tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36369138873777097482024-03-13T18:21:02.064+02:00The Long ViewMark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.comBlogger110125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-66780332997352474222022-01-09T11:13:00.001+02:002022-01-09T11:30:59.134+02:00Sermon: The Baptism of Christ<p style="text-align: center;"><b>Sermon: The Baptism of
Christ</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">9 January 2022 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Isaiah 43:1-7; Psalm
29; and Luke 3:15-17, 21-22; NRSV</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The New Year is often considered a time for resolutions,
which generally speak to our human desire to live better and more meaningful lives.
In all honesty these resolutions are often either too simplistic or too
idealistic to be of any impact, yet whether we embrace or eschew the tradition
the beginning of a New Year is a useful place to consider our expectations, reflect
on our lives, and explore our hope for the months that lie ahead. Bishop Geoff,
in the conclusion to his sermon last Sunday, reminded us as we enter 2022 of a
key resolution we need to make – and make daily – if we are indeed serious
about our faith commitment. He said, “… I invite you, on this entry into a New
Year, to take God's word seriously today. To surrender yourself to God once
more, with all that you have and all that you are, so that in 2022 you may
discover more fully the source of your life ‘in Christ Jesus’ and may be able
to live more effectively ‘to the praise of God’s glory’.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our Gospel reading this morning echoes this invitation as we
are drawn into the expectation and hope of the crowds gathered around John the
Baptist who, Luke informs us, “… with many … exhortations, … proclaimed the
good news to the people.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
This Good News was based on John’s proclamation of “… a baptism of repentance
for the forgiveness of sins,”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
a message of discomfort that spoke directly to the crowd’s expectation that it
was time for God to act and that significant change would result. John warns the
people that, “Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree
therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
In response the crowd ask John, “What then should we do?”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and he responds with a call to a simple and honest and intrinsically just lifestyle,
encouraging the crowds to be generous with their excess resources: only one
coat is needed, give the rest away to those who have need of them; share your
food with those who have insufficient; if you’re a tax collector, take no more
than what’s due; if you’re a soldier, be satisfied with your wages.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
There is something about a call to living an honest and generous and just life
that is inspiring, and we see in the opening words of today’s Gospel reading
that the expectations of the crowd were heightened, to the point where the
people were beginning to seriously wonder if John may be the Messiah (a title
that carried significant political overtones at the time, and it is not
surprising that John directs this expectation to one more powerful who is yet
to come). In Luke’s account John does not name Jesus as the Messiah, instead
focusing the crowds on the signs that will mark the Messiah: the Holy Spirit
and fire. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">Luke, however, ensures we make
the connection and we hear that after John’s arrest by Herod, Jesus, together
with others in the crowd, is also baptised. As Jesus prays, Luke informs us
that the Holy Spirit in the bodily form of a dove settles on Jesus, and a voice
from heaven is heard, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well
pleased.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Luke is ensuring we understand that Jesus is more than just the Messiah, he is
Divine.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">How does this speak to our ‘life in Christ’ today as we
journey into 2022? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The crowds drawn to John the Baptist had questions. What are
our questions? They had expectations. What are our expectations? Those who
responded to John’s message did so because they found answers in John’s call to
the simple, honest, and just lifestyle he advocated and they were able to
affirm their commitment to this God-focussed lifestyle by being baptised in
water. Jesus, by being baptised, affirmed his commitment to this call, too, and
it has remained an essential aspect (although too often ignored) of the
Christian Gospel over the millennia. However, not only was Jesus baptised, but
the Holy Spirit came on Jesus in bodily form, and a heavenly voice acclaimed
Jesus the Son of God, the Beloved. What does this call us to in our own time
and place, in our world of 2022? How do we respond? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Those around Jesus, who saw the dove settle upon him, would
have recognised it as a symbol of peace, sacrifice, and atonement; and Luke’s
use of the dove connects the Holy Spirit to these symbols.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Sacrifice and atonement in the ancient Temple rites of Jerusalem required fire,
and so we see a possible link to John’s comment that the one who is coming will
baptise with the Holy Spirit and fire, that from John’s perspective baptism in
the Spirit and with fire is about peace, sacrifice, and atonement. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">We understand something about the
nature of peace, and know that true peace requires sacrifice and restitution;
that sacrifice in essence requires surrender, and in terms of faith more
specifically surrender to God, to God’s will and purposes for our lives and our
communities and our world; and atonement requires restitution if we are to be
fully reconciled, to be fully ‘at one’ with God and with our fellow human
beings. We also know that embracing such a baptism is discomforting, but
necessary, and that for us as people of faith it plays out primarily in our
relationship with God, but is formed in the crucible of our intimate, individual
and community relationships. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I have purposefully used the word <i>discomfort </i>this
morning and in previous sermons. Part of my own journey as a person has been
discovering that discomfort almost always brings growth and new hope, and is in
actual fact God’s gift. It is not something I actively seek, but is something I
have learnt to not turn away from when it is offered; and that in working
through it I discover a new place of peace until such time as the gift is
offered to me again. The tough part is embracing the fire, and all too often
embracing the temptation to avoid it. But the gift of the Holy Spirit without
the fire of the Holy Spirt, the gift of peace without sacrifice and atonement, is
insipid and unsatisfying and short-lived. </p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">Along with John’s message and call to a simple, honest, just
and God-focused lifestyle, our ‘life in Christ Jesus’ calls us deeper into right
relationship with God by actively dealing with wrong-doing and unhealthy
thoughts, which we are all guilty of at times; of not treating one another with
respect and dignity; of not challenging the injustice we witness around us; of
not standing up for the rights of those weaker than ourselves.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="text-align: justify; text-indent: 36pt;">I am praying that as we enter
this new calendar year we all have the courage to answer both these calls, and to
resolve to live as people of hope, as people of peace, as people of justice;
and that such resolution my be neither simplistic nor idealistic, but authentic
and robust; and that we will take the necessary time to reflect so that our
actions will be directed and wise and filled with grace. </div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A closing prayer today by Brec Seaton, Practitioner and
Trainer at Place for Hope, a peace-building community in Glasgow, Scotland. Let
us pray,<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>The quiet whisper of injustice
that goes unheard </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Let me be still to hear this
voice</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>The roar of the powerful that
fills the sky</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Let me find the space between</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p><br /></o:p></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>The place where I am called to
speak </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>The space where I am called to
be</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>As the dove rests upon my
shoulder </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>As I look inwards and then out</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Let me find my voice</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And the fire within</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>To speak out against injustice</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>To strive to be a peacemaker </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>At one with my Lord</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>At one with myself</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>At one with the world.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Bishop Geoff Quinlan, <i>The 2nd
Sunday after Christmas: Living to the Praise of God’s Glory<o:p></o:p></i></span></p>
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">(Ephesians
1:3-14; John 12:44-50)</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, Sunday 2 January 2022<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 3:18; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 3:3; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 3:9; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 3:10; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 3: 11-14; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 3:22; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Messiah
was sufficient acclaim for Jesus in Jerusalem, but in the Roman world in which
Luke is writing (where Roman Emperors claimed divinity, often connected to the
claim of a virgin birth), acclaiming Jesus as the Son of God, as the Beloved,
was important if the Christian message was to be taken seriously.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Brec Seaton,<i> Baptism of the Lord</i>,
</span><a href="https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/pdfs/readings/345_baptism-of-the-lord.pdf"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/pdfs/readings/345_baptism-of-the-lord.pdf</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<p class="MsoFootnoteText"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20220109%20The%20Baptism%20of%20Christ%20ML.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 10pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-31715432060582861932021-12-26T14:05:00.003+02:002021-12-26T14:05:48.379+02:00Sermon: 1st Sunday after Christmas<p>My sermon for the 1st Sunday after Christmas is available in video format this week, and can be accessed at <a href="https://youtu.be/lxx9DcO-IMI">https://youtu.be/lxx9DcO-IMI</a> </p><p style="text-align: center;">It is based on Colossians 3:12-17 and Matthew 2:41-52</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmSeyX9jnINtQ6n4T9OLFy2YM-yWdy0AQ-SVK9qjyJJ_sLtDWNfrxdYoae4jR4xacWLz8sGFR1kQj2ELfq5hfq-WSAIx3TDR8vQv8i488C15sX2GK_x5X5YPx_-ThLCZfyQuCB-SjGjmBwp56t-yG3SdTqSpxL3fZFSCoapMBpzAG7KXhm4htiZ6ju=s3331" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1873" data-original-width="3331" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjmSeyX9jnINtQ6n4T9OLFy2YM-yWdy0AQ-SVK9qjyJJ_sLtDWNfrxdYoae4jR4xacWLz8sGFR1kQj2ELfq5hfq-WSAIx3TDR8vQv8i488C15sX2GK_x5X5YPx_-ThLCZfyQuCB-SjGjmBwp56t-yG3SdTqSpxL3fZFSCoapMBpzAG7KXhm4htiZ6ju=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-51915046104274474192021-12-25T11:26:00.002+02:002021-12-25T11:26:24.465+02:00Christmas Greetings<p>Dear Friends </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A blessed and joyous Christmas to you all as we end another
difficult and trying year. On a positive note, we have at least “just” had to
handle more of what 2020 threw at us, and we have become that much more
proficient at holding unexpected change and all the heartache and hardship Covid-19
continues to cause in our world. I am thankful for the strength and resilience
of each one of you, and for God’s healing and life-giving presence in our
midst.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">My personal thanks to our Churchwardens, Debbie and Janine, and to
our Parish Secretary, Bev, for their ongoing selfless dedication and commitment
to us all at St Andrew’s; and to Stephen, Bishop Geoff, Elizabeth (Confirmation)
and Penny and Diane (Children’s Church), along with the Layministers and Parish
Council as we have adjusted to a hybrid world of both online and in-person
worship and gatherings during the course of this year.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-layout-grid-align: none; text-autospace: none;"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">May we all experience God’s deep peace in Jesus as we enter the
New Year, one that we know will still demand much of us, but also one in which
we seek to throw off the shackles of isolation that Covid-19 has cloaked us in,
and learn to live afresh, with greater confidence as we embrace the reality of
this time.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“<i>Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth; break forth O
mountains, into singing! For the Lord has comforted his people, and will have
compassion on his suffering ones</i>.” (Isaiah 49:13)</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">With our love, Mark and Dawn</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhO8svxaf4JGjs35CTZzI8aPQ9OzW4QOhpERg8xnXUL5IWp_PYYHA8TpH4f23L2FwP3ZgAePWfqDeJbTNsl-HRLHPd4wMxJViQH6UAPdsunkCpH7yIfZk80QBOJahMO_TbT0D5hqxVX-dc3D8B0AKPCUQOshSqc-mMsIUewBbhII_N2_BWnIy0U0VJ-=s3294" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1852" data-original-width="3294" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhO8svxaf4JGjs35CTZzI8aPQ9OzW4QOhpERg8xnXUL5IWp_PYYHA8TpH4f23L2FwP3ZgAePWfqDeJbTNsl-HRLHPd4wMxJViQH6UAPdsunkCpH7yIfZk80QBOJahMO_TbT0D5hqxVX-dc3D8B0AKPCUQOshSqc-mMsIUewBbhII_N2_BWnIy0U0VJ-=s320" width="320" /></a></div><br /><o:p></o:p><p></p>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-50856508049118757962021-12-25T11:17:00.002+02:002021-12-25T11:17:26.039+02:00Sermon: Midnight Mass<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Sermon: Christmas Eve</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">24 December 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Isaiah 62:6-12, Psalm
97, and Luke 2:1-20; NRSV</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Tonight’s Gospel reading begins with a reminder of the power
of secular Government: “In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus
that all the world should be registered[,]”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
a decree that in Luke’s account disrupts the lives of people throughout an
entire Empire, and has a peasant population in Galilee and Judea (and doubtless
elsewhere in the Roman Empire) needing to use scarce resources to travel to
their home region to register. You and I meet online tonight for Midnight Mass because
of a Government decree that requires we close any gathering by 11pm in order to
ensure the midnight curfew is fully observed, a decree that for a second year
running disrupts our worship life as a Parish. There is something particularly
beautiful, and again missed, about gathering in-person late at night to welcome
the Christ-child as one day ends and a new day begins. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The disruption to our lives tonight is minor in comparison
to the disruption taking place in Joseph and Mary’s life and many of their
compatriots in Luke’s narrative, but the broader disruption of the Covid-19
pandemic globally and the variety of National regulations that have governed
our lives since March 2020 are perhaps comparative. Such disruption creates
uncertainty, even fear, for what this may mean for the future, and what
economic impact it will have on our resources. Joseph and Mary would have been
in no doubt that the only meaningful impact of the census would be an increased
tax burden on their already scarce resources, and we know that Nazareth – their
actual home – was a small, struggling village reliant on subsistence farming
for any income.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> It
is not difficult to imagine the uncertainty, even fear, and the growing anger of
Joseph and Mary’s broader social context. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We join the narrative tonight as Joseph and Mary reach
Bethlehem, not out of choice, but because it is required. It is a costly
inconvenience and doubtless also a health risk for a young woman reaching the
end of her pregnancy. Luke mentions no donkey,<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
despite the tradition, and it is likely a heavily pregnant Mary has walked the 150km
distance. It is no surprise that the Christ-child is born the evening of their
arrival. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While Luke introduces the birth narrative in the context of Rome’s
power over the people of a distant land on the edge of the Empire, he also weaves
into in another story, a more ancient story, and we hear that, “Joseph … went …
to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, because he was descended from
the house and family of David.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Luke began to weave this story in at the annunciation, the Angel Gabriel
informing Mary that the child she will bear, “… will be great, and will be
called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne
of his ancestor David.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
We discover that “God’s story [is] interwoven with Caesar’s power right from
the start”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and Zechariah, the husband of Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, confirms this when he prophesies
after John’s birth and before Jesus is born that “[God] has raised up a mighty saviour
for us in the house of his servant David.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
“From the might of Caesar to command the whole world, to the swaddling of a
newborn in a room shared with the household’s animals, Luke leads us into a
world, our world, where we discern God’s power at work to keep all the promises
cherished by Mary (Luke 1:46-55) and Zechariah (Luke 1:67-79),”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
promises as we have heard reflect hope in the midst of uncertainty, and joy in
the midst of growing social discontent. In the midst of the harsh reality of
life and Empire two children are born: John to Elizabeth and Zachariah, Jesus
to Mary and Joseph; John, the prophet of hope; Jesus the Saviour of the world.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As we continue in Luke’s narrative this hope is reflected in
the visit of the angels to the shepherds and the shepherds’ joy in finding the
child and discovering the message they have been given is true. I have been
quite harsh in my portrait of the shepherds in previous years, indicating that
they were considered social outcasts, but in fact more recent scholarship<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
indicates “They were indeed among the “lowly” (1:52), but in their diligent
work modeled the way of God with God’s people.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Luke informs us that the “The shepherds put things together well enough to
become jubilant. They’re promised a baby, they see a baby, and they recognise
that the rest of what they have been told is true.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The shepherds return to their fields and responsibilities, and by implication
they return to their social reality, to the uncertainty, the fear, the growing
anger among the Galilean and Judaen peasants, with a transformed outlook; they “…
returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it
had been told them.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our faith calls us to ongoing transformation through our
faith in God and our trust in Jesus, the Christ. The temptation is always to
spiritualise this journey, to disconnect it from daily reality in order to ease
the discomfort of the change it demands of us. The Christmas Gospel, the
Christmas Good News reminds us that our faith and daily life are intricately
intertwined, and that while a relationship with God includes a deep personal
aspect, God is concerned with the fullness of life. Luke’s introduction this
evening to Jesus’ birth reminds us that the secular and the sacred are
interwoven, and that God is always concerned with the daily nature of life and
the human condition. Luke reminds us that despite the disruptive power of the
secular, the sacred continues to undergird our lives and gives us a concrete
hope for salvation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">How does this speak to us, to you, in the context of life as
we experience it today? What are the anxieties and fears that disrupt and
constrict our daily experience? What is the nature of the hope and salvation we
require in this moment? How do you see this reflected in the lives of people
around you? Are we awake (perhaps not an ideal question close to midnight) to
the hope and salvation God may be offering? And even more than this, are we
like the shepherds willing to make the effort to look at the salvation we are
offered, are we sufficiently courageous to share what we are hearing, and does
it fill us with jubilation? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">That’s a lot of questions, and doubtless our answers are
varied and even conflicting; and that is ok. Luke reminds us that, “… Mary
treasured these words and pondered them in her heart.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
We, too,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>need time to reflect, and allow
what God is asking of us and calling us to to grow in us. Jesus was nurtured in
Mary’s womb for a period, and then forcefully ejected into the reality of human
life. While we ponder and nurture God’s word in us, a time will come when it is
also ejected into the world and into the reality of daily life. This Christmas
marks those birth pangs, and 2022 will see its birth. You and I, like Zachariah
and Elizabeth, Joseph and Mary, bear God’s purpose; and like John we are called
to be prophets of hope in our world, and like Jesus we are called to be the source
of God’s salvation to others. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us draw strength from Luke’s narrative this evening, let
us trust that God always prepares the road ahead of us, that the angels are
close, and that God’s Spirt is present. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A closing prayer by Pádraig Ó Tuama, Irish Poet and
Theologian. Let us pray,<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God of fear,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God of the night,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God of the expectation,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>You visited shepherds in the
night</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with songs and sights of joy.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>In all our nights, turn us</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>towards hope, because</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>hope might just</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>keep us alive.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 2:1; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Reza Aslan, <i>Zealot: the Life and
Times of Jesus of Nazareth<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sarah Henrich, <i>Commentary on Luke
2:1-14 [15-20]</i>, </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christmas-eve-nativity-of-our-lord/commentary-on-luke-21-14-15-20-20"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christmas-eve-nativity-of-our-lord/commentary-on-luke-21-14-15-20-20</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 2:4; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 1:32; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sarah Henrich, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 1:69; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sarah Henrich, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Pray as You Go, <i>Friday: 4<sup>th</sup>
Week in Advent – A Real Hope<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Joel Green, <i>The Gospel of Luke<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sarah Henrich, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 2:20; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 2:19; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn15" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211224%20Sermon%20Christmas%20Eve%20ML.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community (Day 1)</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-59554205066968866542021-12-19T13:54:00.012+02:002021-12-19T13:54:58.132+02:00Sermon: 4th Sunday in Advent<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>Sermon: 4<sup>th</sup>
Sunday in Advent</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">19 December 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Micah 5:2-5a, Luke
1:46-55 (in place of the Psalm), and Luke 1:39-45; NRSV</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today we begin the fourth week of our Advent journey, and accompanied
by Luke’s Gospel we are reminded that the Advent journey is a prophetic one in
which we move <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>progressively from a broad
vision of the future towards a more specific focus on Jesus’ birth, which we
will celebrate in our Christmas services at the end of this week. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We began our Advent journey with Jesus’ prophetic words of
his second coming, encouraged to be awake to the signs of God’s presence in our
world, to be expectant and – despite the overwhelming nature of these signs –
to be hopeful. The past two weeks have focused on John the Baptist as the one
who both prepares the way for what God is doing and who calls God’s people to
turn from disobedience to lives of loving service.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today we are presented with Elizabeth and Mary, an encounter
marked by Elizabeth’s joyful affirmation of the special blessing of God’s
presence with Mary and the child she carries. It is an encounter that elicits a
prophetic song of praise from Mary, which we know as the Magnificat and which has
taken the place of the Psalm in today’s lection. Mary’s song of praise is
intriguing in terms of our understanding of prophesy, which we often expect to
be about what God is going to do, as Mary actually reflects on what God has
already done, activity that Jesus’ birth and subsequent ministry will affirm. Mary’s
song is prophetic in that it asserts God’s nature, and does so in a way that is
likely to leave us discomforted when we look carefully at what Mary proclaims.
It is not a comforting message for those who are privileged and resourced, “… the
Mighty One has … scattered the proud … brought down the powerful … and sent the
rich away empty.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The
Good News is reserved for the lowly and hungry, and we hear that “…the Mighty
One has … lifted up the lowly … filled the hungry with good things …”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Mary’s song is, however, more than just a comment on privilege
and poverty as it also embraces faithfulness: our faithfulness to God and God’s
faithfulness to us and to his promises. We hear that God’s “… mercy is for
those who fear him from generation to generation”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and that God “… has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, according
to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants
forever”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>.
For me this is an important and critical point of connection, and I find myself
asking, “What does this mean for me as a person of faith, as a person who seeks
to be faithful and yet is privileged and resourced?” I ask it also for us as a
community, and you may have asked this question at some point, too? I am aware
that I all too easily mould an answer to deflect my unease, and I do wonder how
much of our theology avoids this question? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What Mary’s song does do is solidly root the injustices of
the day in the awareness of God and calls the faithful to ensure that their
experience of God’s mercy is lived out in just action. Stephen<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
reminded us in his sermon last week that comfort, joy, hope, and peace are what
we share as we wait together for the coming of Christ, and we need to reflect
on what these gifts look like in the context of the Magnificat, in the context
of what God has already done and in the context of what God has affirmed in the
birth and ministry of Jesus. For you and me it is the need to reflect on how we
translate our privilege and resources into just action in lifting up the lowly,
in filling the hungry with good things, in ensuring that these gifts of
comfort, joy, hope, and peace are equitably shared in our world and contain
meaning beyond our own desire for freedom from constraint. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">None of this is easy, and perhaps that is the first
necessary step: acknowledging that it is difficult to be vulnerable, difficult
to step away from our desire to protect our privilege and resources, difficult
to truly acknowledge the needs of others in such a manner that their need is
justly addressed. John’s baptism required honesty from God’s people, a
willingness to move from being self-serving and thoughtless towards others to
being loving and caring in service of others and of God. Can you and I find the
courage for such honesty? And beyond such honesty, what is the depth of our
desire to see our world healed? The gift of the pandemic has been the manner in
which it has highlighted so clearly the rifts in our global society, and we
cannot claim in any form or manner to be unaware of these fissures in our
social fabric; as Elizabeth and Mary would not have been unaware of those of
their own time. Today the Gospel of Luke invites us to join with Mary and
Elizabeth in acknowledging and celebrating that God looks on us with favour,
and calls us to build a more just and merciful society where comfort, joy,
hope, and peace actually mean something because they are supported by the just
actions of faithful people. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In closing, a brief anecdote and challenge from my personal
guru, Irish Poet and Theologian, Pádraig Ó Tuama: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><i>There’s an old anecdote that an order of nuns were
expelled from a certain country because their morning recitation of the
Magnificat was deemed to be a challenge to a dictatorial government. It’s
probably not entirely true, but I think there’s truth in it nonetheless. Many
orders of religious women have spoken truth to power and have found their home
in the Magnificat, a prayer they pray by heart every morning. Recite the
Magnificat and consider how it’s a psalm of challenge, of resistance and of
hope for a changed order.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And likewise, a closing prayer by Pádraig. Let us pray, </p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God of the ground,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>in Mary’s words</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>we hear a vision that could
change the world</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and through Mary’s life you
changed, too.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Give us the imagination to
believe</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>that even though we are not
mighty</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>you can raise up songs from
the dust</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>that change powers for good.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because you did this</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>through the yes of one woman.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Anglican Church of Southern
Africa, <i>Lectionary: Advent 2021 to December 2022, Year C</i>, page 8-9<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 1:49-53; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 1:50; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 1:54-55; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Stephen Middelkoop, <i>20211212
advent joy SM<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, <i>Forth Sunday of Advent</i>,
</span><a href="https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/pdfs/readings/341_fourth-sunday-of-advent.pdf"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/pdfs/readings/341_fourth-sunday-of-advent.pdf</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/2021219%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20in%20Advent%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ibid.</span><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-85954188864636224822021-11-28T13:22:00.005+02:002021-11-28T13:22:41.190+02:00Sermon: Advent Sunday<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>Sermon: Advent Sunday</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">28 November 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Jeremiah 33:14-16,
Psalm 25:1-10, and Luke 21:25-36; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Welcome to Advent Sunday, always a multifaceted celebration
at St Andrew’s: today we welcome in our new Liturgical year, which will be felt
most perhaps in a shift from a focus on Mark’s Gospel to that of Luke; we begin
our four week journey of expectation and hope towards the coming of Christ,
which we will celebrate at Christmas; and we celebrate our patron Saint, St
Andrew, with a seemly more mundane focus on our financial commitments to the
life of the Parish in the coming year. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We meet in a particular context today, for me most clearly
marked by the advent of a new COVID-19 variant that again has our world running
scared while our scientists race to discern its potential impact on our health
while governments around the world secure their borders once more and we await
possible additional curbs to our own freedoms in South Africa. Our growing complacency
over the past few months towards the virus, along with our hopes for a return
to greater freedom of association and what we mostly still define as ‘normal’, is
suddenly under threat once again. I recognise in my own personal response to
this a heightened emotional and physical reactivity that says ‘I can’t anymore’,
yet an awareness on the edge of that response which says, ‘In God I can and I
will.’ I am deeply thankful in times like this for the gift of faith and a sustaining
relationship with God, and for all those who have helped nurture this gift
within me over the years. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As we acknowledge a difficult context that will hold varied
experiences for us all, we need to be asking , ‘Where is God in all of this?’
As I have said before, this is not to suggest we have lost God in all of this,
or that God is missing in action, but it is rather a question of awareness, a
question designed to wake us up to what God is asking of us in this moment. For
Elijah, having faced down the prophets of Baal, in Elijah’s exhaustion God was
not in the fire and thunder, not in the noise, but in the silence; and it took Elijah
some time to awaken to this awareness.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211128%20Sermon%20Advent%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
We have today’s Scripture readings that may prove helpful, or there may be other
more mundane aspects of our lives, of our relationships, which God needs us to
explore in asking this question. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the Jeremiah reading this morning we are reminded that
God has made promises that contain hope, that the Advent journey is about
embracing these promises and celebrating their outcome, specifically that in
Jesus there is justice and righteousness, in Jesus there is salvation and
safety. We are reminded these outcomes exist and are a reality, and that we as
people of God are called to look them out, hold them up, and implement them in
our lives and communities. Like Elijah, we may find that a tough ask, but we
will be sustained and fed by angels in the desert of our experience, and we
will hear the voice of God again in the occasional silences of our lives
calling us back into the fray.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211128%20Sermon%20Advent%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In today’s Gospel reading we are reminded that the events
that seemingly overwhelm us, even terrify us, are just signs … they are not to
be feared. They point to something greater, the imminence of God in our world.
Jesus reminds his disciples that as daunting as the signs of the times can be, we
have the ability to interpret them, the ability to awaken to what God is doing,
and the strength and resilience to be party to the implementation of God’s
reign in our lives and our world, and in the enormity of Creation itself. Jesus
uses the simplest of examples: when we see a tree budding new leaves we all
know Summer is coming; the coming of God into our world is no more difficult to
see and the signs no more difficult to interpret than this. However, we do need
to be awake and that is often our obstacle. To ask the question, ‘Where is God
in all of this?’ is our wake up call, and Luke’s Gospel will affirm over and
over again in the next few weeks of our Advent journey that we have the
resources within our relationship with God, within ourselves, to respond. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are three words, highlighted for me during a Bible
Study interaction at our Diocesan Synod this last week: hope, authenticity, and
generosity. These words speak to me of what it is to be Church, to be God’s
people, in our time. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are a call to
counter-cultural living, and they are definitive of what it is to be a person
of faith, and what it is to be a community of faith; and they are words easily
applied to the life and ministry of Jesus. People in the Gospels are drawn to
Jesus precisely because they saw these principles of relationship alive in him.
I am drawn to Jesus because these principles visible in his life and ministry
inspire me, stretch me, and keep me coming back for more; keep me wanting more
of Jesus, of God, in my life; they keep me connected, keep me inspired, keep me
serving. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Expectation and hope are key aspects of the Advent journey
we embark on again today. However, expectation and hope – hope especially –
only come alive when they are lived with authenticity and generosity; and these
are practised in the mundane aspects of daily life and commitment. Some of you
may be guessing where I am going with this … and you may be right! As we also
celebrate being St Andrew’s today, and the 126<sup>th</sup> anniversary of
becoming a Parish in our own right, how are we as a Christian community
demonstrating our hope, our authenticity, our generosity? I am suggesting that
this may be in taking a few minutes to fill in the online financial commitment
form for 2022, which in all honesty really does seem rather mundane, but it is
a starting point: it speaks to our authentic desire to see this Church thrive
despite the challenges of the times, and our generosity in helping Parish
Council base a budget on specific financial commitments for next year helps put
in place a foundation from which we can be about the work of God in our
community and beyond, and to go about it with hope, and to do so authentically,
and to be generous in ways far beyond just money. I am not in anyway wanting to
say we are not hopeful, authentic and generous, because our history is
testimony that we are all of this and more. However, we are in unprecedented
times and our stability as a community is in ensuring we do the small things
well in order that we can do the big things with confidence. We have seen some
big dips in giving over the past two years, and I appreciate that Covid-19 has
made life for many of us a whole lot more difficult, and remain deeply thankful
for the generosity and faithfulness of many at St Andrew’s that has enabled
ministry to continue confidently despite a pandemic that has ravaged our
National economy and left many people’s lives devastated in its wake. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And so holding all the above, I do wish us all a blessed
Advent journey here at St Andrew’s as we embrace again the Christian hope of
the Coming of Christ. In closing I leave you with a quote by Bernard of Clairvaux
(d. 1153), who summarised the theology of the Advent season as the three comings
of Christ, past, present, and future. He says, “In the first, Christ was our
redemption; in the last he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he
is our rest and our consolation.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211128%20Sermon%20Advent%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
My sincere prayer for us all is that we we find rest and consolation in the
weeks ahead. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I close with a prayer of blessing for our financial
commitments and our St Andrew’s day collect. Let us pray,<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Dear Lord, </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>we thank you for
your continual blessing of our finances in this Parish, </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>for the generosity of
our people, </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and your ongoing provision of us </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>in these difficult and trying
economic times. </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>May you bless the commitments we have made </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>towards the financial
health of the Parish in 2022, </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>to enable ministry and mission </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>to ourselves and
to our world. </i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p><br /></o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Lord God,</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>by your grace the Apostle
Saint Andrew</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and followed him without
delay:</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>grant that we may offer
ourselves to you</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>in joyful obedience;</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>through Jesus Christ our Lord.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211128%20Sermon%20Advent%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211128%20Sermon%20Advent%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1 Kings 19:1-18; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211128%20Sermon%20Advent%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211128%20Sermon%20Advent%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Anglican Church of Southern
Africa, <i>Lectionary: Advent 2020- December 2021, Year B, </i>page 71<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211128%20Sermon%20Advent%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Anglican Church of Southern
Africa, <i>An Anglican Prayerbook Book 1989</i>, page 315</span><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-66808642653112168842021-11-21T11:53:00.010+02:002021-11-21T11:56:15.517+02:00Sermon: Christ the King<p style="text-align: center;"><b>Sermon: Christ the
King</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>St Saviour's, Claremont | Licensing of Layministers</i></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">21 November 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long</span></p><p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p><p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">2 Samuel 23:1-7, Psalm
132, Revelation 1:4b-8, and John 18:33-37; NRSV</span></i></p><p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">I am here today on behalf of the Bishop of Table Bay, Bishop
Joshua Louw, to license new Layministers of this Parish, and as Archdeacon to
admit them to their Office; and today marks the beginning of a new journey in
faith for them, but also for you all as a Parish community. Licensed lay ministry
is specific to the liturgical and pastoral needs of the Parish, and those
called into this service are nominated by the Rector and Parish Council who
attest to their faithfulness, integrity and knowledge. Your Layministers are,
therefore, women and men whom you can trust. We are all called through Baptism to
share in the ministry of Christ and in Christ’s mission to the world; and it is
within this broader call that your Layministers are licensed with the Church’s
authority to engage with specific responsibilities in the areas of worship and
care.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are a number of key words that I have used:
faithfulness, integrity, knowledge; service, authority, responsibility. These
are all words that speak into the nature of leadership, specific today in the
context of your faith community, but relevant, too, to our broader social
context. The challenge for those of you who are being licensed today is to hold
these words, to give them content and context for the ministry and mission of
Christ here at St Saviour’s, remembering always that our mission as God’s
people lies beyond the walls of this building: it is resident in our families,
our social networks, our workspaces, and the broader world in which we live. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As God’s people seeking to live out the ministry and mission
of Christ we are called to live differently, specifically we are called to live
in opposition to generally accepted social norms particularly when it comes to the
use of power. The reality of this call is initially formed in us through our
worship and pastoral care, which makes the role you as Layministers will play alongside
your Rector in these areas of responsibility so crucial. But what is power? In
essence it is the ability to act, a human ability we all have. The important question
is are we using this ability creatively or destructively? Are our actions life-giving
or life-threatening? And how is power being used both in our community of faith
and also in the political and economic structures we participate in daily? How
are we learning to use power justly in our times of worship together and in our
pastoral care of one another? How is this learning translating into our mission
to the world, in ensuring power is used justly in our social, political, and
economic environment? And where power is misused or abused, what is our
responsibility as God’s people? The answers to these questions are what we
grapple with as we engage in liturgy, with Scripture, as we immerse ourselves
in the Sacraments, and gather for fellowship. We live out these answers as we
reach out to one another and the world with caring and love. And this is why it
is so important that those who are licensed to serve with the Church’s
authority in these areas of responsibility are people of faithfulness,
integrity, and knowledge. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If power is to be used justly, what is justice? In today’s
reading from John’s Gospel Jesus speaks about justice in terms of truth: “For
this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.
Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The context in which Jesus makes this comment is important: the powerful is
questioning the powerless, and Pilate’s seemingly innocent question to Jesus
is, “So you are a king?”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
There is nothing innocent about Pilate’s question, he is purposefully needling
Jesus; and while I suspect we are tempted to see Jesus responding here with
divine authority, actually Jesus is just responding “… with honesty based on
his experience as a marginalized individual.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Jesus’ response, “You say that I am a king”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and his subsequent focus on truth serves to highlight Pilate’s prejudice, and (that
Pilate is playing along with the lies and corruption of his constituents<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
who in this case are the Jewish leadership who have chosen to collaborate with the
oppressor of the day, Rome, and have handed Jesus over because everything that
he is highlights their betrayal of justice, their betrayal of truth; and they
would rather have Jesus crucified than face the truth of their choices. This is
a hugely intriguing interaction because Jesus does not exert his divine
authority in order to counter the powerplay by Pilate but manages to hold his
ground and use the interaction to point to the source of divine authority, to
the source of justice: to truth; and we see this in his comment that his “… kingdom
is not from this world. … is not from here.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Jesus is not providing a geography lesson here, but rather a lesson in values:
“Jesus is saying that the values of his kingdom are different from those of the
current system”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
that has him up on trial for his life. Jesus’ kingdom is not about control, is
not about exerting the power of kingship from a worldly or secular perspective;
it is about service, it is about entering Jerusalem on the back of a donkey and
not on a warhorse, it is about getting down on his knees and washing the feet
of those who follow him. Jesus refuses here to play Pilate’s game; if he had
Pilate may have set him free instead of Barabbas. What we see here is justice
in action, which is not about evading the consequences of injustice, but
showing injustice up for what it is. The Jewish leadership in collaboration
with Rome, Pilate as the agent of Rome, were all seeking to misuse their power
to remove Jesus’ agency, which in essence is what the powerful do all the time.
It is the nature of Empire to remove the agency of those conquered, to demand
assimilation into the new order, and to crush anyone who seeks to question that
order. Jesus amazingly maintains his agency although he will lose his life; in pointing
to the truth he ensures that in resurrection justice will ultimately triumph. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My challenge to those of you being licensed today is to explore,
together with your Rector, what agency looks like in the context of Worship and
Pastoral Care at St Saviour’s, and to be courageous in creating spaces that
allow people to discover their power, to use that power justly; to care for
people in such a way that the truth of their agency and humanity is not
diminished, but increased. Begin by exploring what this means for you as
individuals and as the liturgical and pastoral team here at St Saviour’s, what
it is to wash one another’s feet. Be cautious of exercising your authority in any
manner that may diminish people’s humanity or limit God’s power to act in and
through you and in and through others, but avoid false modesty. Embrace your
fear, and be the example to others that God is calling you to be, and which the
Church affirms through the licenses you receive today. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Hold close the following words by Marianne Williamson (incorrectly
attributed to Nelson Mandela),<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Our deepest fear is not that
we are inadequate. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>It is our light, not our
darkness that most frightens us.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i> </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We ask ourselves:</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p><br /></o:p></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span><span> </span><span> </span>Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>Actually, who are you not to
be?</i></div><div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>You are a child of God. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Your playing small does not
serve the world. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking so that other people </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>won't feel insecure around
you. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We are all meant to shine, as
children do. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>It's not just in some of us;
it's in everyone. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And as we let our own light
shine, </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>As we are liberated from our
own fear,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>our presence automatically
liberates others.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">In closing, a prayer by Irish Theologian and Poet, Pádraig Ó
Tuama:</div><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us pray, </p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Uncovered Jesus,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>You washed </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>the feet of your friends </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with your hands.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We do not know what to do </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with this kind of love </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>or this kind of power </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>so we repeat it once a year.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>May we repeat it more often: </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>every month; every day; every
hour; every encounter.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because this is how you chose
to show </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>love and power </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>to your friends.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 18:37b; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 18:37a;NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Samuel Cruz, <i>Commentary on John
18:33-37</i>, </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christ-the-king-2/commentary-on-john-1833-37-5"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/christ-the-king-2/commentary-on-john-1833-37-5</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 18:37a; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Samuel Cruz, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 18:36; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Samuel Cruz, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Marianne Williamson,<i> A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of a
Course in Miracles</i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211121%20Sermon%20Christ%20the%20King%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-4909266537646488032021-11-14T21:18:00.011+02:002021-11-14T21:18:55.743+02:00Sermon: Remembrance Sunday<p style="text-align: center;"><b>Sermon: 25<sup>th</sup>
Sunday after Pentecost</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">14 November 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="border-bottom: solid #4472C4 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: none; border-top: solid #4472C4 1.0pt; margin-left: 43.2pt; margin-right: 43.2pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: solid #4472C4 .5pt; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-bottom-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-alt: solid #4472C4 .5pt; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-border-top-themecolor: accent1; mso-element: para-border-div; padding: 10.0pt 0cm 10.0pt 0cm;">
<p class="MsoIntenseQuote" style="margin: 18pt 0cm; text-align: center;">Remembrance Sunday<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Daniel 12:1-3,
Psalm 16, and Mark 13:1-8; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">As you may be aware, today is Remembrance Sunday. At the end
of my sermon we will have an opportunity to remember before God all who have
died in war, reflect in silence, and listen again to the Last Post. As we begin
this time together, though, let us pray,</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><i>Grant, O Lord, for the sake of
those whose lives were lost in war, and for the sake of generations to come,
that the nations of the world may learn your way of peace; and that all people
may have a chance to enjoy the life you have given them, free from war, tyranny
and oppression. Amen</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Human conflict is nothing new, and while the roots of Remembrance
Sunday lie in the First and Second World Wars of the last century, militarised
conflict remains a very real experience on this continent and in other parts of
the world; and despite the devastating casualties of those two wars, violent
conflict remains an ongoing source of destruction, and sadly violence is all
too often humanity’s go-to option as a means of resolving ethnic, gender,
political, and even theological divides. We don’t have to look far – and
certainly not as far as the international stage – because we experience these
conflicts in our homes, congregations, and communities: they are an ongoing
source of anguish in our world.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The Covid-19 pandemic, gender-based violence, gangsterism, corruption,
patriarchy, and the residual impact of Colonialism visible in institutionalised
racism, and the general breakdown of relationships are the overwhelming factors
as we struggle for social and emotional health, as we seek to deal with death,
disease, and disillusionment in our own context and time. In this broad area of
need a key question for us as people of faith is how do we practice hospitality
in the face of hostility?<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today’s Scripture readings, ancient as they are, also
grapple with similar issues of disillusionment. The book of Daniel was most
likely written after the death of Alexander the Great, during the struggle for
power over his kingdom between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids, more
specifically around the persecution of the Jews in Judah in 167 BCE that
precipitated the Jewish revolt described in the books of 1 and 2 Maccabees.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
This persecution is described in today’s reading as “… a time of anguish
greater than any since nations first came into existence.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
At such a time, as you and I experience all too often in our own time and
context, God’s justice appears to be absent in the course of human history. In
our seeking to understand this from a faith perspective we, like Daniel, find a
theological solution in resurrection and an afterlife judgement,<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and this is evident in the reading from Daniel this morning: “Many of those
whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and
some to shame and everlasting disgrace.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
We are tempted to think that the substantial and overwhelming wrongs of community
life can only be rectified outside of human history.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Today’s Psalm, however, reminds us that God remains active even in times when
we find ourselves deeply disillusioned and in great anguish: “For you will not
abandon me to the grave, … you will show me the path of life.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The Psalmist calls us to take refuge in God, to trust God, even when justice is
absent and the brokenness of our world seeks to overwhelm us. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today’s Gospel also grapples with the impact of disaster on
our human experience, speaking of nation rising against nation, kingdom against
kingdom, earthquakes and famine.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Commentators are unsure as to whether this passage anticipates the Jewish-Roman
War of 66-70 CE that saw the destruction of the Temple to which Jesus refers,<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
or if this passage responds to it, but certainly that event would be
experienced as an end by those who watched it unfold.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
While the book of Daniel takes refuge in a theology of justice being
administered outside of human history, Jesus instead says to his disciples, “When
you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must take place,
but the end is still to come.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Jesus is encouraging his disciples to recognise the presence of God, God active
in the world, despite the seeming absence of justice or consolation, and
encourages them not to be taken in by those offering false hope; that all of
this points to a time when justice will be reborn.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The power of today’s reading from the book of Daniel is the
promise of God’s justice being restored even if this has to happen outside of
human history. The point is that it will happen! In Mark’s Gospel we are
offered the hope that justice will be restored within the context of human
history, even if we have to wait for it. Perhaps the point of it all is that
our perception that justice is absent doesn’t mean that justice does not exist,
just that our disillusion and our anguish masks it; and that if we can find the
courage to awaken to the presence of God and see through the false offerings of
hope to true hope – which God offers us in the person of Jesus – we will begin
to see the glimmers of justice and begin to embrace moments where justice may
be enacted and realised. It is about embracing our ability to act with justice no
matter how small the opportunities for us to do so may be; it is about
reclaiming our agency as human beings, as people of faith, as children of God. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I come back to my earlier question, “How do we practice
hospitality in the face of hostility?” We do so by not allowing hostility to be
an obstacle. Hostility seeks to destroy the agency of another; hospitality
restores that agency. Over the last year we have travelled with Mark’s Gospel,
a Gospel that has reminded us that God’s call is never easy, often
discomforting, always stretching: to offer hospitality in the midst of – in the
face of – hostility is perhaps the most discomforting, most difficult, most
stretching act that we may ever contemplate. To offer hospitality is not to renounce
or disown our position, but it is to lay it aside for a time that we may listen
and seek to understand another’s position, and in so doing offer a space for
engagement rather than conflict; and perhaps find healing. Hospitality is the
only space in which we can have our assumptions challenged, where we can become
attentive to the real concerns of others<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>,
and where a just peace may be forged. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To offer meaningful hospitality we need to embrace the words
of the Psalmist and genuinely take our refuge in God; and in so doing we become
peacemakers and agents for justice in our world. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As an act of hospitality we take time now to pray, and to
silently reflect: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us pray, </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><i>We pray for all who suffer as
a result of war, for the injured and disabled, and the mentally distressed, for
the homeless and refugees, and those who have lost their livelihood, for those
who mourn, and especially those who have no hope.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><i>Almighty and eternal God, from
whose life in Christ we cannot be parted by life or death, hear our prayers for
all whom we remember this day: give grace to the living; to the departed, rest,
and to the people of every nation grant peace and concord.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">[Two minute silence] </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">[The Last Post]</p><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Joy J Moore, <i>Dear Working
Preacher: Find Refuge in the Face of Hostility; November 8, 2021</i> </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/find-refuge-in-the-face-of-hostility"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/find-refuge-in-the-face-of-hostility</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Christopher B Hays, <i>Commentary on
Daniel 12:1-3</i>, </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-33-2/commentary-on-daniel-121-3-5"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-33-2/commentary-on-daniel-121-3-5</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Daniel 12:1; NLTse<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Christopher B Hays, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Daniel 12:2; NLTse<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Christopher B Hays, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Psalm
16:10a, 11a; <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Order of St
Helena<i><o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 13:8; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 13:2; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Amanda Brobst-Renaud, <i>Commentary
on Mark 13:1-8</i>, </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-33-2/commentary-on-mark-131-8-5"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-33-2/commentary-on-mark-131-8-5</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 13:7; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 13:6; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Joy J Moore, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn15" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211114%20Sermon%2025th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Anglican Church of Southern
Africa, <i>Lectionary: Advent 2020 – December 2021 Year B (adapted from </i>Michael
Counsell<i>, More Prayers for Sunday’s, </i>pp 204-5), page 90</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-62474889336812581892021-11-14T21:14:00.000+02:002021-11-14T21:14:14.197+02:00Sermon: 24th Sunday after Pentecost<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>Sermon: 24<sup>th</sup>
Sunday after Pentecost</b></p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>St Thomas, Rondebosch | Licensing of Layministers</i></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">7 November 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hebrews 9:24-28, Psalm
127, and Mark 12:38-44; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">I am here today on behalf of the Bishop of Table Bay, Bishop
Joshua Louw, to license the Layministers of this Parish, and as Archdeacon to
admit them to their Office. For all it is a renewal as the Acts of our Diocese
require that Layministers participate in ongoing training and their ministries
are reviewed every three years by the Rector. Licensed lay ministry is specific
to the liturgical and pastoral needs of the Parish, and those called into this service
are nominated by the Rector and Parish Council who attest to their faithfulness,
integrity and knowledge. Your Layministers are, therefore, women and men whom
you can trust. We are all called through Baptism to share in the ministry of
Christ and in Christ’s mission to the world; and it is within this broader call
that your Layministers are licensed with the Church’s authority to engage with
specific responsibilities in the areas of worship and care.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">There are a number of key words that I have used:
faithfulness, integrity, knowledge; service, authority, responsibility. These
are all words that speak into the nature of leadership, specific today in the
context of your faith community, but relevant, too, to our broader social
context. The challenge for those of you whose licenses are being renewed today
is to hold these words, to give them content and context for the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>ministry and mission of Christ here at St
Thomas, remembering always that our mission as God’s people lies beyond the walls
of this building: it is resident in our families, our social networks, our work
spaces, and the broader world in which we live. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As God’s people seeking to live out the ministry and mission
of Christ we are called to live differently, specifically we are called to live
in opposition to generally accepted social norms particularly when it comes to the
use of power. The reality of this call is initially formed in us through our
worship and pastoral care, which makes the role you as Layministers will play alongside
your Rector in these areas of responsibility so crucial. But what is power? In
essence it is the ability to act, a human ability we all have. The important question
is are we using this ability creatively or destructively? Are our actions life-giving
or life-threatening? And how is power being used both in our community of faith
and also in the political and economic structures we participate in daily? How
are we learning to use power justly in our times of worship together and in our
pastoral care of one another? How is this learning translating into our mission
to the world, in ensuring power is used justly in our social, political, and
economic environment? And where power is misused or abused, what is our
responsibility as God’s people? The answers to these questions are what we
grapple with as we engage in liturgy, with Scripture, as we immerse ourselves
in the Sacraments, and as we gather for fellowship. We live out these answers
as we reach out to one another and the world with caring and love. And this is why
it is so important that those who are licensed to serve with the Church’s
authority in these areas of responsibility are people of faithfulness,
integrity, and knowledge. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If power is to be used justly, what is justice? Today’s
reading from Mark’s Gospel perhaps offers us a few clues. Jesus touches on what
unjust use of power looks like when he says of the Scribes, “They devour widows’
houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the
greater condemnation.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Due to the fact that women had few rights in Jewish society in the 1<sup>st</sup>
century, it is likely that one of the roles of the Scribes was to hold the
property of widows – without male heirs – in trust and run their affairs for
them. The implication of Jesus’ comment is that certain of these Scribes lack
integrity and abuse their powers and profit to the point of leaving these
widows destitute<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>.
It is not difficult to see the injustice of this practice, nor is it difficult
to see similar injustices in our own context. It is not difficult to imagine
that the widow Jesus calls the disciples attention to outside the Treasury is
one such widow who has been left destitute by a Scribe’s misuse of power over
her. What is intriguing here is that while the widow has had everything taken
from her, she chooses to give what is left, “… all she had to live on”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
or – a more direct translation from the Greek – she chooses to give “her whole
life.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
What this highlights is that, “There is a difference between <b>giving</b>
everything and having everything <b>taken away</b>.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Importantly, although the systemic injustice that allows some Scribes to misuse
their power has lost the widow almost everything, it has not removed her agency;
she still has power – the ability to act – and does so by giving “her whole
life.” Injustice seeks to remove agency, justice restores it. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My challenge to those of you being licensed today is to explore,
together with your Rector, what agency looks like in the context of Worship and
Pastoral Care, and to be courageous in creating spaces that allow people to
discover their power, to use that power justly; to care for people in such a way
that their agency and humanity is not diminished, but increased. Begin by
exploring what this means for you as individuals and as the liturgical and
pastoral team here at St Thomas’, what it is to wash one another’s feet. Be
cautious of exercising your authority in any manner that may diminish people’s
humanity or limit God’s power to act in and through you and in and through
others, but also avoid false modesty. Embrace your fear or anxiety, and be the
example to others that God is calling you to be, and which the Church affirms
through the licenses you receive today. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Hold close the following words by Marianne Williamson (incorrectly
attributed to Nelson Mandela),<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Our deepest fear is not that
we are inadequate. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Our deepest fear is that we
are powerful beyond measure. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>It is our light, not our
darkness that most frightens us.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i> </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We ask ourselves:</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-align: left;"><i>Who am I to be brilliant,
gorgeous, talented, fabulous?</i></div><div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-align: left;"><i>Actually, who are you not to
be?</i></div><div style="margin-left: 72pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>You are a child of God. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Your playing small does not
serve the world. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>There is nothing enlightened
about shrinking so that other people </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>won't feel insecure around
you. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We are all meant to shine, as
children do. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We were born to make manifest
the glory of God that is within us.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>It's not just in some of us;
it's in everyone. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And as we let our own light
shine, </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>As we are liberated from our
own fear,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>our presence automatically
liberates others.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i> </div>
<p class="MsoNormal">In closing, a prayer by Irish Theologian and Poet, Pádraig Ó
Tuama: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us pray, </p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Uncovered Jesus,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>You washed </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>the feet of your friends </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with your hands.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We do not know what to do </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with this kind of love </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>or this kind of power </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>so we repeat it once a year.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>May we repeat it more often: </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>every month; every day; every
hour; every encounter.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because this is how you chose
to show </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>love and power </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>to your friends.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 12:40; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Amanda Probst-Renaud, <i>Commentary
on Mark 12:38-44</i>, </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32-2/commentary-on-mark-1238-44-6"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-32-2/commentary-on-mark-1238-44-6</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 12:44b; NRSV<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Amanda Probst-Renault, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Marianne Williamson,<i> A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of a
Course in Miracles</i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211107%20Sermon%2024th%20Sunday%20after%20Pentecost%20ML%20copy.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-87182170620483558482021-10-31T14:29:00.002+02:002021-10-31T14:29:31.290+02:00Sermon: All Saints<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>Sermon: All Saints</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">30 October 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Revelation 7:9-11,
Canticle 5, and Matthew 5:1-12; NRSV</span></i><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In my sermon two weeks ago I reminded us, “… that God’s
people are called to live differently, are called to live in opposition to
generally accepted social norms [particularly] when it comes to the use of power.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Today, as we celebrate All Saints Day, this remains an important awareness. In essence,
as I’ve said on previous occasions, power is the ability to act, a human
ability we all have. The question is are we using this ability creatively or
destructively? Are our actions life-giving or life-threatening? And how is
power being used in the political and economic structures we participate in
daily? How are we working to ensure power is used justly in our social
environment? And where power is misused or abused, what is our responsibility
as God’s people? What does it mean to be a saint? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Our Gospel reading today is a well-known passage, one we
have named <i>The Beatitudes</i>, which in Matthew’s Gospel are effectively
presented as a manifesto of the kingdom Jesus is inaugerating.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
This kingdom calls for humanity’s transformation and seeks to address the
brokenness of the human condition, and in place of our fractured humanity offers
hope and the fullness of life. Jesus has begun drawing a prophetic community
together to give agency to this newly inaugurated kingdom,<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and <i>The Beatitudes</i> give a two-fold focus to the community’s task: a
focus on those who experience various forms of oppression, and on those who are
targeted for their integrity.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Too often we misinterpret <i>The Beatitudes</i> to suggest that suffering and
persecution are somehow badges of Sainthood, but if in fact <i>The Beatitudes</i>
are a manifesto of the this newly inaugurated kingdom then <i>The Beatitudes</i>
are instead an important announcement of a reversal of fortunes for the
oppressed.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Situations of hopelessness are no longer hopeless, but hope-filled. The
community Jesus calls together – of which you and I are now a part – are
invited to be participants in implementing this reversal, to be a prophetic
sign of this kingdom within the social, political, and economic context of our
daily lives. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">How are we to be this sign? The answer may lie in verse 4
that says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” The Greek
word translated “comfort” here is not primarily about solace or consolation, but
more along the lines of representation in legal terms: they will be given an
advocate<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
who will work for their recognition and restitution, someone who will ensure those
who mourn are comforted and those who are hungry are fed; that the merciful themselves
experience mercy from others, and that the poor in spirit receive the kingdom
of heaven; that the pure in heart get to see God, and the peacemakers are
recognised as children of God. This is exciting stuff, a manifesto to set our
hearts aflame, but also one that perhaps has us asking if we have the wherewithal
to be this prophetic sign? And is it just up to us? You may have noticed the
use of the passive voice in the manner in which some of <i>The Beatitudes</i>
are stated, and I think there is purpose in this as it leaves the question of
advocacy open-ended and allows for both human and divine agency.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
My thoughts are immediately drawn to John’s Gospel where we hear that the Holy
Spirit is given to us as the Paraclete, the advocate whose advocacy will bring
us comfort. However it is clear in Matthew’s Gospel that it is the prophetic community
initiated in Jesus’ calling aside of the first disciples – to whom he says, “Follow
me, and I will make you fish for people”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
– that is called to work hand-in-hand with the Spirit of God in this endeavour,
and again I emphasise that you and I are participants in this community. Raj
Nadella, Professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary,
importantly highlights that “The Beatitudes offer a promise of liberation to
those at the margins of our society. They also invite and require anyone and everyone
with privilege and power to participate in the process of making the promised
liberation a reality.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
To be a part of the prophetic community inaugurated by Jesus is in itself a privilege
and an empowered position, and lays responsibility on our shoulders to advocate
at every opportunity for the oppressed and persecuted in partnership with the
Spirit of God. However, the afflicted themselves have agency, and we need to
ensure our advocacy never inhibits the oppressed from participating in their own
liberation.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The
Church is called to offer a supportive advocacy that always seeks to give dignity
to those who suffer, and not make them only objects of our compassion as we
work with them and the Spirit of God in facilitating the reversal of fortune
that Jesus promises in <i>The Beatitudes</i>. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In reality we are called to align ourselves with those on
the margins of our society, and any advocacy we offer may and most likely will
draw us into experiencing the suffering of the oppressed and marginalised to
various degrees ourselves, and perhaps we can only truly recognise their agency
when we become deeply aligned with their pain. And in so doing we also need to
acknowledge that while our society, and our political and economic environment
marginalizes so many, the Church is often guilty of religious marginalisation
of people and is complicit in the suffering and oppression around us. We are
called ourselves to repentance and transformation, and it is only in
recognising our complicity and allowing the transforming presence of God’s
Spirt to renew us that we can truly be effective in the work of reconciliation
in our world. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does it mean to be a saint? It is to align ourselves
with the marginalised, to participate in the process of liberation for the
oppressed, to work every moment of every day towards a greater expression of
the fullness of life offered in and through the death and resurrection of Jesus,
and to commit to facilitating a just use of power as a creative reality for
ourselves and for others. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We have a practical opportunity to exercise our sainthood
tomorrow in the local elections. Will you exercise your democratic right? And
if you do, how will your vote align with <i>The Beatitudes</i>, with the
manifesto of God’s kingdom in our imperfect world? Please vote, and vote
wisely! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In closing, a prayer by Irish Theologian and Poet, Pádraig Ó
Tuama: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us pray,<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Uncovered Jesus,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>You washed </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>the feet of your friends </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with your hands.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We do not know what to do </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with this kind of love </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>or this kind of power </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>so we repeat it once a year.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>May we repeat it more often: </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>every month; every day; every
hour; every encounter.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because this is how you chose
to show </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>love and power </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>to your friends.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Mark Long, <i>20211017 Sermon 21st
Sunday after Pentecost ML<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Raj Nadella, <i>Commentary on
Matthew 12:1-5,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/all-saints-sunday/commentary-on-matthew-51-12">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/all-saints-sunday/commentary-on-matthew-51-12</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Matthew 4:18-22; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Raj Nadella, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Matthew 4:19b; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Raj Nadella, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <i><span lang="EN-US" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></i></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211030%20Sermon%20All%20Saints%20ML.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-10486226919628133922021-10-26T21:00:00.014+02:002021-10-31T19:06:10.654+02:00Sermon: 21st Sunday after Pentecost<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Sermon: 21<sup>st</sup>
Sunday after Pentecost</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">17 October 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hebrews 5:1-10,
Psalm 104:1-10, 35-36, and Mark 10:35-45; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">I am sure today’s reading from Mark’s Gospel is not
unfamiliar to most of us, especially as this account – with minor tweaks – is also
echoed in Matthew’s Gospel. As we hear James and John’s request to be seated on
Jesus’ right and left our minds jump quickly to Jesus’ response even before we
hear the words read. We know that James and John will not be offered what they
desire, that their asking will lead to conflict with the other disciples, and
that Jesus will use it as a teaching moment where we will again be asked to
wrap our minds around the paradoxical thought that power lies not in holding positions
of influence but rather in service, and to be first is to be last and to be
last is to be first.</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Not for the first time we are reminded that God’s people are
called to live differently, are called to live in opposition to generally
accepted social norms when it comes to the use of power. Jesus’ reference to
the Gentiles would have been to the Roman rulers and those aligned with them,
and was an unsubtle critique of the tyrannical abuse of power by those who
ruled Jewish society on behalf of Rome. Mark is asking us to recognise the
discomforting nature of Jesus’ teaching, that to be in the service of God is to
address the misuse of power that benefits those who are first at the expense of
those who are last, that benefits the wealthy at the expense of the poor. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What is intriguing about this interaction is that it follows
on directly from Jesus’ third foretelling of his death and resurrection in
Mark’s Gospel, where he will be condemned to death by the chief priests and scribes,
handed over to the Gentiles who will mock, denigrate, torture and kill him.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
How do the disciples, not just James and John, but all of them miss the
significance of this? I can understand them not grasping the reference to
resurrection, but Jesus words concerning dying must have been clear? Did they
choose to ignore what Jesus was saying, or were his words just so left-field that
they chose not to process them in their desire to see social change and
economic justice enacted in their time on their terms? They seemed to keep
missing that the transformation Jesus’ was seeking to inaugurate – while
inclusive of their own hopes and dreams for their context – offered not just
change and momentary justice, but more: a different pattern of relationship for
humanity. And two millennia later we still struggle to truly comprehend the beauty
of life offered in the words of John’s Gospel: “The thief comes only to steal
and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In our own time we are living in a convergence of politics,
protest, and a pandemic; we are living in the midst of individual, collective,
and global trauma; in the midst of merging crises; and we should not be
surprised that everything we do, everything we believe in, is called into
question either by ourselves or by others.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
And just like James and John and the other disciples we are struggling to keep
up. Our faith is not disconnected from the challenges of our times and the Church
as institution is not immune to justified criticism. We are faced with the
discomforting question as to whether the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“institutionalization of the church, the
colonializing of the calling of Jesus, the growth of numeric Christianity,
really was the providence of God or actually an extremely long detour from our
true mission.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> We
struggle with the reality that the institutional Church as we know it needs to
die: the Church’s alignment with secular power since the 4<sup>th</sup> century
has caused us all too often to legitimise the social misuse of power, and the
Church rightly finds itself called-out for aiding and abetting colonialism and
other forms of social, economic and political abuses of power and the related
discrimination, othering, and exclusion of the poor from our structures. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I speak here more generally of the Church, not necessarily our
particular community or local experience of Church. However, even as Anglicans
in Southern Africa and as members of the local Church in Newlands, we need to
be awake to our times and open to hearing the challenge of today’s Gospel
passage, to commit to “hold hands with humility” and not to “partner with
power”.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
We need to rediscover the courage to ensure our lives and faith are aligned
with the Gospel imperative to love. If our faith is to engender hope in
ourselves and in others it is because we are committed to a sacrificial love, a
love that embraces serving others, a love that relinquishes power, a love that is
willing to give itself as a ransom for many.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
While we naturally in such extraordinary times as these seek comfort in and through
our faith, that comfort paradoxically is often only found through discomfort as
we allow the Spirit of God access to our hearts, minds, and our very beings; as
we open ourselves to the purposes and call of God in our own generation; as we
embrace the hope offered us in the opening chapter of Mark’s Gospel: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">“<i>The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come
near; repent, and believe in the good news.</i>”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">These words are a reminder that God is present, God is with
us, we are not alone. In these times of ongoing difficulty, trauma, hardship
and heart-ache God is with us in the chaos. We are called to trust in God’s
presence, to be available to God’s purposes, to be open to the leading of God’s
Spirit, in our own brokenness to be God’s hands and feet in our world. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In closing, a prayer by Irish Theologian and Poet, Pádraig Ó
Tuama: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us pray,<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God of all humanity,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>…</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>we see how inhuman we can be.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We pray for those who, today,
are weighed down by grief.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We pray for those who,
yesterday, were weighed down by grief.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And the day before, </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and all the days before the
day before.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We pray, too, for those who
help us turn towards justice and peace.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Turn us all towards justice
and peace </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>because we need it.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 10:33-34; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 10:10-11; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Karoline Lewis, <i>Crises Preaching,
</i></span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/preaching-in-the-midst-of-merging-crises"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/dear-working-preacher/preaching-in-the-midst-of-merging-crises</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Russ
Dean, “<i>The Church Is Called to Die</i>,” Opinion published on Baptist News
Global. Sept. 21, 2021. <a href="https://baptistnews.com/article/the-church-is-called-to-die/">https://baptistnews.com/article/the-church-is-called-to-die/</a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 10:45; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 1:15; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20211017%20Sermon%2021st%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-73375956527266002722021-09-26T11:49:00.001+02:002021-09-26T11:49:12.492+02:00Sermon: Season of Creation (Week 4)<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Sermon: Season of
Creation</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Week 4 – Pray and act for our Common Home<o:p></o:p></span></em></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">26 August 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Esther 7: 1-6,
9-10, 9: 20-22, Psalm 124, and Mark 9:38-50; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Over the last few weeks, during this Season of Creation, we
have been given the opportunity to reflect on how we engage with the systems
and structures that direct and control our society, and ultimately impact on creation
itself. As I expressed in my sermon last week, this requires people of faith to
be a constant witness against the economies of exclusion, and that exclusion is
at the root of injustice in our world. Today we are asked to reflect on what it
means to pray and act on behalf of our common home. What does prayer and action
look like in a world where “[w]e face multiple crises of poverty, inequality,
biodiversity loss and the climate crisis[; where w]e have a short window … in
which to turn from well worn, broken paths and choose a better story for
ourselves and for the world”?<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We are presented in our first reading with the essence of
the story of Esther. Esther, a Jew of the Diaspora and a minority orphan trafficked
into child concubinage and groomed for the sexual pleasure of the Persian King,
Ahasuerus, unexpectedly finds herself Queen. Through her unexpected influence
and skilled manipulation of the King she is able to avert the genocide of her
people.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
We may wish to ask how a person such as Esther, a Jewish orphan, “the least
powerful member (orphan) of the least powerful gender (female) of a powerless
people (Jews) in the mighty Persian Empire”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
manages to turn the world on its head? Part of the answer is that when God
desires to act it is generally and inexplicably through the seemingly weakest
link: it is true of Esther, it is true of Mary, it is true of many people
throughout history; those whom the powers of the day discount are all too often
the originators of socio-economic and political upheaval. The multiple crises
of our own times can be similarly affected, and despite the Church being
side-lined and insignificant in the broader scheme of the 21<sup>st</sup>
century, as people of faith we may yet turn our world on its head. In this
story of Esther we see something of what prayer and action may look like. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today’s Gospel reading offers similar hope. Mark’s Gospel
reminds us that discipleship is not for the feint of heart: it is a tough and
difficult journey that demands much of us. Today’s reading is not an easy one, and
as one commentator adroitly comments, “It contains most things that drive the
conscientious into a slough of despondence: exorcisms (verse 38); multiple
disturbances in the Greek text, footnoted in responsible English translations
(verses 42, 44, 45, 46, 49); hard sayings of Jesus (verses 39-41) that are logically
incoherent (verses 48–50) or manifestly outrageous (verses 42-47).”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
And yet this Scripture passage gives helpful insight into how people of faith –
you and me – how we might pray and act. We find the disciples seeking Jesus’
approval of their limited definition of belonging as they report in about
someone not of their group exorcising demons in Jesus’ name. Jesus’ response is
instructive: “Do not stop [them]; ... Whoever is not against us is for us.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
I can only but imagine the look on their faces, and their subsequent
protestations in hearing those words. However, for us “[a]dhering to the spirit
of [these words] stresses [the importance of] gracious reception of anyone
whose action, bold or modest, genuinely conforms to Jesus’ character”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and asks of us that our actions equally conform. The lack of social, political,
and economic justice in the world suggests that such inclusivity is the hardest
of actions, and that it is not through our own strength, but only through the
presence of God’s Spirit and our openness to God’s Spirit, that such justice is
possible. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In Mark’s Gospel authentic prayer and just action also
require what appears ‘manifestly outrageous’, “If your hand causes you to
stumble, cut it off; … And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; … And
if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out … .”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Hearing these words, we do of course need to remind ourselves that in Mark’s
Gospel Jesus’ speaks often in parables,<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and while we may be tempted to be scandalised by these words we need to
recognise that Jesus is not advocating for literal self-mutilation.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
While encouraging us to be inclusive of others in our conformity to Jesus
character, Mark here is also highlighting that Jesus calls us to a vigorous discipleship
that rejects any form of abuse, either of ourselves or of others – and in the
context of the Season of Creation – of the broader aspects of Creation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the context of our theme on this 4<sup>th</sup> Sunday in
the Season of Creation we are being asked to apply these Scriptural principles
to our life on the African continent and on a global scale. What might prayer
and action for our common home, and in this context our African home, look
like? Abundant Africa, a development process and coalition of organisations
working towards the transformation of Africa funded by Tearfund says in a
recent report, “Some say that Africa is failing, doomed to chaos and poverty
and reliance. Others say that Africa is rising, but as a slave to a narrative
of greed, power, violence, individualism and extraction, to the benefit of just
a few. We see another way - a courageous choice to turn from these two single
stories and tell a new story, one created by the agency and voices of all
African citizens: an Abundant Africa. An Abundant African economy could be
built upon shalom, upon African values of innovation, freedom and relationship.
It could reduce poverty and inequality, honour human dignity, care for creation
– and in so doing be an economy that will lead the world.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I find this an inspiring vision, no matter which continent
or nation one may wish to apply it, but especially for Africa; and part of the
inspiration for me is that it reflects the principles of faith, and of our
journey through this Season of Creation. It is also an impossible vision, as
impossible as Esther’s averting the Jewish genocide by the Persians, as
impossible as the miracle of 1994 was for South Africa, as impossible as any
diverted disaster throughout the course of history may have seemed; but with
God all things are possible, and that needs to be the focus of our prayer. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us find the courage to act and to pray, and trust that
however bold or modest such prayers and actions may be, that God will transform
the humanly impossible into the humanly possible. Let that be our hope, and our
consolation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I close with a prayer of shelter and shadow by Irish
Theologian and Poet, Pádraig Ó Tuama: </p>
<div style="text-align: left;">Let us pray,</div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>~ It is in the shelter of each
other that the people live.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>~ It is in the shadow of each
other that the people live.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We know that sometimes we are
alone,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and sometimes we are in
community.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Sometimes we are in shadow,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and sometimes we are
surrounded by shelter.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Sometimes we feel like exiles –
</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>in our land, in our languages
and in our bodies.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And sometimes we feel
surrounded by welcome.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>As we seek to be human
together,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>may we share the things that
do not fade:</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>generosity, truth-telling,
silence, respect and love.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And may the power we share</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>be for the good of all.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We honour God, the source of
this rich life.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>An we honour each other,
story-full and lovely.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Whether in our shadow or our
shelter,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>may we live well</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and fully</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with each other.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Abundant Africa - </span><a href="https://abundant.africa/"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://abundant.africa/</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Working Preacher, <i>Commentary on
Esther </i></span><i>7: 1-6, 9-10, 9: 20-22</i><i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">,</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-2/commentary-on-esther-71-6-9-10-920-22-5"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-2/commentary-on-esther-71-6-9-10-920-22-5</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Sidnie
White Crawford, <i>“Esther,” In Women’s Bible Commentary, 3</i>d ed., Carol A.
Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe, Jacqueline Lapsley, eds. (Louisville, KY: Westminster
John Knox, 2012), page 203</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">C. Clifton Black, <i>Commentary on
Mark 9:38-50</i>, </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-2/commentary-on-mark-938-50"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-26-2/commentary-on-mark-938-50</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Luke 9:38-40; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">C. Clifton Black, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 9:43-47; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 4:33; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">C. Clifton Black, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Abundant Africa, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210926%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W4%20ML.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-89160449008679104102021-09-26T11:42:00.003+02:002021-09-26T11:42:28.141+02:00Spring Newsletter 2021: Article<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>The Long
View: Spring 2021</b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Dear
Friends </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">It is amazing how much happens in a year, and that despite
the ongoing challenges of our times, we manage to remain resilient and find
ways to be creative. A year ago I was feeling like I was running up an
escalator the wrong way, and at best marking time as the world sped past me in
the opposite direction. The last eighteen months have marked a huge shift in
the way we live, and increasingly we are recognising that this is the ‘new
normal’. In a sermon last Autumn I encouraged us to use Winter as a time to
slow down, even hibernate, to take time to reflect and allow ourselves to catch
up with the changes to our lives that the Covid-19 pandemic has demanded of us,
changes we had hoped to be temporary but which remain ongoing. I have tried to
follow my own advice, and time away in the Eastern Cape in June and a few days
away earlier this month in the Wolseley area have helped, and Dawn and I have
appreciated the gift of renewal these times have been for us. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you are like me, you have been praying that the Covid-19
virus will magically go away, and that we can step back from the
hyper-vigilance the pandemic has forced on us, not to mention the added
challenges that lockdowns and various Alert Levels that have constricted our
lives and relationships so substantially since March 2020. I came across an
article in <i>The Atlantic</i> that made me sit up rather straight with its
unequivocal headline: <b><i>The Coronavirus Is Here Forever. This Is How We
Live With It</i></b><i>.</i>*<i> </i>It was something of a shock to see
something I suspected and was avoiding acknowledging printed in such solid
black lettering. It is not often words leap off the screen at me, but these
ones did. Once I got past the headline, the article itself proved helpful, and
I was particularly struck by the closing paragraph: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><i>With the flu, we as a society
generally agree on the risk we were willing to tolerate. With COVID-19, we do
not yet agree. Realistically, the risk will be much smaller than it is right
now amid a Delta wave, but it will never be gone. “We need to prepare people
that it’s not going to come down to zero. It’s going to come down to some level
we find acceptable,” [Julie] Downs [a psychologist who studies health decisions
at Carnegie Mellon University] says. Better vaccines and better treatments
might reduce the risk of COVID-19 even further. The experience may also prompt
people to take all respiratory viruses more seriously, leading to lasting
changes in mask wearing and ventilation. Endemic COVID-19 means finding a new,
tolerable way to live with this virus. It will feel strange for a while and
then it will not. It will be normal.</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">What we are seeing around the world as different countries
take differing stances to the manner in which attempts have been made to
contain the virus is the lack of a global social compact around how we deal
with it, and I am comforted that in time this will happen. Vaccination is key
to giving us some form of control over the virus – which will undoubtedly make
living with the virus easier – but the amount of scaremongering and misinformation
that social media in particular thrusts into our awareness makes this something
of a pipe dream. Dawn and I are both fully vaccinated, but this scaremongering
has its impact, and so I was deeply comforted by a recent blog post by Mags
Blackie<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(Scientist and Spiritual
Director; herself vaccinated) entitled <i>Owning relative uncertainty, </i>**
where she helpfully says that while – as with all medication – we cannot claim
it is safe, with all the data we have available to us at the moment the vaccine
is unequivocally the better choice. For myself, knowing that with my
vaccination the chances of being severely or even fatally infected with
Covid-19 are slim, is a great source of consolation. While I continue to trust
God for health and salvation, I am also hugely thankful to God for the gift of
medical science! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In a snap survey of Parish Council and our Layminister
group, where all but one person have responded, there is a 100% vaccination
rate. Hopefully, when our planning survey goes out to you all in early October,
a similarly high level of compliance with vaccination protocols will be
evident. As we come out of our Winter hibernation and begin to plan for 2022
and a fuller return to in-person Worship and other levels of interaction, we
are hopefully able to embrace the virus with less fear and engage more
confidently with life. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I remain thankful for the gift of Scripture in these
challenging times, and again commend Philippians 4:4-8 (NRSV) to you: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><i>Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord
is near. Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.</i> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">If you haven’t yet done so, I do encourage you to come and
join us at 08:00 on a Sunday for our in-person service where we continue to follow
Covid-19 sanitising and physical distancing protocols. It does feel different
to our pre-Covid gatherings, but there is something very comforting and special
about being physically present and participating in-person with others in a
time of gathering and worship! </p>
<div style="text-align: left;">Blessings</div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>Mark</i> </div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">* </span><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/08/how-we-live-coronavirus-forever/619783/"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/08/how-we-live-coronavirus-forever/619783/</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">** </span><a href="http://www.magsblackie.com/2021/09/15/owning-relative-uncertainty/"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">http://www.magsblackie.com/2021/09/15/owning-relative-uncertainty/</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 8.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-36248674503808390702021-09-19T11:23:00.008+02:002021-09-19T11:23:43.447+02:00Sermon: Season of Creation (Week 3)<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>Sermon: Season of
Creation</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><em><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Week 3 – The Family of God in our Common Home<span style="font-size: x-small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></em></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">19 August 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">James 3:13-4:3,7-8a,
Psalm 1, and Mark 9:30-37; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I’m appreciating that this Season of Creation is asking us
to rethink how we engage with our world, with the systems and structures that
direct and control our society. This is an important conversation, and we need
to acknowledge that it is also a difficult conversation for us as people of
faith. We live in an age that demands we apply the principles of our faith
differently to how they have been applied in the West for close on two
millennia. The Church rose to power during the reign of Constantine and managed
to control Western society in one form or another for almost a millennium and a
half. Beginning in the 14<sup>th</sup> century the Renaissance saw substantial
social shifts begin to impact on the Church’s influence that were strengthened
by the first industrial revolution in the late 18<sup>th</sup> and early 19<sup>th</sup>
centuries, a period that saw revolutions in France in the late 18<sup>th</sup>
century and in Russia in the early 20<sup>th</sup> century. Over the course of
the 20<sup>th</sup> century a tombstone was raised marking the end of the
Church’s social, political and economic influence on a global scale. This is
what makes it a difficult conversation: much of our theology, our thinking, our
expectations are still marked by what was, by a Church all-powerful, but in a
21<sup>st</sup> century context where the Church is largely sidelined and
insignificant and needing to redefine its purpose in the world. Benedict J.
Groeschel, C.F.R., in a prologue to a commentary on St Benedict’s Rule,
comments, “… many thoughtful people are wondering if we are on the threshold of
a second Dark Ages, and some even more thoughtful people are trying to discern
how we can survive the collapsing foundations of western civilization and even
the decline of all humanizing culture.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is where the focus of these first three weeks of the
Season of Creation are so helpful: in an age when a strongly secular culture
would have the Church remain silent, and where even people of faith may
encourage keeping our heads down while questioning the validity of any social,
political or economic engagement, the Season of Creation themes offer a helpful
foundation for engaging and participating in the world in which God has placed
us. Today’s reading from the book of James encourages us to act out of wisdom<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>,
and we can only do that if we take time to reflect, to build a strong
foundation of understanding, and to be open to renewed perspectives. By taking
us back to the root meanings of terms we largely assign to social structures
external to our faith – economy and ecology – these themes provide us with a
broader picture of our social sphere and provide renewed opportunities for us
to engage beyond the walls of the Church with confidence and purpose. The
overall theme of this Season is that Creation (and our world in particular) is
a “Home for All”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>.
There are rules for this home (economy)<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
and we need to understand the home’s “… integral web of relationships that
sustain [its] wellbeing …”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
(ecology). Today’s theme of ecumenism takes us a step further, and offers us “…
a theological alternative to the concept of globalisation[,]”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
the whole inhabited world as a place “… seeking justice, equity, reconciliation
and the flourishing of the whole of creation” (ecumenical).<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In the context of Church the word ecumenical is normally
associated with interdenominational engagement, for example with the Methodist
or Roman Catholic Churches. Today we are asked to embrace a broader
understanding of ecumenism as reflected in the translation of the Greek word <i>oikoumene
</i>as ‘the world’<i> </i>in Agabus’ warning in Acts 11:28 of a great famine all
over <i>the world</i>. The world, not just the <i>Household of God</i> is the place
of God’s ongoing mission of reconciliation.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Part of the difficulty of the conversation I mentioned earlier is that we generally
draw boundaries to limit our discomfort or to protect us from that which we
fear. Today the conversation between the Roman Catholic Church and the
Protestant Churches remains complex; we still struggle to accept other faiths
such as Islam or Hinduism as legitimate routes to relationship with God. The
level of ecumenism today’s theme calls us to is even more challenging as it is
asking us to accept that “The calling of the church is to uphold the radical
inclusivity of the household of God, in which all are invited to sit at the
family table as equals.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
In terms of engaging with our world this requires us as the <i>Household of God</i>,
as people of faith, as the Church, to “… be a constant witness against the
economies of exclusion, which takes God given resources of the Earth and the
labour of the poor and delivers them into the hands of wealthy shareholders.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
When we speak of the Church being political it is not on the grounds of party
politics, but in challenging the injustice of our times. It is in seeking to
bring about the reality of reconcilliation won through Jesus’ Resurrection that
still remains so illusive to humankind. Our Eucharistic prayer for this Season reflects
this longing: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">Therefore, O God, we who seek
your reconciliation; we who need reconciliation one with another; we who hope
for reconciliation with all of creation, [we] draw close to this mystery. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is no denial of the reconciliation won through Jesus’ Resurrection;
it is a heart-cry to see it active in our relationships and in our world. It is
a recognition that God’s gift of reconciliation – and with it justice and
equity – is available to us in the mystery of the Sacrament of Holy Communion,
to which we draw close. This is underscored by this morning’s Gospel reading: we
get caught up on our own importance – both as individuals, but also as the
Church – and our human tendency is to then become exclusionary, and exclusion
is at the heart of injustice. At the heart of the Gospel interaction is the
disciples’ inability to understand the comment Jesus makes about his looming
betrayal and death and resurrection, and instead allow themselves to be
distracted by their own desire for power and control. Intriguingly, Jesus
doesn’t berate the disciples, but introduces a child – a person of no account
in the context of their ambition – and turns the conversation on its head. What
has been a cause for argument is now an opportunity for reconciliation as the
social values of their time are “… shaken up and re-shaped into a mindblowing ‘whoever
wants to be first must be a servant and must welcome a child and when they do
that they actually welcome me and the one who sent me’ … crazy.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To be truly ecumenical is for us to embrace the fullness of
God’s Creation, remembering that in Genesis 1 we read that as God created God declared
all creation ‘good’ and the creation of humanity ‘very good’. We don’t always
see that goodness, but it’s at the heart of Creation; we don’t always see the
results of God’s gift of reconciliation, but it is at the heart of the Resurrection.
Rowan Williams says, “… our worship is about God coming to be in our midst, but
also about God coming to deal with the wholeness of who we are.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn12" name="_ftnref12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Goodness and reconciliation are not only available to those who acknowledge and
seek a conscious relationship with God, it is also there for those who are
asleep to it. Our responsibility is to awaken our world, and we can only do that
if we engage; and we can only engage if we believe in Resurrection, or in Rowan
Williams’ words, if we “… believe that the world can change, that God can turn
history on its pivot, … that in all sorts of human situations it is possible
for things to be different.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn13" name="_ftnref13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[13]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">To awaken our world requires that we are active in the
systems and structures of our communities and our broader society, but active
in an upside-down kind of way: serving, welcoming; committed to authentic reconciliation
based on justice and equity. Our vocation as people of faith is to obedience;
it is to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice in Jesus Christ our Lord,
and in the power of the Holy Spirit to live to God’s praise and glory.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn14" name="_ftnref14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[14]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I close with a prayer for reconciliation by Irish Theologian
and Poet, Pádraig Ó Tuama: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us pray, </p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Where there is separation,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>there is pain.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And where there is pain,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>there is story.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And where there is story,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>there is understanding,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and misunderstanding,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>listening</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and not listening.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>May we – separated peoples,
estranged strangers,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>unfriended families, divided
communities – </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>turn towards each other,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and turn towards our stories,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with understanding</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and listening,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with argument and acceptance,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>with challenge, change</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and consolation.</i></div><div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because if God is to be found,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God will be found</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>in the space</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>between.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftn15" name="_ftnref15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[15]</span></b></span></span></span></a></i></p><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Benedict J. Groeschel, C.F.R. in Julian
Stead, O.S.B. <i>Benedict: A Rule for Beginners,</i> 2012<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">James 3:13; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Greek <i>Oikos<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Greek <i>Oikos-Nomos<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Season of Creation Year B, <i>Week 2,
</i>page 14; Greek <i>Oikos-Logia<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Season of Creation Year B, <i>Week 3</i>,
page 28; Greek <i>Oikoumene<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Diakonia Council of Churches, 2006, <i>The
Oikos Journey: A Theological Reflection on the Economic Crisis in South Africa<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Season of Creation Year B, <i>Week 3</i>,
page 28; Greek <i>Oikoumene</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Working Preacher, <i>Sermon
Brainwave #802: 17 Sunday after Pentecost (Ord.25B) – Sept. 19, 2021<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn12" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref12" name="_ftn12" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn12;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[12]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Rowan Williams, <i>God with us: the
meaning of the Cross and Resurrection - then and now<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn13" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref13" name="_ftn13" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn13;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[13]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn14" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref14" name="_ftn14" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn14;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[14]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Anglican Church of Southern Africa, <i>An
Anglican Prayer Book 1989<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn15" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210919%20Sermon%20Season%20of%20Creation%20W3%20ML.docx#_ftnref15" name="_ftn15" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn15;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[15]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-78896004528316747572021-08-22T11:20:00.007+02:002021-08-22T11:26:18.514+02:00Sermon: 13th Sunday after Pentecost<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Sermon: 13<sup>th</sup>
Sunday after Pentecost</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">22 August 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ephesians 6:10-20,
Psalm 84, and John 6:56-69; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today we complete our journey with the sixth chapter of
John’s Gospel. We began the journey with the crowds as Jesus fed the five
thousand with a few barley loaves and some dried fish – a powerful reminder
that God’s action is not only abundant but also satisfying – and we end it with
the disciples as they grapple with what it means to truly follow Jesus. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We have been presented over these six weeks with what we
know and understand: hunger, real food, bread and fish. We’ve also been
presented with the metaphor of Jesus as God’s provision for us. Reality and
metaphor have been woven together, and we are asked to accept the body and
blood of Jesus as real sustainance for life and faith. We’ve been invited by
John to understand our gathering together in Eucharistic worship as no
different in nature to crowds gathered on the mountainside sharing barley bread
and dried fish: both meals are abundant, both are satisfying, both are life
giving. We are asked, though, to do more than just accept the similarities of
the two meals; we’re invited to see that while the barley bread and dry fish
are abundant in the moment and able to satisfy our physical hunger for the day,
what we are offered in Jesus is eternally abundant and satisfies hunger beyond
the physical, and yet embracing our humanity in its fullness. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Just as we’re beginning to get our minds around all of that,
we’re reminded that not only are we invited to <i>feed</i> on the body and
blood of Christ, but we’re also asked to <i>be</i> the body and blood of Christ
with all that that implies. Just as the barley loaves and fish were broken
apart and shared out, just as the bread is broken in the Eucharist and shared
with the wine, so you and I are asked to be that for God’s Creation and for the
day-to-day world in which we live. We’re asked to trust that the seemingly
insufficient is sufficient, and more than sufficient: it is satisfying. We’re
asked to trust that in God we are more than adequate for God’s purposes, and
that the seeming paucity of our lives when we abandon ourselves into God’s
hands, will be ample in the breaking. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Think on that for a moment {<i>pause</i>}. Is it any
surprise that we hear many in the larger crowd of disciples around Jesus asking,
“This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
These disciples are not responding just to the opening verses of today’s
reading, but to the fullness of what Jesus has been saying through this sixth
Chapter of John’s Gospel. It is discomforting stuff, even if only read
superficially. However, when the implications of Jesus teaching begin to be
understood it becomes deeply disturbing. What Jesus is asking of those who
follow him, and by implication of ourselves, too, is to recognise that this is
an all-in commitment and not an add on for when we have a bit of time. It is a
call to abide as we heard in the opening verse of today’s window on this
chapter, “Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in
them.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
As I reflected in my sermon last week, “‘To abide’ has a number of different
meanings, but it is used here actively: it is to belong, it is to live with, it
is to embrace, and it is to persist in doing so.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
This teaching is no gentle add-on for those occasional moments when we desire a
little distraction from our busy lives, and therefore again no surprise that we
hear that “[b]ecause of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer
went about with him.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
It is a call to believe in such a manner that it is visible in our active
belonging, embracing, and persistence in living this commitment. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is important to recognise that there is a choice, always
a choice; as we become more awake to the reality of what our faith increasingly
requires of us, so we need to reconsider our willingness to continue on the
path we’ve chosen. Jesus offers the Twelve that option, even as others in the
broader crowd of disciples make the choice to leave. Jesus asks them, “Do you
also wish to go away?”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
It is Peter who answers for them all, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the
words of eternal life.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
You and I of course know how the story continues: this commitment will test
them all; Judas will betray, Peter deny, and a good few run away. However, at
this particular point of awakening for the Twelve, and for Peter in particular,
at the heart of this declaration is a belief based on their relationship with
Jesus, “We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
It is sufficient and in that moment satisfying, and despite how Jesus’ arrest,
trial, and subsequent crucifixion will break them, it will prove sufficient and
satisfying for them beyond this moment. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As I said last week, “We are challenged … to accept that God
has acted through the real life of Jesus, and that God continues to act in and
through the reality of our lives.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
What today’s Gospel adds is that this challenge is accepted within the context
of relationship with Jesus, in the context of our willingness to immerse
ourselves in the fullness of all that God is; and the touchstone is that we, like
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>the Twelve, have come to believe and
know that Jesus is the Holy One of God. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">The additional challenge is what does this look like as we
move beyond today? Personally, I take courage that the Twelve and others who responded
to Jesus were in fact everyday human beings, not too different to you and
myself: capable of betrayal and denial, uncertainty and doubt, even fear; yet
also capable of great courage, kindness, and love. You and I live in a broken
world, and are often broken by it, too. There is much heartache in our day-by-day
lives, but also opportunity for joy. Afghanistan and Haiti, our own Nation’s corrupt
leadership, institutional racism and economic disparity, xenophobia, colonialism,
patriarchy, gender-based violence, gang warfare, murder and rape, addiction, ecological
disaster; all these and more define the brokenness of the world we live in and they
all occupy various levels of our awareness and concern, our anxiety and fear. Into
this broken world, as we embrace Jesus as the Holy One of God, we – the Body of
Christ – are broken and shared. </p>
<p style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">The bread which we break, is it
not a sharing of the body of Christ?</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><b>We, who are many, are one
body, for we all partake of the one bread<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></b></span></span></span></a></b> </div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As I close, let us take courage and wisdom from the opening
words of today’s epistle reading, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the
strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able
to stand against the wiles of the devil.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">A prayer by Irish Theologian and Poet, Pádraig Ó Tuama: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us pray, </p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Jesus,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>our dead and living friend,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>we walk the ways of death and
life</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>holding fear in one hand</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and courage in the other.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Come find us when we are
locked away.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Come enliven us.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Come bless us with your peace.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because you are the first day
of creation</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and all days of creation.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn11" name="_ftnref11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[11]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:60b; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:56; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Mark
Long, <i>Sermon: 12<sup>th</sup> Sunday after Pentecost</i>, <a href="https://thelongviewza.blogspot.com/2021/08/sermon-12th-sunday-after-pentecost.html"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://thelongviewza.blogspot.com/2021/08/sermon-12th-sunday-after-pentecost.html</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:66; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:67; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:68; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:69; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark Long, <i>Ibid.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">An Anglican Prayer Book 1989<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ephesians 6:10-11; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn11" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210822%20Sermon%2013th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref11" name="_ftn11" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn11;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[11]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-49490981163086681992021-08-15T11:22:00.001+02:002021-08-15T11:22:20.032+02:00Sermon: 12th Sunday after Pentecost<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>Sermon: 12<sup>th</sup>
Sunday after Pentecost</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">15 August 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ephesians 5:15-20,
Psalm 111, and John 6:51-58; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We continue today with our journey through the theologically
rich sixth chapter of St John’s Gospel. Verse 51 is the bridge from last week’s
Scripture passage to today’s: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">“I am the living bread that came
down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread
that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In my sermon last week to the Parish of St Saviour in
Claremont I commented in relation to this verse that, “We need to hear in these
words of Jesus that you and I are the Body of Christ; you and I are given for
the life of the world.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
Stephen similarly commented in his sermon here at St Andrew’s that, “… as we
ingest the Truth from God and allow God’s Spirit to really fill us – we too can
be food for others. God has chosen to work through the Church and that means
you and [me] – we can feed and nourish people through our presence and guidance
and teaching; through our healing words, our compassion and generosity of
spirit.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As the ‘Body of Christ’ we are Jesus’ flesh, God’s hands and
feet in the world. As we are reminded in the first letter to the Corinthians this
phrase is both a Eucharistic one, “The bread which we break, is it not a
sharing in the body of Christ?”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
which speaks to our unity as we share together in the Eucharistic meal; it is
also a definitive one as the Apostle Paul reminds us, “… you are the Body of
Christ and individually members of it.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
One of the reasons, if not the reason, that we spend so much time journeying
with this particular chapter in John’s Gospel is that this sign that John
offers us is key to who we are as God’s people, and core to what we are called
to be. We are invited to see Jesus for who and what he is, the source of all
being. As the bread of life, broken and shared in and through us, Jesus not
only satisfies but also sustains, and does so primarily by inviting us into
direct relationship with God, whom we call Source of all Being. And the call on
each one of us as people of faith is to offer the same gift to the world in
which we live, knowing and trusting that through the constant presence of the
Spirit of God our own brokenness is never an obstacle, but rather an
opportunity for life to be shared over and over, again and again. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">If you’re finding this hard to get your mind around, take
comfort from the fact that both last week and this week in John’s narrative the
people around Jesus struggled, too. Remember that he was not speaking to
strangers but to a community amongst whom he had grown up: they knew his
parents and they recognised him. It’s generally true that as Anglicans many of
us have grown up with Jesus being part of the fabric of our lives in some form
or another, at times a distant relative that we visit on special occasions, at
other times a good friend with whom we are in regular contact, at another time
a counsellor in moments of hardship and difficulty, and often the one around
whom our lives may revolve constantly. As we explore this chapter of John we
are asked to see Jesus afresh, to have our perspective of God’s role in our
lives shifted, and to explore a changed narrative for how we see ourselves.
This is discomforting, and we join those around Jesus in their responses: “We
know him, how can he now say …?”; “How can he ask us to …?” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">No matter our discomfort, reality has shifted because God
has acted, and we’re invited to see different kinds of truth about Jesus,<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
about what God is up to, about what we are called to. It is also an invitation
not just to be onlookers, but to abide: “Those who eat my flesh and drink my
blood abide in me, and I in them.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
‘To abide’ has a number of different meanings, but it is used here actively: it
is to belong, it is to live with, it is to embrace, and it is to persist in
doing so. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">While much of this chapter in John’s Gospel has been
metaphorical, in today’s portion we are presented with some Eucharistic realism,
and asked to grapple with the concept of Jesus as the Bread of Life as we would
with real food. The Greek verb used by Jesus here suggests a noisy eating that
involves gnawing, nibbling, chewing; more like a dog with a bone than a
cultured sit-down meal.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn8" name="_ftnref8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
A little different from allowing a wafer to melt genteelly on our tongues at
the altar rail, and more reminiscent of the chewing of baked bread I see going
on in Gallery View<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn9" name="_ftnref9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> as
we share in the Eucharist from our homes; and at the feeding of the five
thousand it was after all barley bread and dried fish, neither of which would
have been easy eating. As we grapple with the truths about Jesus presented to
us here it does require more of us than we may be wanting to give. We are being
asked to engage with our faith on a very deep level, to dig down, and not to be
satisfied with easy and superficial answers. We are being asked to join the
dots between what we believe, what we know, and what we experience, and to
activate the link between all of this and how we act in the world. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We are challenged today to accept that God has acted through
the real life of Jesus, and that God continues to act in and through the
reality of our lives. Eternal life in John’s Gospel is not some vague after-death
experience; it is rather real life in the present moment, in the here and now,
lived in and through the real presence of God’s Spirit among us, engaging us in
the world as agents of hope, healing, and wholeness. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I close with a prayer by Irish Theologian and Poet, Pádraig Ó
Tuama: </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Let us pray,<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Jesus, you shared peace</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>around a table of anxiety,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>peace with the bread, peace
with the wine,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>peace in the face of the
uncertain,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>peace in the place of pain.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>May we share tables of peace</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>in places of pain,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>sharing food and friendship</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and words and life.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because you came to a fearful
world</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and found your place</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>around those tables.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn10" name="_ftnref10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[10]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:51; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> The
Ven Mark Long, <a href="https://thelongviewza.blogspot.com/2021/08/sermon-11th-sunday-after-pentecost.html">https://thelongviewza.blogspot.com/2021/08/sermon-11th-sunday-after-pentecost.html</a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The Rev’d Stephen Middelkoop, <i>20210808
John 6 SM.pdf</i><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1 Corinthians 10:16b; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">1 Corinthians 12:27; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Karoline
Lewis, <i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sermon Brainwave
#792</span></i><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">, </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/797-12th-sunday-after-pentecost-ord-20b-aug-15-2021"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/797-12th-sunday-after-pentecost-ord-20b-aug-15-2021</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:56; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn8" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref8" name="_ftn8" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn8;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[8]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Robert Hoch, <i>Commentary on John
6:51-58,</i> </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20-2/commentary-on-john-651-58-5"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/ordinary-20-2/commentary-on-john-651-58-5</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn9" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref9" name="_ftn9" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn9;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[9]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Zoom<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn10" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210815%20Sermon%2012th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref10" name="_ftn10" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn10;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[10]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-36120311647466288522021-08-13T11:19:00.001+02:002021-08-13T11:19:15.315+02:00Sermon: 11th Sunday after Pentecost<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Sermon: 11<sup>th</sup>
Sunday after Pentecost</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;">Feast of Title | St
Saviour’s Parish, Claremont<o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">8 August 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">2 Samuel 18:5-9,
15, 31-33, Psalm 130, Ephesians 4:25-5:2, and John 6:35, 41-51; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is a joy to be with you all this morning as you celebrate
your Feast of Title here at St Saviour’s, and my thanks to your Rector, the
Revd Chesnay Frantz, for the generous invitation to be present this morning and
to preach at this important milestone in the life of the Parish. Your journey
over the past few years has not been an easy one and the Covid-19 pandemic
continues to bring challenges to life and ministry as we seek to find ways to
be faithful to our calling as God’s people within the shifting restrictions
placed on our ability to gather together and to be the physical presence of God
to one another and to the world around us. My thanks for the manner in which
you have all welcomed Revd Chesnay and Samantha and their growing family, and
the support you have given them, especially in relation to the substantial health
challenges Samantha has faced recently. In addition you have coped with the
untimely death of your Parish Secretary, Avril, and other shifts in the staff
complement of the Parish, with doubtless the sadness of the loss of loved ones
and good friends to Covid-19 and other illnesses in the greater breadth of your
lives. Thank you for remaining faithful through it all, and may you continue to
demonstrate the resilience of faith and trust that is a hallmark of this Parish
and of the wider people of God.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As we
celebrate the Parish’s Feast of Title today I am reminded of the gift we
demonstrate as human beings to personify those elements of faith and life that
are important to us. Normally when we think of Saints in the context of the
names we give our Church communities, we reflect on those individuals in the
history of our faith who have stood out, not because they were better human
beings than their contemporaries, but because in some form their lives stood
out as an example of faithfulness and trust that demonstrates a Godliness to
which we aspire, and which we desire to embrace. In this Parish’s Title we have
personified the greatest gift that God has offered all creation: salvation! And
we honour that gift as it is personified in the Eternal Son, Jesus Christ, our
Lord and our Saviour. The Title, St Saviour, honours all that God is in Jesus
Christ, and all that we are in Jesus as the Body of Christ. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">As Saviour,
Jesus offers us an incredible gift, which the former Archbishop of Canterbury,
Rowan Williams, links very specifically to God’s resurrection of Jesus from the
dead. In his book,<i> God with Us: The Meaning of the Cross and Resurrection –
Then and Now</i>, Rowan speaks of Jesus as the bridge between God and humanity,
and says the following in this regard:<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a></span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“… [because of the Resurrection] Jesus is now
free to act universally, eternally and without limit; but who is it that acts
eternally, universally and without limit? The answer, of course, is God. … In
the new age you can’t disentangle what Jesus is doing from what God is doing.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“[Jesus] stands as a bridge between God and
humanity: … bringing them together. … Jesus has created a space we can occupy,
in his name. … if you occupy the same space, you can say you share the same
embodiment.</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">“So not only is he acting for God and in God;
this action for God and in God makes space for us to live in God’s presence and
to live for God and the world.”</span> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Key to what Rowan is saying here is that the gift of
salvation is the space that Jesus creates where God and humanity are brought
together; that Jesus is that space. You and I know that space as “the Body of
Christ”. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Interestingly, and helpfully, the root word in the Greek for
both salvation and healing is the same, so when we ask the question, “What does
salvation look like?” the answer is that it looks like healing, or in the words
of John’s Gospel, it looks like abundant life.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
The Lectionary presently has us immersed for a five week period in John 6,
which began two weeks ago with a focus on the feeding of the five thousand, a
sign in John’s Gospel of abundance where we saw that the edge is not just taken
off the crowd’s hunger, their hunger is satisfied to the point where food was
still available but not needed, and could be collected doubtless to be shared
again with others. The nature of abundance is that there is always more than
enough; and the nature of salvation is that we are given the insight to
recognise this. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today’s Gospel opens with Jesus words, “I am the bread of
life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will
never be thirsty.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> We
then see the controversy that arises among those that hear Jesus say this: it
is one thing to enjoy physical nourishment in abundance; it is something else
entirely to place our trust in God that this will always be the case, and not
just physically but on every level of potential existence. Again, we are
reminded, as Rowan Williams’ words reminded us earlier, that Jesus is this
space of abundance, of salvation, of wholeness. Salvation is also an ever
increasing space of healing and wholeness, just as we have discovered that the
universe in which our planet exists as a tiniest spec is also ever expanding. One
of the biggest challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic is that it limits and
restricts us, causing us to think first and foremostly of safety, of protecting
ourselves; and in so doing building ever expanding obstacles to abundance. The
lived experience in South Africa, as the pandemic adds to the already overwhelming
socio-economic and political problems of poverty, unemployment, violence, and
corruption, also draws us ever deeper into a scarcity mentality; and our
humanity is diminished. It also deafens us to the message of our Scriptures and
the call of God on our lives. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Your Feast of Title today is a reminder to look up, to look
again to God. It is a call to once again recognise in the Eternal Son, Jesus
Christ, the salvation God offers us firstly and foremostly as people of God, as
the Body of Christ in which God and humanity are brought together to occupy the
same space, a space that is one of abundance and healing. But just as there was
food left over after the five thousand had been fed to the point of
satisfaction, so this gift is also offered to the communities in which we live,
work and worship; to the people of Southern Africa, and to the Nations of our
world; and to Creation itself. It is a call to leave behind the mentality of
our time, a mentality of scarcity and fear, and to embrace the abundance God
offers in Jesus: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever
eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the
life of the world is my flesh.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>
We need to hear in these words of Jesus that you and I are the Body of Christ;
you and I are given for the life of the world. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">You and I are human. In moments of true self-awareness we are
able to acknowledge that we are frail, we are hurt, we are broken. That is not
a problem … only when we break bread can it be shared; only in the brokenness
of our lives are we truly useful to God. Professor Denise Ackermann, in a
Lenten address some years ago to your daughter Church, St Andrew’s in Newlands,
reminded us that the beauty of a stained glass window is due to the fact that
the glass is broken, and that the fractures are part of the beauty. Strangely
perfection is never truly beautiful; it is the imperfections that add beauty.
Never be embarrassed as individuals or as a Christian community of your
imperfections; don’t seek to create them, but those that are there, offer them
to God for his purposes. Where you are wounded and hurting, seek healing and
wholeness, and offer that gift to one another. Be St Saviour’s! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I close with some words from our New Testament reading today, </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: justify;">“… we are members of one another.
Be angry but do not sin; … do not make room for the devil. … Let no evil talk
come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up. … Put away
from you all bitterness and wrath … and be kind to one another. … be imitators
of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave
himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And a prayer by Irish Theologian and Poet, Pádraig Ó Tuama: </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us pray, </p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God of the barley loaf,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God of the boy,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>God of the fish,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And God of the humble brother;</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>When we do not have enough,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>may we use what we have</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>to do what we can.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because a small boy did this,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and generosity listened.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Chapter 4<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 10:10; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:35; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 6:51; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Ephesians
4:25-5:2; NRSV adapted</span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://d.docs.live.net/7cf922e5a01b85b5/Documents/My%20Files/ACSA/Sermons/20210808%20Sermon%2011th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-10035612867059188002021-07-29T17:17:00.003+02:002021-07-29T17:17:26.854+02:00Sermon: 9th Sunday after Pentecost<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>Sermon: 9<sup>th</sup>
Sunday after Pentecost</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">25 July 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ephesians 3:14-21 ;
Psalm 14; and John 6:1-21; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">As you may already have realised, the Gospel of Mark is this
year’s Lectionary focus. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke alternate
within our three year Lectionary cycle and they are known as the Synoptic
Gospels, which is a Greek phrase meaning in essence that these three Gospels
contain many of the same stories often in a similar sequence and with similar
wording, although their individual focus and audiences are different. Occasionally
– as we do today – we break away from the “Gospel of the Year” to spend some
time with a contrasting perspective from John’s Gospel, this time a five week
focus on John chapter 6.</span><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We launch into this diversion with one of the few stories in
John’s Gospel that is also found in the other three Gospels: the feeding of the
five thousand. I invite you to take a moment to bring to mind what you know
about this event {<i>silence</i>} … a number of aspects may have come to mind …
hungry crowds … a few loaves and fish … Jesus blessing these … food shared and
people fed … lots left over. Now think back to the Gospel reading as you heard
it read this morning … while it has probably melded in with your general
awareness of the story there are some significant differences to the way it is
told in comparison to the other three Gospels. In the Synoptic narratives Jesus’
compassion for the crowd is a highlight, the disciples handing out the bread
and fish to the crowds, left over food being collected afterwards doubtless to
be shared again with others. It’s big picture stuff, painting a broad overview
of the purpose of God’s kingdom in the world. In John’s Gospel the focus is a
little different, and a little more intimate and a little more specific, and
focused on Jesus rather than the hungry crowd, and it’s context is in relation
to the upcoming Passover celebration. The bread is not just bread, it is <i>Barley
</i>bread; the fish are dried fish [this is lost in the English translation];
it is not the disciples that distribute the bread, it is Jesus; the edge is not
just taken off the crowd’s hunger, their hunger is satisfied. The testing
question Jesus asks of Philip is not an exam question with a pre-decided answer,
but one that requires Philip and the other disciples and ourselves as we hear
the story again today to see more than just the feeding of this crowd; it is
for us to acknowledge Jesus as <i>the</i> Bread of Life, to recognise God in Jesus
giving God’s-self to us, intimately, personally, satisfyingly. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And just in case we missed all this, John immediately
follows up with the Jesus walking on water … a wonderful insight I think into
John’s sense of humour! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In John’s Gospel the feeding of the five thousand is a sign<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210725%20Sermon%209th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>,
an activity not just to be celebrated for the wonder of a God who cares deeply
for the physically hungry, but of a God who cares for the fullness of creation;
a God who has power over the elements and an ability to multiply these as Jesus
does with the Barley bread and dried fish, or to use them differently as Jesus
does in walking on the water. Our humanity responds to these physical events,
and – certainly speaking for myself – longs for similar power. However John
also comments on the nature of this power and we need to heed his insight: this
power is not used to control. Jesus uses this power to serve, and does so
intimately, demonstrating the depth and wholeness of his humanity in this
moment. John underlines this commitment by noting that when the crowds having
had their hunger satisfied move to make him King, Jesus hot-foots it into the distance.
The English translation politely says he ‘withdrew’; the Greek word would
better be translated as ‘fled’! John makes it abundantly clear that Jesus’ did
not seek to hold political or economic power. The reference to the upcoming
Passover Festival accentuates this, a reminder that God is committed to our
physical liberation from all that seeks to hold us captive in this life, and to
resource us for the journey. However, the power that God exercises – an power
in essence is the ability to act – is one that seeks at all times to make space
for and to build wholeness in community, and where those spaces are constricted
in any form, especially with the purpose of exercising power to control and
even oppress others, God acts to liberate. Too often we trip over our ideas of
what that liberation may look like, and miss the salvation God is offering. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In 1994 we experienced and celebrated the political
liberation of South Africa, and while we knew there was work ahead we too
easily accepted the miracle of 1994 as essentially sufficient. In recent years
many, and most notably those born after the birth of Democracy in South Africa,
highlight for us that political liberation was never meaningfully translated
into the economic and social spheres of the South African experience. The <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>#FeesMustFall movement speaks to the ongoing
economic oppression of the poor in our country, and the #BlackLivesMatter
movement speaks to the social inequalities that continue to ravage our Nation.
While we are realising these issues are not endemic to Southern Africa,
nonetheless we need to acknowledge the need for ongoing social and economic
renewal and transformation, and awaken afresh to this being a legitimate focus
for people of Faith. Whatever your interpretation of recent social unrest in
KZN and Gauteng may be, we cannot deny the underlying frustration of South
Africans with the present status quo. Just as Jesus’ feeding of the five
thousand in John’s Gospel is a sign, so these events are one of the signs in
our time; and while we like Jesus need to flee any attempt to become
politically and economically aligned – and clearly we don’t control the political,
economic, and social arenas – we are not without influence and agency. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">My question this morning is how do we as people of Faith
apply the lessons of today’s Gospel message in our broader context? As
described in all four Gospels, responding to and meeting the immediate needs of
the people is unquestionably legitimate, but not sufficient. John reminds us of
the importance of ensuring our action doesn’t just touch on the problem, but
meets the need in such a manner that people are content. Jesus exercised his
agency in this, and the structures of his day sought to limit his influence, and
failed. Our lives are embraced by the same Spirit that filled Jesus, and we
need to trust that while the signs of our times often appear to ask more of us
than is possible, God knows what he is going to do. In response to Jesus
question, while Philip saw all the difficulties, Andrew looked around to see
what resources they had. Their resources were woefully lacking, but in Gods
hands they proved not only fruitful, but satisfyingly so. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We all have agency; let us offer that to God. We all have
resources of some form; let us offer these to God. We often feel overwhelmed –
at least I do – by our situation, be it personal or societal, and the disciples
clearly felt overwhelmed by the needs of the crowds before them. Let us take
heart that God acted then, and will act now. Let us trust that God supplies us
with sufficient resilience to act in the present, and that no matter how
limited we perceive our agency or resources to be, in God’s hands they are
abundant! </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us pray, </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;"><i>I pray that, according to the
riches of his glory, [God] may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner
being with power through [the] Spirit, and … that you may be filled with all
the fullness of God.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210725%20Sermon%209th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.</i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210725%20Sermon%209th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Sermon
Brainwave <a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/794-9th-sunday-after-pentecost-ord-17b-july-25-2021"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/794-9th-sunday-after-pentecost-ord-17b-july-25-2021</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210725%20Sermon%209th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ephesians 3:16, 19b</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-70830843010265553742021-07-29T17:13:00.005+02:002021-07-29T17:13:37.583+02:00Sermon: 6th Sunday after Pentecost<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Sermon: 6<sup>th</sup>
Sunday after Pentecost</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">4 July 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">2 Corinthians 12:2-10;
Psalm 48; and Mark 6:1-13; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In this season that follows on from Pentecost we are
exploring what it looks like to live the Christian faith, and one of the best
ways to explore is to ask questions. Any question is useful if it helps us broaden
or even change our perspective, if it helps us be more open to participating in
what God is up to in our world, and if it increases our willingness to be progressively
welcoming and inclusive. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In today’s Gospel narrative we find Jesus in his home town teaching
in the Synagogue, and the people asking questions that steadily limit their openness
to what God is up to among them in the person of Jesus, to the point where Mark
reports that Jesus is amazed at their unbelief. Interestingly this lack of
openness, this lack of trust, does not stop Jesus healing a few local people,
but does limit the village from experiencing any act of power; they remain
blinkered to the opportunity in their midst. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Jesus clearly doesn’t hang around to persuade them
differently, and Mark immediately reports that Jesus moves on to other villages
in the area. This opens up an important perspective: sharing the Good News is
not to be done at all costs, and specifically not if there is disinterest. This
is evident in Jesus subsequent instruction to the disciples as he sends them
out: they are not to waste time with those who are unwelcoming and more
specifically also unwilling to hear; they are instead to shake the dust off
their feet and move on. The disciples go out to call people to repentance. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What are some of the questions we are asking at the moment;
and are these questions ones that open us up to what God is doing in our time,
or are they questions that keep us asleep to God’s presence and purpose for us?
And of course, how do we know the difference? In Jesus’ home village the
questions they asked kept them asleep to what God was doing despite their initial
amazement at Jesus’ wisdom. They were quickly scandalised and chose to not
allow this wisdom to change their outlook. They were discomforted by Jesus’
prophetic presence and chose to not be changed by it. Perhaps our discernment
needs to reflect on how we respond to discomfort, and on how we may adapt our
questions to ease any discomfort we experience? </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does it mean to repent? In terms of today’s Gospel
reading it is to wake up to God’s presence; it is to really hear what God is
saying and calling us to; it is being open to having our perspectives changed
by what we both hear and see. However, it’s not about change for the sake of
change; rather it is a setting aside of attitudes and perspectives and
resulting actions that keep us at a distance from God and from other people,
that maintain our independence and invulnerability. Repenting is to be open again
to the power of God and the power of God’s word, both Biblical and prophetic; to
being guests of other people’s hospitality where we lay aside our own desire to
control our social context and be willing to hear the pain of other people’s
lives even in the midst of our own struggles; to welcome people whose practices
or belief systems may appear different to ours, and engage in meaningful
dialogue; and in doing so to share prophetic hope.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210704%20Sermon%206th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></span></a> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">As Jesus sends his disciples out he also gives them authority
over unclean spirits, and we hear that not only do they call people to
repentance, but they drive out demons and anoint and cure many who are sick.
One way in which we deal with our discomfort is to demonise that which
discomforts us. If we are to share a prophetic hope, we need to be cognisant of
this strong human tendency, and open to God’s activity in setting us free from
it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A chapter earlier in Mark’s Gospel
we hear how Jesus cleansed the demoniac of Gerasa, chasing a legion of unclean spirits
into a herd of pigs. Not only was this man set free of the evil that had
controlled him, but for Jesus’ disciples who likely held the common orthodox
Jewish hostility for the Hellenistic culture of the Decapolis there was a
symbolic cultural cleansing that altered their perspective and allowed for
people of that region to be a welcome part of the crowds that subsequently
followed Jesus. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">And so what does it look like to live the Christian faith in
this post-Pentecost season of the Church year? I believe it is to allow the
Spirit of God to work deeply within us, giving us the courage to confront our
own demons; it is to repent and recognise afresh the presence of God in our
lives and world; it is to be healed of that which afflicts us; it is to see the
world differently, to see the world and others from God’s perspective; it is to
acknowledge the image of God in every person, and see the potential for good in
every cultural context; it is to be indiscriminate in the manner in which we
share the bounteous love of God at every opportunity. It is to be humble,
dependant, and vulnerable before God, the Source of all Being, and before one
another; always. It is finding the courage to say, “With God’s help, we will!” </p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us pray,<o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="text-align: left;"><o:p> </o:p> <i>…
Jesus, …</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>you turned,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and spoke
words of</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>togetherness</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>in
the places of the torn.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>May
we always find </i></div>
<div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><i><span> <span> </span></span>words to hold, </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>especially in times </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>when the world </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>harms. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>Because sometimes </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>words can </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>heal. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><span> </span>Amen.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210704%20Sermon%206th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210704%20Sermon%206th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Sermon Brainwave #791, </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/791-6th-sunday-after-pentecost-ord-14b-july-4-2021"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/podcasts/791-6th-sunday-after-pentecost-ord-14b-july-4-2021</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210704%20Sermon%206th%20Sun%20after%20Pentecost%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, <i>Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community</i>, page 53</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-34904519757309947022021-07-29T17:08:00.001+02:002021-07-29T17:08:16.756+02:00Sermon: Trinity Sunday<p style="text-align: center;"> <b>Sermon: Trinity Sunday</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">30 May 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Isaiah 6:1-8;
Psalm 29; and John 3:1-17; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I last preached two weeks ago in that liminal space between
the Ascension and Pentecost and made the comment that faith is primarily about relationship.
Today’s focus on the Trinity continues this theme, asking us to reflect on God’s
Kingdom, present in our midst, as primarily about relationship and
interconnectedness. The symbol for the Trinity, the Trinity Knot or <i>Triquetra</i>,
with its triangular shape of a continuously interlinked line woven into a
cirlce is a far better description of what we believe when we speak of God as
Trinity than words can ever paint. It did, after all, take the Church close on
three centuries to refine the Christian understanding of who God is, and the
various Creeds we use – particularly the Apostles, Nicean and Athenasian – reflect
this ongoing discussion from the 4<sup>th</sup> to 6<sup>th</sup> centuries after
Constantine in the Edict of Milan in 313 CE decreed tolerance for Christianity in
the Roman Empire. The Athenasian Creed quite tediously but importantly reminds
us that while the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are all God, at the same time
they are not each other. It is their relationship in the fullness of the
Godhead that keeps them interconnected and united in their diversity. Trying to
describe and/or understand this relationship through either the written or
spoken word can be mind-numbing, whereas the image of the Trinity Knot woven
into a circle gives space for our awareness to contemplate the relational and
interconnected reality of the God we serve.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What I have said so far may already be leaving you somewhat
confused, and our understanding of the Trinity is one of the more complex
Christian teachings. It may be helpful to recognise in the Gospel account of
Jesus’ interaction with Nicodemus that we are not alone in our confusion. We
can be quite critical of Nicodemus, but he was a respected Jewish scholar and
leader of his time, and even he struggled to understand the nature of God and
God’s purposes for us in this life. We need to acknowledge Nicodemus’ courage
in approaching Jesus, even if it was in the darkness of night, and entering
into conversation with him. Nicodemus sought to understand Jesus’ insight into
the very nature of life, and we see something of Jesus’ understanding of the
roles that he, the Father, and the Spirit play in ensuring we are physically
and spiritually alive.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">It is important that we grapple with the teachings of our
faith, but it is even more important that we experience our faith, particularly
what it offers in terms of our daily experience of life and relationship. Rowan
Williams helpfully reminds us in his book <i>God with Us</i> that through the
Easter journey we are invited into the very heart of the Godhead, into the very
heart of the relationship shared by the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is an
amazing thought, because we acknowledge God as Creator, as the Source of all
Being; we acknowledge through our celebration of the Ascension that Jesus is
the Eternal Son, restorer of relationship; and the Holy Spirit is the sustainer
of all life, and so much more. We are invited to participate in the
interconnectedness of all that God is, to ourselves be co-creators and
sustainers of life, committed to the important ministry of restorative justice
and hope.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Which part of the Godhead are you drawn to? Perhaps
reflecting on your favourite hymns will give you an inkling? If I offered you
the choice of “Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise,” or “What A Friend We Have
in Jesus,” or “Spirit of the Living God”, which one would you choose and why?
And what does your choice say to you about your relationship to the Trinity;
about what you are attracted to in God? And then of course, how do you live
this attraction out in your relationships with other people, and with Creation
itself? To some degree our personalities and life experience will define the
direction of our attraction. However, we also need to remember that
relationship and life itself is a journey, the call of our faith is into an
ever increasing wholeness. It’s important to remember that we are called into
relationship with the fullness of God, not just a part of God. Which parts of
God do you need to know better? In recent years I have found myself really
attracted to God as the Source of all Being, the creative fullness of God; as a
teenager it was all about Jesus; and then as a young adult it was the Spirit
that particularly drew me. Our recent Lent and Eastertide journey has awoken
within me a desire to revisit my relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and
to do so in such a way that my relationship with Jesus and the Spirit is
congruent with my understanding of God as the Source of all Being. I’m
recognising that there has been too much disconnection in my relationship with
the various persons of the Trinity, and I need to embrace a more whole relationship
that builds a new consonance in my awareness of the role God plays in and
through my life.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">How is God prompting you today? Perhaps in recognising which
aspect of God you are presently attracted to there is a need to explore this
aspect further? Or perhaps like me, you may feel a prompting to a greater
congruence in your relationship with all aspects of God? Or even the need just
to explore another aspect of God? There is no one answer and no one response;
and God will be prompting you in a way unique to who you are, and where your
relationship with God presently resides. There are also no easy or quick
answers: it is always a journey. It is also a collective journey, even while
our individual journeys continue, and while we explore our own personal
relationships with God, with God’s kingdom, and with Creation itself, we also
need to be asking these questions of ourselves as a community of Faith. What
are we hearing God, Source of all Being, Eternal Son, and Holy Spirit, saying
to us all today?<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us pray,</p><div style="text-align: left;"> <i>As we
seek to be human together,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>may we
share the things that do not fade:</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>generosity,
truth-telling, silence, respect, and love.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
may the power we share</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>be
for the good of all.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>We honour
God, the source of this rich life.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>And
we honour each other, story-full and lovely.</i></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Whether
in our shadow or in our shelter,</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>may
we love well</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>and
fully</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>with
each other</i></div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Amen.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210530%20Sermon%20Trinity%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><o:p></o:p></i></p>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210530%20Sermon%20Trinity%20Sunday%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, </span><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Evening Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community</span><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-998889482533313672021-05-16T22:53:00.001+02:002021-05-16T23:11:15.056+02:00Sermon: 7th Sunday of Easter<p style="text-align: center;"><b> Sermon: 7<sup>th</sup>
Sunday of Easter</b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">16 May 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Acts 1:15-26;
Psalm 1; and John 17:6-19; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today we walk that liminal space between the Ascension that
we celebrated this last Thursday and the gift of Pentecost that we will
celebrate next Sunday. Ascension reminding us not of Jesus absence, but rather
of Jesus filling all creation, permeating the Cosmos and contemporary to every
moment of existence, of all that is – in the words of the Nicean Creed – seen
and unseen; and the gift of the Spirit at Pentecost a reminder of this Cosmic
presence finding reality in the human experience. Today’s Gospel reading accompanies
us in this transitional time between these two important celebrations of our
Eastertide journey. What does this Gospel offer us?</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Today’s Gospel<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></a>
offers us the crucial reminder that faith is primarily about relationship, and
we find Jesus in deep relational conversation with the Father, praying not for
himself but for us that God would care for us and protect us in the complex intersection
of faith and life. Jesus phrases this in terms of relationship and belonging and
unity between himself and God, and our invitation into that unity; a unity in
which we are drawn into and blessed by divine holiness, and ourselves carry the
name God bestowed on Jesus. This name speaks of healing and wholeness, and is a
mark of our belonging to all that is good, godly, creative and life-giving.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This name brings us into conflict with all that has
disassociated itself from healing and wholeness, from all that embraces
destruction and seeks to deface the image of God in our world. Jesus’ use of
the word <i>world</i> here does not refer to the earth as we know it, but to a
world of relationships that reject the wholeness of life that Faith calls us to,
and that sees life purely in terms of power and control, a game to be played with
little or no respect for the Other. It is a world Cláudio Carvalhaes, associate
Professor of Worship at Union Theological Seminary in New York, describes as “…
that part of our planet that lives in patriarchal structures, necropolitics,
police violence, prisons, militarization, attacks on the poor, closing of
borders, some rich people getting richer while everybody else becomes poorer,
and the whole destruction of the earth.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span></span></a>
Just as this world rejected the light Jesus sought to shine into its darkness,
so it rejects us, too. More subtly, it seeks to undermine our commitment by
infiltrating our belief systems and disfiguring the love we seek to share; and
thus our need as people of Faith to be committed to a penitential life-style
that keeps us aware of our own fragility and need for God’s forgiveness and
healing if we are to be effective agents of hope in our world.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Despite the challenges we experience at the intersection of faith
and life, there is a wonderful affirmation of our obedience and belief in the
opening verses of today’s Gospel reading, “… they have kept your word [,] … and
they have believed that you sent me.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span></span></a>
Jesus’ reference here to our belief is again a relational statement and it is not
one of institutionalised belief. Poet and philosopher, David Whyte,<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span></span></a>
reflects on what happens when belief loses its relational nature, and quite
baldly states that, “The most tedious thing you can find out about another
person is what they believe.” This specifically in the context of beliefs held
in what David refers to as the <i>strategic-competitive mind</i>, which focuses
on preservation and survival. The institutionalised Church all too often these
days finds itself in this mindset, seeking to maintain itself in a world that
all to often has the Church on the back foot; a Church seeking to survive and
forgetful of its mission and purpose, offering a system of belief void of
relationship and all to often caught up in abstract conversation. David Whyte
speaks further of the need to move from this space into one he describes as the
<i>poetic mind</i>, which focuses instead on a communal life of mutual
celebration, a space where we can rest into the central tonality of the divine
pattern, a constellation of belonging, a place of real conversation.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">You’re quite possibly feeling a little overwhelmed by all of
that. In essence, the more abstract we allow our belief systems to become, the
more survivalist our actions, the more room we allow in our world for hurt and
destruction; the more space we give for real conversation where our belief
systems are moulded by our relational experience, the more room we allow in our
world for healing and restoration. This requires us to be awake: awake to the
world of destruction and awake to the call of God; awake to the nature of our
conversations and awake to whether these conversations are destructive or
creative; awake and willing to end all conversations that are not committed to
healing and wholeness; and open to starting new and creative conversations that
enable forgiveness, restoration and hope, and that are in every aspect
life-giving.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Many of our conversations at the moment revolve around the
ongoing pandemic, our frustration with our curtailed lives, and the resultant
irritations; this is certainly true of many of mine. The third wave of COVID-19
infections has started in Southern Africa, and we’re heading into winter. On a
more primal level winter has always been and remains a time for hibernation,
for slowing down, for stopping. It’s a time in which Creation itself embraces
stillness, silence, and solitude. Let us, as our act of worship, as our act of
obedience to God, join Creation on this journey. Let us stop our conversations,
our busyness, our noise, our continuous desire for entertainment.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Let us embrace stillness, silence and solitude, and reflect
through the course of this winter; and awaken to Spring ready for new and
creative and hope-filled conversation. </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">I close today with a brief poem by David Whyte,<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Just beyond</i></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>yourself.</i><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div></i><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36pt;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i>It's where</i></div><i><div style="text-align: center;"><i>you need</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>to be.</i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i>Half a step </i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><i><span>i</span>nto </i></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><i>self-forgetting</i></i></div></i><div style="text-align: center;"><i><i>and the rest</i></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><i>restored</i></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><i>by what</i></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><i>you'll meet.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></b></span></span></a></i></i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i><br /></i></div><div style="mso-element: footnote-list;">
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 17:6-19; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> Cláudio
Carvalhaes, <i>Commentary on John 17:6-19, </i><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/seventh-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-john-176-19-5">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/seventh-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-john-176-19-5</a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 17: 6b, 8b; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> David
Whyte, <i>Finding the new courageous conversation in times of uncertainty, </i><a href="https://soundcloud.com/coachesrising/54-david-whyte-embracing-the-unknown-times-of-uncertainty">https://soundcloud.com/coachesrising/54-david-whyte-embracing-the-unknown-times-of-uncertainty</a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210516%20Sermon%207th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">David Whyte, The Bell & The
Blackbird<i> and David Whyte: Essentials, </i></span><a href="https://davidwhyte.com/pages/writing"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://davidwhyte.com/pages/writing</span></a></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-50096491440184774592021-05-16T22:36:00.005+02:002021-05-16T22:36:47.185+02:00Sermon Notes: Ascension Day 2021<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQs1rr5B6v5WegkcBKtValoQHEuyKJd64GBvKTseb6tAZ0A-c70Be2V4KuL9kqK1WkhcYPBObBsA-zE5Ug2cS-FbGj18cvcx_3WI98MVqjMB_qtu6fZEYB6SEtrHuHbOO6v8bE1FNVUuE/s2048/20210513+Sermon+Notes+for+Ascension+Day+ML.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1383" data-original-width="2048" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQs1rr5B6v5WegkcBKtValoQHEuyKJd64GBvKTseb6tAZ0A-c70Be2V4KuL9kqK1WkhcYPBObBsA-zE5Ug2cS-FbGj18cvcx_3WI98MVqjMB_qtu6fZEYB6SEtrHuHbOO6v8bE1FNVUuE/s320/20210513+Sermon+Notes+for+Ascension+Day+ML.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sermon Notes: Archdeacon Mark R D Long</td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-8274584739008325682021-05-16T22:34:00.002+02:002021-05-16T22:54:07.775+02:00Address: Theological Dialogue & Practical Ethics<p style="text-align: center;"> <i><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt;"><b>LAUNCH OF PLATFORM FOR THEOLOGICAL
DIALOGUE & PRACTICAL ETHICS</b></span></i></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/world/2021-03-06-pope-francis-holds-historic-meeting-with-iraqs-top-shiite-cleric/" target="_blank">Celebrating the Historical Meeting
between His Grace Pope Francis & Grand Ayatullah Sestani on 6 March 2021</a></span></i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Ahlul Bait (AS) Foundation of South
Africa</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Address by the Venerable Mark Long, Chairperson of the
WCRLF | 27 April 2021</span></div><p class="MsoHeader" style="text-align: center;">
</p><p style="margin: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 11.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Mowlana
Haider, Archbishop Brislin, fellow guests and people of Faith<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">In
my capacity as the Archbishop of Cape Town’s representative on the Western Cape
Religious Leaders’ Forum (WCRLF) I bring you greetings from his Grace, Thabo
Makgoba. Together with his Grace, Archbishop Brislin, they are both valued
Patrons of the WCRLF. As Chairperson of the WCRLF I bring you all greetings this
afternoon from the various religious groupings and organisations that we
represent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Thank
you for the generous invitation to address this important gathering today as we
celebrate 27 years since the advent of democracy in South Africa, and in the
context of this gathering as we celebrate the historic meeting of the Grand
Ayatullah Sestani and his Holiness Pope Francis earlier this year. I am
thankful for their courage and their example of reaching out to each other, and
for this opportunity on the tip of Southern Africa to begin our own journey of
theological dialogue and practical ethics. Thank you, Mowlana Haider, for
motivating this engagement and for your personal commitment to this journey.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We
have been asked to consider the important document on </span><i><span style="background: white; color: #2f2f2f; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/travels/2019/outside/documents/papa-francesco_20190204_documento-fratellanza-umana.html" target="_blank">Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together</a></span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">, signed by Pope
Francis and Mufti al-Tayyib of Al-Azhar University in February 2019, as a
potential basis for our ongoing dialogue and practical implementation. I was
struck in the introduction to this document by its focus on the safeguarding of
creation, of the entire universe, of all persons (especially the poorest and
those most in need); and its emphasis on seeking to attend to the issues of our
times, the consequences of the arms race, social injustice, corruption,
inequality, moral decline, terrorism, discrimination, and extremism; and that
this is placed at the centre of inter-faith dialogue with an invitation to all
people who have faith in God and in human kinship to work together in advancing
a culture of mutual respect among all human beings based on the gift of divine
grace. This focus is without doubt relevant to our Southern African context,
the broader Western Cape, and the more specific challenges of Cape Town. The
document itself goes on to commit to a culture of dialogue as the path, mutual
cooperation as the code of conduct, reciprocal understanding as the method and
standard.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We
are here today to celebrate a wonderful and amazing willingness by the leaders
of dominant world Faiths to set an example in reaching across the inter-faith divide
for the greater good of humanity and the wider creation that sustains us. While
this example is without doubt inspiring, it is meaningless if it doesn’t find
traction at grassroots. My prayer is that today’s launch will give traction to a
renewed commitment in our context, and that we will build on the evident
openness of the religious sector in the Western Cape towards an increasing
commitment to working together to address the common challenges we face, and
through theological dialogue to identify the common principles of our divergent
faith perspectives in ethically addressing the needs of the poorest in our
society in practical and life-sustaining ways.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">There
are a number of initiatives already taking place in identifying the issues
various faith-groupings and organisations are already addressing in our
communities, and opening opportunities for dialogue and support in addressing
the multitude of issues that plague our communities and broader society.
Housing, gangsterism, gender-based violence, the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines
being a few of those concerns that all too easily come to mind, often
exacerbated by corruption, inequality and injustice. These initiatives align
with the purpose of today’s gathering and underline the importance of a
platform such as this.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">The
Western Cape Religious Leaders Forum has no hesitancy in aligning itself with
this important and critical initiative. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin: 0cm; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">Again,
thank you for the invitation to be present and for the opportunity to address
this gathering. Please be assured of our support going forward as together we
seek with God’s help to address the critical issues of our time. And in the
words of Archbishop Thabo Makgoba, “God loves you and so do I. Amen.”</span></p><p></p>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-85794011836552195562021-04-25T13:57:00.010+02:002021-04-26T17:40:05.027+02:00Sermon: 4th Sunday of Easter<p style="text-align: center;"> <b style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sermon: 4<sup>th</sup>
Sunday of Easter</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">25 April 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Acts 4:5-12; Psalm
23; and John 10:11-18; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does love look like? I have
had the joy of solemnising the marriage of three couples in the Parish over the
last four weeks, and love has been physically visible in the body language and
responses of the couples to one another. Despite the nervous excitement of the
moment each couple have radiated a confidence in their shared love, and I was
particularly struck by the breadth of the groom’s smile on Friday afternoon. The
nature of love expressed so powerfully in marriage is is based on a firm faith
by the couple in one another, and a concrete hope in the resurrection gift of
possibility and potential.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does love look like? Today’s
Gospel reading expresses it in these words, “I am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[1]</span></span></span></a> Love here is expressed in this
image of Christ’s unending and unfailing care for all God’s people, just as shepherds
in Jesus’ time would have cared for sheep out in the wilderness, facing down
predators at the possible cost of their own lives.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[2]</span></span></span></a> Love is also visible in Jesus
words that there are other sheep that belong, too, although they belong to another
flock; and that a time will come when there will be an easy diversity in our
belonging – one shepherd and one flock.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[3]</span></span></span></a></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does love look like? Today’s
reading from Acts expresses it in these words, “There is salvation in no one
else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we
must be saved.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[4]</span></span></span></a>
Love here is expressed in the sufficiency of Jesus’ name, and more specifically
in the power of Jesus’ name, based in the reality of death and resurrection, in
the possibility and potential for the renewal of our lives and relationships,
and the healing of the brokenness and heartache we experience in our broader society.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">What does love look like? Today’s Psalm expresses it in these words, “The
Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[5]</span></span></span></a> A beautifully simple
reminder that in the Hebrew understanding of God, Yahweh satisfies every need.
And more than that, God’s love provides for us in every aspect of life, and is
never conditional. We know and love this Psalm through the poetic beauty of the
King James’s translation, and are often comforted by it in the context of death,
embedded as Psalm 23 is in our funeral rite. A more accurate translation of
some Hebrew phrases reminds us that this Psalm is about an active journey through
life, one where the green pastures and still waters are a brief respite on a
journey where we continually seek to return into God’s presence, pursued only by
goodness and mercy along paths of righteousness that are more game tracks
through dark valleys of difficulty than my imagined highways of righteousness
leading to eternal bliss.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[6]</span></span></span></a> This is what love looks
like: life’s journey with God ever present providing all that we need on the
demanding and difficult rutted pathways we often find ourselves traversing.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">This is what love looks like. And
this is the love you and I are called to make visible. When we look with
honesty in the mirror, when we look around us in the more intimate context of
family and friendships, and when we gaze out on society our love lacks so much,
and is a very muted expression of the love today’s Scriptures reflect. Our love
is insipid in comparison to God’s, our lives and love often so self-focused and
conditional, our desire to have others conform to our will so dominant, that
God’s love is diminished and disfigured in our living of it. And yet this is
the call of Eastertide: to sacrifice what we have made of love that it may die,
truly die; that out of the devastation of death our love may be resurrected,
embraced in the fullness of God, restored and transformed, renewed into the
fullness of all that love and life has been created by God to be. This
is the Easter love we are given freely without any strings attached, a love we
are invited by God to live not in our own strength alone, but in the strength and
resilience of the Holy Spirit of God.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">We need to live intentionally, awake
daily to the potential and opportunities for living life creatively and fully, vulnerable
before God and one another, sufficiently courageous to acknowledge any failure
and open to God’s forgiveness in such a manner that our lives and relationships
are continuously formed, reformed, and transformed; embracing one another
across the diversity of our religious, cultural, and gender differences. Jesus’
resurrection is a constant reminder of the potential for new beginnings for ourselves,
for others, and for our world. Each new beginning requires us to take a step in
faith, trusting in God being ever present in our lives, the Good Shepherd
continuously caring for us, resourcing us, loving us. This is the love we are
called to live. Let’s live it!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us pray,</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Jesus,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><br /></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>You sought to seek love</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>in all you did:</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>your friendships, your
critiques </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>of yourself, your critiques of
</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>abusive power, your critiques
of </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>halfhearted work. It was love </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>that you followed, and love </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>that you did.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Help us to remember that there
is</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>no place where love cannot be
sought. </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>And if we find such a place,
remind us </i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>that you, too, went there,
seeking</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>for the love that was waiting
there</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>to be found.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i><o:p> </o:p></i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 10:11; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Gennifer Benjamin Brooks, <i>Commentary
on John 10:11-18,</i> </span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-john-1011-18-5"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-john-1011-18-5</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">John 10:16; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Acts 4:12; NRSV<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Psalm 23:1; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Joel LeMon, <i>Commentary on Psalm
23, </i></span><a href="https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-psalm-23-25"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-of-easter-2/commentary-on-psalm-23-25</span></a></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210425%20Sermon%204th%20Sunday%20of%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, <i>Fourth Sunday of
Easter, </i></span><a href="https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/pdfs/readings/308_fourth-sunday-of-easter.pdf"><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">https://www.spiritualityofconflict.com/pdfs/readings/308_fourth-sunday-of-easter.pdf</span></a></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3636913887377709748.post-21774815723060486542021-04-25T13:49:00.005+02:002021-04-25T13:58:05.572+02:00Sermon: Easter Sunday<p style="text-align: center;"> <b><span style="font-size: medium;">Sermon: Easter Sunday</span></b></p><p align="center" class="MsoTitle" style="text-align: center;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoSubtitle" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">4 April 2021 –
Archdeacon Mark Long<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Isaiah 25:6-9;
Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24; and Mark 16:1-8; NRSV</span></i><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><o:p style="text-align: justify;"> </o:p><span>“So [the two Mary’s and Salome] went out and fled from the
tomb, for terror and amazement had seized them; and they said nothing to
anyone, for they were afraid.”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span></span></a><span>
Do you join me in feeling a certain element of disappointment in these words? Perhaps
the disappointment lies in the fact that we’ve been immersed in John’s Gospel
over the last few weeks – a Gospel that speaks with deep certainty about the
purposes of God – and a return to Mark’s Gospel with its deep connection to raw
human emotion seems a let-down, especially as all our expectations are suddenly
wrapped in terror, amazement and fear; and nothing is spoken of the glory and
honour we were perhaps expecting in the telling of the resurrection narrative?</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">A year ago, as we were forced into an almost complete
lockdown in response to the COVID-19 virus, I found this ending to Mark’s
Gospel comforting in the context of the anxiety that had wrapped itself around
me like a suffocating blanket, with all the fears and concerns it brought upon
us as individuals, families, and communities. For the first time in my life I
could fully relate to the experience of those early disciples and their
complete loss of hope as their dreams and longings for liberation from the
strictures of the Roman Empire were shattered by Jesus’ crucifixion and death. In
that moment there was no victory on the cross, no hope for the future; just the
raw trauma of the moment. And for these three women who had been close to Jesus,
as they go about the duties death required, the missing body and the strange
messenger at the gravesite was a demand too far, and they flee fearfully. It is
one thing to believe in resurrection to this life; it is quite another to be
faced with its reality; and completely another to explain this reality to
others. I am not surprised they said nothing to anyone in the immediate
aftermath of this experience. We all know how the death of someone close to us
pulls the rug out from under our feet, and the time it takes to get in touch
with the reality, and our hesitancy in speaking to others in the emotional chaos
of the moment.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">Preceding the disappointment of these closing words of
Mark’s narrative there is a promise relayed by the angelic messenger, “tell his
disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will
see him … .”</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn2" name="_ftnref2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2; text-align: justify;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="text-align: justify;"> We
can be thankful that these three women clearly overcame the terror of the
moment and the fear that had seized them, and must have eventually shared this
news. The promise, and subsequent meetings (recorded in other Gospels) gave
reality to this news of Jesus’ resurrection to this life and energised the disciples,
and has continued to energise the Church throughout the ages.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="text-align: justify;">Rowan Williams</span><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn3" name="_ftnref3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3; text-align: justify;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span style="text-align: justify;">,
former Archbishop of Canterbury, points to the </span><span style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1; text-align: justify;">abrupt,
confused, vivid and unpolished nature of resurrection stories such as this one
in Mark’s Gospel as a sign of the veracity of Jesus’s resurrection to this life,
and while we may easily conjecture that Lazarus – after being raised from the
dead – died a second normal death, the Ascension narrative indicates that Jesus
was resurrected to this life and remains alive, and is contemporary to the
present moment. How do we respond to this? And do we believe it to the point
where we are willing to proclaim it? Or like the women, do we say nothing to
anyone? This, perhaps, is the essence of the Easter challenge.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;">What does it mean to proclaim
this Easter message? This is an important question in a world that is
increasingly consumed by an individualist tenor of our times that translates
all to often into a message of personal salvation that allows for faith and
life to become disconnected. What Easter does ask of us is that we look death
in the face – something that the Covid-19 pandemic has also asked of us these
past twelve months – and having looked death in the face to allow all the fears
and anxieties of our lives to fall into perspective as variants of our fear of death<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn4" name="_ftnref4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a>. Easter asks us to face
our fear and move beyond it, finding the courage to undermine the pretence that
death, evil, and our human brokenness require our acquiescence; by our
attitudes and example, by our actions and our words to proclaim the resurrection
reality that change, transformation, renewal is possible, and that we can live
differently, creatively, life-givingly in our broader society.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn5" name="_ftnref5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[5]</span></span></span></span></a></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;">Easter invites us to engage our
faith with the often tragic realities of life, and ensure that the promise proclaimed
in today’s Isaiah reading becomes the lived reality of all our communities, that
“[on] this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich
food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged
wines strained clear.”<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn6" name="_ftnref6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="color: black; font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-themecolor: text1;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> While the Easter message
will hopefully always be a source of personal comfort and courage, may it
inspire and resource us as people of faith to engage creatively in the
liberation of our society, and of creation itself.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: black; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-themecolor: text1;">May our Easter greeting, “Alleluia,
Christ is risen” and the joyful response, “He is risen indeed, alleluia” be
more than mere words: may they be a source of strength and hope for our times!</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Let us pray,</p>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Jesus</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>our dead and living friend,</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>We walk the ways of death and
life</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>holding death in one hand</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>and courage in the other.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>…</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Come enliven us.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Come bless us with your peace.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Because you are the first day
of creation</i></div>
<div style="text-align: left; text-indent: 36pt;"><i>And all days of creation.</i></div>
<div style="margin-left: 36pt; text-align: left;"><i>Amen.<a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftn7" name="_ftnref7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></b></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a></i></div>
<div style="mso-element: footnote-list;"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<div id="ftn1" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref1" name="_ftn1" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn1;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[1]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 16:8; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn2" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref2" name="_ftn2" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn2;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[2]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Mark 16:7; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn3" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref3" name="_ftn3" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn3;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[3]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Rowan Williams, <i>God with Us: the
meaning of the cross and resurrection, then and now,</i> Chapter 4<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn4" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref4" name="_ftn4" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn4;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[4]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Rowan Williams, <i>Ibid.</i> Chapter
5<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn5" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref5" name="_ftn5" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn5;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[5]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Ibid<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn6" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref6" name="_ftn6" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn6;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[6]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> <span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Isaiah 25:6; NRSV <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
</div>
<div id="ftn7" style="mso-element: footnote;">
<div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="file:///C:/Users/Mark/Dropbox/ACSA/Sermons/20210404%20Sermon%20Easter%20ML.docx#_ftnref7" name="_ftn7" style="mso-footnote-id: ftn7;" title=""><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span style="mso-special-character: footnote;"><span class="MsoFootnoteReference"><span face=""Calibri",sans-serif" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-ZA; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[7]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a> </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Pádraig Ó Tuama, <i>Daily Prayer
with the Corrymeela Community.</i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>Mark R D Longhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11479533252274014667noreply@blogger.com0