Connectedness to God

Preached at Christ church, Billericay 28 April 2024

Readings:Acts 8:26-40,John 15:1-8

	Introduction This morning we have heard two readings, one about the vine from the Gospel of John, which talks about our connectedness to God, and the second from Acts. That’s the story of Philip and the Ethiopian. This second story shows us what connectedness looks like in real life. I’ll start by looking at the reading from John’s gospel. Chronologically, we are just before the arrest of Jesus. He is completing his final teaching to the disciples. This section comes immediately after the promise of the Holy Spirit.
	The Vine Here Jesus claims to be the true vine. That’s quite a claim. If we look at Psalm 80 in verses 8-9 it says: You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground for it, and it took root and filled the land. And in Isaiah 5, the theme of Israel as a vine continues: 1 … My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. 2 He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. … Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. 7 The vineyard of the LORD Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight. The Vine that was Israel has failed to produce good fruit, the disciples would be familiar with these references. Now, Jesus is claiming to be the true vine – the true Israel.
	The vineyard Maybe you have visited a vineyard. It’s one of the things we like to do when we’re on holiday. We visit the vineyard, take a tour, if one is available, and try to learn something about how it all works. Then sample the produce, perhaps bring a few bottles home. Good stock is important, without that you cannot have a good harvest. Careful pruning is still as vital today as it was 2 centuries ago. So, it's no surprise that Jesus then talks about pruning. Whatever branch that doesn’t bear fruit is cut off, and those that do are pruned so that they continue to bear fruit. Jesus is talking about our lives and the activities in them now. He is expecting fruit, not seed. The fruit He is looking for is the fruit of a Godly life – Paul sums this up beautifully in Galatians: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
	Remain in me – Stay connected If we are to produce fruit – if our character is to become more like Jesus, then we must remain connected to Him. If we remain in Him, we will produce that fruit, it is not optional, it is inevitable. Sometimes it will be produced slowly and continue at a steady rate, at other times changes may be observable faster. If we do not remain in Him, we cannot and will not produce fruit. The production of fruit – the move to a more Godly lifestyle, more godly habits, and more godly interactions with those around us, is the only evidence we have of true conversion – and it can be difficult to spot. It can also be faked for a short time, and can be used in an attempt to defraud the faithful. Without this connection, without remaining in Jesus, we can do nothing for God. If we do remain connected there is also a promise – that anything we ask for will be given. We need to understand this as anything we ask for that is aligned with what God wants. We should remember that we are now His friends, not His servants: John 15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. Not Remain However, if we do not remain in Him, we are like the (not a) branch that is thrown away and withers. The Greek has the definite article, and probably refers to Judas, who Jesus already knew would betray Him. Conclusion – John So we have seen how the promised Holy Spirit will work in the lives of the disciples, and those who follow them. He gives us a connection to God that it is impossible to have any other way, a connection that we need in order to live a godly life.
	Philip Our Acts reading shows us one way that God might work through us, if we are prepared to let Him. Philip was one of seven deacons selected by the apostles to look after the distribution of food to the neglected widows.  When they were chosen they were described as “men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3).  The persecution instigated by Saul of Tarsus probably stopped the “daily distribution” with which the deacons were charged. This early inquisition resulted in the martyrdom of Stephen (another deacon) and the Christians being scattered abroad from Jerusalem (8:1). Philip fled to Samaria, where he became a missionary. Ethiopian Eunuch The Ethiopian Eunuch had risen to an important role in the royal household of Ethiopia. We know that he was well off, because he had a chariot (or at least use of a chariot) and he had managed to acquire a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. In the days before printing, scrolls were rare and had to be copied by highly skilled scribes. The Ethiopian had probably been influenced by Jewish settlements in the area and the ideas they talked about. He had become what was known as a God-fearer – a follower of Judaism, but not a Jew. He had been to Jerusalem to worship, but it is not clear what sort of worship he would be allowed to take part in. He would certainly not be allowed in the temple. Deuteronomy 23:1 No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the LORD.
	Philip and the Holy Spirit Philip is told by an Angel to take the desert road to the south. Nothing more than that. We don’t have a description of the angel, or even know if the angel was visible. Philip obeys. Philip then sees a chariot and is told by the Holy Spirit to go up to it and stay close. Once again, he obeys. Reading aloud Now he hears the Ethiopian reading. It was normal in those days to read out loud. In the days before spaces between words, the act of pronouncing each word made the text easier to understand, as more parts of the brain were used to gain the understanding required. In his ‘Confessions’, Saint Augustine remarks on Saint Ambrose's unusual habit of reading silently in the 4th century AD. The practice seems to have declined in Europe in the eighteenth century, so now silent reading is the norm for us.
	Question and timing Anyway, now Philip has his opportunity and asks, “Do you understand what you are reading?”. This is his own question, not one prompted by the Holy Spirit. The timing is perfect as the Ethiopian is reading a part of the text that he does not understand, and its part of the servant song. This is a gift for Philip, so he explains the good news about Jesus, starting with that passage. Could I? / Could you? This made me think, could I do it? Could I explain the good news of Jesus, starting from any random point? Then I remembered that I had had to do just that in one of my selection interviews for training. I clearly did OK, as I got selected, but what about now, could I still do it? - I don’t know. What about you? Could you explain the whole of the good news about Jesus?
	Further Questions The next thing Philip does – baptising the Ethiopian also raised some questions for me, but not apparently for Philip. This man is forbidden from the temple, he cannot take a full part in the worship of God. This doesn’t seem to bother Philip at all. Perhaps he knows his scriptures really well: Isaiah 56:3 Let no foreigner who has bound himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.” And let not any eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” 4 For this is what the LORD says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant — 5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.” The question it raises for me, and for the rest of us, is how do we treat the excluded, either those excluded by some of our scriptures, or by society. Do we, not just this congregation but, the wider church, try in any way to restrict their access to God? And if we do, should we?
	How the Holy Spirit works The book of Acts contains many dramatic events prompted or actioned by the Holy Spirit, we have seen mass conversions, bold disciples, liars dropping dead, and God reaching out to the excluded. The Holy Spirit is not always that dramatic, and really can use anyone for His purposes. While preparing this sermon, the JWs called. I’d seen them coming up the road. I was worried they would break my concentration, but as I walked slowly down the stairs, the thought occurred that I could choose not to engage. The old man was polite and left a leaflet, and I suppressed the urge to respond to what he said. On the way back up the stairs, equally slowly, I was reminded of a previous JW visit that occurred while I was trying, and failing, to prepare prayers for the evening service. On that occasion I had a long discussion with them and returned to the preparation of the prayers, which then came easily. This time I returned to the preparation of my sermon and had not lost my focus. I believe that in both of these events I was guided by the Holy Spirit and so achieved the desired outcome. Conclusion If we stay connected to God, by prayer, the study of His word, and being prepared to listen to the Holy Spirit – in other words, if we are trying to be fruitful branches of the Vine, we will see God do all sorts of things, from the mundane to the dramatic. We cannot tell what will happen, we can only focus on the next step, whether that is to walk down a desert road or a flight of stairs. Then take whatever opportunity is presented. If we are following the Holy Spirit, anything could happen.

Amen.

References

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fifth-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-acts-826-40

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fifth-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-acts-826-40-5

https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fifth-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-acts-826-40-4

https://interruptingthesilence.com/2021/05/02/wholehearted-life-a-sermon-on-john-151-8/

https://www.cornerstonewestford.com/sermons/life-with-god-john-151-8-jesus-is-the-vine-the-tree-of-life/

https://bibleatlas.org/azotus.htm

https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/encyclopedia-of-the-bible/Philip

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

Youtube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXit7bL1jDI from 22:15 to 40:37

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

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 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