Transcending the myth

SUNDAY MARCH 6TH 2011 is the Last Sunday after the Epiphany this year and a selection of readings are :Exodus 24:12-18;Psalm 2orPsalm 99;II Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9

On this last Sunday before Lent

we are directed to the story of the Transfiguration (here)

St Peter in his wonderful exposition of this event (which we also read today)

reminds us that this is not 'a cleverly devised myth'

Now this bears thinking about because it has a lot of mythical qualities

...flashing lights, supernatural figures, voices booming from heaven, mystery clouds ..

and so on

What Peter says is that this is his experience of who Jesus is.

And this is a reflection that we might be invited to make today

as we come to the end of this Epiphany season

Who is Jesus for me?

This, on one level, is a straight forward question

on another it takes us into this realm of uncertainty and the supernatural.

At the very least, this story of the Transfiguration

helps us to realise that God transcends the natural world and the supernatural.

Indeed this is really the whole point of understanding who Jesus is...

The Word made flesh

The reality of God in human form.

So we might usefully cast our eyes around our day to day life

and ask where we encounter Jesus

where are we aware of the dynamic presence of God acting in our life

in the ordinariness of our life.

Who is Jesus for me? - Some reflections

• Take time to be aware of God's sustaining presence
• Where have I been aware of God with me today?
• What does God could cause me to do, be and think today?
• Is there an invitation to live my life in a way different from that which I often choose?
• Give thanks to God for insight and pray for grace to be faithful
• GLORY TO GOD: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; as in the beginning so now and for ever. AMEN

Both ends of the stick

• The readings for this Sunday, the 8th Sunday after the Epiphany, 27th February can include: Isaiah 49:8-16a, Psalm 131, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, Matthew 6:24-34

Today in the parish we are having two celebrations. At different ends of the spectrum of Christian experience.

We are interring the ashes of a beloved parishioner Molly who has died after a long and faithful Christian life

and we are baptising Maile.

These might seem, to some, to be at odds with each other

But because they both speak of the Christian call

one at the beginning of a Christian life

and one at the end

they reflect each other

So, at the heart of what we hear this morning

is not a warning but a truth

No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other

This, as I say, is not a threat

it is a truth.

If we are to give ourselves to Jesus

then it is all or nothing.

Molly knew this, more and more throughout her life

and also discovered that not only was this "work"

but also a joy

The greatest joy that we can know.

The promises of the gospel we hear this morning

is that if we enter into this mystery

then we also come to know

that this is not a slog

this is something that God enables in our life.

We open ourselves to the life of God

and God responds with faithfulness

and abundant life.

At the other end of the scale

the parents and godparents

are being asked to initiate this journey

in Maile's life

Their role is principally by their own example

to help her understand the truth of the gospel.

It is important to hear the particular emphasis of the gospel today

---as we try to share the gospel with each other

we are not being invited to to teach them how to be clever

or even prudent, or wise---

But rather to have faith in God

We sometimes get this wrong

we think at best that being a Christian is about common sense

when it is about trusting God.

We think it's about developing good habits, saving, planning, discipline

...and it's not that these things are not involved

It is rather that faith in God is our prime concern

So we all ask ourselves at such a time:

(and chiefly those who make the baptismal promises)

How do I help this person to have faith in God?

We have the example of one faithful person as well today, Molly.

As we watch (so often) life stripped away

or as we witness as we have this week

lives cut short

we actually are reminded that

when things are cut back, when they dwindle

when we are pushed for what is important

..it is not how rich we are, it is not how well we play sport

or how good we have been at work

BUT rather how have we opened ourself to the mystery of God's life.

This is not 'common sense'...it is the life of faith

not a contradiction but a deeper profounder approach to life.

Turning to Christ, repenting of sin, rejecting selfishness and renouncing evil

All of these are at the heart of what one life has been about

and what another life is to be about.

Jesus says what energises your life, what we are to strive for is this:

Strive first for the kingdom of God and a right relationship with God

and these other things will be given to you

The Memorial Garden at St John's Coromandel Valley

Oh be good, for goodness sake!

• Readings for Sunday 20th February, (The 7th Sunday after Epiphany) can include Leviticus 19:1-2, 9-18 •
• Psalm 119:33-40 •
• 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, 16-23 •
• Matthew 5:38-48

The focus this week shifts a little

although we are still emphasising that it is not just sufficient to

say the right thing

but also to do it

last week's emphasis

was more on not doing the wrong thing

But today we are exhorted to do the right thing

Both, of course, are necessary

Jesus uses extreme examples (hyperbole)

this grabs our attention

and indeed they contain some of his most memorable ideas

That is part of the purpose of hyperbole

-to grab our attention-

If anyone strikes you, then turn the other cheek!

If someone wants your jumper, give them your coat too!

To someone who make you do something you don't want, do more than they ask!

And so it goes on

This week therefore we are being invited to stretch ourselves in doing good.

You might immediately think of a situation where this applies, and so you have the opportunity to respond.

But if you need more convincing then maybe we need to go back to first principles (which is sort of what we have been doing over the last few weeks).

Jesus is inviting us not just to keep the rules, or not just to not break the rules

but to recognise that this discipleship is going to be about deciding at the very core of our being that we are going to live our life...not out of the book

but according to the principles.

This is probably harder, because it means we have to actually think about what we do. We have to do more than just accidently be Christian

It is about commitment.

So THIS WEEK..there may be some obvious place where we can go the extra mile, dig a little deeper, act more out of principle than out of duty

or we may have to grapple with this a little deeper. To talk with Jesus about what this will mean.

This is not about punishment, it is not about making life hard. It is about acting out of the heart, rather than the head.

About living the Gospel, rather than keeping the rules.

Find one thing to do, and do it.

Choose life

Readings for the 6th Sunday after the Epiphany can include

Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (Australian lectionary uses Deuteronomy 10) or Sirach 15:15-20 •

Psalm 119:1-8 •

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 •

Matthew 5:21-37

What are we to make of this idea

that even thinking about sin

might be as bad

as sin itself?

What Jesus seems to be getting at

in these little sayings:

Don’t just not be angry

Actually do something about it

Don’t just not commit adultery

deal with your inward thoughts

Recognise that you make some serious commitments

and that you need to stick to them

And even…don’t swear an oath

but let your word be of such quality

that it shouldn’t be necessary

to have legal compulsion to tell the truth.

This is the point at which, as the popular saying goes,

the rubber hits the road

or where we not only say the right thing

but we do the right thing.

Is this what people think of us?

Is this, indeed, what we think of ourselves?

or are we two-faced?

We often can rationalize this behaviour

(We don’t want to hurt people

we want to avoid trouble…so on)

But what we hear this morning

is rather consistent

with what we have been receiving

from this section of Jesus’s teaching that we call the The Sermon on the Mount

Your faith should be tasty…like salt

and it should shine out like a light.

Now we hear..

Don’t just say things

but actually ..do them!

And be aware of how you think!

Because your thoughts are probably a tell-tale of what’s really going on

Work for this week

What’s going on in your life?

In particular those secret places

where perhaps we are not up-front with others (or even ourselves)

The word of warning that we are getting here

is that even though we may be duplicitous

with others

and even with ourselves

that it doesn’t actually deceive God

and doesn’t often or actually do what we think.

Avoiding conflict doesn’t resolve it!

Putting on a masquerade

for the sake of public appearances

doesn’t actually make that come true.

Are we thus going to follow our Saviour in deed as well as word?

It is the image of jesus himself. He not only was a good person but his life was put on the line too!

I would even suggest that creating and sustaining the charade

is more damaging in fact than the problems it seeks to solve.

Avoiding conflict is probably more damaging than confronting it.

Suppressing our strong sexual feelings, would seem to be more damaging than actually dealing with them.

When we lose our integrity (our Yes/Yes)

We have lost something centrally and essentially human.

This week, let’s pay attention

to where God is calling us to

not only say but also to be and do our Christianity

This may be hard, probably will be

But we are called not to be wishy washy

But to be faithful…in word and in deed

Career defining moment

On Tuesday 8th February 1981, I was ordained a priest in God's Church in St Peter's Cathedral Adelaide. Thirty years have passed! A few thoughts and some reflections on John 15:16

As I was driving home the other night

one of those billboards caught my attention

it was advertising job-placement programs

it said "Have you had your career moment defining yet?"

I immediately thought..this is my theme for the 30th anniversary of my ordination..

And indeed I well remember that 45 degree day 30 years ago.

That ordination has affected my life profoundly

I have tried to be a good priest

sometimes I have done well

and sometimes I have failed miserably.

The world and the church are different places today

If we think about the change in marriage practice in this time

then we will see that I am a priest in a different way than I might have imagined in 1981

The awful scandals that have been uncovered in those 30 years

mean that I, indeed, do not assume any more that I am held in any sort of regard.

Throughout all this there have been times

when I have been asked by all sorts of people...spiritual directors, psychologists, and so on

how do I feel about being a priest

And I have been aware that I have been deeply shaken by all this

but my answer

when I have touched my inner depths

is that strangely

as all the prestige, even glamour, and influence

have been stripped away.

As all the old certainties have been stripped away,

prayer books change

congregations dwindle

as a great sense of shame and embarrassment

have also sat alongside pride and joy

at being an Anglican

...my answer has been

Strangely I feel more certain about my vocation

as all this has been stripped away.

I can only put this down to the fact that I have had to let go of absolutely everything and realise that being a priest is nothing to do with me

What ever I think...I know something of the truth of God's holy words

You did not choose me but I chose you (John 15:16)

It cannot be any other way.

This gives me no cause for complacency or arrogance

but if we can understand the truth

that it's not about us

then we might be relieved

Well any way I am.

So....was my ordination ...the career defining moment

Yes and No!

Yes because I have been privileged to be a priest. And I love this.

BUT if I hear God saying "You did not choose me"

then I want to say...God says this to each one of us at Baptism

that's the point when we are all affirmed as The Chosen Ones

In our Anglican tradition when a priest is ordained

She is surrounded by the Bishop and the other members of the priesthood (see the lovely picture above)

Priests represent the people to God...what a privilege...

and God to the people...what a greater privilege

They are here symbolising that God surrounds us

and we support each other.

We are God's chosen ones

each of us baptised into Christ.

Let this dynamic infuse you

as it seems to have infused me.

You did not do this

I did this.

And I uphold you.

Light and salt

Readings for February 6th, 2011 are those for The 5th Sunday after Epiphany:

Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12) •

Psalm 112:1-9 (10) •

1 Corinthians 2:1-12 (13-16) •

Matthew 5:13-20

When I go to visit my sister it is my job to make the coffee

(this is largely because I don't believe anyone can make coffee as well as I can!)

There was of course the unfortunate day when I mistook the salt for the sugar

and my coffee was undrinkable.

The whole point about salt is to give flavour

but to give the right sort of flavour

in the right sort of place.

And Jesus makes the same point about light;

you don't get batteries for your torch

or a new fixture for your kitchen

so that you can sit in the dark.

Taste & Light

The light that we give at baptism

is a light to bring us out of darkness

into God's marvellous light

- a light which exposes evil

- a light which shows us the way to go

- a light which help us show the way to God to others

I would suggest that this is not just a call to you and me as individuals

ut also to us as a community

So we might ask how does our parish, church, family (or wherever we identify our community)

- expose evil

- show the way to go

- help us to show the way to others

We could suggest:

that when we are confronting prejudice, when we are standing against dishonesty,

standing up for the rights of the friendless

then we are shining the light.

We should also see that we need to train ourselves in what it means to be a good Christian

Lent is coming up, and is a good time for us to get back to Christian basics

Brushing up on prayer, on spiritual discipline

practising what we preach with more verve.

AND we should always recognise that the purpose

is not just for our self edification

but so that others might be drawn to the light.

We want the light to be for others as well as for ourselves..

Not always good at that, it sometimes seem a bit hard

yet it should be our catchcry.

The Gospel for others.

Finally, to all this we add salt..

I think this suggests that all this should be tasty!

I sometimes worry that we are very British in our spiritual tastes

We like it bland with lashings of brown!

Where, we might ask, is the flavour of our community?

Can we give ourselves permission to be more adventurous?

In the words of the musical Godspell

But if that salt has lost it's flavor
It ain't got much in its favor

You can't have that fault and be the salt of the earth

.

So what can we do to spice up our faith.

Perhaps this is a challenging question

but Jesus gives it a priority which makes it important for us.

Should we be a community:

• that does hospitality well
• that prides ourself on caring for families
• that thinks music should have a high priority
• that looks to engage the community on controversial issues
• that looks for way to welcome those who the rest of the church finds difficult

These are just a few suggestions:

You gotta stay bright to be the light of the world

You gotta live right to be the light of the world

Let's give ourselves permission to be tasty and to be bright