I know I wrote in last week’s reflection that Jesus was an effective teacher because he communicated in a clear and concise way, but perhaps the crowing jewel in Jesus’ teaching arsenal is his use of Parables.

If you could talk your way into the Kingdom of God, I probably would!

Last week, we covered a few chapters containing wall-to-wall teaching from Jesus. We had ‘you’ve heard X, but I say Y…’ and warnings against religious hypocrisy; a group of teachings which have shaped the life of the church since their recording and which offer, perhaps, our most direct insight into the theological foundation of Jesus that we have access to.

The passages we’ve read this week are perhaps the greatest collection of sayings and teachings attributed to Jesus that we have. We know these chapters as ‘The Sermon on the Mount’, but whilst it’s unlikely that this was delivered as one sermon (Jesus didn’t have the privilege of a Tony on PA recording his talks word for word, so this was probably a summation of things Jesus taught on different occasions or sayings which represent his ethos and core message), Matthew 5-7 forms a foundation for our understanding of Jesus’ central teachings.

This is the Christ.

That is the resounding message of the opening chapters of Matthew’s gospel that we’ve been reading this week!

There aren't that many people who live alone, but those who do and who are also elderly or vulnerable, deserve our care don't they?

What may not be apparent to us at this point in time is that we are in the midst of a traumatic event. Not everyone will experience this the same way, but we are united in our being caught up in this. There is, it seems, no area of society that is untouched by the impact of this virus.

We are all missing things that are important to us and, without the power to resolve that, we are left in the helpless grip of grief.

If you took a poll of neighbours and acquaintances, asking the question, “Who is Jesus?”, most people would give one of a series of answers.

When everything around us changes, God remains true. When all routine halts, God remains active. When the world is in chaos, God is strong.

Jesus’ resurrection reveals to us a new way of doing things. We must take responsibility for ourselves, forgive others, love our enemies.

When, upon the cross, Jesus declared “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing”, it is an interesting statement to make

It could be, then, that at that moment, God lacked Godself and cried out in pure humanity “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Of all the things one might have expected Jesus, God incarnate, to cry out as he was hanging from the cross, this probably wasn't it.