Gospel June 28

Mark 5.21-43

"She had heard much about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, for she said, "If I but touch his clothes, I will be made well." Mark 5:27-28

The scheduled readings omit Mark 5.1-20,the incident where Jesus healed a man possessed by a legion of demons. The incident itself is noteworthy from a number of perspectives - not the least of which is that it occurred on 'the other side of the sea' (5.1), that is to say that the miracle occurred in Gentile (non-Jewish) territory. The previous passage indicates that the disciples had a hard time crossing over as well.

But we move on to more familiar territory with today's passage, only to find some discomfort in our text as well. Two miracles occur, a nested pair if you like, often referred to as a Marcan sandwich. One miracle story begins but before it is completed another begins and ends.

Mark's gospel identifies the man who approaches Jesus as Jairus on of the leaders of the synagogue. So too Luke's account, while Matthew's parallel (Matt 8.15-13) refers to him as a centurion. This is interesting on two counts. Most miracle stories do not name the character(s) involved; yet Mark and Luke do in this incident. Matthew, on the other hand does not name the character, and actually identifies him not as a Jewish synagogue leader, but a gentile centurion who is sympathetic and supportive of the Jews.

But as Jesus made his way towards Jairus' house the touch of one woman from the crowd surrounding him captured his attention. Her touch came out of her need, and drew from him a response of power to meet that need. Her faith brought health and healing. The problem is that the woman should not have even been there. She was unclean, and according to Levitical law so was everyone she had touched as she made here way through the crowd. So was Jesus, for she deliberately reached out and touched him. For twelve years she had suffered from 'the issue of blood'. For twelve years she had endured personal discomfort and public isolation. When she knew Jesus was coming she took a chance, and breached all the protocols that had separated her from others and pushed through the crowd to Jesus. It was an act of desperation.

In that instant something happened. Jesus knew it, but the disciples skeptical response had no idea what he was talking about. The woman did though, and in an act of great courage and humiliation came forward. The Word says she was 'trembling with fear'. I am not surprised! She had taken a great risk by being in the crowd, she had gone out on a limb in hope, and now she was dragged forward before them all, and she poured out her heart to Jesus. His response changed her life. "Daughter, your faith has healed you.". It is worth noting that the word used for healed is exactly the same Greek word that is used for 'saved'. She had been saved by her faith, saved from a life of isolation and humiliation, saved from her suffering and shame. Salvation came to her house that day.

Arriving eventually at Jairus home the news that the sick child was dead greeted the party. Jesus tried to put an end to their grief - and evoked the laughter of derision when he told them she was merely sleeping. He was right of course - and the child rose on his command. What seemed like death for the family was as sleep to Jesus. This daughter was also made well, but here she exercised no faith. It was her father who had the faith. It was he who had sent for Jesus. It was her father who had reached out in hope to one he had only heard about. The girl knew nothing of this for she was ill, gravely ill.

The crowd had no faith either. They told Jesus it was over, he was too late, she was dead. Jesus response was to encourage the man to believe, to hang in their, to hold on to his hope, to have faith. Healing came for this daughter also.

I wonder who needs faith for miracles to occur. Is it the person suffering, or is it just possible that the exercise of faith by others can bring healing and salvation to a sick situation.


Some things to think about....

• Mark's tendency to place events close to the sea
• The naming of Jairus. Characters are not usually named in miracle stories.It may be that the addition of the name Jairus a 'later redaction to original oral story. But this is not necessarily so (e.g. Bartimaeus 10:46)
• The urgency or awe of Jairus throwing himself at feet of Jesus. It was a public act of humiliation and honour by a synagogue leader = and is mirrored in the actions of the woman
• Laying on of hands for healing is not a Hebrew OT practice...and Jesus does not lay hands on her the woman for healing, nor is it the case with the girl. He simply helps her get up.
• Jesus speaks to the girl in Aramaic, and his words would have been understood. Sometimes healers would use incantations in foreign languages believing that there was power in the words. The power here is not in the words, but in the one who spoke them.
• This selection is part of a small miracle collection = not the events in the surrounding text.
• The phrase 'the well of her blood' -equates to Leviticus 12:7 and purification after childbirth.
• Both the young girl and the woman are referred to as 'daughter' by Jesus.

Gospel June 21

Year B Gospel

Mark 4.35-41

"Who is this that even the wind and "the sea obey him." v.41.

Each of us live with a worldview. Today in the West that worldview tends toward scientific rationalism. i.e. the world operates according to scientific laws and principles and whatever happens can be quantified, measured, and explained. From that perspective the events described in this text are connected only by chance. Jesus words could not have caused the storm to cease; it just happened that the storm stopped at the moment that Jesus spoke. The scientific rationalist viewpoint does not cope well with miracles.

The disciples in the boat with Jesus
lived at a time when the existence of God (for the Jews) or gods was not questioned. The spirit world was real to them, and they depended on God for the rain, the sun, and for all they needed for their crops to grow and for them to survive. They had seen unexplainable events before, and had been with Jesus long enough for him to have healed the sick, and driven out demons before their eyes. Miracles were not new to them.

So here they were, in a familiar location, facing a situation that the fishermen among them had faced before on Lake Gennaseret (or the Sea of Galilee). Even those for whom that sea was their workplace cried out to Jesus for help. The fishermen asked the carpenter to save them from the storm...so he did.

Did he do what they expected? Clearly not...for the question that was remembered was this "Who is this that even the wind and sea obey him?" Though they had been with Jesus for a while what he did was far beyond what they imagined. They knew he could heal the sick. They knew he was able to drive out demons. Yet what he did exceeded anything they expected.

Do we expect Jesus to help us when we ask or does the worldview of our time and place mean that we don't even expect Jesus to do anything.... and are surprised when doors are open and prayers answered. In an era when the spiritual dimension of life is being acknowledged again perhaps it is time for Christians to expect more to happen when we ask God for help.

Gospel June 14

Gospel Proper 6

Mark 4:26-34

"The kingdom of God is as if ..."

Two brief parables and a summary statement for the entire text of this selected passage. Both parables focus on seed sown. Small in themselves seeds grow only when they are planted, and they grow without help for the sower, and may grow into a huge plant which bears no relationship to the six of the original seed.
The kingdom of God is like that, Jesus says.

Mark makes the interesting observation that Jesus spoke only in parables to his hearers, but did offer explanations privately to his disciples.

Why is this so? The Jews had lived under the law for centuries. Ten commandments, the books of Moses, the Mishnah and various regulations that had grown up around these texts provided the basics for life 'the way God intended' for his chosen people - or at least that was the view of the leadership.
The burden of keeping he law had become onerous - and that which had been given for a better and a holy life had become a series of obligations and demands that the common people could not keep.

For Matthew - with a predominantly Jewish congregation in view - took the law and lifted it to a higher plane. "You have heard it said...but I say to you..." is a formula that appears in the text of the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:1-7:39), along with a call for a "righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees" (5:20) one of this language appears in Mark's gospel. Instead we find pictures of life in the Kingdom of God.

IN the verses prior to our text Jesus has called his disciples to follow him (!:16-20;2:13=17;3:13-19), healed the sick and demon-possessed (1:21-34, 40-45; 2:1-12;3:1-11), dealt with legalistic challenges to his actions (2:18-28) and preached the message of the kingdom of God (1:14-15,35-38). The only mention of the law came in response to criticism that Jesus was breaking it.

Only after this does Mark share with us these parables - word images of the kingdom of God. Perhaps Mark is trying to tell us that the kingdom of God is about far more that rules and regulations - it is about revealing your love for people, easing their pain, helping them carry their burdens and enabling them to participate fully in family and community.

As we affirm the worth of others and help them to health and wholeness we are sowing seeds for the kingdom of God - and we will never know what will result from those seeds.

Gospel June 7

Year B Trinity Sunday

John 3:1-17

"He came to Jesus by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.'" (John 3:2)

This magnificent dialogue between Nicodemus and Jesus takes place in Jerusalem. It contains the verse know as 'the gospel in a nutshell' (Jn 3:16) and includes indications of the dualisms that are typical of John's gospel (earth/heaven, temporal/spiritual, darkness/light).

As I read this text again the question that was raised for me was this: "Why does Nicodemus come to Jesus by night?" As I reflected on the scenario John has presented another more basic question was added "Why does Nicodemus come to see Jesus at all?" John's narrative does not offer clear explanation for either of these questions. We need to go 'behind the text' to offer some answers.

The time of this incident has been set - it was around the Passover (2:13,21) - and the location is Jerusalem. Nicodemus makes reference to the 'signs' that Jesus has done, but of these 'signs' (miracles) there is scant reference (2:23) and little detail (2:1-12). Yet these signs have prompted Nicodemus to seek out Jesus.

And Nicodemus, a 'leader of the Jews', comes to Jesus at night even though there is no indication of any tension developing between Jesus and the Jewish leadership. Perhaps it is, as Beasley-Murray suggests (Word Biblical Commentary, Vol 36, The Gospel of John), simply a way of seeing Jesus privately and without the crowds that would demand his time and attention.

Yet there does not seem to be enough evidence in the narrative to this point to justify Nicodemus seeking a private nighttime audience with Jesus, and recognizing him on the basis of signs done as a teacher from God. Yet it is just this scenario that John's gospel presents - and the setting in which the dialogue unfolds.

Behind John's gospel is a great deal more information and detail than could be included. The synoptic gospels offer other episodes and teachings, and John alludes to a great well from which other stories could be drawn (21:23).
Behind John's gospel there is also a great deal of folklore and information that was held in the hearts and minds of people and was never written down - the knowledge of Jesus that people had before they ever read John's gospel. Readers and hearers knew of Jesus, the word had gone around about his teaching and his miracles. They did not need the detail to be spelled out in John's narrative. When they came to John's gospel they had their minds opened to John's take on Jesus. What Nicodemus knew of Jesus would have been far more that was recorded in the first two chapters of John's gospel, and what others knew of Jesus was far more also. The signs of which Nicodemus spoke were many, not just the 'miracle' at Cana.

What Nicodemus knew, and his political nous, had him seeking a private audience with Jesus away from the eyes of his peers and the intrusions of the crowd. What he had seen and heard of Jesus was enough for him to come seeking answers to the questions that had been forming in his own heart and mind.

Today bookshops have shelves and shelves of self-help material - and many homes have more than a few books on how to be rich, healthy and happy. Self-proclaimed and well- marketed gurus are ready to share their secrets with us, for a price. Yet none of the advice works 100% of the time. If it did there would not be so many books, we would all buy the only one that works. The gurus may have had personal success (and added to their personal happiness through income derived from their books), but it is only by clever and targeted marketing that their books are sold.

Where, and to whom, do people go if they don't go to a bookshop (or to the internet)? They will go to someone they know, someone who has been successful in the area of their need. Today happiness, contentment, and fulfilment are still in great demand. People who have 'got it all together', who can stand firm and strong and peaceful through the storms of life have a great opportunity to share the secret of their contentment.

Followers of Jesus Christ should have no need of sophisticated marketing techniques or loud trumpeting of success. What is needed to share the secret is evidence of life well lived, of grace continually expressed and of love generously shared.

If we could do this well others would ask us of our secret - and we could tell them of Jesus.

Nicodemus came to Jesus because of what he saw, and knew of Jesus. Do people come to you because they see Jesus in you?

Gospel May 31 Pentecost

John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15; 20; 21,22

"Jesus said to them again "Peace be with you'. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.' When he said this he breathed on them and said to them 'Receive the Holy Spirit'" John 20:21-22

Hidden away in the post Easter events of John's Gospel is a "Pentecost Event".

It is only the fourth gospel that provides any teaching about the Holy Spirit (John 15:26-27; 16:4b-15). Jesus informs his disciples of the role and purpose of the Holy Spirit and in John 21:21-22 we read of his gifting of the Holy Spirit to his followers.

By contrast Luke announces a promised gift "with power from on high" (Luke 24:49) and his continuing story proclaims the arrival of that gift with miraculous signs and wonders - and with dramatic consequences. (Acts 2).

There is not doubt that such dynamic appearances and events can and do happen. Luke's account of the birth of the church and the coming of the Holy Spirit is an exclamation mark following the crucifixion of Jesus. The Pentecost event he describes as remarkable parallels in Jewish stories of Moses receiving the Law, with the law apparently being heard in 70 languages.

Exclamation points are needed in or live. Aha' moments, "WOW" experiences add richness of lives that are often well modulated and measured. We need these exciting experiences and reflection moments. But most of our lives are lived within and ordinary and predictable routine = domestic duties, work routine, familiar friends and interaction with family make up the majority of our experiences. We need the power of God at work in our lives through these times as well.

To us Jesus comes and say "Peace my friend - receive of my Spirit".

Gospel May 24

John 17:6-19

"I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world.' John 17: 14

We move to the final stages of Jesus "high priestly prayer" for today's text.

John's gospel lacks the drama of the Garden of Gethsemane prayers. John's more reflective gospel reveals nothing of the agony that is seen in the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). The passage under consideration today reveals an attitude of acceptance and commitment that overrides personal feelings.

Jesus is "no longer in the world" (v 11) and does "not belong to the world" (vv 14,16). That which is to be faced does not trouble him - for while he lives and move on earth it does not own him and has no claim=m on him. He does not belong to it; it belongs to him.

And his disciples do not belong to the world either - and for them (and for us) Jesus asks protection. Just as opposition came to Jesus because of who he was, what he did, and what he taught, so too it would be the lot of the followers of Jesus to experience opposition, hatred and persecution.

Too many of us are caught up in the stuff that happens around act and us as though we 'belong' here, as if the world is to be our permanent home. We make our alliances, garner our resources, and feather our nests. We do our best to make sure we are OK, and plan for a long and healthy and hopefully prosperous life. As people who do not belong in this world we develop some remarkably strong attachment to a temporary home.

Maybe it is time to revisit our priorities and decide where we really belong.

Gospel May 17

John 15: 9-17

"This is my commandment - that you love one another as I have loved you." John 15:12

Christianity is one - sided. It is about loving others - and if we love others as Christ lived us then the benefits flow to others, and the pain flows to us.

This would not be so in an ideal world - for in utopia everyone would be pouring love upon others. Our experience in the here and now tells us that it is not so.

So what do we do? We hedge around the loving. We include discipline as part of love (and so it is), but our discipline is often far more aggressive and brutal that the discipline the Jesus dispensed. His discipline was a rebuke, or the offering of a choice. Choosing to go another way - with its own temporal and eternal consequences - would involve punishment enough. People were allowed to make their own choices. The young man who was very rich walked away sad, because he could not give away his wealth. Jesus let him go.

Our discipline, on the other hand is often brutal and damaging. Christendom contains too many examples of individuals, organizations or even governments that have compelled obedience to a 'Christian ideal' by force. No doubt there may be times when war is justified, but such occasions are no doubt far fewer that the number of times one group or country has decided to impose its will and desires upon another.

On the personal level obedience to Jesus' commands means that we love one another no matter what it costs. Doors are left open when relationships falter, respect and courtesy mark every interaction, forgiveness is freely offered, and the best interests of others are always sought.

Jesus approach was one of invitation, not compulsion. The right of choice was always left to the individual. Those in whom the nature of Christ can be seen must not force their will on others. Rather, by our life and our love, we must reveal the way of Christ and invite others to join us on this way.

Gospel May 10

John 15: 1-8

"I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Coming at the centre of the sustained discourse of John 13-17 these verse are an enormous challenge to the activist of this world. People who say, "Just tell me what to do, and I will do it" don't find it easy when the instruction is "Stay connected to me."

There are many things that I want to do as a follower of Christ, many ways that I believe I can serve God - I've even got my own plans to make a difference in this world (or at least a small difference for a few people anyway). Yet Jesus says simply "Abide in me."


The vine analogy is obvious and is extended in this passage. For any observer there would be little doubt that a branch broken off or cut off from the vine is not going to have life, and will certainly not produce any fruit. (An analogy fails when pushed too far - so if you are like me and have a tendency to take it to the next step try to avoid doing so. Just stick with the image of the text.)

So how does a believer produce "fruit" for the kingdom of God?
Jesus says - stay connected to me! Let my life flow into yours as the sap from the vine flows into the branches. Fruit will come.
Too simple? Yes. Activists want goals to achieve, things to do, progress to mark.
Too hard? Nothing could be simpler. Letting the life of Christ flow through us means that our DNA becomes (or is) the DNA of Christ - our very nature takes on his nature, his character, and our desires emerge from his heart. When that happens we will respond and live in a way that reflects his character and his nature.

But what do we do to bear fruit? What should we do to advance the cause of Christ and grow the kingdom of God?
Just stay connected to Christ, and then do what your heart says - for your heart will then mirror the heart of God.

Gospel May 3

John 10:11-18

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me" (10:14)
"I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also and they will listen to my voice" (10:16)

Christians are very familiar with the shepherd imagery. From the comfort of Psalm 23, the love and care reflected in the parable of Luke 15:1-7 (//Mt 18:12-13), and the truth of Isaiah 53:6 ('We all, like sheep, have gone astray') the pictures are part of the way we understand our relationship with God.

In John's gospel we read of the "I am" statements of Jesus and in this passage there are two "I am" statements - "I am the gate for the sheep" (v.7) and "I am the good shepherd" (v.11)

As in so many walks of life there are those for whom work is just a job, a task to do so they can earn some money. For others there is a degree of personal investment or ownership in what they do. The difference becomes obvious as you observe them in action or work alongside them. A worker who is invested in the task, or committed to the people they work with will always offer better service and support than one who is just 'filling in the time sheet'. The extent of Jesus investment in humanity is seen in the Cross. His self-description as 'the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep' is fulfilled in the events on Golgotha.

But who are Jesus' sheep? And what of the other sheep who are 'not of this fold'?
The 'fold' present with Jesus would seem to include his disciples and followers, and the Jews. The gospel of John makes no reference to crowds, or even to the disciples - but the text before and following places Jesus in Jerusalem. This 'fold' would seem to be the Jews- or the nation of Israel. Who then are the other sheep not of this fold that he must bring? Commentators point to the Gentiles as the other sheep, and suggest that they are to be gathered through the disciples.

Among the challenges that are faced by followers of Jesus is an understanding of who has been 'saved' and who is not yet saved. The problem has been solved, at least in the minds of some, by a formula that includes praying the sinners prayer and accepting Jesus as Lord and Saviour. The Four Steps, or the ABC's of the gospel are a late development in the life of the church, emerging in the revival in the later half of the 19th century. They remain favourite tools of evangelists - but they mark only a step on the way. A better test might come for examining the life of the 'would-be' follower of Jesus Christ. Here Jesus offers us a test to see of someone is part of his fold - do they listen to his voice? The problem for us is that it is not an easy question to answer as we work alongside, or life in community with, others.

Our quest for simplicity, for clear answers, and for clarity in our understanding leads us to draw lines that indicate who is 'in' the church, and who is not. Those lines help us, but they may not help others, and they may not indicate anything except who we think is 'in' and who we think is 'not yet in'. In the end, the only thing that is really important is who Jesus recognises as his sheep. After all, they will be the ones that know his voice.