Sunday 29th

The Sermon..... for what it is worth!!!
Last week The Leader of the Synagogue was indignant, and the crowds ended up rejoicing at all the wonderful things he was doing.

This week we have moved on and hear a story which Jesus tells. A story we have turned into a sort of comment on society and the haves and have nots etc, though I now see this as a story about our attitude tro God not at all about our attitude on behaviour in society.

I am particularly struck by peoples unusual reactions to Jesus as I read the gospel accounts

Just a small survey:

On Monday I discovered that Legion bowed down before him, yet the crowds were afraid.
On Tuesday a woman could not bear the thought of a direct approach and so she sneaked a touch amongst a crowd of people. And then soon she felt fear.
Then we see the crowds laughing at Jesus because they just didn’t believe what he was saying.
On Wednesday I met people who were simply astounded at what Jesus had to say, but couldn’t take it in because they had seen him grow from a boy before them and they just thought “we have him taped”
Then I came across people who just couldn’t believe no matter what Jesus did so he had to use his friends to get the message across.

I was struck by all these reactions because tradition might suggest that Jesus was instantly likeable, that we would be immediately drawn to him, and that we would understand his message directly. We still today sometimes feel that if we read some words apparently spoken by Jesus we will warm to them and take them to heart.

A sort of cosy image of Jesus really goes out of the window when you read the stories…. I had just never noticed it especially before.

It is curious to ponder that Jesus could not minister to some people, so much so that he had to send disciples instead.


It has made me wonder if we honestly allow people to feel all these different reactions to Jesus today, and what would happen if we did. Do we expect everyone to react the same as ourselves? Do we recognise that even amongst us here there will be people who react differently.

Maybe there have been times we have simply been afraid of him. What is our reaction when we do not understand him? How many times have we wanted to drum him out of town?

It is also extremely interesting to think about the role his friends might have in making the message acceptable and clear. Perhaps we have seen the disciples as acting as mere assistants whereas when you read the gospel if they hadn’t gone out then the message would simply not have been sown. What does that teach us about the church today I wonder?

I have started to wonder what my reaction to Jesus might be under different circumstances. When I am feeling stressed and under a cloud I rather like to hear him saying to me “be calm”, but I know that at other times I may be fearful of what Christ might wish of me at other times. When I feel angry at what has happened I might even feel like making him the scapegoat.

One thing that is certain and that is our reaction, whether it be love or hate does not stop him loving.

Even when his friends rejected him, were fearful of being associated with him, even when they openly denied him, he was still there for them.

Perhaps you might think about your reaction too during this week, and when you hear a gospel story, notice what is happening?


The picture at the church door is of Joanne from Bongo in Ghana. She is visiting Shetland at the moment and St Magnus has recently helped support her in her education. Peter Davis is also in the picture and has set up Project Bongo (as a charity) to support this work to blossom.