“Impacted”
By Rev. Michael Stonhouse
Meditation – Saturday, May 24, 2025
Luke 9: 1-17 (Forward, p. 26) CEV p. 1070
Most of us can probably point to one or more recent ‘events’ that have seriously and indelibly impacted the history of the world. Certainly, 911 and the global pandemic would come to mind. But would not the ministry of Jesus and His disciples, at least in the restricted horizons of the Holy Land, also qualify. It would seem so, at least from Luke’s telling in today’s passage. In verse 7, it reads, “Herod [Herod Antipas] the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was worried.”
And why was he worried? Well, to quote the Ghostbusters franchise, there was ‘something strange in the neighbourhood.’ Jesus was heard to have welcomed crowds of people, spoken to them about God’s kingdom and healed everyone who was sick (see verse 11). And His disciples were doing the same (verse 9). This was quite unusual, something that was clearly a disruption, a change, in the way that things usually took place. No wonder Herod was more than a wee bit unnerved by it all.
But then, here, we see a more positive, encouraging note. We read that Herod was ‘eager to meet Jesus’—his curiosity getting the better of him, perhaps. And later, we find that this encounter did indeed take place (see Luke 23:6-12), but it did him no good. He was merely hoping that Jesus would oblige him by working a miracle. (One would hope that the Greeks that came to see Jesus--John12: 20-23--were better inclined). But then, that could scarcely be said about the crowds that Jesus ‘entertained’ on the day of the feeding of the five thousand. They had heard His message, received His healing touch, and been fed miraculously, and yet so few of them became His disciples and followed Him. Interest in Jesus, curiosity, are simply not enough: we must also choose to give Him our lives and trust Him enough to listen to Him and obey Him. There, I must say, comes the crunch. That is where the true impact comes—in our lives, and in our world. Thanks be to God.
Forward notes: “They departed and went through the villages, bringing the good news and curing diseases everywhere” (verse 6).
Commemoration: Jackson Kemper
“The witness of Jackson Kemper, whom we honor today, is simultaneously inspiring and humbling. He was ordained in 1835 as the Episcopal Church’s first missionary bishop. His tireless proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ led to the founding of parishes not only in Missouri and Indiana, where he was charged to work, but also in Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Nebraska, and Kansas.
“His life and the legacy of Christian communities are an inspiration. May we follow in his footsteps and in the footsteps of so many others throughout history who have unabashedly spread the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to places near and far.”
Moving Forward: “When was the last time you shared the good news of Jesus with a friend or neighbour? If you can’t remember, then maybe you can start doing so today!”