Symbols 26Oct14
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Symbols
What symbols do you think are used as identity markers by Christians? Quite a few come to mind. The people of Israel had a few as well. The temple was a very significant symbol of their identity. As was the land, and circumcision, and the Law.
Strangely, perhaps, the first Christians didn't use any of these. In fact they rejected all of them as things that would mark their identity.
In the world of the first Christians, everybody else had constant reminders of who they were. They all had statues of various gods that they relied on and asked for help. As well, the Roman Empire provided constant reminders of the power of empire and the divinity of the emperor.
By contrast the Christians were regarded as atheists because they appeared to have no visible gods, indeed no visible identity markers at all. Later on Christians would accumulate a variety of objects to symbolise their identity, but at the beginning there appeared to be none.
Except for one image.
A sure and certain hope? 19Oct14
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A sure and certain hope?
This week I conducted a funeral for a wonderful friend from St Alban's Highgate. Her daughters were very keen to make sure that those who attended the funeral understood why Ruby had a sure hope of eternal life.
Because it is very easy to misunderstand why a good person expects to have eternal life. And this lady was a good woman: cared for the needy, opened her home to the homeless, made soup for the soup kitchen, sewed for many who needed her skill, visited the sick, took communion and services at her local nursing home, led Bible study groups...
None of this formed the basis of her hope.
Not in Vain Ecclesiastes Part 2
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{podcast id=30}
Not in Vain Ecclesiastes Part 2
Sermon preached at Christ the King on 5 October 2014
Is wisdom a help to a better life? Does the New Testament change the picture of the frustrated life? What is the answer to the meaninglessness caused by death?
Not in Vain 5 Oct 14
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Not in Vain
I have been reading a biography of JS Bach by John Elliott Gardiner. In it he points out that Bach begins his famous St John Passion with a chorus based on Psalm 8. As the prelude to the great story of our Lord's suffering and death, Bach begins with a celebration of the majesty and power of God. “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!”
Was Bach confused? Or did he understand John's gospel? The latter, I think, since John has a big theme of Jesus being glorified in his death. The death and resurrection of Jesus show him to be the Lord of all. The one who drives out the ruler of the world, and the one who overcomes the power of death.
It is his majestic power, shown in the cross and in the resurrection, that gives the lie to the futility of human life and effort. At least for those whose life and effort is part of the life and effort of Jesus himself.
What to do in a Meaningless World Ecclesiastes Part 1
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{podcast id=29}
What to do in a Meaningless World Ecclesiastes Part 1
Sermon preached at Christ the King Willetton on 28 September 2014
What the Teacher found out. What the teacher concluded.
Chasing the wind? 28 Sep14
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Chasing the wind?
The “Teacher” (of Ecclesiastes) thinks that life is meaningless and futile, and a chasing after the wind. I wonder what he would think about the life of the church.
Sometimes it can seem a bit like that. Is there anything to be gained by coming to church each Sunday, listening to sermons, praying and taking part in the Communion? Does it get us anywhere? Is it useful? Does it give meaning to life?
We have all asked questions like that I suppose. They could be the questions of the cynic, or the disillusioned, or the discouraged. Of course the questions aren't all of the same kind. “Is it useful?” Is a modern kind of question. Not everything we value is useful. Somethings are just good. Or beautiful.
God's Farm 21 Sep14
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God's Farm
Over the last month or so we have been deluged with lemons. It seems Willetton has good lemon tree soil. At least the season seems to have been good. There is nothing like a fruit tree that gives lots of good fruit. And nothing easier than picking fruit that virtually falls off the tree.
But not all food is gained so easily. Most of what we eat is produced by hard work – even with the help of modern machinery. Of course the work has to be put in at the right time. In the past many crops were only harvested once a year. Nowadays many of our foods have been modified so that they produce more often.
Sometimes it seems that our spiritual harvest is still in the very old days. Not too much and not too often. Jesus told his disciples a couple of times that they should look more closely at the harvest because it was already ready.
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