This week’s reflection is by Chris Dodd, thank you Chris for sharing this with us and being open with your own journey and image of Jesus.

The older I get, the less I know, the less I understand, the less I am sure of.  When I was younger I was raised expecting to believe the whole deal.

• Jesus was the literal son of God.
• He did miracles.
• He raised people from the dead.
• He died for our sins.
• He rose from the dead.
• He ascended into heaven and one day He’ll come back again.

But these days, I find a lot of that does not sit comfortably with me. I have no experience of the supernatural and I have found I have no need of it for Jesus to be meaningful to me. In fact, the more fantastic the claim, the more it makes me uneasy.

So I have cut Jesus back to bare bones. 

• He was a really good and wise man.
• He saw it all so differently, so new, so fresh.
• In a violent and brutal world He taught about love, faith and hope.
• The early writers may have chosen to express this in mythical ways, but behind it all is this really meaningful and worthwhile way to live life. 
• A life of love.
• A life not being controlled by base impulses of revenge and hate, which never ends well.
• A life of inclusiveness and acceptance.
• A life that acknowledges that God embraces us, works with us as we are, and it’s not up to me (or anyone else) to decide who’s in and who’s out.

Whether all the miraculous things are true or not doesn’t bother me. The life described above is sufficient, and if I’m wrong I’m prepared to take the risk.

Ponder:
Spend some time today reflecting and writing what makes Jesus meaningful / important to you today

This image, titled The Lesser Brethren by the artist Margaret Tarrant almost looks like it belongs in a Disney animation, the animals all around the figure as, perhaps he whistles a jolly tune. It’s also a familiar scene for me, I remember seeing images of Jesus, very similar to this one on our church walls when I was younger and, even on church walls only a couple years ago. It’s not an Australian image of Jesus, the animals give that away but I wonder how you respond to the image.

Ponder:
How do you respond to the image of Jesus by Margaret Tarrant?
Have you seen images like this in your travels?
How does this image ist with the image of Jesus that you’re reading of through this season?

Mother, author and speaker Rachael Held-Evans reflecting on Jesus as a partier.

View the video with Rachael Held-Evans here

Ponder:

What have you forgotten about Jesus that you need to be reminded of?

Rachael reminds us that we’re all sinners, and that Jesus didn’t have anyone other than sinners to hang with. How does this make you feel?

“Do you really know the living Jesus – not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you?… The devil may try to use the hurts of life, and sometimes our own mistakes – to make you feel it is impossible that Jesus really loves you, is really cleaving to you. This is a danger for all of us. And so sad, because it is completely the opposite of what Jesus is really wanting, waiting to tell you. Not only that He loves you, but even more – He longs for you.”

– Mother Teresa

Ponder:
Carry this quote with you today.
Read it every hour.
How does it feel/sound and, do you hear it differently in the evening as you did earlier in the morning?

Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for him. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those at the table with him.

Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (the one who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?” (He said this not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it.)

Jesus said, “Leave her alone. She bought it so that she might keep it for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”

Ponder:
Imagine yourself as Judas in the story, how would you have reacted, how do you hear this story, how do you feel about how your portrayed and who do you think Jesus is that you might act in this way?

Imagine yourself as Mary in this story, what feelings come to mind when you imagine this story happening, can you imagine the smell of the perfume, can you imagine the touch of his skin and who do you think Jesus is that you would act in this way?