Sermon preached at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton at 9.45 Holy Communion on Sunday 30th May 2010 - Trinity Sunday – Year C
A shorter version of this sermon was preached at St Mary’s Lapworth at 8.30am.
Joke for Trinity Sunday – The angel Gabriel asks God, “This creation idea…are you really sure about it?” God replied, “Well I’m kind of in three minds about it.” I liked that one which comes from the Revd Kate Stow, curate at St James the Great in Shirley.
Of course on Trinity Sunday we reflect on the great mystery of one God in three persons, Father Son and Holy Spirit. In theology we think of these three persons as being of the same substance or essence. Every time we say the creed we are reminded of Jesus “Being of one substance with the Father”. We also think of these three people being so perfect and complete in their unity that we can only talk of their being one God.
And this is a deep mystery. We should not worry if, as mere human beings, we struggle to understand the inner workings of the life of God. Do we understand the inner workings of our computer or microwave oven? Probably not, but this does not stop them from being useful and important to us. Well we are certainly not going to understand the inner workings of God, but oh he certainly is important to us.
But our gospel reading does provide some indications about how this perfect unity of three divine persons comes about. It seems that everything they have and think is shared. Jesus says of the Holy Spirit, “He will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears….he will take what is mine and declare it to you…all that the Father has is mine…” So the things that the Spirit declares to us are they from the Father or from the Son or from the Holy Spirit? Well we can’t really answer that question because it seems that they are shared. They are held in common. They are forever being given back and forth between the three persons of the Trinity.
We human beings find sharing things very difficult, but sharing is an extremely important discipline for us to practice. Until recently my two daughters shared a bedroom. They had to have rules about who went to bed when, and who was responsible for different parts of the floor space, and when musical instruments could be practised. But then there had to be flexibility because having a friend round or working on some project might need a change in the rules. There has to be trust. Both must feel that their priorities are being taken seriously by the other. It requires generosity, to take on board the needs and desires of the other; to be ready to let go of our own ideas for the sake of the other.
Certainly we see this generosity is God. Jesus seems to do everything for the father. He accepts the Father’s will even in Gethsemane, where it so obviously costs him everything. Yet the Father also gives everything to Jesus. “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me” Jesus declares in Matt 28: 18. This continual giving of one to the other and back again is an important characteristic of the unity of God. It means that everything is shared.
Then when I read today’s scripture readings I was very struck by St Paul’s words, “We boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God”. So this sharing within the life of the Trinity is not just about God, it is also about human beings; us!” We hope to share in the glory of God! This could easily seem to be an outrageous claim; as preposterous as it is presumptuous. Who can share in the glory of God, but God alone? And yet the New Testament is quite clear that God wants to share his glory, his unity, his life of mutual self giving with us. Two Sundays ago our gospel was from John 17, and Jesus prayed to the Father for all his followers saying, “…the glory you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one and we are one.” So we are called to share in the glory of God, and to share in the unity of God. And actually this is not a presumption hope because it comes at a cost. What Paul actually says is, “We boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings…” because suffering leads to endurance, character and hope. Elsewhere the New Testament is very clear that this full sharing includes both sufferings and glory (e.g. Romans 8: 17, 1 Peter 5: 1)
So let’s learn to trust in the great destiny to which God calls us. Let’s prepare ourselves to share in the glory of God, to share in the mysterious unity of the Trinity. Let’s practice sharing with our brothers and sisters because this is an excellent preparation. When sufferings come, let’s seek to live them as a sharing in the sufferings of Jesus. Let’s pray that God will help us to grow in generosity, so that we can draw closer to this life of God. Amen.
30 May 2010
23 May 2010
Pentecost and the Tower of Babel
Sermon preached on Sunday 23rd April 2010 at 11am at St Mary’s Lapworth. Other versions of this sermon were preached at 8.30am at St Mary’s, 3pm at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton and at 6.30pm at Solihull School Chapel.
Pentecost – Year C
Readings: Ps 104: 24-end Genesis 11: 1-9 Acts 2: 1-21
Our two scripture readings today are a kind of mirror image of each other. The story of the Tower of Babel is a story about sin, which leads to the scattering of peoples, their disempowerment and confusion in their language. The story of Pentecost is a story about co-operation with the plan of God, which leads to the gathering and unifying of peoples, the breakdown of language barriers and great power at work amongst the disciples.
So let’s think about the Tower of Babel. The people, who were all of one people with one language said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and lets us make a name for ourselves, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
And so what it about this that was so sinful? What was it that God found so objectionable? Well above, the sin was pride. Rather than acknowledge their dependence on God, the people wanted to see themselves as self sufficient and to set their own agenda independent of God. They wanted to build a great tower to rise to the heavens and so to place themselves above God. They wanted to make a name for themselves, to be famous, to place themselves above other people who would look up to them and praise them. But pride is in fact a terrible trap. No one can be self sufficient but God alone. If God hides his face people are troubled. If God takes away their breath, then they die. No one can take forward plans and agendas independent of God. The plans and agendas that succeed, that deliver benefits in the longer term, are plans and agendas that are blessed by God, that come about through co-operation with God and by obedience to God’s will. And its seems to me that these people of Babel knew that their plans were ill-founded, were not based on God’s will. Deep down they knew this, and because of it they suffered from fear. They feared that they might be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth. Fear is not a good thing. We are called not to fear, but rather to trust in the God who is love. “True love casts out fear” as St John teaches (1 John 4: 18). And it is interesting how God responded to the pride and self sufficiency of the people of Babel. The Lord did the very thing that they feared. He scattered them abroad over the whole earth. And he did this by confusing their language so that they could not understand one another. He split them into different peoples and nations and he took away all their power. They never finish building their city.
And it is very interesting to read the story of the Tower of Babel alongside the story of Pentecost, because Pentecost is the mirror image of the story; the very opposite thing happens. The disciples gather in the upper room, as Jesus commanded them, so they are acting in obedience to God. They have just passed through the experience of the death and resurrection of Jesus. They have learnt that they can trust Jesus, even when he seems utterly helpless, dying on a cross. The disciples have been witnesses to the resurrection, and know that it is God who is the giver of life. They know that with God not even death is to be feared. And so God pours out his Holy Spirit among them, and they have this extraordinary experience with a violent rush of wind and divided tongues of fire resting on each one of them. And whereas at Babel people’s languages were confused and they were scattered abroad into different peoples and nations, so with the gift of the Holy Spirit, disperse peoples were gathered into one. There was a remarkable gift of language such that everyone understood the disciples in their native tongue, whatever their background. If we had read to the end of chapter 2 we would have heard that all the disciples in Jerusalem were gathered together and had all things in common, like one family. We would also have read of the great power received by the disciples and of the great wonders and signs were worked by the apostles (Act 2: 43-45). Later St. Paul would declare that in Christianity, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3: 28). Just as sin dispersed people and divided them at Babel, so at Pentecost the Holy Spirit united people and brought them together.
And so what about us? What does this mean for us now? Well clearly we need to free ourselves from the behaviours and attitudes of Babel, and model ourselves on the disciples at Pentecost. So first of all we need to guard against pride. We should not seek to put ourselves above God or above other people. Instead we must see ourselves and other people as different parts of God’s one creation, called to live in harmony with one another, as many sons and daughters of one heavenly Father.
Then we must not try to be self-sufficient, in a way that seeks independence from God. Rather we must know our need of God, and of his Holy Spirit. We should put our hope in God, and in Jesus who conquered death. Nowadays, as at Babel, it is all too easy to place our hopes in human achievements. There has been much human progress; scientific, technological or economic. These things can certainly be good; medical progress for example has brought us great benefits. But these things cannot save us. They cannot prevent death, or unify us, or heal the problems of the world. These bigger goals depend on the action of God. And if scientific or technological progress is pursued outside of God’s plan then God might once again choose to scatter and divide and to deprive these things of all their power.
But rather we are called to maintain the attitudes and behaviours of Pentecost, so that God will pour out his Spirit upon us. Perhaps we might even experience the rushing wind or tongues of fire, but if even if we don’t we can certainly experience the great power of God’s Spirit, his healing, reconciling and unifying force, his gifts of understanding, and being understood. And as our Psalm suggested, where God sends forth his spirit we can witness his creative powers because new things are brought into being and as the face of the earth is renewed. I hope that this is what things will be like here in this place! Amen.
Pentecost – Year C
Readings: Ps 104: 24-end Genesis 11: 1-9 Acts 2: 1-21
Our two scripture readings today are a kind of mirror image of each other. The story of the Tower of Babel is a story about sin, which leads to the scattering of peoples, their disempowerment and confusion in their language. The story of Pentecost is a story about co-operation with the plan of God, which leads to the gathering and unifying of peoples, the breakdown of language barriers and great power at work amongst the disciples.
So let’s think about the Tower of Babel. The people, who were all of one people with one language said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and lets us make a name for ourselves, otherwise we shall be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.”
And so what it about this that was so sinful? What was it that God found so objectionable? Well above, the sin was pride. Rather than acknowledge their dependence on God, the people wanted to see themselves as self sufficient and to set their own agenda independent of God. They wanted to build a great tower to rise to the heavens and so to place themselves above God. They wanted to make a name for themselves, to be famous, to place themselves above other people who would look up to them and praise them. But pride is in fact a terrible trap. No one can be self sufficient but God alone. If God hides his face people are troubled. If God takes away their breath, then they die. No one can take forward plans and agendas independent of God. The plans and agendas that succeed, that deliver benefits in the longer term, are plans and agendas that are blessed by God, that come about through co-operation with God and by obedience to God’s will. And its seems to me that these people of Babel knew that their plans were ill-founded, were not based on God’s will. Deep down they knew this, and because of it they suffered from fear. They feared that they might be scattered abroad on the face of the whole earth. Fear is not a good thing. We are called not to fear, but rather to trust in the God who is love. “True love casts out fear” as St John teaches (1 John 4: 18). And it is interesting how God responded to the pride and self sufficiency of the people of Babel. The Lord did the very thing that they feared. He scattered them abroad over the whole earth. And he did this by confusing their language so that they could not understand one another. He split them into different peoples and nations and he took away all their power. They never finish building their city.
And it is very interesting to read the story of the Tower of Babel alongside the story of Pentecost, because Pentecost is the mirror image of the story; the very opposite thing happens. The disciples gather in the upper room, as Jesus commanded them, so they are acting in obedience to God. They have just passed through the experience of the death and resurrection of Jesus. They have learnt that they can trust Jesus, even when he seems utterly helpless, dying on a cross. The disciples have been witnesses to the resurrection, and know that it is God who is the giver of life. They know that with God not even death is to be feared. And so God pours out his Holy Spirit among them, and they have this extraordinary experience with a violent rush of wind and divided tongues of fire resting on each one of them. And whereas at Babel people’s languages were confused and they were scattered abroad into different peoples and nations, so with the gift of the Holy Spirit, disperse peoples were gathered into one. There was a remarkable gift of language such that everyone understood the disciples in their native tongue, whatever their background. If we had read to the end of chapter 2 we would have heard that all the disciples in Jerusalem were gathered together and had all things in common, like one family. We would also have read of the great power received by the disciples and of the great wonders and signs were worked by the apostles (Act 2: 43-45). Later St. Paul would declare that in Christianity, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3: 28). Just as sin dispersed people and divided them at Babel, so at Pentecost the Holy Spirit united people and brought them together.
And so what about us? What does this mean for us now? Well clearly we need to free ourselves from the behaviours and attitudes of Babel, and model ourselves on the disciples at Pentecost. So first of all we need to guard against pride. We should not seek to put ourselves above God or above other people. Instead we must see ourselves and other people as different parts of God’s one creation, called to live in harmony with one another, as many sons and daughters of one heavenly Father.
Then we must not try to be self-sufficient, in a way that seeks independence from God. Rather we must know our need of God, and of his Holy Spirit. We should put our hope in God, and in Jesus who conquered death. Nowadays, as at Babel, it is all too easy to place our hopes in human achievements. There has been much human progress; scientific, technological or economic. These things can certainly be good; medical progress for example has brought us great benefits. But these things cannot save us. They cannot prevent death, or unify us, or heal the problems of the world. These bigger goals depend on the action of God. And if scientific or technological progress is pursued outside of God’s plan then God might once again choose to scatter and divide and to deprive these things of all their power.
But rather we are called to maintain the attitudes and behaviours of Pentecost, so that God will pour out his Spirit upon us. Perhaps we might even experience the rushing wind or tongues of fire, but if even if we don’t we can certainly experience the great power of God’s Spirit, his healing, reconciling and unifying force, his gifts of understanding, and being understood. And as our Psalm suggested, where God sends forth his spirit we can witness his creative powers because new things are brought into being and as the face of the earth is renewed. I hope that this is what things will be like here in this place! Amen.
16 May 2010
Living for unity
Sermon preached at 11am at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth
Sunday 16th May 2010, 7th Sunday of Easter - Year C
Adapted versions of this sermon were also preached at 8.30am and also at St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton at 9.45am.
Readings: Acts 16: 16-34 John 17: 20-end
Last Thursday was the feast of the Ascension and we celebrated that in church. The Ascension is when we remember Jesus finally leaving the earth, 40 days after his resurrection, and going to heaven to sit at God’s right hand. It is a time when we think of Jesus on the throne of heaven in all his glory. We think of his final triumph through all his trials and difficulties. We remember the words of the psalmist “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Ps 110).
And the theme of the Ascension is still with us in our service this morning. There are several references to the Ascension in our hymns today. See if you can spot them! But also there things about our gospel reading, which are relevant to the Ascension. As we think about Jesus leaving this earth, so we find the need to focus on the last things that Jesus said to us before he left. And this is why our gospel reading is significant. It is sometimes described as Jesus’ “last will and testament” or his “priestly prayer”. It is the last words that Jesus says in John’s gospel before his arrest, his passion and death.
Actually these words are part of a prayer to God. And it can be hard to understand. God the Son is praying to God the Father. God is praying for God. We humans shouldn’t be too surprised if we struggle to understand it all! But it is very interesting what Jesus prays for. One of the things he prays is “Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory…” So Jesus recognises that he is returning to the glories of heaven, and wants to share those glories with us. And this is part of our Christian hope. Our life is a journey towards this great destination that Jesus wants for us, to see his glory, share his life in heaven. And we know that the journey might be long and difficult and we need to grow and develop in love, and we might need to be purified in all kinds of painful ways, but ultimately we are called to this great destiny in heaven with Christ in glory.
But the main thing that Jesus prays for is unity. First of all he prays for his disciples. Then for all those who will believe in Jesus because of witness of the disciples. So that is you and me. It is the whole church. And his pray is, “that they all may be one” and he repeats this several times in different ways. “That they all may be one.” Jesus is praying for unity among his followers. He is praying for unity in the Church.
Now we all know that unity can be very difficult. Church Unity can be especially difficult to achieve. Since the eleventh century the Church has suffered a big division between the east and the west. Since the sixteen century there has been a division between Protestants and Anglicans and the Catholics. But then it always seems that there is scope for new divisions, even within our own denomination, the Anglican Communion and the Church of England. We only have to think of questions to do with women bishops, women priests, and homosexuality to know that there are a huge range of things that can easily divide us. And if we think of our local church communities there is always scope for division. Perhaps this congregation may have be spared much division, but my former parish in Solihull suffered terrible conflicts and divisions over women priests in the mid-1990s. And then even in the smallest unit of the church our families, our marriages, there is scope for division. We all know how easily problems can occur and how difficult it is to live in unity.
And yet Jesus prays for unity, not just in marriages, or in local church communities, but for the unity of the whole church. Well this might seem completely impossible; a total pipe dream. And I think for human beings alone unity is impossible. But it is not impossible for God, and it is what God wants. Unity for human beings is achieved as a gift from God.
So how do we receive this gift? How do we put ourselves in the right position to be blessed in this way? Well I think we get some clues from the rest of Jesus’ prayer. Jesus prays, “…may they all be one. As you Father are in me, and I am in you…” So this being united is about being “in” the other. This means positioning ourselves in the other person, mindful of their needs, their priorities, their legitimate aspirations. It means empathising with them and making their hopes our own. We try to serve the good that we see in the other person, doing our best to recognise them as God created them to be, with all their good qualities, and also do our best to ignore the things we don’t like, or that are bad about them. And this approach needs to be mutual. Jesus is in the Father, but the Father is also in Jesus. This two way giving certainly contributes to unity. In two weeks time it will be Trinity Sunday and we will be thinking about the perfect unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and this complete giving of each to the other is important to that unity.
But Jesus’ prayer continues further. “As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us”. “May they also be in us.” So we are called to be in God, to share in that self giving of the Father to the Son and the Son to the Father. But we need to be “in” God. We need to be attentive to God, through prayer, to listen to him and also to act according to what he wants from us. We have to be obedient to God’s will, to the path that he sets before us, so that we can walk forward and develop in line with his creation in us. To do this maybe we have to let go of some of our own devises and desires. Perhaps he have to lose some of our own ideas in order to be in God. But this being in God is part of the experience of unity.
Now when we dwell together in unity it is a very refreshing and renewing experience. The Psalmist says, “How good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity. It is like precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard…” (Ps 133). I believe that this experience of unity on earth is a preparation for heaven. It is a preparation for that glory that Jesus wants to share with us in heaven, a foretaste of heaven. So let’s seek to live “in” the other, and “in” God to experience unity and to prepare ourselves for heaven. Amen.
Sunday 16th May 2010, 7th Sunday of Easter - Year C
Adapted versions of this sermon were also preached at 8.30am and also at St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton at 9.45am.
Readings: Acts 16: 16-34 John 17: 20-end
Last Thursday was the feast of the Ascension and we celebrated that in church. The Ascension is when we remember Jesus finally leaving the earth, 40 days after his resurrection, and going to heaven to sit at God’s right hand. It is a time when we think of Jesus on the throne of heaven in all his glory. We think of his final triumph through all his trials and difficulties. We remember the words of the psalmist “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Ps 110).
And the theme of the Ascension is still with us in our service this morning. There are several references to the Ascension in our hymns today. See if you can spot them! But also there things about our gospel reading, which are relevant to the Ascension. As we think about Jesus leaving this earth, so we find the need to focus on the last things that Jesus said to us before he left. And this is why our gospel reading is significant. It is sometimes described as Jesus’ “last will and testament” or his “priestly prayer”. It is the last words that Jesus says in John’s gospel before his arrest, his passion and death.
Actually these words are part of a prayer to God. And it can be hard to understand. God the Son is praying to God the Father. God is praying for God. We humans shouldn’t be too surprised if we struggle to understand it all! But it is very interesting what Jesus prays for. One of the things he prays is “Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory…” So Jesus recognises that he is returning to the glories of heaven, and wants to share those glories with us. And this is part of our Christian hope. Our life is a journey towards this great destination that Jesus wants for us, to see his glory, share his life in heaven. And we know that the journey might be long and difficult and we need to grow and develop in love, and we might need to be purified in all kinds of painful ways, but ultimately we are called to this great destiny in heaven with Christ in glory.
But the main thing that Jesus prays for is unity. First of all he prays for his disciples. Then for all those who will believe in Jesus because of witness of the disciples. So that is you and me. It is the whole church. And his pray is, “that they all may be one” and he repeats this several times in different ways. “That they all may be one.” Jesus is praying for unity among his followers. He is praying for unity in the Church.
Now we all know that unity can be very difficult. Church Unity can be especially difficult to achieve. Since the eleventh century the Church has suffered a big division between the east and the west. Since the sixteen century there has been a division between Protestants and Anglicans and the Catholics. But then it always seems that there is scope for new divisions, even within our own denomination, the Anglican Communion and the Church of England. We only have to think of questions to do with women bishops, women priests, and homosexuality to know that there are a huge range of things that can easily divide us. And if we think of our local church communities there is always scope for division. Perhaps this congregation may have be spared much division, but my former parish in Solihull suffered terrible conflicts and divisions over women priests in the mid-1990s. And then even in the smallest unit of the church our families, our marriages, there is scope for division. We all know how easily problems can occur and how difficult it is to live in unity.
And yet Jesus prays for unity, not just in marriages, or in local church communities, but for the unity of the whole church. Well this might seem completely impossible; a total pipe dream. And I think for human beings alone unity is impossible. But it is not impossible for God, and it is what God wants. Unity for human beings is achieved as a gift from God.
So how do we receive this gift? How do we put ourselves in the right position to be blessed in this way? Well I think we get some clues from the rest of Jesus’ prayer. Jesus prays, “…may they all be one. As you Father are in me, and I am in you…” So this being united is about being “in” the other. This means positioning ourselves in the other person, mindful of their needs, their priorities, their legitimate aspirations. It means empathising with them and making their hopes our own. We try to serve the good that we see in the other person, doing our best to recognise them as God created them to be, with all their good qualities, and also do our best to ignore the things we don’t like, or that are bad about them. And this approach needs to be mutual. Jesus is in the Father, but the Father is also in Jesus. This two way giving certainly contributes to unity. In two weeks time it will be Trinity Sunday and we will be thinking about the perfect unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and this complete giving of each to the other is important to that unity.
But Jesus’ prayer continues further. “As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us”. “May they also be in us.” So we are called to be in God, to share in that self giving of the Father to the Son and the Son to the Father. But we need to be “in” God. We need to be attentive to God, through prayer, to listen to him and also to act according to what he wants from us. We have to be obedient to God’s will, to the path that he sets before us, so that we can walk forward and develop in line with his creation in us. To do this maybe we have to let go of some of our own devises and desires. Perhaps he have to lose some of our own ideas in order to be in God. But this being in God is part of the experience of unity.
Now when we dwell together in unity it is a very refreshing and renewing experience. The Psalmist says, “How good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity. It is like precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard…” (Ps 133). I believe that this experience of unity on earth is a preparation for heaven. It is a preparation for that glory that Jesus wants to share with us in heaven, a foretaste of heaven. So let’s seek to live “in” the other, and “in” God to experience unity and to prepare ourselves for heaven. Amen.
09 May 2010
Bluebell Service at St Michael's
Sermon preached at the annual “Bluebell Service”, 3pm Evensong at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton.
Sunday 9th May 2010 – 5th Sunday after Easter
Readings: Psalm 8 Gen 1: 26-31 Phil 4: 4-7
Well obviously I am the new rector and I am very new, and I am still learning what we are about here in the Parish of Baddesley Clinton, and in this church of St Michael’s. And although I recognise that I still have lots to learn about this place it does seem to me that one of the things that we are about is harmony with nature. We have this beautiful church building, in this beautiful setting, surrounded by bluebells. And many people have worked very hard over very many years to maintain all this and to keep that harmonious balance between nature and our human needs for order and purpose.
And sometimes people say, “Yes, but would it not be more beautiful still if humans never got involved and it was just nature.” Well if that was the case then we would have no church building, no grass mowing, no bulb planting. It probably would still be beautiful, but it would not reflect our legitimate human needs. And our bible reading today made it quite clear that in both the Christian and Jewish understanding, human beings are encouraged by God to work with nature to bring about good human outcomes. Human beings are made in the image of God. We reflect God’s own nature and God encourages by God to be master of creation, to work with God on his creation to make it more beautiful and to meet our human needs.
Now the key phrase here is “in harmony with God’s creation”. When we do things in harmony with God and his creation then the outcome is beautiful, and hopefully that is what we see reflected here around us.
But the trouble is we know that human intervention in nature is not always guided by harmony with God. Sometimes it is driven by greed, or arrogance or selfishness and the results are very ugly. And as we meet today we have very aware of a huge oil slick in the Bay of Mexico, arising from human activity and which threatens to do enormous damage to nature. And we all have to be very humble about this, because we know that we all live western lifestyles which are very hard on nature and very demanding on the world’s resources.
When we think about harmony with nature, one of the saints who has most to teach us is St Francis of Assisi. He lived outdoors in extreme poverty. His carbon footprint must have been as low as they come. He celebrated all aspects of nature, writing the great canticle “Brother Sun, Sister Moon”. St Francis emphasised that all created things ultimately want and need to move in harmony with their creator. He is famous for preaching to the birds and to the fish. His followers thought he had completely lost it, but he preached to them nevertheless, and they appeared interested and then dispersed when he had finished. Francis rebuked himself for never having preached to the birds before!
Well, here at Baddesley Clinton I am not preaching to birds or fish, but I am almost preaching to bluebells. The nice thing about preaching to bluebells is that if there is a breeze then they nod gently up and down, as though they agree and appreciate what is being said. Not many congregations do that, or at least not when I am preaching, they don’t! But this not of agreement also reminds me of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who when approached by the Angel Gabriel gave her agreement, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” And the blueness of bluebells is another reminder of Mary, who has to be the ultimate example of co-operating with the creative power of the creator.
So as we go from here, let’s give thanks for the beauty we experience. Let’s seek to build on that beauty by living lives in harmony with the will of the creator. And let’s remember the example that we have in St Francis and also in Mary, and let’s say our yes to God, like a bluebell nodding in the wind.
Sunday 9th May 2010 – 5th Sunday after Easter
Readings: Psalm 8 Gen 1: 26-31 Phil 4: 4-7
Well obviously I am the new rector and I am very new, and I am still learning what we are about here in the Parish of Baddesley Clinton, and in this church of St Michael’s. And although I recognise that I still have lots to learn about this place it does seem to me that one of the things that we are about is harmony with nature. We have this beautiful church building, in this beautiful setting, surrounded by bluebells. And many people have worked very hard over very many years to maintain all this and to keep that harmonious balance between nature and our human needs for order and purpose.
And sometimes people say, “Yes, but would it not be more beautiful still if humans never got involved and it was just nature.” Well if that was the case then we would have no church building, no grass mowing, no bulb planting. It probably would still be beautiful, but it would not reflect our legitimate human needs. And our bible reading today made it quite clear that in both the Christian and Jewish understanding, human beings are encouraged by God to work with nature to bring about good human outcomes. Human beings are made in the image of God. We reflect God’s own nature and God encourages by God to be master of creation, to work with God on his creation to make it more beautiful and to meet our human needs.
Now the key phrase here is “in harmony with God’s creation”. When we do things in harmony with God and his creation then the outcome is beautiful, and hopefully that is what we see reflected here around us.
But the trouble is we know that human intervention in nature is not always guided by harmony with God. Sometimes it is driven by greed, or arrogance or selfishness and the results are very ugly. And as we meet today we have very aware of a huge oil slick in the Bay of Mexico, arising from human activity and which threatens to do enormous damage to nature. And we all have to be very humble about this, because we know that we all live western lifestyles which are very hard on nature and very demanding on the world’s resources.
When we think about harmony with nature, one of the saints who has most to teach us is St Francis of Assisi. He lived outdoors in extreme poverty. His carbon footprint must have been as low as they come. He celebrated all aspects of nature, writing the great canticle “Brother Sun, Sister Moon”. St Francis emphasised that all created things ultimately want and need to move in harmony with their creator. He is famous for preaching to the birds and to the fish. His followers thought he had completely lost it, but he preached to them nevertheless, and they appeared interested and then dispersed when he had finished. Francis rebuked himself for never having preached to the birds before!
Well, here at Baddesley Clinton I am not preaching to birds or fish, but I am almost preaching to bluebells. The nice thing about preaching to bluebells is that if there is a breeze then they nod gently up and down, as though they agree and appreciate what is being said. Not many congregations do that, or at least not when I am preaching, they don’t! But this not of agreement also reminds me of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who when approached by the Angel Gabriel gave her agreement, “Be it unto me according to thy word.” And the blueness of bluebells is another reminder of Mary, who has to be the ultimate example of co-operating with the creative power of the creator.
So as we go from here, let’s give thanks for the beauty we experience. Let’s seek to build on that beauty by living lives in harmony with the will of the creator. And let’s remember the example that we have in St Francis and also in Mary, and let’s say our yes to God, like a bluebell nodding in the wind.
Growing in Faith
Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth.
Sunday 9th May 2010 – Easter 6 Year C
Readings: Psalm 67 Acts 16: 9-15 John 14: 23-29
When I read the scripture readings to prepare for this service, the thing which really struck me was the way that Lydia’s conversion was described in our reading from Acts. It said “The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul”.
What struck me was that it was the Lord who opened her heart.
We might think he was down to Paul. He had a great reputation as a preacher and spokesperson. We might think that with his wise and eloquent words he converted her.
Or we might think it was down to Lydia. Clearly she was extraordinary woman; head of a household and owner business dealing in purple cloth. Perhaps this very able woman was able to discern the wisdom in what Paul said, and to discover its truth?
But no, the scripture does not put Lydia’s conversion down to her own wisdom, nor does it put it down to the skill of Paul as a preacher. Rather the text says, “The Lord opened her heart”. And for me, this was a very powerful reminder that faith, ultimately, is a gift from God. God chooses to give this gift in accordance with his own purposes and that is down to God, not down to human beings. But we also have to remember that God wants to give us this gift of faith. That is why he sent Jesus, and caused the Church to grow. God wants to give us this gift of faith. It is more a question of how we receive it. How do we put ourselves in the right disposition to receive this great gift that God wants to share with us?
So let’s think about our faith? What is our own faith like? Is it big or small, or hidden? Do we sometime worry that it might not be their at all? I think that most of us experience faith as though we are a large plant pot full of mouldy black compost with a little accord hidden somewhere in the middle of it. And most of the time we are very aware of a lot of back and mouldy compost, which we might think of as doubt, and we hardly aware at all of the little acorn, which is, after all, very small. But that is not the whole story, because the acorn has the power to grow. And if it is looked after and watered and put in the sunlight then it will grow. And over time it will grow and grow and grow. And the roots can smash through the pot and grow down into the earth, and the whole thing can grow up into a great big oak tree. And after three hundred years people come along and say, “What a big and beautiful tree”. They don’t even think about the plant pot or the compost anymore. Perhaps some fragments of pot remain buried deep down among the roots somewhere, but they don’t matter anymore. We’re talking about an oak tree, not a plant pot.
So let’s think of ourselves as like the plant pot once again. We should not be too worried if there appears to be awful lot black mouldy compost – doubt – around. Growing up with doubt, in us and around us, is part of the Christian experience. Neither should we be too worried that the acorn – faith - seems very small, and may not even be visible. It may be small, but the important thing is that it is alive and it has the potential to grow.
[Now, an important aside. Although the acorn is small, we must identify ourselves with the acorn, because that is where the life is. The compost is dead and decaying. It is the acorn that has the long term future. So although our faith is small, and maybe hidden, we must live by it and allow it to guide our lives. We have to choose life. We have to live in our new self, not our old self, as St Paul says (Rom 6: 6, Eph 4: 22-24, I Col 3: 9-10). If we don’t choose life (the acorn) but instead choose to live by our doubt (the compost) then we are choosing rottenness and decay. There becomes a chance that the acorn will be overcome and will itself die and itself turn to compost. No, we have to choose life.]
Now in order to grow the acorn is completely dependent on sunlight and water. Without these things it can only die. In the same way our faith is completely dependent on God, on the presence of God in our lives and on our relationship with God. It was God who moved Lydia’s heart to believe. So, if our faith is so dependent on God, what can we do? How can we play our part? Do we just have to sit around and wait for God to act, or is there anything we can do? What is the contribution that we can make?
Well I think our gospel reading is very helpful here. Jesus says, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my father will love them, and will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14: 23). So keeping the word of Jesus is the key way to have God come and dwell with us. Just two verses earlier Jesus said something very similar, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” So once again Jesus emphasises that the important thing that we need to do is to follow the commandments of Jesus, to live by his teaching. And if we do this then God will come to us, and Jesus will reveal himself to us, and in this way our faith can grow. And so what we need to try and so is set up a self-reinforcing cycle of growth for our faith. We follow the commandments of Jesus as best we can and try to live by his teaching, so God comes to us more and Jesus reveals himself to us more, so we understand his ways better follow his teaching with greater consistency and aptitude, so God comes to us even more, and Jesus reveals himself even more, and so we get even better at following his teaching…and so our faith grows and grows and becomes like a great oak tree, something really big and solid that we can depend on and that we see us through times of crisis and difficulty.
So our part is to follow the teaching of Jesus, to keep his word, to live by his commandments. And what is that teaching? What are those commandments? Well Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God, and the second commandment was to love our neighbour. Then at the last supper Jesus gave us a New Commandment which he described as his own (John 13: 34, 15: 12) to “love one another as I have loved you.” So following the teaching of Jesus is all about growing in love for others. This is our specific contribution. This is what we must do to make our faith grow. Amen.
Sunday 9th May 2010 – Easter 6 Year C
Readings: Psalm 67 Acts 16: 9-15 John 14: 23-29
When I read the scripture readings to prepare for this service, the thing which really struck me was the way that Lydia’s conversion was described in our reading from Acts. It said “The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul”.
What struck me was that it was the Lord who opened her heart.
We might think he was down to Paul. He had a great reputation as a preacher and spokesperson. We might think that with his wise and eloquent words he converted her.
Or we might think it was down to Lydia. Clearly she was extraordinary woman; head of a household and owner business dealing in purple cloth. Perhaps this very able woman was able to discern the wisdom in what Paul said, and to discover its truth?
But no, the scripture does not put Lydia’s conversion down to her own wisdom, nor does it put it down to the skill of Paul as a preacher. Rather the text says, “The Lord opened her heart”. And for me, this was a very powerful reminder that faith, ultimately, is a gift from God. God chooses to give this gift in accordance with his own purposes and that is down to God, not down to human beings. But we also have to remember that God wants to give us this gift of faith. That is why he sent Jesus, and caused the Church to grow. God wants to give us this gift of faith. It is more a question of how we receive it. How do we put ourselves in the right disposition to receive this great gift that God wants to share with us?
So let’s think about our faith? What is our own faith like? Is it big or small, or hidden? Do we sometime worry that it might not be their at all? I think that most of us experience faith as though we are a large plant pot full of mouldy black compost with a little accord hidden somewhere in the middle of it. And most of the time we are very aware of a lot of back and mouldy compost, which we might think of as doubt, and we hardly aware at all of the little acorn, which is, after all, very small. But that is not the whole story, because the acorn has the power to grow. And if it is looked after and watered and put in the sunlight then it will grow. And over time it will grow and grow and grow. And the roots can smash through the pot and grow down into the earth, and the whole thing can grow up into a great big oak tree. And after three hundred years people come along and say, “What a big and beautiful tree”. They don’t even think about the plant pot or the compost anymore. Perhaps some fragments of pot remain buried deep down among the roots somewhere, but they don’t matter anymore. We’re talking about an oak tree, not a plant pot.
So let’s think of ourselves as like the plant pot once again. We should not be too worried if there appears to be awful lot black mouldy compost – doubt – around. Growing up with doubt, in us and around us, is part of the Christian experience. Neither should we be too worried that the acorn – faith - seems very small, and may not even be visible. It may be small, but the important thing is that it is alive and it has the potential to grow.
[Now, an important aside. Although the acorn is small, we must identify ourselves with the acorn, because that is where the life is. The compost is dead and decaying. It is the acorn that has the long term future. So although our faith is small, and maybe hidden, we must live by it and allow it to guide our lives. We have to choose life. We have to live in our new self, not our old self, as St Paul says (Rom 6: 6, Eph 4: 22-24, I Col 3: 9-10). If we don’t choose life (the acorn) but instead choose to live by our doubt (the compost) then we are choosing rottenness and decay. There becomes a chance that the acorn will be overcome and will itself die and itself turn to compost. No, we have to choose life.]
Now in order to grow the acorn is completely dependent on sunlight and water. Without these things it can only die. In the same way our faith is completely dependent on God, on the presence of God in our lives and on our relationship with God. It was God who moved Lydia’s heart to believe. So, if our faith is so dependent on God, what can we do? How can we play our part? Do we just have to sit around and wait for God to act, or is there anything we can do? What is the contribution that we can make?
Well I think our gospel reading is very helpful here. Jesus says, “Those who love me will keep my word, and my father will love them, and will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14: 23). So keeping the word of Jesus is the key way to have God come and dwell with us. Just two verses earlier Jesus said something very similar, “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me, and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” So once again Jesus emphasises that the important thing that we need to do is to follow the commandments of Jesus, to live by his teaching. And if we do this then God will come to us, and Jesus will reveal himself to us, and in this way our faith can grow. And so what we need to try and so is set up a self-reinforcing cycle of growth for our faith. We follow the commandments of Jesus as best we can and try to live by his teaching, so God comes to us more and Jesus reveals himself to us more, so we understand his ways better follow his teaching with greater consistency and aptitude, so God comes to us even more, and Jesus reveals himself even more, and so we get even better at following his teaching…and so our faith grows and grows and becomes like a great oak tree, something really big and solid that we can depend on and that we see us through times of crisis and difficulty.
So our part is to follow the teaching of Jesus, to keep his word, to live by his commandments. And what is that teaching? What are those commandments? Well Jesus said that the greatest commandment was to love God, and the second commandment was to love our neighbour. Then at the last supper Jesus gave us a New Commandment which he described as his own (John 13: 34, 15: 12) to “love one another as I have loved you.” So following the teaching of Jesus is all about growing in love for others. This is our specific contribution. This is what we must do to make our faith grow. Amen.
05 May 2010
Material from Institution Services
On 5th May 2010 the Bishop of Birmingham instituted me as Rector of Baddesley Clinton and Lapworth. Here is some material from the two services of institution.
Lapworth - Symbols of Ministry
A bible is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this bible. Be among us as one who preaches the Word,
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we know God’s Word and live by it
A chalice and paten is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this chalice and paten. Preside among us at the Eucharist
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we grow in communion with Christ
A candle is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this candle. Pray for us and for the whole community.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we grow in prayer and in the knowledge of God
Water is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this water. Be among us as one who baptises.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we know the gifts we receive in baptism and bring them to fulfilment.
A white stole and a purple stole are presented
Representative: Patrick, Receive these stoles. Mark with us our weddings and our funerals, our joys and sorrows.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we walk the journey of life and arrive safely at our heavenly home.
The oil of healing is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this oil. Be among us as a priest of reconciliation, sharing God’s forgiveness and healing.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we know our need of God and dwell in Christ’s peace.
A school governors’ manual is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this school governors’ manual. Nurture our families and young people.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we be blessed with children at our worship, and welcome them as Jesus did.
A church register is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this church register. Help us to honour our past and to build our future.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may our community grow in love and reveal God’s plan.
Prayers for the Institution at Baddesley Clinton
Let us pray:
We give thanks before God today for this institution service.
We give thank for the Parish wardens, and for all who have worked for this moment in so many different ways. We thank God for the new relationship established today, between Parish and Rector. We pray for grace to live well in that new relationship so that church and parish may be strengthened.
Lord God, your apostles appointed presbyters in each church, and prayed over them with fasting and entrusted them to the Lord. We entrust to you this new ministry in Baddesley Clinton. May it always be enlightened by your Spirit, and exercised for your Glory. May your people be well served through it and the life of your church taken forward. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
We pray for this parish church, for all who worship here and for the church community. We pray for those to whom this community ministers, remembering the Parish, the local community, the National Trust House and all its visitors. We remember before God the village of Baddesley Clinton, and all who live there. Especially we remember the church of St Francis in the village and the Poor Clare Sisters.
Heavenly Father, your son Jesus taught us to love one another, as he loved us, giving his life for us. Help us to love each other in the daily life of this parish. Help us each to exercise our different roles for the good of the whole community. May the love we have for each other witness to Jesus who we follow, so that your glory may be revealed. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen
We give thanks for, and pray for all those who support this parish. We thank God for Mr John Walker, the Patron and we pray for him. We give thanks for Bishop David, praying for him, and for Andrew his chaplain, for their ministry and for the whole diocese. We pray for our Deanery, remembering especially at this time of change our outgoing and incoming Area Deans, both of them David.
Almighty God we praise you for the communion that we share with the church in heaven, with the saints, with St Michael our heavenly Patron and with all the angles. Train us, Lord, in your ways, that our earthly lives may reflect our heavenly calling. And at the last bring us together with your whole Church to the joys of the heavenly banquet, that all creation may give thanks and praise to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers for the institution at Lapworth
Let us pray.
We give thanks before God today for our Parish and for this institution service.
We give thank for the churchwardens, and for all who have worked for this moment in so many different ways. We thank God for the new relationship, between Parish and Rector, established today. We pray for grace to live well in that new relationship so that the body of Christ may be built up and so that we may come to the maturity of the full stature of Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, by the measure of your grace each of us has received gifts, that the church may be equipped for ministry. Look on us today, as a new Rector is instituted. We thank you for the gifts received. May we speak the truth in love. May we grow in every way into you, our head. And may we each use our gifts so that the whole body of the church can be built up in love. In your name we pray. Amen
We pray for this parish church. We give thanks for its beauty and its beautiful location. We pray for all who worship here and for the whole church community. We remember before God those to whom this community ministers, thinking especially of the village of Lapworth, the church school, and the many local clubs and societies. We pray for the Lees chapel and for the Coptic church and for the whole of our community.
Heavenly Father, your son Jesus taught us to love one another, as he loved us, giving his life for us. Help us to love each other in the daily life of this parish. Help us each to use our different gifts for the good of the whole community. May the love we have for each other witness to Jesus who we follow, so that your glory may be revealed. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen
We give thanks for, and pray for all those who support this parish. We thank God for Merton College Oxford, the Patron. We pray for Fr Simon, the chaplain, and his ministry in that college. We give thanks for Bishop David, praying for him, and for Andrew his chaplain, for their ministry and for the whole diocese. We pray for our Deanery, remembering especially at this time of change our outgoing and incoming Area Deans, both of them David.
Almighty God we praise you for the communion that we share with the church in heaven, with Mary the Virgin, our heavenly Patron and with all the angles and saints. Train us, Lord, in your ways, that our earthly lives may reflect our heavenly calling. And at the last bring us together with your whole Church to the joys of the heavenly banquet, that all creation may give thanks and praise to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lapworth - Symbols of Ministry
A bible is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this bible. Be among us as one who preaches the Word,
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we know God’s Word and live by it
A chalice and paten is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this chalice and paten. Preside among us at the Eucharist
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we grow in communion with Christ
A candle is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this candle. Pray for us and for the whole community.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we grow in prayer and in the knowledge of God
Water is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this water. Be among us as one who baptises.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we know the gifts we receive in baptism and bring them to fulfilment.
A white stole and a purple stole are presented
Representative: Patrick, Receive these stoles. Mark with us our weddings and our funerals, our joys and sorrows.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we walk the journey of life and arrive safely at our heavenly home.
The oil of healing is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this oil. Be among us as a priest of reconciliation, sharing God’s forgiveness and healing.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we know our need of God and dwell in Christ’s peace.
A school governors’ manual is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this school governors’ manual. Nurture our families and young people.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may we be blessed with children at our worship, and welcome them as Jesus did.
A church register is presented
Representative: Patrick, receive this church register. Help us to honour our past and to build our future.
All: Together, by God’s grace, may our community grow in love and reveal God’s plan.
Prayers for the Institution at Baddesley Clinton
Let us pray:
We give thanks before God today for this institution service.
We give thank for the Parish wardens, and for all who have worked for this moment in so many different ways. We thank God for the new relationship established today, between Parish and Rector. We pray for grace to live well in that new relationship so that church and parish may be strengthened.
Lord God, your apostles appointed presbyters in each church, and prayed over them with fasting and entrusted them to the Lord. We entrust to you this new ministry in Baddesley Clinton. May it always be enlightened by your Spirit, and exercised for your Glory. May your people be well served through it and the life of your church taken forward. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
We pray for this parish church, for all who worship here and for the church community. We pray for those to whom this community ministers, remembering the Parish, the local community, the National Trust House and all its visitors. We remember before God the village of Baddesley Clinton, and all who live there. Especially we remember the church of St Francis in the village and the Poor Clare Sisters.
Heavenly Father, your son Jesus taught us to love one another, as he loved us, giving his life for us. Help us to love each other in the daily life of this parish. Help us each to exercise our different roles for the good of the whole community. May the love we have for each other witness to Jesus who we follow, so that your glory may be revealed. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen
We give thanks for, and pray for all those who support this parish. We thank God for Mr John Walker, the Patron and we pray for him. We give thanks for Bishop David, praying for him, and for Andrew his chaplain, for their ministry and for the whole diocese. We pray for our Deanery, remembering especially at this time of change our outgoing and incoming Area Deans, both of them David.
Almighty God we praise you for the communion that we share with the church in heaven, with the saints, with St Michael our heavenly Patron and with all the angles. Train us, Lord, in your ways, that our earthly lives may reflect our heavenly calling. And at the last bring us together with your whole Church to the joys of the heavenly banquet, that all creation may give thanks and praise to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers for the institution at Lapworth
Let us pray.
We give thanks before God today for our Parish and for this institution service.
We give thank for the churchwardens, and for all who have worked for this moment in so many different ways. We thank God for the new relationship, between Parish and Rector, established today. We pray for grace to live well in that new relationship so that the body of Christ may be built up and so that we may come to the maturity of the full stature of Christ.
Lord Jesus Christ, by the measure of your grace each of us has received gifts, that the church may be equipped for ministry. Look on us today, as a new Rector is instituted. We thank you for the gifts received. May we speak the truth in love. May we grow in every way into you, our head. And may we each use our gifts so that the whole body of the church can be built up in love. In your name we pray. Amen
We pray for this parish church. We give thanks for its beauty and its beautiful location. We pray for all who worship here and for the whole church community. We remember before God those to whom this community ministers, thinking especially of the village of Lapworth, the church school, and the many local clubs and societies. We pray for the Lees chapel and for the Coptic church and for the whole of our community.
Heavenly Father, your son Jesus taught us to love one another, as he loved us, giving his life for us. Help us to love each other in the daily life of this parish. Help us each to use our different gifts for the good of the whole community. May the love we have for each other witness to Jesus who we follow, so that your glory may be revealed. We make our prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen
We give thanks for, and pray for all those who support this parish. We thank God for Merton College Oxford, the Patron. We pray for Fr Simon, the chaplain, and his ministry in that college. We give thanks for Bishop David, praying for him, and for Andrew his chaplain, for their ministry and for the whole diocese. We pray for our Deanery, remembering especially at this time of change our outgoing and incoming Area Deans, both of them David.
Almighty God we praise you for the communion that we share with the church in heaven, with Mary the Virgin, our heavenly Patron and with all the angles and saints. Train us, Lord, in your ways, that our earthly lives may reflect our heavenly calling. And at the last bring us together with your whole Church to the joys of the heavenly banquet, that all creation may give thanks and praise to you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
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