Who's listening to the sermon?

 

Reflection Sunday 30^th May 2021

 

How does God call us to his service? How does God call us to vocation?

Our reading from Isaiah this morning tells of an extremely dramatic way in which Isaiah was called to become a prophet. The first eight verses of Isaiah chapter 6 describe one of the best known of Isaiah’s visions. Summoned to God’s throne and surrounded by awe and terror, Isaiah is struck by his own unworthiness and the unworthiness of his people. Isaiah knows he is not worthy to stand before God, Isaiah knows he is unworthy to serve God yet here he is:

⁵ ‘Woe to me!’ I cried. ‘I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.’ Isaiah 6:5 NIV

Despite his unworthiness, Isaiah is cleansed

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, … ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, ‘See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.’ Isaiah 6: 7 – 8 NIV

What other option does he have? When you are stood at the foot of God’s throne it is not the time to say “No” to God. What else can Isaiah do but respond to God’s calling?

⁸ Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ Isaiah 6:8

Isaiah responded following worship. Isaiah responded following a word from God. ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’

In an article called "The Secret Revolution" for The New Yorker magazine 11 April 1994, Allister Sparks recounted the following story

Someone heard a sermon on September 20, 1989. The place was in the city of Pretoria, in South Africa. On that September day, F. W. de Klerk was inaugurated as President of South Africa. Unlike leaders of many other nations at that time, de Klerk regularly went to church. No one in South Africa was surprised that, on the day of his inauguration, he invited his favourite pastor, a white man named Pieter Bingle, to lead worship at a service in Pretoria.

Everybody gathered. The people sang some familiar hymns. They prayed well-polished prayers. Then Pastor Bingle stood up in the pulpit to speak. He based his sermon that day on the 23rd chapter of Jeremiah. As Bingle spoke, he said, "Mr. de Klerk, as our new President, you are standing in the council chamber of God. God is calling you to do his will. Today God calls you to serve as the President of South Africa. His commission is not to serve as the President of some of the people of South Africa, but as the President of all the people of South Africa."

By the benediction, de Klerk was weeping. He called his family and friends together and said, "Pray for me. God has told me what I must do. And if I do it, I will be rejected by my own people. Pray for me, that I might do the will of God." Soon thereafter, de Klerk took steps to release Nelson Mandela. Then he began to negotiate with the African National Congress. Then he worked to dismantle the system of apartheid. The rest, as they say, is history.

It happened because somebody listened to a sermon.

On 7^th April 1991, my wife and I were enjoying a long weekend in Ripon North Yorkshire. On that Sunday morning we went to a service in Ripon Cathedral. We’d intended to go to the Methodist Church but during a visit to the cathedral on Saturday afternoon we’d spoken to one of the clergy who’d invited us to join on Sunday. “I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with me preaching”. To this day I can’t recall what he preached, but I had my John Wesley moment, my heart was warmed, and I knew God was calling me to be local preacher.

It happened because somebody listened to a sermon.

On Sunday 23^rd December 2001 I was preaching at Cirencester Methodist Church. I used as a text Luke 1:37 ³⁷ For nothing will be impossible with God.’ NRSV.

After the service, a friend called Derek said to me “David, I feel you should offer for the ministry”. Long story short, here I am

It happened because somebody listened to a sermon.

When I looked at the Bible readings for today, I knew straight away that I had to preach on this passage from Isaiah. I don’t know why but those words in verse 8 ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’ jumped out at me.

Maybe I’m meant to nudge someone who is hearing this or reading this? I don’t know. Or maybe I’m just supposed to help you realise when God is speaking. I don’t know what I’m nudging you to do – if that is what I’m supposed to be doing. But I know I have to share this word today.

As I’ve shown with three example – two of my own and one with F W de Klerk – that God can speak through the words of a sermon and / or through an act of worship. But God speaks in many other ways too. In my experience through words of friends. (A friend of ours called Alison Jarvis said to me 5 years before Derek spoke to me in 2001 that she felt I was called to be a minister.) And I’m sure God can speak in dramatic ways too as we know of course from Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus and from the passage in Isaiah we’re thinking about today.

I’m just pleased that God spoke to me through the vicar at Ripon Cathedral and through my friend Derek. I’m not sure I’d cope too well with six winged seraphs!

It happened because somebody listened to a sermon. Is anybody listening?

HMS Vanity Project and the Covid Vaccine

 

This morning as I turned on the 7am news bulletin two stories caught my attention. Not the twice divorced prime minister getting married at the Roman Catholic Westminster Cathedral. But said Prime Minister’s intention to build a “ship” (no longer a Royal Yacht) costing £200 million and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call to G7 group of wealthiest nations to ensure access to Covid vaccines for all people in the world.

According to the BBC News website the newly married Prime Minister Boris Johnson said

‘The flagship would be "the first vessel of its kind in the world" and would reflect "the UK's burgeoning status as a great, independent maritime trading nation".

"Every aspect of the ship, from its build to the businesses it showcases on board, will represent and promote the best of British - a clear and powerful symbol of our commitment to be an active player on the world stage,"’

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57293882

 

As for the former Prime Minister. He, along with former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Dali Lama and 175 others, have signed a letter to the G7 leaders asking the wealthiest countries to consider Covid-19 vaccines a "global common good".

 

Mr Brown was later interviewed on BBC Radio 4’s Sunday programme.

Unsurprisingly as a former Chancellor of the Exchequer Mr, Brown rattled off many statistics to support his viewpoint. Too many to grasp whilst I was in the shower! However, billions of dollars will be needed to enable a vaccine roll out on a global scale.

 

In the interview Mr. Brown said that it is fruitless to vaccinate everyone in this country only to allow Covid to go undealt with elsewhere in the world perhaps mutating in to variants that the current vaccine won’t cope with. Just like with smallpox, all people need to be vaccinated.

 

If the money for HMS Vanity Project (and let’s face it, it will be more than £200 million) were used instead as part of Britain’s contribution to eradicating Covid, wouldn’t that be more representative of “the best of British”?

 

 

 

 

The great nevertheless of God

 

Reflection 23^rd May 2021 – Pentecost

As we celebrate Pentecost, and look back at the remarkable events that happened on that first Pentecost, many of us might wonder where is the Holy Spirit at work today? In fact we might even go so far as to think “Is the Holy Spirit at work today at all?”

If we have these thoughts, then the eighth chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans gives us food for thought.

²² We know that the whole creation has been groaning in labour pains until now; ²³ and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies

Paul clearly feels that Christ’s return will be imminent and when this happens all will come right. But the return of Christ seems far less imminent now. And the very groans of creation Paul described continue in our time and perhaps even increase as pollution, overpopulation and inequitable distribution of food and resources continue. If we as believers were to put into words all the groans we have about the way we are dissatisfied with our broken world, it would be a long list. Any brief look at the news gives us plenty of examples – wars, oppression, drug and alcohol abuse, incurable diseases, Covid and so on and so on. It is nearly impossible to state all the problems we as people of faith see in the world around us. It is hardly surprising that we groan.

But Paul reminds us we have hope. We hope for what we have been promised in faith but as yet do not see.

²⁴ For in^[o] hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes^[p] for what is seen? Romans 8:24 NRSV

I think the Living Bible puts it well:

²⁴ We are saved by trusting. And trusting means looking forward to getting something we don’t yet have—for a man who already has something doesn’t need to hope and trust that he will get it. ²⁵ But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently. Romans 8: 24 - 25

Paul reminds us that we need to keep praying. Prayer will help us keep perspective on the issues we are faced with in our own lives and in the wider world. Paul recognises that are prayers will be jumbled and inarticulate. And in fact, we may not know how or what to pray for. But Paul reminds us that if this is the case and if we feel completely overwhelmed then the Spirit is there to carry our burdens for us and to take our prayers to God for us.

²⁶ In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

(By the way, Paul isn’t suggesting that this means we shouldn’t pray. Having the Holy Spirit pray instead of us is not what we should do. Rather the Holy Spirit is acting as an interpreter if you like, for when we cannot put our prayers into words.)

On the day of Pentecost, we are told the Holy Spirit was seen as tongues of flame and was heard in the sound of rushing wind and in the outpouring of speech in many languages. I suspect that were we to experience such physical manifestations of the Holy Spirit today we would be more encouraged and more hopeful (although equally we might be terrified!) But Paul reminds us that hope that is seen, is a limited kind of hope, for if we see it, it will be limited to what we can now comprehend. Whereas there is something far greater in store for us.

As I’ve said the world is full of things that cause us to be concerned. There are things we long for and things that cause concern too deep for words. Nonetheless there is hope. The Holy Spirit is at work even in the most hopeless of situations.

In his book With God in the crucible: preaching costly discipleship Revd Peter Storey writes of a time when he was serving as a bishop in he South African Methodist Church during the time of apartheid. He calls what he experienced then the great nevertheless of God.

Even while surrounded by a repressive regime, Storey knew the Holy Spirit was at work. The government had all the power and used force to stop even peaceful protest. Nevertheless, Storey along with Desmond Tutu led the black South Africans in a peaceful revolution. The odds were stacked against a peaceful revolution nevertheless with God on their side they were victorious. Even after victory there was a strong temptation to retaliate for what had happened, nevertheless God gave a means of forgiving enemies and forming a reconciled nation.

Storey realised that no matter what the odds, if God is in something through the Holy Spirit, nothing can stop the great nevertheless of God.

This is what Paul is trying to explain. We may live in difficult times nevertheless God is guiding creation through the pains to a future of promise and fulfilment. We do not see hope we can cling on to; nevertheless, it is hope that saves us and for which we are given patience to endure. The Spirit is not always as visibly active in the Church as we might desire. Nevertheless, the Spirit is attentive to our pleading. We may not know what God has in store for us; nevertheless, the Spirit knows the mind of God and leads us on. In hope.

Come, Holy Spirit, come!

For all the unknown saints

 

Reflection 16^th May 2021

 

The story of the choosing of a successor to Judas in our passage from Acts today seems an odd one. Selecting a disciple on a throw of the dice or drawing names out of hat seems a very arbitrary way to select a disciple. Would we select a minister by cutting cards?

Both “candidates” were well qualified for the job. Luke tells us they had both been witnesses to Jesus’ baptism, had seen his ministry, the resurrection, and his ascension to heaven. That is remarkable as no disciples are mentioned at Jesus’ baptism.

They cast the lot and the lot fell on Matthias who became part of the inner circle. (Though after this nothing is heard of him.) As for poor Joseph, also known as Barsabbas, also known as Justus, he’s out. And we don’t hear of him again either. (I’m calling him Justus.) Presumably, Matthias was there on the day of Pentecost as Peter stands with the eleven to preach. And maybe Justus was there anyway?

In terms of the founding of the church Mathias and Justus are almost footnotes. Justus especially. After all we do at least know that Matthias was “elected” to be one of the twelve apostles. But as for Justus? Maybe he was so hurt by not being selected that he walked away from the fledgling church? Or maybe he was just one of those millions of followers of Jesus who are unknown, who aren’t proclaimed as Saints with a capital S but nonetheless are saints in the eyes of Jesus for their service and devotion to him and their love and care for fellow believers?

All of us will have known a Justus in our journeys of faith. That woman or man who never held an office in the church, and yet the person who may have been instrumental in passing on the Good News, the Gospel, to you or to others just by the way they were.

James Moore tells of a scene he witnessed as a minister in a church in Houston America

“Her name is Donna. Donna is a member of our church. She is a mentor in our Kids Hope USA program. Every week she goes to a nearby elementary school to be a friend, encourager, and mentor to a little boy named John. John looks to be 6 or 7 years old. Donna and John have bonded in a beautiful way. Though there is quite a difference in their ages, Miss Donna – as John calls her – has become John's best friend. Once each week, she visits him at school, helps him with his schoolwork… and then "going the second mile" every Saturday, Donna takes John to do exciting things that without Donna, John would likely never get to do – things like the zoo, the museum, the Galleria.

A few months ago, Donna's husband died in his sleep. Little John came to the funeral to support his friend Miss Donna in her grief. At the reception in the Hines Baker Room after the memorial service, John stood beside Donna and held her hand. She had been there for him and now he was there for her. He would not leave her side. It was a beautiful moment and people in the room had tears in their eyes, so touched by John's intense commitment to lovingly stand by Miss Donna, his friend and mentor.

Some of us saw John eyeing the goodies on the reception table – chocolate chip cookies in abundance… and some of us said to him, "John, would you like to walk over here and have some refreshments?" But no, he would not leave Donna's side. "I want to stay here with Miss Donna.," he would say. The love between the two of them was so radiant and powerful in that room.

Also, in the room that day was a man from Chicago. He had flown all the way from Chicago to Houston to be with Donna. Do you know why? Because 38 years ago when he was in first grade, Donna had been his mentor at an elementary school in the Chicago area. He flies from Chicago to Houston every summer to see Donna and to thank her for what she did for him 38 years ago – and then he made this special trip to be with Donna when her husband suddenly died.

 

That man from Chicago says to Donna every time he comes, "I am what I am today because of the love and support you gave me 38 years ago." He says, "Ms. Donna, you were the first person in my life who believed in me." And today little John says to her in words and actions: "Miss Donna, I love you. I know you love me. You are my best friend." Now, where did Donna learn to love like that, to reach out to people in need like that, to make a difference in people's lives like that? By being shown the love of Jesus by someone else”

(From Sermons.com)

 

As a minister myself, I’ve witnessed similar things over the years. People who love others deeply. Who nurture them and just radiate what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. I’ve seen how such people bless others and I have felt how they have been a blessing to me.

 

Revd Richard Lischer wrote a book called Open secret: A spiritual journey through a country church. In the book he described how from college he had been stationed (as we’d say in Methodism) to a small country church. He felt this was beneath hm. He had a master’s degree in theology and was studying for a Ph.D. But over time, he came to realise he met Jesus in that church many times in ordinary men and women who taught him the meaning of “the communion of saints”. He wrote:

 

“The only thing that made us different from any other group or society was the mysterious presence of Jesus in the community. We were his body.”

Justus lost the throw of the dice (or whatever.) But there is nothing to suggest he lost his faith in Jesus. As the book of Acts unfolds, telling the story of the early church, there are hundreds of unnamed people who pass on the story of Jesus. Most of them are even less well known than Justus. Without the “ordinary” people Peter and Paul would have an even bigger task ahead of them. The Justuses took on the story of Jesus and helped it spread. Without the Justuses we wouldn’t be here today.

For all the Justuses and Donnas who have touched our lives and are touching lives even now, thanks be to God!

Being fruitful

 

Reflection Sunday 2^nd May 2021

 

I know nothing about growing vines. And nowadays I know less about sampling the produce of vines than I once did! But apparently the best grapes are produced closest to the vine. It makes sense, as that is where the nutrients are concentrated. The further away branches are, the less productive they will be – though they will still be drawing from the central vine wasting energy on something that is unproductive. Therefore, branches are pruned and kept close to the central vine.

Jesus drew an apt metaphor for what it means to be a disciple. Jesus is the true vine, God is the grower, and we are the branches.  And in this passage Jesus reminds his disciples how two aspects of God’s created world work together – bearing fruit and being pruned.

Once we understand the metaphor, we become concerned about the pruning! Branches that aren’t fruitful do not escape the knife. How does this process of pruning come into play in our lives of faith?

I’ve said before, I am not much of a gardener. But I know it is necessary to prune at the right time in order for the plant to grow and flourish. Whether it is deadheading or more, pruning now results in stronger healthier plants later.

In pruning a vine, two principles are generally observed: first, all dead wood must be ruthlessly removed; and second, the live wood must be cut back drastically. Dead wood harbours insects and disease and may cause the vine to rot, to say nothing of being unproductive and unsightly. Live wood must be trimmed back to prevent such heavy growth that the life of the vine goes into the wood rather than into fruit. The vineyards in the early spring look like a collection of barren, bleeding stumps; but in the autumn they are filled with luxuriant grapes. As the farmer wields the pruning knife on his vines, so God cuts dead wood out from among His saints, and often cuts back the living wood so far that His method seems cruel. Nevertheless, from those who have suffered the most there often comes the greatest fruitfulness.

In this passage Jesus has gathered his disciples around him to prepare them for what the future will hold for them. He knows the trials he will face, including death, he knows that they will face trials too. But rather than sounding a message of despair, he gives them hope.

⁴ Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. John 15:4

Or as The Message puts it:

⁴ “Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me. John 15:4

Jesus doesn’t sugar coat it. Things will be hard for his disciples – whether then or now. But his message is clear. If we remain in him, we will draw strength. Hard times will inevitably come, but if we abide in Jesus, if we find our home in him, and with God the grower sustaining us, we can endure and even thrive.

C.S. Lewis wrote, "God has designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy without bothering about religion. God cannot give us happiness and peace apart from Himself because it is not there. There is no such thing."

To bear fruit when it counts means we must be attuned to Jesus. We must find our home in him and let him and his word find a home in our lives too, via faithful devotion. If we do this then this will bring about joy. The pruning and abiding are something done together. When we are attuned to Jesus, we remain close to him and he to us then the result is that which is best for us will surely come about.

⁷ If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you John 15:7 NRSV

When we do this then what is dead, dying or diseased in our lives is pruned away, with what remains being devoted to Jesus.

In speaking to his disciples like this, Jesus is inviting them to put their trust in him. He is warning them that they cannot go it alone, trusting in their own strength. On their own they will be cut off from the life source. Remember what I said earlier. The branches that are furthest away from the core vine Jesus, are the weakest and the least productive because they are cut off from their life source.

This is an important message for us today. The temptation to do things ourselves is always there. For individuals and churches! It is very easy to think that it is all up to us and our own resources as we try to solve problems and meet challenges. But we can’t.

The Christian writer Max Lucado in his book, When God Whispers Your Name, puts it dramatically and graphically like this. He says:

"Take a fish and place him on a beach. Watch his gills gasp and scales dry. Is he happy? No! How do you make him happy? Do you cover him with a mountain of cash? Do you get him a beach chair and sunglasses? Of course not! So, how do you make him happy? You put him back in his element. That's what you do. You put him back in the water. He will never be happy on the beach because he was not made for the beach.

Indeed, so and the same is true for you and me. We will never be happy living apart from the One who made us and saved us. Just like a fish was made to live in water we were made to live in close fellowship with our Lord and nothing can take the place of that."

 

John Bell of the Iona Community wrote these words for his song “I am the vine”

 

For on your own, what can you dare?

Left to yourself no sap you share;

Branches that serve their own desire

Find themselves broken as fuel for the fire.

 

God as the master gardener offers us a better plan for our lives. Let us find our home in God’s word and place our trust there. If we abide in Jesus and allow him to abide in us, we will be fruitful. But apart from him we are nothing. As John Bell’s song goes on:

 

“I am the Vine and you the branches

Pruned and prepared for all to see;

Chosen to bear the fruit of heaven

If you remain and trust in me.