Christmas Message

Christmas Day year C 07 Sermon
If Jesus came to be a revelation of God to us...
then... what do we learn about God...
from that very first Christmas?

What could God have been trying to tell us...by coming to us...as a baby in a manger... instead of a great warrior on his valiant steed...or a king on his throne... or a maybe a wall of dazzling light...an all consuming fire? Why did God chose... a baby in a manger?
And what do we learn about God... from that?

Popular Christian writer, Philip Yancey... made a list... of all the connections that popped into his mind...
when he asked himself that question.

Here’s his list. Humble Approachable Underdog and Courageous – Yancey was surprised at what turned up.

Because these adjectives hardly seem appropriate...
for describing the creator of the universe.Humble Approachable Underdog and Courageous... and I’m sure we could all add a few of our own when we think of that night in Bethlehem..

But today I want to take a closer look at Yancey’s list.
Starting with humble... in the first century the Messiah shows up... right in the middle of the great Roman Empire and the religious cult of Caesar... Jesus is born...not as an all powerful controlling God... commanding armies and political empires and moving his subjects around like pawns on a chess board...

No...the Messiah emerges at the edges of the Empire...
in Palestine ... as a baby... who can’t even speak or eat solid food. There were no bodyguards or bright clothes. No entourage except the animals in the stable.
God’s angel messengers on that night... sought out the lowliest shepherds... to announce Jesus’ birth.

Ok what about Yancey’s next adjective... approachable. That’s certainly not what Jewish people expected.
They imagined awe and fear in the presence of God.
Anyone who experienced an actual encounter with God expected to come away scorched or glowing... or maybe half crippled like Jacob. And they were the lucky ones.

Jewish children learned stories of the sacred mountain in the desert... a mountain that was fatal to anyone who touched it. Mishandle the Ark of the Covenant and well ...you would die. Enter the most holy place in the tabernacle... and you’d never come out alive.

And what happens... God makes a surprise appearance as a baby in a manger...among the God’s chosen people who walled off a separate place for God in the Temple...
and refused out of respect from saying God’s name or even spelling it out. [pause]

What can be less scary than a newborn baby... with his arms and legs wrapped tightly against his body? [pause]

So when we talk about Jesus as approachable...in his birth, God finds a way... to relate to human beings... that doesn’t involve fear.

OK what about Yancey’s idea of ‘underdog’...that’s maybe the most difficult of Yancey’s ideas to swallow.

Yet, in the birth story of Jesus... we learn of an unwed mother... forced to look for shelter... while traveling to meet the heavy demands of a colonial government.

She lives in a country... recovering from violent civil wars and like half the mothers on earth today...
Mary gives birth in the East not the West.

She and the son she bears... become refugees...
in Africa where most of the world’s refugees live today.

In his adult life...Jesus would seek allies...not among the wealthy and powerful...but among fishermen and outcasts .

And what the fourth descriptor of God’s act in Jesus...courageous. Yancey believes it would take great courage to bring a saving message of love and peace... to a planet known for its violence injustice and greed.

Yet in the midst of the realities of this world...in the infant Christ... we see a God of grace...prepared to enter into our human frailty... and more amazing...prepared to pay the cost of loving humanity... whether or not we love God back or heed his message of peace. In the infant Christ we see a God of love... not of power.

With all we know now about the nature of the created universe it’s easy to understand why no one has ever seen God…not even so much as a glimpse. Yet this
one-of-a-kind revelation of God…in the birth of Jesus…
has made God plain as day. It’s not a dream…
nor is it an illusion…it happened.
and in this humble birth – God is revealed.

What the Wise Men saw

Advent 4 year A Sermon Astronomy 2

The virgin will be with child... and will give birth to a son, and they will call him... Immanuel"— which means, "God with us."

700 years before the birth of Jesus... the prophet Isaiah made just such a prediction...again during Mary’s pregnancy...
an angel... repeats Isaiah’s prophesy... to her fiancé Joseph.

Would you be amazed to learn... that such a prediction... such a prophesy... could actually find its counterpart
in modern science... a discovery... that helps us confirm ... the actual date of Jesus birth?

And would you be even more amazed... if I told you... that we can now demonstrate... with mathematical accuracy...just what star the wise men saw...
as they approached Bethlehem... two years later... when Jesus was a toddler?

I was amazed. I already knew… that archaeological records… and the modern science of astronomy…
quite independently of the Gospel accounts…
could predict with certainty … that Jesus would have been born… sometime between 3 and 2 BC. That can easily be calculated backwards… from the eclipse that occurred at the time of Jesus crucifixion.

But then I learned that with modern science…
we can also pin point the exact date of Jesus’ birth. And the star the wise men saw.

And would you believe…
the first bit of evidence in all this…
is provided by Jesus cousin… John the Baptist…
in fact the clue is the moment of John’s conception…

Now you’re probably thinking…you’ve got to be kidding Diane…but my authority for this… is actually a Professor of Physics at Victoria University… award winning New Zealand scientist Jeffrey Tallon.

Here’s how Tallon says all the mystery unravels.

The Gospel of Luke… tells us Jesus’ cousin…
was six months older…so John would’ve been conceived…between 3 and four BC. And guess what… just by using the information in the first chapter of Luke… we can verify… the probable date… of John’s conception…independently of the Gospel account.

How can we do this? Because Luke 1:5 tells us…
‘in the time of Herod... king of Judea there was a priest named Zechariah...who belonged to the priestly division of Abijah…and Luke 1:8 says...Once when Zechariah's division was on duty... and he was serving as priest before God in the Temple…an angel of the Lord appeared to him.

When Zechariah saw the angel, he was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: "Don’t be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard.
Your wife Elizabeth will bear a son...and you’re to name him John…And he’ll go on before the Lord...in the spirit and power of Elijah...to turn father’s hearts to their children and turn the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous...to make ready a people.... who are prepared for the Lord."[pause]

Today we know… from Jewish records kept at the time… that the Division of Abijah was the eighth Division… and it served in the Temple…
in the year 4 BC…from the 19th to the 26th of May to be exact.

Luke says Zechariah went straight home and Elizabeth conceived. [pause]

Ok… allowing for the nine months of Elizabeth’s pregnancy…John would’ve been born around the 7th of March… three BC. Six months later…Jesus would have been born …around the 7th of September
Now remember that date… the 7th of Sept 3 BC.

Next we come back to the intriguing question…
just what exactly … was the star of Bethlehem?

Remember the Babylonian Magi…the wise men…
Well they were astronomers and astrologers.
The behaviour of the stars and the planets…
had enormous significance for them. And if we look at the evidence… through their eyes…through the eyes of astrologers…then this is what we see. [pause]

Jupiter slide
Babylonian astrologists recorded in the year
three BC…that Jupiter appeared to ‘dance’…to jump… back and forth.

Today through the science of modern astronomy…
we can electronically reproduce…
the actual skies at that time.
Computerised images…of the skies in that year…
show us Jupiter and Venus – the two brightest planets…actually went into conjunction twice…once in August 3 BC and again in June 2 BC (if you look at the slide… you can see Venus is the crescent).

This event alone would have been incredibly interesting to ancient astrologers… who were looking for signs and portents… in the night sky… but the amazing thing from an ancient astrologer’s point of view…
is that between these conjunctions of Jupiter and Venus

11 Sept slide 1
precisely on the eleventh of September …three BC…

two quick clicks
Jupiter…known as the King planet…moved into conjunction with
one click
Regulus…the King star…
and this occurred in the constellation of
one click
Leo the Lion…the constellation signifying the nation of Judah!!!


With all this going on…
you can see how wise men from the East… might easily believe…the stars predicted the birth… of a king… in Judah.

11 Sept slide 2
On that same night …
eight clicks
the planet Venus… moved into the constellation of Virgo…along with the sun. To the Magi…the sun in the womb of Virgo (the virgin) may have presented a powerful image… of a virgin birth.

And from this computer generated image of the night sky…as we know it actually was… on that date…
you can just see… the faint outline… of the crescent moon… under the feet of the constellation Virgo…
the virgin.

Now… just listen to this report from the book of Revelation chapter twelve.

Slide words and three clicks
‘A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven:
a woman... clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head.

Slide words and one click
She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth… She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations.” [pause]

Blank slide
Given what we can see in the actual skies of the time…
if the writer of Revelation were describing an astrological event…it wouldn’t be surprising…
now would it?

We know astrology was practised by the Jews and Babylonians alike. We know just how important astrology was to the Jews…from the scrolls found at Qumran…as well the 12 signs of the zodiac…
on the floor of the Temple in Jerusalem…one for each tribe of Israel…

What an amazing image…the constellation of Virgo with the sun in her belly and the moon at her feet.

Mary images slide
And did you know… that some of the earliest drawings of Jesus’ mother Mary…show the crescent moon… below her feet and the sun in her tummy. [pause]

Blank title slide
Ok, back to Jesus birthday… Now cynics who want to discredit the story of Jesus birth... love to claim that Christians just co-opted the 25th of December...from the existing celebrations of the birth of the Roman deity... Sol Invictus,

But remember our earlier calculations… based on Luke’s account of John the Baptist’s birth… and independent Jewish records …remember our calculations… allowed us to place Jesus’ birth… sometime around the 7th of September 3 BC.

And if what we read in the book of Revelation…
is describing an astrological event…
and Jesus was born four days later…
on the 11th of September… [pause]
according to the modern science of astronomy…
Matthew’s story of the Bethlehem Star…
makes complete sense. Listen

Word slide
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea...during the time of King Herod...Magi from the east...came to Jerusalem and asked “where is he who is born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east...
and we’ve come to worship him.”

Word Slide
After they heard what Herod had to say...they went on their way...and the star they’d seen in the east...
went ahead of them until it stopped...
over the place... where the child was.

Word slide
On coming to the house, they saw the child [not the baby] with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him…and presented him with gifts. [pause]

Bethlehem slide
As they left Jerusalem…the star came to rest…
over Bethlehem. Today from the modern science of astronomy… we know that on the 25th of December in 2BC… the planet Jupiter reached the full extent…
of its retrograde motion… where it appears to stop in the sky… [pause]

Visit of the Magi slide
Here you can see a faint image… of where Jupiter actually was… the very night of December twenty five in the year two BC.

And this isn’t just… any view of the night sky. It’s the view looking due south… from Jerusalem…where the Magi met with King Herod…and from Jerusalem… Jupiter… is right over Bethlehem.

And what’s even more amazing…If you look below Jupiter…you can actually see… our Southern Cross… which had popped over the horizon for just a few days.

And the profoundly moving thing for us… sitting here in the Southern Hemisphere… is that today… you can no longer see the Southern Cross… from Jerusalem… because of the movement of our solar system…in our galaxy… the Milky Way. [pause]

But 2000 years ago… you could see the Southern Cross from Jerusalem.

When Professor Tallon first saw it on his computer screen…he was powerfully affected by the image.
Not only because the Southern Cross points to the town of Bethlehem…but because above Bethlehem…
is the figure of a cross…

After I heard him speak on this…Professor Tallon wrote to me… that through his eyes of faith looking back across time…
‘The cross and the cradle appear to be inseparable.
He wrote with enthusiasm… ‘And for all these things to be true…the guiding signs… for the wise men to the Christ… would have been laid down in the motion of the planets and the stars… from the very beginning of creation!!’ [pause]

And you know something else…it’s easily verified in Jewish records…that particular 25th of December… also happened… to be the Hebrew date of 25 Kislev… and the Jewish festival of Hanukkah when gifts are exchanged. And Hanukkah rarely ever falls…
on 25 Kislev… [pause] but it did that year….

Jeff Tallon asked me in his email…doesn't all this strengthen your faith in Jesus… as the long awaited Christ?

I had to tell him it did.

I repeat for you today Professor Tallon’s conviction... that the Gospels, the book of Acts and the Letters of Paul... all possess an astounding chronological consistency... and such impeccable harmony... that they can give us great confidence...in the stories of our faith. Somehow, awesome conclusions seem unavoidable and we’re left in awe... at the events surrounding the birth of this man...so compelling in his authority and his humanity …that in him...faith and physics converge. The one we follow...the Word made flesh...Lord of the cosmos...the hope of all humankind, God become human in time and space.

Peaceable Kingdom

Advent 2 year A 07 Sermon

What do you think stops a lamb... from lying down with a lion?

Seriously

Fear dread panic... terror... survival instinct?

Ok what would stop a lion licking a lamb
like an ice cream and devouring it?

doesn’t see it as food, the lion is full already?

I saw an intriguing example of this...
in the news this week did you see it?

A Bengal tiger... in a zoo in Thailand... feeding piglets... dressed in little tiger coats. Of course, the staff of the zoo, were just doing this...
to amuse their visitors ...but it was how they did it that caught my attention...

The only way they could get both predator and prey ... to accept each other... was to convince them they were family...

once convinced...a powerful predator becomes protector and provider... once convinced ...vulnerable and helpless prey...
come to feel safe and nourished.

Now, if you’re a cynic... you might wonder if this was all some kind of con... maybe the animals are drugged, maybe it’s trick photography...or digital animation...it doesn’t seem realistic..or it only works with sheep of the same species...but it’s not natural... [pause]

And Isaiah knew that...Isaiah knew it’s not natural.

But there it is anyway... in his vision...and we have to deal with Isaiah’s words and images...and somehow ...
we have to allow God... to speak to us through them...
just as the ancient Hebrew people did

Predator and prey together... Lambs lions wolves calves bears and cows children and cobras for heaven sake...living in safety and harmony...

‘They will neither harm nor destroy...on all my holy mountain, for the earth... will be as full
of the knowledge of the LORD...as the waters cover the sea.’

The powerful and the vulnerable...
living peacefully together... now that’s a real contrast
to the survival of the fittest...isn’t it? [pause]

Isaiah’s vision enchanted me... when I was a little girl ...I remember telling my minister...I wanted that time to come while I was still alive. I imagined myself playing with all the animals... even the scary ones.

And Isaiah’s imagery has captivated artists for centuries ....as in Edward Hicks peaceable kingdom...painted in the early 19th century…

But what on earth was happening... when the prophet Isaiah... had his vision in the first place...
700 years before Jesus was born?

Well...the powerful Assyrian Empire... was about to devour... the weak and vulnerable kingdom of Judah... and its capitol Jerusalem.

The lion with the lamb... was a well-known theme... in the sacred Jewish texts ...
a potent symbol of deliverance... for Judah...
through the royal house of David...son of Jesse.
Did you notice Isaiah’s words

“A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse
from his roots... a branch will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest upon him—the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and power…Righteousness will be his belt...
and faithfulness...the sash around his waist.”

Blank slide
“The lion and the lamb...[pause] in the Greek... its lion... in the Hebrew its sometimes wolf...
but we’re not going to quibble are we?

Painting slide
We’re not going to quibble... because clearly this is meant to be a vision... of “Paradise Regained,”
of “the Garden of Eden... Restored,” and even better ...of God’s kingdom come... on earth...

And in 700 BC... with Assyrian armies swirling around ... Isaiah’s vision of a new Eden... would seem unbelievable

and that... is precisely the point.
It’s a vision...a dream...it’s the prophet’s way...
of calling us to trust...only in the future God has in mind ... and not in what we despairingly assume...

is natural... calling us to trust in a future...
that we creatures...simply can’t achieve on our own.
Like lions and lambs...such harmony is unnatural for us without God’s help.

Christian understanding of Isaiah’s vision varies widely... from the literal – as in there will come a day when God will change the nature of wild animals...

to the highly symbolic...as in at the coming of the Messiah ... all fear of insecurity, danger, and evil...
will be removed...not only for individual humans...
but for all the world. And in Roman’s 15...Paul’s reference to Isaiah’s vision...encourages natural enemies...Jew and Gentile... to believe Jesus is tied to this marvelous vision.

Word slide
May the God who gives endurance and encouragement
give you
reveal words
a spirit of unity among yourselves... as you follow Christ Jesus, so
reveal words
with one heart and mouth... you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Reveal words
Accept one another then...just as Christ accepted you,
in order to bring praise to God.

Blank slide
And Paul continues...For I tell you...
Christ has become a servant of the Jews... on behalf
of God's truth...to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs... so the Gentiles... may glorify God for his mercy...as it is written... "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;... And again in Isaiah, "The Root of Jesse will spring up ...one who’ll arise to rule over the nations... and the Gentiles will hope in him...
as well as the Jews.

And Paul uses Isaiah’s ancient vision... to encourage Jesus’ followers... to hope and strive for peace... regardless of how the natural world behaves ...inspiring natural enemies... Jews and Gentiles...slaves and free... to hang in there together to build a better world... [pause]

Blank lion and lamb slide
You know I looked up the word predator on the internet… and here’s what I found…
Slide words
pred·a·tor
1. An organism that lives by preying on other organisms.
2. One that victimizes, plunders, or destroys, especially for one's own gain. [pause]

Blank slide
Where in our world today...do we see predatory behaviour?

Well military aggression is an obvious example...
but what about those who gain economically from the weakness or naiveté of others...

What about those who stand to gain sexually...
from the vulnerability or poverty of others.
What about those who abuse their authority to gain power in the workplace... by intimidating others.

And what about those who get their way all the time at home...by bullying or manipulating...
every one else in the family... with fear. [pause]

When we stand with the prophets... when we declare ourselves to be followers of the Christ... then it seems to mewe must stand against...anything that prevents God’s peaceable kingdom from becoming reality...

And we must stand for... the protection of all who are weak and vulnerable and voiceless...and if that’s us... if we are the ones who are weak and vulnerable and voiceless... we stand up for ourselves in the face of fear surrounded by others who follow the Christ.

And if we have fallen to the temptation... to dominate and control others through fear...then we repent
and make restitution...for the harm we’ve done... even the harm our ancestors have done.

And because all this is so unnatural to us...
and because we haven’t evolved otherwise...

...the first step we need to take... is to pray for God’s help... in changing our attitudes and our actions...
we simply can’t do it alone... [pause]

Painting slide
Like the tiger and the piglet...I pray that we’ll sniff each other out... and that we’ll recognize...
the fragrance of the peace of Christ on one another ...I pray we’ll know each other as family...

Start music now
And so as an act of community…I’d like you to bring your Christmas cards forward now… to hang upon this tree…our tree…along with mine and those of the children...So in this season that celebrates Jesus birth our tree might be a symbol of our life together… as a family… in Christ… May we all be instruments of his peace.

Let us go up

Jesus is the living stone…the rock upon whom the house is built… there is no other foundation for all who gather here and have gathered here…generation after generation.

Friday was the 70th anniversary of the laying of St Ninian’s foundations stone…and on Friday we honoured this place and those whose lives have been poured into her sacred spaces.

Her stone steps have not worn down like those of Westminster Abby and St Giles, but never the less they still resound with the blood sweat and tears of all those who entered these doors not only to care for this place…but to observe… the milestones of what it means to be human… in birth life and death… in light of the reality of God.

I’d say countless thousands will have gathered here for worship…for thanksgiving at God’s providence …and for sorrow and lamentation when the world just doesn’t conform to the promises of God.

We come to this house as well… for confession and repentance… for how we’ve failed to live up to Jesus example… in our relationships with one another and with God. And how we fail to be good stewards of creation…

Yet all the while trusting the promise that God’s spirit goes ahead of us… to work for good…
out of the mess we make.

We come here for guidance and forgiveness
and to hear a fresh word from God… and my prayer is that we leave with fresh resolve… to conform ourselves more closely to Jesus our master…

And you might say this building and its community are a banner and a sign for all to see… that we are not alone in this universe.

But sadly we often admire her architectural beauty…her bricks and mortar and forget…that the Church is actually not a building at all…but it’s people…a community of believers… for whom Jesus is the foundation – his person his teaching his life… over and against all other loyalties. He is the way the truth and the life.

But the story of St Ninian’s isn’t over and the family isn’t complete. And I dream of the day when the promise in Isaiah’s vision is as true for the house of St Ninian’s as it is for the house of Jacob...

when every family of this community streams to this mountain knowing they are welcome here...
when every man woman and child in Hawea will come and say, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of St Ninian’s and He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths."

Friday we looked back today I want to honour and pray for all those ministries of welcome and hospitality that are the hope of this community of faith in the future...Those who are extending the warm love of Christ to all those who stream toward this place already...those who dream Isaiah’s dream ..
Ministries like mm [please stand...] those who work for St Nins café Sacred Space AA toward the future of our facilities here...

In this season as we celebrate the birth of the churches one foundation... we remember and yes we do look back at Jesus story and the churches story... but we also look forward to the future of God coming toward us and we look forward with hope. These ministries we have honoured are sacrificial and costly just as those who went before them.

And though we honour an innocent babe this Christmas, we remember just how far Jesus was prepared to go to speak hospitality forgiveness and reconciliation into the world…

how far are we prepared to go… what cross are we prepared to carry…to speak hospitality forgiveness and reconciliation into this community…

It’s a questions echoed in the poem Kneeling in Bethlehem by Ann Weems .
If there is no cross in the manger, There is no Christmas. If the Babe doesn't become the adult,
There is no Bethlehem star. If there is no commitment in us, There are no Wise Men searching.
If we offer no cup of cold water,
There is no gold, no frankincense, no myrrh.
If there is no praising God's name,
There are no angels singing.
If there is no spirit of alleluia,
There are no shepherds watching.
If there is no standing up, no speaking out, no risk,
There is no Herod, no flight into Egypt.

If there is no room in our inn,
Then "Merry Christmas" mocks the Christ Child,
And the Holy Family is just a holiday card,
And God will loathe our feast and festivals.

For if there is no reconciliation,
We cannot call Christ "The Prince of Peace."
If there is no goodwill toward others,
It can all be packed away in boxes for another year.
If there is no forgiveness in us,
There is no cause for celebration.
If we cannot go now even unto Golgotha,
There is no Christmas in us.
If Christmas is not now,
If Christ is not born into the everyday present,
Then what is all the noise about?

Come, O house of St Ninian’s, let us walk in the light of the LORD.

Pentecost 27 year C 07 Sermon Christ the King
‘Christ the King?’ imagine someone asking...
What crazy people these Christians are...
followers of... this Jesus...
hanging up there on a cross...humiliated... ridiculed...bruised...bleeding... dying... dead...

Christ the King? Why he was powerless to prevent his own execution...his subjects...so few and so weak... there’s no one to fight for him

What sort of insanity... keeps these Christians faithful to Jesus Christ...when they can see with their own eyes he has no power at all. I mean, that’s the point of being a king isn’t it? Power?

Aren’t kings supposed to be in complete control, possess absolute authority, the right to command armies and obedience, the privilege of punishing anyone who won’t comply? Palaces, wealth, vast empire, loyal subjects...

Power! These Christian’s don’t seem to understand power at all. [pause]

In the Christian Worship Calendar... today is Christ the King Sunday...the last Sunday in the Church’s year...a day to celebrate...
the rule and reign of Jesus our Lord...
over all things... in heaven and on earth.
A day to celebrate the victory of God in Jesus... over the powers of darkness...a day to rejoice... in the glory of the kingdom of light... to which we belong.

Are we crazy...to proclaim that... in Jesus the kingdom of God has somehow already come...
though not yet complete...Are we foolish to believe... that in Jesus...the very power of almighty God... is revealed and established... right here in our human dimension.

I don’t think we’re crazy...not if the gospel is anything to go by. I just think our Christian understanding ...
of authority and kingdom and power...is mysteriously and utterly different...from of all those sneering cynics... who watch Jesus die on the Cross... and who laugh at the apparent powerlessness... of Jesus’ followers and friends. [pause]

In his book Parables of the kingdom...
Robert Capon tells us... ‘if scripture has a single subject
at all...it’s the mystery of the kingdom of God...
not someplace else called heaven...not somebody at a distance called God, but this place... right here...
and the Holy One who moves mysteriously... to make all creation true... both to itself and to him.’

And how does God get the job done...the job of reconciling all creation to himself? What does scripture teach us about the way God uses his power...to accomplish his objectives?’

‘If we come to scripture... with a nice respectable notion of an omnipotent God... who has all the controlling and zapping power he needs to do anything he wants any time he wants to...
we immediately have lots of questions don’t we...

like why is God taking so long to complete the project ...
‘why doesn’t God just knock some heads together, put all the baddies under a large flat rock... and get on with the job?’

Instead...when we read the Bible carefully...we see since Noah... that apparently God’s had no interest...
in using direct power... to fix up the world.

What do I mean by direct power... Well that’s something you and I use it everyday don’t we?
It’s mechanical power... it’s like force...this morning at breakfast for example you probably used direct power to lift your cup of tea to your lips to drink...
the cup didn’t have any say in it...you used the power at your disposal to lift it... and we use this kind of power to mow the grass or wash stains out of our clothes.

This kind of direct power is ‘responsible for almost everything that happens in our human dimension of time and space. And one of the advantages of direct power... is that it works! From taking a splinter our of our finger...[pause] to removing our enemy...
with a hand grenade.

But you can already guess that using direct power... has one heck of a disadvantage...

Especially if you believe the purpose life...
is to remain in loving relationship with other people and with God. [pause]

Oh, sure you can drag your children out of the way of a moving car...but just try intervening... in their plans for the summer... when they’re eighteen... especially when their plans mess up your plans.

Let’s say your daughter sneaks out of the house at night without permission. You get angry and try to scare her out of doing it again...yelling and taking away privileges. But she does it again anyway...and again and again and again...

What do you do next...if you’re committed to using direct power...using force? Yell till your voice gives out, take away privileges till there aren’t any more to remove?

With nothing left...you beat her [if you’re stronger than she is]
until you’re exhausted... then you lock her in her room ...[pause]

Well, I hope you can see the logic of why this is fruitless...I hope you can see that very early on in all this... your relationship with your daughter will be destroyed...

unless at some point...you simply refuse... to use the direct power you have at your disposal... and instead of imposing the pain and punishment your daughter deserves... you make yourself vulnerable...
and take onto yourself... all her sneering disrespect her haughty eyes and her pounding fists.

What kind of power is that... for heaven sake...
you might well ask?

Well Christians from Martin Luther to Martin Luther King have said...that kind of power is the opposite to direct power. It’s the difference between right and left handed power.

Just look at your right hand for a moment...make a fist...Right handed power certainly looks forceful and strong and in control...

Now look at your left hand...and hold it out like this in a gesture of welcome or support...left handed power might look weak – it may be difficult to tell the difference between intervention and nonintervention when your using left handed power...

and you certainly can’t guarantee left handed power will stop evildoers at all. Well it could soften their hearts ... but then again it might not. In fact the only thing left handed power does guarantee... [pause]
is that after you’ve been rejected and battered and hung out to dry or to die...
you won’t have closed any doors... from your side of your relationship.

Now you might say...that’s not exercising power.

But when we turn our eyes on the Cross of Christ ...
we see... that left handed power is power... so much power...that it’s the only thing in the world...
that evil can’t touch. [pause]

Jesus died forgiving.

Robert Capon puts it this way ‘with the dead body of Jesus...God wedged open the door between himself and the world and said. ‘there, just try to make me take that back!’ [pause]

At the beginning of his ministry...Jesus was tempted in the wilderness...tempted to use direct intervening power... to accomplish his mission and establish the kingdom of God on earth.

His disciples hoped he would use force...direct right-handed power... to overthrow the Roman’s and restore David’s holy city... to the Jews.

But even at the start of work as a rabbi...Jesus warns his followers to keep quiet about his use of right handed direct power... When he fed the five thousand... There’s no hocus pocus... no long prayers... no holy exhortations...no dazzling sweeps of the cape...Jesus simply asks ‘How much food have you got?’...

And...Jesus just breaks up the loaves and fishes and passes them around. Jesus doesn’t want his followers to make a fuss about right handed power...he seems to realise the world isn’t going to be saved by miracles...
a crowd fed here, a storm calmed there, a woman healed simply by touching him...

Rather the world’s going to be saved... by a deeper and more powerful left handed mystery...
at the centre of which would lie Jesus’ own death.

What saves the world...what saves us... is Jesus...

and the way we lay hold of that salvation...
is through faith. And faith simply means...
trusting Jesus...saying yes to him rather than no ...turning our faces and our faithfulness toward him...

rather than toward Caesar or the religious authorities... or any other power and principality in existence today... and if... as it was in first century Jewish culture...if the title of king... is the highest rank we can think of ...then yes...we can say Jesus is king of our hearts...Lord of our lives...
prince of our peace.

as Paul wrote to the Colosians

‘being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might. so you may have
great endurance and patience,
joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who’s qualified you to share... in the inheritance of the saints
in the kingdom of light.

For he’s rescued us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins....


For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace through his blood,
shed on the cross.’

When we take up our cross and follow him...we commit ourselves to his left handed power... understanding that in that way he was the Way...the Truth and the Light...understanding the way we need to live... for our relationships and our planet to survive.

There is no shame in proclaiming him King of our Hearts.

Saviour of the world

Pentecost 25 year C 07 Sermon
Our world... is full of people
in danger of oppression poverty and violence...even here in the Upper Clutha...just as it was for the first century worshippers... Jesus is teaching in the synagogue

Unrolling the scroll of Isaiah… Jesus reads his Nazareth manifesto

Slide words‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he’s anointed me to preach good news to the poor. to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed…’

When the world is filled… with danger and injustice…Jesus comes...
with saving judgments for all of us.
Through Jesus... God shines the light... of justice and truth...on our world...

and the outcome is surprising ... then and today... religious and political authorities... often turn out to be the targets... of his judgment... while outcasts...
and so called sinners... often turn out...
to have more faith and goodness...than anyone expected.


And I believe... Jesus and his Spirit within us...is saving the world right now... saving planet earth... and all life on it. Because unfortunately...left to ourselves...
un-judged, un-forgiven, and un-taught... we will certainly destroy this planet...and its creatures.

This is self imposed danger... the world is in...
and I don’t believe anyone else but Jesus
with his message of Shalom... can rescue it.

It has always been that way.

When we join in God’s cause...
The cause revealed in Jesus’ Nazareth Manifesto...
when we become active disciples of Jesus...
we join in the cause... of saving the world.

Biblically, the word (yaw-shah' yasha is a verb meaning to save or rescue or free or comfort

The word tesh-oo-aw' tshuw`ah is a noun… meaning salvation… rescue safety deliverance, help, or victory.

Jesus name Yeshua is the short form of a name meaning "Yahweh is salvation’ Saviour (moshiah)

In his book A Generous Orthodoxy... which I’ve been liberally quoting......Brian McLaren reminds us that in the Bible the word save generally means to get out of trouble.
The trouble to be saved from could be sickness...war...political conflict oppression, poverty, imprisonment or any kind of danger or evil.

Throughout the Bible, God rescues the poor and the oppressed... Slide word appear as text indicates by judging...by bringing truth and justice...
into our deceive and broken world.

And if we are the ones who’ve done wrong...
if we are... the exploiters and the abusers...then God saves us... by judging and [reveal] forgiving us.

God judges the harm we do... by naming it for what it is... God begins to save us... by penetrating our denial and delusion... And when we realise the harm we’ve done...when we’re sorry... God carries our salvation even further... by forgiving us. You see there is no true salvation...
without judgment and forgiveness. [pause]

Another way God saves... is by [reveal]
teaching and revealing the way of Shalom ...
and ultimately in Jesus... God invites us...in person...
to join in his cause for the salvation of the world...
To say that Jesus is Saviour... is to say that in Jesus God is getting involved... as saviour...

in all these ways...in judging – by naming harm as harm and evil as evil...in forgiving – by breaking the vicious cycle of hurt and revenge... and making reconciliation possible. And in Jesus teaching – God is showing us the way to continue the work of salvation....

Through parable and proverb but most powerfully through the drama of his life death and resurrection... Jesus exposes things... to be what they really are – and brings a saving judgment with forgiveness... bringing justice with mercy....to all who will accept it.

To follow the saviour of the world...
is to join in God’s cause... of restoring rescuing and healing the whole world...to participate in this saving community as the body of Christ... is our task...
our mission right here in the Upper Clutha.

I think it’s fair to say that we see ourselves as a missional church...it’s a description coined in 1998...to get over peoples embarrassment with the term missionary ....which is too often associated with Christian colonialism... exporting and imposing European culture... right along with the gospel of Jesus.

When we say we’re a missional church we mean we want to be and make followers of Jesus... who can join in God’s cause for the good of the whole community... and the world...not just ourselves.

You see Christians aren’t the end users of the gospel. It’s not all about us or what’s in it for us...
Those in the community who want to become Christians are welcome... and those who don’t... well we love and serve them...joining God... in seeking their good... their blessing... and their shalom.

In this way right here in the Upper Clutha... we’re all missionaries... And from time to time... some of us are called to leave... the comfort of mission in our own neighbourhood...when God challenges us... to set out... across the borders of culture and language.

And this morning we’re privileged to have such a missionary among us...

Darfur slide
Some of you may remember my sermon on the genocide in Darfur... how thousands of people have been made homeless... from being forced off land now used for oil exploration. How racism and greed are responsible for serious oppression. How people are killed for their faith?

Africa map slide
Well, our guest today Andrew Buxton... from Cromwell...a true son of Otago... is about to answer a call to mission... to rebuilding southern Sudan...
after 30 years of civil war.

SIM slide
There he will serve the oromo and uduk people through SIM – Serving in Mission – SIM is a network of God's people passionate about the Gospel…called to compassionate, holistic service in this broken world

Water tank slide
Andrew has already served with SIM in Ethiopia.

Mud slide
By profession he’s an engineer but by vocation he’s a servant of Africa in the name of Jesus.

Welding slide
Andrew will use his engineering skills to create a base for missionaries in the city of Malakil.

Sudanese slide
To be effective he’ll have to learn the language and culture of the people and worship the local church.

Children’s slide
Andrew, what motivates you to leave the local mission field for the overseas one?

Where do you see as the difference?

How do you see yourself working for the good of the people in southern Sudan.

What are you giving up?

May we pray for you?

What's new about the new covenant?

Pentecost 21 year C 07 Sermon
Jeremiah 31:24 ff New Covenant
Words of comfort... from the prophet Jeremiah... for the exiles... in Babylon...

‘I’ll make a new covenant... and with this new covenant... I’ll put my law in their minds...
and write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be my people. They will all know me, from the least to the greatest, because I’ll forgive them and remember their sins no more.’ [pause]

Like the Babylonian exiles... we learned last week that we’re all strangers in a strange land...that every last one of us sitting here in this church... understands the experience of exile... either because we’ve left our homes in other places... or our home here... has been changed... beyond recognition...by a flood of strangers.

And like the exiles in Babylon...
in spite of our dislocation...we’re called to seek the wellbeing of this place... and be the faithful people of God... where we are... because he is our God and we are his people...the people of his covenant...

14 years ago tomorrow...I entered into a sacred covenant with a man who’s sitting right in the back of this church. Sacred... because we made promises to each other before God... and covenant... because it sealed our relationship to each other... with vows...
vows to be faithful to one another... to have and to hold... in sickness and in health... forsaking all others...
until death would part us.

But how do you know... I have such a covenant with Reg...how can you tell my identity as his wife?

Well...some aspects of my identity are concrete... there’s a ring...we both have one...worn on this particular finger...I‘ve taken Weeks as part of my name...we come and go from the same house...
so we must live together...

But there’s something else isn’t there.

When you observe my behaviour closely... you’ll see I’m concerned for his health and wellbeing...and his safety. I stand up for him if I think he’s being treated unfairly...I support him...I know what he likes and what he doesn’t like and I want him to be happy....

And in spite of all the attractive men in the world...
In the most intimate sense of knowing...
I know only him. I’m faithful to him. And in all these things... he is faithful to me.

But the biblical record... tells us the exiles who were carried off to Babylon... had been unfaithful... betraying the covenant God had made with them
at Sinai...and when they looked back...
they could see they’d flirted with idols...they knew they’d fooled around with the ways of other gods...

They’d taken their identity and status as God’s partners in the covenant... for granted...
And what was worse...they no longer knew God intimately...And "Knowing God" was at the heart of the covenant...

‘defending the cause of the poor and needy... isn’t that what it means to know me?" God had declared to them in outrage.

But their hearts and their minds were on other things than working for God’s cause...they had no time for the stranger and the most vulnerable in their midst ...no interest in showing mercy and forgiveness or walking humbly with God.

They had stopped living... as God’s partners in the covenant... [pause]

God had initiated a sacred covenant with them...
to be a light to the world... to be his partners in bringing about his way of Shalom...for the blessing of all nations. They would have land and safety and their descendants would stretch to the end so of the earth, but for that to happen... they had to be faithful to God’s way of love...

Time and time again after each indiscretion...
there’s a renewal of vows... renewing the relationship between God and God’s people.

And the promise "I will be your God"... together with "and you will be my people" echoes again and again throughout the Hebrew Scriptures...at God's initiative and sustained by God’s unilateral and costly faithfulness.

At the heart of the covenant...the gift of God's own self...freely given yet betrayed again and again.

‘like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, O house of Israel,’ declares the LORD.

In fact, for the most part the Old Testament is a story of broken promises on Israel’s part...

So a renewed covenant was always on the cards...
and those words from the prophet Jeremiah were great comfort... for the despairing exiles in Babylon...but with this new covenant...they’re going to have to think outside the square... of promised land and ethnic purity...they’re going to have to live among foreigners... and even marry them...and God is commanding it.

Instead of the chosen people in the Promised Land... they have to learn how to be the people of God...in any land... away from the Temple and its rituals and regulations... the will of God would have to be engraved... on their hearts.

And so...far from being abandoned in some kind of catastrophic divorce...God is going to prove faithful regardless...God is going to forgive them...and God promises that future generations won’t suffer because of their sins. Future generations will have to own their own sins.

"The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I’ll plant my people all over the show. Just as I watched over them... to uproot and tear down and overthrow, destroy and bring disaster...so I’ll watch over them to build and to plant.

I’ll make a new covenant not like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt...........
because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," Slide words
With this new covenant I’ll put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be my people.

they will all know me, from the least to the greatest, declares the LORD. because I’ll forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.

After disaster and exile... being God’s people only makes sense... from the perspective of a new covenant...one they carry with them in their hearts... one that isn’t limited to golden arcs... or land and buildings... or restricted to ethnic labels...or wealth and religious privilege. [pause]

The covenant stood...and God hadn’t changed...
the way of God...the way to peace and prosperity was still love...what had changed... was the exiles understanding... of how the sacred covenant would be fulfilled...

not tied to territory...but... in all the earth...
not cast on tablets of stone...
but written on their very hearts.

God always had... and always would...
continue to be faithful.... God always had...
and always would... relentlessly pursue a people... who would also be faithful...

And God would move... ever closer... to humanity... until in Jesus... the divine union... would find its ultimate... and most costly... fulfillment. [pause]

The night before he died... John’s gospel tells us... Jesus comforts his disciples... with the exact words every bridegroom would say... to his bride at their engagement party...

in my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back... and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.’

With this symbolic language...their Passover meal has become the wedding feast of the lamb
and when Jesus offers them the cup... he seals his relationship with them... and with all humanity.

This cup... is the new covenant in my blood...
which is poured out... for you. [pause]

When we drink from that cup... we are pledging ourselves to God as a people...when we live lives of faithfulness to that promise... we’re fulfilling the covenant... as a people.

And all I ask... Jesus tells us...
is to write this one new commandment...
on our hearts...

Love one another. [pause]
As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this they’ll know you’re my disciples,
if you love one another.

There’s only one way to know if the new covenant is written on the hearts of a people...
When you observe them...when you listen to them and watch them carefully... you’ll notice the signs... they’re prepared to show others the same grace and forgiveness... the same compassion the same concern the same mercy...the same love...
they have been shown. In response to that grace... a covenant people have pledged their very lives.

Jeremiah’s letter to the exiles

Pentecost 20 year C Sermon

Everything’s changed. Nothing is familiar.
You’re surrounded by strangers... with weird clothes and bizarre customs and...... speaking a strange language you can hardly understand...

You look out your window... and try to get your bearings...but it’s all so different...the sharp pang of longing for the way things used to be...
almost brings you to tears. [pause]

And everything that’s happened... has happened against your will. You worry about lost traditions...everything you’ve worked so hard for going down the drain...slipping away... out of control...your fearful... that everything you believe in...is just going to wither away and die...

Even the music...and the sacred ritual’s... Even the understanding of God...seems alien to you in this place. How on earth can you be expected to worship God in this environment...

Does that sound familiar to anyone?
In one way or another... at some time in your lives... every person here... has experienced this sense of being a stranger... an alien... an exile. Some of us know exactly what it feels like...
to be uprooted from our beloved homeland...
to be strangers in a strange land.
Today in our church family we have people from Korea, England, the United States, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Scotland, Australia, Canada...

people who’ve had to say good-by... to family and friends... people who’ve said farewell...
to familiar customs and... their favourite foods.

Still others may have come here from a big Kiwi city... or the farm... to a strange place... where everything’s on Wanaka time...and done the Wanaka way ...
rather than the comfortable familiar way they know.

But there are others of us... who sometimes feel like exiles in our own community... even in our own church. People who’ve had to say good-by to friends and family who moved away or died. People who used to know everybody in town... and now feel they’re surrounded by strangers.

People who grew up here... were even born here beneath these beautiful mountains and shining lakes...people who can not longer see the old familiar landmarks... because of all the building and development that’s happened.

And in church... there are people who feel like strangers in a strange land...some used to know all the hymns by heart...and grieve for the music they’ve loved... and the songs that helped them worship.
Still others... ache to hear guitars and drums and singing as they arrive at church...
singing that lasts ...until they sense a soaking of the Holy Spirit.

Most of us know what it’s like... to experience exile even in our own families...even from our friends...

I’d like to try an experiment in community right now... Would those of you who were brought up here... please walk back to where Stan and Elsie are sitting? Would those of you who immigrated from another country... please go to the kids corner.

And those who’ve shifted from a big city in New Zealand...go right over here. And what about coming off a distant farm...over here.

Every one of you... knows what it means...or will know what it means... to feel like a stranger in strange land ...particularly those who grew up here and for whom so much has changed. Ok you can all sit down

Now, if I were a false prophet... and wanted to be popular...I’d tell you to pray and to wait... for an intervention from God... to bring you back to the comfort and familiarity you once knew.

But instead... I’m going to show you what God’s remedy is... for those who find themselves in exile? And how God brings salvation and deliverance...
in unexpected ways...So let’s go back to our unhappy captive standing so sadly at their window.

Suddenly your musings are shattered... by a sharp knock at the door...You look up as a shaft of light pierces the gloom around you...two messengers thrust a letter into your hands
and disappear down the stairs...

You’re heart pounds when you see where it’s from...
You can’t wait to read it...but you want to savour the moment...so you make a cup of tea and cut a piece of cake. And take the letter back to the good light of the window.

You open the letter slowly... almost ceremoniously... and read...its from that old prophet Jeremiah

This is what the LORD Almighty,
the God of Israel says… to all those…
I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:

"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.

Word slide
Also, seek the shalom… the peace and prosperity and the wholeness…
of the place… to which I’ve carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for that placet, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."

Blank title slide
You're… not… going… back… anytime soon despite what the false prophets are telling you."

It’s Babylon...not Wanaka...And its six hundred years before Jesus was born... Nebuchadnezzar's army ransacks Jerusalem...and destroys the Temple...

Somewhere around ten thousand people… are taken captive and forced to relocate… to the city of Babylon, the capital of the Chaldean empire.

Only the most prominent citizens…people with political, religious and financial clout… professionals, priests, artisans, and the wealthy… were taken to Babylon…everyone who’d been part of the royal Jewish Temple establishment.

The peasants were allowed to stay behind… to work the land…and the prophet Jeremiah… outcast from the Temple had stayed behind with them.

And just when those who’d been dragged off
against their will… just when they so desperately... needed hope and comfort...just when they were praying for God to intervene...

the prophet Jeremiah...sends them an oracle from God... ‘Immediate deliverance is out of the question...they’d better get used to Babylon.
Don’t just sit around waiting for me to rescue you...
When I put you there in the first place...
so build...and plant...and increase... where you are...

Pray and work for the peace and wellbeing of the whole community...including and especially people that are not like you.

Exile is not the end...and nothing can stop God’s purpose of Shalom from being accomplished...even your so-called enemies...

God’s story isn't over after all...
and God’s family...isn't yet complete...

You see...to those who thought they were the chosen people... their captivity their deportation to Babylon was crushing... because God had promised to protect them God had promised to use them for his purposes. Judah was meant to be the promise land.

This crisis of faith... plunged the exiles into the most profound despair...we can hear it echoed in Psalm one thirty seven.

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept ...when we remembered Zion. How can we sing the LORD’s song in a strange land?

But they obeyed... God’s command to build and plant and increase…and pray for the wellbeing of Babylon… and as the city of their enemy flourished...they flourished...

The exile caused the Jews in Babylon…
to reshape their view of reality…to advance their understanding of how and where and with whom God would work out his purposes of Shalom..

In fact they were so successful... after the seventy prophesied years of exile had passed...the majority decided to stay on. And so with two thriving centres…
in Babylon and Jerusalem…the Jewish people
were far better equipped… to survive the conquests…
of the Persians, and the Greeks and Romans.

And to get them there...it seems God used their enemies... to keep them there...their prayers for deliverance... were answered by a resounding...
‘not yet’...not till they worked... for the peace and prosperity of the whole community... to which God had brought them.

Long after the Persian King Cyrus conquered Babylon … and allowed the exiles to return to Jerusalem... a young rabbi would continue to reshape the Jewish world view… Jesus of Nazareth would teach a Gospel of shalom …peace compassion and mercy… intended for all humankind. And Jesus would announce this good news… over and against the deeply rooted…
Jewish belief… that God would soon intervene…
to cast out their Roman enemy.

Love your enemies... Jesus taught his disciples...
do good to them...Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. …give...and it will be given to you.

A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Two thousand years later...here at the ends of the earth... what is an angry, lonely, doubting and fearful exile… to do with this story?

Well it seems to me…the lesson is clear…
no matter how uncomfortable we feel about change…no matter how strange the people around us seem to be…
we have a call from God to build and plant and increase wherever we find ourselves. We have a calling to pray and work…for the shalom…the wellbeing…of the whole community we’re in. Who knows…our definition of salvation might change…and we might just want to stay.

Why?

Because God’s story isn't over... God’s shalom is still needed... and God’s family isn't yet complete.

You visited me

Pentecost 18 year C Sermon 07

‘I was sick and you looked after me’

I want you to imagine… you are very very old… you’re too weak… and to weary to move…
but your eyes and ears… are still sharp.
Your head is clear. There’s a sheep skin
covering the mattress underneath you on your hospital bed…keeping you comfortable and warm.

Out the window you can see and hear the promise of spring …the buds and the birds…
And right next to your bed…you can hear the reassuring beep beeping of your heart monitor…
‘I’m still alive’… you chuckle to yourself.

All in all you’re glad to have a quiet room to yourself. Away from unwanted intrusions…

There’s enough hustle and bustle in the corridor outside your room… and every so often…you hear the jarring clatter of a bed pan hitting the floor.

But mostly you’re alone with your memories.
The problem with being so old… you’re thinking…
is you outlive everybody else… and with the family in Aussie for the winter…there’s no one left to
pop their head in the door…

And you close your eyes at the sudden sting of tears

missing the ones who are now gone forever…
as a fresh wave of old familiar grief sweeps over you…

you’re used to it…it comes and goes…but today as the wave washes out to sea…you’re left with a hunger in your skin… and a longing for a friend.

You turn your head at the respectful knock…
a smiling stranger walks to your bedside…

and looks love… right into your eyes.

I’m the chaplain he explains and I’ve got time to talk if you feel like it…otherwise I’m happy just to sit here for a little while…

You try to wipe a tear away without him seeing…
but your hands are too heavy

And your gentle visitor scoops their hand…
gently under yours…and you sense you could shift it when you’re ready. But for now… you’re content just to savour the warmth… of skin on skin. [pause]

Leg slide
Now let’s imagine you’re just upstairs and down the corridor in another ward…a room with four beds. You’re only 18 years old …braving it out
on your own in the hospital… and bored to tears …they won’t let you use your cell phone on the ward …and you’re out of minutes anyway…
how are you gonna tell your mum and dad about the accident…you were so cock sure… you’d be on top of everything…travelling alone…

And you couldn’t get home if you wanted to…with your leg in a cast and no ticket…

home’s twelve thousand miles away…

You have no idea what to do…or who to even ask …for help…

And suddenly there’s some lady by your bedside…
looking like your nanna with a big cross on her chest…and she’s smiling down at you…
looking love into your eyes.

‘Heard you haven’t had a chance to contact your parents about the accident…the chaplain says…
you could email them from my office…but wouldn’t it be a whole lot better to hear their voices…

I’ll tell you what…I’ll still be on at midnight
so I can wheel you down to the phone box
on the first floor… so you can catch your mum and dad at home.

And just as quickly she disappears out the door… sweeping a wave of warmth and relief over you…

How did God find me here, you wonder…
[pause]


two hands slide
What on earth would motivate people… to spend their days… traipsing up and down hospital corridors of hope and healing…pain and fear and despair…
day after day…

Offering comfort to strangers…touching the sick

You know what I think it is…I think it’s Jesus’ words
Word slide
‘For I was sick and you visited me…you looked after me.

Chaplain slide
Hospital chaplains are people who get to see Jesus every day…aware of his presence in each person they meet. Aware of the intrinsic value in every human being…no matter how grumpy…how smelly…how tearful…how lonely…

why would Jesus tell us… we would minister to him in the sick and the prisoner… and the hungry begging in the streets…because it’s too easy
to walk right past them…ignore them…
You see in Jesus time the sick were unclean… and untouchable…people presumed it was payback for sins

Chaplain slide
Today we’re celebrating the work of people who who believe the Christ lives in us… Along with worshippers all over New Zealand…
Today we’re marking 35 years of Inter-Church Hospital Chaplaincy.

Hands slide
Jesus broke with the traditions of his day when he touched the sick… and cut across cultural and religious taboos and fears. His actions are the model for his followers in caring for the untouchable.

Jesus revealed… compassion is a central quality… of God and a life centred on God. Jesus showed us an alternative vision of human life lived in community.

We’re blessed here in New Zealand that for the past 35 years the Government has allowed the churches to provide Hospital Chaplaincy in public sector hospitals.

The service stretches the length of the country from Kaitaia in the North to Invercargill in the South. In all some 48 hospitals and health care units are covered. Hospital Chaplaincy is a specialised ministry – requiring intense training to meet the needs of patients across cultures and religions.

their duties require them to wrestle with the great realities of human injury and illness, accidents, and suffering, the termination of life support and grief…as well as the promise of healing, and wholeness offered to us by God… through Jesus Christ.

It’s a vocation that understands that while God is the healer…many people will have a place within God’s healing process.
A chaplain’s place is to create the kind of atmosphere where healing is more likely to take place.

It’s my experience that busy medical staff are grateful for the presence of chaplains on their wards…to offer what they don’t have time to offer…the dimension of hope, and personal attention, a listening ear, wisdom, and patience … maybe even a laugh…and the opportunity for prayer forgiveness and reconciliation.

Sometimes the chaplain is an advocate for the least powerful person in the hospital… and at the same time a support for the top decision maker.

The challenge to us as the Church… if we want to continue to have chaplains in our hospitals… is to help fund the churches’ share of the cost. Chaplains are our eyes and ears and hands…
when we can’t be at every bedside.

My prayer is that you would consider making a donation to this cause as you leave the church today.

Let us reflect on this as we listen to James Twyman’s The Servant Prayer.

Rejoice with me

Pentecost 16 year C 07 Sermon Rejoice with me Luke 15:1-10 1 Timothy 1:12-17

Jesus... God revealed in human form...Jesus says ...‘Rejoice with me...’

Paul... a former terrorist... testifies that the
grace of our Lord... was poured out on him.
Tells us he once was lost, but now he’s found.

Did you really listen...to the parable of the lost sheep? Did you take in every detail...It’s a story so familiar ... you might not even listen... when someone reads it in church...thinking...ah... I know what that’s about.

But what if you’d never heard the story before... [pause] hey...wouldn’t it be great...if there were someone here who never...ever...heard the story before...

Wouldn’t it be amazing... if there were folk sitting right next you... who didn’t realise... how far... God is prepared to go...to find them...and bring them home...
to the love and warmth of his family...who pray with Jesus... ‘our Father...holy is your name...

Wouldn’t it be exciting...if we were as diverse as the crowd Jesus is talking to... in Luke’s gospel?
But we’re not...and sometimes I wonder why that is. [pause]

And when you think about it...Jesus is always playing to a diverse crowd.

Jewish tax collectors...who’d sold out to the Roman’s... and other so called "sinners" ... untouchable men and unclean women… outsiders you wouldn’t welcome to your house… let alone sit next to… in the synagogue…

These people had been cut off…and cast out…
of religious community…shunned by those who saw themselves… as the people of God.

And in the crowd did you notice…there are Pharisees too…who run the synagogues …
and teachers who specialise in Jewish law…
Masters of religious surveillance…monitoring… the situation…on the lookout… for sin and heresy…for pollution…worried about Jesus’ popularity…
as a rabbi. [pause]

In their world of religious purity…
rabbi’s kept themselves ritually spotless…
by avoiding anyone and anything that was ritually unclean…good rabbi’s invited only the best of the best… to be their disciples.

Good rabbis wouldn’t waste their breath or their energy…on these losers Jesus is talking to…
In their eyes…they weren’t worth it.

So they’re muttering and jeering…
‘This Jesus seems to waste all his time…hanging around with sinners.

They don’t like Jesus yoke… they don’t like his teaching…
They don’t like his values…
they don’t like his way… [pause]

But maybe they just don’t understand that…
Jesus is showing them something…
about what God is like…so to make it clear
for everyone listening…for the so called sinners…
and the so called righteous…

He tells them all a story… [pause]
‘Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep in a paddock... and loses one of them.

Wouldn’t he leave the ninety-nine
and go after... the lost sheep [pause]
until he finds it? [pause]

And when he finds it, wouldn’t he joyfully put it on his shoulders and go home.

And would he call his friends and neighbors together with great enthusiasm and excitement and say...
'Rejoice with me; I found my lost sheep.

Everyone’s sitting there looking at Jesus...
gob smacked...

I’m serious...Jesus says…in exactly the same way ... there’ll be more rejoicing in heaven...
over one sinner... who turns back to God...
than over ninety-nine virtuous people...
who don’t need to repent. [Pause shift of mood]

Do you get that?
Jesus is inviting everyone who will listen...
to rejoice with him...he’s bringing them all back home

every one of them is worth it…
every one of them... is worth looking for…
worth the effort…worth the cost... [pause]

worth... dying for…[pause]

Where are you
in Jesus’ parable of the lost sheep?

Are you out on the darkened cliff side...
in the shadows? Maybe you’ve been labeled a ‘sinner’ by the religious authorities?

Or maybe... that’s how you see yourself...
Maybe you don’t think you’re worth it...
[pause]


Can you hear his footsteps...
approaching through the bush... as he looks for you...to bring you home?

Or maybe you’re one of those people...
in the crowd...safe back in the paddock...
certain of your place in the flock...
but uncertain...that some people are worth the effort...let alone safe to bring home.

Maybe you don’t feel like rejoicing with the shepherd. [pause]

And maybe that’s the part of you... that’s lost...[pause]
can you hear his footsteps as he approaches
Can you hear his invitation? ‘Rejoice with me’ [pause]

Or maybe you identify with the shepherd...
willing to follow him... and pay whatever it costs...

Or like me... maybe you’re counting your blessings
like the formerly lost sheep...Paul
who wrote that letter to Timothy...

Only too well aware of the times... you’ve strayed from the path... and got lost...grateful the shepherd carried you home...to pour out his grace on you.

Rejoice with me.
I once was lost...but now I’m found...

The dark night of the soul

Pentecost 14 year C Sermon Prayer 5 The dark night

You know those amazing… clear… mid winter nights – when the moon is full… and lights up the snow on the mountains… and we’re dazzled by the brightness and the night seems to shine like the day?

It was like that the other night wasn’t it…just this week …a perfect night… a perfect moon…
and then it started to happen… didn’t it…

slowly but surely…over an hour… a shadow crept across the moon… eclipsing its light.

And our beautiful mountains and lakes …
which only moments before… were bathed in light....
are cast into darkness.

And the moon...it was there...but only a dull red reflected light… could pass through the earth’s atmosphere

It can happen during a solar eclipse too…like the one your looking at…Everything grows dark. [pause]

A very similar experience… can happen to us…
in our relationship with God. The ancient Christian mystics… called it the Dark Night of the Soul.

I can think of a couple of times in my own life… when I felt cut off… from God’s light and warmth.
One time as a teenager …I can remember sitting in church… feeling desolate and disconnected from God…I didn’t know what to do…so I opened the Bible and there were the words of Jesus in Johns Gospel "I will not leave you comfortless."

The next time was about… fourteen years ago… when I felt like I was…in a battle for my life with someone at work…I was desperate and depressed…

It was so bad…I wasn’t clinging to God in the darkness …or wrestling with God…
it just seemed to me that God wasn’t there.

And one day in the midst of all this emptyness…
I just sat on the floor of my bedroom and prayed …
in tears I demanded God meet me in my darkness.
I told God I wasn’t going to move until he joined me.
And slowly I became aware of God’s presence again.

A few years later…someone asked me what I’d do… if I were rejected for ministry training a second time …by then my trust in God’s ongoing presence… had grown to the point… where I could answer immediately…

‘I guess if that happens… I’ll just have to go into that dark place… knowing that God is already there… waiting for me.’ [pause]

I read somewhere that
‘when everything seems at its darkest…
we often find… we’re standing in the…
blinding light of God’s love.’ [pause]

Sometimes the temptation is strong…to give up praying… to walk away from God… to yield…
to weariness or cynicism…. And it’s these times
I want to talk about today... [pause]

Even for people who surrender to a life of prayer …devout people with strong faith…
it’s not unusual to experience the extremes…
of spiritual emptiness and abandonment.

Sometimes the dryness darkness and doubt… can be so intense... we seem to lose all spiritual light... and all hope.’

When we’ve only ever learned about praying with words… a time can come when we feel unable to pray. Or when our prayers aren’t answered…
we feel like giving up...or we get tired of waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled…

You know…even Moses threw down a sack full of God’s promises in a huff. In fact…any misgiving or doubt you could ever have…has already been voiced somewhere in scripture.

The voices of the Bible speak to us of...
the ‘agony of dislocation, hurt and betrayal…
lives that don’t make sense… of a god who doesn’t seem to care or even exist. Try reading the Habakkuk, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations or the drama of Job...and listen to the Psalmist. ‘I’m worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.’ [pause]

Through out the Bible God’s people pour out...
a litany of protest and complaint… that the world is out of kilter…instead of complaining to each other they nag and remind God of unfulfilled promises... they cry out that justice and mercy... do
not appear to rule the earth.

Even those upon whom Jesus would build his church would doubt…Jesus says to Peter, ‘I’ve prayed for you that your faith may not fail.’
But Peter’s faith did fail...didn’t it… three times.

Times of darkness, dryness, doubt…suffering and decay, disappointment and death… all belong to the twilight that’s part of our creaturely experience.
They’re not evil…and they’re not completely avoidable…they’re the ‘shadow side’…
of what it means to be alive…

We hear it fromJesus on the Cross...
as he cries out in anguish...the words of the psalm:
‘My God, my God... why have you forsaken me?’

Yet from this side of the resurrection…
we can see …even betrayal and death… can be redeemed… as part of the outworking of God’s grace.

Karl Barth…a great 20th century theologian …reminds us that ‘true prayer…
is prayer which is sure… of a hearing.’

And this is where we need to be reminded...
of the other things we’ve learned… about what it means to be in communion with the creator of the universe …especially that the only way we can know anything about God…is because God chooses to reveal himself to us … and we pray because God has invited us to pray

Remember the words from Jeremiah…
‘When you seek me you shall find me – if you search with all your heart. If you pray to me I will listen to you. I know the plans I have in mind for you – plans for peace, not disaster, reserving a future full of
hope for you. If you pray to me I will listen to you.’

God invites us into relationship…and into prayer... and promises to listen…God is…by definition… present with us…and so when there seems to be no answer…we wait…until the day dawns… and the morning star rises in our hearts. When we surrender our will to God’s… even ‘no’…is an answer.

In Jesus’ school of prayer…we’re careful…
not to confuse our feelings…
with God’s presence or absence. In this way…
we come to understand… the real meaning of faith.

And when we find… the solid bedrock of faith…
our difficulty with prayer… has served its purpose…
we discover …our ability to pray… and our relationship with God…aren’t based on feeling…
but on the unshakeable conviction…
that God is there…and hears us.

Whenever we question the intensity of our feelings… about prayer or worship or God…
we risk becoming obsessed with technique.
When we expect to stay on the mountain top…
be high on God all the time… we become guilt ridden or disappointed when it doesn’t happen… and we forget that prayer simply means… keeping company with God… who is always… and already present.

We need to ask ourselves...
if our desire for communion with God...
is greater… than our need... to feel ‘high on God’.

My experience… is that the peace of God… Paul talks about... is closer to relief... and even closer to rest. When we accept this… our desire for communion can remain strong…even in the midst of exhaustion and distraction…and pain.

And so we come to the end… of our month long
exploration of prayer…and we’re left with these

five precious rules for prayer

One:
Freedom and Obedience
Love can never be imposed from outside. We’re free to respond to God’s desire for us…free… to make his cause our own…and free to present our cause to him.

Two
The invitation is universal
‘Faith’s table is always laid, whether the invited guest sits down... or stays away… with a thousand excuses God’s love comes near to us...even when we shut our eyes and pretend it’s not there.

Three… We learn in Jesus’ school of prayer
our intercessions are universal
God’s cause is the cause of all creation. And so with Christ… we pray God’s will be done in all the earth. Our individual cause.. is included in the greater context

Four… we are
sure of a hearing… True prayer… is based on the assurance of being heard. Trust in God… is our gift back to God…
even when our prayers seem to go unanswered…
we pray in faith… that in everything… God can work out his purposes of love. And the bible tells us…
even the prayers of unbelievers are heard.

Five
Faith and Hope In Jesus’ school of prayer…we learn even betrayal and death… can be redeemed by God’s grace. Any balance… between fear and hope… that existed before the incarnation of Jesus...
has been tipped… in favour of the resurrection.

And so in faith and hope… we respond to God’s
invitation to communion with him.
And with the Psalmist we pray:
Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you’re there; if I make my bed in the depths, you’re there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there… your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
even the darkness… wont be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

Praying and working together

Pentecost 13 year C 07 Sermon Prayer 4
Three weeks ago we began a month long exploration of prayer…to discover what it means… to be in communion… with the Creator of the universe

We found out…
1. the only way we can know anything about God…is because God chooses to reveal himself to us…

we learned
2. our first reason to pray isn’t our need for God, but God’s invitation to us. And how right from the beginning…God’s been pursuing and inviting us to enjoy his presence …asking us to speak to him…
and listen to him… even delivering the invitation in person…at great cost…in Jesus… and then drawing us… deeper into communion with him… by his Holy Spirit.

We learned
3. we’re all beginners… and need to be taught how to pray. So at Jesus’ side we approach our Father and
4. we learn how to pray for God’s cause and ours in the Lord’s Prayer…

And last week we learned that
5. speaking is only half the story… in our relationship with God… and we learned how… through silent contemplation and praying the scriptures anyone can learn to listen for God…
and enjoy God’s presence.

Today… I want to explore yet another aspect of prayer – and that’s praying and working together in God’s cause – the relationship between our praying and our living.

The question… for those of us in Jesus’ school of prayer is… though we’ve prayed ‘Thy will be done’…
are we actually prepared…to harness our very lives…
to God’s will…no matter what the cost – as Jesus did.

We’re reminded … prayer isn’t a state of being…
but an active relationship. God invites us and we respond… and we’re changed. We’re strengthen and guided in the Way the Truth and the life… to carry out God will, and make His cause our own.
Wouldn’t you think it’s a contradiction in terms…
to pray with Jesus… without putting his teaching… into practise.

And we see in Jesus example… that in prayer gives us the energy for God’s service.

We move from the activity of prayer to the action of discipleship… When we live a life of prayer…
every thing we do… becomes an extension of our prayers…our whole life…
becomes a witness to God’s cause…

So if you want a good definition of mission …
that’s it: a life in witness to God’s cause. And to witness effectively … we have to understand the complexities of the mission field…don’t we?

A century ago… most Christians thought
the mission field was overseas… in the jungles of Africa…or among the poor in India. But today in secular New Zealand we know that’s not true.

In fact…when we’re humble and honest enough…
to admit it…we know our closest mission field…
our first mission field… is our own hearts…
and if our life is an extension of our prayers…
then we know the true ‘test of prayer’ is ‘are we more patient, more loving, more merciful, more compassionate humble, and faithful?’

It could be said… that another test of our progress in prayer…in the mission field of our own hearts…
Another test is our ability to endure suffering…

You see in Jesus school of prayer…
we learn communion with God…
is never about immunity from suffering…

We learn and that even in the midst of suffering…
we can find peace. We learn…God can work out his purposes of love… no matter what the circumstances.

We remember Paul’s advice to the Philippians.
‘Don’t worry about anything, but in everything… by prayer and thanksgiving… let your requests be made known to God. [] And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding… will guard your hearts and your minds… in the knowledge of Christ Jesus.’

And so having kindled the fire of prayer…
in the first mission field…which is our own hearts… we’re ready for the fire to break out and spread…
to our relationships with others.

And still within this… first mission field…
is the heart of the church…the corporate heart…of the Body of Christ… the gathered people of God…
the heart of the church… also needs to be
continually transformed and built up through prayer.

After Jesus ascension…in today’s reading…
did you notice… how ‘they all join together in constant prayer.’ as they wait… for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit…

Jesus told them to wait together for this help… because they wouldn’t be able to continue work in his name without it…in the service of God’s cause..

Why should we be any different?

God’s people… are invited to call on the name of God together. Not only as individuals…but together…
in prayer and sacrament. We come together to pray and to worship… at God’s invitation. And Jesus said…
I will build my church…

And all over the world… strong growing churches…
with effective witness to God’s cause…these churches are calling their people to times of corporate prayer…

They’ve learned that even in our diversity…
when we pray together… we’re drawn together…
in love and unity… in obedience to God’s cause.

One such church is London’s Holy Trinity Brompton the home of the Alpha Programme and the Marriage Course… that we run…In the conviction that times of praying together would strengthen and transform their church… Holy Trinity started modestly.

At first… those who responded…
only met to pray for half hour a week. Today…
as more and more of their people discover the…
deep rewards of praying together....
Holy Trinity has had to schedule more opportunities throughout the week. [pause]

This is truly a challenge for us here in the Upper Clutha...are we hearing and responding...
to God’s invitation ...to pray and to wait...
on the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit?

For the Church to be built and transformed...
into an effective vehicle of God’s blessing
for the world...

first the heart of the church must be transformed...
to conform more closely to the image of God...
before we can ask the world to change... we have allow ourselves to be changed... through prayer and sacrament... together...into a merciful, just and compassionate body of believers…and praying together…being in communion with God together … is a vital part of this.

Because we are invited to speak and to listen for God together. Most of the ‘you’ words…
written for the early church… are plural… you …together

We hear how the early church raised their voices together in prayer.
"Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, David:
who asked 'Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? Why do the rulers of the earth gather together against God and…conspire against your holy servant Jesus

We hear how ‘After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. All the believers were one in heart and mind. There were no needy persons among them.

In our church only a few respond eagerly…
to the invitation to pray together as God’s people…
Where is our trust in the companionship of Christ and the Holy Spirit if we are reluctant or shy or afraid to pray with other Christians?

It’s not so hard…remember kneeling beside the bed of a child… to help them with their prayers? Or how easily you speak the Lord’s Prayer in worship…
my friends that is corporate prayer…
its simply gathering with others in the family of God… for the purpose of prayer…
out loud or silent… but together.

During my study leave on prayer I became convinced that we haven’t yet heard God’s invitation…
to pray together as a church. That’s why I’m going to set aside half an hour every Wednesday afternoon at 530… to meet with anyone else who feels the call to corporate prayer.

Today we’ve see that only with our own hearts transformed in the first mission field….
can we sincerely pray… for our work together in the second mission field…

located anywhere that hearts are turned away from God and God’s cause…of reconciling and restoring all creation

My prayer... is that in praying together... our church will be encouraged to go out into the second mission field... to say a joyful yes to every sign of God’s life and love... and that we’ll be strengthened to say a forceful ‘no’
to every principality and power that brings division and destruction – to our families, our community and the world.

You see... mission – in witness to God’s cause…
is simply another way to pray… with our whole being…
and is the true work of the children of God.

So lets respond together to God’s invitation to communion…
so that in Jesus’ name… we can build a community of healing and wholeness …a touching place for everyone… where forgiveness and grace abound.