Testify to the Light

 John 1 6-8, 19 – 28

Advent 3

A few weeks ago I was reading a newspaper and noticed an article with the headline “Christmas cutbacks”. It said most people in the UK this year would be trying to cut back on the amount they spend this Christmas. Thinking about this I decided to be a little frugal myself. I thought that perhaps it would be nice to make gifts for a few close friends. How nice it is to receive a gift made by someone as it seems to mean a lot more. After much consideration I decided that for one of my friends I would make a nativity set made of clay. Now on the surface this sounds a good idea. But when I told my husband and parents they both had the same reaction “you have got to be joking – you are SO bad at art” I have to confess that I was actually told that I couldn’t take art at school because I was so bad at it. Undeterred I bought some clay and set to work. Mary, Joseph and the baby in a manger and then a donkey and an ox. By the time I got to the ox I realised that this whole thing had proved much more difficult than I could have imagined. What I had in my mind’s eye hadn’t really translated into reality. When my husband got back from work I told him that the art work was complete and he went into the kitchen to see it. He looked at it and after what seemed like 5
minutes of silence he said “You have made it look hideous on purpose!” When my Father saw it he asked why there was a Staffordshire bull terrier in the manger scene!! 

But seriously, perhaps having to be a little bit more frugal this year is a good thing.  It focuses our minds upon what is really important. It brings us back to remembering that the value is not in the price we pay for something but in the sentiment in which it is given. I think it is also important to remember that giving this season doesn’t just have to just mean the giving of material things. Giving could mean reaching out into wider community with an act of kindness or friendship. The message of Jesus is always that it is more blessed to give than receive. Indeed any giving, be it of ourselves or a physical gift, which is offered in a spirit of generosity and love, let’s some of Christ’s light illuminate the darkness.

Light and darkness are two words which we hear a lot about in Advent. We hear in our Gospel reading today how light is used to describe the coming of Jesus. “A man come sent by God, his name was John. He came as a witness as a witness to speak for the light, so that everyone might believe through him. He was not the light only a witness to the light”

The Gospel writer is careful to tell us that John the Baptist was indeed important, but that he was not the light, but only a witness to it.  John’s function was only to be a preparer of the way. Any greatness he had came from the greatness of the one whose coming he foretold. He is a wonderful example of someone who was prepared to stand back in order that Jesus could be seen. John saw himself merely as a signpost, a messenger who points to Christ. One who was not worthy even to untie the strap of Jesus’ sandal. To undo the strap your master’s sandal was slave’s work and there was a Rabbinic saying which said, that a disciple might do for his master anything that a servant did except untie his sandals. This was too menial a task for even a disciple to carry out. And here was John announcing that he was not even fit to be a slave of the one who was coming. We are told that John the Baptist stands in the darkness of wilderness and cries out “Here is Light!” The gospel writer want us to understand something about the wilderness: The wilderness always leads to the Light. It is way out of slavery, the way out of Exile. It is the path to freedom for all God's people.

Our Old Testament reading from Isaiah this morning, was probably written after the people of Israel returned from Exile. It foretells the total salvation of God’s people: bodily, spiritually, individually and socially and tells us of the good news of deliverance.  The prophet says that God has empowered him to act on God’s behalf; God has “anointed” him, commissioned him to preach and to hear the Word of faith, to understand God’s word, and to be strengthened in following it.

This is a message of rescue for God’s people, in all ways. And our deliverance comes from Jesus, the real light that had came to bring salvation to the world. Yes, before Jesus there were other lights that had been followed, but Jesus was the only genuine light, the real light to guide us upon our way. When Jesus came into the world he came to light the darkness.   Here is the Messiah, here is hope and his name is Jesus.

I wonder if you have you ever been in a situation where you have experienced complete darkness? Literally where there is no light at all and it is completely pitch black?. Some years ago I experienced just that. I had applied for a job as a Police Officer and part of the selection process was to go to an outward bound centre in Wales where my fitness and endurance would be tested. The first day was exhausting, we scaled a mountain and were dropped into an estuary in freezing conditions in the middle of November. The evening came and we went off to our dormitories for some well earned sleep. Unexpectedly at 1.30.am the lights went on and we were told we had five minutes to get dressed. Once dressed we were all loaded into a minibus and driven off into the night. We were told that we were being taken to a forest and that we would be dropped off at quarter mile intervals and would be left there until they decided to come and collect us. We had no idea how long this would be but were warned that it was possible that someone may creep up on us and it was our job to remain vigilant. On reaching our destination we were then blindfolded and led off into the forest. I was the first to be left. They took off the blindfold and left me next to a tree and said they would be back some time later. What struck me was just how dark it was. There was no moon light and it was so dark that I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. Fortunately I had a digital watch which, if you pressed a button, lit up and I could see what time it was. It was 2.30am. I decided to stay with my back to the tree as that way no one could creep up on me from behind and I would fell less vulnerable.  It is strange that when you are in complete darkness you become acutely aware of sounds and the sounds of the forest seemed to be amplified. If I actually thought about the darkness I could feel almost a sense of claustrophobia setting in.  I found myself trying to remember poems I had memorised just to pass the time. What made it worse was that I didn’t know how long I was going to be left in this situation.

Eventually an hour and a half later I saw the beam of a torch in the distance. As torch penetrated the darkness and I felt such a sense of relief. At last after what seemed like an eternity, there was hope of being restored back to a place of safety. By the time I was returned to the dormitory it was 4.30am. Despite all of this we were up again at 6.30am for another round of physical endurance. But at least now I felt secure surrounded by the light of the morning.

It is true that for many Christmas will be a difficult time this year. For them, their day to day life may be shrouded in darkness for many reasons. There will those who mourn the loss of loved ones, those who will be separated from their family, those who have lost their jobs and face hardship.

 As we receive the Gospel message today, we find ourselves during this Advent season not only preparing ourselves for Christmas in the material things but in preparing our hearts and lives in readiness for the coming of Jesus  by letting in His light.  As Christians we, like John the Baptist, are called to testify to the light. When John announced the coming of the messiah in his day, there was a risk that people would not hear that message and so there is the same risk with us. The distraction of the hustle and bustle in the run up to Christmas can lessen our ability to attend to the things which are most important. Perhaps we need to ask ourselves -  How will we testify to the light? When people look at us will they see Christ’s shining back?

Advent provides us with an opportunity to search for the footprints of Jesus in the human lives of our community and our neighbours.  If the coming of Christ brings a message for the bereaved, the homeless, the unemployed, are we announcing that message through a spirit of generosity and love? Are we reflecting the light of Jesus in our everyday lives? Just as I was consoled with a sense of hope when I saw the torch beam in the darkness of the woodland, so Jesus comes to us, he is so much more than just a glimmer in the darkness but comes as the beacon of hope for the world. Jesus is present in the darkness and he will stand in the wilderness with us. He came to give us light, so that we might, in turn, give light to others.
 On this Gaudete Sunday we rejoice that we are people of light and Advent hope and as we move closer to Christmas, may we  find the space and time to reflect the light of Christ to all those we encounter.        Amen

Temptation in the Wilderness

Matthew 4 v 1 – 8

When I mentioned that I was writing this sermon my husband asked what the subject was. I told him that it was about temptation which he thought was rather interesting.  I asked him whether he could recall ever being tempted. He thought for a while and said “actually I have!”  I was intrigued to know more.  He said that there was something he had done many years ago which he still feels guilty about today. Getting more interested by the minute, I started to imagine all sorts of things. Had he robbed a bank or committed some other terrible deed. He then began to confess that once when he was out with a group of boys a similar age he did something which was quite wrong. He stole a white chocolate mouse from the corner shop!! I hasten to add that he was six at the time!

This got me thinking about temptation. Oscar Wilde famously said

“ I can resist anything but temptation” . A saying I think we can all relate to! It brings to mind a story I one heard about a clergyman's wife who had a penchant for buying expensive dresses. In fact, it became quite a problem as she would fritter away his meagre stipend, not being able to resist a good frock. One evening while they were talking the clergyman reprimanded his wife but she replied "but I can't help myself. I just have to buy them". Her husband was clear in his response, "you are being tempted by Satan. Next time you are in a shop and feel tempted that way, say "get behind me Satan". A week later she came back from the shops with another new dress. Her husband was very angry. "Did you not do as I suggested?" he asked, "I did" she replied "as I tried the dress on I said, "get behind me Satan". The only thing was, he said "it looks even nicer from behind"". (I promise that this story doesn’t relate to our vicar’s wife!)

The very nature of temptation is that it’s hard to resist - it’s designed to make you give in. When you think of temptation you really think of it in terms of being tempted to do something good. It is usually linked to someone doing something they shouldn’t or that is forbidden. Often when we picture someone being tempted we imagine someone with a small red devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other. Often the red devil has the louder voice.

In biblical thought “to tempt‟ means to test something or it can mean an attempt by Satan to invite a person to sin. The gospel passage we read today was about Jesus being led into the desert by the Holy Spirit in preparation for his ministry. We are told that Jesus withdrew to the desert and fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. If you imagine spending nearly 6 weeks in the wilderness, a rocky and parched place where he will have eaten nothing. For Jesus as for many, the wilderness provided the open, silent space needed for seeking direction and purpose. Tradition has it that Jesus climbed into a high cave of Mt. Qua- rantal  in the wilderness west of the Jordan, a place which is today the location of the Monastery of the Temptation. This high place, for centuries attracted pilgrims who would fast pray and seek answers.

The desert is a powerful place, it is a place where you live on the edge. It is a place where there is little protection, without the trappings which go with everyday life. If we were to go there we would be faced with great and ultimate realities. The desert brings you to the ultimate questions and personal challenges.  It was when Jesus had grown weak and hungry as the hot sun beat down upon him that temptation came.

It is important to remember that this passage which describes the temptation of Christ is preceeded with his baptism in the river Jordon. Jesus now certain of being touched by the Holy Spirit. For in the baptism of Jesus - Jesus indeed submits to this baptism of repentance as a sign of his messianic vocation and calling to bring reconciliation between God and humanity. The voice from heaven proclaims his divine Sonship: ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased'.

And so three times we are told Jesus is tempted to forget his call and to use his new power and popularity for personal comfort and gain, political influence and glory, and even free himself from suffering and death.

Faced with three temptations he had every opportunity to go against the will of God. To have turned the stones into bread would have been to betray the faith Jesus had in his father to provide for him in every way. Throwing himself off the temple and letting the angels catch him would have been to subject the Lord to some sort of test which is not the mark of a trusting Son. worshipping Satan would have represented the destruction of all the faithful obedience which Jesus wanted to show to his Father. He would have got what he knew was his: the worship of all the nations, but he would have sold his birthright in doing it. Three times Jesus turned his back on this dark tormentor and embraced a mission that would lead to his death.

We may have long term struggles with temptation and sin. But these struggles for me demonstrate that God has not given up on us. The fact that we feel tension when we think about acting against God’s will should reassure us that God is very close to us. If we did not belong to God then we would sin without remorse. The struggle is proof of who we are. There is no doubt that we will loose many of our battles as we strive to live Christian lives. When we fail God is ready to forgive. The truth is we are all God’s children. All to often we tend to allow confusion and guilt to rule and let our fears bargain for certainties which cannot be given. We trade love for short-term profits. We crave success rather than transformation and success becomes our mission even our obsession. Worldly wealth provides the measure of our worth, instead of our value as human beings. All this we do because, at all costs, we seek to avoid sacrifice, pain, inconvenience, failure, humiliation, and even death in order to maintain our own sense of control. This control. This way of power is rebuffed by Jesus who adopts a very different way of living.

And God surprises us in the midst of our failures and shortcomings by offering to us transforming love. God uses the reality of our lives as the media through which we find love, wholeness, and life. God

uses that which we avoid to provide that which we most deeply desire.

We are meant to love and to be loved. To be whole human beings and healthy communities. God wishes us to be fulfilled and fulfilling and the God who indwells us works only and solely to this end. We block the process with selfish and self destructive distractions. Pride. Envy. Greed. Malice. Anger. Loving of the trappings of living rather than loving life itself. When we look at life in the 21^st century we see uncertainties and dishonesty. We live with the constant threats of terrorism, an economy which is faltering through greed  and we have even seen dishonesty from those who represent us in government. We have replaced trust and service with an increased obsession with results and we are unforgiving of the sins of others.

But if we strip everything away we are just fragile and needy human beings who need to love and be loved.  We, like Jesus, can choose to resist temptation.  We can choose to listen for love, seek truth, and allow God to build trust. Listening and Learning that we have God within us and that the still small voice is holding us in balance as we walk life’s tight rope.

The passage  from Matthew gives hope to all of those who face difficulty. Jesus went into the wilderness, but he did not go alone. Neither do we go alone as we walk in dangerous places. God is with us as we seek to walk in his ways. When we walk with Christ , the Spirit of Jesus comes with us to give us strength to make right choices and live in the knowledge that this mortal life is but a brief moment in God’s time. Our lives will be filled with many challenges, but we do not face these challenges alone – God walks with us.  Amen

Forgiveness, power and presence

Matthew 18 15 – 20

A couple of weeks ago I was talking to someone who  was telling me how her church was setting up a drop in cafe and how shocked she had been that Christian’s had behaved so badly in the process.  There had been arguments about how the coffee shop furniture was going to be set out, there had been conflict about where the cakes were going to be on display. She said it is always the same. Even at the Church fayre people are always arguing about the fact that the book stall has always been at the left side of the hall for the last twenty years.  I am sure that her church isn’t unique. Her parting comment was that these people should be ashamed of themselves and this sort of thing shouldn’t happen amongst Christian people. Well I would agree, in an ideal world we should be able to live harmoniously but the truth is that the church is actually full of sinner and inevitably there will be times of conflict, times when we perhaps argue or disagree. It is how we respond to this that sets Christians apart.

Some years ago I used to manage education projects for offenders. Often we would help people who had been released from prison who were out on license having committed very serious crimes. Ex murderers, rapists and sex offenders. I recall one man who was released from prison who had committed a very serious offence and after 15 years he was released into the community. Having completed his sentence and filled with remorse, all he wanted to do was to try and build a life and give something back to make amends for the wrongs of the past. However, given his offence, he was obliged by law to disclose this to potential employers. As a consequence, time after time he was judged and sentenced again and again as most employers didn’t want to know. It was evident, at the time, that forgiveness and reconciliation was not on the agenda. Fortunately after some time the man managed, with our help, to find work and begin working towards a new life. One employer was willing to forget the past and give the man a future. By this act of kindness  he was given new hope and new opportunities. The same opportunities afforded to us by the forgiveness of God.

I am sure many of us can be quick to judge and find it difficult to forgive.  I am sure many of us will be able to think to a time in our life where there has been conflict in our family or amongst friends. I know people who have fallen out with family members and never reconciled over a life time. Stubbornly refusing to give in, keeping the feud alive for years.

Indeed as I mentioned earlier, people are often disappointed when this happens in church communities. As Christians when conflict arises or we are presented with situations where we find ourselves standing in judgment of others, our response as Christians should be to share the same forgiveness that God gives to us. Not to seek revenge or harbour hurt, because inevitably, that path always leads to pain and suffering. People should be able to identify us as Christians by the response we have to those difficult and challenging situations.

Our Gospel reading today is often referred to by some scholars as a manual for church discipline. It was written at a time when the early church was having to deal with internal conflicts.  Matthew is careful to ensure that these rules are communicated in a way which shows the enormous graciousness of God. Jesus describes a process for church discipline and of course rules for the community were common in Jesus day. Here was a  community who needed to be reassured by Jesus, that it is given divine authority to take hard decisions where necessary, yet all the while certain of the guiding presence of Jesus in its midst.

Jesus gives us his wisdom. First he suggests that we should nip things in the bud before they escalate. If someone offends you, go to them in private and share your feelings. I suppose our human nature is not to do this and often to let things bubble under the surface rather than deal with them at the source. Going direct to the person prevents it going public and stops things getting out of control and causing embarrassment. Jesus tells us if this doesn’t work we are to  bring witnesses who can act as arbitrators, seeking repentance and forgiveness. If this doesn’t work let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Jesus is not suggesting that we give up on them and exclude them – that would not reflect Jesus attitude towards sinners. As we know Jesus was often accused of associating with tax collectors and sinners because he never tired of reaching out to the outcasts and law breakers. He never gave up on any one and Jesus expects us to do the same. The  truly Christ-like response to someone who sins against us is forgiveness – and today’s passage and it’s process is one by which the offender needs to recognise that what they’ve done is wrong, which is important too. It’s of course the way God behaves towards us – he is always, always willing to forgive – we need to recognise that there are times when we do wrong and remind ourselves that God never fails to forgive.

A few of you may know that I was brought up a Roman Catholic. I remember clearly at the age of 7 being prepared to make my first confession before my first communion. At the time I remember being quite anxious about having to go into a tiny box room. The room had a grill in the partition and behind the grill sat the priest. I recall getting a little worried about what sins I should tell the priest and whether when I got in there I would freeze with terror. When the day finally arrived I went into the confessional box and blurted out the words I had to say, waiting for the priest to pronounce absolution.  On leaving the confessional box I vividly remember having a warm glow inside and thought to myself that if I was to die right at this moment I would be in such a holy state and my soul would be so shiny and clean that I would be transported immediately to heaven without question. The problem was it wasn’t very long after I left the confessional box that another sin was committed and with a black mark upon my soul, I would have to return all over again the following week to have my soul repolished!   It became obvious that despite being a Christian I was still capable of separating myself from God by sin but that God’s hand of forgiveness was always there to save me, no matter how many times I asked.

When we look at this passage we see that at the very heart of the church community is God’s presence.  An abiding presence of forgiveness and love. That at the very heart of the church is the action of forgiveness and judgment over the lives of people. What we say on earth in Jesus name, is just as true in heaven and central to the church is the ability to speak forgiveness into the lives of all people. I must admit when I read the words “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” I get an image of arriving at the pearly gates being greeted by St Peter with a tick list of my rights and wrongs.  But at a more profound level, it charges us with the responsibility for modelling the relationships of the Kingdom here on earth.

Finally we hear Jesus tell us that “ where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.” The rule amongst the Jewish people was that that at least ten men had to be present to create an assembly and yet here was Jesus telling us that where two or three gather in his name, things would be different. It is Jesus presences that marks the life of the community of the faithful.  For me this is an incredible promise to God’s people. In an age where we see small churches struggling to survive, Jesus reminds us that our strength does not rest in numbers but in his presence. And it is surely because of this promise that we are able to comprehend more fully Christ’s love for his church.

Amen

Pentecost - Wind and Fire

"And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. ³Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability”. Acts 2 2-4

Pentecost is one of my favourite feasts.  I think the reason for this is because the Holy Spirit brings to us hope, joy and peace. For me, Pentecost reminds us we are not left as orphans but that God dwells within us and the world and as St Basil tells us “he is the one who creates intimacy with God”

Some time ago I heard a story about a priest in a large church in Florida who was well known for his flair in delivering dramatic sermons. A couple of years ago on Pentecost Sunday he decided that it would be a really good idea to dramatise the Holy Spirit coming like a wind in a particularly spectacular way. He got an engine out of one of the boats used in the Everglades – which has a big aeroplane propeller attached to the engine. He asked the Churchwarden to help him take it up into the loft high above the church and try it out the Saturday evening before. He told the Churchwarden that when the words “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire house” to flick the switch and start up the engine. So he read the passage and at the appropriate moment the Church warden switched on the engine and it worked like a dream. As the priest carried on reading the powerful wind could be felt across the church. All was set for the Sunday morning. The usual congregation gathered, all in their Sunday best and finery. The choir stood resplendent in their robes, the Organist was poised attentively on the organ stool. The reader got into the pulpit and began the reading and as the words “And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind and it filled the entire house” were read, the Priest nodded and the engine fired. The sudden gust of the powerful wind sent sheet music, service sheets and bulletins flying out over the congregation. Hairdos went everywhere and most embarrassingly, a toupee flew toward the altar like a fury missile. The church was in an uproar and when the engine was stopped everything was a total mess. The priest hadn’t thought about the consequences of using such a powerful engine when the church was full.

That unpredictability is just the way it is with the Holy Spirit. It is the part of God that refuses to be contained in the little boxes we create. The wind of the spirit means that God just won’t stay put. We don’t worship a God who is locked into scripture but a God whose love know no bounds. And as we see in our readings, where the Spirit blows we see change and transformation.

So given the chaos the aeroplane propeller caused, I choose to avoid the use of props  today and thought that I would like to take a few moments to reflect upon the Holy Spirit.

Much of the language used to describe Pentecost in Acts uses the same signs which are used elsewhere in the Bible such as during the giving of the 10 commandments on Mount Sinai. The Old Testament shows us that this same Holy Spirit or breath of God was at work long before Pentecost. The Spirit that moved over the face of the waters in creation and worked to bring all things to fruition, the spirit that puts flesh on the bones in the Valley of dry bones in Ezekiel,   is also the Spirit that guides the church into all truth and intercedes for us. It is the Spirit that binds us together in love, binds the creation together in hope, and is in perfect unity in the third person of the Trinity. The wind is used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit’s presence as it gives us a useful visual picture of how the Spirit functions. The wind is the embodiment of a sweeping force that blows where ever it wills.

On the other hand the image of breath and breathing and the gentle breeze serve to express the goodness, peacefulness and calm of the Spirit of God. I particularly like the idea of the breath of God touching us, as it the thing which is the most inward and intimate, most vital and personal to a human being. It, for me, reinforces the divine indwelling in each one of us. That God knows us so well he is intrinsic to our very being. He is in all and through all.

We also hear today in our reading of the tongues of fire resting upon the heads of each of the apostles. Fire gives light just as the Pillar of fire lead the people in Exodus, fire warms and fire purifies. This purification cleanses through and through, as a refiners fire in a crucible when smelting metal. Christ said he had come to set the world on fire, a fire lit in the hearts of all people, flaming into energy and hope. A fire which gives strength to us to face up to the pressures of life. When it came down upon the apostles it enabled them to perform mighty works. This encounter was to change them forever, giving them new abilities and moved them to preach with wisdom and zeal.

The Bible reveals to us a spirit of strength and of power and it is this power that keeps his Church alive today. We do not live by our own strength but by the strength of the Spirit who empowers us, his people, to preach the good news and lead us to faith. This is the same spirit that empowered the Prophets, Apostles and martyrs down the centuries. Because of the Holy Spirit we are  never alone, never bereft, never orphaned,  for God is with us always - changing lives, healing, helping, giving us hope and purpose. The Holy Spirit’s work is transformation, for he brings God into our human lives. Pentecost teaches us that God as Holy Spirit can come to us, his people, in a direct and powerful way to support and empower us and enable God’s mission. Also what is important to remember is that the spirit came to the Apostles as a community. He did not come to give strength, light and courage simply to each apostle separately but he came to them as an apostolic body. In the same way the spirit enters us not solely for our personal benefit, but also to unite us so that we become one spirit in the body of Christ. Each individual is given special gifts from the spirit and as St Paul reminds us, these gifts are to be shared with our brothers and sisters. And that can mean being used by God’s Spirit for big miraculous things and smaller insignificant things.

But if we are filled with the Spirit of an all powerful God, perhaps we should not be surprised if He doesn’t want to do incredible things through us. We should not limit what God plans for us or how he might want to speak to others through us.

And as I said earlier, the Holy Spirit is the part of God that refuses to be contained in the boxes we create. The wind of the spirit means that God just won’t stay put. It is not about resisting, it is about allowing the wind of the spirit’s presence to blow through our lives to enable us to be empowered to radically transform our lives and the lives of those around us. To show signs of His power and glory here on earth.

If we think about the trees that grow around us. When there is s strong or blustery wind the trees bend and sway. If they try to resist the wind, like the mighty cedars of Lebanon, they break. As the wind blows the green leaves stream out lightly in the wind and suffer no damage as the wind dances through them.  So it is with us.  We individually need to make it possible for each one of us to experience a Pentecost and this is only achievable if we don’t resist the Spirit of God. By being open to the Spirit , we reflect God’s love. A second Century Christian text describes this opening to the spirit as the human soul being like an Aeolian Harp that sounds as the wind passes through it and the Holy Spirit is the wind that strums on the strings of the soul to draw from it the sound of sweet harmony. What a beautiful way of describing our relationship with the Holy Spirit!

 It is about recognising that there is a really deep well inside of us where the Spirit dwells, yet often stones and grit block the well and God is buried beneath. It is the stones and grit which keeps us from Christ. And yet there is a way of removing the stones to allow the well spring of God to surface and that is through prayer. By consistently and persistently asking God to send the Holy Spirit upon us and his church and importantly having an expectation that God will actually answer. We need expectant faith and a faith full of expectancy.  And when we call upon the Holy Spirit to come and fill our hearts we should be aware that we cannot add a condition:  That we should be left the way we were before.

We see from our readings today, that where the Spirit touches, the spirit changes. It is up to us as we invoke the Spirit, to open our hearts and to give the Spirit control of our lives and our church.  I have spoken to many people who tell me that where a church has regularly prayed for the Holy Spirit to move in their church,  great things have happened. Let us be a Pentecostal people. A people who are open to the spirit and who call upon him to invigorate our lives, our church and our world.  And I challenge all of us today, me included, to frequently ask the Holy Spirit to blow in our lives and in our church so that we might use the gifts he has given us for the good of the kingdom. And may our prayer over the coming weeks be:

Come Holy Spirit fill the hearts of your people and kindle in us the fire of your love.

    

God's love for EVERYONE

John 3: 1 – 17

A few days ago I was driving back from a meeting and was listening to radio 4. The story I listened to was so captivating that I stayed in my car even though I reached my destination just so I could here all of it.  It was the story of what links the people of Wales, with one of the worst atrocities of the American Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s.

Today we hear frequently, America leading the international community for in the fight for democracy and freedom but in the sixties it was a very different story. Racial Segregation was legal, where African Americans and Whites were required to eat separately, use separate public toilets, sit on separate park benches, travel in race specific rail carriages and even attend separate theatres and schools.

This period saw terrible racially motivated attacks and on 15^th September, 1963, members of the racist Klu Klux Klan movement blew up the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Alabama. It was targeted as it had been used as a meeting place for the Civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King.

 The bomb, apparently planted under the church steps the night before, detonated at 10:19 a.m. as the children were assembling for closing prayers following Sunday school classes. The four girls Denise McNair (11), Addie Mae Collins (14), Carol Robertson (14) and Cynthia Wesley (14). were in the church basement when the blast occurred and their bodies were found underneath the rubble. Some 400 people, including 80 children, were at the church at the time, and many were injured by flying glass as the blast blew out the building's windows. The murder of children marked another low in the violent resistance to civil rights.

News of the bombing was broadcast worldwide. Listening to the news report on the radio was the Welsh sculptor John Petts. He was so upset he wanted to do something to help. He contacted a local newspaper and a campaign was launched to raise money to help rebuild the devastated Church. No one was allowed to give more than half a crown - to ensure that no rich benefactor could take credit for the money raised. There were reports of children, black and white, queuing up in Cardiff to donate their pocket money.

Tens of thousands of people contributed to the fund. With the money that was raised, Petts made a new stained glass window for the Church. Grand in scale, it depicted a black man, arms out stretched, reminiscent of the crucifixion. Petts drew on his experiences as a medic in the second world war to create his image of the 'damaged male body'. He was also inspired by the Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa, which had happened only a few years before. The window showing a black man suffering on the cross has  the hands spread reaching upwards. The right hands palm pushing outward to push out hatred and injustice The Left hand palm facing upward – open for forgiveness and love.

The figure is meant to represent any one of us under assault. At the time a black Christ would have been considered almost  blasphemous.  It spoke volumes to the Black community.  The window isn’t saying that Christ’s was an African American.  The window powerfully illustrates that Christ identifies with the African American community. The window reminds those who look at it that Christ is crucified again and again when people persecute someone who doesn’t look like then.

Kathleen Bunton, a member of the church said at the time that she was surprised that the people of Wales cared about blacks because what she had encountered as a black woman in Alabama, was as if nobody cared. She knew for certain that God loves us all and cares for each one of us but she found it very moving to think that people could respond so generously.

The window is located in the sanctuary, this church has become one of the most famous pieces of art to come out of the darkness of the civil rights period. At its foot a message; 'Given by The People of Wales'. At the bottom of the window beneath the crucified figure is a simple statement “You do it to me”

That act of love by the people of Wales, when hated and prejudice was at its peak in America, brought the love and light of Christ into a place of darkness and despair.

In our gospel today we hear one of the most well known quote from the bible:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life”

And that is really what struck me about the gospel today and the tragedy in Alabama. That God so loved the world, the whole of humanity, that he gave his only Son so that Everyone – Everyone may have eternal life. This is the highest expression of love of which we can conceive. Jesus being lifted up on the cross was the ultimate act of love for rich, poor, male, female, black or white, young or old. All belong to God and Jesus love is inclusive. The Cross is not simply about individuals; it is something that embraces the human race. 

God’s love is a persistent theme throughout the Old and New testament. On almost every page of scripture we see divine goodness, tender mercy, loving kindness, patience and grace. God’s love is beyond all reasoning. That despite being flawed and imperfect we are all loved unconditionally and that love is for all. As the Civil rights activist Martin Luther King reminds us “Every one is somebody because he or she is a child of god”

The cross is the revelation of God’s love which surpasses all understanding. The gospel message is a message of a world- transforming love which upholds the weak, the poor, the outcast.  When we talk of God’s kingdom on earth we are talking of establishing a kingdom which is based on love. A place where we can accept each other unconditionally. The love of God makes itself known in the acceptance of human beings by each other in the dismantling of prejudices and social barriers in both the sharing of sadness and joy. But this love includes the demand for justice, a passionate commitment for justice for everyone. Love becomes the answer for justice and freedom throughout the world.

As Christians, God wants us to be concerned and invested in the world around us. The heart of the Gospel message moves us to have compassion for the hungry, weak and oppressed and concern for the sick and suffering. At whatever level, be it on a local scale, where perhaps we might support our neighbour, to a global scale where we might respond to the needs of others in far off lands.

Each Lent we are invited to examine our conscience. God sees us as we are but do we see ourselves as we are? As broken people, we often tuck away our sins and failings in a place where we don’t have to see them for what they are. Sometimes we don't see how our little sins become habit and affect those around us. Taking a closer look at that place, will hopefully help us to see what separates us from God. And as we take that close look let us remind ourselves that as instruments of Christ’s love, we can make a difference in our world. Just as the people of Wales individually and collectively responded in love to the terrible tragedy in Alabama, so we can respond to the call to live lives where the light of Christ’s love shines out in the darkness. I would like to end by reading a piece written by St Teresa of Avila. This reminds us so powerfully of our calling as Christians and that we who are to be instruments of Christ’s love.

Christ has no body now on earth but ours,

No hands but ours ,  no feet but ours,

Ours are the eyes with which he looks with compassion to the world

Ours are the feet with which he is to go about doing  good

Ours are the hands, with which he is now to bless

 Amen

Meekness and Majesty - a reflection for Maundy Thursday Morning Prayer

For me one of the most striking things which crops up again and again in the readings of Maundy Thursday is Jesus humility. Our gospel reading today takes us to the trial of Jesus and what is really striking about this reading is the quietness of Jesus. He is a man of few words. In all of this, there is no protest. He knew his fate and yet Jesus stands as the accused: measured, dignified, humble and meek.

The journey of Maundy Thursday reveals to us a man who loved the most, yet served the most. The servant king shows us his humble heart, where humility and service are constituent parts of love.

Yet our world is a place that tells us that we will find our soul’s satisfaction in being in charge. The world is a place where there are huge pressures to always be in control, a world where connections matter – often the case of not what you know but who you know, a world where the measure of success is being at the top of your game. Yet often those who manage to get to where they want to be, often find it is not quite as satisfying as they imagined. The truth is that the deepest satisfaction is to be found in gentleness and in humility, The only reputation we should be worried about loosing is the reputation for being Christ like.

The virtue of humility is somewhat of a rarity today. And when we come across it, it stops us in our tracks. Humility is where real strength lies. As St Paul reminds us “my strength is made perfect in weakness”.

Some one told me a story the other week about a senior Churchman who spoke about the day he was ordained deacon. He spent it, obviously, in all his finery, set apart for his new ministry, the focus of attention, vested with new power and influence. He enjoyed the splendour and the lavishness of it all, and the grandeur of his new position. At the end of the day, after the ‘do' following his welcome service, he found himself alone in the church hall, stacking brown plastic chairs and felt indignant. ‘I shouldn't be doing this, I wasn't ordained to stack plastic chairs'. Then he suddenly said to himself, ‘no, actually, this is precisely what you were ordained to do. To be a humble servant.

Humility was brought even more to the forefront of my mind in a recent book I read about the life of Mother Teresa of Calcutta and whilst reading it I became acutely aware of how she changed the criteria of the world without words but through imitating Christ. Her life was a lesson in love. As she personally tended the sick and the dying in Calcutta's slums, she helped people there and beyond see the material and spiritual poverty that confronts modern society. She taught all through humility and simplicity. As small and soft-spoken as she was, her reach was large and her message heard around the world. She saw Jesus in everyone. She had a profound realization that anyone she was with was first of all a Child of God and intrinsically worthy of respect.

In the silence of contemplation, Mother Teresa of Calcutta could hear the cry of Christ on the cross, 'I thirst'. This cry gathered in the depths of her heart, forcing her journey on the streets of Calcutta and of all the margins of the world, to find Jesus among the poor, among the abandoned, the dying, with generous dedication. She served all human needs with dignity and respect : she made those destroyed by life feel the tenderness of God the Father. This remarkable woman is a model to us of both humility and service. When she died she left no possessions.  It was not her words that spoke to the wider world but her silent acts of love.  Her understanding of being a disciple of Jesus was in seeking holiness of life in the ordinary, in the sick and the suffering, surrendering in humility to God.

So as we encounter Jesus standing before Pilate, in  meekness and majesty, he teaches us not by word in this passage, but by example. As we walk the journey with Jesus to the cross and the empty tomb, I pray that nothing may distract us from kneeling before Christ and abandoning ourselves to him, so that we might follow him, immersed in the light of humility and love.

Do Not Worry

Do Not Worry!!

Gen 1 1-2:3

Rom 8 18 -25

Matthew 6 25 – end

Let me share with you a short story about a mechanic who worked out of his home from a garage at the back. The mechanic had a dog named Mace. The mechanic always wanted to buy the latest gadget or fastest sports car. He worked long hours to fund his obsession and he worried constantly about the debt he was getting into. As his worry increased the more absent minded he became and he was notorious for loosing his tools. Sometimes he would miss deadlines and as a result have to give significant discounts to his customers and loose money which would fund his gadget habit.  The more he seemed to worry, the more he mislaid things.

His, dog Mace had a bad habit of eating all the grass on his lawn, so the mechanic had to keep Mace inside. The grass eventually became overgrown. One day the mechanic was working on a car which had to be ready that day and unfortunately he dropped his wrench, losing it in the tall grass. He couldn't find it for the life of him, he looked everywhere. Instead getting into a flap and worrying he decided, for once, to put it in God’s hands and pray that the wrench would turn up. That night, Mace escaped from the house and ate all the grass in the back garden. The next morning the mechanic went outside and saw his wrench glinting in the sunlight. Realizing what had happened he looked toward the heavens and proclaimed, "A grazing Mace, how sweet the hound, that saved a wrench for me!"

Worry is something that most of us have and do experience. I hear myself saying to my husband “I wish you would stop worrying about things” on a regular basis and he often points out that I am quite annoying because I never really seem to worry about anything. I admit some years ago when I worked for a long time in a very stressful job this wasn’t the case. I was often stressed and preoccupied with all the things that I needed to do and often with not enough hours in the day to do them.

 In the complex society in which we live we see people worrying about being normal, whatever that is. I have an acquaintance who recently decided her figure could be improve and choose to undergo very expensive cosmetic surgery and suffered weeks of pain afterwards. Ironically, once she had recovered, no one noticed she had even had it done. We see people becoming preoccupied with owning the latest flat screen tv, the latest mobile phone, the latest fashion item. Often getting themselves into debt and buying things they cannot necessarily afford. Loosing all perspective and seeing the most unimportant things in life as critical to survival. Jesus reminds in the passage we read, about the futility of worry. It doesn’t add one hour to the span of our life. It achieves nothing. As a famous quotation says “Worry is a futile thing, it's somewhat like a rocking chair, although is keeps you occupied, it doesn't get you anywhere”

However, sometimes there are times in our life when you are pulled up by your boot straps and something happens where you can’t help but worry.

Last Summer I had a slight twinge in my side which I had ignored for about 12 months, foolishly.  On mentioning it to the Dr she suggested I go to the hospital and get checked out, which I did. Convinced it was all in my imagination I got a huge shock when the consultant told me that I had to come into hospital as soon as possible to have a mass removed which was the size of a small melon. The problem was she then said that it was possible that this could be cancer and she would take a test and let me know the result in a week. My immediate response to this was – “ I can’t have cancer, I am going to be a priest!. But you can imagine that the following week felt very long indeed. Waiting to hear whether I had cancer or not.  I confess that at first my immediate response was to worry, but resolved that there was nothing I could do but place the situation in God’s hands. I am pleased to say that the mass proved to be benign. In hindsight, I do believe I was sent this trial to really help me understand what people go through when faced with such things and I am sure I will be a better priest for it.  

Jesus, having shared our humanity, knows our fears and anxieties. In some circumstances it is perfectly natural to worry when we have real concerns for someone’s health or are facing a difficulty.  As we heard in the story of the mechanic and the dog Mace, although amusing, it tells us the importance of handing our worries and concerns over to God through prayer. It is through a relationship with God that God works in and through our lives.  Each day has troubles of its own and worry can be defeated when we live one day at a time and let God hold everything.  This demands trust and trusting can be quite a challenge. It is a bit like the team building game of trust, where someone stands on dry stone wall and then falls backwards expecting a group of colleagues to catch them in their arms. If you have ever had to do this is quite scary.  Our natural instinct is to protect ourselves and look after our own safety. Falling backwards and trusting someone else is difficult. But this is exactly what Jesus is asking us to do. And just as the group ensures that they are there to catch you as you fall off the wall, so Jesus is there with open arms on the cross to save.

It is important however, when reading this gospel passage to recognize that Jesus wasn’t asking us to be nonchalant and expect things to be handed to us on a plate. Nor did he expect us to live a life of austerity. Jesus was instructing us that when we desire more and more and become preoccupied with material things, they lead us away from God. Jesus bids us to strive for the Kingdom of God. If we live a life which is grounded in God, where we are not distracted by the latest “must haves.” If we  rest content in the life God gave us and appreciate and cherish the beauty of creation around us, then it is only then that we experience the freedom in Christ.  A life in Jesus gives us freedom to live for today and inhabit the present. In the gospel passage Jesus communicates to us just how much we are valued and loved by God. Jesus tells us how much God values the birds of the air and the grass in the field yet he values us, his children even more. Today’s Old Testament reading from Genesis illustrates this clearly.  We can be sure in the knowledge that God loves us all with an everlasting love. 

In our reading from St Paul to the Romans, Paul brings us back to the troubled state of this present world. He draws a great picture. He sees all nature and human kind waiting for the glory that shall be.  Paul goes on to think about human longing. In the experience of the holy spirit, men and women had a foretaste of the glory that shall be. We are saved by hope. The hope Christ holds for us. Paul believed that the human situation is not hopeless. Paul saw human sin and the state of the world but he also saw Christ’s redeeming power and the end of it all, for him, was hope. Because of that, Paul’s life was not a state of permanent despair.  Life for Paul was an eager anticipation of liberation, a renewal and a recreation brought about by the glory and the power of God. In verse 19 he uses a wonderful Greek word for eager longing or expectation, it is apokaradokia.  A great word which describes someone who scans the horizon, head thrust forward, eagerly searching for the first signs of the dawn breaking:  the day break of glory. To Paul life was not a weary defeated waiting, it was a vivid expectation.  As Christians, part of our human situation is to battle with our own human nature often finding ourselves in a world which turns its back on God. However, as Christians we do not live only in the world but we also live in Christ. By living in Christ we look beyond the world to God.  And as we look beyond our human weaknesses and sin we see the power of God’s mercy and love. Therefore as God’s people we need never despair or worry. We have a sure and certain hope – life in Christ. 

So as we go about our daily lives, let’s pause when worry begins to creep in and hand our worries and concerns over to God .  Let’s respond to the challenge Jesus gives us  and put God first and he will respond and meet all our needs.

 I would like to end with a wonderful passage which was written by Julian of Norwich, mystic and writer of the 14^th Century. Julian reminds us:

“When the soul is tempest tossed, troubled and cut off by worries, then it is time to pray, so as to make the soul willing and responsive towards God. But there is no kind of prayer that can make God more responsive to the soul, for God is always constant in love. And when, by his special grace, we behold him clearly, knowing no other need, then we follow him and he draws us to himself by love”.