Chaotic risk

"What is your understanding of Jesus’ message? We have tended to narrow down the Good News to “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand,” or post resurrection, “Jesus died for our sins, you are forgiven.” But Jesus’ message was far broader than that. Over and over he told people that God was right there with them, not in some far distant place, or only in the Temple. God was among them. He demonstrated God’s loving compassion for the ones who the community considered of little value as he healed helped and taught them with encouraging words.

Jesus taught using creation and creatures as examples such as considering fig trees and lilies, mountains and deserts. He gave the example of spending time in prayer at the beginning of the day. Over and over the writer of Mark shows Jesus addressing the social conditions that are causing the disease as well as healing the person.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians says he has become all things to all people that he might by all means save some. We can see this is also how Jesus behaved. If this is how humans behave to bring the Good News of God’s love, how than might God behave towards the diversity that is humanity? Might it be possible that God becomes all things to all people that God might save some? God’s love for the diversity of humanity and all creation could be an indication of this.

Much of Hebrew Scripture is song. We have followed this tradition with putting Scripture into song, using music. We still have the verses of a Psalm as one of our Lectionary readings every week of the year.  We use words set to music for praise and thanksgiving and sing hymns that tell of and reinforce our understandings of our faith. Sometimes this is beneficial, but sometimes the words of much loved hymns box God in.

An example is “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” Generations of children sang this lustily and in more recent times, older people are moved to tears as they sing and remember these words. But much as we love these words for the comfort and reassurance they give us, they are misguiding. They limit our understanding of how we can know God’s love for us. We need to and can know through more than the Bible, that Jesus loves us. Good as the Bible is in showing us this, there is much more we can see in creation and in relationships.  Another old hymn has a verse which says, “There’s a wideness in God’s mercy like the wideness of the sea….. But we make God’s love too narrow by false limits of our own and we magnify his strictness with a zeal God will not own.”

Chaos can be scary for people on the obsessive/compulsive spectrum but it is necessary to take the risk if we are to truly worship God who is everywhere with us and become like Paul, all things to all people that by all means we may save some. May you be blessed in taking this chaotic risk.." 
Rev Julianne Parker
(for full sermon see sermons page)