Can you remember encountering someone from a different culture where that led to misunderstandings ?
What do you think was the different values that were highlighted ?
Read Luke 13:10-17
What are the different values of the pharisees and Jesus ?
What are the rules they are following ?
Read Luke 13:18-19.
The mustard seed is not a jewish metaphor. They would expect a Sedah tree. Mustard is common.
Read Luke 13:20-21
Yeast too is a surprise. A woman who bakes. These are odd patterns to a Jew.
Malcolm and Wendy suggest that the point is that this supposed to be surprising.
“Empathy means we surrender the idea that our way of presenting the gospel should make sense because because it is the way we understand it”.- Jay Moon.
Wendy and Malcolm suggested that Gospel renewal is allowing the gospel to speak in ways that the other person understands. It may involve us reimagining and re-storying the good news. Empathy allows us to seek to understand the gospel through another’s eyes.
What are the challenges in this for you ?
What are the strengths you bring ?
When were you last given the opportunity to practise empathy ?