By the Way: As Jesus did, it is never wrong to stand up and speak out in defence of our fellow human beings

By Kristy Reimers-Loader on September 13, 2025.

There’s been a chill in the air lately, as a season of warmth and growth draws to a close, and the harvest is gathered within our shortened days.

In this time of seasonal change, it seems right to reflect upon seasons and times. As such, one of my favourite scriptural quotes comes to mind, from Ecclesiastes: “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven…”

There are times for all sorts of actions, and times for opposing ones. Surprisingly, there is a time for hate, as well as love.

In last Sunday’s gospel, Jesus said we cannot be his disciples if we do not hate worldly things, including family and possessions, even life itself. Hate is a strong word, and it’s uncomfortable to hear Jesus using it.

But, as always, it’s important to go deeper than the words spoken, especially when it’s Jesus speaking; to whit, if he’s saying we must hate these things we’ve come to value so much in our lives for the sake of following him, what does discipleship offer, that we should love it so much more?

As is written in Ecclesiastes, and as Jesus would have known and understood, there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. For whom did Jesus stand up and speak? It wasn’t for the delicate sensibilities of the Pharisees, scribes and elders, nor was it for the sanctity of the temple worship.

He definitely didn’t defend the government of the day, and he didn’t single out the rich and powerful for his healing miracles. No, it was the poor, the sick and the outcast – the woman caught in adultery, the man born blind, the widow grieving her only son, among them.

These were the ones whom Jesus saw, defended and healed, as much for the sake of freeing them from sickness and despair as from the judgment, oppression and neglect they suffered under the political and religious authorities.

There is indeed a season and a time for everything under heaven, but I put it to you, my brothers and sisters, that there is never a time when it is wrong to follow the example of Jesus; to stand up and speak out in defence of our fellow human beings, and to lift them from their desperate circumstances.

In doing so, we might just find there’s more than a pittance of grace and healing for us in discipleship.

Chaplain Kristy Reimers-Loader

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