Thought for the parish pew slip, prepared (in error!) for Sunday 28th December.
Christmas 1, Year B
Readings: Isaiah 61: 10 – 62: 3 Galatians 4: 4-7 Luke 2: 15-21
In our reading from Isaiah, the prophet has a message of consolation and joy for the beleaguered Jews, who are returning to the ruined city of Jerusalem following 70 years of captivity in Babylon. The prophet foresees the rebuilding of Jerusalem. He rejoices and gives thanks because the Lord will cause righteousness and praise to spring up like seeds planted in a garden. Jerusalem will experience salvation and vindication and is destined to be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord.
God’s promise of salvation also features in our gospel reading. The shepherds were told by an angel that the child born in Bethlehem is a saviour who is Christ the Lord. When they tell this to Joseph and Mary, Mary treasures these words and ponders them in her heart. They must have confirmed for her what the angle Gabriel had already told her (Luke 1: 32-33).
Paul, writing to the Galatians, explains more of what salvation in Christ means. It means having the spirit of Jesus in our hearts, calling out to God the Father, and ensuring that we will be co-heirs with Christ of the glory he receives from God. – Fr Gerard
28 December 2008
26 December 2008
New years resolutions
Article written for the Faith Matters column of the Solihull News for publication on 26th December 2008. (I am not sure whether this edition ever came out)
Every year I have the same New Year’s resolutions! I always try to eat and drink a bit less, and to exercise and rest a bit more. In fact, I find I have to have this resolution all the year round! It is so easy to fall off the programme! It reminds me of Mark Twain, who said, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times.” It would be easy to become disheartened, but somehow it is the process of being honest about the consequences when I get it wrong, that builds within me the desire and aptitude to do better. Very slowly, and through all kinds of ups and downs, I do make progress!
Churches are made up of sinners who are learning to be saints. Some people say that it is hypocritical to try to become better than you really are. They suggest it is more honest to behave as the sinner you are. I don’t agree with this. It is not hypocritical for an uneducated person to go to school and slowly to become educated. Neither is it hypocritical for a sinful person to go to church, to practice living the gospel, and to slowly become a saint. In fact I worry that the person who rejoices in just being a sinner is not being completely honest about the pain that sin causes. It is humbly admitting our sinfulness and accepting the pain it causes that somehow allows God to build the saint within us.
So, how about a New Year’s resolution to become a better person? How about a resolution to grow in love for God, and to grow in love for the people around us? Of course, we know before we start that we will fail miserably! But it is by trying, failing, accepting the suffering and trying again that we allow God to work on us, and ultimately God never fails!
Every year I have the same New Year’s resolutions! I always try to eat and drink a bit less, and to exercise and rest a bit more. In fact, I find I have to have this resolution all the year round! It is so easy to fall off the programme! It reminds me of Mark Twain, who said, “Giving up smoking is the easiest thing in the world. I know because I've done it thousands of times.” It would be easy to become disheartened, but somehow it is the process of being honest about the consequences when I get it wrong, that builds within me the desire and aptitude to do better. Very slowly, and through all kinds of ups and downs, I do make progress!
Churches are made up of sinners who are learning to be saints. Some people say that it is hypocritical to try to become better than you really are. They suggest it is more honest to behave as the sinner you are. I don’t agree with this. It is not hypocritical for an uneducated person to go to school and slowly to become educated. Neither is it hypocritical for a sinful person to go to church, to practice living the gospel, and to slowly become a saint. In fact I worry that the person who rejoices in just being a sinner is not being completely honest about the pain that sin causes. It is humbly admitting our sinfulness and accepting the pain it causes that somehow allows God to build the saint within us.
So, how about a New Year’s resolution to become a better person? How about a resolution to grow in love for God, and to grow in love for the people around us? Of course, we know before we start that we will fail miserably! But it is by trying, failing, accepting the suffering and trying again that we allow God to work on us, and ultimately God never fails!
21 December 2008
Living the incarnation
Sermon preached at St Alphege, Solihull at 11am Eucharist, 21st December 2008
Advent 4, Year B
Readings: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11 & 16 Romans 16: 25-27 Luke 1: 26-38
In our gospel reading today we heard the extraordinary story of the annunciation; the moment when the angel Gabriel came to visit Mary and to give her the big news. Gabriel tells Mary that she is to be the mother of Jesus. He tells her that Jesus is to be the Son of God, the inheritor of the throne of his ancestor King David, and the one who will reign forever in a kingdom without end. This is a big deal. It’s a very big deal. It’s the biggest deal of them all. But Mary seems to cope with it extraordinarily well. She asks for clarification about how she is to become pregnant. The angel explains this point and tells her that her relative Elizabeth is also pregnant. Mary’s final comment is, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” And the angel leaves her.
It is an extraordinary encounter, but it is the news that is brought to Mary that is the most extraordinary thing; that God will take on human flesh in Mary; this is the extraordinary thing. It is the great mystery of God in flesh; the incarnation. God grows in flesh in Mary, from a thing so small that nobody knows it is there, to a embryo, to a foetus, to a baby. God takes on a human body and is born into the world. And this has huge consequences and repercussions.
And one of the consequences, it seems to me, is that a way is opened up whereby God can grow in us. Just as God, who is spirit (2 Cor 3: 17), became flesh, so we who are flesh can become spirit; we can grow into the divine, just as God in Jesus grew into the flesh. It is like the incarnation in reverse.
In our baptism we receive the Holy Spirit, and like a tiny invisible seed within us, this has the potential to grow and develop, so that something spiritual and Christ-like can grow in us and can come to maturity. [The way is opened up for us human beings to participate in the divine life of God (c.f. 2 Peter 1:4), to become children of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing in his sufferings and his glory (Rom 8: 17). We have the opportunity to become children of God, destined to be like Jesus (1 John 3:2).
You might not be aware of it, but this same idea is expressed each time we celebrate the Eucharist, or certainly it is in churches with a more catholic tradition. At the Eucharist, when preparing the chalice of wine, the priest mixes in with the wine a few drops of water and says a quiet prayer, “By this mystery of this water and this wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” The mixture of water with wine is a powerful symbol. It reminds us of flesh and spirit or human and divine. In John’s gospel, Jesus’ first miracle is to turn water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (John 2: 1-11). This miracle reminds us of the power of Jesus to turn humans into a sharing in the divine life of God. There are hints of the same idea when Jesus is pieced on the cross and water and blood flow out (John 19: 34)]
It is very desirable that the seed of spiritual presence of Christ within us grows and develops because this life of Christ in us is eternal life, the life which survives our earthly death. And what do we need to do to make the spiritual presence of Christ within us grow? Well in one way we do not need to do very much. A pregnant woman does not need to do too much to make her baby grow. She needs to keep herself healthy and well nourished and then the baby grows by itself. Similarly we need to keep ourselves spiritually healthy and spiritually nourished, and then the presence of Christ will grow in us, without us needing to worry about it.
And when it comes to keeping ourselves spiritually healthy and well nourished, the most obvious things to do are to come often to the Eucharist, and to set aside time to meditate on the scriptures and to pray. But today I would like to highlight another way of nourishing our spiritual lives and this is the way that we see in Mary in our gospel reading today. When Mary says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” she is accepting and cooperating with God’s plans for her. This is the crucial for us too, for our own spiritual health and nourishment. Accepting and co-operating with God’s plans for us, God’s vision for us, what God has created us for is so important. Only through this obedience can God’s creation in us come to fulfilment. And accepting God’s plans for us requires many things from us. It requires us to listen humbly in front of God in prayer, to understand the things he wants us to understand. It means being ready to lose our own ideas of what we might be or do. Often it can mean letting go of fantasies; the fantasy that all will be well when we are rich or famous, or a celebrity, or popular. Above all it means following God’s will for our lives. Following God’s will truly sustains and nourishes us. This was true even for Jesus. He said “My food is to do this will of him who sent me…” (John 4: 13). Following God’s will sustains us in each present moment of our lives, as we go about our daily business. If we listen to the still small voice of God in our heart, the voice of love, then this prompts us throughout the day. It shows us how to grow in love for God and for other people. God’s whisper in our heart might encourage us to stop and speak to a particular person, to set aside time for prayer, to visit a lonely neighbour, to complete some task, to come to Mass or whatever. And if we practice following the promptings of God all the time on the little things in life then we can be sure that we will know what to do when the big decisions come.
So let’s try always to listen for and to follow the promptings of God in our hearts showing us how to love. In this way let’s walk, in each present moment of our lives, in God’s will for us, in God’s plan for us. Then, by the grace of God’s incarnation we will find ourselves taking part in the spiritual equivalent of what Mary did. Jesus will grow spiritually within us, with wonderful consequences in this world, and eternal life in the next.
Advent 4, Year B
Readings: 2 Samuel 7: 1-11 & 16 Romans 16: 25-27 Luke 1: 26-38
In our gospel reading today we heard the extraordinary story of the annunciation; the moment when the angel Gabriel came to visit Mary and to give her the big news. Gabriel tells Mary that she is to be the mother of Jesus. He tells her that Jesus is to be the Son of God, the inheritor of the throne of his ancestor King David, and the one who will reign forever in a kingdom without end. This is a big deal. It’s a very big deal. It’s the biggest deal of them all. But Mary seems to cope with it extraordinarily well. She asks for clarification about how she is to become pregnant. The angel explains this point and tells her that her relative Elizabeth is also pregnant. Mary’s final comment is, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” And the angel leaves her.
It is an extraordinary encounter, but it is the news that is brought to Mary that is the most extraordinary thing; that God will take on human flesh in Mary; this is the extraordinary thing. It is the great mystery of God in flesh; the incarnation. God grows in flesh in Mary, from a thing so small that nobody knows it is there, to a embryo, to a foetus, to a baby. God takes on a human body and is born into the world. And this has huge consequences and repercussions.
And one of the consequences, it seems to me, is that a way is opened up whereby God can grow in us. Just as God, who is spirit (2 Cor 3: 17), became flesh, so we who are flesh can become spirit; we can grow into the divine, just as God in Jesus grew into the flesh. It is like the incarnation in reverse.
In our baptism we receive the Holy Spirit, and like a tiny invisible seed within us, this has the potential to grow and develop, so that something spiritual and Christ-like can grow in us and can come to maturity. [The way is opened up for us human beings to participate in the divine life of God (c.f. 2 Peter 1:4), to become children of God and co-heirs with Christ, sharing in his sufferings and his glory (Rom 8: 17). We have the opportunity to become children of God, destined to be like Jesus (1 John 3:2).
You might not be aware of it, but this same idea is expressed each time we celebrate the Eucharist, or certainly it is in churches with a more catholic tradition. At the Eucharist, when preparing the chalice of wine, the priest mixes in with the wine a few drops of water and says a quiet prayer, “By this mystery of this water and this wine, may we come to share in the divinity of Christ, who humbled himself to share in our humanity.” The mixture of water with wine is a powerful symbol. It reminds us of flesh and spirit or human and divine. In John’s gospel, Jesus’ first miracle is to turn water into wine at the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (John 2: 1-11). This miracle reminds us of the power of Jesus to turn humans into a sharing in the divine life of God. There are hints of the same idea when Jesus is pieced on the cross and water and blood flow out (John 19: 34)]
It is very desirable that the seed of spiritual presence of Christ within us grows and develops because this life of Christ in us is eternal life, the life which survives our earthly death. And what do we need to do to make the spiritual presence of Christ within us grow? Well in one way we do not need to do very much. A pregnant woman does not need to do too much to make her baby grow. She needs to keep herself healthy and well nourished and then the baby grows by itself. Similarly we need to keep ourselves spiritually healthy and spiritually nourished, and then the presence of Christ will grow in us, without us needing to worry about it.
And when it comes to keeping ourselves spiritually healthy and well nourished, the most obvious things to do are to come often to the Eucharist, and to set aside time to meditate on the scriptures and to pray. But today I would like to highlight another way of nourishing our spiritual lives and this is the way that we see in Mary in our gospel reading today. When Mary says, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” she is accepting and cooperating with God’s plans for her. This is the crucial for us too, for our own spiritual health and nourishment. Accepting and co-operating with God’s plans for us, God’s vision for us, what God has created us for is so important. Only through this obedience can God’s creation in us come to fulfilment. And accepting God’s plans for us requires many things from us. It requires us to listen humbly in front of God in prayer, to understand the things he wants us to understand. It means being ready to lose our own ideas of what we might be or do. Often it can mean letting go of fantasies; the fantasy that all will be well when we are rich or famous, or a celebrity, or popular. Above all it means following God’s will for our lives. Following God’s will truly sustains and nourishes us. This was true even for Jesus. He said “My food is to do this will of him who sent me…” (John 4: 13). Following God’s will sustains us in each present moment of our lives, as we go about our daily business. If we listen to the still small voice of God in our heart, the voice of love, then this prompts us throughout the day. It shows us how to grow in love for God and for other people. God’s whisper in our heart might encourage us to stop and speak to a particular person, to set aside time for prayer, to visit a lonely neighbour, to complete some task, to come to Mass or whatever. And if we practice following the promptings of God all the time on the little things in life then we can be sure that we will know what to do when the big decisions come.
So let’s try always to listen for and to follow the promptings of God in our hearts showing us how to love. In this way let’s walk, in each present moment of our lives, in God’s will for us, in God’s plan for us. Then, by the grace of God’s incarnation we will find ourselves taking part in the spiritual equivalent of what Mary did. Jesus will grow spiritually within us, with wonderful consequences in this world, and eternal life in the next.
07 December 2008
Christingle Service
Christingle 2008
A service for people who learn by doing - by assembling a Christingle!
Italics indicate a slide is displayed on the screens.
Title slide (toggle with safety notice)
Gathering hymn - 97 - Colours of Day – Display words
The greeting slide
- In the name of the father…
- The Lord be with you…
We light the Easter Candle. Brief explanation - light of world comes at Christmas
We say the response – Display response
Jesus, we thank you that you are the Light of the World.
We thank you that you came into the world at Christmas time. Amen
Introduce first reading - God gave us all the friuts of the earth, and a wonderful creation.
First reading: Genesis 1: 28-31 – Display slide
God blessed the man and the woman, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
- This is the word of the Lord / Thanks be to God
Display picture of fruits
We reflect briefly on God’s love for us in making the world and in giving us our food.
We put the fruit and sweets on the cocktail sticks (but don’t yet put them on the orange).
Hymn 401 - Longing for light, we wait in darkness (Christ be our light) – Display words
Introuduce second reading - by going against God we spoilt the good things he gave us, but God still loves us, and sent Jesus to save us, at great cost.
Second reading: 1 John 4: 9-11 – display slide
God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
- This is the word of the Lord / Thanks be to God
Display picture of crosses
We reflect briefly on God’s love for the world, and on Christ’s blood shed for the world.
We notice the red ribbon on our orange. We put the four cocktails sticks in the orange. With percisings for the four sticks and the hole for the candle we are reminded of the wounds of Christ. Same wounds are marked on the Easter candle.
Hymn – 175 – From heaven you came helpless babe (The servant king) – Display words
Introduce Third Reading - God's light came into the world when Jesus was born. John the Baptist foretold this.
Third reading: John 1: 3-9 – Display slide
All things came into being through Christ, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
- This is the word of the Lord / Thanks be to God
Display bright yellow light picture
We reflect briefly on Christ the light of the world
We fix our candle into our Christingle.
Hymn 393 – Like a candle flame (The candle song) – Display words
Prayers of intercession – Display Lord in thy mercy/Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Children’s Society. We thank you all their work looking after children with difficulties. We thank you that they stand up for childhood. We thank you that the Children’s Society introduced Christingle services 40 years ago. Lord, please bless the Children’s Society and help it in its work.
Lord in your mercy/Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you sent your son Jesus into the world at Christmas time. We thank you for the wonderful good news that Jesus brings. We thank you for all the help and advice that Jesus gives us. We thank you that Jesus was ready to suffer and die for us, to help us be friends with you. Lord, help us to live as Jesus taught us, so that we can be filled with your love.
Lord in your mercy/Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, at this Christmas time we give you thanks for our families and our homes, for our presents and for all the joys of Christmas. We pray Lord for people who have difficulties at Christmas time; people who are sick or homeless or lonely or in any kind of trouble. Help us to love the people we know in difficulty, and grant that all people may know your love this Christmas time.
Lord in your mercy/Hear our prayer
Finish intercessions with Lord’s Prayer. Display Lord’s Prayer
Final Hymn- 416 - Lord, the light of your love (Shine, Jesus, shine) – Display words
During the song we light the Christingles from the Easter Candle.
Blessing and dismissal Display Slide
Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you,scatter the darkness from before your path,and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;and the blessing of God Almighty,
extinguish candles
Recessional music by the band. Display advert for Christmas services
A service for people who learn by doing - by assembling a Christingle!
Italics indicate a slide is displayed on the screens.
Title slide (toggle with safety notice)
Gathering hymn - 97 - Colours of Day – Display words
The greeting slide
- In the name of the father…
- The Lord be with you…
We light the Easter Candle. Brief explanation - light of world comes at Christmas
We say the response – Display response
Jesus, we thank you that you are the Light of the World.
We thank you that you came into the world at Christmas time. Amen
Introduce first reading - God gave us all the friuts of the earth, and a wonderful creation.
First reading: Genesis 1: 28-31 – Display slide
God blessed the man and the woman, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.’ God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.’ And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
- This is the word of the Lord / Thanks be to God
Display picture of fruits
We reflect briefly on God’s love for us in making the world and in giving us our food.
We put the fruit and sweets on the cocktail sticks (but don’t yet put them on the orange).
Hymn 401 - Longing for light, we wait in darkness (Christ be our light) – Display words
Introuduce second reading - by going against God we spoilt the good things he gave us, but God still loves us, and sent Jesus to save us, at great cost.
Second reading: 1 John 4: 9-11 – display slide
God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another.
- This is the word of the Lord / Thanks be to God
Display picture of crosses
We reflect briefly on God’s love for the world, and on Christ’s blood shed for the world.
We notice the red ribbon on our orange. We put the four cocktails sticks in the orange. With percisings for the four sticks and the hole for the candle we are reminded of the wounds of Christ. Same wounds are marked on the Easter candle.
Hymn – 175 – From heaven you came helpless babe (The servant king) – Display words
Introduce Third Reading - God's light came into the world when Jesus was born. John the Baptist foretold this.
Third reading: John 1: 3-9 – Display slide
All things came into being through Christ, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
- This is the word of the Lord / Thanks be to God
Display bright yellow light picture
We reflect briefly on Christ the light of the world
We fix our candle into our Christingle.
Hymn 393 – Like a candle flame (The candle song) – Display words
Prayers of intercession – Display Lord in thy mercy/Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the Children’s Society. We thank you all their work looking after children with difficulties. We thank you that they stand up for childhood. We thank you that the Children’s Society introduced Christingle services 40 years ago. Lord, please bless the Children’s Society and help it in its work.
Lord in your mercy/Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you that you sent your son Jesus into the world at Christmas time. We thank you for the wonderful good news that Jesus brings. We thank you for all the help and advice that Jesus gives us. We thank you that Jesus was ready to suffer and die for us, to help us be friends with you. Lord, help us to live as Jesus taught us, so that we can be filled with your love.
Lord in your mercy/Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father, at this Christmas time we give you thanks for our families and our homes, for our presents and for all the joys of Christmas. We pray Lord for people who have difficulties at Christmas time; people who are sick or homeless or lonely or in any kind of trouble. Help us to love the people we know in difficulty, and grant that all people may know your love this Christmas time.
Lord in your mercy/Hear our prayer
Finish intercessions with Lord’s Prayer. Display Lord’s Prayer
Final Hymn- 416 - Lord, the light of your love (Shine, Jesus, shine) – Display words
During the song we light the Christingles from the Easter Candle.
Blessing and dismissal Display Slide
Christ the Sun of Righteousness shine upon you,scatter the darkness from before your path,and make you ready to meet him when he comes in glory;and the blessing of God Almighty,
extinguish candles
Recessional music by the band. Display advert for Christmas services
Good News
Short sermon preached at 8am Eucharist at St Alphege, Solihull on Sunday 7th December 2008 Advent 2, Year B.
Readings: Isaiah 40: 1-11 2 Peter 3: 8-15a Mark 1: 1-8
Our gospel reading today is the very start of Mark’s gospel. Mark introduces his gospel as, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” I am always very struck by this bold and clear start to the gospel of Mark. There is a clear affirmation the Jesus is the Son of God and there is a clear affirmation that the gospel is good news, good news.
I think it is very important to train ourselves to have the correct perspective and to understand with joy that the gospel is good news. I remember when I was a student someone said to me, “How can you call the gospel good news? It stops you from smoking and drinking and gambling and womanising. It makes you feel guilty and gives you all kinds of scruples about looking after yourself. It puts you at a big disadvantage in this competitive world.” Well this perspective is very understandable in a post-Christian society, but it is profoundly wrong. It is like the perspective of a playboy who fritters away a huge inheritance and then curses his bankers and benefactors when he finally runs out of money. The good news for this playboy is that he is free to become a responsible adult, to start earning money and to stop spending it. It is good news but with his rather warped perspective the playboy experiences it as bad news.
Sometimes people can think that the gospel is bad news because it recognises and takes account of things that we might like to forget about. As we read today from Isaiah “Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.” We might like to forget that one day we shall die, that all human accomplishments crumble with time and pass away. We might like to forget these things, but they are profoundly true and the gospel accepts them and takes proper account of them. The gospel is completely realistic and honest about what it is to be a human being.
Above all the gospel is good news. As Isaiah said, “the word of our God will stand forever.” Through the gospel we have an extraordinary opportunity to build a life that is eternal (Mark 10:30); a life more wonderful than we can imagine, and yet more natural and befitting to our true selves that we could ever have dared to hope. All we have to do is to follow the commands of the gospel. The gospel calls us always to grow in love for God and for our neighbour. It calls us to be honest about our sin, and to trust in the forgiveness that Christ won for us. It calls to trust that even our frailties and weaknesses are part of God’s love for us, through which his power is revealed (2 Cor 12: 9, Heb 11:34). Above all it calls us to be good disciples of Jesus, following, moment by moment, on the journey that he sets before us, that leads to our perfect fulfilment.
So this Advent, let’s listen to John the Baptist’s call to repentance. Let’s be humble enough to get our perspective right and to see that the gospel really is good news, extraordinary good news. Above all let’s do all our part to live out the gospel commandments so as to bring about the great things promised to us.
Readings: Isaiah 40: 1-11 2 Peter 3: 8-15a Mark 1: 1-8
Our gospel reading today is the very start of Mark’s gospel. Mark introduces his gospel as, “The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.” I am always very struck by this bold and clear start to the gospel of Mark. There is a clear affirmation the Jesus is the Son of God and there is a clear affirmation that the gospel is good news, good news.
I think it is very important to train ourselves to have the correct perspective and to understand with joy that the gospel is good news. I remember when I was a student someone said to me, “How can you call the gospel good news? It stops you from smoking and drinking and gambling and womanising. It makes you feel guilty and gives you all kinds of scruples about looking after yourself. It puts you at a big disadvantage in this competitive world.” Well this perspective is very understandable in a post-Christian society, but it is profoundly wrong. It is like the perspective of a playboy who fritters away a huge inheritance and then curses his bankers and benefactors when he finally runs out of money. The good news for this playboy is that he is free to become a responsible adult, to start earning money and to stop spending it. It is good news but with his rather warped perspective the playboy experiences it as bad news.
Sometimes people can think that the gospel is bad news because it recognises and takes account of things that we might like to forget about. As we read today from Isaiah “Surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God will stand forever.” We might like to forget that one day we shall die, that all human accomplishments crumble with time and pass away. We might like to forget these things, but they are profoundly true and the gospel accepts them and takes proper account of them. The gospel is completely realistic and honest about what it is to be a human being.
Above all the gospel is good news. As Isaiah said, “the word of our God will stand forever.” Through the gospel we have an extraordinary opportunity to build a life that is eternal (Mark 10:30); a life more wonderful than we can imagine, and yet more natural and befitting to our true selves that we could ever have dared to hope. All we have to do is to follow the commands of the gospel. The gospel calls us always to grow in love for God and for our neighbour. It calls us to be honest about our sin, and to trust in the forgiveness that Christ won for us. It calls to trust that even our frailties and weaknesses are part of God’s love for us, through which his power is revealed (2 Cor 12: 9, Heb 11:34). Above all it calls us to be good disciples of Jesus, following, moment by moment, on the journey that he sets before us, that leads to our perfect fulfilment.
So this Advent, let’s listen to John the Baptist’s call to repentance. Let’s be humble enough to get our perspective right and to see that the gospel really is good news, extraordinary good news. Above all let’s do all our part to live out the gospel commandments so as to bring about the great things promised to us.
01 December 2008
Deakness and light
Editorial for the December Parish Magazine
In terms of weather it was a disappointing summer. It already feels to me as though we have had a long, dark winter, and we haven’t really started yet! I find that I am looking forward to that magical moment in December when the days start to get longer again.
According to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, this year’s winter solstice occurs at 12:04 on 21st December. This is the moment when the tilt of the earth’s axis of rotation is exactly in line with the sun. Each year the winter solstice occurs about six hours later than the year before, and then every fourth year we put 24 extra hours into our calendar (on 29th February), so the time of the solstice jumps back about 18 hours. This ensures that the winter solstice always ocurs on 21st or 22nd December.
On 21st December sunrise in the Midlands will be 08:18 and sunset will be 15:53. This gives us 7 hours, 35 minutes of daytime. London will get 10 minutes more daytime that day, because it is nearer to the equator, but Glasgow will get 43 minutes less.
There is a saying that, “The darkest hour is the one before sunrise”. For Christians in the northern hemisphere it feels more like, “The darkest day is the one before the great light.” Just four days after the winter solstice we celebrate the birth of Jesus; the coming into the world of the true light, that enlightens everyone (c.f. John 1: 9); the light of the world (John 8: 12).
We can understand what it means to say Jesus is the light of the world if we think what it is like to exist in the dark. In the dark it is hard to move around the house. It is hard to find things. It is hard to do the simplest thing. We are clumsy and prone to accidents, and we find it easy to get lost or confused. But then when the light comes, suddenly everything gets easier. It is much easier to achieve things, to make progress and it is much safer too. Jesus has exactly this effect on our spiritual lives. Without Jesus the spiritual life is very hard. We can’t see where we are going or how to get there. Helping each other is difficult, and it is easy to make damaging mistakes. But the teaching and example of Jesus is our light and shows us what to do. We need to grow in love for God and love for one another. We need to follow God’s will for our lives, trusting that God’s path for us will bring us fulfilment, even if there are great difficulties on the way.
But then there is an even bigger problem with trying to exist in darkness. Light is essential for plants to grow. With no light we have no plants and no food to sustain our lives. Just as light gives life to plants, so Jesus gives us eternal life (e.g. John 5: 21, 24, 26). Jesus is light in the sense that he gives us life.
So in the dark month of December we have a wonderful consolation in the great light that is given to us at Christmas. Let’s use Advent to prepare well, so we are ready to welcome the great light when he comes.
In terms of weather it was a disappointing summer. It already feels to me as though we have had a long, dark winter, and we haven’t really started yet! I find that I am looking forward to that magical moment in December when the days start to get longer again.
According to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, this year’s winter solstice occurs at 12:04 on 21st December. This is the moment when the tilt of the earth’s axis of rotation is exactly in line with the sun. Each year the winter solstice occurs about six hours later than the year before, and then every fourth year we put 24 extra hours into our calendar (on 29th February), so the time of the solstice jumps back about 18 hours. This ensures that the winter solstice always ocurs on 21st or 22nd December.
On 21st December sunrise in the Midlands will be 08:18 and sunset will be 15:53. This gives us 7 hours, 35 minutes of daytime. London will get 10 minutes more daytime that day, because it is nearer to the equator, but Glasgow will get 43 minutes less.
There is a saying that, “The darkest hour is the one before sunrise”. For Christians in the northern hemisphere it feels more like, “The darkest day is the one before the great light.” Just four days after the winter solstice we celebrate the birth of Jesus; the coming into the world of the true light, that enlightens everyone (c.f. John 1: 9); the light of the world (John 8: 12).
We can understand what it means to say Jesus is the light of the world if we think what it is like to exist in the dark. In the dark it is hard to move around the house. It is hard to find things. It is hard to do the simplest thing. We are clumsy and prone to accidents, and we find it easy to get lost or confused. But then when the light comes, suddenly everything gets easier. It is much easier to achieve things, to make progress and it is much safer too. Jesus has exactly this effect on our spiritual lives. Without Jesus the spiritual life is very hard. We can’t see where we are going or how to get there. Helping each other is difficult, and it is easy to make damaging mistakes. But the teaching and example of Jesus is our light and shows us what to do. We need to grow in love for God and love for one another. We need to follow God’s will for our lives, trusting that God’s path for us will bring us fulfilment, even if there are great difficulties on the way.
But then there is an even bigger problem with trying to exist in darkness. Light is essential for plants to grow. With no light we have no plants and no food to sustain our lives. Just as light gives life to plants, so Jesus gives us eternal life (e.g. John 5: 21, 24, 26). Jesus is light in the sense that he gives us life.
So in the dark month of December we have a wonderful consolation in the great light that is given to us at Christmas. Let’s use Advent to prepare well, so we are ready to welcome the great light when he comes.
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