Here comes the bride

A sermon preached at Sarah and Dénes Wedding, Saturday December 11^th, 2010 at St Augustine’s Church, Unley

Colossians 3:12-17 & Mark 10:6-9

Families are curious.

…but I will save that for later

I have had some difficulty

separating my priestly role

from my fatherly role.

This is the role of the preacher!

We have had a busy couple of weeks

preparing for this important day.

When we gather for a marriage

we are celebrating

one of God’s mysteries

and the mystery is this:

God made us male and female

For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife,

and the two shall become one flesh.

So they are no longer two but one flesh.

The mystery, as Jesus tells us, is that two human beings

are so closely united together when they marry

that they become one.

The products of wildly different and very curious families

are called to be one.

Not by one of them being diminished

and trying to become like the other.

But both, by giving themselves to each other,

become part of something new.

And far from their person being diminished

they are actually increased.

That’s what we call the theology, or theory, of marriage.

St Paul tells Christians about how to engage with this practically.

He uses the language of surrender and submission,

a husband and wife are called

not to selfishly pursue their own ends

but, rather, to see as their first duty

the love, care and nurture of their spouse.

Paul says, we hear today…you must bear with another

(not bully the other into submission)

You must forgive as God forgives you

totally and without game-playing.

And you must express your thankfulness

for each other and to God.

And you must sing….this is likely to happen Dénes

Ohh this is likely to happen,,,but I am slipping into my fatherly role.

it will be a sign of great joy

it will also be a sign of warning

that attention needs to be paid

and you will have to learn Dénes how to sing

and Sarah how to hear Dénes’s singing

which may be different from yours

less in tune,

it may perhaps look like drawing or writing

This may seem like an impossible task

but let us rather see it as a gift and a challenge

from God

to enable you, Dénes Nagy

and you, Sarah Clark

not particularly by our own efforts

though we are to try our hardest

and be at our best (not always possible)

(this is where …bearing with one another and forgiving comes in)

but by recognising that God is working something new in you

So St Paul gives his key advice

what ever you do

Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus

If you allow the Spirit of Jesus to dwell in you

and in your family

then we can be sure that together we will sing.

May God bless your life together.

Absolutely magnificent

Readings for this Sunday, 12th December 2010 Advent 3. Isaiah 35:1-10, Magnificat Luke 1:47-55; James 5:7-10; Matthew 11:2-11

The prophet Isaiah says...Thus says the Lord

My ways are not your ways, and your ways are not my ways(Is 55:8-10)

This theme is particularly apparent in the great seasons like Advent.

God does not do things in the way that we seem to think

they should be done

The king is not only not born in a palace

he is also conceived out of wedlock

and his mother is in danger of not actually being able to marry at all

and provide the necessary security for her son.

It almost seems a rule

that what ever way we expect things to be done

God's way will be different

This is not because of some sort of perversity

on the part of God

who is just being contrary.

It is rather a fundamental statement

about how poorly we succeed

at understanding the will of God at all.

Magnificat

So it is hardly surprising that the words we hear

being spoken

are challenging

our very established and unimaginative ways of thinking

about life and about God.

This may often escape our attention

as we hear words that we have heard many times before.

Such are those words (well-known to Anglicans)

we hear spoken by Mary

as she commits herself to cooperate with the the will of God.

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour

There are a few shocks in the song that she sings

....from this day all generations will call me blessed.

Women are often perceived by society

as secondary people

this much is known to us

Not so in God's world.

God says to each woman you are holy!

If I say nothing else to each of you here today

it is that

But can we also say

that God does not make the sort of judgment on the umnarried pregnant girl

that we so often rush to make!

...this day God says to women, and to those with child

You are blessed.

My ways, are not your ways

If we think that pride, arrogance and self-promotion

are the way to go

then Mary's song reminds us that

God is on the side of the humble and meek

he has an option for the poor

and we who are rich need to be particularly cautious.

The world's ways are about reputation, power and influence

God's are about humility, compassion and concern.

The world is totally seduced by greed

and the need to be rich

But God's promise is to stand alongisde those who are poor.

Great encouragement

We need to hear these words for what they are.

Great encouragement.

They are revealing to us truths that the world does not readily appreciate.

John says to the people who went out to see him.

Did you come out into the desert execyting to be told that you had got it right

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.

No he says, you went out looking for God.

You come to church (presumably)

Or you read these words

Not to be told that you have got it right

But to be confronted by God

to hear what God says to your heart.

He says....my ways are not yours

You need some education in my will.

Those who you tend to reject...the poor, women, the illegitimate

They are the ones I take and bless.

My understanding rather turns the world upside down.

Many heard John and Jesus

and turned away

because they did not want hear the message

that confronted their lifestyle.

Others found that their life was transformed.

Which are you?

This week

• Pray for insight to seeGod where God is least likely to be found
• Ask the Spirit to show you where you need to change and affirm God in the unexpected place.

We praise you Lord

as we see you confront our popular misconceptions.

As you turn aside from injustice and greed and

bless the cause of the powerless and poor.

Give us the courage of Christmas to do that too.

Giving peace a chance

Reflections for Sunday 5th December, 2010. Advent 2 Is 11:1-10, Ps 72: 1-7, 18-19;Romans 15:4-13; Matthew 3:1-12

One of the great themes of Christmas and Advent is the reign of peace that is to be ushered in by this new king

Peace is not a difficult concept to grasp though we need to be careful to do it justice

In the Hebrew Scriptures the word we use is "shalom"

it speaks of a peace which is not just the absence of war

but a time of harmony, justice and prosperity

for all people

We would hardly say that we live in a time of peace

because if harmony, justice and prosperity are the measures

then none of these seem to fully exist at this point in history.

At most what we seem to be able to achieve

is a closed world in which we shut ourselves in.

But this shallow view of peace

is not the shalom

that is being talked about here.

It is not the peace with which we greet each other when we say

The peace of the Lord be always with you.

Peace at all times and in all ways

A couple of ideas that may help us think of peace-shalom

Because we are overwhelmed by how to bring about peace in Afghanistan or Iraq or Pakistan

we seem to think that we cannot do anything at all, ever.

But of course the very fact that biblical peace is about how life is lived

must bear fruit in the way we actually live.

As the song puts it

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me

It is easy to invite someone else to do the hard yards;

but the call of the gospel

first by John the Baptist and then by Jesus himself

is to lay into it ourselves.

We are to be righteous, holy and active in living our life.

And not leave it up to someone else.

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me

How to begin

Paul talks in Ephesians (picking up Isaiah) about

peace to those who are far off

and peace to those are near

most of us will need to focus on the near rather than the far.

It is those who are near who affect our shalom.

Yes we need to forgive and seek to be forgiven

in Advent in order that there may be genuine peace!

Do not let this week go without paying some attention to that!

But we also thought last week about one of the major contributing factors

to the lack of peace

and that is poverty.

It is often noted

that what underlies the East-West bitterness

is not so much the Muslim-Christian-Hindu-Jewish-Buddhist division

but the rich-poor divide

Iran and Iraq and anti-Western hatreds are fuelled by the great inequalities

We HAVE and they HAVE-NOT.

If we threw the energies and money into addressing inequalities

rather than in waging war at the cost of billions upon billions of dollars,

if we took seriously the addressing of poverty;

then the fomenting of hatred becomes harder

because most people long

not for domination

but that there may be peace on earth.

So we are invited to give some of what we HAVE

which seems like little

and place it in the Christmas Bowl

or wherever we want to help

We can lament that governments can give millions and billions

(and maybe we need to be articulating this more strongly

and advocating for more overseas aid)

and we only give tens and hundreds but we hear that refrain

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

We are called to be signs and sacraments of what God wants to happen.

We are struck as we read of the John the Baptist in Matthew that he is strident

he says Do this!

the Lord requires that an axe be laid into the situation

that we not just water it

but allow the Spirit to consume it like a ferocious fire.

Wherever else we can strive for peace,

we should!

Do not be seduced by the shallow Christmas

but hear the call for real and genuine peace.

It has some sense of rigour about it.

We should look both close and far off

but let us hear that song....

Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.

O come, o come Emmanuel!

Readings for November 28 2010 : The First Sunday in Advent.Isaiah 2:1-5; Psalm 122; Romans 13:11-14; Matthew 24:36-44 (please note that this is the start of Year A in the Three Year Cycle )

There is a renewed sense of purpose and focus today as we begin the formal preparation for the celebration of Christmas

These four weeks of Advent are often marked by candle-lighting ceremonies.

Each week an extra candle is lit so that by the time we pass through the four weeks there is a wreath of four purple candles alight

which are finally crowned with a white or gold Christmas candle

So it's a funny little series of ceremonies, perhaps indicating to us that there is more to this bizarre little season than just random trinkets and the clash of ideas.

It moves on and draws us in, first a little way and then a little further....we are being invited to not just sit back and play games

That is the the substance of the readings today.

To remind us that we are in the middle of God's work

that it invites us to full participation

and we should not just sit back and be detached.

Don't spend your cash on all sorts trash

In our family, like most I suppose,

the giving of gifts is not without its problems

(this is rather ironic but fairly universal)

but in the spirit of Advent

as we are caught up in God's work

the challenge to us is to make response

and to get that response right

The Gospel (in particular) invites us to respond

and respond NOW!

Who knows, the image goes, this may be the day when everything will be brought to conclusion

and there will be some sifting

some will be chosen

and some will be left.

We are not to get too literal about this,

but rather to understand the principle

that with this sense of urgency

we are to live our lives

in the present

and strive to get it right today.

To, as it were, live this day as if it were our last.

How, therefore, we might ask in this busy little season

might this impact on us?

we might in general, I suggest,

strive to get things right the first time.

We might not procrastinate.

We might seek to act now, rather than wait until next year.

In a more bold sense, perhaps we may be prepared to risk a little more.

I want only to think about giving this morning

but there may be other more urgent dimensions of your life

that need attention.

Christmas Bowl

Traditionally, we set before ourselves the at home and overseas work of the Christmas Bowl at this time

Christian World Service, of the National Council of Churches

invites us to support the work that we do as Christians together

This is us saying that one of the clear messages we hear at Christmas

is care for the poor, reach out to the stranger and the destitute.

This is not an unfamiliar message

and I urge you to support that generously.

Once a guide was given to us to consider giving in the Christmas Bowl

as much as it would cost for a person at your Christmas Dinner table.

Maybe we are too frightened to work out the cost of our Christmas diunner!

The Local Church

For us this year, we have already talked about the need to support our local church community.

We face a challenge just to pay our way here

our life together is supported by a commitment to give generously.

Put simply, we exist financially as a parish

because we commit to give.

Each of us must examine our commitment to give

and do what we believe God requires of us.

for us at this time, our estimate is that we need to do something about our local giving

pretty urgently.

It is certainly one of those areas

where assuming there is a tomorrow

is a mistake

and where we need to challenge ourselves

to do as much as we can

not as little as we can.

Presents

It is, as I was alluding before in the area of presents,

where we become fixated.

We can be generous, we can be mean

we can be thoughtful, or thoughtless

We can mistake value for cost,

and we can make the mistake of thinking that giving

is about the gift

instead of the person.

What if we were to ask ourselves some key questions

as we wrap our presents?

like...what will this present say to this person about how I really feel about them

and..what will this gift communicate to the one who receives it about God and the meaning of Christmas?

We have time....maybe...

in this season as we give thanks for all that God is doing

To take care to do Christmas right.

Can we respond with generosity...to the Christmas Bowl, to the local church

and can our gifts truly express the spirit of Christmas

Eternal gifts

Two images of Jesus help us think about what it means to call him Christ the King.
They are at different ends of the spectrum.
The first is the king born in the stable at Bethlehem,
and the second is the king enthroned on the throne of Calvary.
The stable and the cross.

Readings for Sunday 21st November 2010 Proper 29-The Feast of Christ the King (Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Luke 1:68-79) or Jeremiah 23:1-6 and Psalm 46 Colossians 1:11-20 Luke 23:33-43

Two images of Jesus help us think about what it means to call him Christ the King.

They are at different ends of the spectrum.

The first is the king born in the stable at Bethlehem,

and the second is the king enthroned on the throne of Calvary.

The stable and the cross.

To be a king in the tradition of Jesus

is to embrace a fundamental contradiction

That we bring nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of the world.

That true wealth and power

is born out of poverty and humility,

that in order to live as a king

you must first learn how to die.

It is a deep mystery,

It is the mystery of what it means to be a Christian.

Because both stories are rich and profound in content, meaning and symbolism

I won't attempt to cover all bases

but perhaps suggest one idea

and then a couple of thoughts

about how we might understand this.

The idea

The idea is that we should allow the stable and the cross

to speak for themselves.

When you look into the stable

and there see the Virgin Mary giving birth to Jesus

what does that cause you to see about your life

about the state of the world

and about what God is calling us to do.

Where do you stand as you witness the event of

The Word becoming flesh?

Are you detached, are you an observer,

or are you a participant?

Are you shepherd, wise man, Jospeh or inn keeper?

What is God speaking to you

as you witness the birth of the eternal Word?

As we do the same thing at the foot of the Cross

what is the king saying to us from his throne?

Does he speak to me as to his mother, am I a soldier ignoring the demands of justice and cooperating in the torture of an innocent man?

Am I the thief who is speaking to Jesus?

How does the king, whether in stable or on the Cross, speak to your life?

Because that is what is important.

It is not just what these very key ideas and stories are meant to say

It is how they speak to your life, to your hopes, desires and dreams

how the mother of Jesus holds your brokenness in her arms,

or how the love of God enfolds you and nurtures you at the breast?

A couple of thoughts

So, for me, I see the invitation to look beyond the values of the world

and recognise that being born a king is not about the trappings

it is about the transformation and change that the good king will bring to the world

and his subjects

it is not about economic growth

but about quality of life

that the king strives to bring about for his subjects.

Is this how we live our lives?

Is this how our new kings will exercise their government?

But let's not just blame them

because is this, also, how we will live our lives?

If the stable reveals such depth

how much more the mystery of the Cross

which says that it is in dying we are born again.

Where do I need to die to self, to embrace the suffering,

to see that kingship is not about fame and fortune

but about character, leadership and sacrifice.

They are the same story.

Contradictory in a way.

But both invite us to see beyond the outward guise of kingship

and embrace the challenge

of humility, service, and sacrifice.

Where does this speak to your life today?

Aeterni Christi Munera

The eternal gift of Christ our king

invites me to tie my child's sandal

and to encourage her

to leap small buildings

The eternal gift of Christ our king

invites me to dare to love

badly

but to dare to do it any way

The eternal gift of Christ our king

invites me to step into the traffic

with a body of one my friends

following in a hearse

The eternal gift of Christ our king

invites me to accept myself with love

not with indulgence

but with love, and perhaps a little care

Such is the eternal gift of Christ

who doesn't seem to think of himself

as a king

written by Stephen Clark , November 2006

You Tube (click below...or at side)

Don't be led astray

In what is quite a funny sketch from the classic sixties revue Beyond the Fringe the question is asked of a seer like figure with a very silly voice
When will it be this end of the world?

Readings for Sunday 14th November 2010, 25th Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 28: Isaiah 65:17-25 and [Isaiah 12 or Malachi 4:1-2a] and Psalm 98 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Luke 21:5-19

We have a sort of religious fascination with the end time.

Some religious people waste their time (in my opinion) trying to work out signs, codes and instructions for when this time will be (hence the comedy sketch)

rather missing the point of what all this talk of end time is all about.

The reading from Isaiah 65 today, does remind us

that there is always a sense in which God is restoring, creating and making

Behold I am making all things new...this is not just about the physical environment of religion

it is the driving force in life

constant renewal

reforging, readdressing reality.....we might say in a rather pedestrian way

Upgrading!

Getting in touch with reality

The little snippet from the correspondence to the church in Thessalonika,

what is today Greece's second largest city and the capital of Hellenic Macedonia,

is part of a church which struggles to understand just when this fullness that is prophesied,

and which is associated with the return of Jesus, will come

This is the earliest of the early church coming to grips with what Jesus was talking about

when he talked about bringing this new creation to reality

Paul is reminding them to continue living

because the working out of the kingdom

does not mean that we put our lives on hold

or give up our jobs so that we can pray more earnestly, or what ever.

So he is quite blunt

DON'T GIVE UP YOUR DAY JOB

All this is quite in line

with what Jesus tells us

though the early Christians had to learn this

They had to learn that far from being removed

from the everyday life we lead

the kingdom of God was to be found right among it.

Instead of withdrawing from the world

to find holiness

we are to discover the truth

that the kingdom of God is right here in our midst.

It will be where we feel most alive!

Where is that place for you? It may be surprising

but that is where we ought to look.

It will almost certainly not be in the religious box,

and it will be unpredictable

so, says Jesus, don't waste your time trying to predict it

when you should be engaging with it.

In that curious little snippet

when we are called to account for our faith

Jesus reminds us that we shouldn't look for the right answer

or the prepared answer

but rather look deep within

allow the very depth of our being to speak

We already know this to be true.

The kingdom is within each of the baptised

it is within and bubbling up

a spring of life.

Like the Thessalonians, and all Christians we have to learn to normalise this experience

to earth it

to tap into what gives us life already.

Where do you feel alive today?

Where is God inviting you to live the kingdom?

To drink from the fountain of living water?

To become the new creation!

No rest for the faithful either!

The Solemnity of ALL SAINTS falls on November 1st and/or is kept on the Sunday afterwards.(This year Sunday November 7) Selected readings for that feast include: Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18; Psalm 149; Ephesians 1:11-23; Luke 6:20-31

One of the Anglican funeral prayers (1) says "Help us to live as those who believe in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins and the resurrection to eternal life"

These are good words and indeed important words but a bit religious and I often use the explanation of them to lock into what are the important themes of a Christian funeral: Community, Forgiveness and Life.

And indeed not only of a funeral, but of the Christian life. For indeed the mystery of faith is that we are God's in death as in life. If we live we live to the Lord, and if we die we die to the Lord. So then whether we live or whether we die we are the Lord's (Romans 14:8)

We see a continuity that the grave does not breach.

Community

Although we habitually use the word 'communion' to talk about the saints, we could just as well talk about the community of saints.

People who are united in their common pursuit of the gospel of Jesus.

Christian life is lived out in community, always has been and always will be. Even the key idea that we have about God, The Trinity, reveals to us that the essence of God is community...Father, Son and Spirit...the community of love.

Into that community life is drawn a community of people who God chooses to belong as God's chosen people. This chosen people is not an exclusive group, it is an open community with a constant invitation to people to join.

As we look at this community, or communion, of saints certain big names are set before us...Francis, Mary, Peter, Luther, John XXIII, Dietrich Bonhoeffer...and you can no doubt think of more (see some thoughts here and here for example).

This very mixed group reminds us that we are not meant to be soldiers in an army, or chocolate duplicates of each other but that we are as diverse as they come. Our unity comes out of our relationship with Jesus.

This is an important thing to remember. Particularly when we are talking about bringing new people to faith, or in deepening the faith of others. We are not cloning, we are bringing people into relationship with Jesus, and with the other members of the Jesus community.

People want community not committee. They want relationship not rules.

Help us to live as the communion of saints. In honest, open, forgiving relationships. Seeking the good of others, and the welfare of all.

In all things remembering that this is the abundant and eternal life that God promises us in Christ.

We sometimes get fixated on that part of the community that is beyond the grave. They are there to guard, inspire and encourage us. But we also are to commit to community now, struggling with all that it means to share this common life together. The promise is that in the unfolding of this commitment, eternal and abundant life are given to be lived now. As Saints.

This week

Pray for help to live as saints in community.

Where do I need to challenge my own tendency to be a loner, to reject the discipline of community?

Where can I be encouraging and forgiving?

Where do I need to forgive?

Invite all the saints, living and dead, who have been influential in forming you to join with you in praying for a deeper commitment

You Tube presentation

(1)(see introduction to the Funeral in An Australian Prayer Book 1978 (AAPB))

Trying to see Jesus

I read recently of a Bishop's visit to a parish; the priest said that the Bishop told the people that what we need is "More Jesus!"

In this "Kingdom time" it is an exhortation we do well to hear

Reading for this Sunday, 31 October 2010 the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost come from Habakkuk 1:1-4; 2:1-4 and Psalm 119:137-144 • (

Isaiah 1:10-18 and Psalm 32:1-7 ) •

2 Thessalonians 1:1-4, 11-12 •

Luke 19:1-10

The story in the Gospel this morning is pretty straight forward. Jesus is in the town of Jericho, and a crowd throngs around. A tax collector called Zacchaeus (who we are told is short!) climbs a tree.

If we take this as a guide today we could see the challenge

in our own life

to climb the tree and get a better look at Jesus.

In the last couple of weeks

we have been reminded to snap out of our apathy

and get back to the task.

As we think about the saints

we see men and women who inspire us

because they have seen Jesus and responded.

Sometimes we become a bit lacklustre

and take it all a bit for granted.

Far from being excited about Jesus

we just ignore him.

So we are being reminded today to climb the tree

and get a better look at Jesus.

What we note is that Jesus speaks to Zacchaeus

Directly to his condition.

What, I might ask,

is Jesus saying to me today?

Mary McKillop heard a call to serve the poor and teach the young,

Francis heard Jesus' call to rebuild the church

and to attend to the creation

to love the unlovely

and be there, first and foremost,

for the poor.

If Jesus was speaking to you today

what is he saying

From the readings

there is still a vision for the appointed time....... the righteous live by their faith.(Habbakuk 2:3-4

What enlivens us is "faith"

we might think, it's organisation, or wealth

but we are reminded that it is faith ...the assurance of God's promise ...

that is the dynamic that transforms the life of God's people.

What promise of God do you hear from Jesus

and how can you act on that.

Is it about forgiveness, healing, prayer, love and mercy

service, action and care

In your tree as you look at Jesus

what is he telling you to get down and do!

We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters (2 Thessalonians 1:3)

We are reminded that we can look at others (we have been calling them 'saints'...Mary MacKillop, Francis and many others) who take this call of Jesus on their life seriously and see how it is transforming

Zacchaeus at least alludes to the possibility that his encounter with Jesus will make a difference.

An I suppose that a gauntlet is thrown down

to be more than just 'fair weather' Christians

THIS WEEK

Where is God looking at us and speaking into our lives?

Where are we being invited to come down out of the tree and welcome Jesus?

What can I resolve to do today to put this encounter into practice?

Two different approaches

Readings for Sunday 24th october 2010 Proper 24 of Year C the 22nd Sunday after Pentecost. Joel 2:23-32 and Psalm 65 [or[Sirach 35:12-17 or Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22] ]and Psalm 84:1-7
2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14

One of the great delights of being an Anglican is the permission we have to be different!

This may seem strange to those who are not of this stock, but is probably fairly familiar to the modern person. We treasure the right to be different and to have our say.

The gospel story this week tells of two men who are worshipping and praying at the same time.

Though they are engaged in the same activity, the story highlights that they are coming at it from radically different standpoints.

One is well-schooled in the language and practice of prayer and stands boldly and, I suspect, thankfully, in the presence of God giving thanks for all that he has been able to receive at God's hand.

This is not usually the way that we view this man..who we generically and almost always disparagingly refer to as The Pharisee.....we are inclined to say that this man is pompous, and a poor representative of what true faith is supposed to be. And he is. Well we all are.

But he is, unfortunately, a typical product of the faith machine...he is rather like you and me

He has, no doubt, struggled for many years to make his faith work and to get it right. he then is able to stand up and say....I know something about what it means to be a person of faith and he slides into

'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'

He may indeed have understood something of what it means. But we all see that he has actually missed the essence. He has not understood about: humility, about not being judgmental, about recognising the need for dependence on God, even about being cautious in self-assessment, and even more cautious in ascribing motives to other people. He has not understood about learning gently from others

We get this because it is contrasted with the desperation of a man in real trouble. And we see in the heartfelt prayer something authentic, that is lacking in the prayer of the Pharisee. His fault is not so much that he is harsh, but that he is blind.

This is what is called in literature a cautionary tale designed to warn us about what might happen to us if we are not careful.
We can become well-pleased with our own efforts.
In our affluence and ease, We can be blind to the pain in others life caused by poverty and abuse.
In our comfortability we mistake an easy life for God's blessing and sink into apathy and mediocrity.

How do we heed this in our life today?
How do we heed this as church?

THIS WEEK

• Try to identify a situation where we are tempted to be judgmental, and ask how it also invites us to view things differently
• Where have we sunk into apathy and self righteousness, and miustaken this for faithfulness and blessing?
• Where is God inviting us to change and to be more compassionate?
  

Disturb us gracious God when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrived safely because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, gracious God, when with the abundance of things we possess we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new heaven to dim.

Disturb us, gracious God, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love. Attributed to Sir Francis Drake, 1577

YOU TUBE PRESENTATION

Here's praying at you!

Readings for this Sunday (Proper 29...21st Sunday after Pentecost) - 17th October 2010. Jeremiah 31:27-34 and Psalm 119:97-104 or[Genesis 32:22-31 and Psalm 121]; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5 ;Luke 18:1-8(-15)

This week many of Australia's Roman Catholics will be focussing on Rome

as Mother Mary MacKillop is 'canonised'

or added to the list of official saints.

One of the good things about being an Anglican has been that we have been freed from the bizarre process which seems almost impossible to endure.

Instead Anglicans have in, say, the last 50 years promoted local calendars

helping us to focus on individuals

who have led good Christian lives

without the need to be scrupulous about declaring them perfect

or, more controversially, without seeing the need to locate their sainthood

in a couple of impossible 'miracles'.

One RC sister commented on TV last week that she thought the process had gone a bit overboard

in focussing on miracles

surely a saintly life was more than just this.

What then do we imagine saints do?

Clearly a lot of popular focus and discussion

has gone into getting the saints to "answer" prayers.

Let's be clear that no church teaches that anyone other than God

answers prayer.

The idea that is being proposed

is that we invite the Saint to pray with us

to God for a particular cause.

So many people are asking Mary MacKillop just at this time

to pray to God for them.

This is a thoroughly Christian idea!

we say in the Apostles' Creed

I believe in the communion of saints (see another homily here)

To be blunt, the word 'saint'

is not an extraordinary word at all.

It is the word the New Testament uses

to refer to the members of the church

that is, all those who are baptised into Christ;

God's holy people (saint means a 'holy person')

It's you and me....so it is really close in meaning

to the Anglican idea of the local saint

rather than the almost supernatural figure .

Now saints, you and I, pray for each other

and for the world, and for the church.

It is our job, our duty, our core business!

Some of us are possibly quite good at this

I guess we notice some of these and they become larger than life!

When I want help I ask people to pray for me.

I am pleased when you do!

Some of us who are part of the communion of saints

have died, it doesn't mean that we have stopped living in Christ.

My mother, for example, and dear Alder Hall who we buried only last week

and certainly Mary Mackillop continue to live in Christ.

Our prayer is that their prayer joins ours!

Don't starve yourself of prayer support.

We join our prayers with the saints, and they with us.

In special times we are drawn to particular saints,

this is our human way

It is also the way of the Holy Spirit

encouraging us to pray and to be prayed for.

I don't care, just as long as we pray

and then pray

and then pray a little bit more.

Living out of thankfulness

Readings for the 20th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 23 Sunday 10th October. 2010

Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 and Psalm 66:1-12 [or 2 Kings 5:1-3, 7-15c and Psalm 111 ]

2 Timothy 2:8-15 & Luke 17:11-19

Leprosy has a sort of romantic attraction for many Christians

but in reality that romanticism is ill-placed.

It is as romantic as AIDS in the modern context

and as socially stigmatising as skin cancer

or any disease which has disfigurement associated with it.

The story (Luke 17:11-19) has not only some interesting reflections to make about seeking healing from God

...Do we for example live out of the thankfulness of answered prayer?

Or do we quickly forget that God desires healing for us all?

This story reflects that 9 out of 10 people

forget to give thanks to God.

and my estimation would be that that is about right!

But the story also tells us that God's healing is not confined by religion,

it isn't just confined

to who we think

God should be disposed towards.

God's concern is towards humanity and not just to Jews or Christians,

white or black.

It is not just to be nice to children

or those who say their prayers

God's concern is for the whole of humanity.

God's grace, the free gift of eternal life,

is without bounds

and is offered to all.

It is a reminder to us that we should be no less open.

That our compassion needs to be challenged beyond the bounds of niceness.

We are to be open to be compasssionate

beyond the bounds of our own social caste or religion.

The world is not like this.

9 out of 10 people get this wrong.

Prejudice

We witness prejudice in all manner of ways.

I sat with someone this week in hospital and listened while his wife told me

that the staff were fabulous

except for the Indians

who you just couldn't understand.

I found myself thinking of the many many Indian doctors and nurses

who have served us well in this country

and just shuddered.

This week

Can you reflect on where you make judgments

based on prejudice rather than compassion and mercy?

Invite the Holy Spirit to let you do better than this and to show you how?

God who is truth and love

grant to us your people

the wisdom and compassion

to act justly and with mercy

in the name of the guiltless Jesus

who died that all people might know the love of God.

Amen