Bless your heart

Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of All Saints

Someone one sneezes.

What do you say?

Why?

[PAUSE]

When you say, "Bless you!"

you are essentially asking

for God to bless the person

and prevent them from

falling ill.

That seems straightforward. 

That's not the same word

that we hear Jesus say

in the Beatitudes.

When He says,

"Blessed are the pure in heart,"

that's not the same as

"The one who sneezed is blessed."

Can you hear the difference?

How is it different 

to be blessed when you sneeze

from being blessed for being 

pure in heart?

And what does all this 

to do with the Saints?

Always go to the Greek!

In the Greek, 

to bless someone

usually means

to speak well of,

to praise,

to wish good things.

But when Our Lord says,

"Blessed are the pure in heart..."

He's using the word meaning

"Happy!"

Actually,  if we're being very picky, 

Our Lord doesn't actually say

"Blessed are the pure in heart..."

He says,

"Happy the pure in heart...!"

Can you hear it? It's stronger.

To be pure in heart is to be happy.

To be a peacemaker is to be happy.

To hunger and thirst after righteousness 

is to be happy.

To be persecuted for righteousness' sake

is to be happy!

To be persecuted is to be happy?

What's gone wrong there?

[PAUSE]

Nothing's gone wrong.

Look at the saints.

Are they not happy?

You might say,

"well, they weren't happy

when they were being crucified

or chopped up

or burned."

The trouble is

that to say that 

misses the force

of what Our Lord

is telling us.

Among the saints

are many martyrs

who indeed suffer

horrible torments for Christ. 

But their suffering 

is confined to this Earthly realm.

Their full selves,

their happy selves

are in Eternity 

where in some sense,

they have always been.

Their happiness -

our happiness -

is God.

It's not that our suffering on Earth

doesn't matter to God. 

It's that He perfects our suffering 

and gives it purpose

to be close to Him.

His suffering is part of ours

and our suffering is part of His.

God stands waiting for us

at the end of our Earthly lives

in order to give us Eternal lives.

It is in our Eternal lives

that our Earthly lives

are not destroyed 

but are perfected.

Grace perfecting nature!

If we hunger and thirst after righteousness 

then that is our Eternal life

poking through 

into our Earthly life.

If we are persecuted for righteousness' sake 

that is our happiness 

soaking through into

the little life we know now.

The lives of the saints

are full of these acts

and its how we know them

to be saints.

We see the fruit of their labours

and by their fruits 

shall we know them.

We recognise the saints 

because through their

purity in heart 

we see God's light shining.

[PAUSE]

Some may ask us,

where are your saints today?

Whose lives shine forth light?

Elizabeth Barton

who challenges even kings

to seek righteousness?

Fr Alfred Patten, 

restorer of the shrine of Our Lady?

Bishop Albert Chambers

the one who defies

unjust rules

to ensure that the sacraments 

are preserved?

And then there's you?

Why not you?

Bless you.

Christianity and the Occult

 

Why Christians need to take the Occult seriously but not embrace it.

Checkmate?

Sermon for the feast of Christ the King preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury 

If He were a common criminal,

why would you give Him

even the time of day?

If He were a common criminal

you'd take one look

and hand Him over

to your Sadducee friends

and your old chum Caiaphas

with permission 

to crucify Him at their pleasure.

So why not?

Why talk with this man

at all?

Is it because possibly, 

just possibly,

He really is 

The King of the Jews?

[PAUSE]

If He isn't a king,

then it's not a problem

He can just go to that place...

Calvary...Golgotha...

whatever it's called.

If He is a king,

then we've got to be careful,

because he has followers

- a kingdom!

soldiers!

an army!

And peace in Jerusalem

is fragile at the best of times.

So we need to check Him out.

Is He a king?

His reply is strange.

What does He mean 

when He asks

whether we know this ourselves 

or whether someone told us?

Do we look Jewish?

Of course, someone told us!

This man in front of us

is here because

His own people,

His own priests,

have brought Him here.

Thinking about it,

that doesn't really

make Him a king does it?

If the people have given Him over.

If the chief priests have given Him over.

He can't be a king,

can He?

Unless there is some Civil War

brewing amongst the Jews.

And Civil War would

be a big deal.

We need to keep control

or Emperor Tiberius

will have our guts for garters

for losing Judaea.

This man has followers

and that's the problem -

He's causing trouble.

What has He done?

Yes, what has He done?

[PAUSE]

His kingdom is not of this world?

Well, that's true,

if His kingdom were of this world 

we'd already know about it

from the pitch battles

and struggles and blood.

He wouldn't be here

in front of us

all beaten up by the Jews.

Is He a king, then?

[PAUSE]

So we are right to call Him king!

But the way He understands 

Himself to be king

is not the way

that we understand 

being a King to mean.

He says that He is 

a witness to the Truth.

What is Truth?

The man's a philosopher!

And philosophers aren't a threat.

He hasn't done anything wrong.

And that's the truth.

They have brought Him here

because they envy Him.

He is getting more followers

than they are

but His armies

are not armies the Imperial Army

needs to worry about.

It's them kicking up the fuss,

not this man,

standing here,

bruised and bloody,

controlled and meek,

no angry words,

no screaming for mercy,

no ranting and raving.

He's in perfect control

of this whole situation.

It's as if He knew that 

this was coming

and He is ready 

to do battle with it.

Perhaps He is a king!

He has a kingdom 

in His followers.

He has a battle plan.

He has the bearing 

and dignity of a King

and has done nothing wrong.

How can we convict Him?

We will flog Him 

to show that we are boss

and we'll let Him go.

We can let Him go.

We rule Judaea.

Of course we can let Him go.

We can let Him go,

can't we?

Can't we just let Him go?

We can't, can we?

Anglican Catholicism and Political Christianity

 

Why Nationalism and anti-Nationalism can lead to an unhealthy Church.

The nature of Love

Sermon for the eighteenth Sunday after Trinity

Of the 613 commandments 

of the Jewish Law

you know the top two,

don't you?

Love the Lord thy God

with all thy heart and soul

and mind and strength.

Love thy neighbour 

as thou lovest yourself.

Right?

Yes?

No!

[PAUSE]

The first commandment is correct.

The second isn't,

but the difference is subtle.

It isn't,

"Love thy neighbour 

as thou lovest thyself"

it's 

"Love thy neighbour as thyself."

Same difference?

Just different phrasing?

It's so much deeper than that.

[PAUSE]

In this day and age,

we see ourselves 

as individuals 

each doing our own thing.

More and more people

are choosing to live alone

so that they can live

their life by their rules.

We see people challenging 

even the most obvious 

and basic facts about the world

so that they can live

how they want to live.

The temptation that we have

is that we are in control 

of our identity 

and no-one,

not even society,

biology,

logic

or even God

has a right to say who we are.

We define ourselves,

on our terms

based on what 

we feel ourselves to be.

We are always looking 

for what makes us distinct 

from other people

particularly those

with whom we disagree most.

In this vision,

the human race

becomes nothing 

but a collection of individuals 

with no connection to each other,

no relationship of any depth

beyond the emotional,

no responsibility to each other

than just following the law.

There is no love there

apart from the feeling

of warmth and niceness

about someone.

And when that feeling ebbs away

so does love.

[PAUSE]

Love thy neighbour as thyself.

The Lord is challenging us

to look for the connection 

that unites all humanity.

He invites,

not forces us

to see ourselves 

in other people 

that,

at the very depth of our being

we share something,

something fundamentally human.

The Lord invites us

to see that the good 

that we want for ourselves 

is the good that we want for others

because we share human nature 

and God loves human beings.

The depths of God's love for us

is cross-shaped

- we know that so well.

But in being made man,

Christ unites each of us

in His humanity

so that we can be united 

in His divinity.

If we are each united in Him

then we are each united 

with each other.

The happiness we wish for ourselves 

is the happiness that God wants for us,

and is the happiness that 

we must wish for our neighbour 

precisely because,

whether we like it or not,

we share our humanity with them.

To paraphrase Dorothy Day

our love for God 

is measured by the love

we have for the one we love least.

[PAUSE]

It also means that 

we are worthy of love,

just by existing.

No-one is unloved 

even if we feel it,

even if we sit in the darkness 

of the misery of our fallen lives.

We are loved 

and that love is always 

close to us in God.

Let us, then,

let that love be close to others

in our lives and relationships 

with them.

An Anglican Catholic Priest in the Terror Cellar

 

Why ghost stories are important,  even for Christians.

Equalising equality

Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine on the seventeenth Sunday after Trinity 

What does equality

mean for you?

We often hear 

quoted to us

St Paul's  words 

to the Galatians

that,

"There is neither 

Jew nor Greek, 

there is neither bond nor free, 

there is neither male nor female: 

for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."

So, we are all equal 

in the eyes of God,

is that right?

If that's true,

why are we all different?

We can understand 

that being a slave or a master

or being rich or poor,

or even Jew or Gentile

are products of human society.

But,

if we are all equal,

why did God Himself

create us

Male and Female?

Why are these 

not interchangeable,

especially when

having children is concerned?

[PAUSE]

Our Lord speaks

of how we should attend

a wedding banquet.

We are to go to the lowest room,

the lowest place,

so that we can be invited up,

and then find honour

in the eyes of the other guests,

whereas those

who take the best place

get told to move down.

There seems to be

a pecking order

at this banquet.

One room is higher

than another.

One person seems to be

regarded as more important 

than another.

Does this mean

that, at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb 

there will be higher and lower places?

Does this mean

that Our Lord

is saying that

human beings are not equal?

Of course,

the answer is yes!

[PAUSE]

Think about it.

In the Revelstion to St John

there are the four and twenty elders

who sit crowned on thrones

next to the Throne of God.

Do we really imagine

that in Heaven,

we shall sit next to St Peter

or St Paul,

or even at Our Lord's right hand?

Remember,

we're human beings

and human beings have bodies,

so we shall.be physically present.

We shall have a place in Heaven,

but will it be a place 

that's of honour?

Will it be a place

near to Our Lord's throne?

Or will it be nearer the door?

We know that it's common sense

that Our Lady will be closest to Our Lord.

She must have a place very near Him.

Our Lord Himself teaches

"Honour thy father and thy mother."

He must surely honour her

by giving her a place beside Him

in glory.

And He also says that 

"For whosoever 

shall do the will of my Father 

which is in heaven, 

the same is my brother, 

and sister, 

and mother."

[PAUSE]

Just like any wedding, 

the Heavenly Feast 

is ordered by relationship.

It is those whom 

the Bride and Groom love most

who sit nearest to them 

at the wedding. 

It is the same with God

that it is those who love Him most

will sit nearer to Him

in Heaven.

The more we love

the nearer to God we are 

because God is Love.

Those who care more about

their status,

their rights 

and entitlements,

their nation and culture

cannot have a higher place.

In God,

human beings are equal

in their salvation

in their opportunity 

to love each other.

We all have the same opportunity 

to sit at the Wedding Feast of the Lamb 

regardless of

our race, our status and our sex.

It is how we view that opportunity 

that matters.

We are not created 

to be identical

nor to be interchangeable,

but to have the same opportunity 

to know and love God

as the person He has created.

[PAUSE]

Political equality

is concerned 

about ensuring people

are the same under law.

This is where the language 

of rights,

benefits,

entitlements

and duties comes in.

These may have their beginning 

in justice and the desire for good,

but we see them become 

ends in themselves:

rights to be clung to,

benefits that are rightfully ours,

entitlements that we must fight for.

Political equality

quickly loses faith, 

because people trust their rights

rather than God;

it loses hope 

because when entitlements are not met,

life is somehow not worth living;

and it loses love

because we focus more 

on the right to be loved

rather than the duty to love.

The Pharisees 

with their sense of entitlement 

move further down 

from the place of honour

because the Heavenly seating plan

is based upon love of God 

and neighbour,

not social or political entitlement.

[PAUSE]

We should not care 

where we sit in Heaven,

for wherever we sit,

we shall know the love of God:

it will be the same feast

that we enjoy together.

He invites us all, 

equally, 

to join Him in the Feast,

and, wherever we sit,

we shall be in good company 

for it is a company based on love.