Through the story of Hagar – a foreigner and slave who flees with the child born of Abraham, we find the great truth of God. He is the one who sees and hears the cries of the afflicted but does not scorn, but acts with justice and steadfast love.
What good news do we proclaim? It will be different for every time and place.
But the common thread is we are ‘Servant People of our Servant Lord’ and our ‘Servantship’ must express the Mission of God – the way Christ lived and taught.
Faith versus Works or Grace versus law?
The age old problem conundrum!
Is it Faith and Grace that is needed to lead us to life in Christ and righteousness?
The scared and frightened followers were hiding in a locked room – into that fear Jesus came and said, ‘Peace be with you’.
The heart of Jesus is to give peace and to make an eternal difference in the lives of others.
The breath of the Holy Spirit is transformative. Wherever it blows it will bring new life and vitality.
Sometimes images don’t help us understand the real meaning.
Many paintings of the Ascension are like this.
Jesus gave the real message, “You will be my witnesses”
So as Christians we need to get on with it – visiting, clothing and feeding those in need – shifting our gaze from vertical to horizontal.
In Syria we hear of all the plights of orphans and even in our own country many children and adults are left ‘alone’.
Jesus cared about His friends who would be left alone when He was gone.
Jesus left them a ‘helper’ so they would not be alone, no matter how hard the journey would be, His love would always be there.
The New Testament paints a very different image of God to the way He was understood in the Old Testament.
Jesus’ actions and teaching show
what His father is like – if we know Jesus then we know about His
father – God.
God has prepared a place for all
and is open to a relationship for all ordinary people to be in His kingdom.
Jesus refuses the darkness of death.
Darkness does not diminish the light – darkness is only half of the whole.
We all have stones to be moved, things to be unbound so we can be free.
Good news in our humanity.
Being mortal and human, we are limited by our human nature and only see the outside.
Only God is the one who truly sees – this is ‘Good News’.
There are 3 reasons why Jesus should not have talked to the woman at the well!
He shows who he really is, offering hope and unconditional love to a woman he should never have spoken too.
