Click here for Astrid's video messageFifth Sunday after Trinity Mark 6:1-13 2 Corinthians 12:2-10I don’t know how light you are travelling. Maybe it all depends on where you are going. Many of our journeys having been curtailed in recent times, it also depends on other things. Reading today’s Gospel in Mark 6, and especially Jesus’ instructions to the twelve as to how they are to travel, has reminded me of a game we used to play as children, at a school party for instance, or at a summer camp. One person begins and says: I’m going on a journey and I’m taking …. (a toothbrush for example). The next person says: I’m going on a journey and I’m taking a toothbrush and a jacket. And so all the next in line repeat the former lines and add a new item that they are taking with them. Of course, the game is to remember as many items as possible as the list gets longer and longer, (and ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime!).Another memory I have is of one of our camping holidays. Our car being stuffed with all our ‘necessities’; some more so than others… I tended to say to the children that apart from their clothes, they could only take one certain bag of toys, so if it didn’t fit in the bag, it didn’t come with us. You have to draw the line sometimes, at the kitchen sink!But, in all seriousness, how do you travel? Are you content to bring just a toothbrush and a change of clothing, or do you tend to want to take the stamp collection and the Encyclopedia Britannica? Jesus told his disciples not to take anything except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts; but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics. The latter, because, of course, it’s tempting, if you’re not to take anything extra with you, to just put on an extra layer. Now, why would Jesus give them instructions like these? Why couldn’t they take food and other provisions with them? We, in our own situations and travelling plans, would certainly want to be prepared for the unexpected? Or even for the expected, every day need.I think the answer lies in what they were to travel for, in the purpose of their journey. They were to be like ambassadors, or as envoys of the king. They were to proclaim that all should repent, to turn away from doing wrong, to cast out demons and to heal the sick. Their mission of proclamation, exorcism and healing would be successful only if they were committed and focussed, and totally relying on God’s power, not their own. They were to go in the name of Jesus, not their own name. They travelled light because they didn’t need anything except the authority that Jesus had given them. And wherever they were to enter a house, they were to stay there until they left the place. But if any place didn’t welcome them and people refused to hear them, they were to leave and shake off the very dust that was on their feet as a testimony against them. They would not need to take provisions, because, like the people of Israel in the desert after they had left Egypt, they would be fed and clothed by God. Also, in the case of a hasty retreat if they were not welcomed, it would be much easier to get out if they didn’t have to carry or worry about any baggage.We sometimes think that we need to be clever in our plans for a successful mission and creating a sustainable church, and of course we are to use our brains, such as the ones we have been given. But I think that, too often, we tend to forget that it’s God himself who calls us to proclaim the Gospel in our lives, and therefore we should rely on his strength, by his Spirit, rather than our own. It’s easy, isn’t it, to think that we need more of lots of things, to be successful in our lives and in our faith, whereas only one thing is needed: to listen to Jesus, in obedience and commitment.How are you travelling? Are you carrying too much on the journey? What do you need to let go of, in order to travel light and in God’s purpose?Let us pray:O God, our Peace and our Strength, help us to leave off anything that hinders and to travel light in your direction. Amen.
Click here for Astrid's video messageTrinity 4Mark 5:21-43 Lamentations 3:22-33There was an article in the newspaper about somebody needing to make an appointment at the hospital, only to be told that he had to wait six months before the first one became available. Six months! Now you can’t say that it’s the doctor’s fault, or the nurse’s, as we all understand the pressures they are under, all those working their socks off in the medical profession. So, imagine, if somebody desperate, waiting for a cure, all of a sudden hears of a physician who is available now and visiting the area: wouldn’t they run to get help from this person, either for themselves or their child? I suppose something like that was happening when Jesus came ashore that day, and the leader of the synagogue, named Jairus, fell at his feet, begging Jesus to come and heal his daughter. Hearing Jairus’ plea for help, Jesus agrees and goes with him. If we can also appreciate the background to this story, that in the main, synagogue leaders were not always happy to see Jesus in their congregations, we may understand even more how desperate Jairus was and how he threw caution to the wind in his cry for help for his daughter.Mark, the gospel writer, also inserts another story within the outline of the first one. Like a sandwich, he puts in the account of the woman suffering from haemorrhaging, unable to find relief from any doctor for twelve years. She, too, throws caution to the wind when she finds herself close enough to Jesus to just touch his cloak, saying to herself that it should make her well. When Jesus realises that power has gone out from him, he turns around in the crowd and asks to know who touched him. The disciples find this a ridiculous question: in a crowd like this, with everybody pressing in, how can you ask who’s touched you? But Jesus knows more than they do, and in fear and trembling, the woman acknowledges her act before Jesus. And Jesus says to her, ‘Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.’ At this point, the message arrives from Jairus’ house that his daughter is dead and he shouldn’t bother the teacher, Jesus, any longer. But Jesus tells him not to fear, only believe, and continues the journey. Only at this point, he doesn’t want any crowd to follow him, except the disciples Peter, James and John, and when they get to the house, it’s already full of people weeping and wailing because of the girl’s death. Jesus tells them to stop, saying that she isn’t dead, just asleep. And, putting them all outside, he takes the girl’s father and mother and the disciples and goes to the child. There, he takes her hand and tells her to get up. And immediately the girl gets up and walks about, to everybody else’s amazement. Jesus then also says to the parents that they should give her something to eat. It’s a lovely, practical touch, and no doubt very necessary for the girl, who probably hasn’t eaten for some time.This story sandwich is remarkable in its own right: two people healed and raised up from a deathbed. It’s a story, in two parts, of going from fear to faith. From death and despair to resurrection and restoration. Mark doesn’t beat about the bush either; in his brush-stroke style of painting with words that we know him for, he almost throws it at our face: bring the people who are suffering to Jesus, and the result is: dynamite! New life, a new lease of life, for the two. Is it any wonder that many people were amazed and wanted to tell the story. We find it in Matthew and Luke’s gospel too. Perhaps the biggest wonder is that so many still haven’t heard. It’s one thing to tell a story, it’s another to actually hear it. And yet another to act upon it. What the stories are there for is to bear witness to who Jesus is. They record his teaching and his miracles and combined, they tell us that there is hope. If you haven’t yet read Lamentations 3 verses 22 to 33, then do so still. As it says, ‘The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end.’ That doesn’t mean that we will always be spared pain or problems in this life. But let’s remember what the two people who came to Jesus in the story today had in common: they both surrendered completely to Jesus’ authority. It might have cost them something, but it gave them everything. May we too surrender our will to God, throwing caution to the wind and simply ask, and see how he transforms our fear into faith. Amen.
Click here for Astrid's video messageTrinity 3 Mark 4:35-41 Job 38:1-11Isn’t it funny how we rely so much on what we’re used to? Only the other day, I had set out to do certain things as planned, all of which required the use of electricity, only to find that for a full morning our supply would be switched off due to maintenance on the grid. After my first frustration had cooled, I then struck a brilliant idea: instead of using a plugged-in computer, I could revert to pen and paper, for at least one task if not two! Sometimes we just need to be reminded of a power greater than ourselves, and accept that there’s a reason, even if we don’t think it’s too convenient.Things were certainly not very convenient for Job, and that’s an understatement. After he has lost everything on earth that he held dear, except his life, his friends try to console him, but their words are hollow and do not convey the authority and care of the Lord God. And so, God himself speaks, and points out to Job and his friends that their understanding of God is too limited, something that the disciples come to see in their experience on the lake in a storm. As they try to reach the other side, a furious squall comes up, and the waves break over the boat, so that it nearly gets swamped. Jesus is in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. Don’t you like that touching detail of a cushion? So the disciples, in their agony, wake him up, saying, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’ And Jesus gets up, rebukes the wind, and says to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind dies down and it’s completely calm. And Jesus says to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’Now what terrifies the disciples even more at this moment is the authority over creation that Jesus owns. He literally rules over the wind and the waves and brings them under his control. Jesus slept during the storm, as if it couldn’t touch him at all, and then, when the disciples are at their wits’ end, he just speaks and the storm dies down.There’s been a lot of talk recently about dates and data; and about how, with the aid of science, we can get a grip on, and perhaps even control, Covid-19. But even though science is a gift from God that should be used appropriately and for the benefit of all creation, it is that same creation that was made by God in the first place and that speaks of his wisdom and care. When I am in my garden, and see a butterfly landing on a flower and collecting the nectar from it, it fills me with awe and joy to see the intricate wisdom of it all. No test-tube could have created that balance of nature that speaks of God’s power and his love.There’s plenty of problems in this world. It’s a sad truth that so often they spring from our human tendency of making ourselves look big, while at the same time making God too small. If there’s just one thing that we take away from today’s readings, let it be a change in our perspective. Let it be a new appreciation of who God is, how Jesus has been God-with-us, and how much we are in need of God’s loving care and provision. It’s so easy to take things for granted, like relying on the supply of electricity in our part of the world. But the one who makes even the wind and the sea obey him, and who truly rules over them, should not be taken for granted. He deserves our full commitment and our respect. And when we give that to him, we find that he gives us, perhaps not everything we want, but certainly everything we need, including calm in the midst of the storms of life. Amen.
Click here for Astrid's video message2nd Sunday after Trinity Mark 4:26-34 2 Corinthians 5:6-17If you’ve ever tried to sow a single mustard seed, you have my sympathy. It’s so small, you can hardly separate it from other mustard seeds in the same bag. And yet, as Jesus says, once sown, it grows into the greatest of all shrubs, so that birds can make nests in its shade. Have you noticed that God has a special interest in small things? But also that he has a tendency to make them healthy and grow? In all the parables that Jesus told, but also the miracles he did, it was about changing small into large; sickness into health; darkness into light; death into life. If you’re looking for examples, here’s just a few: the feeding of the five thousand with just five loaves and two fish; turning water into wine; healing sick people and raising the dead to life; parables about yeast, a lost coin, a lost son, and seeds that grow into a harvest. The word that binds them all is ‘change’. Change is a sign of growth, which is obvious, as growth requires change. Anything that grows bigger or deeper, goes through a process of change. Now I know that some people don’t like change. But if you think about it: all children, teenagers and adults were once babies. But without the process of growth that requires change, they wouldn’t have become what they are now.When Jesus spoke about the seed that sprouts up and grows, he was talking about the kingdom of God that becomes more and more noticeable as it grows from small to great. And that kingdom is our aim and our purpose. It’s interesting that Jesus doesn’t compare the kingdom of God to other kingdoms of the world. Rather, he looks at what’s seemingly insignificantly small, ordinary and common. The people he spoke to during his ministry were also seemingly insignificant, common and ordinary. He doesn’t speak to princes and governors, rather he takes time to address, reply and touch those without great names or titles or with no name at all. Jesus’ birth already speaks of God’s care for humanity in all its smallness: choosing a country girl to be the mother of God’s Son speaks volumes in that respect.These last few days, we’ve heard a thing or two about some world leaders meeting to discuss ‘world-business’. If they are truly looking out for the weak and vulnerable, some things coming out of the discussions may be good; others are just ‘boasting in outward appearance and not in heart’, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5. What God looks for in a person is a change of heart, not a show of power. If anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation, who walks by faith, not by sight, who works to please God, not their own ego. When the love of Christ inspires a person, great things happen. When those who live might live no longer for themselves but for Jesus, the one who died and was raised for them, that’s when we see growth as God has intended.Thinking back to that mustard seed that grew into a large shrub, so that the birds of the air could build nests in its shade, we see how that works: the change that produced growth for the benefit of other creatures, whose lives then also become witness to God’s loving care. May our own growth, in deepening our faith, work in the same way: providing the space for others to grow and to flourish too. Amen.
