Sermon preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 6.30pm, Sunday 18/02/07
Year C – Sunday before Lent
Readings: Deuteronomy 11:18-21&26-28 Romans 1:16-17 & 3:26-28
Over the last week the young people of the UK have been in the news. The main reason has been gun crime; tragically, three teenagers have been killed in separate gun incidents in London. The other big news story featuring young people has been a new UNICEF report, that suggests that the UK has the lowest level of child well being among all of the rich nations of the world. The report suggests that countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic, despite being significantly poorer than the UK, provide much better environments for children and young people to grow up in.
I don’t know about you, but I have been fascinated to watch the political reaction to these two news topics. Tony Blair has discounted the UNICEF report, saying that it is based on out of date data. He has said that the gun crime is not part of a general problem but is a specific difficulty affecting certain young people in parts of London. He proposes tougher laws on young people caught holding illegal firearms. He also wants to see gang membership as a factor to be taken account in sentencing. David Cameron says that he has grown tired of changes to the law, and extra money to finance new initiatives. He emphasises the importance of a change in values so that family life is given higher priority. He wants to see a broader cultural change in which relationships are properly valued.
These two contrasting political positions are very different in their approach to law. Mr Blair believes that the law, or changes to the law, can be used to directly address particular problems in our society. Mr Cameron sees law very differently. He wants the law to concentrate on building a healthier value based culture in our society, so that problems like gun crime do not arise in the first place.
A similar contrast in approach to the law is evident in the two readings that we heard earlier in this service. In the first reading Moses is reminding the Israelites just how important the Law is. In the second reading St Paul is telling us that our salvation comes from faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ, and not by obedience to the Law. We are therefore invited to reflect on the Jewish Law, on law in general and on law as we experience it today.
The first five books of the bible, which Christians often call the Pentateuch, are known by Jews as the Torah, which means “teaching” or “law”. They contain stories like the call of Abraham and the exodus from Egypt, which define the Israelites as God’s chosen people. The five books also contain lots of rules and regulations which God asks the Israelites to live by. These rules and regulations were known as “the law”. In the part of the book of Deuteronomy that we have just read, God’s deal with the Israelites is set out very clearly. The Israelites were to keep all the commandments of the law and if they did then God would bless them and give them possession of the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey, but if they did not follow the ways of the Lord and keep his commandments then they would be cursed and would loose the promised land.
Much of the Old Testament is precisely the story of that deal. The Israelites alternately seem to drift away from God, who strips them of the promised land. Over a period of time they repent, return to God and eventually are returned to the promised land.
When Jesus comes, his attitude towards the law is very interesting. Jesus strongly emphasised the importance some of the underlying principles set out in the law. For example the commandments “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” (Deut 6:5, cf 11:13) and “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev 19:18). Jesus strongly affirmed these principles, saying “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matt 22:40). The law also contained the Ten Commandments and held these as central. Jesus upheld the Ten Commandments and even developed them further. For example, he said, “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, `Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.” (Matt 5:21 see also 5:27).
Jesus lives most of his life in simple obedience to the law. As a baby he was presented in the temple, in accordance with the law. With his disciples, he observed the religious festivals set down in the law. However there are times when Jesus appears to go deliberately against the law. He allows his disciples to pick wheat on the Sabbath, and he works healing miracles on the Sabbath (Matt 12:3-14). Jesus is extremely critical of Pharisees who use the detailed regulations of the law to avoid fulfilling the more central obligation to “honour you father and mother”. He also pronounces all food as “clean” contrary to the detailed regulations (Matt 15:1-20). And yet Jesus remains a strong supporter of the law. He tells us that he has not come to abolish the law, but rather to fulfil it. “Not a single jot or pen stroke of the law will disappear until everything has been accomplished,” he tells us (Matt 5:17-20).
Jesus seems to be telling us how to interpret the law. He is always emphasising that the central obligation is to love God and to be obedient to God’s will. The love of neighbour is another central obligation and these central obligations always take precedence over the detailed regulations. Jesus also emphasises that he himself is of greater significance than the law. “The son of man is the Lord of the Sabbath,” he tells us (Matt 12:8) He also tells us that his disciples are correct not to fast when the bridegroom is still with them, although they will fast when he is gone (Mark 2:19-20).
And it is this point about the overriding value of the person of Christ that Paul makes in the reading that we had from the book of Romans. It is faith in Jesus Christ and in the gospel that brings us righteousness and justification. Paul is at pains to point out that this is true both for Jews, who grew up under the law, and for gentiles, who did not. So where does this leave us in the debate about gun crime, and the well being of children. Well it seems to me that Mr Cameron has a very good point. We should seek to use the law to build a healthy society based on good values, rather than hoping that we can solve our problems through detailed regulations. However the key question for Mr Cameron has to be “What are the underlying values on which this healthy renewed culture is to be based?” Are they solid and enduring Christ like values; love for God, obedience to God’s will and love for neighbour? Or are they based on nothing more substantive than Mr Cameron’s own personal opinions.
Who knows if we will ever find out? In the mean time, however, let’s make sure that we base our own lives on the substantive and solid values that we find in the person of Christ.
19 February 2007
Creation by God's will
Thought for Pew Slip - Sunday 11th February 2007 – Second Sunday before Lent
Readings Genesis 2:4b-9&15-25 Revelation 4 Luke 8:22-25
Today our reading from Revelation presents us with a vision of heaven. There the elders continually worship God saying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
It is all too easy for us to get bogged down thinking about scientific mechanisms and lose sight of the underlying reality that all things come into being because God wills them to be. God’s will is the driving force behind all creation. When Jesus, who is God, commands the winds and the waves, they inevitably obey him.
As human beings we achieve the fullest potential of our creation when we move in harmony with what God wills. We have the capacity to sin, that is to go against the will of God, but this undermines our own being. Rather the way to fullness of life is to follow the path that God wills for us. We do this moment by moment in our daily lives. Let’s use the grace that God gives us in each present moment of our lives to be and do precisely what God wants from us in that moment. This way we make our lives a series of many small steps on the pathway to heaven.
Readings Genesis 2:4b-9&15-25 Revelation 4 Luke 8:22-25
Today our reading from Revelation presents us with a vision of heaven. There the elders continually worship God saying, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”
It is all too easy for us to get bogged down thinking about scientific mechanisms and lose sight of the underlying reality that all things come into being because God wills them to be. God’s will is the driving force behind all creation. When Jesus, who is God, commands the winds and the waves, they inevitably obey him.
As human beings we achieve the fullest potential of our creation when we move in harmony with what God wills. We have the capacity to sin, that is to go against the will of God, but this undermines our own being. Rather the way to fullness of life is to follow the path that God wills for us. We do this moment by moment in our daily lives. Let’s use the grace that God gives us in each present moment of our lives to be and do precisely what God wants from us in that moment. This way we make our lives a series of many small steps on the pathway to heaven.
06 February 2007
Prayer for family life
Evensong prayer
Almighty God, your son Jesus Christ grew up in a human family learning to walk and talk, to read and to think, learning a trade and learning what it is to live a human life. Help us to be good members of our families. Help us to love and serve like the Holy Family of Nazareth, so like them we may help many people on their journey to you. We make out prayer through the same Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Almighty God, your son Jesus Christ grew up in a human family learning to walk and talk, to read and to think, learning a trade and learning what it is to live a human life. Help us to be good members of our families. Help us to love and serve like the Holy Family of Nazareth, so like them we may help many people on their journey to you. We make out prayer through the same Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Prayer for help to keep loving when sufferings come
Prayer for evensong
Heavenly Father, your son’s apostle Paul preached to us the wisdom of Christ crucified. Help us to see and to love the face of Christ crucified in all the sufferings that we meet in our lives, day to day, so that we may know the crucified Christ as the power of God and as the wisdom of God (1Cor 1:24), and may dare to hope in the great inheritance that he has won for us. We make our prayer in the name of the same Lord Jesus Christ and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Heavenly Father, your son’s apostle Paul preached to us the wisdom of Christ crucified. Help us to see and to love the face of Christ crucified in all the sufferings that we meet in our lives, day to day, so that we may know the crucified Christ as the power of God and as the wisdom of God (1Cor 1:24), and may dare to hope in the great inheritance that he has won for us. We make our prayer in the name of the same Lord Jesus Christ and in the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen
04 February 2007
The Wisdom of God
Evensong Sermon 04/02/07
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 6.30pm, Sunday 04/02/07
Year C – Third Sunday before Lent
Readings: Isaiah 58:1-9a 1Cor 2:1-12
Many years ago I attended a Christian conference for young people. We listened to a big speech and then divided into small groups to do some work arising from the speech. I was responsible for leading one of these small groups. In our group there was a particular girl who said that she disagreed with one of the points made in the big speech. She explained what she thought. I thought that he was overlooking something, so I explained this back to her. I can’t remember what I said, but I do remember that I thought it dealt very well with her objection, and I really hoped that she would come to understand the important point that was being made. In stead, of course, I got a flee in my ear, and I suppose really, I might have expected this.
It was a difficult moment. There was no time to continue the conversation because we needed to get on with our tasks. I remember making a little prayer, offering to God the suffering of this gap in understanding and praying for the grace to carry on loving through that suffering. I explained to the girl that we needed to get on with the tasks and we did this as best we could.
A couple of days later the conference came to an end. People were invited to go on stage and share their impressions. To my horror the first person up on stage was this same girl, and she started talking about the incident she had had with me. It turned out that it had been an important moment for her, not at all because of what I said, but rather because she could see that I had faith and she realised that she could have faith too.
I was deeply struck by this. It turned out that I had helped the girl, but in a completely different way from the way which I had intended. The point that she had come to understand concerned faith, and had nothing to do with the words I had used, even though I had thought my words had been quite good. Probably had far more to do with the little prayer and with the intention of continuing to love, despite the suffering of misunderstanding.
In the second reading that we hear today Paul seems to be making a similar point. He says, “I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” In the first three chapters of I Corinthians, Paul’s whole theme is to point out the difference between human wisdom and God’s wisdom. The wisdom of God is the crucified Christ (1 Cor 1:23-24) and is taught to us, not by human wisdom, but by the Spirit (1Cor 2:13). It is not through great arguments that people come to understand the Christian message. Rather it is when Christ is loved in them, and especially when Christ crucified is loved in them.
If only I had known this when I was a student! We used to stay up all night arguing about the existence of God. I used to put all my energy into finding the best arguments. Instead I would have done much better to concentrate on loving the others as Christ loves them, and especially loving them in the suffering of their atheism. This would have communicated much, much more.
And this is very reassuring and liberating. Many of us find it very difficult to articulate our Christian faith. Sometimes it can be very difficult to say anything at all about our Christian life. It seems that even Paul had this problem. In 2Corithians 10:10 we hear that people say “Paul’s letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing”. When we struggle in this way let us remember that it is much more important to love Christ present in the other person, and especially to love Christ crucified, than it is to find the rights words to express our faith. Obviously there is a time for words, but it is love that prepares the ground.
I have referred a few times to loving Christ crucified in the other people. I want to explain what I mean by that. I mean be ready to accept, out of love, the sufferings that arise when we love other people. Perhaps we try to love someone and they snap back at us. Perhaps we try to love someone, but we find them a bit boring, and it really costs us to spend time with them. Perhaps to love someone we have to listen to then properly, and have to hold off talking about ourselves or our agenda. Perhaps loving someone requires us to stand with them and share their grief, when it would be much easier to make an excuse and walk away. The supreme example of this costly love is Jesus, who accepts the hostility and rejection of others, to the point of dying on a cross. Another key example is Mary, who continues to stand by Jesus on the cross, even though she can do nothing to help.
Costly love is also a theme of our first reading from Isaiah. Isaiah is talking about people who seek to draw near to God through fasting. God tells them that the fast required by God is to stop oppressing other people. It is to share your bread with the hungry. It is to share your home with the homeless, to cloth the naked and to spend time with the family. If you do this, then you will experience God’s light and God’s healing and God’s righteousness and his Glory; you will call and he will answer. So says Isaiah (Is 58:6-9a).
These are costly acts of love. Am I ready to share my house with the homeless? I’m not sure that I am. Fortunately God often does not ask this from us. Although it happens, it is relatively rare in Solihull to meet someone who is homeless, or naked or hungry. However it is very common to meet people with prickly personalities, lonely people who need to talk, people who annoy us for one reason or another, and these are the people with whom we can practice loving.
And this leads to real progress on our spiritual journeys. Learning to love even difficult people builds in us the mindsets and values of heaven. We start to build ourselves up in the secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification (1 Cor 2:7). This is the Christian paradox. It is precisely in the cross of Christ, that is so frightening, and unappealing that our true hope lies. So let is cling fast to this hope, which is sure. In our daily lives let us grow in love, by continuing to love through sufferings. In this way we are assured that “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived, what god has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9).
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 6.30pm, Sunday 04/02/07
Year C – Third Sunday before Lent
Readings: Isaiah 58:1-9a 1Cor 2:1-12
Many years ago I attended a Christian conference for young people. We listened to a big speech and then divided into small groups to do some work arising from the speech. I was responsible for leading one of these small groups. In our group there was a particular girl who said that she disagreed with one of the points made in the big speech. She explained what she thought. I thought that he was overlooking something, so I explained this back to her. I can’t remember what I said, but I do remember that I thought it dealt very well with her objection, and I really hoped that she would come to understand the important point that was being made. In stead, of course, I got a flee in my ear, and I suppose really, I might have expected this.
It was a difficult moment. There was no time to continue the conversation because we needed to get on with our tasks. I remember making a little prayer, offering to God the suffering of this gap in understanding and praying for the grace to carry on loving through that suffering. I explained to the girl that we needed to get on with the tasks and we did this as best we could.
A couple of days later the conference came to an end. People were invited to go on stage and share their impressions. To my horror the first person up on stage was this same girl, and she started talking about the incident she had had with me. It turned out that it had been an important moment for her, not at all because of what I said, but rather because she could see that I had faith and she realised that she could have faith too.
I was deeply struck by this. It turned out that I had helped the girl, but in a completely different way from the way which I had intended. The point that she had come to understand concerned faith, and had nothing to do with the words I had used, even though I had thought my words had been quite good. Probably had far more to do with the little prayer and with the intention of continuing to love, despite the suffering of misunderstanding.
In the second reading that we hear today Paul seems to be making a similar point. He says, “I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” In the first three chapters of I Corinthians, Paul’s whole theme is to point out the difference between human wisdom and God’s wisdom. The wisdom of God is the crucified Christ (1 Cor 1:23-24) and is taught to us, not by human wisdom, but by the Spirit (1Cor 2:13). It is not through great arguments that people come to understand the Christian message. Rather it is when Christ is loved in them, and especially when Christ crucified is loved in them.
If only I had known this when I was a student! We used to stay up all night arguing about the existence of God. I used to put all my energy into finding the best arguments. Instead I would have done much better to concentrate on loving the others as Christ loves them, and especially loving them in the suffering of their atheism. This would have communicated much, much more.
And this is very reassuring and liberating. Many of us find it very difficult to articulate our Christian faith. Sometimes it can be very difficult to say anything at all about our Christian life. It seems that even Paul had this problem. In 2Corithians 10:10 we hear that people say “Paul’s letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing”. When we struggle in this way let us remember that it is much more important to love Christ present in the other person, and especially to love Christ crucified, than it is to find the rights words to express our faith. Obviously there is a time for words, but it is love that prepares the ground.
I have referred a few times to loving Christ crucified in the other people. I want to explain what I mean by that. I mean be ready to accept, out of love, the sufferings that arise when we love other people. Perhaps we try to love someone and they snap back at us. Perhaps we try to love someone, but we find them a bit boring, and it really costs us to spend time with them. Perhaps to love someone we have to listen to then properly, and have to hold off talking about ourselves or our agenda. Perhaps loving someone requires us to stand with them and share their grief, when it would be much easier to make an excuse and walk away. The supreme example of this costly love is Jesus, who accepts the hostility and rejection of others, to the point of dying on a cross. Another key example is Mary, who continues to stand by Jesus on the cross, even though she can do nothing to help.
Costly love is also a theme of our first reading from Isaiah. Isaiah is talking about people who seek to draw near to God through fasting. God tells them that the fast required by God is to stop oppressing other people. It is to share your bread with the hungry. It is to share your home with the homeless, to cloth the naked and to spend time with the family. If you do this, then you will experience God’s light and God’s healing and God’s righteousness and his Glory; you will call and he will answer. So says Isaiah (Is 58:6-9a).
These are costly acts of love. Am I ready to share my house with the homeless? I’m not sure that I am. Fortunately God often does not ask this from us. Although it happens, it is relatively rare in Solihull to meet someone who is homeless, or naked or hungry. However it is very common to meet people with prickly personalities, lonely people who need to talk, people who annoy us for one reason or another, and these are the people with whom we can practice loving.
And this leads to real progress on our spiritual journeys. Learning to love even difficult people builds in us the mindsets and values of heaven. We start to build ourselves up in the secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification (1 Cor 2:7). This is the Christian paradox. It is precisely in the cross of Christ, that is so frightening, and unappealing that our true hope lies. So let is cling fast to this hope, which is sure. In our daily lives let us grow in love, by continuing to love through sufferings. In this way we are assured that “No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor heart conceived, what god has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Cor 2:9).
21 January 2007
Christianity and Contemporary Society
Sermon - Christianity and Contemporary Society – Preached at St Alphege on 21/01/07 (Epiphany 3)
Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21
Today I have been asked to preach on the theme of “Christianity and Contemporary Society.” After the service there will be an opportunity to discuss this topic further in room 1 of the OBH. I have never been involved in a post sermon discussion before, but I do think it is a wonderful opportunity. The G4G feedback suggests that in this church we need more opportunities to talk about our faith among ourselves, so I hope that we can make good use of the opportunity we get today. I hope that you will be interested in the topic, and maybe even in the sermon!
So Christianity and Contemporary Society; where to start? Well I think it is important to start by recognising and celebrating some of the great achievements of contemporary Western society. It is all too easy to take these for granted and to forget that many good and wonderful things have been achieved.
For example in the field of healthcare we have come a very long way in the last two hundred years. The same is true of education, democracy, civil rights, equality of women, wealth, housing, safety and security, transport, communications and technology.
In almost any of these fields of activity our present day society in the Western world is incomparably better than almost any other society that has ever existed on this planet. Because we live immersed in these benefits all of the time, it is very easy for us to forget how good it really is. The two years that our family spent living in India certainly helped me to understand that we take many good things for granted, living in the West.
And as well as reminding ourselves just how lucky we are in Western society, I think is important that we recognise that these great achievements of our society are in many ways attributable to Christian culture. And here in lies the rub. Our culture is certainly far less Christian than it used to be. The 2001 census tells us that 70% of the population of the UK still thinks of itself as Christian, but the evidence of this in terms of public life, daily living and Sunday worship is far weaker than it was 50 or 100 years ago.
For example, let’s consider a big feature of Western society today; the problem of consumerism. We all see dozens of advertisements every day. We have endless advertising telling us that we need a new car, a holiday, a better house, or a particular gadget. And these advertisements affect society very profoundly and create needs that become very real. When I was young I lived quite happily with no computers; now I absolutely must have a PC and a laptop!
Whether we like it or not we are consumers. We do want to try out the products that are on the market. We feel we want to experience what the world has to offer. We also find that other people want this too, and we can very quickly start to feel left behind if we are the only people who don’t take a foreign holiday or send our children to dancing lessons. Consequently we work ourselves very hard to sample all the different products and experiences on offer. We start to find that we are very busy, and other things get squeezed out. All to easily it is our relationships that get squeezed out.
How much time and energy do we invest in our relationship with God, or in our family relationships, our church relationships, or our community? I realise that I might be talking to the converted here but we need to be aware of the paradox. Investing in our relationships certainly requires time and effort, but by and large it does not demand money. Nobody sells us our personal relationships. This means that there are no TV ads promoting family life. There are no billboards that tell us to be good neighbours. And yet our personal relationships have far, far more to do with our happiness than the shampoo we use or the electricity supplier we select.
One of the sad, sad things about Western society today is that despite the many huge advantages that we have, there seems to be a general perception that we are much less happy that we were 50 years ago.
In fact, if we watch the television news, or read the papers it becomes easy to fall into fear and despair. What can be done about global warming? How will the problem of Iraq ever be resolved? What should happen about immigration? Will I be mugged by a youth wearing a hoodie? Does God really have anything to do with all this?
It is very important to realise that the modern news media systematically searches out and presents to us the most dramatic, outlandish and disturbing material it can find, because this, it would seem, this boosts newspaper sales and TV ratings. Many important religious events go completely unnoticed by the media, but a religious controversy can be big news. Although we live in dark times, the word is not as dark and confused as we might think from watching the television.
Pope John Paul II famously compared the dark troubles of contemporary Western society with the dark night of the soul sometimes experienced by great saints as they journey towards God. Such saints, and the archetypical example is St John of the Cross, sometimes experience long periods where God seems to be completely absent from their lives. During these periods, which are spiritually very painful and difficult, the saint is forced to trust God in his absence, and to continue growing in love, particularly by developing a love for the cross. And then, sometimes quite suddenly, the dark night ends and God reveals himself back to the saint, who in the mean time has become more perfect in love and more perfectly united to Christ.
I believe that the comparisons with Western society are profound. God seems increasingly absent from our society, but we are called to respond in the same way as the saint. When the time suits him, God will reveal himself again, but in the mean time we must learn to trust and must grow in love. In particular we must grow in love for the cross, accepting with love the sufferings that God sends us. Jesus on the cross is the picture of despair. He is rejected by the people, betrayed and denied by his friends and even feels forsaken by God. Yet he continues to love by forgiving his tormentors. He continues to trust God, commending his spirit to God as he dies. At this point it looks as though everything has been in vain, but the suffering and love cause God to act. The resurrection is revealed, death is conquered and hope is born.
So as we strive to live out our Christianity in this Godless age, let us follow the example of Christ. Let us continue to love, seeking to renew and deepen our personal relationships. Let’s love everyone, even our tormentors. Let us trust God, knowing that he has the power to transform all our failures, weaknesses and doubts. Let’s go forward in confidence, knowing that whatever deaths our contemporary society might be heading for, they will be followed by resurrections which reveal God’s power and renew all things.
Readings: Nehemiah 8:1-3,5-6,8-10, 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a, Luke 4:14-21
Today I have been asked to preach on the theme of “Christianity and Contemporary Society.” After the service there will be an opportunity to discuss this topic further in room 1 of the OBH. I have never been involved in a post sermon discussion before, but I do think it is a wonderful opportunity. The G4G feedback suggests that in this church we need more opportunities to talk about our faith among ourselves, so I hope that we can make good use of the opportunity we get today. I hope that you will be interested in the topic, and maybe even in the sermon!
So Christianity and Contemporary Society; where to start? Well I think it is important to start by recognising and celebrating some of the great achievements of contemporary Western society. It is all too easy to take these for granted and to forget that many good and wonderful things have been achieved.
For example in the field of healthcare we have come a very long way in the last two hundred years. The same is true of education, democracy, civil rights, equality of women, wealth, housing, safety and security, transport, communications and technology.
In almost any of these fields of activity our present day society in the Western world is incomparably better than almost any other society that has ever existed on this planet. Because we live immersed in these benefits all of the time, it is very easy for us to forget how good it really is. The two years that our family spent living in India certainly helped me to understand that we take many good things for granted, living in the West.
And as well as reminding ourselves just how lucky we are in Western society, I think is important that we recognise that these great achievements of our society are in many ways attributable to Christian culture. And here in lies the rub. Our culture is certainly far less Christian than it used to be. The 2001 census tells us that 70% of the population of the UK still thinks of itself as Christian, but the evidence of this in terms of public life, daily living and Sunday worship is far weaker than it was 50 or 100 years ago.
For example, let’s consider a big feature of Western society today; the problem of consumerism. We all see dozens of advertisements every day. We have endless advertising telling us that we need a new car, a holiday, a better house, or a particular gadget. And these advertisements affect society very profoundly and create needs that become very real. When I was young I lived quite happily with no computers; now I absolutely must have a PC and a laptop!
Whether we like it or not we are consumers. We do want to try out the products that are on the market. We feel we want to experience what the world has to offer. We also find that other people want this too, and we can very quickly start to feel left behind if we are the only people who don’t take a foreign holiday or send our children to dancing lessons. Consequently we work ourselves very hard to sample all the different products and experiences on offer. We start to find that we are very busy, and other things get squeezed out. All to easily it is our relationships that get squeezed out.
How much time and energy do we invest in our relationship with God, or in our family relationships, our church relationships, or our community? I realise that I might be talking to the converted here but we need to be aware of the paradox. Investing in our relationships certainly requires time and effort, but by and large it does not demand money. Nobody sells us our personal relationships. This means that there are no TV ads promoting family life. There are no billboards that tell us to be good neighbours. And yet our personal relationships have far, far more to do with our happiness than the shampoo we use or the electricity supplier we select.
One of the sad, sad things about Western society today is that despite the many huge advantages that we have, there seems to be a general perception that we are much less happy that we were 50 years ago.
In fact, if we watch the television news, or read the papers it becomes easy to fall into fear and despair. What can be done about global warming? How will the problem of Iraq ever be resolved? What should happen about immigration? Will I be mugged by a youth wearing a hoodie? Does God really have anything to do with all this?
It is very important to realise that the modern news media systematically searches out and presents to us the most dramatic, outlandish and disturbing material it can find, because this, it would seem, this boosts newspaper sales and TV ratings. Many important religious events go completely unnoticed by the media, but a religious controversy can be big news. Although we live in dark times, the word is not as dark and confused as we might think from watching the television.
Pope John Paul II famously compared the dark troubles of contemporary Western society with the dark night of the soul sometimes experienced by great saints as they journey towards God. Such saints, and the archetypical example is St John of the Cross, sometimes experience long periods where God seems to be completely absent from their lives. During these periods, which are spiritually very painful and difficult, the saint is forced to trust God in his absence, and to continue growing in love, particularly by developing a love for the cross. And then, sometimes quite suddenly, the dark night ends and God reveals himself back to the saint, who in the mean time has become more perfect in love and more perfectly united to Christ.
I believe that the comparisons with Western society are profound. God seems increasingly absent from our society, but we are called to respond in the same way as the saint. When the time suits him, God will reveal himself again, but in the mean time we must learn to trust and must grow in love. In particular we must grow in love for the cross, accepting with love the sufferings that God sends us. Jesus on the cross is the picture of despair. He is rejected by the people, betrayed and denied by his friends and even feels forsaken by God. Yet he continues to love by forgiving his tormentors. He continues to trust God, commending his spirit to God as he dies. At this point it looks as though everything has been in vain, but the suffering and love cause God to act. The resurrection is revealed, death is conquered and hope is born.
So as we strive to live out our Christianity in this Godless age, let us follow the example of Christ. Let us continue to love, seeking to renew and deepen our personal relationships. Let’s love everyone, even our tormentors. Let us trust God, knowing that he has the power to transform all our failures, weaknesses and doubts. Let’s go forward in confidence, knowing that whatever deaths our contemporary society might be heading for, they will be followed by resurrections which reveal God’s power and renew all things.
07 January 2007
Epiphany - Showing Christ to the World
Thought for Pew Slip - 7th January 2007 – Epiphany (trsfd from 6th Jan)
Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12
Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, when Christ is shown to the world. We think especially of the moment when Jesus is shown to the wise men from the East.
I love to imagine that scene in Bethlehem. I imagine the wise men entering the stable and finding themselves in the midst of the holy family, united in mutual love. I imagine that the presence of the baby Jesus filled them with joy and made their hearts burn within them. They understood that they were in the presence of a great king. They knelt, paid homage and gave gifts suitable for a king.
When we gather together in the name of Jesus, then he is present in the midst of us (Matt 18:20). This is especially true when we gather in worship, putting Jesus in the first place and being united in his love, like the holy family. Let us worship like this, obedient to Christ’s command of mutual love (John 13:34, 15:12), so that visitors to our worship will enter into the presence of Christ, just as the wise men did. If we do this then people will recognise and honour the King. We will be making our own little epiphany; showing Christ to the world.
Readings: Isaiah 60:1-6, Ephesians 3:1-12, Matthew 2:1-12
Today we celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, when Christ is shown to the world. We think especially of the moment when Jesus is shown to the wise men from the East.
I love to imagine that scene in Bethlehem. I imagine the wise men entering the stable and finding themselves in the midst of the holy family, united in mutual love. I imagine that the presence of the baby Jesus filled them with joy and made their hearts burn within them. They understood that they were in the presence of a great king. They knelt, paid homage and gave gifts suitable for a king.
When we gather together in the name of Jesus, then he is present in the midst of us (Matt 18:20). This is especially true when we gather in worship, putting Jesus in the first place and being united in his love, like the holy family. Let us worship like this, obedient to Christ’s command of mutual love (John 13:34, 15:12), so that visitors to our worship will enter into the presence of Christ, just as the wise men did. If we do this then people will recognise and honour the King. We will be making our own little epiphany; showing Christ to the world.
02 January 2007
Prayer for forgiveness of sin at a funeral
Almighty God, in your great love you created human beings in your own image and likeness, and you have made us good. Yet we know that there is a part of each one of us that rebels against your love. Free us Heavenly Father from all our sin and help us to walk in your ways.
We pray for our brother now departed, that the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ may cleans him from all sin and free him to live with you in the paradise of eternal life that you have prepared for all who love you. We make our prayer through the same Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We pray for our brother now departed, that the passion and death of our Lord Jesus Christ may cleans him from all sin and free him to live with you in the paradise of eternal life that you have prepared for all who love you. We make our prayer through the same Lord Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
23 December 2006
Mission for an established parish church
It can be useful to think of the influence of a well established parish church as a series of concentric circles. People in the innermost circles have the closest relationship with the church. People in the outermost circles have the least relationship with the church. Notice that people are often held in their relationship with the church through family relationships or through membership of an organisation.
If we are serious about making our church grow then we need to strengthen and grow the Church’s relationship with people in all the circles. Most people who get involved with the church will slowly move from the outer circles inwards. (Of course there are some people who jump straight into the inner circles, but these are the exception rather than the rule.) We should be working to create a general momentum inwards, which really means upwards – towards God.
Gospel love is essential. Our love for God is what draws us upwards. Our love for our neighbour is what holds the tablecloth together. Jesus reminds us that love for God and love for our neighbour are the most important commandments (e.g. Mark
We always have to accept people where they are, and find appropriate ways of building relationships with them. It might be more appropriate to invite people in the outer circles to church social events rather than inviting them to church services. It is people in the middle circles (rather than people in the most central circles) who are most likely to build effective new relationships with people in the outer circles. People in the inner circles should therefore focus their mission efforts on supporting and developing the people in the middle circles, helping the middle circles to help the outer circles. Of course all these circles are only a notional guide; there aren't any real boundaries. We all have important relationships with people in all the circles.
One of the most common mistakes in mission is to neglect the middle circles (who, after all often do not come to church) in order to reach out to the people far away. Too often this results in attempts to jump people into the central circles before they are ready for it. It usually does not work for the people jumped in and it also creates pressure to "dumb down" or "sanitise" the most central circles, weakening the commitment to holiness. It is much more important to maintain a tension towards holiness in the centre and then focus on how people can build better relationships with the people around them.
03 December 2006
Welcoming Jesus
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 9.15 Sunday 03/12/06
Year C – Advent Sunday
Readings: Jer 33:14-16, 1 Thes 3:9-13, Luke 21:25-26
It is Advent Sunday. The first day in the Church’s New Year and the build up to Christmas begins. I say it begins, but if I am honest I have to admit that a fair bit of Christmas preparation has already happened in our house. We have done our Christmas cards early this year, because we wanted to tell people about our change of address. Several Christmas presents have already been bought, a Christmas tree has been ordered and dates have been set aside for extended family get togethers. Last Sunday we had the post communion prayer “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people,” which many people take as a reminder to stir up their Christmas puddings. In our house we don’t need to worry too much about Christmas puddings, because one of or best friends works in a Christmas pudding factory. What we worry about much more is logging onto tesco.com and booking a grocery delivery in one of those precious slots just before Christmas. My wife and I begin to think that a contemporary Advent liturgy needs a collect that implores us to “log on and double click” so that we are reminded to book our pre-Christmas deliveries.
So in our house preparations for the Christmas festivities are well underway. What about or preparations to welcome Jesus? Well, he said, shuffling awkwardly round the pulpit, that is a bit more difficult, isn’t it.
In Advent we prepare ourselves for the arrival of Jesus in two different ways. In one way we are thinking of the baby Jesus who arrives on Christmas day. The baby Jesus is perhaps one of the most attractive ways in which we think about Jesus. The baby is charming and helpless. We love to share the story of the birth of Jesus with our children, and to celebrate it in our families on Christmas Day.
But in Advent we are also thinking about Jesus’ second coming. Every Sunday we say the Nicene creed which includes the phase, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” We are also preparing ourselves for this second coming of Jesus, and in many ways it is a much less comfortable image of Jesus. This time Jesus is no helpless baby, but rather, we will see “The son of Man, coming in a cloud with great power and glory” and that “people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming over the earth.” This is what our gospel reading today told us. In that reading, Jesus emphasizes the importance of being ready for him when he comes. He tells us to be on our guard because the day will come unexpectedly. He tells us not to be distracted by drunkenness or the worries of this life, but rather to stay alert and be prepared.
And although the second coming sounds in many ways very frightening, Jesus does not tell us to be afraid. Rather he says to us, “stand up and to raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” He also tells us to pray that we might “have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”
So, how do we prepare for the coming of Jesus? How do we get ready to stand before the Son of Man? How do we prepare ourselves to greet that baby Jesus? Remember that the helpless baby and the cosmic king are one and the same person; both are Jesus.
I would like to suggest that the best way to prepare to meet Jesus is to meet him and recognise him and value him in our everyday lives. If we become accustomed to meeting Jesus in our everyday lives, then we make ourselves ready to meet Jesus, whether it be Jesus the baby, Jesus the great king, Jesus the teacher or the Jesus who suffers and dies for our sins.
So let us learn to meet Jesus in our everyday lives, to recognise him, welcome him and love him. One outstanding way of meeting Jesus in our everyday lives is by coming to church. Jesus himself promises that where two or more meet together in his name he will be there in the midst of them (Matt 18:20). Let’s also recognise that there is some effort and challenge involved in this. First of all there is the effort of getting to church in the first place. Then there is the effort of meeting lots of different people, most of whom we don’t know very well. Then there is the effort of learning to love the other people, some of whom are very different from us.
Also in church we can meet Jesus in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Jesus is present in the sacrament, and he transforms s when we receive him in this way. So let’s take the trouble to come to the sacrament. Let’s learn to recognise Jesus in the sacrament. If we don’t yet receive the sacrament, let’s have a look at the Just Explore course or at the other ways that the church prepares people to receive the sacrament.
Also in church we meet Jesus in the scripture. The Church sometimes describes Jesus as “the Word made flesh” (John 1:14). Jesus is the things that God has to say, presented as a human being. And so we can practice welcoming Jesus by practicing welcoming God’s word to us in scripture. We have just listened to three scripture readings in this service. If you are anything like me you will have already forgotten just about everything in them, but that’s OK because they are printed on the pew slip so we can read them again during communion or when we get home.
It is best to read the scriptures little and often. When we read the scripture let’s try to open our hearts and our minds to receive Jesus in what we read. To help us do this we can say a little prayer, “Heavenly Father, as I read your scripture today, help me to receive your Word. May your Word enter into me and transform me, so that I become more like Jesus each day. Amen.” Don’t let’s worry too much if we find we don’t understand the scriptures, but rather let us try to receive what the scriptures say to, even if it is rather challenging. Pondering the scriptures readily leads us to prayer, and this is another important way in which we meet Jesus and build our relationship with Jesus.
Finally, and especially in our lives outside of church, let’s try to recognise Jesus in other people. Let’s remember that all people are created in the image and likeness of God. Let’s remember that Jesus told us that whatever we do for one of the least of his brothers is done to him. Let’s practice trying to see Jesus in the other person. Jesus might be very small in that person. He might be terribly disfigured by sin or by misfortune, but surely he is there. If Jesus in me loves Jesus in the other, then Jesus in both of us grows.
So these are some ways of finding Jesus in our everyday lives. If we practice welcoming Jesus in these ways then we will gradually get better at finding and welcoming Jesus. It will become very natural to welcome him. This will stand us in good stead at the second coming. It will also make it very natural for us to welcome the baby Jesus at Christmas with the fullness of joy. Amen.
Year C – Advent Sunday
Readings: Jer 33:14-16, 1 Thes 3:9-13, Luke 21:25-26
It is Advent Sunday. The first day in the Church’s New Year and the build up to Christmas begins. I say it begins, but if I am honest I have to admit that a fair bit of Christmas preparation has already happened in our house. We have done our Christmas cards early this year, because we wanted to tell people about our change of address. Several Christmas presents have already been bought, a Christmas tree has been ordered and dates have been set aside for extended family get togethers. Last Sunday we had the post communion prayer “Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people,” which many people take as a reminder to stir up their Christmas puddings. In our house we don’t need to worry too much about Christmas puddings, because one of or best friends works in a Christmas pudding factory. What we worry about much more is logging onto tesco.com and booking a grocery delivery in one of those precious slots just before Christmas. My wife and I begin to think that a contemporary Advent liturgy needs a collect that implores us to “log on and double click” so that we are reminded to book our pre-Christmas deliveries.
So in our house preparations for the Christmas festivities are well underway. What about or preparations to welcome Jesus? Well, he said, shuffling awkwardly round the pulpit, that is a bit more difficult, isn’t it.
In Advent we prepare ourselves for the arrival of Jesus in two different ways. In one way we are thinking of the baby Jesus who arrives on Christmas day. The baby Jesus is perhaps one of the most attractive ways in which we think about Jesus. The baby is charming and helpless. We love to share the story of the birth of Jesus with our children, and to celebrate it in our families on Christmas Day.
But in Advent we are also thinking about Jesus’ second coming. Every Sunday we say the Nicene creed which includes the phase, “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.” We are also preparing ourselves for this second coming of Jesus, and in many ways it is a much less comfortable image of Jesus. This time Jesus is no helpless baby, but rather, we will see “The son of Man, coming in a cloud with great power and glory” and that “people will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming over the earth.” This is what our gospel reading today told us. In that reading, Jesus emphasizes the importance of being ready for him when he comes. He tells us to be on our guard because the day will come unexpectedly. He tells us not to be distracted by drunkenness or the worries of this life, but rather to stay alert and be prepared.
And although the second coming sounds in many ways very frightening, Jesus does not tell us to be afraid. Rather he says to us, “stand up and to raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” He also tells us to pray that we might “have the strength to escape all these things that will take place and to stand before the Son of Man.”
So, how do we prepare for the coming of Jesus? How do we get ready to stand before the Son of Man? How do we prepare ourselves to greet that baby Jesus? Remember that the helpless baby and the cosmic king are one and the same person; both are Jesus.
I would like to suggest that the best way to prepare to meet Jesus is to meet him and recognise him and value him in our everyday lives. If we become accustomed to meeting Jesus in our everyday lives, then we make ourselves ready to meet Jesus, whether it be Jesus the baby, Jesus the great king, Jesus the teacher or the Jesus who suffers and dies for our sins.
So let us learn to meet Jesus in our everyday lives, to recognise him, welcome him and love him. One outstanding way of meeting Jesus in our everyday lives is by coming to church. Jesus himself promises that where two or more meet together in his name he will be there in the midst of them (Matt 18:20). Let’s also recognise that there is some effort and challenge involved in this. First of all there is the effort of getting to church in the first place. Then there is the effort of meeting lots of different people, most of whom we don’t know very well. Then there is the effort of learning to love the other people, some of whom are very different from us.
Also in church we can meet Jesus in the sacrament of Holy Communion. Jesus is present in the sacrament, and he transforms s when we receive him in this way. So let’s take the trouble to come to the sacrament. Let’s learn to recognise Jesus in the sacrament. If we don’t yet receive the sacrament, let’s have a look at the Just Explore course or at the other ways that the church prepares people to receive the sacrament.
Also in church we meet Jesus in the scripture. The Church sometimes describes Jesus as “the Word made flesh” (John 1:14). Jesus is the things that God has to say, presented as a human being. And so we can practice welcoming Jesus by practicing welcoming God’s word to us in scripture. We have just listened to three scripture readings in this service. If you are anything like me you will have already forgotten just about everything in them, but that’s OK because they are printed on the pew slip so we can read them again during communion or when we get home.
It is best to read the scriptures little and often. When we read the scripture let’s try to open our hearts and our minds to receive Jesus in what we read. To help us do this we can say a little prayer, “Heavenly Father, as I read your scripture today, help me to receive your Word. May your Word enter into me and transform me, so that I become more like Jesus each day. Amen.” Don’t let’s worry too much if we find we don’t understand the scriptures, but rather let us try to receive what the scriptures say to, even if it is rather challenging. Pondering the scriptures readily leads us to prayer, and this is another important way in which we meet Jesus and build our relationship with Jesus.
Finally, and especially in our lives outside of church, let’s try to recognise Jesus in other people. Let’s remember that all people are created in the image and likeness of God. Let’s remember that Jesus told us that whatever we do for one of the least of his brothers is done to him. Let’s practice trying to see Jesus in the other person. Jesus might be very small in that person. He might be terribly disfigured by sin or by misfortune, but surely he is there. If Jesus in me loves Jesus in the other, then Jesus in both of us grows.
So these are some ways of finding Jesus in our everyday lives. If we practice welcoming Jesus in these ways then we will gradually get better at finding and welcoming Jesus. It will become very natural to welcome him. This will stand us in good stead at the second coming. It will also make it very natural for us to welcome the baby Jesus at Christmas with the fullness of joy. Amen.
26 November 2006
The kingship of Christ
Pew Slip Thought – Christ the King – 26th November 2006
Readings: Dan 7:9-10,13-14 Rev 1:4b-8 John 18:33-37
This week we conclude the Church’s year by celebrating “Christ the King”. We are reminded that Christ is enthroned at the right hand of God in heaven, far, far above any earthly power or authority and with all things under his feet (c.f. Eph 1:20-22).
As a teenager I used to worry greatly about the insurmountable problems of the time; the threat of nuclear war, communism, apartheid. In 1985 I heard a speech that expressed confidence that, despite all these terrible problems, the whole of humanity was inevitably moving towards unity, the unity of brother and sisters under one Father in heaven. I could hardly believe it! However, as the years went by, all these insurmountable problems miraculously receded. And so now I do have the courage to believe in the kingship of Christ, the Lord of all history.
Of course, humanity now has a new batch of insurmountable problems to struggle with! There is consumerism, the Middle East and global warming for a start. But let’s place our hope in the kingship of Christ. Let’s work for the day when humanity lives as one family under God. Let’s love our brothers and sisters as God loves them. Let’s be faithful to what God wants from us in each present moment. In this way we can make our contribution to realising on earth the kingship that Christ already lives out in heaven.
Readings: Dan 7:9-10,13-14 Rev 1:4b-8 John 18:33-37
This week we conclude the Church’s year by celebrating “Christ the King”. We are reminded that Christ is enthroned at the right hand of God in heaven, far, far above any earthly power or authority and with all things under his feet (c.f. Eph 1:20-22).
As a teenager I used to worry greatly about the insurmountable problems of the time; the threat of nuclear war, communism, apartheid. In 1985 I heard a speech that expressed confidence that, despite all these terrible problems, the whole of humanity was inevitably moving towards unity, the unity of brother and sisters under one Father in heaven. I could hardly believe it! However, as the years went by, all these insurmountable problems miraculously receded. And so now I do have the courage to believe in the kingship of Christ, the Lord of all history.
Of course, humanity now has a new batch of insurmountable problems to struggle with! There is consumerism, the Middle East and global warming for a start. But let’s place our hope in the kingship of Christ. Let’s work for the day when humanity lives as one family under God. Let’s love our brothers and sisters as God loves them. Let’s be faithful to what God wants from us in each present moment. In this way we can make our contribution to realising on earth the kingship that Christ already lives out in heaven.
07 November 2006
Funeral Homily on Lazarus
Reading John 11:17-27
Jesus knows what it is to suffer the loss of a loved one. Jesus knows what it is to weep. And this is very strange because the story shows us Jesus as the Resurrection and the Life, as the one who conquers death. At the end of this story Jesus calls Lazarus back from the dead and restores him to life once again. But he does not do this until after he has wept, after he has suffered the pain of separation that death brings about.
So as we morn today, let us remember Jesus. Let us welcome him as Martha and Mary did. Let us know that he weeps with us, as he wept for Lazarus. Let us be confident that Jesus is the one who has conquered death. Let us place our hope in Jesus who is the Resurrection and the Life.
22 October 2006
Leadership and Service
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 9.15 and 11am, Sunday 22/10/06
Year B – Trinity 19 (Proper 24)
Readings: Isaiah 53:4-12, Hebrews 5:1-10, Mark 10:35-45
In our gospel reading today Jesus draws a sharp contrast between normal worldly standards of leadership and the kind of leadership that he wants to see in the life of the church. He points out that worldly leaders often lord it over their subjects and act as tyrants. But this is not the kind of leadership that Jesus wants in his church. In the church, he explains, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first must be slave of all.”
We all have leadership roles in the church. For every person in church today there must be at least 10 members of our nominally Christian community who are not in church. We all have a leadership role to these people in particular. So let’s think a little bit about this leadership role, about being a “servant”, being a “slave of all”. What do we understand when Jesus says we must learn to serve? More important; what does Jesus what us to understand? Well let’s think about this by looking at the example that Jesus himself gives us.
First of all Jesus is very clear that being a servant often means doing very practical things that a household servant might do to help the other people. The last supper was perhaps Jesus’ most important gathering with his disciples, and he started the whole evening off by washing their feet, a job which would normally be done by the lowest servant of all (John 13:1-15). After washing the disciples feet, Jesus says, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me Master and Lord and rightly; so I am. If I then, the Lord and Master have washed your feet, you must wash each others feet. I have given you an example that you may copy what I have done for you.”
John starts his account of the washing of the disciples’ feet by saying, “Having loved those who were his in the world, he loved them to the end.” The service of Jesus is therefore an expression of his love for the people around him. It is the desire to do good for them. To want their good, and to do his part in bring about their good.
We see this same attitude of wanting the good of the other in all of Jesus’ works of service. We see it when he healed the sick. We see this attitude in his teaching ministry. His teaching helps people to grow towards God and to build better relationships with one another. So the service of Jesus is always an expression of love. It always seeks the good of the other.
Our reading today from Hebrews drew attention to another aspect of Jesus’ service. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus did not seek to glorify himself by becoming a high priest, but rather he was appointed to that role by God the Father. It is clear from this that the service that Jesus offered to humanity, was offered in obedience to God. It was first and foremost service to God the Father. And if service to our neighbour is a big theme of the New Testament, then service to God is an even bigger theme.
Sometimes there might seem to be a contradiction between the service of God and the service of our neighbour. We might think “Well this Sunday I can either serve God by going to church, or serve my neighbour by going to visit my elderly relative.” In reality however there is no contradiction. If God wants us in church then the best thing we can do is go to church. We must entrust the elderly relative to God, knowing that he loves her and serves her more than we ever can. On the other hand, if God wants us to visit our relative then to avoid that visit by going to church would be going against the service of God. I would like to give another example. I find that if I am saying my prayers and the doorbell rings then it is almost always a sign from God that he wants me to stop my service of God in prayer and go and serve God by serving my visitor.
So there is a complete harmony between the service of God and service of our neighbour. God is present in our neighbour, created our neighbour, has a plan of love for our neighbour and wants their good. If we seek to do what God wants of us in each present moment, then we can do no more than this to properly serve our neighbour.
And this can be very reassuring because it gives meaning and value to many of the very simple and mundane tasks with which we fill our day. I find I spend a lot of time laying tables, washing up and giving lifts to children. Last week we moved house. Consequently I have found myself doing lots of cleaning floors, crawling around attics and crouching behind washing machines. It is wonderful to think that if I am seeking to do what God wants from me, motivated by love, then all these mundane tasks of service become a key part of my Christian life. They become a way of making real progress on my spiritual journey, a way of developing my relationship with God and my neighbour.
I want to mention one final characteristic of Christian service, particularly leadership service, and that is the readiness to accept sufferings out of love for other people. This is completely counter cultural in our present society, but it comes over very strongly in all three of our scripture readings today. It is especially strong in our OT reading from Isaiah. In this very famous and important passage, Yahweh’s suffering servant is “wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities”. This is one of the hallmarks of a true servant of God, and, of course 570 years after it was written it received its supreme fulfilment in the passion and death of Jesus.
So let us not be afraid if we suffer a little as we serve of God and serve our neighbour. If a suffering comes, let’s not assume that we have done something wrong. Rather let us accept these sufferings because they put us in the company of the truly great. God generously rewards his suffering servant in the end and we can discover with St Francis that it is through the cross of Christ that Joy comes into the world.
So if we can learn to serve like Jesus in all these different ways then we can become great leaders in the church. “However wishes to be great among you must be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Year B – Trinity 19 (Proper 24)
Readings: Isaiah 53:4-12, Hebrews 5:1-10, Mark 10:35-45
In our gospel reading today Jesus draws a sharp contrast between normal worldly standards of leadership and the kind of leadership that he wants to see in the life of the church. He points out that worldly leaders often lord it over their subjects and act as tyrants. But this is not the kind of leadership that Jesus wants in his church. In the church, he explains, “Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first must be slave of all.”
We all have leadership roles in the church. For every person in church today there must be at least 10 members of our nominally Christian community who are not in church. We all have a leadership role to these people in particular. So let’s think a little bit about this leadership role, about being a “servant”, being a “slave of all”. What do we understand when Jesus says we must learn to serve? More important; what does Jesus what us to understand? Well let’s think about this by looking at the example that Jesus himself gives us.
First of all Jesus is very clear that being a servant often means doing very practical things that a household servant might do to help the other people. The last supper was perhaps Jesus’ most important gathering with his disciples, and he started the whole evening off by washing their feet, a job which would normally be done by the lowest servant of all (John 13:1-15). After washing the disciples feet, Jesus says, “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me Master and Lord and rightly; so I am. If I then, the Lord and Master have washed your feet, you must wash each others feet. I have given you an example that you may copy what I have done for you.”
John starts his account of the washing of the disciples’ feet by saying, “Having loved those who were his in the world, he loved them to the end.” The service of Jesus is therefore an expression of his love for the people around him. It is the desire to do good for them. To want their good, and to do his part in bring about their good.
We see this same attitude of wanting the good of the other in all of Jesus’ works of service. We see it when he healed the sick. We see this attitude in his teaching ministry. His teaching helps people to grow towards God and to build better relationships with one another. So the service of Jesus is always an expression of love. It always seeks the good of the other.
Our reading today from Hebrews drew attention to another aspect of Jesus’ service. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus did not seek to glorify himself by becoming a high priest, but rather he was appointed to that role by God the Father. It is clear from this that the service that Jesus offered to humanity, was offered in obedience to God. It was first and foremost service to God the Father. And if service to our neighbour is a big theme of the New Testament, then service to God is an even bigger theme.
Sometimes there might seem to be a contradiction between the service of God and the service of our neighbour. We might think “Well this Sunday I can either serve God by going to church, or serve my neighbour by going to visit my elderly relative.” In reality however there is no contradiction. If God wants us in church then the best thing we can do is go to church. We must entrust the elderly relative to God, knowing that he loves her and serves her more than we ever can. On the other hand, if God wants us to visit our relative then to avoid that visit by going to church would be going against the service of God. I would like to give another example. I find that if I am saying my prayers and the doorbell rings then it is almost always a sign from God that he wants me to stop my service of God in prayer and go and serve God by serving my visitor.
So there is a complete harmony between the service of God and service of our neighbour. God is present in our neighbour, created our neighbour, has a plan of love for our neighbour and wants their good. If we seek to do what God wants of us in each present moment, then we can do no more than this to properly serve our neighbour.
And this can be very reassuring because it gives meaning and value to many of the very simple and mundane tasks with which we fill our day. I find I spend a lot of time laying tables, washing up and giving lifts to children. Last week we moved house. Consequently I have found myself doing lots of cleaning floors, crawling around attics and crouching behind washing machines. It is wonderful to think that if I am seeking to do what God wants from me, motivated by love, then all these mundane tasks of service become a key part of my Christian life. They become a way of making real progress on my spiritual journey, a way of developing my relationship with God and my neighbour.
I want to mention one final characteristic of Christian service, particularly leadership service, and that is the readiness to accept sufferings out of love for other people. This is completely counter cultural in our present society, but it comes over very strongly in all three of our scripture readings today. It is especially strong in our OT reading from Isaiah. In this very famous and important passage, Yahweh’s suffering servant is “wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities”. This is one of the hallmarks of a true servant of God, and, of course 570 years after it was written it received its supreme fulfilment in the passion and death of Jesus.
So let us not be afraid if we suffer a little as we serve of God and serve our neighbour. If a suffering comes, let’s not assume that we have done something wrong. Rather let us accept these sufferings because they put us in the company of the truly great. God generously rewards his suffering servant in the end and we can discover with St Francis that it is through the cross of Christ that Joy comes into the world.
So if we can learn to serve like Jesus in all these different ways then we can become great leaders in the church. “However wishes to be great among you must be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
15 October 2006
Can the rich enter the kingdom of God?
Thought for Pew Slip – 15th October 2006
Readings: Amos 5:6-7,10-15 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31
In our gospel reading today Jesus reflects, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God”. This is very disturbing for us in Western Europe because we live in a very wealthy society. What can we do about this?
I suggest that we make sure that we practice the core skills of “giving”, “receiving” and “sharing” because we will need these skills to enter the kingdom of heaven. Let’s practice giving generously as a service to others. Let’s give with love, overcoming our tendencies to hoard and our desire to remain in control. Let’s not be too proud to receive gracefully and to give thanks. Let’s practice receiving other people; putting aside our own ideas and concerns in order to properly take on board what the other person wants to say to us. Let’s try to share as much as possible with other people; not only goods, skills and talents but also hopes, fears, sorrows and joys.
If we can get good at these core skills then all God’s good gifts start to circulate freely among us, benefiting everyone. This transforms us into equal members of one family under God. It gets us ready to enter the kingdom of God.
Readings: Amos 5:6-7,10-15 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31
In our gospel reading today Jesus reflects, “How hard it will be for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God”. This is very disturbing for us in Western Europe because we live in a very wealthy society. What can we do about this?
I suggest that we make sure that we practice the core skills of “giving”, “receiving” and “sharing” because we will need these skills to enter the kingdom of heaven. Let’s practice giving generously as a service to others. Let’s give with love, overcoming our tendencies to hoard and our desire to remain in control. Let’s not be too proud to receive gracefully and to give thanks. Let’s practice receiving other people; putting aside our own ideas and concerns in order to properly take on board what the other person wants to say to us. Let’s try to share as much as possible with other people; not only goods, skills and talents but also hopes, fears, sorrows and joys.
If we can get good at these core skills then all God’s good gifts start to circulate freely among us, benefiting everyone. This transforms us into equal members of one family under God. It gets us ready to enter the kingdom of God.
11 October 2006
Prayer for Healing in Relationships
Heavenly Father,
We hold up before you all our difficult relationships.
We offer to you all the problems and complications that they cause us.
Heavenly Father, your son Jesus suffered terribly through his cross and passion so than our relationship with you might be healed. Help us to be ready to suffer a little so that our own relationships with one another might be also healed.
We make our prayer in Jesus' name and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
We hold up before you all our difficult relationships.
We offer to you all the problems and complications that they cause us.
Heavenly Father, your son Jesus suffered terribly through his cross and passion so than our relationship with you might be healed. Help us to be ready to suffer a little so that our own relationships with one another might be also healed.
We make our prayer in Jesus' name and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
08 October 2006
Mission
Preached at St Alphege, Solihull, 6.30pm Evensong, Sunday 08/10/06
Trinity 17 (Proper 22) - Evensong
Readings: Joshua 3:7-17 Matt 10:1-22
Our gospel reading today came from Matthew Chapter 10, which is Matthew’s Handbook for Mission. In this parish, as we think more about “Going for Growth” we find that we are thinking more and more about mission, so the gospel reading is particularly appropriate for us. With this in mind I would like to offer you a few reflections about our own mission, and on how today’s gospel reading might help us.
In this gospel reading Jesus gives the disciples special authority and sends them out to proclaim the message, “The kingdom of God is near”. The word “Mission” means “Sending” so when we think about mission we are thinking about the things God wants us to do as he sends us out into the world. We often think of mission as proclaiming the gospel and to converting souls to Christ. Certainly this is part of it. However, first and foremost mission has to be about love and practical service to our fellow human beings. Jesus does not simply tell the disciples to proclaim the kingdom. He also tells them do some important acts of practical service. He says, “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Probably it was because the disciples were unusually good at doing these very difficult things that the people wanted to listen to their message.
I don’t know about you, but my personal track record on healing the sick and raising the dead is not all that impressive! Certainly it is not as good as the NHS’s. However I can find lots of other ways (all be they much less dramatic) of loving and serving the people around me. It is very important that I always practice loving and serving the people around me, before I start to talk about the gospel. If I am not loving and serving then my message about Christ has no credibility.
One important thing to note about the mission of the twelve disciples is that it was requested by Jesus and done out of love for Jesus. It was Jesus himself who sent them, and Jesus who gave them their instructions. This is very important. We have to do the mission that Jesus asks from us. Not the one that sounds glamorous or the one that looks important. Not the one that we feel “ought” to be done, because of some worry or because of guilt. No, we need to be attentive to what God asks personally of us, through our prayer life and by listening to the people around us. God calls each one of us, and has a mission for each one of us. In each present moment we need to discover what it is.
Another point is that God provides us with the grace necessary to do what he wants from us, just as he provided the disciples with the authority to drive out evil spirits to heal the sick and to raise the dead. We must not worry about our mission, but rather we must trust in God’s grace and use the gifts that he gives us. Jesus tells the disciples, “Take no gold or silver or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals or a staff; for labourers deserve their food.” (Matt 10:9-10). This phrase totally inspired St Francis 800 years ago. He realised that God was calling him to take the phase completely literally and start a new life as a wondering preacher. Must of us are not called to that, be we are called to move forward trusting that God will take care of his servants and not worrying too much about the different things that we need. (E.g. Matt 6:25-33)
Who were the disciples sent to? They were sent out to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Only much later was the church sent out to the Samaritans and the Gentiles. This is very characteristic of the mission of God. We are usually sent out to love and serve the people closest to us first; our family, our local community, the friends that we see regularly, the people we meet at work or at the school gate. God might call us on to other things later, but how can be the love of God for someone far away, if we have not first been the love of God for the people who are near?
Jesus says to the disciples, “You received without payment; give without payment.” This is very important. Our mission is at its best when we simply want to share the good news and the love that has been freely given to us. It is because we are loved by God that we seek to love others. It is because Jesus came to serve us that we want to serve other people. It is because we are grateful for our knowledge of the gospel that we want to share the gospel with others.
And sometimes this can be difficult. Perhaps we don’t feel loved by God. Perhaps we experience our Christianity as a burden rather than as a joy. If this is the case then we need to keep reminding ourselves of God’s great love for us, that he created us out of love, that he calls us to a great destiny in heaven, that he forgives us always, and that Jesus died on the cross so that our sin could be overcome. As Fr Patrick has suggested in today’s pew sheet, we need to practice saying “Thank you” to God for all the good things we receive. Reminding ourselves of God’s love and saying, “Thank you” helps us to see things from God’s perspective and helps us to realise how blessed we are. Of course the more blessed we feel, the easier it is to share our blessings with others.
So lets quickly summarise.
Mission means sending. Just as God calls us to himself, so he sends us out to love and serve others and to spread the good news of his kingdom. We do the mission that God wants from us, as part of our love for God. God provides the grace that we need for mission. We do it trusting in God rather than in our own strength. Usually our mission is first to the people immediately around us, and then later to those further away. Finally, our mission is at its best when we simply want to share the good news and the love that has been freely given to us. If we can remember these things then it will stand us in good stead for “Going for Growth”.
Trinity 17 (Proper 22) - Evensong
Readings: Joshua 3:7-17 Matt 10:1-22
Our gospel reading today came from Matthew Chapter 10, which is Matthew’s Handbook for Mission. In this parish, as we think more about “Going for Growth” we find that we are thinking more and more about mission, so the gospel reading is particularly appropriate for us. With this in mind I would like to offer you a few reflections about our own mission, and on how today’s gospel reading might help us.
In this gospel reading Jesus gives the disciples special authority and sends them out to proclaim the message, “The kingdom of God is near”. The word “Mission” means “Sending” so when we think about mission we are thinking about the things God wants us to do as he sends us out into the world. We often think of mission as proclaiming the gospel and to converting souls to Christ. Certainly this is part of it. However, first and foremost mission has to be about love and practical service to our fellow human beings. Jesus does not simply tell the disciples to proclaim the kingdom. He also tells them do some important acts of practical service. He says, “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons.” Probably it was because the disciples were unusually good at doing these very difficult things that the people wanted to listen to their message.
I don’t know about you, but my personal track record on healing the sick and raising the dead is not all that impressive! Certainly it is not as good as the NHS’s. However I can find lots of other ways (all be they much less dramatic) of loving and serving the people around me. It is very important that I always practice loving and serving the people around me, before I start to talk about the gospel. If I am not loving and serving then my message about Christ has no credibility.
One important thing to note about the mission of the twelve disciples is that it was requested by Jesus and done out of love for Jesus. It was Jesus himself who sent them, and Jesus who gave them their instructions. This is very important. We have to do the mission that Jesus asks from us. Not the one that sounds glamorous or the one that looks important. Not the one that we feel “ought” to be done, because of some worry or because of guilt. No, we need to be attentive to what God asks personally of us, through our prayer life and by listening to the people around us. God calls each one of us, and has a mission for each one of us. In each present moment we need to discover what it is.
Another point is that God provides us with the grace necessary to do what he wants from us, just as he provided the disciples with the authority to drive out evil spirits to heal the sick and to raise the dead. We must not worry about our mission, but rather we must trust in God’s grace and use the gifts that he gives us. Jesus tells the disciples, “Take no gold or silver or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals or a staff; for labourers deserve their food.” (Matt 10:9-10). This phrase totally inspired St Francis 800 years ago. He realised that God was calling him to take the phase completely literally and start a new life as a wondering preacher. Must of us are not called to that, be we are called to move forward trusting that God will take care of his servants and not worrying too much about the different things that we need. (E.g. Matt 6:25-33)
Who were the disciples sent to? They were sent out to the “lost sheep of the house of Israel”. Only much later was the church sent out to the Samaritans and the Gentiles. This is very characteristic of the mission of God. We are usually sent out to love and serve the people closest to us first; our family, our local community, the friends that we see regularly, the people we meet at work or at the school gate. God might call us on to other things later, but how can be the love of God for someone far away, if we have not first been the love of God for the people who are near?
Jesus says to the disciples, “You received without payment; give without payment.” This is very important. Our mission is at its best when we simply want to share the good news and the love that has been freely given to us. It is because we are loved by God that we seek to love others. It is because Jesus came to serve us that we want to serve other people. It is because we are grateful for our knowledge of the gospel that we want to share the gospel with others.
And sometimes this can be difficult. Perhaps we don’t feel loved by God. Perhaps we experience our Christianity as a burden rather than as a joy. If this is the case then we need to keep reminding ourselves of God’s great love for us, that he created us out of love, that he calls us to a great destiny in heaven, that he forgives us always, and that Jesus died on the cross so that our sin could be overcome. As Fr Patrick has suggested in today’s pew sheet, we need to practice saying “Thank you” to God for all the good things we receive. Reminding ourselves of God’s love and saying, “Thank you” helps us to see things from God’s perspective and helps us to realise how blessed we are. Of course the more blessed we feel, the easier it is to share our blessings with others.
So lets quickly summarise.
Mission means sending. Just as God calls us to himself, so he sends us out to love and serve others and to spread the good news of his kingdom. We do the mission that God wants from us, as part of our love for God. God provides the grace that we need for mission. We do it trusting in God rather than in our own strength. Usually our mission is first to the people immediately around us, and then later to those further away. Finally, our mission is at its best when we simply want to share the good news and the love that has been freely given to us. If we can remember these things then it will stand us in good stead for “Going for Growth”.
01 October 2006
The journey to heaven
Sermon 01/10/06 – Year B – Trinity 16 (Proper 21)
Preached at Solihull School 6.30pm Eucharist, Sunday 01/10/06
Readings: Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50
In our gospel reading today Jesus is at his most radical. He says, “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; for it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell…if your foot causes you to stumble cut it off…if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. This is violent language… extremely challenging.
Well fortunately for us, it is clear that Jesus does not literally want us to go around chopping off bits of our anatomy every time we sin. If I personally were to have taken literally these words of Jesus I would be standing before today with no hands. In fact, I don’t really think I would be standing at all because at some point I would have had to have chopped my feet off. In fact, I think it would be even worse than that; surely by now I would have chopped my own head off!
But God does not want us to respond to our own sin with self-hatred and self-mutilation. Instead we are called to admit our sins, and to trust in the saving power of Christ’s cross and passion. Admitting our sins can be a painful business. It means owning up to the pain and suffering that we have caused to God and other people through our selfishness. Fortunately God is always more ready to forgive us than we are ready to forgive ourselves. God always loves us and is full of mercy. He understands our failings better than we do ourselves. However bad we are, God always calls us to draw closer to him, leaving our selfish ways behind. Whether we are aware of it or not, each of us is on a journey towards God. We too have to love ourselves and forgive ourselves and entrust to God’s great mercy those bits of ourselves which keep going wrong.
But let’s go back to the words of Jesus. “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; for it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell.” These words should not be taken literally, but they remain very important. In fact they are repeated three times in the different parts of the gospels and we need to take them very seriously.
Jesus wants to make the point that some things are just far, far more important than others. The question of whether we are going to heaven or to hell is just far, far more important than how many hands we have, or how many feet we have. We need to keep things in their proper perspective. We need to remember that we are on a journey towards God, towards heaven. We need to adopt attitudes and behaviours that will help us on that journey. We need to leave behind the attitudes and behaviours that hinder our progress.
In the society that we live in today it is all too easy to lose that perspective; to forget that we are on a journey towards heaven. We are continually bombarded with TV adverts telling us we need to spend money on our own comfort and pleasure in this life. Modern medicine has become so effective that, compared to previous generations, we seldom have to think about the death of people who are not already old. Our lives are very busy and very pressurised. It is hard to find the time to stand back from it all and get a proper perspective. It is hard to find time to come to church, or to spend time with the family or to pray, or indeed to do any of the things that remind us of our journey towards heaven.
So let’s spend a moment thinking about heaven. What will it be like? What do we know about heaven? Of course, in many ways we don’t know very much about it. I always imagine that there will be lots of singing. Sitting in the pews in this chapel and listening to the anthems that the choirs sing is, I always think, one way of preparing myself for heaven. Jesus tells us something about heaven in the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father, who art in heaven.” One thing we know about heaven is that God will be there. We will dwell in the presence of God; God who made us and loved us and brought us to fulfilment. The Lord’s Prayer continues, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So heaven is the place where God’s will is done, where we move in perfect harmony with God’s plan for us. In heaven we will move in perfect harmony with God and with one another. Our love for one another and for God will be so perfect that we will not hurt each other any more in any way. Nothing will be hidden. There will be no secret agendas. All sins will have been forgiven, so that they no longer damage our relationship with God, or our relationships with the other citizens of heaven. There will be perfect peace.
And at this point we might become disheartened. Are we ready to dwell in the presence of God? Are we ready to live according to “Thy will be done”? Do we really want to be obedient to God’s plan for us? Is it possible for us to have perfect relationships with the people around us? Probably we are not yet ready for this. Probably there is a lot more journeying to be done before we are ready for life in heaven. But God most emphatically wants every one of us to reach heaven. Let us trust in Him, and walk the journey he has planned for us. His grace is sufficient to cover all our shortcomings.
So how do we walk the journey towards heaven? We do this by practising to live the life of heaven while we continue living here on earth. So how do we do that? Well firstly we can practise standing in the presence of God. We can do this in prayer, and by coming to church where we receive God’s presence in Word and Sacrament. Second we can practice being obedient to God’s plan for us. Our own plans can never fulfil us like God’s plan. Let’s serve God in the way that he wants to be served, not in the way that we want to serve. Thirdly let’s try to live in harmony with the people around us. Let us try to love them as God loves them. Let is try to love all the people around us, even the once we instinctively don’t like, even the ones we think of an enemies. Let’s be prepared to suffer for one another, as Christ suffered for us. Let’s pray that God will help us to live this life of love, that he will help us to forgive the things which need to be forgiven and that he will help us to start again when we get it all wrong.
When we love, we are sharing in the life of God and we get to know God. We start, while here on earth, to live the life of heaven. We start to understand heaven better and to believe in it more fully. What is more, this is the life that does not die, the life that survives our earthly death. Truly, loving as God loves is the best way to journey towards heaven.
Preached at Solihull School 6.30pm Eucharist, Sunday 01/10/06
Readings: Numbers 11:4-6,10-16,24-29 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50
In our gospel reading today Jesus is at his most radical. He says, “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; for it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell…if your foot causes you to stumble cut it off…if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell. This is violent language… extremely challenging.
Well fortunately for us, it is clear that Jesus does not literally want us to go around chopping off bits of our anatomy every time we sin. If I personally were to have taken literally these words of Jesus I would be standing before today with no hands. In fact, I don’t really think I would be standing at all because at some point I would have had to have chopped my feet off. In fact, I think it would be even worse than that; surely by now I would have chopped my own head off!
But God does not want us to respond to our own sin with self-hatred and self-mutilation. Instead we are called to admit our sins, and to trust in the saving power of Christ’s cross and passion. Admitting our sins can be a painful business. It means owning up to the pain and suffering that we have caused to God and other people through our selfishness. Fortunately God is always more ready to forgive us than we are ready to forgive ourselves. God always loves us and is full of mercy. He understands our failings better than we do ourselves. However bad we are, God always calls us to draw closer to him, leaving our selfish ways behind. Whether we are aware of it or not, each of us is on a journey towards God. We too have to love ourselves and forgive ourselves and entrust to God’s great mercy those bits of ourselves which keep going wrong.
But let’s go back to the words of Jesus. “If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; for it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell.” These words should not be taken literally, but they remain very important. In fact they are repeated three times in the different parts of the gospels and we need to take them very seriously.
Jesus wants to make the point that some things are just far, far more important than others. The question of whether we are going to heaven or to hell is just far, far more important than how many hands we have, or how many feet we have. We need to keep things in their proper perspective. We need to remember that we are on a journey towards God, towards heaven. We need to adopt attitudes and behaviours that will help us on that journey. We need to leave behind the attitudes and behaviours that hinder our progress.
In the society that we live in today it is all too easy to lose that perspective; to forget that we are on a journey towards heaven. We are continually bombarded with TV adverts telling us we need to spend money on our own comfort and pleasure in this life. Modern medicine has become so effective that, compared to previous generations, we seldom have to think about the death of people who are not already old. Our lives are very busy and very pressurised. It is hard to find the time to stand back from it all and get a proper perspective. It is hard to find time to come to church, or to spend time with the family or to pray, or indeed to do any of the things that remind us of our journey towards heaven.
So let’s spend a moment thinking about heaven. What will it be like? What do we know about heaven? Of course, in many ways we don’t know very much about it. I always imagine that there will be lots of singing. Sitting in the pews in this chapel and listening to the anthems that the choirs sing is, I always think, one way of preparing myself for heaven. Jesus tells us something about heaven in the Lord’s Prayer. “Our Father, who art in heaven.” One thing we know about heaven is that God will be there. We will dwell in the presence of God; God who made us and loved us and brought us to fulfilment. The Lord’s Prayer continues, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” So heaven is the place where God’s will is done, where we move in perfect harmony with God’s plan for us. In heaven we will move in perfect harmony with God and with one another. Our love for one another and for God will be so perfect that we will not hurt each other any more in any way. Nothing will be hidden. There will be no secret agendas. All sins will have been forgiven, so that they no longer damage our relationship with God, or our relationships with the other citizens of heaven. There will be perfect peace.
And at this point we might become disheartened. Are we ready to dwell in the presence of God? Are we ready to live according to “Thy will be done”? Do we really want to be obedient to God’s plan for us? Is it possible for us to have perfect relationships with the people around us? Probably we are not yet ready for this. Probably there is a lot more journeying to be done before we are ready for life in heaven. But God most emphatically wants every one of us to reach heaven. Let us trust in Him, and walk the journey he has planned for us. His grace is sufficient to cover all our shortcomings.
So how do we walk the journey towards heaven? We do this by practising to live the life of heaven while we continue living here on earth. So how do we do that? Well firstly we can practise standing in the presence of God. We can do this in prayer, and by coming to church where we receive God’s presence in Word and Sacrament. Second we can practice being obedient to God’s plan for us. Our own plans can never fulfil us like God’s plan. Let’s serve God in the way that he wants to be served, not in the way that we want to serve. Thirdly let’s try to live in harmony with the people around us. Let us try to love them as God loves them. Let is try to love all the people around us, even the once we instinctively don’t like, even the ones we think of an enemies. Let’s be prepared to suffer for one another, as Christ suffered for us. Let’s pray that God will help us to live this life of love, that he will help us to forgive the things which need to be forgiven and that he will help us to start again when we get it all wrong.
When we love, we are sharing in the life of God and we get to know God. We start, while here on earth, to live the life of heaven. We start to understand heaven better and to believe in it more fully. What is more, this is the life that does not die, the life that survives our earthly death. Truly, loving as God loves is the best way to journey towards heaven.
10 September 2006
Prayers written for Scout Camp
Heavenly Father
We thank you for bringing us here to this Group Camp.
We thank you for the opportunity to worship you now.
We thank you for all the things that we like about camp;
the activities we have enjoyed, the people we like being with.
Also, we hold up before you the things which we have found difficult, the things we have found challenging and scary.
We pray that you will take all these things and use them to draw us closer to you.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father,
We thank for this new day.
We thank you for all the things we can do today, and all the people we can meet.
We pray that this day we might see your love for us in all the things that we do and in all the people that we meet.
Help us to agents of your love for other people in everything we do and say today.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father
We know that in your great love you created us in your image and likeness and made us good.
Despite this we know that we sometimes do things which are bad; things which spoil the wonder of your creation in us and in other people.
We are sorry Lord that we do these things.
We thank you that Jesus died to set us free from all evil.
We pray that You will help us to live in harmony with other people and with all your creation, so that we grow to become what you truly made us to be, and so that we can attain the fullness of happiness that you so want us to have.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
We thank you for bringing us here to this Group Camp.
We thank you for the opportunity to worship you now.
We thank you for all the things that we like about camp;
the activities we have enjoyed, the people we like being with.
Also, we hold up before you the things which we have found difficult, the things we have found challenging and scary.
We pray that you will take all these things and use them to draw us closer to you.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father,
We thank for this new day.
We thank you for all the things we can do today, and all the people we can meet.
We pray that this day we might see your love for us in all the things that we do and in all the people that we meet.
Help us to agents of your love for other people in everything we do and say today.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
Heavenly Father
We know that in your great love you created us in your image and likeness and made us good.
Despite this we know that we sometimes do things which are bad; things which spoil the wonder of your creation in us and in other people.
We are sorry Lord that we do these things.
We thank you that Jesus died to set us free from all evil.
We pray that You will help us to live in harmony with other people and with all your creation, so that we grow to become what you truly made us to be, and so that we can attain the fullness of happiness that you so want us to have.
Lord in your mercy, Hear our prayer
03 September 2006
Prayers for Evensong - 3rd September 2006
Almighty and everlasting God, the only worker of great marvels, send down upon our bishops and other pastors and all congregations committed to their care the spirit of your saving grace.
On this day especially O Lord, we pray for Fr Stuart, giving thanks for his ministry with us here in Solihull, and praying for his future ministry in Handsworth and elsewhere.
We pray that the same ministers and congregations may truly please you, pour upon them the continual dew of your blessing.Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our advocate and mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.
[Based on Book of Common Prayer “A Prayer for Clergy and People” at the end of Evening Prayer.]
Almighty God,
We know that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Prov 9:10)
Bless, we pray, all students and teachers at this time.
Be close to them as the schools reopen this week.
Grant that their experience of learning may draw them ever closer to Christ
in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:3)
We make our prayer through that same Jesus Christ our saviour
and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord Jesus, you assured us that the peacemakers are blessed,
that they will be called children of God.
We pray for all those working for peace today,
especially those in the Middle East.
We remember before you O, Lord
the British servicemen who have died in Afghanistan today.
May they be worthy of the great blessings that you have won for them,
and may the Almighty Father receive them as his children.
We pray also for their families and friends; that all who mourn may be comforted.
We pray to the same Almighty Father, in your name and in the power of the Spirit. Amen.
[Based on Matt 5:1-12]
Lord Jesus, you have told us that we are blessed
when we are meek and merciful and pure of heart.
Grant us a true believe in the values of heaven
and help us to grow always into these values
as we work for your kingdom on earth,
In this way, may we be made ready to receive your mercy,
your inheritance, the sight of God
And all those great gifts which you so desire to give us.
In the power of the Spirit we pray in your name to the Father. Amen.
[Based on Matt 5:1-12]
On this day especially O Lord, we pray for Fr Stuart, giving thanks for his ministry with us here in Solihull, and praying for his future ministry in Handsworth and elsewhere.
We pray that the same ministers and congregations may truly please you, pour upon them the continual dew of your blessing.Grant this, O Lord, for the honour of our advocate and mediator, Jesus Christ. Amen.
[Based on Book of Common Prayer “A Prayer for Clergy and People” at the end of Evening Prayer.]
Almighty God,
We know that the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Prov 9:10)
Bless, we pray, all students and teachers at this time.
Be close to them as the schools reopen this week.
Grant that their experience of learning may draw them ever closer to Christ
in whom is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col 2:3)
We make our prayer through that same Jesus Christ our saviour
and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Lord Jesus, you assured us that the peacemakers are blessed,
that they will be called children of God.
We pray for all those working for peace today,
especially those in the Middle East.
We remember before you O, Lord
the British servicemen who have died in Afghanistan today.
May they be worthy of the great blessings that you have won for them,
and may the Almighty Father receive them as his children.
We pray also for their families and friends; that all who mourn may be comforted.
We pray to the same Almighty Father, in your name and in the power of the Spirit. Amen.
[Based on Matt 5:1-12]
Lord Jesus, you have told us that we are blessed
when we are meek and merciful and pure of heart.
Grant us a true believe in the values of heaven
and help us to grow always into these values
as we work for your kingdom on earth,
In this way, may we be made ready to receive your mercy,
your inheritance, the sight of God
And all those great gifts which you so desire to give us.
In the power of the Spirit we pray in your name to the Father. Amen.
[Based on Matt 5:1-12]
Doing the Word
Thought for Pew Slip – 3rd September 2006
Readings: Deut4:1-2&6-9, Ps15, James1:17-27, Mk7:1-8&14-15&21-23
In our first reading today, from the book of Deuteronomy, God emphasises to the Israelites the importance of keeping all the statues and ordinances of the law of the old covenant. Obeying the law often meant obeying a lot of detailed rules and regulations about daily life; rules about washing yourself and what you could eat.
When Jesus came he established a new covenant and a new commandment to love one another (Jn 13:34, 15:12). In our gospel reading today we hear Jesus scolding the Pharisees for legalistically obeying the human traditions of the law and having forgotten about the true commandments of God, which concern love for God, and love for our neighbour (MT 22:37-40, Mk 12:28-31).
So Jesus has set us free from the legalistic detail of the old law and instead asks us to love God, to love our neighbour and to love one another. But this law of love still requires practical action in our daily lives. In our second reading James reminds us to be “doers of the word, and not merely hearers”. So, let us always live out the law of love in a practical way. Let’s find simple ways to love and serve the people around us.
Fr Gerard
Readings: Deut4:1-2&6-9, Ps15, James1:17-27, Mk7:1-8&14-15&21-23
In our first reading today, from the book of Deuteronomy, God emphasises to the Israelites the importance of keeping all the statues and ordinances of the law of the old covenant. Obeying the law often meant obeying a lot of detailed rules and regulations about daily life; rules about washing yourself and what you could eat.
When Jesus came he established a new covenant and a new commandment to love one another (Jn 13:34, 15:12). In our gospel reading today we hear Jesus scolding the Pharisees for legalistically obeying the human traditions of the law and having forgotten about the true commandments of God, which concern love for God, and love for our neighbour (MT 22:37-40, Mk 12:28-31).
So Jesus has set us free from the legalistic detail of the old law and instead asks us to love God, to love our neighbour and to love one another. But this law of love still requires practical action in our daily lives. In our second reading James reminds us to be “doers of the word, and not merely hearers”. So, let us always live out the law of love in a practical way. Let’s find simple ways to love and serve the people around us.
Fr Gerard
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