Teach me, my God and King

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#Proper17B #James

At Bible Class on Saturday of last week, Massood asked a question about how the Bible gave advice in practical living.  There was a great debate about this in Farsi, which I didn’t understand, but I take all questions seriously, so that’s what I want to talk about today.

 

At the moment, the New Testament reading on Sundays comes from the Epistle of James.  I love the Epistle of James because I made it my special study when I was on retreat in Fetlar 10 years ago.

 

James was one of those common names – there are lots of James in the Bible.  You might think it would be James the brother of John and son of Zebedee, but, no, he was killed by Herod Agrippa in 44 CE, which is too early for the writing of this encyclical.  The James who wrote this letter was almost certainly James the brother of Jesus who became an important leader among the Christians in Jerusalem after the death of Jesus.

 

The letter picks up many of the themes that Jesus talks about in his ministry, and develops them.  He also draws on religious writings in the Old Testament and other spiritual writings, and then he has a way of conveying wisdom in just a few words.  It’s like he has been studying all these sources and made them his own.  The letter incorporates much practical advice – the sort of real-life application that I think Massood is looking for.

 

In today’s reading, James offers lots of practical advice.

 

Firstly – he encourages generosity. Because God is utterly generous, we should be like that, whether that means giving money or hospitality or service or love and attention.  And we offer that through God our Father.

 

James has a description of God in this first paragraph that I want you to notice.  He talks of God as “the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”  This is important in theology because it describes God as the source of all light – and he means moral light here – God is truly good.  And then it says that God is what God is, and God doesn’t change.  At the end of the service, we’re going to sing the hymn “Great is thy faithfulness”, and the first verse of that hymn is based on this statement.

 

Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father,
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not
As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be.

 

In the second practical point in the letter, James tells us to “be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger”.  This is good advice that we all need to consider every day.  Don’t commit yourself to words before you fully understand the situation.  When we respond with anger, that is often unhelpful, and is more likely to provoke the situation than to lead to a peaceful and productive solution.  It means you are less likely to be doing God’s work.

 

Then, James encourages us to “be doers of the word”, not just hearers.  When we become Christians, we need to live it, not just hear it.  Having faith in God and committing yourself to follow Jesus is great, but then you have to learn to live God’s way.  Discover what God is like, and then take on those characteristics.  And if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus.

 

James then uses the image of the mirror, which is a metaphor he uses regularly in his encyclical.  He says you can look in a mirror in passing and immediately forget what you see, but looking at God’s law, you need to study it and learn from it.  Did you notice the words of the George Herbert hymn we sang – our second hymn?  The second verse is based on this part of the reading from James.  It was written 400 years ago, so it is in very old-fashioned language.  But George Herbert develops the idea.  He says you can look on glass – that means looking at a mirror – and you see the image of yourself.  But if you look deeper, you might catch a glimpse of heaven.

 

A man that looks on glass,
on it may stay his eye;
or if he pleaseth, through it pass,
and then the heaven espy.

But George Herbert then reflects on what God is like and what that means for us.
All may of thee partake;
nothing can be so mean,
which with this tincture, “for thy sake,”
will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause
makes drudgery divine:
who sweeps a room, as for thy laws,
makes that and the action fine.

 

And what Herbert is saying here is that however lowly we are, whatever humble tasks we take on, if we do it in God’s name, and do it in God’s way, and dedicate the tasks to God, then we are doing well and good.

 

And that process of hearing God’s word, looking at the life of Jesus, studying and reflecting on it, and discovering new aspects of the truth, is one of the reasons why we study the Bible and learn from the life of Jesus.  Just as James does, just as George Herbert does.

 

In the last section of today’s reading, James says true faith is characterised by caring for orphans and widows who are distressed.  In our day, that means caring for those who are poor and marginalized, for those who are struggling in any way, those who need extra care and support: people who have impairments, people with a diagnosis of mental illness, people with dementia, people who are escaping violence or danger.

 

The letter of James is a really practical book of the Bible if you want to learn about how God wants us to respond to his love for us and how to live our lives.  We will be having more passages from James over the next four weeks in the Sunday service, and I encourage you to read it and study it because it is full of helpful advice.  And then maybe, with George Herbert, we can pray “ teach me, my God and King, to see you in all things and whatever I do, to do it for you.”

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Pray. Just pray.

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#Proper16B #Pray

The Confirmation service on Tuesday was a wonderful occasion.  It was a real joy when Bishop Mark came and confirmed 11 people from this congregation.  And we had a surprise visit from Fr Tony from Wakefield Cathedral, which made it even more special. Fr Tony had baptised 8 of the 11 candidates when they were at Wakefield.   A number of people gave their testimony, telling us why coming to the Christian faith is so important to them, and that was very moving.  Fr Tony and his wife Lynne took photos of people as they knelt before Bishop Mark to be confirmed, and the pictures capture the looks on their faces – they were full of joy.  It was very special. 

 

At the end, we gave them all a little present from the church.  There were different things in the bags: for some people, we gave a prayer book to help them pray every day; for others, it was a holding cross, a cross you can hold in your hand to help you pray; and for some people it was a little angel figure, to help you remember to pray.  There was also a little leaflet with prayers.

 

So you see a theme coming through there – the gifts were about encouraging our newly confirmed members to pray and go on praying. 

 

And in the wonderful way that often seems to happen with the Sunday bible readings, they have something important to say about the things that are happening in our own lives. Coincidences often happen.  And a big theme in this week’s readings is prayer. 

 

The Old Testament reading tells the story of another very special service.  Solomon has just completed the building of the first temple to house the ark which symbolises the presence of God, where all the people can come and worship God and make sacrifices – which is the way they worshipped in those days.  King Solomon and all the priests and the people come together for a grand service to inaugurate the most beautiful building.  There is a procession, there is incense – lots of incense.  I imagine there were lots of candles, and musical instruments of all kinds.  You can just imagine it. 

 

Solomon prays a long prayer.  We only got a few snatches of that prayer in the reading – it is actually much longer.  You might want to read it for yourselves later in your own bibles.  There are a number of features of Solomon’s prayer.  

 

First – he praises God.  God has given us so much.  God loves us so much.  So we acknowledge all that God gives us, and we give thanks and praise.  Do you love God?  Tell him.  Can you see God’s hand in your life?  Thank him.  Do you rejoice in this wonderful world?  Praise him.

 

Then Solomon commits himself and the people to serving God, to walking in God’s way.  Those who were confirmed on Tuesday were committing themselves to following Jesus and serving God and the community.  There are many times in our lives when we renew our commitment. 

 

After that, there is a long passage where Solomon asks God to listen to the prayers of the people.  He asks God to hear the prayers, to forgive the people for all their sins, and to make life better.  In this prayer, Solomon sets out all kinds of circumstances when he is encouraging God to be merciful.  And the last paragraph in our reading today asks God to remember those who have come from distant lands.  Which is especially encouraging for those who have come from Iran and other places to grow in the Christian faith. 

 

Solomon is there talking about another form of prayer, which is repenting of our sins.  The wonderful thing is that whenever we turn to God and say sorry, God will always forgive us and help us start again. 

 

Then in the second reading we had from the letter to the Christians in Ephesus in Turkey, Paul encourages his readers to pray at all times, to persevere in prayer, to pray especially for the saints, for the Christians in every place.

 

And there is a message here for those who have been coming to church for years – please pray for the new Christians, for those who have come to faith relatively recently, for those who were confirmed on Tuesday.  On the back of the Order of Service, there is a request that you go on praying for all the candidates. 

 

And Paul asks for prayers for himself.  He was in prison when he wrote the letter.  He doesn’t ask to be free, but to be given more opportunities to proclaim the good news of Christ.  There is a message there about praying for the clergy too, that they may remain faithful – believe me, they do need prayer. 

 

Prayer is a really important part of the practice of our Christian faith.  When you love someone, you want to spend time with them.  You talk to them about your problems.  You tell them about your joys.  Prayer is like that.  When we love God who loves us, we spend time with him and talk to him. 

 

There are many ways to pray, and different forms of prayer suit us at different times of our life.  For me, a really important foundation of my prayer life is saying Morning and Evening Prayer each day.  Another really good technique is to spend a few minutes at the end of every day thinking about what has been good about the day, the times when God felt close.  Thank God for those moments.  And then recall the more difficult things about the day, when God felt absent, when life was a struggle.  Give those times to God.  Ask God to help you do things better next time. 

 

Whenever we pray, in whatsoever way we pray, God will always hear us.  It’s not like putting a penny in the slot machine – God will not always give us the things we think we want.  God has a wider agenda.  He cares for us and gives us what we need, not just what we think we want.  And God wants us to engage with him. Prayer is a two-way conversation.  God wants us to pray, all of us.  And when we pray ….. things just happen.

Bread of Life

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#Proper14B #BreadofLife

Today’s Gospel continues the reflection on the story we had two weeks ago, when Jesus fed 5,000 people with 5 loaves and 2 fish.  In last week’s Gospel reading, Jesus announced “I am the bread of life”, which made a clear connection between the miracle in the wilderness with the offer to us of the bread of life.  The key message of today’s Gospel is that the bread of life opens the door to eternal life.  Let’s think about what that means.

 

Think about the memorable meals that you have enjoyed.

 

On Thursday, I was invited out to lunch.  My friend has reproductions of two paintings by Brueghel on her wall, and these paintings mean a lot to her and she has researched and studied them.  One of them shows a number of fruit and vegetables, which were new and exotic when Brueghel painted them.  My friend gave us a meal that used the ingredients depicted in the picture, so we had tiny tarts of humous and raspberries or peas, lemon chicken, risotto of artichoke and white asparagus,  mangetout peas and a variety of tomatoes, gouda cheese and pumpernickel, with cherry tarts to finish.  It was a very memorable meal – the food was exquisite. 

 

Meals can be memorable in other ways.  Sometimes it’s the setting, the place that makes the occasion.  My husband Sheridan and I were once invited to a dinner of Irish historians at the Irish embassy in London.  I don’t remember what we ate, but they were very generous with the wine and there were a lot of speeches at the end. 

 

And meals can be memorable because of the people who are there.  Which is probably why I have a clear memory of lots of Christmas dinners with the family. 

 

You will have your own memorable meals. 

 

And that meal in the wilderness two thousand years ago must have been memorable.  Not for the menu – bread and fish, no frills, no fancies.  The location must have been interesting, an outdoor picnic in a remote place, but we are not told anything about the landscape or the beauty of the place.  Calling it a wilderness makes it sound dry and arid.  And the company?  Five thousand people – and that was just the men – plus all the women and children – was not exactly cosy.  Some of them might have remembered Psalm 78 where the people of God complain and mock God: “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?”  And there they were in the wilderness, and food was provided, in bountiful quantities, enough for everyone.  And was this God’s provision?  Yes it was.  I wonder how many of them recognised that?

 

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is uncovering more layers of meaning in that memorable meal.  He recalls the way that God fed the people of Israel in the wilderness – this is the story that Psalm 78 is also remembering.  When Moses brought the people of Israel out of Egypt and through the deserts, God fed them for 40 years with miraculous food.  They had enough to eat until they came to the promised land.  It was holy food because it came from God, but at the same time it wasn’t the kind of holy food that nurtured them spiritually, that brought them closer to God, that meant that God was dwelling in them.  Psalm 78 calls it the bread of angels, but the real bread of angels was still to come, the bread that Jesus’ offers as his body. 

 

Jesus is the Bread of Life, the living bread that comes from heaven.  Every time we receive Holy Communion, Jesus feeds us with himself, so that Jesus becomes part of who we are.  That is just so amazing!  Jesus wants to be part of us, and wants us to be part of Him.  At the Last Supper he gave thanks for the bread and wine and shared them.  He said “do this to remember me”, and so we do it, week by week, remembering Jesus, being fed by Jesus, being nurtured and sustained, becoming more like Jesus as we absorb his body and his blood.  The bread of angels is offered to us, a precious gift.  It unites us with Christ and it unites as a community who share this holy feast. 

 

There is another memorable meal I will never forget.  It was the 7^th October 2001, not too far from here in Birtley.  In the morning, I had been ordained priest at Durham Cathedral and in the evening I presided for the first time at Mass.  It was such a privilege.  Almost 17 years on, it remains such a privilege.  I come with empty hands and I offer the greatest of gifts – the body and blood of Christ.  I am nobody, but the body of Christ is everything. 

 

Jesus says that whoever eats this bread will live for ever.  It is the bread of heaven, the bread of eternal life.  When we eat this bread we are committed to living under God’s rule to bring God’s everlasting kingdom to earth.  And we have the confidence that when our bodies die, we will live on. 

 

I pray that this will be a most memorable meal for you.  You are here to eat the bread of angels, the most precious food you will taste.  Here in this church, a pale earthly pattern of the glory of heaven.  Here, in the company of your brothers and sisters in Christ bodily present at this time and in all the ages past and in the years to come.  Here, the angels in heaven rejoice with you and give glory to God.  Here, Christ himself is giving you his body and his blood. 

 

Jesus says to us:  I am the bread of life.  Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.