Field of Blue 2024

Despite walking being difficult this year, due to a knee injury, we couldn't miss the bluebells in Norsey Wood.  As I do most years, here is a selection of photos we have taken.  The wood was busy, it was a bright, warm day and the weather forecast was not good for the next few days.  It was also the last day of the Easter Holidays.  

It is not just bluebell that are beautiful at this time of year, there are plenty of other woodland flowers to admire.

The light blue of the forget-me-nots fades into the darker blue of the bluebells

 

An attempt to show the carpet of blue that covers the woodland floor.

The blue Green Alkanet flowers cannot provide a carpet of blue look because they are small compared to the rest of the plant.  The bees love them.

A single darker flower showing the inside of the blooms a little.

The blue haze that the bluebells create behind the visitor centre is one of my favourite places.

The occasional broom bushes provide some good contrast to the overall blue-green look.  The ladybirds love them.  There seem to be a lot of ladybirds this year.  They also love the nettles.

The forget-me-nots are beautiful too.

The wood anemones provide some white contrast, but they are on the wain but now.

Pl@ntNet identifies this as Adders meat, or possibly Meadow starwort.  There are some lovely patches of these white flowers.

The shot was taken upside-down, as I couldn't bend low enough.  It is an attempt to get a bees-eye-view.

The celandine are almost finished, they have not had a good year this year.

Imitaiting Jesus

Preached 14 April 2024 at 10.00 at Christ Church, Billericay (with a slightly different ending)

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZLz5YGxUIc from 15:37 to 31:05

Title: Imitating Jesus

Readings: Acts 3v12-19; Luke 24v36b-48

Introduction

[Slide 1 - Header] Both the passages we heard this morning come at the end of longer stories that we haven’t heard, so we’ll need a bit of background. It’s easier to make sense of these two readings if we look at them in chronological order. That way we can see the change in the disciples from the time immediately after the resurrection to the time after Pentecost.

Luke Reading

[Slide 2 – Road to Emmaus] So, I’ll start with the gospel reading from Luke. It comes at the end of the Road to Emmaus story. Cleopas and another disciple, possibly his wife, were on the way to Emmaus. It’s the Sunday after the crucifixion, the first day of their week. A stranger comes up to them on their walk and they begin talking. They tell Him about the expectations they had that Jesus was the messiah and how He had been put to death, and now they say someone has taken his body. The women who went to prepared His body saw a vision of angels and were told He is alive by them. The stranger explains what the scriptures say about the messiah, starting with Moses and all the prophets. When they reach Emmaus they persuade the stranger to stay with them, and as He breaks bread, they realise who He is. They immediately return to Jerusalem, and meet with the other disciples, where they are told that Jesus has risen and has appeared to Simon. Luke doesn’t describe that encounter here.

Verse 36

The phrase “while they were still talking about this” at the start of verse 36 seems a bit understated. Can you imagine the excitement in the room. Probably coupled with a level of confusion, hope, exhilaration, joy, and a lot of other emotions.

Doors locked

[Slide 3 Disciples All Together] The Gospel of John tells us that the doors were locked, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Quite reasonably, they expected to be targetted as soon as rumours of the missing body began to spread.

Jesus was there

Suddenly, Jesus was there. The first appearances of the resurrected Lord had all been in a context where He was mistaken for someone else. In the garden, by the tomb, Mary had thought he was the gardener. On the way to Emmaus, He was a stranger they met on their journey.

Now, though, He has just appeared. Normal people, those without resurrected bodies, don’t do that, in case you hadn’t noticed! They were startled by His appearance, so it’s not surprising that they thought they were seeing a ghost. The mood changed from excitement to fear in that instant.

Startled

Being startled has a strange effect on humans. In the airline industry, pilots are taught to understand how they react when they are startled, so that they can deal with it and return to normal operation quickly. Most of us stop functioning for a few seconds while we come to terms with the new situation. We easily jump to the wrong conclusions, and as a result take the wrong actions. You wouldn’t want to be doing that while landing a plane with 500 or more people on board, it could be catastrophic.

Ghost?

It should be no surprise, then, that the sudden appearance of Jesus startled the disciples, and in the next few seconds they come up with an implausible explanation. “It must be a ghost”.

Jesus can see that His appearance has disturbed them, so he tries to put their mind at rest, emphasising that it really is Him. “It is I, myself!” He shows them His hands and feet, but even that isn’t enough to break them out of their startle response. His request for food, though, will. Now they have to move and complete actions that they have done thousands of times – they hand him some cooked fish, and He took it and ate it.

Casper There’s a great scene in Casper that shows what happens when Ghosts eat. [Slide 4 Casper video]   The food goes straight through them, because they don’t have a real body. But, when the resurrected Jesus eats, the food is consumed, just as it would be if you or I ate the fish.

Heavenly bodies [slide 5 Heavenly bodies] This tells us a little about the sort of bodies that we will have after we too are resurrected. It’s enough to tell us the new creation will be significantly different to the current creation. But, familiar activities like eating and drinking will still be possible. There are some other clues in the last half of 1 Corinthians 15, if you’d like to have a look later.

 Teaching

[slide 6 Purpose of Appearance] Next we find the purpose of His visit. He is reminding them what they have experienced for the last three years – all the teaching that has taken place. Finally, they can understand it all, the scriptures become clear to them, but there is more to come. They are to be witnesses of all that they have seen and experienced. But not yet. We can’t leave this reading without the final promise that Jesus makes because without it what follows makes no sense: 29 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high. So, now they have to stay in Jerusalem and wait until Pentecost – because God’s timing and the promised Holy Spirit is vital to their witnessing.

Acts 3 [Slide 7 Prayers at the Temple] Now we come to the Acts reading. They have stayed in the city as instructed, and Pentecost has already happened. They are still in the city, and their habit now is to visit the temple in the afternoon for 3 o’clock prayers. Beggars Most beggars have their pitches, places they can sit that are dry and have a reasonable foot fall – so that they know they have a good chance of being given some money. A crippled man was carried to the temple gate – the one called ‘Beautiful’ every day. He asked Peter and John for money. Peter and John don’t have any money, but they look intently at the man, and he at them. They see something in him and take his hand and command him to walk.

[Slide 8 – A lame man is healed] When the crowd at the temple see this they immediately come to Peter and John, because they knew this crippled beggar, they have seen him sitting in the same place for years. Now, here he is – walking!

Miracles

The miracles are continuing, they have inherited Jesus’s sense of who can be healed and who can’t. But Peter and John have a problem – well, probably more than one problem.

Firstly, the crowd think they alone are responsible for the miracle. Secondly, they do not want the attention of the temple authorities.

So, Peter needs to explain what has happened quickly.

His explanation starts with “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified his servant Jesus”

This would have taken the crowd straight back to the call of Moses in Exodus 3:6

“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

He quickly establishes that Jesus is, in effect, the new Moses and likely stops any argument that might have begun.

Peter then explains the crucifixion and clearly blames them for the death, saying they preferred a murderer over the author of life. He tells them that he and John are witnesses of this – so there can be no disagreement. In verse 16 he says

By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.

Ignorance

Peter acknowledges that they and their leaders acted in ignorance when they crucified Jesus, and that God fulfilled all that He had foretold as a result. Now, though, it is time to repent, so that their sins may be wiped out, and times of refreshing may come from the Lord.

Bold

It is a bold speech, given under pressure and in a sensitive location. Peter has reacted well to the crowd that saw the healing. He is well-prepared now, and will not easily be startled by God acting in ways that he doesn’t understand – because much more has been revealed to him and at Pentecost He received the Holy Spirit.

Compare [Slide 9 - Compare] Compare this to the reaction to Jesus appearing in the room while they were discussing what happened on the road to Emmaus. Now, after receiving the Holy Spirit, Peter and John are able to do the things that Jesus did. They perform healings, they talk to and teach the crowd. They are no longer afraid of the authorities, as we can see further on in Acts 4.

Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit allows them to continue Jesus’ ministry, as it does all those who respond to Jesus’ call. This is what it means to be transformed by the Holy Spirit – we are able to do the things that God wants us to do. The change in us will be as obvious as the change in Peter.

Amen.

 

References

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/third-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-luke-2436-48

https://interruptingthesilence.com/2012/04/22/you-are-witnesses-a-sermon-on-luke-2436-48-easter-3/ 

Acts for everyone - Tom Wright

Luke for Everyone - Tom Wright

https://www.papertrell.com/apps/preview/The-Handy-Philosophy-Answer-Book/Handy%20Answer%20book/What-did-St-Augustine-mean-when-he-said-Please-God-make-me-g/001137013/content/SC/52caff5682fad14abfa5c2e0_Default.html

4 Challenges from Acts 4:32-35

Preached at St Mary the Virgin, Little Burstead, 7 April 2024

Based on http://3cephas-notes.blogspot.com/2007/08/four-challenges-from-acts-432-37.html

Reading Acts 4:32-35

Prayer

Introduction

Today we are going to look at the situation that the first Christians found themselves in and how they dealt with it. Then, we will look at four challenges that the passage throws up for us.

Background

This passage is part of the introduction to the story of Ananias and Sapphira which follows in Acts 5. A story of financial impropriety in 1^st century Israel. If you've never read it – do so after lunch today.

A lot has happened since the resurrection, and here we are past Pentecost.

The story so far ...

Back in Acts 2, the church was born on the day of Pentecost, or more accurately the Jewish celebration Shavuot, or the Day of First fruits (Numbers 28:26). On that day Peter preached to the crowd, who had come from all over the known world. About 3000 of them accepted Peter's message that day, and joined the new Jewish sect – because that's all it is, until we get to Acts 11. Now many of them were just visiting for the celebrations and would have to return to their country of origin, but there would be quite a few who stayed on – because they had no pressing need to return and wanted to hear more of what Peter had to say. By the time we get to 2:42 we hear that the believers “devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”.

In that same section we read “All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.” which is very similar to the passage we are looking at today.

Everything in Common twice

I think this is mentioned twice, in relatively quick succession, by Luke, because the idea of communal living and resource sharing is so important to them. In Deuteronomy 15:4 we read:

However, there need be no poor people among you, for in the land the Lord your God is giving you to possess as your inheritance, he will richly bless you,

They are blessed as a community, so this style of living makes the claim that the whole community are, the real inheritors of God’s blessing, not just some of the individuals.

Acts 3, 4

Then in Acts 3 there is the healing of a lame man, and another sermon from Peter, after which he and John get arrested. Even so, the number of MEN grew to about five thousand at the start of Acts 4. Peter and John get the chance to tell the Sanhedrin that it is impossible for them to stop talking about Jesus, and are let off with a stern warning. The disciples pray some more, their building is shaken and they continue their witness about Jesus.

The baby church was beginning to grow, and so was the opposition to it. First century Jerusalem was not a peaceful place to live, it was under occupation by a foreign enemy, its political and religious leaders were weak, indecisive, and ineffective. It was a dangerous place to be, but also an exciting place to be.

Four Challenges

As I read through this passage, I found four challenges, we are going to take a look at them now, they will help us to understand what God was doing with His church, and how the peoples responses in Acts can challenge the way we do things now.

1 Claiming Ownership

First challenge – Everything is shared.

“No-one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had”. The first thing to note here is that they had very little compared to us. It is sometimes easier to give up things when you don't have much in the first place. The Jews had a principle of hospitality, so would always be prepared to share with a stranger.

Tanzanian Hospitality

When I was in Tanzania, staying in the village of Chibelela, we were the guests of the pastor and his family. There were occasions when we were treated to a lavish meal, and ate with the men of the family, the women served us and went outside. I wondered what they ate. The leftovers?, or perhaps even less. There seemed no limit to their hospitality.

Share and share alike

When I was a child and was fighting with my sister over something, my Mum would always say “share and share alike”. A good principle, but there were some of my sister's things I didn't want to share, and it was a demand based on sharing out of joint riches – I was never arguing about something that would affect my survival.

We, in our sophisticated, so called, advanced society, have lost some of the basics of human community. What would it take for us to be able to say that we did not claim ownership of our goods? To answer that question we must first address the last challenge.

2 Use of capital

The second challenge is how we use our capital.

Joseph A.K.A Barnabus was a Cypriot, a member of the Jewish family of Levi from the dispersion. As a Levite, he was associated with the priesthood. We do not know for sure that he was living in Jerusalem permanently, but it seems likely that he had been there for some time. It is possible that the field he sold may even have been in Cyprus.

Christian communism

The sharing of everything was not so literal that Barnabus allowed others to determine that his field should be sold. This passage is often seen as a kind of Christian communism. That is not the case. Communism is based on compulsion – you have no choice but to give up your wealth, your property, your belongings – for the good of everyone. That is most definitely not happening here. Barnabus is responding to God, and the needs of God's people. The sale of a field is the sale of an asset that allows you to make money. The field is used to grow food, or raise cattle, without it there will be a reduction in income, but the capital raised will keep God's people from becoming needy – starving in this case. This is sacrificial giving – Barnabus will be worse off from now on – his income has been reduced.

What do we have that we could sell if the need arose?

I don't own a field. I doubt that many of us do. What is the modern equivalent? Perhaps a shop, a factory or an office. I don't own any of those either. So what have I got that I could use to raise capital? Well, I do have some investments. They don't provide any real income, some insurance policies, a few shares, an ISA. If the circumstances required, they could certainly be cashed in and the money provided for the needy.

What do you have?

3 Where does your giving go?

The third challenge is “Where does your giving go?”

This is not about how much you give.

“Each of us should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

2 Cor 9:7.

From time to time, it’s a good idea to review your giving, to ensure that it's at the level that you are happy with. You may decide to change it, or you may have to make adjustments to keep it at the same level!

My question is where do you put the money that you set aside to give? I've heard all sorts of ideas as to exactly what counts towards giving to God.

Some people will tell you that giving to Greenpeace counts towards their giving to God. Yes, we are supposed to look after the environment, but Really? What connection has Greenpeace got with the church of God?

Others will tell you that Amnesty International counts towards their giving to God. Well, I can see the justice connection, but what has Amnesty International got to do with the Christian Church. Some will tell you that Christian Aid counts towards their giving to God? Well, maybe it does, but let's have a look at this passage. When Barnabus sold his field, he put the money at the disciple's feet. That may be literal, or it may be symbolic, whichever it is, Barnabus brought his money, and gave up all control over how it was used when he put at the disciples feet.

How much?

The Jews had a religious tax of 10% which defined how much they should give, some Christians have a similar system. The tax was known as a tithe. Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the store house”. Which means that the tithe was to be given to the temple for the use of its officials. God is consistent in his approach between the old and the New Testament. However much you decide to give to God, must be given in total to God, to those He has appointed to use as He directs.

Now don't let that stop you giving to Greenpeace, Amnesty International, Christian Aid, or any other organisation. Don't let me stop you from starting to give to any of these organisations. Just please don't tell God that you're giving it to Him. Which brings us back to the story of Ananias and Sapphira.

4 Testifying to the resurrection

The fourth challenge, may, possibly be the greatest challenge for us all.

What was the priority of the very first believers? [Straw Poll]

• Church?

• Worship?

• Preaching?

• Eschatology?

• Prophecy?

• Writing a bible – so that posterity would be able to follow in their footsteps?

• or something different?

NO – they are just about one man – a new type of man – the resurrected Jesus WHO IS coming back.

Peter and John have already told the Sanhedrin – the Jewish supreme council, that they cannot stop talking about Jesus. Every time Peter speaks, he mentions the resurrection.

Acts 2:32 “God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.”

Acts 3:15 To the onlookers at the healing of the lame man, “You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.”

Acts 4:10 to the Sanhedrin “It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed.”

How often do we tell people who don't know, that God has raised Jesus from the dead?

Consequence & Grace

There is a consequence for the willingness of the disciples to talk to everyone they meet about Jesus. “Much grace was upon them all”. It is the grace of God that has allowed the few to share what they have, to not claim ownership of their belongings. It is the grace of God that has allowed them to meet the challenges to turn what riches they have into capital, and provide support for the poor – the needy – amongst them. It is the grace of God that allows them to trust the disciples implicitly, to bring what they have and to trust that the disciple will distribute it wisely.

Conclusion

The baby church was growing under God's care, already they had 5000 plus members. The people involved were filled with the Holy Spirit, and had God's grace to help them overcome the unique problems that they faced. The miracles that Jesus started are continuing, and it can only be a matter of time before all these changed people start to have a dramatic effect on their society. Here we see the enormous excitement that a work of God brings – huge crowds, dramatic miracles, run-ins with earthly authorities. It’s a great story, and we know that our God was in control of everything that happened, but there were also great sacrifices.

Whenever God is at work, there are things to do, things to learn, and blessings to be received. There is much to make us think about how we live our lives in this passage, so I leave you with the four challenges:

1. Claiming ownership – how ready are we to share ALL that we have with others when the NEED arises?

2. Use of capital – What do we have that we could sell to support an urgent NEED in the Christian community?

3. Where does our giving go? - Is everything that we have promised to give to God brought into the church, or are we keeping control of the funds by directing them to certain organisations?

4. Testifying to the resurrection – How often do we explain the central basis of our faith to those who don't understand.

Amen.

The plan for redemption (for Good Frday)

Preached at Christ Church, Billericay, 29 March 2024 (Good Friday)

 Good Friday

Why is it called Good Friday? Surely it was a disaster.

Jesus has been betrayed, by a close friend

The religious leaders were against him, they are afraid of him.

The crowd were against Him, or were turned against him

Jesus has been arrested

His friends have deserted Him (Peter denied him)

Jesus has been interrogated, tortured and sentenced to death.

Only a weak Roman leader even tried to help, but could do nothing

Jesus had been crucified – His friends just stood and watched.

During that excruciating death, He says even God had left him.

Plan

But,

It’s all part of the plan for our redemption. That plan covers the entirety of human history as recorded in the Bible. Beginning with Adam and Eve, through Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and the kings, Elijah and the prophets, the exile and return, all the way to John the Baptist and Jesus the messiah. There are at least 300 prophecies about the Messiah in the Old Testament, and there are some more promises that Jesus makes himself that get fulfilled in our reading from John’s gospel. As we look at the promises and prophecies we heard today, we will see that there is a level of control and planning which demonstrates that Jesus is in control of events the whole way through.

18:8-9

In verses 8 and 9 at His arrest

⁸ Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. If you are looking for me, then let these men go.” ⁹ This happened so that the words he had spoken would be fulfilled: “I have not lost one of those you gave me.”

That promise was made in John 6:39, it is part of the passage where he says ‘I am the bread of life’. It protects His disciples from becoming involved in His crucifixion and ensures they are not pursued by the authorities – even if Peter deserved to be.

18: 31b-32

In verses 31b and 32 the Jewish leaders have decided that Jesus must die for His claim to be the son of God. They are not allowed to execute people, so have to ask their Roman masters to do it. Pilate doesn’t see the need, but they are determined.

^31b “But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfil what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

Matthew 20:19 tells us that Jesus will be executed by the gentiles. Matthew 26:2 tells us that His death will be by Crucifixion. John 3:14 alludes to the same thing, reminding his readers that as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the son of Man must be lifted up.

19:24

In Chapter 19 verse 24, talking about how Jesus’s clothes would be shared out, it says:

²⁴ “Let’s not tear it,” they said to one another. “Let’s decide by lot who will get it.”

This happened that the scripture might be fulfilled that said,

“They divided my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.”

The prophecy comes from Psalm 22:18, just a little further on from the reading we had earlier:

They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

This prophecy, in particular, shows the detail in the plan that God has. Nothing has been left to chance, every tiny detail is planned out. It is revealed years in advance to people who have little hope of fully understanding it, but who record it, knowing that it comes from God and is therefore important.

19:28-29

Even when He is minutes from death, Jesus is still aware enough to make sure that the prophecies are fulfilled, verses 28 and 29:

²⁸ Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” ²⁹ A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips.

The scripture that Jesus is quoting is Psalm 69:21

They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

The psalmist uses it as a metaphor for the bitter scorn he received from the enemies around him when he needed comfort. He is pleading for God to come to him. He probably didn’t realise that it was a prophecy, but here it is fulfilled by Jesus, who is being treated in much the same way.

19:36-37

Even after Jesus’s death the actions of his executioners still fulfil prophecies. It is time for the executions to be completed as the Sabbath is coming. Normally those being crucified would be left to die a slow and painful death, but now their legs are broken to speed up the process, so the bodies can be removed before the Sabbath. Jesus is already dead, so to be sure of that, he is simply stabbed with a spear. As there is no blood, it is proof of death. Verse 36 says

³⁶ These things happened so that the scripture would be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken,” and, as another scripture says, “They will look on the one they have pierced.”

The passover lamb must be eaten without breaking its bones according to Exodus 12:46 and Numbers 9:12. Jesus has become the passover lamb for the whole world, sacrificed to save us from destruction.

Zechariah 12:10 tells us

“I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.”

This prophecy, perhaps more than any of the others, sets the tone for Good Friday. The day in our year when we mourn for the loss of Jesus, our saviour. When we grieve bitterly for him, and the things he had to go through to achieve our redemption.

The plan

So, we look upon the plan and see that God has saved us from eternal separation, from death and hell. We look at the details from the beginning of time, everything is worked out in minute detail. The purpose of the plan is to provide us with a way back to God.

It has worked, but there has been an enormous cost – God has given up His son for us. That is why it is a Good Friday, because the plan has worked – we are saved.

Even so, or perhaps because of that, we should be in mourning for our loss, a loss that can be attributed to each of us and would be exactly the same even if you or I was the only individual that needed saving.

Amen.

Jesus starting a revolution?

Preached 24 March 2024 at Christ Church, Billericay

Reading Psalm 118:1-2+19-29; Mark 11:1-11

Revolution

I think we need a revolution. With climate change out of control and almost nothing being done about it, with the enormous over overconsumption we have – it is said we need one and a half earths just to keep our lifestyle going sustainably. That’s without allowing for any improvement in anyone’s lifestyle or prospects. With our current system, no-one is going to succeed in cutting everybody back to use two thirds of the resources that they are using today. If it was suggested – would you vote for them, the vast majority wouldn’t.

Who is the leader

Who would you choose as the revolutionary leader – Ernesto "Che" Guevara, or perhaps Wolfie Smith – “Power to the people!”. Maybe you’d prefer someone less violent (although I don’t remember Wolfie every harming anyone but himself!). Someone like Mahatma Gandhi, perhaps? There are plenty of others you could choose to get behind, but all the ones that come to my mind are dead, I can’t think of any leader today that I believe can deliver what we need.

Galileans

The Galileans, wanted a revolution, too – their revolution was the removal of the Roman occupying force that had run their county for years. They knew who they wanted as their leader, too. They were very clear about it – they had seen what He could do, they knew He would make a great king. They’d almost tried once before, but John 6:15 tells us that Jesus was aware of their intentions:

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

It was not the right time then – He had a lot more work to do before He was going to be willing to accept that title.

King Now?

Now though, in our reading today, things have moved on. Now, the time is right for Jesus to show more openly His true nature.

Passover

It’s Passover, people from all around are heading to Jerusalem for the festival. Everyone within about 20 miles was expected to attend, but many more visited Jerusalem at this time. One estimate I read suggested as many as two and a half million may have been on their way, or already in the vicinity.

To give an idea of how many that is, the population of Essex was only one and a half million in the 2021 census. That’s a lot of people.

Staying outside the City

Most of them would stay outside the city, in the surrounding villages. That is what Jesus and the Galileans were doing, they stayed around Bethany and Bethphage. Those villages are on the Mount of Olives, about 2 miles from the city. It was the place these Galileans stayed every time they came from Galilee for a festival, probably three times a year. So, most of them will be very familiar with their surroundings and probably familiar with each other too.

Time to go public?

Jesus is ready to go public in a bigger way than He has before. Mark’s gospel is full of instructions not to tell what Jesus has done. Now things are changing as Jesus comes to the end of His mission.

Now, He needs to be seen, He needs to do something that will get the attention of the majority of visitors, they may not see it, but they will definitely hear about it.

Zechariah 9:9

So, the procession is planned, Jesus has even found a donkey, so that He can ride into Jerusalem. He is going to fulfil an old prophecy, it’s found in Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!

Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!

See, your king comes to you,

righteous and victorious,

lowly and riding on a donkey,

on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Normally, the conquering hero comes on a large white stallion, adorned with various decoration to make it look even grander than it is, he sits above everyone and is easily visible.

But this prophecy has the hero on a donkey, he will be only slightly higher up than those around him, who are walking. The prophecy is as much about the kingdom that the king brings as it is about the ideal, Davidic king that heads it up. The kingdom and the king conform to the divine standard of morality and ethics, particularly as revealed in the Mosaic legislation.

As importantly as it being what God wants, it is what the people want – well those that are travelling with, or around Jesus anyway.

Getting the Donkey

So the donkey is arranged and Jesus sends a couple of unnamed disciples to get it. They are given some words to say, so that if challenged, they can still get the donkey without causing a problem. If you thought passwords were new, welcome to the 1^st century, where they have been in use for some time.

Colt

It’s a colt, a foal that has never been ridden, That’s a sign of purity, an animal that is suitable for offering to God.

Procession into Jerusalem

Now the procession starts, and immediately the crowd are laying their coats on the ground for the donkey to walk across. They cut branches from the fields and lay them on the road too. (They don’t have to be palm branches, only John mentions palm branches, so, any branches will do.)

This is reminiscent of the welcome given to Jehu when he became king (2 Kings 9:13) and the celebration when Simon Maccabees threw the foreign occupiers out of Jerusalem. Both actions are symbolic of welcoming a new king.

The procession proceeds with shouts of

“Hosanna!”

and

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

and

“Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”

Their revolution is underway!

These shouts are taken from Psalm 118, that was our Old Testament reading this morning. The psalm was used as liturgy in the temple worship, and would have been very well known to all the visitors in Jerusalem.

This was not the time it was usually sung though, so the crowd following Jesus, and cheering and praising God, would have caused quite a disturbance.

Effects of the procession

Word would have spread quickly through the crowd that something unusual was happening, so soon almost everyone around would know about it. That would include the religious leaders, who were no doubt well aware of who Jesus was. They would now be nervous about his intentions. After all, if he creates trouble now, with all these people around, and the Roman overlords feel like they are losing control, all sorts of bad things could happen.

In the temple

Once in Jerusalem, Jesus heads for the temple. He is not concerned about the effects his procession and the celebration that has happened outside has had, He was clearly there to be noticed. Arriving at the temple fairly late in the day, Jesus just looks around at everything and then returns to Bethany.

What was the point of going to the temple?

What was He looking around for in the temple?

If we read what happens next, we might get some idea. The next day, he enters the temple and begins to disrupt the trade that is taking place. He would not allow the normal temple trade to continue. That definitely got the attention of the religious leaders. So, we can assume that He took a good look around to see if the temple was functioning as it should and decide that it was not. So, was planning what He would do the following day.

Palm Sunday

We have re-enacted the Palm Sunday procession today. We have done it symbolically, inside the church building. We do it to help us remember who Jesus was when he was alive on earth. It is difficult for us to really understand what a king is like. King Charles does not have any real power, that exists in our parliament.

Palm Sunday raises the question for us about whether we are simple following a ceremony, or whether we are prepared as followers of Jesus to welcome him as our true King.

Are we really prepared for a revolution, not perhaps causing trouble on the streets, although it may come to that, but personally, in our own attitudes?

Are we ready to put our possessions at his disposal, to obey his orders even when they puzzle us? Are we ready to go out of our way to honour him? What are our equivalents of cloaks to spread on the road before him, and branches to wave to make his coming into a real festival? To draw attention to His presence with us.

Or have we so domesticated and trivialised our devotion to Jesus himself that we look on him simply as someone to help us through when our lives get tough, someone to provide us with comforting religious experiences?

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

let’s shout that together again now:

“Hosanna!”

“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Amen

 Recording :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8a4oPPlgVKE from about 17:30–31:40

References

https://www.preaching.com/sermons/a-question-in-the-crowd-who-is-this/

https://www.preaching.com/sermons/palm-sunday-hosanna-or-crucify-him-its-your-choice-mark-111-10/

https://mark.bible/mark-12-37https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/27617/when-do-those-who-think-the-70-weeks-of-daniel-9-refer-to-years-think-the-weeks

https://www.preaching.com/sermons/the-day-jesus-turned-palms-into-nails/

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-palms-of-hope-robert-leroe-sermon-on-easter-palm-sunday-77371

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/triumphal-entry-a-misnomer-for-palm-sunday-paul-clemente-sermon-on-triumphant-entry-255140

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Che_Guevara

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizen_Smith

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/sources/census_2021/report?compare=E10000012

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colt

 

Two Mothers and mother church

Preached 10 March 2024 @ Christ Church, Billericay

A Mother's Day reflection on how the church is like a mother.

Reading 1 Sam 1v20-28; Luke 2v33-35

Introduction

Today is Mothering Sunday, now perhaps better known as Mother's Day, to help us celebrate the day, and mothers, we have two readings about two very different mothers – Hannah in the 1 Samuel reading and Mary in the reading from Luke. We will be looking at each of these women and their story later. First, though, I will look a little at the history and intent of Mothering Sunday.

Lent 4

The fourth Sunday of Lent, the halfway point, is also known as Laetare Sunday, which means rejoice and provides some refreshment from the austere festival that is Lent. After the reformation, it came to be a time when Christians returned to their mother churches. That is the church where they were brought up, or possibly the local cathedral. Returning to the church where you were brought up, inevitably meant that you would visit and stay with your parents. People didn’t move around as much as they do now, and there weren’t so many places to stay. This tradition meant that domestic servants would be given the day off to visit their mothers. So, the day slowly turned into Mother's Day. In the mid-20th century, the American celebration of Mother's Day and the reduced attendance at church, further changed the emphasis towards mothers and away from the church.

Flowers

Today we will be distributing daffodils to all the ladies in, or connected to, the congregation. That’s been part of the Christ church tradition for a long time. The traditional flower that was picked by returning grown up children for their mothers was violets.

Bride of Christ

The church is known as the bride of Christ in many places in the New Testament, and we have already seen that the Church is known as a mother. This indicates that the feminine qualities of God are to be demonstrated in the church. The Hebrew word meaning love, and affection, "Ahava" is a feminine noun.

Compare Hannah and Mary

Now, let's have a look at our two mothers to see how they compare. I’ll start with Hannah.

Hannah – background

Hannah was desperate for a child. She lived in a polygamous relationship, and was the favourite wife. But she didn’t have a child, in a time when a childless woman was considered a failure, not even a real woman. The other wife constantly reminded Hannah of her failing to irritate her. One year, when the family made their annual pilgrimage to sacrifice to the Lord at Shiloh, Hannah was praying fervently for a son. Eli, the priest there, thought that she was drunk. In that prayer, she made a vow:

saying, “O LORD Almighty, if you will only look upon your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant, but give her a son, then I will give him to the LORD for all the days of his life, and no razor will ever be used on his head.”

The Lord answered her prayer. Now she has to honour the vow. She named him Samuel, the name sounds like “God heard”. When the child is between two and three years old, they take him to Shiloh to worship the Lord, and leave him with Eli the priest.

Samuel given to Eli

Now Hannah has given up her son to be brought up by the priest, who accused he of drunkenness. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult that would have been for her.

She does not give him up and never see him again. Her love for him continues as best it can. Each year, when they travel to Shiloh, she takes new robes that she has made for him.

Hannah’s Prayer

At the start of the next chapter, we read Hannah’s prayer – her response to receiving the son she so badly craved, and leaving him with the priest. It is pure praise to God.

Mary

In some ways, Mary is at the opposite end of the spectrum to Hannah. When we meet Mary, she is betrothed to Joseph, she is very young, and although she may be thinking about having children, her main focus is on the wedding – which may have been up to a year away.

She has an encounter with an angel, and is told that the Holy Spirit will give her a baby. That whole experience sounds frightening enough, but Mary doesn’t seem that disturbed by any of it.

Instead, she sings a song of praise to God, which has a number of parallels to Hannah’s prayer.

Eighth Day

Now it is the eighth day, and they are in the temple to make a sacrifice for the safe delivery of the child. The law says that “Every firstborn male must be consecrated to the Lord” and that is what they are doing. They are interrupted by Simeon, who had been told by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he had seen the Christ. Simeon recognizes the baby Jesus as the fulfilment of that promise.

We read that the child’s father and mother marvelled at what was said about him. This is what Simeon said:

Luke 2 ^29-32 “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”

After blessing them, there is a sting in the tail from Simeon:

“This child is destined to cause the falling s and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

This must have concerned Mary and Joseph, but particularly Mary, as it was addressed to her. What will that mean for her life and her son’s life?

We know that Jesus the Christ died on the cross for our sins, but perhaps you don’t remember that Mary continued to look after Jesus as best she could.

Mary’s difficult time

In Matthew 12^46-50, she and her other sons try to talk to Jesus, only for him to deny his family and use the incident to teach the crowd about God. That must have hurt her.

She will be at the crucifixion too. You never stop being a parent, however old your children are. There, Jesus will make sure Mary is cared for after His death, so however apart they may be at this point, Jesus has done what he must do as the oldest son.

In our reading today, she only has the dimmest glimpse of all these things that are to come. From here onwards, she will be a good mother for the young Jesus until he leaves to follow the ministry He was born for.

Two mothers

We’ve looked briefly at two mothers, on this Mother's Day. Each had a difficult time with their child, mainly due to the circumstances they found themselves in. As parents, we all have our own difficulties with our children, at various times. As children, I expect we were sometimes the cause of difficulties for our parents, particularly our mothers.

Mother’s qualities

The key quality that these two mothers have demonstrated is their worship of the Lord, and their focus on Him. It has clearly helped them through the difficulties they experienced. We would expect the Bible to focus in on that aspect of their personalities. I wondered what other personality traits make a good mother.

To be sure I got some thoughts other than my own, I asked an AI to write 3 haiku’s, this is what I got back:

(1) Gentle hands that hold,
Warm embrace that chases fear,
Love's unwavering light.

(2) Strength that knows no bound,
Guiding light through darkest times,
Roots that hold us true.

(3) Laughter fills the air,
Patience for each tear that falls,
Belief in what we'll be.

Nothing about worshipping God, which is not a surprise to me, as these Large Language Models and very biassed currently.

Spend a little time thinking about your own mother, or the person who filled that role in your life. Do they have all these qualities and more? – I hope so.

Mother church

Putting these ideas together, we can get a good idea of how we should behave as mother church. Particularly, how we should treat others who are younger and less secure in the faith than we are.

Not all mothers are good all the time. We heard of the sad case of a mother accused of murdering her child in the news this week.

Safeguarding

To help to be sure that we, as church, don’t ‘go bad’, we have procedures and training in place – we call it safeguarding. It is a framework of behaviours to keep us on the straight and narrow. In the Bible it is call “love” and it covers all the qualities we have mentioned and more. It would make an interesting Bible Study one day – perhaps if you have a quiet afternoon you could find references for all these qualities. I’m not going to do it now, because I’m coming to the end of the sermon.

Conclusion

We’ve looked at the role the church plays in the world and seen that it is considered to be the mother of the children of God. We’ve seen how our two mothers Hannah and Mary never gave up on looking after their children, even in the most difficult circumstances. That is what mothers do even to this day. That is also what the church is required to do, for all its children.

Amen.

 

References

TBA

 

Preached on-line here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13pyNn99D6A, starting at 25:00.

 

The first temptation of Christ

Preached 08:00 18 Feb 2024 at Christ Church, Billericay, a slightly modified version also preached at 10:00

Purpose: To understand temptation and its avoidance

Reading: Mark 1v9-15

Introduction

It’s the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is a time for reflection, and the subject for reflection today is temptation. I will be focussing on the New Testament passage this morning. There’s more in there than just the temptation, so there are some other things we will need to consider.

Baptised

The passage starts with Jesus’s baptism. Mark does not attempt to explain why Jesus needs to be baptised, After all He is the son of God, so there seems to be no need. Only Matthew provides a clue. He says that John questioned Jesus saying

“I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”

Jesus tells him it is to “fulfil all righteousness”. It is all part of the plan, if Jesus is to return to God and take the experience of being human into the God head, baptism is an essential part of what He must do because that puts him in the same position as us.

God speaks

As Jesus comes up out of the water, the heavens open and God, the Father, speaks to His son.

“You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

But wait, Jesus hasn't done anything yet! There wasn’t even a baptism preparation course. He just went to John and it was done.

Fathers

At the risk of drifting into a Father's Day sermon, I wonder how many of us fathers have told our sons how pleased we are with them, before the trial of their adult life begins, before they have really done anything of value. I could plead guilty to that one. It’s somehow easier to say that to the grandchildren than it was to the children. Of course, God’s words here are as much for the crowd as they are for Jesus, but it must be very affirming and a big boost to confidence, to hear of someone’s faith in your abilities before they have even been tested. But I must get back on course now.

Off you go

After the baptism, Mark says, “At once” the Holy Spirit sent Him out into the desert. Some translations have ‘drove’ instead of sent. In the Greek, the same word is used of Jesus driving out evil spirits. For example verse 34 where it says:

“He also drove out many demons”

It can mean anything from ‘take out’ to ‘drive out’. Where ever it’s pitched, I don’t think there was really any choice at this point. Jesus must go into the wilderness.

Judean Wilderness

The Judean wilderness is close to the river Jordan, so Jesus won’t have to walk far. He will be there for forty days, being tempted by Satan. Mark is the only writer who tells us that “He was with the wild animals”. In that wilderness there were Rock hyraxes, Nubian ibexes and Arabian leopards. There were also Israeli mole vipers, and other unpleasant creatures.

Why mention wild animals

So, I can’t decide if this is supposed to be a comfort for Jesus or a further difficulty. It has been suggested that the wild animals he came across would have treated him as they treated Adam and Eve before the fall – so that would not have presented any danger at all. That’s a reasonable theory, but there isn’t much to directly support it.

In the wilderness

What is Jesus going to do for these 40 days. He will have to find shelter, the days are hot – unbearably hot, and the nights are cold – near to freezing on many occasions. There’s also the weather to consider. Would there be high winds causing sand storms? We don’t know, but at least rain was unlikely.

So what does he do? There seems to be nothing to do. All his time will be spent in prayer and reflection, and responding to temptations.

Idle Hands

My mother always used to say “The Devil makes work for idle hands”, when ever we couldn’t find anything to do. I’m not sure children today are ever in this situation, but I certainly remember being bored. I suppose I probably listened to the devil then without realising it. Boredom, certainly in later life, can have different effects.

Retreat

Having nothing to do is not the same as getting away from all the pressing business of the world we live in. Before I started my ministry as a Reader, the very last part of the training was a retreat. A time away from the pressures of the world. When all you have to do is to concentrate on God. Everything else is done for you. The shelter and food is provided – it was very good and there was too much of it, but we weren’t meant to be fasting.

There were guided activities and the days were filled with worship services and prayer times. There was also a lot of silence. It was a wonderful time. In our own way, some of us will have confronted our doubts and reservations about what we were about to undertake. Perhaps even confronting our own demons – if I can use that phrase without being too literal.

Fasting

For Jesus, it almost certainly wasn’t a pleasant time. No doubt He was content to do His father's bidding, even at that early stage of His ministry. However, the things he had to face were not pleasant. The least pleasant thing is the fasting, both Luke and Matthew tell us that he ate nothing.

Effects of Fasting

40 days is about as long as you can go without food. According to an NHS website, starving causes anxiety, irritability, depression, poor concentration, poor sleep, and an inability to regulate body temperature, among a few other symptoms. So Jesus would have to deal with these mental and physical issues along side the temptations.

Satan’s opportunity

So, as Jesus gets hungrier and weaker, the opportunity for the temper improves. Satan does not usually come to you directly, he prefers to wait until an opportune time – when you are weak, tired, depressed, haven’t slept - then whisper an idea.

By sending Jesus into the wilderness, God has set up the conditions for this test perfectly. I’m sure Satan knows exactly what is going on, but he is tempted. I’m sure he knows exactly what the outcome will be, but he is tempted. His temptation comes from his nature, so does his inability to stay out of God’s trap. He just can’t resist having a go – can he tempt Jesus and get Him to sin? It’s Satan’s best opportunity.

Temptation is …

Matthew and Luke detail some specific temptations, that doesn’t mean that is all Jesus faced. A temptation is a thought that becomes a desire. Dwelling on that prepares you to take some action to make it happen. Until you take action, it remains a temptation. The longer those thoughts remain, the more likely the action becomes. Jesus already knew how to push temptations aside. His strategy is to bat them away really quickly, so they do not have a chance to grow.

How to resist

Paul tells the Corinthians:

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

If we fail to resist a temptation, it is entirely on us, because all the temptations we face are well known (even if you think yours is not – it is really), and there is always a way out.

James tells his readers to:

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Temptation’s result

That is what Jesus does, and he passes the test. Luke tells us that, after His baptism, Jesus entered the wilderness “full of the Holy Spirit”. When he returns from the wilderness after the test, Jesus’s ministry starts “in the power of the Holy Spirit.”

That’s the difference that passing the test, resisting the temptation makes. It brings us closer to God, and releases the power of the Holy Spirit in us.

For us

When we’re tempted, we just have to say “No”, or “Go away”, and then remove ourselves from the situation. Sometimes that can be hard to do, but sometimes it is easy. Each temptation is a test that God allows us to undergo. Resistance brings us closer to God and releases the power of the Holy Spirit within us.

Amen.

 The 10am version is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qK2c4TkO7A, it starts at about 21:20

References

https://www.stmarysstokedabernon.org.uk/images/pdfs/sermons/Sermon_18-2-2018.pdf

https://interruptingthesilence.com/2012/02/26/leave-home-get-baptized-go-to-the-wilderness-a-sermon-on-mark-19-15-lent-1b/

https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/with-the-wild-beasts-an-exposition-of-mark-1-9-15-mark-a-barber-sermon-on-temptation-253440?page=1&wc=800

https://www.nhsgrampian.org/service-hub/eating-disorder-mcn/patients--carers/anorexia---further-information/physical--psychological-effects-of-starvation/?p_applic=CCC&pContentID=4314

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misandry

https://www.familyeducation.com/family-life/relationships/history-genealogy/a-look-at-the-different-generations-and-how-they-parent

https://www.keepbelieving.com/sermon/led-by-the-spirit-into-the-wilderness/

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaean_Desert

https://www.bibleplaces.com/judeanwilderness/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyrax