Byzantine Ikons and occasional Homilies I do at Morwenstow Church -see below

2025

Isn’t this simply beautiful?..Palm Sunday and it took three attempts to finalise this Ikon.

2023

2022

I think this small Ikon is very powerful and beautiful.

2021

This years Ikon is Jesus with his father Joseph …

2019

2018

2017

2013

Occasional Homilies From Morwenstow Church

Remembrance Sunday 9 11 25

St John 15:13

Why we remember?

I have avoided leading this service over the last 10 years, opting to be the Flag bearer rather than preach about remembrance.

It’s not that I don’t want to remember but I tend to look forward rather than backwards and that was certainly the case when I was serving in the infantry on active service.

In Northern Ireland during the troubles we rarely talked about being shot at, killed, or bombed. As a Platoon Commander I had other things on my mind; like man management …I was 20 and my Serjeant 35 with a platoon of “experienced” soldiers in the main – happy at first to see me fail.

We soon settled down with “4hr ON 4hr OFF” patrols in Newry and some special ops in South Armagh and much of which I do not want to remember.

I don’t particularly want to remember the grief and anger that we felt then or today.

When we were moved out at the end of the tour and relieved by 2 Para – (the notorious 2 Para in NI,) they decided to get to Newry by 4ton trucks driving into an area often only normally accessed by helicopter or armoured convoy.

On that same day Lord Mountbatten and his grandson were murdered.

Do you remember the grief and anger on that day?

On that very day 2 Para were ambushed at Warrenpoint, 18 soldiers were killed, I can not remember exactly how many were injured, (24 I believe) but I do remember training in Sandhurst with somebody called Nxxx Xxxx, a friend who joined 2 Para.

But that’s private grief and anger, as so much is – and was – for the millions who have died for their country in the last century.

So if some soldiers don’t want to remember war – and others just adapted to the life style, as only professionals can – then why do we need, here today and each year to remember?

No one has greater love than this, than to lay down your life for your friends. John 15:13

Let’s start off by remembering who said these words, let us remember Jesus Christ….and why would he have said that?

Christ was educated as a boy on the Old Testament (and at the age of 12 preached in the Temple).

The OT, or the Hebrew “Creation” Scriptures; with the Israelites being led by God out of Egypt to Palestine, establishing Jerusalem the promised land and then being exiled to Babylon – they wrote about grief and anger.

Listen to this OT psalm..(a boney M song from the late 1970s I remember listening to it during a long night shift in the Ops room at Castlederg..)

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Jerusalem.There on the trees we hung our harps – for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Jerusalem!” …….

Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried, “tear it down to its foundations!”

Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction, happy is the one who repays you according to what you have done to us.

Happy is the one who seizes your infants and dashes them against the rocks.

Can you feel the anger? How many of us have acted in anger? It doesn’t happen nowadays does it?

Well tell that to parents in Gaza, Israel, Syria, Sudan and Ukraine who have had their schools, nursery play areas and homes destroyed this year – killing hundreds of innocents in the process. Just last night two children were amongst the dead in Dnipro.

The psalm teaches us that in war – grief and anger are both inevitable and inseparable.

The worst possible response to monstrous evil is to do nothing, grief and anger must be felt NOT only by the victims but by us here in this Church today on behalf of the victims.

As in the psalm we can also be angry; but our anger by being expressed, by screaming it out does not mean we throw people at a wall but it does mean we can give up our anger to God and he/she takes it from us.

We give it away to that man dying on the cross thereby breaking the cycle of violence.

Hate is replaced by hope.

If we do not remember – if we refuse to remember – if we forget even – then evil becomes acceptable; simply an every day occurrence.

For Example:

& Understandably victims and survivors of the holocaust have struggled with all this, remember just over 80 years ago, (some of us here today) were alive then, 6 million jews were exterminated.

Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel has dedicated his life to ensuring we remember what happened.

He says “ he can tolerate the memory of silence but not the silence of memory”.

In other words the unutterable horror can be remembered in silence (as we are going to do shortly) but it must be remembered.

The psalmist did not go on to throw an infant to the wall because he simply gave his grief and anger to God.

Elie Wiesel also turned his anger away from his victimisation in Auschwitz and expresses grief and anger in terms of compassion for the vulnerable.

He says…

“When I see a child, any child I have tears in my eyes. Especially my own, but any children. ….We (the holocaust victims) want to caress our children 24 hours a day. We want to shelter them, to show them nothing but Joy and beauty. We want them to know that when I speak of life, I mean children. To me nothing is more sacred, nothing more divine than a Child’s life.

This is why Christ taught us

No one has greater love than this, than to lay down your life for your friends. John 15:13

This is why Christ died on the cross for our sakes. To take away the anger. To take it away from all children everywhere.

This is why we remember today, in our Parish Church for those who fought and died for us.

Amen

St Luke Ch 11 vrs 14-28 23 March 2025

He that is not with me is against me.

I spend my life avoiding, so it seems, the things that I do not understand or care to understand about.

I somehow feel that I have the right to filter out nonsense now I am no longer in full time employment.

I can hear you say well, why did he read the Gospel using such a complicated text….thees and thous etc. What nonsense this Beelzebub?

For sure we would be more comfortable reading or hearing about Martha and Mary arguing over praying with Jesus or just feeding him; or the disciple asking Christ to teach them to pray and he recites the Lord’s Prayer which we pray today.

These nice stories of faith preceding our Gospel reading are more memorable and the talk of evil that follows jar’s with us today.

So I need to ask for your indulgence to consider our Gospel text, let’s all together move out of our comfort zone for five minutes and consider good and evil or right and wrong and whether they merge in our lives today.

How many of us have seen a dead body?

My wife Ginnie saw one last week and the corpse was lying on its side, in the foetal position completely naked. It was male and its bottom barely covered.

She was very uncomfortable at this sight and still is and each day thousands of people traipse pass this corpse in a glass case at the British Museum, where “no body has ever complained before according to the staff,”— complained at the loss of his dignity, the lack of empathy, the group speak of toleration to the death of this man on display – naked.

He was someones son and what ever language you choose to describe this display it is to Ginnie just wrong that he is not buried with dignity and love…with privacy.

So Christ is teaching us about our relationship with God and with evil, where do they come together and where do they part ways?

And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven.

So when Jesus completes a miracle and heals a man some are pleased and in awe whilst others are cynical and ask for more proof of divine intervention.

How real this situation is today in 2025, ask any street pastor in Bude or else where…this mixed reaction to Christianity…and the world.

But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house divided against a house falleth.

I think we can get this can we not? If Jesus represents the devil or evil at the same time as God then we have a divided house or situation…do we have any examples of this today?

The obvious ones come to mind and involve faith. Firstly the CofE institution covering up abuse by male Priests..then of course the Church of Russia declaring war on Ukraine as righteous and Godly with all Russian soldiers dying on the battlefield receiving automatic absolution because the Orthodox Church of Ukraine wanted to break away from the Russian one.

Do you have any examples closer to home? Perhaps some one doing work particularly for the elderly with the intention of ripping them off? Where does good and evil, right and wrong mix together in your life today? It’s not just stuff on the BBC …it is stuff we should be particularly thinking about now in our own lives..in Lent.

…. where we are merging good with evil, it does not work. Jesus explains…

And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges?

I simply love this teaching, the more you open your mind to it and go beyond the logic to the point of our faith the more you come to God.. and if not God then who? …society?…it’s uncomfortable.

But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

That’s clear and then comes the central point of this Gospel reading, this point can not be disguised by modern idiom, this point can not be confused by ambiguity and this point takes us completely out of our comfort zone as we do not like doing things which lack compromise….this is our dead body moment..

He that is not with me is against me..

So there you have it and Jesus then goes on to clarify this with

and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

We are not talking any more about language, evil, the devil, wars and starvation of scattered people…right or wrong

No we are talking about your relationship with Jesus Christ, my relationship with Jesus Christ…

Then out of the blue a woman shouts out aloud with certainty and faith..

And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee..

But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

There is no ambiguity in this Gospel reading or of the challenges of being a Christian today.

Amen

Christmas Day 2024

St John 1 1-14

“Christ is Born Today”

He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Happy Christmas!

What sort of year have you had?

What is Happy for you about Christmas?

For me I have mixed feelings, I feel so wrapped up in secular life, excited about this service, I’ll cook the turkey and well .. open presents, drink wine, spend endless time with my daughters and our family, but I can’t help thinking about that little mite in the manger there.

What has that baby really got to do with me today on my Christmas Day?

In some respects not a lot, his role is beyond my role, beyond my understanding, and I wonder what he actually means, this baby, when the gospel says

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth and happiness..

Just listening to those words makes the hairs on the back of my neck..this baby..

This baby said to Pilate thirty years later when asked “are you the King of the Jews”,He said “my Kingship is not of this World”.

Well thank God for that!

This is good Christmas news..because when you turn on the radio, the TV, pick up your smart phone look at the news, your social media, do some mild “doom scrolling” during the day and at times during the night.

You can see the “things of this World”.

Rumours of war, wars, threats of nuclear devastation, a mass rape in France, a global rise in Xenophobia, racism, mass shootings at schools, Xmas markets, fires and floods, an epidemic of loneliness..

So you can see yourself how dire the news from this world is, how terrifying it is and especially would have been for those living in the last century, through World War1 and 2.

And how good, the good news is of Christ’s birth and that his Kingship is not of this world..

The baby Jesus has no part of that terror or violence or fear funded by scarcity, manipulated by people of entitlement and greed…

that should be a great comfort to us, a Christmas present of real value.

But as we sip our wine later we also need to see that the baby boy is a challenge, he’s not an escapist comfort.

An escapist comfort is to imagine that Jesus is a king arrayed in rich and dazzling gold and precious jewels. No he is not an item in the Tatler magazine or the centre lane of Lidls.

Perhaps that is where we want to put him in his box, how nice that would be.. a theological fantasy.

Standing before the might of imperial Rome, Jesus, this same baby at the age of thirty now; reveals to Pilate that he is a king whose power is characterised by truth, justice, and acts of humble service.

For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth he says..

My kingship is not of this world, not of it, — but in it.

That is how love works.

It transforms death into life, loneliness into community, division into diversity, sorrow into joy.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth and happiness..

When I say “Happy Christmas” to you and you reply “Happy Christmas” let us say it with truth and happiness that Christ is born today.

Let us through the light of his birth seek to be fully human, seek today to be in proper relationship with God through the baby.

Feed the poor, be kind to one another and speak truth to power.

Amen

Trinity 25 St John 6 5-14 November 2024 Trinity 26

Holy Spirit

(SafeGuarding)

When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat?And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

I met a beautiful Sudanese family with two lovely children whilst on retreat in Crete this summer, the parents were an intelligent engaging couple and the foursome were everywhere whilst bringing laughter and love to their encounters and to the holiday makers.

Curiously I did not talk to them at all, but enjoyed their presence.

I was walking with my brother Andy so we went our way along the coastal path some 20 miles to another harbour. After a couple of hours we stopped for water at an isolated beach and to my complete surprise the family was there at the cafe.

Now we could say hello properly whilst they were having lunch, having been dropped off by water taxi.

They were self-acclaimed “sparrows”, hopping from place to place without any booking…a bit like us…as free as the wind!

Funnily enough we had earlier seen some rescued boat refugees with the police and I was not sure what their situation was at all..they were actually from Sudan originally but as refugees had been resettled in Australia..its awkward getting this dialogue going though…

Then the mother asked me if I was a Priest?! You could have blown me down with a feather. .. where did that come from I asked.

She said I had the Holy Spirit with me…..

This was before the resignation of Justin Welby.

But to be fair I was considering my call or vocation to the CofE on this retreat very carefully already…… and did I really want to be part of an institution or would my time be better spent as a Lay Minister, Churchwarden, Shipwright or with my family.

But she had said something really significant to me and it recalled St John’s words

“God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and truth”.

God is a “Spirit” and not an institution so afterwards I went on to think whether

Could I be a “messenger” – Yes- I am

Could I be a shepherd – Yes – I am

Could I a be a servant – Yes – I am

Could I be a steward – Yes – I am

Most importantly could I be a Sentinel – Yes..listening for God

All the basics of ordination and Priesthood.

So this young mother from Sudan rebooted me and what the likes of Justin Welby and the leaders of the Anglican Communion do is deeply concerning but full of human frailty, full of “group speak” and on occasions represents the worst of seeking the common denominator, the worst of male hierarchal power play, the worst of Entitlement..sadly as evidenced by the victims of abuse and the evil of the abusers in authority.

Rather than being the Church of Christ – the servant, the shepherd the Church of the Gospel…

So even following the Archbishop’s resignation I am still at one with my growth as a disciple and open to the hand of God.

One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

So let us consider this crowd of people, what sort of people were they?

Were they rich? Probably not

Were they genuinely there? Almost certainly

Were they a form of congregation? Yes

Did it matter if they were a group of 5000 or were totally alone with Jesus? No

Were they hungry? Yes

Did they have the Holy Spirit on them? Certainly

When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

Think about this crowd this coming week, they are the congregation. They do not live in Church, many of them do not worship in Church. But they are real people, with real needs and aspirations.

And pray for the Church of England – yes we are angry at them, appalled at them but we pray that God can forgive them and pray that the victims can be reconciled.

Advent is coming up, Christ our King will be born at Christmas and we have a new start, we are well fed and well loved.

And you have the Holy Spirit with you!

Amen

Easter 2024 See Ikon above “Jesus resurrected appears to Mary Magdalene”

Easter Day St John Ch20 1-18

The Resurrection

Easter Day today and we can truly say to each other “Happy Easter”!

But it’s not like Christmas Day is it, we’re not in a storm of materialism latched to the birth of Christ. There is nothing superficial about today, after all it follows the excruciating death of Christ who was nailed and hung on the cross on Good Friday, two days ago…such a contrast to the angelic birth in a manger.

So what’s it all about? Why are we here?

It’s because of love, the love of God.

What do you think about when you say you love someone or you feel love for someone? Please don’t tell me it’s sexual, or aspirational or materialistic – so what is it then?

Our Old Testament reading considers this..

By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not.

The watchmen that go about the city found me: to whom I said, Saw you him whom my soul loveth?

It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go…

Now look at the picture under the cross of Christ..what do you see?

But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

Mary Magdeline in our Gospel reading was the first to visit the tomb where Jesus was buried, after his crucifixion. She got the disciples to come and see but they were scared…and John peered into the tomb

he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in….then the disciples went away again unto their own home.

What I see in the Ikon is that Mary is looking at God, Jesus the Son of God come back to life, he is resurrected.

Let’s join her at the sepulchre..

as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,

And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? Why are you crying? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.

The other apostles have gone home, they have left Mary crying because she loved Jesus, but now she encounters him come back to life or resurrected and her love for him is the voice of love itself, she is speaking for us to God…

Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.

Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.

Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

Mary is called by her name by Jesus the Son of God and so God calls us by our names with love also..we have to learn to listen..to hear

At that moment the world is transformed, Adam and Eve are history, Jesus has taught us that sins can be forgiven and that his father is a loving God – after all he gave his Son to die on the Cross to teach us the meaning of love…and this is your God my God also.

God is not only of creation, the essence of earth, the mountains and the oceans but is the God of existence, the God of life and the God of love. ….that love for friends, our neighbours and ourselves.

We now know that death might be the end of our existence or the start of a new life with God -to be with God.

So this Easter Day we have a new start, a new creation…that’s what I mean by “Happy Easter”.

Tomorrow on Monday the beginning of the week, bank holiday, think about Mary at the tomb as she sees those two angels, in the throne room of God.

Death is swept away, the tomb is empty.

Death is replaced with life. Monday at dawn on a spring morning for both men and women the sun is rising, Jesus calls Mary by her name and she has found the one she loves with all her soul.

I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go…

Amen

St Matthew Chapter 8 verses 23 -33 Jan 2024

“There Was a Great Calm”

Over Christmas a young lad came to see me to chat about joining the army and he asked me if it was ok to kill someone, I can’t remember why this came up but I’d probably suggested that the ability to fight and use his weapons in battle is fundamental to the armed forces.

The question in all its simplicity hit me like a slap on the face as I realised he wasn’t asking me for my answer as a former soldier but as a Christian…a Christian today.

I waffled around the theology of the beatitudes and giving to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and such like, but I quickly realised just how complex and unsatisfactory the Gospels are on the matter and contradict on occasions the Old Testament.

Theologians seem to explain this away as different periods and times have different explanations and emphasis but this does not help a young soldier today.

Over the last two millennium Christians, philosophers and politicians have developed the theory of a just war, where by its okay to kill if you have a justified reason to do so – you are acting on behalf of the “magistrates”. In the 1662 CofE articles of Religion it states:

“The laws of the realm may punish Christian men with death, for heinous and grievous offences. It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons and serve in war”..

The concepts of reasonable grounds to go to war for limited aims and then clear up the mess after you; were ignored in the holocaust and are clearly being stretched to the limits in Gaza and Ukraine today but perhaps this also illustrates the need to go to war to fight evil.

So yes soldiers are justified to kill if they are obeying lawful commands in war – of course they are – it’s the law.

In this context let’s think about the Gospel reading

And when he was entered into a ship, his disciples followed him.

And, behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea, insomuch that the ship was covered with the waves: but he was asleep. And his disciples came to him, and awoke him, saying, Lord, save us: we perish.

Thank God for Jesus! I wish I was there in the boat debating what soldiers should do today with him. He knew on his two or three year mission all about evil, weapons and soldiering and the laws of “magistrates” and dictators….but now he is asleep, breathing deeply – at rest despite a massive storm enveloping, threatening and sinking the fishing boat. Then he is forced to wake up, not by the storm but by the crew begging him to save them.

And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

Despite Jesus’ reaction they had faith that he could save them and he did.

O ye of little faith…don’t be afraid…and the whole world was calmed down, the storm ceased and there was great peace.

It is this “calm” that we all seek is it not? Don’t we want peace?

St Augustine wrote about this peace in the context of war as follows:

“There is no man who does not wish to be joyful, neither is there anyone who does not wish to have peace. For even they that make war desire nothing but victory – For what else is victory then the conquest of those who resist us? And when this is done there is peace. It is therefore with the desire for peace that wars are waged.”

I suppose there is logic here but it does not sound calm or peaceful.

And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time?

These two poor men, mentally ill and aggressive savages, speak to Christ as the son of God; how did they know that?

However they wanted to get rid of Jesus because what he represented was uncomfortable, he tells us not to kill, to turn the other cheek, to love thy neighbour – this torments these two men.

He casts out the devils from them and devils enter the pigs who then run off a cliff, leaving the herdsmen to return to the town and be living proof of the power of God.

And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils.

Now this is interesting…

And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts.

This was not a Jewish community, they were gentiles worshipping pagans and despite seeing the power of God through Jesus they did not want their lives disrupted, if they did not like their neighbour, if they wanted to kill him whose business was it anyway? Who has the right to tell someone to turn the other cheek and forgive his enemy?

They turned their backs on Jesus and they turned their backs on peace and calm.

Jesus is always asking for calm, he calms the sea, he calms the sick; I prefer this calm to the peace of St Augustine and to the peace of the Magistrate.

Jesus has taught us that we all of us need to calm anger, bitterness and violence and that we can now create calm ourselves by loving our neighbour.

That’s what I wanted to say to the young recruit that he will be a peace keeper and not a killer – a Christian soldier, a calming influence.

But sometimes we just don’t find the right words……..

So the disciples took him back to the boat

The disciples marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!

Thank God for Jesus!

Amen

Christmas Day 2023

St John 1 1-14/T Merton 25 12 2023

“In the beginning was the word”

Who wants to be happy? Well it’s Christmas Day so why shouldn’t we be happy?

I am sure some of us are happy in our own way, but equally some of us may not be happy at all, may be quite sad for any number of reasons and are perhaps just pretending to be happy. After all what is happiness?

By putting the baby Jesus in the crib this morning to symbolise his birth I felt privileged to be here but not especially happy, or even joyful as I know his journey would ultimately lead to his death on the cross and great hardship along the way.

This sums up temporal happiness to me as it so often comes with a caveat or condition, a reality that makes it seem selfish or temporary after awhile..something comes along to spoil the Joy.

So let’s look more closely at the baby Jesus in the crib, in a pauper’s manger and at the dying body on the cross above it on the rood screen.

There is some thirty years between the two events and what a journey Jesus went on in that time, from training as a carpenter, the mission years, to challenging the authorities and ultimately establishing Christianity through his death and resurrection.

As Christians today we follow the teachings of Christ and through them we can receive real spiritual happiness and joy – but its a journey. It’s a journey we can do together – we are all going to the same place where we abandon ourselves to the guidance or will of God..why else would you be sat here today?

Abraham is the original example of a man following the will of God and going off on his journey to Orr, our journey is not so dramatic and its not necessarily a physical journey (although some go on pilgrimage) but many of us are on a spiritual journey.

Both journeys are similar, we leave home physically or mentally. Home is a place which is secure and is known. You have your daily routines and life is controlled and budgeted and you leave this to go to a place that is insecure, spiritually you become more secure but that’s not a security you can see or touch.

So why do this, why make this journey at all?

Because God has called us to follow him into the unknown….

In the beginning was the Word, The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

By following God, by seeking and following that light in the darkness which is Christ we leave the place where we are secure and where everything is familiar, we are no longer at home and comfortable.

People will try to persuade you otherwise and tell you to stay at home and stop journeying, to be “Happy.”

But then without God.

We are never fully happy at home, we cannot expect perfect satisfaction of our desires – at home.

But by responding to the call of God we face the paradox of the more we renounce happiness the happier we become.

We allow God to make us happy in proportion with our need to be happy.

Moreover if we stop trying to be happy then we can concentrate on the happiness of our brother or sister.

Ultimately we will stop trying to convince ourselves how to be happy and just leave it to God…

He’s already Happy!

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth and happiness..

Happy Christmas!

Amen

Trinity 16 2023 Luke 7. 11-17

Every one of us in this Church today has experienced death in one form or another, some on active service, accidents, most with the loss of parents or a loved one. No one escapes at all – without exception.

I personally remember being quite afraid of death as a younger man, I didn’t over dwell on it but the concept had to be pushed into the back of my mind as a problem for later life and now I am older I feel a bit more circumspect.

Of course our faith in God helps and supports our fear of death, our fear of the unknown but it is still a taboo subject best avoided as such, even though the inevitability, the certainty stares us in the face.

One thing that is evident is that we are surrounded by permanent objects, this Church, that ocean, this mountain and they become the very essence of life. Essence is the doctrine of creation, something we pollute and abuse at times but it continues far into evolution…. It will be there when we are dead and gone.

I rather unromantically think of essence as God himself. God is essence but this powerful spirit of creation is more than a mountain as God loves creation, God has love for us.

I think God always intended to send his son Jesus Christ to be with us, Jesus is part of creation but through his time in Judea he became part of existence, he existed like we do.

We are born, we live and exist for awhile and die and by Jesus existing with us God shows us that he has love for us – such love that it is beyond comprehension.

And it came to pass the day after, that he went into a city called Nain; and many of his disciples went with him, and much people.

Todays Gospel takes us with Jesus on his travels, on his mission to teach us about the love of God and he has just left Capernaum so presumably the village of Nain is not too far away. Some say near Nazareth, some others say it is just a beautiful village like the villages we live in today. So let’s picture the scene..

Now when he came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.

You can imagine him walking along the track to Nain and at the main gate meeting this crowd and perhaps standing aside in respect. Though the corpse is obviously of a young man, there are no siblings carrying him so he is an only son and alongside the cortege is a women wearing the grieving robe of a widow – she would have been therefore dependent on her son and in desperate straits..

And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not. And he came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.

Now this is a miracle of God, with his son showing love and compassion. At this moment Christ is more than existence or essence he is the embodiment of Godly love – all stood still and in total silence he said “Young man, I say unto thee, Arise.”

And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And he delivered him to his mother.

So Jesus helped this young man out of the open coffin back onto the ground and handed him to his mother…

And there came a fear on all: and they glorified God, saying, That a great prophet is risen up among us; and, That God hath visited his people.

Fear, shock, delight at the boy coming alive but they, the whole crowd realised that God had carried out this miracle, “that God hath visited his people.”

I know my mother in her mid nineties would say that her life is coming to an end and would not like to die a long death…”take me on the EasyJet to Zurich!!

So we are not considering the normal cycle of life and death but we are learning about the love of God which passes all understanding.

The Archbishop said on the radio recently that the resurrection of Christ is the single most important fact in Christianity and if some one found Christs body in a tomb and proved that he was not resurrected then he would take off his collar and go home.

The dead young man in Nain was resurrected in front of a crowd, Jesus was resurrected and Mary Magdeline was the first to see him at the tomb and whether we are resurrected ourselves or not, whether we go to heaven or not we can rest assured that we live and die in the arms of Christ, our sins will be forgiven, we share supper with him and God blesses us in this eternal mystery.

And this rumour of him went forth throughout all Judaea, and throughout all the region round about.

Amen

Trinity 12 2023

St. Mark Ch 7 Verses 31-37

I have often tried to imagine a parallel life, that of living in the modern world, the here and now, with all of its advantages and disadvantages and at the same time that of imagining Jesus himself, as he carries out his work in his short life. With all its teachings, sufferings and challenges in Israel.

I am sure most of society think more about the here and now rather than the events 2000 years ago in Judea;

And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis

Jesus understands that as he goes back home to start preaching to the gentiles, he knows that they also thought more of the here and now than his mission as the Son of God.

It breaks my heart to say that a nurse murdering seven babies in Chester Hospital in our here and now is in essence as evil as anything Jesus faced with Herod at the time of his birth..so when we think of Jesus, are we really just looking at a separate life long ago or are we looking parallel at our own lives today?

At my last service here I talked of being “called” by Christ and when you are called you need to decide what’s important.

That decision can only be made by you. Every person is called separately and must follow alone.

Your relationship with Christ is not public : on the contrary it belongs solely to you and Christ.

Being unwilling to stand alone before Jesus, sheltering behind family, society or even Church is merely a cloak to protect ourselves from making a decision.

It is Christ’s will that he should fix his eyes solely upon you.

So how do you decide to let him into your life?

And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.

Christ is responding to the here and now knowing that this man is ill, infirm and wants his help. He doesn’t need at this point in time a lecture, a court of law, a theological debate, selfish prayers, or a hot shower.

No he’s deaf, and can’t communicate and Jesus is simply asked to put “his hands on him”.

The laying of hands is actually one of the ways we stay with Jesus in the here and now through confirmation and the ordination of priests – these gentiles in Galilee new this instinctively – however they then beseeched him further..

And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue;

And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

This is visceral, deeply physical much more than the laying of hands, in some way repellent if some one else was doing it to us but then Jesus speaks to God – Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.

And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.

Sometimes when we think of Jesus in our here and now it should be a physical feeling, we are after all human and respond to touch – strangely enough we profoundly feel this touch of Christ at funerals and at the internment.

As Churchwarden I will often visit a new grave that evening at sun down just to see that all is well, all is at peace with Christ.

And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;

And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well:

We will never do things so well as Jesus did but let us also never forget at what ever age – to do things well.

When we do something well we are surely keeping Jesus in the here and now.

That is our calling – this is your calling.

Amen

Lent 1 2023

St Matthew Ch 4 hrs 1-11

26 2 23

Get Behind Thee Satan

The Gospel reading from St Matthew today leads me to the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria whether I like it or not.

I don’t want to write a homily about the suffering caused by the earthquake in the Levant any more then I want to speak about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

I am dumbstruck by these events but often when we read scripture and most particularly the Gospels of Jesus Christ you are forced to contemplate the events surrounding you, you are forced to consider the role you are having in life and moreover you are being forced by scripture to take a position on what is right and what is wrong.

I can see sometimes why people prefer to be atheists or agnostics and can simply carry on their way as such.

Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

This is such a gritty thing to do, to fast for 40 days and nights above all in a desert.

As we start lent perhaps we may give up alcohol, chocolates or some such until Easter, but to fast is something completely different.

Five days ago a pastor in Mozambique died after attempting to emulate Jesus, he was diagnosed with acute anaemia and failure of his digestive organs after 25 days.

We know of victims of the earthquake lasting for two or even three weeks before they are no longer searched for.

Let us pray for the soul of pastor Barajah and for all of those who perished in earthquakes and bombed out buildings. Let us pray for the survivors who waited and waited to be rescued…

The dirt, the heat, the cold, the pain, the thirst, the loneliness was what faced Jesus as well, but unlike the victims of war or natural disaster he went voluntarily into the desert knowing that mankind would never learn about the love of God, about the difference between good and evil unless he set foot in the desert.

He had an appointment to keep, he was going to face evil head on, challenge it and overcome it.

And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

In facing the devil or evil, Jesus reminds us that suffering physically can not be remedied superficially, the survivor from the earthquake or bomb site will need much more that a cup of tea and a good meal. Their trauma will most likely be confounded by the loss of their own siblings perhaps lying dead alongside them as they survived. Who could possibly speak to them now but God?

Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

It’s a bit like us leaving this service and walking to a cliff edge and throwing oneself off expecting God to break the fall and return us safely to the top of the cliff.

Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Building high rise buildings that cannot withstand earthquakes or invading a neighbouring country for material gain is simply tempting fate, tempting reprisal – and above all tempting God.

Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Get behind me Satan is the theme for Lent now, but we can’t just leave this work to the armed forces, or the emergency services. All mankind, all woman kind has a responsibility to fight evil and we must do so.

We must pray and do for Good this Lent with feeling and with force.

Take a position…..

So when Easter comes we can shout for joy at the resurrection of Jesus Christ – our exemplar that evil will not succeed.

Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

Amen

Christmas 2022

St John 1 1-14

“In the beginning was the word”

Today can be the happiest day of our lives. Today can be the day we are closer to God than at any another time in our lives. Today is Christmas Day!

So today; let us open our eyes to God and celebrate all that has to do with God.

Let’s put aside our cares for today, discard our worries for today and truly celebrate who we are today!

Now before we go any further I would like you to consider and reflect on the fact that our lives are short, we are mortal and despite all the efforts of mankind to be the contrary, we are just a part of existence.

This photograph of my grand child as a tiny seed of a baby showing his hand, right at the beginning of his life, still in the womb, is someone like us all: who will be born, grow up, grow old and hopefully die old and happy. This process is the process of existence.

When you leave this Church today look to your West at the Atlantic Ocean and to your East to the hills of Morwenstow. They will still be there when we are long gone and when my grandchild is long gone. This is what God has created and this is the process of Essence as distinct from the Existence of life. Another word for Essence is God, and God and the essence of God will continue longer than our existence in what ever form it takes.

We can all recognise this fact… if we want eternal life as Jesus promises us then we must seek it.

So let’s go now to our Gospel reading from St John which is the profoundest and must complete part of Scripture ever written….

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.

All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

The word, or scripture of our Bible testaments both old and new, write about how God created the earth and this is described particularly in the first chapter of the book of Genesis.

Adam and Eve were initially the perfect creation of God, created with great love, in the so called image of God or the way of God, but as they moved away from God we saw humanity become more and more sinful and evil.

God was not able to have people in his image anymore because of this evil; so in order to reengage with mankind He became man himself, the greatest act of love ever seen or conceived of – and Jesus Christ was born on Christmas Day – today. The Son of God was born. God became incarnate and Essence became Existence!

And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

John the Baptist — came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

Jesus was not born in a palace but a cow shed – they are fit for animals – dirty, cold and without any facilities to give human birth. What a task Mary would have had during that birth, her first born with all the pain and worry that that entails…

But here now was Jesus, the tiny baby in the small manger surrounded by the poorest people but surrounded by love and joy at this miraculous happening.

I am sure God always intended for Jesus to come to us as God is the very essence of love. Essence or God would never have not wanted existence to know of this love.

So the birth of Jesus was not just for putting existence on the right track, not just for stopping the evil of mankind, not just to provide forgiveness by God….

But through the love of Jesus Christ it was to give us the happiest days of our existence..

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God,

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, full of grace and truth.

From this grace and truth comes the promise of the most beautiful gift; the gift of the love of God for this day and forever more.

Happy Christmas Today!

Amen

St Matthew Chapter 9 verse 1- 8

Trinity 19 Healing and Forgiveness

“And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.”

What an evocative image of the young Jesus going on board Peter’s fishing boat and setting off home on a voyage across the Sea of Galilee back to the ship’s home port of Capernaum.

I am not sure what sort of mood He was in. On the outward journey there had been a great storm, and the boat was waterlogged and nearly sank before he rebuked the winds and sea. Then sea sick and soaked they landed at the small remote port of Gergesenes and he cast out two devils from two madmen and these devils infested a herd of pigs which threw themselves off the cliffs. The local population then, not surprisingly asked them to leave.

Peter and the crew had obviously sorted out the boat after the storm and it was ready for sea, the weather had improved so the sun was shining again and I would imagine Jesus was also glad to be going home to his own people, rather than to stay over with these hostile villagers who would certainly remember his visit for all time.

His fame was growing significantly and after the long Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had got his message across and reinforced his mission with the prolific healing of the sick, including Peter’s mother. So returning to Capernaum he was returning to his “home city” in all senses of the word.

Back on dry land at Peter’s house….

And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.

Palsy was a body wasting and debilitating disease so the sufferer must have had some really good friends in order to drag him off to Jesus and Jesus happily blessed him by forgiving him his sins.

At this point my daughter switches off Christianity as there is an assumption that we all sin all the time and only the Church can forgive. I am not sure that I have ever reacted to her but I understand her view point.

Jesus is forgiving rather than healing but does in fact heal the man with palsy at the same time. Here forgiving and healing merge.

I have said before that the forgiveness of God is “unconditional” as is His love so I am incredibly grateful for both – I need it even if other’s don’t..its personal.

For example I was thinking about some sins I have committed when I was younger and needed to ask God for forgiveness. We don’t take confession as the Catholics do directly to a Priest, so we have to pray directly to God and sometimes this process seems intangible or unsatisfactory.

However it came to me in my prayer a much forgotten event that happened in my 40s when I pulled a dying man out of Lake Geneva, I think he was possibly trying to commit suicide in the ice covered water so he wasn’t particularly thankful, but God reminded me of this good deed at a time I was asking for forgiveness and this reassured me and was healing for me.

And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

Now this question is for all of us whether we believe we sin or not..”Wherefore think you evil in your hearts?”

Why are you thinking the worst or plotting to destroy me? We are back to binary faith that of Good and that of Evil.

We talked last month about the evil of the Russian Regime in Ukraine and we all know that this type of warfare is evil and that it is not right. But what do we mean by being good? Or doing good?

The Cof E in its 39 articles of faith describes the doing of good works as follows:

“Albeit that Good works, which are the fruits of Faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God’s judgement; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith; insomuch by them a lively Faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by the fruit”.

So I am not sure that saving the man’s life in Geneva atones for past sins in the eyes of the Church — but it helps to do good as this Article states.

It also helps to give to charity, and the biggest “giving event” of most of our lives is the payment of tax to His Majesty’s Revenue. Then in theory our taxes are spread around for the infrastructure, control and use of society including the poor. If we don’t like how this money is used then we can vote every 4 years to potentially improve the situation. How ever flawed and embarrassing our politicians become we have a strong democracy which mediates.

However not all problems are solved by standing back and giving money to Government or Charity. What Jesus is teaching is that we should clear our hearts of evil intent and be good, where we have made mistakes seek forgiveness and we will be healed …

For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?

But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house.

So let us this coming week, if there is evil in our hearts however petty take that evil out of our hearts, and find someone who needs a kind gesture of help be it materially or just support..surprise them with our goodness.

But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

Amen

St Matthew Ch 6 vrs 24end

Money

25 9 22

I don’t know if anyone would remember my homily of last month, it seems ages ago with the recent very sudden death of our late Sovereign Queen Elizabeth and the great ceremonies that followed, stopping the country in its track both with grief and celebration of Her long reign. I feel a real sense of relief and empowerment as the Queen’s baton was passed on to King Charles with such grace and splendour. I think it bodes very well for our United Kingdom.

Well, last month I spoke about “forgiveness” and finished saying

“God’s forgiveness is unconditional so that road, when we forgive, will lead us to the freedom that Jesus wants for us”.

Today we are talking about money and our love of it! It is definitely one of the most worshipped aspect of our lives and causes enormous world tension as poverty fights against riches and the rich get richer and autocracies more arrogant as there wealth increases.

It is also the most difficult task possible for the victims to show forgiveness when abused by wealth. But money itself is not evil its the love of it that’s the problem. Too much easily leads to corruption of power and then the trouble starts.

These are the recent words of President Volodomir Zelenski to President Vladimir Putin probably the richest man in the world…

“Read my lips Vladimir: Without gas or without you? Without you. Without light or without you? Without you. Without water or without you? Without you. Without food or without you? Without you.

Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst are not as scary and deadly for us as your friendship and brotherhood-

But history will put everything in its place. And we will be with gas, light, water and food…and without you.”

Obviously in this war the Ukrainian’s, who are defending their country, will need to have reconciliation before the process of forgiveness can start and the Russians will need to withdraw from Ukraine for this process to be successful.

By doing so the Russians will have less potential resources, less iron ore, less grain, less power generation, less ports and less financial power. But of these things they have sufficient do they not? Or does Putin simply worship such things?

In our Gospel reading Jesus tackles this head on..

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.

Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

This is one of the clearest statements in the Bible, there is no caveat or threat or carrot it is crystal clear “You can not serve God and money”.

It does not say that money is in itself a bad thing or sinful. In fact without money to purchase the weaponry to fight Putin then Ukraine would have fallen by now. America and the NATO allies have sent over a 100 billion dollars to Ukraine, and the UK and EU are spending the best part of over 200 billion pounds to support their citizens in paying energy bills which have risen as a consequence of the war.

Money as a tool is a Godsend, but what Jesus is warning us of is, don’t serve money, treat it like a raw material; like gas, water, light and food and not “the something” to be worshipped.

The real God that we worship is our God of creation – so let’s put the taste of corruption away to one side and listen again to these beautiful words..

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

In addition to the moral teaching, these words give a beautiful and loving picture of the natural world. What God loves has been put into our power to protect or destroy.

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Imagine the restrictions we are putting on ourselves by continual worry, by not forgiving and not having the faith to give our lives into the hands of God.

God is not asking us to be careless but to be carefree and then history will put everything in its place – we will be with gas, light, water, food and money…and “With God”.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

Amen

St Luke Ch 18 vrs 9-14

Forgiveness

28 8 22

Jesus throughout his ministry, and even as he died in agony on the cross, showed forgiveness.

We learn through his teachings about the love of God, but we can struggle with the forgiveness of God.

When we look at forgiveness we often tend to think of the evil or sin committed, rather than the effect of being forgiven.

For example Mary Magdalen was seen by the Church until recently as a prostitute, sinful, dirty, corrupt and she may have been for all we know, but Jesus forgave her and cleansed her of the seven demons.

So she no longer possessed — pride, lust, envy, anger, covetousness, gluttony and sloth — If her purification is viewed this way then it makes her the most thoroughly sanctified person in Jesus’ group, being completely cleansed of sin.

Once forgiven she could truly see the spiritual truth as well as the transcendent beauty of Jesus Christs teachings.

Imagine that. Imagine Christ doing that to us.

Such was the effect of her forgiveness that she became the “Apostle of the Apostles” and at the site of his resurrection she alone was looked upon by Christ and because of her purified state she was the only one who can deliver Christ’s message; “Go to my brethren and tell them I ascend to my Father and your Father and my God and your God”

Such is the power of love and forgiveness….

So what of this can we see in the parable of our Gospel reading?

9 Jesus spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

There is no love or forgiveness here, the Pharisee plays to the crowd but is insincere

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

By contrast the publican is humble and begs for forgiveness.

God’s forgiveness of us is unconditional, whether you are a prostitute, Priest or publican it is never forced on us. It is given not earned.

In order to accept God’s forgiveness we need to express sorrow like the publican. But we struggle with forgiveness both in community and family.

I don’t think any of us have the right to tell another to forgive if we don’t know what they have been through, and we could increase their guilt by forcing on them an impossible burden of forgiving.

Sometimes reconciliation proceeds forgiveness, but it’s possible to forgive without reconciliation, however if we do not forgive somebody, or are unable to, then in practice they retain a power over us.

So the first step might be at least not wishing vengeance on people like the pharisee does.

The need for forgiveness will come along in its own time, but at some point we should as Christians start along the road to forgiveness and it can be a very long road especially if the person who has hurt us is not sorry.

God’s forgiveness is unconditional so that road, when we forgive, will lead us to the freedom that Jesus wants for us.

The humility of the publican compared to the Pharisee is the example of the parable which will lead us to love and forgiveness..

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Amen

St Luke Ch 14 vas 16-John Ch 16 vrse 23-33

Do you ever go swimming in the sea?

When I do, I tend to go down to Duckpool at low or slack water as it is so beautiful.

But if you don’t go often it takes awhile to get used to the sea temperature so I’ve come up with a little trick.

I say Psalm 23… I undress and walk down to the waters edge with

The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want, he maketh me lie down in green pasturers, he leadeth me beside the still waters — my toes are in the water now – he restoreth my soul — knees – he leads me in the paths of righteousness..Ye though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death… starting with true grit to get the stomach wet now – I shall fear no evil, for thy rod and thy staff shall defend me…arms and upper body and by this time I am out in the surf – He layeth a table before me in the presence of my enemies – wait for it…He annointeth my head with oil – deep plunge and under water. Imagine the joy as I finish with My cup runneth over surely goodness and mercy shall be with me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!

These beautiful words spoken in the most beautiful place are part of my life the same as bird song is or eating porridge. I feel I own them, they are mine and I can say them when I want.

But there was a time when these words would have been denied me by the Church of Rome, they were not in my language, only if I had learnt latin or Greek first then I would obtain a Bible and even then only if I was a rank of Bishop or above.

Last week I spent a couple of days in East Germany and whilst travelling continued to read about Luther from a great book by Eric Metaxas.

Luther had grievous failings and contradictions but by translating the Bible and getting it printed off for general consumption, about 400 years ago, all people could start to read it for the first time not just Bishops.

Alternative churches to the Roman Catholic Church were established, the reformation spread from Germany to England and then with the Pilgrim fathers to America and across the world. At that time a corrupt and feudal Church of Rome was tempered and had to be rebuilt; no longer selling indulgences to the rich to avoid hell.

So let us look at the Gospel reading in this light..Jesus is preaching to the Pharisees and a large crowd..

Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.

This is God who has not just prepared a supper but actually created it – its cooked and ready

And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.

What strange excuses they are making

So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

This still was not enough to fill the dining room

And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

And here’s the sting..

For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

Tough but a generous and loving God, who feeds us with life itself, He invites us to eat or partake in prayer, whom we so often ignore and find excuses to occupy ourselves in other superficial tasks.

Of course this message is not particularly for Church goers and congregations as such, but it is a message for the whole population, there is no one exempt from the love of God, there is no hierarchy; as Luther finally got established in 1517.

We all make excuses sometimes in our faith and with our faith, despite today having complete and untethered freedom to worship God;

Do we not?

We often prefer a heated swimming pool and a chlorified changing room to the sea at Duckpool singing Psalm 23 at the top of our voices — but how glorious to be invited to Gods table in God’s ocean when it’s a gift, a gift of life given to us by Him.

Amen

John Ch 4 Verses 46 – 54 23 October 2021

Faith and the Nobleman

Let us put the vision or a picture of Jesus in our minds as he travels from Jerusalem back up to the sea of Galilee.

He is in his early thirties, so think of a young middle eastern man, not necessarily classically good looking but a man with charisma, a certain charm and with a God given determination evident at first sight.

He has recently caused havoc in the temple in Jerusalem and gathered a large following of people of all faiths.

His disciples have baptised these followers, as they worked with John the Baptist to establish what has become today the Christian faith.

So with this fame, notoriety and following, he walks back to Galilee, stopping on the way at Jacob’s well in Samaria for water when the others go on to get food.

At the well Jesus has a chat with a Samaritan girl — she says “ Sir you have nothing to draw water with”….. they talk together and if you read this passage in St John’s Gospel then you cannot fail to visualise Jesus Christ, not just as the Son of God but as an itinerant thirty year old man.

Hold this vision of Jesus with you, its yours, keep it.

The gospel passage today has moved Jesus on from Samaria to the seaside town of Capernaum and its where Jesus performs his second miracle. Now, he’s back on home territory where he has been preaching in the synagogues since he was a teenager and working as a carpenter.

In the little port are the fishing boats, wooden boats which Jesus as a carpenter would be familiar with and have worked on their intricate construction. To build them involves many skills from carving the stem at the bow, the keel, the hog – all attached to a transom at the stern to form a backbone from which you can plank around frames or timbers which are strengthened with floors and knees.

The builder of such boats would have a deep and enduring friendship with the fisherman who sail in them. They would respect deeply his craftsmanship as they spend more time in the vessels, on the Sea of Galilee then in their homes.

The main disciples’ of Jesus came from these fisherman of Galilee – and we can easily picture them now together, mending nets, on their boats or at sea…talking around camp fires on the beach.

But the man approaching Jesus is no fisherman but a Nobleman..

There was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum.

When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judaea into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death.

Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.

This is the sort of thing you would whisper under your breath but Jesus tells it to his face, it’s as if he was irritated at the nobleman for expecting him to be at his beck and call.

I think Jesus behaves differently at home on the Sea of Galilee then in the City; — but then what the man is saying to him comes across…

The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die.

Jesus most have looked the nobleman in the eye and seen something so..

Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way.

Why did the man believe? Why did he accept a few words rather than a visit from Jesus – what on earth is going on?

Well it’s this question of faith again. Do we believe in God or not?

The Nobleman, who’s boy is dying does believe in God. He does not ask questions, he does have faith.

And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth.

Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.

So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed.

This miracle teaches us to stop asking questions every time we think about God.

Today we are programmed to do otherwise by a society dominated with its news and social media questions…fuelling anxiety continually.

So press that button and switch it off, and simply transform your questions into faith, a simple faith in Jesus.

In fact if we constantly question our faith then we will lose sight of the vision of Jesus at work within us, lose sight of love, our hearts, our souls.

So like the nobleman hold this vision of Jesus in Galilee with you, its yours, keep it and never let it go.

Amen

WhitSunday 2021

St. John Ch 14 Verses 15-31

If ye love me, keep my commandments.

And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;

Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

I will not leave you comfortless

We are still in the upper room of the last supper with Jesus talking to his disciples, he knows he is to die but they do not. So his words now summarise his ministry, his relationship to God – the Father and to what will follow him.

The “Comforter” is the Holy Spirit or the Holy Ghost. That essence of God that is with us every day of our lives.

How has the Holy Spirit “Comforted” you? How do you recognise its presence?

Jesus goes on to say;

I will come to you.

Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.

At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him.

There lies the clue to my questions –

“he that hath my commandments” will certainly recognise the Holy Spirit through their pleasure in life, that happiness and Joy of being with Jesus and living out his commandments – of loving God and our neighbours.

To do those things does not make us sad but on the contrary it brings us closer to God and Christ.

This feeling of being close to God does not come from historical tracts, or institutions that can become self serving, or social media — but from our hearts.

The Holy Spirit touches our hearts with the presence of God and nurturers our faith in God by so doing.

Our faith is in a creator God, who cannot be with us physically at the coffee table as such, but is with us through out our lives.

God is with us through our prayers, actions and love, and in this respect God is the Holy Spirit.

Jesus goes on to teach us..

But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Therefore the Holy Spirit is not just there to listen to us, as we pray, sing, dance, study, care, work, love and live.

It is also there to teach us the Gospels and teachings of Jesus Christ. How often have you randomly been inspired to pick up the Bible or to spontaneously enter a Church and just pray?

So how has the Holy Spirit “Comforted” you?

I find comfort from the Holy Spirit in prayer but in an haphazard way. Not following dogmatically a life of prayer – quite the opposite I do not follow a life of prayer. This enables me to pray constantly, whenever I want and wherever I want.

Formal prayer is part of our liturgy, but it would be hypocritical if we only prayed in Church. It would be as if the Holy Spirit only dwells in Church and not with mankind in the outside world.

The constant teaching and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives leads us to live well – both with ourselves and with our neighbours.

But how many times has the unexpected happened which you could not have imagined would happen. But it has! (My wife calls these events the “action of the Celestial Secretariat!) or the Holy Spirit.

I struggle to give you examples, as often the Holy Spirit touches us in very deep ways and revolves around a private relationship or faith we have with God and I don’t want to interject publicly as you think about how the Holy Spirit touches you.

However perhaps the pandemic is public enough to consider as an example of the work of the Holy Spirit.

Over a year ago we were locked down with a virus that we did not know its full lethal potential, and we had no real ability to prevent its continual spread.

We all hoped and were told that a vaccine might be developed and that a process, that would normally take up to 5 years, could be done by Christmas and in under a year possibly.

It wasn’t until November last year that the vaccine possibility became a reality.

Imagine how are life would be today without it?

The vaccine is not an act of God like a thunder storm or a bolt of lightening from the Old Testament but it is without doubt an act of creation for mankind , created by scientists, to be given to all people, to all neighbours and this act of love has been enabled by the Holy Spirit the Comforter of mankind.

I recognised the presence of the Holy Spirit as I was vaccinated.

You do not need to recognise the presence of the Holy Spirit to receive a vaccination but we can and do hold in our prayers those millions of people who suffer from Covid and await the vaccination.

As Jesus went to the Cross to die for us and to be resurrected he knew that the Holy Spirit would remain in His place. Jesus finishes:

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Amen