Sermon preached at 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP), St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton on Sunday 3rd October 2010.
Trinity 18, Proper 22 Year C
Readings: 2 Timothy 1: 1-14 Luke 17: 5-10
Sermon in notes only.
Jesus comments are challenging
Focus on comment on faith - faith the size of a mustard seed can uproot the mulberry tree (or Mountain - Matt 17:20, 21:21, Mark 11:23)
Not literal, but figure of speech
- faith does not have physical size
- Jesus did not do it
- no saint has done it
Rather the point is - nothing is impossible for God
About God’s purposes (not our purposes)
Miracles are always
- building the kingdom of God
- promoting the gospel
- saving humanity
God seems very restrained in use of shock and awe powers
Sometimes used:
- deliverance from Egypt
- resurrection of Jesus
- feeding of five thousand
- healing miracles
But often resisted
- Jesus usually refused to “give signs” and gets frustrated when asked.
- it was temptation of devil “cast yourself off the pinnacle of the temple”
Why is God so standoffish in this sense? Why not use shock and awe?
- perhaps because he wants real human participation
- wants to promote, not undermine, human work, prayer and contribution
- like wise parents who don’t always intervene to tie a shoelace, but allow a child to struggle with it and so to learn.
So the human contribution to the fulfilling of God’s purposes is very important
– we all have a part to play
– we can find this overburdening, impossible, demoralising even
– need faith
– but for God nothing is impossible. THIS IS THE POINT
– we play our part, then trust God, let him act.
– must not trust too much in our own strength.
– must accept that God’s purposes are greater than our own
o we often don’t understand how God is working
For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts (Is 55:9)
Example – a marriage brake down situation is recovered and healed through prayer, acceptance and open sharing of the situation.
The right attitude is beautiful summarised by what we heard Paul say to Timothy:
“join with me in suffering for the gospel, relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace.”
[drawing heavily on Word of Life “Faith the size of a mustard seed” by Chiara Lubich - March 2010]
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
03 October 2010
14 February 2010
The light for the nations
Short sermon preached at 8am Eucharist at St Alphege, Solihull on 14th February 2010.
The sermon was also preached at St Michael’s, Oak Cottage, Solihull at 4pm that day.
Sunday next before Lent
Readings 1 Kings 8: 22-23 & 41-43 Galatians 1: 1-12 Luke 7: 1b-10
(RCL alternative to the normal CofE readings)
Our first reading today comes from one of the real high points in the history of Israel. King Solomon, the wise and wealthy king, is dedicating the new temple that he has built for God in Jerusalem. No expense has been spared! The temple is huge and richly decorated. The priests have moved the ark of God into the inner sanctuary of the temple, and the glory of God has filled the temple, like a great cloud. And King Solomon is standing before the altar of the Lord in the temple and he makes a great, long prayer dedicating the temple to God, and we read just a short part of that prayer of dedication today.
But the part of the prayer that we read was particularly interesting because it tells us that the temple in Jerusalem was built not just to aid the prayers of the nation of Israel but to aid the prayers of foreigners, as well! And this is very significant. Most of the Old Testament is about God’s covenant with his chosen people Israel. But every now and again, especially at key moments like this one, there are very clear reminders that God’s covenant with Israel is not solely for the benefit of Israel, but ultimately it is for the for benefit of the whole world (e.g. Genesis 12: 2-3, 18: 18, 22: 17-18, 26: 3-5, 28: 13-14 and Isaiah 40: 5, 42: 1-9, 45: 22-25, 49: 5-6, 51: 4-5, 52: 10).
And we see this same thing in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus is born and brought up as a Jew. Simeon in the temple foresaw that the baby Jesus was the “light for revelation to the gentiles” (Luke 2: 32), but much of the time Jesus clearly focused his mission on the people of Israel (e.g. Matt 10: 5-6, 15: 24). But then there are several remarkable moments, like the one in our gospel reading today, when the generosity of Jesus spontaneous pours out over people beyond the Jewish nation.
In our gospel reading we heard that Jesus was profoundly moved by the faith that he found in the centurion. Of course, the centurion was not a Jew, and as an official of the Roman Army he might easily be thought of as an enemy of the Jews, but Jesus did not hesitate to cure the centurion’s servant. He even presented the faith of the centurion as an example to Israel. There was never any suggestion that the centurion should become a Jew.
Those hints in the Old Testament that God will bless all the nations of the earth through Israel do eventually find their fulfilment in Jesus. The religion that Jesus establishes becomes a universal religion. Christianity is for all people. Everyone is called to become part of the church. Rich and poor, young and old, saints and sinners; all called.
But I think it is very helpful for us, in the Church, to reflect on the generosity of Jesus and of his love pouring out upon people beyond the nation of Israel. In the same way we have to pour out love from the Church into the world, even into the non-Christian parts of the world. In our daily lives we probably encounter many people who are nominally Christian, but who seem to have minimal relationship with the church, and may not even be baptised. We probably encounter people from other faiths beyond Christianity, and people who say they have no faith at all, who might even be hostile to faith. These people are to us what the centurion was to Jesus. Like Jesus we need to reach out to them all, to work for their good. We need to help them and serve them in all their good aspirations and to build relationships of trust with them. We need to see God’s good creation in them, and help them to see the good that we share. It’s about a having generous attitude and a willingness to give.
And it seems to me that just as the love of Jesus spilling out beyond Judaism lead to the creation of a new, bigger and broader “People of God”, so too our love spilling out beyond the visible boundaries of the Church will somehow lead to a bigger and fuller salvation. In this way the gospel really becomes “Good News” for all the world, the Church really does become the light for the nations. Amen.
The sermon was also preached at St Michael’s, Oak Cottage, Solihull at 4pm that day.
Sunday next before Lent
Readings 1 Kings 8: 22-23 & 41-43 Galatians 1: 1-12 Luke 7: 1b-10
(RCL alternative to the normal CofE readings)
Our first reading today comes from one of the real high points in the history of Israel. King Solomon, the wise and wealthy king, is dedicating the new temple that he has built for God in Jerusalem. No expense has been spared! The temple is huge and richly decorated. The priests have moved the ark of God into the inner sanctuary of the temple, and the glory of God has filled the temple, like a great cloud. And King Solomon is standing before the altar of the Lord in the temple and he makes a great, long prayer dedicating the temple to God, and we read just a short part of that prayer of dedication today.
But the part of the prayer that we read was particularly interesting because it tells us that the temple in Jerusalem was built not just to aid the prayers of the nation of Israel but to aid the prayers of foreigners, as well! And this is very significant. Most of the Old Testament is about God’s covenant with his chosen people Israel. But every now and again, especially at key moments like this one, there are very clear reminders that God’s covenant with Israel is not solely for the benefit of Israel, but ultimately it is for the for benefit of the whole world (e.g. Genesis 12: 2-3, 18: 18, 22: 17-18, 26: 3-5, 28: 13-14 and Isaiah 40: 5, 42: 1-9, 45: 22-25, 49: 5-6, 51: 4-5, 52: 10).
And we see this same thing in the ministry of Jesus. Jesus is born and brought up as a Jew. Simeon in the temple foresaw that the baby Jesus was the “light for revelation to the gentiles” (Luke 2: 32), but much of the time Jesus clearly focused his mission on the people of Israel (e.g. Matt 10: 5-6, 15: 24). But then there are several remarkable moments, like the one in our gospel reading today, when the generosity of Jesus spontaneous pours out over people beyond the Jewish nation.
In our gospel reading we heard that Jesus was profoundly moved by the faith that he found in the centurion. Of course, the centurion was not a Jew, and as an official of the Roman Army he might easily be thought of as an enemy of the Jews, but Jesus did not hesitate to cure the centurion’s servant. He even presented the faith of the centurion as an example to Israel. There was never any suggestion that the centurion should become a Jew.
Those hints in the Old Testament that God will bless all the nations of the earth through Israel do eventually find their fulfilment in Jesus. The religion that Jesus establishes becomes a universal religion. Christianity is for all people. Everyone is called to become part of the church. Rich and poor, young and old, saints and sinners; all called.
But I think it is very helpful for us, in the Church, to reflect on the generosity of Jesus and of his love pouring out upon people beyond the nation of Israel. In the same way we have to pour out love from the Church into the world, even into the non-Christian parts of the world. In our daily lives we probably encounter many people who are nominally Christian, but who seem to have minimal relationship with the church, and may not even be baptised. We probably encounter people from other faiths beyond Christianity, and people who say they have no faith at all, who might even be hostile to faith. These people are to us what the centurion was to Jesus. Like Jesus we need to reach out to them all, to work for their good. We need to help them and serve them in all their good aspirations and to build relationships of trust with them. We need to see God’s good creation in them, and help them to see the good that we share. It’s about a having generous attitude and a willingness to give.
And it seems to me that just as the love of Jesus spilling out beyond Judaism lead to the creation of a new, bigger and broader “People of God”, so too our love spilling out beyond the visible boundaries of the Church will somehow lead to a bigger and fuller salvation. In this way the gospel really becomes “Good News” for all the world, the Church really does become the light for the nations. Amen.
04 January 2009
Sharing in the journey and gifts of the wise men
Short sermon preached at the 8am Eucharist, St Alphege, Solihull.
Sunday 4th January 2009 (Epiphany celebrated).
Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6 [Ephesians 3: 1-12] Mathew 2: 1-12
On the Holy Day of the Epiphany our gospel reading tells us the story of the wise men from the East who come to see the child Jesus.
It is a remarkable story, not least because there are so many aspects of it that seem unlikely or surprising. Would God really mark the birth of his Son with a new star in the night sky? It is certainly surprising that the wise men, who seem to have nothing to do with the Jews or the Jewish religion, interpret the star in the way they do. It is even more surprising that they understand this far away event as so significant that they must respond to it by making a long and uncertain journey. But somehow this far away event takes a powerful hold on the wise men. Against all odds they embark on the journey. Against all odds they are eventually successful. When they finally reach Jesus they are overwhelmed with joy. They pay homage and give most precious gifts to the child when they find him.
It seems to me that there are similarities between the journey made by the wise men and the journey of faith, the spiritual journey, that we each make with our Christian lives. First of all, it all seems so unlikely. It seems so implausible that a baby born in a far away time, in a far away land, could be the cause of such a great journey, a journey that ultimately reorders our whole lives. Then the guides for the journey seem so frail. The wise men were guided by a star, a very faint light in the sky, only visible at night and only on a clear night at that, and how could they read such great meaning into this star? Similarly we are guided and drawn by our faith, which can seem very frail and faint and week, and scarcely seem enough basis for a great spiritual journey.
But despite all this the journey goes ahead. No doubt there are dark moments and difficult periods, and times when we almost lose heart. But in the end we do come to Jesus. We do find Jesus, present in our hearts, in our neighbours, in the scriptures and in the sacrament. And when we find Jesus there is overwhelming joy. Our purpose is complete. Then, there is the opportunity to bring gifts to Jesus. Let’s think for a minute about the gifts we can give to Jesus. Gold makes us think of our money, our talents and our time that we can use in the service of the church and of other people. Frankincense makes us think of incense, our worship, and all the prayers that we can bring to Jesus. Myrrh reminds us of the tomb and of death. It reminds us of our sufferings that we can offer to Christ, of the “letting go”, the “losing” and the “dieing” which we often experience as we follow God’s path for us. All of these are valuable gifts that we can bring to Jesus. They are all contributions, which he can use, better than we could ever imagine, in the building of his kingdom.
So as mediate on the wise men, let’s think about our own journey of faith towards Jesus. Despite the frailty of our faith let’s follow where God leads. Let’s be ready to offer Jesus gifts, even costly gifts. Above all let’s be confident that in the end, even though it all seems so unlikely, we will reach Jesus. We will be overwhelmed with joy.
Sunday 4th January 2009 (Epiphany celebrated).
Readings: Isaiah 60: 1-6 [Ephesians 3: 1-12] Mathew 2: 1-12
On the Holy Day of the Epiphany our gospel reading tells us the story of the wise men from the East who come to see the child Jesus.
It is a remarkable story, not least because there are so many aspects of it that seem unlikely or surprising. Would God really mark the birth of his Son with a new star in the night sky? It is certainly surprising that the wise men, who seem to have nothing to do with the Jews or the Jewish religion, interpret the star in the way they do. It is even more surprising that they understand this far away event as so significant that they must respond to it by making a long and uncertain journey. But somehow this far away event takes a powerful hold on the wise men. Against all odds they embark on the journey. Against all odds they are eventually successful. When they finally reach Jesus they are overwhelmed with joy. They pay homage and give most precious gifts to the child when they find him.
It seems to me that there are similarities between the journey made by the wise men and the journey of faith, the spiritual journey, that we each make with our Christian lives. First of all, it all seems so unlikely. It seems so implausible that a baby born in a far away time, in a far away land, could be the cause of such a great journey, a journey that ultimately reorders our whole lives. Then the guides for the journey seem so frail. The wise men were guided by a star, a very faint light in the sky, only visible at night and only on a clear night at that, and how could they read such great meaning into this star? Similarly we are guided and drawn by our faith, which can seem very frail and faint and week, and scarcely seem enough basis for a great spiritual journey.
But despite all this the journey goes ahead. No doubt there are dark moments and difficult periods, and times when we almost lose heart. But in the end we do come to Jesus. We do find Jesus, present in our hearts, in our neighbours, in the scriptures and in the sacrament. And when we find Jesus there is overwhelming joy. Our purpose is complete. Then, there is the opportunity to bring gifts to Jesus. Let’s think for a minute about the gifts we can give to Jesus. Gold makes us think of our money, our talents and our time that we can use in the service of the church and of other people. Frankincense makes us think of incense, our worship, and all the prayers that we can bring to Jesus. Myrrh reminds us of the tomb and of death. It reminds us of our sufferings that we can offer to Christ, of the “letting go”, the “losing” and the “dieing” which we often experience as we follow God’s path for us. All of these are valuable gifts that we can bring to Jesus. They are all contributions, which he can use, better than we could ever imagine, in the building of his kingdom.
So as mediate on the wise men, let’s think about our own journey of faith towards Jesus. Despite the frailty of our faith let’s follow where God leads. Let’s be ready to offer Jesus gifts, even costly gifts. Above all let’s be confident that in the end, even though it all seems so unlikely, we will reach Jesus. We will be overwhelmed with joy.
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