We’ve had a week’s worth of political voices, of hearing the decisions made by those with power, influence and status which will affect all of our lives.

What we might not realise is that every single one of us can make a difference, we all have a voice.

When we went to the Holy Land, we met a man whose father had been killed because he spoke out. Rather than give up, the man recognised the power of words, and began to speak out too. We also met people in the refugee camp in Bethlehem - the one some of you will have heard about in Anne Aves’ talk on Monday. There they build upwards as they need more family space, concrete block on concrete block, knowing that their very presence is a voice against past injustice. The cornerstone for each of the families there was a flimsy tent, erected far from the homes they had been driven from, but which had to become home. As the wind blew the tents away, they were allowed tent-sized concrete blocks instead.

Parallels with the Church come to mind - a single voice which they tried to silence became the cornerstone of the Christian Church, which continues to grow throughout the world far from it’s place of origin, one which continues to speak truth to power, one which goes against the grain of societies which put anything other than the love of God and of fellow human beings at the top of the agenda.

Jesus wasn’t speaking against the people of the land, he was speaking against the chief priests and Pharisees, those with influence and power who were leading people astray. In fact, he had just ridden in triumph into the city, with the people acclaiming him, and the children were still singing ‘Hosanna’ - which was why the scribes were hopping mad. They couldn’t understand how this man could be healing the blind and the lame. They questioned his authority. Then he spoke two parables against them, making them even more mad.

The message Jesus was giving was clear, as shown by the parable we heard today and by his cursing the fig tree - we are expected to bear good spiritual fruit, like faithfulness, gentleness, self control, joy and peace, and to reciprocate in loving relationship with God. We receive God’s love, and return it to God as we are transformed by it. We follow the teaching and example of Jesus who is the way, the truth and the life. One aspect of this is to let our voices be heard, as Jesus did.

As Paul said in his letter, we strain forward to what lies ahead, pressing on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

Julie Rubidge, Lay Minister