Hearing but not hearing–seeing but not seeing

Cheddington Midweek Communion

Gospel Matthew 13.16-17

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said, “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Another short gospel reading Unlike last week, cannot be taken out of context. Part of parable of sower. One of only two parables with explanation – most have many, according to listener.

Before Jesus explained parable disciples asked “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Good question. Why not be clear? Why not make meaning plain. Improve communication. Even Sower explained only to select few.

Jesus replied “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ¹² Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables”

Secrets of the Kingdom Does that mean message of salvation deliberately withheld from some and not others? No, it means the gospel cannot be studied and understood academically. Not like reading a text book and understanding. The Word himself has to be accepted. You have to engage with Jesus – and live out the Christian life. Only that way will the message be received and understood in abundance. Others can only try to partially understand, but what little understanding they have will be lost to them.

It’s not that Jesus wants it to be this way – he quotes the prophecy of Isaiah:
You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
Why is this? – because people’s eyes and ears are closed – their hearts have become calloused – so they hear with their ears and see with their eyes but their hearts and minds are unaffected by what they hear.

But blessed are your eyes, ears and hearts – says Christ. Because many clever people heard but did not hear – saw but did not see – but your eyes are blest because they have seen and your ears are blest because they hear. And the result is that they, and we, receive healing. Amen

A prophet in his Home Town

5th Sunday after Trinity

Gospel Mark 6.1-13

When the Gospel is announced the reader says

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him.

Jesus said to them, “Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honour.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

Then Jesus went round teaching from village to village. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.

These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.”

They went out and preached that people should repent. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

We all know it too well. Life has its ups and downs. One minute everything is going well. We are on a high. Then suddenly several things go wrong, and we can be cast into disappointment and despair.

In the early chapters of Mark, Jesus’ ministry was a great success. In the synagogue at Capernaum, the people were amazed at his authority. His teaching through parables was not at all like the Scribes.
‘What is this? A new teaching – and with authority! He even gives orders to impure spirits and they obey him.’ ²⁸ News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee. (Mark 1)

He healed many people. He forgave them sins by his very words. Those who heard his teaching had faith in him. Only his family, thinking he was possessed, came to get him and save both him and themselves from disgrace.

By chapter 4, Jesus was teaching in parables – the Sower, the lamp stand, growing seeds. He demonstrated his power over the elements by calming the storm and saving his disciples (including seasoned fishermen) from drowning. ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’ (4:41)

In chapter 5, Jesus brings back to life a dead girl, and restores a man said to be possessed by demons. It was all going so well, until he returned to Nazareth, where he was well known. At first, they too were impressed. After all, how could the young man who had fixed their houses suddenly speak with such wisdom and perform healing miracles? Then even they agreed he must be possessed by the very powers he had himself cast out.

If the hometown folk were amazed at him, Jesus was amazed at them. Amazed at their lack of faith. How come they were so hostile – even insulting him by referring to Jesus as ‘Son of Mary.’

His own explanation that a prophet is not without honour save in his own home town sounds like a rationalisation. But in saying this, Jesus is claiming to be a prophet. Prophets in antiquity were automatically given honour, and he certainly was not being treated as a prophet with any honour in Nazareth. As a result, Mark says Jesus could do no any miracles there.

If this was because of their lack of faith in him, does this give us any clues when we ourselves reflect on the ups and downs of our own lives? Would we, in his position, blame ourselves for what happened? Would we consider what we had ourselves done wrong? Would we seek a rational explanation? Or would we attribute our failure to our own lack of faith and trust in God, or maybe that of others?

What happens next is equally instructive. In our case, we might become discouraged. Decide not to repeat what had gone badly. Do something different next time. But far from showing any lack of conviction, Jesus sends his disciples out on their mission to the world.

The disciples have seen Jesus’ liberating acts, his healing, his parables and his teaching, his mastery over nature and life itself. Crucially, the disciples have learned from how he responds to failure. Not changing strategy, but amazement that people did not listen to him and believe.

The other lesson for us is that God may not be able to help us if we ourselves don’t have faith. To put our trust in him. Not just walk away from problems, but seek guidance through prayer. Ultimately that means leaving them in God’s hands.

In the end, we know we are God’s hands and feet. We must listen to the voice that signals the sound of sheer silence. To be tuned into the signals, and not allow them to be drowned out by the noise and interference of our daily existence.

How much better is that than allowing the downs of our lives to get the better of us? To disable us, and emasculate us? Turn us inward, and through a lack of faith cause even our saviour to be amazed and powerless to help?

It’s a 2-way street. Without faith, God may not be able to help us. But in order for God’s power for good to be revealed in the world, it may only be through ourselves, our hands, our feet, our minds, and our speech that his grace is poured out to us and to others. This is how the downs of life can be smoothed into more of the ups. When we find our way, in humble childlike trust, and do God’s will. Welcoming him into our dwelling, where he can stay and use us according to his good pleasure. Amen

Help my Unbelief

5 July Midweek Communion at St Giles

Gospel Matthew 9.1-8

When the Gospel is announced the reader says

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . .” Then he said to the paralytic, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Jesus comes home. Crosses the sea of Galilee. Other side gentile territory. On way across, stilled storm – then healed 2 demon possessed men. “Gadarene demoniac” (KJV). Presence of pigs (swine) marks the place out as non Jewish land. Demons begged Jesus to be allowed to enter pigs, which then rushed down steep slope into lake and all drowned. Not surprisingly, local populace asked him to leave.

So comes back to Nazareth, when people bring him a paralysed man for healing. To be told his sins forgiven not what paralytic wanted to hear.

Sometimes Jesus acts in a way people don’t expect. They want one thing, and get another. The sick man was focussed on his illness, as were his friends. Jesus identifies his greatest need as different from what he expected.

Perhaps also he had another purpose. To demonstrate to those who heard him pronounce forgiveness of sins his power over evil itself. To provoke his hearers and critics into a charge of blasphemy. Note that the teachers of the law were not bold enough to make their accusation public. They kept it to themselves. But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, brought them out into the open.

Jesus went on to demonstrate his power over physical infirmity (visible to all) and thereby show his power over sin (hidden in our hearts – not visible to all). For those who accused him, his reply was that performing a healing miracle was easier than forgiving our sins. Throughout the middle east there were miracle healers doing the same as he did. But they could not perform the harder task of addressing our deeper needs. Only he could do that.

Not without our cooperation. The man who came to him on his bed had to have faith in Jesus’ power to make him whole again. So it is with us. In another gospel account, the teacher in his home town could do nothing. Could perform no miracles. Why? Because of their lack of faith. They thought of him as a small builder, whose family they knew, who grew up in their midst. This was a bar to their faith, and Jesus was amazed he could perform no miracles in that place.

So our faith is needed, if we are to be saved. All we can do is rely on God’s grace, as we pray for an increase in our faith. As the father of the sick boy said in Mark 9:24

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

Amen

Irenaeus–Thursday 28 June 2012

Thursday midweek Holy Communion at St Giles

Gospel Matthew 7.21-29

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Each of us has two sets of beliefs. One is what we say. The other is what we do. In order to discover what we truly believe, instead of listening to the words we use, you get a better indication from examining our behaviours.

For example, we may say we always avoid falsehood and hold the truth dear, but we may then go on to tell a lie if by doing so we gain an advantage.

Often we delude ourselves. We are convinced by what we think we believe, but in reality our actions do not line up with our words.

Here at the end of the Sermon on the Mount is a stern warning. It concerns our eligibility to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Are we people who are convinced we are saved by what we say we believe? Or are we able to demonstrate our faith by showing we have done the will of God throughout our lives?

Jesus says:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

This is the explanation of the parable that follows. The Man who built his house on a sure foundation. He was the one whose house was securely rooted. He did what he said. He took the trouble to ensure permanence.

The other man’s house looked the same from the outside. He probably said the same things, and even believed he did the will of God. But his house was not securely founded. Temptation, adversity, unsound doctrine, and challenges to his faith left him fatally weakened. His house was swept away. His words were as fine as the appearance of his house, but they lacked a secure foundation.

So it is with us – this parable challenges us to examine our faith, and ask ourselves whether we sound good, or whether we really are that way. Does the way we live our lives match the way we act?

Remember the story of the lamp stand? Does our light shine out, or is it concealed from others’ view?

You are the light of the world:
no one after lighting a lamp puts it under a basket but on the lamp stand and it gives light to all.

Paul’s unwavering hope

Cheddington 10 June 2012

Reading 2 Corinthians 4.13-5.1

It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

Sermon

Young – slightest illness causes worry. Concerns highlighted because everything normally works well. Body heals itself quickly. Signs of age not long in coming. Aches and pains become more common, whereas if we were young we may have sought medical advice. In older age, these things are always in the background.

Life expectancy has been rising throughout my lifetime. It has gone up by 9 years since I was a teenager. The search for longevity seems right and proper when you are young. When you get older, to be told you will live on into 90’s may be less welcome. Operation – longer lifespan not what I wanted to hear.

One of saddest aspects of new atheism is they have no hope for the future. What happens after you die? Oblivion. Never to meet loved ones again. No thought of eternity or resurrection. Just nothing beyond the grave.

Paul lays out alternative clearly in letter to Corinthians. Paul shows his profound faith in God’s power to save. God is a God who can defeat death itself. God is a God who chooses mere mortals to reveal his divine glory here on earth. What then are the sufferings of this present age, when such a hope of glory beckons from beyond the curtain we pass through called death?

Paul himself is no stranger to suffering. We don’t know what was the thorn in his side, but he refers to a severe affliction elsewhere in the same letter. The apostle also recounts beatings, imprisonment, shipwreck and other near death experiences which he suffered for his faith. Just before this passage comes a catalogue of human frailty. All of these hardships, Paul says, prove that “death is at work within us.”

This situation is not permanent. Outwardly, what is visible in our bodies is that we are wasting away. Spiritually as well as physically. Inwardly, though, we are being renewed day by day. The troubles we experience are momentary and light, when compared to the hope of eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So, rather than look down on what we see in our bodies, we can look up to what is unseen. For what is visible is temporary. But what is invisible is permanent and eternal. And this hope is that this same God “who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us ... in his presence.”

Underlying this passage, and indeed the whole of II Corinthians is the certainty Paul has that what he describes will come true. This vision extends from the empty tomb, the very heart of our Christian faith, without which our belief is as nothing. So it matters less and less that we age and become more frail, because what is really important is the permanent hope of eternal life in Jesus Christ. I like the simple image Paul shows us. It’s like our present existence on this earth is in a tent. Tents are fragile. They are buffeted by the winds. They let in water. They don’t stand up to the elements. Tents are no more than temporary structures. No matter – because we have a permanent building that is from God. An eternal house in heaven. One not built with human hands.

This age says Paul is passing away. Our citizenship is no longer on earth. Our citizenship is in heaven. This is why Paul calls the church to think in terms of God’s new kingdom – a place where death is swallowed up by life – not this time an extension of our earthly existence where we continue to suffer more aches and pains – but a permanent life with Christ in the new Kingdom of God.

Amidst real hardships and suffering, Paul expresses hope in God’s work to redeem and to transform.  The threat of hardship would be enough to drive most believers away, but Paul will stop at nothing to be a bearer of the gospel to others.  For he knows that the God who is at work in his mortal body is the same God who resurrected Jesus from the dead.   It is in this God whom, like Paul, we can place our unwavering hope.

Amen

Thanksgiving for Holy Communion

Thursday 7 June 2012 – Corpus Christi at St Giles

Reading 1 Corinthians 11.23-26

I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Gospel John 6.51-58

Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord.
Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever. John 6.51
Alleluia.

When the Gospel is announced the reader says

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you can eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live for ever.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Corpus Christi means body of Christ. Feast on Thursday after Trinity. Like Trinity, does not celebrate any particular event, but in our church is now known as Day of Thanksgiving for Holy Communion.

Institution of Eucharist celebrated on Maundy Thursday. This is actual event. Last Supper. Washing of Feet. New commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. So today, the feast day focuses solely on Communion without other events.

Holy Communion – what is happening – how we regard it in our worship – differs markedly for everyone. For some, it is a regular rehearsing of the last hours of Jesus’ life on earth, according to his command Do this in remembrance of me. For others it has a much more sacramental significance. For all, the Eucharist stands at the centre of our worship. It is regular, unlike for example Baptism which is a single event.

So the first reason for regular Communion is that Jesus told us to observe it. We are remembering Jesus, and all he did for us in his life, death and resurrection. At the same time, we take the opportunity of examining ourselves, making sure we are right with God and our neighbours before approaching and sharing in the meal.

The names we use vary according to our tradition – Eucharist, Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion, Mass – but in this church most commonly the word communion reminds us we are participating in the body of Christ, which is the church and all Christian people. His life becomes our life. There is one loaf that is broken for us, but although we are many we are one because we all share the one bread and the one cup.

Lastly, communion is a statement of faith. We are proclaiming the Lord’s death until he comes again. So this is what is going on as we prepare ourselves for the Eucharist and approach the altar. Each week afresh, despite the risk of staleness through familiarity. Listening anew to the words, and not just allowing the language to wash over us, but to retain its significance and meaning in our lives. Amen

The Power of the Trinity

Cheddington – Trinity Sunday – 3 June 2012

Reading Romans 8.12-17

Brothers and sisters, we have an obligation – but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Gospel John 3.1-17

Alleluia, alleluia.
Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
one God, who was, and who is, and who is to come,
the Almighty.
Alleluia.

When the Gospel is announced the reader says

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council. He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no-one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”

In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

“How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!”

Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no-one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

“How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.

“You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? No-one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven – the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

In the past – many Trinitarian illustrations. One in 3 – 3 in One. Clover leaf. Meat and 2 veg! Ice, water, steam. Apart from showing all persons of Trinity are the same, how do these advance our understanding? Good for children – fully formed Christians require more.

Paul’s language is Trinitarian. Does not focus on doctrine or illustration. Dives right in with a problem. What about our sinful nature? How come it constantly gets the better of us? How can we stop living according to our sinful nature, and live as children of God and heirs of the promise of salvation?

Paul skips over niceties of doctrine and proclaims good news of the gospel into the nitty gritty of realities of trying to live the Christian life as we experience day in day out. This is the fundamental dilemma: the power of sin, dwelling within us, prevents us through our own efforts alone doing what is good and right, despite our best intentions.

According to Paul, the solution to this human dilemma is the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

It all sounds very easy, doesn’t it? All we have to do is open ourselves up to the life-giving power of God’s Spirit. We all know it isn’t that straightforward – but it could be.

Nicodemus who at first ‘came to Jesus by night’ never got a chance to explain why he came, or ask a question. Jesus told him he must be born again – born of the Spirit this time. Then Jesus half mocked him when he failed to understand.

The trouble is, temptation is ever present and it’s a powerful and subtle force. Personalise it if you will. The old fashioned 7 Deadly Sins have been replaced with a myriad of sin’s systematic manifestations in modern life. Is it any wonder that most people feel powerless and overwhelmed by its insistent clutches? Like many forms of addiction, many people don’t realise how trapped they are in the grip of such forces.

It’s just like the early days of the Blackberry. We all thought these devices were a wonderful gift and vied to be given one. Only when we got one did we discover it was a ball and chain. We had become enslaved to work. We were available 24 hours a day, and on holiday too in any part of the world.

Once you’ve got a mobile device, it’s almost impossible to give it back. Paul does not see things that way. God’s desire that we receive the true life that God so willingly offers to all, he says. Life is yours! That is a powerful promise, affirmed many times through Paul's letters and again in our passage: if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

The resurrection promise is not for Jesus alone. It is for all of us who are in Christ. No one is so dead to sin that the power of God’s Spirit cannot bring them back to fullness of life.

As Nicodemus was told no one can enter the Kingdom unless they have been born again of the Spirit. Adoption into God’s family as children of God is brought about through the Spirit. The spirit of adoption, through which we become daughters and sons of the Father. Abba is an incredibly personal name for one’s dad. Hardly credible anyone might us it of the Almighty God, who was not even named throughout the Old Testament. A wonderful and mysterious promise indeed.

When words fail us, as we read elsewhere in Romans, the Spirit intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words. As many adoptive parents will attest, such children and loved just as much as those born to the family in the usual way.

Even more staggering is the claim Paul puts forward that through adoption we become co-heirs with Christ. Christ is a joint heir with us: he suffers and is glorified, and we suffer and are glorified with him. What happens to Christ – his resurrection life - happens to us; the glory that is Christ’s - as God's son - belongs to us as well who have become God's children.

Where else is this made clearer than in John 3:16. First Bible verse I ever learned. Perhaps the best known in whole of Scripture. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Amen

God separated the Light from the Dark

The Work of Discipleship

 

Sunday 20 May 2012 – St Giles

First Reading Acts 1.15-17,21-26

Peter stood up among the believers (a group numbering about a hundred and twenty) and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus – he was one of our number and shared in this ministry.

“Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, beginning from John’s baptism to the time when Jesus was taken up from us. For one of these must become a witness with us of his resurrection.”

So they proposed two men: Joseph called Barsabbas (also known as Justus) and Matthias. Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs.” Then they cast lots, and the lot fell to Matthias; so he was added to the eleven apostles.

Gospel John 17

Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful people
and kindle in them the fire of your love.
All Alleluia.

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus looked towards heaven and prayed:

“I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them. I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name – the name you gave me – so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Perhaps nothing breathes more strongly the promise and presence of the Holy Spirit in John’s gospel than the words and promises of the ‘farewell discourse’ of Jesus in John 14-17, portions of which have occupied our attention during the last several Sundays of Easter.

Next Sunday is Pentecost. Pentecost – time of gift of HS – stands as fulfilment of Easter season and promise of the resurrection, leading on to Trinity Sunday a week later. But now, focus on disciples and Jesus’ prayer for them before he leaves them to continue his mission on earth.

The hour approaches and along with it the glory of both the Father and the Son as Jesus prays on behalf of those to whom the Father has authorized him to give eternal life.

Continuing work of disciples evident in Acts 1. One of first ‘acts of apostles’ is to choose successor to Judas the betrayer. As you heard, after prayer they select two candidates who have been with Jesus throughout, and cast lots between them. Wonder how many of you, faced with important life choices, might consider throwing a dice after praying for guidance as to which fork in road to take!

Jesus’ prayer is lengthy one, filling chapter 17. Sounds like disciples are present. Most prayer and reading anyway in those times was aloud. Jesus’ prays for his followers, and exhorts and encourages them in the words of his intercessions.

How else might they have been able to record and recall his very words unless they were also witnesses to what he actually said? These are the words of an already resurrected Lord who now encourages a company of his disciples, including us in light of the resurrection promise. As Easter people, we are encouraged not to dwell in feelings of abandonment or despair, but to hope in the assurance of Jesus' continuing presence, now that the work for which he was sent has been accomplished. “I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do” (17:4).

In the prayer, you may have noticed how many times the work giving is repeated. God gave the disciples to Jesus. Jesus gave the disciples God’s Word. He protects and sanctifies them, before giving them back to God – only one is lost – that is Judas. The message: God is an extravagant giver and his relationship with the Son is cemented by mutual giving.

This means we belong in a special way. One thing we have been given is knowledge of God and his name, through the Son. God's ‘name’ stands for all that He is and has done, most importantly in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

When Jesus says we have been given the Word it reminds us of the opening of John’s gospel. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. To know the Word is to know God, and to unlock new life in Him – entry into his kingdom. This knowledge implies adoption as children of the Father. Knowledge of the Word made flesh, leading to belief in the One sent from God. The whole objective of John the Evangelist in writing his gospel.

Nothing is held back by extravagant grace. All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. True sharing in its entirety. Much to ponder in these words.

Although discipleship can be a dangerous place to be, yet we are not taken out of this world, but rather sent into it. The love of the Father is not a cotton-wool love. Just as the Father sent the Son, so we are sent into the world – a world that will most likely reject and abuse us. Just as it rejected Jesus himself.

Guarded and sustained in that Word we can know ourselves as a faith community, constituted in the power of Christ's death and resurrection and in the promise of his presence in the gift of the Holy Spirit. About which we will hear more in next Sunday's lesson when we join together as a newly formed missionary team at Wingrave Church for Pentecost Sunday. Amen

True Vine

Cheddington Easter 5 May 6th 2012

Gospel John 15.1-8

Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the first and the last, says the Lord, and the living one;
I was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore.
All Alleluia.

When the Gospel is announced the reader says

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to N.
All Glory to you, O Lord.

Jesus said: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord.
All Praise to you, O Christ.

Sermon

Last year Wine Soc. Ribera del Duero – banks of Duero river – flows through Spain to Portugal. Mysterious process winemaking. So many variables. Weather. Disease. Soil type. Viniculture. Barrels. Temperature. Etc.

Jesus uses I AM imagery throughout John. I AM does not refer to God. Examples:

· Bread of Life (John 6:35)

· Light of the World (John 8:12)

· Door of the Sheep (John 10:7)

· Resurrection and Life (John 11:25)

Now, later in chapter 15 I AM the True Vine. Why ‘true’ referring to vine? [Leave to ponder]. Chapters 14-16 come from Jesus’ familiar address to disciples prior to Passion.

Promise we/they are not abandoned or left alone – often used at funerals – many mansions – I go to prepare a place for you. Give great comfort when interpreted as personal promises from Jesus in our time of distress. Yet image of Vine as much about community of faith as it is about individuals linked to Jesus.

The promise is also in the here and now – as well as about our future in heaven. Fullness of life on earth. Here and now. Life in the Spirit.

Light has come into the world (John 3:19) – not will but has – we are bathed in light here and now. I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10). The presence of the risen Lord is here among us.

Image of Vine not a new one – used in OT – God’s people=his vineyard. Psalm 80: You transplanted a vine from Egypt. It took root and filled the land. Isaiah 5 Song of the Vineyard. Similar imagery – but the True Vine not about Vineyard or entire people but Jesus as the Vine, and us as the branches.

Command is to Abide in Me – this does not just mean remaining in contact with the rootstock or gaining nourishment from it.

Abiding = believing. Word believe never used as verb in John. Believing and abiding – sharing reality of life in Christ – being fully integrated part of it – not just appendage – cannot join then move off – cannot lose contact with vine and remain alive.

Promise of abundant life here and now. Jesus says I will come back and take you to myself – not just transporting us to live near him in ‘dwelling places’ but sharing intimate joined-up relationship – one plant sharing the same tree – same sap flowing through us as everyone else and Jesus himself.

Jesus cannot be kept at a distance. Branches have no separate existence of their own. If we so wish, our link to Christ is lasting and permanent.

What happens when we are joined?

· Bearing fruit – not a command by stern taskmaster – not even something we must do – happens naturally if we remain part of the true vine – all branches bear similar fruit – we cannot do better through our own skills or gifts

· If we are detached – we wither and die. Or if diseased we are cut away. Vine must be protected from corruption or all will die or fruit will be thin.

· We cannot just go our own way – branches must be pruned and cut back – painful – if they are disciplined and can flourish.

· Must be cleansed if diseased

· Branches must be trained – cannot trail around or are damaged or ripped away. Need to face right direction.

· Have no life of our own – but enjoy the abundance of life in Jesus.

Call to bear fruit – not made by disciplinarian but loving, tending, nurturing vine dresser. Not someone who hacks, but identifies what is best for us and gently trains us in the way that we should go to bear best fruit.

We are invited to pray to God as Our Father (not My Father). Such familiar address implies abiding relationship that will last. Vines in Ribera del Duero hundreds of years old. Deep roots many metres down.

Integrity of True Vine held together by One who was lifted up on cross for our redemption. Those who abide in Him abide in the Father. The test will be the fruit we bear. That faithful production of fruit for the world, not of our own volition, not of our own action, skills or works but because we are the True Vine ourselves – an integral part of the tree, in service to God and to the world. Amen