What will we do when the internet goes down.
Monday, October 14, 2024
Saturday, October 12, 2024
Right to refuse
A wedding!
A feast for the senses!
The taste of the sumptuous food,
well-prepared,
succulent,
and delicious!
The sound of joyful music,
laughter,
happy conversations
and thanksgiving!
The smell of the food
but also the perfumes
and incense!
The feel of the warmth
energy and vibrancy,
the dancing and revelry
of the guests congratulating
the Happy Couple.
The sight
of gorgeous dresses
of the King dressed in His
most regal and elegant clothes,
of the Bride and Groom
in their finery
and clearly very much in love.
Who would refuse
an invitation to this feast?
Would you?
But there are that would.
[PAUSE]
It seems you don't have
to come if you don't want to.
You are allowed to stay away.
Parties aren't for everyone,
it's true.
For some people,
the business of socialising
is difficult and many stay away.
And that's okay.
But even then,
if it's a family friend
getting married
or an invitation from a king
or someone you really love,
then even an introvert
might be persuaded
just to put their head around the door
and enjoy just a bit of the festivities.
Who knows,
with this king
there might be a quiet room provided,
or a chance to go out
into the lavish gardens
and enjoy the feast
in beautiful surroundings
with the noise of the party
carrying on in the background.
This is a feast for everyone.
In this kingdom,
there are many mansions
prepared for those
who accept the invitation.
You can still come
even if you're
not a social animal.
And yet people
still don't want to come
and, worse, kill the people
carrying the invitations!
Who would do that?
[PAUSE]
There are clearly
those who hate the king
and yet they have been invited,
freely to enjoy
the great feast.
It's their hatred
that causes them
to reject the invitation
and even try
to stop others being invited.
There are even those
who will go to the feast
but show contempt for it
by not dressing appropriately.
They will be cast out.
They have chosen
not to participate
and they are the ones who miss out.
[PAUSE]
We always have a choice
whether to enter
the Kingdom of God
and God honours that choice.
But He honours it with justice.
We cannot expect
to enter into the wedding feast
of the Lamb
if we are dressed inappropriately.
We are given a wedding garment
to put on
this is the white robe St John
records in his Revelation.
It is the white robe
of those baptised in the name
of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
It is the white robe
that signals that we belong to Christ,
that we love Him
and seek to invite others
into His feast.
It is the white robe
of love,
of working with God's grace
in our hearts
for the good of all.
Those who try
to gatecrash the party
do not have this robe
and are cast out
because the Lord says,
"I never knew you!"
even if they say,
"Lord, Lord!"
[PAUSE]
It is clear,
that we do not have to enter
the Kingdom of God.
It is also clear
that we enter that Kingdom
accepting the terms
of the King.
If we choose
not to enter
or to try and enter
on our own terms,
then we shall be shut out
from this wonderful feast.
But we can be assured
that, should we choose
to accept the invitation,
should we choose
to put on our wedding garment,
then the door will be opened
and we shall enter a feast
that goes beyond the understanding
of what it means to be enjoyable.
That is our invitation.
That is God's promise to us.
Monday, October 07, 2024
Saturday, October 05, 2024
Killjoy woz 'ere
There has always been
that type of person
who likes to put
a downer on everything.
"I'm just trying
to be realistic here,"
they say.
While it is truth to say
that life is not always
a bed of roses,
life is not always
not a bed of roses
either.
Our bed of roses
has thorns
but it has gorgeous flowers, too.
... if you like roses, that is.
There will always be
someone who doesn't
and will take great glee
in telling you why not.
[PAUSE]
A paralysed man
is brought to Jesus.
What's the first thing
Our Lord says to him?
"Son, be of good cheer!"
He doesn't say
"thy sins are forgiven thee"
- not straightaway.
He doesn't say
"Arise, take up thy bed,
and go unto thine house"
- not straightaway.
No.
Straightaway it's,
"Son, be of good cheer!"
In this first clause,
Our Lord calls the man, "Son".
A term of familiarity,
a term of acceptance,
a term of love.
Then, He says,
"Be of good cheer!"
A message of hope!
A message of healing!
And a message of intention.
Our Lord wants the man
to be joyful
and live a life
freed from the shackles
of his condition.
But,
rather than allow
joy its rightful place
in this encounter
between the patient
and the Eternal Doctor,
there are those
who can see
only sin,
only transgression,
only condemnation.
And they seek to steal this joy
to fill the emptiness
of their being right.
And so the Lord
shows them the truth
that He is God
by healing not only
the spiritual paralysis of sin
but also
the physical paralysis of disease.
Jesus is showing us
that sin is a sickness
of the soul
and He can save
both soul and body.
[PAUSE]
The trouble is
that there are
thieves of joy
among Christians too.
These are those Christians
who see nothing but sin
in human beings
These are those Christians
who try to spread the Gospel
by focussing on
Man's total depravity
and our need for Salvation.
Every conversation
with this sort of Christian
involves the words
sin, heresy, immoral,
and even Hell!
How can we expect
to share the Good News
if the only thing that is good
about what we say
is the full stop
at the end of our
final sentence?
[PAUSE]
We Christians know
that we are sinners
but we also know
that God made us,
that God loves us,
and that
the Creator of this magnificent universe
with all its complexity,
variety,
from supernova
to neutrino
wants us never to be
separated from Him so badly
that He will become
one of us,
die for us,
rise from the dead for us.
We are dead to sin and,
if we live the life of faith,
sin need never be a real problem
because if we do sin
then we have an advocate in heaven
who will save us from it.
Of course,
sin is serious
and we must repent,
but we are given the opportunity
to get up from our sickness
take up our beds
and walk in joy
at knowing Christ Himself.
We are not to be killjoys
but bringers of true joy
in Christ.
Monday, September 30, 2024
Saturday, September 28, 2024
The backroom boys
We are in that strange situation
where what we hear in the Gospel
does not seem to fit
with feast of the day.
Our Lord
speaks of the importance
of being as humble as children.
He speaks of the fate
of those who would corrupt them.
He speaks of clear and decisive action
to prevent sin.
Then and only then
does He speak briefly
of the angels
that represent His children
in Heaven.
There is no mention
of St Michael.
In celebrating Michaelmas,
are we focussing
too much on things
that are really unimportant?
[PAUSE]
The thing is
that angels are very important.
We see them throughout
Holy Scripture,
we know three of their names
from the Bible:
Gabriel, Michael and Raphael.
They herald important events,
offer healing to the righteous,
and battle evil with swords drawn.
We know Our Lord
has legions of angels
at His disposal.
So why, on this celebration
of the Angels
is there so little in the Gospel?
[PAUSE]
Angels are background workers.
Their days are spent
in service to God.
As spirits,
they have no bodies,
just appearances of bodies
when rare circumstances demand.
They don't operate
in the same part of Creation
that we do.
We don't see them
because our eyes are physical
and the Angels are spirits.
But God tells us they are there
and on our side.
We also know
that there are those spirits
who wants us to fall
and be destroyed.
There are spirits of hate
and malice,
who corrupt those
who are weak enough
to be corrupted.
There are spirits
who are corrupters
of the children of God.
We have seen them
almost from the beginning
tempting us
to eat the forbidden fruit
and turn from Almighty God.
These beguiling spirits
are the cause of much
of our misery
because they exploit
our weaknesses.
It s these spirits
that God bids us
amputate from our lives.
[PAUSE]
We don't always see
the evil until it's too late
but, if we listen,
we can learn to hear the words
of temptation
which seek to corrupt us.
Our duty is
to keep our humility,
realise our need
for someone greater to look after us
in our weakness,
and not try to be greater
or more powerful than we really are.
We differ from the angels
because we have bodies.
While those bodies limit us
they are gifts of God to us
and they are to be used
for the Glory of God.
Of course,
having a body
makes us open to corruption
sin and temptation.
Our Lord says
that we are better off
cutting off bits of our body
than entering Hell.
But we need not do that
if we recognise the work
of the angels around us.
For,
behind the scenes,
we know that St Michael
has already fought
with that old serpent
and cast it away.
It is the Devil
and his angels that have
caused offence
and are cut off
and thrown into the pit
so that we can be free
from the same fate
through the resurrection
of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Behind the scenes,
the angels climb up and down
the ladder connecting
Heaven and Earth
on our behalf
bringing us messages of hope
and instruction,
protecting us
lest we should dash
our foot against a stone.
It is not permitted for us
to use the angels as our servants
for they obey only
the Divine Master.
Any spirit that would obey us
is a spirit that seeks
to take advantage of our bodies
and corrupt us
with enticements and trinkets
which we need to cut out of our lives
so that, like the angels
we might obey only God
in our service of Him.
[PAUSE]
Our Lord tells us
that the angels are there
before the throne
on our behalf
but we must keep our focus
on being children of God.
But, if Our Lord says
that they are there,
then we ought to venerate
their feast day in gratitude
for their service to us.
For they will take our veneration
and give it to the One
to Whom all glory is given
a glory that is not just
reflected in angels
but in all of His creation.
Including us.
Including you.
Yes. You.
Monday, September 23, 2024
Anglican Catholicism and the Book of Common Prayer
Why does the Anglican Catholic Church use the 1549 BCP and not the 1662?
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