Sermon on Hope

 A sermon preached in St. Peter's Carrigrohane and Church of the resurrection Blarney on Sunday 28th October 2018. 

Readings  

Job 42: 1–6, 10–17 or Jeremiah 31:7–9

Psalm 34: 1–8, 19–22 or Psalm 126

Hebrews 7: 23–28

Mark 10: 46–52

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in thy sight O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen

We’re now 5 Sundays away from Advent – and the church calendar changes and tries to prepare us for the preparation for advent

Hope is my theme today - It’s one that has been taken from our OT reading and Psalm

See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,

   and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,

among them the blind and the lame,

   those with child and those in labour, together;

   a great company, they shall return here.

and

May those who sow in tears

   reap with shouts of joy.

⁶ Those who go out weeping,

   bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

   carrying their sheaves.

As Christians … hope should be our bread and butter - the things that sustain us when times are tough and when there seems to be no way forward.

Time and again in Scripture we see dire situations - being sustained by hope, by vision.

Psalm 42:5

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
   and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
   my help and my God.

Hope is one of those words that roll off our tongue without too much thinking .. I hope its going to be dry today, I hope things will go well with the examination …

Michael D Higgins in his speech yesterday mentioned The people have made a choice as to which version of Irishness they want reflected at home and abroad. It is the making of hope they wish to share

I hope, you hope, we hope but what do we hope for?

One definition of which I came across … Hope is a vision for better days that changes us in the present.

This vision for better days that changes us in the present is useful

so for example a student might say I hope for an A in my exam (future vision) … but that student can change what they are doing in the present in order to work towards their hope.

Of course not everything is within their control but there is a vision of something better.

The hope we have in God is of course similar to this but on a different scale

Our hope in God is that he will see us through the tough times but also our ultimate hope that we will be with him forever - where there will be no more pain, sickness or death. 

This hope is peppered right throughout scripture - The Israelites dared to have hope, there’s an audaciousness to the hope we have in God- Its this hope that sustains through dry times, its this hope that paints a picture of a better way when things are going tough

Its a hope that actually things can be turned around, that different decisions can be made, that there is a way around an obstacle, that grief can lift, that life is indeed worth living.

Perhaps sometimes we feel life is out of sync somehow … perhaps things are getting us down - have you ever thought about writing your hopes down … your hopes for the future … and also wondering what you need to change in order for you to get closer to those hopes

Many of the things we hope for might be in our grasp if we’re willing to work towards them.

Ultimately we’re called to hope in God … How do we do that? … well we take time to cultivate that relationship with him, to get close to the father, to take time out with him

Tears to joy

Going out Weeping, bearing seed for sowing

Returning home with shouts of Joy carring their sheaves

Ultimately our hope is summed up in Hebrews 7

Jesus holds his priesthood permanently, because he continues forever consequently he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him.

The hope in this is clearly seen in the priesthood of Jesus … and we’re included those who approach God through him.

The writer of the epistle to the Hebrews talks about confidence in the Hope we have – they go to great lengths in outlining why we should have confidence in Christ.

It doesn’t say that …he is able for all time to save those who approach God through him.

This is not a might or maybe thing … it is full confidence.

This is challenging but it gets to the very heart of hope …

(Bible Study Story)

When we look back at Genesis … we see the snake in the garden articulating something which happens time after time … did God really say …

That temptation can undermine our understanding of the most fundamental relationship between youself, myself and God.

Did God really say … is it really that easy.

And the answer is yes it is

Trust in God

Allow the Holy Spirit to work stuff out in your life

But there’s also the confidence to say actually my Hope is in him alone

This is not always that easy in our culture … where there is the issue of self-reliance, self confidence. Self

Of course all of these things are important but God reliance, God Confidence

Reliance upon his promises, his actions is something we need to talk more about.

I just wonder as we prepare for Advent this year – are we prepared to talk more about his plans, his purposes, his kingdom and see where it might take us to in our faith.

This might mean a few things … for us as we think of the implications of our hope – I would love to suggest 3 things for us to think about.

With our hope secure:

Trusting God for all things – deepening our trust … thinking about areas in our lives where we aren’t that great in trust him – and placing that under his regime

Treasuring  the things of his kingdom – where our treasure is there our heart is -

Tending to our soul – How is your soul? –a strange question maybe … but it is an important one -  in this time on the run up to Christmas where is your relationship with the Lord?, how is your inner life? Your quiet times, your listening times? The time you need to take with God?

There’s no better time than now

There’s a prayer that is stuck to my wall in my study

Yes we are still fools

Yes we are still dreamers

Who else would keep looking at desolation and in the end only responded by imagining beauty?

Who else would stay in manure and wait for sees because they remembered a rumor of fruit

Who else would reach right into the deepest pain and fear and try to love there even continue to try when hope dies and loves flame flickers in the cold wind of selfishness?

May we be saved all the more from the false sanity of comfort and numbly knowing all the answers

May our questions old and new be transfigured into the kernels of graced dreams and grow our deep rooted imagination of creation healed and whole

And in our becoming begun again

May the ancient first fruit of inspired hope nurture enough new foolish wisdom to go on living the love that makes no sense.

My prayer for all of us is that we would understand the inspired hope that we have and discover how amazingly wide, high and deep the love of God is and rest in that love and share the reason for the hope that is within us with others this day and forever more.

Amen.

a wise heart - Sermon Sunday

Readings

Amos 5:6-7,10-15
Psalm 90: 12-17
Hebrews 4: 12–16


Mark 10: 17–31

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always be acceptable in thy Sight O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen

The Psalmist wites

So teach us to count our days
   that we may gain a wise heart.

The New Living Version translates it as
“Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”

This captures the meaning of the original Hebrew, though not its poetically


Today I would love us to do a bit of thinking … maybe a bit deeper thinking than I would usually do in a sermon - perhaps its life stage I’m at at the moment and thinking of the future - I’m wondering quite a bit about wisdom and people I see as wise - people who are living as I would like to live.  People who are running the race a bit further ahead than I am … people who are an example of faith and life … I want to know how they have become wise and have kept running in the life of faith … despite all their difficulties, despite illness, grief - They haven’t let go of God’s promises.

 I wonder who that is for you?

I have been very impacted recently by the emphasis upon wisdom in Scripture … as defined as

The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement;

What makes people wise ?
 - Experience Good and Bad
knowledge … they know stuff

but beyond that … they have good judgement … they are able to make good decisions

As I look around … in politics national and international, in media, … there are lots of people with experience and knowledge but sometimes I question whether or not the good judgement is there.

As a member of the clergy I go to many funerals of family members and friends, of people I know well and those not so but each funeral … somewhere in the service speaks of the persons relationships, their achievements and their personality.

Each of these experiences I’m reminded very much of these verses … the brevity of life … but also the gift of the days we’ve been given and how we’re called to live each day with wisdom … growing in experience, knowledge and good judgement.
Of course this is practical stuff …

right from we were kids we’ve been growing in this wisdom stuff
   
Those of you who are parents … saw how your kids grew up … with wisdom

Those of you who think back 10, 15, 20 years can see things that you used to do that you’ve now left behind … as you have grown in wisdom.

This growth might have been caused by someone challenging you on something, it may have been you realising the consequences of your actions, or it may have been a moment of revelation that you knew you had to change.

In all of this I just wonder about certain things to help our growth in wisdom

Who do we have to speak wise words into our hearts? - to challenge us
Where do we have time in our schedules to allow the ancient words of scripture into our routine ?
How do we respond when wise words are indeed spoken ?

In the Gospel reading today we hear sharp words from Jesus, challenging words

The rich young man … heard God’s word directly from him and went away sad … for he had great wealth

The disciples heard the same words and they were encouraged.

We’re reminded that we were created to love one another, but also to Love God

In doing this there is a question of priorities … and on the whole we’re not too keen on having our priorities re-ordered but sometimes  we just need to be stopped in our tracks say actually what is the most important thing.

The only thing that does last is our relationship with God … and other things come in under that

Our finances
Our Families
Our work commitments
Our friendships
Our values
Our political views 

This is not a popular thing to say - but it is the one thing that will last

As we count our days … as we are reminded in today's readings … thats the challenge of Scripture

How do we respond to this … we can walk away sad and think of all of the things we might loose or we could see how amazing an adventure, freeing and wise this decision could be.

Sometimes we need to be prompted to do the things we might know we need to do - to have the loving conversation.

Yesterday, I just watched the latest movie to hit the cinema screens, First Man, the back story to the moon landings, where the story followed the Family of Neil Armstrong. In the scene the night before  blast of Apollo 11 … Neil is busily filling his time packing his bags and his brief case and his wife challenges him that he needs to sit down with his kids and talk - he might not be coming back … there is risk, incredible risk to his own life … he needs to be there for them … he doesn’t know how to do it, but we know from previous scenes in the film that he is a loving dad & husband but he’s dealing a lot with grief from the death of a previous child.

As I reflected upon this scene last night … there was an important thing that combined with the theme of this sermon today …

I don’t think any of us today are going to be going to  moon or to Mars today, going to be doing anything overly risky - but we do know that there might be things we are putting off either because we know they are difficult but they are right and we know we need to

say sorry,
say how much we love,
say that we forgive,
say that we set the person free
write the note
Give grace to the person who doesn’t deserve it.

May we have the wisdom to do that life giving action … why … because we recognise that we have to count our days



I want to pick up these questions again


Where do we welcome wise words spoken? … from whom? … have we spent time with that person?
What priorities do we need to change in our lives?  … have we taken time to think about those priorities in the past while?
How do we respond to when words are indeed spoken ? … whats our attitude

May we enjoy life … kingdom centred life.

Amen.

A Tuesday Thought ... Thinking about Margins

 This is the ponderings which have come together from a number of sources but which seem to have come semi coherently as I ponder role as leader and also a member of various groups and teams... 

 

On somedays your head is wrecked by thoughts which have the Potential to change how you think about the world … surprising thoughts … that might be just chains of randomness but then again they might just have the potency to change how things are done eternally.

Power in Church (universal), in organisations, in churches (churches), in the community, in the nation is  usually held at the top, in the centre, in the corridors, at the ballot box … sometimes we find ourselves there in the centre, in the room - the people there to make the decisions, to set the vision, to vote. Empowered, heard and responded to.

At other times, well its different, isn’t it? - the decision was made without us, we were silenced, neglected, dis-empowered, marginalised, criticised, misunderstood, overlooked …

In any process … (and it seems to be there are indeed many, countless processes working at the same time) there is a need for those at the top, in the know, in those corridors to PAUSE and THINK … before the decisions are made to hear and include, to empower and understand the ones on the margins of the decisions

The ones on the margins might actually have some answers, insights, possibilities of creative solutions to the problems faced.

It might take time and effort to get these things done but maybe, just maybe there is possibilities for new creative solutions to the intransigence of the past, understanding of the present and then perhaps a new future opens up as a vista before us.

Can those of us in power (no matter how much or little that may be )… and lets be real here … this ain’t easy - let a bit of it go - to include, to reach out, to go beyond the superficial, to hear the stories, to chose not to put ourselves first, to not have our way

When we win, are we prepared to find whats good with the losers
When we are in power, are we prepared to go to the disempowered and discover what life is like for them?

and then again its not about them and us … there is a common humanity that needs love, that needs to be empowered together.

in any process, in any group the stories from the margins needs to be heard

In our world, in my world, where are the margins I need to listen to ?

In my world, where am I on the margins? where could my voice need to be heard?

I used the words ‘potential to change’ … because potential it is … It won’t happen if we wont take the risk.

We need to call out to those whose voice ain’t heard, ain’t represented, ain’t given the opportunity to make a difference.

I suppose there is a bit of radicalness within this that has the potential to change the systems, to set the vision but there might just be a bit of gospel for those on the margins in it … who knows ?? 



There's issues here of conflict resolution, Reconciliation, Wisdom ...

Words and Wisdom

A sermon preached in St. Peter's Church Carrigrohane on Sunday 14th September 2018 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be now and always acceptable in thy sight O lord our strength and our redeemer.

Our world is full of words … many many words … I was doing a bit of thinking about this sermon on the way up to a meeting in Dublin in the Train … I was literally surrounded by words

people chittering behind and in front of me … the tannoy system… the light display telling me where we were heading to … I had papers to read and emails to send … lots and lots of words

You might have lots and lots of words around you to … letters, advertisements, TV, Radio

Many words simply as a mother might say … ‘go in one ear and out another’ … we ignore them and their meaning

but other words stick … either for good or Ill and its these words I want to talk about this morning, these remaining words ... the ones that have power

The ones that have have stuck in our minds

Perhaps with the power that they were said, perhaps the heart behind them (again for good or ill)

• The school bully whose words have lasted years and decades longer than the milliseconds that the vibrations took to fly from their mouth to our ear
• The critical friend who said something we were willing to hear which had a hint of truth which enabled change
• The preacher who spoke a word in the right season which prompted us to think differnently
• The encouragement of a friend at the right time allowed us to assess our situation differently and built us up.
• The comfortable words from loved ones in difficult days.

This morning I would love to use my words to help you think about your words … James tells us that they have the power to change generations. I wonder if you have thought of your words like this?

As I speak about words today …
I wonder what words have inspired you?
what words have built you up?
What words spoken by someone have given you reassurance
What words from music or poetry, from public speech have you heard that you hold on to?

It is worth every so often pondering upon our personal vocabulary, our thoughts about individuals and about situations and thinking about how we can use our words differently.

Words are important

The prayer at the end of the psalm today is really important to me … Its the prayer that appears at the top of all my sermon scripts

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be now and always acceptable in thy sight O lord our strength and our redeemer.

I would love you to join with me as we ponder for a few moments …

As I ponder this poetic prayer from the psalms I wonder what words are acceptable in the Lords Sight? … and what words aren’t ?

what meditations of my heart are acceptable in the Lords sight? … and what meditations aren’t?

In other words

What needs to change in our thought patterns, what situations do we just need to hand over to God to deal with …
There are no easy ways to do this … we know this through life and work … through anyone we have a relationship …whether it be family, friendship, work or community there are a whole host of  issues which pop up from time to time.

We are not responsible for other people’s actions or thought patterns … but we are responsible for our own

We are not responsible for other peoples words … but we are responsible for our own … we are responsible to ourselves yes … but also we are responsible for our stewardship of our words.

In the kingdom of God … we are called to be encouragers, to build each other up, to look out for the best in one another.


In our Gospel reading today … we are reminded of a few things ... that words spoken as questions can be used to challenge, to teach and to promote understanding


And that within the Kingdom of God words, Jesus’ words are important … particularly for life.


So what are we going to do about these words? 

In a world where there are millions of words spoken, typed, written … we need to be discerning what words we are listening to and also what words we are going to use

We also need to not only look at the words we produce but the thought patterns behind those words.

If words can stay with a person for life we need to be very wary of those words we say, those words that we let utter from our mouth.

• In our life … in this our community… in our work
• How do we love our neighbour as ourself …
• This is our discipleship … in our ordinary everyday lives
• What words do you need to retract
• What words do you need to speak to build up to encourage
• What forest fires of words do you need to extinguish

what do you need to return to to say sorry for … to God, to others where you know your words have been unwise, foolish, hurtful

Lets be mindful of how our words have the potential to build up and also to tear down.

Wisdom

A sermon preached at Holy Communion in Blarney Church on Sunday 9th September 2018 

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable O Lord my strength and my redeemer. Amen

This morning I want to talk about something that is more precious than rubies, better than gold, better than weapons of war and - is the principal thing

What is it? Wisdom

Wisdom … this morning I would like to talk about something that is so important that King Solomon said  (Proverbs 4:7), "Wisdom is the principal thing." That means it is the number one priority.

He also  said (Ecclesiastes 9:Z8), "Wisdom is better than weapons of war.”

(Ecclesiastes 9:16), "Wisdom is better than strength." Proverbs 16:16 ... "Wisdom is better than gold.”

Job said (28:28), "The price of wisdom is above rubies." (Solomon said the same thing.)

James begins his letter  by dealing with wisdom  raising this question, Do you lack wisdom … then ask

He then goes on to explain how to use this wisdom
v 19 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.

James at the end of the letter v3:13  says, "Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.”

I wonder how your growth in wisdom is going … have you become wiser this year than you were this time last year?





Dictionary Definition : wisdom: the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement;

Within the Bible there is the wisdom literature that can be found in Proverbs like we read this morning

but running through scripture is the wisdom of God - we see it in James and we see it in Jesus’ words in the gospel today - carefully chosen words and action together - taking information and knowledge about people and events but choosing the response most productive.

The Interaction in the gospel today is one of those that we dont know the intonation with which Jesus made it or the tongue in cheek the banter was happening but there is wise words from both the woman and Jesus.

It has been remarkable in my own journey of faith of the women and men who have had most impact upon me personally and pastorally have been people who looking back have had the wisdom to listen both to what I was saying and not saying as well as to God and then more than that of speaking out few words but the words that they did say had greater impact.

The wise and the unwise is a theme that runs throughout scripture and comes down to the decisions we make - it can be easily illustrated by this game all of which as adults we could do with our eyes closed…

Situation List
1. Your friend dares you to jump out of the loft of a barn. You refuse to do it.
2. Your parents told you not to cross the busy highway at the end of your neighborhood. When your friends call  you a baby for not coming across with
them, you turn your bike around and go home.
3. You are jumping on your trampoline. You see lightning. You keep jumping
thinking that God will protect you.
4. Your friend asks to copy your homework.  You let him since he is your best  friend and you should help friends in need.
5. You love chocolate chip cookies. You eat 10 cookies since you love them so
much.
6. You are at a friend’s house. The friend shows you his father’s gun. You
immediately find his parents and tell them.
7. You see your two-year-old brother  playing with a knife. You don’t say  anything, he’ll learn if he gets cut.
8. Your Mom tells you to wear a jacket to the bus stop because it is cold. You
ignore her since you know that it will get warm later in the day.
9. You are in the store and nobody is looking. You really want a pack of gum
but don’t have enough money. Your friend tells you to take it. You walk
away.
10. You spill red juice on the new carpet in your sister’s room. When your Dad
finds it, your sister gets in trouble. You stay quiet.

You get the idea - its quite easy to be wise in these circumstances  but what about in dealing with close family or work colleagues in ethical dilemmas, in life circumstances where there is risk, where our decisions might need a good dose of wisdom.

This framework for decision making, for our ethical compass is here in the pages of scripture - people may argue over some of the finer points of it but which it comes to wisdom or foolishness we know that we sometime waver between the two - when we do make foolish decisions we know that there is time to come back, to make amends and to approach the situation again with renewed wisdom

During the Summer - I had the opportunity to go to a Planetarium in Schull … it was an ‘interesting experience’ with both of my nieces Penny and Lilly … I dont know if you’ve ever been to a place that is sooo dark you can’t see anything at all.

When Lilly played up I couldn’t see her at all but I knew where the door was and knew we had to take her out. I knew the way out.

I remembered the direction I needed to travel and knew it wasn’t far .

I think there is something in this  - that wisdom knows the direction of travel - It is the one exit in the dark room, its the north star when there are many directions,

Solomon says ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom’ this is important  - without an ethical framework - everyone will do what is right in their own eyes - and that’s not good.

Within the Christian Gospel is much diversity and much work to do to apply the principles of ethics to the situations we find in our day but we do have the direction of travel.

Lets look at the situations we find in our readings today topics such as

• Rich and Poor
• Good and Bad
• Attitudes of our heart
• Actions of the church
• Attitudes towards those on the outside
• Treatment of the poor and the vulnerable

In 5,000 years these issues haven’t gone away!

This is hugely challenging to a church which needs a huge dose of wisdom to deal with contemporary Ireland.  how do we deal with Rich and Poor, how do we deal with those who either self identify with the labels of good or bad, or who we class as good or bad, what about our own lives, our attitudes, how we treat people within and without. And then after the summer services when we’ve been thinking about breaking dividing walls what are our attitudes towards those who would not set foot inside our churches due to identity issues of all kinds and the barriers that have been erected for generations.

How we treat the poor and the vulnerable is going to take a huge dose of wisdom - whatever label we give people how do we tear off that label and see them as a beloved child of God - loved and accepted by him and welcome.

This wisdom need to flow from the love of God - without it - it has the potential of simply going round in circles but with it - it points, as an exit sign of the dark room, its the Northern Star from where direction can be sourced.

This coming term is going to see our community engaging more and more with this church - It is my prayer that this would be a place where deep wisdom is shared, where people encounter the source of all wisdom there will be great fruit of the kingdom produced

My hope for us as individuals is that we would grow in all wisdom, that our discipleship would be deepened and that there would be a renewal of both our strength and our mind.

As I conclude I would like to remind us of the words of Dietrich Bonnhoffer - ‘ Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which seems seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.

That which is seemingly worthless in our era is wisdom … we’ve got lots of knowledge … heck we’re living in the centre of the knowledge economy, information at our fingertips but wisdom - that’s more elusive lets search for that! … lets provide godly wisdom to our friends and our family, in tune with the Holy Spirit … not for the sake of simple answers and quips here and there but to help people live life to the full

‘ Christianity preaches the infinite worth of that which seems seemingly worthless and the infinite worthlessness of that which is seemingly so valued.’


Our task as disciples is then to discern the difference.

Here is a bit of wisdom posted on Mother Theresa's wall  :

Amen.

Sermon preached at the Insitution of Revd Victor Fitzpatrick, Mountrath

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be now and always acceptable in thy sight O Lord our strength and our redeemer. Amen 

I want to say thank you to Victor and the Bishop for their invitation to preach at this institution service. An important milestone in the life and witness of the parish and of the new Rector. 

It is a service of comings and goings - of transition and looking forward to the years to come with optimism and hope. My role here is to remind us tonight of what God’s word is saying to us - as the congregation gathered here. I would like to look at the Gospel, the good news which has been appointed to have been read on this the Feast of St. Bartholomew. 

Tradition has it that Bartholmew is identifed with Nathanael, a man of Cana in Galilee who was summoned to Jesus by Philip. Jesus paid him a great compliment: “Here is a true Israelite. 

The only mention of Bartholomew is in the lists of disciples in the Gospels which for me is interesting in itself in terms of names - people who have experienced much and contributed much in their lifetimes … they may be remembered - in lists, on plaques maybe …  but they are to do what they can and what God has called them to do. 

But what are we called to? let's take a moment to think. about the gospel reading today which is a reminder of Christian Leadership, a reminder of the inside out, back to front radical nature of discipleship which Christ exemplified and which we are called to make ours for today. 

Two of the major images that surround us whether we’re on the road or at home are these 

The first is That of the pause button - on our DVD’s , music apps, live TV 

I would love tonight to press the pause button and to think about what is happening in this service 

A community, a church that has a long history in this community has come to this point, a community of disciples who have needs, desires, questions, hopes, a community of all different ages and stages. A community which has been shaped by wider society, by events from within and without. The Church, as with any parish anywhere, in this community is a unique body, a unique set of people with all the quirks, personalities, gifts and skills which make you you. 

As we pause here, this evening we are reminded that each member of the church is an essential part of the identity of this body.

This service yes is about Victor Fitzpatrick coming to you as a pastor, priest and leader but its also an opportunity to re-group and remind ourselves what life together as a parish family is about. 

We’ll have the symbols of 

Baptism, Word, Holy Communion, Place, Prayer presented by parishioners to Victor … but each one of us needs to take our responsibility to be part of the community of mission and outreach into our community, to take responsibility for our growth, to get involved in the furthering of Christ’s Kingdom here in this place

Which Brings me to the Gospel today … We see in the disciples there is conflict which Jesus uses as a teaching moment. A moment where instead of Lording it over the twelve … Jesus reminds them that even though all authority has been given to him … he’s there as one who serves. 

I wonder in what areas of our lives, in the homes we come from, in the forums we move and in the churches we worship in … are there areas where it could be that we need more of a servant attitude rather than an authoritarian mindset. Where can you and I serve or have a servant attitude

Victor, I know comes among you as one who serves, who loves and who is concerned in his pastoral and his caring attitudes … do take time to get to know him, chat to him, he has got a great sense of humour. 

As Clergy, none of us are the same as those who have gone before, each of us have our own personalities and gifts - we serve in different ways but we’re called to serve the Lord in our own way whilst fulfilling our vows to God. 

Victor is someone who is wise, caring, pastorally sensitive, serving as he has in various ways in various places. As he fulfils his calling in this place It’s my prayer for him that he will take time to get to know the individual stories of this place and be able to speak God’s peace, his love and his freedom into the places he finds himself. 

Priest and parish together is the model of ministry we’ve inherited and its one in which we work across this island. 

I’ve pressed pause as we’ve focused upon Jesus’ example 

But Now I would love to press play and see what we’ve got to learn from our acts reading … That is getting outside the doors and proclaiming in word and deed the good news of Jesus 

All of the symbols in our service today could be seen as internal 

Baptism, the font is in the church 

The Bible is on the lectern 

Bread and wine are consumed at the rails 

The keys open the doors of the church 

Prayer is said in the pews 

But this is not so … when we go through any of our liturgies in church there is a compulsion outwards, to take what we learn and experience in our buildings out to the communities that we live and work. 

My second image is that of an L Plate … When I am driving around, i’m very wary of people with these beacause they are a risk, they might not know what they are doing, nor do they always know all of the rules, they might stop suddenly, they might do something silly, they break suddenly, they might need a wee bit of help to know what to do. 

In the acts of the apostles reading today we meet some of the disciples out on the street and they are doing some amazing things - they are learning about the power that is amongst them. 

Any leader … any baptised follower of Jesus … no matter how much experience we have is called to a life of a life long learner … no matter our age, no matter what degrees, life experience we’re called his disciples which means life long L Plates up… its an attitude of learning. 

I wonder what you were doing 20 years ago … or 5 years ago if you are slightly younger than me. 

Are you the same as you were 20 years ago … no … well I wonder how your spiritual life has changed? what have you learned?

Now I wonder how you can put yourself in a place where you are learning more, developing into a mature Christian. Your community needs learners, needs people who are ready to help and assist with developing an outward looking community of faith. The church of Ireland, across this island needs people who are willing to put themselves in places that might be scary, might be putting their heads above the parapet. But the people of this community need to know that there is hope, there is a place of unconditional love available 

We need to be known as people to are learning together, and living out our learning - we’re not called to simply help the church survive in this generation but we’re called to be a living body pointing to what Jesus described as life in all its fullness. 

No person can do this by themselves - but what does this look like in our schools, in isolated farms, in small villages, in towns, with young mums, with teenagers, with our seniors, with those in debt, with those in hospitals and nursing homes, in shops, with those suffering from mental illness … This is a huge task but with our L plates up … every single one of us. 

We know that God has called Victor to be here as Parish Priest but what about you … every single one of us … what areas of ministry might God be placing on your heart?

In conclusion 

The church is the body and my prayer is that you may Pause and reflect on who God is and who he has created you to be 

And remember that you are his disciples … life long L plates up ready to learn, to take risks and to learn both from successes and failures… Remembering that you are chosen, sons and daughters of the King of Kings and he has plans for you. 

Luke 22: 24-30

24 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. ²⁵But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. ²⁶But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. ²⁷For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

28 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; ²⁹and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, ³⁰so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.