Novus Motus Oxoniensis

Just before Jesus ascends to Heaven, He gave His disciples instructions:

“Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Lk 24:46-49)

The disciples are to proclaim repentance and the forgiveness of sin, and to wait in Jerusalem and pray until Jesus sends the Holy Spirit upon them. The proclamation of the Good News remains exactly the same as by John the Baptist and Jesus at the start of their public ministry. There is a continuity here, which speaks powerfully of what the church is called to proclaim. The disciples are told to wait for the Holy Spirit, that same Spirit of God which moved over the waters at the beginning of Creation. 

Today is the feast of Pentecost, which is celebrated some fifty days after the Passover. In Hebrew Pentecost is called Shavuot, the feast of weeks, a week of weeks, or fifty days. It is a feast which celebrates both the grain harvest in Israel, and Moses giving the Law to Israel on Mt Sinai. It is a time when Jews would come from all over the world to be in Jerusalem. What they would have experienced 2000 years ago could be described as something like the undoing of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11:1-9. Instead of division, there is unity, and all the peoples of the world can hear and understand the proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, the Son of God, who died for our sins, rose on the third day, ascended into heaven, and has sent His Holy Spirit.

It is this same Holy Spirit which Christians receive at Baptism, Confirmation, and Ordination, and which makes us children of God and co-heirs with Christ. We are part of God’s family, and through Christ we have an inheritance, the hope of heaven. This is good news indeed! The same Holy Spirit, which brought about the Incarnation in the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, through which Christ became incarnate in His mother’s womb, to be born for us, has been given to us. We have been filled with the same Spirit: you, me, every one of us here. By means of the Holy Spirit God can work wonders in and through us, just as the disciples were able to do extraordinary things after being filled by the Spirit.

On the day of Pentecost something wonderful takes place: The Good News is proclaimed in a host of different languages. The Jews in the Acts of the Apostles are amazed to hear the Good News spoken in their own language, by a rag-tag assortment of Galilean fishermen and other ordinary folk. It is incredible. It is miraculous. And it points towards our present reality, where there is not a country on this earth which has not heard the Good News of Jesus Christ. There is still work to do and it is wonderful to learn that the Bible is currently being translated into 250 new languages.

Thus, the work of spreading the Good News is not finished. It is thanks to the preaching of the Gospel started by the Apostles at Pentecost that we are Christians today, and that millions of people have come to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ. As people who are in Christ, who have entered the Church through our Baptism, we have an important job to do. We need to tell people about Jesus.

The Christian Church is wonderful in its diversity. We are all different, we do not speak the same language, or have the same culture. However, we are all equally empowered through having received the Holy Spirit at our Baptism, in our Confirmation, indeed through all the sacramental actions of the church, which are the outward and visible signs of the inward and spiritual grace. This is how the Holy Spirit works, how it builds us up in love. Through the Eucharist, through prayer and through Scripture we are nourished spiritually to keep doing all that God desires of us.

God wants us to love Him and each other. Love is who God is, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We see God’s love in the entirety of Jesus’ Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension. All that Jesus is and does is a demonstration, a manifestation of God’s love for us. God longs to give us His love, so that it can transform us into His likeness, the likeness in which we were created, so that we might become children of God and heirs, to our inheritance of Heaven.

Malcom Guite, poet and priest, sums up the meaning of Pentecost in his sonnet ‘Our Mother-tongue is love’:

:

Today we feel the wind beneath our wings
Today the hidden fountain flows and plays
Today the church draws breath at last and sings
As every flame becomes a Tongue of praise.
This is the feast of fire, air, and water
Poured out and breathed and kindled into earth.
The earth herself awakens to her maker
And is translated out of death to birth.
The right words come today in their right order
And every word spells freedom and release
Today the gospel crosses every border
All tongues are loosened by the Prince of Peace
Today the lost are found in His translation.
Whose mother tongue is Love in every nation.

Today we rejoice in the fact that God continues to pour out His Holy Spirit on the world, and pray that we may be filled with the love of God, so that we may share this love with others, so that all may sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as is most right and just all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen. 

The Theological College where I trained was named after St Stephen, the first Christian martyr. As a result I have something of a fondness of, and affinity towards, him. Stephen was one of seven Greek-speaking Jews who were ordained deacon, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. They were set apart to help look after the poor and needy, and to free the apostles up to preach and share the Good News of Jesus. Stephen was an enthusiastic young man, full of faith, but his zeal came up against a religious authority which was not exactly enthusiastic towards the Church. False accusations are made against Stephen, who is brought to trial in front of the High Priest. Stephen takes this opportunity to give an account of salvation history from Abraham to Jesus, which finishes by chastising the Jews for not believing in Jesus. Naturally, this upsets his audience. They respond by taking Stephen outside Jerusalem and stoning him to death for the crime of blasphemy. The account of his martyrdom is today’s first reading. 

It would be all too easy to find fault with Stephen as his evangelistic strategy does not look, at first, to be very successful. All Stephen manages to do is to upset people and get himself killed. Such an interpretation is fine at a superficial level, but fails to get to grips with all that is going on. 

Stephen bears witness to Christ as the fulfilment of Israel’s salvation history, and proclaims the Good News of Our Lord’s Saving Death. Before he is murdered, Stephen has a vision of the glory of heaven:

“Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:56)

Stephen sees the reality which the Church celebrates after the Ascension: Jesus is Heaven with the Father. Those around Stephen interpret this as blasphemy, and set about stoning him. Assisting in the deathly punishment is a young pharisee named Saul. After his conversion on the road to Damascus, Saul (Paul) will go on to become the greatest evangelist in the Early Church. 

Before Stephen is killed he says two things:

“Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” and “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” (Acts 7: 59 & 60)

In the first he puts his trust in God completely, and in the second he prays for those who are persecuting him, as Christ did on the Cross at Calvary. Stephen’s death is an example of faith put into practice; real tangible faith. He does not curse the people who are killing him, as one might expect, but instead he prays to God that they may be forgiven. The reason for this is found in verse 55, Stephen is ‘full of the Holy Spirit’. The same Holy Spirit poured out on the Apostles at Pentecost, which they prayed for, and waited for. When we are filled with the Spirit we can be people of love, zeal, and forgiveness.

The text of today’s Gospel comes from the middle of Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, the summit of His teaching. It is a moment of profound intimacy where Christ prays to God the Father. He prays not only for His disciples, but for those who will believe in Him through their word. That means you, and me, and countless Christians down through the ages. Just before His Passion, Christ prays for us. Such generosity and love should amaze us. Jesus prays that we should be one, that there should be unity in the church. Sadly, throughout its history this has not been the case. Unity is Our Lord’s will for His Church. His will puts our petty human divisions into perspective. They are bad and they are wrong; they are not the will of God. As Christians we should be growing together in love. We should do this because it is Christ’s will, we are told to listen to Him, and to do what He tells us. That isn’t the only reason, however. Christ prays that the Church may be one, 

‘so that the world may believe that you have sent me.’ (Jn 17:21) 

In other words the truth of our witness and proclamation of the Gospel is contingent upon our unity. If we are divided, people won’t be drawn to the Christian faith.

Christ gives us His glory, which is His Passion and Death. To follow Christ leads to a Cross, and onward to new life. But if we want to follow Christ, then we cannot ignore the pain and suffering that we will encounter on our journey. We have signed up for it. Each of us, in our baptism, when we received the water of life without price. We are called to bear witness to Christ regardless of the cost. Others may think we are fools for believing what we do. We can convince them otherwise by the example of our lives, as authentic faith is attractive, real, and convincing. 

Christ speaks to us, and teaches us so that our joy may be complete in Him, filled with His love, and the Holy Spirit. In following Christ, we are walking the way of His Passion. We are walking the Way of the Cross: dying daily to sin, and letting God’s grace be at work in and through us. It is not easy, and there are times when we will struggle and fail. We need the love and support of the Christian community to help us. Even the first Christians, those who had been with Jesus, needed each other’s help and support, so they could continue what Jesus started.

As a Christian community we support each other by meeting together to pray for our needs and those of the world, and to be nourished by the word of God, the Bible, and the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Because, as followers of Christ, these things are crucial to who and what we are. If we are to experience the fulness of God’s love then we have to live this way. Only then can we offer the world an alternative to the ways of selfishness and sin.

As Christians who live in the love of God, we are called to forgive each other our trespasses, so that we can live out that same radical love and forgiveness demonstrated by Jesus on the Cross. This is a love which can transform the world. We may not understand such love, but we know that it can be experienced, and we are living testimony to its power. It turns our lives around and sets us free to live for God and to proclaim His saving truth in our words and actions, calling the world to repentance, to turn to Christ, and to be renewed in and through Him. In His power, with His Truth, and filled with His Love we can transform the world.

So, as we wait with the Apostles for the gift of the Holy Spirit, let us pray that Christ may come, and send His Holy Spirit. Let us pray that God may be at work in us, building us up, and giving us strength to live His life and to proclaim His Truth. To offer the world that which it most earnestly desires: peace, joy, freedom, and the gift of eternal life in Christ. Let us proclaim God’s love so that all the world may come to know God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as is most right and just all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

One of the many things that the war in Ukraine has taught us is how fragile peace is. It is not something that we can take for granted. The absence of peace affects us all. We long to see an end to the war in Ukraine, and all the other countries across the world that are beset by violence and tyranny. We long to see the whole of humanity living in peace and freedom. Our parents and grandparents fought and struggled that we might enjoy such things, and that struggle still continues today. 

In the Welsh language there are two words for peace. The first, heddwch, means an absence of conflict, worldly peace. The second, tangnefedd, is the peace which comes from God. In the middle of today’s Eucharist I shall say the words, ‘The Peace of the Lord be always with you.’ And receive the answer, ‘And also with you’. We call this section of the service ‘The Peace’. Jesus gives us the peace which comes from a relationship with God. This is the peace we enjoy as Christians, and was bought dearly by Christ’s death on the Cross. It is not just an absence of conflict, but the deep peace of being loved by God, and loving Him in return. It is the peaceful trust of a devoted relationship. Our attachments to family and friends are an echo of this closeness, because we are made in the image of God. Being filled with God’s Love, we become a church, a community of love, living out our faith, and sharing this deep peace with the world around us.

In today’s Gospel Jesus is speaking to His disciples after the end of the Last Supper, shortly before His Arrest. In a series of talks which begin in Chapter 13 and continue to the end of Chapter 17of John’s Gospel, Our Lord takes leave of His followers, offers them encouragement, and speaks about the future. 

Jesus begins by explaining how God will make Himself known to the disciples.

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.” (Jn 14:23-24)

Christians have a responsibility to keep God’s Word, to love God and each other. In turn, God promises to dwell with and in us. This is a promise of a close relationship. We experience this intimacy most fully in the Eucharist, also known as Holy Communion, where Christ gives Himself to us, so that we can be transformed by Him. Jesus promises us that the Father and the Son will come to us and make their home with us. We are invited into a close relationship, which enables us to experience the fulness of God’s love and His peace. 

Then Jesus makes further promises to the disciples:

“These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” (Jn 14:25-27)

As we prepare to celebrate Jesus’ Ascension into Heaven we also look forward to the Sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Christ rises and ascends so that we can receive the Spirit, and experience the fulness of new life in Christ. God sends the Holy Spirit so that we may be filled with love, and share that love with others. The Spirit helps us to keep close to the Father and the Son, in a profound relationship which allows us to flourish.

Christ gives to His disciples, and to all who follow Him, a deep, genuine, peace in our souls. As I have already mentioned, we share this Peace with each other in the Eucharist. It is a gift from God. The Peace of Christ reconciles us to God and to each other. It was bought on the Cross, paid for in Blood, and is a sign of the victory of the Resurrection as well as the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Peace is something that has to be worked at. In the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles there is some disagreement between the early christians, but they come together and decide on a course of action:

“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us” (Acts 15: 28)

These words are important, as they show that the apostles faced difficulties and prayed about what do. Their chosen course of action was the will of God, and met with human approval. It is a sign of their peace and unity. Christ’s Church was both for Jews and Gentiles. There was no need for non-Jews to convert to Judaism first. The men did not need to undergo circumcision. This decision by the Early Church helped the Good News to spread more easily, allowing billions of people to know the peace of Christ.

Christ’s peace also gives us a foretaste of the life to come. In the Book of Revelation, St John has a vision of the Heavenly Jerusalem, prepared as a bride for Christ. It is a vision of the Church Triumphant, built on the foundations of the apostles, and filled with God’s glory. 

“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:22-23)

John shows us the perfection of God’s Creation, in this image of Heaven. It is a place where the Glory of God provides illumination, and the lamp which holds the light is the Lamb. In other words, the Lamb, who is Christ, perfectly displays the glory of God. Jesus shows us who God is, and what God’s glory is like. He promises us Peace and the gift of the Holy Spirit.

May we therefore be filled with the Peace of the Living Lord, through God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

In the 1970s a series of cartoons by Kim called ‘Love is…’ were very popular in the UK. You might remember them. They depicted a male and female figure with the caption ‘Love is…’ followed by a phrase such as ‘being able to say you’re sorry’ or ‘caring for each other’ or even ‘laughing at the same old joke!’.

At the heart of the Christian faith is Love. According to St Thomas Aquinas, Love is… willing the good of the other. [(STh I-II, q.26 a.4, CCC 1766) Respondeo dicendum quod, sicut Philosophus dicit in II Rhetoric, amare est velle alicui bonum] To love, then, is not simply an act of passion or emotion, something which we feel, but it is also something which we choose to do. The commands to love God and our neighbour, found in Deuteronomy and Leviticus, are central to the Christian Faith, as taught and exemplified by Jesus. To choose someone else’s good reminds us that we do not exist for our own sake, and that our lives are lived in community, in relationship with others. We are called to be loving and generous, just as God has been loving and generous towards us in Christ. God loves us, and wants us to thrive and as Christians, we seek to cooperate with God in promoting human flourishing. 

Jesus spells this out clearly in this morning’s Gospel:

‘A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.’ (Jn 13:34-35)

We are to love each other in the same way that Jesus has loved us and we are to lay down our lives, as Christ has for us. In this love and service we can truly love each other. This makes who and what we are manifest to the world around us. It makes Christianity something attractive because people can see the difference it makes. We are people of love and a community of love, willing good, and helping to make goodness a reality. This is a radical and world-changing idea,. It is underpinned by selfless love, which Christ commands of us, His Church, to help transform the world through His Grace so that humanity might come to enjoy life in all its fullness.

What God asks of us is both simple and complicated, at the same time. Despite our best intentions, we are not able to live up to the perfection that the Gospel seems to require. The temptation is to see anything that is less than perfect as failure, whereas the more we try to live lives of love together, the more loving we become. There will be mishaps along the way, but occasional stumbles do not alter our direction of travel. Is it difficult or costly? Yes. But when we act together, we are able to support each other, encourage each other, and pray for each other. 

Jesus gives His disciples the ‘new commandment’ just after He has washed their feet and celebrated the Eucharist with them. Christ talks about glory, in relation to His Passion and Death. In human terms being falsely accused, scourged, and then crucified does not look like glorification, quite the opposite. Jesus is about to die the death of a slave, and yet God understands this as glory. This is because the Cross demonstrates God’s love for humanity. There is no end to which God will not go for love of us, even dying a shameful death. Our heavenly Father will stop at nothing to reconcile us to Himself and to each other, to heal our wounds, and offer us eternal life.

This is why, when he has a vision of the end times in the Book of Revelation, St John can write the following:

‘And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”’ (Rev 22:3-4)

Heaven is somewhere where God and humanity are reconciled and united. As a sign of this all wounds are healed and pain and suffering are no more. In Heaven we are able to experience life in all its fulness. We have a foretaste of this in our worship today, since our earthly worship is united with the worship of Heaven. During today’s Eucharist we listen to the Bible, the Word of God, so that we may be encouraged by what we hear, and helped to love God and each other. We are also fed by Jesus,, with His Body and Blood, as a pledge of future glory, and as spiritual nourishment here and now. What we enjoy in the Eucharist helps to transform us into the likeness of Christ, and points forward to that unity which we will enjoy forever in Heaven. 

This is what following Christ means in practice: living out our lives like Jesus, so that people can see that we are His disciples. By acting out of love, we proclaim the reality and the truth of our faith in Jesus. This is something that we do together, and it is why we need to stay close to Christ in Word and Sacrament, to pray together, and to support and forgive each other. The life we are called to live is not a saccharin-sweet cartoon, but real, sacrificial love, the sort which has the power to transform the world: making it more Christ-like. We thirst for this love, and only it can satisfy our deepest desires. So let us come, and drink of that Living Water. Let us feast on Him who is the Living Bread and the True Vine. Christ is the Shepherd of our souls, who loves us so much that He died and rose again for us. Let us love Him, and one another, so that all the world may believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

One of the wonderful aspects of living in this part of the world is seeing the new life in the countryside around us in Springtime. Trees which were bare are now covered with leaves and blossom. Watching lambs gambolling in the fields is a source of true joy. Yet, as we all know, sheep have a tendency to stray, to wander off. Livestock need to be looked after, cared for, fed, and protected. In the Bible Jesus uses metaphors to explain who He is, and what He does. One of the best-known is found in our readings this week: Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Shepherds care for their flocks, and in St Luke’s account of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, it is the shepherds who are the first people to witness the Birth of Our Saviour. 

In the writings of St John, Jesus is understood both as a Shepherd and also as a Lamb. When John the Baptist sees Jesus coming towards him, he exclaims:

‘Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!’ (Jn 1:29) 

Jesus’ Crucifixion and Resurrection, which we celebrate during Holy Week and Easter, proclaim this sacrificial aspect of His Life and Death. In the Book of Revelation, St John has visions of heavenly worship which focus of Jesus as the Lamb, once slain, forever glorious. The worship of Heaven is offered to God the Father and the Son, in the Holy Spirit. 

The people worshipping God are described as wearing white robes. White is a colour of innocence and purity, which they are able to claim because of what Jesus has done for them on the Cross. 

‘For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’ (Rev 7:17).

Here we see the two images combined: the Lamb will be their Shepherd. The one who dies for us will care for us. The image of living water brings to mind ideas of refreshment and healing, and points to our baptism. To drink living water is to experience the fulness of life in God, filled with the Holy Spirit. It is to experience healing and consolation, such is the love of God. This is what we look forward to: experiencing the fulness of God’s love for all eternity.

In this morning’s Gospel, Jesus is in the Temple in Jerusalem. It is December, and the Feast of Dedication also known as Hanukkah. This festival commemorates the rededication of the Jewish Temple after it had been desecrated by the Greeks who controlled Judaea in the Second Century BC. Judas Maccabeus led an uprising against Antiochus IV of Syria, allowing the Temple to be cleansed, rededicated and the lights rekindled. 

Some of the Jews in the Temple ask Jesus if He is the Messiah, and He answers:

“I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.” (Jn 10:25-26)

Jesus’ works of healing, feeding people, and proclaiming the Good News, bear witness to who He is. The fact that people do not believe in Him marks them out as not belonging to the flock. Here the image of a shepherd is used as a metaphor for the King of Israel and the Messiah. Jesus’ actions show that He cares for God’s people. As well as talking about God’s love, Jesus demonstrates it and makes it real and concrete. There is a close bond between the shepherd and his flock:

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”(Jn 10:27-30)

Jesus is able to promise that those who follow Him need not fear death, because they are under His protection and thus in God’s care. This is the heart of our faith as Christians: we do not need to be afraid of anything because God loves us. Also we believe that our earthly life is not all that there is. We are given the hope of Heaven, and a relationship with a God who loves us. Through His love we come to share in the intimacy of the divine life. As Jesus says, ‘I and the Father are one.’ (John 10:30). As Archbishop Michael Ramsay once said, ‘God is Christlike, and in Him is no un-Christlikeness at all’ [God, Christ & the World: A Study in Contemporary Theology, London 1969, 98] When we see Jesus, we see God, when we hear Him speak, we hear the voice of God. Jesus shows us who and what God is: someone who loves us, and cares for us.

Grounded in this relationship we need not be afraid or troubled — we are free to live lives which proclaim God’s love and victory so that others too may come to believe, and share in His love. Through God loving us, we can truly love Him and each other. We experience this most clearly at the Eucharist when Christ feeds us with Himself, and we are united in Communion, with each other and with God. Through this communion, God’s grace is active in our lives, transforming us into His likeness, and preparing us for the joy of Heaven witnessed by St John and proclaimed in the Book of Revelation.

So as we see the lambs in the field, let us give thanks to God the Creator, Jesus the Good Shepherd and the Life-giving Holy Spirit, and let us share in the joy and love of the Triune God. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Two weeks ago we gathered together here to celebrate Easter, and now we continue our celebration of the great fifty days of Easter. This lasts from Easter Day to Pentecost, which means fifty. Despite all the pain and sadness in our world, we are filled with joy at Our Lord’s Resurrection from the Dead. Through this time of rejoicing we are transformed, we are filled with love, and we are empowered to change the world, so that it too may be filled with God’s love.

In today’s first reading the Pharisee Saul continues his persecution of the embryonic Christian Church. Soon after this he encounters Jesus, who doesn’t say to him, ‘Why are you persecuting my Church?’ but instead says, ‘Why are you persecuting me?’ We are used to understanding the Church as the Body of Christ, and in the Acts of the Apostles Christ identifies Himself so closely with the Church that He and it are one and the same. That is how closely we are united with Christ through the Church. Born at the foot of the Cross when the Blessed Virgin Mary and St John are given to each other, the Church exists to contemplate Christ, to love Him, and to be loved by Him. Through our baptism we share in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and are His Body, and we fed with His Body, to be transformed more and more into Him.

Thus, in the vision of Heavenly worship we see in the reading from Revelation, Heaven and Earth are united in the worship of Jesus Christ, who is God. As Christians we are made for worship, to be united with God in love, and we prepare for Heaven here on earth. It is why we are here, to continue our celebration of Our Lord’s Resurrection, His conquering of death.

In this morning’s gospel the Risen Lord gives an invitation to His disciples, to ‘come and have breakfast’. They don’t have any fish, so they go out and do what Jesus tells them, resulting in a huge catch of 153 fish. The disciples do not fully recognise Jesus until they have caught the fish. When they follow Christ’s commands they recognise Him. So, we too must be obedient to Jesus, and listen to His instructions.

The scene on the beach where the Risen Christ feeds His disciples makes us think back to the Feeding of the Five Thousand and to the Last Supper. Again, Jesus speaks directly to Peter, asking him if he loves Him and commanding him to feed His lambs. This is an extremely important moment. Christ asks Peter the same question three times: ‘Do you love me?’ this repetition clearly looks back to the three times that Peter denied Jesus after His arrest. Jesus’ questions clearly upset Peter. His conscience reminds him of his failure, which leads him to say, ‘Lord you know everything, you know that I love you’. Now Peter’s earlier denial of Christ is wiped away by his confession of faith. Jesus does not condemn him, but simply reminds Peter, so that he may be encouraged in his task: to feed Christ’s sheep, to be a shepherd, a Good Shepherd, and to lay down his life for his sheep after the example of his Lord and Master. This is how Peter is to fulfil Christ’s command, ‘Follow me’. It reminds all of us as followers of Christ, including those called as bishops, priests, and deacons, that we too are called to feed Christ’s flock, to teach the faith and to live our lives as an example of God’s love.

Peter is fed by the Lord before he is called to go and feed others, and to care for them. We too have come here today to be fed by the Lord, to be fed with the Lord, with His Body and Blood, under the outward forms of bread and wine. We do this in order to share in His divine life, so that we may become what He is, and have a foretaste of Heaven. We are fed so that we may go out and feed others, so that we may follow the example of the apostles, teaching and preaching Jesus Christ. When we do this we will give honour and worship to God, which is no different from the heavenly worship we have seen described in today’s reading from the Book of Revelation. This is the heavenly glory of which we have a foretaste here on Earth.

As Christians, we are called to bear witness to our faith in the world, so that it may believe. We are called to be witnesses, regardless of the cost. While we may not face direct persecution in this country, we are often faced with indifference, a coldness of heart, which denies the fact that what we are and what we say is important and has value. Yet we are called to live lives which proclaim the fact that life and death have meaning and value through Jesus Christ, who loves us, who died for us, and who rose again so that we might have eternal life in Him. This is a gift so precious that we cannot keep it solely for ourselves, we have to share it, and, in this sharing, it becomes a greater and more wonderful gift. In proclaiming the Good News we are preparing for that moment seen by St John when all of creation will sing the praise of God, filled with His love, healed and restored by Him.

We are anticipating that moment here and now as we prepare to be fed by Him, to be fed with Him. We look forward to the time when we, and all creation, will sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as it most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

The first Easter Day must have been very strange indeed. Before the sun had even risen, Mary Magdalen comes and says that the tomb is empty. Peter and John go and look at Jesus’ burial place, and then Mary comes back again having seen the Risen Lord. And while all of these earth-shattering discoveries are begin to sink in, we are faced with this morning’s Gospel passage. It is evening and the disciples are afraid that they will face retribution for supporting a false Messiah. They are scared, and can hardly believe what people have told them, let alone make sense of it all. And then suddenly, without warning, Jesus is in their midst, there in the room with them. Our Lord greets them and says, “Peace be with you.” (Jn 20:19) words which we still use in worship today. Jesus’ first words to the disciples are, ‘Shalom alechem’, ‘Tangnefedd i chwi’. Christ’s greeting is one of peace and reconciliation, which dissipates their fear and anxiety. Then Christ shows the disciples His hands and side, the wounds which have brought about this peace and reconciliation.

Jesus shows the disciples the wounds of love, God’s love for humanity, and repeats His greeting of Peace. He then commissions them:

Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” (Jn 20:21)

God the Father sends Christ to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, to call people to repentance, and to reconcile God and humanity. As blood and water flowed from Christ’s side at Calvary, so through Baptism and the Eucharist, the Church gives life to the people of God. Then the commissioning and ordaining of the apostles continues:

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” (Jn 20:22-23)

Through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is active in the world. Christ gives the apostles the power to forgive sin. In Jewish understanding, this is something only God can do. Jesus forgives sins, and empowers His disciples to do so. This forgiveness is a manifestation of God’s love and reconciliation, which can and does heal our wounded human nature. This is what Jesus came to do, and He commits the Church to continue His mission and His saving work. This is the reality which we inhabit as Christians. It is God’s free gift to His people, a sign of generous love. The role of the Church is to deal with the mess we make as human beings. By the power of His Holy Spirit, the Church is to be a community of reconciliation, where we are forgiven and we, in turn, forgive. It is to be a place where we are freed from sin, its power, and its effects.

St Thomas is not there with the other disciples when The Resurrected Jesus appears on that first Easter Day. Thomas feels somewhat left out. He knows he has missed the opportunity to experience something truly wonderful and life-changing. This is a perfectly normal human reaction to an extraordinary situation. Which of us would not feel the same? We too would want to experience the reality of Jesus’ Resurrection, and to be sure of it. Thus, we empathise with Thomas when he says,

“Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (Jn 20:25)

These are the words of someone who longs to experience the reality of the Resurrection. Like the other disciples, Thomas has been on something of an emotional rollercoaster. It is understandable that Thomas wants to be certain, to know with his own eyes and hands that Jesus is alive. 

A week later, Jesus comes to them again, and said, 

“Peace be with you.” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” (Jn 20:26-27)

Jesus gives Thomas what he wants, the opportunity to experience the reality of the Resurrection and to touch the wounds of love and mercy. This leads Thomas to reply:

“My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28)

Thomas confesses Jesus’ divinity. Jesus is God, and the Lord of Thomas’ life. It is a profound and concise statement of faith in who Jesus is and what He has done. Thomas has journeyed from doubt and despair to true faith. Doubt is the starting point, but not the end of the journey. It is the beginning rather than the goal. St Thomas should really be known as ‘Believing Thomas’ rather than ‘Doubting Thomas’, as this is what he becomes. Thomas’ belief changes his life, and leads him to take the Gospel to be proclaimed far and wide. He travels to India, founding Christian communities which have endured for two thousand years. Such faith is our inheritance, and in it we are blessed as those who have not seen, yet believe.

The heart of our faith and the Gospel is forgiveness and mercy. No matter how many times we mess things up, we are forgiven by God. It is this reckless generosity of spirit which people find hard to believe. Many struggle to believe that they too can be forgiven, by a loving God, and by their fellow Christians. That we can, despite our manifold shortcomings, be a people of love, and forgiveness, and reconciliation. God’s Grace does not abolish our nature, it perfects it. Being fed by Christ, with Christ, we too may become what He is. Despite the sad emptiness of the world, and its selfishness, and greed, we can be filled with joy, and life, and hope. Like the first apostles we too can spread the Gospel: that the world may believe. And that all may have life in the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now, and forever. Amen

The last fifty days or so have shown us how traumatic events are constantly present in human history. We continue to be appalled by human cruelty and violence taking place in Ukraine, and we long for all humanity to live in love and peace. As Christians we pray for peace, and we work towards it. God loves us so much that He respects our freedom, allowing us to respond freely to His generous love. This is God’s love in action. Our Heavenly Father does not force us to respond, and even when we make a bad decision, or go down the wrong path, there remains an opportunity to turn around, and go the right way. In our readings over the last few days we have heard several examples of people going the wrong way, and making bad decisions. The Good News is the same today as when it was preached by St Peter in the first reading, that whoever believes in Jesus receives forgiveness in His name. In Christ, God has reconciled the world to Himself, and offers us new life. 

We are so familiar with the events of Easter that it is easy for us to forget quite how dramatic they were for Jesus’ closest followers. Only a week ago He was hailed as the Messiah, and welcomed into Jerusalem like a King with branches of palm and olive, and shouts of ‘Hosanna!’. Within a few days Jesus has explained to the disciples that He must die. Christ has washed their feet, and celebrated the Eucharist. But then he is betrayed, arrested, tried, tortured, and killed. Everything had looked positive and hopeful, yet now His closest followers are confused, upset, and afraid. They are filled with grief and loss. At the same time they are worried about their own safety. Would the crowd turn on them as well for following Jesus? Are they about to be lynched? 

In the dark, early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb. She wants to be close to Jesus. She loves Him, and longs for consolation in her grief. And then she sees the stone rolled away from the tomb. 

‘So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”’ (Jn 20:2)

Mary’s first thought is that grave robbers have stolen Jesus’ body. Peter and John come running. John gets to the tomb first and sees the grave clothes, but does not go in. Peter, never one to hang back or do things in half measures, rushes in, and sees the grave clothes. Finally John goes in, and sees, and believes. John, the Beloved disciple, the one Jesus loved, and who loves Him, believes that Jesus has risen from the dead. Grave robbers don’t leave clothes covered in costly perfume. They would take them because they were valuable.

Mary is still overcome with grief. Her beloved teacher is dead, and someone has taken His body away. Even two angels are not able to console her:

‘She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.”’ (Jn 20:13)

Even seeing God’s messengers has not helped Mary, she is consumed by grief. 

‘Having said this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”’

Mary Magdalen supposes that Jesus is the gardener. In first century Palestine, just as in our parish today, graveyards and cemeteries had people looking after them. Mention of gardens and gardeners makes me think of another passage in the Bible concerned with matters horticultural. At the beginning of Genesis, God makes a garden, called Eden, and puts Adam in it, commanding him to look after it (Gen 2:15). Adam, the first man is a gardener. Likewise, the Risen Christ, the New Adam, is seen as a gardener. Whilst the first Adam brought death to humanity by a tree, Jesus, the Second Adam, has brought life to the world by the tree of the Cross. Humanity falls because of a tree, and because of a tree we are offered eternal life in Christ. Trees matter!

It was on the first day of the week, that Creation began, and now on the first day of the week we see a New Creation, as Christ has risen from the dead, and conquered Death and Hell. Christ is a gardener, and the plants he tends are human beings. We believe in a God who loves us, who cares for us, and who longs to see us grow and flourish.

Jesus greets Mary by name, and suddenly she recognises Him. Then Christ talks of His Ascension, as though forty days of Easter have condensed into a single moment. Mary now understands what she must do:

‘Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. (Jn 20:18)’

Mary shares the Good News, just as Saints Peter and Paul in the first and second readings this morning. Likewise we are called to follow their example, and proclaim the Good News to the world. To tell how Jesus is risen from the grave, and that God offers new life to all who turn to Him. So, my brothers and sisters in Christ, ‘Pasg hapus i chi gyd!’ ‘A Happy Easter to you all!’ May you, and those you love, be filled with Resurrection joy and strength, now and always. Amen.

The events commemorated at tonight’s Maundy Thursday service, and over the next few days, are best described as mysterious and disconcerting. For some time now Jesus has told His Disciples that He must suffer and die, but tonight He will make His Sacrifice real for them, before He dies. When St Paul wrote his First Letter to the Corinthians it was about twenty years after the Death and Resurrection of Christ. There were still plenty of the Apostles alive, who had been there on this very night, sharing a final meal with Jesus. Paul’s letter is the earliest example of an institution narrative for the Eucharist. It predates the Gospel accounts, but is in complete agreement with them. For almost two thousand years the Church has followed Jesus’ commandment and has done this in remembrance of Him. We partake in the Eucharist because Christ told us to do so. As disciples of Jesus, we are fed with the Body and Blood of Christ, so that we might become what we eat and drink. 

St Paul is keen to stress how he has passed on to the church in Corinth all that he has received from God. This is tradition: handing on what has been handed to you. So the Church has maintained the tradition of the Eucharistthrough the ages. We gather to do the same things that Christians have always done, and will continue to do, until Christ comes again. 

Yet St John’s Gospel does not mention Jesus’ Institution of the Eucharist. The omission seems strange, and somewhat perplexing. This is a Eucharistic Gospel which starts with John the Baptist greeting Jesus as the Lamb of God, and shows Jesus turning water into wine, at the Wedding at Cana in Galilee. There is an extended passage of Eucharistic teaching just after the Feeding of the Five Thousand, at the time of Passover, called the Bread of Life discourse (John 6). Unlike St Paul and the other three Gospels, St John takes a different approach and weaves eucharistic teaching throughout his Gospel. 

If you were to visit a Jewish house in the Holy Land in the time of Our Lord, upon your arrival you would have your feet washed. People wore sandals, and their feet got dirty in this hot, dusty environment. Normally foot washing was something done by servants. To have your feet washed by the host, the master of the house, was a special honour, a sign of a guest’s importance. Jesus’ act of washing the disciples’ feet is one of humility, intimacy, and loving service. To speak personally for a moment, tonight in this service I feel very close to the Lord. I do what He did: I wash people’s feet and celebrate the Eucharist. This service is one of those moments when it all feels very real. I am a priest insofar as I have some small share in Christ’s Priesthood, but as I celebrate this evening, I am drawn into a mystery, the mystery of God’s Love made manifest to save humanity. Over the next few days we will relive Jesus’ Death and Resurrection. The journey starts here, as it did two thousand years ago, washing feet, and taking bread and wine, to demonstrate that God’s love is real. This is a love which brings the entirety of the human race: past, present, and future into a relationship with a generous God, through Christ’s sacrifice of Himself upon the Cross and through His bursting from the Tomb. 

In this evening’s Gospel we have the wonderful example of Peter, the enthusiastic leader of the Apostles being very ‘Peter’. He begins by refusing to have his feet washed, and then he wants his head and hands washed as well. As ever, Peter doesn’t completely understand what is going on — which is something of an encouragement to us! While he may not fully comprehend what is happening, he loves Jesus, and that is enough. God does not call us to understand, but rather to experience the mystery of His saving love, so that it might transform us. This is why the Gospel ends with Jesus teaching:

‘When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.”’ (Jn 13: 12-15)

Jesus inverts the social order, acting as a servant rather than a Master, to show His disciples that loving service is the core of who He is. Jesus expects them to follow His example. All Christians, including those called to serve the Church as deacons, priests, and bishops, should understand who we are, and what we do, as grounded in the service of each other. It is how we put Christian love into practice, living it out in the world, so that it can transform people. This is our witness to the world, inspired by Christ’s example, and nourished with the Eucharist, transformed to change the world.

Each and every one of us, through our baptism, have been born again. We share in Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and are called to bear witness in our lives. We are called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with the world, so that all may know true love, true healing, and true forgiveness, joining in the song of the angels in giving praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

There are two Old Testament texts which are key to understanding this Good Friday Service. The first is Psalm 22, whose opening words are spoken by Jesus before He dies, ‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me’ (in Hebrew Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani). Secondly, the passage from Isaiah 52 and 53 which is today’s first reading. In Isaiah we see all of Christ’s suffering and death foretold, and interpreted:

‘he bore the sin of many’ ‘with his stripes we are healed’ ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is lead to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.’ ‘he makes himself an offering for sin’. 

The meaning is clear. The wounds of human sin, which cry out for healing, are healed in Christ. Such is God’s love for us. What sin has destroyed, love restores.

Words cannot express the mystery of God’s love. Instead we come to gaze upon our Crucified Lord, and prepare to eat His Body, broken for us. Today mankind, who fell because of a tree, is raised to new life in Christ through His hanging on a tree. Christ is a willing victim, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He is the Silent lamb led to his slaughter, and also the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep that have gone astray. At the time when the Passover lambs are slaughtered in the Temple, Christ, as both priest and victim, offers himself upon the Altar of the Cross as the true lamb to take away the sins of the whole world.

There is a stark beauty to today’s liturgy. We come face to face with the reality of God’s love amidst pain, suffering, and death. God dies for us, as a human being, nailed to a Cross, with arms outstretched to embrace the world in love. Two thousand years ago very few people understand what is going on. Pilate doesn’t want any trouble, let alone a riot or an insurrection. The Jewish authorities want to be rid of a charismatic Galilean rabbi, who has a knack for fulfilling Messianic prophecies. The soldiers are just doing their job. This what they do every day: execute criminals. Most of the disciples have fled. Naturally they are petrified by this turn of events, and worry that they will be killed next. Two people are present at Calvary as witnesses. Mary, Jesus’ mother, and John, the Beloved disciple. Thirty-three years before the Archangel Gabriel told Mary that she would bear the Son of God. Now she stands at the foot of the Cross to see her beloved Son suffer and die. Simeon had once told her that a sword would pierce her soul, and now that prophecy comes true. But before He dies, Jesus does something wonderful:

‘When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.’ (Jn 19:26-27)

Here we see a new family being formed, not based on ties of blood, but of love. This is what the Church is, and it starts here, at the foot of the Cross. With Christ, our great High Priest, offering Himself as both priest and victim. The Church begins with three people on a hill outside Jerusalem. One of these three is about to die, condemned as a heretic and trouble-maker. Despite this less-than auspicious beginning we are gathered here today, nearly twenty centuries later. Christ’s Church begins as a failure in worldly terms. However it is a divine institution: it isn’t supposed to make sense in human terms. The Church exists to draw us into the mystery of God’s love.

Today we have the opportunity to reflect on Jesus’ suffering and death, and to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our salvation, our life, and our resurrection, through whom we are saved and made free. Amen

Today marks the beginning of the holiest week of the Church’s year. It begins with Our Lord’s Triumphal entry into Jerusalem. This was more than simply a royal visit. It was the proclamation of the Messiah, and a fulfilment of prophecy. The prophet Zechariah, writing 500 years before Jesus, looks forward to a messianic future:

‘Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ (Zech 9:9)

Likewise, the prophet Isaiah anticipates the arrival of the Messiah in the following words:

‘Behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth: Say to the daughter of Zion, “Behold, your salvation comes; behold, his reward is with him, and his recompense before him.”’ (Isa 62:11)

Both prophets deliver a message of salvation, with God saving His people. Jesus’ name means ‘God saves’ and in Him we see salvation enacted.

In Jerusalem in the Twelfth century there was a procession on Palm Sunday recreating Jesus’ journey from Bethany to Jerusalem. The Golden Gate [Porta Aurea], was only opened on this day of the year. Through this gate, the King, representing Christ, rode in on a Donkey, whilst the people waved palm branches and cried “Hosanna to the Son of David”. In our own way, we too are re-creating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem here today. The Donkey ridden by Jesus reminds us of the humble beast of burden, which carried his Mother to Bethlehem for His birth, and then carried the Holy Family into exile in Egypt. This is an act of humble leadership which fulfils what was foreseen by the prophets. It shows us that Jesus Christ is truly the one who fulfils the hopes of Israel. The Hebrew Scriptures look forward to the deliverance of Israel, which is enacted in front of their very eyes.

The people in Jerusalem recognise that this Galilean rabbi is their Davidic king and saviour. They praise God that scripture has been fulfilled. The Pharisees are upset, and they ask Jesus to rebuke those gathered, to which He replies,

‘I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.’ (Lk 19:40 ) 

The very stones of Jerusalem would sing for joy that their Messiah, the Anointed of God is in their midst. Their salvation is at hand, and yet some are unable or unwilling to recognise it.

Today, and throughout Holy Week, we will have readings from the prophet Isaiah, which are known as the Songs of the Suffering Servant. This morning we hear about the servant being mistreated. He is struck on the back, his beard is torn out, he is spat at and he is insulted. All these things will come to pass as Our Lord goes to the Cross on Good Friday, fulfilling prophecy. God will show us how much he loves us by enduring such treatment. The way Jesus is treated shows what humans are capable of: anger, hatred, bitterness, mob rule, the desire to have a scapegoat, someone to blame. This is fallen, sinful humanity at its worst. On our TV screens at the moment we see horrific evidence of the shocking way people can behave towards each other. It makes us feel sick to the pits of our stomachs. This is the reason why Christ had to die, to overcome sin, the world, and the Devil, with the redemptive power of God’s love.

In his Letter to the Christians in Philippi, written while he was in prison in Rome, St Paul lays great stress upon the humility of Jesus Christ, demonstrated by His entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. Humility is not often appreciated these days. It is a quiet, unassuming virtue, the opposite of being full of ourselves, and having a high opinion of ourselves. Humility recognises that it is not just the individual that matters. It recognises that there are more important things than our personal desires. Jesus is our example, demonstrating that we need to put God at the centre of things, and learn to be thankful for all that is good.

We need to follow the example of Jesus, who offers the world salvation. All that Jesus is and does — from His Incarnation, to His Passion, Death, and Resurrection — is about saving humanity. His life’s work is to restore us and pour out God’s love on us. We meditate upon His Passion to remind ourselves that God loves us. Today we are gathered together to celebrate the Eucharist, just as Christ did on the night before He died. We share in the Body and Blood of Christ, so that Christ may transform us, so that we might become His Body, filled with His love. As Christians we are called to share that love with the whole world. In the name of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

The world around us loves to be judgemental: to condemn people when they do wrong, and to take delight in their fall from grace. This is especially true if they are famous or powerful. We put people on pedestals, and then we are surprised when they fall off. More than that, the media constantly encourages us to be critical of others. This is deeply corrosive, because it sets us up to think that we are somehow better. It’s not that we don’t do the same things, but only that we haven’t yet been found out, or had our misdeeds paraded in public. We all, each and every one of us, myself included, say and do things which we should not, which hurt others, and for which we need forgiveness. Thankfully, we can ask God and each other for forgiveness. Because of what Christ did for us, taking our sins upon himself, on the Cross, we are forgiven. God loves us, and in turning to God for forgiveness we are turning away from sin, and trying to live our lives in a new way. The Christian life is a constant repetition of this process, failing and trying again, and keeping on so that bit by bit, gradually, we let God be at work in us, to transform us. This enables us to be less judgemental, more loving, and more forgiving. Drawing on God’s love, we can build up a community that is filled with a radical transforming love, a force for good, a beacon of hope, sharing that love with the world around us.

In the prophet Isaiah we see that God is creating new opportunities: a way in the wilderness, streams in the desert. It is the hope that the Messiah will bring a new way of living which refreshes people, and which satisfies their deep inner thirst, in a way that nothing of this world can. Only Christ can give us living water, so that we can live in, and for, and through Him.

St Paul, in his letter to the Philippians, writes to a church experiencing persecution. At the time of writing, Paul is under house arrest in Rome. Despite this, Paul’s message is one of hope for the future, because of what God has done for him. Paul knows that he has been forgiven, and made righteous, through Christ’s Death and Resurrection. And because of this he is happy to be called to share in that suffering and death. Paul realises that he is still a work in progress, but he trusts God to be at work in him, through Christ.

Today’s Gospel is the account of the Woman caught in Adultery. By the law of Moses she should be punished by being stoned to death. But Jesus’ response shows the world another way: it is the way of love and not of judgement. This passage is the only time when the Gospel writers record Jesus writing. After the Scribes and Pharisees have brought the unnamed woman to Him, He does the following:

‘Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground.’ (Jn 8:6) 

This verse has puzzled people for centuries: what did Jesus write? The answer to this intriguing question may come from Scripture. A few verses earlier in John’s Gospel Jesus talks of rivers of living water. In the prophet Jeremiah we find the following words:

‘O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water.’ (Jer 17:13)

We can speculate that this verse from Jeremiah is what Jesus wrote in the earth. Writing these words would both fulfil the prophecy of Jeremiah, and shame the accusers. Jesus is showing that the Scribes and Pharisees have turned away from God, towards legalism and judgmental behaviour. Those gathered would know the prophecy of Jeremiah, and also that Jesus has recently mentioned streams of living water. This verse allows us to understand what is going on. Jesus is fulfilling Scripture, and demonstrating that God should be characterised by love and mercy. 

The Religious Authorities have not quite understood the situation. They continue to press Jesus for an answer, which He does not give. Instead:

‘he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.”’ (Jn 8:7)

Jesus’ position is non-judgemental, and highlights the hypocrisy of the accusers. He then returns to His writing:

‘And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.’ (Jn 8:8)

It is possible that Jesus was finishing the verse from Jeremiah. What we do know is that the combination of His words, written and spoken have a profound effect:

‘But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”’ (Jn 8:9-11)

Jesus does not condemn the woman: God is a God of mercy. However, Christ does say, ‘go, and from now on sin no more’ (Jn 8:11). Forgiveness goes hand-in-hand with contrition and repentance. We are loved, healed and restored by God, but with forgiveness comes a challenge: as Christians we are to turn away from  wrongdoing, from the ways of the world, and instead find life in Christ.

Lent gives us the opportunity to take a long, hard look at ourselves and at our lives. It is a time to recognise that we need to conform ourselves to Christ — to live, and think, and speak like Him. We need to be nourished, healed and restored by Christ, so that we can live lives which proclaim His love and His truth to the world. 

Let us open our lives to God’s Holy Spirit so that we may celebrate Jesus’ Death and Resurrection, and our reconciliation with Our Heavenly Father. May God’s grace perfect our nature and fit us for Heaven, to share the divine life of love, and sing praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion and power, now and forever. Amen. 

The proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom of God by Jesus and by His cousin, John the Baptist is straightforward. The message is simple, and it is the same for people everywhere: ‘Repent and believe the Good News’. Belief concerns where and in whom we put our trust; whilst repentance is a matter of turning away from sin, turning back to God, and living a life characterised by faith, hope, and love. Repentance means to change one’s mind, and to make a conscious act of the will to try and live as God wants us to live. 

Baptism and repentance are closely tied together. Before someone is baptised they, or their parents and Godparents, are asked if they reject sin, the world, and the devil. They are asked if they turn to Christ, and believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These questions and answers are a public display and enactment of both faith and repentance. Historically, the season of Lent is one of preparation for Baptism. Candidates would be taught the Christian Faith, and share in the journey, first of Christ in the Desert for forty days, and then of His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Through the waters of Baptism they would pass over from death, to new life in Christ. This Paschal Mystery is one which the Church re-enacts on a yearly basis. It reminds us of who and what we are, and why we are here. We gather together on a Sunday, the day Christ rose from the dead, to follow His Command, and tocelebrate the Eucharist, the memorial of His Passion and Death. Christians have done this for two thousand years, on a hundred thousand successive Sundays, in obedience to Christ’s command to ‘do this in memory of me’.

St Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians is a warning to keep vigilant: the church can never be complacent. For us, too, Lent is to be a time when we learn to be watchful of our own desires, and to turn away from all that separates us from God. Paul draws a parallel between the Christian community of Corinth and the Israelites on their journey from Egypt to the Promised Land. Egypt represents the world, and the Promised Land, Heaven. The Exodus story is understood by Paul as a metaphor for the Christian Spiritual Life. We are all on a journey, a journey back to God, to be united with Him, and to share His joy forever.

As the Israelites were fed with spiritual food — manna — so Christians are fed with the Living Bread — Jesus Christ. As the Israelites were refreshed with spiritual drink, Christians drink the Blood of Christ, and are washed in the waters of Baptism. As Moses strikes the rock at Massah and Meribah, the Rock is Christ, upon whom we can build with sure foundations, against the storms of this world. Nourished by the Eucharist, we are fed by God, with God, so that He may transform us, so that we can share His Eternal Life. The Corinthians are taking this for granted, hence Paul’s warnings in the Epistle. Like the Corinthians, we need to avoid sin, and turn back to God, and be nourished by Him, so that we can grow in faith.

This morning’s Gospel is full of warnings. Jesus begins with two tragic stories. In the first people from Galilee have been killed by the Roman Governor while offering sacrifice to God. In the second, eighteen people were crushed to death by a falling tower. [We cannot help but think of the people of Ukraine being killed by falling buildings at this very moment]. The message of the Gospel is that time is short, we do not know how or when our end will come. So what can we do? The answer is simple, we must repent, turn away from sin, and believe in God. We need to take advantage of the Grace which is offered us in Christ, to turn back to God, and to live lives of faith which bear fruit in good works. The Good News is that, despite deserving to be condemned, we are given another chance. God is merciful, God loves us, God forgives our sins, and longs to see humanity united with Him in Heaven. 

To demonstrate this Jesus uses the parable of the Fig Tree:

“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vine dresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig round it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” (Lk 13:6-9)

The man makes three visits to the fig tree. These visits stand for the Patriarchs, the Prophets and the Gospel — the warnings given in Scripture to repent — and the three years of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Despite the guidance, the fig does not bear fruit, therefore it should be cut down.

And yet, the gardener gives a fig tree another chance. This is grace: the free gift of God, granted not earned. Only through God’s grace can we hope to bear fruit. The gardener, who created humanity in Paradise, will offer himself as both Priest and Victim upon the Tree of Life, to bleed and die for love of us. This gardener will meet Mary Magdalene by the empty tomb on Easter Day, so that we and all humanity may share Christ’s risen life. The fact that we are here today is proof that for two thousand years the tree has borne fruit.

Despite this, we are also like people in the desert, not just in this period of forty days of Lent, but throughout our lives. The modern world is deeply consumerist: shopping centres replace churches, and yet we still thirst for something more, something to satisfy our deepest needs. We all realise that commercialism cannot save us. What we purchase doesn’t really nourish or satisfy us. There can be no commercial exchange with God. We cannot buy our way into Heaven, or earn our place through good deeds. We simply have to receive God’s gifts, that’s what grace is. We are not worthy of God’s generosity, but that’s the point. Our Heavenly Father satisfies our deepest needs and desires out of love for us, so that enfolded in His love we might become more lovely, filled with God’s infinite love and grace. Only when we are watered by God can we truly bear fruit. Only if we are born again, by water and the Spirit in Baptism, can we have true hope. This is what the season of Lent is for: it is a time to prepare for Baptism — to share in our Lord’s death and His new life. We undertake this as individuals and as a community, so that both we ourselves, and the Church, may be born again, renewed with living water, poured out over all the world to satisfy the thirst which commercialism cannot quench.

God wants us to love Him. He wants us to flourish, to have a lively faith, to be filled with His love, and to share it with others. It really is that simple. We are called as Christians to repent, and to keep on repenting, to keep turning away from sin, and turning back to God. We are forgiven, and we are loved. That’s what the Cross demonstrates: God’s love and forgiveness. It stands for all time, and fundamentally changes our relationship with God and each other. Ours is a faith rooted in love, freely given for the life of the world. 

So let us turn away from the ways of the world, its emptiness, its false promises, its immorality, all of which lead to emptiness and death. Instead, let us be nourished by the living water, which satisfies our deepest thirst, which enables us to live our best lives. Let us live in Him, who loves us, who heals us, and who restores us. The world may not understand this, and may laugh at us, just as it mocked our Lord on the way to Calvary and upon the Cross. Let us share in His sufferings, knowing that we are loved by Him who died for love of us. Let us live as a witness, to share in His work of gathering all humanity to Him: so that all people may come to experience the living water and find new life in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen. 

From a homily by St Cyril of Alexandria

With three chosen disciples Jesus went up the mountain. Then he was transfigured by a wonderful light that made even his clothes seem to shine. Moses and Elijah stood by him and spoke with him of how he was going to complete his task on earth by dying in Jerusalem. In other words, they spoke of the mystery of his incarnation, and of his saving passion upon the cross. For the law of Moses and the teaching of the holy prophets clearly foreshadowed the mystery of Christ. The law portrayed it by types and symbols inscribed upon tablets. The prophets in many ways foretold that in his own time he would appear, clothed in human nature, and that for the salvation of all our race he would not refuse to suffer death upon the cross.

The presence of Moses and Elijah, and their speaking together, was meant to show unmistakably that the law and the prophets were the attendants of our Lord Jesus christ. He was their master, whom they had themselves pointed out in advance in prophetic words that proved their perfect harmony with one another. The message of the prophets was in no way at variance with the precepts of the law.

Moses and Elijah did not simply appear in silence; they spoke of how Jesus was to complete his task by dying in Jerusalem, they spoke of his passion and cross, and of the resurrection that would follow. Thinking no doubt that the time for the kingdom of God had already come, Peter would gladly have remained on the mountain. He suggested putting up up three tents, hardly knowing what he was saying. But it was not yet time for the end of the world; nor was it in this present time that the hopes of the saints would be fulfilled — those hopes founded on Paul’s promise that Christ would transform our lowly bodies into the likeness of his glorious body. 

Only the initial stage of the divine plan had as yet been accomplished. Until its completion was it likely that Christ, who came on earth for love of the world, would give up his wish to die for it? For his submitting to death was the world’s salvation, and his resurrection was death’s destruction.

As well as the vision of Christ’s glory, wonderful beyond all description, something else occurred which was to serve as a vital confirmation, not only of the disciples’ faith, but of ours as well. From a cloud on high came the voice of God the Father saying: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.

St Cyril of Alexandria Homily 9 on the Transfiguration of the Lord. [PG 77: 1011-14]

The first reading this morning is from Deuteronomy and is part of the account of the Feast of First-fruits, called Shavuot. This feast celebrates the grain harvest in Israel, seven weeks after Passover. ‘What?’ you say, “Harvest Festivals?’ This seems a strange topic when we have just begun a six-week penitential season characterised by, amongst other things, fasting, abstaining from food. Yes, at first glance it does appear somewhat strange, but there is a reason. 

The reading from Deuteronomy is mostly an account of the words and actions made by the one offering the fruits of the earth to God. This includes a narration of preceding events: Israel’s journey from slavery in Egypt to Freedom in the Promised Land. It is a prayerful retelling of the Passover story, which gives thanks to God for His mighty acts. As the Jews relive salvation history, we as Christians are preparing to do the same. Lent precedes Our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection, around the time of Passover, and also commemorates Jesus’ fasting in the desert at the beginning of His public ministry. 

The Christian journey through Lent is something of a trek through the desert. It is characterised by fasting, penitence and charity. These are the ways by which we can prepare our souls and bodies to celebrate Our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection. We are sorry for all our wrongdoings, but we are also joyful knowing that Christ has overcome sin and death. There is a joy in what we do and who we are because of all that Christ has taught us and done for us. Lent is a hopeful, and a healing time. And the world certainly needs hope and healing at the moment. Lent is an opportunity to give ourselves a bit of encouragement in our spiritual lives, and it is a time to prepare. As Christians, Christ takes us from the wilderness of sin to the promised land of reunion with God the Father, and with each other.

The reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans also begins by quoting from Deuteronomy (30:14), just before Moses offers Israel the choice between life and death, good and evil. But for Paul:

‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.’ (Rom 10:9)

This is the heart of our faith as Christians: Jesus is Lord, not Caesar, nor any power of this world. Christ saves us, by His Death and Resurrection. We believe this and bear witness to our belief. 

Today’s Gospel takes us right back to the time immediately after Jesus’ Baptism, when He begins His public ministry. Jesus goes out into the desert to be alone, to be quiet, to fast and to pray, and to be close to God the Father. While He is in the desert, Jesus is tempted by the devil. Satan uses three different approaches, beginning by saying: 

‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.’ (Lk 4:3)

This is a temptation to be relevant, Jesus is hungry. The devil is saying, ‘If you’re the Son of God then do this’. This is the same thing that the crowd will say to Jesus as He goes to be crucified. The Devil and the crowd both demand that God prove Himself, rather than accepting the presence of the Holy Spirit and the voice of God the Father, ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ (Lk 3:22) Jesus is pleasing to God because He is obedient, whereas Satan is all about disobedience, not listening to God, not obeying Him. Whereas the first Adam causes sin to enter into the world by eating forbidden fruit, Christ, who is the second Adam, conquers by not eating. The desert is the exact opposite of the garden of Eden, and becomes the place of obedience, reconciliation and healing.

Jesus’ second temptation is to have power. The devil says to Him, 

‘To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.’ (Lk 4:6-7)

Jesus prefers heavenly glory and the salvation of humanity to worldly power. The devil can only offer a false god and fleeting power, whereas Christ stands for what is true and eternal. The temptation to have power, symbolised by worshipping the devil, leads to the misuse of power. It’s a very human failing. One that we see all too clearly in our world today.

The third temptation for Jesus, is to put God to the test, to be spectacular and self-seeking. Whenever we say, ‘look at me’ we’re not saying, ‘look at God’. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test’. God does not need to prove anything. He loves us, and sent His Son for us. Jesus’ throwing himself from the Temple would be a spectacle, but it wouldn’t achieve anything. The high place which Jesus will go up to is the Cross on Calvary. Here He will suffer and die to save humanity. This is where God shows His love for the world, in humiliation rather than a glory-seeking stunt. 

Eventually the devil gives up and departs. Jesus’ faith is stronger than temptation. All these temptations are real things that we face in our lives, but Jesus shows us that we can resist them. It isn’t easy, quite the opposite, but it is possible. This should encourage us as we try to follow Jesus’ example, and grow in holiness this Lent. God does not ask the impossible of us, just that we try, and that we ask for forgiveness when we fail. We grow in holiness in Lent through prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. Prayer offers us the opportunity to deepen our relationship with God. It is more about quality than quantity: expressing true repentance, for what we have done and failed to do, and resolving to do better in the future. Almsgiving helps us to be charitable and generous, to care for those in need, just as God is generous towards us.

Fasting is key, because it helps us to master our bodily cravings, to control what we eat and do, rather than being controlled by our appetites. Just as prayer is not about getting God’s attention or changing His mind, but rather changing who and what we are, making us more loving, humble and dependant on God. In the same way fasting stops us being slaves to our desires. It sets us free, and helps us to listen to God, and draw closer to Him. Through abstinence we enter into Christ’s suffering, so we can follow the way of the Cross. We do this joyfully, because we are following Christ. We are learning to resist temptation, aided by prayer and a generous heart. We pray that this Lenten season helps us to grow in faith, hope, and love, enabling us to celebrate Our Lord’s Passion, Death and Resurrection with greater joy. 

So, my brothers and sisters, may we prepare ourselves to celebrate the Paschal mystery so that we, and all the world, may give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen

Our readings this week remind us of the importance of the need to put our faith into practice, and to live it out in our lives. Christianity affects who we are and how we live, it makes a difference. If we want to bear witness to Christ then our lives are a testament to what we believe: they proclaim our faith and show the world that another way is possible, and preferable. While it is hard to do this, with God’s help we are able to practise what we preach, and give an authentic witness.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus begins by telling a parable which seeks to criticise the Pharisees, and Religious Authorities of His day. 

‘Jesus also told them a parable: “Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully trained will be like his teacher.”’ (Lk 6:39-40)

The Pharisees are the blind leading the blind, teachers leading people the wrong way; blind to their own faults and shortcomings, yet judging others. They appear as hypocrites, as the teaching goes on to explain:

“Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye’, when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.” (Lk 6:41-42)

To recognise that you have something in your own eye requires humility and self-examination to recognise your own failures and shortcomings before criticising others. Jesus here is clearly telling His followers not to be judgemental. 

Jesus then goes on to point out the need to bear good fruit, using an analogy from the natural world:

“For no good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush.” (Lk 6:43-44)

This vivid imagery is simple and straightforward. If we as Christians are to bear good fruit, then we need to live good lives. What we do matters, as well as what we say: 

“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” (Lk 6:45)

It is hard not to feel chastened by Our Lord. All of us recognise that we fall short of the high standard which Jesus sets. But we should not be too harsh on ourselves. God loves us. The more we rely upon God’s love, the more that love can transform us. We can, through God’s help, become people whose life and speech are characterised by love.

Jesus then rebukes those who say that they follow Him, but are not so keen to obey His commands:

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord’, and not do what I tell you?” (Lk 6:46)

This is recognisable human behaviour: we mean well, but often our actions let us down. Putting one’s faith into practice is difficult. We have to rely on God to help us. Jesus then explains His teaching with a parable:

“Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.” (Lk 6:47-49)

The two options are to build your house with or without foundations. Clearly the option with foundations is preferable. The weather of the previous week has clearly reinforced this point. We need to be built on rock, and as St Paul says:

‘the Rock was Christ.’ (1Cor 10:4)

If Christ is the rock upon which we build, then we do not need to fear what may happen, because we can rest secure in Him. A few verses later Paul states:

‘The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.’ (1Cor 10:16-17)

Our taking part in and receiving of the Eucharist is the way we are strengthened as Christians. It is the medicine for our souls. If we are nourished by Jesus then we can be built up in love and faith, and strengthened to bear witness to Christ. We need God’s grace to be at work in us, to build us up. 

At its heart Christianity is a religion of transformation. In the Incarnation Christ became what we are, so that we might become what He is. God does not want us to stay as we are. When we encounter Him in prayer, in reading Holy Scripture, and in the Sacraments, we are changed by that encounter. We become something which we were not before. Our faith is deepened, we grow in holiness, and we reflect more fully the light of Him in whose image we were created.

So let us prepare to deepen our encounter with God as we approach the season of Lent, through self-examination, and prayer, so that we may grow in holiness. May we be firmly rooted in Christ, living out our faith to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom, so that the world may believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen

Life in the Ancient World could be described quite straightforward: you loved your friends, and you hated your enemies. Such an attitude was widespread. It was how society expected you to behave, it was considered normal. So when we turn to Luke’s Gospel, we are faced with teaching that is profoundly counter-cultural:

‘Jesus said to his disciples, “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.’ (Lk 6:27-28)

At the heart of Christianity is a radical idea: love your enemies. To love one’s enemies seems counter-intuitive. Our enemies want to harm us. We should resist them, we should crush them. No, we are to love them! We do this because love is the heart of the Gospel. God loves us and God is born as one of us in order to transform us, by His Grace. Jesus dies on the Cross for love of us, that we might be healed and reconciled. Love has the power to end conflict. This is what Jesus shows us. He ends the enmity between God and humanity by dying for us. As Christians we are to follow Christ’s example and put love into practice in our lives. Jesus asks us to follow His example, living lives which are radically distinct from the ways of the world.

Jesus calls us to live differently and provides us with an example of how to put the theory into practice. He also continues to teach what God expects of us in terms of generous love:

‘To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.’ (Lk 6:29-31)

The generosity Jesus expects of His followers is exacting. We are told not to react to violence with violence, to give away what we have, and to treat others as we would wish to be treated, the so-called Golden Rule. 

The world around us is not good at forgiveness, or turning the other cheek. It prefers to write people off than to admit the possibility of change: that’s how they are, and that’s how they’re going to stay. In showing forgiveness and generosity we recognise the fact that we are human, that we are flawed, and that we make mistakes. Change is possible; things do not have to stay the same. Everyone loves those who love them. The point is in loving those who do not love us, so that they become lovely to us, and loveable in themselves. Only love can transform what is filled with hate and anger. Love and generosity are how God in Christ shows humanity how to live. Jesus’ life and death demonstrate what love in action means.

Jesus then reiterates His teaching:

“But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Lk 6:35-36)

There is a paradoxical quality to what Jesus expects of us. We are to expect nothing, and yet we will receive everything. God’s love and mercy are to be experienced rather than understood. The Kingdom of God exists to restore and reconcile humanity, and not to make sense. We can be merciful because God has shown us mercy, and continues so to do. The transforming power of God’s love and mercy is shown fully in the Mystery of the Eucharist, where we are fed by God and fed with God, so that His Love might transform us. This is generosity, shown to us so that we might be generous in return. Through God’s generosity we have the opportunity to live in a different way, and encourage others to do the same. It offers the world a way out of selfishness and sin, a chance to be God’s people living life in all its fulness.

As well as being non-violent and generous, Jesus calls us to be non-judgemental:

“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (Lk 6:37-38)

If we want God to be loving and merciful towards us, then we need to demonstrate in our lives that we are living the way God wants us to live. What Jesus proposes is something costly and difficult, which requires us to go against the human instincts which lead us to be selfish, judgmental and unkind. But if we all try to follow this teaching together we will be built up as a community of loving generosity, which makes the Kingdom a reality.

Each of us, on our own, is not able to do this. Even as a Christian community we will struggle. But if we trust God to be at work in us, with His Grace perfecting our nature, then it becomes a possibility. God asks the impossible of us, not so that we will fail, but so that we rely upon God to bring this miracle to pass. 

When we are formed by God together then we can be built up in love, as living stones, a temple to God’s glory. We proclaim God’s love and truth to the world, through forgiveness and sacrificial love. Clothed in the humility of our knowledge of our need of God’s love and mercy, let us come to Him. Let us be fed by Him, be fed with Him, and be healed and restored by Him, so that we can live lives which speak of the power of His kingdom. So that the world may believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen

In today’s Gospel we see Jesus continuing His preaching ministry in Galilee. He draws large crowds, so large, in fact, that in order to address them all, Jesus asks a fisherman, Simon, to take Him out so that all the people can hear and see Him. Then, Jesus makes an unusual request:

‘And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.”’ (Lk 5:4)

To which Peter replies:

“Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” (Lk 5:5)

At one level, what Jesus is proposing looks pointless, a complete waste of time. After fishing all night long and not catching anything, Simon has a point. He does not, however, ignore Jesus’ request, but complies with it. Simon treats Jesus with respect, and calls Him ‘Master’. Then a miracle occurs:

And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signalled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. (Lk 5:6-7)

The miraculous catch of fish is amazing because where there were no fish, there are suddenly enough to sink two boats. It points forward to the large number of people, like those on the shore, who will become Christians. It is a sign of what the disciples will accomplish, with God’s help. 

Simon Peter is overwhelmed by the miracle:

‘But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.”’ (Lk 5:8)

Peter realises what has happened. This is a miracle. God is acting in the world. It causes him to acknowledge his own sinfulness, his unworthiness, which is a perfectly understandable reaction to the divine. It is parallel to Isaiah’s reaction to the divine presence in the first reading this morning. 

Peter, James, and John, the fishermen who have just hauled the miraculous catch of fish in, are amazed. Then Jesus addresses Simon and says:

“Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” (Lk 5:10)

Jesus invites these Galilean fishermen to catch people, to join in His mission of transforming people’s lives. They accept the invitation:

‘And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.’ (Lk 5:11)

There is an abrupt quality to the calling of the first disciples. They literally drop everything and follow Jesus, there and then. They have heard the call to repent and believe, and they do just that. They change their lives in an instant. Following Jesus should have this effect upon our lives: we should be completely devoted to Him, and live our lives accordingly.

All three readings this morning deal with vocation: the call of Isaiah and St Paul. Isaiah, Paul, and Peter all feel unworthy of their call. This is quite normal, and I know from my own experience what it feels like. I spent over twenty years running away from it: feeling not good enough for what God wanted me to do. It’s ok. It turns out that I’m in good company as our readings this morning make clear. 

In this morning’s first reading the prophet Isaiah has an experience of God’s presence in the Temple in Jerusalem. He does not describe his emotional state, other than what he says speaks of human unworthiness in the divine presence. When he is confronted by the majesty of God, the singing of angels, the smoke of incense, all he can say is:

‘Woe is me. For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips’ (Isa 6:5)

Isaiah is aware of his human sinfulness and the gulf between himself and God. Yet his guilt is taken away, and his sin atoned for. The prophet who will tell of the Messiah, who will save humanity, is prepared for this by God. He is set apart. When God asks, ‘Whom shall I send, who will go for me?’ Isaiah can respond ‘Here I am, send me’ It’s quite a journey in a few verses, and that’s the point. God doesn’t call those who are equipped, He equips those whom He calls.

Likewise St Paul, ‘the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because [he] persecuted the church of God’ (1Cor 15:9) is living proof of the redemptive power of God’s love at work in the world. He preaches Christ crucified and resurrected, to show us that Christ died for us, and that we can have new life in him. God can (and does) take and use surprising people to show us that we are loved. That is the wonder of the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ. No-one is beyond its reach, or of God’s forgiveness and loving mercy. Peter recognises his own unworthiness and his complete reliance upon God. Peter is not worthy of his calling, none of us are and that’s the point, but because Peter knows he isn’t worthy. That is how God can be at work, in and through our humility and reliance upon God, not upon ourselves. The next thing Jesus says to Peter is, ‘Paid ag ofni, Do not be afraid’ (Lk 5:10). In Christ we do not need to be afraid of anything, if we trust in Him, and let His love be at work in us.

The message in our readings applies to each and every one of us, here, and all over the world. As Christians we are all to kneel in the place of Peter, to recognise our reliance upon and trust in God, and be prepared to be ‘fishers of men’. 

The calling of the disciples is the calling of the entire baptised people of God: a calling not to be afraid, but to respond to the God who loves us and saves us. A calling to live out in our lives by word and deed the saving truths of God. So God can use us for His glory and the spreading of His Kingdom, so that others may come to know God’s Love, Mercy, and Forgiveness. It’s what we’ve signed up for: to profess the faith of Christ Crucified, to share it with others.

This treasure has been entrusted to us, so that we can share it with others, so that the world may believe. So that it may believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

In today’s Gospel we continue where we left off last week with Jesus in the synagogue in Nazareth. Jesus has just read from Isaiah 61 and proclaimed the Kingdom of God to the assembled worshippers. By stating, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing’ (Lk 4:21), Jesus is claiming to be the fulfilment of Scripture, and the Messianic prophecies contained in Isaiah. This is what we believe as Christians. Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One of God, Israel’s True King and Liberator, the Fulfilment of all Scripture. 

At first, Jesus’ words are well received:

‘And all spoke well of him and marvelled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.’ (Lk 4:22)

But sadly, this positive atmosphere does not last for long. The congregation asks:

‘Is this not Joseph’s son?’ (Lk 4:22)

The people there have known Jesus for most of His earthly life, and their recognition may even be a source of local pride: here’s one of our own. They know Him as the son of a carpenter, who is now claiming to be the Messiah. It would, naturally, come as something of a shock to them. So they attempt to put Jesus claims into context. At one level they know Him, they know who He is, but at a deeper, more fundamental level they do not. The people in the synagogue misunderstand who and what Jesus is, and their familiarity breeds contempt.

Jesus does not react well to the lack of belief demonstrated by the Nazarenes, and says to them:

“Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your home town as well.” (Lk 4:23)

Jesus recognises that the people of His hometown want to see miracles, but He is not willing to perform any. They are expecting or even demanding God’s action, taking the divine for granted. So Jesus says to them:

“Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his home town” (Lk 4:24)

Jesus is explaining why He is being rejected by the people who, one might assume, would know Him best. The prophetic vocation is a difficult and a lonely one, and it involves a lot of rejection, as we see in the Old Testament reading from the prophet Jeremiah.

In this passage Jeremiah is addressed by God, a God who knows Jeremiah intimately, and has appointed himas  ‘a prophet to the nations’ (Jer 1:5). His prophetic calling will cause Jeremiah to meet with rejection:

“And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests, and the people of the land. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord, to deliver you.” (Jer 1:19)

Prophets are opposed because they tell people uncomfortable truths. Doing what God wants, rather than what people want, will often make you unpopular. This is a truth of the human condition, as true in Jeremiah’s day as in our own. We should not be surprised that people are upset when God makes demands of them. 

Jesus then gives the worshippers in the synagogue two examples from the ministry of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. These are feeding the widow of Zarephath, and the curing of Naaman the Syrian from leprosy. In both instances we see prophets going outside the boundaries of Israel, and healing and restoring non-Jews, known as gentiles. The examples Jesus cites do not get a good reaction:

‘When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff.’ (Lk 4:28-29)

At one level, this looks like a huge overreaction. The people have gone very quickly from being extremely happy that the Messiah is amongst them, and one of their own, to trying to kill Him. They have been faced with the uncomfortable truth that the proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom is for all people, and not just the Jews, and they do not like it. The fact that we are Christians and reading this here today is testament to the fact that the Good News has spread from Galilee to the whole world. This process began with the Apostle to the Gentiles, St Paul, the author of the First Letter to the Corinthians, today’s second reading. 

St Paul shows the Corinthian Christians a ‘more excellent way’ (1Cor 12:31), the way of Love. Love is the heart of the Gospel and our Faith: God loves us, and we are called to love God and each other. This is not the love of romantic movies, but the gentle, generous, sacrificial love shown to us by Jesus, who dies on the Cross for love of us, to heal us, and restore us. We celebrate the Cross, and I preach it, because it is the demonstration of God’s love for humanity. In the Gospel, Jesus passes through the crowd (Lk 4:30) because it is not His time to die. That will come later, in Jerusalem, at Passover, something we will commemorate in a few months, in April.

Luke presents the message of the Gospel being met with initial celebration followed by angry rejection. The question is, how do we want to respond to it? What difference does it make to our lives? Are we willing to risk having God transform our lives? If we accept that Jesus is Lord, that He is the Messiah, the Son of God. That He took flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, to offer humanity new life and eternal life in Him. Are we willing to give Him our lives, all that we are, and to grow in love, together as a community of faith, a church of believers

May we not be like the inhabitants of Nazareth, rejecting Jesus, deaf to His message. May we listen to Him, and be nourished by Him, in Word and Sacrament.May He prepare us for Heaven where we will see Him face to face, and sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen. 

In today’s Gospel we see Jesus going into synagogues, reading from the Scriptures, teaching and preaching. These actions are familiar to us in our worship. We recognise what is going on, because there is a fundamental continuity between what took place in a synagogue two thousand years ago, and what takes place in a church today. We read the same holy book, sing the same psalms, and pray to the same God. Jesus took part in these activities and it is good to be reminded that our religious practice is grounded in an unbroken tradition stretching back thousands of years: both ancient and ever new. 

Luke writes that Jesus returns ‘in the power of the Spirit’ (Lk 4:14). Following His Baptism and Temptation in the Desert, we now see the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee. Jesus is full of the Holy Spirit, and teaches that the Kingdom of God is a reality. His message is that people need to repent, to turn away from their wrongdoing, and to trust God to be at work in their lives. Jesus bases His teaching on the prophecies found in the Hebrew Scriptures, and those who hear respond positively: 

‘And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.’ (Lk 4:15)

When Jesus comes to the town where He grew up, He goes to the synagogue to read on the Sabbath. There Jesus is given the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and He reads:

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” (Lk 4:18-19)

This prophecy is taken from the 61^st Chapter of Isaiah. It expresses Israel’s hope for a Messianic future: a hope of healing, freedom, and restoration. This is similar to the idea of the Jubilee, when every fifty years all debts were cancelled, all slaves freed, and all land returned to its original owners. Some of you may remember the Campaign Jubilee 2000, which sought to write off Third-world debt, as a modern reworking of this ancient biblical idea. Jesus is proclaiming the Kingdom of God as a reality, here and now. This is what fullness of life and salvation look like when we live them. It is an attractive vision, and can be a reality, if we co-operate with God to live it out in our own lives. Jesus then turns to the people in the synagogue and says:

“Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” (Lk 4:21)

This is quite a claim to make. If the Scripture has been fulfilled then this means that Jesus is the Messiah, plain and simple. What the prophets point to in the future has now become a reality in the person of Jesus Christ. The Word made flesh is the fulfilment of the Word of God: Jesus fulfils the Scriptures. This is what we believe as Christians, and is why we read the Old Testament. The New is prefigured in the Old. The Scriptures point to Christ, and they find their fulfilment and true meaning in Him. What Israel has hoped and longed for has arrived in the figure of Jesus. Thus, we can say that the Kingdom of God is not something abstract, but rather someone concrete. It is a person, Jesus of Nazareth. The reconciliation of God and humanity happens in and through Jesus. This is a relationship which can grow and develop in each and every one of us. Every day we pray for the coming of God’s Kingdom: ‘deled dy deyrnas, Thy Kingdom come’ in the Lord’s Prayer. To make this happen, we have a part to play. We are called to co-operate with God in making the Kingdom more of a reality in the world. This is what the Church is, not a building, but a group of people in a relationship with each other, and primarily with the Living God. As Christians, we proclaim the same truth, and offer the same relationship, healing, and forgiveness. For two thousand years we have announced the same message, and will continue until the Lord comes again. 

This a cause for celebration, one envisaged in Nehemiah, our first reading:

‘Go on your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.’ (Nehemiah 8:10) 

The Kingdom of God is a cause for celebration. It is what we look forward to in Heaven and it is what we do in Church. We meet to celebrate who Christ is and what Christ does, and to encourage people to know Him, love Him, and believe in Him. Our celebration this morning is both the Feast of the Kingdom, and also a foretaste of heavenly glory.

In today’s Gospel, we hear the announcement of the Kingdom of God, a new way of living, which can transform us, and our world, for the better. The Kingdom of God is to be a place where all are cared for, and where our needs are met. The good news is also for those who are spiritually poor. As Jesus will say in the Sermon on the Mount: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God’ (Lk 6:20). The good news of the Gospel is for those who know their need of God, who are aware of their spiritual poverty. That means all of us. We all need God’s love in our hearts, and our lives, so that we can be transformed.

As Nehemiah says, the joy of the Lord is our strength. May we be strengthened by our faith and share the Good News of the Kingdom with others, so that they may come to know and give praise to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen. 

In today’s first reading the prophet Isaiah is looking forward to a Messianic future. He is giving Israel something to hope for: a vision of how things will be when the Messiah comes. At the feast of the Epiphany kings saw God’s glory in Bethlehem. In the Baptism of Christ we saw God’s glory manifest in the Holy and Life-giving Trinity, in the obedience of the Son of God, and the way to salvation through baptism. Now through the first of Jesus’ signs we will see further fulfilment of prophecy. In Isaiah the joy of God’s kingdom is understood in terms of a marriage, such as we see in this morning’s Gospel. A wedding is a sign of love, and joy, and commitment, something made holy and fruitful by God. 

At one level marriage symbolises God’s relationship with humanity brought about by the Incarnation: where God becomes human, so that humanity might come to share the divine life. The sheer joy of salvation, of hope in Christ, in reuniting what sin had destroyed. What Isaiah looks forward to, is made real in Jesus Christ. And so the first of Jesus’ signs, His demonstrations of the Kingdom of God, takes place at a wedding, in Cana, in Galilee. 

The miracle recorded in the Gospel of John takes place on the third day, foreshadowing Jesus’ Resurrection on the third day. Jesus and His mother are guests at the wedding, and so are His Disciples. Marriages in the Bible are community celebrations, with lots of people invited. To run out of food or wine would be very embarrassing for the hosts, so Mary lets Jesus know that they have no wine. While Jesus’ reply may look like he’s upset, He doesn’t ignore His mother, or fail to comply with her request. However, Jesus explains, that His Hour has not yet come, and it will not, until Jesus dies upon the Cross. 

Mary simply says to the servants, ‘Do whatever He (that is Jesus) tells you’. She stands as a model of Christian obedience. The key to the Christian life is to follow Mary’s example, and do whatever Christ tells us, nothing more, nothing less, just that. The Christian life is rooted in obedience: we listen to God and we act on His words. We do this for our own good, and for the good of the Kingdom, so that we are not conformed to the world and its ways, but rather to the will of God. Doing so enables us to enter into the joy of the Lord.

At the wedding there were six stone water jars each holding twenty or thirty gallons, about the size of a modern wheelie bin. Together they held one hundred and eighty gallons, or about six hundred and eighty litres, or the equivalent of one thousand four hundred and forty pints of beer, given that ancient wine was drunk diluted with two parts water. It is a lot of wine to drink, and that’s the point: this is a sign of the super-abundance of the Kingdom of God. It shows us that Christ is a type of Melchizedek, the priest-king of Salem. He is the priest of the most High God, who, in Genesis 14:18-20, offers bread and wine to Abram. 

The wedding steward is amazed, this is the best wine he has ever tasted. It is understandable that the steward is surprised, the best wine is usually served first, when it can be appreciated. However, the Kingdom of God turns human values on their head. The joyous new wine of the Kingdom is finer than any human wine. It is lavished upon humanity, so that it might transform us, so that we might come to share in the glory of God, and His very nature. 

Our Christian lives are to be one of celebration: that we are saved, and that God loves us. This is the reason why we are here today at the Eucharist, which is a foretaste of the marriage feast of the Lamb, and the joy of Heaven. This is where we drink the wine of the Kingdom the Blood of Christ so that we may be transformed by the power and the grace of God, so that we may share his Divine life, and encourage others to enter into the joy of the Lord.

The Wedding at Cana points to the Cross, as this is when Jesus’ hour comes, when He sheds his blood for us. The Cross removes all our embarrassment over our wrongdoings, so that we can enjoy forever the nourishment of God’s love prepared for us in Heaven. The heavenly banquet is shown and foreshadowed here under the outward forms of Bread and Wine. So let us feast on the Body and Blood of Christ so that we may be transformed more and more into His likeness. Let us live out our Joy, and share it with others so that they too may come to believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen. 

January is traditionally a time for making resolutions, and a new start for a new year. Despite our good intentions, most resolutions do not make it past the end of the month. It takes time for habits to form. If we want to make a change then we need to put effort in, and this applies to our spiritual lives as well. It is not too late to set some spiritual resolutions for 2022. Such as reading a daily bible passage, setting some time aside for prayer, or attending church more frequently.

In Luke’s Gospel, John the Baptist has been proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins (Lk 2:3). John has been calling people to turn away from their sins, and to turn back to God, and live holy lives. This has something of an effect on the people of Judea. There is an increase in religious observance, and something like a religious revival. This, in turn, leads to speculation:

‘As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ,’ (Lk 3:15)

The people of Israel were longing for the Messiah. In Greek this translates as the Christ, the Anointed One. The Messiah is a charismatic King figure, descended from David, who will make Israel flourish. John is not the Messiah, but he is paving the way for the promised one:

‘John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.’ (Lk 3:16)

John the Baptist knows that he is not the Anointed One. He sees himself as not even worthy to untie the sandals of the Messiah, something a slave would do for their master. John demonstrates great humility, and his actions point forward to the baptism of the Church, instituted by Jesus. Whereas John baptizes with water, Jesus will baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. This looks forward to both Pentecost, when the Apostles are filled with the Holy Spirit, and to Jesus’ death on the Cross.

Today we are celebrating Christ’s Baptism in the River Jordan. It is a moment where we see God the Son, and also God the Holy Spirit, and we hear God the Father. The Holy Trinity, the fulness of God, is made manifest:

‘Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”’ (Lk 3:21-22)

We then have to ask ourselves the question, why is Jesus being baptized? Jesus is not a sinner, He has no sins from which to repent, and yet He is there, being baptized by John. An explanation is that in His Baptism Jesus is in solidarity with sinful humanity: He does not wish us to undergo anything that He would not undergo Himself. Christ is an example of how to come to God and have new life. As a sign of divine approval after the Baptism, as Jesus is praying, the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends upon Him in the form of a dove, and God says: ‘You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.’ (Lk 3:22)

At the beginning of his public ministry, Jesus shows humanity the way to the Father, through Himself. The world sees the generous love of God, which heals and restores us to the light and life of the Kingdom of God. As our baptism is a sharing in the death and resurrection of Jesus, so His Baptism points to the Cross, where streams of blood and water flow to cleanse and heal the world. We see the love of the Father, the power of the Spirit, and the obedience of Son, all for us, who need God’s love and healing, and forgiveness.

At the moment of Jesus’ Baptism, we see the fullness of the Godhead, a manifestation of glory and divine presence. Just as in Noah’s Ark God makes his love manifest in the form of a dove, so now He brings us peace and love. At the end of the Flood a dove brings a branch of olive back to the Ark, a sign of peace and new life. So now, the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove to show us the fullness of God, a relationship of love, which is opened up to us in our baptism. We are invited into the embrace of God’s love. 

The Divine Trinity makes itself manifest in recognition of the Son’s obedience to the Father, and looks forward to the Cross, where God’s love is poured out upon the world, and through which we are saved. In our own baptism, we share in Christ’s Death and Resurrection. In His Baptism as in His Death, Christ shows us the way to the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit. We are baptised in the name of the Holy and Life-giving Trinity. Our worship this morning began by invoking the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Yn enw’r Tad, a’r Mab, a’r Ysbryd Glân). And so all of our life as Christians is Trinitarian. 

The first reading this morning, from the prophet Isaiah, is a messianic prophecy. It begins with idea of God’s people being comforted, and their wrongdoings being pardoned. This prophecy is fulfilled in our baptism. We are baptized because Jesus was baptized. Christ gives an example, because He loves us and cares for us. Jesus is the Good Shepherd spoken of by Isaiah:

‘He will tend his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms;
he will carry them in his bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.’ (Isa 40:11)

Our Saviour comes among us demonstrating humility, showing us the way to a relationship with God. Jesus is the shepherd of our souls, who leads us, His people, and shows us God’s love. We can trust Him to be always with us, accompanying us through whatever life throws our way. Christ carries us in His bosom, we are close to Him, loved by Him. We are never alone, because we are  always surrounded by God’s love.

So let us draw strength from our Baptism and grow in faith, hope, and love, nourished by Christ, and with Christ. Let us share that love with others throughout the year ahead, so that all may sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

After the excitement and bustle of Christmas and New Year, there is a certain slowness about January. The days are short, the weather isn’t great, and, despite our resolutions, no one feels all that lively or full of energy. It is understandable, and thankfully the Lectionary gives us the opportunity to revisit some Christmas texts, to ponder the mystery of the Incarnation. While the world around us has taken their decorations down, in the Church we are still celebrating Christmas, and will continue so to do for some time yet. The awesome mystery of God taking human flesh and being born among us needs more than a day’s celebration. Indeed we could spend a whole lifetime pondering the wonderful fact that God has come earth to share our human life, and to bring about our redemption and restoration.

Today’s Old Testament Reading is from The Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach, also known as Ecclesiasticus. This is a later writing in the Jewish Wisdom Tradition, dated to somewhere between 135-115 years before the birth of Jesus. It was written in Hebrew and soon after translated into Greek. Our reading this morning comes from the beginning of a hymn to Wisdom. Wisdom is likened to the Word of God, and so becomes important as a means of reflecting upon Jesus. This is especially true of the following verse:

‘Then the Creator of all things gave me a command, and my Creator chose the place for my tent.’ (Sir 24:8)

In John’s Gospel we are familiar with the verse:

‘And the Word became flesh and lived among us’ (Jn 1:14)

The word we translate as ‘lived’ actually means ‘pitched his tent’. John’s Gospel is looking back to the Jewish Wisdom tradition to understand the Incarnation, and to place Christ’s birth in a wider scriptural context. The author of Ecclesiasticus was looking forward to a Messiah, and now He has been born. The longed-for salvation has become a reality. 

This assurance lies behind St Paul’s joyful greeting to the Christians in Ephesus. As Christians we have entered into a new relationship with God the Father: 

‘He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved’ (Eph 1:5-6)

Our primary identity is as children of God, as brothers and sisters in Christ. This is through an outpouring of God’s grace — unmerited kindness and generosity because He loves us. This is the heart of the Christian Faith, and the message of Christmas: God loves us. How we respond to that love is our choice. Paul prays that Christ:

‘may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints.’ (Eph 1:17-18)

Our hope is in Heaven, to spend eternity in God’s nearer presence, to join the Church Triumphant. And this is why Christ is born in Bethlehem: to give us this hope, to bestow this grace upon us. Through our celebration of Christmas we know that ours is a God who comes among us, who comes alongside us, who is not remote, but involved: a God of love.

Saint John take us back to the beginning so that we can see how things fit into the bigger picture. What we are celebrating at Christmas is something which extends through time, both in its nature and its effects. It is why we as Christians make such a big deal of Christmas – it isn’t just something nice to do in the middle of winter. Along with Our Lord’s Passion, Death, and Resurrection, the Birth of Jesus is the most wonderful and important moment of history, and it affects us here and now. What was made known to the shepherds, we now proclaim to the world. This is shown symbolically in the Feast of the Epiphany, where the Wise Men point to the manifestation of Christ’s Divinity made visible to the whole world — the recognition of God’s saving love:

‘And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.’ (Jn 1:14)

The reality of the Incarnation, of God with us, Emmanuel, is that God lives with us, sharing our human life, and showing us the glory of God. That which Moses hid his face from in the Book of Exodus is now made plain, and displayed for all to see. It is a proclamation of the glory, the love, and the goodness of God. This is shown by our adoption as children of God, when we are given an inheritance. This inheritance is eternal life and a close relationship with God who restores and heals us. 

The last two years have shown us that humanity desperately needs healing and restoration. This is possible through Christ who can heal our wounds, and restore in us the image of the God who created us. We long for this, we pray for it, and, if we are willing to let God be at work in us, it can become a reality here and now. 

So as we begin 2022, we are grateful that we are able to meet together in worship, and we look forward in hope to a future much brighter than the dark days we have endured. Let us walk in the light of Christ, and know the fullness of His joy. Let us be glad that as a pledge of His Love Christ gives Himself, to feed us with His Body and His Blood. Through the bread and wine of Communion we have a foretaste of Heaven. This is food for our journey of faith here on earth, so that we may know Christ’s love, and touch it and taste it. By participation in the Eucharist, physically or spiritually, we are strengthened to live that faith and to proclaim it by word and deed. So at the start of this new year, we pray that all the world may enter into His joy, live His life, and know His healing. We join with the angels to sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Our Celebration, today and over the next few days of the Birth of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, is something familiar and yet strange. We are very familiar with the story, taken from the accounts of Luke and Matthew, and shown in countless Christmas Cards. And yet, there is something momentous, even mind-blowing, about the fact that God the Creator and ruler of all becomes incarnate in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and is born today in Bethlehem. God becomes helpless, vulnerable, and completely dependant upon Mary and Joseph. Today we are celebrating the fact that God takes a risk, and enters into the world as a human being, to live, to die, and to rise again, for us. Our Creator does this out of love for humanity, to fill us with His love and grace, and so that we might be transformed into His likeness, and spend eternity with Him.

The Four Gospels start their accounts in different ways. Mark’s Gospel begins with Jesus’ public ministry, Matthew and Luke have accounts of Jesus’ birth and infancy. John, however, goes back to the beginning, to the start of everything, the Creation of the Universe in Genesis Chapter One. In the beginning, before the creation of heaven and earth, Jesus was:

‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.’ (Jn 1:1-3)

In the Book of Genesis, God speaks the universe into creation. He does this through His Word, Jesus Christ. That Word is now made flesh, lying in a manger in Bethlehem. He has come to give each and every one of us life and light:

‘In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.’ (Jn 1:4-5)

Our experience over the last eighteen months or so has had its fair share of darkness, despair, and fear. And yet Christ, who is the Light of the World, has not been overcome. Our hope is in the Word made flesh, a light which no darkness can overcome or extinguish. We commit ourselves to this hope today, and every day, knowing that this is a God we can trust, a God who loves us. A God who has experienced all human life from birth to death. A God who knows our pain and our weakness, a God who heals.

We can have the confidence of the prophet Isaiah, to lift our voices in song, knowing that: 

‘the Lord has comforted his people; he has redeemed Jerusalem.’ (Isa 52:9)

Today God’s plan of salvation, the redemption of his people becomes a reality. A baby is wrapped in cloth and laid in a stone feeding trough, so that Jesus’ life begins as it will end. Christ’s Birth mirrors his Burial, so that He can be raised to New Life at Easter, before returning to the Father’s right hand in Heaven. With joy the prophet can proclaim:

‘and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.’ (Isa 52:10)

Today salvation has indeed come to the whole world, and the message of salvation, the message of the Church, can be proclaimed. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews understands that God speaks through his prophets, who look forward to the birth of the Son of God as the defining event, the turning point of human history. The Prophets tell us both how things are and how they will be. We therefore have a vision of God’s future, and the hope of glory in the one who is born today. We can glimpse true glory in the vulnerable baby lying in the manger, dependant upon others for love, and food, and warmth. God’s glory confounds our expectations, and that’s the point. God’s ways are not our ways, nor are His thoughts ours. In the same way that God saves us: not because we are lovable and good, but so that we might become so. Humanity is saved in order to be transformed, and the role of the Church is to extend that transformation across space and time, through you and me, and the whole Christian family of believers. 

Such is the mystery of God’s love. It is something so wonderful that we are not able to fully understand it, but we can experience it, and through experiencing it, we are transformed by it. As the twentieth century Anglican theologian, Austin Farrer wrote: 

‘God does not give us explanations; we do not comprehend the world, and we are not going to. It is and it remains for us a confused mystery of bright and dark. God does not give us explanations; he gives us a Son. Such is the spirit of the angel’s message to the shepherds: “Peace upon earth, good will to men … and this shall be the sign unto you: ye shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger.”’ [Austin Farrer Said or Sung, pp. 27, 28]

Or as St John puts it: ‘in him was life, and the life was the light of men.’ (Jn 1:4). Christ has come among us to transform us. We experience this transformation in Baptism, in the Eucharist. Sacraments: outward visible signs of inward spiritual grace — God’s generous love poured out on us to fill us and to change us into His likeness. And to bring this about God gives us His Son. Christ comes to give us life, new life, eternal life in Him. Freed from our past mistakes and transformed by the love of God, we can live the life of the Kingdom, the life of Heaven here and now. This is ‘glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth’ (Jn 1:14), given to humanity so that we may live as God intended us to. Through Christ we are offered the chance to return to Eden, to see Creation restored, and all things set right. This is the reality of God’s love freely given to restore us to the fullness of life.

So let us embrace God’s love and encourage others to experience the true joy of Christmas. Let all humanity join with the angels to sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen. 

This morning’s Gospel presents a striking scene. It describes the meeting of two cousins: one older, one younger, both pregnant. Neither were expecting to have children, so the whole thing has come as a bit of a shock to them both. Mary goes up from Nazareth to Ein Kerem, which is a few miles west of Jerusalem to see Elizabeth. This is a journey that takes about a week on foot. Luke tells us that Mary goes ‘with haste’ (Lk 1:39). She is rushing to her cousin. Mary has good news to share with Elizabeth: she also is going to have a baby! As well as sharing her news, Mary wants to help her cousin prepare for the birth of her child. Both are filled with joy, and love, and care. As Mary enters the house of Zechariah, something amazing happens:

‘And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.’ (Lk 1:41)

Even before he was born, John recognises Jesus, and leaps for joy. John is a prophet, even in his mother’s womb. He announces the presence of the Saviour. This leads Elizabeth to cry out:

‘Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!’ (Lk 1:42)

Mary is blessed, because she says, ‘Yes’ to God, she accepts God’s invitation to bear the Son of God, the King of Israel, the Saviour of the World. Earlier in Luke’s Gospel the angel Gabriel tells Zechariah that he and Elizabeth will have a son called John. Then Mary is told that she will bear the Son of God, and goes to see Elizabeth. The narrative is fast-paced, with lots happening. Yet, Elizabeth seems to understand the nature of the events. She asks:

‘And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me?’ (Lk 1:43)

Elizabeth understands that Mary is the Mother of God, and that her unborn child, Jesus is God come among us, Emmanuel. Equally, Elizabeth knows that her baby will be a prophet, who will announce the presence of the Lord and prepare His way before Him. She joyfully declares:

‘For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfilment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.’ (Lk 1:44-45)

Mary and Elizabeth trust God to be at work in their lives. They are humble and obedient, and because of this the salvation of humanity can be brought about and announced. Both John the Baptist and Jesus proclaim the Kingdom of God, call people to repent, believe, and be baptised. Their mission starts here with their mothers trusting God’s promises. Mary and Elizabeth demonstrate the humility and obedience which allows to God to be at work in the world, saving His people, made in His image. 

This is why we celebrate Christmas. It is the best news the world has ever had. We prepare for it, we get ready, in the season of Advent. Mary stayed three months (Lk1:56) with Elizabeth to help her prepare. They spent time in prayer, and pondered the amazing world-changing events which were about to take place.

There is a beauty in the way that we put lights on trees, like the one on the Village Green, which proclaim by their illumination the coming of the Light of the World. Christ is coming, we should be ready to greet Him. His arrival is prophesied in Scripture. The prophet Micah declares that the Messiah will be born in Bethlehem:

‘from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.’ (Micah 5:2)

God’s plan of salvation has always been that Jesus should be born, and all of human history from the Creation onwards has been leading up to this point. In Micah’s words, Christ will:

‘shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth. And he shall be their peace.’ (Micah 5:4-5a)

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who cares for us His flock, and lays down His life for us. We can dwell secure because Christ is our peace, and in Him we have the hope of Heaven and the promise of eternal life.

Christ is our Saviour because He shares all our human life, from birth to death. Jesus offers Himself out of love, to take away our sins, to heal our wounds, to restore us. We have, in the words of the Letter to the Hebrews, ‘been sanctified’ (Heb 10:10), made holy. We have been made God’s holy people again. This process continues in the Eucharist. In our communion, whether actual or spiritual, God continues to transform us by His Grace into His likeness.

Our salvation is very close indeed. We can feel it. We know that God keeps His promises. We can prepare to celebrate the Christmas festival with joy, because we know what is about to happen. A baby will be born who will save humanity, whom John the Baptist will recognise as the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. This is the Good news we share with the world around us: that God loves us, was born for us, and dies, and rises again, for us. All that Jesus is and says and does, from His taking flesh in the womb of His mother, His Birth, His Life, Death and Resurrection, proclaims God’s love for us. This is what we are preparing to celebrate: God’s love of humanity. God has always loved us, and always will. God is love. 

So let us prepare to celebrate that love. May it fill our hearts and minds, so that we live lives of love, proclaiming God’s love, so that all the world come to believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen. 

This week our readings and liturgical texts have a joyful character. This is reflected by a change of liturgical colour. On the Third Sunday of Advent, instead of purple, rose may be worn. A lighter, happier colour. Our liturgical colours express something of the character of the day or season we are celebrating, and helps us to enter into the mysteries and live them out in our worship. 

It is fair to say that we are currently in need of good news. Thankfully there is a message of hope and joy in our reading from the prophet Zephaniah. After Jerusalem was sacked by the Babylonians, Zephaniah prophesies its rebuilding and restoration. These prophecies also look to Jesus as the ultimate restoration of Israel, and her true hope:

‘The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; you shall never again fear evil. On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem: “Fear not, O Zion;’ (Zeph 3:15-16)

Christ comes to save His people from fear. This is reinforced in the next verse:

‘The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save’ (Zeph 3:17)

Jesus’ name means ‘God is salvation’, and He comes to save God’s people, which is why the Church celebrates His coming during this Advent season. Christ’s coming will bring healing and reconciliation, something humanity longs for:

‘Behold, at that time I will deal with all your oppressors.And I will save the lame and gather the outcast, and I will change their shame into praise and renown in all the earth.’ (Zeph 3:19)

God longs to heal our sin, to take outcast humanity and gather it into the feast of the Kingdom. God wants to clothe us in a garment of praise and thanksgiving, which is the garment of our Baptism, when we put on Christ. God longs to feed us with Himself, so that we might be nourished by Him, and have life in Him, for all eternity. This is the hope which Advent brings, and it is the cause of our joy.

The knowledge of salvation in the reason for the joy of St Paul and the Christians in Philippi: for them the Lord’s coming is imminent. The message Paul wishes to share with his fellow Christians is: Be happy, pray, and don’t get worried — God in Christ wants to give you peace. This is how we should live as Christians, and we do, though it is good to be reminded of it from time to time. 

Reminding people of profound, and sometimes uncomfortable truths is the cornerstone of the prophetic vocation. In today’s Gospel, John the Baptist begins by warning the people of his own day against spiritual lethargy. It is easy to get complacent, and two thousand years later, we need to hear the same message. John’s words left his original hearers scratching their heads and questioning:

‘“What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.”’ (Lk 3:10-11)

“What then shall we do?” this is the question most, if not all of us, would ask. The answer can be found in verse 8: ‘Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.’ The next step after repentance and belief in God is to live out our faith in our lives. Luke’s Gospel tends to focus on the poor, so John the Baptist’s advice is particularly welcome. Caring for the poor and needy, supplying the basic needs of food and clothing, are the starting point of Christian charity. Once people’s basic needs have been met, then it is possible to start dealing with other problems. This is reflected in the Gospel:

‘Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”’ (Lk 3:12-14)

Tax collectors were well-known in the Ancient World for charging people extra, and keeping the surplus themselves. It was expected, and so the right to collect taxes was auctioned off to the highest bidder. It was a corrupt system, which John seeks to reform. Likewise, soldiers are in a position to misuse their power and use it to extort money from the weak and vulnerable. John makes it clear that this is not how people should behave. 

John’s proclamation of the Good News of the Kingdom leads people to wonder whether he is the Messiah. John the Baptist has this to say on the subject:

‘“I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”’ (Lk 3:16-17)

John understands his mission as to prepare the way for Jesus, who will baptize with the Holy Spirit. Then the chaff of human sin will be burned away, preparing us for Heaven. This is good news, the reason for our everlasting hope, and the cause of our rejoicing.

Christ comes to free the world from the effects of wrongdoing. On the Cross Jesus bears the burden of our misdeeds, healing our wounds and restoring our relationship with God. So let us rejoice and invite others to share in the joy of the Lord so that the world come to believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen. 

Many people, especially children, enjoy opening the doors on an Advent Calendar. They are a daily count down of the days until Christmas, and can contain images from the Christmas story. At home, ours began with a star, which reminds us of the Star that appeared in the sky and was visible above Bethlehem, the star which led the Wise Men from the East. Advent means ‘coming’ and the Church prepares for Jesus’ coming over these four weeks. The star reinforces the idea that Christ’s coming was announced and visible. People could see that something was happening: it was a real event, something amazing and out of the ordinary. Some two thousand years later it remains so.

The Gospel this morning begins with precise historical details. The fifteenth year of the reign of the Emperor Tiberius was from September ad29-August ad30. This detail allows us to know when the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist began. St Luke also tells us the names of the governor of the province of Judea, the names of the various local rulers and the names of the Jewish high-priests for that year. This historical information is useful and tells us something about why St Luke is writing his Gospel. Luke’s Gospel is a work which narrates events that happened in a particular place and at a particular time. These are real historical events. At some point in the twelve month period described, John was inspired to go out into the Judaean desert. There he began to proclaim:

‘a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins’ (Lk 3:3)

The Jews were used to the idea of ritual washing and cleanliness, but this was something more, something which would turn your life around. Repentance means being sorry for what we have done wrong, and vowing not to do it again. It puts us in a position of being able to accept God’s love. Repentance makes it possible for the proclamation of God’s Kingdom. Luke understands John’s prophetic ministry as fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa 40:3-5) which he quotes in verses 4-6 of Chapter 3. John the Baptist is the voice crying in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord.

John prepares the way for Jesus by going before Him, preaching repentance, and calling people back to God. He does this is so that, 

‘all flesh shall see the salvation of God.’(Lk 3:6)

God in Christ is saving His people. This is why we celebrate Jesus’ coming: firstly as a baby in Bethlehem, and then His Second Coming as our Saviour and our Judge. In addition, through the Holy Spirit, Christ comes to us in the Sacraments of the Church and the Scriptures every day. Jesus fills us with the love of God, and transforms us so that we become more like Him. This is Good News, the best news we’ve ever had!

The Book of Baruch is supposed to have been composed by a scribe of the prophet Jeremiah during the exile in Babylon, but was probably written a couple of centuries before the birth of Christ. Today’s reading is from the final chapter, which ends the work by offering Israel consolation. Being cheered up is always a very good thing, especially at the moment, with a new strain of Covid, prices going up, and winter upon us. Something to lift the spirits is particularly welcome. Baruch speaks to Jerusalem and tells her to: 

‘Take off the garment of your sorrow and affliction,…and put on for ever the beauty of the glory from God’ (Bar 5:1)

This prophecy is fulfilled in the baptism first proclaimed by John, then Jesus, and now offered to the world by the Church. We are living proof of the fact that God keeps His promises, we can trust Him. Through our baptism we are able to:

‘Put on the robe of the righteousness that comes from God’ (Bar 5:2)

God makes us righteous, we cannot do it ourselves. Thanks to God’s grace, His unmerited kindness, we are clothed in godliness. Baruch tells Jerusalem to look eastward, to look at the rising sun. This reminds us of the star at Bethlehem which was in the East, and of Christ’s Resurrection on the first Easter. Baruch restates the prophecy of Isaiah that valleys will be filled and hills will be made low: 

‘so that Israel may walk safely in the glory of God.’ (Bar 5:7)

Travel was a dangerous business in the Ancient World, and Baruch’s vision of the Kingdom of God is one of peace and glory: 

‘For God will lead Israel with joy, in the light of his glory, with the mercy and righteousness that come from him.’(Bar 5:9)

This is what happens when Jesus proclaims the Kingdom: prophecy is fulfilled in Him, and we are the living proof of it.

Advent, then, is a joyful time, when we prepare for the coming of the one whom we love, and who loves us. We are free to love God and to serve him, and to invite others to do the same; to be baptised, to turn away from the world, and be fed by Word and Sacrament, built up into a community of love. As St Paul writes: 

‘And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.’ (Phil 1:9-11)

God offers the world a radical alternative, built on love, which is shown most clearly in the Cross, when Jesus died for love of us. God loves us so that we might become lovely, and gave His life for us, so that we may come to share His life . This is our hope. This is the hope proclaimed by the prophets. This is the hope of Advent. We need to live out this hope in our lives. Only then can the world come to believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen. 

Every year in Winter we have a season of four weeks called Advent to prepare for the coming of Christ. During this time we don’t recite the Gloria in excelsis, so that when we say it at Christmas, it may ring out with joy, as we join our voices with the angels celebrating Christ’s birth. The colour for Advent is purple, a dark shade which reminds us both of Christ’s royalty and our penitence. During the next four weeks we prepare for Christmas, our yearly remembrance of Christ’s First Coming in Bethlehem, and For His Second Coming as our Saviour and our Judge. The idea of the Second Coming of Christ tends to make people uncomfortable, and that is understandable. No-one likes the thought of being judged, of being called to account. But the one who will judge us is the God who loves us, and who died for us. God is our judge, but He is the God of love and mercy who has saved and redeemed us by His Death and Resurrection. Thus we can have hope, and prepare to meet Christ with joyful hearts.

In our first reading this morning, the prophet Jeremiah declares that God fulfils His promises: we can trust Him.

‘In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch to spring up for David, and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.’ (Jer 33:15)

This promise, made to the House of David, is fulfilled both by Jesus’ birth and His return in judgement. God promises to save His people and to rule in a way that is far beyond any human idea of justice. Earthly rulers and politicians will, and do, disappoint us: they fall short of our expectations. Any of us would. We need to ask God to intervene. Only God can save us, we cannot save ourselves.

When St Paul wrote to the Church he founded in Thessalonica, the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia (now Greece), they were expecting Jesus to return imminently. 

So Paul prays that God may make them,

‘abound in love for one another and for all, as we do for you, so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints.’ (1Thess 3:12-13)

Love is the key to the Christian Life: God’s love of us, and our love of God and each other. We need God’s help in this, so that we can be genuinely loving, and live the life of the Kingdom, here and now. Each week we confess our sins, listen to God speaking to us in our Bible readings, and we are nourished by God, so that we can grow together in love, and be transformed by Him, and for Him. Part of this transformation happens at the Eucharist. Normally when we eat food, it becomes part of us. But in the Eucharist, we are transformed into Christ’s Body and Blood. Such is the power of God’s grace that by our communion, whether physical or spiritual, we are united with God and our souls are transformed. We become joined with the God who loves us, so that we can live lives of Christian love, expressed in service, which build up the Kingdom and make it visible.

At various points in the Gospels Jesus talks about the end times. There is an expectation that it is imminent, and we should live prepared for it to happen. Christ warns us: 

“But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.” (Lk 21:34-5)

The word ‘dissipation’ is not one we usually hear, it means ‘overindulgence’ or ‘excess’ It is all too easy for Christians to despair about themselves and the world around them, and to give ourselves over to behaviour designed to distract us. We become wrapped up with cares and anxiety, and forget that we can trust Jesus’ promises, and that He has come that we might have life and life in all its fullness. Jesus tells us to be awake and to pray, and Advent is a time for prayerful alertness, focusing on our relationship with God and each other, and living lives of love. 

If we consider the parable in today’s Gospel, the parable of the Fig Tree, two things are apparent. The first is that fig trees are clearly visible and easily recognisable in the Middle Eastern Landscape. This means that, when Our Lord comes it will be apparent to everyone. Secondly, figs as fruit take a long time to ripen. Therefore their appearance shows that the Kingdom of God is close at hand. This long ripening reminds us that we need to be prepared to wait, for all things will happen at their appointed time. Our preparation for Christ’s Coming is the work of a lifetime. It involves a journey of faith, entering into the mystery of God’s love, and letting ourselves be transformed by it. 

What greater present could we offer to Our Lord than hearts filled with love and lives lived in the true freedom proclaimed by the Gospel. At one level, therefore, it does not matter whether the Second Coming is today or in a thousand years time. What matters is that we live lives infused with the values of the Kingdom of God. This is a joyful and yet a serious business. Jesus has taught us what we should be doing, and these are things that we, as Christians, need to do together. As a community we pray for the Grace of God to help us, to strengthen us and fill us with that Love which comes from Him. So that we all may give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen. 

As we all came into church this morning we used the hand sanitiser by the door to cleanse ourselves. Also located by the West door in this, and many other churches, is a font. There is a very good reason that the font is placed by the door. It is because Baptism is how we enter the Church. Baptism therefore takes place where we come in, so that what we do is reinforced by the place where we do it.

We have come here today, in Christian fellowship, to participate in the Eucharist and to pour water over a child’s head in the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He told His disciples to do these things. So for two thousand years Christians have gathered to pray together, to read the Bible, to baptize people, and to celebrate the Eucharist.

Before Jesus began His public ministry He was baptized by His cousin, John the Baptist in the River Jordan. To this day some Christians use rivers and streams to baptize, but that might be rather cold today! As Jesus emerged out of the water, the Gospels tell us that the Holy Spirit appeared in the form of a dove, and that God the Father spoke, saying, ‘This is my beloved Son, listen to Him’. And we do. And so we gather to welcome another child of God into the family of faith, which we call the Church. It is a truly happy occasion and a cause for genuine celebration. The past eighteen months have been a difficult and painful time for all of us, so to have something to celebrate is wonderful news indeed.

In our Baptism we are washed, freed from sin, and raised to new life in Jesus Christ. We are named, known, and loved by God, and become part of a family which extends across space and time, which we call the Church. In a few moments time we will have the newest Christian in the world right here among us, and if that is not a reason for celebration, then I don’t know what is!

Just as the parents and godparents make promises on behalf of this child, we are reminded of the promises which we made, or were made on our behalf. We give our prayerful support as part of a fellowship of faith which lives and grows together in love. Baptism is a public declaration of faith in God: of what we believe as Christians, and of how we live our new life together, as a community united by our shared relationship with God and each other. When we enter the Church through our Baptism we become part of a new family in which we are all brothers and sisters in Christ.

Unfortunately families don’t always get along all of the time. But when we say or do something wrong we say, ‘Sorry’, we try not to do it again, and we forgive each other, because we love each other. The Church is like any other family in this regard. Through Christ we know that God is love, and that God loves us. Jesus gives the Church Baptism and the Eucharist to share new life with us, and so that we can grow together in love and forgiveness. We read the Bible together, we are taught together, we say ‘sorry’ together to God and each other, we pray together, and we are nourished by the Eucharist together. And week by week, and year by year, these things change us, so that we become more and more like Jesus.

This journey begins with our Baptism, but it doesn’t end there. As we grow in faith in our lives, we develop. None of us are the same person we were two years ago. We are older, and wiser, and hopefully more loving and generous. These changes can be hard to see, but they do happen. Such gradual change is never going to make the headlines, but it is the key to living a Christian life. By living like Christ, with God’s help, and a lot of love and prayer, we are prepared for heaven. The rôle of the Church is to get us ready for Heaven, to spend eternity with the God who loves us. The support of our fellow Christians helps us to grow in love and faith, and as we do, to transform the world around us.

If we live lives characterised by love and forgiveness, it affects what we do, and who we are. By living out our faith in our lives we can change the world for the better. This is what Jesus came to teach humanity, and it is why we pray,

‘deled dy deyrnas, gwneler dy ewyllys; megis yn y nef, felly ar y ddaear hefyd.

thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’

If we want God’s kingdom to be a reality, then we have to do God’s will, to help bring it about. We have each been invited to play our part, and to work together to make the world a better place. It is all about co-operation, with God, and with each other.

It is good that we are celebrating a christening on this the Feast of Christ the King, because it stresses the fact that Jesus, as God, is the supreme ruler of Heaven and Earth. We want to see His Kingdom come, so we do His will. We live lives of love, forgiveness, and generosity, because this is how God wants us to live. This is how we flourish as human beings. By doing so we help to make the Kingdom of God a bit more visible here on earth, and we are made ready for Heaven, where we hope to enjoy God’s love in His presence.

So let us all live out the full reality of our Baptism, and encourage others to join God’s family and do His will. Let us sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

For over one hundred years people in this country have gathered on the Sunday closest to Armistice Day to give thanks to Almighty God for all who have served and died for the peace in which we live. We give thanks for those who continue to serve and protect us. We are grateful that the Armed Services have helped administer the vaccine against Coronavirus, playing their part to keep this country safe, and to save lives. We give thanks for the work of the Royal British Legion, raising money to support service personnel for one hundred years, and wish them continued success.

When we recall the sacrifice made by people from the villages in which we live, from this country and from all over the world, our remembrance must be an active one which has an effect on our lives. We recall the generosity of those who have tried to ensure that we can live lives free from warfare and suffering. Such generosity must leave a mark on our lives, and help us to learn from the mistakes of the past and try not to repeat them in the future.

There is no-one who has not been touched by the events of the past one hundred years. Many people, members of our own families, gladly offered, and still continue to offer themselves for the safety and security of humanity. An act of remembrance has a deeper significance when we know that members of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces are on active service overseas, working for peace and stability, for a safer, fairer, world, where people can live in peace and plenty. We remember too all the victims of warfare, the countless millions who have lost their lives in a century characterised by conflict. Our reaction will, of necessity, be a complex one: a mixture of sadness and thankfulness, gratitude and grief. While we are grateful to live in a country at peace, we cannot fail to be moved by the cost of military and civilian lives, throughout the world, which continues to this day. 

Peace is not simply the absence of war, but the right ordering of the world around us. It means living the way God wants us to live, in harmony, and love, one with another. That is why peacemakers are children of God. To live in peace is the will of God. God wants humanity to flourish. What peacemakers do reflects what Jesus Christ has done for us: 

‘Ac, wedi iddo wneuthur heddwch trwy waed ei groes ef, trwyddo ef gymodi pob peth ag ef ei hun; trwyddo ef, meddaf, pa un bynnag ai pethau ar y ddaear, ai pethau yn y nefoedd’

‘and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.’ (Colossians 1:20). 

Christ’s sacrifice inspired many of our forebears. Christ bought us peace by the shedding of His own blood. In the face of anger and aggression, Jesus’ response was love. Christ is our peace, and Christians are called to follow Him. We do so knowing that the Cross, like our Cenotaph, is not a place of shame and defeat, but rather victory. The love of God has triumphed, and all will be well. 

Does God want us to fight? No! War may be just, and undertaken for the right reasons, but we are supposed to live in peace. Human nature longs for wealth and power and is willing to stop at nothing to acquire it. Christ, however, shows us another way — the way of love and gentleness, which longs to heal and reconcile. This is what Christ proclaimed on earth, and continues to do — to draw people into the peace of the Kingdom of God, where wounds are healed and divisions reconciled.

We are thankful for those who sacrificed themselves for us, and we honour their memory by treasuring peace won at so great a cost. We are serious about peace, because it is the will of God, and the means of human flourishing. It is precious, and it is for everyone. We are thankful that we are alive and able to give thanks for those who gave their lives for us, and we commit ourselves to being peacemakers in our own lives, in our community, and in our world. What greater tribute could there be to the fallen than for us to work for a world where all may live in peace and security, for such is the Kingdom of God. By doing this we honour their memory and share the treasure they have given us with humanity.We are called to be generous, after the example of Generous God, who loved us so much that He gave His Son to die for us.

God’s Kingdom is a radical place which seeks to transform humanity into the image of Our Loving Creator. For two thousand years Christians have been living lives of love and service. We continue in church, in chapel, and in our daily live, to make God’s Kingdom a reality here and now, through what Christ has done for us, and the sacrifice of our forebears. 

We will remember them.

Today’s first reading is from the First Book of Kings. Elijah the Tishbite has proclaimed that God is not happy at the religious changes undertaken by Ahab, King of Israel and his wife Jezebel. They are worshipping false gods and setting up idols, breaking the First and Second Commandments of Moses. There is to be a three-year long drought, which will have dire consequences for the people of Israel. 

The Lord tells Elijah to go to Zarephath on the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon between Tyre and Sidon, where a widow will feed him. Elijah asks the widow for water and bread, as she is gathering sticks to make a fire. The situation is a dire one. The widow is preparing a last meal for her son and herself, after which they expect to die. She does not tell Elijah to go away, but instead does what he asks of her. In doing so, the widow demonstrates humility and obedience, and will be rewarded for her actions. 

At one level the story can appear strange to our modern eyes. Here is a poor woman on the margins of society, without a husband to support her, about to use up the very last of her food. Along comes a stranger who asks her for food and drink, and she obliges him. Hospitality, showing kindness to strangers is a crucial aspect of human society. All of us would happily share what we have with guests, and visitors. Food tastes better when it is shared. 

Elijah addresses the widow and begins:

“Do not fear; go and do as you have said.” (I Kings 17:13)

Just like Jesus in the Gospels, Elijah begins by saying, ‘Paid ag ofni’ ‘Do not be afraid’. He then prophesies that the widow and her son will have the food they need:

“For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” (I Kings 17:14)

God performs a miracle, and the widow is rewarded for her generosity. She has risked everything by giving away what little she had and in turn receives more than she could have asked for. 

In this morning’s Gospel Jesus is teaching in the Temple in Jerusalem. He begins by criticising the religious elite:

“Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes and like greetings in the market-places and have the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honour at feasts, who devour widows’ houses and for a pretence make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation (Mk 12:38-40)

Jesus begins by pointing out that the scribes like to be ostentatious in their practice of religion. They parade their faith, so that people will see how overtly pious they are. As someone who walks around in long robes and sits in the front of churches, I feel somewhat uncomfortable when I read these words. However, I wear what I wear, and sit where I sit to serve and honour God, and not myself. The scribes make themselves rich by preying on the vulnerable and marginalised, and their prayers are long so that they can demonstrate how religious they are.

Jesus then turns His attention towards the giving of donations:

“And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.” (Mk 12:41-42)

At an instinctive level we tend to see generosity in terms of the size of the donation. This was the case in the Temple where there were thirteen donation chests that had trumpet-shaped flared funnels on top of them. Rich people would deposit large amounts of money which would make a lot of noise. It was an ostentatious way of saying, ‘Look at me and how generous I am!’. The widow’s gift seems very small and quiet by comparison. Jesus then explains his teaching:

‘And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”’ (Mk 12:43-44)

The important thing to realise is not how much was given in monetary terms, or the noise it makes, but what the gift represents. The widow is poor, she has very little, but gives all that she has to the glory of God. Just like the widow of Zarephath, who shares her food, this widow is an example of generosity. The rich people can afford to give their gift, and make a great show out of giving it. Their gift does not affect them, or alter their lives in any way. However, the poor widow gives away all her money, and is left, literally, penniless.

The idea of giving everything away brings us to the second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews. The passage contrasts earthly ideas of priesthood, sacrifice and temples, and their heavenly realities. Christ is our great high priest, who offers Himself, on our behalf, as an offering to God the Father, out of love. This takes place on the Cross, at Calvary. God, in Christ, gives everything — the life of the Son of God is offered freely, to reconcile what sin has thrust apart. Jesus is the greatest example of generosity that exists. This is the heart of the Christian Faith: Christ dies for us and rises again to heal the wounds of sin and division and to open up the way to heaven for those who believe in Him. Jesus appears ‘in the presence of God on our behalf’ (Heb 9:24). 

Thanks to the generosity of God we have the hope of Heaven, where we can join the angels and saints in singing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

For the next two weeks or so, world leaders are gathering in Glasgow for an International Conference on Climate Change. The situation humanity faces is a desperate one, and unless every nation tries to take better care of the world in which we live, the life for succeeding generations will be very bleak indeed. Thankfully it is not to late to do something, and avert a crisis. There are things which we can and should do to take care of the world around us. The world is God’s creation, and not ours, we have stewardship of it, and stewards are called to take care of what is entrusted to them, and not to squander or misuse their precious charge. 

The Gospel reading this morning comes from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ teaching at the start of His public ministry known as the Beatitudes. In a manner reminiscent of Moses giving the Law to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai, Jesus goes up a mountain and teaches the assembled crowds. Just as Moses had taught God’s people how to live, so now Jesus announces the reality of the Kingdom of God, a radical vision, which turns the values of the world upside down. He begins: 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5:3)

This seems a strange way to begin. ‘Poor in spirit’ is not a term we are used to using, but it means the exact opposite of pride. It places humility as key to living a Christian life: knowing who we are, and our need for God. Only if we rely upon God, and not ourselves, and ask Him to work through us can we truly live out the Christian life. Christianity is a religion for the humble, not the proud. Humility recognises that we are in a mess, and that we cannot sort things out ourselves: we need help, from other people, and most of all from God. 

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Mt 5:4)

The world around us sells us dreams of happiness; but sadness and loss are an inescapable part of human life. We mourn those we love, those whom we see no longer in this life. Their passing does not stop us missing them and wanting to hold them, and talk to them. Our parting, while temporary, is still very painful. Thankfully the Kingdom of God, which Christ comes to bring, is a place of healing and comfort with the promise of eternal life. God heals our wounds and longs for us to enjoy eternity in His presence. The Kingdom is a place where this healing is a reality, where through love and forgiveness enemies are reconciled, and become friends. 

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Mt 5:5)

This verse is particularly striking. The world around us tends to see things in terms of power, economic, and political. The rich and powerful are in charge. But God has other ideas: the meek will inherit the earth. To be meek is to be gentle, quiet, and unassuming. In the media it often feels as though those who talk the loudest are most often heard. God’s plan is different. Gentle people are not weak: they know how to use their strength, and how not to use it. As Jesus will later say in Matthew’s Gospel: ‘Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.’ (Mt 11:29). This is how God wants us to live as human beings. Jesus Christ is the example of gentleness we must follow. Once again, God’s vision of the future turns our human expectations upside down. If we live like this, then things can, and will, change for the better.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” (Mt 5:6)

Should we be devoted to God? Absolutely! Should we pray that God’s will is done on earth as it is in Heaven? Of course! Jesus taught us to pray this way. Our faith should influence how we live our lives, so that we work together for the coming of God’s Kingdom here on earth. Clearly God wants to see our world transformed and has invited us to help in the process; and doing so gives us fulfilment, the satisfaction of seeing the reality of the Kingdom. 

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Mt 5:7)

We see what God’s mercy looks like in Christ’s death for us on the Cross. In following Christ’s example, we ask for forgiveness for our own sins, and forgive those who sin against us. This forgiveness can transform us and the world around us, and it is how the healing and reconciliation of God’s Kingdom functions in practice. 

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Mt 5:8)

To be pure in heart is to want what God wants: to align our will with the will of God. It is to be saintly, and thus have the promise of Heaven, which is less of a place or a time, and much more a relationship. To see God is know Him, and to know His love for us. This is what Christ comes to restore to humanity, and it is our hope. 

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Mt 5:9)

First and foremost, we know that Christ is the Son of God because He made ‘peace by the blood of his cross’ (Colossians 1:20). We too are called to follow Christ’s example and take up our Cross, and work for peace. Peace in our own hearts and lives, in our families and communities and in our world.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.” (Mt 5:10-11)

Following Jesus will not make us popular, often quite the opposite. If, however, we want to see God’s Kingdom as a reality in this life and the next, then we must be prepared to be shunned, or even ridiculed by others. To follow Christ is to take up the Cross, and to expect persecution, and false accusation. But we are not alone in this, Christ has gone before us, showing us that the story does not end with death on a Cross, but the glory of the Resurrection and Eternal life. 

If we want to become saints, then we have to be like Christ, and share in His suffering and death. We have to be prepared to be rejected by the world, and dismissed as irrelevant. We may not face imprisonment, torture and death in this country, but many Christians around the world do. However, we may be scorned, ignored, or patronised. What do we do in such circumstances? We are called to be loving, generous, and forgiving, because that is what Jesus has shown us. We can be different to the world around us because we belong to a new community, the community of faith, built on our relationship with Jesus Christ, who came to save humanity from itself. He came that we might have life and have it to the full, and that is what the Beatitudes mean. By living the life of God’s Kingdom here and now, we can live the life of Heaven here on earth. This is what God wants us to do, and it is what Jesus showed us how to do it.

So may we, on this feast of All Saints, be filled with courage, and be ready to tune our lives to God’s will and live as good stewards of God’s world. Let us live the life of the Kingdom together, and encourage others so that all may join the choirs of Heaven to sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

The Road from Jericho to Jerusalem is steep, winding and dangerous. It is the road on which the man is attacked who is helped by the Good Samaritan in the Parable in Luke’s Gospel. It is along this road that Jesus and His disciples will travel, a journey of sixty miles to go to celebrate the Passover. In today’s Gospel, Jesus and the disciples are surrounded by a great crowd. They are attracted by Our Lord’s preaching and His miracles. As the group leaves Jericho they meet beggars by the roadside. One of them, Bartimaeus on learning that it is Jesus cries out,

“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mk 10:47)

Bartimaeus recognises Jesus’ prophetic calling and asks for mercy. We do the same at the beginning of every Eucharist when we say, ‘Christe eleison, Crist trugarha, Christ have mercy’. The people around Bartimaeus tell him off. They tell him to be quiet, to stop causing a commotion. However, he does not listen to them, but instead he cries out all the more,

“Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mk 10:48)

Bartimaeus is desperate. He longs for God’s mercy, he longs for healing. Bartimaeus may be blind, but he sees what many others cannot: that Jesus is the Messiah, the one who will heal and restore Israel. His faith in Jesus and his insistence pays off, as Jesus stops and asks to see him. 

And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” (Mk 10:50-51)

Blind Bartimaeus does not want to beg for alms, he wants to see again, and he trusts Jesus to be able to do something about it. 

And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mk 10:52)

Without even touching Bartimaeus, Jesus heals him. It is because of his trust and faith in Jesus, that Bartimaeus is healed. Note that instead of rushing off, Bartimaeus follows Jesus, living the life of faith there and then. He is healed and immediately becomes a follower of Jesus. Bartimaeus longed for the light and now he follows Jesus, the Light of the world. This healing miracle becomes a story of faith, and in that faith we too can follow Jesus. 

The first followers of Jesus were known as followers of the Way, (Acts 9:2) and this is what Bartimaeus becomes; he follows Jesus on the way, both literally and metaphorically. He trusts Jesus, he has faith in Him, and he follows Him. In Mark’s Gospel the story of Bartimaeus acts as a bridge between the teaching and miracles of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee and His time in Jerusalem which leads up to His death. Jesus will enter Jerusalem on a donkey, as the Messiah, and will teach the people of Jerusalem how to follow God, fulfilling the hope and expectation of the prophets. Bartimaeus has faith which allows him to see, whereas the people of Jerusalem cannot see that Jesus is the Messiah, they are blind, whereas Bartimaeus can see, and follows Jesus on the Way.

We too are on the Way, followers of Jesus, who long for the healing and restoration which sees Bartimaeus go from beggar to disciple. Israel hoped for this as well. In the first reading this morning Jeremiah is looking forward to a Messianic future, even at the point when people are being led away to captivity in Babylon: 

‘For thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, …. and say,
    ‘O Lord, save your people, the remnant of Israel.’”’ (Jer 31:7)

‘Behold, I will bring them from the north country and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, ….With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, …. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born’ (Jer 31:8-9)

At a low-point in Israel’s history, with the Temple destroyed and the people led off into captivity, Jeremiah can look to the future in hope, trusting that God will lead His people back. This hope is realised in Jesus, whose name means ‘God saves’. It is Jesus who brings us back to the Father, as true children of God. As well as being the Messiah, Jesus is also our great high-priest, who offers the sacrifice which takes away sin, and restores the relationship between God and humanity. Unlike the priests of the Temple, Jesus could offer Himself as a perfect offering, as a royal priest, the true King of Israel. In Genesis (14:18-19), Melchizedek blesses Abram:

‘And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) And he blessed him and said,“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth’

As Melchizedek brings out bread and wine, so Jesus will take bread and wine, and institute the Eucharist as the Messianic banquet, for the healing of the nations: to transform us, and so that we can share God’s glory forever. 

So may we be strengthened by Word and Sacrament to live the life of faith, and like Bartimaeus, to follow Jesus on the way that leads to Heaven. Let us give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

The Apostles James and John, the sons of Zebedee are also known as ‘Boanerges’, which means ‘The Sons of Thunder’. This name fits them to some extent as there is something quite loud and brash about the two brothers. The Gospel reading this morning is a good example of this. It begins by the brothers coming up to Jesus and asking Him, 

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.” (Mk 10 35)

That is a very bold request to make of anyone, let alone Jesus. But Our Lord does not seem shocked, surprised, or upset. Instead He replies quite calmly, 

“What do you want me to do for you?” And they said to him, “Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory.” (Mk 10:36-37)

This is quite something to ask for. It is really shocking. But there are some surprising assumptions underlying the disciples’ request. First, there is the assumption that Jesus will be glorified. Secondly that, as one possessing glory, Jesus really is the Messiah and the Son of God. Thirdly, James and John are asking for the seats of honour, to be Jesus’ right and left hand men, to be the leaders of the disciples. Jesus does not overreact, or get angry with them. Instead, He simply states,

“You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (Mk 10:38)

Jesus is absolutely correct. The sons of Zebedee have no idea what they are asking for. Jesus then asks them if they are able to drink the cup He will drink, or to share His baptism. Presumably James and John have no idea of what Jesus means by this, but in their enthusiasm, they readily agree. In the verses which come before today’s reading, Jesus has been teaching the Twelve for the third time that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer and die. At this point in the Gospel narrative, Jesus is making His final journey from Galilee up to Jerusalem, prior to His Passion and Death. Rather than being a military ruler bringing liberation to Israel, the Messiah will, in fact, be a Suffering Servant, as spoken of by the prophet Isaiah.

And Jesus said to them, “The cup that I drink you will drink, and with the baptism with which I am baptized, you will be baptized, but to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.” (Mk 10:39-40)

Jesus does not tell James and John off, but He does prophesy that they will likewise face a violent end. It is not for Jesus to decide who will sit next to Him in Heaven. The conversation has, however, clearly upset the other disciples, who are not happy with James and John’s attempt to seek preeminence. Again, rather than telling them off, Jesus uses the opportunity to teach the disciples.

And when the ten heard it, they began to be indignant at James and John. And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.”(Mk 10:41-42)

We are used to seeing depictions of Roman Emperors in films on TV. They wear purple clothes, the most expensive dye in the Ancient World, and they are treated as though they have an almost divine status. They are shown as absolute rulers, whose words and whims have to obeyed. In contrast to this, Jesus offers the Twelve a different paradigm:

“But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”(Mk 10:43-45)

Those who are to lead the Church are called to a life of service, of God and of others. The disciples are called to serve others, and not to seek power or prestige for themselves. The life of Jesus Christ, who gives his life ‘as a ransom for many’ (Mk 10:45) is our example. Christ willingly lays down His life to liberate people for God, to free them from death and sin, and to offer us eternal life in Heaven with God. This is why we celebrate Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection. The Cross and the Empty Tomb are the heart of our faith because they demonstrate God’s love for us. God loves each of us enough to die for us, and rises on the third day to show us that our eternal destiny is to enjoy God’s love forever in Heaven. The Christian Church proclaims this Gospel truth, and encourages all people to share in the gift God offers to us.

The first reading this morning is the second half of the fourth, and final, Servant Song of the prophet Isaiah, which we hear in full on Good Friday. The Church, from the time of the Apostles, has understood these verses as referring to Jesus. They speak of His passion, His Suffering and Death, for us. Christ fulfils the Scriptures and they find their true meaning in Him. In worldly terms, Jesus looks like a failure: He is deserted, denied, and dies the death of a common criminal. But we are not to judge by the standards of this world: ‘it shall not be so among you’ (Mk 10:43).

As Christians, we are being faithful to Christ. We are holding fast to our beliefs, because they are true, because they come from Him who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Through our faith we can ‘have confidence to draw near to the throne of grace and receive help in time of need’ (Heb 4:16). Our relationship with God is a mystery, not something to be explained, but something both to be experienced and lived out. It is a mystery which we will enter into this morning when Christ, as priest and victim, offers Himself for us. We receive Him, either spiritually or under the outward form of bread, and are transformed by Him, and enjoy the loving presence of God here and now and forever in Heaven. 

In living out God’s truth in our lives we live a service which is perfect freedom. In conforming ourselves to Christ we find meaning and identity. So let us lay down our lives that we may live fully and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Every so often it is a good thing to take a step beck and take time to consider the things we do and why we do them. As humans, created in the image and likeness of God, we do not worship creation, but our Creator. We recognise in the goodness of creation a generous God. The practice of coming together to offer our praise and thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bounty of the natural world, and for a harvest safely gathered in, is an ancient and honourable thing. The Ancient Israelites gave thanks for their life in the promised land, and we do likewise. As part of our worship of God, we offer Him the best of all that we have as a response to His bounteous generosity to us every day of our lives. 

When this church was built its congregation, who lived on and worked the land, would gather on the 1^st August for Lammas (Loaf-Mass) to give thanks for a successful grain harvest. During the renewal of the Church in the nineteenth century the idea of a harvest celebration became popular once again. Naturally, we want to say, ‘Thank you’ to God for all that we have received from Him. That is right and proper. One way in which we can express our gratitude to God is by doing our best to care for the natural world around us and for the members of our community. This we do today by our collection of donations for the local food bank — much needed by many in these difficult times. 

In today’s first reading, the author prizes wisdom and understanding above all else. Without these things we act foolishly. Wealth, health, and human beauty — all the things of this world — are not worth anything, unless they are used well. God has given them to us for a purpose, so that we may flourish, and help others to thrive.  

The Gospel reading this morning starts with an important question. A man asks Jesus:

“Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” (Mk 10: 17) 

Jesus answers by stressing the importance of the moral law we know as the Ten Commandments, which were given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. These rules show us how our love of God and neighbour affects how we live our lives: we are called to live lives of generous love. Jesus  also says:

“Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.” (Mk 10:18)

Because Jesus is both God and man, He is good. He is a good teacher because He teaches the Truth, and He is the Truth (Jn 14:6). Jesus apparent refusal of the title ‘good’ reinforces the importance of humility for Christians. We need to be humble, and know our need of God.

The man tells Jesus that he has kept the Commandments since childhood, but wants to know if there is anything else he should do.

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mk 10:21-22)

Jesus looks at the man and loves him, because God is Love. God loves us. That is why He sent Jesus to be born among us, to proclaim the Good News to us, to die for us, and rise again. This is the heart of our faith: that God loves us. If I said nothing else to you this morning, or in the future, I say this: ‘Know that you are loved by God, and let this love transform your life’. Jesus calls the man to live out his faith by adopting radical generosity. This is difficult: I know that measured by such a standard, each and every one of us, myself included, regularly fails to live up to this ideal. So what can we do about it?

Some people are willing and able to fully comply with Jesus’ teaching and embrace radical poverty for the sake of the Kingdom. For example, by giving up all they possess, joining a religious community, and living lives of prayer and service. But all of us need to take to heart the advice of the Letter to the Hebrews:

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:16)

There are times in our lives when we have to do all sorts of difficult things, and if we were to rely solely upon our own strength and talents, then we will, undoubtedly, flounder at times. We are not meant to act alone, but as part of a community which looks to God as its strength. ‘I’ can’t, but God can, so let Him. When we rely upon God’s mercy and grace, His generous love towards us, then amazing things can and do happen.

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mk 10:27)

To be a Christian is to be conscious of the generous love of God, which should make us generous in return, so that we live lives of generous love, in imitation of the one who loved us, Jesus Christ. Here we see the real meaning of our celebration of Harvest: God has been generous to us, so we should likewise be generous. If we are feeding the hungry and caring for the poor, then we are helping to make the Kingdom of God a reality, here and now. This is a good thing, and it is how God wants us to live.

Our desire to work for a world where none are hungry, where all are loved, requires our cooperation with the will of God, and our trust in Him. When we are fed by His Word and by the Eucharist our lives can be transfigured, and our faith strengthened and renewed. This gives us the strength to put our faith into action to change the world around us, transforming it to the will of God. So that everyone will sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

The Gospel reading this morning reaches its climax with Jesus using a child to teach the disciples a lesson in humility by presenting one of the weakest and most vulnerable people in society as an example. Jesus reminds us that all human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, and as such are of infinite worth.

Jesus and His disciples are passing through Galilee for what proves to be the last time, before He makes his way to Jerusalem for His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Once again Christ teaches the disciples about what is going to happen. It is likely that Jesus referred to passages in Scripture which prophecy about His Passion, such as our first reading this morning from the Book of Wisdom. In the passage wicked men are plotting the downfall and death of a righteous man:

‘Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions; he reproaches us for sins against the law, and accuses us of sins against our training.’ (Wisdom 2:12)

This verse encapsulates the approach taken by the Scribes and Pharisees in the Passion narrative. Throughout the Gospels Jesus criticises the Pharisees for keeping the Letter of the Law, but being far from its Spirit. His enemies will see Jesus condemned to a shameful death, and as He dies they wait to see if God will deliver Him. It is easy to see how before His Death it would be hard for people to understand Jesus’ teaching, but once He had died and risen again, everything would become clear. 

‘But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to ask him.’ (Mk 9:32)

Admitting that you do not understand something is difficult. The disciples are confused and afraid. They do not want to own up to their lack of understanding, so instead, they focus upon themselves and their own importance:

‘And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.’ (Mk 9:33-34)

The disciples are silent, because they are embarrassed. They know that what they were discussing was basically pointless, and against Jesus’ teaching regarding the Kingdom. Jesus does not tell His disciples off, instead He instructs them: 

‘And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.”’ (Mk 9:35-37)

Jesus sits down, adopting the position of the teacher in the Ancient World, and then He teaches. The Kingdom of God tends to turn human values upside down, and this is no exception. Leaders are called to be servants. The Evangelist uses the Greek word diakonos which means ‘servant’. From this we get the word ‘deacon’. Jesus is telling The Twelve that they need to be deacons, and that leadership involves serving others, not being important. To reinforce His point Jesus puts a child in front of them, and then embraces the child. In the Ancient World children lacked rights, or status, and, like children today, were dependent upon adults. By embracing someone weak and powerless, Jesus is showing the disciples that God’s Kingdom sees things differently from the world.

Christianity has been described as ‘a religion for the weak and feeble-minded, attractive to social undesirables, the silly, the mean, the stupid, women, and children’. [Origen Contra Celsum 3:44 & 3:59 ] These were the words of Celsus, a pagan critic of Christianity, quoted by Origen in the mid 3rd century AD. It is, in fact, a religion for everyone. All are welcome. At its heart, Christianity is a religion of paradox, where strength is shown in weakness. This is especially true of the Cross, where God shows us that sacrificial love can change the world, heal our wounded souls, and restore broken humanity. The Mystery of the Cross, is part of the enigma of God’s Love. In a moment of weakness and powerlessness, where evil and sin appear to have triumphed, we see the supreme demonstration of Love, an act of such generosity which has the power to reconcile and heal humanity.

Christians are called to be like this child: weak, powerless, insignificant, and humble. Through such humility God welcomes humanity back into a personal relationship, offering us His love. Opposed to this is the desire for power and prestige which sees the disciples arguing over who is the greatest, or the quarrels dealt with in the Letter of James. Rather than argument, however, a Christian community should be characterised by peace:

‘But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.’ (James 3:17-18)

This is a description of love in action, lived out in a way that builds people up. It is what Christ demonstrates to us as how we should be as Christians. We are called to live in a way which offers the world an alternative to striving after power, wealth and influence. True greatness will often look like weakness and servility in the world’s eyes. It doesn’t matter. What matters is living a life characterised by sacrificial self-giving love. Love can only be offered. Love can be accepted or rejected. Love lies at the heart of any relationship.

Acknowledging our own shortcomings is the first step in a process whereby God can be at work in our lives, transforming us more and more into His likeness. We need God’s grace to be at work in us. Recognising this is a sign of humility: accepting our need for God. This is not weakness, quite the opposite. Through our complete reliance upon God and His Grace, we prepare ourselves for Heaven where we hope to sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

In Today’s Gospel, Jesus asks a question, ‘Who do you say that I am?’ (Mk 8:29) Jesus asks His disciples this question, and He also asks each and every one of us the same thing.  This question is central to Mark’s Gospel, and it is crucial to our faith and understanding. Who do we say that Jesus is? Many people can see Jesus as a charismatic healer, or a revolutionary rabbi, but is that all He is, or He something more?

Our response to Jesus’ question should be the same as Peter’s, ‘You are the Christ’ (Mk 8:29). Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One, the Saviour, the one who brings salvation. There is some confusion among the people, who see Jesus as John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets. These prophets call people to repentance, and prepare the way for the Messiah, they point to Christ, but they are not Him. 

After Peter’s profession of faith, Jesus teaches His disciples concerning His Passion and Death, He explains what is about to happen. Jesus goes on to explain to His disciples:

‘that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.’ (Mk 8:31) 

Because Jesus is who He is — that is the Messiah, the Son of God — then He has to die, and His disciples need to understand this. The first reading this morning from the prophet Isaiah is taken from one of the Servant Songs. The Servant Songs are passages which describe how God’s servant will be mistreated, falsely accused, and killed.

‘I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.’ (Isaiah 50:6)

This verse anticipates the beatings that Christ receives before and after His Trial, and His general mistreatment. People will spit at Him, insult Him, and blame Him. Jesus will become a scapegoat, He will bear our sins. Jesus teaches His disciples by explaining how this passage, and especially Chapters 52 and 53 of the prophet Isaiah, clearly foretell what is about to happen. This why they are read in church on Good Friday, grounding the most important event in salvation history in its scriptural context.

Jesus’ words about the suffering He must face have a strong effect upon Peter. He has faith, he believes that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, but the idea that Jesus has to suffer and die is just too much for him. So, Peter argues with Jesus:

‘And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and seeing his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”’ (Mk 8:32-33)

Despite only a few moments ago making a groundbreaking declaration of faith, now Peter is now told off in the strongest possible terms. Peter has faith, but lacks understanding, and can only understand on a human level. His heart is in the right place, but Peter often makes a mess of things. He is impulsive, flawed, and human. Jesus has to reject the idea that He can fulfil His mission without suffering and death. He knows that was born for this: God became a human being in the womb of Mary for this reason, to suffer and die for humanity and to reconcile us to God and each other. 

Jesus then explains how the Cross is central to all who follow Him:

‘And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it.”’ (Mk 8:34-35)

Not only must Jesus embrace the Cross, but He calls everyone who follows Him to do the same. You and I are called by Christ to lay down our lives and follow Him, to take up the Cross, and embrace the way of suffering love. We have to deny ourselves. Denying ourselves means that we don’t put ourselves, or our thoughts and desires at the centre of our lives — we put God there, where He belongs. God gives us grace to do this: through prayer, through reading the Bible, through the Sacraments, and through the support of our Christian community, to help us.

We have to take up our Cross. The Cross is an instrument of torture and death, and it means pain and suffering. That is not pleasant or easy. We can understand why Peter says what he does, but the Christian life is not easy or without suffering. Mother Teresa, St Teresa of Calcutta once said that: 

“Suffering is a sign that we have come so close to Jesus on the cross that he can kiss us and that he can show that he is in love with us by giving us an opportunity to share in his passion.” (My Life for the Poor, 77) 

When we suffer, we are close to Christ, we share in His Passion, and are conformed to His image. It is part of the mystery of God’s love, that it can transform us, but that transformation is not always pleasant or easy. However, becoming Christ-like enables us to more profoundly experience God’s love. 

We need to follow Jesus, we have to do what He says. This is difficult, but it is something which we do together, as a community, as a Church. Love and forgiveness sound easy in theory, but in practice they are not. They make demands on us, and compel us to do things that we might not like to do. We can, however, support each other, and also we can rely upon the grace of God to help us as we try to follow in Jesus’ footsteps.  

Our Faith is first and foremost about our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, who loves us so much that He dies for us. He takes away our sins, and restores our relationship with God and each other. And He gives himself here to us today, under the outward forms of bread and wine, in His Body and His Blood, to heal us, and restore us. Our faith is revealed by our actions. The Letter of James makes this very clear. Faith needs to be put into practice by how we live our lives. We carry our cross by exhibiting the same generous love that God shows us in Christ. This is how we can both cooperate with God’s grace and transform the world, so that all may come to believe and sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Today’s readings begin with the prophet Isaiah, who is well-known for containing prophecies regarding the Messiah. His is a hopeful message, of a joyful future, which envisages the healing and restoration of Israel. These prophecies are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. 

‘Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.’ (Isaiah 35:5-6)

The Messiah helps to bring about the Kingdom of God, and the sign that it is here are these miraculous healings. They speak of a God who loves us, who longs to see humanity healed and restored. The mention of water in the desert and wilderness looks forward to John’s Gospel, where Jesus states:

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (Jn 7:37-38)

Christ comes to give us healing and to fill us with the Holy Spirit. We experience living water in Baptism, when we are renewed and born again in Christ. The water is a sign of the Holy Spirit, God’s love active in the world, which heals and inspires His people. 

In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus leaves Capernaum after His discussions with the Pharisees and heads north, before returning to Galilee. The route He takes has troubled scholars, but rather than going over the mountains to Tyre and Sidon, Jesus goes around them, which ensures that both He and His disciples have access to fresh water, a key practical consideration in such an arid landscape. Jesus goes into a house and is approached by a woman whose daughter is suffering, begging for deliverance for her child. So Jesus replies:

‘“Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”’ (Mk 7: 27)

At first sight, the passage is difficult. Jesus appears to be insulting the woman because she is not Jewish, which is not a loving response. It is possible that Jesus’ reply is a reference to the following verse from the Book of Exodus:

‘“You shall be consecrated to me. Therefore you shall not eat any flesh that is torn by beasts in the field; you shall throw it to the dogs.”’ (Exodus 22:31

This makes sense given the preceding discussion of ritual purity with the Pharisees, which we read last week. Rather than seeing the Messiah as a Jewish Saviour for Jewish people, Jesus is in fact the Saviour of the world, not bound by ethnic concerns. Such concerns do not affect the mother in the Gospel, she simply wants her daughter to be healed, and has no truck with exclusive visions of religion. So she responds,

“Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mk 7: 28)

At which point Jesus performs a healing miracle at a distance:

‘And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.’ (Mk 7: 29-30)

The woman makes a profession of faith. She trusts Jesus, and calls Him Lord. She understands that the Kingdom is a place for Gentiles as well as Jews. The Kingdom is for all, Jew and Greek, rich and poor alike. All are one in Christ, and God’s healing is for everyone. This reality is made manifest in the healing of the young girl. Jesus has uttered an exclusive Jewish understanding of the Messiah in order to demonstrate, through the woman’s response, that his mission is, in fact, much wider. In doing so, Jesus takes an existing common prejudice to show how God’s love, mercy, and healing are for all those who turn to Him.

As Jesus returns to Galilee, He is asked to heal a man.

‘And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha”, that is, “Be opened.” And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.’ (Mk 7:33-35)

Both healings in the Gospel are done privately, they are not done for show, and they fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy from our first reading this morning. Despite Jesus telling people not to share the news of the healing, they do. 

‘And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”’ (Mk 7:37)

Here Isaiah’s prophecy is quoted, as it has been fulfilled by Jesus, which is good news.  And it is good news for Jews and non-Jews, for everyone. The Kingdom of God is a place of healing and restoration for all, a fact which the Church continues to proclaim. Rather than being an exclusive event for the Chosen People, healing and salvation are for all who turn to God. All are invited, all are welcome. 

The reading from the Letter of James shows us how to live our lives as Christians in an authentic manner. We are all equal in the eyes of God. We should not make the distinctions in the way the world around us is so fond of doing. James’ letter reminds us that Christians are not supposed to judge by appearances. We are not supposed to treat the rich better than the poor, because, as Jesus has shown us, the Church is supposed to be a place which lives out a radical equality. We are all equal in the sight of God. No-one is better or worse than another.

‘Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?’ (James 2:5)

As Christians we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ, we put our trust in Him, to be at work in us, and to save us. Little by little we are being transformed into the likeness of the one in whose image we are made. This is the wondrous gift of God’s grace. It is given, just like the Eucharistic Banquet of Christ’s Body and Blood, so that God can be at work in us, and through us. It is given so that we may be healed and transformed. 

So let us pray that God may come to us, and pour out His healing love on us, and all the world. Let us pray that His will may be done, and His kingdom come, so that all may join in the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Our first reading this morning from Deuteronomy is taken from a speech which Moses gives to Israel before they enter the Promised Land. Moses tells the people,

‘You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.’ (Deut 4:2)

This salutary advice refers to a common religious problem, one which the Pharisees and their successors the Rabbis found hard to comply with. They would argue that they were not creating new law, but merely commenting upon the old, and exploring its richness. There is, however, a very fine line between the two.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Over the last year and a half we have become more conscious than ever of the value of good hygiene; hand-washing has become headline news. Over 200 years ago, John Wesley wrote a sermon ‘On Dress’ stating: ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’. This proverb has found its way into the common speech and the ‘collective unconscious’. But while it is good advice, it is not quite what the Pharisees are complaining about in this morning’s Gospel reading. 

The previous story in Mark’s Gospel is that of the Feeding of the Five Thousand, so food-related matters are on the Pharisees’ mind. They are on the lookout for any minor infringement: something to quibble about, an excuse to attack Jesus. 

‘And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”’ (Mk 7:5)

The point that is being made is that the disciples are washing their hands, they are being hygienic, but they are not conforming to a higher level of ritual purity. The Pharisees are calling out what they see as a failure on the part of the disciples, and especially Jesus as their teacher, to conform to a man-made standard of priestly purity. In the eyes of the Pharisees, they are not holy enough.

In reply to their criticisms, Jesus says:

‘“Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honours me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’ You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”’ (Mk 7:6-8)

Jesus quotes the Greek text of Isaiah (29:13) to make His point. Religious laws are a means by which humanity is sanctified, and God is honoured. They are not an end in themselves. The Pharisees are so concerned with the correct interpretation of religious minutiae that they can no longer see the wood for the trees: they have lost sight of the bigger picture. This approach neither honours God, nor sanctifies humanity. Indeed it drives a wedge between God and His people.

Instead, Jesus offers profound moral teaching to the people about what really matters:

‘And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”’ (Mk 7:14-15 & 21-23)

Rather than parading one’s religion as a pious façade, Jesus teaches people to pay attention to their interior life. What we think and feel affects both who we are and how we live our lives. Jesus is mindful of God’s revelation to Samuel:

‘for the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.’ (1Samuel 16:7)

Rather than focussing on outward aspects (like the Pharisees), Jesus reminds us that our inward thoughts are usually where the real problem lies. Thoughts can turn into actions and become habits which form character. The Pharisees are in effect encouraging a thin veneer of correct behaviour, appearing to do the right thing, while covering up any thoughts and intentions that do not promote human flourishing. Jesus wants honesty, where what you see is what you get. As with much of His teaching, it is very simple in theory, and much harder in practice. We all aspire to what Our Lord teaches, but we often struggle to live it out. 

This is why faith cannot just be a personal matter. We live in community, and as a community we can help and support each other as we try to live out our faith together. We find encouragement to do this in this morning’s reading from the Letter of James. The apostle reminds us of the goodness and generosity of God, and the fact that we are created by Him, made in His image.

James encourages Christians to put their faith into practice:

‘But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.’ (James 1:22)

These words echo those of Jesus in the Gospel. People should in all gentleness and humility both listen to the word of God and do what it says. As Christians, our thoughts and words and actions proclaim the truth that Christ died to save us from our sins, and that He rose again that we might have new life in Him. Faith needs to be real and concrete, lived out in the world in loving action.

As we try to live out our faith, in our homes and community, we can only do this together, supporting each other. We also need to be gentle and generous when we fail, as we inevitably will.  Thankfully we do not need to rely upon our own strength, but upon the love and mercy of God. Then we can be built up in love, as living stones, a temple to God’s glory, which proclaims His love and truth to the world. We are called to live lives of forgiveness and sacrificial love which build up, as opposed to being bitter, judgemental and blind to our own faults. We should not be eager to point out the sins of others. Instead, clothed in the humility of our knowledge of our need of God, His love and mercy, let us come to Him. Let us be fed by Him, and healed and restored by Him. Let us live lives which speak of the power of His kingdom, so that the world may come to believe and give glory to God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Today’s Old Testament Reading from the last chapter of the Book of Joshua records a pivotal moment. The people of Israel have settled in the Promised Land, and Joshua calls them together at Shechem to renew their covenant with God. Joshua asks the people of Israel a question: 

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’” (Joshua 24:2& 15)

Do the Israelites want to serve the Lord their God, or would they prefer to follow their ancestral gods, or those of the land in which they now live? Joshua tells them what he will do:

“But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

Joshua makes a clear choice, and the Israelites follow his example. They are mindful of what God has done for them:

“Far be it from us that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods, for it is the Lord our God who brought us and our fathers up from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way that we went, and among all the peoples through whom we passed. And the Lord drove out before us all the peoples, the Amorites who lived in the land. Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” (Joshua 24:16-18)

Their religious faith is a conscious act of the will, they choose to serve the God who has saved them. God has shown that He is the God of Israel. 

In this morning’s Gospel we come to the end of the Bread of Life Discourse in Chapter 6 of John’s Gospel. Jesus’ teaching has offended some people. All this talk of eating flesh and blood sounds to them like cannibalism, which was strictly taboo. The mere suggestion of it was offensive in Jewish culture; it went against everything people had been taught. It is thus hardly surprising when some of His disciples say: 

“This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (Jn 6: 60)

Jesus is teaching in a synagogue in Capernaum, and those present are not used to this kind of teaching. It turns everything they know on its head. In Hebrew the word for flesh (baśar) and the word for good news, glad tidings, or the Gospel, sound the same. Such word-play is intentional, and may be linked to the Hebrew Wisdom tradition:

“Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.” (Proverbs 9:5-6)

Jesus notices that some of His disciples are grumbling, just like the Israelites in the Exodus story we read a few weeks ago. So he says to them: 

“Do you take offence at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.” (Jn 6:61-65)

This strategy seems a strange one. If people were not shocked enough to begin with, Jesus goes on to make other claims which could be taken as blasphemous. For us to have life in Jesus we need to be baptised. For our sins to be washed away, we need to hear the Good News. We need to eat the Eucharist, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit. These are all outpourings of grace, of Divine generosity, given to transform us, more and more into the likeness of God. 

Jesus’ teaching has a profound effect, rather than attracting people to follow Him, it leads to the exact opposite response:

After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” (Jn 6: 66-69) 

Jesus asks the Twelve if they too would like to leave Him too, which leads to a profound declaration of faith by St Peter. They have a choice to make, and they choose Jesus, as no-one else can offer what He does. Here Peter is confessing that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. To be a Christian is to make the same confession as Peter, and to have the same hope of eternal life in and through Jesus Christ. 

Jesus’ teaching is hard to accept, and difficult to understand, but we can experience it, when we receive Holy Communion. For Peter, and for us, belief precedes knowledge. We believe and then we come to know.

It is a question of commitment, which involves love and sacrifice — the two go hand in hand. It is what marriage is all about, and it also describes God’s relationship with us, and ours with God. It will see Jesus die on the Cross for us, to show us just how much God loves us, and wants to restore our relationship with Him, and each other. To be close to God is wonderful, but it isn’t something God forces us into: we may choose to accept God’s love, or to refuse it. This love is freely given.

St Paul’s advice to the Christians in Ephesus is another difficult text, which revolves around making a choice. For St Paul Christian marriage is all about loving service of one another, as demonstrated by Christ. Jesus lays down His life for us, so we should do the same for each other. Thus, in marriage in particular, and in society in general, loving service and self-sacrifice are the ways in which we should live. It is a generous form of life, because its model is Jesus, the most unselfish person ever, who created all that there is, and who redeemed it by offering His life as a ransom for many. We see this on the Cross and we commemorate it in the Eucharist, where Christ continues to feed us His people with Himself, so that we might have life in Him. 

So let us come to Jesus, let us choose Him, and put our trust in Him. Let us be fed by Him and with Him, so that we may spend eternity singing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Today the Church celebrates the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which commemorates her being taken up after death, body and soul, into Heaven. It is important to stress that Assumption is something passive rather than active; Jesus ascends to Heaven, whilst Mary is assumed. This is a profound difference between the two. Jesus ascends because He is God, Mary is assumed because she is the Mother of God, and the model for all Christians to follow. Humble and obedient in her life, in her death Our Lord’s Mother shares fully in the resurrection of her Son, and points the way for us as Christians. Where Mary goes, we hope to follow, trusting in the love and mercy of God. It is a sign to us as Christians that we can trust the promises of Christ who went to prepare a place for us, that where He is, we may also be. 

From the early days of the Church there is a tradition that Mary’s tomb, in the valley of Jehoshaphat just outside Jerusalem, is empty, and that her bodily remains are not there. From this developed the belief that after her death she was given a share in her Son’s glory, victory, and eternal life. This is both a reward for her faithfulness and humility, her obedience to God, and also as a sign to us that this is what Christ came to share with us, his people. God in Christ shares our human life, from beginning to end, and offers us eternal life in Heaven, which Mary enjoys. We can trust what God promises us, because God is loving and faithful, even when we are not. He is merciful, so that we can be transformed by His Love. This is the Good News of the Kingdom. We do not deserve it, we cannot earn it, yet God gives it in loving generosity to heal all that has been marred by sin. 

In today’s first reading from the Book of Revelation, St John has a vision of Heaven:

And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1)

This is why Mary is often depicted this way in art as a woman crowned with stars. At the foot of the Cross, during Jesus’ Crucifixion, John was given a new family:

When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home. (John 19:26-27)

John has been close to both Jesus and His Mother, Mary: in her earthly life, and now, John has a glimpse of her in Heavenly Glory, the Glory of her Son, Jesus Christ. The Church honours her as the Mother of God, Theotokos, meaning ‘God-bearer’ in Greek. Without Mary saying ‘Yes’ to God in the Annunciation, our salvation would not have been possible. Her response gives us the hope of heavenly glory, which she enjoys, close to God in this life and the next. 

John’s vision of Heaven shows us that we can have hope of eternal life, through Christ’s victory over sin and death: 

Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come (Revelation 12:10)

It is this hope which allows St Paul to write to the church in Corinth:

For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive (1Corinthians 15:22)

Christ is the new Adam. Sunday, the day of His Resurrection is the first day of the week, and a sign of the New Creation. Likewise, Mary is the new Eve, but whereas Eve is disobedient in the Garden of Eden, Mary is obedient in the Annunciation, agreeing to bear the Son of God in her womb. Thus, Christ is born, and humanity can be saved, healed, and restored. Mary shares in her Son’s victory over sin and death as a Sign of the reality of the Resurrection, a promise made to humanity to share in God’s love and intimacy.

The Gospel reading begins with a demonstration of Mary’s care and service. She goes to stay with her older cousin, Elizabeth, who is six months pregnant, and while Elizabeth’s prayers for a child have been answered the realities of life mean that she needs help. Elizabeth’s husband, Zechariah, is busy in the Temple, so Mary lovingly comes in haste to help her cousin. As she arrives, Elizabeth’s baby leaps in her womb. John the Baptist greets Jesus and Mary with joy: even before his birth. He is a prophet, announcing the wonderful works of God. 

And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!” (Luke 1:41)

Elizabeth recognises the wonderful thing that has happened, and understands that through Mary’s child God’s promise is being fulfilled. She also recognises Mary’s faith, and says to her: 

“Blessed is she who believed” (Luke 1:45)

Mary is indeed blessed in giving birth to the Saviour of humanity, blessed in her obedience, love, and service, and blessed after death to share in the Heavenly Glory of her Son. The way in which Mary trusts God, gives Christians a clear example to follow in living the life of faith. We need to be like Mary. 

This is why every evening at Vespers (Evensong), Mary’s great hymn of praise, the Magnificat, which starts, “My Soul doth Magnify the Lord” (Luke 1:46), is recited. These words reveal her complete trust in God, a God who takes it upon Himself to deal with sin and death by giving us His Son. A God who establishes a kingdom of love, forgiveness, and generosity, through which the Church continues God’s work of love and reconciliation in the world. Despite all our mistakes and failures, God showers us with His love and mercy. All the readings this morning are rooted in the simple fact that God loves us, and Mary shows us how to respond to that love. Her Assumption gives us hope that when Jesus says:

‘In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?’ (John 14:2) 

God makes room for us, the question is can we make room for Him? Can we be like Mary, trusting God to be at work in us? Can we let His Grace perfect our nature, to live lives of hope and joyful service, so that after our earthly life we may, in the company of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the saints, sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion and power, now and forever. Amen.

Today’s Old Testament reading from the First Book of Kings continues the theme of miraculous feedings, which we have been following for the past two weeks. The prophet Elijah is having something of a hard time, combatting King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, and the priests of Baal. Elijah has reached the point of physical, mental, and spiritual exhaustion. He wants the pain to go away, even if it means the end of his life, and so he goes into the wilderness, sits despondent under a tree and says:

‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.’ (I Kings 19:4)

Despite having reached rock bottom, Elijah prays to God, and God hears his prayer and answers him. The Almighty sends an angel to minister to Elijah’s needs. 

‘And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.’ (I Kings 19:5-6)

Rest and nourishment are what Elijah needs, and these are provided. After resting, Elijah is fed again, to prepare him for the upcoming journey:

 ‘And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.’ (I Kings 19:7-8)

Elijah is travelling to Horeb, to Mt Sinai, where God gave the Commandments to Moses. God strengthens and gives sustenance to Elijah for his journey of about 250 miles. This prefigures the Eucharist, our bread for the journey, which sustains us in our life of faith. 

Just like the Israelites in last week’s reading from Exodus, in today’s Gospel the Jews are grumbling. They dislike the fact that Jesus has said that He is the bread come down from Heaven. So they complain: 

“Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” (John 6:42)

The problem is that they can only understand Jesus in human terms, they see a man, and nothing more. They cannot see beyond this. The Messiah whom they long for is in their midst and yet they fail to recognise him. But Jesus is both fully human and fully divine: True Man and True God. He is the son of Joseph and Mary, but He is also the Son of God, who took flesh by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is what we believe as Christians, and state in the words of the Nicene Creed, which we will soon say together, declaring our faith, and placing our trust in the God who loves us.

Jesus tells the people not to grumble among themselves. They do not need to be discontented, as what Christ has come to bring them is the source of the greatest contentment possible: God’s very self and the hope of Eternal Life with Him. This is the greatest Passover possible: to live the life of Heaven. This is why Jesus can promise: 

‘And I will raise him up on the last day.’ (John 6:44)

Jesus has come to offer Eternal Life to those who believe in Him. This is His purpose, His mission. Christ, our saviour, will lay down His life, and die on the Cross to reconcile us to God, conquer Death, and give us the hope of Heaven. Jesus then quotes from Isaiah (54:13):

“It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’” (John 6:45)

This verse comes just before Isaiah’s hope for the future, the Messianic banquet:

‘Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.’ (Isa 55:1)

Jesus’ use of Isaiah both underlines the fact that those present are being taught by God, and looks forward to the fulfilment of the prophecy in the Eucharist. He is teaching them and pointing them towards the hope of the Kingdom of God. We are here today to see that hope fulfilled, so that Christ can feed us with Himself. He states:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live for ever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.” (Jn 6:51)

Jesus is the living bread and if we eat Him then we will live forever. We need the Eucharist. It isn’t an occasional treat or a reward for good behaviour, it is necessary and vital, and we cannot truly live without it. The Church continues these miraculous heavenly banquets in feeding the people of Christ with Christ. This is the free gift of God, an act of radical generosity, so that we might be radical and generous in return. Jesus institutes the Eucharist on the night before He dies so that we might do this in memory of Him, so that He is ever present with us, and we are filled with His love. The Sacrament of  the Eucharist is an outward and visible sign of inward spiritual grace. Christ gives us life, so that we may live in Him. As St Paul says in his Letter to the Ephesians, 

‘Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.’ (Eph 5:1-2) 

There is something quite extraordinary and radical about this. It isn’t how most people in the world around us live. Christians are supposed to different, to live different lives in a different way, because we follow Jesus, and strive to live like Him. We operate according to different rules and standards, those of Christ, and not of the world around us. 

As Christians, we have responded to the call to follow Christ, to imitate Him, and His way of life. We are instructed to practise forgiveness, whereas the world around us is often judgemental and unkind, writing people off. Thankfully that is something which God never does. Instead, He forgives, He redeems, He heals, He restores. We pray for the world to become more Christ-like, where people are loving, forgiving, and compassionate. Where the hungry are fed, where those in need are comforted, and cared for. We pray for a more selfless world where people respond to the needs of others, especially those feeling despondent and desperate. So in the strength of this heavenly food, may we live out our faith, encouraging others, so that all may sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

Whenever I read today’s passage from Exodus, my heart really goes out to Moses. He has a thankless task leading the people of Israel, when all they seem to do is moan and complain. After spending weeks in the wilderness the Israelites are desperate and hungry. They are grumbling about the lack of food compared to their old life in Egypt. God hears their need and promises to give them meat in the evening and bread in the morning. The people of Israel are given quail, and a fine flake-like substance. They do not know what sort of food it is, and ask, ‘What is it?’ (In Hebrew Mān-hu, from which we get the word ‘manna’). For Christians this miraculous feeding foreshadows the great miraculous feeding of the New Testament, namely the Eucharist, where we are fed by Christ, and with Christ. 

Last week’s Gospel was the account of the miraculous Feeding of the Five Thousand. This is not a parable about sharing, but rather it is a miracle, a supernatural event where God’s generous love breaks through into our human world. In today’s Gospel, we see people who have been fed in the miraculous feast, following Jesus around. Perhaps they’re hoping for another free lunch? It is clear that they haven’t seen the signs, and they haven’t understood what is going on. Jesus feeds people not as a combination of magic trick and mass catering, but as a sign of God’s generous love. God loves us, you and me — all of us — so much, that He longs to feed us with Himself. He loves us so much that He gives Himself to be tortured and to die on the Cross for us. This is the central message of Christianity: God loves us, and wants us to share Eternal Life with Him.

In contrast to a world which views achievement as most important, God declares that it is what we believe that really matters. Whilst we celebrate with those who have won medals in Tokyo, we do so in the knowledge that Olympic glory will fade, and others will follow, who will be faster and stronger. What we should strive for is a glory which is more than gold or silver: the glory of Heaven, the joy of Eternal Life in God. We train for this by believing in our loving Creator, and doing His work in the world. 

The people ask Jesus:

“What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 

Jesus answers them:

“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (Jn 6:28-9)

This reply, while it is clear and simple, is not entirely convincing, so the people interrogate Jesus further:

“Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” (Jn 6:30-31)

The people want to see more signs. The Feeding of the Five Thousand wasn’t enough for them. Jesus asks them to believe in Him, and to put their trust in God. He then explains what is happening in the Exodus story:

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”(Jn 6:32-4)

The people’s request, “Sir, give us this bread always” is echoed in the words of the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Dyro i ni heddiw ein bara beunyddiol, Give us this day our daily bread’. This prayer is fulfilled in the Eucharist. Here Jesus gives us the Bread of Heaven, so that we might be fed by Him, and with His Body and Blood, so that we might have a foretaste of Heaven and a pledge of Eternal Life in Christ. 

Time-wise, this conversation and the Feeding of the Five Thousand takes place around the festival of the Passover. This is the time when Israel commemorates its journey from slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. It is also at Passover when Jesus suffers, dies, and rises again: ‘Pasg’, ‘Easter’, the time when Jesus institutes the Eucharist on the night before He dies, in the Upper Room with His disciples. The timing is important, as under the New Covenant God’s people are fed, their sins are forgiven, and they are reconciled to God, and each other. A miraculous feeding will happen here today, when we, the people of God, united in love and faith, offer ourselves and the bread that we have, so that it may be taken, blessed, broken, and shared. It is given so that we may be partakers in the mystical supper of the Kingdom of God. We eat the Body of Christ not as ordinary food , but as spiritual nourishment so that WE may become what HE is.

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. (Jn 6:35) 

These are words we can trust: Christ yw bara bywyd, Christ is the Bread of Life. This is the first of seven sayings in John’s Gospel where Jesus describes who He is, and what He does by saying ‘I am …’ This is a direct echo of when God speaks to Moses at the Burning Bush in Exodus 3:14 and says:

‘I am who I am’

So here Jesus is telling us who He is, who God is, so that we can believe in Him. He does this so that we can be fed, and sing the praise of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

For several weeks now we have had readings from the Old Testament prophets, which focus on what it means to be a prophet, and to speak God’s word to Israel. As we have already seen, confronting people with home truths often leads to rejection, and this is the case with Amos. He has been sent from the South to the Northern kingdom, to call the people back to God, exhorting them to stop exploiting the poor. The king and the priest tell Amos to go back to where he came from. They don’t want his sort turning up, and telling them off.They are haughty, dismissive, and proud. God has sent them a prophet, but they cannot and will not listen to what he says. It is sad, tragic even, that when faced with a call to repentance, all they can do is to reply with arrogance. It will lead to their downfall, and the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians. 

Amos does not claim any special status, quite the opposite, he says: 

‘I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.” Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.’ (Amos 7:14-16) 

Amos is not a prophet by occupation, or apprenticeship. He has not been trained, and yet God uses him to call Israel to repentance. Ours then is a not a God who calls the qualified, but who qualifies those whom He calls. We may well feel unworthy, or unable to carry out what God wants, yet God works through us, not because we are capable, but because we rely on Him. Amos tells the uncomfortable truth to the priest, Amaziah, and to the king of Israel, and reminds them that their actions have consequences. Israel has fallen short, and will be judged. Amos is fulfilling the role of the prophet by calling people back to God, urging them to walk in His ways, so that they may have life, and have it to the full.

In today’s Gospel reading Jesus sends out His twelve disciples to proclaim the Good News. They are sent to call  people to repentance, and to make the Kingdom a reality. They do this through the ministries of exorcism and healing. Just like the prophet Amos in our first reading, they call people to repentance, as the Church continues to do. Our turning towards God is a constant ongoing process, the work of a lifetime. 

When we are planning a journey, even just a day trip: we prepare, we pack, we take things with us. But Jesus does not do this. He gives His disciples quite different instructions:

‘He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.’ (Mk 6:8-9) 

Jesus’ teaching highlights the importance of the need to be dependant upon others, and especially God: not to trust in our own strength or planning, but to rely upon the generosity and help of others. To live in this way is a daunting prospect, and that is the point. It doesn’t make sense in human terms, but the Kingdom of God turns human values upside down. The Church is meant to travel light and be fleet of foot. The disciples also need to prepared to face rejection:

“And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” (Mk 6:11)

 The offer of the Kingdom is freely made, and can be rejected. God does not compel us to believe, He invites us into a relationship. We are free to accept or reject, but both actions have consequences. At a symbolic level, this verse reminds Christians to leave behind all anger, bitterness, and judgement, and instead to be a community of love and joy. 

So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. (Mk 6:12-13)

We see the reality of God’s kingdom in its proclamation and the reality of healing and freedom which it promises. The disciples continue Jesus’ work and mission, giving us a template for the Church, which serves to proclaim, to heal, and to nourish God’s people. We too are heralds of the Kingdom of God, which is still an unfolding reality in the world around us. It is a work in progress until Christ comes again and renews all things in Himself. In the meantime we can rest secure that we are a part of God’s plan for the world. This is a plan of love, which sees Jesus die upon the Cross for our sins, and rise again to give us the hope of Heaven. The redemption of the world in and through Jesus Christ is a reality. This is the hope which underpins Paul’s message, both to the Church in Ephesus, and to us today.

God loves us, has a wonderful plan for us. However, in accepting His invitation, we should be aware that there are risks involved, and things may not always be comfortable or easy. It will be a challenge.  And yet, God provides all that we could ever want or need with regard to faith, hope, and love. If we trust Him and rely upon Him alone then we too can bear witness so that the world will come to believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.

For Ezekiel, being a prophet is frequently a thankless task. People do not really like being told home truths that make them feel uncomfortable. Yet prophets are called by God to speak discomforting truths to humanity. This often leads to them being rejected and ignored, and with the prophet Ezekiel, this is clearly the case.  He is trying to bring Israel back into a right relationship with God, but this is no easy task:

‘The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.’ (Ezek 2:4-5)

The prophet speaks the words of the Lord (Dyma Air yr Arglwydd) to His people, and they either listen or refuse to listen. They are an obstinate people, so they choose the latter. Their refusal to listen to God and pay heed to His words is sinful, and yet God does not abandon them, He continues to send prophets to proclaim the same message, and even sends His Son, so that Israel might listen and turn back to Him.

In the reading from Mark’s Gospel, Jesus has returned home to Nazareth, where He grew up. On the Sabbath, Jesus teaches in the synagogue. Reports of His teaching and miracles have clearly spread, yet the reaction is not a positive one:

‘“Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offence at him.’ (Mk 6:2-3)

The people of Nazareth are only able to see Christ’s humanity, to see Him as the son of Joseph and Mary. As such it is understandable that they are perplexed by Jesus’ healing miracles. They cannot understand how such mighty works are done by His hands. The answer to the question  of the Nazarenes is simple: God is working through Jesus because Jesus is God made flesh. While He has earthly family members, the power of His miracles and teaching come from the fact that Jesus is God. It is God who performs miracles, not humanity. God speaks through prophets and through His Son. The people of Nazareth saw Mary and Joseph’s son grow up, and at one level they know Him, but at a deeper, more profound level, they do not. They just see the human Jesus, and are unable, or unwilling, to see His Divinity.

Christ is unable to do a mighty work in Nazareth because of their unbelief. But He does not sit around and do nothing. Firstly, He teaches in the synagogue, and proclaims the Kingdom of God. Secondly, He makes it a reality, laying His hands on sick people and healing them. In doing these things He is proclaiming the Kingdom as a place where the healing power of God’s love is poured out upon the world. Despite being rejected and faced with a lack of faith, God is still loving and active in the world. Christ’s mission then continues, with the proclamation of the Kingdom in the surrounding villages.

What the prophets announced, Christ embodied. We hear His words, and are fed with Him. Whether our communion is physical or spiritual, we are nourished with Word and Sacrament, to experience the reality of God’s Kingdom, here and now.

In today’s epistle we hear Our Lord speaking to Paul:

‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ (2Cor 12:9) 

These are wonderful words of encouragement because, first and foremost, they remind us that it’s not about we can do, but about what God can do in and through us. This is possibly the most important lesson we can learn as a Christian. We cannot earn our way to heaven, and we do not have to. God does that for us, through His Son Jesus Christ, who dies on the Cross to give us life in and through Him. What greater demonstration could there be of weakness than in dying the death of a common criminal. God shows the world that power can paradoxically be demonstrated in abject weakness. Like Jesus and Paul, when we are weak we are strong. God’s kingdom turns human values upside down 

God enters the world in the Incarnation as a weak baby, utterly dependant upon the Holy Family of Mary and Joseph. As an adult, Christ dies rejected, and abandoned: a laughing stock, a complete failure in the eyes of the world. But this is not the end. On the third day God raises Jesus from the dead, and this sets us free, from sin and death. We are all given true life  through Christ’s Death and Resurrection: power made perfect in weakness. The example of Paul, who was once an enemy of the Church, shows us that no-one is beyond the reach of God’s love. God does wonderful things through Paul, and He can do wonderful things through us, if we let Him. Weakness here means relying upon God to be at work in us. If we listen to what God tells us through the words of Scripture, and have faith in Him, then wonderful things can and will happen.

For two thousand years the Church has proclaimed the same message: ‘Repent and believe the Good News’, and through our faith God can be at work in our lives. As Christians we are called to be holy, to live like saints here and now, and encourage others so to do. We do this so that all might sing the praises of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. To whom be ascribed, as is most right and just, all might, majesty, glory, dominion, and power, now and forever. Amen.