Sunday, July 13, 2025

Oh, for crying out loud!


Sermon for the fourth Sunday after Trinity

How's your Greek?

A quick test.

What's the Greek 
for mercy?

You have no clue
until you remember
that you have sung
your "Kyrie eleison" today
and "Kyrie eleison" means
"Lord, have mercy!"

"Hooray!" you think 
"The Greek for mercy 
is eleeos!"

You're right...
but you're not right,
though you must be praised
for your reasoning there.

You're not right in the sense
that Our Lord isn't using
eleeos when He tells us
to be merciful
even as Our Heavenly Father
is merciful.

And now you're thinking,
"Oh, for crying out loud!"

And now you'd be nearer the mark.

[PAUSE]

We're often presented 
with trying to reconcile
the mercy of God
with the justice of God.

How can we be both
merciful and just
to a murderer that says,
in all sincerity,
"I'm sorry, please forgive me!"

We can't let him off,
but neither can we ignore 
his plea.

The Greek for mercy here
is oiktos,
and the "oi" bit
is a cry.

The mercy that is oiktos
should make us
cry "Oh!" to someone's predicament. 

Oiktos is the mercy 
that cries out in compassion
that recognises 
a human being in distress.

Oiktos causes us
to raise our eyes
from a list of misdemeanours 
and see a human being,
fallen and broken through life,
and yet failing and breaking others.

Oiktos is to see ourselves 
in another 
in all the pain and sorrow of life
and hold onto that.

Oiktos is having compassion
in the highest order.

But what of eleeos?

Why do we ask God 
"Kyrie eleison"?

[PAUSE]

Eleeos is active.

Eleeos has the sense
of pouring oil on troubled water.

Oiktos is what motivates eleeos.

The cry of "oh" and recognising
the distress and misery in another 
causes us to act with compassion.

Not by condemnation for sins, 
but by finding a way to be generous
without diminishing sin.

Our God is generous and merciful.

He fills the barrel of mercy and love 
and shakes it
and presses it down 
to make more room
for mercy and love.

God, the perfect judge
knows full well how to deal
with repentant murderers.
 
He even made one a saint!

Oiktos forces us
to see the human being 
behind even the most vile of crimes.

Criminals should receive 
our pity that their brokenness
should influence them
into committing their crimes. 

That doesn't excuse them.
They made their choice 
to commit crime 
and that must be addressed
proportionately,
fairly and fully
in law for the good of society.

But we must not ever,
for the love of God 
demonise a criminal
on account of the crime.

A criminal is a human being
and a human being
is the object of God's love.

Yet, we don't want to love him
because of his crime, 
so we turn him into a demon 
because that makes it easier for us
to cope with.

[PAUSE]

Our Lord 
is telling us 
not to take the easy path 
to judgement
and condemnation. 

He is telling us 
that we need to react
in mercy.

Yes, to hear the blood of Abel
crying from the ground
but also to hear the cry of Cain
fearing for his life 
in his land of banishment 
for murdering his brother.

As Christians
we are called to a life
knowing that we cannot 
judge or condemn a criminal
to Hell,
and that is a life of discomfort 
because we see sin,
and we see the sinner,
one we must hate
the other we must love
and yet separating the two
is far from easy.

We have to live in that tension.

We have to live 
concerned that sin is called out
for what it is
and yet seeing our very selves
in the face of the vilest offender.

We only love our neighbour 
insofar as we love 
the worst of humanity.

That's hard.

That's so hard.

It's hard to the extent
that we cry out "Oh!"

And then God hears "Oh"
and that stirs his oiktos
the mercy that hears the cry
of one troubled,
even scandalised by 
the Divine love even for the most wicked.

And He has mercy 
- eleeos -
on us because 
we will probably fail
to be merciful 
even as he is merciful.

Even if we fail,
we must never despair
of the mercy of God -
the mercy that hears a cry
and the mercy
that seeks to do something 
about it
- all for crying out loud.

Saturday, July 05, 2025

It's just one...


Sermon for the third Sunday after Trinity

"Oh it's just one..."

"...just one biscuit 
that's been dropped 
on the floor."

"...just one page 
that's been torn."

"... just one person
who missed the bus."

"It's just one..." is a 
handy little phrase
that we like to use
so that we know 
we don't have to care anymore.

Just one thing 
is lost, broken or won't fit,
so we can put it aside
and worry about
the other things 
that aren't lost or broken
and which fit into our scheme 
nicely.

That surely seems reasonable.

We can't worry 
about every little thing.

If we do
then we will
burn ourselves out
with too much worry,
caring too much about
things we can't control,
sweating the small stuff.

If we worry about 
every little thing
then it hurts us,
we become exhausted
and fearful.

Some of us 
are like that
and they need reassurance 
and care
for a condition that 
afflicted their lives.

Indeed,
the people who worry
so much 
that it becomes 
a disorder
must themselves 
not be written off.

"It's just one
of those people
with OCD."

This makes for
an uncomfortable dilemma. 

Do we care about things
too much
or too little?

[PAUSE]

The Pharisees
care a lot about 
the observance 
of the Law.

They are rigorous
and will let neither
t be uncrossed
or i undotted.

But woe betide anyone
who does not observe the Law,
the sinners, 
the publicans,
the prostitutes, 
even
the leprosy,
the maimed,
the sick.

They are completely 
written off.

"Oh they're just sinners. 
Not worth the time of day."

Human beings
who have no worth?

Human beings
in their God-given complexity 
in their God-given dignity
that have no worth?

And the Pharisees 
are effectively saying,
"Jesus, don't corrupt yourself 
with these sinners.
Just associate yourself 
with us, instead."

These sinners 
have been completely written off.

They have no value.

There is no chance 
of forgiveness,
reconciliation 
or rehabilitation.

Once a sinner
always a sinner. 

Oh doesn't that 
sound utterly dismal?

[PAUSE]

Where the Pharisees 
write people off,
Our Lord seeks to 
write people on.

Anyone 
who comes to Him
will be heard,
will be healed, 
will be loved.

No exceptions.

"Ah," say the Pharisees, 
"you just said,
that it would be 
harmful to care too much
about things."

"Things," Pharisee? 

People aren't "things!"

While we simply 
cannot worry about
the needs of everyone,
we don't see people 
as things.

If Our Lord speaks 
of the joy of finding
a lost sheep,
or a coin,
then how much more joy
can there be
for finding 
just one lost human being?

That joy makes
the Universe rattle
with millions of angelic feet
dancing in jubilation 
on the head of a pin.

And that's just one human being.

Just one human being
returning to God
sets heaven ablaze
with delight.

Just one human being.

Just you.

If that's the joy 
you cause God
when you return to Him
then imagine 
the joy of so many other
people who repent.

There are infinities
too small to contain that joy.

[PAUSE]

It's very true
that we human beings
can care too much.

We can stress,
overwork 
and forget about ourselves 
in order to care for 
absolutely everyone.

We can sweat the small stuff.

But perhaps we just need
to look at what we are valuing.

Just as the Pharisees 
value the Law 
above the spiritual 
and physical needs
of those around them,
so can we value the wrong thing
in helping other people
to the extent 
that we burn ourselves out.

God gives us two commandments
and one is certainly,
"love thy neighbour 
as thyself.

But the first commandment
is to love the Lord our God
with all our heart and soul 
and mind and strength.

Love God before Man.

Why?

Because it is 
in loving God first
with all the faculties 
that He has given us
that we learn to love
our neighbours 
as part of our own being.

And this regulates us.

We cease to dismissal others 
as just one of the crowd
and we cease to dismiss ourselves 
as just one of the crowd too.

In our prayers,
we present ourselves to God
Who doesn't see our prayer
as just one among many
but values it
because He values us
as individuals
and refuses to turn us away.

He possesses every magnitude 
of infinity 
to care intimately 
and fully for
every single human being
in every aspect
of their lives.

And he will not let us go.

In our prayer,
we bring our tears, sorrows,
cries for forgiveness,
cries for justice,
our bitterness,
our grief,
our loneliness
our longing for someone 
to love us just as we are.

And God hears
each of these
and, in the invisible mystery 
of His action
finds us and
brings us home,
not writing us off,
but writing us on His Sacred Heart.

Saturday, June 28, 2025

Clearly apostles


Sermon for the Feast of St Peter and St Paul

There is just 
so much noise.

A million voices
ricochet around us
spreading confusion 
and misinformation. 

We hear so much
that claims to be news
but isn't.  

It's fake news.

And that which is called
"fake news"
sometimes turns out
to be true.

And we don't know 
what to believe.

[PAUSE]

We don't know 
what to believe 
until we hear a voice
"Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the Living God."

A moment of clarity. 

The clouds of confusion part.

Not St John the Baptist.
Nor Elias. 
Nor Jeremiah.
Nor another prophet.

But the Christ!

Peter's words
might just be more words
among so many.

Just another statement 
of fake news.

What makes them different?

[PAUSE]

It's the truth!

If Our Lord tells us
that He will rise from the dead
and then does so.

If He preaches,
and then backs up His words
with miracles. 

If He touches the hearts of people
and inspires them to love
and go to their deaths for love, 
then He is telling the truth. 

His is the voice 
that we should believe.

And St Peter 
confirms that with his words.

In St Peter,
there is clarity 
a rock on which the Faith will grow.

Christ the chief cornerstone of the Church
and Peter the rock.

And to St Peter 
are given keys 
the authority to bind 
and loose sins.

That authority 
isn't given to St Peter alone 
for St John tells us
that it is given to all the Disciples
when the Lord 
breathes the Holy Ghost on them.

St Peter has the truth
as do the other apostles.

And as does St Paul.

[PAUSE]

St Paul,
the zealous Pharisee
is given the truth 
that blinds him for a while.

He is blinded to 
the cacophony of sights
which,
like the noise,
disrupt and confuse our lives.

The blindness of St Paul
helps him to be
refocused on the truth,
a truth which he once thought
unpalatable 
but now defends 
with his every breath,
with his every word.

And to him
is given authority 
to bind and loose sins
as he becomes 
one of the first bishops 
to receive episcopal consecration 
at the hands of the Apostles.

He is given the authority 
of the Truth
to cut through the swathes
of falsehood 
through the doctrine 
he has received through
the grace of Christ.

[PAUSE]

For us,
the noise is louder than ever.

False gospels are being preached.
The truth is supposedly 
being debunked.
The saints are still being 
contradicted
and even vilified.

For us, 
there is much confusion
and disharmony. 

But for us,
there is also truth
a truth which grounds our Faith.

Our Faith begins
when we say with St Peter
to the face of the man Jesus
"Thou art the Christ
the Son of the Living God."

That is where we put our trust.

That is where we ground 
our knowledge,
our belief, 
our faith.

And we grow 
by reading the first writte documents
of our faith
which are the letters of St Paul:
Gospel written before
the gospels.

This is how we cut through
all the noise.

We shut it out
and listen to the Holy Apostles 
for they speak with greater clarity
than the world can know 
and yet wants to prevent us
from knowing.

Jesus truly is the Christ
the Son of the Living God.

Saturday, June 21, 2025

Articulating Christ's Body

Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of Corpus Christi

"The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
was not by Christ's ordinance
reserved,
carried about,
lifted up 
or worshipped."

Does that sound familiar?

And yet,
we do reserved the Body of Christ,
we do carry it about,
we do lift it up
and we worship Christ
in the Most Holy Sacrament. 

Are we being wrong?
Are we being idolatrous?
Are we blaspheming?

[PAUSE]

One reason why 
we Anglican Catholics 
do not regard 
the Thirty-Nine Articles
as being authoritative 
is because of their ambiguity.

They were designed to appease
polarising factions 
within the Church of England.

They were designed
to stop the struggle 
for the Soul of England
to be a war within the streets.

And that's why 
the Articles have 
a historical importance 
that has allowed 
Anglican Protestants 
to walk with Anglican Catholics 
until comparatively recently.

So they are necessarily ambiguous. 

And this Article 
about the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper,
which we Catholics 
commonly call the Mass,
is deliberately ambiguous. 

It's true to say
that Our Lord
at the Last Supper
does not tell His Disciples
to reserve His Body
nor to carry it about
nor to lift it up
nor to worship it.

Neither does He expressly 
forbid it
even though He knows full well
the tendency of human beings
to fall into Idolatry.

He remembers the Golden Calf incident 
all too clearly.

And He does not forbid 
the reservation,
the carrying around,
the lifting up
or the worship
of His Body.

Why not?

Why does He not forbid it?

[PAUSE]

There is three underlying factors
behind how we Catholics
treat the Sacrament of the Mass.

Simply, it's Faith, Hope and Love.

By our Faith in Christ
we believe that 
what we behold
in the Sacrament of the Altar 
really, truly and fully 
is the Body and Blood
of Christ.

It is what He promised:
His flesh and blood
so that we might have life within us.

By our Hope,
we believe that showing people 
the Body and Blood of Christ,
displaying our faith
that what seems to be 
a disc of unleavened bread
is truly the Body of Christ,
we may stir in the hearts
of people hungry for hope 
the truth of Christ's presence with us.

By our Love, 
we reserve that Sacrament 
so that those who are unable 
to come to Mass 
may partake of the Body of Christ
and we carry it
to those who are too sick
to receive it.

And we do not worship 
bread and wine
because we believe 
that they have been transformed 
into the true Body and Blood of Christ,
Body, Soul, Mind, Humanity and Divinity
all that pertains to
the Person of the Son.

And the Son is God
and God is to be worshipped 
for our benefit
not His.

[PAUSE]

No. Christ does not command
that we should take the Sacrament 
of His Supper
and reserve it,
carry it about,
lift it up
and worship it.

He does not command that
but He does give us Himself
to be present with us
and to be consumed by us
so that we might love God
and neighbour.

We reserve the Love of God 
for our neighbour to eat.
We carry about the Love of God 
to our neighbour in his frailty.
We lift up the Love of God
for our neighbour to see.
We worship the Love of God
for our neighbour to share.

This is why
we put the Consecrated Host
into a monstrance 
for people to see
and be blessed 
so that one day they might receive.

[PAUSE]

The Articles of Religion 
are not authoritative 
for us Anglican Catholics 
especially when they give the impression 
that what we do is not 
part of the Catholic Religion. 

We don't need to hold them now
because, we pray,
we know better than going to war
with Anglican Protestants
whom we love despite our separation.

Nonetheless,
the Real, Objective and Physical Presence 
of Our Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament 
should draw us closer to Christ
in faith, hope and love for our neighbour.

Food for thought?
Or food for prayer?




Saturday, June 14, 2025

From the top


Sermon for Trinity Sunday

We know that Jesus can speak Greek.

Greek in Israel for Jesus
is like English is for us.

It's a language 
that everyone knows
but often not well.

Indeed, 
some older people
who have taken up English
later in life sometimes struggle
to say what they mean.

And even now,
we hear that confusion
and it is a confusion
that still affects the way
that people translate
Holy Scripture from Greek 
to English.

St Nicodemus hears our Lord say
that we must be born anōthen
- that's the Greek word.

It's a word that describes
the garment taken from Our Lord 
at His Crucifixion:
that seamless garment
woven from the top.

So anōthen is a word 
that we could translate
as "from the top".

The trouble is
that there are two meanings
to the phrase "from the top".

[PAUSE]

It could mean,
afresh or again,
and this is what St Nicodemus hears.

St Nicodemus hears
Our Lord say
we must be "born again"
which is why he gets confused 
and thinks that his poor mother
is going to have to suffer 
a terrible fate.

But that's not what Jesus means.

He us using the other meaning 
of "from the top".

He is talking about
being born from above 
from Heaven,
by the power of God

This is why He talks about us
being born of water and the Spirit.

It's a clear indication 
of our need for Baptism.

It is through the waters of Baptism
that we are born from above
into the Kingdom of God
and thereby into Eternal life.

This birth from above
is not from this world.

It is a birth that lies beyond
our experience in life
and why it is given to us
as a Sacrament. 

We see the external water
and know that,
through the covenant with God 
we are born in the Holy Ghost.

Our Baptism is Baptism by the Holy Ghost.

And our birth in Him
can only be known
in this world
through the water in the font.

And what on Earth 
has all this to do 
with Trinity Sunday?

[PAUSE]

What on Earth?
Well, that's the point exactly.

If we are born from above,
then we are aware of things above
which have only pale shadows 
here on Earth.

And our God,
The Triune God,
The Three-in-One,
Father, Son and Holy Ghost
Whom Earth and Heaven adore,
is not a thing of the Earth.

He is not created -
His Incarnation took
our Human Nature 
into His Godhead
- He is not created.

And this means 
we cannot expect
to understand 
with minds of Earth
the Truth from above
that God is Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

We know it 
because He shows it to us
in the words of Scripture and the Fathers
and the rational intelligence 
that draws its Holy conclusions
from the words of Scripture and the Fathers.

We know it by His revelation,
not by looking at shamrocks
or ice-water-steam 
or one flame on three wicks.

They are imperfect illustrations 
and even the most complete
theological understanding 
by the greatest Doctors of the Church
is like straw
compared with the reality of God
that is revealed from the top down to us.

[PAUSE]

If the world gives us grief
because it does not understand 
the Holy Trinity,
that is not our problem 
because the world listens 
with ears of clay
to words born from on high.

Our task is to spread the news
of Our Lord Jesus Christ,
and to baptise as many of those
who believe 
so that they may be born
from the top.

Saturday, June 07, 2025

A greater feast

Sermon for Whitsunday

"My Father is greater than I"

Those who hate Christianity 
love to trot out this verse.

"If the Father is greater than Jesus,"
they say,
"how can Jesus be God?"

The most obvious answer
is that Our Lord is speaking
of Himself as a man,
not in His Divinity. 

Because He does not think it
a prize to be equal in Divinity
with the Father
He humbles Himself
by being made Man,
thus giving a place
for His obedience to the Father
to show us how we must be
obedient to God.

But we human beings
are always thinking in terms
of greater and lesser,
better and worse.

That's the way our mind works.

We might say
that the Father is greater than the Son
because the Father begets the Son.

But the Father cannot be a Father
without the Son.

The relationship between 
Father and Son
reveals their identities
as two distinct persons
but a single God.

But today is Whitsun,
not Trinity Sunday.

Where's the Holy Ghost?

Shouldn't we be focussing on Him?

[PAUSE]

We see the Holy Ghost
sent from the Father 
in the Son's Name,
and yet He is often presented
as an instrument. 

Our Lady conceives by the Holy Ghost.

The Apostles speak in
foreign languages
through the Holy Ghost
Who falls upon them.

Our Sacraments bestow grace
through the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost is described as
the Spirit of God
or the Spirit of Jesus.

The Holy Ghost 
seems more like a pipeline
to the Father and the Son
rather than a distinct person
in Himself.

This won't do. 

It's not enough.

[PAUSE]

The Holy Ghost is a distinct person
from the Father and the Son.

Our Lord Himself
describes the Holy Ghost
proceeding from the Father.

But God is indivisible,
and not made of anything,
so how can anything 
proceed out of God
that is not God Himself?

This procession
shows the relationship
between the Holy Ghost
and the Father.

We sing "breathe on me,
Breath of God"
because that's the best
we little human beings
can understand what
proceeding means.

In this sense of procession
the Holy Ghost 
proceeds from the Father alone.

It is an analogy 
that shows us how
God the Holy Ghost
comes forth
from the Father
to be God in us,
in the same way 
that the Son
is begotten of the Father
to be God with us.

But if there is a relationship
with the Father
there must be 
a relationship with the Son.

And there is.

The Son is conceived by the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Ghost is breathed
upon the disciples 
through the Son.

The Word is carried on the Breath
and the Breath issues forth 
because of the Word.

The Holy Spirit 
is God.

It means that 
we worship Him,
we pray to Him,
we relate with Him.

Indeed,
we relate more with Him
than any other Person
of the Trinity.

Certainly,
we pray, "Our Father,"
and we pray, "Jesu, mercy!"
but our inner prayers
our cries of "Lord, help me!"
those fleeting flicks
of our attention to God
are present directly
to the Holy Ghost.

St Paul tells us
that every time 
we praise God
it is because the Holy Ghost
dwelling within us
gives us the ability
to praise God.

We speak through Him,
we learn through Him.

By His grace, 
He bestows Himself upon us
at our Baptism and Confirmation.

The priest says,
"the Lord be with you."
and we don't say,
the vacuous 
"and also with you,"
but rather
"and with thy spirit"
because we pray
that what our priests 
breathe out on us
is the Breath of God
in the sacraments 
they must distribute.

[PAUSE]

Our awareness of the Holy Ghost
must move away from thinking of Him
as being like spiritual petrol
which reinvigorates our faith,
but rather to recognise
His living in us.

We look upwards
to the Father. 

We look around us
to the Son.

So we must look within us
to the Holy Ghost,
and worship Him
accordingly.

Saturday, May 31, 2025

Told you so!


Sermon for the Sunday after Ascension 

It always seems
a bit odd to hear Our Lord's words
after we have witnessed
His Ascension into Heaven.

Indeed, 
what is most jarring
is that we have been hearing
his words
on the night before He dies.

And today,
the Sunday after Our Lord ascends,
we hear Him tell His disciples
that they will be killed 
for their witness to His truth.

And, having said that, 
He says,
"But these things have I told you,
that, when the time shall come,
ye may remember that 
I told you of them."

Does that mean
that during the oncoming tribulation 
that our beloved apostles endure,
the memory of this night
pops into their heads
with Jesus saying,
"told you so!"?

[PAUSE]

People who say,
"I told you so!"
are usually berating us
for not following their advice. 

"Told you so" comes with
an air of smugness
and satisfaction 
that misfortune has come upon us
because we haven't followed
someone's advice.

But we don't see that in Our Lord.

So why does He effectively say
"Told you so"
to those whom He loves
as they suffer for His sake?

Clearly He doesn't mean it like that.

Clearly, he wants them to remember 
that He has not forgotten them.

In a few hours, 
Our Lord will be dead
hanging on the cross
and it will be easy for 
the disciples to forget 
the promise of Resurrection
amid the sorrow and anguish.

[PAUSE]

But remembering 
is an activity that
we don't fully appreciate 
these days.

Remembering is not just
being able to recite your phone number
or a thousand digits of pi.

Remembering is
 literally a re-membering
- a putting back together
of an event.

For the disciples,
remembering Our Lord's words
is absolutely vital.

It is their calling,
their witness, 
their testimony of all
that Jesus says and does
in their sight.

In their persecution, 
they remember that
Our Lord told them so
and that His promises are true.

And they remember
that they have received 
the Holy Ghost,
Who proceeds from the Father
Who us sent by the Son
who comes to us
with strength - 
cum forte -
for us to use to proclaim 
the Word of God.

[PAUSE]

The night before Our Lord dies
is a night to remember, 
to piece back together,
and we do just that here in the Mass.

We are re-membering
what Our Lord told us to do.

And in re-membering 
the Last Supper
we are given the presence 
of Christ Himself 
in the Holy Sacrament
so that we, too,
like the Apostles,
may go out and tell the truth
about Christ.

And, as we increase in faith,
and see the work of God 
at our hands,
as we suffer our persecution, 
our temptation, 
our repentance,
our humiliation, 
our cross,
all for His sake, 
we will see Our Lord in His glory 
pointing to our place 
in His Kingdom
and saying,
"Told you so!"

Sunday, May 25, 2025

Asking for a beating


Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury on Rogation Sunday

Are you ready to get up
and beat the bounds, today?

Ready for a nice little walk 
around the parish?

Beating the bounds
occasionally happens today,
but not so much
and definitely not in its
traditional form.

Usually during
Rogationtide
or on Ascension Day,
the parish priest
is supposed to lead his people
to the edge of the parish 
and walk around it.

Along the way,
a group of boys,
usually choirboys or servers,
are supposed 
to beat the boundary stones
with green branches.

Often, rather than 
just beating 
the boundary stone,
it would be the boys
that were beaten
instead.

Perhaps that's something 
we could reinstate?

[PAUSE]

But why?

Why beat the boys?

The maim reason,
it appears,
is to ensure that
the next generation 
knows where 
the parish boundary is.

By beating the stones,
or beating the boys,
a clear memory of where
the parish ends
is reinforced.

This is important 
because it reinforces
the parish's legal identity
and the priest knows 
where his care ends
and the neighbouring priest's begins.

Beating the bounds
 establishes the neighbourhood.

But now you see the problem. 

Where is our boundary?

[PAUSE]

Parishes are supposed 
to share boundaries
so that there are no gaps
between where one parish stops
and another starts.

That way, 
the whole country 
can be sure 
that every community 
can find its Christian needs
met by the Church
through local priests.

If parishes have 
to cover the country,
where's our boundary?
Half of Kent?

More?

The Diocesan boundary
is the coastline of 
the British Isles!

How are we expected
to beat those bounds?

[PAUSE]

Our smallness
does sometimes seem
to be overwhelming. 

We have a big task to do
as Christians 
and so little time,
so few resources
to do it.

And we feel swamped.

We're not getting any younger
and the world is getting darker.

Let's just make sure
that we are honest 
with ourselves here,
about this.

We are small.
The task is great.
We feel swamped. 

What are we going to do?

[PAUSE]

Let's change the question
a little bit.

Instead of saying,
it's all too much,
let's say,
"this looks hard,
but what can we do?"

Let's not focus 
on our shortcomings
or on the size of the task.

Let's focus on
what we can do,
what we are doing,
what we're good at.

And make sure
that we do these things in Faith. 

[PAUSE]

We see the disciples
talking with Our Lord,
the night before He dies.

And there are only twelve.

One has gone off to betray the Christ.

The others will run away 
and say that they do not know
this Man from Nazareth.

Such failure!
Such fragility!
Such smallness!

And yet,
eleven come back
and see their Master
raised from the Dead.

And they understand. 
They see things clearly.
They know their mission.

Eleven in Christ
become the Church
because they have Faith.

And they now know what to ask for.

And how to ask.

No longer will they ask
to be the greatest
or to sit at the right hand
and left hand of Christ in glory.

Nor will they ask
not to avoid tribulation. 

They ask for blessing.
They ask for forgiveness 
for themselves 
and for their enemies.
They ask for the Truth to be known 
through them.

At their asking,
they receive the sacraments 
to give to the people of God
even as God Himself
fed multitudes with so little.

[PAUSE]

And we are so little.

It doesn't matter
for we trust that God knows
what He is doing,
and if we should find ourselves 
in tribulation,
we should not fear
because Christ has overcome the world. 

It is the World's influence
that tells us that 
because we are small
we are insignificant. 

Tell that to St Augustine 
who lands on these shores
and reinvigorates a Christianity 
that has been sidelined
following the end of
Roman occupation.

The disciples do what little they can
in Faith.

St Augustine does what little he can do
in Faith

We do what little we can do
in Faith. 

And in being faithful
we find ourselves praying 
in the Name of Jesus
and our prayers 
will be answered
- not in a worldly way,
but a Heavenly way.

[PAUSE]

Our bounds are too big
for us to beat, 
but in Christ 
there will be no limit 
to what will come
from what we truly do
in His Name..

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Wrong, wrong, wrong!


Sermon for the fourth Sunday after Easter

Have you ever
been sent to
the headteachers office
for being naughty?

How did you feel?

Scared?
Ashamed?

Or 

Defiant and smug?

[PAUSE]

Most of us 
of a certain age 
dread even the thought 
of being sent to the head's office.

The mere threat 
Is enough
to ensure that we
behave ourselves. 

These days,
things seem different. 

Teachers, the police
the judge, even the King himself
are not people 
of whom we are afraid
or even respected.

What's gone wrong?

[PAUSE]

Our Lord says,
that the Holy Spirit
will reprove
- that means say what's wrong
- the World of sin, righteousness 
and judgement. 

The Holy Ghost 
will tell the world
why it is wrong
about what sin is,
what righteousness is
and what judgement is.

It is because 
the World is wrong
about sin, righteousness 
and judgement 
that being told 
that you've done wrong
is an affront to your dignity. 

We don't like being told
that we've got things wrong,
but now
instead of being ashamed,
we believe ourselves to be so right
that we can challenge
whoever thinks we're wrong
even God Himself. 

While going to the head's office
is supposed to be a sign
of a grave fault,
it is now a place to stand up
and say that it is the Head
that has it wrong
and you are being punished
unjustly.

[PAUSE]

The World has it 
wrong about Sin
because it doesn't believe 
Our Lord's teaching about 
what sin is.

Our Lord tells us that 
remarriage after divorce 
is adultery,
that even lasting is adultery.

But the World says
that divorce is no sin
and that pornography is okay.

Our Lord tells us 
to love our enemies
but the world likes
to put feuds on display
in the papers or on the telly.

Our Lord tells us to go the extra mile.
The World tells us to go the extra mile
and then demand payment. 

The World is wrong about what sin is.

[PAUSE]

The World lives by the rule
"do what you want 
as long as you don't hurt others."

And so the World 
teaches us to be self-righteous
because it refuses
to believe that Jesus
is the Son of God
and thus the true judge
of righteousness. 

Self-righteousness 
is in direct opposition 
to the Kingship of Jesus.

We are not the source
of the rule of what is good.

To do what we want
except hurting others
does not take into account 
that what we want will 
ultimately hurt others 
without our knowledge.

That hoarding wealth
is depriving others. 

That having a second house
lying empty 
is depriving someone
of somewhere to live.

That paying a woman
to bear a child
which will be taken away from.her
is putting a value
upon both motherhood
and the life of the baby.

And then there's Abortion
which the World says
doesn't hurt anyone
because it says 
that the human foetus 
is not really alive
and so the rule about 
not hurting people
doesn't apply.

Nowhere
does the World see 
that Righteousness 
is not a thing of the World 
but sits at the Right Hand
of God the Father.

The World has got it wrong
about what righteousness is.

[PAUSE]

And woe betide us,
if we should hurt people
by telling the truth.

How awful of us Christians
to be so mean
as to oppose the marriage
of two people
of the same sex!

How awful of us Christians 
to refuse to join in
Pride Month
or wear the rainbow!

The World refuses
to be judged.

It has been sent 
to the Head's office
in its state of 
self-righteousness smugness 
full of indignation
and fury
about being judged
by the One
Whose authority 
it rejects.

So the World tells people
that because Christians 
say what sin is
they must hate people.

The World wants to convince
people that the judgement of God
is to punish,
to condemn
to cast into Hell.

Instead of a God
who becomes Man
in order to bring back
all to God.

The judgement of the World
is to punish
and push God away
and, in so doing,
locking the doors of Hell
from the inside!

The judgement of God
is to put right,
renew, restore, realign, redeem
refresh, resurrect.

The Prince of this World
is judged and found lacking
bur refuses to accept 
the judgement that will put it right.

The World is wrong about judgement.

Wrong, wrong, wrong.

[PAUSE]

We Christians are right
to believe in God 
and to accept His moral standards
and to live lives
which seek His righteousness first.

We cannot be self-righteous
because that way leads
to worldly thinking.

We must be humble
in matters of judgement 
and generous in believing
the best in people.

While we may be wrong at times 
as individuals, 
we must remember 
that Christ in His Holy Church
is not wrong
and will always draw us back.

[PAUSE]

Now that you've knocked
on the Head of the Church's door, 
what will happen when you go in?

Saturday, May 10, 2025

Just a sec

 


Sermon for the third Sunday after Easter

A little while?

The word Our Lord uses 

is mikron.

 It's a moment, a passing thought, 

an insignificant length of time. 


Our Lord might as well have said, "just a sec!"

For the apostles, that "just a sec!" 

is three days of fear, worry, 

horror and despair: 

three days which will 

change them radically.


 Yet, for the rest of us,

 our suffering goes on for years. 


It's not a second; 

it's not a micro amount of time. 


It hurts and it lasts 

seemingly forever!

In the world around us, 

we still see the effects of pain and hurt

 ricocheting backwards and forwards 

as one person,

or one people, 

seek justice for the agony 

that they are feeling. 

They want the pain to stop, 

and pain is not something 

that goes away when the body heals. 

An injury can leave the body 

with a weakness, 

and then there are 

the mental, physical and spiritual scars 

which never seem to leave. 


And so, 

many seek retribution,

 to inflict pain and suffering 

on those whom they think 

caused their sorrow.


Don't the apostles 

have emotional trauma?

 They surely can't forget 

the betrayal on Thursday, 

the blood on Friday 

and the buried on Saturday. 


They surely cannot forget 

the eyes of God Himself 

dimming into death, 

even if those eyes are now 

once again

bright and bursting with 

Life and Truth and Love. 


And the Lord says, "just a sec!" 

Isn't that a dismissal 

of all that the disciples 

have gone through?


[PAUSE]


Many people call God 

to account for 

all the heartache, misfortune 

and injustice in the world. 

"Why would a good God permit evil," 

they say, 

sometimes with 

eyes filled with their own 

hurt and outrage,

sometimes with 

the sneer of cynicism 

and even hatred for God, 

sometimes with 

an air of dismissal for any belief 

that we hold dear.


"Just a sec!"


To answer why 

our God permits evil 

is beyond our understanding. 


To know the true answer to this 

would be to know the mind of God 

and our minds are too small 

and imperfect for that. 


We can only know 

the answer to this 

when we are perfect,

and we are not perfect now. 


And what would the answer do? 

Convince the atheists and cynics? 


No. 


Some people will never be convinced, 

but God loves them so much 

as to respect their free will 

to make that choice: 


but that choice is there, 

and it comes with 

pierced hands, 

pierced feet, 

pierced head, 

pierced side 

and scourged back. 


There are wounds 

on Our Lord that never go away.


[PAUSE]


Never go away? 


That seems strange. 

Just a second or two of sorrow 

and then joy?

 Even with those wounds? 

Even with all that agony 

on the cross: 

an agony that we choose 

to remind ourselves 

with the crucifix, 

this image of our Saviour bleeding and dying?


 If we keep a crucifix, 

are we not holding on 

to sorrow and pain and death?


Of course we are! 


The fact that Our Lord keeps 

His wounds for us 

even in Eternity as 

the Lamb-that-was-slain 

means that His pain for us 

means something. 


This means that our pain, 

the pains that we suffer here and now, 

mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, 

are all met in the cross. 


We see them nailed to the cross 

on our crucifix with Our God. 


Our Lord suffers pain

because we suffer pain. 


Our Lord suffers injustice 

because we suffer injustice. 

Our Lord suffers humiliation, 

because we suffer humiliation. 


Every sorrow that 

we go through in life 

is met in Jesus, the Man of Sorrows. 


He doesn't just meet them 

on this world 

passing from moment to moment, 

but He meets them in Heaven 

where there is only the Eternal Now. 


In saying "a little while," 

He is firmly consigning 

the pains and miseries of life 

to this passing world, 

nailing them there so that

 they do not define the lives of those 

who are suffering in Him. 


He tells us that 

our suffering matters enough 

for Him to suffer and live 

with the effects of our suffering, 

but that our suffering will end: 

it will not accompany us 

into Eternal bliss with Him. 


In that sense, 

to ask "why does a good God permit evil?"

 becomes meaningless 

because the evil passes away 

as we journey in our lives 

to become perfect in Christ 

- a perfection which is only reached 

through Christ. 


We have to endure sorrow, 

and some of us must 

endure it very sorely, 

but we see the crucifix 

and Our Lord on the cross 

knowing what we are going through 

by direct experience. 


He is not comparing His suffering 

with ours, 

but sharing in our suffering 

so that we might share in His joy. 


"Just a sec"?

While God is not comparing 

His suffering with ours, 

He is showing us a taste 

of the Eternity He is offering us. 


The crucifixion matters to Him 

but is a cause for joy to Him in Eternity

 because through it we are saved, 

not a cause of sorrow 

because of the agony He went through.

 Sorrow passes away, 

but joy is Eternal. 


And us? 

We have to allow our sorrow to pass away, 

or at least permit God to take it away 

when He will. 


Some sorrow is very hard 

to let go of, 

but God says clearly 

that it is not part of our perfection in Him. 


Yet, if we use our sorrow 

to direct us to joy in Christ, 

we have the means of letting it go 

through God's gift of hope.

This is why we glory 

in the cross of Christ,

 for by that cross, 

Christ has overcome the world. 


This is why we venerate Christ's cross 

and our own crosses that we bear. 


Alleluia!


Saturday, May 03, 2025

Crooks and Bishops

 


Sermon for the second Sunday after Easter

We’ve all felt threatened
when the bishop reaches out his hand
for his crosier.

That large wooden
shepherd’s hook looks
as if it could do some
mighty damage
and, often,
you may wonder legitimately
whether it is used for dragging
an errant dean
or archdeacon out of the pulpit
in the middle of
their very boring
“blah blah blah” sermons.

Of course,
you know that
the crosier is a symbol
for the pastoral office
of the bishop. 

It is a form of
the shepherd’s crook
used for
managing the sheep,
pulling them out of danger,
protecting them against predators 
and,
while not used for grabbing
and clonking hungry wolves
on the head,
it serves as a walking stick
to steady the shepherd
over hill and dale.

Today,
as we reflect upon
Christ the Good Shepherd,
we think of how appropriate it is
for bishops to carry the crosier.

They have to embody
the life of the good shepherd
and not that of the hireling.

The shepherd invests himself 
in the welfare of the sheep,
even lying down,
in front of the doorway
to the sheepfold
acting as a door
keeping sheep in
and dangers out.

Hirelings 
have no investment in the sheep
whatsoever.

Their only concern 
is that they get their pay
at the end of the day
and go home.

The Good Shepherd does not,
but lives his life
with the sheep in his care.

Only the shepherd 
needs the crosier
for he uses it 
to demonstrate 
his investment in the sheep.

The hireling
does not care if
a sheep gets injured
- there are others.

The hireling
does care if a wolf enters the scene
because he then scarpers
leaving the flock 
rather than confront the evil.

The hireling 
needs only a simple stick 
to steady himself,
but then, 
he wouldn't need to wander
in treacherous places
where he might fall down.

The hireling 
is not worthy of a crook.

The hireling 
is not worthy of a crosier.

[PAUSE]

We can be sure
that a bishop who wields
his crosier well
will grab us
when we go astray
through his sound learning
and concern for our spiritual growth. 

He will stand up
and clonk evil on the head
with the authority given to him
through the Apostles
by Our Lord Jesus Christ,
and he will use the strength
of the Good Shepherd
to steady himself
on the rough terrain of life. 

As Psalm 23 says of Christ,
“His rod and staff comfort me.”
and He has given that staff
to us in the crosier.

[PAUSE]

We must,
therefore ensure that 
we choose our bishops with care.

We will see their suitability
by what they invest 
of themselves in the Church.

We shall see them
in how they are prepared
to lay themselves down
for the sheep 
entrusted to them.

To them will be given 
the crosier
and this crosier is not given
by men
but by God
for the bishop to exercise
authority over the Church.

The crosier is passed down
from bishop to bishop
just as the authority is passed down
from bishop to bishop
beginning with the Holy Apostles
and their great commission 
to make disciples of all lands.

[PAUSE]

We pray for our bishops
in the onerous nature 
of what has been entrusted to them.

They may fall
like any one of us
but the good bishop
will pick himself up,
dust himself down
and start all over again
seeking the good of his flock.

The hireling will not.

If a hireling falls,
he will cover it up
pull rank 
and blame everyone else.

[PAUSE]

The hireling is a crook.
The bishop holds a crook.
That's the crucial difference.

Sunday, April 27, 2025

My, my, my!

 


Sermon for the installation of the Dean of the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury

Welcome to MY Cathedral!
MY Church!
MY parish!

[PAUSE]

Understandably,
an air of worry has crossed your faces,
and a certain discomfort
has entered into your hearts.

This doesn’t bode well!

What have we let ourselves in for?

Has the Bishop
installed a lunatic
as Dean?

Are we in for
longer sermons?
more miserable hymns?
compulsory confession
of all sins?
hymn numbers which aren’t
central on the hymnboard?

But this is MY Cathedral,
MY Church,
MY Parish.

Let’s not be mistaking that.

But let us also remember
that language is more complicated
than first we think.

[PAUSE]

“My” is a pronoun,
and we know how much
pronouns cause trouble
in this day and age.

People talk of “MY pronouns.”

You remember that
pronouns stand for nouns.

They are supposed
to make our language easier.

We don’t say,

“The Archdeacon set fire
to the Archdeacon’s
Canterbury Cap
with the Archdeacon’s flame thrower.”

We say,

“The Archdeacon
set fire to his Canterbury Cap
with his flame thrower.”

“His,” there, is the pronoun
standing for the Archdeacon.

But we are dealing
with personal pronouns.

And personal pronouns
must reflect our relationships
with things.

“MY Church!
MY Cathedral!
MY Parish!”

Did you immediately think
that “MY” means ownership
or control?

Does the “his” in “his cathedral”
mean the same as “his”
in “his Canterbury Cap?”

[PAUSE]

Well, does “his” in “his mother”
mean the same as “his”
in “his Canterbury Cap”?

Clearly not!

We don’t own
our mothers.

The “his” in “his mother”
means something different.

It tells us of his relationship
with a particular woman.

We hear St Thomas declare,
“my Lord and my God!”
but that’s not the same “my”
in “my Canterbury Cap
and my flame thrower.”

That’s as far from
being an owner or controller
as you can get.

[PAUSE]

When St Thomas says,
“my Lord and my God,”
what does he mean?

He’s being very specific.

He’s not only recognising

Jesus to be truly Lord and God,
but he is also making clear
his own relationship to him.

In saying “my,”
St Thomas is submitting himself
to the truth
that Jesus is Lord and God
and is worshipping Him
as such.

St Thomas
seeks that relationship
that connection between
himself and the Lord God of all.

In saying “my,”
St Thomas commits himself
to this One God,
and recognises that
he is not his own self anymore.

Rather than seeking
to possess and control,
St Thomas is relinquishing
possession and control
of his own self
and returning them to God.

Rather than using “my”
to draw into his possession,
St Thomas is using “my”
to give of himself.

[PAUSE]

These days,
pronouns have
become controversial
because they are always seen
as something to be possessed
and something to control
how others speak
and even speak of us!

But we see that
pronouns aren’t always
about possession,
they point to relationships
and things we value.

Each one of us can say,
quite legitimately,
“MY Cathedral,
MY Church,
MY Parish,”
even with that emphasis!

But our meaning
is not how the world
would have it.

The Devil would have us
try to possess
rather than
to give of ourselves,
because possession
separates us from each other
and from God.

Giving of ourselves
does the opposite.

It forges relationships
that join us together
and secures our salvation in Christ
not as individuals
but as a Church.

To say, “MY Church” properly
is to announce our commitment
to bringing people to Christ
and joining ourselves to them
in order that they might be saved
with us.

To say, “MY Cathedral” properly
is to announce our commitment
to being Catholic
through submitting to the authority
of our Bishop
even as he submits himself
to the authority of the same Church
in her antiquity,
her universality
and her faith.

To say “MY parish” properly
means to commit ourselves
to the upkeep of our community
to accept responsibility
for the maintenance of this building
and of its worship,
and make it a place
in which we can welcome
anyone and everyone
who enters through that door.

[PAUSE]

Welcome to MY Cathedral!
MY Church!
MY Parish!

Welcome,
MY Father in God,
MY brothers and sisters.

You have MY prayers.


Saturday, April 19, 2025

Traumatic Joy

Sermon for the Day of Resurrection 

How can things
ever be the same again?

On Friday,
we watch That Man
in agony upon the cross
struggling to breath,
bleeding,
torn,
naked,
humiliated,
suffering a punishment 
that the Romans has designed
specifically 
to be the worst execution
imaginable. 

We watch
as His holy heart
gives out under the trauma
and He breathes His last
with that one last cry.

A cry of triumph!

A cry of triumph?

"IT IS FINISHED!"

[PAUSE]

It is finished.

He cries out
not of His life
but of the power of death.

He bursts through Death's door 
and having broken it open,
jumps through it,
plummeting into the darkness
but bringing, 
with His human nature,
the Eternal Light of Divinity.

And all we see
is His dead body,
the last drops 
of His precious blood 
dripping from His side
onto the ground.

For us,
there are tears, weeping,
confusion, despair.

How can things 
ever be the same again?

[PAUSE]

A broken heart,
crying bitterly in the garden,
remembers
all the gruesome agonies
inflicted on the One 
Whose crime was to love,
not carnally,
not condescendingly,
not possessively.

His one crime 
- to love so much
that death upon the cross
would not hold Him back
from telling the truth
that you matter.

You matter enough
not only to be created
not only to be valued
but enough to be saved
from the darkness within you
and brought face to face 
with your creator in Eternity.

And for this
His body is bruised
and abused
and torn and pierced.

And for this
the broken heart cries
in the garden
by the empty tomb.

[PAUSE]

"Mary."

It's the mention of her name
that brings her to her senses.

Just as her name was spoken
before the world began
to bring her into being,
so her name again brings her
into being once more
brings her back to the feet
of the One Who died for Love.

"My teacher!"

To see Him alive before her
what joy!
What joy indeed
but what confusion.

Friday happened.

The agony happened.
The crucifixion happened.

There in His hands.
There in His feet.
There in His side.
There is still the crucifixion.
It is not taken away.
not undone, 
not nullified.

How can Mary begin
to process this?

And yet,
all she sees 
is Him alive
so much more alive
than she has ever seen Him.

If crucifixion cannot break Him,
then what can?

But the crucifixion happened 
and
in His hands, feet and side,
that crucifixion will not be erased
for they are proof of love, 
badges of honour,
commitment to all those
who suffer agony in life. 

While He bears His wounds
we see our own wounds
inflicted upon us 
by the Darkness that 
wants to possess us
but cannot.

For while we suffer 
the trauma of living
and place all that trauma
into the wounds of Christ,
we reject any claim
that the Devil makes
on our lives.

We live,
each one of us
with the agonies
that Life inflicts on us
that others inflict on us
that we inflict on ourselves,
and,
intermingled with those agonise
there is the Resurrected Lord.

Joy in the midst of pain. 

Not happiness,
because happiness 
is a thing of chance 
and Earthly expectation.

But Joy 
- the knowledge that with our death
our suffering is given meaning
and worth.

Because we bear our cross
with Him
to the bitter end,
unlike Judas,
we shall be raised 
with Him.

In trauma there is Joy,
for trauma ends with 
the the shout of triumph
"IT IS FINISHED!"
before Death itself
is broken to pieces.

How can things 
ever be the same again?

Monday, April 14, 2025

Saturday, April 12, 2025

A question for Palm Sunday 2025


As we listen to the Long Gospel, how is the labour of our lives reflected in the Passion of Our Lord? How is our hard work sanctified?

Saturday, April 05, 2025

Six of one and half a dozen of the other


Sermon for Passion Sunday

There are so many arguments 
going on these days, 
particularly on Social Media.

Everyone is convinced
that they are right
and they will not be
corrected by anyone.

If anything, 
online arguments 
make things worse.

[PAUSE]

What we see constantly 
is that whatever argument
someone gives,
their opponent will twist the words
or seek to invalidate them
by denying their value.

Online arguments 
are usually between people 
who are right
in their own eyes.

Worse still,
arguments like these 
between Christians
usually end up with the phrase,
"well, you're not really Christian then,
are you?"

Arguments between Christians
usually end up 
with one side grabbing Christ
and saying,
"look, we possess Him,
you are wrong and not really of Him."

And, rather than being grabbed,
Our Lord just passes through them, 
hides Himself 
and leaves the temple.

[PAUSE]

Here on Passion Sunday, 
we see Our Lord
facing a concerted argument
with the Pharisees
who are demanding 
His submission to their 
regulation of His ministry.

The Pharisees are always right:
they are supremely authoritative 
in the Law
and ensuring that others
are bound by that Law
despite breaking it themselves
with the excuse of 
their own self-justification.

They will not listen to Christ
because they are convinced 
that He cannot be Christ
because He does not agree with them.

To the outsider,
this looks like one of 
those online debates
with one group of authorities 
arguing with a maverick preacher.

As arguments go,
it looks like six of one
and half a dozen of the other.

Except that the maverick preacher
suddenly says something 
that the others find blasphemous 
and they try to stone Him.

But He disappears from view
and that's the end of the argument.

But the Church is always 
involved in arguments.

How can we be sure
that we aren't the Pharisees?

[PAUSE]

"He who that is of God
listens to God."

This must be the defining aspect
of any engagement that we have
as Christians in any debate.

The great Oecumenical Councils
look very much like
some of the online arguments. 

Passions run high,
there is shouting 
cursing, brawls, 
even, sad to say, murder.

We Christians cannot escape 
the fact the our founding councils
were not organised debates.

But it isn't the loud, angry debates themselves 
that have lasted.

It is the doctrine that has come forth
that has lasted 
and has been accepted 
by the Catholic Church
because the Church is of God 
and so it listens to God.

The fact that we know
that Christ is of the same substance 
as the Father
is because 
the Church listens to God.

It is after the noise of the debate
that the truth comes out
but only for those 
who are willing to challenge
their own position 
in the argument. 

It is only after the Resurrection 
that the self-righteous hypocrisy 
of the Pharisees is truly revealed.

They seek to win the debate
there and then
by playing the blasphemy card,
and picking up the stones.

The Church cannot seek
to win debates
when it seeks to win hearts
just as Christ seeks to win our hearts
and thus procure Our Salvation 
through His Cross.

The Church knows that
the same old arguments, 
the same old heresies
and the same old insults
will happen again and again.

But the Church, 
rather than seeking to end the debate
continues to listen to God
and pray for the Salvation of souls.

The true Church seeks not
the death of a sinner
because Her Master
seeks not the death of a sinner.

This is what marks the Church out
from other authorities:
its purpose must be Love:
leading people back to God
and giving them the nourishment 
of the Sacraments He instituted.

[PAUSE]

The Pharisees' debate 
ends definitively with the 
destruction of the temple.

But before then 
their argument is mortally wounded 
upon the Cross.

Their argument is self-serving
and ends in self-destruction.

Christ's argument is life-giving
and endures even death.

In an online debate 
listen not to the argument
but to what God is saying to you.

Arguments are usually 
six of one,
and half a dozen of the other.

But only Christ's teaching
preserved by the twelve apostles 
will be the Truth.