OPENING THE GOSPELS: Lent 5

 THE FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT

Click on the links for an introduction to the series, and the techniques of reading with your head, heart and hands.

John 12.1-8  (Isaiah 43.16-21,Philippians 3.4b-14)

12Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 2There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him. 3Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, 5‘Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?’ 6(He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.) 7Jesus said, ‘Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. 8You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.’

HEAD QUESTIONS

WHO?

Jesus: What do we learn about Jesus from this passage?

Lazarus: In the previous chapter, Jesus has raised Lazarus, the brother of Martha and Mary, from death. We don’t hear anything else about him apart from this story, and he isn’t mentioned as a brother of Martha and Mary in any other Gospels. 

Mary is a good friend and follower of Jesus, and seems to be the only one who has believed him when he says he will soon be arrested and killed. We don’t know much about her, but we do know from Luke 10.38 that she has a serious interest in theology, sitting at Jesus feet to listen to him, rather than helping her sister Martha prepare food, taking the traditional role expected of a woman. There are many Marys in the Gospels; it was a popular name. It is easy to confuse them, but this is not Mary Magdalene, or Mary the mother of Jesus, or Mary the mother of James.  There are also a number of other stories of women anointing Jesus (e.g Mark 14, Matthew 26). Either this happened on multiple occasions, or there was a memory preserved by eyewitnesses of something like this happening, and of the woman being honoured by Jesus for her actions, which the Gospel writers, writing between the 60s and 90s AD wanted to preserve and pass on.  

Martha is, once again, serving Jesus and the disciples in this story.

Judas Iscariot is called “one of the disciples”. Disciple literally means “learner”. Judas has been travelling around with Jesus, watching and listening over the several years of his ministry. But what has he learned? He has been given the responsibility of taking care of the common funds which supported Jesus and his band of learners, but, according to the writer of the Gospel, he has been stealing from it, though there’s no other evidence he was a thief. Within a few days Judas will betray Jesus to the Jewish authorities, telling them where he can be found, and as a result his name has become a byword for treachery. 

WHERE?

Bethany: Bethany is about 8 km (5 miles) east of Jerusalem. It would have been considered as a fairly short walk at the time, down the steep hillside which is now known as the Mount of Olives. Jesus stayed there a number of times, according to the Gospels, probably on his way to and from Jerusalem. 

WHEN?

“Six days before the Passover” In this story John begins to set the scene for Jesus’ death and crucifixion, which happened during the Jewish feast of the Passover. This feast, the most important in the Jewish calendar, celebrated the liberation of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt, and the beginning of their journey towards the Promised Land. Christians believe that the death of Jesus set people free in a new way to live in a new Kingdom, a new Promised Land. 

WHAT?

Mary anoints Jesus with very precious ointment – nard was very valuable (and very pungent!) and often used to anoint the dead. Judas appears shocked at this rather extravagant gesture, seeing it as wasteful (though John doubts his motivation). Jesus recognises this as an act of love and support; Mary is anticipating his death and acknowledging its significance by anointing him in advance. The extravagance of the gesture is her response to the extravagant love of God which she has seen in Jesus.

“You will always have the poor with you.” Jesus isn’t saying that helping the poor is wrong – that wouldn’t fit with the rest of the Gospels – but that it isn’t enough simply to meet physical need. Mary’s expression of love and support also matters, just as the small gestures of care we might give to others, even if we can’t do anything to change their situation, can bring immense comfort. 

HEART QUESTIONS

• What do you feel as you read this passage? Who do you identify with? Do you think Judas has a valid point (whatever his motives)? 

• Have you ever given or received a gesture of love in a tough time? What difference did it make?

• Are there scents which evoke particular times, people or places that are special to you? 

HANDS QUESTIONS

• What do you feel prompted to do in response to this Gospel story?

 

OPENING THE GOSPELS: Mothering Sunday 2025

 MOTHERING SUNDAY (The 4th Sun of Lent)

Click on the links for an introduction to the series, and the techniques of reading with your head, heart and hands.

The notes below refer to the Gospel for Mothering Sunday. Some churches may use the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Lent instead - Luke 15.1-32 – or use other readings that reflect the theme of mothering. 

Luke 2.33-35 (1 Sam 1.20, Psalm 34, Colossians 3.12-17)

33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

HEAD QUESTIONS

This passage is so brief that it is especially important to read it in context. I strongly suggest reading from Luke 2.22-38

WHO? 

“the child”: From the wider context, we know that this is Jesus. There is nothing about him that would single him out as a special child (he doesn’t glow in the dark, as paintings of the nativity might suggest!). But Simeon, guided by the Holy Spirit, spots  him in the crowd and acclaims him as “destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel” . His life will affect everyone: some will be encouraged and lifted up, others will be challenged, but no one will be unaffected. 

“father and mother”: Joseph and Mary. Note that Joseph is called his father, because that was the role he took on. 

Simeon: In verse 25 we discover that Simeon was “righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.” We are also told that God had promised him that he would not die “before the he had seen the Lord’s Messiah”. We aren’t told how old he is, but from his response to seeing Jesus “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace”, it is usually assumed he is an old man, near to death.  This is backed up by the fact that he is accompanied by another Temple regular, Anna, who is “of a great age” (verse 36). 

In this brief passage he is portrayed as a prophet – someone who listens for the voice of God, the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and passes on what he hears. 

WHERE?

This encounter takes place in the Temple in Jerusalem. This was the only place where sacrifice could be offered, according to Jewish law. This meant that the Temple was an immensely significant place for Jewish people, the centre of their national life, and the primary place where they expected to encounter God. The Temple was immense and impressive, consisting of a series of courtyards, one inside the other. It would have been crowded with people bringing sacrifices – pigeons, sheep, oxen - and also crowded with people debating, praying, preaching and meeting one another, all at the same time. It was not a quiet hushed, church-like space, but noisy and chaotic.

WHEN?   Jesus is about forty days old at this time – around six weeks - the age at which the Jewish law said parents should offer this particular sacrifice. In the Church’s liturgical year, this story forms the heart of the feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple (commonly called Candlemas, because Simeon acclaims Jesus as the “light that enlightens the Gentiles”), which falls on Feb 2, 40 days after Christmas. Luke’s Gospel doesn’t include any stories about Jesus being visited by the Magi, or fleeing to Egypt to escape Herod. After this they will simply go back to Nazareth, where they came from.  

WHAT?

“the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him” Look at the verses immediately before this passage. What had Simeon said about Jesus that so amazed Mary and Joseph? 

HEART QUESTIONS

• Imagine yourself in this scene. What do you want to do or say?

• Are there times when people have seen something in you or someone special to you which has surprised you?

• In what ways might the message of Jesus either challenge you or lift you up, bringing about the “falling and rising”. Which do you most need today?

• Jesus is very young in this story. Simeon and Anna are very old. What might this story have to say about the importance of both ends of the age spectrum?

• Simeon tells Mary that “a sword will pierce your own soul too”, foreshadowing the pain she will feel as her son meets opposition and is eventually crucified. This is an uncomfortable reading for Mothering Sunday, but it reminds us that being a parent can be painful, frightening and costly. Where might we be aware of that in our own lives, or the world around us now?

HANDS QUESTIONS

• What might this story be prompting you to do today?

 

OPENING THE GOSPELS: Lent 3

 THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

Click on the links for an introduction to the series, and the techniques of reading with your head, heart and hands.

Luke 13.1-9 (Isaiah 55.1-9, Psalm 63, 1 Corinthians 10.1-13)

13At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2He asked them, ‘Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? 3No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. 4Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them—do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? 5No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’

6 Then he told this parable: ‘A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. 7So he said to the gardener, “See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?” 8He replied, “Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig round it and put manure on it. 9If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.”’

HEAD QUESTIONS

WHO?

Jesus: What picture of Jesus do we get from this passage? 

The questioners: “there were some present”. We aren’t told anything about these people. We don’t know whether they are supporters or opponents of Jesus, or undecided about him. What do you think, and how does it change the feeling of this conversation to imagine them as supporters, opponents or undecided?

The victims: The passage refers to two separate incidents; the massacre of some Galileans by Pontius Pilate, and the collapse of a tower which killed eighteen people. One group is killed as a political act by a malign governor, the other apparently in a random natural disaster. 

The characters in the parable: The vineyard owner is impatient for his fig tree to fruit, but the gardener – the one who actually gets his hands dirty doing the work and sees this tree day to day – urges patience. (His advice on restricting the roots of the fig is still good advice for fig tree growers – cutting around the roots and feeding it is likely to make it fruit more generously).

WHERE?

This conversation takes place somewhere between Galilee in the north and Jerusalem, to which Jesus is heading (see last week’s notes). 

Galileans: Jesus was from the northern territory of Galilee, as were most of his followers. It was where most of his ministry was exercised. Those who were massacred were from his own area. Do you think this is significant?

Siloam: The tower of Siloam was part of the defensive wall of Jerusalem. John 9 refers to a pool of water there which was associated with healing. Its waters were used in Jewish rituals, so it was a place where people gathered. The collapse of the tower seems just to be a case of the victims being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

WHEN?

“At that very time” Like last week’s Gospel passage, this reading comes from Luke 13, when Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem, heading for his crucifixion. 

“Three years”: the length of time the vineyard owner has waited for the fig to fruit. In reality it might easily take this long to do so, so perhaps the owner is being impatient. Perhaps Jesus’ questioners also want a quick fix, an easy answer to the problem of suffering. 

WHAT?

In the stories immediately before this Jesus has focussed on the need to be aware of the signs of the times. He is trying to prepare his followers for the trouble that is coming. It will be natural for them to think, when they see him crucified, that his mission has failed, and that God has rejected him or is punishing him. It is still common for people to feel that disaster or illness is some kind of punishment “What have I done to deserve this?”, and to equate worldly success with God’s blessing”. Jesus warns against this type of thinking, and his parable reminds us that God’s timescale may be different from ours! 

“unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.’ Jesus’s words sound very grim, but he is simply reminding his questioners that they shouldn’t consider themselves better than those who have been killed in these disasters. Everyone will die, and everyone is called to repentance. The Greek word for repentance literally means to “change one’s mind”. They need to change their minds about God’s love, which is not ours to ration out or limit.  

HEART QUESTIONS

• How do you feel as you read this passage?

• Have you ever felt that some bad thing that has happened to you is your fault (even if it wasn’t), or felt it was a punishment? Why did you feel like this?

• Imagine yourself in the parable Jesus tells. Would you side with the owner or the gardener? Why do you think each of them reacts as they do?

HANDS QUESTIONS

• What do you feel prompted to do in response to this Gospel story?

• What might you need to change your mind about?

 

OPENING THE GOSPELS: Lent 2

 THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT

Click on the links for an introduction to the series, and the techniques of reading with your head, heart and hands.

Luke 13.31-35  (Genesis 15,1-12,17-18, Psalm 27, Philippians 3.17-4.1)

31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to Jesus, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ 32He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me, “Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. 33Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.” 34Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” ’

HEAD QUESTIONS

WHO?

Jesus. What does this story tell us about how Jesus saw himself, and how others saw him? How would you describe him if you only had this story to go on?

Pharisees: The Pharisees were one of a number of groups within Judaism at the time of Jesus, each of which had a different perspective on their faith. The Pharisees weren’t priests, offering sacrifice in the Temple, and they didn’t have any particular political or religious power, but they often had significant influence in the local synagogues among ordinary people, where the Hebrew Scriptures were read and discussed. Intense discussion was the principal way in which faith was taught and learned, which is why they are so often found engaging Jesus in argument.  They often appear as opponents of Jesus, and have been portrayed as self-righteous, legalistic and hypocritical, but this caricature is far from the truth. They cared deeply about helping people to understand the law, which they regarded as a gift not a burden, which God had given them to help them live their lives as God wanted. As in any group, there were certainly good and bad Pharisees, but we should be careful not to assume that every Pharisee was out to get Jesus. What do you think of the Pharisees you meet in this reading?  

Herod: This isn’t the Herod we meet in the Nativity Story, massacring the 

children of Bethlehem. This is one of his sons, put into power by the Romans, who was nominally ruler of the southern province of Judea – another son ruled Galilee. However, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as the saying goes, and the sons were just as capricious and insecure as their father, and just as likely to unleash violence against their enemies. Jesus calls Herod a “fox”, which is not likely to make him popular!

The Prophets: Jesus is thinking of the many prophets like Jeremiah, whose words eventually came to form an important strand of the Hebrew Scriptures, but who were rejected or even persecuted in their own time. 

WHERE?

Jesus is heading towards Jerusalem, because “it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem”. Jerusalem was the focus for the religious and political life of the nation, a place where people expected significant events to  happen: Jesus is telling us that his death will be a significant event. 

WHEN?

“at that very hour”: In the passage just before this, Jesus has been telling a very pointed parable about people who assumed they were God’s favourites with a special place at his banquet, but found themselves out in the cold. The first would be last and the last first. It is dangerous talk, challenging the power of those who assumed they were, and would always be, in charge. This is what prompts the Pharisees to warn Jesus about Herod.

“on the third day I finish my work”: “Third days” in the Gospel are often meant to remind us of the resurrection. That may be the case here. What do you think?

“you will not see me until the time comes when you say ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.’”: It isn’t entirely clear what Jesus is referring to in these words. Is it his entry into Jerusalem on the day we call Palm Sunday when the crowds will acclaim him with these words, or is he talking about a future time when all people will recognise God at work in him? Or is it both? What do you think?

WHAT?

Jesus challenges the assumptions of these Pharisees that his prime concern should be to preserve his own life. Instead, his priority is the nation he loves, and the trouble he sees coming to it. The image of the mother hen trying to gather her brood under her wings is a striking one. At this crucial point, Jesus chooses to describe his mission using a female image, which would have been unusual for a male leader to do at the time, and probably still is. Why do you think he does this?

HEART QUESTIONS 

• What do you feel as you read this passage?

• What do you think Jesus is feeling? 

• What do you do when you feel anxious about the world?

 

HANDS QUESTIONS

• What might this passage prompt you to do in response? 

OPENING THE GOSPELS: Lent 1

 THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT

Click on the links for an introduction to the series, and the techniques of reading with your head, heart and hands.

Luke 4.1-13 

The other readings set for today, some of which you may hear during worship are: Deuteronomy 26.1-11, Psalm 91, Romans 8b-13

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. 3The devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’ 4Jesus answered him, ‘It is written, “One does not live by bread alone.” ’

5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6And the devil said to him, ‘To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ 8Jesus answered him, ‘It is written,

“Worship the Lord your God,

   and serve only him.” ’

9 Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10for it is written,

“He will command his angels concerning you,

   to protect you”,

11and

“On their hands they will bear you up,

   so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’

12Jesus answered him, ‘It is said, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” ’ 13When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

HEAD QUESTIONS: Here are some things I think may be relevant to notice, but before reading my words, have a look for yourself to find out what you can about the “who, where, when and what” of this story.

WHO? 

The Holy Spirit: Luke’s Gospel is full of the action of the Holy Spirit; Jesus is conceived through the power of the Spirit and inspired by the Spirit throughout his ministry. The Acts of the Apostles, also by Luke, tell of the coming of the Spirit on the disciples at Pentecost, but the Spirit has been active long before that. 

The Devil: Luke calls Jesus’ adversary the devil, but we shouldn’t imagine a creature with horns and a pitchfork. The idea of a figure embodying evil developed gradually. In the Old Testament, he is called “the satan” which literally meant “the accuser”, like a prosecuting barrister, someone whose job was to test people. Whether we believe there is a literal figure of evil or not, we can see how, in this story, the devil gives voice to the push and pull of competing thoughts in Jesus’ mind, the possible choices he might make as he begins his ministry.  

Jesus, the Son of God. The devil asks Jesus what it means to him to be the Son of God. “Son of..” wasn’t just about biology in the 1st century. It was also, and more importantly about carrying on your father’s mission and embodying his character. There was a far more famous “Son of God” in people’s minds at the time of Jesus. The Roman emperor Augustus, who was the “son” of Julius Caesar – actually his nephew, but adopted as his heir – was called the “Son of God” because Julius Caesar had been declared to be divine, as all Roman Emperors after him would be. When Christians called Jesus “Son of God” they were making a deliberately subversive statement. In questioning Jesus, the Devil tests the depth of his conviction that he is the true “Son of God”.

WHERE?

The Jordan. The river where John the Baptist had just baptised Jesus. 

The Wilderness. Jesus isn’t “getting away from it all” for some peace and quiet. The rocky Judean desert was seen as a dangerous place, a place of extreme heat, cold and drought, a home only for wild animals, wild people, and wild spirits. It was a place where you would be under attack physically, emotionally and spiritually. Jesus deliberately chooses to go there, led by the Spirit. There are many other significant “wilderness experiences” in Scripture – the story of Hagar (Gen 16 & 21), the story of the exodus from Egypt in the book of Exodus, and Elijah’s flight into the desert when he encounters the “still small voice” of God (1 Kings 19), for example.

WHEN?

Asking “when” questions often involves looking at what comes immediately before and after a passage. In this case, Luke 3.21-22 tells us that Jesus has just been baptised by John. The Holy Spirit has “descended on him in bodily form, like a dove” and a heavenly voice has acclaimed him “You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased.”

After his temptations in the wilderness, Jesus will go back to Nazareth and begin his ministry, shocking people in his local synagogue by applying the words of the Prophet Isaiah to himself “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (Luke 4). 

“Forty days”: the length of time Jesus fasted in the desert. It could just be taken to mean “quite a long time”, but the number forty was probably meant to remind Luke’s readers of the forty years the people of Israel spent wandering in the wilderness after their escape from slavery in Egypt. Just as in that ancient story, those who follow Jesus are invited to be part of a new kingdom, to enter a new Promised Land.

The story finishes with the devil departing from Jesus “until an opportune time”. In a way, all these temptations will return when Jesus is arrested and crucified – will he decide to put himself first, to protect himself, or will he stick to the message of God’s love for all which so angers the powers that rule his land? Will he be able to trust that he will be in his Father’s hands as he suffers and dies? The temptations in the wilderness can be seen as a foretaste of the crucifixion. 

WHAT? 

Luke’s Gospel, like Matthew’s, details three specific temptations which the devil puts before Jesus. They are all about how he will use his power – to bring himself material gain and satisfy his own hungers, to bring himself glory and adulation, and to believe that God will not let anything bad happen to him because of who he is.  The devil uses words from the Hebrew Scriptures which Jesus would have known well, to sow doubt in his mind, but Jesus counters with other scriptural words. The Bible is not like a washing machine manual, and we can get into very bad trouble if we read it simplistically, taking verses out of context as the devil does here!

HEART QUESTIONS: I can’t answer these for you. They are about how this story touches your own heart and life. The questions are just suggestions – you may have your own.

• How do you feel as you read this story? Hopeful? Fearful? Baffled? Something else?

• Have there been “wilderness” times in your life, when you have had to grapple with difficult choices? What happened? Have you ever had to watch someone else go through a “wilderness time”?

• Imagine yourself in this scene. Where are you, and what do you want to say or do?

HANDS QUESTIONS: 

• Has anything changed in your mind or heart as you have thought about this story?

• Is there anything you feel to do as a result (prayer, action, further thought etc..)?