St Mary Magdalene, Cowden - Transcript of Sermon - 'Vision Day'

Sermon – St Mary Magdalene Cowden Sept 14^th 2014

2 Kings 6: 8-17   and Matthew 26: 47-56.

In 2007 my daughter had been spending time at Camp America in Virginia. She was twenty years old. After Camp she took the opportunity for some travel – solo! While she was waiting at Philadelphia airport to fly to New York a terrific storm began to close in that meant flights were being cancelled.

However she was booked into a hostel in New York and they would only the bed until 2am after which she would have to find another place to stay and didn't have the money or really know how she could go about finding another hostel if she just turned up in New York.

While she sat waiting and wondering what to do a man came up and sat next to her and started chatting. He then said he knew how to get on a flight to New Jersey (which is close to New York). He said they should go to the information desk. They managed to get the last two seats on the last flight out before the airport totally closed down. On arrival he waited until Tabitha had recovered her bags and then escorted out to the taxi rank. He gave the driver $30 and told him where she needed to go.

Before he closed the taxi door he looked at Tabitha and said, ‘you are a wonderful person’ then closed the door.

When Tabitha turned around to say thank you and wave goodbye he had simply disappeared.  There were no crowds around so he hadn't melted into the crowds, but he had simply gone, much like he suddenly appeared at the airport in Philadelphia.

An angel perhaps?

  

Angels appear in our very earliest cultures in both myths and legends.

These also feature in both the opening book of our Bible, Genesis and the closing book, Revelation.

In between they are frequently mentioned in various forms and guises.

So, you may agree with Abba whom you might recall sang ‘I believe in angels’ or with any number of other songs about angels – particular Robbie Williams’ song – Angels.

Certainly Vassula Ryden a contemporary prophet and mystic believes in angels. In her book ‘Heaven is real but so is hell’ she talks of her Guardian Angel who introduces himself as Daniel.

Of course Vassula is a controversial figure and the jury is still out on whether she is the real deal or not.

But they would have probably said much the same thing about people like Teresa of Avila.

Having a guardian angel is also not an easy concept to accept given the massive computations necessary for each and every person to have their own personal guardian angel.

However we need to tread with caution because our Lord himself said;

‘See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.’

In the Christian tradition the realm of angels developed into a hierarchy so we began to have Archangels and then numerous other forms of angels, cherubs, cherubim and seraphim and all manner of angelic beings.

Some of these had the role of worshiping God day and night and others are messengers which is probably why we often view them with wings. They are the winged messengers from God or in Greek mythology from the gods.

However they often turn up in the Scriptures stories bearing the resemblance of men.

Think of Abraham’s three visitors, or the angels who appeared in the doomed cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.

This of course is what lies behind Eastern hospitality.

There was, and still is,  a very strong tradition that you might indeed be entertaining angels.

An idea that gets carried over into the New Testament…

Hebrews 13.2

‘Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels
unawares.’

That is of course a very important message for us to consider. Especially as today we come to consider our life together here as the people of God, asking about our role and purpose as God’s people in this community.

Hospitality and welcoming the stranger ought to be very high on our agenda.

When I worked in hotels, especially some of the smaller ones, the staff would become almost like a family.Yet we all knew we were not there for ourselves but to serve our guests. To make sure they had the best possible experience they could have. To go out of our way, to walk the extra mile to ensure they were looked after and would speak afterwards with warmth and satisfaction of their visit. Best of all if they became regulars.

I hope you get my drift…

Some angels are also described as warrior angels fighting against forces of darkness.

We pick this up in Ephesians 6.12

¹² For we are not contending against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

It was whilst working in the bar trade that I saw the worst of this type of manifestation through the work of what are called poltergeist.  Nothing on the grand global scale of some of the horrors we are currently seeing being unleashed across the world, but nonetheless very scary and unnerving. Furniture smashed, bathroom cabinet ripped of the wall and thrown in the bath, banging and noise and disturbances, night after night.

C.S. Lewis wrote “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors, and hail a materialist or magician with the same delight” (C.S. Lewis.  The Screwtape Letter. 1941, p. 3).

Warrior angels it would seem are the ones we meet in our story from 2 Kings.

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. Oh, my lord, what shall we do? the servant asked. Don't be afraid, the prophet answered. Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.

And Elisha prayed, O LORD, open his eyes so that he may see. Then the LORD opened the servant's eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all round Elisha.

Again as with Guardian Angels we need to tread carefully in denouncing the idea of warrior angels.

In our Gospel passage from Matthew we heard of a follower who was seeking to defend Jesus with a sword as the Temple Guard came to arrest him. Jesus told him to put the sword away, that should he choose, he could ask his Father, who would send more than 12 legions of angels to save him. That is over 72,000 warrior angels.

If you take into account the story of the might of just one angel in Isaiah 37.36 who in a single night slew a hundred and eighty five thousand men – that is some awesome power.

So where does all of this leave us on the 14^th September 2014 gathered in this church?

Isn't all this simply to fanciful, to far fetched, way beyond what sensible and rational humans being should entertain?

I think it calls us to weigh carefully the Scriptures. 

I think it calls us to seek God in prayer, to try and discern what part God would have us play in bringing about the Kingdom of God in this place and into this community.

I think it calls for us to be mindful of the stranger for we may be entertaining angels.

It calls for us to be encouraged, for ‘Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.’

We know that the victory belongs to our God.

We know that not by looking at the great battles described in the Book of Revelation, with its myriads of angels engaged in deadly conflict against the enemies of God, important as that is.

We know it because of other angels - 

From Luke’s Gospel…

While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, Why do you look for the living among the dead?

He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:

`The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.'

If that be true, then how brothers and sisters should we now live…

From Romans 6.4 ‘We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.’

Live a new life as an individual and as the people of God.

Live a new life inviting others to put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Live a new life of love and care for friends, family, neighbours, strangers and enemies alike.

Live a new life that looks out with a heart cry at the horrors in the world, seek to do what we are able with the resources we have and yet taking comfort and encouragement in knowing that King Jesus will have the victory.

As read in the Hymn of the Kenosis in Philippians 2…

Therefore God exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven, and on
 earth and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Let us pray…

O Christ in the synagogue at Nazareth;

O Christ in the pulpit of our Churches;

O risen and cosmic Christ;

O voice of the compassionate and righteous God -

Give us no peace until we become

co-workers for your Gospel. Amen

Sussex Prayer Breakfast 5th Sept 2014 'Transcript of Talk'

Sussex Prayer Breakfast  September 2014

http://www.sussexprayerbreakfast.org/

 

Genesis 3:8-11

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” ¹⁰ He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”

And the Lord was walking through Hove early one morning and he saw friends gathered for breakfast. He entered the room and called out…

“Where are you?”

So, where are you this morning?

Now despite having spent five years as an Apprentice Jockey I am not a gambling man. However I think it would be certain bet that in answering that question you may refer to 1 John 2.28.

‘And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming.’

I would think that each and every one of you here this morning has put on Christ.

However, here is what I want to leave with you as I prepare to move to Stafford at the end of the year.

Can I bring into your frame of reference Lazarus and his being brought back from death by Jesus as recounted in John 11.

Remember how Jesus called Lazarus out by name from the stink and stench of the grave. How on emerging Jesus said, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go”

It is surely safe to assume that other clothes were quickly brought for Lazarus.  

But here is the thing I find and I can only assume it is much the same for you.

I stand there; I know I have been called out of the stink and stench of death, from the sin that so closely bound, called out from a path to perdition. I responded to that call on the 1^st January 1975.

I know I have been clothed in a robes of righteousness and the filthy grave clothes have been removed – I know all of that and yet, and yet little by little, step by step I find I am creeping back towards the tomb.

Living in the light dressed as a Christian is no easy task and no easy calling.

Just how do you remain in the world and yet be not of the world?

How do you live by God’s standards and not appear as some holier than thou religious bigot?

So we find ourselves little by little putting back on the fashions of the world, the ways of the world around, the ‘normal’ things in our surrounding culture that squeezes us into its mould.

Of course it perfectly okay for couples to live together before they get married, it makes economic sense and beside everybody does that these days.

Well of course it’s okay to be creative with your tax affairs, and who is going to find out anyway and besides they get enough off us anyway.

Going over the speed limit – well only a little and everybody does it. It is not good to get caught though, that would be a bad witness!

Saying OMG – well that’s very popular and it trips of the tongue so easy. I know we are not to take the Lord God’s name in vain – but really, what harm can it do.

However, even the most cursory glance at Scripture will tell us we are called to be holy because God is holy.

We walk along a holy path – not towards a holy path. Holiness then isn’t so much something to be achieved as a way to be lived

This walking on a holy path however doesn’t begin with our feet (although check out Psalm 1.1) in begins in our minds, in the place of our secret thoughts and in our desires.

Remember that the thought is father to the deed.

We read in Romans 12.2 –

Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.   

But we are squeezed and often succumb and find little by little, step by step, inch by inch we creep back to the tomb and start wrapping ourselves once more in grave clothes.

How then can we learn once again to discern the sweet scent of heaven from the stench of hell, to have our minds renewed and to walk along a holy road?

September begins a new academic year.

Can I encourage us all to endeavour to take upon ourselves some form of study.

We are called to be disciples and as disciples we need training, regular training and retraining. Perhaps sign up for a Course, or read some more, anything to help you in your walk as a holy disciple of Jesus.  (I can highly recommend Tom Wright’s ‘Everyone’ series on the New Testament.)

I would also like to suggest that each and every one of us finds a Spiritual Director or a Soul Friend or a Companion. Someone who can challenge us, someone if I may put it this way, would smell us out when we meet.

For this world, the country, this city needs, desperately needs the sweet, sweet smell of heaven – the aroma of Christ.

So, let me ask you this.

God is here – his presence is with us, Scriptures tells us this and we believe it to be so.

Can I invite you to stand if you want to walk away from the tomb?

Can I invite you to stand if you want to have those fashions of the world, the grave clothes removed?  

Can I invite you stand if you are willing to say; here I am Lord, totally available to you. I surrender all; I want to live only for you. ‘For if Christ is not Lord of all then he is not Lord at all.’

Can I invite you stand if you are willing to go back to school – to engage in some study, to see how we can deepen our faith. To learn of what is happening across the word, to try and understand the ways of the world so that we can speak the Word of God in due season and bring salt, light and love into the darkness.

As we stand I am going to invite you to bless the person next to you and I want to give a brief explanation of what it we are doing.

 

(What we are not doing is praying for them)

We are proclaiming over them well words that will bring about all that God would have for them to become.

So pray for them by name, wait just a moment because the Spirit may have a very particular blessing he wishes to impart.

If there is no prompting of the Sprit then you may simple wish to pray the Aaronic Blessing over them…

“The Lord bless you and protect you;
 The Lord make his face to shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
 The Lord lift up his countenance upon you
and give you peace.’’

If you can’t remember that then simply pray a blessing in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

I will bring us back together by playing some music.

‘Jesus, all for Jesus’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ko16FPnEZs

Church Army September 2014 - Sermon Transcript

CA September 2014 – Sermon St John’s Westbourne

Exodus 12.1-14
Romans 13.8-14
Mark 7.24-37


Let me see I can scare you this morning with one word...

EVANGELISM

That being said I know many people who pray to be used in evangelism – in an advisory capacity.

Here I am Lord, send her!

However whilst not everyone is called to be an evangelist everyone is called to evangelize – to share our faith story and the story of God’s work towards the redemption of the universe.

Telling the story of God’s work in this way is what mission is all about – what is sometimes called the ‘missio-dei’ – the Mission of God.

Noting that Church of God doesn't have a mission, but the God of mission has a Church.

Evangelism as part of God’s mission is where people are brought into a personal relationship with God so that they can then partner with God in His mission.  It follows therefore that the more people who enter into a personal relationship with God the more people are partnering with God in bringing about a realized Lord’s Prayer in this community, country and across the world.

Your Kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven.

That is why evangelism is so important.

That is what the Church Army have been doing in this country for the last 130 years, sharing faith through words and actions.

And never let us separate those two – the pure Gospel and the social Gospel – there is only one Gospel and words and actions go together like the blades of a pair of scissors.

To help in this endeavour one of our recent resources is this book called ‘Stepping into Evangelism.’

These and other resources are available by the display I have set up.

In this book you will find exercises that will help you frame your own faith story, which believe me is the most important aspect of sharing our faith. It will be our experience more than our eloquence that will speak to people most clearly, that and a life that walks the talk as well as talks the walk.

So what of the Big Story of God.

(‘The Book of God’ – Walter Waggerin)

We really need to grasp the sweep of the Scriptures, the blue print of the Bible.

We have encountered a number of important aspects of this in our readings this morning.

We began with the story of the preparations for the first Passover. This is a very important story, a bed rock story of the Jewish nation. The time God called them out of Egypt to become formed and shaped into a people peculiar to God, a people who were called to be light to the Gentiles.

And on reading this story we should hear the musical refrain that we know is to be picked up later in God’s wonderful symphony of salvation.

They obeyed these instructions and acted in faith without prior knowledge. They had done nothing particular to earn or gain God’s favour. They were God’s sovereign choice.

Most importantly we hear that heart beat rhythm…

The blood of the sacrificed lamb will cover you and the angel of death will pass over you.

We, living this side of the cross, find ourselves breathless as we realise the import of this.

Paul in his ‘magnum-opus’ the Letter to Romans will explore all of this in a deep and dense way that is almost beyond our understanding, writing as he does as a Hebrew scholar of 1st century Palestine.

(Walter Waggerin – ‘Paul’)

(Tom Wright – ‘Romans for Everyone’)

It is not easy to comment on the short section we had from this Letter. It is packed with so many things and so many things we have often got a wrong headed view about.

It links in however with our reading about the Passover as you would expect.
The Passover was about calling out a particular people to God that they might be a sign, a symbol, a light to the Gentiles, demonstrating how it is that humans should live.

They were to walk in holiness because God was holy.

But now through grace, mercy and love God has extended that invitation and made it freely available to all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

This time however it is not the blood of sacrificial lambs that bring salvation, but the blood of the Lamb of God - and yet the same principle remains.

We act by faith and accept that blood as our covering.

And in this passage from Romans 13 Paul is outlining how the new Israel should behave. How they are to walk in holiness, how they are to be a people peculiar to God, how they are to be a light to a watching world. How they are to be a people of light in a darkened world of a past night without realizing a new day has already begun. A new day that is a precursor of that great and glorious day when heaven and earth will become conjoined.

Like Lazarus called from the tomb we have been released from the grave clothes and re-clothed with Christ.

This is where our walk needs to match our talk – this is where people will notice.

And oftentimes this is isn't in the major life crisis things but in the way we are in the world. Our kindness and gentleness, our peace in the midst of troubles and above all in the love and care we have for each other.

Sad to say that a good number of our churches are a very pale reflection of the dynamic faith communities God would have them be. Faith communities in which the very palpable life of God flows through every warp and weft, their very DNA. Faith communities that whilst deeply committed at the core are open at the edges and allow people the opportunity to draw closer to the very heart of God at the centre of that community. And this is evangelism at its very best.

And everyone, yes everyone is invited in – even a Syria Phoenician woman. Let’s not get too caught up in this little banter. We can make much of it, and many scholars have. Could it be that Jesus is teasing the woman, knowing that she has a fire in her soul, knowing she is a mother and mothers will do almost anything for her children?

So, maybe knowing this he is goading her into a deeper faith and heart cry for mercy.

Maybe it is simply Jesus gaining a fuller understanding himself of what God was doing and just how wide God was going to fling open the doors.

It could also be that Jesus had gone, possibly with some of his disciples, for a bit of R&R on the North West coast, a short holiday by the beach. No one likes to be bothered when they are having down time.

(Andrew Mayes – ‘Beyond the Edge’ Spiritual Transitions for Adventurous Souls)

However, however, however - if it is that all people are called into the great company of God people there is a cost. Not the cost of gaining God’s love and favour – that, as Paul argues vehemently, is all of grace.

No, the cost is living the life of holiness. On one occasion confronted by two blind beggars Jesus asks, ‘what do you want me to do for you?’  (Wouldn’t that seem obvious.)

No, I think what Jesus is saying here is that if I heal you then your life will become transformed and you will no longer sit here day on day as a beggars.

Max Lucado in his wonderful little book called, ‘You, God’s good idea’ writes, ‘God loves you just as you are, but loves you enough not to leave you that way.’

I have watched one of the brothers at Holy Trinity Monastery go through various stages over the past few years. I have watched as he changed his clothes from ‘civilian’ clothes and now as fully professed wearing the community habit.

Wilson Carlile the founder of Church Army in 1882 had his life turned around when in his mid-twenties he embraced the Christian faith.

We have again recently embraced and rooted one of his watchwords firmly in our being a Mission Community. It is based around 3 C’s,

Conversion – have you fully embraced the love of God, painted the blood of the sacrificial lamb on all the lintels of your life?

Consecration – are you walking on a holy path, clothed in Christ with the aroma of heaven surrounding you?

Christian Community – are you deeply rooted in a community of faith. A community of faith that is both evangelized and evangelizing.

Leslie Newbiggin said that; ‘the only hermeneutic of the gospel, is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it.’

Thank you for your support of the Church Army.

However I end as I began because it would be only too easy for you to say, here I am Lord, send the Church Army. Then, having kindly given us financial or prayer support to sit back and think – job done.

No, the jobs not done because the symphony continues and God wants each and every one of you, individually and collectively to invite others into God’s great orchestra that will sing in the redemption of the world. A backdrop to that day when sorrow and sighing will be no more, nor death nor any of the former things. The Lamb upon the Cross has become the Lamb upon the Throne.

But they won’t know that unless someone tells them, to quote from Romans 10.14. And you are just as qualified as anyone else to tell them!

Mediation from His Holiness Pope Emeritus Benedict XV1

And only where God is seen does life truly begin.

Only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is. 

We are not some casual and meaningless product of evolution. 
Each of us is the result of a thought of God.
Each of us is willed,
Each of us is loved,
Each of us is necessary.

There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel,
By the encounter with Christ.

There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with Him.

   

Captain's Log August 2014

A different kind of News & Prayer Letter this month as August included a two week holiday!

The transition from Chichester to Lichfield is beginning to take shape and Jane and I spent a weekend in Staffordshire at the beginning of August. Fortunately we saw the area dressed in her best and in welcoming sunshine. It is a very beautiful county and Stafford is an attractive city and even more so is Lichfield.  Lots of bits of history to explore which holds good. The Cathedral at Lichfield is outstanding and I was particularly drawn by the section in the East End with no stained glass just a cascade of light and a view of God’s good creation. (Remember the window episode on Vicar of Dibley!)   On Sunday we joined the good people of Christ Church, Stone. One of the aspects we are keen to get right is that we find a good Faith Community/Church. What we hope and pray is that having got that right we can then try and find a home that is accessible. This is particularly important for Jane who does not have independent transport.  We also visited Jane’s sister, Alison who lives just below Oswestry about an hour’s drive away. Again one of the building blocks we want to put in place is a ‘regular’ getting together with Alison. It is only too easy to move with all sorts of promises to be in touch and visit and then all sorts of other demands creep in and take over.



Remember the story of filling the jar. The big things have to go in first and then everything else fits around them.





Our holiday in Crete was fabulous and was everything about holidays that we enjoy. Exploring historical sights during the day, including on one day the 11 mile hike through the Samaria Gorge, then a swim in the sea followed by a nice meal out in the many restaurants and taverna’s in the evening in the 30+ temperature.  On one occasion we climbed high into the mountains in our hired Suzuki Jimny and decided to try and find our way across the Kathero Plataea. As we zipped around a corner into a small village we spotted a taverna with a local lady beckoning us to stop.  By the time we had processed the information we had gone past and turning back wasn’t such an easy option. But then the tarmac gave way to a dusty dirt track.  We became

hopelessly lost wandering around the tracks and had to turn back as they often ended in isolated farmsteads. Eventually we found our way back to the village and this time stopped at the taverna had a drink and asked if we could get across the Plataea. The young man who served us said if you have a car that can handle the road then all you need to do is to get on the one track out of the village and keep going, turning neither to the left nor to the right.  With time running out and petrol gauge dropping we thought discretion was the better part of valour and kept to the tarmac road and made our way back the way we had originally come! But at least I now have a good sermon illustration out of the experience!  

Transcript - Sermon 31st August 2014 'The Call, the Cost and the Commission'

Sermon – St Mary’s Slindon 31st August 2014

Exodus 3.1-15 & Matthew 16.21-28

During our recent holiday my wife and I found ourselves driving around the Katharo Plateau in Crete after having climbed several thousand feet up a mountain. The tarmac road gave way to dusty dirt tracks with no clear indication of directions, tracks often coming to end at an isolated farmstead.

Some people I know with a colourful vocabulary have a phrase for such a place as this!

The King James Version of the story we heard from Exodus hints at a similar place where Moses had found himself.

Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.

So, here is Moses. His days as an Egyptian Prince seem like a life time ago and almost not belonging to him such is there strangeness. The Egyptian he killed no longer haunts his dreams and he has long ago stopped looking over his shoulder for Pharaoh’s guards coming to arrest him.

No, thinks Moses, this will do nicely, tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro and in due course to be gathered to my fathers.

Then he sees a flaming bush and at first probably dismissed it, such a thing was not uncommon, it could be a trick of the light.

But no, this bush was actually on fire, again not uncommon but as he smelt the burning bush Moses was intrigued to see that the bush wasn't being consumed by the flames.

God had got his attention!

I don’t know how God got your attention but I can certainly think to particular events before I went over to have a closer look and before I then made a response.

One event was watching the very colourful and dramatic Zeffirelli 1972 film ‘Brother Sun Sister Moon’ that in many ways portrayed Francis as some kind of hippy. However I liked the Jesus that Francis seemed to follow and not the Jesus of claustrophobic religiosity offered by the established church.

I went to a Church of England Senior School which left me with a deep fascination for Jesus but no love or liking for the ‘church’ as manifested in its Worship and Services.

Back to Moses, who has now gone over to the burning bush and hears the voice of God. How exactly that voice was heard we are not told. However we do get the ‘conversation.’
And the conversation is about God having heard the plight of the Israelite s struggling under the heavy oppression of the Egyptian slave drivers.

Now is the time to bring them into freedom, now is the time in God’s plan for the redemption of the cosmos to begin another great chapter in calling out a people peculiar to God.

A God who will not disclose his name, (and although we ordinarily use HIM this does not denote any specific gender)

This God is not some local deity with a name and place in the pantheon of gods to be placated by endless sacrifices to guard against them displaying their wrath and displeasure.

Of course when we hear the words ‘I am’ - for post resurrection Christians with knowledge of John’s Gospel we will hear those words and their deep meaning on the lips of Jesus.

So, despite Moses’ declaring his unworthiness for such a task he capitulates and the hitherto quiet life on the backside of the desert is exchanged for one of momentous occasion.

But God only wanted one Moses and God only wants one of you and one of me.

And what God called Moses to do was his (Moses) very particular and peculiar calling.
What God calls you to do will equally be your own very particular and peculiar calling.

Michael Quoist writes in his book ‘The Christian Response’

 ‘You are a unique and irreplaceable actor in the drama of human history, and Jesus Christ has need of you to make known his salvific work in this particular place and at this particular moment in history.’

When God had put a number of burning bushes in my path I eventually capitulated and cried out, Jesus, my Lord and my God.

A bit like Moses I thought my life was heading in one direction but then it was switched all around and all over the place.

And there was a cost, there is always a cost.

But the cost isn't about buying acceptance or earning God’s love in any way. It was a response of love for what God had done, is doing and will do in my life.

A response of love for what God has done in the world is doing for the world and will do for the world.

You can read about this in the Scriptures and in particular the Book of Revelation. That great and glorious day when heaven comes to earth, when sorrowing and sighing are banished and death is no more and when all people come to judgment.

The Day we pray for regularly in the Lord’s Prayer – a prayer often on our lips but much less in our hearts and in our actions.

And you at St Mary’s, Slindon, collectively and individually are part of God’s great cosmic plan for the redemption of the universe.

But there is a cost, there is always a cost.

Francis was brought by his exasperated father, Pietro Bernardone, before the Church leaders because he simply couldn't understand the innocent faith Francis had grasped. Francis who had embraced his heavenly Father and his poor children with a deep passion gives back to his earthy father everything, even the clothes off his back and stripping naked he steps into a new life.

There is a cost, there is always a cost if love is to be genuine – cheap grace simply will not do.

The cost is spelled out by Jesus in the Gospel passage we heard.

Yes we know about the ‘easy yoke’ that Jesus offers, we know about the fullness and fruitfulness that a life with God offers – but there is a cost there is always a cost if a response to this love is to be genuine and meaningful.

Jesus refers to it as ‘taking up your cross and following Jesus.’

Crucifixion for us is an historical fact but for the contemporaries of Jesus it was a grim reality. The Romans used this brutal and very public way of execution as a terror tactic. Mess with Rome and this is what will become of you. A slow, painful, long lingering death, pinioned to a cross beam in the blazing heat while flies and birds and buzzards begin feeding on your flesh before you have died.

And despite the modesty of most depictions of Jesus’ crucifixion the victims would be stripped naked. This is part of the humiliation – Rome has absolute power and can take away from you absolutely everything – the very clothes you stand up in and your life.

This is the cost – this is the path upon which Jesus invites us to follow him. But unlike our own frustrated meandering around the Katharo Plateau this journey has a direction and this journey has a meaning and this journey has a purpose.

But what that direction, meaning and purpose will be is different for each and every one of us.

And God in His infinite mercy and grace has so ordered things that if we should respond to his great love, and if we are attentive to the overarching enterprise, we will find that together we have all the needful gifts, task and talents to bring about a realised a Lord’s Prayer.

So, what is your resolve today – are you going to turn aside and see what God might be calling you to do. Are you willing to take up your cross?

On Thursday last the Church Celebrated the Feast Day of Augustine of Hippo who said, ‘if Jesus is not Lord of all then he is not Lord at all.’

My brothers, my sisters, the world is groaning and crying out in so much travail and pain. Is this really a time to be discussing the finer points of liturgy, the music we sing on Sunday and who is on the flower rota?

Don’t get me wrong, these all have their place, but that place is surely underneath God overarching plan for the redemption of the cosmos, an enterprise in which he invites you and he invites me to participate.

However there is a cost, there is always a cost….

It also spelled out in the hymn we have just sang.

Take up thy cross, and follow Christ,
Nor think till death to lay it down;
For only those who bear the cross
May hope to wear the glorious crown.    

Captain's Log July 2014

Wivelsfield Weekend 11th - 13th July

And the sun shone…

It has always been such a delight to join St Peter and St John the Baptist, Wivelsfield for their Village Day. 

Jane and I went up and stayed over for the weekend in the Caravan that despite its great age continues to hold together – just! 

Alongside the interactive Church Display we offered the usual badge & key-ring making, Psalm Reading and Garden Games.  The Saturday naturally spills over into the Sunday and Café Church in the Village Hall. The theme for the weekend was ‘Hero’s’ and as part of the Service Jane and I offered the fantastic story of David & Goliath told as two opposing football teams. (It was World Cup Final day!)  I picked this up some years ago and it really is a lot of fun and gets across a great message at the end. 

Happy to send you a copy if you like and you might be able to view it on their FB page. 

https://www.facebook.com/#!/WivelsfieldParishChurch

Spiritual Directors Course – this month we concluded the year long Introduction to Spiritual Direction. I have been part of the small team who have worked alongside the tutors doing all things practical. I went through this Course last year and so this was an opportunity to go through the material again plus some different aspects of spirituality. I especially liked the one that focused on male and female spirituality.  I am currently reading through Stephen Cottrell’s

book From the Abundance of the Heart: Catholic Evangelism for All Christians.  He strongly emphasises the place of prayer and the need for a deep spirituality alongside the task of evangelism. We need to travel deep into the Father heart of God and in so doing we will find our motivation to share that love with others both in word and in actions.

This month also saw our 32^nd Wedding Anniversary. We celebrated with a lovely meal at one of our favourite Vegetarians Restaurants in Brighton, ‘Food for Friends.’  Sadly many restaurants are a bit like churches when it comes to the ‘vegetarian option.’ Occasionally there is nothing at all on offer, or maybe one or two dishes, and as Jane says, that’s not a choice it’s an ultimatum.

Some Churches also offer a very limited menu for ways of engaging with God in worship!

Part of the need is to embrace some of the seismic shifting and changing taking place in the Church of England, and I am not simply talking about woman being accepted to the Episcopate. We really have to discern and discover what kind of Church God would have us be in the 21st century. I have been revisiting Sodal & Modal and especially the paper by George Lings on this and found it very helpful and insightful.

Captains Log June 2014

The Big Thing for June is the South of England Show. Once more we had an intrepid team of 150+ volunteers over the three days. Despite the very gloomy forecast the weather was okay as we entertained hundreds of guest over the three days. We also run the Lost People Station, which is the reason the Show Committee gift us a massive amount of infrastructure. We did have a few incidents to deal with and on the Saturday 17 lost souls who needed to be found! Joking apart this is a great ministry as you can easily imagine the distress of a parent who has lost their child, or a child who has lost their carers. We are a safe pair of hands’ until everything is properly sorted and duly recorded.  I was aware this year of just how much sheer physical hard work the Show is, perhaps my being at County Shows for the past twenty years is beginning to catch up with me! For example the Saturday started at 7.30am and didn't finish until Jane and I had unloaded the van at 11.30pm. But for all that I get such a great buzz from being there.

Not much time for recovery as Monday I was of the Missioners Summer Gathering in Blackpool. Because I knew I would be tired I took the train up the day before. Our Gathering under the excellent care of Rachel Jordan was as brilliant as ever. One aspect that came out for all of us was the importance of keeping the name and the person of Jesus in focus. We can hear all sorts of exciting things, make many kinds of plans, devise dozens of schemes, and in the doing of many things forget that it is all about making Jesus known!  

  

In making plans the Chichester Diocese is currently undergoing a ‘Discerning the Vision’ exercise. A series of meetings are being held across the diocese to try and get a flavour of people’s ideas, dreams and visions.  Picking up from the Missioners Gathering we need to be a very different kind of church if we are to have any meaningful engagement with our society. Reflecting on the report ‘Anecdote to Evidence’ we can see very clearly the need for Pioneer Ministers, Fresh Expressions of Church and engagement with children and teenagers.

My own driver at the moment is to ask some fundamental questions apropos the Church. Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Six Serving Men’ are of great help here. For example:

What is God calling you to be as the church?

Why do we do what we do as a church?

When does the church meet?
How could we be the church in a better way?  

Where is the church?

Who is the church for?

Soul by the Sea www.soulbythesea.org.uk

Can hardly believe how much time has slipped by since we mounted the Passion Play on a very wet Easter Day. Because of it being wet and late we simply dumped all the stage props and party tents and loads of other stuff into storage. On 21st June we managed to get a small team to go to the storage, move it all out to free storage, with a plan to dry it out in the Park between the moves. Unfortunately we had an attack of the Gideon’s, and the tent walls, etc, became wetter by lying on the ground despite the sunshine! It was a very hot, dirty, dusty and tiring day, yet very rewarding and fantastic to work alongside such a great group of guys putting in their all to get the job done.

Also this month 28 years as an Officer in the Church Army. Admitted to the Office of Evangelist by Archbishop Robert Runcie on the 24th June 1986. (It is also the birthday of our youngest son, Joe Banks. And apparently John the Baptist!)

Another delightful occasion was to attend the Ordination as Deacon of several people I know. Especially Kate Lawson whom I have been walking alongside as a Mentor and Spiritual Director for the last three years. Such a privilege to have played at least small part in getting Kate to this point.








And to round off the month a trip to Farnborough for the 40th Birthday Bash of Emma (Jane's niece) - we had a great time catching up with family and friends that spilled over into the next day when a bunch of us gathered at a Carvery to enjoy Sunday lunch together,