Can't make it to church - Sunday, 8 March 2020

Well things are moving up a notch and so, instead of just written words you now have the opportunity to listen to the sermon (and the readings) this week.

Genesis 12.1–4a 
Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran.

Romans 4.1–5, 13–17 

What then shall we say was gained by Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist.

John 3.1–17
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things? No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Click on the image above to hear the sermon

The Collect
Almighty God, 
you show to those who are in error the light of your truth, 
that they may return to the way of righteousness: 
grant to all those who are admitted into the fellowship of Christ’s religion, 
that they may reject those things that are contrary to their profession, 
and follow all such things as are agreeable to the same; 
through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who is alive and reigns with you, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Post Communion Prayer

Almighty God, by the prayer and discipline of Lent may we enter into the mystery of Christ’s sufferings, and by following in his Way come to share in his glory; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Can't make it to church - Sunday, 25th November 2018

Where I am, we are at the start of a two-year journey with something called ‘Holy Habits’ – ten areas of encouragement and lifestyle which conspire to bring about a well-formed disciplined disciple. Our first ‘habit’ is that of ‘Gladness and Generosity’ and what better day to begin this than the feast of ‘Christ the King’?

Revelation – ‘unveiling, uncovering, drawing back the veil’ – gives us the word ‘apocalypse’.

Today's popular culture takes the word 'apocalypse' to mean chaos, disaster, or catastrophe, but it isn’t that at all.!Apocalypse is merely giving us a glimpse into the ‘end times’ – more accurately, ‘the end of time’ as we will see as we see Daniel and John 'draw back the veil' in their writings today.

In Revelation (and Daniel too) we see how the end is going to be, and because the fine details are not explicitly given, people struggle with it - as they also do with the book of Daniel - another apocalyptic book (the most referred to book in the New Testament too).

Daniel was taught to me as a ‘closed book’ for he was told (25th November 2018Daniel 12.4) to shut up the words, and ‘seal the book’ – it’s a tough book filled with things that are, at first (and second) glance confusing in its imagery and language. With Revelation, John was told ‘not to seal the book’ (Revelation 22:10). Take a look at Danial and Revelation side by side and you’ll see this is the case.

Revelation shows us Jesus, the Christ, in all His glory at the end of time – it is the revelation of Jesus, not a chronicle of the events of the end times. People get so bound up with wanting to know that the miss the fact that we should wanting to know Jesus.

Daniel is also an apocalyptic book – from the Old Testament – he is one of the four major prophets (the others being Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) – and some six hundred years before Jesus appears, he opens the curtains to reveal the ‘end times’ (albeit in this closed way).

The books are full of symbolism. Some consistent and some open to conjecture, which means it is easy to assume or interpret them wrongly. Remember, it is all about Jesus, some of the things the words after hung on are quite possibly not what we (or those claiming to be much cleverer that what we is) think they are!

So what do we have before us?

Daniel brings us into the very throne room of God the Father (‘the ancient of Days’) – and He is described just as you’d expect with a flaming throne, white hair, white robes and all that ‘God’ stuff. There’s a river of fire which flows from His throne. Fire speaks of splendour, majesty, might, and (a bit worryingly) justice: Which means judgement! Which fits the bill nicely as ‘court’ is the word that features here. Just as I experienced last week when accompanying someone to Court, for the Court sits and the books are opened – the trial is about to begin. But it’s not just satan in the dock because here ‘the guilty’ are also to be judged and dealt with.

Then (verses thirteen and fourteen) in enters one like ‘The Son of Man’ – the glorified Jesus, the Christ, who approaches the Ancient of Days. “Jesus is given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Here we see the fulfilment of the acts of a Generous and kind God who gives all humanity Jesus, truly God, truly man, to take upon Himself flesh and die on our behalf – each and every created person – as an atonement for our sins. Here we have in a nutshell the marriage of the two words ‘gladness and generosity’ for here love, sacrifice, redemption and reconciliation come down into one. And that unity of the Godhead is Jesus!

This sixth Century BC Prophet has ‘revealed’ to us the glory of Christ, the King, for us here today.
Just as Revelation was sent to seven real churches so too can we learn from the words (there’s parallels here as Paul sent letters to seven churches—Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica: and seven beatitudes [blessings] too – seven signifies fullness and completeness) – Once again it’s all about Jesus.

We begin with an affirmation of the Godhead as the Trinity, the ‘three in one’:
The greeting (grace and peace):
From Him who is, and who was, and who is to come – God the Father
From the seven Spirits before His throne – God the Holy Spirit
From Jesus, the Christ – God the Son

Jesus is:       The faithful witness                  The firstborn from the dead  
                    The ruler of the kings of the earth ('The King of kings)

Three: is the number of perfection: Seven: is the number of fullness and completeness.
There are things at work in the apocalyptic writings that we can see and understand if we would but stop and look and think!

By the shedding of His blood Jesus has made us to be a ‘kingdom’. As we find in 1 peter, we are a people who once had no name now have a name – beloved – and a kingdom we together minister as priests before the throne of God. The use of the word ‘king’ is not about power or rank or privilege, that’s earthly thinking, but about His all-encompassing role and service to all humanity. A true king is a servant not power-grabbing or self-serving and flawed person.

And John, in writing Revelation draw back the curtain on the second coming of the Christ:
Look, He is coming (returning) and all creation will see Him – redeemed and far off – with the clouds (from the heavens) and people with grieve over their wrongdoings. Is it any wonder the only response is, “AMEN”? Meaning: “Let it be as you have said.”

Two images of a returning and triumphant Christ – the King.

In our Gospel reading Pilate asks Jesus whether he is the ‘King of the Jews’, a question perhaps provoked by the man before him who was obviously neither an agitator, madman, or a deluded person. Jesus asks Pilate where he got that idea. Had he been listening to the high priests and others or was that his own thought? As to be expected, Pilate gets a bit irate, after all he’s a Roman not a Jew. But Jesus tells him that His kingdom is ‘of another place’ – the place that Daniel and John have affirmed in our previous readings.

Pilate exclaims, “You are a king, then!” Jesus replies, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

So here we are with glimpses of the end times – the apocalyptic is brought before us. Are you glad that you can look to the bloody awfulness of a beaten, kicked, spat on and crucified man and from that rejoice in the hope of eternity with god made real for us; realised in the resurrection?

Are you grateful that the generosity of a God who takes on flesh and becomes man – the sacrificial gift of the Father made once and for all for us?

If we are then how can we not live out this gladness and generosity in the way that we treat others?

If we are then how can we not live, think and act differently to those who do not know the love of the Godhead made real for us in Jesus?

Hard questions indeed.

As we begin our two months of ‘Gladness and Generosity’ and travel through Advent to Christmas to celebrate with gladness with the Magi at Epiphany, how are you going to hone these two Christian traits in your life each and every day of the two months and beyond?

The Collect
God the Father, help us to hear the call of Christ the King and to follow in his service, whose kingdom has no end; for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, one glory. Amen.

Daniel 7:9-10,13-14
“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated, and the books were opened.

In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

Revelation 1:4-8
John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”;
  and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

John 18:33-37
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

Post Communion Prayer

Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Can't make it to church - Sunday 31st December 2017,

We start the proceedings today with a bit of praise and worship -  and why not? After all it's the first Sunday after Christmas so how on earth could we not be doing some really OTT rejoicing?

Of course, it wasn't Christmas when Isaiah wrote the words we begin with today for Jesus was some 600 years away, which raises the question: “Who was wearing the garment of salvation – wearing a robe of righteousness and taking delight in God’ and as we move on, we have to ask ourselves what righteousness appearing like shoots in a field (i.e. 'sprouting') before ALL nations was all about too. Add to the imagery of bridegroom and bride and we can see so many parallels for the ‘then’, the Bethlehem bit and the ‘now’.

It should come as no surprise that the first part is the closing hymn of praise for God  comes from self-same passage that speaks of Jubilee – the year of the LORD’s favour – the ‘good news’ that sets captives free, gives sight to the blind and all that good stuff.

The second part turns from self to many as Zion and Jerusalem feature in the voicing of the need to speak out until salvation and vindication are apparent to ALL nations and glory will be their realities  and become a sign of God’s power and glory. One voice for a collection of voices that are one corporate body – just like Church is the bride of Christ and and yet is full of individuals.

Isaiah speaks of the hope that is found, and made real, in the promises of God for His people - and that hope comes together, and is made real, in the person of Jesus - so Jesus is the fulfilment of the promises of God (cool or what?).

There’s a lot here and as we ponder it, Christmas and the second coming, collide with the ‘then’ of Isaiah in an amazingly special way: And there’s Jesus in amongst all the noise picking up the scroll and reading it in the synagogue (someone turn the oven off – its going to be a long service!) to a people who have been waiting for six hundred odd years. But why the wait and how do we make sense of the promises and the love of God that creates this recuse plan?

The Galatians reading comes in handy here for it tells us that after all the waiting, when the right time had come - God sent his Son - born of a woman, an exceptionally unexceptional (none of this immaculate conception stuff for her please) woman – to save an equally unexceptional humanity; the very people God had made exceptional before sin removed that truth and exchanged it for separation from God and a life that was a lie!

Paul puts it straight for those under the law could only be redeemed by one also under the same law – and this law of sin and death translates as ‘fully human’ (cool isn’t it, so lets get back to the sermon).

And through His death on a cross and the indwelling of God’s Holy Spirit all humanity had before it the ability to see God as someone they could have a personal relationship with – and this is the power of the ‘ABBA’ word – for it’s not a childish ‘dada or daddy’ utterance but one that acknowledges, confers and accepts relationship with God. This is the most amazingly wonderful affirming life-changing good news that (outside of the words, “You are forgiven!”) you will ever hear! We are one with God and have become His heirs. The fact that we can celebrate a relationship, and I mean Family,  that recognises the Fatherhood of God makes ABBA something marvellous - how can you not be excited about that?

And that's the thing - the promise and the design and the sacrifice and lives that were forfeit being returned to the owners so that they can become God family and heirs of all He is and has. That has to be the most wonderful Christmas gift of all and realising that we need to ask what else there can be to say on the subject, especially when all we have left is the Gospel reading with some angels, Shepherds and a Christmas past?

And yet these Extraordinary, extraordinarily smelly shepherds are exactly what Jesus is coming to the world to reconcile to the Godhead. The excitement of the angels and the shepherds on that first Christmas – the excitement of our early Christmases as children, the excitement of Christmas as believers: Do we still have that? The added dimension that Christmas took on when we realised that this was the beginning of the Easter story - the joy, gratitude and the humbling awareness that Jesus comes to do it all for us, individually, so we might be reconciles and redeems and set fe to be exceptionally exceptional heirs of God. How can we not be 'clamourously foolish' ('hallel') as our we sing our 'hallelujahs'? Our OTT loves songs to God fr all we have been shown, given and promised?

A clergy colleague recently told me how they wished they could preach something else at Christmas because it had, "All become so ‘samey’ and ‘hackneyed’, " is this the reason for the lack of passion and commitment I see these days? Too many people have stopped following Jesus, the Christ, and instead merely go to church - a place where all is safe and nothing ever changes (aside from the candles on the birthday cake perhaps).

Perhaps our inability to be passionate and excited about following Jesus and making Him known if the root cause of the intermittent attendance and low numbers when events are put on in our towns, our churches and elsewhere?

Have we forgotten our first love and the joy we had in Christ and not only stopped living with Him but also stopped working with Him too?

What do we see when we encounter Jesus I wonder - perhaps this is a question we all need to asking ourselves as we enter a new year and decide whether we're part of the mission of Church or the miserable state it seems to be in so many places?

Perhaps we need to be like the Shepherds and 'rise up and follow' Jesus, the Christ!

The Collect

God in Trinity, eternal unity of perfect love: gather the nations to be one family, and draw us into your holy life through the birth of Emmanuel, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Isaiah 61.10 - 62.3

I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. For as the soil makes the young plant come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations.

For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her vindication shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch. The nations will see your vindication, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the Lord will bestow. You will be a crown of splendour in the Lord’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

Galatians 4.4-7

But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father.’ So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Luke 2.15-21
When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.’
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived.

Post Communion
 Prayer
Heavenly Father, whose blessed Son shared at Nazareth the life of an earthly home: help your Church to live as one family, united in love and obedience, and bring us all at last to our home in heaven; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Can't make it to church - Sunday 18th June 2017

Today, the first Sunday after Trinity. marks the beginning of 'ordinary' time - a liturgical season that stretches almost all the way to Advent; the final Sunday of the liturgical year being 'Christ the King' (the current year being 'A').

Today, it seems to me, is all about Covenant and Calling - so very fitting as we are in the ordination season that is Petertide!

Covenant (con venire) - a coming together, an agreement between two parties (God and the Jews in our Old Testament reading) that sets conditions and brings benefits. a true 'friends with benefits' relationship!

Calling - a word we tend to use with regard to vocation these days, but look wider and see how, in the Bible, God has 'called' to people to engage with Him and develop a relationship. The call of God says, "Come and be my friends, my people, my co-workers, my voice - and my priests!"

It's around 1,300 BC and, having left Egypt and spent a few months trudging through the wilderness, the Israelites are camped at the foot of Mount Sinai - somewhere they will be for a while - and Moses has parked up and popped up the hill for a word with God. Like many a family travel before SatNav, Moses is off getting directions.

And Moses comes back with a message from God. A message for a people God is already in relationship with for they are the descendants of the house of Jacob, Israelites, the people He has delivered from captivity - His people! A lecturer I had called this an 'I-you-I' (IUI) moment: God reminds the people of who He is and what He's done and how they should respond and the outcomes of that.

'I did this - if you do this - I will'. "I brought you out and if you keep my commands you will be My treasured possession. a kingdom of priests and a holy nation."

This sets a big calling upon the people before Moses for they are being called to be more than 'a nation', they are being called in the same sense we use vocation today, to be called out, to be different, to minister God's grace: 'Called out; (ekklesia). This is truly a covenant and calling moment. One which neatly moves us nicely into the Gospel passage where those with whom Jesus has a relationship find themselves in another 'IUI' moment.

Jesus tells the Twelve the what and how and who and sends them off to do the 'stuff' and 'proclaim the Good News'.

Did you notice that He is only sending them to the Jews - He tells them, "Avoid the Gentiles and the Samaritans!" Remember the conversation with the Canaanite woman who asks Jesus to heal her daughter. Jesus tells her that He has come for the lost sheep of Israel and she replies that even the dogs (what the Jews called Gentiles) could eat the crumbs under the table.

This is not an anti-Gentile message but a recognition that for Jesus' coming to fulfil the law and the prophets, the first point of call is, quite logically, to those who live under them. First to the Jews and then to the Gentile - Jerusalem

Jesus calls us in the same manner today: Who we are through our relationship with Him sees us called and sent out, perhaps not as the twelve were sent  - to be itinerant missionaries - to be a priesthood, to make God know and to be called out to minister the love of God as made real in our lives through the ministry of Jesus, the Christ.

A call for all of us!

And yet as many will argue from a place of personal weakness and inability. All too often I hear people tell me, "I would, but ...!"

Paul stops us short and says, "There's no 'but' in it - we have Jesus, the fulfilment of the law and the prophets, the fulfilment of the hope we have and the remedy for the desires that distract!" Jesus is the answer - to everything - for everyone (Jew and Gentile)!

There are problems and there us suffering and over all there is Grace. Love is the seed from which hope is sown and when this is God's love which we have through our relationship with Him won by the Christ, nothing can overcome or inhibit us. And when we were far off, separate and antagonistic to God, Jesus died for us - how can we not live with and for Him now?

So this is a day where we remember and celebrate our relations with God and look to our calling as individuals, and corporately, and think on the IUI and our relationship with God and the calling that is ours.

The Collect
God of truth, help us to keep your law of love and to walk in ways of wisdom, that we may find true life in Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.

Exodus 19.2-8a
After they set out from Rephidim, they entered the Desert of Sinai, and Israel camped there in the desert in front of the mountain.

Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, “This is what you are to say to the descendants of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”

So Moses went back and summoned the elders of the people and set before them all the words the Lord had commanded him to speak. The people all responded together, “We will do everything the Lord has said.” So Moses brought their answer back to the Lord.

Romans 5.1-8
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but 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, who has been given to us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Matthew 9.35 - 10.23
Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

“Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts— no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep. Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. As you enter the home, give it your greeting. If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet. Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. Truly I tell you, you will not finish going through the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

Post Communion Prayer
Eternal Father, we thank you for nourishing us with these heavenly gifts: may our communion strengthen us in faith, build us up in hope, and make us grow in love; for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Can't make it to church - 3 January 2016

Regardless of the fact that many around us appear to have taken their lights and Christmas trees down, where I am we are still celebrating Christmas - and today, many others around the world will be joining in as we reach Epiphany; this is the time when the Magi (wise men or kings) get to meet Jesus.

The shepherds were there at the birth. These men represent the Jewish faith, but more than that, this  excluded and most unwelcome of guests in their own society, also display the reality that Jesus came to all believers (which means Jewish). But today we find the people at the top of the pile seeking, and finding, Jesus - but more than this, they were also Gentiles; meaning 'not Jews'.

This is the moment when Jesus has been revealed to those near and far off: Jew and Gentile.

This is the moment when Jesus has been revealed to the lowest and the highest of people.

The moment when the light came into the world and reconciliation between humanity and the creator was made real and the revelation was, microcosmically, complete. Today we, remembering this encounter have the opportunity to thank God that we, who were also as far off as those rich and intelligent men of who we sing in the hymn 'We three kings...' are also now called to be near and to stand in the light in what is, and always has been, a very dark place.

Job, in the midst of his trials and tribulations, give us a thought regarding there being someone who can stand between man and God to intercede and to minister; the 'Wise Men' are celebrated for finding that person on this day.

And how will those you know who are beset by need, trouble, illness and other deeds find this light and come into the reconciliation of God as made ours through the cross of Jesus, the Christ? The answer is simple: it is up to us to take it to them. This year we need to be hearers and do'ers of the word: We need to be people who read our Bible and pray to God.

Simple innit?

Pax

The Collect
Almighty God, in the birth of your Son you have poured on us the new light of your incarnate Word, and shown us the fullness of your love: help us to walk in his light and dwell in his love that we may know the fullness of his joy; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Isaiah 60.1-6
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will appear over you. Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.

Lift up your eyes and look around; they all gather together, they come to you; your sons shall come from far away, and your daughters shall be carried on their nurses’ arms. Then you shall see and be radiant;your heart shall thrill and rejoice, because the abundance of the sea shall be brought to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you. A multitude of camels shall cover you, the young camels of Midian and Ephah; all those from Sheba shall come. They shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praise of the Lord.

Ephesians 3.1-12
This is the reason that I Paul am a prisoner for Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles - for surely you have already heard of the commission of God’s grace that was given to me for you, and how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I wrote above in a few words, a reading of which will enable you to perceive my understanding of the mystery of Christ. In former generations this mystery was not made known to humankind, as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit: that is, the Gentiles have become fellow-heirs, members of the same body, and sharers in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

Of this gospel I have become a servant according to the gift of God’s grace that was given to me by the working of his power. Although I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given to me to bring to the Gentiles the news of the boundless riches of Christ, and to make everyone see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; so that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose that he has carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have access to God in boldness and confidence through faith in him.

Matthew 2.1-12
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.’ When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, ‘In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
“And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.” ’

Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.’ When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure-chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.

Post Communion Prayer
All praise to you, almighty God and heavenly king, who sent your Son into the world to take our nature upon himCand to be born of a pure virgin: grant that, as we are born again in him, so he may continually dwell in us and reign on earth as he reigns in heaven,
now and for ever. Amen.

Can't make it to church - 11 January 15

This Sunday is an important one in the life of the Church as we reflect upon Jesus coming to John (the Baptist) and being baptised begin his earthly ministry.

Now many people seem to think that this is the moment when Jesus is 'adopted' as the Son of God but it isn't. In fact 'adoption' is a bit of a heresy (wrong thinking) and is greatly frowned upon by those who like to have their theology sorted.

What we have is an account of the beginning of it all from genesis - an event which we are told features all three persons of the Trinity (meaning Father, Son and Holy Spirit) and with the baptism of Jesus the boys are once again back in town again as the Father speaks, the Son is baptised and the Spirit descends.

The New Testament passage provides a little insight and perhaps explains where some of those who claim that Jesus was, 'Just an ordinary guy until he became filled with the Spirit!' errors might come from. The reason being that Paul bumps into a bunch of blokes who had been baptised but only with John's baptism - so they'd repented - and when the same people are filled with the Holy Spirit things all get a bit livened up. This is the same as we see with the believers at Pentecost and it provides us with some really important insights as we celebrate the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry - and ours too!

Here's a little bit of thinking for you to consider in that I reckon that everyone is made in the image of the invisible God and that all are able to be considered 'God's people' but it is only when we realise this that we affix to ourselves that label (which we call 'laos' - God's people - in Greek - which is why those in Church are sometimes called 'laity').  Everyone is laity and whilst some people add extra labels (deacons = deacons, people who 'wait at tables and serve, presbyters = priests, people who administer some of the 'holy stuff') - we are always first and foremost laity!

When we are baptised we, like Jesus, find ourselves with a ministry here on earth - we call this our 'baptismal calling' - and if baptism is the recognition of it for us, then the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the means by which we can accomplish it. We are often referred to as adopted - Jesus never was! He had His calling, and the means by which He might achieve it from the start, we needed some running repairs to get us up to speed for ours. Which of course we are all doing, aren't we?

What's that Sooty, we're not?

So today as we consider the baptism of Jesus we are called to consider, and to seek out if we don't know, what the calling on us is and when we know - to get out and do it.

How simple can we make it than this I wonder?

The Collect
Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

So why not think about what we';d like to be doing in Church - those things that ring our bells and get us excited and get ourselves out there to start doing it. Working in Church is about fun and being fulfilled, it's not (as the Baptist Church I began in used to tell me) about doing the stuff you don't want to do - what sort of God would that make Him if that was true?

Genesis 1.1-5
In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

Acts 19.1-7
While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul passed through the inland regions and came to Ephesus, where he found some disciples. He said to them, ‘Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?’ They replied, ‘No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.’ Then he said, ‘Into what then were you baptised?’ They answered, ‘Into John’s baptism.’ Paul said, ‘John baptised with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.’
On hearing this, they were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied - altogether there were about twelve of them.

Mark 1.4-11
John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptised by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptised you with water; but he will baptise you with the Holy Spirit.’

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptised by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’

Was it like this for John the Baptist I wonder?

Post Communion Prayer
Lord of all time and eternity,
you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father
in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son:
by the power of your Spirit
complete the heavenly work of our rebirth
through the waters of the new creation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Can't make it to church - November 9

Today the nation stops for two minutes to remember ALL who have lost their lives as a result of war. A day when war is most definitely not glorified, for when we speak of the 'Glorious dead' we refer to those who are in 'Glory'; a day when we remember also all those who have been broken in body, mind or spirit as a result of conflict and commit ourselves to peace.

Traditionally we will find ourselves using one of a select set of readings - the most common being the  'Greater love has no one than to lay down their life for another' as it speaks of the Selfless Commitment that is found in Jesus' journey to the cross and the Values and Standards of the British forces. So let's have a look at it in a bit of detail:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 

You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other."

There are a few interesting themes to be found in this passage; the first rather fittingly focuses on the what it means to have a chain of command for Jesus has 'kept His Father's commands and He calls on us to accept those He issues. To remain in relationship with Him (love being that relationship) and from that relationship we have a unity in that we do what is right (God's commands) as the outworking of that love. This is the brotherly live, the camaraderie, that amazing bond of 'brothers in arms' that is part of Christian living and reflected, and celebrated (rightly) as poppies are worn and silence is observed.

The 'you are my friends if you do what I command', in this context, is not some Elizabeth Violet Bott* toe-pointing, breath-holding, petulance but a statement of relationship and unity. If we were to rephrase it as:

"We are brothers in arms if we live within the same chain of command - you're not servants but part of the same body, we all obey that which comes from above, we all hear from the one above and make it known to those who we lead - and they in turn pass this to those who lead."

Remembrance is about remembering, that's simple innit?

Remembrance is about reflecting on the past and determining not to repeat it.

It is about remembering, and celebrating (and that's the right word), acts of courage and rightly placed response to wrong that causes people to make a stand and 'take up arms' with proportionality and the requirements of Micah 6 (humility, justice and mercy) a forethought.

It is about honest reflection - eschewing jingoistic rhetoric, blind praise and the bitterness of those who have lost loved ones or been themselves wounded and broken by conflict - for are not those who have lost loved ones also 'victims of war'? 

War is never great and yet when politics and diplomacy fail; when genocide and oppression of the weak, marginalised and vulnerable is obvious and unchallenged - it is also inevitable (and right). Recently I had a rather heated discussion (well they were heated) over the situation in Syria and Iraq. The person I was speaking to wanted 'us' to stand aside and avoid 'getting involved' in anything military because they were 'pacifists' - which in this context meant leaving those who are acting wrongly to continue to do so because 'it isn't our business'.

When asked what we should be doing the only solution they offered was to mumble about sanctions and peace accords and diplomacy and how the loss of life was 'unfortunate' but didn't warrant others 'meddling' in their situation. The 'Christian' response was to pray from peace and call on the governments of the world to put sanctions and embargoes in place ad to hope for an end to the murders - "This is what is right, this is what is Christian," they said.

Meanwhile Psalm 82 calls us to reflect thus:

“How long will you defend the unjust and show partiality to the wicked?
 Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked."

And this is why today we remember those who marched away never to return and, until the return of Jesus, the Christ, will continue to need to take up arms at times. This is why we utter the words  'Never Again' and pray they will hold true. This is why the words from Binyon's poem 'For the fallen' echo true as we remember:

"They went with songs to the battle, they were young, straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow. They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted, they fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them."

I hope, and pray, the words of this reflection touch, help and inform those who read it.

The Collect

Almighty and eternal God, you have kindled the flame of love in the hearts of the saints: grant to us the same faith and power of love, that, as we rejoice in their triumphs, we may be sustained by their example and fellowship; through Jesus Christ your son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever, Amen.

Can't make it to church (Aug 3) ?

An interesting bunch of readings before us today as Jacob legs it from Laban (remember the dodgy Father-in-Law?) and as he approaches home is afraid of Esau (whose Birthright he pinched) he sets up two camps so if there's 'a bit of bother' he can escape with one intact (shrewd or dodgy, which is this man??) and sends the women and children first (always a good idea at sea too as sharks won't eat if they'd been well fed ;-)  )!!

Then he bumps into a man with who he wrestles all night and, eventually, the man strikes out and dislocates Jacob's hip and then agrees to bless the tenacious Jacob, changing his name in the process to Israel (he strives with God - or God strives) and naming the place Peniel (the face of God). Here we have rampantly dodgy Jacob getting a blessing!

Even here we find God blessing when perhaps He should be dishing out a thumping (now that's worthy of a hallelujah I reckon).

Jacob has sought peace, prayed to God for deliverance and returned, true to type, to a bit of dodgy dealing  (don't you just love the patriarchs?) and then he realises that without God's intervention he is doomed- and this is where He and God begin to really do business and this is where Israel is made real.

Perhaps we, like Jacob, look to God and pray great prayers and the like but also have a rich vein of dodgy dealing and hypocrisy within us. Perhaps today we find ourselves in a place where it's time to stop the posing and gets to grips with God. Perhaps, like Jacob, it's time to out in the hours with God to find a real result that, being from God lasts, even when we know we may well be fickle and flawed.

Sadly the Romans reading is cut just a little short, for if it continued just a little longer it would have given us these words to ponder:
'For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but “Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.” This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.'

And we like those who, perhaps foolishly, committed their time and remained where Jesus was (in the wilderness) and found themselves fed with physical food (along the spiritual stuff from Jesus) by the disciples. The people are blessed and fed, the disciples are blessed and witnesses to something miraculous and Jesus, overseeing the whole thing sees everyone's needs (physical and spiritual) wonderfully met.

So are you in a wilderness place today? If so, as it says in the Psalm (and displayed in our readings) that if you call upon the Lord then He will answer you and meet your needs according to His love and will be salvation and refuge for us.

Are our lives taken up with keeping God's laws or are we, like Jacob, looking holy but living in some degree of dodginess? If the answer is 'Yes' then we need to come to God and wrestle with Him, face-to-face, and let Him bless us (despite us).

Do we have our hearts set on God and what it means to follow Jesus, the Christ?

Israel is more than just those descended from him (Jacob as was) it is those who live according to God's word and because of Jesus, God's living word. Sadly many Christian live in the belief that having the name 'Christian' is enough - but it's more than wearing a fish or going to your local 'holy huddle' gathering - it's about something spiritual (and I know I struggle here without God's Holy Spirit living and guiding me).

So today the present might be hopeless - we might find ourselves in the wilderness- we might find ourselves returning to type when the chips are down (lying, cheating and worse).

BUT HOPE IS AT HAND - JUST LOOK AT JACOB!!!

Mighty to save - Hillsong

The Collect
Generous God,
you give us gifts and make them grow: though our faith is small as mustard seed, make it grow to your glory and the flourishing of your kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen.

Genesis 32.22-31
The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He took them and sent them across the stream, and likewise everything that he had. Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he struck him on the hip socket; and Jacob’s hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, ‘Let me go, for the day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let you go, unless you bless me.’ So he said to him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob.’ Then the man said, ‘You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked him, ‘Please tell me your name.’ But he said, ‘Why is it that you ask my name?’ And there he blessed him. So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved.’ The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip.

Psalm 17.1-7,16
Hear my just cause, O Lord; consider my complaint; listen to my prayer, which comes not from lying lips. Let my vindication come forth from your presence; let your eyes behold what is right. Weigh my heart, examine me by night, refine me, and you will find no impurity in me.
My mouth does not trespass for earthly rewards; I have heeded the words of your lips. My footsteps hold fast in the ways of your commandments; my feet have not stumbled in your paths. I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; incline your ear to me, and listen to my words. Show me your marvellous loving-kindness, O Saviour of those who take refuge at your right hand from those who rise up against them.
As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness; when I awake and behold your likeness, I shall be satisfied.

Romans 9.1-5
I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience confirms it by the Holy Spirit - I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my own people, my kindred according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, comes the Messiah, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen.

Matthew 14.13-21
Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ Jesus said to them, ‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’ They replied, ‘We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.’ And he said, ‘Bring them here to me.’ Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And all ate and were filled; and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Post Communion Prayer
Lord God, whose Son is the true vine and the source of life,
ever giving himself that the world may live:
may we so receive within ourselves the power of his death and passion
that, in his saving cup,
we may share his glory and be made perfect in his love;
for he is alive and reigns, now and for ever.

Nada te turbe