Sharing some thoughts

There’s a famous quote which says something like, ‘The Church is an organisation that exists for the benefit of those outside it.’ I may have it slightly wrong and I can’t remember who said it first, but the essence is certainly correct. And there is no greater proof of this quote than when we consider the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. And today, Passion Sunday, is the day when we start to turn our thoughts beyond our own journey through Lent, to the even more serious business of Holy Week, Good Friday and ultimately of course to the joy of Easter Day. Lots of us like to feel we’ve got a special right to make decisions in the Church. Lots of us like to have our own places and so on, but within the membership of God’s kingdom we have no more rights than anyone else. There’s a story about a farmer in Russia . After it became a communist state he was visited by a party official, and the farmer asked what this would mean for him. The official replied, ‘Well comrade, un...

This sermon was written by my father, somewhere around 50 years ago... 'Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new tomb wherein was never a man laid.... There they laid Jesus (John 19: 41,42) In London during the war there was a Church prepared for the harvest festival sunday. On the Saturday there came the first of the great blitzes and that harvest festival was never held because the Church lay in a heap of ruins. On the table there had been some sheaves of corn. The autumn passed and the winter. The spring came and there was a bomb site with little green shoots all over it. The summer passed and autumn came again and on that bomb site there was a flourishing patch of corn. Not even the fire and the bomb could keep the corn from sowing its own seeds and growing. There is something very comforting and reassuring in the knowledge that while the earth remians, seed time and harvest shall not pass away. But it is not this to which I wish to dr...

Tonight we heard part of Paul’s second letter to Timothy (4:1-8). In it Paul is reflecting upon his work and his ministry as that ministry draws to a close. He is stuck in prison in Rome awaiting his execution. He is aware that his earthly work is basically done, and he is ready to move on. But as his life draws to a close he still spends his time encouraging Timothy and his fellow Christians to continue the work they are doing in proclaiming the gospel message. The basic charge that he gives is that the message of Jesus should be proclaimed. It should be proclaimed with persistence and with a determination to maintain sound doctrine. Paul continues with the challenges that those proclaiming the message will face – they will be met people trying to teach their own truths, and they may have to suffer as well. And Paul spoke from experience. He had faced all of these things, problems from persecution, problems of different factions within Church groups he had helped to establish...

One of the most difficult Sundays in the year to preach on is Mothering Sunday - so many people have heard so many sermons about mothers, the mother Church and Mary, the mother of Jesus, that it’s really difficult to find something original to say. Added to this we have the knowledge as well that whilst Mothering Sunday is a great day for many, there are some for whom it is a particularly sad or painful day. So as I started to prepare this sermon, I looked up Mothering Sunday on the internet, and sadly I received no real inspiration there. I didn’t have time to look at all of the entries – there were thousands, but on the first few pages there were a lot of chocolate manufacturers, greeting card companies, hotels with special Mother’s Day menus, spas, florists, every opportunity possible to spend money spoiling your mum, and showing her how much you love her. There were a few links to churches, not many, but they were there, and a few attempts to explain the origins of the ce...

Writing a review of Beethoven’s fifth symphony soon after it was first performed, a critic wrote, ‘I would say that this does not belong to the art which I am in the habit of considering music.’ Today there may be many who wouldn’t choose to listen to the 5 th symphony by choice, but nobody can argue that it has become one of the great classics. Music in all of its different guises is a hugely controversial topic, and music in Church is no different. It is without doubt one of the most talked about issues with all kinds of different opinions being offered. My father was for many years a Church organist and any organist will know that they are so often the target of mutterings and occasionally discontent. Similarly any member of the clergy who suggests any sort of change to music also sets themselves up as a great target to be shot at. The fact is that there is a huge variety of tastes, and somehow we have to mould them all together in a careful balancing act. This evening we...

There’s a story about a schoolboy who brought home his school report. It contained a lot of poor marks. "What have you to say about this?" asked his father. "One thing is for sure," the boy replied, "Dad, you can be proud. You know I haven't been cheating!" Some people have a great gift of looking on the bright side of every situation, but others are not so good at that. Somebody once said that a pessimist can hardly wait for the future so he can look back with regret. Another thing I read about pessimism was some laws which state things such as, ‘if anything can go wrong, it will’, or ‘if anything just can't go wrong, it will anyway.’ Or ‘when things are going well, something will go wrong.’ And then there’s, ‘when things just can't get any worse, they will’, and of course, ‘anytime things appear to be going better, you have overlooked something.’ And just a couple more, ‘If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, someb...

The writer and theologian Soren Kierkagaard, in his book called, "And I looked around and nobody was laughing" wrote this, "I went into church and sat on the velvet covered pew. I watched as the sun came shining through the beautiful stained glass windows. The minister dressed in a velvet robe opened the golden gilded Bible, marked it with a silk bookmark and said, "If any man will be my disciple, said Jesus, let him deny himself, take up his cross, sell what he has, give it to the poor, and follow me." As we sit in a pretty comfortable Church, in a country free from any religious persecution, and largely free from any real poverty, I don’t think we can fail to be challenged by this thought. Tonight in the reading from Luke’s gospel ( 14:27 -33), we heard those words of Jesus spoken to a large crowd. And as this crowd listened they would no doubt have been challenged but maybe also a little confused. This was, of course, pre-crucifixion – and they had n...