Seeking the things that are above

Preached at St Catherine’s Church, Catherine-de-Barnes, Solihull
On Easter Day (Year A), 23/03/08 at 11am Eucharist.
Repeated at 6.30pm evensong in St Alphege Church

Readings: Acts 10:34-43 Romans Col 3:1-4 Matthew 28: 1-10

When I was a little boy, my brother had a pet guinea pig called Ginger. There was a very exciting time when Ginger was pregnant and expected, at any moment, to give birth to one or more baby guinea pigs. One morning my brother went out to feed Ginger and came back upset. I went out with him and looked in Ginger’s cage. Ginger seemed fine, much thinner than she had been. However lying in the middle of her cubby hole was an obviously dead baby guinea pig. We went and called Dad. Dad confirmed that Ginger’s baby was dead. He took the baby guinea pig out and buried it in the garden. My brother made a special little cross of wood to mark the spot. It was a very sad moment.
Later my brother was told to clean out the cage, because it was messy from the dead baby guinea pig. My brother started to clean out the cubby hole where the dead baby had been. He lifted up one of the supporting bricks, and to his great astonishment a baby guinea pig scurried out searching for somewhere to hide. Suddenly our sorrow was turned to joy as we realised that we did indeed have a live and healthy baby guinea pig. Then, when my brother lifted out the second supporting brick, exactly the same thing happened again. In fact we had two live and healthy baby guinea pigs, as well as the dead one.
It felt like a resurrection moment. Our focus on disappointment and death, suddenly changed to a focus on new life. It was wonderful. But it was surprising what a long time it had taken for us to realise what had happened and to grasp its full implications.
And I suspect it was a bit like this for the first followers of Jesus when they first discovered the empty tomb. To start with it was as very strange and disturbing discovery. What did it mean? Who had rolled away the stone? Why had it been done? What did all this mean? Had Jesus’ body been stolen? Then the angles appeared and explained things to them, and this amazed them, gave them great joy, but also filled them with fear. And then suddenly Mary Magdalene saw Jesus and spoke with him and held his feet and worshipped him. Later other disciples had encounters with the risen Lord. Then there was concern that they might have been seeing a ghost. Then there were more and more encounters, and more and more disciples start to believe in the resurrection. But this process took time. In fact the account at the end of Mark’s gospel, Jesus gets cross with the disciples because they are so slow to believe.
So it took the first followers of Jesus time to understand that the resurrection had happened, and what that really meant. It took them even longer to work out all the implications. In Luke’s account of the resurrection one of the main things that the risen Christ does is explain to the disciples all that is written about Jesus in the law, the prophets and psalms so that they could start to understand the extraordinary death and resurrection of the Messiah.
And actually I believe that this is true for us as well. It takes us time to really understand the implications of the resurrection. We have a big advantage over the first disciples, in that we live with the benefit of 2000 years of church experience. From when we are very young we are taught that the resurrection shows us new life in Christ, shows us that love is stronger than death, that sin has been defeated. We are taught that the resurrection means that we can have hope. But despite all this wise teaching there is a sense in which we each have to discover these things for ourselves and to work out their practical implications for our lives.
So how do we do this? Well, St Paul has some good advice for us in our reading from Colossians this morning. He says, “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Setting our mind on the things that are above, means putting love for God and neighbour in the first place in our lives, and not allowing earthly things (jobs, houses, families, food, health, schools, cars, holidays and all that) to get in the way. In fact we can use these earthly things in order to love our neighbours.
And the resurrection really helps us to do this. Sometimes our earthly life gets hard. Sometimes we get ill. Sometimes we have disappointments. Sometimes we have to let go of things that are good and precious. Sometimes we have to deny ourselves in order to love the people around us, sometimes our friends die. And we know that one day we ourselves will die. So undeniably our earthly life can be hard. But if, as Paul suggests, we are seeking the things that are above, then we start to discover the things that our above, our love for God and our love for our neighbours, and we start to find their value. And especially when earthly things let us down or pass away, we discover the enduring quality of the things which are above. As Paul puts it, we have died, and our life is hid with Christ in God. And when Christ’s resurrection life is revealed, the true value of the things we have above with also be revealed with him in Glory.
So let’s have the courage to seek the things that are above. Let’s seek always to grow in love for God and love for our neighbours, because we know that if we do this, though we might pass through terrible earthly trials and even through death itself, the resurrection of Christ assures us that the life we have in Christ will be revealed in glory. Amen.

The New Commandment

Preached at St Alphege Church on Sunday on Maundy Thursday, 20th March 2008 at 7.30pm Eucharist, Year A

Readings: Exodus 12 1-4 & 11-14 1 Corinthians 11 23-26 John 13: 1-17 & 31b- 35


In March 2000 our family was preparing to go to India for what was expected to be a three year work placement. As we planned the move we were advised that alcoholic products could not be taken to India and could not go into UK storage. I was therefore faced with the solemn task of giving away my malt whisky collection. I remember giving an old Dalwhinnie to one friend, a very fine Bowmore to another friend and my beloved highland malts went to the curate. There was a sombre feel to these gifts. There was joy in the giving, but sorrow in losing the whisky and a foreboding sense of departure; going away from my friends for a long time.
Some of these feelings are present with Jesus at the last supper. Our New Testament readings today present Jesus as opening his great spiritual treasure chest and sharing gifts of incalculable value with his friends before he leaves this world.
The first big gift that Jesus gives us at the last supper is the gift of his body and blood in the Eucharist. He asks us to repeat the Eucharist in remembrance of him, proclaiming his death until he comes again.
A second big gift is the example he gives in the washing of the disciples’ feet. Washing feet is a very humble task, traditionally assigned to the lowest servant and yet done by Jesus the Lord and Teacher. The example is to serve one another in very simple and practical ways. He adds, “If you know these things you are blessed if you do them.”
This evening however I would like to focus most on a third big gift. The gift of Jesus’ New Commandment; “Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
Now the scary thing about the New Commandment is the level of love implied. Jesus loved us to the point of giving up his life for us, so “as I have loved you” tells us that we should be ready to give our lives for one another; ready to die for one another. So in the church we are called to love one another to the point of being ready to give our lives for one another. And if I am ready to give my life for you, how much more ready am I to wash up for you, to put up with some of your irritating habits, or to help you, or to give you the things that you need.
Now, in the life of the church, it is very important that this loving and self giving is mutual. If one person does all the loving and giving, and is not loved and does not receive anything back, then very quickly the giver starts to run out of steam.
In church we often don’t live the New Commandment very well. Often we do not even know the people around us, never mind love them. As ever, we need to hold before the Lord our various shortcomings and to pray for his mercy and help. And yet I believe that there are signs of hope. During the House Eucharists this Lent I heard many people talking about their favourite hymns. Sometimes through this process small, and even not so small, pieces of spiritual treasure were given and received. Some sharing of our spiritual goods started to take place and this is very significant. I hope that we will find more opportunities for this through Fan the Flame so that we san start to build up the bonds of mutual love between us.
I believe that this is very important. It is important for us as church as we think about Going for Growth. Jesus said, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” So mutual love among Christians is central to our witness to other people. It is central to our mission. It is central to our aspirations for church growth.
But the New Commandment is also important in forming us into good citizens of heaven. It seems to me that we cannot think our place in heaven as something that is ours by right, or something that we own. Rather it is a gift that we are given, that we must be humble enough to receive and ready to share with others. I suspect that Jesus wants us to live the New Commandment in the church so that we can be well trained and ready to live the life of heaven when we get there.
So as we contemplate the awesome mysteries of the Triduum. As we mediate on Christ who gives himself for us completely even to the point of death, let us pray that the Lord will help us to love one another, to serve one another and to grow into the ways of the New Commandment. Amen.

Starting Holy Week

Thought for the Parish Pewslip 19th March 2008 - Palm Sunday - Year A
Readings: Liturgy of Palms: Matt 21:1-11
Liturgy of the Passion: Isaiah 50:4-9a and Matt 27:11-54


Today marks the start of Holy Week. We have a procession with palm branches and palm crosses as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem where the crowds shout “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” But over a few short days the mood changes completely. When read the story of the passion we hear the crowds cry out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” It is a solemn reminder of how fickle human beings can be. We can hold up before God’s great mercy our own shallowness and our own lack of faithfulness in following our Lord.
Our church services in Holy Week help us to follow with Jesus as he journeys through his passion and death to his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday. These liturgies help us to write the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection into our own hearts so that our own daily lives can start to reflect this pattern. Walking with Christ through his passion and death gives us confidence that we will also share with him in his resurrection life. And so we hope that many, many people will attend the Holy Week services and join with us as we walk with Christ through these most holy hours.

Christ, the resurrection and the life

Preached at St Alphege Church on Sunday 9th March 2008 at 9.15am Eucharist
Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year A

Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45
(Shortened sermon to compensate for long readings)


[The fifth Sunday in Lent is often known as Passion Sunday. It marks the point where Jesus resolves to return to Jerusalem, despite the fact that he knows that many people in Jerusalem are out to kill him.
So from today our crosses and statues in church are all covered up, and our liturgies start to build towards the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Next week we have Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Then we are into Holy Week which culminates in the all important Triduum; the three days from the evening of Maundy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. In the liturgies that we celebrate on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and on the evening before Easter Sunday we follow Christ’s progress through his passion and death to his glorious resurrection. The liturgies help us to write the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection into our own hearts and to reflect it in our own lives. They are among the most important liturgies in the Church’s year and we hope that you will all try to attend those services and walk with us as we follow Christ through those most holy hours.]

Passion Sunday has a very solemn feel, and it might therefore be surprising that our readings today are all about resurrection and new life.
First of all we had the reading from Ezekiel, where Ezekiel witnesses the whole tribe of Israel rise into new life, from having been simply dry bones scattered round a valley.
Then, from his letter to the Romans, we heard St Paul explain that life and peace come from setting our mind on God, on God’s Holy Spirit. We know that one day our mortal bodies will die, and we can’t do anything about that. But if the Spirit of God dwells in us, if we share in the Spirit of Christ, then, even though our bodies will die, we will continue to have life in the Spirit. And because of this we can have hope, we can even have hope for our bodies. Just as God raised Christ’s body from the dead, so at the second coming of Christ, we too will experience the resurrection of our bodies through the Spirit of God in which we share.
Finally in our gospel reading we heard the story of Lazarus being brought back from the dead. In this story Jesus reveals himself to be the resurrection and the life, and so we can have hope in him.
And this explains why Jesus was able to turn toward Jerusalem and make his way back to Judea, even though he knew that people there wanted to kill him. Jesus knew that he was walking towards his passion and death and he was able to do this because he was the resurrection and the life. The scribes and the Pharisees could do their worst, the devil could throw everything at him, they could even put him death. But Jesus has life within himself. Ultimately he cannot be killed; ultimately he can only conquer death.
And this is supremely encouraging. As Christians we share in the life of Christ through the Spirit. We seek to make that life grow within us always. We can do this by growing in love for God and in love for our brothers and sisters. We can make the life of Christ in us grow by nurturing ourselves on God’s word in the bible, and by receiving Holy Communion. And as we share more deeply in the life of Christ, we come to trust in it more and more. Little by little we realise that all earthly things pass away. Whatever we have to lose or give up to follow Christ, it is worth it, because Christ always gives us more. And the life he shares with us is eternal life and its value is completely beyond measure.
I would like finish by reflecting briefly on the witness given to new life in Christ by persecuted Christians from around the world. Sadly there are still many places where Christians suffer discrimination or outright persecution as they seek to follow Christ. Why do they continue to follow Christ in such circumstances? Well who can say? But it seems that they somehow realise that the life that they have in Christ is of great value, and worth suffering for. This is extraordinary. There is an organisation called Christian Solidarity Worldwide who publish a magazine about persecuted Christians. It can be very inspiring to read their stories and to find out about churches and their situations. It is very humbling to read about the Church in China where there are many persecutions and trials, but where the Church is thriving and growing rapidly. As you leave church this morning you will be offered a free copy of the Response magazine; they are always available at the back of church, and Richard Chillcott is our contact. Do take a magazine away with you, read it and offer prayers for the persecuted church. But whether or not you get a magazine, let’s all show our solidarity with the persecuted church by placing our trust not in earthly things, but in Christ who is the resurrection and the life.