Homilies by Rob Hughes

Luke 5:1-11 – Jesus Calls the Disciples

The opening verses of Chapter 5 of the Gospel according to St Luke, is the account of the time that Jesus started to preach to large crowds of people in the countryside in this case on the shores of Lake Galilee), and recruiting the first of His disciples. It also describes a miraculous catch of fish by fishermen who had experienced little success prior to being told, by Jesus to cast their nets again into deep water  (which had not been their usual practice, in fact…).

So here we have a situation in which the son of a local carpenter, in the early stages of a preaching-and-healing ministry, gives instructions to experienced fishermen, that were at odds with their professional knowledge and experience, and also at odds with Jesus’ background and apparent purpose.

I think it’s relatively easy, with hindsight, to simply accept the miracle of the almost-unmanageable catch of fish ( and that the fishermen survived the experience ! ) Perhaps there’s an even more remarkable occurrence here – that these fishermen did as they were bidden.

Would you and I have done something that seemed completely wacky, and potentially dangerous, on the say-so of someone with no apparent background, and who was not even remotely credible as a fisherman?

Which begs other questions such as:

  • What was it about Jesus that inspired people to (literally, in this case) launch out into the unknown? After all, He was, at that time, a relatively ‘new guy on the scene’.
  • What was it about Him that seems to have immediately inspired Simon (and others) to follow `Him? In the words of the Gospel: “When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him”.
  • Would we do as much now, even with the ‘benefit’ of 2000 years of hindsight?

I think we need to note the behaviour of Simon (Peter) at this point. He would have been dead tired after a night of fruitless work, but even though he was not yet a disciple as such, Simon knew enough about Jesus’ reputation to have already had had a certain admiration, maybe even affection, for Jesus. So even though it was against the odds, he simply said this: “But at your word I will let down the nets.”

Thought for the Week:  The events that followed were the result of Simon’s act of faith, and nothing at all to do with his experience, nor understanding. Seen from a purely human point of view, simply obeying Jesus contradicted the professional experience of seasoned fisherman. But in following Jesus’ instructions, Peter proved once and for all that he wanted to be more than an admirer; he demonstrated his willingness to obey Jesus, with loving faith – and ‘become’ Peter – the rock – the foundation.

I think that Luke is not only telling us here how such acts of faith will be rewarded; perhaps more importantly, we learn that anyone who is prepared to follow Jesus may be called upon to step outside their comfort zones, and obey as an act of faith which may be contrary to common sense or our usual behaviour.

And that acts-made-in-faith can be every bit as important as the acts themselves. This means to me that no effort made in His name is ever wasted – and no gifts of service ever too small.

We remember from the Gospel that despite the apparently senseless casting of the nets, Peter’s act of faith was richly rewarded, because it was an act-of-faith.

So will ours be when faith is the motivation.

Jesus in Presented in the Temple (Luke 2:22-40)

The Gospel for today emphasises that Jesus was to be brought up in an ordinary Jewish family – clearly, Mary and Joseph were obeying the Torah (see Leviticus 12, Exodus 13:12–15, for example), by attending the Temple on the 40th day (after childbirth). For two reasons: firstly, to complete the ritual of purification (following the birth of a child); and also to perform the ‘redemption of the first-born son – offering Jesus to God’s service, in effect..

Apart from Jesus and His parents, the main characters here are:  Simeon – a righteous and devout man who was said to be filled by the Holy Spirit; and Anna – a prophetess who lived in the Temple, and who was dedicated to publicly declaring the word of God.

They had patiently waited, their whole lives, for the Messiah, and during that period had been absolutely dedicated to participating in the life to which God had called them. They clearly recognised Jesus as the Promised One; so Simeon blessed Him, and Anna talked about Him to all who’d listen.

Thought for the Week:

To my way of thinking, Simeon and Anna are examples to us all about the need for humble patience and continuing prayer (throughout our lives). And this particular account teaches us that God’s promises (long-prophesied) WILL come to fruition. But in His own good time: God’s timing does not necessarily match our timing.

Simeon and Anna also teach us to have trust – even when God’s answers to our prayers take longer than we’d wish, or take us down a different path. He is always faithful to His promises, and therefore always faithful to us.

Simeon and Anna are shining examples, are they not, of faithfulness and trust; humility, goodness and commitment – ‘qualities’ that we should all aspire to.

Jesus at the Synagogue

The gospel for today is an account of the occasion when Jesus attended the synagogue in his home town – at the very start of His ministry, and very soon after he returned from the ‘temptations in the wilderness’. He’d already been baptised by John, and was now fully prepared to begin his public ministry. Luke is careful to describe here that Jesus went home, and, as a faithful Jew, became a regular worshiper in the synagogue.

We hear that on this occasion He stood up to read, and was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah… but Jesus seems to have chosen the passage. The words recorded here comprise a ‘compilation’ of phrases from the Servant Song that appears later in the prophesy (Isaiah 58:6 and 61:1-2). Perhaps Jesus combined the reading himself, so that “the good news’ could be read out, and more readily understood by the congregation. The message was: firstly, a reminder that Isaiah prophesied that: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me”(that’s to say upon the saviour, yet to come, of course), And secondly: a straight-to-the-point statement that Jesus added: “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” The good news (here) being that He Himself was (still is) that Saviour!

To sum up, Luke seems to be emphasising that Jesus’ ministry is being led by the Spirit, empowered by the Spirit and the fulfilment of the Spirit (through the prophesy).

Thoughts for the Week: Firstly, that our ministry must be led by the Spirit, too. And should be consistent with God’s promises made in the scriptures, and in accordance with the example given to us by Jesus. And secondly, Jesus demonstrated from the outset, and throughout His ministry how we should live our lives as repentant and forgiven people – and that we should tell others how our faith in Him, and the Holy Spirit within us, has changed how we choose to live and behave.

This isn’t the change that happens with, for example, a change in  government administrations (and we’re experiencing a few of those at the moment, aren’t we?). This is real change – change in the spirit and life of the person who hears this good news, and whose life will never the same afterward as a result.

Paul’s letter to the Romans, Chapter 8:

… “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

The Wedding Feast at Cana (John 2:1-11)

The Gospel reading for Sunday describes Jesus’s first miracle, as He embarked on his public ministry. Jesus, his disciples, and his mum were attending a wedding celebration in Cana – an unremarkable little place not far from Nazareth.

In any Palestinian village, a wedding was a great occasion requiring a few days of celebration – at a time when hospitality in the East was a sacred duty, and expected to be lavish.  So running out of wine would have been seen as a catastrophe by the hosts, and a shameful disgrace by the guests – it would have been a very big deal!

So when Mary mentioned it to Jesus, He seems to have been quite abrupt – ‘What have you to do with me?’. But this was a common phrase that most probably, on this occasion, meant ‘leave it to me”, or “I’ll settle it in my own way.’ So Jesus simply told the servants to refill the large containers of water – and the rest we know – and all was well for the hosts (and the guests!!)!

So what can we learn from the account of this miracle?  Several things, I think. 

Thoughts for the week:

  • First of all, God, through Jesus, is ready and willing to get involved in the everyday lives of people – in a caring and practical way.
  • Secondly, the miracle itself wasn’t done ostentatiously to dazzle people, and at the very least avoided taking the limelight away from the wedding couple. Just a quiet command to the servants to do something they would have done anyway as part of their everyday job. 
  • Only the servants involved and the disciples knew what had happened.  

Whether or not the purpose of this first miracle was for Jesus to demonstrate to his disciples who he really was (the son of God, therefore sovereign over the material world) will forever remain a matter of debate and opinion. But it most certainly did define Him, there and then, as special, and trustworthy, and truly caring.

What’s beyond doubt is that this miracle revealed God’s glory on earth and identified Jesus as his Son (even if only in retrospect from the point of view of the disciples, who took a while to “finally get it”). What we do know for certain is that Jesus, at the Cana wedding feast, truly  demonstrated his great love and care for the ‘ordinary people’ then, and His care for us, now.

He is still at work, through those who choose to follow Him, transforming the way we should relate to Him, to our communities, and to the everyday situations that we encounter.

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love”…                                                  Mother Teresa.

The Baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:15-17, 21-22)

“Now when all the people were baptised, and when Jesus also had been baptised and was praying, the heaven was opened,  and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”

The theme for this Sunday is The Baptism of Christ, and the Gospel relates the story of Jesus’ baptism in the River Jordan – and what a milestone this day would have been for Jesus…. He would now prepare to take responsibility for the sins of the world… So, His baptism was important as a prerequisite to the start of this ministry – as Jesus could truly now claim to be ‘one of the people’, not just ‘of God’.

As a human being, the task that lay before Jesus was incredibly onerous – He knew He would face rejection by many, violent opposition from the authorities and that He would have to face execution. So baptism was a necessary foundation for all this, and an opportunity to fully receive God’s affirmation – ‘this is my son, my beloved, in who I am well pleased’.

Thought for the week… The Meaning of Our Baptism

But we might sometimes wonder what does all this have to do with us in 2025?

In a word, everything. Because when we were baptised in the name of Jesus, He became one with us, and we became one with Him. And because of that we, too, are God’s beloved children, with whom God is well pleased. And it’s that message that can give us the courage to live our lives for Jesus, and entrust our lives to him.

The problem, of course, is that in a world-full of challenges and concerns, we may not always believe it; I guess it’s true to say that we all doubt God’s love for us during such difficult times. But being reminded of the baptism of Jesus reminds us that he was (and always will be) God’s beloved. It should remind us that we are beloved, too, no matter what.

Hopefully, and prayerfully, this should help us to see everyone around us as God’s beloved, too, and there are many in our world who may not hear this beloved word, unless they hear it from us, as faithful disciples of Jesus…


New Year – New Beginnings

As I’m still an engineer at heart, and enjoy ‘science’, my favourite of all of “Murphy’s laws” it this law of probability:      “The probability of being watched is directly proportional to the stupidity of what I’m up to at the time”. My next favourite ‘law’ is The Law of Queueing: ‘If you change queues in traffic lanes, the one you were in before will always move faster than the one you are in now’

We’ve been experiencing an awful lot of change during 2024, haven’t we? Especially in terms of: international relationships (in general, seemingly deteriorating); violence in many countries, and war within and between some; cost of living (going up); availability of some foods (variable and occasionally unreliable); extremes in weather patterns.

Yep, 2024 seems to have been a year like no other in my memory. And as we rapidly approach 2025, it’s difficult to second-guess how things might change over the next two or three months, let alone over the full year! Even so, in Christian terms, 2025 can-and-should be seen (already) in terms of new possibilities. This is a matter of faith, and hope.

Those who follow Jesus should have not only maintain hope for new beginnings, but have a lively expectation of new beginnings. Why? Because we have the promise of the support of the Holy Spirit – no matter what happens ‘in life’.

Thought for the week: Our Christian way of life doesn’t shield us from the realities of life. But it can and will enable us to cope with the problems and uncertainties in our world – over which we have no apparent control whatsoever, day to day. That shouldn’t stop us from taking steps to influence ‘a better tomorrow’, here and now, in our homes, parish and communities. And in so doing, we will actively promote new beginnings for ourselves and other people.

We’d do well to remember that no matter what happens ‘out there’ next week, next month or next year, God’s love and care for us will always remain – unchanging, no matter what. And this fact should enable us to not only cope, not only hope-for, but to expect, at the start of each day, the encouragement and strength to start forging those new beginnings – here and now.

So, whether we’re wanting to move past a year that’s been filled with concerns, tragedy or hardship, or just want this coming year to be better than the last one – God will be there, offering us new beginnings every step of the way. All the time – not just on January 1st.

Lord, may each and every new day be a potential new beginning, especially for all those who struggle today”. Amen.

Thoughts for Christmas – Human and Divine

I sometimes catch myself getting so caught up in the celebration of Jesus’ birth at Christmas,  commemorating his death on Good Friday, and celebrating his resurrection on Easter Day, that I simply take His divinity for granted. Do you? The corollary to that is that we might well lose track of the importance of remembering the reality of Jesus’ humanity…

The Gospel for Christmas 1 this year tells the story of a 12-year-old Jesus, returning to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival – the story when he ‘went missing’ of a while; he’d failed to join his family, relatives and  other families, as they started their return to Nazareth (he ‘missed the bus’, so to speak). His parents started the return journey home, no doubt thinking that Jesus was with HIs friends…. So Joseph and Mary returned to Jerusalem, and found Him in the Temple – listening to the learned men, and asking them lots of searching questions, by all accounts.

Rather strange, don’t you think, that just a few days on from celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus, that we fast-forward 12 years? Why is this important enough to be set as a Lectionary Reading at the start of the Epiphany season?

Thought for the week:  This story gives us a lot to ponder, in my view:

Firstly that Jesus was, in every way, a human child – brought up by devoutly Jewish parents, who obeyed the extremely demanding Jewish custom that required them to return to Jerusalem, annually, to celebrate the Passover. This was a long and arduous journey of 90 miles or so (each way!) that could be extremely dangerous. So we can be sure that the infant Jesus enjoyed an ordinary (human) upbringing, in the Jewish tradition.

Secondly – even though He was only 12, Jesus was clearly a bright lad who was (maybe unusually) inquisitive about what the Jewish teachers in the Temple had to say – so much so, he simply ‘missed the bus’ as his parents started the return journey

Thirdly, in spite of being extremely bright, His mum and dad might well have been disappointed at this behaviour – ‘Child, why have you treated us like this? Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.’ Clearly, Jesus’ behaviour was seen as somewhat ‘unfeeling’, selfish and maybe even a bit ‘naughty’. We also see that even HIs mum and dad still hadn’t fully grasped the implications if his growing divine nature.


Fourthly, we can read about Jesus’ reply to them…. ‘Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?’ Probably evidence that Jesus was already maturing into a deeper recognition that he had a mission to fulfil – a divine mission – which we know well, and possibly take less for granted.

And finally, we learn that ‘he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them’ – a measure off his humanity – and ‘his mother treasured all these things in her heart.  And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favour’.

And in so doing, demonstrated once and for all that he was both human and divine. He had to be both to be our saviour.

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Luke 2: The Boy Jesus at the Temple

41 Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. 42 When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. 43 After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.”

49 “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?”[f] 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.

Surrender

Gustave Dore – The Annunciation. (Public Domain)

My text for Advent 4 is from St Luke’s Gospel, chapter 1: which tells of the occasion that Mary was told by God that she would bear a son… “In the sixth month of Elizabeths pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgins name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.

When Mary was called by God, she would have just been a teenager – betrothed but unmarried – so small wonder that we read that she was greatly troubled, somewhat shocked, and maybe fearful! Mary’s next response was to wonder “how” she could have become pregnant, then wondering “why me?”  And the answer to that gave her the courage to surrender absolutely to God’s will; the wonderful message (and promise) says it all: ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God’.

And then we’re told Mary’s final word on the subject… “I am the Lord’s servant; may it be to me as you have said”.

Buddhism and modern-day psychologists would call that ‘surrender’. But make no mistake – surrender (in this context) isn’t about ‘giving-in to the inevitable’. Nor is it thinking “what the heck, there’s nothing I can do about it anyway”. Mary’s surrender was deliberately and knowingly welcoming God into her life… with faith and trust in ’letting go”’ and “letting God” take the lead.

Thought for the Week: God has never been in the business of asking anyone to do anything that’s beyond their strength and courage, because He (through the Holy Spirit within us all) is the very source of that strength and courage. So, to my way of thinking, Mary’s surrender is all about courage and faith, and nothing at all to do with blind obedience, nor resignation to the inevitable.

Can we truly claim to surrender ourselves to God’s will? Either way, I’d offer this prayer:

Lord, do you ask of me a hard thing? Help me to count it an honour to be your servant, and an honour to be asked to serve you in a particular way. Help me to serve with joy, and not with a grudging or complaining attitude. Help me to be a servant of whom you can be proud. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

  • We can choose the easy way, or not.
  • We can choose to surrender ‘all the we have, all that we are, and all that we hope to be’ to God, or not
  • Mary’s decision was very clear!

John The Baptist

The lighting of our third Advent candle reminds us of John the Baptist, the man who “prepared the way of the Lord” – and baptised Jesus immediately prior to the start of His ministry.  As we know from the Gospels, John and Jesus were cousins on their mother’s sides – but their relationship probably went much deeper than that throughout their lives. John and Jesus were both destined to be executed for, broadly speaking, the same reasons – posing a threat to the status quo..…

John the Baptist was raised as a Nazarite, people who are described in the Book of Numbers (Chapter 6) like this: “The Lord said to Moses, Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the Lord as a Nazirite, they must abstain from”…. with a whole list of things, including, for example, drinking wine or other fermented drinks. They even had to let their hair grow, and remain unshaven, until their mission was complete.

John was born to be such a man-with-a-mission (for God), and he would have begun his Nazarite training at the age of fourteen. This mission was, in fact, predicted by Isaiah in Old Testament times – centuries before; “This is a voice of a man who calls out in the desert: ‘Prepare the way for the Lord. Make the road straight for him’.  We now know that this prophecy was fulfilled when John baptised Jesus, which enabled Him to start His ministry…

There were many people of the times who proclaimed John to be the Messiah, and his followers existed well into the 2nd century AD. In modern times, the Mandaeans (an ancient religious group) still revere John as their greatest and final prophet, and look on Jesus as a deceiver.                              

Though for the Week: In the Anglican communion , we celebrate John as the man who faithfully prepared the way for Jesus to take over, bearing in mind that  they both preached the same message of repentance and forgiveness .  And in the Roman tradition, apart from Jesus and the Virgin Mary, John is the only saint whose birth and death are commemorated. That’s how important he was, and still is, to our own Christian journey.

And so, Advent prepares us to prepare… not only for celebrating the birth of a Saviour, but to accept our calling to follow Him. And in celebrating John’s mission (as a Nazarite), we acknowledge his vitally important role in heralding Jesus’s ministry. So we pray:

Almighty God, as we prepare in Advent for the coming of your son to the world, we pray that your kingdom will come. We pray for your Church. We pray that like John the Baptist we and all who confess your name may prepare the way for Jesus in our lands, in our communities, and in our own hearts.

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ANTICIPATION

There’s a phrase that’s crept into political and advertising jargon more recently – about ‘managing expectations. The cynics might argue that it means dumbing-down anticipation (not getting people’s hopes up about) whatever’s being ‘promised’. So that if it doesn’t happen, the voters/shoppers won’t be too disappointed!

So, what is it we’re supposed to anticipate during Advent? Well one major theme is, of course, that Christ will come again; it may be in our lifetime; possibly not. But there’s probably more to “Advent Expectation” than even this… So it’s still a question worth asking. Because, even with our knowledge of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus the first time, we still need to be careful about what it is we’re encouraged to anticipate during this season. Because anticipation, with ’wrong’, or limited, expectations, can lead to dissatisfaction. Or, possibly worse, cause us to miss “what we wait for” completely.

The reason I say this is that the people who lived in Old Testament times  completely missed the point that was being made by the Prophets. As we now know, with hindsight, the Jews of Jesus’ time were completely wrong about the type of saviour they were waiting for on that first Palm Sunday! They were so disappointed and disillusioned that they had Jesus executed! And let’s face it, even the Disciples expected the Saviour to restore an earthly kingdom (in effect political salvation). It took some convincing that Jesus was, in fact, all about bringing spiritual salvation. It took a while for them the message to sink in fully.

But when it comes to our expectations of Advent, we’re in the happy position of being able to raise our expectations, with hindsight, beyond the ‘earthly kingdoms’ of humankind. Because the gifts of God’s unconditional love, forgiveness and grace have already been purchased at great cost, and are already infinitely more valuable than we could ever hope-for.

Thought for the Week: This hindsight leave us free to focus, during this Advent, not just on the gift of the Christ-child during Christmas time; not just on His self-sacrifice on the cross; not just on His resurrection and ascension; but also on the gifts that we need to pay-forward in our lives, in the name of Jesus… the gifts that He expects us to use when we practice a life of faith.

So if we ask ourselves this Advent, “What are we waiting for?”, we already know, deep down, that in waiting for Christ to come again, we can simply get on with what the Prophet Micah told the people of his time: “Do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God”.

ADVENTUS – more than we might think!

Latin’s a fascinating language. On the one hand, we can recognise so many words in the English language derived from the Latin, “Advent” being one of many. So anyone with an interest in words can have a great time exploring the origins of modern language.

The period of Advent is upon us once again, and the word Advent is derived from the Latin Adventus and is most often translated simply as Arrival or Coming. But there’s more to it than that, in fact…The Latin verb it’s derived-from has a whole range of intriguing meanings: as a technical term for the ‘glorious entry’ of an emperor into his capital city after a major military victory; even more significantly, when commemorating the birthday of the royal leader (also called an Adventus).

Our focus tends to be on four main themes, marked with candles that symbolise: Hope; the Old Testament Prophets; John the Baptist, and Joy. There is, of course a fifth Candle – the white one in the middle – which we light in time for Christmas Day – Jesus Christ being the Light of the World… then, now and forever.

Thought for the Day – But it occurs to me that as we’re so familiar with the tradition, we don’t necessarily fully home-in on the message in the Advent Gospel Reading: “Keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come…. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”

The Gospel reading for this Advent (Luke 21) says, in no uncertain terms, to them then, and to us now, that we need to be vigilant, and to make ready, for the coming of Christ again.

Which prompts an important question for us to think about over the next four weeks or so – do we believe it? Do we believe that “Christ will come again”?

This is what the Bible has to say about it: the second coming of Christ will be His final, sudden, personal, and visible appearance in great glory, to make all things new. 

In other words, His second coming will be different from His first one.  First time around: He came in humility – as a servant;  He came to bear our sins; He came in the lowly manger of Bethlehem.  In His second coming, we’re told that He’ll come in the full glory of His Father – as the resurrected and ascended and exalted Christ – coming with all of His power to raise the dead and to be Judge over all. 

Which is precisely why this Advent Gospel needs thinking about… It’s a time to prepare the rest of our lives “in Him and with Him” – in anticipation of His second coming, however and whenever that will be… So we pray:

As we celebrate the first Advent as a first coming – help us to live our lives by constantly seeking Your presence. May we offer to You, today, righteous lives – so show us today how we need to be refined, purified, forgiven. Give us the strength to not simply ask for forgiveness, but to change our ways.

Let’s Stir Things Up a Bit!

Next Sunday is the last of the church’s year – and often referred to as Stir-up Sunday. This title refers to the great cry ‘stir up’ as a reminder to congregations to get the Christmas pudding made in plenty of time to mature before Christmas. Until ‘health-and-safety became the thing, an important addition to the mixture used to be a coin (whoever found it on their plate – or in their mouth! – on Christmas Day would receive worldly riches (or require an impromptu trip to A & E).  

However, there is a ‘Stir Up prayer’ – the Collect for the day – which sums it all up, and asks God for something much more important than wealth!. See what you think: ”Stir up, we beseech thee, O Lord, the wills of thy faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may of thee be plenteously rewarded.

Thought for the Week: I think we’re being reminded here that our feelings shouldn’t dominate our wills. And so, as we approach the Advent Season, we might pray that God will “stir up” our wills, so that we have the courage to do what we know to be right, no matter how we feel at the time. And it’s in this prayer we can recognise that we need God’s help in order for our wills to function, by letting Him have His way.

What Kind of King?

As well as being known as Stir-Up Sunday, this final Sunday before Advent is also celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King, established by Pope Pius XI in 1925. It’s always seemed to me a bit odd to me that the readings for the festival include passages in the Bible relating to the trial of our Lord by Pilate – especially as  we’re approaching Advent  – a quiet  time for reflection before the happy celebration of the birth of The Saviour-King!

The holiday is a sort of cue for us to reflect upon the context of Christmas – that a baby, born into a peasant family, was later to be hailed by the crowds on ‘Palm Sunday’ as a warrior- ‘king of the Jews’. They were disappointed, and handed Him over to Pilate!

After His arrest, Jesus was mocked by Pilate, who uses the word King several times: asking repeatedly “Are you the king of the Jews?” And when Jesus doesn’t respond, Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd and declares, “Here is your King!”; and finally, Jesus is crucified under the inscription, “King of the Jews”… after the same crowd shouted repeatedly “Crucify him!… We have no king but Caesar!”.

Thought for the Week: As we celebrate the last Sunday of the Christian Calendar – in the context of Christ the King – we should remember what Jesus finally said in response to Pilate. He neither denied nor verified the title – He simply stated: ” My kingdom is not from this world.” And in truth,  our familiarity with the full Gospel accounts makes it easy for us now, with hindsight,  to confess him as “King”. But not in any way the leader of a revolt against the system; in no way any sort of dictator demanding allegiance and obedience. But in every way a servant-king, whose only weapon was an unrelenting message and example of the power of loving mutual-forgiveness, by living a life-of-love in all circumstances.

The challenge, I think, is that we can so easily be pulled in two directions at the same time – by trying live our lives doing the right thing by Jesus, whilst living our lives in a society that might seem to ‘demand’ the opposite.

Jesus never went the way of the crowd – so neither should we… God grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things that we can and the wisdom to know the difference!

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I Am that I Am

In recent homilies, I’ve mentioned the simple phrase “I am” several times. But when we describe ourselves in this way, it’s often in the context of self-identification  – most often adding our name, or role title (I’m Rob, and I’m a grandad, for example). Yet if we stop at “I am”, we’re acknowledging our existence, and that we are aware of our existence in the universe.

It’s said that infants recognise themselves (and their own movements) in a mirror by about eighteen months old, and a sense of self-identity by the age of two. When was the last time you stopped in gratitude and amazement that you simply ’are’ – that you exist, here and now? If you’ve been following previous homilies about stillness and Silent Church, for example – these are opportunities to just simply experience ‘be-ing’.

In Old Testament Times, the phrase “I AM” took on a much different and entirely more important meaning, as God used it to identify Himself as Yahweh – a word that relates to the Hebrew ehyeh. In the Book of Exodus, God revealed His name to Moses as Ehyeh Asher – which means “I am that I am”.

At the risk of being accused of splitting hairs, He didn’t say I am who I am, or I am what I am. He basically said I AM – in the context  I exist.

 Small wonder that when Jesus said in public (John 8.58): “Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am’  the people “took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by”. That was a pretty blunt reference by Jesus about being “I AM”.  

Thought for the Week: I’ll leave you with a quote from The Song of Three Children (libretto copyright © Brian Wren, 1986), copied from the article “Taking the Next Step in Inclusive Language” by Pamela Paynel:

God is not a she, God is not a he,
God is not an it
or a maybe.
God is a moving,
loving, doing,
knowing, growing
mystery.

In short: God IS that-He-is – as simple as that.

The mystery of the fact becomes real when we have the faith to believe it – and the belief to live that faith.

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Thoughts for Remembrance

In their album recorded in 2000 AD, the band U2 wrote and sang this:

“Heaven on earth – we need it now
I’m sick of all this hanging around
Sick of sorrow, Sick of pain
Sick of hearing again and again that there’s gonna be peace on earth.”

Peace – world peace – everywhere – seems to be ‘a long time coming’…

The book of Ecclesiastes (possibly written by Solomon, around 900 years BC) included a very well known description of life, that begins: There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die…”.

On the one hand, the author seems to be saying that there’s a time for war and for peace, a time to live, and to die; a time to tear down and to build – and a time for joy and for sorrow. Which is “real life”, is it not? Micah said, though, that we should continue to work towards a time in which weapons can be not-so-much destroyed, but be put to better use – transforming items made for killing into items that will sustain life.

Of course ultimate peace and justice and joy will come only in-and-through the Kingdom of God. But that doesn’t mean that we just sit and wait – In the words of Mahatma Ghandi,  “Peace is not something that you wish for.

It is something that you make, something that you do, something that you are, something that you give away.”

 As Christians we’re called also to make peace (in Micah’s words: to turn our swords into ploughshares… This is not the same thing as just living peaceably because we can. There’s nothing – no sword, no gun, no bomb, no tank that, through us, God, cannot turn into something else – a shovel, a table or a hoe or a plough.  But he needs our hands. 

Thought for Remembrance Week: around 500 BC, it was Confucius (we think) who wrote a lovely proverb and profound truth:  If there is righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in the character; If there is beauty in the character, there will be harmony in the home; If there is harmony in the home, there will be order in the nations. When there is order in the nations, there will peace in the world.” 

If humankind hopes to enjoy peace on earth, it can only happen when God’s righteousness lives within the hearts of individuals – and that  includes you and me. Maybe the U2 lyrics still haunt us; if not, they should, because we’ve not cracked it yet – but now’s the time to keep the faith by not waiting for a miracle but creating one through our prayers, our actions and our example.

Universal Prayer for Peace.

Each day at noon people of all faiths, and those with none, are
using one particular ‘Universal Prayer for Peace’ – in a truly-global
wave of prayer. Indeed, there is a ‘world peace prayer society’
actively encouraging its use. This week, I’ll offer this thought-for the
week, and the prayer (for daily use if you wish) – courtesy of
worshipwords.co.uk

Lead me from death to life,
from falsehood to truth;
lead me from despair to hope,
from fear to trust;
lead me from hate to love,
from war to peace.
Let peace fill our heart,
our world, our universe.

This version can be found in a New Zealand Prayer Book, but it
originates, and been adapted from, Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain
sources. Interestingly, Jainism is a relatively small religion that
originated in India, and has about four million adherents world wide.
More to the point, this adaptation was specifically designed to be
used by all people of all languages and beliefs.

It was first publicly used in July 1981 by Mother Teresa in the
Anglican Church of St. James’, Piccadilly in London.
Thought for the Week I feel that there’s much food for reflection
here… that this short prayer is an invitation to daily prayer on a
global scale. Yet it might be challenging for many of us – in this
ever-more-complex, overly-busy and increasingly-worrisome world.
But it does emphasise how important it is for Christians to live, and
work, and pray with people – not just of other great faiths, but with
all people of goodwill. It occurred to me that this prayer was written
with precisely this in mind.

Praying for Wisdom = The Wisdom of Prayer (Part 2) – 27th October 2024

To recap on the theme concerning Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom; “ Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

When Jesus spoke to His disciples about prayer, he gave them a ‘model – “The Lord’s Prayer” (though it could also be accurately be termed “The Disciples’ Prayer”), Jesus teaches them, and us, to pray for five things.

Firstly, when we pray “Father, hallowed be Your name” we treat Him as holy—with reverence. When we come to God in prayer, Jesus said we pray that God’s reputation will be “revealed as holy” in our lives.

Secondly, when we pray: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” we are asking to set the world right – to do what’s best in this increasingly upside-down world.

Thirdly, when we pray: “Give us each day our daily bread, and in calling God “Father,” we recognise our daily dependence on Him to meet your daily needs. We can never pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. All of us need others, and need God, all the time.

Fourthly, when we pray for forgiveness of sin: we ask for forgiveness as an act of humility . . . We realise the need to forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgives us. The forgiven must be forgivers, too.

Finally, when we pray: “And lead us not into temptation”, we’re asking Him to keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil…If we’re not careful we could read the prayer as a request for God not to tempt us. But God never tempts us to sin!

We’d be wise to pray these five things, day by, day, making sure that we truly understand what Christ meant when he left this prayer with His disciples, and with us. And this is where it becomes wise to also pray for wisdom itself. Wisdom will enable us to not only pray the right things; but also to truly understand what we’re asking for, and why… So maybe we should regularly add another “ask” to our prayers – and pray for wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong, knowing that God will never let us down.

The Lord’s Prayer isn’t a magical formula; and it should be so much more than an incantation. But for those who learn to humble themselves, and ask the Father for the right things in the right way, for the right reasons, prayer can become the richest source of encouragement, joy, and peace.

The wisdom of Solomon was in praying for wisdom above all else. And to paraphrase that very well-known “Serenity Prayer”:

Father, in this hectic and unpredictable world, give us the wisdom to pray for the right things for the right reasons; give us the courage to change what must be altered; give us the serenity to accept what cannot be helped. And give us the insight to know the one from the other.

Praying for Wisdom = The Wisdom of Prayer (Part 1) – 20th October 2024

Solomon’s Prayer for Wisdom; “ Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”

When I was no-but-a-lad, my father offered me a choice of gift if I did well in my O-levels (as they were then) – either a .22 target rifle of my own, or a set of Chambers’ Encyclopaedia.

I chose the books!!! And when I told my son James that story a few years ago (given that he’s as nuts about target shooting as I am), I gave him absolute proof of my insanity!!! And it didn’t cut too much ice when I explained that the encyclopaedia, in their day, meant as much to me as the internet means to him now. I did OK at A-Level, partly because of having all that information to hand.

Having thought about it since, I have come to realise that that the decision – in favour of the books – was one of perhaps relatively few truly-wise moves I’d ever made till then. The learning from the encyclopaedia has done me far more good than a rifle would have done… and helped my career- and life-decisions. I’m pleased to say that I’ve since been able to afford my own target weapons – that my family and I can all enjoy.

I used to think that “wisdom” comes from experience, and experience come from lack of it! The way things (globally) are going at the moment, I’m no longer sure that’s true. As a global community, we don’t seem to learn from our mistakes, do we? So we’re apparently  repeating them.

When I read the text (included with this homily), it occurred to me that Solomon showed his qualities – his wisdom – in not only praying for wisdom, but asking for it for the right reasons. What he actually said to God was this: “Please make me wise and teach me the difference between right and wrong. Then I will know how to rule your people.  The inference: If you don’t, there’s no way I could rule this great nation of yours

And I think there are two things we can learn from Solomon here:

Firstly, that we need to exercise good judgment (we must “exercise wisdom” – we must “be wise”) if we are to fulfil our Christian roles within our families, within our communities and throughout society.

Secondly, even with that wisdom, we still need God’s support to exercise it consistently well – especially when the going gets tough.

So what do WE pray for when we take the time? Well, in the next instalment, I’ll be making a link between this prayer and ‘The Serenity Prayer…

Fellowship of Believers Part 2 – Prayer (13th October 2024)

In the last homily, I spoke about how the early church developed – from a relatively small fellowship of believers to ‘The Church’ as we perceive it to have grown, to “where we are now”. I elaborated on three priorities, and mentioned a fourth; to recap:

  • Firstly, studying and learning (from the scriptures and from each other’s insights)
  • Secondly, “fellowship” (but in a much deeper sense than simply meeting together, or communal worship. Fellowship here was/is meant to include who we are, as well as what we know and what we have)
  • Thirdly, Breaking bread (in the literal and spiritual sense)
  • Fourthly, Prayer (the subject of this homily)

Though fourth in the list, so to speak, the Apostles promoted the important practice of prayer as top priority, and hand-in-hand with study of the word. Yet these days, in some churches, there may seem, necessarily, to be and ever-increasing emphasis on “doing things”. For example, acts of Christian service; donating money, food and clothing; voluntary work of many kinds, here and overseas; sheltering refugees. The ‘need’ seems endless, and still growing faster than the resources required to meet it. In truth, sometimes all that we, as individuals and communities, have to offer is prayer… But let’s not fall into the mistaken belief that prayer is in any way less important.

There are many, necessary and worthy “things that Christians do”, all of which are to be encouraged and generously supported. But the early Apostles would have taken the line “not at the expense of prayer” (whether in gatherings, or groups, or in private prayer). And private prayer can be practiced wherever and whenever the spirit moves us.

In our far-too-complex and hitherto far-too-busy world, finding quiet time for private prayer can, in itself, seem problematic; so it’s easy to be tempted towards the premise: how much more we can achieve by “doing things” for God, rather than praying to Him, or “being silent” with Him?

If so, I hope this quote might be an encouragement to maybe re-evaluate the balance between doing, being and praying: You can certainly do more than pray, after you have prayed… But you cannot do more than pray, until you have prayed…  So we should never underestimate the power of prayer; it will not only sustain our faith, it can sustain us – though the current crises that already exist in the world, and those yet to come (hopefully not too many more!). And beyond.

So, what is prayer, and why did Jesus (then the Apostles) place such importance on it? Well the first thing to emphasis is that Jesus, prayed regularly – and this is clear throughout the Gospels; also, he often prayed alone…for example, Luke 5:16 sums it up like this: “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” 

But Jesus (as recorded in Matthew’s Gospel) gave a health warning, that (paraphrasing Matthew 6):  

  • “…when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others… 
  • “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen….
  • “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
  • “This, then, is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’

  • ‘For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

So, within any fellowship of believers (past and present), prayer should be absolutely central to our Christian way-of-life: in times of trouble and in times of happiness; praying for ourselves, and for especially for others. And in doing so, Jesus made man important promise: that we can pray with confidence when our prayers are made in His name, because when we do this, we know that God’s will, will be accomplished…

I would offer this thought – that when we allow sufficient time to calm our busy minds enough to ‘listen’ (‘in the silence of our hearts’) – in church services, or in private, the Holy Spirit will guide not only what we might ask for, or hope for, He will guide what happens as a result. We’ll be closer to praying as Jesus would have done in the same circumstances, and by seeking to pray as He would, our prayers can become more relevant and more focused on what really matters.

No matter how much longer the current world crises persist; no matter how much the circumstances and problems we might have to face in the days and months ahead – the message that Jesus left with the early Apostles hasn’t changed at all; the Gospel hasn’t changed, and never will.

Which is why we must continue to hope and pray that we will not simply emerge from the current crises “as we used to be”. We have to make time to reflect on our own, and our corporate, relationship with Christ, with each other and with society.

May we always seek to become “something more” – “someone better”, someone closer to how God, in Christ, wants us to be.

Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace; 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love; 
Where there is injury, pardon; 
Where there is doubt, faith; 
Where there is despair, hope; 
Where there is darkness, light; 
And where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console; 
To be understood, as to understand; 
To be loved, as to love; 
For it is in giving that we receive, 
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, 
And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. 
Amen.