Sermon 3rd March 2019 Transfiguration Sunday Text: Luke 9:28-36 – Jesus’ glory revealed

Sermon 3^rd March 2019 Transfiguration Sunday

Text: Luke 9:28-36 – Jesus’ glory revealed

In our Gospel reading we have the account of what is known as the Transfiguration.

The account of Jesus’ appearance changing before his disciples, Peter, James and John while Moses and Elijah appear talking to Jesus.

Peter is struck with amazement and doesn’t want the experience to end so he offers to build 3 dwellings – one for Jesus, one for Moses and one for Elijah.

But God rejects Peter’s offer and tells him to listen to Jesus.

Peter, it would seem, wanted to keep that experience of God alive so he could return there whenever he needed strengthening of his faith.

But what Peter didn’t understand is that God is not a God who stands still.

When King David wanted to build a temple for God it sounds like God was rather disappointed in David despite his noble gesture:

the Lord spoke his word to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: Will you build a house for me to live in? From the time I brought the Israelites out of Egypt until now I have not lived in a house. I have been moving around all this time with a tent as my home.

As I have moved with the Israelites, I have never said “Why haven’t you built me a house of cedar?”

in the Transfiguration we hear God say to Peter, James and John the same words that were spoken at Jesus baptism - "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!"

At the Transfiguration the disciples are given a glimpse of Jesus true glory.

For a brief moment the human flesh of Jesus is drawn back and they are able to see behind the human flesh the true power of Jesus as God’s beloved Son.

This is important because they are about to witness Jesus undergo humiliation, suffering and death and he will seem powerless.

But despite what their eyes will see, Jesus is wanting them to remember that experience to strengthen their faith and know that whatever they are going to experience in the future after his death and resurrection that the same glorious experience is waiting them in Heaven.

And that is also the purpose for us, that in times of doubt – times of suffering – times of difficulty – our baptism becomes a source of strength that points us to the future glory that awaits us to pull us forward through those times.

There are difficult times we go through – dark times –as Peter, James and John experienced even on that mountaintop despite that glorious experience:

It says -  a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud.

Sometimes it can be terrifying following God’s will.

As we journey through life we will find that the times ahead can be quite difficult and uncertain - terrifying.

Even if the road has been clear for years and years there is no guarantee that just around the bend there is not a road block that is going to grind us to a halt.

A death, a sickness, a conflict.

Sometimes we don’t want to go forward but wish things could stay the way they are, like Peter did, or even pondering about going back to the good old days.

In the church it is no different.

We often ponder about the good old days.

Remember when Sunday Schools were packed to the rafters.

Remember when our church was full.

Remember when we only had the organ and page 6 or page 23.

It was much simpler.

No doubt, for Jesus, the way forward was quite frightening also.

Maybe Jesus pondered back to the good old days while he was still in heaven.

Perhaps Jesus even wondered why he couldn’t stay on earth as the popular Rabbi that drew massive crowds and healed many sick people.

But that’s when Moses and Elijah appeared speaking of his departure.

It’s interesting that the word “departure” is the same word used in the Old Testament for Exodus.

The exodus was when Israel left Egypt for the Promised Land.

And even though that journey to the Promised Land was led by God, it became terrifying and uncertain at times.

And all along the way they pondered about the comfort of their home back in Egypt – the food we ate – even though it was mingled with hard slavery.

The uncertainty of what lay ahead frightened them more than slave labour that would await them back in Egypt if they returned.

The beauty of our Baptism is that it comes with a promise that we are never alone in our journeys.

As he was departing from this earth at his ascension Jesus commissions his disciples to take Baptism into the world and along with it the promise: I am with you always till the end of the age.

That’s why Jesus didn’t want Peter or anyone to build a dwelling for him because he had already made his dwelling in us.

Likewise for David building a temple for God was not what God asked for.

God would make his temple in us as St Paul affirms in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 - Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?

We are about to embark on our annual Lenten journey.

It’s going to be a tough journey as we relive the aspects of Jesus’ passion.

It will begin with Judas agreeing to betray Jesus.

Maybe you’ve been betrayed by someone close to you.

Maybe you’ve been betrayed by the church.

How betrayed do Roman Catholics feel today by their church after what happened during the week?

Even the one that Jesus felt was his closest companion-Peter – whom he took onto that mountain top and revealed his glory – he too will deny him along the journey, not once but 3 times.

Maybe you’ve been denied by a friend when you’ve needed them most.

Maybe you’ve felt denied by the church when you needed it most.

Jesus will be abandoned by every one of his disciples the moment he is arrested.

Maybe you’ve felt all alone in your time of trouble – abandoned by your friends – abandoned by your family – abandoned by your church – abandoned by your faith.

Jesus knows all about that feeling when he cried out – My God, why have you abandoned me.

And finally Jesus will be handed over by his own people to be mocked and ridiculed before being put to death.

Betrayed by his own people.

And when Pilate – not a Jew – wants to release him – it is his own people who abandon him and demand his death.

Many of us experienced that same death last year at Synod regardless of which side of the debate you were on.

We felt abandoned, denied, mocked, ridiculed by our own people.

Sadly until we arrive in glory we are going to experience that.

But we take heart because we have a high priest in Jesus who has experienced this and more and can empathise with us in our suffering.

And again today he gives us a brief glimpse of his Transfiguration begging us to trust him and not give up hope as we take him into the world with us.

We will experience that in a moment as we gather at the mountaintop around the one bread and the one cup to strengthen and affirm our baptismal unity as children of God whom God loves.

Here God will draw back the earthly flesh of Jesus and reveal his glorified body and blood, given and shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins.

What we will experience here at this mountaintop of Holy Communion is the glory of God that comes through Jesus suffering and death as we receive his body and blood in Holy Communion – put to death for us.

As we leave from here, we will enter the cloud as Peter, James and John did which at times seems very fearful.

(a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud)

We will enter the cloud as Moses did in the Exodus which says - The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was (Exodus 20:21).

Sometimes the way ahead seems dark and uncertain.

But with the glory and promise of our baptism we have received the light of Christ and we can confidently enter that darkness and uncertainty knowing that we are not entering it alone but with God who is right in the midst of that darkness to strengthen us.

He is Immanuel – God with us to transform our lives.

Sermon 24th February 2019 (Confirmation Sunday) Text: Luke 6:27-38 – Being different

This sermon has been personalised for our Confirmation Students. It has been modified to suit normal service.

Sermon 24^th February 2019 (Confirmation Sunday)

Text: Luke 6:27-38 – Being different

People in society today like to do things that make them stand out in the crowd.

They might do it by the clothes they wear.

They might do it by the hairstyle they wear.

A lot of people in recent times have done it by having tattoos or piercings.

Many do it because they want to stand out from the crowd.

They want to be or look different.

Sometimes they do it to be what we call counter-culture.

They like to be known for being different to everyone else in society.

The problem is that soon it creates a fashion and then everyone starts doing it and you’re no longer different to anyone and you have to look for something else to make a statement that you’re different.

Jesus stood out in the crowd too – he was very different.

In fact Jesus made such a difference that we distinguish dating as “before Christ” and “in the year of our Lord” – BC and AD.

Jesus liked to rock the boat and do things that went against the normal culture of his day.

He talked with people everyone else ignored.

He ate meals with people that nobody else liked.

He was different and it made him stand out in the crowd.

As Christians you have opportunity to stand out in the crowd .

You have the opportunity to be very different to your peer group.

By honouring your Baptism vows you continue to learn about the Christian faith.

Instead of turning on the TV, spending time on  Facebook, Twitter or whatever else they do on the internet and mobile phones these days – you can continue to learn about the Ten Commandments – the Apostles’ Creed – Baptism, Holy Communion – the Lord’s Prayer and the Office of the Keys.

Jesus is sending you out into the world and he asks you to be different.

He asks you to live lives that are going to make you stand out in the crowd.

Lives that are going to make people even think you’re a little bit weird.

Let’s have a look at what Jesus says that’s really going to make you different and stand out from the crowd.

He says:

Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.

Talk about different – Love your enemies!

That’s not what everyone else is doing.

That’s not the advice that your friends and society are telling you.

If they’re your enemy then you should do everything to make sure they have bad things happen to them.

Gossip about them.

Tell your friends that they have to be their enemies also.

Laugh when bad things happen to them.

Tell lies about them.

Can you imagine how different you would be if while all your friends at school are picking on someone that you point out that what they are doing is wrong!

That’s what Jesus did.

Jesus loved everyone.

He said that anyone can love their friends – be different – love your enemies.

Or what about when someone hurts you?

What should you do to be different?

Jesus says: If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat even give them your shirt.

Jesus is saying, if someone hits you then don’t hit back, but ask them if they want to hit you again!

Now that’s just silly isn’t it?

Or if someone steals something from you ask them if they need anything else.

That sounds very different.

Anyone can hit someone back.

That’s the easy thing to do.

Jesus wants you to be different and not hurt people back.

Even Jesus when they were nailing his hands to the cross cried out “forgive them Father, they don’t know what they are doing”.

Could you imagine how different you would be if you loved someone who hurt you.

When we read the 10 Commandments and Luther's explanation there are 2 parts to them – what you must NOT do – and what you MUST do.

So in the Commandment – you shall not kill – it said you should NOT hurt your neighbour in any way but you are to help them in all their physical needs.

Or the eighth commandment – not only should we not lie about our neighbour but we must speak well about them and explain their actions in the kindest way.

When we confess The Apostles’ Creed we confess to everyone that we believe in Jesus.

Do you think believing in Jesus is going to make you popular?

Probably not – but it will make you different.

What brave people you are when you don't listen to what we call “peer group pressure”.

It’s not cool to be a Christian today but it’s not about being cool.

The Apostles’ Creed says why we believe in Jesus – I believe in the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.

Being a Christian is not about being good people – it’s about believing that when I die I will live forever in Heaven because Jesus died for my sins.

Being a Christian today and believing in Jesus is being different.

Do not underestimate what you are doing today as you worship God.

What you are doing today is very different.

When you were baptised you probably had really no say.

You were most likely infants and were brought along by your parents.

This is your choice to keep believing and it is different to what the world is teaching you to do.

The world today believes it doesn’t need God in their life.

You’re saying “we do need him in our life”.

And God encourages you – don’t stop your involvement and learning.

The church needs you to keep learning and keep being involved in the church.

If you want to be different – if you want to stand out in the world – keep doing what you’re doing.

You may get teased – you may get laughed at – but remember – that’s also what happened to Jesus – so you’re amongst very special people.

Jesus even said that the world may hate you because of me – but remember it hated me first.

Don’t let that worry you.

Just remember what believing in Jesus means.

It means that you don’t have to worry about anything because God is looking after you especially that your home in heaven is 100% guaranteed.

Sermon 5th Sunday after Epiphany - 10th February 2019 - Text – Isaiah 6:1-8 - Respecting authority

Sermon 5th Sunday after Epiphany - 10th February 2019 - 

Text – Isaiah 6:1-8 - Respecting authority

I’m not sure how you feel about it – and maybe it’s just my age showing – but I get really annoyed when I hear our Prime Minister, Scott Morrison, referred to as ScoMo.

To me it seems like a lack of respect for the office he carries.

Even when he is being interviewed and they refer to him as Scott – it really irks me as a sign of disrespect.

The correct way off addressing our current Prime Minister is The Honourable Scott Morrison MP or Prime Minister Morrison or even Mr Morrison.

This lack of respect for authority probably began back a generation or two when school teachers started telling students to call them by their first name.

Today we see a real lack of respect for authority, whether it be police, firefighters, paramedics, teachers or Pastors.

I get shocked when I watch a TV show, Highway Patrol, that follows real life police action in Melbourne and the abuse they cop from people as they uphold the law.

We’ve even seen a growing incidence of paramedics being bashed and abused while trying to save the life of a person.

Teachers and even parents are fearful of exercising the authority they have for fear that they may be sued or prosecuted.

I also wonder whether this lack of respect is a significant contributor to the decline in the church in society today.

But I also wonder whether it’s a lack of understanding of what authority is that has seen a rejection of authority in society.

Let’s first understand what authority is NOT.

Authority is not a right to abuse people.

The disciples were being given authority by Jesus and he explains to them:

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.  Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

A person who is given authority is given authority to help and serve others.

Sadly we don’t always see that, including in the church.

We see people abuse their authority to put people down.

Like other authorities we have seen the church use its authority to suppress people.

We have seen a misinterpretation of the word “submit” when there is a call to submit to authority.

And as a result, instead of trying to understand authority and submission people have rejected it and in a sense “outlawed” it.

Let’s have a look at 2 examples that we have in our bible readings today of authority.

First we have Isaiah:

I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty; and the hem of his robe filled the temple. Seraphs were in attendance above him. And one called to another and said:  "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." The pivots on the thresholds shook at the voices of those who called, and the house filled with smoke. And I said: "Woe is me! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"

Here we can see that in the presence of authority there can be a response of fear, like when you see a police car on the road and you immediately look how fast you’re going.

God’s response to fear is to remove it:

Then one of the seraphs flew to me, holding a live coal that had been taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. The seraph touched my mouth with it and said: "Now that this has touched your lips, your guilt has departed and your sin is blotted out."

Likewise in our Gospel reading when Peter discovers that he is in the presence of the promised Messiah of God: He says:

Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!"

Jesus responds to Peter’s fear: "Do not be afraid”

A submission to authority allows that authority to protect you and in the case of God it allows God to use you in service to him and others.

For both Peter and Isaiah once their fear of God was removed then ALL fear of everything was removed.

For Isaiah: Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I; send me!"

For Peter: "Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people." When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

I think we have a lot of work to do as church to re-educate the world around us of what our authority means.

That it’s an authority that wants to serve society for the betterment of society.

When Martin Luther explains the 10 Commandments he begins each explanation with “we are to fear, love and trust God so that …”

This is a fear that loves and trusts God in whatever he calls us to do.

It is a fear that actually removes all other fear from us as we live our daily lives.

We live in a world where there is much to fear at times but as Jesus says - Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Jesus is not telling us to be afraid of God but to not be afraid of those who don’t have any true authority over us.

When we go out into the world knowing that God is the authority under which we live and that his authority is to protect and serve us then we can live a life that is of great benefit to the world we live in.

But it begins with a respect for God – who God is – what God does – and how God acts in the world.

God does not want to supress us but he wants us to accept and understand his authority.

And we best understand and accept his authority by showing that same servanthood and love to others to regain the respect of the world around us.

But it begins here and our respect of God.

If we can’t respect God how can we respect one another created in God’s image.

In God’s holy house we respect one another in the body of Christ.

If we can’t respect one another here – our brothers and sisters in Christ – how can we respect others.

From here we respect our families.

If we can’t respect the ones we love and who are closest to us, how can we love and respect others?

God gifts us with our church and families so we can exercise love and respect in a close and safe environment.

We live out in our church and families what God lives out with us.

We learn from God and how he treats us to how we are to live our lives her in church and in our families and then take that out into the world and treat others in the same way.

As God has forgiven us we forgive others.

As God loves us we love others.

As God serves us we serve others.

That’s true God given authority.

As St Paul says in our2nd reading:

For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins.

We hand on to the world as of first importance what we received from God.

We have received from God unconditional love that forgives rather than condemns.

We have received from God unconditional love that serves us rather than judges us.

But what we also received from God is the assurance that we don’t have to fear trusting him.

Peter and the other fisherman dropped their nets and followed Jesus.

They dropped all their worldly trust and trusted in Jesus.

They sacrificed their earthly livelihood, their earthly families, their earthly securities to follow wherever Jesus was going to send them.

Jesus also gives you the challenge to trust him when he calls you.

Maybe that call takes you out of your comfort zone to serve him in an area you’ve never served him before like Isaiah – here I am Lord, send me.

Maybe he is calling you to let go of your earthly possessions and trust him with your giving.

Maybe God is challenging you to let go of some hurt and forgive and trust what God is doing.

It’s when we let go of those fears that we think are giving us freedom that we are able to find true freedom.

May God give you the courage to let go of whatever is holding you back in fear and to trust God.

Sermon 4th Sunday after Epiphany - 3rd February 2019 - Text – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 – God’s covenant of love in Baptism

(This sermon is prepared for our annual Baptism Celebration service)

Sermon 3^rd February 2019

Text – 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 – God’s covenant of love in Baptism

And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Why did Paul single out love as the greatest of the 3 qualities that he listed – faith, hope and love?

Why did he have to actually say one was greater than the other?

Doesn’t Paul say that we are saved by grace through faith – so surely faith is essential for salvation?

Doesn’t Paul that say that hope does not disappoint when he says - we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint.

Why does he single out love as the greatest of these 3?

It’s because love is at the base of everything that God does.

There would be no salvation by grace through faith if God’s love did not come first.

If God did not love us then he would not have sent Jesus to die for our sins and therefore there would be no salvation no matter how much faith we had.

We would have no hope of salvation if God’s love did not come first.

As Jesus reminds us – for God so loved the world that he gave us his one and only son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God’s love comes first and without it no matter how much faith or hope we had we would be doomed to eternal punishment and death.

In the beginning it was God’s love that created us.

He had a multitude of angels and heavenly hosts so why would he need to create us unless his love drove him to do so.

When his heart could no longer persevere with us he regretted creating us but he could not totally eradicate us so he preserved humankind through Noah.

When Israel constantly disobeyed God and chased after other gods, God wanted to get rid of them all and start again but his love, fortunately, saved them.

So many times we see in the Old Testament God’s disappointment with his creation and yet his love overrides everything.

As we read the Old Testament of Israel’s continued disobedience you wonder why he chose them in the first place and why he didn’t replace them with a more obedient nation.

They must have thought similar because in Deuteronomy 7 Moses says to them:

The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.

The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you.

Maybe you’ve wondered whether God really loves you enough to forgive you and offer to have you live with him forever in Heaven.

Or maybe you’ve wondered why God could possibly love you.

Maybe you’ve felt unsure whether God still loves you after all the things you’ve done or haven’t done.

But let us remember that when God first loved us there was not much in us to love.

St Paul says – But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

As we acknowledge our Baptisms today let us remember that Baptism is God’s covenant with us – it is not our covenant with God.

If we have any doubts whatsoever then God directs us back to our baptism to remind us that what he said to Jesus in his Baptism he also says to us:

"This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."

God’s love for us does not go up and down like a yo-yo depending on how we live our lives.

God’s love is always to the fullest.

As someone once said (I think it may have been Phillip Yancey) – God cannot love us any less that he does – and God cannot love us any more than he does.

God is a God who makes one-way covenants that are not negated by our disobedience just as he did through Noah after he destroyed all living creatures apart from Noah and his family.

He said: “Never again will I curse the ground because of humans, even though every inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.

Did you hear what God said about us – “even though EVERY inclination of the human heart is evil from childhood”

In our 2nd reading today St Paul put the parameters of God’s love for us.

Even though we are more familiar with this text at weddings between husband and wife, it is God’s promise to us of his love for us:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

God’s love for you never fails which is why Paul says that love is the greatest quality of God.

And we are now sent to example that love to others with the same parameters.

And when we find it hard to love let us remember our Baptism and God’s covenant of love and that we love because God first loved us.

May God bless you richly in the covenant of your Baptism.

Sermon 3rd February 2019 (from 2016) - 4th Sunday after the Epiphany - - Text Luke 4:21-30 – Including the excluded

Sermon 3rd February 2019 (from 31^st January 2016)

Text Luke 4:21-30 – Including the excluded

We have just celebrated Australia Day – a day when we like to show our patriotic side.

I saw many cars flying the Australian Flag like they were an important diplomatic car.

The Australian culture is an interesting culture that is constantly changing because of our multicultural influx.

But nevertheless we have that Ocker Aussie nature that people love to exhibit.

Throw another Shrimp on the Barbie.

G’day Mate.

Aussie Aussie Aussie, Oi, Oi,Oi.

The great Australian mateship.

Grabbing the Esky and heading off to the beach or to the cricket.

Heading off to the beach to get an Aussie Golden Tan – although these days it’s not highly recommended.

Grabbing a VB for that hard earned thirst.

And as the old jingle stated – we’ve got football, meat pies, kangaroos and Holden cars.

But another trait that Australians have been noted for is what is known as the Tall Poppy Syndrome.

You can see this at present in tennis players like Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic.

We loved and supported them when they first began but once they started carrying on and mouthing off we started to lose our support of them.

We love it when the little Aussie Battler makes good – we love barracking for the underdog.

But they better not get too high and mighty or we’ll knock them down faster than it took them to rise to the top.

Jesus too experienced this Tall Poppy Syndrome when he arrived in his hometown.

He was given the prestigious honour of reading the Holy Scriptures on that Sabbath day and was invited to speak to the congregation.

Jesus announced that the Scriptures were actually speaking about him.

All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth (Luke 4:22).

But then it all changes when he explains what God’s mission is.

Jesus seems to have gotten too big for his boots and they start to bring him down.

Isn’t this Joseph’s son

Matthew’s gospel goes even further into this account;

“He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. (Matthew 13:55)

If we look closely at what Jesus was saying he was not big noting himself or trying to raise his profile.

When he said that this reading was being fulfilled today it wasn’t to elevate his status.

He was actually elevating the status of the underdog.

It was never Jesus’ intention to claim status for himself, as Paul reminds us in Philippians:

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges and he took the humble position of a servant (Philippians 2:6,7).

In the 3 examples that he cites, Jesus shows God’s care for the underdog.

Firstly – Doctor cure yourself (Luke 4:23).

Jesus is most likely looking ahead to the crucifixion.

In the Garden of Gethsemane he will show his anguish at what is about to happen:

“My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” (Matthew 26:38,39)

Then when on the cross he is taunted:

He saved others, but he can't save himself! He's the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. (Matthew 27:42)

Jesus wasn’t thinking about himself – he was thinking about those he came to save.

He didn’t come to “cure himself”.

If the cup of suffering had been taken away from him or if he had come down from the cross – maybe he would have “cured himself” and gained some respect for a little while longer – but we would have been lost in our sins forever.

Likewise we are sometimes going to be challenged to make sacrifices for the saving of others.

Maybe you’ve been challenged in a call to ministry but have looked at what this means to you rather than what it might mean for others.

God will always provide for you even when it seems you have nothing to give.

And then there are the other 2 examples that Jesus cited where God goes looking for the outsider – the underdog – rather than operating with an inner circle.

There were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.

The widow of Zarephath symbolises brokenness and despair.

She represents so many in our society today.

She was down to her last meal.

She was going to feed her son the last meal and wait to die.

Who does she represent in society today?

How many in our society have lost hope and are turning to solutions that provide relief even if it may mean death?

So many turn to drugs, alcohol, sex and other behaviours that do not support a healthy lifestyle.

We are sent, like Elijah, to them to bring hope through the Good News.

It’s much easier to mix among our own but Elijah was sent to a people not his own.

There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian."

Naaman didn’t deserve to be healed.

He thought he was too good and important to be told what to do by a servant rather than have the prophet Elisha come out to him.

There would have been others much more appreciative of the healing than Naaman.

Likewise there are many in our society that don’t deserve God’s love.

But let us remember – no one deserves God’s love.

None of us deserve God’s love – and that’s the Good News.

God loves us in spite of our unworthiness – that’s grace.

Likewise we are called to go and reach out to the unworthy – to the underdog – to those society has written off and forgotten.

It’s easy and comfortable to stay in our own surroundings but Jesus shows that it will be in the outside world where our message will be received.

But let us not forget that those closest to us also need to hear about Jesus even as Jesus went to his home town.

And note that it was his hometown that rejected him.

We too will face rejection but that must not stop us from going to where God’s word needs to be heard, just as it didn’t stop Jesus.

Jeremiah had doubts to:

Ah, Lord God! Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy. (Jeremiah 1:6).

But God reassured Jeremiah:

Do not say, 'I am only a boy'; for you shall go to all to whom I send you, and you shall speak whatever I command you, Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, (Jeremiah 1:7,8)

What is it that is stopping you?

Jesus teaching is about God being on the side of the “other” - those not like us.

And at the heart of Jesus reaching out to “the other” is his love for all people.

As Paul said – if we don’t have love then the words and works we do are nothing.

The same love that saw God give up his one and only Son for us needs to be at the heart of all we do and say.

The love that saw Jesus refuse to “heal himself” and come down from the cross needs to be at the heart of all we do to – to “love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34,35).

To go the extra mile when we’d rather stop. (Matthew 5:41)

To give away the extra tunic when we’d rather feel secure having a second one for ourselves just in case. (Luke 3:11)

God didn’t hold back – he gave his one and only Son.

Jesus didn’t hold back – he gave his entire life.

And we too, knowing that our eternal life is secure should think about those for whom that is not the case.

Jesus’ hometown was enraged when Jesus suggested God’s love extended to the outcast and foreigners.

Let us embrace that opportunity which God places before us and remember that we too were once foreigners and outcasts to God but his love never failed but came to us while we were still sinners.

God’s love includes the excluded just as God’s love now includes us through our Baptism.

Just as Jesus passed through his opposition who wanted to throw him off the cliff, let us push through all that opposes God’s love from reaching out and making the excluded become included into God’s love and grace.

Sermon 27th January 2019 – 3rd Sunday after Epiphany - Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a – Every member needed

Sermon 27^th November 2019

Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a – Every member needed

The human body is an intricate and complex creation by God.

It is capable of feelings – emotions –pain.

It has things about it that science can’t explain and nothing in the non-human creation has.

It has a conscience – it has a soul.

The human body was the only part of creation that was created in the Image of God.

And because the human body is so complex so too is the life experience of humans.

Animals don’t have money problems.

Animals don’t have employment problems.

Animals don’t have relationship problems.

As Jesus once said: Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one inch to your height? “So why do you worry?

Animals feel pain and certain emotions but not to the extent of human beings.

Last week I accidentally stood on my dog’s foot.

He let out a yelp and I turned around and gave him a pat and said sorry and his tail was wagging again.

No resentment – no feeling of needing to hurt me back.

Human beings have a different sense of natural justice – if someone hurts you then you hurt them back.

As a result, human beings are much more complex in their relationships.

St Paul, when describing the body of Christ, the church, uses the complexity of the human body as an analogy.

He says: Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Just like the human body, the body of Christ, the church, shares the same complexity.

The church has feelings.

The church has emotions.

The church suffers pain.

Sadly, too, the church feels a need for natural justice that when attacked it defends – when hurt it retaliates.

It often forgets Jesus’ call to “turn the other cheek”.

And just like a human body needs healing when it goes through suffering so too the church, Christ’s body, needs healing when it goes through a time of suffering.

If you’re hurting, you don’t just ignore it or go away and do nothing – you seek ways to heal it.

So too, when the church is hurting, the church needs to deal with the sickness and seek healing

At Synod last year South Australian and Northern Territory Bishop David Altus reminded us that our church is hurting.

And like a body that is hurting it needs healing.

The problem we have is that when our bodies are hurting we tend to deal with the symptoms rather than the underlying problem.

We have an itch, so we scratch it but that can make the problem worse.

Like a child who has a cold sore and licks it constantly for soothing even though it makes the sore worse.

 We have a cough, so we’ll take a cough drop of cough medicine rather than finding out from the doctor what is causing the cough.

But, as we often hear in advertising, if the problem persists seek medical attention.

As a church, the body of Christ, we have tended to deal with the symptoms and the problem has gotten worse and sadly to the point where many believe that amputation of that body part is the only solution.

But Paul highlights how EVERY part of the body is essential:

If the foot would say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear would say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?

Likewise if the church was just made up of people who had the same view on issues we would never be challenged to grow in our thinking.

If a body part leaves or is cut off, then the body is incomplete.

As Paul says - If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it.

In fact Paul says that those delicate parts of the body require much more care.

One of my members in my first parish sadly had to have his leg amputated because of an infection.

And he shared with me that the pain is worse even though the infected leg was no longer there.

He experienced what are called phantom pains and they are worse because the pain does not go away for the body and now there is no body part to scratch or rub.

What this tells us is that the body of Christ hurts even more when a part of the body is not there.

And we know that by our friends and family that are not with us.

We can take them off the membership list but that does not bring healing but a more difficult pain.

The human body is a complex creation by God and so is the body of Christ, the church.

Our human bodies need care and so does the church

The human body needs love and companionship and so does the church.

The human body needs food and water and so does the church which God provides through the sacraments of Holy Communion and Baptism.

And just like our human bodies need regular check-ups to see where our bodies are needing attention so too the church needs regular check-ups to see where it needs to focus its attention.

In our Old Testament reading Ezra read God’s Word to the people to bring them healing from God.

They had gone astray – they were following other gods and idols; they were neglecting the poor.

And as they heard again the Word of God they realised where they had gone astray.

We go astray at times ever so slightly to begin with that we don’t realise how far we have strayed from God.

Luther called this the need for the 2nd use of the Law.

In case you’ve forgotten your Confirmation lesson, Luther says that the Law acts in 3 ways:

As a Curb to keep us on the straight and narrow – so society has law and order.

Secondly as a mirror so when we think that our lives are going okay the Word of God convicts us and reminds us that we have strayed and need Jesus to forgive us.

And Thirdly as a signpost to show us how we can live a God pleasing life knowing that Jesus has saved us.

But it’s that mirror that we need to find – to hear God’s Word to remind us that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

God’s word is not to bring judgment when it convicts us but to drive us to Christ and the healing Gospel.

And if we don’t deal with it then it’s not just our lives we are affecting but the life of the entire body of Christ.

It’s not very comfortable looking in the mirror at times seeing our imperfections – our wrinkles and grey hair our blemishes from ageing.

And the closer we bring that mirror to our face the more we see the imperfections.

So too as the people heard Ezra reading God’s Law it says - all the people wept when they heard the words of the law.

But the intention of God’s word – God’s law – is not to hurt but to heal.

Ezra says to the weeping people - Go your way, eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions of them to those for whom nothing is prepared, for this day is holy to our Lord; and do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.

Sometimes it hurts to be reminded of our condition before God.

Just like a surgeon’s scalpel that sometimes has to cut deep in order to heal, so too God’s word is likened to a double edged sword that cuts in order to heal so we can hear the sweet sound of the Gospel.

God’s word brings us comfort but sometimes it first needs to remove the unhealthy parts that have made their way in.

This is different to amputation which removes a body’s member – but the foreign part that does not beong.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save it as he preaches today to his people:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.

And that’s what Jesus now proclaims to you – the year of the Lord’s favour as today this scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing

So go – eat and drink from the grace God has given to you but share with the body of Christ – those missing out from the grace and healing that God’s word brings.