Daily Bread

After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, ‘Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.’ But the Pharisees said, ‘By the ruler of the demons he casts out the demons.’

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.’

'Never has anything like this been seen in Israel' — nor anywhere in the world before or since!

Jesus was bringing God's presence to earth, and when people encountered this spotlight from heaven, how could they not be healed of every disease and sickness?

The healings that took place were a manifestation of the very character of a loving God who is all about restoration and reconciliation. When Jesus saw the crowds and their great need, how could he not have compassion for them? Yet, there were those who witnessed the healing miracles and said, "By the ruler of demons he casts out demons." Ouch. And what is worse is that these were the religious leaders of the day! They were supposed to be God's representatives to the world — to let the world know about God's redemptive love, yet here they were, not only scoffing, but hurling hurtful insults at Jesus, and by association, those who followed him.

2000 years later, you would think we had have changed for the better, however, religious people still hurl insults at those who extend God's love. I just spent 30 minutes reading the replies on social media to a news post about the Pride week here in Bermuda. Of the 150+ comments, most of them were hateful, calling members of the rainbow community (including Helen and I) — perverse, immoral, wrong, and telling us that we were going to 'hell'.

If you have had insults levelled at you (and I know many of you have) then you are in good company, for you are in the company of Jesus Christ. And what did Jesus do? He got on with his mission of love. He had compassion and, "carried on proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness."

Friends, in the face of oppression and prejudice, don't give in to hate and don't stop loving. Don't be diverted from your mission to be God's agents in the world and his ambassadors of love. Let the Spirit of God — the character of God — dwell richly in your hearts. Love will win.

Holy God
When people insult me in your name,
because of my gender or sexuality,
may I take heart that you too
experienced hatred and oppression,
and rejoice that you never gave up
having compassion and reaching
people with your unending love.
Give me strength, patience,
and a determination to never
stop proclaiming your way
of love and peace to a hurting world.
Now and forever.
Amen.