The Tenth Sunday after Trinity1 Kings 19.9–18 Romans 10.5–15 Matthew 14.22–33In the military, surely it is the aim of everyone serving to hear and obey the orders given to them by their superior officers. This is all driven by the belief that their superior officers have knowledge and experience governing the task that they are asking the junior ratings to perform, experience gathered over time and service.It will not necessarily involve taxing the physical or mental endurance of the troops, but more a case of them following orders through faith in the one who is delivering them.Today we hear of a series of circumstances leading to a disciple being put to the test. Like all of us Jesus needed to find time to recharge, to refresh and more importantly to speak with God his Father. Here Jesus goes to a hillside familiar to him. Alone he prayer to God knowing that the time of his greatest moment is not too far away.Not far from the lake he becomes aware of a storm brewing up. On the lake are his disciples and they are fearful of the coming storm. As it overtakes them they cry out. Jesus ends his time praying with God and makes his way to the lake. Seeing the fear in the disciples he makes his way to them by walking on the water.Intending to calm their fears it instead prompted Peter to call out to Jesus that he might walk on the water himself to greet him. At first, following the command from Jesus all went well. But, when Peter realised what was happening, that he was also walking on water, his courage failed him and he began to sink. He felt weak and cried out in alarm and reached out to Jesus who reassuringly caught him and brought him safely back to the boat. Jesus was recognised as the Son of God.There are times when we go through life and have that feeling that we might be alone. There may be people all about us. We may be in the middle of a crowd, but we are not communicating with them. We have no link, no bond. We are one with them yet not one of them. In the midst of all of this humanity we are just one, all alone. It is at these times that we are at our lowest ebb. We can sink no further into the loneliness of that shell around us.We can be like Peter and raise our eyes to see Jesus. In a time of trouble Peter saw Jesus and saw him as the source of hope. In Jesus lay their salvation. Hemmed in by the milling crown around us it might seem almost impossible to pinpoint, to recognise a face known to us. But if we look we will see Jesus there reaching out to us. Whilst we are in the lowest point of our life, when we can sink no lower, in the deepest depths of despair, he gives us courage and leads us onwards raising us up from the abyss that we had found ourselves.Placing our faith in Jesus and his love leads away from the path that we have strayed along. He will take us by the hand and bring us back to that path that has been laid out before us. He will take us away from the world of confusion, of terror, of wandering aimlessly, to that path of joy and freedom. Jesus is the way to our salvation. He will bring us out of danger to safety in his arms.Peter saw Jesus walking on the water towards him. He recognised that in Jesus lay salvation. In reaching out to Jesus as his faith weakened, he was saved. The same is possible for us. Turn away from the bottle, or whatever else we seek to sustain us in our depths. Instead spend a few moments calling on Jesus for he is there at our side just waiting.Calm settled on the boat as the wind and waves died down. So too will the storm fighting away in our heart and soul melt away as we become enfolded in the love of Jesus.Collect for the Tenth Sunday after TrinityLet your merciful ears, O Lord,be open to the prayers of your humble servants;and that they may obtain their petitionsmake them to ask such things as shall please you;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.
Ninth Sunday after TrinityIsaiah 55.1–5 Romans 9.1–5 Matthew 14.13–21You have had a busy day. Everything has been piled upon you. The pressure has been relentless with barely time for a cup of tea. The traffic on the drive home was slow with road works. All you want to do is get home, sit down, and relax for a short while.But life is not always fair. As you park the car you see that the lawn needs cutting as it is standing out from your neighbours. You walk through the door and the children demand time from you. Your partner is standing in the corner waiting to be acknowledged. Things continue to pile up on your shoulders.At time like these we find those adverts on the television offering you the chance to escape and get away from it all for ridiculously cheap prices. Sail away to exotic locations or fly to the sun, all promising you relaxation and rest.Jesus was in Galilee, a very densely crowded area. In size it was about twice the size of the Isle of Wight yet contained 204 towns none of which had a population of less that 15,000 people. Not a place to escape from the crowds and that is just what Jesus wished to do. He needed rest, just as we all do, and he needed to avoid danger lest he should end up as John the Baptist did. The Cross was ahead of him, coming nearer, and he knew that he must meet up with God before he faced men. Rest for his body and soil were important. Refreshment could be sought on the other side of the lake.People saw his boat sail and it would not be difficult to work out to where he was going. They raced around the lake ready to meet him as he landed on the far shore. Tired and exhausted it would have been quite natural for someone else to tell the crowd to return back to their homes. But Jesus showed them his true compassion. He continued to heal the sick and, before sending them back home around the lake he fed them.We have a message here. In the actions of Jesus we see how God cares. It is a message that we, as Christians, can show to the world. Jesus, in all of the business of his life still found time to care for the people clamouring around him. There is an important point here. If we are so busy that we cannot spare just a few moments to a person who is asking for a short period of our time than there is a reasonably good chance that the person will not try again and we will have lost them.If, as a Christian, someone asks us a question about our faith, or about the Church, or asks us if we can do something that would be a good neighbourly thing to do (remember that we should love our neighbour as ourselves), and we turn round and say that we do not have the time, or send them away, then we will have lost that person. They may have been using us to be a way forward to beginning a relationship with God. We will have lost them. We will have turned away from God one of his children.To live life with one eye on the nice comfortable armchair in front of the television, or with that eye watching the clock as it races around the clock face, neither is the best way to spend our time. To show others that we are anxious to send them on their way is not the best way to set an example of the compassion that Our Lord had. But Jesus went one step further than healing the crowd, even though he was exhausted. He fed them.Gathering all the food that the crowd had, five loaves and two fish, he gave thanks to God and gave the food to the disciples to feed the crowd. They were fed and satisfied. In doing this Jesus showed that it is God’s gifts which he brings to mankind. More so he showed that it is through his disciples that the miracle was worked.Today, again as Christians, we are the disciples of Jesus. It is through us that Jesus continues to work. As he gave his disciples the bread and fish to feed the crowd so he gives us his teaching to go out and deliver to all people. He needs people like us to go out and to act, to be the medium through which he can speak. It is through us that he can draw others to himself.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.
First Sunday after TrinityHosea 5.15—6.6 Psalm 50.7–15 Romans 4.13–end Matthew 9.9–13, 18–26In cities, towns and villages all up and down this land we can find places of worship. They may be cathedrals, churches and chapels, or house groups. People are gathering together to worship God.But what is this worship that we offer? Whatever it is it can take one of many forms. Our worship of God it multifaceted. We may sing hymns, possibly one of the first things people think of when they speak of churches, or we may spend our worship time in contemplative silence or reading. The hymns that we sing are often in the form of a prayer set to music. Over the years we have accumulated hundreds of hymns of different types. Some are joyful which, as we sing them, almost make us wish to jump and dance with glee, whilst others are of a more gentle nature with words which reflect upon life.The worship that we offer also comprises of prayer. This is our opportunity to speak with God and tell him of our want and needs, to give him our thanks for his goodness, to praise him for all that we have and for who we are. As Christians we also look further afield than just ourselves. We see about us situations that are beyond our control, events happening in distant lands. Our hearts pour out to those who are enduring suffering, those in situations from which they have no escape.Singing and praying may be the basis of our worship and of our love of God. But more is required of us to fulfil our title of being a Christian. In the gospel reading Jesus says, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” Just what is this that Jesus is desiring?All about him he could see the scribes and pharisees going about being pious. They were doing what they thought was their duty to God by being holy, or even more holy than thou, in their attitudes. Dressing up in fine robes and carrying themselves in such ways as to draw attention to themselves. ‘Look at me. I am a holy man. You should look up to me.’ Such attitudes do little in the way of active worship of God. They strutted about so much that there was little room for any practical help. This is just what Jesus meant when he used that expression, “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.”Someone may go through all of the motions of doing what is deemed right and proper in the way that they go about their life, but if there is no room to help where help is needed then they are not really fulfilling their religious duties. Those duties include the requirement to help a neighbour in distress, to give aid and help where it is needed.It is all well and good going through life stretching out ones hand and arm in prayer, offering all kinds of petitions to God, heaping upon him all kinds of praise and thanks, if at the same time the person in need is being ignored.It can be so convenient to sit back and read good works, to be with God in prayer all to the exclusion of the world about us. Yes, God does want us to broaden our knowledge of him by reading and studying, learning from what those who are learned in theology have to teach us. But he also wants us to go out into the world and help where help is needed, to be like the Good Samaritan, to nurture the fallen, all these if we are able.But we live in the real world. Not all of this is possible. For those who just cannot go out and be a charity worker in distant lands, for instance, there are other options. Yes, we can spend much time in prayer offering to God those situations where there is deprivation, where there are people going out there to help where they can. We, through our prayer, support them. They, in their turn, can feel buoyed up knowing that they are bring prayed for. Prayer is indeed a powerful tool. Much has been achieved through prayer. Prayer alone is a good thing, but, when possible, prayer plus action can be just as powerful.Collect for the First Sunday after TrinityO God,the strength of all those who put their trust in you,mercifully accept our prayersand, because through the weakness of our mortal naturewe can do no good thing without you,grant us the help of your grace,that in the keeping of your commandmentswe may please you both in will and deed;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.
Trinity SundayIsaiah 40.12–17, 27–end 2 Corinthians 13.11–end Matthew 28.16–endIn preparation for today Priests and Readers, indeed anyone who is tasked with preparing a sermon for Trinity Sunday has been hard at work looking at how to bring the concept of the Trinity into something that can be understood.Today I would like to look at the Trinity as a companion. Beginning with Almighty God. Can we ever get to the position of fully understanding God. God is our Creator, all that we have is given to us by him. He is a father figure, our Heavenly Father. He provides for our needs. All about us is given to us through him. From the minerals that go into making the cups and plates that we use for our meals, to the machinery which digs out the clay, forms the pots, bakes the clay and transports the finished article to our shops and ultimately to our table, all of these and so much more are given to us by God. Fashioning the ores to make the metals which we use to make machinery and vehicles, all of this is provided by our Creator God.The list can go on for ages when we include animals, birds and fish. Now we have our food and wool to make cloth. Also, what we have seen so little of recently, water. All about us we see how God is at work. Yesterday, today and tomorrow God is there, our companion.Now I move to the Son of God, Jesus Christ. It is alright us having all that God the Father has created but we do need to know how to progress with all of this bounty. This is where Jesus comes into the Trinity. Some five months ago we all rejoiced in his birth at Christmas. We remember this yearly with gifts, with decorated trees, with tinsel which seems to get everywhere, by singing carols and re-enacting the scene in the manger.During his life with us here on earth Jesus taught us about the heavenly kingdom and about God his Father. He told us of the truth, of how we should love God, not just a passing love but a deeply felt love. Our neighbours do not escape this attention either. We are to love them, also a deep love, just as we love ourselves. This is The Way. In this we are shown the true life. It is like having a map before us. There are roads going here, there and everywhere. Which ones should we choose to reach our destination. Are the ones marked in blue better than those marked in red? To know which is best we rely on someone to lead us on our way.Now we are on the correct path we can settle down to know the life set before us. Jesus has gone on before us. His journey ended on the Cross. It was whilst he was on the Cross that he forgave us all of our sins. If we truly are sorry and repent, then our sins will be forgiven. Jesus remains with us as our guide and companion in another sense.We now move to the Holy Spirit. Fans of the Dandy comic will be familiar with the exploits of Popeye the Sailor Man. He would get involved in all sorts of scrapes and situations. However, when he needed a burst of energy he would dive into his pocket and pull out a can of spinach. Flipping it open he would down the contents and immediately be filled with strength that would enable him to handle whatever problem faced him. In some way the Holy Spirit can be likened to the spinach in this sense. It is something that can be called upon to provide a means to achieving an end, more often by ensuring that we remain on the correct path.But the Holy Spirit is more than a quick energy burst. The Holy Spirit works in our life. It enables us to use the gifts that have been given to us to the best of our ability. At our Baptism we received the gift of the Holy Spirit. What that gift was we may not know. We may find that we are especially good at artwork. Music may be our talent or languages. Which gift we have is given to us to help others. The help may be in any number of ways. Regardless the gift of the Holy Spirit is our companion.Now bringing these three ‘companions’ together we have the Holy Trinity. God, as our companion, is there in all three ways. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.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.
