God's manna from heaven

Sunday 28^th November (Advent Sunday) by Alan Walden

Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-34 (also if time 1 Kings 17 1-16, Matthew 26:20-30)

What is it that makes a great meal? The food, the company, the ambiance, the warmth of the welcome? I am at a stage in life when I don’t often manage to host or attend a good dinner party - the combination of children and evening meetings mean there are few opportunities. Perhaps that’s why one of my favourite TV programmes at the moment is ‘Come Dine with Me’ which offers a second hand dinner party experience. Four people each take it in turns to host a dinner party, and they award points for the overall experience - the winner, the one who hosts the best dinner party wins £1000. Each evening there is a sense of expectation - what will it be like (the house, the food the people). And there is also a good deal of preparation - by the host, but also by the guests (what they wear, how they plan to behave).

When it comes to Holy Communion, we are all guests at the Lord’s Supper. Jesus says to us ‘Come dine with me.’ What is it that we get when we come to his table? What should we be expecting to happen and how should we prepare?

The Lord’s Supper is such a special part of Christian experience, that whenever we talk about it, we can only approach it with a kind of humble recognition that we will not fully understand it in this life. It is a holy mystery - with many layers of meaning. We can explore some of those layers, but we do so in the full knowledge that we will never reach the end of our exploration.

The idea of God meeting with his people at a meal is something which happens throughout the Bible. In the Garden of Eden, before there was a companion for Adam, God gave him trees that were good for food, and gave him freedom to eat what he chose (with one exception). With no sin and no separation from God, every meal would have been a God given feast in his presence. (It was of course in disobedience over a meal that they fell from grace - trying to feed themselves in God’s absence). We read of God feeding Elijah in the wilderness to equip him for what he had to do. And there are other instances of eating and drinking in God’s presence at key points in Scripture. For example, just after God gave the 10 commandments to Moses, there was a meal with the elders in Gods presence (Exodus 24:11) ‘They beheld God and they ate and drank’. And of course there was the Passover Supper - a meal to remember God’s saving his people from slavery. And in the section just before our Gospel, Matthew 26:17-19 makes it clear that it was just such a Passover Supper at which the Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper which we celebrate today. And on into the future, the wonderful idea of feasting in God’s presence is still present in Revelation 19:9 ’Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb’ - that is the ultimate celebration of God’s reconciliation with humans at the end of time. So the Bible has God feeding us as a key part of his relationship with us from start to finish.

So we come to look at the fellowship meal as instituted and commanded by Christ in that Gospel reading. As we think about its role in our Christian discipleship, there are various meanings which we can find - all woven together. I want to point to four in particular, and they all relate to the actions involved.

Firstly, braking symbolises Christ’s death. In verse 26 ’Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it’. That action which is repeated in every communion service, reminds us of his death: broken bread for his slaughtered body, flowing wine for his blood which was shed. Verse 28 ‘This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins’. When we say these words and do these actions, we are ‘proclaiming his death’ His death reminds us of his love for us. Because ‘No greater love’ could he have than to give up his life.

Secondly, taking. Jesus said in verse 26 - take, eat, and again ‘drink.. all of you’. As we each reach out and receive the bread and the wine, we are saying - I take the benefits of Christ’s death for myself. He was poured out for the forgiveness of sins, and we accept the forgiveness, the reconciliation with God, the promise of eternal life. Because an action is required by us - coming forward, reaching out, taking the bread and the wine, we are recognising that God’s gift doesn’t just need to be known about, it needs to be received. So at communion we take bread and wine and we receive the benefits of Christ’s death for ourselves.

Thirdly, nourishment. Just as we all need food and drink to keep our physical bodies healthy, and there is also spiritual nourishment which our souls require. The eating and drinking are a picture and a symbol of that, but they are more than that, because as we participate in the physical eating and drinking, our souls really are fed spiritually.

Sacraments are described as being ‘An outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.’ The outward form is the bread and wine being received - the inward grace is the blessings which are conveyed. Forgiveness, strength, faith, a sense of God’s love and power at work in us. When we come to communion we should come expecting spiritual nourishment - according to what we need. We should expect to be changed, renewed, re-energised by God’s Spirit. That is the spiritual nourishment which we receive, and it is both symbolised and genuinely experienced as we participate in the Eucharist. We read that the disciples sung a hymn immediately after the first Lord’s Supper - a joyful response of praise. We too sing after receiving communion.

Fourthly, unity. As we gather and receive together we are giving a sign of our unity. From the account of the first Lord’s Supper there is a real sense of togetherness around the Table in the presence of Jesus. In 1 Cor 1:17, Paul says ‘Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread’. Words which we use in the Eucharistic prayer.

It is clear however that this unity had broken down by the time Paul wrote to the Corinthians. They were too focussed on eating, in their own little world with God, and not on being together - on fellowship. So from that time it seems, the meal became simplified, and a symbolic meal rather than a full meal. Because, its not about the food, but about the company. It’s not Masterchef - it’s ‘Come, Dine with Me’

So when we put these four things together, what a great cause of thanksgiving and joy there is in the Eucharist - indeed Eucharist mans ‘thanksgiving’! We come into the presence of Christ, remembering his death for us, receiving for ourselves the benefits of that death, gaining spiritual nourishment, in unity with all believers who do the same - not just here and now, but everywhere and forever.

Now, as most of you know, I was ordained priest last summer, meaning that I could preside at Communion for the first time, and in preparation for that, there was much training and study. One of the final stages of that preparation was a day I spent with all the other people being ordained priest at the same time, when the whole day given over a communion service. At each stage (gathering, confession, readings, sermon, peace, praying the Eucharistic prayer, sending out), we lingered, shared our reflections on the significance and the meaning to us. This was a rich experience - with contributions from people with a wide range of backgrounds and from different traditions in the church. It was so good to have that extra time to reflect together on the richness of the significance of the Eucharist, and the way which we participate in it. And indeed, we can go just a little deeper on the significance of Holy Communion. Why is it so important to do it rather than just to say the words?

I want to suggest that the physical nature of Communion should be a celebration of the way God is present and active in the physical world. We can easily slip into feeling that God is only involved in some other-worldly way - spiritual, but not physical. (That comes not from Christianity but from Greek thinkers like Plato, who wanted to downgrade physical existence). But Christian worship celebrates physical things, as a powerful affirmation of the gospel. We proclaim that God became flesh, he entered into the physical world, becoming a human being. That is what we are preparing for in Advent. So as we take physical things and use them to symbolise spiritual reality, it is more than just a symbol, or just a remembrance. There is a real link between the physical and the spiritual. Christ’s real presence, with us, and in us, as we receive communion, is the wonder of the Lord’s Supper.

How is he present is a wonderful mystery, too great for us to fully understand. Christians have a range of understanding of how he is present , but they do not disagree that he is genuinely present and around and through the Eucharist. The presence is symbolic, genuine and spiritual, and it conveys a real spiritual blessing, and that is why participation in the Eucharist is of such value.

So I want to finish with some comments on how we should participate. 1 Cor 11:27 ‘Examine yourselves, and only then eat of the bread and drink of the cup’. While it is good to receive communion regularly, it should not become such a habit that it loses it’s meaning, or that we come unprepared. It is beneficial if received after appropriate preparation (hence we always have a gathering, a confession, prayer, listening to God’s word etc - we prepare together. There is also personal preparation - is there anything which is particularly hampering you - then deal with it with God before coming.

In the early church, there was clearly a great problem, which we can barely conceive, of people coming to communion as if to a wild party, eager to eat and drink, not mindful of God or of one another. It must have been rather like a particularly wild episode of ‘Come Dine with Me’. We don’t do that of course, but nevertheless, St Pauls warning on the importance of coming to communion in a state where we can ‘discern the body’, recognise the presence of God and be able to come into that presence, speaks to us. Do we prepare as well as we might for entering the presence of such a holy God?

So Jesus says - Come Dine with Me. At his table, Christ affirms his love for us, and our salvation through his blood, and we affirm our faith in him - by participating, by receiving. There is always something new available for us when we do. And If we come suitably prepared to the Lord’s Table, expecting to meet with him and be changed, then we will surely be spiritually nourished, strengthened by his presence with us, refreshed for the next stage in our journey of discipleship.

Questions

What aspects of the meaning of communion are most important for you?

What aspects do you tend to ignore, or to miss out on?

What preparations do you make to come to Holy Communion, and how could you be better prepared?

Do you find Communion spiritually nourishing - why (or why not)? What could you do to get more from Communion services?

Christ the King

Sunday Nov 21 2010 by Mavis Wilson

Readings: Jeremiah 23. 1-6; Colossians 1.11-20; Luke 23. 33-43

With the announcement this week of the Royal engagement kings and queens are rather in the news at present. To-day we celebrate another king - Jesus or as this Sunday is called ‘Christ the King’. It is the last Sunday before the church’s New Year begins at Advent and it comes right in the middle of our series on discipleship, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the one whom we serve; hopefully as the loyal and obedient subjects of a king who is unlike any earthly ruler.

The three readings to-day focus on three aspects or models of kingship. Jeremiah tells us about the shepherd king, St Luke about the suffering king and St Paul in Colossians about the supreme king.

At a time when the kings and leaders of the people of Israel had failed to provide the kind of leadership which guided, cared for and nurtured God’s people, the prophet Jeremiah contrasts their failure with the essential goodness, faithfulness and tenderness of God. These verses resonate with the very beginning of everything. God draws his people together from the scattered experiences of rebellion and exile and there is a promise for them ‘they shall be fruitful and multiply’ words which echo the original blessing of the garden of Eden and a hint that God’ s purposes are to restore his people to a good place where they belong and where fear will be unknown.

The same idea is picked up of course in Psalm 23 where the Lord who is the shepherd makes his servant ‘lie down in green pastures’ ‘and ‘even though ‘I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil’. God the shepherd king is in control and his people will be safe. This is exactly the role which Jesus attributes to himself in St John’s gospel. Or celebrated in the words of a recent hymn written for this Sunday by our Rural Dean Andrew Body –

We praise you our Father for Jesus the shepherd
who guides us and guards us through all life can bring.
Protecting his flock made of faithful saints unnumbered.
We praise you our Father for Jesus the king.

A picture of a tender and nurturing king always wanting to rescue his people from harm is a fundamental understanding of who God is and the way he wants to bless us.

Yet as we hear the story of Jesus we discover another kind of king – the suffering king- Jesus on the cross, mocked for his weakness and vulnerability. No-one could look less like a king than a convicted criminal being crucified and yet that is where we see him. Particularly in St John’s gospel Jesus’ Crucifixion is made a sign of his glory and of his kingly status. That truth is made all the more poignant because it is the catcall with which the soldiers mock him in to-days gospel. Can it be possible that this shamed, mutilated man can be a king? Surely not! It is in only when the Cross is seen in the light of the glory of resurrection that we recognise who he is and what he has done for us.

We praise you, our Father, for Jesus our Saviour,

whose dying and rising has ended death’s sting;

forgiving for ever the worst of our behaviour.

We praise you, our Father, for Jesus our king.

It is also in the light of the resurrection and reflecting on his own encounter with the risen Lord Jesus that Paul come to his conclusion about the supremacy of Jesus which he sets out in these few amazing verses of the reading from Colossians. Just listen to the series of things which Jesus is and has done:

· through him we have freedom and forgiveness and an inheritance with all the saints; he reflects God like a mirror and shows us what God is like

· he existed before creation and he has primacy over it

· he is the unifying centre of everything holding together the universe and the church

· he was the first and therefore by implication will not be the last to return from the dead because he will bring us too to resurrection

· there is nothing in God which we do not see reflected in Christ – all the fullness of God is in him

· he is the one through whom reconciliation comes and his death brings peace, wholeness and unity.

All in all he is unique and supreme, the king over past, present and future.

These amazing phrases piled one on top of the other really need unpacking and thinking about separately. But for now let’s take just one phrase to think about because Paul constantly applies what Jesus has done to who we are and what we do as his followers. He brings it all down to our share ‘may you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience while joyfully giving thanks to the Father. So often we seem to live our Christian lives in our own strength. It seems to be a position to which we constantly revert – try harder! – we whisper to ourselves ‘God helps those who help themselves’ we say. That is frankly rubbish. Actually God helps those who recognise that power comes form him and that, like Jesus we can receive all we need if only we will be open to him. The last year has brought many challenges both together and individually; just think about the ones you have faced. Recession? Anxiety about money? Personal illness or sickness in your family? The prospect of death? A long haul over the St Peter’s project? All these and more have been around and they have not gone away yet. Who is king in these areas? Us or Jesus? Do we rely constantly on his strength or our own? Be honest! Who really is king in our lives?

When you go to visit the Queen there are all kinds of rules which have to be observed, how to walk, where to stand, only to speak when spoken to, how to curtsy and much more besides. When we come into Jesus’ presence we can stand up straight and be welcomed as beloved children and as faithful servants because he has given us the right to be there.

In the end worship is the only response to recognising Jesus as king. The words of another song which we often sing may help us to reflect this morning on a response to the king who holds together our creation, salvation and hope of glory. Who offers us all we need if only we will humble ourselves and accept his offer.

‘What can I give? What can I bring to so faithful a God to so loving a king?

We do not have to be obsequious we can come just as we are, bringing our vulnerability, our fears, our hopes, our joys, all that we are – we have nothing else. Yet that is all that Jesus wants – ourselves created in his image and saved by his love

‘What can I give? What can I bring to so faithful a God to so loving a king?

May that be the question which we consider and respond to this Advent as we worship Jesus our king. Amen

Questions

1. Shepherd, sufferer, supreme – which of these words do you most readily associate with Jesus? Which of them is the most difficult? Meditate this week on that one.

2. In which area of your life do you still need to make Jesus King?

3. Which of Paul’s descriptions of Jesus in the Colossians reading do you find most powerful and why?

4. In what ways do you hope our Queen (or a future King) might reflect the qualities of Jesus? Please pray for them as part of the prayer time together this evening.

Remembrance Sunday

There will not be a sermon posted this week, as the services were on the topic of remembrance and not in the discipleship series. Please take the opportunity to use a previous sermon you may have missed.

God's wisdom enlightens us

Sunday 7^th November 2010 by Alan Walden

Reading: Proverbs 2:1-15

Some people do the most foolish things. People take out huge mortgages, buy at the top of the market and bemoan their bad luck when the market collapses. They think catastrophes can’t happen to them, so they don’t need insurance. They play games of chance which are stacked against them. They order a large burger and chips, with a diet Coke, and wonder why they don’t lose weight. They believe their horoscope. They talk on a mobile phone while driving. Of course none of us do any of these things do we?

In contrast to such human foolishness stands the wisdom of God. There is in the nature of God that complete knowledge which pervades every aspect of life and creation. His wisdom is eternal, righteous and just.

The entire cosmos came into being by his wisdom. Human life is the product of his creative wisdom. God’s intelligence is behind everything which we see. The Biblical view of wisdom is that it is both spiritual and practical - it is what makes life work.

God’s wisdom is behind life itself, so it should be no surprise that God’s wisdom enables us to live better lives - lives that work. I have been reading a book by Bill Hybels called ‘Making Life Work’ - subtitled ‘Putting God’s Wisdom into action’. It’s an excellent book, lively and practical, looking at the pursuit of godly wisdom as laid out in the book of Proverbs. It draws out and applies the wisdom of the book and shows how well it applies to a whole host of practical life situations. Divine insight available to help us to live well.

Proverbs is such an incredible compendium of wisdom, and as Hybels neatly puts it, ‘where else, can we find writing that is poetic, but practical, humorous, yet helpful, direct, yet deep.’

Indeed, God’s wisdom is meant to be understood and applied, and it can make a huge difference to life, making the difference between life that works and one which falls apart. Applying wisdom is not an absolute guarantee that everything will be perfect, but it does make a huge difference between the chance of a life well lived, and one which falls apart.

Yesterday at St Francis we had the Alpha Holy Spirit day, and we talked about all the things which the Holy Spirit does for us. One of these things is that he helps us to understand God’s word (the Bible) and God’s world (in which we live). Paul prays in Ephesians Chapter 1:17-18 that we would have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so that we might know God better. He prays that the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened in order that we can understand the wonder and mystery of God, or to know this love which surpasses knowledge (Eph 3:19)

Certainly for me, before I was a Christian, on the rare occasions I went to church, I heard this book (The Bible) read in a marriage service or a funeral service, but I didn’t understand it. It was only when the Spirit God enabled me that I could understand it - not only that but he gave me a passion for the scriptures which I still have today.

One of the great theologians and philosophers of the eleventh century, Anselm of Canterbury, said this: `Credo ut intelligam’—which means `I believe in order that I might understand.’ He said: `I do not seek to understand in order to believe; but I believe in order to understand.’ And it’s the Holy Spirit who brings that understanding and helps us to develop our relationship with God. It has been very exciting to see that understanding developing in people as they do the Alpha course, and are enlightened by the wisdom of God.

Wisdom in the Bible is a combination of what is right and true with good and sensible judgment. Perhaps, put like that, it doesn’t sound terribly glamorous or attractive. Wisdom goes with words like sensible, prudent, discerning. But the central message of proverbs as encapsulated in our reading is: pursue wisdom. Incline your heart to it - treasure it - seek it. And the reason we should pursue wisdom is because it works! It is more valuable than silver or gold, it is even more precious than fame, power and money.

We need only look at the foolish behaviour of some of the rich and famous. Politicians... businessmen... footballers... people at the top of their profession are not immune. If we put our energy into pursuing things other than wisdom then even the greatest people can fall into a great big hole.

And the way to pursue wisdom is to pursue God. Proverbs 1:7 ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools despise wisdom and instruction.’ Here and in other places the Bible tells us that a right respect and reverence for God - holy fear - is what leads on to a right understanding of the world, or wisdom.

The promise we have is that if we seek wisdom, then we will find it. We will find it in the book of Proverbs, and we will find it in the teaching of Jesus. As we read, reflect, pray, and seek to apply God’s wisdom in our lives, we will gain understanding, knowledge of God, and a life which works.

Wisdom in proverbs includes wisdom for family life. There seem to have been many news stories recently about the difficulty of offering equal opportunities to all children. Children from better homes persistently achieve more in life than those from poorer ones. Those who start out with a disadvantage never seem to recover, and it is clearly not fair to the child.

But it is an indication perhaps that good, wise parenting has a massive impact on a child. Proverbs 17:16 ‘Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their parents’. The legacy of good parents is priceless, but many people go through life filled with difficulties, because parents didn’t teach them how to make life work. And it works the other way round, Proverbs 15:20 ‘A wise child makes a glad father, but the foolish despise their mothers’. So wisdom is key to harmonious family relationships.

And wisdom applies in the workplace too. 22:29 ‘Do you see those who are skilful in their work? They will serve kings, they will not serve common people’. The natural order of things is that people who work hard and apply themselves will be well rewarded. This is not a promise or a guarantee, but a straightforward explanation of how life normally works.

I used to work with salespeople, and I was responsible for measuring and rewarding their performance. Each month, some would do well, some badly, but there was a pattern and consistency. People who worked hard and well normally came out near the top, and those who were lazy and incompetent dropped off the bottom. Occasionally, they would resort in desperation and greed to deceit and even fraud.

As we read in 2:11 ‘Wisdom... will save you from the way of evil, ... from those who forsake the paths of uprightness... whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.’

Proverbs also includes wisdom for different kinds of relationships, and includes our attitude to speaking the truth, to taking initiative, and to managing anger.

It often takes things we know from elsewhere in the Bible and brings it out. For example, we know from the 10 commandments that lying is wrong - ‘you shall not bear false witness’. Proverbs puts it more picturesquely: 12:22 ‘Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord’ God detests lies. And it has much more to say about the power of words. 15:4 ‘A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit’ What we say can cause immense damage to others. How important it is, then to reflect carefully and to hold our tongue. 15:28 ‘The mind of the righteous ponders how to answer, but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil.’

Proverbs presents itself as a quite disordered arrangement of sayings, it is not nicely themed or grouped, which doesn’t make it easy to find what you want. I have found that a good way to read it is to pick a section (from chapter 10 when the introduction finishes) and ponder the meaning of each proverb. I find that some are clear and obvious, some can be opaque, but then I come to one which really speaks to some particular situation I am in. Then I stop, reflect, pray - and take that proverb away with me.

So let us pursue God’s wisdom - in proverbs, and in the teaching of Jesus, seeking it out with the help of God’s Spirit. We can read it, pray over it, reflect on it and then apply it. The wisdom which God offers freely to us is both a spiritual blessing and a practical blessing. The more we pursue it and apply it, the more we will find that God’s wisdom makes life work.

Questions

1) What areas of life are working well, and in what areas do you seem to especially need God’s wisdom?

2) How have you been enlightened recently by your prayer life, reading scripture, worship or talking with other Christians?

3) What practical steps might you take to receive grow in your knowledge and understanding of God and his world?

4) Pick one chapter to read from Proverbs 10-29. What proverbs strike you? What seem to apply to a situation you are in at present?

God’s Invitation Draws Us

Sunday 31^st October 2010 by Revd. Margaret Massey

Readings: Psalm 113; Hebrews 12:12-17; John 14:25-31

You’re fired!

If you’re familiar with the popular TV show ‘The Apprentice’ you will recognise these as the words that Alan Sugar, self-made millionaire, booms out each week to one unsuccessful candidate for the job of his apprentice.

Well the Good News is, we’re hired. Jesus Christ is our personal invitation to come to God as Jesus’ apprentice. We are invited to join God’s company. This invitation doesn’t come with a one year contract, a six figure salary and something that looks good on our CV; no, it comes with much more. We are invited to a live-long apprenticeship to our master, Jesus Christ. We are invited to a growing-learning relationship, to building up our heavenly CV and many future blessings.

When we accept God’s invitation we join the community of apprentices that Christ draws together. We become part of an alternative society that is formed around him. Being an apprentice is the process of being transformed by God and community is a crucial element of the formation process. The company handbook, the Bible, like all handbooks, was not written for and about isolated individuals; it was written for and about a community of people —Israel in the Old Testament, the church in the New Testament.

There is no such thing as ‘self-made’ or ‘lone ranger Christianity’; we cannot live the Christian life if we don’t join in the fellowship of the church. We are Jesus’ apprentices together with other Christians who serve God in the world —praying together, worshipping together, studying God’s word together, sharing our burdens, and encouraging each other.

Jesus’ life demonstrates this so well for us. At the very beginning of his ministry, after praying and listening to God all night, Jesus chose a small community of twelve disciples to be with him (Mark 3:13—14). Jesus invited them to come to him and join a community formed by his teaching and leadership. And John’s Gospel records that at the very end of his ministry, as he hangs on the cross, Jesus entrusts his mother and beloved disciple to each other to be part of the same family. He says, "Woman, here is your son," and to the beloved disciple, "Here is your mother." By speaking these words Jesus established a new family at the foot of the cross, one that that was centred on him and obedient to God. (John 19:25-27).

‘The Apprentice’ TV show gives a good example of how in our society people will choose to operate as individuals, even though they have been invited to be part of a special group.

We have replaced community belonging and responsibility with individual identity and rights. And sometimes the church is mistakenly viewed as a place for individual worship and fulfilment. Faith is thought to be exclusively an individual concern.

But this is not the faith of Jesus or his apostles, nor is it the understanding of the earliest Christians. The early church never saw itself as a collection of individuals gathering to pursue their own individual spiritual programs for growth. The early church was a vibrant counterculture - an ‘outpost of heaven’. These communities lived in contradiction to the world around them and saw themselves as an entirely new expression of humanity. And today, by his Spirit and through his apprentices, Jesus Christ is calling us to be a vibrant community.

There is a story about a young man from Scotland who was admitted to Oxford University. He moved into a dormitory. His mother worried about how he’d get along with all those snobbish English in a strange land. She gave him a call. “How do you find the English students, Donald?” she asked.

“Och, Mother,” he said, “they are strange and noisy people. The one on my right side bangs his head against the wall all night and won’t stop. The one on the other side shouts and swears until the early hours.”

“Oh, Donald,” said his mother, “How do you put up with such rude, noisy, people?”

“I ignore them, Mother,” said Donald. “I just sit here quietly each night, practicing my bagpipes till the sun comes up.”

Well, the sound of bagpipes reduces me to tears, but for non-Scots I’m sure hearing bagpipes playing into the middle of the night would reduce you to head banging or swearing. But some people are just like Donald. They live as if they were the only ones who matter. We meet them every day on the roads and in the super markets. Maybe in our own family, or dare I say, even here in our church. In fact, maybe we are the ones who are oblivious to our effect on others. But as Jesus’ apprentices we have responsibilities to and for one another.

I don’t know about you but I always find it is much easier to be holy when no one else is around to frustrate me. If there is no one else to challenge me I can fool myself into thinking that I am maturing as a Christian. But I know this is false, real maturity needs to be shown in relationships.

Rick Warren author of ‘The purpose driven life’, says that the phrase “one another” or “each other” is used over fifty times in the New Testament; we are commanded to love each other, pray for each other, encourage each other, forgive each other and many other mutual tasks. These are our responsibilities that God expects us to fulfil through a local fellowship.

Jesus’ apprentices can be encouraged that we are never without help. We’ve just heard in our Gospel reading that Jesus says, ‘But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.’(John 14:26)

Jesus doesn’t simply ask us to do what he would do, he offers us God’s Holy Spirit, how incredible is that! He enables us to do what we could never do ourselves. We can trust is in God’s reconciling love, in God’s power, in the presence of the Spirit to guide us into being God’s light.

Through the Spirit’s power we can honestly recognise the differences amongst us and confess that we may not want to love someone we see as unlovable. However, when we learn and experience God’s love through Jesus, we are enabled to show love to others.

God has drawn us together to be the light of his reconciling love for the whole world. Such love can be given only because Christ’s Spirit dwells in the church and with each member. When the church opens its heart and soul to this love we are transformed into a community that seeks justice rather than revenge, reconciliation rather than domination.

You should be aware that in the New Year, we will be moving to The Hall for our Sunday morning worship together. Church is not a building it is a community of people whom God has invited. Change is always unsettling, therefore as a community we need to take care of and listen to one another. We need to be sensitive to the fact that, even though it is not intented, some may feel they have been left out. If people think that things have not been fully communicated to them it can lead to feelings of hurt and bitterness.

Bitterness has been described as an odourless, colourless and tasteless poison that you administer to yourself and it kills you. But its more lethal than that,it isn’t just personal, it can infiltrate whole church communities.

The overall point of the Hebrews passage we heard was that we should protect the community of God’s people against dissension, bitterness, immorality, and godless living. Together we can strengthen one another and set an example of faithfulness and care. We can keep one another from spreading bitterness, we can give help and we can find help when we need it most, through prayer.

As a community we need to draw together more regularly in prayer. Some good advice I heard recently is: Have you prayed about your problem as much as you’ve talked about it?

Morning Prayer takes place in this parish every day between 9 and 9.30am except on Wednesdays and Sundays. Sometimes there are only 2 of us present and it would be good to have more support.

During this vulnerable time we should all make a special effort to come and join together in prayer, to be quiet with others in a noisy world. Jesus is always near, he is able to do the impossible, he works through his people to bring about his purposes, and, as the master, he loves his apprentices unconditionally.

I’d like to finish by reminding us that God’s invitation exists first of all because of the loving action of God on our behalf. We come together in response to his gracious invitation through the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us.

Out of gratitude for all God has done we should draw near to him, keeping faithful, encouraging one another, and enjoying fellowship as Jesus’ apprentices.

Praise be to God; as Alan Sugar would say, we’re hired!

Questions:

1. Do you agree that we can’t grow in Christ by ourselves?
2. What do you consider to be the fundamental purpose of the ‘church’?
3. Reflect on how you feel modern-day discipleship compares against discipleship in the early Church.