Where is Jesus now?

Here's the sermon I shared at St Catherine’s Wickford for Ascension Day:

Where is Jesus now?
Not here!
Jesus has left the building,
left the earth.
The last we saw of him
was the soles of his feet
as he ascended to heaven.

Where is Jesus now?
No longer God with us,
now God in heaven.
Distant,
removed,
out of our league.

What is he like?
We do not know –
we cannot see him!
What does he say?
We do not know –
we cannot hear him.
What is he to us?
We do not know –
he is not with us.

Where is Jesus now?
Here in body.
Here in what body?
The body of his people.
In the diverse,
differing,
fallible,
forgiven folk
who follow him
forming
his body on earth,
becoming his hands and feet,
his eyes, ears, mouth
on earth.

Where is Jesus now?
Here in Spirit.
Here in what Spirit?
The Spirit of love,
joy, peace
and hope.
The Spirit that
animates his body
into acts of service
and words of love.

Who are we
to be where
Jesus is now?
Only the struggling,
the failing,
the falling.
Only those calling out
for the Spirit’s
empowering.

Where are we
who are where
Jesus is now?
Only a fragment –
the minutest part -
of the glorious whole
that is his body
on earth.

How do we feel
to be where
Jesus is now?
Affirmed and humbled,
gifted and graced,
on top of the world
and
put in our place.

What does it mean
to be where
Jesus is now?
Like children
becoming adult
to grow up into him,
together
becoming him.
Each playing
our part
in the whole
that is Jesus,
Emmanuel,
God with us.

Jesus has returned to God in order to give us his Spirit and the Spirit’s gifts. He does this because he loves us. To him each of us, despite our failings, is a special child of his with unique abilities given to us by God and a unique part that only we can play in the body of Christ, the Church. As we each play our part working together with each other we show each other and the world what Jesus is like and come to know him better as a result.

For this to happen, we need to know Jesus and receive his Spirit, know ourselves and our giftings, and know each other and the part that each one of us plays in the body of Christ, the Church. Which of these needs to happen in your life at this moment in time?

If you are wanting to know Jesus for yourself and to receive his Spirit, then simply ask him now. Here and now, in the silence of your own heart and mind, tell him that that is what you want.

Maybe you are thinking that you are good for nothing, without gifts and abilities. Jesus knows you better than that. He created with a unique combination of gifts that only you can use in his service. Ask him now to share that knowledge with you and then begin to act on it.

Maybe your need is to know those around you better - to understand their gifts and to know the part that they play in the body of Christ so that you can be more effective in supporting and working with them. Why not speak to someone you don’t normally talk to after this service and find out all you can about them?

As we finish, can you hold your hands out, palms upwards and look at your hands and the hands of your neighbour. The hands you are looking at now are Jesus’ hands because he works through his people. As you look, think for a moment of all the ways in which these hands can work and care for others in this Church and outside the Church building in our community and pray silently for that to happen … 

Jesus says:

“I am going to send you what my Father has promised.”

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses to the ends of the earth.”

“You have been clothed with power from on high.”

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Christ Triumphant, Ever Reigning.

The indiscriminate sowing of God's love

Here's the reflection I shared at St Andrew's Wickford this morning:

I wonder whether you have noticed the strange thing about the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13. 1 - 17); something that does not make sense from the point of view of an efficient farmer. Jesus says that the parables, the stories he tells, are not easy to understand and there is an aspect of this parable that doesn’t seem to make sense from a farming point of view.

What I am thinking of is the indiscriminate nature of the way the sower sows the seed. The sower scatters the seed on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes, as well as in the good soil. Any farmer would know that the seed falling on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes is going to be wasted because it is not going to grow well and yet the sower goes ahead regardless. What sort of farmer wastes two-thirds of the seed like that?

Was it because the sower was uninformed about the principles of farming or unconcerned about the harvest? Perhaps, instead, the actions of the sower are telling us something significant about the nature of God. The seed was sown indiscriminately, even recklessly. Those places that were known to be poor places for seed to grow were nevertheless given the opportunity for seeds to take root. Doesn’t this suggest to us the indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all?

The seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the Word, John’s Gospel tells us is Jesus himself. So Jesus himself, this parable, seems to suggest is being scattered throughout the world (perhaps in and through the Body of Christ, the Church).

Some parts of the Body of Christ find themselves in areas like the path where the seed seems to be snatched away almost as soon as it is sown. That may seem a little like our experience in a culture where people seem resistant towards Christian faith and the media revel in sensationalising the debates that go on within the Church.

Other parts of the Body of Christ are in areas like the rocky ground where it is hard for the seed to take root and grow. We might think about situations around the world where Christians experience persecution or where the sharing of Christian faith is illegal.

Other parts of the Body of Christ are amongst the thorn bushes where the worries of this life and the love of riches choke the seed. Again, we might think about our situation and the way in which our relatively wealthy, consumerist society makes people apathetic towards Christian faith.

Finally, there is the good soil where the seed grows well and the yield can be as much as a hundred fold. Again, there are parts of the Body of Christ who find themselves in good soil. “Currently, there are more than 2.3 billion affiliated Christians (church members) worldwide. That number is expected to climb to more than 2.6 billion by 2025 and cross 3.3 billion by 2050. But it’s not just numerical growth, Christianity is growing in comparison to overall population. More than one-third (33.4 percent) of the 7.3 billion people on Earth are Christians. That’s up from 32.4 percent in 2000. By 2050, when the world population is expected to top 9.5 billion people, 36 percent will be Christians. Those positive numbers are due to explosive growth in the global south. Only in Europe and North America is Christianity growing at a less than one percent rate. In Africa and Asia, the rate is currently more than double and will continue to climb.”

We can rejoice in that growth, although it is not an experience we currently share in the UK, and can support its continued growth through our mission giving and partnerships. We should not be discouraged because that kind of growth is not our current experience in the UK. Growth does still occur even when we are on the path or the rocky ground or among the thorn bushes.

For example, in our most recent Annual Report, we noted that much of “our mission and outreach, including Messy Church (bi-monthly on Saturdays), the Gateway foodbank (Ecumenical initiative), Open the Book (Schools work), ministry in care homes (monthly services in four homes), and other initiatives, is enabled by teams drawn from across our three churches” and we “are increasingly developing mission initiatives related to our context including: Contemplative Commuters - a Facebook group for any commuter wanting quiet reflective time and content on their journeys to and from work; Saturday Solace - 10-minute reflection and Christian mindfulness sessions between 10.00 am & 12 noon on Saturdays at St Andrew’s; and Unveiled – an arts and performance evening which attracted an average of 25 people per event, with events including artist talks, concerts, dance performances, exhibition viewings, heritage talks, lectures, and an Open Mic Night.” Seeds have taken root even in the hard ground that is our current experience overall here in the UK.

This happens because God’s love is indiscriminate wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He sows Jesus, the Body of Christ, into the poor soil as well as the good soil knowing that some seed will not grow or be as fruitful but wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He knows too that ground which at one time was perhaps rocky ground can become good soil in which spectacular growth can occur. In this country we need to pray that our culture which currently feels like the path or the thorn bushes will in time also become good soil once again and, in the meantime, celebrate that growth that does occur on the path and among the thorn bushes.

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Michael McDermott & Heather Horton - A Wall I Must Climb.

Indiscriminate sowing of seeds

Here's the reflection I shared in today's Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields: 

I wonder whether you have noticed the strange thing about the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4.1-20); something that does not make sense from the point of view of an efficient farmer. Jesus says that the parables, the stories he tells, are not easy to understand and there is an aspect of this parable that doesn’t seem to make sense from a farming point of view.

What I am thinking of is the indiscriminate nature of the way the sower sows the seed. The sower scatters the seed on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes, as well as in the good soil. Any farmer would know that the seed falling on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes is going to be wasted because it is not going to grow well and yet the sower goes ahead regardless. What sort of farmer wastes two-thirds of the seed like that?

Was it because the sower was uninformed about the principles of farming or unconcerned about the harvest? Perhaps, instead, the actions of the sower are telling us something significant about the nature of God. The seed was sown indiscriminately, even recklessly. Those places that were known to be poor places for seed to grow were nevertheless given the opportunity for seeds to take root. Doesn’t this suggest to us the indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all?

The seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the Word, John’s Gospel tells us is Jesus himself. So Jesus himself, this parable, seems to suggest is being scattered throughout the world (perhaps in and through the Body of Christ, the Church).

Some parts of the Body of Christ find themselves in areas like the path where the seed seems to be snatched away almost as soon as it is sown. That may seem a little like our experience in a culture where people seem resistant towards Christian faith and the media revel in sensationalising the debates that go on within the Church.

Other parts of the Body of Christ are in areas like the rocky ground where it is hard for the seed to take root and grow. We might think about situations around the world where Christians experience persecution or where the sharing of Christian faith is illegal.

Other parts of the Body of Christ are amongst the thorn bushes where the worries of this life and the love of riches choke the seed. Again, we might think about our situation and the way in which our relatively wealthy, consumerist society makes people apathetic towards Christian faith.

Finally, there is the good soil where the seed grows well and the yield can be as much as a hundred fold. Again, there are parts of the Body of Christ who find themselves in good soil. “Currently, there are more than 2.3 billion affiliated Christians (church members) worldwide. That number is expected to climb to more than 2.6 billion by 2025 and cross 3.3 billion by 2050. But it’s not just numerical growth, Christianity is growing in comparison to overall population. More than one-third (33.4 percent) of the 7.3 billion people on Earth are Christians. That’s up from 32.4 percent in 2000. By 2050, when the world population is expected to top 9.5 billion people, 36 percent will be Christians. Those positive numbers are due to explosive growth in the global south. Only in Europe and North America is Christianity growing at a less than one percent rate. In Africa and Asia, the rate is currently more than double and will continue to climb.”

We can rejoice in that growth, although it is not an experience we currently share in the UK, and can support its continued growth through our mission giving and partnerships. We should not be discouraged because that kind of growth is not our current experience in the UK. Growth does still occur even when we are on the path or the rocky ground or among the thorn bushes.

For example, in a past Annual Report, we said that “St Martin-in-the-Fields is a thriving community. Its congregation is lively, engaged, inclusive and vibrant … Its cultural life is dynamic and overflowing. Its relationship to destitute people and those on whom society has turned its back is as strong as ever. It reaches millions through its broadcasts and new audiences through its emerging digital ministry.” Seeds have taken root even in the hard ground that is our current experience overall here in the UK.

This happens because God’s love is indiscriminate wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He sows Jesus, the Body of Christ, into the poor soil as well as the good soil knowing that some seed will not grow or be as fruitful but wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He knows too that ground which at one time was perhaps rocky ground can become good soil in which spectacular growth can occur. In this country we need to pray that our culture which currently feels like the path or the thorn bushes will in time also become good soil once again and, in the meantime, celebrate that growth that does occur on the path and among the thorn bushes.

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Tears for Fears - Sowing The Seeds Of Love.

A future that is always bigger than the past

In God the future is always bigger than the past
our future is heaven - being with God
and with each other as the fully formed Body of Christ -
our challenge is to live the future now
to live heaven now
to live on earth as it is in heaven
enjoying God for love of God alone
without instrumental transactions
enjoying one another as members of one body
as one in Christ, without distinctions or hierarchies
of male and female, Jew or Gentile, slave or free
forever is love of the other for the other forever
anticipate forever and we know love on earth as it is in heaven
a future that is always bigger than the past

(based on 'A Future That's Bigger Than The Past: Towards the renewal of the Church' by Samuel Wells)
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Michael Kiwanuka - Light.

Taizé refound, 40 years on…..

Here's a guest post from Rev Hilary Oakley, Associate Priest, St Mary’s Hitchin:

I first visited Taizé in 1970. I was 16, and the Taizé community was just about to enter its heyday, when tens of thousands of young people came to witness this place of reconciliation and share in its life. I was deeply touched by the worship, in the large concrete Church of the Reconciliation, constructed in 1962. It was not so much the spirituality as the participation of people of different traditions, saying the Lord's Prayer next to me in French, Spanish, German or Dutch, and discovering that I too could use their words to praise God in the multi-lingual chants of the Taizé liturgy. My eyes were open to traditions, people and languages beyond my own, and I began to understand the importance of ecumenism, as well as my responsibilities as a European citizen.

In the second week of Easter, I visited Taizé again, after 40 years. The 1960s concrete church was still the same, but larger, with three waves of wooden extension at the west end. Beyond 60 or so adults, there were around 2,000 young people, many German, whose energy and exuberance brought Taizé alive, as it had done 40 years before. The numbers were smaller than I remembered, but the languages were more extensive, and now included Polish, Bulgarian, Swahili, Chinese, reflecting a wider Europe, greater mobility, and our engagement with a bigger world. It was challenging in a number of sometimes contradictory ways. The perspective was wider, the different traditions less important, the variety greater, the numbers smaller.

I came away wondering just how far as a Christian community we can continue to afford the luxury of division, divergence or mutual suspicion, as we struggle to afford to maintain separate buildings and church infrastructures in parallel. Taizé has nudged me to find a renewed enthusiasm for ecumenism, an energy to enable us to address and overcome those challenges that so constrained the previous generation of ecumenists, and lost us the last 40 years. As Taizé founder, Brother Roger, so simply put it: “Make the unity of the Body of Christ your passionate concern.”

Our country is also hugely divided as politicians struggle to find the Holy Grail of a Brexit that suits everybody. Yet on this biggest of all issues facing our national life, we the church have so little to say. Perhaps we just don't want to rock the boat, a stance so alien to the way of Christ. Perhaps we need to refind our commonality of faith and liturgy with our European friends and neighbours. Perhaps while the politicians argue, we should be building bridges across the Channel, a new European Christianity, an integration, a reconciliation. Perhaps we can find a vision of a future where we can speak together, and speak out, about the issues that concern us all.

I think this is a good time for us to refind Taizé and share its vision with our young people, tomorrow’s church and tomorrow’s world, those in whom we need to be investing now. If you would like to take a group pf young people to Taizé this summer, you can make contact directly with Brother Paolo at brpaolo@taize.fr., or else drop me a note at hilaryoakley@hotmail.com, and I will make the contact for you.

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Taizé - Stay With Me.

The story of a journey from the centre to the edge

Donald Eadie spoke on film for Prophets & Seers: Calling from the Edge, the 2016 Disability Conference at St Martin-in-the-Fields, organised as a partnership between St Martin's and Inclusive Church.

In recent years Donald has lived with a serious spinal condition which forced him to retire early as Chair of the Birmingham District of the Methodist Church. He has often been in the firing line for advocating justice and respect between people of all faith, women and men, gay and straight people. He is a much consulted Methodist minister, retreat leader and author.

Donald said: 

'We bring our discovery of bread on the edge and wells of water under our feet, in desert and destitution as did both Elijah (1 Kings 17:1-7) and the slave girl Hagar before us. (Genesis 21: 8-20) Consecrated food from heaven is not confined to lie under white cloths in our Churches. We bring these gifts and many others, not as victims but as liberators.

I have come with a story of a journey, from the centre to the edge, of making connections between our experience of body and the body of Christ, and of receiving threatening gifts which could transform.'

He asked us: 'What does the journey toward transformation through vulnerability mean in your situation? What are your stories of frightening liberation?'

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Julie Miller - Broken Things.

The indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all

Here is my sermon from today's lunchtime Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

I wonder whether you have noticed the strange thing about the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13. 1 - 17); something that does not make sense from the point of view of an efficient farmer. Jesus says that the parables, the stories he tells, are not easy to understand and there is an aspect of this parable that doesn’t seem to make sense from a farming point of view.

What I am thinking of is the indiscriminate nature of the way the sower sows the seed. The sower scatters the seed on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes, as well as in the good soil. Any farmer would know that the seed falling on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes is going to be wasted because it is not going to grow well and yet the sower goes ahead regardless. What sort of farmer wastes two-thirds of the seed like that?

Was it because the sower was uninformed about the principles of farming or unconcerned about the harvest? Perhaps, instead, the actions of the sower are telling us something significant about the nature of God. The seed was sown indiscriminately, even recklessly. Those places that were known to be poor places for seed to grow were nevertheless given the opportunity for seeds to take root. Doesn’t this suggest to us the indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all?

The seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the Word, John’s Gospel tells us is Jesus himself. So Jesus himself, this parable, seems to suggest is being scattered throughout the world (perhaps in and through the Body of Christ, the Church).

Some parts of the Body of Christ find themselves in areas like the path where the seed seems to be snatched away almost as soon as it is sown. That may seem a little like our experience in a culture where people seem resistant towards Christian faith and the media revel in sensationalising the debates that go on within the Church.

Other parts of the Body of Christ are in areas like the rocky ground where it is hard for the seed to take root and grow. We might think about situations around the world where Christians experience persecution or where the sharing of Christian faith is illegal.

Other parts of the Body of Christ are amongst the thorn bushes where the worries of this life and the love of riches choke the seed. Again, we might think about our situation and the way in which our relatively wealthy, consumerist society makes people apathetic towards Christian faith.

Finally, there is the good soil where the seed grows well and the yield can be as much as a hundred fold. Again, there are parts of the Body of Christ who find themselves in good soil. “Currently, there are more than 2.3 billion affiliated Christians (church members) worldwide. That number is expected to climb to more than 2.6 billion by 2025 and cross 3.3 billion by 2050. But it’s not just numerical growth, Christianity is growing in comparison to overall population. More than one-third (33.4 percent) of the 7.3 billion people on Earth are Christians. That’s up from 32.4 percent in 2000. By 2050, when the world population is expected to top 9.5 billion people, 36 percent will be Christians. Those positive numbers are due to explosive growth in the global south. Only in Europe and North America is Christianity growing at a less than one percent rate. In Africa and Asia, the rate is currently more than double and will continue to climb.”

We can rejoice in that growth, although it is not an experience we currently share in the UK, and can support its continued growth through our mission giving and partnerships. We should not be discouraged because that kind of growth is not our current experience in the UK. Growth does still occur even when we are on the path or the rocky ground or among the thorn bushes.

For example, in our most recent Annual Report, we said that “St Martin-in-the-Fields is a thriving community. Its congregation is lively, engaged, inclusive and vibrant. Its commercial activities are healthy, popular and profitable. Its cultural life is dynamic and overflowing. Its relationship to destitute people and those on whom society has turned its back is as strong as ever. It reaches millions through its broadcasts and new audiences through its emerging digital ministry.” Seeds have taken root even in the hard ground that is our current experience overall here in the UK.

This happens because God’s love is indiscriminate wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He sows Jesus, the Body of Christ, into the poor soil as well as the good soil knowing that some seed will not grow or be as fruitful but wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He knows too that ground which at one time was perhaps rocky ground can become good soil in which spectacular growth can occur. In this country we need to pray that our culture which currently feels like the path or the thorn bushes will in time also become good soil once again and, in the meantime, celebrate that growth that does occur on the path and among the thorn bushes.

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Michael W. Smith & The African Children's Choir - Seed To Sow.

Consuming Christ

Here is my homily from the lunchtime Eucharist at which I presided today at St Lawrence Jewry (John 6. 52 - 59):

“We hear that you are all cannibals.” That statement comes from a document written in the late 2nd century A.D. called The Octavius of Minicius Felix which describes a debate between a Christian and a pagan at the Roman port of Ostia. The Early Church was fairly consistently accused of cannibalism. While this wasn’t an unusual accusation made against groups that were in some sense alien in the society of the time and therefore perceived as being a threat, we can also see how the celebration of the Eucharist - a meal in which Christians consume the body and blood of Christ – may have contributed to this accusation.

The idea that, through bread and wine, we consume the body and blood of Christ is, of course, central to the Eucharist and our faith. Much of that centrality derives from the association of this act with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ: “The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.” (1 Corinthians 11. 23 – 26)

However, we can also think of the significance of the Eucharist in terms of the benefits to our bodies of eating and drinking. When we consume food and drink it is broken down into simple molecules and carried around our bodies in order to provide the energy we need for life. In a similar way, Jesus is the food and drink – the bread of life and water of life – which gives us the energy we need to live the Christian life. Just as our bodies need a regular supply of food and drink, so we need to regularly consume Jesus - taking him into our lives through the Eucharist, bible study, prayer and social action – in order that we are fed by him and have all we need to live out the Christian life. May we feed fully on him today. Amen.

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Adrian Snell - The Last Supper.

Spiritual Life column

Here is my latest 'Spiritual Life' column in today's Ilford Recorder:

In a memorable phrase Desmond Tutu spoke of post-apartheid South Africa as being “the rainbow people of God.” That phrase can and should be applied also to the Christian Church in the diversity of those who come together within it to form the Body of Christ.

For the Church to be seen as a rainbow people of God, the full range of its diversity of views and voices need to be heard. Specifically, in the current debate over the definition of marriage, it essential that the Church, as well as hearing the views and voices of those opposed to the Government’s current legislative proposals, also hear the views and voices of Christians in favour.

I am thinking of those who see a strong Biblical case for arguing that definitions of marriage are socially determined and not divinely ordained. Those who see Jesus as being the ultimate scapegoat signalling, by his death, the folly and fallacy of all scapegoating of those different from ourselves. Those who see a key aspect of Jesus’ ministry as being to include in the kingdom of God those excluded from the religious structures of his day, with inclusion and equality then being a central facet of Christianity. The voices and views of those who see the institution of marriage being broadened and strengthened by its expansion to include people who value the institution and wish to marry but are currently excluded from doing so.

The Biblical picture of God’s people is of difference and diversity united by our common commitment to Christ. We are not and will not be united by our particular theologies, traditions, or views on particular topics. In this current debate, as in all such debates, we need to hear and respect different perspectives while recognising that our particular views will only divide if they are prioritised. It is only when, acknowledging our differences, we recognise that, despite our differences, we are united by Christ that the Christian Church holds together as the rainbow people of God who, therefore, become the Body of Christ in the world today.

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Gungor - Let There Be.