Rev. Sarah Fanning at the Innisfail United Church recognized Good Friday in the form of a Jewish funeral service. One eulogy was read from the perspective of Jesus as a young boy. Mine was from the perspective of Jesus during the course of his ministry. This eulogy is delivered by Jesus’ brother, James.
Thank-you for coming to remember Jesus. My name is James. Jesus is my brother, 15 years older than me. Jesus was like an uncle to me. He helped me with the Torah for my Bar Mitzvah, he accepted me on his outings to other towns, and he shared thoughts with me while on those trips. I would like to share a few of these trips with you.
One morning Jesus told mom that he was heading down to the lake to see how the fishing was. I needed to get out of the house and tagged along. We discussed God as we walked to the Galilee, and we laughed when I asked silly questions. My questions seem so silly now.
All of the boats had a terrible catch that morning, so there was no objection when Jesus asked one of the fishers to use his boat as a floating platform for teaching. From a distance, I knew that something special happened that morning. The boat pulled back up to shore, some of the fishers dropped their nets to the ground and followed him to the next town. I stayed behind (Mom needed my help preparing dinner that evening) and I helped the other fishers repair the nets they were gifted. They told me about the new way that Jesus was teaching about God. Some desperately wanted to follow Jesus to hear a bit more, to learn about how they can help God and help others at the same time. But they were afraid to leave everything behind.
The next time Jesus went out to teach, I went with him. I don’t remember what Jesus was teaching that morning, just that it bucked the notions from the Pharisees. And the crowd was alive. The questions and answers flowed back and forth, with some laughter, just like that day we walked down to the Galilee. And Jesus was alive when he was teaching the word of God. I don’t know if Jesus got energy from the group, or the group got energy from Jesus, but the synagog was alive. I saw a different side later in the afternoon. A few people begged Jesus to help them, asked him to heal leprosy or a lame foot. The first couple of times he was smiling, but I could tell he was gritting his teeth as more and more people came to be healed, and left shouting his name because they were healed. This sucked a lot of spirit out of him, but it was something he had to do. He woke me up in the wee hours of the morning and we left town through a back alley. Jesus needed some time alone. We sat on a hill, watching a few of the lamps still burning in the town. He told me it is sad to see people so shallow. They only look to God when they have a need for that day. He wondered how many people were truly committed to God.
Jesus brought out the best in many people, often from those we did not expect. One woman, a Gentile, asked Jesus to heal her son. Jesus nearly walked past her, but she hinted that she was worthy to learn about God as well. Jesus turned and smiled: he found another person that wanted to change was willing to give up old ways. He gave her a hug and said her son will be better by nightfall. Jesus knew she was a good person and that God loved her. Some people couldn’t believe that a Gentile, or tax collector or Samaritan, could be worthy of God, but Jesus did. This upset most of the Pharisees, but not all.
Jesus treated everyone like family. I saw this one evening when Mom told me to find Jesus as he was late for dinner. I found him, surrounded by people listening as he described a new relationship with God. He told me that he would not come home for dinner that evening because all that are one with God are his family and he would dine with them. Mom wasn’t angry when I came back without Jesus. She smiled and said “I guess we will need a larger table when Jesus invites his brothers and sisters for dinner.”
Jesus shared. Not the way that we share a pot of beer or fresh bread when a friend knocks on the door, but he shared his passion for God. He sent his closest friends to other towns to help others, even to those that didn’t know God at all. Some people said that he sent his friends out so he could avoid the crowds that only wanted healing. But the way he encouraged Andrew, Bartholomew and even Matthew to be humble enough to ask a stranger for a place to stay, the way he smiled at them, I knew that he only wanted them to share the word of God. Anyone that shared God’s love and did God’s work was a friend.
I am sure that Jesus’ friends will continue the work that he started.
Jesus, I love you.
Black fabric is torn.
