Taking up mat and cross: a narrative sermon on John 5:1-13

Yesterday I watched him,
as I have watched him for a long time.

Old now,
and dragging himself more slowly than ever across the cobbles.

Each night, past my gate, out of the city,
clutching whatever meagre coins he's managed to beg,
out to spend the night huddled against the city wall.

Outside with all the other undesirables –
the dung collectors and stinking tanners and sailors
and cursed money lenders and all the rest
who would never be missed if they didn't make it through the night.

And back again each morning he comes,
dragging himself back to beg and wait beside that pool.

As if he had a chance anyhow.

The way he moves, crab-like and crippled,
scrabbling to keep up with the snails,
he has never had a chance of making it into that pool
ahead of anyone.

Not that I've ever paid him much attention mind.

One doesn't pay much attention to the likes of him.

Not until yesterday, that is.

We watched this in church a couple of weeks ago...

I was wanting people to think about how we celebrate Easster; how we invite them to share with us in our celebration. And it occurred to me that there was a whole lot in this video which summed up what I was trying to say. What do you think?

[It doesn't fit the column, but if you click on the video it should take you to the YouTube page.]

What's been happening...

Much, much delay... while I've been trying to work out how to make this a little more user friendly.

I don't know how much success I've had, so any feedback is welcome. For a start, rather than posting the whole sermon, there should be just an introduction with a "Read more" option - for the diehards who really do want to read more! The other feature is a "Search this blog" option, so that readers can find out jut how much I'm repeating myself.

The next thing to work on is how to automatically let people know when a new post is up. Any suggestions? (Polite ones only, please.)

Touch and see

A reflection on Luke 24: 36b-48, Sunday 26 April 2009

There are some conversations that just stick in the mind. I may have already shared this story with some of you before, but this just sticks in the mind so please excuse any repetition.

Three or four years ago, I was out shopping and I bumped into an old workmate. Twenty-five years is a long time between drinks and so he invited me to his house for a cup of tea and the opportunity to catch up. Now, I need to say up front that this friend of mine was never a religious person. Well, over that cup of tea, I was drawn into conversation, not with my friend, but with his wife.

His wife is a self-confessed atheist, a card-carrying disbeliever in God, not just an atheist but a born-again atheist. And she set out to convert me!

Witnesses to life

A reflection for Easter Day, 2009 based on Mark 16:1-8

When it was noon, darkness came over the whole land… Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”… Then Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last. Mark 15: 33-37

The world is full of nails: big nails and little nails.

The world is full of people who cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

During the last few weeks, I have heard all sorts of stories which witness to

Cry "Hosanna!"

A narrative sermon preached on Palm Sunday

O Lord, how much longer?

Hosanna! Hosanna!

I mean we’ve been doing this for hours now. Two steps forward, one step back, wave that palm branch and, all together now, Hosanna!

And the crowd pushing and shoving. Everyone’s having a grand old time, shouting and screaming, laughing and carrying on as if there’s no tomorrow. A grand old time of it, except for those whose feet are trodden on, or whose cloaks are borrowed without permission and tossed for the donkey to walk on, and the donkey itself don’t look too happy about it all. And I wish I were somewhere else.

Between the dying and the rising

A reflection on John 12: 20-33

[When this was preached, it began with a story about a friend of mine whom I referred to by the name Zoe – the Greek word for life. Zoe’s story is one of abuse, great pain, and her eventual emergence into the light of life. Zoe’s great insight is that: the glory lies between the dying and the rising.]

In today’s gospel reading Jesus speaks of a grain of wheat having no purpose unless it is buried in the earth and dies. We are reminded that to be a follower of Christ – a Christian – means losing one’s own life for the sake of others. And then Jesus speaks of God’s name being glorified.

The image of the grain of wheat buried in the earth is not a comfortable one. Bruce Prewer writes:

Let this be admitted plainly:

I shrink from being buried

alive in Christ’s mission.

Where is hope to be found

in grain shoved underground?

But, when Christ speaks of dying and rising, and when Christ says that those who love their life must lose it, when we are challenged to take up our cross and follow Jesus, then we cannot pretend that Christianity, being a Christian, a disciple of Jesus is an easy path to follow.

Easter is approaching. We will listen to the story of the crucifixion, Jesus’ betrayal, suffering and death. There are some who say that it is the crucifixion which brings glory to God. But the temptation with that line is to use the crucifixion to justify human suffering and death. Such an understanding does nothing to restore faith in God within a child who has been sexually abused by someone they trusted. The cross never justifies innocent suffering and God does not require the suffering of innocents in order to be glorified.

On the third day, we will gather to listen with joy to the story of the resurrection, and there are some who say that it is the resurrection which brings glory to God. But the temptation with this line is that if we see the resurrection through worldly eyes – as a success story in which good triumphs over evil – then we will miss the glory of God. We need to see the resurrection through gospel eyes as a statement of God’s faithfulness, of God’s liberation, of God’s love. The resurrection is not a statement about worldly success. God is not glorified in the resurrection alone, just as God is not glorified in the crucifixion alone.

The Basis of Union reminds us that “The church preaches Christ the risen crucified One and confesses him as Lord to the glory of God.” (The Basis of Union para. 3)

Crucifixion and resurrection must be held together if we are to understand something of the glory of God.

At the point at which Zoe faced the abuse of her childhood she became a broken woman. It was as if she died. When the healing journey was complete she was born again. But in between it was as if she was buried in the soil and nothing she could do or her counselor could do, or her friends could do, could force new life into her.

It is at that point, where there is seemingly no hope, that God is glorified – for in our hopelessness all there is, all we have, is God and God is faithful.

We need to be careful about how we hold crucifixion and resurrection together and this is where I believe Zoe’s insight is helpful. Too often as Christians we collapse Good Friday into Easter Day. We race from Friday to Sunday. We look at Friday with Sunday eyes.

But the glory lies between the dying and the rising.

It is immensely difficult for us to submit willingly to the way of Christ. We don’t want to give up all that we have known and loved, we don’t want to allow ourselves to be taken to uncomfortable and lonely places, we don’t want to face those experiences which feel like becoming a grain of wheat, being buried in the earth to await something unknown and uncertain. We would rather rush straight to new birth, to new beginnings, new certainties and new life.

But we must have crucifixion and resurrection: they cannot be separated nor can we collapse them into one glorious Easter event.

The dying, the waiting, the rising are one event and the glory of God emanates from the waiting – for at that point there is nothing apart from God.

The glory lies between the dying and the rising.