Preached at St Catherine’s, Catherine-de-Barnes, Solihull at 11am Eucharist
Sunday 20th July 2008, Trinity 9, Proper 11, Year A.
A shortened version of this sermon was preached at the 8am Eucharist at St Alphege Church, Solihull
Readings Wisdom 12: 13,16-19 Romans 8: 12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
(N.B. – The “Book of Wisdom” or “Wisdom of Solomon” does not appear in many standard bibles. To find it you need a bible that includes the Apocrypha, or a Catholic Edition)
One of the themes of Matthew’s gospel is the kingdom of heaven. In Chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel there are seven parables in which Jesus tries to explain what the kingdom of heaven is like. Today we heard the parable of the wheat and the weeds, which is quite a long parable, especially because Jesus explained it afterwards. The other six parables are very short, and we hear many of them in the gospel reading next week. But today, let’s spend a few moments thinking about the kingdom of heaven, as it is presented to us in Matthew’s gospel.
Jesus was concerned with preaching the good news of the kingdom of heaven (Matt 4:23, 9:35). The kingdom of heaven requires of us repentance (Matt 3:2, 4:17). Repentance means putting God in the first place in our lives, and making sure that everything else in our lives finds its right place under God. In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to pray, “Thy kingdom come”. This tells us that the kingdom of heaven something that is coming. It is not something that is already here, or at least not already here in a full and complete way. Closely related to this we pray, “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. So the kingdom of heaven is a place where God’s will is done, and heaven is already part of the kingdom. (See also Matt 5:19 and 7:21). In the beatitudes Jesus tells us that, “Blessed are the Poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matt 5:3). He also says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt 5:10).
The kingdom of heaven is something that we should be seeking (Matt 6:33) and we need to enter it with the simplicity and humility of a child (Matt 19:14). It is impossible for us to enter if we our attached to our personal riches (Matt 19: 23-24).
So let’s think again about the parable of the wheat and the weeds. What does this tells us about the kingdom of heaven? Well certainly the kingdom of heaven is something that grows. We are told that the good seed are the children of the kingdom and they have to grow. Hopefully this is something that we all experience. The life of God within us isn’t something static and stuck, rather it is something that grows and develops and matures and eventually it completely overtakes us. One of the six other parables is the parable of the mustard seed, which starts of very small and insignificant, but grows to be great tree. It is a bit like when a child comes into the world. To start with it is very small and hidden away, and only the mother knows it is there. Then the child is born and we all know about it, but it is very small and helpless. Slowly the child grows and develops. The child goes through many different stages and makes many different demands on the parents. Over time the child becomes as big and strong as the parents and starts to take over their roles. Eventually the parents grow old and frail and then die. At this point the child inherits all their processions and has taken them over completely. So it is that the kingdom of heaven grows within us, and eventually it takes us over completely. And this is a good thing, a wonderful thing, because our sharing in the kingdom of heaven is eternal.
And what about the weed in the parable? Jesus tells us that the weeds are the children of the evil one, sown by the devil. Notice that the weeds do not come from God, they come from the enemy; the one who rebels against God. And the weeds grow up alongside the good wheat, and what is surprising to the servants in the story is how tolerant of the weeds the Master appears to be. The Master says that pulling out the weeds would be more damaging to the crop than leaving the weeds in there. It is better to let the weeds grow up with the wheat and to separate them out at harvest time. And this goes someway to towards explaining our experience of evil in the world. As we grow up in the world we experience all kinds of sufferings and difficulties which we can attribute directly, or indirectly to the evil one. But we need to be patient. God has chosen to leave those weeds in there with us, for our own good, so let’s not grumble, but let’s get on with the uncomfortable business of living alongside them. And let’s not simply think of ourselves as good wheat and other people as weeds. There is plenty that is weedy about each one of us; we all need to repent and let our good wheat grow up good and strong, and hope that by God’s grace our weedy bits will wither and die. The more they wither and die now, the easier it will be for us at harvest time. We could paraphrase our reading from St Paul; “if you live according to the weeds you will die, but if by the wheat you put to death the weeds, then you will live.”
So let’s grow up like good wheat. But let’s also be patient with the weeds. God has chosen to leave them there for our good, and let’s be grateful that more time is given for ever greater and truer repentance (c.f. Wisdom 12: 10 & 20)
20 July 2008
Why does God tolerate evil?
Thought for the parish pewslip.
Readings: Wisdom 12: 13,16-19 Romans 8: 12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
(N.B. – The “Book of Wisdom” or “Wisdom of Solomon” does not appear in many standard bibles. To find it you need a bible that includes the Apocrypha, or a Catholic Edition)
If God is all powerful, and all good, why does he tolerate evil? Why does God allow bad things to happen? Our readings today give some insights into these deep mysteries.
The book of wisdom reminds us that God is all powerful, but cares for ALL people, and judges them with mildness and forbearance. Above all he allows time for repentance (verses 10&20).
In Romans, St. Paul tells us not to live in accordance with our flesh, because we know that one day we will die and our flesh will turn to dust and ashes. Rather he tells us to live by the Spirit because by the Spirit we share the destiny of Christ. He tells us that we suffer with Christ, so that we may be glorified with him. Certainly we suffer as earthly things pass away (our health, our bodies, our wealth) just as Christ suffered, but Paul tells us to have hope and confidence that a much more wonderful glory will be revealed, just as Christ’s resurrection was revealed. And this glory of renewal is not just for us, and our bodies, but for the whole of creation.
From Matthew’s gospel we hear the parable of the weeds among the wheat. We need to concentrate on doing good, and growing up like the wheat, which has a great future. We should do our best to ignore the weeds in us and in other people, because at the end of the age the weeds are destroyed.
Readings: Wisdom 12: 13,16-19 Romans 8: 12-25 Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
(N.B. – The “Book of Wisdom” or “Wisdom of Solomon” does not appear in many standard bibles. To find it you need a bible that includes the Apocrypha, or a Catholic Edition)
If God is all powerful, and all good, why does he tolerate evil? Why does God allow bad things to happen? Our readings today give some insights into these deep mysteries.
The book of wisdom reminds us that God is all powerful, but cares for ALL people, and judges them with mildness and forbearance. Above all he allows time for repentance (verses 10&20).
In Romans, St. Paul tells us not to live in accordance with our flesh, because we know that one day we will die and our flesh will turn to dust and ashes. Rather he tells us to live by the Spirit because by the Spirit we share the destiny of Christ. He tells us that we suffer with Christ, so that we may be glorified with him. Certainly we suffer as earthly things pass away (our health, our bodies, our wealth) just as Christ suffered, but Paul tells us to have hope and confidence that a much more wonderful glory will be revealed, just as Christ’s resurrection was revealed. And this glory of renewal is not just for us, and our bodies, but for the whole of creation.
From Matthew’s gospel we hear the parable of the weeds among the wheat. We need to concentrate on doing good, and growing up like the wheat, which has a great future. We should do our best to ignore the weeds in us and in other people, because at the end of the age the weeds are destroyed.
13 July 2008
Our destiny in Christ
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull at Evensong 6.30pm 13/07/08
Readings: Amos 7:7-17 Psalm 63 Ephesians 1: 3-14
Both of our reading today talk about destiny. However the contrast between the two readings could hardly be greater. One talks of a terrible destiny of destruction and death; one talks of blessing, holiness and grace.
Our first reading came from the prophet Amos. Amos prophesied in the 8th Century BC, when God’s chosen people were split into two kingdoms. There was the Northern Kingdom which comprised 10 of the 12 tribes of the original Israel. The Northern Kingdom was known as Israel and it lived in the area around Samaria and Galilee. There was also the Southern Kingdom, based around Jerusalem which was made up of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. Although the two kingdoms were politically separate they still shared the same religion and were all part of God’s chosen people. Something that the kings of the Northern Kingdom found very difficult was that all the citizens of the Northern Kingdom still needed to go to Jerusalem, in the Southern Kingdom several times a year for the religious festivals. Kings of the Northern kingdom were therefore always tempted to set up their own temples, or worse still their own idols in the Northern Kingdom, to stop people going to worship in Jerusalem. God however would not tolerate such behaviour and Israel experienced great political instability as kings came and went quite rapidly.
Somewhere round about 786 BC Jeroboam II came to the throne of Israel. He was a shrewd politician and his 41 year rule of Israel was very successful in terms of things outward and visible. Jeroboam II maintained good relationships with the kingdom of Judah. He recaptured lands that Israel had lost to the Syrians and the Moabites. Above all his economic policies were extremely successful and Israel enjoyed great wealth and prosperity during his reign. Jeroboam II’s relationship with God however appears a little ambiguous. On the one hand Jeroboam II appears to have supported and helped God’s prophets Hosea and Jonah. On the other hand, the worship of Baal and images of cows and calves continued during his reign and seemed to grow in its lavishness with the increasing wealth of the population. Also economic injustices and corruption became a big problem. Jeroboam II colluded with the rich and powerful in his land, and did little to defend the rights of the poor and weak.
And it was to this Northern Kingdom of Israel, in this time of great prosperity, that the prophet Amos was sent. Amos came from the land of Judah, so in some sense he was a foreigner in Israel. He was not a “professional prophet” who set out to make his living through prophecy. Just as today we buy different national newspapers according to what we want to hear, so in 8th century BC Israel, people often paid for and supported the “professional prophets” who said the things that they wanted to hear. Amos is quite clear that he is not a “prophet” but rather one sent by God to prophesy to the people of Israel. And the message that God sends to the people of Israel through Amos is very firm. He wants to see Israel straight and true, like a plumb line. He is critical of the religious cult at Bethel, because the unjust are not sincere in their worship. Of course this message did not always go down well. In our reading today we heard Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, took great exception to it, and complained to the king. Amos was not put off, however, we heard that he also had very strong words for Amaziah.
Throughout his prophecies Amos demands justice and integrity in trade. He is scandalised by the biased weighing scales used to sell food to the poor. He is scandalised that the poor are sometimes sold chaff and the sweepings of wheat, rather than real wheat. He warns of a forthcoming “day of the Lord” which will be a terrible day of justice. He talks of Israel being taken into exile. Scholars think that Amos was prophesising round about 750BC, towards the end of Jeroboam II reign. After Jeroboam died (round about 745BC) Israel experienced political instability and great political pressure from the Assyrians. When the Assyrians finally conquered Samaria in 722 they took and many of the citizens of Israel away into exile.
In sharp contrast to Amos we heard in our New Testament lesson of the wonderful destiny promised to us in Christ. Paul goes on an on about this. First of all he tells us that we have been given “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”. Perhaps we don’t quite know what that means, so Paul elaborates; we were “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. This does not mean that we are already holy and blameless in love, but this is what we are called to. This is what we must seek and must work towards, by practicing as best we can being holy and blameless and by practicing loving the people around us. Of course we know that this is not easy and that we will fail many times, but Paul has an answer for this. He says, “In him [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, that he lavished on us.” It is not we who make ourselves holy, rather it is the grace that Christ lavishes upon us that makes us holy. Our part is to want it, to pray for it and to do what we can to work towards it. However it is God that actually does it.
St Paul tells us that we are destined for adoption as children of God, through Christ. We are called to be brothers and sisters of Jesus. This is a very high calling. St Paul talks of the inheritance that we will share with Christ. He says that the seal of his spirit that we receive in baptism is the pledge of this inheritance. And what is this inheritance. It is “to live for the praise of the Glory of God.” Elsewhere in the scriptures we might understand this to be to share in the life that Jesus shares with the Father.
So let’s give thanks to God for the great destiny that we have in Christ. Let’s praise God that he considers us as brothers and sisters of Christ, and worthy of sharing the same inheritance as Christ. Let’s do all our part to seek this destiny; to want it, pray for it and work towards it. Let’s not be put off when we fail. Rather, let’s always start again, and in this way we learn to trust and rest in the forgiveness and grace of Christ, which brings this destiny about. Amen.
Readings: Amos 7:7-17 Psalm 63 Ephesians 1: 3-14
Both of our reading today talk about destiny. However the contrast between the two readings could hardly be greater. One talks of a terrible destiny of destruction and death; one talks of blessing, holiness and grace.
Our first reading came from the prophet Amos. Amos prophesied in the 8th Century BC, when God’s chosen people were split into two kingdoms. There was the Northern Kingdom which comprised 10 of the 12 tribes of the original Israel. The Northern Kingdom was known as Israel and it lived in the area around Samaria and Galilee. There was also the Southern Kingdom, based around Jerusalem which was made up of the tribes of Benjamin and Judah. Although the two kingdoms were politically separate they still shared the same religion and were all part of God’s chosen people. Something that the kings of the Northern Kingdom found very difficult was that all the citizens of the Northern Kingdom still needed to go to Jerusalem, in the Southern Kingdom several times a year for the religious festivals. Kings of the Northern kingdom were therefore always tempted to set up their own temples, or worse still their own idols in the Northern Kingdom, to stop people going to worship in Jerusalem. God however would not tolerate such behaviour and Israel experienced great political instability as kings came and went quite rapidly.
Somewhere round about 786 BC Jeroboam II came to the throne of Israel. He was a shrewd politician and his 41 year rule of Israel was very successful in terms of things outward and visible. Jeroboam II maintained good relationships with the kingdom of Judah. He recaptured lands that Israel had lost to the Syrians and the Moabites. Above all his economic policies were extremely successful and Israel enjoyed great wealth and prosperity during his reign. Jeroboam II’s relationship with God however appears a little ambiguous. On the one hand Jeroboam II appears to have supported and helped God’s prophets Hosea and Jonah. On the other hand, the worship of Baal and images of cows and calves continued during his reign and seemed to grow in its lavishness with the increasing wealth of the population. Also economic injustices and corruption became a big problem. Jeroboam II colluded with the rich and powerful in his land, and did little to defend the rights of the poor and weak.
And it was to this Northern Kingdom of Israel, in this time of great prosperity, that the prophet Amos was sent. Amos came from the land of Judah, so in some sense he was a foreigner in Israel. He was not a “professional prophet” who set out to make his living through prophecy. Just as today we buy different national newspapers according to what we want to hear, so in 8th century BC Israel, people often paid for and supported the “professional prophets” who said the things that they wanted to hear. Amos is quite clear that he is not a “prophet” but rather one sent by God to prophesy to the people of Israel. And the message that God sends to the people of Israel through Amos is very firm. He wants to see Israel straight and true, like a plumb line. He is critical of the religious cult at Bethel, because the unjust are not sincere in their worship. Of course this message did not always go down well. In our reading today we heard Amaziah, the priest at Bethel, took great exception to it, and complained to the king. Amos was not put off, however, we heard that he also had very strong words for Amaziah.
Throughout his prophecies Amos demands justice and integrity in trade. He is scandalised by the biased weighing scales used to sell food to the poor. He is scandalised that the poor are sometimes sold chaff and the sweepings of wheat, rather than real wheat. He warns of a forthcoming “day of the Lord” which will be a terrible day of justice. He talks of Israel being taken into exile. Scholars think that Amos was prophesising round about 750BC, towards the end of Jeroboam II reign. After Jeroboam died (round about 745BC) Israel experienced political instability and great political pressure from the Assyrians. When the Assyrians finally conquered Samaria in 722 they took and many of the citizens of Israel away into exile.
In sharp contrast to Amos we heard in our New Testament lesson of the wonderful destiny promised to us in Christ. Paul goes on an on about this. First of all he tells us that we have been given “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”. Perhaps we don’t quite know what that means, so Paul elaborates; we were “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him. This does not mean that we are already holy and blameless in love, but this is what we are called to. This is what we must seek and must work towards, by practicing as best we can being holy and blameless and by practicing loving the people around us. Of course we know that this is not easy and that we will fail many times, but Paul has an answer for this. He says, “In him [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace, that he lavished on us.” It is not we who make ourselves holy, rather it is the grace that Christ lavishes upon us that makes us holy. Our part is to want it, to pray for it and to do what we can to work towards it. However it is God that actually does it.
St Paul tells us that we are destined for adoption as children of God, through Christ. We are called to be brothers and sisters of Jesus. This is a very high calling. St Paul talks of the inheritance that we will share with Christ. He says that the seal of his spirit that we receive in baptism is the pledge of this inheritance. And what is this inheritance. It is “to live for the praise of the Glory of God.” Elsewhere in the scriptures we might understand this to be to share in the life that Jesus shares with the Father.
So let’s give thanks to God for the great destiny that we have in Christ. Let’s praise God that he considers us as brothers and sisters of Christ, and worthy of sharing the same inheritance as Christ. Let’s do all our part to seek this destiny; to want it, pray for it and work towards it. Let’s not be put off when we fail. Rather, let’s always start again, and in this way we learn to trust and rest in the forgiveness and grace of Christ, which brings this destiny about. Amen.
11 July 2008
Funeral readings
This brief introduction to the readings at a funeral was given at St Alphege Church at the 1.30pm Funeral Eucharist on 11th July 2008.
Readings: Isaiah 43:1-7 2 Corithians 5:1-8 John 14: 1-6
Our readings today show great trust in God; complete confidence that Christ has conquered sin and death. They show a profound faith that death is now the gateway to eternal life.
In our first reading we hear from the so called “Second Isaiah”, one of the greatest prophets and poets of all time. Second Isaiah speaks the word of the Lord to the people of Israel at one of their lowest moments, when they are in exile in Babylon. Through second Isaiah God assures them that he has redeemed them. He will gather them together and restore them. They are precious in his sight. He created them for his glory.
Our second reading comes from 2 Corinthians. St Paul has been talking about our outer nature wasting away, while our inner nature is being renewed in Christ and prepared for glory. He compares our body to a tent (Paul was of course a tent maker) and he says that when we put aside our mortal body we take on an eternal building from God in heaven. Our mortal body might die, but we are swallowed up by life in God.
In our gospel reading, Jesus assures us that he goes to prepare a place for us in heaven where we shall be together with him. To get there Jesus himself is the way that we must follow, the life in which we must share, and the truth in which we must rejoice.
Readings: Isaiah 43:1-7 2 Corithians 5:1-8 John 14: 1-6
Our readings today show great trust in God; complete confidence that Christ has conquered sin and death. They show a profound faith that death is now the gateway to eternal life.
In our first reading we hear from the so called “Second Isaiah”, one of the greatest prophets and poets of all time. Second Isaiah speaks the word of the Lord to the people of Israel at one of their lowest moments, when they are in exile in Babylon. Through second Isaiah God assures them that he has redeemed them. He will gather them together and restore them. They are precious in his sight. He created them for his glory.
Our second reading comes from 2 Corinthians. St Paul has been talking about our outer nature wasting away, while our inner nature is being renewed in Christ and prepared for glory. He compares our body to a tent (Paul was of course a tent maker) and he says that when we put aside our mortal body we take on an eternal building from God in heaven. Our mortal body might die, but we are swallowed up by life in God.
In our gospel reading, Jesus assures us that he goes to prepare a place for us in heaven where we shall be together with him. To get there Jesus himself is the way that we must follow, the life in which we must share, and the truth in which we must rejoice.
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