Hebrews 5.5-10; John 12.20-31
This Sunday in Lent used to be called 'Passion Sunday' as we begin to look towards Holy Week and the events surrounding Jesus's last days up to his crucifixion. And today's gospel contains one of my favourite Bible quotations. As Jesus is talking to his disciples, telling them something about what it means to be a follower of his he says 'Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains just a single grain; but if it dies it bears much fruit.' And then Jesus goes on, as it were, to think out loud about what the consequence of that means for him, and we are given an amazing insight into Jesus's own vulnerability at that time as he thinks about what's in front of him. 'Now my soul is troubled' he says. 'And what should I say - "Father, save me from this hour"? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.' What wonderful words these are. And they go right to the heart of what it means to live out the gospel. They go right to the heart of what we mean when we talk about sacrifice and living sacrificially.
One of my commentaries on this passage talks about Jesus referring to our dying when he's talking about the grain of wheat, because, it says, he knows what happens to us when we die. I would profoundly disagree with that. I don't think you can make that assumption at all. Even now, 2,000 years after Jesus's death and resurrection we are still as mystified about death and what it means for us as people were then. In the same vein, you could say that he was troubled, not because he didn't know what was to happen to him, but because he knew what pain he had to go through before the glory of the resurrection. But if you do that I think you take away much of the power of Jesus's words here and much of their significance for our life as we have it now. We have the belief that particular things happen to us, but none of us is certain. And I think that Jesus here was talking more in terms of this life as it was as he shared our humanity when he was talking about the grain of wheat than he was about the next life; and he was talking here about living our Christian life, and walking the Christian journey and the sacrifice that means for all of us.
When you think about that grain of wheat, Jesus uses the description of its dying, in giving rise to the plant and then bearing fruit. And in reality, it is as though the grain does give up its life for the plant that grows from it. When the plant is fully grown and bears fruit there is nothing left of the grain that fell into or was planted in the ground. And Jesus is telling us that for Christians, life is like that. As we grow in the Christian life there is much that we have to give up, much that has to, in a sense, die in us if the Christian life, the Christian way is to flourish and bear fruit in us. Much of the time we have to give up our selfish or self-centred desires; we have to put to death in ourselves what seem to be some 'natural' inclinations, for Christian values to flourish and bear fruit - the fruits of the Spirit that St. Paul lists - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness etc.
And this for me is where the notion of sacrifice comes in also. I think many Christians have the idea that sacrifice means working yourself into the ground for God, walking the extra 5 miles instead of the extra mile. They have the idea that if the Christian life doesn't bring you terrible pain its not really an authentic Christian life, that you must experience discomfort for it to be true. And that's resulted in the past at the extreme, in all sorts of mortification practices that are so far away from God's desire for us that they are more the stuff of horror and nightmare than of love and goodness and peace. But sacrifice in Christian terms, for me, is simply, walking God's way. It's very simply, giving up all the other ways that are open to you and choosing God's way instead. That's the sacrifice that God calls us to, and I don't think there is any other meaningful way of defining that word.
And Jesus, here in this reading today tells us that included in the meaning of sacrifice is seeing the journey through to its conclusion no matter what it brings us, joy or sorrow, peace or chaos. We only bear fruit for God if we are prepared to continue the journey to its conclusion and we bear the fruit on the way. As our own self-centred way of doing things dies in us, the Godly way grows and bears fruit. And the choice is ours. And we are continually challenged to make that choice so that we, along with Jesus we can very often find ourselves saying 'now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say, Father, save me from this hour?' How many times have we said that in our Christian life when we've been tempted to give up, when the pressures and demands of the life have borne down upon us in one way and another, when the spiritual life has become dry or meaningless?
But we are called to go on beyond that in the terms that Jesus puts it - 'Father, glorify your name.' For here he shows us that in the end we are called to the Christian life and to see the journey through for his glory. And when people see our faith, our faithfulness and the fruit of the Spirit in us they too will see God glorified, and be drawn to the life themselves. And that's why, right at the end of the gospel reading today we hear Jesus say 'And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself'. People see Jesus complete his task and his journey and it's that that draws people, that draws you and me and millions like us to God.
So this 'Passion Sunday' is about committing ourselves to the Christian journey with all it means in terms of making the choice that excludes all others; of committing ourselves wholeheartedly to it and seeing the journey through to its conclusion, and on the way bearing the fruit of God's Spirit in us. And it's that, in the end, more than anything else that will bring others to God and to glorify his name.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
Saturday, 21 March 2009
Mothering Sunday
Colossians 3.12-17; John 19.25b-27
It being Mothering Sunday today we usually talk a lot about our mothers. They'll be acknowledged and thanked all day and many of them more than once. So whilst we say thank you to our mothers in our worship today in the time honoured ways, I'd like to think more about our spiritual mother, Mother Church. We call God our Father and it's been the custom and tradition in the Christian Church down the centuries to refer to the Church as our Mother Church. I know there's the reference also to the cathedral being the Mother church of the diocese, but I want to focus on that spiritual mother we have, the mother which is the Church.
Jesus grew up in a family and being the first born to the family he was dedicated after his birth to God, which was the custom and tradition of the family's religion. He was nurtured in the faith by his parents and St. Luke gives us insight a couple of times of the consequences of that. We read of him on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and of his going astray in the Temple on the return home. That was when he was about 12 years old. Then later as he begins his ministry St. Luke again tells us that going to the synagogue on the Sabbath was Jesus's custom. So he'd been brought up in the faith and obviously that early nurture had resulted in his faith becoming valuable to him because of that. His faith which he practised week by week in external ceremonies and rites became something that was embedded within his heart, mind and soul, because of that early nurture. His parents bore some of that responsibility but it was also borne by others he would have encountered at school and in the synagogue.
One of the great 'gaps' these days in our childrens learning and faith development is often that early nurture in the faith, notwithstanding that many children are still baptised as babies and come to be confirmed as they come into their teens. Many parents these days haven't been nurtured in the faith by their parents or, sadly, at school and so now their children are similarly lacking. And we see the results of that when families come for a baptism and they haven't got a clue about what it is they are doing, what they are coming to and what is going on when they get here. And this, for me, is where Mother Church has a part to play and ever more so these days.
I think we need to remember that it is us, you and I, that are Mother Church. This building is nothing on it's own, it is simply a collection of artefacts and pieces of art and funiture. It only comes alive when we are in it. It only has any real, tangible meaning when people are joining together in worship in it. This building is not the Church, it is we that are the Church. We are Mother Church, each and every single one of us a part of it. And as such, we have a responsibility to the children who come here to nurture them in the Christian faith just as our mothers nurtured us. When we think of our mother or an ideal mother what do we think of? I would guess that somewhere in our thoughts would be - unconditional love; unending forgiveness; encouragement; protection; meeting of our physical, psychological and spiritual needs, whatever they are. As Mother Church, we have the responsibility of providing those things for the children who come here, especially their spiritual needs, the building in them of a faith that will see them through a lifetime here on earth and beyond.
Several of us have been taking that responsibility more seriously over recent months and have begun to talk to the children themselves to ask them what their wants and needs are in worship and to ask ourselves where we are lacking in that provision, where we are failing our children by not meeting our responsibility as Mother Church to them. That conversation has led us to put our children right at the very heart of the church and to show them we value them by treating their needs seriously. And we've given to them one of our principle worship times each month, on the second Sunday each month to give expression, in worship here, of what God and their Christian faith means to them. And we are journeying alongside them to support and encourage them and to provide for them what they need for their journey, as Jesus's parents did for him on their yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover and every day in between.
Now I've heard already of adults amongst us who are saying that when that service takes place they don't need to be here; that it's for children. Well, on the contrary your presence is even more needful. Yes, there are those mothers who, sadly, abandon their children because their own needs are too great to allow them to give to their children what they need. But most don't abandon them, most bring to them all I mentioned a few moments ago. We are doing nothing for the children if we don't come and encourage them and give them our support because even just our presence here says to them yes, you are valuable to us, you are precious to us, we love you. If you don't come, as you would every other Sunday, you are simply abandoning them.
Our work with our children and our support and nurture of them in the Christian faith shows us being truly, Mother Church. And the Church is Mother to each and every one of us in the same way as it is to our children. Each week we come to Mother Church to receive that love, forgiveness and nurture we need constantly to continue our Christian journey. So that new service will be 'worship for children with adults in mind', because we will join with them and we will learn from them too, for what parent doesn't learn and relearn from their child.
So today, this Mothering Sunday is a day to remember the responsibility we all have, each one of us, to the children in our midst for their Christian faith and nurture in that faith and indeed, to commit ourselves once again to that responsibility and to do our very best for our children and for one another, now and in the years to come.
It being Mothering Sunday today we usually talk a lot about our mothers. They'll be acknowledged and thanked all day and many of them more than once. So whilst we say thank you to our mothers in our worship today in the time honoured ways, I'd like to think more about our spiritual mother, Mother Church. We call God our Father and it's been the custom and tradition in the Christian Church down the centuries to refer to the Church as our Mother Church. I know there's the reference also to the cathedral being the Mother church of the diocese, but I want to focus on that spiritual mother we have, the mother which is the Church.
Jesus grew up in a family and being the first born to the family he was dedicated after his birth to God, which was the custom and tradition of the family's religion. He was nurtured in the faith by his parents and St. Luke gives us insight a couple of times of the consequences of that. We read of him on the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover and of his going astray in the Temple on the return home. That was when he was about 12 years old. Then later as he begins his ministry St. Luke again tells us that going to the synagogue on the Sabbath was Jesus's custom. So he'd been brought up in the faith and obviously that early nurture had resulted in his faith becoming valuable to him because of that. His faith which he practised week by week in external ceremonies and rites became something that was embedded within his heart, mind and soul, because of that early nurture. His parents bore some of that responsibility but it was also borne by others he would have encountered at school and in the synagogue.
One of the great 'gaps' these days in our childrens learning and faith development is often that early nurture in the faith, notwithstanding that many children are still baptised as babies and come to be confirmed as they come into their teens. Many parents these days haven't been nurtured in the faith by their parents or, sadly, at school and so now their children are similarly lacking. And we see the results of that when families come for a baptism and they haven't got a clue about what it is they are doing, what they are coming to and what is going on when they get here. And this, for me, is where Mother Church has a part to play and ever more so these days.
I think we need to remember that it is us, you and I, that are Mother Church. This building is nothing on it's own, it is simply a collection of artefacts and pieces of art and funiture. It only comes alive when we are in it. It only has any real, tangible meaning when people are joining together in worship in it. This building is not the Church, it is we that are the Church. We are Mother Church, each and every single one of us a part of it. And as such, we have a responsibility to the children who come here to nurture them in the Christian faith just as our mothers nurtured us. When we think of our mother or an ideal mother what do we think of? I would guess that somewhere in our thoughts would be - unconditional love; unending forgiveness; encouragement; protection; meeting of our physical, psychological and spiritual needs, whatever they are. As Mother Church, we have the responsibility of providing those things for the children who come here, especially their spiritual needs, the building in them of a faith that will see them through a lifetime here on earth and beyond.
Several of us have been taking that responsibility more seriously over recent months and have begun to talk to the children themselves to ask them what their wants and needs are in worship and to ask ourselves where we are lacking in that provision, where we are failing our children by not meeting our responsibility as Mother Church to them. That conversation has led us to put our children right at the very heart of the church and to show them we value them by treating their needs seriously. And we've given to them one of our principle worship times each month, on the second Sunday each month to give expression, in worship here, of what God and their Christian faith means to them. And we are journeying alongside them to support and encourage them and to provide for them what they need for their journey, as Jesus's parents did for him on their yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover and every day in between.
Now I've heard already of adults amongst us who are saying that when that service takes place they don't need to be here; that it's for children. Well, on the contrary your presence is even more needful. Yes, there are those mothers who, sadly, abandon their children because their own needs are too great to allow them to give to their children what they need. But most don't abandon them, most bring to them all I mentioned a few moments ago. We are doing nothing for the children if we don't come and encourage them and give them our support because even just our presence here says to them yes, you are valuable to us, you are precious to us, we love you. If you don't come, as you would every other Sunday, you are simply abandoning them.
Our work with our children and our support and nurture of them in the Christian faith shows us being truly, Mother Church. And the Church is Mother to each and every one of us in the same way as it is to our children. Each week we come to Mother Church to receive that love, forgiveness and nurture we need constantly to continue our Christian journey. So that new service will be 'worship for children with adults in mind', because we will join with them and we will learn from them too, for what parent doesn't learn and relearn from their child.
So today, this Mothering Sunday is a day to remember the responsibility we all have, each one of us, to the children in our midst for their Christian faith and nurture in that faith and indeed, to commit ourselves once again to that responsibility and to do our very best for our children and for one another, now and in the years to come.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
Second Sunday of Lent
Genesis 17.1-7,15-16; Mark 8.31-38
As we make our way through our Lent readings, it's a good idea to, as it were, accompany Jesus on his journey and reflect upon the things he says and does to see if they can inform our journey through this special time as we prepare for Easter. Last week we were with Jesus in the wilderness and thinking about what it meant for him to have that time on his own to reflect upon what lay before him. We catch up with him today, a bit later on in his teaching and preaching work and St. Mark tells us that he's preparing his disciples for what lies ahead, for him at least. Jesus has got a mission to fulfil. He's been put on earth for a purpose and he's going to see that purpose through.
I was asking last week, in the first week of Lent, based on what we were reading, if we could think about what's most important to us in our lives, what we value most. And this week it seems, our readings, when we think about them, are leading us to think about what we are put on this earth to be and do, what our own personal mission might be. Nowadays it's in the normal run of things for every organisation and business to have a 'mission statement'; a sentence or paragraph about what it's there to do. St. Andrew's has it's own mission statement as does St. Andrew's school for instance. If I asked you where you might find St. Andrew's mission statement I wonder if you would know where to find it? Actually it's on one of the notice boards in the porch and it reads 'The purpose of St. Andrew's church is to worship and serve God and to support the spiritual and physical life of individuals and families'. It was worked out 10 years ago so maybe we need to think about it again and renew our commitment to it. But at least it's there and it's a focus for all we are and do here at St. Andrew's in God's name.
I do some work with clergy helping them to think about their work and how to put the best they've got into it. Sometimes, to do that we have to really go back to basics and ask, what have you been put on earth to be and to do? I ask them to think about their own personal mission statement might be. It's a good exercise because it focusses the mind and heart to ask yourself, again, what's important to you and what benefit are you bringing for yourself and the world? And then we can go on to ask how we can do that and what does it mean in terms of the sort of person we are, what sort of work we do and what our relationships will be like with other people and God. And those are good questions for all of us, because it seems to me that what Jesus is saying to us out of this gospel reading today is that we need to focus on those things, what is important to us, what's most of value and what we are here to be and do; and not to waste our time and energy on all sorts of things that aren't of value to us and to others. That's what he meant when he said 'what will it profit (you) to gain the whole world and lose your life'? You can spend so much time in your life on doing all sorts of stuff that is getting you nowhere fast as a person and getting nobody else anywhere either. We can fritter away our time in all sorts of meaningless and useless pursuits that give us only fleeting pleasure, when our deepest needs are going unfulfilled and we are neglecting what's of real value to us. And when that happens, we can't really be effective as people for ourselves or for others. Our purpose, the reason for being stays either unfulfilled or isn't half of what it might be.
Jesus dedicated himself to his purpose in the world and he asked others to dedicate themselves to the same sort of purpose by following him. That's what he meant when he said 'if any want to be followers of mine let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.' If it's part or all of your purpose in life to be a follower of Christ, then you have to be focussed on the task. That focus is taking up your cross. Then you've got to let go of all that doesn't really matter in your life, all that's not of real value so that you can focus properly. That's denying yourself; that's losing your life for Jesus' sake. And having that proper focus is what Jesus meant by saving your life. You are living the life meant for you according to your purpose, according to all that's important and of value. And that doesn't just apply to being a follower of Jesus, it applies to anything we do in life that is good, that contributes positively to our own and to other peoples lives. And when that happens we are becoming all we were ever meant to be.
In the Old Testament we read today of Abraham and Sarah, given a very special task by God to be obedient to him and to be the beginning of His people. And God agreed that if they did that they would be blessed and so would their offspring. This was their purpose, to be obedient to God and to receive his blessing. And he changed their names as mark of that agreement, a mark of that new purpose for their lives. Notice the names are very similar, but nevertheless they are different, and at that time probably had a subtly different meaning. But the new names reflected this purpose, this mission that they were put on earth to pursue.
God has a purpose for all of us. It isn't just about us, it's about others as well and what we can contribute to the world and it's about our working with God, our relationship with him. As we journey through Lent maybe we can give our minds to working out a bit more completely what this purpose is so that when we get to Easter we might be able to live our purpose with new vigour and new life and make a real difference to the world.
As we make our way through our Lent readings, it's a good idea to, as it were, accompany Jesus on his journey and reflect upon the things he says and does to see if they can inform our journey through this special time as we prepare for Easter. Last week we were with Jesus in the wilderness and thinking about what it meant for him to have that time on his own to reflect upon what lay before him. We catch up with him today, a bit later on in his teaching and preaching work and St. Mark tells us that he's preparing his disciples for what lies ahead, for him at least. Jesus has got a mission to fulfil. He's been put on earth for a purpose and he's going to see that purpose through.
I was asking last week, in the first week of Lent, based on what we were reading, if we could think about what's most important to us in our lives, what we value most. And this week it seems, our readings, when we think about them, are leading us to think about what we are put on this earth to be and do, what our own personal mission might be. Nowadays it's in the normal run of things for every organisation and business to have a 'mission statement'; a sentence or paragraph about what it's there to do. St. Andrew's has it's own mission statement as does St. Andrew's school for instance. If I asked you where you might find St. Andrew's mission statement I wonder if you would know where to find it? Actually it's on one of the notice boards in the porch and it reads 'The purpose of St. Andrew's church is to worship and serve God and to support the spiritual and physical life of individuals and families'. It was worked out 10 years ago so maybe we need to think about it again and renew our commitment to it. But at least it's there and it's a focus for all we are and do here at St. Andrew's in God's name.
I do some work with clergy helping them to think about their work and how to put the best they've got into it. Sometimes, to do that we have to really go back to basics and ask, what have you been put on earth to be and to do? I ask them to think about their own personal mission statement might be. It's a good exercise because it focusses the mind and heart to ask yourself, again, what's important to you and what benefit are you bringing for yourself and the world? And then we can go on to ask how we can do that and what does it mean in terms of the sort of person we are, what sort of work we do and what our relationships will be like with other people and God. And those are good questions for all of us, because it seems to me that what Jesus is saying to us out of this gospel reading today is that we need to focus on those things, what is important to us, what's most of value and what we are here to be and do; and not to waste our time and energy on all sorts of things that aren't of value to us and to others. That's what he meant when he said 'what will it profit (you) to gain the whole world and lose your life'? You can spend so much time in your life on doing all sorts of stuff that is getting you nowhere fast as a person and getting nobody else anywhere either. We can fritter away our time in all sorts of meaningless and useless pursuits that give us only fleeting pleasure, when our deepest needs are going unfulfilled and we are neglecting what's of real value to us. And when that happens, we can't really be effective as people for ourselves or for others. Our purpose, the reason for being stays either unfulfilled or isn't half of what it might be.
Jesus dedicated himself to his purpose in the world and he asked others to dedicate themselves to the same sort of purpose by following him. That's what he meant when he said 'if any want to be followers of mine let them deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me.' If it's part or all of your purpose in life to be a follower of Christ, then you have to be focussed on the task. That focus is taking up your cross. Then you've got to let go of all that doesn't really matter in your life, all that's not of real value so that you can focus properly. That's denying yourself; that's losing your life for Jesus' sake. And having that proper focus is what Jesus meant by saving your life. You are living the life meant for you according to your purpose, according to all that's important and of value. And that doesn't just apply to being a follower of Jesus, it applies to anything we do in life that is good, that contributes positively to our own and to other peoples lives. And when that happens we are becoming all we were ever meant to be.
In the Old Testament we read today of Abraham and Sarah, given a very special task by God to be obedient to him and to be the beginning of His people. And God agreed that if they did that they would be blessed and so would their offspring. This was their purpose, to be obedient to God and to receive his blessing. And he changed their names as mark of that agreement, a mark of that new purpose for their lives. Notice the names are very similar, but nevertheless they are different, and at that time probably had a subtly different meaning. But the new names reflected this purpose, this mission that they were put on earth to pursue.
God has a purpose for all of us. It isn't just about us, it's about others as well and what we can contribute to the world and it's about our working with God, our relationship with him. As we journey through Lent maybe we can give our minds to working out a bit more completely what this purpose is so that when we get to Easter we might be able to live our purpose with new vigour and new life and make a real difference to the world.
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