Choose Life!

This Reflection was written for the Abingdon Creative Preaching Annual 2014

Deuteronomy 30:15-20
15 See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. ¹⁶If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess. ¹⁷But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, ¹⁸I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. ¹⁹I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, ²⁰loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that the Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 

Moses’ speech in Deuteronomy 30, is some speech from a man who, when God called him, could barely speak. Moses has come a long way. And so have the people he leads.

They have been through a lot together and they have learned a lot together.

Moses implores them to always keep in mind the God who has directed their lives, the God who calls them to live in love – loving God, loving each other and loving their neighbor.

The Kings Speech is an award winning movie about the life of King George VI.

It is the true story of how the King who was never expected to accede to the throne overcame major speech difficulties. With the help and friendship of an unorthodox Speech Therapist, he overcame an impairment that had inhibited and plagued his life.

The Speech Therapist believed in him and persisted in his work with and encouragement of the King until he was able to address the Nation in a trying time of war with confidence.

The King was finally able to find his voice and become a leader.

In 2011, thanks to extensive world media coverage, we were enabled to witness the Egypt of today finding voice. As the world looked on, voices raised for justice brought down a 30 year long dictatorship.

Cries of Get Out! became cries of Freedom. Persistent voices for justice were heard and Egypt was changed forever.

One image that captured the world’s empathy was an image of Muslims at prayer, surrounded by Christians joining hands, forming a human chain to protect their brothers and sisters at prayer.

And then there were some wonderful images of the celebrations in Tahrir Square in Cairo – of people cleaning up. Cleaning up because they recognized that the achievement of the freedom they demanded is not the end of their journey but only the beginning.

Everyone was now required to play their part in rebuilding a nation and in ensuring that what they build is true democracy.

And that’s where the challenge lies.

Building on the foundations that have been laid. Building freedom. Building justice.

Finding voice is important. But it is not enough.

Throughout history we have heard enough voices raised – and listened to – that seek power.

But that power has not always been built on justice.

And so we have oppressive regimes all around the world.

Often these regimes started out with hope, attracted supporters by fine orations – but then perpetrated evil.

Voices are important.

But in voices raised there must be sounds of truth and of justice.

Moses’ exhortation to the Israelites is for them to choose life by building on the commandments of God – to practice love and justice, to walk in the ways of truth.

And the exhortation for us today is to remember whose we are and whom we serve – wherever we are.

Blessed are we...

Micah 6:6-8
What God Requires
“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 5:1-12
The Beatitudes
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

My friend and colleague, Alec Shuttleworth, whose musical talents many of you have enjoyed, proclaims that "There is nothing, simply nothing in life that is not significantly improved by the addition of a banjo."
Pete Seeger died this week, at the age of 94. If you're not familiar with the name, you'll be familiar with some of the songs that he wrote or made famous - Where have all the flowers gone; If I had a hammer; Turn, turn, turn, (inspired by words from Ecclesiastes); We shall overcome, which he sang at the height of the American Civil Rights Movement.
With his banjo and voice he took to the streets to challenge oppression, to question leadership, to promote peace.
Pete Seeger used his music to speak out against injustice, and his songs were taken up by protestors the world over.
He incited folk, not to violence but to justice.
One of the banjos he played was inscribed with the words: "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."
A banjo might not seem like the most obvious choice of weapon, especially against war, but Pete Seeger brandished his effectively.
And encouraged others to take up the tools that were at their disposal to effect change.
What does the Lord require of us?
To do justice
To love kindness
And to walk humbly with God.
Boiled down into sound bytes.
To do justice
To love kindness
And to walk humbly with God.
This was the prophet's response to a people who tried to make the task of following God more complicated than it needed to be.
It's not about exaggerating our righteousness.
It's not about competing in the piety stakes.
It's not about waiting for some dazzling revelation of godliness.
It's about being quietly faithful to God in all that we do.
So that it becomes, for us, a way of life.
A life in which we honour God by consistently practising, justice, kindness and humility.
Sometimes that will be accompanied by a banjo, other times not.
What does the Lord require of us?
To do justice
To love kindness
And to walk humbly with God.

Recently, someone told me off for answering the greeting: "How are you?" with "Good!"
Their contention was that "Good" was a value judgement and not an appropriate response to the enquiry, "How are you?"
Its something of a habit for me to respond in that way.
Just as others often respond "Fine".
When folk ask us how we are, often the truth is the last thing that we share.
And, when we ask others:"How are you?" Do we really want to know the truth?
We want a positive, upbeat response so that we can move on.
In fact, sometimes folk are upfront about that - after claiming that they are fine, they'll say: " You don't want to hear all my moans."
And few of us will have the stamina to say" No, really I do. How are you?"

I often sign off on emails with the salutation: Blessings.
And when I record Pause for thought for radio, I always finish with the expression: "Be blessed."
That is not a glib statement.
It's not a wish that simply exists in my own limited perception of the, sometimes harsh, reality of life.
It is a genuine wish that those who hear may, in some way, know themselves blessed.
Know themselves blessed because, whatever else is true for them, the blessing of God is present in their lives, even and especially when any sign of blessing is hard to see.
Let's picture for a moment, in all those times of struggle we encounter, God alongside us, strumming a banjo and singing protest songs on our behalf.
Blessed are we!
In our reading from Matthew's gospel, The Beatitudes, Jesus uses a way of speech that would have been familiar to his listeners, something that poets and wisdom writers used to give emphasis to their message.
We encounter this genre in the Psalms and Proverbs: Blessed is the one..

Blessing, as envisaged by Jesus builds on that writing and teaching.
It is not a matter of good fortune, or the planets aligning correctly, or things going well.
It is, rather, the assurance of being surrounded by the unconditional love of God and a community that is supportive and embracing in all the joys and trials of life.
Being blessed goes much deeper than can be gleaned from the surface.
And so, when we read:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
When we read all these words of blessing, these are not glib hopes for change, but statements of present reality.
When we are actively pursuing Gods kingdom, a pursuit that calls for risk and often brings hardship, then, perversely we can know ourselves blessed.
Yet again, we see Jesus taking a popular way of teaching and turning it on its head.
Out goes the notion of being materially rewarded for keeping Gods law or practising love and mercy.
But in its place comes something much more lasting - the knowledge of our labouring alongside the whole company of heaven to bring to light that blessedness that goes beyond individual achievement or reward and brings the assurance that in every time of trial, this community has our back and we are held in the loving embrace of God.
Being part of that community of the blessed.
Sharing joys and sorrows.
Carrying each other through all that life brings, with love and, often, with protest.
Raising our voices for justice.
Reaching out our hands for love.
Living out the beatitudes in our everyday.
Blessed are we -
When we do justice
When we love kindness
And when we walk humbly with our God.
Thanks be to God.



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Bridge to unity?

  1 Corinthians 1 v 10-18
10 Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,^* by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you should be in agreement and that there should be no divisions among you, but that you should be united in the same mind and the same purpose. ¹¹For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.^{* 12}What I mean is that each of you says, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ ¹³Has Christ been divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? ¹⁴I thank God^* that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, ¹⁵so that no one can say that you were baptized in my name. ¹⁶(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) ¹⁷For Christ did not send me to baptize but to proclaim the gospel, and not with eloquent wisdom, so that the cross of Christ might not be emptied of its power.

Christ the Power and Wisdom of God

18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Driving through rural Scotland, bridges often appear seemingly out of nowhere and sometimes with very little obvious purpose. Perhaps to link farmland that has become separated through sprawling urbanization. Or to allow the passage of livestock across a busy road that has materialized in a formerly rural landscape. It often seems like a lot of effort and expense has been incurred for correspondingly little benefit. Except history would decree a different story and place in context the need for a gap to be bridged and a new pathway to be created. And the many, creative, picturesque styles of bridges do make the scenery even more beautiful and varied.

Divisions in the church are nothing new - as old as time itself. We become quite tolerant and even, at times, indulgent of these divisions. But St Paul places in context the need for bridges to be built - or chasms dispensed with. The divisions and our pandering to them, claims Paul, distract us from the mission to which we are called - preaching the gospel.

This makes me uncomfortable. I would rather chip away at finding similarities in our differences, common ground over which we can agree than work at a real solution that would bring about unity. I am more content with living with the differences than with dismantling a system that, in the end, still excludes. I cling on to the arguments, rationalizing that they lend some spice to life, even, on occasion, beauty. Cozying up with division means that all the while, the gospel remains unpreached, far less lived out in the life of the church. Once again, Paul presents us with the unpalatable facts that we’d rather simply choose to ignore, just as we try to ignore the erosion of our open spaces and the deterioration of our rural culture, threatened by inappropriate land use, even if that does result in some pretty bridging structures.

 

This is a piece written for the 2014 edition of The Abingdon Creative Preaching Annual, a source of stimulation for preachers reflecting on the RCL texts Sunday by Sunday. Available on Kindle.

Water music

Isaiah 42:1-9
The Servant, a Light to the Nations
Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
until he has established justice in the earth;
and the coastlands wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord, that is my name;
my glory I give to no other,
nor my praise to idols.
See, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth,
I tell you of them.

Matthew 3:13-17
The Baptism of Jesus
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptised by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptised by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Jesus had been baptised, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

We've barely seen the wise men off and now we're reading of Jesus baptism.
The baby's all grown up and just about to begin the ministry of which we read in the gospels.
But before we look at Jesus baptism, let's take a moment to consider the season we're marking in the church right now.
The season of Epiphany.
A season that begins with the wise men and ends with the Transfiguration, just before Lent starts.
It's a season when we focus particularly on the many ways that God is revealed to us in daily life.
So it begins with the sign of a star - the one that the wise men followed and ends with Jesus being transformed in the presence of his disciples.
The season of Epiphany affords us many opportunities to see signs of God all around.
In our world.
In our community.
In each other.
It is also a season when we are encouraged to consider the divine spark of the presence of God deep within ourselves.
And so to this Sunday, when we consider the Baptism of Jesus by John.
When Jesus approached John for baptism, John seemed reluctant to baptise Jesus. He thought it should be the other way around,that Jesus should baptise him.
He did not think himself worthy to baptise Jesus.
But Jesus persuaded him, saying: “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfil all righteousness.”
And so John agrees to do as Jesus asks - and becomes part of an amazing gift of blessing offered by God.
Pausing there in the story for a moment...to wonder at all those times we've gone ahead at the Spirits prompting, to do things that we might have shied away from.
Those times when even though our head tells us we have nothing to offer, our heart tells us - offer it anyway.
Those times when God has nudged us and when we have been blessed in responding to that nudge.
Because the grace of God has taken what we consider a paltry offering and turned it into something special, something that makes all the difference, something that brings to light the love of God at work in the world.
Many of us are plagued at times with a sense of our own smallness, with the notion that we can't possibly make a difference.
And yet God is constantly trying to tell us how important our contributions are.
God takes the little that we have to offer and turns it into a vital contribution in bringing the light of God into the world.
God deems each of us important enough to make a difference.

Those words spoken by God as Jesus came up out of the waters of the Jordan: This is my son, the beloved, with whom I am pleased.
Those are words that accompany each of us all through life.
We are God's beloved children.
WE ARE GODS BELOVED CHILDREN.
So many people are being written off in our communities today.
Our newspapers are full of stories, of folk being denied benefits.
TV programmes depict those who rely on welfare support as cheats and chancers.
A culture of disdain and suspicion is being fostered.
Folk are being made to feel worthless.
Going against EVERYTHING that God sought to reveal in Jesus.
And so coming to this gospel passage today, out of the world and culture in which we live and operate gives us cause to reflect on how we've moved so far from God's will for all God's children.
Those words we read from the prophet Isaiah:
Thus says God, the Lord,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and what comes from it,
who gives breath to the people upon it
and spirit to those who walk in it:
I am the Lord, I have called you in righteousness,
I have taken you by the hand and kept you;
I have given you as a covenant to the people,
a light to the nations,
to open the eyes that are blind,
to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,
from the prison those who sit in darkness.
I am the Lord, that is my name;
Gods will for Gods people is good.

As we posted on the church Facebook Page for the New Year:
I know the plans I have for you says the Lord. Plans for your welfare, not harm.
To give you a future with hope.
These words, from the prophet Jeremiah are so far fetched for many in our communities today, folk who live without hope.

In the birth of Jesus, God's gift of love was given to the world.
And today, in this account of Jesus baptism, we are reassured that Gods plans and Gods will for us and for all Gods people have not changed.
God calls us beloved children.
And we, who are fortunate enough to be in this sanctuary this morning are called to respond to that gift of God by taking the love and hope that God gives us into all the world, starting with our neighbours.
Hope is one of the biggest casualties of our society today.
Folk who are continually being put down.
Folk who are constantly being told they are not good enough.
Folk who are denied help by agencies charged with caring for them.
Is it any wonder they lose hope?
We are a pretty hopeless society.
But it's not just those who make it into the stories in our newspapers.
Or who make it onto our television screens who demonstrate hope lost.
There are folk living alongside us who have also given up.
Folk who have been told once too often that they are not good enough, that they have nothing to offer.
Folk who feel unloved and unwanted.
Folk who watch their loved ones suffer and feel helpless and powerless.
Hope is in short supply.
It is hard to penetrate such a culture.
You know how it is when you get a song in your head and you can't get rid of it?
You wake up in the morning with it going through your head?
You're singing it while you brush your teeth, humming it while you load the dishwasher?
It's hard to shake off.
The message of hopelessness and worthlessness that so many folk have grown up with is like that.
It's something that's on constant play. That they can't shake off.
How is it you get rid of the annoying song in your head?
Well, usually, you replace it with something else, something that perhaps isn't quite as annoying.
So, instead of replaying "Sean the Sheep" all day long, perhaps you'll replace it with something from Les Mis, or a favourite from Jim Reeves - just something that haunts you just as much but is more palatable.
It takes the same kind of strategy to convince those who have lost hope in our communities today that they are beloved children of God.
Replacing their constantly playing sound track of hopelessness with the loving words of God.
This is my beloved child.
Replacing a hopeless sound track with one bringing the message of the love of God.

When I worked in the hospital, I remember one woman in particular with whom I worked.
A woman who, for weeks, answered only in distracted nods and grunts when I tried to speak to her.
She always had the TV on loudly to keep folk away.
She was a woman judged by professionals to be not clinically depressed but simply miserable.
The staff on the ward were at a loss to know how to get through to her and, busy as they were with so many other things, they had little time to try and break down the barrier she carefully built around herself.
It took a few weeks of persistent visits to enable this woman to open up enough to tell me part of her story.
A story of loss and rejection. Of being let down. Of feeling she was a burden to family.
Of feeling she had nothing to offer and even less to look forward to.
Even when I had been seeing her almost daily for a number of weeks, I knew that it was useless to simply speak to her of the love of God. It would have meant nothing to her to hear that she was a beloved child of God because life had convinced her otherwise.
The only way to convince her that she mattered was to be persistent as God is persistent, not in word, but in action.
To keep on going back even when the signs were not encouraging, even when there were other, friendlier, people I might prefer to spend time with.
Even when there were no signs that my visits made any difference to her mood.
It's easy to give up on folks.
Not so much because we're judgmental of others.
But because we find it hard to believe that we could possibly make any difference.
And so we decide just to leave things as they are.
While there is always a place for the preaching of Gods word, today more than ever, folk need to see God's love lived out in those who profess to know God.
People need us today, by our persistence and by our patience to convince them that they matter, to us and to God.
That we are all children whom God calls beloved.
And for some people, it is only the little that we feel we have to offer that will make any difference.
It is that one visit.
That one word.
That smile of encouragement.
That helping hand.
Small gestures.
Almost insignificant for us.
But that will make all the difference for others.
God made each one of us special - a beloved child of God.
And each one of us, however much we might doubt it, has what it takes to bring the love of God into the lives of others, and into the life of the world around us, restoring the hope that has become so scarce, changing that soundtrack that plays over and over telling folk they don't matter.

We rejoice each time we celebrate baptism here.
Bit we also know that, as a community of faith, baptism demands that we step up and share the gifts that God has given.
Those gifts might seem small to you and me.
But in the hands of God, they are gifts that make all the difference for others.
Convincing others that they matter.
That they too are beloved children of God.
And that God wants, for them, a future filled with hope.
In baptism, we recognise that divine spark present in each of us and fuelled by that spark, we go into the world around and light the spark in others so that they too may know themselves beloved children.
Thanks be to God.




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Rewriting the story

Matthew 2:1-12
The Visit of the Wise Men
In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet:
‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who is to shepherd my people Israel. ’”
Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.


Every year, at this time, I, and many of my colleagues ask: How can we tell the Christmas Story in a new way?
How can we bring it up to date and make it relevant for folk today?
And so we keep on coming up with different ideas.
Different ways of getting the Christmas message across.
Be it You Tube clips of Mr Bean and the Nativity Scene -
Or the Digital Facebook Nativity.
This year I was involved in filming a part of the Christmas story based on The Apprentice.
Our task, as apprentices, was to find a gift for a king.
We keep on trying to update the story.
But the truth is that, whatever you believe:
The story of Christmas is one that we see repeated the world over - and not just at Christmas time.
The biblical story of Christmas is the story of a child being born in difficult circumstances.
Born to an unmarried, teenage mother.
Born into poverty.
Born into a land ruled by oppressive forces.
It was a grim story.
Not the pretty version that we often portray-
With a warm stable and a tired donkey and smiling shepherds.
The bible story is much harsher than that.
The baby is no sooner born in awful conditions before his parents have to flee for their lives.
They become refugees, forced to take to the road and hide from soldiers roaming the streets.
The story is dark and depressing.
No wonder we try to dress it up.
No wonder we get little children to dress up as angels and shepherds and sing of little donkeys.
If we told the story as it really was, we'd give children nightmares.
But, in all the harshness of the story is an underlying message of love.
It was out of love that God chose to send Jesus.
Out of love for a world dark and oppressed.
Out of love for people struggling to survive.
Into that world God sent Jesus to bring love.
One of my favourite Christmas Carols is Love came down at Christmas.
The idea was that the birth of Jesus would change the world.
That people would no longer struggle with the kind of poverty and the kind of oppression that existed when Jesus was born.
No longer would families be forced to flee from unjust regimes.
No longer would they be caught up in conflict.
But just look at any news broadcast today.
And we see countless refugees.
In Syria, in Serbia - and in so many other places.
Folk forced to abandon their homes, meagre as those homes are.
Folk forced to take to the streets to avoid opposing forces surrounding their homes and villages.
And Aid workers unable to help, held back by corrupt governments and regimes.
And, in case we think that that's something that's happening far away.
Something to which we can send money, (though nothing seems to be helping at present).
There are also pressing issues right here in our own communities.
That's why Food Banks are springing up everywhere.
It's why there are more and more folk sleeping on our streets.
Here, too, poverty and injustice leaves people without food or shelter, all the things we would consider basic human rights, if we consider them at all.
Christmas is not a warm, family, sharing time for so many people for all sorts of reasons.
But it is a time when we can choose, whatever we believe, to make a difference.
To do something, however small, to share the love that is at the heart of the season.
It's a time when we can choose to update the story.
To break that cycle of injustice and oppression with the power of love.
To rewrite the story for our community.
In churches at this time of year we reflect on the themes of light, hope, peace and love in the weeks leading up to Christmas.
Just imagine being the generation that manages to change the story of Christmas.
The generation that finally manages to see some real light, some real hope, some real peace and some real love being born in the world.
That WOULD be a new Christmas story.
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Dreaming repentance

Matthew 1:18-25
The Birth of Jesus the Messiah
Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,”
which means, “God is with us.” When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

Normally, on this 3rd Sunday in Advent, we read about John the Baptist preparing the way of the Lord. We read about him going out into the desert and calling people to repentance.
John's message is harsh and uncompromising.
It's never a comfortable thing to hear this time of year - or any time of year.
But that's not why I've chosen to avoid it this year and read, instead, of Joseph's dream.
We've been following a theme of dreaming through Advent.
Beginning with our House of Dreams when we tiled the roof with prayers that we wanted to journey with through advent.
But, though we're not reading, today, of John the Baptist setting out his stall in the desert, our theme of dreaming nonetheless leads us to consider repentance and to re-define righteousness.
Dreams are all very well, but unless we are prepared to act on them, they remain ethereal, without substance.
When we gathered our prayers a few weeks ago, we acknowledged that all of us would be required to play our part in answering these prayers we brought, the longings of our hearts, our dreams.
What's the point in cherishing a dream if we aren't prepared to go and do something about it?
It's in the achieving of dreams that we begin the work of repentance.
Resolving to be the means by which dreams are fulfilled, by which prayer is answered, brings about the kind of turnaround of which John the Baptist spoke in the wilderness.
Repentance is not about beating ourselves up for all that we have failed to do.
It's not about regrets.
Repentance involves us taking a course of action that will make a difference to our world, to our community and to our neighbours.
Our repentance might involve us consciously setting aside more time for prayer in our daily lives.
It might involve us contributing weekly to the food parcels collection.
It might involve us taking more time to notice the people around us - here in worship and in our day to day encounters, taking the time to notice the hurt that lies behind a smile or the loneliness that wears a brave face, or even the desperation that is masked in silence,
Our repentance this morning begins in our resolving to bring the light, the hope, the peace and the love of Advent into todays world.
Our repentance begins when we resolve to find a way to bring about the peace we pray for, to feed the hungry, to shelter the homeless, to share the love of God.
The stuff of dreams - in the palm of our hands.
So we might not have read those harsh words of John the Baptist in church this morning but we are headed down the path of repentance that he bids us travel.

John the Baptist is not the focus of our musings this morning, but Joseph is.
Joseph, who plays a bit part in the Nativity.
At least, that's how it often seems.
We portray Joseph as a benign, insignificant character in the Nativity.
A character who was obedient and faithful.
And he was.
But, in portraying Joseph in such an insipid light, we totally underestimate the subversiveness of Joseph's actions in his time and culture.
It was the law that Joseph should separate himself from Mary on discovering her pregnancy.
Not only should he remove himself, according to the law, he should also publicly disgrace Mary, bringing to attention her unfaithfulness.
In choosing compassion over the law, Joseph risks bringing shame and scandal on himself.
And isn't that a foretaste of all that is to come in Jesus?
How often, through the gospels, do we see Jesus choosing the way of compassion rather than fulfilling the law?
How often do we see Jesus pronouncing forgiveness rather than condemnation?
When he touched a leper to bring healing.
When he rescued a woman about to be stoned for adultery.
When he ate with tax collectors and prostitutes.
Every time, Jesus chose the way of compassion rather than the way that the law would prescribe.
And, often, he was ridiculed and condemned for going against the law and practising love.
Joseph's actions are mirrored in the actions of Jesus as he transcends the law and brings about grace.
So, perhaps instead of seeing Joseph as having a bit part in the story, we might be more influenced this advent by his redefining faithfulness and righteousness.
We might be more influenced by the difficult choices he makes to do the will of God.
His actions wouldn't have gone unnoticed by his contemporaries.
Rather, he was prepared to endure ridicule and shame in order to demonstrate love.
It might be useful for us to ask ourselves today:
What ways might it be time for us to subvert in order to practice compassion?
What traditions or rules do we uphold that no longer serve the purposes of God?
What things do we indulge in that prevent folk from experiencing the amazing love of God?
Are there things that we do, that we have done forever, that we could let go in order to serve God better today?
Where might God be calling us to travel unfamiliar paths, ways that cause us discomfort, so that this community might know that God took on flesh for them?
And are we prepared for the hostility that might be directed our way when we reach out to those God calls us to love?

Joseph's dream, in which God revealed how prophecy would be fulfilled was the culmination of centuries of dreams of the people of God.
All through the ages, God's people dreamed of the day when God would send the Messiah to rescue God's people.
The prophets pointed to that day.
It seems that all of history was heading to the fulfilment of those dreams.
The verses in Matthew's gospel immediately before those we read today, trace Joseph's lineage right back to David.
David, to whom God made some astounding promises, promising to bless David's descendants, promising to always be with the people of God.
Here, in Joseph, a descendant of David, we see that promise coming to fruition, not just for the people of Israel, but for the whole world.
Because Joseph was faithful, because he was willing to go beyond the law of the day, redefining righteousness and compassion, the promise of God through the ages was able to be fulfilled.
And Gods son was born.
Immanuel - God with us.
And so dreams are fulfilled.
And our House of Dreams becomes a stable in which the prayers of the world are answered in the birth of a baby - God with us today.
And so, as we enter this 3rd week in Advent, our task is to make our repentance joyful.
To find ways to strengthen our resolve to journey on, making a difference in our neighbourhood and throughout the world by finding ever new ways to reveal the love of God who keeps promises.
It won't be easy.
But it's God's gift to us - to be the means by which hopes and dreams are fulfilled for all Gods people.
God's gift to us to throw off the restraint of years of tradition, to redefine repentance and righteousness, to escape the mould and, with compassion to bring light, love, hope and peace to the world.
God's gift to you and me.
Today.
Thanks be to God.






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A promise, not a threat!

Matthew 24:36-44
The Necessity for Watchfulness
“But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. For as the days of Noah were, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and they knew nothing until the flood came and swept them all away, so too will be the coming of the Son of Man. Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left. Two women will be grinding meal together; one will be taken and one will be left. Keep awake therefore, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. But understand this:if the owner of the house had known in what part of the night the thief was coming, he would have stayed awake and would not have let his house be broken into. Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour.

My early upbringing in Christian faith was accompanied by the soundtrack of tonight's gospel reading.
The teaching I heard, the music I listened to, even movies I watched all described this "leaving behind" that we read of in Matthews gospel.
Perhaps it was a familiar theme for you too.
Cliff Richard sang : I wish we'd all been ready.

Life was filled with guns and war
And everyone got trampled on the floor
I wish we'd all been ready

Children died the day grew cold
A piece of bread could buy a bag of gold
I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind

A man and wife sleep in bed she hears a noise
And turns her head he's gone
I wish we'd all been ready

Two men walking up a hill one disappears and
One's left standing still
I wish we'd all been ready

There's no time to change your mind
The son has come and you've been left behind


Perhaps some of you shared similar experiences.
But, for a time, I lived almost in a state of readiness for the rapture - that time when Christ would come and take people away.
It didn't stop me doing the usual teenage things- but I do remember occasionally being at the pictures, or at a disco, surrounded by friends and noise and thinking: "What if Jesus returned now? How would he find me?"
In the ensuing years I think it's fair to say that my Theology of the Rapture has changed.
The wonderful thing about theology is that it is not something fixed or static - or, at least, it shouldn't be - It is always something evolving in response to life and our experience of God in life.
God is constantly revealed in new and surprising ways.
And, as long as we are prepared to keep on searching and keep on working, not at understanding God but at building our relationship with God, that is what's important.
And as we build our relationship with God, we learn to view the people of God in a different light.
Our view stretches and expands and we begin to see God in places and in people we would never have expected.

And so to this Left Behind Puzzle.
I'm not sure that its so much about folk being left behind but more about folk having already left.
Folk choosing to move away from God.
Our gospel reading points to the flood and the folk who were swept away - those who didn't stay with Noah in the safety of the ark, those who were oblivious to the warnings.
The story of the wise and foolish virgins - another apocalyptic story that we often read in this Advent season is a story of those who left being caught out. The foolish virgins left to find some oil for their lamps. They weren't there when the bridegroom returned.
So, perhaps the rapture is in fact the opposite of how we often imagine it.
Folk aren't snatched away - they have already left - and the party begins with those who remain.
The folk on the streets.
The folk at the Food Bank.
The folk trying to pick up the pieces after devastating loss.
The left behind folk with whom God dines.
The great reversal.
That's how my Theology has evolved on the Rapture.
But, does it really matter whether or how we understand it?
At the end of the day, does it really make any difference?

Jesus exhorts his listeners to "wake up!"
Every day I hear folk saying "you never know what's around the corner - and it's just as well"
I know lots of you have experienced those times when you'd rather not know what comes next - it's too scary to contemplate.
And we've seen it demonstrated in spades this weekend.
Who would ever have imagined that popping in for a quick drink, or going to hear a band would end up with the kind of nightmare scenario that unfolded this weekend in the helicopter crash in Glasgow?
All the health and safety that we get so caught up in today, all the risk assessments in the universe cannot legislate for events such as happened in a busy bar on Friday night.
But I'm not convinced that its that sort of unpredictable tragedy for which Jesus asks us to be ready.
Although if the news headlines, even in all their inaccuracies and sordidness encourage us to care more for our loved ones, encourage us to do more to express our love, that can only be a good thing.
But that's not what Jesus was getting at.
Rather, it's the everyday opportunities that life presents to us that we so easily overlook and take for granted.
It's those that we are exhorted to Wake up to.
The themes we normally contemplate as we move through Advent are Hope, Peace, Love and Light.
But we also contemplate a God who surprises us.
A God who intersects with our lives every day in all sorts of ways.
Who knows how many encounters we miss because of our inattention?
Who knows the opportunities we have missed when we are distracted by issues that are unimportant?
Here in the church we get caught up in distractions.
We worry about minutiae that doesn't really matter, things that have so little to do with the kingdom of God but that keep us from being about the business of Hope and Peace and Love and Light.

Jesus return is not a threat - it is a promise.
Not something to fear but something to hope for.
An acknowledgment that what we know is not all that there is.
As we come to share in the sacrament of Holy Communion, we touch and taste that promise.
We touch and taste the hope and the joy and the love and the light that Gods promise brings, a promise shared by saints through the ages.
But as we taste that promise, might we also be surprised by God in this place?
What are the chances that, sharing in this sacrament in which you have shared so many times before, that today, you might be surprised by the God who meets us here?
Jesus exhorts us to be ready for such an encounter - be it in bread and wine or on our journey into work, at the coffee shop, in the supermarket queue.
May we be surprised by God in communion today by the God who dines with us.
For the glory of God.
Amen


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