Sermon 29th November 2020 – 1st Sunday in Advent Text: Mark 13:24-37 – Worth the wait

 Sermon 29^th November 2020 – 1^st Sunday in Advent

Text: Mark 13:24-37 – Worth the wait

Jesus says today - “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near”. Jesus obviously has never been to Melbourne. Here we are 2 days out from Summer and I have no idea whether I’m going to have the heater or the air conditioner on today. In fact, quite often I have had both on during the day. This is usually when my jumper drawer empties out – not because I’ve packed them away for Summer but because I’m so cold in the morning that I put on a jumper but by mid-morning I’ve taken it off and put it somewhere. Melbourne has to be unique in that sense of not following the script when it comes to weather.

But I think that is the point of what Jesus is trying to teach us in our Gospel reading today. Perhaps, especially as Christians, you thought the your life would follow a different script. If God is in control – if we are being faithful to God – shouldn’t life be better than what it is?

Isn’t it funny that when things go wrong in the world – whether it be what we’ve been going through with Covid 19 or whether it’s natural disasters or simply the state of the world with war, drugs, crime or whatever makes you disillusioned – isn’t it funny that somehow we think that either God is not in control or that God doesn’t care. But this is the whole point of God sending his Son Jesus into the world. It’s why Jesus directs us to look at the state of the world – but not in despair but with hope.

Firstly, because the world needed Jesus. The world was losing hope waiting for God to send his promised Messiah to save the world. But secondly, and most importantly, to show the world that God was, always has been, and always will be in control of everything – even if the world doesn’t seem that way – even if the media tells us differently.

I must admit there has been times when I have wondered whether the Church and God were in control. When football matches could be played but churches couldn’t gather. When bottle shops were deemed an essential service to remain open but churches were shut. When thousands gathered to cheer and shout at the recent State of Origin and AFL Grand Final but churches have been told it’s dangerous to sing in worship. When you can go to a crowded café and take your mask off but you have to keep it on during worship even with social distancing.

I’m sorry if I sound cynical but that’s sometimes how I feel in my faith journey and I know that I’m not alone. But then I read passages like today’s Gospel and I’m reminded that nowhere does the Bible say we’re going to have it easy. Nowhere does it say that the church will be a respected and essential part of society. In fact Jesus says that the world will hate you because of me – but remember it hated me first.

Jesus said: Beware! For you will be handed over to the courts and will be flogged with whips. You will stand trial before governors and kings because you are my followers. But this will be your opportunity to tell the rulers and other unbelievers about me. In these difficult times, Jesus says we are to be awake. Jesus doesn’t paint a pretty picture of flowers and rainbows which often depict the Christian outlook. No he says; the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. What Jesus is encouraging here is to wait patiently and not give up your faith in him. Because it’s not going to always be an easy path – but it’s a path that Jesus himself walked when he himself told the disciples he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed.

But Jesus didn’t end there – he continued – and be raised on the 3rd day. And that’s the hope for us. That all the difficulties in this life will end – and then we too shall be raised. But it’s the wait – and it’s the difficulties that arise during the wait. But Jesus said: Beware, keep alert; for you do not know when the time will come. The time he refers to is when he returns to bring about the end of the world and Judgment Day.

Waiting is not an easy thing to do – especially waiting for God to do something. If God is going to do something why doesn’t he do it now. 2020 has been a year of waiting and a year of testing our faith. And it isn’t over yet.

We’re happy to be back worshipping but in reality this is exactly where we were 5 months ago before the 2nd wave hit us and we had to shut down again after being back for 3 weeks. So you can understand why some people are nervous. The Good News is that God is working for us as we wait for him.

And we are waiting just as God’s people were waiting for the coming of the Christ Child on Christmas Day 2000 years ago. That glorious moment when God comes to be with us in human form.  That’s how we know God is in control – because he became one of us. And now we are again waiting.  We’re waiting and watching the signs of Christ’s return.  We’re waiting to see Jesus return in our own individual time and place.  But that doesn’t mean that God is not with us now.

God is with us, but it’s the where and how?  As the old saying goes - patience is a virtue, and many of us are deeply wearied by all the waiting we’ve had to do. All the cynical laughs from the world believing that Christmas is just another fairy tale that we believe in. It might feel like 2020 is a year that has been wasted and empty. But is that true?

This has been a year that has made us face what is most important about church?  As you reflect on your waiting this year, what has God grown in you?  Paul reminds us that despite all the hardships that we face in the world – all the hardships being faced by the church that “You are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ AND he will also strengthen you to the end.”

Look back on this year and see the strength with which you endured its trials. We waited for 7 or more months for our church doors to be open again and we didn’t give up. And there are some who because of health reasons can’t re-join us just yet and we won’t give up on them. And so, we pray, and we stick together, and we love one another, and we wait upon the Lord.

I love what the prophet Isaiah says in chapter 40 - those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. This has been a hard year and it’s not over yet and there’s no guarantee. Just look at what happened in South Australia a couple weeks ago where the entire state was shut down. So we are to stay strong and not grow weary.

God urges us to remain faithful because God is faithful; by him you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus will return but we don’t know when.  As Jesus said: about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. But when it happens – what a glorious moment that will be. We will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’ with great power and glory. Then he will send out the angels, and gather his elect – you and me - from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven. And our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. That is something worth waiting for.

Sermon 22nd November 2020 – Last Sunday of Church Year Text: Matthew 25:31-46 – An unexpected reward

 

Sermon 22^nd November 2020 – Last Sunday of Church Year

Text: Matthew 25:31-46 – An unexpected reward

 

Today we celebrate the last Sunday of the church year. Next week we begin our Advent celebrations to prepare for Christmas where we welcome Jesus coming to this earth as an infant. So once again our bible readings are focusing on Jesus return to earth – but not as an infant but in his glory to receive God’s children into Heaven. And what we discover in our Gospel reading today is that those whom Jesus gathers are totally oblivious to the great honour that is about to be bestowed upon them.

 

Often when you see a person win an award, they sort of know beforehand that they are going to receive it but they are supposed to look surprised for the cameras – WHO ME? But not in this situation. Here, those whom the King is calling into his kingdom have no idea what they have done in order to receive this reward. And what I like about this parable that Jesus tells is that it is so freeing.

 

Do you ever wonder about your salvation? These people didn’t. They just lived their everyday life loving their neighbour. They didn’t sell all their possessions and give to the poor. They didn’t leave their jobs and become missionaries. And it’s not as if they did anything out of the ordinary. They saw someone hungry so they gave them something to eat. They saw someone thirsty so they gave them something to drink. So natural was their actions that when the king called them in to receive their inheritance they look stunned.

 

On the other hand, the people that the king is critical with were not bad people. He doesn’t criticise them because they stole from people or because they murdered people. No, his criticism was because they just didn’t care. They were just like the first group that the king commends. Both groups didn’t see the hungry or the thirsty. The difference was that the first group didn’t need to see them. They just lived their daily lives loving and caring for their neighbour. It sort of reminds me of the Hebrews passage where we are encouraged to show hospitality to everyone: Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

 

It’s so easy to not see those around us needing our help. We are all busy. We all have so many demands on our time and resources. But those who were most effective in our reading were those who were not doing anything out of the ordinary. They didn’t spend extra time feeding the hungry but it simply became a part of their everyday life. This is the heart of God who loves the world so much that he didn’t hold anything back – he sent his one and only Son. It was so natural for God to do that because of his love for us.

 

And this is what separates us from the rest of creation. WE are created in the image of God to love one another as a natural outpouring of our love for God. Jesus said, the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength – and the 2nd is like it – love your neighbour as yourself.

You can’t keep the first commandment if we neglect the 2nd. When you are hungry the natural instinct is to get something to eat. When you’re thirsty, something to drink. When you’re cold, to put on a jumper.

 

God wants us to see our neighbour as an extension of our ourselves just as God sees us as an extension of himself. We are created in God’s image. In our neighbour we don’t just see an image of God though but of ourselves. So as we prepare for Christmas this year let us remember those for whom Christmas is not a celebration but a reminder of their situation of poverty and loneliness – lonely, hungry – maybe not in prison but trapped in their homes because of Covid 19 and let us be to them the hands and feet and love of God who held nothing back.

Sermon 15th November 2020 – 25th Sunday after Pentecost Text: Matthew 25:14-30 – A Trusting Relationship

Sermon 15^th November 2020 – 25^th Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Matthew 25:14-30 – A Trusting Relationship

 

I sort of feel a bit sorry for the 3rd person in Jesus’ parable today. It seemed that his intentions were honourable.  He thought he was doing the right thing. He thought the task that he was given was to protect his master’s possessions. So he protected it by hiding away from everyone else. Like you might hide your valuables in a safe hidden in the floor or behind a picture. Or you might hide your money under the bed. But why did he “hide” his master’s possessions? Because his relationship with his master was one that was based on fear. “I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground”.

 

So this parable by Jesus is about looking at our relationship with God. Is our relationship based on trust or on fear? The master trusted all of his servants but only 2 of the servants trusted their master and one feared him.

Again this parable, like last week’s parable about the 5 wise and 5 unwise bridesmaids is about the coming judgement. And something that we learn from today’s parable is that judgement is not about punishing but about God honouring our free will. This 3rd servant was not punished for what he had done but rather the master honoured the relationship that he had. Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed; so I was afraid. In turn the master replies: You knew, did you, that I reap where I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter?

 

The Christian faith is not about obedience but about relationship. God’s love for us is not dependant on how we live our lives in obedience to his commands. No, Paul says in Romans 5 - God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And neither is God’s love exclusive in that he only loves those who love him:  As John says in his first letter - This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. It’s easy to be distracted from an important message in this parable if we only focus on the third servant.  Do you get this picture in your mind from the 3rd servant that this master is a harsh man? Reaping where he did not sow? Gathering where he did not scatter? The only image we have in this parable is of a generous and trusting master. As he said to the 3rd servant, this master could have banked his entire wealth and received interest.

 

We sometimes miss just how trusting this master is. One talent is believed to be worth 15 year’s salary. The average salary in Australia is $90,000. So to the first servant he gave almost $7,000,000 So this is a very generous and trusting master. And when the one with 5 talents doubled it – he let him keep it to work with and gave him the talent from the 3rd servant. So this parable reminds us that in our relationship with God we do not live in fear. Do we always get things right?    No.  Does God punish us when we get things wrong? No. God sent his Son into the world not to condemn the world but to save the world through him.

 

And St Paul gives the same assurance to us in our 2nd reading today. He does not deny that there is a coming judgement day but he says that those in Christ have nothing to fear: He says: The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. There will be no escape! But you, beloved, are not in darkness, for that day to surprise you like a thief;  for you are all children of light and children of the day; we are not of the night or of darkness.

God did not create us for a life in this world as some sort of waiting room where he have to sit tight until the headmaster calls us into his office. No, he wants us to live our lives and enjoy the life that he gave.

Enjoying all that his creation has to offer and not looking over our shoulders like a frightened employee who shouts out to his colleagues – look busy the boss is coming. No, Jesus shows how this master who represents God trusts his people and lavishes on them his wealth. They weren’t rewarded for how much they made but for their trust in their relationship with him.

‘Well done, good and trustworthy servant; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master. It was his trust that was rewarded. And like the 3rd servant who pronounced his own judgment so did the first servant. He trusted his master so his master trusted him with even more. Likewise, God is not keeping a tally on what we are doing. He is living in a relationship with us as we are with him. So if we want to get better in our prayer life then let us pray. We reap what WE sow. We might not produce eloquent words or know what to pray sometimes but that’s how our prayer life grows  Same as reading God’s word.

 

God has lavished on us his riches but too often we bury them. We worry about how bad our prayer life is but we don’t take time to pray. We are embarrassed about how little time we spend reading God’s word but don’t make time to read God’s word. But let’s also remember that while we might judge ourselves, God does not.

The 3rd servant pronounced his own judgement on himself. Let us not do that to ourselves. St Paul says: God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him. God is trustworthy and generous in all he does for us. He doesn’t want us to live in fear of him but as Paul says: put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. Faith, hope and love – the same 3 gifts Paul talk about in Corinthians:

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. God’s love

 

So as we look at the world around us let us not live in fear of God or anything but in trust. Trust in God’s love and care for us. Let us live in faith and hope as we live in the love of God knowing that nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our  fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. And remember that Jesus is with us until the end of the age and when that end comes we will hear that wonderful invitation: Well done, good and trustworthy servant; enter into the joy of your master.

 

Until that day may the peace of God that surpasses our understanding keep your hearts and minds forever in Christ Jesus. Amen 

Sermon 8th November 2020 – 23rd Sunday after Pentecost Text: Matthew 25:1-13 – A missed opportunity

Sermon 8^th November 2020 – 23^rd Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Matthew 25:1-13 – A missed opportunity

 

I went to the store last week to purchase something and in big letters – CASH NOT ACCEPTED – must pay by card. I never thought I would see the day when cash was not welcome. Some years ago The Good Guys store would have the slogan – less for cash. And there was always the saying Cash is King. And so our society is going more and more to a cashless society where we pay with credit or debit cards.

 

But there’s another payment method that has been around for some time called Bitcoin. Not sure if you’ve ever heard of that before but it’s a digital currency – Bitcoin. You can’t see it – you can’t hold it – it’s a currency that lives inside your computer. It was introduced around 10 years ago and If you were silly enough to buy One Bitcoin it would cost you about one tenth of a cent. Apparently the first transaction using bitcoin 10 years ago was someone buying two pizzas costing 10,000 bitcoins. That’s how worthless it was. So no one really bothered.

 

But something happened and the price started edging up. 3 years later one bit coin would cost you around $200. So if you had bought 10 bitcoins for 1 cent when they first were released you would have turned that 1 cent into $2,000. Sounds pretty good as an investment. Today, with our move towards a cashless society bitcoin has gone absolutely ballistic and as of writing this one bitcoin now costs around $20,000. So those 10 bitcoins you bought for 1 cent would now be worth $200,000. Can you imagine how the people feel who may have been offered an opportunity back when they first were introduced – even if they just spent $1.00 would be worth $20,000,000. How would you feel having missed that opportunity? At the end of the day it’s only money.

 

What we see in today’s Gospel reading is a story about a group of women who also missed an opportunity but it was a lot more than money at stake. These women were bridesmaids who were waiting for the bridegroom to arrive. The bridegroom was delayed and so 5 of the bridesmaids ran out of oil for their lamps. They tried to borrow some from the other 5 who had brought extra oil but they were afraid that there wouldn’t be enough to do so. The 5 bridesmaids go to the marketplace to purchase more oil for their lamps. But while they were out the bridegroom came and he and the 5 bridesmaids who brought spare oil went in to the wedding. The other 5 arrived back but it was too late and the bridegroom wouldn’t open the door for them and they missed out.

 

Now this parable spoken by Jesus is Jesus way of preparing us for his Kingdom. And he does not want anyone to miss out because he has personally prepared a special and unique place for us. One of the hardest things for me, and I know many other Christians, is to understand – if God wants everyone to live with him in Heaven – why do some miss out? If it is God’s will for everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth – then why does our teaching believe that some may not be saved? It is something I struggle with and I know you most likely do to. But, we cannot deny that the Bible, and Jesus himself, does warn that this is the reality.  Hear again the closing of our Gospel reading: The door was shut. Later the other bridesmaids came saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I do not know you.’ Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor he hour.” I don’t know why -  so as a Pastor I believe it is my role to proclaim what I DO know. And what I do know is that God loves the world so much that he sent his one and only Son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. That’s what I do know.

 

So as a Pastor I preach the Gospel to assure you that through Jesus we are awake; We are assured of eternal life and there is absolutely NO uncertainty of our salvation – of our eternal life in Heaven. And it is that assurance that has gotten me through some difficult times including these past 7 months where we have not been able to gather together and to receive Holy Communion. St Paul also talks about how hope gets us through those difficult periods in life.

In our 2nd reading he says; We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. What is that hope? For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have died. The difference, as St Paul says is hope:

So that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

And it is not just in death that the Christian faith brings hope – but in every difficult situation as he had said in his letter to the Romans: We rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character produces hope. And hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

 

What happens in our Gospel reading is sad but it should not frighten us. Remember what Jesus himself says: God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through him. As Christians we are called upon to pray for those who do not yet know the love of God in Christ or who have rejected it so that they may have the same comfort that we have. And that is what has always brought me comfort for those of my friends and family who are not Christians. If it is God’s will for all to be saved – and if it is my prayer for all to be saved – then my hope is in Jesus promise in John 14: I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. And even if we think of Jesus own prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane where he concludes his prayer: Not my will be done but yours – what great comfort that brings when we know that it is God’s will that all be saved.

 

We need to keep remembering that God is a God of love and how comforting to know that as we journey to our heavenly home that God has assured us of our salvation. I’m sure we’d all love to be there now but like the Gospel reading says – the bridegroom has been delayed. And St Peter tells us why he has been delayed: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. God wants everyone to be saved – he wants no one to perish. So as Paul says at the conclusion of our 2nd reading: Therefore encourage one another with these words.

 

We all have friends, family, colleagues that we would love to share the Gospel with and that’s not always easy. But God has assured us, that like us, it is his will that all be saved and to come into a relationship with him. We don’t always know how or when God works but we know he will. And that is our hope and our hope in Christ will never disappoint us.