Preached at St Alphege, Solihull at the 11am Eucharist.
Sunday 25th May 2008, Trinity 1 – Year A (Readings from Epiphany 7)
Readings Leviticus 19: 1-2 & 9-18 1 Cor 3: 10-11 & 16-23 Matt 5: 38-48
Our readings today focus on the theme of becoming holy; holiness as a lifestyle choice. There is quite a lot in the readings about what it means to be holy. There is quite a lot about how we might become holy. But the theme of our readings that stands out most clearly is the call for us Christians to work towards personal holiness as individuals and collective holiness as Church.
The call to holiness is one of the themes of the New Testament (e.g. John 17 17-19, Phil 2:14, 1Thess 4:7 5:23, 2 Tim 1:9, Heb 9:13 13:12, 1 Pet1:15). In our gospel reading today we heard Jesus say to his disciples, “Be perfect therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” And this call to holiness is not something new that arrives with Jesus. God has always called his people to holiness. When Jesus says, “Be perfect and your heavenly Father is perfect,” he is making a reference to the book of Leviticus, which we also heard read today. In Leviticus God himself says to the people, through Moses, “You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” So God has always called his people to holiness, but Jesus gives this call new impetus and he provides new resources to help us on the journey towards holiness.
People often think, “I am a good Christian…I go to church,” without realising the full implications of being a Christian, without realising that the Christian life is a journey, a journey towards heaven. And heaven is not just a place that we go to when we die, rather heaven is a experience, a state of being. Heaven is where God dwells. To be in heaven means to dwell with God, to rest in his presence, to be illuminated completely by the light of his love, like a crystal of cut glass in a chandelier. Our journey to heaven is therefore about drawing closer to God. It is about improving our relationship with God; about getting to know God. It is about getting better at living in the presence of God. It is about growing up into Christ (Eph 4:5). It is about being formed into Christ (Gal 4:19). It is about being made complete in the love of God (1 John 4:12). It is about being purified from all sin (1 John 1:8). It is about being pure so that we can see God (Matt 5:8, 1 John 3:12-13). And these things take time, they can take a lifetime, perhaps even more than a lifetime. But this journey can be walked much more effectively and much more profitably if we are aware of it, if we welcome it and if we work with it.
Holiness is our true destination. Ultimately our personal fulfilment comes from becoming holy. God created us. He knows us better than we know ourselves. He wants us to fulfil our potential, to become what he created us to be. His plan for us is greater than anything we could imagine for ourselves, it satisfies completely our most profound desires and aspirations. Growing in holiness is therefore the logical and sensible way to live our lives. It is the way to self-realisation. It is the way to heaven.
The raw material for this journey of faith, this holy journey towards heaven, is all the circumstances of our everyday lives. There are many different ways of interpreting the circumstances of our everyday lives. Suppose for example we catch a cold. We can interpret this in different ways. We can think, “it’s so-and-so’s fault – he sneezed near me, yesterday.” Another interpretation might be, “It’s my own fault for getting cold on the bus and not having enough victim C.” Another interpretation might be, “I need to take good care of myself for the next few days until I am better.” And all of these interpretations might be true to a greater or lesser extent, but there is one interpretation which is always going to be the most helpful interpretation from the point of view of our journey towards heaven. This is the interpretation that, “God, in his great love for me, has either willed or allowed that I should catch this cold in order to help me to grow closer to Him.” This attitude trains us to find God’s love in everything. It helps us to understand suffering. It helps us to grow in love. This attitude is especially helpful when we deal with other people. Cardinal Van Thuan apparently trained himself not to think, “This person is a nuisance”, but rather to think “This person is sanctifying me”.
Perhaps we have never thought of becoming holy. Perhaps we can’t imagine ourselves as a saint. Perhaps we think, “but I am just very normal…I can’t be something really extraordinary like a saint.” Perhaps we are aware that sin runs deep within us so we feel we can’t become a saint. Perhaps we think, “Ah well, holiness, that is for the enthusiasts…it’s not for me.” If we are thinking like this then we need to think again. We need to remember that we are created for heaven. One day, by hook or by crook, we have to get to heaven. Of course we always have the option of rejecting God completely and going to hell, but assuming that is not what we want, then it makes sense to start work on the journey to heaven right now. This is the journey to life and hope and joy and the sooner we can start making progress the better.
And the good news is that we are already part holy. The embryonic saint already lives within us and is keen to grow and develop and to mature into the new life in Christ. The bad news is that we are also part sinner. Despite our good intentions we are slaves to sin and our behaviour often falls well short of holiness. The devil does his best to convince us that holiness is unattainable. But the devil is a liar. We have been baptised into Christ’s death and resurrection and this has broken the power of sin. If we concentrate on living in the saint and growing in the life of Christ then, in the fullness of time, it is inevitable that the sin within us will be overcome.
So today I invite you to make the ultimate lifestyle choice. Let’s commit ourselves to holiness. Let’s commit ourselves to becoming saints. Let us offer this project to God and let us pray to God for his help. Let us ignore the great liar who says that holiness is irrelevant, or unrealistic or impossible, or not desirable, or not for me. Let’s commit ourselves to walking the way of Christ. Let’s forgive ourselves when we fail. Let’s pray for the grace to start again each time we fail. Let’s not be put off by our failures but rather entrust them to the mercy of God and make a fresh start. And let’s walk with confidence. Christ’s death and resurrection has broken every barrier. If we want our place in heaven, and work for it, then ultimately we cannot fail.
25 May 2008
The call to holiness
Thought for the parish pewslip
Sunday 25th May 2008, Trinity 1 – Year A (Readings from Epiphany 7)
Readings Leviticus 19: 1-2 & 9-18 1 Cor 3: 10-11 & 16-23 Matt 5: 38-48
In our reading from Leviticus, the Lord calls his people to be holy, for the Lord God himself is holy. The reading then lists behaviours which it associates with holiness; helping the poor, being honest, honouring God, not exploiting the weak, being just and avoiding hatred and revenge. This is summarised as, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
In the reading from Corinthians, Paul reminds us that we, the church, are a holy temple where God’s Spirit dwells.
In our gospel reading Jesus calls us to love in a completely radical way, not resisting the evildoer, and loving even our enemies. He says we should do this in order to be like God the Father, who has a great love for each person, however good or evil that person might be. Jesus reiterates our Leviticus reading when he says, “Be perfect therefore, as you heavenly Father is perfect.”
When we think of people being holy there is a danger that we think of saints from long ago who immersed themselves in prayer and worship. Our readings today remind us that we today are called to holiness. Holiness is about our behaviour towards others. It’s about loving God and loving our neighbours.
Sunday 25th May 2008, Trinity 1 – Year A (Readings from Epiphany 7)
Readings Leviticus 19: 1-2 & 9-18 1 Cor 3: 10-11 & 16-23 Matt 5: 38-48
In our reading from Leviticus, the Lord calls his people to be holy, for the Lord God himself is holy. The reading then lists behaviours which it associates with holiness; helping the poor, being honest, honouring God, not exploiting the weak, being just and avoiding hatred and revenge. This is summarised as, “Love your neighbour as yourself.”
In the reading from Corinthians, Paul reminds us that we, the church, are a holy temple where God’s Spirit dwells.
In our gospel reading Jesus calls us to love in a completely radical way, not resisting the evildoer, and loving even our enemies. He says we should do this in order to be like God the Father, who has a great love for each person, however good or evil that person might be. Jesus reiterates our Leviticus reading when he says, “Be perfect therefore, as you heavenly Father is perfect.”
When we think of people being holy there is a danger that we think of saints from long ago who immersed themselves in prayer and worship. Our readings today remind us that we today are called to holiness. Holiness is about our behaviour towards others. It’s about loving God and loving our neighbours.
18 May 2008
Baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Sermon
Preached on Trinity Sunday – Year A - 18th May 2008
at the 9.15am Eucharist at St Alphege Solihull.
A shortened version was also preached at the 11am Eucharist at St Catherine’s, Catherine de Barnes, Solihull.
Readings: Isaiah 40: 12-17, 27-31 2 Cor13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20
In our gospel reading this morning we heard the words of Jesus, which are known as, “The Great Commission”. They are Jesus’ last words to his disciples in Matthew’s gospel. He says,
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you, and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
These words brought about a dramatic change for the first disciples. Up until this point Jesus’ main message to them had been “follow me”, and “follow my commandments”, and the disciples had done this as best they could. We know that there were all kinds of errors and problems (like Peter denying Christ) but as best they could the disciples had followed Jesus, through his death and resurrection. This had been a completely life changing experience for them. But with these words of the Great Commission and with the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, suddenly the focus for the disciples changes completely. Rather than following, suddenly they are sent out to call others to follow. The 11 disciples become apostles – that is people sent out by God. Suddenly they become preachers, teachers and leaders of the Christian community. This is the start of mission. Mission also means “being sent”.
And included in the great commission is a remarkably good and very short summary of what Jesus wants from people to whom the apostles preach the gospel. He wants these people to become disciples, that is “followers” of Jesus. He wants the people to be baptised. He wants the people to obey his commandments. This is such an excellent summary of what we must do to be Christians; follow Christ, be baptised and obey Christ’s commandments.
But because today is Trinity Sunday, and because next week we have several baptisms taking place in this service, I would like focus today on what it means to be baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
This formula for Baptism “in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” is recognised as the correct formula for baptism in all the main stream Christian churches. This is because the formula is recorded in Matthew’s gospel as a direct command from Jesus. All the mainstream churches recognise as valid a baptism made in “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. The only exception to this is that Baptist churches often do not accept infant baptism, but they do certainly accept this as the correct formula for baptising people.
And this is a very significant thing because the mainstream churches all recognise as valid each others baptism certificates. And although the Church of God has suffered all kind of painful divisions and has been separated into various different denominations there is a level of unity that remains in our baptism. Whatever our denomination, we are all baptised into the body of Christ, into the Church, and we all have become members of that one body.
There are some interesting stories in the Acts of the Apostles about the incompleteness of other forms of baptism. There are stories (Chapter 8) where people have been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, but have not yet been baptised in the Holy Spirit. There are other stories the other way around (chapter 10). Through these experiences the early church quickly realised that baptism needs to be in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.
Of course the formula “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” is familiar to us, not only because of baptism, but also because Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the three persons of the Most Holy Trinity. Today is Trinity Sunday, when we reflect on the great mystery of our God who is both three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and is also perfectly “one” such that we say with great confidence that there is just one true God.
And this can be difficult to understand. But really we should not be surprised that we find it hard to understand God. God is much bigger and deeper and greater than we are. If we think we have got God “all sust out” then we are putting God in a box; we are placing our own intellect above God’s. We are deceiving ourselves and being somewhat arrogant!
And yet, despite the difficulty in understanding the Trinity, I believe it is important that we always make the effort to increase the understanding that we have. Human beings are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) so looking at the Trinity gives us insights into the way that human life is meant to be.
If we look at the Trinity it seems that the perfect unity and harmony is maintained by love; by the love of God. There is lots of self-giving going on. The Father gives himself completely to the Son. The Son gives himself completely to the Father. The Spirit is likewise involved. This love and complete self-giving sustains the harmony and unity. This surely gives us an insight into how a Christian marriage might work. Similarly it throws light on how a community can sustain itself and become harmonious. And what about nations and the whole world even?
So as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, let’s ponder the mystery of the Trinity and seek to understand it better. Let’s seek to grow in relationships of love and mutual self- giving like those that we see in the Trinity. And by this let us come to live out ever better what it means to be a human being, created in the image of God.
Preached on Trinity Sunday – Year A - 18th May 2008
at the 9.15am Eucharist at St Alphege Solihull.
A shortened version was also preached at the 11am Eucharist at St Catherine’s, Catherine de Barnes, Solihull.
Readings: Isaiah 40: 12-17, 27-31 2 Cor13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20
In our gospel reading this morning we heard the words of Jesus, which are known as, “The Great Commission”. They are Jesus’ last words to his disciples in Matthew’s gospel. He says,
All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you, and remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
These words brought about a dramatic change for the first disciples. Up until this point Jesus’ main message to them had been “follow me”, and “follow my commandments”, and the disciples had done this as best they could. We know that there were all kinds of errors and problems (like Peter denying Christ) but as best they could the disciples had followed Jesus, through his death and resurrection. This had been a completely life changing experience for them. But with these words of the Great Commission and with the arrival of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, suddenly the focus for the disciples changes completely. Rather than following, suddenly they are sent out to call others to follow. The 11 disciples become apostles – that is people sent out by God. Suddenly they become preachers, teachers and leaders of the Christian community. This is the start of mission. Mission also means “being sent”.
And included in the great commission is a remarkably good and very short summary of what Jesus wants from people to whom the apostles preach the gospel. He wants these people to become disciples, that is “followers” of Jesus. He wants the people to be baptised. He wants the people to obey his commandments. This is such an excellent summary of what we must do to be Christians; follow Christ, be baptised and obey Christ’s commandments.
But because today is Trinity Sunday, and because next week we have several baptisms taking place in this service, I would like focus today on what it means to be baptised in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
This formula for Baptism “in the name of the father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” is recognised as the correct formula for baptism in all the main stream Christian churches. This is because the formula is recorded in Matthew’s gospel as a direct command from Jesus. All the mainstream churches recognise as valid a baptism made in “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”. The only exception to this is that Baptist churches often do not accept infant baptism, but they do certainly accept this as the correct formula for baptising people.
And this is a very significant thing because the mainstream churches all recognise as valid each others baptism certificates. And although the Church of God has suffered all kind of painful divisions and has been separated into various different denominations there is a level of unity that remains in our baptism. Whatever our denomination, we are all baptised into the body of Christ, into the Church, and we all have become members of that one body.
There are some interesting stories in the Acts of the Apostles about the incompleteness of other forms of baptism. There are stories (Chapter 8) where people have been baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus, but have not yet been baptised in the Holy Spirit. There are other stories the other way around (chapter 10). Through these experiences the early church quickly realised that baptism needs to be in the name of the father and of the son and of the Holy Spirit.
Of course the formula “Father, Son and Holy Spirit” is familiar to us, not only because of baptism, but also because Father, Son and Holy Spirit are the three persons of the Most Holy Trinity. Today is Trinity Sunday, when we reflect on the great mystery of our God who is both three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and is also perfectly “one” such that we say with great confidence that there is just one true God.
And this can be difficult to understand. But really we should not be surprised that we find it hard to understand God. God is much bigger and deeper and greater than we are. If we think we have got God “all sust out” then we are putting God in a box; we are placing our own intellect above God’s. We are deceiving ourselves and being somewhat arrogant!
And yet, despite the difficulty in understanding the Trinity, I believe it is important that we always make the effort to increase the understanding that we have. Human beings are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27) so looking at the Trinity gives us insights into the way that human life is meant to be.
If we look at the Trinity it seems that the perfect unity and harmony is maintained by love; by the love of God. There is lots of self-giving going on. The Father gives himself completely to the Son. The Son gives himself completely to the Father. The Spirit is likewise involved. This love and complete self-giving sustains the harmony and unity. This surely gives us an insight into how a Christian marriage might work. Similarly it throws light on how a community can sustain itself and become harmonious. And what about nations and the whole world even?
So as we celebrate Trinity Sunday, let’s ponder the mystery of the Trinity and seek to understand it better. Let’s seek to grow in relationships of love and mutual self- giving like those that we see in the Trinity. And by this let us come to live out ever better what it means to be a human being, created in the image of God.
Waiting on God
Thought for parish pewslip
Sunday 18th May 2008 – Trinity Sunday (Year A)
Readings: Isaiah 40: 12-17, 27-31 2 Cor 13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20
On Trinity Sunday we reflect on the great mystery of God, who we say has three “persons”, perfectly united in the one essence of God. It was around 200 AD before the Church started to use the term “Trinity”, and the Church’s understanding of the Holy Trinity continued to develop over the next centuries. However, both of our New Testament readings today clearly show us that the understanding of God as three Persons was present right at the beginning of the Church.
Our reading from Isaiah is a reflection on the great majesty of God who is beyond all understanding and who displays such great power in creation. All nations, all peoples are as nothing when compared to God. The passage is written during the period when the Judeans were in exile in Babylon (6th Century BC). The Judeans had been calling on God to deliver them from exile, and the prophet assures them that God has not forgotten them and he will renew the strength of those who wait on him. God will do something new and they will rise up with wing like eagles.
Sometimes we can feel that God has forgotten us, or forgotten the society that we live in. Isaiah reminds us to renew our trust in the almighty, unknowable God, and to wait on him. The deliverance that we pray for will come. – Fr Gerard
Sunday 18th May 2008 – Trinity Sunday (Year A)
Readings: Isaiah 40: 12-17, 27-31 2 Cor 13:11-13 Matthew 28:16-20
On Trinity Sunday we reflect on the great mystery of God, who we say has three “persons”, perfectly united in the one essence of God. It was around 200 AD before the Church started to use the term “Trinity”, and the Church’s understanding of the Holy Trinity continued to develop over the next centuries. However, both of our New Testament readings today clearly show us that the understanding of God as three Persons was present right at the beginning of the Church.
Our reading from Isaiah is a reflection on the great majesty of God who is beyond all understanding and who displays such great power in creation. All nations, all peoples are as nothing when compared to God. The passage is written during the period when the Judeans were in exile in Babylon (6th Century BC). The Judeans had been calling on God to deliver them from exile, and the prophet assures them that God has not forgotten them and he will renew the strength of those who wait on him. God will do something new and they will rise up with wing like eagles.
Sometimes we can feel that God has forgotten us, or forgotten the society that we live in. Isaiah reminds us to renew our trust in the almighty, unknowable God, and to wait on him. The deliverance that we pray for will come. – Fr Gerard
16 May 2008
Trinity Sunday
Article for Faith Matters column of Solihull News
On Sunday (18th May) the churches celebrate Trinity Sunday. This is when we reflect on the great mystery of our God who is both “one” and “three” at the same time.
It is important to understand that the Holy Trinity is a mystery. As human beings we don’t have the capacity to understand our creator, who is so much greater than we are. We try always to grow in the love and knowledge of God, and by God’s grace we can make some progress, but we can never hope to fully understand God. If we think we understand God through and through then we are deceiving ourselves!
It is also important to recognise that the threeness of God in no way compromises the oneness of God. The perfect unity of God is central to Christianity, and to many other religions as well.
And yet within this extraordinary oneness of God, Christians recognise relationships of complete self giving between different “Persons”. God the Father gives everything to God the Son (c.f. Matt 28: 18). God the Son gives everything to God the Father, being ready to lay down his life for the Father (c.f. Matt 26: 39-44). God the Holy Spirit shares with us what the Son shares with the Father (c.f. John 16: 13-15).
Human beings are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We were created to have loving, giving and sharing relationships like those that we see in the Holy Trinity. It is relationships like these that give us our true identity and our dignity as human beings. Trinity Sunday therefore invites us to grow in generosity, being ready to give time, money, attention and care to the people around us. Growing in generosity helps us to become the people we were created to be.
Revd Patrick Gerard
Assistant Curate, St Alphege Church, Parish of Solihull
On Sunday (18th May) the churches celebrate Trinity Sunday. This is when we reflect on the great mystery of our God who is both “one” and “three” at the same time.
It is important to understand that the Holy Trinity is a mystery. As human beings we don’t have the capacity to understand our creator, who is so much greater than we are. We try always to grow in the love and knowledge of God, and by God’s grace we can make some progress, but we can never hope to fully understand God. If we think we understand God through and through then we are deceiving ourselves!
It is also important to recognise that the threeness of God in no way compromises the oneness of God. The perfect unity of God is central to Christianity, and to many other religions as well.
And yet within this extraordinary oneness of God, Christians recognise relationships of complete self giving between different “Persons”. God the Father gives everything to God the Son (c.f. Matt 28: 18). God the Son gives everything to God the Father, being ready to lay down his life for the Father (c.f. Matt 26: 39-44). God the Holy Spirit shares with us what the Son shares with the Father (c.f. John 16: 13-15).
Human beings are created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). We were created to have loving, giving and sharing relationships like those that we see in the Holy Trinity. It is relationships like these that give us our true identity and our dignity as human beings. Trinity Sunday therefore invites us to grow in generosity, being ready to give time, money, attention and care to the people around us. Growing in generosity helps us to become the people we were created to be.
Revd Patrick Gerard
Assistant Curate, St Alphege Church, Parish of Solihull
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