Speaking into being

 

Mark 10:13-16

Jesus Blesses Little Children

People were bringing little children to him in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them. But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.” And he took them up in his arms, laid his hands on them, and blessed them.

In the Name of the Creator, the Redeemer and the Sustainer. Amen

Over the last few weeks, I’ve really been enjoying the liturgy we’ve been using for the season of Creation. Whilst it’s still very recognisable as the liturgy we use week in week out as we celebrate the Eucharist, there are enough little changes to make us stop and think about our role as “priests of creation” as the liturgy puts it. Enough to stop us in our tracks and make us think more about this great responsibility that God has entrusted to us.

This might sound strange to those of you who are steeped in the Episcopal Church - but it was the Liturgy that first attracted me. I loved that week in, week out, there is the opportunity to proclaim our faith in words that would become familiar but no less powerful. 

I love that the Liturgy is not something passive - but is spoken into life by all the people gathered., along with that great cloud of witnesses who also gather round the altar.

We sing the Gloria.

We say the creed.

We respond to the great prayer of thanksgiving.

It seems to me that participating in the Liturgy of the Scottish Episcopal Church is consenting to bringing body, mind and soul to the experience of worship.

I once described it, in a discernment interview, as the difference between playing violin and playing cello.

Both take commitment and practice.

But there’s just something about the cello that demands more - involving the whole body rather than just a part.

What has this got to do with our gospel - or indeed with Harvest that we celebrate today?

Well - I think it’s that same commitment that is being asked of us as we consider creation and harvest and our stewardship of the earth.

We are being invited into an ever deepening relationship with Creation and with the God of Creation.

We are being invited to commit body, mind and soul to serving God and to caring for creation.

For our sake AND for the sake of our children and all the generations that will come after.

Every day, we are learning more, not just of how we have exploited earth’s resources - but of how we can begin to make a difference

Maya Angelou once said  - “When we know better, we can do better.”

We know so much more today than ever before about how we can sustain and how we destroy creation. 

God reveals how we can work in partnership in caring for creation.

We know better.

We can do better.

And so as we look around the sanctuary today, at the beauty and the bounty, as we thank God for the harvest, we are being invited to do more.

We are being invited to step up our commitment to sustain the earth.

By the choices we make every day.

By our commitment to live sustainable lives.

And by our commitment to be generous in our sharing with others.

That sharing extends to giving AND receiving.

To listening and learning from others, from those living on the edge, those for whom £20 less in Universal Credit really does make a difference to whether they eat or stay warm this winter.  

To listening and learning from our children about how to get along and how to make a difference by the way we live.

To listening and learning from those considered weak or foolish in the world who have much to teach us about how we might live today - simply and generously.

In the gospel, Jesus reminds us that the kingdom belongs to those who are like children.

Those who are willing to keep on listening, to keep on learning, to keep on sharing, to keep on hoping for better things - believing that we can change the world, that we can bring peace, that we can heal nations.

So today, as we thank God for the harvest, as we join in our Eucharistic Liturgy, as we say these words:

Creator of all things visible and invisible, source of life and immortality,

whom the heavens praise, the sun and moon and all the stars, the earth, 

the sea and all that is in them, in every place and at all times.

By your holy Word you brought order out of chaos. you divided light from darkness,

created the heavens and established the earth;

you divided the sea from the dry land,

and caused all life to come into being.

When you had made the plants and the animals,

you formed humanity in your own image,

and entrusted us with the priesthood of your creation.

As we say these words together, let’s listen afresh to the liturgy we share - let’s commit ourselves to speaking that hope into being - to living out the hope of change and commitment - to being the change that we want to see as priests of creation, for the sake of the world and for the glory of the Creator.

Amen.