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A stumbling block

8/30/2020

If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth. – words from our first reading.

Many churches tell you that they speak on behalf of God but do they really! They use phrases like “prophetic word of the Lord”. But the reading in Jeremiah tells us that is not the case. Martin Luther one day went unprepared to the pulpit, confident that God would give him the right words. Someone asked him: “Did God speak?” “Yes” he said: “Martin you have been a very lazy man this week”. Speech permeates our lives. Prime ministers, professors, and archbishops make speeches. The media is filled with talking heads. The government makes a profession out of rhetorical speech. Advertisers study what makes speech work on people. Americans exercise their right to free speech. We have to take some effort to speak Gods word. It is easy to speak our minds on a daily basis: on social media and in our interaction with other people. Are it always good words? Probably not! I guess we all fail at times. And letter we regret it of course.

Jeremiah’s call begins with a delightful discovery. God’s words “were found.” Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart; v. 16 He internalized it. He does not immediately publish his findings. He held his tongue. Holding his tongue begins to produce a range of emotional responses in Jeremiah. He feels angry, isolated, and wounded. Jeremiah has a choice. God indicates that Jeremiah could offer the world two kinds of speech: worthless speech or precious speech. “Worthless” speech is the kind of speech that is not productive: anger, despair, that what causes division.
Jeremiah chose not to deliver worthless speech but weighty words. Words that are building up but do not cater to the public opinion or are political correct. Jeremiah was not being known for being political correct. Prophetic speech is not simply inspired opinion, popular sentiment, social justice or ideology. Prophetic speech comes from an encounter with God. We can learn from Jeremiah and his practice of restraint. Jeremiah offers us a unique opportunity to reflect on precious speech, or speech that holds weight. If you utter what is precious, and not what is worthless, you shall serve as my mouth.

Peter could have learned from it as well. Today we are witnessing the fall of Peter from grace in some kind of way. Last week Jesus praised him and now he denounces him. Not because Jesus does not understand our human limitations but because we need to do what God wants.
“God forbid it, Lord! This must never happen to you.” Peter reacts in an impulsive manner, like we all do at times. It is human to burst out against something we not agree with it. Nobody is perfect, even not the prince of the apostles. Peter reacts on the devastating news Jesus is announcing. Namely: his beloved friend and teacher needs to suffer and be killed to enter into his Glory. Just like many of us Peter is troubled by the suffering part of that message. Suffering and pain is something we encounter often with fear and denial. Everyone that went through some kind of grieve can tell you that. But Jesus answer must shock us a little. He says: “get behind me Satan, you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.” Jesus calls Peter a stumbling block. Peter is only looking at the short term, Jesus looks on the long term. Jesus tells him that “Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.”

There is a great and glorious future after the suffering. Jesus instructs Peter to focus on divine things. There is more to come after suffering and death. Don’t look at Good Friday but look at the Glory of Easter Sunday. But to get there Good Friday is necessary. That is the way it is. Of course Peter knows this. He just called Jesus “the son of the living God’ and Jesus complimented him on his faith. In Peter we find the great paradox of our faith. He shows us how to be faithful but also the fact that we are sinners redeemed by God. He shows us that in our human identity we can fall but also that we can rise up again. We believe that one day all the suffering will be over. That time that “the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done.” We live in a hurting and suffering world as well. Jesus is our beacon in the world and in working among the poor, the hungry, the sick, the destitute, the dying. We have to follow him in loving God and our neighbor. In a way we focus both human and Divine matters. We to live with the paradox of faith. One of the great paradoxes of Christianity is that the Messiah must suffer and die before he is raised to eternal life. The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote from Nazi prison, as he suffered but at the same time had great faith. This is both the divine and human way to approach it. This is the mystery and paradox of our Christian faith. Nothing is easy!

We are not offered an easy path but the destination is worth running the race. Peter rescued the infant church through the new Covenant of the Cross. Jesus tells us that we are called to be outside our buildings, called into danger. We are called to a new life in Christ. God wants to do great things through the cross-bearing church. We have to focus on the Divine and our humanity. Our humanity will help us to act with more compassion and loving when people are hit by disaster. But we not to despair and become a stumbling block to God. We have to go the way God wants us to go, no matter how hard it is. He wants to free us from our limited perspectives and we on our turn need to free others every day again. Amen.

Blessed are you, Simon Bar Jonah

8/23/2020

Today the parallel between the Old and New Testament is clear. First, we hear that beautiful and compelling story that surrounds the birth of Moses. I always loved that story as it has been read at my daughters’ baptism. My daughter was adopted as well and that story is very appropriate to read at the baptism of a adopted child. This story is about adoption but also about the future of the child. It shows that Moses is destined for an important task. And in the Gospel of Matthew we hear Peter declaring that Jesus is the Christ. Another proclamation of Gods grace to mankind. It also shows us the tale of two kings. The unrighteous Pharaoh and on the other hand King Jesus.

Today we hear Peter proclaiming Jesus as Messiah and Son of God. Jesus tells him that is given him by God. But if we would read on in Matthews Gospel, we see that Peter becomes a stand in the way by trying to persuade Jesus to go his way and not Gods way. In that there is a lesson for all of us. We should always follow God and not our own human desires. If we read further in Matthew 16 we hear: “ From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” That is the clue for own lives as well. Jesus tells Peter: “get out of my way because you are blocking my way”.

When Peter makes his statement of faith and proclaims Jesus as Messiah and Lord Jesus calls him: "Simon son of Jonah". Is Jesus referring to Peter’s father or is he saying more here. It is possible that Peter’s father was named Jonah but there are other options. It can also mean that Peter is referred to as son of Jonah because he became disobedient like Jonah. The New Testament often refers to Old Testament personalities to bring the point ahead. We don’t know if it literally comes out of the mouth of Jesus or out of the pen of Matthew. When Matthews Gospel was written many of the events in that Jesus predicted already had taken place. His betrayal, Peter’s denial, Christ dead and resurrection. In this passage in Matthew it is very likely possible that this refers to Peter’s denial. In a way he also ran away from what God asked him to do. Matthew tells us later what happened in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus prayed. “And He came unto the disciples and found them asleep, and said unto Peter, “What, could ye not watch with Me one hour”?

But there are other theories. Some refer to Jesus statement that “or as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth”. Some think it means that Jesus refers to himself as Jonah and so to Peter as the son of Jesus. Others says that it refers to Jonah’s preaching to Nineveh, the capital of Assyria. They were the Jews biggest enemies. They cause death and destruction. You can compare it the best as being asked to preach in Berlin in the middle of the holocaust. So, in this perspective the sign of Jonah is a foreshadowing of the preaching to the gentiles.
It could be all of that but most important is that Jesus foreshadows that Peter will be disobedient like Jonah but eventually he will just like Jonah go where God sends him. Just like Jonah and Peter we often want to go our own way. Go on a ship, a plane and car and go the other way. But the bottom-line is that we should go where God sends us. Eventually we cannot ignore Gods call anyway. Gods purpose will be going to be fulfilled in one or the other way. God is a very persistent God and does not easily take no for an answer.

So, when Jesus asks us who he, we should pray that God gives us the same answer as he gave Peter. But also let us pray that we should Jesus lead and not try to lead ourselves. Let us not be a stand in the way but a help to bring Gods kingdom. Jesus remains at the center, as the Christ, Son of the Living God, and he continues to be the Church’s true Rock. Let us pray that we have the courage and insight to follow Jesus always and not to stand in his way. Amen.

Great is your faith

8/16/2020

Today Jesus is teaching the lesson of the faith of the heart. It is not about outer things but the inner things that matter. What is coming from the inside can defile us or make us holy. Jesus is not telling us that hygiene is not important but he is telling us about that what is unclean from the inside. That is what is important. Matthew’s Gospel is addressed to a community of pious and observant Jews, converted to faith in Jesus. With the example of Jesus, they lived according to the Jewish Law and try to live according to the traditions. After Jerusalem was destroyed in 70 AD, the pharisees started to reorganize Judaism and there was no space for Christianity in their view. They wanted to stop the spread of this “dangerous sect”. There came a point that they were blocked from the synagogue.

This hostility raised some serious questions with the Christian Jews in Matthew’s community. Christians and Jews alike claimed to be faithful to Gods law. But who had the right faith? On who’s side was God? They both claimed to have the one true faith! And unfortunately in today’s word this causes still separation between different religious groups and even within Christianity! People want to be right, other then just living in brotherhood and unity together. Matthew writes his Gospel to encourage the group of Jewish-Christians. He wants to reassure them that Jesus is indeed the Messiah as promised in the Hebrew scriptures. He writes to strengthen them in the midst of hostility they experience from their brothers. He calls them into a new practice of their faith. He shows them a way of life that is led by true justice. That is the background of today’s Gospel. Let us now look at the facts in the Gospel.

Today we hear Jesus crossing the boundary between the land of Israel and gentile territory. He has redefined boundaries of what is clean and what is unclean, and he has redefined the boundaries of the kingdom of God, extending the kingdom beyond the borders of Israel. Jesus told us that uncleanness does not come from the outside but from the inside. There are where the evil thoughts are. But Jesus is about to show that true faith also comes from the inside. The faith in the heart of the Canaanite woman is true faith: faith that God’s love and God’s mercy extend to all. And that includes people we might not like. People of other faith traditions, from another etnical background, people that vote different then us, people that live different then us. Everything that divides us as a nation and a world today comes from the inside. And if we want to change that we have to change the inside.

If we think and teach that corruption and uncleanness comes from the outside we are blind guides, as Jesus says. And if a blind person guides another they will fall into a pit. Jesus is clear today: “For out of the heart come evil intentions, murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile.”. That is still the problem in our world as well. We think the problem is on the outside while it is on the inside. On one occasion Jesus said to the pharisees: “"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. True faith comes from the inside. You can show from the outside how so called holy you are but God is looking in the inside and that is where he makes his judgement. Don’t let us be like the pharisees but like Canaanite woman!

After Jesus teaches about clean and unclean the Canaanite women is pressing on him and his disciples wants Jesus to send her away. The foreign woman asked him to heal her daughter, but he flat-out ignored her. He would not even acknowledge the request. Here we have a teaching story as well. How many times do we send someone away because he is foreign to us? But the woman continued; she kept shouting after Jesus and the disciples. Finally Jesus dismisses her and tells her clearly that he has been send to the Jewish not to the Gentiles. But the woman is pretty persistent. She knelt before him and pleaded, “Lord help me.” His answer? “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” He practically calls her a dog. Still, with courage and desperation, she persisted. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Finally, the picture comes together. In my view Jesus was testing her faith and she graduated. Jesus commended her and affirmed her as a beloved child of God. “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

So let’s go back for a moment. Jesus calls the woman practically a dog. Is he being rude or what? Some say that the Greek word Jesus used for “dog” really means “puppy.” Jesus could have tested the woman or he was affected by the way of thinking in his time. We have to understand that in Jesus’s times many Jews called the gentiles dogs. It is possible Jesus was affected by this kind of thinking. As we know nothing human was unfamiliar to him. Imagine for a moment that what Jesus said and did in this story reflects exactly what he believed – at the time. Don’t forget that Jesus was raised a Jew in an occupied nation. Occupied by the Gentile Romans who were called dogs. We know from our own times that an occupied army is not very loved by those that are occupied.

So here he arrives in this Gentile area. There, he encountered this persistent woman. At first he keeps silent and maybe not knowing how to respond to this persistent woman. He must be thinking: “how can I deny her and stay faithful to the Jewish teachings?” So, he responds, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman persists and now Jesus says: “It is not fair to take the children’s food and give it to the dogs.” She responds: “the dogs from the crumbs that fall of the masters table”. Her words cutting to the heart of Jesus’ compassion. He praise the woman as a woman of great faith. This Gospel holds a mirror in front of us. As a nation, as a world and as a Church. We can learn, as always, from Jesus. At first he is silent and let her do the talking. Isn’t this a model for listening with an open mind to people that are different from us. We are called to practice tolerance and seek unity. We should not say to others: “your excluded because your this or that. Not because they are a foreigner or a Gentile or a dog. But instead: “everyone is a beloved child of God”.

Let us walk in footsteps of Jesus and consider all these things when other, outsides, foreigners call on us. Let us pray about it in the depth of our hearts and bring out the best out of our hearts. Let us resist the evil thoughts out of our hearts but bring forth good and the faith in our hearts through the Holy Spirit that resides in each one of us. Let us like the Canaanite women be persistent and pressing on Jesus without ceasing and he will come to our aid. Amen.

The Assumption of Mary

8/15/2020

We are all made in the image of God, whether we are male or female, it does not matter. That is what the book of Genesis tells us. Often we tend to create God after our own image and likeness. We make him what we want him to be, and not like he really is. We make him love what we love and hate what we hate. But in fact we have little knowledge of our creator. In the end he is incomprehensible to our limited minds. We can only come to him in faith and he will reveal himself to us. Just like he did with Mary.

And we can only hope that our vision of God comes close to that of Mary when she sings: “My soul glorifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” Mary has a combination of worshipping God and at the same time rejoice in Him. That resonates with what St. Paul writes to the Thessalonians: “rejoice always and pray without ceasing”. In the Magnificat Mary is all wrapped up in the presence of God. Her prayer is not one of the ego or about the future. She only praise Gods goodness and of the gratitude she feels towards Him. She is totally captured by the love of God. First of all she is the handmaid, willing to serve joyfully. God gave her the fullness of Grace and through her he offers it to us.

Today we celebrate the assumption of Mary (for the Orthodox Catholics the Dormition of Mary). We believe that Mary has not been separated from the Christian community. She remains for each of us a sign of hope. We are called to be like her and share in the fullness of Christ’s glory. She is the model for all believers. She images our hope to be in heaven one day. We pray that we may be found worthy to live with God forever.

The Gospels can help us in our devotion towards the Virgin Mary. It can help us to love her, meditate on her live and ask her to pray for us. She knows how to meditate in her heart on her Son’s words and actions. She is the faithful mother who stays near her Son in his suffering on the cross. After his resurrection she prays with the disciples to receive the Spirit who will be with them. In the “Magnificat” we see Mary’s faith and her motherly identification with her Son Jesus.

She proclaims God’s greatness: “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, because he has looked on his lowly servant”. She is joyful that God has accepted her, even though she sees herself as lowly. God’s special care is for his little ones. She knows that God’s faithful love extends from age to age. His mercy accompanies all generations. Jesus preaches the same message: God’s mercy reaches out to us all. That’s why his disciples need to “be merciful as your Father is merciful”. In her motherly heart, Mary uniquely embodies the tenderness of God Father and Mother. She points to Jesus message that the very nature of God is compassion and love.

Mary also proclaims the God of the poor, who puts down princes and removes their power to oppress others. God “raises up the lowly” so that they recover their dignity. He will bring justice between rich and poor. Jesus had the same message, that the last shall be first. Mary points to Jesus’ Good News, that God is the God of the poor. Let us pray that we always follow Jesus and practice his compassionated teaching and in that way work for a better world, trusting in the God of the little ones and the neglected. Amen.

Fear not

8/9/2020

Today, on this 9th Sunday after Trinity, we hear a very familiar story from the Old Testament or the First Testament. A family story from the Hebrew Scriptures directly out of the book of Genesis. And the book of Genesis is above all a family story. We know from our own experience about all the good and bad things that happens between human beings, especially among friends and family. Joseph’s brother are jealous of Joseph, call him a dreamer and want to get rid of him. Negative emotions like jealousy, hate and fear happen a lot in our relationships with others, which causes bad things to happen. It happens to you and me as well. Most likely they do not throw us in a pit literally or sell us for a few bucks. But symbolically the might. It might be your family, friend, collegues or more worse….your brothers and sisters in Christ that turn their backs on you. The biggest underlying cause for this behaviour is fear. Fear paralyzes and let us do awful thing. Karl Barth wrote that fear is “is the anticipation of a supposedly certain defeat.” This is what rules the emotions of Joseph’s brothers., who fear and hate their brother’s favored status.

This is also what takes over the hearts of Jesus’ disciples when they see him walking toward them on the water. And this is how it is with us. There is so much we come to fear over the course of a lifetime. So much that makes us frightful. So much daily battles against our insecurities. Who of us did not fear dark as a child? We feared that something in the darkness would come for us. Some fears takes us still over like we were still children. The fear of certain defeat in relationships affects us. The fear of certain defeat in family relationships keeps us from confronting people or speaking our heart. The fear of failing in a job burdens us in our work...and so on. These fears prevent us from growing as a person. These fear have a big impact on our lives. Other fears have an external source but we all know fear. Fear is the opposite of love and courage and comes from Gods enemy. When we fear it is harder to love, to have hope, trust and courage. For instance when the disciples see Jesus walking toward them they are frightened as little children. They think he is a ghost or something. Just like when you were a kid and there is someone under your bed. Or when you see something in your room you think it is a ghost. And be honest, you cannot really blame the disciples for their fear can you? After all, walking on the water is merely impossible isn't it?

Walking on the water is such a powerful thing. I coming from a nation that battles with water for centuries. Water in itself is a great threat to us in general. We do a lot of water management to be ahead of things but it is always challenging. It can be overwhelming and if we are not careful it can overcome us. The phrase “walking on water” is even used for someone that goes “above and beyond”. We often hear today's Gospel narrative and don’t realize that it is about us as well. The question that rises is: “what would I do?” If Christ would call you in the midst on a storm on the Lake of the Ozarks, the Missouri River or any other lake or river....what would you do? Just imagine the water and waves coming way up high. And then Christ calls you: “come on my friend walk to me over the water?” Would you trust Him that he would save you? It is not an unreasonable question. We have often been in these situations. Maybe not literally but surely symbolically, when the waters of the chaos hit our life. When disaster, sickness, depression or spiritual tiredness come along. But the story is not only applicable for us. It would be a good learning story for first-century Jewish Christians like Matthew’s community as well. It makes clear that Jesus takes on God’s role through history with the Jewish people. The Lord overcomes the danger of the water. This represents all the places where in Hebrew scripture God rules over the terrifying waters. God overcomes the waters of Creation, God saves the righteous Noah from the flood and leads the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt through the Red Sea. Over and over again, God triumphs over the water.

When Jesus says: “it is I”,” he is using the Greek phrase, ego eimi, or, “I AM.” He is declaring his identity and authority over the elements. With other words he says that he is acting as that same God. Jesus is saying that he is the God who triumphs over the waters of chaos. That is the scary part for his disciples. It is very unlikely that strong fishermen would have been afraid of a storm. They were used to storms. And we can see that when we read carefully. The storm arises in the evening, but Jesus approaches them. not until the morning. So they must have been out in the storm all night. It is not until Jesus shows up that they are afraid. They become fearful when they see something weird on the water. What is it? They probably thought by themselves: what is it? Is it a human being, is it a ghost or is it a demon? They fear that all the chaos and evil that resides in the water has come to claim their lives. Only in Matthew’s narrative Peter asks to be with Jesus on the water. He might have thought there was not much to fear of on the water, rather then staying in the boat. Then the story reveals the first steps, the fear and Christ saving Peter out of the water. The story tells us clearly that God is God and we are not. It is only God that can control the water…who walks on water. But still God invites us to be a part of that divine power. Jesus makes clear to Peter that he could have done this, if he would not have doubted. Doubt is a very strong emotion as we know, opposite from trust. Today, you and I might face the waters of the chaos. Maybe in the Church, maybe in our relationships, maybe in sickness or maybe in the world in general. Do we feel that God cannot save us from that. Do we think it too much for God to save us from Covid 19? Do the deep water fear us?

Today we are reminded of us baptism. You are baptized to be courageous to do what the Lord has commanded you to do. And sometimes that is to step on the stormy and deep waters. And in the times that we experience that the waters of the chaos overwhelms us we see someone approaching us on the waters. Don’t be afraid. Because what you see coming towards you is your lifeguard who walks on water. He is coming to you and telling you: “You of little faith, don’t doubt no more”. He is telling you: “Yes you very likely messed up, but I got you back, I’ll catch you when you fall and feel like drowning”. That is Our Lord and Saviour! We only have to take his hand and let him catch us. Amen.

The Feast of the Transfiguration

8/6/2020

Today we celebrate the Transfiguration of the Lord. That awesome moment that the three disciples Peter, James, and John, saw Jesus appearance change on Mount Tabor. Jesus being present there in all his heavenly glory. Not only that, also they saw the appearance of the great servant of God, Moses, and the great Prophet Elijah. The word explaining itself as coming from two words, change (trans) and appearance (figuration). This feast remembers the transformation of the Lord before the witnesses and so revealing his true nature. It also remembers the encounter with two great figures of Hebrew scriptures or the Old Testament (First Testament): Moses and the prophet Elijah. Moses led the Israelites from the land of Egypt to the promised land after the ten great plagues and so God freed the people from slavery. The Prophet Elijah was perhaps most known among the prophets of God. His many works are recorded throughout the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles. He worked hard to bring the people of the Northern kingdom to return to God and leave their wicked ways. He had a lot of hardship and trials during his ministry, including persecution from kings, nobles, priests and the people that refused to believe in God. So, these two great servants of God symbolize the Law and the Prophets. Moses represents the law and Elijah the Prophets. Their appearance on symbolizes that Jesus was the fulfilment of God’s Law and the promises he made through the Prophets.

It also symbolizes the New Covenant God was about to make, just like he did with Moses. Through Jesus, God would be reconciled with His people. Through Jesus, mankind would be reconciled with God, by the establishment of the New Covenant and the fulfillment of the Law. The Lord revealed His glory that day before the few witnesses. He would still have to suffer on the Altar of the Cross to enter his glory. That is how God ordained it. And in a way that is how we go to the hope of glory, through suffering and pain. After all we cannot come to the glory of Easter without the pain of Good Friday. It is through our shared humanity with Christ, that we will be united within his suffering and death, and so in his glorious resurrection. We are all brought into new life through the unity we have with Him. Through our baptism we become one with him in his suffering, and pain but also in his resurrection. Our old self dies, and we rise into new life with him. We will be going from oppression and slavery into freedom. In the same way the Israelites have been freed from their slavery in Egypt.

So, the Lord’s Transfiguration is symbolic of what we will experience, when we will be reunited with God, when this live comes to an end. We will share in the glory of eternity and happiness with God. Then we will no longer be chained by sin and evil. The glorious Transfiguration of Christ is the revelation of what we will be. This Feast of the Transfiguration is also to some extent about our Transfiguration. The Lord has shown us what we are to experience when we are glorified in Gods eternal kingdom. We look forward to that glorious moment but must realize that that if we want to rise with Christ, we also must die with him. Let the hope of the Lord’s Transfiguration fill us with hope for the future. Even through the trials and difficulties that we have to endure. When we have faith in God then we will surely be rewarded and receive the promise given to us. May the Lord help us in our journey back home and find us worthy to share in His glorious kingdom and the covenant he made with every single one of us. Amen.

Gods Compassion

8/2/2020

When we read at the appointed readings for today it cannot other then touch our hearts. And if it doesn’t touch your heart, it surely touches mine. I can imagine that these scripture text must have comforted many people through out the ages. Think about all the suffering people as a result of war and famines. We, here in the free world cannot even imagine what that means. People that see their families destroyed and not being able to give food to their children on a daily basis. I am convinced that if we in the free West would want to, we could put an end to hunger today. But we have to come to the bitter conclusion that our leaders don’t want to. They rather spend their money on weapons and other things, all for the purpose to remain in power, then to help the hungry and the poor. If we look carefully at the reading for today, we can discover one common theme: God’s compassion. Nehemia talks about the people of God. Though God freed them from the slavery in Egypt, they turned their backs on God through their disobedience. But still God did not abandon them. This shows Gods compassion. And the same in the second reading. Paul is writing to the Churches in Rome who were under heavy persecution. He tells them to have heart and courage because they serve a love of love and compassion. He writes these beautiful poetic words: “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.

These are very comforting words as we have our own trials in life. We have to remember, that we are loved, connected to the God that created us; we are not abandoned. In Jesus himself God comes close to us. The writer of St. Matthew's Gospel gives us a picture of desperate people that are Fascinated by this new prophet from Galilee that preaches a God of Love and Compassion. He saw more in the crowds then they saw in themselves. Even though they were ignorant and of little faith, as he so often said. He showed them the love and compassion of God. He saw their dreams for the future, the hopes they had and gave them love and compassion, even if he needed time rather time for himself. He might have felt tired and in need of some alone time, maybe even annoyed with their pressing on him. But nevertheless, he shares in their sorrow and suffering. It shows Gods love and compassion in Jesus. In Jesus God comes near in our suffering. And that makes our God unique among all the other Gods. The word compassion means to suffer with, so it becomes one’s own. We have a God that shares in our suffering. He fully understands what we are going through, as He been through all of it himself.

That is why he feels the compassion that he feels. The Gospel tells us that when he was near the sick, he could not do other then heal them. Healing people is a natural response of the identity of who Jesus is. It is more than just a miracle; it is the compassion that is in him that drives him to do so. Remember that when he feeds the five thousand, he tells his disciples to feed them. No miracles from heaven like with the manna in the desert. Jesus calls upon the compassion of the disciples…upon our compassion. It is the commandment of Love that Jesus is teaching in everything he does. He does not only teach it…he lives it. And he wants us to live it too. Don’t say: “Oh God will solve it” or “the devil is to blame” but rather try to do something about the inequality in the world. It is all about the great commandment of Love Jesus gave us. We are called to feed the hungry. When it comes to that God is depending on us, waiting for our response. We have to be better then the secular world. We are not some kind of
Pagans that expect a solution from heaven to end the suffering.

NO! We are the hands and feet of God. There is a Dutch hymn that is often used in services for children. It is called “you have hands to give”. The bottom line of the text is that we have hands to give of our own abundance, feet to walk to the one that is lonely, Shoulders to carry the pain of others, a heart to forgive, eyes to see what someone is lacking and a heart to believe in the Spirit that is Love. And the chorus is that we should open our hearts. And that my brothers and sisters is what it is all about. We are Gods hands and feet in the world. In us he works to show his compassion for all of his creation. How can we see the suffering in the world and not respond if we claim to be followers of Jesus Christ? Even if we have our own pain and sorrow we can respond. In that way we become, what Henri Nouwen calls “a wounded healer”. Our wounds don’t affect the ability to be there for others. Jesus own grieve for the death of John the Baptist didn’t affect his ability to reach out to those in need. Jesus was moved deeply with pity. Scripture tells us “on seeing the crowd He took pity on them and healed their sick”. He acknowledged that they were a “tired and depressed crowd, for they were like sheep without a shepherd”. In the Greek text the verb that expresses Jesus’ compassion says it all. It expresses that “Jesus’ heart was broken”. That is a parallel with the Hebrew verb which expresses the love of a mother for her child. Compassion is the identity of our God in Jesus Christ. This shows us that God is a father and mother at the same time.

God is Love and compassion. The scriptures do tell us that over and over again. This shows Gods unconditional love, just like a mother for her children. The prophet Jeremiah writes: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness. And in Isaiah we hear: “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you”. And in the book of Deuteronomy Gods says: “6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” He does not turn his back on us or our world, even not if we put our backs to God. God shows his love and compassion to the world…through us. We are the tools that God wants to use to show his care for the world. He is waiting for our response. He is waiting for our YES! So, what will our answer be? Let us pray that the Holy Spirit may give us the courage and compassion to be Gods tools in our suffering and hurting world. The world needs it more then ever! Amen.