Fishing and Following - transcript of sermon 8th February 2022

 Tuesday ~ Morning Worship at St Oswald’s 8^th February 2022

Gospel – Mark 5:1-11

Some months ago, we had presented to us a Vison for St Oswald’s.

To be Jesus centred, God dependent, Missionary disciples.

Who are being church in a variety of ways.

Resulting in us becoming a more diverse community and serving God in the world.

How is this sitting with you right now?

This Tuesday Gathering is certainly part of being church in a variety of ways. 

What about yourselves, as individuals, how do you think you are getting on being and becoming more a Jesus centred, God dependent, missionary disciple?

This story we heard written in Luke’s Gospel I think has some useful insights that may help us in this endeavour.

First a bit of context.

We are four chapters into Luke’s Gospel before we hear of any type of calling to specific people to become Jesus’ disciples.

Luke’s account is fuller than Matthew’s, and John has a slightly different take on it all, but that’s John’s Gospel for you.

Luke gives us the extra detail of Jesus commandeering Simon Peter’s boat as a place from which to preach to the crowds gathered on the lake side. This detail adds authenticity to the account as this is the most logical thing to do and from a boat just offshore it would be possible to speak easily to a good number on the shoreline.  It’s making use of the natural acoustics.

Now we may be scratching our heads as to why Simon Peter should be taking notice of what Jesus’s asks or says.

In the chapter before we have another story of Simon and Jesus.

Jesus is in Capernaum which is on the northwest coast the Sea of Galilee or Lake Gennesaret. (It was not a sea but a very large freshwater lake.)

Jesus had been in the Synagogue on the Sabbath and performed an exorcism on a demon possessed man.

When you read stories like this, doesn’t it make you wonder and think about how tame our Church gatherings have become.

Much to talk about here on the way home – well there would be wouldn’t there?

And Simon invites Jesus back to his home for lunch. Simon seems to have settled in Capernaum having moved from his hometown six miles around east along the coast in Bethsaida.  However, they find Simon’s mother-in-law is sick with a fever. Jesus heals her, then she gets up and sorts out their lunch for them.

This isn’t the story we read, but I invite you to note that this indicates that Simon was married. We have no account of his wife or any children. He may have been widowed

Bear that in mind as we reflect on the concluding part of the story we did read – notably Luke 5.11.

‘So, they pulled their boats up on the shore, left everything and followed him.’

Sometimes, just sometimes, the call of God upon our lives will take precedence even over our families.

Luke 5:1-11 is built around a fishing story and as we have noted already, Jesus and Simon have already met.

Interestingly we have not met fishermen before in the Hebrew Scriptures – the Old Testament.

We have numerous other trades but no mention of fisherman.

Remember that the Jewish people had no liking for the sea. It was a place of chaos, of monsters, of demons, of death and destruction.

However, the Sea of Galilee was very important to the economy.

But in Jesus’s day, the fishing industry in Palestine was fully under the control of the Roman Empire. 

All fishing was state regulated largely for the benefit of the urban elite. They loved a condiment called Garum, a fish sauce which was immensely popular in Ancient Rome.  Fishermen couldn’t obtain licenses to fish without joining a syndicate, most of what they caught was exported leaving local communities impoverished and hungry and the Romans collected exorbitant taxes, levies, and tolls each time fish were sold.  To catch even one fish outside of this exploitative system was considered illegal. 

In the film series ‘The Chosen’ this is developed with Simon Peter doing some ‘moonlight’ fishing with Matthew spying on him and reporting his activities to the Roman authorities.

https://watch.angelstudios.com/thechosen

Could it be that is what lay partly behind Simon’s words, ‘Go away from me Lord, for I am a sinful man.’

Are there things in our past that might make us make the same declaration?

Take heart from this story, for Jesus’ moves swiftly on to invite Simon to join Jesus in his work, fishing for people. Seeking to draw people into the ‘Kingdom of God Community’ that Jesus was declaring and demonstrating. Remember Simon’s mother-in-law and the demon possessed man.

It is interesting to note that John in his Gospel presents this story post Resurrection and with Simon, now better known as Peter, being reinstated, and invited once more to follow Jesus as a key figure in the new Jesus Community.

Is this John setting his own time scale? Or might it be that we do have the same miracle twice with Simon Peter receiving an invitation to follow Jesus and then a fresh invitation when he thinks he has blown it big time by denying he knew Jesus. Take heart, remember that phrase from a few weeks ago, ‘if you’re not dead, God’s not done.’  

And in this story, with such an abundance of fish caught, it would mean enough food for everyone because there would be enough to sell to the Roman’s, pay the levies and still feed the local families.

This is Jesus’ version of what levelling up means!

And finally, and very importantly note when and where this event takes place.

It is not in the Temple or even the local synagogue. It is out and about in the middle of the stuff of life. It is in the middle of story about a fruitless night spent fishing, labouring away. Sore hands, aching backs and possibly grumbling tummies. And nothing to show for all the hard work.

It is into this very ordinariness that Jesus steps and makes it extraordinary.  Jesus invites us to sail out into the deep and put down our nets – into the ordinary, into the familiar.

How alert and attentive are we as go about our day, perhaps doing the same old same old. Familiar patterns, regular routines. 

Safe, comfortable, maybe a tad boring, but at least it’s secure.

Perhaps we might need to clean our glasses, put new batteries into our hearing aids, because, maybe, just maybe, Jesus will step into our own routines and turn our ordinariness into the extraordinary.

Are we ready for that?

Do expect that?

Are we looking and praying for that?

As I begin to draw to a close let me remind you of another story that involved fish, but this time not a huge catch, but just two small fish, possibly the simple lunch of a young boy who found himself before Jesus in front of a huge hungry crowd.

A sinner – yes.

Doing pretty ordinary things most of the time – yes.

Haven’t got a huge amount to offer in face of the need – yes.

Yes, yes, yes and a thousand times YES.

Then Jesus says, come follow me and I will help you fish for people.

Today we are invited further and deeper into understanding just what it means to be a Jesus centred, God dependent, missionary disciple.

 O Christ in the synagogue in 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

'Jesus' journey to adulthood' - Transcript of sermon on St Stephen's Day 2021

 St Stephen’s Day – St Oswald’s 26^th December 2021

Luke 2: 41 - end

One Christmass I found myself in a manager in a stable and I wasn’t a baby in a Nativity Play. I was three years older than Jesus in the story we have just heard. It was Christmass 1966 and that summer I had travelled down to Newmarket and signed on as an Apprentice Jockey with Bruce Hobbs. I had never ridden a horse in my life, had no previous love or liking of horses and never been anywhere near a stable. (Why I decided upon this career is a story for another time)

With zero experience, looking after expensive thoroughbreds was a steep learning curve. One of the lessons to learn is how to take off a stable rug. Most rugs have a strap across the chest and then two under the belly, girth straps. The trick is when taking off a rug to start at the back and work forward. When putting it on the procedure is reversed. This is because if you get a strap caught around the horse’s belly and back legs, they will most likely kick and buck. In fact, it is a strap like this that is used to encourage horses to buck in rodeos.

I don’t know what happened but obviously I had not undone the straps properly one morning. The horse went mad, kicking, rearing, and snorting. I was trapped and couldn’t get out the door. So, I climbed into the manager to try and keep out of the way. Fortunately, the Head Lad heard the commotion, came in, sorted out the horse and rescued me.

It was a memorable Christmass - and my first one away from home. There was no thought of going home which was 200 miles away in Oldham because we only had one day off.

We did however have the choice of which day off we could take, either on the 25^th or the 26^th.

A lot of lads went for the 26^th because of the sports. I wasn’t that much into sports and so usually went for the 25^th. I have no idea what I did, but I do know going to Church would not have been on the agenda. We did have a Christmass meal cooked for us.  All the Apprentices lived in rooms above the stables and had our meals together in the canteen. I do remember once the meal was cooked the Governor and his wife used to serve everyone.

And today, 26^th December, where you live will determine what you call this day. Most of us will probably refer to it as Boxing Day whereas in Southern Ireland and Italy it is better know as Stephen’s Day.

As for Boxing Day historians disagree about how it and where it originated.

One thought is that it grew out of longstanding British traditions of charitable giving and goodwill.

There are several theories as to how that charitable tradition became known as “boxing.” Some historians tie the use of the term to boxes of donations that were installed in churches during the pre-Christmas season of Advent in the early days of Christianity during the second and third centuries A.D. The day after Christmass, the boxes were opened, and the money distributed to the poor.

Another theory is tied to a practice that arose around the 16^th century. Working-class people would spend December 26th seeking out Christmass “boxes,” or tips, from the people they had served throughout the year.

I remember as a Paper Lad going around asking for a Christmass box.

And it was a regular custom to give a ‘box’ to the postman and the dustbin men.

Another possible origin story for Boxing Day has to do with a tradition that evolved in socially stratified 19^th century Victorian England, where servants sacrificed time with their own families to cater to their aristocratic employers on Christmass. On the day after Christmass, employers would give the servants a rare day off and send them home with leftovers from the family’s Christmass feast, plus gifts and tips.

But these charitable practises may have an origin way further back, to around 36AD.

We meet St Stephen’s Day in the carol “Good King Wenceslas.” You may recall that the king tramps through deep snow in a bid to give alms to a poor peasant. The king was a real figure: Saint Wenceslas, a 10th-century Bohemian duke who, according to legend, did noble deeds “on the feast of Stephen.”

One of the first deacons of the Christian church, St Stephen was killed for his beliefs around A.D 36 and is considered Christianity’s first martyr. Known for serving the poor, Saint Stephen is traditionally celebrated with charity and the distribution of alms.

We read an account of his martyrdom in the Acts of the Apostle’s chapters 6 and 7.

In this dramatic and fascinating account, I am always drawn by chapter 7 verse 56. Just before the angry mob are about to drag Stephen off and stone him to death - we read…

‘Look,’ he said (that is Stephen) ‘I see the heaven’s opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’

The Son of Man standing by the right hand of God. Not seated but standing as if to welcome home the first witness to pay the ultimate cost of being a disciple of Jesus.

But wait a minute. How on earth have we got from celebrating the birth of baby Jesus to reflecting upon the death of Stephen the following day?

Because the baby Jesus became the toddler Jesus, who became the child Jesus who as we heard in our Gospel ‘grew in wisdom and stature.’

And this Jesus, as a man, said, ‘whoever would be my disciple must take up their cross and follow me.’

The Boy You Were

(I picked up this poem some years ago and have no note of the author)

I stand at the foot

Of the Calvary Cross,

Eyes fixed,

  transfixed,

  on the broken shadow of my child:

  and all I see

  is the son you were,

  the one who tumbled and laughed

  through childhood years:

  what have they done to you now?

 …the boy of twelve

  and the frantic three-day search we had

  until you were found in the temple,

  discussing issues

  beyond your years:

I see you hanging

  on the cross

 …the young man

 learning his father’s trade,

 fashioning useful things from wood,

 the grain of timber

 under your hands,

 powdery sawdust

 in your hair,

 loving the wood you worked with.

Wood gets under your skin,

 you’d say,

 and now you’re close to it still

 as you labour to draw your final breath.

 

Where is my carpenter now?

Did it have to end like this?

Some see a radical revolutionary

 tortured by those

 who feared their power base undermined

 but me, I see my child:

I see the boy you were.

Mary’s thoughts tumbling back over the years. What was it the aged and Godly Simeon had said all those years ago? ‘A sword will pierce your own soul.’

Remembering another Passover Pilgrimage to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve years old.  Thinking he was among their relatives and friends and then the frantic three-day search and finding him in the Temple talking and discussing with the teachers and elders.  But why did it all have to end this way?

Luke will tell another story at the end of his Gospel account.  About another couple this time going away from Jerusalem because they thought they had lost Jesus. Lost Jesus to death, shunned by the Jewish authorities and crucified by the Romans. They were on their way home to Emmaus and a stranger joins them.  They speak of Jesus, of their hopes and dreams, and then – ‘besides all of this it is three days since these things took place.’  

Jesus then begins to open up the Scriptures and reveals Messiah Jesus who had been hiding in plain sight in the Hebrew Scriptures.

They find Jesus, but a different Jesus, a Jesus who is the true fulfilment of all that was spoken about by the Prophets and the Writings.  

Luke invites his readers to make other connections as well.

Where was Jesus found by Mary and Joseph – in the Temple. Years later he was to return and denounce the corruption of the Temple, saying it had been turned into a den of thieves. He was to prophecy that the Temple would be utterly destroyed within a generation. (Which came to pass in 70AD.)  And Jesus also said, ‘destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up.’   Referring to his body. Jesus was and is the embodiment of the Temple.

Why was Jesus and his family in Jerusalem – to celebrate the Passover.

When was Jesus crucified – during the Festival of Passover?  

How old was Jesus – twelve years.  A year before he was to become an adult and go through a ceremony, possibly something akin to a Bar Mitzvah today, and become a man.

Another story Luke recalls is that of healing Jairus twelve-year-old daughter. Jairus was a synagogue leader who begged Jesus to help him.

And on his way to restore Jairus’ daughter Jesus encounters a woman who had suffered a condition of constant haemorrhaging that would have made her unclean. She suffered such a condition for twelve years.

Those twelve years may not be significant, but it is important we notice them and ask the question.

And in this story, peculiar to Luke, we get our only Scriptural account into the hidden years of Jesus’ childhood.

There have been plenty fanciful attempts to fill in the gaps over the years.

One of the most sympathetic is a modern book called ‘Lamb’ by Christopher Moore.  It is very much tongue in cheek but none the less a good read as a work of fiction.

Thus, in our reflecting we have moved from baby Jesus to twelve years old Jesus and now to Stephen, a disciple of Jesus.

And for whatever reason the Feast Day of Stephen falls today, I think it is the perfect place.

One of the common features of the 26^th of December is people going for a walk, or swimming in cold water. Getting out for some fresh air.

And remembering the Stoning of Stephen acts in a similar way.

Like stepping out of the sauna and jumping in the cold plunge or shower, it takes our breath away and is a bit of shock to the system.

We are faced with the stark reality of Jesus the man, risen from death. Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Son of Man, Jesus as Lord and King of All – Jesus through whom the Kingdom of God upon earth has been inaugurated, a realized Lord’s Prayer coming to pass.

Sadly, this reality is too much for some people.

Sadly, many people who celebrate Christmass will put Jesus away along with all the other decorations and fripperies of Christmass.

Sadly, not many people bother to ask the question, ‘I wonder what Jesus did when he grew up.’

Sadly, not many people will make the journey to Jerusalem for the Passover and watch as the baby Jesus, now a man, is cruelly put to death.

Sadly, not too many people will make the connection between Christmass and Easter.

It is all too much, too demanding, to bloody, best not to think about it too much.

Best if we just get on with life and wait until next Christmass when we can celebrate once more with the Baby Jesus because the adult Jesus is simply too demanding and disturbing and makes us uncomfortable by the things he said and did.

Things like, love your enemies, forgive people, care for the poor, feed the hungry, pray for the sick and visit those in prison.

But let us remember Jesus also said, ‘The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.’

Seems to me on this St Stephen’s Day there is a decision to make.

Are we going to heed that call as did Stephen when Jesus says follow me?

Are we going to acknowledge that this helpless babe become the Servant King who calls us now to follow him?’

We need to think carefully and choose wisely because it is the most important decision we will ever make.

 

From heaven you came helpless babe…

https://youtu.be/A0FSZ_iSYO8

A recording of this sermon can be viewed in context of Morning Worship on the St Matthew and St Oswald’s website.

www.m2o.org.uk

 

 

'Preparing A Road' - transcript of sermon at St Oswald's, Rugby, Advent Sunday2021

 Luke 21: 25-36

Sermon – St Oswald Advent Sunday 2021

 

Some years ago, when I was working in the Truro Diocese a young man, Jeremy was appointed to his first curacy at St Michael’s, Newquay.

We met up for coffee and anybody who knows me will be aware that my head is always full of ideas and resources. I simply love ‘kite flying’ and wondering maybe what if…

This was even more so when my role was the Diocesan Advisor for Evangelism.

Jeremy was looking for a way to get to know people in the community and I had an idea.

My idea was to get Bibles into holiday caravans much in the same way as Gideon Bibles were placed in hotel rooms. Maybe add to the Bible a children’s colouring book, some crayons and possible some other literature to help people on holiday explore and consider the Christian faith.

Jeremy liked the idea and by way of a launch we decided to run a Biblathon. A not stop public reading of the Scriptures. On average that takes 72 hours.

Jeremy picked up the idea of the Biblathon with a passion. He began by laying out a huge roll of lining paper on several tables in the Church. He carefully segmented all the Scriptures into small sections with an approximate time scale.

However, Jeremy invited people not to simply read their chosen text but to use music and drama or whatever way people wished to present it. 

This gave Jeremy the opportunity to knock on doors around the community and invite them to engage them with this project that had certainly caught people’s imagination.

We had the local MP reading, schools offering drama to tell Old Testament stories and stories from the Gospels. The choir sang many of the Psalms and other pieces and other musical groups came in to do the same in different styles.

One of the special moments for me was the Head of Education for Cornwall County Council who was a practising Jew came and sang a huge chunk of the Old Testament in Hebrew.

The Church had a Narthex at the back of the church with a kitchen and so food and drinks were available as the church remained open for people to pop in at any time.

I stayed next to the Church in my Church Army Mission Caravan. 

And in the early of the third day, around 4am or 5am the last section of the Book of Revelation was read. I went and made a phone call to Radio Cornwall who were following the project. Later, around 6am, I gave a fuller live interview.

It really was a remarkable event and we timed it so that we concluded on the first Sunday in Advent.

We had a large lit candle burning throughout as a sign that the Scriptures offer a lantern to our feet and a light to our paths.

We choose Advent Sunday because it ends the Liturgical Year. This is marked by a change in the Lectionary Readings and the principal Gospel for the year ahead.

Today we begin Year C with Luke as our principal Gospel.

It seemed fitting to engage with the whole of Scripture, God’s big story, by way of entering Advent.

The word Advent derives from Latin, ad-venire which means ‘to come’ and later moving into adventus meaning ‘arrival.’

The Advent call comes from Isaiah and echoed by John the Baptist…

Prepare a road for the Lord through the wilderness,

clear a highway across the desert for our God

Every valley shall be lifted up,

every mountain and hill brought down;

the rugged place shall be made smooth

and mountain ranges become a plain. (Isaiah 40:3-4)

Advent carries the twin themes of both a solemn season and a season of great hope and expectancy.

Purple is the liturgical colour that reflects the solemnity of the season.

Advent candles sometimes in an Advent wreath have grown in popularity over recent years across a wide range of Churches.

Although red candles are sometimes used an older tradition is three purple and one rose coloured candle, along with the white Christ candle. The rose candle was lit on the Third Sunday, Gaudete Sunday, which is Latin for ‘rejoice’ from the Introit set for that day. And if you are thinking of a Steeleye Span song you are right on the money.    

More commonly today it has moved to the last Sunday when the focus is often on Mary and the ending of the season of solemnity turning to one of joyous expectation.

As the idea of Advent Candles has grown in popularity, any number of themes are now used for the four Sunday in Advent, God’s People, Prophets, John the Baptist, and Mary. Or Hope, Peace, Joy and Love, or Expectation, Preparation, Repentance and Rejoice – themes keep expanding.

One set of themes that some of you may remember did mark out the solemnity of the seasons and serves to remind us that during Advent we are not only considering Jesus coming to us as the Babe of Bethlehem but also his second coming as Lord and Judge of all. This set of themes were known collectively as the Four Last Things, death, judgment, heaven, and hell.

 

That would rather knock the edge of any pre-emptive Christmass jollification.

That’s as maybe, but this is the place our Gospel reading points us towards. This ‘Little Apocalypse’ as it sometimes referred to – also to be found in Matthew 24 and Mark 13. All of them set just before Jesus’ Passion Narrative.  (Apocalypse - revealing or unveiling)

This is interesting as the Jews held passionately to the idea of ‘The Day of the Lord,’ or the ‘Day of God’s Wrath.’  This would be the time when God became sovereign over all the earth, judgment would be past, evil banished, and evil doers punished. A time when the Jews would fulfil their true vocation to be agents of God reign and rule, image bearers and God representatives upon earth.

This ‘Day’ however, according to Isaiah and Jeremiah and other Old Testaments prophets would be preceded by a time of earth-shattering events.

Put all of that together with what we considered last Sunday – Christ the King. Add in the title above Jesus as he was crucified, Jesus King of the Jews, and the larger picture begins to emerge.

We must never forget this larger narrative. That the Child in the Crib became the Christ on the Cross.

Across the crib always falls the shadow of the cross.

Personally, I do think we have lost something in our rush to Christmass without giving due thought and reflecting on our rebellious nature, upon our sins, both personally and collectively.

To reflect upon the knots and tangles we have got ourselves into that stops us shining as bright lights in the darkness.

And on our collective sins we have been soberly reminded of our failure to act as good stewards of God’s good creation with COP26.

Now all this stuff about seasons, liturgical years and Advent may appear irrelevant and a tad nerdy.

But it serves to remind us of our history of our faithful forbears. It serves to remind us that we stand in a tradition of the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

And it serves to remind us to place of Jesus in the context of the whole of Scripture not as some superhero beamed down on a rescue mission so we could go to heaven when we die.

When I was in London, I remember going to Speakers Corner in Hyde Park. One of the speakers was suggesting that Christians do not follow Jesus but rather Paul. He had a good point, and there are several Churches in the West who read their Bibles backwards.

They focus on the Epistles, mainly Paul, then maybe dip into the Gospel’s and then wander into the Old Testament to cherry pick proof texts and prophecies.

I am looking forward to engaging with the Essential 100 Bible Challenge that accompanies next year's teaching themes on "The Big Story of God" Where we can begin to get a glimpse of Jesus as the fulfilment of all that had been spoken about in the Hebrews Scriptures.

Put well in the couplet; ‘in the Old Testament the New Testament is contained and in the New Testament the Old Testament is explained.’

As well as reading the book 100 Challenges one of the disciplines you may like to consider in the year ahead is to read something like Tom Wright’s commentary on Luke in his Everyone series. This has been my own discipline for some years now and I can highly commend it.

I want to draw this rather wandering sermon to a close by reading Psalm 96.

As I do note how this Psalm speaks of God as King of the nations, how all creation is called to sing God’s praises, how we are to bring an offering to his temple, and how God is coming to judge all people and will do so with fairness.

All of this is personified in Jesus, who, post resurrection, is given all authority on heaven and earth, who was denoted as King of the Jews by Pilate, and who is the new Temple and the one who was and is to come, offering salvation and bringing righteous judgement upon all – and so much more, so much, much more.

A wonderful Psalm to help us reflect upon and engage with Advent as a period of waiting with sober reflection and watching with eager expectation as we see God’s once for all plan to bring everything back into good order through the righteous faithfulness of Jesus that begins with his humble birth – not in a royal house or hall.

Sing a new song to the LORD!

Everyone on this earth,

sing praises to the LORD,

sing and praise his name.

Day after day announce,

“The LORD has saved us!”

Tell every nation on earth,

“The LORD is wonderful

and does marvellous things!

The LORD is great and deserves

our greatest praise!

He is the only God

worthy of our worship.

Other nations worship idols,

but the LORD created

the heavens.

Give honour and praise

to the LORD,

whose power and beauty

fill his holy temple.”

Tell everyone of every nation,

“Praise the glorious power

of the LORD.

He is wonderful! Praise him

and bring an offering

into his temple.

Everyone on earth, now tremble

and worship the LORD,

majestic and holy.”

Announce to the nations,

“The LORD is King!

The world stands firm,

never to be shaken,

and he will judge its people

with fairness.”

Tell the heavens and the earth

to be glad and celebrate!

Command the ocean to roar

with all its creatures

and the fields to rejoice

with all their crops.

Then every tree in the forest

will sing joyful songs

to the LORD.

He is coming to judge

all people on earth

with fairness and truth.