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Thought
for the Week Sunday 19 July – 6th Sunday after Trinity
I
wonder how many of us wonder where the time goes these days. Before I retired
I wondered what on earth I was going to do with my time since being retired
not only do I wonder how I am going to fit every thing in. How on earth did I
find time to work and go to an office every day? Probably many of us feel the
same.. But
even for the unretired life has taken on a very different aspect certainly over the past 30/40 years.
Change has been brought about by the way information technology and
communication has exploded with the computer, internet, the world wide web
and the introduction of the laptop, the Blackberry and the mobile phone. All
have had a significant impact upon the way we lead our lives. Holidays have
become an office extension in another place, business can be carried on
wherever we are. The turn round time for a contract is almost instantaneous.
All of which has added to the pressure under which we live. We have an
impression of life getting faster and faster
----- not so much an impression, as a reality. By
the time of the events in the gospel reading for today Jesus had been working
his socks off and was now looking forward to a well earned rest, a time of
recuperation and a recharging of the batteries before going on. Not least his
disciples were also looking forward to a time of rest/ It didn’t happen! I
suppose the disciples looked at things a bit like we do when under pressure
and the slightest interruption to what we see as a well earned respite is not
only frowned upon but seen as a positive nuisance, something to push us ever
nearer the edge upon which we lead our busy lives. But
not so Jesus Instead of looking upon the crowd that raced around the other
side of the lake to get there before him and so be waiting for him as a
problem, as a nuisance, he is immediately overtaken by a sense of compassion
for them. Indeed this is one of the hallmarks of Jesus whole ministry
–compassion. He sees the crowd as being a flock of sheep without a shepherd.
---- We see this parallel drawn many times in the history of the Israelite
nation ----- a leaderless people going apparently nowhere fast. We only need
to look at Numbers 27, Kings 22, Ezekial 14 and Zechariah 10 to get the idea. Jesus
compassion leads to the feeding of the five thousand with five loves and two
fishes –and his walking on the water and apparently quelling the wind ---- this is not part of our gospel for
today; but what is, is Jesus healing the sick wherever he went, with those
just touching the hem of his cloak experiencing a healing. Again we see an
aspect of Jesus compassion for people. It is essential to keep in mind that
neither Jesus nor the disciples appear to have had the respite that was
originally sought at the beginning. The
healing stories in this part of the gospel reading appear to be very
generalised and unspecific. Purposely no doubt, but it does seem to indicate
that Mark may not himself have experienced the healing but merely heard about
them. We
have in this gospel a people avidly seeking a leader. May be thinking that
they have found the one who was going to be their leader in an uprising
against the authorities thus restoring Israel and the Jewish people to what
they perceived as their rightful position as the people of God. Although we
know this was to be the case, it was not to be in the manner thought by the
people. This whole section of Mark’s gospel –i.e. chapter 6, really sets out
Jesus dedication to his ultimate task and his compassion – both aspects of
the love he reflected from his Father. It is here that there is relevance
with the prophecy of Jeremiah You
see Jeremiah was writing his prophesy at a time of tremendous international
unrest with power struggles going on between the Assyrians, the Babylonians
and the Egyptians and the lesser nations being pawns on the world stage. Jeremiah
was one of the reluctant prophets. Moses the patriarch was also a reluctant
recruit in God’s plan, for all of them expressed considerable reluctance to
fulfil the task God allotted them. Poor old Jeremiah –he tried hard to avoid
the responsibility that was placed on his shoulders If you remember he even
told the Lord God that he was but as a child and did not know how to speak.
God has a way of overcoming our personal fears and told Jeremiah that he,
God, would be with him, would tell him the words to say And so Jeremiah
prophesied for the Lord between 626 and 586 BC. Basically known as a prophet
of doom it was given to Jeremiah to warn of what was to happen because the
shepherds had wronged the Israelite nation. The Shepherds were the kings,
rulers and governors over the Israelites. They had feathered their own nests,
looked after their own interests and not cared for the nation in a befitting
way. Thus
they had been scattered in the exile. Now Jeremiah, on a positive note, is
led by the Lord God to advise that the shepherds would get their just
deserts. The people would be gathered together again in one place, not be
afraid and would have a leader from David’s line who would do what was just
and right This
of course brings us to Jesus and the gospel for Jesus refers to the crowd as
being like a flock without a shepherd. Verse 34 refers to the crowd being
“…like sheep without a shepherd”… this crowd is representative of the
Israelite nation; he feeds them, he cares for them he heals the sick who are
brought to him ---- he is showing himself by his actions to be the true
shepherd of the sheep. But
this was not Jesus just showing himself to be a wonderful miracle worker with
the feeding of the five thousand, the walking on the water, quelling the wind
and healing countless numbers wherever he went. This was Jesus saying in
effect I am the long awaited Messiah, I am the fulfilment of Jeremiah’s
prophesy, I am the one you are waiting for. Whether the crowds understood
that when he was doing these things is in fact doubtful ----- he was feeding
their needs at this stage rather than their spiritual appetites. We
are able to give greater understanding because of our being that far away
from the events in terms of time but also we have the benefit of hindsight. It
was left to Paul in his letter to the church at Ephesus to put things into
perspective, as he surely does bringing everything into sharp focus. Jesus’
ministry you will recall, was to the Jewish nation and not to the gentiles.
The Jews misunderstood him failed to recognise the Messiah and as a
consequence the great commission to go into the entire world and preach the
gospel and baptise was established. The
world however is very much like the Israelites who throughout their history
rejected God and rejected Jesus Christ as Messiah when he came. Paul picks
the story up after about thirty years Ephesians having been written about 60
AD. It is generally thought that Ephesians was written to more than the one
church in Ephesus. It was a kind of round robin, as it does not appear to
deal with any particular problem in any on particular church unlike Corinthians
or Galatians for example. As a consequence it can be seen as a general
exhortation to those who would follow Jesus Christ. It is therefore
particularly appropriate as a reading today since it holds together the
prophecy of Jeremiah, the ministry of Jesus and the mission to the rest of
the world. Why?
Christ is the meeting point. It
is in him that the prophecy of Jeremiah is realised. It is in him that the
world as a whole, Jew and Gentile has its hope for the future. As Paul
writes, “ But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been
brought near through the blood of Christ ………………..for through him we both
(meaning Jew and Gentile) have access to the Father through the Sprit.” The
consequence of this is as Paul says that “we are being built together to
become the dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” That
is a mind-blowing thought. So
what do we get out of today’s gospel reading which lets admit it, on the face
of it, is quite mundane. You may not agree of course. It
seems to me that from the gospel reading there are at least two
considerations. You may be able to think of more. The
first is that rest, relief, holiday, what ever you want to call it, is
essential for all. It was essential for Jesus and he felt it was essential
for his disciples. None of us can carry on effectively if we continue living
on the edge without respite. Why, even God rested on the seventh day! Secondly it is essential as followers of Christ to be able to not only show but to live compassion to others just as Christ did. Mel Fancy: Reader, Anglican Chaplaincy
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