A literal Creation for Anglican Catholics?

 Is it necessary for Anglican Catholics to believe the Science of Creation?

Two blind, two see

 

Sermon for Quinquagesima preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury

How's your eyesight?

Some of us are lucky

and have perfect vision.

Some of us

can discern that 

one of the altar candles

is adrift from upright

by one twenty-seventh

of a degree,

or an n dash from an m dash

at 100 paces.

Lots of people wear glasses these days.

Is that because

watching too many screens

is making our eyesight bad

or is it because

opticians are now very good 

at picking up

subtle problems with 

our eyesight?

We can now correct

all manner of problems

with spectacles

or contact lenses

or even low-level surgery.

What do you think

is the most difficult

problem with our sight

for us to correct?

[PAUSE]

Have you gone for 

the most obvious answer?

Not having eyes at all?

Absolutely.

Trying to fit

an earthworm 

with contact lenses

is raising futility to a high art.

Yet we know

that Our Lord heals the blind.

That includes those blinded

by diseases,

and it also includes those

born blind.

In fact, 

if you look at that

instance where Our Lord

heals the man born blind

we can reasonably infer

that the man was born without eyes

or eyes so deformed 

that they actually need

to be re-created 

which our Lord does do

with the dust of the earth,

demonstrating clearly

that He is the Creator.

What is interesting today

in St Luke's record of the Gospel,

we hear of two blindnesses

but only one that is healed

- at least only one 

that is healed straightaway.

[PAUSE]

St Luke tells us of the situation

in which Our Lord lets 

His confused disciples know

that He is going to Jerusalem

for the last time. 

On that last trip to Jerusalem

they encounter a blind man at Jericho

who is calling to the Son of David 

to have mercy upon him.

He shouts out in his blindness,

recognising

that there is one near

who can restore his sight.

He sees wirhout seeing.

His faith saves him,

and by 'save' here, 

we can understand the word 'heals'

for 'salvation' and 'health' 

are two sides of the same coin.

So there's one blindness.

Did you spot the other blindness?

[PAUSE]

There, right at the beginning!

Our Lord tells his disciples

that He is going to Jerusalem

to be crucified.

They do not understand.

They do not see.

And they won't see,

not until the events of Good Friday

are played out

in front of them.

Only when

they see Him appear to them

in the flesh

do they understand Him

- they see what He is on about.

There is a sight of the eye

and the sight of the mind's eye.

The blind man sees 

Christ in his mind's eye

but not with his fleshly eyes.

The disciples see

Christ with their fleshly eyes,

but not in their mind's eye.

The Lord heals both.

As Our Saviour

- our restorer to our full health

in God,

He reveals His love

in revealing to us

the God to Whom 

we have been blind

since our Fall 

in the Garden of Eden.

Yet we still hear

the Atheist say to us

"Show us your God!

Show Him and we will believe.

Seeing is believing!"

What do we do then?

How do we respond?

Especially when

we do not see Our Lord

among us.

[PAUSE]

We might point

to the Eucharist

where we see Our Lord

under the appearance

of bread and wine.

But, as St Thomas Aquinas points out

Our Lord is truly present,

Body, Soul, Humanity

and Divinity,

but that He is seen

with eyes of faith.

He is not seen 

through microscopes,

telescopes,

oscilloscopes

or periscopes,

or even kalaidoscopes.

He is present with us

for us to see

with our eyes of faith,

- the same eyes

with which the Apostles

see Him

until their last earthly breath

and their first heavenly breath.

Those who do not believe

will not see Him

in the Most Holy Sacrament,

because they are blind.

For them to ask us

to show Him to them

is impossible

for their mind's eye is blind.

All we can do

is just bear witness to 

what we see,

what the Apostles see,

what the Church sees

in the hope that the eyes of faith

may be opened 

in the eyes of those 

whose mind is blind.

And what do we see?

[PAUSE]

We see a man,

a healer,

a teacher,

a preacher,

a giver of faith, hope and love.

We see a man,

mocked,

spat on,

flogged,

and crucified

for the love of each one of us.

And we see a tomb,

an empty tomb,

and, with our eyes of faith

we see Him who

once occupied it.

That is what we see

and that is what we show the world

in the hope that

that which is now blind

may soon see.

An Anglican Catholic meets Hypatia

 

Why the conflict between St Cyril of Alexandria and Hypatia has far-reaching consequences.

Sowing a tale of two Kingdoms?

Sermon for Sexagesima Sunday

What is the Kingdom of God like?

We know that 

when Jesus utters these words,

He is telling us something

about the way

God rules His Kingdom.

As we hear 

His parable of the sower,

are we being told

something 

of the Kingdom of God?

[PAUSE]

It seems that the answer is, "no."

First, we see Jesus

addressing the crowd,

and He begins straightaway,

"A sower went out 

to sow His seed..."

He does not begin

with "The Kingdom of God is like..."

Is the parable of the sower

about the Kingdom of God?

If not, then what is Jesus 

telling us?

[PAUSE]

It's after talking to the crowds

that the disciples ask about 

this parable,

and Jesus tells them

that this is about 

the Kingdom of God.

He tells them

that it is for them

to know the mysteries

of the Kingdom of God,

but for the others

they may only know the parable.

Why is that?

Listen to the parable of the sower.

A sower sows seed.

Some goes by the wayside

and gets trodden on and eaten by birds.

Some goes on rock

and withers away through lack of soil.

Some goes into the thorn bush

where it is choked up.

Some goes into good soil

where it thrives.

What is this telling us about

the Kingdom of God?

What is this telling us about

the way that God rules

His kingdom?

[PAUSE]

Turn the focus 

on the sower.

He sows seed.

He sows it everywhere.

Everywhere He can,

He casts seed

giving it every opportunity

to grow.

Jesus tells us

that this seed

is the Word of God.

It's Him.

Jesus is being sown

- sown everwhere.

Everyone has the opportunity

to receive the Word of God,

but many receive Him

on their terms

and not God's.

Some just let the Gospel

get trodden underfoot

and taken away by the Devil.

They hear the Word of God

and say, "who cares?"

Some receive the Gospel,

but don't pay it any real attention.

They say of Jesus, "oh He's nice!"

and then give Him not a further

sensible thought.

Some receive the Gospel

and try to turn it

into a thing of the word,

tangling it up

with politics, ideologies,

capital, finance,

social justice

and liberation.

They choke the meaning

of the Word of God.

They have their salvation,

and then they lose it.

All of these hear the Gospel

preached in a parable

because they have

only their agendas

and reject the Kingdom of God.

Something else rules them.

But notice 

how they still hear

the Gospel preached

because the Heavenly Sower

still wants them 

to hear the Word of God.

The seed is there for them

to receive,

and it is upto them

to let it grow.

[PAUSE]

We are given this opportunity

to receive the Kingdom of God.

If we are given a parable,

do we want to know what it means?

If we do,

if it niggles us,

if it confuses us,

if it makes us want

to come to Jesus and say,

"Please Lord, explain it to us!"

then it has done its job.

It has done its job

because it has given us

the opportunity to become

a member of the Kingdom of God,

by bringing us

to the King Himself.

If we accept His rule

and allow His love

to grow within our lives

then we will bear fruit

and enter into His courts

bringing our sheaves with us

rejoicing.

This is the seed 

that is sown in us

and we are here

in church

to let it grow.

God's generosity

means we get to 

hear His Word,

but does it matter enough

to us

to want to

understand it

- really understand it?

An Anglican Catholic makes a presentation

 

Why Candlemas is an.enlightening feast.

Liking the Kingdom of Heaven

Sermon for Septuagesima

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like..."

Our Lord says these words

several times,

but He usually goes on

to compare the Kingdom of Heaven

to something that doesn't 

seem to make sense. 

The Kingdom.of Heaven

is like workers working in a vineyard.

But it's also like a grain of mustard seed.

It's like leaven in bread dough,

treasure in a field,

a merchant man seeking goodly pearls,

a net cast into the sea,

a householder with treasures old and new,

and a marriage for the King's son.

Eight times Our Lord

tells us what 

the Kingdom of God

is like

and all only in

St Matthew's Gospel.

We hear Our Lord

describe a situation

in a parable

nut leaves us looking

for where the Kingdom of Heaven

actually is.

Look at this parable 

of the vineyard,

we see the labourers

some come at the beginning 

of the day

agree a fair price

and start work.

We see some labourers

coming in the middle of the day

even at the eleventh hour

and getting the same wages.

This is what 

the Kingdom of God is like,

but it's a struggle to see

where it is.

[PAUSE]

We can see the King,

that's clearly the owner

of the vineyard.

But who are his subjects?

The labourers?

Does that mean

that the Kingdom.of Heaven

contains people

who are invited in

to do some work

for wages?

Does that mean

that the Kingdom of Heaven

contains people

who complain about

how much they are being paid?

That doesn't ring true

with the idea of 

the Kingdom of Heaven

being a place of everlasting joy.

In this parable,

we see the king

but where are his subjects?

[PAUSE]

Perhaps we're looking

at the wrong thing.

We have an idea

of there being eternal joy

and bliss 

in the Kingdom of Heaven,

but perhaps

in these eight parables,

these eight ways of saying

what the Kingdom of God is like

we aren't actually looking at it

like a place on a map.

We aren't looking about

who is the king

and where is his castle

and what the Lord Chamberlain

had for breakfast.

Perhaps these parables

are more about 

how Our Lord

governs His Kingdom.

[PAUSE]

This makes sense

for this parable of the vineyard.

The focus is not 

on the labourers

it's on the fact that

the Owner gives

the same fair wage

to those who came late.

It's about his fairness

(no one gets diddled)

and his generosity

(he can use his money how he likes).

This is what we can expect

the Kingdom of Heaven

to be like.

The generosity of God

is so great

that it is scandalous

to those

who have a worldly way

of thinking.

The invitation for us

to enter Kingdom is there

and our work for that Kingdom

will not go unrewarded.

It is interesting to note

that only those

who complain about their wage

get told to go their way.

In refusing to see generosity

and accepting that

this is the way things are,

they find themselves 

out if the vineyard

with their wage

but none of the appreciation

of the Owner's willingness

to give good things.

[PAUSE]

God shows us

how He rules His kingdom.

He shows us the terms

that we can expect

and the price of entry,

but also how warm it is,

how full of love and joy.

We accept it 

on His terms,

not ours.

He is King

after all,

and Who is like Him?

Anglican Catholicism and Church Music

 

Why we need to hold Church music to high standards.

Conversion Contradicted

Sermon for the feast of the Conversion of St Paul

There are those

who read the bible

looking for any excuse

to find contradictions.

The story of St Paul's conversion

is mentioned three times

in the book of Acts

but they are not all the same.

The conversion is related

by St Luke as part of the narrative

in chapter 9

and then twice more 

in chapters 22 and 26

as St Paul tells the story to others.

People tend to focus on

the fact that these accounts differ.

There is some inconsistency

about whether everyone ses the light

or hears the voice,

or whether everyone falls down.

If you read these accounts

for yourselves,

you might come away 

not really knowing

how those travelling with St Paul

bear witness to what happened.

But does something happen,

or is it all in St Paul's head

- a result of a seizure,

or a stroke,

or an hallucination?

[PAUSE]

First,

we can be sure that

something is happening.

Before Damascus,

Saul is breathing out

fire and threatenings

against Christians.

In Damascus,

Saul becomes Paul

and seeks to serve 

the One whom he persecutes.

In many ways,

the evidence of St Paul's ministry

speaks for itself.

You know his letters.

They are reasoned,

passionate,

compassionate,

intelligent,

spiritual

and full of the praise of God.

That's evidence enough

that something is happening

on the Road to Damascus.

Second,

those around St Paul,

are affected.

St Paul himself may not be

fully aware of what others are seeing

but then, he is rather more concerned

with the Voice calling him out

for persecuting the King of Heaven.

In the confusion,

some of the others may see the light

some may hear the voice,

some may understand the voice,

some may have fallen down.

It depends who you ask!

And in the confusion

not all may experience

exactly the same thing.

What matters

is that the event is about

one man's conversion,

one man's redemptiom

and one man's shame being turned

to his praise.

This is his experience

and that experience

can be supported 

by those who were there

and by those who owe

their coming to faith

by the persecutor

turned apostle.

[PAUSE]

And the conversion 

still has an affect on us,

twenty centuries later.

We have to reconcile

the persecutor with the apostle.

We have to reconcile the man

rejoicing in the death 

of St Stephen

with the man rejoicing

in the strength of the Church

as the executioner

ends his life.

They are the same man.

And it shows why

we must love those 

who persecute us.

We can't hate Saul,

because then we hate Paul.

How can we hate Paul

even when he is Saul?

To see him 

before his conversion

is to see ourselves

before ours.

We have to start 

somewhere.

The Christians that Saul kills

are those Christians

who welcome him into heaven

with cries of joy

and warmth and love.

That's how we need to be:

loving our enemies,

accepting persecution with joy!

This attitude makes us

contradictions in this world

but perfect sense in heaven.

This attitude

helps Sauls become Pauls

and allows Heaven to ring with joy

over each repentant sinner.

And if Sauls become Pauls

then the Christian faith

is enriched upon the earth

allowing

for more conversions

from contradictions.

Christian Unity? What's that?

 

What are we praying for when we pray for Christian Unity?

Witnessing Epiphany

Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine on the Second Sunday after the Epiphany

If the Wedding at Cana

is Our Lord's first miracle,

why is it only St John

who records it in his gospel?

Why is it not mentioned

by Matthew, Mark or Luke?

This is clearly 

an important miracle -

so important

that we remember it

as the only miracle

Our Lord performs

at the Feast of the Epiphany -

and yet,

only John records it.

Why?

[PAUSE]

Let's look at this 

from a slightly different angle.

Who is invited to this wedding?

Well, 

first we are told

that the mother of Jesus is there.

It isn't Jesus first.

For this reason,

we could say that

perhaps 

Our Lady was known 

to the couple getting married.

This would make sense

as it is on the strength 

of her invitation

that Our Lord is invited.

And because He is invited,

so are His disciples.

His disciples?

He has disciples 

before He performs 

miracles?

Which ones?

[PAUSE]

It's there in the Gospels.

St Matthew says that 

before He starts ministering

in Galilee,

Our Lord already has

Peter, Andrew, James and John

with Him.

St Matthew won't become a disciple

until Our Lord's ministry

is well-established.

So we see a reason 

why St Matthew

doesn't record the Wedding at Cana.

St Luke and St Mark 

are not apostles,

so they aren't there either

and, while

they get their information

from St Peter and Our Lady

they clearly do not receive

the eyewitness testimony

of the Wedding at Cana.

But St John is there.

St John sees

and St John tells us.

St John

is an eyewitness 

to the Wedding at Cana.

Who are the other witnesses

to the Epiphany?

[PAUSE]

Our Lady sees the Magi,

and she must be the one who tells 

St Matthew.

St John Baptist

is a witness to the Baptism of Our Lord

and all the Gospel writers

mention it

though only

St John and St Luke

go into detail about it.

So,

of all the Gospel writers,

the only one

who has a direct link

to the Epiphany

is St John.

And this is quite remarkable.

[PAUSE]

St John sees Our Lord

as his best friend

and His True God.

While the other Gospel writers

are completwly faithful to their sources

such as St Peter, St Andrew

and Our Lady,

only St John's Gospel 

Is written

in that space where

God and Man 

can be seen to meet.

In St John's Gospel,

the Baptism of Our Lord

is immediately joined

with the Wedding at Cana.

Why?

Because what St John shows us

is the nature of the sacraments

which bind us to God.

The Baptism of Our Lord

is linked inextricably

with our baptism.

His presence at a wedding

sanctifies that wedding

giving grace to 

our human relationships

and enriching our earthly life.

And, later on,

there is one more miracle

performed by Our Lord

that is so unique

that it is the only miracle

mentioned in all four gospels.

Just one.

The feeding of the 5000

which St John

directly links

with the Holy Eucharist.

[PAUSE]

Of course the other Gospels

are in their own ways

uniquely important

in telling us the same good news.

All four are equally authoritative

and give the truth about Our Saviour,

but each one has an emphasis

that gives us a view 

of Who Our Lord Is.

[PAUSE]

Only St John tells us about Cana,

because St John

is the one who speaks 

of his experience 

in touching the Divine.

He shows us Cana

as something

which nourishes us

as we feel the sweet wine

trickling down our throats

and gladdening our hearts.

And He shows us 

that this wine that Jesus gives us

is ours at our asking

for Eternity.

No disrespect

to the other Evangelists,

but only St John can show us that.

But what he shows us

is that we can believe

his testimony is true.

And his testimony

backs up

the testimony

of the other Evangelists.

Matthew, Mark,

Luke and John

aren't recording stories,

they are recording history

and they are recording truth

about Our Lord's Epiphany.

Not just the Epiphany

of Magi, Jordan and Cana,

but the full Epiphany

of the whole Incarnation

of God-made-Man.

This is the truth

and we believe it

and, as a result,

the gates of Heaven

are wide open for us

as we continue in the truth

of the same Epiphany of Christ.

Politics and the Anglican Catholic Family

 

Why we need to learn to be part of a family again.

Revealing revelation

Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of the Epiphany

What is the Epiphany?

What are we actually celebrating?

Some Churches will say

the visit of the Magi

to the Christ child.

Some Churches will say

the Baptism of the Lord

by St John Baptist.

Some Churches will say

the first miracle

at the wedding in Cana.

Some Churches will say

all three.

Who's right?

The answer is: 

yes.

They are all right.

They all right

because in some sense

it doesn't matter.

That's not to say

that the Magi, the Jordan or the Wedding

are not important

nor are they irrelevant

but rather they are all the Epiphany

Each one is the Epiphany

single and entire of itself.

When He performs His miracles

- His works of wonder -

Our Lord asks the Pharisees,

"for which of these works do ye stone me?"

He might be asking us,

"which of these miracles is my epiphany?"

Or is the Cross the Epiphany?

Or the Resurrection?

[PAUSE]

When we celebrate the Epiphany,

we do have those three events

- Magi, Jordan, Wedding -

in our minds

and we have them in mind

because they are firsts:

the first time

Our Lord is recognised by gentiles,

the first sacrament;

is made available for us to receive

God's grace;

the first miracle Our Lord

performs.

That's why they are linked 

with the Epiphany.

But for Bartimaeus,

the Epiphany is having 

his eyes healed.

For St Mary Magdalene

the Epiphany 

is having seven devils

cast from her.

For St Dismas, 

the penitent thief,

the Epiphany

is recognising

Who is on the 

next cross beside him.

These are their Epiphanies.

These are their

first encounters with Christ.

[PAUSE]

When we celebrate the Epiphany,

we are not technically celebrating

the events of Magi, Jordan or Wedding

in themselves.

We are celebrating

the fact that Christ is revealed

as God Imcarnate.

We are celebrating the fact

that Christ has revealed Himself

in some way to you.

We are celebrating

that thing, that event, that reason

why you have come to Church today.

[PAUSE]

Of course,

that thing, that event, that reason,

might be a death of a loved one,

or a longing for the pain to stop.

That's not what we are celebrating,

for there your have our codolences 

and prayers.

What we are celebrating 

is that something 

which told you

that coming to Church might help you;

that something

has given you cause for hope

in your pain;

that something may dignify

your sorrow with a response

and show you that you,

in your grief,

you matter and are seen.

We are celebrating the fact

that God reveals Himself to us

by being Incarnate.

Every word He speaks,

every action He performs

is a revelation 

- an epiphany -

that He is here

and that He is here for love of us

as individuals.

God so loves the world

that He sends His only begotten Son

into the world,

not to condemn the world

but to save it.

And this fact too

is a revelation of His purpose.

There is no hidden,

ulterior motive.

It is made clear for us.

[PAUSE]

So what shall we celebrate 

at the Epiphany?

Celebrate the reason

why you're here.

Celebrate how Jesus

is making Himself known to you.

And celebrate in a way

that you may make this epiphany

known to all around you.

Anglican Catholicism: St Louis and the Formularies

 How the Anglican Formularies and the Affirmation of St Louis are related.

Branching out of Nazareth

Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury for the second Sunday after Christmas

Can St Matthew be wrong?

He says of Our Lord 

that the prophets say,

"He shall be called a Nazarene."

Which prophets?

Bethlehem is prophesied

by Micah.

Egypt is mentioned by

Hosea.

But who mentions Nazareth?

Any ideas?

Neither have the scholars!

Where on earth 

has St Matthew plucked this?

Is he misreading 

the Old Testament prophets?

Is he referring to a prophet

that isn't in the Old Testament?

Or is his memory failing?

[PAUSE]

St Jerome tells us

to be fair.

He reminds us

that St Matthew doesn't 

mention a specific prophet

or specific prophecy

but is rather 

referring to a fact

borne out the combined

testimony of the prophets.

We're used to this.

The Holy Trinity

isn't mentioned

explicitly in the Bible.

But the doctrine is there

when you put the pieces together.

St Matthew isn't talking

about one prophet.

He's putting the pieces 

of the prophets together.

]PAUSE]

You see Nazareth

sounds a lot like 

Netser which is Aramaic

for branch.

Both Jeremiah 

snd Isaiah refer

to Our Lord as being

a branch out of David's line.

So, this is one reason

why Our Lord

is called a Nazarene.

But there is another possibility

which goes along with that.

The Prophet Isaiah

says that the Messiah

will be despised and rejected,

of little account,

having no beauty.

Nazareth is famous

for being less glamorous

than Chatham docks 

after the dockers

have spent New Year's Eve

at a dodgy curry house.

It does not have a good reputation.

Indeed, you remember that

St Nathanael asks,

"Can anything good 

come out of Nazareth?"

This is in keeping

with a baby born in a stable

laid in a cattle trough

who will dine

with the prostitutes

and tax collectors

and die a cruel 

and humiliating death

with thieves.

If Nazareth is the dunghill of Judaea,

then Our Lord's life of humility

shows that He is indeed called

a Nazarene.

And from dunghills,

branches can grow and flourish.

[PAUSE]

You see why

St Matthew cannot identify

a single prophet

because Our Lord's life and work

is encoded 

in the entirety of the Old Testament.

We may see Him.

in poverty in Isaiah,

as a cuckold in Hosea,

as the blossoming rod of Aaron

as the Son of Man in Daniel

even, possibly,

as Melchizedek

or one of the visitors to Abraham.

Just like St Matthew

might struggle

to find explicit, specific references

to Our Lord in the Old Testament,

so we might struggle to see Him

explicitly and specifically, 

not just in the Old Testament

but here and now.

While it is good

to have something concrete

to refer to,

Our Lord,

the Word of God,

is written on our hearts

more than just on the page.

Our life of prayer

is as much about 

knowing His presence with us

as it is knowing what is

written about Him in the Bible.

Internal presence

and external book:

both are important.

And both are united

through the grace of the Sacrament,

because that's what sacraments do.

They nourish the soul

through physical means.

[PAUSE]

But we do have to remember

that in opening our hearts 

to Christ,

we open our hearts

to a Nazarene,

the lowest of the low,

the one who challenges us

not to feel contempt.

Our Lord's humility

challenges us to be humble.

If we are wise,

we must learn to see ourselves

as Nazarenes

from which the branch of David

can grow

live and thrive.

That's not to say

that we are worthless,

because the Incarnation

says we are worth more

than we know.

It's more that

we should recognise

the cheapness of the World around

and trust God 

to lead us to fruitful lives

which mean more than

the World will ever know.

Following Our Lord,

we too will branch

out of our Nazareth.