounter and then our human response.
If we had read Paul’s message to the Corinthian church for today we would have heard him say that he "worked harder than any" in response to the risen Christ. Paul’s letter is his public testimony of his encounter with the living risen Christ.
Luke depicts Jesus as appearing to the crowds by the sea, probably somewhere near Capernaum, Jesus adopted place of residence after he left Nazareth. He teaches them from Simon’s boat then commands Simon to put out into the deep water and put the nets over the side. Simon protests that they have fished all night without success and now that it is day they are less likely to catch anything. Nevertheless Simon obeys Jesus and in doing so he has his life totally turned around.
All of these three biblical texts, each in their own way, reveal something of the living God to us. As my friend, John Campbell, rightly points out we could spend a great deal of time debating the language and what it may signify. After all what are seraphim? Few know today. It is not a word we use although it was common in Isaiah’s time. (Winged celestial beings – along with cherubim they were mythological beasts adopted by the Israelites from Mesopotamian and Canaanite mythology.)
But let’s be honest. The problem is not so much that the bible is old and we are modern, or that our use of language is different today to what it was when the bible was written. It is not that the bible is intentionally obscure. Rather the problem is that we tend to not take the time to understand what God is trying to say to us through scripture.
The trouble is often that we want our own way rather than God’s way.So where does that leave us today?
Unsettling as it may be for us it leaves us exactly where Isaiah, Paul and Simon found themselves when they heard the call of God. It leaves us living with a God who is always trying to catch our attention, and like any good parent trying to mould us to be the people and community God desires us to be.
When you read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation read it as a wonderful story of God’s relentless determination to have a family and of God’s relentless forgiving love. Read the stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs of Israel, the stunning words of the prophets, the poetry of the Psalms, the words and work of Jesus, the cross, the letters of Paul, the visions of Revelation, all as God’s creative attempt to get through to us and reveal God’s self to us. But whatever you do please do not read scripture as you would a modern day text book. That is not and never has been how God intended scripture to be used.
To God be the glory. Amen
David Coster
Sunday 31st January 2010 - Epiphany 4
What is it that gets you worked up? - 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 & Luke 4:21-30
Yesterday’s Press reported the sentencing in the High Court here in Christchurch of Jason Somerville for crimes that Justice Chisholm said were "sick beyond description."
Jason Somerville admitted last August to the killing of his wife and his neighbour and the burying of their bodies under his house.
Somerville’s Defence Lawyer, David Ruth told the Court, "Right from his early days there has been a worrying trend of strangulation being part of his response to situations that were not of his liking or stressful to him."
In other words what his defence lawyer was saying was that when Mr Somerville encountered a situation where he was placed under stress or where something was not to his liking, or things didn’t go the way he wanted then he tended to react by strangling the person whom he saw to be not submitting to his will or desires.
Most of us are either shocked or horrified by such a response. We ask how anyone could behave in such a way and believe it to be normal.
But what is it that pushes your buttons? What is it that gets you worked up? What is it that is likely to cause you to throw your toys out of the cot? What is it that gets on your wick?
We all have a tendency to focus on what we dislike in other people’s behaviour but be oblivious to our own faults. As Jesus said, in Matthew’s Gospel....
A Simple Guide for Behavior
(1-5) "Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor"We can look at how others respond in ways that we find distasteful but what about ourselves?
One of the things that has tended to cause people to throw their toys out of the cot has been when a preacher of the Gospel has said something that they disagree with. When I went to Ashburton I was asked if I could not be too controversial in my preaching and work to have a ministry of reconciliation. The reason for this was that my predecessor in ministry had taken a very public stance against the 1981 Springbok Tour of New Zealand. As well as preaching against the Tour from the pulpit he lead an anti tour march down the main street of Ashburton while carrying a Christian cross. That stirred many people up and how did they react? Well they didn’t strangle the Minister but they did withdraw both their financial support and attendance at worship. (My job was to get them back!)
Something similar to that happened in the Synagogue in Nazareth in our reading for today. Jesus is in his home town and the people there have heard of his great deeds done in Capernaum. The comment "Doctor cure yourself," is in no way a criticism of Jesus. Rather it is a Proverb akin to "Look after yourself and your own kin before your help others." Or "Charity begins at home."
When Jesus, about three minutes into his sermon, indicates that he isn’t going to do or say what they expect, then their anger is unleashed. Strangulation wasn’t their thing. Rather they took him out of Nazareth to a high bluff intending to throw him headlong off it. But Jesus foiled their plans and escaped.
The great Dietrich Bonhoeffer, hung by the Nazi’s because of his opposition to them, wrote that "preaching allows the risen Christ to walk among his people." That’s what preachers do when they’ve done things well. We let Jesus loose. But the great Reformer, Martin Luther cautioned his people when he said, "Whenever the Gospel is faithfully preached demons are let loose."
We look to Jesus as one who calms the storms and grants peace to his people – and he does. But Jesus is also one who stirs things up, starts trouble and quite often sparks angry responses from those who did not like what he teaches. Jesus somehow had a way of getting people stirred up so they threw their toys out of the cot.
I am sure that many of you will remember the trouble Barack Obama had during his campaign for President of the USA in 2008. The Minister of his church had him in all sorts of hot water because his Minister had said some wild, challenging, outrageous things in some of his sermons – probably the sort of thing Jesus would have said. Barack Obama was being criticized for not walking out of his church and distancing himself from the comments of his Minister.When asked why he hadn’t walked and played it politically safe Barack Obama, I understand, replied, "Look, most Christians could tell you if we walked out of church every time our preacher says something with which we disagree, we wouldn’t stay until the end of many sermons."
Obama could also have cited our reading for today from Luke 4 in his defense. Obama’s Minister was accused of making remarks that sounded anti-American and unpatriotic. Isn’t that just what the folk at Nazareth thought about Jesus? They saw Jesus as being unpatriotic in implying that God also loved and cared for Canaanite women and Syrian army officers.
Which brings us back to where we started this sermon! Jesus stirred the people of Nazareth up with comments they totally disliked – so much so that they attempted to kill him. But it is not the people of Nazareth’s reaction we are concerned with is it? Isn’t it really a question of how we react when someone pushes our buttons by saying something we don’t want to hear?
To God be the glory. Amen
David Coster
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