Jesus certainly doesn’t opt for the quiet life or avoid confrontation. No ‘softly, softly’ here. He won’t let conformity or ‘tradition’ stand in the way of the coming of the Kingdom of God. “This daughter of Abraham”. Jesus heart-wrenching compassion, and anger, are palpable. Who wouldn’t want to follow him? Come, let the mustard seed in you grow.
The only reason Cuthbert bows to the pressure of everyone requesting him to take the episcopal yoke is because of Boisil’s prophesy on his death bed, and the fact that Cuthbert so respected him as a man of God. Although we might read Bede’s account of Cuthbert’s life as a bishop as a somewhat formulaic recapitulation of Jesus’ commands, yet, knowing what we do about his character prior to his appointment, it just doesn’t seem out of keeping. We can see him clothing the poor and feeding the hungry, healing the sick and comforting the downcast. And I don’t recall the same every being said of his contemporary, Wilfrid, in his hagiography.
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