Today most of us will be joining God’s people at the Sunday service either live or online.  That can seem a little odd in our world when most people will be sleeping in, heading to some sporting event, our just enjoying a day with nothing special to do.  It is tempting to be convinced by others that we are living strange lives.

As we continue to look at Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, we are reminded repeatedly that the ways of God’s kingdom are very different from the ways of this age.  Perhaps none more so than the ethical issues that are raised in the Bible talk for today.  So much so that we can talk of the upside-down nature of Jesus reign over our lives as we follow him.

It reminds me of a time when I saw and heard a rather dignified lady singing in a strange whining voice in a public place.  She had her earphones in and was listening to music and was, she thought, almost silently singing along – actually a long way from silent!  It appeared odd but if all around her heard what she heard it would have made perfectly good sense.  Similarly, we Christians are listening to Jesus and responding to him.  To those who don’t listen to him our behaviour can seem bizarre but when we hear his voice it all makes perfectly good and wonderful sense.

When people think we are a little strange, then it is an opportunity for us to let them hear what we listen to so that it will be seen as making perfectly good sense.