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.
28 November 2010
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.
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