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Andrew Bell: Believing and belonging: when?

I rather like the portrayal of the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ in The Visual Bible’s version of the gospel of Matthew. None of the Gospels record whether Jesus ever laughed. The New Internal Version suggests that Jesus used the word once in Luke’s version of the Beautitudes – ‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh’ (Luke 6:21b)

In the Visual Bible’s attempt to present Jesus, they show him preaching this sermon (Matthew 5 - 7) with a smile on his face, even laughing at times. Try it for yourself. Read it in a light hearted way and see the difference it makes. They also show the crowd who listens, warming to Jesus and understanding the wisdom of what he is saying because of the way in which it is presented. The video suggests that as Jesus continued to offer this ‘wisdom for living’, people warmed to him and felt like they belonged because they could relate to what was being said and how it was being said.

I don’t know about you, but I can easily recall times when I didn’t feel like I belonged. It is probably easier to remember those instances than one’s where I felt right at home. I think this indicates how damaging it can be to feel ‘alone in a crowd’. There is something about humour and laughter that makes strangers feel included and welcome. There is also a lot to be said for presenting the Gospel in a way that makes it ‘feel human’.

Adolescents are prone to feeling geeky, left out, not included. As Youth leaders it is vital that we identify the new comers the moment they walk through the door, and have a non-threatening mechanism of making them feel included. I think asking new comers to identify themselves is fatal. We are aces at this in the Church. We ask newcomers to raise their hands in the service. We provide flash name badges for all our members and sticky labels for visitors. Surely it is our job to notice somebody who is new…?

The interesting thing about the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ is that Jesus is not preaching in a Church! He is out in the community, on the edge, looking for the marginalized, trying to identify those who don’t belong. That is why by Matthew 11: 19 Jesus is already known as a ‘glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners”’. If the Visual Bible is right, it is because Jesus was simply a great guy to hang out with, the kind of guy who made you feel at home – as if you belonged – that made him so popular. My guess is that there are very few people who would not want to go to a Church like that.

Andrew continues his global mission work for the Presbyterian Church, but recently also became the chief believing and belonging initiator at St Andrew’s in Otahuhu, South Auckland.