'Your Kingdom Come & Your Will Be Done' - sermon transcript Bible Sunday 2017

St Paul’s, Stafford 29^th October 2017Bible Sunday

Principal Service
Nehemiah 8.1-4a[5-6] 8-12 Psalm 119.9-16
Colossians 3.12-17  Matthew 24.30-35

‘Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.’

I am currently reading ‘Soldiers of Rome & the Rebellion of Judea’ by James Mace.  This is set around 66 AD and is a historical novel based around the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

If you want to read about the climax of the destruction and devastation of this cataclysmic event then I can recommend David Kossof’s ‘Voices of Masada.’  In the year AD 70, at the close of a long and bloody battle that ended with the Roman conquest of Jerusalem, one thousand Jewish men, women and children stood atop a small mountain fortress located near the Dead Sea. Against such overwhelming odds they chose suicide to slavery or slaughter at the hands of the Romans.

For a contemporary account you could read 'The Jewish Wars' by the Jewish Historian, Josephus.

Why might this be important?

Because without an understanding and an appreciation of what happened in 70 AD passages of Scripture, such as our Gospel reading, will be difficult to understand.

And today being Bible Sunday when we are considering the Scriptures we need first of all to understand that, for the most part,  the language of the Bible is from a Hebraic mind set.  This language is largely conceptual; it is the language of the poet and the artist. It is full of hyperbole where trees clap their hands and fields shout for joy and mountains skip like rams. It is metaphor piled upon metaphor.

Without such an understanding today’s Gospel passage will sound very strange.

There is a great deal to explore here and we have not got the time to really do justice to this passage that I commend to you for further and deeper study.

However if we link up this Gospel passage from Matthew with the short extract from Colossians here is a short precis of what is happening.

One – in Matthew’s Gospel chapter 24 (from where our passage is situated) the reference is to the Signs of the End of the Age.

The Jews thought of life in two ages – the ‘Present Age’ and the ‘Age to Come.’ This was spoken of by prophets and poets alike. It would be a glorious time when all wrongs would be made right.

A time when the lion and lamb would live together and the whole of the created order would live in peace and harmony. Remembering what I said earlier about the Hebraic mind set and language.

And the coming of the Messiah would presage this new age, the age to come.

Two – Jesus is saying and demonstrating that the ‘Age to Come’ is now rushing forward into ‘The Present Age’.  Jesus is saying that a New Covenant, a New Testament is being drawn up that fulfills and draws together all of the Old Covenant.  And that he, Jesus, the Son of Man, is the long expected Messiah who would usher in the ‘Age to Come’ into the present moment.

We will return to this but let me move onto the short extract from Colossians and point Three.

Because it is here that the People of God, the People justified by Faith, inheritors of the promises made to Abraham by Faith (as Paul strongly argues particular in his Letter to the Romans) It is here that we are offered insights into how we should conduct ourselves as the People of God before a watching world.

Let’s look again at just a couple of those verses from Colossians 3…

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

Imagine having that on the table at each and every meeting, each and every PCC or strategy meeting or whenever you gather to discuss something about your life together as the People of God in the place.  

What difference do you think it would make?   

I hope you would say it would serve as a salutary reminder of what it is we are about and how we are to conduct ourselves as the People of God.  

And this is the joy of Scriptures and why it is important to have them always before us – as we read further on in verse 16…

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God.

Before we seek to share Good News we must be Good News. Would you say that the Faith Community here at St Paul’s is known in the wider community by some of the hallmarks from Colossians 3?

…compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other;

You see the society around us has enough arguing and bickering, and people wanting their own way, people full of their own self-importance, people building their own little empires.

And in many ways it was ever thus – and it against this way of conducting our affairs that the People of God are called to offer a life affirming alternative way of being in community, of living together. 

The People of the First Covenant, the Jews, were called to be a light to the Gentiles and the hope of all the nations.

Jesus argues that they have failed and the he is ushering in the Age to Come and will raise up a People of God under a New Covenant who will demonstrate to a watching world what it means to live as authentic human beings in God’s, good created order.

This is in large part what Jesus is speaking about in this Gospel passage.

How will it be demonstrated - that the 'Age to Come' has rushed into the present – what will be the signs of the Son of Man coming on the clouds with power and bringing judgment and justice?

Principally it will be seen as a sign when the Temple is destroyed and the Jewish nation scattered to the four winds. With a new elect people of faith and promise will be drawn from all nations and become the New People of God.

How do we know this?

Because Jesus says…

Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place.

And so it was that within a generation of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension the Temple was razed to the ground with not one stone standing on another.

And if that sounds familiar so it should, because that was also something Jesus said which we read in verse 2 of chapter 24…

"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

I really don’t know what you think you are doing here at St Paul’s. What you think your role and purpose is.  Perhaps you think it is to maintain this building or maybe to preserve a certain form of worship.

ABC Justin Welby has said the Church has only two purposes, to worship and to make disciples.

Bishop Michael has challenged us to deepen our discipleship, discover our vocation and engage in evangelism.

Our Gospel passage, whilst primarily speaking about the events surrounding the fall of the temple in 70 AD also carries overtones of Christ’s return.

This is something which we affirm in our Creeds at during the Eucharist, Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again.

Note the pattern and flow - HAS IS WILL

And we as the People of God are called to live in anticipation of that great and glorious day when all will be finally and fully revealed.

When the great cries of prophets like Isaiah and Hosea and many more will come to pass. When justice and peace flow like rivers. When wars, disease and death are no more, no more crying for the former things have passed away.

You and I are called to be heralds of the time when the whole of the cosmos is redeemed and there will be no need for a temple because God will dwell with His people.

Brothers and sisters in Christ as we consider the Scriptures on this Bible Sunday let me close by inviting you to heed the word of James who wrote…

But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

Let us not simply say the Lord’s Prayer but work with every fibre of our being and as much as lies within us to work, labour and toil to make it a present reality.

Your Kingdom Come, Your will be done…

  in Stafford

  in my family

  in St Paul's

  in my heart and life

Let us pray…

O Saviour Christ, in whose way of love lays the secret of all life, and the hope of all people, we pray for quiet courage to match this hour. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, its possibilities inspire us, and its vigour renew us. Pour out upon us a fresh indwelling of the Holy Spirit; make us bold and courageous in sharing faith in both word and deed for your Kingdom’s we ask sake. Amen       

'Image and Impressions' - transcript of sermon 22/10/2017 St Werburgh Kingsley

Mid Churnet Benefice - St Werburgh Kingsley

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

Isaiah 45.1-7  1 Thessalonians 1.1-10  Matthew 22.15-22

Who have you noticed being talked about this week, perhaps in the news or on social media?

What kinds of things are being said about people?

For the most part, if they are in the news, it will be because they have been up to no good and been caught out.

Or maybe they have made some policy announcement that we either agree with or even disagree with.

Or fired off another tweet!

Are people talking about you?

Maybe not in the public sphere, but around and about, where you live, or work or perhaps play golf, running club, WI or whatever.

What do you think people are saying about you?

What do you hope they are saying about you?

Last week a great Christian man called Paul Griffiths died after a very short illness.

Having being diagnosed with gall stones they turned out to be cancer and he sadly died in a matter of days.

Paul set up the ‘Ugly Duckling Company’ that produced some fantastic resources for sharing the Christian Faith.  Table Talk was perhaps the best known, but also Puzzling Question for those who are asking about the Christian faith.

www.theuglyducklingcompany.com

On Facebook knowing he had only days his friends and colleagues were asked if they would put up ‘tributes’ to Paul – to encourage him (and his family) in his last days.

Some of them were deeply moving tributes to an amazing man of God who had a passion to make Jesus known and at least twenty good ideas before breakfast.

What would people say about you?

Have you ever thought about your epithet?

In the story we heard from the Gospel there is one person who is mentioned who most certainly wanted people to remember him, talk about him and indeed worship him – Caesar.

Which put the People of Israel in a tight spot as their commandments stated very clearly that there was only one God and only Yahweh should be worshiped.

The other person being talked about in this story is of course Jesus.

Here it is the Pharisee’s and the Herodian’s who are talking about Jesus.

It is not hard to imagine the type of conversation they had either.

And they think they have come up with an answer to Jesus and his increasing popularity and influence.

Then as now if you wanted to catch someone out you might frame a question that would put them on the horns of a dilemma. Whichever way they answer would make them declare their hand or say something controversial.  The actual answer isn’t what is being looked for – it is a mere ploy to try and entrap someone.

The Pharisee and Herodian’s think they have such a question. 

And of course it is also good to begin with a bit of flattery, to entice the victim into the trap.

‘Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity and that you teach the way of God with truth. You are not swayed by men because you do not pay them any attention.’

If only that were true, that they really believed this theatrical flattery and flourish used to help set the trap.

Then the question – hurled like a spear with the intent of causing as much damage as possible.

Whichever way he answered they have him – he will either be dragged off to face Roman justice, perhaps why the Herodian’s are involved. Or he will capitulate to the Roman occupation and then his popularity would quickly wane and his following diminish – job done. 

But they should have known they needed to get up a lot earlier to catch Jesus out.

The key to Jesus’ answer is in his asking for a coin with which to pay the tax to Caesar.

And they produced one – not knowing that they have just scored one of the biggest home goals in history.

On that coin was an image of Caesar. On that coin were the words, Tiberius, High Priest, Son of God.

One of the ways a conquering nation demonstrated its rule was by introducing their own coinage.

That was one of the reasons why the UK did not want to accept the Euro – we wanted to retain a sovereign UK currency.

By carrying the Roman coin they are in effect demonstrating that they have accepted the Roman rule and authority.  Therefore, logic demands that if they have accepted Roman rule and benefits, that they should pay for them through taxes.

So, Jesus’ answer is, yes, if this stuff belongs to Caesar, then give it back to him.

And give to God what belongs to God.

They were amazed at his answer – and we know people kept talking about Jesus, even more.

Are people talking about you – and if so what do you think they might be saying?

Might they be saying that you are known as a man or woman of God? 

Might they be saying that you are known for demonstrating the fruits of the Spirit – even if they didn’t use that language?

Might they be saying that you are a person who is kind, long suffering, forgiving, and full of joy, peace and self-control?

I was talking to someone recently and mentioned that people are a bit like radiators or drains – once you have been around them you are either warmed up or worn out.

What do you think people might say about you?

And what about this Community of Faith, the People of God at St Werburgh?

What might people be saying about you, collectively?

Paul tells us something about the Church in Thessaloniki and what was being said about them.

 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.  For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.

If I was to go out into this community and ask people what they thought about St Werburgh’s, what do you think their answers might be?

Are people talking about you as a Church?

One Bishop famously quipped, ‘when Paul turned up there were riots, when I turn up they give me a cup of tea.’

Today celebratory cult prevails. On average 17 million selfies are posted on social media every week across the world.

There is an unhealthy narcissistic cult of wanting to be known and noticed.  

What are people saying about you as an individual and what are people saying about you as a Community of Faith?

Because it is into this self-obsessed culture that we can speak and demonstrate that our true selves find their fullest and richest expression when they are found in Christ.

What are people saying about us as those who seek to reflect Christ in and through our lives?

A few weeks ago I attended a presentation of the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Services to Staffordshire Young Farmers Club.

The presentation was made by the Lord Lieutenant for Staffordshire.

He was the Queen’s representative and therefore was given all the honour and dignity that Her Majesty would also receive.

You and I are Christ’s Ambassadors – representatives of the King of Kings.

Do people know that and do we demonstrate that each and every day and in each and every moment?

The coin to pay the Roman tax had an image of Caesar on it.

What image do we carry and what image do people have of us, both as 

individual Christians and as the People of God, the Church.

Because there is only one image we should seek to portray and only one image we should carry.

Paul speaks about this writing to the Corinthians…

‘And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.’

If the image of God you carry has become dull I would like to pray with you and for you. Catch me at the end of the Service.

If you do not know the Christ whose image we are charged to carry, I would like to pray with you and for you so that you may accept Jesus into your life and be filled with God’s Holy Spirit. Catch me at the end of the service.

Let us pray...

Finish then Thy new creation;
pure and spotless let us be.
Let us see Thy great salvation
perfectly restored in Thee.
Changed from glory into glory,
till in heav'n we take our place,
till we cast our crowns before Thee,
lost in wonder, love, and praise.

'Good Tenants' - sermon transcript St Anne's, Brown Edge

Sermon St Anne’s, Brown Edge 8^th October 2017

Isaiah 5.1-7 Psalm 80.9-17 Philippians 3.4b-14 Matthew 21.33-46

When we left Cornwall after living there for ten years, by a miracle of God’s provision we bought a house.  We thought it was our ‘potter’s field’ and that we would return from exile to retire in Cornwall.

That was in 2005 and over the subsequent years we have rented the property out to tenants.  This involves drawing up a contract, with the landlords and tenants having certain rights and responsibilities.

That is exactly what is going on in this parable Jesus tells. Only here, the landlord is Israel’s God, Yahweh, and the tenants are the People of God.

This would have instantly recognized as an allusion to Isaiah’s song of the vineyard. In the Isaiah passage it is the vine itself that is at fault.  

In the story Jesus tells, it is the tenants who are at fault.

Jesus invites his hearers to ‘search the Scriptures’ and he is giving them clues as to where to find what he is alluding and here quotes from Psalm 118.22 and references the rejected ‘capstone.’  

Related to this ‘capstone’ is Daniel 2.31-45

In this passage Daniel interprets a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. The King had seen a huge statue with a head of gold, a chest and arms of silver, belly and thighs of bronze and it’s legs of iron and partly baked clay. 

All of these stood for various kingdoms that would rise and fall until they would all be destroyed by a rock not cut out by human hands.

Daniel 2.35 –

Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold broke to pieces all at the same time. And all the pieces became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summertime. The wind blew them away, and there was nothing left. No one could tell that a statue had ever been there. Then the rock that hit the statue became a very large mountain and filled up the whole earth.

This ‘very large mountain’ is spoken of by Isaiah in a very familiar passage in chapter 2…

It shall come to pass in the latter days

that the mountain of the house of the Lord

shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills;

and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways

and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;

nation shall not lift up sword against nation,

neither shall they learn war anymore.

That was the high call of Israel’s God towards His people.  They were called to display how to live as authentic humans in God’s world and to be a light to the Gentiles. However they failed to understand and failed to keep to this one true calling. They had not produced the fruit. And so God calls them back time after time by sending prophets, the landlords ‘servants’ in the parable, who were sorely treated and rejected. 

Then comes the son, the one true heir, the capstone, the rock, the messiah – if they get rid of him then they can continue to live as they please with their own interpretation of what it means to be God’s people.

And then we are back with the Daniel passage when Jesus says…

Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”… 

We know in hindsight that the tenants did kill the son and that tenants we evicted from Jerusalem and the Temple destroyed by the Romans in AD70.

This parable was a forceful message to the Pharisees and they knew it, but the time was not yet right for them to make their move against the son.

So, a powerful message to the Pharisee’s during Jesus’ earthy ministry – but is there a lesson for us to learn today, could this parable speak to us in some way?

Switching from grapes to olives this is what Paul writes in his letter to the Romans in Chapter 11…

'Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.'

 

There is always a danger that we fall into the same trap as the Pharisees. We can fail to show by our lives that as God’s people we are called to display how to live as authentic human beings and be in harmony with each other and with our world.

On Wednesday last the Church remembered the blessed St Francis. 

He saw with searing clarity that the Church at that time had done just such a thing.

He spoke and acted as a prophet of the New Covenant seeking to draw people back to faithfulness to God’s plans, purposes and intentions.

On a Facebook posting recently someone mentioned their displeasure that they had heard someone refer to their Church building as an icon.

One reply reminded them that an icon is a window or a door onto the sacred – therefore it is a good description.

My response was to affirm the Church building was an icon but I then went on to say that however it can very easily move from being an icon to become an idol.

I think St Francis would agree with me, or perhaps I am agreeing with St Francis!

Taking St Francis as his model, Pope Francis said, “I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security.”

In his 2015 Lambeth Lecture ABC Justin Welby said, ‘I want to start by saying just two simple sentences about the church. First, the church exists to worship God in Jesus Christ. Second, the Church exists to make new disciples of Jesus Christ. Everything else is decoration. Some of it may be very necessary, useful, or wonderful decoration – but it’s decoration.’

Like me begin to draw to a close with some questions for you to ponder on.

Both as an individual and as a Church Community let me ask, ‘what do you think you are doing for God’s sake?’

Then, please here me right when I say this as I know of no plans, but supposing, just supposing, this building was to close or be used for another purpose, what effect might that have on your love of God and your faith and your faithful and ongoing witness to God in this community?

Is this building an icon or an idol?

Do you agree with Justin Welby that you have only two main tasks to perform – and if so, how are you going about fulfilling them?

Then finally let me commend a newly published book, ‘A Discipling Presence’ that comes out of the Germinate ARC stable. It has some great stories of what people in rural churches have done as they have sought to be faithful tenants and to produce a good harvest.

https://www.methodistpublishing.org.uk/books/9781858524429/a-discipling-presence

Remembering that Bishop Michael as asked us to deepen our discipleship, to discover our vocation and to engage in evangelism.

Let us pray…

O Saviour Christ, in whose way of love lays the secret of all life, and the hope of all people, we pray for quiet courage to match this hour. We did not choose to be born or to live in such an age; but let its problems challenge us, its discoveries exhilarate us, its injustices anger us, it possibilities inspire us, and its vigour renew us. Pour out upon us a fresh indwelling of the Holy Spirit; make us bold and courageous in sharing faith in both word and deed for your Kingdom’s sake we ask.

Amen