Sunday's sermon

DO YOU THINK CHRISTMAS IS TOO COMMERCIAL??

READ ON.....

The Royal mail, and courier services are especially busy at this time of the year of course, and perhaps more than some communities we rely on them to both take away things for Christmas and equally deliver them. The last posting day gets ever closer and some watch this marker carefully.

Christmas trees and lights now seem to have December 1^st as the up day, just to help us feel that Christmas is even closer than it really is, and for some elderly people in care homes this can cause even bigger problems and anxiety.

I have just about got my cards ready to post, I have not thought of a tree to be honest, I know where my lights are because I bought them last year.

I know who I am getting presents for and most of these are ordered and some are even wrapped, and some are waiting until the end of January this time! (Newr year sales could help me here!).

I have mincemeat ready for the pies, and drink for the guests.

There are probably other things too which you have on your lists of to do things, and some of you may feel the pressure of these things pressing in on you.

Then on top of all that we have to contend with some fairly rough weather, how the council is going to save millions, where the new Anderson is going and if it is going, The problems in Syria and Egypt, and not to mention the increased concern about financial markets, the value of our savings and if they will remain safe and the security of our pensions.

Phew! You might think… yes and on top of all that the church is trying to get a word in edgeways and say that in amongst all this God is somehow wanting to show that he is involved in the world, not just today but always has been.

The Nine lessons and carols we shall experience again soon deliberately try to tell this story of God in the world. Christmas itself is about the same story of God breaking into our world.

Furthermore the world we see God breaking into and making an impact was a world of political and military tension, and a world of international intrigue.

Tradition has it that Jesus was born in an overcrowded  and occupied town. A place of chaos and tax. ( the census was all about taxation)

Tradition also has it that God breaks into such a world in an unexpected way and as if a huge surprise. Almost silently in the night.

Tradition also has some surprising people recognising this God presence, shepherds and foreigners, and not the religious folk of the day.

Our Christmas would not be the same today however without the Shepherds Wise Men, stable and manger the crib. Our Christmas today would not be the same without Holly wreaths, mistletoe, Christmas Trees and stockings.

Our Christmas today would also not be the same without Santa Claus the man who brings delight and magic to the homes and faces of our loved ones.

I do not think we need to be over concerned about the trappings of Christmas….. no matter what world we find ourselves in God has a way of making his real presence felt, and for you and I who call ourselves Christian we have a particular role to play in helping the World recognise the coming of God to a needy world and a needy people.

Our own response at Christmas has to be like that of the Shepherds and wise man, of coming and worshipping the presence of God in the world. The part we play is ultimately simple really. God somehow completes the picture, it does not rely on us to do that.

When we are tempted to say that it has all become a little too commercialized and the real meaning of Christmas has been lost, is it sometimes because we recognise within ourselves the little room we give to Jesus or to God.

The Shepherds are you and I. People going about their normal working lives and being surprised by God. And following the surprise being able to respond to that all important news and not let it just slip away after Boxing Day.

Traditionally the Shepherd brought a lamb. A symbol of their work their normal day to day life, nothing special, and we sing about if I were a shepherd what would I bring…. And the conclusion we come to is that we would bring our heart.

There is nothing smaller or even greater about our offering to God this Christmas, it is almost nothing that is expected and yet it is at the same time everything. It does not matter if it happens within a commercial world or a world of political unrest and intrigue, just that it happens…. And I believe it always will.

December has come!

Yes yes! I know it has been a while since I updated this. Sorry! My brother has even complained that it has needed attention. Well here I am.

Last Sunday we had a confirmation service and here is the photo of that occassion. It was a busy weekend all over and to cap it all blizzards coming back from Yell with the Bishop in the driving seat!!

We survived.. 

Leah update

I am sorry that until now I have not posted a picture of the new Labrador Puppy. Leah is settling in well and apparently is growing!

Today she had her very first bone!

Eli puts up with her, that is about how it is. She is certainly the boss! Having said that it is good to have them both as they are company for each other and great together on walks.

Another Sunday

Reading the chapters of Matthew’s Gospel as we have been doing over recent weeks has seen a building up of tension. We have heard parables where it was seen Jesus was speaking against the Pharisee and the Jews, and we have seen challenging questions put to Jesus with a view of tricking Jesus or at best putting him in the corner. It has been like watching two boxers in the ring, or the Grand national as the horses one by one fall.

Today knock out! Today the horse at the back suddenly takes the lead. One question from Jesus and “they dare not ask him any more questions”

In Rabbinical writings and discussion Jesus question remains to this day debated and fought over. The question furthermore was not a new question even then, just in the same way that Jesus answer about the greatest (most important) commandment was an answer that everyone accepted  at that time and ever since. In that sense no new ground was being broken here, except that for Matthew this is a watershed in the gospel and from here the Passion journey is embarked and Jesus issues a series of “woes” to the religious folk of that time.

Moses was the greatest prophet Israel had known according to the OT reading, he had led the people all that way, he had been in the presence of God himself (last week) yet because of the people’s rebellion he was not allowed to enter the land to which he had gallantly led them.

Jesus is also described as a “teacher of great authority” and as “the Messiah of God” and we hear many were healed and made whole by him, and at times he was thronged by people eagerly waiting for the Kingdom of God. And this man from today sets his face to Jerusalem and the crucifixion.              

We come today to a turning point in the church’s year and next week is the beginning of what some call the kingdom season, which culminates with the feast of Christ the King. Next week is also “All Saints Sunday” when we celebrate the great crowd of witnesses of which we hopefully count ourselves a part.

It is with every intention, following our baptism, that you and I become part of the Kingdom people. We have seen ourselves as the Body of Christ in the World today. From today’s epistle, “ … when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it really is, God’s word, which is also at work in you believers” (1 Thes 2:13)

In this respect we become a people of God and dwellers alongside the countless witnesses recorded in the Epistle to the Hebrews, In a “Land of Promise”.

(Don’t forget Matthew sees the church as the new Israel and the new dedicated nation.)

With this in mind and on our hearts we should all consider the way we speak and act, both among ourselves and amongst others. Paul constantly had to remonstrate with congregations under his care for the way they behaved amongst each other and how they coped with disagreement and grumbles. What might Paul have to say to us here today I wonder?

We are brothers and sisters together in this congregation, and I was speaking with someone this week and I repeat to you all what I said to this person, we will live and grow in this place only because of the people in God we are, only because the love we show to each other is strong and healing. Forgiveness and love must be the hall marks of God’s people, this has always been the case, “see how they Love God” and loving God as we have seen means loving neighbour absolutely. (It is not a matter of choice)

I work alongside people who have sometimes no one to love and no one apparently loves them.

Look at yourself now, look at us…. We are so rich and greatly blessed. Let us not loose sight of the way we bless each other in love. Many people today will literally die for lack of what we have.

Christ Shared our life that we might live in him and that he might live in us, we accepted this call at our baptism. He embraced us as his children and welcomed us at his supper. He even washes our dirty feet over and over. He opened wide his arms for us on the cross and through this we are able to join with all God’s people in a song of the Kingdom.

Let us with the countless multitude of saints next week gather and sing “Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the lamb” blessed are they who come together in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest.

Amen

Forever Autumn!

well summer has officially ended now and the temperatures are falling. We have had lots of good old wind and rain too!

BUT.....

This also means that the Northern lights are more of a possibility and true to form a week ago there they were for the first time. Wow, not as brilliant a show as when I saw them first last year but great non the less. I did try to take pictures but did not have a decent camera with me (sorry.)

The house has begun to get colder too, however I have redecorated the bathroom which now is the best room in the house!!   sad... but true!

I am a student...... again!

I have successfully completed an application to complete my SVQ level three in Social Care. Apparently this means I am a student again and I even get a card.... wow! I am not sure if these means I can take part in sit in protests like before, or whether students these days do other things. (SVQ apparently stands for Scottish Vocational Qualification)
I am going back to school literally as I have been appointed as Chaplain to the local High School, the Anderson High School.

The question will be, will all these make me feel younger? I some how doubt it, as I am feeling decidedly tired too. I feel like I could sleep for England...... oh sorry I should say Sleep for ******

Oh to be young again.... well at least I can pretend (in my dreams!)

Sunday 11th September sermon

Ten years ago today I was chairing a meeting of the Worship Committee for Orwell Church, it had been a fairly routine meeting seeking to discover new ways in which our worship could be meaningful and grounded for the community we served. Following the meeting as people were dispersing Simon said there was something important on the TV, so we turned it on and were transfixed by what we saw.

An hour later, I was going around the village with posters saying that the church would be open that night for prayers, by 7.30 the church was very full and I had also been approached by the local radio station for comments.

The thought of what happened on the 11^th September 2001 still fills me with horror and disgust, but perhaps also what fills me with horror is the reaction of much of the Western world (America and Britain particularly.) and some of the consequences of that day 10 years ago. I think it is true to say that since that day many people have felt justified in anti muslim sentiment, and a growing sense that we want to  make sure “we” are top dogs.

The saga of Joseph, his amazing technicolour dreamcoat and 11 brothers is well known. It is a moving story of fraternal jealosy, betrayal, suspicion and forgiveness. In the portion of the story we have heard today we see that despite reunion the old suspicion and anxiety between them continues albeit in a less serious form. Joseph does not rub his brothers noses in the scheming or apparently point it out to them, but he is gracious and compassionate through and through. A real hero figure who unites the family and literally keeps it together and prosperous and through whom it is seen Gods choice is made clear.

From Matthews gospel today we come to the conclusion on the section to do with church order and perhaps not surprisingly we come to the question of forgiveness. For Matthew, church order is about the authority and freedom to forgive, not about withholding forgiveness. And to illustrate this point we have the parable of the servant who had been forgiven but who refused to forgive.

Another quotation from Richard Rohr may fit in well at this point….

“There is more harm done by offence taken than by offence intended.” (Richard Rohr)

It is possible that many of us are held back from reaching truer development, or feeling truer grace and joy, by the barbs that grow on hurts done to us. We so easily become stuck in certain places. Equally we can take offence and develop it even when such a state was never intended at all. Some are naturally suspicious and expect a knife in the back or a slight of hand at any time.

Such condition it seems to me actually breeds contempt and it can stifle moving on.

It is also possible (probable) that we all know how difficult it actually is to move towards forgiveness. Much of Jesus ministry and teaching was about enabling people to move on, to be healed, to be made whole, to be forgiven and to feel released and redeemed.

The self same possibilities are meant for us too, sometimes we manage it and sometimes we do not. Praise God for the times we do, for we all know when these moments are, we all recognise their potency for real life. Jesus offers us today the same as he did then.

Somehow we have to learn to learn from the past but not let it dominate our present. There has been a real concern that the attack on the World Trade centre has changed the world as we know it today. It has certainly it would seem changed America. But even something as horrific and unbelievable as this has to healed, and living forward has to be achieved.

The Final solution in the second world war, the killing fields of Cambodia in the 70s, the genocide in 1994 in Rwanda when 800,000 people were slaughtered, Derek Bird in Cumbria, Anders Behring Breivik in Norway…. Sadly the list will be added too, but the need for forgiveness and healing to enable life to move on will be equally strong no matter what.

Let us hold before ourselves the example of Joseph, not for his fashion statement, but for his way of living, and as we are urged in our praying, forgive us our sin as we forgive those who sin against us, and we may be reminded of the question to Jesus if there was a limit to this forgiving…. No!