Introduction

The disciples best recognised the living Christ present and close-up. Time after time Jesus dispelled doubt, Thomas’s (John 20.vv 26 – 28), or those of the male disciples confronted by the women (Luke 24. v 11), or of the Jerusalem gathering (Luke 24.v 37), by offering his presence again. Does this tell us anything about the problems of trusting witnesses or judging at a distance in time or geographical space? We want to see truthfully, but what can help us do so?

 

Context

Allegations of historical sexual abuse are troubling. This week we have a guilty verdict on Max Clifford but news that the whip has been restored to a cleared Nigel Evans. There are further developments in the case of the allegations of sexual abuse made against the late Cyril Smith MP, widening the scope of the suspicion cast.

Last week Radio 4 broadcast a play prompted no doubt by such recurrent high-profile allegations and highlighting the influence of time-dependent cultural norms on the interpretation of social and sexual behaviour. Meanwhile we puzzle over geographically as well as culturally distant Ukraine: who are the good guys and who the bad there?

 

 Reflection

• How do we reach conclusions when asked to judge people and situations? Do we take short-cuts, resort to stereo-typing? Do we confuse reserve with contempt for the different, in gender, language, class or race? The disciples took time to read Jesus aright. What can we learn from their questioning reticence on the road (v 16; v 32) set against their later sudden but whole-hearted certainty about the stranger seen in that significant action of breaking the bread (v 31)?
• The stories of the post-Resurrection appearances offer insights into the importance of establishing trust, even among the intimate circle of the disciples. How significant is it that Jesus’ way of establishing trust in witness testimony is not verbal endorsement but a repeat demonstration? Present investigators cannot re-experience past happenings. Can trust in accounts of the past ever be established? What changes would we need to make in our attitudes towards both alleged perpetrators and alleged victims?
• The disciples’ recognition of Jesus was helped by witnessing a culturally significant gesture performed by an honoured stranger. Does our culture enjoin respect for the dignity of the ‘Other’ and openness to the possibility of finding God in a stranger? Did our culture in past decades do so?
• Could a destabilisation of what we think we know or think is obvious be even more valuable in the context of a conflict like Ukraine’s? (Kharkiv mayor Hennadiy Kernes shot; New US sanctions target Russian officials and companies) Are we capable of real respect for their politics, their customs, the principles of cohesion and the sources of tension underlying their society? Can we tell who are freedom-fighters and who terrorists? Can we safely characterise its present government as fascist or democratic? Could we from afar tell the difference between a disaffected citizen and a foreign spy? Is there any way to find truth and the Christ amidst the terrifying experiences of our distant eastern neighbours?

Prayer

A prayer which might form part of your intercessions.

 

Lord, help us to recognise your truth:

in painful situations of accusation and counter-accusation;

in situations where customs different from our own are operating;

in those where distress and anger are clouding the issues and our judgements.

May we remember that even for Christ himself it was not easy to make known the improbable though joyful truth that he was alive again.

May we never expect the path to truth to be easy, or forget the hurt we may do by accepting an easy lie or a comfortable refusal to probe.

Amen

 

Questions

Should a man hold a door open for a woman, in any circumstances? Do the different answers given relate to generation or gender, ethnicity or class? Is the gesture rightly viewed as kindly or patronising?

 

Action

Male or female, old or young, think this week about those social gestures, giving up a seat in a bus, opening doors, offering help with coats. Be self-conscious. If it is automatic to do it, ask if you might be giving offence. If it is automatic not to do it, ask if you are being egalitarian or lazy and selfish!

 

Young people

Try to discover what the norms are for your group. How many were brought up to offer a seat to an older person on a bus, for instance? How many still do it? Why? Are the genders different in this respect? Is it a matter of class, or ethnicity? Are the youngest in the group any different from the eldest? How do you view what you’ve found out?

 

Brenda Vance is a URC elder and a retired university teacher living in Sussex.