The Text: Luke 12:13-21

Most councils will have what are known as “hard rubbish” collections. These are collections where you can throw out items you no longer need that are too big for your regular rubbish bins.

It is no surprise today seeing things that are not really rubbish in the collection – TV sets, tables, and lounge suites piled up on nature strips waiting for the truck to come along and take it to the tip. These days it just seems we all have so much stuff that we just throw out things that are probably still okay but we just don’t need it anymore because we’ve bought something new.

I often wonder how refugees feel when they come here from refugee camps where they lived in such harsh conditions to see the things we throw away.

It’s everywhere you look. Unneeded Stuff!

From garage sales, to car boot sales and trash and treasure markets, to nature strips with people riffling through your trash to find something of value.

Stuff is everywhere.

What a difference there is between third world countries and first world countries like ours when it comes to being thankful for what we have.

We’ll send a steak back to the kitchen because we asked for “well-done” and this is still red inside while the starving line up for hours for some grain to cook or some fresh water and the thankfulness for what little they receive.

We feel like second class citizens because our internet is slow – or our mobile phone isn’t the latest model – or our computer takes so long to turn on – while millions go without food and shelter.

We feel embarrassed because we can’t get our hair to sit right or we’ve noticed a wrinkle with ageing while children are dying from AIDS, malaria and other diseases overseas.

We feel embarrassed if we have to wear last season’s clothes while millions are lucky to have a piece of rag to cover up their humility.

We live in a society where obesity is our major health problem while millions are starving.

It’s very easy to lose perspective on life and forget to be thankful for all the blessings which God has showered upon our lives.

And let’s be honest – we have an abundance and have more than we need.

Maybe we don’t have all that we “want” but we have more than we need.

Greed is something we understand well.

All one has to do is turn on the television when the Power Ball jackpot reaches some obscene amount of money and listen to the interviews of people saying what they will do if they hit the big one. Our human nature will tell us that the more we have the more we want and the less thankful we are.

All of us are capable of being like the man in the story that Jesus told.

He tells the story of a rich man who receives a more abundant crop than normal but instead of being thankful and finding a way to help others he pulls down his barns, builds larger ones, and stores the grain and everything he owns there.

The man’s focus was himself.

His chief advisor was himself.

The only beneficiary to his actions would be himself.

Notice how many times “I” is used in his decision-making.

‘What should I do, for I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, `I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to myself, ` you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry’.

God’s response: “You fool.”

The man loved his riches and didn’t even thank God for what he had received.

That’s where his heart was.

But he would have no opportunity to enjoy his wealth, because he would die that night.

Jesus accuses the man of not being “rich in what matters to God.”

When our possessions become our focus they muddy our thinking. We are not thankful for what we have we see what we don’t have.

And life then becomes a worry for us because we believe that we don’t have enough. And when that happens we become ungrateful for what we have rather than thankful.

The man’s life is about to take a sudden turn; he will die that night.

Our lives can take sudden turns: the results of a medical test; the death of a family member, or friend; a loss of job; the breakup of a marriage. These and many other crises can make life very difficult to bear and no one is exempt.

No amount of fame or fortune can prevent disaster; but they can be even more devastating if our lives are not rooted in God, who is our rock in hard times and our strength to see us through.

Money can’t buy everything.

This is not against preparing for rainy days that causes Jesus to call us fools, nor does he condemn wealth.

It is the selfish and excessive desire for oneself that becomes greed and becoming thankless for what we have. It is the way we treat our abundance and our wealth that matters to God.

Our parable today asks us to think about our stuff – our possessions in two ways:

How much stuff do we really need and when we have more than we need how do we use it?

How much stuff do you really need?

When you have a more abundant “crop” than you expected what is your response?

When you are thankful to God for what you’ve received you want to share those blessings with others.

And the reason God wants you to do this is also twofold.

Firstly to help others in need. God gives abundantly to this world, but because of human nature, the resources are not shared evenly. According to one report is estimated that half the world’s wealth now in the hands of just 1% of the population.

But the other reason why we need to look beyond our possessions is because God has richly blessed us all but our greed cannot see that and be thankful. As Paul said in our reading: Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

This is where we can think of our own baptism.

What an amazing blessing God has given us.

Our eternal life has been assured as children of God for which we are truly thankful.

But how easy for the worries of life to hide that from us as we worry about earthly things – worrying about money and possessions and work and other physical things.

Just look at Adam and Eve who had everything they could have possibly wanted or needed. But instead of being thankful Satan convinced them there was more.

And that’s what Satan does to us.

No matter how much we have we will always want more until we stop and thank God for what we have and not become disheartened over what we don’t have.

Our lives are so blessed – we probably don’t even realise how much we have to be thankful for!

The Red Cross released a statement that read:

(see: https://www.redcross.ca/crc/documents/What-We-Do/Emergencies-and-Disasters-WRLD/education-resources/lucky_ones_povdisease.pdf )

If you have food in your fridge, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of the world, but are we thankful?

If you have money in the bank, your wallet, and some spare change you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy,, but are we thankful?

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness you are more blessed than the million people who will not survive this week, but are we thankful?

If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the agony of imprisonment or torture, or the horrible pangs of starvation you are luckier than 500 million people alive and suffering, but are we thankful?

If you can read this message you are more fortunate than 3 billion people in the world who cannot read it at all, but are we thankful?

If you don’t think there is anything to be thankful to God for then we need to look again.

And even if we had just the shirt on our back – we would still be abundantly rich because Jesus died for us and we have eternal life in heaven.

That is the greatest possession anyone could ever have for which we should be truly thankful.

Text: Luke 11:1-13

It’s wonderful, isn’t it, when someone tells you they’re remembering you in their prayers. It can lift your spirits marvellously and transform your day. Today’s Gospel encourages us to pray. It seeks to impress on us that our prayers are welcomed by God and responded to as He sees best. Prayer is an essential part of being a Christian. Faith in our Lord and praying to Him belong inseparably together. Prayer isn’t just one expression of faith among others. To believe is to pray, because prayer is our response to God speaking to us in grace and love. The deepest expression of faith is to seek good things from God in prayer. So then think highly of your prayers, because we have God’s Word to trust that He welcomes them and encourages them.

God wants the best for you. He responds to our prayers in ways that are best for us. In prayer God either gives us what we ask for or something better. The great tragedy isn‘t unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer. God won’t let your prayers be for nothing or be wasted. Our spiritual safety and protection lie only in prayer. It’s the strongest shield we have against the devil. Prayer is the door through which God enters our home, our workplace and our community, in order to bless us in unexpected ways. When we pray, we’re, as it were, sitting at Jesus’ feet speaking to Him as one friend to another. Prayer is an expression of Jesus’ friendship with us and our friendship with Him.

Prayers in the Bible display a fervour and frankness not often seen in prayers today. They remind us that God seeks honesty from us in our prayers. God is thrilled when we honestly face ourselves and bring our real needs to Him. The weaker our faith, the more essential is prayer. The degree of our faith is the degree of our praying. Luther said, “Prayer is the most important thing in my life. If I should neglect prayer for a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith.” No one can say their prayers are poor when they’re using the language of love. There’s nothing that can lead us to love someone as much as prayer can. The most important purpose of prayer may be to let God love us as He listens to us. What a wonderful expression of love listening to someone is!

Prayer changes us in ways we never dreamed of, for the blessing and benefit of those around us. A bad prayer is better than no prayer at all because we learn to pray by praying. When we’re feeling low, prayer seeks to take us out of ourselves and into our Saviour’s healing presence. For prayer is first of all about communion with our Lord to maintain, sustain and strengthen our friendship with Him. It’s more about having a conversation with Him than about presenting Him with a shopping list. Prayer is both a gift and a duty.

The Lord’s Prayer is His gift of grace to us. It is one of the greatest treasures of our Christian Faith.

Jesus’ disciples had recently heard Jesus pray a prayer of thanksgiving to His heavenly Father. So now in order to pray like Jesus did, they ask Him, “Lord, teach us to pray.” This is the only time they ask Jesus to teach them anything. Jesus knows of no better prayer He can give us. He gives it to us in two versions with the version in St. Luke’s Gospel slightly shorter than the one in Matthew 6. In this prayer, Jesus lists the things we need to pray about every day. The purpose of the petitions is that we’ll never have an excuse not to pray. The Lord’s Prayer opens our eyes to our real needs. In the first two petitions, Jesus invites us to identify with Him as God’s Son. In the next three petitions, our Lord identifies with us and our human needs.

Jesus prayed in a revolutionary way, by addressing God as “Father”. He used the title and form of address of “Father” for God more than any other. By doing so, Jesus changed the way people viewed God. “Abba” means “Dear Father”, that is, God as someone near and easy to approach rather than someone distant and aloof from us. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus invites us to either address God as “our Father in Heaven” or “Father (Luke 11:21).” A father is someone who is close at hand and approachable at all times. The Father whom Jesus reveals to us is the Father of prodigal children who continues to think fondly of us even when we’ve wandered away from him. He’s our ever-present help in trouble who sympathizes with us in our distress and wants to share it with us.

Fathers delight in giving to their children. So our heavenly Father wants above all to give us the Holy Spirit to pray for us when we’re weak and vulnerable. Our heavenly Father acts towards us as His Son Jesus acted towards little children, the sick and the needy. If someone wants to know what God is like, we point them to Christ. Our God is a Christlike God. Jesus said, “Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9).” He is a model for earthly fathers. There’s no one more like a father than God. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus reveals to us a Father who provides for our daily needs, forgives and protects us. Fathers know what their children want, but love it when they ask for these things. So it is with our Father in heaven. “Father! To God Himself we cannot give a holier name (Wordsworth)” That’s why Jesus wants us to honour God’s name and treat it with reverence and awe. To love and honour His name is to love and praise Him. God’s name represents His nature, His works and words. Jesus hallowed God’s name by showing us why God is worthy of our worship, honour and glory. God’s power is released on us when we do that. God’s holiness is revealed when He reveals His glory to us, especially in and through His Son Jesus. His glory is part of the majesty and beauty of His holiness.

God has vested His name on us as His children. His reputation is at stake in how we live. We praise and adore His name in our worship together because His name for us is all about His gifts of hope and love, joy and forgiveness. We hallow His name by eagerly hearing His Word and gladly putting it into daily practice.

Where God’s name is so honoured, there His Kingdom with all its unique blessings embraces us. Wherever Jesus went, He brought the good news of His Kingdom to those who welcomed Him. The secret of God’s Kingdom is that its King is our Father. Jesus says to us, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.” Through baptism we’re brought into God’s royal household as His adopted children. God advances His Kingdom through its embassies, our churches, and through us as its ambassadors. As its ambassadors, we pass on and promote God’s work of reconciliation so that living in reconciliation with one another, the routines of daily life can become celebrations of love. “In the Kingdom of God, eating and drinking aren’t important. The important things are living right with God, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).”

The next petition concerns our daily needs, which Jesus wants us to pray about. “Give us day by day our daily bread”. The technological development of our modern world only seems to increase our sense of insecurity. The more scientific our world becomes, the more insecure we feel. God wants us to trust that He will provide for both today and tomorrow’s needs. “Our bread” reminds us of the unselfish nature of Christian prayer. We pray the Lord’s Prayer for each other, on behalf of one another. There’s no room for any prayer that seeks advantage over someone else. Gandhi said, “There is enough food in our world for everyone’s need, but not for anyone’s greed.”

“Daily bread” involves everyday necessities, not luxuries. It includes caring fathers and mothers, healthy children, pleasant people to work with, good government, good friends and good weather. Here we acknowledge that God is behind all that goes right in our lives each day. Instead of taking everyday blessings for granted, this petition leads us to receive them with gratitude. “We are conscious of that, in normal life, so much more has been received than we have given, and that it is gratitude that first makes life rich (Bonhoeffer).”

We need God’s forgiveness, God’s most characteristic quality as our heavenly Father, as much as we need daily bread. Forgiveness is God’s barrier-breaking, future-opening gift to us. “Where there is forgiveness of sins, there is life and blessedness.” Forgiveness meets our longing to make a fresh start in our relationships with God and with one another. Forgiveness means you can live as if today is the first day of your life, because God promises to remember no more the sins He has forgiven. Passing on God’s forgiveness to each other frees us from past hurts and resentments and helps our love for one another to grow warm instead of cold. A school boy, after confessing his sins to his school chaplain, was reassured of God’s love and forgiveness. He then rushed outside and turned cartwheels right across the football pitch. The reassurance of God’s forgiveness can make us want to turn cartwheels of joy, in spirit at least. What a priceless expression of love is forgiveness!

“Save us from the time of trial” is our battle cry. We realise how easily we can be tempted to sin. Here we need our Father’s help more than anywhere else. It’s a prayer we pray for each other as well, realising how vulnerable we are to giving in to what we know is wrong. Here we pray that we won’t be caught off guard when we’re tired or depressed, but ask Jesus to pray for us as He has promised. Jesus prays on your behalf to His heavenly Father: “I am not asking You to take them out of the world, but I ask You to protect them from the Evil One (John 17:15).” God’s Word reassures you, “No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13).”

Victory over a time of temptation and testing brings you closer to Christ and more grateful than ever for all that He has done for you. When you then face temptation, pray passionately, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner”. God knows how to rescue you from temptation in ways that may surprise you. In this petition, we pray that we will always remain citizens of God’s eternal Kingdom until we hear our Saviour’s words, “Come, O blest of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you (Matthew 25:34).”

In conclusion, remember if you’ve had an earthly parent who let you down, God is the most reliable Father you can have. “There’s no one more like a Father than God is (Tertullian).” Amen.

The Grace and Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

I was struck this week with the first letter from Peter, who  writes to us, “love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.  Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.  Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  ^{(1 Pe 4:7b-10 NIV).}

Let’s join in a word of prayer: Loving Lord God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; we worship You.  And we celebrate the gift of your Son our great teacher and Saviour who is here with us.  Guide our time together this morning by your Holy Spirit that we may be inspired to show Christian hospitality as we follow your plan for our lives. Gracious heavenly Father, hear our prayer for the sake of our risen Lord,  Amen.

We all know about Mary and Martha so well.  Books have been written, stories recounted and movies made about these beautiful women and the challenge of having a Mary Heart in a Martha World. 

This account from the Gospel of Luke falls in between two other important accounts.  Last week, we encountered the Good  Sameritan,  which concentrates on loving our neighbour with our action.

Next week’s Gospel reading is all about worship through prayer, encountering the Lord’s prayer.

And now, between those two encounters, we join with Martha, Mary, and Jesus. Encountering the challenge of hospitality through both service and fellowship.

Charles Wesley wrote words that encourages us to combine the gifts of both Mary and Martha:

        ‘Faithful to my Lord’s commands

        I still would choose the better part;

       Serve with careful Martha’s hands

       And loving Mary’s heart.’

We are encouraged at times to be spirit-led in prayerful dialogue with Jesus, and at other times to offer hospitality to one another with love in our hearts.

When confronted with the opportunity to demonstrate faith filled lives of devotion and hospitality, what will our response be? 

Sometimes we will need to be active, like Martha.

Other times, we will only need to be present in the moment; like Mary, sharing some time with a friend.     

There are aspects of Mary and Martha, that represent the challenge which continues in each of us.  We search for the right thing to do as we allow the Holy Spirit to stretch us into the character of discipleship.

Luke investigated things thoroughly and writes to us that as Jesus and the disciples ‘went on their way, he entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home.’

Martha displayed her devotion to Jesus with her servant’s heart when she invited Jesus to her home.   He was unexpected but treasured.  Jesus later would raise Lazarus from death, and even now was welcomed with reverence and joy.  But Martha went one step further.  She invited all of his disciples into her home as well. 

As for us, in our time and place, when we hear the door chime unexpectedly, what is our reaction?  When I think about this, I must admit that at times, my secret thoughts would reveal irritation at an interruption.  “Is this another salesman, or a Jehovah Witness?  Or might it be a welcome delivery or a treasured friend?”  Such wide spectrum of feelings.  And how often are we prepared to provide hospitality to even a single welcome guest?

For Martha, preparing a feast for the followers of Jesus must have been a big commitment.  What about us?

Luke goes on to explain a bit more about this visit, Martha ‘had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me.”’

We are often called to take on significant commitments when we serve God.  Sometimes with little notice.   We often get called to volunteer for roles, to accept duties for the Congregation, and to join in making significant decisions.  All the things that stretch us and force us to make difficult choices. 

I suspect that at times we get so caught up in these commitments that we are tempted to lose sight of the great Saviour who draws us into the challenge.  Sometimes, like Martha, the commitment becomes the focus, rather than the people we are showing God’s love to by our willingness to serve. 

That’s what appears to have happened here to Martha.  Even in her small kitchen, Jesus held the centre of attention.  But she became so busy working around him preparing the feast, that she became distracted by her preparations.

 When her attention was drawn back to Jesus, it appears she saw where she wanted to be.  She wanted to be at the feet of Jesus, just like her sister Mary.  But Martha couldn’t find a way to be there.  She seems unable to combine her sense of duty with her sense of fellowship. 

And so it is for us.  So often, we want to be in the moment, enjoying our relationships expressed in our hospitality, but we get so caught up in the provision of that hospitality, that the situation makes us grumpy.  And this brings conflict that interferes with our relationship. 

Peter reminds us to ‘love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins’.  By a swift prayer and a soft voice, we can overcome almost any conflict, and show genuine hospitality with gentleness and calm.

Both Martha and Mary were devoted to Jesus.  When Martha complained about Mary, it was more than just seeking his attention.  Seeking his approval.  Seeking his empathy.  

I suspect Martha was crying out for help.  She was missing out on what she knew was really important.  She was feeling short-changed and left behind.  She was beginning to feel used and ignored.

How often do we feel used, ignored, short-changed and left behind, when we put our every effort into a commitment?  Jesus calls us into joyful service.  When we turn the joy of serving into burden, we risk the feelings that accompany the labour.  When we turn our attention away from the presence of God in our commitments, we risk losing the joy of our service and our hospitality.  When we stop seeing Jesus in those to whom we are showing hospitality, we risk losing sight of the presence of God.

When Mary sat at the feet of the great teacher and Lord, she made the choice to join with the other Disciples.  Although Luke’s account isn’t clear about all the details, I am sure from another passage that there were the 12 Apostles, some of the other Disciples, and Lazarus as well, receiving Martha’s hospitality.    Despite the possible disappointment of her sister, Mary demonstrated her willingness to take time out of her busy life to experience and absorb the presence of Jesus.  To listen to his wisdom, to feel his presence, to acknowledge his importance over every other commitment in this life.

But, just like Martha, it appears that Mary was unable to discover a way to blend her desire to be with Jesus and her sense of duty to serve her guests.

Luke tells us of the reaction of Jesus to the complaint of Martha.  ‘the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her.”’

Every day we make choices similar to those Mary and Martha faced.  We may decide to set our time with Jesus aside for a while in an effort to get things done, as Martha did.  Or we may decide to set aside some of the duties that haunt us, in order to spend precious time with Jesus, like Mary did.   The challenge for each of us is to blend our life of faith and service to live fulfilled and happy lives. 

A way to begin this blending is to take time to sit at Jesus’ feet each day, with the Bible in our hands.  We listen to Jesus speak to us through reading Scripture – ‘this mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints’ and to each one of us.’  

The message that the believers of Colossae might have lost sight of, if only for a time. That ‘God chose to make known how great … are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.’

 As we continue to blend our life of faith and service,  we acknowledge the importance of Jesus Christ in every act of service, and every relationship that we share in our Christian experience.

Jesus tells us ‘There is really only one thing worth being concerned about.’  And Paul writes, we ‘must continue to believe this truth and stand in it firmly.’ Never to ‘drift away from the assurance <we> receive when <we hear> the Good News.’ 

It is this assurance that draws us to respond to our Saviour with joyful hospitality for others, family friend and stranger, Christian and non-believer alike.

I declare with you that our Lord Jesus will give us wisdom as we face the challenge of balancing our lives between the needs of being a Martha at times, and a Mary at other times, while keeping our focus on Jesus at all times.

That each of us choose what is better, knowing that it will not be taken away from us.  That we let it begin with each of us.  That we invite the Holy Spirit to set our hearts and lives ablaze for Christ Jesus to the glory of God our Father.

Let us pray:  Gracious Lord Jesus Christ, we long to be in your presence, hearing you speak to us in Scripture, in the intuition of the Holy Spirit, in the Sacraments.  We also desire to serve you by caring for our family, friends and neighbours.  Help us Lord to blend our devotion with our service to live fulfilled, happy lives. We pray this in your name, Lord Jesus.  Amen.

The grace and peace of God keep our hearts and minds in the calm assurance of salvation in our living Lord,  Christ Jesus. Amen.

Rev David Thompson.
Port Macquarie.

Text: Luke 10:25-37

Have you ever acted as a good Samaritan to someone in need? Has something like that happened to you? A survey was taken some years ago to ask people why they gave to charity. The primary reply was a reference to today’s story of the good Samaritan. The impact of this parable of our Lord has been vast. Charitable organisations like Samaritan’s Purse have brought immense help to the poor and needy in many parts of our world.

A Bible study group was examining this life-changing parable to see whom they could identify with in this story. One member of the group felt he had to identify with the robbers because he was led to see how he’d robbed those near to him of his time and love. That night, he wrote a letter to his wife to seek her forgiveness. His letter had a deep impression on her. She responded. “Only the Holy Spirit could have revealed these things to you.”

Many of Jesus’ parables are like a symphony in four movements. The first movement seeks to capture the attention of His listeners, the second movement is a challenge by Jesus on how to live out our faith in daily life, while the third concerns the good news Jesus brings us, and the final movement brings the story to a climax pointing us to what Jesus is doing in our midst for us even now, as our Good Samaritan. His love for us reaches its climax o n the cross. He pours out His love on to two categories of sinners, both law-keepers and law-breakers. Each is as bad as the other.

Law-keepers believe they can keep the law without any divine assistance, while law-breakers believe they’re unworthy of the extraordinary love Jesus offers them. Jesus’ chief critics, the lawyers and Pharisees, didn’t see their keeping of the law as an expression of gratitude to God for the grace He so freely bestowed on them. The law had become for them instead the means by which law-breakers could be identified and condemned. The lawyer who approaches Jesus in today’s parable gives a mixed message. His lips express respect for Jesus; his heart, however, desires to trip Jesus up.

Instead of answering the lawyer’s question, Jesus replies to the lawyer’s question with another question. Jesus could have put the lawyer down by pointing out the question has a simple answer. No one can do anything to inherit something. Inheritance, by its nature, is a gift. Jesus chose instead to play the lawyer at his own game. To the lawyer’s credit, he quotes a known summary of the law that may have originated with Jesus Himself. “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind” and “Love your neighbour as yourself”. The genius of his reply is that he places love for God before love of neighbour, even though “love of neighbour” comes first in the Old Testament.

The exchange continues with Jesus’ quick-witted response: “Do this and you will live”. Jesus’ response takes the wind out of the lawyer’s sails. He knows it’s impossible to do this perfectly. Instead of levelling with Jesus with an honest reply, like saying “That’s impossible!”, he seeks to justify himself with another curly question: “who is my neighbour?” He wants to know love’s boundaries. For the Jews, “neighbour” meant fellow-Jew. Jesus declines to tell him who his neighbour is; Jesus answers the unasked question, “To whom am I a neighbour?”

Jesus now shares a simple but subversive story with the lawyer and with us. For 17 miles, the road from Jerusalem to Jericho goes through desolate land, a haunt for robbers and hijackers. Jesus’ listeners can picture the horrific scene: a fellow Jew being mugged, robbed and dumped by the roadside, left unconscious. The first man to see him unconscious is a priest. Priests back then were members of the upper class and rode, rather than walked. We’re shocked by Jesus’ comment: “The priest passed by on the other side”. Why didn’t he stop? we protest. He’s perhaps scared he might be attacked too. More likely, though, the roadside victim could be a notorious sinner. If he helped him, he might defile himself and render himself unfit to lead worship in the House of God. He considers his liturgical duties more important than stopping to help. Besides, he’s probably going to preach about loving one’s fellow Jews.

Next, a Levite, a priest’s assistant, comes along. As a member of the lower class he would have been walking. As he approaches the victim, he looks ahead and sees that the priest didn’t stop to help. “Why then should I?” he probably thinks to himself. Jesus’ words, “He too passed by” still impact on our ears. This part of the parable is still so powerful, so contemporary and disturbing, we have to ask ourselves “When have I passed by someone I could have helped?” And then we need to pray, “God, have mercy on me and fill me with love for those who need my love.”

The third person who comes along helps the victim. A Samaritan helping is the last person Jesus’ listeners would have expected. They would rather have expected a Jewish layman to help, not a Samaritan. It would be like telling Jews in Israel today about a “good Arab” or telling Arabs about a “good Jew”. The Samaritan sees the terrible state the Jewish victim is in. So with a heart overflowing with compassion he stops and acts in love to the dying man. He binds up his wounds and then pours on oil and wine to stop the bandage from sticking, and to ensure that their healing properties reach his injuries. Without any aids, he lifts him onto his donkey and leads him to a Jewish inn in the middle of Jericho. In those days there were no rural inns. Inns were in the heart of a town. There he runs the risk of being criticised for his actions. But he not only provides for the victim’s immediate needs, he pays in advance for 24 days of care.

His use of oil and wine to begin the healing process reminds us of their use in Jewish worship. The true “priest” in this story is the Samaritan. By pouring out a thank-offering on the altar of the victim’s wounds, the Samaritan makes an acceptable sacrifice to God. His seven actions make up for the priest and Levite’s sins of omission. He freely and spontaneously shows unexpected love that far surpasses any known obligation. He goes the second mile, going far beyond the bare minimum. He forgets himself in his utterly other-centred approach to someone in desperate need.

Now there are two kinds of sinners in Jesus’ parable: first, the robbers who compound their robbery with violence, and second, the priest and Levite who are guilty of the sins of omission, of failing to do any good at all when they had the opportunity. Edmund Burke once said, “Evil triumphs because the good do nothing”. It’s easy to make up excuses for inaction, for failure to do good towards someone else. We need to pray, “Help me to act like the Samaritan rather than the priest”.

When Jesus now asks the lawyer, “Who acted as a neighbour?” the lawyer cannot say the word “the Samaritan!” He can only say, “the one who had mercy on the victim”. It’s not a question of “who is my neighbour?” BUT, “who am I going to be a neighbour to?” 

Our Lord’s words to the lawyer, “Go and do likewise” should have led him to ask Jesus, “What must I now do to be saved?” He needs to see himself as a helpless victim in need of Jesus as his Saviour. He needs conversion more than he needs more instruction. You see, before we can identify with the Samaritan, we must first of all identify with the wounded traveller. In pointing to the Good Samaritan, Jesus is pointing us to Himself. He is our Good Samaritan who sees us bruised, battered and wounded along life’s way. Through no merit of our own, but out of His inexhaustible compassion, Jesus comes to our aid. Through the picture of the Good Samaritan, Jesus gives us a portrait of Himself and what He can do for us.

As the Samaritan paid for the healing of the victim, so Jesus made the ultimate payment: the sacrifice of Himself, to save us. “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us and sent His Son to pay the price for our sins (1 John 4:10).” Jesus is the embodiment of mercy. He binds up our spiritual and emotional wounds, pouring the healing oil of His forgiveness and the wine of His love on us in Holy Communion. He entrusts us to the Inn of His Church, where He continues His ongoing care of us.

His Church, this church, is like a hospital. Here, through the medicine of His amazing grace, your wounded Healer cares for you, so you can care for whatever unexpected needy person might be ;your “neighbour” tomorrow, Thursday, or Saturday. Here, in His hospital, Jesus can transform the most unlikely men and women into Good Samaritans. To love your neighbour ”as yourself” means as ;the new other-centred self Jesus is making of you, gloriously other-focussed and continually grateful for His great love for you that never ends.

Now, as you go from the “Jerusalem” of this morning’s worship to the “Jericho” of your daily life, rediscover the joy of putting someone else’s needs ahead of your own. “Love overlooks the many faults and failures of others (1 Peter 4:8).”

Text: Luke 10:1-11, 16-20

In the latest census of the Australian population (2016), the question about people’s religious affiliation showed that those who identified as Christians declined again to just over 50% with the next highest response being “no religion” at over 30%.

It can be difficult as we live in a world that is growing more and more anti-Christian with many people wanting less Church involvement in state matters such as teaching Christian Studies in state schools.

So how should Christians react?

Do we just sit back and say – well there’s nothing we can do about it.

It’s tough to know what we should do.

But we need to be careful that we don’t take up a fight that really doesn’t belong to us.

Paul had a similar situation happening in Galatia. A group of people known as the Judaizers were infiltrating the Christian community. They were introducing ways that were against the Christian gospel.

You may recall Paul warning the Galatians – beware of anyone who comes preaching a gospel different to the one that I came to you with. But he didn’t tell them to take up arms against them.

He simply told them to be sure of what they believe and don’t be misled by anyone. Let God deal with what needs to be dealt with.

That’s what “anathema” means.

He encouraged them to live a godly life and let God fight the fights that need to be fought. He didn’t in any way say that the fight wasn’t important. But he encouraged them to not let anything distract them from what God has called them to do.

He said: Don’t be deceived – God is not mocked. But as for you: Don’t grow weary in doing what is right.

Let us work for the good of all, especially the family of faith. Let us support and encourage one another here in our congregation, our parish, and the wider church – the family of faith – because we are all in this mission together.

Let us always be focused on the cross of Christ – otherwise we will be distracted from what God asks us to do.

In last week’s Gospel reading we heard James and John get distracted by a fight they were not called to fight.

The Samaritans rejected Jesus and they wanted to rain down fire from heaven to destroy them.

But Jesus rejected that.

Today the disciples were distracted also. They went out as missionaries for God. When they returned they were ecstatic. But they were excited about the wrong thing.

They were distracted.

Lord – in your name even the demons submit to us.

But Jesus reminded them of what was important:

Don’t rejoice that the demons submit to you. Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

When we watch the news on TV, or to read the newspaper, it can create a feeling of helplessness with all the crises of the world.

We are all involved in Christ’s mission of renewing the world, of bringing hatred and injustice to an end. Establishing God’s reign of love and peace. But in the face of the real problems of the world we often feel that our efforts are like a drop of water in the ocean.

Does what we do really make any difference?

In the struggle between the love of Christ and the powers of Satan, the battle between good and evil, are our efforts of any significance at all?

Does God see us as important factors in bringing about change in the world?

Of course he does.

Just as Jesus sent out the 72 into the world, Jesus left us with the Great Commission:

Go into all the world baptizing and teaching.

Jesus does however provide advice on how we are to go into the world as his people:

First, Jesus says that we are like Lambs in the midst of wolves: Jesus doesn’t hide the fact that the world is going to oppose our message.

For a long time Christianity was a dominant voice in the world, but that is not how Jesus originally saw it. In fact he said: The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. We should never see the church as failing because it is struggling.

And we shouldn’t see the world as our opposition to fight against. Jesus calls it the harvest and we are called to reap. To go out into the world even though the world will not receive us.

We are called to be salt and light in the world. Changing the world by how we live our lives, not by fighting those with whom we disagree.

As Jesus says – they will know we are Christians by our love. (John 13:35)

Carry no purse

When Jesus sent out the 72 he told them not to take any provisions with them.

Why not?

Because God would provide them with all they needed.

How do we know what to take when it is God guiding the mission? Too often, we have an agenda of what needs to happen – but this may not be God’s agenda.

Too often we go out into the world and believe we know what needs to happen.

Jesus is saying – take nothing with you. Let God guide every step and every word and every action.

We don’t know what God is going to do so we take nothing and let God lead the way.

We don’t want to be like James and John demanding God rain down fire every time someone objects to us or criticizes us. Then we would have no mission. There would be no harvest to bring in; it would all be destroyed.

The mission is God’s. We are his workers. We are bringing in God’s harvest.

If we start to work with our agenda then we can interfere with how God is planning the harvest.

Farmers will adjust their harvest strategy according to how the season is. God too has a mission plan and asks us to let him guide our words and actions.

Dealing with rejection

Jesus then tells the disciples how to deal with rejection. It’s not by calling down fire from heaven. No, he says when you enter a town that doesn’t welcome you, go into the street and wipe the dust off your shoes.

In other words, don’t let that rejection weigh you down. Move on.

Don’t take the baggage with you and let the anger and thoughts of revenge distract you from the mission. Keep focus on the mission. Keep doing good, even to those who oppose you.

The Final Victory

Finally Jesus reminds us as to what it is all about.

When the disciples return to tell of their victorious mission work, Jesus is again worried about the distraction.

Too often we become focused on the successes. The success can become our motivation. The success can easily distract us and become our measurement of God’s plan. When churches find success and grow they can become focused only on the growth.

Jesus says to the disciples – don’t rejoice at your success. Rejoice that your name is written in heaven.

And so that becomes our motivation. Not success, but the desire to have others have their name written in heaven.

We can become disheartened at the result of our mission when the results don’t happen.

When we are rejected we can feel hurt. But remember what Jesus said, they are not rejecting you, they are rejecting the one who sent you.

That is where the true hurt is, by God.

So, let us ask once again the Lord of the harvest to send us as labourers to his harvest

– to make us all faithful in our public witness to Jesus;

– to make each and every one of us faithful in bearing Christ’s name and witness to all.

It is in the honour of bearing his name that we rejoice and that our names are written in heaven.

Text: Luke 9:51-62

A young mum and her daughter attended the first three nights of the congregation’s Christmas celebration. Normally the congregation hosted a week-long event of music, entertainment and fun that shares the good news of Jesus’ birth in new and vibrant ways. The local pastor sat down with her on the third night while her daughter played games with the other kids. He thanked her for bringing her family so regularly. She was appreciative of the opportunity to have some fun and she really liked the music… even the children’s Christmas pageant. The pastor invited her to the Christmas Eve worship, offering her the small brochure of the Christmas worship schedule.

She refused. “No thanks,” she said. “We like the fun things, but we are not religious.” The pastor persisted with a smile. She grinned back and said, “No offense, but most of this religious stuff seems to me to be a load of horse you-know-what!” She wasn’t aggressive. She just spoke her heart and then went back to the festivities with her daughter.

The gospel heading today was the “cost of following Jesus.” Was that the issue for this woman?

Or what about this man? He was a farmer and a good one at that. He was a morally and ethically sound person. He would give the shirt off his back and race ahead of you into a burning building to save your kids. He had never been part of a Christian church but wouldn’t begrudge your membership and participation. He wouldn’t belittle your worship or following of Jesus, but wouldn’t join in. He doesn’t see a need. He openly marvels at the hurtful and often foolish things churches and Christians do. He takes life as it comes and complains about life’s hardships a lot less than many of his neighbouring Lutheran farmers.

Know anyone like that?

We struggle just as much today with the issue of following Jesus as the people did when he walked this earth! And I could give you story after story of the confusion and ignorance and indifference that is reflected in people today – just like so many of the responses Jesus experienced during his earthly ministry.

Luke’s Gospel account is concerned about that reality, as it recalls the life and work of Jesus. For the young missionary church of the early centuries, it gave them insights for living in a very difficult and changing environment. No less for us today. God wants us, the continuing mission church in the 21^st Century, to learn from this account also.

Today’s sermon text is at the point in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus sets his face to Jerusalem. He is going up to Jerusalem. He sends his messengers ahead of him – people who tell of his coming, people who prepare the way before him. They go to a Samaritan village and are not received. They are turned away. So James and John, two of the disciples, want to burn to cinders these negative, rejecting Samaritans for their unbelief. Not a particularly good response from them either. And Jesus doesn’t support their idea at all. In fact, he tells the two of them in no uncertain terms. So they just continue on their way elsewhere.

Some people come to Jesus and they offer to follow him, they want to be his disciples. At last some progress in mission it seems! But what does Jesus do? He basically sends them away! He throws up a big reality check in front of them. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” “Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” To yet another Jesus said: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

When people come and want to follow Jesus – he goes and sends them away! What is going on here?

We could understand it if, at this particular point, the disciples began to ask themselves whether following Jesus was anything like what they had expected or hoped it would be. Is it worth it, if he is so determined to go up to Jerusalem? Is it worth it if no one wants him, if he is just going to go on being rejected? Is it worth it if he is just going to turn prospective followers away?

Perhaps you can understand how they may have felt. Haven’t we been going on for years about mission in our church, and all that seems to be happening is that we are shrinking and getting older and greyer with each passing year? We are still hesitant at welcoming the stranger in our midst. We don’t seem to find it any easier to invite others to the faith. Sometimes we struggle to have a clear vision or understanding about what we are really supposed to be on about, as a Christian church in the community. And on top of that, we are living in a society that is becoming increasingly cynical about the church – more and more people openly state they have no faith, more and more people are turning to alternative faiths, and fewer people are regularly attending church.

What’s the point! This Christian stuff! Is it worth it?

And I am sure that you could add a few personal experiences to this. Many of us have probably had a few moments in life where we have wondered – what’s the point in believing, or trusting so much, or hanging in there so desperately when things just don’t ever seem to work out or get better, or change even a little bit for the good?

How many of you have sat at the bedside of loved ones and prayed and prayed for their recovery – and it has seemed to no avail?

Have you reasoned with a child – a teenager – to change their way of life, or to come back to church, and it hasn’t happened?

Have you prayed for a loved one to come to faith, maybe for years, without any apparent indication that your prayers are being answered?

Maybe you wanted some changes in your own life, some problem you wanted to overcome, some shameful sin you wanted to be rid of, some temptation you just did not want to experience any more. And just when you think you’ve made it, you find you’re back at square one again. You are still stuck with it, just like Paul’s thorn in the flesh that he never seemed to be able to get rid of.

So this Christian stuff, this mission stuff, is it worth it? Why not just leave people alone – let them believe what they want? Just let things be what they will be. Who cares?

But even that does not work for us, does it? Not when you have been touched yourself by the love and grace of Jesus. Something happens to you that you just cannot turn away from.

You’re still a Christian, aren’t you, despite everything you have struggled with in life? In fact sometimes those struggles make us even more convinced and committed than we were before. More than ever, we pray for and hope in and believe in and work for the mission of the church in our day and age and world.

What is it that makes it still worthwhile, and still gives us a heart for telling others, and wanting their lives touched by Jesus as well?

It can only be the One who goes to Jerusalem, and to the cross, and who goes with us still. For out of the Jerusalem experience of Jesus you come to the only faith and conviction that is possible – that this Jesus is not just one of the prophets, another one who was slain by the people of Jerusalem, but this Jesus is no less than the Son of God Himself, who has come to this sin-filled world to show us his love, his acceptance of us, his commitment to walk with us through this world and everything it can throw at us, to finally take us to be with him where he is. He will not let us go! God will not let us go. God will go through everything he has to go through to stay at our side, walk with us, carry us, comfort our hearts, save us and give us hope.

Jesus was God at work in this world, working solely for us fallen beings and our eternal future. If I don’t see that as true, then I deny all faith and belief in God and commit myself to nothing – which in reality means I will be led by every passing whim, as the saying goes, “if you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything”. However, if I receive God’s revelation as true, that Jesus is God in the flesh, come down for me and my salvation, then I have no other place to go. My only hope is to follow him and be with him, because where God is – that is the only place that true hope can live.

And that is the only thing that can make the difference. The only thing that makes this Christian stuff worthwhile, the only thing that gives us a reason for mission, the only thing that gives us any reason to hang in there in suffering or rejection or failure or whatever. Because God came in the person of Jesus Christ to be with us – not to turn this world into some kind of paradise – but to be with us in this world, here and now, so that we could be with him in the world to come. And because of Jesus, God will not let anything take us away from him – not rejection or hatred or suffering or loss of family or friends or poverty or homelessness or even death. Nothing will be allowed to take us away from him. Nothing can separate us from Christ and his love!

So we can keep telling others the wonderful good news of how God has come to our rescue through Jesus. We can keep praying for our families, or our suffering loved ones, because God in Jesus is also there for them, and in doing so, we can help them to come to see that and believe it.

When you come to know God through Jesus, when he touches your heart and becomes your God – there is nowhere else you can go or be. And nothing will stop you being there with Him – not family or homelessness, or poverty, or rejection. Your priorities will change. Because God has come to you – in Jesus! Amen

And may the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Text: Luke 8:26-39

“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, just as it is well with your soul” is the marvellous manner in which St. John begins his third letter to one of his Christian congregations. This greeting is so apt, we could use it in the letters we ourselves send to others. We have sayings like “The only wealth is your health”, or “If you’re got your health, you’ve got nearly everything that’s worth having.”

From the Bible, we learn of God’s concern for our health and well-being. Our Creator loves our bodies and souls, and is honoured when we care for them. Martin Luther calls caring for our bodies a Christian work, so “that through its health and comfort we may be able to work to acquire and lay by funds with which to aid those who are in need.

The Old Testament is more concerned with preventing sickness and disease than with healing disabilities and handicaps. Moses has been called the father of preventative medicine. The New Testament focuses more of healing than on health. In St. Mark’s Gospel, for example, Jesus devotes more time to healing the sick and the handicapped than He does to preaching and teaching. St. Mark sees our Lord’s healing miracles as the Gospel in action for our comfort and encouragement. These miracles point to Christ’s greatest act of healing – His dying on the cross – to heal us of sin, our greatest disease and handicap.

Our Lord Jesus is concerned about our total well-being and not just our physical ailments or handicaps. He treats both sickness and health as something spiritual with mental and physical consequences. Christ our great Physician assumes that no one possesses perfect health and no one is free from every handicap or physical limitation, since we all live in a spiritually polluted environment. He seeks to keep us healthy in body, mind and soul through our connectedness to Him. All physical healing is only partial and provisional in this life. Total healing comes only at the Last Day with the elimination of all evil and with the resurrection of the body.

By first forgiving the sins of the paralytic person let down through a hole in the roof, our Lord demonstrates that He’s concerned about more than physical good or ill health. His fantastic bestowal of forgiveness heals our consciences and frees us from the debilitating effects of guilt. His eagerness to free us from anxieties and cares of this world shows His deep interest in our emotional health and well-being. “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you – you of little faith? (Matthew 6:25-30).”

Peace of heart and mind is His will for us. “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid (John 14:27).”

As we look around us in today’s world, we see tortured minds and restless souls who are not at peace within, but who hurt inside. Our Lord invites those in mental or physical agony, those weighed down with heavier loads than they can carry, to come to Him for relief and release. “Come to Me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28)” In Jesus’ time, there were many tortured souls, souls afflicted by unclean spirits, for whom our Lord showed a compassionate concern.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus and His twelve disciples cross the Lake of Galilee at great risk to their lives, during a terrible storm, in order to heal one demented outcast. Frequently, Jesus interrupts whatever He’s doing to help those in greatest need around Him. The great men and women of our world today are super-busy folk.  We get the impression that they have little time to spare for interruptions and the unexpected. Not so our Lord! On His way to Jerusalem to complete His mission of our salvation, Jesus stopped. He stopped in order to help and heal a blind beggar. “Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, ‘Take heart; get up, He is calling you.’ (Mark 10:49).”

In the demon-possessed man in this story, we see the destructive and degrading power of evil. Evil is the perversion of something that’s good – in this case, the perversion of one of God’s good creations, created in His image. Evil perverts what’s good in a self-destructive and menacing manner. Since the Son of God has become one of us, the forces of evil have also tried to “incarnate” themselves in human beings. Even today, we see the terrible destruction of good lives by the demons of addiction. We see the devastation caused by addiction to drugs, alcohol, gambling, petrol-sniffing and so on. Our doctors and professional carers and counsellors are our Lord’s allies in helping people handle and overcome these addictions.

Pessimists might say: “You can’t change human nature.” But our Lord can, and has done so. The New Testament is rich with stories of people’s lives changed by our Lord Jesus. The tormented person in today’s text has been ejected from his home. His rejection by his family must have only added to his agony. The name he refers to himself as, “Legion”, a military term, suggests the terrible battle within himself, the battle between his heart and his soul.  He is known as “Legion” because he has been defeated by an army of destructive thoughts and harmful intentions.

The alien voice within the man asks “What do You want with me, Jesus?” He doesn’t want Jesus to disrupt the status quo. Sadly, we still see people who don’t want our Lord to upset their routines. There are folk locked in their addictions, trapped in the past, not letting our Lord liberate them and give them a brighter future. It’s cause for immense rejoicing when we see someone’s life totally transformed by Jesus. The Gospels picture how Jesus is surrounded with the feeblest of people – those paralysed, the handicapped and disabled, lepers and the lame – because they have no one else to turn to. Jesus has come to help the helpless. Our Lord helps those who cannot help themselves.

So much of His healing ministry occurs behind the scenes, as our Lord respects people’s need for privacy. Our divine Physician adopts a low profile to make it easier for the battered and the bruised, sufferers and invalids in His community to come to Him. The weaker a person’s faith, the easier Jesus makes it for the needy person to believe in Him. Jesus made it easier for all of us to believe in Him and His power to help us, by becoming one of us.

After Jesus healed this deranged individual, we learn that he sits at Jesus’ feet, being taught by our Lord, and is “in his right mind”. What a beautiful outcome! Our Lord’s healing of people has a greater purpose than simply the relief of suffering. He heals people so that their relationships with their families and friends can be restored. That’s why Jesus says to the healed man “Return home and tell how much God has done for you (v.19).”

Today’s Gospel has a message of hope for those for whom every day is a battle with depression, haunting anxieties, compulsive behaviours and fears of the future. What Jesus is doing in your life right now has everything to do with a better future for you. Never forget Romans 8:28 – “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”  Display this message prominently in your home as a constant reminder of God’s design for your life. Jesus responds to your prayers for your own health and for the better health of your loved ones according to His loving wisdom, with either relief, with the gift of courage and endurance, or by giving you renewed hope.

St. Paul learned that he was more effective for God with his handicap (his “thorn in the flesh”) than he was without it. The Greek Orthodox Church calls the handicapped “the holy ones”, because they remind all of us of our need for God and of our own limitations. Wisdom is to know your limitations and to live within them with the help of our Lord. His unconditional love for each of us is the greatest of miracles. It’s a further amazing miracle that so many people believe that Jesus can really make a difference in their lives, and help them in a way no one else can.

To believe in prayer is to believe in miracles. Martin Luther says “Faith is prayer and nothing but prayer.” We cannot be whole without prayer. Our Lord comes to us with His healing power in our worship. In Holy Communion, He continues His healing ministry among us. What’s why, after receiving Holy Communion, we thank God for “this healing gift”. “We must … regard this sacrament … as a pure, wholesome medicine which aids and is life-giving in both soul and body. For when the soul is healed the body has benefited also (The Large Catechism).” Thank the Lord for that!

One of our hymns says it well:
At evening when the sun had set,
the sick, O Lord, around You lay:
in what distress and pain they met,
but in what joy they went away!
Your touch has still its ancient power,
no word from You can fruitless fall:
meet with us in this evening hour
and in Your mercy heal us all!
Amen.

Pentecost 27
John 15:18 – 16:4

When I was 10 years old, at the start of Year five, a new boy moved to our school and was put in my class. I knew his name but had not met him or talked to him. The second week of school he confronted me on the playground. ‘I hate you,’ he said. ‘You are my enemy and you’d better watch your back.’

Well, to say the least I was taken aback and a little upset. And the strangest thing was that I’d never met him before or spoken with him. He knew nothing about me.

I went home and told my mum what had happened. She was certain that I must have insulted him somehow … said or did something. But there was nothing. ‘You have to ask him,’ she said. ‘Then you can apologise for whatever he thinks you did.’

‘So I asked him the next day if I had said or done something to make him upset.’

‘I just hate you,’ he said, ‘and I’m gonna get you.’ Then he walked off.

Apparently he was of the belief that he needed an enemy. Someone he could hate and blame all his problems on. And I was the one. There was no reason to it. And no way to convince him that I was not his enemy.

It was my first glimpse into real hatred. It is not rational and cannot be reasoned with.

Sadly, we have experienced all too many examples of hatred in recent months that many of us have found hard to fathom. In the recent US election campaign we found extreme elements on both sides convinced that the other was evil. My own family in the US is considering whether they should cancel Thanksgiving meal because of the animosity on both sides. And then there is the centuries old hatred spewing out of the Middle East in which both sides are convinced that there is one version of events, one version of history, and one side that is justified in hating the other. Many of those who have sought to mediate an end to hostilities have given up in frustration as neither side is willing to negotiate.

John in his Gospel, is much more interested in love than hatred. He talks of the love of the Father for the son, of the Son for the Father, and of the Father and the Son for those who believe in the Son. John speaks of the love that those who follow Jesus have for one another. And in the text immediately preceding today’s text we hear of the greatest love that anyone can have, for Jesus to lay down his life for others. And he tells his disciples that he has given them a new commandment, that they should love one another.

Jesus says all these things as part of his farewell speech to his disciples at the Last Supper. He said these things to prepare them and to comfort them.

But then the tone shifts dramatically. In today’s text we find a departure from this recurring theme of love in John’s Gospel. In today’s text we find Jesus warning his disciples that they will be hated, just as Jesus himself is hated. Jesus warns his disciples that a time is coming when people will hate them and seek to kill them. And they will do this simply because they bear the name of Jesus. ‘People hate me,’ Jesus said, ‘because they do not know the Father. And thus they also hate the Father, and will hate you.’

But why would Jesus be hated? After all, he proclaimed the love of God and the forgiveness of sins. He healed the sick. He stood up for the poor and oppressed. Why would anyone hate Jesus?

Jesus says that it was to fulfil the words of scripture, ‘They hated me without cause.’  He is referring to Psalm 69:4.

‘More in number than the hairs of my head

Are those who hate me without cause;

Many are those who would destroy me,

My enemies who accuse me falsely.

What I did not steal, must I now restore?’

And here we find a great truth about hatred. It is like the hatred I experienced from the boy in Year Five, or the hatred we often see behind those from different political camps or ethnic groups. In its truest and purest form, hate has no rational cause. We might seek some reason for it. We might be convinced that if only we could find the reason for the hatred we could bring it to an end. But true hate is beyond reason. That is the point of this Psalm of David that Jesus refers to. Hatred has no cause. It adheres to no reason.

We often use the word ‘hate’ loosely. We hate a certain movie or song. We hate days that are too cold or too hot. ‘I hate the weather,’ or ‘I hate it when the garbage collection is late’ we say casually. But when we encounter genuine hatred we find that it is something very different to dislike.

Those consumed by hatred have been so blinded by hate that they are willing to believe anything bad they hear about ‘the other’ and reject anything they hear that might seem positive.

That is the sad nature of hatred.

And no one experienced it more fully or unjustly than Jesus.

And on the eve of his arrest he reminds the disciples that as his followers they can expect the same hatred.

But it is not them. It is nothing personal. And it defies all reason. It is simply because they bear the name of Jesus, who also was hated without reason.

But why does Jesus tell his disciples this?

Again, just as was the case in his preceding words, when he talked about the coming of the Holy Spirit and about love, Jesus tells his disciples these things to bring them comfort.

Not exactly the words of comfort anyone would like to hear. People will hate you for no good reason and will seek to kill you. How does that bring comfort, we might wonder?

Jesus tells his disciples, and all of us who bear his name, that there will be those who will hate us simply for being followers of Jesus. But when this happens we are to remember that Jesus was hated too. We are to remember that that following Jesus will cost something.

And most importantly, we are to remember that we are not alone. Jesus has sent his Spirit to be with us. When we feel completely alone, hated for no reason, The Spirit is with us and will give us the strength and words to speak.

Jesus calls all who follow him to love each other, just as he has loved us. But he does not promise that everyone will love us. He goes out of his way, in fact, to warn us that we will at times experience quite the opposite, just for because we follow him.

But Jesus wants us to know that when this happens, it is a reminder that we are his. If we were not his and he did not love us, then we would not be hated for following him. And he wants us also to know that we are not alone. That he has sent his Spirit to stand with us and guide us and comfort us in such times.

But still, we ask, there must be some reason for such hatred. There must be some cause that can be addressed.

In fact, even though Jesus tells us that he (and by extension we) are hated without cause, he does provide an explanation. ‘They hate me,’ he says, ‘and they hate you because they do not know the Father. They do not know the one who sent me’ (verses 15:21 and 16:3).

And here is not only a clue as to the nature and cause of this hatred, but also an indication of how we might address it.

Hatred originates not in any reason or logic, but our of lack of knowledge. The first persecutors of the early followers of Jesus were the Jewish authorities. They thought they were doing a righteous service to God (16:20). But in fact, they do not know God.

One of these, you may recall, was a young hothead named Saul, from Tarsus. He stopped persecuting the followers of Jesus only when he himself met Jesus – when he learned to know who God truly was. In fact, he not only stopped persecuting Christians, but he changed his name to Paul and became one of the greatest advocates for the cause of Jesus.

So we will indeed encounter people who hate Jesus and hate those of us who follow him for no clear reason. They might see us as their enemy, even. But that does not make them our enemy. It does not mean that we, in turn, should hate them.

Because knowledge can bring an end to hatred. And a knowledge of Jesus, that is, knowing not just who Jesus is, but knowing Jesus a friend, dissolves all hatred.

So it when confronted by senseless hatred. Especially when it is directed at us simply for following Jesus, pray for that person or those people. Speak the words that the Spirit gives us to tell them who Jesus is. That is what Jesus asks us to do in this text.

They may not listen. But then again, neither did Saul of Tarsus, and neither did most of us – until we did. Until we ourselves came to know Jesus and his love, we too were caught up in a world of unreasoned hate.

But in Jesus, we have become bound up in his world of transforming love that overcomes all hatreds.

Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie.

Pentecost 26
John 3:22-36  

In the first half of this chapter we had the story of Nicodemus visiting Jesus at night. That account comes to its highpoint with the famous words in verse 16, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.’ This verse has been adopted by the American evangelical movement as their theme verse and it is hard to go to a view a sporting event in the US in the past several decades without seeing a few placards saying ‘John 3:16’, not to mention the bumper stickers. I am not sure how many people who see these placards go to their phones and look up John 3:16, but I did read some years ago that this verse in now the most famous and best known in the Bible.

But what does it mean? We often take it is isolation from its context. After this verse John gives us a small commentary on the meaning of this passage in verses 17-21 in which he talks about the Son coming into the world not to bring condemnation but salvation, and to be the light of the world. Most people looking to understand this key passage stop reading there. But the remainder of the chapter belongs with the first and they are meant to be read together. It provides a parallel story to that of Nicodemus, but this time the character who appears alongside of Jesus is John the Baptist.

Many might argue that verses 22-36 are an entirely different theme to the first half of the chapter. Indeed, in the Gospels a change of geographical location generally indicates a change of theme. But not in this case. There are too many deliberate links to the themes of verse 1-16 to believe anything other than that John saw the account of John the Baptist as a continuation of several key themes from the first half of the chapter. We do not have time to go into these verses in depth, but some of the ‘echoes’ from verses 1-16 should be noted.
The themes of baptism, water (v. 23) and Spirit (v. 34) continue. The concept of ‘from above’ is found in the ‘from heaven’ of verse 27 and the ‘from above’ of verse 31. (same word, άνωθεν, as in v. 3). In verse 32 he testifies to what he has seen personally but no one hears his testimony. This parallels v. 11 – as well as the earthly and heavenly things. Verses 28-30 pickup strongly the Messianic theme of the first half of the chapter. V. 36 concludes the section with a contrast again between the two ways or destinies of eternal life versus wrath. The second half of the chapter, therefore, ends on the very same note as the first.
The contrast with John the Baptist further clarifies who Jesus is. Verse 35, which also speaks of agape-love, provides an interesting parallel with 3:16. The ‘all things’ parallels the ‘world’ of v. 16. John uses the two terms as synonyms in much the same way that the Psalms do this. And the ‘whoever believes’ of verse 36 clearly parallels the second part of verse 16. The intriguing difference is now that Father loves the Son and gives him all things (the world). But this can only occur in light of verse 16 where learn that the world is the object of God’s love, and the Son is given for the world.
So the two stories, laid out side by side, would look something like this (see bulletin insert):

1-10 Nicodemus speaks with Jesus ↔ 22-30 John Bapt speaks about
Jesus
5,6 Water and Spirit ↔ 22-33 Water and Spirit

11 Testifies of what he has seen in ↔ 32 testifies of what he has seen
heaven but no one believes him in heaven but not one
believes him
12 earthly/heavenly things contrasted ↔ 31 earthly and heavenly things
contrasted
13 Son comes from above ↔ 31 Son comes from above

John 3:16 ↔ John 3:35,36
God loves world → gives Son The Father loves Son → gives him all
Whoever believes has eternal life ↔ Whoever believes has eternal life

In the ancient Semitic world repetition, including concentric and chiastic structures, were frequently used to emphasise or stress certain key points. Occasionally several key phrases or ideas recur in a parallel passage (similar to the kind of parallelisms found in Hebrew poetry like the Psalms). These draw the reader’s attention. Then there often occurs a key verse which parallels a previous key passage but turns around some key concept to particularly emphasise a point. The modern reader often misses these literary and interpretative cues. John, a Jew writing in Greek, would have been quite familiar with this style. If one views John 17-21 as a commentary or interlude by the Evangelist that highlights the importance and meaning of verse 16, then there are some important parallels between verse 1-16 and verse 22-36 that cannot simply be dismissed as coincidence.

The parallel ending to each of these two stories cannot be missed. John 3:35,36 is a deliberate parallel to 3:16. These two passages explain one another. Only the God who loves his Son can give him for the world, and only the God who loves the world can give all things (the world) to his Son. Both the Son and the world are loved by God the Father, and both are given to/for the other. Belief, or faith, on this foundation, is the way to eternal life.

Not only does the Father give the Son to the world, but he gives the world to the Son. God’s love for the world is his motivation for giving his Son, and his love for the Son is his motivation for giving him the world. These verses taken together form a literary device called a chiasm, in which the two main points are inverted to explain and interpret one another.
It is called a chaism because of the Greek letter Chi, which looks like an ‘X’. If you wrote out the first half of John 3:16, the underneath it wrote out John 3:35 and then drew a line connecting Son in each verse, and world (or all things) in each verse, the two intersecting lines would form an ‘X’ or a Greek letter Chi.

God loves world → gives it his Son (John 3:16)

 

God loves Son → gives him the world (John 3:35)

So we have here a literary device (a chiasm) inside a literary device, the telling of parallel stories. And all this serves to highlight the key point. It is a point that culminated in verse 35 and 36, not verse 16.

But we tend to stop with John 3:16, getting only half of the point. The full story is only seen when we take John 3:35 and 36 into account. God loves both the Son and the world. And God gives them to one another.

Imagine a Jewish wedding ceremony in the which the Rabbi takes the bride and groom’s hands and joins them together. That is what is happening here. And it is not hard to imagine such a scene when just such an image has been brought up a few lines earlier in verse 29. So the image of a wedding ceremony has already been planted in the reader’s mind. Now we have this mutual giving in love of the Son to the world and the world to the Son. It would be a strange and incomplete ceremony in which only the bride was given to the groom, or only the groom to the bride.

So that most famous of all Bible verses, John 3:16, has a sequel: John 35 and 36. And this second occurrence of the teaching, in the complex literary structure that John employs here, is meant to be the culmination of these two stories. Yet it continues to be overlooked by readers who stop at John 3:16 thinking we have heard all we need to hear. And John 3:16 is indeed a very powerful passage. It is hard not to stop when we have read it an meditate on its meaning. God loved the world (that is to say, us) so much that he gave his Son that we might have life everlasting.

But this isn’t the end of the story. It not the end of the message of this text. For the next, parallel story, as we have seen, ends with almost the exact same words. Only this time, God so loved his Son that he gives him the world. The Son is ours. He is God’s gift to us. We learn that from John 3:16. But we are also his. We belong to Jesus because the Father has given us to him in love. That is what we learn in John 3:35.

The end result of being given to and for one another, that is, Son to the world and world to the Son, is the same. Both verses conclude with eh promise of eternal life for all who believe.

It is unlikely that signs saying ‘John 3:35’ will begin popping up at US sporting events. But next time you see someone pointing to John 3:16, remember that it conveys only one half of this wonderful message. For the second half we must keep reading. God so loved the world that he gave his Son that all who believe will have eternal life. This is most certainly true.

But there is more.

It is equally true that ‘God so loved the Son that he gave him everything (that is, the world), that all who believe in him may have eternal life.’

We have Jesus and Jesus has us. Both are held together by the bonds of God’s love. And that, indeed, is good news.

Amen.

Pastor Mark Worthing.
Port Macquarie.

Grace to you and peace, from God our Father and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, Amen.

The verses we will focus on today is from John 12:44-46 – And Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. ⁴⁵And whoever sees me sees him who sent me.⁴⁶ I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness.

Have you ever noticed that politicians seem to repeat themselves?  They say the same thing over and over again. One well-known line is “let’s make it great again.” Whatever ‘it’ might be.  There is a perception that to form a good habit you need to repeat it for 21 days.[1] 21 days on that new diet, giving up alcohol or even coffee. Unfortunately, a recent study by the University of Chicago found that there is no magic number.[2] That 21 days of repetition is now much longer.

I don’t know about you, but when I read the gospel reading from John today, I shook my head.  I thought, haven’t we heard all this before?  What’s with all the repetition? Why is John going over the same stuff thing again and again? Isn’t there something new, fresh and exciting he could be telling us? However, what might seem unusual on first read is quite purposeful.  John is reminding us of God’s grace and mercy on repeat. Maybe he knows about the study from the University of Chicago.

The reading today opens with Jesus departing to an unknown location.  This doesn’t make sense until we look at the prior chapter (see verses 35-36) where Jesus tells the crowd that he will be here for a little while longer. In the last two verses of the previous chapter, Jesus uses “light” and “darkness” 8 times. Jesus is telling the crowd about his impending death which ultimately leads to God’s grace and mercy on repeat for us. When he will turn “darkness” into “light.”

Commentators divide today’s reading into two main areas.

• Verses 37-43, with focus on “blind unbelief,” and the question of “Who has believed?”[3],[4]
• And verses 44-50, which is about the “divine sending” with an “inescapable judgement.” [5],[6]

One commentator calls this chapter the “Epilogue of Jesus’ Ministry.”[7] It’s interesting to look at the meaning of the word “epilogue” which is the end that serves as the conclusion to what has happened.[8]  Appropriate really, given this is the last time Jesus speaks publicly before he hides himself away, before his persecution and death.

You may recall last week Pastor Mark focused on the blind man receiving sight (see John 9:1-12).  Where Jesus calls out:

• the “night is coming, when no one can work” (John 9:4). The forecast of darkness.
• And we hear an “I am” statement of Jesus being the “light of the world” (John 9:5).

But the Pharisees and the people closest to the blind man didn’t see, nor did they believe. Jesus goes on to tell them that they remain blind, and in sin. The people remained bound by their lack of faith.  This is a similar message to the crowd in John’s gospel.  Despite Jesus performing not just a sign, not a few signs, but “so many signs, they did not believe in him” (v37).  They were stranded in their unbelief.

This makes me wonder, with so many signs repeated by Jesus, why didn’t they believe?  Why didn’t they get the message?  Well, John tells us.  It was to fulfil what the prophet Isaiah said. John retells Isaiah 53:1 by asking, “Who has believed our message…?” And the answer is, no one. Jesus is rejected by the crowd. A rejection that plays out over and over in John’s recount. And plays out in the world around us today.

Then John takes us to Isaiah 6:10, where we are reminded of people’s calloused hearts, dull ears and closed eyes. Where seeing and hearing, are linked with the act of believing and following God.[9]  This repetition is to remind the people that they have heard this before.  It is a familiar story.  It has been shared from generation to generation.  Repeated, over and over.  They should have remembered.  But they didn’t.

This is where John shifts things a little. After repeating a section of Isaiah 6:10, John shares that God “blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts …”(v40). What? God hardened their hearts, and they couldn’t hear the good news that Jesus was sharing. That seems harsh, doesn’t it? I thought the whole point of Jesus being there was to bring the message to them. And now they can’t hear it. This doesn’t sound like our God.

Moving to verse 42, we are told that “at the same time MANY even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees, they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue.” They did not believe because they were scared of what other people might think.  They valued the opinions of others and their position in the synagogue over professing their faith. They placed their value in human wealth over eternal glory.[10] Their nature of unbelief, sown by Adam and Eve, rooted deep within their hearts.[11] 

I don’t know about you, but this again seems familiar.  A repetition of what we’ve heard before in Exodus. We can recall Moses and Aaron begging Pharoah to let the Israelites go. We are reminded of how Pharoah hardened his heart. How God brought devastation. And we see it repeat, over and over until they are set free. Until God’s grace and mercy shines through.  We learn that placing value on worldly things, such as position, power, and image, as Pharoh did, ultimately leads to death.

So, is God in the business of hardening our hearts?  Of closing our ears so we won’t hear the good news of Jesus our saviour. The answer is a resounding no. As John reminds us in verse 43 “for [the crowd] loved human praise more than praise from God.” They loved earthly things which they freely chose over God. God allows and we freely choose. We succumb to the desires deep in our hearts. We desire the ‘more,’ which shines and makes us stand out. These things ultimately blacken our hearts and draw us away from God. Just like the people in today’s text, our free will condemns us to death.

And what is the response of God?  His response follows in verse 44-50.  Jesus was sent down to Earth as a divine sacrifice.[12] Jesus is sent as the sacrificial lamb and faces an “inescapable judgment.”[13] God places his mercy and grace on repeat.  Why? For you. For me. To set us free from the bondage of our sin. To shine a light on the path to eternal life.

Listen. You can hear Jesus cry out from today’s text:

• I have come for you.
• I have come to save you.
• I haven’t come to judge you.
• I have come to lead you to eternal life.
• I have come to be a lamp on your feet and a light on your path (see Psalm 119:105).

He cries out for us to see and hear. To listen to what he is saying. Yet we don’t listen, and we don’t see.

Today we have the benefit of knowing what happens in the story of Jesus Christ. John is foreshadowing what is to come. That the Messiah, the “suffering servant” is here. Taking our sinful nature upon himself and shouldering the pain of rejection to the cross. Where he nails it there.  Where it is no longer remembered and no longer a burden. It is in this moment we find hope in Jesus’ redemptive love.  Where God places his mercy and grace on repeat.

And how good is this hope?  That we know the truth. That amongst all the darkness in Gethsemane there is light. An eternal light. And everything points to God.

Yes, we repeatedly fail in life. Each week we come to church seeking forgiveness. Each week we are showered with the blood of Christ and washed clean. We say we won’t do it again.  Seconds later we walk out the door and mess it all up.  We head out into the world and fall to our sinful nature.  To the gossip, lies, or maybe something else. We try to justify it by saying ‘it was only a little white lie,’ or ‘no one was going use it.’ But we can’t justify it.  For in God’s sight, they are all equal.

Luther struggled with the same thing. Often, he spent hours confessing the smallest of sins. Some may say trivial, but not to Luther. He wanted to be sure that nothing separated him from God’s grace. On one occasion he received absolution and no sooner did he walk away and was overcome with the feeling of pride. He fell into sin. He failed.[14] And so Luther repeated the cry of forgiveness.  And God met him with grace and mercy, on repeat.

God knows how messy our lives are. He knows that we are broken, and we will fail. He knows we will reject him. And despite the rejection, ridicule and disbelief, he still reaches out the hand of grace to his creation. Our loving God is as close as our next breath. He has never left us. And when we turn away, he draws in closer. He says “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me” (Revelation 3:20). God’s awesome grace and mercy, always on repeat.

 Amen.

Let us pray. Lord God, our heavenly Father. Thank you for your repetitive grace and mercy.  May we be encouraged to extend grace and mercy to those around us.  Amen.

References:

Barclay, William. The Gospel of John : Chapters 8-21. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975.

Beasley-Murray, George R. John, Volume 36. Zondervan Academic, 2018.

Clavin, Whitney. “No Magic Number for Time It Takes to Form Habits.” California Institute of Technology, 17 April 2023. https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/no-magic-number-for-time-it-takes-to-form-habits.

Crossway Bibles. ESV: Study Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway Bibles, 2016.

Ford, David F. The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021.

Solis-Moreira, Jocelyn. “How Long Does It Really Take to Form a Habit?” Scientific American, 24 January 2024. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-does-it-really-take-to-form-a-habit/.

The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. “Lutheran Theology of the Reformation | Teaching the Faith.” Lutheran Reformation, 2024. https://lutheranreformation.org/theology/.

University, Cambridge. “Epilogue.” Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2024. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/epilogue.

 

Worthing, Mark. Martin Luther: A Wild Boar in the Lord’s Vineyard. Northcote, Vic: Morning Star Publishing, 2017.

[1] Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, “How Long Does It Really Take to Form a Habit?,” Scientific American, 24 January 2024, https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-long-does-it-really-take-to-form-a-habit/.

[2] Whitney Clavin, “No Magic Number for Time It Takes to Form Habits,” California Institute of Technology, 17 April 2023, https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/no-magic-number-for-time-it-takes-to-form-habits.

[3] William Barclay, The Gospel of John: Chapters 8-21 (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1975), 131-133.

[4] David F. Ford, The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021), 246.

[5] Barclay, The Gospel of John, 134-136

[6] Ford, The Gospel of John, 248.

[7] George R Beasley-Murray, John, Volume 36 (Zondervan Academic, 2018), 215.

[8] Cambridge University, “Epilogue,” Dictionary.cambridge.org, 2024, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/epilogue.

[9]  Ford, The Gospel of John, 248-250.

[10] Ford, The Gospel of John, 248.

[11] Barclay, The Gospel of John, 133.

[12] Barclay, The Gospel of John, 134-136.

[13] Ford, The Gospel of John, 248.

[14]Mark Worthing, Martin Luther: A Wild Boar in the Lord’s Vineyard (Northcote, Vic: Morning Star Publishing, 2017), 27.