Life together

Readings for Sunday 23, 7th September are: Exodus 12:1-14 (or Ezekiel 33:7-11)Psalm 149 (or Psalm 119:33-40 ) Romans 13:8-14 Matthew 18:15-20

What a lot of people don't get about Christianity

is that it is about living together

How do humans live with God, and how do they live with each other?

While there is no doubt that religion can seem to be remote and ritualistic, this dimension only makes sense when it connects to life

Nowhere is this truer than in the Eucharist.

 As we gather together to worship and share Bread and Wine we are recognising that good experience of God

Is as fundamental as the food and drink we share

That God is present to us in the ordinary stuff of life

So we expect that that the key stuff that we talk about

Should not only just sound good in theory it should be practical in application

Matthew’s advice about how to deal with disputes

Is sound and practical.

It emphasises discretion and forgiveness. 

It has about it mutuality and care

What else would we expect?

Apart form anything else it also says we should try.

A lot of reconciliation doesn’t happen because we can’t be bothered.

We would rather ignore conflict 

Than be reconciled.

Pride, embarrassment, arrogance, wilfulness

All stand in the way.

Christian principles suggest

That we should at least try

It won’t always (or ever) be easy

But we are called to try, to engage seriously

In the practical implementation of the gospel

This week

• Where do need prompting to be reconciled 
  
• What do I need to do? What precautions/supports are there that need to be applied?
  
• Are my strategies genuinely kind, patient, forgiving and loving?
  

IF I FORGET LORD

THAT I AM NO CALLED TO BE SELF-RIGHTEOUS

THEN GENTLY PROMPT ME.

ALWAYS ENCOURAGE ME TO BE HUMBLE AND KIND

FORGIVING AND LOVING

Counting the cost

Readings for the 31st August the 22nd Sunday of the Year can include: Exodus 3:1-15 [or Jeremiah 15:15-21] Psalm:Psalm 105:1-6, 23-26, 45c [or Psalm 26:1-8 ]; Romans 12:9-21 & Matthew 16:21-28

For all Peter's realisations that Jesus is pretty important in the scheme of things ( as we read last week) and he is rewarded with some pretty dramatic words....I will build my church on you
Words which the Church has been keen to exploit, they are not so keen to observe that moments later Jesus is berating this Prince of the Apostles and saying
"Get behind me Satan!"

And that he who was once a foundation is now a "stumbling block"
Equally strong words in the other direction.
I think we see here what is an observable phenomenon for spiritual people.
There are times when it is all pretty clear, and we can make it hang together
And then it evaporates and , once again, we lose the plot.



Equally well we have the seminal story of the burning bush.

This too is the experience of people.
God grabs our attention
and if we are attentive
we hear and receive
then we can hear what God might be saying

[I am not too worried about
how a bush might burn
or what it might mean
this is not a story about supernatural phenomena,
this is a story about how God catches out attention
how we hear God
and what we might then do]
As Christians who believe in an ever-present, and transcendent God
experienced in and through the world
we experiece "burning bushes" all the time.
Do we just take any notice?
Moses, we note, had to turn away from what he was doing
and go and take a look.
Our problem is that we may often see
but then just go on with what we are doing.
So we don't see or hear
God saying to us
I AM WHO I AM.
Instead we see the sheep going crazy.
It is when we turn aside
take off our shoes
because we realise the encounter is holy and powerful
listen
and then act out of that expereince that it all makes a difference.

This is what happened to Peter
when he recognised
what God might be doing in Jesus(here)
this changed his life fundamentally.
As did Moses.
Because he now had the choice to live out of something new.

This is how it works for us.
As we ask ourselves
where is God's grace active and alive for us today
there is also the invitation
to live rather differently.
Out of knowledge of the fact
that God is who God is
---we use the shorthand term Yahweh, Jehovah or LORD

The Question then is...what do we do with this?
The invitation
is to live out of the new encounter
the temptation is to go back to doing what we did before.

As I ask myself, where have I asked experienced God's grace today
the next step is:
And what difference does that make ?
Will I choose to live differently
because I have encountered God.
We don't always get this right.
This is Peter who was a "foundation"
becoming a "stumbling block"
Having been granted the vision of the future
do we choose to go back tot he past.

Too often yes!

This week

• Where have I experienced the presence of God at this time?
• What is God asking me to be and do? What does it reveal to me about the nature of God? What is the invitation to live differently?
• What changes do I make to the way I live because I have encountered God on holy ground?
• Will I live differently?

O God, you invite me to turn aside

and be with you.

Why on earth do you want to speak with me?

What do you want of me?

Give me not only this grace,

but also the courage to live out of your life.

In Jesus name. AMEN

Chrysostom on Repentance

St John Chrysostom offers some detailed reflection on the road to repentance

"So now I have shown you the five paths of repentance. First, condemnation
of sins. Second, forgiving the sins of those near us. Third, prayer. Fourth,
almsgiving. Fifth, humility"

The key to prayer

A reflection for this Sunday 24th August

Matthew 16:19

Jesus said, “I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

For quiet prayer

Jesus was speaking to Peter when he said these words. What if he was sitting with you today…what if Jesus was saying these words to you…

“I will give you, (your name), the keys to the kingdom of heaven.”
“Whatever you, (your name), bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.”
“And whatever you, (your name), loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

The key to the problem

This Sunday 24th August we use the readings for the 21st Sunday which can be taken from Exodus 1:8-2:10 (or Isaiah 51:1-6); Psalm 124 (or Psalm 138); Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20 [it is also St Bartholomew's Day so there are alternative readingn for that day too]

One of the points I made last week was that we always bring a lot of baggage to the Scriptures when we seek to interpret their meaning
One of the biggest pieces of baggage is our understanding of 'authority'.
If, after all, Scripture is divinely inspired [however we interpret that]
then what it has to say about authority is important.
The Gospel passage we read this week is one of those portrions
where the issue of authority is very much to the fore:
We read

16:18 I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

The Roman Catholic Church has taken this passage to speak about the particular authority that was given to St Peter
and then by extension to Peter's successors as Bishop of Rome
This Papal claim may be interesting but, in the end, to me it is difficult to sustain.
More than this, it obscures the insight that is being offered here to all Christians.
It is part of th baggage!
The dynamic that is going on here
is that in relationship with Jesus
we come to an understanding of who we are.
So Peter, though he might be tempted to think otherwise,
comes to understand that he can and will be
a foundation that God can use to build
[By way of a side issue in John 1 :43-52 we see another man, Bartholomew,
(who is called here Nathanael)
who has a simple encounter of recognition with Jesus
and who is blown away by the fact that he seems to be known at depth]

Much of what is said about Peter in this encounter
would wait to be realised
It is often only in looking back that we see God's hand evident.
As we reflect on the Moses story, for example,
which we begin this morning also
we are able to frame a fairly hair-raising story of murder and cruelty
and see how God was able to take that and make something bold out of it.
This is not moralising or fable telling
with a view to getting an object lesson
but rather exploring a foundational principle of the faith-journey
that God takes the stuff of our life
and gives it meaning.
For Peter and Nathanael
(and indeed for us)
it is encounter with Jesus
which will give meaning to our lives.

This is what we are trying to 'explain' about Christianity
It is what happens to people when they are 'saved'
it is the 'grace' which God gives us
bringing meaning and purpose.

Our prayers, thoughts and reflections
might be well spent
listening to what Jesus is speaking into our lives

This is not an exercise in fantasy.
It is about getting in touch with the reality
of what God is saying to me today.

This week

• Sit quietly and ask for the guidance of the Holy Spirit
• Lord show show me who and what you want me to be this week
• Use one of the following scripture passages
• Lord speak to me today

Romans 13:12
12the night is far gone, the day is near. Let
us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light;

1 Cor 4:13
13when slandered, we speak kindly. We have become
like the rubbish of the world, the dregs of all things, to this very day.

Matthew 14:23
23And after Jesus had dismissed the
crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was
there alone,

Judges 13:13
13The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, ‘Let
the woman give heed to all that I said to her.

Hosea 6:6
6For I desire steadfast love and not
sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than
burnt-offerings.

• What might God be saying to me ?
• What does this invite me to do tomorrow and in the week to come?

feeding dogs

Readings for the 20th Sunday of the Year, Sunday August 17th 2008 Genesis 45:1-15 (or Isaiah 56:1, 6-8;) Psalm 133 (or Psalm 67) ; Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28

Does Jesus struggle with prejudice?
I grew up in a community which had a lot of prejudices near the surface.
By and large we had no contact with people of different racial background
(There weren't any )
English people were always disrespectful fo the Irish,
and as an Anglican we held a firm suspicion of Roman Catholics.
These prejudices, and others, can be and, most likely, are part of any person's upbringing

When we encounter Jesus in the Scripture we naturally bring a lot of baggage to that encounter!
I would maintain, for example, that we almost always want to show him in a good light
This is to be expected
he is the hero after all.
He is, we would say the Saviour, the Messiah, the Son of God.
So it is difficult to paint him in other than bold, heroic strokes.

We do then have to deal with the fact that in the Gospel passage
for today (Matthew 15: (10-20), 21-28 ),
Jesus would at least appear to be rude.
Some how we don't like that.
Particularly those of us who are of British stock
seem to regard impoliteness
as the unforgiveable sin!
A lot of commentary spends a lot of time
trying to excuse the fact that Jesus seems to speak disrespectfully
(even the fact that I say seems to speak disrespectfully) shows that I am guilty of this too!
But Jesus says to this woman when she asks him to heal her daughter
that the food of the children should not be thrown to the dogs

But she came and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, help me."
He answered, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs."
She said, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters'
table."

It is difficult to not hear that he is calling this woman and her daughter dogs!
If I made this sort of comment in a pastoral encounter , I feel sure a complaint would be (rightly) upheld
Yet we say things like...Jesus wasn't really being rude, he was testing her
or that this is playful banter
(One pastoral rule I know is that you don't engage in such banter with people who are stressed out by sickness)
Or the other day we were being told that one commentator says this is a clever play on words,
because the word dog is linked to the word for worship.
I personally think that is a stretch.
What we must not miss is that Jesus has to engage with his humanity just as we have to.
If all we ever say about Jesus is that every human action he commits
is done perefctly and without struggle
then we are rather missing the point
that struggling with prejudice, carelessness, language
is actually part of what it means to be human.

Here we see Jesus struggling with the prejudice that he had grown up with since his childhood
Canaanites were for Jews pagans, Gentiles and beyond the pale,
Jesus would have known they were referred to by everyone in Nazareth as 'dogs'.
Here we see at least that this struggle is there for Jesus
as it is for us.
Part of what it means to be human
is that we have to engage with both the dark and light side of our character.
To do any less with Jesus
is to not take his humanity seriously.

This story also shows us that, as distasteful as our prejudices may be,
we do not have to stay locked in them.
Indeed, must not.

Can we see here an invitation to transcend our own narrowness and bigotry

Walking on water

The readings for Sunday August 10, 19th Sunday of the Year: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28 or 1 Kings 19:9-18 ; Psalm 105, 1-6, 16-22, 45b or Psalm 85:8-13 Romans 10:5-15 ; Matthew 14:22-33

The story of Jesus walking on the water is not without its problems! Do we believe in a God who contravenes the laws of nature, and who walks on water?

Do we believe that if we trust that same God, then we, like Peter, will do the same thing?

Like many of these stories, my response is that I actually don't know the answer to these difficult questions.

I do know that we should be careful not to trivialise these stories

by either dismissing them out of hand

or (strangely) by just accepting them as bland fact.

There is more to it than all that

Here are some thoughts I put together on this passage for a festival of
MU during the wqeek

On the occasion of the 110th Anniversary of the founding of MU in the parish of Coromandel Valleyreflecting on Matthew 14:22-

Shall we sink or swim?

The MU webpage tells the story of Mary Sumner

“In the village of Old Alresford in the south of England a young Vicar's wife,
Mary Sumner, looked at her first born child. Amazed at the enormous
responsibility of nurturing a human life, and conscious of her own inadequacies,
she dreamed of a union of mothers coming together regularly for encouragement, support and education.”

I had a similar experience the night our first daughter was born.
Not of forming a Fathers’ Union! But of the amazing responsibility that was now transforming my life.
There was for me as there was for Mrs Sumner
an invitation to step out of the boat
and to live life in a new way.
At times I have sunk! No doubt Mary did too. No doubt you have
At other times, MU has walked proudly alongside Jesus
knowing that there is for this task a comfort and responsibility
which comes from putting our faith in God.

I am not terribly happy about the words of the hymn we have just sung, which I didn’t read carefully enough before I agreed to its inclusion.
Because it speaks too much of a sorrow and sadness about being a mother and a wife.
As though the lot of MU members is to put up with drudgery and sadness, which is the inevitable lot for us all.
This seems to me the language of sink or swim. Not the language of faith

But the language of faith is that of neither sinking or swimming,

but walking on the water.

It is the adventure of faith.
Quite a different experience altogether.
MU is successful not by putting up with the pain of family life
but in so far as it seeks to transform family life into a life of faith

This is more than just putting up with a bad lot! I suspect Mary would ask for more.
Could I then just add one walking verse?

Transform our lives O Lord, that we might love
Fulfilled by faith, by challenge, ventures new;
as here on earth we join with those above
and live a gospel that we know is true
That loving you for us will ever be
A bold adventure walking on the sea

Feed me and I will be fed

Readings for Sunday August 3rd, 18th Sunday of the year (Proper 13) inlcude Genesis 32:22-31; Psalm 17:1-7, 15 ; Romans 9:1-5; Matthew 14:13-21

Most Australians do not even know the possibility of starvation
We feel confident that someone will come to our aid, even if we have no food, no money, or no means to address these sort of problems.
There are, of course, people elsewhere in the world who do face this sort of awful issue, and who will die because of lack of food.
So we (the non starving) need to try and hear the story of the feeding of the 5000 with something of the urgency for our lives, that food is for the starving.

All people hunger, but not necessarily for food.
Some need self-assurance,
others need healing
all need love
If we take this story and listen to it in this way

then we can hear some simple principles.
Sit down and take time to address the situation
The first step is to actually open yourself to the possibility of God’s aid
Where are the ‘five loaves and the fish”
We think we have nothing. but we almost always have the beginnings
Where does God show us we can begin
Allow ourselves to trust God and receive what God can do with the small beginning
Our consumerist world says we want everything and we want it NOW!
Can we trust God to give us all that we want, and more
from (what we perceive) is the little that we have?
But which in reality is an abundance

This week
Where is God inviting me to feed on his abundant spiritual food? Where do I feel spiritual hunger?
What do I bring to the table? Pray for grace to give God the opportunity to feed me with what I already possess, and to open myself to the possibility of life.

Lord, feed me with everything I need
Give me grace to trust your generous hand

July 27th

Sunday July 27, 17th Sunday of the Year, Gen. 29:15-28. Ps. 128 or 105:1-11,45a-b. Rom. 8:26-39. Matt. 13:31-33,44-52.

This week’s opening gambit is good.
We don’t need the faith to do it all.
What we need is faith that God is faithful.
Whether it be that the mega-plans for our life (job, work,marriage) need to be sorted out
Then our faith tells us to pay attention to the Spirit of God and try to respect that God may have a bigger picture than we do.
Or in the midst of trouble...where do we imagine God might be.
In words that should always be on our hearts Paul says
“If God is for us, who is against us”
This promise that God is always for us, is pretty momentous.
But will we take the time to ask God what God thinks is for our good.
Amidst all this the Gospel reminds us that what we need is not complete, systematic, cautious faith
But rather the mustard seed
The tiny, almost invisible kernel,
That suggests that even though
We may be unsure about the future
We can trust that God does have us in his care.
At times, probably at most times,
This is fairly fragile
It is small, but the tiniest kernel
The mustard seed
Is enough for God.
Though we might not be able to have strong or perfect faith
That is not what we are called to have
We are simply called to have the mustard seed

This week
Where do I recognise in my own life that I at least have small
faith, that in some small way I trust God? Pray that my small beginning may be
open to growth.
Do I have something that concerns me this week? How might God
be trying to grow my faith? Am I brave enough to give it a go?
Lord, I have
a little faith.
Give me grace to trust you more

July 20th

Readings for Sunday Jul 20, 16th Sunday of the Year, Gen. 28:10-19a. Ps. 139:1-12,23-24. Rom. 8:12-25. Matt. 13:24-30,36-43.

In the way of things it was a great
privilege to be able to share Christian worship with other Anglicans at St Andrew's Singapore a few days ago.
I was reminded how precious a thing a Communion is.
Being an Anglican is often taken for granted,
(Pray that our Bishops meeting at Lambeth may deal tenderly with it)
when the 75 year old sidesman found out I was a priest
he enthusiastically encouraged me to take Communion with us.
I did...and encountered the presence of the risen Jesus.
In closing, the packed cathedral sang that curious song (sung by the King here) How great thou art!
I collected pamphlets about 8 weeks of thematic common teaching on Prayer
And felt encouraged.
As we rejoice during this season in the common call to faith.
Pray that we may keep our eyes fixed on the greatness of our God.

Then sings my soul, my saviour God to thee
O Lord my God how great thou art

July 13th

Readings for Sunday Jul 13, 15th Sunday of the Year, Gen. 25:19-34. Ps. 119:105-112. Rom. 8:1-11. Matt. 13:1-9,18-23.
The focus chapter of the letter to the Romans is chapter 8, which we begin reading today
I suppose it is possible to read it in a very negative light
but essentially it speaks of the incredible force of the reconciling power of the Spirit of God
moving in our lives. St Paul writes:

Rom. 8:1-11.

Life in the Spirit

8There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit spirit');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* of life in Christ Jesus has set youyou is singular number; other ancient authorities read me or us');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* free from the law of sin and of death. ... those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit spirit');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* set their minds on the things of the Spirit. spirit');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit spirit');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* is life and peace. ^{234 5678}

9 But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, spirit');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* since the Spirit of God dwells in you. ...if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit spirit');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christthe Christ or Christ Jesus or Jesus Christ');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also throughon account of');" onmouseout="return nd();">^* his Spirit that dwells in you.

¹⁰¹¹

This is dynamic stuff.
The idea is reinforced in the Gospel where we read the familiar parable of the sower.
The idea in that parable is that
where God's will is allowed to take root and flourish
then there is potential for God
to bring about amazing fruitfulness.
What Paul says in theological-legal language in Romans 8
Jesus affirms in imaginal language
where the homely image of seed bearing fruit readily takes our fancy.
.
If God's Spirit can give life where there is death
it will also bring forth liufe to our human mortality.

This weeks thoughts and reflection
Where is Christ inviting real growth in my life?
Where are seeds being sown to allow new growth?
Where can I put aside the dying and deathly side and embrace the realities of the God who wants me to grow, to live, to bear fruit.

A good wife

Readings for this SundayJuly 06, 14th Sunday of the Year, Gen. 24:34-38,42-49,58-67.
Ps. 45:10-17 or Song 2:8-13. Rom. 7:15-25a. Matt. 11:16-19,25-30.

I went last week to see the film "Mongol" which is about the emergence of Genghis Khan
the great conquerting ruler of the Mongolians
It is a wonderful, but bloodthirsty film,
the film is held together by the story of the marriage relationship
between Temudgin (who became known as Genghis Khan) and the girl Borte who he chooses as his wife (when he is 12!!)
It is a literary device that we encounter in these reading as we read the beginnings of the story of how Isaac and Rebecca, the second of the line of patriarchs and matriarchs,
meet and begin phase two.
They are (like the Mongolian stories) legendary in scope.
You are left wondering just how it could all come together
in such an ordered and fruitful way.
We see in the narratives, the 'hand of God'
and it is named as such.
It is of course a reflection written after the fact
and we often observe that 20-20 hindsight is a wonderful;
What we do see in hindsight
is that God's care, comfort and guidance
are available when we open ourselves to them.

There is perhaps the hope that
what we come to see clearly looking back
we also begin to appreciate in the present moment
This is about what we might learn and understand
as we mature spiritually
and how we might then live our lives confident
that God supports and sustains us.
Equally well Romans reminds us of the nature of the struggle with sin
that it is serious, hard and needs attention

when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand

Paul says, and today's Gospel reminds us that another spiritual reality is that God is there to be with us when the going gets tough.

‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’

These insights are all reflections on how God deals with us.
As we look back we see with 20-20 hindsight
the truth of God's promises.
Our day to day vision is not always that good,
partly because we don't take time to look.

Each day we are invited to understand more of what God promises us.
And to live out of that promise.

This week
As you look back where have you been aware of God's plan for your lief?
What is God doing for you?
How is the struggle with sin going? Are there particular things you need to address?
Where do you seek God's comfort and support? Are you also being invited to be part of that support for other people?

God of our future, God of our past
give us the eyes of faith to see
that you are dynamic and active in our life
give us wills that trust your promise
and comfort us when we find things difficult.

God looks out for the faithful

Genesis 22:1-14 Psalm 13 (Jeremiah 28:5-9; Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18) Romans 6:12-23 Matthew 10:40-42 Propers for the Thirteenth Sunday of the Year which may be celebrated on 29th June 2008
Can God do the impossible?
Even more, does God delight in making things more difficult than they already are
The story of Genesis 22 is a key narrative in the story of God's relationship with humanity.
Will we trust God even when it seems that there is nothing to suggest that God can be trusted?

Abraham has only one son, and has been promised that he will be the father of a great nation
He then comes to the belief that God wants him to sacrifice his only son
What is going on here?
This story is so dramatic that we can be easily distracted by its force.
It is about the requirement for God's people to have faith in God and God alone.
Abraham has done that, and he is not now at liberty to have faith in himself, or his son Isaac.
Having put faith in God, we are not then at liberty to put our faith in the means that God has given us
to fulfill the promise.
This may seem a subtlety,
but it is also a truth.

For example, God uses our family
our marriage, our children,
our church.
Education, work and country
to provide for us.
But we are not allowed then to put our faith in them.
If we don't understand this


....more coming

The Feast of St Peter

These are some the readings that can be taken for 29th June, St Peter's Day, Ezekiel 34:11-16;Psalm 87; 2 Timothy 4:1-8;John 21:15-19 & also Acts 12:6-11 is particularly suitable

June 29th is a particularly special day for the Diocese of Adelaide
as the Adelaide Metropolitan Cathedral Church is dedicated to St Peter.
Our first Bishop, Augustus Short, no doubt was keen to keep before the pioneering church
one saint, Peter, who struggled vigorously
to faithfully follow Jesus.
The Prayer for today talks aboth about Peter and Paul and says:

Almighty God, whose blessed apostles Peter and Paul glorified you by their martyrdom:
Grant that your Church, instructed by their teaching and example, and knit together in unity by your Spirit,
may ever stand firm upon the one foundation, which is Jesus Christ our Lord;
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

In the way of heroics the phrase
"glorified you by their martyrdom"
just trips off the tongue, doesn't it?
Indeed, the early church seemed to hold martyrdom
in particularly high regard.
It is probably not too much to say
that many early Christians
were some what like some present day Moslems
who regard dying for their faith
as the ultimate act of faithfulness.
(Of course there is a lot of difference
between dying for your faith
and deliberately getting yourself killed
or blowing yourself up...but that's another story)

BUT 'martyrdom' does not mean 'dying'
even though it may have that popular overtone.
To be a martyr is to be a witness.
The early Christians witnessed in many ways
and the most dramatic was dying for the faith.
But it was not the only way.

The readings today perhaps lead us beyond
the death-martyrdom nexus.
Ezekiel is keen to promote the idea that
there is challenge involved in being faithful
it is not just about fattening the sheep!
Or creating an easy life.
Paul, writing to Timothy, also reminds us
that one key feature of his ministry
has been that he has not always got on well with people!
But he has tried to do his best.
At an ordination a couple of weeks ago the preacher reminded the people gathered
that clergy, and indeed all Christians, are not likely to be perfect!
But we are to try! God wants us to do our best

Both Peter and Paul intrigue us
as we look at them.
They like all of us
are deeply flawed people.
They have strengths and weaknesses.
Sometimes in wanting to canonise
major Christian figures
we overlook their flaws
So we do not see Paul's
arrogance, authoritarianism
often a failure to admit he was wrong.
It is good in a way to balance him with Peter
because we characterise Peter
as the one who denied Christ.
But to characterise him only as a betrayer
would be wrong,
just as to characterise Paul as perfect
would be wrong.
What we see in both these people
is someone who struggles with their humanity
as well as their capacity to be a saint.

This is, I think, what martyrdom-witness is about.
Not heroics, but how we implement the Christian faith
in our day to day struggle with what it means to follow Jesus

So Paul has to confront his seemingly brittle personality, which doesn't suffer fools gladly,
Peter has to confront his desire to be liked
and his inability to respond well under pressure.

This sounds more like you and me
than St Sebastian who gazes lovingly
as he is pelted with a thousand arrows.

How do we live as followers of Christ
when things aren't going well
with other people?
When we are tired, or depressed
how do we think Christ wants us to behave?
When like Paul,
---we get angry with those
who are slow to understand
---or who go back on their word?
---or We are arrogant
When like Peter
we discover things about ourselves
that we don't really like
---that we are not necessarily people of principle but that we do what is easiest
---that we don't always think things through properly, but act impulsively

Their witness comes about not because they are put to death (both are)
but by their struggle
with what it means
not to live the fairy tale of Christ
but to witness to the reality.
Our weakness
our failure
our humanity.

For Paul, that it is not when he is most erudite or clever
that Christ is most evident
but when he is weakest.
That in human relationships he needs to be reconciled
to all those from whom he has alienated himself.
and for Peter, that failure is par for the course
and that Christ himself uses our weakness and vacillation
to establish a powerful life in the Spirit.
You are a pebble, he jokes with Peter, I will make you a rock.
You are a betrayer, but I want you to feed my sheep.

There is great hope
in true Christian witness.
the call of Peter and Paul
for you and me is the call to be a martyr
in our lives,
bearing witness
not to an adventure story
but to a reality of day to day struggle.

Let's sin all the more!

Proper 7 (12) June 22, 2008 Genesis 21:8-21;(Jeremiah 20:7-13; Psalm 86:1-10, 16-17) Psalm 69:7-10, (11-15), 16-18; Romans 6:1b-11; Matthew 10:24-39 -These are some fo the readinghs that can be considered for today

The epistle to the Romans is a cracker!
It is worth sitting down and reading it all in one sitting
as it gives you a better sense of the masterly nature of Paul's discussion.
One of the curious literary devices we come across is his use of "By no means!"
I always chuckle at this
because it seems he lets us see his inner struggle some what.
When he has argued himself into a corner,
and we might be compelled to get the wrong idea
he has to turn us round and steer us back in the right direction.

So we read today:

6:1b Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound?

6:2 By no means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it?

Paul has been arguing that one of the greatnesses of God's love to us
is that we are not left to cope with sin by ourselves

In fact he says it is when things are really tough that God really cuts in
in fact :

where sin increases, grace abounds all the more,

God's response to us is not to reject us when we sin
but to equip us all the more.
So that we can fight back.
Paul, is no doubt relying on his own experience,
he understands that when he is weakest,
when failure is all too evident
then, he finds that, the grace of God is even stronger.

This is a key insight.
Not that God is trying to catch us out.
But that God is trying to encourage us..

When we allow ourselves to embrace this spirit
then that is our experience too.
You see God is not trying to beat us over the head with a stick,
we are not being smacked because we are naughty.

We begin from the starting point that God loves us
and wants the best for us.
The love of God understands
that sin diminishes us
it actually makes our life worse.
And so, Paul is telling us:
God pours all the resources he can
into enabling us to struggle with this sin.
He has given us the life of his Son
and we are talking here about the constant giving of the Holy Spirit
to enable us to progress in the war with sin.

So we might joke (as Paul does)
this fantastic inpouring of the Holy Spirit
is so good for us
that maybe we should sin all the more!
so that God might give us this Spirit.

But to view it like that is a joke.
The serious point is
that God wants to deal with sin
for our good
because God loves us

Dealing with sin
So might we get the point
that if God takes our sin seriously
then so should we.
We often deal with sin
by ignoring it
and yet Paul is telling us here
that it is so important
that God throws everything He has got at it.
We need to see that there is a serious invitation here
if God think sin is worth this effort
then perhaps we need to see that too.
It is where we sin, that the potential for God's grace abounds!

This seems a contradiction to us,
but it is going to be at the points
where we lie, cheat, steal and do not love.
Should we then lie more, hate even harder.

By no means!
God is active.
At His most active.
Can we cooperate with this Spirit?
And throw our energies into it?

This week:
Where is God inviting you to act decisively with sin?
Pick one thing you are going to cooperate with God and seek to let God deal with it.
This will not be easy,but God willequip you all the more.
Pary for that equipping

Are we serious about our discipleship? Then let us be serious where God is most active.

The death of a young man

Readings at the funeral today include the first Creation story in Genesis and the Beatitudes from Matthew 5
What to say about L?
17 is too young to die.
One week ago we did not think we would be here today.
I knew him only a little.
We had a few difficult conversations
and occasionally we touched a deep spot.
"If you are going to die L, what would you do today?"
It is a question that faces each one of us.
What would I do today if I knew that
this time next week
it would be my funeral?

One of his answers you would expect,
"Well, there are these games and I would like to complete
all the levels"
We both smiled and I said "Well what is to stop you?"
And we both knew that this was not the most important stuff
that he had to do.
[There is some evidence that he tried to achieve this goal
and had late nights, and failing sight...and he threw himself into it!]
I am not going to tell you what else he said
because it was deeply personal
and there would be even more tears.
But it was about how he would have liked the future to be
and opportunities that would now never happen.

he was a bit worried that he would leave this world
and leave no impression
who would remember him
in 10 50 or 100 years.
It is a good & deep question.

We could all say
"Well we will all remember him for ever"
We need to be careful to not burden ourselves,
with an impossible burden.
Our memories are poor, they play tricks
and we lose them.
He was little bit worried too
that he would not be good enough
for God
Fortunately, I was able to tell him
that God does not require us to be "good"
God is not going to balance
the right and the wrong
and accept us only if it tips in our favour.

So that is why we commend the dead to God,
because God can and does care for us
and accept us
it is not reliant on our faulty humanity
or on our warped sense of good.

That relationship can and does begin now,
we do not have to wait until we die.
L had begun to discover that.
May each one of us
courageously set out to discover that too.

While we were still weak

Reading for Proper 11 Pentecost 5 Sunday June 15th Hebrew Bible:Genesis 18:1-15,21:1-7
Psalm 116:1-2, 12-19 or Psalm 100; Romans 5:1-8;Matthew 9:35-10:8, (9-23)

What does God desire?

Readings for the 10th Sunday of the Year (Pentecost 4) June 8, 2008 Genesis 12:1-9; Hosea 5:15-6:6; Psalm 33:1-12; Psalm 50:7-15; Romans 4:13-25 Matthew 9:9-13, 18-2

There is a great series of readings for this week
they talk about faith.
True faith, what it is like.
The challenge to respond to God
and the call to understand that God calls us beyond our expectations.
We see God's work with very limited eyes
part of the challenge is for us to respond the very limitations
that we set ourselves.

At the very heart of the idea of faith
is the challenge to look beyond our limitations
and trust God
in everything

God calls, we respond

Genesis 6:9-22; 7:24; 8:14-19; Deuteronomy 11:18-21, 26-28; Psalm 46; Psalm 31:1-5, 19-24 Romans 1:16-17; 3:22b-28, (29-31); Matthew 7:21-29. The Readings this Sunday are for the Third Sunday after Pentecost or the 9th set of proper readings

The readings this week focus on God's graciousness to us and the constant call to, as it were,
'Get it right'.
St Paul reminds us, in what is a sort of backhanded comment,
that God makes no distinction between people
but is open to and accept all
Why? Because we all stand on an equal footing before God

Romans 3:22b-24 For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;
they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

What this might say to us is that however else we view our relationship with God
it is God who initiates and sustains our relationships
Thank goodness...that it does not really on me!
The Deuteronomy text for today
reminds us that God's word and life
can become part of the depth of our lives
and it is God's will that they be so
It is the deepest desire of God
Late have I loved you, Beauty so ancient and so new, late have I loved you!

Lo, you were within,
but I outside, seeking there for you,
and upon the shapely things you have made
I rushed headlong – I, misshapen.
You were with me, but I was not with you.
They held me back far from you,
those things which would have no being,
were they not in you.
You called, shouted, broke through my deafness;
you flared, blazed, banished my blindness;
you lavished your fragrance, I gasped; and now I pant for you;
I tasted you, and now I hunger and thirst;
you touched me, and I burned for your peace.

from The Confessions of St Augustine

These powerful words of St Augustine have about them a driving force
which suggest how God unremittingly searches for you and me.
It is not that God does not speak
it is that we do not hear.
It is not that God does not give to us
but that we choose to not receive
God does not hold back
we hold ourselves back.

Likewise the Gospel reminds us not to play games with God.
God's unremitting desire for us
is that we belong to God
not that God belong to us
(if you get the difference).
"Not everyone" says Jesus,
"who says and does the right thing (says Lord, Lord
will have got it right"
Word and formula do not work
if we do not take trouble to respond to what God is seeking to do in and for us.

THIS WEEK

• Where is God inviting me to be different?
• What do I believe God is trying to make of me?
• Pray for insight to change and grow
• Look for an opportunity to talk with someone else about this
  

Anyone who had a heart!

May 25, 2008 Proper 8, Isaiah 49:8-16a Psalm 131 I Corinthians 4:1-5 Matthew 6:24-34