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.
Sunday after Ascension DayActs 1: 6-14John 17: 1-11I remember a ruse where two or three people would stand atthe foot of a tall building and just look towards the top, at its roof or its architectural style. Of course, the style was not what was interesting us. It was just the act of staring upwards. Often, we would find that we had gathered a few others doing just the same. What they were looking for was not always obvious because nothing was ever spoken. People are naturally curious.The reading from the Acts of the Apostles reads a little like that in some ways. the Apostles had gathered together and Jesus appeared to them. Deep down they were still expectingJesus to restore Israel. When would this happen? The reply that Jesus had given them was that the time and place were things that were not their concern. But he did promise to send to them the Holy Spirit. By the power of the Holy Spirit they would go out into all of the nearby regions, countries, and indeed the whole world, and that they will be witnesses of Jesus.After this Jesus ascended into heaven, his ascent being veiled by a cloud. However, that is not the end of the story. Two men dressed in white robes addressed the Apostles. They were asked why they were staring up to heaven. Then they were told that Jesus will return the same way as you go into heaven. What a statement of reassurance. Not only to the Apostles but to all of humanity.Filled with this reassurance the Apostles returned to Jerusalem to the others, and to the mother of Jesus, his brothers, and others. They were gathered in prayer. Imagine the rejoicing at the news that was to be imparted to them.The sharing of the Good News has been passed on through the centuries. Today it continues. To read the scriptures in church, Sunday by Sunday, is a great privilege. To listen and hear the words that reassured the Apostles are being read out to us.In the gospel reading we learn of the prayer that Jesus made to his Father in heaven. Firstly he commended himself to the heavenly kingdom, then he prayed for his disciples. They were to witness the horrors of the Cross, but Jesus also wanted them to know the glory of the resurrection. It was a glory that would remove the shame of the Cross. A little like someone who had ventured forth to carry out a perilous mission. On their homecoming they shared the triumph of their deeds. The going out, the mission, and returning home was the equivalent of the Cross. The final triumph was the gateway to glory. That glory would not have been theirs if they had not passed through the triumphal gateway. For Jesus the Cross was his return to God.Let us go back to the promise of the Second Coming. The disciples wanted to know when this would happen. To speculate upon this is complete foolishness for not even Jesus knew when the Son of Man would come. God has a plan for humanity. We have to believe that all of history is not a conglomeration of events all happening by chance. There is a point towards which we are all moving. When we reach that place Jesus Christ will be our Judge and Lord of All. It is a place to which we have to make ourselves ready for that day when it comes.We nearly now have all of the witness we need to prepare ourselves for the journey to go out into the world and to proclaim that Jesus is Lord. We have seen the death of Jesus on the Cross and we have seen how he is risen from the dead. There is the time spent appearing to his disciples and following that he has now ascended into heaven before their eyes. To make our witness complete the promised gift of the Holy Spirit will finish our preparation. This gift was mentioned in the reading from Acts. We now have just a short wait before we read fully of this gift.Collect for the Sunday after Ascension DayO 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.
Third Sunday of EasterZephaniah 3.14-end Acts 2.14 Luke 24.13-35I start with a love story. It is a story of two people who are deeply in love. Unfortunately, circumstances arise where they have to be separated for a period of time. They make a pact, a promise, to each other. Every evening, provided that the sky is clear, they will go out and look at the Moon at an agreed time. Doing it together will bring them closer to each other even though many miles hold them apart. In sharing at looking at a familiar object distance is removed. Their love for each other is transmitted through another object.In the modern world of today there are many ways that we can use to keep in touch with each other. Distances are removed when we use the telephone or send an e-mail, or even a text message. But back in the days of Jesus there were no such luxuries. Then it would have been a case of the Moon, or some other object, being the transmitter of love. The concept of a place, object or person being a link would have been common practice.Today we have two disciples walking on the road to Emmaus. They were deep in conversation discussing the recent events that had happened in Jerusalem. They were joined by a stranger. The conversation continued and the stranger gave an explanation of the recent events. He spoke of why they had happened. Later, when they were about to part their ways, the stranger was persuaded to stay with them. Whilst blessing and eating bread realisation dawned upon the disciples. They recognised who this was that was speaking with them. The bond, which was for them the eye-opening moment, was the bread as Jesus blessed it.The disciples felt full of joy. They were uplifted. They realised how they felt as they were speaking on the road. Without delay they returned to Jerusalem to tell the eleven, and their companions, what had happened. How it was in the breaking of the bread that Jesus had made himself known to them.Today we can share in that same moment which the two disciples experienced. Part of the climax of our worship is when we break bread. It is at this time that, through our faith, we believe we shall be sharing in the Body of Christ, just the disciples did at that first Last Supper. Standing, or kneeling, we can gaze upon the broken bread, The Body of Christ. In a few moments his body will be placed in our hands as we share in the Passion of our Lord. Moments later we share in the wine, the Blood of Christ, poured out for us on the Cross. The bread is our link with the Risen Christ. Through that bread we are close to Jesus.But we have other ways in which the bond with Jesus is formed. It is very difficult these days to go anywhere without seeing a church. Many of them have a cross on the roof or spire. The cross, symbolising the Cross of crucifixion, is lifted high on the building that many may see it as they pass by. We are never far from a cross. The link binding us with Christ is easily accessible. The cross serves as a timely reminder that we are just a glance away from the Lord.Collect for the Third Sunday of EasterAlmighty Father,who in your great mercy gladdened the disciples with the sight of the risen Lord:give us such knowledge of his presence with us,that we may be strengthened and sustained by his risen lifeand serve you continually in righteousness and truth;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.
