Moving on...

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, under the new system we are all equal… for example if you have no tractor and the farmer down the road has 2 then he must give you one of his.’ ‘What a wonderful idea’ replied the farmer, and the official went on, ‘and if another farmer has 2 cows and you have none, he must give you a cow.’ The farmer was really getting into this now, ‘That’s absolutely marvellous,’ he said, and the official really thought he was on a bit of a roll now and he said, ‘And if the farmer down the road has 2 sheep and you have none, he must give you one of his sheep.’

‘Ah, not such a good idea, comrade’ said the farmer, ‘Well why not’ asked the official, and the farmer replied, ‘Well I’ve got 2 sheep and the farmer down the road hasn’t got any.’

When we talk of the Church we speak of one body, one family united under God, and that is the message we must be living, not just talking, just as we speak of a God who loves each one of us equally… The crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus were for everyone. The death of Jesus was a death that he accepted on behalf of every one of us both inside the Church and outside.

The death and resurrection of Jesus of course mark a huge moment in the history of the world - the hope, the promise, the expectation of new life for everyone, but that new life was bought at a huge price on our behalf. The passion of Jesus is about love. It is the most clear and forceful display of love that there has ever been and it was done for all of us, and that is why the Church must work to share that message with everyone.

And so with the passion in mind we look at the past, the present and the future. In this morning’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Philippians (3:4b-14), he is reflecting on his old life as Saul, recognising that the many things that were important to him in the past were no longer important.

Paul, in this letter, remembers his religious pedigree and highlights his Jewish heritage. Circumcision on the eighth day suggests conformity to the Torah and aligns the observance of his parents with that of the proper Jewish family. He has done it all perfectly and so have his parents.

But Paul realizes that with his conversion to Christ, he is still in process. He is not the finished article that his parents expected him to be. He has experienced the power and the presence of Christ; he has knowledge which contains the sufferings of Christ and he suffers for Christ, and Paul also knows that God is not finished with him–or anyone else–just yet.

And so with his looking back on the past he looks back at the cross, he looks at the death of Jesus and recognises his love for him. No doubt he celebrates the tradition that has brought the gospel message forward, but that is the past, and he also thinks of now.

I once had a car where the rear view mirror came off, and I didn’t get around to putting it back on for a long time. Regularly I would look up at where it should have been, and each time, I though I must get that sorted out. The mirror in a car is a wonderful device, but it must be used properly. There are people who stare in the mirror all of the time, there are women who do their make up in the mirror as they’re driving along ! People who look in the mirror too much are likely to crash at some point. Looking back all of the time as a Church or as individuals is dangerous.

Similarly if we never look back at all, that too can be dangerous, and so we need to get the balance right, because we need to primarily focus on what is ahead of us, and this is what Paul is doing as he thinks about the past, thinks about where he is now, and looks forward.

And as he looks forward he is recognising that he is on a journey which is ongoing – he is still seeking the prize which he has been offered by Jesus through his death and resurrection, the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

And the gospel reading (John 12:1-8) also gives an example of people looking at the past and the present whilst the future is staring them in the face. The past is the gathering of the group at the home of Mary and Martha, a normal gathering of a group of friends. It is what they do, it’s how they relax, it’s when they spend some time away from ministry for themselves – that is what they have always done, and yet the present concerns are, for Judas Iscariot at least, for money. As he sees Jesus being anointed by Mary, he complains that the perfume should have been sold and the money given to the poor.

But what he is missing is the pointer to the future – Jesus is telling them of that future, the future when there will be a gathering of people for his burial, the future when he won’t be with them in person every day. That is one of the crucial parts of this gospel reading, the acceptance and recognition of the importance of Jesus in our lives. Jesus who died for us, Jesus who lives for us…

And so as individuals, and as a Church, as we commemorate this Passion Sunday and move solemnly towards the cross, we are called to consider our past, our present and our future. The past for all of us contains so many experiences, good and bad, and so many things which we’ve done which we shouldn’t have or things that we’ve failed to do which we should have, but we mustn’t dwell on the past – Christ died so that we can come to him, and lay all of these faults and failings before him – that is the nature of his love and mercy.

If we dwell in the past, if we allow feelings of guilt or hurt, or bitterness to prevail then they will drag us down – that is not living the fullness of life that God wants for us. That is not allowing God to work properly in our lives. We learn from mistakes, we lay them open before God, and with his guidance, we move on.

We must move on from the past to consider where we are today. Many times we have thought of Lent as a season to get closer to God, but Lent, like the rest of our lives, is also a journey that must be ongoing. The present is the time to do, to act, to try and get closer to God, to get closer to each other, and closer to all of God’s people through our service. But the present is also the time to look at what we need to do for the future, to build on God’s glorious kingdom, to share his word, his message, his love…

And so to that future… What is that we want for ourselves and for our Churches. Surely in response to the love of Jesus, and his commands to go out and share the gospel, it is finding the ways of doing it, and seeking the strength from God to go about his work... We must never stand still, whether it be in terms of mission action and outreach, worship, prayer, bible study, fellowship or whatever, because God is a living and loving God, and his Church must be living and loving too, and living things continue to move and grow. AMEN