Keeping it real when all around you

This is quite a confrontation with an increasingly bitter conflict. It could be Prime Minister’s Questions but I’m reading from Matthew 23:1-12, a ‘debate’ between the synagogue where the author lives and a small group of believers (ekklesia). The name calling between these two groups is flourishing, sadly.

This is not an argument that flourished during the time Jesus was in and around Jerusalem, but in the time of 70CE. What the Pharisees declared wasn’t exactly very far from what Jesus taught: it was in their application they fell short. That is the way we live according to our teaching. The accusation ‘hypocrite’ is seen within Scripture, albeit in the Greek that meant ‘an actor’. Being a hypocrite meant that you didn’t say what you yourself believed. It is accusation that could not be pointed at our Government …

Heavy Burdens

Here, the author of Matthew suggests that teachers tie together heavy packs upon their followers. You might feel that after each Sunday service – is what is being taught something you can takeaway? Or is it too heavy?

When we might post bible verses on social media, or quote a bible verse to others, which infers that if we do this or that all will be well, when individually we may well struggle.

That’s why I have been emphasising being real. People respond to being real not false, misleading. That shop employee spoke to me in basic terms, explaining everything without making me feel an idiot. They answered my question, not a specific well trained response. The “I don’t know’ was real.

Yoke is light, not runny

Jesus says in Matthew 11 that his yoke was light, for the Pharisees yoke was cumbersome, bulky and unwieldy. Jesus stripped down the 613 commandments to Love thy God and Love thy neighbour. He wasn’t saying that what they taught was rubbish, far from it, but that it was available in bite size chunks, things we could use in everyday situations and understood by all.

When we pray, pray as it comes naturally. If you’ve hit your thumb or stubbed your toe, say it how it is. If the world is crashing around you, tell it to God and others – as it is.

Don’t use someone else’s advert

If someone asks why your faith is important to you, explain what makes it real – don’t revert to an advert from the Methodist Church, which is from a different context, possibly culture. How does your faith work for you: both positively and negatively.

So, in essence, what makes us distinctive? It is being that beacon of hope amidst diverse communities that seek to help and are struggling. It isn’t about sitting on the top table, but sitting with the marginalised, the powerless, and relating to the reality of this world with God. That’s what we have been called to do. It doesn’t require a two year course, or a certificate, just a heart to follow God where we are, making mistakes as we go, and knowing that God loves us no matter what – keeping it real.