Access the Story

unreserved

// February 14th, 2011 // No Comments » // presence, the story

With the teacher’s invitation ringing in his ears, the burly fisherman would not allow hesitation to get in his way. As the sea boiled and the boat hurled, Peter staggered over toward the side.

For weeks now, the stories of the kingdom swirled through his impetuous mind – how an entire tree could come from such a small seed … a woman’s batch of dough could rise from such a small pinch of yeast … a merchant would sell all he had for the ultimate pearl, or someone else might sell all he had to buy a field where he discovered hidden treasure. And then today – to see so many people fed with such a small amount of food.

In following Jesus – hearing what he had to say, and participating in what he was doing – all that Peter understood seemed to be coming unstuck. And a new kind of reality was settling into his heart.

“If this is what the kingdom of God is like” he thought, “I want in.”

And with that he stepped out of the boat.

Matthew 14:22-33

isolation

// January 31st, 2011 // No Comments » // presence, the story

He was tired. Yes, tired of the numbness, the ugly sores, the weeping wounds on his hands and feet, the hot and heavy cloak he was required to wear that stuck to his wounds, the hoarseness of his voice from the ulcers in his throat – tired of being surrounded by death and dying.

But he was tired of so much more. Since the day the priest pronounced him ‘unclean’, he’d been banished to live with others who were sick like him – banished from his family, his friends, and banished from his identity as a Jew – forbidden to worship God in the temple.

As he limped along the road to his home outside his old village, he saw a group coming towards him and wearily lifted his hand to cover his mouth and warn them of his approach, “Unclean! Unclean!” The familiar words were a permanent reminder of his isolation.

As they came closer he heard someone say the name – Jesus. The leper looked up and saw the one they spoke of. His limp turned to an awkward gait, and, ignoring all social and religious protocols, he fell on his knees before the rabbi.

Mark 1:40-45

religion

// January 24th, 2011 // No Comments » // presence, the story

He struggled to understand why, but he was constantly agitated – especially on the Sabbath. He hated the custom of going to the meeting place, he hated the people with their preoccupied smiles, he hated religion full-stop. It never took the anxiety away, in fact, it only added to it.

But there was another reason he hated the day of rest and worship, the day when his culture required him to gather with others in public – he hated it because he never knew what was going to come out of his mouth. Whenever a rabbi would get up to teach from the Torah, it made his blood boil, and he would often unwittingly shout out in protest. Sometimes he would scream obscenities at the top of his voice, and he would only learn of this when his family asked him why afterwards – it was as if someone else owned his mouth.

He felt misunderstood, alone, and helpless – and no rabbi, elder, or teacher of the law had ever been able to tell him why.

Mark 1:21-28

death bed

// January 14th, 2011 // No Comments » // presence, the story

Serving Herod Antipas, the King that no-one wanted, certainly came at a price – but it had it’s perks. Job security in his time was a unique opportunity, as was the comfortable lodging – and the power it gave him was, admittedly, satisfying.

But being a royal official also meant there were certain streets you never walked down. Certain areas to be avoided. Certain truths that were best kept in the realm of ignorance – truths that were often a direct result of the decisions he made, or at least enforced among the people of Galilee. A king’s oppression of his own people will always mean a king’s official will be unpopular.

None of that seemed to matter today. The look in his sons eyes was enough incentive for him to walk the 30 km journey to Cana where he had heard Jesus was headed. Whatever the risk and whatever the cost, this father was determined to do to keep his son from dying.

John 4:46-54

party

// December 24th, 2010 // No Comments » // presence, the story

The day had finally arrived. After negotiating with his future in-laws, a long period of betrothal, and all the preparations leading up to this day – he was finally on the verge of the biggest celebration of his life.

He had a number of things at the back of his mind though – the flow of the ceremony, the behaviour of his family, and the demands of the rabbi. What was bugging him the most, however, was whether or not there’d be enough to drink. It was customary for guests to contribute to the supply of wine at a wedding, so with the late inclusion of some extras, the bridegroom was a little nervous as to how long the wine would last. Nonetheless he was overjoyed to be able to add Jesus and his friends to the guest list.

Knowing what he knew about the numbers for catering, it came as a strange surprise when the banquet host complimented him the way he did.

John 2:1-11

Report

// December 20th, 2010 // No Comments » // presence, the story

He sat high on his camel as it lumbered through the outskirts of Jerusalem.

“Did that meeting with the King seem strange to you?” his companion said, breaking the silence with the same question that had bothered him since they left Herod’s courts.

“What seems strange to me,” said the first man, “is that Herod’s sages knew what the prophets wrote, yet WE are the ones sent to find the whereabouts of Israel’s new King, and then return with a report.”

The travelling party hardly noticed the distance of the final leg of their journey – their conversation swinging from suspicion to hopefulness, and back again – until the light they followed finally stopped moving.

As it hovered over the unlikeliest of destinations, the Magi fell silent once more.

Matthew 2:1-12

Fields

// December 11th, 2010 // No Comments » // presence, the story

“No-one will believe us” said the new guy. He’d only been shepherding for a month or so, and was acutely aware of how the community viewed the likes of those who took care of sheep.

But the joyfulness of the older man was hard to contain. He’d been taking shifts with sheep on this hill for years, and he was well beyond being concerned what people might think of him.

“Are you kidding?” he said, “this is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen, and the news that everyone needs to hear. Surely we at least need to check it out.”

“Come on! What are we waiting for?”

Luke 2:8-20

City Gate

// December 5th, 2010 // No Comments » // presence, the story

Up until now she managed to hold back the tears. Sure, she’d wept leading up till now – that was all she seemed to be able to do – no talking, no eating, just crying.

But today she had vowed she would keep it together for the others. And she did, until they carried her son’s body through the gate.

The great sadness of her loss was magnified at the gate. This was the last time her boy would leave the city.

As she walked through the archway, she became overwhelmed with grief. The familiarity of loss was too much as she remembered walking the same road when burying her husband.

And then a lone figure approached her from out of the oncoming crowd.

Luke 7:11-17

Healing!

// November 29th, 2010 // No Comments » // presence, the story

Jesus then called the unclean man to stand before everyone and asked the question – a question that remains unanswered by the angry religious leaders:

“Which IS lawful on the Sabbath?”

When the healing took place, the young trainee predictably joined the others in their show of outrage, but Jesus’ question awakened a restlessness in his heart that would not leave him alone.

Luke 6:6-11

Riverbank

// November 23rd, 2010 // No Comments » // expectant, the story

He knew the confronting nature of his message.

After generations of bare survival, this nation still yearned for the recovery of their rich identity – but before they would see deliverance from their oppressors, they would need to see the need for deliverance from themselves.

This was the message of the unsophisticated cousin of Jesus, standing knee-deep in the water, eager to reveal the hypocrisy of those looking to ease their conscience in the river Jordan.

“This is not a popularity contest” he thought to himself as the crowd pressed in around the riverbank.

So, motioning for attention, he spoke out: “You brood of snakes!”

Luke 3