Belonging and believing: travelling with those on the journey of faith

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

I wonder if you attended the Olympic or Paralympic Games in 2012 and were greeted by the cheerful faces of the 70,000 red and purple-clad Games Makers and further 8,000 London Ambassadors who were a key feature of those Games. The majority of Games Makers gave up at least 10 days to volunteer and took on a wide range of activities including welcoming visitors, transporting athletes and working behind the scenes.

As a Church, we can learn from the wonderful welcome given out by the Games Makers. As Archbishop Stephen Cottrell wrote in his book ‘From the abundance of the heart’: "There is a fantasy about evangelism: people hear the gospel, repent, and look around for a church to join. Then there is the reality: people come into contact with the church, or have some inkling of the possibility of God, and enter into a relationship with the church, either through its activities, its worship, or just friendship with its members. In the loving community of these relationships, faith begins to grow. Or to put it more succinctly: belonging comes before believing. Therefore, right at the heart of any effective evangelistic ministry must be a warm and generous attitude to those who are currently outside the church community and a place of welcome and nurture within it."

Archbishop Stephen has also said that in recent years we have re-discovered that for most people becoming a Christian is like a journey. This changes the way we approach evangelism. For the most part it will mean accompanying people on that journey and this is why the story of Jesus on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24. 13 - 49) is instructive for us in thinking about evangelism.

When Jesus encounters the two disciples on the Emmaus Road on the evening of the first Easter Day, he meets them where they are but Luke tells us that "their eyes were kept from recognising him" (Luke 24. 16). He joins their conversation and walks with them while they are going in the wrong direction. He listens to them before he speaks. His first question is one of open vulnerability to their agenda: "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?"(Luke 24.17). In response to their questions and accounts of what has happened he then breaks open the scriptures, explaining to them "the things about himself "(Luke 14. 27). Arriving at Emmaus he "walks ahead as if he is going on" (Luke 24. 28). But they invite him in, and as he breaks the bread their eyes are opened. They then rush back to Jerusalem. They can’t wait to share with others the good news they have received.

Luke’s account provides us with a rich and challenging story about evangelism which is hugely relevant for the situation we face today because: "our own culture here in Essex … is not so dis-similar to the ones the first apostles encountered outside the comfort zone of the Jewish faith: a smorgasbord of beliefs, a general interest in things spiritual, a lack of confidence in the meta-narratives that had previously been trusted so much. In this sort of world becoming a Christian will be like a journey, and much of our work will be helping people to make the journey; and much of that will be removing obstacles from the path."

God longs for reconciliation with the whole of the creation and with every person on earth; he is therefore an evangelist. His great love for the world and his purposes for the world have been revealed in Jesus Christ, and through his death and resurrection Jesus has already done everything that is necessary for us to enjoy eternal life with God. The ministry of evangelism is our sharing with others the good news of what God has already done in Christ and the transformation it can bring to the world and to our lives here on earth and in eternity. It can involve specific ministries (such as a place of nurture where people can find out about Christian faith), but is also shaped enormously by our witness as individual Christians as we walk with others in their individual daily lives.

"Becoming a Christian is not just learning about the Christian faith: it is about becoming a member of the Christian community, and it is about relationship with a God who is himself a community of persons. Therefore, right at the beginning of the journey, people need to experience what it means to be part of a pilgrim church. Before people can become pilgrims themselves, they need to feel happy to travel with us and be open to experiencing life from a Christian perspective."

"Nurturing a generous attitude of welcome to newcomers is something that needs to be worked at over many years … Welcome is not just what we do when someone comes through the door. It is an attitude which seeks to get inside the shoes of the other person so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey."

Archbishop Stephen likes "to use the term ‘Travellers’ to refer to people who are beginning to explore the Christian faith, because it describes those who are on the way. They may not yet be coming to church, but they are committed to taking the next step. For many people the best next step is a course of enquiry where they can enter into dialogue with the Christian faith in the company of other Christian people."

In April we are going to begin our next Enquirer’s course called Being With Church. Being With is about sharing stories about our lives and hearing the stories of others. These stories are the small things that mean a lot to us and they can also be the most challenging and life changing moments of our lives. There’s a space for every person’s life in this course. The course is based on the belief that to find the meaning of life we need each other. We need to spend time being present and attentive to others who may be different to us and to ourselves and the world around us. As we do this, we can discover a way to be attentive to God and discover that God is present to us.

So, we are talking here about three specific forms of welcome: the welcome someone receives when they first encounter the Church or an individual Christian; the welcome involved in travelling with someone else on their journey to God and beyond; plus, the welcome which can be provided in an enquirer’s course like Being With.

Just like the Olympics and Paralympics, the Church needs welcomers. The traditional role of welcomer to services in the Church of England is that of the sidesperson. We can see from all that we have thought about so far today why that is such an important role. We might not all have a ministry as a sidesperson, but we can all get alongside others on their journey towards God in the way Archbishop Stephen has described and as Jesus did with the two disciples on the Emmaus Road. How, I wonder, can you get inside the shoes of those you know so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey towards God?

Finally, could you encourage people to join our Being With course by making people feel comfortable and safe, putting them at ease so they can bring their questions and feel challenged but not pressured. These are all ways in which we can use our time and talents in God’s service and so be a transforming presence in our homes, community, workplaces and world.

Archbishop Stephen suggests we need to have become a church where evangelism is in our DNA and where we have learned ways of doing evangelism that work in the different and varied and fast changing contexts that make up our diocese. All these involve an intentional desire to welcome others and share with them the good things that we have received from Christ. To do that, like Jesus on the Emmaus Road, we need a warm and generous attitude to those who are currently outside the church community and a place of welcome and nurture within it.

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Malcolm and Alwyn - Fool's Wisdom.

An intentional desire to welcome others

Here's the sermon I shared at St Catherine's Wickford this morning:

I wonder if you attended the Olympic or Paralympic Games in 2012 and were greeted by the cheerful faces of the 70,000 red and purple-clad Games Makers and further 8,000 London Ambassadors who were a key feature of those Games. The majority of Games Makers gave up at least 10 days to volunteer and took on a wide range of activities including welcoming visitors, transporting athletes and working behind the scenes.

As a Church, we can learn from the wonderful welcome given out by the Games Makers. As Archbishop Stephen Cottrell wrote in his book ‘From the abundance of the heart’: "There is a fantasy about evangelism: people hear the gospel, repent, and look around for a church to join. Then there is the reality: people come into contact with the church, or have some inkling of the possibility of God, and enter into a relationship with the church, either through its activities, its worship, or just friendship with its members. In the loving community of these relationships, faith begins to grow. Or to put it more succinctly: belonging comes before believing. Therefore, right at the heart of any effective evangelistic ministry must be a warm and generous attitude to those who are currently outside the church community and a place of welcome and nurture within it."

Archbishop Stephen has also said that in recent years we have re-discovered that for most people becoming a Christian is like a journey. This changes the way we approach evangelism. For the most part it will mean accompanying people on that journey and this is why the story of Jesus on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24. 13 - 49) is instructive for us in thinking about evangelism.

When Jesus encounters the two disciples on the Emmaus Road on the evening of the first Easter Day, he meets them where they are but Luke tells us that "their eyes were kept from recognising him" (Luke 24. 16). He joins their conversation and walks with them while they are going in the wrong direction. He listens to them before he speaks. His first question is one of open vulnerability to their agenda: "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?"(Luke 24.17). In response to their questions and accounts of what has happened he then breaks open the scriptures, explaining to them "the things about himself "(Luke 14. 27). Arriving at Emmaus he "walks ahead as if he is going on" (Luke 24. 28). But they invite him in, and as he breaks the bread their eyes are opened. They then rush back to Jerusalem. They can’t wait to share with others the good news they have received.

Luke’s account provides us with a rich and challenging story about evangelism which is hugely relevant for the situation we face today because: "our own culture here in Essex … is not so dis-similar to the ones the first apostles encountered outside the comfort zone of the Jewish faith: a smorgasbord of beliefs, a general interest in things spiritual, a lack of confidence in the meta-narratives that had previously been trusted so much. In this sort of world becoming a Christian will be like a journey, and much of our work will be helping people to make the journey; and much of that will be removing obstacles from the path."

God longs for reconciliation with the whole of the creation and with every person on earth; he is therefore an evangelist. His great love for the world and his purposes for the world have been revealed in Jesus Christ, and through his death and resurrection Jesus has already done everything that is necessary for us to enjoy eternal life with God. The ministry of evangelism is our sharing with others the good news of what God has already done in Christ and the transformation it can bring to the world and to our lives here on earth and in eternity. It can involve specific ministries (such as a place of nurture where people can find out about Christian faith), but is also shaped enormously by our witness as individual Christians as we walk with others in their individual daily lives.

"Becoming a Christian is not just learning about the Christian faith: it is about becoming a member of the Christian community, and it is about relationship with a God who is himself a community of persons. Therefore, right at the beginning of the journey, people need to experience what it means to be part of a pilgrim church. Before people can become pilgrims themselves, they need to feel happy to travel with us and be open to experiencing life from a Christian perspective."

"Nurturing a generous attitude of welcome to newcomers is something that needs to be worked at over many years … Welcome is not just what we do when someone comes through the door. It is an attitude which seeks to get inside the shoes of the other person so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey."

Archbishop Stephen likes "to use the term ‘Travellers’ to refer to people who are beginning to explore the Christian faith, because it describes those who are on the way. They may not yet be coming to church, but they are committed to taking the next step. For many people the best next step is a course of enquiry where they can enter into dialogue with the Christian faith in the company of other Christian people."

In May we are going to begin a new Enquirer’s course called Being With. Being With is about sharing stories about our lives and hearing the stories of others. These stories are the small things that mean a lot to us and they can also be the most challenging and life changing moments of our lives. There’s a space for every person’s life in this course. The course is based on the belief that to find the meaning of life we need each other. We need to spend time being present and attentive to others who may be different to us and to ourselves and the world around us. As we do this, we can discover a way to be attentive to God and discover that God is present to us.

So, we are talking here about three specific forms of welcome: the welcome someone receives when they first encounter the Church or an individual Christian; the welcome involved in travelling with someone else on their journey to God and beyond; plus the welcome which can be provided in a enquirer’s course like Being With.

Just like the Olympics and Paralympics, the Church needs welcomers. The traditional role of welcomer to services in the Church of England is that of the sidesperson. We can see from all that we have thought about so far today why that is such an important role. We might not all have a ministry as a sidesperson but we can all get alongside others on their journey towards God in the way Archbishop Stephen has described and as Jesus did with the two disciples on the Emmaus Road. How, I wonder, can you get inside the shoes of those you know so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey towards God?

Finally, could you encourage people to join our Being With course by making people feel comfortable and safe, putting them at ease so they can bring their questions and feel challenged but not pressured. These are all ways in which we can use our time and talents in God’s service and so be a transforming presence in our homes, community, workplaces and world.

Archbishop Stephen suggests we need to have become a church where evangelism is in our DNA and where we have learned ways of doing evangelism that work in the different and varied and fast changing contexts that make up our diocese. All these involve an intentional desire to welcome others and share with them the good things that we have received from Christ. To do that, like Jesus on the Emmaus Road, we need a warm and generous attitude to those who are currently outside the church community and a place of welcome and nurture within it.

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T Bone Burnett, Jay Bellerose, Keefus Ciancia - A Better Day.

Followers of the Way

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

‘When this story (Luke 24. 13 – 35) begins, two people are walking along a road, a stranger meets them, he claims he has no knowledge of Jesus’ death, and as they expose their grief this apparent stranger unfurls his insights into scripture and tradition. They persuade him to stay, wanting to prolong the encounter and wanting to welcome him. The food is prepared. The two hosts welcome their guest. And the guest blesses, makes himself known as Host, and disappears leaving them to tell their friends the good news of their encounter.’ (Ayla Lepine - 'Inspired to Follow')

The Emmaus Road story breaks open ways in which we may encounter God.

When Jesus encountered the two disciples on the Emmaus Road on the evening of the first Easter day he met them where they were. Jesus’ incarnation and ministry, above all else, was ‘about being with us, in pain and glory, in sorrow and in joy, in quiet and in conflict, in death and in life.’ Now, he came to be with these two disciples. Coming to be with them meant that he joined them on their journey although they were going in the wrong direction, in other words away from Jerusalem. He didn’t berate, however, or try to re-direct them. He simply joined them and walked with them. All who are beginning to explore the Christian faith are travellers because they are on the way. They may not yet be coming to church, but are committed to taking the next step. One of the earliest names for the people called Christians was followers of the Way, so, ‘right at the beginning of the journey, people need to experience what it means to be part of a pilgrim church.’ ‘Before people can become pilgrims themselves they need to feel happy to travel with us and be open to experiencing life from a Christian perspective.’ (Stephen Cottrell)

Jesus also joins in with their conversation, listening to them first before he speaks. Similarly, our welcome of others must involve an attitude which seeks to get inside the shoes of the other person so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey. Jesus’ first question to the disciples was then one of open vulnerability to their agenda: ‘What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?’ Our practice of offering wonderings to others in response to hearing their experiences is similar. In response to their questions and accounts of what has happened he then breaks open the scriptures, explaining to them ‘the things about himself.’ By this stage Jesus had created a helpful context in which to explore faith. We, too, need to create safe places, where people are at ease, where they can bring their questions, and where they will feel challenged, but not pressured; a space that enables people to question and discover for themselves the significance of Jesus Christ.

Arriving at Emmaus, they invited him in, and as he broke bread their eyes were opened. ‘When he was at the table with them, he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they recognized him; and he vanished from their sight.’’ They had not seen: suddenly they did see. A gesture – a reminder of what Christ did at the Last Supper – has alerted them to his identity. As the etymology of the word suggests, recognition involves an awareness which harks back to something previous. It is a re-knowing of something which therefore requires a pre-knowing. It involves a kind of memory. At Emmaus, their memory is of the Last Supper.’ For us, ‘Our memory of God’ is that ‘bit of human nature which seeks to be in right relation to God, and which means that we can be redeemed.’ (Chloe Reddaway - 'Inspired to Follow')

‘The disciples saw Jesus’ scars as he broke the bread. They remembered his story and realized it was their story. They discerned his body as it became their body. They left the table with hearts on fire. They who before had stood alone were united with the believers. They looked forward to every future meal as a moment of encounter with the risen Christ. They had become what they had eaten, the body of Christ.’ (Sam Wells)

So, at the centre of the Emmaus story is a very simple and ordinary action; breaking bread. Although a simple and ordinary thing to do, it becomes a very important act when Jesus does it because that is the moment of recognition and realisation. Something very simple and ordinary suddenly becomes full of meaning and significance. Their experience was an epiphany, a moment to which our being with, travelling with, and discussion with will often lead. ‘Following Christ’s sudden departure, as a new quality of knowledge fills the room where moments before he broke the bread, the two people who’d been on the road confer and ask each other in bewilderment: ‘Did our hearts not burn within us?’ God invites light into the darkest of corners.’ (Ayla Lepine) A space had been created which enabled these people to question and then discover for themselves the significance of Jesus Christ. They then rushed back to Jerusalem as they couldn’t wait to share with others the good news they have received.

Luke’s account provides us with a rich and challenging story about exploring faith which is hugely relevant for the situation we face today because: ‘our own culture here in … London is not so dis-similar to the ones the first apostles encountered outside the comfort zone of the Jewish faith: a smorgasbord of beliefs, a general interest in things spiritual, a lack of confidence in the meta-narratives that had previously been trusted so much. In this sort of world becoming a Christian will be like a journey, and much of our work will be helping people to make the journey; and much of that will be removing obstacles from the path.’ (Stephen Cottrell)

This story reveals ways to help others experience what it means to be part of a pilgrim church so that right at the beginning of their journey people feel happy to travel with us and are open to experiencing life from a Christian perspective.

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The Call - What's Happened To You?

Sermons from Holy Week at St Martin-in-the-Fields

Read and listen to sermons from Holy Week at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

Maundy Thursday
Abiding in Love by Revd Katherine Hedderly

'Our theme for Lent this year has been Abiding, based on the book by Ben Quash. It has seen us reflect on how we abide with God in our care for others and in our relationships with them, in the physicality of our bodies and minds, by being attentive and making space for God in our everyday actions and behaviours.'

Continue reading this sermon here

Good Friday
A Cross in the Heart of God by Revd Dr Sam Wells

'I believe that the longing to be with us in Jesus was the reason God created the world. But this longing was always going to carry immense risk, and that the fundamental choice God made was to say, ‘I am going to carry the consequences of that risk and I am not going to expect humanity to shoulder a burden it cannot bear.’'

Continue reading this sermon here / Listen to the audio version of this sermon here

Easter Day: Parish Eucharist
Resurrection in Nine Words by Revd Dr Sam Wells

'Resurrection is a breathtaking mystery. It’s also the epicentre of the Christian faith. It’s something to be discovered, believed, and lived. It’s an idle tale if it simply remains a technical event: if it’s real, it’s a cosmic transformation. It’s not something to agree with in your head.'

Continue reading this sermon here / Listen to the audio version of this sermon here

Easter Day: Choral Evensong
Journeys, conversations and epiphanies by Revd Jonathan Evens

'In the English language we have many words and phrases that use the metaphor of a journey for aspects of our lives. When babies are born we say that they have arrived. When we have a big decision in front of us, we say we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.'

Continue reading this sermon here

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St Martin's Voice - I Stood On The River Of Jordan.

Journeys, conversations & epiphanies

Here's my reflection for tonight's Choral Evensong at St Martin-in-the-Fields:

In the English language we have many words and phrases that use the metaphor of a journey for aspects of our lives. When babies are born we say that they have arrived. When we have a big decision in front of us, we say we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. When we are unsure what to do next in our lives we say we are at a crossroads and don’t know which way to go or we might say that our life has no direction and we don’t know where we are heading. The words and phrases we use suggest that we think of life is being like a journey filled with lessons, hardships, heartaches, joys, celebrations and special moments that will ultimately lead us to our destination in life. The road will not always be smooth and throughout our travels we will be confronted with many situations, some joyful and others filled with heartache. How we react often determines what the rest of our journey through life will be like.

All of this means that thinking of our journey through life as a Pilgrimage can be a helpful reflection. Pilgrimages provide an opportunity to meet people, make friends, and reflect on the journey of our lives and on our journey homewards to God. The Emmaus story (Luke 24. 13-35) tells us that Jesus, through his Spirit, wants to join us on our pilgrimage or journey through life.

On the night before he died Jesus told his disciples, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’? Very truly, I tell you, you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will have pain, but your pain will turn into joy.’ He explained that he had not said these things to you at the beginning, because he was then with them. Now, however, he was going to the Father who had sent him and because he was going away, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit would come to them. The Holy Spirit, whom the Father was going to send in Jesus’ name, would teach them everything, and remind them of all that Jesus had said to them.

All of that began to happen on the Emmaus Road. The disciples were in pain because of the events of Good Friday. They didn’t understand what had happened and couldn’t believe that Jesus was anything other than well and truly dead. Jesus joined their conversation and walked with them while they were going in the wrong direction. He listened to them before he spoke. His first question was one of open vulnerability to their agenda: "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?" In response to their questions and accounts of what had happened he then broke open the scriptures, doing the work of the Spirit by teaching them the things written about him in the scriptures and reminding them of all that he had said to them. Once that happened their pain was turned to joy as they recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread. Their hearts burned with excitement and their eyes were opened by the breaking open of the scriptures and by the breaking of the bread. They then returned to Jerusalem to tell others as they couldn’t wait to share the good news they had received.

Jesus’ promise to his disciples at the Last Supper was that all these things would also happen for us because, following his resurrection and ascension, he would send his Spirit to meet us and join us and walk with us on our life journey, just as he did for these two disciples on the Emmaus Road. Whatever the terrain of our life-journey, we can walk it in the company of the resurrected Jesus, through his Spirit.

Jesus is the Way to the Father, as he said to his disciples at the Last Supper. He is the Way - the style - in which we travel as we seek to live out his Way of Love. He is the Way - the direction - of our travel, the one who points us towards abundant eternal life and he is the Way - the road - on which we travel, just like the Prodigal Son we can return home to God the Father because Jesus laid down his life to make that homecoming possible. Because Jesus has walked the Way before us, so we can now follow in his footsteps.

Martin Wallace, the former Bishop of Selby, has suggested that: ‘Just as God walked with Adam in the garden of Eden, so he now walks with us in the streets of the city chatting about the events of the day and the images we see’ (City Prayers, The Canterbury Press, 1994). Therefore, he encourages us to ‘chat with God’, as the disciples did on the Emmaus Road, ‘bouncing ideas together with him, between the truths of the Bible and the truths of … life’ and then, as we walk down our street, wait for the lift, or fumble for change at the cash-till to use these thoughts and ideas in order to pray.

When we do so, we will begin to have the same experience as the two disciples had when Jesus broke bread. At the heart of their story and journey is a very simple and ordinary action; breaking bread. Although it is a simple and ordinary thing to do, it becomes a very important act when Jesus does it because it is the moment when Jesus’ two disciples realise who he is. They suddenly realise that this stranger who they have been walking with and talking to for hours is actually Jesus himself, risen from the dead. They are amazed and thrilled, shocked and surprised as something very simple and ordinary suddenly becomes full of meaning and significance. This simple, ordinary action opens their eyes so that they can suddenly see Jesus as he really is.

When our eyes are suddenly opened in this way to see meaning and significance in something that we had previously thought of as simple and ordinary, it is called an epiphany. An epiphany happens when an everyday reality becomes charged with spiritual significance. Epiphanies are those light-bulb moments when the penny drops, everything clicks into place and understanding comes.

That is what happened to the two disciples on the Emmaus Road, all that Jesus had said to them and done with them suddenly made sense and was useful to them because the Spirit had come and brought clarity and revelation in an epiphany. That is what Jesus had promised would happen. That is the work which the Holy Spirit comes to do in our lives. Jesus told his disciples that when the Spirit came he would lead them into all truth. In other words, it is when the Spirit comes that we experience that sense of clarity, of understanding, of coming together, of rightness, and things making sense of which we have been speaking.

That doesn’t mean that everything works out and life becomes easy – Jesus’ disciples (as a whole) were equipped by the Spirit to take the message of Jesus to the whole world and as a result they faced riots, shipwrecks, imprisonment, beatings, and martyrdom. A Spirit-filled Christian life is always a challenge but when the Spirit comes that’s when we experience a sense of meaning and purpose – of epiphany - that transforms the difficulties of the present because we know that the risen Jesus, through his Spirit, is with us in it all and is always with us on our journey through life.

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Herbert Howells - Te Deum.

Start:Stop - Be the resurrection and the life

Bible reading

Then he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have declared! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory?” Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them the things about himself in all the scriptures. (Luke 24. 25 – 27)

Meditation

In Risen, the latest Jesus film to be released, “Roman military tribune Clavius (Joseph Fiennes) remains set in his ways after serving 25 years in the army. He arrives at a crossroad when he's tasked to investigate the mystery of what happened to Jesus following the Crucifixion. Accompanied by trusted aide Lucius, his quest to disprove rumours of a risen Messiah makes him question his own beliefs and spirituality. As his journey takes him to places never dreamed of, Clavius discovers the truth that he's been seeking.”

Alister McGrath has described the conversion of C.S. Lewis as occurring in a similar fashion: “It is like a scientist who, confronted with many seemingly unconnected observations, wakes up in the middle of the night having discovered a theory which accounts for them ... It is like a literary detective, confronted with a series of clues, who realises how things must have happened, allowing every clue to be positioned within a greater narrative. In every case, we find the same pattern – a realisation that, if this was true, everything else falls into place naturally, without being forced or strained. And by its nature, it demands assent from the lover of truth. Lewis found himself compelled to accept a vision of reality that he did not wish to be true, and certainly did not cause to be true ...

Lewis finally bowed to what he now recognised as inevitable. “In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”

Lewis ... realised that if Christianity was true, it resolved the intellectual and imaginative riddles that had puzzled him since his youth ... he began to realise that there was a deeper order, grounded in the nature of God, which could be discerned – and which, once grasped, made sense of culture, history, science, and above all the acts of literary creation that he valued so highly and made his life’s study.’ (Alister McGrath, C.S. Lewis: A Life)

When Jesus unpacked the scriptures to his disciples on the Emmaus Road, they must have felt something similar. What he said made sense of a situation that seemed beyond their understanding.

As a Cambridge physicist Professor John Polkinghorne might be expected to disbelieve such an extraordinary miracle as resurrection, which appears to contravene the laws of nature. But in fact, it is the cornerstone of his faith. Reflecting on the remarkable rise of the early Church, he has concluded: ‘Something happened to bring it about. Whatever it was it must have been of a magnitude commensurate with the effect it produced. I believe that was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.’

Perhaps as “Sherlock Holmes once remarked to Dr Watson … ‘When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’”

Prayer

Risen Lord, speak into our foolishness and slowness of heart in believing all that the prophets have declared! Help us realise it was necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and then enter into his glory. Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, interpret to us, through your Spirit, the things about yourself in all the scriptures.

Risen Lord, be to us the victory, the end of strife; be the resurrection and the life.

Risen Lord, help us see and sense the deeper order, grounded in the nature of God, which we can discern – and which, once grasped, makes sense of culture, history, science resolving the intellectual and imaginative riddles that have puzzled us until know. May we see that if your story is true, everything else falls into place naturally, without being forced or strained.

Risen Lord, be to us the victory, the end of strife; be the resurrection and the life.

Risen Lord, help us by beginning in you to let you read our riddles and teach us truths your Spirit will defend. You are the End who meets us in the middle, the new Beginning hidden in the End. You are the victory, the end of strife. You are the resurrection and the life.

Risen Lord, be to us the victory, the end of strife; be the resurrection and the life.

Blessing

Sensing a deeper order grounded in the nature of God, making sense of culture, history and science, resolving intellectual and imaginative riddles, things falling into place, victory, the end of strife, resurrection and new life. May those blessings of almighty God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, rest upon you and remain with you always. Amen.

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Risen soundtrack.

Art as epiphany and sacrament

Here is the sermon which I preached at today's commission4mission's service celebrating the Arts held at St Stephen Walbrook as part of an Arts in Worship event:

Please look at The Supper at Emmaus by Caravaggio and ask yourself three questions: What is central in this picture? How does the artist point us to what is central? Why are those things central?

At the centre of this picture and at the centre of the story it depicts is a very simple and ordinary action; breaking bread or tearing a loaf of bread into two pieces. Although it is a simple and ordinary thing to do, it becomes a very important act when Jesus does it because this is the moment when Jesus’ two disciples realise who he is. They suddenly realise that this stranger who they have been walking with and talking to for hours on the Emmaus Road is actually Jesus himself, risen from the dead. They are amazed and thrilled, shocked and surprised, and we can see that clearly on the faces and in the actions of the disciples as they are portrayed in this painting.

Something very simple and ordinary suddenly becomes full of meaning and significance. This simple, ordinary action opens their eyes so that they can suddenly see Jesus as he really is. That is art in action! Art captures or creates moments when ordinary things are seen as significant.

When our eyes are suddenly opened to see meaning and significance in something that we had previously thought of as simple and ordinary that is called an epiphany. Caravaggio’s painting is a picture of an epiphany occurring for the disciples on the Emmaus Road but it is also an epiphany itself because it brings the story to life in a way that helps us see it afresh, as though we were seeing it for the first time.

The disciples realise it is Jesus when the bread is broken because Jesus at the Last Supper made the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine (the Eucharist) into a sacrament. A sacrament is a visible sign of an inward grace and so it is something more than an epiphany. In a sacramental act there is a connection between the symbolic act and the reality being symbolised, which does not need to occur in an epiphany. So, an epiphany is a realisation or sign of significance, while a sacrament is a visual symbol of an inner change. For Christians the taking of bread and wine into our bodies symbolises the taking of Jesus into our lives. As a result, art (or the visual) can symbolise inner change and be sacramental.

This understanding of epiphany and sacrament is based on the doctrine of the Incarnation; the belief that, in Jesus, God himself became a human being and lived in a particular culture and time. Jesus is an epiphany because he is the visible image of the invisible God. For the Church this has been the primary reason why we have such a strong tradition of figurative art. As Rowan Williams has written, ‘God became truly human in Jesus … And if Jesus was indeed truly human, we can represent his human nature as with any other member of the human race.’ But when we do so ‘we’re not trying to show a humanity apart from divine life, but a humanity soaked through with divine life … We don’t depict just a slice of history when we depict Jesus; we show a life radiating the life and force of God.’

Williams goes on to write that it is when ‘we approach the whole matter in prayer and adoration’ that ‘the image that is made becomes in turn something that in its own way radiates [the] light and force’ of God. He is implying therefore that an important element of prayer is paying attention.

In 2007, the Uffizi Museum in Florence lent Leonardo da Vinci’s The Annunciation to the Tokyo National Museum for three months. More than 10,000 visitors flocked to the museum every day to see the renaissance masterpiece. A number which, when divided by the museum's opening hours, equates to each visitor having about three seconds in front of the painting - barely long enough to say the artist's name, let alone enjoy the subtleties of his work.

By contrast, a well-known art historian, observed as he entered the first room of the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the National Gallery, went nose-to-nose with Leonardo's The Musician (1486), and there he stayed for about 10 minutes, rocking backwards and forwards, before moving from side-to-side, and then finally stepping back four paces and eyeing up the small painting from distance. And then he repeated the exercise. Twice.

The 10,000 visitors per day visiting the Tokyo National Museum during those three months wanted to see Leonardo’s Annunciation, but did they really ‘see’ it? They certainly didn’t see it in the same way that the art critic saw Leonardo's Musician.

Art historian Daniel Siedell has said: ‘It is a cliché, but I would suggest that one must approach contemporary art with an open mind … Attending to … details, looking closely, is a useful discipline for us as Christians, who are supposed to see Christ everywhere, especially in the faces of all people. If we dismiss artwork that is strange, unfamiliar, unconventional, if we are inattentive to visual details, how can we be attentive to those around us?’ Daniel Siedell (http://imagejournal.org/page/artist-of-the-month/daniel-siedell)

The Bible is full of encouragement to reflect. The words, reflect, consider, ponder, meditate and examine, crop up everywhere. God encourages us to reflect on everything; his words (2 Timothy 2.7), his great acts (1 Samuel 12.24), his statutes (Psalm 119.95), his miracles (Mark 6.52), Jesus (Hebrews 3.1), God's servants (Job 1.8), the heavens (Psalm 8.3), the plants (Matthew 6.28), the weak (Psalm 41.1), the wicked (Psalm 37.10), oppression (Ecclesiastes 4.1), labour (Ecclesiastes 4.4), the heart (Proverbs 24.12), our troubles (Psalm 9.13), our enemies (Psalm 25.19), our sins (2 Corinthians 13.5). Everything is up for reflection but we are guided by the need to look for the excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4.8) and to learn from whatever we see or experience (Proverbs 24.32).

Clearly all this reflection cannot take place just at specific times. Just as we are told to pray always, the implication of the Bible's encouragement to reflection is that we should reflect at all times. We need to make a habit of reflection, a habit of learning from experience and of looking for the excellent things. We can do this by paying prayerful attention to all that is around us – what we see, do and experience. Everything around us can potentially be part of our ongoing conversation with God, part of which is reflection. This is a style of prayer that seems to go back at the very least to the Celtic Christians, who had a sense of the heavenly being found in the earthly, particularly in the ordinary tasks of home and work, together with the sense that every task can be blessed if we see God in it.

David Adam writes that, ‘If our God is to be found only in our churches and our private prayers, we are denuding the world of His reality and our faith of credibility. We need to reveal that our God is in all the world and waits to be discovered there – or, to be more exact, the world is in Him, all is in the heart of God.’

Attending to details in the way Daniel Siedell suggests is the outworking of St Paul’s words in Philippians 4. 8: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (Philippians 4. 8). We are called to look for and look at these things as we go through life. This is an excellent approach to bear in mind when also looking at art.

Then, as Rowan Williams writes, visual images will be to us ‘human actions that seek to be open to God’s action’ and which can ‘open a gateway for God.’ If we pay prayerful attention, art can truly be epiphany and sacrament to us.

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Steve Scott - Sun Poem.

Paying attention to sacraments and epiphanies

Tonight I led the evening service at St Peter's Bradwell with Peter Webb of commission4mission and Café Musica led by Peter Banks, with whom I co-wrote The Secret Chord. 70 - 80 people filled the chapel to participate in a liturgy which celebrated the Arts, view artwork by commission4mission artists, and be led in song by Café Musica. Click here to see photos of the artwork in the Chapel.

Here is the sermon that I preached:

Take a look at Caravaggio's Supper at Emmaus by clicking here and ask yourself three questions: What is central in this picture? How does the artist point us to what is central? Why are those things central?

At the centre of this picture and at the centre of the story it depicts is a very simple and ordinary action; breaking bread or tearing a loaf of bread into two pieces. Although it is a simple and ordinary thing to do, it becomes a very important act when Jesus does it because this is the moment when Jesus’ two disciples realise who he is. They suddenly realise that this stranger who they have been walking with and talking to for hours on the Emmaus Road is actually Jesus himself, risen from the dead. They are amazed and thrilled, shocked and surprised, and we can see that clearly on the faces and in the actions of the disciples as they are portrayed in this painting.

Something very simple and ordinary suddenly becomes full of meaning and significance. This simple, ordinary action opens their eyes so that they can suddenly see Jesus as he really is. That is art in action! Art captures or creates moments when ordinary things are seen as significant.

When our eyes are suddenly opened to see meaning and significance in something that we had previously thought of as simple and ordinary that is called an epiphany. Caravaggio’s painting is a picture of an epiphany occurring for the disciples on the Emmaus Road but it is also an epiphany itself because it brings the story to life in a way that helps us see it afresh, as though we were seeing it for the first time.

The disciples realise it is Jesus when the bread is broken because Jesus at the Last Supper made the breaking of bread and the drinking of wine (the Eucharist) into a sacrament. A sacrament is a visible sign of an inward grace and so it is something more than an epiphany. In a sacramental act there is a connection between the symbolic act and the reality being symbolised, which does not need to occur in an epiphany. So, an epiphany is a realisation or sign of significance, while a sacrament is a visual symbol of an inner change. For Christians the taking of bread and wine into our bodies symbolises the taking of Jesus into our lives. As a result, art (or the visual) can symbolise inner change and be sacramental.

This understanding of epiphany and sacrament is based on the doctrine of the Incarnation; the belief that, in Jesus, God himself became a human being and lived in a particular culture and time. Jesus is an epiphany because he is the visible image of the invisible God. For the Church this has been the primary reason why we have such a strong tradition of figurative art. As Rowan Williams has written, ‘God became truly human in Jesus … And if Jesus was indeed truly human, we can represent his human nature as with any other member of the human race.’ But when we do so ‘we’re not trying to show a humanity apart from divine life, but a humanity soaked through with divine life … We don’t depict just a slice of history when we depict Jesus; we show a life radiating the life and force of God.’

Williams goes on to write that it is when ‘we approach the whole matter in prayer and adoration’ that ‘the image that is made becomes in turn something that in its own way radiates [the] light and force’ of God. He is implying therefore that an important element of prayer is paying attention.

In 2007, the Uffizi Museum in Florence lent Leonardo da Vinci’s The Annunciation to the Tokyo National Museum for three months. More than 10,000 visitors flocked to the museum every day to see the renaissance masterpiece. A number which, when divided by the museum's opening hours, equates to each visitor having about three seconds in front of the painting - barely long enough to say the artist's name, let alone enjoy the subtleties of his work.

By contrast, a well-known art historian, observed as he entered the first room of the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition at the National Gallery, went nose-to-nose with Leonardo's The Musician (1486), and there he stayed for about 10 minutes, rocking backwards and forwards, before moving from side-to-side, and then finally stepping back four paces and eyeing up the small painting from distance. And then he repeated the exercise. Twice.

The 10,000 visitors per day visiting the Tokyo National Museum during those three months wanted to see Leonardo’s Annunciation, but did they really ‘see’ it? They certainly didn’t see it in the same way that the art critic saw Leonardo's Musician.

Art historian Daniel Siedell has said: ‘It is a cliché, but I would suggest that one must approach contemporary art with an open mind … Attending to … details, looking closely, is a useful discipline for us as Christians, who are supposed to see Christ everywhere, especially in the faces of all people. If we dismiss artwork that is strange, unfamiliar, unconventional, if we are inattentive to visual details, how can we be attentive to those around us?’

The Bible is full of encouragement to reflect. The words, reflect, consider, ponder, meditate and examine, crop up everywhere. God encourages us to reflect on everything; his words (2 Timothy 2.7), his great acts (1 Samuel 12.24), his statutes (Psalm 119.95), his miracles (Mark 6.52), Jesus (Hebrews 3.1), God's servants (Job 1.8), the heavens (Psalm 8.3), the plants (Matthew 6.28), the weak (Psalm 41.1), the wicked (Psalm 37.10), oppression (Ecclesiastes 4.1), labour (Ecclesiastes 4.4), the heart (Proverbs 24.12), our troubles (Psalm 9.13), our enemies (Psalm 25.19), our sins (2 Corinthians 13.5). Everything is up for reflection but we are guided by the need to look for the excellent or praiseworthy (Philippians 4.8) and to learn from whatever we see or experience (Proverbs 24.32).

Clearly all this reflection cannot take place just at specific times. Just as we are told to pray always, the implication of the Bible's encouragement to reflection is that we should reflect at all times. We need to make a habit of reflection, a habit of learning from experience and of looking for the excellent things. We can do this by paying prayerful attention to all that is around us – what we see, do and experience. Everything around us can potentially be part of our ongoing conversation with God, part of which is reflection. This is a style of prayer that seems to go back at the very least to the Celtic Christians, who had a sense of the heavenly being found in the earthly, particularly in the ordinary tasks of home and work, together with the sense that every task can be blessed if we see God in it.

David Adam writes that, ‘If our God is to be found only in our churches and our private prayers, we are denuding the world of His reality and our faith of credibility. We need to reveal that our God is in all the world and waits to be discovered there – or, to be more exact, the world is in Him, all is in the heart of God.’

Attending to details in the way Daniel Seidell suggests is the outworking of St Paul’s words in Philippians 4. 8: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things” (Philippians 4. 8). We are called to look for and look at these things as we go through life. This is an excellent approach to bear in mind when also looking at art.

Then, as Rowan Williams writes, visual images will be to us ‘human actions that seek to be open to God’s action’ and which can ‘open a gateway for God.’ If we pay prayerful attention, art can truly be epiphany and sacrament to us.

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Tom Jones - My Lord Did Trouble Me.

Transforming Presence: Evangelising effectively

Earlier in the week Boris Johnson thanked the "unbelievable" volunteers at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and said London should capitalise on and learn from their "energy". The cheerful faces of the 70,000 red and purple-clad Games Makers and further 8,000 London Ambassadors have been a key feature of the Games. As we know from those of our congregation at St John's Seven Kings who volunteered, the majority of Games Makers gave up at least 10 days to volunteer and took on a wide range of activities including welcoming visitors, transporting athletes and working behind the scenes.

Meeting volunteers at the North Greenwich Arena, Mr Johnson said: "I think the reason why the Olympics have been such a success is because the people of London have made it one. The volunteers have been tremendous and I want to thank all of them. The important thing now is to look forward. We have to think about how to keep the energy in the volunteering life of the city. They have done an amazing job in welcoming people to London and we can learn from that."

As a Church, nationally and locally, we can also learn from the wonderful welcome given out by the Games Makers. As Bishop Stephen has written in his book From the abundance of the heart: "There is a fantasy about evangelism: people hear the gospel, repent, and look around for a church to join. Then there is the reality: people come into contact with the church, or have some inkling of the possibility of God, and enter into a relationship with the church, either through its activities, its worship, or just friendship with its members. In the loving community of these relationships faith begins to grow. Or to put it more succinctly: belonging comes before believing. Therefore, right at the heart of any effective evangelistic ministry must be a warm and generous attitude to those who are currently outside the church community and a place of welcome and nurture within it."

In Transforming Presence Bishop Stephen says that in recent years we have re-discovered that for most people becoming a Christian is like a journey. This changes the way we approach evangelism. For the most part it will mean accompanying people on that journey and this is why the story of Jesus on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24. 13 - 49) is instructive for us in thinking about evangelism.

When Jesus encounters the two disciples on the Emmaus Road on the evening of the first Easter day he meets them where they are but Luke tells us that "their eyes were kept from recognising him" (Luke 24. 16). He joins their conversation and walks with them while they are going in the wrong direction. He listens to them before he speaks. His first question is one of open vulnerability to their agenda: "What are you discussing with each other while you walk along?"(Luke 24.17). In response to their questions and accounts of what has happened he then breaks open the scriptures, explaining to them "the things about himself "(Luke 14. 27). Arriving at Emmaus he "walks ahead as if he is going on" (Luke 24. 28). But they invite him in, and as he breaks the bread their eyes are opened. They then rush back to Jerusalem. They can’t wait to share with others the good news they have received.

Luke’s account provides us with a rich and challenging story about evangelism which is hugely relevant for the situation we face today because: "our own culture here in Essex and East London is not so dis-similar to the ones the first apostles encountered outside the comfort zone of the Jewish faith: a smorgasbord of beliefs, a general interest in things spiritual, a lack of confidence in the meta-narratives that had previously been trusted so much. In this sort of world becoming a Christian will be like a journey, and much of our work will be helping people to make the journey; and much of that will be removing obstacles from the path."

God longs for reconciliation with the whole of the creation and with every person on earth; he is therefore an evangelist. His great love for the world and his purposes for the world have been revealed in Jesus Christ, and through his death and resurrection Jesus has already done everything that is necessary for us to enjoy eternal life with God. The ministry of evangelism is our sharing with others the good news of what God has already done in Christ and the transformation it can bring to the world and to our lives here on earth and in eternity. It can involve specific ministries (such as a place of nurture where people can find out about Christian faith), but is also shaped enormously by our witness as individual Christians as we walk with others in their individual daily lives.

"Becoming a Christian is not just learning about the Christian faith: it is about becoming a member of the Christian community, and it is about relationship with a God who is himself a community of persons. Therefore, right at the beginning of the journey, people need to experience what it means to be part of a pilgrim church. Before people can become pilgrims themselves they need to feel happy to travel with us and be open to experiencing life from a Christian perspective."

"Nurturing a generous attitude of welcome to newcomers is something that needs to be worked at over many years … Welcome is not just what we do when someone comes through the door. It is an attitude which seeks to get inside the shoes of the other person so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey."

Bishop Stephen likes "to use the term ‘Travellers’ to refer to people who are beginning to explore the Christian faith, because it describes those who are on the way. They may not yet be coming to church, but they are committed to taking the next step. For many people the best next step is a course of enquiry where they can enter into dialogue with the Christian faith in the company of other Christian people."

This is often a course like Alpha, Emmaus or the START! course, which we currently use and, as a place of nurture, needs to be a safe place, where people are at ease, where they can bring their questions, and where they will feel challenged, but not pressured. People need to feel comfortable: they need to feel that their questions and concerns are taken seriously.

So, we are talking here about three specific forms of welcome: the welcome someone receives when they first encounter the Church or an individual Christian; the welcome involved in travelling with someone else on their journey to God and beyond; plus the welcome which can be provided in a nurture course like our START! course.

Just like the Olympics and Paralympics, the Church needs welcomers. The traditional role of welcomer to services in the Church of England is that of the sidesperson. We can see from all that we have thought about so far today why that is such an important role. We might not all have a ministry as a sidesperson but we can all get alongside others on their journey towards God in the way Bishop Stephen has described and as Jesus did with the two disciples on the Emmaus Road. How can you get inside the shoes of those you know so that they can be welcomed and accompanied at every point of their journey towards God?

Finally, could you help welcome people to our START! courses helping to create a place of nurture, making people feel comfortable and safe, putting them at ease so they can bring their questions and feel challenged but not pressured. These are all ways in which we can use our time and talents in God’s service and be a transforming presence in our homes, community, workplaces and world. This Sunday in Stewardship month is the time to think about the time and talents God has given to us and how we already use them and can use them for his glory in the future.

Over the next two years there will be training provided and opportunities available for getting involved in the ministry of evangelism. The London 2013 Festival is an initiative of the churches in London in partnership with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse. Equipping Christians in "whole of life discipleship" by providing training to develop evangelistic lifestyles and verbal skills in sharing the Gospel will enable Churches to connect with and serve, communities and civic society across London, providing a commitment to the social and practical needs of Londoners. This will culminate from 4^th - 6^th October with public events to invite people to hear the good news of Jesus simply explained by Franklin Graham - with a chance to respond.

Then in 2014 it will be the Centenary of the Diocese of Chelmsford, a year of celebration and outreach, and Bishop Stephen is inviting every benefice in the diocese to put on a mission weekend, where we can celebrate our faith and invite others to consider the claims of Christ. Again, in 2013, there will be training events, one for every deanery, so that in every benefice there can be a small team of people who have been trained in putting on small scale evangelistic events and understanding something of how we accompany people who want to find out more about the Christian faith.

By 2025, Bishop Stephen says we need to have become a church where evangelism is in our DNA and where we have learned ways of doing evangelism that work in the different and varied and fast changing contexts that make up our diocese. All these involve an intentional desire to share with others the good things that we have received from Christ. We need to commit ourselves to be faithful in this ministry because it is of the essence of what it means to be faithful to Christ. 

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Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More.

Resurrection: chain reactions

Jesus’ resurrection is like a chain reaction causing a resurrection or transformation to occur in the disciples too (John 20. 19-31 and Acts 4. 32-35). They change from being people who desert and deny Jesus, who hide away because they are afraid of the authorities. They change into people who meet publicly as Jesus’ followers, through whom miracles and wonders are done, and who share their belongings or sell what they have in order to give to others. It is an incredible transformation and it happens because Jesus comes into their midst and they receive his Spirit.

Each of us, like the disciples, faces on a daily basis uncertainties and fears about our lives and faith. The disciples were afraid of what they authorities might do to them and this is a reality for many of us today. For instance, we have been reading recently in our local press from Christians today who are convinced that our government wants to prevent Christians from speaking openly about our faith. I don’t subscribe to that view myself but for some people that is how they perceive reality. For others of our congregation, their fear of the authorities has been to do with the way in which their asylum case will be dealt with. These are just some of the reasons why we might feel fear.

Thomas was not afraid instead he was uncertain. He knew that Jesus had died so, despite all that the other disciples told him about Jesus’ resurrection, how could Jesus now be alive? Again, we will have many reasons for uncertainty ourselves. Unlike the disciples, we cannot see Jesus physically and therefore we wonder is he real and am I just making all this up? We can also feel the same uncertainty about decisions we have made about our future – are we in the right job, living in the right area, are our children going to the right school, and so on and so on?

What the disciples felt in these stories is what we all feel ourselves much of the time – different situations, different reasons but the same feeling, concerns and worries!

Now the change that occurs - the transformation that happens to them, this personal resurrection that comes for each one - is not a change in their circumstances but a change in themselves. What happens is that they become aware of Jesus with them and receive his Spirit. They are still in danger from the authorities and they will spend the remainder of their lives not seeing Jesus physically but because they know Jesus with them and receive his Spirit they are able to come out of hiding, face the dangers and begin to do and say the things that Jesus did and said in their own lives.

The point about the disciples being behind locked doors and Jesus appearing to them may not be so much to do with the sense that Jesus was no longer restricted by space and time (although that is significant) and more to do with the disciples becoming aware that he was now always with them wherever they were, if they acknowledge and receive him. Isn’t that what Jesus is saying to Thomas, “happy are those who believe without seeing me.”

Michael Frost has written:

“We have locked God into the so-called sacred realms of church and healings and miracles and marvels … We seem to be trying so hard to “bring down fire from heaven” in our worship services while all along God’s favour is to be found in sunshine on our faces, the sea lapping at our toes, picking our children up at school, or a note from a caring friend.”

As we go about our daily lives are we aware that Jesus is with us in the ordinary things we see and do or do we only expect to meet with Jesus when we are in church or at some other super-charged spiritual occasion. The point about the resurrection experiences of the disciples is that Jesus is with them where they are if they recognise him. Often, the stories tell us, that they don’t recognise him initially. Mary mistakes him for the gardener and the disciples on the Emmaus Road don’t recognise him until he breaks the bread. Jesus is with us where we are, wherever we are, but often we do not recognise him.

How can we recognise him? We recognise him through his Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit, Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians, is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self-control. Where we see these things in ourselves, in others and in the world, we can be certain that Jesus is there.

If you watch the TV News and read the newspapers regularly you can easily be convinced that love, joy, peace etc. do not exist within our world. There is a story of bad news that is frequently being told but underneath, hidden and obscured by that bad news story is a different story of good news that doesn’t make the headlines but is the reality of our lives, our church and our faith. This is what we read about in Acts 4: 32-35 – people who are one in heart and mind, who share with one another everything they have, who witness to the resurrection of Jesus and who distribute money according to need. As a church we seek to demonstrate the Spirit of Jesus to our community through our community involvements and through all that goes on in the St John’s Centre.

As we meet with Jesus today in this building, in this service, in each other and in our lives as we go away from this place, may we take his Spirit with us and share the fruits of his Spirit in our homes, communities and workplaces throughout the week.

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World Wide Message Tribe (WWMT) - Revolution.

Upcoming activities and ministry (2)

My sermon to be preached today at St Paul's Harlow, as part of work designed to develop temporary and possibly permanent artworks in the parish and also involving a Study Day on 'The value of public art' on Saturday 19th September, has been posted on the commission4mission webpage and can be read by clicking here.
In it, I talk about ways in which art can open our eyes to see more of God in our world taking as my starting point the disciples' epiphany during the supper at Emmaus.

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Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken.