Facing Fear - transcript of Midnight Communion Service 2022

           Sermon – St Oswald’s Christmass Midnight Communion 2022 - Luke 2:1-20

Father speak to our minds to instruct them, speak to our hearts to warm them, and speak to our wills to inspire them; for your Holy Name we ask. Amen.

‘Fear not said he, for mighty dread had seized their troubled minds.’

Why had a mighty dread seized the troubled minds of the shepherds – what were they so afraid of?

Well, the story continues and tells us that an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.

Not your average evening watch out on the hills with the sheep then.

And if we have been reading this story, we will have noticed this is a recurring pattern – fear when an angel of the Lord appears.

Zechariah, husband of Elizabeth and father of John the Baptizer.

We are told of his encounter with an angel and that he was startled and grasped by fear. And bear in mind that Zechariah was a priest, and he was in the Temple offering up incense as part of the ongoing worship.

Then Mary, a young girl, who according to some scholars could have been as young as twelve or thirteen, when she had an angelic visitor, she was ‘greatly troubled.’

The response of the shepherds is totally understandable for all sorts of reasons, not least that the Jewish people of this time would have known their Scriptures and that God, whose very name they would not write down or even pronounce, was awesome, fearsome, a consuming fire.

They would have known that only one person, once a year, could enter God’s presence because of the awesome glory of God was so mighty and powerful.

Like entering a dangerous situation when you put on protective clothing, the High Priest had to go through an elaborate ceremony of preparation before going beyond the special curtain and entering the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

Is it any wonder then that these shepherds were terrified.

But this awesome, powerful, glorious God chose to come and live among us, born into a human family, vulnerable and weak. God putting his trust in Mary and Joseph. Immanuel – God with us.

Now that’s worth pausing and pondering upon – just what does that mean?

Meanwhile back with the shepherds ‘watching their flocks by night.’

If one angel isn’t scary enough suddenly there is a whole host of them, singing and praising God…

‘Glory to God in the highest,

and peace upon earth among those in his favour.’

But as we sit here tonight, I don’t imagine a fear of God is uppermost in most of our minds.

One of the reasons our fears may be dissipated is that we know the story of the torn curtain in the temple that barred access to God. And that now anyone can access Almighty God at any time and at any place. That we are all invited into a deep and loving relationship with this awesome, powerful, and almighty God mediated through Messiah Jesus.

This is where the story of the birth of Jesus is heading – which is why it is Good News.

But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

There is a lot to unpack in that pronouncement especially that last line with this little baby born as all other babies had been and would continue to be – but this baby we are being told is a Saviour, the Messiah and Lord.

This is not the time or the place for deep theological, Scriptural, and historical exegesis – but please note those terms said about this baby – Saviour – Messiah – Lord. You might like to do some homework exploring those terms. And if you want some company, I am happy to join you in that exploration.

However, I think if we are honest the fears most in our minds as we sit here tonight (but not watching sheep) are far more immediate and pressing than the fear of God, or an angelic visitation.

Fear of rising fuel costs, watching those numbers on the smart metre climb and climb as you try to keep warm.

Fear of food shortage. Fear for friends and family from whom you are estranged, or they are far away somewhere. Fear because it seems the world is going to hell in a handcart. Fear of the war in Ukraine and the threat of escalation. Fear over environmental issues. Fear for our own health or the health of someone we love.  Fear of spending another Christmass alone or of facing another year alone.

I wonder what fears you are carrying in your mind and heart tonight.

Fear and being afraid is a natural response without which we could not function.

For the most part fear is perfectly natural and normal and warns us of dangers.  

But we also know that fear can become all-consuming and have a destructive power.

Here’s a question then – was Jesus the Messiah every fearful and afraid?

The answer is yes – in the Garden of Gethsemane when he knew what lay ahead of him. To be arrested, tortured, and then put to death in one of the most painful ways ever devised.

The Gospel accounts speak of Jesus suffering a very rare condition now known as Hematidrosis, sweating blood due to extreme stress or fear.

Jesus faced a fear way beyond anything we are likely to face. 

And this Jesus said…

'I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give. It isn't like the peace this world can give. So don't be worried or afraid.

So don't be worried or afraid.

Well, I have already said fear is a natural part of our human nature to keep us from doing daft things, so perhaps we need to explore a bit more of what our fears are. Asking are they rational and explainable and perhaps even solvable.

For me, about this time of year 48 years ago, I embraced the Christian faith with a passion. And what I have found is the veracity of another statement by Jesus the Saviour about having peace.

In Me, said Jesus, you may have peace. In the world you have troubles but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Because the story doesn’t end with the birth of Jesus, not even with the crucifixion, but with the resurrection.

This special Easter candle, sometimes called a Paschal Candle, is lit on Resurrection Sunday, Easter Day.

A sign and a symbol of light overcoming the darkness.

In the opening words of John’s Gospel, we read…

In him (Jesus) was life, and the life was the light of humanity. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

This was Jesus, God with us, Perfect Love come down to us, overcoming all the worst that the world could do to him and overcoming it.

And this Perfect Love that has overcome the world is practically expressed through those who have heeded and responded to the message of the angels….

I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people:  to you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is the Messiah, the Lord.

This Perfect Love is practically expressed through God’s people, so that we may find strength, comfort, and the means to navigate through our fears, concerns, and worries. For example…

Food banks for the hungry, debt counselling for those in financial difficulty, befriending the lonely, comforting the bereaved, guidance for both young and old, a place of belonging, a family.

And so much more, so much, much more...

This Perfect Love, this Jesus, invites us to live in a radical way and encourages us not to allow ourselves to be squeezed into the way of the world, especially in its worst excesses of greed and grabbing.

‘Fear not said he, for mighty dread had seized their troubled minds.’

What ‘mighty dread’ is seizing your mind?

I wonder if it is time you took a fresh look at Jesus not only ‘away in a manger’ - but as Saviour – Messiah – Lord – Immanuel.

‘Heaven's arches rang

When the angels sang

Proclaiming Thy royal degree;

But of lowly birth

Didst Thou come to earth,

And in greatest humility.

O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,

There is room in my heart for Thee.’

Well let me ask you straight out – is there any room in your heart for Jesus tonight?

‘What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.’

Right here and right now you could invite Jesus into your heart as Lord and Saviour, saying….

 ‘O come to my heart Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for you.’

Who knows, if you do that, and if you listen very carefully, you might hear angels singing!

 Want to know more - then check out...

www.christianity.org.uk

And meanwhile enjoy this modern carol....

https://youtu.be/XyijhpaaEs8

 

Crib to Cross and Tomb to Throne (transcript of sermon 22nd November 2022 St Oswald's Rugby)

 Sermon – Tuesday Morning Worship 22^nd November 2022

 Luke 23: 33-43

You may be puzzling over why as all the preparations for Christmass gather pace are we reading the story of Jesus’s crucifixion.

The simple answer is that next Sunday is Advent Sunday and the New Liturgical year begins and a new set of Lectionary Readings.

This year, Year C, we have had Luke as our principal Gospel. On Sunday Year A begins with Matthew as the principal Gospel.

One of the disciplines that I follow and would commend to you is to read something like Tom Wright’s ‘Everyone’ series – each day you can read a section of the Gospel followed by Tom’s commentary.

Thus, as we end year C and Luke’s Gospel we come to the climatic moment of the crucifixion.

And focussing on the Cross is not a bad preparation for Christmass.

Because without the Cross there would be no Christmass.

If ever I have an opportunity to set up a Nativity or Crib Scene, I always place a simple cross in there, set at the back.

This serves to remind us that the Child in the Crib became the Christ on the Cross.

I said the crucifixion was the climatic moment which it is in large part but would have come to naught without the resurrection.

Around the time of Jesus there were at least fourteen other Messianic movements.

All of these were brutally crushed by the Romans, their adherents fled, or were killed or sold into slavery or crept back into society and kept their heads down.

Perhaps the most famous was the Bar-Kochba revolt of 132 – 136 CE.

 Remember the Temple was destroyed during an earlier revolt, in 70CE.

Kochba who as a self-styled Messiah took up arms against Rome and for three years ruled from Jerusalem as a Messianic type of figure.

Exactly the kind of thing some thought Jesus might do or perhaps should be doing.

The Bar-Kochba revolt was put down, Jerusalem destroyed, and all Jews banished from living in their homeland of Judea.

Jerusalem was renamed and became a Roman city.

So, you have to ask yourself why there isn’t a worldwide movement dedicated to Bar Kochba or any other self-proclaimed Messiah during this period.

The answer is that Jesus was miraculously raised from death.

The part of Luke’s Gospel we don’t get to read here but do read during the Easter Season.

And it’s Luke who gives us the wonderful Emmaus Road story.

Remember how Jesus opens up the Scriptures and shows how he was the Messiah, but not as was commonly expected.

Thousands upon thousands of young Jewish men were crucified as these revolts were crushed.

Yet of all those young men we know the name of only one of them.

And in a few weeks, we will be celebrating the birth of Yeshua bar Jospeh, aka Jesus.

And many will celebrate and have fun and have parties and eat too much and perhaps drink too much and make all sorts of promises to be kind and to keep in touch – and all of that.

Then baby Jesus, along with Santa and the lights and trimmings will be put away for another year.

And we then wonder why we don’t keep in touch, why we then fall out and have arguments, why we are not as kind and loving as we know we ought to be.

It is because we do not allow Jesus to grow up.

It is because we neglect to study the Scriptures.

It is because we are forgetful about becoming an active member of a Church, a Community of Faithful 21^st century follows of Messiah Jesus.

It because we have forgotten what was written above Jesus’ head as he suffered, bled, and died. ‘Jesus King of the Jews.’

On Sunday last the Church celebrated The Feast of Christ the King. Our Gospel reading today is the Gospel reading set for this Feast Day. And it is here we read about this sign written in the three common languages at the time – ‘Jesus King of the Jews.’

And we have come to know that Jesus was King not only of the Jews but over all the created order and over every power and authority.

But that claim makes demands of us – and so, I tell you what, let’s keep him as baby and say that Christmass is for children and make it all twee, comfortable. After all who does not like babies.

Well Herod wasn’t that pleased to hear about a new king that had been born – and he took some brutal steps to try and eradicate this baby.

So here a question for us to ponder over.

Are we going to allow baby Jesus to grow up and to remind others that is just what he did do, and maybe invite them to explore just what Jesus did when he grew up.

Or will we join in all the fun and games and then put Jesus back as a baby – in effect stomping and stunting his growth – keeping Jesus as a perpetual baby which we can handle and manage and put away if he starts making demands of us.

Where do you sit with this this morning?

Be careful on your choice – when one of those being crucified with Jesus rebuked the other and asked Jesus to remember him when he (Jesus) came into his kingdom, Jesus responds by saying that they will be together later that day in paradise. As for the other criminal…

 

 

'God's in the garden and it's all okay' - transcript of sermon St Oswald's Rugby Advent Sunday 2022

                                Sermon Advent Sunday 2022 St Oswald’s Rugby

‘Hope for a broken world – Jesus is returning’  Matthew 24: 36 – 44

This picture was taken I would guess in around 1956. I am the youngest of three brothers and here we are getting ready to go on holiday in my dad’s motorcycle and sidecar with my grandma coming to see us off.

Ponder on how much things have changed since then.

Consider the changes in the last three years, changes that have been supercharged with the Covid pandemic.

When I was a young boy Zoom was an ice lolly shaped like a rocket!

And as we look out at our world now it would seem that everything is being shaken.

Nothing appears secure.

For us in the UK that has been exacerbated by the death of Queen Elizabeth 11.  

Along with the machinations of our government that seems to have hit the buffers, run out of ideas, run out of steam, and perhaps run out of Prime Ministers!

We have had Cop 27 amidst a climate crisis, we have nurses voting to go out on strike for the first time in their long history, plus numerous others strikes.

We have food poverty and fuel costs crisis while in East Africa severe droughts are causing thousands of deaths.

We also have a war in Europe that is threatening to escalate and is affecting all our lives.

And the catalogue could continue – whichever way you look, if this was a Dad’s Army film, we would hear Frazer saying, ‘we’re all doomed.’  

Is it little wonder given this seismic shaking and paradigmatic shift that some Christians have looked at the Scriptures and perhaps heeded the words of the prophet Haggai.

“This is what the LORD Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.

That they have looked at the Book of Revelation and decided that all this turmoil must presage the second coming of Jesus.

And today on this Advent Sunday we are invited to reflect upon Matthew 24: 36-44 – a section in Matthew’s Gospel often referred to as a Little Apocalypse.

As we do that, remembering our underlying theme of ‘hope for a broken world.’ Let’s first take a deep breath.

Advent is of course the time when our reflections turn directly to the celebrations associated with the birth of Yeshua bar Joseph – aka Jesus.

It is also the time when we are invited to reflect upon his Second Coming. 

Coming into a broken and divided world, corrupt and full of injustice. When all wrong things will be put right.

That is in part why Advent is a solemn season with purple as it colour.

And why in some traditions the Four Last Things form a weekly reflection – Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell.

Which isn’t so far removed from our Advent Table Talk exploring Suffering, Forgiveness, Death and Hope

But are we living the last days?

Is Jesus about to return?

Is all this global upheaval a sign for us to prepare?

And amid all this turmoil how can we possibly be a people of hope, offering hope and living in hope?

The section of Matthew’s Gospel we heard is highly complex and to do it real justice I would suggest sitting down and working through Tom Wrights’ ‘Matthew for Everyone.’  

But on the question of ‘is this the time for Jesus’ return’ let us read again the top and tail verses of our reading.

“But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”

And…

“So, you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

We could look elsewhere and find similar verses, but these will do for me – is Jesus coming again, well yes, we claim that when we say our Creed, our Statement of Faith, but we do not know when.

And on the when there is a dire warning within our reading about being ready, ‘like a thief in the night - if we had known then we would have prepared.’

And while we are looking at this Little Apocalypse let me point out a few other things.

We really do need to spend time reflecting on the Jewish War of 66-70 and the destruction of the Temple. So many Jewish young men were crucified they ran out of trees. This was in very many ways the end of the world, certainly as the Jewish people knew it. And one of the Roman terror tactics was to go into a village and drag out a person here, a person there, away from their families and friends and then put them to death as a warning to those left behind, don’t mess with us.

Then I do want to say something about where our hope lies but first let’s clear up this word Apocalypse.

Despite what Hollywood films might want to say it is not about the end of the world – apocalypse simple means ‘revelation.’

And if you want to dig deeper into the apocalyptic genre, I can highly recommend the Bible Projects set of podcasts and studies on ‘How to Read Apocalyptic Literature.’

Study the Story of the Bible With Free Tools | BibleProject™

Two final comments on apocalyptic literature before I move on to say something about our hope.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the Jewish people who were forbidden to create any graven image, used a thousand words to paint a picture!

And they used metaphors, hyperbole, exaggerations, and idioms.

Much as we do in our language, take for example this sentence.

‘I was flying down the road because I was late, and I bumped into an old friend. He told me something that quite literally blew my mind and I had to stop and try and get my head around what he had told me. Then the heavens opened, and it started raining stair rods. This was such a pain as I planned to have a BBQ that night. It had been so hot for days before, we were boiling to death.’

So – HOPE, which I like to spell as Holding Onto Past Experience.

Genesis 3.8 is a very important verse that sets out our hope - and a problem.

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze…

Here we have God’s original plan and purpose – to live with humans and the created order. He had appointed them as image bearers, as Royal Priest, he had commissioned them to be fruitful and multiply.

But the problem comes in the second half of this verse…

‘…the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.’

We know the story about how God had provided for their every need but had given them one instruction, a test, to see if they would be willing to trust God for everything – but they failed to pass the test and immediately felt naked and ashamed.

‘…the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.’

Contrast that with 1 John 2.28

‘And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he is revealed we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming.’

In between we have stories of God’s mission to live among his creation.

The choosing of Abram, the call of Moses and most significantly allowing Moses to enter the heavenly throne room on top of Mount Sinai.

This in turn led to the building of the tabernacle with its exacting instructions so that it mirrored it heavenly counterpart.

God also provided a way for rebellious, sin-stained humans to enter his presence, well at least a selection of people from his special people, the Israelites. To act as representatives, of God to his people and people to God.

We need to read all the sacrifices not so much as to appease an angry God or to get him to do something or not do something and more about offering a way of approach.

It takes it out of the personal but think of a nuclear reactor and the need to wear layers of protective clothing.

Hebrews 12.29 reminds us that “God is a consuming fire.”

And this swings this way and that, good and bad but gradually building up a hope as outlined in another apocalyptic work, the Book of Daniel and in Isaiah, plus some of the Psalms and in other prophetic writings.

That there would come a time when a chosen one, someone like a ‘son of man’ would appear.

Daniel chapter 7 is key to this aspiration – look at Matthew 24.30ff and then to these words from Daniel…

In my vision in the night I continued to watch,

and I saw One like the Son of Man

coming with the clouds of heaven.

He approached the Ancient of Days

and was led into His presence.

And He was given dominion,

glory, and kingship,

that the people of every nation and language

should serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

that will not pass away,

and His kingdom is one

that will never be destroyed.

And then, and then - words that will hear as we celebrate the Birth of Jesus from John’s prologue as he reframes the creation narrative of Genesis…

And the WORD became flesh, and tabernacled among us...

And we come full circle to Genesis 3.8 with God’s plans and purposes, to live with his creation, to restore humans to their dignity, to their first calling as royal priest.

But the story doesn’t end there – there is more.

For on the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples who became God’s dwelling place, God’s temples, the very living image and presence of God to the world, as God’s royal priest.

And there is yet more for the story has yet another chapter and we get some of the detail of that in Revelation, especially chapter 21.

There will come a time when heaven and earth will become conjoined as God originally intended. That there will be a new heaven and earth reality. When justice will come, and all wrongs will be put right.

However, when that will come to pass, we simply do not know.

But our hope as this world rocks and shakes, as we hear of wars and rumours of wars, as there are famines and earthquakes and all manner of disturbances – our hope is that God’s heart’s desire, God’s plans and purposes remains as outlined in Genesis – to walk amongst his creation living in perfect harmony with his creation living in perfect harmony with itself.

That’s the story our Scripture tells us, and that story is where we place our hope.

And as we watch, wait, wonder, work and worship as the world slips this way and that we can heed the words of Paul in his letter to the Romans.

We can take these words and place them alongside the framework of God’s plans and purposes and tuck them away deep into our hearts and yet having them always before our eyes – speaking metaphorically!

Romans 8:38-39

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the hope we have and hold out to the world as we read in Hebrews 6:19-20

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, where Jesus our forerunner has entered on our behalf.

And from there, the Bridegroom will one day come to claim his Bride, the Church. And therefore, our heart cry is Marantha – even so come quickly Lord Jesus.

Let us worship God the Faithful One as we rise to sing…

https://youtu.be/JqK-UnsRTFI