Tag: Paul

Trinity Sunday: Living in Relationship

Psalm 8

Romans 5:1-5

John 16:12-15

Today we are remembering Trinity Sunday. This is, of course, the first Sunday after Pentecost and we are meant to celebrate the Christian doctrine of the Trinity. God the Father, Jesus the Son and the Holy Spirit. The three-person Godhead. Celebrating foundational Christian doctrine might not sound all that exciting, but it is!

The church year now opens up and rolls along until Advent as the big festivals are now complete. It is good, I think, to remind ourselves about the essence of our Christian faith after the events and activities of Lent, Easter, Ascension and Pentecost. 

It has been good to remind myself of this after the events of this week at Gatwick with the crash of Air India 171. Where does our hope and help come from? 

Psalm 8 is set for today which we just sung (St Nicholas); read at Emmanuel. 

O Lord, our governor,
    how glorious is your name in all the world!

Your majesty above the heavens is praised;

2 Out of the mouths of babes at the breast. 

you have founded a stronghold against your foes, That you might still the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have ordained,

4 what is man, that you should be mindful of him; The son of man, that you should seek him out? 

5 You have made him little lower than the angels, and crown him with glory and honour.

6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet,

7 all sheep and oxen, even the wild beasts of the field,

8 the birds of the air, the fish of the sea, And whatsoever moves in the paths of the sea.

9 O Lord, our governor,
    how glorious is your name in all the world!

Sadly for many people, the name of God is not exalted. Quite the opposite. Psalm 8 reminds us to consider the heavens, lift our eyes from our own small lives and issues, joys and sorrows. Consider the work of the moon and the stars, the work of God’s fingers. It is not a coincidence that Psalm 8 is the first hymn of praise in the Psalter (the book of Psalms).  

Even in the deepest trauma and tragedy, we can praise God. When we are confused and lack understanding – praise God. Consider his works. To understand the Trinity, praise is a right place to start. 

The Church has marked Trinity Sunday since the mid 800’s. It was instituted to speak against the heresies of the early church as they worked out how to understand the concept of one God in three elements. Three does in fact equal one! 

Reference to the Trinity is woven through our services, every time I or we say ‘in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit; the entire Christian story is retold in the Eucharist prayer before Communion, we repeat it each week in the Creeds. 

Central to the Christian faith that God is Father, Son and Spirit; all in one. It is difficult to understand and at some point needs to be believed as part of the mystery of God. But don’t simply jump to that conclusion as tempting as it is!

In our Gospel reading this week, Jesus tells his disciples, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Read and understand this sentence with the utmost kindness and patience from Jesus. He knows what we do and do not understand. The Spirit was sent to guide us slowly, in forbearance to come to understand the deeper truth of all that Jesus said. 

This is a safe place to start. God never burdens us with more than we can understand nor does He push us into belief or faith. The Spirit was sent to guide us as long as we are wanting to be led in seeking the truth. 

The late Pope Francis wrote, “The Holy Spirit will never tell you that on your journey everything is going just fine. He will never tell you this, because it isn’t true. No, he corrects you; he makes you weep for your sins; he pushes you to change, to fight against your lies and deceptions, even when that calls for hard work, interior struggle and sacrifice… The Holy Spirit, correcting you along the way, never leaves you lying on the ground: He takes you by the hand, comforts you and constantly encourages you.”

In the work of the Trinity, we see that God is fluid, dynamic, never sitting still. Many people, young and old, believe and live like God is some distant and dusty old Man sitting on a cloud or living in a box or in a church building. There is something comforting in the idea that God is sitting still, containable but yet desperately boring. 

God is on the move, always surprising and wanting us to join in with what he is doing. Unity is at the heart of the Trinity, but unity does not mean rigidity. Many Christians get it so wrong with holding on to ideas that God is mean or distant or it is just about the rules or even worse – irrelevant to life in this time and season. 

God is diverse and thankfully not limited to our imaginations. We are all created in the image of God yet express ourselves differently. It follows then that God’s nature is diverse too. Jesus is the beloved Son, born of Mary and sent to us in human form. He consistently points to the Father who sent him to be with us. We see that the Holy Spirit was sent to journey with us, move with us every day and in every way.   

Finally, we see that God is communal. We were made for relationships, for community. We were not hatched from eggs, like separate entities. We were born into families (for better or for worse), hopefully we have made friends along the way, got married or not, had children or not and have found community along the way and built relationships.

For those of you who are or have been married, imagine for a moment that after your marriage service, you went off on your separate ways. 

You would still be married but you would never know the fullness of your marriage relationship while apart. If you want a full relationship with your spouse, then you need to be together, live in community with each other. The same goes for God, if you want a full relationship then you need to live together with him, He needs to be invited in. God also comes with roommates, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is a full and glorious house.

St Paul wrote his letter to the Romans before he ever visited Rome. In this letter, Paul laid out the basic elements of Christian teaching. Paul had a dramatic encounter with Jesus after the resurrection and was blinded for a time. Through his blindness he came to see the Risen Jesus and was forever changed. Paul wants the Christians in Rome to know and believe they have everything they need in the grace and love of God through the Holy Spirit. 

Endure, Paul says, go the distance, it is worth it. Often endurance means we need to forgo the right of convenience, the right to give up when it gets too much. At the centre of this endurance is love. God is love. At the heart of the Trinity is love; deep, unflinching, unfaltering, life-long and life-giving love between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that is extended to us. 

Do not worry about what you cannot bear right now. Work at understanding that you are simply loved by God as you are. The Trinity tells us that there is more love and life to come, we are part of a bigger story. We are children of the Trinity, always invited and deeply loved. The power of the Trinity will change our lives, lead and guide us to become the people we were created to be, guide us to unity and community. May our lives reflect the beauty and truth of the Trinity.   

Easter 6: Loved to Action & Obedience

“St Paul Meeting Lydia of Thyatira” by Edward Irvine Halliday. (1902-84)

Acts 16:9-15

John 5:1-9 

Easter 6 

25/5/25

If you can remember back to last week, I ended my sermon with, ‘The old commandment is to love one another. The new commandment is to love one another as Jesus has loved you. It is by this that everyone will know that we are disciples. It is stunning to think that if the first disciples had not bothered to do this, then the church likely would have shrivelled and died on the vine 2000 years ago. This love came to make all things new.

The task remains the same – we are to love as we have been loved. Go into the world, into work or families and to neighbours and show them God’s love.’

In this week’s readings we see how love is shown by Paul and his companions to Lydia in the city of Philippi and by Jesus to the man laying at the Pool of Bethesda. We also see how these people respond to God’s love. Lydia and her family were baptised and the man picked up his mat and began to walk. This is the focus for today; how we respond to God’s love.

Lydia, the merchant from Thyratira, was on a business trip 300 miles from home. It is not clear if she sold purple dye or purple cloth or what exactly she did. Whatever it was, she was marketing a luxury product to the wealthy elite. Lydia was clearly a woman of means, agency and authority. There are no men in this story — no husband, father, son, or brother, for example. Maybe she was divorced or widowed. After her own conversion and baptism, Lydia commandeered her entire household to be baptised, meaning she employed servants. Perhaps her “household” also included extended family members.

Lydia had all the trappings of success. Yet she was found outside the city gate next to the river for a prayer meeting with a group of other women. She listened to what Paul was saying and the Lord opened her heart. The Lord only opens hearts that are ready to receive.

She then opened her home, a sign of wealth, as it was big enough to accommodate Paul and his companions (at least three are named). Immediately after Lydia’s conversion, Paul mentions other prominent women who came to believe. Lydia is honoured by being the first European convert to Christianity and her house was the first church in Europe.

What looks like a chance encounter on the river bank was a divine appointment between a woman with an open and seeking heart meeting a man whose life had been turned upside down by the resurrected Jesus.

In contrast to Lydia’s story, we have the man at the Pool. He is unnamed and of no significance to anyone. No family, no friends and this has taken a psychological and social toll as well as physical.

This is reflected in his non-answer to Jesus’ question; do you want to get well? I think the more pointed question that Jesus is asking is: do you really want to get well. Or are you happy with the way things are; sitting pool-side with the feeble excuse that someone always gets in before you.

We know that to be in any way physically or mentally flawed in 1st century Jerusalem was a bad thing. In the absence of family to care for you would be destitute and assigned to a life of poverty. Notice that Jesus does not wait for an improved answer from the man. He tells him to ‘stand up, take your mat and walk.’ He does and begins to walk.

There is no further mention of him in the Gospel which leaves us hanging. What happened to him? Where did he walk to? Was there anyone waiting for him anywhere?

Life off the mat was likely going to be much harder for him. Literally no more lying around and waiting for others to help him out. He was going to have to learn to live in a whole new way.

Both of these stories demonstrate that no one is beyond the reach of God’s love and healing. There is no one He will not go to and/but there needs to be a response. Lydia’s heart was open and she used her gifts and talents of hospitality to help Paul. The man was obedient to Jesus’ instruction to get up and off the mat. Both their lives were changed in their encounters.

How do we respond to God’s love? We are to have faith, belief that Jesus is the Risen Christ, the Son of God and that salvation comes through Him alone. We are also called to a life of service, of action and obedience that reflects that love. It might be a public life like Lydia with influence, wealth and authority; or maybe in obscurity like the man formerly of the Pool of Bethesda.

Either way, we are found and loved to action and obedience.

Eternal God, who gives good gifts to all people, and who grants the spirit of generosity: Give us, we pray you, hearts always open to hear your word, that, following the example of your servant Lydia, we may show hospitality to those who are in any need or trouble; through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Advent 1: Watch & Wait


1/12/24
Advent 1 – Year C

Jeremiah 33:14-16
1 Thessalonians 3:9-13
Luke 21:25-36


Happy New Year!

No – I mean it! Today is New Year’s Day on the church calendar. Forget about January 1st December 1st is where it is at.

In this season of Advent, we remember again the coming of Jesus in human form as we repeat stories of that first Christmas. We also look ahead to His coming the second time at a time known to God but not us. We wait in hope and preparation for God’s arrival to make sure we recognise Him when he comes. In preparation for that we can pray that this Advent is a season of hope, relief and watching.

Hope. Who doesn’t need a little bit of hope today? Hope is like a light shining in a dark place. The Bible has a lot to say about hope:

Psalm 42 – Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God.
Psalm 62 – For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from Him.
Psalm 71 – But I will hope continually and will praise you yet more and more.
Romans 5 – Endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
1 Corinthians 13 – Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

We need hope because when we give up on hope, we give up on life.

The prophet Jeremiah had a difficult job; it is almost hard to believe that this reading came from him. Jeremiah was the prophet of doom and his book is one of the most depressing in the Bible. His calling set him apart from his friends and neighbours because they simply did not want to hear what God had to say through him. Jeremiah had hard messages to give the Israelites about the destruction of Jerusalem; this weighed heavily on Jeremiah. Yet in the midst, we have this beautiful piece full of hope and trust.

At this point in his life, Jeremiah has been put into jail by his own King for being right. The enemies of Jerusalem are attacking the city, as Jeremiah said they would. Jerusalem is still standing but it will soon fall into the hands of Babylon.
Sitting in prison, Jeremiah is suddenly filled with hope. Jeremiah knows that restoration will come after the exile – this is what he is talking about when he says, ‘the days are surely coming, says the Lord, when I will fulfil the promise I made to the house of Israel and the house of Judah.’

If the people wait, watch, endure and try to see the hand of God at work, they will be preparing themselves and the people for the time when ‘Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will live in safety.’ This would have been a mystery to the people listening! This is hundreds of years before Jesus arrived. This is still a mystery to people today; people in our families and friend groups who are not interested or do not know about what it is to be saved.

Jeremiah gives us an incredible example of human faithfulness that will not renounce God, come what may. Jeremiah brings good news too: whatever happens, God is God and God is for us. Even Jeremiah, who was the darkest of the prophets, has moments when he can see beyond the immediate destruction of his people to a time when they will again know that God has not abandoned them. He (Jesus) will execute justice and righteousness.

Secondly – Relief.

Just think for a moment about the last time you felt relief from a situation. That overwhelming sense of ‘this is over!’ or ‘well that wasn’t so bad’ or ‘thank God that passed me by’. Advent brings relief – the weary world rejoices!

Paul has been worried about the Thessalonians to whom he is writing. Paul got so worked up about it that he sent Timothy to visit them and he has come back with good news. The letter to the Thessalonians is an expression of Paul’s relief and joy for these new Christians. ‘How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy that we feel before our God because of you?’ (verse 1 asks)

Paul’s prayer is that they will use their time to prepare for their final meeting with God. There is no time to waste, every minute is vital according to Paul. He wants the Thessalonians to grow and abound in love for each other, to have their hearts strengthened in holiness so to be blameless before God at the coming of Jesus.

This is a big part of the Advent journey; are we ready for the great return? If we are ready then we will know relief when he comes back. However we should not get too comfortable while people around us do not know the Good News.

There is a verse in this reading that really stuck out to me. Paul wants to see the Thessalonians face to face and ‘restore whatever is lacking in your faith.’ What is lacking in your faith at the start of this Advent season?

Thirdly and finally; Keep watch. We need to prepare for Jesus’ return. This means taking the promises of God seriously. Where are our priorities towards God right now? Is he 2nd place behind our distractions and self-interests?

Luke tells of the signs that are coming in the sun, moon, in the stars and on earth. There will be distress among the nations and confusion in the seas and the waves. This passage is different from the rest of Luke. Luke tells the wonderful stories of the shepherds and sheep, the stable and the manger; it is Luke who tells the story of Mary and Joseph, Elizabeth and Zechariah.

Luke now gives us this rather frightening story of the Son of Man coming in on a cloud with power and great glory. The seasons are going to change and we need to be ready to change with them. Not only that, we need to watch for the signs of the coming of Jesus. This is not an easy task! We need to pay attention to the world around us, pay attention to what God might be saying to us.

The fig tree is the key to all three of today’s readings. Just as we know how to watch for the signs that mark the changing of the seasons, we need to be trained to watch for the return of Jesus.

Jeremiah and Luke talk about seeing the signs in times of turmoil. Paul is speaking into a situation of growth and joy with a tone of urgency. We too need to wait with intelligence, noting the signs, paying attention in situations of joy and relief while in turmoil too.

During Advent we are reminded that God is at work and draws us into His coming action. God is the prime mover, the initiator who is always present on the scene before we arrive. We need not worry or work under our own steam. By spending time with God, he will reveal what He is doing in our lives and the wider world. It is then that we can begin to recognize him.

In Advent, we are waiting for God’s arrival and we need to recognize him when he comes. We wait in hope, we wait for relief as we watch for God – both now and in the not yet.

Happy New Year!


Trinity 13: To Whom Can We Go?

Great crowds followed Jesus as he preached the Good News, 2004 (w/c on paper) by Wang, Elizabeth (Contemporary Artist);

25/8/24
Trinity 13

Psalm 84
Ephesians 6:10-20
John 6:56-69

We have finally reached the end of John 6 as today is Sunday five of five. I have mentioned the various threads and themes that run through this rather carb-filled chapter over the last few weeks. At each turn, Jesus is ratcheting up what is at stake for both that early crowd and for us now.

One golden thread running through this chapter are the words very truly and believe. Jesus is telling us very truly to believe in Him. I spoke last week about how the way we trust in things and people can influence how we trust God.

We all have our own ways of coming to trust things and people. Maybe some of us trust the wrong things or don’t consider the things we trust until they prove themselves to be untrustworthy. Maybe some of us set the bar so high that we trust almost nothing and no one. Jesus wants us to trust him; for anything and everything, all the time and forever. He died for us; his death and resurrection is a very clear indicator of his willingness!

Those first listeners did not yet fully appreciate what Jesus meant about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. The response from many was, ‘this teaching is difficult; who can accept it?’ Jesus has challenged his listeners on everything from their extensive rules on food preparation and eating to what happens (or does not happen) when they die. Jesus has thrown down the proverbial gauntlet with his final question, ‘do you also wish to go away?’

Jesus was giving them and still gives us that choice. To follow Jesus or not is a choice; the ultimate one. Christianity is based on making that choice; being a Christian is not an automatic event, it does not just happen. There is a lot of talk in various magazines and websites about being a ‘cultural Christian’.

A quick internet search with some AI help: A cultural Christian is someone who identifies as Christian but may not be religious and may not have a personal relationship with Jesus. They may have been influenced by Christian values and culture through their family background, personal experiences, or the social and cultural environment in which they grew up. They may also identify as cultural Christian because they believe that attending church, being baptised, or being a good person makes them Christian. For cultural Christians, religion is something they add to their lives to make things better.

This sounds rather good. Religion should make life better. Most of us want to be good people. Unfortunately this is the pinnacle of achievement for many; not the basic starting point. Just behave and all will be well.

However, at some point in this life we all have to make a choice to follow Jesus or not. Follow Jesus. Not cultural Christianity. These are the values and virtues; not salvation. It is salvation, eternal life with God that is at stake.

The people Jesus puts this question to in John’s Gospel are not newbie followers. These are people who have heard the teaching, seen the miracles, followed him around, maybe some were healed, they were certainly all loved by Jesus.

Often the discussion around salvation and the saving work of God turns to ‘what about those people who never hear about Jesus’ or people of other faiths. This is the modern day approach to the redirection that Jesus faced when his parentage was questioned in John 6. Personally, I do not worry about those who have never heard as much as I do about those people who hear the teaching, have been to church, know something about God and yet choose not to believe.

I think of some of my cousins, my friends, people I have worked with in the past. The only people who cannot or will not be saved are the ones who put themselves beyond the reach of God. God does not put people beyond his reach; people put themselves there.

It is sometimes an hourly, daily, moment by moment decision to choose God and live fully as the people we were made to be. It is hard work. You might notice that Jesus does not make it easier! He doesn’t make excuses or argue back when his followers take offence and claim it is too hard. He is not offering a lighter version. Many disciples left, not just a couple or a few. Many.

Debie Thomas, the American essayist wrote, ‘What does it mean to choose God? According to Jesus, it means eating his very essence, taking the incarnation so deeply into our own bodies and souls that we exude the favour of Christ to the world. It means doing what Jesus did and living as Jesus lived. It means turning the other cheek. It means loving our enemies. It means walking the extra mile. It means losing our lives in order to gain them. It means trusting that the first will be last and the last first. It means seeking God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness. It means denying ourselves. It means the cross.’

What is amazing in the closing of John 6 is that Jesus had any followers left. Maybe the real miracle of the bread and fish story is not that the multitudes were fed but a handful of those stuck around when he finished teaching. By asking them, ‘do you also wish to go away?’, those who are left are free to walk away.

It is an uncomfortable question. Imagine Jesus asking it with sadness and compassion as He knows that some will walk away. He knows what is asking them. He wants them to know that his love is a freeing love. I find this an uncomfortable question because sometimes I want to say yes.

Yes I do want to go away. I want to quit, I want to be more comfortable, pick an easier, less demanding, less costly, more culturally acceptable version of the Gospel. However, I know that there is no lighter version. It just does not exist.

In the final verses of Ephesians 6, Paul is telling his readers to get ready for the battle. War was a frequent reality then so this language would not have been strange or off-putting. Paul is putting the struggles of small Christian communities as a cosmic battle against supernatural evil. The people are to stand firm and not run away. They have been given the equipment they need.

We too need to stand firm, ready and rooted, if we are to choose Jesus, choose real Christianity. Not only stand firm, but use the equipment we have been given properly. It is sort of like PPE, great to have but only gives protection if used correctly. It means understanding the truth of the Gospel, being ready to proclaim it, being faithful when the arrows come, and knowing the word of God.

We also need to know, like Peter, that Jesus has the words of eternal life. Who else is there to go to? Nothing and no one will ever satisfy us like Jesus does.
We are called to make that choice over and over again. When we come together to celebrate Communion, this is what we are doing. Coming back, choosing again the one with the words of eternal life. Feeding on Jesus is our only hope.

Trinity 11: The Bread of Unity


11/8/24
Trinity 11

Ephesians 4:25-5:2
John 6:35, 41-51

Throughout the month of August we are stuck into John chapter 6 which begins with the feeding of the 5000 on a mountainside in Galilee. This crowd witnessed the miracles Jesus had been performing. They began to follow him and the disciples around with curiosity and in hope of another free lunch after Jesus met the physical hunger of the crowd in the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.

Next, Jesus walked on the water through a storm in the dark of night to the fear and amazement of the disciples. There is no mention whether the storm stopped or not; what seems to matter is that the disciples’ fear was dissipated when Jesus reached them. One of the beautiful things about the Christian faith is the amount of creativity and imagination it requires of its followers.

The next day, the hungry crowd is back for more fish sarnies but none are on the menu. Jesus tells them not to work that food that will perish but the food that endures for eternal life. The heart-breaking and beautiful proclamation of ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whosoever believes in me will never be thirsty’ follows. This is where we start this morning.

At each turn throughout John 6, Jesus is ratcheting up what is at stake. He is making it clear he is not just a miracle sandwich-maker or a favourite history teacher as he corrects the beliefs of Jewish people listening to and arguing with him. Jesus is reminding them the bread that came down from heaven after they crossed the Red Sea was given to their ancestors came from God; Moses was only the means of delivery. This would have been difficult for the Jews to hear. Their beliefs were firmly held, rules were rules and needed to be followed.

We are living in a world right now, in a country right now where people are hearing things they do not like and reacting. Firmly held beliefs, however right or wrong, or extreme to either end are being challenged. It feels very unsettling and knocks our security. Riots over immigration, Facebook posts decrying the cut to the winter heating credit for pensioners. I am a Canadian so will not comment on the US election. Ukraine, Russia, Israel and Gaza. This is a sad state of affairs.

What can be done? Imagine for a moment that we took Paul’s instructions in the letter to the Ephesians. Paul is instructing the churches to focus on God and for the new believers in Jesus to to live in the light of Christ with specific moral commitment, to conduct relationships in the right way.

We spoke the truth to our neighbours instead of lying to them?
Paul says it is okay to be angry but do not sin. Be angry in the right way about the right things; the true injustices of the world.
Do not steal. Get a job and work honestly.
Share with those in need.
Don’t gossip and slander other people with either your tongue or your thumbs – let your words be graceful and kind.
Put away bitterness, wrath and anger, slander.

How about we be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God has forgiven you.
Live in love and Jesus loves us and gave himself up for us.

This is the world that all children, all of us should grow up in!

Maybe there are better ways to resolve differences and challenges to beliefs. Jesus is trying, I think, to expand their thinking and believing about God. Some of the crowd are willfully determined not to understand. Have you ever met people like that? They are not stupid or unintelligent, they are willingly incapable of seeing any other point of view. The crowd tries to divert the question by turning attention to Jesus’ family (son of a poor carpenter) and ‘who does he think he is?!’

Jesus is offering the crowd something better. Eternal life. Like all offers from God, we are free to turn it down or not recognize it at all. We can choose dust and ashes over the bread of life. Jesus knows this. We choose death rather than the life we were made for. Jesus chooses death too. He chooses to be in our death. He chooses to be the bread of life who dies so that we may live.

We need to choose life. We have all been given physical life; of course. We have all at some point experienced birth. Some more recently than others. There is more to life than just what we can see, touch, smell and experience. Again, back to imagination and creativity! We need to choose life because one day death will come. It is not the end of life but the start of eternal life, safe in the everlasting arms forever.

We all need to be fed spiritually. This is what we are doing in Communion. In the breaking of the bread we are receiving our bread for the next stage in the journey. We are choosing the bread of life over the dust and ashes. Jesus is the bread of life. May we choose this bread always.