Why Faith is better than Religion. Micah 6: 1 – 8; 1 Corinthians 1: 18 – 31; Matthew 5: 1 – 5    Is what we do the litmus test of our faith? These texts mark the difference between religion and faith.  The prophet Micah distinguishes between religious practices, such as sacrifices, and faith practices, such as living the values of faith.   It is important to distinguish between religion and faith, and yet understand their relationship. People think you are religious for coming here this morning. In fact they are right. They are wrong if they think we are just religious.  Religion refers to the organisation and systemisation of faith.  For example, the ancient religious practice of Israel involved sacrifices.  Faith on the other hand is trust in something or someone. For the Christian, faith is trusting in God and God’s self-revelation in Christ Jesus.  People of faith come together and develop a way of worshipping and a way of being a community. This organisation of their faith is religion. Faith leads to religion and religion helps us keep our faith. Now people both in a religion and those who claim not to be religious take religion as a negative term.  Basically this negative attitude sees religion as something meaningless.  So we get people claiming not to be religious. This is a false distinction. It isn’t helpful. It is best to understand that faith leads to the development of a religion and religion helps us maintain and grow our faith.  But here lies a bigger problem.  We can mistake our practices as faith. We can let our regular religious practices take the place of our faith. I think we do this when we make certain practices so important that they can’t be changed or challenged. Though religion and faith are inter-dependent they also must be distinguished. We should always be checking whether our rituals and liturgy have replaced our faith. It is our faith that gives rise to religion.  The prophet Micah, not using our language and concepts, is making the same point. He sees people being religious. They come and offer sacrifices. They even offer the extreme sacrifice of a firstborn child. The size and cost of the sacrifice is mistaken for the depth of loyalty to God. This happens even today. We honour people who give much. We name buildings, rooms and put plaques on walls in honour of people’s faith, or is it their religion. I know I might be close to offending some, but do we really think through such naming. In one sense it is right and noble, in another unhelpful if we think the gift marks the true quality of their faith.  What marks their faith is the spirit in which the gift is given.  But Micah goes further. He says that the true litmus test is whether we practise justice, kindness and humility. The reason for justice, kindness and humility being the litmus test is that they arise out of faith and not religion. The prophet is not unique in his thinking. He merely captures very succinctly the essence of the teaching of the Law, Jesus’ teaching and that of the followers of God. The keystone of the whole Leviticus law is love your neighbour [Lev 19:18]. Jesus reinforced this. Jesus made it clear that to love others, to give to the poor, to do the right thing was an essential part of following God. It was more important than conforming to and practising the rituals of religion. Jesus said that seeking reconciliation with others first was more important than religious practice. As the writer of 1 John says;  Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. [1 John 4: 7,8] There it is. It’s in black and white. Love is the true expression of our faith and love will be expressed through justice, kindness and humility. Justice is the expression of love we show the wider community. When I became the CEO of an organisation I asked God, how can I love these people? At the time I had 60 staff and 4000 volunteers. I knew that loving was not liking. I knew I could not be a friend with all of them. I knew that being friends was not even the answer. It became clear to me that I had to offer justice to all. That’s what I did. That’s what some remembered me for. The way I was going to love them was by being just. That meant I showed no favours. There was equal access to all resources and to me. Even those I found painful and those who were painful, I made sure they had the same access to resources and my office. It wasn’t about the likeability of each individual, but that the individual was part of the whole.  Justice is that. We should ensure that all have justice regardless of whether they are likeable or not; or whether they are part of our group or not; or, whether they are worthy or not. I ponder what justice means in our society. I think of the homeless and wonder, what proportion of those in the city are using the system and what proportion are just homeless? Then I wonder about all our enterprising commercial and professional opportunists who milk the system for their own ends. What’s wrong with the poor taking advantage of systems when the rich do it? I ponder about the police pursuing that driver and the saddening deaths of people. I think if the police had forcibly stopped that car after 30 minutes and in so doing shot the driver, would there not be a hue and cry about the police’s hastiness? But now they took their time and five have died. Where’s justice here. I know what I want. I want a police force that can act. But

I waited patiently. Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 1: 1 – 9;  John 1: 29 – 42 ‘I waited patiently!’ The psalmist speaks of waiting patiently for the Lord.  Have you notice how much ‘waiting’ is part of our life. We wait for trams, buses, trains, traffic, children, spouses, kettles to boil and computers to down/upload.  If waiting is so much part of our living what does it do for us? How does it help us? There are many references to waiting in the Bible. Waiting is explicit in Psalm 40. It is fairly explicit in the John reading. There is John the Baptist with some of his disciples. It is the day after John baptised Jesus. Jesus is still hanging around. John points to Jesus saying this is the one I said was coming. Implicit in John’s statement is that they have been waiting for this one whom history knows as Jesus of Nazareth. John explains that Jesus is the Messiah who will baptise with the Holy Spirit. The following day a similar conversation takes place as John points to Jesus again. It is a very interesting scene. Jesus is hanging around. Is Jesus waiting for something? Jesus did not just come and get baptised and go off on his mission. What is he waiting for? Two of John’s disciples follow Jesus and Jesus turns to them and says, ‘What are you looking for?’ The disciples ask Jesus if they can follow him. They go with him, but one named Andrew goes and fetches his brother, Simon Peter. Andrew says to his brother, ‘We have found the Messiah!’ Implicit in all this is that these people have been waiting for the Messiah. It seems Jesus was waiting for them to respond.  The Bible has many examples of the followers of God waiting. Paul in his 1st letter to the Corinthians tells them that they have been prepared to wait for the ‘revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ’. What has prepared the Corinthian Christians is their growth in faith and understanding and the gifts God has given them for ministry. They have been prepared to wait for God’s future to break into their lives [1 C 1:7]. I have had growth patterns in my Christian life that have prepared me for future ministry. In 2007 I had a burst of growth in the Lord. I had completed leading a prayer workshop where I was reminded to wait on God with expectation and in readiness. In particular Isaiah 40:31 became a Scripture God gave me. It reads, 31 but those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.  At the same time I had the spiritual truth of ‘thanking God in all situations’ reaffirmed [1 Thess 5: 18]. Not long after this learning I attended the 8th World Methodist Seminar on Evangelism in Atlanta USA (June 2007).  I took a less expensive 27-hour flight to Atlanta via China, which was delayed by 6.5 hours at its source, Tullamarine. Of course the whole schedule was thrown out. A 27 hour flight became a 72 hour flight. I finally arrived at Atlanta at 2 pm and after securing my bags went to wait at a designated spot for a 2.30 pick up time. I waited again with expectation looking for someone, and I waited in readiness. I was ready to move immediately. Well at 5.10 pm my hosts for the conference arrived.  I had stood by a particular pillar in Atlanta airport and watched the maddening crowd in the second largest US airport go by for 2 hours and 40 minutes. Now I am impatient and suffer from frustration. Throughout this 72 hour, experience I had prayed the lessons I had learnt again in the prayer workshop. I prayed thanking and praising God. And walking around the airport, especially where we were initially delayed praying for those very frustrated people and their little children.  Throughout the experience God gave me a deep sense of peace. Finally arriving late to the conference I settled in immediately to the new time routine and conference schedule.  The conference was one of the best I had ever attended. Not because of the intellectual content but the spiritual learning.  I wonder what it was like for those disciples. They always seemed to be waiting for something. Jesus had farewelled them with a promise [Acts 1: 4, 8].  They were to wait in Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit came upon them. Then they would witness to Jesus with power in Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth. And what a promise: power to go and proclaim Jesus all over the world! Did they get impatient? What we read is that they waited, they waited expectantly, they waited together, and they waited prayerfully [Act 1:14]. God’s power came eventually on the day of Pentecost. They had waited for 7 weeks.  The beginning of God’s future broke into their lives. They were ecstatic. They were brave. They publically proclaimed Jesus as the Lord. And amazingly a large number joined them. Their waiting resulted in a movement that changed the world. We can learn from the disciples waiting. Now waiting is not doing nothing. Waiting is an activity. When we wait we do things. So when I was waiting at the Atlanta Airport I reminded myself of what I had to do. I went to a designated spot in the Airport. A huge airport that was totally new to me. I checked my time and my instruction after an hour I phone the Conference Centre. It was only the second call that got something going. To wait means we will do something particular that is connected to what we wait for. Waiting involves preparation. The preparation is about getting ourselves ready physically and mentally. We prepare appropriately for the event or person we are waiting for. If preparation involves get ready

The Scope of the Servant’s Role. Isaiah 42: 1 – 9    Matthew 3: 13 – 17 The book of Isaiah provides a rich insight into God’s purposes and into the role of God’s Servant or Servants. It is global in its perspective and perception. Our reading today is one of a set of poems about God’s servant or servants. When you read these poems the Christian cannot help but think of Jesus the Christ – our Lord and Saviour.  The servant is spoken of in the singular and then the plural; that is there is both the Servant and servants. That’s not surprising.  If God gives one person a task God gives all a task. That is, if Jesus came to show us the way to God then Jesus’ followers show others the way to God.  The one becomes the many. That’s the way it is in God’s purposeful plan. I want to talk about being God’s Servant(s) by talking about the Servant in our reading of Isaiah 42: 1 – 9.  The poem begins with God introducing the servant. Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights;  I have put my spirit upon him; The first thing we learn is that the Servant is chosen and blessed with the Holy Spirit. At Jesus’ baptism Matthew tells us that when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.” [Mt 3:16,17]  To be given God’s spirit is to be endowed with the power and the character of God. Of course we can never completely replicate God’s character and power. We can only do that in part with God’s blessing. The important thing is that God is willing to give us the Holy Spirit. God is willing to let us reflect his power and character. We are ambassadors of God in Christ Jesus says Paul [2 Cor 5:20]. The first Christians displayed God’s power and love. And they stayed true to what Jesus taught even at the cost of death, such as the first Christian martyr, Stephen. These weren’t people acting out of the ordinary-ness of humanity, but ordinary people acting out of  the extraordinary-ness of God’s gifting. We believe that the Spirit is given to us in our baptism.  However I believe and understand that we have to invite God’s Spirit to enter our lives again and again. Why? Well we are human and we are sinners. By that I mean we fall into thinking more of ourselves than God. The fact that we have to invite the Spirit into our lives many times is not a reflection on God but a reflection on us. If we are struggling to receive the Holy Spirit it is most likely we have a spiritual plumbing problem! Many years ago a writer used the image of a pipeline to illustrate how the Holy Spirit comes to us. The idea is that God’s Spirit comes to us through a pipeline like water through a water pipe.  Now the Spirit’s flow to us, so to speak, is either not coming through, messy or just a trickle. If that were happening to our water supply we would think that the water pipeline was broken, damaged or blocked.  The point of this metaphor is that the flow of the Spirit to us will be affected by our attitude, our sinfulness and how open we are to receiving God into our lives. We can so easily block God’s Spirit by disbelief, by not being open to God’s promptings or by our sinfulness. We have ways of shutting God out or at least limiting God’s action in our lives. Our inviting of God’s Spirit into our lives is not about persuading God, but persuading ourselves to let God give us what God wants to give us. Three times this poem speaks of the Servant bringing justice.  The Gospel of Luke presents Jesus in the Synagogue in Nazareth reading from the Isaiah scroll. In our edition of Isaiah that would be chapter 61:1-4, which is very similar to chapter 40.  There the notion of justice incorporates a well-being in the community where there is an equal access to resources, responsible neighbourliness, compassion for the needy, liberation for those in bondage and a right relationship with God.  Justice is much more than a set of good laws carried out and policed. Justice is about right relationships and right practice. In Isaiah 40:6 God speaks through Isaiah saying; ‘I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you’. To be taken in righteousness by God does not mean we are taken when we are perfect.  Righteousness in the Bible is a rich concept that includes a right or good relationship. Righteousness means we have entered an intimate relationship. This intimacy is suggested by the image of being taken by the hand and kept by God. That’s a beautiful image. God holds our hand and we walk the bumpy road of life together.  You see, when we enjoy that kind of relationship and then pursue justice, the resulting justice will be far more like God’s justice. God’s servant will have empathy. A lovely picture is given of God’s servant.  He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench … . [42:2,3] A bruised reed will not be broken! A dimly burning wick will not be extinguished!  I see the Servant here approaching us when our spirits are troubled and bruised by life’s woes and ills and holding us.  I see the Servant drawing next to us re-igniting the dying embers of our spirits when

The Scope of the Cross’ Shadow. Hebrews 2: 10 – 18;  Matthew 2: 13 – 23 A cynical historian once said of Christmas that it was only popular because it was all about the birth of a child, and it meant no more than that.  I think the historian was right in one sense. I think our society has taken on board Christmas because it comes across as a happy family life event. It’s easy to accommodate. It isn’t threatening. It leaves us with a good feeling. Christmas gives us a fun time. On the other hand the historian has got it all wrong. Our society that celebrates Christmas misses entirely the back, front and future story of Christmas.  The shadow of the Cross falls across this event. Suffering and death lurk in the shadows. Vulnerability is just around the corner. Power and fear oozes through the cracks of this story. The Wisemen from the east have come and gone back a different way because they were suspicious and fearful. King Herod, like all dictators, suffered with a measure of paranoia.  He heard about this special baby from the wisemen and ordered all the boy children of two years and younger around Bethlehem to be killed.  We have no evidence of this massacre outside of the Gospel. Did it take place?  William Barclay, famous NT commentator of the early part of 20th Century, noted that massacres have gone unnoticed before. He mentions that a notable Scottish political diarist known for his thoroughness who failed to mention the massacre of Glencoe in 1692.  It was quite probable that Herod ordered the deaths of the children. King Herod had killed the members of the Sanhedrin when he came to power. Some time later he had 300 court officials executed. He also murdered his wife Mariamne and her mother Alexander. Herod was no stranger to arbitrary assassinations. This passage leaves us in no doubt that though the birth of Jesus brought great joy for some; it also brought great danger and suffering to others and not least the holy family. Joseph and Mary’s flight to safety in Egypt is most probable given the political nature of Herod’s reign.  And Egypt is the logical place to go to. There they would be beyond the influence of Herod. Equally important they would have been amongst fellow Jews. There were many Jewish communities in Egypt. Jews had often fled to Egypt and many remained. In fact the northern city of Alexandria held the largest group of Jewish people in the world. Yes, there were more Jews in Alexandria than in Jerusalem. (Remember at one time Melbourne held the largest number of Greek speaking Greeks outside of Athens.) Matthew uses the holy family’s flight to Egypt to show that Jesus stands in the full tradition of Israel. Notice that Matthew has said nothing about the shepherds, angels and the holy family’s quiet return to Nazareth. Instead we have the visit of the wisemen, the warning to Joseph of Herod’s decision to kill baby boys and the flight to Egypt. These are all historically plausible stories. Matthew has presented his material in such a way as to draw parallels with Moses. Moses is hidden in the bulrushes and Jesus in an obscure manger. Pharaoh orders all Jewish boys to be killed and so does Herod. Moses is saved by Pharaoh’s daughter and Jesus by the angels. Moses fled for his life to the land of Midian and Jesus to Egypt. God messages Moses saying that those who wanted him dead have died.  Joseph receives the same message that Herod has died and its safe to return. Matthew wants to show that Jesus’ early experience parallels Moses the Great Lawgiver. Matthew writing for a Jewish Christian community wants to make it quite clear that Jesus is fulfilling the Covenant (OT) not replacing it [Mt 5: 17f] I want to draw out two lessons from this text.  The first is that this is a new start.  The second is that any new start has its dangers. The coming of Jesus heralds a new start for Israel.  Jesus’ birth came at a time when there was a widespread hope that God would save Israel. They believed God would send the Messiah. Matthew and the first Christians believed that Jesus was this new start. And without doubt Christ Jesus initiated a new start. Jesus radically re-interpreted the Jewish story. The history of the Israelites is one of fresh starts. The Church’s history shows the same pattern. God is always willing to work with us afresh.  Traditionally we have taken the New Year as a time for reflection and a new start. Some take time to reflect on the past year and on the year ahead. Professionally I do that every year. In one of my pastoral visits this week I was asked whether I had a strategy for growing the church at Leighmoor. I said I didn’t. I do have strategies to build up our faith and for helping us through the transitions of life. Those life changes that lie ahead of us also include, for me, the possibility of this church needing to close down one day. I do work at preparing you to be independent of the minister and embrace change.  But the question was a challenge, helpful and vital. It is challenging because our denomination faces major decline. It was helpful because it told me that others are concerned. I can’t work alone at this. We have to do it together. And it was vital because growing the Church is God’s Mission to this world. I’m not simply passing the buck when I say that the strategy must be ours.  So I am calling a meeting to begin a discussion on this matter for Sunday the 15th January after worship. I believe we should be asking ourselves what we should be doing to make this church grow? Or to put the question theologically, what are we doing to

Christmas: A Cultural Phenomenon? Galatians 4: 1 – 7; Luke 2: 1 – 20 Christians down through the ages, have converted the prevailing culture’s traditions and beliefs. Let us take Christmas Day as an example and see what we can learn from this. The most probable reason for Christmas Day being the 25th December is the Roman feast of Saturnalia. Saturnalia was a feast that was celebrated during the winter solstice, which is the shortest day of the year. The solstice takes place somewhere between 20th and 23rd December. We commonly mark the occasion as December 22nd. Saturnalia was a family and community time of merriment. During the festivities of Saturnalia things were turned upside down. Dress codes were relaxed and gifts were exchanged. Slaves were treated to a dinner where their masters served the slaves. It celebrated the death of the sun and then the rise of the sun with the shortest day being the turning point. The 1st century Roman poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus, described Saturnalia as the best of times. It is not surprising to see how Christians could look at the Saturnalia festivities and the winter solstice as natural symbols for the birth of Christ Jesus. It is the very nature of God to turn things upside down. Christ Jesus said the first shall be last and the last first. God’s grace is the very epitome of things being turned upside down. And of course, the notion of the sun dying but then rising is an example of the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. There is something about seeing nature as revealing the character and mind of God. Why wouldn’t it if nature is Created?  It would be quite reasonable for pagans to interpret the winter solstice as symbolic of their agricultural god, because that is exactly what happens. Plants seem to die and then burst into new life. Naturally for Christians the winter solstice would be an example of the sacrificial death of Jesus and the Resurrection of Christ Jesus. In short we bring our beliefs to the reality we face and we make sense of reality. Christians make sense of reality through the lens of a God who comes in human form, who re-forms the tradition, expands our view of who our neighbour is, and shows us that unconditional love is the ante-dote to our fear and hate, our anger and despair. So the first lesson  we may learn is that Christianity, like other religions, has adopted the local traditions and converted them. So it is not that the Romans gave us Christmas but Christians converted a Roman festival that celebrated the change from darkness to light, the dying sun to the rising sun, and family life, into a festival. As I said this is the most probable reason for Christ Jesus’ birth being celebrated at this time. You’ll remember that when you were younger the Christmas dinner was roast fowl of one sort, roast potatoes and vegetables, and of course, Christmas pudding. Above all it was a day when the family got together. It still is a family day. What or who forged this tradition in the English speaking world?  Charles Dickens is the answer. Dickens in his little book that became so very popular, A Christmas Carol, set the scene of a roast dinner, boiled Christmas pudding and a day for the family. What Dickens was concerned about was the state of the employed, who were being deprived of celebrating the birth of Jesus with their family. In the early 1800s Christmas Day was not a public holiday. It was a workday. Why would a businessperson stop his business because of Christmas? Scrooge argued that Sunday was more than enough for a holiday! Remember holiday comes from ‘holy day’. One ‘holi-day’ is quiet enough. Dickens was concerned with the exploitation of labour, the lack of charity and the nurturing of family life. To address this situation he wrote A Christmas Carol.   A little sketch were Scrooge represents the avaricious business person ruthlessly working his labour force. Bob Cratchit is the family man struggling to make ends meet yet retaining the family identity and Fred, Scrooge’s thoughtful and charitable nephew, represents the family torn apart by naked commercialism.  This delightful tale unwinds with Scrooge being visited by Marley’s ghost and his companion spirits. Marley is Scrooge’s deceased business partner. Marley and Scrooge are clones of each other. Marley comes to warn Scrooge of the dangers of an uncharitable life. This simple tale ends with Scrooge a changed person who now becomes the epitome of a charitable and happy wealthy businessperson. Recently cricket’s Big Bash League floated the idea of a game on Christmas night next year. A howl of protest took place. One of the chief reasons being that Christmas is family time. Nothing about Jesus is mentioned. It is a family time and we should not interfere with this. The second lesson is that traditions change and are reconverted. Our secular society has adopted Christmas to be their cash injection into the economy and a prime family time. This is not necessarily a bad thing, except that Christmas was not merely about enhancing the economic system and family life, but about unconditional forgiveness and love of God meeting us in our humanity. The third lesson closely follows the second. Lose sight of the purpose of a tradition and you will set loose the tradition. Dickens’ focus on the family and charity lessened the focus on the Christ-child. Dickens did not intend that. No he was trying to get people to practise Christ’s love for the world in our daily lives. It seems that our society has taken the first part of the gift of Christmas, but not the second most enduring part. I spoke with my older non-Christian brother – he is quite clear about not being a Christian – who now concedes in his old age that he has practised Christian values all his life without worshipping God. Today

Joy Promotes Positivity: Advent 3. Isaiah 35: 1 – 10; James 5: 7 – 10;  Matthew 11: 2 – 11 “The surest mark of a Christian is not faith, or even love, but joy.” (Samuel M Shoemaker: Preacher & Priest) Uummm! “Christian eschatology has never thought of the end of history as a kind of retirement or pay day or accomplished purpose, but has regarded it totally without purpose as a song of praise of unending joy, as an ever-varying dance of the redeemed in the Trinitarian fullness of God, and as the complete harmony of soul and body. [Jürgen Moltmann, Theologian] This third Sunday in Advent we lit the Joy Candle. Joy is today’s theme. Joy is the mark of Christmas. Hence we sing songs of praise and glory. Joy was the mark of the first Christians. Luke describes the disciples, in spite of suffering persecution, being filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. [Acts 13:52]  Joy, not jolliness or a smiley face, but joy is what characterises Christians. Joy arises out of hope and peace.  Joy is evoked by hope that springs from the promises of God and the peace of God. Remember hope is one of the primary sources of healthy living. Remember peace is much more than the absence of conflict. Joy is that feeling that pervades our being even when the storms and calamities of life strike us. Joy lies in shadows of our lives waiting to be awakened by God’s love, God’s grace and God’s presence. Now we tend to associate joy with happiness. But in that association we have tended to think that joy like happiness comes as a result of something good happening to us. A deeper reflection on the concept of joy reveals that joy is not dependent upon some happy event in our lives. There are a number of elements that go to make up joy. I will identify some of them to help us cultivate deep joy in our lives. The first element is that Joy is a gift. Albert Einstein said; “Joy in looking and comprehending is nature’s most beautiful gift.”  Einstein understood that the very act of studying nature resulted in joy. There is a theological logic there. To study nature is to study God’s at work.  Joy is a gift that seems to reside in the very nature of this world. No wonder then that men and women of faith have understood that joy is God’s gift to us. We see proof everywhere in God’s creation – birds singing, animals leaping, flowers blooming, brooks bubbling and sun and moon shining. No wonder NT writers encourage us to set our hopes on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. [1 Tim 6: 17] Thanks why we say grace at mealtimes. The second element is that joy is in our control. It is right to treat ‘joy’ as a gift, but it is not a gift we must wait for or hope for. It is already given to us. It is a gift given that we can open. We can close ourselves to the gift of joy or open ourselves to that gift. Helen Keller, who learnt to cope with blindness and deafness, said; “Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties.” I believe that it lies within us to choose to enjoy this world or not. But it is possible to be so hurt by life that to trust anyone becomes difficult. So instead we build a wall – a set of defenses – and though they may protect us from some hurt they also shield us from experiencing joy. Some may have their senses marred by disappointments and broken trusts.  Such experiences colour the way we see life and may lead us to suspect the worst in things. We need to develop a positive approach to counter the negativity. We’re all a little tainted with negativity, some to a point where the negativity suffocates the spirit. The third element of joy begins with gratitude. Practising gratitude is the antedote of negativity and cynicism. Wake up each morning with a sense of gratitude.  Thank God for being alive, for the warm bed you have have risen from, for the promise of the food that you will eat, the family and / or friends you will talk to, the people in the community who offer a smile, the sunlight on the flower and … one could gone on.  I will quote the words of three significant people for you to ponder. William Arthur Ward, a writer said.  “Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” Karl Barth, a great 20th century theologian said. “Joy is the simplest form of gratitude.” The Buddha.  “We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.”  Growing Joy: We can grow joy. Loving others and especially loving God is the major pathway to growing joy. Growing joy is more about giving than receiving as Scripture reminds us [Acts 20:35].  Little practises of gratitude produce joy, whether the gratitude is for oneself or others. [1 Thess. 5: 16-18; Roma 12: 15] The equation of joy is:  add humility, forgiveness, faith, hope, patience and love to life, then take away resentment, anger, fear, worry, materialism, greed, jealousy, complaining and pride. The outcome is JOY. Think of joy as a strong foundation that supports a variety of healthy emotions, including happiness. Joy builds in us contentment, optimism, a sense of freedom and general positivity. These are the measurements of joy, not a smiley face. The Bible speaks of joy more often than happiness. Happiness results from something good happening. Joy is a deeper feeling.  God wants us to be joyful.  Jesus said that his joy would be in us and that

Working at Peace: Advent 2. Isaiah 11: 1 – 10;  Matthew 3: 1 -12 (1595) What a beautiful picture Isaiah sets? The messiah will judge with righteousness and decide with equity for the meek of the earth. And the wolf will live with the lamb and the lion will eat straw like an ox. It’s bizarre but beautiful. It is a word picture of peace – real peace. On the second Sunday in Advent we light the Peace candle. Peace is the theme of our Bible texts. It is explicit in the Isaiah text and implicit in the other texts.  Isaiah provides a rich insight into God’s peace. Isaiah’ word pictures show that peace is not merely the absence of conflict but Creation living in harmony.  Listen again to the words of Isaiah chapter 11. The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. This prophetic picture shows the vulnerable and the powerful living together in harmony and wholeness. It is a picture where the enemy and foe have moved beyond the cessation of violence to the place of togetherness. The wolf lives with the lamb, the leopard lies with the kid, the cow and bear graze together as does the lion and the ox.  A child leads all. Isaiah paints a picture of Creation living in community and harmony. Not surprisingly a statement about God’s judgement precedes this futuristic scene.  God’s Servant will judge us not by rational evidence that is seen and heard, but by the deeper measure of equity and righteousness.  [Is 11: 1 -10]  God’s righteousness is never just moral rightness. God’s righteousness is about relationships. God’s righteousness starts with right relationships. So from the Isaiah text we learn that God’s peace is more than a cessation of violence but the development of harmony and wholeness for the whole of creation. Though Isaiah has articulated these thoughts so eloquently they are found elsewhere in the Scriptures. Commonly speaking we think of ‘peace’ as the absence of war and strife. The dictionary provides us with richer meanings:  a) the freedom from disturbance; b) a period of time where there is no war or conflict; c) an agreement of harmony between people; and d) personal inner peace. Now the absence of war or conflict does not mean the same thing as ‘an agreement of harmony between people’.   Harmony, as in music, means far more than the absence of the clash of sounds.  Harmony in music means we have a composition that is greater than the sum of parts or notes of music.  Harmony speaks of balance and symmetry. The harmony speaks of working together and relationships. Harmony speaks of the cooperation not competition. It is important to distinguish between peace as an absence or cessation of conflict and peace that has established harmony. The first simply means there is no fighting. The second meaning means we have something new and beautiful, for harmony is always beautiful. We mistake the absence of conflict as true peace at our peril. We have all witnessed a scene where some innocent remark ignites a fiery response. The reaction is disproportionate to the action. What has happened? The remark has opened up an old wound. It has unlocked a vault full of emotions. Like a volcano the emotions have erupted and spilled their destructive forces on the relationship or community. This is because the former offences were never properly dealt with. They were merely suppressed: placed beneath the surface waiting to erupt when the right trigger occurred. True peace results firstly from a process of forgiveness and reconciliation. True peace arises when reconciliation, justice, mercy and equity take place. We see this happening at the personal level or in an organization like a club or church, and it happens between nations. Wherever past offences have not been properly dealt with, where there is inequity, unforgiveness and injustice, conflict will lie beneath the surface to only erupt in one way or another. History provides us with some good examples. The Peace of Versailles established in 1919 following the World War I (WW I) was negotiated and imposed upon Germany with some very punishing clauses. This caused resentment in Germany. There had been a real struggle during the establishment of the peace to get the right balance. But the voice wanting punishment not reconciliation was not silenced. Many say that WW II was a result of the Peace of Versailles. That may be debatable, but it illustrates the fact that peace that amounts to a cessation of war and strife is a shallow peace that will most likely erupt into conflict later. What followed for Germany was the rise of a politician who led a movement to restore Germany’s national pride. In recent times we have seen that when politicians have not been listening to the people who have suffered real or perceived injustices and inequity there has arisen a strong reaction insisting on change. Now Christ Jesus taught that God’s peace begins with us. If we are not at peace in ourselves we will not be peaceful people. Peace begins within us. We need to make our peace with God, others and ourselves. Remarkably we overlook the enormous impact on our lives when we don’t accept, forgive and treat respectfully ourselves. We need to love ourselves, as we are worthy of love.  First we need to acknowledge our part in the breakdown of relationships with God, others and ourselves. We need to ask God’s forgiveness for the hurt we have caused.   Secondly, we need to accept God’s forgiveness and gracious acceptance of us. We are created

Hope is a Candle in the Wind. Isaiah 2: 1 – 5:  Matthew 24: 36 – 44 “Hope is one of the principal springs that keeps humankind in motion”, wrote Andrew Fuller.  Today we lit the Hope Candle in the Christmas wreath.  Hope is the theme of the first Sunday in Advent. Advent is the season when we remember how God had long prepared people to receive a very special revelation of God’s love. The word, ‘advent’, means the arrival of a notable person or event. An example is the advent of television in Australia. Bruce Gyngel introduced television to Australia in 1956 (Nov 5) with the words “Good evening, and welcome to television”.  So, welcome to Advent 2016 and let us prepare ourselves for Christmas. We will spend this Advent season following the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. Each Sunday’s Lectionary readings will be read, but the sermons will focus on these four themes. Today, Advent 1 celebrates hope. This powerful life shaping emotion kept the faith of God’s people alive. They lived in the hope that God would forgive and restore them. When we read the background story to Jesus we are reading the story of a chosen people’s faith in God. That’s why Jesus began his ministry with a call to repentance and the offer of forgiveness [Mk 1: 15].  Jesus began his ministry with people whose hearts and minds had been filled with the great promises of God, the love of God and God’s faithfulness. They knew God would come again to rescue them. They longed and hoped for God’s messiah to come and save them. Their love and faith were fuelled by this hope. Let’s remind ourselves what hope means. So often we use words assuming that we all understand what is meant.  Clarifying our understanding sharpens our insight. The Dictionary defines hope as a feeling of expectation and desire for a particular thing to happen. So we use the word hope in different ways. The detective searched through his belongings hoping to find some evidence. She has high hopes of making the Olympic team. They hope that the surgery will make all the difference.  He is hoping he will be successful with this application.   We use ‘hope’ in a number of phrases:  ‘hope for the best; hope against hope; hope springs eternal in the human breast; not a hope in hell; in the hope of’ and so forth. Some synonyms for ‘hope’ are aspiration, dream, desire, yearning and longing.  What is important is the basis of our hope. Sometimes we hope things will change when all the evidence suggests the opposite and there is no ground for that hope.  It is one thing to hope that the venture will prosper when you have put in the hard work. It is another thing to hope that a venture will prosper when you are relying more on good luck. Hope based on daydreams is nothing more than wishful thinking. Hoping for success when one has not done the preparation is fruitless. While reflecting on hope I came across this story of two senior men, Bill and Pete. Bill said to Pete one day; “Have you ever realized any of your childhood hopes?”  Peter replied, touching his bald head; “ Yes, when my mother used to brush my hair I often wished I didn’t have any.” In past times hope was used as an expression of trust. So to hope was to trust.  John Calvin, the great Reformer, captured this thinking when he said; “The word hope I take for faith, and indeed hope is nothing else but the constancy of faith.”  So when we speak of Christian hope – that is, hope in God – then hope is truly a first cousin to faith.  I understand that Calvin has put his finger on the very nature of hope. I see, like other saints of the Church, that hope is an essential part of Christian belief. Indeed, did not Paul say when speaking of the gifts of God that faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.  [1 Cor 13: 13] Hope stands alongside faith and love. Hope is part of that sacred triad – faith, hope and love. The Bible is full of stories of God’s promises that gave people the motivation to follow God. Their faith in God’s promises gave them hope for a better future – a God given future.   When Sir Walter Scott was a boy, he was considered to be a dull lad. His accustomed place in the schoolroom was the ignominious dunce corner, with the high-pointed paper cap of shame on his head. When about twelve years old, he happened to be in a house where some famous literary guests were being entertained.  Robert Burns, the great Scottish poet, was standing admiring a picture under which was written the couplet of a stanza. He inquired who the author was. No one seemed to know. Timidly a boy crept up alongside Burns and gave the name and quoted the rest of the stanza. Burns was surprised and delighted. Laying his hand on the boy’s head, he exclaimed, ‘Ah, bairnie, ye will be a great man in Scotland some day’.  From that day Walter Scott was a changed lad. One word of encouragement set him on the road to greatness.  Walter Scott became a great historical novelist with such books as Ivanhoe and Rob Roy.  Abraham and Sarah trusted God. They left their home and became nomads living in the hope that they would establish a great family.  How long did they hope for a son? And how long did they live by faith and in hope? Many years!  Joseph sold into slavery by his brothers and later imprisoned never stopped hoping and believing in God’s future. The Hebrew slaves in Egypt hoped and believed in their liberation and finally God sent Moses, Miriam and Aaron. The faithful kings and prophets lived with

Contrasting Political Powers. Deuteronomy 17: 14 – 20; Luke 23: 32 – 43 The Cross frees us from the fantasy that our power is like God’s. ‘Remember me when you come into your kingdom’ says the most unlikely of characters in this enduring crucifixion scene. Jesus crucified depicts Rome’s supreme power. Political activist and criminal alike are crucified. That’s the power! We have just witnessed a superpower choose who they want to represent their power. The drama has dominated our news media. We loosely speak about our politicians and the power they desire. It is almost amusing to hear people talk about politicians desiring power forgetting who has put them there – the people. You! Me!  Power is something we all seek. Let a little honesty prevail, please. We vote for the party or person we want to hold power, because we share their views that we want these views promoted through influence, coercion and compulsion. We want others to conform to our view, or at least let our views dominate. Political power is about influence, coercion and compulsion. It is false to label the politicians as the ones wanting power. We vote for them so that we can have our views influence the future direction of our country in law. When our views are enshrined in law people are coerced and compelled to live with them. In a democratic system power can be shifted in time to another party. In autocracies the power shifts when those in power become weakened and other autocrats build up their power base to take over. Our political leaders most often work with what is expedient. Expediency is a key principle. Will x produce y in the most effective and efficient way?  That is the prevailing question. The reality is that when expediency is the principle of operation it usually involves a moral loss. For example, Australians believe that it is imperative to protect the country’s borders. In fact we would all agree. Border protection is important. When we place it as an absolute then the cost is justified. The current way we protect our borders is to limit the migration of people to what we think is reasonable. This too is an acceptable point. This view leads to desperate people, who have been forcibly displaced from their homes through political unrest, being herded into virtual prison camps at a great cost to their mental health and dignity. The financial cost is huge. But it is expedient to protect our borders at all costs even if fellow human beings suffer intolerably. I don’t know how many of you share my view that what we are doing is immoral and further to the point, I don’t believe we have fully exhausted other ways of protecting our borders and controlling migration. But let us be clear we – the people of Australia – support the current situation. Now I am using this as an example to illustrate not only how politicians use the principle of expediency to carry out their policies, but that the electorate shares the power of the politicians.  This power, our votes, is exercised through influence, coercion and compulsion. When we develop a better understanding of our political power a number of things will take place.  We will recognise where the power lies and its nature, and have a better understanding of God’s power. I want in this sermon to remind us of God’s power, its nature, and its call on us, and how this illuminates our perception of God. It hopefully may throw some light on local, national and global politics as well.  My big concern is two-fold. I think we miss seeing God because we are looking for God in the wrong places and with the wrong concepts. Secondly, I wish to de-bunk the fantasy that God’s power is like ours. That is, when we speak of power with respect to humans and then speak of God’s power we are not speaking about the same thing. We have come to the end of the Liturgical year – the worship calendar of Christianity. We begin the new liturgical year next week with Advent 1. Every year the liturgical calendar ends with the theme of Christ Jesus the King. Kingship is about power – the power to rule. So to speak of King Jesus is to speak also of his power. Luke’s account, consistent with the other Gospel writers, highlights the contrast between God’s power and the world’s power. Jesus is nailed to a cross and crucified. Two other criminals are crucified with him. The Jewish leaders insult him saying; “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Messiah of God, his chosen one!” The soldiers make fun of Jesus saying,  ‘If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself’.  One of the criminals also says; ‘If you’re the Messiah save yourself and us’.  All the actors in the scene bar one taunt Jesus with the question about his lack of power to save himself.  This taunting, scoffing and derision is explicit in the Roman Governor’s inscription on the cross, ‘This is the King of the Jews.’  And so all scorn Jesus except one person. It’s the other criminal who remonstrates with the first criminal saying that they deserve to be there, but Jesus doesn’t. He also says to Jesus,   “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom. The Crucifixion is all about power. We see clearly the power of the World’s way.  There is the government’s power to execute political dissenters and criminals. In fact it is the government’s responsibility to do so. There is the Jewish leadership, a political group, with the power to influence the trial of Jesus.  And if there is a little misinformation about Jesus it all goes for the good of keeping things orderly and the tradition in place.  Jesus has been accused of perverting the nation, advocating a tax revolt and setting himself up as ruler in place of Caesar.