Sun 5 July 'Who? Where?'

WELCOME
This week, in our time of worship, we continued working our way through Luke's Gospel, and paid a wee visit to the Book of Acts.

Our readings:
Luke 7:1-23 and Acts 10:1-8,21-35.

Reflection
One of my favourite films is ‘Four Weddings and a Funeral’, and I was slightly reminded of it as I looked at our readings for today… except in this instance, it’s more a case of ‘two centurions and a widow' which, if it were a film, would have one of those wee inserts in the end credits, adding in John the prophet with a wee dialogue to underscore the point of the whole story:
‘Are you the one…?’
‘Actually, yeah…’

Both are big readings, with a rather large cast, and quite a lot going on.
As to the people involved, if you were to try and classify most of them, they're divided into 'insiders' and 'outsiders', with a strong emphasis on the outsiders.
For Luke, the umbrella under which these passages sit is very much about identity and belonging.
And right at the centre …is Jesus.
(physically, in the case of the Gospel reading, and working through Peter by the Spirit, in our reading from Acts)
Now, there’s quite a lot going on in our readings, but, if you were to distil them down, you’d find two key questions being discussed:
Who is Jesus? and…
Where is he to be found?

Having recounted Jesus' 'sermon on the plain', Luke moves on, as do we:
getting into the more nitty gritty of Jesus’ public ministry.
Jesus’ identity is very quickly established through the praise and acclaim of the crowds who clamour to see who he is. Here, in these early days of his ministry, the people realise that there’s something different about Jesus – he may be a carpenter’s son, but there’s more to him:
at the very least, Jesus is a prophet. And, as word spreads around the countryside- it’s not just Jewish people who are hearing of his words and deeds, which is where our first centurion comes into the picture, as does the grieving mother in Nain.

In choosing to highlight their stories, and the story of Cornelius in Acts, Luke’s keen to point out that Jesus is for everyone, not just the perfect, select few;
indeed, that Jesus goes beyond the bounds of culture, class, creed, and is there for friend, and enemy alike.
This latter, particularly in the case of our two centurions who are very much a part of the machine of the oppressive state that controls Judea. Interestingly, in both cases, it is the local Jewish people who vouch for their characters - yes, they are Romans, yes, they're in the military, but even though their enemies, they're... decent men.
And so, in both cases, these outsiders are helped - if we're all Jock Tamson's bairns, then the principle is even more so when it comes to God: we are all God's children.

But what of the widow?
Here is a picture of grief at its most stark, and also of social collapse. The woman’s lost not only a child but the shape of her future.*  With her son gone, she has no means to sustain herself. In this moment, as she takes her son for burial, her grief is fresh, raw and it's in this moment that Jesus enters the scene. Moved with compassion, the son is restored to life, and the mother, restored to her son.
Where is Jesus?
He’s right there with her, in her grief.
In this story, Luke demonstrates that Jesus is not remote, not detached:
Jesus is found on the road of mourning, in the public place of heartbreak, where loss has stripped everything back.*
Who is Jesus here within this story?
Jesus is the compassion of God made visible.

And then, we have John - John who is languishing in prison at Herod’s command. And, acting almost as a post-script to what Luke is trying to tell us about Jesus, the plain question is asked:
‘Are you the One, or should we look for another?’
And rather than answering in a parable Jesus sends back the reply, quoting from the prophet Isaiah, telling of all that he’s been doing:
the signs of God’s kingdom of heaven breaking in to earth.
It’s his way of saying to the followers of John:
‘Tell John, yes, I am.’
Jesus is indeed the One of whom prophets spoke, the One who continues in the line of prophets, but is more than a prophet: he is God’s own Son walking in the midst of humanity and all we experience.
And, in faith, I have to believe that Jesus is there in every situation of sorrow and grief amongst the people of Venezuela right now, just as he is in the wider world;
just as he is in each one of our lives – with us in sorrow, pain, anxiety, despair, and with us in joy, and laughter, and all the goodness of life as well.
At Christmas we refer to Jesus as 'Immanuel' – meaning ‘God with us’.
So, where is Jesus?
With us.

In his poem, ‘The Call’ 17th century poet and priest, George Herbert expressed his own understanding of who Jesus was to him:
not only the way, the truth, and the life, but his light, his strength, his joy, his love, his heart.
The poem is copied below.
Who is Jesus? And where is he?
Luke, in both his gospel and in the Book of Acts gives us some compelling answers.
And, like George Herbert, while we might not write poetry about it, what of our response?
Where are we when it comes to Jesus and who do we say he is?
Amen.

'The Call'
Come, my Way, my Truth, my Life;
Such a Way as gives us breath, 

Such a Truth as ends all strife, 

Such a Life as killeth death. 

Come, my Light, my Feast, my Strength;
Such a Light as shows a Feast, 

Such a Feast as mends in length, 

Such a Strength as makes his guest. 

Come, my Joy, my Love, my Heart;
Such a Joy as none can move, 

Such a Love as none can part, 

Such a Heart as joys in love.

*with thanks to this week's Spill the Beans material...