Father Dave's Bush Eucharist October 31, 2021

It was a beautiful weekend in the bush, and we held a wonderful Eucharist on the Sunday. Sadly, we had manifold technical problems again. That seems to be inescapable sometimes when you're trying to stream live video from the middle of nowhere.

Having finished with Job, our first reading this week was from the book of Ruth - a beautiful story about two women and the way the younger woman (Ruth) shows steadfast loyalty to her month-in-law, Naomi.

In some ways, Naomi's story is very similar to Job's. At the beginning of her story, she loses everything, but unlike Job, she has a true companion in Ruth who stands by her and journeys with her until they reach a better destination. Ruth's love for Naomi reflects the essential nature of divine love as seen in the Scriptures, which is all loyalty and commitment.

Our second reading, from the Letter to the Hebrews, continues with the extolling of Jesus as the fulfilment of the religion of the people of God. Just as Christ is the true High Priest, so too is Christ the perfect sacrifice for sin!

Our Gospel reading recounts the final confrontation recorded in Mark's Gospel between Jesus and the religious authorities. This comes after Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and is on the tail of a series of hard hitting parables that make clear that Jesus' relationship with the religious establishment is irreconcilable.

In context, this final confrontation may seem a bit lame. Jesus tells his clerical adversary that obeying God is all about love - love of God and love of neighbour. This seems a rather gentle way to end a battle, but perhaps that's only because we have domesticated our understanding of love. We think of love as a warm feeling, rather than as the costly commitment, as demonstrated by Ruth towards Naomi, and by Christ on the cross.

Dave
http://www.fatherdave.org
http://www.fighting-fathers.com