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Last night we followed Jesus and his disciples up the Mount of Olives, to the place where the prophet Zechariah foretold that God would stand on the Day of the Lord. The very next place we find him, according to both Matthew and Mark is in a very mundane setting, the house of Simon the leper at Bethany. During the meal two things happen: an unnamed woman anoints Jesus with a very expensive oil, and Judas leaves them to offer to the chief priests that he will betray his master. They are part of the growing momentum of Holy Week – we’re told that it’s now only two days before Passover, and the very next verse takes us on to the day of preparation, when the Passover lambs are slaughtered.
But for tonight I want to focus less on what happens in Simon’s house than on the location itself. It’s actually quite striking how much of Jesus’ ministry takes place in a domestic setting. Dotted through the Gospels we have: the house of Simon Peter – where Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law; Zacchaeus the tax collector’s house; that of Mary, Martha and Lazarus, where Jesus teaches; the un-named house in Capernaum where friends of a disabled man remove the roof to lower him down on a stretcher. And in his teaching Jesus extols the house as a proper place for prayer, “don’t pray on the street corners, for others to admire,” he says, “go to your room, shut the door, and pray there”. Our homes are places where we can expect to encounter God. The sharp edge to tonight’s reading is that meeting with Jesus in a home can lead either to a dramatic act of generosity and worship, as it does for the woman, or to Judas’s act of betrayal – meeting Jesus forces us into choices, and not all choices are the right choice.
Where does Jesus find a place in our homes? I don’t have one of those Victorian framed messages on the wall: “Christ is the unseen guest in this home, the listener of every conversation”. It may work for you - for me that’s less Jesus than Big Brother! But the part that we should expect to meet Jesus at home is crucial. Our religion is not just public show. Do we have places in our homes that are conducive to meeting Jesus in prayer? It’s often important to set aside somewhere that is comfortable, and not too cluttered with the demands of work, family or household chores. I don’t think I can easily pray within two feet of a telephone or computer screen – they just shout “work” at me. There’s a huge amount to be gained from thinking about how to set out just a corner of a room so that it has a prayerful atmosphere to it.
The home should also be a place where Jesus teaches us – as he did in so many homes in the Gospels. We need a rhythm of reading the scriptures at home so that his voice can be heard.
But as well as doing obviously religious things, the challenge is to live in our homes in the presence of Jesus - to let that be a determining factoring how we go about our daily tasks. Jesus matters in how we cook and clean, in how we relate both to guests and to those who share our dwelling, in the choices we make about entertainment, in the goods with which we furnish our homes, in whether we recycle, use low-energy light bulbs, welcome neighbours, use resources sparingly. Let me suggest that when you get home tonight, or, if you’re too tired, first thing tomorrow morning, you identify one part of your domestic set up that you think you’ve locked Jesus out of – and let him in.
If homes matter to Jesus then it matters to him that some have inadequate, overcrowded or unsecure homes, and others have not home at all. A couple of years ago I preached here on Homelessness Sunday and was grateful to be afforded that opportunity. For twenty years I have sought, as part of the ministry God has given me, to do what I can for those in housing need. I’ve had a long and busy day today because prior to coming here I’ve spent the day in London interviewing candidates for the post of Housing Manger for the Church of England Pensions Board – who currently have about 3000 clergy pensioners or their widows and widowers.
But there are plenty in even greater need than retiring vicars. In a society such as ours I believe that everyone has a right to a decent home that meets their basic needs. We need places to keep our belongings, places to be secure and private with our loved ones, places we can relax at leisure, places to which we can retreat when tired or sick, and find rest, places we know we will not be turned out of on the whim of the landlord, nor forced to flee through fear of violence and intimidation. The same Jesus who is present in my home is present in the worst and most unsuitable homes and if I do not respond to that, then it feels like a judgement upon me. I don’t want Jesus to weep when he sees the conditions that I am complacent about letting others suffer. Tonight isn’t Homelessness Sunday, so I’ll not labour the point further, but let each of us, in regarding our own homes, remember those living in less acceptable conditions.
And when we return to our homes let us mark this as the last night on which Jesus himself slept and rested, for tomorrow we follow him on to his final meal and arrest.
Bishop David
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