I wonder how you feel about silence. What your story of silence is.
Last week, when I went on retreat before my ordination, we spent a fair amount of time in what we called silence. But it wasn’t really. Although we weren’t speaking to each other, there was still the sound of the pipes rattling as someone got a glass of water, the birds singing and squabbling in the gardens, and the irregular rattling of a train on the neighbouring tracks. And that was just on the outside. On the inside, I was chuntering away to myself. God wasn’t quiet either. God was there, showing me more, teaching me more, loving me more.
Behind the story of the birth of John the Baptist there are two stories of silence.
Continued here...
Tuesday 30 June 2009
Tuesday 9 June 2009
Children of God
I’m really pleased to be here, with the opportunity to preach this morning. Of course, I’m always enjoy preaching, especially to such a fine bunch of folks as you lot, but today I’m especially excited. That is because today is Trinity Sunday, and I love the Trinity. I think that it is one of the most exciting and exhilarating aspects of God that there is, and I love talking about it. One of the dangers of this is that I might get a bit carried away. Trinity Sunday only comes round once a year, and there is more to be said about the Trinity than can be said in quarter of an hour once a year. But that is what we have, so hopefully this morning, even if I don’t say everything that can be said about the Trinity, I will say enough to help us to experience one God in three persons in a way that is deeper and more real to our hearts.
One of the reasons that I find the Trinity to be so attractive, is that it seems to me that the idea of relationship being at the heart of God’s identity, who God is, helps us to understand our own relationship with God, and our identity, who we really are.
It seems to me that questions of identity are really important, particularly at the moment. Who am I? I might define myself by my family relationships: I am a husband, a son, a father. I might define myself by my job: I am a curate. I might define myself by my nationality: I am British. But, it seems to me that these ways of working out who we are can leave us very vulnerable. Over the last few decades, as the people have become more able to move around the country, families have become less physically close, marriages have broken up, and people close to us die. If I have defined myself as my grandchild’s grandparent, what happens to my identity when that young family has to move to find work? If my identity and self worth are all tied up with my work, with my job, what happens to that when I lose my job? What does it mean to be British? As we see the disaster area of our national political scene at the moment, is being British something that we want to be?
It seems to me that we all need something more stable, more trustworthy to show us our identity, who we really are, how valuable we are.
I believe that God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, can give us that.
Continued here...
One of the reasons that I find the Trinity to be so attractive, is that it seems to me that the idea of relationship being at the heart of God’s identity, who God is, helps us to understand our own relationship with God, and our identity, who we really are.
It seems to me that questions of identity are really important, particularly at the moment. Who am I? I might define myself by my family relationships: I am a husband, a son, a father. I might define myself by my job: I am a curate. I might define myself by my nationality: I am British. But, it seems to me that these ways of working out who we are can leave us very vulnerable. Over the last few decades, as the people have become more able to move around the country, families have become less physically close, marriages have broken up, and people close to us die. If I have defined myself as my grandchild’s grandparent, what happens to my identity when that young family has to move to find work? If my identity and self worth are all tied up with my work, with my job, what happens to that when I lose my job? What does it mean to be British? As we see the disaster area of our national political scene at the moment, is being British something that we want to be?
It seems to me that we all need something more stable, more trustworthy to show us our identity, who we really are, how valuable we are.
I believe that God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, can give us that.
Continued here...
Tuesday 2 June 2009
Chosen?
"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last."
Jesus spoke these words to his friends and followers nearly two thousand years ago, and I believe that he continues to speak them to us today. Maybe it will help us to hear them more clearly , and to understand what they mean for us, if we spend a few moments thinking about what they might have meant for some of the people who heard them when they were first spoken.
Mary, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. When you were a young woman, just betrothed to Dad, and that angel appeared to you to tell you that I would be born to you, even though you had never been with a man. You did not choose me. Nobody can ever choose who their child will be, but you had even less control over it than most people. You did not choose me, but I chose you. In some ways I was the fruit that you bore. I am the fruit of your body, but also the fruit of your love and care as I grew and became a man. That fruit will last forever. I will die, but I will defeat death and be raised to live again forever.
But there is more fruit that you will bear. You did not choose me, but the way in which you humbly accepted and obeyed my Father, is an example that will inspire countless women and men forever more. Your witness to my life, death and resurrection will bring life and hope to people across time and places that are beyond your imagination.
Continued here...
Jesus spoke these words to his friends and followers nearly two thousand years ago, and I believe that he continues to speak them to us today. Maybe it will help us to hear them more clearly , and to understand what they mean for us, if we spend a few moments thinking about what they might have meant for some of the people who heard them when they were first spoken.
Mary, you did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last. When you were a young woman, just betrothed to Dad, and that angel appeared to you to tell you that I would be born to you, even though you had never been with a man. You did not choose me. Nobody can ever choose who their child will be, but you had even less control over it than most people. You did not choose me, but I chose you. In some ways I was the fruit that you bore. I am the fruit of your body, but also the fruit of your love and care as I grew and became a man. That fruit will last forever. I will die, but I will defeat death and be raised to live again forever.
But there is more fruit that you will bear. You did not choose me, but the way in which you humbly accepted and obeyed my Father, is an example that will inspire countless women and men forever more. Your witness to my life, death and resurrection will bring life and hope to people across time and places that are beyond your imagination.
Continued here...
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