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After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
- Mark 1:14-15

The beginning of Jesus' public ministry offers profound insights into how His actions and teachings remain incredibly relevant for us today. We are challenged to live with a sense of urgency and purpose, understanding what it means to repent and believe the good news in our contemporary context. Next, we are called to reflect on Jesus calling of ordinary fishermen to follow Him. It is ordinary people like us, not the wise or wealthy, that are called to action by the Good News of the Kingdom. Jesus calls each of us, regardless of our background, to prioritize our relationship with Him.

Jesus has authority and power over the evil and brokenness in this world. He invests that power into us. We are encouraged to rely on Jesus' authority to overcome our personal struggles. Jesus’ compassion and power to heal is unique in history. We too can seek healing in our own lives and become agents of Jesus' healing in our communities.

To draw on this healing power, to stay focused on the mission we are called upon in a distracting world we need to incorporate regular prayer and reflection into our lives and align our priorities with God’s purpose.

Finally, as the story of Jesus cleansing a leper shows us His willingness to make us whole. Not just in our body but in our relationships with those around us. We are encouraged to trust in Jesus’ power to transform our deepest issues and share our stories of transformation to inspire others.

Spend some time with Jesus and ask him what he wants to do in your life today. You may be surprised with what he has in store for you!

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

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As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
- Matthew 3:16-17

Last Sunday was Pentecost, when we celebrate the Spirit's coming to the church.

Someone once called the Holy Spirit 'the shy member of the Trinity'. One of the primary roles of the Spirit is to point away from himself, reminding the disciples of Jesus and his teaching.

Since you can't see the Spirit, the Bible gives a series of seven (or more) word pictures.

The Spirit is wind, air, or breath. The invisible but animating force behind creation itself. The Spirit is fire - the refining holiness of God's presence, and his power for every believer. The Spirit is water, the cleansing and restoring and refreshing goodness of God. The Spirit is a seal, a first-fruit, a guarantee - the first part of the fulness of life in God which is yet to come and the now of the not yet. The Holy Spirit is consecrating oil, the way in which we are set apart for works of service to God and our neighbour. The Holy Spirit is the wine of celebration and joy.

And the Holy Spirit is a dove, descending on Jesus after his baptism - such a rich image! The dove is a sacrificial animal. It's also the symbol of Noah's discovery of a new world after the flood. And it's gentle. "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased", is a reference to Isaiah 42, a prophecy of the 'Servant of the Lord'.

I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.

The Servant will come - Jesus comes - to bring justice to broken people and to a broken world, but with incredible gentleness. So it is with the Spirit - not just a rushing wind, or a tongue of fire, but a gentle dove.

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“You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.

- Acts 7:51-58

In Matthew's description of Jesus' trial, the high priest orders Jesus to say whether he is the Messiah. Jesus' response is fascinating, not least because he doesn't say, "Yes - I'm the Messiah".

First, he says - "that's what you say"! Why would you call a duck a duck? If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, etc. Why would you call someone the Messiah?

Second, he says, "I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven". This tips the high priest over the edge, who considers the language blasphemous, and tears his holy robes.

In Stephen's trial, it's that same claim that finally ignites a volatile situation - "I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God". It is this kind of talk which condemns both Jesus and Stephen to death.

Why was Son of Man talk was worse even than Messiah talk? All over the Bible, 'Son of Man' is just a poetic way of saying 'human'. The answer lies in Daniel 7, where the prophet has a Son of Man vision. In that vision, the arrogant beast-kingdoms of the earth are judged and thrown down. A human figure is led into the presence of God and given an everlasting kingdom, and all the people of the earth serve him.

The Jews hoped for a King-Messiah, a human saviour from the line of David who would bring about national redemption through political and military means, but Son of Man vision takes things to a different level. This is not about any mere human, but The Human - sharing in 'Ancient of Day's' authority over all things. Jesus' claim was to be more-than-Messiah. And Stephen's vision was a confirmation that Jesus death, resurrection and ascension meant that he had been enthroned not as a human king, or the 'king of our hearts', as the songs say, but the Lord of everything.

Times of suffering come to us all. When they do, it is worth remembering it was this revelation of a reality more real than everything which he could see and hear around him - the stones, the fists, the curses - that sustained Stephen through fear and pain and into the presence of Jesus. It's not politicians, influencers, despots, bankers, generals, judges or tech-entrepreneurs that are in control. Jesus, Son of Man, is on the throne.

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Now he had to go through Samaria. So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”
- John 5:4b-7

Let's get this straight... did Jesus have to go through Samaria? It was the shortest route, but it was not the only route. If Jesus 'has to', it is not a geographical imperative so much as missional necessity. Jesus had to go through Samaria because that is where the Samaritans were and that was where he would meet the Samaritan woman.

There's the first bit of scandal. For various reasons, and even though they shared a religious heritage, the Jews despised the Samaritans. They were seen as untouchable. Jesus readily crosses what at the time was thought to be an important barrier. But that's not the only code-breaking going on. Biblically, wells are places of betrothal. Wells are involved in the first meetings/betrothals of Rebekah and Isaac, Jacob and Rachel, and Moses and Zipporah. Oh, and one last thing. This is the area where Jacob's family had settled for a time. The story - which you can read in Genesis 34 - is one of deception, illicit sex, and a terrible massacre. At the centre of that story is Dinah, apparently unloved by her father, used or ignored by others.

This, then, is a very strange place for Jesus to find himself in. What was he up to?There is in fact a discussion of the woman’s marital status and a confrontation of her dubious past and present. After all of the betrothals in the Old Testament, hospitality is offered and received. In Exodus 2, Zipporah goes back to her father and reports she had been saved by an Egyptian shepherd. Jethro, although a priest of Midian, eventually recognises God’s power and becomes a worshiper of Yahweh. The Samaritan woman leaves her water jar and goes back to the settlement. She has been saved by the Good Shepherd, and many believe because of her testimony. Just as Moses ends up staying in the house of Jethro, Jesus stays with the Samaritans for two days. So, it is and it isn’t a betrothal scene - but the marriages in the Old Testament always are a moment where God's plan continues to unfold. That is the core of what is happening here.

But if the woman is like Zipporah, she is also like Dinah - an unloved daughter of Jacob. And just like Jacob himself, she is grasping for connection and satisfaction. And just like Jacob, this grasping has gone wrong in so many ways. And just like Jacob at Bethel, the meeting with Jesus convinces he that God has been closer to her than she could have imagined.

In Jesus words to the woman - "bring me your husband" - I hear a word to us. Bring me your plans, your dreams, your grasping. Tell me, did they work? If we're honest enough to admit that they have not, then a new opportunity opens for us - the living water of new life, flowing without end.

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Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt – to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

- Deuteronomy 34:10-12

In the Israelite understanding a prophet is not someone who predicts the future or someone who speaks truth to power. Prophets may do these things, but they're more than that. A prophet was someone who had a radical encounter with God’s presence, was invited into God's council to intercede on behalf of Israel, and then was commissioned to go and speak to Israel on God’s behalf.

In the Old Testament, Moses is THE archetypal prophet. More than anything else, Moses was a bridge between God and humanity. He was a man of two worlds. When he spoke, God spoke. To reject or criticize Moses was to reject or criticize God. And Moses’s primary objective was to reconcile humans and God. To carry his people’s burden and to be their bridge back to God. The Burning Bush and Horeb, Mount Sinai help us see major brush strokes when it comes to encounter with the terrifying and beautiful presence of God.

We then transpose these encounters with the encounter Peter, James and John had with the transfigured Jesus on a third mountain. The very thing that Moses longed for: "God, show me your glory". The very thing that Romans tells us all of creation is longing for. Peter, James and John are looking at the glory of God. Looking with an unveiled face, not at his back, not hidden in the cleft of the rock. They’re seeing Jesus - God - and they're not dead.

And after watching all of that up close and personal, Peter, James and John are sent first to Jerusalem, then Judea, then Samaria, and to the ends of the earth to tell everybody what they’ve seen.

And to tell everyone what is to come.

Tell everyone that one day, just like the veil in the temple was ripped in half, the skies too will be split from east to west, as though with lightning. And all people will see Jesus as he truly is: the King of all creation, coming on the clouds of heaven, adiant with power and glory.
Beautiful. Terrifying.

The invitation is to surrender. To walk up the mountain. Into the presence of God. Even though it seems terrifying.

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The next day John saw Jesus coming towards him and said, ‘Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

John 1: 29

When it comes to animal sacrifices and the rituals of Leviticus, I think this is one of the genuine places in the Bible where we may get the sensation of approaching the text with a disorienting lack of experiences to underpin our expectations.

The real key to grasping this is a shift in our cultural understanding. Whereas we see animal sacrifice and think that somehow death appeases God.

To the Israelite. It wasn’t an animal’s death that would cover over sins—it was the blood of a blameless animal.

That’s why it's so important, why it is repeatedly stressed in the book of Leviticus that the animal used in the sacrifice must be without blemish. The Israelites were not to choose the worst of their flock for their sacrifices but a perfect, spotless animal.

And whereas when we think blood we are more likely to equate that with death. In the Israelite understanding, blood is representative of life.

Think of the phrase lifeblood maybe.

Put simply, the lifeblood of a perfect animal is put on an altar, because the whole animal must be burnt up, and symbolically this blameless animal goes up in smoke. Into the Heavens. Into the presence of God.

This animal goes through death into the presence of true life and there covers over the corruption and failures of the person making the sacrifice. Making a way for a human to enter back into God’s presence.

What the book of Leviticus provides, is a way for Israel to know with confidence that, despite their corruption, they are brought near and safe to live near to God’s presence.

All over the New Testament, we hear about how Jesus’ death was an atoning sacrifice for us.

His death has covered all the evil and death in this world. All the direct consequences of our injustices, our scheming, our failures.

And the New Testament authors talk about Jesus’ lifeblood, being able to wash away the vandalism that evil has caused in us and around us, the indirect consequences of our sin.

And so now we can now live in God’s presence.

The cross is the place where Jesus absorbs sin to create a clean space that is not limited, like animal sacrifices. Jesus’ sacrifice has the power to keep spreading and spreading and reuniting more and more of Heaven and Earth.

And now as Jesus’s followers we gather once a week and take the bread and the cup to remember and to participate in the power of Jesus’ death and in his life.

The very power that brought Jesus back from the dead is the same power that can deal with the brokenness and evil and vandalism in our own lives and transform us into people who live lives in God’s presence. Who partners with Jesus so that his presence keeps spreading and transforming more of creation and more people to live lives of love and peace.

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In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

- Luke 10:30-35

As the song says, everybody needs good neighbours. During the pandemic we remembered that we don't live in a bubble, but alongside others who sometimes might need us - or even alongside people who we might need. In the Old Testament - Deuteronomy 6:5 - God instructs his people to love their neighbours as they love themselves.

Hmmm... what does that mean? We can't face the expectation of having to love everyone, everywhere, at all times, and it's quite natural to want to narrow down the category. That's what the lawyer in Luke 10 wants to do. Maybe he is genuinely intrigued as to how Jesus will respond. Maybe he just enjoys the cut and thrust of debate. The text though, suggests another attempt to trap Jesus. He knew, as we know deep down, that there is no perfect answer to the question, "Who is my neighbour?".

But the story Jesus tells in response to the lawyers question changes the focus of attention. It's not about definitions and categories of deserving and underserving, but about the hearts of those that have the power to help. Will they help or won't they? The Priest and the Levite in the story weigh up the pros and cons, and decide that, on balance, it would be inconvenient to get down into the ditch and help this half-dead man. The Samaritan, of course, sees things differently. More importantly, he does differently.

The issue, in the end, is not how good you are at debating the ethics of this or that scenario, or finely slicing the categories of moral responsibility. It doesn't even matter whether you can fix the problem. The question is, are prepared to do something... anything. Who was they neighbour? The one who helped. Then, Jesus ends the philosophical debate with an abrupt command: go and do likewise.

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Then the Lord God said to the serpent…
"And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:14-15

In the church year, my favourite service is Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas eve. The first of the Nine Lessons is from Genesis 3. The message is that the seed or offspring spoken about in Gen 3:15 is the baby in the manger. Jesus is the one who picks up the promise that the snake, who induced the chaos which resulted when the man and woman chose to define what is good and bad for themselves, will be overcome. The promise is there right from the beginning, that God in Jesus will undo the serpent's actions. In the battle, the ‘seed’ of the woman will crush the head of the snake. Though wounded in the struggle, the woman‘s ‘seed’, Jesus, will be victorious.

So there is a struggle between the forces of rebellion that carry on the legacy of the snake and the seed of the woman. God’s promise here is about the offspring of the woman: humans brought the problem into the world and humans have to be involved in undoing the trouble. Genesis 3:15 looks forward from the very beginning full of questions and mystery but equally full of hope. Jesus in the gospels picks up snake imagery. The final fatal blow to the head of the snake will come from one human, Jesus on the cross.

There are many seeds of the snake out there bringing chaos and misery into the lives of the people we meet. The snake brings chaos and pain to society. For people to gain freedom there must be a struggle. Our friends, family and neighbours will remain in their chains to the snake unless the people of God get out and join the struggle.

The snake is out to hurt us, he will strike at our heels. There will be pain when we seek to liberate people from the snake's grip. Expect liberating prisoners from the power of the snake to leave scars.