I have always enjoyed visiting old churches and cathedrals. I enjoy standing in the places where for centuries, faithful souls have prayed to and worshipped God. I enjoy looking at the different architectural styles that have been brought together to create one glorious whole. I like to find the evidence of how individuals down the ages have lived out their lives of faith.
One of the thoughts that goes through my mind every time I visit one of those grand old buildings is about the many, many people who have been involved in the development of those buildings. What motivated them to work on massive building projects, when two thirds of the population was being wiped out by the Black Death? What inspired them to find ingenious ways to fly in the face of political and religious pressure to change their styles of worship? What held them together when local disputes bubbled over into schism and violence?
All of these thoughts tie into our reading for today.
The Jewish people had long looked for the coming of their Messiah, the anointed one of God, who would restore their former glory and primacy in the world. They had endured many hardships through hundreds and hundreds of years, and yet they had remained faithful to the promise that the Messiah would one day come amongst them and save them. Through the passage of time many people made their small contributions to the story of his Israel, never expecting to see the true worth of what they had said or done.
As with the people of Israel, so with those faithful souls, who each made their small contribution to each Christian community that we call a parish.
Jesus understood the workings of the human mind. Jesus understood that we struggle to grasp the true picture, because it is painted on far too large a canvas for us to take it all in at once, in revealing the great truths of God.
Jesus spoke in parables, in stories that engage with our normal everyday lives, in doing so. He was not doing anything particularly new.
In today’s reading, he quotes from the prophet Isaiah, who wrote of the One who would come and teach a new lesson, which would be difficult for many to understand.
And that is where we stand in the sweep of the Christian story. We become so obsessed with our version of the Christian message that we stop listening, hearing, seeing, and understanding.
Recently, I wrote in my weekly letter to parishioners of the parable of the sower. In response to that letter, I received 11 emails, an unprecedented number, which focussed on explaining how agricultural economics works in the 21st century. Not one of those emails gave me the same explanation, and not one of them mentioned the true message of the parable.
Let us set aside our human wisdom, and let us listen, hear, see, and understand the true message of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one of God, our Lord and our Saviour.