Sermon preached at Midnight Mass, 11.30pm, 24th December 2010 at St Mary’s Lapworth. Shorter versions of this sermon were also preached on 25th December at the 8.30am Said Eucharist at St Mary’s and at the 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP) at St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton.
Readings (set III): Is 52: 7-10 John 1: 1-14
My uncle, who is not a great church goer, used to complain, “Every time I go to church, we always have the same scripture reading. There is the whole bible to choose from, but they always choose the same bit to read in the service…you know, that bit “In the beginning was the word…”. Well of course, when we worked it out, we realised that the reason he only ever got one scripture reading was that he only ever went to one service, which was Midnight mass, and at Midnight mass we do very often have that famous reading from John.
And although it is a very famous reading and is very well known, it is not an easy reading to understand. It talks about Jesus in many different ways. It talks of Jesus as “Word of God”, as the source of creation and life, and as light. It also talks of Jesus as flesh, and as Son of God. Well you will be relieved to know that I am not going to analyse all those different descriptions of Jesus today. Rather I would like to just reflect with you about Jesus as light.
Now we all know how important light is, and how difficult things can be when there is no light. When she was very young, one of our children used to be afraid of the dark. We would put her to bed at night with her bedroom door ajar, and with the landing light on, and that would be fine. But one night, our first night back after two weeks away on holiday, there was a power cut in the middle of the night. Somehow Imogen managed to notice that it was completely dark and she started screaming because she was afraid of the dark. Elaine and I woke up and tried to sort things out. I found myself completely confused. I was half awake and half asleep. I was confused about whether I was in the holiday house in France, or in our own home. I couldn’t remember where there were any candles or torches. So Elaine went to find a candle, and I went in to comfort Imogen. Anyway I made no progress in comforting Imogen, because it was dark and she was scared of the dark, so she kept on screaming and I remained in my utterly confused state, not even sure about what house I was in. Anyway eventually Elaine arrived with a candle and there was light; not a lot of light but light enough and it made all the difference. Suddenly Imogen stopped screaming, suddenly I was properly awake, and knew what house I was in and everything was fine. What a difference a little light makes!
And Jesus, the light of the world, also makes a huge difference. Without Jesus it is very unclear why we exist on this earth, how we should live, how we should respond to the people around us, how we should pray or what we should think about God, or life or death or good or evil. Jesus, by his teaching and by his example, throws extraordinary light on all these questions. He reveals God to be a father who loves us, and who has created us for an eternal good. He reveals God as present in the people around us, who we need to love and serve if God’s creation in us is to realise its potential; if the full meaning of our lives is to be revealed. And this light that Jesus throws on our lives is very closely related to Jesus as “word of God”, as God’s explanation, God’s teaching, God’s encouraging. It is like God is trying to communicate to us how we should live as human beings. How best to do that? Perhaps by words of explanation, by pictures, by diagram, The best explanation is by example, and this is Jesus the light of the world.
But Jesus is also light in the sense that light sustains life. Plants grow in the light, so without light there would be no plants and so no food for animals and so no animals. Light is fundamental to life and is associated with joy and contentment, whereas darkness is associated with death and frustration and misery. So Jesus, who is God the source of life, is also light in this sense, that life and all good things ultimately come from him.
And in the NT we think of the kingdom of heaven as a kingdom of light, and we contrast it with Satan’s kingdom of darkness. The light overcomes the darkness, and evil always tries to hide from the light, because the light exposes evil for what it is.
So my hope this Christmas is that we will all receive the light of Christ in our hearts; that we will make room for it, nurture it and allow it to grow. I hope that, by the light of Jesus, by his teaching and example, we may understand his love for us, and understand the love by which we need to relate to the people around us. I hope that the light of Christ we reveal to us our true identities, the people God created us to be. I hope that by this light of Christ shining in us, we in turn might provide light for the people around us, and help them to realise their true selves as well. Amen.
24 December 2010
12 December 2010
John the Baptist - the forerunner foreseen
Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 12th December 2010. A shorter version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist.
Advent III – Year A
Readings: Is 35: 1-10 Matthew 11: 2-11
On the third Sunday of Advent we traditionally think about John the Baptist in his role as the forerunner of the Messiah, preparing the way of the Lord. Now this role of the forerunner, the person to announce the coming Messiah, and to help people to prepare to greet him was a role that had been mapped out in prophecy long before either John the Baptist or Jesus were born. All four of the gospel writers make this point, but Matthew seems particularly keen to emphasis it and he makes several references to the different Old Testament scriptures that foresee John the Baptist.
So for example in the gospel reading that the lectionary scheduled for last week (which we did not actually use it because of the Christingle) Matthew quotes Isaiah 40:3ff “A voice cries out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…say to the cities of Judah, here is your God.”
In the gospel reading we heard today Matthew records Jesus quoting from Malachi 3: 1ff where it says, “see I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple”
And if we had read a little further with our gospel reading today we would have heard Jesus make a subtle reference to Malachi 4: 5 which says, “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” and Jesus affirms that this means John the Baptist.
Now when you go back and read these prophecies in their original OT context, the thing that is very noticeable is the power and glory that the prophets expect to see associated with the Messiah at his coming. Malachi describes his coming as a “great and terrible day” 4: 5). He asks, “But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap…” (Mal 3: 2). The Isaiah prophecy says, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together,” and it talks of people withering away like grass when the Lord blows upon it. (Is 40: 5ff)
And this theme of a glorious and terrible coming is also present in the Isaiah passage that we heard this morning, “Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” (Is 35: 4). And this seems to be very consistent with the message of John the Baptist in that gospel reading (which we did not have) last week. John asked the Pharisees and Sadducees, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath come?...even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees.” (Matt 3: 7-10)
Now these prophecies of the Lord coming in glory with vengeance and fire seem to contrast rather with the story of the birth of Jesus, which seems to emphasis the meekness of being excluded from the inn, the poverty of the stable, the joy, peace and goodwill of the angels’ message. So how do we make sense of this difference? Why are the prophecies about the coming of Jesus so different from his actually coming?
Well, for a first century Jew, this difference was pretty clear evidence that Jesus was not the Messiah. The Messiah was meant to establish a kingdom of justice and peace with Israel at its centre. Jesus did not do this, so he can’t be the Messiah.
Now a first century Christian would have probably responded, “Well the first coming of Jesus was all about teaching us to how to live in the kingdom of God; what are its values and its cultural norms, its laws. But the tangible and visible implementation of the kingdom, that is a matter for the second coming of Christ. That’s why we must prepare for the second coming of Christ. That’s why Advent is so important.
Well, it has been a bit of a theme for me this Advent to ask how we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, how we prepare ourselves for life in God’s kingdom, the everlasting kingdom. And I keep coming back to two important forms of preparation. First there is the internal and invisible preparation that we make building relationship with the coming Jesus through our prayer and worship. Through prayer and worship we seek to know Jesus better, understand better his values and priorities and the specific things that he wants from us in our lives.
Then second there is the outward and visible preparation which is about how we live our lives in society, how we deal with the people around us. And here we prepare ourselves for the kingdom of God by seeking to live out its values here on earth. And so we try to see Jesus present in the people that we meet. We try to help them and serve them. We try to live according to the specific commandments of Jesus – “love one another, as I have loved you.” Now we can only do that in partial way because here on earth we are subject to sin, the sin in ourselves and the sin in the society we live in, but we can humbly hold that sin before God and use the freedom that we do have to live out the values of the kingdom of God, to live for the others, to be generous and merciful. And when we manage to live in this way Jesus’ presence within us is strengthened and grows. And through this training we become better able to live in God’s kingdom, to abide by its laws, live according to its norms and values and to express its culture. And through this, as well, sin is pushed back and obedience to God grows. Little by little we make our own small contribution to the building the kingdom of God on earth. Amen.
Advent III – Year A
Readings: Is 35: 1-10 Matthew 11: 2-11
On the third Sunday of Advent we traditionally think about John the Baptist in his role as the forerunner of the Messiah, preparing the way of the Lord. Now this role of the forerunner, the person to announce the coming Messiah, and to help people to prepare to greet him was a role that had been mapped out in prophecy long before either John the Baptist or Jesus were born. All four of the gospel writers make this point, but Matthew seems particularly keen to emphasis it and he makes several references to the different Old Testament scriptures that foresee John the Baptist.
So for example in the gospel reading that the lectionary scheduled for last week (which we did not actually use it because of the Christingle) Matthew quotes Isaiah 40:3ff “A voice cries out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…say to the cities of Judah, here is your God.”
In the gospel reading we heard today Matthew records Jesus quoting from Malachi 3: 1ff where it says, “see I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple”
And if we had read a little further with our gospel reading today we would have heard Jesus make a subtle reference to Malachi 4: 5 which says, “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” and Jesus affirms that this means John the Baptist.
Now when you go back and read these prophecies in their original OT context, the thing that is very noticeable is the power and glory that the prophets expect to see associated with the Messiah at his coming. Malachi describes his coming as a “great and terrible day” 4: 5). He asks, “But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap…” (Mal 3: 2). The Isaiah prophecy says, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together,” and it talks of people withering away like grass when the Lord blows upon it. (Is 40: 5ff)
And this theme of a glorious and terrible coming is also present in the Isaiah passage that we heard this morning, “Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” (Is 35: 4). And this seems to be very consistent with the message of John the Baptist in that gospel reading (which we did not have) last week. John asked the Pharisees and Sadducees, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath come?...even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees.” (Matt 3: 7-10)
Now these prophecies of the Lord coming in glory with vengeance and fire seem to contrast rather with the story of the birth of Jesus, which seems to emphasis the meekness of being excluded from the inn, the poverty of the stable, the joy, peace and goodwill of the angels’ message. So how do we make sense of this difference? Why are the prophecies about the coming of Jesus so different from his actually coming?
Well, for a first century Jew, this difference was pretty clear evidence that Jesus was not the Messiah. The Messiah was meant to establish a kingdom of justice and peace with Israel at its centre. Jesus did not do this, so he can’t be the Messiah.
Now a first century Christian would have probably responded, “Well the first coming of Jesus was all about teaching us to how to live in the kingdom of God; what are its values and its cultural norms, its laws. But the tangible and visible implementation of the kingdom, that is a matter for the second coming of Christ. That’s why we must prepare for the second coming of Christ. That’s why Advent is so important.
Well, it has been a bit of a theme for me this Advent to ask how we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, how we prepare ourselves for life in God’s kingdom, the everlasting kingdom. And I keep coming back to two important forms of preparation. First there is the internal and invisible preparation that we make building relationship with the coming Jesus through our prayer and worship. Through prayer and worship we seek to know Jesus better, understand better his values and priorities and the specific things that he wants from us in our lives.
Then second there is the outward and visible preparation which is about how we live our lives in society, how we deal with the people around us. And here we prepare ourselves for the kingdom of God by seeking to live out its values here on earth. And so we try to see Jesus present in the people that we meet. We try to help them and serve them. We try to live according to the specific commandments of Jesus – “love one another, as I have loved you.” Now we can only do that in partial way because here on earth we are subject to sin, the sin in ourselves and the sin in the society we live in, but we can humbly hold that sin before God and use the freedom that we do have to live out the values of the kingdom of God, to live for the others, to be generous and merciful. And when we manage to live in this way Jesus’ presence within us is strengthened and grows. And through this training we become better able to live in God’s kingdom, to abide by its laws, live according to its norms and values and to express its culture. And through this, as well, sin is pushed back and obedience to God grows. Little by little we make our own small contribution to the building the kingdom of God on earth. Amen.
05 December 2010
Isaiah and the coming Messiah
Sermon preached at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton at 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP) on Sunday 5th December 2010. A shorter version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist at St Mary’s, Lapworth.
Advent 2 – Year A
Readings: Isaiah 11: 1-10 Matt 3: 1-12
There is a tradition that on the second Sunday of Advent we reflect especially on the prophets, who foresaw the coming of Jesus, many centuries before he was actually born. Now there were many prophets spoke of the coming of a great Messiah. Messiah means anointed one. Now the kings of Israel were not so much crowned as anointed with oil, so Israel certainly expected the Messiah, the anointed to be a great king, like King David or King Solomon from Israel’s glory days, which were about 1000 BC.
As I said, many prophets spoke of the coming of the great Messiah, but it is probably the book of Isaiah that is the richest source of these prophecies, and it is no surprise then that we often read a great deal of Isaiah in Advent, as we look forward expectantly to the coming of the Lord.
Now Isaiah the prophet was writing in the eighth century BC, but the book of Isaiah contains a lot of later material from the sixth century BC presumably included by followers of the Isaiah tradition. The Messiahanic prophecies run through the whole book. The passage that we heard today if probably from the earlier period (although different scholars have different views). It is one of the classic prophecies of about the Messiah and it is very helpful text to reflect on in Advent. Let’s have a look at what the passage tells us to expect in Jesus.
“A shoot shall spring from the stock of Jesse”. Well Jesse was the Father of King David, so we are told to expect a Messiah who is a descendent of King David. This also fits well with God’s promises to David in 2 Samuel 7 and repeated in the Psalms (e.g. Psalm 89).
“The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him” We are told that the messiah will have the Spirit of God, he will somehow be particularly close to God and walk in relationship with God.
We are told the messiah will have the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel and might. The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. In the Christian tradition these “seven” qualities have become known as the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (There are also the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5) I don’t know if you were counting, but I only listed six gifts of the Holy Spirit. Well apparently the Vulgate Latin bible had two expressions for “fear of the Lord”, one of which was usually translated at piety, so that makes seven.
Then the text gives us several qualities of the messiah, which we might associate more with the second coming of Christ than with his first coming. It tells us he will be a judge, and will judge with integrity. He will judge by righteousness, rather than by outward appearances. His judgement will bring justice for the meek and the poor. It will being death and downfall for the wicked.
And then we hear a description of the kingdom where the Messiah reigns. It will be a kingdom of justice and peace. The wolf will lie down with the lamb, the lion will eat straw like an ox. It is like a return to the perfection of the garden of Eden, before sin entered the world and where where everything seems to have been vegetarian. Humanity it seems lives not only in perfect harmony with God, but also in perfect harmony with nature and the environment. “The infant will play over the hole of the adder, and the baby put his hand in the vipers nest, but hurt or harm will be done on the Holy mountain of the Lord”. It seems that even the snake, who caused all that trouble in the garden of Eden, has somehow be brought safely and peacefully into the Messiahanic Kingdom.
So, Advent is about preparing for the coming of the Lord, both the baby who comes to us at Christmas time, and the great king and judge who comes to us at the end of time. And how do we prepare for his coming?
Well last week I made two suggestions. The first was to prepare by improving and developing our life of prayer and worship. I said that through prayer and worship start a relationship with Jesus, that means we are not at first base when he comes. It is as though we are pen-pals or internet friends who meet in real life for the first time. Well it seems to me that this suggestion is very consistent with what Isaiah says. He emphasises that those qualities of the Messiah to do with wisdom and insight, knowledge and fear of the Lord. Prayer and worship is a critically important way into these gifts of the spirit. They are gifts; we can’t just grow them ourselves, but we can ask for them, and seek them through prayer and worship, and this is pleasing to God and it encourages him to share with us wisdom and knowledge, as we grow to know him better and contemplate his ways.
Also last week I suggested that to greet Jesus well, we need to be accustomed to greeting him in all his different faces in the people who we meet in the different circumstances of our life. And just as we meet many different kinds of people, so more likeable, so less so, so there are many aspects to the character of Jesus, some towards which we feel drawn, some of which feel less attractive. But they are all Jesus, we need to learn to love them all. Well again I think this has great consistency with what Isaiah says. Isaiah talks of the Messiahanic Kingdom of justice and peace. We need to prepare ourselves to be good citizens of that kingdom. It is what we are called to, the destiny towards which we must move. And to live in that kingdom we must live by justice and peace. To be just means to treat people right; to give them their proper due, to afford them the dignity that God affords to them, to recognise the image of God in their creation. Of course this is much easier if they are also being just to us, but just as God always takes the initiative in love, is always the first to love, so we need to learn to be the first to love, being just to others even before they are just to us.
So, as we think about the prophets preparing the way for the Messiah, and as we give thanks to God for the Isaiah tradition in particular, so we can continue our preparations for meeting with Jesus. We can continue to develop our life of prayer and worship so as to grow in the knowledge and love of God, to grow in wisdom and understanding and the fear of the Lord. Similarly we can practice being good citizens of the coming kingdom of God by becoming ever more just in our treatment of other people, by properly honouring and respecting God’s creation in them. Amen.
Advent 2 – Year A
Readings: Isaiah 11: 1-10 Matt 3: 1-12
There is a tradition that on the second Sunday of Advent we reflect especially on the prophets, who foresaw the coming of Jesus, many centuries before he was actually born. Now there were many prophets spoke of the coming of a great Messiah. Messiah means anointed one. Now the kings of Israel were not so much crowned as anointed with oil, so Israel certainly expected the Messiah, the anointed to be a great king, like King David or King Solomon from Israel’s glory days, which were about 1000 BC.
As I said, many prophets spoke of the coming of the great Messiah, but it is probably the book of Isaiah that is the richest source of these prophecies, and it is no surprise then that we often read a great deal of Isaiah in Advent, as we look forward expectantly to the coming of the Lord.
Now Isaiah the prophet was writing in the eighth century BC, but the book of Isaiah contains a lot of later material from the sixth century BC presumably included by followers of the Isaiah tradition. The Messiahanic prophecies run through the whole book. The passage that we heard today if probably from the earlier period (although different scholars have different views). It is one of the classic prophecies of about the Messiah and it is very helpful text to reflect on in Advent. Let’s have a look at what the passage tells us to expect in Jesus.
“A shoot shall spring from the stock of Jesse”. Well Jesse was the Father of King David, so we are told to expect a Messiah who is a descendent of King David. This also fits well with God’s promises to David in 2 Samuel 7 and repeated in the Psalms (e.g. Psalm 89).
“The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him” We are told that the messiah will have the Spirit of God, he will somehow be particularly close to God and walk in relationship with God.
We are told the messiah will have the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel and might. The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. In the Christian tradition these “seven” qualities have become known as the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (There are also the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5) I don’t know if you were counting, but I only listed six gifts of the Holy Spirit. Well apparently the Vulgate Latin bible had two expressions for “fear of the Lord”, one of which was usually translated at piety, so that makes seven.
Then the text gives us several qualities of the messiah, which we might associate more with the second coming of Christ than with his first coming. It tells us he will be a judge, and will judge with integrity. He will judge by righteousness, rather than by outward appearances. His judgement will bring justice for the meek and the poor. It will being death and downfall for the wicked.
And then we hear a description of the kingdom where the Messiah reigns. It will be a kingdom of justice and peace. The wolf will lie down with the lamb, the lion will eat straw like an ox. It is like a return to the perfection of the garden of Eden, before sin entered the world and where where everything seems to have been vegetarian. Humanity it seems lives not only in perfect harmony with God, but also in perfect harmony with nature and the environment. “The infant will play over the hole of the adder, and the baby put his hand in the vipers nest, but hurt or harm will be done on the Holy mountain of the Lord”. It seems that even the snake, who caused all that trouble in the garden of Eden, has somehow be brought safely and peacefully into the Messiahanic Kingdom.
So, Advent is about preparing for the coming of the Lord, both the baby who comes to us at Christmas time, and the great king and judge who comes to us at the end of time. And how do we prepare for his coming?
Well last week I made two suggestions. The first was to prepare by improving and developing our life of prayer and worship. I said that through prayer and worship start a relationship with Jesus, that means we are not at first base when he comes. It is as though we are pen-pals or internet friends who meet in real life for the first time. Well it seems to me that this suggestion is very consistent with what Isaiah says. He emphasises that those qualities of the Messiah to do with wisdom and insight, knowledge and fear of the Lord. Prayer and worship is a critically important way into these gifts of the spirit. They are gifts; we can’t just grow them ourselves, but we can ask for them, and seek them through prayer and worship, and this is pleasing to God and it encourages him to share with us wisdom and knowledge, as we grow to know him better and contemplate his ways.
Also last week I suggested that to greet Jesus well, we need to be accustomed to greeting him in all his different faces in the people who we meet in the different circumstances of our life. And just as we meet many different kinds of people, so more likeable, so less so, so there are many aspects to the character of Jesus, some towards which we feel drawn, some of which feel less attractive. But they are all Jesus, we need to learn to love them all. Well again I think this has great consistency with what Isaiah says. Isaiah talks of the Messiahanic Kingdom of justice and peace. We need to prepare ourselves to be good citizens of that kingdom. It is what we are called to, the destiny towards which we must move. And to live in that kingdom we must live by justice and peace. To be just means to treat people right; to give them their proper due, to afford them the dignity that God affords to them, to recognise the image of God in their creation. Of course this is much easier if they are also being just to us, but just as God always takes the initiative in love, is always the first to love, so we need to learn to be the first to love, being just to others even before they are just to us.
So, as we think about the prophets preparing the way for the Messiah, and as we give thanks to God for the Isaiah tradition in particular, so we can continue our preparations for meeting with Jesus. We can continue to develop our life of prayer and worship so as to grow in the knowledge and love of God, to grow in wisdom and understanding and the fear of the Lord. Similarly we can practice being good citizens of the coming kingdom of God by becoming ever more just in our treatment of other people, by properly honouring and respecting God’s creation in them. Amen.
28 November 2010
Preparing to meet Jesus
Sermon preached at 3pm Evensong at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton on Sunday 28th November 2010. Different versions of this sermon were also preached at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at 11am Coral Mattins.
Advent Sunday - Year A
Readings: Is 2: 1-5 Matt 24: 36-44
(Note form only)
Advent is about expecting the coming of Jesus, about preparing to meet him.
1) Preparing to welcome baby Jesus at Christmas
- preparations might include decorations, presents, food
- we think about this more in second half of Advent
2) Preparing for the Second coming of Christ
- we think about this especially on Advent Sunday, and first part of Advent.
- our scripture readings focus on this
- Isaiah talking of the word of the Lord & instruction going forth from Jerusalem. The whole world wants to learn, and walk in the Lords ways, because the Lord is King. Wars end.
- In the gospel Jesus emphasises that the Son of man will come at an unexpected time, like a thief in the night. Christian tradition teaches us to stay awake, be vigilant, expect this coming always.
3) Meeting with Jesus when we die – might also think of this
How do we prepare for the coming of Jesus? – it is a bit awkward because we don’t know when, and we don’t know what it will be like.
It reminds me of the Downton Abbey TV series and a scene involving Carson the Butler.
Its 1914 and a telephone has been installed in the house for the first time.
Carson sits in front the telephone apprehensively preparing for the first moment when it must be used.
He practices answering the telephone.
He finds himself speaking to the operator.
terrible shock – Carson very abrupt – all a bit unsatisfactory.
However Carson spoke good English, clearly and slowly.
It is quite clear that with a little more experience he will cope very well with the telephone.
Waiting for Jesus has some of that same apprehension and uncertainty/awkwardness.
Can be scary.
How can we make prepare well to greet Jesus when he comes/ when we meet him?
How can we make sure that we good at the language of heaven, just has Carson had spoken good English loud and clear.
Well one way is through pray and worship. If we are well accustoming to speaking to Jesus through prayer and worship, then that is a good start to the relationship when he comes to meet us. It is like when pen-pals, or people who met on the internet, actually meet in real life. The experience is different, but there is already a relationship to build on. It is a very good start, but it is not everything.
There is another important aspect to preparing to meet Jesus.
Jesus said “What you do to the least you do to me”
“You can not love God, who you can’t see, unless you love the brothers who you can see”
A big part of our relationship with Jesus concerns the way that we treat Jesus in the people we meet. When we meet Jesus in other people, do we respect him, honour his dignity, treat him well, go out of our way for him, serve him, love him?
The scriptures present to us Jesus in may ways. Sometimes he seems rich with lavish gifts (Wedding in Cana). Sometimes he is poor and famished (as when tempted in the wilderness). Sometimes he is loved by crowds who sing hosanna, sometimes hated by crowd who cry “crucify”. Sometimes he seems a fearsome judge, sometimes a merciful redeemer, sometimes as a great king, sometimes as a refugee, or criminal crucified on the cross.
So in our daily lives we meet many different kinds of people, rich and poor, intelligent and less gifted, foreign and local, rejoicing or suffering, well known or strangers. Jesus is present in them all. How do we respond to Jesus in all these different kinds of people? Do we love him and serve him? Do we deny that he is there, or try to avoid him? Perhaps we kid ourselves thinking, “Yes, but it will be much easier to love Jesus himself than to love all these different people.” Well I am not sure. The historical Jesus was a Jew by culture, more than a Christian. He was from the middle-east. He didn’t speak English. In short he was very, very different from us and could be quite a challenge for us to love. Welcoming people who are very different is always a challenge. Finding the right way to love them, help them, serve them, work for their good is also a challenge. However it is crucial practise for any meeting with Jesus. Jesus will be well aware of how we have treated him in other people.
So to prepare to meet Jesus let’s build our relationship with him. Let’s do this through prayer and through worship, but above all let’s do it by trying to find Jesus in the people we encounter through our daily lives, and trying to help and serve him. If we can do this well then we know that there will be great joy when we finally meet Jesus face to face. Amen.
Advent Sunday - Year A
Readings: Is 2: 1-5 Matt 24: 36-44
(Note form only)
Advent is about expecting the coming of Jesus, about preparing to meet him.
1) Preparing to welcome baby Jesus at Christmas
- preparations might include decorations, presents, food
- we think about this more in second half of Advent
2) Preparing for the Second coming of Christ
- we think about this especially on Advent Sunday, and first part of Advent.
- our scripture readings focus on this
- Isaiah talking of the word of the Lord & instruction going forth from Jerusalem. The whole world wants to learn, and walk in the Lords ways, because the Lord is King. Wars end.
- In the gospel Jesus emphasises that the Son of man will come at an unexpected time, like a thief in the night. Christian tradition teaches us to stay awake, be vigilant, expect this coming always.
3) Meeting with Jesus when we die – might also think of this
How do we prepare for the coming of Jesus? – it is a bit awkward because we don’t know when, and we don’t know what it will be like.
It reminds me of the Downton Abbey TV series and a scene involving Carson the Butler.
Its 1914 and a telephone has been installed in the house for the first time.
Carson sits in front the telephone apprehensively preparing for the first moment when it must be used.
He practices answering the telephone.
He finds himself speaking to the operator.
terrible shock – Carson very abrupt – all a bit unsatisfactory.
However Carson spoke good English, clearly and slowly.
It is quite clear that with a little more experience he will cope very well with the telephone.
Waiting for Jesus has some of that same apprehension and uncertainty/awkwardness.
Can be scary.
How can we make prepare well to greet Jesus when he comes/ when we meet him?
How can we make sure that we good at the language of heaven, just has Carson had spoken good English loud and clear.
Well one way is through pray and worship. If we are well accustoming to speaking to Jesus through prayer and worship, then that is a good start to the relationship when he comes to meet us. It is like when pen-pals, or people who met on the internet, actually meet in real life. The experience is different, but there is already a relationship to build on. It is a very good start, but it is not everything.
There is another important aspect to preparing to meet Jesus.
Jesus said “What you do to the least you do to me”
“You can not love God, who you can’t see, unless you love the brothers who you can see”
A big part of our relationship with Jesus concerns the way that we treat Jesus in the people we meet. When we meet Jesus in other people, do we respect him, honour his dignity, treat him well, go out of our way for him, serve him, love him?
The scriptures present to us Jesus in may ways. Sometimes he seems rich with lavish gifts (Wedding in Cana). Sometimes he is poor and famished (as when tempted in the wilderness). Sometimes he is loved by crowds who sing hosanna, sometimes hated by crowd who cry “crucify”. Sometimes he seems a fearsome judge, sometimes a merciful redeemer, sometimes as a great king, sometimes as a refugee, or criminal crucified on the cross.
So in our daily lives we meet many different kinds of people, rich and poor, intelligent and less gifted, foreign and local, rejoicing or suffering, well known or strangers. Jesus is present in them all. How do we respond to Jesus in all these different kinds of people? Do we love him and serve him? Do we deny that he is there, or try to avoid him? Perhaps we kid ourselves thinking, “Yes, but it will be much easier to love Jesus himself than to love all these different people.” Well I am not sure. The historical Jesus was a Jew by culture, more than a Christian. He was from the middle-east. He didn’t speak English. In short he was very, very different from us and could be quite a challenge for us to love. Welcoming people who are very different is always a challenge. Finding the right way to love them, help them, serve them, work for their good is also a challenge. However it is crucial practise for any meeting with Jesus. Jesus will be well aware of how we have treated him in other people.
So to prepare to meet Jesus let’s build our relationship with him. Let’s do this through prayer and through worship, but above all let’s do it by trying to find Jesus in the people we encounter through our daily lives, and trying to help and serve him. If we can do this well then we know that there will be great joy when we finally meet Jesus face to face. Amen.
21 November 2010
Christ the King
Sermon preached on Sunday 21st November 2010 at the 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth. Other versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at the 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP) at St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton.
Christ the King – Year C
Readings: Col 1: 11-20 Luke 23: 33-43
I was recently producing a new service booklet for a “Family Eucharist” with David and Mal Suggitt. One of the things that tried to do was to find small and appropriate illustrations to put against each section of the service. So by the Scripture Reading we put a picture of the bible, and by the Peace we put a picture of a Dove. When I looked at the first draft of the service book I was very interested in the picture that David and Mal had selected to put next to the Gloria. Now we are all very familiar with the Gloria, which is a hymn of praise to God in his glory: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth”. The Gloria is especially appropriate for the festival of Christ the King because it emphasises the glory of Jesus, seated at the right hand of God the Father; “You alone are the Holy One. You alone are the Lord. You alone are the most high, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the Glory of God the Father.”
Now the picture that the Suggitts had placed next to this was a picture of Christ on the Cross. It is a picture in which Christ’s body seems to radiate glory, but it is nevertheless a picture of him dying on the cross. Look out for it when we next have a Family Eucharist. The next one is coming up with Epiphany on 2nd January. Now it does seem to be a very strange way of celebrating the glory of Christ: to depict him dying on the cross. Strange it may be, but it is a choice that resonates deeply with the tradition of the church.
So, for example, we see something of that strange contrast in the choice of our scripture reading for today in this year C of the lectionary. Today is the last Sunday of the Church’s year. We think about Christ in his triumph at the end of time. We celebrate Christ the King, Christ in his Glory, Christ in whom all things hold together, who comes to have first place in everything (as our epistle put it). And yet the gospel reading is the story of the crucifixion! The crucifixion! Not so much a moment of glory and a moment of pain and insult, shame and disaster.
But if we look carefully at our gospel reading, beyond the crucifixion, there are clear pointers to Christ the King, to Christ in his glory….
[From this point, bullet points only]
Reference to Jesus as “King of the Jews”
- reminder of Pilate’s questions to Jesus during his trial (John 18: 33-38)
- “my kingdom is not of this world” (or not yet anyway!)
Penitent thief’s comment “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom”
- Jesus responds positively seeming to affirm his kingdom in heaven
In John’s gospel (12: 23-28) Jesus talks of the hour of his crucifixion and his glory as though they are almost the same thing. Certainly they are closely linked. The crucifixion leads to the glory.
I recently saw an old film from VE day – 1945. A triumph was achieved. There was great joy and women from London were dancing in the streets. It seemed a very purified joy, without the negative aspects of triumphalism, that seeks to dominate others.
Purified no doubt by the sufferings of the blitz and losing sons/husbands/sweethearts through the war.
Close link between suffering and glory gives us hope to us in our own trials and sufferings – be they small or large
- we try to live them with Christ, like Christ on the cross
- we shall also be with Christ in his glory
- New Testament frequently links suffering to glory
o Rom 8: 17-18, 2 Cor 4: 16-17, Col 3: 3-4, Heb 2: 9-10, 1 Pet 5:10
- We are called to share in the glory of Jesus – share his throne Rev 3:21
So we try to live our sufferings well, with love for Jesus in the moment of his sufferings.
We have a special opportunity in the Eucharist
- where we celebrate Jesus’ death and rising to glory
- bring to the Eucharist our sufferings small and large
- through the Eucharist share them with Jesus in his passion
- Jesus then shares with us his life, his body and blood
So commend to you sharing with Christ in his sufferings and in the glory of his kingship, especially through the Eucharist.
Christ the King – Year C
Readings: Col 1: 11-20 Luke 23: 33-43
I was recently producing a new service booklet for a “Family Eucharist” with David and Mal Suggitt. One of the things that tried to do was to find small and appropriate illustrations to put against each section of the service. So by the Scripture Reading we put a picture of the bible, and by the Peace we put a picture of a Dove. When I looked at the first draft of the service book I was very interested in the picture that David and Mal had selected to put next to the Gloria. Now we are all very familiar with the Gloria, which is a hymn of praise to God in his glory: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth”. The Gloria is especially appropriate for the festival of Christ the King because it emphasises the glory of Jesus, seated at the right hand of God the Father; “You alone are the Holy One. You alone are the Lord. You alone are the most high, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the Glory of God the Father.”
Now the picture that the Suggitts had placed next to this was a picture of Christ on the Cross. It is a picture in which Christ’s body seems to radiate glory, but it is nevertheless a picture of him dying on the cross. Look out for it when we next have a Family Eucharist. The next one is coming up with Epiphany on 2nd January. Now it does seem to be a very strange way of celebrating the glory of Christ: to depict him dying on the cross. Strange it may be, but it is a choice that resonates deeply with the tradition of the church.
So, for example, we see something of that strange contrast in the choice of our scripture reading for today in this year C of the lectionary. Today is the last Sunday of the Church’s year. We think about Christ in his triumph at the end of time. We celebrate Christ the King, Christ in his Glory, Christ in whom all things hold together, who comes to have first place in everything (as our epistle put it). And yet the gospel reading is the story of the crucifixion! The crucifixion! Not so much a moment of glory and a moment of pain and insult, shame and disaster.
But if we look carefully at our gospel reading, beyond the crucifixion, there are clear pointers to Christ the King, to Christ in his glory….
[From this point, bullet points only]
Reference to Jesus as “King of the Jews”
- reminder of Pilate’s questions to Jesus during his trial (John 18: 33-38)
- “my kingdom is not of this world” (or not yet anyway!)
Penitent thief’s comment “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom”
- Jesus responds positively seeming to affirm his kingdom in heaven
In John’s gospel (12: 23-28) Jesus talks of the hour of his crucifixion and his glory as though they are almost the same thing. Certainly they are closely linked. The crucifixion leads to the glory.
I recently saw an old film from VE day – 1945. A triumph was achieved. There was great joy and women from London were dancing in the streets. It seemed a very purified joy, without the negative aspects of triumphalism, that seeks to dominate others.
Purified no doubt by the sufferings of the blitz and losing sons/husbands/sweethearts through the war.
Close link between suffering and glory gives us hope to us in our own trials and sufferings – be they small or large
- we try to live them with Christ, like Christ on the cross
- we shall also be with Christ in his glory
- New Testament frequently links suffering to glory
o Rom 8: 17-18, 2 Cor 4: 16-17, Col 3: 3-4, Heb 2: 9-10, 1 Pet 5:10
- We are called to share in the glory of Jesus – share his throne Rev 3:21
So we try to live our sufferings well, with love for Jesus in the moment of his sufferings.
We have a special opportunity in the Eucharist
- where we celebrate Jesus’ death and rising to glory
- bring to the Eucharist our sufferings small and large
- through the Eucharist share them with Jesus in his passion
- Jesus then shares with us his life, his body and blood
So commend to you sharing with Christ in his sufferings and in the glory of his kingship, especially through the Eucharist.
14 November 2010
Remembrance and Commitment
Sermon preached on Sunday 14th November 2010 at the 10.30am Remembrance Day service at St Mary’s, Lapworth and at 3pm Evensong at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton.
Remembrance Sunday
Readings: Isaiah 32: 1-2 & 12-18 John 15: 9-17
Getting ready for Remembrance Sunday has caused me to have a good hard look at the services that we use, and the things which typically happen on Remembrance Sunday. And it seems to me that a Remembrance Sunday service usually hinges around two key Acts; an Act of Remembrance and an Act of Commitment. Certainly in our service today we have these two key Acts, and I would like to spend a moment now, seeking to understand them better; the Act of Remembrance and the Act of Commitment.
First of all, our Act of Remembrance. In our Act of Remembrance we are above all remembering people who have died in war; especially those people who have given their lives for the freedom and security of this nation. The older ones among us might remember specific people who died in the second world war. Many of us however cannot remember specific people, but we can certain allow ourselves to be reminded of the great sacrifices of war. We might think of the trenches of the First World War, of the mud, the barred wire, the shelling, the gas, the rats, the machine guns, the fear and the periodic moments of great slaughter. We might think of the injured and lame, those returning home with shell shock or physiological trauma. But above all we remember the people who died, and as a solemn reminder of the people from Lapworth who died, we read their names out during the Act of Remembrance.
And then what does this remembering do for us. What emotions might it generate in us? Well certainly there is sadness and a sense of loss. Certainly there is a recognition that a great price has been paid by a great many people. Hopefully we can identify with those people a little so that we feel some of their loss as our own loss. And perhaps we have some other more difficult emotion, guilt or anger, which we need to work our way through. But through our remembrance, we are seeking to arrive at a sense of deep and profound gratitude. A solemn sense of thanksgiving for the great price that has been paid for us, and the great benefits won for us; for the freedom and security that we enjoy in this country.
And hopefully this pattern of remembrance and thanksgiving will be familiar to us. It is the basic pattern of our church services, especially the Eucharist, is a remembrance of Jesus, a remembrance of his passion and death and a thanksgiving for all the great benefits that he has won for us.
Then we come to our Act of Commitment. This is about our personal response. As we remember the great sufferings that have been bourn for us and the great benefits that we have received from others how do we respond? The Act of Commitment that we make together today in church encourages us to respond by being generous to others, as we have received. It encourages us to work for the service of God and humanity, to work for the relief of the needy and the building of peace. And as we make that Act of Commitment today, I hope that we will think not only about the international scale where relief of the needy is conducted through Oxfam or Christian Aid and the quest for peace by the United Nations, but also we will think about our families and the people we know locally. How do we work for the relief of needs and for peace amongst the people who we know? Locally the needs are less likely to be about food and housing and more likely to be about companionship, belonging and sense of community. How do we work for peace locally? Well it is about always seeking to build relationships with other people that are ever deeper, stronger, more trusting and modelled on God’s love for us.
And again we have a familiar model in how to do this; Jesus, who commands us to love one another, as he has loved us. And by his life Jesus showed us what it meant to love others, to work for their good. Today we heard Jesus explain that the person with the greatest love is the one who is willing to pay down life for his friend. Jesus was willing to do this, and he did this because he knew that love has a value that endures, even through death.
So as we make our act of Remembrance, let’s solemnly remember those who have died and the great sacrifices made for us. Let’s seek to arrive at a profound attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving for what we have received. Then in our Act of Commitment, let’s renew our resolve to work for better relationships locally, and for the renewal of our nation and ultimately for renewal in the whole world. Amen.
Remembrance Sunday
Readings: Isaiah 32: 1-2 & 12-18 John 15: 9-17
Getting ready for Remembrance Sunday has caused me to have a good hard look at the services that we use, and the things which typically happen on Remembrance Sunday. And it seems to me that a Remembrance Sunday service usually hinges around two key Acts; an Act of Remembrance and an Act of Commitment. Certainly in our service today we have these two key Acts, and I would like to spend a moment now, seeking to understand them better; the Act of Remembrance and the Act of Commitment.
First of all, our Act of Remembrance. In our Act of Remembrance we are above all remembering people who have died in war; especially those people who have given their lives for the freedom and security of this nation. The older ones among us might remember specific people who died in the second world war. Many of us however cannot remember specific people, but we can certain allow ourselves to be reminded of the great sacrifices of war. We might think of the trenches of the First World War, of the mud, the barred wire, the shelling, the gas, the rats, the machine guns, the fear and the periodic moments of great slaughter. We might think of the injured and lame, those returning home with shell shock or physiological trauma. But above all we remember the people who died, and as a solemn reminder of the people from Lapworth who died, we read their names out during the Act of Remembrance.
And then what does this remembering do for us. What emotions might it generate in us? Well certainly there is sadness and a sense of loss. Certainly there is a recognition that a great price has been paid by a great many people. Hopefully we can identify with those people a little so that we feel some of their loss as our own loss. And perhaps we have some other more difficult emotion, guilt or anger, which we need to work our way through. But through our remembrance, we are seeking to arrive at a sense of deep and profound gratitude. A solemn sense of thanksgiving for the great price that has been paid for us, and the great benefits won for us; for the freedom and security that we enjoy in this country.
And hopefully this pattern of remembrance and thanksgiving will be familiar to us. It is the basic pattern of our church services, especially the Eucharist, is a remembrance of Jesus, a remembrance of his passion and death and a thanksgiving for all the great benefits that he has won for us.
Then we come to our Act of Commitment. This is about our personal response. As we remember the great sufferings that have been bourn for us and the great benefits that we have received from others how do we respond? The Act of Commitment that we make together today in church encourages us to respond by being generous to others, as we have received. It encourages us to work for the service of God and humanity, to work for the relief of the needy and the building of peace. And as we make that Act of Commitment today, I hope that we will think not only about the international scale where relief of the needy is conducted through Oxfam or Christian Aid and the quest for peace by the United Nations, but also we will think about our families and the people we know locally. How do we work for the relief of needs and for peace amongst the people who we know? Locally the needs are less likely to be about food and housing and more likely to be about companionship, belonging and sense of community. How do we work for peace locally? Well it is about always seeking to build relationships with other people that are ever deeper, stronger, more trusting and modelled on God’s love for us.
And again we have a familiar model in how to do this; Jesus, who commands us to love one another, as he has loved us. And by his life Jesus showed us what it meant to love others, to work for their good. Today we heard Jesus explain that the person with the greatest love is the one who is willing to pay down life for his friend. Jesus was willing to do this, and he did this because he knew that love has a value that endures, even through death.
So as we make our act of Remembrance, let’s solemnly remember those who have died and the great sacrifices made for us. Let’s seek to arrive at a profound attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving for what we have received. Then in our Act of Commitment, let’s renew our resolve to work for better relationships locally, and for the renewal of our nation and ultimately for renewal in the whole world. Amen.
Remembrance at the Eucharist
Sermon preached on Sunday 14th November 2010 at 8.30am Said Eucharist at St Mary’s, Lapworth.
Remembrance Sunday
Readings: Isaiah 32: 1-2 & 12-18 John 15: 9-17
Our reading from Isaiah this morning outlines a pattern that we see many times in the history of Israel in the Old Testament. The pattern goes like this: things go well for Israel and she prospers and grows, but then she starts to forget about God and trust in her own abilities and powers. She becomes over confident and there is a fall, sometimes a catastrophic fall with the whole country laid waste. But some seemly insignificant remnant of Israel survives the disaster, and through it is purified and draws closer to God. God pour out his spirit on this remnant, which starts to grow and to flourish once more, but hopefully purer and closer to what God ultimately wants.
And this pattern is by no means unique to Israel. The great wars of the 20th century had an effect somewhat like this on the societies of Western Europe. Whole sections of society perished and many old ways of life passed away. But after the disaster of the wars, quite quickly new life appeared and started to flourish. Today we remember with solemn gratitude those who have died in war and we give thanks for the freedom and security that they have won for us and for this nation.
And we see something of this pattern lived out by Jesus. Jesus was free of sin himself, but this did not protect him from the sin of others. As his ministry develops, he was eventually completely overtaken by the forces of evil. His passion and death appear to be the ultimate disaster; God who created everything is crucified by his creation. But this is not the end. God pours out his spirit! There is the resurrection. Jesus receives a new life, more wonderful that the life he had before; a life that is stronger than death.
This is the pattern that we act out in the Eucharist. Following Jesus’ command to “do this in remembrance of me” we are confronted with (perhaps even share in??) his passion and death by sharing in his broken body and blood outpoured. We express our solemn gratitude and thanksgiving for all the benefits that Jesus has won for us, through his passion and death. Above all, through the Eucharist, we receive an outpouring of Jesus’ resurrection life through which we can grow and flourish.
So as we receive communion today, let’s give thanks Jesus who died for us, and for those who have died for our nation in war. Let’s seek to receive new life and to flourish in ways that are worthy of the gifts we have received.
Remembrance Sunday
Readings: Isaiah 32: 1-2 & 12-18 John 15: 9-17
Our reading from Isaiah this morning outlines a pattern that we see many times in the history of Israel in the Old Testament. The pattern goes like this: things go well for Israel and she prospers and grows, but then she starts to forget about God and trust in her own abilities and powers. She becomes over confident and there is a fall, sometimes a catastrophic fall with the whole country laid waste. But some seemly insignificant remnant of Israel survives the disaster, and through it is purified and draws closer to God. God pour out his spirit on this remnant, which starts to grow and to flourish once more, but hopefully purer and closer to what God ultimately wants.
And this pattern is by no means unique to Israel. The great wars of the 20th century had an effect somewhat like this on the societies of Western Europe. Whole sections of society perished and many old ways of life passed away. But after the disaster of the wars, quite quickly new life appeared and started to flourish. Today we remember with solemn gratitude those who have died in war and we give thanks for the freedom and security that they have won for us and for this nation.
And we see something of this pattern lived out by Jesus. Jesus was free of sin himself, but this did not protect him from the sin of others. As his ministry develops, he was eventually completely overtaken by the forces of evil. His passion and death appear to be the ultimate disaster; God who created everything is crucified by his creation. But this is not the end. God pours out his spirit! There is the resurrection. Jesus receives a new life, more wonderful that the life he had before; a life that is stronger than death.
This is the pattern that we act out in the Eucharist. Following Jesus’ command to “do this in remembrance of me” we are confronted with (perhaps even share in??) his passion and death by sharing in his broken body and blood outpoured. We express our solemn gratitude and thanksgiving for all the benefits that Jesus has won for us, through his passion and death. Above all, through the Eucharist, we receive an outpouring of Jesus’ resurrection life through which we can grow and flourish.
So as we receive communion today, let’s give thanks Jesus who died for us, and for those who have died for our nation in war. Let’s seek to receive new life and to flourish in ways that are worthy of the gifts we have received.
31 October 2010
Becoming Saints
Sermon preached at 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth on Sunday 31st October 2010. A shortened version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP) at St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton.
All Saints’ Sunday – Year C
Readings: Ephesians 1: 11-23 Luke 6: 20-31
So today we are celebrating All Saints Day, transferred from Monday 1st November and on Tuesday 2nd November we shall be remembering All Souls Day. So today we remember people who have died and who are holy, close to God and who dwell joyfully in the fullness of God’s presence. Then on Tuesday we remember all other people who have died with good will towards God but who we hesitate to think of as Saints.
Let’s think about this more carefully using the metaphor of a journey. We think of the Christian life as a journey towards God. The journey ends (or better: reaches fulfilment) when we come to share in the life of the Trinity in heaven. Walking the journey towards heaven is therefore about drawing ever closer to God. Christ is both the “the way” we must follow, the road, and the shepherd who leads us along it. As we draw closer to God we understand him better. We learn his ways and we learn to move in harmony with them. It is about being freed from sin, so that we can stand in the presence of God. It is about becoming pure in heart, so that we can see God.
Or we can use the metaphor of healing. As humans we were created in the image of God, and made good. Yet, somehow, we have been diseased by sin and our humanity has been compromised. We are now in a process of recovery. Healing is about overcoming sin and developing truly and fully into the human being that God created us to be. Christ is the both the healer and the example of perfect humanity to which we aspire. We can think of the church as the hospital in which we are treated and in which we convalesce. As we listen to the doctor in hospital, so we listen to God in the bible. As we receive medicines in a hospital, so we receive sacraments in the church. As we might receive surgery in hospital, so God sometimes cuts open and reorders our earthly lives. As physiotherapy or occupational therapy might prepare us for life outside the hospital, so the situations we face in our earthly lives prepares us for the life of heaven.
Or we might use the metaphor of an apprenticeship or professional training. Earthly life is a training ground in which we learn the skills that we need to live the life of heaven. Qualification in the trade is like attaining to the norms of heaven. Christ is the teacher, our trainer, and we seek to become like him. As trainees read their manuals, so Christians study the bible. As trainees get day-release in college, so Christians come to church once a week. As trainees listen to and copy the expert, so Christians listen to Christ and copy him.
Whichever of these metaphors we use, it is important to see our earthly lives as process of becoming more Christ-like, more God-like. This process is God’s work in us. When we remember “All Saints” we are thinking of people who have died and in whom this work of God shows a certain completeness or fulfilment; people who are ready and fit to be good citizens of heaven. When we think of “All Souls” we think or people who have died for whom this process of becoming holy is still work in progress. And if we think of the people who we have known who have died, probably most of them are more holiness-in-progress rather than holiness-realised, and so we especially remember them on All Souls day.
Now I said that this process of becoming holy is “God’s work in us”. It is important that we remember that, because we can only progress by God’s grace. We can’t achieve holiness in our own strength! But we certainly do have a part to play. It is crucially important that we respond positively to God’s love for us. We need to co-operate with God’s grace in our lives. We need to want the things that God wants for us. The desire for holiness must grow within us. We need to pray for this. We need to order our daily lives, our days and our minutes, according to God’s will and purpose for us.
And this process of becoming holy, of becoming saints, is very important and often we don’t take it seriously enough. Do we think of ourselves as saints in the making? Do we think of ourselves as drawing ever closer to God? Do we think of ourselves as recovering from sin and becoming perfect, as our heavenly father is perfect? Do we think of ourselves saints in training? Well we can and should think of ourselves in this way. Ultimately we must go to heaven or hell; we are either with God or against him. It seems to me sensible to walk firmly and boldly towards God and towards the life of heaven!
And it has to be said that we Christians can often seem woefully negligent in this respect. We tend to drift along wanting to think of ourselves as “good people” but not as “holy people” or saints. I was interested to read something [“Finding Happiness” by Christopher Jamison, London: Weidenfield & Nicolson 2008] about the seven deadly sins. Apparently at one stage there were eight deadly sins. The one that somehow got lost is “acedia” which means spiritual carelessness or apathy. Certainly acedia seems a terrible problem for many Christians in these present times.
So let’s not suffer from this spiritual apathy of acedia. Let’s be attentive to God’s work in us. Let’s want it and pray for it. Let’s co-operate fully with it. Let’s thirst for the life of heaven. Let’s trust in its goodness and power. As Paul said in our reading today, “…may you know the hope to which [Christ] has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints”. In this way we can make progress on the journey, we can be healed and made whole, we can be trained up for the life heaven, and these are things of everlasting value. They are real riches. Let’s be keen to receive them!
All Saints’ Sunday – Year C
Readings: Ephesians 1: 11-23 Luke 6: 20-31
So today we are celebrating All Saints Day, transferred from Monday 1st November and on Tuesday 2nd November we shall be remembering All Souls Day. So today we remember people who have died and who are holy, close to God and who dwell joyfully in the fullness of God’s presence. Then on Tuesday we remember all other people who have died with good will towards God but who we hesitate to think of as Saints.
Let’s think about this more carefully using the metaphor of a journey. We think of the Christian life as a journey towards God. The journey ends (or better: reaches fulfilment) when we come to share in the life of the Trinity in heaven. Walking the journey towards heaven is therefore about drawing ever closer to God. Christ is both the “the way” we must follow, the road, and the shepherd who leads us along it. As we draw closer to God we understand him better. We learn his ways and we learn to move in harmony with them. It is about being freed from sin, so that we can stand in the presence of God. It is about becoming pure in heart, so that we can see God.
Or we can use the metaphor of healing. As humans we were created in the image of God, and made good. Yet, somehow, we have been diseased by sin and our humanity has been compromised. We are now in a process of recovery. Healing is about overcoming sin and developing truly and fully into the human being that God created us to be. Christ is the both the healer and the example of perfect humanity to which we aspire. We can think of the church as the hospital in which we are treated and in which we convalesce. As we listen to the doctor in hospital, so we listen to God in the bible. As we receive medicines in a hospital, so we receive sacraments in the church. As we might receive surgery in hospital, so God sometimes cuts open and reorders our earthly lives. As physiotherapy or occupational therapy might prepare us for life outside the hospital, so the situations we face in our earthly lives prepares us for the life of heaven.
Or we might use the metaphor of an apprenticeship or professional training. Earthly life is a training ground in which we learn the skills that we need to live the life of heaven. Qualification in the trade is like attaining to the norms of heaven. Christ is the teacher, our trainer, and we seek to become like him. As trainees read their manuals, so Christians study the bible. As trainees get day-release in college, so Christians come to church once a week. As trainees listen to and copy the expert, so Christians listen to Christ and copy him.
Whichever of these metaphors we use, it is important to see our earthly lives as process of becoming more Christ-like, more God-like. This process is God’s work in us. When we remember “All Saints” we are thinking of people who have died and in whom this work of God shows a certain completeness or fulfilment; people who are ready and fit to be good citizens of heaven. When we think of “All Souls” we think or people who have died for whom this process of becoming holy is still work in progress. And if we think of the people who we have known who have died, probably most of them are more holiness-in-progress rather than holiness-realised, and so we especially remember them on All Souls day.
Now I said that this process of becoming holy is “God’s work in us”. It is important that we remember that, because we can only progress by God’s grace. We can’t achieve holiness in our own strength! But we certainly do have a part to play. It is crucially important that we respond positively to God’s love for us. We need to co-operate with God’s grace in our lives. We need to want the things that God wants for us. The desire for holiness must grow within us. We need to pray for this. We need to order our daily lives, our days and our minutes, according to God’s will and purpose for us.
And this process of becoming holy, of becoming saints, is very important and often we don’t take it seriously enough. Do we think of ourselves as saints in the making? Do we think of ourselves as drawing ever closer to God? Do we think of ourselves as recovering from sin and becoming perfect, as our heavenly father is perfect? Do we think of ourselves saints in training? Well we can and should think of ourselves in this way. Ultimately we must go to heaven or hell; we are either with God or against him. It seems to me sensible to walk firmly and boldly towards God and towards the life of heaven!
And it has to be said that we Christians can often seem woefully negligent in this respect. We tend to drift along wanting to think of ourselves as “good people” but not as “holy people” or saints. I was interested to read something [“Finding Happiness” by Christopher Jamison, London: Weidenfield & Nicolson 2008] about the seven deadly sins. Apparently at one stage there were eight deadly sins. The one that somehow got lost is “acedia” which means spiritual carelessness or apathy. Certainly acedia seems a terrible problem for many Christians in these present times.
So let’s not suffer from this spiritual apathy of acedia. Let’s be attentive to God’s work in us. Let’s want it and pray for it. Let’s co-operate fully with it. Let’s thirst for the life of heaven. Let’s trust in its goodness and power. As Paul said in our reading today, “…may you know the hope to which [Christ] has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints”. In this way we can make progress on the journey, we can be healed and made whole, we can be trained up for the life heaven, and these are things of everlasting value. They are real riches. Let’s be keen to receive them!
24 October 2010
Give to the most high, as he has given to you
Sermon preached at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth at 11am Coral Mattins on Sunday 24th October 2010. A shorter version of this sermon was preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at Evensong at 3pm St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton.
Last Sunday after Trinity (Also Bible Sunday) – Year C
Readings: Ecclesiasticus 35: 12-17, Luke 18: 9-14
(outline notes only)
I now put Sunday scripture readings in the Parish Magazine.
- people can read them before or after worship
- this helps the scriptures to sink into our hearts
But maybe people had trouble finding Ecclesiasticus
– deuterocanonical / apocrypha book
- There are 7 such deutrocanonical books (plus bits of Daniel and Ester)
- they are in Greek Septuagint version of Old Testament (used by early church)
- they are not in Hebrew Bible (put together by 1st century Jews)
What books are included in the bible is called the “Canon”. Canon means ruler for measurement, a standard, an authority. The Canon is the list of books which the church regards as authoritative, which are treated as Holy Scripture.
Disputes about the Canon mainly settled at Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, which took the Greek Septuagint to be the Old Testament. At Reformation, Luther and reformers took the Hebrew Bible to be the Old Testament. Seven books left in an ambiguous state. Protestant Bibles sometimes include them in “The Apocrypha”.
It is interesting to reflect on bible history on Bible Sunday. Note that we often think of the church gaining its authority from the bible, which sets its standards and norms. But it is also true that the bible gets its authority from the church, which wrote the NT and defined the Canon.
The key text today from Ecclesiasticus 35:
Give to the most high as he has given to you.
Be generous
For the Lord repays – sevenfold.
Giving, generosity – Paula Gooder (lay canon biblical scholar at Birmingham Cathedral described the ethic of giving/generosity as the central ethic of the NT.
Not thinking just of financial giving, or even gifts like those we exchange at Christmas
Rather thinking of living for the good of other – loving the other person as I love myself.
More routinely than money or gifts, the things that we are called to give might be:
a smile
encouragement
give the time necessary to deal properly with people
give real attention when listening
give forgiveness
give help making use of our knowledge, skills or experience
give by being patient with someone who is exasperating
Generosity with time and money and gifts, is also part of this. Note that everything that is given, is given always for the good of the other.
(Sometimes the good of the other demands us to give something that they may not like – give a child a good telling off, give food to a drunkard rather than money or drink. Our attitude is still one of giving – still working for the good of the other – not judging or criticising or dominating.)
Now if we are to give generously we have to have the ability to give.
You can’t give what you don’t have.
We must have first received from God, and from others before we have anything to give.
Ideal situation – we are always receiving and always giving – cycles of mutual giving.
How can we build up that those healthy cycles of receiving and giving. How can work towards a position where we freely give all the time.
- practice generosity, it’s a virtue, a skill that grows with practice
- develop our awareness and our trust in God’s giving to us
- use prayer and mediation to build our awareness of God’s love for us
- use thanksgiving to be more aware of God’s love for us
- meet with other Christians in worship, in groups and socially to receive
- hold our shortcomings and our needs before God in prayer
- don’t hide them away, or pretend not there.
- if possible discuss them with other Christians
- remember the promises of God, e.g.
- give and there will be gifts for you – a full measure shaken down and overflowing (Luke 6: 38)
- Peter said – what about us who have left everything to follow you. (Mark 10: 28ff) Jesus said – what you have given up for me and for the gospel, you will receive 100 times as much in the present age and in the future age – eternal life.
Example of the gifts of God – I remember cycling round Lapworth years ago thinking it would be a lovely place to live. I had forgotten that – but lo and behold – I now live here!
Last Sunday after Trinity (Also Bible Sunday) – Year C
Readings: Ecclesiasticus 35: 12-17, Luke 18: 9-14
(outline notes only)
I now put Sunday scripture readings in the Parish Magazine.
- people can read them before or after worship
- this helps the scriptures to sink into our hearts
But maybe people had trouble finding Ecclesiasticus
– deuterocanonical / apocrypha book
- There are 7 such deutrocanonical books (plus bits of Daniel and Ester)
- they are in Greek Septuagint version of Old Testament (used by early church)
- they are not in Hebrew Bible (put together by 1st century Jews)
What books are included in the bible is called the “Canon”. Canon means ruler for measurement, a standard, an authority. The Canon is the list of books which the church regards as authoritative, which are treated as Holy Scripture.
Disputes about the Canon mainly settled at Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, which took the Greek Septuagint to be the Old Testament. At Reformation, Luther and reformers took the Hebrew Bible to be the Old Testament. Seven books left in an ambiguous state. Protestant Bibles sometimes include them in “The Apocrypha”.
It is interesting to reflect on bible history on Bible Sunday. Note that we often think of the church gaining its authority from the bible, which sets its standards and norms. But it is also true that the bible gets its authority from the church, which wrote the NT and defined the Canon.
The key text today from Ecclesiasticus 35:
Give to the most high as he has given to you.
Be generous
For the Lord repays – sevenfold.
Giving, generosity – Paula Gooder (lay canon biblical scholar at Birmingham Cathedral described the ethic of giving/generosity as the central ethic of the NT.
Not thinking just of financial giving, or even gifts like those we exchange at Christmas
Rather thinking of living for the good of other – loving the other person as I love myself.
More routinely than money or gifts, the things that we are called to give might be:
a smile
encouragement
give the time necessary to deal properly with people
give real attention when listening
give forgiveness
give help making use of our knowledge, skills or experience
give by being patient with someone who is exasperating
Generosity with time and money and gifts, is also part of this. Note that everything that is given, is given always for the good of the other.
(Sometimes the good of the other demands us to give something that they may not like – give a child a good telling off, give food to a drunkard rather than money or drink. Our attitude is still one of giving – still working for the good of the other – not judging or criticising or dominating.)
Now if we are to give generously we have to have the ability to give.
You can’t give what you don’t have.
We must have first received from God, and from others before we have anything to give.
Ideal situation – we are always receiving and always giving – cycles of mutual giving.
How can we build up that those healthy cycles of receiving and giving. How can work towards a position where we freely give all the time.
- practice generosity, it’s a virtue, a skill that grows with practice
- develop our awareness and our trust in God’s giving to us
- use prayer and mediation to build our awareness of God’s love for us
- use thanksgiving to be more aware of God’s love for us
- meet with other Christians in worship, in groups and socially to receive
- hold our shortcomings and our needs before God in prayer
- don’t hide them away, or pretend not there.
- if possible discuss them with other Christians
- remember the promises of God, e.g.
- give and there will be gifts for you – a full measure shaken down and overflowing (Luke 6: 38)
- Peter said – what about us who have left everything to follow you. (Mark 10: 28ff) Jesus said – what you have given up for me and for the gospel, you will receive 100 times as much in the present age and in the future age – eternal life.
Example of the gifts of God – I remember cycling round Lapworth years ago thinking it would be a lovely place to live. I had forgotten that – but lo and behold – I now live here!
10 October 2010
Being made clean
Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth on Sunday 10th October 2010. A shortened version was also preached at the 8.30am Eucharist.
Trinity 19, Proper 23 – Year C
Readings: Ps 111 2 Kings 5: 1-3 & 7-15c Luke 17: 11-19
On Fridays, which is my day off, I always try to get in a round of golf. And usually I have a shower immediately afterwards. I like the feeling of clean skin and clean clothes and I feel refreshed and renewed. And if for some reason I don’t have a shower I usually regret it. I feel sweaty or dirty and I worry that I smell. I worry that my skin is a mess. And I think these feelings are very common. I think many of us like the feeling of clean, fresh skin after a bath or shower.
So let’s spare a thought for people with leprosy. It is a terrible disease whereby the skin dries and cracks and nerve endings lose their feeling, such that it becomes all too easy to damage limbs, without even noticing. Leprosy causes a deterioration in the skin, such that even young people start to look very old. Nowadays there are excellent treatments available for leprosy and it need not be a problem. Sadly there are still places in the world where because of war, or poverty or organisational failures leprosy is still a problem, but in the time of Jesus it was a significant problem, with lepers often expected to live in isolated colonies outside the towns, where they would not infect anyone else.
Now our scripture readings today were about people who were healed of leprosy. Their skin and their flesh were made clean. The terrible disease was cleared away. And what an extraordinary joy that must have been. First of all, the joy of having a nice clean wholesome skin, the skin which I appreciate after a shower, but how much more so after recovering from leprosy! Secondly the end of isolation, the end to the fear of infecting anyone with whom the leper interacts, restoration to a normal life with family and friends in society. Thirdly the knowledge that the disease has gone, a sudden and new expectation of a healthy future; deliverance from a slow and isolated decline towards death. What a joy for the healed leper! What a joy!
Now let’s think about Naaman, and how he came to be cured of his leprosy. I always love the image of Naaman arriving with his horses and chariots and all his servants and attendants, and his letter from the king and all his gold and silver. And all this huge and glorious entourage draws up outside Elijah’s house, which was no doubt a very small and simple shack. The contrasts are stark. Naaman and Elijah live by very different values. Naaman no has to go through quite a process and has to learn many things before he can be healed.
First of all he has to learn something about not putting too much trust in earthly resources. All those horses and chariots and attendants and gold count for very little in front of Elijah, the simple man of God. God is not going to heal Naaman because he is “impressed”. God’s healing is a simple gift to the person who asks consistently and waits patiently.
Then there is a lesson in humility. Elijah does not even come out to greet this great man, this commander of armies. Naaman receives a simple message through a servant. Even the greatest of men are not great in front of God, their creator, redeemer and sustainer.
There is a lesson about simplicity. Naaman expected great theatricals. He expected the prophet to call upon the name of God, and wave his hands over the infected skin. But God’s healing is not about signs of outward show. Usually it is quiet, natural and unassuming. It does not make great TV. It is often overlooked by newspaper.
Then there is a lesson about not trusting in our strength. “If the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?” How much more should you do something simple? In a way God’s healing would be easier to accept if we somehow earned it through hard work, or bravery or skill. We might feel we had some entitlement to it if we did this. But God’s healing is not like that. It is a simple gift. We cannot earn God’s favour through our own efforts, rather our own efforts must work in harmony with the grace that we have received from God.
And closely linked to this, there is a lesson about obedience. Washing in the Jordon might seem rather irrelevant to the problem in human eyes, but this is what God asked for, and this is what made Naaman clean. We need to trust in God and walk in the ways that he suggests if we are to be made clean.
Then there is a lesson about the greatness and oneness of the God of Israel. “Are not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” Well no, in this case we are talking about the God of Israel, and Naaman was asked to wash in the Jordon, the river of Israel.
So by the time that Naaman got down to the river Jordon and washed he had already been through quite a process. Much healing of his attitudes had already taken place. Pride was overcome by humility, outward show by simplicity. Trust in earthly resources or his own human strength was replaced by trust in God. Following human reasoning was replaced by obedience to God. Belief in a vague notion of God was replaced by trust in a specific and personal God; the God of Israel. With all this healing already completed it was probably a very small thing for God to add the healing of the leprosy.
Then if we think about the ten lepers and Jesus, what did they have to do. Well quite simply they placed themselves in front of Jesus, in front of God, and asked for him to mercy on them. They respected the limits of their condition by keeping their distance. leprosy was very infectious. They were obedient to what Jesus suggested. And one of them came to give thanks afterwards. Actually it is probably a bit hard to blame the other nine for not giving thanks. To show yourself to the priest was the standard procedure after recovering from leprosy. The priest would declare you clean, and you could re-enter society. But the one who came back was a Samaritan. Because he was not a Jew he would not have access to a Jewish priest. Therefore he came back to Jesus, who perhaps he recognised as the great high priest, and said thank you. I suspect that the other nine were still trying to find a priest who would see them!
So what about us? What should we do when we come to God for healing, when we come to be made clean. And I am not thinking only of physical illnesses, but also of our spiritual failures, our sins, the disorders in our lifestyles, the hurts and resentments that we carry, the baggage of our past which constrains us. All these things are things which we can and should bring to God for healing. Like the ten lepers we must present ourselves in front of God, humbly acknowledging our condition and asking for mercy. Let’s not put our trust in our own strength, or in earthly resources, but rather put our trust in God who made us and loves us and who has great future envisaged for us. Let’s hold our problems before him in trust. Let’s be obedient to his suggestions, and let’s be confident in the wholeness and healing he wants to share with us.
Trinity 19, Proper 23 – Year C
Readings: Ps 111 2 Kings 5: 1-3 & 7-15c Luke 17: 11-19
On Fridays, which is my day off, I always try to get in a round of golf. And usually I have a shower immediately afterwards. I like the feeling of clean skin and clean clothes and I feel refreshed and renewed. And if for some reason I don’t have a shower I usually regret it. I feel sweaty or dirty and I worry that I smell. I worry that my skin is a mess. And I think these feelings are very common. I think many of us like the feeling of clean, fresh skin after a bath or shower.
So let’s spare a thought for people with leprosy. It is a terrible disease whereby the skin dries and cracks and nerve endings lose their feeling, such that it becomes all too easy to damage limbs, without even noticing. Leprosy causes a deterioration in the skin, such that even young people start to look very old. Nowadays there are excellent treatments available for leprosy and it need not be a problem. Sadly there are still places in the world where because of war, or poverty or organisational failures leprosy is still a problem, but in the time of Jesus it was a significant problem, with lepers often expected to live in isolated colonies outside the towns, where they would not infect anyone else.
Now our scripture readings today were about people who were healed of leprosy. Their skin and their flesh were made clean. The terrible disease was cleared away. And what an extraordinary joy that must have been. First of all, the joy of having a nice clean wholesome skin, the skin which I appreciate after a shower, but how much more so after recovering from leprosy! Secondly the end of isolation, the end to the fear of infecting anyone with whom the leper interacts, restoration to a normal life with family and friends in society. Thirdly the knowledge that the disease has gone, a sudden and new expectation of a healthy future; deliverance from a slow and isolated decline towards death. What a joy for the healed leper! What a joy!
Now let’s think about Naaman, and how he came to be cured of his leprosy. I always love the image of Naaman arriving with his horses and chariots and all his servants and attendants, and his letter from the king and all his gold and silver. And all this huge and glorious entourage draws up outside Elijah’s house, which was no doubt a very small and simple shack. The contrasts are stark. Naaman and Elijah live by very different values. Naaman no has to go through quite a process and has to learn many things before he can be healed.
First of all he has to learn something about not putting too much trust in earthly resources. All those horses and chariots and attendants and gold count for very little in front of Elijah, the simple man of God. God is not going to heal Naaman because he is “impressed”. God’s healing is a simple gift to the person who asks consistently and waits patiently.
Then there is a lesson in humility. Elijah does not even come out to greet this great man, this commander of armies. Naaman receives a simple message through a servant. Even the greatest of men are not great in front of God, their creator, redeemer and sustainer.
There is a lesson about simplicity. Naaman expected great theatricals. He expected the prophet to call upon the name of God, and wave his hands over the infected skin. But God’s healing is not about signs of outward show. Usually it is quiet, natural and unassuming. It does not make great TV. It is often overlooked by newspaper.
Then there is a lesson about not trusting in our strength. “If the prophet had commanded you to do something difficult, would you not have done it?” How much more should you do something simple? In a way God’s healing would be easier to accept if we somehow earned it through hard work, or bravery or skill. We might feel we had some entitlement to it if we did this. But God’s healing is not like that. It is a simple gift. We cannot earn God’s favour through our own efforts, rather our own efforts must work in harmony with the grace that we have received from God.
And closely linked to this, there is a lesson about obedience. Washing in the Jordon might seem rather irrelevant to the problem in human eyes, but this is what God asked for, and this is what made Naaman clean. We need to trust in God and walk in the ways that he suggests if we are to be made clean.
Then there is a lesson about the greatness and oneness of the God of Israel. “Are not the rivers of Damascus better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” Well no, in this case we are talking about the God of Israel, and Naaman was asked to wash in the Jordon, the river of Israel.
So by the time that Naaman got down to the river Jordon and washed he had already been through quite a process. Much healing of his attitudes had already taken place. Pride was overcome by humility, outward show by simplicity. Trust in earthly resources or his own human strength was replaced by trust in God. Following human reasoning was replaced by obedience to God. Belief in a vague notion of God was replaced by trust in a specific and personal God; the God of Israel. With all this healing already completed it was probably a very small thing for God to add the healing of the leprosy.
Then if we think about the ten lepers and Jesus, what did they have to do. Well quite simply they placed themselves in front of Jesus, in front of God, and asked for him to mercy on them. They respected the limits of their condition by keeping their distance. leprosy was very infectious. They were obedient to what Jesus suggested. And one of them came to give thanks afterwards. Actually it is probably a bit hard to blame the other nine for not giving thanks. To show yourself to the priest was the standard procedure after recovering from leprosy. The priest would declare you clean, and you could re-enter society. But the one who came back was a Samaritan. Because he was not a Jew he would not have access to a Jewish priest. Therefore he came back to Jesus, who perhaps he recognised as the great high priest, and said thank you. I suspect that the other nine were still trying to find a priest who would see them!
So what about us? What should we do when we come to God for healing, when we come to be made clean. And I am not thinking only of physical illnesses, but also of our spiritual failures, our sins, the disorders in our lifestyles, the hurts and resentments that we carry, the baggage of our past which constrains us. All these things are things which we can and should bring to God for healing. Like the ten lepers we must present ourselves in front of God, humbly acknowledging our condition and asking for mercy. Let’s not put our trust in our own strength, or in earthly resources, but rather put our trust in God who made us and loves us and who has great future envisaged for us. Let’s hold our problems before him in trust. Let’s be obedient to his suggestions, and let’s be confident in the wholeness and healing he wants to share with us.
03 October 2010
Faith the size of a mustard seed
Sermon preached at 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP), St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton on Sunday 3rd October 2010.
Trinity 18, Proper 22 Year C
Readings: 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 Luke 17: 5-10
Sermon in notes only.
Jesus comments are challenging
Focus on comment on faith - faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot the mulberry tree (or Mountain - Matt 17:20, 21:21, Mark 11:23)
Not literal, but figure of speech
- faith does not have physical size
- Jesus did not do it
- no saint has done it
Rather the point is - nothing is impossible for God
About God’s purposes (not our purposes)
Miracles are always
- building the kingdom of God
- promoting the gospel
- saving humanity
God seems very restrained in use of shock and awe powers
Sometimes used:
- deliverance from Egypt
- resurrection of Jesus
- feeding of five thousand
- healing miracles
But often resisted
- Jesus usually refused to “give signs” and gets frustrated when asked.
- it was temptation of devil “cast yourself off the pinnacle of the temple”
Why is God so standoffish in this sense? Why not use shock and awe?
- perhaps because he wants real human participation
- wants to promote, not undermine, human work, prayer and contribution
- like wise parents who don’t always intervene to tie a shoelace, but allow a child to struggle with it and so to learn.
So the human contribution to the fulfilling of God’s purposes is very important
– we all have a part to play
– we can find this overburdening, impossible, demoralising even
– need faith
– but for God nothing is impossible. THIS IS THE POINT
– we play our part, then trust God, let him act.
– must not trust too much in our own strength.
– must accept that God’s purposes are greater than our own
o we often don’t understand how God is working
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Is 55:9)
Example – a marriage brake down situation is recovered and healed through prayer, acceptance and open sharing of the situation.
The right attitude is beautiful summarised by what we heard Paul say to Timothy:
“join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.”
[drawing heavily on Word of Life “Faith the size of a mustard seed” by Chiara Lubich - March 2010]
Trinity 18, Proper 22 Year C
Readings: 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 Luke 17: 5-10
Sermon in notes only.
Jesus comments are challenging
Focus on comment on faith - faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot the mulberry tree (or Mountain - Matt 17:20, 21:21, Mark 11:23)
Not literal, but figure of speech
- faith does not have physical size
- Jesus did not do it
- no saint has done it
Rather the point is - nothing is impossible for God
About God’s purposes (not our purposes)
Miracles are always
- building the kingdom of God
- promoting the gospel
- saving humanity
God seems very restrained in use of shock and awe powers
Sometimes used:
- deliverance from Egypt
- resurrection of Jesus
- feeding of five thousand
- healing miracles
But often resisted
- Jesus usually refused to “give signs” and gets frustrated when asked.
- it was temptation of devil “cast yourself off the pinnacle of the temple”
Why is God so standoffish in this sense? Why not use shock and awe?
- perhaps because he wants real human participation
- wants to promote, not undermine, human work, prayer and contribution
- like wise parents who don’t always intervene to tie a shoelace, but allow a child to struggle with it and so to learn.
So the human contribution to the fulfilling of God’s purposes is very important
– we all have a part to play
– we can find this overburdening, impossible, demoralising even
– need faith
– but for God nothing is impossible. THIS IS THE POINT
– we play our part, then trust God, let him act.
– must not trust too much in our own strength.
– must accept that God’s purposes are greater than our own
o we often don’t understand how God is working
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Is 55:9)
Example – a marriage brake down situation is recovered and healed through prayer, acceptance and open sharing of the situation.
The right attitude is beautiful summarised by what we heard Paul say to Timothy:
“join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.”
[drawing heavily on Word of Life “Faith the size of a mustard seed” by Chiara Lubich - March 2010]
26 September 2010
Michaelmas
Sermon preached at 3pm Evensong for the Patronal Festival at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton. (Partly based on sermon from 28/09/2008.)
Sunday 26th September 2010, Michaelmas
Readings: Daniel 10: 4-end Rev 5
Today is our Patronal Festival. We are celebrating St Michael, to whom this church is dedicated. St Michael’s day is 29th September, and in the CofE we tend to call it St Michael and all angles. And this is because, rather un-typically for a saint, Michael is angel.
“And what are angels?” you might well ask. Well angels are spiritual beings which do not have bodies. They are creatures, that is to say they were created by God (Col 1: 16), but they seem to have been well established by the time that Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1, 24). As spiritual beings, angels have their own personalities and their own free will. Some angels have chosen (as we are all free to choose) to rebel against God and to try to go their own way. These we call demons and we think of the Devil, the prince of all demons, who we read about being cast out of heaven by St Michael in our second reading today (see also 2 Peter 2: 4, Jude 6). When we use the word “angel” we are generally not thinking of demons, but rather we mean spiritual beings that are good. That is spiritual being who choose to use their free will in harmony with the will of God. They choose to do God’s work. In fact, according to St Augustine, the word “angel”, which means “messenger”, is more of a job title than a description of a particular kind of being. Psalm 103 (v20) tells us that angels are “might ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word”. So angels are powerful, spiritual beings who are the messengers of God and who do God’s will.
Now if angels are spiritual beings, who can’t been seen or touched in the visible world in which we live, how do we know anything about them? Well, in the history of religious experience they have been extremely important, and this is recorded in many places in our scriptures. For example, Psalm 34 (v7) tells us that “the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them” and psalm 97 (9-16) tells us that God will deliver those who love him, sending angels to guard them and bear them up. And so we can believe that we each have a guardian angel walking always beside us and protecting us. Certainly Jesus is thinking this when he talks about children. He says, “take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my father” (Matt 18:10). And with angels always so close to us and looking after us it is perhaps not so surprising that we do sometimes meet people who have had some experience of the presence of angels, or of angels protecting them in moments of crisis.
There are hundreds of references to angels in our scriptures. They are spread throughout the bible from Genesis, the very first book, to Revelation, the last book. We find them especially at critical moments in our salvation history; when Abraham is about sacrifice his son Isaac, when Moses is called by God to set the Israelites free, when the Blessed Virgin Mary is told she is to expect the child Jesus, at the resurrection of Christ. The other place that they appear a lot in scripture in where there are visions of heaven. Our readings from Daniel and Revelation today both described visions of heaven where angels were seen.
It is interesting to note that it is not just the Christian scriptures that talk about angels. The Jews and the Muslims, who also worship the God of Abraham, also have a great deal about angels in their scriptures. Michael and Gabriel are mentioned in the Muslims holy book, the Koran. The Jewish Talmud has extraordinary details about many angels including Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. It describes many different ranks of angels, and the many different heights of heaven.
There might be lots of reference to angels in the bible, but only three angels are ever named. These are Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Michael is the leader of the armies of God, as we heard in our reading from Revelation. Gabriel is the angel who tells Zachariah that he is to father John the Baptist, and tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to mother Jesus. Raphael appears in the apocryphal book of Tobit. He heals Tobit’s eyes so that he can see again.
But what about Michael? What is his specific role? Well Michael seems to have a specific role as an Archangel, and as one who confronts the spiritual forces of evil. We heard about that in our reading from Daniel, as he fought against the prince of Persia. This is the only place where Michael appears in the Old Testament. It is a difficult passage for bible translators, apparently written in poor Hebrew and with inconsistencies between the various ancient sources. We might wonder who the man in white linen is. Biblical commentators are reluctant to provide a clear answer. There are parts of the description, like the golden belt, that make him sound like Jesus or at least a “Son of Man”, from Revelation 1: 13-15. Other things make him sound like God’s messenger, the angel Gabrielle. And it seems that some of these prices, like the prince of Persia, are evil angels to struggle against, but it all remains very mysterious.
Our second reading, Revelation 5 was more generally about heaven. Every now and again the scriptures give us a glimpse of the majesty, splendour and awe of heaven. This happens many times in the scriptures, especially in books like Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation, and they are always full of angels. I particularly like the passage in Isaiah when Isaiah describes his vision of the throne of God (Isaiah 6: 1-5), with seraphs singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts”. And we must not forget the moment when Jesus is born and a multitude of the heavenly host appeared before the shepherds singing, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2: 13-14).
And these glimpses of heaven are very valuable to us, because, remarkably, we are called to share in this life of heaven. God wants each one of us to be part of it all. In Luke chapter 20 (v35-36) Jesus is talking about resurrection and marriage. He says, “But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection”. We are called to share in this life of heaven and in the holiness of God (Heb 3: 1, 12: 10) like the angels. We know that all this is only fully realised after the resurrection of the dead. We know that we have a long journey to walk before we get there, because we know that we are far from being angels at the moment. But despite this, there is a sense in which it is true already. If we are in Christ then we are already part of this new creation (2 Cor 5:17).
So angels like Michael are good role models for us. Their obedience to God’s will, and co-operation with purposes show us the way to heaven. So, let’s thank God for our patron Michael, and let’s seek in this place to follow his example, and so to walk the journey to heaven.
Sunday 26th September 2010, Michaelmas
Readings: Daniel 10: 4-end Rev 5
Today is our Patronal Festival. We are celebrating St Michael, to whom this church is dedicated. St Michael’s day is 29th September, and in the CofE we tend to call it St Michael and all angles. And this is because, rather un-typically for a saint, Michael is angel.
“And what are angels?” you might well ask. Well angels are spiritual beings which do not have bodies. They are creatures, that is to say they were created by God (Col 1: 16), but they seem to have been well established by the time that Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden (Gen 3:1, 24). As spiritual beings, angels have their own personalities and their own free will. Some angels have chosen (as we are all free to choose) to rebel against God and to try to go their own way. These we call demons and we think of the Devil, the prince of all demons, who we read about being cast out of heaven by St Michael in our second reading today (see also 2 Peter 2: 4, Jude 6). When we use the word “angel” we are generally not thinking of demons, but rather we mean spiritual beings that are good. That is spiritual being who choose to use their free will in harmony with the will of God. They choose to do God’s work. In fact, according to St Augustine, the word “angel”, which means “messenger”, is more of a job title than a description of a particular kind of being. Psalm 103 (v20) tells us that angels are “might ones who do his bidding, obedient to his spoken word”. So angels are powerful, spiritual beings who are the messengers of God and who do God’s will.
Now if angels are spiritual beings, who can’t been seen or touched in the visible world in which we live, how do we know anything about them? Well, in the history of religious experience they have been extremely important, and this is recorded in many places in our scriptures. For example, Psalm 34 (v7) tells us that “the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them” and psalm 97 (9-16) tells us that God will deliver those who love him, sending angels to guard them and bear them up. And so we can believe that we each have a guardian angel walking always beside us and protecting us. Certainly Jesus is thinking this when he talks about children. He says, “take care that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I tell you, in heaven their angels continually see the face of my father” (Matt 18:10). And with angels always so close to us and looking after us it is perhaps not so surprising that we do sometimes meet people who have had some experience of the presence of angels, or of angels protecting them in moments of crisis.
There are hundreds of references to angels in our scriptures. They are spread throughout the bible from Genesis, the very first book, to Revelation, the last book. We find them especially at critical moments in our salvation history; when Abraham is about sacrifice his son Isaac, when Moses is called by God to set the Israelites free, when the Blessed Virgin Mary is told she is to expect the child Jesus, at the resurrection of Christ. The other place that they appear a lot in scripture in where there are visions of heaven. Our readings from Daniel and Revelation today both described visions of heaven where angels were seen.
It is interesting to note that it is not just the Christian scriptures that talk about angels. The Jews and the Muslims, who also worship the God of Abraham, also have a great deal about angels in their scriptures. Michael and Gabriel are mentioned in the Muslims holy book, the Koran. The Jewish Talmud has extraordinary details about many angels including Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. It describes many different ranks of angels, and the many different heights of heaven.
There might be lots of reference to angels in the bible, but only three angels are ever named. These are Michael, Gabriel and Raphael. Michael is the leader of the armies of God, as we heard in our reading from Revelation. Gabriel is the angel who tells Zachariah that he is to father John the Baptist, and tells the Blessed Virgin Mary that she is to mother Jesus. Raphael appears in the apocryphal book of Tobit. He heals Tobit’s eyes so that he can see again.
But what about Michael? What is his specific role? Well Michael seems to have a specific role as an Archangel, and as one who confronts the spiritual forces of evil. We heard about that in our reading from Daniel, as he fought against the prince of Persia. This is the only place where Michael appears in the Old Testament. It is a difficult passage for bible translators, apparently written in poor Hebrew and with inconsistencies between the various ancient sources. We might wonder who the man in white linen is. Biblical commentators are reluctant to provide a clear answer. There are parts of the description, like the golden belt, that make him sound like Jesus or at least a “Son of Man”, from Revelation 1: 13-15. Other things make him sound like God’s messenger, the angel Gabrielle. And it seems that some of these prices, like the prince of Persia, are evil angels to struggle against, but it all remains very mysterious.
Our second reading, Revelation 5 was more generally about heaven. Every now and again the scriptures give us a glimpse of the majesty, splendour and awe of heaven. This happens many times in the scriptures, especially in books like Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation, and they are always full of angels. I particularly like the passage in Isaiah when Isaiah describes his vision of the throne of God (Isaiah 6: 1-5), with seraphs singing, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts”. And we must not forget the moment when Jesus is born and a multitude of the heavenly host appeared before the shepherds singing, “Glory to God in the highest” (Luke 2: 13-14).
And these glimpses of heaven are very valuable to us, because, remarkably, we are called to share in this life of heaven. God wants each one of us to be part of it all. In Luke chapter 20 (v35-36) Jesus is talking about resurrection and marriage. He says, “But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection”. We are called to share in this life of heaven and in the holiness of God (Heb 3: 1, 12: 10) like the angels. We know that all this is only fully realised after the resurrection of the dead. We know that we have a long journey to walk before we get there, because we know that we are far from being angels at the moment. But despite this, there is a sense in which it is true already. If we are in Christ then we are already part of this new creation (2 Cor 5:17).
So angels like Michael are good role models for us. Their obedience to God’s will, and co-operation with purposes show us the way to heaven. So, let’s thank God for our patron Michael, and let’s seek in this place to follow his example, and so to walk the journey to heaven.
Reversal of fortunes
Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth. A shortened version was preached at the 8.30 Said Eucharist.
Sunday 26th September 2010, Trinity 17, Proper 21 – Year C
Readings: Amos 6: 1a, 4-7 Luke 16: 19-31
I don’t know if you ever saw the TV game show, wheel of fortune? In it a great big wheel was spun and would come to rest on a certain number of points, and contestants would need to solve word puzzles to win the points, and eventually prizes. There was certainly skill involved, but a great deal also rested on the spinning of the wheel and how fortunate or unfortunate contestants were. And fortunes could change very dramatically and suddenly. A contestant could lose everything if the wheel came to rest on “Bankrupt”.
Well the idea of a wheel of fortune can be traced back to Roman times or before. Under the Roman version, somewhere in the heavens, the Goddess Fortuna spins her wheel, and as it goes round so the earthly fortunes of human beings are raised up or fall away. Individuals and nations grow in prosperity and power, or fall down, as Fortuna spins her wheel. People on earth might think that their success or failure is down to their good or bad behaviour, down to their skill or lack of it in handling of situations, and this might even be true superficially, but at the deepest level everything is driven by Fortuna and her wheel.
The wheel of fortune is particularly well known in mediaeval art and literature. Dante and Chaucer both write about it. By this time the idea has been somewhat Christianised. Fortuna is not so much a Goddess, but rather and angelic power who fulfils God’s will, rising up the material fortunes of some, bringing about the downfall of others. If we look at history, it is extraordinary how many things work together to bring about the raising up of empires and nations, and their subsequent falling away. We might think of the ancient Egyptian civilisations, which gave way to the Greeks and then to the Romans. We might think of the British Empire, which rose up so powerfully in the 19th century, and fell away so dramatically during the 20th. We might think of American power and influence which has been overwhelming since the Second World War, but which now seems undermined by debt and individualism, whilst the Chinese seem to be in the ascendancy. Or we might think of individuals, some seem to accumulate extraordinary wealth, and some seem to lose it. The fortunes of someone like Michael Jackson seemed to surge forwards and upwards like a boat inevitably raised up on a rising tide, but then later they fall away just as surely as a moored boat sinks down on a falling tide.
So why is it that the idea of a wheel of fortune was so attractive to the artists and writers of medieval times, who were so often very profoundly Christian. Well perhaps part of the reason is scripture readings like those that we heard today. Amos was active as a prophet in 8th Century BC. At that time the 12 tribes of Jacob were divided such that 10 of them formed the northern kingdom of Israel around Samaria and two of them (Judah and Benjamin) formed the Southern Kingdom of Judah, around Jerusalem. Amos was addressing himself to the Northern Kingdom. His massage was that the nation should reform itself and prioritise justice for the poor above wealth and affluence. He said that if Israel did not do this, then disaster would strike. Israel would be defeated by the Assyrians and taken off into exile. And this is exactly what came to pass a few years after the death of Amos. The Assyrians conquered Israel in 722BC, sending all the top people in society into an exile from which there was no return.
Amos’s message in our reading today was basically, “Alas for those who are rich and comfortable; they shall be the first to be taken into exile.” There is a powerful theme of reversal of fortune. Those who are fortunate now will become slaves in a foreign land.
And that reversal of fortunes theme is also strongly present in our reading from Luke. Lazarus who suffers terrible poverty and poor health on earth, finds comfort in heaven in the bosom of Abraham. By contrast the rich man who had an extravagant lifestyle on earth finds himself tormented in Hades when he dies. When he asks Abraham for mercy, Abraham explains the reversal of fortunes to him.
Luke, it seems, especially rejoices in the reversal of fortunes theme. Like the other gospel writers he talks about the last being first and the first last. But in a month’s time we shall read Luke’s own distinctive versions of the beatitudes. Like Matthew he records “blessed are the poor, the hungry and those who weep”, but unlike Matthew he also records, “woe to you who are rich, or full now or laughing”.
Now for those of us who live in a pretty well-to-do corner of a very well-to-do nation this reversal of fortunes theme makes rather uncomfortable reading. Because we comfortable now, does that mean that we are destined to be uncomfortable in the future? Well, we cannot know, but if God’s providence does work anything like a wheel of fortune then we certainly can’t rule that out.
Now I mentioned God’s providence. What do I mean by that? I mean the way that God orders all the affairs of creation to bring about his purposes. God is all powerful, so we know that everything that happens, be it good or bad, must be either willed or allowed by God. And God wills or allows these things to happen out of love for us, for our good, to help us to walk the journey to heaven. Now someone might say, “How could a loving God allow my granny to die such a terrible death?” Well this is a great mystery, but by faith we believe that God either willed this or allowed it for his reasons, which we might not understand, but they are reasons of love. They are reasons that work for the good of the granny and for the good of others. They are reasons that help them put aside earthly things and reach for the kingdom of heaven.
So God’s providence can feel a bit like a wheel of fortune. Sometimes it can feel great, and good things happen to us for no apparent reason. Sometimes it can be really tough, terrible things happen and there seems to be no reason why. So how should we respond to this? Well the important thing is to trust always in the providence of God; to trust that God is working his purposes out, and to trust that he is doing that for our good, and for the good of all people. Often we cannot see why, or how, but we must learn always to trust in God through good things and bad. And people who are very spiritually mature learn to thank God for all things, the good and the bad, because they see in all things the opportunity to grow closer to God, to grow in holiness, to reach fulfilment.
So I commend this way of thinking to you. When things go well and life is great don’t praise yourself for your own achievements or merit, but rather give thanks to God and praise him for his goodness. Similarly when things go badly and you suffer and struggle don’t necessarily assume that you have done something wrong or made mistakes. Rather trust God and try to work with him. Try to see things as God sees them, and learn the lessons he teaches, because all things work for good for those who love God. (c.f. Rom 8: 28). Amen
Sunday 26th September 2010, Trinity 17, Proper 21 – Year C
Readings: Amos 6: 1a, 4-7 Luke 16: 19-31
I don’t know if you ever saw the TV game show, wheel of fortune? In it a great big wheel was spun and would come to rest on a certain number of points, and contestants would need to solve word puzzles to win the points, and eventually prizes. There was certainly skill involved, but a great deal also rested on the spinning of the wheel and how fortunate or unfortunate contestants were. And fortunes could change very dramatically and suddenly. A contestant could lose everything if the wheel came to rest on “Bankrupt”.
Well the idea of a wheel of fortune can be traced back to Roman times or before. Under the Roman version, somewhere in the heavens, the Goddess Fortuna spins her wheel, and as it goes round so the earthly fortunes of human beings are raised up or fall away. Individuals and nations grow in prosperity and power, or fall down, as Fortuna spins her wheel. People on earth might think that their success or failure is down to their good or bad behaviour, down to their skill or lack of it in handling of situations, and this might even be true superficially, but at the deepest level everything is driven by Fortuna and her wheel.
The wheel of fortune is particularly well known in mediaeval art and literature. Dante and Chaucer both write about it. By this time the idea has been somewhat Christianised. Fortuna is not so much a Goddess, but rather and angelic power who fulfils God’s will, rising up the material fortunes of some, bringing about the downfall of others. If we look at history, it is extraordinary how many things work together to bring about the raising up of empires and nations, and their subsequent falling away. We might think of the ancient Egyptian civilisations, which gave way to the Greeks and then to the Romans. We might think of the British Empire, which rose up so powerfully in the 19th century, and fell away so dramatically during the 20th. We might think of American power and influence which has been overwhelming since the Second World War, but which now seems undermined by debt and individualism, whilst the Chinese seem to be in the ascendancy. Or we might think of individuals, some seem to accumulate extraordinary wealth, and some seem to lose it. The fortunes of someone like Michael Jackson seemed to surge forwards and upwards like a boat inevitably raised up on a rising tide, but then later they fall away just as surely as a moored boat sinks down on a falling tide.
So why is it that the idea of a wheel of fortune was so attractive to the artists and writers of medieval times, who were so often very profoundly Christian. Well perhaps part of the reason is scripture readings like those that we heard today. Amos was active as a prophet in 8th Century BC. At that time the 12 tribes of Jacob were divided such that 10 of them formed the northern kingdom of Israel around Samaria and two of them (Judah and Benjamin) formed the Southern Kingdom of Judah, around Jerusalem. Amos was addressing himself to the Northern Kingdom. His massage was that the nation should reform itself and prioritise justice for the poor above wealth and affluence. He said that if Israel did not do this, then disaster would strike. Israel would be defeated by the Assyrians and taken off into exile. And this is exactly what came to pass a few years after the death of Amos. The Assyrians conquered Israel in 722BC, sending all the top people in society into an exile from which there was no return.
Amos’s message in our reading today was basically, “Alas for those who are rich and comfortable; they shall be the first to be taken into exile.” There is a powerful theme of reversal of fortune. Those who are fortunate now will become slaves in a foreign land.
And that reversal of fortunes theme is also strongly present in our reading from Luke. Lazarus who suffers terrible poverty and poor health on earth, finds comfort in heaven in the bosom of Abraham. By contrast the rich man who had an extravagant lifestyle on earth finds himself tormented in Hades when he dies. When he asks Abraham for mercy, Abraham explains the reversal of fortunes to him.
Luke, it seems, especially rejoices in the reversal of fortunes theme. Like the other gospel writers he talks about the last being first and the first last. But in a month’s time we shall read Luke’s own distinctive versions of the beatitudes. Like Matthew he records “blessed are the poor, the hungry and those who weep”, but unlike Matthew he also records, “woe to you who are rich, or full now or laughing”.
Now for those of us who live in a pretty well-to-do corner of a very well-to-do nation this reversal of fortunes theme makes rather uncomfortable reading. Because we comfortable now, does that mean that we are destined to be uncomfortable in the future? Well, we cannot know, but if God’s providence does work anything like a wheel of fortune then we certainly can’t rule that out.
Now I mentioned God’s providence. What do I mean by that? I mean the way that God orders all the affairs of creation to bring about his purposes. God is all powerful, so we know that everything that happens, be it good or bad, must be either willed or allowed by God. And God wills or allows these things to happen out of love for us, for our good, to help us to walk the journey to heaven. Now someone might say, “How could a loving God allow my granny to die such a terrible death?” Well this is a great mystery, but by faith we believe that God either willed this or allowed it for his reasons, which we might not understand, but they are reasons of love. They are reasons that work for the good of the granny and for the good of others. They are reasons that help them put aside earthly things and reach for the kingdom of heaven.
So God’s providence can feel a bit like a wheel of fortune. Sometimes it can feel great, and good things happen to us for no apparent reason. Sometimes it can be really tough, terrible things happen and there seems to be no reason why. So how should we respond to this? Well the important thing is to trust always in the providence of God; to trust that God is working his purposes out, and to trust that he is doing that for our good, and for the good of all people. Often we cannot see why, or how, but we must learn always to trust in God through good things and bad. And people who are very spiritually mature learn to thank God for all things, the good and the bad, because they see in all things the opportunity to grow closer to God, to grow in holiness, to reach fulfilment.
So I commend this way of thinking to you. When things go well and life is great don’t praise yourself for your own achievements or merit, but rather give thanks to God and praise him for his goodness. Similarly when things go badly and you suffer and struggle don’t necessarily assume that you have done something wrong or made mistakes. Rather trust God and try to work with him. Try to see things as God sees them, and learn the lessons he teaches, because all things work for good for those who love God. (c.f. Rom 8: 28). Amen
19 September 2010
The Church and wider society
Sermon preached at the 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth on Sunday 19th September 2010. Other versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton’s for the 9.45am Service of Holy Communion.
Context: Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain 16th-19th September 2010
Readings: 1 Tim 2: 1-7 Luke 16: 1-13
Our scripture readings today are about living out our Christianity within wider society. In 1 Timothy Paul tells us to make prayers and supplications for all people, not just for Christians. He asks us to pray especially for rulers and those in high position in society. He asks us to live our Christian lives in a quiet and peaceable way, with dignity. He emphasizes that God wills salvation for all people, and that the ransom that Christ paid on the cross was for all people. These are pointers towards the way in which church should fit in with the wider society around it.
Then the parable that Jesus tells is about our economic relationships with one another. It is a parable that biblical scholars often struggle with. It can be helpful to think of the rich man as a shrewd and exacting, absentee landlord, rather than thinking of him as God. Luke himself offers three different interpretations at the end of the parable. It is all to do with how we handle money and wealth, and our economic relationships with the people around us.
In this country, for well over 1000 years, Christianity has been the religion of almost everybody. Our culture and language have been profoundly influenced by Christian values which are foundational to political and legal system. But since the 1960s there has been a change. Immigration has introduced significant religious minorities, especially Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, and this has disturbed the Christian consensus. And then there has also been a drift towards secularization, such that in the 2001 census about 20% of the population preferred to describe themselves as Atheists or Agnostics rather than as belonging to a major world religion. And this secularization has also affected many of the 72% of the population who chose to describe themselves as Christian. Most of the population still think of themselves as Christian, but most of them seldom come to church and all too easily they pick up behaviours and attitudes which are much more influenced by secular experience than by the teaching and example of Christ.
So as practising, worshiping Christians in this country we find ourselves in a minority position in society. And this feels like a new and frightening experience. There can even be is a temptation to panic! But actually this is not a new experience at all. In the first three hundred years of the churches life, Christians were always a religious minority, sometimes tolerated, sometimes persecuted by the wider society and the Roman empire. Because of this experience, there is a great deal of wisdom in the New Testament and in the writings of the early church to help us to understand and cope with this situation of being a Christian minority.
And I think more than anything else, this is what the Pope has been talking about during his current visit to Britain. I have learned than it is very important with religious leader to read the actual text of their speeches rather than the bits that the media pick out. The media prioritise the items that might boost audience figures or newspaper sales. Consequently they focus on anything controversial, and on anything to do with sex, and this means that we get a very distorted view of our religious leaders if we only follow what is reported in the papers or on TV. Because of this I spent a lot of time yesterday looking at the full text of the speeches made by the Pope, and I have to say I found it very interesting, especially on this point about how Christians and wider society should relate to each other. So what has the Pope been talking about?
Well first thing that is very striking, is the very wide variety of people who the Pope has been talking to. There have of course been speeches and sermons aimed directly at the Catholic faithful, as we would expect, but there have also been speeches aimed specifically at children, young people, non-Catholic Christians, the Archbishop of Canterbury, people from other religions, the Welsh, politicians and leaders of civic society and one speech directly addressed to Her Majesty the Queen.
And what comes over, first and foremost, is a deep love and appreciation of British culture and the things that Britain has contributed to the world stage, to the whole family of humanity. The British heroes mentioned include St Edward the Confessor, St Margaret Queen of Scotland, the venerable Bede, St Thomas More, William Wilberforce, David Livingstone, Florence Nightingale and John Henry Newman, a Birmingham man who appears to be a personal hero of the Pope’s. The British Parliamentary and legal system, so influential throughout the world was also singled out for praise.
Another thing that comes over is the Pope’s appreciation of the Christian heritage in English culture. He often refers to the buildings in which he speaks and points out how profoundly Christian they are in their origins. For example he spoke about the Holy Rood (Crucifix) of Holyrood Palace and the angels on the Ceiling of Westminster Hall. He points out just how deeply and profoundly our society has been affected by Christianity. He urges us not to forget that, and not to marginalise the voice of the church.
The pope talks about the role of the church in a multi-faith society. He emphasises that it is not the role of the church to set political policies. He accepts that it is not even for the church, alone, to set down the moral framework that should underpin a sound political system. Rather he urges people to recognise that the church has a very important contribution to make to a wider discussion of the common moral framework. He emphasises that democracy must be underpinned by moral principles that are more solid and enduring than social consensus or public opinion. He sees the churches role as a participant in this dialogue about moral foundations, helping to purify and refine such principles. He emphasises the importance of political processes working for a common good. He emphasises the importance of a continuing dialogue between different kinds of people, for the common good.
The Pope also appeals for a proper respect for the moral consciences of individuals and of organised religion. Basic freedoms such as the right to follow your religion and to assemble for worship are very important. He advocate respect and openness between people of different religions. Dialogue is all important, from the simple dialogue of living side by side to the more complex discussions on principles. Without these freedom, respect and norms, religion cannot play its proper role in the public square, and he sees the contribution that religion has to make as vital.
Anyway, I have found it all very encouraging. I hope that the Pope’s visit will refresh and enliven Christianity in this country, and will help it contribute constructively to the life of the whole nation. Amen.
Context: Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain 16th-19th September 2010
Readings: 1 Tim 2: 1-7 Luke 16: 1-13
Our scripture readings today are about living out our Christianity within wider society. In 1 Timothy Paul tells us to make prayers and supplications for all people, not just for Christians. He asks us to pray especially for rulers and those in high position in society. He asks us to live our Christian lives in a quiet and peaceable way, with dignity. He emphasizes that God wills salvation for all people, and that the ransom that Christ paid on the cross was for all people. These are pointers towards the way in which church should fit in with the wider society around it.
Then the parable that Jesus tells is about our economic relationships with one another. It is a parable that biblical scholars often struggle with. It can be helpful to think of the rich man as a shrewd and exacting, absentee landlord, rather than thinking of him as God. Luke himself offers three different interpretations at the end of the parable. It is all to do with how we handle money and wealth, and our economic relationships with the people around us.
In this country, for well over 1000 years, Christianity has been the religion of almost everybody. Our culture and language have been profoundly influenced by Christian values which are foundational to political and legal system. But since the 1960s there has been a change. Immigration has introduced significant religious minorities, especially Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, and this has disturbed the Christian consensus. And then there has also been a drift towards secularization, such that in the 2001 census about 20% of the population preferred to describe themselves as Atheists or Agnostics rather than as belonging to a major world religion. And this secularization has also affected many of the 72% of the population who chose to describe themselves as Christian. Most of the population still think of themselves as Christian, but most of them seldom come to church and all too easily they pick up behaviours and attitudes which are much more influenced by secular experience than by the teaching and example of Christ.
So as practising, worshiping Christians in this country we find ourselves in a minority position in society. And this feels like a new and frightening experience. There can even be is a temptation to panic! But actually this is not a new experience at all. In the first three hundred years of the churches life, Christians were always a religious minority, sometimes tolerated, sometimes persecuted by the wider society and the Roman empire. Because of this experience, there is a great deal of wisdom in the New Testament and in the writings of the early church to help us to understand and cope with this situation of being a Christian minority.
And I think more than anything else, this is what the Pope has been talking about during his current visit to Britain. I have learned than it is very important with religious leader to read the actual text of their speeches rather than the bits that the media pick out. The media prioritise the items that might boost audience figures or newspaper sales. Consequently they focus on anything controversial, and on anything to do with sex, and this means that we get a very distorted view of our religious leaders if we only follow what is reported in the papers or on TV. Because of this I spent a lot of time yesterday looking at the full text of the speeches made by the Pope, and I have to say I found it very interesting, especially on this point about how Christians and wider society should relate to each other. So what has the Pope been talking about?
Well first thing that is very striking, is the very wide variety of people who the Pope has been talking to. There have of course been speeches and sermons aimed directly at the Catholic faithful, as we would expect, but there have also been speeches aimed specifically at children, young people, non-Catholic Christians, the Archbishop of Canterbury, people from other religions, the Welsh, politicians and leaders of civic society and one speech directly addressed to Her Majesty the Queen.
And what comes over, first and foremost, is a deep love and appreciation of British culture and the things that Britain has contributed to the world stage, to the whole family of humanity. The British heroes mentioned include St Edward the Confessor, St Margaret Queen of Scotland, the venerable Bede, St Thomas More, William Wilberforce, David Livingstone, Florence Nightingale and John Henry Newman, a Birmingham man who appears to be a personal hero of the Pope’s. The British Parliamentary and legal system, so influential throughout the world was also singled out for praise.
Another thing that comes over is the Pope’s appreciation of the Christian heritage in English culture. He often refers to the buildings in which he speaks and points out how profoundly Christian they are in their origins. For example he spoke about the Holy Rood (Crucifix) of Holyrood Palace and the angels on the Ceiling of Westminster Hall. He points out just how deeply and profoundly our society has been affected by Christianity. He urges us not to forget that, and not to marginalise the voice of the church.
The pope talks about the role of the church in a multi-faith society. He emphasises that it is not the role of the church to set political policies. He accepts that it is not even for the church, alone, to set down the moral framework that should underpin a sound political system. Rather he urges people to recognise that the church has a very important contribution to make to a wider discussion of the common moral framework. He emphasises that democracy must be underpinned by moral principles that are more solid and enduring than social consensus or public opinion. He sees the churches role as a participant in this dialogue about moral foundations, helping to purify and refine such principles. He emphasises the importance of political processes working for a common good. He emphasises the importance of a continuing dialogue between different kinds of people, for the common good.
The Pope also appeals for a proper respect for the moral consciences of individuals and of organised religion. Basic freedoms such as the right to follow your religion and to assemble for worship are very important. He advocate respect and openness between people of different religions. Dialogue is all important, from the simple dialogue of living side by side to the more complex discussions on principles. Without these freedom, respect and norms, religion cannot play its proper role in the public square, and he sees the contribution that religion has to make as vital.
Anyway, I have found it all very encouraging. I hope that the Pope’s visit will refresh and enliven Christianity in this country, and will help it contribute constructively to the life of the whole nation. Amen.
12 September 2010
Repentance - the findamental choices
Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 12th September 2010. Other versions of this sermon were preach at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at 3pm Evensong at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton.
Readings: Ps 51: 1-10 Exodus 32: 7-14 Luke 15: 1-10
When I was in South Africa in 2006 I came across a Christian Pastor who had a particular reputation. He had been a “real lad” with a history of intimidation and violence and with links to prostitution and gambling. Then it seems that he had an extraordinary conversion experience, a moment of total repentance and turning to God. Overnight he gave up his old way of life and started living a new and more Christian lifestyle. He set up a non-denominational church and started preaching and teaching very effectively to people who were far from God. His congregation grew and his church and ministry were respected by the local Anglicans, who I was visiting.
Now probably none of us have had such a dramatic experience of repentance and conversion as that South African pastor. His is rather an extreme case of the big turn around which is required when we turn to Christ. This sort of turn around happens when people start to face up to the really big questions in life. Are we for God or against him? Are we doing our best to face God, work with him and trust him with our lives, or are we seeking to run away from him, to hide from him and ignore him? It is a bit like a tree. Is it turning its leaves towards the sun, absorbing its energy, growing and thriving, or is it hiding itself from the sun, withering and dying? Repentance here is about our fundamental choices. Are we for God or against him? Are we choosing for ourselves eternal life, or eternal death; heaven or hell?
This is the repentance that Jesus talks of in the two parables that we heard in our New Testament reading. And such repentance leads to great rejoicing in heaven because something that has been lost, is found and restored to its proper destiny.
Now I am confident that most, if not all, of us who are in church this morning have made this fundamental choice and are basically seeking to orient ourselves towards God and to fulfil his plan for us. People who are in rebellion against God usually don’t come to church, they try to avoid the things of God. Sadly our present society makes it very easy to do just that; there are very few earthly reasons or social pressures that make us come to church if we don’t want to.
But just because we in church and are basically orientated towards God, does not mean that the business of repentance and conversion is over for us. We are all of us troubled by sin, our own sin and the sin of the people around us. There is a continuous process of renewing our repentance, being forgiven of our sin and entrusting ourselves to the mercy of God. This is a lifetime’s work as Christ grows within us and as the things that Christ does not want for us fall away.
But the stories of restoration that we heard about in our scripture readings were not so much about this on-going process of repentance and renewal. Rather they were about the fundamental first choices. Are we for God or against him? And it is this more fundamental repentance that I would like to focus on today.
Sooner or later everybody has to face up to this fundamental choice. Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against me” (Matt 12: 30) and “whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9: 50). The thing that really forces this choice is the presence of God. The presence of God cannot be ignored, you have to go with it or run from it. Now we live is strange times, where God seems surprisingly absent from the day to day experiences of many people. Many people seem to find it easy to ignore or postpone this great fundamental choice. However I am quite sure that this is only a temporary phase in history and sooner or later we all have to face this choice. At very least, when we die we have to decide if we walking towards heaven or hell.
Now what should our attitude be towards people who appear to be in rebellion against God? I am sure that we all know people among our families and friends who appear to be in conflict with God, or working against God. Do we sit back and say, “Well that’s their choice, it’s up to them?” or do we try to bring them round to God? Well I think it is very subtle; in certain ways I think it is a bit of both.
There is a very profound sense in which this really is the choice of other people, not our choice. We have to have a deep respect for the freedom that God has granted to other people. We cannot, in all love, try to manipulate or coerce people towards God; rather we must encourage them and allow them to choose. And this can be painful, truly accepting their freedom, even when they appear to be make choices that are so destructive. It can be truly costly. But that pain is real and has to be acknowledged.
But then also there is a very deep sense in which we cannot just sit back. Moses did not sit back and say to God, “OK, gone on destroy the people of Isreal and start again.” Rather he pleaded for them to God. The shepherd did not sit back and say, “If the lost sheep wants to be found, it will come back to me.” No, he went out and searched high and low until he had found it. Likewise the woman did not think of the lost coin, “Oh, it will turn up!” rather she lit the lamp and swept the house until she found it. In fact what is very striking about all these three stories about the restoration into fellowship with God, is that in all three cases the people restored to God seem to have a very passive role. The activity is all done by others.
So there is no doubt that we are called to actively work for the good of those who appear to be in rebellion against God. I am aware of three ways in particular of doing this.
Firstly, very importantly we must pray for them. The story about Moses shows how important this is. In some ways it feels like the only real contribution we can make.
Secondly we must continue in loving them. This does not mean saying they are right when they are wrong, or good when they are bad. However it does mean keeping the avenues of communication open. It means respecting them fully as children created by God. It means wanting their good, and having an attitude of service to bring that good about.
Thirdly we can living our own lives, in full harmony with God an example to show what is possible and how these things work. If people can look at our lives and see how obedience to God brings good outcomes, fulfilment and happiness, then we give witness to the advantages of God.
So, with regard to people who seem far from God, I would like to commend these three approaches to you; pray for them, love them and live good lives which can be an example to them. In this way we do all our part to bring them back to God. Amen.
Readings: Ps 51: 1-10 Exodus 32: 7-14 Luke 15: 1-10
When I was in South Africa in 2006 I came across a Christian Pastor who had a particular reputation. He had been a “real lad” with a history of intimidation and violence and with links to prostitution and gambling. Then it seems that he had an extraordinary conversion experience, a moment of total repentance and turning to God. Overnight he gave up his old way of life and started living a new and more Christian lifestyle. He set up a non-denominational church and started preaching and teaching very effectively to people who were far from God. His congregation grew and his church and ministry were respected by the local Anglicans, who I was visiting.
Now probably none of us have had such a dramatic experience of repentance and conversion as that South African pastor. His is rather an extreme case of the big turn around which is required when we turn to Christ. This sort of turn around happens when people start to face up to the really big questions in life. Are we for God or against him? Are we doing our best to face God, work with him and trust him with our lives, or are we seeking to run away from him, to hide from him and ignore him? It is a bit like a tree. Is it turning its leaves towards the sun, absorbing its energy, growing and thriving, or is it hiding itself from the sun, withering and dying? Repentance here is about our fundamental choices. Are we for God or against him? Are we choosing for ourselves eternal life, or eternal death; heaven or hell?
This is the repentance that Jesus talks of in the two parables that we heard in our New Testament reading. And such repentance leads to great rejoicing in heaven because something that has been lost, is found and restored to its proper destiny.
Now I am confident that most, if not all, of us who are in church this morning have made this fundamental choice and are basically seeking to orient ourselves towards God and to fulfil his plan for us. People who are in rebellion against God usually don’t come to church, they try to avoid the things of God. Sadly our present society makes it very easy to do just that; there are very few earthly reasons or social pressures that make us come to church if we don’t want to.
But just because we in church and are basically orientated towards God, does not mean that the business of repentance and conversion is over for us. We are all of us troubled by sin, our own sin and the sin of the people around us. There is a continuous process of renewing our repentance, being forgiven of our sin and entrusting ourselves to the mercy of God. This is a lifetime’s work as Christ grows within us and as the things that Christ does not want for us fall away.
But the stories of restoration that we heard about in our scripture readings were not so much about this on-going process of repentance and renewal. Rather they were about the fundamental first choices. Are we for God or against him? And it is this more fundamental repentance that I would like to focus on today.
Sooner or later everybody has to face up to this fundamental choice. Jesus says, “He who is not with me is against me” (Matt 12: 30) and “whoever is not against you is for you” (Luke 9: 50). The thing that really forces this choice is the presence of God. The presence of God cannot be ignored, you have to go with it or run from it. Now we live is strange times, where God seems surprisingly absent from the day to day experiences of many people. Many people seem to find it easy to ignore or postpone this great fundamental choice. However I am quite sure that this is only a temporary phase in history and sooner or later we all have to face this choice. At very least, when we die we have to decide if we walking towards heaven or hell.
Now what should our attitude be towards people who appear to be in rebellion against God? I am sure that we all know people among our families and friends who appear to be in conflict with God, or working against God. Do we sit back and say, “Well that’s their choice, it’s up to them?” or do we try to bring them round to God? Well I think it is very subtle; in certain ways I think it is a bit of both.
There is a very profound sense in which this really is the choice of other people, not our choice. We have to have a deep respect for the freedom that God has granted to other people. We cannot, in all love, try to manipulate or coerce people towards God; rather we must encourage them and allow them to choose. And this can be painful, truly accepting their freedom, even when they appear to be make choices that are so destructive. It can be truly costly. But that pain is real and has to be acknowledged.
But then also there is a very deep sense in which we cannot just sit back. Moses did not sit back and say to God, “OK, gone on destroy the people of Isreal and start again.” Rather he pleaded for them to God. The shepherd did not sit back and say, “If the lost sheep wants to be found, it will come back to me.” No, he went out and searched high and low until he had found it. Likewise the woman did not think of the lost coin, “Oh, it will turn up!” rather she lit the lamp and swept the house until she found it. In fact what is very striking about all these three stories about the restoration into fellowship with God, is that in all three cases the people restored to God seem to have a very passive role. The activity is all done by others.
So there is no doubt that we are called to actively work for the good of those who appear to be in rebellion against God. I am aware of three ways in particular of doing this.
Firstly, very importantly we must pray for them. The story about Moses shows how important this is. In some ways it feels like the only real contribution we can make.
Secondly we must continue in loving them. This does not mean saying they are right when they are wrong, or good when they are bad. However it does mean keeping the avenues of communication open. It means respecting them fully as children created by God. It means wanting their good, and having an attitude of service to bring that good about.
Thirdly we can living our own lives, in full harmony with God an example to show what is possible and how these things work. If people can look at our lives and see how obedience to God brings good outcomes, fulfilment and happiness, then we give witness to the advantages of God.
So, with regard to people who seem far from God, I would like to commend these three approaches to you; pray for them, love them and live good lives which can be an example to them. In this way we do all our part to bring them back to God. Amen.
09 September 2010
Nunc Dimittis
Homily preached at the funeral of Major General George Lewis.
2.30pm on Thursday 9th September 2010, at St Mary’s Lapworth, followed by burial in the churchyard at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton.
Reading: Luke 2: 27-33
The scripture reading that the family have chosen for this funeral comes from the story of the presentation of the Jesus is the temple. The baby Jesus, 40 days old, is brought to the temple by his parents. In the temple there is the holy man, Simeon, who has be promised by God that he will not see death before he has been The Lord’s Messiah. When Simon sees the baby Jesus he takes him in his arms and says the hymn of praise to God which we call the Nunc Dimittis, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace…”. This canticle, the Nunc Dimittis, we use at Evening Prayer and funerals. Those opening words, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace” as especially appropriate for funerals.
But re-reading these words in the context of this particular funeral I was very struck by the word Servant. “Lord lettest now thy servant depart in peace”. I only met George once, but I was struck by his attitude of service. He unquestionably held high office, both in the Army and in industry, but it seemed to me that he believed that the high office had to be held and administered as a service to God and to other people; above all as a service to the nation. This is what gave the roles value and made them important and relevant.
Now sadly servant leadership seems somewhat out fashion in our nation at present. People nowadays seem to seek high office to secure high pay, or personal power and influence. It is my hope that we will look to people like George to remember the importance of leadership as a service to God and to others.
The other thing that is striking when you read the Nunc Dimittis in the context of a funeral is that Simeon describes the baby Jesus as “The light to lighten the gentiles”. Jesus is the light for everybody, for all the nations. George’s coffin stands before the Pascal Candle, which is the symbol of Christ’s risen life in the church. And that light of the risen life of Christ is what we are all about in a Christian funeral. We are reminded that Christ conquered death. He has an eternal life that is stronger than death, and which renews everything. Jesus wants to share this new resurrection life with each of us, we are all called to share in it. And this is what gives us hope.
But how do we do that in practice? How do we come to share with Christ in that resurrection life? Well, in my opinion, anything that we do to build shared life with Christ makes a contribution here, and is important. Above all our baptism is important. We are baptised into the death and resurrection of Christ. We seek to be joined with Christ through the experience of earthly death, and by this we can also hope to be joined with him in the experience of resurrection life. Receiving Holy Communion is important; Christ shares his own body and blood, his very life, with us. Living according to God’s word is important. Jesus says that those who hear and keep the word of God are his mother and brother and sisters, they are his family, the people with whom he shares his life.
So as we say good-buy to George, let’s give thanks for his witness of servant leadership and life lived in accordance with the purposes of God. Let’s give thanks for the example that Graham spoke about earlier. And let’s also give thanks for Christ who always wants to share life with us. And like George, let’s seek to build a shared life with Christ, because the life that Christ shares is stronger than death. Amen.
2.30pm on Thursday 9th September 2010, at St Mary’s Lapworth, followed by burial in the churchyard at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton.
Reading: Luke 2: 27-33
The scripture reading that the family have chosen for this funeral comes from the story of the presentation of the Jesus is the temple. The baby Jesus, 40 days old, is brought to the temple by his parents. In the temple there is the holy man, Simeon, who has be promised by God that he will not see death before he has been The Lord’s Messiah. When Simon sees the baby Jesus he takes him in his arms and says the hymn of praise to God which we call the Nunc Dimittis, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace…”. This canticle, the Nunc Dimittis, we use at Evening Prayer and funerals. Those opening words, “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace” as especially appropriate for funerals.
But re-reading these words in the context of this particular funeral I was very struck by the word Servant. “Lord lettest now thy servant depart in peace”. I only met George once, but I was struck by his attitude of service. He unquestionably held high office, both in the Army and in industry, but it seemed to me that he believed that the high office had to be held and administered as a service to God and to other people; above all as a service to the nation. This is what gave the roles value and made them important and relevant.
Now sadly servant leadership seems somewhat out fashion in our nation at present. People nowadays seem to seek high office to secure high pay, or personal power and influence. It is my hope that we will look to people like George to remember the importance of leadership as a service to God and to others.
The other thing that is striking when you read the Nunc Dimittis in the context of a funeral is that Simeon describes the baby Jesus as “The light to lighten the gentiles”. Jesus is the light for everybody, for all the nations. George’s coffin stands before the Pascal Candle, which is the symbol of Christ’s risen life in the church. And that light of the risen life of Christ is what we are all about in a Christian funeral. We are reminded that Christ conquered death. He has an eternal life that is stronger than death, and which renews everything. Jesus wants to share this new resurrection life with each of us, we are all called to share in it. And this is what gives us hope.
But how do we do that in practice? How do we come to share with Christ in that resurrection life? Well, in my opinion, anything that we do to build shared life with Christ makes a contribution here, and is important. Above all our baptism is important. We are baptised into the death and resurrection of Christ. We seek to be joined with Christ through the experience of earthly death, and by this we can also hope to be joined with him in the experience of resurrection life. Receiving Holy Communion is important; Christ shares his own body and blood, his very life, with us. Living according to God’s word is important. Jesus says that those who hear and keep the word of God are his mother and brother and sisters, they are his family, the people with whom he shares his life.
So as we say good-buy to George, let’s give thanks for his witness of servant leadership and life lived in accordance with the purposes of God. Let’s give thanks for the example that Graham spoke about earlier. And let’s also give thanks for Christ who always wants to share life with us. And like George, let’s seek to build a shared life with Christ, because the life that Christ shares is stronger than death. Amen.
06 September 2010
Prayers for Patronal Festival at St Mary's
The following prayers were written for the Patronal Festival at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth celebrated on 5th September 2010. (Birthday of Blessed Virgin Mary, transferred from 8th September.) The prayers were used at an 11am "Family Eucharist" service, and were read by teenagers.
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for this church of St Mary’s.
We thank you for Mary our Patron.
We pray for the grace to live like Mary;
always trusting in the word of God
and living our lives according to the word of God.
Lord in your mercy
here our prayer.
Heavenly Father,
We pray for the world that you created.
We thank you for the beauty of nature
and for all the joys of life.
We pray for people who suffer at this time.
We remember especially people affected by floods in Pakistan.
May they be saved from their problems
and know your love and care.
Lord in your mercy
here our prayer.
Heavenly Father,
We pray for this parish of Lapworth.
We thank you for its beauty, prosperity and its peace.
We pray for those in particular need of our prayers,
especially….
May they trust always in your love,
and my they know your wholeness and healing.
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer
Heavenly Father,
We pray for those who have gone before us
on the pathway to heaven.
We pray for....
who have died recently.
We pray for all who mourn their loss on earth.
We thank you for the fellowship we share with the church in heaven
with Mary and all the angels and saints.
May death be for us all a gateway to this most blessed life.
Merciful Father
Accept these prayers…
Heavenly Father,
We thank you for this church of St Mary’s.
We thank you for Mary our Patron.
We pray for the grace to live like Mary;
always trusting in the word of God
and living our lives according to the word of God.
Lord in your mercy
here our prayer.
Heavenly Father,
We pray for the world that you created.
We thank you for the beauty of nature
and for all the joys of life.
We pray for people who suffer at this time.
We remember especially people affected by floods in Pakistan.
May they be saved from their problems
and know your love and care.
Lord in your mercy
here our prayer.
Heavenly Father,
We pray for this parish of Lapworth.
We thank you for its beauty, prosperity and its peace.
We pray for those in particular need of our prayers,
especially….
May they trust always in your love,
and my they know your wholeness and healing.
Lord in your mercy
hear our prayer
Heavenly Father,
We pray for those who have gone before us
on the pathway to heaven.
We pray for....
who have died recently.
We pray for all who mourn their loss on earth.
We thank you for the fellowship we share with the church in heaven
with Mary and all the angels and saints.
May death be for us all a gateway to this most blessed life.
Merciful Father
Accept these prayers…
05 September 2010
"hating" for God
Sermon preached at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton for 9.45am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) on Sunday 5th September 2010.
Trinity 14, Proper 18, Year C
Readings: Philemon 1-21 Luke 14: 25-33
Outline Notes Only
Gospel reading needs some explanation
- Jesus always says love others, but here he says “hate”
Similar sayings of Jesus:
Luke 9: 57-62 - what Jesus says to people who want to follow him.
let me first go and bury my father - let the dead bury their own dead
let me say good-buy to family – no one put hands to the plough and turns back is fit
Luke 9: 23-26
followers must take up your cross – he who wants to save his life will lose it
Matt 10: 34-39
I have come not to bring peace but the sword
So what is Jesus saying…
Cost of following Jesus is total, - required to “give up all your processions”
Man who builds the tower
The king who sizes up his army.
Processions seems to include family bonds – must come second to the bond with Christ
Examples – Mary, St Frances, experience
Priorities – God first, family bonds second
Even those who are called by God to exercise earthly power often have to have an experience of letting those things go, in order to put God first. Experience of losing.
Philemon as an example, lost his slave, but later returned to him, differently
Wisdom of losing life in order to find it.
Summary – let’s get our priorities right, God in the first place, all else second.
Let’s be ready to lose things for the sake of God, confident that God has other gifts to give us, higher, purified and more refined.
Above all let’s trust God, who created us and gave us all that we have. He has our good at heart and other good things that he wants to give us.
Amen
Trinity 14, Proper 18, Year C
Readings: Philemon 1-21 Luke 14: 25-33
Outline Notes Only
Gospel reading needs some explanation
- Jesus always says love others, but here he says “hate”
Similar sayings of Jesus:
Luke 9: 57-62 - what Jesus says to people who want to follow him.
let me first go and bury my father - let the dead bury their own dead
let me say good-buy to family – no one put hands to the plough and turns back is fit
Luke 9: 23-26
followers must take up your cross – he who wants to save his life will lose it
Matt 10: 34-39
I have come not to bring peace but the sword
So what is Jesus saying…
Cost of following Jesus is total, - required to “give up all your processions”
Man who builds the tower
The king who sizes up his army.
Processions seems to include family bonds – must come second to the bond with Christ
Examples – Mary, St Frances, experience
Priorities – God first, family bonds second
Even those who are called by God to exercise earthly power often have to have an experience of letting those things go, in order to put God first. Experience of losing.
Philemon as an example, lost his slave, but later returned to him, differently
Wisdom of losing life in order to find it.
Summary – let’s get our priorities right, God in the first place, all else second.
Let’s be ready to lose things for the sake of God, confident that God has other gifts to give us, higher, purified and more refined.
Above all let’s trust God, who created us and gave us all that we have. He has our good at heart and other good things that he wants to give us.
Amen
31 August 2010
Humilty - the antidote to pride
Sermon preached at 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 29th August 2010. Other versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton, 9.45am.
Trinity 13, Proper 17, Year C.
Readings: Hebrews 13: 1-8 & 15-16 Luke 14: 1 & 7-14
In the early 1950s the Ford Motor Company was brimming with confidence and flush with cash, following the success of the Ford Thunderbird. The management set about developing a whole new car with a whole new network of marketing dealerships. They hired all the best people to work on the design. They created a huge and elaborate marketing campaign. They named the car “Edsel” after the son the company’s founder and they invested millions in the launch. But after all the hype had died down, it became clear that American public didn’t really like the Edsel, and would not buy it. The car was a terrible commercial failure and was withdrawn in its third year. The company lost millions of pounds on the project. The name Edsel became associated with failures in marketing, and a famous “how not to do it” case study for MBA (Master of Business Studies) students. The old maxim, “Pride comes before a fall” comes to mind.
And in more recent times there has been another extraordinary example of “Pride comes before a fall” in the business world. In 2007 big banking appeared to a business of extraordinary power and wealth, and the banks were ever bigger and braver in what they took on. Yet by October 2008 many of the world’s biggest banks appeared insolvent, and there is no doubt that without a massive government intervention, most if not all of them would have failed.
The parable that Jesus told in our gospel reading today also has a “pride comes before a fall element”. At that time the custom at wedding banquets was to have the places graded from the places of highest honour, up high and near the host and bride and groom, down to the places of least honour, lower down and further away. Jesus pointed out that choosing to sit in a seat of high honour was inviting a fall. Someone more honourable that you might arrive later, and you would have to give up your seat. And because all the seats were no occupied you would find yourself moving to the lowest seat, while everyone is watching. Instead Jesus recommends a more humble strategy; choose for yourself the lowest seat so that the host might call you up higher.
Well we live in a much less hierarchical society today, but issues about the highest places have not gone away. We hear of film studios in terrible fights with film stars about the order in which names appear in the credits. I regret to say that I have heard even of clergy processions, where none of the clergy are willing to lead the procession out, because by tradition it is always the most senior clergy who occupy the back of the procession.
It is people’s pride that causes difficulty in these situations. Pride is the vice of self-importance; thinking of ourselves as above other people or above God. We often associate it with arrogance and self-sufficiency. Of course the word pride can denote good things. We encourage people to take pride in their work, in their appearance, their neighbourhood, in their nation. These attitudes are important and contribute to our self esteem. They show that we value the good gifts that God has given us, and want to fully play our part in realising their full potential. Pride only kicks in as a problem when we start to value to ourselves higher than other people, or our own nation more than other nations.
The antidote to pride is the virtue of humility. Virtues are attitudes and habits that are good. Vices are attitudes and habits that are bad. We all need to practice good attitudes and behaviours so that they become habitual, they become virtues. Virtues grow by practice, and by the grace of God, which we should ask for. So humility is a virtue, but what is humility all about?
Well I think that humility is ultimately about being completely and utterly realistic about who we are, and who other people are. It is not humble for a student who has just got a string of A stars at GCSE to say, “Oh I’m not that clever really.”; that’s just unrealistic. It is humble for that student to thank God that they have been blessed with certain talents, to recognise the support they have received from their school and from their family, and recognising that these good gifts are given by God not just for our good, but for the good of others too. Being humble means seeing ourselves as God sees us and of course, God sees us through the eyes of love; God loves us immensely. We must remember that we were created and are sustained by God, we owe everything to him. God sent is own son to die for us and to redeem us. For God we are most definitely “worth it”! And of course God also sees our many frailties and sins and vices, but God sees beyond them, knowing that when we turn to him he forgives us, and heals us and make us whole. So seeing ourselves as God sees us, and loving ourselves as God loves us, means having a very high opinion of ourselves, but it also means having a very high opinion about other people, because we know that God loves them, just as he loves us.
Now prayer is very good discipline for growing in humility. When we pray we place ourselves before God and hold ourselves in our relationship with God, and this really does help us to know who we are and to have the right attitudes. First of all pray is a humbling experience because it is difficult, and we don’t really know what we are doing. As St Paul says (Romans 8: 26) we do not know how to pray as we should, but we depend on the Holy Spirit to pray for us.
And then the things that we do in prayer help us with humility. We say prayers of adoration, praising God for his greatness. This reminds us how very great God is and what a very small cog we are in the mighty universe of God’s creation. In our prayers we make prayers of confession. We hold before God our sins and failures, and this is necessarily very humbling. It reminds us that we are completely dependent on the mercy of God. Also in our prayers we give thanks to God for the good things he gives us. This too reminds us that all the good things we have are gifts from God and not products of our own hard work or cleverness. In prayer we also learn to thank God for the difficult things that come our way, the things we would not choose for ourselves, but by thanking God for them we come to see them as part of God’s love for us, part of his plan for our lives.
So today I would like to commend to you humility as a virtue, a good habit and attitude; humility as the utterly and totally realistic assessment of ourselves, as we are seen by God. I would also like to commend to you prayer, as a way of growing in humility. Amen.
Trinity 13, Proper 17, Year C.
Readings: Hebrews 13: 1-8 & 15-16 Luke 14: 1 & 7-14
In the early 1950s the Ford Motor Company was brimming with confidence and flush with cash, following the success of the Ford Thunderbird. The management set about developing a whole new car with a whole new network of marketing dealerships. They hired all the best people to work on the design. They created a huge and elaborate marketing campaign. They named the car “Edsel” after the son the company’s founder and they invested millions in the launch. But after all the hype had died down, it became clear that American public didn’t really like the Edsel, and would not buy it. The car was a terrible commercial failure and was withdrawn in its third year. The company lost millions of pounds on the project. The name Edsel became associated with failures in marketing, and a famous “how not to do it” case study for MBA (Master of Business Studies) students. The old maxim, “Pride comes before a fall” comes to mind.
And in more recent times there has been another extraordinary example of “Pride comes before a fall” in the business world. In 2007 big banking appeared to a business of extraordinary power and wealth, and the banks were ever bigger and braver in what they took on. Yet by October 2008 many of the world’s biggest banks appeared insolvent, and there is no doubt that without a massive government intervention, most if not all of them would have failed.
The parable that Jesus told in our gospel reading today also has a “pride comes before a fall element”. At that time the custom at wedding banquets was to have the places graded from the places of highest honour, up high and near the host and bride and groom, down to the places of least honour, lower down and further away. Jesus pointed out that choosing to sit in a seat of high honour was inviting a fall. Someone more honourable that you might arrive later, and you would have to give up your seat. And because all the seats were no occupied you would find yourself moving to the lowest seat, while everyone is watching. Instead Jesus recommends a more humble strategy; choose for yourself the lowest seat so that the host might call you up higher.
Well we live in a much less hierarchical society today, but issues about the highest places have not gone away. We hear of film studios in terrible fights with film stars about the order in which names appear in the credits. I regret to say that I have heard even of clergy processions, where none of the clergy are willing to lead the procession out, because by tradition it is always the most senior clergy who occupy the back of the procession.
It is people’s pride that causes difficulty in these situations. Pride is the vice of self-importance; thinking of ourselves as above other people or above God. We often associate it with arrogance and self-sufficiency. Of course the word pride can denote good things. We encourage people to take pride in their work, in their appearance, their neighbourhood, in their nation. These attitudes are important and contribute to our self esteem. They show that we value the good gifts that God has given us, and want to fully play our part in realising their full potential. Pride only kicks in as a problem when we start to value to ourselves higher than other people, or our own nation more than other nations.
The antidote to pride is the virtue of humility. Virtues are attitudes and habits that are good. Vices are attitudes and habits that are bad. We all need to practice good attitudes and behaviours so that they become habitual, they become virtues. Virtues grow by practice, and by the grace of God, which we should ask for. So humility is a virtue, but what is humility all about?
Well I think that humility is ultimately about being completely and utterly realistic about who we are, and who other people are. It is not humble for a student who has just got a string of A stars at GCSE to say, “Oh I’m not that clever really.”; that’s just unrealistic. It is humble for that student to thank God that they have been blessed with certain talents, to recognise the support they have received from their school and from their family, and recognising that these good gifts are given by God not just for our good, but for the good of others too. Being humble means seeing ourselves as God sees us and of course, God sees us through the eyes of love; God loves us immensely. We must remember that we were created and are sustained by God, we owe everything to him. God sent is own son to die for us and to redeem us. For God we are most definitely “worth it”! And of course God also sees our many frailties and sins and vices, but God sees beyond them, knowing that when we turn to him he forgives us, and heals us and make us whole. So seeing ourselves as God sees us, and loving ourselves as God loves us, means having a very high opinion of ourselves, but it also means having a very high opinion about other people, because we know that God loves them, just as he loves us.
Now prayer is very good discipline for growing in humility. When we pray we place ourselves before God and hold ourselves in our relationship with God, and this really does help us to know who we are and to have the right attitudes. First of all pray is a humbling experience because it is difficult, and we don’t really know what we are doing. As St Paul says (Romans 8: 26) we do not know how to pray as we should, but we depend on the Holy Spirit to pray for us.
And then the things that we do in prayer help us with humility. We say prayers of adoration, praising God for his greatness. This reminds us how very great God is and what a very small cog we are in the mighty universe of God’s creation. In our prayers we make prayers of confession. We hold before God our sins and failures, and this is necessarily very humbling. It reminds us that we are completely dependent on the mercy of God. Also in our prayers we give thanks to God for the good things he gives us. This too reminds us that all the good things we have are gifts from God and not products of our own hard work or cleverness. In prayer we also learn to thank God for the difficult things that come our way, the things we would not choose for ourselves, but by thanking God for them we come to see them as part of God’s love for us, part of his plan for our lives.
So today I would like to commend to you humility as a virtue, a good habit and attitude; humility as the utterly and totally realistic assessment of ourselves, as we are seen by God. I would also like to commend to you prayer, as a way of growing in humility. Amen.
22 August 2010
Deliverance on the Sabbeth
Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth on Sunday 22nd August 2010. The sermon was also preached at the 8.30am Eucharist (shortened) and at 3pm evensong at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton.
Trinity 12, Proper 16, Year C
Readings: Ps 103: 1-8 Is 58: 9b-14 Luke 13: 10-17
Our family have just come back from a holiday on the west coast of France, and very nice it was too; a real opportunity to rest and relax and catch up with ourselves. And the holiday was particularly welcome because it came at the end of a very intense six month period which has involved a house move and a very steep learning curve on being responsible for two parishes. So it was very lovely to go away with the family and to enjoy the food and the wine and countryside and sunshine and the beaches. It was also lovely to catch up properly with the Dawson family, who we traditionally go on holiday with.
And one of the things that I love about holiday is having the time and energy to get involved in things that I normally would not get involved in at all. For example, at one point we found that all the adults joined in one of the children’s games, a game called “guard”, which is a rather sophisticated version of hide and seek. In the car we listened to an audio book called “the book thief”. One of the Dawson teenagers was reading Dante’s Divine Comedy (in English!), and I became very interested in this. And I found these new experiences very refreshing, renewing and enlivening. It reminded me of the importance of rest in our daily lives and especially of the importance of the Sabbath, the day of rest. And we got two rather contrasting takes on the Sabbath in our scripture readings today.
The Jewish-Christian tradition tells us that from the very creation of the world, God set aside one day of the week to be holy, and to be a day of rest. In the Genesis account of creation God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he rested. In the Ten Commandments he similarly asked his people to observe the seventh day, Saturday, as the Sabbath Day, a day of rest, holy to the Lord. It was a day especially when the Jewish people were asked to remember the Passover, when Moses lead them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and delivered them from Pharaoh’s army. The keeping of the Sabbath on a Saturday was always an important part of the covenant, the deal between God and his people, and of the Jewish Law, but in the sixth century BC, when the Jewish nation was in exile in Babylon is became a crucially important part of the Jewish identity. Observing the Sabbath became and important part of what it meant to be a Jew. The reading that we heard today from Isaiah was probably written just after this period, as the nation was seeking to re-establish itself in Jerusalem following release from exile. In the reading it is clear that keeping of the Sabbath is central to the covenant. Through Isaiah, God gives various teachings on how the Sabbath should be observed. As is typical of Isaiah, the great wisdom of these commands from God are presented in a most beautiful and poetic way. The two final verses of this passage are worthy of much reflection and meditation in their own right. I have been reading these teachings of v13 in different translations of the bible, and it is quite striking how different the different translations are. Brief translations of the Hebrew seem to struggle to pin down what God is saying here. The gist of it seems to be that the Sabbath a day when you should:
- not pursue your own pleasure, but rather the pleasure of God
- not pursue your own interests, but rather the interests of God
- not pursue you won affairs, but rather the business of God
- not focus on human words and tittle-tattle, but rather on the word of God
And this is surely very good guidance, not just for the Jewish observance of the Sabbath on a Saturday, but also the Christian observance our holy day on a Sunday.
By the time of Jesus, observance of the Sabbath had become very central to Jewish identity. It had become bound up with lot of very detailed rules and regulations about what Jews could and could not do on the Sabbath, how far they could walk, what tasks were allowed and what were forbidden. The notion of a day for God’s purposes rather than human purposes had become somewhat obscured by all these rules, and Jesus kicked out against them. The story we heard today is one of three stories in Luke’s gospel where Jesus performed healing miracles on the Sabbath (also 6: 6-11 and 14: 1-6). On all three occasions this was controversial; healing was a task not allowed on the Sabbath. And what does Jesus say? How does he justify himself? Well in today’s story he says, “It is legitimate on the Sabbath to take an ox or an ass to water, how much more appropriate is it to deliver a woman from the power of Satan?” It seems that the Sabbath is a particularly appropriate day for good to triumph over evil, for healing to triumph over decay, for life to triumph over death.
And perhaps this is why, in the life of the early church, Sunday, rather than Saturday came to be observed as the holy day of God. Sunday is the day of our Lord’s resurrection. It is the day when Jesus conquered death and hell. It is the first day of the week, which is the start of creation, but it is also the eighth day, the beginning of a new creation, of the restoration and renewal that comes about through Christ’s death and resurrection, through Christianity and the Church. So it is very appropriate that in the Church we observe Sunday as God’s holy day. Sunday is a particularly appropriate day for Christians to celebrate the Eucharist, in which we remember the great Passover of Jesus in his death and resurrection, just as the Jews remember the Passover of their deliverance on a Saturday. It is a good day to live out the teachings of Isaiah:
- not pursue your own pleasure, but rather the pleasure of God
- not pursue your own interests, but rather the interests of God
- not pursue you won affairs, but rather the business of God
- not focus on human words or title-tattle, but rather on the word of God
And perhaps this pricks our conscience a bit? Perhaps we are guilty of treating Sunday like any other day? Perhaps on Sundays we should be doing less, resting more, worshiping more and devoting our attention more to our families and close friends. Well probably this is true, but we must not be too hard on ourselves as individuals because it is the whole of society that is called to live the Sabbath, not just the churchy few. When the 10 commandments were given it was made very clear that the Sabbath meant rest for work for all, including children, servants, animals and even foreigners living among the Israelites. This means we also have to try and help all of society to live the Sabbath well and to enjoy a day of rest. Now in this country we know that with Sunday trading and the like, the tide has rather flowed against this in recent years, but if we all play our own part, faithfully in front of God, who knows, perhaps the tide will change again, perhaps sooner than we think. Amen, let it be.
Trinity 12, Proper 16, Year C
Readings: Ps 103: 1-8 Is 58: 9b-14 Luke 13: 10-17
Our family have just come back from a holiday on the west coast of France, and very nice it was too; a real opportunity to rest and relax and catch up with ourselves. And the holiday was particularly welcome because it came at the end of a very intense six month period which has involved a house move and a very steep learning curve on being responsible for two parishes. So it was very lovely to go away with the family and to enjoy the food and the wine and countryside and sunshine and the beaches. It was also lovely to catch up properly with the Dawson family, who we traditionally go on holiday with.
And one of the things that I love about holiday is having the time and energy to get involved in things that I normally would not get involved in at all. For example, at one point we found that all the adults joined in one of the children’s games, a game called “guard”, which is a rather sophisticated version of hide and seek. In the car we listened to an audio book called “the book thief”. One of the Dawson teenagers was reading Dante’s Divine Comedy (in English!), and I became very interested in this. And I found these new experiences very refreshing, renewing and enlivening. It reminded me of the importance of rest in our daily lives and especially of the importance of the Sabbath, the day of rest. And we got two rather contrasting takes on the Sabbath in our scripture readings today.
The Jewish-Christian tradition tells us that from the very creation of the world, God set aside one day of the week to be holy, and to be a day of rest. In the Genesis account of creation God made the world in six days, and on the seventh day he rested. In the Ten Commandments he similarly asked his people to observe the seventh day, Saturday, as the Sabbath Day, a day of rest, holy to the Lord. It was a day especially when the Jewish people were asked to remember the Passover, when Moses lead them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea and delivered them from Pharaoh’s army. The keeping of the Sabbath on a Saturday was always an important part of the covenant, the deal between God and his people, and of the Jewish Law, but in the sixth century BC, when the Jewish nation was in exile in Babylon is became a crucially important part of the Jewish identity. Observing the Sabbath became and important part of what it meant to be a Jew. The reading that we heard today from Isaiah was probably written just after this period, as the nation was seeking to re-establish itself in Jerusalem following release from exile. In the reading it is clear that keeping of the Sabbath is central to the covenant. Through Isaiah, God gives various teachings on how the Sabbath should be observed. As is typical of Isaiah, the great wisdom of these commands from God are presented in a most beautiful and poetic way. The two final verses of this passage are worthy of much reflection and meditation in their own right. I have been reading these teachings of v13 in different translations of the bible, and it is quite striking how different the different translations are. Brief translations of the Hebrew seem to struggle to pin down what God is saying here. The gist of it seems to be that the Sabbath a day when you should:
- not pursue your own pleasure, but rather the pleasure of God
- not pursue your own interests, but rather the interests of God
- not pursue you won affairs, but rather the business of God
- not focus on human words and tittle-tattle, but rather on the word of God
And this is surely very good guidance, not just for the Jewish observance of the Sabbath on a Saturday, but also the Christian observance our holy day on a Sunday.
By the time of Jesus, observance of the Sabbath had become very central to Jewish identity. It had become bound up with lot of very detailed rules and regulations about what Jews could and could not do on the Sabbath, how far they could walk, what tasks were allowed and what were forbidden. The notion of a day for God’s purposes rather than human purposes had become somewhat obscured by all these rules, and Jesus kicked out against them. The story we heard today is one of three stories in Luke’s gospel where Jesus performed healing miracles on the Sabbath (also 6: 6-11 and 14: 1-6). On all three occasions this was controversial; healing was a task not allowed on the Sabbath. And what does Jesus say? How does he justify himself? Well in today’s story he says, “It is legitimate on the Sabbath to take an ox or an ass to water, how much more appropriate is it to deliver a woman from the power of Satan?” It seems that the Sabbath is a particularly appropriate day for good to triumph over evil, for healing to triumph over decay, for life to triumph over death.
And perhaps this is why, in the life of the early church, Sunday, rather than Saturday came to be observed as the holy day of God. Sunday is the day of our Lord’s resurrection. It is the day when Jesus conquered death and hell. It is the first day of the week, which is the start of creation, but it is also the eighth day, the beginning of a new creation, of the restoration and renewal that comes about through Christ’s death and resurrection, through Christianity and the Church. So it is very appropriate that in the Church we observe Sunday as God’s holy day. Sunday is a particularly appropriate day for Christians to celebrate the Eucharist, in which we remember the great Passover of Jesus in his death and resurrection, just as the Jews remember the Passover of their deliverance on a Saturday. It is a good day to live out the teachings of Isaiah:
- not pursue your own pleasure, but rather the pleasure of God
- not pursue your own interests, but rather the interests of God
- not pursue you won affairs, but rather the business of God
- not focus on human words or title-tattle, but rather on the word of God
And perhaps this pricks our conscience a bit? Perhaps we are guilty of treating Sunday like any other day? Perhaps on Sundays we should be doing less, resting more, worshiping more and devoting our attention more to our families and close friends. Well probably this is true, but we must not be too hard on ourselves as individuals because it is the whole of society that is called to live the Sabbath, not just the churchy few. When the 10 commandments were given it was made very clear that the Sabbath meant rest for work for all, including children, servants, animals and even foreigners living among the Israelites. This means we also have to try and help all of society to live the Sabbath well and to enjoy a day of rest. Now in this country we know that with Sunday trading and the like, the tide has rather flowed against this in recent years, but if we all play our own part, faithfully in front of God, who knows, perhaps the tide will change again, perhaps sooner than we think. Amen, let it be.
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