Monday 04 March 2019

Psalm: Psalm 89:1-18

Background

Teachers of the law, or scribes as other translations have them, were intelligent, knowledgeable, educated and trained not just to write documents, but to teach the rules. But they did not necessarily have to believe in the words they were using. Their work could be translated as being the political advisers of their day with an ambivalent attitude towards their scripts and to their employers. Think, ‘Yes, Minister!’

We all know teachers like that. It may be because they have to teach a subject that is not really their speciality, so they only read it up and parrot the words. Some preachers seem to do that occasionally! But, hopefully, we have all had a teacher who was memorable for the right reasons. Someone with a teaching technique that was outstanding; who really believed in the subject and genuinely knew what they were talking about.

Jesus was that kind of teacher. He cared about the people he was teaching and wanted them to understand the truth of God’s love. He rooted his stories in the everyday lives that surrounded them. And it was easy to tell that this teacher knew what he was talking about and believed every word of it. That sincerity cannot be faked for long. There is an instinct for truth built into humanity. It can be ignored, but when we face true conviction it leaves a very strong impression that is difficult to forget.

If he had come as a priest with elaborate vestments,
sanctimonious speeches and zealous religious rituals,
he would have commanded respect.
But there would have been those
who found his vestments ostentatious,
suspected him of hypocrisy in his speeches,
or felt unable to live up to
the impossible regulation of his religion.

So, when Jesus came
and walked around in everyday clothes,
meeting and talking to people about God,
it really was a revelation.
He was a man and of the people
and they listened to him.

To Ponder: 

• In a world of so much ‘fake news’, how do we learn to discern the truth?
• Who has spoken the truth to you in a way that has changed your life? And how?