Second Sunday of Easter/Low Sunday

Acts 5.27-32; John 20.19-31

Alleluia. Christ is risen!

I've got to be careful what I say today. I've learned more than ever before over the last week that it doesn't matter what you say in a sermon, people will hear what they want to hear. Following my Easter Day sermon last week two different people had two very different ideas about what I'd said. One said I'd been criticising the government, and the other said I was criticising Muslims. In fact I'd used the word 'people', that's all; and they'd each interpreted the word 'people' in their own way. Then just a couple of days ago I visited someone and I hadn't got over the threshold before she said 'you are leaving aren't you?' And that's despite having written in the magazine twice, quite clearly what I'm doing. So, just to get matters straight; I'm taking a few weeks away from my parish work to study the Orthodox Church and to have a more extended rest than normal. I'm actually going to be at home most of the time and I'll be back at my parish work on the 9th August, which isn't all that far away. And that's it.

Inevitably, things will change for all of us during that time, even over a few short weeks. But that fits in well with this Easter season because Easter is, amongst other things, about two things. First of all it's about change, and change for the better, despite all the circumstances in which that change takes place and the effect of it for the present. And that sense of change is also about change that takes us beyond our very limited horizon of this life. As St. Paul says in his first letter to the Corinthians 'If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied.' (1 Cor. 15.19). So Easter is about change that has a significance for us right now and a significance for us in eternity.

We have to realise that when we change, as we do to some extent day by day, the change is not just about us; we have to realise that we, as individuals, are not the centre of the universe. When we change, it has an effect on everybody we come into contact with. The change in us reaches out in every direction so that the whole universe is changed. Change in us is like dropping a stone in a pool and watching the ripples flowing outwards; and they go on and on, as far as you can see and beyond. But also the change in us means that we perceive things differently. For example, things that had little significance might now have much greater significance, and vice versa. The change that increasing age brings has that effect, for example. Seen in this way, life is very far from a static or predictable thing. Life, our life, is always moving, this way, that way, from one extreme to another in every conceivable physical, emotional and spiritual way.

When Jesus died and rose again, for the disciples, he changed. He must have done because his disciples didn't recognise him at first. He hadn't changed in reality but it was necessary that the disciples perceived the change so that they could begin to understand what resurrection is all about, the change that takes us on into eternity, into something beyond what language can describe. And this change is so difficult to understand that we hear the disciples being incredulous, totally unbelieving about it; and asking for some sort of proof, like we hear of Thomas this morning. And Jesus gave proof to some of them at the time, because he wasn't 'ascended to his Father', as he put it. I wonder if we can really grasp or imagine how difficult it was for the disciples to understand and how they themselves had to change and what that meant for them. And then of course afterwards there was all the change that they needed within themselves, to cope with the demands that Jesus's resurrection meant for them in terms of their call to preach the gospel to all nations. And because of our New Testament we get some idea of what the demands were and the joys and sorrows and the trials and tribulations that the changes meant for them. And we also, in the light of Jesus's resurrection, in the light of Easter are called to change. The resurrection takes us right back to Jesus's first words, to 'repent and believe the good news'. That call to repentance is for ever challenging us, day after day after day; demanding change after change after change in us. So that's the first thing about Easter, the call to change.

But Easter is also and secondly about continuity and stability. How we long, in this day and age for a sense of continuity and stability, when everything and everybody around us is changing so fast and the changes coming with increasing rapidity year after year. We cast around us for something to hang on to that will keep our feet firmly planted on the ground, ground which seems to shift from underneath us all the time. And many of us look to the Church for that stability and yet it too seems to be always changing one way and another. Well it is, but only on the surface. What's at the heart of the Church never changes because the heart of the Church is God himself. And what we are meant to experience in being part of the Church is something unchanging and that is faith, hope and love and the Spirit of God.

We've changed things somewhat at St. Andrew's in recent months and years with our different types of services or forms of worship. This has been intentional so that different people, in their different stages of spiritual growth and maturity can find something which allows them to worship God in a way that's more meaningful for them and it's worship that includes all ages in leadership. And so although the outward forms of the worship change week by week to a certain extent, what doesn't at all change is the God being worshipped or the faith, hope and love that we should find present here amongst us as we gather together as the Church.

Sometimes I think that our view of the Church is not developed enough. It's too small. At the Annual Parochial Church Meeting I read an extract from a book by an Orthodox bishop, Metropolitan of Nafpaktos Hierotheos, which I think gives us a good sense of how special and precious the Church is and how special our being part of it is and I'd like to read that again now. This is what he says: (its' a bit long so please hang on in as the best bit is at the end!)

'The Church is not a human organisation, but a Divine-Human Organisation. It is not a human corporation, but the Divine-human Body of Christ. The source of the Church is (this) God Himself. It is not men's invention, it is not a fruit and result of men's social need, but it is the sole place of man's salvation. That is to say, the impression is created that men made the Church in order to be able to survive in such difficult and tragic social conditions of life. But...the source of the Church is God Himself, and man's salvation takes place within it....In the Church all the problems are solved. We are not speaking of an abstract Christianity which we link with an ideology, but of a Church which is a communion of God and man, of angels and men, of earthly and heavenly, of man and world. The Church is a 'meeting of heaven and earth'. Peace, justice, etc. are not simply some social conventions, but gifts which are given in the Church. Peace as well as justice and all other virtues, such as love etc. are experiences of the Church. In the Church we experience the real peace, justice and love, which are essential energies of God. The Church is the Body of Christ, which has Christ as its head, and the members of the Church are members of the Body of Christ. Members of the Church exist in all the ages and will exist until the end of time. And when members of the Church cease to exist, the end of the world will come..... The greatest gift of grace which we have is that we belong to the Church. The greatest gift is that we are in this great Family. We should value this gift, we should feel very deeply moved and struggle to remain in the Church, experiencing its sanctifying grace and showing by our lives that we are in its place of redemption and sanctification. Thus we shall also have the great gift of the 'blessed ending', when we are granted to lie asleep 'in the midst of the Church'.

I think we should always try to have such a 'high' or exalted view of the Church and our part in it. Only then can we live up to our calling that God has given us to spread the Good News and at the same time find the faith, hope and love, the joy, peace and healing in what makes the Body of Christ and what gives us the continuity and stability we all crave in this day and age.

And with all of this in mind, I just want to say something before finishing for my study leave about all of us at St. Andrew's, most of which, again, I said at the Annual Parochial Church Meeting. The bishop I've just quoted reminds us that each of us, as members of the Body of Christ is to be part of one another's sanctification. And we are each called to exercise the gifts that God has given us in that endeavour. All of us are equal in that. To be a cleaner of this great house of prayer is as high a calling as that of the priest or the churchwardens. To serve tea after the services is as high a calling as serving at the altar. They are simply different tasks, to be performed with the same love, joy, generosity and thanksgiving. We are called too, to encourage one another in our calling and with equal love and joy to accompany one another on the road. It's not an easy thing to do though and we get at cross purposes very often and find ourselves in conflict and situations of difficulty and division. But God has given us the wherewithal to put those things right in loving one another as He loves us.

In the Orthodox Church, the first Sunday of Lent is called Forgiveness Sunday. At that service, the priest first asks the forgiveness of his congregation and then during the service, everybody goes round everybody else asking their forgiveness. What a challenge that must be, to have to come face to face in Church and before God and ask forgiveness of that person you have just never got on with. I haven't experienced that service for myself but just the thought of it makes me queasy. But it shouldn't. God has given us the ability to forgive one another and in that to discover the continuity and stability of faith, hope and love, that we need.

As I said, each of us is called by God to be part of one another's sanctification. It's part of my particular calling to be out in front, leading. It can be a very lonely place and I know I fail in the task very often. For that I ask your forgiveness as I hope we can all be forgiving of one another, which is a mark of true love in our fellowship. It's part of my task too, to be the bridge, as it were, between you and God, to help you discover God and love him for yourself and offer back to him worship of thanksgiving a praise. Again, I ask your forgiveness where I've been a stumbling block rather than a stepping stone. It's part of my task to love you and keep you in the fold and in the remembrance of God, and I ask your forgiveness for the times when you feel I've neglected you and left you feeling very much unloved.

I'm asking your forgiveness because I'm taking this extended leave and although, God willing, I will be back in church to take up the reins again on the 9th August, you never know what's going to happen to me or you in that time. I need to go with a good heart, and forgiveness fills in the heart's empty spaces and heals its brokenness. I cherish you all without exception, not least because it's you that are helping me become what God wants me to be, you are playing your part in my sanctification.

Please remember while I'm away that the Church, the Body of Christ is a gift to you from God and each one of you is a gift to everybody else here, from God. You are precious in his sight and he loves you, each one of you. May God bless you, wherever you are, wherever you go and bless you in all your endeavours.

Alleluia. Christ is risen!

Easter Day

Acts 1-.34-43; Luke 24.1-12

It's good to welcome you all on this the Feast of Feasts, the greatest day in the Christian calendar. In some respects we seem to have been a long time getting to Easter with the long and very cold Winter that started just before this story started, of which we hear the latest chapter this morning, the story of our Lord Jesus Christ. But now Easter is here and it's a great and wonderful celebration that should lift us all up no matter what is happening in our lives at this time; because the resurrection of Jesus Christ is all about new birth and especially about our spiritual new birth. And today is all the more special as the festival is being celebrated in the Church worldwide today. Whereas in some years the Churches of East and West celebrate it on different dates, today we are all celebrating it together. And in every village, town and city of this land even if not in every home, the resurrection of Jesus is being celebrated. No other event, certainly in this country has such a huge following, year after year after year.

Most of us who will be in church today will be at least acquainted with the story of Jesus and some more than others. But I want to say right away that knowing the story actually means nothing at all. All of us are attracted and repelled by different parts of the story of Jesus. Some of us hear it continuously week by week and year by year. Others hear just bits of it on the infrequent occasions when they come to church, as many will today. But whether we come every week and even read our Bible at home or whether we come on the odd occasion, it really doesn't matter. Because what does matter is what the story means to you and whether or not it makes a difference to your life.

So many people today seem to want to take the story away from us. They tell us it's nonsense and therefore bad for us. Well, I could go on and on about those sorts of opinions, as I have before, but it seems to me that they want to take it away from us because it's too much of a challenge for them. They can't cope with having the story of Jesus around, because it's too much of a challenge, so they don't want to be reminded of it by us. They think they know what it's about, they think they know what it means, but in actual fact they've only read it, or heard it, and from the information they've picked up seek to make judgements about it. But the whole point about the story of Jesus Christ is that it's not just to be read, it's to be lived; and only as it's lived and lived for a life time, does it begin to make sense. So those who don't live it are in no place to make judgements about it at all.

We begin to live the story of Jesus Christ in our own lives at our baptism. At our baptism the Holy Spirit of God comes upon us and through His grace working in us we begin to become like Him. But only if we act in co-operation with Him throughout our lives, living according to His commandments, the commandment to love Him and our neighbour as ourselves. What happens most often is that once we are back across the church threshold after our baptism, out of church and into the world, all of what has happened to us in that baptism is forgotten and we are raised without the opportunity for God's grace to work in us and so we grow for ever further and further away from God. And so we remain as dead we were before we were given the life of God's Spirit in baptism. That light of God, if it continues to burn in us burns very dimly indeed. And you know that is what the Church means by sin. We think that sin means doing bad things. Well, that's only a very small part of it. Sin is our estrangement from God. Being estranged from God is like being dead. That's what St. Paul meant when he came out with that very hackneyed phrase 'the wages of sin is death'. It really means that being estranged from God, living without God in your life, is death.

With all of this in mind , there are three phrases in our gospel reading this morning that say all we need to hear on a day such as this and get us to think again about what Jesus Christ is all about and what being a Christian really is all about in very practical terms. First of all the women come to the tomb looking for Jesus. There they are met by angels who say 'why do you look for the living among the dead?' All of us go through life looking for just that - Life. And where do we look for life? Most often we look for life in what is no more than entertainment or addictions. Or more seriously we look for life in relationships and for some people as many relationships as they can possibly make until making relationships itself becomes an addiction. Sooner or later we come to realise that all these things in which we looked for life are in fact dead things. Life can't be found there. We know it, but just carry on regardless. 'Why do you look for the living amongst the dead'?

So the women are told what has happened to Jesus, the angels remind them of what He himself said to them. And having remembered, put two and two together and go and tell those closest of Jesus's followers, the ones that you would expect to have been ready to believe. And what does St. Luke tell us about their response to what they've heard? 'But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them'. Back to what I was saying about just hearing the story. So many people think of the story of Jesus and His resurrection as no more than an idle tale and don't believe. And if Jesus's closest followers thought that then, how much more will we 2,000 years later show that same sort of response and consider what we hear as 'just an idle tale'.

But there is one there that decides not just to take what he hears at face value. He doesn't leave his own response simply as empty judgementalism. He decides to act on what he's heard. He's been told that the tomb is empty so he goes to see for himself. It's something so simple. Peter just went to take a look for himself. And having acted on what he heard what happens? Well the result is that 'he went home amazed', St. Luke says. St. James some years later wrote a letter in which he said that Christians shouldn't just be hearers of the word but should be doers of it. And that I think comes from what Jesus said after His Sermon on the Mount when he said that 'those who hear his words and act on them are like a wise man who built his house on a rock, and nothing could prevail against it.' So St. Peter shows us what is so necessary about understanding what the message of Jesus Christ is all about. It demands not just hearing what he says but actually doing it. We can never understand anything about Christianity unless we live the life and live it to its fullest. We began at our baptism where we were immersed in the water and rose to that new life, entered that new life, took our first breaths in it. That was the first action, submitting ourselves to baptism. What happened after that depends entirely upon ourselves and when we are infants, upon those who nurture us.

At our baptism, we enter the resurrection life of Jesus Christ Himself, who was Himself, as He said, 'the Way, the Truth and the Life'. It is here, as followers of Christ that we find that Life we are looking for. But we only discover it, we only understand that Life, we only live that Life if we don't just leave it at hearing about it, but actually get on and live it. Today, as we remember and celebrate the risen Jesus Christ we have another opportunity, maybe our last, or maybe it's our first, to either continue in the road to Life or take our first steps, in faith upon it. It's never too late to begin to find the Life you've been looking for. You are sitting amongst it now, on this Easter Day. How will you respond? Are you content to let it remain an idle tale, or are you willing, like Peter to take those steps into real Life and be amazed?

Maundy Thursday

1 Corinthians 11.23-26; John 13.1-17, 31b-35

When we began the season of Lent six weeks ago, we called to mind the first words of Jesus, according to St. Mark's gospel, that he spoke after coming out of the wilderness and after being baptised. They were these; 'The kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the gospel.' Those words called people to change their point of view, to change their minds and hearts so that they could begin to see the kingdom of God and to take hold of the gospel, that is, the good news that Jesus was preaching and teaching and living. Those were the first words of his ministry. And tonight we come to hear some of his last words and to see him living those out. We hear him talking about eating and drinking his body and his blood and living by a new commandment to love one another as he himself has loved his disciples.

To the world outside the Church and to many people still, in the Church, all of these are strange words and remain for ever strange. Jesus' actions are sometimes strange to us inasmuch as we find it difficult to understand and comprehend his healings and what we call 'miracles'. But the strangeness of Jesus' words and actions only point out how much we need repentance, that change of heart and mind, that change of perspective on creation and life and of its origin and continuance. Because it's only as we make that change do we begin to see and understand and begin to make sense of all of it. And it's not necessarily a logical or rational sense, of the mind, but a logic of the heart, if there can be said to be such a thing.

The Church is different. We must first and foremost understand and accept that simple fact. The Church is different from any other organisation because it is formed of God, not of humankind. That's why we call it the Body of Christ. And that's why so many people don't understand it and can't cope with it. It's so very different from any other organisation. It may look similar on the outside and on the outside exhibit all the signs of other organisations. We run the business of the Church as we run a political party or the NHS or the banks or the local authority or the golf club. All of these are not too dissimilar in their day to day operation. We all have rules and regulations and standing orders, working parties, committees, mission and vision statements. And yet, the Church is so very very different. And we get so caught up in the way we run it as we do any other organisation that we most often miss the difference.

What other of those organisations I've mentioned and thousands and millions more besides can say that when they gather together, they are the Body of Christ and 'The Lord is here'? None. And that's what makes the Church different, that's what makes the Church for ever different, and it's what makes us different too. This is what St. Peter says in his second letter, that gives us the clue and much more than a clue, it's the fact of our difference. He says this; 'God's divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature', we are 'partakers of the divine nature'. And it's that part that goes either forgotten, or ignored or maligned, abused, tortured and persecuted by those outside the Church. Because that's what happened to Jesus Christ himself as we shall be remembering especially tomorrow.

What makes the Church different and so what makes us different, together with being partakers of the nature of God, is precisely the fact that when we get together, we do what Jesus commanded us to do in those mystical actions of sharing his body and his blood, in which we receive his life and then going on to live that mystical and divine way, of loving one another as he has loved us; not simply loving in a human way but in God's way. And all that we are and do both as individuals and together, spring entirely from those last words of Jesus to his disciples which we take to ourself and make our own, that we believe in heart, mind, body, soul and strength.

And it's this way of living and loving, this gospel, that brings the fulfilment of God's purposes for the world. It's this gospel way of living that raises the human condition above the tawdry level we see so much of in our villages and towns and cities. Purely humanly devised social programmes will always in the end fail unless they are based upon the gospel which is divine and not human, simply because the purely human will always has its limitations; just as God has said, heaven and earth will pass away but my words will never pass away.

In what we hear in the readings tonight, in what we act out in this worship, Jesus is telling us and showing us what makes us different, he's showing us what is everlasting and not only that he's making us fit and able to be the difference that makes the real difference in the world. And that is such a precious gift to us, to be part of the Church, to be part of the Body of Christ. And only those that see that stay. They see it in heart, not in mind, because their heart has turned to God. And being in the heart, it becomes inexpressible, impossible to reason, which again makes it impossible for those outside the Church to understand. And tomorrow, Good Friday shows us the consequence of that inability to understand. But those who stay come through that, as we learn on Sunday.

Jesus tells us to eat and drink, abide in him as he abides in us; love one another as he has loved us. Only in that way can we come to the fullness of life which is the intention of God for us his children.