Evensong 15th May 2022

Isaiah 61. Luke 7. 1-11

 Inclusion

 The radicle thing about Christianity is that it creates bonds and connections between people who might not have any association. People from all walks of life are welcomed into the family of Christ and are offered the opportunity to be alongside each other. In the jobs that we do or the places where we live, we tend to be in close proximity to people who are like us socially and economically, yet in church those barriers aren’t there, or are they? As a church community we offer welcome to those in our surrounding community but it is often on our terms. We say please come to this event where we know all the unwritten rules, expect a donation and that the person will enjoy themselves.

 Being a place and a people who are truly inclusive is not as simple as just opening the doors with a big smile on your face! If only it was! Being inclusive also means inviting those people who we may not understand or even like and being open to listening to them. It’s about challenging our own preconceived ideas and not creating barriers. This isn’t easy and requires time, patients and thinking critically about our actions. Are the things that we do or the things that we say making it hard for people to feel accepted?

 In the story about the centurion we heard from Luke’s Gospel, the centurion would have lived a completely different life to the Jewish people. As a Roman and a soldier, he was commanded to see the emperor as a god and would have worshiped lots of god’s. As part of the occupying force of Jerusalem, he was also an enemy of the followers of the Jewish faith. Yet he felt a calling to the God of Israel and so had a temple built. The fact that he wasn’t brought up in a Jewish family didn’t impact on his faith, in fact Jesus proclaims here that he hasn’t seen this much faith in the whole of Israel. His background or what he did for a job didn’t stop him in believing in God and it therefore shouldn’t stop God showing his love for him. 

Jesus was impressed that none of these barriers that he was up against had stopped him having faith in him and believing that his slave would be healed. However something about this story makes me stop and think is this really radical inclusion? As a Roman solider, the centurion held a lot of power and influence and also a certain amount of confidence in himself and his abilities. Yes he was from a different background than those who followed Jesus and he would have been viewed with much suspicion, but his position and influence would have made it easier for him to be acceptable.

 In Mark’s gospel we hear a very different healing story. In chapter 7 verses 24-30, a Syrophoenician women hears that Jesus is near by and goes immediately to see him. Her daughter is unwell due to an unclean spirit so she bows down in front of Jesus and begs him to cast out the spirit from her child. Jesus says, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.’ Then he said to her, ‘For saying that, you may go -the demon has left your daughter.’

I have always found this reading difficult because it really doesn’t put Jesus in a good light. He is basically telling this women to go away, by insulting her and calling her a dog, because what he has to offer is for the children of Israel. She was a gentile and a women and not his concern, yet she is not taking no for an answer and challenges what he says by saying that even the dogs eat the crumbs under the table.

In the story about the centurion, he is gracious and humble towards Jesus, yet he had power and wealth and ultimately if his slaved died, he’d get another one. This women is not gracious or humble and in the face of an insult she takes a big risk by challenging Jesus. But what does she have to lose, she is willing to risk it all for her daughter.

In the book Being interrupted by Al Barrett and Ruth Harley, they say about this passage that some commentators point to this passage as an argument for inclusion, but really there is something more radical than that going on. In conventional models of inclusion, those with power and privilege choose to include those without. But that is not what is going on here. Jesus is not choosing to include the women. Rather, she is choosing to draw him into her worldview, and he is allowing himself to become -at least to some extent- receptive to that.

 For me, this is the kind of inclusion we need to be working towards as a church community and as The Church generally. We need to be open to the world view of those who don’t fit into our church community norms and challenge us to see the world from a different perspective. It is not enough to welcome people in, we have to be receptive to what others have to offer and go out there. We have to be open to looking at the ways we welcome people and ask ourselves are we genuinely welcoming everyone or just those who fit it.

 Amen.

Intercessions

 These intercessions are from a group called Mosaic who work with people with intellectual disabilities.

 With the whole people of God in Christ Jesus, let us pray for the church, those in need, and all of God’s creation:

Gracious God, grow us to be a community of care, help us to recognise your image in all whom we meet, and to celebrate the diversity of gifts you have given each of your children. 

Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For people who are blind and cannot see, and for those who can see but are blind to the people around them.

Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For people who move slowly because of accident, illness or disability, and for those who move too fast to be sensitive to the world in which they live.

Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For people who are deaf and cannot hear, and those who can hear but who ignore the cries of others.

Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

L: For people who learn slowly, for people who learn in different ways, and for people who learn quickly but too often fail to act wisely.

Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For people who have chronic illnesses for which there is no known cure or relief, and for those who live fearfully of being ill. Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For those with disabilities who teach of patience, goodness, humour, and the joy in your presence.

Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For families, friends, and caregivers who support people with disabilities; strengthen them in body and spirit; refresh them when weary and hearten them when discouraged.

Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For people who think they are worthless and beyond your love, and for people who think they don’t need your love. Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For people who feel isolated by their disabilities, and for people who contribute to that sense of isolation.

Lord in your mercy ...

C: Hear our prayer.

 L: For all the people you have created and love, that we may learn to respect each other and learn to live together in dignity and your peace.

 Lord in your mercy ...