Lent 2: Holy Living in the Leafy Hambleden Valley

28/2/21

Genesis 17:1-7; 15-16
Mark 8:31-38

At Friday prayers in Fawley churchyard this week, we were reminded of the Lent watchwords: discipline, repentance and growth. These are some of the keys to holy living. Underpinning these three activities is practice. The season of Lent echoes the 40 days of Christ in the wilderness, preparing for this ministry.
Jesus had been practicing – directly after his baptism, Jesus is flung into the wilderness to face the temptations of Satan. Jesus rebuffs and refuses Satan’s offerings by using the teachings of scripture. In doing this, Jesus demonstrates for us what it is to live a life of discipline that has come through practice.

In this passage of Mark, we get a number of Jesus’ more quotable lines, ‘Get behind me Satan!’; ‘Take up your cross and follow me’; ‘What is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?’. There is often great temptation to take these verses out of context and apply them to just about any situation. Much like taking Churchill quotes or lines of Shakespeare and reducing them to coffee mugs and tea towels.

Similarly, we can lose the meaning of what Jesus is saying if we lift these verses out of their context too. The context that Jesus is teaching into was his death; this is the first time that Jesus predicts his death. “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering,” Jesus tells his disciples quite plainly. He must “be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.”

Standing on this side of resurrection history, we easily miss the bombshell effect these words must have had on Jesus’s disciples. Their great hope, cultivated over the three years they had followed Jesus, was that he would lead them in a military revolution and overthrow their Roman oppressors.
What then could be more disorienting, more ludicrous, than the news that their would-be champion was determined to walk straight into a death trap? To surrender without a fight to a common criminal’s death.

Peter, in a moment of confusion and shock, scolds Jesus for his dire prediction. And Jesus, in what might be the sharpest and most surprising rebuke in all of Scripture, puts Peter in his place with one swift stroke: “Get behind me Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”
You can hardly blame Peter, how often are our minds on human things rather than the divine? Holy living requires higher thoughts, and this takes some practice. It is easier to think holy thoughts when all is well. Much more difficult to do when faced with death, threats to security and uncertainty.

Then Jesus turns to the crowds and captures the essence of his message in two sentences: “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

Even now, centuries removed from the context in which Jesus lived and taught, what exactly is Jesus saying? That he wants us to pursue suffering and death? That a holy life is not about living at all, but about dying? About martyrdom?
What does a holy life look like in 21st century England?


Where does our discipline come from? How repentant are we? Are there any signs of growth? What does it mean to deny myself? Living, as we do, in a culture that does not imprison, torture, or kill Christians for our faith, how shall I deny myself so that the gospel might thrive, here and now? How shall I save my life by losing it for Jesus’s sake in the leafy Hambleden Valley? How shall I die?

‘If any want to become my followers’ – would imply there is a choice to be made. Jesus is speaking to a crowd, lots of people watching and listening. I would suggest that not all of them decided then and there to deny themselves and pick up their cross. There are always lots of people to stand and watch others do the heavy lifting. These are the ones who think they are saving their lives by not getting involved, or staying quiet or think that all religions, God, etc. are the same and get you there in the end, just be good or a nice person. The reality is though that lives will be lost.

‘Let them deny themselves’ – This is not the body and I am not living the life of a person who denies herself very much! I am not always good at living beyond my own convenience. What would it look like to deny ourselves those things that prevent us from living a life that follows totally after Jesus?

‘And take up their cross and follow me.’ We use it as a throw-away sometimes. ‘We all have our crosses to bear’ to explain or give meaning to the circumstances of another. We all have situations, issues, stuff going on that needs bearing up; we can’t ignore, dismiss or wish it away. Pick it up!
If we pick our crosses up to follow Jesus we are not going to have to carry it by ourselves. In Matthew 11 Jesus says, ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Who can we look to for a holy life? We see an example in Abraham. All that Abraham was promised came through his righteousness and God’s faithfulness. Abraham’s great age is not to be overlooked! It took a lifetime of practice, of discipline, repentance and growth. It was certainly not an easy life, but it was worth it in the end.

I think that one of the best examples in recent history is Billy Graham. Billy Graham died in February 2018, at the grand age of 99 and in his own home. He is a shining example of what it is to live a holy life of faithful service Jesus until the end. Carrying your cross daily and faithfully. Giving up your life, your convenience for others. We probably will not influence millions of people around the world – that’s okay. How about we influence those around us – in our homes, families, villages, our workplaces, schools, the stranger on the train or in the coffee shop.

Billy Graham lived a scandal free life – both financially and sexually. Is that not refreshing given what is being reported in the news almost daily? Money, sex, pride and power have a death grip on so many people. Mark is presenting us with Jesus’ idea of what real life looks like; a ‘real life’, a holy life that does not have space for the misuse and abuse of money, sex, pride and power. This real life includes death – death to these things and to ourselves.

Mark ends this passage by making it clear that following Jesus seems the only way to go. There is some good news: the crosses that we must bear are so much lighter than the cross that Jesus had to bear

What is the reward? From Billy Graham: “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God.”

In the presence of God who loves us deeply, gave up everything so we can be with him, who repays us with a life spent in eternity. By losing and denying – we gain much more.

Blessed are those who carry
for they shall be lifted.

Epiphany in the Hambleden Valley

My first Sunday in the new parish on the edge of the Epiphany Season.

This was my 1st sermon as Priest in Charge of the Hambleden Valley on January 24, 2021.

Revelation 19:6-10 John 2:1-11

I think it is somehow fitting that the first Gospel reading on my first Sunday in the Hambleden Valley is about wine & hospitality! I have been told, on good authority, that both flow freely in the convivial villages and pubs of the valley! I so look forward to meeting everyone in the flesh as soon as we possibly can.

It is also fitting that I begin this new season of ministry with you on the edge of the Epiphany season. I love the readings over these Sundays as they show us the different Epiphany experiences of various people – the Wise Men, Samuel, Mary, Joseph and young Jesus, grown up Jesus and John the Baptist and today – Mary and the disciples.



An Epiphany is to have ‘a moment of great or sudden revelation or realization.’ I am not sure if you have ever had an epiphany moment – but they are quite extraordinary! Those moments when something new blows through your mind – you see the world, people, a situation in a totally new way. Epiphany moments can cause a fundamental change in one’s life. They are not always dramatic affairs – they are simply a moment when you know that something has changed in your mind or in your heart. The circumstances might be dramatic – but it not a requirement.



The Epiphany stories of the people in these scripture readings tell of their revelations and realizations of God the Father and Jesus the Son. This is what, we as Christians, should be seeking for ourselves. Religion and even faith can become very dull if we are not watching and waiting for epiphany moments ourselves.

We are going to spend a few minutes unpacking the epiphanies of the wedding at Cana.

‘Epiphany of Invitation’

Mary was the first one invited to this wedding; it is amusing that Jesus and the disciples had also been invited to the wedding. Was Jesus on the B list – surely not? Maybe that is why he is resistant to changing the water into wine?!

There are times when we may have been invited to an event or gathering that we were not top of the list for maybe invited to fill a gap left by someone else. It’s happened to me. It is not the most comfortable of situations to be in. I think that many people feel this way about the invitation to come to church; they are somehow on the B list, everyone around them is a better Christian or ‘in the club’ and there is no place for new members. The Revelation reading speaks of the blessing for those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. That is one invitation we do not want to miss; we are part of that great multitude.

At my licensing service this past week, I chose Isaiah 55 as the first reading. There were many reasons for this; largely for the opening verses and the very simple invitation to come. ‘Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat!’ Everyone is welcome.

Jesus was invited to the wedding and he turned up. He accepted the invitation and something amazing happened at that wedding. When we invite Jesus into our lives, He does amazing things, beyond what we could ever ask or imagine. My hope is that we as followers of Jesus would want to extend that invitation to others. Simply and lovingly.



The Epiphany of Expectation

The second example of Epiphany is the realization of the expectation that God will act. Mary is expecting Jesus to do something about the lack of wine at the wedding in Cana.

Imagine being at a wedding that runs out of wine. Imagine if you are the one hosting the wedding that has run out of wine! How embarrassing! What will everyone think?! In Jesus’ time hospitality was everything; to run out of a wine was a huge social faux pas.

The exchange between Mary and Jesus is somewhat amusing: Mary is concerned for the lack of wine and Jesus is saying ‘Oh Mother – mind your business!’ Mary is having none of this; and she involves the servants to do ‘whatever he tells you to’. It seemingly doesn’t take Jesus much convincing to ‘do something’.

This is good news! We do not have to negotiate or beg or plead with Jesus to act on our behalf. We may have to persist, there are often many other factors at play that we do not know about or see. Again, Isaiah 55, ‘For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’



The position of Interim Priest-in-Charge of the Hambleden Valley Group was the 21st application I made for job over 18 months of looking. I had some really challenging moments of wondering if Jesus was going to do something. Many times of prayer became weepy, sniffly, pleading sessions. My levels of expectation fluctuated widely – of myself, of the church and its structures and of God.



At the end of it, I am so glad that His ways are not my ways. I know that Jesus will do something, even if I need to be reminded repeatedly.



The disciples are the ones who have the biggest ‘Epiphany of Expectation’ at the wedding of Cana. They are new friends of Jesus, he has just gathered them, so it is early days. What were their expectations of Jesus? They had left their families, homes and livelihoods to follow this man. We could assume that expectations were running high.

What are your expectations of Jesus like in your current situation? High – middling – low? What are your expectations of the Church? I would really like to know – if you’d care to share that with me at some point. Sometimes expectations need to be realistically adjusted. Low ones to be raised to avoid despondency. Overly high expectations need to be lowered to avoid continual disappointment.



The Epiphany of Covering

The wedding of Cana is incredibly rich in meaning and symbolism and we could be here all day digging around. Yes, Jesus starts his ministry here on the third day (reference to the resurrection). He takes what is common, weddings and water, and make them extraordinary. Mary’s high expectations and belief in her son and what she knows about him. The disciples who go from unbelief to belief and then circle back repeatedly as they follow Jesus.

At the heart of what Jesus is doing at the wedding of Cana is protecting the bride & groom and their families from shame. Hospitality is at the heart Middle Eastern culture and always has been. To run out of a wine at a wedding would be beyond humiliation, it would bring disgrace on a family. There were few things worse than failing to provide for one’s guests.

Jesus, by providing wine for them, he fulfils the need they have in that very moment. Jesus protected them from shame and disgrace in front of their community. He does the very same for us, Jesus covers our shame, our sins. He covers us in his love. Jesus also covers us in the very moment we need him too. He can change your life, He can change your day and He can also change that very moment you find yourself in.

Many people are struggling right now in lockdown, maybe even more this time around. People are losing jobs and relationships; some are unable to feed their children and themselves. Many medical staff feel they cannot provide the care that they desperately want to for the sick and the dying in front of them. My suspicions are that high levels of shame and embarrassment abound for many people.

Jesus covers that shame and embarrassment, when we let him. Whatever situation you are facing that you find shameful or embarrassing, please know that you are covered in the love of God. Please seek help if you need it – there are people in the churches that can help you. I want to help you if I can.



The ending of the Epiphany season does not mean that epiphanies stop happening. We need to watch and wait for them. The Epiphany of Invitation when we realize that Jesus is waiting for us to accept his invitation to join him. The Epiphany of Expectation reminds us that Jesus is at work even when there seems to be a delay, or He is somehow slow to act. Expectations may need to be adjusted. The Epiphany of Covering shows us the love and protection of Jesus. We are loved beyond what we can comprehend. He covers us in love and protects us from shame and embarrassment. We are in this together even though we have to keep apart.

Bless you my friends. I look forward to sharing this new season with you and look with expectation for what epiphanies are in store for us.