Returning to a theme I used last October, I think the final time I preached, some 3 years ago now, I majored on Jesus returning to Nazareth where we see something quite remarkable. For the only time in the Gospels we find that the powers of Jesus were actually limited.When you consider how popular Jesus was with the ordinary people - almost everybody in fact, barring the religious hypocrites, of course - it is astonishing that he was not regaled in His home town.
To me, this speaks volumes about the nature of Man. Instead of the Nazareth Herald showing headlines of "Local boy makes good" or "Return of local star" all he got was negatives and consequently the miracles there were relatively minor.
It is what I call the 'Well-I-knew-him-when-he-was-a-snotty-kid-wiping-his-nose-on-the-back-of-his-sleeve' syndrome.
Envy and jealousy are rife and these are damaging negatives; sufficiently so to limit the powers of Jesus on earth. Like vengeance (which is another story) these cause limitless damage to faith.
They are almost almost always caused by sheer vindictiveness, nastiness and the purest of malice.
I think it was perhaps when I first recognised that these things fuel that hatred which is socialism, or more specifically the leftwing attitude, that I became a convinced anti-socialist.
What has provoked me to write this is having looked at just two letters pages, both of which were filled with venom, hatred and rank unreasonableness.
Have your views; disagree with me; be illogical if you must - but why the spite?
I read a great many published letters each week and can promise you that the hatred displayed for: God, Queen, country, Thatcher, tories, Church, the wealthy [but usually excluding pop stars and footballers, for some reason], the nobility, the middle class [often BY middle class writers] and anybody who earns £500 per year more than the writer, is undiluted vitriol.
The other side criticises maybe, but generally without the bitterness.
