Luke 9:23-25 and Luke 22:24-29



In the Western World, people are becoming less and less biblically literate. As a growing number of people have begun to regard themselves as atheists and agnostics, as secular people who have given up on religion, so large portions of the population, especially in England, have become more and more biblically illiterate.

And yet, what is fascinating is that despite this fact, many people in British culture quite unknowingly use Biblical phrases in their everyday life. It shows how over the centuries the Bible has left a long lasting imprint on our culture.
The following list gives some examples

Bite the Dust from Psalms 72:9.
The Blind Leading the Blind Matthew 15:13-14.

By the Skin of Your Teeth from Job 19:20 (from the Geneva Bible).

Broken Heart from Psalms 34:18.

Can a Leopard Change his spots? from Jeremiah 13:23 (KJV).

Cast the First Stone from John 8:7.

Drop in a Bucket from Isaiah 40:15 .

Eat, Drink, and Be Merry from Ecclesiastes 8:15.

Eye for Eye, Tooth for tooth from Matthew 5:38.

Fall From Grace from Galatians 5:4. Prince Andrew

Fly in the Ointment from Ecclesiastes 10:1 (KJV).

Forbidden Fruit from Genesis 3:3.

Go the extra mile from Matthew 5:41.

He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword from Matthew 26:52.

How the Mighty have Fallen from 2 Samuel 1:19.

The Love of Money is the Root of All Evil from 1 Timothy 6:10.

Nothing but skin and bones from Job 19:19-20.

The Powers that Be from Romans 13:1 (KJV).

Pride comes before a fall from Proverbs 16:18.

Put words in one’s mouth from 2 Samuel 14:3.

Rise and shine is from Isaiah 60:1, “Arise, shine, for your light has come.”

The Root of the Matter from Job 19:28 (KJV).

Scapegoat from the Old Testament Law (Leviticus 16:9-10)

See eye to eye from Isaiah 52:8 (KJV).
Sign of the times from Matthew 16:3 (KJV).

Straight and Narrow from Matthew 7:14.

Twinkling of an Eye from 1 Corinthians 15:52,

Wit’s End from Psalm 107:27 (KJV),

Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing from Matthew 7:15

Finally: Bearings one’s cross... “It just my cross to bear” (Taken from Matthew Mark and Luke). (For further examples see end of sermon).

Interestingly, Luke’s Gospel contains an addition to the phrase which does not appear in Matthew or Mark. In both Matthew and Mark Jesus says: “If anyone wishes to be my disciple he/she must... take up their cross and follow me.”

Luke is the only version that inserts the word ‘daily”. "Whoever wants to be my disciple must ... take up their cross daily and follow me.

I would like to explore briefly what the phrase “bearing one’s cross” might mean for us:

1stly, in popular language and popular usage, bearing ones cross in life is often interpreted as bearing one’s lot in life. It suggests that we should just accept the difficulties and bad things in life because that is just one’s fate in life.

There is a truth in that interpretation that at times can indeed be useful and helpful. There are indeed times in life where suffering cannot be avoided and cannot be changed. And in those instances when we stop resisting the difficult situation and simply accept things the way they are, then our suffering can actually decrease. In those situations the phrase “it is just my cross to bear in life” represents an acceptance of a situation that cannot be changed and there can indeed be a freedom to be found in that.

But the danger of such an interpretation of the phrase “to bear one’s cross in life”, is that it can lead to a passive acceptance of suffering and a fatalism about suffering that is not always healthy.

I think of the example of a woman living in a situation of domestic abuse and violence. I see in October of this year the PSNI hit a record high in the number of domestic violence and domestic abuse cases. Sometimes in situations of such domestic abuse, many woman would say to themselves: “This is just my cross to bear in life”. Sometimes women have been told that by their ministers, priests and pastors.

But I think that Jesus would have been horrified by this interpretation. Jesus spent all his life working to liberate people from suffering and now some have taken the saying of Jesus and turned it around to suggest that we must blindly accept whatever suffering that comes into our lives, even when it is abusive.

Perhaps if we want to get a clearer understanding of the phrase, it would be helpful to ask what the phrase meant in Jesus day and how Jesus may have understood it? Whenever you wish to understand a verse or passage in the Bible, it is first important to ask what it meant in its historical context.

In answering these questions, the first thing to remember is that crucifixion had a very specific meaning in Jesus day. It was a means of execution that was reserved for those who were a political threat to the Status Quo of the Roman Empire. Only those regarded as a political threat were crucified. When we read of Barabbas who was allegedly released in Jesus place, often we are told that Barabbas was a common criminal. But to be accurate, Barabbas needs to be understood to have been a political revolutionary, because it was political revolutionaries who were crucified, not common criminals.

When we consider the teachings of Jesus, while Jesus was not a violent political revolutionary, all indications are that Jesus was in a very profound way a non-violent political revolutionary. His teachings envisioned a very radical alternative vision for society where the poor would no longer live in grinding poverty and the rich would no longer lord it over them.

The fact that Jesus had such a large following amongst the poor and the marginalised clearly posed a threat to the social order of the Jews. If Jesus did not at some level, pose a threat to social and political order, then he would never have been put to death. At the very least, Pilate saw that he was a threat to peace amongst the Jews and therefore agreed to have him put to death.

From this perspective, to take up ones cross and follow Jesus is to stand up for what is right. It means to be willing to work for a more fair and justice world, and also being willing and ready to face the consequences for doing so.

The protests of Extinction Rebellion might be from one perspective, an example of what it could mean to ‘bear one’s cross’. In order to draw mass attention to the plight of the environment that is already beginning to unfold around us, they have been willing to be arrested by police and even abused by passers by because they desperately wish to catch our attention on the climate crisis before it is too late.

How willing are we to bare the consequences for standing up for what we believe in?

How willing are we to bear the consequences of standing up for honesty and integrity?

How willing are we to bare the consequences of standing on the side of a society that is more just and fair when fellow human beings are being oppressed and dealt with unjustly?

How willing might we be to bare the consequences of standing up for environmental justice, fighting for a world that will be a good and wholesome place for our children to live in?

Today is the last Sunday of the Christian Calendar. It is a day in which we remember that Christ is King. Our passages today remind us that To call Christ King, is to become part of an upside-down kingdom, a kingdom whose values are different from this world. To be a follower of Christ is to be a follower of a crucified King. It is to be willing to follow the way of the servant King, it is to be willing to take up our cross and follow Jesus.

Further examples of scripture verses that have become part of ordinary everyday English usage:

• There is a time for everything under the sun... It is sometimes rephrased: There is a proper time for everything... or there is a time and a place for everything. Many do not realise that it comes from Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.
  
  
• “Am I my brothers keeper” - is a phrase that comes from Genesis 4:9.
  
• “The truth will set you free” - John 8:32 – a quote from Jesus
  
• A Millstone around your neck –from Matt 18:6
  
  
• “It is better to give then receive” - is a saying of Jesus which interestingly doesn't appear in the 4 Gospels. Instead, it appears in the book of Acts 20:35.
  
  
• “The writing is on the wall”, from Daniel 5.
  
  
• “To be weighed and found wanting” from Daniel 5.
  
  
• “Kicking against the goads” - from Acts 26:14.
  
  
• “Iron sharpens iron”  from Proverbs 27:17
  
  
• “Not judging by appearance”  from John 7:24
  
  
• “A good Samaritan” from  Luke 10:33.
  
  
• “I have washed my hands of it” from Matthew 27:24
  
  
• The phrase “Ivory tower” is often used to describe people and especially academics who make pronouncements on things of which they have no practical experience. “Sitting in their ivory tower”... suggests that they are impractical dreamers. The phrase originally comes from the Song of Songs / Song of Solomon and is used to describe a woman’s purity.
  
  

Wendy and I have been watching World on Fire – Its a BBC mini-series that follows the hidden lives of ordinary people from Britain, Poland, France and Germany during World War II.
I presume there will be future seasons, but this first season introduces us to the early advances of the Nazi’s with their invasion and occupation of Poland, and then their subsequent invasion of France and the devastation that these invasions caused.

The series also helps to reveal the something of the evil (for the want of a better word) of the Nazi threat and ideology.
On Remembrance Sunday, when remember those who fought and died in the second world war, we often speak of expressing our gratitude because they fought for our freedom. But what exactly do we mean when we say that. What is the shape of this freedom that they fought for, and how can we honour the legacy they have left for us?
As one reflects on a TV series like World on Fire, it reminds us of the kind of freedom they fought for:

The freedom that they fought for was a freedom from living in a society based on intimidation and fear. In the World on Fire series one sees how ordinary German citizen's, many of whom had a distaste for Nazi ideology were forced and coerced in submission through fear and intimidation. In the series we see how neighbours were made to spy on neighbours and workers on their fellow workers and colleagues and then reporting back to the Nazi authorities. 

The freedom that soldiers fought for was a freedom from living in a society based on intimidation and fear.

It is indeed a very worrying aspect of the current state of British politics where politicians on both sides of the Brexit debate are being intimidated on the streets and receiving hate mail and death threats. It reveals that the seeds of Nazi ideology were not something peculiar to the German people, but in fact live in the hearts of every human being who uses fear and intimidation to get their way. If we are to preserve the freedom that soldiers fought and died for, we need to nurture a political landscape that is free from fear and intimidation. The kind of society I believe that Christ invites us to create is one where we win people over with our love and good deeds rather than by coercion, intimidation and fear.

Secondly when one reflects on the story of World on Fire, it reminds us that those who sacrificed their lives on our behalf fought for a world where might is not right. In the TV series one sees how Nazi ideology was built on the theory that might is right, that somehow, having power meant that the felt justified using that power in whatever way they pleased, killing with impunity, even people who posed no threat to them.

The freedom that soldiers fought for was a freedom from living in a society based on intimidation and fear.

It is not right that anyone should dominate another simply because we are stronger. It is not right to invade another country just because one has the power to do so. It is not right to impose one’s own system of values on another simply because one has the power to do so or to use violence against another because one disagrees with them.

Our passage from Luke’s Gospel gives us a vivid picture of this when Jesus and the disciples face opposition from the Samaritans. James and John are working on the principal of might is right. If someone opposes you, then you have the right to use violence against them. Inspired by one of the Old Testament stories of Elijah, they say to Jesus, should we call down fire from heaven upon them to destroy them. But Jesus is not interested in their culture of violence and domination. The text tells us that Jesus rebukes them. One translation says he corrected them. I like that translation. The word rebuke is quite a harsh word. Jesus corrected them and they simply went on to another village.

Jesus lived for a world where violence and dominance would be no more. The hope as expressed in the Old Testament where the weapons of war would be beaten into agricultural implements.

Henri Nouwen, a popular Christian writer wrote: “For Jesus there are no countries to be conquered, no ideologies to be imposed, no people to be dominated. There are only children, women and men to be loved.”

Thirdly, reflecting on the World on Fire series, I believe that soldiers who fought and died in world war 2 fought for a world where it is ok to display weakness and where people who live with weaknesses and disabilities can be honoured and protected. The Aryan pursuit of racial perfection meant that Nazi ideology looked with disdain on all who were weak, even to the extent of feeling it was ok to exterminate them. In the TV series, we encoutner an ordinary German family whose daughter had epilepsy. Over the course of the series it becomes apparent that any children with some form of disability or weakness were identified for special medical treatment. But what this really meant was that they were identified to be euthenased in order to protect the Aryan gene pool from weakness.

The apostle Paul reminds us that the way of Christ is a way that honours weakness. That somehow it is in our weaknesses that God’s strength and power are displayed. And in the words of Leonard Cohen, it is often through the cracks of our imperfection that the light is able to shine through.

Jesus powerfully demonstrated the way where might is not right as he sacrificed himself in crucifixion. In the light of the cross we discover that there is something about human weakness and vulnerability that is saving and redeeming in a way that the way of violence can never be.

Fourthly, the TV series World on Fire reminds us that those who sacrificed their lives in the second world war fought for a world where no racial group or nationality should consider itself superior.

In the TV series, we are reminded of the Nazi ideology of the superiority of the Aryan race. And from this so-called position of superiority, they believed that they could act with disdain and impunity against any they considered inferior, whether Polish, French, Jewish or people of African descent.

The Nazi superiority complex and their obsession with strength grew out of the ashes of German humiliation at the end of the First World War and in the treaty of Versaille. What ever the origins of this Nazi Superiority complex, it had devastating consequences, not just for the Jews, but for anyone who they considered inferior. In fighting against the evil of Nazi ideology of Aryan superiority, those who died in the second world war were in effect fighting for a world where no race or nationality should claim superiority over others. In Galatians, Paul asserts that the message of Christ is one where we are called to go beyond the human distinctions we make between different people, a world in which we are no longer bound between the false distinctions of Jew and Gentile, Male and Female, Slave and Free, a world in which we see every human being as someone equally precious in God’s sight and for whom Christ died.

Lastly, I believe those who gave their lives in world war 2 fought for a world in which our differences should be honoured.

In the most recent episode we watched one sees the Nazi obsession with social control, right down to trying to control what kind of music people could listen to. As they invade Paris the Nazi's begin to shut down jazz-clubs and arrest jazz musicians. Jazz was outlawed for a number of reasons. It was seen as undisciplined and advocating individualism, as well as being 'black' people's music. On the World on Fire, we see also that jazz was outlawed because jazz musicians plucked their stringed instruments thus supposedly causing harm to their instruments.

Those who gave their lives in World War 2 fought for a world in which our differences should be honoured. Where we do not have to agree on everything. Where we do not have to all listen to the same kind of music. Where we can affirm the right of others to hold differences of opinion and practice.

The issue of same-sex marriage is understandably a hot-topic in Northern Ireland, and particularly in light of the implementation of the Westminster legislation a week or so ago. On BBC radio ulster about a week ago, there was a discussion between a number of religious leaders, which happened to include the Rev. Chris Hudson, the current moderator of our own denomination who many will know has long advocated for the LGBT+ community. It was good to hear him affirming that not everyone in our own denomination is of one mind on the issue. But it was the voice of a spokesperson from the Evangelical Alliance however which really stood out for me. While he affirmed the fact that he remains diametrically opposed to same-sex marriage, he also affirmed the right and freedom of others, like Chris Hudson to hold and practice a view different from his own, because in doing so it was affirming the right to religious freedom for himself as well. I felt that there was a lot of courage and wisdom in his statement. We fight for the religious freedom of others even when we disagree with them, because in doing so we fight for our own religious freedom as well.

The alternative is to lay the seeds of a new kind of Nazi-ism where one group seeks to impose their own opinions on others.

Ellen de Generes in the context of a very divided America was recently criticised for hanging out with George W. Bush. She responded with the following statement: ““Here’s the thing, I’m friends with George Bush. In fact, I’m friends with a lot of people who don’t share the same beliefs that I have. We’re all different. And I think that we’ve forgotten that that’s OK that we’re all different. When I say, ‘Be kind to one another’, I don’t mean only the people who think the same way that you do, I mean be kind to everyone. Doesn’t matter.”

And so today, we honour those who fought for the freedoms we have today. The freedom to respectfully disagree. The freedom to enjoy jazz music if that is our preference. But also the freedom from a world of fear, intimidation and domination based on someone’s notion of their own superiority. A world where we are free to honour the weaknesses and disabilities in ourselves and in others, and where we do not need to hide our weaknesses and disabilities out of fear of others.

And it all begins with you and me: Gandalf, in the Lord of the Rings says the following: “Some believe that is it only GREAT POWER that can hold evil in check. But that is not what I have found. I have found that it is the small every day deeds of ordinary folk that keep darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love.”

Luke 19:1-10

This week I came across a news article by British writer and activist Priya Basil entitled: Make yourselves at home: the meaning of hospitality in a divided world.

The article begins with these very powerful words:

“We all begin as guests, every single one of us. Helpless little creatures whose every need must be attended to. Creatures who, for a long time, can give nothing or very little back, yet who – in the usual run of things – nevertheless insinuate ourselves deep into the lives of our carers and take up permanent residence in their hearts.”

It is quite a profound thought that the experience of unconditional hospitality goes right back to our experience in the womb where a space is created for us within our mother’s bodies and then our experience of hospitality shown to us as we are born into this world.

The writer of the article goes on to suggest that becoming a mature adult in this world requires that we all make a general shift from being a dependent guest to having the capacity to become a competent host. Somehow, the act and practice of hospitality touches something of the very core of our humanity.

The article explores the power of unconditional hospitality and suggests that the act of welcoming and feeding strangers can help to transcend borders and break down barriers between people.

In the article the writer (who comes from a Sikh background) makes reference to her own family experience of hospitality with their Muslim neighbours. Hosting each other for meals in each others homes became a way in which religious and cultural barriers were broken down between them and for genuine friendship and caring to grow between them as neighbours. Sharing meals in each others homes turned them from strangers into friends.

Perhaps the reason the article caught my eye is that Jesus knew very well the transforming power of hospitality in his own life and ministry. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is pictured eating meals with people. IN Luke’s Gospel alone – which we have been focusing on this year – there are 10 scenes in which Jesus is pictured eating meals with people, and that's apart from a number of parables which are set in the context of a hosted meal. And what is most striking is that Jesus practiced sharing meals with an open table – which was quite unheard of in most Jewish religious circles where table fellowship helped to define who was in and who was out, who was acceptable and who was unacceptable. But all were welcome at the table of Christ... saint and sinner alike.

Jesus ate meals with the hated tax-collectors (collaborators with the oppressive Roman Empire), he ate meals with prostitutes, those considered by others as morally unclean and unacceptable. I don’t think we take on board just how radical that practice was. Just imagine if a minister today here in Northern Ireland began to regularly host meals with prostitutes, what an uproar it would cause in the local newspapers. He ate meals with lepers, (in Matthew and Mark’s Gospel he is spoken of visiting the home of Simon the Leper). He ate meals at a wedding banquet. He ate meals with his betrayer and deserters. At the last supper, Judas is present with Jesus at the table, along with Peter who denies him and all the disciples who desert him. He eats meals with his religious rivals the Pharisees, as we see him dining with the self-righteous Simon the Pharisee. He ate meals with uninvited guests, the women of ill-repute who gate crashed Simon the Pharisees home as washed Jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

Jesus practiced a radical and open hospitality where all were welcome and no-one was turned away.

And that brings us to our Gospel passage today:

The story of Zacchaeus revolves around an act of hospitality as Zachaeus welcomes Jesus into his home. Or is it the other way around, where Jesus invites himself over to the home of Zacchaeus. What is interesting, is that while this act of hospitality happens in Zacchaeus’s home, the impression that one is given is that it is not Zachaeus who is the host, but rather Jesus himself. It is Jesus who creates a space for Zacchaeus more than Zacchaeus who creates a space for Jesus.

While it is Zacchaeus who seems to be seeking Jesus at the beginning of the passage, it turns out that it is Jesus who is doing the real seeking. It is Jesus who is seeking this lost and shunned little man called Zacchaeus.

And like the article that I read this week suggests, this moment of hospitality, as Zacchaeus makes a place for Jesus in his home, and more significantly as Jesus makes a place for Zaccaehus in his presence and in his heart, it is a transforming moment. It is a moment that breaks open Zacchaeus’s heart as we begin to see the flood-gates of God’s grace and mercy flowing through him:

What might this story tell us about communion?

1. Although it is we who bring gifts of bread and wine / grape-juice to remember Jesus, it is Jesus who is the host of the meal. It is Jesus who invites us into his presence.

2. Secondly, the story communicates to us that there is a place for each of us at the table of Christ. There is a place for you. No matter how unworthy you feel, and perhaps also, no matter how unworthy someone else may have made you feel. There is a place for you at the table of Christ. As Christ calls Zacchaeus by his name, so Christ welcomes us as he calls us by name.

At the table of Jesus, there is a place for you.

I must admit that I am incredibly grateful to be part of a church / denomination where the table of communion is open to all. It was the same in the Methodist tradition that I grew up in. I am often intrigued by Church traditions which place conditions on who can come to communion. To me it seems that it undermines the spirit in which  Christ.

At the table of Jesus, there is a place for you.

3. Thirdly, when we truly receive the unconditional hospitality of Christ and become his guests at his it has a transforming effect upon us. It opens our hearts to the need of others. It breaks through the defenses of our hearts and allows the generosity of God’s spirit to flow through us.

The other significance of Zacchaeus’s name is that it means “pure”. Zachaeus is regarded as impure by others, a notorious sinner. But Jesus sees beneath the impurity that others see. Jesus sees Zachaeus’ original purity as a child of God, made in God’s image. In Jesus presence, Zachaeus is able to become what he truly is deep inside. He is enabled to touch the pruty within that he had lost sight of and that purity expressed as love within begins to flow outwards as generosity to others.

At the table of Christ, as we are welcomed by Christ’s unconditional hosptiality, we are invited into the purity of Christ’s transforming presence that enables us to touch the original purity within us too.

4. Fourthly...The Zacchaeus story calls this experience by the word: Salvation. Salvation is not just about getting to heaven one day. Salvation is about allowing the movement of God’s grace and mercy to move within us here and now. According to this story, salvation is a very practical and down to earth matter that even affects our attitude towards our money.

Salvation, the opening of Zacchaeus’s heart comes not because of his worthiness. Not because of his effort to achieve salvation. Salvation comes to his home as a result of Christ’s gift of unconditional hospitality.

At the table of Christ, as we receive Christ’s unconditional hospitality, we become recipients of God’s salvation, the movement of God’s grace and mercy within us and through us that will inevitably open our hearts with grace, love and mercy towards others.