6th October 2024. 19th Sunday after Trinity.
Prayer for today:
O Lord, forasmuch as without you we are not able to please you; mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Please pray for George Haywood-Smith, who is being baptised here this afternoon, for his family and godparents.
Among those who are sick we pray for Jillian Rutherford, Kate Marris, Liam Marshall, Maureen Stevens, Prue Critchley, Ned Ryan, Daniel Bosman, Suzie Dent, Nick Cook, Christina Baldwin, Lorraine Dodd, Kathleen Lee, Carol McKendrick, Stuart Bell, Maggie Bennett, Hayley Gennery, Elizabeth Sambell, Katherine Patterson, Heather Loughead, Carol Allen, John and Gwyneth Wilde.
Among those whose year’s mind is about this time we remember Tom Cowing, Harry Mould, Violet Henderson, James Beevor, William Henry Scott-Easton, Allan Hull, Dorothy Mabel Pinkney, Hendrik Nieuwland and Ann Rowsell
Readings:
Hebrews 1: 1-4, 2: 5-12
In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4 So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.
5 It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6 But there is a place where someone has testified:
‘What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
a son of man that you care for him?
7 You made them a little[a] lower than the angels;
you crowned them with glory and honour
8 and put everything under their feet.’[b][c]
In putting everything under them,[d] God left nothing that is not subject to them.[e] Yet at present we do not see everything subject to them.[f] 9 But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.
10 In bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the pioneer of their salvation perfect through what he suffered. 11 Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters.[g] 12 He says,
‘I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
in the assembly I will sing your praises.’
Psalm 8
O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies,
that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 what is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Mark 10: 2-16
2 Some Pharisees came and tested him by asking, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’
3 ‘What did Moses command you?’ he replied.
4 They said, ‘Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.’
5 ‘It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,’ Jesus replied. 6 ‘But at the beginning of creation God “made them male and female”.[a] 7 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,[b] 8 and the two will become one flesh.”[c] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.’
10 When they were in the house again, the disciples asked Jesus about this. 11 He answered, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another man, she commits adultery.’
13 People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. 14 When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.15 Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ 16 And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.
Thoughts on today’s readings
The principal of Queen’s College in Birmingham, where I went for training before ordination, Gordon Wakefield, was fond of saying that, whenever he was photographed, Archbishop Makarios was pictured with his hand raised in blessing. Of course he was being a bit mischievous about this: he was aware that we knew the archbishop was an intensely political figure, a wily campaigner against the British for the independence of Cyprus; a divisive figure whose legacy, sadly, was a divided island.
The point Gordon was making was that, as in icons in the eastern Church Jesus Christ is portrayed with is hand raised in blessing, so should we, who bear the image of Christ, be always be those who bless. The Christian disciple is not called to be a judge, but to be a witness to Christ, a messenger of the Good news, the one who, like Philip, says ‘Come and see.’
Therefore Jesus was angry when his disciples prevented the people from bringing their children to him. It was not for them to act as gatekeepers. Already in chapter 9 we read how Jesus had put a child before them and said, ‘Whoever welcomes one of these children in my name, welcomes me.’ Here he takes a child as an example of how we must be in order to enter the kingdom of God.
This is not about children being more pure or innocent; it is about power. There were among those to whom Jesus spoke those who imagined that the kingdom of God would be brought in by force of arms; those who imagined that it was a matter of earning your place by living a virtuous life, by reaching a certain level of maturity and understanding. But what have we to offer God, or to give to God, much less to bargain with God? Like children we come to God with nothing in our hands, and all that we receive from God has been freely given. Therefore we must understand that we come to God like children – and that we are not rejected, but accepted.
Therefore we, who have been signed with the cross of Jesus Christ, are called not to be judges or gatekeepers, but to bless and to be witnesses of the Good News.
When the pharisees questioned Jesus about divorce, they were hoping to trap him in a controversy about the Jewish Law.
However what this text makes clear is that the pharisees were interested in what was allowed: in other words what were their rights under the law.
Jesus responds by going back to the creation story in Genesis. What does this teach us about God’s purpose in creating us as man and woman? God’s purpose was that two might be united, might become one. Therefore it was God who had joined them together; it was not for man to separate those whom God had joined. The permission in the Jewish law was an acknowledgement of human failure and sin, not the working out of God’s purpose. Note that under this statute it was the man who wrote out the note of divorce to his wife; this is what Jesus is talking about, not the action of a judge. In Israel in the time of Jesus it was inconceivable that a woman would divorce her husband: that verse is thought to reflect the realities in the wider gentile world.
Seven times this year I have stood in church and joined together the hands of a couple, declaring that they are man and wife, and saying, ‘Those whom God has joined together, let no-one put asunder.’
Will every couple still be holding one another by the hand when they have come to old age? We do not know, but I have no doubt as to the sincerity with which they made their vows; I did not detect anyone joining hand with their fingers crossed.
And what of those 100 couples at Marylebone Town Hall. Did they doubt that they were joining themselves with their partner for life? I don’t think so. Did they marry, thinking that one day they would go through it all again with someone else. Of course not.
Marriage is not a contract, valid as long as all the conditions are satisfied. It is a covenant, an unconditional gift, which cannot be bought or earned any more than life itself can be bought or earned.
And in this it reflects the purpose of God and the nature of God. For God’s relationship with the world and with us is not some sort of legal agreement of contract. God’s relationship with the world and with us is experienced most clearly in the sacrifice and death of his son on the cross. There is no bargain here: it is unconditional, it is a covenant.
That is why the image of marriage is an image of God’s love, of God’s covenant with us, and with all creation.
That is why we receive this gift and invitation like children: we have not bought it or earned it.
And with the writer of Hebrews and the writer of the psalm we have read together we are invited to marvel at the wonder of what the universe teaches us of that creator, and that we are invited into a relationship like that of sisters and brothers with the one through whom all life came, and all things were made.
29th September 2024. 17th St. Michael and All Angels
Prayer for today:
Everlasting God, you have ordained and constituted the ministries of angels and mortals in a wonderful order: grant that as your holy angels always serve you in heaven, so, at your command, they may help and defend us on earth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen
Among those who are sick we pray for Kate Marris, Liam Marshall, Maureen Stevens, Prue Critchley, Ned Ryan, Daniel Bosman, Suzie Dent, Nick Cook, Christina Baldwin, Lorraine Dodd, Kathleen Lee, Carol McKendrick, Stuart Bell, Maggie Bennett, Hayley Gennery, Elizabeth Sambell, Katherine Patterson, Heather Loughead, Carol Allen, John and Gwyneth Wilde.
Among those who have died we remember Gillian Gibson, and also Judy Dinning, Harry Mould, June Evans and Elisabeth Patterson whose year’s mind is about this time.
Readings for today:
Revelation 12: 7-12
7 Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient snake called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
‘Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short.’
Psalm 103: 19-22
The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
21 Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
John 1: 47-51
47 When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, ‘Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.’
48 ‘How do you know me?’ Nathanael asked.
Jesus answered, ‘I saw you while you were still under the fig-tree before Philip called you.’
49 Then Nathanael declared, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king of Israel.’
50 Jesus said, ‘You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig-tree. You will see greater things than that.’ 51 He then added, ‘Very truly I tell you, you will see “heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on” the Son of Man.’
Thoughts on today’s readings:
Today we celebrate Michaelmas, the feast of St. Michael and all Angels. When I think of St. Michael, I have in my mind the depictions of him in armour, bearing a sword, or of mediaeval paintings of Michael doing battle at the head of the host of heaven, casting down the Devil. No doubt this is why Clovis, the first king of France, and a successful warrior, adopted Michael as patron saint of his kingdom after his conversion from paganism and baptism, building a Church in his name on a small island off the coast of Normandy: the Mont St. Michel, and no doubt this is why St. Michael is the patron saint of the military in many countries, and of the police. He is seen as being the protecting angel, sent out by the Lord of Hosts. For surely God’s word in the Old Testament taught that the God of Israel was the Lord of Hosts, who had saved his people in timed past and would save them again.
The ‘battle legend’ in Revelation 12 is part of this image, a vision of the conflict in heaven mirroring the conflict on earth in a time when Christians faced persecution and death.
And what of us? Do we not sing, in the words of the hymn ‘I vow to Thee’, the words ‘we may not count her armies, we may not see her king’, of that ‘other country.’
But what of the angels, for they do feature throughout the Bible?
First of all they are God’s messengers, that is what the name means.
There is the angel Gabriel who is sent by God to Mary to tell her she will give birth to the saviour of her people. Gabriel begins by telling Mary, ‘Do not be afraid.’ There is the angel who tells Zechariah that he and his wife Elizabeth will be the parents of John – John the Baptist. Again, the message begins with the words, ‘Do not be afraid.’ And again, an angel appears to the shepherds to announce the birth of Messiah. ‘Do not be afraid, ‘he tells the terrified men.
Later, it is an angel who appears to Peter, who has been imprisoned, and leads him out of his cell and to freedom.
In the Old Testament the angels appear as flesh and blood: the angel who appears to Jacob and wrestles with him throughout the night; the three mysterious figures appear to Abraham to tell him Sarah will bear a son. There it is written ‘The Lord appeared to Abraham at the oaks of Mamre.’
How do we relate this saints’ day to ourselves, to our lives, to our calling as Christians? When I think about what is my own calling, it is clear what I am not; I am not called to be anyone’s judge, and I have not been given the answer to everyone’s questions and problems.
But what I have been given is a message, which is the Good news of Jesus Christ, and I have been called to live it out and to share it by all means. When I think of the people of our Church, I think it is by the joy they bring to others that they embody that message: by being good neighours, by being living examples of lives lived faithfully, by being hopeful, loving and faithful, by being the leaven that leavens the dough in our community and far beyond.
It is by daring to believe that we, even we, have been so called by God and being grateful for our calling and trusting in the truth and power of the Good News we have been given.
The short passage from St. John’s Gospel gives an image of that model of discipleship. Here we read how Philip, who had been called by Jesus , went to Nathanael and said, ‘We have found the one promised to Moses and the prophets. Come and see.’
This is why Michaelmas, along with Petertide, is traditionally the time of year when those called to serve the Church as ordained ministers receive ordination.
Over the past week we have been travelling across Europe, visiting family, and meeting many people. I have spent a lot of time listening, and what has struck me is the sense of fear and unease that people have:
A man who spoke to me about his fear of a coming war, when he thinks Putin’s Russia will take advantage of our weakness and disunity.
Others who spoke of their fear of being overwhelmed by immigrants, their fear of Muslims, one even telling me that within a generation every Church in France will have been replaced by a mosque!
I heard many other concerns and fears expressed, some reasonable, some less so.
But I am not convinced that within a generation every Church will be converted into a bar or a holiday let, or that the idea that Sunday is for anything other than shopping or sport will become a distant memory.
At the home of my cousin in France last Sunday, outside the city of Reims, where Clovis the first king of the Fanks was baptised and crowned, we had a wonderful family gathering, including a couple I married 6 years ago, together with their 3 little boys.
But we were not alone, for in the park that surrounds the house were upwards of 200 people: Catholic scouts with their families, gathered for a weekend camp, culminating in an outdoor mass. They were obviously having a great time together, signs of God’s kingdom present and active, with her king in its midst.
A few days later, in pouring rain, we searched a cemetery in the Marne for the graves of my grandfather’s two brothers, killed in 1915 and 1915. They are buried together, like millions of others, the result of so many acts of human folly, those crosses a lesson which should never be forgotten.
There is still a battle to be fought this Michaelmas, and we cannot fight it alone, but we have been given all we need. God’s angels are by our side, in many shapes and guises; who knows , we too may be used as someone’s angel in our turn.
11th August 2024. 11th Sunday after Trinity.
Prayer for today:
O God you declare your mighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant us such a measure of your grace that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ your son our Lord. Amen.
Among those who are sick we pray for Shirley Nixon, Gillian Gibson, Liam Marshall, Maureen Stevens, Prue Critchley, Ned Ryan, Daniel Bosman, Suzie Dent, Nick Cook, Christina Baldwin, Lorraine Dodd, Kathleen Lee, Carol McKendrick, Stuart Bell, Maggie Bennett, Hayley Gennery, Elizabeth Sambell, Katherine Patterson, Heather Loughead, Carol Allen, John and Gwyneth Wilde
Among those whose year’s mind is about this time we remember Hilda Mackenzie, Pat White, Allan Peacock and Wynn Charlton.
Readings:
Ephesians 4: 25-5:2
25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbour, for we are all members of one body. 26 ‘In your anger do not sin’[a]: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.
29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. 5 1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Psalm 34: 1-8
I will bless the Lord at all times:
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord:
the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 O magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked unto him, and were lightened:
and their faces were not ashamed.
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him,
and delivereth them.
8 O taste and see that the Lord is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in him.
John 6: 35, 41-51
35 Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. 41 At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, ‘I am the bread that came down from heaven.’ 42 They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, “I came down from heaven”?’
43 ‘Stop grumbling among yourselves,’ Jesus answered. 44 ‘No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets: “They will all be taught by God.”[a] Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. 46 No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. 47 Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live for ever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.’
Thoughts on today’s readings
This week once again the theme of the readings is Jesus the bread of life. Last week I spoke about the bread, and what we can take from that image, but what about the word ‘life’? What can we take from these readings that shines a light on what life means? Our daughter Katherine has just completed a dissertation on the subject of ‘Body compassion’. I would not presume to try to explain or summarise this fantastic piece of work, but I believe it will help others to reflect upon this concept. I think the idea of ‘body compassion’ is helpful in approaching our readings today. If you read all of Ephesians chapter 4 you will see that it begins with the reader being urged to work for unity, because there is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one God, one Lord, one faith and one baptism. We are bodily creatures, not disembodied spirits. Each part of us affects every other part. We are whole, and without one or more parts, something is missing. If a part of our body is removed it dies; it ceases to have life. Today’s reading from Ephesians details how we might live out that unity in our common life: avoiding destructive and divisive behaviour, and living and working for the healing and building up of the body. The lifeblood of that body is the Spirit of God, and the essence of that life is love, the love of God which has been revealed to us, the love which is revealed and exemplified in Jesus. The body is not complete when part is missing, and love seeks that reconciliation. The flock is not complete without the missing sheep; the Father does not to cease to love, does not cease to look for the prodigal son. This is the heart of the injunction, ‘Be kind and compassionate, forgive each other, as God in Christ forgave you.’ For reconciliation and forgiveness arise out of love. Why would you bother to forgive someone about whom you were totally indifferent? For indifference is the polar opposite of compassion. It is within a relationship, with all its imperfections, that reconciliation is possible and meaningful, because there is love. It is forgiveness which enables us, not to erase the past, for we cannot do that, nor to allow it to determine, imprison and define us, and instead to move forward, to learn, to be stronger. But for there to be love there has to be a relationship: we have to know, and to want to know the beloved. And if we want to know, we have to listen, we have to learn. Those to whom Jesus spoke thought they knew what they needed: they wanted someone like Moses. They were impatient with Jesus. They thought they knew who he was: he was one of them, the son of Joseph and Mary in Nazareth. In a sense they were right: he was one of us; that is the point. What they refused to accept was that he was come from God, or that knowing him, and indeed loving him, is an essential part of embracing the life we are offered by God. On the contrary, he would in the end be rejected, thrown out, to be put to death outside the walls of the city at the unclean hands of the foreign soldiers.
But Paul, the Jew who, as Saul, had believed it was his duty to try to wipe out the Christians, wrote the letter to the Ephesians as one to whom Christ had come, and because Christ has entered into his life, and Paul had changed, not only his name but his whole life, knowing that he was loved and forgiven by God in Jesus Christ, and that he gave his life to him.
The words we read put the same question before us that Jesus put before the people who came to him. What is it that defines us, that defines the people we are? Is it our relationship with Jesus, the knowledge, the belief that we are precious to God? For if that is the case, then we also know that the person sheltering in the doorways of our cities is my brother, my sister, that God is the Father of the suffering people who endure peril in order to escape war and persecution, that absence of conflict is not the same thing as peace, and that with God nothing is impossible.
23rd June 2024. 4th Sunday after Trinity
Prayer for today:
O God the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that with you as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not our hold on things eternal; grant this, O heavenly Father, for our Lord Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
Please pray for Charlotte and Ruari, who were married here yesterday, and Millie and Spencer, whose wedding is on Saturday.
Among those who are sick we pray for Barbara Parker, Liam Marshall, Maureen Stevens, Prue Critchley, Ned Ryan, Daniel Bosman, Suzie Dent, Nick Cook, Christina Baldwin, Lorraine Dodd, Kathleen Lee, Carol McKendrick, Stuart Bell, Maggie Bennett, Hayley Gennery, Elizabeth Sambell, Katherine Patterson, Heather Loughead, Carol Allen, John and Gwyneth Wilde.
Among those whose year’s mind is about this time we remember George Frederick Watling, John Lowdon, James Oliver, Robin Dodwell and James Lamb Urwin.
Whitley Chapel First School summer Fayre is on Saturday 29th June from 10 a.m. to 12 noon. Please support this event and your school.
Very many thanks for the superb efforts of so many who made last Sunday’s Garden Trail a wonderful success, and to those who kindly opened their gardens to visitors and made them welcome.
And thanks be to God for sunshine and that the rain held off until 4!
Here is a message from Claire Bradley:
Dear all,
I think that I have all the money in from the garden trail and totalled it all up. The final total is £3,609.51 – which is AMAZING!!! Well done everyone, particularly Ruth, for a day that not only raised a lot of money but also gave a great number of people a lot of enjoyment.
I can’t give a completely accurate breakdown of the total, but it is approximately as follows:
Raffle – £1,687
Tickets – £810
Food etc – £1,067 (Breakfast butties etc – £260, soup around £300 and cake and drinks around £500)
Other (plants, willow) – £45
Readings:
2 Corinthians 6: 1-13
As God’s fellow workers we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. 2 For he says,‘In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation.3 We put no stumbling-block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonour, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
11 We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and opened wide our hearts to you. 12 We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. 13 As a fair exchange – I speak as to my children – open wide your hearts also.
Psalm 107
1 O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is good:
for his mercy endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
3 and gathered them out of the lands,
from the east, and from the west,
from the north, and from the south.
23 They that go down to the sea in ships,
that do business in great waters;
24 these see the works of the Lord,
and his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heaven,
they go down again to the depths:
their soul is melted because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
and are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry unto the Lord in their trouble,
and he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm,
so that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they be quiet;
so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness,
and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders
Mark 4:35-41
35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, ‘Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?’
39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, ‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, ‘Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?’
41 They were terrified and asked each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!’
Thoughts on today’s readings
I was talking with the children in school some days ago about risk. On the one hand we want to protect our children from harm, to keep them from danger, but on the other hand they have to learn how to deal with danger, what to do when the storm comes, as it were. Among the children were two with broken bones, not because their home is a particularly hazardous place, but because this is what happens in life. Whether you’re learning to ride a bicycle or learning to ski, one of the first things you learn is what to do when you fall, because that is generally what happens.
St. Paul writing to Christians in the wealthy city of Corinth makes the point that following Jesus, and bearing witness to him as he did is not without risk. On the one hand he paints a rather unattractive picture: often rejected, imprisoned, tortured, penniless and despised, nevertheless he writes not as one who has fled the battle, but who, despite it all, has triumphed through the power of God and through the power of God alone. There is no other explanation for his preservation and, though seeming to have nothing, has made others rich with the treasure of the gospel they have received. It is God who has provided the weapons: the sword of the word of God in the right hand, the shield to defend him from evil in the left. It is the Spirit of God which has kept his soul alive, holy, incorrupt, and filled with that generous love which the New Testament calls ‘agape’ and enabled him to endure hardship and danger without losing sight of his goal, without losing hope or faith.
We are unlikely to face torture or shipwreck, but even in the ordinary storms of our lives, we may be face with the question Jesus asked his disciples in the boat: ’Why are you afraid? have you still no faith?’ I think it is when we think we know and understand what is going on, when we can only see one outcome, that we fail to act in faith, that we fail to recognise who is in the boat with us. The disciples were in their boat, on the sea where they worked every day. They knew that the storm was dangerous, they knew that once their boat was swamped it would sink, and they would drown. That was their knowledge and their experience. Their teacher, the carpenter from Nazareth: what did he know of such things? Exhausted, he slept on a cushion. They took his peaceful sleep as a sign of his ignorance, not of his Knowledge: of his total confidence in the power of God. And when was awoken he did not get on his knees and pray but stood up and ordered the wind to be still. And it was calm. Of course they were afraid: it was clear that this was no ordinary man; only the power of God could do this; it was far beyond their experience or knowledge. But Jesus in effect says to them: do not be afraid; you must have faith.
For our knowledge and our experience of life can blind us to faith and fear can disable us from placing our trust in God. We can be like those who, in the winter, decide to close the school because snow is forecast, and then discover in the morning that nothing has happened. When our oldest son John became desperately ill at the age of 17, my experience told me he could not survive. Not only had his bowel perforated but weeks of chemotherapy meant that his blood had no power to fight infection or heal wounds. My experience told me that in every similar case I was aware of the patient had died. And yet he did not give up, and I felt we were carried by prayer: the prayers of people like you, the prayers of sick people I had ministered to in hospital, the prayers of those who knew us and of people unknown to us. Yes, he was young, and yes, he received wonderful care, but I knew then and I know now that Jesus Christ was with us, and that his hand was on my son. In his healing and recovery he has confounded expectations, and in his turn he works to bring healing to others. In September of 1838 a ship foundered on the rocks near the Longstones lighthouse. It was too rough for the lifeboat to put out, so it was the 23 year old daughter of the lighthouse keeper who, with her father, put out in their little rowing boat to rescue the survivors and bring them to safety. Knowing the danger, they nevertheless did not hesitate when their fellow men and women were in danger. Grace herself said, ‘God was with me. He gave me the strength which I needed.’ She was no more indestructible than anyone else. Like many of her generation she contracted tuberculosis 3 years later and died at the age of 26. And yet those lives were saved, her story is told and retold, and lives continue to be saved at sea.
So may we teach our children faith, and show it within ourselves and in our lives. May we teach our children that God is with them, and show that we know it is the truth within ourselves and in our lives.
15th January 2023. 2nd Sunday of Epiphany.
Prayer for today:
Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new:
Transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Among those who are sick we pray for Steven Winter, Tom Cowing, Alison Tweddle, Betty Martin, Daniel Bradley, Prue Critchley, Heather Brooks, Ned Ryan, Suzie Dent, Nick Cook, Jane Bristow, Christina Baldwin, Lorraine Dodd, Kathleen Lee, Carol McKendrick, Roy Walker, Stuart Bell, Maggie Bennett , Hayley Gennery, Elizabeth Sambell, Katherine Patterson, Heather Loughead, John and Gwyneth Wilde .
Among those who have died recently we remember David Lamb and pray for all his family .
We also remember Sydney White, Denise Baxter, Eva Dodds, Peter Johnson, George Heslop, David Leyland, Sarah Jane Walker, Matthew Clark and Judith Robson, whose year’s mind is about this time.
Readings:
Isaiah 49: 1-7
Listen to me, you who live far away:
When I was yet in my mother’s womb the Lord called me, he named me. He made me like an arrow, my mouth like a sword, and hid me with his hand. He said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel; I will be glorified in you.’
But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain, for nothing; yet the Lord is my cause, my reward is with God.’
And now the Lord is my strength, who formed me in the womb to bring Jacob and Israel back to him; I am honoured in his sight.
The Lord says, ‘It is not enough that you should be my servant, and restore the tribes of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.’
The Lord, the redeemer of Israel, says to one despised and abhorred by the nations, and a slave of rulers, ‘Kings shall see and stand up, and princes prostrate themselves, because the Lord, who is faithful, the holy one of Israel, has chosen you.’
Psalm 40
1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay,
and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God:
many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust,
and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
5 Many, O Lord my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done,
and thy thoughts which are to us-ward:
they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee:
if I would declare and speak of them,
they are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire;
mine ears hast thou opened:
burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come:
in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God:
yea, thy law is within my heart.
9 I have preached righteousness in the great congregation:
lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.
10 I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart;
I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation:
I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
11 Withhold not thou thy tender mercies from me, O Lord:
let thy lovingkindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
John 1: 29-42
When John the Baptist saw Jesus approaching he said, ‘Here is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! I said of him ,” After me comes one greater than me, because he was before me.” I did not know him, but came baptizing with water for this reason : that he might be revealed to Israel. For I saw the Spirit come down from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. He who sent me had told me, “ The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain baptized with the Holy Spirit.” I have seen myself and I testify that this is the Son of God.’
On the next day John stood with two of his disciples as Jesus walked by and exclaimed, ‘Here is the Lamb of God.’ The disciples followed Jesus. He turned and said to them, ‘Whom do you seek?’ They asked, ‘Rabbi, where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and see.’
They came and saw, and stayed with him that day. It was about four in the afternoon. One of the two was Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. He found his brother and said, ‘We have found the Messiah,’(that is, the anointed one).
He brought Simon to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, ‘Simon, son of John, you will be called Cephas’ (which is translated as Peter).
Thoughts on today’s readings.
We continue on the theme of Jesus being revealed to the world.
Last week it was the sign given to wise men from far away , led by a star to a child in Bethlehem.
Today’s reading from the Gospel according to St. John opens with the fulfilment of the mission of John the Baptist. It had been revealed to him that Jesus, who came to him for baptism, was the one for whom he was sent to prepare the way, and so he declares, ‘Look: here is the Lamb of God,’ and, to emphasise the importance of this witness, John repeats this declaration to his disciples the following day.
He does not say, ‘Behold the Lord’s anointed,’ or ‘Behold your king,’ but ‘Behold, the Lamb of God.’
We repeat these words every Sunday before Communion, but what sense do they have for us?
Note that John does not say, ‘Here is Mary’s lamb’, or ‘Joseph’s lamb’ or even ‘David ‘s lamb.’ Jesus is the Lamb of God.
For as once Abraham, when he had brought his son Isaac as a sacrifice in obedience to God, found on the mountain that the Lord had provided him with a ram for sacrifice, so God has provided his own son to be the sacrifice.
And that sacrifice is not just for Israel, or for the justification of those who have faith, but for the sin of the whole world.
This is our world: created by God, loved by God, yet filled with cruelty and death, a world exploited, fields turned to deserts, a world which longs for love.
John the Baptist underlines this understanding when he declares, ‘I saw the Spirit come down on him like a dove,’ – the dove which was a sacrificial animal, the offering of the poor in the temple.
John’s words reveal his understanding that Jesus is identified with the servant in the prophecy of Isaiah: here is one who was hidden until the time chosen by God, like a sword in its scabbard or an arrow in its quiver, hidden in the hand of God.
Here is the one called not simply to restore the tribes of Israel, but to be a light to the nations, and to make a covenant with all the peoples.
In these words we hear the same Spirit which spoke by Simeon the prophet when he held the infant Jesus in his arms and declared that here was ‘A light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel,’ words echoed whenever the canticle ‘Nunc dimittis’ is spoken or sung in Church.
John the Baptist understands that his mission is complete: the Lord has revealed to him the one for whom he came to prepare the way, and now he points the way for his own disciples.
They follow Jesus, first addressing him as ‘Rabbi’ – teacher, but when Andrew goes to find his brother he has already understood that this is the Saviour. Simon his brother comes and finds that Jesus knows him and calls him by his name – and then gives him a new name , Peter, the rock, as a sign of what God is going to do through him.
And this is what we, the church, are called to do, as once John the Baptist and Andrew the fisherman did: to bring people to Jesus.
The Bible and our worship and liturgy teach this, and we are called by name to bear witness in our lives and in our dealings with one another.
For who can believe that the human race is alone able to save the world? Amen, come Lord Jesus.
Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?
Will you go where you don’t know , and never be the same?
Will you let my love be shown,
Will you let my name be known,
Will you let my life be grown in you,
And you in me?
Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?
Will you care for cruel and kind,
And never be the same?
Will you risk the hostile stare,
Should your life attract or scare,
Will you let me answer prayer in you,
And you in me?
Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?
Will you let the prisoners free,
And never be the same?
Will you kiss the leper clean
And do such as this unseen,
And admit to what I mean
In you, and you in me?
Will you love the ‘you’ you hide
If I but call your name?
Will you quell the fear inside
And never be the same?
Will you use the faith you’ve found
To reshape the world around
Through my sight, and touch, and sound
In you, and you in me.
Lord, your summons echoes true
When you but call my name.
Let me turn and follow you
And never be the same.
In your company I’ll go
Where your love and footsteps show.
Thus I’ll move, and live, and grow in you,
And you in me.
Colours of Day
Colours of day dawn into the mind,
The sun has come up, the night is behind.
Go down in the city, into the street,
And let’s give the message to the people we meet.
So light up the fire and let the flame burn,
Open the door, let Jesus return.
Take seeds of his Spirit, let the fruit grow,
Tell the people of Jesus, let his love show.
Go through the park, on into the town;
The sun still shines on, it never goes down.
The light of the world is risen again;
The people of darkness are needing our friend.
Open your eyes, look into the sky,
The darkness has come, the sun came to die.
The evening draws on, the sun disappears,
But Jesus is living, and his Spirit is near.
8th January 2023. 1st Sunday of Epiphany
Prayer for today:
O God, who by the leading of a star manifested your only Son to the people of the earth: mercifully grant that we, who know you now by faith, may at the last behold your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord. Amen.
Among those who are sick we pray for Steven Winter, Tom Cowing, Alison Tweddle, Daniel Bradley, Prue Critchley, Heather Brooks, Ned Ryan, Suzie Dent, Nick Cook, Jane Bristow, Christina Baldwin, Lorraine Dodd, Kathleen Lee, Carol McKendrick, Roy Walker, Stuart Bell, Maggie Bennett , Hayley Gennery, Elizabeth Sambell, Katherine Patterson, Heather Loughead, John and Gwyneth Wilde .
Among those who have died recently we remember David Lamb and pray for all his family .
Readings:
Isaiah 60: 1-6
The prophet addresses Zion: Arise, shine; your light has come and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Though darkness cover the earth and its peoples, the Lord will arise upon you; his glory shall appear over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn..
Look up! Look around you: they gather and come to you.
Your sons will come from far away, and your daughters will be carried in their nurses’ arms.
Then you will see, and be radiant; your heart shall rejoice, for the riches of the sea and the wealth of nations will be brought to you; camels without number from Midian and Sheba will cover the land. They will bring gold and frankincense, and proclaim the praises of the Lord.
Psalm 72
1 Give the king thy judgments, O God,
and thy righteousness unto the king’s son.
2 He shall judge thy people with righteousness,
and thy poor with judgment.
3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people,
and the little hills, by righteousness.
4 He shall judge the poor of the people,
he shall save the children of the needy,
and shall break in pieces the oppressor.
5 They shall fear thee as long as the sun and moon endure,
throughout all generations.
6 He shall come down like rain upon the mown grass:
as showers that water the earth.
7 In his days shall the righteous flourish;
and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth.
10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall bring presents:
the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.
11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him:
all nations shall serve him.
12 For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth;
the poor also, and him that hath no helper.
13 He shall spare the poor and needy,
and shall save the souls of the needy.
14 He shall redeem their soul from deceit and violence:
and precious shall their blood be in his sight.
Matthew 2: 1-12
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem, when Herod was king, wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, asking , ‘Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We have seen his star rising and are come to pay him homage.’ Fear struck Herod and all Jerusalem. He called the priests and scribes and asked them where Messiah was to be born. The replied, ‘In Bethlehem in Judea, for the prophet has written, ”You Bethlehem in Judea, are not least amongst the rulers of Judah; from you will come a ruler who will be shepherd of my people Israel.” ‘
Herod met the wise men in secret and asked them when they first observed the star. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, ‘Search diligently for the child; when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and pay him homage.’
So the star went before them, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they observed this, they were filled with joy. In the house they saw the child, with Mary his mother, and knelt before him in homage. They opened their treasure chests and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. They were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and returned to their country by another way.
Thoughts on today’s readings
The first thing that strikes me in St. Matthew’s account is the response to the sign given by God:
The wise men, who have been searching the heavens in expectation are energized by the sight of this star to leave their lives behind and undertake a hazardous journey.
They obviously expect their sense of hopeful expectation to be shared by the people to whom God has given a new king, and rejoice at the sight of the child and his mother, the fulfillment of the sign, and kneel before him.
In contrast, the response in Jerusalem is one of fear and confusion, in spite of the centuries of prophecies.
Obviously, Herod was not planning on being replaced, and reports of self-proclaimed ‘messiahs’ were not unknown. Was it because this revelation was given to foreigners, and not to priests and scribes? Nonetheless the contrast is very deliberate.
On January 6th the birth of Christ was celebrated by that part of the Christian community labeled ‘Orthodox’. From Eastern Europe to the Middle East, and on to Egypt and Ethiopia this is a day of great celebration.
And the joy and the celebration are the same as ours on December 25th, that God has given to the world the most precious gift he had, in the form of his only Son Jesus Christ, and as children of God, we give gifts to one another as a reflection and as a celebration of God’s extraordinary generosity.
The reading from Isaiah reminds us of God’s purpose for his chosen people: not merely that he should save them and make them prosper, but that they might be a sign for the nations and for the whole world, that they might shine like that star and that all nations might come to Zion to live together in the light of God. Does that dawn seem far off today, in our world of walls and fences, of surveillance and of violence?
Perhaps it seemed pretty improbable then too, and yet some came to that light and have shared it throughout the world.
Today I believe God calls us as the people of God to celebrate, along with Christians in Aleppo and Beirut, in Bethlehem and Bakhmut, in Cairo, in Moscow and in Bethlehem, and to bear that light in ourselves and bear witness in God’s world.
nuary 1st 2023. 2nd Sunday of Christmas; the naming and circumcision of Jesus.
Prayer for today
Almighty God, whose blessed son was circumcised in obedience to the law for our sake and given the name that is above every name: give us grace faithfully to bear his name, to worship him in the freedom of the Spirit, and to proclaim him as the Saviour of the world, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Among those who are sick we pray for Steven Winter, Tom Cowing, Alison Tweddle, Daniel Bradley, Prue Critchley, Heather Brooks, Ned Ryan, Suzie Dent, Nick Cook, Jane Bristow, Christina Baldwin, Lorraine Dodd, Kathleen Lee, Carol McKendrick, Roy Walker, Stuart Bell, Maggie Bennett , Hayley Gennery, Elizabeth Sambell, Katherine Patterson, Heather Loughead, John and Gwyneth Wilde .
Among those who have died recently we remember John Adams.
His funeral is here in Church on Thursday 5th January at 1.30 p.m.
Among those whose year’s mind is about this time we remember Rachel Readman, Margaret Nieuwland, Clarence White and Fred Howden.
Readings :
Galatians 4: 4-7
In the fulness of time God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. Because you are his children, God sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child and, if a child, then an heir, through God.
Psalm 8
1 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies,
that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 what is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 the fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea,
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
Luke 2: 15-21
When the angels had left them and returned to heaven, the shepherds said one to another, ‘Let us go now to Bethlehem and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.’ So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. When they saw this, the shepherds told what had been said to them about this child. All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.
The shepherds returned, giving praise and glory to God for all they had heard and seen, and what had been told to them.
After eight days, the time came for the child to be circumcised; he was given the name Jesus, as the angel had said to Mary.
Thoughts on today’s readings.
In this season of Christmas shepherds come into the streets and squares of Rome from the hills and fields where they tend their sheep. The sound of their bagpipes has been heard in those streets for who knows how many centuries, as they play traditional carols and call out, ‘Auguri!’ – Good wishes! Blessings to those they meet. It’s an ancient tradition and much-loved, a direct connection to the story of the first Christmas in a way it is difficult for us here to imagine. But what if the farmers and shepherds of Northumberland were to come up from the Mart into the streets of Hexham, greeting the people with blessings and good wishes at Christmas?
Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus casts a critical light and asks questions of Churches which over time adopted the insignia and style of the Imperial Roman court, stoles, vestments and all.
For in this account there is a very obvious contrast between the extremely visible Augustus Caesar, whom his propaganda machine described as ‘Saviour of the world’ and ‘son of God’, the god in question being his adoptive father Julius Caesar, and the humble birth of the Lord whose praises we sing.
‘How silently, how silently, the wondrous gift is given.’
The titles of an emperor were publicly declared, and worship was compulsory; Jesus was revealed to those to whom God sent his messengers. His glory was apparent to those who believed and had faith, and so shepherds gazed in wonder at an as yet unnamed baby boy lying in a feeding trough.
‘Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.’ There is an ancient tradition which holds that it is Mary’s account which is recorded in St. Luke’s Gospel; rather than dismissing this as wishful thinking we do well to notice the prominent place she holds in this account. Humble and obscure she may have been , but she was the one chosen by God, she was the one who believed and had faith, the daughter of Israel , who embraced God’s will, whose faith has been a model for all who follow Jesus.
And in Jesus God has given us the Lord who is one of us, named and circumcised on the eighth day like any other Jewish baby boy, that his spirit might find a home in our hearts, and that we too might cry ‘Abba! Father!’ as children of God, and that the Father’s will might be done and his kingdom come.
25th December 2022. Christmas Day.
Prayer for today:
Almighty God you have given us your only-begotten Son to take our nature upon him and as at this time to be born of a pure virgin: grant that we, who have been born again and made your children by adoption and grace, may daily be renewed by your Holy Spirit; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Among those who are sick we pray for Steven Winter, Tom Cowing, Prue Critchley, Heather Brooks, Ned Ryan, Suzie Dent, Nick Cook, Jane Bristow, Christina Baldwin, Lorraine Dodd, Kathleen Lee, Carol McKendrick, Roy Walker, Stuart Bell, Maggie Bennett , Hayley Gennery, Elizabeth Sambell, Katherine Patterson, Heather Loughead, John and Gwyneth Wilde .
Among those whose year’s mind is about this time we remember
Violet McArdle, Helga Marshall (Duncan), Watson Purvis, Charlotte Trotter, Rachel Readman and Joseph Nichol.
Readings:
Isaiah 9: 2-7
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light: light has shined on them who lived in a land of deep darkness.
You have multiplied the nation and increased its joy. Before you, theirs is the joy of harvest, the joy of victory. You have broken the yoke of oppression as in Midian.
The boots of marching armies and the bloodstained garments will be burned in the fire.
For a child is born to us: a son is given to us; authority rests on his shoulders. He is named Wonderful counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
His will be an authority and a peace without end for the throne and kingdom of David.
He will establish it with justice and righteousness from now and for ever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this.
Luke 2: 1-14
At that time a decree was sent out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. At this time Quirinius was governor of Syria. Everyone had to go to their own town to be registered, so Joseph went from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea, the city of David, because he was of the house of David. He went with Mary his espoused wife, who was great with child. While they were there the time came for to give birth. She gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in bands of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
In the fields nearby were shepherds, watching over their flocks by night. An angel of he Lord stood before them , and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid; look – I bring you good news; great joy for all the people. A Saviour is born for you today in the city of David; he is the Lord, the Messiah. This is the sign: you will find a child wrapped in swaddling bands and lying in a manger.’
Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude, the host of heaven, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and peace on earth among those he favours.’
Sermon
St. Paul in his letter to Galatians wrote that ‘in the fullness of time God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,’ but what was so special about that day and that date, that this was when God acted?
On the face of it this was not such a great time to be a Jew: the country was under Roman administration and the population was about to be subjected to a census so that the Romans could impose taxes. So why then?
To me this underlines that, as someone once pointed out to me, the Lord has also said, ‘ My ways are not your ways; my ways are higher than your ways.’
Our times and seasons are the seasons of the earth; the milestones of our life’s journey relate to how we understand our lives. But who can fathom what the Lord’s time and seasons might look like?
Nevertheless Christmas is about giving a way into this mystery, a way of engaging with this God who seems unfathomable, because God has offered us this way.
Christmas teaches us that God does not provide answers to the questions of those who search for meaning, does not give a set of rules or volumes of sublime wisdom, but acts in sending his son, in being born of a woman, as all of us were, in order that we might know the unknowable, and encounter that which is inconceivable.
And in this mystery we are told how God acts: the Word of God, through whom all things were made, and without which nothing was made, is born as a baby boy, unable to speak, totally dependent and helpless.
The angels and the glory of God appear to the shepherds in the joy of heaven and give them a rather unimpressive sign: they are sent to an obscure young woman from a distant village and her baby. That baby is given his name by Joseph who, although he is a descendant of King David, cannot provide anything better than a feeding trough as a cradle for his tiny son.
And so in the fullness of God’s time , God comes: in the night, in the time of oppression, in the home of the poor, in the arms of a young woman, inexperienced yet resolute in her faith.
And we celebrate because Christmas is not just Mary’s story, or Joseph’s story, or the shepherd’s story, but our story too, a story of hope and of joy.
I remember visiting the beaches of Normandy, the museums telling the extraordinary story of the landings in 1944, and the cemeteries where lie buried those young men whose service cost them their lives. It is possible to forget that this was not the end of that terrible war. For months afterwards trains continued to leave Paris for the camps in the east, taking innocent people of all ages, mostly Jews, to a terrible death, and those who resisted this dreadful regime were in peril of their lives.
Shortly after D-day, a young man from the east of France was betrayed along with his family, and they were imprisoned in a concentration camp. He was one of the lucky ones. Though he was beaten, and his teeth were broken, he was not sent out to work in the forests but in a factory. He was starved and the factory was unheated. He became exhausted and began to lose hope. He had been brought up as a Christian, attending Sunday school, though he had never been a Church goer.
In the darkness in which he found himself he began to pray and, as he recounted it, found in prayer that he was not alone, and that Jesus Christ came to him.
He and his family survived, bearing the scars of their experiences. He did not speak much about what had happened to him: his faith was quite a private matter and he did not want to appear to boast or to be better than anyone else. The only sign he kept of that time was a letter from President, formerly General, Eisenhower, thanking him for his role in saving the lives of American airmen.
He later married my aunt, and I believe it was her love which made him whole again.
So this Christmas may we think on that wonder: that the word of God was seen in the face of a tiny baby, and held in the arms of his mother.
Let those who labour in the dark and the cold know that to them too angels and the glory of God have appeared.
May we call on the name of our Lord who came to us that we might know him, follow him and place our hopes and faith in him.
God bless you this Christmas.