Do not Rejoice that the spirits submit to you but rejoice that your names are written in heaven Luke 10:20 I can recall occasions when I have spoken at Christian meetings and at the end there was an invite for people to come and give their lives to Jesus and to my surprise, people came and did I count them? You bet I did! And I am sure there was rejoicing in heaven over one – well quite a lot more than one sinner who repented – but there was a fair amount of rejoicing down here on earth too, not least from the preacher! And maybe that is not too awful, is it? It has all happened through and in the name of Jesus after all. In a sense that is no different from those 72 disciples who were sent out by Jesus with authority from Jesus to drive out demons in his name – and they did and the demons fled and when the 72 disciples returned (some versions say 70 – it really does not matter) they were all pretty chipper. All those demons they had removed. Not only that but they were able to tread on serpents and scorpions and no harm would come to them, I wonder how many of the 72 actually tried that?! Well, Jesus was not that surprised, I am sure when they returned. He knew it would happen and had happened. This was why Jesus came to earth, as it says in the first letter of John “The Son of God was revealed for this purpose, to destroy the works of the evil one” (1 John 3:8) and Jesus had given authority to these disciples to fulfil that purpose on that mission. And Jesus is not disappointed or complaining that the 72 are celebrating what has been accomplished with the people they met while out on the mission field but Jesus says don’t rejoice in how many demons you forced to submit any more than we should keep a tally of how many people we have led to Christ. Why? Because, actually they did nothing, we did nothing – Christ did it all through us. Instead, Jesus says you should rejoice that your names are written in the book of life. That is the big deal – not the number of suppliant demons but where your name is recorded. It is quite fascinating looking through some of the old church registers and seeing all the names. The first name in one of the registers in Manton where we live in Rutland, is Shillaker from 1837 and there are still Shillaker family members living nearby today. Indians who search their family history travel back to the town or village connected with their name and in that place, there will be keepers of the family records going back centuries, often much further than we can often trace back in the UK, written on cloth and people from that family come from all over the world to update these cloth scrolls with their family members. But for those of who believe in God we rejoice that our names are written in the book of life and reference to this book come up time and again in the Bible. It is not a family history but a record of those chosen by God. Moses prayed to God for the people he led out of Egypt, praying that God would forgive their sin and if not, then Moses asks that he be blotted out of the book God has written (Exodus 32). The Psalmist writes of the “book of the living” (Psalm 69) and the prophet Daniel prophecies that everyone whose name is written in the book of life will be saved (Daniel 12) and Paul in his letter to the Philippians mentions several people whose names are written in the book of life and don’t start me on the Revelation of John, the last book in the Bible – there are just so many references to this book there. This is where our great joy is to be found. In Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. “Rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” This is not something that you did. This is something God did. “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”–is the name that would be written on that plaque nailed to the cross on which Jesus died, so that your name and my name would, if we believe, be written in heaven, in the Lamb’s book of life. God wrote your name to his book of life when you were converted baptized into Christ. The triune God placed his name upon you and a place has been reserved for you, not because of what you do, which does not mean you should do nothing for God any more than those 72 disciples did great things is Jesus’ name and so should we as his disciples but what you do is done in God’s strength whereas your name can be in that book of life only by God’s grace and that is something worth rejoicing about. Amen
Luke 8:26-39 Sermon - Not one of us Time was when I would look at this passage and in preaching it, talk about mental illness and suffering and interpret this passage in that way because that was the way people with or without a faith would look to understand the Gerassene Demoniac and perhaps, probably even, that is right but just turn on your TV and with the multiplicity of channels you now have then every day there will be a programme about evil spirits poltergeists, help my house haunted. I could go one. The fact is more people believe in these evil spirits than believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. So, explaining these texts by reference to mental health or arrival of beings from other planets as some writers suggested is no longer needed and perhaps frowned on in some circles. So, we should revisit this miracle of Jesus to discover why it is important. The first thing to understand is the location. Jesus grew up in a place like this – border territory and by crossing the Sea of Galilee or Tiberias you crossed borders. The difference was however that unlike Huntingdonshire or Northamptonshire, the people over the border were not so friendly. Jesus and his disciples had crossed into Gentile territory and had climbed up on to Gaulanitis as it was called then. You may recognise part of that name. Today it is called the Golan Heights and the territory is just as disputed now as it was then. We do not know precisely which part of the Ten Town or Decapolis they arrived at but it was definitely on the Golan Heights. Nor do we know why they went there although there is some political imagery that might explain some of it. They may have been trying to escape or avoid Herod Antipas, the Jewish king at the time, known for his violence. Whatever the reason, Jesus encounters Legion prowling among the graves in the cemetery just like many of the haunted tv shows today. He is called Legion because of the vast number of evil spirits he has. A legion could well have been camped around the Sea of Galilee even in nearby Tiberias and would consist of 3-6000 soldiers + 200 cavalry. A huge number and of course that is why this name Legion is taken because there were so any spirits and just like the Roman invaders, they were evil and needed to be removed. And they were by Jesus into a herd of pigs confirming that this was gentile territory. Jews neither eat pork no raise pigs as they are unclean. From the start of this encounter with Legion, the evil spirits recognise the Divinity of Jesus Christ. Even though most people then as now fail to recognise God in Christ at this time, these spirits know immediately. Now you may think the healing is the key part of this account. It really is not and Luke skips over much of it as matter of fact. For Luke and I believe for us that should be the reaction to all this. Because a recurring theme in this passage is that the players, although all humans are “not one of us.” Clearly this possessed man is not one of us. He is a demoniac, cast out of the ten towns to fend for himself among the graves. They have even tried chaining him up there but he breaks the chains. He is not one of us and even after he is healed and can be seen to be healed there is no real suggestion of restoration to the community. The people do not want to know. And then there is Jesus and the disciples. Jews would have lived up on Gaulanitis in the ten towns but even after Jesus has healed this man, exorcised him if you like, the local people are far from welcoming to their visitors. Perhaps they did not like what happened to those pigs but that is probably just an excuse. Jesus and his disciples, just like the Legion were not one of us and need to go. They, like so many fail to recognise God in Christ even though that legion of spirits all did and bizarrely after what has happened the locals are even more afraid and throw Jesus and his disciples out of town or ten towns to be precise. Unsurprisingly, the healed man wants to go with Jesus. He wants to be a disciple and yet Jesus says no and commands him to go home and tell people what God has done for you. He is not given a tract or a theological treatise about how God is in Christ reconciling people to himself and in a sense, there is no need. All he needs to do is tell people about what God has done for him which he does. But the question remains for them as it does for us today in our churches, are we ready to accept such a testimony or reject it out of hand because this person is simply not one of us? I cannot answer that for you. Only you can answer that question. Amen.
Pentecost Sunday – Led by the Spirit Today is Pentecost Sunday, which arguably marks the beginning of the Church when the Holy Spirit fell on the people in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. So, what is Pentecost? I have sat through too many talks involving chiffon scarves and hairdryers over the years to try and demonstrate Pentecost. But what is or was the Day of Pentecost and why were all these people there when the Holy Spirit came? Well, it all has to do with harvest. Now, unlike our churches today who celebrate a single harvest for everything on one day usually in early autumn. Different countries celebrate at different times of the year – so, in Uganda I have been to harvest Festival in February, towards the end of the dry season. First century Palestine had several harvest festivals for different crops, and they were timed between each other. The first of these harvests was the barley harvest known as first fruits harvest and took place on the Sabbath following Passover at the very point Jesus rose from the dead that first Easter which led Paul to write to the Corinthians of Christ’s resurrection as being the first fruits for those who had fallen asleep. But Pentecost was the wheat harvest which took place 50 days after the first fruits harvest – hence Pentecost and was the wheat harvest or festival of weeks as it came 7 weeks after the first fruits harvest. People would gather for harvest celebrations and it is therefore quite appropriate that the Holy Spirit came on the people gathered for Pentecost celebrations. From the very outset when Jesus called his first disciples, harvest featured when Jesus called his first disciples the fishermen brothers Simon and Andrew saying, “follow me and I will make you fishers of men,” harvesting souls for the kingdom of God. Not all of us are fishermen but led by the Holy Spirit if we follow Jesus, he will make us for his kingdom and his glory – follow me and I will make you. This is the essence of Pentecost being made in God’s image and for His glory and being made to be led by that same Holy Spirit. Time after time in the Acts of the Apostles we read of Apostles being led by the Spirit. Look 6 chapters on in Acts from the reading we had today and we see Philip being led by the Spirit to an encounter with an Ethiopian official on the desert road back home and his conversion and baptism, Two weeks ago we saw Paul and Silas in chapter 16, led by the Holy Spirit out of Asia into Europe, to Philippi where people were converted and baptised. Pentecost works because the Holy Spirit leads us and we respond to that leading. But how do we respond? By going out in the power of the Holy Spirit and leading to help bring in the harvest? Or do we respond negatively by suggesting that these Spirit filled Christians at 9.00 0’clock in the morning were all drunk and just needed to sleep it off and maybe they would be ok again by lunchtime? Or, to give a Bedfordshire example from about 45 years ago when my local Vicar in Barnet had served his curacy in Luton in the neighbouring parish to St Hugh’s Lewsey, where the late Revd. Colin Urquhart was leading a charismatic Anglican congregation and saw it as a fad that would soon go away and if it was still around in 25 years it might just might be worth considering. Well, we can do the maths!! But how are we going to respond? To be led by the Spirit or question the validity of the Holy Spirit or just wait and see? It is good each year to hear again that amazing story of the first Pentecost after Jesus ascended to heaven but its value is not in the story or even the imagery of the coming of the Holy Spirit but what we do as Christians with what we do with what we know? Are we being led by the Spirit or rather hoping that if we ignore then it may go away? I am not sure this is ever really an option but neither do I believe we all have to become charismatic Christians or undergo some separate initiation to be baptised in the Spirit. What we do however need to do is to be prepared to be led by God through His Holy Spirit and be ready to serve God as the Spirit leads us. I invite you to join with me in singing as a prayer the short hymn Lead me Lord, Lead me in your righteousness by the 19th century African American composer Samuel Sebastian Wesley for which there is a link and works well as a prayer. But for now, let us pray. Lord, we thank you that you have not left us alone but give us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Help us to be led by your Spirit and grow in grace and love as we are guided, supported and led. Amen Lead me Lord, Lead me in your righteousness, Make your way plain before my face. For it is you Lord, you Lord only, that makes me to dwell in safety. https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=lead+me+lord+lead+me+in+thy+righteousness&mid=8B091D5E7F286CB432648B091D5E7F286CB43264&mcid=4C165DBDC4AC4225B621F3463F4C4910&FORM=VIRE
Sermon Acts 16:9-15 – Lydia “If you have judged me to be faithful” Just occasionally, the Lectionary which sets out the recommended readings for each Sunday, in fact each day of the year, comes up with the perfect reading for the day. Today is such a day as the Bible introduces us to Lydia and her baptism along with her whole household, making this an excellent choice for an adult baptism. Lydia, in requesting to be baptised says to Paul “If you have judged me to be faithful”. Elsewhere, in Acts 8, an Ethiopian Official asks Phillip “What is to prevent me from being baptised?”. When we baptise children, others make promises on behalf of the child. But with adults the question are we ready and A, like Lydia, like the Ethiopian Official is ready. That is not to say that she is good enough to be baptised any more than whether I am good enough to baptise her. That is not the question, instead the question is have you judged me to be faithful? It is our faith, our turning to Christ and trusting in him that judge us to be faithful and enable us to be baptised. We are sinful and we turn away from our sins and the water of baptism symbolically cleanses us from our sins. It is an outward sign of an inward spiritual grace and is not something we have to keep doing because the act of baptism unites us to Christ, who was himself baptised in the River Jordan.But let’s get back to Lydia, one of the great women in the Bible. Who was she? Well, we are told quite a bit about Lydia. We know that Lydia is from Thyatira in Asia Minor, which makes her Turkish today on the Asian side of the Bosphorus and Lydia is a dealer in purple cloth. Purple is a very special colour often associated with royalty and while we were away in January we learned that only one national flag contains the colour purple and that is Dominica. A good quiz question but here is another what plant, animal or mineral substance was used to create the colour purple? Any ideas? The answer is snails but specifically certain sea snails and the coast off Thyatira is known for its abundance of these sea snails. Located just inland from Smyrna and Ephesus, this dye was incredibly valuable and was produced from secretions of these sea snails so they could be “milked” but often were not and it would take 12000 snails to produce just 1.4 grams of dye sufficient to just dye the hem of a garment. Hence the value of purple was like that of silver. Apparently, you can produce the same dye from dog whelks in this country. Clearly Lydia was a very successful businesswoman and had decided to move her business to the wealthy city of Philippi in Greece and it seems her business kept growing; she had a big house which was quite probably where she ran her business and maybe her household included her staff. Some people suggest Lydia was a widow but if she was Luke would probably have said so and there is no mention of a husband and so Lydia may well be a successful single business woman and home owner in a big house sufficient to practice the hospitality she did. Timothy, Paul and Silas had come over to Macedonian Greece not following a guidebook but a vision of a man pleading with him to come over to Macedonia and so they did. It was Sabbath day so Timothy, Paul and Silas had gone out of the City gate down to the river to pray and had found a group of women doing just that and there they meet Lydia. It is quite possible that this was her household. What Lydia says is remarkable. First she listens to what the 3 evangelists say and Luke makes a point of recording this not to show how good Paul was as a speaker but writing “The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.” It was God who enabled Lydia to listen not the preacher and then she said “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” Lydia does not say “Come to my office and I can put you in contact with the movers and shakers of the city.” Not, “You know, Paul, I rub shoulders with some pretty important people around here, and I could introduce you to them.” Not, “Let’s do dinner sometime.” No, instead Lydia says with all humility and grace, “If you have judged me to be faithful.” Lydia, for all her fine garments and confidence and leadership ability, is humble in spirit, and out of this humility offers a heart of hospitality. To ask Paul and his friends to stay in her home is her way of asking God to do the same. This encounter and conversion makes Lydia and her household the first people in Europe ever to receive a Christian baptism and A is following in the same steps that Lydia took all those years ago. This should be a lesson for all of us “If you have judged me to be faithful…” In our desire to be found faithful, let us similarly invite God to enter into our lives, into our world. In such humility we will find the grace that fills the human heart and brings us to eternal life. Let us pray. Father, find our hearts open and welcoming into our lives. And when you enter, may you discover the kind of humility that Lydia displayed mirroring the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
