Author: Stilman Davis

Collect

Almighty God, whose only Son has opened for us a new and living way into your presence: give us pure hearts and steadfast wills to worship you in spirit and in truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

or

Merciful God, your Son came to save us and bore our sins on the cross: may we trust in your mercy and know your love, rejoicing in the righteousness that is ours through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Post Communion

Lord God, the source of truth and love, keep us faithful to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, united in prayer and the breaking of bread, and one in joy and simplicity of heart, in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Readings

Old Testament

So you, mortal, I have made a sentinel for the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from my mouth, you shall give them warning from me. If I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked ones, you shall surely die’, and you do not speak to warn the wicked to turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but their blood I will require at your hand. But if you warn the wicked to turn from their ways, and they do not turn from their ways, the wicked shall die in their iniquity, but you will have saved your life.

Now you, mortal, say to the house of Israel, Thus you have said: ‘Our transgressions and our sins weigh upon us, and we waste away because of them; how then can we live?’ Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?

Ezekiel 33.7–11

Psalm

33    Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes ♦
and I shall keep it to the end.

34    Give me understanding and I shall keep your law; ♦
I shall keep it with my whole heart.

35    Lead me in the path of your commandments, ♦
for therein is my delight.

36    Incline my heart to your testimonies ♦
and not to unjust gain.

37    Turn away my eyes lest they gaze on vanities; ♦
O give me life in your ways.

38    Confirm to your servant your promise, ♦
which stands for all who fear you.

39    Turn away the reproach which I dread, ♦
because your judgements are good.

40    Behold, I long for your commandments; ♦
in your righteousness give me life.

Psalm 119.33–40

Epistle

Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this saying, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is now the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers; the night is far gone, the day is near. Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy. Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Romans 13.8–14

Gospel

‘If another member of the church sins against you, go and point out the fault when the two of you are alone. If the member listens to you, you have regained that one. But if you are not listened to, take one or two others along with you, so that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If the member refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if the offender refuses to listen even to the church, let such a one be to you as a Gentile and a tax-collector. Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you, if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.’

Matthew 18.15–20

Sermon on Sunday, Trinity Fourteen

Last week we thought about pride and its deleterious effect on our lives, and how it interferes with our fulfilling the one commandment Jesus laid upon each one of us. Paul carries on with his analysis of the law of love in this way –

The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.

Paul wants to overthrow the old understanding of the Law, doesn’t he? No more prohibitions, he proposes only positive action. He anticipates the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven and God’s rule in our lives. He counsels us in these words, “Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” Paul has described an entirely new way of being in the world here, hasn’t he? He goes on –

Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light; let us live honourably as in the day, not in revelling and drunkenness, not in debauchery and licentiousness, not in quarrelling and jealousy.

Paul is counselling us to live a new life – he wants us to live “honourably”, a life in which we are fitted with a new type of protective clothing, an “armour of light”. This new accoutrement does not allow revelling and drunkenness, nor debauchery and licentiousness, nor quarrelling and jealousy. Different, indeed, is the life Paul expects in the light. These ordinarily acceptable states of affairs are a darkness, Paul tells us. We normally see parties and excess to be acceptable in our everyday life. However, Paul says there is no honour in them at all, and we would agree, wouldn’t we? We long for a life that is open, honest and bright – in the light, even though, apparently, we pursue a life hidden in the dark. In fact, I think Paul is describing what we would hope for in our moments of clarity.

He wants to overturn the usual – that all so natural, everyday mode of being – for something else. Normally, we only make provision for our immediate needs, what Paul is calling “the flesh”. We worry about food and clothing, and then that extends to fine food and rich clothing, and then that becomes mired in conspicuous consumption and its consequences for the planet but, more significantly, for our souls. Gratifying the flesh has never been more in question than in this generation, for everyone has been asking questions about the state of health for all existence on planet earth. The other day I was listening to the radio and there was a frightening exposition of how the environmental crisis has come about, and how long it has been building up. It would seem that the industrial revolution and the rise of capitalism have coincided to reach this point in the history of the planet. They have conspired to deflect our attention away from spiritual health to the comfort of the flesh alone. Hymn writers have reminded us about this, from the time of Blake in the eighteenth century, let alone Paul so long ago.

Blake is asking us to put on that armour of light, just as Paul wrote to the Romans, but he is contrasting the new Jerusalem with the darkness of the satanic mills appearing in his time and still stand today. We must equip ourselves with new weapons. We must mount a chariot of fire and ride into the conflict on the side of the light against darkness. Blake wants us to realise that the holy lamb of God has walked the pleasant green land before the hills were clouded by the smog of concupiscence. The messenger is still amongst us, whose feet did roam in that ancient time of the garden of Eden, but, more significantly, even now moves among us – though he is too often unseen and unheard because of the darkness.

Blake, like Paul, wants us to wake up to the reality of our heart’s desire – its true intention for that heavenly Jerusalem to be built here and now for us, and for the generations coming after us. They both argue that it is possible to accomplish the coming of the kingdom. Paul wants to renew all of creation, while Blake’s desire is for a return of “England’s green and pleasant land.” Blake’s vision in the hymn is a national pride in a pure land where the master could truly walk from shore to shore, where we could see Jerusalem built here as it was, before the satanic mills clouded the horizons. We have obscured the vision which once was clear for all to see.

Paul also speaks of that time when God will be with us, a time of dread for those whose interest is only the flesh, and even more terrifying for those whose lives have taken a spiritual direction. Paul writes of our anxiety before this very real future, this extremely close advent of Christ’s final judgement.

The language is much the same as that of the climate protesters around us today. They have been interfering with a lot of everyday things, haven’t they? Interrupting all those sporting events, and causing traffic chaos. They and Paul want to rouse us from the sleepiness of the everyday, where we just keep going along with things as they are. But he asks, are we loving our neighbours? Those neighbours are more than the person next door just as Jesus taught, we must see the whole of creation as a neighbour – for everything has an impact on everything else, microcosms reflecting the macrocosm. The world is a cohesive whole and love is the only way to treat everything, if there is to be no harm.

That is the whole point of the revolution of the Law – the Law should be something we want to fulfill. The Law should not be something to “get around”. No one should obfuscate and turn words around from their intended meaning so that we can get our own way, to follow “the desires of the flesh”, as they used to say. – Love is never so selfish, is it? Love always tries to realise what is good.

Love always intends what is right, not what is convenient, not what is without peril. When we love our children or when we ask our partner for that life-time commitment, we are at risk. That is what we always say about true love, isn’t it? However, let’s start the revolution here – I want you to see yourself as invulnerable when you love, because you are clad in the armour of light. No harm can come to you because you are living and loving in the clear light of day, not in the night in which quarrelling and jealousy easily appear, that disquiet when the desires of the flesh disturb us. We would be very different people if we were to obey that one Law, don’t you think? Like I said last week, love could transform everything – even vengeance. Love would transform the everyday into the extraordinary. Jesus’ Law of Love would be something we would be happy to fulfill, and I would hope that spirit and flesh would no longer fight within us.

Amen

There is a famous novel with the title, “The Heart of the Matter”. It has been made into films and deals with love and the deceit of self and others. – A story all too familiar, as it is an eternal theme.

Somewhere the line, “The heart of the matter is the heart,” appears – whether in the novel or about the novel, I don’t know, but that epigram speaks to the way we conduct our lives. Something is at the heart, at the very core, which guides us or induces us to certain ends. The heart of the matter is the very present in which we find ourselves with all of our hopes and fears. I think the heart infuses all our activity.

The psychologist, Viktor Frankl, lived through life in concentration camps in Europe during WWII, and found that there is a heart which can help us solve the problem of life, the universe and everything. He said that there was something profound which was guiding each person in the camps just for survival. That survival instinct drove people to some wicked acts on the one hand and some sublimely good acts on the other.

There at the heart of the matter was the principle of life, what Jesus calls life in all its fullness. That core value when grasped with purity, e.g. when it is not degraded by selfishness, leads to humanity plain and simple. Our being human is at our heart.

Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’ Did they hear him? Peter asks to wall to Jesus, and begins on his way. However, he was distracted from that call to take heart, he heard the wind howling. Peter became afraid, and he began to sink.

All of a sudden he took heart and called upon Jesus, ‘Lord, save me.’ He caught hold of his very self and was taken up by the hand of Jesus. At the same time Jesus castigated poor Peter. ‘Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?’ Peter had lost heart, hadn’t he? – Jesus was telling him that he doubted his own heart.

What a condemnation! This is a much more serious failing than what happened later, when Peter heard the cock crow the third time. However, it is of a piece with this story. Peter is not centred in himself, focussed on the necessary of his life, his human being.

I think we have all been in the same position – perhaps even every day. Don’t we recognise our failure to “Take heart!”? We are always falling into fear, and that fear can take many different guises in the course of our lives. As children, we are afraid of the dark. As teenagers, we are afraid of being left out of the crowd which has hogged all our attention. As young professionals, we are afraid of not accomplishing those goals that are placed ahead of us in our working lives. As middle-age approaches we are afraid that we will lose all that status we believe we have built up in the course of our lives.

But have we? As an old man, I am terrified that I have lost my heart. I have been so busy chasing the goals others have presented me that I am attenuated to one dimension as the philosopher described, and as Frankl feared for his fellow inmates in the concentration camp.

So many have grasped other things and let fear determine the heart of their lives. They have forgotten themselves in listening to all the voices screaming in the wind as they try to walk on the water of their very fragile lives. I think that is why Peter failed. He was distracted by something other than his heart, something other than his very real self which calls in a still, small voice at the heart of our lives.

Jesus called to Peter, “Take heart! It is I – do not be afraid.” I would like to believe the voice of Jesus is our very real self revealing itself to us. Instead of listening to the disparate, desperate voices of other people, we should be hearkening to ourselves, to that very core which is the heart of the matter – our own hearts. If we did listen to that heart, would we be deceitful in our dealings with others, or, more importantly, would we delude ourselves about what is really important and necessary in our lives? Would we be afraid at all?

We have all been in storms and been buffeted by winds we cannot track. It is too easy to roll with those punches, isn’t it? But is it right? Do we really want to give up our lives to things which are not at the heart of our lives?

This disjunction of self and others, this fundamental dichotomy, is what drives us. We know what we are fundamentally, but we are with others in such a profound way that we may not see that those others are setting the scenes of our lives. We are being manipulated as if they matter, and only they matter, those chattering voices on the howling wind. But the wind never sounds in the stillness of our hearts.

That is what we must recover. That is what Jesus is telling us when he asks us to “Take heart!” He is presenting us to ourselves when he says, “It is I!” Nothing else matters in that moment when we see Jesus there on the water and we have the heart to stride out toward him, because that is our true destiny. We want to stand on the water, on the edge of the abyss, on the cliff above a raging sea, to cling on to our heart and never be afraid – never to let go …

Unless, of course, we lose heart and any sense of self, or perhaps we might have grabbed hold of a false self presented by one of those voices in our ears, distracting us from that voice of calm which confirms itself in the turmoil of life in spite of everything. I think many have lost heart. Many listen to the fear which rises around them, as everyone has done throughout our lives. We may not have committed wickedness, but our hands are not a lily-white as they were when we were born, when there was silence and infinite possibility reigned, when the courses of our lives did not seem to be fixed.

Now we have done things of which we should heartily be ashamed. We need to confess – to God, but especially to ourselves – that we are sinners, and in that realm of conscience we should take heart. We should not be afraid of anything except it be the I which Jesus reveals.

“It is I!” Jesus declares as he calls to us in the midst of the raging sea. We are being called to ourselves, our hearts are being revived and revealed. We are to take up out heart, aren’t we? We are not to be afraid of anything or anyone except failing to be our very selves. I think the only fear we should have is that of losing the confidence of walking on the water of life toward Jesus in the midst of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. We are destined to walk on water, if only we “Take Heart!”

Amen

Collect

Almighty God, you have created the heavens and the earth and made us in your own image: teach us to discern your hand in all your works and your likeness in all your children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit reigns supreme over all things, now and for ever.

or

Almighty God, give us reverence for all creation and respect for every person, that we may mirror your likeness in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Post Communion

God our creator, by your gift the tree of life was set at the heart of the earthly paradise, and the bread of life at the heart of your Church: may we who have been nourished at your table on earth be transformed by the glory of the Saviour’s cross and enjoy the delights of eternity; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm

1    Give thanks to the Lord, for he is gracious,♦
for his mercy endures for ever.

2    Give thanks to the God of gods,♦
for his mercy endures for ever.

3    Give thanks to the Lord of lords,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

4    Who alone does great wonders,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

5    Who by wisdom made the heavens,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

6    Who laid out the earth upon the waters,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

7    Who made the great lights,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

8    The sun to rule the day,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

9    The moon and the stars to govern the night,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

23    Who remembered us when we were in trouble,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

24    And delivered us from our enemies,♦
for his mercy endures for ever;

25    Who gives food to all creatures,♦
for his mercy endures for ever.

26    Give thanks to the God of heaven,♦
for his mercy endures for ever.

Psalm 136

The OT lesson is Genesis 1.1 – 2.3

Epistle

I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.

Romans 8.18–25

Gospel

‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’

Matthew 6.25–34

Sermon on Second Sunday before Lent

‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.’

What do these words mean? On the surface, people consider them a licence to have no cares in the world, that we should be “as happy as Larry”. However, I don’t think this is the case at all because these people are considering only that first phrase, “so do not worry about tomorrow”.

But the whole of the verse of the bible says that we will always have troubles, even today. These are the things that should concern us, not those things that are beyond our control – tomorrow’s affairs. Today we can do something about the problems of today. Tomorrow is not in hand like today is.  When we say “mañana”, don’t we say it will never come? Tomorrow is like yesterday, when “all my troubles seem so far away.” Perhaps Lennon and McCartney have a lot to teach us about the cares of the world. Yesterday’s concerns can follow us and blight today, as the song sings. She had to go and she wouldn’t say. Perhaps I said something wrong? I am only half the man I used to be. Love was such an easy game to play, now I long for yesterday …

The song is so short, but it is powerful for it brings together two of the most powerful things in life, love and regret. We all know about our love for the one who has walked away, and how we regret what was in the past because it was perfect. Now we hide away in shadows today because time has taken over. Love and regret, they can hang together in life. We all know this, don’t we? – We need only look at past loves, or just at our families. True regret lingers there, doesn’t it? And in that regret may hide rancour, which spoils all memory and hope.

Lennon and McCartney are stuck in our usual state of mind, our normal regret of the past and our fear for the future. We think the cares of the past will be compounded in the future. We long for something that had never been. We fear the future as we try to grasp the past fleeing away to wherever time flies.

‘Why?’ is the question we always ask about the past and its failures, and we then ask it about the future, when we speculate on what could go wrong tomorrow.

Well, happy Larry might say “What could possibly go wrong?” Larry may be, just as deluded as we are, as we sing about how inadequate we feel. On the contrary, we are not unsatisfactory at all. We may have been dealt a blow and we are reeling under its burden. The weight of yesterday threatens to obliterate us – at least that is what we think with Lennon and McCartney.

But what of tomorrow? Jesus considers our consternation about the future, that worry which adds nothing to what the facts of life are. He says the present is all we can deal with. Jesus’ words should waken us to “Today”. Today is the only day we should be worried about because we can do something about it. This, I think, is the meaning of our verse. We repeat a verse from the OT every day in Matins, “Today, if you would only hear his voice …” Jesus speaks with the OT prophets with respect to being in the moment – he asks us to wake ourselves up to Today.

Jesus speaks about all the everyday worries we have, but he dismisses our anxiety about them, doesn’t he?

‘But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.’

Our everyday concerns will be taken care of, if we strive for something greater than just those worries. Our attention should be on those intangibles which give life sense, or meaning, or value. With that greater concern, our everyday worries are put into their place, and we strive for something greater than the clothes we hang on ourselves or the food we gorge.

However, who does not worry about those things which consume the Gentiles? I know we all do at some time. But there is a majority who do not. Who are they? – the childlike. Children do not worry about their clothing or the food they want to eat. Their needs are immediate. If they are cold, they will wear what they have. If they are hungry, they will eat what they are given (usually). Children deal with what is there in front of them. They don’t look for problems, they don’t manufacture excuses. They are immediate and problem solving in that moment. They do not project the past into a possible future. They forget what has happened and don’t anticipate what might come. They deal with the present in ways we “adults” find charming and amusing.

Children are like those flowers of the field, the grass all around us. They neither toil nor spin, but live their lives in the splendour of the greatest of kings. Jesus tells us that those beautiful blooms are of no great moment, for they fade and are thrown into the fire. But humanity is more significant than the lilies of the field. Jesus assures us that we will be cared for in the moment of our greatest need, if we are willing to seek the kingdom first.

We have faith that grace will come when we are at our lowest ebb and that we will be transported. All the cares of past, present and future will pass away and the very real rewards of life will be revealed – not what the gentiles grasp for, but that life in all its fullness which Jesus promises.

So, I think we must become childlike. We have to enjoy life in all its fullness as it unfolds in front of us, just as our children do. They accept what they have to wear, they eat what is in front of them, they enjoy the company of all the people around them. Our children up to a certain age are innocent and can teach us a great deal. When they “grow up” they become just like us adults, worrying about the future, regretting the past, and paralysed into inaction because of the troubles of the present.

I want to be that child whom Jesus uses as an example for his disciples. I want to be that innocent who has been plucked out of the crowd to enter the kingdom, a saint whose vision is clear and whose purpose is true. I want to be that child about whom Jesus speaks, don’t you?

With Lennon and McCartney, I would like to sing “all my troubles are so far away”, but I would rather believe that I am a whole person, one standing happily in the here and now, living immediately in the full light of the truth of past and and the grace of the future just like you.

Amen

Collect

Almighty and ever–living God, clothed in majesty, whose beloved Son was this day presented in the Temple, in substance of our flesh: grant that we may be presented to you with pure and clean hearts, by your Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

or

Lord Jesus Christ, light of the nations and glory of Israel: make your home among us, and present us pure and holy to your heavenly Father, your God, and our God.

Readings

Psalm

[ 1    The earth is the Lord’s and all that fills it, ♦
the compass of the world and all who dwell therein.

2    For he has founded it upon the seas ♦
and set it firm upon the rivers of the deep.

3     ‘Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, ♦
or who can rise up in his holy place?’

4    ‘Those who have clean hands and a pure heart,♦
who have not lifted up their soul to an idol, nor sworn an oath to a lie;

5    ‘They shall receive a blessing from the Lord, ♦
a just reward from the God of their salvation.’

6     Such is the company of those who seek him, ♦
of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. ]

7    Lift up your heads, O gates; be lifted up, you everlasting doors; ♦
and the King of glory shall come in.

8    ‘Who is the King of glory?’ ♦
‘The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord who is mighty in battle.’

9    Lift up your heads, O gates; be lifted up, you everlasting doors; ♦
and the King of glory shall come in.

10    ‘Who is this King of glory?’ ♦
‘The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.’

Psalm 24.[1–6]7–10

OT

See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.

Then I will draw near to you for judgement; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow, and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.

Malachi 3.1–5

Epistle

Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. For it is clear that he did not come to help angels, but the descendants of Abraham. Therefore he had to become like his brothers and sisters in every respect, so that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make a sacrifice of atonement for the sins of the people. Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested.

Hebrews 2.14–18

Gospel

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, ‘Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord’), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons.’

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,

‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.’

And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, ‘This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.’

There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshipped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.

When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favour of God was upon him.

Luke 2.22–40

Sermon at Candlemass

Today Christmass finally comes to an end for the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. We need to put all the decorations away and turn off all the lights. The candles at last have to be extinguished for we move into ordinary time before the fasting of Lent. Today we call to mind Jesus at the Temple, when he is “presented” to the Lord (and to the people of God) and Mary undergoes Purification.

What do you make of the statement, “they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord”? How often do we think about the Holy Family as a traditional Jewish family? They would have had a kosher home, in other words everything would be done in accordance with the Law. Food, clothing, rest and work would be governed by what the Torah deemed appropriate. Everything in life – from birth to death – would be governed by the customs determined by God. It seems nothing is left to chance when you submit to the Law of God.

The gospel reading tells of this lawful activity of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. It was time for the Purification, when the mother had passed forty days since the birth of the child. So the holy family with its first-born boy went to Jerusalem to present the child to the Lord. With the sacrifice of two doves the purification was accomplished. Mary could finally return to the kosher world. The parents in the joy of the birth of their son and her purity were happy to give over the first born boy to the Lord, to dedicate him to the service of God. The boy was “designated as holy to the Lord.”

This dedication of the first-born is a family’s ritual repetition of the Passover, when the children of Egypt were killed before the flight of the Hebrews from Egypt. You remember the story of when the Hebrew families marked their houses with blood over the door and so their children were saved. The Lord proclaimed that the first born male whether human or animal was to be dedicated to him, as the Egyptian children were taken on that terrible night from their families. The first-born, Jewish male-child was to be reserved for God’s purposes in the remembrance of that saving act of God.

What is our understanding of the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem? I think we must take into consideration how we dedicate ourselves to God today. How do we dedicate ourselves to anything? That must inform how we understand this episode. I don’t think there is any whole-hearted, complete giving of oneself over to anything nowadays. Do you?

When we bring our children to baptism, there is a repetition of this presentation of Jesus to some extent, for we are promising that the child will become part of the community and follow the ways of the Church in life. In essence we are dedicating our children to God, aren’t we? So, I think we really do understand this dedication of Jesus in the Temple. Or am I mistaken?

The strangers in the Temple are significant for us. They become important and well-known figures in the story – Anna who would speak of the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Israel and Simeon who foretells the sword in Mary’s heart but speaks of the joy he feels in seeing the child before him in the Temple.

Simeon’s words were incorporated into our worship as the climax of a choral evensong.

    Lord, now let your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for the revelation to the Gentiles and for the glory to your people Israel.’

Such a canticle is appropriate to call to mind here today. For we are concentrating on the lights that have been burning during the last forty days. Now we have to acknowledge that that light burns in our lives in the person of Jesus Christ.

These words of Simeon tell of our own journeys in the faith. At one time the salvation offered to us was a far-off sight, one that drifted in and out of consciousness, something offered to other people, like those people who are not like us – as Simeon calls them, “the Gentiles”. That salvation was not really part of our lives, was it? It was far-off, like that star that guided the wise men to the stable. It draws us to itself, doesn’t it?

Still, it was so far away. Then one day, it became something more – a revelation! That star shone right there in our lives and changed us completely. That revelation became the moment of our conversion. From people who walked in darkness, we became people who have seen a great light, and we transformed into faithful people wishing ever to remain in that state of grace, the moment when we converted into people of God. That is the only true miracle, that we finally open our eyes to see life in all its fullness. The miracle is that we have moved from darkness into light, that light which is revelation. In fact, everyone can be seen to be a gentile at some time in their lives. Then, when the light shines, people become dedicated to God.

We were once lost in the darkness of unknowing until that moment of revelation. Now we are able to see clearly what life is, and we are able to enjoy it in all its fullness, for nothing is hidden in darkness any longer.

That is the beauty revealed in the hymn, Amazing Grace, once lost, now found – once blind, now with sight. It is the beauty we each can live out in our lives, if only we would not listen to anything but that still small voice, that voice which itself stills us in the heat of the moment, that voice which reminds us of our conversion to what is good, not the distraction and delusion of everyday incomprehension of life in all its fullness.

That is the moment of our presentation, the dedication to that beyond which there is nothing else – to God.

We are converted, changed fundamentally, when we live out our baptism. That child presented for baptism doesn’t know about the glory round about him or her, but when we look at the children to be baptised, we see the infinite possibilities they represent. They are us in the innocence of the light, just as we are them in the guilt of intentional darkness. Our hope is the conversion of the dark into the light, the fully realised life promised to us in faith, in the salvation which Simeon saw in the child, which we also see.

Amen

Collect

Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

or

Eternal Lord, our beginning and our end: bring us with the whole creation to your glory, hidden through past ages and made known in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm

1    I waited patiently for the Lord; ♦
he inclined to me and heard my cry.

2    He brought me out of the roaring pit, out of the mire and clay;♦

    he set my feet upon a rock and made my footing sure.

3    He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;♦
many shall see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.

4    Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, ♦
who does not turn to the proud that follow a lie.

5    Great are the wonders you have done, O Lord my God. How great your designs for us! ♦
There is none that can be compared with you.

6    If I were to proclaim them and tell of them ♦
they would be more than I am able to express.

7    Sacrifice and offering you do not desire ??

   but my ears you have opened;

8    Burnt offering and sacrifice for sin you have not required; ♦
then said I: ‘Lo, I come.

9    ‘In the scroll of the book it is written of me that I should do your will, O my God; ♦
I delight to do it: your law is within my heart.’

10    I have declared your righteousness in the great congregation; ♦
behold, I did not restrain my lips, and that, O Lord, you know.

11    Your righteousness I have not hidden in my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; ♦
I have not concealed your loving-kindness and truth from the great congregation.

12  Do not withhold your compassion from me, O Lord; ♦
let your love and your faithfulness always preserve me,

Psalm 40

Old Testament

Listen to me, O coastlands,

   pay attention, you peoples from far away!

The Lord called me before I was born,

   while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.

He made my mouth like a sharp sword,

   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;

he made me a polished arrow,

   in his quiver he hid me away.

And he said to me, ‘You are my servant,

   Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’

But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain,

   I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;

yet surely my cause is with the Lord,

   and my reward with my God.’

 And now the Lord says,

who formed me in the womb to be his servant,

to bring Jacob back to him,

   and that Israel might be gathered to him,

for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,

   and my God has become my strength –

he says,

‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant

   to raise up the tribes of Jacob

   and to restore the survivors of Israel;

I will give you as a light to the nations,

   that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’

Thus says the Lord,

   the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,

to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations,

   the slave of rulers,

‘Kings shall see and stand up,

   princes, and they shall prostrate themselves,

because of the Lord, who is faithful,

   the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.’

Isaiah 49.1–7

Gospel

The next day he saw Jesus coming towards him and declared, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, “After me comes a man who ranks ahead of me because he was before me.” I myself did not know him; but I came baptizing with water for this reason, that he might be revealed to Israel.’ And John testified, ‘I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, “He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.” And I myself have seen and have testified that this is the Son of God.’

The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, ‘Look, here is the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’ They said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which translated means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’ They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. He first found his brother Simon and said to him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (which is translated Anointed). He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, ‘You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas’ (which is translated Peter).

John 1.29–42

Sermon on Second Sunday of Epiphany

In this week’s reading, we hear about the dove descending and a voice proclaiming the Son of God at Jesus’ baptism. Last week it was the voice from heaven and this week it is the voice of John the Baptist.

This week we hear about testimony. We read “John testified,” and some of the extraordinary things he said are recorded in the fourth gospel. St John wrote that the baptist looked forward to the one coming after him, the one who was greater. Everything the baptist said anticipated the Christ. John told everyone that he himself had to fade into the background when that one came. And people came to the banks of the Jordan on which he cried out his message of repentance before the coming of the kingdom of God.

John the Baptist said nothing about himself, except to humble himself before the one who was to come. He humbled himself in the presence of the Kingdom of God. He waited in order to give witness to the one who was to come.

How many people are like John the Baptist? Who would say to those ’round about, “Here comes someone greater than I”? Who wants to accept a lower place in the everyday pecking-order? Like that fellow at the banquet who sat far away from the host, but was brought forward when the host saw him. Who would take that seat at the back of the banquet room? – I know you all race to the back for school assembly and church, but who goes to the back at a party they really want to be at? Who would demean themselves in the ordinary scheme of things? I don’t think there are many who would acknowledge any other person greater than they consider themselves to be. Do you? Don’t we see this all the time? There is a narcissism in contemporary culture. We can see it in this cult of “personalities”, in Facebook, Twitter, Chat – there are so many online manifestations we can take on for ourselves. Each of us massages our image, not just the electronic presence, to show forth that happy, enviable self, to the world. Why else do we hone our cv’s into the format expected with all those wonderful exploits? We turn ourselves into the crowd’s image of what they think of us.

Each of us turns into the crowd, a crowd composed of followers, the crowd leading that throng into a self-absorbed mass, each of whom fears to think for themselves. Perhaps that is why the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church has been ignored – I suggest it is because faith demands each of us must make that singular decision, looking to something other than self or the crowd. The vision demanded by faith sees through all vanity into the regions of meaning in our lives, not just the trappings of the happy, enviable electronic appearance and its cult of personality. The singular vision sets each of us apart from each other. Each of us can never be “the crowd” which bays for the blood of the innocent or abhors what is different and set apart. Each of us must see the singularity which stands in front of us – when we look in the mirror, but especially when we look into the eyes of the other.

What do we see when we look at someone walking toward us? John sees the “Lamb of God” in the person approaching him. How does this Lamb appear? – a person just like you and me, but John sees beyond this carpenter from Nazareth, a fellow who has chosen a peripatetic way of life very different from every one of us. Jesus is a wandering charismatic religious leader – so very strange to everyone in the Middle East and to us today.

John proclaims this man’s difference – a difference in the quality of his life, a quality no human being can attain. After all, doesn’t he testify that Jesus is the Son of God? Who else would claim that title? Who would let someone else proclaim such a title for themselves? Only the false gods, I think, and there are a great many of those cults which assault us daily. A cult, maybe, to which we have submitted. Haven’t we all wanted our “fifteen minutes of fame”? This is a cult of hubris, of pride, not a cult of humble kindness. We need only look at John to see the truth of this, John who proclaimed someone else greater than he, whom he names the “Lamb of God”.

This story is about how we name others, how we treat them, how we testify to them, as friend or saint, or, in Jesus’ case, the beloved son of God.

How that proclamation changes everything!

In John, we hear the declaration about Jesus and we are transformed – or you might want to say, we transform ourselves because we have accepted that witness’s statement as the truth in our lives.

What would John see if any one of us approached him? Would he see people struggling out of the chains of consumerism and “the next big thing”, people willing to stand naked against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune? Would we show him that we have the strength for righteousness? I wonder whether John would see people whose faith drives them to love their neighbours as they love themselves?

What would John see as we approach him? I don’t know … What would I present to him today? Am I able to stand in my faith, alone and strong, clear-headed in my vision of the future in the deep amity of fellow christians, in the rapture of God’s glory? How would John announce me when I approach? – I truly don’t know.

That is why I keep my ears open, for what John might call me. I listen for the witness to my life.

Who do you say I am when I approach?

Do you smile and rush up like my dog does – with excessive enthusiasm because I have returned after a few days – or even just ten minutes? Or is your greeting more kindness than enthusiasm? Do you proclaim to the world, “Behold here comes my friend whom I love.” That is what I want to say about everyone who approaches me. They are my friends who are kind and happy to accept everyone into their hearts, and they have been ever so gracious to accept me.

Would anyone, let alone John the Baptist, ever be able to proclaim their testimony, “the Lamb of God,” at our approach?

Amen

Collect

Eternal Father, who at the baptism of Jesus revealed him to be your Son, anointing him with the Holy Spirit: grant to us, who are born again by water and the Spirit, that we may be faithful to our calling as your adopted children; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

or

Heavenly Father, at the Jordan you revealed Jesus as your Son: may we recognize him as our Lord and know ourselves to be your beloved children; through Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Post Communion

Lord of all time and eternity, you opened the heavens and revealed yourself as Father in the baptism of Jesus your beloved Son: by the power of your Spirit complete the heavenly work of our rebirth through the waters of the new creation; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Readings

Old Testament

Here is my servant, whom I uphold,

   my chosen, in whom my soul delights;

I have put my spirit upon him;

   he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry or lift up his voice,

   or make it heard in the street;

a bruised reed he will not break,

   and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;

   he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be crushed

   until he has established justice in the earth;

   and the coastlands wait for his teaching.

Thus says God, the Lord,

   who created the heavens and stretched them out,

   who spread out the earth and what comes from it,

who gives breath to the people upon it

   and spirit to those who walk in it:

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,

   I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

   a light to the nations,

     to open the eyes that are blind,

     to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

   from the prison those who sit in darkness.

I am the Lord, that is my name;

   my glory I give to no other,

   nor my praise to idols.

See, the former things have come to pass,

   and new things I now declare;

before they spring forth,

   I tell you of them.

Isaiah 42.1–9

Psalm

1    Ascribe to the Lord, you powers of heaven, ♦
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2    Ascribe to the Lord the honour due to his name; ♦
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

3    The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
the God of glory thunders; ♦
the Lord is upon the mighty waters.

4    The voice of the Lord is mighty in operation; ♦
the voice of the Lord is a glorious voice.

5    The voice of the Lord breaks the cedar trees; ♦
the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon;

6    He makes Lebanon skip like a calf ♦
and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7    The voice of the Lord splits the flash of lightning; the voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; ♦
the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

8    The voice of the Lord makes the oak trees writhe and strips the forests bare; ♦
in his temple all cry, ‘Glory!’

9    The Lord sits enthroned above the water flood; ♦
the Lord sits enthroned as king for evermore.

10    The Lord shall give strength to his people; ♦
the Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace.

Psalm

Epistle

Then Peter began to speak to them: ‘I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. You know the message he sent to the people of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ – he is Lord of all. That message spread throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John announced: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power; how he went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. We are witnesses to all that he did both in Judea and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree; but God raised him on the third day and allowed him to appear, not to all the people but to us who were chosen by God as witnesses, and who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one ordained by God as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.’

Acts 10.34–43

Gospel

Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

Matthew 3.13–17

Sermon on The Baptism of Christ

And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.’

Does this ever happen at any of our baptisms? A doting mother may say something of the sort, perhaps a proud father in his cups might break down to say these words in that moment of grand emotion, when the child is acknowledged before the family and close friends. “Our beloved Child” is proclaimed at that “private” baptism as part of their joy in their child named publicly within that cloud of witnesses (however small or large).

But do we hear – or have we ever tried to hear – God’s voice at a baptism? Have we switched off everything modern and contemporary in order to hear that ancient calling of God in the silence of worship?

My question is not just rhetorical – I am asking because it does interrogate each of us as we sit here celebrating Jesus’ Baptism. Have we really heard that voice which expressed such pleasure in one brought to baptism? Are we like John who asked for the baptism Jesus would give, if only he would. How many of us would understand Jesus’ words – “it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.”

What righteousness do we accomplish here and now? In reliving the Baptism of Jesus, do I find myself on the bank of the Jordan to listen to John and await that voice? After all, I am rather reluctant to say that I have ever been able to do what is right. If I were able, I would drop everything and go to the troubled spots of the world to give aid and succour to suffering humanity. Instead, I am a gardener keeping lawns tidy for other people in this green and pleasant land. Am I fulfilling any righteousness, apart from my duty for my wife and my customers? This is quite depressing for me, especially as the present war in the Ukraine carries on.

Do you feel the same? Don’t you wish to somehow do what is good not only for yourself, but for others? Do ordinary jobs really satisfy your thirst for justice and righteousness? How can we satisfy this drive for attaining the moral high ground wherever in the world we find ourselves?

These are the questions that come to mind when I think of Jesus saying to John, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.” If I fulfill the law, will it have any effect? Will others join me and also assault those plains of Abraham where the mindless masses gather to hide in anonymity? Many say, “Why bother? That won’t change anything.” Is it any wonder that no one tries to do the right thing? Only the expedient – what will cause no comment – is to be done. However, is that really what we want to do? Is one’s life only expedient? Does that really make us proud?

I think at the back of our minds we hear the prophet’s words, “I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” That impels us to the future. I want to be that servant of the Lord, to hear that voice and embody everything Isaiah says about that extraordinary person whom the Lord has singled out.

Normally, we say Isaiah is predicting Jesus, but I would like to read this passage as speaking about each one of us, for we all are possible servants of God – if only we hold fast to the true course we wish to ply.

He will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth;

Don’t we hope for this in our lives? Don’t we want that strength of resolve to establish justice in the earth? Don’t we want to keep up our strength in this work we do for others – the work we do in the name of God?

Thus says God, the Lord,

who gives breath to the people upon it

and spirit to those who walk in it:

If God gives us life, why don’t we do justly in our lives? Why do we act badly? We should be striding forth in God’s spirit, not mincing about in wickedness. The Lord has created us for the joy of the his service.

I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,

I have taken you by the hand and kept you;

Such a call should always be echoing in our ears, don’t you think? Such a call should be at the front of our minds, especially as we have been taken up in those caring hands. We should pass every thought through this prism of God’s spirit of justice, shouldn’t we? But it seems humanity fails in this fundamental moral imperative. We need only consider what assaults us daily on the news and in the fiction we read for pleasure.

I have given you as a covenant to the people,

   a light to the nations,

     to open the eyes that are blind,

     to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,

   from the prison those who sit in darkness.

I am the Lord, that is my name;

   my glory I give to no other,

   nor my praise to idols.

The servant figure becomes the focus here – you and I become the focus for the world, because we are a sign of the covenant God has agreed. God jealously guards the honour and glory offered up to him. The covenant sealed in you and me enshrines the love we have for each other – between me and you, God and us, but especially between us all. If we don’t forget that we are a sign of the covenant for ourselves and others, then there would be few chances for anyone to do evil.

I think this passage from Isaiah speaks to us like that voice which declares us beloved children of God. How can we behave badly if we pass everything through that prism of God’s righteousness? Doesn’t everything change in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye especially when we see through that lens of rectitude.

However, there is always the risk of forgetfulness, isn’t there? Like those servants awaiting the return of their boss, don’t we have to be aware of what we are enjoined to do? However, we can also forget in a moment, in a twinkling, can’t we? How quickly we don’t remember!

In our wakefulness is an awareness that justice is just about to be meted out to all of creation. Let us stay awake, ready to witness to the right all the days of our lives. When we “fulfil all righteousness”, I imagine it is at that moment we might hear that ancient voice saying, “This is my beloved child, in whom I am well pleased.”

Amen

Collect

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was circumcised in obedience to the law for our sake and given the Name that is above every name: give us grace faithfully to bear his Name, to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit, and to proclaim him as the Saviour of the world; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Post Communion

Eternal God, whose incarnate Son was given the Name of Saviour: grant that we, who have shared in this sacrament of our salvation, may live out our years in the power of the Name above all other names, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Readings

Old Testament

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

    Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the Israelites: You shall say to them,

    The Lord bless you and keep you;

    the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

    the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

    So they shall put my name on the Israelites, and I will bless them.

Numbers 6.22–27

Psalm

1    O Lord our governor,  ♦
how glorious is your name in all the world!

2    Your majesty above the heavens is praised  ♦
out of the mouths of babes at the breast.

3    You have founded a stronghold against your foes,  ♦
that you might still the enemy and the avenger.

4    When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,  ♦
the moon and the stars that you have ordained,

5    What is man, that you should be mindful of him;  ♦
the son of man, that you should seek him out?

6    You have made him little lower than the angels  ♦
and crown him with glory and honour.

7    You have given him dominion over the works of your hands  ♦
and put all things under his feet,

8    All sheep and oxen,  ♦
even the wild beasts of the field,

9    The birds of the air, the fish of the sea ♦
and whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea.

10    O Lord our governor,  ♦
   how glorious is your name in all the world!

Psalm 8

Epistle

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.

Galatians 4.4–7

Gospel

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing that has taken place, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the child lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known what had been told them about this child; and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Luke 2.15–21

Sermon on Naming and Circumcision of Jesus

Today is another festival, one of the many feasts of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church at this time of year – it is a celebration of an event in a Jewish boy’s infancy, his naming and circumcision. This would be the equivalent of a christian infant’s baptism, when we gather to welcome a baby into the fold of the Church, when we make the promise to the child of acceptance into our own lives as well as entry into the Kingdom of God.

I wonder why there are not more parties for the child. Why don’t we madly rush about shouting the good news of the child’s birth AND his acceptance into the people of God. In the gospel story, we hear about the grand announcement of the good news of the messiah’s birth, but no one makes anything of the naming of the child. The gospel reading makes this disjunction very clear.

Today we read about the shepherds visiting the manger. They shouted about Jesus’ birth from the moment they saw the angel and the multitude of the heavenly host praising God despite their anxiety and fear. They ran down into the town announcing the good news. They crowded around the manger where the child lay, then, poof, they disappear. There is only silence where once there was raucous delight. The scene changes abruptly. At one point the shepherds were there, then they are no longer mentioned and the babe is being named and circumcised.

After this long passage about the shepherds, there is only one sentence concerning the naming of Jesus and the fulfilment of the Law. That is no different from today – we all make a big thing about a child, but when they are named in church, not much is made of the fact. The community of faith is not involved, is it? Perhaps the immediate family gathers to wet the baby’s head, but the wider community, whether of faith or not, has nothing to do with the child’s taking its place in the world with its name. Quite often we only just hear by chance how we are to address the child. The rowdy shepherds have gone away and no one is gaily celebrating the naming of Joseph’ and Mary’s new-borne.

The churches are complicit in this downgrading of the naming and baptism of our infants. How many times do we have a baptism in the context of a public eucharist, in the midst of our giving thanks to God, through the sharing of the cup, within the gathering of the whole community of faith?

Jesus, like our children, was brought to the centre of the faith. Jesus went with his parents to the Temple on the eighth day to fulfil the Law quietly without lots of friends. Our children do appear in church but not often as quickly as the eighth day.

When our children are presented in the local centres of faith, it is “private”. The select group gathers around the child and the baptism of the baby occurs among the close family. No one else needs to be part of the event. It is much like the faith we all say we have – it is very private. We don’t normally stand up to give a testimony of our faith, unless you’re that odd duck who likes to dress up in an ancient frock and lead worship like me.

Private faith – that is really rather an odd thing, isn’t it? How can the core of our lives be “private” – never to be revealed? When we talk about authenticity, don’t we mean that the inside is the same as the outside? That there is nothing hidden in an authentic life? Everything is, if I may use the word, “transparent” about the authentic person – there can be no duplicity – the authentic is there in front of you without doubt.

I cannot say one thing and mean another. For instance, I cannot say money doesn’t matter to me and be a miser. The degree of discrepancy can be as great a gulf as the sea or just the merest hair’s breadth, but if the gap is there, it will always separate the true from false self. Though I have the tongue of an angel, but speak not through love, am I not merely a clanging cymbal? How can I be true when that crack is part of my being? We all know from Bargain Hunt that a good piece of ceramic or crystal will sound hollow and dull if it has a fault even the tiniest crack. – Such a piece,  never rings true. I think we can apply this test to our own lives, don’t you?

If there is a separation between my public and my private self, how can I sound a true note? How can I speak with angelic feeling if I have no love? Paul was speaking of authenticity long before the philosopher coined it in his writings. They speak of the same thing, don’t they?

Both would wish each of us would unite the whole of our lives into a single entity. The philosopher tells us that crack in our lives is a chasm of immense proportions, even if it is not visible to anyone else. It is the fault line along which our hearts will break. We have to make a leap to unite our lives, away from the false into the true, from hate to love, from indifference to kindness.

With that leap to authenticity, to wholeness, we rise with the angels into the sky to sing “Glory to God in the highest, and peace to his people on earth, to people of good will.” The people in whom there is no sin are the people of good will. They are pure of heart, their hearts will never be broken.

That cracked heart which was perhaps about to break, has leapt. It has re-formed itself with that leap. Now it is whole. The reformed heart will always stand tall and proud. It is upright and whole. Now that it is re-formed, it is much stronger. The reformed heart lives a new life, full of joy and love.  The reformed rejoice in the Lord always.

We are naming Jesus today. Let us cut out all sin from our lives, that we may be able to sing with the angels. Let us be re-formed – reformed – in peace as the angels declare.

I wonder if that is why we read the lesson from Numbers today.

    The Lord bless you and keep you;

    the Lord make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you;

    the Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.

I think peace is the significant mark of an authentic, or should I say “angelic”, life, a state of mind so very different because of the light which shines there. This, I suppose, is the hope we all have on this, our New Year’s Day, when we are full of resolution to live differently, perhaps even authentically.

Amen

Collect

O Lord Jesus Christ, who at your first coming sent your messenger to prepare your way before you: grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries may likewise so prepare and make ready your way by turning the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, that at your second coming to judge the world we may be found an acceptable people in your sight; for you are alive and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

or

God for whom we watch and wait, you sent John the Baptist to prepare the way of your Son: give us courage to speak the truth, to hunger for justice, and to suffer for the cause of right, with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Post Communion

We give you thanks, O Lord, for these heavenly gifts; kindle in us the fire of your Spirit that when your Christ comes again we may shine as lights before his face; who is alive and reigns now and for ever.

Readings

Old Testament

The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,

   the desert shall rejoice and blossom;

like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly,

   and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

   the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the Lord,

   the majesty of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,

   and make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are of a fearful heart,

   ‘Be strong, do not fear!

Here is your God.

   He will come with vengeance,

with terrible recompense.

   He will come and save you.’

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,

   and the ears of the deaf unstopped;

then the lame shall leap like a deer,

   and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.

For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,

   and streams in the desert;

the burning sand shall become a pool,

   and the thirsty ground springs of water;

the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,

   the grass shall become reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there,

   and it shall be called the Holy Way;

the unclean shall not travel on it,

   but it shall be for God’s people;

   no traveller, not even fools, shall go astray.

No lion shall be there,

   nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;

they shall not be found there,

   but the redeemed shall walk there.

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return,

   and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

   they shall obtain joy and gladness,

   and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Isaiah 35.1–10

Psalm

4    Happy are those who have the God of Jacob for their help, ♦

whose hope is in the Lord their God;

5    Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them ♦

who keeps his promise for ever;

6    Who gives justice to those that suffer wrong  ♦

and bread to those who hunger.

7    The Lord looses those that are bound; ♦

the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;

8    The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down; ♦

the Lord loves the righteous;

9    The Lord watches over the stranger in the land; he upholds the orphan and widow; ♦

but the way of the wicked he turns upside down.

10    The Lord shall reign for ever, ♦

your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.

      Alleluia.

Psalm 146.4–10

Epistle

Be patient, therefore, beloved, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious crop from the earth, being patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.9Beloved, do not grumble against one another, so that you may not be judged. See, the Judge is standing at the doors! As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.

James 5.7–10

Gospel

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word by his disciples and said to him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is anyone who takes no offence at me.’

As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: ‘What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written,

“See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,

who will prepare your way before you.”

Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

Matthew 11.2–11

Sermon on Third Sunday of Advent

Last week we considered the prophets in the form of Jesus and John particularly. We are reminded of all the prophets again in today’s reading from James, “As an example of suffering and patience, beloved, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.” This week, however, our focus is John the Baptist alone. He is the forerunner, the prophet preparing the way, who was unworthy even to carry Jesus’ sandals.

Today we hear about the disciples of John and Jesus and how they moved between the two. I think they are of equal weight when we look at these two as prophets, though after our eyes are opened by our faith, we know that relationship is much more than equals. Jesus tells us so, doesn’t he? He asks John to acknowledge the miracles that are happening all around them both, the most significant that “the poor have good news brought to them”. What could be a greater miracle than that?

What is the good news which is the sum of all the miracles being done in God’s name? What is that good news at which no one can possibly take offence? You know what it is – I know what it is. Each of us knows what that good news is for each of us ourselves individually. Perhaps we gather together as we do here in this building to share it. However, it doesn’t matter why, but the good news is always the ground of our happiness. Nothing is more important than that good news on which we found our lives. That good news is the meaning of our lives, the wherein we live and move and have our being.

I have been reading some philosophy again and it has been about this notion of meaning as the ground of being. The whole of our lives stands on that ground, a ground that we clear day by day so we may see afresh. We continually try to keep everything in order because of all the significances discovered new and old. This ground gives us meaning and yet we find that meaning at the same time. These philosophers I have been reading write about their never-ending work – they forever try to make meaning clear for all to see.

This is the prophets’ job as well. God’s message – that good news – must always be made clear in every generation, in every community, in each and every heart. In other words, I think we have to say we are all prophets – and we all have been given that life’s work, to declare the good news, to share the fact that we can all participate in such joy. John and Jesus did this, didn’t they?

But John is our focus today. He was in the wilderness. He proclaimed the message in a very bleak way, in a bleak place, a place which no one willingly wished to be. Who wants to go to the desert, to live on locusts and wild honey wrapped in camel’s hair? Don’t we consider those people rather odd? Like the people who become monks and nuns, we don’t think they are quite right in the head, do we? We might admire their dedication to their vision, but that seems to be a rather odd focus for a person’s life especially in this era when the church has been sidelined on a Sunday morning.

John was quite different from Jesus. He stood as a reed in the cluttering winds of the wilderness. John opposed the values of the everyday in a very stark way. He was the hard place on which people found themselves when the rocks of trouble came down upon them. His message was one of cold comfort, for he told of the reversal of everything, just as Jesus did in the Sermon on the Mount, the poor rich, the humbled exalted, the mournful joyous. That reversal can be seen in the apocalyptic visions of the time, as they are preserved in the bible.

John is at the forefront of these forbidding messengers, for he tells of the very presence of the final Kingdom, that unknown country to which we have been invited. He even threatens the status quo, doesn’t he? That was why he was killed, and his head served up on a salver. This is a prophet’s lot – for his message to go unheeded by the people who should know better.

If this was the way John ended up, what would happen to the one who was coming, whose sandal he would not even attempt to untie? When this long-expected saviour came, what would they do to him?

Even today we are expecting salvation, either from God or the government, what will we do to that agent when he appears with that same harsh message, “The kingdom of God is nearer than you think, repent and become worthy of it.” What do we do to those who repeat those words? We can’t do any worse than what happened to Jesus. We could even repeat the crime against John. In any case, I think that most would mock the prophet who proclaimed such a worthy message. We would pay no attention, just as they did at the turn of the eras, the centre of time. Whether a reed in the wind or someone feasting with friends and strangers, we don’t give any credence to what is being proclaimed in the name of the Lord, in the name of God, then or in our time. Instead we ignore at best and mock at the very least.

Is this what we should do when we acknowledge that the message of a change of heart is being proclaimed right in front of us? Should we mock the messenger of repentance? Should we eliminate that inconvenient truth from our convenient everyday lives? Do the prophets just fade away just as the prophets of old disappeared? The truth pursues us as we run away, just as our conscience nags when we try to turn away from it to hide in the crowd.

John, like all the prophets, stands tall in our minds, a reminder of all the virtues from which we stray. In other words, we are sinners, because we have missed the mark of virtue in our lives. The world in which we find ourselves is a wilderness.  We must make our mark in the desert, and we all know that that mark is indelible, if it is virtuous. Sinners and criminals may find themselves feted by the crowd, but eventually they will be toppled because they will be seen for what they are. In our final moments, as we hide away from each other and ourselves, we will discover what we really are. In that apocalyptic time, we will repent of our inhumanity, of our wasted lives.

Our hope is that every moment of life will be lived against that virtuous background of the Kingdom of God. Our hope is that we will hear the message of John preaching in the wilderness of our own lives. Won’t we pray to have ears to hear and eyes to see the sacred as it stands against the profanity of the world?! I hope so every day, just as you do.

Amen

Collect

O Lord, raise up, we pray, your power and come among us, and with great might succour us; that whereas, through our sins and wickedness we are grievously hindered in running the race that is set before us, your bountiful grace and mercy may speedily help and deliver us; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, to whom with you and the Holy Spirit, be honour and glory, now and for ever.

or

Almighty God, purify our hearts and minds, that when your Son Jesus Christ comes again as judge and saviour we may be ready to receive him, who is our Lord and our God.

Post Communion

Father in heaven, who sent your Son to redeem the world and will send him again to be our judge: give us grace so to imitate him in the humility and purity of his first coming that, when he comes again, we may be ready to greet him with joyful love and firm faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Readings

Old Testament

1    A shoot shall come out from the stock of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of his roots.

2    The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

3    His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.

    He shall not judge by what his eyes see,
or decide by what his ears hear;

4    but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

5    Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist,
and faithfulness the belt around his loins.

6    The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.

7    The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

8    The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den.

9    They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain;
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

10    On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious.

Isaiah 11.1–10

Psalm

1    Give the king your judgements, O God, ♦
and your righteousness to the son of a king.

2    Then shall he judge your people righteously ♦
and your poor with justice.

3     May the mountains bring forth peace, ♦
and the little hills righteousness for the people.

4    May he defend the poor among the people,
and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; ♦
he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.

    deliver the children of the needy and crush the oppressor.

5    May he live as long as the sun and moon endure, ♦
from one generation to another.

6    May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, ♦
like the showers that water the earth.

7     In his time shall righteousness flourish, ♦
and abundance of peace till the moon shall be no more.

18    Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, ♦
who alone does wonderful things.

19    And blessed be his glorious name for ever. ♦
May all the earth be filled with his glory.
Amen. Amen.

Psalm 72.1–7,18,19

Epistle

For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, so that by steadfastness and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope. May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, in accordance with Christ Jesus, 6so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of the truth of God in order that he might confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,

‘Therefore I will confess you among the Gentiles,

and sing praises to your name’;

and again he says,

‘Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people’;

and again,

‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,

and let all the peoples praise him’;

and again Isaiah says,

‘The root of Jesse shall come,

the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;

in him the Gentiles shall hope.’

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15.4–13

Gospel

In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,

‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’

Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

Matthew 3.1–12

Sermon on Second Sunday of Advent

When I was growing up in the States, there was an advertising jingle based on the song “Love and Marriage” – perhaps you know it? Sung by Frank Sinatra, it is all about things that go together – just like love and marriage and then there is the pair of a horse and carriage. But the jingle paired “soup and sandwich” which made perfect sense because it was a Campbell’s advertising campaign. But this came to mind because of today’s gospel reading. The pair I want to match up is John and Jesus, this pair even fits the song, doesn’t it? But I would have to be very clever to come up with alternative verses in order to make it a hymn or an Advent carol.

The hymn-writers often did that though, didn’t they? They used well known songs and crafted words to fit. “Ilkley Moor Bar Tat” is a famous example of the reverse. It is one of many tunes for “While shepherds”. There is even a Ramsbury tune. We used to sing While shepherds with gusto in that village where we lived when we carolled around the village. However, writing a new hymn is not what I want to do. Rather, I want the association of John and Jesus to be stronger in our minds at least for today. I also want to see John and Jesus as prophets, as that is the theme for the second Sunday of Advent.

The first thing we are told in our gospel reading is that John appeared in the wilderness of Judea. But Jesus also rose to fame there in Judea. “In Bethlehem of Judea” the narrative starts, doesn’t it?

Jesus’ message was the same as John’s, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.” And Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that that kingdom was right on top of them. Preparing the way of the Lord was imperative for the kingdom to become a reality here and now. That was the corollary to this message about the kingdom. All must actively engage in the grace and mercy, and the justice and righteousness, of God’s kingdom. Both John and Jesus proclaim as prophets the imminent arrival, the advent, of the kingdom and what that means for all of us.

Then there is “the voice of one crying out in the wilderness.” These words from Isaiah have always been quoted incorrectly. Scholarship agrees that we should be saying, ‘A voice cried, “Prepare the way of the Lord in the wilderness.”’ We are living in that wilderness where there is no mercy and justice, where there is no grace nor righteousness. We live, it seems, where there is no royal road for our God. This quotation sets the narrative about John – that he dwellt in the wilderness, that he ate locusts and wild honey, that he wore clothing of camel’s hair and a leather belt. He preached out there in the wilderness, proclaiming the word of God, so that we might change our ways. He can be likened to the homeless in our city centres. However, instead of being avoided like the homeless people we know, John became a tourist attraction. Do you remember the film Jesus Christ Superstar? Jesus is brought before Herod who asks him to do a miracle for him. As the children taunt their playmates when they say, “We piped for you, so dance for us,” it seems John was out in the desert to perform for everyone who made their way to the River Jordan.

You might say John was a performing seal in that river. But something happened. Although curiosity led people out of the city, away from the comfortable everyday, away from the chattering crowd that presses down, they were freed from social constraint foisted on them. People of all sorts on the banks of the Jordan listened to John speak about preparation for the kingdom of God. These words did affect them, to the point that some were offering themselves for his baptism. They let that water cleanse them and they took a different view on everything – well, at least they did when they were with John.

John saw that a great many different sorts of people had made their way to the Jordan, like those crowds around Jesus – however, he must have been very perplexed, for he even saw the religious leadership from the temple there by the water. John reacted very strongly to them, didn’t he? He condemned them. “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit worthy of repentance.” The water of baptism alone is not sufficient, though it is a start. Fleeing to the waters of baptism to avoid the wrath to come is commendable, but the water alone does not save all. John demands they bear fruit worthy of repentance, fruit that will last. He condemns these vipers as the children of the ancient covenant – they are not the real heirs of the kingdom since their lives are superficial, they have only washed their skin, neither have they dedicated themselves to the work of the kingdom. In other words, their lives have not borne the fruit of the kingdom, acts of mercy and love.

Doesn’t Jesus do the same? Doesn’t he call down woe on that same group of people? He calls them hypocrites, doesn’t he?  They have not purged themselves, what he called the sepulchres of filth have not been cleansed. He has no time for people who will not love their neighbours.

John and Jesus do go together so very well. Their prophetic messages reinforce each other and their disciples form a living pool between them. They all understood the closeness of the coming of God in power and might. In time and space, the apocalypse is about to happen. The final time will be the next moment of life in all its fullness. At that point when the four horsemen, with all the disasters and all the bloodshed, appear, then the final trumpet will sound and we will all be called to account for our sins seen by our neighbours and the sins in our hearts unseen except by our conscience and our God. At that very moment will we stand like the rich man who had built his new barns and hear the words, “Now is the time for reckoning.” We will hear the commendation of all the Lazuruses of our time and we will beg for respite from those we despised when we had not shown compassion.

The visions of the Bible are not all sweetness and light, but a believer’s eyes sees the delight of a life lived in mercy and love, don’t they? Don’t we, when we act charitably and recognise acts of altruism all around us?

This is what John and Jesus proclaim in the wilderness. This is the message of evangelism. “Repent, for the Kingdom of God has come so very near” – it is all around us, if only we would see. John and Jesus do go together, both as a story and as a part of our lives because we are the people expecting the coming of the kingdom of God proclaimed by the prophets.

Amen

Collect

Almighty Father, whose will is to restore all things in your beloved Son, the King of all: govern the hearts and minds of those in authority, and bring the families of the nations, divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin, to be subject to his just and gentle rule; who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Post Communion

God of peace, whose Son Jesus Christ proclaimed the kingdom and restored the broken to wholeness of life: look with compassion on the anguish of the world, and by your healing power make whole both people and nations; through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Readings

Old Testament

23    ‘O that my words were written down!
O that they were inscribed in a book!

24    O that with an iron pen and with lead
they were engraved on a rock for ever!

25    For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;

26    and after my skin has been thus destroyed,
then in my flesh I shall see God,

27    whom I shall see on my side,
and my eyes shall behold, and not another.
My heart faints within me!

Job 19.23–27a

Psalm

1    Hear my just cause, O Lord; consider my complaint;¨
listen to my prayer, which comes not from lying lips.

2    Let my vindication come forth from your presence; ¨
let your eyes behold what is right.

3    Weigh my heart, examine me by night, ¨
refine me, and you will find no impurity in me.

4    My mouth does not trespass for earthly rewards;¨
I have heeded the words of your lips.

5    My footsteps hold fast in the ways of your commandments;¨
my feet have not stumbled in your paths.

6    I call upon you, O God, for you will answer me; ¨
incline your ear to me, and listen to my words.

7    Show me your marvellous loving-kindness, ¨
O Saviour of those who take refuge at your right hand from those who rise up against them.

8    Keep me as the apple of your eye;¨
hide me under the shadow of your wings,

9    From the wicked who assault me,¨
from my enemies who surround me to take away my life.

Psalm 17:1–7

Epistle

As to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we beg you, brothers and sisters, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as though from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction. He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, declaring himself to be God. Do you not remember that I told you these things when I was still with you?

But we must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the first fruits for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and through belief in the truth. For this purpose he called you through our proclamation of the good news, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by word of mouth or by our letter.

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and through grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, comfort your hearts and strengthen them in every good work and word.

2 Thessalonians 2.1–5,13–17

Gospel

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, leaving a wife but no children, the man shall marry the widow and raise up children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers; the first married, and died childless; then the second and the third married her, and so in the same way all seven died childless. Finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had married her.’

Jesus said to them, ‘Those who belong to this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are considered worthy of a place in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. Indeed they cannot die any more, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. And the fact that the dead are raised Moses himself showed, in the story about the bush, where he speaks of the Lord as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Now he is God not of the dead, but of the living; for to him all of them are alive.’

Luke 20.27–38

Sermon on Third Sunday Before Advent

‘O that my words were written down!
O that they were inscribed in a book!

O that with an iron pen and with lead
they were engraved on a rock for ever!

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
and that at the last he will stand upon the earth;

These words can be seen as a background for so many of our own thoughts, can’t they? They come from Job as he laments his situation, all the disasters which beset him from the boils to the deaths of his family. He wants to let people know what his life was like. The pain and heartache of everything he has had to endure should be a lesson to us all. But he goes on – it is not the disaster that he wants his readers to read about. He says, “I know that my redeemer lives!” and continues, “Although my flesh is destroyed, I shall see my God.”

 These words are taken up in Handel’s “Messiah”, aren’t they?

These words become the start of some of the most sublime music we have. That we shall see God – isn’t that the most sublime thought we can aspire to? “Oh that my words were inscribed in the rock for ever!” That is the sentiment Job recommends to us all. And don’t we all think this? Don’t we want to share our most profound thoughts with the world, so that our experience will help all those around us? Perhaps that is why I stand here in these outlandish robes and rattle on … and just like Job I say, “Oh that my words were inscribed in the rock for ever!” Eternal words are something we long to pass on, aren’t they? I think we all want to be able to handle those words – to ground ourselves so surely on an eternal verity.

What do we reach for in our lives which will set a sure foundation for all we do? Do we have a favourite book which acts as our cornerstone? As christians, we profess the bible to be the rock of our salvation. We always turn to it to begin any of our thoughts for the day, don’t we? — We call the Bible “the Word of God” – we capitalise that phrase, don’t we? It is a special artefact whether an ancient manuscript on papyrus, printed by Gutenberg or provided electronically by Google. We treat the Bible as holy and sacred. For us no other book is held in such respect. We hold the Bible as eternal and unchangeable. It stands firm against the changing world. I think we all agree with that notion, don’t we? God’s Word impacts us every moment of every day and we feel it never changes in its demand on us. It challenges all humanity to act in goodness and righteousness. Consequently, I think, there is an understandable conservatism within any community, religious or not. We don’t want things to change at all, do we? We want to keep the special relationship as God’s people. Like people from Yorkshire who call that county “God’s own county” even thought they never go near a church. There is within each parish the wish to “keep things as they are”, whatever that might mean.

The Bible contains the words we feel are written down for ever. Those words dominate our lives, don’t they? But outside the church, there is a relativism, where nothing is more lasting or important than anything else. Over against the permanence of the church’s message of salvation, there is the world’s quest for novelty, those “fifteen minutes of fame”. Everyone wants those moments of glory for themselves. We want to “publish abroad” that message about our selves. We do this through ephemeral electronic media, using Facebook, TikTok and others that are proliferating now. The pandemic forced us to Zoom with each other, and UTube has brought so many videos into public consciousness. We all know about the cute cats that have “gone viral”, don’t we? We may even have contributed ourselves to the numbers of likes and hits of particular instances.

All of this is an expression of Job’s words, don’t you think? That I have contributed

 something to the future forever, written in the modern stone of the computer so that it will never be forgotten.

We all want to “make a difference”. We all want to make the world a better place. I stand here because I believe I might be able to do so – certainly, that is my hope, and, I believe, it is the Church’s hope. Perhaps I aspire to be a great influencer. – This right now may be my fifteen seconds of fame. Who knows? – Whatever the case, I also show the human tendency to wish to make my mark, just as Job did with his iron pen and the tablets of stone which had words in lead on them.

The ancient Laws of Hamarabi  were tablets of stone with words written with lead letters on them. They were set up at the gates of the city so no one could claim ignorance of the law. I think that is why it is so natural for Job to use this image, apart from the fact that Moses came down from the mountain with the law of the Lord written on the tablets. We understand this image of unchanging law written down forever so easily today. Why even in our older churches there are plaques with the ten commandments on them. In the churchyard and within our churches the permanent epitaph continues this image. I think that is why the toppling of the statues in Bristol was so extraordinary brutal to our sensibilities – I think it might signify a cultural shift.

That shift was foreshadowed millennia ago. The destroying of carved images is part of OT and christian iconoclasm. More

 importantly, the locus of the writing of God’s Law has always been shifted away from these stone tablets. Where is a better place to write the law – God’s or the King’s? What is a better medium for a law that makes sense for an ordered society? I think you all know. One of the prophets spoke directly to this point. “I will write these laws on the hearts of my people. Once they had hearts of stone, but now they will have hearts of flesh” – that is the place where law is truly kept. The stone tablets, the Word of God, influencers – don’t they all point to something missing in our lives? Those hearts which beat steadily to the Laws the Lord, that we love God and our neighbours.

To use that iron pen and lead to encase the law is one of our dearest conceits, isn’t it?

 However, the immortality of the writing on stone has passed. Now we want to write on hearts which feel compassion and love. Don’t we all want to share our most profound heart with the world? Perhaps that is everyone’s compulsion. This impulse to ‘publish it abroad’ is important in every person’s life. We do it at home – we also do it with friends. – And if we are very bold, we may stand up in public and open our hearts, calling for mercy and righteousness all the days of our lives. I think hearts are where these eternal words are written, not on the stone artifacts which too often crash into nothing. In the heart are etched the words of eternal life.