Who do you say I am? A question with consequences
Romans 12 1-8 Matthew 16 13-20
When I can, I rather like to watch the BBC TV programme “Who Do You Think You Are?” You probably know that it’s a programme where well-known people are helped to look into their family history. It often has surprises in it, not least that people you don’t know, or aren’t specially interested in, can turn out to have the most fascinating stories. How often do we find that in life? – There’s more to someone than meets the eye?
I knew I would be interested in this week’s subject, J K Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter books. But last series, I found a quite unexpected interest in the gardener, Monty Don. Well, you probably know that I have no interest at all in gardening!
It turned out that Monty Don was related to someone who had been Vicar of our home church – someone whose portrait we had seen countless times in the church. And there was our friend, the current Vicar, on TV talking about it all! Who would have thought it?! (Actually, it came as quite a surprise to Monty Don too!)
Of course, when Jesus questions his disciples in our passage from Matthew’s gospel, he turns the question around: not “Who do you think you are?”, but
“Who do people say the Son of Man is?” (Mt 16 13b GNB)
The disciples come back with a variety of answers: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or some other prophet. People differ on exactly who Jesus is, but the general opinion is clear – he is in the tradition of the prophets of old; those who have interpreted God to his people, and, on occasion, pleaded with God on their behalf.
But Jesus is interested in more than just the consensus view. Away from the public gaze, he probes his followers still further:
“What about you? … Who do you say I am?” (Mt 16 15)
And Peter, never backwards in coming forwards, has the answer:
“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Mt 16 16)
We have reached a turning point.
It may not yet be for general consumption, but the disciples now know beyond doubt who Jesus is. They are soon to begin to discover what it means that Jesus is the Messiah. And things are different – radically different – from what they expected when the Messiah came.
That question: “What about you? … Who do you say I am?” is the point around which everything turns: the key question.
• It was so for the disciples;
• it has been for every generation since –
• and it is for us today.
Jesus asks us
“What about you? … Who do you say I am?” (Mt 16 15)
Are we admirers of Jesus or are we followers?”
It’s possible to respect and admire Jesus, and that’s a perfectly appropriate reaction – but it doesn’t quite fit in with who Jesus is.
Once we begin to understand just who Jesus is – the Messiah, the Son of the living God, the one who is both God and human, come to reconcile us to our Heavenly Father – then mere admiration is not enough. Our lives are changed.
Saint Paul saw this plainly. He realised Jesus is exactly who Peter said he is.
And the implications of this amazing fact were quite clear.
Paul was not just an admirer, he was a follower of Jesus.
The answer to Jesus’ question – the realisation of who Jesus is – changed Paul’s life utterly. He dedicated his life to helping others to understand who Jesus is, and helping them to take on board the implications of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection.
As we heard, he wrote to the Romans
“So then, my brothers and sisters, because of God's great mercy to us I appeal to you: offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him.” (Romans 12 v1)
Those words are very familiar to us. We often use them towards the end of a Communion service, appropriately enough as a response to our sharing in the Eucharist. It’s good to be reminded of them regularly, because recognising Jesus, dedicating ourselves to serve God in this way, is not just a sudden realisation, not just a one-off decision – it is the work of a lifetime.
Moments after Peter made his wonderful declaration about Jesus, he was “in the doghouse” – showing by his reaction to Jesus’ words about his suffering and death that he still had a lot to learn about the Messiah and his mission. And so it is for each one of us.
We respond with joy to the realisation of who Jesus is, but our understanding and our faithful response develop over time – over a lifetime.
It’s telling that the original Greek verbs in the next verse of Romans 12 reflect this. The instructions are in the continuous imperative – go on being transformed . Paul says
“Do not conform yourselves to the standards of this world, but let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind.” (Romans 12 v2)
This transformation is a process of growth – continuous growth brought about by God. We are none of us the finished article. In the jargon I used to hear in Further Education, we are all “Lifelong Learners”!
So, if we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God, then we have to make a response. Recognising our Lord, our lives are changed,
• as day by day we offer ourselves in service to God,
• and as we allow God to transform us into the people he calls us to be.
We serve God in humility – how could it be otherwise? – but we serve him, too, trusting in his grace and love for us.
We serve as part of the body of Christ, using our God-given gifts, in the church and in the wider world.
And as we serve together, then God’s will and purpose is revealed, is fulfilled – that which “is good and is pleasing to him and is perfect.”
Maybe that sounds like a tall order? I’m sure it did to those who first heard Paul’s words, living at the very heart of the Roman Empire which cruelly oppressed the fledgling Church.
• But the miracle is that, in us, just as much as he was in them, God is at work.
• God has promised to transform us, and to transform his world.
• And all this flows from the answer to one question:
“What about you?” [Jesus] asked … “Who do you say I am?”
Labels: Church, Ministry, Theology
Jesus breaks down barriers
27 March 2011
Jesus breaks down barriers
John 4 5-42
It occurs to me that reading the Bible is like watching American Football.
[OK, I’m not sure how this analogy is going to work – but stick with me!]
I’ve been watching American Football for quite a while now, and I think that I understand a lot about the game and what’s going on.
• I know the difference between a touch-down and a touch-back;
• I can tell a Nose Tackle from an Offensive Tackle,
• a Full Back from a Tight End.
• I even know that a “Hail Mary” in football is different from a “Hail Mary” in church – although not that different: they both involve praying!
But sometimes during a game, something happens that I really don’t understand. (I am English, after all!)
Fortunately, because of the wonders of the Internet, I’m in touch with quite a few fans of my team – the Green Bay Packers [by the way, did I mention that we won the Superbowl this year?!]
These are fans who know all there is to know about the team, and who have grown up watching and playing the game. If there’s anything I need to know, they can explain it to me!
• You see, sometimes, however much you think you know, the only way to fully understand something is to be part of the culture.
• And that’s where our gospel reading this morning comes in: the story of Jesus and the Woman at the Well.
It’s a remarkable story, but it needed footnotes even at the time it was first written down. The writer explains in v 9 that “Jews do not associate with Samaritans”.
That, as they say, is an understatement!
By Jesus’ time, and for hundreds of years before, there was an intense, historic hatred between Jews and Samaritans. We can’t really understand what Jesus was doing – unless we realise that.
In fact, you have to have grown up in the culture to appreciate the power of what was happening. We like to joke a bit about the rivalry between Yorkshire and Lancashire (at least, I think it’s a joke!) but think how things were just after the Wars of the Roses.
And more than that, Jesus was taking on another social taboo. The woman was … well … a woman!
She, herself, is astounded. She says to Jesus:
“You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (Jn 4:9)
There is so much in this passage from John’s gospel, but perhaps nothing is more remarkable than the very fact that the encounter takes place at all!
The disciples certainly get the point – notice what happens when they come back.
“Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no-one asked, ‘What do you want?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’” (Jn 4:27)
They were obviously used to Jesus doing this sort of thing – defying social convention. They may have muttered to each other “There he goes again”, but they certainly didn’t challenge him.
But there’s one more thing about this encounter which makes it even more remarkable: Jesus knows that the woman is an outcast, even among Samaritans.
She has come to the well in the heat of the day. It would have been normal for the women to gather together early in the morning, or in the cool of the evening, when the work wouldn’t have been quite so hard. But she comes to the well at noon, when she can be sure to be alone.
She was accustomed to the whispering wherever she went, having been used and discarded by so many men of the village – and this in a culture in which there was little if any privacy, and gossip spread quickly. And yet, see how Jesus treats her.
As Sarah Dylan Breuer notes:
“Jesus addresses her in the same terms as he addressed his mother [earlier in John’s gospel]. He meets a woman who couldn't be more of an outsider, and he receives her as an insider, an intimate, who has no cause for shame. He brings up her past, and her present, not to shame her, but to take away their power, … showing how little they affect how Jesus and the God he proclaims receive her.”
The living water that Jesus offers the woman, and all those who follow him, is powerful stuff! It makes possible fullness of life – a new quality of life and relationships. Where Jesus is present, barriers are broken down.
Which is all well and good in the culture of 1st century Palestine – but what about us? Jesus is present with us, today. We are his followers – what is our experience?
Well, we are no different to people anywhere at any time. We know who our friends are; we tend to relate most easily to “people like us” – I know I do!
That’s quite natural, of course: there’s a level of comfort and security in that. But we all tend to define ourselves in comparison to others who are “not like us”. And the church behaves very much like the rest of society in that respect.
I think it’s immensely sad that the church, the followers of that same Jesus who met the woman at the well, is actually known far better for keeping barriers up than for breaking them down.
• We are known for our difficulty in accepting certain people.
• We are seen as those who claim exemption from equality laws,
• who put people into different categories,
• rather than doing as Jesus did – accepting everyone as human, created and loved by God.
That’s an exaggeration, of course. I suspect that no-one is quite as they are presented in the media.
But we do need to be careful that, however good our motives might be, we don’t manage to frustrate God’s persistent, transforming love for all people – the sort of love Jesus showed that Samaritan woman, who, by rights, he shouldn’t even have been talking to.
Inclusiveness is at the heart of the new way that Jesus calls us to.
That living water, that practical, accepting love shown by Jesus transformed the woman at the well. From being an outcast, she went back into her village and started telling all and sundry about her amazing man she’d met. “Could this be the Christ?” (v29). And she brought crowds of people back with her to meet him.
That same love can transform all our relationships – transform our churches, our communities, our world.
• Jesus sees each one of us, as he saw that woman – not judging us, but understanding and accepting us;
• and he makes it possible for us to share his love with others
• whatever the barriers might be.
See Sarah Dylan Breuer's Lectionary Blog for this reading: http://www.sarahlaughed.net/lectionary/2005/02/third_sunday_in.html
and also Walter Brueggemann, Charles B Cousar, Beverly R Gaventa, James D Newsome Texts for Preaching – Year A Westminster/John Knox Press 1995 p208
Labels: American Football, Church, Media, Theology
God’s Kingdom: challenge and comfort
Sunday 27 Feb 2011
God’s Kingdom: challenge and comfort
Matthew 6 25-34; Romans 8 18-25
As you probably know, this year marks the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. And, even for me, who came to faith largely through the Good News Bible – even for me, our reading from Matthew’s gospel echoes somewhere in my mind in the traditional words:
“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow;
they toil not, neither do they spin:
And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Mt 6 28, 29 KJV)
Consider the lilies of the field …
And yet, the trouble is that I’m not a poet!
It’s not just the language that I find a problem – it’s the imagery too.
They are wonderful images: don’t worry about food and clothes – look around you at God’s beautiful provision. “O ye of little faith”.
But I immediately want to rationalise!
My mind says: It’s easy to say “Don’t worry” – I’m pretty well off really, especially if you consider the world’s poorest people. My mind says: It’s easy to say “Seek ye first the kingdom of God” – but the Diocese still wants it’s Parish Share: and it’s going up!
I’m not a poet.
The good news is that the Bible contains all sorts of literature and styles of writing.
• It nurtures and shapes the life of the church and of individuals.
• It presents a God whose character is revealed in Jesus, and who engages with people in many different ways.
The Bible makes clear
• what life under God’s reign looks like,
• how faithful disciples think and act,
• what priorities they set
• and what passions control them.
And much more often than not, it does this
• not by laying down rules,
• but by prodding our imaginations,
• telling stories, describing scenarios.
It does it by asking questions about life without giving direct answers.
God forces us to stop and take stock; and he does this for all of us, whether poets or not.
• He encourages us to think,
• and he makes us sensitive to the things of his Kingdom.
Nowhere is that more clearly the case than in this part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
We are confronted with a series of choices:
• serving God, or pursuing wealth
• trusting God, or fretting over life’s necessities
• seeking God’s rule, or worrying about tomorrow.
One commentary on this passage offered rather helpfully
“There is little a preacher needs to say about this passage.”
And I know what it means – even if I find it difficult advice to follow!
As I said a few weeks ago about another part of the Sermon on the Mount, we need to allow the passage to speak for itself. Its images are powerful, and its challenges are clear. They give us all pause for thought – they create an opportunity for God to speak to us; to speak into our situations.
So what more do I have to offer, apart from encouraging you to go and pray and reflect on that gospel passage?
Well, one thing that struck me was a parallel between our gospel and the reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans. Jesus tells his disciples to seek first God’s Kingdom and his righteousness, whilst Paul says:
“I consider that what we suffer at this present time cannot be compared at all with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.” (Rom 8:18 GNB)
Paul is acknowledging what is plain to all of us – that all is not as God intends it to be. And yet he is saying quite clearly that this will change – that God’s purpose (for us and for all creation) is glorious!
“That creation itself would one day be set free from its slavery to decay and would share the glorious freedom of the children of God.” (Rom 8:21 GNB)
So much that we see in the world today is less than it could be, less than it should be.
We know that a great deal of the suffering we see is caused by us, by human beings – the way we treat each other; the way we treat God’s creation.
We know too that much of the suffering we all face is beyond our control – suffering caused by decay and by death.
But we have the hope, the promise of glory.
Jesus says we are to seek first God’s Kingdom.
Yes, (in the words of Romans), we wait with patience for glory to be revealed – but our waiting is active waiting.
As disciples of Jesus, we are called to seek the Kingdom by challenging everything that is contrary to it – all that stands in the way of the fullness of life that Jesus came to bring.
We stand together with everyone who opposes injustice, who struggles against poverty, who works to bring in the values of God’s Kingdom. As we do this, we begin to glimpse glory; to see just a little of what will be when God’s Kingdom truly comes.
And we seek God’s Kingdom too in the midst of decay and death.
We cannot know or understand why life is as it is, why, as Paul said, all creation is in slavery in this way. But we have the promise that it will not always be so.
By his own death and his resurrection, Jesus has opened up for us all the way to glory. He has promised us that God’s Kingdom will come. In the midst of grief and sorrow, God gives us grace to offer, with his love and compassion, the hope and the assurance of life with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ.
As I said, I’m not a poet.
But I do thank God for the challenge and the comfort he offers us, both in the words of the Bible, and in the Living Word, his Son Jesus Christ.
• I long for my trust in God to grow, so that I may learn not to worry, and realise that he knows what I need.
• I long too to see God’s Kingdom come more and more – to glimpse the glory that is going be revealed.
May God make us sensitive to the things of his Kingdom – both now, and for all eternity.
Amen.
For some of the ideas in this sermon, see
Walter Brueggemann, Charles B Cousar, Beverly R Gaventa James D Newsome Texts for Preaching – Year A Westminster John Knox Press 1995 pps 161 ff
Labels: Church, Ministry, Theology
Bible Sunday - Scripture, Reason & Tradition
Sun 24 Oct 2010 Bible SundayLuke 4 16-24
[A bit of a thumbnail portrait, but in the hope of encouraging people to think a little more deeply.]I have to admit that I was really pleased when I saw our reading for today – one of the readings set for Bible Sunday. It has to be one of my very favourite Bible passages! It’s a wonderful story – the sort of story we would recognise: Jesus going to the synagogue. And in his own home town too!
• It's interesting that though the Bible was written at least 2,000 years ago – and most of it much longer ago than that – it’s still important to us; it still speaks to us; we still learn things from it.
• Interesting too that there are so many different sorts of writing in the Bible:
[History; stories (parables); rules and instructions; letters; poetry; anything else?]
All different types of writing which help us to understand God better; which describe people getting to grips with God.
I want to think a little about how we use the Bible – how we hear it “speak”.
Throughout the history of the Church of England, people have recognised three ways of understanding God (sometimes called the 3-legged-stool)
• Scripture
• Reason, and
• Tradition
Scripture – the Bible – is a very important way in which we understand God: not least, of course, because of what it tells us about Jesus, his life and teachings, his death and resurrection.
But as we’ve seen, there is a lot in the Bible. And different parts of it often say different things.
It’s worth noticing that in our story of Jesus in the synagogue,
• although as Luke says, Jesus reads from scroll of the prophet Isaiah,
• he actually reads from 2 different parts (Isaiah 61 and Isaiah 42),
• and then goes on to teach from them.
By putting these 2 passages together, Jesus described more fully what his life and work were all about. He didn’t just pick one single passage or one single quote, but used different parts of the Bible to teach truths about himself, and about God.
We all have our own favourite passages and stories in the Bible, but especially on Bible Sunday, it’s good to remember that we can always learn from reading more and hearing more of the Bible – it’s an amazing book!
The second leg of the 3-legged-stool is Reason: the God-given ability to think and reflect about things – to grow in our own understanding.
Human beings are always learning more and finding out more! Our son [A] is studying Physics and Chemistry for A-level. Now, I’ve always been interested in science – and especially about anything to do with space [I grew up during the Apollo flights to the Moon]. But I’m learning so much more now. Whenever we watch a TV programme by Stephen Hawking or Brian Cox or Jim Al-Khalili, it always finishes up with [A] getting a pen and paper and trying to explain things to me in more detail! The trouble is, I’m sure I keep on asking him the same questions!
God gave us our minds – and he expects us to use them! And just as we can discover things about the world and the universe around us, we can discover more about the Bible:
• when the different books were written,
• what kind of people they were written to,
• and the sorts of things people thought and believed about God at the time.
Sometimes we have to read things in the Bible (say for instance about slavery or women)
• remembering the way the world was at the time,
• and most of all remembering what the whole of the Bible, and what Jesus himself shows us about God and his love for all people.
And we can’t expect the Bible to say anything directly about climate change, for example, but we can notice that in the stories in the Bible about creation – which have been told and re-told for thousands of years – people very clearly understood that God wants us to take care of the earth and of all he had created.
So, we’ve talked about the Bible and about our own intelligence as ways of knowing and understanding God better. The third leg of our stool is Tradition.
By tradition we don’t mean the types of seats we have in church or even the different hymns we sing! We mean the things that the Church and Christian people have come to believe and understand over the years about God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we remember our Christian tradition, we learn from people in the past – and also from those in different Christian churches today, in our own country and throughout the world. And we learn from different traditions within the Church of England.
• We remember that, though we ourselves are part of Christian tradition – we are only a part.
• We recognise that no one person, no one church or tradition can completely understand God
• We realise that we need each other and the insights we each can bring to have the fullest possible picture of God, and of God’s purposes for his creation.
As I said at the beginning, that story of Jesus reading from Isaiah is one of my favourite stories in the whole of the Bible.
It’s so wonderful that Jesus was reading and teaching about words which have been passed down, over thousands of years, to us, today.
It’s so dramatic when they all turn to him and he says, very simply, that Isaiah was speaking about him.
But most of all, it’s truly amazing that everything Jesus teaches us about God – both in his words and in his actions – speaks of love and freedom and fullness of life.
May our Lord Jesus help us to play our part, as the message of the Bible, the message of God’s love is fulfilled.
Amen.
For Jesus’ use of Isaiah, see Sarah Dylan Breuer here.
Labels: Church, Environment, Theology
Faith as big as a mustard seed?
This sermon is based very heavily on one by Lesley Fellows - see http://bernwodeblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/faith-size-of-mustard-seed.html But since Lesley herself was kind enough to encourage me to blog it, here goes ...3 Oct 2010 18th Sunday after Trinity CW Proper 22Faith – as big as a mustard seed?
Luke 17 5-10 & 2 Timothy 1 1-14
The Frenchman Jean François Gravelet was better known as The Great Blondin. He was a tight-rope walker and acrobat who achieved his greatest fame in 1859, when he became the first person to cross the Niagara Falls on a tightrope! Blondin walked the 335 metres across the Falls in just a few minutes.
On other occasions, he did the walk in different ways – I suppose just to show it wasn’t a fluke! He crossed the canyon on stilts, on a bicycle, and blindfolded, pushing a wheelbarrow!
He was obviously a showman with a sense of humour. When he reached the other side with his wheelbarrow, Blondin asked the crowd: “Do you believe I can carry a person across in this wheelbarrow?”
Well, the crowd had seen his wonderful achievement and they knew his reputation – the greatest tight-rope walker ever – so they had no doubt: “Yes, of course! You can do anything!”
“OK”, said Blondin, “Who’s getting in?”
And nobody moved!
“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Make our faith greater.’” (Luke 17 v5 GNB)
Well, faith is an interesting thing, isn’t it? Nothing on earth (or, I suspect, in heaven) would ever have made me get into that wheelbarrow! You’ll remember that when my wife and son went abseiling a few years ago, I stayed with my feet very firmly on the ground! But as the Letter from James reminds us, faith is more than just theoretical – it shows itself in actions.
The disciples spent all their time with Jesus – and yet they knew that their faith could be greater. It’s a common hang-up, isn’t it?
• How often do people say “I wish I had your faith”.
• How often do we ourselves wish for more faith?
A common hang-up, and a common misunderstanding. We imagine that faith is something we call up within ourselves – something we generate by effort of will: “psych-ing ourselves up! And yet the Bible tells us different.
We read in the Letter to the Ephesians
“For it is by God's grace that you have been saved through faith. It is not the result of your own efforts, but God's gift, so that no one can boast about it.”
(Eph 2 vv8-9 GNB)
• The truth is that faith is a gift from God.
• And what’s more, according to Jesus, we don’t even need that much of it!
He answers his disciples’ question in a remarkable way:
“If you had faith as big as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Pull yourself up by the roots and plant yourself in the sea!’ and it would obey you.” (Luke 17 v6 GNB)
Mustard seeds, I understand, are very small – and mulberry trees rather bigger, and not very mobile!
This understanding of faith as a gift from God is borne out in our reading from 2 Timothy. Paul remembers Timothy’s sincere faith; recognises too that it has been nurtured in him by his mother and grandmother. But he urges him above all to hold firm, to remain in that faith in union with Jesus himself.
I suspect we all have our ups and downs – times when we feel our faith is firm, and others where we wonder if we have any faith at all. But it’s very difficult to hold on to faith on our own.
Saint Paul was by any definition a man full of faith. But he constantly asked for the prayers and support of his fellow Christians. And he was honest enough to admit that his “thorn in the flesh” made him feel desperately weak at times.
He was Saint Paul, for goodness sake! And we’ve already heard about the disciples!
We know that we must remain united to Jesus. It’s a good theory, but in actual fact we need help – the help, encouragement and support of one another when (for whatever reason) holding on to him is difficult; when faith seems too much like a tightrope. That’s why God has called us together as his Church – we need each other.
Paul goes on to give Timothy some specific instructions –
• to keep alive the gift that God has given him;
• to witness to, and hold firm to, the truth of the gospel.
Again, faith is expressed in actions.
• But this is done within the context of the Church,
• with the support of other believers.
• Timothy is not left to sustain or to express his faith on his own.
Sadly, it’s all too easy for us to feel guilty when it comes to faith. We would all say, with the disciples “Make our faith greater”. And we would all admit, as someone else who came to Jesus said: “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9 v24b NRSV)
But Jesus tells us we only need faith the size of a mustard seed. I think on most days, in most situations, we could all manage that much!
And the truth is that – in faith – we can all make a difference. We can all play our part in fulfilling God’s purposes – in carrying forward the Kingdom of God.
• It’s not fashionable to believe it these days, but ordinary people can do extraordinary things together – and particularly together with God.
• Sometimes faith just involves recognising that truth and acting upon it; refusing to take on board the negativity and cynicism that so often surround us.
Taking up the image Jesus uses in the second part of our gospel reading, Revd Lesley Fellows writes this about Christian service:
“We just need to see it as something ordinary, that we are like servants, put on this earth to do our bit. And whether that bit is at work, or in the home, or in the community, or in the nation; whether it is to do with spiritual things or material things, all of it is part of our calling.”
• Like Timothy, we have all been given gifts by God.
• Like Timothy we are called to keep alive those gifts – including the gift of faith – and to use them in the service of God and of our neighbour.
May your faith and mine – small as it is – make God’s world a better place for everyone, as we
“remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus”.
(2 Tim 1 v13b GNB)
Amen. Labels: Church, Ministry, Theology
God’s Kingdom breaking in – through us?
22 Aug 2010 12th Sunday after Trinity CW Proper 16Luke 13 10-17, Hebrews 12 18-29
Both our readings this morning, from the Letter to the Hebrews and the gospel of Luke speak about the difference that faith makes – faith in God through Jesus Christ. But I think it’s fair to say that they are very different in character – I wonder which one of them you respond to best?
It’s not easy to interpret the book we know as Hebrews. We don’t really know with any certainty who wrote it, when it was written or who it was intended for – though it’s clear from the style and content that it was written for a Christian community with a Jewish background. It’s even been suggested that it was originally the text of a sermon – in which case the congregation would need to be able to concentrate very well, and probably for a long time!
I think the biggest problem for us as readers of Hebrews today is that it expects so much of us by way of prior knowledge. So many of the images and ideas draw on aspects of Judaism and Jewish history
• which for the original audience were second nature, part of their identity
• but which for us are obscure – the sort of thing you need to study in depth to achieve any sort of understanding.
Rather like an occasion, many years ago, when I took a French friend to watch a cricket match. I can tell you, it certainly spoils your enjoyment when you have to stop every few minutes to explain what’s going on! And however carefully I had prepared him for the experience, he couldn’t possibly interpret what was happening – much less have read a report of the match – with anything like the understanding of an Englishman, who had grown up watching the game! I think he gathered that my team won though!
So, if Hebrews can seem a bit obscure, how do we respond to the passage from Luke?
Well, again it’s rooted in an aspect of Jewish belief and tradition – but we do have some sort of grasp of the Sabbath and it’s importance to the Jewish community. And it’s not so very long ago that the same sorts of issues about working on Sunday were discussed and debated in our society. (I think it’s still a live issue in the Western Isles of Scotland).
And of course, our reading from Luke is a story – the account of an individual woman whose meeting with Jesus was a life-changing experience. It’s much more interesting to engage with a story (or so [my wife] tells me! Our tastes in reading are very different!) Jesus heals the woman of her physical condition, but he also restores her to her community – transforming her daily life, and truly setting her free.
I think in their own way, each of our readings has something to say about God’s Kingdom. The imagery of Hebrews is tricky because it draws so heavily on the Exodus from Egypt and an experience of God which even terrified Moses. Although there is some comfort for believers, I (at least) am not tremendously reassured by the reminder that “our ‘God is a consuming fire’.” But as our passage says:
“since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful.” (Hebrews 12: 28 NIV)
Thankful, too, that we are part of the New Covenant, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Perhaps the picture of God’s Kingdom in Luke is easier to understand – a Kingdom where God’s people are healed, restored, set free; where we live the “life in all it’s fullness” of which Jesus spoke in John’s gospel. Those are experiences which cross all cultural boundaries – the fulfilment of very human and universal longings: the life for which all have been created.
By this very practical demonstration of his power to heal, his power over evil, Jesus shows that, through him, God has broken in to human history. God has acted decisively in his creation, and has acted for good. In Jesus, God’s Kingdom has come – though future events in his own life and ministry, (and present realities of which we are only too aware), show that that Kingdom has not yet been fully realised – that the promise is not yet fulfilled.
And if we believe in Jesus, if we believe that God has broken in: inaugurated his Kingdom, even if it has not yet fully come …
then we must make a response. As the writer to the Hebrews puts it:
“See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks.” (Hebrews 12: 25a NIV)
Of course, for each of us our response is individual and personal. But I believe we can properly ask ourselves whether our belief in God and his purposes, our faith in Jesus really sets us free? For this woman, her encounter with Jesus transformed her life – and she is by no means alone in this experience: it seems to have happened a lot to people Jesus met!
Our Christian faith should have something of the assurance and confidence expressed in our Hebrews reading; something of the wonder and compassion of the woman’s story.
• That’s not to make us feel guilty when things are difficult – things were difficult for Jesus and his companions too.
• But perhaps we need God’s help to be more aware of him at work in our lives, more conscious than we sometimes are of the good things, the wonderful blessings he grants us.
What’s more, our faith is not just an individual matter. It’s worth noticing that Luke told this story as an example of Jesus challenging the religious leaders – condemning the narrowness of the organised Religion of the time. (Now, there’s a thought!)
Here we are today, meeting in church, part of the Church of England (in all its diversity!) What about us? What about me? (Because I’m really not trying to let myself off the hook!)
What is our Christian faith like?
• Does our faith set us and others free?
Or are we sometimes indignant when Jesus seems to be doing something unexpected?
• Does our worship in any sense foreshadow
“thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, … the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven”? (Hebrews 12: 22-23 NIV)
Well, don’t write it off too quickly –
when I read that passage again on Friday, I couldn’t help but think of the wonderful funeral for [N] that so many of us were able to share in this week.
• And is our faith expressed in practical action, showing glimpses of God’s Kingdom breaking in?
These are challenging questions, drawn from challenging passages of scripture.
Our society these days is largely sneering and cynical, but I believe that God is at work in his world.
What’s more, I believe God is at work in us, as individuals and as a Church – that in and through people like us may be glimpsed signs of the Kingdom of God.
The real challenge is to continue to work with God,
drawing on his power and his resources,
so that God’s Kingdom may come more and more:
amongst us, in our communities and throughout God’s world. Labels: Church, Ministry, Theology
I know it's not Advent yet, but ...
... I've just seen the ideal Christmas present! Go on, admit it: you want one!
I think Abp Rowan is the better likeness!
These are Christmas Tree decorations, available from York Minster Shop. Just as a note to friends who may be thinking what to buy me - these are not first on my Christmas list! But I'm sure you could think of somebody who would like one!
Labels: Anglican Communion, Church, Fun stuff
Sermon for Bible Sunday - How we use the Bible
Isaiah 55 1-11 [12 -13]
Today is Bible Sunday – the day set aside in the Church’s calendar to give thanks for the Bible and for our access to it. If I’m honest, I sometimes wonder how many people outside of the Church know the Bible, or even just a few Bible stories? It’s often said that the Bible is widely owned, but not very widely read; I wonder if it is even widely owned these days?
But – like most things – I suppose it rather depends how you look at it! If I asked those of you still at school if you use the Bible in school, I wonder what sort of answer I’d get?
The school where I am a governor isn’t a Church school and (as far as I know) they don’t use the Bible much, if at all. But I do know that the school teaches the values and principles that I understand the Bible to be about!
· The children are taught to respect other people and to respect themselves.
· They are encouraged to live as part of a caring community where everyone matters,
· and to be the best they can be.
· The Bible isn’t obvious there, but Bible-living is!
And the Bible is familiar to us in other ways too, outside of it’s obvious use in our Church worship. There are all sorts of phrases which are part of our daily language and which originate in the Bible.
A few examples:
· In football every year, the FA Cup features “giant-killers” in “David and Goliath” matches;
· you often hear talk of an “Exodus”;
· people are sometimes said to have had a “Damascus-road experience”, when, like St Paul, they change their outlook completely.
Can you think of any others? …
See if you can notice them in the week ahead.
I thought there were some very familiar phrases in our reading from Isaiah 55 this morning. Did you remember any? …
Perhaps the most striking thing about our reading today is the imagery it uses:
· Thirst and hunger being satisfied by rich food;
· the height of the heavens above the earth;
· God’s word like rain and snow, watering the earth and bringing forth growth;
· and of course, those trees of the field clapping their hands in joy!
There is so much in the Bible – it is tremendously rich in so many ways!
And that set me thinking about how we use the Bible – and I’m thinking here more about those of us in the Church, those who follow Jesus.
It seems to me that some people use the Bible like a rule book – and a strict one at that. In a way, you can understand that. There are plenty of rules in there! And God’s people through the ages have rightly attached great importance to (for example) the Ten Commandments.
But I think there is a danger if we use that approach too readily. We can pick out particular verses from the Bible and apply them quite narrowly and rigidly to our lives and situations today. But we risk becoming narrow and rigid people – people who respect the letter of the law, but who completely miss the spirit behind it!
You see, the Bible is so much more than a narrow rule book.
· It’s a broad, expansive, rich story of God’s dealings with his people, from the very earliest times.
· It’s the story of people trying to get to grips with God;
· it’s part of the way God has chosen to reveal himself to us – to make himself known to us.
· Most wonderfully, of course, it tells the story of Jesus and how he came to begin the transformation of the world, and of the lives of ordinary people like us!
One of the other readings set for Bible Sunday is from the 2nd Letter to Timothy, where there’s another very familiar verse:
“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness.”
· We do well to use the Bible to teach us, to guide us and on occasion to correct us.
· But because it is indeed inspired by God, it will never be a simple rule book, a dry text just to be learnt and quoted.
· In a very real sense, the Bible is an inspiration, given to us by God to teach us more of Jesus, to teach us more of God himself.
We are so very blessed to have Bibles so easily available to us in this country, and in our own language. Bible Sunday reminds us of those people who are not as fortunate as we are, who do not have access to the scriptures we sometimes take for granted. It’s an opportunity too to support and to give thanks for the Bible Society and their work:
“translating and publishing the Bible in a language people can understand, in a form they can use and at a price they can afford.”
[Quote from
Bible Society website]
The Bible is a blessing and an inspiration – but it’s a blessing and an inspiration most of all because it helps us
· to get to know God better
· to know and appreciate and
come to trust his
wonderful love for us, and for all people;
· so that we may hear again those wonderful words God spoke through Isaiah:
“Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Incline your ear, and come to me;
listen, so that you may live.”
Amen.
Labels: Church, Theology
True Community
We had a marvellous Morning Prayer service at one of our churches last Sunday, devised and led by a fellow Reader. It was inspired for a number of reasons - not least because it was the day of the church AGM!
The focus was on community, as expressed in our church and in Jigsaw Kids Ministries - mission partners we support in the Philippines. So it was particularly good to read this today from Henri Nouwen's Bread for the Journey:
When we dismiss people out of hand because of their apparent woundedness, we stunt their lives by ignoring their gifts, which are often buried in their wounds.
We all are bruised reeds, whether our bruises are visible or not. The compassionate life is the life in which we believe that strength is hidden in weakness and that true community is a fellowship of the weak.Labels: Church, Reflective, Theology
C of E tweeting for Lent
You may have noticed that I have signed up on Twitter. (See twitterings on right of page). This has a number of "benefits" ...I can bombard the mildly-interested with a stream of details about my (in)activities!I can appear to be updating my blog with something approaching regularity (!!)I can appear to be busy, and even "in touch" with new developments on the Web!Appearances, as we know, can be defective.But the point of mentioning Twitter is that it is just one of the means the Church of England is using this year to promote its "Love Life, Live Lent" campaign. If you would like to keep Lent by doing "simple acts of generosity and thoughtfulness", take a look at this from the CofE website.Church gives out 'tweets' for Lent explains how you can take part using Twitter, Facebook etc - or just go to the "Love Life, Live Lent" website.Time I looked busy again!Labels: Church, Fun stuff, Theology
Glass half-full, after all?
As you will see, I intended to publish this last December (!). Now, with the season of Advent long-gone (and my positive mood with it!) I needed to re-read my thoughts ...
4 December 2008
Reading a series of entries from Kathryn’s blog (Good In Parts) in which she is chronicling a clearly manically busy but thoroughly blessed Advent, (see here) I realise that her attitude and mine are diametrically opposed!
I should say, “I realise again”, as I know I am prone to falling into a rather negative attitude. Particularly at this time of year, there is so much to do – or at least the impression that there is so much to do seems to loom over me and blight everything. I often think, as Advent proceeds and Christmas approaches, that Scrooge was a much misunderstood man!
And yet … part of Advent must be looking for the Lord’s coming – whether in the Christmas or in the Kingdom sense. And part of it must be anticipation. Jesus came to inaugurate the “now and not yet” Kingdom – so where are the signs that he has been here? Where are the signs that he is active in the world (in my world) by his Holy Spirit?
There are joys and there are positive things even in a world of injustice and need, even in a life which is often busy and demanding. God’s Kingdom has not yet fully and finally come, but it does break in – and it breaks in more often and in more varied and wonderful ways than I am often able to see or prepared to admit!
Blessed are you, Sovereign God of all,
to you be praise and glory for ever.
In your tender compassion
the dawn from on high is breaking upon us
to dispel the lingering shadows of night.
As we look for your coming among us this day,
open our eyes to behold your presence
and strengthen our hands to do your will,
that the world may rejoice and give you praise.
Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God for ever.
(From
Common Worship Morning Prayer for Advent)
Labels: Church, Theology
On the recent GAFCON statement, this is the response from The Most Rev Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the USA.
"Much of the Anglican world must be lamenting the latest emission from GAFCON. Anglicanism has always been broader than some find comfortable. This statement does not represent the end of Anglicanism, merely another chapter in a centuries-old struggle for dominance by those who consider themselves the only true believers. Anglicans will continue to worship God in their churches, serve the hungry and needy in their communities, and build missional relationships with others across the globe, despite the desire of a few leaders to narrow the influence of the gospel. We look forward to the opportunities of the Lambeth Conference for constructive conversation, inspired prayer, and relational encounters."
Labels: Anglican Communion, Church, Ministry
To dwell together in unity
One of the Psalms set for Morning Prayer today in the Church of England is this one. I don't imagine it 's being said throughout the Anglican Communion, but we would all do well to meditate on it, supposing of course that we could suspend our collective sense of irony and shame. Psalm 133Refrain: Mercy and truth are met together,righteousness and peace have kissed each other.Behold how good and pleasant it is •to dwell together in unity.It is like the precious oil upon the head, •running down upon the beard,Even on Aaron’s beard, •running down upon the collar of his clothing.It is like the dew of Hermon •running down upon the hills of Zion.For there the Lord has promised his blessing: •even life for evermore. RRefrain: Mercy and truth are met together,righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
Grant to your people, good Lord, the spirit of unity,that they may dwell together in your love,and so bear to the worldthe ointment of your healing and the dew of your blessing;through Jesus Christ our Lord.Labels: Anglican Communion, Church, Ministry, Theology
Rowan Williams starts a debate
As it happens, I was watching "The West Wing" last night - the episode late in Season One entitled "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet". In it, the President's staff urge the President to try and shape the public agenda, rather than playing safe and shying away from unpopularity. Chief of Staff Leo McGarry puts it this way:
"We're going to raise the level of public debate in this country, and let that be our legacy."
Couldn't help thinking about that in the context of the hysterical knee-jerking which has followed Archbishop Rowan Williams' interview and lecture about the Law and Faith Communities ...!
The level of public debate in this country is subterranean!(See "What did the Archbishop actually say?")Labels: Church, Media, Politics, Rant
The Christian Story - telling the whole story (Sermon)
I've not blogged one of my sermons before, but I learned such a lot in preparing this one that I thought I'd post it here. (Thanks to Diana for the encouragement!) It relies heavily on a number of sources, identified in the footnotes.30 December 2007 1st Sun of Christmas
Holy Innocents
Matthew 2: 13-end (Hebrews 2 10 – end)
Lots of the things that I have been reading and hearing over the past few months have been about theology[1]. Now there’s a sure-fire way of getting you to switch off right at the beginning of a sermon! But just a minute! I don’t mean the sort of academic theology that is studied in Universities and Theological Colleges. Not many of us are academic theologians – I’m certainly not!
In a “Thought for the Day” on the 300th anniversary of the birth of Charles Wesley, just before Christmas, Canon Alan Billings talked about how Charles’ hymns have shaped our Christian faith[2]. Have you sung “Love Divine All Loves Excelling” at a wedding? Would Christmas be quite the same without “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”? These are just 2 of the 5000 hymns Charles Wesley had published.
Theology is important – someone once said that “Everything the Church does is Theology” But there is a tendency to think that our faith consists of what we believe – of creeds and dogmas. Canon Billings says that to have faith is really to be drawn to the Christian Story, which engages our intellect, but also our imagination and our emotions – often as much through hymns and songs as (believe it or not!) through closely-argued sermons about theology!
The Christian Story gives us our moral and spiritual direction; it encourages us and challenges us. And, on occasion, it disturbs us. Which is, of course, where we come to our gospel reading – the massacre of the Innocents.
The temptation is to gloss over incidents like these – it’s certainly a temptation I felt when I saw this reading! And it’s a temptation that the wider world often gives in to! With a very few exceptions, the Christmas that the world presents leaves out the horrors of King Herod; glosses over the real nature of what happened in Bethlehem.
Now I love my nativity plays as much as anyone. But what about that lovely carol “Away in a manger”, an essential part of every Christmas celebration.
“Little Lord Jesus, no crying he makes.”
A baby that doesn’t cry?! That must have been very comfortable straw!
Joy Carroll Wallis – the priest who (incidentally) was the inspiration for “The Vicar of Dibley” writes:
“My guess is that Jesus cried a lot. We know from the gospels that the more Jesus saw of the world in which he lived, the more he mourned and wept regularly. A Jesus who doesn't weep with those who weep, a Jesus who's just a sentimental myth, may be the one that our culture prefers, but that Jesus can do nothing for us.”[3]
It’s just that sort of sentimental, sanitised Christmas which air-brushes out King Herod and the massacre he ordered. Just that sort of presentation of the Christmas story which distorts our understanding of the Christian Story and falsifies our faith.
By all accounts, Herod the Great was perfectly capable of ordering such a massacre. History records that he was a client of the occupying Romans, who kept favour with the Emperor by building whole cities named after him, and by paying taxes to him.[4] And, since he retained more than enough money for himself, Herod’s people became increasingly restless. This led him to operate what, in our day, we would call a totalitarian regime, complete with spies, a ban on meetings, summary imprisonment and execution.[5] It all begins to sound very familiar, doesn’t it? But injustice, persecution and mass-murder don’t sit easily with Christmas as we have come to know it. And that’s a problem.
It’s a problem precisely because the Christian Story informs and shapes our faith. If we sanitise Christmas and Christianity, then we are fooling ourselves and others – we are doing real harm.
A faith which ignores reality cannot cope with real life. It has nothing to say to those of us who, particularly at Christmas, feel the pain of bereavement or family breakdown, or who, for whatever reason, just can’t measure up to the false ideal that we are constantly presented with.
Joy Carroll says:
“Herod represents the dark side of the gospel. He reminds us that Jesus didn't enter a world of sparkly Christmas cards or a world of warm spiritual sentiment. Jesus enters a world of real pain, of serious dysfunction, a world of brokenness and political oppression.”
This is what the writer to the Hebrews means when he says that Jesus shared our humanity – all our humanity, not just the comfortable bits!
And the danger of a sanitised gospel is that it also creates a false image of the church. In the past, I’ve been in Christian gatherings where, if I’m honest, I was afraid to be real –
where I glossed over the difficulties of faith,
denied the pain of life.
I’ve certainly known people whose image of the church and of Christians is far from a true or realistic one.
Joy Carroll puts it this way:
“The church is not a gathering of people who have [got] it all together, who look and act alike, who have no problems to speak of. The church is a community of people who are broken and needy, who in their weakness trust in the grace of God.”
And there, of course, is the key. We are a community of ordinary people, but a people who trust in God.
Jesus came because the world is as it is, because there is injustice and pain and grief. And he came because God’s purpose is to deal with all that – to make all things new. Throughout Advent we read of visions of a new world,
· a world of peace and justice and reconciliation and healing,
· a world where God’s purposes for creation are finally fulfilled.
And with the coming of Jesus in a stable in Bethlehem, God broke into his world and began that process of renewal, of redemption.
Sarah Dylan Breuer, commenting on this passage, puts it like this:
“God, the Creator of the universe, is making all of Creation new. That renewal, healing, and reconciliation is the most fundamental force in the universe; everything else, every force that would isolate us from one another and from God, everything that would interfere with the abundant life God has for us, is falling away[6].”
This is our hope as Christians; this is the Christian Story which draws us and inspires us – not based upon the denial of reality, but on the knowledge of a more fundamental truth: that the whole universe was created in love and destined for love.
· We rely not on a fleeting illusion that there is no pain or injustice in the world,
· but on the truth that, in Jesus, great tragedy and great need are met by greater love[7].
Our call, our privilege is to receive that love of Jesus and to share it with others.
· Yes, to recognise the world as it is,
· but together to pray and to work and to struggle in anticipation of the world as it will become!
Amen – so be it!
[1] Reader Weekend conducted by Revd Prof Jeff Astley, using material from Jeff Astley, Ann Christie Taking Ordinary Theology Seriously Grove Books Limited 2007 and Jeff Astley Christ of the Everyday SPCK 2007[2] Revd Canon Dr Alan Billings Thought for the Day
BBC Radio 4 18 Dec 2007 [3] Revd Joy Carroll Wallis Putting Herod Back Into Christmas Sojourners Magazine December 2004 http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=news.display_archives&mode=current_opinion&article=CO_041222_carroll_wallis (accessed 20 December 2007) [Free Registration required][4] see Jane Williams Remembered only for his cruelty
Church Times 21 December 2007
[5] see Sarah Dylan Breuer’s Lectionary Blog on this passage http://www.sarahlaughed.net (accessed 20 December 2007)
[6] Sarah Dylan Breuer Ibid
[7] Sarah Dylan Breuer IbidLabels: Church, Theology
Who would think ...?
Well, where did those months go?!Just 2 days before Christmas, I would like to share with you ... not my latest rantings about the England cricket team - including the entirely predictable (and predicted!) failures of its "wicket-keeper" - nor even a slice of humble pie about the extremely successful season enjoyed by the Green Bay Packers - I never doubted them for a moment! - but just the words of a carol I have especially enjoyed singing this year.Who would think that what was neededto transform and save the earthmight not be a plan or army,proud in purpose, proved in worth?Who would think, despite derision,that a child should lead the way?God surprises earth with heaven,coming here on Christmas day.Shepherds watch and wise men wonder,monarchs scorn and angels sing;such a place as none would reckonhosts a holy helpless thing;stable beasts and by-passed strangerswatch a baby laid in hay:God surprises earth with heaven,coming here on Christmas day.Centuries of skill and sciencespan the past from which we move,yet experience questions whether,with such progress, we improve.While the human lot we ponder,lest our hopes and humour fray,God surprises earth with heaven,coming here on Christmas day.John L Bell and Graham Maule, of the Iona Community.A very happy, hopeful and even humourous Christmas to you all!Labels: American Football, Church, Cricket, Theology
Catching up - again!
Well now ... what happened to August, you might reasonably ask?! The answer is - as you might guess - that we were on holiday for part of it. But we have been back for almost exactly a month now! And no blog posts.
We had a really lovely holiday in South West Ireland - the Dingle Peninsula - which I would certainly recommend. Who knows, I might even post some photos eventually. But it does seem to have been very busy since we got home. Hence I have an excuse for the lack of postings - to be taken alongside the usual excuse, of course - that I'm not very good at keeping up!
I have taken services in a few of the local churches I don't normally get to - a combination of holiday cover and a vacancy in a group of parishes in our Deanery. I quite like the opportunity to worship elsewhere from time to time - I don't feel the mild to moderate terror I used to, though those who know me will readily attest that I like my familiar routines! And people generally seem very accepting of me, which is both nice and an encouragement.
This week I get to preach in our own churches for the first time in a while - which is good from my point of view, whatever the regulars might think ;-)
So that's the story to date - holidays and work. But there is one other thing I just thought, which will be the subject of my next post ... [Bet you can't guess what it will be!]
Labels: Blogs, Church
"The love of God is broader ..."
Thanks to
Karin for blogging this
Thought for the Day from Giles Fraser.
It closes with a quotation from one of my
very favouite hymns:
"For the love of God is broader than the measure of man's mind
And the heart of the eternal is most wonderfully kind
But we make his love too narrow with false limits of our own
And we magnify his strictness with a zeal he will not own."
[Pity about the exclusive language - but I quibble!!]
Labels: Church, Media, Politics
Time to Listen
Reading
Father Rick Lord's comments on the Anglican Primates' Meeting, I am reminded that we are
supposed to be listening to each other, and particularly to the experiences of
gay and lesbian Christians.
Rick begins by remarking (my emphases):
"All week long I've been struggling to write a post on this blog about events unfolding at the Anglican Primates Meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. I am encouraged by every attempt the Primates are making to hold the Anglican Communion together and equally discouraged by pronouncements about 'impaired communion' and the astonishingly prideful (in my opinion) walk out of seven primates yesterday from a scheduled Eucharist. I wonder if Jesus envisioned his followers using the Eucharist as a form of protest? I have to agree with Jim Naughton [Director of Communications at the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, DC] who is quoted in an AP release as saying:
'Imagine if every believer, everywhere insisted on knowing the views of every other worshiper in a church on all the hot-button issues of our time before they would agree to go to Eucharist. When you don't attend a Eucharist because you disagree with the views of the people who are attending with you, you make it seem that the Eucharist is about you. It is not about you. It is about God.'
Here on the ground, in the daily grace and grind of the human condition, we are about to begin the season of Lent, a season that calls us to return, to come to grips with the genuine state of affairs within our hearts, to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. We will confront the hard truths of our pride and mortality."
Rick goes on to reflect on the Transfiguration, on who we should
really be listening to, and on what it might mean if we did.
Read his article in full
here.
Thanks to
Kathryn for pointing me to Rick's reflection, and for
her own perspective, as one who has
presided at the Eucharist today.
Rick concludes:
"So I continue to pray for our leaders, our bishops and primates, that they will indeed be enlightened by God's special grace. May they listen to God's beloved Son and recognize him in one another with the eyes of faith and the eyes of love. Pray God, that I can do the same." Labels: Anglican Communion, Church, Theology
Grace - God's pass mark!
As usual,
Dave Walker is hitting ecclesiastical nails squarely on their heads!
His comment on the "Communion Sub-Group" report on The Episcopal Church of the USA reflects a
rather more generous assessment than I fear will be forthcoming from some ...
The full series of cartoons is on
Dave's Cartoon blog herePermalink: http://www.cartoonchurch.com/blog/2007/02/16/the-primates-meeting/Labels: Anglican Communion, Church, Fun stuff, Theology
