Sunday 22nd August – Rev Antony MacRow-Wood

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

The Sabbath is made for people, not people for the Sabbath

There is something almost nonchalant about the first line of our Gospel reading: “One Sabbath day he was teaching in one of the synagogues”. We tend to think of Jesus being in opposition to the established religion of his day, but in fact outside of Jerusalem and away from the Temple Authorities, he was very much part of it. He represented a more liberal easy going strand of the tradition and frequently taught in the synagogues around the country. Our Gospel reading was one such Sabbath morning and everything was going swimmingly until Jesus had the audacity to heal a woman. She wasn’t asking Jesus to heal her, that wasn’t why she was there, she was there because it was the Sabbath and she wanted to honour God by offering her worship, she had just turned up that morning as was her habit. When I say she ‘just turned up’, I should say she had made her way there in great discomfort crippled by the spirit that prevented her standing up straight. It was a measure of her love for God that she did so. Jesus saw her need, sensed her love for God and full of divine compassion commanded her healing. The woman’s response was immediate; she didn’t stretch out her limbs to demonstrate to the crowd the extent of her healing, she knew deep down that something had happened, so she burst into spontaneous joyful praise of God. 

Hurray and praise God we want to shout in unison with her but there followed a jarring note. The leader of the synagogue stood up and denounced Jesus for healing on the Sabbath; it’s a form of work he said, so Jesus was breaking the Law. Jesus replied that providing for the basic needs of one’s animals is not considered work, and this woman’s need for healing could not have been more basic, by inference is she to be regarded as less than an animal? Jesus challenged the synagogue leader to get real and recognise the grace of God in action, a response warmly welcomed by the crowd. That synagogue leader stands for the countless people down the ages who have found the living God profoundly challenging and disturbing. He wanted to live with the comfort and security of the Laws and a God who did what he was told by human beings. It was the God in a box syndrome, God neatly packaged within human criteria and thought patterns, such a God is safe, he doesn’t challenge us, life is predictable, we know where we stand, we know if we do all the right things we should get our reward. But the living God is not like that. The living God refuses to be packaged by human beings, just when we think we have him sussed we open the box and find it is empty. The living God is the God of surprises as Jesus showed when he preached the kingdom accompanied by signs and miracles. 

Now I wonder, how many people could tell me what is the fourth commandment is? Yes – it is the commandment to keep the Sabbath holy. The first four commandments are about God; you shall have only one God, you shall make no graven images, don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, and then keep the Sabbath holy. The remaining six commandments are about our relationship with each other – no murder, theft or adultery, honour mother and father etc., but the first four are about our relationship with God. The point about the Sabbath was that it was a day to be different. Without a day on which to remember what we are for, and who our God is, we can get into the habit of thinking only of ourselves and our own needs, we become self-centred. The Sabbath should be a day that turns us back to God and so away from self and towards others. It’s a day in which the whole community was meant to be brought back to its real purpose, and what is its purpose? – In the words of the prophet Isaiah “to take delight in the Lord…. and ride upon the heights of the earth”. A splendid way to talk about uplifting worship and taking delight in the joy of being alive – rejoicing in our common heritage as children of God. 

The leader of the synagogue had lost the plot in his obsessive keeping of the Sabbath. Go back 80-150 years in this country and we too had lost the plot and I dare say many older people can remember long boring Sundays as children when they weren’t allowed to do much because it was the Sabbath. Unfortunately we are a society that has lost the plot in the other direction now. Sundays are no longer special days, days which families spent together enjoying each other’s company, days in which we remember who we are and our common heritage as children of God. Few in our society demonstrate the devotion of that woman dragging herself to the synagogue to worship God despite crippling pain, if anything the opposite prevails and even committed Christians tend to ration their Sunday observance. Sundays have become much like any other day. Those with jobs may well find themselves having to work. Shops are open and all sorts of activities like sport now take place on a Sunday. There is nothing special about the Sabbath, gone are the days when you would wake up and know it was Sunday because it was quieter. We have lost the rhythm to life that having a different day once a week gave us as a society and with that loss has gone part of what helped us to cohere as a society.

But as the Bible says we reap what we sow and the consequences of ignoring the first four commandments are becoming obvious in our difficulties in keeping the remaining six – those that govern our relationships with each other. Immorality, adultery and family breakdown is rife, theft and casual dishonesty are increasing, there’s an attitude these days, which says ‘do what you like but don’t get caught’. And the trouble with worshipping false Gods is that they leave us unsatisfied, so we never have enough, we always want more, so we break the final commandment – though shalt not covet’. 

Consequently what sort of society have we become? Well there is much talk in the Press and on television at the moment about how similar our society has become to Ancient Rome. They point to the multi-cultural nature of society and the prevalence of Gymnasia in every town and the renewed cult of fitness and the body beautiful. They point to the proliferation of different deities as people in a sense created their own gods and of course they point to contemporary sexual mores and point out how similar, in virtually every respect, these are to ancient Rome (although Rome didn’t practice abortion it did practice infanticide of new born babies). Interestingly Rome didn’t have a Sabbath there were about 80 public holidays a year but no regular rhythm to the week. The subtext that goes with these observations is that now we have thrown off repressive Christianity we are getting back to how humans were meant to live a more natural liberated form of life in which we are free to ‘be ourselves’ – shorthand in my book for the gospel of self-fulfilment. 

What these observations fail to consider is the astonishing speed by which Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire – less than 300 years after Jesus Christ. If life in pagan society was so good and natural why did people turn to Christianity so readily? Could it be that life in Ancient Rome wasn’t all it is cracked up to be by people who look back with rose-tinted spectacles? Could it be that these false god’s people created in their own image failed to satisfy? Ancient Roman writers often used to comment on the astonishing degree of love and care Christians showed towards each other and to strangers, because, let us not kid ourselves, for most people life in Roman times was nasty and brutish and short. Its rulers keep the simmering tensions in check by putting on brutal public spectacles for entertainment. Some of our reality TV shows, which humiliate the participants, remind me of the atmosphere of a Roman amphitheatre. Ancient Romans saw a different quality of life modelled by Christian communities and as we can see in St. Paul’s letters, they heard a gospel preached with signs like Jesus’ healing of that woman and both those facts should challenge us if we purport to follow the God of surprises and seek the kingdom of God. 

The 10 commandments remind us that true fulfilment comes from the quality of our relationship with God and others, it is in giving that we receive, that is how God designed us to be; if we live only for ourselves and what we can get, then happiness and self-fulfilment will be illusive. It must make our creator weep to see our contemporary society, for He loves us deeply, – the opening words of today’s Old Testament reading from Jeremiah remind us how much we are loved “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you”. Wonderful words reminding us how precious each and everyone one of us is to the God who designed and called us to live in community with Him and with others and not to live in the self-centred pursuit of so-called ‘self-fulfilment’.

Sunday 15th August – Rev Tom Lock

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

The fulfilment of God’s promise.

Almighty God

We pray that you will speak to us through your word and guide us in the ways of truth so that we may serve your will and purpose. In Jesus name we pray Amen. 

Good morning It’s good to be back with you after a rather lengthy absence.
I am pleased that this year you will have enjoyed some summer weather as well as us. We return in good spirits feeling fully refreshed. Whilst we have been away there have been some changes here in church in particular the Lady Chapel has had a make-over and I must say from a personal point of view how light, spacious and uncluttered it all looks and feels.
One of the great difficulties in the maintenance of churches and it sometimes occurs in our homes things keep getting added and before you notice it’s happened there’s hardly room to move.
Well my take on the Chapel is that there is now room for God. Also as an aging celebrant I am much relieved that the steps in the Chapel floor have gone.
One of the reasons that these improvements have been made possible is of course down to the generosity of a lovely lady – Ann Rigdon. Who served this church in a wonderful ministry during her life and then in her death bequeathed us a legacy that could fund this and a number of improvements to this lovely place of worship.
Ann was of course one of many that I would term Lady Saints who have served and continue to serve in many ways in this church, and in all churches around the world. Yes we men do some things that are useful so we would like to think, but where would the church be if it wasn’t for our generous self sacrificing ladies. 

In scripture the women in the history of God’s people have played a remarkable part and although the focus is on primarily the actions of the men our bibles ripple with the commitment and self sacrifice of women and the amazing things that God has done through them. 

Sarah, Abraham’s wife, Hannah the mother of Samuel Ruth who became the wife of Boaz are just 3 examples from the Old Testament and then there are the many women during Paul’ ministry who opened their homes to enable the early Christian churches to flourish. There is no doubt in my mind that the most significant woman of all time is Mary the mother of Jesus. It is her life that we celebrate today The Blessed Virgin Mary. Having just spent a couple of months in France and visited a number of churches large and small we were very much reminded of the esteem held by the Roman Catholic Church of Mary the mother of Jesus.

Mary was the young woman not much more than a girl by today’s standards who was chosen by God to be the means by which He could come and live with us. To engage in the human experience and to personally deliver his promise of redemption and salvation into eternal life. We would perhaps find it difficult to understand the significance of the commitment God placed on her in a society where strict rules of conduct particularly in respect of women were applicable in those times. She was fortunate to be betrothed to Joseph a man who was in tune with God and was obedient in his role. The response from Mary on being told by the Angel Gabriel that her destiny was in God’s hands was the wonderful words that have been handed down to us in the Magnificat.

In her humble acceptance of her role in the coming of the Messiah she praises God in all his might and magnificence. Mary had been well taught in the history of Gods people and recognised that God’s promise which had been handed down from generation to generation was to finally come to fruition through her. This young woman was chosen by God to be the pathway for His arrival in human form to live among His people and experience the human condition. Mary is referred to as the Blessed Virgin Mary because scripture tells us that the partner in her conception was the Holy Spirit of God. Many people in the church, including some senior figures find the notion of a ‘Virgin birth’ difficult to believe whether you find it difficult to accept or not my personal view is that if we choose to disbelieve that part of the Bible narrative then it’s because we place limitations on the power of God. From the experience of those who have encountered God in some significant moment in their lives it is apparent that there is no limit to what God can do. 

We see in the life of Jesus His ability to bring about miraculous healings that cannot be scientifically explained and every day someone somewhere is experiencing that life changing power of God’s Holy Spirit with physical and or spiritual healing. These are manifestations of an awesome and inexplicable power which will continue to baffle us because of our limitations not Gods. God chose Mary to begin life and grow into a new baby and then ultimately into a fully grown man. He also chooses us. Just as he came to live with us for a while in Human form He comes to us again and again so that his spirit can live and grow within us and enable us to be fully grown. 

Our response is as important as Mary’s. God sent His Son for a purpose. That purpose is all about you and me. It’s about helping us become the kind of people He wants us to be. Kind, compassionate, loving, tender, and self sacrificing. That is what we expect and hope from all mothers and that’s what God wants for all his people. Mary’s example is just that, and we continue to give thanks that in her God chose a humble and remarkable woman. And we also give thanks to God that He continues to inspire many more women in His ministry among His people.

Father God

We give thanks for the life and example of The Blessed Virgin Mary.
Help us to reveal those blessed qualities in the way in which we live our lives.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Sunday 1st August – Antony MacRow-Wood

Sunday, August 1st, 2010

When I read this Gospel reading I was reminded of moving house some six years ago. It was a sobering experience. When you see all your possessions packed into boxes and see just how many boxes and lorry loads it makes you realise how easy it is to accumulate things. It set me thinking and I was reminded of those museums like the Beamish museum near Durham or the railway museum in Swindon, where they show you a typical railwayman’s cottage of the 1880s and then again of the 1900s, or something like that. What strikes you instantly, apart from how small the house is for a family with five or more kids, is just how few possessions they had. Basic furniture and utensils, a clock, a family Bible and a few ornamental plates is often all there is. By the 1900s there are a few more items in the houses but not a vast quantity that we find in our houses today. 

Since the 2nd World War we have seen an explosion of what we have come to call consumerism. We have developed the capacity to make vast numbers of goods cheaply, couple this with the fact that technology is moving so fast that goods are designed to be out of date within a few years and most of us find our houses are full of stuff. Much of it ‘might be useful one day’ or is obsolete but we grew attached to it in the few short years that it was current and we can’t quite bring ourselves to chuck it out. The temptation then to build or move into a bigger barn is ever present. Today’s Gospel reading is truly a Gospel for 21^st Century Westerners, we are part of the 20% of the First world consuming 80% of the world’s resources, and consuming those finite resources at an ever accelerating rate. Climate change is just one indication of a resource being stretched to breaking point so this is a reading of great relevance for our society today. 

What is the nub of the matter? St. Paul as usual puts his finger right on it when he says in the letter to the Colossians in that list of earthly things which we need to put aside, he says ‘greed which is idolatry’. When we chase after consumer goods, when we measure our worth by the quantity and age of our cars or computers, when we work all hours to earn the money to afford these things we are being swept along in the consumerist tide. When those things become the most important objective of our lives we are making those things into our Gods we are committing idolatry and breaking the first commandment. ‘You shall have no other Gods but me’. In today’s Gospel Jesus challenges us to live differently but how? Well since I last stood here I have had two extraordinary experiences, first a visit to Las Vegas a city dedicated to gambling and excess – a modern day equivalent of Sodom and Gomorrah. A city built in a desert that uses vast amount of energy just to keep cool. When we consider the plight of this world, the lifestyle exhibited at Las Vegas is obscene. Then last week I was privileged to ‘atone for my sins’ by attending the Passion Play in Oberammergau. It was an intense and harrowing experience and when we got to our guest-house that evening I needed a brandy. The Play showed me that you don’t have to depict the violence in graphic detail (as Mel Gibson did in his recent film of the Passion) to find it a traumatic event. The worst part was watching the main characters, Caiaphas, Pilate, Peter and Judas dance to a tune of their own frailties and positions in society, a dance that led remorselessly to Jesus’ death. 

The Play is largely based on John’s Gospel, which constantly refers to ‘the Jews’ as the opposition to Jesus and the people ‘responsible’ for Jesus’ death. Hitler famously used a visit to the 300^th anniversary play staged in 1934 to hijack the Play for his own political ends. This has led to extensive revision of the script since then to counter act the charge of anti-Semitism. In some ways this has been overdone and it might have been better just to have explained more about the context of the time. When John talks about ‘the Jews’ he means the High Priests and the Council who ran the Temple and ruled as a theocracy in the small part of Palestine known as Judaea. They ruled on licence from the Romans a sort of client government. Provided they kept the peace and Rome collected its taxes, Rome was happy, but for good measure the Romans changed the High Priest every two or three years just to keep the incumbent on his toes. For the High Priests they benefitted from the wealth which flowed by way of gifts and temple taxes and recent archaeological finds suggests they lived in fine villas on the west side of old Jerusalem. Represented on the Council were the Sadducees and Pharisees two of the main ideological groups within Judaism. But Judaism was incredibly diverse at this time and many devout Jews, like Jesus, resented the behaviour of the priestly cast and some wanted nothing to do with the Temple and its ceremonies. The Essenes is one such group we know about and Jesus had much in common with them. 

The Play starts with Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey followed swiftly by a scene of a conversation between Pilate and Caiaphas that I found utterly realistic. Pilate says to Caiaphas the Passover is coming up, we know the population of Jerusalem is going to swell by 10 – 20 times, it is traditionally a tinderbox and we don’t want any trouble makers like this Jesus disturbing the peace and that Caiaphas holds his job as long as he delivers his side of the bargain and keeps that peace. Caiaphas replies he is well aware of his responsibilities and immediately sets about planning with the Council how they are going to dispose of Jesus. They needed no second invitation – the Council had been after Jesus for some time, incensed by his parables like that of the vineyard tenants in which Jesus, non too subtly, likened the High Priests to tenants who did not deliver to the owner his due and who mistreated and ignored his messengers (the Prophets) and then killed his heir – a reference by Jesus to his own fate. Judas is drawn into their plans and is depicted in the Play as being misled and tricked by Caiaphas into revealing Jesus’ whereabouts. I think this was unlikely. Judas Iscariot, the clue is in the name, was probably an Iscarii a group of knife wielding militants intent of overthrowing the Romans and establishing an independent Israel. This dream was shared by most of the Disciples who thought Jesus would be their new King but they were politically naïve compared with Judas was far more militant and practical. I think he had seen Jesus act with great power in healing, in calming storms etc and was mystified by his inaction during holy week so thought to himself I shall put Jesus in a position where he is forced to use his power. Too late Judas realised his mistake and bitterly regretted his actions. How many of us have done things we’ve bitterly regretted and wished with all our heart we could undo it? Judas unable to forgive himself, unable to believe his sin was forgivable was driven to take his life. 

By contrast there is Peter who equally betrays Jesus. He is not the first who has declared unwavering allegiance to Christ but failed to stop and consider the cost of discipleship. Peter, though bitterly regretting his behaviour, is capable of believing he can be forgiven and in that moving resurrection scene on the shores of Lake Galilee (which wasn’t part of the Play), Jesus faces him with his actions, tests his commitment and then issues those words ‘follow me’ – the call to discipleship which Peter must have thought he would never hear again. 

Throughout the Play the interplay between Caiaphas and Pilate is fascinating. They jostle for power and try to embarrass and manipulate each other and this is more important to them than the life of an innocent man. At one point Pilate having suggested he should release Jesus their King as harmless gets the High Priests and people to shout back ‘we have no king but Ceasar’ which was the equivalent of Arthur Scargill saying Mrs Thatcher was a great Prime Minister! Caiaphas eventually won the encounter by stating Jesus had been found guilty of crimes deserving death but only Pilate could order an execution and if he failed and an uprising resulted then Pilate would have to answer to Rome. Both displayed a lack of moral courage and scant regard for human life. There was an impregnable fortress called Herodium just 12 miles out of Jerusalem. If public order had been their real concern it would have been a simple matter to have whisked Jesus out there for the duration of the Passover festival.

As I watched these four characters come up against the innocence and purity of God in the person of Jesus and then systematically fail Jesus because of their own frailties and the mechanics of the earthly politics they were caught up in, I couldn’t help being reminded of my own frailties, my selfishness, my pride, my ambition, my consumerism and those are just the ones I feel able to mention publicly. Compared to the purity of Jesus I felt soiled. All I could do was to lay these frailties before the Cross – to offer them to the love so abundantly poured out on the Cross and say Lord help me to deal with these. I was also reminded of my last visit to Oberammergau 40 years ago, which turned out to be our last family holiday for within two years my Father had died. His death was devastating for me as a lad of twelve and my Christian journey has consisted of much pain being laid before the Cross and receiving healing from Him who has borne everything for love of us. 

The Play finished with a glimpse of the Resurrection, very understated both in time and content from what had gone before. But this glimpse was challenging, it was full of potential and challenged us to go out from the Play recognising how much we had in common with Pilate, Caiaphas, Judas and Peter but equally to make that glimpse of resurrection a reality in our lives. Romans 8:28 says ‘All things intermingle for good for those who love God’, it doesn’t deny good and bad things happen because they do and some people find themselves having to cope with appalling situations and difficulty, but it says that when we respond with love for God ‘because he first loved us’, when we respond with love the redeeming power of the resurrection is released into our lives and into whatever situation we find ourselves in. It doesn’t necessarily mean a wand is waved and things are miraculously better but we can be given the strength to cope, the will to make changes, the capacity to love when we thought we had nothing left to give. This is the potential of Christ’s redeeming love revealed in his death and resurrection, the challenge to us is whether we want to make a reality in our lives. Amen.

Sunday 27th June – Antony MacCrow-Wood

Sunday, June 27th, 2010

The Message of the Letter to the Galatians

Over the past few weeks in the letter to the Galatians we looked at Paul’s conversion and the nature of the Gospel he preached. In particular we saw how he argued that those parts of the Jewish Law which set Jews apart from the pagans, Sabbath Observance, Circumcision and Food Laws, those laws no longer applied, they were a stumbling block to people coming to faith in Jesus Christ. We noted how this caused considerable controversy in the early Church and that a group of conservative Jewish Christians had been going round telling the new Churches founded by Paul that Paul was mistaken and it was necessary for people to be circumcised etc.

The letter to the Galatians was written in response to this. Paul was hopping mad at the activities of the ‘party of the circumcision’ as he calls them, but it forced him to write a deeper theological rational for his teaching. It was not sufficient to say ‘we have seen the Holy Spirit at work in these people’s lives without circumcision therefore it is an unnecessary practice’ he had to come up with a reasoned account which made sense of why the Law had existed, what was God’s purpose in it and also what about that other section of the Law which dealt with morality- right and wrong, did that no longer apply as well? The letter to the Galatians was Paul’s first attempt to address these issues. The letter to the Romans written several years later is a much longer much deeper reflection on these topics, Galatians though gives us the bear bones of the argument.

In Chapter one Paul expresses astonishment that they have turned away so readily from what he had taught them then he outlined his own calling by Jesus. The purpose was to remind them that he may not have been one of the 12 disciples but he had received his call by a direct revelation from Jesus. In Chapter two he reminds them of the compromise hammered out at the Council of Jerusalem and that he Paul was commissioned by the leaders in Jerusalem to preach to the pagans, and that he had publicly criticised Peter for not eating with pagans when visiting the Church at Antioch. He closes the chapter with the bold assertion that it is by faith in Jesus not by adherence to the Law that we are saved.

In Chapter 3 Paul starts by reminding them of the miracles performed among them before they had even heard of the Law and challenges them to see these miracles occurred because they believed and had faith in Jesus Christ. In that regard they are like Abraham and this is one of Paul’s crucial arguments. Long before God gave the Law through Moses, Abraham had put his faith in God, believed in God’s promises and this was reckoned to him as righteousness, he was justified by his faith. So what was good enough for Abraham was therefore good enough for the pagans. But this being the case what was the purpose of the Law? Paul’s answer to that is that the Law was a sort of interim measure, to define the chosen people as a sign to other nations and to specify right and wrong until such time as God revealed his definitive act of salvation through Jesus. In last week’s passage Paul referred to the Law as our Guardian until Christ came and we could be justified by faith. Now that he has come the Guardian is no longer needed, we have, if you like, come of age. Now all people can be children of God through faith in Jesus and therefore there is no distinction between Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female we are all one in Jesus Christ, heirs of the posterity of Abraham.

So far so good but if the Law no longer applies how should we behave? As we are saved by faith does it mean we can eat drink and be merry and do whatever we like because our faith has saved us? Paul’s answer to this comes in Chapter five which we have heard today. Essentially he says we should live in the power of the Holy Spirit. We received the Spirit at Baptism it resides in our hearts such that we want to cry out to God Abba Father, we need to learn to listen to the Spirit within us guiding our actions. Over time the action of the Spirit sanctifies us, makes our lives holy and whole such that our behaviour turns from self indulgence and we show the fruits of the Spirit in our lives – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self control.

This then is the basic outline of the Gospel Paul preached, and it is well worth going back to read Galatians all the way through with the background I’ve given because what I have not been able to put across is the passion of the man, his yearning for people to come to faith, his anger at those subverting his Gospel, his love for the people in Galatia. Paul was feisty to say the least. It is also interesting to reflect on the pattern of the Galatians experience. They came to faith as a result of Paul’s passionate preaching accompanied by signs and wonders but as those experiences receded so they fell prey to the notion of religious practice. Doing things for God was altogether easier than maintaining a vibrant living relationship with God. So the notion of obeying the Jewish Law with all its’ rituals fell on fertile soil.

Doing was and still is easier than being, easier than the emotional effort of relating. But it is in the vibrant relationship with God that the Holy Spirit works her transforming role in our lives, it doesn’t happen by our doing good works for God. Those works can only be the fruit of our relationship not the means by which we justify ourselves to God. The issue which reared its’ head so long ago in the Galatians Church is still very true today. Let us pray..

Lord help us to avoid the temptation of being busy for you but instead to be busy with you. We ask that your Holy Spirit would be active in our hearts transforming us into your likeness, so that whatever deeds we do in your name we do to your glory and not for our own justification. Amen

Trinity Sunday – Antony MacCrow-Wood

Monday, June 7th, 2010

Trinity Sunday is the day when vicars traditionally try to engage a guest preacher. They shudder at the thought of trying to say something intelligent and comprehensible about the Trinity, which is also different from last year’s sermon. I am reminded of the little boy sitting next to his daddy in the pew and listening to the vicar attempting to explain the mystery of the Trinity. Not surprisingly the boy’s attention wandered and he caught sight of a war memorial tablet on the wall with a list of names. ‘Who are they?’ he asked his dad. The dad whispered ‘those are all the people who died in the services’. The boy thought about this then a look of understanding came over his face and he said ‘Did they die in the morning or the evening service? 

Today is the last of the five major festivals of the Christian year. Let’s see if we can name them…

Christmas, Easter, Ascension, Pentecost and Trinity. Why are those the five major festivals? They tell us the story of God’s action and plan for the world through Jesus Christ. God came as one of us at Christmas, lived on earth as a human being. At Easter through his death and resurrection Jesus brought about our reconciliation with God and at Ascension he returned to heaven taking our humanity with him, blazing a trail for us to follow assuring us that death is not the end. At Pentecost we celebrate receiving power from on high to help us live the Christian life, which brings us to the Trinity or tri-unity…. 

We have probably all seen the car sticker which says ‘thank God for Jesus’. Muslims are very puzzled by this and say ‘how can you say Christianity is monotheistic, i.e. believes in one God, when you say things like that’. It shows how we must be careful in the language we use about the Godhead. The Trinity is a strange but necessary doctrine. Without it the doctrine of the atonement becomes perverse; what sort of god demands that the price for human sin be paid by the torture and grisly death of his son? Only if it is God himself on the cross does the atonement make sense. The doctrine of the Trinity is nowhere spelt out in Scripture. Its most obvious use as a formula occurs at the end of Matthew’s Gospel when the Apostles are told to go and make disciples of all nations and baptise people everywhere in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Elsewhere in Scripture it occurs implicitly such as in today’s Gospel when Jesus uses the phrase “All that the Father has is mine” a deeply shocking phrase to those who first heard it. Also in that passage Jesus talks of the Spirit of truth who will come to guide us into all truth. 

We see then in Scripture that there are implicit references to the persons of the Trinity but the doctrine itself is not actually formulated. It was not until the Councils of Nicea and Constantinople in the 4th Century, held partly in response to heretical teaching about the Godhead that the doctrine was formally spelt out as ‘three persons in one substance’. However the words being used there have very specific meanings in Greek philosophical thought and so they are not very helpful to us. Essentially Christians then, as now, were trying to hold together their belief in one God with the fact that they experienced this one God in different ways. This led them to differentiate the persons of the Trinity by function. So you have God the Father, the heavenly parent who created the World, Universe and wider Cosmos. Then you have God the Son, who took human form in order that we might be redeemed or saved, God having the function there of the Redeemer. Finally there is God the Holy Spirit God’s continuing presence with us who guides, comforts, strengthens and sanctifies us. The functions being all those, sanctifying being a churchy way of saying: ‘makes us holy or whole’. There are two things going on there, holiness being made worthy of God, and wholeness becoming the person God wants and designs us to be. They are of course closely related. 

So you have the persons of the Trinity being defined by their function, whilst saying they are one and the same substance. It’s a bit like 3 in 1 oil which cleans, lubricates and protects, same substance but three functions. I quite like that analogy because oil is also messy and when you let God into your life he can make things run more smoothly but equally it can be quite messy as he starts to work with us and probes and loosens areas of our lives we have allowed to seize up and would prefer to have left well alone. 

However there is a problem with defining the persons of the Trinity by their function. It doesn’t talk about their relatedness their relationship with each other. Our experience of God is in loving relationship, that’s how we experience the Trinity through our relationship with God. In doing so we are being drawn into what is happening within the Godhead, three persons one substance bound together in love. It is the eternal communion of love that reaches out and draws us in and is represented most movingly by the Rublev’s icon of the three persons sharing a meal with the circle open – inviting us in. We say ‘for God so loved the world he gave his only Son’ and the Son in his turn ‘loved us so much he gave his life for us on the Cross’. The persons of the Trinity are drawing us into the relationship of love. 

St. Paul in the passage from his letter to the Romans, which we heard today, spells out the blessings enjoyed by those who like him have been justified by faith and drawn into this communion of love. Firstly, we have peace with God (verse 1), secondly, we have gained access to him, and ‘stand’ in grace (verse 2) a state of being right with God. We have all no doubt experienced that peace and sense of everything in the world is OK when our relationships say with our marriage partner is good. That same sense of intimate peace is available to us with God when we are in right relationship with him. Thirdly also in verse 2 we boast or rejoice in the hope of sharing the glory God, Paul’s way of referring to life in heaven with God. We have that hope of eternal life, which transforms our current reality and helps put some of our moans and groans in context. 

Fourthly, we rejoice in our sufferings, sufferings which come our way because we belong to him. The word ‘suffering’ is the same word Jesus uses in John 16:33 for ‘persecution’. So Paul is referring to the tribulation of opposition and persecution that come because of our faith rather than the trials of life which come to us all. Christians in this Country are not used to suffering for their faith, which is one reason why the Churches are in the words of the Book of Revelation ‘lukewarm’ but I have a feeling that in coming years that may change. Secularism is becoming ever more strident and aggressive but it may paradoxically be the spark which re-ignites the Church. Paul says these sufferings produce endurance, endurance produces character and character produces hope, and this brings us to the fifth blessing – a hope which does not disappoint us. The sixth blessing is the love that is poured into our hearts. So the blessings we experience from being drawn into the communion of God, being in a right relationship with God (what Paul calls being justified by faith) are love, joy, peace, faith and hope as well as perseverance and character developed by suffering. 

I’ll finish by turning to Galatians Ch. 5:22-23 where we read “What the Spirit brings is….love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, goodness and self control.” So we see by being drawn into the Godhead, the communion of love, we receive the gifts or blessings of the Spirit, gifts which then become manifest in our lives as fruits we can offer to others. In so doing we are helping to build God’s Kingdom by drawing others into the communion of love. There is a beautiful simplicity about it all perhaps best summarised by the command ‘love one another just as God has loved you’. Amen.

Sunday 23rd May 2010 – Rev Tom Lock

Sunday, May 23rd, 2010

Text.    Acts ch.2 v 1-21

              John ch. 14 v 8-17, + 25-27.

Almighty God
Speak to us through your word
And by the power of your Holy Spirit
Enable us to serve you in faith and truth and love.
In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

One of the amusing TV comedy series of the 70’s was a programme called Citizen Smith. The main character Wolfie Smith was a very amateur anarchist who styled himself on Che Geuvara. Most evenings, he would change into clothes that gave him the appearance of a Cuban reactionary. He would roam the streets of his South London neighbourhood encouraging others to join him in his crusade to bring about revolution. His catch phrase shouted with great gusto wherever he went was “Power to the People”.

Of course not many people were attracted to Wolfie’s philosophy other than a few weird individuals who had nothing better to do. Wolfie himself was quick to do a runner from his so called principles when confronted by serious verbal debate or the possibility of a headache. Today we celebrate Penticost that moment in the history of mankind when God revealed himself in a new way. His brief period in human form had come to an end. For approximately 33 years he had lived as one of us and during that time displayed through the way he lived….…The amazing uncompromising love that God has for his people. He provided great teaching every where he went which we continue to learn from day by day and week by week. He demonstrated his power through a series of great miracles that leave us in no doubt of his supernatural powers.  He revealed his unconditional love when he forgave the prostitute and he forgave those who crucified him and He forgave Peter who had denied him. He showed us an absolute faith in the Father that enabled him to suffer a painful death and he showed his faith in us by sending the Holy Spirit.

On that first Penticost God chose to bestow his power on those who truly believed. Those 12 disciples and who he trusted to use that power for the benefit of his kingdom. We are told it came like a rush of violent wind so people could hear it coming. It also came like tongues of fire so they would see it settling on the heads of each of them. The confirmation came as the twelve started to speak in tongues – Languages they had not been taught but were suddenly fluently speaking. The gift of tongues was the first manifestation to the people that something quite remarkable had happened. As this was a time of Jewish festival many Jews from differing parts of the world had gathered there and it was most surprising for these foreign Jews to be confronted by Galileans speaking their language. The learning of different languages was not common in those days and tended to be limited to a few clever merchants. Also some of the visitors from different nations would have a wider knowledge of languages. As is often the case when some people are confronted by miraculous happenings they endeavor to rationalize in human terms the immediate reaction is they must be drunk. But Peter quickly dispels that thought by reminding them it is only 9 o’clock in the morning.  He reminds them too of the words of the prophet Joel with which many of them would be familiar that God’s promise was to pour out His spirit on his people. Jesus had told the disciples before his ascension that he would send the Holy Spirit the power that would enable them to continue his mission and now it had arrived. As the days and months passed following that first Penticost the power of the Holy Spirit was to be expressed in various miraculous ways that would be witnessed by many people. There are many in society who find it difficult to accept the idea of the Holy Spirit of God coming into the lives of devoted Christians. Many members of the Christian faith find it a difficult concept to grasp. Yet within our profession of faith…. the Creed we have express our belief in a triune God. A God that has 3 dimensions. God the Father of mankind Creator God Who was there at the birth of Earth, our home. God who took the Jewish people under his wing fed them with knowledge and wisdom enabled them to conquer enemies and forgave them despite their inclination to wayward behaviour.
God the Son in Jesus Christ dwelt among his people experienced human existence and all the frailties that go with it and died as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of the world.And following Christ’s human life God came again as the Holy Spirit so that from all we had learned about God and his steadfast love of us all we would welcome His Spirit into our lives and that we might experience something of his power in us.

Wolfie’s cry of Power to the People was the message of a self proclaimed anarchist wWhose self delusion was doomed to failure. God’s call to his people to accept his power to give direction and meaning to their lives has lasted over 2000 years and has brought hope and inspiration to many thousands of men and women and boys and girls  throughout the world.

The Holy Spirit of God knows no boundaries and speaks into us in our own language. That language is God’s love and compassion for everyone. And he wants us to reveal that love and compassion in our lives. The Spirit of God knocks on the door of our heart hoping that we will invite him in. That first Penticost was not a one and only occasion. It was just the beginning. Every day someone is responding to God’s call and the Holy Spirit is moving in and through that new commitment. How do we feel about giving open access to God to come into our lives and allowing him by the power of his spirit to take us on a totally liberating journey of faith.
Do we trust Him enough?
Do we love Him enough?

Father God
Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit.
Help us to open our hearts and minds
To all the amazing possibilities
That come from you dwelling in us.
In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

Ascension Day 2010 – Antony MacCrow-Wood

Monday, May 17th, 2010

Today is Ascension Day when we remember Christ’s ascension into Heaven. It reminds me of the story of God sitting in Heaven when a scientist flies up in a rocket and says, “God we don’t need you any more. Science has figured out a way to create life out of nothing. We can now do what you did in the beginning.’ ‘Really?’ replies God. ‘What exactly do you mean?’ ‘Well ‘ says the scientist, ‘We can take dirt and form it into your likeness and make it live’. ‘That’s something I’d like to see’, says God. ‘Why don’t you show me?’ So the scientist bent down picked up some dirt and started to mould it into the shape of a man. God, touched his arm and said ‘Hey, not so fast, go and make your own dirt’….

It may surprise you to know that in many European countries such as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland, today is a public holiday. Before the War it was a much bigger festival in this Country with some schools having the day off and people being expected to go to church either before or after work. Certain customs were connected with the liturgy of this feast, such as the blessing of first fruits, associated with the three Rogation Days leading up to today, the wearing of mitres by deacon and subdeacon, the extinguishing of the paschal candle (the light of the world has gone back to Heaven), and triumphal processions with torches and banners outside the churches to commemorate the entry of Christ into heaven. And in our case it is finishing the liturgy with letting off rockets in the carpark. In some churches the scene of the Ascension was vividly reproduced by elevating the figure of Christ above the altar through an opening in the roof of the church. In others, whilst the figure of Christ was made to ascend, that of the devil was made to descend. One of the more bizarre things I have seen is a chapel at Walsingham with the ceiling painted to show blue sky and clouds with two model feet sticking down out of the ceiling.

In England it was once common for churches to “beat the bounds” on this day; Members of the parish walk round the parish boundaries, marking boundary stones (e.g. by writing on them in chalk) and hitting them with sticks. According to some, it was once the young boys of the parish that were hit with sticks instead of the stones! Knowledge of the parish boundaries was once important, since churches had certain duties such as the care of children born out of wedlock in the parish. One of the purposes served by beating the bounds was apparently that of warning the young men of the parish that any sexual misbehaviour ought to take place with women who lived outside the parish!

But what I wonder what we, sophisticated 21st century people, are to make of the story of Jesus disappearing skyward? It may surprise you to know that way back in the third century the theologian Origen was saying the Ascension was never meant to be understood in literal spatial terms, i.e. that one moment Jesus was on terra firma and the next he was heading skyward into the clouds. Luke writing at a time when people thought that there was Hell down below, earth here and Heaven up there, had no choice but to describe Jesus’ return to Heaven as Jesus heading skyward. This may be what the disciples saw, after all some of the resurrection appearances are equally enigmatic, Jesus appearing in a room with locked doors rather like being beamed down in Star Trek. What actually happened we cannot know, but it’s not the important thing about the Ascension. The important thing is the underlying meaning of the events described.

So what is the meaning? The collect for this coming Sunday really does do precisely that, it collects the themes which are around for Christians in this period from Ascension Day and Pentecost. Let me just pray it for you…

O God the king of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven; we beseech you, leave us not comfortless, but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen us and exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

There are three things we glean from that collect. Firstly on Ascension Day we celebrate the fact that Jesus has been exalted, he has returned to Heaven in triumph to reign at God’s right hand. It marks the completion of Jesus’ mission on earth, a mission which accomplished our salvation, our reconciliation with God, and the final act of that mission was Jesus returning to Heaven and taking our human nature with him to be part of the Godhead, so that our God truly knows what it means to be human. In his own person Jesus embodies our complete reconciliation with God.

Secondly, now (in the words of the collect) we beseech God to do as he promised which was to leave us not comfortless, but to send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, the sanctifier, is to be God’s continuing presence with us, the means by which we can realise God’s salvation in our lives. The Holy Spirit was promised by Jesus and can be best described as God dwelling within us but for this to happen it was first necessary for Jesus to return to Heaven before we could be ‘clothed by power from on high’.

Thirdly, through the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives and through our co-operation with the Holy Spirit, our willingness to let God be God in our lives, we will be exalted in our turn -  exalted to be with God, a state we experience in glimpses in this life but will experience more fully in the next.

So, in short, the Ascension is all about Jesus blazing a trail for us to follow, it assures us of our eventual destination and gives us hope, a hope which in turn transforms our current reality. For we know that death is not the end, we know that even though trial and tribulation will come our way there awaits for us a greater union with God. We also know that God in the person of Jesus Christ knows what its like to be human it all its joys and sorrows. Through it all the Holy Spirit is with us, guarding, guiding and prompting us, but above all reassuring us of God’s loving purposes for us. Let’s pray that collect again…

Sunday 9th May 2010 – Rev Tom Lock

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

Text:   Acts 16 v 9-15.  Paul meets Lydia in Philippi

John 5 v 1-9.       Jesus heals the man by the pool.

Prayer.

Almighty God,
Speak to us through your word
So that we may know your will and purpose for our lives
In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 

In various stages of our lives we often find it difficult to focus and have a clear sense of direction. When we are young we are distracted by the pressures of growing up, lacking in understanding being confronted by hormonal disruption.
Testing boundaries of discipline with parents teachers and anyone else that has any authority over us or responsibility for us as we travel that often tortuous journey from childhood to becoming an adult.
Our education is a patchwork of responses to good bad and indifferent teachers and parental guidance sometimes is more like an experiment than a well prepared plan for our future maturity. Some manage to make the most of what ability they have unfortunately a few perhaps don’t see the point of achievement.
The working life begins often in uncertainty especially in difficult economic times Too many have to engage in employment which does not match their potential but out of necessity for survival in a world that does not take kindly to failure of any sort. Career paths can at times be challenging. Decisions that affect home and family can bring heartache.
The end of working life has its own set of traumas waiting to grab the unprepared so much so that we can easily find ourselves losing a sense of self worth and perhaps again wondering what was the point of it all.
In our scripture readings today we engage in the lives of four people. Paul and Lydia and Jesus and the man by the pool. Paul is an amazing convert to the Christian gospel has found a new sense of purpose in his life following his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus.
Paul listens to God and God speaks to Paul, often through dreams. Paul’s arrival in Philippi was not a whim it was not part of Billy Graham style organised crusade. One day here… one day there….etc. No, this was taken by Paul as God’s invitation to go where he was needed.The encounter with Lydia was not chance it was all part of God’s plan. That plan was to use Paul’s gifts a great ability to communicate, combined with a real sense of mission and purpose. When Paul set off on his sailing journey he had no idea what lay ahead He just got the message and off he went. In Philippi he meets Lydia. Lydia is a dealer in fine purple cloth. Not just any old cloth, but the very best often used for making garments for the rich and important.She is a business woman, probably a person of importance within the trading community established in Philippi.
We are told she worshipped God. so she had a faith. This encounter has a purpose and God is in the purpose. Paul’s task is to tell her about Jesus and that through the telling she would understand that God in Jesus had come and dwelt with his people they had ultimately crucified him and then God had raised him from that death. The message and the manner with which it was delivered by Paul had a profound effect. Lydia became a Christian no doubt a founder member of the early church in Philippi and all her household were baptised too. Because Paul was obedient to God’s call and he allowed God to use his skills the life of this successful businesswoman was changed. Her reaction to this experience is also interesting she immediately invites Paul and his fellow travelers to take lodging in her home. The Christian way of hospitality.

The story of Jesus and the sick man at the pool has more to it than initially meets the eye. Jesus was in Jerusalem because there was a Jewish festival a lot of people gather in the city at this time and Jesus is very much a people person. These are after all his people.
he pool has a reputation for its healing qualities and those who were sick would gather there to hopefully get some therapeutic benefit at least. The stirring up of the waters was thought to be an angelic intervention that could on occasion lead to miraculous cures.
One of my questions about this story is with so many sick people, why was this man singled out for healing and not the others. Like many of my questions, and perhaps yours we cannot fully know until God explains it so for now it goes unanswered. However I could not help feeling sorry for those left with their infirmities and problems. So back to the man in our story. Jesus knows his situation and his history not because anyone explained it to him. He knows because he has God’s power of recognition and understanding. Jesus knows why he is there and he knows that this encounter is an important part of his Fathers mission. We are still reading about this incident 2000years later. We can perhaps notice that Jesus does not assume that this man wants to be healed. He has suffered his condition which we can surmise was a crippling disease for thirty eight years probably most if not all his life. It was a condition full of frustration especially when there was so much pushing and shoving to get into the pool but it was something which he was accustomed to. The man is there because he believes in the healing power of the water in the pool little does he realise that a much more powerful healing force is standing right in front of him. So Jesus has compassion on the man, saves him from the endless struggle of reaching the water and provides him with full restoration.
For Lydia and the sick man these were life changing encounters, for two people at either end of the social spectrum. Lydia could have been distracted by her successful business and not listened to the message of salvation that God had sent her through Paul.
The man by the pool would be confronted with new challenges which he would initially at least find it difficult to adapt to. Being able bodied, no longer dependant. Not having a reason to beg, but having to use his newly acquired mobility to care for himself and make a useful contribution to community.
Sometimes we can be held back by our way of living some time we can be emotionally crippled so that we are unable or unwilling to hear God’s voice and thereby prevented from fulfilling God’s plan for us as individuals.
God offers, not insists, he offers us a way forward beyond our limitations if we will only accept his love and healing and restoration that comes through the saving grace of Jesus. 

Father God
Help us to see beyond the obstacles of our lives
And reach out for your healing and restoring love.
In Jesus

Sunday 25th April – Tom Lock

Sunday, April 25th, 2010

Almighty God

Speak to us clearly through your word
So that our hearts and minds can focus on Jesus
In whose name we pray.
Amen. 

Sometimes we are confronted with situations in our lives that we find too incredible to believe. When I first saw the pictures of the planes crashing into the twin towers in New York I thought that this was a stunt to introduce a new disaster movie. The possibility that some planes were deliberately being crashed into such large prestige office buildings full of working people was totally unbelievable. I was on holiday in Canada at that time and I was watching this awful event on the hotel TV…. Live. Then as I listened and watched the truth became apparent this was actually happening and because of worldwide media communications anybody who had a TV switched on could watch again and again these dreadful events. This is something totally unbelievable, but we know it happened and we continue to feel the effects of that throughout the whole of the western world.
With the communications technology we have at our fingertips we can be kept fully informed of all events around the globe and we can know within minutes of something significant happening. Whilst there may be at times political bias in how news events are presented to us, generally what we are told and shown is based on fact.

One fact that has been presented to us over a period of about 5000 years is the existence of God. In Old Testament times God made himself known through very special people that God chose as HIS method and means of communication. There were demonstrations of God’s presence and power when the Israelites left Egypt. Had it not been for God watching over them they would never have got out of Egypt and they certainly would not have survived their wilderness wandering for 40 years. The power of God was demonstrated through the prophets and not only did they reveal the goodness of God they also unmasked many false prophets the prophets were used by God to reveal the weaknesses of the various Kings of Israel and to give them guidance whether they wanted or not. 

Daniel was used by God to reveal his amazing powers of protection that saved Daniel and his friends from what seemed like certain death on a number of occasions. God used prophecy through these special people to prepare the Jews for significant and life changing experience. Wars were won, wars were lost. People were taken into exile and then returned 70 years later. All as God predicted. Then came the most amazing prophecy; Isaiah and Micah were the prophets chosen to foretell the coming of Jesus the Christ. All these prophecies were believed by those who truly believed in God and his desire to communicate through the prophets. Of course many did not believe or perhaps did not understand. It was only with hindsight that they would realise that what God had said through the prophets would actually come to pass.

In our Gospel reading from John we find Jesus being confronted by a group of Jews who are not his disciples or followers. They have seen things which no doubt they found astounding they have heard many others talking with great excitement about this amazing man Jesus. Their attitude is one of disbelief coupled no doubt with a bit of mischief making. Hoping by their questioning to cast doubt in others minds as to the authenticity of Jesus. Their question is forthright.

Are you the Christ?

Jesus reminds them that the miracles he has performed demonstrates a power far greater than an ordinary mortal. He is the Son of God, but whatever he does will never convince them because unlike his true followers those asking the question just do not and will not believe what he has done is through his Father God, there is no other explanation and however hard they try to undermine his ministry those true followers are already saved and their eternal place with God assured. So here we have the evidence that Jesus is the Son of God Jesus always tells the truth His honesty and integrity cost him his life. Despite that some will never believe mainly because their minds are closed to the possibility that what God was communicating to his people and through his people was absolutely true.

When Jesus died many thought that was the end of it all. Not so. Jesus rose again, a fact that we have just celebrated, and following his rising and ascension the power of God in the form of the Holy Spirit was transferred upon those early followers. Gods mission among his people His channels of communication would remain open to all who cared or dared to listen.

So we come to the reading from Acts. The story of Peter raising Dorcas from the dead is a clear piece of evidence that the healing power of God did not pass away with Jesus. No, that power was bestowed on the chosen so that the mission of God would be underlined with healings and other miraculous manifestations performed by people who were prepared to be conduits of Gods love. Peter had good reason to believe he was there but you will perhaps note that he did not assume the power but fell to his knees and prayed. He fully recognised that it was Gods will and power he was calling upon and that he could only be the instrument of that power if God willed it. That Gift of the Holy Spirit is still alive today In those of us who believe, and are prepared to trust God in all things. I would not be able to deliver this sermon today If it were not for the will and power of God, speaking to me and through me with his word. Anything we do in His name we do because he wills it and when we co-operate with him He blesses our endeavours. We probably won’t be raising the dead but we may be involved in some small way in bringing someone new life in Jesus

Almighty God
We thank you that you have revealed yourself to us through Jesus.
Help us always to be firm in our faith
And to encourage others to follow in your way.
Amen.

Sunday 11th April 2010 – Tom Lock

Sunday, April 11th, 2010

Almighty God,
Speak to us through your word
So that our lives will have meaning and purpose
In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 

One of the great difficulties we have as Christians is living in a society that is constantly beset by doubts. We are now in full flow as a nation preparing for a General Election. This is the time when we get our chance to decide who will govern our country for the next 5 years or less as the case may be. 

With all that has been revealed about our politicians over the last 12 months it is going to be a very difficult choice to make. We have often criticised other countries in the world for their apparent reluctance to deal with the issue of corruption believing that our political system was above that sort of thing. Then through the revelations of the media we find ours is not much better. Unfortunately all revelations of this nature are inclined to destroy our trust in people and raise doubts about the integrity we feel is essential in those elected to serve the nation. 

In the church we have our own serious problems where a number of priests have been unfaithful to their calling and have been responsible for child abuse. Added to which there has been a tendency to do little to eradicate the problem and effectively remove those responsible from their unique positions of trust. The effect of that has been to bring the whole church into disrepute. 

In local government we have witnessed apparent lack of care and action in some serious cases of child neglect by parents. In the police force a number of actions contrary to the upholding of law and order. Incidents of Violent crime seem to be growing despite all the well meaning schemes to reduce it. 

In business poor management and cheating on a massive scale to satisfy greed for wealth brought the economies of the world to their knees. Even those cast iron institutions the banks, came close to failure because the trust we had placed in them had been seriously abused. 

The list is endless. 

It is no wonder we have become a world of doubters. the absence of trust, is the breeding ground for doubt. In our Gospel reading today we read again the story of how Jesus appeared to his followers shortly after his crucifixion and death. They were in a difficult situation their leader, Jesus had been tried and condemned and executed in the most appalling manner that had nothing to do with justice and apparently contrived by the Jewish authorities who were determined to put an end to this man reputed to be the Messiah. They had lost a leader, an inspirational man who had led them on a new enlightened path and now he was dead, and they were being persecuted in an attempt to extinguish this newly founded group of followers. Hence they met behind locked doors to avoid discovery by the authorities. They were in a place of mistrust and severe doubt about their futures.

Then suddenly, Jesus is there with them. No knock on the door, no unlocking to check who was there – He just appeared. 

For those who were there it must have been a moment of wonder slight disbelief, and perhaps a little fear. Then when Jesus reveals the newly healed scars of his death they realise this is indeed the risen Lord Jesus. What joy would have filled their hearts? After all the doubts after all the anger they would have felt about the way Jesus was tried and executed the light was back in their lives and they had something, someone to believe in again. 

One of the 12 was missing. We don’t know why, he should have been there he would have known about the meeting but for whatever reason, he wasn’t. So he missed this encounter and because he did not trust the others he refused to believe what they told him. So Thomas my namesake, is revealed to us as the doubter. ‘’Unless I see with my own eyes’’ says Thomas. Fortunately for him, and us Jesus appears again to the disciples and this time Thomas was there. Jesus not only shows Thomas the wounds he makes him touch them. It’s as if Jesus is stressing to Thomas that he should not doubt Jesus. Thomas’s response is total and uncompromising ‘’My Lord and my God’’ he says emphasising that he recognises Jesus and God in Jesus. 

So we learn a number of lessons in this story. Doubts spring from a lack of trust. If we don’t want people to doubt us then we have to live lives that are trustworthy and faithful to the one we can all trust. During his short life Jesus demonstrated to his followers He is the Son of God, and that everything He did He did to glorify His Father God and in doing so God glorified Him. His teaching, His healings, His amazing wisdom and compassion are all evidence of His unblemished character.His death and resurrection are the final evidence of supreme obedience and trust in His Father and for whom we are invited to live our lives. Lives that are based on trust, faith and love. 

We will as ordinary human beings continue to fall short, and we will inevitably be attacked by doubts. when trouble strikes and it comes in many forms we will wonder where God is. we will sense he has abandoned us. If the cross could not contain him,….. nothing can.

So do not doubt He is always here with us supporting… caring… encouraging and above all….. loving.

That’s why he died. That’s why he rose again – so that we could know…… yes know. That it is the love of God for his people, you and me a love that is unconditional and unending that this has been the whole purpose of God in our midst; To reveal his love, to demonstrate his faithfulness so that we will trust him and to be in no doubt that his promises are true. For by setting aside our doubts by trusting in Gods love by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ the only Son of God we come into a unique relationship with Him and we are recipients of his abundant and everlasting blessing.

Father God
We give you thanks for your Son Jesus Christ.
Help us to set aside our doubts
And trust in your amazing gift of love. Amen.