Lost and Found

Sermon by the Revd Dr Margaret Goodall

15 September 2013

1 Timothy 1:12–17 and  Luke 15:1–10

“Mum, is God a gown-up or a parent?” A friend was confused by her 5-year-old’s question. “I’m not sure what you mean,” she said, “What’s the difference between grown-up and a parent?” “Well,” the child said, “Grown-ups love you when you’re good and parents love you anyway.”

What a good question! Is God a grown-up or a parent? Does God love you only when you’re good? Or does God love you away, that is, any way you are? that’s what the Gospel lesson about: what is the nature of God’s love? Is it really complete and total and unconditional? Really? And if it is, what that mean for us? Do we we have to love everybody too? Or are there some people allowed to dislike because God doesn’t like them either?

Today’s Gospel finds the Pharisees and Scribes definitely acting as grown-ups. They have done a fine job of figuring out all the dos and don’ts of good and bad behaviour. And, they have, like Santa Claus, made list of who’s been naughty and nice, they’ve checked it twice, and they have separated themselves from the bad people, the “tax collectors and sinners.”

Problems start when Jesus acts more like a parent than a .grown-up; that is, even though he knows that people with whom he is going to eat are not acceptable, nice or good people; he’s going to party with them anyway.

This upsets the “grown-up” , the Pharisees and the Scribes because thought He was on their side. They thought he was one of them. They thought that because he knew so much about the Bible and talked about giving your all for the Kingdom of God he was an obviously good man, and must be a Pharisee or scribe or someone acceptable to the Pharisees and scribes and . . . . . .well, they couldn’t figure this behaviour out. What was he doing eating with those people? Doesn’t he know who they are, and what they’ve been doing? It is an unfortunate part of basic human nature that we try to figure out who’s in and who’s out;

It is when this separation-ism works its way into our Religion that it is especially scandalous. Not only do we decide whom we like and whom we dislike, who’s in and who’s out; we turn into grown-ups and judge the behaviour of others and love them only when they’re good and then put the blessing or curse of God upon our choices and prejudices; we know God is a grown-up too and will, of course, agree with us

This is what the Pharisees and the scribes did. Not only did they decide these people were violating God’s rules of good behaviour; they had further decided that GOD rejected bad people and would have nothing further to do with them, and so, all good People should unite in rejecting and shunning them as well. Therefore, when they saw Jesus’ eating and drinking and partying, with these “tax collectors and sinners,” they were appalled and seriously questioned his good person credentials. Jesus, as was typical of him, responded to their distress by telling them stories, stories about who’s in and who’s out, and about how God feels and acts toward those who are out.

The two stories have what we might call “God figures,” people who, according to Jesus, act like God. One a shepherd, the other a woman. These were interesting choices for Jesus to make, as shepherds and women were out as far as the Pharisees and scribes were concerned. Because of their nomadic, outdoor lifestyle, shepherds were unable to keep most purity laws. They slept, bathed, ate, lived outdoors. And women were always problem for strict Pharisees, who preferred to neither see them not speak to them anymore than was absolutely necessary.

Jesus’ stories about the 99 and the 1 sheep and the woman and her lost coin have two simple points. First, just as a shepherd values his lost sheep enough to spare no effort in looking for it, just so, God values all people enough to spare no effort in looking for them. God values us the way the woman values her coin and will spare no effort in getting us back.

These are incarnational stories, stories about God in Christ coming into the world to seek out and find God’s lost creation. Jesus is the shepherd seeking out those not in the fold, Jesus is the woman, sweeping through he house, looking high and low for a valuable possession.

Remember those feeling of discovering that one is lost. where is everyone else, and how do I find them? I was remembering when my son was missing in a busy shop. We had taught him to just stay put - to let them find him. If we are open to having the good Shepherd find us, we won't stay lost for long. If we search around aimlessly, and explore all sorts of fruitless paths, it's harder for us to be found.

And telling stories about the parties given by he shepherd to celebrate finding his lost sheep and the woman celebrating finding her coin, Jesus is chiding the Pharisees and scribes over their grouchiness in criticising Jesus spending time with “tax collectors and sinners.” Look, he says, God is really happy these people are interested in spiritual things That is cause for celebration.

He question for us is; are we grown-ups or Parents? Do we only love people when they’re good and like us, or do we love them anyway, including any way they are? Do we make lists of ins and outs, goods and bads, acceptables and unacceptables? Or do we, like Christ the good shepherd, the good wife, go into the world looking for those whom god has placed in our care, which is everyone.

What is the Gospel (the good news) for us today? Is God a grown-up or a parent? Does God love us only when we’re good, or does God love us anyway? God has clearly been revealed as a loving parent who never ever stops loving us. Christ came to seek us out. Christ has promised to hold on to us until the end of the age

This God of Jesus, who loves lost things, is the God I want to proclaim. God is looking for us. Sometimes its a long journey, and with some people it takes a lifetime before they allow themselves to be found.

These 2 parables tell of the nature/activity of GOD and direct us in discipleship and urge us to re-evaluate our lives of faith/work and of church to include welcoming those who have become lost from the fold. Remembering the lines from the hymn; "I once was lost, but now am found" might be a good place to start.

Prayer

God our holy Shepherd, you are the hope of those who are lost, and joy of those who are found. Save us from the silly notion that we always know best, and call us back from paths that lead to confusion and desolation. Bring us at last, with all your people, into that fold where nothing can ever again be lost.
Amen

Sermon for Racial Justice Sunday 2013

Martha George
Equality representative for the Church of Christ the Cornerstone

Sunday 8 September 2013

Deuteronomy 30: 15-20 and  Luke 14:25-33

These books address the law

Much has been discussed during the latter part of August, concerning the famous speech given by Martin Luther King in the United States of America. I HAVE A DREAM. Racial Justice does not concern skin colour. God created one race the human race. It is about you, it concerns the way you treat yourself and others. The entrance song sung by the choir ‘Lord how long will thou be angry’ began with a haunting sound of injustice. We are to be just to ourselves and to others.

The reading is taken from the book of Deuteronomy which is the fifth book of the Old Testament. The book of Deuteronomy concerns the Law. God commanded YOU MUST LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD; YOU MUST LOVE YOURSELF; YOU MUST LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR. Without love there is no justice.

If you do not love the people you can see you cannot love God the Lord has said if you do not love the people you can see you cannot love ME. Whatever you do to each other you do to me. Deuteronomy 30 verse 15-20 refers to the choice between good and evil, love between life and death. Love is goodness; hatred is evil. Life is justice; death is injustice. The Lord has commanded that if you love me keep my commandments’. My commandment is that you love yourself and one another. I shall refer to the opening song sang by the choir which ended in joyful song, the song of justice, the song of victory.

In the early life of the church the ministers thought it important that you have a voice, and have taken the necessary step to provide you with a representative. I am that representative, should you experience any problem please let me know; I shall try to address it, if I cannot then I will take it up with the Equality Council

In Luke 14 vv 25-33. Luke presents Jesus as the Saviour of the whole human race. Jesus turned to the people who followed him and said ‘those who come to me cannot be my disciple unless you love’. You are a disciple by your actions.

Jesus experienced injustice during his time on earth. On the cross he cried out I thirst! He was not thirsty because he was dragged along the streets, he was thirsty for you, he was thirsty for Justice; Work on yourselves so that you can give your best. I encourage everyone to be committed to love, when you go home give yourselves a pat on the back and say I LOVE MYSELF.

When I was a child I was rude to one of the servants at home and mother called out to me and said: "The servants are not your subordinate. If you are rude to them they will spit in your food. We have the money we are not able to do the work because we don’t have the time. They do not have the money but they have the time and can do the work, it is simply and exchange."

My mother was saying to me that it is not acceptable to be rude to others, not acceptable to treat others with indifference and certainly that the servants are not inferior. We are all equal, we are created by God’s hands and He made us the way he wanted. We have to accept the way He has made us, we did not have a choice in way God made us and we ought to love ourselves the way we are. We will be dead for longer than we will ever be alive. Death has no prejudice, it takes all. Why don’t we like each other? God has commanded us to love, why don’t we listen? When we begin to love we will be just to each other. If we love each other there will be no wars no fighting each other. Just as a child uses his colouring pencil and is happy with the result it is the same with God he is pleased with what He has created, He said unless you become as a child you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. I urge you to be kind to yourself, love yourself and one another love God, and as you leave when the service is over, leave marching in the light of Christ, you will be filled with the power of the Spirit because you are soldiers of Christ.

Genesis Study Group Presentation

Presented at the 10.30 am Service on 1 September 2013

The Relevance of Genesis for Today

The Genesis Study Group:
Hannah Akibo Betts (Tutor), Krou Assoua, Marie Kingham, Pat Kyd and Glynne Gordon-Carter

A group of us have been pursuing an Open Learning Programme designed by Trinity College Bristol. We started with the book of Genesis. The main aim of this course has been ‘to give an overview of the content and themes of Genesis and to enable us to interpret this book by using various methods of study’. Despite the title of the course, ‘Genesis the ancient story’, this book has a great deal of relevance for us today. We thank Brenda and Ernesto for willingly allowing us to lead part of today’s worship service. This group presentation is our final assignment for Genesis. Our tutor is Hannah Akibo Betts, to whom we are immensely grateful for her skilful leadership.

Today we have selected the topic of ‘Forgiveness’, which is a significant theme in the book of Genesis. God created the heavens and the earth with great care and created man in his own image. Human beings are central to God’s divine purpose, and so from the very beginning God lovingly provided humanity with an abundance and variety of food (Genesis 1: 24–31). He expressed his satisfaction at the end of each day’s creation, ‘and God saw that it was good’.

God does not distance himself from his creation, He is an involved God. He is the covenant God – the God of the three great patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Their significance is not based on their personal characters, but on the character of God. Abraham was one of a handful of people who really tried to follow God and so God appeared to him and promised to make him into a great nation (Genesis chapter 12: 1–9). These men were wealthy and powerful, yet they were capable of lying, deceit and selfishness, none more so than Jacob. Original sin had entered the world due to the disobedience of Adam and Eve. Notice, however, that God never withdrew the Covenant which he promised, despite their brokenness. He reaffirmed the Covenant time after time, and showed forgiveness to his chosen people repeatedly.

Let us consider the life of Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, who from before he was born struggled with Esau his twin in Rebekah’s womb. The younger son was named Jacob, which means ‘he grasps the heel’ (deceiver), and throughout his life Jacob often lied, was deceitful and selfish. He grabbed Esau’s birthright, and with his mother’s cunning plan deceived Isaac, his father, into giving him the blessings which should have been Esau’s. Jacob had to flee from home because Esau would have killed him. In fact, he never saw his mother again. While he was living in his Uncle Laban’s house, Jacob was tricked by his uncle. In the meantime he became wealthy and that incited the jealousy of Laban and his sons.

Then the Lord said to Jacob, ‘Return to the land of your father and grandfather and to your relatives there and I will be with you.’ (Genesis 31:3) While he was on his way, Jacob sent gifts to Esau. We see Esau running to meet Jacob after twenty years of separation, hugging and kissing his brother; they both wept. Esau too has been changed, his embrace expressed his forgiveness. Jacob brought many gifts to ensure Esau’s friendship. However, Esau explained that he was prosperous and did not need those gifts. Jacob addressed his brother as lord, said that it was a relief to see his friendly smile, and it was like seeing the face of God. Here we see total reconciliation.

It must be noted that this reconciliation took place after Jacob had wrestled with a man (angel) who had wrenched Jacob’s hip out of socket. Jacob called the place Peniel, ‘For I have seen God face to face and my life is preserved.’ God changed his name from Jacob to Israel (meaning ‘he struggles with God’). It seemed that Jacob (Israel) realised his dependence on God, who had continued to bless him, and so his relationship with God became essential to his life. So here we see a changed man. It is important to note that God condemned Jacob’s deceitfulness, yet he never took his eyes off him. In fact, years before, while Jacob was fleeing from Esau, God revealed himself to him in a dream and told him that, ‘he would inherit the promises first made to Abraham, of land, descendants and blessings to the nations’. God also said, ‘What’s more I am with you and will protect you wherever you go. One day I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have finished giving you everything that I have promised you,’ and so Jacob went to Shechem in Canaan, despite his brother’s invitation to settle in Seir.

It is noteworthy that God achieved a firm hold on Jacob, to the extent that when Joseph (Jacob’s son and Pharaoh’s adviser) invited his father, his brothers and all their families to live in Egypt, in order to be saved from famine, Jacob was unwilling to make the move without God’s approval (Genesis 46:1–3).

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Notice also the humility that Joseph showed in forgiving and being reconciled to his brothers, who had sold him into slavery twenty years before. ‘Don’t be afraid of me. Am I a God that I can punish you? You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.’ (Genesis 50:19). Throughout we see God protecting his chosen people in remarkable ways.

On reflection, some may say that God showed undeserved favour and grace to Jacob, despite his constant deception: remember, Jacob was meant to fulfil a divine purpose, and God was moulding him towards that end. The writer C.S. Lewis states, ‘To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.’ Philip Yancey, in his book What’s So Amazing About Grace?, said that he ‘came to know a God who is in the words of the Psalmist “a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness”’. Yancey reminds us that grace comes free of charge to people who do not deserve it. ‘… I know more surely than I know anything that any pang of healing or forgiveness or goodness I have ever felt comes solely from the Grace of God. I yearn for the church to become a nourishing culture of that Grace.’

Church family, the good news for us is that forgiveness and eternal life are available to all, and are gifts of God’s grace through faith in Christ.

Bibliography

C.S. Lewis, ‘On Forgiveness’, in The Weight of Glory and other Addresses, New York Collier Books/ Macmillan, 1980,  p. 125.

Philip Yancey, What’s so Amazing about Grace?, Zondervan 1997, p. 42.

Glynne Gordon-Carter

Genesis and the New Testament

We probably all remember the stories in Genesis: the early chapters of the Creation, Adam and Eve, Noah and the Flood. This followed by the story of God’s covenant with Abraham, and stories of the patriarchs Isaac and Jacob.

In studying Genesis, as we did over the last six months, I learnt a great deal, especially from discussions in our tutorial groups, which were fun. I also learnt something I wasn’t expecting: how important this first book of the Bible is to our understanding of Jesus and his ministry, and the spread of early Christianity.

The opening chapters of Genesis are the foundation of the theology of the New Testament writers. They wanted to give evidence of Jesus’s divinity. So, where Genesis begins, ‘In the beginning God created heaven and earth’, John’s gospel begins, ‘In the beginning the Word already was. The Word was in God’s presence and what God was, the Word was.’ Matthew begins his gospel by tracing Jesus’s line back through Abraham, to Adam, to show that Jesus is the Son of God.

When St Paul was explaining the basis of their faith to the newly emerging Christian churches, he referred to Genesis, especially to Abraham and God’s promise. Although the new churches were mainly Gentile rather than Jewish, Paul saw the churches as part of the continuing story of Israel, ‘an olive tree on to which branches of gentile believers have been grafted’.

He tells them that Adam, Noah and the patriarchs of Genesis were early members of the Christian Church and their stories demonstrate how God wants us to live. Paul tells the Galatians, ‘It is through faith that you are all sons of God in union with Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ you are the issue of Abraham and heirs by virtue of God’s promise.’

In his letter to the Romans, Paul emphasises the central importance of faith by quoting Genesis: ‘Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted him as righteous.’ Paul tells the Christians that their faith too is to be ‘counted’, a faith in God who raised Jesus up from the dead, after he had died, so that their sins might be forgiven.

Paul sees Christ as a second Adam. Whereas Adam’s disobedience to God in the Garden of Eden brought death to humanity, it is Jesus’s obedience to God which saves mankind. In his letter to the Romans Paul says, ‘Adam foreshadows the man who was to come. For if the wrongdoing of that one man brought death upon so many, its effect is vastly exceeded by the grace of God and the gift that came to so many by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ.’

The Bible is the story of how God reaches out to show his love and forgiveness to mankind. Genesis promotes the importance of forgiveness and reconciliation. We have already heard several stories of forgiveness from Genesis: Esau forgives Jacob for stealing his birthright, and Joseph forgives his brothers for selling him into slavery.

Jesus himself taught the Parable of the Prodigal Son, which illustrates redemption, love and forgiveness. And for Christians, Jesus is the source of their forgiveness. On the cross, Jesus forgave his executioners: ‘Father forgive them, they do not know what they are doing’.

So finally, let us all respond to Paul’s letter to the church at Ephesus. In reminding them of the grounds for their own forgiveness he urged them, ‘Be generous to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.’

Pat Kyd

Can God use me?

Today, I am going to talk about the theme, ‘Can God use me?’ You may be wondering, ‘Why should I want God to use me anyway?’ Let’s take a look at the picture for this message; it’s a picture of interlocking gears. Those gears represent you and me. God created you and fitted you together in a far more intricate pattern than any complex machine that man has ever made. When people make a machine with gears, they always make it with a purpose in mind. When God fitted you and me together, he made us with a purpose in mind. God wants to use you and me to accomplish something wonderful with our lives.

Many people use their lives to do things that God never intended. The Bible calls that a sin and the results are always tragic. However, when you let God use you for his purpose – brothers and sisters – the results are wonderful. They will make you happier and more fulfilled in life than you could ever possibly imagine. The problem for many people is that they don’t think they are of much use to God. They believe that they have too many imperfections, that they have done too many wrongs and sins for God to use them. However, the fact of the matter is that everyone has weaknesses and God chooses to use weak, imperfect, wrong and sinful people to accomplish great things. God has designed you and me with imperfections and weaknesses that make you and me prime candidate for him to use and work through. So – brothers and sisters – don’t count yourselves out. God wants to use you and me to do great things for him on this earth.

Let’s look at how we can cooperate with God to change the world.

Can God use me?

In Genesis 12:10–20 Abraham our father in faith put the promise of God in danger. He left the land of Canaan that God promised to give to him and to his offspring and went to the Land of Egypt. When there he also put God’s promise of offspring in danger. Seeing the beauty of Sarah his wife he fears for his life and said, ‘She is my sister.’ The promise of great nations that the Lord promised him was in serious danger. The same thing happens also in Genesis 20: Abraham at Gerar put God’s promise in danger again: King Abimelech would have slept with Sarah, had God warned him not to. Still God forgives and uses Abraham as much as he wants. In Genesis 14, when Abraham went to rescue his nephew Lot, some say he killed many people. Again God forgives him and uses him mightily.

Can God use me?

In Genesis 25 Jacob bought his brother Esau’s birthright with a bread and lentil stew. In Genesis 27 he also deceitfully took away his brother’s blessing; we all know the story. When God told Jacob to return to the land he had promised to his forefathers, to him and to his descendants, and that he would be with him, in Genesis 31–32, Jacob was afraid of what Esau might do when they met. He sent messengers to Esau, who returned to report that Esau was already coming with four hundred men. Jacob, fearing for his life, split his people and flocks into two camps, so that if one was attacked by Esau, the other might escape. Then he sent ahead servants with gifts of livestock for Esau. Again God uses him abundantly as he wants.

There are so many stories in the Bible where God uses those who are imperfect and sinful. God can also use you and me, if only we allow him to do so. Brethren, we are all candidates for God’s use. Remember, the Word said that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. He is a gracious and merciful God, who cleanses us and forgives our sin. Regardless of what we have done, God love us. He really does love us no matter how wrong are our sins. He can forgive us and cleanse us, and use us when and where he wants. Can God use me? God can use me! Amen.

Let us pray:

Father almighty, you know the future for each one of us. May your spirit abide in us to enable us to fulfil your purpose, which you have assigned to us on earth in your son Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

Krou Assoua

The Story of Hagar

Hagar was an Egyptian slave girl. Some said that she was given to Abraham by the Pharaoh of Egypt. She worked in service for Abraham and his wife Sarah. She was Sarah’s maid, but was never fully accepted into their tribe. It is believed that the name Hagar meant ‘Stranger’.

Instead of waiting on God to fulfil his promise, Sarah took matters into her own hands and used Hagar to be a surrogate mother. Hagar did not have any say in the matter, like many slave women in the ancient world. She was simply a possession, an object and a womb that Sarah gave to Abraham.

Hagar fell pregnant almost immediately and her attitude towards Sarah changed for the worse. She became insolent, smugness showing in her looks and actions. Being pregnant, Hagar felt she was a woman of worth and value and looked on Sarah with contempt. Maybe Hagar saw this as her chance for a promotion, to go from lowly maiden to being a full-fledged wife and mother of Abraham’s child. Sarah may have felt humiliated by the news of Hagar’s immediate pregnancy because of her own barrenness. She complained to Abraham of Hagar’s attitude. Abraham was saddened by Sarah’s jealousy, as Hagar was carrying his child. He was in a difficult position and did not know what to do. Abraham left it to Sarah to deal with Hagar as she felt appropriate. In a moment of rage, Sarah had Hagar thrown out into the desert.

The angel of God was looking after Hagar, called her by name and told her astounding things. She would have descendants too numerous to count, the same promise made to Abraham and Sarah. Hagar realised that the angel was really God. She was the first woman in the Bible to talk directly to God since Eve. Her baby Ishmael became the first person in the Bible to be named by God while still in the womb. The encounter must have been a profound spiritual experience. Hence she came to know the Lord as ‘The Living One who sees me’. Hagar was invited into a relationship with the God whom she had previously assumed to be only interested in Abraham and Sarah. In tender grace God met her immediate needs and allowed her to experience his presence. The Angel of the Lord encouraged Hagar to go back to her mistress, Sarah, and submit to her. God promised Hagar that he would multiply her descendants exceedingly. God was not asking Hagar to return to an abusive situation for the sake of it. He knew of the difficulty that lay ahead of her if she was to continue to travel on her own. Even if it was to her homeland of Egypt, being pregnant would not be well received. God guided her to choose ‘life’, albeit under Sarah’s roof.

The angel of the Lord appears to Hagar

Hagar returned to Abraham and Sarah and served Sarah for thirteen more years, during which time life was not easy for her. When Hagar’s son was born, the baby was named Ishmael by Abraham. Several years later Sarah gave birth to her son, Isaac. On an occasion when Sarah saw Isaac and Ishmael playing, her old anger at her slave returned. Sarah demanded that Abraham got rid of Hagar and Ishmael. This again saddened Abraham, as Ishmael was his son, but God told Abraham to go ahead and do what Sarah wanted. Hagar and Ishmael were sent out into the wilderness with only a little food and an animal skin of water. Soon they ran out of water, Hagar did not know what to do and left Ishmael under a bush to die. God called from heaven to remind Hagar that he was going to make Ishmael into a great nation and then showed her a well. That was enough for them to survive and they prospered. God’s relationship with Hagar was resealed with her son.

Abraham banishes Hagar and Ishmael from his home

Although God reassured Abraham that Isaac was the one with whom he would establish his covenant, he told Abraham that he would bless Ishmael to be fruitful and greatly increase his numbers. Ishmael’s descendants became a great nation as God had promised.

On many occasions the Lord came to Hagar’s aid. In the way he responded to Hagar, she said, ‘You are the God who sees me.’ In her plight, Hagar found favour with God and turned to him more and more. Throughout Hagar’s life she experienced estrangement and prejudice as a foreigner, hardship and abuse as a servant, grief and abandonment as an unwed pregnant woman. She also felt hopeless despair on a couple of occasions as she faced imminent death. Yet despite all these difficulties, Hagar responded to the God who spoke to her, the Lord God was her reward. For her, God was the one who heard her cries and who saw her afflictions. In the all-seeing God, Hagar found refuge and life. Hagar got to live out her days in the presence of God knowing that he was listening.

Hagar and Ishmael banished into the desert

Throughout this part of the Bible, people lived in ungodly ways and took matters into their own hands, and Hagar was no exception. But God is gracious and forgave their wrong doings, redeemed them to be in relationship with him and to fulfil the plans he had for mankind. He continues to be with us today, even though we still fall short of his expectations. He forgives us and welcomes us back to himself and uses us for his purposes.

Marie Kingham

Praying for Peace

Sermon by Hilary Webb 18th August 2013

I take my text for this morning from the epistle to the Hebrews 12:1

"With this great crowd of witnesses around us"

Over the past two months we have shared together our stories of ‘Welcome and Hospitality’ and ‘Relationships and Family’ in our ‘Knowing me, Knowing you’ conversations. We are not being specifically invited to continue these conversations today at the barbeque; but if we were then we could do no worse than to share stories of our own faith journey or stories of those special people whose faith has inspired or strengthened us. The writer of the letter to the Hebrews knew the importance of recalling the stories of those witnesses of faith, those people who continue the story of God’s kingdom here and now.

I wonder. What would your story be? Whose story would you tell?

What would OUR story be? The story of the community gathered here at Christ the Cornerstone witnessing to the love of God for the people of Milton Keynes?

Peter, who has been working in the archives gathering the history from the early days of a vision for a Church building and community here in Central Milton Keynes, would be able to tell us, I am told, many stories. Others would tell something different.

I have had the privilege over the past few weeks of looking for the story of one aspect of our worship here, Friday lunchtime Prayers for Peace. I have asked about the history of Prayers for Peace and what the service means for those who attend now. On the display board you can see the ‘work in progress’ and I do hope you will take the time to look at the display and feedback your comments to me. This is an interactive process, a theological reflection informing us about one aspect of our life together.

You may ask why I am doing this activity. During conversations in the early part of the year the worship committee realised that we were not really sure what was happening at Prayers for Peace and whether it was still valued and relevant as part of our weekday worship. I then attended a course in Oxford and learnt about a framework within which I could explore such questions and so I began, putting learning into practice and learning more as I did so.

I asked about the history of Friday Prayers for Peace and discovered that this service has been happening since before the library days. Meeting for a time of prayer for the peace of the world every week was so important to the pioneers of the ecumenical movement in Milton Keynes that it was established from the outset of a church community in Central Milton Keynes. Our current service continues to build on this early witness.

I considered the practice of praying for peace and was reminded of the service held every Friday in Coventry Cathedral since the late 1940’s I believe, reading the litany of reconciliation. I discovered that a central tenet of most religions is that of seeking peace and praying for peace. Books containing Prayers for Peace gather together writings from all over the world and right across the religious traditions. Here are a whole crowd of witnesses with whom we join our voices week by week.

That is where I started my exploration but as WE started, that is those involved in Prayers for Peace, we found so much as we shared what we liked about meeting together to pray, why we thought it was important and what in the Bible or Tradition encouraged us to continue to meet together to pray. We found our voice.

A voice which says that Prayers for Peace is important; it is 30 minutes available each week for anyone in the city and attended by Christians from all over the city. It is 30 minutes of calm in the busyness of the day. 30 minutes to think about the world, to share the concerns on our hearts for people and places that matter to us. It is a place where those who attend found care and support and a new person found a welcome amongst a group of like minded people.

We found we enjoyed the variety of service styles offered by both ordained and lay leaders. We might sometimes be asked us to meditate on a theme (like pilgrimage) or a person (with an anniversary) or discuss an issue (like domestic violence or the work of the Foodbank). We might share information about a place in the news, or a place no longer in the news. We might be invited to pray for the needs of this city or for this place, the people who come here through the week and the people who are here to welcome, help, advise and support them. The focus of our prayers is diverse and we enjoy this diversity, this opportunity to learn something new.

When we meet at 12.30 every Friday to pray for Peace for the World and for those in need we find ourselves enriched and sustained in our faith journey and blessed with peace, the peace of God.

Today I would like to issue a number of invitations to you

Firstly, if you can, please move through to the Guildhall after the service and share in fellowship at the church barbeque and, perhaps, share something of your story of faith with someone else. Continue in our journey of knowing me, knowing you.

Secondly, please take a few moments to look at the presentation and ask questions if it is not clear. Please feedback your comments about Prayers for Peace or share your experiences or your favourite bible passage or poem or prayer, something that inspires you. The presentation here is only a start, our readings today have challenged me to think about what Jesus meant when he spoke Peace to his disciples and us. For today’s gospel reading warns of the cost of discipleship, of divisions in the family, of a baptism of fire. The epistle reminded us of those who were stoned, tortured, imprisoned for their faith. This does not make comfortable reading, but discipleship is not about comfort it is about discerning the truth, being sure in our faith and sharing it even if that brings hardship.

The peace which Jesus brought to his disciples came through the refining fire of the Holy Spirit. They then gave their lives for the gospel, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of their faith.

I am sure there is a lot more work to be done here in learning more about the peace which God offers and for which we pray. I do hope you will feel able to share your ideas, your reflections, our story.

And finally, if you ever have 30 minutes to spare at lunchtime on a Friday, please consider joining us for a moment of peace. There is a welcome waiting for you and, who knows, you may become a regular member or even hear yourself called to share in leading our conversation and prayers. I know that is possible; it happened to me.

And now may the Peace of God which passes all understanding be with us all today and always.

Jamaican Independence

Sermon by Rt Revd Robert Thompson, Bishop of Kingston, Jamaica

Sunday 11 August 2013

Psalm 137:1 

“By the rivers of Babylon we sat down and wept; when we remember you, O Zion.” 

These words speak to a context that is clearly different from ours today. Psalm 137 is a psalm for exiles, and that, we are not. And yet we cannot easily dismiss such a text since it speaks to a feeling many share about Jamaica, the land we love. Our text makes it possible for us to be honest in our worship; to lay certain things before the Lord, even my homeland, as we celebrate the 51st Anniversary of our independence.

Ancient Israel gathered for worship as we do now, with rage and indignation for what had become their homeland. They gathered around a liturgy with words that could help them describe how they felt, while at the same time pointing towards an alternate script that could give them hope. In such a context of worship, despair is never an option. Yes! Things may be unacceptable and unbearable, but the unexpected God cuts through the hurt and alienation with words and acts of healing. This faithfulness and commitment of God to the healing of life as we experience it is articulated best by, yet another voice from exile, the prophet Jeremiah, when he said: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you. Again I will build you, and you shall be built.”

Psalm 137 was written for a people who had been uprooted from their homeland. It evokes rage and anger at the displacement and the physical and psychological oppression; while at the same time affirming Israel’s remarkable expression of faith. This is precisely what is required of us today. On the one hand we must demonstrate our anger and repulsion of structural arrangements that have undermined our credibility as a nation. But we are required to do more than that if the festering evil of crime and violence is to loosen its hold on the society. Because our faith is in a God who is committed to justice and compassion, we are required to revise our world in a manner consistent with God’s dream for us.

The Psalmist expresses for all dispersed people the anguish and emptiness of not being rooted in anything. Israel is in a land she could never call her own, she is exposed and made vulnerable without the necessary resources for wholesome living. Yet it is precisely within such a context that promises are received, risks are run and hope energised.

So the Psalm does three things:

First of all it acknowledges the grief. Living at this very moment in our Nation’s history the struggle between the forces of life and death, light and darkness, freedom and annihilation is perhaps more transparent than ever before. But these forces have been with us from the beginning of time. The culture of death that is threatening to overtake our world today is far more insidious than we may wish to admit. It makes us numb to injustice and violence and undermines the very foundation of social order. The prophet Isaiah spoke of it long ago, when he said; “We have made a covenant with death, and with sheol we have an agreement; …. for we have made lies of our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter.” (Ch. 28:14)

The pact with death to which the prophet speaks, is not made by losers of history but by those who have so much to lose. They will go very far in their bargaining with oblivion. They will invest in a power of their own creation and hold on to the very end despite every indication that such power is self-destructive. And please know this, that it is the social elite that is being addressed by the prophet. In the name of God they are ready to consign their world to nothingness if that is the only way they can preserve their own souls, their own properties and values, their prosperity. That is what is meant by those words from the prophet. They describe very well the life denying system and structure that have pervaded our social life for decades. Failure to contend with it will lead to our own condemnation.

The second thing the psalm does is to remind us of Israel’s resolve, never to allow the raid on their memory to undermine their confidence in the future. They may not be willing to sing Yahweh’s song as estranged persons, but says the psalmist, “If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill. Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you; if I do not set Jerusalem above my highest joy.”

On the one hand verse 4 asks; how can we sing the Lord’s song upon alien soil? It admits that the present arrangements are not right, and cannot be accepted. However amidst the refusal to sing the Lord’s song in a strange land; amidst the opposition to this strangeness there comes a call for resilience. There is no point “storming the gate” but it doesn’t mean we sit and do nothing. The Jews are very good at waiting. And every dispersed people need to learn from them how to engage a kind of waiting that does not lead to despair. This is the kind of waiting that says before anything changes, before I can change comes a period of waiting. This time of waiting, is not a time for folding our arms and doing nothing. It is not the kind of time that cares care of itself. This waiting is an advent time. A time for preparation – for the reorientation of the mind. Genuine change must involve a critique of who we are, where we are and where we want to go. It is not an easy thing to work for personal and institutional change while at the same time exercising patience and watchfulness. That’s not an easy thing to do. Our world of instant gratification knows nothing about living in that kind of tension, however, that’s the place where we find ourselves in Jamaica today and God is inviting us to patiently engage in that slow process of transformation. As Christians we know we can count on the reliability of God’s promises.

The Psalmist draws his power and authority from his vision of God’s promise, which seems remote, but is not for one instant in doubt. There will be a homecoming to peace, justice and freedom. It is that vision that keeps hope alive against enormous odds.

Finally, the resolve to maintain hope against all odds concludes in verses 7 – 9, with a stern resistance to Babylon’s oppressive measures. It is not exactly a noble prayer, but demonstrates a faith that expresses itself in resistance. To endure against despair in the way that Israel is being invited to do in this psalm, requires an alternative vision of one’s world. That is to say, coexistence with systems of oppression and death must be ruled out. That, we must remember, is what every act of worship does for us. It envisions a world that God himself promises. A world of compassion, mercy, justice, righteousness, truth and equity. It is a promise against all other worlds – the worlds of Pharaoh, Babylon and their successors. The significance of both the gift given in Christ in our worship, and the fulfilment of that gift in the future, lies in our willingness to embody those activities that are consistent with God’s vision for the world. This act of envisioning that worship engages us in is world creating because it invites us to embody God’s hope for humanity. That’s exactly what we are being invited to do when we pray, “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.” It promises a hoped-for-world that is beyond present reality. Whenever Israel worshipped as they do in the psalms, they are once again committing themselves to this hoped-for-world. It is defiant, because it says, the only world it will give its full allegiance to is Yahweh’s world, not the world of Babylon. And because Yahweh’s world is the only one Israel will give it’s allegiance to, it means that other worlds are excluded from Israel’s social horizon and possibility. Without such a commitment, our worship today will be little more than an empty rite.

That kind of commitment is what makes Israel’s worship and the worship of Christians so threatening to the false powers of the world. This was the problem the former slave masters and their representatives had with our slave ancestors when they secretly met for worship. Physically they remained in captivity, but their spirits remained free to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac and Moses – in a mode that was liberating. Because they could visualize a world beyond chains, and therefore a different future, not controlled by the slave master, they were considered a danger to the State. In the nights, after their long days in the field, their songs of freedom would break out in hope for a new day. They could do this, because ultimately Yahweh’s power for life could not be contained.

The remarkable thing about Israel’s struggle in singing Yahweh’s Song is that it did not lead to resignation. Neither did it lead them to abdicate into some kind of religious escapism. Out of their grief and weeping they found the resolve to resist, and work for an alternative. It is hard for those of us who live relatively comfortable lives to understand the tenacity of the dispersed and enslaved. From the moment our ancestors arrived in the so-called “New World” they resisted their enslavement. In fact that resistance began along the west coast of Africa and continued among the slaves in Haiti and the maroons in Jamaica, who eventually proved slavery to be unprofitable, if not unworkable. Faith in God’s sustaining presence, provided them with a place to stand in a hostile world, while at the same time sustained them with hope and courage to fight for an alternate world. The significance of celebrating our nations independence around the same time when we also commemorate the end of slavery in the British West Indies must not be lost on us. If we so choose it can inspire in all of us the courage to break the silence of shame and face head on the challenge of creating a new paradigm for our nation’s future – one that involves the transformation of structures, the infusions of new values within the present cultures and the healing and reconciliation of broken relationships. In order for this paradigm to take root, civil society, including voices from the Diaspora will have to become far more active in demanding a higher level of stewardship from our leaders.

Only a faith that can show itself strongly on the side of life can make way for the good society that we all dream of. Our collective witness must reaffirm that kind of faith. Not for its own security, but for the wellbeing of nations. That witness must consist of living within the present world according to the new rule of God. That is simply to say, consider what is on God’s mind and set your thoughts on that. Putting into practice the generous self-giving love which is at the core of Jesus’ own message; demonstrating to the world that there is a different way to be human, a way of charity and compassion, a way of patience and prudence, a way of joy and justice. These are the things that mattered most to the early Christians, and they must matter to us too if we are to play our part in contributing to the good order that God wills for his world.

Pentecost 2013

19 May 2013

The Reverend David Moore

Acts 2.1-21 and John 14.8-17

Prayer for the Week:

God of fire

you flow through our history

leaping from one generation to another;

releasing captives, affirming the poor,

welcoming outcasts,

inspiring visionaries.

You speak with the accents of all people.

We acknowledge our selective hearing.

As a child I grew up with a mild form of epilepsy and a significant speech disorder. I stuttered and stammered and, as a consequence, spoke extremely rapidly in an attempt not to stutter. This was self-defeating in that I then added spluttering to my stuttering! You might say ‘a vicious circle’.

At that time forming relationships with girls was more than a bit tricky! Fortunately somebody had spotted me long before I noticed her! When in due course I ‘got the message’ the welcome mat was already in place! When I first walked Dorothy home and met her mother .... well ... as soon as I had left, her mother would say to Dorothy “what did he say?”

But there is more ... once a year the young people from the Church Youth Club which I attended would conduct an evening service for a congregation of up to 250 people. The Minister would plan the service and Club members would share in the announcing, praying and the preaching. The sermon was made up of three five-minute slots. The Youth Leader and Minister sorted out who did what.

I was 17 and I knew that I wanted to take part. I attended the planning meeting. The Youth Club leader began by saying “Well David, it is no good asking you to say anything, nobody will understand you, you can help with the collection.” It was like a knife through my heart! All the jobs were allocated and we left. Do you know the cartoon character who has a permanent cloud over his head? Well that was me!

Fortunately not all history is in continuous, non-reversible straight lines! On this occasion the person chosen to do the final part of the sermon was taken ill a few days before the event and I immediately volunteered to deputise. There were no other volunteers - I saw to that - so the job was mine.

So, it was with fear and trembling I climbed the pulpit steps. Sixty years on I can recall the emotion, the steps beneath my feet, the feel of the white painted handrail. I took a deep breath - bit hard on the end of my tongue to moisturise my mouth and did it - without one verbal glitch. My mother’s eyes were almost popping out of her head with pride. I was completely exhausted! And so it was that I started preaching. In the pulpit I was fine, out of the pulpit I was still rubbish!

At first I imagined the ‘freedom of the pulpit’ was the result of some sort of direct line from God, a divine version of a fairy’s wand, which somehow supported and enabled me to preach without stammering .... BUT much, much later I learned something even more wonderful - that standing up before people and preaching involves a different area of brain activity to that of everyday conversation. So what might that mean for my religious view of God?

Looking back to that first pulpit ‘event’ I do not think in terms of God’s ‘finger‘ directly energising me, but rather I considerate it in terms of recognising the ‘Ancient of Days’ - that which breathed shape into all life, including human DNA.

Suddenly I am engaged, not with a capricious God who may or may not choose to act/help but rather I am tied into all human history .... so that now wherever you or I may come from, at the most profound level - at the level of deepest personal identity - we are all one. ‘One’ not as sinners but as human beings - marked with genetic code.

And this, to my mind, may be what occurred on the Day of Pentecost - disparate people finding a common identity, an identity way beyond any of their wildest imaginings or hoping. When strangers meet and converse - whatever their native tongue - there is always the potential for a ‘homecoming’, for discovery, for recognition, for mutuality, for new forms of collective wonder, a new spin on human history - the future can be opened up. So, my desire to remain in the European Union is total and is theological - I seek to affirm the deepest aspect of who we all are.

The Pentecost power I speak of is not the power that makes war and spills blood - just the opposite - it is the power to find common cause with strangers and enemies; the forming of unfamiliar friendships, discovering the new harmonic of ecumenism and internationalism.

Some of you will have heard me speak before about the remarkable man Archbishop Helder Camara - his Diocese was in the poor City of Recife in Northern Brazil. Camara was a constant thorn in the flesh of the Pope, the Cardinals, but mostly to the Brazilian Generals who ran the Junta for 23 years.

Last week a friend, Roger Williamson, wrote me a note about the day he met Dom Helder Camara .... it was a note scribbled while curating an exhibition in Brighton. (Any passing visitor to that exhibition would have no idea of the profundity being penned in public).

Roger, now retired, spent all his working life with International Peace and World Development agencies. This is what he wrote in his note to me:

“I met him (Helder Camara) in 1986 and particularly wanted to talk to him about the death of his assistant, who had been killed, not least as a warning to Camara. I said that the story of the young man’s funeral was very moving. In the middle of the service Dom Helder went across and embraced the man’s mother - he said “It was a perfectly natural thing to do.” Yes, perfectly natural, but not very Bishop-y”

I asked him if he felt guilty because of the young assistant’s death. He said “No, he made his choice, he knew what he was doing, “I said “Yes, but he was killed partly to warn you.” His reply was ”He committed his life to the poor and there is no better way to die than in the service of the poor.”

I am sure that you, like Roger, will find these words incredibly moving - might they not offer us a real, honest, way into the Pentecost narrative? How different nationalities, different cultures, different interests, can find common cause, form new common identity. But to form a common identity means we must all also let go of something, misconceptions, false assumptions, self-interest?

The faith stories, as handed down to us, come as jewels, puzzles, conundrums, invitations - as life stories. The trouble with using stories like that of Helder Camara is that, for me, it inevitably puts me on a collision course with the dominant motifs of our contemporary political life - values which do not encourage me to embrace and cherish the poor, or to dream of building a common wealth, of discovering ways of holding our greatest ‘treasures’ in common.

If nothing else, the multinationalism of the Day of Pentecost raises questions as to how we treat the ‘outsiders’ in our midst. There are members of this congregation who had no option but to flee their homelands; this congregation has members from diverse Christian traditions and ambitions. But we are all here together - either we engage or we bypass each other. If we fail to grasp the fundamental undercurrents of our life together, I fear we will have lost or squandered the pearl of great price - that which should be cherished above all else.

Pentecost 2013 - the scribbled note from Roger reminded me afresh that choosing to prioritise the poor is not a priority for the majority of our parliamentarians. Do we raise our voice or do we remain silent?

Maybe it was the fact of being ‘beyond the pale’, of not being the ‘main act in town’ in terms of the political establishment, that was the very thing that gave Pentecost such a memorable OUTCOME.

Some time later today find ten minutes to get out your Bible and read the concluding four verses of Acts Chapter 2 - the emergence of Fresh Expressions - not only prayers and songs - but practical sharing. The Pentecostal imperative, it would appear, requires economic change - a strategy of sharing. Now there’s a thing!

Easter intercessions

Intercessions 14 April 2013

Led by the Reverend David Moore

On this second Sunday after Easter I remind you that women were prime candidates to be the first Apostles - they were first to see the Risen Christ - but the world at the time was not ready for them!

May I also remind you that our preacher today, Wendy Carey, was the first woman local to Milton Kerynes to be ordained in the Oxford Diocese.

Let us pray:

Mysterious God, hidden in creation and revealed in Jesus, we have waited patiently and earnestly for the Easter Season - the days when we approach again the open grave and discover for ourselves, not that it is empty, but that Christ is risen.

We believe. Glory, glory
Christ is Risen.
Glory, Glory, glory

Jesus the Christ, as we focus on Mary Magdalene the first person to know that you were alive, and even though the words ‘Christ is Risen’ is like honey upon our lips, we also carry with us the shame and regret that Mary herself become a byword for sentimentality and immorality and that her degrading continues to shadow our faith community.

We ask you, the Risen One, to burst open the graves within us this day, so that as women and men together, we may honor you by truly honoring each other.

Help each of us to grow, free us from all that holds us back, egg us on with renewed supplies of courage, humility, ingenuity and grace.

We believe. Glory, glory
Christ is Risen.
Glory, Glory, Glory

Risen Christ open the graves which exist within our own community at Cornerstone, free us from all that constricts, that the ecumenical flame may burn with renewed freedom, disposing of self interest - increasing diversity and delight. May this Church be a place of discovery, gladness and welcome for all people.

We believe. Glory, glory
Christ is Risen.
Glory, Glory, Glory

Open the graves which exist within our world, that we may harness and express the grandeur and intensity of your purpose for all people.

At this great Season of Liberation, it is in sadness and shame we whisper our prayers for Syria, for Palestine, the people of Iraq, Afghanistan, remembering also those in poverty, hunger, caught up in warfare, the shame of the arms-trade, debt, bankruptcy, repossession. We know deep in our heart that our levels of comfort and reward feed off the injustices which others suffer.

Risen Christ as you hear the echo of our voice in your empty tomb, remind us again that you are not there but alive and active in the world.

We believe. Glory, glory
Christ is Risen.
Glory, Glory, Glory

Most earnestly we pray you to fill in the graves we currently dig for future generations - through our senseless and willful misuse of the planet.

May the Christ, the one who rises, rise among us and within us, so that as individuals and as a community, we may discover both hope and actions to contribute to the future, that we will learn to live sustainable lives of imagination and joy.

We give thanks for the dogged persistence of Friends of the Earth, the Soil Association and the great tapestry of ‘green’ campaigners. Keep us faithful in small things but persistently hungry and willing to do more.

We believe. Glory, glory
Christ is Risen.
Glory, Glory, Glory

For the sick within our community at Cornerstone; for all of those whose life and well-being weighs heavy upon our hearts; we remember the trauma at the City Counseling Centre and the distress within the Bereavement Counseling Service.

Risen Christ you greeted the grief-stricken Mary and turned her life around; affirming her as the tower of strength she already was, be with all those in need a Tower of Strength at this time, especially we remember all those who will bury their dead this week.

We believe. Glory, glory
Christ is Risen.
Glory, Glory, Glory

Amen

Who are you, where do you come from, and what are you doing here?

14th April 2013 

Acts 9.1-20 and John 21.1-19

The Reverend Wendy Carey

'You must give us your testimony'. Those words were enough to strike fear into a rather retiring High Church Anglican like myself. The circumstances in which they were spoken intensified the anxiety.

It was 1992 and I was in the second year of part time theological training at Queens College, Birmingham. The topic for the residential study week end was Christianity in multi-ethnic Britain. We students were spending the week end staying with families who had come to Birmingham from overseas; and the programme for Sunday was to attend worship with our host family. My hosts were originally from Jamaica, had been in Birmingham for about 20 years, and were Methodists.

But this was the Sunday in the month when they accompanied their Minister to his other. pastorate - as one of the Chaplains of Winson Green Prison. And this Sunday the service was to be led by the Church of God of Prophesy. Before the service their pastor came over to welcome the seven or eight students, their host families and one of our tutors. 'Who are you, where do you come from, and what are you doing here?' He asked. 'We're theology students' we replied. 'Then one of you must give us your testimony.'

Why did all eyes turn to me? Possibly because I had already accepted the post of Assistant Chaplain at Woodhill Prison, although the prison had not yet opened. To confirm the expectation, the Tutor said - 'I need to hear a sermon from you Wendy, and it's a long way to Milton Keynes.' So for the first time in my life I stood up to give my testimony, with virtually no preparation, and for the first time spoke in the Chapel of a secure male prison.

I spoke about three verses from Exodus, concerning God's call to Moses:

But Moses said to the Lord, ‘O my Lord, I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor even now that you have spoken to your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who gives speech to mortals? Who makes them mute or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you are to speak.’

I linked Moses dramatic story with my own less dramatic one of events that had brought me to that Sunday morning in Winson Green Prison.

This morning we heard as our readings two dramatic stories of conversion, forgiveness and sending in mission. In order for them to reach the pages of the New Testament, each private individual's story, of Peter and Paul, those two great shapers of Christian faith and practice, they must have originally been given as testimony. In some of Paul's letters he tells some snippets of that testimony, and the way in which his experience of God had shaped his life since his conversion. Both men's stories continue in the pages of Acts.

Two stories, quite different in their geographical setting, their details and in the events which led up to them. And a third and different story, one which had already influenced the shape and culture of Peter's and Paul's lives - the story of Moses. Yet all these stories, different in their content and details, have essential elements in common. In each we find God, God encountered as Jehovah, or God encountered in Jesus Christ, meeting a person in the course of their daily life. And in that encounter, all that they have been, have said or have done up to that point is part of the meaning of the meeting. Each one, Moses, Peter, Paul had asked of God at some stage of their life 'Who are you?' Then, in those dramatic encounters, experienced, in the wilderness at mount Horeb, by the sea of Tiberias, or on the road to Damascus, God had in effect said to Moses, to Peter and to Paul, 'but who are you?'

Each encounter involved some kind of forgiveness or restoration. Because the question 'Who are you?' involves an examination of all the events that has brought the person to this moment. And for each of those men there was a stain on their past life; Moses had killed an Egyptian and hidden his body, Peter had denied three times that he knew Jesus while he was being tried - just as Jesus had predicted he would, Saul, who was to become Paul, had persecuted Christians - those who followed the Way. Underlying the encounters was the question 'Where have you come from?' What are the events and attitudes which have shaped your life up to this moment?

And then the encounter becomes both dramatic and amazing, for there is not just acceptance, forgiveness, conversion from God, but there is commissioning, sending, giving a task. 'What are you doing here?' And even more importantly, what will you do? Who will you become? How will the rest of your life which follows this significant encounter with God be different from the past which has brought you to this day, to this moment?

And the stories which must initially have been given as testimony - 'see what The Lord has done for me!' told to individuals or to small groups of people, were spread through the Jewish and Christian communities, and shaped our lives as Christians. The First Epistle of Peter tells us:

'Always be ready to make your defence when anyone challenges you to justify the hope which is in you. But do so with courtesy and respect. '

You must give us your testimony. Each one of us has a story to tell. It is unlikely that many of us will have stories to tell as dramatic as as those of Moses, Peter or Paul, but there may be some among us who do have dramatic and significant things to tell. And how we tell them may vary greatly. We may want to be thoughtful about who, we tell our Christian story, and how we tell it. Most of us try to tell our story through our lives, words and actions, and we often, like those very human and flawed men, Moses, Peter and Paul, fail to tell it, or tell a different story than the one we are hoping to set out as Christians.

But God does not let go of us, with him there is mercy, says the Psalmist. God knows who we are, and where we have come from, and God knows also what we are capable of achieving, and supports and trusts us to achieve it.

Who are you? Without self knowledge, a genuinely objective assessment of our own strengths and weaknesses, we can neither properly make our confession, nor achieve our full potential, as human beings or as Christians.

Where do you come from? Moses, Peter and Paul became the people they were, not despite their chequered history, but because of it. We too are made the people we are because of the whole of our personal histories - even the difficult bits. We need to learn the lessons of history, not only the lessons of our personal history, but of our time, our culture and of our faith story. As we recount the stories and sayings week by week in our Bible readings, we understand how we come to be here, in this time, in this place, and in this situation.

What are you doing here? In other words, what is your mission? What purpose has God for you? The stories of Moses, Peter and Paul have their meaning in the fulfilment of the individual tasks given to each of them by God. For some of us, the answer to the question 'What is God asking of me?' may seem very clear, to others the answer may be uncertain or difficult to define or act upon. But each of us is asked 'What are you doing here?'

In the Newsletter there is advance warning of this church's Annual Meeting next Sunday. It is not just individual Christians, but Christian communities that must answer those questions; Who are you, where have you come from, what are you doing here? It is for churches, and for the universal church to tell the world their answers to those questions. There is a lot of routine business to get through at an Annual Meeting, but it is also an opportunity to ask and to give some answers to those questions.

Who are you, where have you come from, what are you doing here?

You must give us your testimony.

Where’s Gamaliel?

Low Sunday 2013 

Acts 5:27–32 and John 20:19–29

The Reverend David Moore

When we were coming up to retirement, 12 years ago, Dorothy and I thought long and hard as to what sort of house we would require in order to live a fulfilling retirement. We decided the minimum requirement would include a house with an upstairs and a downstairs loo; a house which was walking distance from a local shop and a property in which either of us would be comfortable to live alone.

We found such a house and the Methodist Ministers Housing Society purchased it, with us contributing 13% of the cost. It has two bedrooms, the second one doubles as a study. It is a modest house and it suits us well. I built a studio in the garden and there is a garage into which no car has a chance of entering. It is also a good place to live, with neighbors we both like and trust.

However, if we were Housing Association or Local Authority tenants I may not be sleeping so comfortably in my bed at night. I speak of the second bedroom tax!

But this is nothing new - in 1993 the year before we came to Milton Keynes the same song was being sung by the John Major Government. Here is the opening paragraph of a letter I sent to a Government minister and all the MPs in Bradford, where I then worked.

I am outraged at our Government’s latest invective. Selecting lone parents - in reality single mothers - for the latest round of castigation is obscene. .... I am also outraged by the mediocrity of the response of opposition parties.

The bedroom tax is but a continuum of the scapegoating attitudes ever present in class-driven politics. Should you think I am straying too far from scripture I invite you to take a second look at the Bible Reading from the Acts of the Apostles.

You will recall the reading from the Acts ended at verse 32.

This touched them on the raw and they wanted to put him to death... 

the passage continues ...

...But a member of the Council rose to his feet, a Pharisee called Gameliel, a teacher of the law held in high regard by all the people. He said Men of Israel, be very careful what you do with these men. Now my advice to you is this: keep clear of these men, for if what is planned and done is human in origin, it will collapse, but if it is from God you will never stamp it out, and you risk finding yourself at war with God.‘ 

Today we might say that Gameliel was viewing the bigger picture.

During the last ‘World War’ when the bombing of Germany and England was at its height the Rt Revd. George Bell, Bishop of Chichester, spoke out against the British policy of the carpet bombing of German cities - bombing which was primarily aimed at industrial working class areas of Germany. Bell did not get an easy ride - either from his Archbishop or from Parliament - but Bell was made of tough stuff - he was seeing beyond the immediate - his eyes were upon what it means to be civilised at a time of war.

A part of our high calling is being civilised and equitable in times of constraint - we are called to witness to the generosity of God ... the one who is light years beyond any possibility of penny pinching.

If only there were such effective voices in our land today, voices to speak to a government which now appears to be totally out of touch with the lives of ordinary people but which seems hell bent, not only on asking the poorest to carry a disproportionate share of the cost of the present financial plight, but also implying they are part of the problem.

Back to My house. If I were forced to downsize to a one bedroomed house - I cannot begin to imagine the real cost - books, furniture, paintings, tools, sculptures, clothes, studio. Never again being able to invite a visitor to stay - be it our children, grandchildren or friends. Nowhere to make sculptures. Yes, I also speak about the meaning of being civilised!

So where is our Gamaliel today? Who is willing to speak to power about truth of modesty? Where is the champion? The Church of Scotland, the Baptist Church, the United Reformed Church and the Methodist all made a comment this week ... I applaud their effort but the trouble is it had no real teeth! No practical dissent, no action.

How many people do you think there are who are in real danger of being forcibly relocated and have no platform from which to be heard? Relocated ... now there is a familiar word ... remember it?

In 1970 the book The Discarded People depicting the relocation of black South Africans from valuable development areas to more remote areas.. A few years later the priest/author Cosmas Desmond, was forced into exile and was to become one of my closest friends in East London. I conducted his memorial service just a year ago! He was the author of The Discarded People.

The Bantu Homelands Citizens Act - one of a string of Acts by the legitimate South African Parliament, compelled all black people to become a citizen of the homeland that responded to their ethnic group, regardless of whether they'd ever lived there or not, a process which also removed their South African citizenship.

For Cos Desmond this was an issue of Human Rights, it was about building a Civilised Society, this is why George Bell raised his voice during a war for the enemy about carpet bombing.

Or again going back even further .... The British Government in 1960 adopted the Parker Morris Building Standards which legislated housing to be built upon standards compatible with ‘healthy living’. Air, light, space.

The Margaret Thatcher government removed those standards and today more and more of our fellow citizens live in less and less space. Builders with Rabbit Hutch mentalities! Not only that, but the pouring of much of our income into home ownership has been part and parcel of the financial crisis of recent times. Banking and House building are close cousins!

Is there no balm in Gilead? Can we choose other ways of living? Are we bound forever to a treadmill designed by bankers? Or, as Gameliel put it, ... be careful for what you wish for ... only that which belongs to God truly lasts.

My religious heritage is Methodist which came into being with John and Charles Wesley in the 18th century. No more than 20 years after his death the growing movement began to splinter into a range of denominations all claiming Wesley as their spiritual inspiration - each carrying, as it were, their own particular flag. When these denominations eventually reunited in 1932 a prayer by William Younger the President of the Primitive Methodist Church, concluded with these words:

the oneness of our irrevocable decision (is to) to labour together for the salvation of the world

To labour together for the salvation of the world! ....... Not the salvation of their souls, not an assurance of a place in heaven - the great endeavour was the salvation of the world - civilisation, mutuality, compassion, community, support, strong and weak finding common purpose, shared joy.

Listen to these notes from Wesley’s Journal:

Bath, Wednesday October 1st 1783 All my leisure hours this week I employed in visiting the poor and in begging for them. Having collected about fifty pounds more, I was able to relieve most of those in distress.

Letter to Ebenezar Blackwood:

To Lending Stock	2	0	0
Brooks, expecting daily to have goods taken for rent	1	0	0
To Eliz Room (a poor widow) for rent	0	5	0
Toward clothing for Mary Middleton and another poor woman almost naked	0	10	0
To John Weaver, a poor weaver, out of work	0	5	0
To Lucy Jones, a poor orphan	0	2	0
To a poor family for food and fuel	0	5	0
To Christopher Brown, out of business	0	2	6
To an ancient woman in great distress	0	2	6
Distributed among several sick families	0	10	0
	5	5	0

I am, dear Sir, your affectionate servant

Letter to Dorothy Furley. Sept. 21st 1757 

.... in most genteel religious people there is so strange a mixture that I seldom have confidence in them. I love the poor; in many of them I find pure, genuine grace unmixed with paint, folly and affectation.

So whether I like it or not, even in retirement, I consider myself as a manunder orders! The Methodist Movement flows from the same spirit that moved Bishop Bell to speak out against indiscriminate bombing at a time far more precarious than ours today and perhaps that is why I can never and will never be at rest.

Those of you who read the local newspapers may have seen the headlines about the City Counseling Centre based at this Church. To the undiscerning reader it may have given rise to believing that in some way we (this Church) gave the MK Bereavement Service its marching orders. We can of course simply say that it is nothing to do with us - but so are the poor of the world. Clearly something somewhere has gone off the rails and I hope some representative of ‘us’ might post a message on the notice sheet and or website, expressing at least concern for those who feel trampled upon by recent events.

My difficulty is that resurrection really means ALL of life - we can be polite, mind our own business or we can believe with Bishop Bell and John Wesley that life is far too precious for silence in such matters.

A friend from Stoke on Trent whom I have known for over 50 years, has lived most of her adult life with a severe mobility disorder. Now retired, she works as a volunteer at a local Advice Centre. Last Wednesday was her first day back at the Centre after the Easter and after April 1st - she says the Centre was totally overrun - 100s of emails; queues out the doors - people in panic and confusion, simply not knowing what to do.

Come unto me all you who labour and are laden and heavy laden. Are we meant to believe that ? Are we meant to act it out? Or again: ‘What you do to the least of these my brethren you do it to me?‘
 
What can we actually do about the the changes in benefits? I am sorry to say, very little. A majority of MPs at Westminster have voted for them and some came into effect on April Fools Day! One thing we can do is let our MPs know just how we feel as Christians.

It is not difficult to get email addresses for MPs through the internet - I am not going to spoon feed you!

Postscript

Since this sermon was delivered Margaret Thatcher has died. There is no doubt that she was a remarkable leader. As a politician, most people I knew and worked with, disliked or despised her.