The Fire of TRUTH - Father Dave's Blog

“As [Jesus] went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34)

Hi Fighter,

In our Gospel reading this week, Jesus’ attempts to get a break. The level of activity for Jesus and His team had been frenetic. They couldn’t find time or space to eat (Mark 6:31). Even so, it wasn’t just busyness that drove Jesus into the wilderness.

This scene follows on directly on from the account of the death of John the Baptist. The news of the violent and obscene death of John clearly affected Jesus, and He subsequently made a series of attempts to get some space. We are told that He and his disciples headed to a ‘deserted place’ (Mark 6:32), but the crowd worked out where they were going and arrived ahead of them. Jesus, we are told, responded with compassion rather than frustration, “and He began to teach them many things.” (Mark 6:34)

It was this last phrase that stuck out at me as I read it this time. Jesus had compassion for the people, so He started to teach them, yet I don’t think they’d come for the teaching.

As I read through the Gospels, almost everyone who came to Jesus seemed to be looking for one of three things (or a combination of these three):

Liberation from the Roman Occupation
Healing for their bodies
Food

These are indeed three fundamental human needs – safety, health and sustenance. Even so, Jesus, who was filled with compassion for these people, saw an even greater need. These people needed THE TRUTH!

My mind goes back to the first COVID lockdown of 2020. I couldn’t believe it when it happened. Suddenly we were being told that we couldn’t touch each other, and that we weren’t allowed to visit those we loved in hospital, or even attend their funerals! Churches weren’t allowed to meet. We couldn’t travel. Curfews were being rolled out and people were being arrested, imprisoned and, in far too many cases, brutalised!

I started protesting and publishing videos like “Lockdowns defy what is sacred”. These met a lot of resistance, and I was being branded a conspiracy theorist. What did our world really need at that point? A vaccine? No! We needed THE TRUTH.

I appreciate that not all of my brothers and sisters are on the same page with me on these issues. Even so, while we may disagree on exactly what the truth is, I assume we can all agree that knowing the full truth is absolutely essential in a time of crisis.

I believe that the truth of what happened four years ago is only now emerging. I read an article this week, published in the National Library of Medicine, that compared the strategies employed by different countries to deal with COVID. The study finds that those countries with the highest COVID vaccination rates had the highest number of COVID deaths, and that the countries that favoured alternative interventions, such as Ivermectin (which was banned in Australia as a COVID treatment) had the lowest number of COVID deaths! That’s hard to believe (even for me) but if it’s true, it is a truth that we all need to hear.

Sometimes it takes a while for the truth to emerge. Sometimes the forces of propaganda and misinformation are so powerful that they can hide the truth from us indefinitely. Sometimes we need a prophet like Jesus to cut through the lies. We are like sheep without a shepherd. We don’t know where to go or what to do. We need someone to tell us THE TRUTH.

It’s worth noting that when the teaching was over, Jesus did feed those people. He also healed many of their sick. The people loved Jesus as a healer and provider. It was Jesus, the truth-teller, that they had trouble with. We still have trouble with Him.

Our Sunday Eucharist

We had a wonderful Sunday Eucharist last weekend. A big thank you to Rob Gilland and Rev. John Jegasothy for joining me on the panel, and thank you to Father Mark for his pre-recorded homily on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. I’ve pasted a couple of Shorts from last Sunday’s Bible Banter below. If you’re up to watching the full replay, scroll down to the end.

This coming Sunday I’m looking forward to having my friends, Andrew Logan and Karyn Hemming, with me on the panel. I’m also hoping for a pre-recorded offering from our Swedish brother, Father Ola. I’ll be broadcasting from the middle of the Binacrombi wildernes. Hopefully, we’ll manage the technicalities. Find out on Sunday from midday @ TheSundayEucharist.com or on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn or Streamyard. I do look forward to sharing this Eucharist with you. 😊

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What’s On?

Friday to Sunday, July 19 to 21– @Binacrombi. Please join me.
Sunday, July 21^st – Our Eucharist from midday via thesundayeucharist.com (or through Facebook , YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn or Streamyard).
Tuesday, July 23^rd – Boxing at The Mundine Gym in Redfern from 6.30 pm.
Thursday, July 25^th – Boxing at The Mundine Gym in Redfern from 6.30 pm
Saturday, July 27^th – Boxing at Fadi’s Boxing Gym in Fivedock from 8.30 am.

As you can see from the pic above, we caught up with John Shipton (Julian Assange’s dad) last week. John is doing a ‘thank you’ tour – thanking Julian’s supporters from around the country – after which he’s hoping for a slightly quieter life.

I’m looking forward to hearing from Karyn on Sunday what’s she’s got planned next. Karyn has been on the front line of the Assange campaign for so many years. What do you do when both the battle is won and the victory celebrations are over?

One thing we can all do (if you haven’t don’t it already) is to send Julian a welcome home message. Julian’s brother, Gabriel, set up a page here through which you can message Julian a greeting. This is a great initiative, but what comes next?

Of course, the carnage in Gaza continues, as it does in Ukraine, and both could escalate into world wars at any moment. People are also continuing to starve in East Africa, and the forces of globalism aren’t showing any signs of retreat. A key battle has been won but the war is far from over. What can we do but keep fighting?

I’ll conclude today with a short Short (only 18 seconds) from my friend, Miko Peled – martial artist and Palestinian activist. Miko’s dad was a General for the IDF in the war of 1967. You might have assumed that Miko would be supporting Israel’s war on Gaza, yet Miko speaks of the fire that burns inside of him when he thinks about the injustice. Miko reminded me of the prophet, Jeremiah, who spoke of ‘the fire that welled up within him whenever he tried to shut his mouth and stay out of trouble.

“I thought, I’ll forget him; I’ll no longer speak in his name. But there’s an intense fire in my heart, trapped in my bones. I’m drained trying to contain it; I’m unable to do it.” (Jeremiah 20:9)

Miko, like the prophets before him, testifies to that holy fire that burns within him whenever he feels tempted to withdraw from the battle. I think we’ve all felt the burn of that fire. It’s the fire of truth, welling up within us. The fight must go on, and the fire of truth must continue to burn.

Your brother in the Good Fight,