"The Word of God" and the Parable of the Seeds

This sermon was preached on Wednesday 16th of July in the middle of a tense period for the Anglican Communion - a period of debate over such issues as women bishops, and the legitimacy of gay ministers.

The Parable of the Sower would perhaps be more accurately called the 'parable of the seeds' - because the story Jesus tells is much less about the man who sows the seeds, than about what happened to them after they were sown. Its a parable that is actually quite difficult to preach about, because - unusually - Jesus' own explanation for the parable is recorded alongside the parable itself.

But the parable does rather beg one very important question. What is 'the word' that Jesus refers to throughout the story. What is this 'word' which can be snatched away by the evil one, or fallen away from by the person who has no root, or choked by the lure of wealth and the cares of the world?

I'm going to tell you something rather controversial now. Something that might shock you a little...so its something that I really want you to think about for a moment. I wonder what you think when you hear people in different parts of the church describe the Bible as 'the Word of God?' Because you see, I don't actually buy into that phrase. There. That's shocked you, hasn't it? So, let me tell you why I don't think the Bible is the 'Word of God' as such...

Let me try to explain by using an illustration. Imagine, if you can, a world in which the Bible does not exist. Imagine that instead the only things we had to go on, to try and understand what God is like, is all the words that have ever been written about God by all the hundreds of thousands of people who have ever claimed to have got a glimpse of what God is like. There would be the book of Mormon, the Koran, Gospels written, supposedly, by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, but also Peter and Barnabus, and Judas and Mary. There would be books by people like David Ike, and the Jehovah's Witnesses. There would be theological treatises by Pope Benedict and the Archbishop of Canterbury. There would books of poetry and myth like Jonathan Livingston Seagul, or The Prophet by Kahil Gibrahn. But no Bible. No definitive collection of books which we can turn to and say, with certainty, this is God's Word, with a capital Wuh.

That was precisely the situation which pertained in the year 397 - when a Council was called in Carthage in order to agree which books were 'in' and which books were 'out' of what is called 'the canon of Scripture' - or in other words, 'the Bible'. Put your imaginative hats on again. Imagine again that we were living in a time in which the Bible had not yet been agreed. Imagine then that you heard that a council of Bishops had just met in Carthage...and that they had considered all the books which have ever been written about God, by all the different people I just listed - and many more - and that they had decided which of these books were 'in', and which of them were 'out'. How would you feel about that decision? Would you be able to trust that these bishops had got it right? Would you be content to accept their judgment? And before you answer that for yourself...just think about how many things Bishops in the church argue about, even today.

I think most of us would be pretty suspicious of such a decision. I think we'd want to know which books were excluded, and why. The press would have a field-day, wouldn't they, looking through the list of excluded books, and wondering why a certain Bishop had argued so strongly for it to be excluded or included?

But that is exactly what happened. In the process of agreeing which books could be in the Bible that we have today, many many other writings about God were excluded - some of which might just deserve to be heard by thinking, intelligent people who want to make up their own minds about God. I wish I had time to explore with you some of the books that were not included...but that will have to wait!

So what we have, when we pick up our Bibles, is a glorious library of texts which have been handed down to us over thousands of years. Many of those texts are, I believe, indeed the Word of God - his expressed wishes and commands to his people, as understood by people who knew God well, and understood God's character and desires for humanity. But many of the texts are a reflection of human beings' attempts to understand who God is - and sometimes, frankly, they got it wrong. There is poetry. There is myth. There is song. There is history - although as we know, two people's accounts of the same historical event is always tricky! What we don't have is a set of texts, dictated word for word by God to a scribe...who then faithfully preserved God's words for us down through the centuries...unaltered. That, incidentally, is what the Koran claims to be...the actual words of God, received by Mohammed, and then preserved for all time. But that is not what the Bible claims to be. Nowhere in the Bible does the Bible itself say 'this collection of scriptures contains the Word of God, the whole Word, and nothing but the Word'.

The upshot of all this is that I treat the assembly of books that we have received as the Bible with a little bit of healthy scepticism. You see, God did not want us to base our faith on a book...he wanted us to base our faith on a person...ultimately on the person of Jesus of Nazareth. That's why Jesus came among us. Not to lay down a rule book that we have to slavishly follow...Jesus himself never wrote a word of the Bible down. He wasn't even very clear about what we should think or do in some situations. Some of his reported statements seem to contradict one another. He often spoke in parables, without explaining their meaning to ordinary people. Instead, he came to show us what God was like...and how we should respond to God and to one another. And what did he call us to do..."Love God, and love one another"...as I said last week. Simple. Straightforward. No questions asked!

All of this is by way of saying that I feel very sorry for people who hold on to these historical, fascinating, inspiring, thought-provoking texts as if they had been written down, word for word, by God himself. God must weep when he sees us arguing over the minutiae of individual texts - arguing about, for example, whether or not the world was created in six days, or whether homosexuals have a place in his church, or whether it is legitimate to ordain a woman as a bishop. Jesus must be saying "Is this what I came for? So that my church could divide itself into ever increasing factions over whether or not there should be a pope, whether or not the bread turns into my actual body, the exact meaning of my death on the cross, whether gay people have the same rights as straight ones, or whether it makes any difference at all whether a woman ordains a priest or whether a man does it."

Jesus came, instead, to inaugurate a Kingdom...a new world order...an entirely different way of living that was based on love. A kingdom based on love would simply not concern itself with the kind of nonsense that seems to take up so much of the church's time around the world. A kingdom based on love would concern itself with feeding the hungry, freeing captives, and challenging the failed concepts of war. A kingdom based on love would show the world how to stop treating one another as consumers and customers, and to begin seeing one another as brothers and sisters. A kingdom based on love would cry 'stop!' to the madness of modern consumerism. A kingdom based on love would be so united in its concern for the Two Thirds of the World who are starving, that its voice could not be drowned out. A kingdom based on love would transform the way we do business into one which protects the earth, for the love of future generations.

So if you ask me for my opinion about all the arguments which whorl around the church all through the year, I will tell you...I don't really care - except in so far as I care about the hurt that the arguments cause to people I love. My focus is on how well we are doing, here in North End, as well as in the wider world, at ushering in God's Kingdom of Love. Nothing else matters.

So when Jesus says, in the parable of the seeds, that there are thorns which can choke the seed...thorns, as he says, of cares of the world and the lure of wealth...is it just possible that he is pointing at those in the church who have let the cares of sexual politics - a very worldly concern if there ever was one - and the lure of wealth, power and influence get in the way of enacting his true word? His "Word of the Kingdom" (Matt 13.19). His Word...'love'?

I'll leave it to you to decide.

Do You Get It?

Preached at St Mark's North End on 6th July

Reading: Matthew 11:16-19 & 25-30

Have you heard the one about the Bishop, the priest and the student who were in an airplane, when the engines failed? Well, unfortunately, there were only three parachutes. The pilot, who knew this, grabbed one and jumped out of the plane – leaving just two parachutes between the bishop, the priest and the student.

“Sorry folks”, said the Bishop – using nice inclusive language because the priest was a woman – “but I am a very important man; there is a whole diocese relying on me for leadership. I’m afraid I simply have to have one of the parachutes. So he grabbed a pack, and jumped out of the plane.

“What are we going to do?” asked the priest. “How on earth can we choose who gets the last parachute?”

“Oh, I shouldn’t worry,” said the student. “The Bishop has just jumped out with my rucksack!”

Do you get it? Well, not everyone does. Humour is a funny thing – if you’ll pardon the pun. Humour is a funny thing? Get it?! Whether or not you do get a joke rather depends on who you are, what your life experiences have been, and what kind of sense of humour you have.

One of the funniest things I’ve experienced as a priest is to watch people in a pub telling each other some rather risqué joke, who then realise that they have been overheard by a priest. The look on their faces is usually very funny – especially when they see that I’m usually laughing as well!

Not getting a joke is one thing. Not getting who Jesus was is something else entirely. This morning’s gospel reading is just part of a much longer section in which a whole host of people entirely fail to get who Jesus was. First there is John the Baptiser, who had baptised Jesus and had even heard the voice of God calling from heaven that this was His son, with whom he was well pleased. But even after that, and after hearing of so many miracles that Jesus was performing, John still didn’t get it. He had to send some of his disciples to Jesus, to ask “Are you the messiah we were promised? Or should we wait for another?

The towns of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum – where Jesus had time and time again performed mighty miracles which declared the dawning Kingdom of God – they didn’t get it.

And then in the gospel reading we heard today, we see that scholars and the wise, who could explain much, but missed the revelation in their midst…they didn’t get it. Jesus prays to his father, and says, “I thank you, Father…because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent…”.

And then, what about the image Jesus uses of children in the market-place. Who was he referring to? Let’s just read those verses again, right from the beginning of the Gospel…

(Mat.11:16-17) But to what will I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn’.

Jesus uses this image of children in the market-place to speak about himself and John. On the one hand, there is Jesus, whom Sydney Carter famously called the Lord of the Dance. Jesus is accusing the entire generation of Israel of not getting what he was all about. Here he is, announcing the peaceable kingdom of unconditional love and forgiveness and of celebrating the goodness of life with all – and no-one wants to dance to the tune he is playing. But neither would they mourn to the message of John, whose warning of coming judgment was too threatening, and whose life-style was too unworldly for the sophisticates of his generation.

They just didn’t get it. They didn’t get John’s invitation to repent – to turn away from sinful living – followed by Jesus’ invitation to have life, and have it to the full (John 10.10).

Why didn’t they get it? That’s the question that we are invited to ask.

And to get an answer to that question, we have to understand something of where all these people were coming from…something of their context. This was a people who were under occupation…the occupation of the Roman Empire. They longed to be free of the yolk of oppression which Rome had put on their shoulders. They longed to be able to go about their lives without having to pay taxes to Rome, or having to do whatever they were told by whichever drunken Roman soldier bossed them about. They were fed up of being ruled from afar by an Emperor they had never met, and would never see. So they longed for a ‘saviour’, a ‘messiah’ who would set them free.

But Jesus turned out to be something very different from the Messiah they were expecting. For Jesus, Rome, or Roman occupation, just wasn’t the problem. When challenged to incite the people to rise up again Rome, and to stop paying their taxes, he simply said “Render to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s”. Jesus knew that empires will rise and fall – by his time in history, the world had already seen the Egyptian, Greek and Babylonian empires rise; and then crumble. No, the overthrowing of empires was just not on Jesus agenda. He was much more concerned about the issues in people’s lives – issues which were stopping them from living their lives to the full.

Jesus’ solution to the world’s problems was actually very simple…so simple that it could be grasped by a child. Which is precisely why, in the Gospel reading, Jesus thanked his father that he had hidden ‘these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants’ (Mat 11:25) What was it he said on another occasion? “Unless you receive the Kingdom of Heaven like a child, you will never enter it” (Mat 18:3, Mk 10:15, Lk 18:17)

Jesus solution was simple…almost childishly simple. It wasn’t about complex theological somersaults. It wasn’t about over-throwing political powers. It didn’t rely on philosophy for its underlying truth.

It was very very simple.

So what was it? What was the amazingly simple message that Jesus had…a message so simple that an infant could grasp it? It was this… Love One Another. Or, perhaps a bit more fully, Love God and One Another.

That is it. Understand that basic, fundamental truth, and you’ve grasped the very heart of Jesus’ message to the whole of humanity. Love God and One Another. That’s it. Nothing more. Done and dusted.

So what does this mean for us? After this service, we are going to spend some time thinking about what the future might look like for us, here at St Marks. We are going to think about all sorts of possibilities which might be open to us…everything from ways to introduce Jesus to the people in this community who don’t already know him, as well as ways to deal with the crumbling building we have inherited thanks to the shoddy builders in the 1970s. We are going to think about our styles of worship, and our ways of reaching out into the community. But all of it, all of it, needs to be undergirded by that simple message of Jesus…Love God and One Another.

If we get that right, then Jesus promises, his yoke is easy, and his burden is light. “Come to me, he says, all you who are carrying heavy burdens of worry about this and that…and I will give you rest. Focus on me, and on my central message, and you will find rest for your souls.”

So be it. Amen

What's in a Name?

Matthew 16:13-20 - What's in a Name?

Preached at St Mark's Church NorthEnd, Portsmouth, on Sunday 29th June.

(Apologies for the late posting of this...I've had internet problems)

When I was a lad, I was not the most popular boy in the school. There were a lot of reasons for this, now I look back on it. I was tall and gangly, and had a face covered in acne. I was also the only musician in the school, which marked me out as rather different from the rest of my rather macho classmates. I was also extremely allergic to sport...and was always the last one to be picked for any team game...mainly because I was rubbish at it.

I did once demonstrate a bit of energy on the rugby field mind you. I can remember that day very clearly. There I was, in the middle of the scrum, when the ball came my way. I picked it up, and ran as fast as my lanky legs would carry me. I pelted down the field, towards the goal, knocking aside a little Jehovah's Witness called Ellis Fisher (bless him), and kept on going straight and unopposed to the goal. In the background, I could hear my team shouting 'Go on! Go on!'. I crossed the line, and victoriously dumped the ball right in the middle of the goal...turned round...to realise that I'd run to the wrong end of the field, scored a try for the opposing team, and that my team-mates had actually been yelling Stop! Stop! (which sounds a bit like 'Go on!') when you are gasping for breath!

As a result of all this...and the fact that I was, frankly, an insufferable big-head...I got called rather a lot of nasty names...very few of which are repeatable from a pulpit. And often I would come home very upset. My poor parents did their best to try to help me cope, including making frequent use of that old saying, "sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me".

The trouble is, that old saying is a load of rubbish, isn't it? The reality is that name-calling does hurt, doesn't it? In some ways, a name can be even more hurtful than a punch or a push in the playground. Our names are part of who we are...they are a key part of our identity. And when someone replaces our identity with a horrible word like "idiot" or "scum" or any other number of unrepeatable names, it hurts. It creates what psychologists would call a 'dissonance' between who we think we are, and who others perceive us to be - and that dissonance physically hurts.

For example, when I think of the name 'Tom' it carries with it a whole load of associations...most of them positive. Its the name that Clare uses to call me to dinner (which is always a positive experience for me!). Its the name my parents and family use on birthday cards and christmas cards, and when they ring me or visit me. Its the name I used when I was confirmed, and then ordained, and now recently inducted into this Team. So, the word 'Tom' has a positive ring about it - its part of my positive identity..along with many other names that I use, like Dad, and Uncle.

Thomas - on the other hand - creates a rather different sense of identity. That's the name that Clare, and my mother, use when I am in trouble. When I hear "Thomas!" from the other end of the garden, I tend to think "Uh oh; what have I done now?!"

So names are important - and they were even more important in biblical times. The bible is packed full of examples of people changing their names in order to mark a change or transformation in their deep-down sense of who they are. One of the most famous examples is that of Abram, the father of the Hebrew nation, having his name changed by God to Abraham. According the footnotes in the bottom of my bible, the word Abram meant, simply, 'exhalted Father' - a term of respect for an old man. But Abraham meant 'father of many', and was given as a sign that Abraham was to become the father of an entire nation.

And then, in today's Gospel reading, we hear Jesus changing the name of his chief disciple from Simon, to Peter (or Cephas). The name 'Simon' meant 'to be heard, or to have a good reputation'. It was probably chosen by his parents because they wanted him to be an upright member of his local community. 'Peter' on the other hand, means 'rock' - as I'm sure you know. And, said Jesus, 'on this Rock I will build my church'.

Imagine that. Imagine that Jesus took you to one side and said to you, "I'm changing your name. Your name isn't Doris, or Edna, or Bill, or Fred anymore. I'm giving you a new name...a new identity. From now on, you are going to be known as 'the dependable one', 'the generous one', 'the loving one', 'the reliable one' - or some such encouraging phrase. It would tend to alter your whole perception of yourself, wouldn't it? It would perhaps cause you to ponder "why has Jesus called me that? Could it be that he sees potential in me that even I haven't seen yet?". Perhaps that is exactly what Peter thought. Peter, who was just groping towards an understanding of exactly who Jesus was, and of what that knowledge might mean for his own life, suddenly finds that Jesus has described him as a 'Rock' on which an entire church is going to be built. Boy! I'll bet that was encouraging for him!

Names in the bible, then, are much more than just a word which helps to sort out who is who. Names are words which contain a sense of the full character of the person being named. Some names were also believed to have power in and of themselves - because of whom they are attached to. So, to 'call on the name of the Lord' was to invoke the power of the Lord himself. To pray 'in the name of Jesus' is to pray in the presence and reality of Jesus.

But what does all this mean for us I wonder?

Someone came to see me this week - I won't say who, because our discussion was private - but one of the interesting questions they asked me was 'what does it mean for us to be in a team, rather than a parish?'. They were pondering - trying to get a hold of this new word which has been introduced in only the last year or so. I've been thinking about that question a bit, since we spoke - and I think I'm beginning to grope my way towards an answer.

Who are 'the Team'? YOU ARE. The team is not Bev, Di, Ruth and me - we are just the co-ordinators, the animators, the leaders whose task is to hear what God is saying through all of us, and then to give shape to it. The team is not the Churchwardens, or the PCC. They are the people who take the tough decisions, and the legal decisions, on behalf of all of us. They are the custodians, and the vision-holders for us all. But we, all of us together, are the people who make up the North End Team Ministry. We describe ourselves as a 'Team' - that's our collective name for ourselves. And its a word which has power...if we will let it shape us. Its a word which implies working together, using all of the talents which we have; the talents of our ordained ministers, yes, but much more importantly the talents of everyone here. The word Team is meant to convey a sense that it is not up to me, or any of the ordained ministers, as to how we move forward in this place...its up to all of us. A team is a group of people who pull together for a common purpose. A team is a group of people who support and lift up their weakest members, and enable them also to be full members of the team.

We are the people who have been called out, by our Lord, to be salt and light to his world. We are called out to give flavour to the world, and to bring light to its darkest places. We are people who have been called out to be the body of Christ - Jesus' hands and feet to a world which desperately needs him. We are people who have been called out to live in community with our brothers and sisters - joining our hands and feet to their eyes, ears, mouths, noses, and even their knobbly knees! The body of Christ is at its most effective when it is the whole body of Christ - the complete Team, able to use all of its talents in the task of sharing the love of Jesus to the community of North End.

That's why this word, the name, 'Team' matters. That's what I believe we have been called to be, and to do - a team. That is the rock on which we are going to invite Jesus to build his church here in NorthEnd, Hilsea and North Copnor. And that's the vision that I hope and pray we can all embrace.

Amen

Fanatics R Us?

Matthew 10:24-39

Preached at St Francis' Church, Hilsea, Portsmouth, on 22 June 2008.

After some introductory remarks...(as this was my first visit to St Francis' Church)...

Let's get down to this morning's gospel reading shall we? Tough stuff this, isn't it? Verse 34-36: Do not think I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother in law; and one’s foes will be members of one's own household!

Now, as tempting as it is, I have to resist the temptation to tell some mother-in-law jokes at this point...mainly because, as you may know, I choose to publish my sermons on the Internet...and I have a mother-in-law!

And actually, Jesus doesn't seem to be joking when he says that his followers may have to make some pretty tough decisions about where their allegiance is. "Whosever does not take up his cross, and follow me is not worthy of me..."and so on. To us Western Christians, this speech of his seems rather odd, even a bit fanatical doesn't it? Its the sort of thing that we expect to hear the Mad Mullahs of Al Quaida saying to their brain-washed followers. To us, who have the freedom to worship wherever and whenever we like, all this talk of witness, persecution, poverty and martyrdom seems to represent another world altogether.

But we should remember that in every generation since the time of Jesus, his disciples have been in situations in which these words of Jesus ring true...painfully true. Let me read to you an account of something that took place just about six weeks ago, in Indonesia... I think I should warn you...some of this will be difficult to listen to...but not half as hard as it was for those who had to go through it...

"On the night of the 2nd of May 2008, the mainly Christian village of Horale was attacked by a mob from the neighbouring village of Saleman which is predominantly Muslim. The attackers (whether they were Muslims or not is unknown) burnt down 120 houses, three churches and the village school. Four Christians were killed and 56 wounded. Fifteen hectares of crops were destroyed as well as 20 fishing boats and 2 motor-cycles."

Many awful things happened to a number of individuals during this attack - but too awful to repeat here, especially with children present in our service. But I will put a link to the published story on my blog.

(source: http://www.barnabasfund.org/news/archives/article.php?ID_news_items=411 accessed on 21/06/08)

I don't know about you, but this story - and the many more like it that are going on all around the world, force me to ask some pretty tough questions of myself. Could it be, for example, that we here in the West have somehow tamed the Christian faith, re-fashioned it in our own image to such an extent that it is no longer seen as a challenge to the society in which we live? Have we become so contaminated by the world around us, that the world no longer sees us as a threat to its selfish, violent, materialistic way of life? Could it be that we have become silent, when we should be upsetting the money-changers' tables? Could it be that instead of calling for justice, the relief of poverty, the end to war, and the love of God, we are rather content to let the rest of the world carry on exploiting the poor, blowing each other up, and hating one another?

But there are places in the world where Christians do still stand up for what they believe...and when they do, often find themselves at the sharp end of persecution, torture, and death. Just as Jesus said would happen. The Christian faith, if it is fully and openly declared, is dangerous to the world. It speaks of a way of life that is exactly the opposite of the way that most people chose to live. It is a way of peace, not war. It is a way of self-control, not Friday night leglessness on the streets of Southsea. It is a way of poverty and simplicity, not materialism and consumerism. It is a way of faithfulness to one another, not sleeping around with as many partners as possible. It is a way of finding contentment through giving things away, not getting more and more of them. It is a way of embracing and welcoming the stranger, not finding ever more complicated legal ways to 'keep the scroungers out'.

So, from another perspective, this chapter need not be alien to us at all. It boils down, into concentrated form, what the Christian life essentially is. And what is it? It is a confession, a stated sure belief, that God has acted decisively in Jesus; it is a way of placing our loyalty to God, revealed in Christ, over and above all other loyalties...even the deepest loyalties of home and family.

Now - let's think about that for a moment. I have lived in or near Portsmouth, for the last 16 years...and I know how important family ties are in this town. When I used to run the YMCA hostel down in old Portsmouth, we once had a young man staying with us who was, how shall I put it, a right old pain in the posterior. I shall call him Johnny Smith - which was not his real name - and he was a member of what we will call the Smith family...one of the 'old families' of Portsmouth. Johnny, unfortunately, was constantly drunk, always abusive to my staff, never paid his rent on time, and often violent. Well after a number of warnings, and a lot of prayer, we had no choice but to evict him from the hostel. As he was ejected out of the doors, his parting words were: "You've messed with the wrong guy...I'm a Smith! I'll get my family to sort you out!"

Sure enough, a few hours later, about half a dozen of his family arrived...in a right old mood. I honestly thought they were going to smash all the windows in the YMCA. It took just about every ounce of my diplomatic skills to talk them into not kicking my head in... mainly by reminding them why they had kicked Johnny out of their own house in the first place.

There is an old saying, that blood is thicker than water...which is sometimes used to justify all sorts of feuds between families. In some feuds, it doesn't matter who is right or wrong...it matters only that someone's family has been insulted. It's what the Mafia does. And, frankly, its what some families even in Portsmouth do.

I don't know about you...but I think that that way lies madness. If we all began jumping to the defence of someone who was clearly in the wrong, just because they were a member of our family - or our playground gang - then pretty soon the whole of society would crumble.

Now please don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that families are a bad thing. God loves families! God invented families. Families are one of the most important structures in our whole society. The best families give us companionship and love, a place to feel secure, a place to make mistakes, and still be accepted.

But Jesus says to us, through this reading, that we have an even higher loyalty...a loyalty that only a God could claim...a loyalty to Him. And that, Jesus warns, will bring division even between members of the same family. Because God, who made us, and is transforming us and who loves us has an even higher claim on our loyalty than our families....even if our families don't acknowledge him.

Just one last thought. What did Jesus mean when he said, in verse 34, "I have not come to bring peace, but a sword"?

Well, the first thing we must say is that Jesus was speaking metaphorically. It is abundantly clear from the rest of the Gospels that the last thing Jesus came to do was put a sword in anyone's hand. "Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you."

So what sword might Jesus have been referring to? Like so many of Jesus' statements, we are rather left to wonder and ponder his meaning. However, I think we can get a bit of a clue, by turning to one or two other readings from the New Testament. Here's a small selection:

Ephesians 6:17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Hebrews 4:12For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

In both these cases (and many others in the New Testament) the word sword is used as a metaphor. The sword represents the Spirit and the Living Word of God - something that is so fantastically pure and true that it cuts to the heart of every situation.

It is the Spirit of God which produces the Fruit of the Spirit of God, which we know from the book of Galatians to be: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. And the sword of the Spirit divides the fruit of the spirit from the fruits of the flesh. It, or rather He, offers us the choice. Instead of love, we could choose hate. Instead of joy, we could choose misery. Instead of peace, war. Instead of patience, anger. Instead of kindness, selfishness. Instead of goodness, evil. Instead of gentleness, harshness and judgmental attitudes. Instead of faithfulness, infidelity. Instead of self-control, doing whatever we like...regardless of the consequences.

So when those around us, perhaps our neighbours or some of the other inhabitants of our city, perhaps our Government, perhaps multi-national corporations founded on greed and materialism, perhaps even members of our own family choose not to follow the path of the Spirit...how do we respond?

Who is it who commands our loyalty?

Let's pray...

Heavenly Father...we confess to you that there are times when we forget just how much loyalty we owe to you. You have shown us how to live, in peace and harmony with one another and with you. And yet sometimes we choose to go the way of the world. Will you send your Spirit on us afresh, showing us clearly the path of life you would have us follow? Will you fill us to overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit? Help us to be people who declare your love, your way of living, to those around us - whatever the cost. For we ask it in Jesus' name, and in the prayerful hope of the completion of the coming of the Kingdom of God.

Amen

Matthew 9:35 – 10.8 - Healing the Sick

Preached at St Mark's Church, Derby Road, this morning.

Last week, you may recall, we heard Jesus calling his disciples to follow him. This week, however, we hear Jesus sending his disciples out into the towns around Israel. And as he sent them, according to verse one of chapter ten, he gave them authority over unclean spirits, and the authority to cure every disease and every sickness. And this tantalising authority is backed up by the fact that, as we saw in the opening verses of the reading, Jesus himself "went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness". (Mt 9.35)

Now, I don't know about you, but I find myself really intrigued by this story. I find myself asking "why is it that if Jesus healed the sick, and if he gave his disciples the same authority to heal the sick, why is that my prayers for the sick don't have the same dramatic effect? Why isn't our church packed every Sunday with people who are dancing down the isles, having thrown away their wheelchairs, or their crutches...healed?"

It's a perplexing question isn't it? Let me put the question another way...why does God allow sickness and suffering to take place...especially when Jesus himself seemed to be so concerned about healing it? I know its a question that many of us have pondered...and it is one that is linked to the rather larger question that many people ask...why does God allow people to suffer in earthquakes and typhoons...such as we've seen in places like China and Burma in recent weeks?

So I want, this morning, to try to offer some kind of answer... something that will help us to understand why so many people we know, and indeed so many of us, continue to suffer from all kinds of sicknesses and ailments...as well as beginning to get a handle on the bigger questions of suffering caused by natural disaster. Before I go any further, however, I need to say one thing very clearly...this is a huge subject. Entire books have been devoted to trying to answer this question...so I'm going to have a hard time doing it in the next ten minutes. And frankly, even if I had a whole day to explore this topic with you, I still think we would struggle with the issues it raises. What I hope, however, is that this short sermon will stimulate debate...debate over coffee after the service, or debate on my website throughout the week.

Right...let's get down to it...and let me offer you a picture to contemplate. Imagine, if you will, that an aeroplane is coming in to land. Imagine that just as it is approaching the earth, the fuel lines to the engine suddenly snap...and the plane starts to plummet towards the ground. Imagine then that, out of the blue, a huge hand comes down out the sky...as God decides to save the aeroplane. The hand scoops up the plane...and deposits it gently down on the ground.

Sounds a lovely idea doesn't it. But let's think, for a moment, what the consequences of such an action would be. If God could be relied upon to suspend the laws of physics every time a disaster is about to happen...what would the results for human civilisation be? Well...I think they'd be rather like this...

For a start, aeroplane engineers wouldn't have to worry about doing a good job anymore. Instead of well designed aeroplanes, built to the highest standards of human ingenuity, we could just put people in bits of balsa-wood, with a rubber band, and shove them off cliffs in the general direction that they wanted to go...because God would stop them from crashing into the sea...and would deposit them safely at their destination.

In other words, imagine a world in which the laws of physics are suspended every time someone is about to come to harm. Such a world would be a very different place to the one we know. It would be a world in which there were no consequences to anything we did. It would be world which was so controlled by God, that we would be little more than puppets... Lego characters for God to move around the board of life, as he pleased. And, more importantly, it would be a world in which we would have no opportunities to learn from our mistakes - no opportunity to struggle and grow...to become better than we are...to become more and more like the God in whose image we are made.

But what about sickness? Why doesn't God do something about sickness?

Well, let's think about the world that God has made...instead of the Lego-land version that he could have made. He has made a world in which certain laws and rules apply. One of those laws is that life, in all its forms, is constantly changing and evolving. Its part of the glorious complexity of a world which is designed precisely so that we will have the best possible environment in which to grow and develop to our fullest potential. An ever changing, always dynamic system of life...in which we can become the best we can be. One of the consequences of a dynamic, changing, world is that viruses which we have fought off tend to mutate into new, resistant strains. Tiny changes in our genetic code can produce unexpected results - sometimes good ones, like stronger bodies and better immune systems, sometimes bad ones... producing genetic conditions that are hard to live with. These are essentially random occurrences...the random results of a complex system which is ultimately designed for our benefit. The question for us...the question that God poses the whole human race...is 'what are you going to do about it?'.

Its as if God says to humanity..."I have designed an environment in which you will live, that has certain laws. If you shoot someone with a gun, they will die. But if you apply a bandage to a wound, it will heal. If you build sub-standard housing in an earthquake zone, thousands will die. If you keep on heating up the atmosphere, typhoons and hurricanes will grow stronger… AND IF YOU FAIL TO USE THE INTELLIGENCE I HAVE GIVEN YOU FOR THE COMMON GOOD, THEN PEOPLE WILL KEEP ON DYING FROM DISEASES THAT YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO CURE."

I wonder what the world would be like if human beings had lived, for the last 2,000 years, the way that Jesus called us to live. Jesus told us to love one another, not shoot one another. He told us to work together for the common good, not squabble over which one of us could grab the most of the earth's resources for themselves. If, over the last 2,000, we had poured all our intelligence and potential into finding cures for disease, or designing earth-quake proof buildings, instead of devising every more ingenious ways to kill one another, we could have cured cancer centuries ago.

There is lots more I want to say about this...but time is against me. Let me just end by asking one further question that may be on your mind as a result of this morning's reading. I imagine that some of you may be asking, "If all that's true...why did Jesus go around healing people...and why did he give authority to the disciples to do the same?".

Well, as is so often the case with Scripture, the answer is in the reading itself. Matthew, Chapter 9, verse 36, says, "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd". Jesus' acts of healing arose out of his immense compassion for those he saw in pain. It was as though, in Jesus, the love that God has for the world - a love which created a world of magnificent potential because he wanted people to grow - just couldn't take the pain anymore. Being among us, and being both fully God as well as fully human (as church tradition teaches us) Jesus' human compassion gave vent to God's healing love.

But we should note, Jesus didn't cure all the sick of Israel. This morning's reading tells us that Jesus could cure every kind of sickness - but the reading does not say not that he cured every sick person in Israel. Neither do the rest of the Gospels. Take for example, the story of the pool of Bethesda, in chapter 5 of John's Gospel. According to John, "a great number of people used to lie there - the blind, the lame, the paralysed". But Jesus didn't heal them all. In fact, he just singled out one man. When Jesus learned how long the man had been lying there...for 38 years according to John...compassion seemed to get the better of Jesus. He seems to have set aside the normal rule - that human behaviour has consequences - and reached out instead with a more immediate compassion.

But there’s something else to note, coming out of this morning's reading. Jesus didn't just go around the villages and towns healing people. Matthew tells us that he first went around "proclaiming the good news of the kingdom". Jesus proclaimed to everyone who would listen to him that there is another way...that it is possible to live a life that embraces kingdom values. It is possible for us to change society - to be salt and light, to be his hands and feet - and to call the rest of the world to stop embracing the darkness of hate, and greed, and warmongering and to turn to the light of generosity, and community, and co-operation.

It is there that the healing of the sick will begin. Every time one of us reaches out to put a coin in the collecting box of cancer-research, or the Parkinson's society, or any number of other such causes, we bring forward the day when healing will be available to everyone who suffers. Every time one of us visits a sick person in the hospital or at home, we bring some of Christ's overwhelming sense of compassion into their lives. Every time one of us stands up against the assumption that might is right, and argues for peaceful co-existence instead of more war and death, we play a small part in changing hearts and minds to be more like those of God. Every time one of us shares with a neighbour or friend the good news that God has shown us the better way to be human, we do our part in helping to usher in the kingdom...a kingdom in which, as the book of Revelation promises us, "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain...for the old order of things has passed away" (Rev.21.4).

And finally - does this mean that we should stop praying for the sick? Absolutely not. Something the gospels show us very clearly, is that time and time again Jesus was moved, out of compassion, to heal those who were brought to him by their families and neighbours. We have every reason to think that Jesus will still be moved by our love for each other - and by our loving offering of one another to him.

The gospels give us ample room for believing that God always answers our prayers. "Ask and it will be given to you" (Mt 7.6). "Which of you if your child asked for bread would give them a stone...how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask for them". (Mt 7.9). And I believe that God always answers our prayers for healing and wholeness. Sometimes those healings can be dramatic cures - but, when you think about it, all cures are only temporary - because life is a terminal condition! We are all going to die one day. I think frankly, that the healing that is offered is more often healing for the soul, healing of the inner person - the sense of wholeness that comes from God, and from being loved and valued by the church community around the sick person.

There’s a lovely story – of an 18 year old teenager, suffering from Multiple Sclerosis, bound to a wheelchair, who was being confirmed by the Bishop of Maidstone – a few years ago. Apparently the Bishop took the young man aside, sympathised with his suffering, and then asked “How can you want to be confirmed? How can you think God is fair when he leaves you like this?”. The young man is said to have replied, “Its ok - God has got the rest of eternity to make it up to me”

So when someone you love or care for is in need, please pray for them - because God will always respond. He may well bring the healing or the answer you long for, but He will always work something that is far deeper, much more wonderful and which will last for eternity. So we cry out because we are desperate and our hope is in God alone; we learn humility as we come to Him with nothing but our need; and we discover faith as we trust God to do what He alone knows is best.

Matthew 9.9-13 – The Call

Preached at St Nicholas' Church, Battenburg Avenue, this morning.

Let me start by saying how glad I am to be with you this morning. I know you’ve been waiting quite a while for a new Team Rector – and it’s been a five month wait even for me. But here we are – together at last!

I am just at the very beginning of the process of understanding what God has been doing in the place over the last few years, and more importantly, what he may be calling us to do in the future. As part of that process, I’ve decided to stick with the set readings that we are given in the Lectionary – rather than start a sermon series on a given theme. That may come in the future – but for now, I want to invite us all to listen to God as he speaks to us through the regular rhythm of the church’s year, through the lectionary.

Those of you with computers will perhaps have read last week’s sermon on my website. And you’ll perhaps also be aware of the controversy it generated! That’s great! I love an argument…not, you understand, a personal slanging match-type of argument – but a real, earnest debate about things of substance. I certainly hope that you’ll never hear me say that I’ve understood everything there is to know about God. God is someone we need to discover and encounter together – and I hope that by publishing my sermons, we can wrestle together with what God may be saying to us.

Around the argument itself, was a central theme – arising out of last week’s lectionary – that God is the God of blessing – not of curses. I spoke about how he longs to bless us with every good thing. But, based on the parable of the wise and foolish builders, I also wanted to make clear that God gives a choice…a clear choice….between building on the rock of His way of doing things, or building on the sand of trying to go our own way.

Let’s turn to today’s Gospel reading, and ask what else God may be saying to us. I’m going to focus on just the first part of the reading we have heard…because if I try to do the lot, we’ll be here till after lunch!

At the beginning of the reading (in Matthew 9.9-13) we see Jesus calling Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him. It’s a story that we’ve heard so often that I think we sometimes lose sight of the significance of this statement. Jewish Rabbis did not normally seek disciples among the likes of tax collectors – who at best were seen as collaborators with the Roman occupiers of Judea, and at worst were known to be dishonest men who lined their own pockets out of the taxes they gathered. But here is Jesus, gathering around him a right old rag-bag of followers. Not the sons of the wealthy, well-to-do, regular synagogue worshippers – but tax collectors, political activists (like Simon the Zealot) and manual labourers like Simon and Andrew, the fishermen. These were not learned people who had studied the Scriptures, they were ordinary, every-day folk, some of whom had a decidedly shady past – but all of whom, quite obviously, had an openness to hearing God’s call on their lives. They were all people – ordinary people - who had heard Jesus’ call to follow wherever he led…and who were open enough to do just that.

So the first challenge to us, is to ask ourselves how open we are to that same call. Jesus still speaks today – through the pages of Scripture, and through his living presence in His church – and I believe he still says, “Follow me!”. Each of us is asked to think about how we are responding to that call. Are we as open to his call as those first disciples were? Are we as ready to lay aside all that we have known, all the things we have assumed that would always be the same – our job, our homes, our ‘life-plan’…and surrender it all to the Lord of the Universe who says “Follow me”? Jesus says to us, through the pages of Scripture, “I am going forward…I have a plan for this world, and for the whole of creation. But it’s a plan I want to put into action through the people I have created, loved, redeemed and filled with power. I invite you to be my hands and feet to dying world…follow me where I shall lead!”

But there is another aspect to this call – and that takes us to the second theme of this reading. This calling of the normal, the lost, the complicated, is one of Jesus’ very first public acts. And, as we read in verse 11, “when the Pharisees saw this, they said to the disciples, ‘Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?’” Jesus’ response their incredulity was to say, “Those who are well have no need of a doctor…I have come to call not the righteous, but sinners”

At first reading, if we are not careful, we could be forgiven for thinking that Jesus is dividing the world into two classes of people…the righteous, and the sinners – as if he is saying that there are some people who have already got their relationship with God sorted…who he doesn’t need to worry about.

But that is not, I think, what he is saying. For one thing, Jesus also ate with Pharisees (on other occasions) so he couldn’t have been saying that they were the righteous. There is no doubt at all that Jesus’ mission was to the whole world…and everyone in it. John 3:16 famously describes God loving the whole world, and sending his Son so that the whole world might be saved. Paul, then, famously elaborated on this idea, saying that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom.3:23).

It rather depends on what we think the Bible means by the word ‘sin’ doesn’t it? So let me try to explain what I think of, when I see the word. I take, as my starting point, that God, by definition, is the most holy, most pure, most sinless being there is. If he was anything else, he wouldn’t be God. God is, by definition, the yardstick by which we measure sin. Got me? Therefore, anyone who does not measure up to God’s perfection, God’s absolute sinlessness, is by definition, and in the Bible’s technical language, a sinner. Mother Theresa? Martin Luther King? Ghandi? St Francis, St Nicholas and St Mark? All sinners (as they would themselves freely acknowledged).

So this definition of sinner – in its most precise sense…I fear….rather includes you and me as well! None of us, however much we pray, however many good things we do, however many times a week we come to church, none of us is capable of being as sinless as God. So, by definition, we (as Paul says) are all sinners…and have fallen short of the glory of God. The only way that we can become ‘the righteous’ is if God, by his grace, makes us righteous…but that’s a topic for a whole different sermon!

The second point of this reading is to say to us; we should not be surprised at who else Jesus calls to follow him. If Jesus can call me…with all my un-God-like-ness, all my sin…then I should not be surprised at who else he calls. It is not for us, like the Pharisees, to sit in judgment and imagine that we can decide who is righteous and worthy, or who is a sinner. Of course we are all capable of recognising sinful behaviour – or to pick up from last week, we are all capable of discerning who appears to have their life built on sand, instead of rock. But how someone behaves now, has no bearing on whether or not God is calling them now as well. Just as Matthew, the money-grabbing tax collector was called.

So, I say, we must not be surprised when Jesus calls people who are not like us, as well as calling us. Jesus will call people who don’t like the same music as we do, who don’t learn in the same way that we do, who don’t worship in the same way that we do, who don’t have the same likes, dislikes, tastes, hang-ups, pre-conditions, prejudices, social background, economic circumstances, family context, sexual preferences and theological understandings as we do. Jesus calls us all to follow him, and to be transformed to be more like him. Jesus calls people to be his hands and feet to a dying world…and also his eyes, and ears, and mouth, and limbs, and wobbly knees, and appendix! It takes many parts to make a body…and we are the body of Christ.

So that’s going to mean that we need to be adaptable, and flexible, in our approach to how we encounter the other people that Jesus calls to follow him – and to how we help them – with us - to respond to his call. To that end, I believe, we are going to need to think hard about what it means to be part of His church in this Parish.

Let me offer you an image which helps me to begin to get a handle on how flexible we need to be. It’s a image, or if you like a vision, of a ‘multiplex church’. I’m sure that most of us, at one time or another, have been to a multiplex cinema. When you walk through the doors of such a place, you are confronted with a whole range of choices about what to watch. “Hmm…” you say, “what shall I watch…comedy, horror, action, love story?” And the film you choose to watch will ultimately depend on a whole range of factors…your personal preferences, who you are with, what you’ve enjoyed, or hated in the past, the time of day, what you’ve been reading recently…and so on.

Well, I want to suggest to you, that the church should be like that. We should be able to offer people a wide range of ways to encounter God – as wide as the preferences of people themselves are. There are many more ways of holding a communion service than the one we are holding here this morning. You can do it with bells and smells, you can do it with rock music or folk music, you can do it with robes, or without them, you can do it with noise, or in silence. There are many other ways of worshipping God than with hymns. You can use silence, or arts and crafts, or you can raise your hands to the sky, or you can immerse yourself in the glorious richness of a scripture-soaked choral evensong. You can do it over a meal, or in a housegroup. Or you can meet in a pub, and chat about God with some good friends, over a pint of Old Peculiar. Or you can meet, as your Ladies Breakfast Group did yesterday, over warm croissant and good company. You know those bumper-stickers that say things like “Firemen do it with long hoses” or “Policemen do it in a hurry”, or “Rock-climbers do it in high places”…? Well Christians do it in an infinite variety of ways!

And in each case – the challenge for all of us – is to make each way of encountering God as good as it can be. So I’m not talking about watering things down. I don’t want to create services which are a porridge of lots of different stuff – a porridge which frankly becomes tasteless the more you try to pack in. I’m talking about putting on a banquet of different flavours and dishes – which are individually cooked to the highest standard they can be.

That is my vision of what a healthy church should look like. And in some ways, we are already on that road, in this parish. Here at St Nicholas’ for example, I gather that Bev has been introducing some new ways of worshipping God – Taize-style worship, for example, or the chance for a discussion, instead of a sermon, or a chance for silent contemplation, instead of a regular hymn sandwich. And while some of you have enjoyed those new and different encounters, some of you have been less sure…and have opted instead to worship at one of the other churches in the parish on those occasions. And you know – that’s fine! It’s brilliant. “Multi-plex Church” doesn’t mean that we’ve all got to like the same thing, or find the same kind of worship helpful for us. But it does mean that we need to celebrate our diversity – the wonderful diversity of being in the incredibly diverse people that God has made us.

And it also means one other thing…

When I go to a multiplex cinema on my own, I usually opt for some kind of science-fiction or action film. But if I go with my family, I usually have to compromise a little. For some reason, that I utterly fail to understand, Clare and Emily just don’t get as excited about Star Trek as I do. So, we compromise. In order to have a great night out, as a family together, I have even, on occasion, been known to go to see a chick-flick…like Bridget Jones Diary! And, you know what, when I do, I usually surprise myself. I usually – not always – but usually find that I’ve actually quite enjoyed the experience. I’ve even been known to cry at the end!

So I suggest to you that as we begin to develop a more multiplex approach to church ourselves – don’t be surprised if God surprises you! Perhaps if you will try a different way of encountering God, that encounter might just turn out to be pretty wonderful. Or perhaps you might be willing to suspend your normal preferences, for the sake of inviting someone else – someone who is not a regular worshipper of God – to come and try something new.

So…let me sum up.

Jesus called Matthew, the tax collector, and a whole motley band of labourers and people he encountered in the countryside and towns. And he still calls ordinary, everyday, hurting, laughing, normal people, like you and me to follow him. He calls us to live transformed lives, which reach out and touch those around us with the good news about God…the good news that he loves us, and cares about us, and has a plan for the world he has made. He calls those like us, and he calls those who are unlike us – and he asks his church to be the place where everyone he calls can find a home, and in which everyone he calls can find a sense of purpose and fulfilment as a member of the body of Christ. And let’s be clear about this…there is no-one he doesn’t call.

So let us ask ourselves… are we ready to answer his call?

Bringing a Curse On Ourselves?

I've had a few responses to the paragraph in yesterday's sermon which refers to those people who are experiencing 'social' problems (drug addiction, unwanted pregancies, alchoholism etc) as 'having brought a curse on themselves'.

First let me say thank you to all those who have commented on this issue - either publically by published comment on the sermon (thanks Russell!), or by private question by email. The question people have been asking is whether I've been a bit too hard on people who suffer from those social problems referred to above, by suggesting that they have brought the misery they suffer on themselves. People are suggesting, I think, that I've failed to take account of factors like social context, family upbringing, genetic predisposition etc. Some have suggested that we must view people in these situations as suffering from an illness. They are not, my correspondents suggest, bringing a curse on themselves, as much as they are victims of a social or psychological illness.

Let me try to make what I was saying a little more clear....

First of all, I was attempting to deal with any suggestion that the curse under which such people live is one that is inflicted by God. I was trying to say - and think that I did - that God is a God of blessing, not of curses.

So, assuming that we can all agree with that basic proposition, to where should we look for the curses (of poverty, drug addiction, unwanted pregnancy etc) that people live under? I am more than willing to accept that such conditions are often influenced by social conditions and context. Poverty, for example, is often caused by the selfishness of the wealthy who refuse to re-distribute their wealth. Unwanted pregnancies are often influenced by a the promiscuous atmosphere which is prevalent in much of western society. Alcoholism can certainly be brought about as a result of wanting to escape from an otherwise intolerable situation. To that extent, people suffering from those conditions can most certainly be described as victims, or sufferers. A society which encourages high levels of credit card debt, as well as unfettered access to booze and sex, certainly bears a great deal of responsibility for the curse under which many people live.

However, I don't think that is the whole story. But I also tend to think that it is just too easy to blame our personal circumstances on others. The message of the bible is that we are responsible for the actions we take, and the decisions we make. Gamblers Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous will, I am certain, say that they can only help those who want to help themselves.

There are, of course, certain types of psychoses which render the sufferer completely unable to differentiate, morally, between different types of behaviour. But most people who are in the kinds of situation we are discussing do not suffer from such a psychosis. Most of them are simply people who, in a given circumstance, on a given day, have made a decision to do something that they know was 'wrong' (by which I mean contrary to normal moral law, or to the stated will of God). Perhaps they chose to rack up debt which they know they couldn't really afford. Or they have chosen to allow their drinking to get more and more each day. Or they have chosen to throw caution to the wind when in a sexual encounter.

Let me put it this way. Can you imagine asking a classroom of, say, 14 year olds, whether they thought that borrowing more than you can repay, or drinking 10 pints a day, or sleeping with a non-permanent partner without using contraception was a good idea? I can tell you from personal experience that the VAST majority of 14 year olds would be able to clearly identify all those actions as simply wrong...or at the very least extremely risky.

So what is it that drives so many of them, once they are a little older, to do precisely these things? I beleive that Jesus clearly points to a much more fundamental cause (than simply social conditioning, or genetic predisposition). Jesus says it all comes down to where we place our faith. Do we trust the words of God or would we rather trust the words of the marketing companies? This question is as old as the story of Adam and Eve. Will we be like them - imagining that we know better than God? (That's what the Bible refers to as 'sin'!). Or will we trust him when he says 'Don't touch..."?

I think that it is too easy to be influenced by people like Freud, who essentially claimed that all aberrent behaviour could somehow be linked back to a childhood experience, upbringing or fantasy. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul famously states that when he became a man, he put away childish things. We need to challenge some people, frankly, to grow up. It is frankly time that we took responsibility for our actions.

I, for example, am genetically and socially pre-disposed to fancy having sex with every good-looking woman I see. But I don't. Why not? Because I make a choice to live differently...to live under the rule of the Topsy Turvy Kingdom of God.

In the long run, however, it doesn't actually matter whether the curse that someone lives under is entirely their own fault, or whether society or genetic predisposition bears a part of the blame. As Jesus said (blurring the distinction himself), "is it easier to say 'take up your bed and walk' or 'your sins are forgiven'?" The main thrust of my sermon was meant to be that the Church is called to help those who live under such curses to lift their eyes beyond the rubble and the sand on which they have built, and to introduce them to the Father God who says "don't touch...because I love you"

I'm deeply sorry if I didn't make this more clear in the sermon. Hopefully this response will help! Please feel free to comment further, by clicking on the 'comments' link below.

Best wishes to all,
Tom

Matthew 7: 21-29: The Wise and Foolish Builders

Here's my very first sermon preached at the parish I now have the privilege of serving as Team Rector - North End, Portsmouth.

This sermon was preached at St Mark's Church, this morning.

You know, the last few months have been rather a lot of fun, in one way or another. One of the advantages of taking up a new job after interregnum, is that you get the opportunity to redecorate your new house before you actually move into it. Now I do realise that's a great privilege. Most of us have to decorate after we move...trying not to fall over boxes and furniture in the process. And Clare and I have done that in the past. But not this time. This time, we were able to go in to the Rectory, and make as much mess as we wanted! And I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who came round and helped...it was very much appreciated.

It's when you get those kinds of opportunities for rampant destruction and re-creation that you start to get a glimpse of what a satisfying job it must be to be a builder. I mean - imagine taking a piece of waste-ground...and creating on it a brand new house...designed in every detail just as you want it to be. The nearest I've ever got that has been building a shed. But even such a modest construction...when you stand back and look at it...gives a little tingle of pleasure.

We all know, don't we, that there's a big difference between having your house built by a professional builder, and having one built by the well-known firm of 'Bodge-it and Scarper'. I used to run a YMCA hostel, in Old Portsmouth, that had been not so much put-up as thrown-up (if you'll pardon the metaphor). A truly dreadful place...rotting windows, cracked walls, drafty, damp and cold. So we knocked it down.

You know, the problem of having good or bad builders has been a feature of civilization throughout the centuries. Jesus, and his contemporaries, knew all about the problem of sub-standard building...some of which was no doubt built by the well known Roman firm of 'Bodge-itum and Scarperum'. In chapter 13 of Luke's gospel, for example, we read about a tower, in Siloam, which fell and crushed 18 people. Jesus knew all about what happened when a building was badly put up...and he pointedly didn't blame God...he blamed the shoddy builders...just as we should when we see the needless deaths there have been in China and Burma during this last fornight.

So, what is it that Jesus is getting at when he tells his story of 'The Wise and Foolish Builders?'. Well, like with so much of Jesus teaching, he is using a parable..a story...to help us understand something much more profound. Jesus is offering us a quite simple choice; a choice that is rather similar to the one that Moses, before him, offered the Israelites - as we heard in our Old Testament reading just now. Moses, on behalf of God gives God's people a simple choice, between a blessing and a curse. Its a simple proposition: obey the commands of the Lord, and you will live under his blessing, and live long in the Land that he has given you. But choose to disobey, and you will be cursed. Its a choice...a freewill choice. Choose the way of God, and have life. Choose to reject God...and you choose the way of the curse.

But we need to treat Moses' words with some caution. When we think about the choice that Moses offered the people, there is a slight danger that we end up picturing God as some sort of heavenly headmaster. If we are not careful, we can see God as sitting up on a cloud ready to dispense house-points to the good children, but a jolly good caning to the naughty ones. That is not, I think, the picture that Jesus wanted us to see. He didn't want us to see God as the good of curses...but the God of blessing. God is not Father Christmas...giving presents to the good children, and a lump of coal to the naughty ones. One of the fascinating things about the Bible, for me, is the way that as we move from the Old Testament to the New, we get an ever clearer picture of what God is like. As Jesus himself said, he came not to abolish the law, but to complete it. And one of the things he wanted to complete was our picture of God. Jesus introduced us to the concept of God as Father...not a grumpy God waiting to gleafully smite the ungodly, but a Father God who wants everyone to live under his blessing. Jesus introduced us to a God who loved the world SO much that he sent his only son into the world, so that the world, through him, might be saved (John 3:16). And we should note here...God so loved the world...not just a part of it...not just the Jews, or even the Christians...but the whole world...including the people on the streets of North End, and even the young toe-rags who vandalise our building. God loves them. All of them.

Jesus introduced us to a God who blesses. He blesses us with the gift of life itself. He blesses us with an incredible Universe in which to live. He blesses us with his own Son to lead us away from the consequences of our sin...and he blesses us with the gift of his holy spirit to inspire, lead and gently correct us.

In that context, Jesus places the responsibility for what happens to the wise and foolish builders squarely on their own shoulders. The house of the foolish builder doesn't collapse because God has cursed him. It collapses because the stupid idiot built on sand. Jesus is saying to us something subtly different from what Moses said all those years before. Jesus introduces us to God who is our Father...not the distant God of the Mountain-top (which tended to be the way that Moses portrayed God)...but as the Father who wants the very best for all his children...and who invites them to build their lives on his way of doing things...on rock instead of sand. If there is a curse...it is a curse that we bring on ourselves. We effectively curse ourselves, if we choose to live other than God's way.

And surely we can see that principle in action all around us. Just a few yards from this building, we are all aware of people who have effectively cursed themselves by the choices they have made. Perhaps they chose to start taking drugs, or drinking too much alcohol, or sleeping around without sensible precautions. The curses they have brought on themselves include poverty, starvation, having no money to feed their family. Or having a family that they don't really want. There are others who have built their lives on the sand of consumerism... believing that having the latest gadget, or the bigger house, or the better car, or a bit of fame on reality TV will bring them happiness. Instead, they often find, they have the curse of debt...and the discovery that the pleasure of owning the latest piece of stuff quickly passes.

All these people bring a curse on themselves by a refusal to live God's way. After all, if it was God who cursed them...what business would we have trying to make things better for them? Who would we be if we tried to undo a curse from God?! But it is not God who curses. We curse ourselves, by our choices and actions. The task of the Christian church is to help people who have cursed themselves...who have built their lives on sand. Our task is to help them to look upwards, beyond the sand and the rubble of their lives...towards a loving heavenly father who wants them to have life, and have it to the full!

So, let me ask you - what is it that Jesus calls us to? What is it that he gives us a choice about?

Let me introduce you to the Jesus I've come to know over the last few years. The Jesus I serve is the Jesus of the Topsy Turvey kingdom - the upside down world of the Kingdom of God. This is a kingdom in ruled by a King who rides on a donkey; by the Lord of the Universe who is born in a stable; by the Prince of Peace who is murdered by an Empire of War. This is the source of all life, who dies. This is the Lord whose death brings us life. This is the Jesus who at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount says, 'Blessed are the poor', not the rich. This is the Jesus who says 'Blessed are the meek', not the mighty. Blessed are the merciful, not the executioners. Blessed are those who mourn, those who are persecuted, those who are the peacemakers, not the warmongers. That is the Jesus of the topsy turvey kingdom...who calls us to build our lives on the rock of his way of doing things...not the sand of the way that human beings think that happiness and fulfillment can be found.

That is the Jesus that I want to build my life on...and the Jesus that I want to invite you all to build our church here in North End upon. I am SO excited about being given the opportunity to minister to you here in North End. I know that you've been waiting a long time for a Team Rector - and I'm going to do my very best to serve you well. But let us start out by laying down a few ground-rules shall we?

I'm assuming that you agree with the basic proposition of this sermon, so far...that you too want to serve the Jesus who offers a totally transformed way of life to his followers. I assume that you agree that this transformed life will be one that is based on the way that Jesus showed us it is possible to live...the way of giving and loving...the way of meekness, not power - the way of poverty, not wealth - the way of giving more and more away, not getting more and more. And I assume that you, like me, have heard Jesus' call to his followers that we should go out into the world, and teach the world everything that Jesus teaches us.

And I'm assuming that you are ready to respond to the call of God...wherever he takes us from this Sunday onwards. As we look to the future, I think that we have real cause to be excited - not least because of the preparation that God has already done among us over the last few years. Let me tell you what I see, as someone stepping new into this situation:

• I see a group of people who have faithfully worshipped God in this place for year after year, while numbers dwindled, and while the world outside has continually tried to tempt you away from God, and towards the new gods of consumerism and headonism.
• I see a group of people with a wide range of talents and abilities that God has given you to help in the task of building his kingdom. There are musicians here, and flower arrangers, and administrators, and coffee-servers, and prayer-warriors and children's workers and maintenance experts.
• I see a group of people who have grappled with some really tough issues - and some pretty hard disagreements...but who are still faithfully praying, and worshipping together...and learning what it means (as Ruth said last week) to really love one another.
• I see a group of people who are part of a wider family - including the families of St Francis and St Nicholas...let alone the rest of the deanery and Diocese. That wider family will continue to be a source of strength andf sustenance for us here in St Marks.
• I see a building which is a bit tired, and a bit leaky and drafty...but which is in on a site of real significance in this community...and which has real potential to be a beacon of light and love to the people of North End.

In short, I see a community of Christians with real potential... potential to grow, potential to reach out into this community, and potential to share the topsy turvey, upside down Kingdom of God with a world that has misunderstood just what God is like. I want to introduce the people of North End to the God of blessing...not the Grumpy God, but the Father God. I see, and I hope you do too, a community that is ready to build on the rock of Jesus.

So, I'm sure you are saying to yourselves... that's all very nice in theory! Where is this new Team Rector actually going to lead us? Well, I want you to know... I am still very much in thinking and listening mode. I would be less than honest with you if I said that I didn't think we need to make some changes - if we are to really take Jesus seriously when he commands us to reach out with the good news of the topsy turvey kingdom...not keep it to ourselves. I think we might have to use new ways of communicating, especially if we want to reach the younger members of our community. I think we might have to think hard about the kind of music we use at our most public services, and about whether a service of Holy Communion is always the best way to reach out to people who know nothing - nothing - of God. I think that we might have to ask some hard questions about the future of this building. But let me assure you - that I have decided nothing yet...and that I truly want to hear your ideas and your plans before I'll be ready ask you to agree a new vision with me...one that will be based on the best that the past has to offer, but also the promise of the future.

So come with me...journey with me...pray with me...as we seek God - and his purposes for North End - together. I'm looking forward to the journey...and I hope you are too.

Let's pray:

Heavenly Father, thank you for all that you have done in this community, and through the people of this parish over so many generations. We feel privileged to be part of a long traditional of faithful people who have held onto you, and to their faith, in the midst of so many other alternatives. But Lord, we want to be people who are looking to the future, as well as having roots in the past. Lord, we want to build on rock, not on sand...and we ask you to be our Master Builder as we look to the future together.

For we ask it in Jesus' name.

Amen

1 Peter 3: 13-22 Last Encouragements


There are some strong traditions in the Bible of religious leaders making grand farewell speeches just before their departure. Moses famously gathered the Children of Israel, and read them the words of the Law before dying in the land of Moab. Joshua wrote statutes and ordinances in a book of the Law, and then set up a large stone in the sanctuary of the Lord, before he died at the age of 110. David gave some final advice to Solomon, before 'sleeping with his ancestors', as the 1st Book of Kings puts it. And of course Jesus gave some final words of command to his followers before he ascended into heaven.

Fortunately, I am not dying and I'm not expecting to ascend into heaven at any moment either. I'm just moving on to a new parish, and to new challenges. For those who haven't quite caught up with the detail, you might like to know that I'm off to North End, in Portsmouth, where I will take up the post of Team Rector. I shall be given charge of three churches, in one parish: St Mark's, St Francis' and St Nicholas. I shall have a team of three priests to work with - two Team Vicars, and a Curate. All of them, incidentally, happen to be women...which is going to make for an interesting dynamic! I'm sure they'll knock me into shape in pretty short order! (Incidentally, there was a fascinating item on the radio last week. Women callers were invited to ring into Chris Evans' show on Radio Two with what they considered to be messages that all men needed to hear from all women. My favourite was the one that went: "Men should realise that every week on the same day, the dustbins are collected ...and they shouldn't need reminding to put the rubbish out!")

So, there is a sense of finality about today, for me at least. This is the last Holy Communion service that I expect to preside at here at Warblington - and the last sermon I shall preach to an 8am congregation in this parish. So I've been contemplating what I might say to you, before I leave. What thoughts would I like to leave with you?

As it happens, our epistle reading for this morning - which comes straight out of the lectionary - is a fairly good place to start. The 1st letter of Peter is a letter which still has a lot of resonance for us. It is a letter to Christians who are suffering from all kinds of persecution, and one that encourages its readers to be steadfast in their faith...whatever the circumstances. It is a letter that can be read by Christians in all kinds of today's circumstances. Churches in developing countries or Muslim lands, where they are often a persecuted minority - they find that 1 Peter's readers were just like them...bearing witness to faith in the midst of suffering, and mis-understanding, and bullying, and even death. And for churches in the West, 1 Peter contains many clues as to how to live faithfully while Christendom fades, and while Christians begin to again feel like sojourners and aliens - foreigners in their own lands.

So let's look at what this letter of Peter has to say to all of us...especially those of us who are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, as well as residents of Warblington and Emsworth. The first sentence that strikes me out of the passage we read just now, is the statement "Do not fear what they fear" (1 Peter 3:14). Peter is saying to his readers, don't be sucked in by the fears of the people who have no faith, or who do not share yours. Don't be sucked in by the things that our society think are worth fearing...instead, by "sanctifiying Christ as Lord" (verse 15) make sure that you keep your heavenly perspective on things.

Our society is very good at fear...and at driving us down all sorts of blind alleys in a relentless quest to put things right. And as a result, society tends to throw out the baby with the bathwater time after time. Let me explain what I mean...by way of a few examples.

The chances of you or me being blown up by a terrorist bomb is infinitesimally small...a billion times less likely than the chance that we will die of a disease like cancer. And yet, as a society, we seem to be quite content for our Governments to spend billions and billions of pounds in a fruitless quest to 'root out the terrorists' - instead of spending our taxes on finding cures for the diseases that will kill us. Our society's obsession with terrorism teaches us to regard every one with a different skin tone, or accent, as a potential terrorist...and stops us making friends of the strangers we encounter.

Here's another example: the chances of any of our children being abducted, are, statistically speaking, infinitesimally small. If anything, less children are routinely abjucted now than at any time in our past. But our fear of the possibility of abduction means that our children are prevented from playing in the woods, or along the sea-shore, as we used to at their age.

I could go on. In almost all the areas of fear that our society has - fear of the stranger, fear of excessive immigration, fear of crime, fear of teenagers, fear of being poor, fear of the dark...in almost every area, the Bible offers us a completely different way of looking at things. Peter says, "Do not fear what they fear" - and in doing so echoes the much earlier writings of the prophet Isaiah. Here are his words, from hundreds of years before Peter: "...the Lord spoke thus to me...and warned me not to walk in the way of this people saying: Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what it fears, or be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall regard as holy."

We are encouraged by this letter to stop taking our cue from public opinion, but to take our lead from Jesus. We are encouraged to follow in the footsteps of the Lord who, as Peter says in verse 18, "was put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" and who, in verse 22, "has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God". This is the same Jesus, now risen and glorified, who reached out to Samaritans and Romans - who were the enemies of the Jews, and the immigrants of his day. This is the Jesus who was unafraid to touch the sick and the poor; who did not fear what society feared.

So this is my final sermon to you - the final encouragement I would offer: never forget whose children you are. Never forget who purchased your salvation by his blood. Never forget that you are citizens of heaven, who also happen to live on earth. To quote St Paul, from his letter to the Romans, "Do not be conformed to the standards of this world. Rather, be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

The call of Jesus, which I shall try to follow in North End, and which I hope you will try to follow here after I'm gone, is to go on, continuously, being transformed and transforming. You have been called to be a son or daughter of God - and brother or sister of Christ. He offers you an entirely different way of looking at the world...and he calls you to be part of the world's transformation...to be salt and light to the world.

Jesus offers us a way of trust, instead of fear. He offers us the security of eternity with him, rather than the transient security of owning stuff here on earth. He offers us the way of peace, instead of war. He offers us the way of love, instead of hate. He offers us the way of forgiveness instead of resentment and bitterness. He offers us the way of life instead of death.

This, as I've often said from this pulpit, is the heart of the topsy-turvy Kingdom of God. We serve a King who rides on a donkey. A Lord who was born in a stable, the dead-man who came to life. Just about anything that our world considers normal and desirable...wealth, fame, safety, are all shown up by the light of the topsy turvy gospel to be the hollow shams that they are. He who seeks wealth will lose it. It will be taken from him on the day he dies. She who seeks fame will be destroyed by it...hounded from morning until night by public opinion. He who seeks safety will end up closing himself off from every other human being behind gated communities and security cameras - and will grow in bitter resentment towards every one, every nation, every foreigner who he sees as a threat to his illusion of safety.

But she who seeks love, will find it - in Jesus, and among his people. He who seeks to give things away, will receive a hundredfold in return in terms of the sense of peace and fulfillment that can only come when we hold onto things lightly. She who seeks to give herself to others will receive back friendship and companionship that will last for eternity.

So that's it - my parting shot. Do not fear what they fear. Be transformed, and be transforming.

And may God bless you all, richly and without measure. For ever.

Amen