SERMON 106 - SUNDAY 10 DECEMBER 2017

Sermon at All Saints’ Church, Whiteparish – BCP Evensong – Second Sunday in Advent  - Sunday 10 December 2017

Psalm 40; Romans 15:4-13

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be always acceptable to you, O Lord.  Amen

In our second lesson this evening Paul writes “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Last Sunday was the first Sunday in Advent when we lit the Prophecy Candle or Candle of Hope and this morning we lit the second of the five candles which will be lit on Christmas Day – this second candle is known as the Bethlehem Candle of the Preparation to mark the fulfilment of the prophecy that the Messiah, the Saviour would be born in Bethlehem – reminding us to prepare (“get ready”) for his coming and as Christians, we are expected to prepare, get ready, for his Second Coming – when he shall return to save Humankind and bring Heaven to Earth.

Isaiah’s words are repeated in Luke’s Gospel concerning John the Baptist’s ministry – “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, Prepare the way for the Lord, make the straight paths for him.  Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth; and all mankind will see God’s salvation”.

Until Christ returned, the Jews were waiting for the Messiah’s first coming – indeed they still do today but we know that he did come and will come together; but. As Paul tells us, we should not ignore the messages, the prophecies of the Old Testament for they provide for us signposts to the New Testament and the glory which is God’s incarnation.

For this reason I think it would be rather lovely to reflect upon the psalm which we said together this evening.  The 150 psalms which we find right in the middle of the bible are examples of some of the most beautiful sacred poetry we could ever find; many of which, but not all, were written by King David.  They encompass nearly every human emotion possible – joy, despair, anger, fatigue, bewilderment, and so on.  They were the basis for prayer in ancient times and Jesus quoted them often. This evening we said together Psalm 40 and I deliberately chose that we should say it together in full.

My study bible tells me that this was one of the psalms which was indeed written by David. It is a prayer for help when troubles abound but the causes of David’s distress are not specified but David acknowledges that they are caused by his own sins (which are more numerous than the hairs on his head).  David calls upon God because he has helped him in the past and therefore he knows that the prayers and praises are not in vain and that by God’s love in answering his pleas of supplication he has been singing a new song and that his songs of praise have turned others to faith.  He reminds us, as Jesus did with the Lord’s Prayer, that before we make supplications (ask him for favours) we should acknowledge him (“hallow his name”) and give praise for gifts already received and that we are expected to acknowledge our sins and ask forgiveness as part of that process.

David also recognises that it’s not God’s wish for his people to simply offer burnt sacrifices but it is important to do God’s will – to be obedient especially to God’s moral law. David is acknowledging, also, his obligation as the king of his people to ensure that his people likewise love and obey God.

David’s troubles do not go away during the psalm, indeed he is in a bit of a mess and his enemies seem to be getting the upper hand. Above all he ends by pleading that God will not delay in delivering him from his current troubles.

Today, we have a mediator in Jesus Christ who came down to Earth to be not only a teacher, a rabbi, but also to sacrifice his life for us and save us; to be a sacrifice for our sins provided we believe and acknowledge him, as God incarnate, to be our saviour – just as David does when he says “burnt offering you do not require; but for me to do your will.”

Advent then is a very important time for us Christians – not just a time of preparation by buying presents, sending cards, decking the halls with holly and so on but also for quiet reflection on the importance of Jesus’s coming over 2,000 years ago and waiting with wonderful expectation for his return. We sing his praises and remember that he died for us on the Cross so that we might have a means of having our sins washed clean – no matter if they are indeed as numerous as the hairs on our head – I guess in my case I must be quite righteous but in reality probably need another analogy.

God told Samuel, when David came before the prophet to be anointed as king having rejected the other sons of Jesse, "Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart”.

The theme of Advent throughout the four weeks leading up to Christmas Day is “hope”.  The hope of a future without pain, suffering or tears.  The hope of eternal life through the Faith we have been given and which by the help of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful gift free to all who believe.  David believed, David was sinful but David continued to have the hope which he expresses in Psalm 40 and we can have hope by the knowledge of Jesus’s birth, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.

Let us pray

Free us from our Sins, O God

and may our sacrifices be of praise

to the glory of your Son

Our Redeemer, Jesus Christ.

Amen

MFB/10122017/106

SERMON 105 - SUNDAY 3 DECEMBER 2017

Sermon at All Saints’ Church, Whiteparish - Advent Sunday - Sunday 3 December 2017

Isaiah 64:1-9;  1 Corinthians 1: 3-9;  Mark 13:24-end

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be always acceptable to you, O Lord.  Amen

At the beginning of our service this morning we lit the first of the five candles which make up our Advent Wreath – the Prophecy Candle or the Candle of Hope – and it is therefore unsurprising that each of our readings today, the Old Testament reading from Isaiah, the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians and the extract I read from Mark’s Gospel should have in them prophecies about the coming of Christ in circumstances when for many, the situation seemed to be hopeless.  The first, from Isaiah, prophecies about the first coming of Jesus, which we will celebrate on Christmas Day, the second reading reminds us that we, as Christians, are not only waiting to celebrate his first coming but also we are waiting with anticipation for his second coming too and finally, Jesus in his explanation of the signs for his second coming reminds us to be patient in times of great adversity and keep awake.

As a child I waited impatiently for the visit of Santa Claus, Father Christmas as we preferred to call him back then, and I was repeatedly told that this wonderful mythical character would only visit our house if I went to bed early and was asleep by the time he made his visit.  So worried was I that I might still be awake when he arrived that on one occasion, when I had gone to bed early as requested, but full of Christmas Eve goodies, I was feeling decidedly queasy and was violently sick in my bed rather than reveal my wakefulness and sickness to my parents.  “Be asleep or he will not come” had been drummed into me; but the message which we heard from these passages of scripture this morning, when we look not at the mythical person of Father Christmas, but the true reason for our forthcoming festivities, Jesus Christ, is that we must keep awake whilst we wait for him to arrive – even when sometimes our patience and wakefulness is challenged by the worries and troubles of our busy lives and the events of the world which surround us.

Our passage from Isaiah this morning is also something of a lament – in the form of beautiful poetry akin to the psalms.  It was written at the time of the Exile, when the Jews were in captivity in Babylon pondering on why their Temple and city at Jerusalem had been destroyed and they were now in exile and captivity in a foreign land.  They had cried out to God for an explanation and concluded that through their sins God had forsaken them. The Book of Isaiah is believed, by biblical theologians to be the work of possibly three different people over a period of 70 years.  It is certainly one of the longest books in the bible consisting of 66 chapters – the same number as books as contained in the whole bible – and today our reading was from Chapter 64 – towards the end of the book.

As Christians we love to read Isaiah as being a clear prophecy for the coming of Jesus; but also contained in its pages you will find other prophecies relating to the fall of Babylon and the restoration of the city and temple at Jerusalem. During this Advent season you will hear the famous prophecy of Christ’s coming and life in Isaiah 53, the words of which are used in Handel’s great oratorio “The Messiah”; but above all Isaiah tells us to wait – God works for those who wait and allow themselves, like the clay of the potter, to be moulded by Him. Without the potter’s hand we are nothing more than a lump of unmoulded clay incapable of being the beautiful vessel which God wishes to create. Such lovely lyrical words remind us that God will never forsake us, never abandon us but work on us if we truly believe and repent. He will forgive us our sins through his advocate and mediator, Jesus Christ moulding us into the person he designed us to be.

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians follows this theme but again we need to understand the context in which he wrote these letters to the Christians in Corinth. As a zealous legal Jew, Paul would have read and known the words of Isaiah well; he would also have known the circumstances in which the Jews had found themselves at the time of its writing. Corinth, like Babylon, was a corrupt city with its inhabitants practising many acts which would be regarded as extremely sinful – I’ll leave it at that. Like Babylon other gods were worshipped. Corinth was a “den of iniquity” to use good old fashioned language. The Christian community in that city provided, for Paul, an oasis of Godliness and uprightness and it is to this community that Paul addresses his words.  He first of all gives thanks for their obedience and faithfulness – their “cleanliness” amongst all the corruption of the city in which they live. 

As with Isaiah’s prophecy, Paul provides hope for Corinth and for the Christian community in particular by reminding them that Jesus Christ has already come and that by their faithfulness they have been enriched in speech and knowledge so that they have received the spiritual gifts of the Holy Spirit strengthening them and protecting them against the evils around them so that they will be clean when Christ returns.

Jesus himself, in our gospel reading foretells his return and it is very important for us, again, to read this piece of scripture in the context in which it is written.  Immediately before this passage, Jesus describes the circumstances which will surround his return in the context of what is described in my bible as the Signs of the End of the Age.  It makes gruesome reading – nation rising against nation, kingdom against kingdom, brother against brother, sister against sister, earthquakes and natural disasters occurring, wars and rumours of wars and so on;  a very apocalyptic narrative indeed.  It all sounds pretty hopeless but Jesus is at pains to point out that this is only the beginning of the end times; that following this period, false prophets will arise who will promise salvation but we should be on our guard – be discerning, awake to the true message of salvation which we have already been given – the cornerstone of our Christian Faith.  Eugene Peterson’s “The Message” puts it well in contemporary language - “Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. So watch out, I’ve given you fair warning”.  Interesting that Peterson’s modern translation of this passage of Mark uses the word “fake” – a word which a certain prominent politician has claimed as his own!

Jesus then continues his warning and prophecy with the words we have heard in the gospel reading this morning saying that these are all simply signs that the Son of Man is returning but that the exact day and hour are yet to be revealed and “not even the angels or the Son of Man himself knows the precise hour“– so be awake, be ready and watch for those signs which he has indicated as to when it might be – the time only the Father himself knows.  Theologians have a specific word for the study of the end times – it’s called eschatology.

One part of this passage has always intrigued me though.  In Verse 31 Jesus states that this will all occur within “the present generation” yet we are still waiting nearly 2,000 years later. Perhaps it’s a bit of a paradox for Jesus to say that he does not know when this will occur but then in the same breath categorically states that it will happen within a generation.  One theory, and this to me seems the best interpretation, is that sufficient time must elapse for as many members of the human race as possible to embrace the teachings of Christ – after all, “God sent his only Son into the world to save it and not condemn it” as it says in John 3:17, and we must always remember that. I think it not unrelated as we look around our world today and see signs of the end which Jesus described (and I have heard many people of my generation especially use the term “it seems the world is going mad”), that Christianity is actually on the increase in the world – that there are great revivals going on as I speak in Africa and Asia.  Thousands and thousands of people are coming to Christ each week and I also see a great yearning for spiritual understanding, direction and growth here in our own country.  Never before have the teachings of Christ been more important on such a global scale.

Paul reminds us, as in his address to the Christians of Corinth, that those of us who take on board the Christian Faith are blessed with the gifts of the Holy Spirit.  When Jesus left us on Ascension Day he promised to leave behind the Holy Spirit and her gifts until he would return.  We must discern what those gifts are that we have been given, individually, and use them to make the world a better place before he comes again – to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth at a time when it is needed most.

That means being alive and awake to what is happening around us and being ready, not sleeping. I believe that Jesus was taking directly to each and every generation. The words are current because a generation will be born which will observe the end times. It could be us or a future generation – we do not know the day or the hour – just as the exiles in Babylon did not know the hour of their release from captivity; but we do know that God does honour his promises and in his time.  We must wait and be patient but always with the greatest of hope in our hearts. 

Amen

MFB/02122017/105

SERMON 104 - SUNDAY 12 NOVEMBER 2017

Sermon at Holy Trinity Church, East Grimstead - Remembrance Sunday - Sunday 12 November 2017

Amos 5:18-24;  1 Thessalonians 4:13-end; Matthew 25:1-13

May I speak in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,  Amen

Ypres, Jutland, Passendale, Gallipoli;   El Alemein, River Plate, Stalingrad, Hiroshima, Nagasaki;   Inchon;  Saigon;   Goose Green, San Carlos, Bluff Cove, Helmand Province; Iraq; Aleppo, and so on; just a few names of places which have seen great battles during the last 100 years or so.  Whenever we have the two minutes of silence I try and remember as many areas of conflict as possible bringing to mind the suffering and the heroism which each invokes.  Two minutes is never long enough.

I have recently been reading Michael Dobb’s novel “Winston’s War” in which Lord Dobbs, as he now is, chronicles the two years or so leading up to the declaration of war in September 1939 and the subsequent appointment of Churchill as Prime Minister. The book opens by setting the scene of the Munich Agreement and Neville Chamberlain’s famous words “Peace in our time” followed later by “How horrible, fantastic, incredible, it is that we should be digging trenches and trying on gas-masks here because of a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing.”

Both Neville Chamberlain and Lord Halifax, the then Foreign Secretary, regarded themselves as pious men – good Christians upholding good Christian values through appeasement; but as we know this only led to the tyrants in Berlin seeking to grab more and more territory and subjugating a people to some of the most ghastly and inhumane treatment ever known – torture, concentration camps, mass murders and ethnic cleansing. 

Chamberlain and Halifax both looked down with disdain on Winston Churchill – an elderly man who had made many errors of judgement in the past – including the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign – who in their mind was an ungodly man, a drunkard, a warmonger and self-opportunist without party loyalty. A man who had embarrassed his government again and again by pointing out their shortcomings in not realising the clouds of destruction forming in Germany which would engulf Europe and for which the British nation was not ready.

When I was a small boy I joined the Clubs – the younger version of the Scout Movement – whose motto was “Be Prepared” (I seldom was I have to confess - always losing my woggle!) and this was the message which Churchill tried, repeatedly, to get over to his government; and it is the same message which Jesus is trying to get over in the parable we heard today from Matthew’s gospel.  Jesus is, of course, talking about his return but it equally applies to all of us -  always be prepared to stand up for our Christian beliefs and values even if this does mean preparing to fight hard for those same beliefs and values.

I do understand the reasoning and philosophy of Chamberlain and Halifax.  Love and peace are preached continuously by Jesus in the gospels. Both Chamberlain and Halifax prayed regularly before important Cabinet meetings. He even talks about turning ones cheek and loving your enemies – not killing them.  However, there are times when conflict can be justified and Jesus himself was not immune from displaying righteous anger – remember how he dealt with the money lenders in the Temple in that final week in Jerusalem. The importance, of course, is that when conflict becomes unavoidable it is just that – unavoidable.  A stance has finally to be taken.

St. Augustine of Hippo (and later St. Thomas Aquinas) had much to say about this:

When it came to individual self-defence, St. Augustine contended that one's own life or property was never a justification for killing one's neighbour. Christian charity was the motivating force behind this statement. But when one speaks of rulers of nations they have the obligation to maintain peace – just as Chamberlain and Halifax tried to do through appeasement. However, this obligation also, according to St. Augustine, gives them the right to wage war. St. Augustine says, 'The natural order conducive to peace among mortals demands that the power to declare and counsel war should be in the hands of those who hold the supreme authority. Those subject to the rulers must obey unless they command something against a Divine Law. For St. Augustine the only reason for waging a war would be to defend the nation's peace against serious injury. He says, 'A just war is wont to be described as one that avenges wrongs, when a nation or state has to be punished, for refusing to make amends for the wrongs inflicted by its subjects, or to restore what it has seized unjustly.' The intention of the war is very important for St. Augustine. He says, 'The passion for inflicting harm, the cruel thirst for vengeance, an unpacific and relentless spirit, the fever of revolt, the lust of power, and such things, all these are rightly condemned in war.'
St. Augustine emphasizes the idea of restoration of peace as the main motive of war. He says, 'We do not seek peace in order to be at war, but we go to war that we may have peace. Be peaceful, therefore, in warring, so that you may vanquish those whom you war against, and bring them to the prosperity of peace.' So in St. Augustine's thinking a war "was limited by its purpose, its authority and its conduct."

Today, whole generations have grown up having little or no understanding of those horrors although, of course, here in Wiltshire there are many families involved in the armed forces which, today, have personal experiences of the effects of warfare in far off lands; where our servicemen and women continue to fight for justice and peace along the lines of St. Augustine’s thinking. 

But we should never glorify war – as many do. The Christian message should always be that given by the two great commandments – love God and love your neighbour; but these two bastions of our Faith sometimes need defending by those who would act in contravention of them.  The Old and the New Testament, especially the Old, show that God is not against war – indeed the Book of Joshua reads as though it should be on the library shelves under “Military History” rather than “Religion” but in victory, having overcome the oppressors, we should be humble and magnanimous and help build and restore those nations ravaged by the effects of any conflict – making the world a better and more pleasant place. To bring a bit of the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.

Remembrance Sunday, then, is such an important occasion – not just for those veterans to recall what they went through or to remember companions who never survived the conflicts, but also so that those generations from my own onwards may clearly understand why so many lives were given, and continue to be lost, and are able to continue to give praise and thanks that so many stemmed the tide of evil which could have so easily engulfed the world.

Today, those conflicts in which our troops are engaged are largely in far flung parts of the world (often “because of a quarrel in a faraway country between people of whom we know nothing” to quote again Neville Chamberlain) and the issues which have provoked them are often very complex.  Many young people have no real understanding or concept as to why or where these conflicts are taking place – indeed many adults, including some very prominent politicians it could be argued, don’t either.  Although these modern conflicts may be remote, the battles now often fought with technology, and the victims largely unknown to us, the horrors are still the same.

And so, the importance of today cannot and should not ever be trivialised.  We owe it to forthcoming generations to keep alive the memory of those brave fallen and the causes for which they fell – to remember the evil which could have engulfed us.  In the words of the Kohima they gave their today so that we, all of us and the generations to follow, could have our tomorrows.

In his later letter to the Thessalonians, Paul reminds us that the return of our Saviour Jesus Christ will only come after the “lawless one” is revealed through rebellion.  In other words, as Christians we are expected to uphold the ethics which we have been taught by Jesus and should stand up against and expose all who would deceive the truth as revealed by him.  Throughout history leaders have waged war and oppressed people either in the name of Christianity or by pretending to be Christians themselves.  In Nazi Germany, Hitler and his regime tried to appeal to Catholics and Lutherans alike that there was a score to settle against the Jews because the Jewish leadership had been responsible for Jesus’s crucifixion.

There is only one omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent God – creator of all thing and all people, everybody, black, white, and asiatic.  He appeals to Christians and God-fearing people everywhere, just as Paul does, to stand up against tyranny and oppression.  As well as our armed forces the church also has an important role to play. Emeritus Archbishop Desmond Tutu puts it simply – If the Church is not going to stand up for the poor, the hungry, the oppressed, the discriminated, then who is?

In conclusion, I praise and thank all those who have been prepared and who have so courageously given their lives to oppose tyranny and evil and uphold those true Christian values as taught by our Lord Saviour Jesus Christ.  Let us remember them today and never forget them in the days, weeks and years ahead.

Amen 

SERMON 103 - SUNDAY 3 SEPTEMBER 2017

Sermon at All Saints’ Church, Whiteparish - Sunday 3 September 2017

Jeremiah 15:15-21; Romans 12:9-end; Matthew 16:21-end

Let us begin with a prayer,

Father God, we bless and praise you that we can meet here this morning without fear of persecution knowing that you are always present; especially when we are assembled together as your Church. We thank you that you gave us Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us to redeem our sins and that we are forever forgiven. We thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit and, in these current times of political and economic uncertainty and unrest, may that same Holy Spirit be there with us as an inspiration to us all in making and keeping the presence of God deep within us even when the going gets tough.  Amen

Seventy-eight years ago, on this date and on this day, a Sunday, the world was thrust into a conflagration that would last for almost six years and would leave millions (many innocent non-belligerents) dead – for today, 78 years ago, the United Kingdom and France declared war on Hitler’s Germany. The reason for the declaration was that Germany, which had already re-occupied the Ruhr and the Rhineland, and had occupied Austria and Czechoslovakia had now turned its attention on Poland which it had invaded two day’s previously. Hitler’s aim was to take the free city of Danzig (now Gdansk) and incorporate Poland into the Third Reich. Poland would cease to exist.

As we know, the occupation of Poland and the subjugation of its inhabitants, especially its Jewish population, was something which is painful to describe because of the horrific nature of the cruelty inflicted, yet, having visited that country three times, I cannot ever get over the kindness and hospitality of a people who have, not only during the Second World War, but throughout a long and involved and violent history, been so badly treated.

Poland is a very devout Christian country – 96% of its inhabitants are registered as Roman Catholics – other denominations and no religious affinity making up a mere 4%.  The Polish immigrant population here in the UK have been responsible for a massive swelling of Roman Catholic congregations. At the very heart of the Christian Faith is the concept and doctrine of forgiveness and at the heart of that concept is the Cross. I cannot help but think that this Christian principle, the Cross of Forgiveness, is at the heart of the Poles’ general demeanour of love, hospitality, grace and forgiveness.

There is so much wonderful material in all three of our readings this morning on this topic and I could have written and preached so much today – but I would like to concentrate on the reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans – which I think sets for us a wonderful code for how Christians are expected to treat the world and others, even when everything around them seems so evil.  The heading in my bible for this piece of scripture reads “Marks of the True Christian”.  In the context of the suffering of the Polish inhabitants between 1939 and 1944 I think it worth repeating it again here:

"Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honour. Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are. Do not repay anyone evil for evil, but take thought for what is noble in the sight of all. If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave room for the wrath of God; for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ No, ‘if your enemies are hungry, feed them; if they are thirsty, give them something to drink; for by doing this you will heap burning coals on their heads.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

When I read these words I find this whole concept so lovely but yet so difficult. Which of us has not had enemies at some time? People who have hurt us or wanted to hurt us? People who have put themselves and their own desires first and foremost above the feelings and situations of others. Sometimes deliberately, sometimes unthinkingly – and which of us can honestly say that we have not, at some time hurt others ourselves? Perhaps a thoughtless or tactless word or action – a feeling of revenge or retribution against the other person who has hurt us?  Ghandi once said  to a Christian “It says somewhere in your Bible ‘…an eye for an eye’ but what use is that – when does it stop – when the whole world is blind?” 

The Christian’s response is not recorded but Gandhi was, of course, referring to the Jewish law as set out in the Old Testament – the true response would have been to quote from this morning’s Epistle because everything which we as Christians believe and quote ourselves needs to be viewed through the lens of the Cross – looking both forwards and into biblical history.  The Cross is the object which acts as the linchpin and we must always recall that at the heart of the Cross was Forgiveness – even as Jesus was being cruelly nailed to the Tree he prayed forgiveness to those who drove the nails through his flesh.  His death was also to be an atonement for all our sins – so we might be forgiven.

Every Sunday, and hopefully on other days of the week, we recite the Lord’s Prayer.  We are probably all so familiar with it that we rattle it off automatically; but again, at the heart of it is that part which asks for forgiveness – just as we are forgiven.  Forgiveness is something we can readily receive but which we must readily give to others – whether they ask for it or not.

After the Second World War, Churchill and Stalin thought the best way in which to deal with the leaders of the Nazi Regime was to simply line them up and shoot them – just as the partisans had done with Mussolini. However, this was not advocated by others who wanted the crimes of those murderous individuals to be exposed and for there to be justice not only done but seen to be done. Trials were held throughout Germany – notably in Nuremburg, when those still alive who had been responsible for the atrocities in Poland and elsewhere were called to account and many subsequently suffered the ultimate penalty.  Later on, many more, guilty of lesser crimes, were released to help build up the new Germany. The exposure of those crimes and the accounting were all part of the process which has led, ultimately, to a greater forgiveness to a nation for the crimes of its leaders.

When we are hurt we suffer distress. We can have a whole range of emotions - disbelief, anger, sadness, a desire for vengeance but as Ghandi said what does that achieve but to make the whole world blind – Paul puts it better – “vengeance is mine says the Lord”.  Our role has to be to give room for God’s support and love – through Christ, through the Cross and through the Holy Spirit.

The Christian mystic, Etty Hillesum, of whom I have often spoken put it like this when she saw how her fellow Jews were feeling towards the Germans who were deporting them to Auschwitz –

It is the problem of our age; hatred against the Germans poison’s everyone’s mind.  “Let the bastards drown, the lot of them”. Such sentiments have become part and parcel of our daily speech and sometimes make one feel that life these days has grown impossible”.  

“To sum up, this is what I really want to say: Nazi barbarism evokes the same kind of barbarism in ourselves… we have to reject that barbarism within us, we must not fan the hatred within us because if we do, the world will not be able to pull itself one inch further out of the mire”.

And in a prayer addressed to God she wrote:

There are, it is true, some who, even at this late stage, are putting their vacuum cleaners and silver forks and spoons in safekeeping instead of guarding You, dear God. And there are those who want to put their bodies in safekeeping but who are nothing more now than shelter for a thousand fears and bitter feelings.  And they say ‘I shan’t let them get me in their clutches’.  But they forget that no one is in their clutches who is in Your arms”.

I began this sermon with the invasion of Poland by the Germans 78 years ago this month.  As we now know, through the revelations of the horrors of the Holocaust, some 1.8 million people are believed to have been murdered in Auschwitz Concentration and Extermination Camp in Silesia, Poland.  I have visited that place three times now and its survival, as a memorial to the horrors remains a bleak reminder of Human inhumanity.  However, I would like to end of a very uplifting note:

In the museum at Auschwitz, is a map showing all the railway lines which carried the transports of people such as Anne Frank and Etty Hillesum to the extermination camps.  This map shows arrows pointing into Auschwitz. The two founders of an organisation called Living Stones, Mark and Cathy Warwick, each had the same vision at the same time whilst looking at this map – they saw those self-same arrows pointing away from Auschwitz - in other words reversed.  They are now establishing a House of Prayer close by Hells Gate, Birkenau – the foundations of which have been dug already.

In their leaflet, Mark and Cathy Warwick write:

“We believe it is Father God’s desire to close this portal of death and open a fountain of life in the Spirit. He wants to redeem Auschwitz-Birkenau and transform it into a place of blessing, healing and reconciliation both for the Jewish people and for all nations.

Transformation is only possible because of the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is his sovereign work.  He does, however, invite us to participate with Him through our intercession, praise and worship to bring the Kingdom of Heaven to earth.

The fires of the gas-chamber crematoria burned day and night with a stench of death. Now 70-odd years later Father God desires the fire of His Holy Spirit to burn day and night in a house of prayer”.

What a wonderful reversal – through understanding, grace and forgiveness the place of such pain and suffering and cruelty can become a place of peace and tranquillity – as Paul says in our passage today – “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

In a moment of silent prayer, is there somebody you want to forgive, somebody who has caused you pain and suffering; if so mentally recite the name of that person and leave that name at the foot of the Cross.

Amen

103/31082017

SERMON 102 - SUNDAY 13 AUGUST 2017

Sermon at St. John’s Church, West Grimstead -  Sunday 13 August 2017

1 Kings 19:9-18; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33

Dear Lord, I pray that these words spoken next shall be your words and shall be a blessing to all who hear them.  Amen

“How can you believe in God without seeing Him [or Her]?” is a question which I have often been asked by non-Christians in their quest to understand what it is that makes me a Christian. Last week we looked at the Transfiguration and that particular event in Jesus’s life which was witnessed by the Apostles Peter, John and James and which led Peter to later write, in his Second Epistle (1 Peter 1:16-19), that as an eyewitness to that event he could write with such conviction and certainty about the nature of Jesus as the Son of God.  

However, as I preached last week, we can’t all have or expect to have those mountaintop revelations or a “Road to Damascus” experience such as Paul had but must rely on Faith alone as Paul tells us in our second reading this morning – “you must believe in your heart that Jesus is Lord and believe that he was raised from the Dead – then you will be saved.”

It is clear though, that the disciples, even though they spent hours and weeks and months in the company of Jesus, sometimes found it so hard to believe in his divinity. Peter, especially, is found wanting in this area of a number of occasions despite having been at the Transfiguration, having witnessed the calming of the storm on the Sea of Galilee and numerous miracles and healings still struggles with his Faith as many of us do today.

This lack of Faith can be seen throughout the bible – right from the Garden of Eden, through the Exodus and Exile, and the Return to Jerusalem.  In our first reading we find Elijah at a low point in his life.  The prophets of God, Yahweh, have all be persecuted and killed by the Baal-loving King Ahab who had been goaded by his Queen, Jezebel, to hunt down and kill the last and greatest of these, Elijah. Elijah has run off to Judah and is hiding in a cave on Mount Horeb, that same holy mountain where Moses encountered the burning bush, where Moses struck the rock and water gushed out during the Exodus, and some scholars have equated to Mount Sinai where the Tablets of the Ten Commandments were handed down.

Elijah was to meet with God on that same mountain as Moses but unlike the encounter that Peter witnessed at the transfiguration, there was to be no brilliant light or loud noise or other spectacular event associated with the occasion – Elijah wasn’t to hear God’s voice thundering in earthquake, wind or fire but in the sound of silence. Elijah had hoped to have a conversation with God earlier but had to wait until that quiet moment when God was ready to speak and the turmoil had settled.

It would be wonderful if we could all have those great mountaintop experiences wouldn’t it?  Those blinding flashes on the road to Damascus but for most of us it doesn’t happen. Even for those for whom it does they have to return to their hum-drum daily lives just as the disciples had to do after the Transfiguration and just as Elijah and Moses had to get on with their tasks assigned to them by God.

Paul in his letter to the Romans reminds us that Jesus is there to save all – not just the Jew but also the Gentile.  The way of salvation is open to all who believe – in other words those who have Faith and believe in the Good News will be saved.

Paul answers a very tricky theological question – one which is often debated between those of different faiths and no faith at all – “how can people be saved if they don’t believe because they have never heard?”   Paul’s answer is “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” In other words, it is the duty of all believers to spread that good news, the Gospel, to everyone – to go out and evangelise.  At the end of every Anglican service the minister implores the congregation to “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord” with the answer “In the name of Christ, Amen”.

Every time now that I read the account in Matthew’s Gospel of Jesus walking on the water I am reminded of the scene in the book and film “The Shack” where Matt, finds himself in a sinking boat and Jesus comes out to take him across the lake to where he is later invited to sit in judgment on others in place of God and finds it impossible to do.  The film portrays it beautifully as Matt and Jesus hand in hand run across the lake splashing as they go like children in a shallow paddling pool.  Such joy!

Peter, and the other disciples, we heard in our gospel reading, were terrified, not joyous, on two counts. First of all their boat was being hit, once more, by a severe storm and secondly they though Jesus was a ghost – something to be feared. Jesus was very calm, and like God in the silence on top of Mount Horeb, spoke softly and calmly – “Take heart, it is I, do not be afraid.”

Peter, somewhat doubtfully, responds as only Peter could have “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water”. Note the doubt “if it is you” – just like Gideon’s fleece and Doubting Thomas’s request. Jesus, though makes the point very quietly and calmly with just one word “Come”.  We read that Peter, starts to walk on the water towards Jesus and whilst walking his attention is fixed on following Jesus’s command to come to him. In this one piece of scripture this morning we, like Peter, are being told to come and obey Jesus’s words which, we will recall were prefaced by his general words to all the disciples “Take heart, … do not be afraid”. Peter has tested Christ and now Jesus tests Peter. We hear in an earlier scripture passage from Matthew (Matthew 8:23-27) how Jesus can command the wind and the waves and here we read that the strong wind came up which distracted Peter. This strong wind, we read, so frightened Peter that he immediately began to sink crying out “Lord save me!”

We can note three things here, lessons which Peter’s responses give us.  First of all, whilst we keep focussed on Christ, looking towards him and obeying his words we can move forward feeling safe even in an environment in which we are not familiar; secondly, we should allow nothing and nobody to distract us from that focus however difficult and tempting that might be and thirdly we should never be frightened of following Jesus. Now like Peter, however hard we try we are likely to fail but again in this same passage we read that Jesus will not let us drown if we try our best.  Jesus, we read, immediately reached out his hand and caught Peter.  Yes he did admonish him for his lack of Faith but Jesus would not let him or any of disciples perish and also immediately calmed the storm.

This passage of the good news, the gospel, fills me with great hope in a world that sometimes seems hopeless. It tells us that God, through his son Jesus and the Holy Spirit are always there to save us if we believe and have the faith to listen and come to Him.  We can have an encounter with God, just as Elijah did on the top of Mount Horeb, but it can be a soft small voice of calm speaking through the winds and storms of this life.  We need to be ready and willing to listen to that voice and have the faith and belief to obey it – to step out of the boat, to focus on God through Jesus and the Holy Spirit without fear or compromise.  By connecting with God through prayer we can carry Him within us and so spread the good news to those who still need to hear it; to go out into the world to love and serve the Lord.

In a moment of silence let us quietly pray to God that his voice will be heard by us this week, not through the earthquake storm or fire but in the silence of our prayer;  that we make a promise to ourselves to spend a little time each day in silent prayer listening out for his word for us and that we thereby, through calling on the name of Jesus able to save others for Paul said “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” and Jesus said to Peter “Come, take heart, do not be afraid.”

Amen

102/11082017

SERMON 101 - SUNDAY 6 AUGUST 2017

Sermon at All Saints Church, Whiteparish  -  Sunday 6 August 2017

Daniel 7:9-10;13-14; 2 Peter 1:16-19; Luke 9:28-36

Dear Lord, I pray that these words spoken next shall be your words and shall be a blessing to all who hear them.  Amen

I recently attended a meeting of Anglican church ministers as part of my ongoing training and development and we had a discussion around how, as ministers, we should or could do mission, evangelise the Glory of knowing Christ to people who were not Christians or seemed to have little or no interest in searching further into the mystery of Christian spirituality.  In a world and political climate where, increasingly, it is becoming harder and harder to preach the gospel outside of the traditional church environment we need to get the message of the Good News across in ways where people do not feel they are being proselytised – where they can feel comfortable in hearing the gospel.

One of the contributors to the meeting, a lady pastoral assistant, said that she had been in a work environment and without saying much at all, simply actively looking and listening intently to the various working colleagues at an office meeting had been approached afterwards by one of those colleagues who asked her “You’re a Christian aren’t you”? to which the lady replied “Yes, but how do you know, I’ve never made a habit of telling anyone at work”.  The enquirer replied “There is something about your face and demeanour, a gentleness and kindness and a glow in your face and eyes which I can’t really explain – but I wish I had some of it!”.

For me, that encapsulated everything about how, we as Christians can be seen by all those we encounter in our daily lives – having something which others want.

In our bible readings today we read of the Transfiguration of Jesus.  That moment when Jesus revealed himself in all his glory as the Son of Man to those few special disciples who were privileged enough to witness it – Peter, John and James – his chief disciples.  Ordinary men themselves.

It is interesting and important to note that the passage begins with Jesus going up to the top of a mountain to pray and reminds us of the importance of prayer in our daily lives – it should be as natural and necessary as breathing but it doesn’t necessarily mean using long and special words.  We should simply recognise, honour and communicate with our Creator.  Mountain tops are great places to do this as we can look over Creation into the far distance and for this reason I love going to the Lake District.  However, the importance of this passage is that whilst he was praying the appearance of his face and clothes became dazzling white and Moses and Elijah appeared talking to them.

For those of the Jewish Faith, Moses and Elijah are both regarded as the greatest prophets and you will recall that Elijah was taken up to Heaven in a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11) and was expected one day to return and Moses, we learn in Exodus 34:29-35,  when he came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets containing the Ten Commandments, had the skin of his face glowing because he had been talking to God such that the Israelites were frightened to come near him.  He had to resort to putting a veil over his face such was the effect his shining skin had on them. Thus, the Transfiguration of Christ is a tangible sign to his Jewish followers that here is the Son of God, the one prophesised by Moses and Elijah – who bears the glory of God, who shines like Moses and who shall ascend back into Heaven like Elijah. Both Moses and Elijah had mountaintop experiences and here is the greatest one of all.

Peter, ever the impulsive and pragmatic disciple wants to capture the moment.  He wants it to last for ever – to build three shelters or tents – one for each of Jesus, Moses and Elijah where, in accordance with Middle-Eastern culture they would have to stay until their hosts wished them to leave and dismantled the tents.  This marvellous experience could, in Peter’s thinking, go on for ever. Marvellous no doubt it was, and an immense privilege for those who saw it – an affirmation of Jesus Christ as the incarnated Son of God – but it couldn’t last forever.

The Greek word used in the bible for “Transfiguration” is probably more closely translated as “Metamorphos” from which we get the word “metamorphosis” meaning to change. Christ’s appearance “changed” for those brief moments described in Luke’s gospel.  In those moments Christ is shown to be God himself and the words of the Father come down to the witnesses – “This is my Son, my Chosen, listen to him!”  This is an affirmation and a revelation – the disciples have already gone out on a limb, leaving their families and occupations to follow this itinerant preacher and healer but now they find themselves in the presence of God just as did Moses and Elijah.

Few of us are, or will be, privileged enough to have such a close intimate experience as this of God – as quite a few of my atheist friends say “how can anyone believe in a non-existent person such as God unless you see or experience Him yourself?”  In saying this I feel sure they mean having the same or similar experience to that of Peter, John and James – a mind blowing almost fairy tale like one; but God is to be found and experienced in our every day lives.  As we read, Jesus and the disciples had to return back down the mountainside – their mountaintop experience had to end but it transformed them into better and more informed disciples.  As we later read in Peter’s Epistle (one of the three disciple who witnessed the Transfiguration) which formed our Second Reading today (2 Peter 1:16-19) :

“For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received the honour and glory from God the Father when that voice was conveyed to him by theMajestic Glory, saying ‘This is my Son, my Beloved, with whom I am well pleased’.

We heard that voice ourselves come from heaven while we were on the Holy Mountain.  So we have the prophetic message more fully confirmed. You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

Peter, the same impetuous disciple on the mountain with Jesus realises and recognises the importance of the message and uses his eyewitness account to add veracity to his later preaching and evangelism principally to the Jewish non-believers. He came back down from this wonderful experience to continue his humdrum life following Jesus around with the others amongst some of the poorest and oppressed in Judea. 

So how do we obtain that mountaintop experience to enable us to come down from the mountaintop to evangelise our Faith to others?  Well like Jesus we need to go up to the mountaintop and pray.  That is where the whole Transfiguration story began – “Jesus went up the mountain to pray”.  As you will hear next week when you listen to the Old Testament reading of Elijah’s mountaintop encounter with God at 1 Kings 19:11-18, such encounter can be a still small voice of calm after the wind, earthquake and fire. God’s small voice speaking to us in a calm and peaceful place can be as transforming as the greatest show of Glory from the Heavens – but it is necessary for us to listen very carefully for that voice.  It is likely to be heard just as much after during our everyday “down the mountain” experiences as when we are at our corporate devotions on a Sunday.

I recently preached on the life of Etty Hillesum, a Jew who ended her life (or rather had it ended) in Auschwitz in 1944. She had earlier converted to Christianity not through attending church or any other form of organised Christian event or ceremonies or house group but by learning the art of meditative prayer through her counsellor. She heard God’s voice through extended prayer – allowing room for God to enter into her very self and in her own words was able to ensure that God was given room to be with her in the Jewish Transportation Camp in Holland and later in Auschwitz; room to ensure that God was able to be amongst the great evil and suffering.  For where Etty was, so was God.  A remarkable lady whose life I recommend you to read.  My sermon on her can be found as Sermon No. 98 on my ministry website. The story of her life is told in Patrick Woodhouse’s book “A Life Transformed”.  It could be titled “A Life Transfigured”.

The Transfiguration in the bible is a narrative about a particular amazing event at a particular amazing time – but for me it’s also about what happened afterwards and its meaning for us, as Jesus’s disciples today. Peter sums it up well :

“You will do well to be attentive to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”

 “Pray grow and serve” are the three words used by the Bishop of Salisbury in the Diocesan Mission Statement and the first and foremost of these is “Pray”.  From that, just as is shown in the Transfiguration passage, all else will then shine forth and we shall be transformed.

Amen

101/03062017