News worth sharing

~ Fr Ian Maher ~ 2 Comments

Mark 1.40-end

At the end of the first chapter of Mark’s gospel is a fascinating story about a leper healed by Jesus, and the leper’s response. This poor man was afflicted with a condition that was not only destroying his body, but which also made him a social and religious outcast. Many of his peers would have seen his illness as result of sin. It is hard for us to imagine this man’s suffering, pushed as he was to the very margins of society, and cursed in every way.

In the story, the man approaches Jesus and begs for help. Moved with pity, Jesus heals the man’s leprosy, telling him then to show himself to the priest and make the requisite thanksgiving offering for healing received. Oddly, Jesus then warns him to say nothing else about how and by whom he was healed.

This seems a strange thing to say, but it relates to what seems to be an attempt by Jesus in the early stages of his ministry to keep a low profile. This has been called the ‘messianic secret’. Perhaps Jesus knew how quickly his healing and teaching would attract critical attention from the religious authorities and he was not yet ready for the inevitable confrontation that was to come.

That said, I’m sure he would have had sympathy for the inability of the man to keep quiet. How could he not have been bursting with joy at having been made whole by Jesus? It was good news that the healed leper simply could not contain. He must have wanted to shout his news from the rooftops.

The healing touch of Jesus Christ is available to all who seek him, in ways great and small. If we remain open to Christ’s presence working in and through us, he is balm for our souls, bringing comfort and consolation to our hurts and sorrows, and wholeness in our brokenness. This does not insulate us from the challenges and hardships that come our way, but we never have to face those things alone. The Lord is with us.

As in the life of the leper who was healed, the difference Christ makes to our life is the source of our deepest joy. Unlike in the case of the healed leper, the Lord places no restriction on us as to who we tell about it. How the good news of how Jesus Christ has touched our own lives is surely something worth sharing. It is not something we should keep to ourselves. There are others who need that healing touch for themselves.

Advent hope

~ Fr Ian Maher ~ 2 Comments

Advent is a season of preparation. It is a time to focus on getting our hearts ready to celebrate again the coming of God among us in a human life, and to look forward in hope to the day when the Lord will return in glory. The essence of Advent is about reflecting on our relationships with each other and with God, and doing what we can to deal with anything that is unhelpful or holding us back.

It might be taking a step towards forgiving someone, letting go of a grudge, or reaching out in hope and love to someone from who we are alienated. It could be about seeking to live a more prayerful life, perhaps finding a little bit of time each day to reflect on how God might be speaking to us through the people we meet, in the situations in which we find ourselves, and in the stillness of our hearts.

So while all the external preparations for Christmas move into top gear, may we not become so distracted that we miss the most important preparation: the preparation of our hearts – for only then will be be able to celebrate what Christmas is really all about.

Do not lose heart

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Luke 21.20-28

This gospel reading is not exactly a barrel of laughs. It is from a chapter in which Jesus speaks about the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem, and also about the frightening things that would take place in the world before his return in glory.

It is a passage of scripture misused by many over the years to predict the end of the world, even down to the day and the month. The fact is that we need to be cautious about how such passages are used and not make connections that detract from the points they are making.

Luke wrote his gospel well after the fall of Jerusalem in 70AD, and that provides an important key to understanding what Jesus had in mind when he spoke of such things as Jerusalem being surrounded by armies and the need for those in Judea to flee to the mountains. 

Jesus knew that the religious and political fervour of a nation under occupation was not going to end well, and that the Romans would wreak a dreadful vengeance for the insurrection that was bubbling away during the period of his earthly ministry. Context is everything if we are to interpret and use the Bible correctly.

Yes, the signs are all around us that we are living in the last days, as we have been since the resurrection of Jesus. Anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear can recognise the signs of which Jesus spoke: great distress on the earth, nations in confusion, people fainting with fear about the future. Yet such things were as true for the people for whom Luke originally wrote his gospel as they are for us today.

The chronology of the last days and the second coming of Christ is not what matters but, rather, how we live our lives in the face of the world’s struggles during this waiting time, however long that might be. On that matter, Jesus gives us some sound advice, saying:

‘Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.’ (Luke 21.28)

It would be easy to despair and lose hope as we see some of the dreadful things that are going on in the world such as the conflicts, the injustices and the political upheavals that dominate the headlines. Instead, we must have hope and courage, trusting that we remain secure in God’s love come what may; not swept along by the prevailing currents of despair but living our lives in the direction of hope, and trusting God for the future.

Tears for change

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Luke 19.41-44

Numerous moments in the gospels invite us to consider the depths of love and compassion that Jesus has for the world. This gospel reading, where Jesus weeps over Jerusalem, is one such example. It follows on immediately from the excitement of Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. Could this really be the long-awaited Messiah was the question on the lips of many, swept along in the euphoria of the moment.

But then, nearing the city, Jesus is reduced to tears as he gazes upon Jerusalem. The signs of the times were plain for him to see. Israel had turned away from God’s call to live as a light for the whole world. Instead, they had become compromised by a narrow, life-diminishing religiosity.

All that they put their trust in, the Temple and all its trappings, even Jerusalem itself, were living on borrowed time. Without drastic change, the future was bleak, and disaster loomed. Jesus saw this and it broke his heart. His grief was well founded. Jerusalem was devastated by the Romans in the year 70, and the Temple torn down.

I wonder what brings the Risen Christ to tears today as he gazes upon our world. Various things spring to mind. The continuing decimation of our natural world, driven by human greed; the increasing gulf between rich and poor and the ravages of poverty endured by so many; the relentless evil of war and the failure it represents; the exploitation of power in the hands of the few, and the lack of compassion towards the weak and the marginalised. I am sure our Lord weeps over these things today.

As members of the Body of Christ on earth we, too, must be moved to share in that sorrow, but also stirred into action to help alleviate those sources of grief and make this world a better place. The future is bleak if things continue along the current direction of travel, but let’s not despair. Instead, let us allow our own tears, shed for the pain of the world, to flow with the tears of Christ, and use them as a catalyst for change.

May we be inspired to do whatever we can, whenever we can, and wherever we can to show the world that there is another way to live, and that there is hope and healing for this broken world. Let our tears unite with our Lord’s and be tears for change.

The kingdom of God

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Luke 17.20-25

This gospel reading picks up on a question asked to Jesus by the Pharisees, religious leaders of his day: When was the kingdom of God going to arrive?

It’s not clear whether this question was being asked to catch Jesus out, or whether it was a genuine question from the Pharisees. Either way, their understanding of the arrival of the kingdom of God was bound up with the expectation of a dramatic event.

They anticipated the arrival of a king like David, who would sweep away the Roman occupation and re-establish boundaries stretching at least as far as in the time of David. This conventional, human understanding of kingdom was not the kingdom about which Jesus was speaking. As he replies to the Pharisees:

‘The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they way “Look here it is!” or “There it is!” For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you.’

And if the Pharisees were wondering to themselves if Jesus was setting himself up as a potential warrior king like David, he tells them that the Son of Man, a title associated with the Messiah, would suffer and be rejected. He was, indeed, a king, but his reign was over very different type of kingdom.

It is a kingdom that is defined not by physical boundaries, military might or political power, but by the limitless frontiers of love, mercy, and compassion that live within the human heart. They find expression through loving God, loving our neighbours, and loving God’s world.

When Jesus speaks often about the kingdom of God, he reminds us how the places of honour belong to those whom the kingdom of this earthly world deems to be the least and the last. Marching armies and empire-building are not the hallmarks of the kingdom of God.

Where then, are we to look for the kingdom? As Jesus said, the kingdom of God is among us, or within us. It is there in every act of kindness that we offer or experience; it is there when we give of ourselves for the sake of others; it is there when we face with courage the injustice and oppression of this world.

And all the time, the kingdom of God is growing, sometimes quietly and almost imperceptibly, as our daily prayer continues: Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. May we all play our part in living as citizens of that kingdom.

Parables of God’s love

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Luke 15.1-10

This gospel reading contains two parables of being lost and found. Along with the parable of the prodigal son and his brother, they comprise a whole chapter of Luke that reminds us of the generous, unconditional love of God, who never gives up on us.

In fact, Luke chapter 15 is my ‘go to’ chapter whenever I feel distant from God, or if I feel I have let God down. You might like to read it for yourself to see what I mean. But for now, a brief word on those two parables.

The first parable speaks of a shepherd with a hundred sheep. On finding that one is missing, he leaves the 99 behind and sets out to find the lost sheep. This is an unlikely story, and certainly not wise advice for keeping sheep in first century Palestine. Wolves would have made short work of those left unattended. The point being made by Jesus through the parable was that every single sheep matters to the shepherd. Without it the flock is incomplete.

The second parable tells of a woman with ten silver coins who loses one. It was a significant loss, so she lights a lamp and searches diligently to find the coin. Again, the emphasis is on completeness and the longing to find that which is lost. To not give up and write it off. In the case of the woman and her missing coin, and of the shepherd with the missing sheep, there is rejoicing when that which was lost is found.

The parables are images of God’s love, and God’s longing to gather in all who, for whatever reason, feel distant or separated from that love. They remind us that no-one is beyond the reach of that love, and that God never ceases to search diligently for those who are feeling lost and afraid, maybe even that God is absent. God never gives up on us and rejoices when our relationship with God is restored.

So, mull over these two parables and let them speak to your heart. Let them be reminders to you that God is always with you. God knows you and knows where you are even when feeling lost and alone; God knows the anguish of your hearts when life hurts and is always drawing you back in love.

And then, from that conviction, may each of us find the courage and determination to play our own small in sharing that faith in God’s love with others.

Meek and mild? Really?

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Luke 12.49-53

Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon your little child. Pity my simplicity, suffer me to come to thee. Amen.

That short prayer was taught to me by my grandmother when I was a little boy, more than sixty years ago. I knew it before I had any understanding of the words and, ever since, that description of Jesus has informed the picture I have of Jesus as he walked the earth.

At first, it contributed to an image of Jesus as portrayed in sickly greetings cards, where a smiling, bearded, western-looking Jesus is surrounded by children and cuddly animals. I’ve even seen one with Jesus and Bambi. Of course, that is not the Jesus we read about in the gospels.

Jesus was meek and mild, not in the sense of being timid or weak, but through the inner quietness, gentleness of spirit, and stillness that was his due to a total alignment with the will of his heavenly Father. This enabled Jesus to face his opposition and endure his passion and death with courage and fortitude.

Meek and mild was not about being a passive doormat. Remember how Jesus challenged the corrupt leaders of the day; his angry physical expression of turning over the tables of the money changers in the Temple. Jesus also spoke, as recorded in this section of Luke’s gospel, about bringing fire to the earth and of the division that he came to bring. Certainly nothing timid there.

Do such words contradict our common perceptions of Jesus? Not if we avoid confusing meekness with timidity. Jesus’ meekness comfortable in his own skin. He was at ease with himself due to his trust in God the Father, enabling him to be the still centre amid the storms of suspicion and hatred that swirled around him.

There was also nothing naive about Jesus. He knew full well that his message about God’s kingdom would provoke opposition, spelling this out in no uncertain terms. When he speaks about bringing fire on the earth, it is a reference to the Holy Spirit who searches out all that is in the human heart. The imagery of fire as a cleansing agent, that can burn away impurities, is powerful here.

And then Jesus talks about bringing division even within families, not because he wants such division, but because the demands of the kingdom will inevitably bring about change in the lives of those who respond. There is often conflict between the ways of God’s kingdom and the ways of the world, threatening even the closest bonds of family and friendship. This is the reality of human nature.

Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon your little child. Pity my simplicity, suffer me to come to thee. Amen.

I can still say that prayer today, though the images it conjures for me are very different to those I have of Jesus when my granny taught it to me all those years ago.

Truth matters

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Luke 11.47-54

In a world of disinformation, it’s not always easy to separate truth from falsehood. For example, ‘fake news’ is, despite Donald Trump’s misappropriation of the term, a reality with which we must contend if we are to prevent truth from being compromised or hidden from us. Truth is a precious commodity and worth defending, even at great personal cost.

Truth is an attribute of God, embodied supremely in Jesus Christ who is, ‘the Way, the Truth, and the Life’. His life is the lens through which are called to look at our world and know how best to live amid all the agendas that clamour for our attention and as the currents of hatred and division swirl around us. Jesus showed and taught us how to live. He is the yardstick against which can measure the validity of the world’s competing agendas which pull us this way and that.

This gospel reading is part of a longer section in which Jesus challenges the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and lawyers. They were part of an elite who should have known better, but whose own agendas had compromised their guardianship of religious truth. The outward show of building tombs for the prophets hid the fact that their own ancestors were responsible for killing the prophets in the first place.

Speaking truth to power ensured the fate of Jesus. He was not prepared to collude with what he knew to be false, whatever the cost. As disciples of Jesus, we are called to follow in his footsteps, and to challenge deception, distortion and lies, wherever we encounter them. It’s a big ask, I know, and we can be left wondering where on earth to start. So, here’s a suggestion.

Take a little time this week to consider where, and from whom, you gain your understanding of what is going on in the world and, perhaps, especially at this time in the Middle East. Are particular agendas being pushed and, if so, whose? Are different sides of an argument being offered or just one? Are things always as black and white as some might want us to believe? How might different perspectives help us to deepen our knowledge and live authentic Christian lives in this complex and messy world?

These are important questions because, in a world of so much disinformation and fake news, perhaps now more than at any other time in history, truth matters.

In God’s hands

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Luke 10.1-12

Our distance from the events of Jesus’s life and ministry can sometimes mean that we miss both the challenge and impact of his words on those who were close to him. We can see this by taking a moment to reflect on today’s gospel reading.

The challenge to those followers of Jesus, sent out to prepare the way in the towns where he intended to visit, was huge. They were being asked to step out in faith on behalf of a fledgling movement into potentially hostile territory with nothing more than the clothes on their back.

If the response they received was positive, all well and good; if not Jesus told them not to waste time unduly but to move on, acknowledging that some people will forever be resistant to the good news. That is as true today as it was back them. You cannot argue someone into God’s kingdom.

They were the vanguard of what would one day become the world’s largest religion – but they could never have known that at the time. The striking thing is that they listened to Jesus and responded to his call despite all the questions that must have troubled them: Where will we stay? How will we feed ourselves? What if people don’t like what we say?

And we are inheritors of that tradition. We may not be called as missionaries in the way that the 70 were, but the call to be faithful to Jesus and ready tell others about him in the context of our daily lives belongs to all who claim to be his followers.

Sometimes that will be easy and those who we meet will gladly receive the witness that we give to Jesus through our words and deeds and presence. At other times, there will be those who have no time for the good news – perhaps because it is disturbing and upsetting to their way of life and how they see the world.

The fact of the matter is that it is not for us to worry about how others receive the good news; after all, we cannot control anyone else’s feelings or reactions. All we can do is manage our own, and conduct ourselves with honesty, compassion, and dignity, wherever opportunities to witness for Christ arise. We must do our best and leave the rest to God, because the fruits of our witness are always in God’s hands.

Who is Jesus for you?

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Luke 9.7-9

Reports about the missionary work of the twelve apostles were making King Herod uncomfortable. The movement, forming up around Jesus, was gaining popularity, something always disturbing for those in power. At the heart of events was Jesus, and Herod was left wondering, ‘Who is this man?’ He wanted to meet Jesus for himself and would do so after the eventual arrest of Jesus. The account of that meeting is in Luke 23.6-12 if you are interested in reading it.

Luke tells us that Herod was perplexed as stories about Jesus reached him. What should he make of Jesus? Who was this man? Was he challenge, or even a threat to Herod’s authority? Was the perfect humanity of Jesus shining a spotlight onto Herod’s sinfulness? One thing is sure: Herod could not remain indifferent to Jesus. News about Jesus was spreading into the society under Herod’s jurisdiction, and people were responding, as is the case for anyone who truly encounters the story of Jesus.

Very few people who, on reading about Jesus’ life, ministry, death and resurrection, remain indifferent to him. Some reject Jesus for various reasons, perhaps because they cannot face the implications of becoming a follower. Lifestyles would have to change. So, they keep him at arm’s length.

Others accept who Jesus is and all that he stands for, setting out on the path of discipleship by seeking to walk in his footsteps, the work of a lifetime. They receive Jesus’ message about the kingdom of God and from thereon live life to the beat of a different drum. Not many who encounter Jesus with serious intent are left on the fence.

Ultimately, of course, it is for every person to make their own response to the good news of Jesus Christ; a response that is never forced and which some sadly, like Herod, will reject. The imperative for the Church, and for each of us who belong to it, is to make the good news of Jesus Christ known to all people without exception, and that means taking it to where the Church is not; to go out beyond its boundaries proclaiming it through words and actions to all who are willing to listen, thereby answering the question for themselves: ‘Who is this man?’

So, who is this man for you?