SERMON 8 - SUNDAY 27 MAY 2012

SERMON 8 - SUNDAY 27 MAY 2012 - Whaddon Roman Catholic Chapel

Ezekiel 36:22-28 & John 20:19-23

My wife often describes me as an “anorak” – one of those strange people with, in her mind at least, strange hobbies and interests – Chinese history, steam locomotives, ocean liners, trams and trolleybuses, and reading old maps and star charts astronomical ones (not astrological) to name but a few. 

An enquiring mind - which always wants to know more and more about ever more obscure subjects.  Yes, I can name the presidents of the United States, more or less in order of dates and tell you who won the 1976 FA Cup but I couldn’t tell you who is the front-runner in the current Apprentice!  In most cases, Sara simply lets me get on with it, feigning interest occasionally – and never complaining when I bring home that monthly bottle of wine for being a member of the winning pub trivia quiz team;  but I think her main concern is that, perhaps, I live too much in the past – yearning for those good old days which, perhaps, weren’t all that good after all.  As a friend of mine put it, recently, “nostalgia just isn’t what it used to be”!  Besides we don’t seem to have diphtheria and scurvy anymore.

Earlier this week, my yearning for the good old days nearly got me into trouble.  I was lucky enough to spend Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at Champney’s Health Resort near Liphook – courtesy of a voucher given to me by my wife. 

Because of the glorious weather we’ve been having this week I decided to forsake the gym and sauna and go for a long walk in the woods.  I had brought with me an old Ordinance Survey map from the 1970s of the area.  Now I told you earlier that I have a passion for old steam railways and I knew that the film “The Great St. Trinian’s Train Robbery” had been filmed close by at the Longmoor Military Railway.  Seeing it marked on my map I strode off with my trekking poles and rucksack intent on finding the old railway and taking some photographs. 

After trudging some two to three miles through a heavily wooded and steep landscape, with my footsteps being accompanied by heavy machine gun and small arms fire, I eventually found myself, not by the railway line I had sought but by the busy A3 dual carriageway and close to a military firing range!  Had I been using a modern up-to-date OS map I probably wouldn’t have ventured off in that direction in the first place – although the views were magnificent and I didn’t step on any unexploded shells.

When I came to sit down and reflect upon today’s readings, the passage from Ezekiel reminded me of that aborted quest to find the long lost railway line.  A member of my House Group once said “I don’t do the Old Testament – I can’t accept a God who smites and seems to be grumpy all the time – I prefer the loving God of the New Testament – I can relate to Him”.  Her words came flooding back to me and I thought, perhaps there is something in that – like my old OS Map, perhaps, in looking for what there is for us today, we need to put aside and forget what went on before - that I shouldn’t ever preach on the Old Testament but concentrate on the Gospels and the writings of Paul and the Apostles.

 But, there again, when I looked at my old map, the contours, the physical geographical features are still there today – the rivers, the mountains and the basic infrastructures haven’t changed.  What has happened to the landscape is that some of the obsolete man made features have gone and new features have been written on the new map – new housing estates, new roads, a new Tesco’s supermarket – but the old is still recognisable – even the paths of “dismantled railways” are shown.   And when we read of the problems which faced the Jewish Nation in exile, then we can often draw many parallels with what we are facing in the world today.

Chapter 36 of Ezekiel, from which a short extract was read to us this evening, comes immediately before the famous story of Ezekiel being commanded by God to prophesy to the dry bones in the valley.  In a series of instructions, Ezekiel is being commanded by Yahweh, God, to prophesy to inanimate or dead objects which represent the state of the Jewish nation at this time – the time of the Exile.  Here, in our passage, Ezekiel is prophesying to the desolate mountains and land of Israel/Judah that God’s people are coming back after their period of exile in Babylon, that the land so barren and broken and corrupted will be renewed because the people will return, fully cleansed and full of the Holy Spirit so that they will obey the laws and do and act in ways which will glorify and please God.

You see, the Jewish people firmly believed that their state of exile and being cut off from their God was due to their disobedience of the law laid down by Moses in the Torah.  God was giving them another chance – just as we as parents have to forgive our children again and again - well at least I seem to have to with my teenage son – so God also forgives us again and again.

Let’s fast forward a moment to our second reading.  If we read John’s account of the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples we can immediately see those parallels with Ezekiel’s prophesy.  Just as God promised the Jewish Nation through Ezekiel that he would breathe the Holy Spirit and forgive the Jewish nation by giving them another chance, so Jesus gives the Disciples the Holy Spirit to have God’s power to forgive others.

This was an incredibly powerful message to the disciples.  They would have been familiar with Old Testament law and prophesy – after all that was the only Scripture they had – the Old Testament.  They were writing the New Testament by being in it – being part of it!  Jesus repeatedly said “I have not come to break the law but to fulfil it!” Jesus must have spent an enormous amount of his early years reading and studying the Old Testament.  We know that he got lost in Jerusalem as a small boy because he wandered off to hear and read scripture in the Temple.

There was a craze at one time for WWJD wrist bands and pens – “WWJD” – “What would Jesus do”.  Many of those who wore those bands or used those pens often said things like “We need to get back to how the first Christians acted and worshipped”.  If we did so, we would find that much of the liturgy and structure of the church was based on the old Jewish rituals contained within the Old Testament because they were still worshipping the one and only true God, Yahweh.

I am afraid I cannot agree with my former House Group colleague.  We cannot chuck away the Old Testament just because we don’t like what happened or feel that it will confuse the modern day landscape and not fit in with what we feel is comfortable or familiar.

Neither, though, should we cling on to it and not embrace its meaning and foundation for us today. To understand Jesus’s ministry is to understand the prophesies and history contained in the Old Testament.  To understand the psyche of the Jewish people, and how Jesus’s ministry and teachings fit into the bigger picture. 

We are the fortunate ones – we have the new OS Map showing the new features – Christ’s ministry, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, Pentecost and early church.  But to look at the new OS map alongside the old one is to see more clearly how the landscape has developed and why.  Not just accept what is there now but also help us to understand why and how it came into being.

I will keep my old map; but I will invest in a new one for when visit that area again.  Call me an anorak if you wish – I’ve been called worse in my time – but I invite you to delve into the Old Testament at frequent intervals and read the histories and prophesies – especially Isaiah, Ezekiel and Malachi.  They all have great stories to tell and they lead, from Creation through the doorway of the Cross towards the establishment of the Christian church and onwards to the New Creation.  They tell Jesus’s message in the context of the much bigger story.

Amen

SERMON 7 - SUNDAY 6 MAY 2012

SERMON 7 - SUNDAY 6 MAY 2012 - St. Mary's Parish Church, Alderbury

Part 1

Acts 8: 26-40

This for me is an absolutely astounding narrative leaving so many questions unanswered – a remarkable occurrence where Philip is told, divinely, to use a remote desert road to travel about 50 miles from Jerusalem, the capital of Judea to the coastal town of Gaza – now so much in the news.  We know from the TV footage that this area of the Middle East is rather un-hospitable today – how much more must it have been before the days of satellite navigation and mobile phones!  Philip doesn’t seem to question why he is to go there but it does indicate that the Good News of Christ’s life, crucifixion and resurrection had travelled well beyond Judea and Samaria to the coastal regions of Gaza , Caesarea and Azotus (Ashdod).

The story is presented to us as an extraordinary encounter on this remote, and presumably, dangerous road – an encounter in which God is the primary actor.  From the beginning to end of this whole narrative, Philip is prompted by divine impulse.  He moves at the behest of the angel of the Lord to make this journey, just in a similar manner to which Elijah and Ezekiel of the Old Testament had been instructed.

To set the story in its historical setting, the eunuch’s conversion illustrates the gospel’s power to reach even the remotest regions and include outsiders at that time.  Ethiopia’s remoteness and invincibility were legendary and if the term eunuch actually meant a male who had been physically castrated, then his status as an outsider is even more emphasised.  In all probability, it was more of a title indicating his position within the Queen’s household, (actually probably the Queen Mother)  but, nevertheless, his inclusion within the people of God  appears to fulfil the prophetic hope that foreigners and eunuch’s  would eventually participate fully in the worship of God.

Here, significantly we read that the eunuch, a foreigner, had previously been attracted to Israel and its temple as a place of worship and he is now attracted to its successor – “the good news of Jesus Christ”.  We are told that he is making his way home – back into Africa along this same road as Philip – after having been to the temple to worship Yahweh – the God of the Jewish people.  Whilst sitting in his carriage he is clearly struggling to understand the latest piece of scripture which he might have been directed to read or picked up whilst in Jerusalem.  I wonder, how many of us have empathy with that situation?  I know I do – every time we hold our weekly house group something new and fresh is revealed as well as discovering that pieces of scripture, so familiar, are upturned by a fresh interpretation!  Different commentaries and concordances sometimes only add to that confusion as we read more and more.

Our eunuch is reading Isaiah out aloud (a common practise in those days) – a piece which is quite familiar to us too.  What does it mean? He asks. Or more importantly, “Whom does it mean?” Before we even reach that point Philip, guided by the Holy Spirit asks the eunuch – “Do you understand what you are reading?”  What a great way to start up a conversation for bearing witness to the Good News.  Does that happen today?  Well yes it does.  Let me narrate a short story of my own –

A couple of years ago I was on my way to London by train for a business meeting.  I was reading a book by Steve Chalke called “Change Agents” – here it is, actually signed by the man himself at Spring Harvest -an excellent book and a quick and easy read explaining, as it does, some of the techniques that can be used within a Christian setting to help shape the world more in our Faith.  At Basingstoke a chap got onto the train and sat opposite me and started to read his own book.  Between Basingstoke and Woking we spoke hardly a word but he had obviously glimpsed mine for he suddenly asked me – “Do you know Steve Chalke then”?  I responded that I had met him a couple of times at Spring Harvest and had been doing some work for Stop the Traffik – one of Steve’s Oasis charities.  He then revealed that, ironically as it happens, that he was a Christian and had heard Steve speak and currently he was reading a commentary on Isaiah for his home group.  Needless to say we started chatting and in the end, as I finished my book by Clapham Junction, I lent it to him.  He subsequently sent it back to me with a lovely note saying how much he had been inspired by Steve’s book and would be putting much of what was written into practice – especially in his working life where he had been grappling with ethical problems which the book helped him to overcome.

Now I cannot say that I was guided by any clear divine impulse but this story does emphasise that we can best learn and understand scripture when we share our knowledge and proclaim the good news to others – and also when we are not afraid to admit, like the eunuch, that we don’t understand something and need it explaining more fully.

I often hear it said by people who know I am a Christian and a regular church-goer that they don’t understand why Christian’s have to go to church.  I even hear it said that “I am a good Christian but I never go to Church – I don’t need to”.  I would dare to say that such a statement is a contradiction.

Our eunuch clearly knew and appreciated the need to be a member of the church of Christ.  Having had the scripture explained to him by the apostle Philip, he is anxious to be baptised – to become a member of church.  His enthusiasm which he previously had for the God of the Jews has been extended to that for God’s Son and Holy Spirit.  A completeness of his faith;  a desire for membership and fellowship.  By membership and fellowship in a Christian community we can grow – and we grow by being able to ask those questions of life which bug us so much – which will test our faith, which stretch us. Being a Christian is not about being comfortable, boring and unquestioning.  The closer we are to God, the more we need the help and support of our fellow Christian journeyers.

This morning, I want to illustrate that need for sharing our faith and questioning our own knowledge of scripture by inviting you to think about a bible passage which might be quite well known to you but which you might not really have ever understood or have recently struggled with.  You should have received a piece of paper and a pen as you entered this morning and we’ll use those as an ancient form of texting!  Scribble down your question and then place it in this basket whilst Jenny plays us some reflective music for a few minutes.   If you can’t think of anything quickly now perhaps reflect upon it later at home and then email it to me or one of the clergy team for a response.  After the second reading and my short homily on it, we’ll then take a few of your contributions anonymously and Nils has offered to join in to see if we can give some answers.  Also, if any of you have any answer or thoughts you want to share please do not hesitate to contribute to the discussion.

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 Part 2

John 15:1-8

In the Old Testament, mention of the vine was often used as a symbol for Israel especially when trying to indicate a certain lacking of faithfulness.  Jesus’s reference to the true vine is appropriate therefore because he is telling his disciples that he is the very essence of that network which will uphold and sustain a faithfulness towards God.

Now I am no gardener, indeed having been brought up in towns and cities by the sea for most of my life, I really am not all that close to the earth at all – confining my gardening to mowing lawns and hacking back the jungle which frequently seems to appear in my back garden – but even I have noticed that when I cut back the grape vine which proliferates at the side of our house, it bears more grapes than when I leave it alone – and yes I have frequently left it alone.  My wife has said that someday we might find some lost civilisation in the undergrowth.  The disciples at the time of Jesus would therefore have understood this much better than I do as the need to produce grapes and figs in such arid conditions was indeed very important and poor viticulture could be disastrous.

So what exactly is Jesus saying?  Well, my understanding of this passage after reflection is that unless we remain solidly connected to the plant itself, Jesus in this case, and are nurtured by the Holy Spirit we will whither and die at Judgement because we are no longer able to bear fruit.  Jesus wants his disciples (us today) to blossom and bear fruit.  We can so easily stagnate in our faith because we do not allow ourselves to grow.  We hear the word but we do not listen; we hear the word but we do not try to understand; and sometimes, I’m afraid, we don’t even hear it at all because we are engaged in our own distractions.

We can’t go it alone either.  We must be connected to the vine – each of us by being so connected is connected to each other.  We receive our spiritual nourishment from the same source – an inexhaustible source for all - but to grow we must feed ourselves and each other through the Holy Spirit.

Now let’s have a look at some of the biblical questions which you have given me.

SERMONS 5 & 6 – SUNDAY 22 APRIL

SERMONS 5 & 6 – SUNDAY 22 APRIL - St. John's Church Winterslow / St. Mary's Parish Church, West Dean (A Shorter Version of this was delivered as Sermon 5 at St. John's)

Luke 24:36-48; Acts 3:[1]-19

Those of you who study the Church of England’s liturgical calendar, the lectionary, will have spotted that today’s readings were somewhat different to what was printed – the Gospel reading came first, instead of second and the reading from Acts 3 started at verse 1 and not, as prescribed, verse 12.  If you didn’t spot it, then don’t worry, hopefully it made perfect sense to you when it was read out.

When I sat down to prepare this sermon, I started by reading and reflecting upon the first of the passages prescribed from the Common Lectionary, the Acts reading, which, at verse 12 starts – “Peter addressed the people, ‘You Israelites, why do you wonder at this or why do you stare at us…’”  My immediate reaction, was, what on earth is going on here?  Wondering at what?  What was there to stare at? Peter certainly seems to have gone off on one!  It was only by going to my fuller bible and reading and trying to understand what had gone on immediately before, that complete sense could be made of the circumstances surrounding Peter’s seeming outburst – not that Peter was unaccustomed to such behaviour.  But I’ll come back to the Acts passage later as even more sense can be made when one reads Luke’s Gospel a take the two readings chronologically.

The fact that these two passages have been linked in the lectionary is no co-incidence. They follow logically.  The apostle Luke is acknowledged to be the writer of both the gospel which bears his name and the Acts of the Apostles and both of these readings were probably written very closely together and clearly have a significant link. 

Last week we heard John’s gospel in which Thomas, not having been present at Christ’s first appearance to the disciples, needed clear factual evidence to support the news that Jesus had indeed risen. “I will not believe it unless I see the scars and put my hand in his side”  A man whose emotions were led by his head – logical thought.  According to Paul in 1 Corinthians [15:6], Jesus appeared to about 500 people at the same time yet it must still have been a enormous test of their faith – having seen their leader, their rabbi murdered on the Cross.

Our gospel reading, itself, immediately follows the revelation of Christ to the disciples on the road to Emmaus.  We read that the disciples were in turmoil, their leader had been cruelly executed, his body disappearing from its grave and hearing strange unbelievable stories of him having been seen around town and in the country.  The disciples from Emmaus, in particular were enthusiastic with their news and were probably greeted by their colleagues with cries of “O yeah!  Pull the other one!”  When Jesus appeared, clearly they must have believed it was a ghost that they were seeing as Christ, having supernatural powers of walking through locked doors, has suddenly and unexpectedly appeared in front of them. Jesus asks  “Why are you frightened and why do doubts arise in your hearts?”  He might even have said “You look as if you’ve just seen a ghost”.  In a symbolic act to prove that he is indeed flesh and blood he shows them his hands and feet and asks them for food to eat.  A ghost doesn’t eat food.

I am always amazed, that despite all the miracles which were observed over the three years or so of Christ’s ministry, and all the teachings and discussions that took place over that time, Peter and his colleagues took so long to “get it”.  But, on this occasion, they finally did as Jesus, in the same way he did with the two on the road to Emmaus, painstakingly goes through scripture, the Old Testament, and points out to them the various prophecies which talk about his death and resurrection.  But the most important thing he says to them is that they are “witnesses” of these things.  They have been chosen to be a part of the big story set out in scripture. 

Luke ends the narrative (which again is not included in our reading) by saying that he wants the disciples to go out with power from God (the Holy Spirit) to witness to all that has happened.

Today, the evangelicals, both within our own church and the more charismatic churches, use the term “witness” to mean mission and it is clear that Jesus has plans for the eleven (soon to be made up to twelve again) after Pentecost to be witnesses, missionaries, in the Father’s name. Having witnessed, the living resurrected Jesus, and after having received the Holy Spirit, they will be able to speak with authority and power.  Quite a transforming meeting!  From doubting to clear empowerment.  If only some of our church meetings were so transforming!

It is therefore with the benefit of understanding this that we turn back to the reading from Luke. 

In a similar manner to Jesus demonstrating his resurrection as a man (albeit with super powers) by eating broiled fish [fish always seem to feature in my sermons for some reason!] so the newly empowered apostles, Peter and John, demonstrate their witness or mission by healing a cripple at the Temple Gate in Jerusalem.  An act which echoes back to Christ’s own ministry when he healed the blind man on the Sabbath and drew a large crowd of Pharisees and officials. It certainly seems to have had a similar effect with a crowd of Israelites.  Peter has a huge audience.  What a great opportunity for mission.  

Amusingly, Peter then asks the crowd the same sort of question which Jesus asked the eleven in the locked room – “Why does this take you completely by surprise” as it is put in The Message.  Why the wonder? Why the staring?  Peter more than anyone else should understand their position! Peter then, after berating the crowd for having allowed Jesus to be put to death by the Romans, (not sure Peter still does get it as the death and resurrection, he has been told, was all part of God’s big story) repeats what Jesus had said to the disciples by explaining the ministry of Jesus in the context of the Old Testament.  Wow, what a turn round – from wonder and disbelief on the part of Peter and his colleagues to a strong unequivocal testimony of faith – all in a few weeks.

Well this is all very interesting, you say, but where does that place us today? 

I don’t know how many of you use social networking sites – I do.  Although they can be time wasters they can also be extremely good and simple ways to communicate news and views.  However there are quite a lot of games and quizzes on Facebook and in an idle moment – and I don’t get many of those these days - I decided to fill in a questionnaire entitled “Which Biblical Character are you most like?”  Just a bit of fun you realise, of course!  As I filled it out I wondered whether I would turn out to be King Herod, Pilate, David, Elisha, or perhaps the talking donkey!  The result for a moment surprised me yet then it didn’t surprise me – it was Peter!  And yes I can identify with him – frequently getting it wrong, jumping in with both feet, saying the wrong thing at the right time or the right thing at the wrong time.  And he also came from a family of fishermen too! 

These passages today, remind me that we can all be like Peter.  We can doubt, we can deny, we can try and hide, we can ignore, we can try and rationalise, we can be impulsive, we can be indolent – Peter was all of these things at one time or another – yet he became the rock upon which Christ’s church was built. Today, as members of his church, we continue to be Christ’s rock – his living stones.

As Jesus’s living disciples we are required to witness – to go out and do his mission.  The Holy Spirit is around and in us.  Those of us who have made a commitment to Jesus, although we have not been in a room where he has physically appeared, have been given access to the most powerful thing on earth – the Holy Spirit which in turn has given us different gifts.  It may not be the gift of healing, as in the Acts passage, it may not be the gift of prophecy, it may not be the gift of teaching, it may not be readily discernible to us but each and every one of us has been given a gift by God to witness to his love in giving us his Son to die on the Cross and resurrected, and to be a light to the world.

Recently I heard a wonderful phrase – that we should let God’s light shine through us like a light in a cracked pot  No, let me emphasise, not as crackpots but as cracked pots.  Full of flaws and imperfections but still able to shine as true witnesses to God’s light.  Jesus gave this responsibility to those first disciples in the locked room.  He gives it to us now, here, today.

Amen

 

SERMON 4 - SUNDAY 11 MARCH 2012

SERMON 4 -  SUNDAY 11 MARCH 2012 - St. Mary's Hall, Whaddon

Exodus 5.1-6.1; Matthew 10:4b-14

What sort of a day have you had today?  I guess a good one as it is Sunday, the Sun is shining, Southampton won their match yesterday and you have so been looking forward all week to coming to church this evening haven’t you?!  Okay you don’t need to answer that one!  So, what sort of a week have you had?  Have all your days been great?  Fulfilling?  Enjoyable?  Or, like me, have you had some pretty frustrating and stress filled ones too!  Days when you can’t get on with things because other less important ones – to you that is – seem to take priority – or you get those annoying phone calls asking you to claim against insurance policies you never had or wanting to sell you double glazing which you already have! I can tell you I am tempted to say quite a few un-Christian words to those people!  Perhaps a day or a period when you haven’t done something you should have done for fear of getting it wrong or making a mess of it, or not speaking for it or against it – sometimes that’s me also!

Well, having a faith, being a Christian is never easy.  As I have begun my training - I’ve found that out!  Sometimes the more you delve into scripture and theological theory and reflection, the harder it all becomes and the more confused you get.  One commentator will say this about a piece of scripture, another says that.  Having just completed a module on interpreting scripture, I can tell you, there is so much more we don’t know than we think we do.

I am reminded of a young enthusiastic trainee preacher who had only recently become a Christian.  He thought he had got it all worked out – “simples” as the Meerkats would say. His first sermon went something like this – three points he wanted to make –

1.    If you are a Christian you don’t have problems but

2.    If you are a Christian and have a problem, pray about it and it will go away but

3.    If you are Christian, you pray about it and it doesn’t go away, then perhaps you’re not really a Christian which is then a bigger problem than you had to start with!

No!  Completely wrong.  Many years later, that young guy is one of the most respected preachers and authors around having written and sold umpteen theological books.  He has had plenty of problems in his personal life, including chronic depression, but speaking to him today he will tell you that he looks back on that first sermon with horror and realises that far from solving problems - being a Christian creates more problems than he might otherwise have had – but his relationship with Jesus and his general faith keeps him going and he feels safe in knowledge that God is there to protect him and guide him through the bad patches.

The bible is littered with people struggling with their faith as they go through the bad times – from Genesis to Revelation.  Job is a classic story.

In our first reading, we are back in Egypt with the Israelite slaves.  They have been set construction tasks by the Pharaoh who has cleverly put Israelite overseers in charge of their own people.  A device which has been used by countless tyrants over the centuries.  The overseers’ privileged position will be in jeopardy if they collaborate with the masses in revolution – and this is precisely what is happening here.  Moses and Aaron plan to get the Jewish people a three day religious holiday so that they can go into the wilderness to spend time with God – Yahweh.  Going into the wilderness was not, what we might think it is now, a bad thing – no, back then the wilderness was where they thought God resided and going out there was to be close to Him.  However, Moses and Aaron have a simple cunning plan – not to come back!  Pharaoh probably had wind of this and for this reason he chose to punish the people by making them undertake the same task – building bricks - but asking them to collect their own raw material – straw.  This has the effect of them taking much longer to complete the task or having to work doubly hard to complete in the time allotted.

I can’t say I’ve ever seen any straw in the walls of my brick built house - but - I did a bit of research and – I was intrigued by this, which also reminded me of the idiom – “you can’t make bricks without straw”

Many clay products require the addition of other materials to add strength and durability. In the case of bricks in OT Egypt -- river clay is usually composed of very fine particles and so would dry slowly. Adding straw would "open up" the clay, allowing it to dry more readily and so be more promptly and successfully fired. Adobe bricks used around the world are generally only sun dried but grasses, straw and other materials are added to the clay for the same basic reasons.

Pharaoh’s decree, probably predictably, had the effect of turning the overseers/foremen against Moses and Aaron who were told, in no uncertain terms:

May the LORD look upon you and judge you!  You have made us a stench to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.

Moses, then himself wondering what had been achieved by all this, asks God why all this trouble? to which he receives the answer – Because of the nuisance they are making, God will himself make Pharaoh drive the Israelites out of Egypt.  And as we know, plagues and pestilence were released on the Egyptians.

Later, in our second reading we read that Jesus, sending out the missionary twelve, warns them that he is sending them out like sheep in the midst of wolves.  They will be persecuted and reviled because of their faith and speaking out in faith.  He says “do not worry about speaking or what to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at the right time”.

Moses suffered from a speech impediment and couldn’t quite understand why he had been chosen to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.  Clearly his speeches of persuasion to Pharaoh didn’t work on their own and it required the plagues from God to speak louder. 

During Lent, quite a few groups are studying the book “Finding a Voice” by Hilary Brand which uses that highly acclaimed film, The King’s Speech, to explore the ways in which fear holds us back and examines how we, like Bertie, can face and overcome our fears and begin to find our authentic voice.  It’s a great message. 

As we reflect on our own journey of faith, this Lent, let’s ask ourselves what challenges are facing us as Christians now – what fears do we need to overcome, what tasks seem too great for us, what bricks are we being asked to make without straw? 

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.  I would add to that – it is also fear of ourselves and our own inadequacies.  On reflection, perhaps that’s the same thing.

In life we will meet bad days, days when everybody and everything seems to go against us.  The psalmist knew those days well – his songs are littered with them.  But as Christians, we should remember that everything is for a purpose – just as explained to Moses and Aaron.  Often days are bad because we don’t speak up – we allow things to get on top of us because we don’t say “stop – enough” or “no”.  We take the line of least resistance just as the overseers wanted to do. Not upset the status quo – however bad that was for the people.

But the answer is there.  Find our voice, trust in the Lord’s plan for us, overcome our fears.

Simples! 

Amen

SERMON 3 – SUNDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2012

SERMON 3 – SUNDAY 12 FEBRUARY 2012 - St. John's Church, West Grimstead

Colossians 1:15-20 and John 1:1-14

Wow, what a fantastic piece of writing opens John’s Gospel –  what powerful words, words which are probably nearly as familiar to most Christians as is the Lord’s prayer itself.  “In the beginning…” not “Once upon a time” or “Many years ago” as writers of narrative often use - but right at the beginning of time.  A statement of absolute faith contained in those first three words of John’s Gospel.  Nothing existed before God.  John is clearly echoing the opening of Genesis, the first book of the Torah which would have been as well known to the Jews of the day as our liturgy is to us today (“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth”).  Just think about it for a moment – there was nothing before the beginning – just chaos and a void – so when John talks about the beginning he is saying, in clear words understood by his readers or listeners -  that this Jesus, born in Bethlehem, crucified and resurrected in Jerusalem, the Son of God was with God at the beginning of time – always - what a mind blowing concept for those early followers. This Jesus, recently on Earth in the living memory of John, was God incarnate not simply another prophet or holy man.

When I set about writing this sermon my thoughts strayed to how I could bring this concept alive and fresh to people who have already openly professed their faith in Christ – for that is what we as Christians have declared. In other words, this should be old hat to those who are already following Christ. Then I was reminded of my time in local and national politics when, following the fall of Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, the Conservative Party seemed to lose its way and the revived concept of consensus politics started to divide those in power. Different views on how policies should be carried forward, or not carried forward at all, brought crisis after crisis to the new Thatcherless Government. The new Prime Minister, John Major, then hit upon the notion of a campaign – do you remember what it was? - he called it “Back to Basics” which, I have to readily admit, didn’t do all it was meant to do and was often used against those trying to advocate it; but as a concept it is not a bad one and I think, when we read John 1 it is, in a way, leading us Christians back to just that, to take a long hard look at the basics of our Faith.

Paul in his letter to the Colossians, which we had read earlier, I think is doing just that - getting back to basics with the faithful in Colossae, a small city about 100 miles from Ephesus in what is now Turkey.  In the reading we had, he reminds us that Jesus is the image of the unseen God – that he is above all things and in him all things are held together – the firstborn of all creation. Paul says : He is the head of the body; the church; he is the beginning –  see here is another reference – the firstborn from the dead so that he might come to have first place in everything.

So! - where do we place Jesus in our daily lives today?  If we were to make a list of our priorities, Church, Family, Work, Sport, Home, where do we put him?  At the top, the beginning of our list, or do we do as I’ve heard one Christian say – “When I get to work I leave God/Jesus in the car, go into the office, do my work, and then pick him up again when I leave”.  Well it might surprise you to hear me say, no, we shouldn’t put Him on the top, at the beginning of our secular list, but in the centre of our lives !  He wants to be beside us in all you do, not simply adored and venerated and prayed to at those set times of the day or week – at church or before bed or when you wake up – important as they might be – but with us at our places of work, in the pub, at the football match, in the kitchen, in the garden, in the car, in fact everywhere and at all times.  We should not put him in a box to be taken out and then put away again when we have finished.

I have to confess, that I do sometimes put Christ lower down the list than I should – often at times when things seem to be going okay or when I feel  I am too busy getting on with the tasks of daily life – too busy to stop and talk to Him.  Sometimes, in fact, I think that I don’t need Him at all.  Yes, I can handle this, I tell myself.  The fact is, God is always there for us – he is there just for the asking.  I am often a bit similar to the man (in fact I am the man) who doesn’t like to ask for directions, even when lost, and ends up going round and round it circles. Can you identify with that?  Drives my wife mad!  Why don’t you ask that person over there? she says. We all, sometimes, also suffer from what aviators call “go-on-itus” – we struggle on alone getting ourselves into deeper trouble or, and this can sometimes be worse still, doing nothing; being paralysed by the fear of the unknown.

During his earthly life, Jesus made no small effort to get alongside ordinary folk – to be there for them.  We read in all the gospels how he dined with tax collectors and people who were outcast by the society in which they lived; he got alongside them speaking to them in their own language and in a way they could understand often in parable, guiding them and healing them. 

God was later described by John in Revelation (22.13) as the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end and we acknowledge this in our Pascal Candle which will be lit once more at Easter.  Yes, Christ was there at the beginning, but He will remain with us until the very end; and He is with us now.  All we have to do is reach out for Him.

In a moment we shall say the Creed and later be in Communion with him at the altar rail.  When we leave the Church today, let’s not leave Him behind like my Christian friend did in the office car park.  Let’s take Him with us.  He will be there waiting anyway.   Let’s get back to basics, let’s remember those familiar words, let’s make Christ both the beginning and the end of our life’s priority list by putting him at the centre.

Amen

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SERMON 2 - SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2012

SERMON – SUNDAY 5 FEBRUARY 2012 – All Saints Parish Church, Whiteparish

Numbers 13 and Philippians 2:12-28

I wonder how many of you, like me, were addicted, in the 1960s to watching the original TV Sci-Fi series Star Trek?  I do know that there is at least one “Trekkie” in the congregation tonight who watched avidly the deep sky adventures of Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones McCoy, Scottie, Mr Sulu  and of course the lovely Lt. Uhura  as they explored the universe in their Starship Enterprise.  And how many of your remember the series’ “strap line”?   Yes “To boldly go where no man has gone before” or as my pedantic English teacher cynically put it “To boldly split infinitives where they’ve never been split before!”

This year, we also celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the bold adventure of Robert Falcon Scott and his brave team of four companions who, having reached the South Pole, were disappointed to find that the Norwegian explorer, Amundsen, had arrived there a few weeks earlier and they now had to trudge back to base at Cape Evans in howling blizzards and appalling weather perishing in the attempt.  Bold men indeed. 

These examples (one fictional and one very factual) stand in stark contrast to eight of the ten spies whom Moses and Aaron sent out in our Old Testament reading.  I have always found it strange that, after all the depravations of the wilderness, the treatment received at the hands of the Egyptians and the blessings they had received at the hands of Yahweh, our God, in the form of the plagues, the parting of the Red Sea and the manna they received on their journey, they should so easily be tempted to give up on finally reaching the land they had been promised.    

The context of David’s [Seal’s] reading this evening  is that having reached the edge of  the promised land, God then commanded Moses to send into the promised land twelve important leaders of the ancestral Jewish tribes – and in the verses which were missed out in the reading, they are listed in quite some detail.  I won’t bore you with them now – I’m not sure that my Hebrew is quite up to it anyway – but you can read the list for yourself when you get home.  Two of them, however, are important to us, Caleb and Joshua. 

The twelve reported that the land was indeed flowing with milk and honey, just as promised by God, but that the towns and cities were heavily fortified by the incumbent tribes.  Ten of the twelve, realizing that to take the land would require a good deal of courage and bloodshed in warfare, exaggerated the size of the potential opponents saying that by comparison “we are mere grasshoppers”.

The incredible fact is that they seem to have completely forgotten how the promises made to Moses by God have so far actually come to fruition.  They have just spent 40 years in the wilderness, getting lost, and now they want to go back!

Because, we read on, in the next chapter, that Caleb, having tried to inspire the rest to go on, is rebuffed by “the whole congregation” as it is described in the New Revised Standard Version, who exclaim “We would rather have died in Egypt or in the wilderness” than fall to the swords of the incumbent tribes.  They then propose that they elect a captain to take them back to Egypt.  I really do wonder what sort of reception they expected to receive had they done so with Pharaoh’s son having drowned pursuing them into the Red Sea! .  As we know, Caleb and Joshua, in particular, did eventually lead the people into Canaan and, after many bloody battles, settled there.

It therefore took the boldness of Caleb and Joshua to stand up to the crowd to be able to go on and found the Jewish nation. They alone, apart from Moses and Aaron, at the end, had true faith in God’s word to see the job through.

In a similar way, Paul, in our second reading, in his letter to the Philippians, implores those at Philippi to obey God’s word because the instructions he, Paul, has given them in the past came from God through Jesus and they should have faith to, as he puts it, work out their own salvation.  However, hard the road ahead might be, God is with them and will protect and guide them. 

Paul was in a good position to understand just how hard that road was.  This letter was written at a time when Paul was imprisoned and, in fact, he probably more than half-expected to be executed for professing the new Christian faith.  Earlier in his letter, Paul writes that he has actually found his imprisonment a blessing because he has been able to use this time to preach the gospel to the soldiers who are guarding him.    In all probability, a Roman guard would have been placed in Paul’s cell, probably even chained to him, so he would have had, literally, a captive congregation!

I sometimes have a vision of Paul acting a bit like a modern day TV evangelist to his congregation of one or maybe two soldiers. Perhaps, because they couldn’t switch him off, as we can with those TV preachers, they decided to let him go! We do know that he survived that imprisonment.  Certainly Paul was very passionate in his writings.

His message in this letter, therefore, is that however hard or difficult a situation is or might seem, God’s love and protection, and the blessing of the Holy Spirit, will be provided to those bold enough to proclaim the gospel - the good news - to others.

Paul mentions “suffering” a lot in this letter.  Being a faithful Christian is not an easy matter he tells those in Philippi.  Even in today’s age, perhaps especially in today’s age, it can be a very difficult occupation indeed.  We hear daily of the persecution of Christians in China, the Middle East and Nigeria, for example, as well as in many other parts of the world. It is because of their boldness, and in spite of the persecution of many ordinary folk in these countries that Christianity is actually on the increase.  How much we owe these people for their faith and love in Christ that they risk their lives and those of their loved ones, to proclaim the gospel. 

We are the lucky ones then aren’t we?  We can attend church here in this Wiltshire village without fearing for our lives.  We are free to come here to meet, worship and to pray.

But in this modern age we are also surrounded by the secular and commercial world which doesn’t seem to have room for our faith. The “bottom line” or the latest Ipod Touch have become the centre of worship.    Simply, for many, it is “not cool” to be a Christian or religious.  It can be so easy, in those surroundings, to slip into complacency or simply into the background.  To go along with the crowd, to follow the herd or simply keep quiet.  Jesus himself was never afraid to profess his faith in his father and neither should we.

My message to you this evening, then, is a simple one.  Be bold, stand up for your faith - whenever challenged or questioned.  Like Caleb and Joshua, respond with a positive voice founded on your belief and trust in God and his Son, Jesus Christ.  We should all try to be like Paul, who when in chains actually said “I am glad of this opportunity to spread the gospel to the Imperial Guard” and not, “I really wish I was somewhere else”. 

See opportunities, even in difficult, and especially in difficult circumstances, and with great apologies to my English teacher – “I’m sorry Mr. Muir”, “To boldly go where no Christian has been before!”

Amen
 

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SERMON 1 – SUNDAY 15 JANUARY 2012

SERMON 1 – SUNDAY 15 JANUARY 2012 – All Saints Parish Church, Winterslow

John 1:43-51

I love that Gospel Reading - whenever I hear it – John’s account of the calling of Philip and Nathanael to be disciples;  Nathanael’s words of cynicism – “Nothing good ever came out of Nazareth” – I am reminded of an event in my own life when, as a young trainee lawyer or articled clerk as we were then called - I arrived for the first time at my new office in London. I had been transferred from the cold climes of my home fishing town of Grimsby, in Lincolnshire, was young, naïve and probably spoke with a bit of a northern twang.  As I was introduced to my new colleagues, few of whom seemed to have ever ventured above Luton, I was greeted with jokes about Grimsby pilchards or pollocks or, I recall, some such words - and the comment “We have been told that the only good thing to come out of Grimsby is the 06.30 express train to King’s Cross”  - Pause - Perhaps after this morning’s sermon you will entirely agree with them!

I have to be honest,  before leaving for my new life in London and home in Ilford, my own head was filled by others with all sorts of nonsense about Londoners, southerners and particularly the morals of Essex girls! (who definitely did not live up to my expectations!)  My prejudices, and obviously the prejudices of my new colleagues, were fed by preconceived ideas gained, very often, through a lack of personal experience; - in other words - what they had been told by others.  I wonder how many of you have been the object of similar prejudices or have yourself exercised that prejudice against others?   Perhaps you’ve not even known it!   I know I have been guilty more than once of having a preconceived notion of something or somebody – simply from the way they dress, where they live or the way they speak; perhaps even by what church they attend.  In this bible passage, as in many places elsewhere in the Gospels, Jesus is the subject of such prejudices.

Note Jesus’s response to Nathanael, through the newly converted Philip - “Come and See” – yes see for yourself.  Experience what I, Philip, have experienced and now believe.

Let’s explore the background to the story for a moment.  A day or so before at Bethsaida, according to John  - and here John’s gospel deviates from the accounts of Matthew, Mark and Luke, - Andrew, a fisherman (we are still with the fish theme), the brother of Peter and we are told already a disciple of John the Baptist together with another (we are never told the identity of that other person) heard the John the Baptist’s testimomy about seeing the dove of the Holy Spirit descending at Christ’s baptism in Jordan and the revelation or manifestation of Him as the Son of God. As Jesus was passing them by, the two disciples left John’s side and immediately started following behind Christ. Sensing them behind him, Jesus turned round and asked what they wanted. They responded – probably rather embarrassed –“Where are you staying?”  Christ’s response was an enigmatic “come and see”.   They then spent the day with him.

What a fantastic day that must have been – just imagine, a whole day with Jesus the man – wouldn’t we all want to have that opportunity? - probably knowing Jesus there would have been food and the odd goblet or two of wine as well!   Andrew, having enjoyed his time later introduced Jesus to his brother Simon (Peter).  The following day Jesus issued the same invitation to Philip to follow and Philip in turn told his friend Nathanael.

In telling Nathanael, Philip makes three important statements about Jesus – first, he is sure he is the one whom the prophet Moses spoke about, the Messiah, secondly he is from Nazareth and thirdly he is the son of Joseph the carpenter.  Nathanael might have accepted the first and third on their own – that he could be the one spoken of and as the son of Joseph he probsbly knew of the direct linkage back to King David– but Nazareth!  Surely not - that blows it!  You must be kidding! He will certainly need some convincing if that is the case. 

You see, in those days Nazareth or Nazarene was a synonym for despised.  Today it might be a bit like saying – look we’ve seen our next home secretary and he is a scouser from the inner city streets of Toxteth or in 1960’s southern USA, it won’t be too long before we have a black President.  Disbelief, skepticism and cynacism must have been Nathanael’s immediate reaction.

Philip responds by using exactly the same words Jesus himself used to Andrew – “come and see”.  What incredibly powerful words they are – they place in the hands of the recipient a wonderful invitation and the choice as to whether to accept and continue with the prejudice/pre-conceived notions already carried, without investigating any further, or to explore and expand their knowledge and experience – in other words, whether to shut off your mind or open it. 

Nathanael does indeed take up that invitation and approaches Jesus.  To Nathanael’s astonishment, Jesus once again reveals his God-given powers of prophecy by saying “Here is a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit”.  Nathanael is clearly taken aback and responds – “How do you know me?”  By this time Nathanael is beginning to realize that this is no ordinary person.  Jesus’s answer, as is often the case, is a simple one –he had observed Nathanael sitting under a fig tree.   To us in the modern western world this seems as bit of a disjointed answer.

However, as so often the custom, students and devout Jews would often sit under the shade of the large fig leaves to pray and read scripture.  It is probably the case that Jesus had seen Nathanael engaged in such activity on a previous occasion and Nathanael was probably very well versed in the scriptures – but still he makes the comment about Nazareth – a comment probably endorsed by his devotional study –Nazareth gets not one single mention anywhere in the Old Testament.   His comment should really not then really surprise any of us – can any good come from Nazareth?  A perfectly logical response within the historic context.

I have rather a warm feeling for Nathanael, in the same way I can often identify with Simon Peter.  We often cannot see what is staring us in the face – or we are cynical or worse still, we think that we have got it all sussed and can easily put God in a neat box.  That’s where and when our beliefs will get shaken.  That’s when we need to come and see for ourselves and revisit our beliefs – it’s called growing spiritually.

Jesus extends an invitation to us all to do just that, everyday, to “come and see” – to see what is happening in his world, to see our faith challenged and tested, to call us to mission – just as he did to those early disciples – ordinary men doing ordinary things like fishing.  

Some may think, well, we have been called or “saved”, we have accepted Jesus, we have accepted the Holy Spirit. Job done! We should always concentrate on bringing others to Him.  As these gospel stories show, one disciple did indeed lead another to follow – to extend that invitation; and we must indeed do that – in our everyday lives -witness to God’s love and grace in everything we do or say.  But we must also be acutely aware of our own failings, cynicism and prejudices at the same time so as not to fall into the trap of some of the Pharisees.  Kenneth Clark, the famous art historian once said – “We can destroy ourselves with cynicism just as effectively as with bombs”

Jesus’s parting phrase to Nathanael still has much relevance today: “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 

One commentary on John says this: Not everybody present at Jesus’s ministry really perceived; much of what Jesus said and did was only understood after the resurrection.  Jesus is in effect saying: subsequent generations of disciples will see, hear and do greater things than these.   Blessed are those who have not seen and yet who believe – echoing Jesus’s words to doubting Thomas after his resurrection

When I was trained as a lawyer, I was taught that the best form of evidence is that provided by first hand witnesses.  Those who had seen the incident and could reliably report it. Unfortunately, on quite a few occasions, that reliability crumbled away to dust in the witness box – much to my embarrassment .  But at Bethsaida there were three very reliable witnesses - John the Baptist himself, Andrew and Philip – all of whom passed on the Good News to the other. This functioning of “witnessing” is part of the meaning of discipleship – we can’t function as good disciples without it.   

After Jesus departed at his Ascension, the Holy Spirit was left with us at Pentecost.  Nathanael was so wrong.  Much good came and still comes out of Nazareth. -  I am afraid -  that as far as Grimsby is concerned the Kings Cross train has now been axed!.  Jesus’s call to come and see is as strong today, if not stronger, than it was 2,000 years ago.  We have the ability and good fortune to look back through the window of the crucifixion and resurrection, As Christians, therefore, we have no excuse for cynicism.   

But … and there is always a “but” – when our notions are shaken or challenged - how often do we take up that call to “come and see”? 

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