I have always thought that the best way to understand the role John the Baptist plays in the New Testament is as a "bridge" between the old and the new - an attempt to convey continuity with the old rather than a radical new leap into the revelation of Jesus that comes out of nowhere. In this way John the Baptist serves an important function for the Jews. To ram home the point, the gospel presents John in the way an Old testament prophet is supposed to look and sound. He is placed "in the wilderness" and is an ascetic eating what the desert provides, and dresses roughly. His job, for the benefit of the Jewish people who the gospel is aimed at, is to Herald the arrival of Jesus whilst maintaining the link with traditional Judaism - a bridge. Many Jews believed that the messiah would be preceded by the return of the prophet Elijah, and so John is fulfilling this role.

The truth as ever may be that the relationship with John was a bit more complex. The gospel doesn't say that Jesus was a disciple of John but there is a strong suggestion that this is so because John baptises Jesus, a fact that is something of an embarrassment for gospel writers like Matthew for example - who feels the need to explain why this happened -  but is no embarrassment for the writer of Mark's gospel. Mark reports this matter of factly - Mark 1: 9-10 -  (Perhaps Jesus had not yet advanced far enough in the deification process for it to be a problem for Mark?). It is also suggested in the gospel that the ministries of John and Jesus operated side by side for a while and then John neatly gave way, but the rivalry in reality may have been much stronger than that. That John had an influence far beyond Palestine is testified by the fact that when Paul was in Ephesus (decades after Jesus had died), Apollos appeared and while he knew of Jesus, he knew "only the baptism of John" (Acts 18:25) and Paul needed to "educate" him about Jesus. Indeed, even today a religion that maintains that John the Baptist is the true messiah called the Mandaeans still exists in the Middle east, mainly in Iraq and number some 60 to 70 thousand people which I find absolutely fascinating.

The other common thread, unproven but compelling, is that both John and Jesus, were influenced by the Essene sect one branch of which was based in Qumran near the dead sea. This Essene community were the writers of the famous dead sea scrolls. Like John and Jesus they completely rejected the Temple cult (!), seeing them as corrupt and heretical. They believed in the imminent end time (!) and were ascetics and engaged in ritual washing (!) and a communal life (!), in which ritual communal meals (!) were very important. Again, absolutely fascinating.

The important thing for me is that both John and Jesus were enlightened men. Jesus much more so than John, and therefore Jesus does indeed represent a development, a great leap forward in our spiritual evolution. So again John is still a bridge but a spiritual one on the road to full enlightenment.

The lighter side! Looking at the content this week, overall it all looked a bit sombre so felt I had to put something in to lighten the mood. Thank you to Wendy for forwarding this excellent joke which is for all of us who are getting on a bit.........

A little silver-haired lady calls her neighbor and says, "Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get started."
Her neighbor asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?"
The little silver haired lady says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster."
Her neighbor decides to go over and help with the puzzle.
She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table.
He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says,
"First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster."
He takes her hand and says, "Secondly, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then," he said with a deep sigh ............
"Let's put all the Corn Flakes back in the box."

News........

You may also have read in the papers that a vicar in the Diocese of Worcester, Rev. Mark Sharpe is suing the Church of England for constructive dismissal. I know Mark because he was in the year above me at Mirfield (I'll dish the dirt privately for a modest fee). What is interesting is that clergy arenot covered by employment law because apparently we are employed by God. OK so the next time any Bishop tries to get me to do anything I don't want to do.....I'll remember that!

A poem about death. I read this while waiting for a hospital appointment last week almost a year to the day since Alex was buried and I just read it over and over again. By Hafiz.

The football world was rocked this weekend by the news that Gary Speed, the Wales international manager, was found dead at the age of 42 in his own home. He had taken his own life. I only learned of this when I turned on to watch MOTD2 on Sunday night. Funnily enough I never watch Football focus on Saturday lunchtimes but this Saturday I did and I watched Gary Speed and Gary McAllister in their role as football pundits talking about the weekend's football fixtures. He looked and sounded absolutely normal but within 24 hours he had hanged himself.

What was moving in all the reactions to his death was just how "normal" a man he was. A well adjusted family man, down to earth, rich by any standards and with the dream job of managing his country's national team which was doing very well. That is what seems to have hit people the most, that he just seemed so utterly at ease. There seems to be no reason or rhyme, and that has stunned and frightened people.

It is not often that I am stopped by someone when I'm out to talk about something, but this happened to me yesterday, when I was asked for ten minutes of my time to speak to someone about their depression - and it was initiated by the death of Gary Speed.

I can't pretend to know what else was going on in his life, though I don't doubt the media will fill us in in the coming weeks, but what has stunned people is that a man who appeared to have everything should be in such inner despair (even if for just that moment before he did it) that death was the preferred option. He leaves a wife and two teenage boys. Neither do I pretend to know much about clinical depression but for sure there was a darkness that overshadowed him and got the better of him, whether physical, emotional or spiritual. For my own part, whatever triggered this last despairing act, I believe that a wave has returned to being what he always was, a part of the sea. Ultimately nothing is lost. His family won't think that of course - at least not now. They will be distraught as all bereaved people are, and they will need loving support. Funnily enough I believe that the football community is as close as any church community, if not much closer, so I hope and believe they will get it.

The power of tears by Washington Irving

Love and peace

Martin