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Viewpoint from Rev Martin Upton 28/06/2024
 Rev Martin Upton
Assistant Minister, Bradwell Parish Church
Can you name the seven dwarfs?
Can you name Santa's reindeer?
Can you name Jesus’ disciples?
I'll give you this one but you can look up the others! The 12 disciples were:- Peter; Andrew; James; John; Matthew; Simon the Zealot; Thomas; Philip; James, the son of Alphaeus; Bartholomew; Judas Thaddeus; and Judas Iscariot
 And what a mixed bunch they were too. Having got their names, what do we actually know about them?
Peter was a fisherman along with his brother Andrew. He had vowed he would never desert Jesus and yet on the night Jesus was arrested he denied fervently three times that he even knew Jesus. We know he was married, because Jesus healed his mother-in-law. And we understand that, after the time of the gospels, he went on to be the first Bishop of Rome
Pretty much all that we know about Andrew, is that he brought some Greeks to meet Jesus
James and John were two more brothers and also fishermen. Their nickname was ‘Sons of Thunder’, Probably because they were hot-headed and argumentative
 John probably was the author of the fourth gospel
Matthew started as a tax collector - a collaborator with the occupying Romans so unlikely to be popular with the Jewish people
Then Simon the Zealot; the zealots were Jewish terrorists seeking to remove Roman occupation. There he is - next to Matthew!
Thomas is known as ‘Doubting Thomas’, because he couldn't believe that Jesus had risen from the dead when all the other disciples had seen him. It's believed that he went on to found the Christian Church in India. Not bad for somebody with doubts!
Philip also doubted: in his case, that Jesus could supply food to feed the 5000
James, the son of Alphaeus is also known as James the younger, so he was probably younger than the James who was John’s brother
Bartholomew and Judas Thaddeus: at least we know their names
Every reference to Judas Iscariot in the gospels, says ‘who betrayed Jesus’
How and why Jesus chose them we don't know they really were a diverse group of people, unlikely to have been together for any other reason
One final question: can you name our parliamentary candidates? No? Nor can I, without looking them up. But I do know that I will go and vote because people who don't vote get the government they deserve
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