Sharing some thoughts

It’s been quite a while now since I mentioned my trip to the Holy Land in a sermon, so I thought it was about time I did again! Tonight’s reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (12:18-29) invites us on a journey – a journey to view 2 mountains. The first is Mount Sinai, a great unapproachable mountain, the mountain upon which tradition suggested the law was given to the Israelites. It was revered as the mountain of the dwelling place of God – the God who is unapproachable, the God who can’t be touched, the God of a blazing fire – the God too awesome to even contemplate. And the second is Mount Zion the place of the heavenly Jerusalem, the place where angels celebrate with all those in heaven in the presence of God. This is an inviting mountain, a place where God seeks a relationship, a relationship built on love and trust. But then back to my Holy Land trip. Well, we wanted to see Mount Zion, and on the very first evening we stood on the Mount of Olives and asked our guide where it was...

A little boy went along to a prayer meeting one day with his father. It was quite an intense prayer meeting where everyone prayed very loudly. Later the little boy remarked to his father, ‘If they lived nearer to God, they wouldn’t have to shout !’ Out of the mouths of babes… Lent is a time when we traditionally seek to get closer to God, to live a little bit nearer to him, and today in our readings (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Hebrews 5:5-10 & John 12:20-33) we are reminded of some of the promises that we are given by him. We are reminded of the new covenant, the promise that Jesus has made to each one of us, a promise of new life offered in love through his death and resurrection. As we get closer to the commemoration of Palm Sunday, Holy Week, and ultimately to Easter Day, (and especially as today we celebrate a baptism in the service) I think it’s worth just spending a short time reflecting on new life. And in the gospel reading I think we find some points on the subject. The first is t...

I read about a 12 year old boy who was born without an immune system. Eventually, he underwent a bone marrow transplant in order to correct the problem, but up until that point he had spent his entire life in a plastic bubble in order to prevent exposure to common germs, bacteria, and viruses that could kill him. In his plastic bubble, he lived without ever knowing human contact. When asked before his operation what he'd like to do if and when released from his protective bubble, he replied, "I want to walk barefoot on grass, and touch my mother's hand." Small things can mean such a lot to people – and I think today’s readings remind us of how important the care is that we give to others. In the reading from Exodus (2:1-10) we have the account of the birth of Moses. The house of Levi was expanding dramatically and the Pharaoh was worried that they may rise up against him, so he ordered all the new born Hebrew boys to be killed. But after his mother had hidden him he ...

I read once that one of the most common Bible verses used on gravestones is from the letter to the Philippians that we heard this evening. It says, ‘For to me, living is Christ, and dying is gain’ (1:21). The immediate interpretation of this verse is that to live with Christ now is to live with a hope centred on a future in which we can serve him in an even greater life. This has some merit, but ignores the very important fact that Christ calls us to live here and now… Paul wrote this letter from his prison knowing that there was a possibility he would never leave that place. It perhaps was inevitable that his thoughts would turn to death, and beyond death, and he was confident that what was to follow was better than anything he could ever imagine. His faith was tremendously strong and he knew God would carry him through any situation… The subject of death is not one that we want to consider too much or too often – there’s the story of the evangelist who asked all those who wanted to g...

The Passover was a great occasion in Jerusalem. People went to the City for the religious festival but they also went to join in the general celebration. Like today, any big event, attracted a lot of attention from traders, and even the Temple authorities saw it as a great opportunity to make some money. This was the scene in our gospel reading this morning (John 2:13-22). It’s one of those great human events, as Jesus stormed into the temple and found people selling animals and the money changers all ready to help with payment. Within the temple compound the Roman currency was considered idolatrous because it was stamped with the image of Caesar, and so people had to exchange Roman currency for Temple money to purchase the sacrificial offerings needed for the festival. Anybody who has travelled and changed currency knows the moneychangers always get a fee, and that was exactly the same in Jesus’ time, and the fee was taken on the Temple steps. I don’t think for a moment Jesus was too ...

This evening’s readings (Isaiah 51:1-4, Galatians 3:1-9, Matthew 15:21-28) focus very much on faith and beliefs, and also act as a reminder of the blessings of faith. Our faith is traced back all the way to Abraham as the Prophet Isaiah urges us to look at him and his wife Sarah, and see the blessings they received for their faith – they trusted in God, they followed a path that looked foolish at times, and yet God made him a father of a nation. God will bless us if we trust in him… And Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, is making a similar point, albeit rather more bluntly ! As the Church has begun to take off, systems and structures have started to be made, new rules have been brought in, often for good reason, but rules that have started to get in the way of the practice of faith… And then in the gospel from Matthew we hear of the faith of the Canaanite woman, and how her incredible faith results in Jesus healing the woman’s daughter. St Augustine wrote that ‘Faith is to believe ...

Mark 8:31-38 There’s a story about a Church minister who, before the beginning of the service one day had dressed up as a drunken tramp – he put on the scruffiest and smelliest clothes he could find, wore a big hat, a long dirty overcoat and a false beard. Before the start of the service the congregation were waiting quietly, as the minister banged opened the door and proceeded to walk down the middle of the Church – as he did people looked horrified, some turned away at the smell – eventually he sat down and a few people near by moved away. You could sense the muttering all around as people wondered what they should do – eventually a decision was made by some of the Church members that they would have to ask the man to leave as he was upsetting the regulars ! Of course, as soon as he was asked to leave he stood up, took off his hat and coat, and false beard, and turned to the congregation and announced the text, Jesus said ‘Whatever you do to the least of my brothers, you do to me !’ ...