There he is

Smiling back at me from page 157: and then, here he is again on page 167.

On p.157, Glimpses of the Eternal; On p.167, The Loneliness of Believing.

I flick to the front: published in 2012, these are words from an old friend.  We met once, as we rushed past each other in a department store.  My eyes recognised my old friend: and he was gracious in reply; “hello”.

On 19 December, 2024, Michael Leunig Died.  And I miss him.

I mean, he had no idea of who I was when we rushed past each other that day: but I recognised him: I saw him: and what cascaded in me, at that moment, was the hours I’ve spent in his world, his words, and in his art.

This is my first year in a long time without his calendar, daily, in my home.  And on Wednesday morning, as I was reading, he was smiling back at me from 2012: and speaking about things that resonate with me:

Glimpses of the Eternal

The Loneliness of Believing.

You just want to read those essay topics eh? – Who wouldn’t?

Michael Leunig was one person: one pen. One mind; one palette of colours.  And he was salty…

In response to the question, “Would you describe your cartoons as a way of worshipping?”  

Michael says “Look, the best things are!  A lot of them I do very solemnly and resentfully as I get older, because of the compliance involved in working to deadlines, and I feel like I’m betraying myself.  But the best are definitely a worshipful thing, an offering into the world, and that alway produces my best work.”

Who has been salty in your faith life?

When Chris left our relationship, my friend Jillian and I had lunch: she listened slowly to what had happened: how, one night after work I’d come home: and that was the end of the ‘us’ I knew.  After an hour of talking: and it dawning upon me that this ‘US’ was no longer existed,  and I packed my bag and left.  And Jillian: a colleague from Taxation Accounting days, looked at me and said, “Ian, this is not meant to be harsh: life is hard enough, and you’re better off out of it.”

And she is a salty woman.  And she was right.  We joke about it now: she actually doesn’t recall the details of the conversation: but she stands by her words.  And she was right.

Jesus’ words to us this morning should both embolden us and overcome us with awe:

You are salt; You are light.

Jesus’ words to us this day, remind us of some fundamental things about ourselves to each other:

You are salt; You are light.

Jesus’ words to us today, tell us something of what we offer into the world:

You are salt; You are light.

Are we aware of that?  Do we live into that?

Maybe it’s ok, in our day-to-day living we forget: like the accidental word of Jillian?

The rev. Dr. Sally Douglas (friend of the congregation) says, ‘Salt is tiny.  Salt in our tears and wombs, cleansing, amplifying taste.  And, importantly, when we have too much salt, it spoils our foods and health.’ 

Michael Leunig comments, “Sometimes the more primitive my work, the more people are responsive to it, and the more therapeutic it is.”  And he goes on to say, “I think my work is therapeutic because I often give expression to this inner voice.”

When did you last tune in to the inner voice?

For any of us who grew up in critical environments; or a harsh school or work environment: to listen for that voice, is even harder.  For us, we have to get past the critic: that critic voice that has nothing new to say: that critic voice has no insight to give: that critic voice has no help to offer: no pathway to build up: only to tear down…

So to do all that work: that inner muscle work to get to a place of daring to listen for that inner voice… it’s hard to hear.

But it’s worth it.  It is really worth it.  

How honoured poor in the spirit, because of them is the reign of the heavens. 

How honoured the ones who mourn, because they will be comforted. 

How honoured the meek, because they will inherit the earth. 

How honored the ones who hunger for and thirst for the righteousness, because they be will be satiated. 

How honoured the merciful, because they will receive mercy. 

How honoured the pure in the heart, because they will behold God. 

How honoured the peacemakers, because they will be called children of God. 

Leunig says that we’re not aware of just how overwhelming our living is: the effects on us of technology: the pressure of the economy.  We are living passively and reactively at the same time.  He says “We feel we need all this stimulation but in fact we need very little.”  Over stimulation poisons the soul.

And I quote directly “I believe over stimulation poisons the soul.  And death of the soul leads to incapacity to love.  Love is an impossibility when we are over stimulated, when we are being rushed at high speed… The soul has to love and the species has to love in order to survive.  It’s a fundamental aspect of ourselves, because it’s through love that we intuit.”

We are salt: we are light.  We might not know it or be aware of it: but it’s how Jesus describes us.  Our very DNA.  Salt. Tiny. Candle light, small fragile, but enough to fill a room.

We must never loose heart at being small.  Size does not indicate significance.  Quantity is not  better, or even useful.  This hour you give yourself on a Sunday morning does something profound.  This hour we spend together gives you even more.  We are here together for a reason.  We all swim in the same currents that overwhelm us.  And we can’t do life or faith alone.  Spirituality is both: individual, and accountable in community.

Being reminded that you are Salt and Light requires of us response: 

response individually: a response as community:

and then we practice attentiveness: a daring to attend to it.

 And so I conclude with words of Sally Douglas:

“In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus proclaims that being merciful and kind and loving are core, not because we will be successful, or the world will value these things (indeed, Jesus his clear that the world will likely hate us – Matt 5: 11-12).  Jesus doesn’t even promise that this will finally fix the state of the world.  

Instead, we are called into this merciful kindness, because this reflects divine reality (Matt 5: 43-48).  When we live focused on the God who comes to us in Christ, experiencing and sharing love, hopefully we will begin to realise that we will never get the ‘job done’ and that this is not the goal.  

Instead, as Christians we are called into a far more valuable way of being – tasting and sharing the good reality at the heart of the universe that is poured out for all things.”  Amen.