What Awaits - sermon for 13th March

Mark 13: 1-8, 24-37

Nothing in life is as certain as death and taxes.

The first time this analogy was used was by Daniel Defoe, in The Political History of the Devil, 1726:

"Things as certain as death and taxes, can be more firmly believed."

Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) used the form we are currently more familiar with, in a letter to Jean-Baptiste Leroy, 1789, which was re-printed in The Works of Benjamin Franklin, 1817:

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

One of my favourite programmes is 24 Hours in A & E – not actually for the injuries but for the stories of life and love; I especially like the talking heads of the doctors and nurses:

“No one expects it’s going to happen to them; you don’t have your breakfast, say goodbye and expect anything other than going to work and coming home again at the end of the day. If any of us knew what else would happen in that day, we would do more, say more, be more; it is really important that the last words your loved ones hear from you is “I love you” (24 hours in A&E) we all need to know we are loved”.

Jesus knew that the end was in sight for him; he knew of the inevitability of it all; he knew it was coming, and he dreaded it. The disciples, arriving as they were to Jerusalem were overwhelmed by the magnificent buildings, the scale and size of it all; the hustle and bustle; the atmosphere – everything that was assailing their senses.

When Mark wrote those words down, he was most likely living in Rome, witnessing growing persecution of Christians, and the destruction of the Temple itself was soon to happen.

When Mark wrote these memories down, he and the disciples anticipated that impending destruction to be a sign that things were about to happen; that Jesus would return as soon as the temple was destroyed and that threat was the first, biggest sign of the end of the age. The expectation was high, tangible, senses were heightened.

Jesus was explicit: or was he?!

I think the only explicit thing said in this passage is verse 32: “about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father”

And that applies to everything.

Life and death

The world as it is and the world as it may be

We do not know; we cannot know.

Ok.

So what do we know?

What do we know about what awaits us?

Back to Ben Franklin – nothing is certain but death and taxes

Or, to our friend in 24 Hours: let those you love know that they are loved. The final words anyone wants to hear are, “I love you”

It is important to remember the context in which the gospels were written; the initial audience; the passage of time since and that while we may not know when or how this world will end; we do know that our own worlds will end one day.

Those of you who have been using the study guide for Lent, will this week have been contemplating that very thing. And the question – how can we be sure to be ready for whatever life throws at us?

When I have the privilege of talking with someone who has a terminal diagnosis there is a difference in the conversation. There is no need to talk about the weather or sport or the garden… the talk is more focused – we do not necessarily talk about what will come – for we do not know, we cannot know.

But we do talk about the important things – life and love; achievements and the small triumphs that have given purpose to life.

There may also be reflection on regrets; things left undone; hopes dashed – dreams unfulfilled.

Some may worry about their loved ones, about what life will be like for them afterwards.

Others spend a deal of energy making sure that the ones they love are prepared – teaching skills, sharing instructions, encouraging experiences, creating memories to sustain and  strengthen. Finding friends and creating support networks…

What if we are not prepared though? What if there is no warning? Because that happens too; the accident; the sudden catastrophic illness; the unexpected event. What can we do? How can we be ready for that eventuality?

Well, actually, we may not know exactly when – but we do know that as sure as we are born, we will one day die.

Be ready!

Relationships die when the love goes

Life loses its shine when it loses purpose…

So do something!

Tell the ones you love how you feel.

Do the things which fulfil and excite you; fill your life with good things, good people and good experiences.

What lies ahead?

Who knows?

What will you do with the rest of your life?

Well that’s up to you, but maybe what we each need to do is to tell the people we love that we love them.

Tell those whose work, whose efforts, whose kindness we appreciate that we value and appreciate them. Tell them!

Tell them today!

Because who knows what tomorrow will bring?

If these Stones...

If these stones could talk

What would they tell?

What news? What memories?

Would they remember building up, tearing down;

 creating and re-creating?

Oh these stones!

Magnificent building;

Stones, piled high (c) JMW 2016

tripping stone, cornerstone;

temple; body; earth and heaven.

All will pass eventually

Time wears it down

Time comes and goes

Time passes

Until, at the last,

nothing remains.

When?

Where?

How?

What awaits?

Wait and see… if these stones could tell

what a story that would be 

Sermon 6 March

What is it Worth?

Mark 12: 28-44

Everything I do – I do it for you…

Anyone who lived through the summer of 1991 will recognise those words… that song.

Sixteen weeks at no.1 a feat never (yet) repeated.

It was a song about love and sacrifice and devotion.

And I have seen it used in worship, especially at this time of year, when the song has been played as a background to the events of Good Friday – everything I do – everything he did – he did it for us.

There is a sense of urgency in this section of Mark’s gospel – spread over the past three weeks as it has been that urgency may escape you; but if you were to read chapters 10 -13 in one go the movement is tangible; the pressure is mounting; the excitement building; the anticipation is palpable: something is about to happen.

Something big.

A teacher asks

Jesus teaches

A widow gives

Today’s reading is only 17 verses; but when I first looked at it I saw at least four different sermons!

Love God; Love others – I have preached on more than one occasion in the past couple of years

Warnings against abuse and pride we hear often enough

And even sacrificial giving; giving your all; giving graciously to God has cropped up in different guises…

However!

I heard a question about this widow and her two little pennies which made me pause awhile…

What if Jesus isn’t simply praising her generosity?

What if his observation is actually linked directly to the previous statement – talking about the Pharisees Jesus said: “they take advantage of widows and rob them of their homes…”

What if it is an indictment of the “rich get richer, poor get poorer” system?

A system where those who were responsible for upholding God’s laws, were so corrupt that they took everything a poor widow had to line their own pockets.

She gives all she has to live on – because that is what the teachers of the law demanded – not what God demanded.

There was a cartoon I saw this week, that I’d seen before; in it there is a man sick in bed and a friend at his bedside saying “don’t worry, it’s God’s will”; the next picture showed God looking puzzled beside a whiteboard – with two things written

1. Create the world 

2.  Give Steve cancer…

It’s that ridiculous! The love of God; the will of God; the grace of God – all are for good.

God does not will or design or give us cancer; or accidents; or catastrophes.

Stuff happens.

Terrible, tragic, dreadful stuff happens.

God does not make it happen; but God is with us every step of the way as we deal with it, live through it.

The fact that even in her impoverished state the widow was expected to continue giving her offering money was totally wrong. The visible giving was valued over the stark reality of life.

God doesn’t want us to suffer or go hungry; and God certainly doesn’t make these things happen.

What does God require of us?

The words of the prophet Micah are as relevant today as they ever where:

Act justly

Live kindly

Follow God

And what are the greatest commandments?

Simple:

Love the Lord your God withal your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and all your strength

Love your neighbour as you love yourself

Life is complicated enough

The world is full of wicked people, and good people

What the world needs now, is love (sweet love)

Everything I do – I do it for you

The message actually really is that simple.

Love God; love others; love yourself

What is it worth?

Whatever we give – however big or small, is worth everything if we give with all of our heart, mind, soul, strength and do not count the cost.

More valuable than silver or gold – love

Unconditional, beautiful, hopeful love

And that’s priceless

Amen 

sermon 28 February

What do you think you own?

 (Mark 12: 1-12)

“Jesus began to speak to them in parables…”

Ahh… parables! Stories used to illustrate truths; stories using familiar motifs, which need little or no explanation. Except of course, for us, these motif are no longer part of our tradition. Part of our common way of life. So it does need a little explanation, and maybe a bit of arguing back and forth. And the first thing I want to challenge is the Gospel writer’s assertion that this is a parable and not allegory.

The difference is that for me, for us, with the benefit of hindsight we can see that this isn’t just a story to illustrate God in action in the world, but also a prophecy of the fate of the Son of God; a foretelling of all that was about to happen.

We know that the Son was indeed put to death; and then discovered to be the cornerstone, the one who would restore the kingdom.

I have pondered long and hard over what to say and explore with you all this morning; it is a reading that is full of temptations; and full of uncomfortable metaphors. We are the tenants!

We are not the owner or the servants – we are the tenants.

We could so easily reject God’s laws and Jesus’ teaching; we could assume that all we have, all we work for is ours and ours alone, we can assume that we would be good tenants, the ones who did pay their rent and care for the owner’s vineyard.

But it is never good to simply make assumptions. Because when we do, we often make utter fools of ourselves.

Let me back track a little and give you some context; we have skipped from chapter 10 to chapter 12 and in the intervening passages Jesus has had some deep and difficult conversations with the Pharisees; they are on the back foot, defensive and anxious, wanting to find a way to rid themselves of this nuisance, who is provoking the people and upsetting their fragile equilibrium. Immediately before this, Jesus has once again outwitted them, and made them feel foolish. He answered a question with a question, and had them struggling to continue; they are now moving from defence to offence. This man is getting to be more than just an irritation, and they want him out of their lives.

So, when Jesus now tells them a parable about the abuse of power; about gaining power that is not rightly due, they know that they are in the spotlight.

It was common practise for absentee landlords to take a small percentage of a crop in order to maintain their ownership of the land. This was the recognised manner in establishing a right to the land. If they neglected to take their tithe, then the land would go to the tenants.

So these tenants were abusing the law to gain ownership from the man; they were not acting in the spirit of the law – their landlord was not a bad man; he did not abuse them, over charge them in rent or leave them with ground unfit for purpose. We are told he had prepared the ground, built the watch tower and winepress – he had done all that he could to make the land as good as it could be for his tenants.

If he had left the ground unprepared and not provided for them… but he didn’t. He did everything in the good and proper manner.

The tenants were simply greedy; wanting more than their share and more than that, wanting to eliminate their landlord all together.

When we think about this vineyard tale in relation to our own faith lives; our own relationship with the church, it can be very uncomfortable.

I want to think that I am a good tenant of what the landlord, God, has done for me. I want to think that I am loyal, hardworking, fair and reasonable in all I do. I hope that when God calls to ask for a share of my harvest I am generous and scrupulously fair in my dealings…

That is my hope.

The reality of course is different. When I work out my giving – how do I calculate what I can give? In money and time and service.

I wonder if I take the easy way out – or stall in how I give; retaining some for me; retaining something for a rainy day…

And when it comes to dealing with those charged with being the messengers – how do I behave then?

And when it comes to decision making – do I bypass God? Do I make choices on secular matters without applying the “what would Jesus do” question?

These are hard questions. 

There were hard answers too: Jesus asked them what will the owner do when he discovers what has been going on?

Will he just give up and let the tenants take over what is not theirs? Will he give up in the face of losing his servants, his son?

The answer is unequivocal – he will come and take back what is rightfully his; and he will remove those unfaithful betrayers putting them to death and installing in their place those who will care for the vineyards properly.

So –to the question posed for the sermon title – what do we think we own?

If we are the tenants – not the owners of the vineyard – or our community, or our countryside, or our society – does it make us look at the world differently?

I think the biggest question for me is this:

I can think of myself as being a steward of creation; of buying fair trade goods; avoiding companies which may be unscrupulous in the way the deal with employees.

But what about how I steward everything else?

Do I steward my work?

My conversations?

My relationships?

When I am impatient, or make a snarky comment under my breath – am I honouring God?

Am I being a good tenant?

This has been a challenge as I reflected on how this story of the tenants resounds in my heart. Because, if I am truly going to ask myself that question – what do I own?

The answer really is: nothing.

It all comes from God

God is no absentee landlord, but the one who watches over me, willing me to make good choices, care for others, give of my time and talents without hesitation.

It is a challenge

I am not there yet

But I am trying…

What do I own?

What do you own?

Everything we have comes from God, is of God, will go back to God

It may feel scary; it may feel uncomfortable – but isn’t that really what life in faith is all about?

O Lord – make us good tenants, prepared to give and give, share and share, love and love, prepared to be yours – through and through

All in; without hesitation or censure.

Who do you think you are?

Sermon for 21st February

Mark 10:32-52 

Today’s reading continues on straight from last week; the disciples are still reeling from the revelation of how difficult it is to get into heaven. They are bewildered; confused and not a little afraid.

Immediately, they are off again. Jesus has set his face to Jerusalem, and now he is on the way, nothing will slow his progress. He knows what to expect when he gets there; it plays on his mind, and so once again he spells it out; tries to get these chosen men to truly grasp what will happen when they get there. Trying to prepare them. Trying to get them to understand: this is part of The Plan.

Remember last week?

“Jesus looked on him and loved him”. (Mark 10:21)

Jesus wants those whom he loves to be prepared. Now is the time not for parable, story or illustrations, but for hard truths.

Into this scenario then, we have these boys. James and John. Sons of Thunder. Reputed to be hot heads; bold, indiscriminate, fool hardy, brazen…

Think about it for a moment.

Jesus has just opened his heart to them.

“I’m going to Jerusalem to die”.

“I’m going to be betrayed; condemned; mocked and stripped and whipped and hung high…”

It is a moment of deep emotion; deep pain.

If it had been me listening I’d have been stunned; speechless; flabbergasted; horrified even.

But James and John choose this very moment to ask for a favour;

“I’m going to die”, “OK then – well when you get there, save us the best seat will you?!”

It’s no wonder the others were angry!

It doesn’t feel like the most considered response; and how dare they? Who do they think they are? Why are they any better than the rest of us?

Talk about ideas above your station!

As ever though, Jesus is able to use it as a teaching moment. Instead of anger, he responds with love, with questions, with gentle probing:

Do you think you can bear the things I must bear?

Can you go through what I must go through?

Well – even if you can; even when you do – this is not my gift to bestow; it is not my place to give.

And as for you, and the rest of you. Take a moment…

We all understand about hierarchy

The boss dictates to the employee

The master to the slave

The commander to his captain

It is the order of things

It is the way things are done…

But not in my world

Not in God’s Kingdom

If you want to be leader; commander; master, the boss. Well then you must always put yourselves last. Don’t ask to be the right-hand man! Don’t expect to take the position of privilege. Put yourself last. Let others go ahead. Serve others; support them; go the extra mile – do this for me, just as I will do it for you.

The Son of Man came to be the servant of all; to give his life so that others will be saved.

James and John made the mistake of concentrating on the glory – “when you come into your glorious Kingdom!”, even though they lived and walked along with Jesus, they still hadn’t grasped his message; his mission.

It was not about power.

It was never about power and glory

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer together we end with, “The kingdom the power and the glory are yours…” these things, power and glory are for God alone. Not for humanity.

James and John, walking with Jesus were still totally blind to this reality. This fundamental truth.

Jesus – Son of God – was to be a servant. Not a King.

They couldn’t see it.

Yet a poor blind man who could see nothing saw exactly who Jesus was. His insight was a truly wondrous thing. Much more wondrous than the healing he asked for was the blessing of knowing and recognising – of seeing without sight. This knowledge; this faith, was a great blessing; and as Jesus said to him, “Your faith has healed you.”

Faith – that thing so difficult to describe or explain.

Yet so powerful; so profound.

James and John – sons of thunder, would do well to watch and listen to the poor blind beggar who saw more of heaven than they ever could at that moment.

Jesus, spoke to them with great love: you don’t know what you are asking. If you want to be great; truly great, then put yourself last not first; if you want to finish first, then offer all you have, give it away, serve others. This is what I am here to do; this is the real mission.

To serve.

Brother, sister, let me serve you

Let me be as Christ to you

Pray that I may have the grace to

Let you be my servant too

As we serve; so we must also let others serve us. As we give, so must we also receive. As we share, so must was also allow others to share with us.

Pause… Pray… who do you think you are?

As Jesus looks into your heart today, and asks you this question – how will you answer him? The greatest servant of all? 

The fallen Christ, Iona (c) JMW 2010

Who do you think you love?

Sermon 14th February 2016 - First Sunday of Lent

Mark 10:17-37 

A rich young man

A camel

A needle

And a seemingly impossible task

This parable is one that has followed me for years. I remember hearing it and focussing only on the ridiculous image of a camel and the eye of a needle.

I remember then, as a young adult earning for the first time, wondering how much money I would need to earn to be in danger of losing my claim to the kingdom.

Then, much later as I began study in earnest I was lucky enough to attend a summer school led by Paul Scott Wilson, a Canadian professor of homiletics. Over the course of four days of teaching he took this parable apart; resetting it in the 21st century; examining the nuances, helping us to dig deeper, seeking to know more clearly what God really wanted from this young man.

It is clear from the narrative that the disciples, anxious, astonished onlookers found it tricky too.

The example Jesus used is preposterous! Impossible. Unimaginable.

Even if you adjust your interpretation to the eye, not of a needle but of a gateway – the eye being the mall side gate, made for people not camels – it was difficult, but not totally impossible. In order to get through the camel would need to be unburdened; all baggage and saddles removed – stripped down to the bare essentials, and made to bow low as it crawled through to small gap. Difficult but not impossible.

Professor Wilson did not try to excuse the story – he did not try to explain away what s meant by the camel and needle aside. His focus was entirely on the young man in question.

Jesus looked at him with love.

In the NIV it says: Jesus looked at him and loved him.

This young man was exceptional: Jesus could see potential in him; Jesus knew his short comings; knew he was imperfect, distracted, misguided – yet this did not stop Jesus looking at him, and loving him (what great hope this gives to us!!)

The professor retold the story in our current day context

He drove up to Jesus in his Porsche; top down, ray bans on; Rolex on his wrist. Armani on his back – this was a man who exuded success, confidence, power – yet even with all of that, in his heart he knew it was not enough; it was not all it could be – so he went to Jesus with a genuine question on is lips and in his heart – what is missing? What do I need to do?

The answer stunned him.

He loved his fast car

His smart suits

His fancy watch

He loved his big house and his lifestyle – it was a lot to ask

It was a lot to give up

Jesus looked at him, and loved him.

In the parable; in the story; the rich young man drove off into the sunset. And we are left wondering.

What did he do?

Because we are told he went away saddened because he was very wealthy.

We are not told what he did next. He may well have followed Jesus’ advice. He may not.

He may have followed, been one of the crowd; or he may have decided it was all too much, too difficult, too tricky. It is not for us to know.

But remember this: whether he obeyed or not; whether he gave it all up, or held on – Jesus looked at him and loved him.

The disciples were shocked; horrified. If this successful, faithful, model citizen was not guaranteed his place in heaven, what on earth would that say to them? To their context?

They of course, were still thinking in earthly terms only. The young man filled the criteria of all that was deemed good: he kept the commandments; lived a good life; was blessed in every way – and yet, Jesus said he lacked what was really needed.

To them this means that no one can be saved; that no one can ever be good enough to receive the promises of God.

They could see no way out.

They could see no way forward.

They could see no hope on the horizon.

And they said as much: Jesus’ reply to them is the answer to everything.

It may be impossible for humans; but nothing is impossible for God; everything is possible with God.

This is the crux; this is the definition of grace.

We cannot earn it

We cannot buy it; work for it;

Grace is freely given

Grace is the promise of eternity

The strength for life and love

Grace is everything – it touches us, moves us, inspires us.

Grace cannot be earned.

It doesn’t need to be earned.

Grace is freely available to each one of us: rich or poor; old or young; successful or unknown.

It doesn’t matter who we are – God’s grace is there for us when we need it.

Grace it is that prompts us to action; that moved us before we knew it into faithful living’ faithful following

The rich young man was a man of faith; but he chose to rely more on his own strengths; on his own abilities; he knew his wealth would sustain him – so that even though he followed God’s laws, his heart was torn between two things

Money and God.

God and money.

One had to have dominance.

What Jesus saw, was that this young man, even though he followed the law faithfully, diligently, was guided by his money and position, rather than fully relying on God. And this was holding him back.

Jesus saw all of this, and yet still, he looked at him, and he loved him.

What hope that can give us!

What joy we can take from that!

We too are beloved children of God – even when we trip up, make silly mistakes, go the wrong way – even then, grace is there to prompt and guide; love is there – for we all are beloved children of God.

The disciples fell into the  trap of equating great wealth with salvation. They still strived for wealth, money, status – the things that the world sets store by.

Jesus wanted them to look again, with different eyes.

Not wealth.

But love

Not the gathering in of possessions, but the relinquishing of them.

The rewards would be great; but so would the persecutions and pitfalls.

Those who the world sees as best are not necessarily viewed the same way in God’s realm.

Those who the world puts last are not necessarily put that way in eternity.

You, each one of you, are a beloved child of God

Jesus looks into your heart and loves you.

He will still ask much: give it up, let it go, put it away…

But even with all of that, Jesus loves YOU

Amen 

Words and Actions

Sermon preached at Earlston on 7th February 2016
Mark 8:27 - 9:8 

I have a confession to make!!

I went to bed last night with no sermon!

I have had a sore back since I got off the plane on Thursday; and with catching up with the mail and getting caught up with domestic stuff and preparing all of the other things for today – I just was not finding the right words for this morning…

This is not totally without precedent, but usually I do manage to have the gist before bedtime on Saturday

I couldn’t work out why either.

Transfiguration is one of those events that comes up every year; I have therefore preached on it many, many times. I could even, have gone through the archive and found one from previous years to share with you all... but somehow I felt I was being prompted to something else; and generally, when the Spirit starts prompting, I stop and listen.

So, I set the alarm super-early and decide it would be better to sleep on it and see what this morning would bring!

This morning as I brewed coffee and thought about what to say this morning it suddenly became obvious to me!!

The sermon title I chose three weeks ago, before I went off on my study leave / holiday.

Words and Actions.

Words and Actions.

The gospels share with us many events and stories from Jesus’ earthly life; each gospel gives us a slightly different view depending on who has written it and what their inspiration was; each one gives us insights into how God works; how God loves; what God wants us to know and how God would like us to live.

During my study leave we were looking at how culture – the place and time we live in is affecting church life; how church life is changing, growing, evolving to meet the needs of the world we live in today.

Two things became apparent to me:

We are already doing many of the things needed to serve the world we live in now

The church in America is beginning to do this, but is in a different place to us. They are challenged now by the things that were challenging our church back in the 1990s.

Many of the things suggested as part of the teaching are becoming part of our everyday church life – to be a missional church in the 21^st century.

The transfiguration is all about change:

Jesus’ appearance changed before the disciples eyes

What they saw changed them forever, even if they did not know it at the time

Jesus’ message to the disciples, and to the crowds who followed him was transforming:

“To follow me; to walk the path God calls you to, you need to set aside the ways of this world; forget about yourself; forget about striving for worldly success; give yourself to the gospel: dedicate your life to God’s ways.”

Winning the world is as nothing if you do not also claim God’s Way.

While we were in America the presidential election kicked off; and I watched with fascination as the first caucus in Iowa played out.

Watching the pundits; the political commentators; the politicians themselves as they waited and watched for the first result to come in.

The priority for everyone was to seem better than all the others; to have a better grasp of life, the universe and everything.

The political machine there is very different to ours; and of course, we do not elect a president, so it is difficult to compare like for like.

But. One thing that really stood out for me, was how some of the candidates chose to claim that God was on their side; that they followed biblical guidelines.

But. I do not see anywhere in the Gospel that Jesus proclaimed that only the rich get into heaven; that only employed white executives have access to God’s love. In fact, the Christ that some politicians claim is not in my bible at all.

Jesus calls us to be transforming, radical people; people who are prepared to go the extra mile; people who will not only call themselves friendly and welcoming, but to BE that.

To live out the vision of transfiguration we need to take our faith out into the community: to carry on and develop the things we are already doing.

Messy Church

Community Café

These are reaching into the lives of people who have not been part of the church;

The church is not just the building on the hill.

The church is each one of us; and whatever we do, we do as if we were doing it for Jesus.

I know that our church has plans for more activities away from the building: that there will be new and exciting things to be involved in.

We are the church in our community

We are the transfiguration people

We can bring the gospel right out into our community

With words and actions the gospel will come to life right here in Earlston

God’s people, sharing God’s love, showing God’s concern, answering questions and sharing insights…

We are the church seven days a week; on Sunday we gather, we worship, we share, we nurture each other and prepare to be the Word in Action in our community.

The days of keeping Jesus a secret are long gone!

Listen to him

Follow him

Be Jesus People – be Words in Action

Shining for all to see

Amen