Informal Sermon preached at St Alphege, Solihull for the all-age Eucharist.
Sunday 11th October 2009 – Year B - Harvest Thanksgiving
Readings: [Joel 2: 21-27] 1 Timothy 6: 6-10 Matthew 6: 25-33
[AV - Camera on speaker]
Today we celebrate our harvest thanksgiving; it’s a day of thanksgiving to God for his all gifts to us, and especially for his gift of food. Over the spring and summer farmers grow all kinds of foods in the fields. Now all the food has been collected in, the harvest is completed, and we come to give thanks to God for all the food that has grown and we give thanks for the food we shall eat over this coming year.
But thinking about the harvest and our food also makes us think about God’s other great gifts to us; about the land, the sunshine and the weather, all the things that people make and which we buy and sell, all the good things that we have and that we enjoy.
And if you are sitting in the first three rows you might like to have a look under your seat cushions and see if you can find examples of some of the many good things that we have and enjoy, that come to us through God’s creation. If you find one, perhaps you could bring it forward to now.
[Children look under seats, find eight posters and bring them forward. Each poster has a picture illustrating a word]
So what have we got? For the sake of the AV operator I want to read these out in a particular order. We have got:
Mobile phones [AV - Display mobile phones]
Food [AV - Display food]
Holidays [AV - Display holidays]
Clothes [AV - Display clothes]
Houses [AV - Display shelter]
Water [AV - Display water]
Beauty products [AV - Display beauty products]
Car [AV - Display car]
[The children hold these up for all to see.]
[AV - display eight words with small pictures.]
Lots and lots of wonderful things. We are very fortunate to have all these things.
Now let me ask you [talking to children in the front pews], which of these would make the best birthday present. If you could ask for any one of these for you birthday, which would it be?
[Discussion with children, probable outcome mobile phone or car]
[AV - if possible display the relevant picture]
Well that good, and I am sure that we would all like …. for a birthday present.
But now let’s turn things around a bit, and think about these eight things in a different way. Let’s suppose that you could only have half them. Let’s suppose that half of them we can keep, and half of them we have to lose, and live without. Which four would you keep and which four would you manage without?
[More discussion with children. Hopefully we agree to keep House, Water, Food, Clothes.]
[AV - display slide with “Food, Clothes, Houses, Water”]
So what’s a bit interesting here, is when we select one as a birthday present its [mobile phone], but when we have to select four to live with and four to live without, we choose to manage without a [mobile phone]. So when we are forced to choose, it is the simple things that matter; water, food, clothes and a place to live.
Now it is a very good thing that we have chosen the simple things, because the sad truth is that in the western world, we take much more than our fair share of the good gifts of the earth. And because we take more than our fair share, other people have less; sometimes they don’t even have the simple things that they need. So, for example, if we think about the amount of oil and gas that we burn, in Europe and in the USA we burn far more than our fair share. This slide shows how the average carbon emissions of your average American and European burn, compared to average carbon emissions in China, India and Africa. [AV - Display “contract and converge” slide from 2012].
This slide shows how much we should each be burning, so as to give us a good chance of avoiding serious climate change.
[AV - Display “contract and converge” slide from 2025]
Look how much smaller the American and European need to be! We really need to cut down massively on the oil and gas that we burn, for the sake of the climate. This means that we need to get better at living simple lives, less dependent on cars and holidays.
[AV - Camera on speaker]
Now we all know this isn’t easy. We all know that we like our cars and our holidays. There is a very real sense in which we need our cars and our holidays, so how can we change? How can we move towards simpler living? Well, I think we need to take very seriously the words that Jesus said in our gospel reading today. We have to “strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” So let’s try, moment by moment, to live as God wants us to live. Let’s try to love other people as God loves them. If we can do this then God will give us the things we need, and we do certainly need a solution on climate change. If we follow God then in small steps and in large, he will lead us towards lifestyles that are simpler and more fulfilling. We will get better at enjoying the simple things in life like our clothes and houses, our water and our food. We will want to give thanks to God for these things more and more. Our harvest thanksgivings will become ever more meaningful.
Showing posts with label Live simply. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Live simply. Show all posts
11 October 2009
05 July 2009
Ordinary and extraordinary
Short sermon preached at St Alphege 8am Eucharist on Sunday 5th July 2009
Trinity 4 – Proper 9 – Year B
Readings: [Ezekiel 2: 1-5] 2 Corinthians 12: 2-10 Mark 6: 1-13
Four times a year I go to Glasshampton Monastery in Worcestershire to make my confession and to receive spiritual direction from Br Anselm of the Society of St Francis. As well as being a priest of the Church of England, Br Anselm is a Franciscan friar and has spent the last 56 years living the simple life of community envisaged by St Francis, guided by vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
I was very interested to see an interview with Br Anselm, which appears on the back page of this week’s Church Times. In the interview he is asked when he is most happy. He recalls a moment from last summer, when he was sitting on a stool in the garden at Glasshampton picking spinach in the sunshine. I was very struck by this answer. Firstly I was struck by what a very ordinary and simple thing that was. Happiness is something that we all search for and for many of us it seems very illusive; but sitting in the garden picking spinach; it would probably be very easy for most us to do something quite similar to that. Secondly I was struck because I know that Br Anselm takes his stool and does some work in the garden almost every day. OK, the sun doesn’t shine every day, but it does seem that he has a happy lifestyle.
And Anslem’s lifestyle is worth some reflection. In many ways his lifestyle is extremely simple, natural and ordinary. Most of his days are made up of domestic chores, welcoming visitors and gardening, as well as the moments for prayers and meals around which the monastery life is structured. But the simplicity and ordinariness of this lifestyle has to be compared with some aspects which are very radical and extreme. The monastery is in the middle of nowhere. It reflects a real poverty, with no central heating and a rather run down, in need of decoration, feel. Then there is the celibacy; few of us could cope with that. And obedience; for many of us that would feel like a denial of freedom. So Anselm has a lifestyle which is on the one hand extremely ordinary, and on the other is very radically different.
I think we get a sense of both this ordinariness and this radical difference in our gospel reading today. Jesus returned to his home town of Nazareth and teaches in the synagogue. The radical wisdom of his teaching and the great power of his miracles were on display, and people were amazed. But at the same people just could not grasp it because they knew it was Jesus, the very ordinary boy who had grown up among them, not in any way outstanding or remarkable, but the very normal son of Mary and the carpenter. People could not get their heads round it, and they took offence at Jesus.
And there is a hint of the same contrast in our reading from St Paul. On the one hand St Paul has received visions of the third heaven, of paradise, and he has received unspeakable revelations of an exception character. On the other hand he suffers from some thorn in the flesh. We don’t know what it is but the scholars speculate that it is some physical or physiological problem, from which Paul can never escape, but which gave him pain and made him weak as a human being. How normal and ordinary! How easily we can identify with that; some enduring problem which never goes away, but which frustrates us in so many ways.
And it seems to me that, as each of us walk the journey towards heaven we should expect to see some of this contrast in our own lives too. As we grow in holiness we should expect to become more radical in our choice of God and our love for other people. We should expect extraordinary and remarkable things to happen. But at the same time, if we live as God wants us to live, then the beauty and fulfilment of God’s creation in us should start to become apparent. There should be a simplicity and ordinariness about our lives; naturalness about everything we do. These are the characteristics of the saints. This is the way of heaven.
Trinity 4 – Proper 9 – Year B
Readings: [Ezekiel 2: 1-5] 2 Corinthians 12: 2-10 Mark 6: 1-13
Four times a year I go to Glasshampton Monastery in Worcestershire to make my confession and to receive spiritual direction from Br Anselm of the Society of St Francis. As well as being a priest of the Church of England, Br Anselm is a Franciscan friar and has spent the last 56 years living the simple life of community envisaged by St Francis, guided by vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
I was very interested to see an interview with Br Anselm, which appears on the back page of this week’s Church Times. In the interview he is asked when he is most happy. He recalls a moment from last summer, when he was sitting on a stool in the garden at Glasshampton picking spinach in the sunshine. I was very struck by this answer. Firstly I was struck by what a very ordinary and simple thing that was. Happiness is something that we all search for and for many of us it seems very illusive; but sitting in the garden picking spinach; it would probably be very easy for most us to do something quite similar to that. Secondly I was struck because I know that Br Anselm takes his stool and does some work in the garden almost every day. OK, the sun doesn’t shine every day, but it does seem that he has a happy lifestyle.
And Anslem’s lifestyle is worth some reflection. In many ways his lifestyle is extremely simple, natural and ordinary. Most of his days are made up of domestic chores, welcoming visitors and gardening, as well as the moments for prayers and meals around which the monastery life is structured. But the simplicity and ordinariness of this lifestyle has to be compared with some aspects which are very radical and extreme. The monastery is in the middle of nowhere. It reflects a real poverty, with no central heating and a rather run down, in need of decoration, feel. Then there is the celibacy; few of us could cope with that. And obedience; for many of us that would feel like a denial of freedom. So Anselm has a lifestyle which is on the one hand extremely ordinary, and on the other is very radically different.
I think we get a sense of both this ordinariness and this radical difference in our gospel reading today. Jesus returned to his home town of Nazareth and teaches in the synagogue. The radical wisdom of his teaching and the great power of his miracles were on display, and people were amazed. But at the same people just could not grasp it because they knew it was Jesus, the very ordinary boy who had grown up among them, not in any way outstanding or remarkable, but the very normal son of Mary and the carpenter. People could not get their heads round it, and they took offence at Jesus.
And there is a hint of the same contrast in our reading from St Paul. On the one hand St Paul has received visions of the third heaven, of paradise, and he has received unspeakable revelations of an exception character. On the other hand he suffers from some thorn in the flesh. We don’t know what it is but the scholars speculate that it is some physical or physiological problem, from which Paul can never escape, but which gave him pain and made him weak as a human being. How normal and ordinary! How easily we can identify with that; some enduring problem which never goes away, but which frustrates us in so many ways.
And it seems to me that, as each of us walk the journey towards heaven we should expect to see some of this contrast in our own lives too. As we grow in holiness we should expect to become more radical in our choice of God and our love for other people. We should expect extraordinary and remarkable things to happen. But at the same time, if we live as God wants us to live, then the beauty and fulfilment of God’s creation in us should start to become apparent. There should be a simplicity and ordinariness about our lives; naturalness about everything we do. These are the characteristics of the saints. This is the way of heaven.
01 November 2007
Live Simply – Our Global Challenge
Article for Parish Magazine, published November 2007
God calls us to look hard at our lifestyles and to choose to live simply, sustainably and in solidarity with the poor.
In this way we can help create a world in which human dignity is respected and everyone can reach their full potential.
This would be true progress, worth more than economic growth alone.
This is how the Live Simply project introduces itself on its website at www.livesimply.org.uk. As time goes by I find more and more to admire in this way of thinking and living. It seems to me that seeking to live a simpler life can often be an authentic Christian response to many of the difficulties and problems that we face in western society today. I am thinking particularly of problems like consumerism, individualism, global warming and isolation of the poor. Here are some example of ways of “living simply”:
If I grow some of my own vegetables then I don’t have to buy my vegetables from the big supermarkets. My awareness of the earth, its soil and the weather grows. This helps to keep me “grounded” as a human being and increases my environmental awareness. The work involved gives me fresh air an exercise, making me less dependent on the gym. If I grow too many vegetables and chose to share some then a communitarian aspect of this project starts to develop. I am minimizing my carbon footprint because no transport is involved in the sourcing of my vegetables. I am showing solidarity with the poor by not using money to secure my vegetables.
If I buy a smaller, simpler car, rather than a big high status car, then the car has lower carbon emissions. I am less isolated from other people as I drive around and I undermine consumerism by saying “I am not dependent on a big car to feel good about myself”. I am less isolated from the poor than if I drive a high status car. Of course, all these effects are increased even further if I choose to go by bus or by bicycle rather than use a car.
If, in our family, we relax by playing a card game together rather than by watching TV or playing electronic games then we spend the evening in a more communal way. We build up the relationships among ourselves, we spend less money on electronic games, we use no electricity, we watch no adverts and we learn games which can be played by the poor.
Now, for me personally (and probably for many people in Solihull) this is very challenging! As a family we do grow some vegetables, but I personally do very little in the garden. I drive a biggish car and am very dependent on screen based entertainment! However I do see the point of “living simply”. I can also see that it is very counter cultural to our consumer society and all the marketing messages that we absorb consciously and unconsciously in our day to day lives.
On the evening of 16th November 2007, I shall be exploring this theme further by attending a lecture entitled “Live Simply – our global challenge” by Brazilian Sociologist Vera Araújo. The lecture is a major event; CAFOD's annual Paul VI Lecture in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster. If anyone else is interested in coming along then please let me know.
If I grow some of my own vegetables then I don’t have to buy my vegetables from the big supermarkets. My awareness of the earth, its soil and the weather grows. This helps to keep me “grounded” as a human being and increases my environmental awareness. The work involved gives me fresh air an exercise, making me less dependent on the gym. If I grow too many vegetables and chose to share some then a communitarian aspect of this project starts to develop. I am minimizing my carbon footprint because no transport is involved in the sourcing of my vegetables. I am showing solidarity with the poor by not using money to secure my vegetables.
If I buy a smaller, simpler car, rather than a big high status car, then the car has lower carbon emissions. I am less isolated from other people as I drive around and I undermine consumerism by saying “I am not dependent on a big car to feel good about myself”. I am less isolated from the poor than if I drive a high status car. Of course, all these effects are increased even further if I choose to go by bus or by bicycle rather than use a car.
If, in our family, we relax by playing a card game together rather than by watching TV or playing electronic games then we spend the evening in a more communal way. We build up the relationships among ourselves, we spend less money on electronic games, we use no electricity, we watch no adverts and we learn games which can be played by the poor.
Now, for me personally (and probably for many people in Solihull) this is very challenging! As a family we do grow some vegetables, but I personally do very little in the garden. I drive a biggish car and am very dependent on screen based entertainment! However I do see the point of “living simply”. I can also see that it is very counter cultural to our consumer society and all the marketing messages that we absorb consciously and unconsciously in our day to day lives.
On the evening of 16th November 2007, I shall be exploring this theme further by attending a lecture entitled “Live Simply – our global challenge” by Brazilian Sociologist Vera Araújo. The lecture is a major event; CAFOD's annual Paul VI Lecture in the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, Westminster. If anyone else is interested in coming along then please let me know.
– Fr Gerard
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