Pass it on! Luke 6

See something exciting and it’s worth passing the message on.

That’s exactly what I found myself doing as I was walking home on Friday early in the evening.  The sun had not long since gone down, it was a beautifully clear evening sky.  And it was so wonderful I simply had to passage the message on.  I rang, first Felicity who straightaway rang someone else, then Dave who straightaway passed it on to Lake and had him outside too, then Phil who was going to pass it on to Lynsey and take her mind off other things.

So what was so wonderful?

Maybe you saw it.

It was a young 3 day old moon, a slither of a crescent lying on its back … and causing a high tide that would lead the next morning to a five star bore on the River Severn.  What’s more the whole of the rest of the moon was lit up by sunlight reflected from the earth – it’s called earthshine.  What made it so special was that as close as could be brighter than any star was Venus, and immediately above Venus, a hundred times fainter, and yet still clearly to be seen in all its red glory, with the naked eye, Mars.

Something special, worth passing on.

You get the feeling that’s what’s happening as Luke gets fully into the swing of telling the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus.

John the Baptist had arrived on the scene with a powerful message that shook the powers that be to the core and ended up in his arrest by Herod Antipas, the Herodian ruler of that region of Galilee.  John pulled no punches in pointing the finger at the injustices the Herodian dynasty and of Herod himself.  His message was simple – it was nothing less than ‘the Gospel’ ‘Good News’.

The finest summary of it is found in Matthew’s gospel – Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven had come near.  Have a whole new way of looking at the world, for the rule of God is breaking in on earth just as it is in heaven.

John imprisoned, the message could not be contained for already John had passed it on.

And the remarkable thing was that Jesus had taken it up.  Exactly the same message – it’s Good news he has come to proclaim.  That’s nowhere clearer than in matthew’s Gospel who sums up Jesus’ message in exactly the same words.

Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven had come near.  Have a whole new way of looking at the world, for the rule of God is breaking in on earth just as it is in heaven.

Sustained by prayer, able only to work in the strength of God’s presence with him, Jesus is driven into the wilderness the place where the message he has is tested to its limits.

He is not going to peddle in instant gratification by turning stones to bread, taking power the world’s way; he is not going to put God to the test – he stands his ground and starts his ministry teaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

Luke gives us the chance to be a fly on the wall of the gathering that happens in Nazareth.

And we catch a glimpse of what this Kingdom’s values are.  No wonder the powers that be, the ruling classes of the day took such offence at him

Good news to the poor, period, as someone wrote in the Echo this week

Release to the captivves

Recovery of sight to the blind

The proclamation of the year of the Lord’s favour.

This was wonderful in the ears of the people who were listening – it meant one thing as far as they were concerned.  Good news for us.  And it would put paid to them – the Gentile power that had taken charge of their land.

This was what they had been waiting for – today the words were fulfilled.  Their messianic hopes fulfilled.

But Jesus told two stories – of how Elijah came to the Gentile widow of Zarephath, and Elisha came to the Gentle commander of the Syrian army.

For the good news was not for us over against them.  The good news was for all – breaking down the barriers between us and them with it wonderful good news to the Poor.

This was not to be kept to Jesus – Jesus was passing it on for all he was worth.

He calls those first fishermen disciples to pass it on.

Of all the people he chooses next it’s one of the publican – those quizlings who worked for Rome at the expense of the local people and were despised for it, Levi.

There are all sorts of questions – Jesus is challenged on the minutiae of the letter of the Law as you can find it in all its detail in those first five books – those holiness laws especially in Leviticus.  What about fasting?  And he spoke of new wine in new wine skins.

And then his followers started harvesting grain as they walked through a grain field – horror of horrors breaking all those detailed regulations abouyt the Sabbath – and then Jesus spoke of himself as The Son of Man and claimed to be lord of the Sabbath.  Could he over-ride the detail of Leviticus 24:5-9?  Then there’s a man with a withered hand – on the Sabbath?  Putting people over the detail of the law again?

This came as a shock to many of the most religious: they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

But this was good news to pass on.

And Jesus wanted to pass it on.

And so he came to name 12 whom he named ‘apostles’ – ones sent for that very task – to pass on the good news.  This was a key moment for Jesus.

And so what does Jesus do?

He went out to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.

Pass it on.

The task starts in prayer.  How important prayer is in the task we have to share.

And when day came he called his diciples – the many who had begun to learn from him.

And he chose 12 of them and named them apostles.

12?  Just as there had been 12 who had given their name to the tribes of Israel perhaps.  As if Jesus was calling into being a new kingdom, a new Israel.

And what a mixed bunch they were.

Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, 15and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, [they were the ones who wanted armed rebellion] 16and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.

So what is it that this Gospel entails that is so important to pass on?

In 17 – 19 Luke presents us the two sides to the whole story of the life and mission of Jesus.

It involves bringing healing to hurting people.

And it involves a whole new way of thinking of the world, a whole new set of priorities that Jesus maps out in his teaching.

7 He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

The wonderful thing is that those 12 apostles, all those disciples around them took the challenge seriously.

They did pass it on.

And on

And on.

And it has been passed on to us.

And essentially, our task is to do exactly this.

To bring healing to people who hurt.   Through  prayer, and healing does happen.  Through practical things we can do to alleviate suffering.  It is at the heart of our pastoral care, it is at the heart of what motivates followers of Jesus to be practically involved in helping people in a hurting world.

Wouldn’t it be great if we had a clear statement of what that teaching was that Jesus challenged his followers to pass on?

Well that’s exactly what Luke offers us.

Just as we have been a fly on the wall in that synagogue in Nazareth so we can be a fly maybe on one of the stone walls as Jesus has come down from the mountain on to the level place, the plain.

Isn’t it interesting how things work out.

Justin Welby’s tunure as Archbishop of Canterbury is a fasincaing one.  He comes from the city,  From the world of finance.  He was put on a Governmnet committee to recommend changes to the Banking system in the wake of the banking scandals because of his business acumen.

And now he has joined forces in the Bishops letter which has caused such a furore.  I do recommend that you read the actual document itself.  Don’t just go on the newspaper reports of what they said.

Follow this link to access the letter from the House of Bishiops ...Who is my Neighbour? The letter from the House of Bishops about the 2015 General Election

It’s not party political.

It is, however, unequivocal in setting out the priorities followers of Jesus should seek from those who would form a government in the forthcoming election.

In these words is the measure from Jesus himself of what those values are.

It’s short enough to read at one go … and that’s what I am going to do.  No commentary.

Simply the words of Jesus as recorded by Luke – and then judge for yourselves whether what the bishops letter had to say has any value?

It will be interesting to see what our candidates have to say – the hustings meeting is scheduled for 16^th April at St Andrew’s.

20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

‘Blessed are you who are poor,

   for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,

   for you will be filled.

‘Blessed are you who weep now,

   for you will laugh.

22 ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

24 ‘But woe to you who are rich,

   for you have received your consolation.

25 ‘Woe to you who are full now,

   for you will be hungry.

‘Woe to you who are laughing now,

   for you will mourn and weep.

26 ‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

Love for Enemies

27 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32 ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. 36Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Judging Others

37 ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’

39 He also told them a parable: ‘Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will not both fall into a pit? 40A disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be like the teacher. 41Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 42Or how can you say to your neighbour, “Friend, let me take out the speck in your eye”, when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbour’s eye.

A Tree and Its Fruit

43 ‘No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; 44for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.

The Two Foundations

46 ‘Why do you call me “Lord, Lord”, and do not do what I tell you? 47I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. 48That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house.’

Into the depths - Luke 5

Think of Christianity as ‘a religion’ and you are in danger of setting it in stone.

Read the two parts of Luke’s story, the Gospel according to St Luke and the Acts of the Apostles and you get the feeling that Christianity is something dynamic, it’s something that’s on the move.

Think of those opening chapters of Luke – people are on the move – Zechariah going from home to Jersualem, Mary travels from Nazareth to Elizabeth’s home – Mary and Joseph travel from Nazareth to Bethlehem, from Bethlehem Jesus is taken to Jerusalem.  Then they return to Nazareth – [factor in Matthew’s account of the flight to Egypt not mentioned by Luke] and at 12 we catch a glimpse of them setting off for Jerusalem again.

As the story opens with John the Baptist  he’s on the move into the wilderness, he’s preparing ‘the way for the Lord’;  you sense there are crowds of people pouring out from Jerusalem into the wildnerness and through the wilderness to the Jordan, and back again.

And among the crowds who come to John is Jesus – he’s on the move – down through the wilderness into the Jordan and back out again.

And then John is put into prison.  His movement is finished.

It’s not just that Jesus is then on the move.  But somehow the thing that John started cannot be made into something static, cannot be put behind walls, cannot be imprisoned.

Something’s on the move.

As Jesus takes up the mantle of John and sets out his program in that gathering together of the Synagogue in Nazareth you cannot help but feel he’s on the move.

They try to stop him in his tracks – and hurl him over the cliff but verse 30

He passed through the midst of them and went on his way.

Then it’s down to Capernaum and then back to a wilderness place .  The crowds want him to stay put.

But Jesus is on the move!

He said to them

“I must proclaim the good news of the kingdo of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.”  So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

Something’s on the move.

Jesus is on the move.

What’s on the move has begun in a special way with John the Baptist.

And you get a very real feeling that Jesus has taken on the mantle from John.

This is not the very start.  There is a strong sense of history – that this is something that goes right back to Elijah and Elisha – the line of the prophets – but even more than that it goes right back to the beginnings of time – as Luke’s genealoty that takes the story right back to Adam suggests.

You might think the story stops with Jesus.

No sooner has the story of Jesus begun than we realise that it’s on the move again.

It cannot be confined to Jesus.

The very next step in the story is in the  heading at the start of chapter 5

Jesus calls the first disciples

Again, the whole story is a story of movement.

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,

 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God,

Jesus is hemmed in … but there’s no tying him down -

2he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.

Wouldn’t it have been great to have eaves dropped on what he said.  Well Luke has provided us with a massive clue.   It’s back in Luke 4 – I must proclaim the kingdom of God’ – that’s what he is doing here.   The rule of God breaking in on the world – God’s rule involves good news for the poor, sight for the blind, release for the captive – it’s all about freeing things up, getting things on the move again.  Taking the chains off people and getting them moving.

This is powerful stuff.

And what’s more this rule of God has to do with  ordinary every day people’s lives.

I’m not sure whether a fishing boat can get stuck in a rut!

Fishermen certainly can.

Maybe Jesus could see it.   Simon had not only been there by the shore listening to the teaching of Jesus – Simon had seen how his mother-in-law had been healed of a fever by this Jesus.

You can imagine him being interested – interested enough to offer Jesus a boat to get in.

But no more.

The shore by Capernaum look across towards Tiberias.  That brand new city built by Herod Antipas as a Roman resort town where you have big banquets and party a lot.

Just along the shore from Capernaumn, half way between there and Tiberias, in the 1980’s they discovered a fishing boat dating back to the first century.  You can learn a lot from it.  It’s bigger than you might think – it could easily take a dozen and more people.  It’s been hard used, repaired and repaired until it can be repaired no longer.  Look at the reconstructions the archaeologists can make of the city of Tiberias and you can tell that there’s a fishing industry going on around here.

The fish of the sea of Galilee are unique to that landlocked mini-sea – and they are still a delicacy.  Mark tells us that this was not just a family fishing it was a business that employed people.   It was part of a business bolstering up the Roman world of Tiberias and its banqueting.

This is the world of the fishermen of Galilee.

And Jesus has something for that world …

4When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ 5Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’

It’s interesting just to see Simon’s reaction.  There’s something about Jesus that means you respond.  This Jesus had healed his mother in law.  The words of Jesus get you going.

Put out into deep water.

I just want to pause there a moment.

I love that image.

We imagine Jesus enters into our lives and makes things all right.

AT this point he says, put out into the deep water.

We’ve been responding today to some of those big questions why is there so much suffering in the world?  Where is God when I need him?

Jesus comes into our everyday world – and then asks us to put out into the deep.

That’s not a place we want to go to.

It’s a place we shy away from.

The depths are the place where God isn’t.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord hear me.  That Psalm 130.  We were looking at Psalm 88 – another Psalm that’s in the depths.  And a song that was all about crying to God from the deep.

There are times when Jesus asks us to put out into the deep.

And then something happens.

Jesus moves into Simon’s everyday world.

6When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7So they signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.

When you encounter God you might expect the meeting to solve things.

But for Simon it makes things worse.  It’s almost as if he finds it too overwhelming.

He senses something of God in Jesus … and he is only too aware of his inadequacy.

 8But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’

I find this a great source of encouragement.  The inadequacy of the ones who are among the greatest of Jesus’ followers.

Simon Peter shares a sense of amazement with the others.

 9For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon.

There’s a fear in Simon Peter’s reaction.

And Jesus

Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid;

You can track this through the story so far – there’s been a lot of fear around – for Mary, for Elizabeth, remember those shepherds.

And the word that jesus uses for peter is the word that’s been used before.

Do not be afraid.

Then the whole thing is on the move again.

 from now on you will be catching people.’ 11When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

What is startling about this is the way Jesus is on the move again.

Jesus has taken up the mantle from John and things are on the move.

But now he is getting others to be on the move.

They are to follow him.

And they are going to go into the places where people are in the depths.

The man suffering from leprosy has all his movements limited – but Jesus gets him on the move again and the crowds are on the move following him once more.

The man who paralysed who is lowered through the roof – it’s not so much that he gets him moving by enabling him to walk, though that does happen but in the story it’s the forgiving love of God that really gets this man moving again.

Fishermen caught up in the Roman fishing industry are on the move now with Jesus entering into the depths and getting people on the move … as if that’s not bad enough, then Jesus calls Levi, who is one of the Roman publican sitting at the tax booth taking money from the local people to support the extravagences of Rome – things are on the move – so much so that that night there’s a great party and it’s the tax-collectors who are there.

There are people who want religion to be static.   To be true to the law.

But no – doctors don’t spend time with people who are well, they spend their time with people who are trapped in by illnesss  - and they get them on the move.

This is new wine – a new way of thinking that is yet rooted in the God of the ages – and things are on the move.

Don’t retreat into a religion that is static, follow the call of the one who gets people moving again … and expects us to be on the move.  Even if that means pushing out into the depths to touch people who are trapped in all manner of circumstances.

Jesus comes with healing, with forgiveness, with the love of God that gets people moving again.

Them and Us - Luke 4

Some things you just can’t do on your own.

It’s one of the most important insights there is to have about Jesus … and if it’s true about Jesus then how much more is it true about us.

It runs through Luke’s Gospel almost like a refrain.

Just as went nto the wilderness to take up the mantle of the prophets and proclaim a whole new way of thinking built around the rule of God coming into the world, the kingdom of God, so too Jesus – he had the same message to share – a whole new way of thinking about the world, a message about the rule of  God breaking into people’s lives to make a world of difference, a message about nothing less than the Kingdom of God.

Into the Jordan, and out of the Jordan it was as if through that baptism Jesus was taking on the mantle of the prophets himself – he had a message to proclaim.

And he couldn’t do it on his own.

Jesus returned from the Jordan full of the Holy Spirit.

You might have thought that presence of God with him would mean a smooth path.  Not a bit of it.  God’s presence was with him as he was plagued with all sorts of torments, questions: it was a testing time.   What exactly would this rule of God be like.

So many expected God to break into the world, solve all its problems and make it in an instant a safe place to live.  But God’s not like that.   Jesus knows that God’s rule is different – it doesn’t involve changing stones into bread in an instant, it doesn’t involve taking power and control over the world, it doesn’t involve putting God to the test.  There’s a quite different way he is determined to follow.

He stands his ground, stands firm against the Devil’s alternative.

But he could not do that in his own strength.

The road God calls us to follow is not an easy road.  It can take us through the wilderness..   There’s a lot of pressure to have that kind of religion that solves problems in an instant, that sets everything right, that brings power to play in a world of weakness.

But God’s way in Chrsit is not like that.  God’s rule is not like that.

And it can be hard to stand your ground.  To hold firm to that faith.

And if the truth were know you cannot do it on your own.

But there is a strength from beyond ourselves that we can draw on.  It is the strength that Jesus drew on.

Verse 14  Then Jesus returned to Galilee and the power of the Holy Spirit was with him.

This is what enabled him to take to the road as the news spread about him throughout all that territory.  He taught in the synagogues was ppraised by enveryone.

And then he went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up.

It was a risky thing to do.

His own home town.

The place where he was known so well.

He could only do it because he had a strength from God to draw on – the very presence of God’s Holy Spirit.

Then Jesus went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath he went as usual to the synagogue

Interesting glimpse of Jesus.  At the age of 12 he was found in the Temple listening and asking the questions – now as his ministry begins about 18 years later we find it was his custom to go to the place of gathering together, the synagogue.

Gathering together is what you do and at the heart of gathering together is the reading and the study and the taking in of God’s word.

Jesus knew these Scriptures.  He knew the prophets.

 He stood up to read the Scriptures

17 and was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

because he has chosen me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

 and recovery of sight to the blind;

to set free the oppressed

19 and announce that the time has come

when the Lord will save his people.”

It was one of those passages from the Prophets that showed what it takes to rule in God’s way in God’s kingdom.  One of those key passages that shaped Jesus’ understanding of the task he had come to undertake.

20 Jesus rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. All the people in the synagogue had their eyes fixed on him,

21 as he said to them, “This passage of scripture has come true today, as you heard it being read.”

This was happening.  This was what he was about.  This is the message he was to preach – more than that this was the very rule of God that he was to usher in.

22 They were all well impressed with him and marvelled at the eloquent words that he spoke

A closer rendering would be ‘the words of grace’.  It wasn’t just his eloquence that impressed those listerners.  It was that fact that he spoke words of grace. Words of the sheer gift of God’s love.

It amazed them.

They said, “Isn't he the son of Joseph?”

23 He said to them, “I am sure that you will quote this proverb to me, ‘Doctor, heal yourself.’ You will also tell me to do here in my home town the same things you heard were done in Capernaum.

24 I tell you this,” Jesus added, “prophets are never welcomed in their home town.

That’s it – just as John the Baptist had come taking on the mantle of the prophets, so now Jesus was doing the same – he too had a message for the people, that would challenge the very way the world was ruled.  He would share the word of God and show how God was to shape the world.

Then, as if to seal his credentials, he tells first a story of Elijah.  And then a story of Elisha.

But what stories he chose.

The people had been looking for a Messsiah who come for us.

But Jesus spoke of the way Elijah and then Elisha came for everyone.  Not just for us but for all.

25 “Listen to me: it is true that there were many widows in Israel during the time of Elijah, when there was no rain for three and a half years and a severe famine spread throughout the whole land.

26 Yet Elijah was not sent to anyone in Israel, but only to a widow living in Zarephath in the territory of Sidon.

That’s to say, to a widow who was a Gentile, living beyond the boundaries of the people of Israel, someone who wasn’t Jewish.

This was not what the people expected to hear.

Good news for the poor of the gentiles?

Sight for the gentile blind?

Release for the gentile captives?

For the people the good news was for ‘us’ the people of God over against ‘them’ the Gentiles responsible for their poverty, for their oppression.

Jesus breaks through that ‘them’ and ‘us’ approach with his remarkable words of grace.  The moment has come spoken of in Genesis 12 and more forcefully in the last part of Isaiah when the blessing of God comes through the Jewish people for all people.

The time is fulfilled.  That moment is now.

No longer ‘them’ and ‘us’

Now the words of grace are for all.

Jesus pressed his point home moving forward to the time of Elisha.

27 And there were many people suffering from a dreaded skin disease who lived in Israel during the time of the prophet Elisha; yet not one of them was healed, but only Naaman the Syrian.”

That was as much as they could take … 28 When the people in the synagogue heard this, they were filled with anger.

AT one moment they marvelled at his words of grace, at the next they were filled with anger and with rage.

29 They rose up, dragged Jesus out of the town, and took him to the top of the hill on which their town was built. They meant to throw him over the cliff,

30 but he walked through the middle of the crowd and went his way.

31 Then Jesus went to Capernaum, a town in Galilee, where he taught the people on the Sabbath.

Not only has he a powerful message, but he brings healing to people who are hurting – a man with an evil spirit on the Sabbath, Simon’s mother in law sick with a fever – many, many people.

He taught, he brought healing to hurting people … and he couldn’t do it in his own strength.

At daybreak Jesus left the town and went off to a lonely place.

And what did he do there?  It’s out into the wilderness again.  But this time not as a place of testing.  This time it’s a place of prayer to draw strength from the presence of God.

 The people started looking for him, and when they found him, they tried to keep him from leaving.

43 But he said to them, “I must preach the Good News about the Kingdom of God in other towns also, because that is what God sent me to do.”

44 So he preached in the synagogues throughout the country.

That’s the message – the kingdom of God, the rule of God in people’s lives.

And it was for everyone – good news for all.

It’s the tragedy of the Christian story that the church as it became an arm of the state did exactly what the people in that place did – the good news is for us, not for all, release is for our captives and not for all … and in particular the church too often turned against the Jews.

It is part of our tradition of being church that there should be freedom of conscience.

We need to have a love for people as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus, a willingness to share that love with all people.   A love for people of other faiths and religions.

It is that love that should drive us on.

It is an all embracing love.

Read the story of what happens in the synagogue as a story of Jews over against Jesus and you miss the point.  That/’s the kind of reading that leads towards anti-semitism and results in the holocaust.

We must read this chapter differently.  Jesus is fully Jewish in this story.  He is giving a reading of the Law and the prophets that brings God’s blessing to all.  And his challenge is to his own people.

Read the story that way and it becomes a massive challenge to all of us.

In this present climate it is so easy to think in terms of ‘them’ and ‘us’.  That fuels the atmosphere of terror and gives rise to more violence.

We must take to heart the words of grace Jesus shares and reject in our hearts, in our thinking and in our words any tendency towards ‘us’ and ‘them.  Instead we must share the words of grace that Jesus shares with us.

This week has seen the 70^th anniversary of Auschwitz liberation.  AT the Holocaust memorial commemoration in the Municipal offices in Cheltneham the two Hebrew Congregations joined with churches and others formthe town not just to remember but to plead that this should not happen again.

In the programme that accompanied the commemoration was a description of the other genocides of the last c70 years and then a warning – the 8 stages that lead to Genocide.

The first stage was ‘classification’ –  "The differences between people are not respected.  There's a division of 'us' and 'them'.  This can be carried out through the use of stereotypes or excluding people who are perceived to be different.".

Take to heart the words of grace shared by Jesus and act on them … an beware to slip into a way of thinking that categorises people as ‘them’ and ‘us’ in the present climate is something to avoid at all costs.

Gracious loving God,

Teach us to live in harmony with one another

To live peaceably with all and so

give us eyes to see as others see

ears to see as others hear

and a gracious loving heart

that’s faithful to You

in the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the love of God and

the fellowship of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Let’s have those words in our hearts as we now listen to a piece of music played at the Holocaust Memorial from the Methodist Central Hall – and shared by Richard -  the beautiful cello and piano piece (Prayer) by Ernest Bloch. The cellist is the son of distinguished cellist Raphael Wallfisch (who was at college with Richard’s wife Alison) and grandson of Anita Wallfisch, who survived Auschwitz because she also played the cello and was part of the Auschwitz Orchestra.

Prayer from Ernest Bloch’s 1924 triptych  for ‘Cello and Piano called “From Jewish Life”.