SERMON 184 - WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2023 - ASH WEDNESDAY

SERMON AT ALL SAINTS’ CHURCH, FARLEY – WEDNESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2023 – ASH WEDNESDAY

JOEL 2:1-2, 12-17; 2 CORINTHIANS 5:20b-6:10; Maathew 6:1-6, 16-21

May I speak in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and may these words be yours and bless all who hear them. Amen.

And so, today, begins that long period in the Christian calendar called Lent representing the forty days and forty night’s which Jesus spent in the wilderness before he began his ministry – forty days and forty nights ending in being tempted by the devil.

Very often Lent has been synonymous with giving something up – alcohol, chocolate, cigarettes, cakes etc. – in other words something pleasurable to us and our bodies.  Indeed, only last week when reminding somebody that I was preaching at this service and that Ash Wednesday was the beginning of Lent I was immediately asked as to what I was giving up. I thought for a moment and realised that I hadn’t actually given it much thought and after all the deprivations of lockdowns during Covid came to the conclusion that rather than giving things up I would rather use the time of Lent for some more positive reflection on the creative wonders of God’s world and universe through increased meditation, scriptural reading, walking amongst God’s beautiful countryside and, of course, viewing the wonders of the night sky.  All of these things I can do quietly on my own whilst still eating my chocolate bar too if I so wish.

In our Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus talks direct to his disciples warning them of showing off their piety in front of others in order to be seen by those others rather than true worship and reflection on God himself.  Jesus extols his disciples to give alms, pray and give praise to God quietly and not simply to show off to others how good they were in their divine devotions.  We too can get caught up in this desire to show off how much holier we are than others – I know, I have done that in the past, but as I have grown older I have come to realise that I was only doing it to feel good about myself and better than others around me.

I have seen and experienced this often in some of the Evangelical Free Churches where, unless you go forward at the altar call to ask for prayer, you can be looked upon, or at least feel looked upon as a lesser Christian somehow. Jesus actually came down to Earth as God incarnate and left us the Holy Spirit so that we might go directly to him and not need all the trappings of the Temple system – that is the significance of the Veil of the Temple being torn down the middle from top to bottom (not bottom to top) that the barrier of ritual through the high priests should not be a barrier to our own direct access to God.

Now I am not advocating that we simply ignore Lent, what I am trying to convey is that simply giving something up which we like for forty days and forty nights doesn’t necessary make us a better Christian than somebody who doesn’t.  It matters what you do with the extra time which might be generated by abstaining from doing those things which you have given up and what you do, I suggest, is to try and spend more time communicating with God by enjoying his presence through prayer and being attuned to his creation. Asking yourself, what was the true reason for giving up the pleasure which you did?

During Lent we have an opportunity to join a Lent Group to help us use up some of that devotional time we create.  I do serious recommend that you do this, but if you cannot for some reason – such as you have other responsibilities to family or career or the Lent Group meets on a day or time not suited to you, don’t beat yourself up about it – God exists everywhere, he is not in a pigeon hole in a church or house group, he is with you wherever you go and is freely available to accompany you on your life’s journey.

Prayer is massively important and requires us to listen closely to what God might be saying to us as well as sending out our supplications – requests.

Jesus tells us in the Gospel passage that we do not need to make a big fuss either about praying. God knows already what is in our hearts and hears us through all the turmoil of our daily lives. Those, he says, who make a big fuss about their prayer and alms giving and worship, have already received their reward.  In other words the mere fact that they have been seen to be righteous by others is enough for them, but those who pray, give alms and worship quietly or in secret will receive their reward from God because it is for God, and not the people around, that they seek to do those righteous things.

Today, those of you who wish to will have ash and oil smeared on your foreheads. That is a simple symbol to remind us that we are only here for a season and that we came from dust and to dust we shall return.  As an astronomer I can tell you that this is a very true statement – we were, in fact, all made from stardust and one day our earthy remains will all return to the cosmos.  We must make the most of our life and continue to remember that our very existence is dependent upon God and no other single person. Earlier on in my Christian journey, I liked to profess my Christian faith by keeping the sooty smear visible on my forehead for as long as I could – quite easy with my lack of follicle covering; but here we read from Jesus that his disciples are expected to wash their faces and look healthy, not suffering from lack of nutrients through fasting or going around with a clear sign that they are fasting.  The prophet Isaiah also asked the question of the usefulness of fasting if we don’t use it as a means of remembering and praising God.

On Sunday our Gospel scripture reading was Matthew’s account of the Transfiguration and when I read tonight’s reading, also by Matthew, I was struck by Jesus’s instruction to his disciples not to look dismal, like the hypocrites, or to disfigure their faces. Like him, we as Christians, have the light of Christ already in us by accepting him as our Saviour and being filled with the Holy Spirit.  That light is expected to shine out from us, like the stars from which we are born.

Finally, Jesus reminds us that storing up riches here on earth will only result in them turning to rust or stolen or eaten by moths – even the finest clothing. Having recently been the victim of a theft I know only too well how easily that can occur. More important is the richness of our relationships with God and others. That is what is meant by storing up riches in Heaven, for the future.

So a good thing for us all to reflect upon and your homework for Lent is to spend some time each day thinking about what is really important you in life.  Who are the main people you love and where is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit in it and what part in your life do they play or you want them to play?

How you do that is a matter of your own personal choice – whether giving something up – fasting – helps you or not. Maybe giving something up means simply finding an extra for minutes in the day to pray and reflect remembering that you are doing this to enhance your relationship with God and not to show off to others and feel good about yourself.  The riches promised are immeasurable.

Amen                                                                                                  MFB/21022023/184

SERMON 183 - SUNDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2023 - NEXT BEFORE LENT

SERMON AT ST. PETER’S CHURCH, BRAMSHAW – SUNDAY 19 FEBRUARY 2023 – SUNDAY BEFORE LENT

Exodus 24:12-18; Matthew 17:1-9

May I speak in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and may these words be yours and bless all who hear them. Amen.

These two narratives this morning, one from the Old Testament and the other from the New, have, as their central theme significant experiences on mountain tops and both involve the prophet Moses, first as an historical account during Moses lifetime and secondly as an apparent vision many centuries after his death.

I have always been intrigued by the narrative of the Transfiguration and its meaning – not just for those disciples of Christ who had the immediate incredible experience there on the mountainside, but also for us as Christians today, perhaps sometimes in the valleys of our lives.  It is clearly an event of great importance as it appears in all three synoptic gospels – not only Matthew but also Mark and Luke.  Interestingly it does not appear in John’s gospel although it would seem that John was the one gospeller who was actually present.  Probably, therefore, for us Christian followers it is, together with Christ’s passion and ascension, one of the most important of the pillars of our Christian Faith for reasons I hope I can explain.

Turning back to the beginning of our second reading, which I think is a good place to start, we learn that Jesus took with him, up a mountain (whose name is not recorded in any of the gospels by the way) three disciples – Peter, James and John.  The reason which Luke (but not the others) attribute to this climb is for the purpose of prayer.  Now here is an important point, prayer is not just about supplication – that is asking for things from God, - but also meant as a time of communication and conversation.  As we know, conversation and communication in order to be effective has to be two way – and so does prayer.  In our daily prayer-life we should take time out not only to talk to God but also to listen to what God is saying to us.  Clearly, this is what Jesus intended when he went up this mountain to pray – to communicate with his father and listen to his word.

When they had reached the top of the mountain we read that Jesus was suddenly “transfigured”.  I looked up the word “transfigure” in the dictionary so as to clearly understand its meaning and found a lovely definition – “to transform into something more beautiful or elevated”. What a wonderful word which I really wish we could use more often to describe things today in our modern world.

Matthew, in his description of the event says that Jesus’s face shone like the Sun and his clothes became dazzling white.  He literally appeared to glow with the glory of God.  It has often been said to me that people can recognise a true dedicated Christian by the way they seem to glow or the way their face seems to shine.  I used to think that that was probably a bit of an exaggeration but if we think about the Transfiguration, and that each of us who has accepted Christ into our lives and received the gift of the Holy Spirit, surely then we should also shine, that we too are, to some extent “transfigured”. Shouldn’t we too, by being true followers of Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit be transformed into something more beautiful or elevated whilst still retaining our humility?

But, of course, the narrative doesn’t end there, simply with Jesus appearing different. He is joined by two other characters who the disciples recognise immediately as Moses and Elijah and here the significance of the Transfiguration to the disciples and us reaches a new, and pardon the pun, greater height!

Both Moses and Elijah were prominent and significant people from the Old Testament – Moses was the Law Giver and Elijah the Great Prophet; and where did they have great experiences of hearing the voice of God?  Yes, on mountain tops, in fact each on the same mountain although in Moses case it was then called Mount Sinai and in Elijah’s time Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:11-13). Biblical scholars are convinced that it was indeed the same mountain in the Sinai Desert wilderness. So, it is appropriate that God would speak to Jesus and his disciples at the top of a mountain with representatives of the Law (Moses) and the Prophets (Elijah) for Jesus had already said that he had come to fulfil both the Law and the Prophecies as the Son of God, that he was indeed God incarnate here on Earth.

So, for the Jewish disciples who were expecting the great Messiah, here was a clear vision that Jesus was not just another prophet, as some other Faiths believe, but that he was indeed the Son of God, fulfilling both the Law of Moses and the prophesies of Elijah and others and we, today, should recall the Transfiguration as this clear illustration of Jesus’s role on Earth.  We read that God’s voice was loud and clear in this regard when he said “This is my Son, the Beloved with whom I am well pleased” – words which echo back to Jesus’s baptism by John in the River Jordan. Two clear announcements of Jesus’s true identity.

Of course, Peter, as usual doesn’t quite understand it.  I like Peter very much because time and time again I can identify with him and think he represents us everyday folk who sometimes struggle with the messages which Jesus gave to us.  Peter believes that Moses and Elijah have returned to join forces with Jesus and so, in order to keep them here back on Earth, he thinks that if we build each of them a house, they will remain.  Of course, whilst Moses’s death is recorded in the Old Testament, Elijah we read was “taken up” and even today Jewish families keep an empty seat and place-setting and keep the door open for Elijah during the Passover meal.  This also signifies for us Christians the importance of that last Passover supper and the sacrament of Holy Communion today. Elijah’s place is now Christ’s place and he shares his meal with us symbolically by the sacrifice of his body and blood.

We are about to enter Lent and it is no co-incidence that the lectionary has the Transfiguration as the established reading immediately before we begin forty days and forty nights of fasting. We read in our first reading that in Moses’s other mountain top experience he was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights.  We read that Jesus was tempted in the wilderness after spending forty days and forty nights fasting and praying.

Jesus tells his disciples that they should not say anything to anyone about the experience until after he has been raised from the dead. Why? Well, once risen he will be transfigured for all time and what has been said and seen will be a clear indication that Jesus was indeed the Son of God – without any question at all.

So, during the forthcoming period of Lent I encourage you to read again and reflect upon the three synoptic gospel passages describing the Transfiguration in the context of asking yourself – “who do I think Jesus is?”  “What role did he play for me whilst on Earth and what role does he play in my life today?”  It is always good to test your faith because by that means way we can strengthen it and describe it to others.

So I will start you off by reading the Transfiguration narrative again but this time in the fuller wording of Mark – which was the oldest original description:

After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. ³ His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. ⁴ And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus.

⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” ⁶ (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.)

⁷ Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”

⁸ Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. ¹⁰ They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant.

¹¹ And they asked him, “Why do the teachers of the law say that Elijah must come first?”

¹² Jesus replied, “To be sure, Elijah does come first, and restores all things. Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected? ¹³ But I tell you, Elijah has come, and they have done to him everything they wished, just as it is written about him.”

What word or phrase springs out to you in this fuller version? I leave you to ponder and reflect.

Amen                                                                                                  MFB/17022023/183