Amazing Grace

As a priest you don't get to pick your parishioners
nor should you!
But you get gems
(almost everyone is a a gem)

I want to say about Grace that she was Amazing

Unfortunately Barack Obama
stole my theatrics by singing at a funeral
"Amazing Grace how sweet the sound"

He had better press coverage!
None of us who knew her
would doubt that she was amazing
I chose the classic passage from John

         God so loved the world, that he gave his only son

Because it totally characterises Grace's faith.
God is not out to get us.,
God seeks to bring us together.

In the last few weeks we have talked about a number of difficult issues
Issues where human relationships have torn us apart.
Always we have spoken
of God's desire that people should  be
brought together

We don't always get this
One day as I left (as I usually do )
with what ever little prayer I could offer
I prayed for 'reconciliation within the family'
at funeral times this is often to the fore.

I was moved that Grace
in some weakness and physical discomfort
was able to to say something like
"yes Lord"
It was her way
and her desire

Yes Lord
we believe
that you are the Christ
and can and will bring us together

I thank God
that I have known a faithful woman
who was Amazing
so trusting
and who, along with God's  Holy Spirit
invites us to trust
in the  amazing grace
reconciliation, love and forgiveness

Come on down!

Sunday 10th April 2011 (formerly known as Passion Sunday) you could read from the selection of readings which includes Ezekiel 37:1-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:6-11;John 11:1-45 - The Fifth Sunday of Lent

Perhaps one of the hardest stories for modern Christians to come to grips with

because this story of the resurrection of Lazarus confronts us with a dead person

who is brought back to life

But when I think about it

I have had a number of resurrection experiences where a dead person has been revived.

We live, for example, in an era where the miracle of modern medicine

means life for any number of people

who a generation ago would have died prematurely.

I don't want to belittle what Jesus did for Lazarus;

that we don't fully understand it

is obvious.

Most of us would find that as our lives go on

our encounter with

the 'death event'

is a curious and mixed-bag

and is not easily described

either physically, spiritually or emotionally.

If we try to get straight just what happened

and to focus solely on the mechanics of the event

This is, I suspect, rather to miss the point of this narrative

that we read today.

Change of focus

The commentators on John's Gospel

often make the point

that this chapter 11 marks a point of transition

in the Gospel

it moves away from the miraculous signs

to the engagement with the resurrection

...what one writer says is 'the end of the Book of Signs

and the beginning of the Book of Glory'...

the two are connected of course

But we are reminded that the greatest sign of Christ's glory

is his death and resurrection.

Death is at least one of, and probably, the most important things

that happen to us

This almost seems trite to say.

Yet we can be in danger of not getting it right

and missing what is important.

We do this because we are fearful, sad, angry, guilty....and any other range of things

The Christian mystery is that

Death is the gate to eternal life.

This doesn't just happen

even for Martha and Mary

it has to be carefully teased out.

And the key insight that this passage reveals

is that death is transformed

when Jesus is brought to bear.

If we do nothing else

when confronted

with death

we need to be with Jesus.

I do not pretend this is easy.

It does not make the pain go away.

This is not what is on offer.

What is on offer is the transfromation of death

into resurrection and life.

We all have sneaking glimmers of what this might be like.

Not always someone standing outside a tomb

and shouting "Come Out!"

but the transformation is as profound.

We are to come to faith in Jesus

and hear Jesus says what he says to Martha

11:25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.

Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live"

This is not, I suggest, a formula

but rather an experience

How does Jesus speak LIFE

into your experience of DEATH?

If we do not listen

if we do not ask

if we do not allow Jesus to breathe life into the dry bones

then we are missing out

on the key transformation.

Death is, I suggest,

the most wonderful experience of life.

In it we encounter the fulness of Jesus.

It is, as we enter into it,

not without pain.

But also with the possibility of great hope.

Jesus stands at the door of our life

and shouts "Come Out"

We do not, and will not

fully understand what is going on.

There is not the promise of no pain

or no sadness

rather that the gate of death will become

the way to a new way of living.

This only happens

when we allow Jesus to transform it.

in the related story in Ezekiel 37 that we read today

the prophet speaks God's word

over a valley of dead bones

(It is almost a bizarre experience...but we are dealing in highly imaginal language here)

The idea is the same

God transforms what is dead

to a new way of living.

This week

Where am I beseiged by death? My own, someone else's or...?

Can I give a little time to allow Jesus to speak to this...what does he say?

Can I believe this.....pray for belief (Lord I believe...but help my unbelief?)

Can we prophesy over the death that surrounds us on every side..."I am the Resurrection and the Life says the Lord"

In the valley of darkness
surrounded by bones
speak the words I need to hear
I am the resurrection and the life.
Lord I want to believe
let my unbelief crumble in the face of your Word

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

Living life

The funeral of John Bailey, 24/1/2011: John 14:1-6, Romans 8:35-39, Psalm 20

John seems to have faced death

in much the same way as he faced life

with a sense of resignation

not sadness, or disappointment

but a commitment to live as best he could

Amidst all this he seems to have had a straightforward faith

Which is echoed in the readings:

“Nothing is able to separate us from the love of God”

and that in following Jesus as best we can we will know the Way, the Truth and indeed the Life

This is a mystery that challenges us all

and indeed invites us to enter in to what God is offering.

John knew, I think, that this invitation

to live life involved

Forgiveness of others and being prepared to admit the need of forgiveness for himself.

Not to seek reward for good behaviour

but to continue to live…as best you can

This seemed to come out of a confidence

in God

and a commitment. to take that relationship seriously.

As each of us stands before John’s dead body today

We are challenged to make the same journey

To recognise that nothing separates us from God and that Jesus offers to us the Way to true life.

To seek forgiveness for ourselves

and to extend that to others

And to trust ourselves to Go, in life as in death.

Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord

And grace upon grace....

The Funeral of Molly Carvosso

All Hallows’ Blackwood, 31^st December 2010

1Peter 1:3-6; John 6:35-40

A lot of careless words are spoken at funerals

Often, and almost always, this is done with the best of intentions

We could be pardoned for thinking

that our beloved Molly

will soon rival Mary MacKillop as Australia’s chief saint!

I certainly have something in me that thinks of Molly like this today!

I suspect she would be the first to think this was hilarious

There is a serious side to this

It is not authentically Christian

to try and whitewash a person

at their funeral

so that we can believe

with confidence

that they are going to be with Jesus

in heaven

We must resist at all costs

the temptation to paint Molly in such a light

that God should consider himself lucky

that such a high quality candidate

is deigning to enter heaven.

Yet we often talk like this.

Molly, as I say, would find this hilarious!

With her wry smile and impish look

she would say to me when I would be pulling her leg

“Ahh go on with you, don’t be so silly”

Molly knew, as we should be glad to know.

If we have to be perfect to get into heaven

then none of us ever gets there.

We hear Peter tell us today that it’s not what we have done, but what we believe

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

It is as the hungry we come to Christ,

and find that he feeds us with the bread of life.

That as we believe in him

so we may have eternal life.

Earlier in John’s Gospel

(which we recall at this Christmas time)

We hear God saves us not because we deserve it

but because God wants it

not because we are so good that we earn merit

but by God’s grace.

Grace is the word of Christmas

it means FREE GIFT

all these gifts that we get at Christmas

are not because it is jesus’s birthday

but to celebrate that our God is the god who gives.

And John says it’s not just “grace”

It’s “grace upon grace”

Today, Molly would laugh

at being good enough to get into heaven.

But she also knew

that God loves her

because God wants to love her.

She wants each one of us to know that today.

God wants to love you.

It’s grace…and not just grace…but grace upon grace upon grace.

Not just Molly, but each one of us. Today is a good day to turn and receive that free gift

Raising the dead

A complex of stories is given as readings for this week The Second Sunday after Pentecost June 6th 2010

• 1 Kings 17:8-16, (17-24) and Psalm 146 •
• 1 Kings 17:17-24 and Psalm 30 •
• Galatians 1:11-24 •
• Luke 7:11-17

Luke 7:11-17

7:11 Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him.

7:12 As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother's only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town.

7:13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, "Do not weep."

7:14 Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, rise!"

7:15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

7:16 Fear seized all of them; and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen among us!" and "God has looked favorably on his people!"

7:17 This word about him spread throughout Judea and all the surrounding country.

Any story in which a dead person comes back to life is going to present the modern Christian with some difficulties

Such stories do not sit easily with us.

Though I have had at least one occasion in which a dead person was indeed found to be alive some hours after they had been declared to be dead.

That experience (and a whole range of other experiences) lead me to believe that we often try to be more definite about death

than death actually allows us to be.

In recent weeks, for example, my aunt who was "given 24 hours to live"

rallied and was quite lucid for a few days.

It is not therefore terribly surprising to find in ancient times that there was one occasion, at least, where a person who had "died" was found to be alive.

We do not have to "explain this story away", my point is that death is not an easily definable phenomenon

and the point of this story is that things are different when Jesus is there with us

This is the steadfast experience of those who die

that the presence of the Risen Jesus makes a difference to the way we encounter death.

For a woman with an only son,

the consoling power of the Spirit of Jesus

can be not only comforting

but also transforming and healing.

Your experience of death

What is is your most recent experience of death?

Where is God in this, and what might God be saying and doing in your life?

Pray for comfort and encouragement for those who grieve, and for healing and wholeness for ourselves as we look for meaning in the face of death.

Goodness...it's Friday

The Crucifixion of Jesus

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says,
‘They divided my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.’
And that is what the soldiers did.

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.

After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

This story is so powerful, and yet ordinary.

Although we make a big thing about it. People die every day.

I am struck as I write about it that this is the sort of thing that I say about the Christmas story. Waving my hand in the general direction of the Flinders Medical Centre, we forget that young girls give birth all the time.
People also die every day.
Most do not die in the sort of excruciating way that Jesus died. Some do, as victims of torture. But most go unnoticed.
Exccpt by a few family and others who hope against hope that things won't turn out so bad.
Often even those who do not die violently
Do not go easily
A few do
But most of us don't want to do that.

We note some things then that this death tells us about all deaths
Our own included.

death is a barren and difficult place.. even the sound Golgotha
tells us that it is not easy to be at this point
We need to be sensitive to that for ourselves and others.
We are misunderstood, even at death's point
A sign is put over his head Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews
He neither assent to this, nor agrees with it.
We are misunderstood even at the point of death
this often happens when we talk to each other over a cup of coffee
about our father or sister, and we hear stories from sources other than ourselves
that tell us that different people have differing experiences of the dead one.
Our knowledge of each other is partial.
We should be slow to judge and generous to forgive

Life goes on, Christ robe has to be disposed of
this needs to be done in the right way
we need to be careful to do it properly.
We are so often hurried, and uncaring
and need to be carefull(sic)...Full of Care
for ourselves and for each other.

There are few people who are there at the end
who really know
we need to be careful of each other
our sadnesses, our sense of powerlessness
and to recognise that it is part of our humanity
to be there for the dying
and to to be there for each other.

As we watch our bodily urges get stripped away
we are reminded that they need to be attended to.
Praise God for the modern Hospice Movement
which encourages us to attend properly to the comfort and needs of the dying

Finally there is a real sense
that we die when we are ready.
Jesus was not so much killed
as he allowed himself to die when he was ready.

There is a sense about the freedom which God gives us
which is never taken away.

death is an invitation to enter into life.
With all its difficulty.
Trying to name things correctly,
to be honest and bold.
And in the end to decide to submit
to what will be
our last act.

The Spirit of Jesus

During Lent we are thinking about the Apostle’s Creed
Traditionally Lent has been a time to prepare for baptism and the renewal of baptismal vows. The Apostles’ Creed contains the basic statements of Christian faith that Christians have traditionally affirmed at their baptism
The Apostle's Creed has three sections and the last one reads

I believe in the Holy Spirit
The holy catholic church
the communion of saints
the resurrection of the body
and the life everlasting

It may seem a curious hodge-podge of materials. Almost as if all of the left-over doctrines are just thrown in to make sure that the ground is covered!



But of course that is not what is going on.
Indeed the whole of the third section follows on in Trinitarian form.

I believe in God the Father
I believe in God the Son
and now
I believe in God the Holy Spirit

this church, communion, the promise of resurrection and the mystery of life in God
all flow out of the fact that we are born again (as Jesus promised) of the Holy Spirit


This third section is telling us about what God is doing now

and what God is looking to do in the future.
God is creating a universal community
(this is what the expression catholic church should be taken to mean)
open & inclusive
God is drawing together a community of chosen people the communion of saints
this is not an exclusive community, but an inclusive community (catholic)
of people who are chosen to be
what God wants them to be
the sign of this community is the resurrection of the body & everlasting life

At funerals I remind people that the Christian view of God and death
is not reincarnation, or oblivion, or meaninglessness
It is not that we somehow become a part of a universal spirit, and are assumed into God or the universe
We believe that we continue to have meaningful, unique and distinct life.
And just as God has cared for us and loved us since our conception (and perhaps before)
so, that care will continue into eternity
unique, distinct, personal.
this is The Life in the Spirit
It is what God is doing in us now and in the promise of the future

THIS WEEK

Take a little time to ask God to show you more about what the Spirit is working in you
What is it that God is calling you to be and do?
Can we pray to put aside our own limited view of life and embrace the vision and promise that God has for us?