Tag: Paul

Trinity 12: Remember Who I Am


Trinity 12
23/8/26

Romans 12:1-8
Matthew 16:13-20

Growing up, I would say that I was a pretty good kid: a reasonable student, polite, well-behaved and mannered, didn’t get into much trouble, etc. This carried on largely into my teenage years with the odd scrape, of course. I grew up in a small town, so it did not take long to explore the local nightlife. Once curfew times had been negotiated and I got ready to go out, my Dad would inevitably say ‘Susan, remember who you are.’

Man! Sometimes it really bothered me! Especially if I had not fully disclosed where I was going or what I would be doing that evening. This was my Dad’s way of telling me to behave, to remember how I had been raised and what was acceptable behaviour. There were times when that sentence would pass through my mind; and I believe steered my behaviour. As I grew up and matured, I have come to realise that ‘remembering who I am’ is a very valuable thing to know.

In the Gospel reading this morning we are asked to consider who Jesus is. This is a pivotal moment in Peter’s life and in the lives of the disciples.
Why is Jesus asking this question?

Over the last few weeks in the lectionary we have been talking about weeds, wheat, pearls, treasures, mustard seeds, bread and fish. These are all stories about Jesus taking very little of something and making it very, very big. The miracles displayed in these stories show us God’s power displayed through Jesus in the provision and generosity given to those who choose to follow. These stories are pointing to the person of Jesus and who he is.

One of the recurring themes throughout these readings is Jesus having to continually prove himself to the disciples and the crowds. They are still doubting as they do not yet understand who He is and what he came to do in the building of the kingdom of God.

Up to this point Jesus has been seeking to prove his claim of messiahship through words and deeds. Now it is time to see if the lesson has been learned. Jesus starts with a ‘public opinion’ survey: ‘Who do people say the Son of Man is?’ It seems like a bit of a random question. Might have seemed that way to the disciples. No doubt that Jesus already knew the answers but wanted to hear it from them.

Jesus is given a variety of public opinion answers and this opinion is divided. Some say he is John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.
These answers are interesting; people did not think of Jesus, meek and mild; not the cosy friend of little children. He is categorised as one of the wild prophets of the Old Testament. One who stood up spoke the word of God fearlessly and against the rulers of the day.

Then Jesus cuts to the heart of the matter: “Who do you say I am?” Suddenly there is no public opinion to hide behind. They must make an intelligent, personal choice based on the witnessed miracles and heard messages.

Take a moment now and consider that question for yourself. Jesus is asking you ‘Who do you say I am?’ This is an answer with not only eternal consequences but with consequences for the everyday trials and triumphs of walking around on this planet.

Peter answered, ‘You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God’. An answer which gets him some serious praise and blessing. The importance of Peter’s answer is that he acknowledged that Jesus was not just God’s mouthpiece against injustice and corruption, but that Jesus was God’s Messiah, God’s king.
Who is Jesus to you? A good moral teacher? Jesus meek and mild, the baby in the manger that seems to stay there? Jesus on the cross who doesn’t seem to get down. Jesus the Prince of Peace, wonderful counsellor, Mighty Saviour, Name Above all Names.

Jesus had a word for Peter after his announcement. Peter was to become the foundation, the rock for the new church. There are echoes of the Old Testament when God gave Abram the name Abraham which indicated he would be the father of many nations. Now Jesus gives Simon the new name Peter, the Rock.
Peter went on to do just that. This was not without trials and tribulation for Peter. We remember his denial of Jesus before the crucifixion and the guilt and shame that brought. Peter was also restored by Jesus on the beach.
This is really helpful for as and when we forget who Jesus is. We, like Peter, can be restored to the body of Christ. We need to take ourselves to Jesus, ask for forgiveness and start again.

It is through God’s grace that we have been restored and redeemed and it is also through grace that we have been given the gifts of God. In the Romans reading we are reminded that we are one body with many members and being members of one another. We have been given gifts: ministry, teaching, exhortation, giving, leading and compassion. This list is by no means exhaustive and there are many, many more gifts of the Spirit.

As I look around church this morning I am astonished by the diversity of gifts and talents across the parishes. I am so grateful for the generous sharing of these gifts. These are the gifts that we need, our families, friends and the wider world need us to use. The body of Christ is desperately needed. This is why we need to know who Jesus is: we are part of his body. Therefore best to know something of the person in whom we dwell and dwells in us. By knowing who Jesus is we can have a clearer picture of who we are. We can remember who we are and who we were made to be when we know who Jesus is. The beloved children of God.

Trinity 8: Small Things Matter

An acrylic painting on wood illustrating the bible verse in Mark 4 describing the kingdom of God like a mustard seed. Jen Norton

Romans 8:26-39
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-5

When I was first ordained, I served my curacy in a lovely three church united benefice in Slough. You may insert any number of references to Slough – John Betjeman’s poem about the friendly bombs or The Office or the McDonald’s that is apparently sitting on crown land. One of my lines was that I could see Windsor Castle from the end of my road. Having that grand castle so close was a reminder of the rule and reign of Queen Elizabeth. Her kingdom and now Charles’ is visible among us.

If you have been into Windsor, Buckingham or Kensington Palace you can see the opulence, the indulgence of the earthly kingdom. This is equally true if you travel to other countries that still have a monarchy; there are grand palaces all over Europe that attest to this.

How does the luxury, excessiveness of the earthly kingdom reconcile to the kingdom of heaven that is described in terms of mustard seeds, yeast, hidden treasure, pearls and a fishing net? These earthly kingdoms are largely off-limits to us peasants! Sure, we get glimpses of it.

Millions of people watched the Queen’s funeral and then the Coronation of Charles. Maybe some of you have received an invitation to a garden party or received an award presented by a Member of the Royal Family. Most of us have to watch television programs or pay to visit the bits of the palace or castle that they want to show us. But it is not the whole picture.

The kingdom of God on the other hand is available to us all at any time. This kingdom is about small things that suddenly swell to take over the whole world. These small things are both common (seeds, yeast, fish) and incredibly valuable treasure and pearls). The most valuable things that you come across by accident and then cannot seem to live without.

Let’s pick apart these short parables…

The mustard seed and the yeast represent everyday miracles. We all know how they work. Mustard seeds grow in a wide variety of climates; Pakistan, India and Canada are the world’s top producers of mustard seeds. Once the seeds start growing, they need very little care and not much water. And they grow! They spread quickly; not exactly something you would want in a well-tended garden! Mustard seeds have small beginnings but grow into useful shrubs for the birds and connoisseurs of mustard.

Yeast. The bread makers among us know that you only need a little bit of yeast kneaded into bread dough to make it rise. Yeast is an agent of change as it converts fermentable sugar into carbon dioxide and ethanol. Yeast gets passed on from batch to batch in the ‘old’ dough. It is thought that yeast improved the quality of bread in ancient Egypt from the hard flatbreads to lighter and tastier bread. Something like sourdough as we know it.

Mustard seeds start small and grow into large, useful bushes. Small quantities of yeast change the taste of the bread. The kingdom of God starts small and grows, spreading out and changing the taste of the world around it. The lesson is that we should not discount the small things until we know what they are capable of! Most big things come from small beginnings.

The parables of the treasure and the pearl feed into the imagination. I am sure we have all had dreams of winning the lottery or finding treasure; look at programs like Cash in the Attic (a personal favourite) or Antiques Roadshow.

We want to find treasure that is hidden away that will put some cash in our pockets. The treasure dreams of most people are about wealth, striking it rich. However the two people in the parables dream of the beauty of the treasure itself; not what the treasure will bring to them.

Jesus portrays these two people as relishing in the feeling of what it is to know the treasure is theirs. There is no indication that they intend to sell their treasures to get richer. They see the value in what they have. It could be assumed that these people already have wealth as they are able to buy land and fine things. It looks like they gave up their wealth to get the treasure in the field and the pearl. These two parables tell us that the kingdom of God is attractive and valuable; something worth looking for, searching for.

The fishing net, again a common item to those listening to Jesus on the beach, is useful and needed. The kingdom of God is meant to catch people and bring them in. All fish, all people are welcome. However not all fish are good, not all people want to know. A time will come when there will be a separation. Those who do not want to be part of the kingdom will not be. Offers can be rejected and there will be consequences. It is hard to understand this. Jesus asked the disciples if they understood all this. They answered Yes. I bet!

We do not always fully understand the things of God or to know what to ask for, what to search for. Paul, in a slightly convoluted way, writes that we do not know how to pray as we ought to but that the Spirit does. The Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words and tells God what we mean to ask for because sometimes we just do not know what is missing.

Paul suggests that what we are missing is to know that we are loved completely and fully for ever and ever. God has had plans for us from the very beginning. Once we understand how high, deep, wide and indivisibly we are loved – then we can search out the right things, the things of God, the wisdom of God and the kingdom of God.

As we grow in wisdom we can come to know where the kingdom of God can be found – in the small things, the everyday things and equally in the surprises of treasure and pearls. The kingdom of God is everywhere! It is a kingdom that is ruled by love and wisdom and we cannot be separated from it.

Trinity 7: Wheat & Weeds

19/7/26

Romans 8:12-25
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

We might be in Ordinary Time in the church calendar but our readings are anything but. Matthew has recorded Jesus’ agricultural parables of the good and generous sower scattering his good seeds on different types of soil. Paul starts probably the most difficult chapter in his letter to the Romans with the bold and joyful declaration that there is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. It is in the Spirit where true life and peace are found

While these images are beautiful and full of joy they have a shadow in them. A warning for us. The easier option would be to ignore the shadow warning and carry on with joy. In this week’s readings, the heat is getting turned up. To the good news of last week is added some bad news.

In Matthew’s Gospel we still have a generous sower sowing seed in his field. This time though, he is limiting the sowing to his field only. The other sower appeared to scatter seed everywhere, regardless of soil conditions.

This sower is narrowing his focus down. Both the sowers are references to God. We see God as desiring his love and word to go everywhere, be flung to the farthest reaches. We also see God focusing on a particular field.

My back garden has some magnificently tall weeds growing in it at the moment. It needs some weeding and my neighbour and his mower to do a job on it. I find weeding an immensely satisfying job. I am not always a careful weed-er but rather take the position that anything I do not want growing in a particular location is a weed. I would stop short of classifying myself as an enemy though.

The field in our Gospel reading has an enemy who sows weeds into the good wheat. A little research tells us that the literal weeds (which many scholars believe is darnel, also known as “false wheat”) are not harmless. They are poisonous. These weeds mimic the look and colour of nourishing grain, but they are fake. Their seeds can cause illness and even death if consumed in large quantities.

This is evil! We are not to deny or gloss over the evil that exists in the world. Debie Thomas writes, ‘In other words, there is nothing enlightened about denying the reality of evil in our world and in our midst. We are, like the field in the parable, both mixed and messy. Each of us individually, our faith communities corporately, and our world in its entirety, contain wheat and weed, good and evil, the fruitful and the poisonous.’

The existence of evil in the world brings a lot of questions. We might think that God should stop it, step in and intervene. Of course. However, we then need to be prepared for God to root out the evil in our own individual hearts and minds. Would we really want God to rule the world directly and immediately so that every thought and action was weighed, instantly judged and potentially punished?

These parables are about waiting. Waiting for the seed to take root and grow. The sower is watching, probably with frustration, as the weeds grow alongside his wheat. Waiting for the harvest to come.

So often we are like the servants who want to go out and pull up the weeds. Clear the field of them. The sower is emphatic that this is not what he wants. The weeds are to stay until the harvest comes. The danger being that the good wheat could be uprooted and the good crop could be lost.

For Jesus’ followers who heard this parable, they did not want to wait. They wanted Jesus to act, to bring about restoring the kingdom and Temple as they thought. Remove the Romans, get a Jewish king back and all would be well.

Patience is required. Patience on the part of the sower who watches what is happening to his crop. Patience for the servants who want to pull up the weeds immediately. Patience on the part of God who does not want to see a field full of weeds. But God does not enjoy the thought of declaring the harvest time too soon and destroying the wheat along with the weeds.

Those who cause sin and all evildoers will be harvested at the end of time. This is as serious as it gets. Some people will be harvested for the evil they have done and punished for it. It is but for the grace of God that (I hope) many of us will not. We should want all people to be the good seed of the children of the kingdom.

For the creation, as Paul writes in Romans, waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God. We wait to be set free, free to become the people God created us to be. Not only us but the whole of creation. Paul calls us to hope for salvation. This hope is often unseen and we have to wait patiently.

Trinity 5: Making up the Rules

5/7/26
Trinity 9

Romans 7:15-25a
Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30

I am never quite sure how to start sermons about sin. I have heard a good number on the topic; some have started rather bluntly with ‘you bunch of sinners!’. Others have led down the garden path with a gentle introduction of the topic and then dropped the hammer. I have not decided which I prefer.

This morning I am talking about sin. Your sin. My sin. Our sin. This is not solely because we are overly sinful or that you need a telling off from the front. Both readings this morning talk about Jesus and his coming to set people free. Free from what? Sin.

The word sin often gets used in the wrong context and has lost its meaning. In contemporary culture it used to advertise chocolate, alcohol, lingerie – all the ‘naughty but nice’ things. Sin is positioned as something indulgent but not necessarily dangerous. Sin in the church context can feel judgmental and outdated. Again we want to soften it.

How do you define sin? When you hear the word what immediately comes to mind? Is it only the naughty things we do? Is it harmless?

Sin is not limited to our actions but also our thoughts and words. We can also sin by not doing what we should do. In the words of the confession we seek absolution for the things we have left undone.

Sin has much to do with our attitudes. Any attitude that says ‘I don’t need God – I can do this myself’ or any action, thought, word that separates us from God. Anything that puts us out of sync with God can be considered sinning.

Sometimes it does not take much for that to happen. In the Romans reading Paul has caught the idea that we are often in conflict with ourselves. We know what good we want to do, but somehow we do the opposite. Paul is lamenting his own state; ‘I do the things that I do not want to do and the things I don’t want to do – I do!’ Anyone else?!
Part of the difficulty with this Romans passage is that we do not know if Paul is talking about his life as a pious Jew before his conversion or if he is talking about his life as a Christian after his Damascus Road experience.

Whatever the answer is; Paul is talking about the power of sin and the inability of human nature to break free from its strangle-hold. This is true for all human beings; regardless of religious stripe or belief. Even if people wanted to break free from sin, they would find that their good intentions were frustrated by sin. This is a very human response!

There are two dangers that we can fall into when it comes to sin. The first is that basically everything we do is sinful or has some element of sin in it. I am not sure if this is the case.

Secondly and more worryingly is that some people think that they do not sin at all ever. They may have convinced themselves that whatever wrong or unjust things they do aren’t really a sin. It can be excused away without confronting their actions.

If we are honest with ourselves and with God, we know that we do things, say things, think things that are wrong, that separate us from Him. We might be able to convince ourselves that whatever we thought, said or did was not all that bad when compared to what other people do or say or that the person affected deserved it. We are only playing a game with ourselves and making up the rules to suit us.

This is what Jesus is referring to in Matthew’s Gospel when he describes this generation like children sitting in the marketplace calling to one another. They were playing games and making up the rules as they went in regard to Jesus and John the Baptist. John didn’t eat or drink and they accused him of having a demon. Jesus ate and drank and was accused of being a drunk and glutton. You can’t win!

We sometimes hold ourselves to different standards than we do other people. We make up different rules for us and for them so we can let ourselves off the hook far more easily than others.

But when we compare ourselves to Jesus we all fall a long way short. We might look pretty good compared to murderers, robbers and maybe even our neighbours. However that is not the standard that Christians are held to. It is the standard of Jesus. The next time you find yourself getting a bit uppity with someone else, check to see if you do that thing that they are doing!

Another problem with sin is that we do not want to get caught. We don’t want others to know about the things we do, say, think that are less than honourable.

The author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (wrote the Sherlock Holmes books) once played a practical joke on 12 men. They were all very well-known, respected and honorable men. He sent each of them a telegram, with the same message: ‘Flee at once. All is discovered!’ Apparently within 24 hours they had all fled the country!

We all want to avoid shame and embarrassment; we have done and said things that we would not want others to know about. We often put up barriers around us to avoid the possibility of being found out. We don’t want people to think less of us or badly of us.

Paul laments doing those things that he doesn’t want to do – anybody can relate to this?

Whether it is a package of biscuits, what we watch on TV, the next drink or the deeper things such as unforgiveness, anger, lack of charity, and anything that we worship more than God needs to be addressed and treated seriously.

What do we do?
We start by recognising the sin in our lives. This is what Paul is doing as he realises the conflict within himself. Jesus points out to the child-like generation who make up rules and play their silly games.

Not just recognise – but name it. Not easy but necessary.

When are you tempted to fall into sin? Some of the most comforting words ever to fall from the mouth of Jesus are ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’

When you are stressed out, angry, anxious, hungry, not getting enough sleep; in other words weary and burdened. All these conditions can push us into making bad decisions that can lead us to sin. Jesus is saying come to me and I will give you rest.

Recognising it – identifying when it might happen and taking it to Jesus.

Leave a moment…

Sunday After Ascension: Jobs to Do

15th century manuscript

Acts 1:6-14
John 17:1-11

Like most times throughout history, life and the world can often feel up and down. Prices are up, spirits are down. Interest rates rise to try to keep inflation down. We can be happy one minute and weeping the next. Healthy in one breath and sick in the next. We can be on time in one minute and beyond late in the next five.

In our Gospel readings since Easter there have been many ups and downs. Jesus was lifted up onto the donkey and hailed as a hero. Next he was beaten down and lifted up onto the cross. To be brought down and put into the tomb. We are told he descended to the dead and rose again on the third day. At the end of the Gospels and the opening of the books of Acts, Jesus has been travelling around in human form meeting and eating with people. Seemingly appearing and disappearing at will.

This past Thursday was Ascension Day. The final act of Jesus’ ministry on earth was his return to heaven. Jesus ascending into heaven has been depicted in many pieces of art – often with his dangling feet at the centre while a crowd of baffled onlookers look up. Many poets have tried to capture the meaning and feeling of this rather odd event.

Jesus repeatedly told the disciples that he would be going up to be with God in heaven and would send down the Holy Spirit; the Counsellor to be with us always. One cannot help but to think about his disciples. Poor men! They had been through so much in the previous weeks. The Bible is not clear exactly how long it was between the resurrection and ascension.

However long it was, the disciples are imagining that life might go back to the way it was, only better. They ask Jesus, in verse 6 of Acts: ‘Lord is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?’ They seem to have gone back to old assumptions that Jesus was going to kick out the Romans and set up a new Jewish kingdom and they would be part of the ruling party.

However in the next moment, they realise that is not what is happening. Jesus is not staying with them as he was ‘lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.’ Maybe to the disciples the dream really was over. Jesus refused to tell them what was going on. Instead he left them with a job to do; to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

I have often wondered what the walk back to Jerusalem would have been like. A sabbath day’s journey is 0.6 mile (1 kilometre). This refers to the distance a person could walk without breaking religious law about working on the sabbath. It was not a long walk physically; but much longer mentally. Have you ever had that experience? A short distance in one respect but life changingly long in another.

Acts does not give away any emotion or conversation. They watched Jesus go up and now they are left feeling down. The disciples were left with two valuable lessons; the need to stick together and the need to pray.

When they returned to Jersulem, to the upper room where they were staying, they prayed together. No one wandered off to do their own thing. We need to remain rooted in Jesus and to each other. We can desire to go our own way when uncertainty comes, when the ups and down of life get too much.

The second lesson was about prayer. Jesus prayed. Jesus prays.

In John 17, after washing the disciples feet and before his arrest, Jesus prayed. He spent the last few precious hours of his life praying. For the disciples and for us.

I am making some assumptions here that I assume are right: first is that you do in fact pray. Secondly that you do think about prayer and praying. I think that this is an important question to ask ourselves this morning.

What do you think you are doing when you pray?

Are we telling God what to do?

How about giving him information about a situation, a person or ourselves that He already knows and then offering suggestions on what the Almighty might like to do about it?

Are we presenting a laundry list of ills and complaints?

Are we praising and thanking?

Are we pleading and begging?

What do you think you are doing?

I suspect it is a combination of all the above things! God knows everyone’s heart. Every thought, the deepest secrets and hurts, the highest highs and joys, He knows every crack and break. God knows before we even utter a word from our mouths what the condition of our hearts are. There is no fooling him.

Do you expect an answer? I do not think I could pray with no expectation that God is going to do something. Sometimes expectations are low as I have to be willing to wait and trust. Wait to see what the answer is and not rush off in fear that I won’t get what I want or worse, no answer at all.

I also have to trust that even if I don’t see a clear answer (ie: voice from heaven, message written in the clouds) that God has heard my prayer and will do as He sees fit. Even if – even if – I don’t get the answer that I want.

Jesus prayed for some very specific things for the disciples with the underlying message of unity in God and Jesus. We are all bound together in love. Helpfully, if we find ourselves stuck on what to pray for, Jesus also gives us some ideas. In John, verse 12 he talks about protection. Jesus asks God to protect the disciples with the same power that God has already given to Jesus. This is what ‘in your name’ means.

He guarded them while he was with them. Jesus has been utterly faithful to the task assigned to him: to keep and protect those God has given to him.

This is an important thing to do for those given to our care; pray for God’s protection on them. Not only from physical dangers, illness and all the other bad things that can happen. But they will stay under the spiritual protection of God that comes from staying close to Jesus.

The next thing that Jesus prays for is joy; this means rejoicing, celebrating, enjoyment, bliss. So often our joy in a worldly sense is never quite complete. It is only in Jesus that our joy will ever be complete. It is only the love of God that brings us joy, brings us salvation.

Thirdly, Jesus prayed that the disciples would know the truth and be sanctified by it. Sanctify here means to be set apart for God and God’s purposes alone. It does not mean that someone is better than anyone else, but they are different. Jesus is praying that the disciples will be set apart to do only what God wants them to do. Jesus was sanctified, set apart by God to fulfil his purposes.

For us, we can pray that our people will know the truth of God and go into the world to live and share it. Of course there are many more ways and things to pray about for those we are called to pray for. I think that protection, joy and truth are very good places to start. Remember that He knows the condition of our hearts. We also need time and preparation for the answer even if it seems hard. God is faithful!

Jesus sets an example of how and what to pray as He prayed for his disciples right before his death. He prayed for protection, joy and truth. In his Ascension, Jesus leaves us with jobs to do and in the sending of the Holy Spirit, the power to do them.

Leave some space for you to think about the people who know and love who could use protection, joy and truth today.