Community care and creation care

Here's the sermon I shared at our joint service held at St Mary's Runwell this morning:

King Charles spoke of faith, fellowship and compassion in his second Christmas message. In his message he spoke about care for others, linking this to the provision of the stable in Bethlehem and Jesus's own acts of service, care for creation as the angel appeared to those who were close to nature, and universal values including the golden rule and creation care.

He said that Christmas is a time to “think … of those whose work of caring for others continues, even on this special day” and thanked the “selfless army of people” in this country who are volunteers, serving “their communities in so many ways and with such distinction”.

The “care and compassion we show to others”, he said, “is one of the themes of the Christmas story, especially when Mary and Joseph were offered shelter in their hour of need by strangers, as they waited for Jesus to be born”.

The stable in Bethlehem is where the shepherds find the baby Jesus (Luke 2.15-21). As we know, the holy family found their way to the stable after experiencing rejection on their arrival in Bethlehem. Yet, all it took, whether in the midst of apathy or overcrowding, was for one person to respond, even reluctantly, for the miracle of Jesus’ birth to occur in the way that is told to us in the Gospels. All it took was for one person to respond. We are fortunate in this country, as King Charles noted, to have many volunteers in many communities. Let us continue to offer our time in our community in support of those in need.

Next, the King spoke about the shepherds to whom the angels brought the message of hope that first Christmas night. He suggested that they were people who lived simply amongst others of God's creatures and that it was those close to nature who were privileged that night.

Around the mid-point of his life, my father switched careers from community work to retrain as a landscape gardener. We moved from the city of Oxford to a village in Somerset and, although the change was to some extent forced on him and caused financial difficulties for us as a family, he came to greatly appreciate the enhanced sense of being in nature and of living closer to the natural rhythms of the seasons and the circle of life. The well-known verse from Dorothy Frances Gurney’s poem ‘God’s Garden’ – “The kiss of the sun for pardon, / The song of the birds for mirth,– / One is nearer God’s heart in a garden / Than anywhere else on earth” - though somewhat sentimental, nevertheless touches on a truth.

My former colleague at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Revd Sally Hitchiner, was particularly struck by this aspect of the King's Christmas speech. She posted that, in all her years of preaching on them and hearing others preach about them, they have always spoken about either as simple working folk or those who were excluded from hoity-toity religious circles, not as those who were close to nature. She wrote therefore of being struck by the positive framework of the King and his natural theology.

King Charles spoke about how, because out of God's providence we are blessed with much, it is incumbent on us to use this wisely by caring for the Earth we have been given. He said that, "During my lifetime I have been so pleased to see a growing awareness of how we must protect the Earth and our natural world as the one home which we all share” and do so for the sake of our children's children. He finds great inspiration now from the way so many people recognise this and, as we reflect on the Shepherd’s being the first to hear the good news, can also be inspired to care more deeply for our environment knowing that, like them, we will encounter God there.

The King ended by speaking of his two themes – care for others and care for the world - as universal values. He said that to honour the whole of creation as a manifestation of the divine is a belief shared by all religions and "To care for this creation is a responsibility owned by people of all faiths and of none”. He also quoted the words of Jesus - 'Do to others as you would have them do to you' – saying that, at a time of increasingly tragic conflict around the World, these seem more than ever relevant. "Such values,” he noted, are also universal, “drawing together our Abrahamic family of religions, and other belief systems, across the Commonwealth and wider world”. They are, after all, what is known as the Golden Rule, a teaching found in all religions.

He could have referenced this from the Nativity story, too, as Jesus’ birth was also marked by a visit from wise astrologers of other faiths; Zoroastrian priests (the magi), and foreign kings. In our reading today, we can note the naming of Jesus, whose name, given by God through angels, derives from Hebrew roots meaning “the Lord is salvation.” In his incarnation, Jesus unites the divine and the human making God one of us and ourselves one with God. In this way, he shows that God is with all and for all.

In our Gospel reading, we hear of Mary pondering all the things that happened at the birth of Jesus in her heart and of the shepherds sharing the good news of Jesus’ birth with others. It is clear from his Christmas message, that King Charles has also pondered the events of the nativity long and hard and, in his Christmas message, has shared the good news found there with others too. This Christmas, we would do well to do the same.

Bringing all the themes of his Christmas message together, King Charles concluded: "my heart and my thanks go to all who are serving one another; all who are caring for our common home; and all who see and seek the good of others, not least the friend we do not yet know. In this way, we bring out the best in ourselves. I wish you a Christmas of 'peace on Earth and goodwill to all', today and always." May we know the same in our lives this Christmastide and in the year to come. Amen.

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The Holmes Brothers - Amazing Grace.

Chips off the old block

Here's the sermon I shared at St Mary's Runwell this morning:

Charles: Our New King is a two-part Channel 4 documentary which shines a light on the new British monarch, told with an extensive collection of rare royal archive and revelatory interviews from those who know him. Part 1 explored the influence on him of his mother and father.

He shares many interests with Prince Philip, as they were both artists and both were fascinated by wildlife, the Navy and young people. They shared concerns regarding the environment, while King Charles has his Prince’s Trust and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, so there are many ways in which they were similar.

Like his mother, the Queen, King Charles has also highlighted the inspiration that his faith provides. In speaking of the Church of England, the Church in which his “own faith is so deeply rooted”, he has said that: “In that faith, and the values it inspires, I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others, and to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government.” He then went on to say that: “As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.” He ended by saying that, “in carrying out the heavy task that has been laid upon me, and to which I now dedicate what remains to me of my life, I pray for the guidance and help of almighty God.”

In our Gospel reading (John 14.1-14), Jesus says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” He is speaking of the way in which children – consciously or unconsciously – reflect aspects of their parents. We have a phrase to describe this – ‘a chip off the old block’. King Charles is, in many respects, a chip off the old block as he reflects aspects of both his parents in the way he has been formed and the things he says and does. More importantly, however, by allowing his life to be shaped by the values of the Christian faith, he is also, to some extent, a chip off the old block when it comes to Jesus’ Father, too.

Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the way by which we can come to see what God is actually like and so become like him. That is the reason why Jesus comes as a human being to model God to us, so that we have the opportunity to begin to reflect something of God in the way that we live our lives.

Rightly, that is the focus of many of the prayers written for the Coronation:

Almighty God, the fountain of all goodness,
bless, we pray, Camilla the Queen Consort,
William Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales,
and all the Royal Family.
Endue them with your Holy Spirit;
enrich them with your heavenly grace;
prosper them with all happiness;
and bring them to your everlasting kingdom;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

In such prayers, we recognise that, if we are ruled by those who genuinely reflect something of God in their lives, then our experience of the monarchy is likely to be positive in a way that is not the case when our rulers act selfishly, rather than from the heart of a servant of God and the people. Such was the case with the late Queen Elizabeth II. In his sermon at St Paul’s Cathedral for the service celebrating the Diamond Jubilee, the then Archbishop of Canterbury said that the Queen “has shown a quality of joy in the happiness of others” and “has responded with … generosity …showing honour to countless local communities and individuals of every background and class and race.” At her Funeral Service, the current Archbishop of Canterbury reflected that: “People of loving service are rare in any walk of life. Leaders of loving service are still rarer. But in all cases those who serve will be loved and remembered when those who cling to power and privileges are long forgotten.”

So, our prayer for King Charles and the Royal Family at this time should be that they reflect in their lives the nature of God as fully as possible. Praying that prayer, however, should also challenge us to make that prayer our own, too. The original Greek word for Christian is “Christianos” which comes from two Greek words; Christ means “anointed” and tian means “little.” So, the word “Christian” literally means “little anointed ones.” During his life Jesus was called the “messiah” which meant “the anointed one” and we are to be his “little anointed ones”, anointed by his Holy Spirit to represent Him in this world as his body – his hands and feet, eyes and ears – on earth. To do that we, too, need to become chips off the old block when it comes to God, his Father, or as St Paul puts it in his letter to the Ephesians, "imitators of God".

How does that happen? How do our lives come to reflect something of God? Firstly, we need to put all our trust in Jesus and in what he has done and said. By doing so, we make him central to our lives. Secondly, we need to live by every word that comes from his mouth; we need to read all we can about Jesus and then by put into practice what we have discovered in our lives. Thirdly, as we eat the bread and drink the wine in Communion, we are taking Jesus and all that his death and resurrection means into lives in order to transform us to be like him and to live as he lived.

As Queen Elizabeth said in her 2008 Christmas Broadcast: “I hope that, like me, you will be comforted by the example of Jesus of Nazareth who, often in circumstances of great adversity, managed to live an outgoing, unselfish and sacrificial life … He makes it clear that genuine human happiness and satisfaction lie more in giving than receiving; more in serving than in being served.”

As we celebrate the coronation of King Charles III this weekend, may we take the opportunity to pray that our rulers reflect the God from whom all true authority actually derives and pray, too, that we will shape our lives on that same God, allowing him to shape and mould us that we, too, become chips off the old block. Let us pray:

Gracious God,
in company with our King,
we rededicate ourselves to your service.
Take our minds and think through them,
take our lips and speak through them,
take our hearts and set them on fire
with love for you and your kingdom;
that here we may have your peace,
and in the world to come may see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Make A Joyful Noise – The Coronation Anthem by Andrew Lloyd Webber

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life?

Here's the sermon I preached at tonight's Commemoration Service for Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II held at St Andrew's Wickford:

In the past week the doors of our churches have been open to groups including local businesses and uniformed groups as well as individuals from school children to care home residents all leaving their messages to Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in our Books of Condolence. One message in particular stood out for me; from a woman who wrote that the Queen had been “Our one constant that has seen so many monumental changes throughout the world.”

That message recognises that we live in troubled times and times of great change, specifically at present with a new Prime Minister and a new King in short succession. So, as a nation, we face hard economic challenges amidst constitutional and political upheaval. Writing about this situation for the BBC, Mark Easton has said: “There are questions about the values that underpin our governance, about what democracy and the rule of law should mean in a Britain adjusting to a new relationship with the wider world; what tolerance and fairness should look like in a country fearing severe hardship in a cost-of-living crisis; a kingdom unconvinced in some quarters that it even wants to remain as a single sovereign nation.”

We are facing some of those questions because Queen Elizabeth is no longer with us. The Queen has been a point of stability in our nation; our one constant as the message in our Book of Condolence said or, as one of those interviewed on the TV News put it, the Queen has “always been a constant, a real stable pillar” or as one TV commentator said, “We’d got used to thinking she was immortal.” For many of us, she has been the only monarch we have known. From Winston Churchill, to Liz Truss, 15 prime ministers have served the queen throughout her reign of 70 years. So, while prime ministers came and went, the Queen was always there, a point of continuity in political change to the extent, as several commentators have said, we, therefore, thought she might go on for ever. In terms of her character, she has exemplified the saying, ‘Keep calm and carry on’ and has, therefore, been a point of calm – an anchor – for many in the storms of life. In terms of her role, she has been a point of stability as representative for the traditions, freedoms and responsibilities of our history and our system of parliamentary government.

The Queen was able to be an anchor for others because she saw God as her anchor. She said, “For me, the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace … is an inspiration and an anchor in my life.” For her, “the teachings of Christ” and her “own personal accountability before God” provided the framework through which she tried to lead her life. She also spoke of the way prayer sustained her. In 1992, in a speech to mark the 40th anniversary of her accession, she thanked all those who had prayed for her and said that those prayers ‘sustained me through all these years’.

Like the Queen, King Charles III has also highlighted the inspiration that his faith provides in speaking of the Church of England - the Church in which his “own faith is so deeply rooted.” He said that: “In that faith, and the values it inspires, I have been brought up to cherish a sense of duty to others, and to hold in the greatest respect the precious traditions, freedoms and responsibilities of our unique history and our system of parliamentary government.” He then went on to say that: “As the Queen herself did with such unswerving devotion, I too now solemnly pledge myself, throughout the remaining time God grants me, to uphold the constitutional principles at the heart of our nation.” He ended by saying that, “in carrying out the heavy task that has been laid upon me, and to which I now dedicate what remains to me of my life, I pray for the guidance and help of almighty God.”

There’s a hymn that asks:

“Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?”

I am regularly meeting people at present who are essentially asking themselves that very question as life becomes more challenging and some of what we had previously viewed as certainties have been stripped away from us. When some of the basics in life, such as food and warmth, are threatened or become unaffordable, we begin to question the ability of the state and the private sector to provide and start to wonder whether God’s provision and support might actually be something we need.

In 1947, in her 21st birthday speech, Queen Elizabeth prayed, that God would help her to make good her vow to devote the whole of her life to the service of her people. She spoke often about how she asked for God’s help in undertaking her highly important role. She knew that she needed great strength to be able to serve others in the way to which she had committed.

She also saw the way in which Jesus provides an example for us of how to live an unselfish life in circumstances of adversity, saying in her 2008 Christmas Broadcast: “I hope that, like me, you will be comforted by the example of Jesus of Nazareth who, often in circumstances of great adversity, managed to live an outgoing, unselfish and sacrificial life … He makes it clear that genuine human happiness and satisfaction lie more in giving than receiving; more in serving than in being served.” His example was the reason why, in her 2020 Christmas Broadcast, she said, “We continue to … draw comfort that - even on the darkest nights - there is hope in the new dawn.”

The life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace was an inspiration and an anchor in the life of Queen Elizabeth. She was able to be an anchor – a point of stability – for others because Jesus was her anchor; an anchor that held and proved firm in the storms of life. As we face increasing storms without the example of Her Majesty, holding onto the anchor to which she held might be worth considering; doing so was certainly something she commended.

God is an anchor that holds firm not only for the present but also for the future, as Queen Elizabeth is now experiencing herself. Our Bible reading tonight (Revelation 21.1-7) speaks of the new heaven and new earth that God will create where there will be no more death, mourning, crying and pain. God’s promise is that we will inherit these things, living for eternity on earth with God’s kingdom come as it is in heaven where God will be our God and we will be God’s children. That reality is what Queen Elizabeth now experiences. Her anchor held firm in the storms of life and has drawn her through those storms into eternal rest.

“Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?”

The Queen has been “a constant, a real stable pillar,” a centre of calm, a point of stability, an anchor in the storms of life, for us. For her, however, it was the life of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, was inspiration and anchor in her life. May it be so for us too. Amen.

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Audrey Assad - Abide With Me.