Hebrews 11: 29 - 12: 2 Luke 12: 49 - 56How ironic it is that we should have this reading today. In the papers and on the news, there are reports of wild fires burning out of control in many parts of the world. Woodlands and scenic places are being burnt, property being ravages by the flames. For some their whole livelihood is being destroyed, treasured articles succumbing to the destructive effect of the flames. In some cases lives are being lost as people try to escape or try to rescue valued possessions. There is also the cost to the wildlife.‘I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!’ These words of Jesus will bring little comfort to those suffering from the wild fires. How can bringing fire and its destructive effects be something that the anyone could wish for? The Jews viewed Jesus the Messiah as a conqueror and king, the Messianic age as a splendid time. To them fire was a symbol of judgement. The coming of the kingdom was a time for judgement. The nations of the world would be judged by God according to one set of conditions whilst they, being Jews, would be absolved, looked down upon favourably.Time and again we come across the expressions where fire is used to purify. The Bible contains references to the assayers fire when items of great value are being examined. It can be used when we face the time of judgement and stand before God having passed through the assayer’s fire. Do we stand there in one piece or are we just a pile of smouldering remains, a mere shadow of what we once thought we were.In the laboratory or workplace fire is used to bring about change. Mercuric oxide, when heated, produces liquid mercury and oxygen. A change takes place. Here fire is being used to bring about this change. Something, which in its original state has little use, when treated by fire becomes a metal with many uses. Not so long ago found in almost every household as the mercury in a thermometer. Fire brings about change.Not just does fire bring change but division too. Standing there at the time of judgement we have a choice to make. As the assayers fire passes over us do we perish or survive? Where does our love lie? This is a difficult point and one which can divide people and families. Time and time again people have had to decide where their love lies, in which direction. Is their love tied completely with their family or towards Christ?The love that we have towards our family is a totally encompassing love. It is a love which surrounds every piece of them. It is a love which makes us one together. The love that a man has for a woman, when they are married, is a love which binds them together as tightly as a flame from a welder’s torch unites two pieces of metal. They are two individuals brought together, no longer as two pieces but now one.The love that we have of God is another strong bond. Here we have a heavenly love. In acknowledging that all that we are, all that we have, and all that we will be, comes from God we see that we have a bond with God for he is the Maker of who we are. We are God’s children. He is our heavenly Father. Here is another family love. This is a bond as we are brought together with God through the love of his Son. It lies within us as an unquenchable fire. It is an undeniable bond as strong as any bond can be.This brings us back to the start of this homily. I started with looking at fire and how it rages about potentially destroying everything in its path. We have seen how fire can be used to bring about useful items, particularly in the production of metals from ores dug from the ground. We have looked at the fire which burns within our heart as we surround ourselves with our family, people whom we hold dear to us, who are precious in our lives. We now acknowledge that fire that burns within us as we accept God into our heart as our Maker, Redeemer and Father figure.Jesus came to the earth and brought with him fire. A fire which transforms all which it touches. A fire which has the ability to change who we are. The gospel reading finishes with the accusation that those who Jesus was speaking to did not know how to interpret what they saw about them. They could see Jesus at work in their midst but did not understand what they saw. If they had, they would have seen that the kingdom of God was on the way.Collect for the Ninth Sunday after TrinityAlmighty God,who sent your Holy Spiritto be the life and light of your Church:open our hearts to the riches of your grace,that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spiritin love and joy and peace;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
Second Sunday after TrinityGalatians 5: 13-25 Luke 9: 51-endIt is so easy when in an argument to start hurling insults at one another. Before long the insults get to be harder hitting. But when the argument gives rise to actual striking someone then we are entering into a completely different ball game. Someone is going to be hurt and possibly with them ending up with injuries leading to medical treatment or a stay in hospital. All of this resulting from what was at first nothing more than a silly disagreement.The reading from Galatians contains the sentences, “For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment. ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’”. If we truly love one another as ourselves then major arguments should seldom arise. If we look at ourselves it is probably fairly true to say that we do love ourselves. In our own eyes there is no other like us. Applying that same truth to others should not be too difficult really. Even if we have not met them before. To love a complete stranger should not be too difficult because we know nothing about them, we have no information which would give rise to any feeling of dislike towards them. Here we are looking at love based on like or dislike.Not long ago I was speaking with someone who had read, ‘The Name of the Rose, by Umberto Eco’. I have not read the book or seen the film, and from what I was told I am unlikely to do so. But my understanding is that it contains a lot of information about how people treated each other in the thirteenth century. It would read very much as going against the Second Great Commandment of love your neighbour.The Rabbi Hillel sums up Jewish law in the command, ‘what is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour’. This should be the base rule of all that we engage in and in all that we do. Our eyes need to be open to see for ourselves the outcome of all of our actions. There is a saying that when a butterfly wags her wings in Outer Mongolia a draught may be felt here. Everything that we do has a reaction. Care has to be taken that the reaction is the desired reaction and not one that has repercussions.Much of the trouble we see about is, either locally or internationally, the result in this lack of love for one another. The rules and laws of our land are based upon this premise. From speeding and theft to murder and fraud, all are based on love for our neighbour, and are brought about by a breakdown in that love. If we consider the effect that such actions are having on others, and if we place ourselves at the receiving end, would we continue with whatever it is that we are doing?We are told that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things. These are the qualities that the Holy Spirit gives us. It is up to us to use these in our relationships one with another. Cast to one side hatred and envy. Instead take up the law given to us through the Holy Spirit, the law of love.Collect for the Second Sunday after TrinityAlmighty God,whose blessed apostles Peter and Paulglorified you in their death as in their life:grant that your Church,inspired by their teaching and example,and made one by your Spirit,may ever stand firm upon the one foundation,Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
Trinity SundayRomans 5: 1-5 John 16: 12-15Today is Trinity Sunday. A day when many will scratch their heads in puzzlement, trying to understand some great truths. Cast to one side the traditional ways of attempting to come to terms with what is taking place. Leave the traffic light and its three colours, leave the orange with its many layers. Instead let us look at the basic ideas.Basic ideas mean that we begin with looking at the start. I enjoy mathematics. A good old sum can be fun to work out. However, we must begin at the start. Mathematics is dealing with numbers and so we begin by looking at numbers, what they are and what they mean. Only then can we progress towards combining them and using them in different ways. Simple sums and equations at first leading up to complex issues and formulae. We gain understanding as we progress.In John’s gospel the disciples are being told that, although they understand a certain amount, there is still much more that they have yet to come to terms with. As with my mathematics example it is quite pointless in asking a child in the first years of school to solve a complex sum or prove a complicated theorem. They work up to the required level of understanding. It does not come to them overnight.Today we are looking at the thorny question of the Trinity. Here we see God as God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. God in three persons and God in one. To fully understand this concept requires us to have travelled along life’s pathways to a certain degree. We have passed beyond the most basic of understanding and have moved to a greater insight of God. We have learnt how God is the Creator of all we see about us. How he created both you and me giving us the characteristics that we carry, all of them as he designs. How the many types of trees are in the fields and the animals that graze beneath them. All of these are the work of God the Creator, fashioning as he wills.Next, we explore God the Son. It is that part of God that came to Earth to be with us, to teach us, show by example. I introduce this by describing the Son as that part of God. It is obvious that God cannot be in heaven, doing all of the heavenly things that he does, and be here on Earth involved here as he is. There is no place on Earth where God does not exist. From the highest mountain to the deepest trenches or mines, God the Son is there. He is ever present within us as we have opened our heart to him. Casting wide our heart and inviting him in is how we carry him in our daily life. God as Holy Spirit is constantly at our side. He gives us strength when we are faced with all manner of dilemmas. By the Holy Spirit we have been given gifts to take and use in the world. The list of potential gifts is long, and we do not necessarily know which gift, or gifts, we have been given. But a gift we have, and it is up to us to discover that gift and use it for the good of others.Our education continues and as we learn more our understanding increases. This is just what Jesus was meaning as he spoke with the disciples. This can be shown as we look at our understanding of God through the ages. In the days of the Old Testament God was frequently seen as a vengeful God yet in the New Testament he is seen as a loving God. How do we come to understand this change? In the Old Testament days where there was much fighting and territorial changes in which the Jews could not risk their belief being tainted. Its purity must be safeguarded. The way to do this was to destroy all non-believers, the heathen. The people of the Old Testament times had grasped a great truth, but only one side of it.As Jesus came he preached a God of love. The heathen need not be destroyed but educated. Here we see how education over time provided a greater understanding. Our view of God has changed over time. Our capacity to perceive God has increased, to know him.As time progresses no doubt our perception of God will continue to grow. The Holy Trinity will continue to be present working in the world. We will play our part in that work by utilizing the gift that we have been given. Gods will be done, as we say as we pray the Lord’s Prayer. We have a part to play in that work.Collect for Trinity SundayAlmighty and everlasting God,you have given us your servants grace,by the confession of a true faith,to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinityand in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity:keep us steadfast in this faith,that we may evermore be defended from all adversities;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
Seventh Sunday of EasterActs 16: 16-34 John 17: 20-endMany of us would recognise a pyramid. Also, many of us will have come across the concept of pyramid selling. The process starts with just one individual who encourages ten others to join in a selling method which relies on each of them recruiting ten others. At each level a modest amount of money is handed over with the promise of ever-increasing riches as more and more people are recruited. This was very popular during my school days as student after student would try to get on the ‘band wagon’.I like maths, and I like playing with numbers. There is an inherent problem with pyramid selling as I have described. In just ten levels more than the entire population of the world will have been recruited, the figure being 8.2 billion people.I doubt if Jesus had such sums going through his mind as he prayed to his Father. Jesus was in contact with his Father, possibly almost constantly. It is only natural that he should pray whilst he faced the prospect of the Cross, that terrible ordeal that was awaiting him as he entered Jerusalem.Then we learn of how he prayed for his disciples. They had been with him during his ministry as he travelled from town and village teaching of God’s love, healing the sick, bringing more and more people to know God. He prayed that God would look over them and be with them in their ministry. He had confidence in his disciples and commended them to God and his love.Now we see how the numbers begin to mount. Jesus also prays for people in distant lands, places far away. More so he includes those who are in far off ages, way into the future, as they hear of the Christian message and turn to God, who accept him into their lives. It is a great comfort to know that Jesus actually prayed for you and for me. This is a passage that is very dear to us.Jesus prayed that we might be as one. This is a prayer for the Church as it begins to grow. The Church is now world-wide. It has many hats, many forms of worship, many rules, etc. Yet Jesus prayed that we might be one. It was for a unity of relationships. Administration, and all other things which we put in the way of a complete unity of Church was not the plan. Jesus was praying for a unity of heart, a unity of personal relationships.If we love God with our whole heart and allow him into our life, we are sharing that same degree of love with the person sat by us in Church. They too, in their turn, are also sharing the similar love with the person just away from them. It is a truth that the love is shared with the person in a neighbouring village or town. Going back to my pyramid example the Christian love is spread far and wide and all based on a love of God. It is this love that was the basis of the prayer of Jesus.Jesus had a relationship with God which was based on love and obedience. It is that relationship that Jesus prayed that we all should have, a unity in which we all love each other regardless of race or class. We all have a love based on God because we love him. It is a love which is based on a relationship between one heart with another heart. This is the base of the prayer which Jesus prayed, a prayer which includes us, you and me.Collect for the Seventh Sunday of EasterO God the King of glory,you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christwith great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:we beseech you, leave us not comfortless,but send your Holy Spirit to strengthen usand exalt us to the place where our Saviour Christ is gone before,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and for ever.
