The stream of living water

Sermon preached at 11am Choral Mattins at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 27th March 2011. Other versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton’s 3pm Evensong.

Third Sunday in Lent – Year A

Readings: Ps 95 Exodus 17: 1-7 John 3: 5-42

About three times a year Bishop David calls together all the clergy of the diocese to the cathedral for a “Bishop’s Study Day”. We had one such study day ten days ago on St Patrick’s Day. The topic was Pilgrimage and the main speaker was Bishop Lindsay Urwin. Now Bishop Lindsay is an interesting character within the Church of England. In 1994, at the young age of 39 he was made Bishop of Horsham, a Suffragan Bishop in the Diocese of Chichester. He looked destined for great things, but in fact he never progressed from Horsham. It is possible that his very traditional views on women’s ordination made it difficult to appoint him as a diocesan bishop. Anyway in 2008 he resigned as Bishop of Horsham and took up the post of Administrator of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham, based in Walsingham, a small and rather remote village near the north coast of Norfolk.
Now I don’t know how much you know about Walsingham? The shrine to our lady there goes back to the eleventh century, and a Saxon noblewoman called Richeldis. Richeldis was a window known for her good works, care and generosity towards the people around her, for her deep faith and for her particular devotion to Mary, the mother of Jesus. In 1061, five years before the Norman Conquest, Richeldis had a vision in which she was taken by Mary to the tiny house in Nazareth where the angel Gabriel had told Mary to expect the child Jesus. Mary asked Richeldis to build a replica of this house of the Annunciation in Walsingham. Mary showed Richeldis where to build the house by making water spring up from the ground. Now there are various miracles and strange stories associated with all this (not to mention some confusion and uncertainty), but certainly a house was built and certainly it became an important centre of pilgrimage visited by many people including several generations of kings and queens of England. Then in 1538 King Henry VIII had the whole place destroyed. It wasn’t under the 1920’s that the Shrine started to be redeveloped by the Church of England.
Now as he was telling us all this, Bishop Lindsay focused on the spring of water that Mary had used to indicate the position of the holy house. He pointed out that springs of water are very often a feature of Marian shrines. Certainly I know that this is the case in Lourdes, France, where a new water spring was an important feature of St Bernadette’s visions of Mary in 1858, and I know it is true of other Marian shrines too. Bishop Lindsay comment was that it was very typical of Mary to draw attention to Jesus. A spring of water is indeed a powerful reminder of Jesus, who in our New Testament lesson today said that the water he gives a person, becomes in them a spring of living water, welling up to eternal life.
And this image of Jesus as giving a spring of living water, water that forever quenches thirst, is an image that goes very deep. It is very mysterious and worthy of being pondered at length. It resonates with many other themes in John’s gospel and in the wider scriptures.
For example, in John 6: 35 Jesus says, “I am the bread of life. No one who come to me will ever be hungry, no one who believes in me will ever thirst”. There is this same theme of thirst being quenched by Jesus. It is as though Jesus sustains the life of believers, just as bread and water sustain our earthly lives. Jesus takes this even further, perhaps making a link to the Eucharist, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day, for my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.” (John 6: 54)
Also in John 7: 37-38 Jesus cries out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, let anyone who believes in me come and drink”. John refers to a scripture [what scripture?] “from the heart shall flow streams of living water.” This explanation reminds of us of the blood and water that streamed from Jesus’ side when he was pieced on the cross (John 19: 34), and also the river of life that rises up from the throne of God and from the lamb, and flows through the recreated New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation (22:1). John also states that Jesus is talking of the Holy Spirit when he talks of streams of living water (John 7: 39) and indeed we often think of the Spirit as the sustainer of life.
But in our New Testament lesson there was another explanation of God’s gift for sustaining life, as bread and water sustain us when we are hungry or thirsty. When the disciples ask Jesus to eat something, he says that he has food they don’t know about. He says, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me.” So Jesus himself is stained by doing the will of the Father in heaven.
And in so many ways this is true for us too. It is by doing what God wills for us that we grow into what God has created us to be. It is by doing God’s will for us, that our particular way of serving the people around us is revealed. This is where our true identity is found; it is revealed in doing God’s will.
So as we think of Jesus as the stream of living water, welling up to eternal life, so let us focus on doing God’s will in our lives, moment by moment, day by day and so let us be sustained by Jesus, who is himself sustained by doing the Father’s will. Amen.

Born from above

Sermon preached at 9.45am Holy Communion (Book of Common Prayer) at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton’s on Sunday 20th March 2011. A shorter version of this sermon was preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth
Second Sunday of Lent – Year A

Readings: Romans 4: 1-5 & 13-17 John 3: 1-17


Jesus conversation with Nicodemus is very famous
- He was a Pharisee, a leader of the Jews, perhaps the only such leader who really believed in Jesus
- Came to Jesus by night, because of fear
- Nicodemus crops us throughout John’s gospel
o He is argues that Jesus should be given a hearing, when Pharisees plot his arrest (7: 45-52)
o He is perhaps the example of a leading Jew who did believe in Jesus but dare not admit it (12: 42)
o At the death of Jesus he brings myrrh and aloes for his burial (19: 39)

Jesus gives him a hard time by talking of being born from above, or born again.
Nicodemus tries to flush out what Jesus means by being “born from above”
Jesus confirms that he does not mean a physical re-birth, but rather being born of “water and the Spirit”.
So just as a human person must be born of the flesh, and physically grow up, so that person must also be born of the Spirit and grow up in the Spirit, and come to maturity in the Spirit. Jesus says that this is essential to enter the kingdom of God. It is as though it is our life in the Spirit that enters into the kingdom of God, while out earthly body rots in the ground.

Now in the Church we associate “being born through water and the Spirit” with baptism – the moment when the life of the Spirit begins within us in a characteristic Christian way. This birth is certainly an essential step, but it is also essential that this life in the Spirit must grow and develop and reach its full stature. The fathers of the church always talk about baptism as essential for salvation.

So what is it that is essential for salvation?
- To be Baptised?
- To be born of the Spirit?
- to believe in Jesus? – as is often repeated in John’s gospel
- to live by faith – as Paul tells us in our epistle today

Sometimes there can be anxiety of this point.
- Perhaps you met Christians who ask “have you been born again?”
- Perhaps you have met Christians who scramble to get a new born baby baptised for fear that it might die un-baptised

Well to seek salvation is clearly a good thing, but I we are meant to get anxious about it. Salvation is God’s gift, freely given. We have to learn to trust God and to have faith in his love for us. First and foremost we must believe that God wants our good, wants our salvation and, one way or another, God will secure that salvation if we just do our part, and respond positively to the invitation of God. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4: 18).

Neither should we think of salvation as a tick list:
“I just need to be baptised, then I am saved”
“I just need to be born again, then I am saved”
“I just need to believe in Jesus, then I am saved”
“I just need to lead a good life, then I am saved”
The truth is that all these things go together and grow together in our spiritual lives. Everyone is different and God calls people in different ways. Many are baptised as babies and then need to grow into their faith. Other come to Christ differently and in certain ways might already be fairly mature as Christians before they are baptised. Some Christians emphasise faith in God, others emphasise the importance of living a good life and of loving our neighbour. But ultimately all these things go together and build on each other. Ultimately all are important, all our signs of each other. The Christian who emphasises faith, but has no love is clearly lacking (1 Cor 13: 2). The Christian who knows the scriptures but does not know Christ is clearly lacking (John 5: 39-40). The person who responds positively to Christ, but who has not be baptised or “born from above” clearly is lacking, as Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus shows.

So as we think of our salvation, let’s not worry about specific tests to determine if we are saved or not saved. Rather let’s seek to make progress in all the different aspects of the Christian life so that we can grow up into our salvation (c.f. 1 peter 2: 2) in a balanced way. Certainly, if we are not baptised then we should seek baptism. If we were baptised as babies then we should seek Confirmation, taking our personal ownership of our baptismal promises. Certainly we should seek to grow in faith and trust in God. We should seek to build our personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, by reading the gospels and by living as Jesus commands. Similarly we must live by the Spirit. Above all we must seek to grow in love for God and for our neighbours, because ultimately it is on love that the saved the unsaved are separated (Matt 25: 31ff). Amen.

Temptation and testing

Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 13th March 2011. Shorter versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton’s 3pm Evensong.
First Sunday of Lent – Year A

Readings: Ps 32 Gen 2: 15-17 & 3: 1-7 Matt 4: 1-11

Many thanks to all those who participated in yesterday’s churchyard working party. Hopefully you will notice some of the fruits of the work as you leave church today. Those who have been to one of these the working parties will know that one of the most enjoyable aspects is the food that Vera puts out at lunchtime. Yesterday there were two excellent soups, crusty bread (both brown and white) and butter. There were baked potatoes and several different choices of filling; chilli, or cheese or tuna mayonnaise or spaghetti in sauce. Well it was all very excellent and I had seconds of the soups (spicy parsnip), plenty of bread and a very large baked potato, with two fillings. And after that, really, I was more ready for a nap than for more work in the churchyard. Someone said, “Hay Vera, with all this good food you are making us eat too much.” Vera said, “Well I don’t actually force people to eat it!” Well no, perhaps I am not actually forced to eat too much, but somehow with so much good food readily available the odds are stacked me. It is an example of temptation; a temptation I am not good at resisting.

What is temptation?
It is the danger that we trade in God’s hopes and plans for us, for something less, something outside of his will for our lives. It might be something that our appetites suggest to us (like food) or something suggested to us by doubt, or pride or envy ...
In the Christian tradition we often see the three biggest seducers as money, sex and power. E.g.
- Cheat on tax return or expenses for the sake of money
- Cheat on a spouse for the sake of sex
- Uncharitably highlight the failings of others (perhaps a colleague at work) for the sake of power
There is nothing wrong with money, sex and power in themselves. They are all gifts of God which can and should be used to build up his kingdom. But experience suggests that they have particular power to lead us into temptation. The Christian tradition highlights counteracts this by emphasising the importance of poverty, chastity and obedience, most noticeably in the vows taken by monks in the Benedictine tradition.

So in situation of temptation are situations where we are in danger of getting our priorities wrong. We are in danger of choosing some created thing that we desire (perhaps money, sex or power) over God’s desires for us, over God’s will for our lives, over the goodness that God wants to give us. Very often we are tempted to trade in something spiritual for something more tangible. Very often we are trading in a long term benefit for something more immediate. And if we give in to temptation then we go against God’s will, we sin, we damage our relationship with God and with others, we jar against God’s goodness to us and sooner or later this inevitably causes sufferings to ourselves and to others.

Two scripture readings today are stories of temptation.
Adam and Eve fall – traditional theology sees this as disastrous for the whole human race, the source of our Original Sin; the source of our clouded understanding of the things of God and our tendency towards sin. And this fault is finally made good by Christ in his death and resurrection. As we heard in our NT Reading, Christ passed through temptation without sin. He was always true to God, he always rejected the devil.

Notice the role of the devil in both stories. Bible is full of examples where God deliberately allows the devil to cause problems for people as some kind of test, as a means of proving their worth:

God must have allowed the serpent (the devil) into the Garden of Eden.
In our NT reading the Holy Spirit lead Jesus into the wilderness specifically to be tempted by the devil.
In the book of Job, God specifically allows the devil to torture Job.
Jesus understands this. He says occasions for stumbling must come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes (Matt 18:7, Luke 17: 1). God, in his goodness and love, allows us to be tested and tempted, but that woe betides the tester or tempter. So often Satan tests us, perhaps with crushing under pain and adversity, perhaps with the wrongful fulfilment of desire, perhaps through our complacency and arrogance, perhaps by misrepresenting to us the things of God, as he misrepresented the scriptures to Jesus in our reading today.

Why does God allow trials or tests of this sort? Why is the devil allowed anywhere near us? (Especially as we are taught to pray “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil (i.e. from the evil one”)
These are deep mysteries – part of God’s love for us – perhaps so that we can share in, and make our own contribution towards the overcoming of evil???
With these tests or trials the dominant biblical image is gold or precious metal refined in the fire (Ps 66: 10, Is 48:10, 1 Peter 1: 6-7)
Tests which God allow both reveal how pure we are and help to build up that purity further.

Or we might fail. If we do we are in trouble, but we are also in good company. Jesus said to Peter “Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat” (Luke 22: 31) and indeed Peter, in his fear and confusion, denied Jesus three times. This must have caused Peter, and the other disciples great distress; to be alienated from Jesus at the time of his death. But after the resurrection Jesus restored Peter by three times saying “Peter – do you love me – feed my sheep” (John 21: 15ff)

When we fail we have to throw ourselves back on the mercy of God. We have to ask for forgiveness and start again in our Christian endeavour. Note that we have to start again in grace, not in our own strength, or we will fail again. We have to build up the presence of Christ within us by being honest about that failure, by accepting the pain it causes ourselves and others (rather than pretending the pain is not there) and by giving thanks to Christ for the pain that he accepted in his death on the cross, which has conquered sin and death, and by which we can be restored.

So let’s live our temptation well, hopefully being purified like silver in the fire, but if we fail let us seek forgiveness, growing in our knowledge of our dependence on God and in our thankfulness to Christ for his redemption. Amen.

Avoiding the broadcast message

Sermon preached at 9.45am Holy Communion at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton on Sunday 6th March 2011. A shorter version was preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist at St Mary’s Lapworth.
Sunday Next Before Lent – Epiphany 9 - Year A
Readings: 2 Peter 1: 16-21 Matthew 17: 1-9

Mainly notes

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury has many gifts and talents, especially as an academic theologian. However, it would seem that Public Relations, or particularly handling the media (newspapers and TV) is not one of his strengths. He has a message to proclaim, but most of what is attributed to him in the newspapers appears to have been carefully selected and edited to make him look stupid, to annoy people and to cause them to despair.
Most of the “blame” for this must fall on the media, who are always under financial pressures, and see it as their job to find racy stories that sell newspapers. Truth, fairness and developing the discernment of their readership are much lower down their list of priorities.
But perhaps there is something intrinsic to the gospel which makes it resistant to the mass media broadcast message. Certainly Jesus often seems reluctant to publicity about his significance. I am always amazed by his instructions in today’s gospel reading, when he tells Peter, James and John not to tell anyone about the transfiguration until after he has been raised from the dead.
Why would Jesus do this? Why, if he wants his gospel to spread to the ends of the earth, would he not publicise the evidence of its greatness?
Jesus “has form” on this telling people not publicising greatness (especially in Mark’s gospel)
e.g. Devils driven out (Mk 1: 34)
Man healed of leprosy (Mk 1: 44)
Two blind men healed (Mt 9:30)
Also when Devil suggest “shock and awe” strategy of throwing himself off the temple (Matt 4: 5-7) Jesus rejects this as a specific temptation from Satan.
Why does Jesus take this approach?
Perhaps “shock and awe” is a rather domineering approach, not sufficiently respectful of people freedom????
Perhaps if people everyone knew clearly that Jesus was the messiah then his message would get completely lost behind Jewish people’s expectations about what the Messiah could and should be doing??? Perhaps he would not be tolerated by Herod (c.f. Herod’s father’s massacre of the innocents in Matt 2) or the Romans???
After the resurrection it seems OK to publicise Jesus’ greatness.
e.g. Peter’s testimony as an eyewitness in 2 Peter , read today.
John’s testament “we have beheld his glory” John 1: 14
Very significant the Jesus’ glory is seen in the transfiguration
- Points to his glory at the end of time
- Points to the second coming of Christ, which apparently will not lack publicity – the trumpet will sound, the angels gather, the son of man will ride on the clouds and all eyes will see him.
- Points to Jesus’ divinity
Tranfiguration suggests Jesus is the fulfilment of the law (represented by Moses who brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai) and the prophets (represented by Elijah).

But Jesus’ reluctance to engage in a broadcast message highlights the importance of passing the gospel on through personal relationships, from one person to the next. More like Chinese whispers, than like a big announcement. By and large the gospel spreads in this way, rather than through TV shows or newspaper articles. Makes us think of how we pass on the gospel through our personal relationships.
- Witness must be through our lives before it is words
- Perhaps we don’t need to articulate the gospel itself, just invite people to come to church with us or offer to pray for them
- Back to church Sunday in September
Let’s be mindful of our responsibility in passing on the gospel through our personal relationships, through family and friends, by always seeking their good, loving them as Christ does. Amen.

Seeing first the kingdom of God

Sermon preached at 11am Choral Mattins at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 27th February 2011. A shorter version was also preached at 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton, 3pm Evensong.

Second Sunday before Lent, Epiphany 8 (CofE provision) – Year A

Readings: Ps 136: 1-9 Genesis 1: 1-23 Matthew 6: 25-34


Notes only

Creation story from Genesis might have shortcomings as a scientific account of creation, but it makes some important theological points.
First of all – creation comes about through the will of God
“You pour out your spirit and they are created” as the psalmist says.
Secondly - creation is good, in harmony with the will of God. At every step God stands back and says “it is good”.
But if God’s creation is good, where does evil comes from? This is a great mystery, which theologians struggle with. God did create evil. But God gives angels and humans freewill. They really do have freedom to choose, and they can choose to go against God and against his will. This is what evil is – rebellion against God.
Somehow, we don’t quite know how, evil as been sown in amongst the good of creation. The story of Adam and Eve and the fall is one account of this. But Jesus also tells the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13: 24-30, 36-43) where the master sows good seed, but an enemy comes and sows tares among the wheat. The separation of good from evil does not come until the end of time (see also parable of the dragnet (Matt 13: 47-50)) when God’s kingdom is realised in a more tangible way.
Thirdly humanity has a special place in creation; it’s pinnacle, created in the image of God; both male and female. God is above male and female – “he” includes both; both are in his image. We have to be very mindful of the special dignity of each human being, created in the image of God.
Then in NT lesson from Matthew Jesus teaches us not to have anxieties about the everyday necessities of life. “Seek first the kingdom of God, and its righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you as well.” So we need to seek first God’s kingdom, that goodness of creation which is separated out from evil at the end of time. We need to move in harmony with God’s will, in harmony with creation, with all that God wills, seeking always what is pleasing to God. And then all these other things are added to us as well.
The collect makes good suggestions:
- See God’s hand in all things
- recognise God’s likeness in all his children
These help us to seek first the kingdom of God.

I would like to illustrate this with a story that a man called Opus told me. It was a long time ago that I was told the story, and I might have the details wrong, but the gist of it is certainly correct.
Opus was tall and well built. He had classical good looks and was stylish in the way he dressed and wore his hair. He was probably a youth in the aftermath of the Second World War, which must have been a time of great austerity. I know he came from a large family, so there can’t have been much money around.
With the aspirations of a young man, his good looks and his strong sense of style, Opus came to realise that he wanted an electric razor. These were not readily available after the war, and were very expensive. However they often featured at the cinema, and for Opus they epitomised the glamour and sophistication of a modern lifestyle. He really, really wanted an electric razor.
Now as a young man Opus started living in a Christian community with perhaps six other young men, seeking to live a gospel lifestyle. There were many such groups about and they were related to one another. In these groups it was important not to be attached to any earthly riches, but always to be ready to give and to receive. The priority was to seek first the kingdom of God by overcoming selfishness and growing in love for the other people.
I don’t recall the details, but on one occasion Opus’s household received some gifts to share. The arrival of gifts was quite common, but what really caught Opus’s attention on this occasion was that one of the gifts was an electric razor! Of course, Opus really wanted the electric razor. However, talking with the other men in the house he realised that the razor was to be set aside someone else who was due to visit the house later that week. Opus really struggled with this. He understood that he had to seek first the kingdom of God, and he had to be ready to lose the razor, to let it go…but it was very, very hard.
In due course the visitor came, was delighted by the gift and took it away with him. The razor was gone, but it took Opus a couple of weeks to get over the resentments and frustrations that he felt about losing the razor. Finally he managed to do it; he became free of his desire, his need, for an electric razor.
Then a couple of weeks after that the household received more gifts, including two electric razors. The passionate need that Opus had felt for an electric razor had gone, but he was delighted to be given one none the less.
Then a little later he was given another electric razor, then later still another, and yet another! He started to constantly receive electric razors from the most varied and unpredictable of places. It became overwhelming. Opus felt that God was rewarding him for seeking first the kingdom of God, but the shear abundance of electric razors was also like God mocking him for the petty nature of his earlier desires. Of course electric razors did eventually became commonplace. Argos stock dozens of different models, starting at £13, and many of them are for women! Still Opus had taken the step of seeking first the kingdom of God, and God had added to him all the other things as well.

Building towards perfection

Sermon preached at the 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 20th February 20111. Shorter versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton, 9.45am Holy Communion.
Third Sunday before Lent (Septugesima)

Readings: 1 Corinthians 3: 10-11 & 16-23 Matthew 5: 38-48

Notes only


Start with story about “If someone sues for your coat, give him your cloak as well”
- the “I like your shirt” story

Our gospel readings at present come from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is very challenging!

Last week’s gospel gave us some very challenging teachings from Jesus
- he condemned all anger, lust, divorce and untruthfulness
I said in last week’s sermon that Jesus seems to set an impossibly high standard, a standard that is beyond us all.
- we might be tempted to throw in the towel, say “this is too much”
- but we must remember that we are on a journey towards the life of heaven
- we might not be ready for heaven yet, but by the grace of Christ we will be one day if we travel in the right direction
- we journey not in our own strength but in the strength of the Spirit & grace of Christ.

This week we have more very challenging teachings from Jesus
- do not resist the evildoer
- love your enemies
Again Jesus sets a high standard – but we must not despair.
We can think of the Journey again.
Or we can think of the slimily used by St Paul
- we are being built into a spiritual temple – a temple of the Holy Spirit
- this applies to us as individuals, and also to us collectively as church
- God is working in us to build up the temple
- it is a process that happens over time
- We need to co-operate and work on this building up because the spiritual temple endures. Earthly things fall away, we suffer loses, eventually we die, so better to invest in the spiritual temple which endures.
- We are building towards perfection – towards the life of heaven. As Jesus said in the gospel “Be Holy as your heavenly father is Holy”.

Whether we think of it as a journey or think of it as a building under construction our part is to live our day to day life in front of God seeking to grow in love for God and neighbour day by day, moment by moment. But sometimes we must ask ourselves, “What can we do?” “How can we contribute to the journey, to the building?” Lent starts in three weeks so no is an excellent time to ask these questions. Lent is traditionally the time of year for seeking to turn more fully to God.

What might be do this Lent? We could
1) Give up some luxury or pleasure (chocolate, coffee, alcohol, facebook?) in order to orientate ourselves towards God. Every time we miss the item we can remember God, and that we do it for love of him; or
2) Add some new spiritual discipline to our lives; perhaps some extra prayer or worship or bible reading or religious study. We will offer options on a Wednesday evening in church – Complain for prayer or “Explore” for study.
3) Do something practical which involves cost to ourselves for the benefit of other people. traditionally almsgiving. Could also be the giving of time or attention to someone who needs it. Could involve visiting someone who is a bit isolated, or writing to someone we are losing touch with.

So let’s start thinking now, so as to use Lent well, and to make our full contribution in the building up of the spiritual temple. Amen.

Jesus on the Law

Sermon preached at Choral Mattins at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 13th February 2011. A shorter version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30 Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton’s 3pm Evensong.
Fourth Sunday before Lent – Year A

Readings: Ps 119: 1-8 Ecclesiasticus 15: 15-20 Matthew 5: 21-37


One of my favourite Winston Churchill quotes relates to the time when he was appointed within H. H. Asquith’s government to be First Lord of the Admiralty in 1911. At that time there was widespread concern about the build up of German naval power, and there was a recognition that the Royal Navy would need to be strengthened if it was to retain its command of the seas. However there was political disagreement about how many dreadnought ships should be added to the navy, perhaps four, perhaps six. Then a German warship started to intimidate French shipping off Morocco, and suddenly a political consensus emerged. Churchill later summarised the debate saying, “The Conservatives wanted six; the Liberals wanted four; we compromised on eight.”
I was reminded of this story by our gospel reading today. Jesus was talking about the Jewish law and commenting on different matters, some of which were controversial at the time. The conversations would typically be about how much the Law should affect the day to day behaviour of the people. The Pharisees might say by four degrees, the Scribes might say by six degrees, but Jesus would say by eight! Jesus’ interpretation of the law always seems to go much deeper and be far more far reaching than the interpretation of other scholars at the time. In fact it seems to me that Jesus thinks about the Jewish Law in a way that is quite different from the way that scholars of the time might think of it.
It seems to me that the law given through Moses was an effort to explain what good behaviour was; what it meant to help people to be good Jews, worthy of receiving God promises to his chosen nation. But then, over time, it seems that the Law ceased to function as something pointing people towards God, but became more like a boundary defining what was, and what was not, acceptable behaviour for a Jew. During this period the number of rules increased dramatically, and things like how far you could walk on the Sabbath became very precisely defined.
It seems to me that Jesus did not think of the Law as a boundary at all. For him it was all about pointing us towards God. And for Jesus it was not just behaviours that mattered. What mattered much more was the inner attitudes and values and beliefs that drive behaviours. In the eyes of Jesus, it is essential that attitudes, beliefs, values and therefore behaviours too are orientated towards God, that they draw us towards God. Jesus wants us to know God better, to share in God’s attitudes plans and hopes, to become like God.
And this makes the Law Oh so much more demanding. The letter of the law condemns the killing of a person, but Jesus condemns even being angry with a person, or thinking of that a person is a fool or traitor. The letter of the Law condemns adultery, but Jesus condemns even lust. The letter of the Law has a procedure for divorce, but Jesus condemns divorce. The Tradition says you must not break a vow, but Jesus says don’t even make vows, but always keep your word. And in fact Jesus goes on. It gets even harder in next week’s gospel with “Love your enemies”.
What is very noticeable when we think of the Law like Jesus does, as something that points us towards God, as something which prepares us for an eternal life shared with God, is that suddenly we are completely inadequate. No anger, no criticism of others, no lust, no divorce, no parting from our word…we are all of us hopelessly inadequate because none of us can live to this standard.
What we have to accept is that we are on a journey, a journey towards God, towards the life of heaven. It is a journey and we are not there yet. We are not 100% saints yet. We certainly cannot live to the standard that Jesus expects, we are not yet ready for life in heaven. But we also need to accept that by faith in God, and by the grace of Christ, we will one day complete that journey, we will pass through different purifying experiences and God will make us ready for heaven. Ultimately, as our first reading pointed out we all have to choose between fire and water, between life and death, between heaven and hell. So really we have to choose heaven, and the quicker we make progress on the journey to get there the better it is for everyone.
So we are on the journey towards heaven, but every now and again something happens that reminds us that we still have a long way to go. Perhaps a scripture reading like today’s reminds us that we are completely inadequate. What do we do? Do we give up on the journey because it is too difficult? Do we start to hate ourselves because we know that we are sinners? No. No, we remember that God continues to love us, and we must continue to love ourselves and, like God, we must hope for and work for the very best for ourselves. We must remember that Jesus came into the world precisely to save sinners like us and to bring us to the life of heaven. So we need to confess our sin and our inadequacies and our failings to God. We need to hold them before God and see them as God sees them and become totally realistic about them. And this can be painful, it reminds us that we are not as good as we like to think we are. But, it seems to me, that pain, in conjunction with Christ’s sufferings on the cross, gives us the grace to move forward. It fills us with the desire to move forward. It assures us that we move forward in God’s strength not our own. It helps us to make progress on the journey. We realise that God’s love for us goes much deeper than our sin.
So we hear a scripture reading like today’s and when we hear all about God’s laws, let’s not think of them as a boundary, and worry whether we are inside or out. Rather let’s think of them as pointers to God and to the life of heaven. Let’s be sure that we still have a long way to go before we reach God, but let’s also have confidence that Jesus will walk with us on that journey, and that Jesus, through his death and resurrection has already overcome all our sin. The end of the journey is assured, but we still need to walk it Amen.

You are the light of the world!

Sermon preached at 9.45 am Holy Communion (BCP) at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton on Sunday 6th February 2011. Shorter versions of this sermon were preached at St Mary’s Lapworth at 8.30am and at 11am.
Epiphany 5, Year A (Fifth Sunday before Lent)

Readings: 1 Corinthians 2: 1-12 Matthew 5: 13-20


Recently I read about an experience of a young child, we’ll call him Peter, at school in Texas. It was playtime, and Peter was playing with his friends, but the friends did not want the children from the other class to join in with the game. The Teacher on duty ticked the friends off for being selfish and asked them to play with the other children. There was an awkward pause, but Peter knew in his heart that the teacher was right, and that the generous thing to do, the loving thing to do, was to include the other children. He called out to one of them and began to involve him in the game. A few moments later he looked round, and he was amazed to see that his friends had also welcomed the children from the other class, and now all the children were playing together.
It is a very simple story, but it is a very good example about how generosity and goodness has an infectious quality; how one good deed leads to another, how if one person sets a good example, often others will follow.
I remember I had an experience of this myself a few years ago. My morning drive to work involved an awkward right hand turn. When traffic was heavy it was often necessary to drive in way that was rather pushy in order to make the right hand turn. Gradually I found that my driving style was becoming pushier and more aggressive in general because I was practising this attitude at this particular right hand turn. Then, one day, when I had just arrived at the junction and was preparing to pick my moment to go, suddenly a car on the main carriage way slowed down for me, and signalled for me to come out. I moved out straight away, and waved to the man, to whom I was very grateful. But as I drove on I found that the incident had somehow lifted my soul. Suddenly the world seemed good, and everybody was a friend and I found myself driving very courteously, and letting people out of congested side roads myself.
And it seems to me that stories like this illustrate what Jesus wants from us when he asks us to be the Light of the World. Last week we remembered Simeon in the Temple, saying that the baby Jesus would be a “light to lighten the gentiles” (Luke 2: 32) and we remembered that Jesus really adopted this understanding for himself when he himself came to say, “I am the light of the World” (John 8: 12). When I spoke about this last week I said that we needed to walk in the light of Christ ourselves, and then we, as the body of Christ, had to offer that same light of Christ to the world. Well Jesus in his statement today, “You are the light of the world” (Matt 5: 13) emphasises that second of these two points. We are called to be the light of Christ for other people, so that they me see our good works and give glory to our father in heaven.
So how do we do that in practice? How do we be the light of the world? Well let’s remember that this light does not come from us. The light that we give to the world has to be the light of Christ, shining through us. It is not as though we generate this light ourselves, rather it is about allowing the light of Christ to shine within us.
So I think it boils down to the same message as last week. First and foremost we need to walk in the light of Christ ourselves. We can’t be light to the world if we don’t have the light of Christ within us. The light that Christ gives us comes especially from his teachings and his example. We need to live by his teachings and follow his examples, so that we are filled with his light. Then it is a question letting this light shine out, and not keeping the light under a bushel. This means being open and transparent about our faith, not hiding it away in a box and only taking it out on Sundays! Above all it means being generous to others, like Peter in Texas, or like the car driver who let me out at the junction. As these acts of generosity spread, we are being light to the world. Amen.

The light to lighten the gentiles

Sermon preached at the 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth. Shorter versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley for 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP).

The Presentation of Christ in the Temple

Readings: Hebrews 2: 14-18 Luke 2: 22-40


The festival we celebrate today has at least three different names, according to which aspect of it is being emphasised. Most typically we call it the “Presentation” thinking of the baby Jesus being presented in the temple. Under the Jewish Law, the Torah, the first five books of the bible, the first born of any womb belonged to the Lord and had to be presented to the priests in the temple. This is because the Lord had struck down the first born of the Egyptians at the time of the exile, and so he also claimed as his own the first born of all the Israelites and their animals; the first born were to be presented to the Lord and set aside for the Lord use. This rule about the first born applied to both people and animals, and there are several regulations (e.g. Ex 13: 1-2, 11-16, Leviticus 27, Numbers 18: 5) about it which we can read in the first five books of the bible. In the case of human babies, the rules required parents to “redeem” a first born child immediately after they had presented the child to the priests. It would cost five shekels to redeem the child. So the arrangement ended up working rather like a tax that was paid to the Temple on all first born children. I think this shows us something of the humility of Mary. You agree to be the handmaid of the Lord, and to be the mother of the Son of God. Then you have to pay a temple tax on the child for the privilege!
But in fact there was more for Mary to do than that. Under the Law (Lev 12) a woman also had to undergo the rite of purification 40 days after childbirth. The festival we celebrate today is sometimes called The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rites of purification involved making a sacrifice for sin. The gospel tells us that Mary and Joseph made the sin offering of the poor, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons, rather than the standard offering of a lamb. (I do wonder what happened to all that gold, frankincense and myrrh!?) Again it seems to me that we are shown something of the humility of Mary who goes through these rituals even though her baby is the son of God. If we accept the Roman Catholic doctrines whereby Mary is free from sin, then there is a further irony in her being expected to make a sin offering!
So sometimes we call the festival “The Presentation”, thinking of the baby Jesus presented at the temple, sometimes we call it “The Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary”, but we also call it “Candlemas” and we celebrate it especially with candles, or torch light processions. And the theme of candles or light comes from the words of Simeon that we heard in our gospel today. He said that Jesus would be “a light for revelation to the gentiles, and the glory of [God’s people] Israel”. Now the word gentiles means nations or peoples, and it the Old Testament it refers to all the other nations beyond the nation of Israel, all the other peoples, beyond the Jewish people. So Simeon’s proclamation that Jesus is a light for revelation to the gentiles is extraordinarily prophetic. It is a real epiphany moment. Jesus is shown, or revealed, or manifested, to be a light to all peoples and all nations. Simeon foresees that Jesus’ significance stretches far beyond Judaism and that the whole world will be illuminated by his light. And we, who have few connections with Judaism, can praise God, that through Jesus, the graces God has poured out on Israel are to benefit the whole world.
So what does it mean to us – Jesus the light to the nations, Jesus who later proclaims himself to be the light of the world (John 8: 12). Well first of all we have to “walk in the light” as the song says “Walk, walk in the light”. And the light that Jesus gives us comes especially from his teachings and example. We need to follow that teaching and imitate the example given. These teachings and examples principally tell us to love; to love God and to love our neighbours, to always grow in love. So we need to walk in the light ourselves by always loving others, always seeking the good of the others.
But then that brings us to the other side of it. As the Church we are the body of Christ. Just as Simeon could see that the baby Jesus was a light for the nations, so the body of Jesus, the church should be a light for all the nations, a light for all the peoples. We too are called to be a light for all peoples. We are called to shine with the light of love, Christ’s love for the good of others, so that they too may learn to walk in the light of Jesus, so that they too will learn to love.
So if we walk in the light ourselves, by growing in love, so we become a light to others and we help them to walk in the light and grow in love. And so the light of Jesus spreads – the light for all peoples becomes ever more visible. The prophecy of Simeon is fulfilled as Jesus becomes ever more completely the light to lighten the nations. Amen.

Jesus revealed as "Lamb of God"

Sermon preached at 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 16th January 2011. A shorter version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton’s 9.45am Holy communion (BCP).
Second Sunday after Epiphany – Year A

Readings: 1 Corinthians 1: 1-9 John 1: 29-42


The Epiphany season is all about Jesus being revealed or shown to the people, so that people can begin to understand who he really is. In last week’s gospel reading (Matt 3: 13-17) we heard the story of the Baptism of Christ, as it is described in Matthew’s Gospel. You will recall that when Jesus came up out of the water the Spirit of God, in the form of a dove descended and came to alight on Jesus. This revealed Jesus to be the Messiah, the one anointed with God’s spirit. And then you will recall that a great voice proclaimed, “This is my Son the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” A by this voice Jesus was revealed to be “Son of God”.
This week’s gospel reading came from St John’s gospel, and it records the things that John the Baptist said to his own disciples, on two different occasions when he saw Jesus walk by. And for the most part John the Baptist talks about the baptism of Jesus. He says, “I came baptising with water…that he might be revealed to Israel.” John talks about seeing the Spirit descend onto Jesus, and how significant that is. Also John specifically testifies that Jesus is Son of God. But what is very striking is the title that John the Baptist uses for Jesus when he sees him walk by. He doesn’t use the title “Messiah” (or Christ or anointed one, which mean the same thing.) He doesn’t use the title “Son of God” despite his testimony that Jesus is “Son of God”. Rather the title he uses is “Lamb of God”. We hear him say, “Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And then the second time she says, “Look, here is the Lamb of God”.
This new title which John the Baptist gives Jesus, “Lamb of God”, is very mysterious. It is hard to understand but it crops up several times in the New Testament. It has been incorporated into the liturgy, and we shall hear it again, twice, just before we receive Holy Communion. So what is the title “Lamb of God” all about?
Well, in the Jewish tradition that Jesus was born into, a lamb was sin offering, used in temple sacrifices. We can read in the book of Leviticus all the detailed rules and regulations about sin offerings. If a member of the community sinned then that person had to bring a lamb to the priest. It had to be a good lamb, without blemish and valuable. The lamb would be slaughtered and the priest would take some of the blood on his finger and mark it on special parts of the altar. The rest of the blood would be poured out at the foot of the altar. The priest would cut off the fat from the lamb and burn it on the altar. Through this ceremony the person was forgiven their sins and their relationship with God and the community was restored.
So when we think of Jesus as Lamb of God, we are thinking of him as someone who was killed, so as to make good for our sin, to restore our relationship with God. Of course this is the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us, once for all time, upon the cross. And it is a sacrifice that we remember and are drawn into through our participation in the Eucharist and especially when we receive Holy Communion.
Now I don’t know about you, but I have always found talk of sacrifices very difficult. Lots of unpleasant pictures appear in my mind; the killing of animals, priests with sharp knives, blood and fire and smoke. It all seems very unpleasant and I am always very glad that that animal sacrifice is not part of our religion.
Well animal sacrifices might not be part of our religion, but in Christianity we certainly do talk about sacrifice. It is not always easy to understand what this means. When I was studying theology I was very struck to read St Augustine of Hippo’s definition of a sacrifice. He said that a true sacrifice is “any action which is designed to unite us to God.” “Any action which is designed to unite us with God.” I was amazed by this idea, and I have spent a lot of time pondering it over.
I find it very helpful because it really opens up the possibility of our daily lives being lived as a sacrifice, as an action designed to unite us with God. For example, according to St Augustine, our coming to church can be a sacrifice. Saying our prayers can be a sacrifice. Reading the bible can be a sacrifice. Anything we do with the intention of drawing closer to God is a sacrifice. And this can include so many things. In fact, if we love, it can include everything that we do. Loving our neighbour draws us closer to God. Sweeping the floor with love draws us closer to God. Listening to the teacher with love draws us closer to God. Typing on the computer with love draws us closer to God. Even resting after lunch, if it is truly done with love, draws us closer to God.
And at this point I noticed something. There is always a cost involved in a sacrifice. In Old Testament times it was the cost of the lamb. In fact the regulations in Leviticus had a special provision for people who could not afford a lamb. They were to offer two doves or young pigeons instead. But even today our little sacrifices have a cost. Coming to church costs us part of our Sunday morning. Saying our prayers costs us time and energy and requires discipline. The same is true of reading the bible. There is a cost involved in loving our neighbour. We all know how difficult it is to love people who we don’t instinctively like. Sweeping the floor with love requires that we concentrate and do it well. It requires that we are patient with the people who get in the way, or who never say thank you after it is done. Even resting after lunch, if it is done with love, requires us to be attentive to the needs of the people around us, so there is some cost however small.
But you have probably noticed, certainly I have, that whenever we try to draw closer to God, we quickly encounter limitations and barriers within ourselves. “I want to go to church, but I don’t like the service.” “I want to say my prayers but I am angry with God.” “I want to read the bible, but I can’t be bothered.” “I want to love my colleague at work but I find him so boring.” “I would sweep the floor out of love, but I just need to get it done.” “I would rest after lunch with love, but someone has upset me!”
We are all too painfully aware of the many limitations, temptations, distractions and barriers that prevent us from drawing closer to God. Sometimes they are quite overwhelming and in our own strength we can do nothing about them. But Jesus has already overcome these things. His sacrifice on the cross allows us to draw closer to God, despite our limitations and inadequacies, sometimes even because of them! So when we hit these barriers and limitations within ourselves, let us not be discouraged. Let us simply hold them before Jesus in prayer, counting on the grace of his death and resurrection to help us.
And there is no better time to do this, than when we receive Holy Communion. Through the Eucharist we remember Christ’s death on the cross and its grace is made present to us. When we receive Holy Communion we receive the presence of Jesus and that grace right inside our bodies. So, as we come up to receive Holy Communion today, let us give thanks for Jesus and for the sacrifice that he made for us on the cross. Let us offer up to Jesus all those things that prevent us from drawing closer to God. Let us entrust them to his mercy, to the great mercy of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Baptism of Christ - Making yourself one

Sermon preached at 11am Choral Mattins at Mary the Virgin, Lapworth on Sunday 9th January 2011. Shorter versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist at Mary’s and at 3pm Evensong at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton.

Baptism of Christ – Year A

Readings: Isaiah 42: 1-9, Matthew 3: 13-17



My grandfather, when he was getting married, rather boldly assumed that he would not need a ticket to get into the church for his wedding. It turned out that this rather bold assumption was wrong. He was marrying the daughter of an archbishop, and the cathedral had all its “big event” procedures in place, including ticket only entrance. My grandfather and the best man finally entered the cathedral by climbing over some railings at the back. He ripped his trousers in the process so had to cope with torn trousers all day, but then he dined out on the story for the rest of his life!
In one way it seems quite reasonable that my grandfather should not need a ticket to attend his own wedding. If he really had been unable to get in, they would presumably have noticed! People would have gone to find him.
But Jesus, when he entered this world, which he created, seemed to seek none of the special privileges which, as Son of God or Messiah, he might reasonably have expected. This lack of special treatment is especially clear in the Christmas/Epiphany season. On 1st January the church marks the “Circumcision of Christ”. Just like any other new born baby boy in Judaism, Jesus was circumcised on the eighth day. In three weeks time we shall remember the “Presentation of Christ in the Temple”. Just like any other newborn, Jesus is taken to the Temple with his mother on the 40th day for the rites of purification. And in our gospel reading today, we see Jesus, just like any repent Jew at that time, coming to John the Baptist for Baptism so as to prepare for the coming Messiah.
Well, as we heard in the gospel reading, John the Baptist could see that it would be more appropriate if he, John, was baptised by Jesus. But Jesus persuades him to go along with the baptism, at least for the time being. And this obedience of Jesus, and his parents, to the normal religious rules for normal people shows us something of the great humility of the God who became human. It shows us how Jesus is completely and fully human.
And this is very important. Because somehow it is the way that Jesus, who is God, becomes like us, fully human, that opens up the possibility of us to become like him; of us coming to share in God’s own divine life.
The Baptism of Christ shows us this especially. At the baptism the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and came to rest upon Jesus. This was a sure sign that Jesus had received the Spirit. It was a reminded of the prophecy of Isaiah that we read earlier, “I have put my spirit upon him”. It reveals Jesus to be the Messiah, the anointed one of God, the one who has received God’s own Spirit. This is something very special and specific to Jesus, but ultimately we all come to share in its benefits. So, for example, at our own Baptism we receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and we are strengthened in the Holy Spirit at our confirmation.
Also at the Baptism of Christ, God’s voice declares “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” This voice reveals Jesus to be Son of God. Again it echo the Isaiah prophecy, “Here is my servant…the chosen one, in whom my soul delights.” Again this is something very special and specific to Jesus, about being Son of God, but also once again it is something in which ultimately we come to share. Through our Baptism we become a new creation, like an adopted son of God, a co-heir with Christ.
So it is strange and interesting that at the Baptism of Christ, when the Holy Spirit descends and reveals Jesus to be Messiah, and the voice of the Father reveals him to be Son of God, Jesus, by the humility of his own actions is revealing himself to be completely and fully human, Son of Man as much as he is Son of God.
And this humility of Jesus, losing all the privileges of being God, in order to be fully human like us, demonstrates a very typical characteristic of Christian love, a characteristic which we are all called to practice and grow into. This is the practice being ready to let go of our own identity and our own ideas in order to fully share in the life of the person in front of us. So, for example, we put to one side what we think about a particular situation in order to hear properly what another person has to say about it. I had an experience of this recently when someone was upset about a funeral service I had conducted at the crematorium. I felt defensive and rather than listen properly I wanted to explain why the service was the way it was. I have to admit that I did do that a bit, but to the extent that I did listen properly what emerged was much more upset about the person lost than about the service. Listening properly would have helped the truth to emerge and heeling to take place.
This characteristic Christian way of loving has been described as “making yourself one” with the person beside you. It is involves temporarily setting aside our own thoughts and agendas in order to fully appreciate the thoughts and agendas of another person. It involves placing ourselves in their shoes, as though we are living their lives, with their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows. It is not an action of weakness, or about allowing others to dominate us, but it is about seeking and valuing the experience and attitudes of Jesus in a different person. It is a practice in line with St Paul, who became Jewish to the Jews, Greek to the Greeks and even weak to the weak (cf 1 Corinthians 9: 19ff) in order to love in this way. And it is a very powerful way of loving that builds shared understanding, appreciation of difference, unity and communion; real shared life. I commend it to you, but the ultimate example must always be Jesus, who put aside being God in order to be completely human.

The true light, coming into the world

Sermon preached at Midnight Mass, 11.30pm, 24th December 2010 at St Mary’s Lapworth. Shorter versions of this sermon were also preached on 25th December at the 8.30am Said Eucharist at St Mary’s and at the 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP) at St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton.

Readings (set III): Is 52: 7-10 John 1: 1-14


My uncle, who is not a great church goer, used to complain, “Every time I go to church, we always have the same scripture reading. There is the whole bible to choose from, but they always choose the same bit to read in the service…you know, that bit “In the beginning was the word…”. Well of course, when we worked it out, we realised that the reason he only ever got one scripture reading was that he only ever went to one service, which was Midnight mass, and at Midnight mass we do very often have that famous reading from John.
And although it is a very famous reading and is very well known, it is not an easy reading to understand. It talks about Jesus in many different ways. It talks of Jesus as “Word of God”, as the source of creation and life, and as light. It also talks of Jesus as flesh, and as Son of God. Well you will be relieved to know that I am not going to analyse all those different descriptions of Jesus today. Rather I would like to just reflect with you about Jesus as light.
Now we all know how important light is, and how difficult things can be when there is no light. When she was very young, one of our children used to be afraid of the dark. We would put her to bed at night with her bedroom door ajar, and with the landing light on, and that would be fine. But one night, our first night back after two weeks away on holiday, there was a power cut in the middle of the night. Somehow Imogen managed to notice that it was completely dark and she started screaming because she was afraid of the dark. Elaine and I woke up and tried to sort things out. I found myself completely confused. I was half awake and half asleep. I was confused about whether I was in the holiday house in France, or in our own home. I couldn’t remember where there were any candles or torches. So Elaine went to find a candle, and I went in to comfort Imogen. Anyway I made no progress in comforting Imogen, because it was dark and she was scared of the dark, so she kept on screaming and I remained in my utterly confused state, not even sure about what house I was in. Anyway eventually Elaine arrived with a candle and there was light; not a lot of light but light enough and it made all the difference. Suddenly Imogen stopped screaming, suddenly I was properly awake, and knew what house I was in and everything was fine. What a difference a little light makes!
And Jesus, the light of the world, also makes a huge difference. Without Jesus it is very unclear why we exist on this earth, how we should live, how we should respond to the people around us, how we should pray or what we should think about God, or life or death or good or evil. Jesus, by his teaching and by his example, throws extraordinary light on all these questions. He reveals God to be a father who loves us, and who has created us for an eternal good. He reveals God as present in the people around us, who we need to love and serve if God’s creation in us is to realise its potential; if the full meaning of our lives is to be revealed. And this light that Jesus throws on our lives is very closely related to Jesus as “word of God”, as God’s explanation, God’s teaching, God’s encouraging. It is like God is trying to communicate to us how we should live as human beings. How best to do that? Perhaps by words of explanation, by pictures, by diagram, The best explanation is by example, and this is Jesus the light of the world.
But Jesus is also light in the sense that light sustains life. Plants grow in the light, so without light there would be no plants and so no food for animals and so no animals. Light is fundamental to life and is associated with joy and contentment, whereas darkness is associated with death and frustration and misery. So Jesus, who is God the source of life, is also light in this sense, that life and all good things ultimately come from him.
And in the NT we think of the kingdom of heaven as a kingdom of light, and we contrast it with Satan’s kingdom of darkness. The light overcomes the darkness, and evil always tries to hide from the light, because the light exposes evil for what it is.
So my hope this Christmas is that we will all receive the light of Christ in our hearts; that we will make room for it, nurture it and allow it to grow. I hope that, by the light of Jesus, by his teaching and example, we may understand his love for us, and understand the love by which we need to relate to the people around us. I hope that the light of Christ we reveal to us our true identities, the people God created us to be. I hope that by this light of Christ shining in us, we in turn might provide light for the people around us, and help them to realise their true selves as well. Amen.

John the Baptist - the forerunner foreseen

Sermon preached at 11am Coral Mattins at St Mary’s Lapworth on Sunday 12th December 2010. A shorter version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist.

Advent III – Year A
Readings: Is 35: 1-10 Matthew 11: 2-11


On the third Sunday of Advent we traditionally think about John the Baptist in his role as the forerunner of the Messiah, preparing the way of the Lord. Now this role of the forerunner, the person to announce the coming Messiah, and to help people to prepare to greet him was a role that had been mapped out in prophecy long before either John the Baptist or Jesus were born. All four of the gospel writers make this point, but Matthew seems particularly keen to emphasis it and he makes several references to the different Old Testament scriptures that foresee John the Baptist.
So for example in the gospel reading that the lectionary scheduled for last week (which we did not actually use it because of the Christingle) Matthew quotes Isaiah 40:3ff “A voice cries out in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God…say to the cities of Judah, here is your God.”
In the gospel reading we heard today Matthew records Jesus quoting from Malachi 3: 1ff where it says, “see I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple”
And if we had read a little further with our gospel reading today we would have heard Jesus make a subtle reference to Malachi 4: 5 which says, “Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes” and Jesus affirms that this means John the Baptist.
Now when you go back and read these prophecies in their original OT context, the thing that is very noticeable is the power and glory that the prophets expect to see associated with the Messiah at his coming. Malachi describes his coming as a “great and terrible day” 4: 5). He asks, “But who can endure the day of his coming and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap…” (Mal 3: 2). The Isaiah prophecy says, “The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all people shall see it together,” and it talks of people withering away like grass when the Lord blows upon it. (Is 40: 5ff)
And this theme of a glorious and terrible coming is also present in the Isaiah passage that we heard this morning, “Here is your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” (Is 35: 4). And this seems to be very consistent with the message of John the Baptist in that gospel reading (which we did not have) last week. John asked the Pharisees and Sadducees, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath come?...even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees.” (Matt 3: 7-10)
Now these prophecies of the Lord coming in glory with vengeance and fire seem to contrast rather with the story of the birth of Jesus, which seems to emphasis the meekness of being excluded from the inn, the poverty of the stable, the joy, peace and goodwill of the angels’ message. So how do we make sense of this difference? Why are the prophecies about the coming of Jesus so different from his actually coming?
Well, for a first century Jew, this difference was pretty clear evidence that Jesus was not the Messiah. The Messiah was meant to establish a kingdom of justice and peace with Israel at its centre. Jesus did not do this, so he can’t be the Messiah.
Now a first century Christian would have probably responded, “Well the first coming of Jesus was all about teaching us to how to live in the kingdom of God; what are its values and its cultural norms, its laws. But the tangible and visible implementation of the kingdom, that is a matter for the second coming of Christ. That’s why we must prepare for the second coming of Christ. That’s why Advent is so important.
Well, it has been a bit of a theme for me this Advent to ask how we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ, how we prepare ourselves for life in God’s kingdom, the everlasting kingdom. And I keep coming back to two important forms of preparation. First there is the internal and invisible preparation that we make building relationship with the coming Jesus through our prayer and worship. Through prayer and worship we seek to know Jesus better, understand better his values and priorities and the specific things that he wants from us in our lives.
Then second there is the outward and visible preparation which is about how we live our lives in society, how we deal with the people around us. And here we prepare ourselves for the kingdom of God by seeking to live out its values here on earth. And so we try to see Jesus present in the people that we meet. We try to help them and serve them. We try to live according to the specific commandments of Jesus – “love one another, as I have loved you.” Now we can only do that in partial way because here on earth we are subject to sin, the sin in ourselves and the sin in the society we live in, but we can humbly hold that sin before God and use the freedom that we do have to live out the values of the kingdom of God, to live for the others, to be generous and merciful. And when we manage to live in this way Jesus’ presence within us is strengthened and grows. And through this training we become better able to live in God’s kingdom, to abide by its laws, live according to its norms and values and to express its culture. And through this, as well, sin is pushed back and obedience to God grows. Little by little we make our own small contribution to the building the kingdom of God on earth. Amen.

Isaiah and the coming Messiah

Sermon preached at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton at 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP) on Sunday 5th December 2010. A shorter version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist at St Mary’s, Lapworth.
Advent 2 – Year A

Readings: Isaiah 11: 1-10 Matt 3: 1-12

There is a tradition that on the second Sunday of Advent we reflect especially on the prophets, who foresaw the coming of Jesus, many centuries before he was actually born. Now there were many prophets spoke of the coming of a great Messiah. Messiah means anointed one. Now the kings of Israel were not so much crowned as anointed with oil, so Israel certainly expected the Messiah, the anointed to be a great king, like King David or King Solomon from Israel’s glory days, which were about 1000 BC.
As I said, many prophets spoke of the coming of the great Messiah, but it is probably the book of Isaiah that is the richest source of these prophecies, and it is no surprise then that we often read a great deal of Isaiah in Advent, as we look forward expectantly to the coming of the Lord.
Now Isaiah the prophet was writing in the eighth century BC, but the book of Isaiah contains a lot of later material from the sixth century BC presumably included by followers of the Isaiah tradition. The Messiahanic prophecies run through the whole book. The passage that we heard today if probably from the earlier period (although different scholars have different views). It is one of the classic prophecies of about the Messiah and it is very helpful text to reflect on in Advent. Let’s have a look at what the passage tells us to expect in Jesus.
“A shoot shall spring from the stock of Jesse”. Well Jesse was the Father of King David, so we are told to expect a Messiah who is a descendent of King David. This also fits well with God’s promises to David in 2 Samuel 7 and repeated in the Psalms (e.g. Psalm 89).
“The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him” We are told that the messiah will have the Spirit of God, he will somehow be particularly close to God and walk in relationship with God.
We are told the messiah will have the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel and might. The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. In the Christian tradition these “seven” qualities have become known as the gifts of the Holy Spirit. (There are also the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5) I don’t know if you were counting, but I only listed six gifts of the Holy Spirit. Well apparently the Vulgate Latin bible had two expressions for “fear of the Lord”, one of which was usually translated at piety, so that makes seven.
Then the text gives us several qualities of the messiah, which we might associate more with the second coming of Christ than with his first coming. It tells us he will be a judge, and will judge with integrity. He will judge by righteousness, rather than by outward appearances. His judgement will bring justice for the meek and the poor. It will being death and downfall for the wicked.
And then we hear a description of the kingdom where the Messiah reigns. It will be a kingdom of justice and peace. The wolf will lie down with the lamb, the lion will eat straw like an ox. It is like a return to the perfection of the garden of Eden, before sin entered the world and where where everything seems to have been vegetarian. Humanity it seems lives not only in perfect harmony with God, but also in perfect harmony with nature and the environment. “The infant will play over the hole of the adder, and the baby put his hand in the vipers nest, but hurt or harm will be done on the Holy mountain of the Lord”. It seems that even the snake, who caused all that trouble in the garden of Eden, has somehow be brought safely and peacefully into the Messiahanic Kingdom.
So, Advent is about preparing for the coming of the Lord, both the baby who comes to us at Christmas time, and the great king and judge who comes to us at the end of time. And how do we prepare for his coming?
Well last week I made two suggestions. The first was to prepare by improving and developing our life of prayer and worship. I said that through prayer and worship start a relationship with Jesus, that means we are not at first base when he comes. It is as though we are pen-pals or internet friends who meet in real life for the first time. Well it seems to me that this suggestion is very consistent with what Isaiah says. He emphasises that those qualities of the Messiah to do with wisdom and insight, knowledge and fear of the Lord. Prayer and worship is a critically important way into these gifts of the spirit. They are gifts; we can’t just grow them ourselves, but we can ask for them, and seek them through prayer and worship, and this is pleasing to God and it encourages him to share with us wisdom and knowledge, as we grow to know him better and contemplate his ways.
Also last week I suggested that to greet Jesus well, we need to be accustomed to greeting him in all his different faces in the people who we meet in the different circumstances of our life. And just as we meet many different kinds of people, so more likeable, so less so, so there are many aspects to the character of Jesus, some towards which we feel drawn, some of which feel less attractive. But they are all Jesus, we need to learn to love them all. Well again I think this has great consistency with what Isaiah says. Isaiah talks of the Messiahanic Kingdom of justice and peace. We need to prepare ourselves to be good citizens of that kingdom. It is what we are called to, the destiny towards which we must move. And to live in that kingdom we must live by justice and peace. To be just means to treat people right; to give them their proper due, to afford them the dignity that God affords to them, to recognise the image of God in their creation. Of course this is much easier if they are also being just to us, but just as God always takes the initiative in love, is always the first to love, so we need to learn to be the first to love, being just to others even before they are just to us.
So, as we think about the prophets preparing the way for the Messiah, and as we give thanks to God for the Isaiah tradition in particular, so we can continue our preparations for meeting with Jesus. We can continue to develop our life of prayer and worship so as to grow in the knowledge and love of God, to grow in wisdom and understanding and the fear of the Lord. Similarly we can practice being good citizens of the coming kingdom of God by becoming ever more just in our treatment of other people, by properly honouring and respecting God’s creation in them. Amen.

Preparing to meet Jesus

Sermon preached at 3pm Evensong at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton on Sunday 28th November 2010. Different versions of this sermon were also preached at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at 11am Coral Mattins.

Advent Sunday - Year A

Readings: Is 2: 1-5 Matt 24: 36-44

(Note form only)

Advent is about expecting the coming of Jesus, about preparing to meet him.

1) Preparing to welcome baby Jesus at Christmas
- preparations might include decorations, presents, food
- we think about this more in second half of Advent

2) Preparing for the Second coming of Christ
- we think about this especially on Advent Sunday, and first part of Advent.
- our scripture readings focus on this
- Isaiah talking of the word of the Lord & instruction going forth from Jerusalem. The whole world wants to learn, and walk in the Lords ways, because the Lord is King. Wars end.
- In the gospel Jesus emphasises that the Son of man will come at an unexpected time, like a thief in the night. Christian tradition teaches us to stay awake, be vigilant, expect this coming always.

3) Meeting with Jesus when we die – might also think of this


How do we prepare for the coming of Jesus? – it is a bit awkward because we don’t know when, and we don’t know what it will be like.

It reminds me of the Downton Abbey TV series and a scene involving Carson the Butler.
Its 1914 and a telephone has been installed in the house for the first time.
Carson sits in front the telephone apprehensively preparing for the first moment when it must be used.
He practices answering the telephone.
He finds himself speaking to the operator.
terrible shock – Carson very abrupt – all a bit unsatisfactory.
However Carson spoke good English, clearly and slowly.
It is quite clear that with a little more experience he will cope very well with the telephone.

Waiting for Jesus has some of that same apprehension and uncertainty/awkwardness.
Can be scary.
How can we make prepare well to greet Jesus when he comes/ when we meet him?
How can we make sure that we good at the language of heaven, just has Carson had spoken good English loud and clear.


Well one way is through pray and worship. If we are well accustoming to speaking to Jesus through prayer and worship, then that is a good start to the relationship when he comes to meet us. It is like when pen-pals, or people who met on the internet, actually meet in real life. The experience is different, but there is already a relationship to build on. It is a very good start, but it is not everything.

There is another important aspect to preparing to meet Jesus.
Jesus said “What you do to the least you do to me”
“You can not love God, who you can’t see, unless you love the brothers who you can see”
A big part of our relationship with Jesus concerns the way that we treat Jesus in the people we meet. When we meet Jesus in other people, do we respect him, honour his dignity, treat him well, go out of our way for him, serve him, love him?

The scriptures present to us Jesus in may ways. Sometimes he seems rich with lavish gifts (Wedding in Cana). Sometimes he is poor and famished (as when tempted in the wilderness). Sometimes he is loved by crowds who sing hosanna, sometimes hated by crowd who cry “crucify”. Sometimes he seems a fearsome judge, sometimes a merciful redeemer, sometimes as a great king, sometimes as a refugee, or criminal crucified on the cross.

So in our daily lives we meet many different kinds of people, rich and poor, intelligent and less gifted, foreign and local, rejoicing or suffering, well known or strangers. Jesus is present in them all. How do we respond to Jesus in all these different kinds of people? Do we love him and serve him? Do we deny that he is there, or try to avoid him? Perhaps we kid ourselves thinking, “Yes, but it will be much easier to love Jesus himself than to love all these different people.” Well I am not sure. The historical Jesus was a Jew by culture, more than a Christian. He was from the middle-east. He didn’t speak English. In short he was very, very different from us and could be quite a challenge for us to love. Welcoming people who are very different is always a challenge. Finding the right way to love them, help them, serve them, work for their good is also a challenge. However it is crucial practise for any meeting with Jesus. Jesus will be well aware of how we have treated him in other people.

So to prepare to meet Jesus let’s build our relationship with him. Let’s do this through prayer and through worship, but above all let’s do it by trying to find Jesus in the people we encounter through our daily lives, and trying to help and serve him. If we can do this well then we know that there will be great joy when we finally meet Jesus face to face. Amen.

Christ the King

Sermon preached on Sunday 21st November 2010 at the 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth. Other versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at the 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP) at St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton.
Christ the King – Year C
Readings: Col 1: 11-20 Luke 23: 33-43


I was recently producing a new service booklet for a “Family Eucharist” with David and Mal Suggitt. One of the things that tried to do was to find small and appropriate illustrations to put against each section of the service. So by the Scripture Reading we put a picture of the bible, and by the Peace we put a picture of a Dove. When I looked at the first draft of the service book I was very interested in the picture that David and Mal had selected to put next to the Gloria. Now we are all very familiar with the Gloria, which is a hymn of praise to God in his glory: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth”. The Gloria is especially appropriate for the festival of Christ the King because it emphasises the glory of Jesus, seated at the right hand of God the Father; “You alone are the Holy One. You alone are the Lord. You alone are the most high, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit in the Glory of God the Father.”
Now the picture that the Suggitts had placed next to this was a picture of Christ on the Cross. It is a picture in which Christ’s body seems to radiate glory, but it is nevertheless a picture of him dying on the cross. Look out for it when we next have a Family Eucharist. The next one is coming up with Epiphany on 2nd January. Now it does seem to be a very strange way of celebrating the glory of Christ: to depict him dying on the cross. Strange it may be, but it is a choice that resonates deeply with the tradition of the church.
So, for example, we see something of that strange contrast in the choice of our scripture reading for today in this year C of the lectionary. Today is the last Sunday of the Church’s year. We think about Christ in his triumph at the end of time. We celebrate Christ the King, Christ in his Glory, Christ in whom all things hold together, who comes to have first place in everything (as our epistle put it). And yet the gospel reading is the story of the crucifixion! The crucifixion! Not so much a moment of glory and a moment of pain and insult, shame and disaster.
But if we look carefully at our gospel reading, beyond the crucifixion, there are clear pointers to Christ the King, to Christ in his glory….

[From this point, bullet points only]

Reference to Jesus as “King of the Jews”
- reminder of Pilate’s questions to Jesus during his trial (John 18: 33-38)
- “my kingdom is not of this world” (or not yet anyway!)

Penitent thief’s comment “Jesus, remember me, when you come into your kingdom”
- Jesus responds positively seeming to affirm his kingdom in heaven

In John’s gospel (12: 23-28) Jesus talks of the hour of his crucifixion and his glory as though they are almost the same thing. Certainly they are closely linked. The crucifixion leads to the glory.

I recently saw an old film from VE day – 1945. A triumph was achieved. There was great joy and women from London were dancing in the streets. It seemed a very purified joy, without the negative aspects of triumphalism, that seeks to dominate others.
Purified no doubt by the sufferings of the blitz and losing sons/husbands/sweethearts through the war.

Close link between suffering and glory gives us hope to us in our own trials and sufferings – be they small or large
- we try to live them with Christ, like Christ on the cross
- we shall also be with Christ in his glory
- New Testament frequently links suffering to glory
o Rom 8: 17-18, 2 Cor 4: 16-17, Col 3: 3-4, Heb 2: 9-10, 1 Pet 5:10
- We are called to share in the glory of Jesus – share his throne Rev 3:21

So we try to live our sufferings well, with love for Jesus in the moment of his sufferings.
We have a special opportunity in the Eucharist
- where we celebrate Jesus’ death and rising to glory
- bring to the Eucharist our sufferings small and large
- through the Eucharist share them with Jesus in his passion
- Jesus then shares with us his life, his body and blood

So commend to you sharing with Christ in his sufferings and in the glory of his kingship, especially through the Eucharist.

Remembrance and Commitment

Sermon preached on Sunday 14th November 2010 at the 10.30am Remembrance Day service at St Mary’s, Lapworth and at 3pm Evensong at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton.
Remembrance Sunday

Readings: Isaiah 32: 1-2 & 12-18 John 15: 9-17


Getting ready for Remembrance Sunday has caused me to have a good hard look at the services that we use, and the things which typically happen on Remembrance Sunday. And it seems to me that a Remembrance Sunday service usually hinges around two key Acts; an Act of Remembrance and an Act of Commitment. Certainly in our service today we have these two key Acts, and I would like to spend a moment now, seeking to understand them better; the Act of Remembrance and the Act of Commitment.
First of all, our Act of Remembrance. In our Act of Remembrance we are above all remembering people who have died in war; especially those people who have given their lives for the freedom and security of this nation. The older ones among us might remember specific people who died in the second world war. Many of us however cannot remember specific people, but we can certain allow ourselves to be reminded of the great sacrifices of war. We might think of the trenches of the First World War, of the mud, the barred wire, the shelling, the gas, the rats, the machine guns, the fear and the periodic moments of great slaughter. We might think of the injured and lame, those returning home with shell shock or physiological trauma. But above all we remember the people who died, and as a solemn reminder of the people from Lapworth who died, we read their names out during the Act of Remembrance.
And then what does this remembering do for us. What emotions might it generate in us? Well certainly there is sadness and a sense of loss. Certainly there is a recognition that a great price has been paid by a great many people. Hopefully we can identify with those people a little so that we feel some of their loss as our own loss. And perhaps we have some other more difficult emotion, guilt or anger, which we need to work our way through. But through our remembrance, we are seeking to arrive at a sense of deep and profound gratitude. A solemn sense of thanksgiving for the great price that has been paid for us, and the great benefits won for us; for the freedom and security that we enjoy in this country.
And hopefully this pattern of remembrance and thanksgiving will be familiar to us. It is the basic pattern of our church services, especially the Eucharist, is a remembrance of Jesus, a remembrance of his passion and death and a thanksgiving for all the great benefits that he has won for us.
Then we come to our Act of Commitment. This is about our personal response. As we remember the great sufferings that have been bourn for us and the great benefits that we have received from others how do we respond? The Act of Commitment that we make together today in church encourages us to respond by being generous to others, as we have received. It encourages us to work for the service of God and humanity, to work for the relief of the needy and the building of peace. And as we make that Act of Commitment today, I hope that we will think not only about the international scale where relief of the needy is conducted through Oxfam or Christian Aid and the quest for peace by the United Nations, but also we will think about our families and the people we know locally. How do we work for the relief of needs and for peace amongst the people who we know? Locally the needs are less likely to be about food and housing and more likely to be about companionship, belonging and sense of community. How do we work for peace locally? Well it is about always seeking to build relationships with other people that are ever deeper, stronger, more trusting and modelled on God’s love for us.
And again we have a familiar model in how to do this; Jesus, who commands us to love one another, as he has loved us. And by his life Jesus showed us what it meant to love others, to work for their good. Today we heard Jesus explain that the person with the greatest love is the one who is willing to pay down life for his friend. Jesus was willing to do this, and he did this because he knew that love has a value that endures, even through death.
So as we make our act of Remembrance, let’s solemnly remember those who have died and the great sacrifices made for us. Let’s seek to arrive at a profound attitude of gratitude and thanksgiving for what we have received. Then in our Act of Commitment, let’s renew our resolve to work for better relationships locally, and for the renewal of our nation and ultimately for renewal in the whole world. Amen.

Remembrance at the Eucharist

Sermon preached on Sunday 14th November 2010 at 8.30am Said Eucharist at St Mary’s, Lapworth.

Remembrance Sunday

Readings: Isaiah 32: 1-2 & 12-18 John 15: 9-17



Our reading from Isaiah this morning outlines a pattern that we see many times in the history of Israel in the Old Testament. The pattern goes like this: things go well for Israel and she prospers and grows, but then she starts to forget about God and trust in her own abilities and powers. She becomes over confident and there is a fall, sometimes a catastrophic fall with the whole country laid waste. But some seemly insignificant remnant of Israel survives the disaster, and through it is purified and draws closer to God. God pour out his spirit on this remnant, which starts to grow and to flourish once more, but hopefully purer and closer to what God ultimately wants.
And this pattern is by no means unique to Israel. The great wars of the 20th century had an effect somewhat like this on the societies of Western Europe. Whole sections of society perished and many old ways of life passed away. But after the disaster of the wars, quite quickly new life appeared and started to flourish. Today we remember with solemn gratitude those who have died in war and we give thanks for the freedom and security that they have won for us and for this nation.
And we see something of this pattern lived out by Jesus. Jesus was free of sin himself, but this did not protect him from the sin of others. As his ministry develops, he was eventually completely overtaken by the forces of evil. His passion and death appear to be the ultimate disaster; God who created everything is crucified by his creation. But this is not the end. God pours out his spirit! There is the resurrection. Jesus receives a new life, more wonderful that the life he had before; a life that is stronger than death.
This is the pattern that we act out in the Eucharist. Following Jesus’ command to “do this in remembrance of me” we are confronted with (perhaps even share in??) his passion and death by sharing in his broken body and blood outpoured. We express our solemn gratitude and thanksgiving for all the benefits that Jesus has won for us, through his passion and death. Above all, through the Eucharist, we receive an outpouring of Jesus’ resurrection life through which we can grow and flourish.
So as we receive communion today, let’s give thanks Jesus who died for us, and for those who have died for our nation in war. Let’s seek to receive new life and to flourish in ways that are worthy of the gifts we have received.

Becoming Saints

Sermon preached at 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth on Sunday 31st October 2010. A shortened version of this sermon was also preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at 9.45am Holy Communion (BCP) at St Michael’s, Baddesley Clinton.
All Saints’ Sunday – Year C
Readings: Ephesians 1: 11-23 Luke 6: 20-31


So today we are celebrating All Saints Day, transferred from Monday 1st November and on Tuesday 2nd November we shall be remembering All Souls Day. So today we remember people who have died and who are holy, close to God and who dwell joyfully in the fullness of God’s presence. Then on Tuesday we remember all other people who have died with good will towards God but who we hesitate to think of as Saints.
Let’s think about this more carefully using the metaphor of a journey. We think of the Christian life as a journey towards God. The journey ends (or better: reaches fulfilment) when we come to share in the life of the Trinity in heaven. Walking the journey towards heaven is therefore about drawing ever closer to God. Christ is both the “the way” we must follow, the road, and the shepherd who leads us along it. As we draw closer to God we understand him better. We learn his ways and we learn to move in harmony with them. It is about being freed from sin, so that we can stand in the presence of God. It is about becoming pure in heart, so that we can see God.
Or we can use the metaphor of healing. As humans we were created in the image of God, and made good. Yet, somehow, we have been diseased by sin and our humanity has been compromised. We are now in a process of recovery. Healing is about overcoming sin and developing truly and fully into the human being that God created us to be. Christ is the both the healer and the example of perfect humanity to which we aspire. We can think of the church as the hospital in which we are treated and in which we convalesce. As we listen to the doctor in hospital, so we listen to God in the bible. As we receive medicines in a hospital, so we receive sacraments in the church. As we might receive surgery in hospital, so God sometimes cuts open and reorders our earthly lives. As physiotherapy or occupational therapy might prepare us for life outside the hospital, so the situations we face in our earthly lives prepares us for the life of heaven.
Or we might use the metaphor of an apprenticeship or professional training. Earthly life is a training ground in which we learn the skills that we need to live the life of heaven. Qualification in the trade is like attaining to the norms of heaven. Christ is the teacher, our trainer, and we seek to become like him. As trainees read their manuals, so Christians study the bible. As trainees get day-release in college, so Christians come to church once a week. As trainees listen to and copy the expert, so Christians listen to Christ and copy him.
Whichever of these metaphors we use, it is important to see our earthly lives as process of becoming more Christ-like, more God-like. This process is God’s work in us. When we remember “All Saints” we are thinking of people who have died and in whom this work of God shows a certain completeness or fulfilment; people who are ready and fit to be good citizens of heaven. When we think of “All Souls” we think or people who have died for whom this process of becoming holy is still work in progress. And if we think of the people who we have known who have died, probably most of them are more holiness-in-progress rather than holiness-realised, and so we especially remember them on All Souls day.
Now I said that this process of becoming holy is “God’s work in us”. It is important that we remember that, because we can only progress by God’s grace. We can’t achieve holiness in our own strength! But we certainly do have a part to play. It is crucially important that we respond positively to God’s love for us. We need to co-operate with God’s grace in our lives. We need to want the things that God wants for us. The desire for holiness must grow within us. We need to pray for this. We need to order our daily lives, our days and our minutes, according to God’s will and purpose for us.
And this process of becoming holy, of becoming saints, is very important and often we don’t take it seriously enough. Do we think of ourselves as saints in the making? Do we think of ourselves as drawing ever closer to God? Do we think of ourselves as recovering from sin and becoming perfect, as our heavenly father is perfect? Do we think of ourselves saints in training? Well we can and should think of ourselves in this way. Ultimately we must go to heaven or hell; we are either with God or against him. It seems to me sensible to walk firmly and boldly towards God and towards the life of heaven!
And it has to be said that we Christians can often seem woefully negligent in this respect. We tend to drift along wanting to think of ourselves as “good people” but not as “holy people” or saints. I was interested to read something [“Finding Happiness” by Christopher Jamison, London: Weidenfield & Nicolson 2008] about the seven deadly sins. Apparently at one stage there were eight deadly sins. The one that somehow got lost is “acedia” which means spiritual carelessness or apathy. Certainly acedia seems a terrible problem for many Christians in these present times.
So let’s not suffer from this spiritual apathy of acedia. Let’s be attentive to God’s work in us. Let’s want it and pray for it. Let’s co-operate fully with it. Let’s thirst for the life of heaven. Let’s trust in its goodness and power. As Paul said in our reading today, “…may you know the hope to which [Christ] has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints”. In this way we can make progress on the journey, we can be healed and made whole, we can be trained up for the life heaven, and these are things of everlasting value. They are real riches. Let’s be keen to receive them!