Sermons

Holy Spirit 2: An Encourager Forever John 14: 15 – 17; 16: 4b – 15 We don’t have to cope with life alone. I was meditating at the Taizé service on Monday night and I prayed for the Holy Spirit to come. Sometimes we ask things of God in a clumsy way. At least I do. And then it came to me. The Holy Spirit is dwelling with me. The Holy Spirit is right beside me. She is my companion. That’s what Jesus said; God will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. [14: 16] Praise God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Yes, we have been talking about the Holy Spirit. She is so important. (Oh, I’d better say something about the feminine pronoun. In Greek the neuter pronoun is used – ‘it’ – for the Holy Spirit. Naturally a male dominated world thinks of the Spirit as ‘he’. But God is not a ‘male’ – God is God. Secondly, in the Scriptures the Spirit of God is aligned with ‘Wisdom’ and Wisdom is always referred to by the feminine pronoun.  So I go with the feminine pronoun, as do a few others.) But let us remind ourselves about how important the Spirit is. The Spirit is present and active in Creation, establishes the Church and is crucial to salvation [Gen 1: 2; Acts 1: 8; John 3: 3,5; 14:16ff]. Now let us move somewhere else. Let’s think about good companions. Some quotes from famous people may help us.  Mark Twain said; “To get the full value of joy you must have someone to divide it with.”  Suzzane Collins of ‘the Hunger Games’ says; “I realize, for the first time, how very lonely I’ve been in the arena. How comforting the presence of another human being can be”.  R.A. Salvatore, writer, says; “Joy multiplies when it is shared among friends, but grief diminishes with every division. That is life.” How wonderful are Jesus’ words to his disciples and hence to us. “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.” [Jn 14: 15-17] God gives us a Companion for life. Loving God and keeping God’s commandments is life. And the best news is that we don’t have to do it on our own. Jesus will ask the Father to send the Spirit to us.  Now the word Jesus uses to describe the Spirit’s role is pregnant with meaning.  The Greek word translating Jesus’ promise is paraclétos, which is translated by our English words ‘comforter’ ‘advocate’ or ‘helper’.  These words we find in the Authorised, NSRV and Good News bibles respectively. Tehy indicate that paraclétos is a rich word.  The NT scholar, William Barclay, writes.  “The word paraclétos really means someone who is called in; but it is the reason why the person is called in which gives the word its distinctive associations.  The Greeks used the word in a wide variety of ways.  A paraclétos might be a person called in to give witness in a law court in someone’s favour; he might be an advocate called in to plead someone’s cause when someone was under a charge which would result in a serious penalty; he might be an expert called in to give advice in some difficult situation.  He might be a person called in to encourage and inspire, for example, a company of soldiers who were depressed and dispirited. Always a paraclétos is someone called in to help when someone is in trouble or distress or doubt or bewilderment. Now the word Comforter was once a perfectly good translation. It actually goes back to Wycliffe who was the first person to use it.  But in his day it meant much more than it means now. The word comforter comes from the Latin word fortis, which means brave; and a comforter was someone who enabled some dispirited person to be brave.  Nowadays the word comfort has to do almost solely with sorrow and a comforter is someone who sympathizes with us when we are sad.  Without doubt the Holy Spirit does that, but to limit the work of the Holy Spirit to this function is to belittle her.  We have a modern phrase, which we often use. We talk of being able to cope with things.  That is precisely the work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit comes to us and takes away our inadequacies and enables us to cope with life.  So what Jesus is saying is: ‘I am setting you a hard task, and I am sending you out on a very difficult engagement. But I am going to send you someone, the paraclétos, who will guide you and make you able to do it.  The Holy Spirit will bring you truth and will make you able to cope with the battle for the truth’.” Jesus’ teaching on the role of Spirit follows this statement; if you love me you will keep my commandments’. We know well Jesus’ commandments to love God and love our neighbour as ourselves. Jesus’ teaching and ministry was about loving.  The parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus’ acceptance of children, his healing touch of untouchable lepers and his acceptance of women as disciples all demonstrate Jesus’ love. Jesus personified love.  Love is everything. As the first epistle of John indicates that to not love others is to not love God  [1 John 4: 20]. Can we see the connection between loving others the giving of the paraclétos?   Loving is not easy because it includes love for the neighbour we may not like and love for our enemy. Remember too that love is not the same as liking. We like people who share our interests and with

Holy Spirit: Power or Person? Acts 10: 17 – 23, 29 – 33, 44 – 48;  John 15: 9 – 17 The difference between seeing the Holy Spirit as a person or a power.   The book of Acts chapter 10 is pivotal in the early development of Christianity. Without the events of Peter’s and Cornelius’ visions and their corresponding faith Christianity might have remained a sect within Judaism. Those events fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah and the intention of Jesus.  Foundational to this pivotal moment in the history of Christianity is the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit’s action then we would be very different. But this is not surprising at all. The Holy Spirit is foundational to our faith. Her work is critical to the existence of the Church. Jesus said this to the disciples in his farewell conversations; I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever – the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you [Jn 14:26]. So what was so important in Acts chapter 10? Well, Peter had a strange vision/dream in which he was instructed to eat unclean things according to Jewish Law. He is aroused from his dream/vision by a request from a Roman officer’s servants to come and explain the Christian faith. Now Romans were gentiles and Jews were not supposed to associate with Gentiles, as they were ‘unclean’.  Peter goes in obedience to the command of the Holy Spirit and he preaches [Acts 10:28]. The Holy Spirit ‘falling’ on the Gentiles interrupts Peter’s preaching and the Gentiles begin to speak in tongues [10: 44,45]. Peter and his Jewish Christian helpers are amazed to see Gentiles now blessed with the Holy Spirit as they were on the day of Pentecost. Peter baptised them saying that these Gentiles have ‘received the Holy Spirit just as we have’ [10:47]. For the first time we have Gentiles baptised and included in the new community of Christ. This is so significant that they later call the followers of Jesus together in Jerusalem and have the first Church Council discussing the issue of including Gentiles into the community of Christ – the Church [Acts 15]?  Wow, this was big and it wasn’t easy, because it raised matters concerning circumcision and what foods one should and should not eat etc. They resolved the issue by accepting that the conditions of entry into the community was acceptance of Jesus as Lord and the presence of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life.  Did you notice how many times the Holy Spirit is mentioned and acted. She gave Peter the vision and motivated Cornelius to invite Peter to speak. The Holy Spirit prompted Peter to go, to speak and accept these Gentiles. She interrupted Peter’s fine sermon by coming upon Cornelius and his household and they spoke in tongues. The Holy Spirit is active. This is why some commentators think the book of Acts – the Acts of the Apostles is its full name – should be named the book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit. It is full of stories about the Holy Spirit’s guidance and work. Our problem has always been that the Holy Spirit works quietly and points to Jesus. The result is that we think largely of Jesus and think of the Holy Spirit as a power, when she is a person just as God the Father and Son are.  Seeing the Holy Spirit as a person is so very important to us for three reasons.   Firstly the Holy Spirit is to be worshipped.  She is part of the Trinity. When we worship God we worship God the holy Trinity. Now if you do not see the Holy Spirit as a person there are two problems. In the first instance you are robbing the Holy Spirit of worship, which is her due. The simple test is to ask ourselves do we worship the Holy Spirit?  We do in our liturgy:  our songs and doxologies, e.g. TiS 768: –  Praise God from whom all blessings flow, Praise him all creatures here below, Praise him above, ye heavenly hosts, Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost   We worshipped the Holy Spirit in our opening songs, Holy Lord God and Father we adore you, which are in TiS 132 and 716 respectively. We might do it liturgically but do you, do I, worship the Holy Spirit?  When we fail to worship we rob the Spirit not only of her due but we are failing to surrender to her teaching, guidance and testing.  This failure begins a significant fault line in being Christian. It means we only acknowledge God the Father/Creator and Christ Jesus. It means we are not acknowledging the fullness of God. In the second instance if we are not recognising the Holy Spirit as a person we are merely treating her as an influence or power. The Spirit becomes something we use. It will be the case of how can I use the Spirit instead of how can the Spirit use me? When we see the Spirit as a spiritual resource we can utilise we run the risk self-exaltation.  If I think of the Holy Spirit as an influence or power that I can get hold of, then I will inevitably develop some pride in myself if I think I have the Holy Spirit. Men and women of God let me tell you, when the Charismatic- renewal took place in South Africa there were many Christians claiming to have the Spirit. They showed off their gifts and exhibited a spiritual superiority. It is not how much more of the Spirit I can get but how much more of me can the Spirit get.  When the Spirit dwells in us we belong to God fully [1 Cor 3:16; 6:19]. When we can say I am the Holy Spirit’s, rather

A Grape Vine Explains All.  Acts 8: 26 – 40;  John 15: 1 – 8 Our relationship with Jesus simply explained and explosively defined. From time immemorial the grapevine has been a highly valued plant. Vines and vineyards are mentioned often in the Bible. The vine or vineyard became the symbol of the relationship between God and people. The image of the vine was so important that Jesus says; “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower”.  And then in a few sentences further on says; “I am the vine, you are the branches”. [Jn 15: 1,5]  It couldn’t be clearer: God is the vinegrower, Jesus the vine and we are the branches. We read in the OT in Psalm 80; You (God) brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. The prophets used the image of the vine.  Isaiah saw Israel as God’s vineyard; For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the people of Judah are his pleasant planting. [Is 5:7]  Jeremiah (2: 21) tells us that God planted Israel as a choice vine, from the purest stock.  Hosea spoke of Israel as a luxuriant vine that yields fruit [10:1].  In the great Temple of Jerusalem there was a carving of a great golden vine over the entrance to the Holy of Holies. We might understand what Jesus means by claiming to be the ‘true vine’ by recognising that the Bible never uses the image of the vine as a sign of Israel’s faithfulness.  Isaiah’s picture of Israel is that the vineyard has run wild. Jeremiah sees the vine as degenerate and Hosea as empty of fruit. Psalm 80 acknowledges that Israel as the vine needs restoration. Jesus is saying that if the people have proved to be a degenerate, wild and an empty vine he will be the vine for us. It is not surprising to see that we humans make for poor vines that bear the fruit of God, for the cultivation of vines is a specialised task. It may be the case that it is easy to grow ornamental vines as vines are hardy plants and grow vigorously. However cultivating vines to produce fruit is another matter. The vinedresser needs to give regular attention to the plant.  The soil needs to be carefully prepared. A new vine must not bear fruit in its first two or three years. The vine needs vigorous pruning each year for it to be fruitful. The vine produces two kinds of branches: one fruit bearing and the other non-fruit bearing. The non-fruit-bearing branch must be cut off so the fruit-bearing branch can enjoy the full value of the vine. This basic information will help us understand the imagery Jesus is using. We are the branches, Christ the vine and God the  vine grower! The connection is vital between the three. Leave one out and you have a wild plant of little use and in some instances a destructive plant. God the vine grower.       It is God who plants us, prepares us and sustains us. It is the particular work of the Holy Spirit who sustains and nurtures us. Before Jesus spoke about being the ‘true vine’ and we ‘the branches’ he had said to his disciples that he was leaving them, and that was for their good.  He was going to be with the Father and the Holy Spirit would come and nurture and sustain them. John recalls Jesus’ teaching in these words.  “I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.” [Jn 14: 25-27] We are not alone and God has given us the Holy Spirit. It is so important for us to call upon the Holy Spirit to bless and build us up in the faith. Christ Jesus is the ‘true vine’. The true vine is the vine that has been properly cared for, grown, matured and regularly pruned to produce the best fruit.  Jesus is the vine – the best and the truest. He has shown the quality of the vine in his love and truth that he exhibited in his care and compassion for us. His truth and love is demonstrated through his obedience to God’s plan, his humility in serving us, and his sacrificial love for all. Jesus let God ‘prune’ him through suffering. Jesus’ servanthood shows the true nature of love and truth. Christ Jesus is the Vine – the true vine of life. We are the branches.  His disciples and all of us who follow and receive Jesus as their Lord and Saviour, are connected to the ‘true vine’.  We belong to the best of love and truth. We bear the fruit of truth and love.  We don’t do it alone. We bear that fruit that flows through the vine to us. The very sap of the ‘true vine’ flows through to the branches and leaves. Without getting too technical the movement of sap is critical to the vitality of a plant and its fruitfulness.  The connection of branch to stem is essential. The flow of sap begins with the water absorbed into the roots and moving through the plant stem, branches and finally the leaves where it escapes. Jesus is appealing to us saying let the sap of God – the Holy Spirit – flow through us into the world. We don’t have to be the vine – we just have to be the branches of the true vine. The branches are pruned. The branches of the vine cannot be left to themselves. They need training

BEING OURSELVES Homily for Leighmoor Uniting for 15 April 2018 Let us look first at the essence of the Epistle, or letter written by Jesus’ cousin, John the Apostle, who, as an eye witness to some of Jesus’ doings, also wrote the fourth Gospel. The letter is dominated by two great thoughts: God is light and God is love. God is the source of light to the minds and of warmth to the hearts of his children.  I note particularly verse two of chapter three: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known”. From the Easter period we all know that Christ came to take away our sins. In Christians this effect is that No-one who lives in him keeps on sinning. Indeed the life we live reveals the source from which we draw our life. John clearly states that we, who do what is right, in the sight of God, are righteous. The standard is Christ, just as he is righteous.  A Eddie Askew, Past President of Leprosy International, who I often refer to, from one of his many his books, “Talking with Hedgehogs” refers to the longest running play in London, “The Mousetrap” It is a thriller by Agatha Christie, running for 70 years plus. The cheese may be getting stale but there have been generations of mice come and gone. And the tourists love it. The audience is asked to keep the secret of who did the murder when they leave. Knowing how the play ends would spoil it for those who come later. And it could spoil everyday life too. There are times when we’d like to know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next year. There really is no way we can predict it with any certainty. That is why footy tipping is so popular. And if we knew what is to happen, we may not like it. Perhaps would not be able to cope with it. We want to feel safe, to know where we are and where we are going.  Hans Christian Anderson, who wrote some wonderful fairy stories, was born in a slum and felt insecure all his life. When he travelled around the world, he always carried a rope with him, so that he could escape through a window if he was caught in a fire.  Not knowing, not being sure is part of life. As we start each New Year, we should take life as an adventure, a pilgrimage. It’s scary sometimes, but God is with us on life’s journey. Now I want to share a sermon, the theme of which was given by Garry Deverell, at the South Melbourne Baptist church   in April 2015. This is based on both our Gospel and Epistle readings. The disciples were not sure it was Jesus standing with them until he showed the wounds in his hands and feet and slipped some fish into his mouth to show that he was himself. The essence of the story this morning is becoming who you are by letting yourself go of who you are to become a new self that is like the risen Christ. Luke‘s story shows that Jesus was not always himself. His name was Jesus, a son to his mother and a brother to his siblings. He grew up in Nazareth and learned a trade and used it to support his family. Even after his baptism by John the Baptist, in Jordan, and even after Jesus left his home town in pursuit of a new dangerous vocation, Jesus was recognizably Jesus. And yet, Jesus had not yet become entirely himself. At the point of his death on the cross Jesus was not yet what God had promised he would be. He was not yet the risen one, who could shake off the power of sin, evil and death. For much of Luke’s story, then, Jesus is not yet himself in the sense of having become who God had destined him to be. Crucially, Jesus is only able to become truly himself by letting go of a whole heap of cherished dreams about his future, some originating in his own imagination and some in the imagination and hopes of others. His Jewish mother probably hoped that Jesus would become a successful merchant and maybe a lawyer or rabbi. She and Jesus had to let go of such dreams. His friends and companions hoped that Jesus would become a political leader and oust the Romans and restore the fortunes of Israel. They and he had to let go of that plan. From the story of the garden of Gethsemane, we guess that Jesus himself would really have preferred to live rather than to die. One option was retirement to some regional small business rather than to suffer the wrath of the Jewish Council.  In the end, he makes a crucial decision which makes all the difference.  “Not my will, but yours be done”, he says. He says that to God, his Father. By that decision he lets go his own hopes and dreams in favour of his Father’s hopes and dreams, which ultimately enables God to complete the process of his becoming. By this death, Jesus becomes the Christ, the one anointed by God to bring a new kind of life in the world, a life so new that most of us still have trouble coming to terms with what it all means. That is how it is for all of us, as well. We shall never be truly ourselves until we are able to let go of ourselves, the usual hopes and dreams planted in us by family, friends, and culture, grasping, instead, the self that God wills and promises for us, the self that is Christ. The Christ-self, as the first Letter of John tells us, is righteous. Not righteous in the sense of a self-interested hiding away from the rest of the world or a sitting in judgement

Seeing is Believing? 1 John 1: 1 – 2:2;  Psalm 133;  John 20: 19 – 31 The pathway to perspicacity. Thomas, that disciple of Jesus, declared to his fellow disciples,  ‘I will not believe Jesus has risen from the dead unless I touch his wounds’. [Jn 20:2]  So we call him, ‘Thomas the Doubter’.  But is that a fair description? I mean labeling Thomas, ‘the doubter’, is a bit of a put down. Is it not a reasonable thing to require some proof of a significant, if not bizarre, event?   We place a lot of reliance on ‘seeing is believing’. It is a principle of scientific enquiry.  Let us be fair: Thomas was not the only one to doubt. He was the only one state clearly his doubt. Did you notice that Mary Magdalene didn’t believe until she heard her name spoken by Jesus? Then she saw who this man was. It was her Lord.  Before he spoke to her she thought he was a gardener. The other disciples also believed after Jesus appeared to them. Cleopas and the other disciple on the Emmaus Road only believed when they saw the stranger break bread. I believe when Jesus broke bread in their home they saw his extended hands revealing his wrists through which the nails had been driven. Then they believed and knew that Jesus was with them: risen from the dead.  They all needed to see before they believed.  I guess we can understand this given the circumstances. Jesus obliged them with appearances. However Jesus was not uncritical of their need to see. Reflect again on Thomas’ encounter with Jesus, or is it Jesus’ encounter with Thomas.  When Thomas sees Jesus he declares his belief.  Jesus’ response is very telling. Jesus says to Thomas and to the rest of them; “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.”  [Jn 20:29] This is a gentle critique.  It is a critique of Thomas and the others, because they too only believed when they saw Jesus. However future believers will believe without seeing the Resurrected Jesus. They will be blessed. There is an implication that their blessing will be as least as great as first disciples, if not more! There is a rabbinic story that may help us understand what Jesus might be saying about the blessedness of those who believe without seeing.  ‘Rabbi Simeon said:  The proselyte (the convert) is dearer to God than all the Israelites who stood by Mount Sinai.  For if all the Israelites had not seen the thunder and the flames and the lightning and the quaking mountain and the sound of the trumpet they would not have accepted the law and taken upon themselves the kingdom of God. Yet this person, the proselyte, has seen none of all these things yet comes and gives himself to God and takes on himself the yoke of the Kingdom of God. Is there any who is dearer than this person?’ We may all be acknowledging so far the importance of ‘seeing is believing’. But push the pause button and reflect on what happened when Mary Magdalene had reported that the tomb was empty to Peter and John. They came running. John got there first and waited. Peter arrived and went straight in. We read in John 20:8; Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed … . The writer, John, gives us the impression that the disciple John understood.  John only needed to see the empty tomb to believe that Jesus had risen from the dead.   The others saw only the empty tomb. Their seeing led them to conclude that Jesus’ body was gone. John’s sight was informed by his belief in the words of Jesus. Jesus taught that he would rise from the dead. John was putting together the teaching of Jesus and what he saw and concluded that Jesus had risen.  In a sense ‘seeing’ and ‘believing’ worked together. We need to balance the principle of ‘seeing is believing’ with ‘believing is seeing’.   Observation and logic suggests that it is not merely a matter of ‘seeing is believing’. Have you thought about all the things you believe in that you don’t see and may never see? Our sight is important but it is not all-sufficient when it comes to knowing.  We can’t see the wind but we know it is there, because of its effect on things.  We believe in the existence of atoms and electrons but we can’t see them with the naked eye. Radio waves are another matter that is hardly visible to the naked eye. It is only in last 200 years that radio waves and the electromagnetic spectrum have been serendipitously discovered.  We weren’t looking for them! Before that humankind did not believe in them because they were not seen. The parable of  “The Blind Men and the Elephant” reminds us that to rely on our senses may not be enough. You know the parable of a group of blind men who came across an elephant. Each of them grabs a part of the elephant and tells the other what it is.   It’s a big spear says the person holding the tusk. It’s a fan says the person feeling its ear. It’s a tree says the persons hugging its leg, and so on. The Gospel writers are recognising the importance of balancing the ‘seeing is believing’ with ‘believing is seeing’. This is contra to our view that to see is to believe. Certainly that is a truism in many aspects of life. There are instances where seeing is critical to believing. But sometimes we need to hear before we see. That is the case with radio waves. The work of Herschel, Maxwell, Hertz and Marconi convinced us to ‘see’, so to speak, radio waves.  It is the word of Jesus the Christ that reveals the truth.

Easter: Mary of Magdala. John  20: 1 -18  Not feminism to the fore but humankind! Mary Magdalene is one of the stand-out persons in the Gospel story.  She was a follower of Jesus, present at the Crucifixion, one of two witnesses who saw where Jesus was buried [Mk 15: 47 & Mt 27:61], and one of the first witnesses of the empty tomb.  Pope Gregory the Great in 1591 proclaimed that Mary Magdalene was a reformed prostitute, although there is no NT evidence for that, except imaginative conjecture. We know so little about her and yet she has featured in films and literature as a repentant prostitute, wife of St John the Evangelist and features in the Holy Grail fiction. The evidence for these depictions of Mary relies largely on imagination. The current film, Mary Magdala, portrays her more sensitively, but still questionably. What do we know about Mary Magdalene? We must rely on our four Gospel accounts, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, because they have been rigorously critiqued and proven trustworthy. They form the ground for all our discussions. But the Gospel accounts are not straightforward history books, so we must read carefully and sensitively. Firstly, we know is that she is mentioned 14 times, which is more than any other woman in the NT. This doesn’t mean she is the most important only that she is significant. Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the important one. Secondly, Mary is a disciple of Jesus. Luke tells us; The twelve were with him, as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them out of their resources. [Luke 8: 1-3] Both Luke and Mark tell us that Mary had seven demons driven out of her. We can say no more than that she was one of those disciples who had been healed through Jesus’ ministry. Her link to Jesus is deeply personal. Thirdly, she is present at the Crucifixion. It is at this point in Jesus’ ministry Mary Magdalene emerges more strongly. Matthew, Mark and John mention that the women disciples of Jesus were present at the crucifixion and Mary Magdalene is specifically named along with some other Marys and Salome. Fourthly, Mary Magdalene is a witness to where Jesus was buried along with another Mary [Mt 27:61; Mark 15:47; Lk 23:55] Fifthly, Mary is one of the first people to see the empty tomb. All the Gospels mention her. She is the first person to see Jesus according to John and Mark [Jn 20: 1, 16; Mk 8: 9]. However Luke suggests Cleopas and another disciple were first [Lk 24: 13-35] and Paul says Peter was the first [1 Cor 15:4]   Sixth, she close to Jesus. John’s account of the Gospel provides us with an intimate picture. After Peter had looked and seen the empty tomb then he rushed back to tell the others [Jn 20: 10].  Mary remained behind and she mistakes Jesus for the gardener before he says her name. Then she recognizes Jesus [Jn 20: 11ff]. Here we see the intimacy of friendship, a common mind and spirit that arises in teacher–disciple relationships.  Now having listened to the simple statements in the Scriptures let us look at the role of love and what love uncovers. Mary Magdalene must have loved Jesus much. I don’t know if it was the fact that she had been rescued from the demons that possessed her. There is a spiritual truth here. Those who have been forgiven or healed greatly by Jesus will love Jesus deeply. Mary’ closeness to Jesus also may have as much to do with a natural connection of spirits and minds. I don’t want to muddy the interpretation of her love with our crass and cynical imaginations that are often more akin to the projections of our own poverty of mind. Mary loved Jesus.  We saw the film, “Mary Magdala” last Saturday. It is an interesting film because it shows Mary of Magdala to be a strong individual who did not conform to her community’s conventions that expected women to marry, bear children and be a homemaker. She is portrayed as a spiritual person who thought deeply. Of course her unconventional approach alienates her and she brings shame on her family, but her father loves her. She meets Jesus who heals her of what appears to be depression in the film. She then follows him. The film portrays her as the disciple who understands what Jesus is teaching, unlike the men who are looking for a military messiah to conquer the Romans. The film makes much of her sympathy with what Jesus is on about, may be too much.  But I do think the women may have understood Jesus better than the men, because the men were more likely to be caught up in the military solution to their problem.  But I don’t think it is simply a black and white situation. However we should not underestimate the role of women amongst Jesus’ disciples.  When I reflect on Mary Magdalene I think of Mary of Bethany, who also was close to Jesus. Some women like Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany, sister to Martha and Lazarus, were special friends of Jesus. In Mary of Bethany we see that there is an intellectual and spiritual connection. I suspect this might be the case with Mary Magdalene as well.  All his disciples loved him in various ways: some with more connectedness than others.  There is John, the beloved disciples, and there is Peter too.  Jesus loved: he loved people. No wonder people loved him. The woman who anointed his feet with expensive ointment and wiped them with her hair loved Jesus. Some think that unnamed woman was Mary Magdalene, but the connection is not conclusive. Jesus loved and people loved Jesus. Now when Mary went to

Good Friday: Babette’s Feast. Hebrews 10: 11 – 18;  John 19: 13 – 29 Today we remember the death of Jesus by crucifixion. Crucifixion was the cruel method of executing the enemies of Rome.  Religious leaders conspired with the Roman governor to eliminate Jesus. It was a travesty of justice. It was a lie against truth. It was hatred against love. Jesus died but never compromised his commitment to truth and love.  Jesus was one with God the Father and he came to destroy the lie, the hatred and injustice with love and truth so we could be free. The crucifixion is the climax of Jesus’ earthly life. His uncompromising sacrificial death paved the way for us to be free from the lie, the hatred and injustice. That is the gift Jesus gives to us. The Resurrection of Jesus witnesses to the fact that Christ Jesus destroys the power of evil through truth and love.  I want to offer you a story that may help you understand what this gift is really about.  I want to offer you the story of Babette’s Feast. Babette’s Feast is a short story written by Karen Blixon. She also wrote Out of Africa.  Babette’s Feast became a cult movie in the 80s. It is worth seeing. Babette’s Feast is set in on the desolate coast of Denmark. Martina and Philippa are the daughters of a devout clergyman who preaches salvation through self-denial. Both daughters sacrifice youthful passion to faith and duty to their widowed father. And they continue many years after his death to hold this small dwindling community of followers. Martina and Philippa live simple lives caring for the needy in the tiny village and leading the dwindling community of faith. In their youth they had both denied their own passion and self-interest. Martina had been courted by a dashing lieutenant in the army, who was the nephew of wealthy member of the faith community. But Martina chose to stay and with her sister to her care for their aging father.  Philippa possessed an extraordinary beautiful voice. A famous operatic singer, Achile Papin, on vacation had heard her singing.  He persuaded her to receive some singing lessons. He said that she with little training would be famous, receive attention and be dined at the magnificent Café Anglais in Paris. Flattered Philippa conceded but resisted the temptation of being an opera singer and the affections of Achile. Achile dejected left the village devastated. Fifteen years had passed. The community of faith had become entrenched in their ways and the fellowship was fragile. Then one rainy evening a knock on the door and a woman cold and exhausted entered the lives of Martina and Philippa. The woman gave them a letter of introduction. It was from Achile Papin the French opera singer. He said, the woman was Babette and she could cook. The sisters could not engage Babette, but in exchange for a home and food, Babette stays and looks after the sisters. To Babette’s horror she is taught to cook boiled cod and gruel. She does so gracefully. Babette does not talk much about her former life. Babette’s only link with France is that a friend takes out a lottery ticket for her each year. Twelve years go by. Babette receives a letter informing her that she has won the French lottery – 10K Francs. The sisters recognize that Babette will now soon leave them. This coincides with the sisters discussing a celebration for their late father’s 100th anniversary since his birth. Babette approaches the sisters. She says; in the past 12 years I have asked no favours of you. I ask one now. Will you let me prepare a meal for the anniversary service? It is true Babette has not asked of them anything. The sisters cannot refuse. They concede with a little apprehension.   Their fears increase when the provisions, Babette has ordered, arrive. The sisters are amazed by the arrival of crates of small quails, cases of champagne and wine, a head of a cow, fresh vegetables, truffles, pheasants, ham, strange sea creatures and a live turtle. The sisters are concerned. Their father had warned against earthly pleasures. They tell their community of faith they cannot be ungracious. They cannot refuse the meal. But they resolve to eat without comment or compliment to Babette. The feast day comes, December 15. The 11 members arrive and Mrs Loewenhielm accompanied by her nephew the cavalry officer, who had courted Martina. He is now a decorated general. They take their seats. Babette has transformed the dining room. The guests sit mute keeping to their pledge to not enjoy these earthly pleasures. Only their eyes give away their delight in the meal, and the general alone praises the fine wine and food. Increasingly acknowledging that the meal compares more than favourably with the finest meals in France and as good as the Café Anglais. The General tells them that the head chef of the Café Anglais was a woman who devised exotic dishes just like these. As the meal progresses the community of faith begin to unwind. As they enjoy the earthly pleasures they speak openly and warmly to each other. They recall the past. The feuding brothers confess and the estranged women are reconciled. The general unable to contain himself stands and makes a speech in which he says; Mercy and truth, my friends, have met together in this meal. The story of Babette’s feast ends with two scenes. The members go out into the snow and gather together joining hands and singing lustily the old hymns of faith. There is a sense of harmony and reconciliation amongst them. Karen Blixon, the author, describes the scene saying; as if they had indeed had their sins washed white as wool, and in this regained innocent attire gambol like little lambs. The other and final scene takes place in the wreck of the kitchen piled high with unwashed dishes and greasy pots. Babette sits in

Dealing with Evil. Jeremiah 31: 31 – 34; Hebrews 5: 5 – 10;  John 12: 20 – 33 The Christian life drives out evil with goodness. This sermon has been a hard one to compose. It has been difficult because it is a sermon that tells us where we stand and not how to practice the faith. But it has pure gold in it. How do we fight evil: violence, abuse, exploitation, injustice, corruption etc.? Just how do we?  Our normal reaction is to respond to evil in its many forms with something comparable.  For example, violence is met with violence. In fact violence in response to any form of violence at best causes a cessation of the violence, but in the long run violence emerges again and escalates. We can write laws and prosecute the perpetrators, but that doesn’t solve the problem. Policing our laws that ensure good behaviour is important. However we have a tendency to build more prisons, in spite of the facts that where governments have provided greater social services there has been a reduction in prison occupancy. Punitive regimes may curb the number of crimes, but not stop them. Which supports the deeper issue I am raising today, which is, how do we deal with the inherent evil in the world?  I speak of evil because wrongdoing reaches proportions that are evil.  We might not believe in the devil or evil spirits wandering around trying to get into our lives, but we can’t deny the spirit of evil. Let me try and explain.  A society will create a legal system that feeds into our fears and prejudices. That system may even appear reasonable. The combination of the laws with our fears and prejudices creates something larger than the law itself. The white South African government developed the policy of ‘apartheid’ or ‘separate development’. It was quite a reasonable policy on paper. But the laws that supported the policy created an evil system of racism. The spirit of that system was larger than any individual or law and it invaded our lives causing disrespect for others, injustice, and the separation of families. Apartheid left no household, black or white, untouched. Racism was given permission to exist. It was evil. Enforcing obedience to the law has a limited success. Strong policing will curb crime but not eliminate crime. It is no wonder that the prophet, Jeremiah, came to understand that God would one day write God’s law on our hearts. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  34 No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, “Know the LORD,” for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more. [Jer 31:33-34]  We need a change of heart that leads to the spring of love bubbling up within us.  This is why St Augustine could say;  ‘Love God and do what you like’.  To be in love with God is to be in God’s love. But cannot change our hearts on our own. As I have attempted with my ordinary words to describe the enormity of evil. You cannot dismiss evil; you must drive it out by a greater power. You will find examples of what I am talking about in many places. Even institutions with good purposes develop a power of their own which can become sinister to some degree or other. Ponder the Church as an institution and then our banking systems. The list does not diminish. An institution’s way of being can possess us. The thing we serve possesses us and that is what demonic is. Jesus experienced evil in his day.  I have become very aware in recent times that Jesus began his ministry and immediately the demons emerged. From the very beginning Jesus had to deal with evil in its different faces.  Those forces strove to quieten him and extinguish the flame of his compassion and truth. Those forces of evil had to be driven out.  Jesus knew this.  So it is not surprising to hear Jesus say; Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. [Jn 12:31] Jesus’ strife with the religious authorities had come to a head. The authorities found Jesus a threat to their control and power. The authorities were going to use any means to ensure they didn’t lose control. Jesus was confronting their power in what he said and did. He demonstrated that the religious orders didn’t have the power to forgive, that God’s power was with him and he controlled the powers of evil by exorcising demons. Along with that Jesus broke laws controlling community relations. He allowed women to touch him, he touched the unclean and implied where he was God was present. So how does Jesus destroy the powers of evil?  Jesus destroys the power of evil the only way one can.  He confronted the evil with truth and love.  You can’t overcome evil by using the tools of evil. When we fight evil on evil’s terms evil wins.  What that tells us is that we do not have the capacity to confront evil with truth and love because we do not have in ourselves the quality of love and compassion to overcome evil. Neither do we have the measure of truth in ourselves to combat the lie. Why?  Because we are already tainted with unlove and untruth. We are sinners as the Bible says. Listen to your heart and mind. We are too ready to punish and embrace anger than forgive and build relationships. The only way that we can combat the evil is with pure compassionate love and truth. And we can’t do it. Neither could the disciples. We have a perfect of example of this at Gethsemane. The squad

Jesus Talking with Nick. Numbers 21: 4 – 9;  John 3: 14 – 21 To see who Jesus is, is a work of Heaven. The Gospel according to John has some unique features. The conversations Jesus has with people forms one of those features. The Gospel according to Matthew, Mark and Luke record no conversations. They merely retain a statement or questions directed to Jesus or a person. Some scholars might add that John’s conversations are a literary device. Whatever the case may be they are valuable. Jesus talks at length to the Samaritan woman, Mary and Martha, Pontius Pilate and Nicodemus.  Nicodemus comes at night. There is tension between Jesus and the religious leaders. Maybe Nicodemus wanted to keep his respect for Jesus a secret. Maybe Nicodemus just wanted a private conversation uninterrupted by his fellow cynical and prejudicial Pharisees. We don’t know, but the conversation is interesting and helpful to us. We learn much from it.   Nicodemus comes to Jesus acknowledging that Jesus must come from God.  I will call Nicodemus, Nick. Nick’s attitude contrasts with those vocal Pharisees who see Jesus as a threat. Jesus responds to Nick saying, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” [John 3:3] Jesus is saying that we don’t recognise the Kingdom of God in our own strength. God the Holy Spirit helps us see the Kingdom. If this is so it suggests that Nick is close to God, but as in all conversations they can get side tracked. Nick gets side tracked by Jesus’ use of a new image that of ‘being born from above’.  (In our lifetime we changed this expression to being born again.)  It seems that Nick is caught up with the puzzle of being born anew. He is caught up in human logic like we so often do. He only sees birthing in terms of our natural birth. Jesus explains what he means by using the more common images of water and the Spirit. Then Jesus follows up with a reference to the wind blowing and we don’t understand where it comes from or where it goes – which is in a general sense true. Most of us understand that winds blow in different directions, but don’t know how they work. The science of meteorology was not known in those days. Even today people don’t really understand the science of the weather. Jesus’ illustration is helpful.  We don’t have to know everything for something to happen. We don’t need to know the mechanics and dynamics of riding a bicycle to ride one. We learn to ride as small children by riding. That might be our first lesson – to simply trust our Lord’s instruction like we trusted that adult who taught us to ride a bicycle. Get on it and start peddling. Trust Jesus and start walking in faith. Jesus explains the grounds of his authority to Nick.  Jesus has descended from heaven. What is interesting are the words of Jesus is his statement that no one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven [Jn 3: 13]. Jesus sees heaven as the place that directs the affairs of the world, not the place to which we go to when we die. Heaven is God’s “control tower” not our ‘destiny’ as I have shared with you elsewhere. Jesus’ claim is audacious. “I am from God!” he says. Nick could take this in a number of ways, but he most likely understood Jesus to be a true prophet of God. In fact Nick had already stated this when he came to Jesus and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.” [3:2]  Jesus’ affirmation of Nick suggests to me that he sees Nick as already born anew or at least in the process of being born from above.  The conversation deepens as serious conversations usually do. Jesus now likens his ministry to that of the uplifted image of a ‘serpent on the pole’ in the Exodus story.  We read about that a few minutes ago. The freed slaves under Moses’ leadership had sinned: failed to trust God. The local snakes bit them and they took this as their punishment. God gives Moses an antidote, which is to make an image of the snakes and put it on a pole. When people are bitten they are to look at the image of the snake and they will be healed. Rev Dr John Miller writes in “Love to the World”;  “The bites of the poisonous (literally ‘fiery’) serpents cause a burning sensation corresponding to the fiery anger of God. (Think of the burning shame we can experience if our sins are exposed).  Why does God command Moses to make a bronze image of these fearful snakes?  Perhaps in looking to the image of the instrument of their punishment the people were being made to face up to their sin and its consequences.” [Lent & Easter 2018] Jesus claims to be like the serpent image – Jesus will save the people. It is important to distinguish between the image and the power behind the image. It is not the image that rescues and heals; it is the power the image represents. That is, it is not the cross of Jesus that saves, but God’s saving power and purposes as demonstrated in the cross of Jesus. Jesus explains that the power and motivation behind the ‘lifting up of the Son of Man’ is the love of God.  We come to that well-known and powerful statement;  “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.” [3:16] God’s love is the instigation for Christ Jesus’ coming.  God loves the world God created.  God’s world has life because God

REFLECTING GOD’S LIGHT LEIGHMOOR 25 Feb 2018 The actor who played God in the movies, George Burns once said that a Sermon should have a good start and a good ending and be as short as possible in between. This homily will, hopefully, shed some light on the relevance of today’s lectionary Bible readings which culminate in the ‘theology of the cross’ teaching us to live lives of service to others rather than to control and dominate. We firstly consider Genesis, followed by a Psalm and then Mark’s Gospel. Finally we should consider how we can reflect God’s light into the dark corners of our personal worlds. God’s covenant with Abraham and his offspring promised two things: descendants and land. Abraham and Sarah’s own childlessness provides one of the first moments of anxiety over the promise. They are old and the prospect of parenthood for them is laughable. Yes, Abraham fell on his face and laughed. The descendants of Abraham will face obstacles about the promise like: barren women, enslavement in Egypt, desperation in the wilderness and the exile in Babylon. Will God keep his promises? The change of Abraham’s wife’s name to Sarah meaning princess, stressed that she was to be the mother of nations and kings down through the ages and so she served the Lord’s purpose.   The link of this reading to the season of Lent is this. The cross is the ultimate obstacle to realizing the promises of God. God had promised a redeemer, a newly appointed king of kings, a saviour to deliver the nations from sin and suffering. However that redeemer will be executed by the Roman Empire and who could really be raised from the dead? The prospect is as impossible as a ninety year old woman having a child with a hundred year old man. When we hear the promise of the resurrection, we know to fall on our faces in reverence: God is speaking to us! We wait for Easter when we witness the promises fulfilled, and our stubborn doubt-filled laughter turns to the laughter of joy. Psalm 22 is an ancient prayer inviting the godforsaken to pray those words to God, and then see what happens.  The first verse of this Psalm is quoted by Jesus on the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Verse 24 speaks of suffering, but in the end, as in today’s gospel reading, there is restoration and deliverance. The circle of praise spreads widely, extends beyond time itself. The psalm finishes with a sense of praise “All the nations…all the families of nations, worship before God” Everyone is able to join in with the psalmist saying “The Lord has done it” What deeds? “The saving deeds that he has done”. Michael Rogness, Professor of Preaching, Luther Seminary, St Paul, USA, assisted me in this commentary on Mark 8. We are so accustomed to the message of Jesus’ crucifixion that it is easy to overlook how jarring that prospect would have been for the disciples. The great hope of the Israelite people at that time was freedom from the Roman overlords.  They had seen Jesus’ miracles, and experienced his magnetic personality. They would reasonably assume Jesus would challenge the way they lived as servants under the Romans. They had big hopes for the future; not a cross. Contrary to all their hopes and expectations, he would undergo suffering and be killed. It was the worst possible thing Jesus could have said. Jesus shocks the disciples even more deeply by telling them that his way of the cross may well be their future too. Those who would follow him will ‘deny themselves, take up their cross and follow me’. As if that’s not enough, Jesus continues with even more unexpected and totally unforeseen news: To save your life you must lose it. You may lose your lives for Jesus sake. The whole point of Jesus’ ministry was that he came to give his life for the salvation of them and us. By our human nature we want to be prosperous, strong, successful and influential. Jesus had other priorities. He, on the other hand, came to serve, not to be served. His ways are not our ways, yet he invites us to follow him and his ways. We are called upon to do the very best we can with the talents and abilities God has given us. To ‘deny oneself’ means to keep one’s priorities in harmony with what Jesus told us in the two ‘great commandments’: love God and love your neighbour. Jesus gives us hope for the future.  We are called upon to follow him not just for this future, but in this life. We follow Jesus because it is worth it. The author and President of Leprosy International, Eddie Askew has some appropriate words for such a time. He writes in his book:-“A Silence and a Shouting” based on Luke’s Gospel. “Some people can walk quietly and calmly into a situation of confusion, size it up, and do something about it. It is a rare and enviable gift and Jesus had it. After the exaltation of the experience of the transfiguration, on the mountain and the peace of the night in the hills, Jesus was met by a crowd of people. It was a large and curious crowd, shoving and elbowing, closing in, talking, quarrelling, dirty and sweaty, staring at the Galilean prophet they had come to see. Someone yells: “Look at my son, your disciples couldn’t do anything”. Get the picture? A crowd, noise, heat, criticism, sickness. The disciples are helpless. The father is disappointed, belligerent. To make it worse the boy goes into convulsions. In it all, Jesus is competent, and in control of the situation, effectively translating the love of God into action, by healing the boy and restoring him to the father.  Jesus , firmly in control, gently takes His disciples beyond the immediate, beyond the healing, quietly revealing the fundamental purpose of His presence