2^nd Sunday in Advent, 4^th December 2011

St Michael and All Angels, Brighton

Isa 40:1-11, 2 Pet 3:8-15a, Mk 1:1-8

+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen

It’s Christmas time again! Yes, it’s that time of year when, wherever you turn, you simply can’t escape the fact that it’s Christmas. Those lovely twinkling lights that I walk past on North Street as I make my way from Kemptown these last couple of weeks. The adverts on the TV helpfully reminding us to go to this store or the other to buy the latest “must have” presents. And of course the annual treat of turning the radio on and hearing Mariah Carey singing “All I Want for Christmas is You”. It’s all a wonderful reminder that we are in the Christmas season!

Except of course that we are not. Not yet! We may be forgiven for thinking that we are. Because, although we know that Christmas is on its way, it’s not here yet! As Father Raymond reminded us last week, we are in a period of preparation in these weeks leading up to the birth of Jesus. So perhaps to go mad with excitement just now is a little premature!

Advent is a time of preparation and anticipation, and each week during Advent has its own particular focus, and on this Second Sunday of Advent the church focuses upon the “Prophets”. Those giants of the Old Testament who often perhaps seem so stern and foreboding! The popular image of the prophet is often that of a crazy eyed religious zealot making stern pronouncements in the name of a God who seems to be continually mad at the way people have moved away from him. There is the reputation that prophets sometimes have as a sort of divine fortune teller, yet to reduce their role to something not far removed from the astrology column of a newspaper does a great disservice to their real significance.

What both the gospel and the Old Testament reading that it echo’s this morning emphasise, is the role of the prophet of one who prepares. One who lays the land, who gets the people ready. The gospel opens with the declaration, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness; “Prepare the way of the Lord” (Mk 1:2-3). It speaks of course, of John the Baptist whose role it was to declare the coming of Christ and get the people ready for the one who was to come.

Now, while I’m certainly no building engineer or architect, I’m pretty sure that this wonderful building we worship in today didn’t just appear overnight. Plans were drawn up, the land was made ready and foundations were dug. Each step in the process took time, and without any particular component the actual building just would not have been able to take place. To just hastily erect a church (or any building) without a very thorough period of preparation would have simply been a recipe for disaster.

 I’m sure many of you have been here when the wind is blowing hard outside up here on a hill; I’ve had that experience myself a few times over the last couple of weeks. The creaks and strange noises that often happen at such times give us all the more reason to be thankful for all the careful preparation and planning that went into the building of this place.

What if Jesus had just suddenly appeared completely out of the blue? What if the Bible we have today consisted solely of the twenty seven books of the New Testament and nothing else? No historical context, no back-story, simply the sudden appearance of a baby in a manger who turns out to be the Son of God! How very different our story would look then. Yet the whole of the Bible in its many different ways prepares for, and leads up to, the coming of the one who, in the Incarnation, brings God into the messiness of our world. Over generations the ground was laid and made ready until the time was right for the event that was to change the whole of creation.

I have to confess, I’m not the greatest in the world at waiting for things. There are times like going on holiday, my birthday.....and yes, even Christmas when I’m like a big kid and just want it to happen now! Occasions like these are among the few times that even now I actually bounce out of bed in the morning at some unearthly hour full of excitement and wanting it to happen now. Loathe sometimes as I may be to admit it, the build-up, preparation and anticipation is all part of what makes these times so special. They don’t just suddenly appear as isolated moments in our life.

Here in this Second Week of Advent we come together not simply as a group of individuals, but as a community. A community on a shared journey of wonder and discovery as we gradually get closer to the moment when God came and dwelt amongst us, sharing our humanity and inviting us to be partakers of his divinity. Let us not rush that journey. When all around us seem to be frantically looking for instant satisfaction, let us take a moment to slow down and savour this time of waiting. Step away, even if it is only for a few minutes each day from the busyness of our everyday life and be still with our Lord. A time of reflection, of anticipation. A time of joy.....and yes, of gradual excitement. Events such as the Beach Hut Advent Calendar on Hove sea-front over the next few weeks are an excellent opportunity to present the Advent story  as one of looking forward with hope to our Lord’s coming. May those who visit the beach huts come away with a sense of wonder and excitement at the message they hear.

As John the Baptist prepared the way for Christ, let us prepare ourselves for Christ. Both as we celebrate his Incarnation as a helpless infant in a manger, and as we look forward to his coming again as we heard in the epistle reading. As the writer of the epistle exhorts each of us, “Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation” (2 Pet 2:14-15a).

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  AMEN

Tantum Ergo

This is quickly becoming one of my favourite service. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction. Thanks to my placement in St Michael and All Angels. Truly wonderful.

Christ the King!

Vespers and Benediction, Sunday 20^th November 2011

CHRIST THE KING

+ In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Today, as you know, we celebrate the feast of Christ the King. This particular Sunday marks the end of the church’s year, and is, I think, a fitting culmination to all that has gone before throughout the year. It is a reminder that ultimately Christ is sovereign over not only humankind, but all of creation!

We have journeyed with Christ over the year as we celebrated with joy his coming amongst us in the Incarnation. We have listened to the familiar stories of his ministry amongst the poor and oppressed. We have walked with him during Holy Week as the terrible events that were to happen unfolded. And we have wept and mourned with his mother and his disciples as he suffered his execution upon a cross. So far, it is not really looking very promising is it? This isn’t what is supposed to happen to a great King!

Yet, with his resurrection from the dead a few days later everything was changed! No longer did the power of death have any hold over him! Forty days later he ascended into heaven where, as we recall each week in the creed, he “sits at the right hand of the Father”. “He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end”. Quite a contrast to say the least, from the seemingly ignominious ending of his earthly life.

The history of the world is full of leaders who have ruled over their people in many different ways. From those who are relatively obscure and almost forgotten right through to those who through their deeds have become infamous, and whose names and actions are still recalled centuries later. Schoolchildren are taught (or at least they were when I was at school) about historic rulers such as Napoleon, Caesar, King Henry the Eighth......the list can go on, and I’m sure we can think of examples even today. Sometimes those who ruled over their subjects were relatively benign, history however tends to remember more those who ruled through tyranny and coercion, fear and intimidation.

Most people around the world no longer live under the rule of a King (or Queen), and even fewer live under an absolute monarchy, where the Monarch exercises complete power over the people and their lives. Certainly here in Britain, much of the monarchs power is limited and of a symbolic nature, and none of us live in fear of a tyrannical ruler. Yet it wasn’t always so. In centuries gone by the King’s word was law and the repercussions for disobedience could be very serious indeed. If the King wanted for himself the land on which you lived he was quite easily able to simply take it and woe betides anyone who was to stand in his way.

Kingdoms were so often built up by military might and conquest. It could be something as obvious as a naked grab for more land, or an attempt to subdue and conquer a group of people and put them under the iron grip of the so-called “victor”.

So very different from the picture we have of Christ the King in the readings set for today. Far from being one who sought glory and power, in his ministry he had none of the trappings that would usually go along with being born to rule. He was born in a stable. He seemed to have no permanent home. His followers were few, and the authorities viewed him with suspicion at best and downright hatred at worst. His earthly life was one of servant-hood and obedience to the will of his Father. In becoming man he entered fully into human experience. In assuming human nature he emptied himself and came down to our level, yet at all times he remained fully receptive to the will of his Father. He knew what it was like to walk in the footsteps of those he lived amongst. Not too many kings are known for living life actually amongst their subjects. Too often they are put up on pedestals of untouchability and seem completely out of reach of ordinary people.

 In Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians we read of him having been exalted to the very presence of the Father and having a place that is far above anything that could be imagined by any earthly ruler as the head over all things (Eph 1:20-23). This is the position that was his simply on account of his shared divinity with the Father, yet it was something that unlike earthly rulers he did not ever use for his own advantage.

Jesus himself describes in Matthew’s gospel the scene that will take place upon his return (Matt 25:31-44). In highly symbolic and graphic language we hear of him holding all the nations of the world in judgement according to their deeds. In words which echo the Beatitudes he invites into his kingdom all who fed the hungry, cared for the sick and welcomed the stranger. His kingdom is one that had its beginnings in his ministry on earth. It is not one which cares much for position or prestige. It is a kingdom that is based upon love, compassion and justice. A world away from the rulings of those who depend on military might or brute force. 

In the words of St Teresa of Avila,

“ Christ has no body but yours,
No hands, no feet on earth but yours,
Yours are the eyes with which he looks
Compassion on this world,
Yours are the feet with which he walks to do good,
Yours are the hands, with which he blesses all the world.”

We kneel and adore Christ in a few moments in the Blessed Sacrament. We come to worship the servant-king who gave so completely of himself and invites us each to be partakers of his divinity.  May we each be the ones who as part of his body reach out to others and help bring them into the presence of the King whom we adore.

AMEN

Living in the Spirit (Video)

Life in the Spirit

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

Families come in so many different shapes and sizes, and no two are the same. Most of us have experience of belonging to a family, and although at times getting along with one another is tricky, and sometimes simply impossible, there is often a link that remains there that continues to somehow bind us together. Paul uses the image of the family in our reading from Romans as he speaks of those who are led by the “Spirit of God” as being “children of God” (Rom 8:14). He speaks of a familiarity and intimacy with God as he goes on to describe the assurance that the Spirit of God gives each of us in our own spirit that we are indeed much loved children of God.

The whole section leading up to this reading is sub-titled “Life in the Spirit”. I wonder what thoughts come into your head when you think about that. What does it mean to live in the spirit? The phrase that someone is “too heavenly-minded to be of any earthly use” may come to mind. We may know of people who, although they may have a particularly intense closeness and devotion to God sometimes almost seem as though they are on a completely different plane to the rest of us. Is that what it means to live in the Spirit? To become so completely focused and immersed in prayer and studying God’s word that everything else just seems so unimportant? Somehow I don’t think so! Vital though prayer and study of the Bible is, it is not by doing those things that we suddenly are able to become some kind of spiritual Superman or Superwoman.

During the services of baptism and confirmation a particular emphasis is made upon the role of the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit who gives new life and new birth. Part of the prayer said by the bishop for those about to be confirmed has these words:

Let your Holy Spirit rest upon them:

the Spirit of wisdom and understanding;

the Spirit of counsel and inward strength;

the Spirit of knowledge and true godliness;

and let their delight be in the fear of the Lord.

This is the Spirit that each of us receives at our baptism, and is acknowledged more fully during our confirmation. The Holy Spirit indwells within us as we live out our lives in the world..........not apart from the world, but in it, and engaging with all its complexities and messiness.  As I have mentioned before, we live and relate to one another through community, that may be the church community, but it is also our work community, our social group community, our neighbourhood community, our family community. Very few of us are going to be called to live in isolation, shut away from the world and reliant only on prayer to get by.

Last autumn as part of my reader training I was fortunate enough to go on a Quiet Day that was held at St Julian’s Church in Southwick. This beautiful medieval church once had an “anchorite cell” attached to it, in which once would have lived a hermit whose life was devoted solely to prayer and devotion to the things of God. It’s difficult these days to imagine what the conditions must have been like. Day in and day out, for weeks, months and years willingly being in just that one place, with only the occasional glimpse of what passed for everyday life. Passers by and pilgrims would stop at the small window that was the anchorite’s only link to the outside world and seek spiritual counsel and guidance. I suspect for most of us such an extreme form of isolation would very seriously threaten our sanity. Yet, what was it that sustained these people as they sought to follow the will of God in their solitude? I suspect it was the same Spirit of wisdom, understanding and inward strength mentioned in the confirmation prayer that kept them going and maintained their focus.

Yet, like I said, most of us won’t be called to such an ascetic life. For some of us our daily routine will involve getting up at some unearthly hour to get ready for work, or to take the kids to school. For others there might be appointments to keep or meetings to go to. It is the ordinary, simple things of our everyday life.....the way sometimes that life might seem to just plod on with nothing much really happening. Is this really what it is like for us to be living in the Spirit? Surely it should be more exciting than this?

Well no, not necessarily. Living the Christian life doesn’t always come with guaranteed excitement. I’m sure that there are probably a few of us here who breathe a sigh of relief about that! To live in the Spirit is to be filled with the Spirit and then go out and get involved in the hum-drum, sometimes messy, but often so very ordinary parts of our communities as we live out the gospel through our words and deeds. To live in the Spirit is to allow the Spirit to shine through us, daily, so that in whatever we do, whatever we say, there is something of Christ within us, reaching beyond ourselves to others.

Far from being some kind of super-spiritual ideal that seems almost impossible to achieve, life in the Spirit is here, for us now! We are children of God, loved and cherished by him and set free from fear and condemnation. It is for us to live out that life, and share it with others. For some that may be by getting involved in something like Sea Sunday last week at the Marina and being a very visible presence of the church. For others it may just be in going about their everyday business, quietly living out the good news of the gospel. But however we experience this life.....this inward strength, in our sharing it with others we still have a huge reservoir of it that we can draw upon ourselves. Our sharing with others, rather than diminishing it for ourselves, actually strengthens it as we live out the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.

In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

AMEN

Reflections upon Atonement

The doctrine of the Atonement

In the time since I began my reader training programme, one of the things that has most caught my interest is the great variety of views regarding the atonement. It is a doctrine that strikes at the very heart of what the Christian faith is all about, yet there is no singular view of what exactly the atonement is or what it achieves. The reading I have done displays a very wide range of opinion on the subject, some of it quite contentious at times.

In his book Christian Theology, Alister McGrath has much to say on the subject. He categorises the main views on atonement into four distinct (but not exclusive) areas.[1]

·        The cross as a sacrifice

·        The cross as a victory

·        The cross and forgiveness

·        The cross as a demonstration of God’s love

These four basic categories are used by many other theologians also, and demonstrate the main ways in which atonement doctrine is interpreted.  The different theories could each warrant an essay in themselves. The view that is particularly dominant (certainly in evangelical circles) is that of sacrifice.  This theory holds that Christ was sacrificed in order to placate an angry God who required a perfect, unblemished offering in order to satisfy his wrath at the misdeeds of the human race.  A variant on this theme is known as “penal substitution” where Jesus receives the penalty for the sin of the world on behalf of humanity.

The concept of penal substitution has been much debated in recent years, most notably in the UK with the publication of The Lost Message of Jesus by Steve Chalke. Chalke was castigated by many in the evangelical community with his comment that “The fact is the cross isn’t a form of cosmic child abuse – a vengeful Father, punishing his Son for an offence he has not even committed”.[2] This remark parallels what Joel Green and Mark Baker say in Recovering the Scandal of the Cross as they quote Beverley Harrison and Carter Hayward, “As the classical portrait of the punitive character of this divine-human transaction, Anselm of Canterbury’s doctrine of atonement....probably represents the sadomasochism of Christian teaching at its most transparent”. God plays the role of the sadist who wilfully inflicts punishment and Jesus embraces the character of the masochist who willingly suffers it”.[3]  Outlandish as this statement may seem I think it sums up how the sacrificial/satisfaction theory of atonement is open to interpretation that can lead one to view God as nothing more than a divine psychopath who is intent on causing pain and punishment on somebody who he fully knows is innocent of any wrongdoing. God in effect demands that an act of violence be performed upon his own Son in order that his indignation be soothed away before he is prepared to grant mercy to lesser mortals.

Mike Higton in Christian Doctrine appears to be slightly sympathetic to Chalke’s charge of “cosmic child abuse”. However, he suggests that by acting together as they do they “provide in their shared mercy the substitute that their shared justice demands”.[4] The position here is that rather than Jesus being subject to the unreasonable demands of the Father, the decision to act is one that is made jointly by both Father and Son.

Given my early Christian background of strongly evangelical Methodist, this view of the atonement was pretty much the only one I was exposed to. I was blissfully unaware of any other way of interpreting the death of Christ upon the cross. So far as I was concerned Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sins.....a penalty that I should have paid. And God had orchestrated it to be so! It seemed to be quite straight-forward.

The view that held sway in the early church was that of the cross as a victory, often termed “Christus Victor”. This interpretation saw the death and subsequent resurrection of Christ in terms of spiritual warfare against Satan and his forces. McGrath suggests that rather than this actually being a theory of atonement as such “it is more an expression of confidence in the difference that Christ’s death and resurrection have made”.[5] As such it provides groundwork for other atonement theories such as that of ransom as put forward by Origen and Gregory the Great. This states that the devil had acquired “rights” over sinful humanity and the only way this could be broken was by payment of a ransom (Christ). This payment of Christ to the devil would satisfy divine justice yet in being unaware that Jesus was divine as well as human the devil would be overstepping the boundaries and thus forfeit all rights he had to a claim on humanity. Gregory uses the idea of Jesus as some kind of divine bait waiting for the devil to bite and be hooked. The problem that arises here though is that this particular view may lead God open to a charge of deceit (which would go against his own nature) against the devil in order to achieve the desired outcome.

Daniel L. Migliore in Faith Seeking Understanding seems to be more sympathetic to the idea of the atonement being seen as a demonstration of God’s love, as earlier mentioned also by McGrath. Often known as the “moral influence” theory and originally put forward by Abelard, this posits the idea that the reconciliation of humanity to God is effected through the compelling love of Christ which will then be worked out in the life of the transformed believer.[6] Migliore stresses the “unconditional nature and transforming power of God’s love”[7]  which demands a response of some kind on our part.

Each of these theories of atonement have something to offer the debate over what the death and resurrection of Christ means and how this is achieved. I no longer accept without question as I once did the seemingly dogmatic view that Jesus was punished on my behalf as put forward in the penal substitution argument. My own leanings tend towards that of the moral influence theory of the atonement as the ultimate act of love by which we too through Christ are able to be reconciled to God. As mentioned earlier however, each of the different theories intersect with one another at various points, and I do take on board the idea that there are elements of each that are able to be present within the doctrine of the atonement.

---

[1] McGrath, p320-335

[2] Chalke, p182

[3] Green & Baker, p91-92

[4] Higton, p278

[5] McGrath, p322-323

[6] Migliore, p185

[7] Migliore, p185

Are we good stewards? (video)