The Word This Week

The Word This Week:

• Isaiah 43:16-21 
• Psalm 126 
• Philippians 3:4b-14 
• John 12:1-8

Thoughts on the Word:

Philippians 3:4b-14

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

 Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Pressing towards the Goal Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Over the past nine months, the value of ‘things’ has become abundantly clear to me.  You see nine months ago I resigned from my full time job as an executive in the public service, and became a full time student.  It was a decision my wife and I made based on faith – faith that God was leading me into ministry in His church, and faith that He would provide us with all that we needed in order to follow that calling.    As much faith as I had in making that decision though, it was still scary.  You see I am a husband and a father of three children.  I have responsibilities to them, and I had a good career, which was providing well for us – a career which ensured a secure future for me and my family.  We were comfortable – very comfortable truth be told… too comfortable.

Since I resigned from my job, our family income has come predominantly from government student and family payments.  This has been a big challenge for our family to adapt to – but it has also been a blessing, because it has taken the blinkers from our eyes.  You see while challenging, we are able to live without fear of starvation. We can pay for the luxury of electricity – for air conditioning in summer and heating in winter.  Despite a very heavy cut to our family budget, we are content.  Of course it comes with its challenges, and it is frustrating at times, however things which seemed important to us previously seem less so now. What has become clear to us is that we are blessed.  It is becoming clear that so much of what we valued in our previous lives was indeed rubbish, it is worthless. 

St Paul, in his letter to the Phillipians, describes those things which he previously felt to be of value –  things he lost for the sake of the Gospel –  to be now worthless rubbish also.  However Paul goes further, he says that all things, everything, is loss and rubbish.  For Paul, all that is of any value is Christ, and that which comes from Christ.  While we can strive to be good and earn ourselves accolades and the honour and respect of colleagues, friends, family and even fellow believers, all of this is worthless – it is rubbish. We can strive to follow the Law, and earn righteousness that way – but it is worthless, for true righteousness comes through Christ, and faith in him.

For Paul, experiencing loss, and dishonour, experiencing persecution and suffering for the sake of the Kingdom is not something to be bemoaned. It is something to celebrate, for it is an experience of the suffering of Christ.  It is a participation in His suffering and death.  If Christ deems us worthy to participate in His sufferings, for the sake of the Kingdom, then we can be confident he will deem us worthy to participate in His resurrection!

Paul calls us to look forward to the Kingdom, and to our resurrection to eternal life.  Our focus should be entirely on participating in God’s Kingdom, and whatever we lose along the way, we should not look back mournfully, but forward with confidence and hope.

As we are drawing near the end of our Lenten season and we approach the cross of Christ,  I wonder how much worthless rubbish we still carry with us.  So many of us give something up for Lent – only to take it up again immediately afterwards, I wonder, how much of those things which we feel are valuable in our lives, things we feel we ‘need’ could we truly count as loss? How many things could we do without forever? Just as importantly what can we replace them with – St Paul replaced them with dedication to the Gospel.  He dedicated his life to the Kingdom.  Now many of us are not called to be as radical as Paul in giving up all that we have in order to become missionary preachers, however we are all called to be radicals in another way.  We are called to be in the world, but not of the world, we are called to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God.   So as we approach the cross of Christ, we must examine ourselves, let us look at what we value, and determine is it Christ and His Kingdom, that we value, or is it worthless rubbish – for these are the only two options.

God bless you this week.

The Word This Week:

• Acts 2:14a, 36-41 
• Psalm 116:1-4, 12-19 
• 1 Peter 1:17-23 
• Luke 24:13-35
  

You can listen to this week’s sermon by downloading the mp3 file or by streaming audio using the player below.  Alternatively the text is available below.  Please read the scriptures above – The Gospel if nothing else – BEFORE listening to the sermon!

When we look to the story in today’s Gospel account of the men travelling to Emmaus, we see two powerful things. We see that Jesus is truly risen from the dead and also that he walks with people – even when they don’t know he is there…

Let’s look first to the fact that Jesus is risen. Luke in his Gospel, and the other gospel writers recount for us eye witness testimony of the risen Christ. These men, came running back to the Apostles, to tell them excitedly that they had seen the risen Christ. They knew the sort of ridicule the women had suffered earlier when they came back with similar stories, Luke tells us that they were thought t be telling idle tales. These men however weren’t concerned about the possible ridicule they might get for telling people about the resurrection, it was real, Jesus had walked with them, talked with them, instructed them and broke bread with them, and they wanted the world to know.

Brothers and sisters, Jesus is alive, he has risen from the dead and conquered the power of sin! He has opened the path to salvation and eternal life to all who seek it! We need to be excitedly telling people about this! We need to be like these two men who ran back to Jerusalem, to spread the news. We are to be his witnesses in the world.  Let me put it this way… people often say to me, oh I believe, I just don’t want to be one of ‘those’ Christians who is always talking about their faith, you know the kind, they are always trying to tell people about Jesus, they try and put Jesus into every conversation in Some way it’s just embarrassing…

Well brothers and sisters, here’s the thing… if we REALLY believe that Jesus was the son of God, if we REALLY believe that he took the consequence of our sin to the cross with him, and if we REALLY believe that he rose from the death, and opened the door to eternal salvation to all would seek it… then how can we NOT want to tell people? Jesus rose from death! This isn’t a small thing that we shouldn’t bother people with, it is the very crux of our faith it is the key to eternal salvation! We should be telling everyone we meet that Jesus is alive!

But this passage has some deeper insights for us to explore. When Jesus first meets with the men on their way to Emmaus, they don’t recognise him. Never the less Jesus walks with them, and he gives them insight into the scriptures, he comforts them, and helps them to understand the pain they are suffering. Even though they didn’t recognise his presence, Jesus was with them.

We all have suffered loss, we have suffered pain, and we all have questioned where God is in the most troubling times in our lives. This scripture tells us where God is – Jesus is walking with us, he is available to comfort us, he will guide us and walk with us just as he does with these two men in our Gospel account. We need to remember in those troubling times that just as these men in our story didn’t recognise the presence of Christ with them as they were dealing with their grief over the crucifixion of Jesus, we too in our own struggles often struggle to see or feel the presence of God with us – but that doesn’t mean he isn’t there.

Jesus eventually reveals himself to the men in the breaking of the bread, and it is only then that the men can look back in hindsight at their journey, and see that they were in fact not alone in their pain and mourning, but that Jesus himself was with them on the journey. We too often only recognise the movement of God in our lives in hindsight, when we look back we can sometimes see that God really was with us.

So how do we help to ensure we can feel the presence of Jesus walking with us on our journey, rather than only seeing him in the rear vision mirror after the fact? Well again our Gospel points us in the right direction.  As the men reached their destination Jesus was about to walk on, and the men, despite their grief and struggles live their faith as Christ had taught them – they offer hospitality to the stranger. I wonder if I was in a similar position, dealing with grief and struggling with loss, if I would have invited the stranger to come and stay with me? Would I have asked him in or would I have took the opportunity to get some rest and alone time to deal with my grief? What would you have done?

The men choose to put their own struggles aside and offer hospitality to the stranger, and because they did so the Lord of Lord’s and King of King’s was revealed to them, they were able to know his presence with them.  Now I’m not suggesting that it is wrong to want to have some alone time in grief, everyone deals with hard times differently and needs to mourn and deal with things in their own way.  What I think this story does tell us though is that we need to continue to live our faith even when we struggle, because it is through living our faith that we encounter God.

The way that Jesus reveals himself in the breaking of the bread also points us to how we can experience the presence of God on our journey. When we take part in the Eucharist we experience the spiritual presence of Christ with us, through the bread and wine. Jesus in revealing himself in the breaking of the bread points us to the Holy Communion as the central way in which we can experience the true presence of Jesus among us.

As we all start out on our journey this week, I encourage you to reread this Gospel passage. To reflect on your own journey and to look for Christ walking with you. I encourage you to boldly live your faith, because it is through living what you believe that you will encounter our living Lord. I encourage you to be like the men in our Gospel, who proclaimed Jesus risen, even though they risked ridicule and mockery.

Go forth in confidence brothers and sisters, and know that Jesus is walking with you on your journey

The Word This Week:

• Deuteronomy 26:1-11 
• Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16 
• Romans 10:8b-13 
• Luke 4:1-13

Thoughts on the Word:

Luke 4:1-13

Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, “To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

This week as we come to the first Sunday in our Lenten journey we encounter Jesus, the human being, being tempted by Satan.  We find him in the wilderness, having been fasting for 40 days, his body would be screaming at him to eat something – anything.  How easy it would be to listen to Satan, at this point when He is at his weakest.  We can assume that he is emotionally and mentally drained after enduring 40 days of temptation and torment from Satan and that as a human being just like us he would be becoming desperate to break free of this torment and return home to comfort and shelter – to food! Yet Jesus does something remarkable – something that we all must look to in our own struggles and through our own temptations. 

When he is literally starving Satan whispers in his ear – If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” Oh how truly tempting it must have been for the Jesus to say yes to Satan’s temptation.  After 40 days he could simply say to this stone ‘become bread’ and he could have his fill.  Yet our saviour doesn’t say ‘become bread’ … he rather replies “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”  This is a quotation from Deuteronomy 8:3 which says – He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

You see when he is tempted to follow his own desires – to fulfil his own wants and needs instead of God’s he turns to the Word of God – and he refutes the Devil’s temptation by declaring that he lives on the Word of God – and not of earthly things. Satan by now is becoming desperate – after all he has been trying to get this bloke to crack for 40 days, and even now in His state of weakness and desperation he still won’t turn away from God.  So he shows Jesus all the Kingdoms of the World, and offers Him dominion over all of them if only He will bow down and worship Satan.  Now this may have been tempting – after all think of all the good that could be done if Jesus was in complete control of the world, the oppressive Roman empire would be transformed into a Utopian paradise – yet the price for this is to turn from God and worship Satan.  Jesus again turns to his knowledge of the Word of God to reject Satan’s offer “It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”  again he draws from the book of Deuteronomy, this time chapter 6 verse 13 which says – The Lord your God you shall fear; him you shall serve, and by his name alone you shall swear. Despite what good could come from accepting the temptation of Satan, Jesus knew that in doing so he would be committing a grievous act – he would be turning His back on the creator and sustainer of all things – No matter how good it seemed, nothing is worth turning your back on God and bowing down to Satan, or any other false God, as the remainder of Deuteronomy 6 makes clear.

Finally, Satan in a final act of desperation tempts Jesus to throw Himself from the temple – this time attempting to use God’s Word to confuse and trick Jesus.  Satan quotes from Psalm 91:11-12, in order to show that Jesus is under the protection of God and can do whatever he pleases.  Jesus’ reply – “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” is drawn from Deuteronomy 6:16 .

Jesus rejects all of Satan’s offers, no temptation that the evil one can muster up is enough to make Jesus turn away from God.  You see this whole passage is about something that affects all of us, just as much as it affected Jesus.  It is about choice.  Jesus has free will, just as every human who has ever lived has free will.  Jesus could have chosen of his own free will to turn that rock into bread, or to rule the world’s kingdoms, He could have thrown Himself off that temple, confident that He would be caught by the hands of Angels – yet he did not.  Jesus made a different choice… every time He was tempted to sin, Jesus made the conscious decision to be obedient to God.   Obedience to the will of God is what Jesus exemplifies, and it is what He calls us to also.  When we are tempted to go the way of the world, just as Jesus was in this Gospel account, we are being presented with an opportunity to make a choice – do we listen to the voice of Satan whispering in our ear, or do we instead choose obedience to God. 

Now many will say, ‘but how do I determine what the will of God is? … I want you to pay close attention as I read to you Jesus’ responses to Satan’s temptations. 

“It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’”

“It is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’”

“It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Did you notice something familiar in each of those responses?  It is written; It is written; it is said… Jesus points us to the Word of God in order to show us the will of God!  There is no better way for you to learn the will of God for your life than to be familiar with His Word.  You must build a relationship with God modelled on Jesus, and His relationship with God.  You will remember throughout the Gospel accounts we repeatedly see Jesus in prayer, often away from others.  You see Jesus gives us the model, and sets us the example.  The only question is are we ready to follow Him?

I encourage all of you to reflect on this reading, and especially on Jesus willingness to be obedient to God, even in the face of extreme hardship.  I pray that you fortify your own hearts against the temptations of this world through deepening your knowledge of the Word of God, and through regular prayer.

Finally take heart, because while you may have missed it, the Spirit of God never left Jesus during His temptation and hardships.  Our Gospel account tells us at the outset that Jesus was ‘led by the Spirit in the wilderness…’  It doesn’t say that the spirit took him out there and left Him – but that it led Him during His temptation.  Likewise the Spirit of God is always with you, and will give you strength to endure any temptation or hardship.

The Word This Week:

• 1 Kings 8:(1,6,10-11), 22-30, 41-43 and Psalm 84  OR
• Joshua 24:1-2a, 14-18 and Psalm 34:15-22  AND
• Ephesians 6:10-20 
• John 6:56-69

Thoughts On The Word:

It has been one of those weeks! I have had two essays due this week for my B. Theology, and as a result haven’t written anything for you!  However I have below provided an excellent sermon by The Rev. Dr. Samuel D. Zumwalt, which was originally published here.

John 6:56-69

Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.” He said these things while he was teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum.

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” But Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, “Does this offend you? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But among you there are some who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who were the ones that did not believe, and who was the one that would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”


JESUS MEANS ASSURANCE

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today the Lord Jesus tells us that He means assurance – the assurance of everlasting life to all who entrust themselves to Him as their Savior, the Lord of Life and death, and who are also baptized into His death and resurrection. Jesus means assurance for those that ponder who they are, whose they are, and where they are going ultimately. Do you know Jesus as Savior, as the Lord over your life and death? Do you trust Him to give you the eternal life that He has promised? Have you been baptized into His death and resurrection?

A few years ago a woman came into my office for pastoral conversation. She had just been to a family reunion, and it was ugly. As she described it, quite a few of her relatives had spent their whole lives swimming in the shallow end of the gene pool.

With great tears in her eyes, she asked: “Pastor, why is it that I feel closer to my church family and safer around them than my own family?” Well, I couldn’t help myself, I answered: “Because your family is crazier than hell.” That’s when she got her sense of humor back.

Somebody once said: “Jesus promises that you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. What He didn’t say was: ‘Before the truth sets you free, it really has to tick you off.'”

My friend and former parishioner needed to tell herself the truth about her family. They were crazier than hell. And she was a whole lot safer and whole lot more loved by her church family. And it was really OK that she didn’t want to be around her family very often or for very long. They spent more time tearing her down than building her up. Alcohol was their best friend, and they wanted her to share their best friend. My friend couldn’t be around them for very long, because she knew the truth about herself, too. She had a fatal progressive disease called alcoholism, and she just didn’t need to be around people – even her own family – when they were drinking.

In today’s Gospel lesson, the Lord Jesus is telling the truth about Himself but some of His disciples can’t handle the truth. They can’t handle that Jesus is God in the flesh, the Son of God and the Son of Mary, truly God and truly human. They can’t fathom that He is claiming to be the living Bread of Life, the living message of God’s great love. Jesus’ words about eating His flesh and drinking His blood in order to abide in Him sounds to them like a bunch of cannibalistic gibberish. And so some of them suddenly decide they have places to go and people to see. They become the very first post-disciples. They are so done with Jesus!

Now you probably know some people that are post-disciples – people that used to follow Jesus and used to listen to Him and used to learn from Him. But now, like the disciples in today’s Gospel lesson, they have turned back and no longer walk with Jesus.

Someone once said that Christianity has not so much been tried and found wanting. That mostly Christianity has gone untried. In other words, people never really got to know Jesus as Lord and Savior in the first place. Some never really listened to Him or learned from Him. For some, Jesus was like some fairy tale figure that you grow too old to believe in. For some, Jesus was like a childhood friend that you outgrew, because you were going places in life where He was saying you just didn’t need to go!

Why is it that some people leave Jesus behind? I think that they’re busy trying to win someone else’s approval. My friend and former parishioner could have decided that it was more important to be accepted by her crazy family than to do the next right thing. She could have been so needy for their approval that she would have done what would tear her life apart just in order to fit in. But my friend didn’t go there, because she knew Jesus as her Lord and Savior. She knew that she was more precious, lovable, and valuable than God’s own life. And while it hurt not to have a so-called normal family, she had found a more loving family in her church and in Alcoholics Anonymous.

When you know Jesus as Lord and Savior, you know who and whose you are – you are a child of God. You know where you are going ultimately – you have the Lord Jesus’ promise that He is yours and you are His. You have been buried and raised with Him in Holy Baptism. Like Peter, you can’t go anywhere else – the Lord Jesus has the words of eternal life. You know the truth, and the truth has set you free.

The sanest people I know – the most grounded people I know – the most centered people I know all know who and whose they are and where they are going ultimately. And you can’t budge them with a bulldozer. They know Jesus, and they abide in Him.

I say this from time to time, and I’ll say it again today. We practice the faith, so it’s there when we need it. We follow Jesus. We listen to Him and learn from Him, so that when the really tough stuff comes along we don’t stupidly try to handle it without Him!

Sometimes it’s really hard to entrust yourself to Jesus, your Lord and Savior. When it seems like no one loves you, you are vulnerable to settling for less. When it seems like no one cares about you, you are vulnerable to settling for less. When it seems like the really popular people don’t acknowledge you, you are vulnerable to settling for less. When it seems like God has forgotten you or has really let you down, you are vulnerable to settling for less. When it seems like everyone else has it so much better than you, you are vulnerable to settling for less. And that’s when we are tempted to be stupid – to try to play the hand life has dealt us without Jesus. That’s when a lot of us mess up our lives. We leave Jesus behind. We settle for less, and we really get hurt!

To those that think Jesus is a spoil sport that just doesn’t want anyone to have any fun, I have to say, “You’ve really got it wrong.” He doesn’t want any of us to get hurt. That’s why our God says “No” to us in Scripture. He knows that when we disobey, that when we don’t listen, we are headed for heartache – ours and often someone else’s, too!

Jesus means assurance. God so loved you and me, and the whole world, that He became human in Jesus Christ to save us from sin, death, and evil – to save us from ourselves. Whatever we have done, wherever we have been, however we have been hurt, however we may have hurt others, the Lord Jesus has died on the cross to take away our sins. God loves us. God wants us to have His forgiveness. God wants us to live with Him forever. He wants us to abide with Him in His life and His love. He doesn’t want us to run away and to keep on doing stupid things to ourselves and to others.

So if today you are hurting deep down inside because of something you have done or because of something someone has done to you, hear the Lord Jesus’ promise. God loves you. God forgives you. God wants you to live with Him forever – and forever begins right here and right now! The Holy Spirit is knocking on the door of your heart.

Bow your head with me and repeat this prayer silently in your heart: “Lord Jesus, I have done some really stupid things in my life. I have tried to live without your help. I have run away from you too often. I have cared more about what others think than about what you think. I have doubted your goodness and your love. Have mercy on me, a sinner. Take all my sins to your cross. Help me to trust you with my living and my dying. I want to live with you forever. Help me to walk with you. Abide in me. Stay with me. And help me never to leave you. You have the words of eternal life, my Lord and my God. Amen.”

Now please open your eyes.

Our heavenly Father wants everyone in the world to be drawn into His endless life and love. He not only sent His Son Jesus to be born of a virgin and to die on the cross for the sins of the world. God’s Son Jesus continues to come by His Word of promise in the bread and in the wine of Holy Communion. He doesn’t solve the mystery for us. He isn’t speaking figuratively. He promises that He is present in the bread and the wine, and He comes to forgive the sins of all who are truly sorry. Jesus comes to abide in us, to live in our hearts, so that we will be able to remember who and whose we are and where it is that we are going ultimately. The Holy Spirit is working to draw us and keep us close!

If you haven’t been baptized with water in the name of the Triune God or if you have a child that hasn’t been baptized, then please speak with me at the door. I’ll tell you to give me a call this week to set up a time to talk about getting baptized.

If, like my friend and former parishioner, you have been to hell and back and need to talk about it, please call me or e-mail me, I would welcome pastoral conversation with you. God does love you. He wants you to know His forgiveness in Jesus’ Christ. He wants you to share in His life and love forever.

Jesus means assurance – the assurance of everlasting life to all who entrust themselves to Him as their Savior, the Lord of Life and death, and who are also baptized into His death and resurrection. Jesus means assurance for those that ponder who they are, whose they are, and where they are going ultimately. Do you know Jesus as Savior, as the Lord over your life and death? Do you trust Him to give you the eternal life that He has promised? Have you been baptized into His death and resurrection?

If you know Jesus, don’t be a stranger to worship in His house. Introduce your family and your friends to Jesus. Pray daily. Worship Weekly. Read and study your Bible. Serve at and beyond St. Matthew’s. Be in Relationship to encourage spiritual growth in yourself and others. And give generously of the time, talents, and resources that God has placed in your hands for a few short years! When you see Him some day, you want to hear Him say: “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

This sermon was taken from http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/predigt.php?id=3716&kennung=20120826en

Ok, I know it’s been a while since my last post, and you had probably thought it wasn’t going to happen.  I apologise for that.  The thing is, I haven’t felt inspired to write anything.  I have a post sitting in draft.  I’ve written and re-written it 4 times.  It doesn’t feel right, so I’m not posting it.  I obviously haven’t go the message that God wants me to share and I won’t publish something that doesn’t feel right.

I don’t want this page to turn into a referral to other blogs, but I am again going to share something I found, which I think a lot of people could get a lot from.  I originally just sent a link to Hubs, but he encouraged me to put it on here.  I think he’s worried that I’m letting my side of the site slip.  Either way, here it is!

This article was written for Dads, but anyone who has a special little someone in their life could find something for them in here.  I found this article here, and my wonderful hubby has made it available for you here!

The Word This Week:

8th Sunday after Epiphany
Isaiah 49:8-16a

Psalm 131

1 Corinthians 4:1-5

Matthew 6:24-34

Thoughts on the Word:

Matthew 6:24-34

 ‘No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

 ‘So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

Who here remembers the song by Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry Be Happy? I would sing some for you, but I fear the replacement costs for the stained glass windows would be prohibitive!

Brothers and sisters in todays Gospel passage Jesus is almost reciting those words to us – Don’t worry be happy – he is telling us that God is in control. That God is faithful and  He calls us to be a people of faith.

The Gospels brim with examples of how “faith” is fundamentally a matter of trusting God, leaning on God—not so much believing that God exists as believing that God actually is an intimate, caring parent and a trustworthy deliverer, and moreover, that this care and deliverance is for me, for you, for us, for all. God feeds and clothes the world’s creatures, Jesus insists, even the birds of the air and the grass of the field are fed and clothed by the divine hand; if God cares for them, then surely God cares for us as well. 

When it comes to our own basic well-being, however, there is an apparent competitor for our trust in this regard, another means of material provision that Jesus sums up using the Greek word mamonas (“mammon,” “wealth”). But what Jesus has in mind in using this term is not great sums of money, or even mere money at all, but rather a money-centred approach to life’s basic needs: a strictly material outlook.

We cannot, Jesus says, have it both ways. That is, we cannot at the same time (1) trust ultimately in our own economic striving as the foundation of our basic well-being and (2) trust ultimately in God as that same foundation. There can be only one ultimate foundation, only one ultimate trust. So we must continually, and mindfully choose which of these we take to be the true bedrock of our lives, our own economic self-care or God’s care for us. Our choice will determine the ground on which we stand. Jesus put it as “No one can serve two masters”

This does not mean, of course, that Christians should stop looking to provide for ourselves. If our ultimate trust is properly directed toward God’s care for us, there is no reason to rule out the idea that God will graciously provide us a job and a salary. However, something else is ruled out, namely, “worry about your life.” If we truly are under God’s loving, personal care, if God truly does and will provide, then though we may and should work and “strive,” in the end our own efforts are not the source of our well-being. In truth, God is taking care of that, no matter what circumstances may come and go – Look at the birds. Consider the lilies. They do not worry, and neither should we.

Jesus taps into our human nature in this Gospel passage — into our desire for control and comfort. We want to believe that we are in control of our lives and that we make choices and decisions from a place of objectivity and rationality. When things get out of control, we feel overwhelmed and frustrated. These feelings lead to behaviours that are unhealthy and destructive— it can lead to such things as manipulation, self-medication, greed, possessiveness, and depression, among others.

Jesus, as usual, offers an alternative to the destructive way we ourselves so often choose. If we are committed solely to obtaining wealth, we will worry: Will we get what we seek? How can we keep what we have? When is enough, enough? These are the questions we ask ourselves when we are concerned with material things and fret over them.

Lets be clear Jesus is not preaching a prosperity gospel here; nor is he preaching that we should be passive observers waiting for God’s blessings to shower down.

Jesus offers a choice: Mammon or God. If we choose wealth as our priority, we can expect great highs and devastating lows. If we choose God, in good times and bad we have no reason to worry. The point is that God will provide for us – God is faithful.

“Don’t worry, be happy” can sound shallow, frivolous, and unrealistic. Jesus tells us that the life of faith is not without its issues, concerns, and challenges. There are setbacks, delays, detours, failures, frustrations as well as joys, triumphs,  and accomplishments. Jesus condones neither wanton greed nor personal irresponsibility. The point is that when we are about God’s business and operating out of God’s vision for us, we have no room or need for worry. All is in God’s hands, and we are assured that we can handle whatever happens, because God is in control.

Brothers and sisters few of us are exempt from worry and anxiety. Most of us live with chronic worry, and we are scared of everything—losing our homes, losing our jobs, not having enough for retirement; caring for our children until they reach adulthood; worrying about them more when they are adults.  We as Anglican Christians in this diocese have found ourselves worrying and fretting over the diocesan finances and our ability to survive and thrive as a diocese into the future.

Those who have little, fret over having adequate shelter, food, and water; finding a decent job; taking care of their families; having enough money to survive. All of us—rich and poor, privileged and exploited—have legitimate reasons to fret and worry, even though we know such actions do not change the realities we face.

Jesus understands this; his call to worry-free living is not based on unrealistic views of the world. His words tell us that God will not leave us without support, they tell us that God is faithful and that in times of struggle and fear and doubt we can lean on our heavenly father. We can face life with all its uncertainties with the assurance that we are not alone—that God hears, sees, and cares about us and our situations. Brothers and sisters “Don’t worry, be happy,” because God is in control.

***Disclaimer – this week I have blatantly plagiarised large portions of this sermon from the book Feasting on The Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year A Volume 1 (2010, Westminster John Knox Press) and if the publisher wishes me to remove any portion I will do so cheerfully.

The Word This Week:

Malachi 3:1-4

Psalm 24

Hebrews 2:14-18

Luke 2:22-40

Luke 2:22-40 (NRSV)

When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”

Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.” And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.” There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day. At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.

Let us pray – In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit Amen.

Good morning/evening,

Today before I begin, I want us to do a little experiment.  I would like everyone to close their eyes and picture the things that you most want to see happen during your lifetime.  It may be anything – from being held in high regard by the community so that you will leave a legacy, to gaining wealth,  security.. the happiness of loved ones… whatever is your hearts greatest desire, hold it in your mind.

Ok let’s open our eyes again… did you see the thing you most desired?

When we imagine the things we most want to see in our lives we have an unlimited number of things that we can list off… and almost all of them are inward looking… we want wealth for ourselves, security, happiness for us and those we love, we want to see things and do things… but the man Simeon from our Gospel account wanted something else – something which wasn’t restricted to a narrow reference of himself alone.  Simeon wanted nothing other than to see the unfolding of God’s promise for His people.

You see Simeon was so focussed on God that all he sought was that he might be a witness to the fulfilment of God’s will.  He sought nothing for himself, other than the satisfaction of knowing that God purpose was being achieved. Simeon put aside his own wants and needs and placed all of his hope in the will of God. What a model of faith is this man!

How often I wonder do we as Christians put God’s will – Gods satisfaction – above our own desires? For Simeon, placing God first in his life meant that he was able to recognise when salvation was in his presence… he was able to see God in his midst when the infant Jesus was brought to the temple.

Not only was he able to know the presence of God and recognise it, but he was also given greater understanding and knowledge of God’s purposes – our scripture tells us that the ‘Holy Spirit was upon him’,   and he spoke prophetic words over Jesus when he said – “for my eyes have seen your salvation,  which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,  a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

Like Simeon the prophetess Anna whom we are told was so dedicated to the Lord that she never left the temple, and was always in prayer and fasting night and day, was able to recognise the action of God in her midst.  She saw in the Christ child the redeemer of Israel, and proclaimed the news to all who would listen.

You see for Simeon and Anna the glory of God was revealed. Everyone else was milling about in the temple paying no attention to this baby and his parents. After all it was quite a common thing to see parents with their new born at the temple to fulfil the redemption sacrifice for their first born. But Simeon, and Anna were different. Their focus wasn’t on their own preoccupations, rather it was on God and because they were focussed, because they had their gaze firmly fixed, they were able to see the action of God.  They recognized God’s will being fulfilled right in front of their eyes while everyone else couldn’t see the forest for the trees.

Brothers and sisters how often do we wonder about God? How often do we ask questions like where is God in this? How could God allow this? Is there really a living God active in the world?

I wonder if we are a little like the rest of the people at the temple that day, who had God incarnate right there in front of them but couldn’t see him. For Simeon, and for Anna these other questions fell away, not because they are not worth asking, but because they had made a decision to place God, and the fulfilment of God’s purposes at the forefront of their own lives.

When we look to the Gospel today, and when we recall all those times when we have felt that God was a long way off,  we must ask ourselves the question – Am I like Simeon and Anna? Have I placed God first in my life, or do I still cling to those things which call to me from this world?

Now brothers and sisters, I am not suggesting that it is all straight forward and easy. It is not, we are called to a life of living sacrifice, in the service of the King.  Jesus says that we are to take up our cross and follow him, and that means that sometimes we will be tested, and our faith will struggle, and we will begin to ask those questions again… where is God… it is in that moment that we must not be discouraged, but where we should look to the example of Simeon and Anna, and submit to God.  It is when we begin to falter that we must recommit ourselves to placing Christ at the centre of our lives, and placing all of our faith, hope and love in the one who is creator and sustained of all. 

There is still more we can learn from this Gospel passage though!  Not only do Simeon and Anna show us that it is through placing all of our faith in Christ that God is revealed to us, but they point us to what we should do once we have put God in charge of our lives.  Let’s read again what Anna did when she recognised who Jesus was… ‘At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.’

The very first thing Anna does when she sees that the promised redeemer has arrived is to start telling people.  Anna could be called the first evangelist, as she went about proclaiming the good news of the arrival of Jesus to all who sought salvation.

Brothers and sisters if we are Christians it means that we must place God first in our lives.  And if we have placed God first in our lives that means that we recognise Jesus as the redeemer of humanity. If we can see that Christ is the redeeming son of God, who offers forgiveness and salvation to all, then we are called to tell all who would listen! We are called to be like Anna and Simeon.

 Dear brothers and sisters, let us all as we go forth from this place today, leave with a renewed purpose, and hope.  Let us go forth into the world placing God’s purposes above our own, for it is in the fulfilment of the divine will that we will find true happiness.  Finally let us be bold as those who see Christ as our salvation, to proclaim to all who would hear, that we have seen salvation come and its name is Jesus.

The Word This Week:

• Revelation 7:9-17 
• Psalm 34:1-10, 22 
• 1 John 3:1-3
• Matthew 5:1-12

Today we celebrate the feast of All Saints.  It is a feast that we as Anglican Christians celebrate annually along with our brothers and sisters in some other denominations.  However there are many Christian denominations out there that have completely done away with the idea of celebrating saints days – and even this general thanksgiving and celebration of All Saints.  Can I say at the outset that I view that as a great shame.  We as Christians can learn so much from those who have come before us! And from those boldly living out their faith today.  Today is about giving thanks for the gift to the world that the lives of Christians past, and present are and have been – it is not about putting these people in exalted positions in place of God – it is about looking to them as ones who point the way to God.  A clear example of this for me is found in the story of St Francis. Tell me what do you think of when you recall the love and compassion of St Francis of Assisi, and the faith that made him say, whilst undergoing great pain and suffering which eventually led to his death: “I thank you, Lord God, for all my pains; if it pleases you, Lord increase them a hundredfold. I shall thankfully accept whatever sorrow you give, not sparing me; for in the fulfilment of your will I find my greatest solace.”

What a faith is this! To be so committed to God that even pain and suffering are no barriers to your commitment.  When I read of Francis’ life I give thanks to God, I pray to the Father that I might be able to emulate the faith, love and devotion of Francis – I certainly don’t elevate him to any position of deity.  That my brothers and sisters is the point of days like this – we celebrate and give thanks for the Saints – for those known to us like Francis and for those who are unknown, the ones who have been and still are faithful servants in the Kingdom of God.  We pray today that like them we can be faithful, and we ask God that we might follow their example of devotion to God.  


Of course there are many many millions of Christian faithful who have come before us and who live now, who are not celebrated as examples like St Francis is.  We know of many people in our own lives who have been for us examples of Christian love, care compassion and Who have been fortresses of faith.  Some of them have been very dear to us, and have now gone to dwell with God, some are still with us.  Today though is a time to reflect, and give thanks for all the saints, famous or not.  It is a day to thank God for their influence in our lives, for their courage to continue the spread of the Gospel for their ability to follow their Lord and saviour.

On this day I also want us to remember that we are members of a communion of saints.  We regularly recite the creed as part of our worship and say that we believe in…  ‘the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.’ .  How often have you read or said this without thinking on what it means? There are key phrases there I want you to notice – they are the communion of saints, and the life everlasting.  Now If we are a part of a communion of people who have everlasting life what does that mean? Christian tradition has since the earliest times of the church held that this means that we faithful witnesses don’t worship alone, but that we worship together with all the angels and the saints who have left this world and are now alive (cf. Jn 3:16) and in the presence of God.  

But what does this mean for us to be saints? ANd we are all saints my brothers and sisters – all who place their faith in Christ are saints.  What does it mean for us in our everyday lives?  Our Gospel reading today points us to the answer.

Lets examine it and see what it has to say to us.

5When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

A common problem I found in trying to research the beatitudes was – no-one seemed to know what it meant to be poor in spirit, in this context.  However it seems to me that this points to an acknowledgement – that we are all poor in spirit, we all are stained with sin, and through acknowledging this and turning to Christ we are cleansed – and become inheritors of the Kingdom. Jesus himself became poor in spirit for us when he went to the cross.

4 ‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Again, this can be a difficult one.  Some scholars suggest Jesus is referring to people mourning their sins, and the comfort they receive through the forgiveness of the cross. It could just as easily point to those who mourn the loss of loved ones, and today as we give thanks for the lives of Christians past and present – and we recall to mind the loss of our own loved ones it gives us a reassuring hope that comfort will come, that the faithful departed live on in the Kingdom and we will see them again. Jesus mourned over Jerusalem, he mourned over Lazarus and he mourns with us.

5 ‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

In modern usage meek has connotations of someone who is a door mat, who is timid, afraid to step forward.  The original meaning however referred to someone who is humble, gentle and kind. Jesus tells us in Matthew 11 that he is meek (gentle) and lowly of heart, and that we should learn from him…

6 ‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Righteousness, or being right, is a reference to our relationship with God, as much as it is to our relationship with each other. We by ourselves are incapable of ever coming into right relationship with God. We deserve justice – judgement.  But Jesus lived in perfect relationship with the father, he walked in God’s righteousness. He also called for  righteous behaviour from the world – he thirsted for it. We are called to trust in his righteousness, and to call on the world to follow him.

7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

It is so tempting for us demand vengeance when we are wronged.  However Scripture tells us that vengeance belongs to the Lord.  Jesus calls us to turn the other cheek, to forgive and be merciful.  ABove all Jesus himself is mercy personified – on the cross, God incarnate, who could have called legions of Angels to bring wrathful vengeance on those who had beaten and tortured him said instead:  Forgive them father, they know not what they do…

8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Jesus was sinless, the only one ever to walk the earth and be truly pure of heart – and though we are not, the stain or impurity of sin is wiped away when we put our faith in him.

9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Jesus is the prince of peace (Isaiah 9), he came to bring reconciliation. This might be troubling for us when we read of Jesus saying that he came not to bring peace but the sword(Matt 10) – however this is a reference to the actions of humanity in response to the offer of reconciliation and peace that Jesus brings – people turn against each other, those who take up God’s offer are chastised, rejected and persecuted by those who refuse peace.  We are called to continue to be makers of peace – following our Lord – by continuing to proclaim the Gospel.

10 ‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

I wonder if you have picked up the pattern yet… who could this beatitude be linked to… Jesus who was born as a man in order to fulfil the righteousness of God on our behalf was pursued relentlessly.  The religious authorities hounded him and eventually he was beaten, scourged and died a tortuous death – all for us.  

11 ‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

We in our modern liberal democracy where we have the freedom to worship without fear, have it relatively easy on the persecution front – but of course many millions of Christians around the world don’t.  Of course we don’t get off scott free – we are still subject to ridicule, and mockery.  We can still lose friends and family – just as Jesus warns us in Matthew 10 which we mentioned earlier. But we can take ultimate comfort in the fact that Jesus suffered first – and he is faithful to us.


Brothers and sisters –  The Beatitudes all point us to Jesus.  They are not a strict moral code against which we are to judge each other, but rather they are sign posts which point us directly to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. As members of the communion of saints we are called to unswervingly follow Jesus.


Please as you reflect on our readings this week, look forward to the new heaven and the new earth, and give thanks for the promise contained within.  Give thanks for those Christians who are in the presence of God now, and for those who roam the earth now.  Give thanks especially for those who have been a part of your life and faith journey. Pray that we, like those who came before us can be faithful servants in the Kingdom of God, so that at the end of our earthly lives we might join with them in worshipping our King in eternal life. Above all pray that we might all earnestly seek to walk with Jesus, seeking to emulate him and to be shaped  and moulded that the beatitudes might also be used to point to us just as they point to Christ.


The Lord be with you.

The Word This Week:

• 2 Samuel 23:1-7 and Psalm 132:1-12, (13-18)  OR
• Daniel 7:9-10, 13-14 and Psalm 93  • 
• Revelation 1:4b-8  • 
• John 18:33-37

Thoughts on the Word:

 The idea of a king (or queen) is something that seems odd to many of us, who live in modern liberal democracies.  While my country technically comes under the dominion of a monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) our constitution and legal structure is such that she is really no more than a figurehead who signs off on legislation.  This was not always how Kings and Queens were however.  The people of first century Israel certainly understood Kingship very differently.  They understood it in terms of absolute power – the King had complete control, of every aspect of the kingdom – from the treasury, to the army, to the religion of their subjects.  It was not uncommon for Kings to exercise this power with brutal force in order to ensure their continued reign – their continued power over their subjects.

When Jesus came, and it began to dawn on his followers that he was the promised Messiah – the promised King of Israel, they were expecting that he would exercise his power in the same way – preferably by first vanquishing their Roman occupiers and destroying all those who opposed his rule. 

However that is not the kind of King that Jesus is.  Jesus’ Kingship is not one of earthly dominion and power, rather it is a Kinship not of this world  – as we see in John 18:36.  It is important however that we understand that  Jesus saying that his kingdom is not “of this world,” certainly doesn’t mean that it is not “in this world.” Jesus calls us to live lives of justice and compassion, understanding and generosity. His kingdom, the reign of God, is centred on living out a life of service and love.  Jesus is a very different kind of King!

The apocalyptic readings we see for today in Daniel and Revelation show us imagery of Christ the King reigning in the heavenly realm.  These readings have meaning for today’s feast, for the end of the liturgical year and for the world in which we find ourselves today. First, they remind us of the nature of the authentic rule of Christ. It is a rule of victory through self-giving. It is a rule where authority springs from truth. Whenever we follow the example set for us by Christ, we participate “in this world” in the reign of God, which is not “of this world.”

As we reflect on this reigning victorious King who is our Lord and saviour – it is worth reflecting on the journey that we have taken over the liturgical year, which ends today.  The Church’s year takes us on a journey, from anticipation of the coming saviour in Advent (which we begin again next week) through his life, death and resurrection – today we conclude the liturgical year by looking to our triumphant King.  Let us in looking to Him, seek to love as He loves, to give as He gives and to serve as He serves.

God bless you this week.
Daryl.

This was adapted from here.