Sermon preached at 6.30pm Choral Evensong at St Alphege Church.
Sunday 12th July 2009, Trinity 5
Readings: Deuteronomy 30: 9-14 Luke 10: 25-37
In 1993 my wife, Elaine, and I went, with our son Thomas who was then a baby, to visit my brother who was doing Voluntary Service Overseas in Zimbabwe. He was teaching “A” level maths and physics at a school in the village of Sanyati near the town of Kadoma, about 150 miles west of Harare. The school had been founded by Baptist missionaries and was strong on Christian values. By our standards the school was very old fashioned and traditional. Facilities were simple. Resources were limited. Class sizes were large. Discipline could be harsh. The headmaster, Mr Gundu was a big character who was good at promoting the school to anyone who would listen.
Despite the lack of resources, it was clear that the school was extremely successful and extremely important to Sanyati and to the area around it. Through the school children became both literate and numerate. Their ability to take care of themselves and to work constructively with others was immeasurably increased. Because of the school, Sanyati was developing an ability to prosper in a way which was quite unimaginable a generation earlier. The value of this was widely recognised. Parents would go to extreme lengths to afford the school fees. Children would often walk several miles to get to school and back each day.
The thing that struck me about Sanyati was that good behaviour and Christian morality really did seem to help people to get on in life. Children from good families or people who behaved well got good reputations. They were trusted more readily and offered better opportunities by the school and by wider society. They had a better chance of securing a job. Life seemed like to work like a game of snakes and ladders. Virtues really did lead to ladders that helped people to get on in life. Vices really did lead to snake like disasters and setbacks. Raising a child with good Christian values really did seem to help the child and to help the whole of society.
This seemed to contrast very dramatically with my own experience of being brought up in England where, at first sight, Christian values appeared to bring with them very few advantages, and many disadvantages. From this it is almost possible to construct a world view whereby Christianity is a good thing in Africa, but a bad thing in England. Matthew Parris, the Times columnist appears to subscribe to this view. Certainly he has many criticisms of the church, but in the Times on 27th December he wrote this:
Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.
In our Old Testament reading today we heard a strong affirmation from God that being good would lead to good outcomes. It is a long passage and we only read a small part of it today, but God is talking to the Israelites after fourty years of wondering in the wilderness. They are about to cross over the River Jordan and take poscession of the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey. God chooses this moment to set before them a very clear choice. He say to them, “If you obey me, and keep all your commandments then you shall greatly prosper. Everything will go well for you. On the other hand, if your hearts turn away from me and you worship other gods then you will perish, and you will not hold pocession of the land.” It all seems very simple and good and like Zimbabwe in 1993; do good and things will go well for you, behave badly and things will go wrong for you.
This contrast between the fortunes of the wicked and the good is a theme of the psalms. Psalm 37 is extemely confident that good will happen to those who do good, and evil to those who do evil. It starts, “Fret not because of evildoers; be not jealous of those who do wrong. For they shall soon wither away like grass and like the green herb fade away.” Later it assures us that the wicked will disappear, “But the lowly shall pocess the land and shall delight in abundance of peace” (v11). This confidence of psalm 37 is typical of the psalms which are often discuss good outcomes for people who walk with God, and talk of the wicked fading away.
But this is not the whole story. Psalm 44 has a different tone. It reflects on the great miltary triumphs of the Isreal of old, and does not hesitate to attribute the victories to God. It them bewails the rccent miltary defeats suffered by Israel, and it attributes these to God. Then in verse 18 there is a mounful reflection on the defeats, “All this has come upon us, though we have not forgotten you and have not played false to your covenant. Our hearts have not turned back nor our step gone out of your way. Yet you have crushed us in the haunt of jackels, and covered us with the shadow of death.”
It seems that, generally speaking, beaving well before God leads to good earthly outcomes. But is is not aways like this. There are times when good behaviour seems to carry no earthly advantages, and perhaps even disadvantages. We only have to look at the life of Jesus. His exemplary behaviour led him to his passion and death. And this observation could be very depressing; it could make us think there there is no point is seeking to do good because evil is just as well rewarded. But of course such thinking is false because it ignores the power of the resuurection. Jesus’ goodness was tested to the extreme and appeared to die, but ultimately Jesus could not simply die. He is the resurrection and the life. He had to rise again. In fact it was sin and death that were defeated.
Its my belief that the church in the North West Europe is currently living through one of these freightening but extordinarily valuable periods where good behaviours do not seem to lead to good outcomes. It seems that when the church behaves well it does not benefit and the Church suffers the temptation to behave badly to succure better worldly outcomes. Just as the Christ died on the cross, so we might perceive that the Church, the body of Christ is dying in our present western world. Certainly if you were to look at evensong attendance you might think this! But just as Christ could not die, without being raised to new life, so the body of Christ, the Church, cannot die without being raised. Like Christ dying on the cross we need to be faithful to God; we need to continue to love and to forgive. Like Christ we can ask God “Why have you forsaken us?” But like Christ we must continue to trust God and to commend our spirit into his hands. Trusting God is essential. We need to believe in the resurrection. In time, we will see that there will be new life. There will be restoration. Evil will be defeated and Love will triumph. Amen.
Showing posts with label cross. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cross. Show all posts
12 July 2009
14 September 2008
The Secret Weapon
Informal sermon preached a Solihull 6th Scout Group Camp at Broadwater Scout Campsite, Meriden, Warwickshire on Sunday 14th September, 1.30pm.
Camp theme of “Army”.
Reading: Ephesians 6: 10-17
Very often in Christianity we are taking about love and peace and joy. So it might seem surprising that Christianity has anything to say about army camps, weapons, battles and wars. But in fact Christianity has quite a lot to say about weapons and wars, and that’s because one way of thinking about the spiritual life is thinking of it as a war.
Certainly the spiritual life can be like a war. On the one side we have God and Christ and all the angles and saints and all the hosts of heaven, and even us too, to the extent that we are managing to live in our saintly selves, following God and rejecting evil. On the other side we have the Devil and his demons and all the powers of hell, and perhaps even us too if we are rejecting God and his ways.
And what is the war between these two armies about? Well it is a war that is fought at every level. First of all it is about you and me. Are we choosing God or are we choosing the Devil? Are we choosing heaven or hell? Are we trying to become what God created us to be, or are we rejecting God and going our own way? And then it is about our families. Are they following God, or going away from God? And it is about our communities, our nation and our world. At every level this great war rages, and we need to do our part to be a good soldier of God.
Now let’s hear our reading: Ephesians 6: 10-17
So did you manage to follow that? Did you hear St Paul talking about the struggle against the spiritual forces of evil? Paul tells us to take up the whole armour of God, in order to stand firm in this great battle. He tells us to use the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith which protects us from all the arrows of the enemy. Paul tells us to take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, the word of God. And with all these weapons and all this protection we can fight well in the army of God.
But as Christians we have another weapon, a secret weapon, more powerful and more extraordinary that all the rest. This is the cross of Christ. Today, 14th September is a special day, Holy Cross Day, when we think about the cross of Christ and how it helps us in the great battle against the Devil.
When we fight in this battle, when we try to do good, when we try to love other people, when we try to walk in God’s ways and follow in his paths, we find very often that things go wrong. Very often things do not turn out as we had hoped. We find that we fail to do good. We find that we are let down by faults in us and by faults in other people. We encounter sufferings. We suffer disappointments and we can easily get discouraged. And this is exactly what happened to Jesus. Jesus spent his whole life doing good and preaching good and helping other people, and yet many people disliked him and in the end they arrested him and killed him on the cross. And at that point it looked like his life had been a complete failure. His friends had run away. He had been killed in a most horrible way. It looked like the war had been lost. It looked like the complete triumph of evil.
But on the third day God raised him from the dead. God is the source of life. Jesus is God and has life within himself. Death cannot hold Jesus. Even the very worst things that can happen, even disasters, even death, cannot keep Jesus down. He comes back with new life, new wisdom to share, new hope and with a great healing of all our broken relationships. And through the cross of Jesus we too can share in the destiny of Jesus. If we walk in the ways of Jesus we know that whatever goes wrong, what ever disasters befall, whatever deaths we die, we will continue to have life in Christ. Love is from God, and when we live in love, we live in God and death cannot hold on to us. So we can fight in the battle against evil with enormous confidence. We do not need to fear, because our secret weapon means that whatever goes wrong, whatever disasters befall, we will be alright in the end. If we follow in the way of Christ then, by his cross, we cannot lose the battle. The suffering and death of the cross make us invincible!
So let’s take courage! Let’s play our part in the great spiritual battle. Let’s struggle always for good, for the love of others. Let’s walk in the ways of God and reject evil. And when things go wrong let’s trust in the cross of Jesus, the secret weapon that wins the victory.
Camp theme of “Army”.
Reading: Ephesians 6: 10-17
Very often in Christianity we are taking about love and peace and joy. So it might seem surprising that Christianity has anything to say about army camps, weapons, battles and wars. But in fact Christianity has quite a lot to say about weapons and wars, and that’s because one way of thinking about the spiritual life is thinking of it as a war.
Certainly the spiritual life can be like a war. On the one side we have God and Christ and all the angles and saints and all the hosts of heaven, and even us too, to the extent that we are managing to live in our saintly selves, following God and rejecting evil. On the other side we have the Devil and his demons and all the powers of hell, and perhaps even us too if we are rejecting God and his ways.
And what is the war between these two armies about? Well it is a war that is fought at every level. First of all it is about you and me. Are we choosing God or are we choosing the Devil? Are we choosing heaven or hell? Are we trying to become what God created us to be, or are we rejecting God and going our own way? And then it is about our families. Are they following God, or going away from God? And it is about our communities, our nation and our world. At every level this great war rages, and we need to do our part to be a good soldier of God.
Now let’s hear our reading: Ephesians 6: 10-17
So did you manage to follow that? Did you hear St Paul talking about the struggle against the spiritual forces of evil? Paul tells us to take up the whole armour of God, in order to stand firm in this great battle. He tells us to use the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith which protects us from all the arrows of the enemy. Paul tells us to take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, the word of God. And with all these weapons and all this protection we can fight well in the army of God.
But as Christians we have another weapon, a secret weapon, more powerful and more extraordinary that all the rest. This is the cross of Christ. Today, 14th September is a special day, Holy Cross Day, when we think about the cross of Christ and how it helps us in the great battle against the Devil.
When we fight in this battle, when we try to do good, when we try to love other people, when we try to walk in God’s ways and follow in his paths, we find very often that things go wrong. Very often things do not turn out as we had hoped. We find that we fail to do good. We find that we are let down by faults in us and by faults in other people. We encounter sufferings. We suffer disappointments and we can easily get discouraged. And this is exactly what happened to Jesus. Jesus spent his whole life doing good and preaching good and helping other people, and yet many people disliked him and in the end they arrested him and killed him on the cross. And at that point it looked like his life had been a complete failure. His friends had run away. He had been killed in a most horrible way. It looked like the war had been lost. It looked like the complete triumph of evil.
But on the third day God raised him from the dead. God is the source of life. Jesus is God and has life within himself. Death cannot hold Jesus. Even the very worst things that can happen, even disasters, even death, cannot keep Jesus down. He comes back with new life, new wisdom to share, new hope and with a great healing of all our broken relationships. And through the cross of Jesus we too can share in the destiny of Jesus. If we walk in the ways of Jesus we know that whatever goes wrong, what ever disasters befall, whatever deaths we die, we will continue to have life in Christ. Love is from God, and when we live in love, we live in God and death cannot hold on to us. So we can fight in the battle against evil with enormous confidence. We do not need to fear, because our secret weapon means that whatever goes wrong, whatever disasters befall, we will be alright in the end. If we follow in the way of Christ then, by his cross, we cannot lose the battle. The suffering and death of the cross make us invincible!
So let’s take courage! Let’s play our part in the great spiritual battle. Let’s struggle always for good, for the love of others. Let’s walk in the ways of God and reject evil. And when things go wrong let’s trust in the cross of Jesus, the secret weapon that wins the victory.
Holy Cross Day
Preached at 10.00am Eucharist at St Helen’s Church, Solihull.
Sunday 14th September 2008, Holy Cross Day.
A shorter version was also preached at 8am at St. Helen's.
Readings Numbers 21: 4-9 Philippians 2:6-11 John 3: 13-17
I am sure that you have heard the phrase “Touch Wood” many times. I often hear it when I go visiting. People say something like, “Well the doctor has told me that I should be OK now, so I am really grateful for that, touch wood!” and then they look around for something wooden to touch, and they usually find something and touch it. And then they might say something like, “Well, I’m sorry…I shouldn’t be doing these supposititious things in front of you, should I?” Sometimes it seems that people have no problem with being superstitious, so long as they are not superstitious in front of the vicar (or curate)!
I spent a few minutes yesterday searching the internet for the origins of the phrase “touch wood” and I have to say I did not find anything very enlightening. However there are some intriguing references to an extraordinary series of events which happen around 325 AD. This was a very exciting period in the life of the Church. After three centuries of often brutal persecution by the Roman Empire, suddenly Rome had a Christian emperor, Constantine. Suddenly, far from being persecuted, the Church was in great favour with the state. At this time, the emperor’s mother, Helena, who we now call St Helena, went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When she went to see the place where Jesus had died and had been buried she was disappointed to find nothing but a pagan Roman temple on the site. You will recall that, as punishment for the Jewish rebelion, the Romans had completely destroyed Jerusalem and sent the Jews away in 70AD. The Roman temple was built to remind people who was in charge.
Helena ordered that the temple be demolished an excavations started to see what, if anything, remained from the time of the death of Jesus. As they dug, they found what they soon came to believe to be the tomb of Jesus and nearby they found buried three wooden crosses, including the inscription plate from Jesus’ crucifixion. This was of course very exciting. It was clear to the people involved that the three crosses were those of Jesus and the two thieves, but it was not clear which cross was which. This was resolved by bringing in a very sick lady, who in an atmosphere of intense prayer, was touched by the wood of each of the three crosses in turn. As soon as she was touched by the third cross, she was miraculously healed. This was taken as conclusive proof that the third cross was indeed the “True Cross”, the cross on which Jesus died. The True Cross quickly became one of the most important relics in Christianity, known for its healing qualities, and many legends and myths grew up around it. Constantine built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre over the whole site. It was completed in 335 AD, and it was dedicated over a two day festival on 13th and 14th September. People would come to venerate the cross on which Jesus died, and to this day we reserve 14th September as Holy Cross Day, a day for the veneration and remembrance of the cross of Jesus. The idea of healing by "touching wood" still resonates down the ages.
Now in this parish we often have some form of veneration of the cross on Good Friday. I don’t know what your practice is here, but at St Alphege we have a wooden Crucifix and one by one we come up before it. Some people kiss it, some bow reverently before it, some pray quietly. But whatever we do outwardly with our bodies and with a material wooden cross only has really value if it corresponds to what we are doing spiritually and inwardly in our relationship with Jesus dying on the cross.
The cross is absolutely central to our faith. Only two weeks ago in our gospel reading we heard Jesus say to us, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt 16: 24). In our gospel reading today Jesus was clear that, as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent on a pole, so Jesus must be lifted up, in order to bring eternal life to those who believe in him (c.f. John 3:14). And the reason that the cross is so important to Christianity is because the death of Jesus is so very closely linked to his resurrection. The new life, joy and fulfilment of the resurrection come about precisely because Jesus died on the cross.
As Christians we are always called to grow in our love for Jesus. We might find it very easy to love the baby Jesus born at Christmas time, or Jesus the wise and merciful teacher who drew great crowds. But we are also called to love Jesus on the cross; Jesus treated as a criminal, Jesus humiliated and dying, who feels himself forsaken even by God.
And I would like to suggest that we have an opportunity to do this every time any kind of suffering crosses our path. Every time we suffer a disappointment, every time someone is rude to us, every time we encounter pain, every time we become aware of faults in ourselves or in others, these are moments when we need to love Jesus dying on the cross. In each of these sufferings we can, through prayer, find a link to Christ, suffering on the cross and we can try to love him.
And this is not easy. We are usually more keen to avoid suffering, than to see and love the suffering Christ in sufferings. But Jesus did not avoid suffering. Even though he was God, he was humble enough let go of his equality with God, to become human and to walk willingly into a most horrifying human death (c.f. Phil 2:6-8). In the face of suffering Jesus did not run away, but rather he loved. He continued to love throughout his passion, even forgiving his executors.
So when encounter suffer, in ourselves or in others, let’s first of all try to find a link to the sufferings of Jesus on the cross. Then let’s try love the suffering Christ in that situation. Sometimes love will show us things we can do to alleviate the sufferings. Sometimes, like Mary watching Jesus die on the cross, we can do nothing but just stand there. Either way, the important thing is to love.
And in this way our hearts grow. Our relationship with Jesus grows. As we share more with Jesus at his death, so we share more with him at this resurrection and we experience his reconciliation and new life in our lives. Loving Jesus in all our sufferings; this is the true way to venerate the cross.
Sunday 14th September 2008, Holy Cross Day.
A shorter version was also preached at 8am at St. Helen's.
Readings Numbers 21: 4-9 Philippians 2:6-11 John 3: 13-17
I am sure that you have heard the phrase “Touch Wood” many times. I often hear it when I go visiting. People say something like, “Well the doctor has told me that I should be OK now, so I am really grateful for that, touch wood!” and then they look around for something wooden to touch, and they usually find something and touch it. And then they might say something like, “Well, I’m sorry…I shouldn’t be doing these supposititious things in front of you, should I?” Sometimes it seems that people have no problem with being superstitious, so long as they are not superstitious in front of the vicar (or curate)!
I spent a few minutes yesterday searching the internet for the origins of the phrase “touch wood” and I have to say I did not find anything very enlightening. However there are some intriguing references to an extraordinary series of events which happen around 325 AD. This was a very exciting period in the life of the Church. After three centuries of often brutal persecution by the Roman Empire, suddenly Rome had a Christian emperor, Constantine. Suddenly, far from being persecuted, the Church was in great favour with the state. At this time, the emperor’s mother, Helena, who we now call St Helena, went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. When she went to see the place where Jesus had died and had been buried she was disappointed to find nothing but a pagan Roman temple on the site. You will recall that, as punishment for the Jewish rebelion, the Romans had completely destroyed Jerusalem and sent the Jews away in 70AD. The Roman temple was built to remind people who was in charge.
Helena ordered that the temple be demolished an excavations started to see what, if anything, remained from the time of the death of Jesus. As they dug, they found what they soon came to believe to be the tomb of Jesus and nearby they found buried three wooden crosses, including the inscription plate from Jesus’ crucifixion. This was of course very exciting. It was clear to the people involved that the three crosses were those of Jesus and the two thieves, but it was not clear which cross was which. This was resolved by bringing in a very sick lady, who in an atmosphere of intense prayer, was touched by the wood of each of the three crosses in turn. As soon as she was touched by the third cross, she was miraculously healed. This was taken as conclusive proof that the third cross was indeed the “True Cross”, the cross on which Jesus died. The True Cross quickly became one of the most important relics in Christianity, known for its healing qualities, and many legends and myths grew up around it. Constantine built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre over the whole site. It was completed in 335 AD, and it was dedicated over a two day festival on 13th and 14th September. People would come to venerate the cross on which Jesus died, and to this day we reserve 14th September as Holy Cross Day, a day for the veneration and remembrance of the cross of Jesus. The idea of healing by "touching wood" still resonates down the ages.
Now in this parish we often have some form of veneration of the cross on Good Friday. I don’t know what your practice is here, but at St Alphege we have a wooden Crucifix and one by one we come up before it. Some people kiss it, some bow reverently before it, some pray quietly. But whatever we do outwardly with our bodies and with a material wooden cross only has really value if it corresponds to what we are doing spiritually and inwardly in our relationship with Jesus dying on the cross.
The cross is absolutely central to our faith. Only two weeks ago in our gospel reading we heard Jesus say to us, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt 16: 24). In our gospel reading today Jesus was clear that, as Moses lifted up the bronze serpent on a pole, so Jesus must be lifted up, in order to bring eternal life to those who believe in him (c.f. John 3:14). And the reason that the cross is so important to Christianity is because the death of Jesus is so very closely linked to his resurrection. The new life, joy and fulfilment of the resurrection come about precisely because Jesus died on the cross.
As Christians we are always called to grow in our love for Jesus. We might find it very easy to love the baby Jesus born at Christmas time, or Jesus the wise and merciful teacher who drew great crowds. But we are also called to love Jesus on the cross; Jesus treated as a criminal, Jesus humiliated and dying, who feels himself forsaken even by God.
And I would like to suggest that we have an opportunity to do this every time any kind of suffering crosses our path. Every time we suffer a disappointment, every time someone is rude to us, every time we encounter pain, every time we become aware of faults in ourselves or in others, these are moments when we need to love Jesus dying on the cross. In each of these sufferings we can, through prayer, find a link to Christ, suffering on the cross and we can try to love him.
And this is not easy. We are usually more keen to avoid suffering, than to see and love the suffering Christ in sufferings. But Jesus did not avoid suffering. Even though he was God, he was humble enough let go of his equality with God, to become human and to walk willingly into a most horrifying human death (c.f. Phil 2:6-8). In the face of suffering Jesus did not run away, but rather he loved. He continued to love throughout his passion, even forgiving his executors.
So when encounter suffer, in ourselves or in others, let’s first of all try to find a link to the sufferings of Jesus on the cross. Then let’s try love the suffering Christ in that situation. Sometimes love will show us things we can do to alleviate the sufferings. Sometimes, like Mary watching Jesus die on the cross, we can do nothing but just stand there. Either way, the important thing is to love.
And in this way our hearts grow. Our relationship with Jesus grows. As we share more with Jesus at his death, so we share more with him at this resurrection and we experience his reconciliation and new life in our lives. Loving Jesus in all our sufferings; this is the true way to venerate the cross.
31 August 2008
Taking up our cross and following Christ
Sermon preach at 9.15 Eucharist at St Alphege, Solihull
Sunday 31st August 2008, Trinity 15, Proper 17, Year A
Readings: Jeremiah 15:15-21 Romans 12: 9-21 Matthew 16: 21-28
One of my favourite television programmes is “You’ve been framed”. It is a programme where they show funny or embarrassing moments that have been captured on family camcorders. To try and keep people watching the during the advertisement break they often have a, “What happens next?” clip. Last thing before the break they show the start of some clip and you have to guess what happens next. Perhaps you see some lad on a quad bike skilful negotiate some hazard and start to accelerate way. So can you guess what happens next? Somehow you know it will be some kind of disaster. Perhaps he will over do it with the acceleration and the bike will go over backwards? Perhaps he’ll drive straight into a tree? Then after the break you see the second half of the clip. And what happens? Well, another quad bike zooms in from nowhere and knocks him for six. Well we knew it would be something like that, but we did not know exactly what!
This week’s gospel reading is a bit like the second half of a “What happens next?” film clip that we started last week. If you remember last weeks gospel you will remember it recounted a wonderful moment for Peter. He proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus was ever so pleased with Peter. He declared Peter to be the rock on which Jesus would build the Church, and he gave Peter great authority both in heaven and on earth.
And what happened next? Well that’s this week’s gospel. Jesus starts to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of the chief priests and scribes, and be killed. Well Peter, full of confidence following his great success, marches in and says, “Forbid it Lord, this must never happen to you!” And Jesus is furious. He says, “Get behind me Satan!” Peter must have felt stung to the core.
And what had Peter done wrong? What he said seemed pretty reasonable really. If you have just worked out that someone is the Messiah, the Son of God, you don’t in the next breath agree to let that person be killed by the very people who need him most. But Jesus explains. Peter was “setting his mind not on divine things, but on human things.”
So Jesus accepts that, humanly speaking, Peter’s has a point. But Jesus is not just human, he is also divine. He has come to earth to teach the divine ways to the apostles and to the whole world. He has come to show us the ways of heaven, and the ways of heaven are different from the ways of earth.
Humanly speaking we all want to avoid suffering. We instinctively want fullness of life, and suffering seems like the very opposite of that, it seems like the lose of life, it seems like the road to death. Yet Jesus teaches us the divine ways, and he is very clear. He says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
What does it mean in practice to take up our cross and follow Jesus? Well it means following Jesus through the bad times as well as the good. It means following Jesus in situations of suffering, or hurt, or pain. And it doesn’t matter if the suffering is physical, or emotional or spiritual. It doesn’t matter is the suffering is our own fault or the fault of the people around us, or no ones fault at all. It does not matter if the suffering is large or small. In all cases of suffering the call is the same; to continue to follow Jesus.
And as we think about Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary, and we think of us following with him, each carrying our own little crosses then there are a two ways in particular in which we are asked to follow him.
Firstly we follow Jesus by continuing to do God’s will, even when it is very costly. The gospels tell us about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane praying that the Father might make the cup of poison may pass from him, and yet also praying, “Not what I want, but what you want” (e.g. Matt 26: 39). Following God’s will can be very costly. Sometimes we need to accept something hurtful or discouraging or sad. Sometimes we need to confront people or situations and risk conversations that might be difficult or painful. There can be all kinds of difficult things, but if we follow God’s will, even through sufferings, then we are following Jesus with his cross and sharing on his journey to Calvary.
Secondly we need to continue to love other people, even when we are suffering. Jesus continues to love through his passion. He forgives the people who crucify him. He ministers to the penitent thief. He makes arrangements for St John to take care of his mother. He continues to think about the others, to hope for the others, to see the good in the others, despite the great evil that is done to him.
So this is how we can follow Jesus in our sufferings; by continuing to do God’s will for us, and by continuing to love. And this very often means denying ourselves, giving up on our own plans and aspirations, giving up on our resentments and frustrations, giving up our sense of comfort or of being in control. This is costly, but Jesus is very clear, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
But now for the good news. By denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Jesus we find that we are bound into a much deeper relationship with Jesus. It is a relationship that becomes deeper and purer and truer as we carry our crosses together. Sometimes we hear war veterans talk of difficult or dangerous situations that they have passed through together. This experience binds them together with a trust and understanding that goes very deep. It is the same with us and Jesus. When we continue to love, and continue to do the will of God through our sufferings we share in a profoundly important experience with Jesus, who loved and did God’s will through his whole passion and death. Jesus starts to share our burdens with us. Our trust and understanding of Jesus grows.
And the news gets even better, because we discover that we are sharing more and more with Jesus. We find we share in the healing and reconciliation that Jesus won for us. Slowly God starts to transform us, and the situations around us, and they start to reflect his peace and his justice and his love.
But the very best news is that when we start to share with Jesus in his sufferings and death, so we begin to share with him in his resurrection, in his newness of life, in his glory (c.f. Romans 6: 5, 8: 17). The risen life of Jesus restores us and makes us whole. It gives us power to hope. We start to share in the eternal life that Jesus promises.
So when sufferings come, let’s follow Jesus by continuing to love and by continuing to do God’s will. In this way we take up our cross and share sufferings with Jesus. In this way too we start also to share in his risen life. Amen.
Sunday 31st August 2008, Trinity 15, Proper 17, Year A
Readings: Jeremiah 15:15-21 Romans 12: 9-21 Matthew 16: 21-28
One of my favourite television programmes is “You’ve been framed”. It is a programme where they show funny or embarrassing moments that have been captured on family camcorders. To try and keep people watching the during the advertisement break they often have a, “What happens next?” clip. Last thing before the break they show the start of some clip and you have to guess what happens next. Perhaps you see some lad on a quad bike skilful negotiate some hazard and start to accelerate way. So can you guess what happens next? Somehow you know it will be some kind of disaster. Perhaps he will over do it with the acceleration and the bike will go over backwards? Perhaps he’ll drive straight into a tree? Then after the break you see the second half of the clip. And what happens? Well, another quad bike zooms in from nowhere and knocks him for six. Well we knew it would be something like that, but we did not know exactly what!
This week’s gospel reading is a bit like the second half of a “What happens next?” film clip that we started last week. If you remember last weeks gospel you will remember it recounted a wonderful moment for Peter. He proclaimed that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Jesus was ever so pleased with Peter. He declared Peter to be the rock on which Jesus would build the Church, and he gave Peter great authority both in heaven and on earth.
And what happened next? Well that’s this week’s gospel. Jesus starts to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer at the hands of the chief priests and scribes, and be killed. Well Peter, full of confidence following his great success, marches in and says, “Forbid it Lord, this must never happen to you!” And Jesus is furious. He says, “Get behind me Satan!” Peter must have felt stung to the core.
And what had Peter done wrong? What he said seemed pretty reasonable really. If you have just worked out that someone is the Messiah, the Son of God, you don’t in the next breath agree to let that person be killed by the very people who need him most. But Jesus explains. Peter was “setting his mind not on divine things, but on human things.”
So Jesus accepts that, humanly speaking, Peter’s has a point. But Jesus is not just human, he is also divine. He has come to earth to teach the divine ways to the apostles and to the whole world. He has come to show us the ways of heaven, and the ways of heaven are different from the ways of earth.
Humanly speaking we all want to avoid suffering. We instinctively want fullness of life, and suffering seems like the very opposite of that, it seems like the lose of life, it seems like the road to death. Yet Jesus teaches us the divine ways, and he is very clear. He says, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
What does it mean in practice to take up our cross and follow Jesus? Well it means following Jesus through the bad times as well as the good. It means following Jesus in situations of suffering, or hurt, or pain. And it doesn’t matter if the suffering is physical, or emotional or spiritual. It doesn’t matter is the suffering is our own fault or the fault of the people around us, or no ones fault at all. It does not matter if the suffering is large or small. In all cases of suffering the call is the same; to continue to follow Jesus.
And as we think about Jesus carrying his cross to Calvary, and we think of us following with him, each carrying our own little crosses then there are a two ways in particular in which we are asked to follow him.
Firstly we follow Jesus by continuing to do God’s will, even when it is very costly. The gospels tell us about Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane praying that the Father might make the cup of poison may pass from him, and yet also praying, “Not what I want, but what you want” (e.g. Matt 26: 39). Following God’s will can be very costly. Sometimes we need to accept something hurtful or discouraging or sad. Sometimes we need to confront people or situations and risk conversations that might be difficult or painful. There can be all kinds of difficult things, but if we follow God’s will, even through sufferings, then we are following Jesus with his cross and sharing on his journey to Calvary.
Secondly we need to continue to love other people, even when we are suffering. Jesus continues to love through his passion. He forgives the people who crucify him. He ministers to the penitent thief. He makes arrangements for St John to take care of his mother. He continues to think about the others, to hope for the others, to see the good in the others, despite the great evil that is done to him.
So this is how we can follow Jesus in our sufferings; by continuing to do God’s will for us, and by continuing to love. And this very often means denying ourselves, giving up on our own plans and aspirations, giving up on our resentments and frustrations, giving up our sense of comfort or of being in control. This is costly, but Jesus is very clear, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.”
But now for the good news. By denying ourselves and taking up our cross and following Jesus we find that we are bound into a much deeper relationship with Jesus. It is a relationship that becomes deeper and purer and truer as we carry our crosses together. Sometimes we hear war veterans talk of difficult or dangerous situations that they have passed through together. This experience binds them together with a trust and understanding that goes very deep. It is the same with us and Jesus. When we continue to love, and continue to do the will of God through our sufferings we share in a profoundly important experience with Jesus, who loved and did God’s will through his whole passion and death. Jesus starts to share our burdens with us. Our trust and understanding of Jesus grows.
And the news gets even better, because we discover that we are sharing more and more with Jesus. We find we share in the healing and reconciliation that Jesus won for us. Slowly God starts to transform us, and the situations around us, and they start to reflect his peace and his justice and his love.
But the very best news is that when we start to share with Jesus in his sufferings and death, so we begin to share with him in his resurrection, in his newness of life, in his glory (c.f. Romans 6: 5, 8: 17). The risen life of Jesus restores us and makes us whole. It gives us power to hope. We start to share in the eternal life that Jesus promises.
So when sufferings come, let’s follow Jesus by continuing to love and by continuing to do God’s will. In this way we take up our cross and share sufferings with Jesus. In this way too we start also to share in his risen life. Amen.
22 June 2008
The struggle between good and evil
Preached at 11am Eucharist at St Alphege, Solihull, on Sunday 22/06/08
Year A – Trinity 5 (Proper 7)
Readings: Jeremiah 20: 7-13 Romans 6: 1b-11 Matt 10: 24-37
When I was little I used to enjoy the Narnia stories by C. S. Lewis. It was fascinating to see how the great struggle between Alsan the good and the wicked white witch was played out in the history of Narnia.
When I was a bit older I saw the first Star Wars film. Here the good Jedi Knights struggled against the evil empire, through the history of the universe. I have to say that I found the Star Wars film slightly less convincing because the notions of good an evil were rather more commercialised and slightly less Christian. “Good” meant good looking, wearing white and on our side. In Narnia the portrayal of “good” was rather more subtle, and in particular it included the forgiveness and reconciliation with those who had been bad.
Our scripture readings today cause us to reflect on the struggle between good and evil. This is the great struggle, that goes on all the time in individuals, and families, in communities, in nations, in the whole of humanity and indeed in the whole of creation.
In our Old Testament reading we hear about the struggle between God’s prophet Jeremiah and God’s people Judah, who have become complacent and corrupt. Jeremiah was a sent by God to the people of Judah, in the period shortly before they were conquered by the Babylonians and sent away into exile, in the sixth century BC. At this time Judah had strayed far from God and was in desperate need of repentance. Jeremiah was the prophet of doom who was for ever saying, “Repent, repent or disaster will come upon us!” He was working hard to sell a message that nobody wanted to hear. The people mocked Jeremiah, and isolated him and wanted some good reason to lock him up in jail. In the passage that we read today we hear Jeremiah wrestling with himself. He knows that all him problems come because he preaches such an unpopular truths, and yet he cannot help but preach it. The word of the Lord is like a burning fire within his bones and he cannot keep it in. It is a terrible struggle, but Jeremiah has to be forever proclaiming God’s word of judgement and the destruction which is about to befall Jerusalem.
In our reading from the book of Romans St Paul talks about the very personal struggle between good and evil that takes place within each one of us. This is the battle between our old self and our new self, our sinner and our saint. We notice this battle whenever we try to do good, we try to love God, we try to love our neighbour, but we find it difficult to love, or perhaps we fail completely. Paul insists that we must not be put off by difficulty or failure because we have been baptised into the death and resurrection of Christ. When we try to love, our old self, our sinner, dies, just as Christ dies on the cross. This death of “self” is painful and comes with a sense of loss, but we can afford to let it happen. We can afford to let it happen because of the resurrection of Christ. As our old self dies, so Christ shares with us his resurrection life and our new self, our saint, grows and matures within us. What is more, death and sin have no dominion over Christ’s resurrection life, so our new life in Christ has an eternal freedom. This is why Paul urges us always to see ourselves as dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
In the gospel reading that we heard today, Jesus is briefing his disciples as he sends them out to proclaim the good news that, “the kingdom of heaven is near!” Actually it is quite a long briefing, but in the part that we homed in on today Jesus is emphasising what a struggle it will be to proclaim the gospel to God’s chosen people, the people of Israel. He warns the disciples that he has already been accused of being Beelzebub, and if they accuse him, Jesus, of that, how much worse will they treat the disciples? He tells the disciples to trust in him and not to fear, because the truth will always come out in the end. He tells them not to fear even if they are put to death, because those who kill can only kill the body, not the soul. Jesus gives the disciples many other reassurances and then he comes to the real heart of the struggle:
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother…Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me…Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
This are hard words, which really emphasis the complete difference between the life that Jesus wants to share with us and the normal values of everyday life in the world. The life that Jesus wants to share with us is radically incompatible with evil and sin, and it will cause problems; it will upset the peace. Jesus absolutely demands the first place in our lives and we have to be ready to choose Jesus above everything else, even above our closest family relationships; mother and father, son and daughter. Obviously as Christians we are called to love our other family members, but we love them as an expression of our love for Jesus. We must never allow our love for Jesus to be compromised by our attachments to other people.
And just like St Paul, Jesus mentions the cross, and the need to be ready to lose our life in order to find it. Losing our life does not simply mean being a martyr. It means being ready to put aside things from our own life, our own desires and agendas, in order to love the people around us. It might mean putting down the newspaper to help in the kitchen. It might mean making time and space for someone who it would be easier to ignore. It might mean taking a risk; reaching out to greet someone who is very different from us, a child, a foreigner, someone in difficulty.
So, as we think about the struggle between good and evil, and as we think about the contribution that we personally are called to make, let’s focus our attention, in the first instance on that part of the world over which we have most influence; ourselves, our own personal lives. Let’s take to heart the teaching of St Paul who wants us dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let’s, as much as we can, live in our new selves, and let’s be ready to let our old selves wither and die. As Jesus suggests, let’s be ready to loose our lives for Jesus’ sake. And let’s trust Jesus, who rose from the dead, to help us find our new life in Christ, our eternal life, the life for which we were created. Amen.
Year A – Trinity 5 (Proper 7)
Readings: Jeremiah 20: 7-13 Romans 6: 1b-11 Matt 10: 24-37
When I was little I used to enjoy the Narnia stories by C. S. Lewis. It was fascinating to see how the great struggle between Alsan the good and the wicked white witch was played out in the history of Narnia.
When I was a bit older I saw the first Star Wars film. Here the good Jedi Knights struggled against the evil empire, through the history of the universe. I have to say that I found the Star Wars film slightly less convincing because the notions of good an evil were rather more commercialised and slightly less Christian. “Good” meant good looking, wearing white and on our side. In Narnia the portrayal of “good” was rather more subtle, and in particular it included the forgiveness and reconciliation with those who had been bad.
Our scripture readings today cause us to reflect on the struggle between good and evil. This is the great struggle, that goes on all the time in individuals, and families, in communities, in nations, in the whole of humanity and indeed in the whole of creation.
In our Old Testament reading we hear about the struggle between God’s prophet Jeremiah and God’s people Judah, who have become complacent and corrupt. Jeremiah was a sent by God to the people of Judah, in the period shortly before they were conquered by the Babylonians and sent away into exile, in the sixth century BC. At this time Judah had strayed far from God and was in desperate need of repentance. Jeremiah was the prophet of doom who was for ever saying, “Repent, repent or disaster will come upon us!” He was working hard to sell a message that nobody wanted to hear. The people mocked Jeremiah, and isolated him and wanted some good reason to lock him up in jail. In the passage that we read today we hear Jeremiah wrestling with himself. He knows that all him problems come because he preaches such an unpopular truths, and yet he cannot help but preach it. The word of the Lord is like a burning fire within his bones and he cannot keep it in. It is a terrible struggle, but Jeremiah has to be forever proclaiming God’s word of judgement and the destruction which is about to befall Jerusalem.
In our reading from the book of Romans St Paul talks about the very personal struggle between good and evil that takes place within each one of us. This is the battle between our old self and our new self, our sinner and our saint. We notice this battle whenever we try to do good, we try to love God, we try to love our neighbour, but we find it difficult to love, or perhaps we fail completely. Paul insists that we must not be put off by difficulty or failure because we have been baptised into the death and resurrection of Christ. When we try to love, our old self, our sinner, dies, just as Christ dies on the cross. This death of “self” is painful and comes with a sense of loss, but we can afford to let it happen. We can afford to let it happen because of the resurrection of Christ. As our old self dies, so Christ shares with us his resurrection life and our new self, our saint, grows and matures within us. What is more, death and sin have no dominion over Christ’s resurrection life, so our new life in Christ has an eternal freedom. This is why Paul urges us always to see ourselves as dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
In the gospel reading that we heard today, Jesus is briefing his disciples as he sends them out to proclaim the good news that, “the kingdom of heaven is near!” Actually it is quite a long briefing, but in the part that we homed in on today Jesus is emphasising what a struggle it will be to proclaim the gospel to God’s chosen people, the people of Israel. He warns the disciples that he has already been accused of being Beelzebub, and if they accuse him, Jesus, of that, how much worse will they treat the disciples? He tells the disciples to trust in him and not to fear, because the truth will always come out in the end. He tells them not to fear even if they are put to death, because those who kill can only kill the body, not the soul. Jesus gives the disciples many other reassurances and then he comes to the real heart of the struggle:
Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father and a daughter against her mother…Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me…Whoever does not take up the cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Those who find their life will lose it and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.
This are hard words, which really emphasis the complete difference between the life that Jesus wants to share with us and the normal values of everyday life in the world. The life that Jesus wants to share with us is radically incompatible with evil and sin, and it will cause problems; it will upset the peace. Jesus absolutely demands the first place in our lives and we have to be ready to choose Jesus above everything else, even above our closest family relationships; mother and father, son and daughter. Obviously as Christians we are called to love our other family members, but we love them as an expression of our love for Jesus. We must never allow our love for Jesus to be compromised by our attachments to other people.
And just like St Paul, Jesus mentions the cross, and the need to be ready to lose our life in order to find it. Losing our life does not simply mean being a martyr. It means being ready to put aside things from our own life, our own desires and agendas, in order to love the people around us. It might mean putting down the newspaper to help in the kitchen. It might mean making time and space for someone who it would be easier to ignore. It might mean taking a risk; reaching out to greet someone who is very different from us, a child, a foreigner, someone in difficulty.
So, as we think about the struggle between good and evil, and as we think about the contribution that we personally are called to make, let’s focus our attention, in the first instance on that part of the world over which we have most influence; ourselves, our own personal lives. Let’s take to heart the teaching of St Paul who wants us dead to sin, and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let’s, as much as we can, live in our new selves, and let’s be ready to let our old selves wither and die. As Jesus suggests, let’s be ready to loose our lives for Jesus’ sake. And let’s trust Jesus, who rose from the dead, to help us find our new life in Christ, our eternal life, the life for which we were created. Amen.
08 June 2008
Dealing with our sin
Preached at the 11am Eucharist at St Alphege, Solihull on Sunday 8th June 2008
3rd Sunday after Trinity, Proper 5 – Year A
Readings: Hosea 5:15 – 6:6 Romans 4:13-25 Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
Our gospel reading today tells us a great deal about Jesus’ approach to sin and sinners. To understand it properly we need to understand the role of tax collectors in the society in which Jesus lived. Tax collectors were considered to be very public sinners. They were key collaborators with the Roman army of occupation. The occupying Roman powers gave to the tax collectors both right and the obligation to collect taxes from the local people. Most of the taxes went straight to the Romans, increasing the strength and resilience of their occupation. However the tax collectors were entitled to collect slightly more than they handed over to the Romans in order to cover their own living expenses. Of course some tax collectors had grand ideas about their own living expenses and became very rich at other people’s expense. To collect taxes effectively the tax collectors needed information about people, income and wealth so they would always be prying people for information. Nobody would voluntarily speak to a tax collector. The tax collectors were outcasts, treated with the utmost suspicion and often deeply hated.
And yet, most surprisingly, Jesus calls a tax collector, Matthew, to be one his disciples. Mathew becomes one of the 12 chosen by Jesus as apostles. He also becomes the writer of one of the gospels. The choice of Matthew can only have been damaging to Jesus’ reputation as a religious leader. How would we feel nowadays about a religious leader who chose a terrorist or paedophile to be one of his closest followers? Clearly Matthew must have left behind his tax collecting ways in order to follow Jesus, but it is still rather shocking. Clearly, in the mind of Jesus, sin, even very serious public sin, does not disqualify a person from being called by God. Coming from a background of sin does not prevent someone from eventually becoming absolutely central to the life and ministry of the Church. This is not saying that sin does not matter or is not a problem, but it is giving the most categorical assurance that, in relationship with Jesus, the problem of sin can and will be overcome. Through a relationship with Jesus, even the worst sinners can and will be made good.
And the gospel reading goes on to reinforce this by telling us about Jesus and his disciples eating with tax collectors and sinners. In those times, sharing food with someone was seen as a very intimate act of sharing. Eating food with tax collectors and sinners could easily be interpreted as condoning their sin. For the Pharisees this is a scandal, and they ask why Jesus does it. In his answer Jesus’ compares himself to a doctor, whose role is to heal the sick. He is not pretending that the sinners are righteous, but rather he is recognising that they need help and that he has come to give them help. “I have come to call not for the righteous, but sinners,” he said.
We all like to think of ourselves as righteous. We, none of us, like to think of ourselves as sinners. And yet we know that all of us are both saints and sinners at the same time. Particularly through our baptism, we all have the new life of Christ somewhere within us. Hopefully it is being well looked after, well nurtured and we are steadily growing up into the full stature of Christ. However we also know that sin, that is rebellion against God, is also present in each one of us, causing problems for ourselves and for others, and seeking to stop us growing up into Christ. And it is very important to be honest with ourselves about sin, otherwise we do ourselves a great disfavour and sell ourselves far short of what we are called to be.
Suppose (although it is quite impossible) that there was a scale for measuring how good or bad a person is, and suppose we are quite a good person, say plus seven or plus eight! This might sound quite good, but we must realise that this plus eight is actually made up of a plus 80 for our saintly part, and a -72 for our sinful part. Further we have the opportunity to make the 80 grow by choosing always to live in our saint, and we can reduce the effect of the -72, by recognising our sin, commending it to God’s mercy and asking for his help in overcoming it. Being honest before God about our sin is the really important first step towards its being healed. It is all too easy to say, “Well that’s not sin because everyone does it. It’s beyond my control. I can’t help it that I hate that person. I can’t hep it that I have this greed, this resentment, this disordered desire.” And often this is true, often our sin is not directly “our fault”. Often our sin arises from hurts and pains that we have received from other people. Often it arises because we have not been loved as we need to be loved. Often it arises because of the culture we live in. It can arise from adverts that teach us to want things that we do not need. It can arise from TV and films that fill our mind with sex and with selfish ideas of fulfilment. It can arise from newspapers that teach us to have fear; to fear bird flu or teenagers or other faith groups. And it may well be that much of this is not “our fault” as individuals. Much of it is not our personal rebellion against God. We may not be culpable, but this sin is still our problem. It is still limiting our development as human beings. It is still down to us to do something about it.
So what do we do about our sin. Well, as I have said, the first step is to honestly acknowledge our sin before God, without pretending its not there, or pretending it is not sin, or that it is not our responsibility. The second step is to continue loving ourselves, despite our sin, as God continues to loves us. We need to love ourselves with the same love that Jesus had for the tax collectors and sinners that he eat with. As we become aware of our sin we might be tempted towards self hatred, but this is quite wrong. We have to learn to forgive ourselves and believe in God’s love for us. Often this means accepting some pain associated with our sin, just as Jesus on the cross accepted the pain of human sin. Jesus, suffering for the sin of others, is the ultimate model here. We need to grow in love, honour and respect for Jesus in his suffering, and this will help us to approach our own sufferings with the right mindset.
Above let’s remember Jesus, quoting our first reading from Hosea, “I desire mercy not sacrifice.” We can’t buy our way out of sin with the blood of lambs or with burnt offerings, still less with money. Rather sin is overcome by mercy, that quality of love which has compassion on those in difficulty. Let’s pray that God will fill our hearts with mercy for our own sins and the sins of the people around us. Amen.
3rd Sunday after Trinity, Proper 5 – Year A
Readings: Hosea 5:15 – 6:6 Romans 4:13-25 Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26
Our gospel reading today tells us a great deal about Jesus’ approach to sin and sinners. To understand it properly we need to understand the role of tax collectors in the society in which Jesus lived. Tax collectors were considered to be very public sinners. They were key collaborators with the Roman army of occupation. The occupying Roman powers gave to the tax collectors both right and the obligation to collect taxes from the local people. Most of the taxes went straight to the Romans, increasing the strength and resilience of their occupation. However the tax collectors were entitled to collect slightly more than they handed over to the Romans in order to cover their own living expenses. Of course some tax collectors had grand ideas about their own living expenses and became very rich at other people’s expense. To collect taxes effectively the tax collectors needed information about people, income and wealth so they would always be prying people for information. Nobody would voluntarily speak to a tax collector. The tax collectors were outcasts, treated with the utmost suspicion and often deeply hated.
And yet, most surprisingly, Jesus calls a tax collector, Matthew, to be one his disciples. Mathew becomes one of the 12 chosen by Jesus as apostles. He also becomes the writer of one of the gospels. The choice of Matthew can only have been damaging to Jesus’ reputation as a religious leader. How would we feel nowadays about a religious leader who chose a terrorist or paedophile to be one of his closest followers? Clearly Matthew must have left behind his tax collecting ways in order to follow Jesus, but it is still rather shocking. Clearly, in the mind of Jesus, sin, even very serious public sin, does not disqualify a person from being called by God. Coming from a background of sin does not prevent someone from eventually becoming absolutely central to the life and ministry of the Church. This is not saying that sin does not matter or is not a problem, but it is giving the most categorical assurance that, in relationship with Jesus, the problem of sin can and will be overcome. Through a relationship with Jesus, even the worst sinners can and will be made good.
And the gospel reading goes on to reinforce this by telling us about Jesus and his disciples eating with tax collectors and sinners. In those times, sharing food with someone was seen as a very intimate act of sharing. Eating food with tax collectors and sinners could easily be interpreted as condoning their sin. For the Pharisees this is a scandal, and they ask why Jesus does it. In his answer Jesus’ compares himself to a doctor, whose role is to heal the sick. He is not pretending that the sinners are righteous, but rather he is recognising that they need help and that he has come to give them help. “I have come to call not for the righteous, but sinners,” he said.
We all like to think of ourselves as righteous. We, none of us, like to think of ourselves as sinners. And yet we know that all of us are both saints and sinners at the same time. Particularly through our baptism, we all have the new life of Christ somewhere within us. Hopefully it is being well looked after, well nurtured and we are steadily growing up into the full stature of Christ. However we also know that sin, that is rebellion against God, is also present in each one of us, causing problems for ourselves and for others, and seeking to stop us growing up into Christ. And it is very important to be honest with ourselves about sin, otherwise we do ourselves a great disfavour and sell ourselves far short of what we are called to be.
Suppose (although it is quite impossible) that there was a scale for measuring how good or bad a person is, and suppose we are quite a good person, say plus seven or plus eight! This might sound quite good, but we must realise that this plus eight is actually made up of a plus 80 for our saintly part, and a -72 for our sinful part. Further we have the opportunity to make the 80 grow by choosing always to live in our saint, and we can reduce the effect of the -72, by recognising our sin, commending it to God’s mercy and asking for his help in overcoming it. Being honest before God about our sin is the really important first step towards its being healed. It is all too easy to say, “Well that’s not sin because everyone does it. It’s beyond my control. I can’t help it that I hate that person. I can’t hep it that I have this greed, this resentment, this disordered desire.” And often this is true, often our sin is not directly “our fault”. Often our sin arises from hurts and pains that we have received from other people. Often it arises because we have not been loved as we need to be loved. Often it arises because of the culture we live in. It can arise from adverts that teach us to want things that we do not need. It can arise from TV and films that fill our mind with sex and with selfish ideas of fulfilment. It can arise from newspapers that teach us to have fear; to fear bird flu or teenagers or other faith groups. And it may well be that much of this is not “our fault” as individuals. Much of it is not our personal rebellion against God. We may not be culpable, but this sin is still our problem. It is still limiting our development as human beings. It is still down to us to do something about it.
So what do we do about our sin. Well, as I have said, the first step is to honestly acknowledge our sin before God, without pretending its not there, or pretending it is not sin, or that it is not our responsibility. The second step is to continue loving ourselves, despite our sin, as God continues to loves us. We need to love ourselves with the same love that Jesus had for the tax collectors and sinners that he eat with. As we become aware of our sin we might be tempted towards self hatred, but this is quite wrong. We have to learn to forgive ourselves and believe in God’s love for us. Often this means accepting some pain associated with our sin, just as Jesus on the cross accepted the pain of human sin. Jesus, suffering for the sin of others, is the ultimate model here. We need to grow in love, honour and respect for Jesus in his suffering, and this will help us to approach our own sufferings with the right mindset.
Above let’s remember Jesus, quoting our first reading from Hosea, “I desire mercy not sacrifice.” We can’t buy our way out of sin with the blood of lambs or with burnt offerings, still less with money. Rather sin is overcome by mercy, that quality of love which has compassion on those in difficulty. Let’s pray that God will fill our hearts with mercy for our own sins and the sins of the people around us. Amen.
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