MY NEXT SERMON

I shall next be preaching on Christmas Day (Wednesday 25th December 2024) at the 11.00 a.m. Parish Communion Service at All Saints' Church, Farley, Wiltshire

SERMON 208 - SUNDAY 15 DECEMBER 2024 - ADVENT 3

Sermon at St. Mary’s Church, Alderbury  – Advent 3  – Sunday 15 December 2024

Luke 3:7-18

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

A Dutch theologian, Johannes Halkendijk, tells this story that took place World War:-

“During the Nazi occupation of Holland, the Nazis planned to deport Jewish children to concentration camps. A Dutch resistant group had been formed and one arm of this resistance decided to do what they could to save these children. A group of 300 people, children and resistance leaders, were gathered together and were hiding. What they did not know was that someone in their own group had betrayed them to the Nazis. They were found and taken to a detention centre. There they heard that they would be taken, not to a concentration camp, but to a crematorium where they would be killed. When the day to be taken away came, both Christian resistance leaders and Jewish children boarded the same cattle cars together, to share the same fate. The trip lasted a few days. One morning, just after sunrise, the train stopped and word was given that they were to get out of the train. They got out, expecting to find themselves surrounded by guards. Instead, they were standing in the middle of a pasture. They were not in Germany or Poland, but in Switzerland. The train, while it was taking them to their death, had been taken over and liberated during the night. As a result, these 300 people, were not recipients of the death they expected, but of a new life.”

"Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand". This is the message that John the Baptist proclaimed by the Jordan some 2,000 years ago. It is a message that we still see on signs today. "You better change, or else."  I feel the same when I view signs often seen on posts outside some evangelical free churches or as carried by street preachers which say "The wages of sin are death". Nothing is wrong with these words, they are God’s word and are true. But by themselves, without a word of explanation, they may offer as little hope as the train ride did for the resistance leaders and children back on that train. At least that is how many people feel about the message of repentance.

And yet as verses 18 tells us, John exhorted the people and preached good news to them. For the message of repentance, when understood properly is not a ride to a death camp but a ride to a pasture of new life.

The key words in this passage of scripture we heard today are contained in the question posed to John the Baptist by the crowd when, after being called a brood of vipers who hadn’t seemed to have changed their ways in years, ask the question which I think we would all ask in such circumstances “So what are we to do then?”  Indeed, it is a good an honest question. We can talk about repentance, we can even study the Greek name for it “metanoia” which the Blue Letter Bible translates as “a change in one’s way of life resulting from penitence or spiritual conversion” or, simply put, “a change of heart”.  I have also heard it defined as being a turning around suggesting going back to a way in which we may have behaved before.

What are we to do, then to repent and become saved?

John gives the answer in great detail – in summary he says: share what you have with those who have not, both food and clothing; don’t exhort money asking for more than is due – John emphasises that even the tax-collectors who were despised by the Jewish people of the day can be baptised and repent. Indeed, many of the examples given were echoed by Jesus in his later ministry and often this passage is confused with being spoken by Jesus himself.

John tells the crowd that the time is coming when Jesus will baptise with the Holy Spirit not just with water – a true infilling of the Holy Spirit leading to a direct connection and communication with God.

Indeed, later, when asked by the elders what was the most important of the Commandments given to Moses, Jesus responded that there were two – the second of which was to love and treat one another as God loves u and as we would have others treat us.

Throughout my years of ministry, it is this second Commandment upon which I have preached the most and will continue to do so until the day my ministry ends.

Unlike the crowd being addressed by John in this passage of scripture, through the life and ministry of Jesus and his great sacrifice upon the Cross, we already have the Holy spirit within us and, as Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 2:16) we now have the mind of Jesus which means it should be automatic and natural to do all those things which John says we need to do to repent. Therefore, by spreading the good news, as John did, we hope to make others understand and want to act in this way.

We are told that this is precisely what John did - he exhorted the people and preached the good news to them in the very last verse, and we as good Christians are called upon to do that in our daily lives by the way we speak, act and direct. So this Advent and Christmas tide, what are you going to do and how well are we prepared to do it?

May the Lord bless you with peace and joy this Christ time.

Amen                                                                                                 MFB/208/13122024

SERMON 207 - SUNDAY 8 DECEMBER 2024 - ADVENT 2

Sermon at St. John’s Church, West Grimstead and Farley All Saints’ Church – Advent 2  – Sunday 8 December 2024

Luke 3:1-6

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

A few years ago, I was asked to give a talk and lead a stargazing session at West Dean Social Club’s Midsummer Evening’s Party.  Not a great date to go stargazing as it doesn’t get dark until 11 p.m. and then not entirely dark enough for astronomers to do much work.  However, people did stay on after an excellent Middle-Eastern supper (the theme was the Arabian Nights). 

As daylight began to fade and twilight approached somebody asked me what the bright star in the west was.  It was the planet Venus and I knew this because it was expected to appear shortly after sunset in the west; but try as I might I could not see it for myself. I later on discovered that I had the beginning of cataracts which is no good ailment for an astronomer and as time went on, I discovered more and more that my fellow stargazers could see things with their naked eye, and even through optical instruments, which evaded my sight.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday morning in fact, I had the cataract in my left eye removed with a replacement lens and 36 hours later I was amazed at how my sight had improved. Things were sharp, objects which before had appeared a light grey were revealed to be brilliant blue, I no longer required spectacles except for reading and on Thursday night I was able to try out my new eye on the wonders of the celestial heavens and to my amazement I could See zillions of stars more in my left eye than my right. I now can’t wait to get the right eye fixed too.

I started to reflect upon how my eyesight had slowly gone downhill.  Like the brakes on a car, as they wear down so we adjust by putting that extra pressure with our foot on the pedal to compensate. Likewise with our eyes, we turn up the brilliance on our devices and the lights in our houses. I also took to wearing stronger reading glasses. We make adjustments in our selves rather than tackle the problem at its root cause and we allow ourselves to be convinced that we can manage and adjust to the changing circumstances.

In our Gospel Reading this morning, we heard the now very familiar story of the ministry of Jesus’s cousin, John the Baptist who, we learn, went into all the region around the Jordan to proclaim a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins and to proclaim the coming of Christ, the Messiah as foretold by the prophet Isaiah some hundreds of years previously.

Back then, the world seemed to reject God as we read in the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi.  I do recommend you read it as, in many ways, it seems to foretell how our world is today – lacking any enthusiasm for God our Creator and treating Faith as an irrelevance when we can take control of our own destiny.  Today’s world seems to be about image and control, and money and wealth of course; and so it was back then.

I celebrated my seventieth birthday last year. I have lived more than my three score years and ten and during that period I have seen enormous changes in the world and in this country in particular; probably none more so than attitudes towards the Church.

In recent weeks our own Anglican Communion has been beset by scandals and issues which have rocked its very being. We seem to be on the verge of another schism.  I have even been approached by members of a different denomination enquiring why and how I can stay within the Church of England when it seems to be so unbiblical?

My response is that my strength continues to lie in my Faith which is founded on the Gospel of the Good News of Jesus coming into the world, to lighten and brighten it.  To save the sinners, to comfort the poor and to bring God’s Kingdom to Earth.

As I have discovered over the last few days, by placing my trust into the hands of medical experts and an eye surgeon, in effect having faith in him, I have been brought into the light of the world, literally, which had become darkened for so long because I “coped” with the malady on my own.

John the Baptist, appeared during the period of waiting for the Light of World to appear and he encouraged people to repent and be saved through baptism. Likewise, as we wait for Christmas, during this period of Advent reflections, let us think about how we might have contributed towards or ignored any darkening in our own lives by not reaching out for the lantern which is Jesus Christ.  In the words of Psalm 119:105: –

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path; it shows me the way wherein I should go, both night and day”.

We light candles on the Advent Wreath as a reminder of that light. In some churches we would also have had individual candles to remind us that as Christians it is our duty to carry that light of salvation – the way we should go – to all we meet in our daily lives.

Whenever we stray¸ when the world seems dark and cruel, when we feel we can no longer see God, remember he is all around us and by accepting Him and following Him we are in communication with God our Creator who made all things – from the tiniest of living creatures on Earth to the vastness of the Universe itself.  As John the Baptist told us, we need only repent of our sins to be cleansed. If we all followed that mantra then I am certain the world would be a better place.

Just as that cataract of dimness was removed from my eye, so through the adherence of our Faith, so the dimness in our lives can be removed and replaced by the glorious light of Christ’s Kingdom on Earth.

And, just before I end, you might be interested to learn that this Christmas there will be two “Stars of Bethlehem”. On Christmas Eve, it will be possible to see the planet Venus in the West at Sunset at the same time of being able to see the bright planet Jupiter in the East.

Wishing you all a Happy Advent and Festive Season ahead.

 

Amen                                                                                                 MFB/207/06122024

 

SERMON 206 - SUNDAY 13 OCTOBER 2024 - TRINITY 20 / HARVEST FESTIVAL

Sermon at St. John’s Church, West Grimstead - Trinity 20/Harvest – Sunday 13 October 2024

Mark 10:17-31

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

“Here comes that man again, running up to Jesus with a question about eternal life. We can hear those dreaded words on Jesus’ lips even before the man approaches: “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” Even before Mark tells us so, we know that the rich young man will turn away grieving, for he has many possessions. And some of us grieve with him as we see him leave, knowing his choice could be ours as well.”

Thus, begins a sermon by an American pastor, Stacey Simpson.

She then goes on to recount that she remembers the first time she read the story at the age of 7 in her childhood bible book. She tells how she was so alarmed when she reached verse 25 that she slammed the Bible shut, jumped out of bed, and went running down the hall and shaking her my mother out of a sound sleep. “Mom,” she whispered urgently, “Jesus says that rich people don’t go to heaven!”

“We are not rich. Go back to bed,” came her mother’s response.

The little seven-year old girl knew better. She knew that she and her family had all they needed plus plenty more. She would later learn of fascinating attempts to soften the text (the use of the word “camel” for “rope,” or “eye of the needle” for “a small gate”), but the little girl inside her knew that these words of Jesus were clear and hard and scary.

Mark 10:17-31 hangs on the question of eternal life. The rich man wants to know how to get it. The disciples want to know who can have it. And the good news that Jesus offers is this: “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible.”

This story can be regarded as one of the gospel’s healing stories. The rich man runs up to Jesus and kneels, just as countless other Jesus-pursuers have done throughout the Book of Mark. The scene is set for him to request and receive healing, and his running and kneeling show that his request is both urgent and sincere. But he is the one and only person in the entire book who rejects the healing offered him.

We read, in Mark’s account that “Jesus, looking at him, loved him.” Matthew and Luke leave this out. But Mark, who seems always spare with words, takes the space to note that Jesus loves this man. He offers him healing. “You lack one thing”, he says; “go, sell what you own, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” (In Mark, the word “go” is used almost exclusively in the healing stories.)

What is the healing that this man needs? What he lacks is that he does not lack. This man is possessed—but only by his possessions. Jesus is offering to free him of his possession, to cure him of his excess. But the rich man turns his back.

Stacey Simpson goes on to say that she too grieves because she has accumulated so much since first reading this text. Likewise, I am constantly being reminded by my wife that we have “too much stuff” and really need to rid ourselves of so many possessions we either do not use or do not need. Stacey raises an interesting question for us. Are we also possessed, but only of possessions? Are we refusing to be healed by Jesus? What can we do to inherit eternal life? Jesus tells his disciples - Nothing. For mortals it’s impossible. But not for God. To say we must give up all our wealth in order to be saved puts the burden on us to save ourselves. Neither wealth nor divestment of wealth saves us. God does.

Our Harvest Festival service today reminds us, as we sing in our hymns, that all good gifts are sent from Heaven above. That whilst we might sow and then nurture that sown grain, we still rely upon God to send us the rain and the sun to grow and ripen it. It is a reminder that without God and the nature which he has created, we can do nothing.

For the young rich ruler, it was a test. Jesus truly loved him and his sentiments to want to follow the Christian way but when the crunch came, he simply could not part with his possessions. He could not change his life-style and be saved.

Even Jesus realized he could not save himself. Those who think they can will surely lose their lives. But those who recognize the utter futility of self-reliance, who realize that their salvation really is not possible, will be saved by the God who makes all things possible.

Yes, there is still the problem of having too much stuff. It keeps us from realizing our need for God because we use it as a buffer against vulnerability. We use it to fill the emptiness in our souls. We use it to feel less susceptible to the vagaries of life. It keeps us from seeing how needy we actually are and gives us a false sense of security.

The rich man’s secure status in life led him to keep asking the wrong question: What can I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus’ response was that there was nothing he or anyone else could do. And Jesus told him to release his wealth and give it to the poor—to grow closer perhaps to the fragility of life, to take his own place among the poor.

The poor, the sick, the demon-possessed and the children of whom Jesus speaks all live close to the fragility of life. They are thus more likely and more able to respond to a vulnerable Christ. The disciples freed themselves of what would stand between them and that fragility and were somehow able to follow the One whose life would soon be a ransom for many. In many ways we have to be like children, as Jesus reminded us in our gospel reading from Mark last week, or like those who know they are really sick or like disciples who have let go of all the things they once relied on—in order even to see how much we need Jesus.

What must we do to inherit eternal life? We must let go of all that we have and all that we do that gets in the way of seeing that there is nothing we can do to save ourselves. Even then, letting go of it all is beyond our capacity. The hardest news Jesus has is the best news we could get—our salvation is impossible except for God.

To conclude, I can recall an instance of my own when I knew somebody who once said to me “I don’t need to go to church any more, I don’t need God, I have everything I want – a successful career, a lovely wife and family, a big house and a secure financial future”.  A few months after making that statement he suffered a severe stroke which, fortunately, was not fatal and he did recover, but that one devastating event changed his whole outlook on life and Faith and he praised God for his eventual although lengthy return to health.

In saying that it is difficult for a rich man to get into the kingdom of Heaven, it is not just by being rich, per se, but by allowing our possessions and the love of those possessions get in the way of the true richness of loving Christ and being close to him through the knowledge of our fragility and the need for perseverance – “to go through the severe times”; for as Paul writes in his letter to the Romans (5:3-5)  “we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit…”

Jesus himself had to persevere through the Passion and the Cross – an example to us all and a reminder for us not to take for granted that we do not need God’s love and grace so that we can really prosper as his children.

 

Amen                                                                                                 MFB/206/09102024

SERMON 205 - SUNDAY 6 OCTOBER 205 - TRINITY 19

Sermon at All Saints’ Church, Farley - Trinity 19 – Sunday 6 October 2024

Genesis 2:18-24; Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-12; Mark 10:2-16

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

Today’s readings are quite a personal challenge for me, so thank you, Simon, for allocating this Sunday in the Lectionary for me to lead and preach a service to you!

In today’s modern age, our Old Testament Reading and our Gospel Reading may seem outdated and of little relevance to many.  During my lifetime, our cultural world has changed almost beyond recognition.  When I was born, homosexuality was a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment and divorce was frowned upon and in many situations, people were shunned if they left their spouse, even in circumstances where there had been violence, mental abuse or control.  Today we see legal same-sex marriages and no-fault divorces.  The question which we as Christians have to consider is where we stand in relationship to the Word of God and the teachings of Christ.

In fact, statistics show that within the Church at large, the divorce rate is pretty much exactly the same as it is in the wider secular community.  I don’t have any figures for same-sex relationships but guess it might not be much different except for being more clandestine.

Taking our first reading, from Genesis 2, not many people realise that this is the second account of Creation – the first being found in Genesis 1 and when it comes to the creation of humankind the two are quite different – don’t take my word for it, read it for yourselves at the front of your bible at home. Today’s reading, the second account, has Man being created first and then Woman being created out of Man.  This second account was placed in the bible to underline the thinking at the time of Man’s superiority over Woman. The first account, in Genesis 1, however reads:

“So God created Humankind in his image; in the image of god he created them; male and female he created them”. (Genesis 1:27 – NRSV).

No mention here of Man being created first and then Woman as an afterthought so that she could be his “helper” – no, God created them equally in his image.

The purpose of this illustration is to remind us that whilst we can accept scripture as being inspired by God, and I have no trouble with that, we still need to be aware of context and history relating to when and why it was written – especially Paul’s letters – otherwise we can find ourselves being judgmental and unkind to others in circumstances where it is not right to be so. Scripture can so readily be used as a weapon against others when it should inspire us through the lens of the Cross – indeed, in all our studies of the Old Testament we have the benefit of looking back through the lens of Jesus’s life, death and resurrection.

The writer of Hebrews, who incidentally we do not think was Paul, reminds his readers of this when he talks about God now speaking to the Jews, whom he is addressing, through Jesus and no longer through the prophets. We have passed from old creation to new creation, from Old Covenant to New Covenant, and our importance to God is emphasised by the suffering of his own Son, Jesus, on the Cross. We are, thereby, slightly lower than the angels – we are in the Premier Division of God’s Creation. The writer of Hebrews goes on to say that with Christ having come amongst us and suffered alongside us God has effectively made Humankind the brothers and sisters of his own dear Son, Jesus Christ. Wow, isn’t that just amazing? Isn’t that just wonderful?

Now we turn to the Gospel Reading which for many can be very daunting and difficult – for me it certainly is. The reading seems so clear and unequivocal that for any preacher it seems to be a clear message – divorce and remarriage are unacceptable and amount to a sin – adultery – a breaking of the Seventh Commandment.  Today’s reading is from Mark’s Gospel and in Luke’s Gospel, also, (18:18) the same absolute unconditional prohibition is read –

“Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery”.

For some out and out Evangelicals the passage stops there. Both Mark and Luke record a clear unconditional statement.

At this point I should stop; leave the pulpit and go outside so you can stone me!

In researching this sermon, I was relieved to find that the situation is far from having the clarity which that short passage has alone. Fortunately, our fuller reading gives more of the context.

Jesus we read is being tested by the Pharisees who worked on the black and white words of scripture – just as today so do some evangelicals. Jesus replies to the Pharisees question in his usual manner of asking them a question back – “what did Moses command you?” – referring back to the Ten Commandments. In fact, when you read the fullness of his answer to the Pharisees, he emphasises that a man will leave his parents and be joined to another woman in matrimony and that they should consider themselves as one. He ends with the famous words which are part of the Anglican marriage ceremony “Let those who God has joined together let no one separate”.

Later on we read that the disciples asked him again about the matter and we get the famous passage.

Why would the Pharisees have asked Jesus the question in the first place? Well, at the time there was a great debate going on between the conservative school called the Shammai and a liberal school of thought called the Hittel about the correct interpretation of the Jewish law. Sounds familiar?  In fact, the piece of scripture which was being debated was not the Seventh Commandment but Deuteronomy 24:1-4 which actually reads:

Suppose a man enters into marriage with a woman, but she does not please him because he finds something objectionable about her, and so he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; she then leaves his house and goes off to become another man’s wife. Then suppose the second man dislikes her, writes her a bill of divorce, puts it in her hand, and sends her out of his house (or the second man who married her dies); her first husband, who sent her away, is not permitted to take her again to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that would be abhorrent to the Lord, and you shall not bring guilt on the land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession.

Quite different from the simple question which is put to Jesus. Indeed, this law is quite complex and what Jesus is saying irrespective of all these conditions a man and a wife are expected to remain together where the marriage is blessed by God. A man should not divorce a woman merely because she displeases him – whatever that it meant to mean!

The two schools or thought differed in that “displeases” could either mean sexual immorality or some other lesser attribute which the man did not like.

In Matthew 19:3-6 we find a much better version of this discussion between the Pharisees and Jesus. In that version the Pharisees ask:

“Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause?’ He answered, ‘Have you not read that the one who made them at the beginning “made them male and female”, and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So, they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, let no one separate.’ They said to him, ‘Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?’ He said to them, ‘It was because you were so hard-hearted that Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but at the beginning it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for unchastity, and marries another commits adultery.’

For unchastity! There we have it, a condition. In fact, nowhere do we find it unacceptable in the bible to divorce in circumstances of adultery and I think we can go one further – I cannot envision a situation where God would want somebody to continue in a marriage which was ungodly or abusive or for that matter simply dangerous. It is not simply a matter of displeasure but something much more serious and fundamental.  You can put down your stones now!

Here the Christian teaching is at variance with modern day thinking. Same sex marriage is not found in any of the teachings – it simply did not exist, even in the first decades of my life - and no-fault divorce seems to be a thing of the present.

The essence of Jesus’s teaching is that we have responsibilities to each other – to love one another, to work things out and not flit in and out of relationships as the wind blows.  God is there for us through good times and bad and as we were created to be relational beings, so too must we be there for each other, supporting each other and loving each other as well as God.

Let us pray:

Father God, we pray for our relationships and friendships with others and thank you for your grace that at times when life becomes difficult and we blame others, especially those nearest and dearest to us, we will remember that we were all created in your image and remember that we are all the children of a loving father and are brothers and sisters in Christ who suffered and died for our salvation.

Amen                                                                                                 MFB/205/02102024

SERMON 204 - SUNDAY 25 AUGUST 2024 - TRINITY 13

Sermon at All Saints’ Church, Winterslow -  Trinity 13  – Sunday 25 August 2024

Joshua 24:1-2a; Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69

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

Listening to and reading each of the passages of scripture which we have heard this morning reminds us all of the greatness and wonder of God’s grace and power but it also reminds me that being a Christian and being faithful to the Trinity is also, at times, quite difficult and challenging.

In our first reading, Joshua is acutely aware that there have been negative murmurings from the Jews led out of captivity in Egypt as far back as the early days of their wanderings with his predecessor Moses and so decides to have a showdown with the elders, the heads and the judges of the various tribes and puts a direct question to them – Whom are they following? Is it the God who led them out of captivity or those other gods who might have influenced them either when they were in Egypt or during their journey?

In order to persuade them of the correct answer he answers the question for himself – “… as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD [Yahweh]” The god of the Hebrews.

I remember back in the days with Nils and Linda Carter, here in this church and at  “Food for Thought” in the Village Hall, we would often sing the popular song “As for me and my house, as for me and my family, as for me and my children, we will serve the Lord” very enthusiastically. It was a catchy little number and the tune was still ringing in my ears as I was writing this sermon.

It is a direct and very important question – not just for those ancient leaders of the Hebrew tribes but also for us today when there are so many false gods whom we could be tempted or persuaded to serve – and I don’t just mean within other faiths but as the author of our second reading put it – “rulers, authorities and spiritual and cosmic forces of evil which surround us.  Whom do you serve? The answer, if we are committed Christians should always be the one which Joshua himself gave.

In recent times I have become more and more concerned and disappointed at the way the world seems to be going and especially the way in which false Christian teaching and secular thought has become so focussed on material wealth and worshipping the icons of self and wealth that we forget the true message of the gospel.

For “entertainment”, I often watch the blatant trickery adopted by preachers of the “Word of Faith” movement who would part vulnerable people from what little money they have after promising them a miracle.  Jesus never once performed any miracle for money or financial gain; yet people continue to line their pockets with vast sums of money for their “ministry”. These people are being led astray.

Never before, in my view, has it been more important to lead people along the right path – the narrow path as Jesus described it.  It is incumbent upon each and every one of us to act as shepherds to support each other in continuing our faith along this tricky, narrow, winding road.

Paul in his letter to the Ephesians gives this precise warning – that we need to guard ourselves and others “against the cosmic and spiritual powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”. Paul was addressing the Christians in Ephesus, a dark and unholy place where immorality and hedonism was rife.  Paul was anxious that the Christian church he had founded there should not be subsumed into this dark culture which surrounded it.  That was in the first century AD.  Has much changed when we look at the United Kingdom in the second millenium AD?

Christians today are facing confusion and conflicting theologies.  In recent times I have, myself, found it difficult sometimes to reconcile the loving word of God with some of the elements of ecclesiastical doctrine and dogma.  Often we come across ministers and theologians using scripture simply to prove their own prejudices and dogma – what is termed eisegesis – putting into scripture one’s own ideas, as opposed to exegesis – taking out of scripture what it is truly meant to say.

During my years of training for this ministry we were repeatedly taught the importance of the difference.  Essentially, the correct way to approach it is to ask four questions – Who wrote it? To whom is it written? When was it written? Why was it written? For example, in the passage from Paul, he, as we have already discussed, was writing to the church leaders in Ephesus in the first century at a time when that city was spiritually dark and the church needed encouragement and support with its Christian faith.  When we understand the context of scriptural passages we can better understand what it is that they are trying to convey.  The Psalms are especially good for this as they portray the triumph and tragedies of the psalmist’s life – expressions of feelings and experiences we all have from time to time.

Jesus, as we learn from our gospel reading this morning, was not exempt from being questioned by the leaders and elders of the Hebrews and his own disciples about his status. The context of this morning’s passage is that the Jews were arguing amongst themselves following Jesus’s difficult statement that he is the “bread of life” and that unless you eat his flesh and drink his blood you cannot have eternal life.  They thought, of course, that he was talking about some form of cannibalism – literally eating his flesh and drinking his blood – but of course he is not.

The disciples find the whole concept of his statement too difficult to comprehend and Jesus has to explain that he is talking about spirit and life – a belief that he has come from heaven to be the way to eternal life if you believe in him and in his teachings.

For some of his disciples this is too much to bear and they desert him but, as we read not Peter although later on he would deny Christ on the eve of the Passion.

When I get bogged down with conflicting dogma and doctrine and hear the dangerous words of false preachers and those who would falsely declare themselves prophets I like to get “back to basics”, as Prime Minister John Major once said. What did Jesus say? What would Jesus do? I once wore a bracelet I was given at Spring Harvest on which were inscribed the letter WWJD?  It was a wonderful reminder to keep reading the gospels and go back to basics. There many of the conflicts can be resolved if you simply put your trust and faith in Jesus Christ. That is why we call ourselves Christians and if we cannot do that then perhaps we are not titling ourselves correctly!

Non-Christians have often come up to me and said either they don’t believe Christ ever existed or if he did exist he was, at best, just another teacher/prophet and not who he claimed to be – the Son of God.

The respected theologian and Christian apologist C S Lewis had this to say in response, and I can think of no better response. It’s called the Lewis Trilemma –

“Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or He was Divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma. It is inexorable”.

If we accept the latter, which Lewis did himself after much soul searching and research, then we must accept all that he said and did, and live by those Christian values and principles he left us and preached by Paul. Values and principles which we are to practice as a means of telling the world, just as the church in Ephesus was meant to and those who followed Joshua, of the need to put God first in our lives, to follow and worship the Trinity and not false idols and gods which surround us both physically and spiritually.

Let us pray:

Father God, we pray for the growth of your kingdom in every country around the world. Even in the midst of persecution, ridicule and danger, give people the strength and courage to continue sharing your good news with those around them. Work in the hearts of non-believers and draw them to yourself, and to the existing church communities. Help churches to continue to grow, and to thrive both in numbers and in faith especially in those places where materialism, hedonism, immorality, evil and violence are rife. Help them to trust in you and to continue to work to know you better making your son, Jesus Christ, known.

We pray this pray through that same Jesus Christ whom we acknowledge to be our Lord and Saviour,

Amen   

                                                                                                                     MFB/204/22082024

SERMON 203 - SUNDAY 11 AUGUST 2024 - TRINITY 11

Sermon at All Saints’ Church, Farley  -  Trinity 11  – Sunday 11 August 2024

1 Kings 19:4-8; Ephesians 4:25–5:2; John 6:35,41-51

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

Each of the three readings this morning speak strongly of our Christian doctrine and values – that the fountain of all life lies with God through Jesus. That’s what makes us able to call ourselves Christians – the belief in a Supreme Being, the God of Israel, that Jesus was his Son and divine and that God’s mercy and grace given to us is something which we, in turn should show to others. Indeed, I could end this sermon here and now with those words; but, in today’s commercial and material word, I think it is very easy to lose sight of the simple messages which are to be found in scripture.

Let’s look at each passage carefully, and reflect upon what it is telling us in this modern day and age:

First Reading – 1 Kings 19:4-8

Elijah, the great prophet from the Old Testament is tired, worn out by his prophesying to King Ahab which has fallen largely on deaf ears.  In fact, he was fleeing from the wrath of King Ahab’s wife Jezebel who, having heard of how the priests of Baal had been massacred, threatened to deal with Elijah likewise. He took himself off into the wilderness and rested under a broom tree and there was lamenting what he had done and wishing that his own life would end there and then. He fell asleep and we then read how an angel came and provided him with bread and water to revitalise him. Twice he had this holy visitation such that he was strengthened to carry out his good work.

Jesus, later on in Matthew 11:28-30, promised that all those who are weary can come to him and that he will take their burden. A promise direct from God that in doing God’s work He will give you strength and take on any burden too heavy for us to bear ourselves by our own efforts. Jesus also uses the analogy of bread in our Gospel reading today which we will look at shortly.

Elijah was persecuted by King Ahab, through his wife Jezebel, because he continued to preach and prophesying about the God of Israel and not pay homage to the pagan gods supported by Jezebel at that time.  Today, as Christians, we too can find ourselves persecuted by not following some of the profanities of modern culture and can be ridiculed for our Christian belief. We too can have moments like Elijah when it all seems too much and we just want to go and hide away.  At times like these, we need to put our faith in our Saviour, Jesus Christ, pray to God through him and ask him to shar ethe burden which we are carrying.

Second Reading – Ephesians 4:25-5:2

In our second reading, Paul is writing to the Church in Ephesus. At that time the city was largely an ungodly place. He describes the non-Christians (Gentiles) there as “living in the futility of their thinking; darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity and a continual lust for more”.

These words of Paul precede the scripture reading in our Second Reading and therefore we see that Paul is discouraging the Church there from those practices which he considers impure and list those virtues which having been taught by Jesus himself should be practised by those who call themselves Christians. It is worth repeating them again here as I believe they form a wonderful Code of Conduct for Christian living and which are encapsulated in the two Great Commandments as left by Jesus with his disciples –

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind". Jesus also says in this verse that this is the first and greatest commandment. The verse continues, "And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbour as yourself. ' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:37) - 

“Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Let’s pause for a moment and reflect upon those two passages of scripture – one from the mouth of Jesus himself and one in a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the Church in Ephesus – and think how relevant it is today in Great Britain and Northern Ireland where we are seeing intolerance, racism, greed, envy, crime, violence and the general dilution of these Christ-like (Christian) values.

 

Gospel Reading – John 6:35,41-51

 

Finally we heard, this morning, from Jesus himself in our third, Gospel Reading.

Here, Jesus is addressing a crowd of people after crossing the Lake of Galilee; but the Jews started to complain about his preaching when he had said that he was the “Bread of Life” – something of a flashback to the Old Testament stories of manna during the great wanderings in the wilderness following the exodus from Egypt and, indeed, the story of Elijah’s cake which we have just been considering.  For them it was blasphemy, false teaching and an arrogance of somebody they had known as the son of a humble woodworker and young wife.  Now they are being told by him that he is the Son of God, sent by God, known by God – the bread of life. The bread, he says, will sustain them for all eternity unlike the manna which sustained those fleeing Egypt who would all die eventually.

Of course, Jesus is not talking about actual baked bread, like Elijah’s cake, but himself – his body sacrificed for all on the Cross. Later on, we read that the Jews had taken Jesus’s words literally arguing, again, amongst themselves, how could this man give his flesh for [them] to eat? (v 52).

Jesus is saying that by believing in him and obeying his words, the words of God, we shall be saved and be given the blessing of eternal life.

But, as we have seen, in these readings and in others of the recent weeks, being a Christian is not easy and, I don’t know about you but I find people today either don’t want to believe in Christ or are frightened to believe – perhaps because they think of the Ten Commandments and think that being a Christian is all about negativity – not doing the things they want to do rather than understanding that it is a way that leads through love of God and the Trinity to a global love of all God’s creation and all people.

Sometimes, I am sure those of our friends and family who are non-Christians challenge us in many ways not least by trying to convince us that we are following a fantasy.  The great writer and theologian C S Lewis put it like this – what is known as the Lewis Trilemma:

“Christ either deceived mankind by conscious fraud, or He was Himself deluded and self-deceived, or He was Divine. There is no getting out of this trilemma. It is inexorable”.

If we accept the latter then we must accept all that he said and did, and live by those Christian values and principles he left us and preached by Paul.

Let us pray.

Dear God, we pray for the growth of your kingdom in every country around the world. Even in the midst of persecution and danger, give people the strength and courage to continue sharing your good news with those around them. Work in the hearts of non-believers and draw them to yourself, and to the existing secret church communities. Help churches to continue to grow, and to thrive both in numbers and in faith especially in those places where evil and violence are rife. Help them to trust in you and to continue to work to know you better.

Amen                                                                                                            MFB/203/08082024

 

SERMON 202 - SUNDAY 14 JULY 2024 - TRINITY 7

Sermon at St. John’s Parish Church West Grimstead  -  Trinity 7  – Sunday 14 July 2024

Amos 7:7-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-26

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

This morning I would like to share something of my past history with you which has something in common with each of our readings – especially the Old Testament and the Gospel readings.

Last week we had a General Election and as is my usual habit I stayed up half the night into the early hours of the morning watching as the results came in and seeing quite a few people, who I have known over the years, ousted from their erstwhile safe constituency seats in the Labour Party landslide which followed.

It is not my intention or wish to preach politics from the pulpit here this morning but to relate a story which happened to me.

In 1987, I was one of those candidates we saw the other week standing on the platform seeing somebody else win the seat.  I was a young up and coming politician, a councillor on Brighton Borough Council and Parliamentary candidate for the party which recently lost the election.  Following on from that defeat in 1987 I was tipped to replace a well-known politician in a safe seat at a later election. I was nominated and accepted the role of Leader of the Opposition on Brighton Council and short-listed for a number of seats in 1991.  Alas, I was not selected for any of those due to there being a surplus of former MPs looking for new safe seats.

As time went by I continued to support my party, becoming local Party Chairman and held other offices within the party. Then the day arose when the opposition party tabled a motion on the Council Chamber criticising my Party in Government over railway privatisation – something which I had already voiced my concern and wavering support.  My ward contained many commuters to London for whom the uncertainty of private rail networks was worrying. In support of those constituents, I abstained from the Labour Party motion in accordance with our own Party’s procedure when something seriously affects our constituents.  The Labour Party motion condemning rail privatisation was duly passed.  The result for me was subsequent de-selection as a Council candidate and my forced resignation from the local party. Literally overnight my fortunes had changed due to a simple following of conscience. Who knows, had I voted against my conscience to support railway privatisation I might have ultimately realised my dream of a place in Westminster; but it wasn’t to be.  Later, I put away my dreams of a political career and, instead, felt a calling to ministry which is why I am here today (more of that in a moment).

So, what is the purpose of this short testimony? Well, in any lifetime there will always be, in my experience, times when we have to make choices between following the popular herd and following our conscience.  To quote not from the bible but Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio “Let your conscience be your guide” – just as an aside I was once asked where in the bible somebody could find that quote – was it in the gospels? – took me a while to realise that it was from Walt Disney’s Pinocchio!  I always have believed that when our natural instincts and conscience pricks us that is God through the Holy Spirit leading us in the right path.

In our readings this morning, Amos, who is regarded as one of the “minor prophets of the Old Testament, describes himself as merely a humble shepherd but, in reality he has been called by God to reveal the truth about God’s plan for the people of Israel – to put them back on the straight and narrow using the illustration of a builder’s tool – the plumb rule. To pull down the old and build the new nation. In prophesying this truth, Amos finds himself falling foul of the Israelite king, Jeroboam and is exiled. Amos replies that his words are genuine because he is not an educated protester but a simple man with a simple job who has been unexpectedly chosen by God to preach an unpopular message.

In his letter greeting to the Christian community in Ephesus, Paul in our second reading reminds his readers that they are in a special place for by their knowledge of Jesus they have come to understand that God has a special place for all those who believe. That they are chosen to fulfil God’s plan for them.

In our final reading it is Herod who finds himself being comprised and not following his conscience and this story is perhaps the most telling of all. It is a well-known story so I will not dwell on it in detail but even as a child, when I heard it I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Herod even though he was, ultimately, the executioner of John the Baptist.

Herod  became the victim of his own vanity and peer pressure.  Despite the teachings of John against some of his unlawful behaviour, especially marrying his brother’s widow, Herod had simply had John arrested and imprisoned and not executed for treason because he realised that there was something special and unique about John’s preaching as well as his popularity with the people. It was only because of his vanity at a banquet and seduction by his wife and step daughter that he did something which pained him greatly – the one thing he did not want to do – take the life of John. He was swayed by those around him who had evil intent and who had their own agendas.

I recently attended a weekend course on how we should best be disciples – especially in the modern world and we were reminded of Jesus’s words in Matthew 7 – part of the Sermon on the Mount. In verses 13 and 14 Jesus addressed the crowd saying: “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it; but small is the gate and narrow the road which leads to life and only a few find it” (NIV).  In the ensuing few verses Jesus then tells us to watch out for false teachers and prophets – those who would lead us as a majority through that wide gate to destruction. Jesus tells us to be discerning and not simply follow the herd or popular culture and to guide others through the correct narrow way. 

For me, it cost me my political career which I now see as a blessing. For Amos, it resulted in exile, and for John the Baptist and Paul, it cost them their lives as it has done so many others throughout history.  Being a true disciple of Christ was never meant to be an easy option.

The question we need to ask ourselves and reflect upon is “how good are we as disciples?”; as good Christians?  Are we prepared to stand up or swim against the flow of those elements of popular culture which we see as herding us through the wide gate to destruction? Or are we prepared to stand up against falsehood and lies?  Are we prepared to go against our consciences for the sake of a quiet life or try and lead others to that narrower gate and path of righteousness?

It all really starts with discernment and the knowledge of God’s true will through the words and actions of Jesus.  Once we have that special relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit and using the power of prayer, then discerning truth from fiction becomes so much easier.

Let us pray.

Lord, I ask you to give me a discerning heart, so that I may understand your ways. Open the eyes of my heart to see situations and people as you do. Sensitize me to your gentle whispers, convicting and guiding me. Teach me to lean wholly on your wisdom, not my own.

Amen                                                                                                            

MFB/202/08072024

 

SERMON 201 - SUNDAY 14 APRIL 2024 - EASTER 3

Sermon at St. John’s Parish Church West Grimstead and All Saints’ Parish Church, Farley   -  Easter 3  – Sunday 14 April 2024

Acts 3:12-19; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48

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

On Wednesday evening this week I attended a meeting, over a light supper at Sarum College, where Bishop Stephen met with a large number of lay people from five of the deaneries, including our own, which make up the Sarum Archdeaconry.  The purpose of this meeting was for him to tell us of his vision for mission – “Making Jesus Known” and finding out what the laity felt it needed to assistant them to carry this out – or rather what members of the laity felt they were lacking as a resource.  As you can imagine there was a great deal of discussion and many questions but out of this, one thing spoke to me louder than any other and this is reflected in our gospel reading this morning.

Bishop Stephen told us a story about when he had first been appointed as the Dean of Gloucester Cathedral.  At his first service, he had witnessed the departure of a long-standing director of music and at the end of the service a presentation was made and he asked the congregation to give a round of applause. Afterwards, a leading member of the congregation pointed out to him that people do not give applause in cathedral services and also, whilst on the topic, they also object to being referred to in his sermon as “disciples” – that is far too evangelical. They prefer to be called churchgoers.  Quite a number of the people at our meeting laughed or gasped but I think some others sympathised with the Gloucester member of the congregation.

It got me thinking - how do we in our rural churches see our ourselves? Churchgoers or disciples? Well certainly we are the former, if we regularly attend church, but what does that mean?  Are we going simply in the hope of doing the right thing by God or are we really following the teaching and mission of Jesus Christ?

So, what is it to be a disciple?  Webster's definition of a disciple is "a pupil or follower of any teacher or school.”  A true disciple is therefore not just a student or a learner, but a follower: one who applies what he has learned.  This was the assumption or hope which Bishop Stephen was expressing to his cathedral congregation in Gloucester and this is the assumption and hope which he is expressing today in his new diocese of Salisbury – to us all!  That we know Jesus – hence “Making Jesus Known” not simply “knowing about Him”.

In our first two readings this morning, first from Acts written by Luke and secondly from John’s First Epistle, we reflect upon the mistakes of the past in not fully knowing Jesus. Luke in our first reading reminds us that Jesus was put to death on the Cross by people who were ignorant of who he was and also the reason why it was necessary for him to die. John in our second reading reminds us that now we know him we can be truly called God’s children and, when Jesus is revealed to us, we can be like Him.  That explains why properly knowing and following Jesus is to be a disciple - a true follower and that is why, if we are to call ourselves Christians, we have to acknowledge and realise that we are true disciples and that in everything we do and say we do so in the spirit and grace of Jesus.

Our gospel reading reminds us of the disarray in which those first disciples found themselves after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  It occurs after the resurrection and they are all together in one place talking about what they had heard; rumours, as they would have been, of Jesus having risen from the dead.  It must have been an awesome experience for them to have the risen Christ suddenly appearing in front of them.  Even after he had shown them the scars of Crucifixion they were still disbelieving – no doubt thinking that he was some sort of ghost. It is for that reason that he demonstrated that he was really still flesh and blood and alive by asking them to give him some food – a piece of grilled fish. He then reminds them that all this was foretold in the Old Testament and that having known him and having witnessed his resurrection they can be true witnesses of all that has happened, witnesses of God’s love to the people of the world and that those who truly repent are forgiven their sins without the need for the Temple ritual previously required.

It would take a long session to consider all the arguments about the meaning of the Cross and its significance but I think we can be well satisfied that God sent Jesus into a broken world, a religiously corrupt world so that Humankind could be reconciled with God and that through the death and resurrection of his Divine Son, Jesus, we could seek direct forgiveness through repentance and prayer – hence the tearing of the Temple Veil to signify that every believer and follower has direct access to God without the need of complicated rituals and hierarchy.

Today, this service is being led by me, a Licensed Lay Minister, not a Priest. My role is to teach and preach in a pastoral context.  Yes, I may have gone through four years of theological and ministerial training and wear these robes of church authority, but, like all of us here today, I am simply, at best, a follower of Christ and, hopefully a reasonably good disciple although, like many of those original disciples, I often get it hopelessly wrong!

So how can we be good disciples and how can we undertake the role we are being asked of making Christ known if we don’t know Christ ourselves? In my view only by studying and following the example of Christ – first by studying the gospels and secondly by “walking the talk” just as Jesus requested of those first disciples in Matthew 28 – the Great Commission – which I think useful to set out again here - 

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. ¹⁷ When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. ¹⁸ Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹ Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

So ends Matthew’s Gospel as well as the TV production of “Jesus of Nazareth” but do note that even here, at the end, some disciples still doubted, even after all this time and experience.

In his talk last Wednesday night, Bishop Stephen ended with another story. As many of you will realise, the Bibby Stockholm barge, housing a number of asylum seekers at Portland, is within the Diocese of Salisbury. Bishop Stephen, together with a local priest, went there on Maundy Thursday after the Chrism Service in the cathedral and washed the feet of some of those asylum seekers.  As he did so to one particular man, the asylum seeker said “Surely, we should be doing that for you”!

Bishop Stephen used this story to illustrate that this is an example of where we can “evangelise” our faith to others – doing as Christ did to his disciples.  Serving and not being served and teaching others by the way we demonstrate our good discipleship and knowledge of Jesus to those who have yet to know him.

As we shall say, once again at the end of the service, let us depart in peace to be sent out to love and serve the Lord.

 

Amen                                                                                                            MFB/201/11042024