Sermon preached at 11am Eucharist on 4th April 2010 at St Alphege Church, Solihull. A shorter version of this sermon was also preached at the 8am Eucharist.
Easter Day – Year C
Readings: Acts 10: 34-43 1 Corinthians 15: 19-26] Luke 24: 1-12
I was born into a clergy family in Yorkshire. And it was not just my Dad who was a clergyman; my Grandad, Great-grandad and many other family members were also clergy. Perhaps because of this older people in my Dad’s congregation would ask me, “And are you going to follow in your father’s footsteps?” As a little boy I found this a very strange question and I always said “No!”. As I got older I became clearer about this “No”. It seemed to me that our family was so deeply involved in the life of the church that it had lost it perspective on what the church looked liked from the outside. It no longer understood quite why the church was relevant or what it offered to wider society. A more detached perspective was required. I thought my uncle had a good model. He was not ordained and worked in a bank. He was involved in his local parish church and was PCC treasurer. This pattern of involvement in church life as a lay-man seemed good to me. As I married Elaine, and as children came along this was the model we lived to very happily for many years.
Then, although I did not understand it at the time, things started to change in the second half of 1999. The first thing was a new curate at St James in Shirley, where we worshipped. I was very impressed by Peter Babington (now incumbent in Bournville) who was young, in touch, spiritual and had much that was very useful to say to the church. Later however, as I got to know him better, I discovered that he was from an extraordinary clergy family. He was something like the 13 generation in an unbroken line of clergy stretching back to Elizabethan times. I realised that it was possible to come from a strong clergy family and has something relevant to say to the church!
The next thing was a Remembrance Sunday service that both Elaine and I were involved in. After that Elaine asked me when I would be ordained, but I just laughed it off because I felt no sense of called, and without a calling the idea was ridiculous.
The, just before Christmas 1999 I had a dream, which suddenly, for me, was a clear sense of calling. Suddenly it was clear that this was what God wanted from me. The route to heaven that God wanted me to walk, was the route of ordained ministry. This was quite a surprise, but I welcomed it and felt very securely at peace, despite certain negative feelings that I had, for example about the financial implications.
Anyway that sense of call lead to something of a change of direction. It led to a period of discernment with the Church or England which seemed to say “Yes” and then “No” and then “Yes” again. It led to training, to ordination and then to this curacy, for which I am so grateful.
But the reason for telling you this story is to illustrate the point that God’s purposes are worked out of time, and very often we do not see or understand quite what God is doing or why. It takes time for us to understand and take on board what God is up to. The full implications of the work of God take even longer to work out. And I think that this is particularly true of the great and extraordinary work of God that we remember today; the resurrection of Jesus.
I am always struck by the great contrast between the joyful and confident celebration of Easter, which we proclaim in our church liturgies on Easter Morning and the far more delicate and unresolved emotions that we read about in our gospel accounts of the resurrection of Christ. We start our Easter services by saying, “Christ is risen – he is risen indeed! Alleluia.” But in the gospel account that we read from St Luke this morning the women who encountered the empty tomb were described as “perplexed”, “terrified” and “bowed to the ground”. The women’s story was considered an “idle tale” by the apostles. The nearest the women get to a positive affirmation of the resurrection is remembering the words of Jesus, that he would rise again on the third day. The closest that the apostles get is Peter’s amazement at what has happened when he sees the tomb.
In Luke’s account we have to read on to the evening of the first day of the week before there is any clear communal understanding that Jesus is risen. And it is not until Jesus has appeared in the midst of them all and has scolded them for their unbelief, that we arrive at the feeling of joy which is the great mark of Easter. It is clear that our Easter liturgies in church skip rapidly over, what was for the women and for the apostles a rather a difficult day of confusion, realisation and acceptance, before finally developing into a moment of profound joy when they met the risen Christ.
And it seems that it took a long time for the church to work out all the full implications of Jesus’ resurrection. Our reading from Acts shows another great moment of realisation. Peter realises that the salvation that comes from the resurrection of Jesus is not just for the Jews, but for all people who fear God and who do what is right. And even today we might think of the church as continuing to discover, and live out further the full implications of the resurrection of Jesus.
But this process of working out the implications of the resurrection is not just for the whole church. It is also for smaller Christian communities, for parishes, for families and for individual Christians. We, each of us, are engaged on a journey of discovery in which we slowly grow in our understanding and knowledge of God. Gradually we understand the resurrection more, and gradually we base our lives more and more securely upon it.
So what can we do to help ourselves with this process? How can we better understand the implications of the resurrection and come to live them out better in our day to day lives? Well, two thoughts come to mind.
Firstly it seems to me that to properly live out the implications of the resurrection we first need to live well our Good Friday moments. And we get an opportunity to do this in each of the many sufferings, small and large, which cross our path in our day to day life? Every time something hurts us, or disappoints us or leaves us feeling let down. These events give us the opportunity to share sufferings with Christ; to see in our sufferings a connection with the great suffering of Christ of on the cross. And like Christ on the cross we try to continuing to love and forgive through the suffering, and to continue to trust in God. It is by sharing sufferings with Christ that we also come to share in his resurrection life. And this is a journey of discovery does take time and has it confusing and perplexing moments. But the journey leads to the risen Christ, and with him everything becomes clear and real joy is shared.
Then the second thought is that it is presence of the risen Christ that makes the difference. The disciples may have been told that Jesus was risen, but really it only started to make sense once they had met the risen Christ. And we can think of an apostle like Thomas, for who that encounter was delayed, and belief was delayed. So it is crucial that we put ourselves into environments where we encounter the risen Jesus. It is important to gather in church, in the name of Christ, so that Christ will be present among us. It is important to encounter Christ in the word proclaimed, in the scriptures. We need to meet with Christ present in the Eucharist and be nourished by him. In all these ways we encounter Christ and it is Christ who helps us to understand and work out for ourselves the implications of his resurrection.
Showing posts with label resurrection. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resurrection. Show all posts
01 March 2010
Funeral homily - Jesus calms the storm
Scripture Reading - Mark 4: 35-41
On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’
The story that we have just read might have appealed to ??????, with his love of the sea and of boats. And it tells us of a remarkable event, when Jesus and his companions in their boat were threatened by a storm in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus told the wind and the sea to be calm, the storm calmed, the boat was safe and all was well. But the disciples were amazed…”Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?”
For the first century citizens of Palestine, storms at sea were symbolic of all the uncontrollable dark forces that can suddenly take hold of our life, disturb it, damage it or even destroy it. Some of these dark forces come from within us; an illness, an uncontrollable anger or desire. Some of these dark and disturbing forces come from outside us: accidents, aggressive neighbours, foreign armies (nowadays we would say terrorism). So Jesus calming the storm, significant as it was in itself, also had great symbolic importance. It symbolised Jesus’ command over all the dark forces that affect human life.
At funerals we are forced to contemplate the greatest dark force of them all: death. We know that death comes to us all. We might have success in avoiding it or postponing it, but ultimately we must succumb to its dark and mysterious power. And this was true, even of Jesus, who died a most terrible death, nailed to a cross. And for a few long hours it seemed that death had won, that there were dark powers that Jesus could not overcome. But then, on the third day, the resurrection was revealed. It became clear that Jesus had passed through death and was alive once more. What is more his body was renewed; still human and solid and real, and still bearing its wounds and capable of eating, but renewed and rejuvenated and no longer subject to death and decay.
But above all what was revealed was the opportunity for each of us to share with Jesus in this passage through death to eternal life. We, all of us, must pass through death, but we, all of us, are called to pass through it with Jesus, and to inherit eternal life.
And our baptism is important here. When we are baptised we are baptised into Christ’s death and into his resurrection. By staying close to Jesus, and follow in his ways, we can be confident through Jesus we too can overcome the dark power of death and rise to new life with him. Amen.
On that day, when evening had come, Jesus said to them, ‘Let us go across to the other side.’ And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. A great gale arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?’ He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, ‘Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?’ And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, ‘Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?’
The story that we have just read might have appealed to ??????, with his love of the sea and of boats. And it tells us of a remarkable event, when Jesus and his companions in their boat were threatened by a storm in the Sea of Galilee. Jesus told the wind and the sea to be calm, the storm calmed, the boat was safe and all was well. But the disciples were amazed…”Who then is this, that even the wind and sea obey him?”
For the first century citizens of Palestine, storms at sea were symbolic of all the uncontrollable dark forces that can suddenly take hold of our life, disturb it, damage it or even destroy it. Some of these dark forces come from within us; an illness, an uncontrollable anger or desire. Some of these dark and disturbing forces come from outside us: accidents, aggressive neighbours, foreign armies (nowadays we would say terrorism). So Jesus calming the storm, significant as it was in itself, also had great symbolic importance. It symbolised Jesus’ command over all the dark forces that affect human life.
At funerals we are forced to contemplate the greatest dark force of them all: death. We know that death comes to us all. We might have success in avoiding it or postponing it, but ultimately we must succumb to its dark and mysterious power. And this was true, even of Jesus, who died a most terrible death, nailed to a cross. And for a few long hours it seemed that death had won, that there were dark powers that Jesus could not overcome. But then, on the third day, the resurrection was revealed. It became clear that Jesus had passed through death and was alive once more. What is more his body was renewed; still human and solid and real, and still bearing its wounds and capable of eating, but renewed and rejuvenated and no longer subject to death and decay.
But above all what was revealed was the opportunity for each of us to share with Jesus in this passage through death to eternal life. We, all of us, must pass through death, but we, all of us, are called to pass through it with Jesus, and to inherit eternal life.
And our baptism is important here. When we are baptised we are baptised into Christ’s death and into his resurrection. By staying close to Jesus, and follow in his ways, we can be confident through Jesus we too can overcome the dark power of death and rise to new life with him. Amen.
23 March 2008
Seeking the things that are above
Preached at St Catherine’s Church, Catherine-de-Barnes, Solihull
On Easter Day (Year A), 23/03/08 at 11am Eucharist.
Repeated at 6.30pm evensong in St Alphege Church
Readings: Acts 10:34-43 Romans Col 3:1-4 Matthew 28: 1-10
When I was a little boy, my brother had a pet guinea pig called Ginger. There was a very exciting time when Ginger was pregnant and expected, at any moment, to give birth to one or more baby guinea pigs. One morning my brother went out to feed Ginger and came back upset. I went out with him and looked in Ginger’s cage. Ginger seemed fine, much thinner than she had been. However lying in the middle of her cubby hole was an obviously dead baby guinea pig. We went and called Dad. Dad confirmed that Ginger’s baby was dead. He took the baby guinea pig out and buried it in the garden. My brother made a special little cross of wood to mark the spot. It was a very sad moment.
Later my brother was told to clean out the cage, because it was messy from the dead baby guinea pig. My brother started to clean out the cubby hole where the dead baby had been. He lifted up one of the supporting bricks, and to his great astonishment a baby guinea pig scurried out searching for somewhere to hide. Suddenly our sorrow was turned to joy as we realised that we did indeed have a live and healthy baby guinea pig. Then, when my brother lifted out the second supporting brick, exactly the same thing happened again. In fact we had two live and healthy baby guinea pigs, as well as the dead one.
It felt like a resurrection moment. Our focus on disappointment and death, suddenly changed to a focus on new life. It was wonderful. But it was surprising what a long time it had taken for us to realise what had happened and to grasp its full implications.
And I suspect it was a bit like this for the first followers of Jesus when they first discovered the empty tomb. To start with it was as very strange and disturbing discovery. What did it mean? Who had rolled away the stone? Why had it been done? What did all this mean? Had Jesus’ body been stolen? Then the angles appeared and explained things to them, and this amazed them, gave them great joy, but also filled them with fear. And then suddenly Mary Magdalene saw Jesus and spoke with him and held his feet and worshipped him. Later other disciples had encounters with the risen Lord. Then there was concern that they might have been seeing a ghost. Then there were more and more encounters, and more and more disciples start to believe in the resurrection. But this process took time. In fact the account at the end of Mark’s gospel, Jesus gets cross with the disciples because they are so slow to believe.
So it took the first followers of Jesus time to understand that the resurrection had happened, and what that really meant. It took them even longer to work out all the implications. In Luke’s account of the resurrection one of the main things that the risen Christ does is explain to the disciples all that is written about Jesus in the law, the prophets and psalms so that they could start to understand the extraordinary death and resurrection of the Messiah.
And actually I believe that this is true for us as well. It takes us time to really understand the implications of the resurrection. We have a big advantage over the first disciples, in that we live with the benefit of 2000 years of church experience. From when we are very young we are taught that the resurrection shows us new life in Christ, shows us that love is stronger than death, that sin has been defeated. We are taught that the resurrection means that we can have hope. But despite all this wise teaching there is a sense in which we each have to discover these things for ourselves and to work out their practical implications for our lives.
So how do we do this? Well, St Paul has some good advice for us in our reading from Colossians this morning. He says, “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Setting our mind on the things that are above, means putting love for God and neighbour in the first place in our lives, and not allowing earthly things (jobs, houses, families, food, health, schools, cars, holidays and all that) to get in the way. In fact we can use these earthly things in order to love our neighbours.
And the resurrection really helps us to do this. Sometimes our earthly life gets hard. Sometimes we get ill. Sometimes we have disappointments. Sometimes we have to let go of things that are good and precious. Sometimes we have to deny ourselves in order to love the people around us, sometimes our friends die. And we know that one day we ourselves will die. So undeniably our earthly life can be hard. But if, as Paul suggests, we are seeking the things that are above, then we start to discover the things that our above, our love for God and our love for our neighbours, and we start to find their value. And especially when earthly things let us down or pass away, we discover the enduring quality of the things which are above. As Paul puts it, we have died, and our life is hid with Christ in God. And when Christ’s resurrection life is revealed, the true value of the things we have above with also be revealed with him in Glory.
So let’s have the courage to seek the things that are above. Let’s seek always to grow in love for God and love for our neighbours, because we know that if we do this, though we might pass through terrible earthly trials and even through death itself, the resurrection of Christ assures us that the life we have in Christ will be revealed in glory. Amen.
On Easter Day (Year A), 23/03/08 at 11am Eucharist.
Repeated at 6.30pm evensong in St Alphege Church
Readings: Acts 10:34-43 Romans Col 3:1-4 Matthew 28: 1-10
When I was a little boy, my brother had a pet guinea pig called Ginger. There was a very exciting time when Ginger was pregnant and expected, at any moment, to give birth to one or more baby guinea pigs. One morning my brother went out to feed Ginger and came back upset. I went out with him and looked in Ginger’s cage. Ginger seemed fine, much thinner than she had been. However lying in the middle of her cubby hole was an obviously dead baby guinea pig. We went and called Dad. Dad confirmed that Ginger’s baby was dead. He took the baby guinea pig out and buried it in the garden. My brother made a special little cross of wood to mark the spot. It was a very sad moment.
Later my brother was told to clean out the cage, because it was messy from the dead baby guinea pig. My brother started to clean out the cubby hole where the dead baby had been. He lifted up one of the supporting bricks, and to his great astonishment a baby guinea pig scurried out searching for somewhere to hide. Suddenly our sorrow was turned to joy as we realised that we did indeed have a live and healthy baby guinea pig. Then, when my brother lifted out the second supporting brick, exactly the same thing happened again. In fact we had two live and healthy baby guinea pigs, as well as the dead one.
It felt like a resurrection moment. Our focus on disappointment and death, suddenly changed to a focus on new life. It was wonderful. But it was surprising what a long time it had taken for us to realise what had happened and to grasp its full implications.
And I suspect it was a bit like this for the first followers of Jesus when they first discovered the empty tomb. To start with it was as very strange and disturbing discovery. What did it mean? Who had rolled away the stone? Why had it been done? What did all this mean? Had Jesus’ body been stolen? Then the angles appeared and explained things to them, and this amazed them, gave them great joy, but also filled them with fear. And then suddenly Mary Magdalene saw Jesus and spoke with him and held his feet and worshipped him. Later other disciples had encounters with the risen Lord. Then there was concern that they might have been seeing a ghost. Then there were more and more encounters, and more and more disciples start to believe in the resurrection. But this process took time. In fact the account at the end of Mark’s gospel, Jesus gets cross with the disciples because they are so slow to believe.
So it took the first followers of Jesus time to understand that the resurrection had happened, and what that really meant. It took them even longer to work out all the implications. In Luke’s account of the resurrection one of the main things that the risen Christ does is explain to the disciples all that is written about Jesus in the law, the prophets and psalms so that they could start to understand the extraordinary death and resurrection of the Messiah.
And actually I believe that this is true for us as well. It takes us time to really understand the implications of the resurrection. We have a big advantage over the first disciples, in that we live with the benefit of 2000 years of church experience. From when we are very young we are taught that the resurrection shows us new life in Christ, shows us that love is stronger than death, that sin has been defeated. We are taught that the resurrection means that we can have hope. But despite all this wise teaching there is a sense in which we each have to discover these things for ourselves and to work out their practical implications for our lives.
So how do we do this? Well, St Paul has some good advice for us in our reading from Colossians this morning. He says, “Set your mind on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Setting our mind on the things that are above, means putting love for God and neighbour in the first place in our lives, and not allowing earthly things (jobs, houses, families, food, health, schools, cars, holidays and all that) to get in the way. In fact we can use these earthly things in order to love our neighbours.
And the resurrection really helps us to do this. Sometimes our earthly life gets hard. Sometimes we get ill. Sometimes we have disappointments. Sometimes we have to let go of things that are good and precious. Sometimes we have to deny ourselves in order to love the people around us, sometimes our friends die. And we know that one day we ourselves will die. So undeniably our earthly life can be hard. But if, as Paul suggests, we are seeking the things that are above, then we start to discover the things that our above, our love for God and our love for our neighbours, and we start to find their value. And especially when earthly things let us down or pass away, we discover the enduring quality of the things which are above. As Paul puts it, we have died, and our life is hid with Christ in God. And when Christ’s resurrection life is revealed, the true value of the things we have above with also be revealed with him in Glory.
So let’s have the courage to seek the things that are above. Let’s seek always to grow in love for God and love for our neighbours, because we know that if we do this, though we might pass through terrible earthly trials and even through death itself, the resurrection of Christ assures us that the life we have in Christ will be revealed in glory. Amen.
16 March 2008
Starting Holy Week
Thought for the Parish Pewslip 19th March 2008 - Palm Sunday - Year A
Readings: Liturgy of Palms: Matt 21:1-11
Liturgy of the Passion: Isaiah 50:4-9a and Matt 27:11-54
Today marks the start of Holy Week. We have a procession with palm branches and palm crosses as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem where the crowds shout “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” But over a few short days the mood changes completely. When read the story of the passion we hear the crowds cry out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” It is a solemn reminder of how fickle human beings can be. We can hold up before God’s great mercy our own shallowness and our own lack of faithfulness in following our Lord.
Our church services in Holy Week help us to follow with Jesus as he journeys through his passion and death to his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday. These liturgies help us to write the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection into our own hearts so that our own daily lives can start to reflect this pattern. Walking with Christ through his passion and death gives us confidence that we will also share with him in his resurrection life. And so we hope that many, many people will attend the Holy Week services and join with us as we walk with Christ through these most holy hours.
Readings: Liturgy of Palms: Matt 21:1-11
Liturgy of the Passion: Isaiah 50:4-9a and Matt 27:11-54
Today marks the start of Holy Week. We have a procession with palm branches and palm crosses as we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem where the crowds shout “Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” But over a few short days the mood changes completely. When read the story of the passion we hear the crowds cry out, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” It is a solemn reminder of how fickle human beings can be. We can hold up before God’s great mercy our own shallowness and our own lack of faithfulness in following our Lord.
Our church services in Holy Week help us to follow with Jesus as he journeys through his passion and death to his glorious resurrection on Easter Sunday. These liturgies help us to write the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection into our own hearts so that our own daily lives can start to reflect this pattern. Walking with Christ through his passion and death gives us confidence that we will also share with him in his resurrection life. And so we hope that many, many people will attend the Holy Week services and join with us as we walk with Christ through these most holy hours.
09 March 2008
Christ, the resurrection and the life
Preached at St Alphege Church on Sunday 9th March 2008 at 9.15am Eucharist
Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year A
Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45
(Shortened sermon to compensate for long readings)
[The fifth Sunday in Lent is often known as Passion Sunday. It marks the point where Jesus resolves to return to Jerusalem, despite the fact that he knows that many people in Jerusalem are out to kill him.
So from today our crosses and statues in church are all covered up, and our liturgies start to build towards the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Next week we have Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Then we are into Holy Week which culminates in the all important Triduum; the three days from the evening of Maundy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. In the liturgies that we celebrate on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and on the evening before Easter Sunday we follow Christ’s progress through his passion and death to his glorious resurrection. The liturgies help us to write the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection into our own hearts and to reflect it in our own lives. They are among the most important liturgies in the Church’s year and we hope that you will all try to attend those services and walk with us as we follow Christ through those most holy hours.]
Passion Sunday has a very solemn feel, and it might therefore be surprising that our readings today are all about resurrection and new life.
First of all we had the reading from Ezekiel, where Ezekiel witnesses the whole tribe of Israel rise into new life, from having been simply dry bones scattered round a valley.
Then, from his letter to the Romans, we heard St Paul explain that life and peace come from setting our mind on God, on God’s Holy Spirit. We know that one day our mortal bodies will die, and we can’t do anything about that. But if the Spirit of God dwells in us, if we share in the Spirit of Christ, then, even though our bodies will die, we will continue to have life in the Spirit. And because of this we can have hope, we can even have hope for our bodies. Just as God raised Christ’s body from the dead, so at the second coming of Christ, we too will experience the resurrection of our bodies through the Spirit of God in which we share.
Finally in our gospel reading we heard the story of Lazarus being brought back from the dead. In this story Jesus reveals himself to be the resurrection and the life, and so we can have hope in him.
And this explains why Jesus was able to turn toward Jerusalem and make his way back to Judea, even though he knew that people there wanted to kill him. Jesus knew that he was walking towards his passion and death and he was able to do this because he was the resurrection and the life. The scribes and the Pharisees could do their worst, the devil could throw everything at him, they could even put him death. But Jesus has life within himself. Ultimately he cannot be killed; ultimately he can only conquer death.
And this is supremely encouraging. As Christians we share in the life of Christ through the Spirit. We seek to make that life grow within us always. We can do this by growing in love for God and in love for our brothers and sisters. We can make the life of Christ in us grow by nurturing ourselves on God’s word in the bible, and by receiving Holy Communion. And as we share more deeply in the life of Christ, we come to trust in it more and more. Little by little we realise that all earthly things pass away. Whatever we have to lose or give up to follow Christ, it is worth it, because Christ always gives us more. And the life he shares with us is eternal life and its value is completely beyond measure.
I would like finish by reflecting briefly on the witness given to new life in Christ by persecuted Christians from around the world. Sadly there are still many places where Christians suffer discrimination or outright persecution as they seek to follow Christ. Why do they continue to follow Christ in such circumstances? Well who can say? But it seems that they somehow realise that the life that they have in Christ is of great value, and worth suffering for. This is extraordinary. There is an organisation called Christian Solidarity Worldwide who publish a magazine about persecuted Christians. It can be very inspiring to read their stories and to find out about churches and their situations. It is very humbling to read about the Church in China where there are many persecutions and trials, but where the Church is thriving and growing rapidly. As you leave church this morning you will be offered a free copy of the Response magazine; they are always available at the back of church, and Richard Chillcott is our contact. Do take a magazine away with you, read it and offer prayers for the persecuted church. But whether or not you get a magazine, let’s all show our solidarity with the persecuted church by placing our trust not in earthly things, but in Christ who is the resurrection and the life.
Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year A
Readings: Ezekiel 37:1-14 Romans 8:6-11 John 11:1-45
(Shortened sermon to compensate for long readings)
[The fifth Sunday in Lent is often known as Passion Sunday. It marks the point where Jesus resolves to return to Jerusalem, despite the fact that he knows that many people in Jerusalem are out to kill him.
So from today our crosses and statues in church are all covered up, and our liturgies start to build towards the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. Next week we have Palm Sunday, when we remember Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Then we are into Holy Week which culminates in the all important Triduum; the three days from the evening of Maundy Thursday to the evening of Easter Sunday. In the liturgies that we celebrate on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and on the evening before Easter Sunday we follow Christ’s progress through his passion and death to his glorious resurrection. The liturgies help us to write the pattern of Christ’s death and resurrection into our own hearts and to reflect it in our own lives. They are among the most important liturgies in the Church’s year and we hope that you will all try to attend those services and walk with us as we follow Christ through those most holy hours.]
Passion Sunday has a very solemn feel, and it might therefore be surprising that our readings today are all about resurrection and new life.
First of all we had the reading from Ezekiel, where Ezekiel witnesses the whole tribe of Israel rise into new life, from having been simply dry bones scattered round a valley.
Then, from his letter to the Romans, we heard St Paul explain that life and peace come from setting our mind on God, on God’s Holy Spirit. We know that one day our mortal bodies will die, and we can’t do anything about that. But if the Spirit of God dwells in us, if we share in the Spirit of Christ, then, even though our bodies will die, we will continue to have life in the Spirit. And because of this we can have hope, we can even have hope for our bodies. Just as God raised Christ’s body from the dead, so at the second coming of Christ, we too will experience the resurrection of our bodies through the Spirit of God in which we share.
Finally in our gospel reading we heard the story of Lazarus being brought back from the dead. In this story Jesus reveals himself to be the resurrection and the life, and so we can have hope in him.
And this explains why Jesus was able to turn toward Jerusalem and make his way back to Judea, even though he knew that people there wanted to kill him. Jesus knew that he was walking towards his passion and death and he was able to do this because he was the resurrection and the life. The scribes and the Pharisees could do their worst, the devil could throw everything at him, they could even put him death. But Jesus has life within himself. Ultimately he cannot be killed; ultimately he can only conquer death.
And this is supremely encouraging. As Christians we share in the life of Christ through the Spirit. We seek to make that life grow within us always. We can do this by growing in love for God and in love for our brothers and sisters. We can make the life of Christ in us grow by nurturing ourselves on God’s word in the bible, and by receiving Holy Communion. And as we share more deeply in the life of Christ, we come to trust in it more and more. Little by little we realise that all earthly things pass away. Whatever we have to lose or give up to follow Christ, it is worth it, because Christ always gives us more. And the life he shares with us is eternal life and its value is completely beyond measure.
I would like finish by reflecting briefly on the witness given to new life in Christ by persecuted Christians from around the world. Sadly there are still many places where Christians suffer discrimination or outright persecution as they seek to follow Christ. Why do they continue to follow Christ in such circumstances? Well who can say? But it seems that they somehow realise that the life that they have in Christ is of great value, and worth suffering for. This is extraordinary. There is an organisation called Christian Solidarity Worldwide who publish a magazine about persecuted Christians. It can be very inspiring to read their stories and to find out about churches and their situations. It is very humbling to read about the Church in China where there are many persecutions and trials, but where the Church is thriving and growing rapidly. As you leave church this morning you will be offered a free copy of the Response magazine; they are always available at the back of church, and Richard Chillcott is our contact. Do take a magazine away with you, read it and offer prayers for the persecuted church. But whether or not you get a magazine, let’s all show our solidarity with the persecuted church by placing our trust not in earthly things, but in Christ who is the resurrection and the life.
12 February 2008
Funeral Homily - Abide with me
Preached at Robin Hood Crematorium 1pm on Tuesday 12/02/08.
Reading John 6: 52-59
In a few moments we will be signing ????’s favourite hymn, “Abide with me” and it seems to me that this is a particularly appropriate hymn for her funeral. The words of the first two verses in particular seem to express the sadness of life slowly ebbing away. The darkness deepens, the helpers fail, the comforts flee, joys grow dim, glories pass away and change and decay is all around. Perhaps this is a description of the last decades of ????'s life, as various difficulties became more and more pressing, taking their toll, and causing tremendous problems for friends and relatives. ????'s quality of life was reduced to a very low level until it finally fizzled out. And this might be very depressing.
And yet, paradoxically, "Abide with me" is a hymn of hope. The hymn is a prayer asking the Lord to aside with us, through all the suffering and decay of life slipping away. The hymn expresses a profound trust that through the cross of Jesus we can hope for a new life in heaven, beyond the gloom of our earthly death. “Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies; Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee”. It was precisely because of the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross, that the new life and hope of his resurrection was revealed. And this is our Christian hope which even in these sceptical and agnostic times, we dare to sign about, dare to trust in.
And it seems to me that ????, in particular has grounds for hope. We know that she was deeply involved in the church community; we know that she was a regular communicant, sharing in the bread and wine of Holy Communion; sharing in Christ’s Body and blood. In the reading that we read a few minutes ago we heard Jesus’ promise that those who share in the body and blood of Jesus, share in his eternal life, he abides with them, and he will raise them up on the last day.
So let us give thanks for ????. Let’s us hold up before the Lord the many sufferings of her last years, both those endured by her and those endured by others. And let us trust in the promise of Jesus, that he will abide with her, and raise her up on the last day.
Reading John 6: 52-59
In a few moments we will be signing ????’s favourite hymn, “Abide with me” and it seems to me that this is a particularly appropriate hymn for her funeral. The words of the first two verses in particular seem to express the sadness of life slowly ebbing away. The darkness deepens, the helpers fail, the comforts flee, joys grow dim, glories pass away and change and decay is all around. Perhaps this is a description of the last decades of ????'s life, as various difficulties became more and more pressing, taking their toll, and causing tremendous problems for friends and relatives. ????'s quality of life was reduced to a very low level until it finally fizzled out. And this might be very depressing.
And yet, paradoxically, "Abide with me" is a hymn of hope. The hymn is a prayer asking the Lord to aside with us, through all the suffering and decay of life slipping away. The hymn expresses a profound trust that through the cross of Jesus we can hope for a new life in heaven, beyond the gloom of our earthly death. “Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes; Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies; Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee”. It was precisely because of the suffering and death of Jesus on the cross, that the new life and hope of his resurrection was revealed. And this is our Christian hope which even in these sceptical and agnostic times, we dare to sign about, dare to trust in.
And it seems to me that ????, in particular has grounds for hope. We know that she was deeply involved in the church community; we know that she was a regular communicant, sharing in the bread and wine of Holy Communion; sharing in Christ’s Body and blood. In the reading that we read a few minutes ago we heard Jesus’ promise that those who share in the body and blood of Jesus, share in his eternal life, he abides with them, and he will raise them up on the last day.
So let us give thanks for ????. Let’s us hold up before the Lord the many sufferings of her last years, both those endured by her and those endured by others. And let us trust in the promise of Jesus, that he will abide with her, and raise her up on the last day.
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