20200209FifthAfterEpiphany_Sermon
Last week I said the Church’s season which resonated with light had come to an end. One of my prayers even spoke about looking away from the light towards the coming Passion of Christ. Yet, yet this week in three of our lessons the word ‘light’ occurs, occurring in total seven times.
This time between the feast of Epiphany and Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent carried many names. In the old BCP they had delightful names such Septaguesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima! Then we followed the new Roman format of calling these Sundays “Ordinary Sunday” or Sundays of the Year”. To me no Sunday is ‘ordinary’! I am glad that we have returned to call these Sundays ‘Sundays after Epiphany’ because the Season of Epiphany is no ordinary time. It is the time of God’s revealing not on a single day but ongoing. Every Sundays the vision of God is revealed to us. What occurs is the unveiling of hidden truths in unexpected places, and the illuminating of how far we have strayed from the vision of God’s kingdom of peace. It is in fact the joining of humankind (us) with the non-human world (God’s).
This challenge of ‘God’s revealing’ is for all people. God challenges the progressive Christian as well as the conservative Christian. God challenges the socialists as well as capitalists, the social activists as well as corporate directors. There is no “us” versus “them” in Epiphany. It is all “us” – we have all fallen short. And do you know, most of us who are hearing this sermon have benefitted from a system that places the Earth and its peoples in jeopardy. The well-known spiritual writer who died in the 1960s, Thomas Merton wrote a book entitled ‘The Guilty Bystander’. And that is what we are all, regardless of our level of activism. And yet we are all, despite our dim spirits, illuminated deep down by the light of God. That is why there is significance in the word ‘light’ used in today’s lessons.
The prophet Isaiah has harsh words for Israel but they apply to us today as well. Our institutional and religious generosity can’t save us – we can’t say, ‘but I gave a goodly sum in the collection plate’ and expect to be admitted into heaven. Our spiritual practices can’t save us either – ‘Oh I pray every day for those in need!’ But doing that… isn’t it merely immunizing ourselves to the cries of the poor and the pain of creation? Our religious practices have to be coupled with care for the Earth’s most vulnerable and the Earth itself. Enlightenment without compassion is destructive to our souls and the lives of others.
In the reading there is a wonderful sort of dialogue between the people and God. The people protest against God’s judgment, “We are going to Temple, we are fasting and celebrating the holy days, why don’t you listen to us?” To which the Holy One responds, “Spirituality is both/and, not either/or. You need to be both heavenly minded and earthly good. Prayers must be joined with protest. Fasting must be complemented by fairness. Otherwise, your spiritual practices and institutional support are in vain.”
It is important to note that these words from Isaiah are addressed to the elite of the nation. Do you remember when the Church opposed the political situation in our country and many members said, the church shouldn’t be involved in politics. But religion is profoundly political in any the prophetic age, whether in Isaiah’s time or in Abp Desmond’s time or Abp Thabo’s time. Religion is still political today. Our religion can heal or harm, restore or destroy. Heaven-oriented religion – those who spend their time trying to chart when the Second Coming of Jesus will be – actually draws us away from the pain of the Earth. For them what happens to the polar bears on ice floes around the North Pole, and the state of Amazonian rain forests is of no consequence because heaven is our destination and at the last trump God will return in destroy everything, anyway. Yet, though such religious viewpoints scorn conservation and Earth care, they seem to revel in drilling and dumping and money making.
In Isaiah’s time and ours the words of the prophets are drowned out by the call for financial profits, even among those who claim to be most pious! Authentic, holistic faith comes from world loyalty, from caring for the vulnerable, and ensuring that every child has a home and every parent an income. God’s guidance comes through the voices of the vulnerable, not in separated from them. Peace comes from an expansion of our self-interest to include the well-being of others, the identification of our self with the Self of the Universe, our good with the good of creation.
The Psalm also contains numerous mentions of the word ‘light’. These verses from Ps 112 connect happiness – or even better, blessedness – with generosity and fairness. Our wealth and prosperity are for the well-being of others as well as ourselves. True and lasting prosperity emerges when we are generous in our time and in terms of future generations, who will benefit from our wise stewardship.
Paul doesn’t actually use the word ‘light’ yet the New Testament Reading speaks about Divine Wisdom which surely must be light. To the Christians at Corinth, he contrasts divine and human wisdom. He says divine wisdom appears to be foolishness to those for whom profit, power, and consumption are the sole goals of life. Those who “have it all” scoff at sacrificial living and downward mobility, and at a politics of compassion. “More” is their mantra – more things, more power, more success, and more notoriety. Winning and bullying – silencing the voices of opponents and the vulnerable – is their way. In contrast, the way of Christ, is flowing through all things, moving in all things, gently providing, flourishing by sacrificing.
While preparing some of Lenten sermons I came across a term which I didn’t really like. That is the term “Fat soul”. Perhaps my dislike is because that I am rapidly becoming a fat soul but what the writer meant was a fat soul was one large enough to embrace the pain and the joy of others and look beyond immediate gratification to the well-being of generations to come. It is a fat soul not only to take the punches but because sacrificial living expands rather than contracts the soul. This is the mind of Christ, Paul tells us, Christ’s cross looks like the way of death to the powerful for whom any sacrifice or admission of fault is a form of weakness, but the cross of sacrificial love is the way of life for us and future generations of human and non-human companions. On the cross, Jesus forgives the foolishness of the powerful, and identifies with the suffering of the vulnerable and tears of the forgotten. The cross is the symbol of stature, of the largeness of spirit that seeks healing for the whole as much as self-interest. The cross-shaped mind of Christ embraces pain and sees beauty in simplicity.
We must put on the mind of Christ and for Paul that means we must live as in a permanent season of Epiphany, where all things, even in their concealing, reveal the divine. Inspired by daily epiphanies, we who have the mind of Christ are committed to bring holiness and beauty birth wherever we are.
Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount are both affirmative and challenging. “You are the salt of the earth … you are the light of the world… let your light shine.” There is that light again! What Jesus is saying is ‘Don’t play small; you are about God’s business. Don’t minimize your impact; one act of love can change the world. Your deepest nature is enlightenment, the revealing light of God. We can let our light shine not out of ego or the quest for notoriety but to give light and direction to the world and to proclaim God’s glory.” So in this passage from the Sermon on the mount, Jesus challenges his listeners to take the moral high ground, and to exceed the religious teachers in their righteousness and morality.
One thing I’ve realised from today’s lessons is that they are political, spiritual, and trans-partisan. They challenge us to listen for God’s voice in a challenging time. They challenge us to be light-bearers for just such a time as this, recognizing our complicity in social and economic injustice and ecological destruction. Yes, hopefully by 1 May you will have a new rector but whoever that person might be he or she will need your support, your light so that together the parish can set our feet on a higher and healthier path for the community, the nation, the planet in all its diversity and wonder. Whatever name we given the Sundays after Epiphany is unimportant as long as we let the light of Christ shine in us and through us.
Based on a 2017 sermon by Bruce G. Epperly, Pastor and Teacher at South Congregational Church, Centerville, MA.
Prayer
Perfect Light of revelation, as you shone in the life of Jesus, whose epiphany we celebrate, so shine in us and through us, that we may become beacons of truth and compassion, enlightening all creation with deeds of justice and mercy. Amen.
20200202Presentation_sermon
The Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple often called Candlemass is on a fixed date – 2nd February so it is not frequent that we can celebrate it on a Sunday although the Church does allow us to move it to the nearest Sunday. Today’s feast brings to an end a whole period which resonates with a sense of light. At Christmas we heard about how the Angels came to the shepherds “and glory shone around”. Although the word “light” is not used, the use of the word ‘shone’ implies light bursting into the middle of that special night. The coming of the Christ child is the celebration of the end of the darkness and the coming of the Light of the World. Twelve days later there is the feast of the Epiphany when the light of a star guides the Gentile outsiders to pay homage to the Light of the World. Then today, we bring the celebration to a close with this feast of light. In the past it has been a day for processions as we recall how Jesus entered his father’s house, the Temple, for the first time. These processions were identified with the blessing of candles carried in the procession in honour of Christ, “the light to lighten the Gentiles” as our Gospel says.
The first reading fits into the symbols of this Feast – Malachi speaks of God’s messenger coming to the Temple. The incarnation—God coming in the person of Jesus Christ to God’s temple is God’s messenger. But why were Mary, Joseph and Jesus going up to the temple in the first place? For purification and the presentation of an offering – I’ll come back to this shortly. So, their action is reflected in the Eucharist which is identified by the early Church Fathers as the pure offering that Malachi is referring to.
Our Psalm is one of those wonderful poetic psalms which were composed as entrance psalms, composed for the processional entry of the king into the temple, thus so fitting for this feast.
To fully understand the Gospel, one needs a bit of historical social anthropology. In the old Prayer Book we had a service for Purification after Childbirth or as it became know, “The Churching of Women” In our new book the name has been changed to “Thanksgiving after Childbirth”. In order to understand why we have this, we need to go back to the time of Jesus and even earlier to understand what it is all about.
To “Present a firstborn child” in Jesus’ days meant the purification of the mother, which in turn demanded a sacrifice. The Book of Leviticus gives what is needed for purification: the killing of a year-old lamb, or another animal. Poor people such as Joseph and Mary could not afford a first-born lamb, so they were allowed to sacrifice just a pigeon or a turtledove.
But what is a “sacrifice”? The word had many meanings before Jesus came. For much of history, the realm of the gods was considered something far off from the daily world of people on earth. In our world there was suffering, death, sin, warfare, uncleanness. In the godly realm there was none of this. So, human beings sought a way to disconnect things from here and send them somehow as a peace offering to heaven. The gift would have to be of high value, of course, so it should be the “first fruit,” or the first-born lamb, which would mean it was “pure.” How was it sent to the heavenly realm? By putting it to death. This part of the ritual would release its final binding to our world and send it into the heavens. Special “Priests” were set aside from ordinary life to preside at these sacrifices, so they could be understood as being disconnected from this world.
This notion of sacrifice developed through the ages, and it came to be applied to Jesus and to Christianity. Imagine for a moment. God’s Word, which is really God’s self, comes among us as a tiny human baby, the firstborn child of the Divine. If this firstborn were to grow up and become a sacrifice, then never again would anyone think that the doors to God are closed and locked, at least if they understood through faith who Jesus was. He, the Word of God, would participate in everything earthly (except sin). “Since, ... the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things,” the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says in our Second Reading. Jesus’ crucifixion could then be seen as the death prescribed in sacrifice.
In the temple, Simeon rejoices as he receives the Christ child. My eyes have seen your salvation, he says, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. Then Simeon hints at a further sacrifice to come. ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed’ And speaking directly to Mary he says ‘…and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
And quite a piercing it would be! Sacrifice includes suffering and it includes death. But in the very act of dying Jesus would show that Godliness, in its essence—which is love—survives death. And that such a life can dwell within each of us.
Simeon and Anna were not part of the formal temple personnel. They weren’t priest, evangelists, youth workers or pastoral carers. They were just there in the temple at prayer. How was it that they recognized Jesus as the “light for revelation to the Gentiles”? They recognised him because they were listening to the Holy Spirit.
How do you present Jesus Christ to others? Like Simeon and Anna? Is the Jesus we present to others a convenient cover for a life of personal misbehaviour and social indifference, or is he “the king of glory” whose person and teachings should govern us individually and collectively? Do we present Jesus to others on such a pedestal that people just dismiss his example as being an unreasonable expectation, or is he “like his brothers and sisters in every way,” one of us, a brother human whose love of justice and peace can and should be imitated by us all? Is the Jesus we present to others an accusation against them or is Jesus God’s “saving deed displayed for all the peoples to see,” Is he the Messiah who rescues us from our personal and social sinfulness?
Simeon took the babe into his arms and said, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace.” Do you think that, in tough situations, or in any situation, you will experience the peace that Simeon experienced? Think what it would be like to “hold the Lord Jesus in your arms”. Pope Francis put it very well on this Feast day in 2018 when he said: How good it is for us to hold the Lord “in our arms”, like Simeon. Not only in our heads and in our hearts, but also “in our hands,” in all that we do: in prayer, at work, at the table, on the telephone, at school, with the poor, everywhere.
Our world today is crowded with grief and torment, starvation, warfare, killing, and people whose life is one of despair. But in Jesus, God came to participate in all of it. God took the whole bundle which we call our human existence into God’s two arms and embraced it and thus made it good.
Last week I said the Church’s season which resonated with light had come to an end. One of my prayers even spoke about looking away from the light towards the coming Passion of Christ. Yet, yet this week in three of our lessons the word ‘light’ occurs, occurring in total seven times.
This time between the feast of Epiphany and Ash Wednesday and the start of Lent carried many names. In the old BCP they had delightful names such Septaguesima, Sexagesima and Quinquagesima! Then we followed the new Roman format of calling these Sundays “Ordinary Sunday” or Sundays of the Year”. To me no Sunday is ‘ordinary’! I am glad that we have returned to call these Sundays ‘Sundays after Epiphany’ because the Season of Epiphany is no ordinary time. It is the time of God’s revealing not on a single day but ongoing. Every Sundays the vision of God is revealed to us. What occurs is the unveiling of hidden truths in unexpected places, and the illuminating of how far we have strayed from the vision of God’s kingdom of peace. It is in fact the joining of humankind (us) with the non-human world (God’s).
This challenge of ‘God’s revealing’ is for all people. God challenges the progressive Christian as well as the conservative Christian. God challenges the socialists as well as capitalists, the social activists as well as corporate directors. There is no “us” versus “them” in Epiphany. It is all “us” – we have all fallen short. And do you know, most of us who are hearing this sermon have benefitted from a system that places the Earth and its peoples in jeopardy. The well-known spiritual writer who died in the 1960s, Thomas Merton wrote a book entitled ‘The Guilty Bystander’. And that is what we are all, regardless of our level of activism. And yet we are all, despite our dim spirits, illuminated deep down by the light of God. That is why there is significance in the word ‘light’ used in today’s lessons.
The prophet Isaiah has harsh words for Israel but they apply to us today as well. Our institutional and religious generosity can’t save us – we can’t say, ‘but I gave a goodly sum in the collection plate’ and expect to be admitted into heaven. Our spiritual practices can’t save us either – ‘Oh I pray every day for those in need!’ But doing that… isn’t it merely immunizing ourselves to the cries of the poor and the pain of creation? Our religious practices have to be coupled with care for the Earth’s most vulnerable and the Earth itself. Enlightenment without compassion is destructive to our souls and the lives of others.
In the reading there is a wonderful sort of dialogue between the people and God. The people protest against God’s judgment, “We are going to Temple, we are fasting and celebrating the holy days, why don’t you listen to us?” To which the Holy One responds, “Spirituality is both/and, not either/or. You need to be both heavenly minded and earthly good. Prayers must be joined with protest. Fasting must be complemented by fairness. Otherwise, your spiritual practices and institutional support are in vain.”
It is important to note that these words from Isaiah are addressed to the elite of the nation. Do you remember when the Church opposed the political situation in our country and many members said, the church shouldn’t be involved in politics. But religion is profoundly political in any the prophetic age, whether in Isaiah’s time or in Abp Desmond’s time or Abp Thabo’s time. Religion is still political today. Our religion can heal or harm, restore or destroy. Heaven-oriented religion – those who spend their time trying to chart when the Second Coming of Jesus will be – actually draws us away from the pain of the Earth. For them what happens to the polar bears on ice floes around the North Pole, and the state of Amazonian rain forests is of no consequence because heaven is our destination and at the last trump God will return in destroy everything, anyway. Yet, though such religious viewpoints scorn conservation and Earth care, they seem to revel in drilling and dumping and money making.
In Isaiah’s time and ours the words of the prophets are drowned out by the call for financial profits, even among those who claim to be most pious! Authentic, holistic faith comes from world loyalty, from caring for the vulnerable, and ensuring that every child has a home and every parent an income. God’s guidance comes through the voices of the vulnerable, not in separated from them. Peace comes from an expansion of our self-interest to include the well-being of others, the identification of our self with the Self of the Universe, our good with the good of creation.
The Psalm also contains numerous mentions of the word ‘light’. These verses from Ps 112 connect happiness – or even better, blessedness – with generosity and fairness. Our wealth and prosperity are for the well-being of others as well as ourselves. True and lasting prosperity emerges when we are generous in our time and in terms of future generations, who will benefit from our wise stewardship.
Paul doesn’t actually use the word ‘light’ yet the New Testament Reading speaks about Divine Wisdom which surely must be light. To the Christians at Corinth, he contrasts divine and human wisdom. He says divine wisdom appears to be foolishness to those for whom profit, power, and consumption are the sole goals of life. Those who “have it all” scoff at sacrificial living and downward mobility, and at a politics of compassion. “More” is their mantra – more things, more power, more success, and more notoriety. Winning and bullying – silencing the voices of opponents and the vulnerable – is their way. In contrast, the way of Christ, is flowing through all things, moving in all things, gently providing, flourishing by sacrificing.
While preparing some of Lenten sermons I came across a term which I didn’t really like. That is the term “Fat soul”. Perhaps my dislike is because that I am rapidly becoming a fat soul but what the writer meant was a fat soul was one large enough to embrace the pain and the joy of others and look beyond immediate gratification to the well-being of generations to come. It is a fat soul not only to take the punches but because sacrificial living expands rather than contracts the soul. This is the mind of Christ, Paul tells us, Christ’s cross looks like the way of death to the powerful for whom any sacrifice or admission of fault is a form of weakness, but the cross of sacrificial love is the way of life for us and future generations of human and non-human companions. On the cross, Jesus forgives the foolishness of the powerful, and identifies with the suffering of the vulnerable and tears of the forgotten. The cross is the symbol of stature, of the largeness of spirit that seeks healing for the whole as much as self-interest. The cross-shaped mind of Christ embraces pain and sees beauty in simplicity.
We must put on the mind of Christ and for Paul that means we must live as in a permanent season of Epiphany, where all things, even in their concealing, reveal the divine. Inspired by daily epiphanies, we who have the mind of Christ are committed to bring holiness and beauty birth wherever we are.
Jesus’ words from the Sermon on the Mount are both affirmative and challenging. “You are the salt of the earth … you are the light of the world… let your light shine.” There is that light again! What Jesus is saying is ‘Don’t play small; you are about God’s business. Don’t minimize your impact; one act of love can change the world. Your deepest nature is enlightenment, the revealing light of God. We can let our light shine not out of ego or the quest for notoriety but to give light and direction to the world and to proclaim God’s glory.” So in this passage from the Sermon on the mount, Jesus challenges his listeners to take the moral high ground, and to exceed the religious teachers in their righteousness and morality.
One thing I’ve realised from today’s lessons is that they are political, spiritual, and trans-partisan. They challenge us to listen for God’s voice in a challenging time. They challenge us to be light-bearers for just such a time as this, recognizing our complicity in social and economic injustice and ecological destruction. Yes, hopefully by 1 May you will have a new rector but whoever that person might be he or she will need your support, your light so that together the parish can set our feet on a higher and healthier path for the community, the nation, the planet in all its diversity and wonder. Whatever name we given the Sundays after Epiphany is unimportant as long as we let the light of Christ shine in us and through us.
Based on a 2017 sermon by Bruce G. Epperly, Pastor and Teacher at South Congregational Church, Centerville, MA.
Prayer
Perfect Light of revelation, as you shone in the life of Jesus, whose epiphany we celebrate, so shine in us and through us, that we may become beacons of truth and compassion, enlightening all creation with deeds of justice and mercy. Amen.
20200202Presentation_sermon
The Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple often called Candlemass is on a fixed date – 2nd February so it is not frequent that we can celebrate it on a Sunday although the Church does allow us to move it to the nearest Sunday. Today’s feast brings to an end a whole period which resonates with a sense of light. At Christmas we heard about how the Angels came to the shepherds “and glory shone around”. Although the word “light” is not used, the use of the word ‘shone’ implies light bursting into the middle of that special night. The coming of the Christ child is the celebration of the end of the darkness and the coming of the Light of the World. Twelve days later there is the feast of the Epiphany when the light of a star guides the Gentile outsiders to pay homage to the Light of the World. Then today, we bring the celebration to a close with this feast of light. In the past it has been a day for processions as we recall how Jesus entered his father’s house, the Temple, for the first time. These processions were identified with the blessing of candles carried in the procession in honour of Christ, “the light to lighten the Gentiles” as our Gospel says.
The first reading fits into the symbols of this Feast – Malachi speaks of God’s messenger coming to the Temple. The incarnation—God coming in the person of Jesus Christ to God’s temple is God’s messenger. But why were Mary, Joseph and Jesus going up to the temple in the first place? For purification and the presentation of an offering – I’ll come back to this shortly. So, their action is reflected in the Eucharist which is identified by the early Church Fathers as the pure offering that Malachi is referring to.
Our Psalm is one of those wonderful poetic psalms which were composed as entrance psalms, composed for the processional entry of the king into the temple, thus so fitting for this feast.
To fully understand the Gospel, one needs a bit of historical social anthropology. In the old Prayer Book we had a service for Purification after Childbirth or as it became know, “The Churching of Women” In our new book the name has been changed to “Thanksgiving after Childbirth”. In order to understand why we have this, we need to go back to the time of Jesus and even earlier to understand what it is all about.
To “Present a firstborn child” in Jesus’ days meant the purification of the mother, which in turn demanded a sacrifice. The Book of Leviticus gives what is needed for purification: the killing of a year-old lamb, or another animal. Poor people such as Joseph and Mary could not afford a first-born lamb, so they were allowed to sacrifice just a pigeon or a turtledove.
But what is a “sacrifice”? The word had many meanings before Jesus came. For much of history, the realm of the gods was considered something far off from the daily world of people on earth. In our world there was suffering, death, sin, warfare, uncleanness. In the godly realm there was none of this. So, human beings sought a way to disconnect things from here and send them somehow as a peace offering to heaven. The gift would have to be of high value, of course, so it should be the “first fruit,” or the first-born lamb, which would mean it was “pure.” How was it sent to the heavenly realm? By putting it to death. This part of the ritual would release its final binding to our world and send it into the heavens. Special “Priests” were set aside from ordinary life to preside at these sacrifices, so they could be understood as being disconnected from this world.
This notion of sacrifice developed through the ages, and it came to be applied to Jesus and to Christianity. Imagine for a moment. God’s Word, which is really God’s self, comes among us as a tiny human baby, the firstborn child of the Divine. If this firstborn were to grow up and become a sacrifice, then never again would anyone think that the doors to God are closed and locked, at least if they understood through faith who Jesus was. He, the Word of God, would participate in everything earthly (except sin). “Since, ... the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things,” the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says in our Second Reading. Jesus’ crucifixion could then be seen as the death prescribed in sacrifice.
In the temple, Simeon rejoices as he receives the Christ child. My eyes have seen your salvation, he says, which you prepared in the sight of all the peoples: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. Then Simeon hints at a further sacrifice to come. ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed’ And speaking directly to Mary he says ‘…and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’
And quite a piercing it would be! Sacrifice includes suffering and it includes death. But in the very act of dying Jesus would show that Godliness, in its essence—which is love—survives death. And that such a life can dwell within each of us.
Simeon and Anna were not part of the formal temple personnel. They weren’t priest, evangelists, youth workers or pastoral carers. They were just there in the temple at prayer. How was it that they recognized Jesus as the “light for revelation to the Gentiles”? They recognised him because they were listening to the Holy Spirit.
How do you present Jesus Christ to others? Like Simeon and Anna? Is the Jesus we present to others a convenient cover for a life of personal misbehaviour and social indifference, or is he “the king of glory” whose person and teachings should govern us individually and collectively? Do we present Jesus to others on such a pedestal that people just dismiss his example as being an unreasonable expectation, or is he “like his brothers and sisters in every way,” one of us, a brother human whose love of justice and peace can and should be imitated by us all? Is the Jesus we present to others an accusation against them or is Jesus God’s “saving deed displayed for all the peoples to see,” Is he the Messiah who rescues us from our personal and social sinfulness?
Simeon took the babe into his arms and said, “Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace.” Do you think that, in tough situations, or in any situation, you will experience the peace that Simeon experienced? Think what it would be like to “hold the Lord Jesus in your arms”. Pope Francis put it very well on this Feast day in 2018 when he said: How good it is for us to hold the Lord “in our arms”, like Simeon. Not only in our heads and in our hearts, but also “in our hands,” in all that we do: in prayer, at work, at the table, on the telephone, at school, with the poor, everywhere.
Our world today is crowded with grief and torment, starvation, warfare, killing, and people whose life is one of despair. But in Jesus, God came to participate in all of it. God took the whole bundle which we call our human existence into God’s two arms and embraced it and thus made it good.
20200112BaptismOfJesus_Sermon
As many of you know, I prepare my sermons by reading commentaries by others found in books but mainly on the internet. When I find something from the readings for Sunday that the commentator deals with in a fresh or different way that I find fascinating or useful, I try to localise them to the Simon's Town situation and then incorporate these ideas in my sermon.
This week I was reading through an interesting commentary that spoke about the celebration the life-transforming power of baptism. Then I came across a statement that pulled me up short. It stated: “While baptism is not necessary for salvation, it is a sign of God’s grace and opens the door for experiencing a greater impact of God’s energy of love in our lives and communities.” Now the second part of that statement I agree with and I will explore it shortly but it was the opening that surprised me: While baptism is not necessary for salvation. Hang on, I thought, is that right? We in the church always stress the requirement of baptism. When I invite non-Anglicans to receive communion I say, "I invite all baptised Christians to receive communion..." So, what did that commentator mean?
I spent some time thinking about it. I realised that there were three issues that we mainline church members carry around as bits of baggage on the theology of sacrament of baptism. Firstly, False teaching on the concept of Limbo, secondly, the traditional church teaching on the requirement of baptism and thirdly, a church political issue on infant or believers’ baptism. Many Roman Catholic lay people believe that a child who has not been baptised and dies will not go to heaven but will "be in Limbo". We've even taken that phrase into an English idiom describing something which is neither here nor there being ‘in limbo’.
Limbo is not the official teaching of the Roman church but us Anglican are nearly as bad. When I arrived at St Andrew Steenberg they had been without a rector for a year or so. They have monthly baptisms and I found I was having around 20 babies to baptise each month. My churchwardens came to me and said: 'Father, you are making it too easy for parents to have their children baptised. Most of them are not on the roll or pledge-givers!" While I was appalled at the suggestion that baptism required, what President Trump calls a quid pro quo - we pay a weekly pledge, you baptise our baby, I could see what the wardens were worried about. Many of the parents were merely getting their children baptised because tradition said they should.
This leads to the third piece of baggage - the argument between infant baptism and believers’ baptism. This boils down to whether you believe a sacrament can operate or be efficacious whether the recipients of that sacrament is aware of it or not. A sacrament is, as I'm sure you all remember from Confirmation Class, an outward and physical sign of an inward and spiritual grace. Baptism is a sacrament introduced by our Lord and its outward sign tells us or shows us that the person receiving the sacrament wants to receive it. But what about the inward spiritual sign? Can I as a priest of the Church of God say to God: "Sorry God, but these people are saved because I've poured some water on them and these ones aren't because I haven't." This make me into God! Who God saves is God's choice not mine or the rules of the church. God sent God's son Jesus to save all who accept Jesus as their saviour whether they have been baptised or not.
So that commentator is right baptism is not necessary for salvation, but it is a sign of God’s grace and it allows us to experience God’s energy of love in our lives and in the life of our communities. I suppose it is a bit like as a couple who do not have to share rings as a sign of their marriage but the exchange and wearing of rings gives tangible witness to a couple’s commitment and transforms the couple as they wear them. The promise of God in baptism serves to remind us, body, mind, and spirit, that we are always recipients of grace: grace does not depend on our perfection, although turning away from God may impede its flow into our lives; grace is a constant, dependable, and faithful act of God that comes to us personally and corporately in all the seasons of life.
But what is meant by the word 'Grace'? Here, Grace is a free gift from God, a gift without conditions, as I've already said there is no quid pro quo. While unconditional, grace is not unilateral – only coming from God to us, not coercive -something we have no choice over, nor uniform – the same for everyone. It comes to us just as we are in our unique situation and our own personal conditions. Later in life, we are confirmed by the bishop as a sign of our own “yes” to God’s grace. Our “yes” opens up the door for new and creative possibilities in our unique personal and communal embodiments of grace.
In our Isaiah reading the prophet speaks of God’s choice of a person or persons to be God’s messengers to the world. God is doing something new to transform the world, and we can be part of it. However, the divine decision to call some persons to unique vocations does not eliminate the fact that we are all called. For example, Jesus is unique as God’s chosen messenger and saviour; but God’s baptismal pronouncement on Jesus as God’s beloved child applies to everyone.
Psalm 29 exalts the majesty and beauty of God as is reflected in earthly life. God is self-giving: God energizes and enlivens the whole earth. God’s power empowers us to do justice. God’s sovereignty brings peace to the earth. God is the centre of all things, also gives life and purpose to all things.
Our reading from Acts 10 leaps into the middle of a story. Can I suggest you read at home Acts 10:1-23, 34-35 and 44-48 to get the whole story? Basically, it is the story of Peter and Cornelius which integrates grace, mysticism, and baptism. Inspired by a vision, Cornelius sends his servants to Peter. Peter also has a vision, challenging his narrow understanding of grace and salvation. Transformed by his vision, Peter travels to the powerful but unclean Cornelius (he was a Gentile), preaches good news, which elicits another mystical experience, the coming of God’s Spirit in a dramatic emotional and verbal experience. God’s spirit transcends any human barrier – in this case being a Gentile and thus the door is opened for Cornelius’ household to be baptised and their full inclusion as members of the body of Christ. This testifies to the universality of grace. God shows no partiality among ethnic and religious groups. Anyone who is open to God’s grace receives God’s Spirit. There are no hindrances to God’s saving word; it encompasses us all. Accordingly, we must witness to the reality that there is much salvation outside the church and its rituals and doctrines. God breaks down every theological and sociological barrier to save the lost and vulnerable.
Jesus’ baptism, as described in Matthew’s Gospel, ushers in a new level of vocational consciousness for God’s beloved child. No doubt, Jesus had known of his unique calling as God’s messenger, healer, and saviour of the world. But now it was time to acknowledge through a rite of passage his identity as global spiritual teacher, indeed, the hoped-for Messiah of the Jewish people. Jesus must now fully claim his vocation, and baptism opens him to the divine affirmation that will strengthen his resolve and focus his energies from now on. “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Today, we remember the continuity of our baptisms with Jesus’ baptism and the baptism of Cornelius and his household. We are God’s beloved, who often feel ourselves to be outsiders. Baptism proclaims that we are all insiders in the circle of God’s grace. No act of ours can nullify the grace of God. Yet, in saying “yes” to God’s baptism each day of our lives, perhaps, with our own acts of refreshment and cleansing, we become more like God’s vision for us in new and wondrous ways. We may discover, as Cornelius’ household did, new gifts of God’s Spirit which enlivening and energizing us. We may discover with Peter that the baptism we experienced is a call to welcome all people in their wondrous diversity. We may with Jesus live joyfully and actively, sharing the grace we’ve received, out of the abundance of knowing we are God’s beloved children. Yes, Baptism is the sign of God’s grace and opens the door for experiencing a greater impact of God’s energy of love in our lives and in the life of our communities.
As many of you know, I prepare my sermons by reading commentaries by others found in books but mainly on the internet. When I find something from the readings for Sunday that the commentator deals with in a fresh or different way that I find fascinating or useful, I try to localise them to the Simon's Town situation and then incorporate these ideas in my sermon.
This week I was reading through an interesting commentary that spoke about the celebration the life-transforming power of baptism. Then I came across a statement that pulled me up short. It stated: “While baptism is not necessary for salvation, it is a sign of God’s grace and opens the door for experiencing a greater impact of God’s energy of love in our lives and communities.” Now the second part of that statement I agree with and I will explore it shortly but it was the opening that surprised me: While baptism is not necessary for salvation. Hang on, I thought, is that right? We in the church always stress the requirement of baptism. When I invite non-Anglicans to receive communion I say, "I invite all baptised Christians to receive communion..." So, what did that commentator mean?
I spent some time thinking about it. I realised that there were three issues that we mainline church members carry around as bits of baggage on the theology of sacrament of baptism. Firstly, False teaching on the concept of Limbo, secondly, the traditional church teaching on the requirement of baptism and thirdly, a church political issue on infant or believers’ baptism. Many Roman Catholic lay people believe that a child who has not been baptised and dies will not go to heaven but will "be in Limbo". We've even taken that phrase into an English idiom describing something which is neither here nor there being ‘in limbo’.
Limbo is not the official teaching of the Roman church but us Anglican are nearly as bad. When I arrived at St Andrew Steenberg they had been without a rector for a year or so. They have monthly baptisms and I found I was having around 20 babies to baptise each month. My churchwardens came to me and said: 'Father, you are making it too easy for parents to have their children baptised. Most of them are not on the roll or pledge-givers!" While I was appalled at the suggestion that baptism required, what President Trump calls a quid pro quo - we pay a weekly pledge, you baptise our baby, I could see what the wardens were worried about. Many of the parents were merely getting their children baptised because tradition said they should.
This leads to the third piece of baggage - the argument between infant baptism and believers’ baptism. This boils down to whether you believe a sacrament can operate or be efficacious whether the recipients of that sacrament is aware of it or not. A sacrament is, as I'm sure you all remember from Confirmation Class, an outward and physical sign of an inward and spiritual grace. Baptism is a sacrament introduced by our Lord and its outward sign tells us or shows us that the person receiving the sacrament wants to receive it. But what about the inward spiritual sign? Can I as a priest of the Church of God say to God: "Sorry God, but these people are saved because I've poured some water on them and these ones aren't because I haven't." This make me into God! Who God saves is God's choice not mine or the rules of the church. God sent God's son Jesus to save all who accept Jesus as their saviour whether they have been baptised or not.
So that commentator is right baptism is not necessary for salvation, but it is a sign of God’s grace and it allows us to experience God’s energy of love in our lives and in the life of our communities. I suppose it is a bit like as a couple who do not have to share rings as a sign of their marriage but the exchange and wearing of rings gives tangible witness to a couple’s commitment and transforms the couple as they wear them. The promise of God in baptism serves to remind us, body, mind, and spirit, that we are always recipients of grace: grace does not depend on our perfection, although turning away from God may impede its flow into our lives; grace is a constant, dependable, and faithful act of God that comes to us personally and corporately in all the seasons of life.
But what is meant by the word 'Grace'? Here, Grace is a free gift from God, a gift without conditions, as I've already said there is no quid pro quo. While unconditional, grace is not unilateral – only coming from God to us, not coercive -something we have no choice over, nor uniform – the same for everyone. It comes to us just as we are in our unique situation and our own personal conditions. Later in life, we are confirmed by the bishop as a sign of our own “yes” to God’s grace. Our “yes” opens up the door for new and creative possibilities in our unique personal and communal embodiments of grace.
In our Isaiah reading the prophet speaks of God’s choice of a person or persons to be God’s messengers to the world. God is doing something new to transform the world, and we can be part of it. However, the divine decision to call some persons to unique vocations does not eliminate the fact that we are all called. For example, Jesus is unique as God’s chosen messenger and saviour; but God’s baptismal pronouncement on Jesus as God’s beloved child applies to everyone.
Psalm 29 exalts the majesty and beauty of God as is reflected in earthly life. God is self-giving: God energizes and enlivens the whole earth. God’s power empowers us to do justice. God’s sovereignty brings peace to the earth. God is the centre of all things, also gives life and purpose to all things.
Our reading from Acts 10 leaps into the middle of a story. Can I suggest you read at home Acts 10:1-23, 34-35 and 44-48 to get the whole story? Basically, it is the story of Peter and Cornelius which integrates grace, mysticism, and baptism. Inspired by a vision, Cornelius sends his servants to Peter. Peter also has a vision, challenging his narrow understanding of grace and salvation. Transformed by his vision, Peter travels to the powerful but unclean Cornelius (he was a Gentile), preaches good news, which elicits another mystical experience, the coming of God’s Spirit in a dramatic emotional and verbal experience. God’s spirit transcends any human barrier – in this case being a Gentile and thus the door is opened for Cornelius’ household to be baptised and their full inclusion as members of the body of Christ. This testifies to the universality of grace. God shows no partiality among ethnic and religious groups. Anyone who is open to God’s grace receives God’s Spirit. There are no hindrances to God’s saving word; it encompasses us all. Accordingly, we must witness to the reality that there is much salvation outside the church and its rituals and doctrines. God breaks down every theological and sociological barrier to save the lost and vulnerable.
Jesus’ baptism, as described in Matthew’s Gospel, ushers in a new level of vocational consciousness for God’s beloved child. No doubt, Jesus had known of his unique calling as God’s messenger, healer, and saviour of the world. But now it was time to acknowledge through a rite of passage his identity as global spiritual teacher, indeed, the hoped-for Messiah of the Jewish people. Jesus must now fully claim his vocation, and baptism opens him to the divine affirmation that will strengthen his resolve and focus his energies from now on. “This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.”
Today, we remember the continuity of our baptisms with Jesus’ baptism and the baptism of Cornelius and his household. We are God’s beloved, who often feel ourselves to be outsiders. Baptism proclaims that we are all insiders in the circle of God’s grace. No act of ours can nullify the grace of God. Yet, in saying “yes” to God’s baptism each day of our lives, perhaps, with our own acts of refreshment and cleansing, we become more like God’s vision for us in new and wondrous ways. We may discover, as Cornelius’ household did, new gifts of God’s Spirit which enlivening and energizing us. We may discover with Peter that the baptism we experienced is a call to welcome all people in their wondrous diversity. We may with Jesus live joyfully and actively, sharing the grace we’ve received, out of the abundance of knowing we are God’s beloved children. Yes, Baptism is the sign of God’s grace and opens the door for experiencing a greater impact of God’s energy of love in our lives and in the life of our communities.
20200105Epiphany
Tomorrow [Monday] is the Feast of the Epiphany but we are celebrating it today. The magic of Christmas has worn off and I suspect that most of you will be taking down your decorations. I saw on Twitter on Boxing Day, a well-known vicar in the UK bemoaning how it was depressing to see discarded Christmas Trees up-ended in the garbage on Boxing Day. At least you've kept yours for the 12 Days of Christmas, until 6th January. There is a school of thought (especially within the Church) who believe that the crib scene should be left until the Feast of Candlemas on 2 February, but that is another sermon for a different day!
If you don't use an artificial tree, I'm sure you are wondering how you will get all the pine needles out of your carpet and whether the dustmen will take your forlorn tree away next collection day. With our not-so-good Post Office we don't get many Christmas Cards any more, thank goodness. What do you do with the old cards? Most of them are pretty ghastly, often fictional portrayals of ‘Ye olde England’, warming pictures of the carol singers and snow-covered thatched cottages of a bygone era that never was as cosy and rosy as the images make out. But the religious cards are even worse. Most of the portrayals of the Holy Family are sheer kitsch, to say the least. Jesus is born in a clean swept stable, the birth process sanitized and poverty romanticized, the stable appears to be straight from a Conde Nash’s Home and Garden magazine. And Mary and the child sitting by the manger, post a non-traumatic home birth — all very au naturelle.
And it is not much better with the ‘wise men’, often depicted as oriental kings or mysterious astronomers or astrologers, travellers from afar. As T. S. Eliot tells us in his poem, ‘The journey of the Magi’ they arrived too late for the birth. Their arrival, however, has now turned a one-day birth announcement into a twelve-day religious festival with its own carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, to match.
Traditionally, in the Church, the coming of the wise men marks the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles. The word Epiphany means ‘manifestation’, declaring that it is now clear who Jesus is, for everyone. In 2 Tim 1:10 Paul used the Greek word, Epiphany when he wrote: "It has now been revealed through the appearing [or epiphany] of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
But the meaning of this manifestation as told in a few verses in the Gospel according to Matthew, is far from clear. First, the ‘wise men’ although translated as that in my NRSV bible it is incorrect: the Greek word used to describe them is ‘magi’, which is taken from the name of an ancient Persian priestly caste skilled in astrology and magic. Second, there is no mention of their number: ‘three’ is deduced from how many gifts they brought - gold, frankincense and myrrh — but there could have been two or considerably more than two. Third, these magi are on a quest, and the science of their craft is far from precise as we see them searching diligently for the child.
Following a star that they have seen in the east (was that the geographical east or the eastern sky?) they stop at Herod’s palace, the logical place to look for a new ruler. But Jesus is not there, of course. The magi must continue their journey and search elsewhere. But what they lack in discernment they make up for in persistence, and they eventually come to the stable and present their gifts.
As with all the stories surrounding the first Christmas, it is important to ask why this story was told. Most of the Christmas stories are myths and as the saying goes: “Within Myth is the poetry of truth” and the story of the magi gives us a wonderful insight into how the early Church understood the significance of the birth of Jesus.
For example, how does Jesus come to be recognized as the Messiah and that people start to worship him? In his adult years, friends and acquaintances look at him and ask, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” For them, there is nothing special about this young man. And in terms of the story of his birth, I’m sure life went on at the inn in Bethlehem that was too full to accommodate a pregnant woman and her new husband. Did anyone from there even remember the incident? Recognition of Jesus is gradual. Not everyone sees at once, and by Matthew’s time there were still many who did not. So, Matthew in his Gospel emphasizes that, if you persist like the magi, you will find him. Of course, you may, like Herod, over-react and panic and seek to kill him. But we can contrast this horror with Luke, who points to the shepherds who returned to their sheep praising God.
In the prologue to the Gospel according to John we are reminded that “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.”
What about the fact that Epiphany is 12 days after Christmas, 12 days after the Birth? Is this significant? The number twelve is more symbolic than literal: we must remember there were twelve tribes of Israel and twelve apostles. One tribe on its own cannot really know who Jesus is. One individual apostle cannot entirely comprehend him either. You cannot know Jesus on your own. The whole Epiphany of Christmas — with its characters of shepherds, wise men, even enemies — is testimony to a mosaic of multiplicity of perspectives, insights, encounters, revelations, and projections that Christ brings into our world.
Martin Percy in his chapter on the Epiphany in Darkness Yielding makes an interesting comparison between the number three in “Three Kings” and three in the number of guests that come to Abraham at the oak of Mamre as told in the Book Genesis. If you remember, that was a curious tale of how God appeared to Abraham in the form of three mysterious men. Abraham receives the strangers and gives them hospitality. They announce that Abraham’s wife, the barren Sarah almost a hundred years old, will bear a son. Sarah laughs out loud at this, but the three visitors ask her if anything is too difficult for God. Nine months later Sarah gives birth to Isaac.
Matthew may have had this story in mind when he wrote his nativity narrative. In any case, the fascination with the three strangers has continued in Christian iconography. Rubliev’s icon of the Trinity is a portrayal of Abraham’s hospitality and we could say that the two sets of threes (three visitors and three kings) have been conflated in one presentation. There is one thing that brings these stories together. It is partly that both sets of strangers are known by their gifts and their gifts point to the future. In the case of Abraham, it is the future of Israel with the birth of Isaac. For Jesus, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh point forward to his adult ministry and to his death. In both stories, the receiving of unlikely news is an important key. God is manifest in the surprise. And the bringers of the news are themselves received — by Abraham and Sarah, by Joseph and Mary.
Even beyond this, the stories point to the paradox that God is hidden and yet revealed. That is what Epiphany is really all about. God is mystery and yet manifest. We can see God on our own yet only discover him when we are together. That is why God created the Church – to enable God-followers to experience God in community. These stories show how God is elusive, yet also the child next door or the visitor who turns up unannounced.
We do not know God at all, and yet we do. In God, the mystic and the poet Henty Vaughan says, there is “a deep yet dazzling darkness”. Isn’t that a wonderful oxymoron that takes us to the heart of the Epiphany as well as into the New Year of 2020.
This sermon is based on a chapter in Darkness Yielding by Martyn Percy
Tomorrow [Monday] is the Feast of the Epiphany but we are celebrating it today. The magic of Christmas has worn off and I suspect that most of you will be taking down your decorations. I saw on Twitter on Boxing Day, a well-known vicar in the UK bemoaning how it was depressing to see discarded Christmas Trees up-ended in the garbage on Boxing Day. At least you've kept yours for the 12 Days of Christmas, until 6th January. There is a school of thought (especially within the Church) who believe that the crib scene should be left until the Feast of Candlemas on 2 February, but that is another sermon for a different day!
If you don't use an artificial tree, I'm sure you are wondering how you will get all the pine needles out of your carpet and whether the dustmen will take your forlorn tree away next collection day. With our not-so-good Post Office we don't get many Christmas Cards any more, thank goodness. What do you do with the old cards? Most of them are pretty ghastly, often fictional portrayals of ‘Ye olde England’, warming pictures of the carol singers and snow-covered thatched cottages of a bygone era that never was as cosy and rosy as the images make out. But the religious cards are even worse. Most of the portrayals of the Holy Family are sheer kitsch, to say the least. Jesus is born in a clean swept stable, the birth process sanitized and poverty romanticized, the stable appears to be straight from a Conde Nash’s Home and Garden magazine. And Mary and the child sitting by the manger, post a non-traumatic home birth — all very au naturelle.
And it is not much better with the ‘wise men’, often depicted as oriental kings or mysterious astronomers or astrologers, travellers from afar. As T. S. Eliot tells us in his poem, ‘The journey of the Magi’ they arrived too late for the birth. Their arrival, however, has now turned a one-day birth announcement into a twelve-day religious festival with its own carol, The Twelve Days of Christmas, to match.
Traditionally, in the Church, the coming of the wise men marks the revelation of Christ to the Gentiles. The word Epiphany means ‘manifestation’, declaring that it is now clear who Jesus is, for everyone. In 2 Tim 1:10 Paul used the Greek word, Epiphany when he wrote: "It has now been revealed through the appearing [or epiphany] of our Saviour Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”
But the meaning of this manifestation as told in a few verses in the Gospel according to Matthew, is far from clear. First, the ‘wise men’ although translated as that in my NRSV bible it is incorrect: the Greek word used to describe them is ‘magi’, which is taken from the name of an ancient Persian priestly caste skilled in astrology and magic. Second, there is no mention of their number: ‘three’ is deduced from how many gifts they brought - gold, frankincense and myrrh — but there could have been two or considerably more than two. Third, these magi are on a quest, and the science of their craft is far from precise as we see them searching diligently for the child.
Following a star that they have seen in the east (was that the geographical east or the eastern sky?) they stop at Herod’s palace, the logical place to look for a new ruler. But Jesus is not there, of course. The magi must continue their journey and search elsewhere. But what they lack in discernment they make up for in persistence, and they eventually come to the stable and present their gifts.
As with all the stories surrounding the first Christmas, it is important to ask why this story was told. Most of the Christmas stories are myths and as the saying goes: “Within Myth is the poetry of truth” and the story of the magi gives us a wonderful insight into how the early Church understood the significance of the birth of Jesus.
For example, how does Jesus come to be recognized as the Messiah and that people start to worship him? In his adult years, friends and acquaintances look at him and ask, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” For them, there is nothing special about this young man. And in terms of the story of his birth, I’m sure life went on at the inn in Bethlehem that was too full to accommodate a pregnant woman and her new husband. Did anyone from there even remember the incident? Recognition of Jesus is gradual. Not everyone sees at once, and by Matthew’s time there were still many who did not. So, Matthew in his Gospel emphasizes that, if you persist like the magi, you will find him. Of course, you may, like Herod, over-react and panic and seek to kill him. But we can contrast this horror with Luke, who points to the shepherds who returned to their sheep praising God.
In the prologue to the Gospel according to John we are reminded that “He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.”
What about the fact that Epiphany is 12 days after Christmas, 12 days after the Birth? Is this significant? The number twelve is more symbolic than literal: we must remember there were twelve tribes of Israel and twelve apostles. One tribe on its own cannot really know who Jesus is. One individual apostle cannot entirely comprehend him either. You cannot know Jesus on your own. The whole Epiphany of Christmas — with its characters of shepherds, wise men, even enemies — is testimony to a mosaic of multiplicity of perspectives, insights, encounters, revelations, and projections that Christ brings into our world.
Martin Percy in his chapter on the Epiphany in Darkness Yielding makes an interesting comparison between the number three in “Three Kings” and three in the number of guests that come to Abraham at the oak of Mamre as told in the Book Genesis. If you remember, that was a curious tale of how God appeared to Abraham in the form of three mysterious men. Abraham receives the strangers and gives them hospitality. They announce that Abraham’s wife, the barren Sarah almost a hundred years old, will bear a son. Sarah laughs out loud at this, but the three visitors ask her if anything is too difficult for God. Nine months later Sarah gives birth to Isaac.
Matthew may have had this story in mind when he wrote his nativity narrative. In any case, the fascination with the three strangers has continued in Christian iconography. Rubliev’s icon of the Trinity is a portrayal of Abraham’s hospitality and we could say that the two sets of threes (three visitors and three kings) have been conflated in one presentation. There is one thing that brings these stories together. It is partly that both sets of strangers are known by their gifts and their gifts point to the future. In the case of Abraham, it is the future of Israel with the birth of Isaac. For Jesus, the gold, frankincense, and myrrh point forward to his adult ministry and to his death. In both stories, the receiving of unlikely news is an important key. God is manifest in the surprise. And the bringers of the news are themselves received — by Abraham and Sarah, by Joseph and Mary.
Even beyond this, the stories point to the paradox that God is hidden and yet revealed. That is what Epiphany is really all about. God is mystery and yet manifest. We can see God on our own yet only discover him when we are together. That is why God created the Church – to enable God-followers to experience God in community. These stories show how God is elusive, yet also the child next door or the visitor who turns up unannounced.
We do not know God at all, and yet we do. In God, the mystic and the poet Henty Vaughan says, there is “a deep yet dazzling darkness”. Isn’t that a wonderful oxymoron that takes us to the heart of the Epiphany as well as into the New Year of 2020.
This sermon is based on a chapter in Darkness Yielding by Martyn Percy
20191229Christmas1_sermon
Doesn't today's Gospel bring up a host of emotions? Horror: at slaughter of all boy babies in Bethlehem under the age of two. Questioning: Why didn't God tell all the fathers in Bethlehem in their dreams to leave town asap? Excitement: at Mary Joseph and Jesus' escape. When at school I learnt off by heart an Afrikaans essay entitled "'n Noue Opkomming" A Narrow Escape which I could use in many and all occasions, whether in an opstel of ‘n brief of ‘n mondeling. Our gospels story certainly was ‘n Noue opkomming. And finally: the glorious fact that Jesus came to Africa! Whatever we might think about the continent right now, African became a safe haven for the Holy Family.
Matthew was a good Jew. He knew the history of God's people. The insertion of Egypt here is a reminder of its historical significance. Egypt was a land of security for another Joseph. He of the Technicolour Dream Coat variety, in Genesis. Now centuries later it is a land of security for another Joseph, a Joseph with a wife and a new-born child. A ruler, the pharaoh in Egypt feared Hebrew children who were in slavery in Egypt before they escaped to the Promised Land. Now, another imperial ruler's fear forces a child to escape not from Egypt but to Egypt.
Not only does the story after the birth of Jesus sends us to Egypt, but it is also rooted in evil. Don't you think it is ironic that a story which is about redemption, salvation, and reconciliation must first be mired in a morass of a dictator’s appalling ego-maniacal behaviour?
History repeats itself. Such atrocity had happened in Egypt before the Exodus. It happened on the way to Egypt a millennium later. Its perpetual lesson reminds us that the most vulnerable suffer when the most powerful are irresponsible.
I think Matthew is purposely linking episodes from the Hebrew people's past history to the Holy Family’s escape to Egypt to demonstrate how history repeats itself and how that repeat is really fulfilment. Fulfilment language is wording that joins one period of time to another. It offers a continuum between the past and the present. For Matthew the use of such linguistic cues helps to show Jesus, even as a baby, was the culmination of what was promised by God centuries, millennia before. Jesus was the foretold Saviour of the World. Emmanuel — God is with us.
Interestingly enough, Matthew makes one more fulfilment episode. He links the birth of Jesus to the past through the interpretation of dreams. Dreams provided a means of redemption for the ancestor Joseph as he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, so too dreams also saves Matthew's Joseph and his family.
Three times a messenger from God, an angel, converses with a sleeping Joseph. The first subconscious dialogue proclaims the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:20). We discussed that on the fourth Sunday of Advent. The second dream provides a way of escape -what we hear today and the third dream gives the all-clear signal: When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Joseph could now leave Egypt because the security and refuge that it offers was no longer required.
A fourth and final sleeping encounter with God reminds Joseph of the perpetual presence of danger: Matthew 2:22 onwards says: But when Joseph heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. The last dream is different from first three in that Matthew does not state who warns Joseph not to return to Judea but to go to Nazareth.
I saw a rather interesting comment on social media this week. It asked why do we refer to people from Africa as being non-European or as in South Africa’s past, non-white. Shouldn't we in Africa refer to people as being non-black or non-African? Too often the places where Black and brown bodies reside are viewed negatively. Those places and locales where the citizens are primarily of non-European descent, are subject to pejorative mischaracterizations. Although in Egypt there are many hues of Egyptians as there is of all African people in general, we must remember that Egypt is still in Africa — it always has been. Africa is the continent of the melanin-kissed people. It is the birthplace of civilization.
While there is no description of their complexion, we know that the feet of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus touched Africa. Matthew goes so far as to suggest that had they not gone to Egypt they might have been killed. A country in a continent that today has many of its residents becoming refugees, this continent provided shelter for the Saviour. Yet the so-called Christian nations of Europe are now refusing to accept refugees from Africa. I wonder if, in the refugee camps and detention centres, the new-born Messiah is seeking safety?
20191225Christmas_Sermon
Well, what is your view on Christmas Carols? Are they a blessing or a curse?
Do you know by the time the 9:30 Services ends I would have sung Once in royal David City, O Little town of Bethlehem, O come all ye faithful and Hark the Herald Angels sing Five times! It is actually Hark the Herald that causes me trouble. The Tessitura is set high because it is an exciting event that we are sing about and by the end of those three verses my throat is all tensed up and I’m wondering if I will ever speak again!
Well, actually I can say to myself, “Oh you poor thing” as much as I like, but really inside I am excited and uplifted because what we are singing about is the fact that God is born as a vulnerable human baby here on earth, here in Bethlehem. When Jesus ascended to heaven, when he returned to the father it was in bodily form apparently on a cloud, but when he came, but when he came, he came, as the early anonymous carol says
He came all so still
Where His mother was,
As dew in April
That falleth on the grass.
He came all so still
Where His mother lay,
As dew in April
That falleth on the spray.
He came all so still
To His mother's bower,
As dew in April
That falleth on the flower.
Mother and maiden
Was never none but she!
Well might such a lady
God's mother be.
And now that Baby is lying in a manger in Bethlehem, just as our Bambino is lying in are our Crib scene in front of the altar here at St Francis. What we have to realise is that although Christmas commemorates the birth of a baby, as T. S. Eliot says so clearly in The journey of the Magi ‘There was a Birth, certainly, We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death but thought they were different; this Birth was hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our Death.’
I believe that we cannot just celebrate a baby being born at Christmas. We have to celebrate Jesus’ whole life. Before Charles Dickens came along and sentimentalised Christmas, early medieval carols did this very thing.
A babe is born I wys,
This world to joy and bliss,
His joy shall never fade and miss,
And Jesus is his name.
On Christmas day at morn,
This little child was born
To save us all that were forlorn,
And Jesus is his name.
On Good Friday so soon
To death He was all done,
Betwixt the time of morn and noon,
And Jesus is his name.
On Easter Day so swythe
He rose from death to life
To make us all both glad and blithe,
And Jesus is His name.
And on Ascension Day
To heaven He took His way,
There to abide for aye and aye,
And Jesus is His name.
I remember many years ago after the Choir had sung carols such as that last one at their Carol Service, my mother said to me; “Why can’t we sing the good old favourite carols and not these peculiar medieval ones” Well, we can and we have five times over the last four days! And some of these old favourites have wonderful verses in them that we can and should memorise and use as ejaculatory prayers. Like the last verse of O Little town of Bethlehem…
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin, and enter in:
be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels,
the great glad tidings tell:
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel.
Or equally as attractive the last verse of Christina Rosetti’s In the Bleak Midwinter. In the third line of the first verse she sounds as if she has run out of ideas: “snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,” but then in the final verse comes the sublime:
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.
When I was at College, I was in the Fort England Module. Every Saturday we went up to Psychiatric Hospital and took communion to the those in the dementia word. Every Saturday one patient used to ask, “Can I prayer please?” Of course, we said yes and each week he said: [Rpt]
Carols? A Blessing or a curse? I suppose hearing in Shopping Malls Boney-M singing repeatedly Mary’s Boy Child at a loud volume will make even the most holy of us curse! Man will live for evermore because of Christmas Day say the lyrics. Yes, indeed that is the right theology even if the language is a heavily patriarchal! The coming of the Baby Jesus, his growing up, his teaching, his death, resurrection and ascension, have turned everything upside down. We even number our years from the year he was born.
A carol the choir sang in the carol service speaks of this very thing. The words were written by Robert Herrick, who perhaps you know from his poem To virgins, to make the most of time, with it wonderful opening verse: “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.” Besides love poems Herrick also wrote what he called Noble Numbers, spiritual poems which were short and easily remembered. This one was called What sweeter musick. What sweeter music can we bring Than a carol, for to sing
The birth of this our heavenly King? … Dark and dull night, fly hence away, the northern hemisphere’s dark winter is chased away by Christ’s birth, Herrick exclaims and he goes on And give the honour to this day, That sees December turned to May. He asks: Why does the chilling winter's morn Smile, like a field beset with corn? Or smell like a meadow newly-shorn, Because 'Tis He is born, whose quickening birth Gives life and lustre, public mirth, To heaven, and the under-earth.
Because Jesus is born Darkness becomes light, December becomes May the frozen ground smells not of snow and mud but of new mown lawn. Why? Because God is Born in a stable in Bethlehem. Now that is something to celebrate, that is something to sing about and as Robert Herrick says “What sweeter music can we bring, Than a carol, for to sing The birth of this our heavenly King?”
Carols? A Blessing or a curse? - Oh most definitely a Blessing and What sweeter music can we bring than a Carol for to sing the birth of this our heavenly King.
Doesn't today's Gospel bring up a host of emotions? Horror: at slaughter of all boy babies in Bethlehem under the age of two. Questioning: Why didn't God tell all the fathers in Bethlehem in their dreams to leave town asap? Excitement: at Mary Joseph and Jesus' escape. When at school I learnt off by heart an Afrikaans essay entitled "'n Noue Opkomming" A Narrow Escape which I could use in many and all occasions, whether in an opstel of ‘n brief of ‘n mondeling. Our gospels story certainly was ‘n Noue opkomming. And finally: the glorious fact that Jesus came to Africa! Whatever we might think about the continent right now, African became a safe haven for the Holy Family.
Matthew was a good Jew. He knew the history of God's people. The insertion of Egypt here is a reminder of its historical significance. Egypt was a land of security for another Joseph. He of the Technicolour Dream Coat variety, in Genesis. Now centuries later it is a land of security for another Joseph, a Joseph with a wife and a new-born child. A ruler, the pharaoh in Egypt feared Hebrew children who were in slavery in Egypt before they escaped to the Promised Land. Now, another imperial ruler's fear forces a child to escape not from Egypt but to Egypt.
Not only does the story after the birth of Jesus sends us to Egypt, but it is also rooted in evil. Don't you think it is ironic that a story which is about redemption, salvation, and reconciliation must first be mired in a morass of a dictator’s appalling ego-maniacal behaviour?
History repeats itself. Such atrocity had happened in Egypt before the Exodus. It happened on the way to Egypt a millennium later. Its perpetual lesson reminds us that the most vulnerable suffer when the most powerful are irresponsible.
I think Matthew is purposely linking episodes from the Hebrew people's past history to the Holy Family’s escape to Egypt to demonstrate how history repeats itself and how that repeat is really fulfilment. Fulfilment language is wording that joins one period of time to another. It offers a continuum between the past and the present. For Matthew the use of such linguistic cues helps to show Jesus, even as a baby, was the culmination of what was promised by God centuries, millennia before. Jesus was the foretold Saviour of the World. Emmanuel — God is with us.
Interestingly enough, Matthew makes one more fulfilment episode. He links the birth of Jesus to the past through the interpretation of dreams. Dreams provided a means of redemption for the ancestor Joseph as he interpreted Pharaoh’s dreams, so too dreams also saves Matthew's Joseph and his family.
Three times a messenger from God, an angel, converses with a sleeping Joseph. The first subconscious dialogue proclaims the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:20). We discussed that on the fourth Sunday of Advent. The second dream provides a way of escape -what we hear today and the third dream gives the all-clear signal: When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, 20‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child’s life are dead.’ Joseph could now leave Egypt because the security and refuge that it offers was no longer required.
A fourth and final sleeping encounter with God reminds Joseph of the perpetual presence of danger: Matthew 2:22 onwards says: But when Joseph heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. The last dream is different from first three in that Matthew does not state who warns Joseph not to return to Judea but to go to Nazareth.
I saw a rather interesting comment on social media this week. It asked why do we refer to people from Africa as being non-European or as in South Africa’s past, non-white. Shouldn't we in Africa refer to people as being non-black or non-African? Too often the places where Black and brown bodies reside are viewed negatively. Those places and locales where the citizens are primarily of non-European descent, are subject to pejorative mischaracterizations. Although in Egypt there are many hues of Egyptians as there is of all African people in general, we must remember that Egypt is still in Africa — it always has been. Africa is the continent of the melanin-kissed people. It is the birthplace of civilization.
While there is no description of their complexion, we know that the feet of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus touched Africa. Matthew goes so far as to suggest that had they not gone to Egypt they might have been killed. A country in a continent that today has many of its residents becoming refugees, this continent provided shelter for the Saviour. Yet the so-called Christian nations of Europe are now refusing to accept refugees from Africa. I wonder if, in the refugee camps and detention centres, the new-born Messiah is seeking safety?
20191225Christmas_Sermon
Well, what is your view on Christmas Carols? Are they a blessing or a curse?
Do you know by the time the 9:30 Services ends I would have sung Once in royal David City, O Little town of Bethlehem, O come all ye faithful and Hark the Herald Angels sing Five times! It is actually Hark the Herald that causes me trouble. The Tessitura is set high because it is an exciting event that we are sing about and by the end of those three verses my throat is all tensed up and I’m wondering if I will ever speak again!
Well, actually I can say to myself, “Oh you poor thing” as much as I like, but really inside I am excited and uplifted because what we are singing about is the fact that God is born as a vulnerable human baby here on earth, here in Bethlehem. When Jesus ascended to heaven, when he returned to the father it was in bodily form apparently on a cloud, but when he came, but when he came, he came, as the early anonymous carol says
He came all so still
Where His mother was,
As dew in April
That falleth on the grass.
He came all so still
Where His mother lay,
As dew in April
That falleth on the spray.
He came all so still
To His mother's bower,
As dew in April
That falleth on the flower.
Mother and maiden
Was never none but she!
Well might such a lady
God's mother be.
And now that Baby is lying in a manger in Bethlehem, just as our Bambino is lying in are our Crib scene in front of the altar here at St Francis. What we have to realise is that although Christmas commemorates the birth of a baby, as T. S. Eliot says so clearly in The journey of the Magi ‘There was a Birth, certainly, We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death but thought they were different; this Birth was hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our Death.’
I believe that we cannot just celebrate a baby being born at Christmas. We have to celebrate Jesus’ whole life. Before Charles Dickens came along and sentimentalised Christmas, early medieval carols did this very thing.
A babe is born I wys,
This world to joy and bliss,
His joy shall never fade and miss,
And Jesus is his name.
On Christmas day at morn,
This little child was born
To save us all that were forlorn,
And Jesus is his name.
On Good Friday so soon
To death He was all done,
Betwixt the time of morn and noon,
And Jesus is his name.
On Easter Day so swythe
He rose from death to life
To make us all both glad and blithe,
And Jesus is His name.
And on Ascension Day
To heaven He took His way,
There to abide for aye and aye,
And Jesus is His name.
I remember many years ago after the Choir had sung carols such as that last one at their Carol Service, my mother said to me; “Why can’t we sing the good old favourite carols and not these peculiar medieval ones” Well, we can and we have five times over the last four days! And some of these old favourites have wonderful verses in them that we can and should memorise and use as ejaculatory prayers. Like the last verse of O Little town of Bethlehem…
O holy Child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin, and enter in:
be born in us to-day.
We hear the Christmas angels,
the great glad tidings tell:
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel.
Or equally as attractive the last verse of Christina Rosetti’s In the Bleak Midwinter. In the third line of the first verse she sounds as if she has run out of ideas: “snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,” but then in the final verse comes the sublime:
What can I give him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
if I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
yet what I can I give him: give my heart.
When I was at College, I was in the Fort England Module. Every Saturday we went up to Psychiatric Hospital and took communion to the those in the dementia word. Every Saturday one patient used to ask, “Can I prayer please?” Of course, we said yes and each week he said: [Rpt]
Carols? A Blessing or a curse? I suppose hearing in Shopping Malls Boney-M singing repeatedly Mary’s Boy Child at a loud volume will make even the most holy of us curse! Man will live for evermore because of Christmas Day say the lyrics. Yes, indeed that is the right theology even if the language is a heavily patriarchal! The coming of the Baby Jesus, his growing up, his teaching, his death, resurrection and ascension, have turned everything upside down. We even number our years from the year he was born.
A carol the choir sang in the carol service speaks of this very thing. The words were written by Robert Herrick, who perhaps you know from his poem To virgins, to make the most of time, with it wonderful opening verse: “Gather ye rose-buds while ye may, Old Time is still a-flying; And this same flower that smiles today Tomorrow will be dying.” Besides love poems Herrick also wrote what he called Noble Numbers, spiritual poems which were short and easily remembered. This one was called What sweeter musick. What sweeter music can we bring Than a carol, for to sing
The birth of this our heavenly King? … Dark and dull night, fly hence away, the northern hemisphere’s dark winter is chased away by Christ’s birth, Herrick exclaims and he goes on And give the honour to this day, That sees December turned to May. He asks: Why does the chilling winter's morn Smile, like a field beset with corn? Or smell like a meadow newly-shorn, Because 'Tis He is born, whose quickening birth Gives life and lustre, public mirth, To heaven, and the under-earth.
Because Jesus is born Darkness becomes light, December becomes May the frozen ground smells not of snow and mud but of new mown lawn. Why? Because God is Born in a stable in Bethlehem. Now that is something to celebrate, that is something to sing about and as Robert Herrick says “What sweeter music can we bring, Than a carol, for to sing The birth of this our heavenly King?”
Carols? A Blessing or a curse? - Oh most definitely a Blessing and What sweeter music can we bring than a Carol for to sing the birth of this our heavenly King.
20191222Advent4_Sermon
Three days to go to Christmas! We are on to our last Sunday of Advent. We into our last reading from the Prophet Isaiah before Christmas comes. Here we see Isaiah’s imagination run riot at his imaginative vision of a child whose birth will change everything. Our Psalm has the Psalmist lamenting in a wonderful hymn asking for a divine restoration. We, who know the end of story, know the divine restoration is just 3 days away! Then Paul writing to the Romans gives an account of Jesus as the fulfilment of God’s promises. Three days to go and Jesus will be here fulfilling that promise. Christmas is on the horizon and with it comes the surprising accounts of Jesus’ birth. So, let us this week focus on Joseph’s dream, a dream that saved Christ for us all.
This is what today’s Gospel asserts. The future of the Christian faith relied on how Joseph interpreted his dreams. Today the Christian faith still depends on how God gets God’s messages through to us. And it can quite possibly be through dreams. So Joseph, and us today, have to trust the non-rational elements of life.
God speaks to us through a variety of media, and not just the scriptures. God moves through every moment of our lives providing gentle nudges, giving us insights, and synchronistic events that on occasion we notice and then shape our lives around. Listening to divine inspiration, to God speaking to us, can become the difference between health and illness, success and failure, and life and death. In our gospel we see how God speaking to Joseph in a dream implies that the survival of Jesus depends on Joseph’s openness to listening to the wisdom of God, given to him in a dream, mediated to him through the unconscious.
A dream can change everything. Jung and Freud will tell you this, but it is not purely a modern psychological issue. It is the wisdom of the ancients as well as contemporary paranormal studies. All the great wisdom traditions, including the Christian tradition, emerged from what we call mystical experiences. Do you remember Gerard Manley Hopkins poem where he says: The world is charged with the grandeur of God? All the great moments of human life involve seeing that grandeur with a heightened consciousness, going beyond the obvious to see the presence of the Holy in our everyday life. This is why I have been using well-known movies as the focus for our Lenten studies. From ordinary movies telling the stories ordinary people we discover that God is with us. God is with us in the heights and the depths, the conscious and unconscious, and the obvious and the subtle.
You have been listening to me preach for nearly 3 years now. I’m sure you have realised that I am a liberal and the liberal tradition in theology and biblical studies tries to explain away supernaturalism in scriptural miracles and provide a logical and rational interpretation of these events. We try to find a logical perhaps scientific reason for everything. Without the supernatural we would find that God is separated from the world. And that is the trouble. Us liberals have separated the church from its mystical beginnings and the ongoing experiences of mystics. Scholars and academic preachers often only speak to one another and not the person in the pew. They have lost credibility with the lay people because of ultra-rationalism and theological deconstructionism. There you are! I’ve just given you an example of what I mean! Rational worship however, often has the feeling that something is missing. And perhaps because of this where no-one expects anything extraordinary in worship or prayer, our services have become lifeless and one-dimensional.
Now, I am not saying that we must return to biblical literalism or supernatural understandings of God’s movements in the world, but rather that we recover a holistic spirituality and a holistic theology. What do I mean? Simply that God can and God does do unexpected things. Like connecting to us in dreams. We got to realise that the faith of Jesus is more than merely living an ethical lifestyle; it is a way of experiencing life that shapes everything we do. It is a mystical vision, open to the power of prayer, healing touch, mystical experience, and contemplative self-transcendence. If you want to know more about this chat to me or others in our congregation who seek to live a transcendent spiritual life seeking mystical experiences of God in their lives.
It is useful that Carl Jung and his followers have affirmed the mystical and healing power of dreams. Our unconscious is unpredictable and contains shadow as well as light; it also reflects the Spirit’s movements in “sighs too deep for words” as Paul put it. We need the best of both worlds; a robust rationalism that is matched equally by a robust mysticism and openness to the wisdom of the unconscious and non-rational elements of experience.
Just think about the feast we will be celebrating in three days. Christmas cannot be sustained by pure rationalism alone; even if we suspend our disbelief for a few moments to enjoy our children crib building service at a spiritual level, we still need shepherds and magi, angelic choirs and life-changing dreams, to discover the deepest meaning of Christmas. These stories may not be factual as presented, but they are nevertheless spiritually true, revealing the incarnation of God in everyday life and across ethnic differences. They proclaim that God is with us, enlivening and enlightening every aspect of life. The birth of a baby change everything; when this child is born “unto us,” as the carol says, the world is renewed and hope bursts forth.
Over the last few weeks I spoken about Radical Transformation and Hopeful Transformation. Today, let’s put ourselves in Joseph’s place. His world is turned upside down by the news of Mary’s pregnancy. She must have mustered the courage to tell Joseph, knowing it would likely lead to a relational breakup. Without a doubt, Mary is a heroic figure in her embrace of the baby, the risk of reputation, and willingness to lose everything for the sake of following God’s pathway. But Joseph is also a spiritual hero as well.
If you were Joseph, and your significant other reported a pregnancy as a result of a relationship with “another” (be it human or divinity), how would you respond? Would you be as generous as Joseph is reported to be in today’s Gospel? Or, would you want revenge? Would you want to humiliate your significant other?
But now the nitty-gritty; how would you respond to a nocturnal angelic visitation? Do you think Joseph immediately changed his mind? Or did he take time to think over this surprising turn of events? In the biblical tradition, dreams are seen as one way the divine speaks to humankind. If we take this insight seriously, then God is still speaking through dreams and intuitions.
Have you ever had a life-changing dream? What new realities have you experienced as a result of insightful dreams?
God moves through all things, including the unconscious mind. Unconscious wisdom can be brought to consciousness and become a catalyst for changing our conscious values and behaviours. What have your dreams said about the Radical and the Hopeful Transformations I preached about? Joseph, not an intellectual scholar but a carpenter becomes a spiritual hero, because he – like Mary – says “yes” to God’s call to bring wholeness to earth. Without the faithful risk-taking of Mary and Joseph, would Jesus have ever been born? Would God’s message of peace have come to earth?
So we have the song of the angels and angelic visitations to earth just over the horizon – in three days. Can I ask you to be open to “more than we can ask or imagine.” Let us go beyond one-dimensional understandings of ourselves and reality to embrace the wondrous world of Christmas – of the birth of a baby, unexpected divine revelations, and holiness around every corner.
20191215Advent3_sermon
Last Week I said Advent is a time of Radical Transformation for ourselves and our world. But it is also a time for a Hopeful Transformation. Us human beings are always looking for completeness, for wholeness and so does creation. In this Hopeful Transformation creation groans and so do we. Our hope is the hopefulness of faith and it is for an age of peace – despite the realities of war, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, sexism, and polarization. In faith we believe God is at work in all things, restoring the broken, healing the sick, and welcoming the outcast, in fact bringing about a hopeful transformation. The dream of a kingdom of peace seems impossible right now, but we must live in hope and know as I said last Sunday, that it won’t happen without our efforts, unless we become the catalysts.
Isaiah sings the glad songs of restoration. “The wilderness and dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom,” the blind shall see, the deaf hear, the lame dance, and the speechless sing. The whole world, which once groaned in pain and desolation, is now bursting forth in liberation. What we have to realise is that what happens to humankind shapes the non-human world as well. God’s salvation is not just for human beings. It includes the non-human as well as the human. All things are joined in a fabric of interdependence: as one part is healed, all share in healing. It was Paul who said in Romans chapter 8 that the whole of creation groans, and the groaning of creation reflects our own inner quest for healing. Global climate change, species destruction, and humanity’s oppression and injustice are mirrors of each other. When we mistreat the non-human world, we discover that this same violence spills over into our human relationships. Harming other humans leads to the destruction of the environment. Conversely, the healing of nations and nature are intertwined. Isaiah describes a healing brought by incarnation, embodied in Mary’s womb and Jesus’ birth.
The Isaiah passage tells us to love the Earth, which is our mother, and live simply and encourage our political leaders to do so as well. We must not abandon the quest to save our planet – it is in our hands – God has called and we must respond, and our response enhances or limits what God can do in our planet, in our personal lives, and in our community. Advent isn’t for the passive; it is a call to prophetic healing actions.
Our Psalm today starts with this in the verse we started with: Blessed is the one whose help is the God of Jacob: whose hope is in the Lord our God... It goes on expressing a similar theme to Isaiah's. The Psalm assures us that the God who made heaven and earth, will keep faith, will ensure justice for the oppressed, will ensure the hungry are fed, the captives freed, sight given to the blind and the stranger in the land cared for. And it ends with an Alleluia or Praise the Lord.
This is Advent and as I said last week it is a season of fierce urgency of the “right now”, but also of “not quite yet!” Our reading from the Letter of James counsels patience. Yet, in light of the whole message of James, patience does not imply passivity. Remember, James is an epistle of ethical activism and care for the downtrodden. Faith without works is worthless, he tells us. We must be patient with the movements of God’s moral arc of history; we must not give up hope nor should we be polarized in times of challenge. God’s nearness challenges us to justice-seeking, grounded in the care for those whose power we confront. We must pray for our president and the government even if you may be inclined to protest at their corruption and policies. We pray for them because they too are God’s children, and as they seek to gain the world, their souls may be in jeopardy. And we should be concerned about that.
Jesus’ response to John the Baptist echoes the hopeful vision of Isaiah 35 and those verses from Psalm 146. The Messiah is known by the appearance of good news at every level of life. Good news is lived as well as read from the Gospel. Bodies are healed, outcasts welcomed, and impoverished given hope. Jesus’ gospel is holistic and life-changing, and gives preferential care for those at the fringes of life.
Jesus then seems to give an apparent dig at John the Baptist – “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”, he says. But this is, in fact, a word of affirmation and calls for us to intervene because John’s prophetic ministry and his call to repentance invites us to do great things ourselves. John prepares the way for Jesus and for us as well. We have a calling to bring good news to our world – to heal, welcome, and restore. We are to be prophets in our own circles – living toward a vision of wholeness and equity.
Advent reminds us that another world is possible. New life can emerge from the ruins; the dessert can bloom; and lives restored. This is the result of patient partnership. God takes the initiative and invites us to be innovative as well. Our involvement in Jesus’ ministry enhances the incarnation of God’s vision of peace in our world. We can’t wait passively for a Second Coming, God is coming to us now and wants us to act with grace and persistence for the well-being of the planet and its peoples, now.
Here in Simon’s Town we can't wait passively for a new priest to come in May next year. We are challenged to be God’s partners in national, community and personal healing. Where does Simon's Town parish need to embody spiritual growth? Shouldn't we be claiming our vocation as healers, as spiritual horticulturalists? Do we need a firework under us in order for us to become the embodiment of God’s realm in our community and our work in the world? We need that firework to go off and then we will have an adventurous Advent!
Three days to go to Christmas! We are on to our last Sunday of Advent. We into our last reading from the Prophet Isaiah before Christmas comes. Here we see Isaiah’s imagination run riot at his imaginative vision of a child whose birth will change everything. Our Psalm has the Psalmist lamenting in a wonderful hymn asking for a divine restoration. We, who know the end of story, know the divine restoration is just 3 days away! Then Paul writing to the Romans gives an account of Jesus as the fulfilment of God’s promises. Three days to go and Jesus will be here fulfilling that promise. Christmas is on the horizon and with it comes the surprising accounts of Jesus’ birth. So, let us this week focus on Joseph’s dream, a dream that saved Christ for us all.
This is what today’s Gospel asserts. The future of the Christian faith relied on how Joseph interpreted his dreams. Today the Christian faith still depends on how God gets God’s messages through to us. And it can quite possibly be through dreams. So Joseph, and us today, have to trust the non-rational elements of life.
God speaks to us through a variety of media, and not just the scriptures. God moves through every moment of our lives providing gentle nudges, giving us insights, and synchronistic events that on occasion we notice and then shape our lives around. Listening to divine inspiration, to God speaking to us, can become the difference between health and illness, success and failure, and life and death. In our gospel we see how God speaking to Joseph in a dream implies that the survival of Jesus depends on Joseph’s openness to listening to the wisdom of God, given to him in a dream, mediated to him through the unconscious.
A dream can change everything. Jung and Freud will tell you this, but it is not purely a modern psychological issue. It is the wisdom of the ancients as well as contemporary paranormal studies. All the great wisdom traditions, including the Christian tradition, emerged from what we call mystical experiences. Do you remember Gerard Manley Hopkins poem where he says: The world is charged with the grandeur of God? All the great moments of human life involve seeing that grandeur with a heightened consciousness, going beyond the obvious to see the presence of the Holy in our everyday life. This is why I have been using well-known movies as the focus for our Lenten studies. From ordinary movies telling the stories ordinary people we discover that God is with us. God is with us in the heights and the depths, the conscious and unconscious, and the obvious and the subtle.
You have been listening to me preach for nearly 3 years now. I’m sure you have realised that I am a liberal and the liberal tradition in theology and biblical studies tries to explain away supernaturalism in scriptural miracles and provide a logical and rational interpretation of these events. We try to find a logical perhaps scientific reason for everything. Without the supernatural we would find that God is separated from the world. And that is the trouble. Us liberals have separated the church from its mystical beginnings and the ongoing experiences of mystics. Scholars and academic preachers often only speak to one another and not the person in the pew. They have lost credibility with the lay people because of ultra-rationalism and theological deconstructionism. There you are! I’ve just given you an example of what I mean! Rational worship however, often has the feeling that something is missing. And perhaps because of this where no-one expects anything extraordinary in worship or prayer, our services have become lifeless and one-dimensional.
Now, I am not saying that we must return to biblical literalism or supernatural understandings of God’s movements in the world, but rather that we recover a holistic spirituality and a holistic theology. What do I mean? Simply that God can and God does do unexpected things. Like connecting to us in dreams. We got to realise that the faith of Jesus is more than merely living an ethical lifestyle; it is a way of experiencing life that shapes everything we do. It is a mystical vision, open to the power of prayer, healing touch, mystical experience, and contemplative self-transcendence. If you want to know more about this chat to me or others in our congregation who seek to live a transcendent spiritual life seeking mystical experiences of God in their lives.
It is useful that Carl Jung and his followers have affirmed the mystical and healing power of dreams. Our unconscious is unpredictable and contains shadow as well as light; it also reflects the Spirit’s movements in “sighs too deep for words” as Paul put it. We need the best of both worlds; a robust rationalism that is matched equally by a robust mysticism and openness to the wisdom of the unconscious and non-rational elements of experience.
Just think about the feast we will be celebrating in three days. Christmas cannot be sustained by pure rationalism alone; even if we suspend our disbelief for a few moments to enjoy our children crib building service at a spiritual level, we still need shepherds and magi, angelic choirs and life-changing dreams, to discover the deepest meaning of Christmas. These stories may not be factual as presented, but they are nevertheless spiritually true, revealing the incarnation of God in everyday life and across ethnic differences. They proclaim that God is with us, enlivening and enlightening every aspect of life. The birth of a baby change everything; when this child is born “unto us,” as the carol says, the world is renewed and hope bursts forth.
Over the last few weeks I spoken about Radical Transformation and Hopeful Transformation. Today, let’s put ourselves in Joseph’s place. His world is turned upside down by the news of Mary’s pregnancy. She must have mustered the courage to tell Joseph, knowing it would likely lead to a relational breakup. Without a doubt, Mary is a heroic figure in her embrace of the baby, the risk of reputation, and willingness to lose everything for the sake of following God’s pathway. But Joseph is also a spiritual hero as well.
If you were Joseph, and your significant other reported a pregnancy as a result of a relationship with “another” (be it human or divinity), how would you respond? Would you be as generous as Joseph is reported to be in today’s Gospel? Or, would you want revenge? Would you want to humiliate your significant other?
But now the nitty-gritty; how would you respond to a nocturnal angelic visitation? Do you think Joseph immediately changed his mind? Or did he take time to think over this surprising turn of events? In the biblical tradition, dreams are seen as one way the divine speaks to humankind. If we take this insight seriously, then God is still speaking through dreams and intuitions.
Have you ever had a life-changing dream? What new realities have you experienced as a result of insightful dreams?
God moves through all things, including the unconscious mind. Unconscious wisdom can be brought to consciousness and become a catalyst for changing our conscious values and behaviours. What have your dreams said about the Radical and the Hopeful Transformations I preached about? Joseph, not an intellectual scholar but a carpenter becomes a spiritual hero, because he – like Mary – says “yes” to God’s call to bring wholeness to earth. Without the faithful risk-taking of Mary and Joseph, would Jesus have ever been born? Would God’s message of peace have come to earth?
So we have the song of the angels and angelic visitations to earth just over the horizon – in three days. Can I ask you to be open to “more than we can ask or imagine.” Let us go beyond one-dimensional understandings of ourselves and reality to embrace the wondrous world of Christmas – of the birth of a baby, unexpected divine revelations, and holiness around every corner.
20191215Advent3_sermon
Last Week I said Advent is a time of Radical Transformation for ourselves and our world. But it is also a time for a Hopeful Transformation. Us human beings are always looking for completeness, for wholeness and so does creation. In this Hopeful Transformation creation groans and so do we. Our hope is the hopefulness of faith and it is for an age of peace – despite the realities of war, racism, homophobia, Islamophobia, sexism, and polarization. In faith we believe God is at work in all things, restoring the broken, healing the sick, and welcoming the outcast, in fact bringing about a hopeful transformation. The dream of a kingdom of peace seems impossible right now, but we must live in hope and know as I said last Sunday, that it won’t happen without our efforts, unless we become the catalysts.
Isaiah sings the glad songs of restoration. “The wilderness and dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom,” the blind shall see, the deaf hear, the lame dance, and the speechless sing. The whole world, which once groaned in pain and desolation, is now bursting forth in liberation. What we have to realise is that what happens to humankind shapes the non-human world as well. God’s salvation is not just for human beings. It includes the non-human as well as the human. All things are joined in a fabric of interdependence: as one part is healed, all share in healing. It was Paul who said in Romans chapter 8 that the whole of creation groans, and the groaning of creation reflects our own inner quest for healing. Global climate change, species destruction, and humanity’s oppression and injustice are mirrors of each other. When we mistreat the non-human world, we discover that this same violence spills over into our human relationships. Harming other humans leads to the destruction of the environment. Conversely, the healing of nations and nature are intertwined. Isaiah describes a healing brought by incarnation, embodied in Mary’s womb and Jesus’ birth.
The Isaiah passage tells us to love the Earth, which is our mother, and live simply and encourage our political leaders to do so as well. We must not abandon the quest to save our planet – it is in our hands – God has called and we must respond, and our response enhances or limits what God can do in our planet, in our personal lives, and in our community. Advent isn’t for the passive; it is a call to prophetic healing actions.
Our Psalm today starts with this in the verse we started with: Blessed is the one whose help is the God of Jacob: whose hope is in the Lord our God... It goes on expressing a similar theme to Isaiah's. The Psalm assures us that the God who made heaven and earth, will keep faith, will ensure justice for the oppressed, will ensure the hungry are fed, the captives freed, sight given to the blind and the stranger in the land cared for. And it ends with an Alleluia or Praise the Lord.
This is Advent and as I said last week it is a season of fierce urgency of the “right now”, but also of “not quite yet!” Our reading from the Letter of James counsels patience. Yet, in light of the whole message of James, patience does not imply passivity. Remember, James is an epistle of ethical activism and care for the downtrodden. Faith without works is worthless, he tells us. We must be patient with the movements of God’s moral arc of history; we must not give up hope nor should we be polarized in times of challenge. God’s nearness challenges us to justice-seeking, grounded in the care for those whose power we confront. We must pray for our president and the government even if you may be inclined to protest at their corruption and policies. We pray for them because they too are God’s children, and as they seek to gain the world, their souls may be in jeopardy. And we should be concerned about that.
Jesus’ response to John the Baptist echoes the hopeful vision of Isaiah 35 and those verses from Psalm 146. The Messiah is known by the appearance of good news at every level of life. Good news is lived as well as read from the Gospel. Bodies are healed, outcasts welcomed, and impoverished given hope. Jesus’ gospel is holistic and life-changing, and gives preferential care for those at the fringes of life.
Jesus then seems to give an apparent dig at John the Baptist – “the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he”, he says. But this is, in fact, a word of affirmation and calls for us to intervene because John’s prophetic ministry and his call to repentance invites us to do great things ourselves. John prepares the way for Jesus and for us as well. We have a calling to bring good news to our world – to heal, welcome, and restore. We are to be prophets in our own circles – living toward a vision of wholeness and equity.
Advent reminds us that another world is possible. New life can emerge from the ruins; the dessert can bloom; and lives restored. This is the result of patient partnership. God takes the initiative and invites us to be innovative as well. Our involvement in Jesus’ ministry enhances the incarnation of God’s vision of peace in our world. We can’t wait passively for a Second Coming, God is coming to us now and wants us to act with grace and persistence for the well-being of the planet and its peoples, now.
Here in Simon’s Town we can't wait passively for a new priest to come in May next year. We are challenged to be God’s partners in national, community and personal healing. Where does Simon's Town parish need to embody spiritual growth? Shouldn't we be claiming our vocation as healers, as spiritual horticulturalists? Do we need a firework under us in order for us to become the embodiment of God’s realm in our community and our work in the world? We need that firework to go off and then we will have an adventurous Advent!
20191208Advent2_Sermon
What actually is Advent all about? Last Sunday I said that it wasn’t just having the four Sundays before Christmas Day without singing Carols. It is about the expectation of the coming of Jesus, the second coming of Jesus.
In the readings today, we explore radical transformation. A transformation guided by God, but a transformation that has to be brought about by us, ourselves. If we look at predictions, including those in the bible, we so realise that we are looking for a divine rescue operation for our world. The trouble is the meek seldom inherit the earth; the wealthy seldom give up power. All transformations, including that in our own nation today, are imperfect works which are still in progress. After two thousand years of false prophesies predicting it, the expected dramatic unilateral second coming of Jesus seems like a fantasy to us. But if this is the case, then what are we to hope for and what are we to expect?
As I said last week, Advent presents an impossible possibility, that the partnership between the human and the divinity will create a new earth. Yes, Advent seems to invite us to wait, but also that we be catalysts for the changes we wish to see.
Isaiah 10 speaks of an impossible possibility – enemies becoming companions, children safe from harm, wise national leadership, and a world without war. The trouble is, none of this has ever occurred, despite Isaiah’s dream, but this dream still judges world history and serves as a star – like a star in the Southern Cross – pointing us in the direction our endeavours should take. As unrealistic as Isaiah’s dream appears, we must still strive after God’s peace and justice. Perhaps, in the striving we will create communities that nurture a better humanity which will create a world in which poverty, injustice, racism, sexism, and global climate change are a thing of the past and God’s peace reigns.
John the Baptist is a major figure in this our radical transformation this Advent. John presents us with the dream of a new era, an era beyond Isaiah’s, but it is clear that to get there we must go through a dark night of being cleansed. We must prune away the baggage of our lives, remove our desire for material things and simplify our living. The Kingdom of God requires a change of heart, a contrite spirit, and a new set of values. God initiates this process of creative transformation in us because God needs us for God’s dreams to be realized in this world. We become co-creators with God.
When it comes to the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus, little is known. According to tradition, when Mary the mother of Jesus meets her close relative Elizabeth, John leaps in utero in acknowledgment of the uniqueness of Mary’s son. Beyond that, the early life of John, later called John the Baptist, like Jesus’ early life, is shrouded in mystery until adulthood.
As an adult, John comes on the scene as a wild man, proclaiming hard words of transformation and redemption. He seems to first bring us bad news and he doesn’t mince his words to those who come to hear him preach, some knowing they need transformation, others for the sheer spectacle of it all. “You brood of vipers,” he shouts, insulting the intelligent and the rich in the crowd. John is truly, a voice crying in the wilderness. He is a prophet in the tradition of Amos, Hosea, and Micah. Transformation, as I said, requires pruning, and the destruction of our old ways of life. Our souls need purification: we must stop injustice and idolatry and spiritual smugness to experience God’s Kingdom in the here and now. Those who sought this transformation received baptism from John as a sign of purification and commitment. But, the cleansing waters of baptism must be preceded by a change of heart and of lifestyle. John’s word convicted his listeners and still convicts us today. We must choose life, John says, economically, politically, relationally, and congregationally.
John is saying that God will come as manifested in the message, hospitality, and healing practices of Jesus of Nazareth. John anticipates Jesus’ ministry not as an abstract theory but as a human figure that is a spiritual companion, first of John himself, and then for all of us. The Celtic tradition uses the term anamcara to describe a deep spiritual relationship of common values and commitments one to another. Our anamcara must mirrors our deepest self and at the same time enable us to embody the glory of God as persons “fully alive.” In relationship to our soul companion, or anamcara, we experience the better angels of ourselves and others.
That was the relationship of John and Jesus. Imagine it for a moment. They were the best of friends who grew into spiritual intimacy. The gospels also show evidence that Mary and Elizabeth were also very close. Elizabeth was the first relative to hear of Mary’s unusual pregnancy. These two women were close enough that Mary expected celebration and affirmation rather than judgment when she shared the news. These stories might not be historically accurate but beyond facts, they are stories that tell us the deeper meaning of life, and invite us to journey beyond the ordinary and controllable world to God’s unexpected and surprising realm of spiritual transformation.
Therefore, it is no surprise for John when Jesus comes to the Jordan River to be baptized. John protests a bit: after all, they are spiritual friends, and John knows the depth of Jesus relationship with God. The child who leaped in the womb at the encounter of Mary and Elizabeth, now as an adult recognized Jesus’ unique connection with the one they called Father God. Jesus’ full humanity – the glory of God, indeed the Incarnation, is a person fully alive – resonated with divine energy, power, and wisdom. John may have recognized that what he spoke about in his sermons Jesus’ fully experienced. John preached of God’s coming and Jesus felt that coming kingdom in his very marrow; he was the embodiment of the good news that appears when we are soaked in the teaching of the prophets and our spirits thus refined.
So, John dreamed of the peaceable realm and so do we. He never lived to see its full embodiment, but he planted seeds that enabled Jesus to move forward as its messenger and embodiment. John is Advent personified: he embodies the fierce urgency of the now, but not yet. He is impatient with our foolishness and sin, and wants us to be better. As Advent messenger, he knows that salvation occurs through the transformation of one person at a time. This very moment is the right time for us to let go of the past, turn away from our half-heartedness and complicity with injustice, and find a new pathway to God’s peaceable kingdom, one step and one breath at a time. We are the Advent change we seek; apart from us, there will be no peaceable realm.
John’s message is unique and a good thing to hear in a sermon during Advent. His radical vision, preparing the way for Jesus, challenges us to prepare the way for Jesus’ mission now, in our time. Our preparation is a matter of deeds as well as words. Walking in the way of Jesus involves a commitment to constant transformation and renewal, to changing our ways in response to God’s wondrous gifts of grace. Like John, we are challenged to announce the coming of a world not yet born, to critical of our world and ourselves and our community as it is right now. We need to recognize that Christ’s presence demands a radical transformation of values so that we might recognize the realm of God which is already emerging in our midst. Now, that is what Advent is all about.
20191201AdventI_Sermon
Isn’t time a fascinating thing? For me it is often something I can’t get my head around. When Karen is away and I phone her at 10pm just before I go to bed here in Cape Town, she is just getting up in tomorrow in Japan. Recently when she was in the UK they changed from Summer time to Winter time and I wondered what was the real time – is it when they are two hours behind us or only one hour behind us. I asked Karen and her response was “Well, time is merely a human construct anyway!” What a lovely cop out!
In many ways, time is the theme of today’s lessons. Paul asserts boldly “Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” and Matthew’s Gospel reading, speaks of the day and time of the Messiah’s coming and no-one knowing exactly when. We are called upon to trust and reminding us that despite uncertainty, we can be sure that it will happen – this certainty we call “faith”
As we enter Advent in the middle of international turmoil with stabbing on London Bridge, riots in Hong Kong, presidential impeachment in the USA, polarised election and Brexit in the UK and economic uncertainty in our own land we need to know if all of this is part of God’s plan. Our Advent Sunday’s lessons, according to our Lectionary notes “demonstrate the dramatic fulfilment of God’s plan”. Do they? And if so “Am I part of this plan?”
The Isaiah reading speaks of the time of God’s coming realm. God’s light emerging over Jerusalem and the whole earth. A new day is upon us with radically new possibilities. Let us walk in the light of God, says the prophet Isaiah. With the future holding darkness and fear out to us, these are good words of advice. They challenge us to embrace God’s enlightened paths. If we are open to the light, we can see growth within the world’s darkness. Following the light, can also find our way through dangerous personal and political pathways. This applies to our Parish as well as we contemplate having a full-time Rector in the Parish again. We must walk in the light.
What Isaiah proclaims is the impossible possibility. His word from God is that the once proud Jerusalem, destroyed and despairing, shall become a centre for spiritual pilgrimage with seekers coming to create, not destroy. Jerusalem is to promote world peace not national aggrandizement. Isaiah tells us that strangers will find a home in the holy city. Refugees will experience safety once more. The world’s leaders shall beat their swords into plough-shares, war will be abolished, and nations will no longer plan on destroying on another. Laughter and joy will fill the city streets. The days of mourning will be a thing of the past as the horizons of God’s future beckon us forward. Looking toward Israel of today, I’m afraid this is still not happening.
On the other hand, Advent is a time to imagine the impossible and to take the first steps toward achieving it. Advent is a time for hopes and dreams, for possibilities that take us beyond the world as we know it to the world as it could be – and should be – a place of healing, restoration, justice, and peace. In Isaiah’s vision, Advent joins the personal and the political. It can’t be otherwise for Jerusalem and ourselves. We are shaped by our communities, for good or ill. As I said last week our communities promote human well-being or they move against it. The spirit of Advent invites us to examine our values and our lifestyle. We ned to ask ourselves questions such as: How shall I experience peace in the onslaught of the Christmas season? How shall my Advent be holy and whole-making? What changes do I need to undergo in order to be part of the peaceful world that Isaiah visualizes? How will the quest for peace shape our behaviour to people different from us, people from other lands, people who believe in a faith different from ours?
Advent is more than merely have a four Sunday stretch when we avoid singing Christmas Carols or feeling free to say “Merry Christmas” to strangers, but having an attitude of expectation, hopefulness, and prayerful waiting. Advent calls us to be people who already have one foot out of our time and in God’s new age and we must become already the change we want to see in the world. We must have a holy unrest, inspired by God’s own unrest, God’s own lure toward novelty in our personal lives and social structures.
The Psalmist also looks toward an era of peace not just in Jerusalem but in the world. For the sake of my brothers and companions: I will pray that peace be with you. “Peace be with you,” is not just a casual greeting but the hope of the nation and the dream of Jerusalem. Wishing one another “peace” will transform the spirit of Jerusalem and our country as well. We need to speak truth to power especially with regard to the abuse of women in these 16 Days of Activism against the abuse of women. We need to experience divine connection with God, even as we challenge the injustices of our time. We need peace in our township streets, in our suburbs and in our cities. We need the peace of sacrificial living and self-transcendence not that of anaesthesia, the sort of “I can’t be bothered because it doesn’t affect me” attitude.
“You know what time it is!” says the apostle Paul. The passage from Romans continues the same theme of God’s creative transformation of our world. All time is sacred time, and God’s vision is on the horizon calling us forward. All time is the right time, the Kairos time, to say “yes” to God’s way. As Paul says: Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; 13let us live honourably as in the day The Day of Salvation is nearer than we thought. God’s wholeness is just around the corner – or could it already be here- and we need to be prepared. We need to be mindful of the moment by moment revealing of God’s providence in our lives. God is with us in saving ways. Paul encourages us: Don’t miss out on God’s vision embodied in our lives! Act as if God’s realm is here right now, become a citizen of heaven in your everyday life by your commitments, values, and actions. God’s coming is here, forget those preachers who trying to work when the end time will come, and just get on with God’s program today!
“Keep awake,” you don’t know what time it is; Jesus says. Don’t try to find a hidden programme in the book of Revelations because this may prevent you from seeing what is right in front of you, the coming of God! Although there appears to be an implicit threat in the unexpected coming of God, ultimately this passage is about mindfulness. Stay awake. Holy moments may catch you by surprise. A pivotal life event may be happening right now, and you are too dull-witted to recognize it. Don’t sleep through your life. Don’t miss God moments occurring throughout the day. God is coming to us in every encounter. We do not need a world-transforming catastrophe or Second Coming. As a matter of fact, waiting for a divine rescue operation is the worst thing we can do if we want experience God right now. Don’t pay attention to apocalyptic thinkers and their time tables – they have been wrong for two thousand years and there is no reason to believe they will be any more accurate today. Self-transformation – awakening to God and living in God’s realm – is available to us all the time. The future is in our hands as well as God’s and we need to prepare moment by moment to experience God’s vision of peace, God’s provocative possibilities embedded in every encounter.
On this Advent Sunday, Jesus’ words in the Gospel challenge us to live faithfully. We are to live as if we are expecting something to happen. We are to live as if God is with us, precisely because God is with us. This challenges us individually today. We don’t know what tomorrow or next year is going to bring. We don’t know if economically our country will survive, we don’t know economically if our church will survive having a full-time priest next year. We do not know if our planet will survive climate change. But, we can choose to be open to God’s guidance, look beyond self-interest, and chart a path toward wholeness for ourselves, our churches, and the world.
So stay awake. Walk in the light. Open to your role in the divine adventure. Salvation is here, Christ’s coming is now. Rejoice in the glorious and challenging splendour of this wondrous holy moment.
What actually is Advent all about? Last Sunday I said that it wasn’t just having the four Sundays before Christmas Day without singing Carols. It is about the expectation of the coming of Jesus, the second coming of Jesus.
In the readings today, we explore radical transformation. A transformation guided by God, but a transformation that has to be brought about by us, ourselves. If we look at predictions, including those in the bible, we so realise that we are looking for a divine rescue operation for our world. The trouble is the meek seldom inherit the earth; the wealthy seldom give up power. All transformations, including that in our own nation today, are imperfect works which are still in progress. After two thousand years of false prophesies predicting it, the expected dramatic unilateral second coming of Jesus seems like a fantasy to us. But if this is the case, then what are we to hope for and what are we to expect?
As I said last week, Advent presents an impossible possibility, that the partnership between the human and the divinity will create a new earth. Yes, Advent seems to invite us to wait, but also that we be catalysts for the changes we wish to see.
Isaiah 10 speaks of an impossible possibility – enemies becoming companions, children safe from harm, wise national leadership, and a world without war. The trouble is, none of this has ever occurred, despite Isaiah’s dream, but this dream still judges world history and serves as a star – like a star in the Southern Cross – pointing us in the direction our endeavours should take. As unrealistic as Isaiah’s dream appears, we must still strive after God’s peace and justice. Perhaps, in the striving we will create communities that nurture a better humanity which will create a world in which poverty, injustice, racism, sexism, and global climate change are a thing of the past and God’s peace reigns.
John the Baptist is a major figure in this our radical transformation this Advent. John presents us with the dream of a new era, an era beyond Isaiah’s, but it is clear that to get there we must go through a dark night of being cleansed. We must prune away the baggage of our lives, remove our desire for material things and simplify our living. The Kingdom of God requires a change of heart, a contrite spirit, and a new set of values. God initiates this process of creative transformation in us because God needs us for God’s dreams to be realized in this world. We become co-creators with God.
When it comes to the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus, little is known. According to tradition, when Mary the mother of Jesus meets her close relative Elizabeth, John leaps in utero in acknowledgment of the uniqueness of Mary’s son. Beyond that, the early life of John, later called John the Baptist, like Jesus’ early life, is shrouded in mystery until adulthood.
As an adult, John comes on the scene as a wild man, proclaiming hard words of transformation and redemption. He seems to first bring us bad news and he doesn’t mince his words to those who come to hear him preach, some knowing they need transformation, others for the sheer spectacle of it all. “You brood of vipers,” he shouts, insulting the intelligent and the rich in the crowd. John is truly, a voice crying in the wilderness. He is a prophet in the tradition of Amos, Hosea, and Micah. Transformation, as I said, requires pruning, and the destruction of our old ways of life. Our souls need purification: we must stop injustice and idolatry and spiritual smugness to experience God’s Kingdom in the here and now. Those who sought this transformation received baptism from John as a sign of purification and commitment. But, the cleansing waters of baptism must be preceded by a change of heart and of lifestyle. John’s word convicted his listeners and still convicts us today. We must choose life, John says, economically, politically, relationally, and congregationally.
John is saying that God will come as manifested in the message, hospitality, and healing practices of Jesus of Nazareth. John anticipates Jesus’ ministry not as an abstract theory but as a human figure that is a spiritual companion, first of John himself, and then for all of us. The Celtic tradition uses the term anamcara to describe a deep spiritual relationship of common values and commitments one to another. Our anamcara must mirrors our deepest self and at the same time enable us to embody the glory of God as persons “fully alive.” In relationship to our soul companion, or anamcara, we experience the better angels of ourselves and others.
That was the relationship of John and Jesus. Imagine it for a moment. They were the best of friends who grew into spiritual intimacy. The gospels also show evidence that Mary and Elizabeth were also very close. Elizabeth was the first relative to hear of Mary’s unusual pregnancy. These two women were close enough that Mary expected celebration and affirmation rather than judgment when she shared the news. These stories might not be historically accurate but beyond facts, they are stories that tell us the deeper meaning of life, and invite us to journey beyond the ordinary and controllable world to God’s unexpected and surprising realm of spiritual transformation.
Therefore, it is no surprise for John when Jesus comes to the Jordan River to be baptized. John protests a bit: after all, they are spiritual friends, and John knows the depth of Jesus relationship with God. The child who leaped in the womb at the encounter of Mary and Elizabeth, now as an adult recognized Jesus’ unique connection with the one they called Father God. Jesus’ full humanity – the glory of God, indeed the Incarnation, is a person fully alive – resonated with divine energy, power, and wisdom. John may have recognized that what he spoke about in his sermons Jesus’ fully experienced. John preached of God’s coming and Jesus felt that coming kingdom in his very marrow; he was the embodiment of the good news that appears when we are soaked in the teaching of the prophets and our spirits thus refined.
So, John dreamed of the peaceable realm and so do we. He never lived to see its full embodiment, but he planted seeds that enabled Jesus to move forward as its messenger and embodiment. John is Advent personified: he embodies the fierce urgency of the now, but not yet. He is impatient with our foolishness and sin, and wants us to be better. As Advent messenger, he knows that salvation occurs through the transformation of one person at a time. This very moment is the right time for us to let go of the past, turn away from our half-heartedness and complicity with injustice, and find a new pathway to God’s peaceable kingdom, one step and one breath at a time. We are the Advent change we seek; apart from us, there will be no peaceable realm.
John’s message is unique and a good thing to hear in a sermon during Advent. His radical vision, preparing the way for Jesus, challenges us to prepare the way for Jesus’ mission now, in our time. Our preparation is a matter of deeds as well as words. Walking in the way of Jesus involves a commitment to constant transformation and renewal, to changing our ways in response to God’s wondrous gifts of grace. Like John, we are challenged to announce the coming of a world not yet born, to critical of our world and ourselves and our community as it is right now. We need to recognize that Christ’s presence demands a radical transformation of values so that we might recognize the realm of God which is already emerging in our midst. Now, that is what Advent is all about.
20191201AdventI_Sermon
Isn’t time a fascinating thing? For me it is often something I can’t get my head around. When Karen is away and I phone her at 10pm just before I go to bed here in Cape Town, she is just getting up in tomorrow in Japan. Recently when she was in the UK they changed from Summer time to Winter time and I wondered what was the real time – is it when they are two hours behind us or only one hour behind us. I asked Karen and her response was “Well, time is merely a human construct anyway!” What a lovely cop out!
In many ways, time is the theme of today’s lessons. Paul asserts boldly “Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep.” and Matthew’s Gospel reading, speaks of the day and time of the Messiah’s coming and no-one knowing exactly when. We are called upon to trust and reminding us that despite uncertainty, we can be sure that it will happen – this certainty we call “faith”
As we enter Advent in the middle of international turmoil with stabbing on London Bridge, riots in Hong Kong, presidential impeachment in the USA, polarised election and Brexit in the UK and economic uncertainty in our own land we need to know if all of this is part of God’s plan. Our Advent Sunday’s lessons, according to our Lectionary notes “demonstrate the dramatic fulfilment of God’s plan”. Do they? And if so “Am I part of this plan?”
The Isaiah reading speaks of the time of God’s coming realm. God’s light emerging over Jerusalem and the whole earth. A new day is upon us with radically new possibilities. Let us walk in the light of God, says the prophet Isaiah. With the future holding darkness and fear out to us, these are good words of advice. They challenge us to embrace God’s enlightened paths. If we are open to the light, we can see growth within the world’s darkness. Following the light, can also find our way through dangerous personal and political pathways. This applies to our Parish as well as we contemplate having a full-time Rector in the Parish again. We must walk in the light.
What Isaiah proclaims is the impossible possibility. His word from God is that the once proud Jerusalem, destroyed and despairing, shall become a centre for spiritual pilgrimage with seekers coming to create, not destroy. Jerusalem is to promote world peace not national aggrandizement. Isaiah tells us that strangers will find a home in the holy city. Refugees will experience safety once more. The world’s leaders shall beat their swords into plough-shares, war will be abolished, and nations will no longer plan on destroying on another. Laughter and joy will fill the city streets. The days of mourning will be a thing of the past as the horizons of God’s future beckon us forward. Looking toward Israel of today, I’m afraid this is still not happening.
On the other hand, Advent is a time to imagine the impossible and to take the first steps toward achieving it. Advent is a time for hopes and dreams, for possibilities that take us beyond the world as we know it to the world as it could be – and should be – a place of healing, restoration, justice, and peace. In Isaiah’s vision, Advent joins the personal and the political. It can’t be otherwise for Jerusalem and ourselves. We are shaped by our communities, for good or ill. As I said last week our communities promote human well-being or they move against it. The spirit of Advent invites us to examine our values and our lifestyle. We ned to ask ourselves questions such as: How shall I experience peace in the onslaught of the Christmas season? How shall my Advent be holy and whole-making? What changes do I need to undergo in order to be part of the peaceful world that Isaiah visualizes? How will the quest for peace shape our behaviour to people different from us, people from other lands, people who believe in a faith different from ours?
Advent is more than merely have a four Sunday stretch when we avoid singing Christmas Carols or feeling free to say “Merry Christmas” to strangers, but having an attitude of expectation, hopefulness, and prayerful waiting. Advent calls us to be people who already have one foot out of our time and in God’s new age and we must become already the change we want to see in the world. We must have a holy unrest, inspired by God’s own unrest, God’s own lure toward novelty in our personal lives and social structures.
The Psalmist also looks toward an era of peace not just in Jerusalem but in the world. For the sake of my brothers and companions: I will pray that peace be with you. “Peace be with you,” is not just a casual greeting but the hope of the nation and the dream of Jerusalem. Wishing one another “peace” will transform the spirit of Jerusalem and our country as well. We need to speak truth to power especially with regard to the abuse of women in these 16 Days of Activism against the abuse of women. We need to experience divine connection with God, even as we challenge the injustices of our time. We need peace in our township streets, in our suburbs and in our cities. We need the peace of sacrificial living and self-transcendence not that of anaesthesia, the sort of “I can’t be bothered because it doesn’t affect me” attitude.
“You know what time it is!” says the apostle Paul. The passage from Romans continues the same theme of God’s creative transformation of our world. All time is sacred time, and God’s vision is on the horizon calling us forward. All time is the right time, the Kairos time, to say “yes” to God’s way. As Paul says: Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; 13let us live honourably as in the day The Day of Salvation is nearer than we thought. God’s wholeness is just around the corner – or could it already be here- and we need to be prepared. We need to be mindful of the moment by moment revealing of God’s providence in our lives. God is with us in saving ways. Paul encourages us: Don’t miss out on God’s vision embodied in our lives! Act as if God’s realm is here right now, become a citizen of heaven in your everyday life by your commitments, values, and actions. God’s coming is here, forget those preachers who trying to work when the end time will come, and just get on with God’s program today!
“Keep awake,” you don’t know what time it is; Jesus says. Don’t try to find a hidden programme in the book of Revelations because this may prevent you from seeing what is right in front of you, the coming of God! Although there appears to be an implicit threat in the unexpected coming of God, ultimately this passage is about mindfulness. Stay awake. Holy moments may catch you by surprise. A pivotal life event may be happening right now, and you are too dull-witted to recognize it. Don’t sleep through your life. Don’t miss God moments occurring throughout the day. God is coming to us in every encounter. We do not need a world-transforming catastrophe or Second Coming. As a matter of fact, waiting for a divine rescue operation is the worst thing we can do if we want experience God right now. Don’t pay attention to apocalyptic thinkers and their time tables – they have been wrong for two thousand years and there is no reason to believe they will be any more accurate today. Self-transformation – awakening to God and living in God’s realm – is available to us all the time. The future is in our hands as well as God’s and we need to prepare moment by moment to experience God’s vision of peace, God’s provocative possibilities embedded in every encounter.
On this Advent Sunday, Jesus’ words in the Gospel challenge us to live faithfully. We are to live as if we are expecting something to happen. We are to live as if God is with us, precisely because God is with us. This challenges us individually today. We don’t know what tomorrow or next year is going to bring. We don’t know if economically our country will survive, we don’t know economically if our church will survive having a full-time priest next year. We do not know if our planet will survive climate change. But, we can choose to be open to God’s guidance, look beyond self-interest, and chart a path toward wholeness for ourselves, our churches, and the world.
So stay awake. Walk in the light. Open to your role in the divine adventure. Salvation is here, Christ’s coming is now. Rejoice in the glorious and challenging splendour of this wondrous holy moment.
20191124ChristTheKing_sermon
On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrated the coming of God’s Spirit in all its fullness. Today, twenty four Sundays later, we conclude that celebration with an affirmation of the universality of Christ’s sovereignty and grace. We call this Sunday - the Feast of Christ the King or the Feast of the Reign of Christ.
In a pluralistic age, the image of Christ the King, or the Reign of Christ, is anachronistic to many. Most of us, and you can count me in that number, do not believe that Christ is the only way to salvation and that all other paths are false. We have rejected rightfully the notion of the “one true church,” which is still clung too by traditionalists of all flavours. We recognize saving wisdom outside our own faith tradition. We have become sceptical of theologies that identify God with unilateral power, domineering sovereignty, or militaristic expansionism.
How can we understand Christ’s reign, Christ’s sovereignty, in a world of many ways, a world in which we challenge crusades of all sorts, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or nationalist? If we look at our hymn book, we will find that quite a few of our hymns have had their words edited to avoid jingoistic and imperialistic language and the militaristic attitudes of faith. Although it is great to sing, we avoid hymns such as “Onward Christian soldiers”.
So, can we talk about Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday in our pluralistic age?
At first glance, there is something anachronistic about claiming the supremacy of Christ over other faiths or those of no faith at all. This is especially true in a post-modern age where we find those seeking faith, those who have multiple faiths, and the so-called SBNRs - those who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious". So, does the fact that Christianity is now worldwide, brought to all places in the world by imperialistic nations – as the saying goes ‘the flag follows the cross” lead to an imperialism over other beliefs as well? Can we claim God’s presence only in the ministry and mission of Jesus of Nazareth, in a world of multiple truth claims?
Every religious tradition claims a type of exclusiveness and they affirm different things. The world’s religions are not the same, nor do they claim to lead to the same destination by similar practices. This diversity should not lead to a division among faiths, but rather to an evolving interdependence of faith positions, growing alongside one another and learning from each other.
Jeremiah, for example, speaks of divine shepherding. Here God does not dominate but serves. The God of all things cares for each thing: God’s companionship casts away all fear and renews all things. God appoints caregivers not to “lord it over” the people but to heal and reconcile all. God seeks wholeness for all creation, and God’s spokespersons – the prophets, the priest, the people; you and me - have the same responsibility, to gather together, to seek unity, and nurture new life and creativity.
Psalm 46 continues the theme of divine wholeness. God is our refuge and strength; God helps us in challenging times. In the raging waters and the quaking mountains, we discover that we are not alone but that God is with us. But, to experience divine wholeness, we need to “be still” or “pause awhile.” God speaks in the chaos of our lives. A still small voice whispers through the storm and gives guidance and courage to those who stop long enough to listen. God is on our side, giving protection and strength, in times of trial. But we must let go of constant activity and anxiety to experience holiness in the centre of the hurricane.
Through stillness we are awaken to the wider perspective – the universal. We discover that our personal and social upheavals are part of a larger more orderly and creative fabric under God’s care. The upheavals are important but not all-dominating when we recognize that God is with us. When we discover that we are not alone.
The passage from Colossians joins the universal and the intimate. In Christ, all things are created- universal. In Christ, God’s fullness dwells: the fully alive Jesus is a catalyst for our own personal creative transformation. God’s glory does not dominate but nurtures our own activity, our own creativity, and our own responsibility. Through Christ, God reconciles all things. In reconciling all things, Christ reconciles each thing and that means each one of us. The ever-present God is present in the here and now, in your life, and in your community, always seeking Peace - Shalom.
The Colossians reading joins the universal with the personal. What touches all things heals each thing. The One who moves though all things (the universal) also moves through each of our lives (the personal), seeking abundant life and wholeness for all of us, one person at a time.
Throughout this year I've been telling you that Luke's Gospel is the Good News set into the context of a journey - from Bethlehem, where Christ was born - to Jerusalem where he died. And that is where we are in today's Gospel. Luke sees Calvary as the centre of the sacred space-time continuum. In our Gospel, Jesus forgives the people right in front of him: the crowd and the political leaders are dominated by fear and their own egos; they cannot see beyond their own alienation and consequent need to dominate and destroy. Jesus is the projection – the scapegoat – intended to ease their anxiety and alienation; but this projection does not limit or dominate Jesus. He freely claims his relationship to God’s peace in the maelstrom of violence.
Jesus’ promise to his companion on the cross, goes from clock time to God’s everlasting time. “Today you will be with me in paradise” suggests a relationship of wholeness in the midst of dying and death. Jesus doesn’t describe what he means by paradise, but he opens the door to a larger space-time perspective that embraces the vision of heaven and the communion of saints. We can experience everlasting life now: we can experience God’s vision amid the ordinary moments and tragic conflicts of our own lives. Our life is part of a grand adventure that goes beyond our physical deaths. Death does not limit God’s love. Rather God continues God’s aim at wholeness in any future adventures we might have.
The Reign of Christ is intended for healing and affirmation not for Christian exclusivism. In the divine-human relationship, which is our call and God's response, God identifies with our deepest needs and the deepest needs of the planet and of the universe and does all that can be done to bring health to the body, cell by cell and soul by soul. God’s vision invites us to be agents of this Reign of Christ. In the Universality of God, a God who is everywhere all the time, we also will find an Intimate God seeking to make us (the individual) whole.
I want to end this sermon with A Poem-Prayer by Jeff Shrowder. He uses the form of a Haiku, a Japanese poetic form of usually 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. As the internet definition explains, “a haiku is considered to be more than a type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper. It should leave the reader with a strong feeling or impression.”
Ancient shepherds,
corruption, abuse, mocking
and crucifixion:
An un-majestic
‘crown-of-thorns-king-of-the-Jews’
discarded scarecrow.
A once and crumbling
Church Triumphant, past glory,
hails this one as king.
The way of the church:
making sense of Jesus’ death
in this counter-image,
The way of Jesus:
teaching, healing, including,
sharing bread… and life.
Jeff Shrowder, 2019
201911MissionSunday_Sermon
The reading from the Second letter to the Thessalonians gives us two key ideas which I think elucidates what the Churchwardens have just said. Basically it is saying: (1) “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat,” and (2) “Do not give up on doing what is good.”
“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” An interesting issue in Thessalonica and today as well. Using this idea some attack free medical treatment for all, soup kitchens and feeding schemes and other social programmes. They are seen as encouraging laziness among the poor by taking advantage of decent, struggling, hardworking people. Another perspective says that the unrestrained accumulation of wealth and material possessions is also seen as encouraging laziness among the rich who have more than enough and take advantage of decent, struggling, hardworking people. But how does this affect you as members of this parish facing the future of having a full-time priest that you have to support? Well, the person who will become your Rector will be willing to work and of course, he or she will need to eat. But who is going to pay?
Jesus speaking about the end times says: ‘… before all this occurs, you will be given an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict… not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.’ You are being offered an opportunity to let this church grow with a fulltime priest working here but that priest deserves to be paid, to be fed and as Jesus says by your endurance you will gain your souls through the work of this person.
The second point this reading brings up is: Don’t give up on doing good
What problem is Paul facing? Is the “parish” at Thessalonica filled with problematic people and notice the letter does not say that the problematic people are poor, just that they are “idle” and “busybodies.” I’m sure in this parish those titles of Idle and busybodies do not apply any to you! What concerned Paul was the impact these people had on the community and its ministry. Paul describes the problem by reminding them of the example that he set and how they are not following that example. Paraphrasing Paul we could say, “We weren’t idle when we were with you [because we didn’t have to be]. We paid for what we ate [because we could]. We didn’t want to be a burden on anyone [because we didn’t have to be]. We were setting an example of how, if God has given us capabilities and gifts, we should put them to use for the good of others -- for you -- even if we weren’t ‘required’ to.” Your new rector won’t be idle when he or she is with you because he or she didn’t have to be. This priest is paid for what he or she needs by the way he or she ministers. This priest doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone because he or she doesn’t have to be. Hopefully your new rector will set an example of how, if God has given you capabilities and gifts [which God has], you should put them to use for the good of your new rector
Paul is trying to establish a “do good for others even when you don’t have to” ethic among those who seek to follow Christ. He came to town, did not “have” to work, had the “right” as an apostle not to work, but, because he could work and contribute to the good of the whole, he did. (“Work” here is not limited to earning a stipend, but is focused on fulfilling whatever purpose God has called us to fulfil.) If there’s something good that we can do, do it. If there’s something good we can give, give it.
The closing sentence of the passage sums up Paul’s ethic here. The New Revised Standard Version translation I use says: “Do not be weary in doing what is right.” NIV says: never tire of doing what is good. Paul calls on the Thessalonians, and us today, to hold some combination of the following as our ethical goal: “Don’t get tired of doing what is right. Don’t get sick of doing good. Keep on keeping on in doing good things. Never stop lifting up those around you if you can. Don’t ever give up on doing good. Do whatever good you can, whenever you can, wherever you can, in whatever ways you can.” Right now, the best thing you can do for this community is to be committed to your giving to support a full time Rector in the Parish.
20191110RemembranceSunday_Sermon
The Prophet Micah writing to both the Northern and southern kingdoms gave warning unless things change. Besides describing the present he spoke of the future age to come. Our lesson is part of this prophecy:
The Lord shall judge between many peoples,
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more;
but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
The Lessons began with “In the days to come..." But when? When the Messiah comes? Well, hear Paul:
For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So, in Paul's day swords were not yet beaten into ploughshares. And he was post-Messianic, writing after the coming of the Prince of Peace. Is it appropriate to use such imagery of warfare? Oh, agreed he was using the imagery of the whole armour of God for a battle "against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" and not against "enemies of blood and flesh" – other human beings.
Perhaps Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can help us here. He is pretty specific in our Gospel:
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love... I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
"...joy may be complete." Do you remember that famous picture taken in Time Square New York on VJ Day where a young US sailor is giving a passionate and joyful kiss to a young lady in a white dress. That is a demonstration of complete joy, peace had been achieved.
But for many wives and families, war, even the end of war, does not bring joy because a loved one has been killed during the conflict. Who do they blame for their sorry, for their ‘no joy’, I can't say "lack of joy" for them it is no joy whatsoever. It is easy for us to blame the politician who decided to go to war, for Generals giving orders far from the frontlines.
Do you also remember the sit-com Blackadder - in particular Blackadder goes forth dealing with the First World War? The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder, Baldrick and George in a trench in Flanders during World War I, and followed their various doomed attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid death under the misguided command of General Melchett. Despite initial concerns that the comedy might trivialise the war, it was acclaimed. However, some historians and politicians have criticised it for presenting an oversimplified view of the war, reinforcing the popular notion of quote "lions led by donkeys". The final episode of this series although true to the series' usual comedy style through most of the preceding scenes, featured a highly intense and important final scene, where the main characters (all except General Melchett) are finally sent over the top. To the sound of a slow, minimal and downbeat piano version of the title theme, the four are seen in slow-motion, charging into the fog and smoke of no man's land, with gunfire and explosions all around, before the scene fades into footage of a sunny poppy field and the sound of birdsong. The fate of the four is left ambiguous. Blackadder's final line before the charge is also delivered with an unusually thoughtful and bittersweet tone, offered after Baldrick claims to have one last cunning plan to save them from the impending doom: “Well, I'm afraid it'll have to wait. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here? (whistles heard blowing along the line, signalling the start of the attack) ...Good luck, everyone (blows whistle)."
"... led by donkeys." Does that exonerate the simple soldier who is merely carrying a rifle and obeying orders?
In 1967, a young G.I. was lying on his bunk on a troop carrier headed to Vietnam. On the canvas bottom of the bunk above him, he carefully wrote a few lines of free verse in Morse code. That piece of canvas was donated along with a few others to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where a historian was studying wartime graffiti.
You’re the one who must decide
Who’s to live and who’s to die
You’re the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war – And without you all this killing can’t go on.
The historian published the “mystery poem” in the Smithsonian magazine. It prompted hundreds of letters, more than any other the editors had received on any other article. They were mostly from Vietnam vets. Some were scolding. Every one pointed out that the mystery poem was actually an extract from Buffy Sainte-Marie’s classic song, Universal Soldier. It was made a hit by Donovan:
[Play Universal Soldier]
He’s the universal soldier and he really is to blame
But his orders come from far away no more
They come from him and you and me
and Brothers, can’t you see this is not the way to put an end to war?
I wonder if you noticed how the song ends on an unresolved chord?
Jesus said: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Today we remember those who laid down their lives in armed conflicts, for their friends and for their country. We remember all of them, not just those on the side of the winners, but all of them. Today is not the time to point fingers of blame at anyone, but today is the time to hear what the Prince of Peace says to us: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." I was about to say, "we have a choice" to love our friends and our enemies, but then I saw the last line of today's gospel: You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrated the coming of God’s Spirit in all its fullness. Today, twenty four Sundays later, we conclude that celebration with an affirmation of the universality of Christ’s sovereignty and grace. We call this Sunday - the Feast of Christ the King or the Feast of the Reign of Christ.
In a pluralistic age, the image of Christ the King, or the Reign of Christ, is anachronistic to many. Most of us, and you can count me in that number, do not believe that Christ is the only way to salvation and that all other paths are false. We have rejected rightfully the notion of the “one true church,” which is still clung too by traditionalists of all flavours. We recognize saving wisdom outside our own faith tradition. We have become sceptical of theologies that identify God with unilateral power, domineering sovereignty, or militaristic expansionism.
How can we understand Christ’s reign, Christ’s sovereignty, in a world of many ways, a world in which we challenge crusades of all sorts, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or nationalist? If we look at our hymn book, we will find that quite a few of our hymns have had their words edited to avoid jingoistic and imperialistic language and the militaristic attitudes of faith. Although it is great to sing, we avoid hymns such as “Onward Christian soldiers”.
So, can we talk about Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday in our pluralistic age?
At first glance, there is something anachronistic about claiming the supremacy of Christ over other faiths or those of no faith at all. This is especially true in a post-modern age where we find those seeking faith, those who have multiple faiths, and the so-called SBNRs - those who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious". So, does the fact that Christianity is now worldwide, brought to all places in the world by imperialistic nations – as the saying goes ‘the flag follows the cross” lead to an imperialism over other beliefs as well? Can we claim God’s presence only in the ministry and mission of Jesus of Nazareth, in a world of multiple truth claims?
Every religious tradition claims a type of exclusiveness and they affirm different things. The world’s religions are not the same, nor do they claim to lead to the same destination by similar practices. This diversity should not lead to a division among faiths, but rather to an evolving interdependence of faith positions, growing alongside one another and learning from each other.
Jeremiah, for example, speaks of divine shepherding. Here God does not dominate but serves. The God of all things cares for each thing: God’s companionship casts away all fear and renews all things. God appoints caregivers not to “lord it over” the people but to heal and reconcile all. God seeks wholeness for all creation, and God’s spokespersons – the prophets, the priest, the people; you and me - have the same responsibility, to gather together, to seek unity, and nurture new life and creativity.
Psalm 46 continues the theme of divine wholeness. God is our refuge and strength; God helps us in challenging times. In the raging waters and the quaking mountains, we discover that we are not alone but that God is with us. But, to experience divine wholeness, we need to “be still” or “pause awhile.” God speaks in the chaos of our lives. A still small voice whispers through the storm and gives guidance and courage to those who stop long enough to listen. God is on our side, giving protection and strength, in times of trial. But we must let go of constant activity and anxiety to experience holiness in the centre of the hurricane.
Through stillness we are awaken to the wider perspective – the universal. We discover that our personal and social upheavals are part of a larger more orderly and creative fabric under God’s care. The upheavals are important but not all-dominating when we recognize that God is with us. When we discover that we are not alone.
The passage from Colossians joins the universal and the intimate. In Christ, all things are created- universal. In Christ, God’s fullness dwells: the fully alive Jesus is a catalyst for our own personal creative transformation. God’s glory does not dominate but nurtures our own activity, our own creativity, and our own responsibility. Through Christ, God reconciles all things. In reconciling all things, Christ reconciles each thing and that means each one of us. The ever-present God is present in the here and now, in your life, and in your community, always seeking Peace - Shalom.
The Colossians reading joins the universal with the personal. What touches all things heals each thing. The One who moves though all things (the universal) also moves through each of our lives (the personal), seeking abundant life and wholeness for all of us, one person at a time.
Throughout this year I've been telling you that Luke's Gospel is the Good News set into the context of a journey - from Bethlehem, where Christ was born - to Jerusalem where he died. And that is where we are in today's Gospel. Luke sees Calvary as the centre of the sacred space-time continuum. In our Gospel, Jesus forgives the people right in front of him: the crowd and the political leaders are dominated by fear and their own egos; they cannot see beyond their own alienation and consequent need to dominate and destroy. Jesus is the projection – the scapegoat – intended to ease their anxiety and alienation; but this projection does not limit or dominate Jesus. He freely claims his relationship to God’s peace in the maelstrom of violence.
Jesus’ promise to his companion on the cross, goes from clock time to God’s everlasting time. “Today you will be with me in paradise” suggests a relationship of wholeness in the midst of dying and death. Jesus doesn’t describe what he means by paradise, but he opens the door to a larger space-time perspective that embraces the vision of heaven and the communion of saints. We can experience everlasting life now: we can experience God’s vision amid the ordinary moments and tragic conflicts of our own lives. Our life is part of a grand adventure that goes beyond our physical deaths. Death does not limit God’s love. Rather God continues God’s aim at wholeness in any future adventures we might have.
The Reign of Christ is intended for healing and affirmation not for Christian exclusivism. In the divine-human relationship, which is our call and God's response, God identifies with our deepest needs and the deepest needs of the planet and of the universe and does all that can be done to bring health to the body, cell by cell and soul by soul. God’s vision invites us to be agents of this Reign of Christ. In the Universality of God, a God who is everywhere all the time, we also will find an Intimate God seeking to make us (the individual) whole.
I want to end this sermon with A Poem-Prayer by Jeff Shrowder. He uses the form of a Haiku, a Japanese poetic form of usually 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. As the internet definition explains, “a haiku is considered to be more than a type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper. It should leave the reader with a strong feeling or impression.”
Ancient shepherds,
corruption, abuse, mocking
and crucifixion:
An un-majestic
‘crown-of-thorns-king-of-the-Jews’
discarded scarecrow.
A once and crumbling
Church Triumphant, past glory,
hails this one as king.
The way of the church:
making sense of Jesus’ death
in this counter-image,
The way of Jesus:
teaching, healing, including,
sharing bread… and life.
Jeff Shrowder, 2019
201911MissionSunday_Sermon
The reading from the Second letter to the Thessalonians gives us two key ideas which I think elucidates what the Churchwardens have just said. Basically it is saying: (1) “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat,” and (2) “Do not give up on doing what is good.”
“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” An interesting issue in Thessalonica and today as well. Using this idea some attack free medical treatment for all, soup kitchens and feeding schemes and other social programmes. They are seen as encouraging laziness among the poor by taking advantage of decent, struggling, hardworking people. Another perspective says that the unrestrained accumulation of wealth and material possessions is also seen as encouraging laziness among the rich who have more than enough and take advantage of decent, struggling, hardworking people. But how does this affect you as members of this parish facing the future of having a full-time priest that you have to support? Well, the person who will become your Rector will be willing to work and of course, he or she will need to eat. But who is going to pay?
Jesus speaking about the end times says: ‘… before all this occurs, you will be given an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict… not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.’ You are being offered an opportunity to let this church grow with a fulltime priest working here but that priest deserves to be paid, to be fed and as Jesus says by your endurance you will gain your souls through the work of this person.
The second point this reading brings up is: Don’t give up on doing good
What problem is Paul facing? Is the “parish” at Thessalonica filled with problematic people and notice the letter does not say that the problematic people are poor, just that they are “idle” and “busybodies.” I’m sure in this parish those titles of Idle and busybodies do not apply any to you! What concerned Paul was the impact these people had on the community and its ministry. Paul describes the problem by reminding them of the example that he set and how they are not following that example. Paraphrasing Paul we could say, “We weren’t idle when we were with you [because we didn’t have to be]. We paid for what we ate [because we could]. We didn’t want to be a burden on anyone [because we didn’t have to be]. We were setting an example of how, if God has given us capabilities and gifts, we should put them to use for the good of others -- for you -- even if we weren’t ‘required’ to.” Your new rector won’t be idle when he or she is with you because he or she didn’t have to be. This priest is paid for what he or she needs by the way he or she ministers. This priest doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone because he or she doesn’t have to be. Hopefully your new rector will set an example of how, if God has given you capabilities and gifts [which God has], you should put them to use for the good of your new rector
Paul is trying to establish a “do good for others even when you don’t have to” ethic among those who seek to follow Christ. He came to town, did not “have” to work, had the “right” as an apostle not to work, but, because he could work and contribute to the good of the whole, he did. (“Work” here is not limited to earning a stipend, but is focused on fulfilling whatever purpose God has called us to fulfil.) If there’s something good that we can do, do it. If there’s something good we can give, give it.
The closing sentence of the passage sums up Paul’s ethic here. The New Revised Standard Version translation I use says: “Do not be weary in doing what is right.” NIV says: never tire of doing what is good. Paul calls on the Thessalonians, and us today, to hold some combination of the following as our ethical goal: “Don’t get tired of doing what is right. Don’t get sick of doing good. Keep on keeping on in doing good things. Never stop lifting up those around you if you can. Don’t ever give up on doing good. Do whatever good you can, whenever you can, wherever you can, in whatever ways you can.” Right now, the best thing you can do for this community is to be committed to your giving to support a full time Rector in the Parish.
20191110RemembranceSunday_Sermon
The Prophet Micah writing to both the Northern and southern kingdoms gave warning unless things change. Besides describing the present he spoke of the future age to come. Our lesson is part of this prophecy:
The Lord shall judge between many peoples,
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more;
but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
The Lessons began with “In the days to come..." But when? When the Messiah comes? Well, hear Paul:
For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So, in Paul's day swords were not yet beaten into ploughshares. And he was post-Messianic, writing after the coming of the Prince of Peace. Is it appropriate to use such imagery of warfare? Oh, agreed he was using the imagery of the whole armour of God for a battle "against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" and not against "enemies of blood and flesh" – other human beings.
Perhaps Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can help us here. He is pretty specific in our Gospel:
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love... I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
"...joy may be complete." Do you remember that famous picture taken in Time Square New York on VJ Day where a young US sailor is giving a passionate and joyful kiss to a young lady in a white dress. That is a demonstration of complete joy, peace had been achieved.
But for many wives and families, war, even the end of war, does not bring joy because a loved one has been killed during the conflict. Who do they blame for their sorry, for their ‘no joy’, I can't say "lack of joy" for them it is no joy whatsoever. It is easy for us to blame the politician who decided to go to war, for Generals giving orders far from the frontlines.
Do you also remember the sit-com Blackadder - in particular Blackadder goes forth dealing with the First World War? The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder, Baldrick and George in a trench in Flanders during World War I, and followed their various doomed attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid death under the misguided command of General Melchett. Despite initial concerns that the comedy might trivialise the war, it was acclaimed. However, some historians and politicians have criticised it for presenting an oversimplified view of the war, reinforcing the popular notion of quote "lions led by donkeys". The final episode of this series although true to the series' usual comedy style through most of the preceding scenes, featured a highly intense and important final scene, where the main characters (all except General Melchett) are finally sent over the top. To the sound of a slow, minimal and downbeat piano version of the title theme, the four are seen in slow-motion, charging into the fog and smoke of no man's land, with gunfire and explosions all around, before the scene fades into footage of a sunny poppy field and the sound of birdsong. The fate of the four is left ambiguous. Blackadder's final line before the charge is also delivered with an unusually thoughtful and bittersweet tone, offered after Baldrick claims to have one last cunning plan to save them from the impending doom: “Well, I'm afraid it'll have to wait. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here? (whistles heard blowing along the line, signalling the start of the attack) ...Good luck, everyone (blows whistle)."
"... led by donkeys." Does that exonerate the simple soldier who is merely carrying a rifle and obeying orders?
In 1967, a young G.I. was lying on his bunk on a troop carrier headed to Vietnam. On the canvas bottom of the bunk above him, he carefully wrote a few lines of free verse in Morse code. That piece of canvas was donated along with a few others to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where a historian was studying wartime graffiti.
You’re the one who must decide
Who’s to live and who’s to die
You’re the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war – And without you all this killing can’t go on.
The historian published the “mystery poem” in the Smithsonian magazine. It prompted hundreds of letters, more than any other the editors had received on any other article. They were mostly from Vietnam vets. Some were scolding. Every one pointed out that the mystery poem was actually an extract from Buffy Sainte-Marie’s classic song, Universal Soldier. It was made a hit by Donovan:
[Play Universal Soldier]
He’s the universal soldier and he really is to blame
But his orders come from far away no more
They come from him and you and me
and Brothers, can’t you see this is not the way to put an end to war?
I wonder if you noticed how the song ends on an unresolved chord?
Jesus said: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Today we remember those who laid down their lives in armed conflicts, for their friends and for their country. We remember all of them, not just those on the side of the winners, but all of them. Today is not the time to point fingers of blame at anyone, but today is the time to hear what the Prince of Peace says to us: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." I was about to say, "we have a choice" to love our friends and our enemies, but then I saw the last line of today's gospel: You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
20191124ChristTheKing_sermon
On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrated the coming of God’s Spirit in all its fullness. Today, twenty four Sundays later, we conclude that celebration with an affirmation of the universality of Christ’s sovereignty and grace. We call this Sunday - the Feast of Christ the King or the Feast of the Reign of Christ.
In a pluralistic age, the image of Christ the King, or the Reign of Christ, is anachronistic to many. Most of us, and you can count me in that number, do not believe that Christ is the only way to salvation and that all other paths are false. We have rejected rightfully the notion of the “one true church,” which is still clung too by traditionalists of all flavours. We recognize saving wisdom outside our own faith tradition. We have become sceptical of theologies that identify God with unilateral power, domineering sovereignty, or militaristic expansionism.
How can we understand Christ’s reign, Christ’s sovereignty, in a world of many ways, a world in which we challenge crusades of all sorts, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or nationalist? If we look at our hymn book, we will find that quite a few of our hymns have had their words edited to avoid jingoistic and imperialistic language and the militaristic attitudes of faith. Although it is great to sing, we avoid hymns such as “Onward Christian soldiers”.
So, can we talk about Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday in our pluralistic age?
At first glance, there is something anachronistic about claiming the supremacy of Christ over other faiths or those of no faith at all. This is especially true in a post-modern age where we find those seeking faith, those who have multiple faiths, and the so-called SBNRs - those who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious". So, does the fact that Christianity is now worldwide, brought to all places in the world by imperialistic nations – as the saying goes ‘the flag follows the cross” lead to an imperialism over other beliefs as well? Can we claim God’s presence only in the ministry and mission of Jesus of Nazareth, in a world of multiple truth claims?
Every religious tradition claims a type of exclusiveness and they affirm different things. The world’s religions are not the same, nor do they claim to lead to the same destination by similar practices. This diversity should not lead to a division among faiths, but rather to an evolving interdependence of faith positions, growing alongside one another and learning from each other.
Jeremiah, for example, speaks of divine shepherding. Here God does not dominate but serves. The God of all things cares for each thing: God’s companionship casts away all fear and renews all things. God appoints caregivers not to “lord it over” the people but to heal and reconcile all. God seeks wholeness for all creation, and God’s spokespersons – the prophets, the priest, the people; you and me - have the same responsibility, to gather together, to seek unity, and nurture new life and creativity.
Psalm 46 continues the theme of divine wholeness. God is our refuge and strength; God helps us in challenging times. In the raging waters and the quaking mountains, we discover that we are not alone but that God is with us. But, to experience divine wholeness, we need to “be still” or “pause awhile.” God speaks in the chaos of our lives. A still small voice whispers through the storm and gives guidance and courage to those who stop long enough to listen. God is on our side, giving protection and strength, in times of trial. But we must let go of constant activity and anxiety to experience holiness in the centre of the hurricane.
Through stillness we are awaken to the wider perspective – the universal. We discover that our personal and social upheavals are part of a larger more orderly and creative fabric under God’s care. The upheavals are important but not all-dominating when we recognize that God is with us. When we discover that we are not alone.
The passage from Colossians joins the universal and the intimate. In Christ, all things are created- universal. In Christ, God’s fullness dwells: the fully alive Jesus is a catalyst for our own personal creative transformation. God’s glory does not dominate but nurtures our own activity, our own creativity, and our own responsibility. Through Christ, God reconciles all things. In reconciling all things, Christ reconciles each thing and that means each one of us. The ever-present God is present in the here and now, in your life, and in your community, always seeking Peace - Shalom.
The Colossians reading joins the universal with the personal. What touches all things heals each thing. The One who moves though all things (the universal) also moves through each of our lives (the personal), seeking abundant life and wholeness for all of us, one person at a time.
Throughout this year I've been telling you that Luke's Gospel is the Good News set into the context of a journey - from Bethlehem, where Christ was born - to Jerusalem where he died. And that is where we are in today's Gospel. Luke sees Calvary as the centre of the sacred space-time continuum. In our Gospel, Jesus forgives the people right in front of him: the crowd and the political leaders are dominated by fear and their own egos; they cannot see beyond their own alienation and consequent need to dominate and destroy. Jesus is the projection – the scapegoat – intended to ease their anxiety and alienation; but this projection does not limit or dominate Jesus. He freely claims his relationship to God’s peace in the maelstrom of violence.
Jesus’ promise to his companion on the cross, goes from clock time to God’s everlasting time. “Today you will be with me in paradise” suggests a relationship of wholeness in the midst of dying and death. Jesus doesn’t describe what he means by paradise, but he opens the door to a larger space-time perspective that embraces the vision of heaven and the communion of saints. We can experience everlasting life now: we can experience God’s vision amid the ordinary moments and tragic conflicts of our own lives. Our life is part of a grand adventure that goes beyond our physical deaths. Death does not limit God’s love. Rather God continues God’s aim at wholeness in any future adventures we might have.
The Reign of Christ is intended for healing and affirmation not for Christian exclusivism. In the divine-human relationship, which is our call and God's response, God identifies with our deepest needs and the deepest needs of the planet and of the universe and does all that can be done to bring health to the body, cell by cell and soul by soul. God’s vision invites us to be agents of this Reign of Christ. In the Universality of God, a God who is everywhere all the time, we also will find an Intimate God seeking to make us (the individual) whole.
I want to end this sermon with A Poem-Prayer by Jeff Shrowder. He uses the form of a Haiku, a Japanese poetic form of usually 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. As the internet definition explains, “a haiku is considered to be more than a type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper. It should leave the reader with a strong feeling or impression.”
Ancient shepherds,
corruption, abuse, mocking
and crucifixion:
An un-majestic
‘crown-of-thorns-king-of-the-Jews’
discarded scarecrow.
A once and crumbling
Church Triumphant, past glory,
hails this one as king.
The way of the church:
making sense of Jesus’ death
in this counter-image,
The way of Jesus:
teaching, healing, including,
sharing bread… and life.
Jeff Shrowder, 2019
20191117MissionSunday_Sermon
The reading from the Second letter to the Thessalonians gives us two key ideas which I think elucidates what the Churchwardens have just said. Basically it is saying: (1) “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat,” and (2) “Do not give up on doing what is good.”
“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” An interesting issue in Thessalonica and today as well. Using this idea some attack free medical treatment for all, soup kitchens and feeding schemes and other social programmes. They are seen as encouraging laziness among the poor by taking advantage of decent, struggling, hardworking people. Another perspective says that the unrestrained accumulation of wealth and material possessions is also seen as encouraging laziness among the rich who have more than enough and take advantage of decent, struggling, hardworking people. But how does this affect you as members of this parish facing the future of having a full-time priest that you have to support? Well, the person who will become your Rector will be willing to work and of course, he or she will need to eat. But who is going to pay?
Jesus speaking about the end times says: ‘… before all this occurs, you will be given an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict… not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.’ You are being offered an opportunity to let this church grow with a fulltime priest working here but that priest deserves to be paid, to be fed and as Jesus says by your endurance you will gain your souls through the work of this person.
The second point this reading brings up is: Don’t give up on doing good
What problem is Paul facing? Is the “parish” at Thessalonica filled with problematic people and notice the letter does not say that the problematic people are poor, just that they are “idle” and “busybodies.” I’m sure in this parish those titles of Idle and busybodies do not apply any to you! What concerned Paul was the impact these people had on the community and its ministry. Paul describes the problem by reminding them of the example that he set and how they are not following that example. Paraphrasing Paul we could say, “We weren’t idle when we were with you [because we didn’t have to be]. We paid for what we ate [because we could]. We didn’t want to be a burden on anyone [because we didn’t have to be]. We were setting an example of how, if God has given us capabilities and gifts, we should put them to use for the good of others -- for you -- even if we weren’t ‘required’ to.” Your new rector won’t be idle when he or she is with you because he or she didn’t have to be. This priest is paid for what he or she needs by the way he or she ministers. This priest doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone because he or she doesn’t have to be. Hopefully your new rector will set an example of how, if God has given you capabilities and gifts [which God has], you should put them to use for the good of your new rector
Paul is trying to establish a “do good for others even when you don’t have to” ethic among those who seek to follow Christ. He came to town, did not “have” to work, had the “right” as an apostle not to work, but, because he could work and contribute to the good of the whole, he did. (“Work” here is not limited to earning a stipend, but is focused on fulfilling whatever purpose God has called us to fulfil.) If there’s something good that we can do, do it. If there’s something good we can give, give it.
The closing sentence of the passage sums up Paul’s ethic here. The New Revised Standard Version translation I use says: “Do not be weary in doing what is right.” NIV says: never tire of doing what is good. Paul calls on the Thessalonians, and us today, to hold some combination of the following as our ethical goal: “Don’t get tired of doing what is right. Don’t get sick of doing good. Keep on keeping on in doing good things. Never stop lifting up those around you if you can. Don’t ever give up on doing good. Do whatever good you can, whenever you can, wherever you can, in whatever ways you can.” Right now, the best thing you can do for this community is to be committed to your giving to support a full time Rector in the Parish.
20191110RemembranceSunday_Sermon
The Prophet Micah writing to both the Northern and southern kingdoms gave warning unless things change. Besides describing the present he spoke of the future age to come. Our lesson is part of this prophecy:
The Lord shall judge between many peoples,
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more;
but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
The Lessons began with “In the days to come..." But when? When the Messiah comes? Well, hear Paul:
For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So, in Paul's day swords were not yet beaten into ploughshares. And he was post-Messianic, writing after the coming of the Prince of Peace. Is it appropriate to use such imagery of warfare? Oh, agreed he was using the imagery of the whole armour of God for a battle "against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" and not against "enemies of blood and flesh" – other human beings.
Perhaps Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can help us here. He is pretty specific in our Gospel:
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love... I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
"...joy may be complete." Do you remember that famous picture taken in Time Square New York on VJ Day where a young US sailor is giving a passionate and joyful kiss to a young lady in a white dress. That is a demonstration of complete joy, peace had been achieved.
But for many wives and families, war, even the end of war, does not bring joy because a loved one has been killed during the conflict. Who do they blame for their sorry, for their ‘no joy’, I can't say "lack of joy" for them it is no joy whatsoever. It is easy for us to blame the politician who decided to go to war, for Generals giving orders far from the frontlines.
Do you also remember the sit-com Blackadder - in particular Blackadder goes forth dealing with the First World War? The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder, Baldrick and George in a trench in Flanders during World War I, and followed their various doomed attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid death under the misguided command of General Melchett. Despite initial concerns that the comedy might trivialise the war, it was acclaimed. However, some historians and politicians have criticised it for presenting an oversimplified view of the war, reinforcing the popular notion of quote "lions led by donkeys". The final episode of this series although true to the series' usual comedy style through most of the preceding scenes, featured a highly intense and important final scene, where the main characters (all except General Melchett) are finally sent over the top. To the sound of a slow, minimal and downbeat piano version of the title theme, the four are seen in slow-motion, charging into the fog and smoke of no man's land, with gunfire and explosions all around, before the scene fades into footage of a sunny poppy field and the sound of birdsong. The fate of the four is left ambiguous. Blackadder's final line before the charge is also delivered with an unusually thoughtful and bittersweet tone, offered after Baldrick claims to have one last cunning plan to save them from the impending doom: “Well, I'm afraid it'll have to wait. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here? (whistles heard blowing along the line, signalling the start of the attack) ...Good luck, everyone (blows whistle)."
"... led by donkeys." Does that exonerate the simple soldier who is merely carrying a rifle and obeying orders?
In 1967, a young G.I. was lying on his bunk on a troop carrier headed to Vietnam. On the canvas bottom of the bunk above him, he carefully wrote a few lines of free verse in Morse code. That piece of canvas was donated along with a few others to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where a historian was studying wartime graffiti.
You’re the one who must decide
Who’s to live and who’s to die
You’re the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war – And without you all this killing can’t go on.
The historian published the “mystery poem” in the Smithsonian magazine. It prompted hundreds of letters, more than any other the editors had received on any other article. They were mostly from Vietnam vets. Some were scolding. Every one pointed out that the mystery poem was actually an extract from Buffy Sainte-Marie’s classic song, Universal Soldier. It was made a hit by Donovan:
[Play Universal Soldier]
He’s the universal soldier and he really is to blame
But his orders come from far away no more
They come from him and you and me
and Brothers, can’t you see this is not the way to put an end to war?
I wonder if you noticed how the song ends on an unresolved chord?
Jesus said: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Today we remember those who laid down their lives in armed conflicts, for their friends and for their country. We remember all of them, not just those on the side of the winners, but all of them. Today is not the time to point fingers of blame at anyone, but today is the time to hear what the Prince of Peace says to us: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." I was about to say, "we have a choice" to love our friends and our enemies, but then I saw the last line of today's gospel: You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
On Pentecost Sunday, we celebrated the coming of God’s Spirit in all its fullness. Today, twenty four Sundays later, we conclude that celebration with an affirmation of the universality of Christ’s sovereignty and grace. We call this Sunday - the Feast of Christ the King or the Feast of the Reign of Christ.
In a pluralistic age, the image of Christ the King, or the Reign of Christ, is anachronistic to many. Most of us, and you can count me in that number, do not believe that Christ is the only way to salvation and that all other paths are false. We have rejected rightfully the notion of the “one true church,” which is still clung too by traditionalists of all flavours. We recognize saving wisdom outside our own faith tradition. We have become sceptical of theologies that identify God with unilateral power, domineering sovereignty, or militaristic expansionism.
How can we understand Christ’s reign, Christ’s sovereignty, in a world of many ways, a world in which we challenge crusades of all sorts, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or nationalist? If we look at our hymn book, we will find that quite a few of our hymns have had their words edited to avoid jingoistic and imperialistic language and the militaristic attitudes of faith. Although it is great to sing, we avoid hymns such as “Onward Christian soldiers”.
So, can we talk about Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday in our pluralistic age?
At first glance, there is something anachronistic about claiming the supremacy of Christ over other faiths or those of no faith at all. This is especially true in a post-modern age where we find those seeking faith, those who have multiple faiths, and the so-called SBNRs - those who describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious". So, does the fact that Christianity is now worldwide, brought to all places in the world by imperialistic nations – as the saying goes ‘the flag follows the cross” lead to an imperialism over other beliefs as well? Can we claim God’s presence only in the ministry and mission of Jesus of Nazareth, in a world of multiple truth claims?
Every religious tradition claims a type of exclusiveness and they affirm different things. The world’s religions are not the same, nor do they claim to lead to the same destination by similar practices. This diversity should not lead to a division among faiths, but rather to an evolving interdependence of faith positions, growing alongside one another and learning from each other.
Jeremiah, for example, speaks of divine shepherding. Here God does not dominate but serves. The God of all things cares for each thing: God’s companionship casts away all fear and renews all things. God appoints caregivers not to “lord it over” the people but to heal and reconcile all. God seeks wholeness for all creation, and God’s spokespersons – the prophets, the priest, the people; you and me - have the same responsibility, to gather together, to seek unity, and nurture new life and creativity.
Psalm 46 continues the theme of divine wholeness. God is our refuge and strength; God helps us in challenging times. In the raging waters and the quaking mountains, we discover that we are not alone but that God is with us. But, to experience divine wholeness, we need to “be still” or “pause awhile.” God speaks in the chaos of our lives. A still small voice whispers through the storm and gives guidance and courage to those who stop long enough to listen. God is on our side, giving protection and strength, in times of trial. But we must let go of constant activity and anxiety to experience holiness in the centre of the hurricane.
Through stillness we are awaken to the wider perspective – the universal. We discover that our personal and social upheavals are part of a larger more orderly and creative fabric under God’s care. The upheavals are important but not all-dominating when we recognize that God is with us. When we discover that we are not alone.
The passage from Colossians joins the universal and the intimate. In Christ, all things are created- universal. In Christ, God’s fullness dwells: the fully alive Jesus is a catalyst for our own personal creative transformation. God’s glory does not dominate but nurtures our own activity, our own creativity, and our own responsibility. Through Christ, God reconciles all things. In reconciling all things, Christ reconciles each thing and that means each one of us. The ever-present God is present in the here and now, in your life, and in your community, always seeking Peace - Shalom.
The Colossians reading joins the universal with the personal. What touches all things heals each thing. The One who moves though all things (the universal) also moves through each of our lives (the personal), seeking abundant life and wholeness for all of us, one person at a time.
Throughout this year I've been telling you that Luke's Gospel is the Good News set into the context of a journey - from Bethlehem, where Christ was born - to Jerusalem where he died. And that is where we are in today's Gospel. Luke sees Calvary as the centre of the sacred space-time continuum. In our Gospel, Jesus forgives the people right in front of him: the crowd and the political leaders are dominated by fear and their own egos; they cannot see beyond their own alienation and consequent need to dominate and destroy. Jesus is the projection – the scapegoat – intended to ease their anxiety and alienation; but this projection does not limit or dominate Jesus. He freely claims his relationship to God’s peace in the maelstrom of violence.
Jesus’ promise to his companion on the cross, goes from clock time to God’s everlasting time. “Today you will be with me in paradise” suggests a relationship of wholeness in the midst of dying and death. Jesus doesn’t describe what he means by paradise, but he opens the door to a larger space-time perspective that embraces the vision of heaven and the communion of saints. We can experience everlasting life now: we can experience God’s vision amid the ordinary moments and tragic conflicts of our own lives. Our life is part of a grand adventure that goes beyond our physical deaths. Death does not limit God’s love. Rather God continues God’s aim at wholeness in any future adventures we might have.
The Reign of Christ is intended for healing and affirmation not for Christian exclusivism. In the divine-human relationship, which is our call and God's response, God identifies with our deepest needs and the deepest needs of the planet and of the universe and does all that can be done to bring health to the body, cell by cell and soul by soul. God’s vision invites us to be agents of this Reign of Christ. In the Universality of God, a God who is everywhere all the time, we also will find an Intimate God seeking to make us (the individual) whole.
I want to end this sermon with A Poem-Prayer by Jeff Shrowder. He uses the form of a Haiku, a Japanese poetic form of usually 17 syllables in three lines of 5, 7 and 5 syllables. As the internet definition explains, “a haiku is considered to be more than a type of poem; it is a way of looking at the physical world and seeing something deeper. It should leave the reader with a strong feeling or impression.”
Ancient shepherds,
corruption, abuse, mocking
and crucifixion:
An un-majestic
‘crown-of-thorns-king-of-the-Jews’
discarded scarecrow.
A once and crumbling
Church Triumphant, past glory,
hails this one as king.
The way of the church:
making sense of Jesus’ death
in this counter-image,
The way of Jesus:
teaching, healing, including,
sharing bread… and life.
Jeff Shrowder, 2019
20191117MissionSunday_Sermon
The reading from the Second letter to the Thessalonians gives us two key ideas which I think elucidates what the Churchwardens have just said. Basically it is saying: (1) “Anyone unwilling to work should not eat,” and (2) “Do not give up on doing what is good.”
“Anyone unwilling to work should not eat” An interesting issue in Thessalonica and today as well. Using this idea some attack free medical treatment for all, soup kitchens and feeding schemes and other social programmes. They are seen as encouraging laziness among the poor by taking advantage of decent, struggling, hardworking people. Another perspective says that the unrestrained accumulation of wealth and material possessions is also seen as encouraging laziness among the rich who have more than enough and take advantage of decent, struggling, hardworking people. But how does this affect you as members of this parish facing the future of having a full-time priest that you have to support? Well, the person who will become your Rector will be willing to work and of course, he or she will need to eat. But who is going to pay?
Jesus speaking about the end times says: ‘… before all this occurs, you will be given an opportunity to testify. 14So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; 15for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict… not a hair of your head will perish. 19By your endurance you will gain your souls.’ You are being offered an opportunity to let this church grow with a fulltime priest working here but that priest deserves to be paid, to be fed and as Jesus says by your endurance you will gain your souls through the work of this person.
The second point this reading brings up is: Don’t give up on doing good
What problem is Paul facing? Is the “parish” at Thessalonica filled with problematic people and notice the letter does not say that the problematic people are poor, just that they are “idle” and “busybodies.” I’m sure in this parish those titles of Idle and busybodies do not apply any to you! What concerned Paul was the impact these people had on the community and its ministry. Paul describes the problem by reminding them of the example that he set and how they are not following that example. Paraphrasing Paul we could say, “We weren’t idle when we were with you [because we didn’t have to be]. We paid for what we ate [because we could]. We didn’t want to be a burden on anyone [because we didn’t have to be]. We were setting an example of how, if God has given us capabilities and gifts, we should put them to use for the good of others -- for you -- even if we weren’t ‘required’ to.” Your new rector won’t be idle when he or she is with you because he or she didn’t have to be. This priest is paid for what he or she needs by the way he or she ministers. This priest doesn’t want to be a burden on anyone because he or she doesn’t have to be. Hopefully your new rector will set an example of how, if God has given you capabilities and gifts [which God has], you should put them to use for the good of your new rector
Paul is trying to establish a “do good for others even when you don’t have to” ethic among those who seek to follow Christ. He came to town, did not “have” to work, had the “right” as an apostle not to work, but, because he could work and contribute to the good of the whole, he did. (“Work” here is not limited to earning a stipend, but is focused on fulfilling whatever purpose God has called us to fulfil.) If there’s something good that we can do, do it. If there’s something good we can give, give it.
The closing sentence of the passage sums up Paul’s ethic here. The New Revised Standard Version translation I use says: “Do not be weary in doing what is right.” NIV says: never tire of doing what is good. Paul calls on the Thessalonians, and us today, to hold some combination of the following as our ethical goal: “Don’t get tired of doing what is right. Don’t get sick of doing good. Keep on keeping on in doing good things. Never stop lifting up those around you if you can. Don’t ever give up on doing good. Do whatever good you can, whenever you can, wherever you can, in whatever ways you can.” Right now, the best thing you can do for this community is to be committed to your giving to support a full time Rector in the Parish.
20191110RemembranceSunday_Sermon
The Prophet Micah writing to both the Northern and southern kingdoms gave warning unless things change. Besides describing the present he spoke of the future age to come. Our lesson is part of this prophecy:
The Lord shall judge between many peoples,
and shall arbitrate between strong nations far away;
they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into pruning-hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more;
but they shall all sit under their own vines and under their own fig trees,
and no one shall make them afraid;
for the mouth of the Lord of hosts has spoken.
The Lessons began with “In the days to come..." But when? When the Messiah comes? Well, hear Paul:
For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
So, in Paul's day swords were not yet beaten into ploughshares. And he was post-Messianic, writing after the coming of the Prince of Peace. Is it appropriate to use such imagery of warfare? Oh, agreed he was using the imagery of the whole armour of God for a battle "against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" and not against "enemies of blood and flesh" – other human beings.
Perhaps Jesus, the Prince of Peace, can help us here. He is pretty specific in our Gospel:
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love... I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
"...joy may be complete." Do you remember that famous picture taken in Time Square New York on VJ Day where a young US sailor is giving a passionate and joyful kiss to a young lady in a white dress. That is a demonstration of complete joy, peace had been achieved.
But for many wives and families, war, even the end of war, does not bring joy because a loved one has been killed during the conflict. Who do they blame for their sorry, for their ‘no joy’, I can't say "lack of joy" for them it is no joy whatsoever. It is easy for us to blame the politician who decided to go to war, for Generals giving orders far from the frontlines.
Do you also remember the sit-com Blackadder - in particular Blackadder goes forth dealing with the First World War? The series placed the recurring characters of Blackadder, Baldrick and George in a trench in Flanders during World War I, and followed their various doomed attempts to escape from the trenches to avoid death under the misguided command of General Melchett. Despite initial concerns that the comedy might trivialise the war, it was acclaimed. However, some historians and politicians have criticised it for presenting an oversimplified view of the war, reinforcing the popular notion of quote "lions led by donkeys". The final episode of this series although true to the series' usual comedy style through most of the preceding scenes, featured a highly intense and important final scene, where the main characters (all except General Melchett) are finally sent over the top. To the sound of a slow, minimal and downbeat piano version of the title theme, the four are seen in slow-motion, charging into the fog and smoke of no man's land, with gunfire and explosions all around, before the scene fades into footage of a sunny poppy field and the sound of birdsong. The fate of the four is left ambiguous. Blackadder's final line before the charge is also delivered with an unusually thoughtful and bittersweet tone, offered after Baldrick claims to have one last cunning plan to save them from the impending doom: “Well, I'm afraid it'll have to wait. Whatever it was, I'm sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here? (whistles heard blowing along the line, signalling the start of the attack) ...Good luck, everyone (blows whistle)."
"... led by donkeys." Does that exonerate the simple soldier who is merely carrying a rifle and obeying orders?
In 1967, a young G.I. was lying on his bunk on a troop carrier headed to Vietnam. On the canvas bottom of the bunk above him, he carefully wrote a few lines of free verse in Morse code. That piece of canvas was donated along with a few others to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., where a historian was studying wartime graffiti.
You’re the one who must decide
Who’s to live and who’s to die
You’re the one who gives his body
As a weapon of the war – And without you all this killing can’t go on.
The historian published the “mystery poem” in the Smithsonian magazine. It prompted hundreds of letters, more than any other the editors had received on any other article. They were mostly from Vietnam vets. Some were scolding. Every one pointed out that the mystery poem was actually an extract from Buffy Sainte-Marie’s classic song, Universal Soldier. It was made a hit by Donovan:
[Play Universal Soldier]
He’s the universal soldier and he really is to blame
But his orders come from far away no more
They come from him and you and me
and Brothers, can’t you see this is not the way to put an end to war?
I wonder if you noticed how the song ends on an unresolved chord?
Jesus said: No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Today we remember those who laid down their lives in armed conflicts, for their friends and for their country. We remember all of them, not just those on the side of the winners, but all of them. Today is not the time to point fingers of blame at anyone, but today is the time to hear what the Prince of Peace says to us: ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." I was about to say, "we have a choice" to love our friends and our enemies, but then I saw the last line of today's gospel: You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
20191103AllSouls_Sermon
November, in the church’s calendar, is a month for remembrance. This morning in our Eucharist for All Saints, we remembered those in whom the light of God’s love and holiness shone particularly brightly; those whose examples we seek to follow in Christian living. Next Sunday, we shall be remembering those who laid down their lives in the service of their country in wars and conflicts. But this evening, we gather together to remember before God all those whom WE have known and loved, and who have passed before us through the gates of Death into the joy of God’s heavenly kingdom.
There are so many ways to remember the individual lives which have touched ours, and which are on our hearts this evening. We choose to commemorate our loved ones by remembering in the presence of God and of God’s people, and by lighting candles together.
We live today in an age and a culture in which death is almost a taboo subject. Once, bereaved people were encouraged to dress in distinctive black clothing, and to spend time set apart during a lengthy period of mourning. Today, though, we often feel pressure from society to “get back to normal” as soon as possible after a death – although, of course, “normal” will never be quite the same again.
Whilst it is important that we learn to live in this new “normality”, and to find meaning and purpose for our lives without those we have lost, it is also important that we are able openly to acknowledge our loss, and to cherish and share our memories with others.
On the return to everyday life, many of us shy away from talking about our bereavement for fear of upsetting or embarrassing others. Our grief and pain can lie hidden, sometimes even from ourselves, as we dare not allow ourselves to think too deeply about the people who are gone, for fear that our emotions will overwhelm us. But the Church at this time, in commemorating the faithful departed in many ways all across the world, offers us that safe space in God’s presence where we can freely remember those who are now hidden from us by the shadow of Death. We may remember how they looked, how they sounded, remember the many things we shared, and acknowledge the extent to which they continue to be present with us – in our hearts and in our lives. It is an opportunity to give thanks for all our good memories, for joy and companionship, for the chance to love and be loved.
But this service also allows us a time and space in which we can, before God, acknowledge other emotions which may accompany a death, and which we may also have tried to ignore or suppress: a sense of pain, anger, bewilderment or regret. The Bible, and especially the psalms, are full of all these emotions; of people crying out to God in protest and anger and hurt, honestly expressing everything in their hearts; and God’s church remains a place where we can come with all our anxieties, feelings, doubts and questions.
The Church is not here to offer trite or easy answers to some of the most difficult questions we face as human beings. Why do some seem to die far too soon, whilst others live so long that their physical bodies and even their desire to live have begun to fade? This kind of question we can ask only of God, trusting at least that, as Jesus came down to earth to share our human lives, he can also share in and understand our grief and loss, as he wept at the death of his friend, Lazarus.
Within this service, we can turn to God, and to the Christian Gospel, to hear clear messages of comfort and hope. The passage from the Book of Wisdom is quite consoling. That is why many people choose it as a reading for funerals. It states that the righteous dead are secure in the protection of God. Only the foolish think that “their departure was thought to be a disaster.” We grieve over their death; their passing is our loss. But is it their loss? They have hope that is “full of immortality.” In other words, their hope cannot be extinguished by death.
The psalm is also comforting. God, the gentle shepherd, leads the psalmist through the dark valley. There is no fear here, only trust and courage. The Reading from Revelation appears at first to be different, speaking of a judgement on how we have lived our lives - what is written in the Book of Life. The point of the Gospel reading seems to counteract these fears about the judgement according to what is written in the Book of life, for Jesus says clearly: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’ - no-one that God has given Jesus will be lost.
Our faith teaches us that those who have passed through death remain bound together with us, not just in our memories, but as part of that rejoicing communion which transcends all boundaries of time and space, worshipping God, our Creator and Redeemer.
The Choir will sing as their communion Anthem, a setting of words by Robert Herrick, a 17th-century English lyric poet and clergyman who served in Dean Prior in Devonshire. He is perhaps, best known for the carpe diem poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", with the famous first line "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may". Unlike George Herbert and John Donne who both also were clergy and poets, Robert Herrick's more spiritual verses called "His Noble Numbers" were short and appear to be quite simply in their spiritual philosophy and theology. They were in fact written as a Villagers Devotion and the people of Dean Prior could easily memorise these verses and they were taught by mothers to their children for many generations.
The anthem is Litany to the Holy Spirit and the words include In the hour of my distress, When temptations me oppress, And when I my sins confess, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! When I lie within my bed, Sick in heart and sick in head, And with doubts discomforted, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! When the house doth sigh and weep, And the world is drown'd in sleep, Yet mine eyes the watch do keep, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! Those of you who have lost loved ones, whether recently or many years ago will recognise these symptoms...Jesus knew them when he wept at the grave of Lazarus, Robert Herrick knew them when he composed these verses for his parishioners, and so many others knew these very symptoms. I hope that you, like Robert Herrick will, seek the comfort of the Holy Spirit and remember our first reading's reassurance: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” Amen.
Partially based on a sermon by Emma Smith
http://www.hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk/data/sermons_2012.php?id=451
20191103AllSaints_Sermon
Today we begin what the Church of England Alternative Service Book of the 1980s called The Kingdom Season. Basically, these are the Sundays before Advent Sunday, at the beginning of December, which prepare us for two things. Advent Sunday start the Church’s new year and the Season of Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ – at Bethlehem 2000years ago and when he comes in glory at some future time. So, we are coming to the end of the Church year and it is appropriate that we celebrate Kingdom things like the feast of All Saints commemorating those who have gone before us living their lives in accordance to the Beatitudes we heard in our Gospel.
But what do we mean here by ‘saints’. Normally we apply the word to people of extraordinary holiness who have been canonised or beatified by the Church. Among them each one of us has our favourites: St Francis of Assisi, St Margaret of Antioch, St Therese of Avila, St Augustine of Hippo, St Benedict and so on.
But today’s feast uses the word “Saints” in a much wider sense. It refers to all those baptised Christians who have died and are now with God in glory. [Rpt.] And, do you know what? It also includes all non-Christians who lived a good life sincerely in accordance with the convictions of their conscience.
The Gospel chosen for today’s feast is interesting. It gives us what we know as the Eight Beatitudes from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. This is, in fact, a charter for holiness. When most people think of ‘being holy’, they think it means keeping the Ten Commandments. But let’s not forget that the Ten Commandments really belong to the Old Testament and are part of the Jewish law and, of course, they are still valid. Jesus said clearly that he had not come to abolish the Jewish law but to fulfil it.
We could say that the Beatitudes are an example of that fulfilling. The Beatitudes go far beyond the Ten Commandments in what they expect from a follower of Christ and yet the sad thing is that one hears of relatively few Christians saying that they base their lives on the Beatitudes. In the silence the Lay minister gives us to think about what we have done wrong before we say the General Confession, it is the Ten Commandments we use as our standard, not the Beatitudes. This is sad because it is clear from their position in Matthew’s gospel that the Beatitudes have a central place. They are a sort of mission statement saying what kind of person the good Christian will be.
Let us explore them briefly. But first let me clarify a few of the terms used. The word ‘blessed’ is sometimes translated ‘happy’. It might be more accurate to translate it as ‘fortunate’. In other words, people who have these qualities are really in an envious position. All of these beatitudes are indications that we belong to the ‘kingdom of heaven’. Remember, this is not a place, nor is it referring to life after death. It rather describes the kind of society that exists when we live according to the values of the Beatitudes – a place of truth and love, of compassion and justice, of peace, freedom and sharing.
The Gospel says that particularly blessed are: 1. Those who are poor in spirit. They are those who are aware of their basic poverty and fragility and of how much they need the help and support of God as opposed to those who foolishly claim independence and full control of their own lives. 2. Those who are gentle: These are the people who reach out to others in care and compassion and tenderness, who constantly are aware of the needs of others. 3. Those who mourn: those who are in grief or sorrow for whatever reason will be assured of comfort from the loving community in Christ they have entered. 4. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right: Whatever the price, they will work so that everyone will be given what is their due to live a life of dignity and self-respect. The price they may have to pay could be high, very high, even life itself. 5. Those who are merciful: They are the ones who extend compassion and forgiveness to all around them. 6. Those who are pure in heart: This does not refer to sexual purity but rather to a simplicity and total absence of duplicity, of prejudice or bias. Not surprisingly, they are described as being able to see God. For such people God’s presence is all too obvious in every person and experience. 7. Those who make peace: Perhaps one of the most beautiful of the Beatitudes. These are people who help to break down the many barriers which divide us – whether it is class, occupation, race, religion or anything that creates conflict between individuals or groups. Not surprisingly, these people are called “children of God”. God sent Jesus among us precisely to break down the barriers between God and God’s people and between people themselves.
8. Those who are persecuted in the cause of right: Persecution of itself is not a pleasant experience and may result in loss of life. But blessed indeed are those who have the strength and courage to put the values of truth and love and justice for all, above their own survival. Among the saints we most honour today are the martyrs, those who gave their lives in the defence of truth, love and justice.
This is the kind of Christian we are all called to be. It is these qualities which made the saints and which will make saints of us too. They go far beyond what is required by the Ten Commandments. If taken literally, the commandments can be kept and not with great difficulty. Many of them are expressed in the negative, “You shall NOT…” so we can observe them by doing nothing at all! “I have not killed anyone… I have not committed adultery… I have not stolen…” Does that make me a saint?
Being a Christian is a lot more than not doing things which are wrong. The Beatitudes are expressed in positive terms. They also express not just actions but attitudes. In a way, they can never be fully observed. No matter how well I try to observe them, I can always go further. They leave no room for smugness, the kind of smugness the Pharisees had in keeping the Law. The Beatitudes are a true and reliable recipe for sainthood.
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, the Second Reading today reminds us. Saints are not self-made people. They are people who have responded generously to the love of God showered on them. And the completion of that love is to be invited to share life with God forever in the life to come.
What we will be has not yet been revealed, the Reading also says. We do not know and have no way of knowing what that future existence will be like and it does not help very much to speculate. In fact, some of the conventional images of heaven are not terribly exciting! Kneeling on clouds playing harps for eternity- partly derived from a too literal reading of the book of Revelation – does not excite me particularly! Let us rather concentrate on the life we are leading now and let it be a good preparation for that future time.
Indeed, the First Reading from the book of Revelation presents an apocalyptic vision of those who have died in Christ. They are numbered at 144,000. They represent “every nation, tribe and language” because access to Christ is open to all. They are dressed in white robes with palms in their hands. They are the robes of goodness and integrity. The palms of victory are a reference to the joyful Jewish Feast of Tabernacles for these are the ones invited to live in God’s tent or tabernacle. Together with them are the angels, the 24 elders (perhaps representing the 12 patriarchs and the 12 Apostles) and the four living creatures (a very high rank of angels), all prostrate in adoration before the glory of God. The song they sing has been magnificently set to music by Handel in his “Messiah”. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength are seven attributes of perfect praise.
And who are these people in white robes? These are they who have come out of the great ordeal, in other words, those who have been through persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is the blood of Jesus Christ which brings salvation. Many of them, of course, are martyrs and they have mingled their own blood with that of Jesus. It is a picture of total victory and the end of all the pains and sorrows they endured in this life. It is not a newspaper reporter’s description of heaven!
Today’s feast is first of all an occasion for great thanksgiving. It is altogether reasonable to think that many of our family, relatives and friends who have gone before us are being celebrated today. We look forward to the day when we, too, can be with them experiencing the same total happiness when they will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to the springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:16-17). Today is a day too for us to pray to them – both the canonised and the uncanonised – and ask them to pray on our behalf that we may live our lives in faithfulness following the Beatitudes so that we, too, may experience the same reward.
20191027TwentiethAfterPentecost_Sermon
In this the final address of our study of the Eucharistic Liturgy as found in APB1989 I’m going to start with the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is introduced with the words, “As Christ has taught us we are bold to say”. In our Gospel today Jesus teaches us – not so much about the form of prayer we should pray but the mental attitude we should have while praying. He speaks about how some trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt. At this point in the Eucharist, the whole congregation says the Lord's Prayer to express the unity we have one with another.
You might have noticed that I have been adding the phrase “in the language of your choice” to the introduction. I know some clergy feel that by all saying it in the same language we are displaying unity. Believing in the Real Presence, I feel that Jesus is present and we would want to talk directly to him, so why use English which might be a foreign language for many rather than the language we normal use in our prayers? I have a clergy friend who says “As Christ has taught us and in the language of our dreams, we are bold to say.” We can talk to Jesus, pray to Jesus in any language and he will understand. At Diocesan events when the three languages of the Diocese – English Afrikaans and isiXhosa are used in more-or-less equal numbers, I imagine it sounds like the Day of Pentecost – babel of tongues but a babel which is fully understood by God.
Cilla Bromley tells me that she is using Everyday with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes and he is going through the Lord’s Prayer and exploring it meaning. It is a month-long project and so it is not something that can be done as part of this sermon but just two comments. The phrase 'Gives us today our daily bread' has long been regarded as referring not only to our daily food but also to Bread of Eucharist. And then the phrase near the end; in the old version we said: “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” For me that made me question whether God was purposefully trying to tempt us by leading us into it. The new version implies that because of our human nature, we will be tempted, but God will save us from this time. Not from facing but saving us by resisting it. It says 'Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil'. This is exactly what Paul says to Timothy in our 2nd Reading: I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom.
The Breaking of the Bread follows. Perhaps you feel that, seeing that we receive a small wafer which is obviously not broken, this part of the liturgy is a bit of an empty symbol or gesture. Of course, in the Early Church a single loaf was more meaningful. Now days the manufacturers of wafers make a large wafer about 15cm in diameter so here again its meaningful. But what is the meaning of this symbol? Firstly, it shows the unity among all the other communicants because they share in the body of Christ. This is based on 1 Cor 10:16-17 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Unity which was first expressed at the Peace earlier in the service is now confirmed and exhibited. Secondly, it symbolises the breaking of the Lord's body on the cross. 1 Cor 11:24 says: and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ But some variants of this verse say "This is my body which is being broken for you." In fact, this is what the fourth Eucharistic P:rayer says: Take, and eat: this is my body which is broken for you…”
What was called the Fraction Anthem, the Agnus Dei now follows. Two versions are given in the APB1989. It is a very ancient hymn which is based on John 1:29 where John the Baptist says: ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! It is piece of liturgy which the English Prayer Book writers take out and put back into use every couple of centuries! Officially it was omitted from the SAPB but I think makes a wonderful return in the 1989 Prayer Book. The 2nd version is Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us. Notice it is singular “sin”. This doesn’t ask Jesus to take away all the sins in our wicked world but rather to remove all that estranges us from God. But also notice that in the first given version it says, Jesus, bearer of our sins [plural]: have mercy on us. This matches up with the petition in the Lord’s Prayer Forgive us our sins [plural] as we forgive those who sin against us.
Now the Prayer of Humble Access. For some this is the pinnacle of any prayer book, for others it is an anathema. It certainly is one of the best-loved and best-known Anglican prayers. It appears originally in 1548 as an English spiritual prayer to be prayed while the Latin Mass was being said. It was included in the very first English Eucharistic liturgy, The Order of Communion, published in 1549 and in all subsequent Prayer Books.
In the liturgy resource book for use in Southern Africa entitled Under African Skies it says: Over the centuries our liturgy became a completely English liturgy and then became in addition a liturgy that was celebrated in the local languages spoken and understood by the people where ever they were, the elements of The Order of Communion were no longer needed as separate elements to be inserted into the Eucharistic celebration. This development led to the sad disuse of the Prayer of Humble Access: clearly requesting ‘access’ was no longer necessary at that point in the English or vernacular liturgy, the entire Eucharistic Prayer had already been said, with all its affirmation that we are worthy and acceptable, that access has been achieved by the saving work of Jesus Christ. While the Prayer of Humble Access is no longer an obligatory part of the Eucharist, it is a venerable Anglican prayer that should not be lost to our devotions. For this reason Under African Skies provides it as a “Prayer before Worship.“ I do leave it out but try to have silence long enough for you to say it silently to yourself. Or perhaps you can make it a practice each Sunday to say it before the Service starts.
Then the Invitation. It calls on us all to feed on Christ with “faith and thanksgiving”. Faith means a decision for Christ rather than the expression of some intellectual belief. You will notice that I often add additional words before saying Draw near and receive… I usually try to link it to anthems about to be sung by the choir, to the readings or the liturgical season.
Having been invited you now come to the altar rail to receive. In the old SAPB the priest and lay ministers used to receive before the invitation to draw near was said. I disliked this as it implied that I did not need faith and thanksgiving – unlike you the congregation. Now, doesn’t that ring bells from the gospel? The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” As you receive the elements of bread and wine certain words are used, in fact there are three forms, though I have only used one: The Body of Christ – which was used by Augustine of Hippo. The Body of Christ given for you – notice the present tense implying that Christ death on the cross although a one perfect sacrifice, is an ongoing sacrifice and not merely a commemoration of a past event. The third form is longer: The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ keep you in eternal life. But regardless of the form used by the priest or lay minister in the distribution only one response is required – a simple Amen - So be it -yes indeed it is the body of Christ – it is the blood of Christ.
I spoke last week about posture but what about how to receive. The bread can be received in the right hand. My confirmation teacher told me because your right hand was your sword hand so into your sword hand goes the Prince of Peace. Great, except if you’re left handed! Left or right…does it matter? Whatever works for you. For some they prefer to receive it directly on the tongue – also okay. Then the wine… my time is running out so I won’t go into this in details but just to mention about the dippers and the shakers! I don’t have a problem with those who dip their wafer in the chalice but can I ask that you do not dip it too deep or shake it too vigorously before consuming it – it is the body and blood of Christ – treat it as that. Of course, when visiting the sick I either communicate them in only one type – the wafer or with an tinctured wafer.
Finally, the conclusion. I usually compose or take from other sources a post-communion prayer because paragraph 87 is rather long and wordy and it is not compulsory to use. I try to include an expression of thanks and then include a reference to the readings and sermon-lesson for the Sunday. Then follows the wonderful Prayer of Self-Offering. I said last week that we have nothing to offer when compared to the offering of Christ. The only offering we can make is as result of us being "in Christ" who made the supreme sacrifice. We are united with him through the sacrament so we can offer ourselves at this point. Can I point out that there must be no break after word sacrifice - "as a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ our Lord" it is only in his sacrifice that we can make our offering.
The Blessing is optional because there is little more we can receive after receiving Christ himself and assurance of forgiveness and God's Peace. I tend to treat it as a sending out using the word "Go" at beginning. The final Dismissal is like the old Latin ending to the Mass – Ita messa est it is finished. That is where the term Mass come from. But it is more than this – it is a summon to service. We should be rushing to the Church doors in order to go out into the world in the love and peace of Christ.
The Eucharist service means that we spend time in God’s House in worship and as it comes to the end we remember the Psalmist plea: How lovely is your dwelling-place : O Lord God of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing to enter the courts of the Lord : my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
November, in the church’s calendar, is a month for remembrance. This morning in our Eucharist for All Saints, we remembered those in whom the light of God’s love and holiness shone particularly brightly; those whose examples we seek to follow in Christian living. Next Sunday, we shall be remembering those who laid down their lives in the service of their country in wars and conflicts. But this evening, we gather together to remember before God all those whom WE have known and loved, and who have passed before us through the gates of Death into the joy of God’s heavenly kingdom.
There are so many ways to remember the individual lives which have touched ours, and which are on our hearts this evening. We choose to commemorate our loved ones by remembering in the presence of God and of God’s people, and by lighting candles together.
We live today in an age and a culture in which death is almost a taboo subject. Once, bereaved people were encouraged to dress in distinctive black clothing, and to spend time set apart during a lengthy period of mourning. Today, though, we often feel pressure from society to “get back to normal” as soon as possible after a death – although, of course, “normal” will never be quite the same again.
Whilst it is important that we learn to live in this new “normality”, and to find meaning and purpose for our lives without those we have lost, it is also important that we are able openly to acknowledge our loss, and to cherish and share our memories with others.
On the return to everyday life, many of us shy away from talking about our bereavement for fear of upsetting or embarrassing others. Our grief and pain can lie hidden, sometimes even from ourselves, as we dare not allow ourselves to think too deeply about the people who are gone, for fear that our emotions will overwhelm us. But the Church at this time, in commemorating the faithful departed in many ways all across the world, offers us that safe space in God’s presence where we can freely remember those who are now hidden from us by the shadow of Death. We may remember how they looked, how they sounded, remember the many things we shared, and acknowledge the extent to which they continue to be present with us – in our hearts and in our lives. It is an opportunity to give thanks for all our good memories, for joy and companionship, for the chance to love and be loved.
But this service also allows us a time and space in which we can, before God, acknowledge other emotions which may accompany a death, and which we may also have tried to ignore or suppress: a sense of pain, anger, bewilderment or regret. The Bible, and especially the psalms, are full of all these emotions; of people crying out to God in protest and anger and hurt, honestly expressing everything in their hearts; and God’s church remains a place where we can come with all our anxieties, feelings, doubts and questions.
The Church is not here to offer trite or easy answers to some of the most difficult questions we face as human beings. Why do some seem to die far too soon, whilst others live so long that their physical bodies and even their desire to live have begun to fade? This kind of question we can ask only of God, trusting at least that, as Jesus came down to earth to share our human lives, he can also share in and understand our grief and loss, as he wept at the death of his friend, Lazarus.
Within this service, we can turn to God, and to the Christian Gospel, to hear clear messages of comfort and hope. The passage from the Book of Wisdom is quite consoling. That is why many people choose it as a reading for funerals. It states that the righteous dead are secure in the protection of God. Only the foolish think that “their departure was thought to be a disaster.” We grieve over their death; their passing is our loss. But is it their loss? They have hope that is “full of immortality.” In other words, their hope cannot be extinguished by death.
The psalm is also comforting. God, the gentle shepherd, leads the psalmist through the dark valley. There is no fear here, only trust and courage. The Reading from Revelation appears at first to be different, speaking of a judgement on how we have lived our lives - what is written in the Book of Life. The point of the Gospel reading seems to counteract these fears about the judgement according to what is written in the Book of life, for Jesus says clearly: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’ - no-one that God has given Jesus will be lost.
Our faith teaches us that those who have passed through death remain bound together with us, not just in our memories, but as part of that rejoicing communion which transcends all boundaries of time and space, worshipping God, our Creator and Redeemer.
The Choir will sing as their communion Anthem, a setting of words by Robert Herrick, a 17th-century English lyric poet and clergyman who served in Dean Prior in Devonshire. He is perhaps, best known for the carpe diem poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", with the famous first line "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may". Unlike George Herbert and John Donne who both also were clergy and poets, Robert Herrick's more spiritual verses called "His Noble Numbers" were short and appear to be quite simply in their spiritual philosophy and theology. They were in fact written as a Villagers Devotion and the people of Dean Prior could easily memorise these verses and they were taught by mothers to their children for many generations.
The anthem is Litany to the Holy Spirit and the words include In the hour of my distress, When temptations me oppress, And when I my sins confess, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! When I lie within my bed, Sick in heart and sick in head, And with doubts discomforted, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! When the house doth sigh and weep, And the world is drown'd in sleep, Yet mine eyes the watch do keep, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! Those of you who have lost loved ones, whether recently or many years ago will recognise these symptoms...Jesus knew them when he wept at the grave of Lazarus, Robert Herrick knew them when he composed these verses for his parishioners, and so many others knew these very symptoms. I hope that you, like Robert Herrick will, seek the comfort of the Holy Spirit and remember our first reading's reassurance: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” Amen.
Partially based on a sermon by Emma Smith
http://www.hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk/data/sermons_2012.php?id=451
20191103AllSaints_Sermon
Today we begin what the Church of England Alternative Service Book of the 1980s called The Kingdom Season. Basically, these are the Sundays before Advent Sunday, at the beginning of December, which prepare us for two things. Advent Sunday start the Church’s new year and the Season of Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ – at Bethlehem 2000years ago and when he comes in glory at some future time. So, we are coming to the end of the Church year and it is appropriate that we celebrate Kingdom things like the feast of All Saints commemorating those who have gone before us living their lives in accordance to the Beatitudes we heard in our Gospel.
But what do we mean here by ‘saints’. Normally we apply the word to people of extraordinary holiness who have been canonised or beatified by the Church. Among them each one of us has our favourites: St Francis of Assisi, St Margaret of Antioch, St Therese of Avila, St Augustine of Hippo, St Benedict and so on.
But today’s feast uses the word “Saints” in a much wider sense. It refers to all those baptised Christians who have died and are now with God in glory. [Rpt.] And, do you know what? It also includes all non-Christians who lived a good life sincerely in accordance with the convictions of their conscience.
The Gospel chosen for today’s feast is interesting. It gives us what we know as the Eight Beatitudes from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. This is, in fact, a charter for holiness. When most people think of ‘being holy’, they think it means keeping the Ten Commandments. But let’s not forget that the Ten Commandments really belong to the Old Testament and are part of the Jewish law and, of course, they are still valid. Jesus said clearly that he had not come to abolish the Jewish law but to fulfil it.
We could say that the Beatitudes are an example of that fulfilling. The Beatitudes go far beyond the Ten Commandments in what they expect from a follower of Christ and yet the sad thing is that one hears of relatively few Christians saying that they base their lives on the Beatitudes. In the silence the Lay minister gives us to think about what we have done wrong before we say the General Confession, it is the Ten Commandments we use as our standard, not the Beatitudes. This is sad because it is clear from their position in Matthew’s gospel that the Beatitudes have a central place. They are a sort of mission statement saying what kind of person the good Christian will be.
Let us explore them briefly. But first let me clarify a few of the terms used. The word ‘blessed’ is sometimes translated ‘happy’. It might be more accurate to translate it as ‘fortunate’. In other words, people who have these qualities are really in an envious position. All of these beatitudes are indications that we belong to the ‘kingdom of heaven’. Remember, this is not a place, nor is it referring to life after death. It rather describes the kind of society that exists when we live according to the values of the Beatitudes – a place of truth and love, of compassion and justice, of peace, freedom and sharing.
The Gospel says that particularly blessed are: 1. Those who are poor in spirit. They are those who are aware of their basic poverty and fragility and of how much they need the help and support of God as opposed to those who foolishly claim independence and full control of their own lives. 2. Those who are gentle: These are the people who reach out to others in care and compassion and tenderness, who constantly are aware of the needs of others. 3. Those who mourn: those who are in grief or sorrow for whatever reason will be assured of comfort from the loving community in Christ they have entered. 4. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right: Whatever the price, they will work so that everyone will be given what is their due to live a life of dignity and self-respect. The price they may have to pay could be high, very high, even life itself. 5. Those who are merciful: They are the ones who extend compassion and forgiveness to all around them. 6. Those who are pure in heart: This does not refer to sexual purity but rather to a simplicity and total absence of duplicity, of prejudice or bias. Not surprisingly, they are described as being able to see God. For such people God’s presence is all too obvious in every person and experience. 7. Those who make peace: Perhaps one of the most beautiful of the Beatitudes. These are people who help to break down the many barriers which divide us – whether it is class, occupation, race, religion or anything that creates conflict between individuals or groups. Not surprisingly, these people are called “children of God”. God sent Jesus among us precisely to break down the barriers between God and God’s people and between people themselves.
8. Those who are persecuted in the cause of right: Persecution of itself is not a pleasant experience and may result in loss of life. But blessed indeed are those who have the strength and courage to put the values of truth and love and justice for all, above their own survival. Among the saints we most honour today are the martyrs, those who gave their lives in the defence of truth, love and justice.
This is the kind of Christian we are all called to be. It is these qualities which made the saints and which will make saints of us too. They go far beyond what is required by the Ten Commandments. If taken literally, the commandments can be kept and not with great difficulty. Many of them are expressed in the negative, “You shall NOT…” so we can observe them by doing nothing at all! “I have not killed anyone… I have not committed adultery… I have not stolen…” Does that make me a saint?
Being a Christian is a lot more than not doing things which are wrong. The Beatitudes are expressed in positive terms. They also express not just actions but attitudes. In a way, they can never be fully observed. No matter how well I try to observe them, I can always go further. They leave no room for smugness, the kind of smugness the Pharisees had in keeping the Law. The Beatitudes are a true and reliable recipe for sainthood.
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, the Second Reading today reminds us. Saints are not self-made people. They are people who have responded generously to the love of God showered on them. And the completion of that love is to be invited to share life with God forever in the life to come.
What we will be has not yet been revealed, the Reading also says. We do not know and have no way of knowing what that future existence will be like and it does not help very much to speculate. In fact, some of the conventional images of heaven are not terribly exciting! Kneeling on clouds playing harps for eternity- partly derived from a too literal reading of the book of Revelation – does not excite me particularly! Let us rather concentrate on the life we are leading now and let it be a good preparation for that future time.
Indeed, the First Reading from the book of Revelation presents an apocalyptic vision of those who have died in Christ. They are numbered at 144,000. They represent “every nation, tribe and language” because access to Christ is open to all. They are dressed in white robes with palms in their hands. They are the robes of goodness and integrity. The palms of victory are a reference to the joyful Jewish Feast of Tabernacles for these are the ones invited to live in God’s tent or tabernacle. Together with them are the angels, the 24 elders (perhaps representing the 12 patriarchs and the 12 Apostles) and the four living creatures (a very high rank of angels), all prostrate in adoration before the glory of God. The song they sing has been magnificently set to music by Handel in his “Messiah”. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength are seven attributes of perfect praise.
And who are these people in white robes? These are they who have come out of the great ordeal, in other words, those who have been through persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is the blood of Jesus Christ which brings salvation. Many of them, of course, are martyrs and they have mingled their own blood with that of Jesus. It is a picture of total victory and the end of all the pains and sorrows they endured in this life. It is not a newspaper reporter’s description of heaven!
Today’s feast is first of all an occasion for great thanksgiving. It is altogether reasonable to think that many of our family, relatives and friends who have gone before us are being celebrated today. We look forward to the day when we, too, can be with them experiencing the same total happiness when they will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to the springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:16-17). Today is a day too for us to pray to them – both the canonised and the uncanonised – and ask them to pray on our behalf that we may live our lives in faithfulness following the Beatitudes so that we, too, may experience the same reward.
20191027TwentiethAfterPentecost_Sermon
In this the final address of our study of the Eucharistic Liturgy as found in APB1989 I’m going to start with the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is introduced with the words, “As Christ has taught us we are bold to say”. In our Gospel today Jesus teaches us – not so much about the form of prayer we should pray but the mental attitude we should have while praying. He speaks about how some trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt. At this point in the Eucharist, the whole congregation says the Lord's Prayer to express the unity we have one with another.
You might have noticed that I have been adding the phrase “in the language of your choice” to the introduction. I know some clergy feel that by all saying it in the same language we are displaying unity. Believing in the Real Presence, I feel that Jesus is present and we would want to talk directly to him, so why use English which might be a foreign language for many rather than the language we normal use in our prayers? I have a clergy friend who says “As Christ has taught us and in the language of our dreams, we are bold to say.” We can talk to Jesus, pray to Jesus in any language and he will understand. At Diocesan events when the three languages of the Diocese – English Afrikaans and isiXhosa are used in more-or-less equal numbers, I imagine it sounds like the Day of Pentecost – babel of tongues but a babel which is fully understood by God.
Cilla Bromley tells me that she is using Everyday with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes and he is going through the Lord’s Prayer and exploring it meaning. It is a month-long project and so it is not something that can be done as part of this sermon but just two comments. The phrase 'Gives us today our daily bread' has long been regarded as referring not only to our daily food but also to Bread of Eucharist. And then the phrase near the end; in the old version we said: “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” For me that made me question whether God was purposefully trying to tempt us by leading us into it. The new version implies that because of our human nature, we will be tempted, but God will save us from this time. Not from facing but saving us by resisting it. It says 'Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil'. This is exactly what Paul says to Timothy in our 2nd Reading: I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom.
The Breaking of the Bread follows. Perhaps you feel that, seeing that we receive a small wafer which is obviously not broken, this part of the liturgy is a bit of an empty symbol or gesture. Of course, in the Early Church a single loaf was more meaningful. Now days the manufacturers of wafers make a large wafer about 15cm in diameter so here again its meaningful. But what is the meaning of this symbol? Firstly, it shows the unity among all the other communicants because they share in the body of Christ. This is based on 1 Cor 10:16-17 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Unity which was first expressed at the Peace earlier in the service is now confirmed and exhibited. Secondly, it symbolises the breaking of the Lord's body on the cross. 1 Cor 11:24 says: and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ But some variants of this verse say "This is my body which is being broken for you." In fact, this is what the fourth Eucharistic P:rayer says: Take, and eat: this is my body which is broken for you…”
What was called the Fraction Anthem, the Agnus Dei now follows. Two versions are given in the APB1989. It is a very ancient hymn which is based on John 1:29 where John the Baptist says: ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! It is piece of liturgy which the English Prayer Book writers take out and put back into use every couple of centuries! Officially it was omitted from the SAPB but I think makes a wonderful return in the 1989 Prayer Book. The 2nd version is Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us. Notice it is singular “sin”. This doesn’t ask Jesus to take away all the sins in our wicked world but rather to remove all that estranges us from God. But also notice that in the first given version it says, Jesus, bearer of our sins [plural]: have mercy on us. This matches up with the petition in the Lord’s Prayer Forgive us our sins [plural] as we forgive those who sin against us.
Now the Prayer of Humble Access. For some this is the pinnacle of any prayer book, for others it is an anathema. It certainly is one of the best-loved and best-known Anglican prayers. It appears originally in 1548 as an English spiritual prayer to be prayed while the Latin Mass was being said. It was included in the very first English Eucharistic liturgy, The Order of Communion, published in 1549 and in all subsequent Prayer Books.
In the liturgy resource book for use in Southern Africa entitled Under African Skies it says: Over the centuries our liturgy became a completely English liturgy and then became in addition a liturgy that was celebrated in the local languages spoken and understood by the people where ever they were, the elements of The Order of Communion were no longer needed as separate elements to be inserted into the Eucharistic celebration. This development led to the sad disuse of the Prayer of Humble Access: clearly requesting ‘access’ was no longer necessary at that point in the English or vernacular liturgy, the entire Eucharistic Prayer had already been said, with all its affirmation that we are worthy and acceptable, that access has been achieved by the saving work of Jesus Christ. While the Prayer of Humble Access is no longer an obligatory part of the Eucharist, it is a venerable Anglican prayer that should not be lost to our devotions. For this reason Under African Skies provides it as a “Prayer before Worship.“ I do leave it out but try to have silence long enough for you to say it silently to yourself. Or perhaps you can make it a practice each Sunday to say it before the Service starts.
Then the Invitation. It calls on us all to feed on Christ with “faith and thanksgiving”. Faith means a decision for Christ rather than the expression of some intellectual belief. You will notice that I often add additional words before saying Draw near and receive… I usually try to link it to anthems about to be sung by the choir, to the readings or the liturgical season.
Having been invited you now come to the altar rail to receive. In the old SAPB the priest and lay ministers used to receive before the invitation to draw near was said. I disliked this as it implied that I did not need faith and thanksgiving – unlike you the congregation. Now, doesn’t that ring bells from the gospel? The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” As you receive the elements of bread and wine certain words are used, in fact there are three forms, though I have only used one: The Body of Christ – which was used by Augustine of Hippo. The Body of Christ given for you – notice the present tense implying that Christ death on the cross although a one perfect sacrifice, is an ongoing sacrifice and not merely a commemoration of a past event. The third form is longer: The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ keep you in eternal life. But regardless of the form used by the priest or lay minister in the distribution only one response is required – a simple Amen - So be it -yes indeed it is the body of Christ – it is the blood of Christ.
I spoke last week about posture but what about how to receive. The bread can be received in the right hand. My confirmation teacher told me because your right hand was your sword hand so into your sword hand goes the Prince of Peace. Great, except if you’re left handed! Left or right…does it matter? Whatever works for you. For some they prefer to receive it directly on the tongue – also okay. Then the wine… my time is running out so I won’t go into this in details but just to mention about the dippers and the shakers! I don’t have a problem with those who dip their wafer in the chalice but can I ask that you do not dip it too deep or shake it too vigorously before consuming it – it is the body and blood of Christ – treat it as that. Of course, when visiting the sick I either communicate them in only one type – the wafer or with an tinctured wafer.
Finally, the conclusion. I usually compose or take from other sources a post-communion prayer because paragraph 87 is rather long and wordy and it is not compulsory to use. I try to include an expression of thanks and then include a reference to the readings and sermon-lesson for the Sunday. Then follows the wonderful Prayer of Self-Offering. I said last week that we have nothing to offer when compared to the offering of Christ. The only offering we can make is as result of us being "in Christ" who made the supreme sacrifice. We are united with him through the sacrament so we can offer ourselves at this point. Can I point out that there must be no break after word sacrifice - "as a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ our Lord" it is only in his sacrifice that we can make our offering.
The Blessing is optional because there is little more we can receive after receiving Christ himself and assurance of forgiveness and God's Peace. I tend to treat it as a sending out using the word "Go" at beginning. The final Dismissal is like the old Latin ending to the Mass – Ita messa est it is finished. That is where the term Mass come from. But it is more than this – it is a summon to service. We should be rushing to the Church doors in order to go out into the world in the love and peace of Christ.
The Eucharist service means that we spend time in God’s House in worship and as it comes to the end we remember the Psalmist plea: How lovely is your dwelling-place : O Lord God of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing to enter the courts of the Lord : my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
20191103AllSouls_Sermon
November, in the church’s calendar, is a month for remembrance. This morning in our Eucharist for All Saints, we remembered those in whom the light of God’s love and holiness shone particularly brightly; those whose examples we seek to follow in Christian living. Next Sunday, we shall be remembering those who laid down their lives in the service of their country in wars and conflicts. But this evening, we gather together to remember before God all those whom WE have known and loved, and who have passed before us through the gates of Death into the joy of God’s heavenly kingdom.
There are so many ways to remember the individual lives which have touched ours, and which are on our hearts this evening. We choose to commemorate our loved ones by remembering in the presence of God and of God’s people, and by lighting candles together.
We live today in an age and a culture in which death is almost a taboo subject. Once, bereaved people were encouraged to dress in distinctive black clothing, and to spend time set apart during a lengthy period of mourning. Today, though, we often feel pressure from society to “get back to normal” as soon as possible after a death – although, of course, “normal” will never be quite the same again.
Whilst it is important that we learn to live in this new “normality”, and to find meaning and purpose for our lives without those we have lost, it is also important that we are able openly to acknowledge our loss, and to cherish and share our memories with others.
On the return to everyday life, many of us shy away from talking about our bereavement for fear of upsetting or embarrassing others. Our grief and pain can lie hidden, sometimes even from ourselves, as we dare not allow ourselves to think too deeply about the people who are gone, for fear that our emotions will overwhelm us. But the Church at this time, in commemorating the faithful departed in many ways all across the world, offers us that safe space in God’s presence where we can freely remember those who are now hidden from us by the shadow of Death. We may remember how they looked, how they sounded, remember the many things we shared, and acknowledge the extent to which they continue to be present with us – in our hearts and in our lives. It is an opportunity to give thanks for all our good memories, for joy and companionship, for the chance to love and be loved.
But this service also allows us a time and space in which we can, before God, acknowledge other emotions which may accompany a death, and which we may also have tried to ignore or suppress: a sense of pain, anger, bewilderment or regret. The Bible, and especially the psalms, are full of all these emotions; of people crying out to God in protest and anger and hurt, honestly expressing everything in their hearts; and God’s church remains a place where we can come with all our anxieties, feelings, doubts and questions.
The Church is not here to offer trite or easy answers to some of the most difficult questions we face as human beings. Why do some seem to die far too soon, whilst others live so long that their physical bodies and even their desire to live have begun to fade? This kind of question we can ask only of God, trusting at least that, as Jesus came down to earth to share our human lives, he can also share in and understand our grief and loss, as he wept at the death of his friend, Lazarus.
Within this service, we can turn to God, and to the Christian Gospel, to hear clear messages of comfort and hope. The passage from the Book of Wisdom is quite consoling. That is why many people choose it as a reading for funerals. It states that the righteous dead are secure in the protection of God. Only the foolish think that “their departure was thought to be a disaster.” We grieve over their death; their passing is our loss. But is it their loss? They have hope that is “full of immortality.” In other words, their hope cannot be extinguished by death.
The psalm is also comforting. God, the gentle shepherd, leads the psalmist through the dark valley. There is no fear here, only trust and courage. The Reading from Revelation appears at first to be different, speaking of a judgement on how we have lived our lives - what is written in the Book of Life. The point of the Gospel reading seems to counteract these fears about the judgement according to what is written in the Book of life, for Jesus says clearly: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’ - no-one that God has given Jesus will be lost.
Our faith teaches us that those who have passed through death remain bound together with us, not just in our memories, but as part of that rejoicing communion which transcends all boundaries of time and space, worshipping God, our Creator and Redeemer.
The Choir will sing as their communion Anthem, a setting of words by Robert Herrick, a 17th-century English lyric poet and clergyman who served in Dean Prior in Devonshire. He is perhaps, best known for the carpe diem poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", with the famous first line "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may". Unlike George Herbert and John Donne who both also were clergy and poets, Robert Herrick's more spiritual verses called "His Noble Numbers" were short and appear to be quite simply in their spiritual philosophy and theology. They were in fact written as a Villagers Devotion and the people of Dean Prior could easily memorise these verses and they were taught by mothers to their children for many generations.
The anthem is Litany to the Holy Spirit and the words include In the hour of my distress, When temptations me oppress, And when I my sins confess, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! When I lie within my bed, Sick in heart and sick in head, And with doubts discomforted, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! When the house doth sigh and weep, And the world is drown'd in sleep, Yet mine eyes the watch do keep, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! Those of you who have lost loved ones, whether recently or many years ago will recognise these symptoms...Jesus knew them when he wept at the grave of Lazarus, Robert Herrick knew them when he composed these verses for his parishioners, and so many others knew these very symptoms. I hope that you, like Robert Herrick will, seek the comfort of the Holy Spirit and remember our first reading's reassurance: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” Amen.
Partially based on a sermon by Emma Smith
http://www.hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk/data/sermons_2012.php?id=451
20191103AllSaints_Sermon
Today we begin what the Church of England Alternative Service Book of the 1980s called The Kingdom Season. Basically, these are the Sundays before Advent Sunday, at the beginning of December, which prepare us for two things. Advent Sunday start the Church’s new year and the Season of Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ – at Bethlehem 2000years ago and when he comes in glory at some future time. So, we are coming to the end of the Church year and it is appropriate that we celebrate Kingdom things like the feast of All Saints commemorating those who have gone before us living their lives in accordance to the Beatitudes we heard in our Gospel.
But what do we mean here by ‘saints’. Normally we apply the word to people of extraordinary holiness who have been canonised or beatified by the Church. Among them each one of us has our favourites: St Francis of Assisi, St Margaret of Antioch, St Therese of Avila, St Augustine of Hippo, St Benedict and so on.
But today’s feast uses the word “Saints” in a much wider sense. It refers to all those baptised Christians who have died and are now with God in glory. [Rpt.] And, do you know what? It also includes all non-Christians who lived a good life sincerely in accordance with the convictions of their conscience.
The Gospel chosen for today’s feast is interesting. It gives us what we know as the Eight Beatitudes from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. This is, in fact, a charter for holiness. When most people think of ‘being holy’, they think it means keeping the Ten Commandments. But let’s not forget that the Ten Commandments really belong to the Old Testament and are part of the Jewish law and, of course, they are still valid. Jesus said clearly that he had not come to abolish the Jewish law but to fulfil it.
We could say that the Beatitudes are an example of that fulfilling. The Beatitudes go far beyond the Ten Commandments in what they expect from a follower of Christ and yet the sad thing is that one hears of relatively few Christians saying that they base their lives on the Beatitudes. In the silence the Lay minister gives us to think about what we have done wrong before we say the General Confession, it is the Ten Commandments we use as our standard, not the Beatitudes. This is sad because it is clear from their position in Matthew’s gospel that the Beatitudes have a central place. They are a sort of mission statement saying what kind of person the good Christian will be.
Let us explore them briefly. But first let me clarify a few of the terms used. The word ‘blessed’ is sometimes translated ‘happy’. It might be more accurate to translate it as ‘fortunate’. In other words, people who have these qualities are really in an envious position. All of these beatitudes are indications that we belong to the ‘kingdom of heaven’. Remember, this is not a place, nor is it referring to life after death. It rather describes the kind of society that exists when we live according to the values of the Beatitudes – a place of truth and love, of compassion and justice, of peace, freedom and sharing.
The Gospel says that particularly blessed are: 1. Those who are poor in spirit. They are those who are aware of their basic poverty and fragility and of how much they need the help and support of God as opposed to those who foolishly claim independence and full control of their own lives. 2. Those who are gentle: These are the people who reach out to others in care and compassion and tenderness, who constantly are aware of the needs of others. 3. Those who mourn: those who are in grief or sorrow for whatever reason will be assured of comfort from the loving community in Christ they have entered. 4. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right: Whatever the price, they will work so that everyone will be given what is their due to live a life of dignity and self-respect. The price they may have to pay could be high, very high, even life itself. 5. Those who are merciful: They are the ones who extend compassion and forgiveness to all around them. 6. Those who are pure in heart: This does not refer to sexual purity but rather to a simplicity and total absence of duplicity, of prejudice or bias. Not surprisingly, they are described as being able to see God. For such people God’s presence is all too obvious in every person and experience. 7. Those who make peace: Perhaps one of the most beautiful of the Beatitudes. These are people who help to break down the many barriers which divide us – whether it is class, occupation, race, religion or anything that creates conflict between individuals or groups. Not surprisingly, these people are called “children of God”. God sent Jesus among us precisely to break down the barriers between God and God’s people and between people themselves.
8. Those who are persecuted in the cause of right: Persecution of itself is not a pleasant experience and may result in loss of life. But blessed indeed are those who have the strength and courage to put the values of truth and love and justice for all, above their own survival. Among the saints we most honour today are the martyrs, those who gave their lives in the defence of truth, love and justice.
This is the kind of Christian we are all called to be. It is these qualities which made the saints and which will make saints of us too. They go far beyond what is required by the Ten Commandments. If taken literally, the commandments can be kept and not with great difficulty. Many of them are expressed in the negative, “You shall NOT…” so we can observe them by doing nothing at all! “I have not killed anyone… I have not committed adultery… I have not stolen…” Does that make me a saint?
Being a Christian is a lot more than not doing things which are wrong. The Beatitudes are expressed in positive terms. They also express not just actions but attitudes. In a way, they can never be fully observed. No matter how well I try to observe them, I can always go further. They leave no room for smugness, the kind of smugness the Pharisees had in keeping the Law. The Beatitudes are a true and reliable recipe for sainthood.
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, the Second Reading today reminds us. Saints are not self-made people. They are people who have responded generously to the love of God showered on them. And the completion of that love is to be invited to share life with God forever in the life to come.
What we will be has not yet been revealed, the Reading also says. We do not know and have no way of knowing what that future existence will be like and it does not help very much to speculate. In fact, some of the conventional images of heaven are not terribly exciting! Kneeling on clouds playing harps for eternity- partly derived from a too literal reading of the book of Revelation – does not excite me particularly! Let us rather concentrate on the life we are leading now and let it be a good preparation for that future time.
Indeed, the First Reading from the book of Revelation presents an apocalyptic vision of those who have died in Christ. They are numbered at 144,000. They represent “every nation, tribe and language” because access to Christ is open to all. They are dressed in white robes with palms in their hands. They are the robes of goodness and integrity. The palms of victory are a reference to the joyful Jewish Feast of Tabernacles for these are the ones invited to live in God’s tent or tabernacle. Together with them are the angels, the 24 elders (perhaps representing the 12 patriarchs and the 12 Apostles) and the four living creatures (a very high rank of angels), all prostrate in adoration before the glory of God. The song they sing has been magnificently set to music by Handel in his “Messiah”. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength are seven attributes of perfect praise.
And who are these people in white robes? These are they who have come out of the great ordeal, in other words, those who have been through persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is the blood of Jesus Christ which brings salvation. Many of them, of course, are martyrs and they have mingled their own blood with that of Jesus. It is a picture of total victory and the end of all the pains and sorrows they endured in this life. It is not a newspaper reporter’s description of heaven!
Today’s feast is first of all an occasion for great thanksgiving. It is altogether reasonable to think that many of our family, relatives and friends who have gone before us are being celebrated today. We look forward to the day when we, too, can be with them experiencing the same total happiness when they will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to the springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:16-17). Today is a day too for us to pray to them – both the canonised and the uncanonised – and ask them to pray on our behalf that we may live our lives in faithfulness following the Beatitudes so that we, too, may experience the same reward.
20191027TwentiethAfterPentecost_Sermon
In this the final address of our study of the Eucharistic Liturgy as found in APB1989 I’m going to start with the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is introduced with the words, “As Christ has taught us we are bold to say”. In our Gospel today Jesus teaches us – not so much about the form of prayer we should pray but the mental attitude we should have while praying. He speaks about how some trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt. At this point in the Eucharist, the whole congregation says the Lord's Prayer to express the unity we have one with another.
You might have noticed that I have been adding the phrase “in the language of your choice” to the introduction. I know some clergy feel that by all saying it in the same language we are displaying unity. Believing in the Real Presence, I feel that Jesus is present and we would want to talk directly to him, so why use English which might be a foreign language for many rather than the language we normal use in our prayers? I have a clergy friend who says “As Christ has taught us and in the language of our dreams, we are bold to say.” We can talk to Jesus, pray to Jesus in any language and he will understand. At Diocesan events when the three languages of the Diocese – English Afrikaans and isiXhosa are used in more-or-less equal numbers, I imagine it sounds like the Day of Pentecost – babel of tongues but a babel which is fully understood by God.
Cilla Bromley tells me that she is using Everyday with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes and he is going through the Lord’s Prayer and exploring it meaning. It is a month-long project and so it is not something that can be done as part of this sermon but just two comments. The phrase 'Gives us today our daily bread' has long been regarded as referring not only to our daily food but also to Bread of Eucharist. And then the phrase near the end; in the old version we said: “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” For me that made me question whether God was purposefully trying to tempt us by leading us into it. The new version implies that because of our human nature, we will be tempted, but God will save us from this time. Not from facing but saving us by resisting it. It says 'Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil'. This is exactly what Paul says to Timothy in our 2nd Reading: I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom.
The Breaking of the Bread follows. Perhaps you feel that, seeing that we receive a small wafer which is obviously not broken, this part of the liturgy is a bit of an empty symbol or gesture. Of course, in the Early Church a single loaf was more meaningful. Now days the manufacturers of wafers make a large wafer about 15cm in diameter so here again its meaningful. But what is the meaning of this symbol? Firstly, it shows the unity among all the other communicants because they share in the body of Christ. This is based on 1 Cor 10:16-17 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Unity which was first expressed at the Peace earlier in the service is now confirmed and exhibited. Secondly, it symbolises the breaking of the Lord's body on the cross. 1 Cor 11:24 says: and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ But some variants of this verse say "This is my body which is being broken for you." In fact, this is what the fourth Eucharistic P:rayer says: Take, and eat: this is my body which is broken for you…”
What was called the Fraction Anthem, the Agnus Dei now follows. Two versions are given in the APB1989. It is a very ancient hymn which is based on John 1:29 where John the Baptist says: ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! It is piece of liturgy which the English Prayer Book writers take out and put back into use every couple of centuries! Officially it was omitted from the SAPB but I think makes a wonderful return in the 1989 Prayer Book. The 2nd version is Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us. Notice it is singular “sin”. This doesn’t ask Jesus to take away all the sins in our wicked world but rather to remove all that estranges us from God. But also notice that in the first given version it says, Jesus, bearer of our sins [plural]: have mercy on us. This matches up with the petition in the Lord’s Prayer Forgive us our sins [plural] as we forgive those who sin against us.
Now the Prayer of Humble Access. For some this is the pinnacle of any prayer book, for others it is an anathema. It certainly is one of the best-loved and best-known Anglican prayers. It appears originally in 1548 as an English spiritual prayer to be prayed while the Latin Mass was being said. It was included in the very first English Eucharistic liturgy, The Order of Communion, published in 1549 and in all subsequent Prayer Books.
In the liturgy resource book for use in Southern Africa entitled Under African Skies it says: Over the centuries our liturgy became a completely English liturgy and then became in addition a liturgy that was celebrated in the local languages spoken and understood by the people where ever they were, the elements of The Order of Communion were no longer needed as separate elements to be inserted into the Eucharistic celebration. This development led to the sad disuse of the Prayer of Humble Access: clearly requesting ‘access’ was no longer necessary at that point in the English or vernacular liturgy, the entire Eucharistic Prayer had already been said, with all its affirmation that we are worthy and acceptable, that access has been achieved by the saving work of Jesus Christ. While the Prayer of Humble Access is no longer an obligatory part of the Eucharist, it is a venerable Anglican prayer that should not be lost to our devotions. For this reason Under African Skies provides it as a “Prayer before Worship.“ I do leave it out but try to have silence long enough for you to say it silently to yourself. Or perhaps you can make it a practice each Sunday to say it before the Service starts.
Then the Invitation. It calls on us all to feed on Christ with “faith and thanksgiving”. Faith means a decision for Christ rather than the expression of some intellectual belief. You will notice that I often add additional words before saying Draw near and receive… I usually try to link it to anthems about to be sung by the choir, to the readings or the liturgical season.
Having been invited you now come to the altar rail to receive. In the old SAPB the priest and lay ministers used to receive before the invitation to draw near was said. I disliked this as it implied that I did not need faith and thanksgiving – unlike you the congregation. Now, doesn’t that ring bells from the gospel? The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” As you receive the elements of bread and wine certain words are used, in fact there are three forms, though I have only used one: The Body of Christ – which was used by Augustine of Hippo. The Body of Christ given for you – notice the present tense implying that Christ death on the cross although a one perfect sacrifice, is an ongoing sacrifice and not merely a commemoration of a past event. The third form is longer: The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ keep you in eternal life. But regardless of the form used by the priest or lay minister in the distribution only one response is required – a simple Amen - So be it -yes indeed it is the body of Christ – it is the blood of Christ.
I spoke last week about posture but what about how to receive. The bread can be received in the right hand. My confirmation teacher told me because your right hand was your sword hand so into your sword hand goes the Prince of Peace. Great, except if you’re left handed! Left or right…does it matter? Whatever works for you. For some they prefer to receive it directly on the tongue – also okay. Then the wine… my time is running out so I won’t go into this in details but just to mention about the dippers and the shakers! I don’t have a problem with those who dip their wafer in the chalice but can I ask that you do not dip it too deep or shake it too vigorously before consuming it – it is the body and blood of Christ – treat it as that. Of course, when visiting the sick I either communicate them in only one type – the wafer or with an tinctured wafer.
Finally, the conclusion. I usually compose or take from other sources a post-communion prayer because paragraph 87 is rather long and wordy and it is not compulsory to use. I try to include an expression of thanks and then include a reference to the readings and sermon-lesson for the Sunday. Then follows the wonderful Prayer of Self-Offering. I said last week that we have nothing to offer when compared to the offering of Christ. The only offering we can make is as result of us being "in Christ" who made the supreme sacrifice. We are united with him through the sacrament so we can offer ourselves at this point. Can I point out that there must be no break after word sacrifice - "as a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ our Lord" it is only in his sacrifice that we can make our offering.
The Blessing is optional because there is little more we can receive after receiving Christ himself and assurance of forgiveness and God's Peace. I tend to treat it as a sending out using the word "Go" at beginning. The final Dismissal is like the old Latin ending to the Mass – Ita messa est it is finished. That is where the term Mass come from. But it is more than this – it is a summon to service. We should be rushing to the Church doors in order to go out into the world in the love and peace of Christ.
The Eucharist service means that we spend time in God’s House in worship and as it comes to the end we remember the Psalmist plea: How lovely is your dwelling-place : O Lord God of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing to enter the courts of the Lord : my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
November, in the church’s calendar, is a month for remembrance. This morning in our Eucharist for All Saints, we remembered those in whom the light of God’s love and holiness shone particularly brightly; those whose examples we seek to follow in Christian living. Next Sunday, we shall be remembering those who laid down their lives in the service of their country in wars and conflicts. But this evening, we gather together to remember before God all those whom WE have known and loved, and who have passed before us through the gates of Death into the joy of God’s heavenly kingdom.
There are so many ways to remember the individual lives which have touched ours, and which are on our hearts this evening. We choose to commemorate our loved ones by remembering in the presence of God and of God’s people, and by lighting candles together.
We live today in an age and a culture in which death is almost a taboo subject. Once, bereaved people were encouraged to dress in distinctive black clothing, and to spend time set apart during a lengthy period of mourning. Today, though, we often feel pressure from society to “get back to normal” as soon as possible after a death – although, of course, “normal” will never be quite the same again.
Whilst it is important that we learn to live in this new “normality”, and to find meaning and purpose for our lives without those we have lost, it is also important that we are able openly to acknowledge our loss, and to cherish and share our memories with others.
On the return to everyday life, many of us shy away from talking about our bereavement for fear of upsetting or embarrassing others. Our grief and pain can lie hidden, sometimes even from ourselves, as we dare not allow ourselves to think too deeply about the people who are gone, for fear that our emotions will overwhelm us. But the Church at this time, in commemorating the faithful departed in many ways all across the world, offers us that safe space in God’s presence where we can freely remember those who are now hidden from us by the shadow of Death. We may remember how they looked, how they sounded, remember the many things we shared, and acknowledge the extent to which they continue to be present with us – in our hearts and in our lives. It is an opportunity to give thanks for all our good memories, for joy and companionship, for the chance to love and be loved.
But this service also allows us a time and space in which we can, before God, acknowledge other emotions which may accompany a death, and which we may also have tried to ignore or suppress: a sense of pain, anger, bewilderment or regret. The Bible, and especially the psalms, are full of all these emotions; of people crying out to God in protest and anger and hurt, honestly expressing everything in their hearts; and God’s church remains a place where we can come with all our anxieties, feelings, doubts and questions.
The Church is not here to offer trite or easy answers to some of the most difficult questions we face as human beings. Why do some seem to die far too soon, whilst others live so long that their physical bodies and even their desire to live have begun to fade? This kind of question we can ask only of God, trusting at least that, as Jesus came down to earth to share our human lives, he can also share in and understand our grief and loss, as he wept at the death of his friend, Lazarus.
Within this service, we can turn to God, and to the Christian Gospel, to hear clear messages of comfort and hope. The passage from the Book of Wisdom is quite consoling. That is why many people choose it as a reading for funerals. It states that the righteous dead are secure in the protection of God. Only the foolish think that “their departure was thought to be a disaster.” We grieve over their death; their passing is our loss. But is it their loss? They have hope that is “full of immortality.” In other words, their hope cannot be extinguished by death.
The psalm is also comforting. God, the gentle shepherd, leads the psalmist through the dark valley. There is no fear here, only trust and courage. The Reading from Revelation appears at first to be different, speaking of a judgement on how we have lived our lives - what is written in the Book of Life. The point of the Gospel reading seems to counteract these fears about the judgement according to what is written in the Book of life, for Jesus says clearly: "For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.’ - no-one that God has given Jesus will be lost.
Our faith teaches us that those who have passed through death remain bound together with us, not just in our memories, but as part of that rejoicing communion which transcends all boundaries of time and space, worshipping God, our Creator and Redeemer.
The Choir will sing as their communion Anthem, a setting of words by Robert Herrick, a 17th-century English lyric poet and clergyman who served in Dean Prior in Devonshire. He is perhaps, best known for the carpe diem poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", with the famous first line "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may". Unlike George Herbert and John Donne who both also were clergy and poets, Robert Herrick's more spiritual verses called "His Noble Numbers" were short and appear to be quite simply in their spiritual philosophy and theology. They were in fact written as a Villagers Devotion and the people of Dean Prior could easily memorise these verses and they were taught by mothers to their children for many generations.
The anthem is Litany to the Holy Spirit and the words include In the hour of my distress, When temptations me oppress, And when I my sins confess, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! When I lie within my bed, Sick in heart and sick in head, And with doubts discomforted, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! When the house doth sigh and weep, And the world is drown'd in sleep, Yet mine eyes the watch do keep, Sweet Spirit, comfort me! Those of you who have lost loved ones, whether recently or many years ago will recognise these symptoms...Jesus knew them when he wept at the grave of Lazarus, Robert Herrick knew them when he composed these verses for his parishioners, and so many others knew these very symptoms. I hope that you, like Robert Herrick will, seek the comfort of the Holy Spirit and remember our first reading's reassurance: “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness.” Amen.
Partially based on a sermon by Emma Smith
http://www.hampsteadparishchurch.org.uk/data/sermons_2012.php?id=451
20191103AllSaints_Sermon
Today we begin what the Church of England Alternative Service Book of the 1980s called The Kingdom Season. Basically, these are the Sundays before Advent Sunday, at the beginning of December, which prepare us for two things. Advent Sunday start the Church’s new year and the Season of Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ – at Bethlehem 2000years ago and when he comes in glory at some future time. So, we are coming to the end of the Church year and it is appropriate that we celebrate Kingdom things like the feast of All Saints commemorating those who have gone before us living their lives in accordance to the Beatitudes we heard in our Gospel.
But what do we mean here by ‘saints’. Normally we apply the word to people of extraordinary holiness who have been canonised or beatified by the Church. Among them each one of us has our favourites: St Francis of Assisi, St Margaret of Antioch, St Therese of Avila, St Augustine of Hippo, St Benedict and so on.
But today’s feast uses the word “Saints” in a much wider sense. It refers to all those baptised Christians who have died and are now with God in glory. [Rpt.] And, do you know what? It also includes all non-Christians who lived a good life sincerely in accordance with the convictions of their conscience.
The Gospel chosen for today’s feast is interesting. It gives us what we know as the Eight Beatitudes from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. This is, in fact, a charter for holiness. When most people think of ‘being holy’, they think it means keeping the Ten Commandments. But let’s not forget that the Ten Commandments really belong to the Old Testament and are part of the Jewish law and, of course, they are still valid. Jesus said clearly that he had not come to abolish the Jewish law but to fulfil it.
We could say that the Beatitudes are an example of that fulfilling. The Beatitudes go far beyond the Ten Commandments in what they expect from a follower of Christ and yet the sad thing is that one hears of relatively few Christians saying that they base their lives on the Beatitudes. In the silence the Lay minister gives us to think about what we have done wrong before we say the General Confession, it is the Ten Commandments we use as our standard, not the Beatitudes. This is sad because it is clear from their position in Matthew’s gospel that the Beatitudes have a central place. They are a sort of mission statement saying what kind of person the good Christian will be.
Let us explore them briefly. But first let me clarify a few of the terms used. The word ‘blessed’ is sometimes translated ‘happy’. It might be more accurate to translate it as ‘fortunate’. In other words, people who have these qualities are really in an envious position. All of these beatitudes are indications that we belong to the ‘kingdom of heaven’. Remember, this is not a place, nor is it referring to life after death. It rather describes the kind of society that exists when we live according to the values of the Beatitudes – a place of truth and love, of compassion and justice, of peace, freedom and sharing.
The Gospel says that particularly blessed are: 1. Those who are poor in spirit. They are those who are aware of their basic poverty and fragility and of how much they need the help and support of God as opposed to those who foolishly claim independence and full control of their own lives. 2. Those who are gentle: These are the people who reach out to others in care and compassion and tenderness, who constantly are aware of the needs of others. 3. Those who mourn: those who are in grief or sorrow for whatever reason will be assured of comfort from the loving community in Christ they have entered. 4. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right: Whatever the price, they will work so that everyone will be given what is their due to live a life of dignity and self-respect. The price they may have to pay could be high, very high, even life itself. 5. Those who are merciful: They are the ones who extend compassion and forgiveness to all around them. 6. Those who are pure in heart: This does not refer to sexual purity but rather to a simplicity and total absence of duplicity, of prejudice or bias. Not surprisingly, they are described as being able to see God. For such people God’s presence is all too obvious in every person and experience. 7. Those who make peace: Perhaps one of the most beautiful of the Beatitudes. These are people who help to break down the many barriers which divide us – whether it is class, occupation, race, religion or anything that creates conflict between individuals or groups. Not surprisingly, these people are called “children of God”. God sent Jesus among us precisely to break down the barriers between God and God’s people and between people themselves.
8. Those who are persecuted in the cause of right: Persecution of itself is not a pleasant experience and may result in loss of life. But blessed indeed are those who have the strength and courage to put the values of truth and love and justice for all, above their own survival. Among the saints we most honour today are the martyrs, those who gave their lives in the defence of truth, love and justice.
This is the kind of Christian we are all called to be. It is these qualities which made the saints and which will make saints of us too. They go far beyond what is required by the Ten Commandments. If taken literally, the commandments can be kept and not with great difficulty. Many of them are expressed in the negative, “You shall NOT…” so we can observe them by doing nothing at all! “I have not killed anyone… I have not committed adultery… I have not stolen…” Does that make me a saint?
Being a Christian is a lot more than not doing things which are wrong. The Beatitudes are expressed in positive terms. They also express not just actions but attitudes. In a way, they can never be fully observed. No matter how well I try to observe them, I can always go further. They leave no room for smugness, the kind of smugness the Pharisees had in keeping the Law. The Beatitudes are a true and reliable recipe for sainthood.
See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God, the Second Reading today reminds us. Saints are not self-made people. They are people who have responded generously to the love of God showered on them. And the completion of that love is to be invited to share life with God forever in the life to come.
What we will be has not yet been revealed, the Reading also says. We do not know and have no way of knowing what that future existence will be like and it does not help very much to speculate. In fact, some of the conventional images of heaven are not terribly exciting! Kneeling on clouds playing harps for eternity- partly derived from a too literal reading of the book of Revelation – does not excite me particularly! Let us rather concentrate on the life we are leading now and let it be a good preparation for that future time.
Indeed, the First Reading from the book of Revelation presents an apocalyptic vision of those who have died in Christ. They are numbered at 144,000. They represent “every nation, tribe and language” because access to Christ is open to all. They are dressed in white robes with palms in their hands. They are the robes of goodness and integrity. The palms of victory are a reference to the joyful Jewish Feast of Tabernacles for these are the ones invited to live in God’s tent or tabernacle. Together with them are the angels, the 24 elders (perhaps representing the 12 patriarchs and the 12 Apostles) and the four living creatures (a very high rank of angels), all prostrate in adoration before the glory of God. The song they sing has been magnificently set to music by Handel in his “Messiah”. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honour, power and strength are seven attributes of perfect praise.
And who are these people in white robes? These are they who have come out of the great ordeal, in other words, those who have been through persecution. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. It is the blood of Jesus Christ which brings salvation. Many of them, of course, are martyrs and they have mingled their own blood with that of Jesus. It is a picture of total victory and the end of all the pains and sorrows they endured in this life. It is not a newspaper reporter’s description of heaven!
Today’s feast is first of all an occasion for great thanksgiving. It is altogether reasonable to think that many of our family, relatives and friends who have gone before us are being celebrated today. We look forward to the day when we, too, can be with them experiencing the same total happiness when they will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, because the Lamb who is at the heart of the throne will be their shepherd and will guide them to the springs of living water; and God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. (Revelation 7:16-17). Today is a day too for us to pray to them – both the canonised and the uncanonised – and ask them to pray on our behalf that we may live our lives in faithfulness following the Beatitudes so that we, too, may experience the same reward.
20191027TwentiethAfterPentecost_Sermon
In this the final address of our study of the Eucharistic Liturgy as found in APB1989 I’m going to start with the Lord’s Prayer. The Lord’s Prayer is introduced with the words, “As Christ has taught us we are bold to say”. In our Gospel today Jesus teaches us – not so much about the form of prayer we should pray but the mental attitude we should have while praying. He speaks about how some trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt. At this point in the Eucharist, the whole congregation says the Lord's Prayer to express the unity we have one with another.
You might have noticed that I have been adding the phrase “in the language of your choice” to the introduction. I know some clergy feel that by all saying it in the same language we are displaying unity. Believing in the Real Presence, I feel that Jesus is present and we would want to talk directly to him, so why use English which might be a foreign language for many rather than the language we normal use in our prayers? I have a clergy friend who says “As Christ has taught us and in the language of our dreams, we are bold to say.” We can talk to Jesus, pray to Jesus in any language and he will understand. At Diocesan events when the three languages of the Diocese – English Afrikaans and isiXhosa are used in more-or-less equal numbers, I imagine it sounds like the Day of Pentecost – babel of tongues but a babel which is fully understood by God.
Cilla Bromley tells me that she is using Everyday with Jesus by Selwyn Hughes and he is going through the Lord’s Prayer and exploring it meaning. It is a month-long project and so it is not something that can be done as part of this sermon but just two comments. The phrase 'Gives us today our daily bread' has long been regarded as referring not only to our daily food but also to Bread of Eucharist. And then the phrase near the end; in the old version we said: “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” For me that made me question whether God was purposefully trying to tempt us by leading us into it. The new version implies that because of our human nature, we will be tempted, but God will save us from this time. Not from facing but saving us by resisting it. It says 'Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil'. This is exactly what Paul says to Timothy in our 2nd Reading: I was rescued from the lion’s mouth. 18The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and save me for his heavenly kingdom.
The Breaking of the Bread follows. Perhaps you feel that, seeing that we receive a small wafer which is obviously not broken, this part of the liturgy is a bit of an empty symbol or gesture. Of course, in the Early Church a single loaf was more meaningful. Now days the manufacturers of wafers make a large wafer about 15cm in diameter so here again its meaningful. But what is the meaning of this symbol? Firstly, it shows the unity among all the other communicants because they share in the body of Christ. This is based on 1 Cor 10:16-17 The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a sharing in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a sharing in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Unity which was first expressed at the Peace earlier in the service is now confirmed and exhibited. Secondly, it symbolises the breaking of the Lord's body on the cross. 1 Cor 11:24 says: and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ But some variants of this verse say "This is my body which is being broken for you." In fact, this is what the fourth Eucharistic P:rayer says: Take, and eat: this is my body which is broken for you…”
What was called the Fraction Anthem, the Agnus Dei now follows. Two versions are given in the APB1989. It is a very ancient hymn which is based on John 1:29 where John the Baptist says: ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! It is piece of liturgy which the English Prayer Book writers take out and put back into use every couple of centuries! Officially it was omitted from the SAPB but I think makes a wonderful return in the 1989 Prayer Book. The 2nd version is Lamb of God you take away the sin of the world: have mercy on us. Notice it is singular “sin”. This doesn’t ask Jesus to take away all the sins in our wicked world but rather to remove all that estranges us from God. But also notice that in the first given version it says, Jesus, bearer of our sins [plural]: have mercy on us. This matches up with the petition in the Lord’s Prayer Forgive us our sins [plural] as we forgive those who sin against us.
Now the Prayer of Humble Access. For some this is the pinnacle of any prayer book, for others it is an anathema. It certainly is one of the best-loved and best-known Anglican prayers. It appears originally in 1548 as an English spiritual prayer to be prayed while the Latin Mass was being said. It was included in the very first English Eucharistic liturgy, The Order of Communion, published in 1549 and in all subsequent Prayer Books.
In the liturgy resource book for use in Southern Africa entitled Under African Skies it says: Over the centuries our liturgy became a completely English liturgy and then became in addition a liturgy that was celebrated in the local languages spoken and understood by the people where ever they were, the elements of The Order of Communion were no longer needed as separate elements to be inserted into the Eucharistic celebration. This development led to the sad disuse of the Prayer of Humble Access: clearly requesting ‘access’ was no longer necessary at that point in the English or vernacular liturgy, the entire Eucharistic Prayer had already been said, with all its affirmation that we are worthy and acceptable, that access has been achieved by the saving work of Jesus Christ. While the Prayer of Humble Access is no longer an obligatory part of the Eucharist, it is a venerable Anglican prayer that should not be lost to our devotions. For this reason Under African Skies provides it as a “Prayer before Worship.“ I do leave it out but try to have silence long enough for you to say it silently to yourself. Or perhaps you can make it a practice each Sunday to say it before the Service starts.
Then the Invitation. It calls on us all to feed on Christ with “faith and thanksgiving”. Faith means a decision for Christ rather than the expression of some intellectual belief. You will notice that I often add additional words before saying Draw near and receive… I usually try to link it to anthems about to be sung by the choir, to the readings or the liturgical season.
Having been invited you now come to the altar rail to receive. In the old SAPB the priest and lay ministers used to receive before the invitation to draw near was said. I disliked this as it implied that I did not need faith and thanksgiving – unlike you the congregation. Now, doesn’t that ring bells from the gospel? The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax-collector. 12I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.” As you receive the elements of bread and wine certain words are used, in fact there are three forms, though I have only used one: The Body of Christ – which was used by Augustine of Hippo. The Body of Christ given for you – notice the present tense implying that Christ death on the cross although a one perfect sacrifice, is an ongoing sacrifice and not merely a commemoration of a past event. The third form is longer: The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ keep you in eternal life. But regardless of the form used by the priest or lay minister in the distribution only one response is required – a simple Amen - So be it -yes indeed it is the body of Christ – it is the blood of Christ.
I spoke last week about posture but what about how to receive. The bread can be received in the right hand. My confirmation teacher told me because your right hand was your sword hand so into your sword hand goes the Prince of Peace. Great, except if you’re left handed! Left or right…does it matter? Whatever works for you. For some they prefer to receive it directly on the tongue – also okay. Then the wine… my time is running out so I won’t go into this in details but just to mention about the dippers and the shakers! I don’t have a problem with those who dip their wafer in the chalice but can I ask that you do not dip it too deep or shake it too vigorously before consuming it – it is the body and blood of Christ – treat it as that. Of course, when visiting the sick I either communicate them in only one type – the wafer or with an tinctured wafer.
Finally, the conclusion. I usually compose or take from other sources a post-communion prayer because paragraph 87 is rather long and wordy and it is not compulsory to use. I try to include an expression of thanks and then include a reference to the readings and sermon-lesson for the Sunday. Then follows the wonderful Prayer of Self-Offering. I said last week that we have nothing to offer when compared to the offering of Christ. The only offering we can make is as result of us being "in Christ" who made the supreme sacrifice. We are united with him through the sacrament so we can offer ourselves at this point. Can I point out that there must be no break after word sacrifice - "as a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ our Lord" it is only in his sacrifice that we can make our offering.
The Blessing is optional because there is little more we can receive after receiving Christ himself and assurance of forgiveness and God's Peace. I tend to treat it as a sending out using the word "Go" at beginning. The final Dismissal is like the old Latin ending to the Mass – Ita messa est it is finished. That is where the term Mass come from. But it is more than this – it is a summon to service. We should be rushing to the Church doors in order to go out into the world in the love and peace of Christ.
The Eucharist service means that we spend time in God’s House in worship and as it comes to the end we remember the Psalmist plea: How lovely is your dwelling-place : O Lord God of hosts! My soul has a desire and longing to enter the courts of the Lord : my heart and my flesh rejoice in the living God.
20191020NineteethAfterPentecost
Have you ever battled with a decision? Perhaps thinking back to something you did and its ramifications to the future. You decide to sleep on it and when you wake up next morning the decision is stilling hanging there. You are like Jacob who wrestled with… um yes who did Jacob actually wrestle with? My translation says a man, some people say it was God but because Jewish people could not mention God by name and believed that if they saw God they would die, they say it was an angel. Jacob’s dilemma was, like yours, not answered and the writer of Genesis uses a metaphor of his hip being knocked out of joint as a constant reminder.
Picking up our exploration of the Eucharist at the Offertory today we are a bit like Jacob. We have things on our minds and perhaps we miss the significance of the moment. [8am We have a collection while the lay minister and the priest prepare the table.] [9:30 We stand and sing a hymn and] I’m pretty sure that for the majority of you down there in the pews you are too busy making sure you have your collection ready and looking out for when the plate is going to reach you to notice much else. This is a great pity as this moment in the service uses symbols and metaphors to remind us of many things which would make the Eucharist more significant for you.
The Offertory is in two parts The Presentation of Gifts and The Taking of Bread and Wine. The Presentation of gifts is the money for work of the church and alms for the poor. It is a duty laid on church members to support work of church. What is interesting is that the word Offertory not used in APB1989. Why not? Because only Christ makes a true ‘offering’, we don’t. At the Last Supper Jesus initiated the action when he took the bread and the wine. It did not depend on any action of the disciples.
Taking the bread and wine follows. Bread and wine are symbols of the daily life of the world. These elements are taken by the Lord and transformed by him. In the same way we offer ourselves to be transformed. At the 9:30 service, the Bread and wine brought up by members of the congregation and offered and taken by priest. This is us returning what is ours to God and then at Communion God gives it back to us to transform our lives.
In the early church the practice was to take the bread and wine from what would later be used in a shared meal and this would be The Offering. Today bringing up of the Bread and the wine from the congregation indicates that you, the congregation, are not mere observers or spectators but full participants in the service.
My great pity is that we make so little of this significant moment. At the 8:00am and St Andrews the wine and bread are already in the sanctuary and even at the 9:30 where it is brought up, it loses its significance because we are too busy doing the collection or singing a hymn. In some churches, but never ones I’ve worked in, however, the money offering together with the bread and wine is brought forward in a grand procession at the end of the hymn – not during it. A lay minister takes the bread comes to the altar and says the short prayer Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation …. . And then places it on altar ready for the Great Thanksgiving. The other lay minister does same with wine.
I spoke just now about the Preparation of the Table by the Lay Ministers and the priest. What do they do? Well, the priests fills the Chalices with wine and a ciborium with the wafers. Before you panic about technical terms – ciborum is genitive plural for food, so vessel of food, a vessel to hold the food of heaven. The priest is offered water by the Lay minister or server and the water is blessed, and a little poured into the wine. There are many reasons put forward for this. One is that the wine is a symbol of Christ’s divinity and water is Christ’s humanity which are intermingled in the wine. Another reason is that it reminds us that on the cross when Christ’s side was pierced, blood and water flowed from it. Now, while all this is happening the priest might appear to be mumbling away up front. What the priest is saying are so-called secret prayers. When the water is added the priest says this rather wonderful 5th Century prayer: Almighty God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us, grant that as your son Our Lord Jesus Christ came to share in our humanity so may we be brought to share in his divine life. The priest’s hands are also washed. Besides just hygiene it is also a reminder that we need to come to communion with clean hands and the intention of leading life according to God’s will. This action is called Lavabo (Latin for I wash) and the priest says verse 6 from Psalm 26 I will wash my hands in innocence, that I may go about your altar. Use of Scriptures in these prayers resonant Paul’s saying to Timothy All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
We now come to the central Act of the Service – The Great Thanksgiving. It is said over the Bread and the wine, the symbols of ourselves and of creation. I’m going to use two rather technical theological terms – anamnesis and epiclesis. Please don’t be scared by them. I will try to explain them simply.
The Great Thanksgiving starts with renewed assurance of the Lord’s presence with us – The Lord be with or The Lord is here and it leads to what God has done for God’s people. This is the Proper Preface which also contains a specific section which deals with the season of the liturgical year. What follows is what is called the Sanctus because Sanctus is Latin for Holy. It is a quotation from Isaiah 6:3 and we all join in say this, because we are, as the prayer says, with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. Don’t forget the kingdom of heaven is not just when you die but right now if you are in relationship with God.
The so-called Institution Narrative follows. This tells the story of the night in which Jesus was betrayed how he took bread and wine at the shared meal with his disciples. Here is where the word anamnesis comes in. A secular dictionary defines it as ‘a recalling to mind: reminiscence.’. Jesus said ‘Do this in memory or remembrance of me” but Anamnesis has a typical Jewish definition which is not just a sense of remembering an action in the past, but of making it real in the present. Remember the Jewish nation were told that as they celebrated the Passover “in each and every generation a person ought to look on himself as if he had gone out of Egypt.” In the Christian Eucharist each participant is to see himself or herself as one for whom Christ died and rose again so that in the act of communion each of us acknowledges God’s act of love in Christ as being for each of us.
Suddenly in the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer we have an acclamation. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. This reflects the early understanding of the Lord’s Supper anticipating the future banquet of the Lord with his own. The end of the Eucharist prayer has an Amen which all the prayer books, old and new, encourage the people – that is all of you – to say vigorously! Justin the second century writer mentions it as being the people’s assent to the prayer just said by the priest to God. Those of you who remember the old SAPB might remember that down the side there were instructions given for the actions the priest should carry out while saying the prayer. In the APB no instructions are given. This might be because of the different churchmanship of the priest and people but I think the bottom line we need to remember is the fourfold action of Jesus taking, blessing, breaking and giving. That’s the important message – not whether we elevate the elements or not. We are re-calling Jesus taking, blessing, breaking and giving, not re-enacting it as a holy parody of Jesus.
Now a question…. At which point does the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ? Is it the moment a priest lifts the bread and the wine up? Is it during the institution narrative? Or is it the invocation of the Holy Spirit after the words of institution? This invocation of the Holy Spirit is the other “big” word I referred to – epiclesis. These days the litugiologist believe that all I’ve mentioned so far are necessary to ensure the presence of the Lord and there is no moment of consecration and the whole prayer from The Lord be with you till the Great Amen is requ. There are no “magical words” which make the Lord present.
Just a final comment and this concerns posture – should we stand or kneel during the Great Thanksgiving Prayer? There are no rubics or rules in the APB1989 for this. John Sugget says it doesn’t matter as long as one posture – kneeling or standing is adopted throughout because it is one unified prayer – there is no part more holy than other. Some of you might have noticed that in the past when I was here purely as a member of the congregation, I remained standing through the Eucharist Prayer. I could also have knelt from “The Lord be with you” through to the end. By dropping to our knees at the end of the Sanctus we are implying that the institution narrative is more important, more holy, than the rest. I’m not going to instruct you on whether you should stand or sit or even suggest one way or the other but just ask yopu to think about it. This also brings up the issue of whether kneeling is holier than standing. Mmmm I think I can see another sermon for another day coming up!
Today’s Gospel tells of a judge. Now we all know that in the past Judges loved throwing Latin words and phrases around; one wonders if that was just to confuse the poor defendant! I’ve thrown around two Greek words and a few Latin ones in this sermon. I suppose Greek is the domain of clergy where we can hide behind Greek words, such as anamnesis and epiclesis trying to be impressive. But for all that, I encourage you to be like the widow who persisted in haranguing the judge until she got the justice she was looking for. Please carry on learning about our liturgy and worship. Seek what the symbols and metaphors might mean and what they mean to you. Be drawn into this wonderful ancient, yet modern way of approaching God and receiving God the Son in bread and wine.
I’m going to stop at this point and next week will take up from The Lord’s Prayer, The Breaking of the Bread, Agnus Dei, the Communion and the Conclusion. This will occur on the last Sunday in October. During November we enter the Kingdom Season preparing us for the Coming Kingdom of God.
Have you ever battled with a decision? Perhaps thinking back to something you did and its ramifications to the future. You decide to sleep on it and when you wake up next morning the decision is stilling hanging there. You are like Jacob who wrestled with… um yes who did Jacob actually wrestle with? My translation says a man, some people say it was God but because Jewish people could not mention God by name and believed that if they saw God they would die, they say it was an angel. Jacob’s dilemma was, like yours, not answered and the writer of Genesis uses a metaphor of his hip being knocked out of joint as a constant reminder.
Picking up our exploration of the Eucharist at the Offertory today we are a bit like Jacob. We have things on our minds and perhaps we miss the significance of the moment. [8am We have a collection while the lay minister and the priest prepare the table.] [9:30 We stand and sing a hymn and] I’m pretty sure that for the majority of you down there in the pews you are too busy making sure you have your collection ready and looking out for when the plate is going to reach you to notice much else. This is a great pity as this moment in the service uses symbols and metaphors to remind us of many things which would make the Eucharist more significant for you.
The Offertory is in two parts The Presentation of Gifts and The Taking of Bread and Wine. The Presentation of gifts is the money for work of the church and alms for the poor. It is a duty laid on church members to support work of church. What is interesting is that the word Offertory not used in APB1989. Why not? Because only Christ makes a true ‘offering’, we don’t. At the Last Supper Jesus initiated the action when he took the bread and the wine. It did not depend on any action of the disciples.
Taking the bread and wine follows. Bread and wine are symbols of the daily life of the world. These elements are taken by the Lord and transformed by him. In the same way we offer ourselves to be transformed. At the 9:30 service, the Bread and wine brought up by members of the congregation and offered and taken by priest. This is us returning what is ours to God and then at Communion God gives it back to us to transform our lives.
In the early church the practice was to take the bread and wine from what would later be used in a shared meal and this would be The Offering. Today bringing up of the Bread and the wine from the congregation indicates that you, the congregation, are not mere observers or spectators but full participants in the service.
My great pity is that we make so little of this significant moment. At the 8:00am and St Andrews the wine and bread are already in the sanctuary and even at the 9:30 where it is brought up, it loses its significance because we are too busy doing the collection or singing a hymn. In some churches, but never ones I’ve worked in, however, the money offering together with the bread and wine is brought forward in a grand procession at the end of the hymn – not during it. A lay minister takes the bread comes to the altar and says the short prayer Blessed are you Lord, God of all creation …. . And then places it on altar ready for the Great Thanksgiving. The other lay minister does same with wine.
I spoke just now about the Preparation of the Table by the Lay Ministers and the priest. What do they do? Well, the priests fills the Chalices with wine and a ciborium with the wafers. Before you panic about technical terms – ciborum is genitive plural for food, so vessel of food, a vessel to hold the food of heaven. The priest is offered water by the Lay minister or server and the water is blessed, and a little poured into the wine. There are many reasons put forward for this. One is that the wine is a symbol of Christ’s divinity and water is Christ’s humanity which are intermingled in the wine. Another reason is that it reminds us that on the cross when Christ’s side was pierced, blood and water flowed from it. Now, while all this is happening the priest might appear to be mumbling away up front. What the priest is saying are so-called secret prayers. When the water is added the priest says this rather wonderful 5th Century prayer: Almighty God, who wonderfully created us in your own image and yet more wonderfully restored us, grant that as your son Our Lord Jesus Christ came to share in our humanity so may we be brought to share in his divine life. The priest’s hands are also washed. Besides just hygiene it is also a reminder that we need to come to communion with clean hands and the intention of leading life according to God’s will. This action is called Lavabo (Latin for I wash) and the priest says verse 6 from Psalm 26 I will wash my hands in innocence, that I may go about your altar. Use of Scriptures in these prayers resonant Paul’s saying to Timothy All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
We now come to the central Act of the Service – The Great Thanksgiving. It is said over the Bread and the wine, the symbols of ourselves and of creation. I’m going to use two rather technical theological terms – anamnesis and epiclesis. Please don’t be scared by them. I will try to explain them simply.
The Great Thanksgiving starts with renewed assurance of the Lord’s presence with us – The Lord be with or The Lord is here and it leads to what God has done for God’s people. This is the Proper Preface which also contains a specific section which deals with the season of the liturgical year. What follows is what is called the Sanctus because Sanctus is Latin for Holy. It is a quotation from Isaiah 6:3 and we all join in say this, because we are, as the prayer says, with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. Don’t forget the kingdom of heaven is not just when you die but right now if you are in relationship with God.
The so-called Institution Narrative follows. This tells the story of the night in which Jesus was betrayed how he took bread and wine at the shared meal with his disciples. Here is where the word anamnesis comes in. A secular dictionary defines it as ‘a recalling to mind: reminiscence.’. Jesus said ‘Do this in memory or remembrance of me” but Anamnesis has a typical Jewish definition which is not just a sense of remembering an action in the past, but of making it real in the present. Remember the Jewish nation were told that as they celebrated the Passover “in each and every generation a person ought to look on himself as if he had gone out of Egypt.” In the Christian Eucharist each participant is to see himself or herself as one for whom Christ died and rose again so that in the act of communion each of us acknowledges God’s act of love in Christ as being for each of us.
Suddenly in the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer we have an acclamation. Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again. This reflects the early understanding of the Lord’s Supper anticipating the future banquet of the Lord with his own. The end of the Eucharist prayer has an Amen which all the prayer books, old and new, encourage the people – that is all of you – to say vigorously! Justin the second century writer mentions it as being the people’s assent to the prayer just said by the priest to God. Those of you who remember the old SAPB might remember that down the side there were instructions given for the actions the priest should carry out while saying the prayer. In the APB no instructions are given. This might be because of the different churchmanship of the priest and people but I think the bottom line we need to remember is the fourfold action of Jesus taking, blessing, breaking and giving. That’s the important message – not whether we elevate the elements or not. We are re-calling Jesus taking, blessing, breaking and giving, not re-enacting it as a holy parody of Jesus.
Now a question…. At which point does the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ? Is it the moment a priest lifts the bread and the wine up? Is it during the institution narrative? Or is it the invocation of the Holy Spirit after the words of institution? This invocation of the Holy Spirit is the other “big” word I referred to – epiclesis. These days the litugiologist believe that all I’ve mentioned so far are necessary to ensure the presence of the Lord and there is no moment of consecration and the whole prayer from The Lord be with you till the Great Amen is requ. There are no “magical words” which make the Lord present.
Just a final comment and this concerns posture – should we stand or kneel during the Great Thanksgiving Prayer? There are no rubics or rules in the APB1989 for this. John Sugget says it doesn’t matter as long as one posture – kneeling or standing is adopted throughout because it is one unified prayer – there is no part more holy than other. Some of you might have noticed that in the past when I was here purely as a member of the congregation, I remained standing through the Eucharist Prayer. I could also have knelt from “The Lord be with you” through to the end. By dropping to our knees at the end of the Sanctus we are implying that the institution narrative is more important, more holy, than the rest. I’m not going to instruct you on whether you should stand or sit or even suggest one way or the other but just ask yopu to think about it. This also brings up the issue of whether kneeling is holier than standing. Mmmm I think I can see another sermon for another day coming up!
Today’s Gospel tells of a judge. Now we all know that in the past Judges loved throwing Latin words and phrases around; one wonders if that was just to confuse the poor defendant! I’ve thrown around two Greek words and a few Latin ones in this sermon. I suppose Greek is the domain of clergy where we can hide behind Greek words, such as anamnesis and epiclesis trying to be impressive. But for all that, I encourage you to be like the widow who persisted in haranguing the judge until she got the justice she was looking for. Please carry on learning about our liturgy and worship. Seek what the symbols and metaphors might mean and what they mean to you. Be drawn into this wonderful ancient, yet modern way of approaching God and receiving God the Son in bread and wine.
I’m going to stop at this point and next week will take up from The Lord’s Prayer, The Breaking of the Bread, Agnus Dei, the Communion and the Conclusion. This will occur on the last Sunday in October. During November we enter the Kingdom Season preparing us for the Coming Kingdom of God.
20191013eighteenthAfterPentecost_Sermon
As I have kept pointing out to you, we are following the Thematic stream in our Sunday readings. This means that the Old Testament, the Psalm and the Gospel fitting into a theme. I sure you all spotted today that it had to do with healing of a skin disorder that the bible called Leprosy.
Since the beginning of September, the 8am service has been using the APB of 1989 and I thought it might be useful for me to give the 8 o’clockers some of the reasons why certain items occur in different spots from the old SAPB. But I also think that if we look more closely at the structure of the Liturgy we might all: 8 o’clockers, 9;30’ers and even the St Andrewites get a clearer understanding why we do things as we do, and thus grow to appreciate it more.
However, the lectionary lessons are not given just to fill a half-hour or so of service time. They are there for us to think about what God is saying to us through God’s words in the bible. Afterall we say at the end of the lessons, “Hear the word of the Lord” which is an instruction for us to be open to hear what God might be saying to us in the passage. But I’m jumping ahead… what I want to do today is describe the first part of the Eucharist up to the Peace. The rest will follow next week or the week after. But I also want to use today’s scripture readings as a springboard to demonstrate what the liturgy is saying. It will be a bit like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole but let’s try anyway.
Us Anglicans love ritual – even if you are not High Church Anglo-Catholic into “bells and smells”. Our Gospel shows Jesus ensuring that the ritual requirement of those healed from leprosy is to show themselves to the priests. It is part of the Law, Lev 14:2 This shall be the ritual for the leprous person at the time of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest... Jesus was fulfilling a ceremonial rule or law by sending the ten lepers off to the priests. What we are doing is here today is ceremonially fulfilling a command from Jesus… Do this in remembrance of me. Thus the Eucharist has become the main service of each Sunday when we do this in remembrance of Christ.
The liturgical service begins with the Presider greeting the congregation. Even that sentence needs some explanation. The Presider used to be called the Celebrant but that implies that the priest is the only person celebrating. The modern liturgical view is that all of us – you as well as me - are all celebrating – we are all Celebrants. Then the greeting itself…Why? The old prayer book service if followed to the letter which we didn’t do here in Simon’s Town, just began with no greeting at all. I hope you all know me so why should it be necessary for me to say to you “The Lord be with you…”? Well, actually that’s where the word Presider comes in. The first thing the presider should do at the start is to say: The Lord be with you… (and yes I know I don’t but I enjoy breaking the rules!). It happens like this because it is establishing who is going to lead all of you will be celebrating at the service – thus I’m presiding at the celebration of the Eucharist.
This greeting is followed Praise. Now praise is something we all know. It is something we did at the start of the Psalm today: O shout with joy to God, all the earth : sing to the honour of his name, and give him glory as his praise. Say to God ‘How fearful are your works : because of your great might your enemies shall cower before you.’ All the earth shall worship you : and sing to you, and sing praises to your name. Eight-o’clockers might wonder why we have the Gloria – Glory be to God in the Highest here and not at the end. I think this is because we are, to a certain extent, following the injunction of A.C.T.S. Adoration, which is praise – followed by Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. These last two we do swop around but please don’t spoil my analogy!
What follows next is a short time of preparation before we make a general confession for our sins. It starts with the beautiful Collect for Purity (note: NOT Collect of Purity!). This is a prayer well worth memorising and using in other situations. The Kyrie follows – Lord have mercy, Christ have Mercy, Lord have mercy. Interesting to debate whether this is part of the penitence or not, but I’m rather going to look at General Naaman! In that lovely OT story, we find such an interesting group of characters. Naaman’s wife’s servant girl who speaks words of hope to her mistress and through her to Naaman; the King of Aram who allows Naaman to go to Israel seeking healing; the King of Israel who breaks into a panic of fear as Naaman arrives seeking healing. I thought these characters really sum up this short passage of liturgy. Hope, permission, fear are all emotions going through our minds as we approach a time of confession.
To many Anglicans a personal auricular confession to a priest is “much too Catholic” but I think the best quote concerning that is, “All Anglican should, no Anglican must!” A general confession, however, I think all Anglican are happy with. My Supervisor at Rhodes University said that one of the things that attracted her to the Anglican Service was the Confession at every service. I think the last part of today’s psalm puts the confession and the absolution that follows into a good context. O bless our God, you peoples : and cause his praises to resound, Who has held our souls in life : who has not suffered our feet to slip. For you have proved us, O God : you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net : you laid sharp torment on our loins. You let men ride over our heads, we went through fire and water : but you brought us out into a place of liberty. [Rpt but you brought us out into a place of liberty. Sins forgiven, clean and ready to receive Jesus in word and sacrament!]
The Collect of the Day precedes The Word of God? This is as it should be as this short prayer is to ‘collect’ our thought in preparation for what we will hear in the bible readings. Then comes three bible readings and a psalm. In the old South African Prayer Book all the congregation heard read was a passage from the Gospel and a passage from Paul’s Letters called “The Epistle”. When people came to Morning Prayer and Evensong as well as the Eucharist each Sunday that was fine because the OT was read at these services. Now in the Eucharist, we have a reading from the Old Testament or as some call it the Hebrew Scriptures. This is good because it is can be closely linked the Gospel reading and we can see how Jesus and his teachings were the fulfilment of what the Law and Prophets spoke about. The Psalm is also linked to the theme of the Old Testament and therefore to the Gospel as well. The New Testament Lessons are still from Paul’s Letter now usually semi-continous so that we hear passages from, for example, Galatians over a few Sundays. During Eastertide either the Old Testament or the New Testament lesson is replaced by readings from Acts – showing how the Church grew and spread after the resurrection of Christ. When the Gospel is read, we stand in honour of Christ, as we hear his words. Immediately after this comes the Sermon. Many people say the sermon at the Eucharist should be no longer than five minutes or it would overshadow the Eucharist. This was fine when people came to church twice on a Sunday and the Evensong Sermon could be a good 20 to 30 minutes of teaching. Now I try to split the difference with a sermon of 10 to 15 minutes but sometimes (mea culpa) I do go on longer!
Why a sermon at all you might be asking? Paul in his Letter to Timothy, read today tells it as it is: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory…And he ends with a warning: Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.
What follows – still part of the Word of God – is the Creed. I’m running out of time to explain why we have three possible choices – perhaps some time in the future. And then the Prayers of the People. We do it the other way round here in this parish but both of them are in fact a response to The Word Of God. The Prayers should not be purely about the person leading, and their needs. It should be all our needs, the community needs, the national needs the needs of the entire human race. In structure they should cover the needs of the Church, the World and the people in need.
So we come to the end of what I’m exploring today which is the sharing of the Peace. When this came into the service many people freaked. “You mean I must shake another person’s hand?” Perhaps today’s Gospel gives people who don’t like sharing the peace, a “let out” because Jesus never touched those ten lepers. But those lepers had to go and show themselves to the priest because they had to exhibit evidence of their cure. At the passing of the peace, we exhibit evidence of our “cure”, our love and respect of others in Church with us.
I’ve tried to use the three readings and the psalm as a springboard to explain the structure and reasons why we do certain things. I’ve been stretching those reading a bit like a cryptic crossword but I did it because I personally believe that the preacher should use the scriptures read at the service as the centre-piece of sermon. Hopefully, I’ve achieved that and also given you a few simple pointers to our liturgy.
As I have kept pointing out to you, we are following the Thematic stream in our Sunday readings. This means that the Old Testament, the Psalm and the Gospel fitting into a theme. I sure you all spotted today that it had to do with healing of a skin disorder that the bible called Leprosy.
Since the beginning of September, the 8am service has been using the APB of 1989 and I thought it might be useful for me to give the 8 o’clockers some of the reasons why certain items occur in different spots from the old SAPB. But I also think that if we look more closely at the structure of the Liturgy we might all: 8 o’clockers, 9;30’ers and even the St Andrewites get a clearer understanding why we do things as we do, and thus grow to appreciate it more.
However, the lectionary lessons are not given just to fill a half-hour or so of service time. They are there for us to think about what God is saying to us through God’s words in the bible. Afterall we say at the end of the lessons, “Hear the word of the Lord” which is an instruction for us to be open to hear what God might be saying to us in the passage. But I’m jumping ahead… what I want to do today is describe the first part of the Eucharist up to the Peace. The rest will follow next week or the week after. But I also want to use today’s scripture readings as a springboard to demonstrate what the liturgy is saying. It will be a bit like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole but let’s try anyway.
Us Anglicans love ritual – even if you are not High Church Anglo-Catholic into “bells and smells”. Our Gospel shows Jesus ensuring that the ritual requirement of those healed from leprosy is to show themselves to the priests. It is part of the Law, Lev 14:2 This shall be the ritual for the leprous person at the time of his cleansing: He shall be brought to the priest... Jesus was fulfilling a ceremonial rule or law by sending the ten lepers off to the priests. What we are doing is here today is ceremonially fulfilling a command from Jesus… Do this in remembrance of me. Thus the Eucharist has become the main service of each Sunday when we do this in remembrance of Christ.
The liturgical service begins with the Presider greeting the congregation. Even that sentence needs some explanation. The Presider used to be called the Celebrant but that implies that the priest is the only person celebrating. The modern liturgical view is that all of us – you as well as me - are all celebrating – we are all Celebrants. Then the greeting itself…Why? The old prayer book service if followed to the letter which we didn’t do here in Simon’s Town, just began with no greeting at all. I hope you all know me so why should it be necessary for me to say to you “The Lord be with you…”? Well, actually that’s where the word Presider comes in. The first thing the presider should do at the start is to say: The Lord be with you… (and yes I know I don’t but I enjoy breaking the rules!). It happens like this because it is establishing who is going to lead all of you will be celebrating at the service – thus I’m presiding at the celebration of the Eucharist.
This greeting is followed Praise. Now praise is something we all know. It is something we did at the start of the Psalm today: O shout with joy to God, all the earth : sing to the honour of his name, and give him glory as his praise. Say to God ‘How fearful are your works : because of your great might your enemies shall cower before you.’ All the earth shall worship you : and sing to you, and sing praises to your name. Eight-o’clockers might wonder why we have the Gloria – Glory be to God in the Highest here and not at the end. I think this is because we are, to a certain extent, following the injunction of A.C.T.S. Adoration, which is praise – followed by Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication. These last two we do swop around but please don’t spoil my analogy!
What follows next is a short time of preparation before we make a general confession for our sins. It starts with the beautiful Collect for Purity (note: NOT Collect of Purity!). This is a prayer well worth memorising and using in other situations. The Kyrie follows – Lord have mercy, Christ have Mercy, Lord have mercy. Interesting to debate whether this is part of the penitence or not, but I’m rather going to look at General Naaman! In that lovely OT story, we find such an interesting group of characters. Naaman’s wife’s servant girl who speaks words of hope to her mistress and through her to Naaman; the King of Aram who allows Naaman to go to Israel seeking healing; the King of Israel who breaks into a panic of fear as Naaman arrives seeking healing. I thought these characters really sum up this short passage of liturgy. Hope, permission, fear are all emotions going through our minds as we approach a time of confession.
To many Anglicans a personal auricular confession to a priest is “much too Catholic” but I think the best quote concerning that is, “All Anglican should, no Anglican must!” A general confession, however, I think all Anglican are happy with. My Supervisor at Rhodes University said that one of the things that attracted her to the Anglican Service was the Confession at every service. I think the last part of today’s psalm puts the confession and the absolution that follows into a good context. O bless our God, you peoples : and cause his praises to resound, Who has held our souls in life : who has not suffered our feet to slip. For you have proved us, O God : you have tried us as silver is tried. You brought us into the net : you laid sharp torment on our loins. You let men ride over our heads, we went through fire and water : but you brought us out into a place of liberty. [Rpt but you brought us out into a place of liberty. Sins forgiven, clean and ready to receive Jesus in word and sacrament!]
The Collect of the Day precedes The Word of God? This is as it should be as this short prayer is to ‘collect’ our thought in preparation for what we will hear in the bible readings. Then comes three bible readings and a psalm. In the old South African Prayer Book all the congregation heard read was a passage from the Gospel and a passage from Paul’s Letters called “The Epistle”. When people came to Morning Prayer and Evensong as well as the Eucharist each Sunday that was fine because the OT was read at these services. Now in the Eucharist, we have a reading from the Old Testament or as some call it the Hebrew Scriptures. This is good because it is can be closely linked the Gospel reading and we can see how Jesus and his teachings were the fulfilment of what the Law and Prophets spoke about. The Psalm is also linked to the theme of the Old Testament and therefore to the Gospel as well. The New Testament Lessons are still from Paul’s Letter now usually semi-continous so that we hear passages from, for example, Galatians over a few Sundays. During Eastertide either the Old Testament or the New Testament lesson is replaced by readings from Acts – showing how the Church grew and spread after the resurrection of Christ. When the Gospel is read, we stand in honour of Christ, as we hear his words. Immediately after this comes the Sermon. Many people say the sermon at the Eucharist should be no longer than five minutes or it would overshadow the Eucharist. This was fine when people came to church twice on a Sunday and the Evensong Sermon could be a good 20 to 30 minutes of teaching. Now I try to split the difference with a sermon of 10 to 15 minutes but sometimes (mea culpa) I do go on longer!
Why a sermon at all you might be asking? Paul in his Letter to Timothy, read today tells it as it is: Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David—that is my gospel, for which I suffer hardship, even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But the word of God is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, so that they may also obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory…And he ends with a warning: Remind them of this, and warn them before God that they are to avoid wrangling over words, which does no good but only ruins those who are listening.
What follows – still part of the Word of God – is the Creed. I’m running out of time to explain why we have three possible choices – perhaps some time in the future. And then the Prayers of the People. We do it the other way round here in this parish but both of them are in fact a response to The Word Of God. The Prayers should not be purely about the person leading, and their needs. It should be all our needs, the community needs, the national needs the needs of the entire human race. In structure they should cover the needs of the Church, the World and the people in need.
So we come to the end of what I’m exploring today which is the sharing of the Peace. When this came into the service many people freaked. “You mean I must shake another person’s hand?” Perhaps today’s Gospel gives people who don’t like sharing the peace, a “let out” because Jesus never touched those ten lepers. But those lepers had to go and show themselves to the priest because they had to exhibit evidence of their cure. At the passing of the peace, we exhibit evidence of our “cure”, our love and respect of others in Church with us.
I’ve tried to use the three readings and the psalm as a springboard to explain the structure and reasons why we do certain things. I’ve been stretching those reading a bit like a cryptic crossword but I did it because I personally believe that the preacher should use the scriptures read at the service as the centre-piece of sermon. Hopefully, I’ve achieved that and also given you a few simple pointers to our liturgy.
20191006StFrancisDay_Sermon
Last week in the notices I jokingly suggested that we would not allow you in to church unless you brought along a new member. I don’t think the sides-persons have done that today but I do think it is appropriate to go a little crazy on St. Francis Day, because during his own lifetime, many people thought Francesco Bernardone from Assisi was “a little crazy”.
They thought he was crazy in his 20s, when he stripped naked in the town square to renounce his inheritance in front of his parents, the bishop and the entire population of Assisi. They thought he was crazy when he kissed and hugged lepers, because, as he said, “they tasted sweet”. He cleaned their wounds with his own hands. They thought he was crazy when he preached to the birds, calling them his “little sisters” and remarking that they paid better attention to the gospel than people did. We heard that sermon a few moments ago. They thought he was crazy when he founded an order grounded in the belief that Jesus Christ’s disciples could live as their Lord had, owning nothing, begging for what they needed and trusting God to provide for them as God did for the birds, the fish and the lilies of the fields.
People who had more possessions than they needed thought Francis was crazy because he refused to distinguish between the “deserving” and the “undeserving” poor. He gave to everyone who begged from him -- money or food if he had any, or a smile and a kind word if he had nothing else to offer. I am consciously aware that over this month of Creation I have been telling you to do the same as Francis. Poor people, who resented the rich, couldn’t understand why Francis didn't just condemn the rich's selfishness. No, instead, Francis asked his wealthy sisters and brothers simply to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit’s call and respond as their consciences commanded.
Even though many of his contemporaries already venerated him as a saint, almost everything Francis did was interpreted by someone as a sign that he had lost his mind, that he was absolutely mad! Francis didn’t argue with them. He openly admitted that he was a fool, but not just any kind of fool. He was fool enough to believe that Jesus actually meant his disciples (you and me) to live as he had instructed. Over the last month, there have been lines from the gospel which might appear a little crazy to us.
1 Sep: But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
8 Sep: none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
15 Sep: ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
22 Sep: You cannot serve God and wealth.’
28 Sep He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.”
Over 2,000 years, learned scholars have tried to give a sensible and logical explanation for these teachings. But Francis wasn't a scholar. No need to make Jesus message less bold in its tone and teaching, because he was free to respond by letting his whole life embody the gospel.
As a grown man, Francis experienced his conversion to a life of holy poverty. Paul tells us in the letter to the Galatians that for him the world is crucified. It is absolutely dead to him and the he is dead to the world. He no longer glories in worldly things like possessions, intelligences, a good job. He only glories in the cross of Christ. He contrasts his own love of the cross, and of suffering for Christ’s sake, with the love of pleasure and ease, in which the false teachers indulged. This is what Francis went through too. For Paul it was not important if you were circumcised nor uncircumcised. What was important was that you became a new creation. A new creation is everything!
Through his conversion Francis became a new creation. From that moment on, Francis lived a life of deep vulnerability and deep joy, unconstrained by any of the barriers that human beings erect to make ourselves feel safe. Many of us have also erected barriers between us humans and the rest of creation. We treat the rest of creation as objects that we can use as we wish, and we try more often to control God’s creation rather than respect it. Francis believed that all of creation was his companion and brother or sister. We heard as our first reading part of a sermon he is supposed to have preached to the birds instructing them to give thanks to God for their very existence and for all that God had provided, and that the birds stood still and quiet as he walked among them. Another time he is credited with talking to a wolf so it would stop terrorizing a village; the wolf indeed started to “behave” and the villagers took care of the wolf providing him with food.
Francis called his friends – and he calls us -- to stop trusting walls, physical and emotional, to keep us safe. Instead, he invites us to join him in a life of holy adventure, entrusting ourselves to the care of the one who entered this world as a helpless infant, who relied as an adult on the generosity of friends and strangers, who suffered torture and public execution -- and who rose again as the Lord of all creation. We must stop trusting in financial and psychological walls to keep us safe... Francis stripped naked and walked away from his family towards the church.
We here at St Francis, Simon's Town might have to face a similar stripping off of our fears of financial security in the new year. Our pledging and our offerings do not cover the costs of a full-time priest to be living and working in our parish. We will have to face a choice: use the parish reserves until the new rector can increase numbers and commitment or carry on just using retired clergy to do the services and not much else. Francis walking in the Italian countryside near Assisi passed a ruined church and heard God's calling "Re-build my church!" Francis took that command literally and started re-building the ruined church. Today, God is calling out to you - People of St Francis, Simon's Town, "Re-build my Church!" Are we hearing it? Can we like St Paul say: "... a new creation is everything!"?
The Feast of St. Francis ends our season of creation. It is a day to ask God’s forgiveness for our mistreatment of all creation, the animals, the plants, other human-beings – the whole of the Earth, this home planet that we share. And in celebration of our brother from Assisi, it’s also a day to bless children, a day to bless the poor, a day to bless our enemies, and a day to bless holy fools who are crazy enough to live as citizens of God’s kingdom in this life, not waiting for the next.
Having lived his life that way, on his deathbed Francis offered his friends a final prayer: “I have done what is mine. May Christ teach you what is yours to do.” [Rpt] May Christ teach us what crazy gospel acts may be ours to do. And may God give us the grace to accomplish those things as wholeheartedly, and as single-mindedly, as Francis did.
Last week in the notices I jokingly suggested that we would not allow you in to church unless you brought along a new member. I don’t think the sides-persons have done that today but I do think it is appropriate to go a little crazy on St. Francis Day, because during his own lifetime, many people thought Francesco Bernardone from Assisi was “a little crazy”.
They thought he was crazy in his 20s, when he stripped naked in the town square to renounce his inheritance in front of his parents, the bishop and the entire population of Assisi. They thought he was crazy when he kissed and hugged lepers, because, as he said, “they tasted sweet”. He cleaned their wounds with his own hands. They thought he was crazy when he preached to the birds, calling them his “little sisters” and remarking that they paid better attention to the gospel than people did. We heard that sermon a few moments ago. They thought he was crazy when he founded an order grounded in the belief that Jesus Christ’s disciples could live as their Lord had, owning nothing, begging for what they needed and trusting God to provide for them as God did for the birds, the fish and the lilies of the fields.
People who had more possessions than they needed thought Francis was crazy because he refused to distinguish between the “deserving” and the “undeserving” poor. He gave to everyone who begged from him -- money or food if he had any, or a smile and a kind word if he had nothing else to offer. I am consciously aware that over this month of Creation I have been telling you to do the same as Francis. Poor people, who resented the rich, couldn’t understand why Francis didn't just condemn the rich's selfishness. No, instead, Francis asked his wealthy sisters and brothers simply to open their hearts to the Holy Spirit’s call and respond as their consciences commanded.
Even though many of his contemporaries already venerated him as a saint, almost everything Francis did was interpreted by someone as a sign that he had lost his mind, that he was absolutely mad! Francis didn’t argue with them. He openly admitted that he was a fool, but not just any kind of fool. He was fool enough to believe that Jesus actually meant his disciples (you and me) to live as he had instructed. Over the last month, there have been lines from the gospel which might appear a little crazy to us.
1 Sep: But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.’
8 Sep: none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions.
15 Sep: ‘This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.’
22 Sep: You cannot serve God and wealth.’
28 Sep He said, “Then, father, I beg you to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—that he may warn them, so that they will not also come into this place of torment.” Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them.”
Over 2,000 years, learned scholars have tried to give a sensible and logical explanation for these teachings. But Francis wasn't a scholar. No need to make Jesus message less bold in its tone and teaching, because he was free to respond by letting his whole life embody the gospel.
As a grown man, Francis experienced his conversion to a life of holy poverty. Paul tells us in the letter to the Galatians that for him the world is crucified. It is absolutely dead to him and the he is dead to the world. He no longer glories in worldly things like possessions, intelligences, a good job. He only glories in the cross of Christ. He contrasts his own love of the cross, and of suffering for Christ’s sake, with the love of pleasure and ease, in which the false teachers indulged. This is what Francis went through too. For Paul it was not important if you were circumcised nor uncircumcised. What was important was that you became a new creation. A new creation is everything!
Through his conversion Francis became a new creation. From that moment on, Francis lived a life of deep vulnerability and deep joy, unconstrained by any of the barriers that human beings erect to make ourselves feel safe. Many of us have also erected barriers between us humans and the rest of creation. We treat the rest of creation as objects that we can use as we wish, and we try more often to control God’s creation rather than respect it. Francis believed that all of creation was his companion and brother or sister. We heard as our first reading part of a sermon he is supposed to have preached to the birds instructing them to give thanks to God for their very existence and for all that God had provided, and that the birds stood still and quiet as he walked among them. Another time he is credited with talking to a wolf so it would stop terrorizing a village; the wolf indeed started to “behave” and the villagers took care of the wolf providing him with food.
Francis called his friends – and he calls us -- to stop trusting walls, physical and emotional, to keep us safe. Instead, he invites us to join him in a life of holy adventure, entrusting ourselves to the care of the one who entered this world as a helpless infant, who relied as an adult on the generosity of friends and strangers, who suffered torture and public execution -- and who rose again as the Lord of all creation. We must stop trusting in financial and psychological walls to keep us safe... Francis stripped naked and walked away from his family towards the church.
We here at St Francis, Simon's Town might have to face a similar stripping off of our fears of financial security in the new year. Our pledging and our offerings do not cover the costs of a full-time priest to be living and working in our parish. We will have to face a choice: use the parish reserves until the new rector can increase numbers and commitment or carry on just using retired clergy to do the services and not much else. Francis walking in the Italian countryside near Assisi passed a ruined church and heard God's calling "Re-build my church!" Francis took that command literally and started re-building the ruined church. Today, God is calling out to you - People of St Francis, Simon's Town, "Re-build my Church!" Are we hearing it? Can we like St Paul say: "... a new creation is everything!"?
The Feast of St. Francis ends our season of creation. It is a day to ask God’s forgiveness for our mistreatment of all creation, the animals, the plants, other human-beings – the whole of the Earth, this home planet that we share. And in celebration of our brother from Assisi, it’s also a day to bless children, a day to bless the poor, a day to bless our enemies, and a day to bless holy fools who are crazy enough to live as citizens of God’s kingdom in this life, not waiting for the next.
Having lived his life that way, on his deathbed Francis offered his friends a final prayer: “I have done what is mine. May Christ teach you what is yours to do.” [Rpt] May Christ teach us what crazy gospel acts may be ours to do. And may God give us the grace to accomplish those things as wholeheartedly, and as single-mindedly, as Francis did.
20190929Creation04_Sermon
The theme today is “Need, Not Greed”. Our greed – wanting more than we need – is affecting our planet. If we all lived with the motto of “Need, not Greed” in our minds we would have a different planet today. We have to ask continually: ”Do I want it? Yes! Do I need it? No!”
Amos from our Old Testament reading describes himself as a “herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees,”. He wasn't part of a prophetic lineage, just as you are not necessarily Climate change activists. But he was called to deliver a message of jarring power and potential to the elite of the people of the Northern kingdom. They had their summer and winter palaces adorned with costly ivory; gorgeous couches with damask pillows, on which they reclined at their sumptuous feasts. They planted vineyards, anointed themselves with precious oils, yet at the same time there was no justice in the land, the poor were afflicted, exploited, even sold into slavery, and the judges were corrupt. In the midst of this comes Amos to exclaim, “Woe to those that are at ease in Zion; and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria.”
You know, this reminds me a bit of Greta Thunberg. She, like Amos, is an outsider telling off the insiders - the rich, the politicians, the elite. The problem Amos is complaining about is not about skilful song-singing, or celebration, or honouring those who may very well deserve to be honoured; rather that the people simply don’t care. The questions Amos might well be asking are, “How can we feast when there are those who have nothing to eat?” Or, “How can we anoint ourselves when the least among us have no honour?” Or, “How can we celebrate as lifestyle of so many others are falling apart around them?” The answer should be obvious Amos argues, but the peoples’ actions don't show that they've seen and understood it is about, “Need, not Greed!”
This passage, like most from the prophet Amos, is a message of judgment. Now, remember three things about interpreting judgment passages. The first is that God's anger is not the opposite of God's love, as many people seem to think. Rather, God's judgment is an expression of God's love. Because God loves people, when one person or group of people cause others to suffer, God gets angry. This anger is a sign of God's love for those who are oppressed. Second, God's anger and judgment exist in order to get people to change their harmful behaviour. God does not delight in being angry. Quite the opposite. God delights in showing mercy and in forgiving. God expresses anger in order to bring about repentance and change. Third, us humans love to interpret passages of God’s judgment as the sins of others rather than our own sins. Remember Jesus also told us to that we should first examine the log in our own eyes, rather than starting with the slivers in our neighbours’ eyes. I'm not sure about you, but figuratively speaking, I don't sleep on a bed with inlaid ivory ornamentation, but somehow, I am pretty sure that the bed I have is the same one that Amos had in mind in this attack.
So, can the Psalm bring me any comfort? It starts and ends the same as last week’s psalm. Praise the Lord! Really its message is about trust. The Psalmist is asking, "Who Can I Trust?" He tells us not to trust in human leaders. "To trust (in) someone" means "believe that someone will do as they have promised". We must trust only in God. The Psalmist says: Blessed is the man whose hope is the Lord. We have to trust and have the sure hope that only the Lord can give us.
Our NT lesson also speaks into the danger of setting our hearts on wealth. Instead we should aim at contentment - contentment achieved by trust and hope in the Lord. Our current economic system creates insatiable demand and continuous consumption. Happiness does not come from having more, but from desiring less. [Rpt.] It is our desire for more and more - our greed - that is destroying the planet. There is enough for our need, but not for our greed.
Our Gospel is the story of Lazarus and the rich man. This story has a similar warning to the rich. The rich man displays all the characteristics that the Timothy reading condemns – pride and living the ‘good life’ through luxury and selfish ease. He ignores the poor man living at his gate, hungry, ragged and sick. After he dies, he still has no respect for Lazarus, he asks Abraham to send him to his family as if Lazarus were the rich man’s slave.
This is a quite harsh parable. As you can see, the rich man had no excuse of saying “I just didn’t know” for Lazarus sits continually at his gate. You might ask, "Well, why can't his family be saved?" They also know the situation, they are rich and know of the poverty of others and do nothing. They know the words of the prophets about poverty and injustice. If Lazarus was sent back to them, what would happen? They would only chase him away.
Christians cannot look at the current state of the world, the inequality, the climate challenge, loss of biodiversity, and claim "We didn't know!" If we refuse to accept our complicity, then we will find the harshest judgement of God. We live in an unequal world. Eighty two percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world. Into this situation these passages are very important. They make it clear that it is not ok for churches to accept the status quo. We must be on the side of the poor and disadvantaged and be the voice for the voiceless. As followers of Christ, we are challenged to create conditions for marginalized voices to be heard, to defend the defenceless, and to assess lifestyles, policies and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor.
The story of Lazarus shows us that in our culture we separate ourselves from suffering, we build security fences and keep poor people away. But the reality is that we are locking the suffering out and also ourselves in. The richest communities are the most isolated. These patterns are destroying community, a sense of belonging, of knowing the other people in our community, their feelings and concerns. Did you know that Lazarus is the only person in all of Jesus’ parables who has a name? And that is significant – poverty is not “them out there”. It is people with names, and children, and stories, and talent and resources to enrich others. The rich man is not given a name. We do know that he is a religious man for calls out to Father Abraham for help, but he had locked the poor out of his life. The challenge for us is to rewrite the end of the story, to break down the barriers and to get to know the names and faces of those outside of our comfort zones.
Now, I know Jesus said ‘the poor will always be with you” but he was not saying – there will always be poverty so we don’t need to worry about it. He was quoting from the Torah :If there is among you anyone in need, ... do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbour. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. ... Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.’ [Rpt.] What he is saying is the poor will always be with you – so open your hands to give. The poor should always be with us. Yes, in our prayers, in our giving, in our decision making, in our social networks. If the poor are not part of your life and your ministry and our parish priorities then Jesus is challenging you.
We who are not the poorest in the land, need to also recognise that often our wealth came with an environmental cost, often borne by those in the poorest communities. A share in a coal mining company contributes to air pollution related health issues to townships in Mpumalanga. Our consumerist society has produced vast swathes of plastic pollution in the oceans. Restitution is a key component of justice, which we understand as the restoration of right relationships between ourselves, other people, and our environment, in which there is enough for everyone and no one goes without, and the dignity of every human being is revered.
Our church is involved with great love and compassion in acts of charity: food parcels, sandwich spreading, collections for Happy Valley. These are great but sometimes it is merely giving what is surplus to us or giving what we, the giver, think the other person needs. Some of our parish give in time - we need to acknowledge the 23 years service Judith Birt has given the Happy Valley committee. Are you as dedicated to help the poor? How about regularly giving of food parcels - we are battling to collect 20 parcels per month. Wouldn't it be nice if Nina Johnson had twenty without difficulty? And maybe someone to assist her carry them all for distribution! So, this is my 4th challenge to you this Season of Creation. Let each family bring a food parcel next Sunday as we celebrate our patronal festival. Four Sunday Challenges I’ve given so far. Have you arisen to any of the challenges?
The theme today is “Need, Not Greed”. Our greed – wanting more than we need – is affecting our planet. If we all lived with the motto of “Need, not Greed” in our minds we would have a different planet today. We have to ask continually: ”Do I want it? Yes! Do I need it? No!”
Amos from our Old Testament reading describes himself as a “herdsman and dresser of sycamore trees,”. He wasn't part of a prophetic lineage, just as you are not necessarily Climate change activists. But he was called to deliver a message of jarring power and potential to the elite of the people of the Northern kingdom. They had their summer and winter palaces adorned with costly ivory; gorgeous couches with damask pillows, on which they reclined at their sumptuous feasts. They planted vineyards, anointed themselves with precious oils, yet at the same time there was no justice in the land, the poor were afflicted, exploited, even sold into slavery, and the judges were corrupt. In the midst of this comes Amos to exclaim, “Woe to those that are at ease in Zion; and to those who feel secure on the mountain of Samaria.”
You know, this reminds me a bit of Greta Thunberg. She, like Amos, is an outsider telling off the insiders - the rich, the politicians, the elite. The problem Amos is complaining about is not about skilful song-singing, or celebration, or honouring those who may very well deserve to be honoured; rather that the people simply don’t care. The questions Amos might well be asking are, “How can we feast when there are those who have nothing to eat?” Or, “How can we anoint ourselves when the least among us have no honour?” Or, “How can we celebrate as lifestyle of so many others are falling apart around them?” The answer should be obvious Amos argues, but the peoples’ actions don't show that they've seen and understood it is about, “Need, not Greed!”
This passage, like most from the prophet Amos, is a message of judgment. Now, remember three things about interpreting judgment passages. The first is that God's anger is not the opposite of God's love, as many people seem to think. Rather, God's judgment is an expression of God's love. Because God loves people, when one person or group of people cause others to suffer, God gets angry. This anger is a sign of God's love for those who are oppressed. Second, God's anger and judgment exist in order to get people to change their harmful behaviour. God does not delight in being angry. Quite the opposite. God delights in showing mercy and in forgiving. God expresses anger in order to bring about repentance and change. Third, us humans love to interpret passages of God’s judgment as the sins of others rather than our own sins. Remember Jesus also told us to that we should first examine the log in our own eyes, rather than starting with the slivers in our neighbours’ eyes. I'm not sure about you, but figuratively speaking, I don't sleep on a bed with inlaid ivory ornamentation, but somehow, I am pretty sure that the bed I have is the same one that Amos had in mind in this attack.
So, can the Psalm bring me any comfort? It starts and ends the same as last week’s psalm. Praise the Lord! Really its message is about trust. The Psalmist is asking, "Who Can I Trust?" He tells us not to trust in human leaders. "To trust (in) someone" means "believe that someone will do as they have promised". We must trust only in God. The Psalmist says: Blessed is the man whose hope is the Lord. We have to trust and have the sure hope that only the Lord can give us.
Our NT lesson also speaks into the danger of setting our hearts on wealth. Instead we should aim at contentment - contentment achieved by trust and hope in the Lord. Our current economic system creates insatiable demand and continuous consumption. Happiness does not come from having more, but from desiring less. [Rpt.] It is our desire for more and more - our greed - that is destroying the planet. There is enough for our need, but not for our greed.
Our Gospel is the story of Lazarus and the rich man. This story has a similar warning to the rich. The rich man displays all the characteristics that the Timothy reading condemns – pride and living the ‘good life’ through luxury and selfish ease. He ignores the poor man living at his gate, hungry, ragged and sick. After he dies, he still has no respect for Lazarus, he asks Abraham to send him to his family as if Lazarus were the rich man’s slave.
This is a quite harsh parable. As you can see, the rich man had no excuse of saying “I just didn’t know” for Lazarus sits continually at his gate. You might ask, "Well, why can't his family be saved?" They also know the situation, they are rich and know of the poverty of others and do nothing. They know the words of the prophets about poverty and injustice. If Lazarus was sent back to them, what would happen? They would only chase him away.
Christians cannot look at the current state of the world, the inequality, the climate challenge, loss of biodiversity, and claim "We didn't know!" If we refuse to accept our complicity, then we will find the harshest judgement of God. We live in an unequal world. Eighty two percent of the wealth generated last year went to the richest one percent of the global population, while the 3.7 billion people who make up the poorest half of the world saw no increase in their wealth. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. South Africa is one of the most unequal societies in the world. Into this situation these passages are very important. They make it clear that it is not ok for churches to accept the status quo. We must be on the side of the poor and disadvantaged and be the voice for the voiceless. As followers of Christ, we are challenged to create conditions for marginalized voices to be heard, to defend the defenceless, and to assess lifestyles, policies and social institutions in terms of their impact on the poor.
The story of Lazarus shows us that in our culture we separate ourselves from suffering, we build security fences and keep poor people away. But the reality is that we are locking the suffering out and also ourselves in. The richest communities are the most isolated. These patterns are destroying community, a sense of belonging, of knowing the other people in our community, their feelings and concerns. Did you know that Lazarus is the only person in all of Jesus’ parables who has a name? And that is significant – poverty is not “them out there”. It is people with names, and children, and stories, and talent and resources to enrich others. The rich man is not given a name. We do know that he is a religious man for calls out to Father Abraham for help, but he had locked the poor out of his life. The challenge for us is to rewrite the end of the story, to break down the barriers and to get to know the names and faces of those outside of our comfort zones.
Now, I know Jesus said ‘the poor will always be with you” but he was not saying – there will always be poverty so we don’t need to worry about it. He was quoting from the Torah :If there is among you anyone in need, ... do not be hard-hearted or tight-fisted towards your needy neighbour. You should rather open your hand, willingly lending enough to meet the need, whatever it may be. ... Give liberally and be ungrudging when you do so, for on this account the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake. Since there will never cease to be some in need on the earth, I therefore command you, ‘Open your hand to the poor and needy neighbour in your land.’ [Rpt.] What he is saying is the poor will always be with you – so open your hands to give. The poor should always be with us. Yes, in our prayers, in our giving, in our decision making, in our social networks. If the poor are not part of your life and your ministry and our parish priorities then Jesus is challenging you.
We who are not the poorest in the land, need to also recognise that often our wealth came with an environmental cost, often borne by those in the poorest communities. A share in a coal mining company contributes to air pollution related health issues to townships in Mpumalanga. Our consumerist society has produced vast swathes of plastic pollution in the oceans. Restitution is a key component of justice, which we understand as the restoration of right relationships between ourselves, other people, and our environment, in which there is enough for everyone and no one goes without, and the dignity of every human being is revered.
Our church is involved with great love and compassion in acts of charity: food parcels, sandwich spreading, collections for Happy Valley. These are great but sometimes it is merely giving what is surplus to us or giving what we, the giver, think the other person needs. Some of our parish give in time - we need to acknowledge the 23 years service Judith Birt has given the Happy Valley committee. Are you as dedicated to help the poor? How about regularly giving of food parcels - we are battling to collect 20 parcels per month. Wouldn't it be nice if Nina Johnson had twenty without difficulty? And maybe someone to assist her carry them all for distribution! So, this is my 4th challenge to you this Season of Creation. Let each family bring a food parcel next Sunday as we celebrate our patronal festival. Four Sunday Challenges I’ve given so far. Have you arisen to any of the challenges?
20190922Creation03_Sermon
I have been looking online for liturgies suitable for the Season of Creation. In most First World countries each Sunday in Month of Creation is given a theme such as Forest Sunday, Coastline Sunday, Biodiversity Sunday. Here in Anglican Church of Southern Africa we have tried to look wider; not just at the problems but at what social conditions have caused the problems. It was Pope Francis who suggested this Sunday's Theme: “Hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” And this theme comes through so clearly in the readings.
The Old Testament reading from Amos begins with the prophet speaking to people who show their greed and evil desires: Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land. It follows with an imagined quotation from these unjust and greedy people. Three points are made about the greed of humankind. The first covers the Sabbath. Now, don't think this is similar to our "Sunday Trading Act"; there is that aspect - the hope the Sabbath will be over soon so that the merchants can make money again, but there is a further image we must take into account. The seventh day of rest is also used not purely for a day to worship God - it is also a Day of Rest... a day of relief from the pressures of work, of life. This day can also be a year - the year of Jubilee. The whole theme of sabbath is Justice. A Sabbath year or Jubilee year was created so that a society could step back and re-start to thrive. In these sabbatical laws, the poor and animals are provided with food, the slaves are given release to freedom after six years, those in deep debt were forgiven their debts, but it was this sabbath year that the merchants were impatiently waiting to end, so that they could once again fleece the poor.
Other ways of cheating are brought up by Amos. An ephah and shekel are mentioned, in the Middle East at that time there the weights and the currency were not standardised making it easier for the crooked dealer to cheat the less educated. Our human nature gives us the temptation to cheat the illiterate. One could say this is Amos's lament about that state of the nation in his day. What about the present day? Is it any fairer? In Amos's day the Sabbath Laws were created to ensure fairness and immediately humankind found ways to provide gain for themselves, trapping the poor in an ongoing cycle of poverty. Today is the same. Amos ends by saying: The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. God will never forget!
On first reading Psalm 113 a simple psalm of praise - strange that it was selected to follow the prophet Amos’s attack on the greed of human traders. It starts and ends with Praise the Lord - which in Hebrew is Halelu - praise Yah(weh) – the Lord. Together making what we recognise as Hallejuah. Psalmist goes on to tells us why God should be praised. The fact that God is both transcendent and immanent comes through clearly: Who can be likened to the Lord our God : in heaven or upon the earth, Who has his dwelling so high : yet condescends to look on things beneath? And verses 7-9 show that God lifts up the poor from the dirt and raises up the needy from the rubbish dump to seat them with leaders—with the leaders of God’s own people! And the Psalm ends by re-assuring the once barren woman will become, through God’s immanence among us, a joyful mother with children! This emphasises the Transcendent (God above all things) and immanent (God present with us).
A title is often added to this psalm but not in ancient manuscripts: “God the Helper of the Needy”. This is because of the interpretation of this psalm by the Reformer, John Calvin. This psalm is evidence of a God who helps those in need, “though his excellency is far above the heavens, nevertheless, he deigns to cast his eyes upon the earth to take notice of humankind.” How do we praise God who “… raises the lowly from the dust : and lifts the poor from out of the dungheap”? As we read this psalm today in South Africa, we might remember how many people still live in poverty in our country. We ourselves might know about water shortage but what about food insecurity, about debt, or about yearning for a child that does not come? Because of how we are treating this planet, can the earth supply the food for its population, especially the poor?
Paul’s Pastoral letter to Timothy reminds us that the Church’s prayers should be global in their scope. Supplication, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings are to be made for everyone so that must include the poor, the needy and victims of injustice and environmental degradation. The prayers for ‘kings and those in high positions’ is directed to ‘a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity’ for everyone. Taken more widely, we look to our leaders to facilitate a quiet and peaceable life for those who are victims of injustice, and to do so with an eye to the flourishing of creation that makes this possible. A healthy environment and a just society are both necessary for such an outcome. Poverty and environmental degradation go hand in hand. As Pope Francis says in his Letter entitled Laudato Si “The poor and the earth are crying out”. This passage reminds us that prayers should not just focus on our own list of petitions and those close to us, but that we must remember that we are part of the global community and pray for the Earth community.
Gospel is the Parable of the shrewd manager (or the unjust steward). If there was a contest for the strangest parable, this one would win it! Jesus seems to be saying that we need to ‘make friends by means of dishonest wealth’ and that is hard to understand! So, is the central character of this parable being commended for dodgy deals or for acting ‘shrewdly’? Luke generally has harsh things to say about the rich: remember the song of Mary He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. (1:53) Or when he says: Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. (6:24), or the passage two weeks ago when Jesus said: none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. The point of the story is not to emulate any character. The rich man is evil. The manager is equally evil, despite his reduction of debts, which is only enacted to save his own skin (an act that earns the admiration of the evil master!) What is important is to look at Jesus comments that follow the story: “…for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. “ This is so true - people take advantage of the systems of this world to benefit themselves, and Christians should have different values. Jesus is instructing us to do precisely the opposite of the dishonest manager – rather than making deals with the poor for personal gain Jesus calls us to genuinely make friends with those who cannot repay us thus creating social unity between rich and poor. We will be ultimately judged on our levels of compassion –how we used our money? Where our treasure lies?
There are three things these lessons bring us. Firstly, Lament. I spoke last week about the need for a Lament for the earth. The Amos reading is a bit like a lament – lamenting the greed of humankind. The Psalm a song of praise to a God who cares for the poor and the down trodden – coming to rescue of poor and the earth. I know there is a group of parishioners and others who meet to discuss poetry. Perhaps there are writers among them too. Why don't you do a writing exercise by writing a poetic Lament entitled, The Cry of the Poor and the Cry of the earth? Another lesson is Prayer. Paul writing to Timothy calls us to pray. There are many levels of prayer – for instance in our recent situation of drought in the Western Cape, there were many calls for prayer. Did we pray for rain? Or Did we pray for South Africans to learn that water is precious, and learn to save and treasure it? Through the fears of “day Zero” and having no access to piped water – do we pray that Capetonians will understand more about the inequalities of their city and understand a little more about how life feels for those in informal settlements who queue every day for water - who have always been living Day Zero? Finally, Wealth. In Luke, God is on the side of the poor and the marginalised. What does that say for us in South Africa? Just as in Palestine at the time of Jesus, wealth comes from somewhere. We live in a shockingly unequal society – where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The children of the educated have access to better education, the children of the wealthy inherit property and resources that enable to them to progress faster and further. The Church must take a stand to be on the side of the poor and the Earth.
The strands of the readings today call us to three forms of actions, lament, prayer and wealth. Let's look back over the four weeks so far. Week one was honouring creation in the skills of the individual; week two looked at how the lifestyle of the individual needed to change; week three looked at the role of the community as a whole in environmental matters. This week we are asked to look around us at both those who have less than us, as well as looking at ourselves and what we have; and then to look at the earth - care and love is needed for the poor and for the earth. There are so many different challenges facing us – how do we pray, how should we act? I'm not going to go through the same list of suggestions again but just leave you with the question, hoping you can and will answer it. How do we pray? How should we Act?
I have been looking online for liturgies suitable for the Season of Creation. In most First World countries each Sunday in Month of Creation is given a theme such as Forest Sunday, Coastline Sunday, Biodiversity Sunday. Here in Anglican Church of Southern Africa we have tried to look wider; not just at the problems but at what social conditions have caused the problems. It was Pope Francis who suggested this Sunday's Theme: “Hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” And this theme comes through so clearly in the readings.
The Old Testament reading from Amos begins with the prophet speaking to people who show their greed and evil desires: Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land. It follows with an imagined quotation from these unjust and greedy people. Three points are made about the greed of humankind. The first covers the Sabbath. Now, don't think this is similar to our "Sunday Trading Act"; there is that aspect - the hope the Sabbath will be over soon so that the merchants can make money again, but there is a further image we must take into account. The seventh day of rest is also used not purely for a day to worship God - it is also a Day of Rest... a day of relief from the pressures of work, of life. This day can also be a year - the year of Jubilee. The whole theme of sabbath is Justice. A Sabbath year or Jubilee year was created so that a society could step back and re-start to thrive. In these sabbatical laws, the poor and animals are provided with food, the slaves are given release to freedom after six years, those in deep debt were forgiven their debts, but it was this sabbath year that the merchants were impatiently waiting to end, so that they could once again fleece the poor.
Other ways of cheating are brought up by Amos. An ephah and shekel are mentioned, in the Middle East at that time there the weights and the currency were not standardised making it easier for the crooked dealer to cheat the less educated. Our human nature gives us the temptation to cheat the illiterate. One could say this is Amos's lament about that state of the nation in his day. What about the present day? Is it any fairer? In Amos's day the Sabbath Laws were created to ensure fairness and immediately humankind found ways to provide gain for themselves, trapping the poor in an ongoing cycle of poverty. Today is the same. Amos ends by saying: The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. God will never forget!
On first reading Psalm 113 a simple psalm of praise - strange that it was selected to follow the prophet Amos’s attack on the greed of human traders. It starts and ends with Praise the Lord - which in Hebrew is Halelu - praise Yah(weh) – the Lord. Together making what we recognise as Hallejuah. Psalmist goes on to tells us why God should be praised. The fact that God is both transcendent and immanent comes through clearly: Who can be likened to the Lord our God : in heaven or upon the earth, Who has his dwelling so high : yet condescends to look on things beneath? And verses 7-9 show that God lifts up the poor from the dirt and raises up the needy from the rubbish dump to seat them with leaders—with the leaders of God’s own people! And the Psalm ends by re-assuring the once barren woman will become, through God’s immanence among us, a joyful mother with children! This emphasises the Transcendent (God above all things) and immanent (God present with us).
A title is often added to this psalm but not in ancient manuscripts: “God the Helper of the Needy”. This is because of the interpretation of this psalm by the Reformer, John Calvin. This psalm is evidence of a God who helps those in need, “though his excellency is far above the heavens, nevertheless, he deigns to cast his eyes upon the earth to take notice of humankind.” How do we praise God who “… raises the lowly from the dust : and lifts the poor from out of the dungheap”? As we read this psalm today in South Africa, we might remember how many people still live in poverty in our country. We ourselves might know about water shortage but what about food insecurity, about debt, or about yearning for a child that does not come? Because of how we are treating this planet, can the earth supply the food for its population, especially the poor?
Paul’s Pastoral letter to Timothy reminds us that the Church’s prayers should be global in their scope. Supplication, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings are to be made for everyone so that must include the poor, the needy and victims of injustice and environmental degradation. The prayers for ‘kings and those in high positions’ is directed to ‘a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity’ for everyone. Taken more widely, we look to our leaders to facilitate a quiet and peaceable life for those who are victims of injustice, and to do so with an eye to the flourishing of creation that makes this possible. A healthy environment and a just society are both necessary for such an outcome. Poverty and environmental degradation go hand in hand. As Pope Francis says in his Letter entitled Laudato Si “The poor and the earth are crying out”. This passage reminds us that prayers should not just focus on our own list of petitions and those close to us, but that we must remember that we are part of the global community and pray for the Earth community.
Gospel is the Parable of the shrewd manager (or the unjust steward). If there was a contest for the strangest parable, this one would win it! Jesus seems to be saying that we need to ‘make friends by means of dishonest wealth’ and that is hard to understand! So, is the central character of this parable being commended for dodgy deals or for acting ‘shrewdly’? Luke generally has harsh things to say about the rich: remember the song of Mary He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. (1:53) Or when he says: Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. (6:24), or the passage two weeks ago when Jesus said: none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. The point of the story is not to emulate any character. The rich man is evil. The manager is equally evil, despite his reduction of debts, which is only enacted to save his own skin (an act that earns the admiration of the evil master!) What is important is to look at Jesus comments that follow the story: “…for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. “ This is so true - people take advantage of the systems of this world to benefit themselves, and Christians should have different values. Jesus is instructing us to do precisely the opposite of the dishonest manager – rather than making deals with the poor for personal gain Jesus calls us to genuinely make friends with those who cannot repay us thus creating social unity between rich and poor. We will be ultimately judged on our levels of compassion –how we used our money? Where our treasure lies?
There are three things these lessons bring us. Firstly, Lament. I spoke last week about the need for a Lament for the earth. The Amos reading is a bit like a lament – lamenting the greed of humankind. The Psalm a song of praise to a God who cares for the poor and the down trodden – coming to rescue of poor and the earth. I know there is a group of parishioners and others who meet to discuss poetry. Perhaps there are writers among them too. Why don't you do a writing exercise by writing a poetic Lament entitled, The Cry of the Poor and the Cry of the earth? Another lesson is Prayer. Paul writing to Timothy calls us to pray. There are many levels of prayer – for instance in our recent situation of drought in the Western Cape, there were many calls for prayer. Did we pray for rain? Or Did we pray for South Africans to learn that water is precious, and learn to save and treasure it? Through the fears of “day Zero” and having no access to piped water – do we pray that Capetonians will understand more about the inequalities of their city and understand a little more about how life feels for those in informal settlements who queue every day for water - who have always been living Day Zero? Finally, Wealth. In Luke, God is on the side of the poor and the marginalised. What does that say for us in South Africa? Just as in Palestine at the time of Jesus, wealth comes from somewhere. We live in a shockingly unequal society – where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The children of the educated have access to better education, the children of the wealthy inherit property and resources that enable to them to progress faster and further. The Church must take a stand to be on the side of the poor and the Earth.
The strands of the readings today call us to three forms of actions, lament, prayer and wealth. Let's look back over the four weeks so far. Week one was honouring creation in the skills of the individual; week two looked at how the lifestyle of the individual needed to change; week three looked at the role of the community as a whole in environmental matters. This week we are asked to look around us at both those who have less than us, as well as looking at ourselves and what we have; and then to look at the earth - care and love is needed for the poor and for the earth. There are so many different challenges facing us – how do we pray, how should we act? I'm not going to go through the same list of suggestions again but just leave you with the question, hoping you can and will answer it. How do we pray? How should we Act?
20190922Creation03_Sermon
I have been looking online for liturgies suitable for the Season of Creation. In most First World countries each Sunday in Month of Creation is given a theme such as Forest Sunday, Coastline Sunday, Biodiversity Sunday. Here in Anglican Church of Southern Africa we have tried to look wider; not just at the problems but at what social conditions have caused the problems. It was Pope Francis who suggested this Sunday's Theme: “Hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” And this theme comes through so clearly in the readings.
The Old Testament reading from Amos begins with the prophet speaking to people who show their greed and evil desires: Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land. It follows with an imagined quotation from these unjust and greedy people. Three points are made about the greed of humankind. The first covers the Sabbath. Now, don't think this is similar to our "Sunday Trading Act"; there is that aspect - the hope the Sabbath will be over soon so that the merchants can make money again, but there is a further image we must take into account. The seventh day of rest is also used not purely for a day to worship God - it is also a Day of Rest... a day of relief from the pressures of work, of life. This day can also be a year - the year of Jubilee. The whole theme of sabbath is Justice. A Sabbath year or Jubilee year was created so that a society could step back and re-start to thrive. In these sabbatical laws, the poor and animals are provided with food, the slaves are given release to freedom after six years, those in deep debt were forgiven their debts, but it was this sabbath year that the merchants were impatiently waiting to end, so that they could once again fleece the poor.
Other ways of cheating are brought up by Amos. An ephah and shekel are mentioned, in the Middle East at that time there the weights and the currency were not standardised making it easier for the crooked dealer to cheat the less educated. Our human nature gives us the temptation to cheat the illiterate. One could say this is Amos's lament about that state of the nation in his day. What about the present day? Is it any fairer? In Amos's day the Sabbath Laws were created to ensure fairness and immediately humankind found ways to provide gain for themselves, trapping the poor in an ongoing cycle of poverty. Today is the same. Amos ends by saying: The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. God will never forget!
On first reading Psalm 113 a simple psalm of praise - strange that it was selected to follow the prophet Amos’s attack on the greed of human traders. It starts and ends with Praise the Lord - which in Hebrew is Halelu - praise Yah(weh) – the Lord. Together making what we recognise as Hallejuah. Psalmist goes on to tells us why God should be praised. The fact that God is both transcendent and immanent comes through clearly: Who can be likened to the Lord our God : in heaven or upon the earth, Who has his dwelling so high : yet condescends to look on things beneath? And verses 7-9 show that God lifts up the poor from the dirt and raises up the needy from the rubbish dump to seat them with leaders—with the leaders of God’s own people! And the Psalm ends by re-assuring the once barren woman will become, through God’s immanence among us, a joyful mother with children! This emphasises the Transcendent (God above all things) and immanent (God present with us).
A title is often added to this psalm but not in ancient manuscripts: “God the Helper of the Needy”. This is because of the interpretation of this psalm by the Reformer, John Calvin. This psalm is evidence of a God who helps those in need, “though his excellency is far above the heavens, nevertheless, he deigns to cast his eyes upon the earth to take notice of humankind.” How do we praise God who “… raises the lowly from the dust : and lifts the poor from out of the dungheap”? As we read this psalm today in South Africa, we might remember how many people still live in poverty in our country. We ourselves might know about water shortage but what about food insecurity, about debt, or about yearning for a child that does not come? Because of how we are treating this planet, can the earth supply the food for its population, especially the poor?
Paul’s Pastoral letter to Timothy reminds us that the Church’s prayers should be global in their scope. Supplication, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings are to be made for everyone so that must include the poor, the needy and victims of injustice and environmental degradation. The prayers for ‘kings and those in high positions’ is directed to ‘a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity’ for everyone. Taken more widely, we look to our leaders to facilitate a quiet and peaceable life for those who are victims of injustice, and to do so with an eye to the flourishing of creation that makes this possible. A healthy environment and a just society are both necessary for such an outcome. Poverty and environmental degradation go hand in hand. As Pope Francis says in his Letter entitled Laudato Si “The poor and the earth are crying out”. This passage reminds us that prayers should not just focus on our own list of petitions and those close to us, but that we must remember that we are part of the global community and pray for the Earth community.
Gospel is the Parable of the shrewd manager (or the unjust steward). If there was a contest for the strangest parable, this one would win it! Jesus seems to be saying that we need to ‘make friends by means of dishonest wealth’ and that is hard to understand! So, is the central character of this parable being commended for dodgy deals or for acting ‘shrewdly’? Luke generally has harsh things to say about the rich: remember the song of Mary He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. (1:53) Or when he says: Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. (6:24), or the passage two weeks ago when Jesus said: none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. The point of the story is not to emulate any character. The rich man is evil. The manager is equally evil, despite his reduction of debts, which is only enacted to save his own skin (an act that earns the admiration of the evil master!) What is important is to look at Jesus comments that follow the story: “…for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. “ This is so true - people take advantage of the systems of this world to benefit themselves, and Christians should have different values. Jesus is instructing us to do precisely the opposite of the dishonest manager – rather than making deals with the poor for personal gain Jesus calls us to genuinely make friends with those who cannot repay us thus creating social unity between rich and poor. We will be ultimately judged on our levels of compassion –how we used our money? Where our treasure lies?
There are three things these lessons bring us. Firstly, Lament. I spoke last week about the need for a Lament for the earth. The Amos reading is a bit like a lament – lamenting the greed of humankind. The Psalm a song of praise to a God who cares for the poor and the down trodden – coming to rescue of poor and the earth. I know there is a group of parishioners and others who meet to discuss poetry. Perhaps there are writers among them too. Why don't you do a writing exercise by writing a poetic Lament entitled, The Cry of the Poor and the Cry of the earth? Another lesson is Prayer. Paul writing to Timothy calls us to pray. There are many levels of prayer – for instance in our recent situation of drought in the Western Cape, there were many calls for prayer. Did we pray for rain? Or Did we pray for South Africans to learn that water is precious, and learn to save and treasure it? Through the fears of “day Zero” and having no access to piped water – do we pray that Capetonians will understand more about the inequalities of their city and understand a little more about how life feels for those in informal settlements who queue every day for water - who have always been living Day Zero? Finally, Wealth. In Luke, God is on the side of the poor and the marginalised. What does that say for us in South Africa? Just as in Palestine at the time of Jesus, wealth comes from somewhere. We live in a shockingly unequal society – where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The children of the educated have access to better education, the children of the wealthy inherit property and resources that enable to them to progress faster and further. The Church must take a stand to be on the side of the poor and the Earth.
The strands of the readings today call us to three forms of actions, lament, prayer and wealth. Let's look back over the four weeks so far. Week one was honouring creation in the skills of the individual; week two looked at how the lifestyle of the individual needed to change; week three looked at the role of the community as a whole in environmental matters. This week we are asked to look around us at both those who have less than us, as well as looking at ourselves and what we have; and then to look at the earth - care and love is needed for the poor and for the earth. There are so many different challenges facing us – how do we pray, how should we act? I'm not going to go through the same list of suggestions again but just leave you with the question, hoping you can and will answer it. How do we pray? How should we Act?
I have been looking online for liturgies suitable for the Season of Creation. In most First World countries each Sunday in Month of Creation is given a theme such as Forest Sunday, Coastline Sunday, Biodiversity Sunday. Here in Anglican Church of Southern Africa we have tried to look wider; not just at the problems but at what social conditions have caused the problems. It was Pope Francis who suggested this Sunday's Theme: “Hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” And this theme comes through so clearly in the readings.
The Old Testament reading from Amos begins with the prophet speaking to people who show their greed and evil desires: Hear this, you that trample on the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land. It follows with an imagined quotation from these unjust and greedy people. Three points are made about the greed of humankind. The first covers the Sabbath. Now, don't think this is similar to our "Sunday Trading Act"; there is that aspect - the hope the Sabbath will be over soon so that the merchants can make money again, but there is a further image we must take into account. The seventh day of rest is also used not purely for a day to worship God - it is also a Day of Rest... a day of relief from the pressures of work, of life. This day can also be a year - the year of Jubilee. The whole theme of sabbath is Justice. A Sabbath year or Jubilee year was created so that a society could step back and re-start to thrive. In these sabbatical laws, the poor and animals are provided with food, the slaves are given release to freedom after six years, those in deep debt were forgiven their debts, but it was this sabbath year that the merchants were impatiently waiting to end, so that they could once again fleece the poor.
Other ways of cheating are brought up by Amos. An ephah and shekel are mentioned, in the Middle East at that time there the weights and the currency were not standardised making it easier for the crooked dealer to cheat the less educated. Our human nature gives us the temptation to cheat the illiterate. One could say this is Amos's lament about that state of the nation in his day. What about the present day? Is it any fairer? In Amos's day the Sabbath Laws were created to ensure fairness and immediately humankind found ways to provide gain for themselves, trapping the poor in an ongoing cycle of poverty. Today is the same. Amos ends by saying: The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. God will never forget!
On first reading Psalm 113 a simple psalm of praise - strange that it was selected to follow the prophet Amos’s attack on the greed of human traders. It starts and ends with Praise the Lord - which in Hebrew is Halelu - praise Yah(weh) – the Lord. Together making what we recognise as Hallejuah. Psalmist goes on to tells us why God should be praised. The fact that God is both transcendent and immanent comes through clearly: Who can be likened to the Lord our God : in heaven or upon the earth, Who has his dwelling so high : yet condescends to look on things beneath? And verses 7-9 show that God lifts up the poor from the dirt and raises up the needy from the rubbish dump to seat them with leaders—with the leaders of God’s own people! And the Psalm ends by re-assuring the once barren woman will become, through God’s immanence among us, a joyful mother with children! This emphasises the Transcendent (God above all things) and immanent (God present with us).
A title is often added to this psalm but not in ancient manuscripts: “God the Helper of the Needy”. This is because of the interpretation of this psalm by the Reformer, John Calvin. This psalm is evidence of a God who helps those in need, “though his excellency is far above the heavens, nevertheless, he deigns to cast his eyes upon the earth to take notice of humankind.” How do we praise God who “… raises the lowly from the dust : and lifts the poor from out of the dungheap”? As we read this psalm today in South Africa, we might remember how many people still live in poverty in our country. We ourselves might know about water shortage but what about food insecurity, about debt, or about yearning for a child that does not come? Because of how we are treating this planet, can the earth supply the food for its population, especially the poor?
Paul’s Pastoral letter to Timothy reminds us that the Church’s prayers should be global in their scope. Supplication, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings are to be made for everyone so that must include the poor, the needy and victims of injustice and environmental degradation. The prayers for ‘kings and those in high positions’ is directed to ‘a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity’ for everyone. Taken more widely, we look to our leaders to facilitate a quiet and peaceable life for those who are victims of injustice, and to do so with an eye to the flourishing of creation that makes this possible. A healthy environment and a just society are both necessary for such an outcome. Poverty and environmental degradation go hand in hand. As Pope Francis says in his Letter entitled Laudato Si “The poor and the earth are crying out”. This passage reminds us that prayers should not just focus on our own list of petitions and those close to us, but that we must remember that we are part of the global community and pray for the Earth community.
Gospel is the Parable of the shrewd manager (or the unjust steward). If there was a contest for the strangest parable, this one would win it! Jesus seems to be saying that we need to ‘make friends by means of dishonest wealth’ and that is hard to understand! So, is the central character of this parable being commended for dodgy deals or for acting ‘shrewdly’? Luke generally has harsh things to say about the rich: remember the song of Mary He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. (1:53) Or when he says: Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. (6:24), or the passage two weeks ago when Jesus said: none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions. The point of the story is not to emulate any character. The rich man is evil. The manager is equally evil, despite his reduction of debts, which is only enacted to save his own skin (an act that earns the admiration of the evil master!) What is important is to look at Jesus comments that follow the story: “…for the children of this age are more shrewd in dealing with their own generation than are the children of light. “ This is so true - people take advantage of the systems of this world to benefit themselves, and Christians should have different values. Jesus is instructing us to do precisely the opposite of the dishonest manager – rather than making deals with the poor for personal gain Jesus calls us to genuinely make friends with those who cannot repay us thus creating social unity between rich and poor. We will be ultimately judged on our levels of compassion –how we used our money? Where our treasure lies?
There are three things these lessons bring us. Firstly, Lament. I spoke last week about the need for a Lament for the earth. The Amos reading is a bit like a lament – lamenting the greed of humankind. The Psalm a song of praise to a God who cares for the poor and the down trodden – coming to rescue of poor and the earth. I know there is a group of parishioners and others who meet to discuss poetry. Perhaps there are writers among them too. Why don't you do a writing exercise by writing a poetic Lament entitled, The Cry of the Poor and the Cry of the earth? Another lesson is Prayer. Paul writing to Timothy calls us to pray. There are many levels of prayer – for instance in our recent situation of drought in the Western Cape, there were many calls for prayer. Did we pray for rain? Or Did we pray for South Africans to learn that water is precious, and learn to save and treasure it? Through the fears of “day Zero” and having no access to piped water – do we pray that Capetonians will understand more about the inequalities of their city and understand a little more about how life feels for those in informal settlements who queue every day for water - who have always been living Day Zero? Finally, Wealth. In Luke, God is on the side of the poor and the marginalised. What does that say for us in South Africa? Just as in Palestine at the time of Jesus, wealth comes from somewhere. We live in a shockingly unequal society – where the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. The children of the educated have access to better education, the children of the wealthy inherit property and resources that enable to them to progress faster and further. The Church must take a stand to be on the side of the poor and the Earth.
The strands of the readings today call us to three forms of actions, lament, prayer and wealth. Let's look back over the four weeks so far. Week one was honouring creation in the skills of the individual; week two looked at how the lifestyle of the individual needed to change; week three looked at the role of the community as a whole in environmental matters. This week we are asked to look around us at both those who have less than us, as well as looking at ourselves and what we have; and then to look at the earth - care and love is needed for the poor and for the earth. There are so many different challenges facing us – how do we pray, how should we act? I'm not going to go through the same list of suggestions again but just leave you with the question, hoping you can and will answer it. How do we pray? How should we Act?
20190915Creation02_Sermon
The theme today in the Season of Creation is Community of Life. Last week we looked at our individual lifestyle and how that should change. Today we look at the community as a whole and how the community should respond.
We are the community of the Christian Church. Our direction is given by God through God’s words to us. Theology is from the Greek; Theo meaning God and Logos meaning Word; so theology is “Words about God”. Where do Environmental Matters fit in theologically speaking? All too often they are viewed as political issues. But they are existential issues i.e. their starting point is the experience of us all. Theology is not merely the thinking about the subject of God, but the acting, feeling, living in relationship with God. Theology is viewed by those who oppose climate change as a purely thinking subject and so they say theologians and the church should not get involved in how living human beings act, feel and live. This is quite obvious to anyone with a tiny bit of theological nous completely wrong and todays lessons show this.
The Old Testament reading from Exodus is in two parts. Firstly, God's rant to Moses about the fickleness of the people. Then, Moses begging that God re-look at God’s relationship with the people in the past and forgive them now. Because of this God does have a change of mind. This passage is really about human beings falling short of the ideal and God’s willingness to forgive. The people that Moses led out of Egypt viewed themselves as superior to those around them because of their special relationship with God. They believed they had such a special relationship with God, that how they behaved on earth didn't matter as God had given them the right to do whatever they liked. Genesis was most probably written many, many years after the exodus took place but Gen 1:26 says “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over it”. That was their mindset. They and we today conclude that as People of God, it is our God-given right to treat nature any way we want.
In Exodus Moses seeks mercy and tries to explain the good relationship the people have had with God in the past and how God swore to their ancestors: “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.” And God has a change of mind. This is our hope too. We say God is immutable but God is open to us coming back to God.
Today’s Psalm 51:1-10 is one of the most wonderful of psalms. The heading in Bible version says "To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba". Of course, David did not write the psalm but the author places himself in David’s situation and laments to God over David committing adultery with Bathsheba. The prophet Nathan had come to him and told him story about the rich man with a large flock of sheep taking a poor man's last lamb to feed a visiting traveller. David got the message that he, the rich powerful man had taken the poor man Uriah's wife. It makes one think about today and how the rich and powerful take what they want regardless of cost to poor. But this psalm is also a wonderful cry from the heart of a person who knows he has done wrong and calls on God to be merciful. If David can realise what he has done wrong, can't our rich and powerful nations and communities also ask God to change us? Create in me a clean heart, O God : and renew a right spirit within me, says the psalmist.
In the New Testament reading Paul tells how he has changed. He expresses gratitude to Christ Jesus for a life which has changed radically because of the experience of grace in his life. He was formerly ‘a blasphemer, a persecutor [of the Church], and a man of violence.’ Now, in a radical turnaround, he has been strengthened, judged faithful and ‘appointed to Christ’s service.’ God’s grace overflowed in his life.
For us it is easy to become despondent on looking at the state of the Planet. Creature types and numbers are dropping. Since 1970 there has been a devastating drop in the population of creatures globally, 38% reduction in land animals, 81% of freshwater creatures and a 36% drop in ocean populations. But this passage gives us hope that just as individuals can be transformed by grace, so too can the whole human population. It is not too late for us to be transformed from “persecutors of the Earth and people of violence”
In the Gospel today Jesus is attacked for eating with Sinners and he goes on to tell three parables – two of which are part of our reading – the lost sheep and the lost coin. The third is the lost son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. What these parables tell, is the value of lost things. The Shepherd going to find his lost sheep, the women searching for her lost coin, the father welcoming his lost son. If lost things do not have value then these parables would lose their force. What is interesting is that as the parables are told, the ratio of lost to safe changes; one sheep in a hundred, one coin in ten and one child in two. Yet the commitment of the shepherd, the woman and the parent is total and the scale of celebration at the end of each story is lavish. Whatever the proportion of the missing to the safe, Jesus seems to ensure us that God’s care is consistently generous.
In contrast, many people tend to think that the disappearance or loss of species is a matter of relatively small importance. In decision making matters, the economy often takes precedence over ecology. I’m no scientist in this field but Canon Rachel Mash says: Partly as a result of such a mindset, we are living through the sixth great extinction in the history of the Earth – and the first to be caused by humans. The current rate of extinction is said to be 100 or even 1,000 times above the natural level. These are lost things. God did not say – never mind one sheep is lost I still have 99. Nor, never mind about the coin, I still have others or I can buy some more. But let us look at these stories from another perspective. We see a searching shepherd, a determined woman and a waiting father. They did not give up hope, they worked hard, with determination until what was lost was found. This shows that the challenge to protect our Earth is not an easy one, it is not a short-term challenge but requires us to stay strong, work hard and never give up hope.
So, as a community how can we ensure the ongoing life of the created community? Firstly, can I suggest gratitude. Gratitude to God for God’s gifts to us. We cannot protect what we do not love. We can show this gratitude by re-connecting with nature. I need to remind you that the opposite of love is not hate, it is apathy. “A-pathy” means without feeling. Most Christians do not hate the world in which we live, but we don’t love it either. Those who did Latin at school will remember that one of the the first Latin word we learnt was Amo Love and love is a verb. How can we re-learn to love the world? We can choose to go for an outing into nature, go for a picnic, organise a hike for Church members e.g. Sunday afternoon.
Last week I started the service with a lament, a lament for men’s loss of respect for women. We need to hear a lament for God’s world. As a community we need to hear the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth. We need to bring that pain before God in personal prayer or group confession. Moses did, Paul did, David did.
David, when Nathan made him realise what he had done to Uriah, took action by turning to God. We need to take action. We need to make a list of what we could do and in six months re-examine that list to ensure that we as a community are making progress. Last week I gave some suggestions for such an action list but let me remind you of four types of action. Holding actions: these are actions – that limit the harm (such as recycling, saving water, reducing use of fuel or electricity). Influencing others in the community: start recycling at church. Have a fundraiser to buy water tanks for the church, start a vegetable garden at church. Spiritual practices: how about praying in the open air? Finding a space where you can see nature when you do your devotions. Lastly, Systemic change: get involved in a campaign. Offer an environmental organisation your support in terms of time and resources.
Let us pray:
Lord God, we have come to renew our covenant with you and with one another in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We have come to help protect your creation. We have come as followers of Jesus to commit ourselves anew to one another and to heal injustice and poverty. We have come to stand together against all threats to life. We have come to discover some new beauty every day in your creation: the sunrise and sunset, birds, flowers and trees, rainbows in the sky, the stars, the many forms of life in the bush, on the mountainside on the plain, in the sea. Help us to listen to the "music of the universe"- water flowing over rocks, the wind, the sea waves crashing, trees bending in the wind, raindrops pattering the roof. We will remember always that you speak to us through the beauty of your creation, and we will try our best to answer your call to reverence all. In Jesus name we prayer. Amen
The theme today in the Season of Creation is Community of Life. Last week we looked at our individual lifestyle and how that should change. Today we look at the community as a whole and how the community should respond.
We are the community of the Christian Church. Our direction is given by God through God’s words to us. Theology is from the Greek; Theo meaning God and Logos meaning Word; so theology is “Words about God”. Where do Environmental Matters fit in theologically speaking? All too often they are viewed as political issues. But they are existential issues i.e. their starting point is the experience of us all. Theology is not merely the thinking about the subject of God, but the acting, feeling, living in relationship with God. Theology is viewed by those who oppose climate change as a purely thinking subject and so they say theologians and the church should not get involved in how living human beings act, feel and live. This is quite obvious to anyone with a tiny bit of theological nous completely wrong and todays lessons show this.
The Old Testament reading from Exodus is in two parts. Firstly, God's rant to Moses about the fickleness of the people. Then, Moses begging that God re-look at God’s relationship with the people in the past and forgive them now. Because of this God does have a change of mind. This passage is really about human beings falling short of the ideal and God’s willingness to forgive. The people that Moses led out of Egypt viewed themselves as superior to those around them because of their special relationship with God. They believed they had such a special relationship with God, that how they behaved on earth didn't matter as God had given them the right to do whatever they liked. Genesis was most probably written many, many years after the exodus took place but Gen 1:26 says “And God blessed them, and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over it”. That was their mindset. They and we today conclude that as People of God, it is our God-given right to treat nature any way we want.
In Exodus Moses seeks mercy and tries to explain the good relationship the people have had with God in the past and how God swore to their ancestors: “I will multiply your descendants like the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it for ever.” And God has a change of mind. This is our hope too. We say God is immutable but God is open to us coming back to God.
Today’s Psalm 51:1-10 is one of the most wonderful of psalms. The heading in Bible version says "To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba". Of course, David did not write the psalm but the author places himself in David’s situation and laments to God over David committing adultery with Bathsheba. The prophet Nathan had come to him and told him story about the rich man with a large flock of sheep taking a poor man's last lamb to feed a visiting traveller. David got the message that he, the rich powerful man had taken the poor man Uriah's wife. It makes one think about today and how the rich and powerful take what they want regardless of cost to poor. But this psalm is also a wonderful cry from the heart of a person who knows he has done wrong and calls on God to be merciful. If David can realise what he has done wrong, can't our rich and powerful nations and communities also ask God to change us? Create in me a clean heart, O God : and renew a right spirit within me, says the psalmist.
In the New Testament reading Paul tells how he has changed. He expresses gratitude to Christ Jesus for a life which has changed radically because of the experience of grace in his life. He was formerly ‘a blasphemer, a persecutor [of the Church], and a man of violence.’ Now, in a radical turnaround, he has been strengthened, judged faithful and ‘appointed to Christ’s service.’ God’s grace overflowed in his life.
For us it is easy to become despondent on looking at the state of the Planet. Creature types and numbers are dropping. Since 1970 there has been a devastating drop in the population of creatures globally, 38% reduction in land animals, 81% of freshwater creatures and a 36% drop in ocean populations. But this passage gives us hope that just as individuals can be transformed by grace, so too can the whole human population. It is not too late for us to be transformed from “persecutors of the Earth and people of violence”
In the Gospel today Jesus is attacked for eating with Sinners and he goes on to tell three parables – two of which are part of our reading – the lost sheep and the lost coin. The third is the lost son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son. What these parables tell, is the value of lost things. The Shepherd going to find his lost sheep, the women searching for her lost coin, the father welcoming his lost son. If lost things do not have value then these parables would lose their force. What is interesting is that as the parables are told, the ratio of lost to safe changes; one sheep in a hundred, one coin in ten and one child in two. Yet the commitment of the shepherd, the woman and the parent is total and the scale of celebration at the end of each story is lavish. Whatever the proportion of the missing to the safe, Jesus seems to ensure us that God’s care is consistently generous.
In contrast, many people tend to think that the disappearance or loss of species is a matter of relatively small importance. In decision making matters, the economy often takes precedence over ecology. I’m no scientist in this field but Canon Rachel Mash says: Partly as a result of such a mindset, we are living through the sixth great extinction in the history of the Earth – and the first to be caused by humans. The current rate of extinction is said to be 100 or even 1,000 times above the natural level. These are lost things. God did not say – never mind one sheep is lost I still have 99. Nor, never mind about the coin, I still have others or I can buy some more. But let us look at these stories from another perspective. We see a searching shepherd, a determined woman and a waiting father. They did not give up hope, they worked hard, with determination until what was lost was found. This shows that the challenge to protect our Earth is not an easy one, it is not a short-term challenge but requires us to stay strong, work hard and never give up hope.
So, as a community how can we ensure the ongoing life of the created community? Firstly, can I suggest gratitude. Gratitude to God for God’s gifts to us. We cannot protect what we do not love. We can show this gratitude by re-connecting with nature. I need to remind you that the opposite of love is not hate, it is apathy. “A-pathy” means without feeling. Most Christians do not hate the world in which we live, but we don’t love it either. Those who did Latin at school will remember that one of the the first Latin word we learnt was Amo Love and love is a verb. How can we re-learn to love the world? We can choose to go for an outing into nature, go for a picnic, organise a hike for Church members e.g. Sunday afternoon.
Last week I started the service with a lament, a lament for men’s loss of respect for women. We need to hear a lament for God’s world. As a community we need to hear the cry of the poor and the cry of the Earth. We need to bring that pain before God in personal prayer or group confession. Moses did, Paul did, David did.
David, when Nathan made him realise what he had done to Uriah, took action by turning to God. We need to take action. We need to make a list of what we could do and in six months re-examine that list to ensure that we as a community are making progress. Last week I gave some suggestions for such an action list but let me remind you of four types of action. Holding actions: these are actions – that limit the harm (such as recycling, saving water, reducing use of fuel or electricity). Influencing others in the community: start recycling at church. Have a fundraiser to buy water tanks for the church, start a vegetable garden at church. Spiritual practices: how about praying in the open air? Finding a space where you can see nature when you do your devotions. Lastly, Systemic change: get involved in a campaign. Offer an environmental organisation your support in terms of time and resources.
Let us pray:
Lord God, we have come to renew our covenant with you and with one another in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We have come to help protect your creation. We have come as followers of Jesus to commit ourselves anew to one another and to heal injustice and poverty. We have come to stand together against all threats to life. We have come to discover some new beauty every day in your creation: the sunrise and sunset, birds, flowers and trees, rainbows in the sky, the stars, the many forms of life in the bush, on the mountainside on the plain, in the sea. Help us to listen to the "music of the universe"- water flowing over rocks, the wind, the sea waves crashing, trees bending in the wind, raindrops pattering the roof. We will remember always that you speak to us through the beauty of your creation, and we will try our best to answer your call to reverence all. In Jesus name we prayer. Amen
20190908Creation01_Sermon
[Check out the Lament, Prayers of the people and Prayer of Reconciliation at the end of this sermon]
When I contacted Rachel Mash, our provincial canon in charge of environmental matters and asked if we were going to get a list of lessons and readings for the Season of creation, she emailed back to say that it had been decided to stick to the Lectionary Lessons and develop the Creation Themes from these lessons. “More difficult to do this,” she said, “but worthwhile.” I agree with her. I believe that the Bible is the living word of God, meaning it can fit into all things that happen to us, all issues we face, because we are living beings, we can find answers in the bible. Whether it is to climate change, men’s attitude towards women and children or whether it is our attitude towards the strangers and the sojourners in our land, the answer is found in God’s word. But we can’t pick and choose verse to suit our particular situation.
There is the lovely story about the man who was seeking an answer to what he should do, so he decided to open his bible randomly and do whatever the first verse says he should do. So, he by chance opened it to the end of Matthew’s Gospel and putting his finger randomly at a text; it was the passage dealing with Judas Iscariot, he read the verse his finger pointed at: Matt 27:5 “…and he went and hanged himself” Not quite the answer he was hoping for or wanted, so he tried again this time he opened Luke 10 the Good Samaritan parable and his finger pointed to the verse 37: “Jesus said: “Go and do likewise.”
But the scriptures do speak into our situation as they do today. All three lessons and the psalm have special messages for us, speaking into the theme set for 8th Sept in the Month of Creation: The Consequence of Lifestyle. Isn’t amazing how in this week our country is aflame because of our lifestyle; how we treat women; how we treat foreigners and strangers in our land. But this is the month of creation so…
Maybe you are asking why should we make the huge changes to our lifestyles that are necessary for climate change to be slowed down? After all, you might say, “I’ll be dead long before the sea level rises and floods Fish Hoek or Glencairn.” Well today’s passages unpack some of the reasons why. Four passages, four very good reasons.
As humans we have responsibility. God is Almighty, yet God allows us as human beings to make choices. We heard this in that first reading from Deuteronomy: See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, … Choose life so that you and your descendants may live. God does not say “You will do it my way or no way”. God says, “Choose life”. Climate change and environmental degradation are results of the choices that we individually have made in our personal lifestyles and also that governments have made in their choices around economics and technology. Although the situation is bleak, it is not yet too late, we can choose life. Paul writing to the Romans 8:19 reminds us that, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God”. Our individual choices make a difference - and when those many small changes are networked with multitudes of others and their choices they can lead to transformational change.
The Psalms are the community hymn book of Old Testament and also of the Church today. Our daily readings go through the entire Psalter in two months. So, what does the very first psalm say to us about creation and life style choices? Well, by its very nature the psalms place us within a community with the web of life. Notice how today’s psalm speaks of a green tree alongside a river bearing fruit in other words doing what God created it to do. This image, this picture reminds us that Creation is wonderfully made and every creature is precious in God’s sight. So therefore, we need to take time to lament the loss of each member of God’s family of Creation -human animal or plant. We to act to protect the great biodiversity that still exists before it is too late.
Last week I commented that when we say “Month of Creation” we immediately think of the natural environment but Creation also means Care for other members of our Global Family of human beings. The story of Philemon and Onesimus reminds us that we have a responsibility to care for people who are vulnerable, as Philemon was. We need to recognise as sisters and brothers, people from all across the world. If floods or droughts affect our sisters in the Solomon Islands, we need to take responsibility of it. I know that as we faced our water crisis here in Cape Town, our friends in Bangalore were concerned and took responsibility with us. We also have to realise that there is an urgency to act, as floods and drought increase, we will see a rapid increase in climate refugees and impact on safety and security.
Our Gospel today calls us to be disciples not just followers. What’s the difference? Good old Wikipedia helped me here: A Follower is (literally) one who follows, while a disciple is a person who learns from another, especially one who then teaches others. We learn from Jesus, if we are disciples of Jesus. Jesus called people to be disciples, it was not just a physical following. Following spiritually involves a “metanoia” (radical turning around, a conversion) of lifestyle, world-view and spiritual orientation. As Paul says ‘So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!’ (2 Cor 5.17). If our lifestyle as Christians is the same as those who are not Christians then we need to ask ourselves questions – have we been transformed from the culture of the day which worships consumerism? Have we “turned around”?
So, where can I start? The environmental challenges are so huge and what can one person do? The place to start is here: follow your heartbreak. [Rpt] We cannot all be involved in all the environmental issues, so identify the one that breaks your heart. Perhaps it is climate change and the face of drought and famine that moves you. Educate yourself about the impact of climate change on a country or community where you have links. Commit yourself to doing an electricity and fuel audit of your home and your church. See how you can make small changes (geyser blanket, lift sharing, changing light bulbs). Get others involved in bigger project – solar panels for the church or local school – and find out what your politician’s stance is on renewable energy and challenge them in letters to the press. Get our diocese or even the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to divest from investments in fossil fuels. Yes, I know we are just about all pensioners here. Well, look at where your pension fund’s money is invested, can it be taken out of fossil fuels?
Perhaps it is plastic which breaks your heart, clogging our oceans and lands. Commit yourself to stop using plastic bags for shopping. I have…have you? Reduce one-use plastic for your family. Start a campaign here at church! I know Heather was part of a survey to see which restaurants used polystyrene for Take-aways and plastic straws. Most Simon’s Town take-aways have now stop this. Why don’t we as a church put pressure on supermarkets to stop using plastic bags? I know that Food Lovers Market has. In fact, let’s get the Minister of the Environment to ban plastic bags – it has been done in Kenya and Rwanda and I saw it in certain states in India, last year. Why don’t we start a “Make our own bags” campaign? Perhaps the tapestry guild or other people with sewing machines can make a few simple shopping bags and we can design a St Francis logo to put on it and sell them here? Just an idea!
Finally, perhaps it is the loss of biodiversity that breaks your heart, as animals and birds die out due to our neglect and greed. Start by stop using chemicals and products that kill insects. Start or support an organic garden. E.g. FB Hospital Paul Greyling. Find a part of Creation near you that you can care for and encourage others to get involved in (river clean -up, local park or nature reserve). Get involved in an international campaign to protect an animal you care about.
The needs are huge – but the principle is this: start with what breaks your heart. Find an action you and your family can take. Inspire others, join networks. Research tells us that transformation comes when networked individuals change. And have fun!!- God is with you.
Listen carefully to the prayer requests in the General Intercessions that follow. Make them your own in your hearts.
A litany for transforming relationships – as sent to parish by the Diocese of False Bay
[Introduction] The Prayers of the People today deal with the urgent issue facing our nation as part of the #Am I Next? Movement. We remember women and children being abused as well as the xenophobia attacks as we pray for a transforming of relationships. When I say “Living God in your mercy: can you respond hear our prayer.
God of wisdom and care, we pray to you for all whom you call to share in the work of transforming the world so that girls and boys, women and men, may live, work and learn together with respect and dignity.
For maternal and children’s health workers and advocates for girls’ education, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For law-makers policy-makers and lobby groups, shaping structures that protect and promote women’s wellbeing, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For marriage counsellors and relationship educators, developing healthy partnerships and good parenting skills, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For religious leaders and communities of faith, shaping beliefs about the worth of women and girls, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For women in business, industry, politics and education, leading by example and providing role models, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For police and community workers sifting through the damage done by domestic violence. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For prison chaplains and restorative justice programmes, giving hope where violence has shattered many lives, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For counsellors and social workers offering a new start for survivors of domestic violence. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For women’s refuges and men’s support groups creating safe spaces for problems to be named and tackled, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For campaigners against human trafficking and the sex trade, pricking the conscience of complacent societies. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For organisations, programmes and individuals offering support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For specialised care for traumatised children bringing healing and hope for a life beyond suffering, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Hear our prayers, O God, for you will take no rest from your work of healing until you have wiped away the tears from every face, through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Lament
By Fr Andrew Holmes
How long, O Lord? How long?
How long must our country groan under the weight of violence?
Today we remember
Meghan Cramer,
Lynette Volschenk,
Jesse Hess,
Uyinene Mrwetyana,
Leighandré Jegels,
Janika Mallo
and the many other women and children whose lives have been taken from them in the most brutal fashion.
How long, O Lord?
How long must our women live in fear;
our children be surrounded by violence?
How many more women and children have to die?
How long will it be before our women can live without the fear of abuse?
How long will it be before our children are able to grow up knowing only love and affection?
How long must we wait for fathers, brothers and sons to exercise only care and loving protection within their families?
How long will it be before our men, created in your image,
recognise that our women are also created in your image,
and treat them accordingly?
How long will it be before our children can play freely without fear of abduction, injury or death?
As Jesus carried his cross to Calvary,
so many of our women and children carry the daily burden of fear and pain.
As Jesus’ life was cruelly taken on the cross,
so many of our women and children die violently in their homes and on our streets.
As Jesus rose again for our salvation,
so we are reassured by the undying hope that sin and death will never have the last word.
Lord, you have searched us out and known us.
You know our sitting down and our rising up.
You know our deepest fears, our sharpest pains.
Nothing is hidden from your sight.
So in these times of darkness,
where evil increases day by day,
we rejoice in your promise that even in the darkest valley you are with us and will never forsake us.
We commend into your safekeeping those whose lives have been lost.
We entrust to your protection every woman and every child in our country.
And we pray that the forces of evil which give rise to such violence will be swallowed up by love.
Lord, we have trusted in your steadfast love.
May our hearts rejoice in your salvation.
Amen.
A Prayer for reconciliation
Where there is separation,
there is pain.
And where there is pain,
there is story.
And where there is story,
there is understanding,
and misunderstanding,
listening
and not listening.
May we — separated peoples, estranged strangers,
unfriended families, divided communities --
turn toward each other,
and turn toward our stories,
with understanding
and listening,
with argument and acceptance,
with challenge, change
and consolation.
Because if God is to be found,
God will be found
in the space
between.
Amen.
Found on Twitter yesterday
Lina the chaplaincy & parish hound @LinaHound Sep 5
‘God will be found in the space between’. #padraigotuama #eveningprayer
[Check out the Lament, Prayers of the people and Prayer of Reconciliation at the end of this sermon]
When I contacted Rachel Mash, our provincial canon in charge of environmental matters and asked if we were going to get a list of lessons and readings for the Season of creation, she emailed back to say that it had been decided to stick to the Lectionary Lessons and develop the Creation Themes from these lessons. “More difficult to do this,” she said, “but worthwhile.” I agree with her. I believe that the Bible is the living word of God, meaning it can fit into all things that happen to us, all issues we face, because we are living beings, we can find answers in the bible. Whether it is to climate change, men’s attitude towards women and children or whether it is our attitude towards the strangers and the sojourners in our land, the answer is found in God’s word. But we can’t pick and choose verse to suit our particular situation.
There is the lovely story about the man who was seeking an answer to what he should do, so he decided to open his bible randomly and do whatever the first verse says he should do. So, he by chance opened it to the end of Matthew’s Gospel and putting his finger randomly at a text; it was the passage dealing with Judas Iscariot, he read the verse his finger pointed at: Matt 27:5 “…and he went and hanged himself” Not quite the answer he was hoping for or wanted, so he tried again this time he opened Luke 10 the Good Samaritan parable and his finger pointed to the verse 37: “Jesus said: “Go and do likewise.”
But the scriptures do speak into our situation as they do today. All three lessons and the psalm have special messages for us, speaking into the theme set for 8th Sept in the Month of Creation: The Consequence of Lifestyle. Isn’t amazing how in this week our country is aflame because of our lifestyle; how we treat women; how we treat foreigners and strangers in our land. But this is the month of creation so…
Maybe you are asking why should we make the huge changes to our lifestyles that are necessary for climate change to be slowed down? After all, you might say, “I’ll be dead long before the sea level rises and floods Fish Hoek or Glencairn.” Well today’s passages unpack some of the reasons why. Four passages, four very good reasons.
As humans we have responsibility. God is Almighty, yet God allows us as human beings to make choices. We heard this in that first reading from Deuteronomy: See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, … Choose life so that you and your descendants may live. God does not say “You will do it my way or no way”. God says, “Choose life”. Climate change and environmental degradation are results of the choices that we individually have made in our personal lifestyles and also that governments have made in their choices around economics and technology. Although the situation is bleak, it is not yet too late, we can choose life. Paul writing to the Romans 8:19 reminds us that, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God”. Our individual choices make a difference - and when those many small changes are networked with multitudes of others and their choices they can lead to transformational change.
The Psalms are the community hymn book of Old Testament and also of the Church today. Our daily readings go through the entire Psalter in two months. So, what does the very first psalm say to us about creation and life style choices? Well, by its very nature the psalms place us within a community with the web of life. Notice how today’s psalm speaks of a green tree alongside a river bearing fruit in other words doing what God created it to do. This image, this picture reminds us that Creation is wonderfully made and every creature is precious in God’s sight. So therefore, we need to take time to lament the loss of each member of God’s family of Creation -human animal or plant. We to act to protect the great biodiversity that still exists before it is too late.
Last week I commented that when we say “Month of Creation” we immediately think of the natural environment but Creation also means Care for other members of our Global Family of human beings. The story of Philemon and Onesimus reminds us that we have a responsibility to care for people who are vulnerable, as Philemon was. We need to recognise as sisters and brothers, people from all across the world. If floods or droughts affect our sisters in the Solomon Islands, we need to take responsibility of it. I know that as we faced our water crisis here in Cape Town, our friends in Bangalore were concerned and took responsibility with us. We also have to realise that there is an urgency to act, as floods and drought increase, we will see a rapid increase in climate refugees and impact on safety and security.
Our Gospel today calls us to be disciples not just followers. What’s the difference? Good old Wikipedia helped me here: A Follower is (literally) one who follows, while a disciple is a person who learns from another, especially one who then teaches others. We learn from Jesus, if we are disciples of Jesus. Jesus called people to be disciples, it was not just a physical following. Following spiritually involves a “metanoia” (radical turning around, a conversion) of lifestyle, world-view and spiritual orientation. As Paul says ‘So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!’ (2 Cor 5.17). If our lifestyle as Christians is the same as those who are not Christians then we need to ask ourselves questions – have we been transformed from the culture of the day which worships consumerism? Have we “turned around”?
So, where can I start? The environmental challenges are so huge and what can one person do? The place to start is here: follow your heartbreak. [Rpt] We cannot all be involved in all the environmental issues, so identify the one that breaks your heart. Perhaps it is climate change and the face of drought and famine that moves you. Educate yourself about the impact of climate change on a country or community where you have links. Commit yourself to doing an electricity and fuel audit of your home and your church. See how you can make small changes (geyser blanket, lift sharing, changing light bulbs). Get others involved in bigger project – solar panels for the church or local school – and find out what your politician’s stance is on renewable energy and challenge them in letters to the press. Get our diocese or even the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to divest from investments in fossil fuels. Yes, I know we are just about all pensioners here. Well, look at where your pension fund’s money is invested, can it be taken out of fossil fuels?
Perhaps it is plastic which breaks your heart, clogging our oceans and lands. Commit yourself to stop using plastic bags for shopping. I have…have you? Reduce one-use plastic for your family. Start a campaign here at church! I know Heather was part of a survey to see which restaurants used polystyrene for Take-aways and plastic straws. Most Simon’s Town take-aways have now stop this. Why don’t we as a church put pressure on supermarkets to stop using plastic bags? I know that Food Lovers Market has. In fact, let’s get the Minister of the Environment to ban plastic bags – it has been done in Kenya and Rwanda and I saw it in certain states in India, last year. Why don’t we start a “Make our own bags” campaign? Perhaps the tapestry guild or other people with sewing machines can make a few simple shopping bags and we can design a St Francis logo to put on it and sell them here? Just an idea!
Finally, perhaps it is the loss of biodiversity that breaks your heart, as animals and birds die out due to our neglect and greed. Start by stop using chemicals and products that kill insects. Start or support an organic garden. E.g. FB Hospital Paul Greyling. Find a part of Creation near you that you can care for and encourage others to get involved in (river clean -up, local park or nature reserve). Get involved in an international campaign to protect an animal you care about.
The needs are huge – but the principle is this: start with what breaks your heart. Find an action you and your family can take. Inspire others, join networks. Research tells us that transformation comes when networked individuals change. And have fun!!- God is with you.
Listen carefully to the prayer requests in the General Intercessions that follow. Make them your own in your hearts.
A litany for transforming relationships – as sent to parish by the Diocese of False Bay
[Introduction] The Prayers of the People today deal with the urgent issue facing our nation as part of the #Am I Next? Movement. We remember women and children being abused as well as the xenophobia attacks as we pray for a transforming of relationships. When I say “Living God in your mercy: can you respond hear our prayer.
God of wisdom and care, we pray to you for all whom you call to share in the work of transforming the world so that girls and boys, women and men, may live, work and learn together with respect and dignity.
For maternal and children’s health workers and advocates for girls’ education, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For law-makers policy-makers and lobby groups, shaping structures that protect and promote women’s wellbeing, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For marriage counsellors and relationship educators, developing healthy partnerships and good parenting skills, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For religious leaders and communities of faith, shaping beliefs about the worth of women and girls, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For women in business, industry, politics and education, leading by example and providing role models, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For police and community workers sifting through the damage done by domestic violence. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For prison chaplains and restorative justice programmes, giving hope where violence has shattered many lives, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For counsellors and social workers offering a new start for survivors of domestic violence. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For women’s refuges and men’s support groups creating safe spaces for problems to be named and tackled, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For campaigners against human trafficking and the sex trade, pricking the conscience of complacent societies. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For organisations, programmes and individuals offering support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For specialised care for traumatised children bringing healing and hope for a life beyond suffering, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Hear our prayers, O God, for you will take no rest from your work of healing until you have wiped away the tears from every face, through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Lament
By Fr Andrew Holmes
How long, O Lord? How long?
How long must our country groan under the weight of violence?
Today we remember
Meghan Cramer,
Lynette Volschenk,
Jesse Hess,
Uyinene Mrwetyana,
Leighandré Jegels,
Janika Mallo
and the many other women and children whose lives have been taken from them in the most brutal fashion.
How long, O Lord?
How long must our women live in fear;
our children be surrounded by violence?
How many more women and children have to die?
How long will it be before our women can live without the fear of abuse?
How long will it be before our children are able to grow up knowing only love and affection?
How long must we wait for fathers, brothers and sons to exercise only care and loving protection within their families?
How long will it be before our men, created in your image,
recognise that our women are also created in your image,
and treat them accordingly?
How long will it be before our children can play freely without fear of abduction, injury or death?
As Jesus carried his cross to Calvary,
so many of our women and children carry the daily burden of fear and pain.
As Jesus’ life was cruelly taken on the cross,
so many of our women and children die violently in their homes and on our streets.
As Jesus rose again for our salvation,
so we are reassured by the undying hope that sin and death will never have the last word.
Lord, you have searched us out and known us.
You know our sitting down and our rising up.
You know our deepest fears, our sharpest pains.
Nothing is hidden from your sight.
So in these times of darkness,
where evil increases day by day,
we rejoice in your promise that even in the darkest valley you are with us and will never forsake us.
We commend into your safekeeping those whose lives have been lost.
We entrust to your protection every woman and every child in our country.
And we pray that the forces of evil which give rise to such violence will be swallowed up by love.
Lord, we have trusted in your steadfast love.
May our hearts rejoice in your salvation.
Amen.
A Prayer for reconciliation
Where there is separation,
there is pain.
And where there is pain,
there is story.
And where there is story,
there is understanding,
and misunderstanding,
listening
and not listening.
May we — separated peoples, estranged strangers,
unfriended families, divided communities --
turn toward each other,
and turn toward our stories,
with understanding
and listening,
with argument and acceptance,
with challenge, change
and consolation.
Because if God is to be found,
God will be found
in the space
between.
Amen.
Found on Twitter yesterday
Lina the chaplaincy & parish hound @LinaHound Sep 5
‘God will be found in the space between’. #padraigotuama #eveningprayer
20190908Creation01_Sermon
[Check out the Lament, Prayers of the People and Prayer of Reconciliation at the end of this sermon]
When I contacted Rachel Mash, our provincial canon in charge of environmental matters and asked if we were going to get a list of lessons and readings for the Season of creation, she emailed back to say that it had been decided to stick to the Lectionary Lessons and develop the Creation Themes from these lessons. “More difficult to do this,” she said, “but worthwhile.” I agree with her. I believe that the Bible is the living word of God, meaning it can fit into all things that happen to us, all issues we face, because we are living beings, we can find answers in the bible. Whether it is to climate change, men’s attitude towards women and children or whether it is our attitude towards the strangers and the sojourners in our land, the answer is found in God’s word. But we can’t pick and choose verse to suit our particular situation.
There is the lovely story about the man who was seeking an answer to what he should do, so he decided to open his bible randomly and do whatever the first verse says he should do. So, he by chance opened it to the end of Matthew’s Gospel and putting his finger randomly at a text; it was the passage dealing with Judas Iscariot, he read the verse his finger pointed at: Matt 27:5 “…and he went and hanged himself” Not quite the answer he was hoping for or wanted, so he tried again this time he opened Luke 10 the Good Samaritan parable and his finger pointed to the verse 37: “Jesus said: “Go and do likewise.”
But the scriptures do speak into our situation as they do today. All three lessons and the psalm have special messages for us, speaking into the theme set for 8th Sept in the Month of Creation: The Consequence of Lifestyle. Isn’t amazing how in this week our country is aflame because of our lifestyle; how we treat women; how we treat foreigners and strangers in our land. But this is the month of creation so…
Maybe you are asking why should we make the huge changes to our lifestyles that are necessary for climate change to be slowed down? After all, you might say, “I’ll be dead long before the sea level rises and floods Fish Hoek or Glencairn.” Well today’s passages unpack some of the reasons why. Four passages, four very good reasons.
As humans we have responsibility. God is Almighty, yet God allows us as human beings to make choices. We heard this in that first reading from Deuteronomy: See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, … Choose life so that you and your descendants may live. God does not say “You will do it my way or no way”. God says, “Choose life”. Climate change and environmental degradation are results of the choices that we individually have made in our personal lifestyles and also that governments have made in their choices around economics and technology. Although the situation is bleak, it is not yet too late, we can choose life. Paul writing to the Romans 8:19 reminds us that, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God”. Our individual choices make a difference - and when those many small changes are networked with multitudes of others and their choices they can lead to transformational change.
The Psalms are the community hymn book of Old Testament and also of the Church today. Our daily readings go through the entire Psalter in two months. So, what does the very first psalm say to us about creation and life style choices? Well, by its very nature the psalms place us within a community with the web of life. Notice how today’s psalm speaks of a green tree alongside a river bearing fruit in other words doing what God created it to do. This image, this picture reminds us that Creation is wonderfully made and every creature is precious in God’s sight. So therefore, we need to take time to lament the loss of each member of God’s family of Creation -human animal or plant. We to act to protect the great biodiversity that still exists before it is too late.
Last week I commented that when we say “Month of Creation” we immediately think of the natural environment but Creation also means Care for other members of our Global Family of human beings. The story of Philemon and Onesimus reminds us that we have a responsibility to care for people who are vulnerable, as Philemon was. We need to recognise as sisters and brothers, people from all across the world. If floods or droughts affect our sisters in the Solomon Islands, we need to take responsibility of it. I know that as we faced our water crisis here in Cape Town, our friends in Bangalore were concerned and took responsibility with us. We also have to realise that there is an urgency to act, as floods and drought increase, we will see a rapid increase in climate refugees and impact on safety and security.
Our Gospel today calls us to be disciples not just followers. What’s the difference? Good old Wikipedia helped me here: A Follower is (literally) one who follows, while a disciple is a person who learns from another, especially one who then teaches others. We learn from Jesus, if we are disciples of Jesus. Jesus called people to be disciples, it was not just a physical following. Following spiritually involves a “metanoia” (radical turning around, a conversion) of lifestyle, world-view and spiritual orientation. As Paul says ‘So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!’ (2 Cor 5.17). If our lifestyle as Christians is the same as those who are not Christians then we need to ask ourselves questions – have we been transformed from the culture of the day which worships consumerism? Have we “turned around”?
So, where can I start? The environmental challenges are so huge and what can one person do? The place to start is here: follow your heartbreak. [Rpt] We cannot all be involved in all the environmental issues, so identify the one that breaks your heart. Perhaps it is climate change and the face of drought and famine that moves you. Educate yourself about the impact of climate change on a country or community where you have links. Commit yourself to doing an electricity and fuel audit of your home and your church. See how you can make small changes (geyser blanket, lift sharing, changing light bulbs). Get others involved in bigger project – solar panels for the church or local school – and find out what your politician’s stance is on renewable energy and challenge them in letters to the press. Get our diocese or even the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to divest from investments in fossil fuels. Yes, I know we are just about all pensioners here. Well, look at where your pension fund’s money is invested, can it be taken out of fossil fuels?
Perhaps it is plastic which breaks your heart, clogging our oceans and lands. Commit yourself to stop using plastic bags for shopping. I have…have you? Reduce one-use plastic for your family. Start a campaign here at church! I know Heather was part of a survey to see which restaurants used polystyrene for Take-aways and plastic straws. Most Simon’s Town take-aways have now stop this. Why don’t we as a church put pressure on supermarkets to stop using plastic bags? I know that Food Lovers Market has. In fact, let’s get the Minister of the Environment to ban plastic bags – it has been done in Kenya and Rwanda and I saw it in certain states in India, last year. Why don’t we start a “Make our own bags” campaign? Perhaps the tapestry guild or other people with sewing machines can make a few simple shopping bags and we can design a St Francis logo to put on it and sell them here? Just an idea!
Finally, perhaps it is the loss of biodiversity that breaks your heart, as animals and birds die out due to our neglect and greed. Start by stop using chemicals and products that kill insects. Start or support an organic garden. E.g. FB Hospital Paul Greyling. Find a part of Creation near you that you can care for and encourage others to get involved in (river clean -up, local park or nature reserve). Get involved in an international campaign to protect an animal you care about.
The needs are huge – but the principle is this: start with what breaks your heart. Find an action you and your family can take. Inspire others, join networks. Research tells us that transformation comes when networked individuals change. And have fun!!- God is with you.
Listen carefully to the prayer requests in the General Intercessions that follow. Make them your own in your hearts.
A litany for transforming relationships – as sent to parish by the Diocese of False Bay
[Introduction] The Prayers of the People today deal with the urgent issue facing our nation as part of the #Am I Next? Movement. We remember women and children being abused as well as the xenophobia attacks as we pray for a transforming of relationships. When I say “Living God in your mercy: can you respond hear our prayer.
God of wisdom and care, we pray to you for all whom you call to share in the work of transforming the world so that girls and boys, women and men, may live, work and learn together with respect and dignity.
For maternal and children’s health workers and advocates for girls’ education, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For law-makers policy-makers and lobby groups, shaping structures that protect and promote women’s wellbeing, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For marriage counsellors and relationship educators, developing healthy partnerships and good parenting skills, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For religious leaders and communities of faith, shaping beliefs about the worth of women and girls, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For women in business, industry, politics and education, leading by example and providing role models, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For police and community workers sifting through the damage done by domestic violence. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For prison chaplains and restorative justice programmes, giving hope where violence has shattered many lives, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For counsellors and social workers offering a new start for survivors of domestic violence. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For women’s refuges and men’s support groups creating safe spaces for problems to be named and tackled, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For campaigners against human trafficking and the sex trade, pricking the conscience of complacent societies. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For organisations, programmes and individuals offering support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For specialised care for traumatised children bringing healing and hope for a life beyond suffering, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Hear our prayers, O God, for you will take no rest from your work of healing until you have wiped away the tears from every face, through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Lament
By Fr Andrew Holmes
How long, O Lord? How long?
How long must our country groan under the weight of violence?
Today we remember
Meghan Cramer,
Lynette Volschenk,
Jesse Hess,
Uyinene Mrwetyana,
Leighandré Jegels,
Janika Mallo
and the many other women and children whose lives have been taken from them in the most brutal fashion.
How long, O Lord?
How long must our women live in fear;
our children be surrounded by violence?
How many more women and children have to die?
How long will it be before our women can live without the fear of abuse?
How long will it be before our children are able to grow up knowing only love and affection?
How long must we wait for fathers, brothers and sons to exercise only care and loving protection within their families?
How long will it be before our men, created in your image,
recognise that our women are also created in your image,
and treat them accordingly?
How long will it be before our children can play freely without fear of abduction, injury or death?
As Jesus carried his cross to Calvary,
so many of our women and children carry the daily burden of fear and pain.
As Jesus’ life was cruelly taken on the cross,
so many of our women and children die violently in their homes and on our streets.
As Jesus rose again for our salvation,
so we are reassured by the undying hope that sin and death will never have the last word.
Lord, you have searched us out and known us.
You know our sitting down and our rising up.
You know our deepest fears, our sharpest pains.
Nothing is hidden from your sight.
So in these times of darkness,
where evil increases day by day,
we rejoice in your promise that even in the darkest valley you are with us and will never forsake us.
We commend into your safekeeping those whose lives have been lost.
We entrust to your protection every woman and every child in our country.
And we pray that the forces of evil which give rise to such violence will be swallowed up by love.
Lord, we have trusted in your steadfast love.
May our hearts rejoice in your salvation.
Amen.
A Prayer for reconciliation
Where there is separation,
there is pain.
And where there is pain,
there is story.
And where there is story,
there is understanding,
and misunderstanding,
listening
and not listening.
May we — separated peoples, estranged strangers,
unfriended families, divided communities --
turn toward each other,
and turn toward our stories,
with understanding
and listening,
with argument and acceptance,
with challenge, change
and consolation.
Because if God is to be found,
God will be found
in the space
between.
Amen.
Found on Twitter yesterday
Lina the chaplaincy & parish hound @LinaHound Sep 5
‘God will be found in the space between’. #padraigotuama #eveningprayer
[Check out the Lament, Prayers of the People and Prayer of Reconciliation at the end of this sermon]
When I contacted Rachel Mash, our provincial canon in charge of environmental matters and asked if we were going to get a list of lessons and readings for the Season of creation, she emailed back to say that it had been decided to stick to the Lectionary Lessons and develop the Creation Themes from these lessons. “More difficult to do this,” she said, “but worthwhile.” I agree with her. I believe that the Bible is the living word of God, meaning it can fit into all things that happen to us, all issues we face, because we are living beings, we can find answers in the bible. Whether it is to climate change, men’s attitude towards women and children or whether it is our attitude towards the strangers and the sojourners in our land, the answer is found in God’s word. But we can’t pick and choose verse to suit our particular situation.
There is the lovely story about the man who was seeking an answer to what he should do, so he decided to open his bible randomly and do whatever the first verse says he should do. So, he by chance opened it to the end of Matthew’s Gospel and putting his finger randomly at a text; it was the passage dealing with Judas Iscariot, he read the verse his finger pointed at: Matt 27:5 “…and he went and hanged himself” Not quite the answer he was hoping for or wanted, so he tried again this time he opened Luke 10 the Good Samaritan parable and his finger pointed to the verse 37: “Jesus said: “Go and do likewise.”
But the scriptures do speak into our situation as they do today. All three lessons and the psalm have special messages for us, speaking into the theme set for 8th Sept in the Month of Creation: The Consequence of Lifestyle. Isn’t amazing how in this week our country is aflame because of our lifestyle; how we treat women; how we treat foreigners and strangers in our land. But this is the month of creation so…
Maybe you are asking why should we make the huge changes to our lifestyles that are necessary for climate change to be slowed down? After all, you might say, “I’ll be dead long before the sea level rises and floods Fish Hoek or Glencairn.” Well today’s passages unpack some of the reasons why. Four passages, four very good reasons.
As humans we have responsibility. God is Almighty, yet God allows us as human beings to make choices. We heard this in that first reading from Deuteronomy: See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, … Choose life so that you and your descendants may live. God does not say “You will do it my way or no way”. God says, “Choose life”. Climate change and environmental degradation are results of the choices that we individually have made in our personal lifestyles and also that governments have made in their choices around economics and technology. Although the situation is bleak, it is not yet too late, we can choose life. Paul writing to the Romans 8:19 reminds us that, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God”. Our individual choices make a difference - and when those many small changes are networked with multitudes of others and their choices they can lead to transformational change.
The Psalms are the community hymn book of Old Testament and also of the Church today. Our daily readings go through the entire Psalter in two months. So, what does the very first psalm say to us about creation and life style choices? Well, by its very nature the psalms place us within a community with the web of life. Notice how today’s psalm speaks of a green tree alongside a river bearing fruit in other words doing what God created it to do. This image, this picture reminds us that Creation is wonderfully made and every creature is precious in God’s sight. So therefore, we need to take time to lament the loss of each member of God’s family of Creation -human animal or plant. We to act to protect the great biodiversity that still exists before it is too late.
Last week I commented that when we say “Month of Creation” we immediately think of the natural environment but Creation also means Care for other members of our Global Family of human beings. The story of Philemon and Onesimus reminds us that we have a responsibility to care for people who are vulnerable, as Philemon was. We need to recognise as sisters and brothers, people from all across the world. If floods or droughts affect our sisters in the Solomon Islands, we need to take responsibility of it. I know that as we faced our water crisis here in Cape Town, our friends in Bangalore were concerned and took responsibility with us. We also have to realise that there is an urgency to act, as floods and drought increase, we will see a rapid increase in climate refugees and impact on safety and security.
Our Gospel today calls us to be disciples not just followers. What’s the difference? Good old Wikipedia helped me here: A Follower is (literally) one who follows, while a disciple is a person who learns from another, especially one who then teaches others. We learn from Jesus, if we are disciples of Jesus. Jesus called people to be disciples, it was not just a physical following. Following spiritually involves a “metanoia” (radical turning around, a conversion) of lifestyle, world-view and spiritual orientation. As Paul says ‘So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new!’ (2 Cor 5.17). If our lifestyle as Christians is the same as those who are not Christians then we need to ask ourselves questions – have we been transformed from the culture of the day which worships consumerism? Have we “turned around”?
So, where can I start? The environmental challenges are so huge and what can one person do? The place to start is here: follow your heartbreak. [Rpt] We cannot all be involved in all the environmental issues, so identify the one that breaks your heart. Perhaps it is climate change and the face of drought and famine that moves you. Educate yourself about the impact of climate change on a country or community where you have links. Commit yourself to doing an electricity and fuel audit of your home and your church. See how you can make small changes (geyser blanket, lift sharing, changing light bulbs). Get others involved in bigger project – solar panels for the church or local school – and find out what your politician’s stance is on renewable energy and challenge them in letters to the press. Get our diocese or even the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to divest from investments in fossil fuels. Yes, I know we are just about all pensioners here. Well, look at where your pension fund’s money is invested, can it be taken out of fossil fuels?
Perhaps it is plastic which breaks your heart, clogging our oceans and lands. Commit yourself to stop using plastic bags for shopping. I have…have you? Reduce one-use plastic for your family. Start a campaign here at church! I know Heather was part of a survey to see which restaurants used polystyrene for Take-aways and plastic straws. Most Simon’s Town take-aways have now stop this. Why don’t we as a church put pressure on supermarkets to stop using plastic bags? I know that Food Lovers Market has. In fact, let’s get the Minister of the Environment to ban plastic bags – it has been done in Kenya and Rwanda and I saw it in certain states in India, last year. Why don’t we start a “Make our own bags” campaign? Perhaps the tapestry guild or other people with sewing machines can make a few simple shopping bags and we can design a St Francis logo to put on it and sell them here? Just an idea!
Finally, perhaps it is the loss of biodiversity that breaks your heart, as animals and birds die out due to our neglect and greed. Start by stop using chemicals and products that kill insects. Start or support an organic garden. E.g. FB Hospital Paul Greyling. Find a part of Creation near you that you can care for and encourage others to get involved in (river clean -up, local park or nature reserve). Get involved in an international campaign to protect an animal you care about.
The needs are huge – but the principle is this: start with what breaks your heart. Find an action you and your family can take. Inspire others, join networks. Research tells us that transformation comes when networked individuals change. And have fun!!- God is with you.
Listen carefully to the prayer requests in the General Intercessions that follow. Make them your own in your hearts.
A litany for transforming relationships – as sent to parish by the Diocese of False Bay
[Introduction] The Prayers of the People today deal with the urgent issue facing our nation as part of the #Am I Next? Movement. We remember women and children being abused as well as the xenophobia attacks as we pray for a transforming of relationships. When I say “Living God in your mercy: can you respond hear our prayer.
God of wisdom and care, we pray to you for all whom you call to share in the work of transforming the world so that girls and boys, women and men, may live, work and learn together with respect and dignity.
For maternal and children’s health workers and advocates for girls’ education, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For law-makers policy-makers and lobby groups, shaping structures that protect and promote women’s wellbeing, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For marriage counsellors and relationship educators, developing healthy partnerships and good parenting skills, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For religious leaders and communities of faith, shaping beliefs about the worth of women and girls, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For women in business, industry, politics and education, leading by example and providing role models, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For police and community workers sifting through the damage done by domestic violence. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For prison chaplains and restorative justice programmes, giving hope where violence has shattered many lives, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For counsellors and social workers offering a new start for survivors of domestic violence. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For women’s refuges and men’s support groups creating safe spaces for problems to be named and tackled, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For campaigners against human trafficking and the sex trade, pricking the conscience of complacent societies. Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For organisations, programmes and individuals offering support to survivors of rape and sexual abuse, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
For specialised care for traumatised children bringing healing and hope for a life beyond suffering, Living God, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Hear our prayers, O God, for you will take no rest from your work of healing until you have wiped away the tears from every face, through our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
A Lament
By Fr Andrew Holmes
How long, O Lord? How long?
How long must our country groan under the weight of violence?
Today we remember
Meghan Cramer,
Lynette Volschenk,
Jesse Hess,
Uyinene Mrwetyana,
Leighandré Jegels,
Janika Mallo
and the many other women and children whose lives have been taken from them in the most brutal fashion.
How long, O Lord?
How long must our women live in fear;
our children be surrounded by violence?
How many more women and children have to die?
How long will it be before our women can live without the fear of abuse?
How long will it be before our children are able to grow up knowing only love and affection?
How long must we wait for fathers, brothers and sons to exercise only care and loving protection within their families?
How long will it be before our men, created in your image,
recognise that our women are also created in your image,
and treat them accordingly?
How long will it be before our children can play freely without fear of abduction, injury or death?
As Jesus carried his cross to Calvary,
so many of our women and children carry the daily burden of fear and pain.
As Jesus’ life was cruelly taken on the cross,
so many of our women and children die violently in their homes and on our streets.
As Jesus rose again for our salvation,
so we are reassured by the undying hope that sin and death will never have the last word.
Lord, you have searched us out and known us.
You know our sitting down and our rising up.
You know our deepest fears, our sharpest pains.
Nothing is hidden from your sight.
So in these times of darkness,
where evil increases day by day,
we rejoice in your promise that even in the darkest valley you are with us and will never forsake us.
We commend into your safekeeping those whose lives have been lost.
We entrust to your protection every woman and every child in our country.
And we pray that the forces of evil which give rise to such violence will be swallowed up by love.
Lord, we have trusted in your steadfast love.
May our hearts rejoice in your salvation.
Amen.
A Prayer for reconciliation
Where there is separation,
there is pain.
And where there is pain,
there is story.
And where there is story,
there is understanding,
and misunderstanding,
listening
and not listening.
May we — separated peoples, estranged strangers,
unfriended families, divided communities --
turn toward each other,
and turn toward our stories,
with understanding
and listening,
with argument and acceptance,
with challenge, change
and consolation.
Because if God is to be found,
God will be found
in the space
between.
Amen.
Found on Twitter yesterday
Lina the chaplaincy & parish hound @LinaHound Sep 5
‘God will be found in the space between’. #padraigotuama #eveningprayer
SEASON OF CREATION
20190901Creation00_sermon
Today is the start of the Season of Creation. I thought it was starting next week so I’m ad lib a bit in my sermon today and trying to use the exciting event of the 147th Anniversary of the Death of Bishop Robert Gray as a springboard into our four week celebration of the month Creation.
All too often when we talk about Creation Season, we immediately think “the natural environment”. Quite a few years ago now a friend of mine and Karen from East London was spending a holiday with us. She was talking about stopping off at game reserves as she drove back to East London. I said that Game Reserves and Nationals Parks were not really my cup-of-tea. This friend expressed amazement. “Surely,” she said, “as a priest in the Church of God you must appreciate the beauty of God’s creation in the natural world?” I said I did but what I found more interesting and exciting was the way humankind – also God-created - used their God-given gifts in the created world. She said she had never thought of it that way before. I was rather chuffed that my hastily thought-out excuse for not really liking the wilderness and games parks, was taken as a deeply philosophical thought-out answer!
Since that conversation I have been to a few Game reserves but I must admit, the part I really enjoyed is when we drive out the exit gate again and head back to our comfortable hotel!
I remembered this event in my life when I realised that today was the start of the season of creation and also the Feast Day of Bishop Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town and the founder of the Church of the Province of South Africa, now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. I thought I could use his feast to look at Creation from a different perspective that maybe you hadn’t thought of before either.
Robert Gray came to South Africa as Bishop of Cape Town in 1848. His presumed task was to minister to the English settlers. Missionary work although not forbidden was not his first priority. He landed in Table Bay and was carried ashore from the small boat which had brought him from the larger ship in the bay. The people who carried him ashore were Muslim men employed to do this task and as he walked through the streets of Cape Town he noticed that many Scotch, Welsh and Irish women had married Malay (as they were known then) or Muslim men. His concern about this caused him to start the Mission to the Muslims here in CT. Gray viewed his role as planting churches and ordaining priests to minister in those churches, so of course Missionary work soon began too.
Gray’s Diocese was more-or-less from the Zimbabwe River southwards to Cape Agulhas and from one side of Southern Africa to the other. He travelled on horseback over most of Southern Africa, establishing churches and later dioceses in the vast stretches of this land. Some of these dioceses were in, what were at that time, the independent nations of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republics. This made him realise that to view the church as “The Church of England” was foolish, so following what was happening in New Zealand, he set about establishing an Anglican Church in South Africa which had its own Constitution and Canons, independent from the Church of England. In doing this Gray was being creative, using the gift of creativity God had given him to enable the Church to grow on this part of the African continent.
Gray worked hard in the Church, taking long trips away from Cape Town -all on horse-back, of course. He soon exhausted himself. I love a comment in his biography written by his son Charles, that he had “rheumatism of the brain”! Isn’t that a cute Victoria way of saying he had burn-out from stress. Gray died on 1 September 1872 and is buried with his wife Sophy, who designed so many of the old church in this diocese, at St Saviour’s, Claremont.
One does not have to be a world leader, a church leader or even a great artist to be creative. The choir’s anthem at Communion today/tomorrow is a good example of what I’m trying to say about being creative. Not being rude saying that they are creative in their singing style or ability! Rather I’m talking about the anthem itself. The anthem is Simple Gifts. You will recognise it perhaps as the melody of the hymn tune, Lord of the Dance no: AMR 375 Or you might recognise it as the Shaker Tune used by the American Composer, Aaron Copeland in his ballet Appalachian Spring. Others of you into interior design, furniture and décor might recognise the name “Shaker” as a description of a certain style of furniture. This was usually simple and utilitarian without the highly decorative look of many rococo buildings, furniture and interiors from the late 18th Century.
I had heard the name “Shaker” and knew they were an American religious sect but I had no idea where they came from and what they believed. They grew out of the Quaker revival in England in 1747. They were a millennial church believing that Christ’s Second Coming would be soon. They were persecuted in the UK and so they made their way across to the USA in 1774. The term Shaker comes from the shaking by which under the stress of spiritual exultation they were possessed during their meetings. Their idea of Community was very strong and they lived in large houses as “families” being between 30 to 90 strong.
The song Tis a gift to be simple is really a Dancing song – they worshipped with dance and movement. Their dances were a bit like barn dances with interweaving of couples and groups of couples – hence the line in the song. Let me read the word of the whole song to you:
'Tis the gift to be simple
'Tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
It will be in the valley of love and delight
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed
To turn, turn, will be our delight
'Til by turning, turning, we come round right
The simplistic life style of the shakers is expressed in this song and in their furniture. It gave them freedom to be where they “ought to be”. And from there it is a short step to “the valley of love and delight”- heaven. The equality of all members makes them happy to respect all and not be ashamed “to bow and to bend” to one another. The last two lines about turning has double meaning – turning as in a dance, as I’ve said, but also turning from the ways of the world to the ways of God.
I looked for a simply but profound rendition of this song on You Tube in order to play it to the congregation at St Andrews because they won’t have the pleasure of hearing the choir sing it. This is a simply song but I was amazed at the different arrangements I found. Arranged and rearranged in so many forms from dramatic operatic aria style through Massed choir of the Mormon Tabernacle, from world famous soprano Marilyn Horne to numerous solo folk singers plucking away on guitars as sang. I’m going to play a version by cellist YoYo Ma and Soprano Alison Krauss [Play recording]. Obviously, when sung as a Dance, it is quite a bit faster. Our choir sing it more like a dance. The arrangement is simple but the second time through it ends as a canon. Listen for it at the end of communion.
For me this song demonstrates the Creativity of Humankind. Simple words expressing deep personal salvation, sung to a simple melody which is so catchy that I’m sure many of you will be whistling it on the way home. Yet in the hands of God-gift musicians such as composer Aaron Copeland and cellist Yoyo Ma it touches us – as does the simplicity of Shaker furniture.
What I seem to have given you today doesn’t appear to be a sermon but rather a lecture. What is the difference between a lecture and a sermon? A Speech/address/lecture give you information which is informative, entertaining and educational. A Sermon also teaches, but uses things of God – Scripture and/or theology to do that teaching. It has a spiritual basis, encouraging the hearers on their spiritual journey. And most importantly, it has a take home message.
What is this sermon’s take home message? It hopefully taught you that concern for Creation is more than just concern for the natural environment. Creation can be and is being simply creative – all your gifts and talents are from God. These, too, must be honoured, encouraged and preserved. Creation can call you to do something complex or call you to do something simple. Each of us is created and sustained by God; we must use our God-given talents and skills to let God shine through us to lighten our world – just as Robert Gray did when establish the Anglican Church of Southern Africa – just as those Shaker Church members did when they incorporated the hymn Simply Gifts in to the human repertoire of music. Be creative and become a joint creator with God as you practice your talents.
20190901Creation00_sermon
Today is the start of the Season of Creation. I thought it was starting next week so I’m ad lib a bit in my sermon today and trying to use the exciting event of the 147th Anniversary of the Death of Bishop Robert Gray as a springboard into our four week celebration of the month Creation.
All too often when we talk about Creation Season, we immediately think “the natural environment”. Quite a few years ago now a friend of mine and Karen from East London was spending a holiday with us. She was talking about stopping off at game reserves as she drove back to East London. I said that Game Reserves and Nationals Parks were not really my cup-of-tea. This friend expressed amazement. “Surely,” she said, “as a priest in the Church of God you must appreciate the beauty of God’s creation in the natural world?” I said I did but what I found more interesting and exciting was the way humankind – also God-created - used their God-given gifts in the created world. She said she had never thought of it that way before. I was rather chuffed that my hastily thought-out excuse for not really liking the wilderness and games parks, was taken as a deeply philosophical thought-out answer!
Since that conversation I have been to a few Game reserves but I must admit, the part I really enjoyed is when we drive out the exit gate again and head back to our comfortable hotel!
I remembered this event in my life when I realised that today was the start of the season of creation and also the Feast Day of Bishop Robert Gray, the first Bishop of Cape Town and the founder of the Church of the Province of South Africa, now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. I thought I could use his feast to look at Creation from a different perspective that maybe you hadn’t thought of before either.
Robert Gray came to South Africa as Bishop of Cape Town in 1848. His presumed task was to minister to the English settlers. Missionary work although not forbidden was not his first priority. He landed in Table Bay and was carried ashore from the small boat which had brought him from the larger ship in the bay. The people who carried him ashore were Muslim men employed to do this task and as he walked through the streets of Cape Town he noticed that many Scotch, Welsh and Irish women had married Malay (as they were known then) or Muslim men. His concern about this caused him to start the Mission to the Muslims here in CT. Gray viewed his role as planting churches and ordaining priests to minister in those churches, so of course Missionary work soon began too.
Gray’s Diocese was more-or-less from the Zimbabwe River southwards to Cape Agulhas and from one side of Southern Africa to the other. He travelled on horseback over most of Southern Africa, establishing churches and later dioceses in the vast stretches of this land. Some of these dioceses were in, what were at that time, the independent nations of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal Republics. This made him realise that to view the church as “The Church of England” was foolish, so following what was happening in New Zealand, he set about establishing an Anglican Church in South Africa which had its own Constitution and Canons, independent from the Church of England. In doing this Gray was being creative, using the gift of creativity God had given him to enable the Church to grow on this part of the African continent.
Gray worked hard in the Church, taking long trips away from Cape Town -all on horse-back, of course. He soon exhausted himself. I love a comment in his biography written by his son Charles, that he had “rheumatism of the brain”! Isn’t that a cute Victoria way of saying he had burn-out from stress. Gray died on 1 September 1872 and is buried with his wife Sophy, who designed so many of the old church in this diocese, at St Saviour’s, Claremont.
One does not have to be a world leader, a church leader or even a great artist to be creative. The choir’s anthem at Communion today/tomorrow is a good example of what I’m trying to say about being creative. Not being rude saying that they are creative in their singing style or ability! Rather I’m talking about the anthem itself. The anthem is Simple Gifts. You will recognise it perhaps as the melody of the hymn tune, Lord of the Dance no: AMR 375 Or you might recognise it as the Shaker Tune used by the American Composer, Aaron Copeland in his ballet Appalachian Spring. Others of you into interior design, furniture and décor might recognise the name “Shaker” as a description of a certain style of furniture. This was usually simple and utilitarian without the highly decorative look of many rococo buildings, furniture and interiors from the late 18th Century.
I had heard the name “Shaker” and knew they were an American religious sect but I had no idea where they came from and what they believed. They grew out of the Quaker revival in England in 1747. They were a millennial church believing that Christ’s Second Coming would be soon. They were persecuted in the UK and so they made their way across to the USA in 1774. The term Shaker comes from the shaking by which under the stress of spiritual exultation they were possessed during their meetings. Their idea of Community was very strong and they lived in large houses as “families” being between 30 to 90 strong.
The song Tis a gift to be simple is really a Dancing song – they worshipped with dance and movement. Their dances were a bit like barn dances with interweaving of couples and groups of couples – hence the line in the song. Let me read the word of the whole song to you:
'Tis the gift to be simple
'Tis the gift to be free
'Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be
And when we find ourselves in the place just right
It will be in the valley of love and delight
When true simplicity is gained
To bow and to bend, we will not be ashamed
To turn, turn, will be our delight
'Til by turning, turning, we come round right
The simplistic life style of the shakers is expressed in this song and in their furniture. It gave them freedom to be where they “ought to be”. And from there it is a short step to “the valley of love and delight”- heaven. The equality of all members makes them happy to respect all and not be ashamed “to bow and to bend” to one another. The last two lines about turning has double meaning – turning as in a dance, as I’ve said, but also turning from the ways of the world to the ways of God.
I looked for a simply but profound rendition of this song on You Tube in order to play it to the congregation at St Andrews because they won’t have the pleasure of hearing the choir sing it. This is a simply song but I was amazed at the different arrangements I found. Arranged and rearranged in so many forms from dramatic operatic aria style through Massed choir of the Mormon Tabernacle, from world famous soprano Marilyn Horne to numerous solo folk singers plucking away on guitars as sang. I’m going to play a version by cellist YoYo Ma and Soprano Alison Krauss [Play recording]. Obviously, when sung as a Dance, it is quite a bit faster. Our choir sing it more like a dance. The arrangement is simple but the second time through it ends as a canon. Listen for it at the end of communion.
For me this song demonstrates the Creativity of Humankind. Simple words expressing deep personal salvation, sung to a simple melody which is so catchy that I’m sure many of you will be whistling it on the way home. Yet in the hands of God-gift musicians such as composer Aaron Copeland and cellist Yoyo Ma it touches us – as does the simplicity of Shaker furniture.
What I seem to have given you today doesn’t appear to be a sermon but rather a lecture. What is the difference between a lecture and a sermon? A Speech/address/lecture give you information which is informative, entertaining and educational. A Sermon also teaches, but uses things of God – Scripture and/or theology to do that teaching. It has a spiritual basis, encouraging the hearers on their spiritual journey. And most importantly, it has a take home message.
What is this sermon’s take home message? It hopefully taught you that concern for Creation is more than just concern for the natural environment. Creation can be and is being simply creative – all your gifts and talents are from God. These, too, must be honoured, encouraged and preserved. Creation can call you to do something complex or call you to do something simple. Each of us is created and sustained by God; we must use our God-given talents and skills to let God shine through us to lighten our world – just as Robert Gray did when establish the Anglican Church of Southern Africa – just as those Shaker Church members did when they incorporated the hymn Simply Gifts in to the human repertoire of music. Be creative and become a joint creator with God as you practice your talents.
20190825EleventhAfterPentecost_Sermon
At Beginning of his ministry Jesus he entered his home-town synagogue and proclaimed:
18 ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives
and recovery of sight to the blind,
to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’
Then he rolled up the scroll, and with all eyes on him he said, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’
Today we are seeing Jesus do what he came to do. "Today this scripture has been fulfilled." Today's gospel is Jesus fulfilling the ministry he announced in Luke 4. Jesus in chapter 4 quoted from the prophet Isaiah. Our OT lesson is also from Isaiah, but not the passage Jesus quoted. However, Isaiah 58 - our reading today - speaks into the gospel as well.
It begins with 4 verses of "if...then" type argument. If we remove the yoke, in other words, stop forcing hardship on others, if we feed the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then what will happen? "Then your light shall rise in the darkness, and your gloom be like the noonday." Ok Isaiah does get all poetic, but doesn't he put it so well! But he goes on: we will be guided by the Lord, who will satisfy our needs regardless how dry our own lives might feel. The Lord will make our bones strong. Isaiah then goes into a two verses of metaphors describing what it will be like; "a watered garden”, "a spring of water whose waters never fail", like “ruins rebuilt” which will be a foundation for future generation.
The remaining two verses of our passage speak of what will happen if we don't do the positive things the Lord mentioned in the first few verses, in particular in relationship to the Sabbath. Of course, in our Gospel Jesus is attacked for healing on the Sabbath. But look carefully at what God through Isaiah says. Yes, God accuses God’s hearers of "trampling the sabbath" but the next few words are important, by "pursuing your own interests on my holy day". No, the Lord through his prophet Isaiah says we must call the sabbath "a delight" and "honourable" - if we do so we shall take "delight in the Lord" and the Lord will make us ride "upon the heights of the Earth"
So, how is Jesus' teaching in our Gospel show the ministry what he actually came to do? And is what Jesus does in the Gospel "trample" on the Sabbath?
As we look at our reading, you will also see that what Jesus does, corresponds to the Church’s "Five Marks of Mission”. What that means is that the Church, using the gospels of Jesus Christ, has drawn up signs and symbols that show, if we follow them, that we are following the ministry and lifestyle of Jesus. The Presbyterian Church of Scotland has a wonderful table showing this clearly using Luke Chapter 4, our Gospel -Luke 13 and the Five Marks of Mission. I'll incorporate the table in my online sermon but for now I must do it orally, so listen carefully.
Firstly, in Luke 4 Jesus said that the spirit was upon him to bring good news to the poor. And our Gospel starts by saying: Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. Teaching is the classic way of bringing the good news to others. Mission Mark number one says: To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom.
Secondly, Jesus reading from Isaiah says in Luke 4 that he has come to proclaim release to the captives. In our gospel Jesus says to the woman bent over and unable to stand upright: ‘Woman, you are set free from your ailment.’ Mission Mark number three: To respond to human need by loving service.
Thirdly, the religious authorities, in this case the leader of the synagogue, was not happy. He was indignant that Jesus healed on the Sabbath. Remember, today's Isaiah reading said we mustn't trample the sabbath - but it went on - pursuing your own interests on the sabbath. Was Jesus “pursuing” his own interest or was he re-framing the Sabbath in comparison to the leader of the synagogues who had an over-legalistic view; instead one of charity? By doing this Jesus is showing us that Mission Mark number three, is to respond to human need by loving service.
Fourthly, Jesus gets very irate and responses to the leader: Ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen long years, be set free from this bondage on the sabbath day?’ In Jesus' early description of his ministry using Isaiah in Luke 4 he said that came to let the oppressed go free. Releasing this woman from her ailment, was setting her free. Mission Mark number four says we are to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation.
Lastly, there is one final mark of mission. It is an additional one, added fairly recently; To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation, and sustain and renew the life of the earth. We might view it as a contemporary issue but in our Gospel Jesus speaks into it, too. Jesus said: Does not each of you on the sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger, and lead it away to give it water? Yes, even the people who tried to shame Jesus for healing on the Sabbath were willing to break their sabbath rules for the sake of their animals’ well-being. So, says Jesus, what about this woman? And Jesus says to us today, what about your figurative ox and donkey? What about the very creation in which we live and have our being? Surely, we must strive to re-frame our Sabbath to preserve Creation in terms of our faith in God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit?
This healing of the woman occurred while Jesus was teaching, so when at the end of reading the Gospel I said, “This is the Gospel of Christ”, it truly is so. It becomes a message of peace for all creation - past present and future. The religious people of Jesus' day resisted his message. Today, we are also invited to revisit that resistance to Jesus and see what dimensions of Jesus’ holistic mission are we resisting?
The Writer of the Letter to the Hebrews said: Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, by which we offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe; for indeed our God is a consuming fire.
20190814TenthAfterPentecost_Sermon
‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom....' Do you remember that that was the text from last week’s Gospel that I said you wanted to hear this week? This week Jesus says: ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” Hang on a minute! When I was baptised, I don’t remember being told about Jesus bringing fire or division!
Well, just look around you today. There certainly is division. Political division, racial division, religious division and division within one religion and even division within one denomination of that religion. So perhaps we need to listen more carefully to what Jesus has to say and not be like those people of Jeremiah’s day who were happy to only hear the prophecy of those who spoke what they, the people, wanted to hear.
Yes, on the face of it, Jesus is predicting this division in our Gospel reading today. But when we explore this text, we will find other interpretations too. There is ample evidence to suggest that in this passage Jesus is setting the stage for the eventual outcome of his own ministry and what that means for those who follow him i.e. for us.
Our Gospel reading today can be looked at as having three different parts. The first is a quick summary of his ministry and its eventual end; a fire of cleansing judgment that spreads the good news and the baptism of his death in order to conquer death. Following this, is a discussion of the effects the gospel might have on anyone who follows him, and finally, a warning from Jesus about our willingness to hear and see only what we want to. In the first part, vv 49-50, we hear the language of fire and we immediately think 'judgement' and that may be what Christ wants us to think … for now. But, in reality, the fire of judgement demonstrates our own inability to save ourselves. The cleansing fire shows just how much we need God. Fire was meant to destroy the religiosity that people used as a way of “guaranteeing” their salvation, yet, which ironically actually made people more distant from God. What about us today? Can the same be said for our own religion today? It certainly could in Jeremiah’s day. But how do we tell which prophecy we might hear today is from God and which is not? As Jeremiah put it, which is straw and which wheat? The immediate future for the people of Jeremiah's day is judgment. The fire of the true prophet word will burn in judgment. To declare exemption is to align with the dreaming prophets of Jeremiah.
For Jesus, fire will burn down our human need for security and by extension those institutions that provide human security instead of having security in God. The letter to the Hebrews lists those from OT times who had faith. Yet for all of their greatness we hear in this reading, these saints of faith did not receive what was promised, we are told. Their completion -- their “perfection” -- awaited the in-breaking of God’s invisible Word in the incarnate Christ, in his perfect sacrifice and glorification at the right hand of God. We have received that promise, we can complete our perfection.
Jesus’ fire talk is followed by his talk of baptism, which has promise within it. Baptism is a kind of covenant. It is a promise made between us and God and God and us - two way, remember. But do you recall your baptismal promises? Each Easter Day, we renew our Baptismal vows so that we can all hear again and again those promises from us to God and from God to us. Are you still keeping your side of the bargain? We tend to view Baptism as an excuse for a party and expensive gift to the child being baptised. But Baptism is not meant to be simply an easy, joyous occasion. On the one hand, baptism is a promise for us, on the other hand, for Jesus, baptism leads to death on the cross so that we might have life. It is because of this death that our baptism turns into joy and celebration.
For many, and I teach this at the baptism preparation, baptism is the entry into the life of the church. It is to make our lives as part of those ‘Chosen of God’. It is really a vocation, God’s calling to us. For each of us, our call will be different, varied and numerous and they certainly do not end the day we are baptized. What does ends in baptism is the consequence for our failure to live out our calling. So, while joy is a fundamental emotion for baptism, it is joy because of the grace that we are given and not because we will never experience pain again.
In the second part of the gospel vv 51-53 Jesus gets very specific about the division brought by faith in the Gospel. Families being torn apart when the gospel spreads because it changes everything. Think of your own contexts, perhaps division hasn’t happened, but for others it may be about which church to attend, whether we approve of our daughters and son becoming a priest, whether we or family members should become involved in social justice issues, and so on and so on. The gospel’s effects can create division.
An interesting way to explore this is that maybe God is at work in all realities, and that division is not the problem. Perhaps the problem is in our own naive expectation that we have more truth than others. We are back to Jeremiah and those false prophets again! Maybe God could be at work on both sides of an issue? For example: There have been calls within the Christian church to become one church so that all might believe. Yet Jesus’ talk about division may point to a broken reality for Christianity no matter how hard we work toward unity. Perhaps this is Jesus’ very point: that human togetherness is not what the gospel is about. Rather, the gospel preached into the life of an individual person will do its work, and we are left to trust that it is God at work, and resist our attempts to control the outcome. We are left to trust that it is God at work, and resist our attempts to control the outcome.
Our need for control may be the point of the final part of the Gospel, verses 54-56, where Jesus addresses our inability to realize what’s really happening. Why do we remain blind to all that is happening around us concerning Christ and God? Jesus calls those who cannot read what is going on around them ‘hypocrites’. This isn’t exactly hypocrisy, but it’s more like bad vision. The hypocrite label might make sense, if the hypocrites believe that Jesus brings grace, yet they continue to work under the law to achieve their own righteousness. For example: Those Christians who take certain passages of scripture to prove and approve their own position while ignoring other passages of scripture.
We become hypocrites when we believe that we have a monopoly of truth, about ourselves and our world. Hypocrites think they have everything figured out, but keep using human actions to assure themselves of God’s presence but they still want to remain in control. Do we allow ourselves to hear God’s call again and again, or do we rest comfortably in our perfect church attendance or other human works? Another way to put is this: Why do we insist on pretending to ignore the injustices of this world - whatever they? Most likely the answer is that we don’t want to see what’s really happening or our role in the injustices of the world. Are we ignoring the “elephant in the room”?
In my time here as your priest-in-charge I have tried to name certain issues and indicate how they are Gospel issues. I have hoped that for some of you these might be "kairos" moments that changed everything. But Like Jesus, I can say that it may lead to division, but we have to trust that God is at work in all situations, and remember that God has claimed us in our baptisms, not because we’ve been perfect Christians but because God has a vocation for us to follow.
‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom....' Do you remember that that was the text from last week’s Gospel that I said you wanted to hear this week? This week Jesus says: ‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!” Hang on a minute! When I was baptised, I don’t remember being told about Jesus bringing fire or division!
Well, just look around you today. There certainly is division. Political division, racial division, religious division and division within one religion and even division within one denomination of that religion. So perhaps we need to listen more carefully to what Jesus has to say and not be like those people of Jeremiah’s day who were happy to only hear the prophecy of those who spoke what they, the people, wanted to hear.
Yes, on the face of it, Jesus is predicting this division in our Gospel reading today. But when we explore this text, we will find other interpretations too. There is ample evidence to suggest that in this passage Jesus is setting the stage for the eventual outcome of his own ministry and what that means for those who follow him i.e. for us.
Our Gospel reading today can be looked at as having three different parts. The first is a quick summary of his ministry and its eventual end; a fire of cleansing judgment that spreads the good news and the baptism of his death in order to conquer death. Following this, is a discussion of the effects the gospel might have on anyone who follows him, and finally, a warning from Jesus about our willingness to hear and see only what we want to. In the first part, vv 49-50, we hear the language of fire and we immediately think 'judgement' and that may be what Christ wants us to think … for now. But, in reality, the fire of judgement demonstrates our own inability to save ourselves. The cleansing fire shows just how much we need God. Fire was meant to destroy the religiosity that people used as a way of “guaranteeing” their salvation, yet, which ironically actually made people more distant from God. What about us today? Can the same be said for our own religion today? It certainly could in Jeremiah’s day. But how do we tell which prophecy we might hear today is from God and which is not? As Jeremiah put it, which is straw and which wheat? The immediate future for the people of Jeremiah's day is judgment. The fire of the true prophet word will burn in judgment. To declare exemption is to align with the dreaming prophets of Jeremiah.
For Jesus, fire will burn down our human need for security and by extension those institutions that provide human security instead of having security in God. The letter to the Hebrews lists those from OT times who had faith. Yet for all of their greatness we hear in this reading, these saints of faith did not receive what was promised, we are told. Their completion -- their “perfection” -- awaited the in-breaking of God’s invisible Word in the incarnate Christ, in his perfect sacrifice and glorification at the right hand of God. We have received that promise, we can complete our perfection.
Jesus’ fire talk is followed by his talk of baptism, which has promise within it. Baptism is a kind of covenant. It is a promise made between us and God and God and us - two way, remember. But do you recall your baptismal promises? Each Easter Day, we renew our Baptismal vows so that we can all hear again and again those promises from us to God and from God to us. Are you still keeping your side of the bargain? We tend to view Baptism as an excuse for a party and expensive gift to the child being baptised. But Baptism is not meant to be simply an easy, joyous occasion. On the one hand, baptism is a promise for us, on the other hand, for Jesus, baptism leads to death on the cross so that we might have life. It is because of this death that our baptism turns into joy and celebration.
For many, and I teach this at the baptism preparation, baptism is the entry into the life of the church. It is to make our lives as part of those ‘Chosen of God’. It is really a vocation, God’s calling to us. For each of us, our call will be different, varied and numerous and they certainly do not end the day we are baptized. What does ends in baptism is the consequence for our failure to live out our calling. So, while joy is a fundamental emotion for baptism, it is joy because of the grace that we are given and not because we will never experience pain again.
In the second part of the gospel vv 51-53 Jesus gets very specific about the division brought by faith in the Gospel. Families being torn apart when the gospel spreads because it changes everything. Think of your own contexts, perhaps division hasn’t happened, but for others it may be about which church to attend, whether we approve of our daughters and son becoming a priest, whether we or family members should become involved in social justice issues, and so on and so on. The gospel’s effects can create division.
An interesting way to explore this is that maybe God is at work in all realities, and that division is not the problem. Perhaps the problem is in our own naive expectation that we have more truth than others. We are back to Jeremiah and those false prophets again! Maybe God could be at work on both sides of an issue? For example: There have been calls within the Christian church to become one church so that all might believe. Yet Jesus’ talk about division may point to a broken reality for Christianity no matter how hard we work toward unity. Perhaps this is Jesus’ very point: that human togetherness is not what the gospel is about. Rather, the gospel preached into the life of an individual person will do its work, and we are left to trust that it is God at work, and resist our attempts to control the outcome. We are left to trust that it is God at work, and resist our attempts to control the outcome.
Our need for control may be the point of the final part of the Gospel, verses 54-56, where Jesus addresses our inability to realize what’s really happening. Why do we remain blind to all that is happening around us concerning Christ and God? Jesus calls those who cannot read what is going on around them ‘hypocrites’. This isn’t exactly hypocrisy, but it’s more like bad vision. The hypocrite label might make sense, if the hypocrites believe that Jesus brings grace, yet they continue to work under the law to achieve their own righteousness. For example: Those Christians who take certain passages of scripture to prove and approve their own position while ignoring other passages of scripture.
We become hypocrites when we believe that we have a monopoly of truth, about ourselves and our world. Hypocrites think they have everything figured out, but keep using human actions to assure themselves of God’s presence but they still want to remain in control. Do we allow ourselves to hear God’s call again and again, or do we rest comfortably in our perfect church attendance or other human works? Another way to put is this: Why do we insist on pretending to ignore the injustices of this world - whatever they? Most likely the answer is that we don’t want to see what’s really happening or our role in the injustices of the world. Are we ignoring the “elephant in the room”?
In my time here as your priest-in-charge I have tried to name certain issues and indicate how they are Gospel issues. I have hoped that for some of you these might be "kairos" moments that changed everything. But Like Jesus, I can say that it may lead to division, but we have to trust that God is at work in all situations, and remember that God has claimed us in our baptisms, not because we’ve been perfect Christians but because God has a vocation for us to follow.
20190811 Ninth Sunday After Pentecost_Sermon
Have you heard of the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett? In this play two characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), wait for the arrival of someone named Godot who never arrives and they can’t go anywhere because they are waiting for Godot. I was reminded of this play when I read the parable in the Gospel about the servants waiting for the master to return. My immediate thought was what happens if the Master of the house never comes? Well, like the cast of Waiting for Godot, they would just carry on being watchful and ready. What do we call this? Faith – they had faith that the master would return.
This is the theme for this week’s reading – having faith and being watchful. Is there a thematic link between having faith and being watchful and being ready? Let’s explore and see.
There is certainly a thematic connection between Abraham’s story in the OT and the passage from the Letter to the Hebrew. In Hebrews we find immediately answers the question: What is faith? This letter tells us: NIV “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” NRSV “Now faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see.” In other words, faith is an act of seeing in trust.
As I researched for this sermon, I came across a lovely story about faith and trust from a Catholic priest who had gone on a Pilgrimage to Mother Theresa in Calcutta. He writes:
Long ago, when I spent a month working at the “house of the dying” in Calcutta, I sought a sure answer to my future. On the first morning I met Mother Teresa after Mass at dawn. She asked, “And what can I do for you?” I asked her to pray for me. “What do you want me to pray for?” I voiced the request I had borne for thousands of miles: “Pray that I have clarity.” She said no. That was that. When I asked why, she announced that clarity was the last thing I was clinging to and had to let go of. When I commented that she herself had always seemed to have the clarity I longed for, she laughed: “I have never had clarity; what I’ve always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust.”
Thus, Mother Teresa became for that visiting priest (and for all of us) a member of that cloud of witnesses to which later on, in the Letter to the Hebrews, are referred to as “heroes of the faith”, who had conviction about things unseen.
Our passage in the OT and agreed to by the writer of Hebrews shows the faith of Abraham and Sarah, who believed they would give birth to a child in their old age (and remember, the very idea was enough to make Sarah laugh out loud) and they had faith to believe that they would make “descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands of the seashore.”
There a Link between having faith and today’s Gospel. Today’s passage talks about a lot of things. It is a bit like a symphony in four movements. Each different and unique but connected, just as in a symphony the movements are connected by the key signature. In our reading there is a connection through our theme, faith and trust and preparedness; but it is mixed up yet still discernible.
The passage begins with a delightful statement: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). These words speak of an unqualified promise about God. They root God’s generosity in God’s desire. Immediately before this passage Jesus had just spoken about trusting God while also striving for the kingdom; now he reminds everyone that the point isn’t to coax a grumpy or frugal deity into being nice to us. Rather, God eagerly wants the kingdom to take root in the real, lived experiences of his followers. Why? Because that’s God’s good pleasure. This good news and reassurance sets a context of confidence, before Jesus moves on to the more disquieting material in the last few lines of the today’s Gospel. And just wait for next week’s Gospel for more scary stuff that will make you want to hear this lovely re-assurance again!
The second movement of this ‘Jesus-preached-Symphony’ appears in vv33-34 which is compact teachings about selling in one’s possessions, giving alms, and securing treasure in heaven. The emphasis on selling of possessions and using the proceeds to give alms is typical of Luke and his option for the poor.
Third movement, Jesus tells a parable about slaves who wait vigilantly for their Master to return home. This is not passive waiting (like waiting for Godot was) but hard-work preparation. Jesus’ basic point is that faithfulness demands diligence, but the parable also accentuates the surprise of a master who, when he arrives, chooses to serve dinner to his slaves. Normally the opposite would be expected. Even the slaves in the parable appear to be caught unaware by their master’s hospitality, since presumably they have done what Jesus tells his audience to do: gird their loins in preparation for service. The inversion of social roles between master and servants illustrates the new relationships envisioned through the almsgiving mentioned in the preceding verses.
In the final movement, Jesus continues to discuss the need for readiness, but the imagery shifts dramatically from what comes immediately before. Jesus speaks of a householder who needs to remain alert because a thief will not let him know when the break-in will occur. Is Jesus saying that his return resembles an act of breaking and entering? Jesus’ emphasis is on the surprise of a theft and not the image of a thief.
So, what is today’s Gospel message for us? Firstly, to have faith in God because the Father wants to give you the treasures of Heaven. Secondly, to give to the needy; sell your possessions to do this. If your heart is set possessions then they are what you treasure because Jesus says: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Thirdly, be dressed ready for action, have faith, be watchful. Finally, be ready, for we do not know when the son of man will come.
Now, often when I stand here making suggestions to you about turning your life around, I wonder how many of you, me included, hear it and think. “Oh, I’m too far along the road to go back and start all over again. I’ll just keep going along this current road that I’m on.”
I went to book Launch on Wednesday evening. Larry Kaufman has written a book on the Gospel of John from a pastoral point of view. In it he quoted a lovely metaphor where our journey of faith is compared to any journey we might take with a GPS fitted in our motor car. You know, with a GPS when you’ve taken the wrong road, the GPS goes into a thinking mode and re-calculates how to get you to your destination. It doesn’t say, “Oh! You went wrong! Go back to the begin and start again.” It re-calculates from where you are. God, Jesus is like that GPS. If you feel estranged from the teaching of Jesus unable to live up to its ideals then perhaps you have to just leave it up to your spiritual GPS who is God who will re-calculate the route for you, from where you are right here, right now.
Prayer: Let us bow our heads and pray for trust in God’s promise.
Lord God, unseen and yet the ground of all reality, of all that counts, we seek security and certainty, something we can see and hold on to. It is fearful for us to walk in the dark and confusing not to know where the road leads. Be truly our God in whom we trust: help us to serve you faithfully in the present and be ready to follow you in the future. Take us by the hand and guide us through all obstacles to the land of your promise. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Have you heard of the play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett? In this play two characters, Vladimir (Didi) and Estragon (Gogo), wait for the arrival of someone named Godot who never arrives and they can’t go anywhere because they are waiting for Godot. I was reminded of this play when I read the parable in the Gospel about the servants waiting for the master to return. My immediate thought was what happens if the Master of the house never comes? Well, like the cast of Waiting for Godot, they would just carry on being watchful and ready. What do we call this? Faith – they had faith that the master would return.
This is the theme for this week’s reading – having faith and being watchful. Is there a thematic link between having faith and being watchful and being ready? Let’s explore and see.
There is certainly a thematic connection between Abraham’s story in the OT and the passage from the Letter to the Hebrew. In Hebrews we find immediately answers the question: What is faith? This letter tells us: NIV “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” NRSV “Now faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope for, and conviction about things we do not see.” In other words, faith is an act of seeing in trust.
As I researched for this sermon, I came across a lovely story about faith and trust from a Catholic priest who had gone on a Pilgrimage to Mother Theresa in Calcutta. He writes:
Long ago, when I spent a month working at the “house of the dying” in Calcutta, I sought a sure answer to my future. On the first morning I met Mother Teresa after Mass at dawn. She asked, “And what can I do for you?” I asked her to pray for me. “What do you want me to pray for?” I voiced the request I had borne for thousands of miles: “Pray that I have clarity.” She said no. That was that. When I asked why, she announced that clarity was the last thing I was clinging to and had to let go of. When I commented that she herself had always seemed to have the clarity I longed for, she laughed: “I have never had clarity; what I’ve always had is trust. So I will pray that you trust.”
Thus, Mother Teresa became for that visiting priest (and for all of us) a member of that cloud of witnesses to which later on, in the Letter to the Hebrews, are referred to as “heroes of the faith”, who had conviction about things unseen.
Our passage in the OT and agreed to by the writer of Hebrews shows the faith of Abraham and Sarah, who believed they would give birth to a child in their old age (and remember, the very idea was enough to make Sarah laugh out loud) and they had faith to believe that they would make “descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sands of the seashore.”
There a Link between having faith and today’s Gospel. Today’s passage talks about a lot of things. It is a bit like a symphony in four movements. Each different and unique but connected, just as in a symphony the movements are connected by the key signature. In our reading there is a connection through our theme, faith and trust and preparedness; but it is mixed up yet still discernible.
The passage begins with a delightful statement: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). These words speak of an unqualified promise about God. They root God’s generosity in God’s desire. Immediately before this passage Jesus had just spoken about trusting God while also striving for the kingdom; now he reminds everyone that the point isn’t to coax a grumpy or frugal deity into being nice to us. Rather, God eagerly wants the kingdom to take root in the real, lived experiences of his followers. Why? Because that’s God’s good pleasure. This good news and reassurance sets a context of confidence, before Jesus moves on to the more disquieting material in the last few lines of the today’s Gospel. And just wait for next week’s Gospel for more scary stuff that will make you want to hear this lovely re-assurance again!
The second movement of this ‘Jesus-preached-Symphony’ appears in vv33-34 which is compact teachings about selling in one’s possessions, giving alms, and securing treasure in heaven. The emphasis on selling of possessions and using the proceeds to give alms is typical of Luke and his option for the poor.
Third movement, Jesus tells a parable about slaves who wait vigilantly for their Master to return home. This is not passive waiting (like waiting for Godot was) but hard-work preparation. Jesus’ basic point is that faithfulness demands diligence, but the parable also accentuates the surprise of a master who, when he arrives, chooses to serve dinner to his slaves. Normally the opposite would be expected. Even the slaves in the parable appear to be caught unaware by their master’s hospitality, since presumably they have done what Jesus tells his audience to do: gird their loins in preparation for service. The inversion of social roles between master and servants illustrates the new relationships envisioned through the almsgiving mentioned in the preceding verses.
In the final movement, Jesus continues to discuss the need for readiness, but the imagery shifts dramatically from what comes immediately before. Jesus speaks of a householder who needs to remain alert because a thief will not let him know when the break-in will occur. Is Jesus saying that his return resembles an act of breaking and entering? Jesus’ emphasis is on the surprise of a theft and not the image of a thief.
So, what is today’s Gospel message for us? Firstly, to have faith in God because the Father wants to give you the treasures of Heaven. Secondly, to give to the needy; sell your possessions to do this. If your heart is set possessions then they are what you treasure because Jesus says: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Thirdly, be dressed ready for action, have faith, be watchful. Finally, be ready, for we do not know when the son of man will come.
Now, often when I stand here making suggestions to you about turning your life around, I wonder how many of you, me included, hear it and think. “Oh, I’m too far along the road to go back and start all over again. I’ll just keep going along this current road that I’m on.”
I went to book Launch on Wednesday evening. Larry Kaufman has written a book on the Gospel of John from a pastoral point of view. In it he quoted a lovely metaphor where our journey of faith is compared to any journey we might take with a GPS fitted in our motor car. You know, with a GPS when you’ve taken the wrong road, the GPS goes into a thinking mode and re-calculates how to get you to your destination. It doesn’t say, “Oh! You went wrong! Go back to the begin and start again.” It re-calculates from where you are. God, Jesus is like that GPS. If you feel estranged from the teaching of Jesus unable to live up to its ideals then perhaps you have to just leave it up to your spiritual GPS who is God who will re-calculate the route for you, from where you are right here, right now.
Prayer: Let us bow our heads and pray for trust in God’s promise.
Lord God, unseen and yet the ground of all reality, of all that counts, we seek security and certainty, something we can see and hold on to. It is fearful for us to walk in the dark and confusing not to know where the road leads. Be truly our God in whom we trust: help us to serve you faithfully in the present and be ready to follow you in the future. Take us by the hand and guide us through all obstacles to the land of your promise. We ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
20190804EighthAfterPentecost
I’m sure as soon as you heard that the reading was from Ecclesiastes you immediately thought: “Oh yes, Peter, Paul and Mary and that folk song about a time to be born and a time to die and so on…” Or maybe you thought, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” I don’t know about you, but my understanding of vanity is the action of someone who thinks highly of themselves, who look at themselves in every mirror or reflective window that they pass by. The Internet dictionary says: excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements. But it also gives a second meaning: the quality of being worthless or futile. That’s why NIV Bible uses the “Meaningless” “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
I am glad that this reading today doesn’t have to be introduced with “Listen to the Good News” because it seems to be taking such a negative view on life. It presents a criticism against the traditional principles of what we humans call wisdom. It points out that most of what is assumed as wise, in actual fact, is meaningless. In our passage today the author rejects the idea that it is wise to work very hard and accomplish many things in life, because at the end of the day ‘they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it.’ (Ecclesiastes 2:21). The trouble with this OT book is that it says more about how meaningless life and work may be, than about what gives meaning to life. Today’s reading raises questions and doubts about traditional views on what we call a successful life. It is significant for today as well, because it challenges the way that many people look for meaning in their lives through their work or material things they own.
How many of our lives and those of our family, friends and fellow citizens of this country are devoted to riches and looking good and earning much and to being admired? Do we “labour under the sun” in order that we will have something to live for? The Teacher tells us that we seek such things in vain because it is all meaningless. This First Reading describes in greater detail the misfortune which befalls the rich man who appears in the Gospel parable. According to the Teacher, labouring for wealth and possessions is not only foolish but results in sorrow, grief, and anxiety.
Before moving on to the Gospel reading, can I say that I think Paul was also answering this question in his Letter to the Colossians. Here he counsels us to set our minds on what is above – not on material possession or success or fame or pride - but to focus on what matches God’s wisdom embodied in our lives. Paul gives a list of lower things which reflect what turns us away from God and our neighbour. God wants us to address one another with love and respect, not as objects or people we can manipulate and defraud. Martin Luther used to say that the word Christian is diminutive for Christ. So, you as a Christian are a “little Christ,” and Paul uses a wonderful image when he says God is “hidden” in you as your deepest reality. What he means is that Christ is alive in you. So, we are to let the Christ in you be incarnate in your daily interactions and values.
And how we do this, the Gospel Reading demonstrates. It is the story of the foolish rich man and it reminds us to consider our values. Delighted in his bounty, the rich man focuses on his well-being alone. He focuses on security, wealth, and comfort, and then discovers that he has forgotten to attend to his spiritual life and relationships with others. Then along comes death, which is the equalizer for all of us and thus we are challenged us to consider what is truly important for us and those around us.
How are we to be rich toward God? This is a matter of time, talent, and treasure. It is also a matter of public policy. While we love the world best by loving God, we also love God best by loving the world. We need to ask ourselves where we are going astray as persons and as a nation. Where are we causing pain? Perhaps it is our comfortable living while so many 29% unemployed. Perhaps it is us feeling comfortably warm while over 1200 people in Masiphumelele are rendered homeless through a fire.
The God of Jesus and the prophets feels the pain of the world and also recognizes that virtually every choice we make has a variety of implications, positive and negative. God’s passion inspires us to be passionate about healing the nation and the people in front of us. Wealth toward God may mean a greater commitment of resources to our church. It will mean sacrifice, and the recognition that opulence is robbery from the poor and the God who loves them.
Today’s scriptures demonstrate to us divine passion – God’s passion for God’s people regardless of whether they are rich or poor, whatever their race, whatever their sexual orientation – God is passionately in love with them and with you. These reading invite us to “keep calm and be passionate about justice.” They call us to change our lives and encourage institutional change. They call us to listen deeply for God’s stirrings in the events of the day and in our own passion for human and non-human well-being.
The similarities between this Gospel text and the OT reading is crystal clear. Did you notice in the gospel how many times the rich farmer uses ‘I’ and ‘my’ in his speech? Everything is about him. In a rich a society like ours, most of the Christian people would agree with the idea of the passage and conclude that they just want enough to be able to live safely and securely. The trouble is that everyone protests that they only want enough, but no one knows how much is enough until one has too much.
If we own every shirt in the mall
but we don’t clothe
the naked…
If we
have the best wines
but don’t give up a cup of cold water…
If we take time to rake in money
but do not spread
love…
then how rich are we?
Christ,
Please give us wealth
in what matters
to you.
I’m sure as soon as you heard that the reading was from Ecclesiastes you immediately thought: “Oh yes, Peter, Paul and Mary and that folk song about a time to be born and a time to die and so on…” Or maybe you thought, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” I don’t know about you, but my understanding of vanity is the action of someone who thinks highly of themselves, who look at themselves in every mirror or reflective window that they pass by. The Internet dictionary says: excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements. But it also gives a second meaning: the quality of being worthless or futile. That’s why NIV Bible uses the “Meaningless” “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
I am glad that this reading today doesn’t have to be introduced with “Listen to the Good News” because it seems to be taking such a negative view on life. It presents a criticism against the traditional principles of what we humans call wisdom. It points out that most of what is assumed as wise, in actual fact, is meaningless. In our passage today the author rejects the idea that it is wise to work very hard and accomplish many things in life, because at the end of the day ‘they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it.’ (Ecclesiastes 2:21). The trouble with this OT book is that it says more about how meaningless life and work may be, than about what gives meaning to life. Today’s reading raises questions and doubts about traditional views on what we call a successful life. It is significant for today as well, because it challenges the way that many people look for meaning in their lives through their work or material things they own.
How many of our lives and those of our family, friends and fellow citizens of this country are devoted to riches and looking good and earning much and to being admired? Do we “labour under the sun” in order that we will have something to live for? The Teacher tells us that we seek such things in vain because it is all meaningless. This First Reading describes in greater detail the misfortune which befalls the rich man who appears in the Gospel parable. According to the Teacher, labouring for wealth and possessions is not only foolish but results in sorrow, grief, and anxiety.
Before moving on to the Gospel reading, can I say that I think Paul was also answering this question in his Letter to the Colossians. Here he counsels us to set our minds on what is above – not on material possession or success or fame or pride - but to focus on what matches God’s wisdom embodied in our lives. Paul gives a list of lower things which reflect what turns us away from God and our neighbour. God wants us to address one another with love and respect, not as objects or people we can manipulate and defraud. Martin Luther used to say that the word Christian is diminutive for Christ. So, you as a Christian are a “little Christ,” and Paul uses a wonderful image when he says God is “hidden” in you as your deepest reality. What he means is that Christ is alive in you. So, we are to let the Christ in you be incarnate in your daily interactions and values.
And how we do this, the Gospel Reading demonstrates. It is the story of the foolish rich man and it reminds us to consider our values. Delighted in his bounty, the rich man focuses on his well-being alone. He focuses on security, wealth, and comfort, and then discovers that he has forgotten to attend to his spiritual life and relationships with others. Then along comes death, which is the equalizer for all of us and thus we are challenged us to consider what is truly important for us and those around us.
How are we to be rich toward God? This is a matter of time, talent, and treasure. It is also a matter of public policy. While we love the world best by loving God, we also love God best by loving the world. We need to ask ourselves where we are going astray as persons and as a nation. Where are we causing pain? Perhaps it is our comfortable living while so many 29% unemployed. Perhaps it is us feeling comfortably warm while over 1200 people in Masiphumelele are rendered homeless through a fire.
The God of Jesus and the prophets feels the pain of the world and also recognizes that virtually every choice we make has a variety of implications, positive and negative. God’s passion inspires us to be passionate about healing the nation and the people in front of us. Wealth toward God may mean a greater commitment of resources to our church. It will mean sacrifice, and the recognition that opulence is robbery from the poor and the God who loves them.
Today’s scriptures demonstrate to us divine passion – God’s passion for God’s people regardless of whether they are rich or poor, whatever their race, whatever their sexual orientation – God is passionately in love with them and with you. These reading invite us to “keep calm and be passionate about justice.” They call us to change our lives and encourage institutional change. They call us to listen deeply for God’s stirrings in the events of the day and in our own passion for human and non-human well-being.
The similarities between this Gospel text and the OT reading is crystal clear. Did you notice in the gospel how many times the rich farmer uses ‘I’ and ‘my’ in his speech? Everything is about him. In a rich a society like ours, most of the Christian people would agree with the idea of the passage and conclude that they just want enough to be able to live safely and securely. The trouble is that everyone protests that they only want enough, but no one knows how much is enough until one has too much.
If we own every shirt in the mall
but we don’t clothe
the naked…
If we
have the best wines
but don’t give up a cup of cold water…
If we take time to rake in money
but do not spread
love…
then how rich are we?
Christ,
Please give us wealth
in what matters
to you.
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost - 28 July 2019
In the USA whenever there has a shooting of innocent people at schools, synagogues or churches, President Donald Trump has come out with a statement saying that his “thoughts and prayers” are with the victims. This response angers more people than re-assures them. They want action not merely thoughts of sympathy. But what about those prayers? What is President Trump actually praying for?
We believe that God gives us what we ask for, in some form or other, but rather surprisingly God wants us to be persistent in asking. We can see this so clearly in today's readings. They teach us to be obstinate.
Abraham in the First Reading is an example. Remember Abraham’s visitors from last week? Well, two of them continued on their way from Abraham on to the city called Sodom, and the third is with Abraham. God tells Abraham about the intention to destroy Sodom and its surrounding cities because of what was happening there. What was happening there? Elsewhere in the Old Testament, God helps us to understand. God tells us through the prophet Ezekiel: "Look at the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were proud, sated with food, complacent in their prosperity, and they gave no help to the poor and needy. Rather, they became haughty and committed abominable crimes in my presence; then, as you have seen, I removed them”.
“Removed them”! Wow! That sounds as though we need not have "thoughts and prayers" for the citizens of Sodom! Yet against all reason and expectation, Abraham began negotiating with God, in fact bargaining with God! He said, will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the entire place rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people? Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?
God agrees the city will not be destroyed if fifty innocent people can be found there. Street-smart Abraham asks for more. Would God agree to spare the city even if only forty-five innocent people were found? We feel God’s reluctance but agrees. What about forty? Ok, God says. Abraham goes on and on, until he has negotiated the number down to ten. God replies, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”
Abraham stops there. As you may know, it turned out that not even ten innocents lived in the town, so Sodom got destroyed. But notice, God had granted each of Abrahams prayers. Abraham’s requests for mercy for the people of Sodom tells us more about God than it does about Abraham. It becomes a revelation of God’s mercy. For the sake of the possibility that there were “ten” righteous men, God would walk away from divine wrath and so Abraham returns home to begin being the father of faith and father of many nations, as God had told him. Does this show an apparent weakness in God that a human being like Abraham can bargain God out destroying Sodom for ten righteous men? Does that change your view of God? Does it make God appear weak in the face of bargaining Abraham? Could you be like Abraham and still have faith in a God such as that? We must remember that as we read the Old Testament that it is a development of concepts and understandings of what, who and how God is. It is very important to remember that in Genesis, God is being revealed slowly and still mysteriously to God's people. Many questions remained in the minds and hearts of the people of God about just who God is and how we relate with God being called “The Lord.” Can we say that Abraham won God over by verbal seduction? Or can we say that God is moved by our human condition or that God is moving toward the human condition from within Divine eternal love? Is all this the start of God’s realisation that God must send God’s son as a human being to redeem us?
How does Christ Jesus relate to God his Father? Did you notice how Luke says Jesus was "praying in a certain place". What place? Where? I mean, here we are presented with the most famous model of prayer given to us by Jesus, and Luke who I keep calling a wonderful author, doesn't seem to remember the place where it happened!
I think I can guess at the reason: the disciples saw Jesus praying so often that it was, as a matter of fact, difficult to recall the precise location of the time he gave them this particular model of prayer to follow. Jesus prayed so regularly that in the minds of the disciples, it all blurred together.
We often think that what the disciples asked for were the words to say when praying. But in reality, what the disciples wanted was not a litany of key phrases or a checklist of prayer items. What they were inquiring after was how they could, in imitation of their Master, turn the entirety of their lives into an extended act of prayer, the same as they observed in Jesus himself. If this understanding of this passage is correct, isn’t it ironic that subsequent generations of Christians did turn the Lord’s Prayer into a word-for-word memorized form of prayer!
But today's Gospel had more than just the model so-called Lord’s Prayer. As if confirming continual prayer, Jesus gives us two brief parables. The “Friend at Midnight” story reminds us that prayer pops up all the time and does not wait for convenient times or moments. Prayer isn’t always polite. Prayer cannot be hidden away in safe corners of our lives to be brought out when necessary. Life is bumpy and unpredictable and so also will be prayers that occur across the whole sweep of just such a life.
And what about the father-son analogy with which Jesus concludes this teaching? As any parent can tell you, a son or daughter who asks for a fish or an egg is unlikely to make such a request only once. Children have this annoying habit of asking again and again. Any parent can tell you, the sheer volume of requests from your children can, now and then anyway, tempt you to want to throw them the odd snake or scorpion! Maybe not literally, of course! But there are those times when, after being asked by your child for the fifteenth time in a row if she can have just one more biscuit or sweet —and after your having said “no” fourteen times in a row—sometimes even good, conscientious parents fairly throw the biscuit at the hapless child. “There! Eat it! You happy now?!”
Yes, our patience can wear thin. Thanks be to God, Jesus tells us that our Father in heaven manages to hold things together far better than us frail, fallible human beings. We tend to think that the content of prayer is the key. And being Anglican, our prayers need to sound poetic and beautiful in the use words and language! In truth, Jesus always seemed more interested in the incessant nature of prayer and its never-ending desire to stay connected to the Father, who alone gives us all good things.
God is like a human father who loves his child very much. As Children of God, God does not always give us everything we children nag God for. Sometimes God needs to teach us who is in charge of things, the parent or the child. Most of the time God gives us what we ask for in some form or other, but God wants us to be persistent in asking so we will learn humility and acceptance. And when we suffer, God sits beside our bed and suffers with us.
Keep knocking and it will be opened to you.
In the USA whenever there has a shooting of innocent people at schools, synagogues or churches, President Donald Trump has come out with a statement saying that his “thoughts and prayers” are with the victims. This response angers more people than re-assures them. They want action not merely thoughts of sympathy. But what about those prayers? What is President Trump actually praying for?
We believe that God gives us what we ask for, in some form or other, but rather surprisingly God wants us to be persistent in asking. We can see this so clearly in today's readings. They teach us to be obstinate.
Abraham in the First Reading is an example. Remember Abraham’s visitors from last week? Well, two of them continued on their way from Abraham on to the city called Sodom, and the third is with Abraham. God tells Abraham about the intention to destroy Sodom and its surrounding cities because of what was happening there. What was happening there? Elsewhere in the Old Testament, God helps us to understand. God tells us through the prophet Ezekiel: "Look at the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters were proud, sated with food, complacent in their prosperity, and they gave no help to the poor and needy. Rather, they became haughty and committed abominable crimes in my presence; then, as you have seen, I removed them”.
“Removed them”! Wow! That sounds as though we need not have "thoughts and prayers" for the citizens of Sodom! Yet against all reason and expectation, Abraham began negotiating with God, in fact bargaining with God! He said, will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? Suppose there were fifty innocent people in the city; would you wipe out the entire place rather than spare it for the sake of the fifty innocent people? Should not the judge of all the world act with justice?
God agrees the city will not be destroyed if fifty innocent people can be found there. Street-smart Abraham asks for more. Would God agree to spare the city even if only forty-five innocent people were found? We feel God’s reluctance but agrees. What about forty? Ok, God says. Abraham goes on and on, until he has negotiated the number down to ten. God replies, “For the sake of those ten, I will not destroy it.”
Abraham stops there. As you may know, it turned out that not even ten innocents lived in the town, so Sodom got destroyed. But notice, God had granted each of Abrahams prayers. Abraham’s requests for mercy for the people of Sodom tells us more about God than it does about Abraham. It becomes a revelation of God’s mercy. For the sake of the possibility that there were “ten” righteous men, God would walk away from divine wrath and so Abraham returns home to begin being the father of faith and father of many nations, as God had told him. Does this show an apparent weakness in God that a human being like Abraham can bargain God out destroying Sodom for ten righteous men? Does that change your view of God? Does it make God appear weak in the face of bargaining Abraham? Could you be like Abraham and still have faith in a God such as that? We must remember that as we read the Old Testament that it is a development of concepts and understandings of what, who and how God is. It is very important to remember that in Genesis, God is being revealed slowly and still mysteriously to God's people. Many questions remained in the minds and hearts of the people of God about just who God is and how we relate with God being called “The Lord.” Can we say that Abraham won God over by verbal seduction? Or can we say that God is moved by our human condition or that God is moving toward the human condition from within Divine eternal love? Is all this the start of God’s realisation that God must send God’s son as a human being to redeem us?
How does Christ Jesus relate to God his Father? Did you notice how Luke says Jesus was "praying in a certain place". What place? Where? I mean, here we are presented with the most famous model of prayer given to us by Jesus, and Luke who I keep calling a wonderful author, doesn't seem to remember the place where it happened!
I think I can guess at the reason: the disciples saw Jesus praying so often that it was, as a matter of fact, difficult to recall the precise location of the time he gave them this particular model of prayer to follow. Jesus prayed so regularly that in the minds of the disciples, it all blurred together.
We often think that what the disciples asked for were the words to say when praying. But in reality, what the disciples wanted was not a litany of key phrases or a checklist of prayer items. What they were inquiring after was how they could, in imitation of their Master, turn the entirety of their lives into an extended act of prayer, the same as they observed in Jesus himself. If this understanding of this passage is correct, isn’t it ironic that subsequent generations of Christians did turn the Lord’s Prayer into a word-for-word memorized form of prayer!
But today's Gospel had more than just the model so-called Lord’s Prayer. As if confirming continual prayer, Jesus gives us two brief parables. The “Friend at Midnight” story reminds us that prayer pops up all the time and does not wait for convenient times or moments. Prayer isn’t always polite. Prayer cannot be hidden away in safe corners of our lives to be brought out when necessary. Life is bumpy and unpredictable and so also will be prayers that occur across the whole sweep of just such a life.
And what about the father-son analogy with which Jesus concludes this teaching? As any parent can tell you, a son or daughter who asks for a fish or an egg is unlikely to make such a request only once. Children have this annoying habit of asking again and again. Any parent can tell you, the sheer volume of requests from your children can, now and then anyway, tempt you to want to throw them the odd snake or scorpion! Maybe not literally, of course! But there are those times when, after being asked by your child for the fifteenth time in a row if she can have just one more biscuit or sweet —and after your having said “no” fourteen times in a row—sometimes even good, conscientious parents fairly throw the biscuit at the hapless child. “There! Eat it! You happy now?!”
Yes, our patience can wear thin. Thanks be to God, Jesus tells us that our Father in heaven manages to hold things together far better than us frail, fallible human beings. We tend to think that the content of prayer is the key. And being Anglican, our prayers need to sound poetic and beautiful in the use words and language! In truth, Jesus always seemed more interested in the incessant nature of prayer and its never-ending desire to stay connected to the Father, who alone gives us all good things.
God is like a human father who loves his child very much. As Children of God, God does not always give us everything we children nag God for. Sometimes God needs to teach us who is in charge of things, the parent or the child. Most of the time God gives us what we ask for in some form or other, but God wants us to be persistent in asking so we will learn humility and acceptance. And when we suffer, God sits beside our bed and suffers with us.
Keep knocking and it will be opened to you.
Sixth Sunday After Pentecost - 21 July 2019
In our readings this week there are two stories about hospitality. These are two famous biblical scenes of hospitality—Abraham receiving the three travellers, and Martha and Mary hosting Jesus. But note well, that both stories are actually about hospitality to God.
The First Reading says that Abraham was sitting outside on a hot day near the oak of Mamre. He looked up and saw three strangers standing nearby. It’s not clear that Abraham knew who they were, but with true middle-eastern hospitality he responses. He bows deeply. He flies into action. He begs the men to relax from their journey and accept comfort, nourishment and rest. Beautiful hospitality in this Eastern part of the world.
Abraham rushes into his great tent, issuing copious commands to Sarah, his wife. “Quick, quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls. I will get the best steer and command the servants to prepare it.” He dashes outside to get curds and milk and after a long time, sets the whole meal before the men.
Quite a scene. Quite welcoming. As the dinner progresses, Sarah is standing behind the tent flap listening. All at once the men make a sudden, astonishing statement to Abraham. Next year Sarah will bear a son by Abraham. A few verses on in this chapter (vv. 13 and 14), the author confirms what us, the readers (and perhaps Abraham too) suspects, namely that this mysterious trio is none other than “the Lord God”. In this account, it is not Abraham’s hospitality that is the focus; it is rather the Lord’s surprising fulfilment of the covenantal promises to bring fertility to the sterile bodies of Abraham and Sarah. This account has inspired the famous Russian icon interpreting Abraham’s visitors as the Trinity.
However, when Sarah, hiding behind the tent hears this prediction she actually laughs out loud at this absurdity about her dried-up body, nearly 89 years old, having a baby. Even so, as we know, the amazing thing does indeed take place, and we can thank God that Abraham listened to these men who were the presence of God.
Then on to the second hospitality story from the Gospel reading. Jesus enters the house of his friends Mary and Martha, and is warmly welcomed. As he sits down, Mary organizes herself at his feet and focuses her clear wide eyes upon him. Who is preparing the dinner? Mary’s sister Martha bustles about doing just that. She seems to be doing exactly what we admired about Abraham when he was faced by his three guests.
But Martha grows tired and exasperated, and finally comes over to demand that Jesus tell Mary to stop lounging and help out a little. Surprisingly, Jesus says, no. “Mary has chosen the better part,” he explains. Maybe Martha should have said, “We are not having any food tonight, we are just going to sit and stare at you.” I wonder if Jesus and his followers would have been happy to hear that?
In truth, Martha’s trouble was not that she was scrambling about, but that as she did so, she forgot about Jesus. She was not making him welcome; she was constructing a meal. He even tells her that she was anxious and worried about many things, not the one thing necessary. What is the one thing necessary, do you think?
Christian tradition has applied this passage in discussions of the relative worth of active and contemplative lifestyles in the community of faith. Jesus’ language about “need of only one thing” and “the better part” do make us think that that is the interpretation we should take. But we must also remember that Luke is such a clever author. You see, he places this episode of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha immediately after the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The Samaritan embodies love for the neighbour; Mary embodies love for God. Both the Samaritan and Mary are socially disqualified from being models of anything good according to the norms of their culture. The Samaritan because he was seen as an enemy of the Jews and Mary because she was a woman. Last week I hinted that the Good Samaritan was a “disruptor”. This week I am going to say outright that Mary was a disruptor.
Mary is portrayed as a disciple sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to him and in doing so she violates the cultural expectations. This is the sort of thing that Jesus does, breaking the cultural constraints and setting people free for the kingdom. As I said last week, that is necessary if we are actually going to love our neighbours and love God. It has happened (and must continue to happen) in the face of slavery, and racism, and sexism, and homophobia. The church needs to be set free for such faithful listening and discipled violation of cultural assumptions so that we can love the strangers and sojourners among us, so that we can love our Muslim and atheist neighbours, so that we can sit at the feet of Jesus and hear what he has to say to us.
On the other hand, let’s not be overly-critical of Martha. Let’s not make her into a caricature: a cartoon woman overly concerned with “silly womanly” things. Two weeks ago, we heard that Jesus had sent out 70 disciples and told them to expect and accept hospitality from others. Isn’t Martha precisely the sort of host that Jesus had promised that these disciples would meet? Later in the Gospel, when those closest to him begin to argue about which one of them is the greatest, Jesus will define “great” discipleship and even his own ministry in terms of serving others, using the same vocabulary there that he uses here to describe Martha. There is nothing inherently wrong with attending to her tasks. Indeed, they are an image of discipleship.
Both activism and contemplation are needed to complete the discipleship Jesus calls for: to hear God’s word and to do it. We need, like that lawyer last week, to “go and do likewise”, and we need to remember that sitting as a disciple to hear the word of Jesus is a gift not to be neglected or taken away.
Real hospitality means a two-way relationship in which both host and guest are open to each other and become present to one another in various ways. Yes, hosts do work on the details, and work hard. But a good host always remembers the visitor while they prepare. Excellent hosts manage somehow to get everything ready but also to truly listen and converse with the one who has come to visit. That is how we are supposed to act every day.
We are to be hospitable to God and we find God in all things, in all the people we know and/or help, and no matter how busy we might be, we must relate to them because God is within them, deep in their souls. Touch them. Hear them. Prepare meals for their presence without forgetting about them. We will be giving hospitality to God himself. Abraham gave it. Mary gave it. Martha forgot like you and I do so often, but she learned. Let’s learn it too.
In our readings this week there are two stories about hospitality. These are two famous biblical scenes of hospitality—Abraham receiving the three travellers, and Martha and Mary hosting Jesus. But note well, that both stories are actually about hospitality to God.
The First Reading says that Abraham was sitting outside on a hot day near the oak of Mamre. He looked up and saw three strangers standing nearby. It’s not clear that Abraham knew who they were, but with true middle-eastern hospitality he responses. He bows deeply. He flies into action. He begs the men to relax from their journey and accept comfort, nourishment and rest. Beautiful hospitality in this Eastern part of the world.
Abraham rushes into his great tent, issuing copious commands to Sarah, his wife. “Quick, quick, three measures of fine flour! Knead it and make rolls. I will get the best steer and command the servants to prepare it.” He dashes outside to get curds and milk and after a long time, sets the whole meal before the men.
Quite a scene. Quite welcoming. As the dinner progresses, Sarah is standing behind the tent flap listening. All at once the men make a sudden, astonishing statement to Abraham. Next year Sarah will bear a son by Abraham. A few verses on in this chapter (vv. 13 and 14), the author confirms what us, the readers (and perhaps Abraham too) suspects, namely that this mysterious trio is none other than “the Lord God”. In this account, it is not Abraham’s hospitality that is the focus; it is rather the Lord’s surprising fulfilment of the covenantal promises to bring fertility to the sterile bodies of Abraham and Sarah. This account has inspired the famous Russian icon interpreting Abraham’s visitors as the Trinity.
However, when Sarah, hiding behind the tent hears this prediction she actually laughs out loud at this absurdity about her dried-up body, nearly 89 years old, having a baby. Even so, as we know, the amazing thing does indeed take place, and we can thank God that Abraham listened to these men who were the presence of God.
Then on to the second hospitality story from the Gospel reading. Jesus enters the house of his friends Mary and Martha, and is warmly welcomed. As he sits down, Mary organizes herself at his feet and focuses her clear wide eyes upon him. Who is preparing the dinner? Mary’s sister Martha bustles about doing just that. She seems to be doing exactly what we admired about Abraham when he was faced by his three guests.
But Martha grows tired and exasperated, and finally comes over to demand that Jesus tell Mary to stop lounging and help out a little. Surprisingly, Jesus says, no. “Mary has chosen the better part,” he explains. Maybe Martha should have said, “We are not having any food tonight, we are just going to sit and stare at you.” I wonder if Jesus and his followers would have been happy to hear that?
In truth, Martha’s trouble was not that she was scrambling about, but that as she did so, she forgot about Jesus. She was not making him welcome; she was constructing a meal. He even tells her that she was anxious and worried about many things, not the one thing necessary. What is the one thing necessary, do you think?
Christian tradition has applied this passage in discussions of the relative worth of active and contemplative lifestyles in the community of faith. Jesus’ language about “need of only one thing” and “the better part” do make us think that that is the interpretation we should take. But we must also remember that Luke is such a clever author. You see, he places this episode of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha immediately after the parable of the Good Samaritan.
The Samaritan embodies love for the neighbour; Mary embodies love for God. Both the Samaritan and Mary are socially disqualified from being models of anything good according to the norms of their culture. The Samaritan because he was seen as an enemy of the Jews and Mary because she was a woman. Last week I hinted that the Good Samaritan was a “disruptor”. This week I am going to say outright that Mary was a disruptor.
Mary is portrayed as a disciple sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to him and in doing so she violates the cultural expectations. This is the sort of thing that Jesus does, breaking the cultural constraints and setting people free for the kingdom. As I said last week, that is necessary if we are actually going to love our neighbours and love God. It has happened (and must continue to happen) in the face of slavery, and racism, and sexism, and homophobia. The church needs to be set free for such faithful listening and discipled violation of cultural assumptions so that we can love the strangers and sojourners among us, so that we can love our Muslim and atheist neighbours, so that we can sit at the feet of Jesus and hear what he has to say to us.
On the other hand, let’s not be overly-critical of Martha. Let’s not make her into a caricature: a cartoon woman overly concerned with “silly womanly” things. Two weeks ago, we heard that Jesus had sent out 70 disciples and told them to expect and accept hospitality from others. Isn’t Martha precisely the sort of host that Jesus had promised that these disciples would meet? Later in the Gospel, when those closest to him begin to argue about which one of them is the greatest, Jesus will define “great” discipleship and even his own ministry in terms of serving others, using the same vocabulary there that he uses here to describe Martha. There is nothing inherently wrong with attending to her tasks. Indeed, they are an image of discipleship.
Both activism and contemplation are needed to complete the discipleship Jesus calls for: to hear God’s word and to do it. We need, like that lawyer last week, to “go and do likewise”, and we need to remember that sitting as a disciple to hear the word of Jesus is a gift not to be neglected or taken away.
Real hospitality means a two-way relationship in which both host and guest are open to each other and become present to one another in various ways. Yes, hosts do work on the details, and work hard. But a good host always remembers the visitor while they prepare. Excellent hosts manage somehow to get everything ready but also to truly listen and converse with the one who has come to visit. That is how we are supposed to act every day.
We are to be hospitable to God and we find God in all things, in all the people we know and/or help, and no matter how busy we might be, we must relate to them because God is within them, deep in their souls. Touch them. Hear them. Prepare meals for their presence without forgetting about them. We will be giving hospitality to God himself. Abraham gave it. Mary gave it. Martha forgot like you and I do so often, but she learned. Let’s learn it too.
Fifth Sunday After Pentecost - 14 July 2019
I learnt a new word on Monday. I knew the meaning of this word as a verb, but now it was being used as a personal noun. The word in its verb form was ‘disrupt’. Us South Africans know all about certain red bereted members of parliament disrupting the State of the Nation speech delivered by a previous president. But what I was discovering was a noun – disruptor D-I-S-R-U-P-T-O-R. I’ve looked it up to get the modern meaning beyond just being a person who disrupts. One online dictionary said: a person or thing that prevents something, especially a system, process, or event, from continuing as usual or as expected. In Business-speak, disruptor is a new word for a person who introduces innovation. So Innovators have become disruptors.
Do you know who really was a DISRUPTOR? Jesus. He brought fresh innovation to old traditional ways of doing things. He said: ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite you, and persecute you…’ Now, that is innovative. And what about his stories, his parables? A parable about the owner of the vineyard, for example. The owner goes out and employs workers. He goes out every couple of hours and returns with more workers right up to five pm. Then at six o’clock he pays them all the same wage! Is that disruptive or what? Or the parable of the prodigal son - the father gives the son all his inheritance and then still welcomes the son back when he returns penniless. Now that is being a disruptor! Now if Jesus is a disruptor, then we, who call ourselves Christians, that is we who are Christ-like, must also be disruptors too. How? In what way? Well, we have to learn to love our enemies; we must learn to turn the other cheek and to go the extra mile. We must learn to think of others before ourselves. These sound all very disruptive things to do in a generation when self and individualism is so stressed.
In fact, it sounds downright DANGEROUS. But to be a Christian is downright dangerous. To do what is Christ-like is dangerous. We can see this in the parable that was today’s Gospel. There was this poor old chap on his way to Jericho when, basically, he gets hi-jacked. We in South Africa can relate to a hi-jacking. But think for a moment about the Samaritan as he comes along the road. He sees a person in the ditch calling out for help. Surely this is one of the same ploys used by our South African hi-jackers. Place an accomplice on the road, when the motorist stops to check out what is going on, leap out of the bushes and steal the car. That must have been going through the mind of the Samaritan when he saw that traveller lying in the ditch. Was he a decoy for a gang hanging about behind the boulders alongside the road? Taking his life into his hands, the Samaritan carried out the actions of Christ, he became Christ-like by stopping, binding up the wounds of the victim and taking him to the nearest inn for safekeeping. You see, being a Christian is dangerous.
Jesus also tells a parable of man who finds a treasure in a field. This man then goes and sells everything he has so that he can buy that field and get the treasure. But what happens if the man was wrong? What happens if the treasure was not as valuable as he thought? He’s now lost all his money. To be a Christian means to live dangerously. In our own day we need only ask those Christian who are being persecuted for their faith to know that. We need only ask people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the many other so-called ‘troublesome priests’ who faced arrest and persecution during the Apartheid era to know that to follow Christ and his way is downright dangerous. What about you as members of your book club or gardening club – or you at work? Is it dangerous for you to confess your faith without being mocked or derided by your mates or friends? I remember once talking to a friend on the train about going to a Church meeting that night. One of the other passengers asked me, “Oh, are you a Christian?” And I thought “Oh dear, I know what this means, she going to prattle on about loving Jesus and everything else.” So, I said to her “Oh no! I’m an Anglican.” You know what my friends said to me? “Are Anglicans no longer Christians then?” I wasn’t willing to face up to the very insignificant danger of acknowledging my faith.
Why was I embarrassed about my faith? I should not have been embarrassed about my faith, should have delighted in it. Being a Christian should be a DELIGHT. Jesus lived a life that was filled with delightful things. We all know that he was quite a party animal! He went to a wedding and changed 600 litres of water into 600 litre of top class wine. That must have been quite a wedding party. Jesus loved to go out to dinner parties, not only with his friends but with his enemies as well. Jesus said “I’ve come to bring you life with all its fullness.” His parables also reflect this delight in life. There is the lovely parable of the woman who lost a gold coin from her chain of coins. What does she do? She lights up an oil lamp so that she can see in all the dark corners in her house. She re-cleans and sweeps her house, searching for that coin. What does she do when she finds it? She organises a party for all her friends and her neighbours. The cost of the oil and the cost of the party must have been far greater than the value of that single coin. But to share her joy and delight with others was something that she wanted to do and something that Jesus loved to do.
And so, to summarise, to be a Christian means to live a disruptive, dangerous and delight-filled life. I’m sure all you have already worked out my clever preacher’s cliché! To be a Christian means living a 3D life –disruptor, dangerous and delight-filled. Now most of you have computers that, even if you didn’t know it, have 3D graphic capabilities. That means of course that any screen image has not only height and width but also depth. To be Christian means we have height – to reach up to touch the living God. We have width to reach out and touch our neighbour. We have depth in order to live lives that are disruptive, dangerous and delightful.
So that is my challenge to you today. If you are a Christian, if you call yourself a Christian, if you would like to become a Christian – then learn to become a disruptor and live a life that is dangerous and delightful so that you can become a 3D person, a person who has height, width and depth. A person who knows and loves Jesus and is Christ-like. But can I remind you that as we struggle to be like Christ, Christ must have struggled to be like us, to be fully human. A description of this struggle is described beautifully in a hymn by Fred Kaan. This hymn has been set to music as an anthem by Simon Lole and will be sung by the choir this morning.
We meet You, O Christ, in many a guise:
Your image we see in simple and wise.
You live in a palace, exist in a shack.
We see You, the gardener, a tree on Your back.
In millions alive, away and abroad;
Involved in our life, you live down the road.
Imprisoned in systems, you long to be free.
We see you, Lord Jesus, still bearing your tree.
We hear you, O Christ, in agony cry.
For freedom you march, in riots, you die.
Your face in the papers we read and we see.
The tree must be planted by human decree.
You choose to be made at one with the earth;
The dark of the grave prepares for your birth.
Your death is your rising, creative your word:
The tree springs to life and our hope is restored
Derek Pratt
I learnt a new word on Monday. I knew the meaning of this word as a verb, but now it was being used as a personal noun. The word in its verb form was ‘disrupt’. Us South Africans know all about certain red bereted members of parliament disrupting the State of the Nation speech delivered by a previous president. But what I was discovering was a noun – disruptor D-I-S-R-U-P-T-O-R. I’ve looked it up to get the modern meaning beyond just being a person who disrupts. One online dictionary said: a person or thing that prevents something, especially a system, process, or event, from continuing as usual or as expected. In Business-speak, disruptor is a new word for a person who introduces innovation. So Innovators have become disruptors.
Do you know who really was a DISRUPTOR? Jesus. He brought fresh innovation to old traditional ways of doing things. He said: ‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despite you, and persecute you…’ Now, that is innovative. And what about his stories, his parables? A parable about the owner of the vineyard, for example. The owner goes out and employs workers. He goes out every couple of hours and returns with more workers right up to five pm. Then at six o’clock he pays them all the same wage! Is that disruptive or what? Or the parable of the prodigal son - the father gives the son all his inheritance and then still welcomes the son back when he returns penniless. Now that is being a disruptor! Now if Jesus is a disruptor, then we, who call ourselves Christians, that is we who are Christ-like, must also be disruptors too. How? In what way? Well, we have to learn to love our enemies; we must learn to turn the other cheek and to go the extra mile. We must learn to think of others before ourselves. These sound all very disruptive things to do in a generation when self and individualism is so stressed.
In fact, it sounds downright DANGEROUS. But to be a Christian is downright dangerous. To do what is Christ-like is dangerous. We can see this in the parable that was today’s Gospel. There was this poor old chap on his way to Jericho when, basically, he gets hi-jacked. We in South Africa can relate to a hi-jacking. But think for a moment about the Samaritan as he comes along the road. He sees a person in the ditch calling out for help. Surely this is one of the same ploys used by our South African hi-jackers. Place an accomplice on the road, when the motorist stops to check out what is going on, leap out of the bushes and steal the car. That must have been going through the mind of the Samaritan when he saw that traveller lying in the ditch. Was he a decoy for a gang hanging about behind the boulders alongside the road? Taking his life into his hands, the Samaritan carried out the actions of Christ, he became Christ-like by stopping, binding up the wounds of the victim and taking him to the nearest inn for safekeeping. You see, being a Christian is dangerous.
Jesus also tells a parable of man who finds a treasure in a field. This man then goes and sells everything he has so that he can buy that field and get the treasure. But what happens if the man was wrong? What happens if the treasure was not as valuable as he thought? He’s now lost all his money. To be a Christian means to live dangerously. In our own day we need only ask those Christian who are being persecuted for their faith to know that. We need only ask people like Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the many other so-called ‘troublesome priests’ who faced arrest and persecution during the Apartheid era to know that to follow Christ and his way is downright dangerous. What about you as members of your book club or gardening club – or you at work? Is it dangerous for you to confess your faith without being mocked or derided by your mates or friends? I remember once talking to a friend on the train about going to a Church meeting that night. One of the other passengers asked me, “Oh, are you a Christian?” And I thought “Oh dear, I know what this means, she going to prattle on about loving Jesus and everything else.” So, I said to her “Oh no! I’m an Anglican.” You know what my friends said to me? “Are Anglicans no longer Christians then?” I wasn’t willing to face up to the very insignificant danger of acknowledging my faith.
Why was I embarrassed about my faith? I should not have been embarrassed about my faith, should have delighted in it. Being a Christian should be a DELIGHT. Jesus lived a life that was filled with delightful things. We all know that he was quite a party animal! He went to a wedding and changed 600 litres of water into 600 litre of top class wine. That must have been quite a wedding party. Jesus loved to go out to dinner parties, not only with his friends but with his enemies as well. Jesus said “I’ve come to bring you life with all its fullness.” His parables also reflect this delight in life. There is the lovely parable of the woman who lost a gold coin from her chain of coins. What does she do? She lights up an oil lamp so that she can see in all the dark corners in her house. She re-cleans and sweeps her house, searching for that coin. What does she do when she finds it? She organises a party for all her friends and her neighbours. The cost of the oil and the cost of the party must have been far greater than the value of that single coin. But to share her joy and delight with others was something that she wanted to do and something that Jesus loved to do.
And so, to summarise, to be a Christian means to live a disruptive, dangerous and delight-filled life. I’m sure all you have already worked out my clever preacher’s cliché! To be a Christian means living a 3D life –disruptor, dangerous and delight-filled. Now most of you have computers that, even if you didn’t know it, have 3D graphic capabilities. That means of course that any screen image has not only height and width but also depth. To be Christian means we have height – to reach up to touch the living God. We have width to reach out and touch our neighbour. We have depth in order to live lives that are disruptive, dangerous and delightful.
So that is my challenge to you today. If you are a Christian, if you call yourself a Christian, if you would like to become a Christian – then learn to become a disruptor and live a life that is dangerous and delightful so that you can become a 3D person, a person who has height, width and depth. A person who knows and loves Jesus and is Christ-like. But can I remind you that as we struggle to be like Christ, Christ must have struggled to be like us, to be fully human. A description of this struggle is described beautifully in a hymn by Fred Kaan. This hymn has been set to music as an anthem by Simon Lole and will be sung by the choir this morning.
We meet You, O Christ, in many a guise:
Your image we see in simple and wise.
You live in a palace, exist in a shack.
We see You, the gardener, a tree on Your back.
In millions alive, away and abroad;
Involved in our life, you live down the road.
Imprisoned in systems, you long to be free.
We see you, Lord Jesus, still bearing your tree.
We hear you, O Christ, in agony cry.
For freedom you march, in riots, you die.
Your face in the papers we read and we see.
The tree must be planted by human decree.
You choose to be made at one with the earth;
The dark of the grave prepares for your birth.
Your death is your rising, creative your word:
The tree springs to life and our hope is restored
Derek Pratt
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