Readings:
Sermon:
‘Wind in the east, mist coming in, something is brewing, about to begin…..’
Hello I’m Lindsey and I’m assistant curate at St Stephen’s Church, Barbourne in Worcester.
We British love to talk about the weather. In fact we do more than talk about it we obsess about it. There probably isn't a day goes by where we don't mention the weather and I suspect you’ve probably got a weather app on your mobile phone as have I.
We long to know what the weather is going to be like. We hope (and pray) that the weather will be dry for sports day or for a holiday or for our church fete.
And we know that if the sky is grey and full of cloud, accompanied by a gathering wind it is indeed very likely that we will have rain. We are actually rather good at predicting what the weather will be like - sometimes we even do a better job than the weather forecasters themselves.
One of my favourite films is Mary Poppins in which Dick Van Dyke plays Bert the lovable chimney sweep. He was very gifted at interpreting what the weather meant. Those words that I began with are taken from one of his many songs.
From the Gospel reading today, it would appear that the crowds who’ve been following Jesus are also very talented at interpreting the weather.
Jesus said to them, ‘When you see a cloud rising in the West you immediately say, “It's going to rain”; and when you see the South wind blowing you say, “There will be scorching heat”; and it happens. Jesus is reminding them that they see and correctly interpret signs in their everyday life.
Of course it was very important in Jesus day for people to know and to understand the weather and what that meant for their livelihoods. Especially for those who worked the land, those that would need to make good preparation if poor or extreme weather were coming…
That isn't what Jesus is getting agitated about when he calls them hypocrites.
He isn’t cross because they interpret the weather – rather because they don't know how to interpret the present time. They cannot see what is in fact right under their noses; that the person speaking to them is the promised Messiah.
One commentator suggests the crowds inability to interpret the present time was due more to an unwillingness rather than an inability to interpret. They displayed the ability to understand the wind, but showed an unwillingness to understand the Spirit. They displayed the ability to understand the sky, but an unwillingness to understand the heavens. Their focus was on the physical to the neglect of the spiritual.
We too, you and me, can become all too focussed on the physical - at the expense of the spiritual. And though we laugh at ourselves being British and talking incessantly about the weather; these verses remind us to open the eyes of hearts not just the eyes in our heads. Because when we open the eyes of our hearts we open ourselves to Jesus and to the work of the Holy Spirit not just in ourselves but in those around us too……
‘Wind in the east, mist coming in, something is brewing, about to begin.’
So a suggestion for reflection:
Next time you go to talk about the weather; pause for a minute and intentionally open the eyes of your heart to what is standing right in front of you.