Grateful, excited crowds gathered outside Jerusalem to welcome their new leader with praises and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been removed from Israel. The new leader cleansed the temple and city and strengthened Jerusalem’s fortifications. He then placed his sons in positions of authority so they would be ready to reign after him and begin a dynasty that would last 100 years. The year was 142 BC and the leader was Simon Maccabeus. You can read about him in the book of 1 Maccabees. Would Jesus be any different from all the others who have trodden the well-worn path from revolutionary to saviour to dictator to executioner?
Rev Pam Hynd's sermon for Lent 5 (audio only)
Do you remember when people used to ridicule changes in our language around disability? There was resistance to using word words like vision impaired instead of blind. Resistance to talking about people living with impaired vision instead of “the blind”? Do you remember such signs of respect being labeled as "politically correct" or "woke"? Ours is not the only culture to resist shoring respect to people who are seen as lesser and other. In this story at the centre of John's Gospel we find a man living with severe vision impairment and: 1. We see Jesus' disciples talking about him in front of him, as though he were an object rather than a person. 2. We see neighbours controlling his movement as though his disability placed him under their authority. 3. And we see religious leaders trying to co-opt him for their own cause. Jesus is not the one who turns all this around. The man who has lived all his life with a disability is the hero of this story!
Jesus was thirsty So he offered living water To a woman Who was desperate for a better world
It is everyone's favourite verse with good reason. John 3:16
We often think of temptation as desire for something bad or evil, but for Jesus in the desert, it was his good desires that the devil used to tempt him. That is often our experience as well - we desire good things and are vulnerable to the allure of shortcuts that promise to get us there faster. We need to understand that the wounds of our humanity are deep. Healing is happening in the slow unfolding of God's loving will. It is hard to be patient but quick-fixes can only sooth the pain for a time, they cannot bring the deep healing we need.
On the Mountain of Transfiguration, boundaries crumbled, leaving the disciples babbling in confusion and fainting in fear. Then a voice was heard: "This is my Son who I love. Listen to Him."
This is a tough passage from the Sermon on the Mount, with some hard sayings from Jesus. Jesus' words here about divorce have often been interpreted in a way that has caused great harm and lasting trauma. What do we do with that? Do we allow love and compassion to distract us from the law of God? OR do we condone harm done in the name of obedience to God? Are those our only choices? Is there, perhaps, another way?
Rev Pam Hynd's sermon for Epiphany 5