Sermon 16th July 2023 – 7th Sunday after Pentecost Text: Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 – keep sowing

 Sermon 16^th July 2023 – 7^th Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Matthew 13:1-9,18-23 – keep sowing

 

On one of my recent walks I went past a house that was obviously abandoned. Apart from the letter box overflowing with junk and personal mail the overgrown grass was a dead giveaway. But what surprised me was when I looked at the roof of the house it had grass growing in the gutter. I thought to myself – how on earth did it get there? We have trouble growing grass on our nature strip at home even with sowing grass seed and watering it. And it reminded me of today’s parable – the parable of the sower.

 

The seed is so abundant that the sower doesn’t care where it goes.  What that sower trusts is that God will provide the response in the hearts of the people where the Word is being sowed – even if it’s thrown into the gutter. God’s generous abundance keeps overflowing in us so that we are invited to share it with others.

And what about those others?  Jesus further elaborates on his own parable by describing each of the different soils where the seeds land.  We probably all know people that we could categorise into each of these soil.

But let’s begin by looking at our own faith journey? Perhaps you shift between one soil and another from one day to the next.  We’d like to believe that we are the good soil, but if we are honest, we probably aren’t – at least not all the time. Imaging how Paul must have felt at times – the good I want to do I do not do – the evil I do not want to do I keep on doing. What sort of soil is that to sow seed in? Even the disciples at the Ascension we are told some doubted. Thomas doubted. Peter denied knowing Jesus. Judas betrayed Jesus. All the disciples fled when Jesus was arrested. What sort of soil is that to sow seed in?

 

We too, at times, can vary in the type of soil that the Gospel finds. As human beings, we are complex creations of thoughts, feelings, and the tendency to act on them impulsively.  When we experience discomfort, we want it to go away and may act impulsively in order to find comfort or release from pain and anxiety rather than rely on our faith. In the news and on social media, we are seeing so much to challenge our faith, deaths from violence, relationship struggles, job loss, bankruptcies, interest rate rises, cost of living. We can become like the seed thrown on the soil who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing..  

 

This was Esau’s problem today from which he lost his rights of the first born.  He comes in from the field, starving because he had been working hard.  Jacob knows this and takes advantage of it.  He knows that all that Esau can think about is food – his stomach – his physical pleasure.  So, Jacob tells him that he can have food if he gives him his birthright. Our natural human impulses can lead us into distraction - choked with the thorns of the world and we yield nothing. And sadly these distractions can focus us away from our mission of spreading the seed elsewhere as, like Esau, we only have concerns for our own physical wellbeing.

 

Churches can easily fall into that thinking as we begin to focus on our own survival rather than mission to others – we call that maintenance ministry. It still intrigues me, how did that grass grow in the gutters. Who put lawn seed in the gutter to have grass grow there? I guess there are many possibilities. The wind could have blown grass seeds from the ground into the gutter. Birds could have picked up the grass seed and dropped it into the gutter. Birds could have picked up the grass seed while building their nests and rain washed the seed out of the bird’s nest and into the gutter. What this tells me is that the sower didn’t worry about where the seed went because there was a possibility that it would be blown away to places he couldn’t get to.

 

So as Christians we are also sowers because wherever we go we take with us a seed of God that can be placed wherever we are even if we don’t intend it. No one intended to place a grass seed in the gutter but it still got there.

But it shows the essential need for us to keep sowing even when our own faith comes under attack and causes distraction. God sends us out as sowers as Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians: I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labour. For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building. We are both the sowers and the soil. When seeds fall in our soil we produce more fruit and seed to scatter. The seeds that have been sown in us continue to produce fruit and further seeds.

 

So when we go out today and tomorrow, we are called to sow abundantly, frivolously, wastefully. There are many ways we can spread God’s seed; By loving one another as Jesus loves us – and by this everyone will know that you’re my disciples. By loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute us and then being prepared to give the reason for the hope that we have. Like the parable of the sower we don’t need to care if the seed goes to places where WE think it might not grow. God is the one who makes it grow.

Sermon 9th July 2023 – 6th Sunda after Pentecost Text: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 – Spiritual Rest

 

Sermon 9^th July 2023 – 6^th Sunda after Pentecost

Text: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 – Spiritual Rest

 

Jesus today seems frustrated. He doesn’t get the people’s attitude. Those around him criticized John the Baptist as being possessed by a demon because he didn’t eat or drink in the ordinary way that other people did – he ate locusts and wild honey.  But then they criticized Jesus for eating and drinking with the wrong people calling him a glutton and a drunkard.

Jesus sees the fickle nature of humanity and how we turn the blessings of God into burdens. He then prays aloud to God thanking him that he has hidden his truths from the wise and the intelligent – adults - and revealed his inner secrets to children. Which is something we hear quite often from Jesus – Let the children come to me for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

 

Jesus knows that if he is feeling this way then certainly his disciples who come after him will experience the same frustrations in the new church. But rather than giving up he says: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” This is quite a contrast to what we’ve been hearing Jesus say lately. For the past few weeks, Jesus has been talking about the turmoil in the cost of discipleship –persecution, conflict, suffering and painful division especially in families for those who choose to follow him – all the world will hate you because of me. It’s interesting as we look at Jesus’ offer that it doesn’t primarily mean problems and burdens of a physical nature – such as too many bills, or being unemployed, or sick, or stressful work conditions.

 

Jesus is talking quite specifically about those who have spiritual burdens in their relationship with God. And these can be much more burdensome and wearying than physical burdens. In fact, Jesus himself is showing that spiritual exhaustion when it came to the criticism of himself and John the Baptist. We get a glimpse of what that spiritual burden looks like in Christians with Paul who tried all of the usual ways of finding some peace with God and achieved only frustration and weariness. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. For I know that nothing good dwells within me. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?  And then he finds that release of his spiritual burden – the Spiritual rest that Jesus offered. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!

 

Spiritual weariness should never be underestimated in the harm it can do to us. Sometimes we don’t realise the spiritual burdens we are going through unlike the physical burdens. Physical burdens are easy to see – tiredness in particular. Physical burdens can be dealt with by physical rest. An early night – a day off – holidays – long service leave or as we call it – recuperative leave. But spiritual burdens are not dealt with in the same way. We don’t deal with spiritual burdens by taking a rest from church or by taking a time out from our prayer life or bible reading. Jesus gives us an invitation to take his yoke.

A yoke is a device that spreads across 2 or more necks. You might see 2 oxen sharing the weight of a plough. So Jesus is offering to help us carry the weight rather than removing it. And that’s what we find often happens when we come to Jesus with our burdens. He lightens them but doesn’t necessarily remove them.

 

What Paul was dealing with and what was Jesus was addressing was the burden that we carry when we misunderstand our relationship with God. The Pharisees of Jesus time put great burdens on the people through laws. They took the 10 Commandments – a gift from God - and they turned them into 616 burdensome laws which saw Jesus rebuked because he healed on the Sabbath – because he ate with tax collectors and sinners – because he refused to condemn a woman caught in adultery – because he allowed a woman of ill-repute to wash his feet – and no doubt a whole lot more. Paul also found that the more he tried to obey the law the more his sin convicted him with guilt. Luther found the same burdens placed on the people of his day particularly the peasants who could not afford to purchase the indulgences to free their loved ones from purgatory.

 

So this is a challenge to us today as the same burdens continue to weigh down many people who are seeking a relationship with God but must first get their lives in order. It’s not saying that God’s commands or obedience has been abolished. No. Jesus himself has said that. Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them – for YOU. And that last part is the crucial part – I have come to fulfill them.

The law can place a heavy burden of guilt on us.

But Jesus has come to assure us that God’s grace is there to bring comfort and relief. As Paul discovered - Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So there are 2 aspects to what we read today.

 

First – Jesus is dealing with people who use the Law to supress people, like the Pharisees did. The Law suppresses people when it should lead people to the Gospel. In many cases people don’t need the law because they know they fall short of pleasing God. But Jesus fulfilled what we couldn’t without abolishing the requirements of the Law. To use the wording of our reformers from Luther’s day – the Law always convicts – it never comforts. So Jesus saw his mission as a healer, as he said when he was asked why he ate with sinners: Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” And that why he offers rest for the soul by taking his yoke. He doesn’t abolish the law and its demands but offers to carry them with us and for us. Take my yoke – it is light – I’ve fulfilled the law for you. So when the burden of guilt weighs you down – come to me and hear the Good News that you have been forgiven. The law has not been abolished but the burden of the law and the guilt it causes have been abolished through grace.

 

And then, secondly, we see the personal application of grace to the demands of the law in Paul’s life. The good I want to do I do not do – the evil I know I should not do, this I keep on doing. What a mess Paul found his life in – who will save me from this body of death. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So if you’ve found the burden of guilt continuing to weigh you down – come to Jesus and let him give you rest for your soul. To come to Jesus is to receive a free gift of grace.  To come to Jesus is to discover, as Paul discovered, that “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” To come to Jesus is to discover that the task of getting it all correct is replaced by the absolute gift of God’s grace.

All the heavy topics we’ve been hearing the past few weeks about the cost of discipleship is still very much there.  But the yoke of Jesus is easy for us to bear.  It leads to life and to be embraced by God’s mercy. We are called to this new yoke of grace, not to a law, or to a set of rules.

 

We are called to a person and a community built around God’s grace where we find its richest fulfillment, and its deepest satisfaction. Jesus said and continues to say, “Come to me and I will give you rest.”

Sermon 2nd July 2023 – 5th Sunday after Pentecost Text Matthew 10:40-42 – All Welcome?

 Sermon 2^nd July 2023 – 5^th Sunday after Pentecost

Text Matthew 10:40-42 – All Welcome?

It’s probably seen on every church sign board – on every church bulletin – on powerpoint displays – in fact it’s probably the very first word spoken by the Pastor or during announcements – WELCOME

Signs may say “ALL WELCOME” The opening phrase may be “WELCOME TO WORSHIP”. Welcome.

Such a small word that we say all the time – but an important word that is vital for churches to remain alive. A church would not survive if those who attended believed this is not a welcoming church. A visitor or new-comer would not stay if they were not to be made to feel welcome. What does it mean to be a church that welcomes? It doesn’t mean changing worship styles or the pastor wearing casual clothes. It doesn’t mean being more entertaining or making sure we don’t talk about sin and judgment. Usually a person visiting a church expects these things because they know that these are part of how a church presents itself. In fact sometimes they come for those things because they can get all the other things elsewhere. If they want to be entertained they can go to the footy or to the movies. If they want modern music they can turn on the radio or their Spotify account. No, they are looking for something different in church that they cannot find in our dog eat dog world that judges us by our standing in society. They are looking for hope –  They are looking for acceptance of who they are as a child of God and not some insignificant person defined by their possessions or career.

We have a look at what Jesus says in today’s Gospel reading: “Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me”. So, Jesus is the standard of who and how we welcome. If we look at Jesus’ ministry we see him welcoming all without judgment or discrimination. We all know that he ate with sinners and tax collectors. But he also ate at Simon the Pharisee’s house. A Pharisee invited Jesus to have dinner with him. So Jesus went to the Pharisee's home and got ready to eat. And while he was at Simon’s place  a sinful woman in that town found out that Jesus was there  and started washing his feet with her tears and drying them with her hair. The woman kissed his feet and poured the perfume on them. Simon was horrified that Jesus would welcome someone like her. Simon said: If this man really were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him! He would know that she is a sinner. Jesus knew exactly what kind of woman she was and how she had been treated. It could very well have been the woman caught in adultery whom Jesus welcomed back with dignity.

Being a welcoming church is more than just putting a welcome mat at the front door or putting a sign saying “all welcome”. Welcome is more than a word; it is an action and it is also a subjective feeling by the person. What do I mean by that. We might say and believe we are a welcoming church but if the person doesn’t “feel” welcomed then that’s important to understand. If a visitor walks through our door it’s for a reason. It’s not because they had nothing to do today so they thought they may as well go to church. People have TVs and sports to occupy themselves when they have nothing to do. In fact Sundays have become one of those days where people like to go our for brunch or have family gatherings and also sport is very popular on Sundays especially children’s sport. People come to church because they believe at church they going to find something different – they are going to be welcomed by God.

In his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace, Philip Yancey speaks about a woman, like the woman who came to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears. One of his friends was speaking to this woman who was in desperation and asked her “have you ever thought about going to a church for help”. Her response was “Church! – why would I ever go there? I am already feeling terrible about myself. They’d just make me feel worse”. Is that how people see the church? Is that how people see us. Is that what Jesus is speaking against – judging rather than welcoming?

Jesus sees a direct link between welcoming others to welcoming Jesus and his Father into our midst. It sort of reminds me of what the writer to the Hebrews says – Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it such as Abraham did in our reading a couple weeks ago. We may only get one shot at welcoming someone when they come to visit. And if they feel like they have been welcomed then they will be our greatest witness as they tell their friends and family. But if they are not made to feel welcome then they become our biggest critic and who knows how many people they may affect.

When we are at Holy Communion we experience God’s hospitality. A banquet has been prepared for us and we are welcomed in. We received God’s hospitality to prepare us to give God’s hospitality to others.  It reminds me of the song that we sing: Freely freely you have received, freely freely give.

We are welcome by the Lord today and in our encounter with God we receive a blessing in order to be a blessing to other as Jesus explain. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

While we have our “official greeters” at the doors of our church to welcome people as they enter, each of us should consider ourselves a “Welcomer” so they don’t feel like a first timer or an outsider breaking in, but a part of the family. And the welcome is not just as they arrive but also as they leave. Arriving is easy – walk straight in and get involved in the service. But what about after – to invite them in for a cuppa and fellowship. Sometimes they may say they can’t stay – Then maybe you can give up your time of fellowship and walk them to their car and keep chatting. To see if you can follow up. That’s where the welcome really begins as Jesus says - whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple-- truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.”

Welcoming is made up of many small gestures – gestures like making a phone call to ask how a friend or stranger is doing, dropping off groceries for someone unwell, reaching out to the lonely and most vulnerable among us. How many of our members have become hidden because they haven’t returned since Covid? There is no small gesture. A cup of cold water is the smallest of gifts – a gift that almost anyone can give. But a cup of cold water is precious to a person who is thirsty – in some instances, the gift of life itself.

The smallest service brings with it an eternal reward for the giver and sometimes to the receiver as they are made to feel welcome and return the following week. Don’t underestimate what welcoming and hospitality can do to the receiver and to the giver. Look at the visitors who came to Abraham. 3 angels visit Abraham. As angels they probably didn’t need to eat or drink but they knew how important it was to Abraham to be hospitable so they accepted his hospitality. Sometimes God sends us visitors – angels unaware – for our sake. To teach us how to extend hospitality.

Jesus tells us that small deeds are important – even eternally significant. It doesn’t take much; but it takes something. And every one of us can achieve these things, and every one of us can make that difference – a phone call, a visit, a card. We can find God in those smallest of good deeds and so too can the receiver. We are all called to be Christ to each other and to meet the needs of others through acts of kindness… cups of water. When we welcome one another, we discover the reward that comes from the deep hospitality found in God’s welcome of us. When we give hospitality and welcome to others we begin to understand God’s hospitality and welcoming to us even deeper. Whoever gives even a cup of cold wate will most definitely not lose their reward. Let us become a church that welcomes the least of these and share the blessings we have received from God.

 

Sermon 25th June 2023 – 4th Sunday after Pentecost Text: Romans 6:1b-11 – the logic of Grace

 Sermon 25^th June 2023 – 4^th Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Romans 6:1b-11 – the logic of Grace

 

When I was serving at Frankston, the manse had hooked up pipes from our drainage system to fill up containers so we could recycle water from our showers and washing machine. It made me feel less guilty when having a longer shower because the water would go into the recycling tub to use for watering our garden. So I had myself believe that the longer shower I took the better it was for the environment because there would be more water to recycle. Which I know is actually not the case even though it sounds logical. It would be like printing off all my emails because I can then recycle the paper which means less trees would be needed to cut down. Again, that’s not how recycling works.

 

It’s a very similar reasoning in the argument that St Paul is putting up today. He says: Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? Now what was Paul’s logic in this? His logic is that when we sin God’s grace comes to us through the forgiveness of our sins. Therefore the more we sin the more grace we receive – logical The more we sin the more forgiveness we receive - logical. Like the woman who washed Jesus’ feet. Jesus said that she loved much because she has been forgiven much. Sounds logical but it’s not how grace and forgiveness work. Paul emphatically says “NO”. BY NO MEANS.

 

Why does Paul reject this logic? It’s because Paul sees what damage is done to our faith through sin – even the smallest of sins. So even though we know we are forgiven of our sins it doesn’t not mean we are free to sin without consequences of our sin. Even though we are forgiven of our sins doesn’t mean that sin cannot attack our faith. What we need to understand here is that Paul is not talking about a punishment from God when we sin. That’s not how God works, which is often how people understand sin. That when we do something wrong then God will somehow punish us. And when we do good we either get rewarded or it offsets our sin. Often people will evaluate their suffering as a result of God punishing them for something they have done. “I must have done something really bad for God to let that happen to me”. No – sin has an affect of separating us from our faith in God as we see in the Garden of Eden with the very first sin.

 

Adam and Eve sin against God but God does not come down to punish them. God actually comes to see Adam and Eve but because of their sin they separate themselves from God. God did not separate himself from Adam and Eve – Adam and Eve separated themselves from God. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” Adam answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

So what we notice here is in their state of sin God actually comes looking for Adam and Eve.

 

That is God’s grace at work – going after the one lost sheep - in that grace comes to bring healing and reconciliation in our broken relationship with God. Paul says that this is how God demonstrates his love for us – that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Grace doesn’t give us freedom to sin – Sin causes harm to our faith, which is what Paul is saying in Romans 6. If grace comes because I have sinned should I sin more so that more grace comes? NO. Because sin causes harm to our relationship with God. It’s like, if I cut myself I will put on a bandaid to bring healing and relief. And that feels good when I apply it – I can feel the healing. But I don’t cut myself again so I can feel even more relief. No, the cutting does harm to us. And so does sin.

 

Sin harms our relationship with God so why would I want to sin. Paul knows the danger of sin and he also knows how insistent sin is in our lives. That’s why in the next chapter, Romans 7, Paul says: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Paul sees sin not as something trivial like a lapse in concentration but something that wants to undermine our relationship with God. Sin is our enemy which Jesus says has come to steal, kill and destroy. That’s why Paul is so concerned about sin. He says the wages of sin is death.

 

But Paul brings comfort and assurance through our Baptism into Christ Jesus. He says that Baptism links us with Jesus death – and if we are linked with Jesus’ death then Baptism also links us with Jesus’ resurrection which is his victory over sin and death. Jesus’ death is what defeated sin and our baptism is into Jesus death and also his resurrection victory over sin and death.

And therefore, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.

So, if sin casts doubts into whether or not we are saved then we turn to our Baptism for assurance of salvation.

That’s true logic by Paul rather than my logic of recycled water by having longer showers. What this is not saying is that if you are not Baptised you are not saved. Nowhere does it say that.  But if you want comfort and assurance then we need to look outside of ourselves and to where God has washed away our sins and brings comfort. Comfort from sin cannot come from within ourselves. If we sin then comfort doesn’t come from doing something good.If that were the case then we would never know if we have done enough good to pay for our sin so we would live in continuous doubt.

 

So we look, not to what WE have done but to what God has done. And Baptism is purely God’s work not ours. We present our children for Baptism but God baptizes. And what comfort that brings to us, firstly as parents but then as baptized children of God as our Baptism unites us with Christ and therefore whatever Christ has we also have. And Paul states very clearly what that is. He says: We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. That’s yours also through your Baptism.

 

So may you cherish your Baptism as a gift from God. Luther certainly did as he battled with Satan over the guilt of his sin and cried out “I AM BAPTISED”. Satan’s name means “the accuser” and he will use your sin to accuse you and to break down your faith in God, as St Peter warns –  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. But thanks be to God who has rescued us from the jaws of Satan into the death and resurrection of Christ as all who are baptized are baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection.

Sermon 18th June 2023 - 3rd Sunday after Pentecost Text: Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7) – God’s laughable plans

 Sermon 18^th June 2023 - 3^rd Sunday after Pentecost

Text: Genesis 18:1-15, (21:1-7) – God’s laughable plans

There is an old saying – if you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans. In our Old Testament reading today it seems that the opposite has happened. Three visitors – 3 angels – some have suggested the Triune God – 3 persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, have come to visit Abraham. Abraham is nearing 100 – Sarah 90 – and the visitors said that they will return in due season and Sarah will have a child. God has told Sarah his plan and she has laughed. She laughed because all these years she had wanted a child and now when she is too old to care for and enjoy childbirth God has decided to honour his promise that he had made to Abraham – to give him a child and heir by Sarah. But, despite what Abraham and Sarah might think about this promise and their age, as the visitors have said - Is anything too wonderful for the Lord?

It’s almost the opposite to the situation with God and young unmarried Mary. The angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus. Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the one who is to be born will be called the Son of God.  Also, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

I love these 2 comments from the angels: Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? With God nothing is impossible. Understanding God’s plans is not always in the realm of human understanding and sometimes we might laugh if we were to discover God’s plan for us. 

Just look at God’s plans that have brought disbelief to his people and maybe not laughter but skepticisms. Just think of St Paul, converted from being a murderer and persecutor of Christians to become a Christian – the very ones he was attacking. The Lord said to one of the disciples. Ananias, “Go and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”  Now, this plan seemed strange to Ananias: “Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” I mean, even Paul recognized how ludicrous God’s plans seemed –  Here is a true statement that should be accepted without question: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and I am the worst of them.

But what Paul saw as a ludicrous plan of God was actually a demonstration of his love, as he said in today’s reading: Rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-- though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. God’s plans for us can sometimes seem unconventional. Even if we look at what Paul says today about suffering – does it make sense? That we boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us. Or even looking at what Jesus says about what lays ahead of Christians as we go throughout the world spreading his message of love and peace; Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all because of my name.

You can understand when someone is reading things like this out of context that Christianity can seem rather strange. But, we need to look in context of all of these situations and it really boils down to a battle between good and evil that we face as Christians as we go about doing God’s will. When Jesus sends out the 12 disciples he warned them about what lay ahead of them: I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of them, for they will hand you over to councils and flog you; and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit speaking through you.

 

St Paul also acknowledged this reality that what might seem as a worldly battle we undertake is far from that: Paul says: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. So what we see happening with Abraham and Sarah fits into this context.

Firstly, God is a God of promise and he cannot break his promises. Which is what Paul later says in his letter to the Romans when he encourages his Jewish brothers and sisters so they don’t lose heart. He says - "For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable" (Rom 11:29). So, God made a promise to Abraham and Sarah that they would have a child and that through that child – Isaac, not Ishmael -  they would have descendants more numerous than the stars in the heavens, if you could count them. Sometimes those promises are challenging. Like when Abraham and Sarah believed that God had forgotten or changed his promise so took matters into their own hands and Abraham had a child with Sarah’s maid, Hagar. So even though Abraham had a child it was not God’s promised way.

Sometimes we might feel as if God has lost his way and we take matters into our own hands but that’s fraught with danger. We see examples of that with Peter who had in mind the things of man rather than God when he rebuked Jesus for saying that God’s way for him was through suffering and death. Jesus showed that even though it was tough to sometimes accepts God’s plan – he trusted and said – your will be done even though the plan seemed wrong – my God, my God, why have you forsaken me.

Maybe at times you’ve questioned God’s plan for you when you go through times of suffering. But remember that suffering is not a sign of God’s absence or failure but somehow, mysteriously, it’s is part of God’s hidden blessing in which Paul boasts.

But the 2nd part of the context in all this is that God remains in control despite what our eyes see. Abraham and Sarah looked at their age. Sarah laughed at God’s ridiculous plan. Me – 90 – giving birth. But, as the angels said to Sarah - Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? As the angel said to Mary – nothing is impossible with God.

Being a Christian does not mean our life will be perfect without any obstacles or hardships. Being a Christian means trusting in God and his promises and especially what Jesus says in response to the world hating Christians - But the one who endures to the end will be saved. God is in control and will always be in control. And when God desires something to happen it will happen in God’s timing. It doesn’t matter what anyone says or thinks about us as Paul reminds us that it’s what God thinks that matters: Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.

It can feel quite lonely in times of struggle but Jesus reminds us that we are never alone. The Holy Spirit is with us. And Paul also affirmed that in times of suffering which leads to hope in God and hope does not disappoint us, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. So let us stand firm in our faith at all times and trust God’s plan with the assurance that the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Sermon 11th June 2023 – Pentecost 2 Text: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 – Faithful interruptions

 Sermon 11^th June 2023 – Pentecost 2

Text: Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 – Faithful interruptions

 

Do you find these days that interruptions are just nonstop? You’re talking to someone and they check their phone mid sentence because they feel it vibrate or hear it ring. Or these days they might look at their watch because it’s one like mine that connects to the phone and vibrates when someone is calling or texting. Or you’re deep in conversation with someone and there’s someone waiting in the wings because they want to talk with the person you’re talking to and you feel obliged to let them interrupt you. Interruptions can be quite annoying and frustrating. You’re trying to have lunch or dinner and the phone rings and these days it’s someone wanting to come around and change your light bulbs or shower heads or talk to you about solar panels. It always seems to interrupt your meal times. Or you’re working on something on your computer and the chat box pops onto your screen with someone wanting to chat with you and creating time wasting. Interruptions are constant and it gets to the point where you don’t want to have your phone by your bedside just for a bit of rest.

 

Today’s Gospel reading is all about interruptions in Jesus’ ministry. He’s having dinner at Matthew’s house – the Pharisees complain about it – then a synagogue leader interrupts and wants Jesus to come and heal his daughter – then on the way a woman who had a bleeding disorder comes and interrupts by touching Jesus’ cloak. Interruptions were a huge part of Jesus ministry and we need to be careful that we don’t dismiss all interruptions as nuisances. Sometimes God sends interruptions – like he did with Jesus.

 

Jesus didn’t complain that his dinner was interrupted. Jesus didn’t complain when a woman – without permission – came up behind him and touched his cloak. He could have growled at her like I’m sure many of us do when that unsolicited phone call comes and we make sure we block that number in future. He could have slammed the door on the synagogue ruler and put up a sign “do not knock” like many houses have.

Or he could have told the bleeding woman to go away and put up a “no junk mail” sign. Isn’t that how we often treat interruptions?

 

But what if that is how God sends people our way – through interruptions? And why has Matthew interrupted the story of Jesus going to the Synagogue ruler’s place? He could have written them as 2 separate stories but I believe that by doing this Matthew is wanting to have us really focus on this woman’s interruption. In fact, Mark’s account of this links these 2 situations even further in that the girl, Jairus’s daughter was 12 years old and the woman with the bleeding complaint had been ill for 12 years. This woman had suffered from a bleeding disorder for twelve years and had spent all her money trying to find a cure.  In the end, she was left penniless, alone and still diseased.

 

Mark’s version said she had spent all her money on doctors, but instead of getting better she got worse. But one fateful day, she heard about Jesus, the healer who was passing through her town. She knew she had to meet him. She thought, “If I can just touch His garment, I will be healed.” In a crowded space, she worked her way through the crowd, purely focused on touching Him. Finally, she reached Jesus from behind and touched the hem of His garment. Suddenly, she felt the flow of her blood stem and Jesus felt the flow of his healing power and the disease was gone from her body. She was afraid, but Jesus stopped and called out to her, “Who touched Me?”The disciples were surprised by Jesus’ question as people were pressing all around Him. But, Jesus knew that someone had touched Him with a faith that had healed them. Jesus' gaze searched the crowd until it rested on the woman with the issue of bleeding. She fell at His feet and told Him the truth about what she had just done. Perhaps she was afraid – would Jesus undo her healing? Jesus said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

 

This woman was healed because of her faith.  But Jesus did more than just physically heal her. He had restored her dignity by calling her "Daughter." By His love, He had transformed her life into something new, something beautiful. There are many people living without dignity in our world and most likely all around us.

Do we see them? Do we stop to help them? Maybe we’re too busy or too focused on other things, like the priest and Levite in the Parable of the Good Samaritan who crossed over to the other side of the road when they saw one of their brothers in need. Or perhaps like the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son who was angry at his brother’s restoration because of how he spent his father’s inheritance in wild living.

Sometimes God calls us out of our comfort zones to think about other people.

 

And sometimes that calling out can be quite challenging. Like Abraham in our first reading. Abraham, or Abram as he was known then, was living a very settled life in Harran with his father, his wife, and his nephew when all of a sudden God interrupts his life: The Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. So Abraham didn’t know where God was sending him – he didn’t know why he was sending him – he didn’t know how he would support himself or how long it would take. Abraham simply trusted God: So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran.

 

Sometimes God will disrupt our comfortable lives, like he did to Abraham. Sometimes God will disrupt what we believe our mission to be – like he did to Jesus. We need to be open to those interruptions. It’s easy to just go the way we’re going but who knows whether sometime in the future God is going to place before us a mission challenge. He may send us from here to where he wants us to be. As Jesus said – it is the sick who need a doctor – and there are many spiritual sick people around us. Just as Jesus was sent to call the sinner and not the righteous maybe we need to go where the church and the Gospel is needed. I’m not saying that we’re going to sell up and move like Abraham did – but what if that challenge were put before us? Would we miss it because we’re too old – like Abraham was – 75 years old.

 

What we need to do is to listen to God’s call when it comes and sometimes that means we need to be in tune with God like Elijah was. A great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went. Let us not be afraid to listen to God’s voice even when it interrupts our routine. Let us look for those opportunities to bring God’s word of grace to those we might be missing like the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years and give hope and dignity. Let us ignore the scoffers and those who hold us back like the people who laughed at Jesus. Let us, like Abraham, trust in God and be ready to go wherever and whenever God calls us.

 

As Paul reassures us when we trust in God as Abraham did: No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, being fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. Therefore his faith “was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Friends, we are needed in so many places so let us listen to God’s call as he interrupts our lives and trust enough as Abraham and Jesus did and go where God needs us.

 

Sermon Trinity Sunday – 4th June 2023 Text: Genesis 1:1-2:4a

 Sermon Trinity Sunday – 4^th June 2023

Text: Genesis 1:1-2:4a

The question of Creation is a debate that occurs not just between atheists and Christians but even amongst Christians. Did God create the world in 6 literal days or are they symbolic days. Questions are raised that if they are 24 hour days then how were those days determined if the Sun, Moon and Stars were only created on day four as Genesis itself says - Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years. Sadly what is lost in this debate – as often happens when we debate things we disagree with - is the blessing that come from an understanding that God is our Creator who made the heavens and earth and all that exists.

Let us refresh our understanding of the significance of this first chapter of Genesis and what it means that God is our Creator: Day One – God said, “let there be light”. Let us understand what this light it as we often misunderstand it as the light that we experience during daytime. But that wouldn’t make sense as this light that we call daytime only came on day 4 when God created the sun, moon and stars to make distinction between night and day. This is the light of God’s presence in the world – the very first of God’s creation without which no creation would be possible. This light is the assurance that God’s presence is in the very world we experience each day even if we don’t realise that God is present with us. It is the glory of the Lord that was experienced by Israel with the pillar of fire to lead them out of Egypt – the glory of the Lord that descended as a glory cloud when God met with Moses. It is the fire that came upon the Apostles as tongues of fire when the Holy Spirit came upon them. This is the light where God separated the light from the darkness in John’s Gospel where John explains the same presence of Jesus Christ in the world.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all humankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John links this light with creation – the life and light of all humankind. This is the light that took the chaos in the beginning when the world was void and empty and brought order. This is the presence of God in our lives that brings meaning and purpose to life.

This is the same presence of God in our lives that brings order and harmony in our lives. And from that foundation the rest of creation begins: Even when there is turmoil and disruption in your life, God’s presence comes and returns that peace that the world cannot give – the peace that goes beyond all understanding – let there be light. The light of Christ that breaks the darkness of the world which is affirmed by Jesus when he says – I AM the light of the world – and then Jesus sends you – you are the light of the world.

And from that first day of Creation God then begins to shape that order in life just as God shapes order into our lives – creating dry land to allow the growth of trees and vegetation. Then life is possible through birds of the air – fish in the sea – animals to roam the earth. And then the peak of creation – human beings – you and me - made in his image. Human beings created to care for the world and to be blessed by the world and all it produces. Being created in God’s image means we have unity with God – oneness with God. It’s what is known as “Shalom” in the Hebrew bible. A special relationship that Satan ruined through sin through deception when he got Eve to believe that being “like” God was better than being created in the image of God.

So we too need to be aware of anything that diminishes just how special we are to God as his creation – created in his image. God has created order and peace in the world and in our lives. And the Holy Trinity examples that peace and order. And that’s what Paul says also today: Put things in order, listen to my appeal, agree with one another, live in peace - shalom; and the God of love and peace will be with you. And, he says, by this, The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit – the Holy Trinity - be with all of you.

 

We might feel a little disappointed if we were expecting today’s reading to explain what the Trinity is. Unlike the past few weeks where things like The Ascension and Pentecost were quite easily detected in the Bible Readings, an explanation of the Trinity falls well short in today’s readings. Instead our Bible readings talk about relationships because that is exactly what the Trinity is about – relationships. We don’t try and understand “what” the Trinity is but rather “who” the Trinity is. And that’s what we discover in our Bible readings that the Trinity is about relationships. Firstly within God and then with one another.  That God has revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit – an interpersonal relationship which we describe as One God in Three Person – Trinity – Triune- Tri-Unity. And then God calls us to live that unity with one another.

So our first reading describes that interpersonal unity of relationship in the beginning of Creation. You might not initially see it but here in the first 3 verses we see the Trinity at work although not mentioned. That God created the Heavens and the Earth. That’s how our creeds begin – I believe in God the Father maker of heaven and earth. Then we see the Holy Spirit hovering over the chaotic waters of the void earth looking to bring order out of chaos which Jesus did on that day when the disciples were locked away in fear – in chaos. He stood among them and said – peace be with you – shalom. And he breathed on them and said – receive the Holy Spirit. And now the world is ready and prepared for creation: God does this through his Word: Let there be light. This light is the Word that was in the beginning as John told us: In the beginning was the Word and the word was with God and the word was God – and the word became flesh and dwelt among us. And Jesus promises that in our Baptism he dwells with us forever – I am with you always till the end of the age.

So whatever is happening in your life. Whatever is causing any turmoil or chaos – God comes to you in a relationship to bring peace. To bring Shalom. Every time we worship God invites you to share his heavenly Sabbath – his day of rest to reset your life to prepare you for the week ahead. The Trinity is a model of beauty and peace where God dwells in harmony as Father, Son and Holy Spirit and invites you to come and rest in him and live in his peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.