Respect and disenfranchisement

 

A few thoughts on those who, for whatever reason, find themselves unchurched.

How to bear punishment

Sermon for the second Sunday after Easter

What do they say?

They say that 

they can't believe in a god

who abuses his own son.

They say there is 

something wrong

with a god

that would punish his son

for our sins.

If God talks so much

about forgiveness,

why doesn't He just forgive us

rather than allow

Our Lord Jesus

to go through the agonies

of crucifixion

in punishment of our sins?

[PAUSE]

Some people get the idea

that Jesus is punished 

instead of us 

through the words of St Peter

when he says

that Jesus

"bare our sins in His own body

on the tree" of the Cross.

Some people say 

that the prophet Isaiah

sees the death of Jesus

as being wounded

for our transgressions,

bruised for our iniquities,

bearing our chastisement

and healing us by his wounds.

This certainly sounds 

as if God were whipping Jesus

because of our disobedience.

But the Church has a rule

and that rule is

we must the Old Testament

in the light of the New.

St Peter knows Jesus

so well.

Does he say that Jesus

is punished instead of us?

Does Jesus really bear

our sins in His own body 

on the tree?

[PAUSE]

Well, he does and he doesn't.

The word St Peter uses

is not "bear" as in simply carry.

He uses a stronger word

which means to lift up

or hold aloft.

It's the same word 

that is used

to describe how Jesus

brings Peter, James and John

up to the mountain

of His transfiguration.

It is the same word

that describes how

Jesus ascends into Heaven.

It is the same word

that describes how 

priests offer up sacrifices.

Jesus doesn't just

bear our sins in His own body

on the tree,

He offers them up to God

as a priest

making a sacrifice of

atonement

on the altar of the Cross,

through His own blood.

This is why the Cross is a triumph,

this is why Our Lord's

"it is finished!"

is a cry of success

that the sacrifice has been made

through His blood

allowing us to be reconciled

with God.

Once we understand this,

we understand Isaiah's words

as meaning something deeper,

something more profound

than someone else being punished

for our own wrong-doing.

This is not a God

Who distances Himself from sinners.

This is not a God 

Who is as enslaved to the law

as to ensure that 

must exact every penny

from every transgression

or the universe will fall to bits.

This is a God 

Who looks every sinner

full in the face

and opens the way back

wherever that sinner may be.

The Good Shepherd

lays down His life

as the sacrifice

on behalf of the sheep

in His care.

[PAUSE]

The extraordinary thing is

that the Sacrifice of the Cross

is the reason why 

the Hebrews have a whole system

of sacrifices

before the Incarnation.

The sin-offerings

of the Jewish Priests

are so that those born before Jesus

can take part in His Sacrifice.

His Sacrifice completes theirs

and His Sacrifice

is brought to us

in the Sacrifice of the Mass.

The Cross may take place 

at one point in our History

but it spreads both forwards

and backwards in Time

so that all God's people

receive the benefit of

Our Lord's atoning sacrifice.

[PAUSE]

And we are to be like Our Lord.

We have the ability

to offer up in our suffering

a sacrifice to God

on behalf of all 

who are suffering 

as we are.

Yes, we must humbly accept

the consequences of our sins.

These consequences

are son's punishment.

But this punishment

ends with our death

and our resurrection

in Christ.

But we can bear

in our sufferings

our illnesses

and life's injustices

the sickness of the world

and through our participation

in the sacrifice of Christ

we bring His life 

into a dying world.

That is how a Christian

is to bear punishment.

Lighting the candle and cutting the string

 

Two important words associated with Paschaltide.

Overcoming faith

Sermon for Low Sunday

Why are people 

losing their faith?

We know that 

the Christian religion 

is going through

a decline here in the West.

In Africa and India

it is growing so well.

What's happening here?

Why are our churches

becoming emptier and emptier?

[PAUSE]

We are witnessing

the effect of the powers

of Apathy, Apostasy 

and Complacency.

Don't care.

Can't care.

Won't care.

And where do these come from?

Ultimately,

these three bear witness

to doubt, disillusionment, 

and desire.

We are disillusioned

by the actions of people

who claim to speak for God

and yet who serve their own bellies.

Since we are disillusioned

by the sinful actions 

of Church members,

we doubt 

God's purpose

for our lives.

If we lose our sense of purpose,

then we desire our own way.

And behind

doubt,

desire

and disillusionment

is the Devil himself

whispering

in our ears

the same temptations that 

he whispers into the ears

of Our Lord Himself.

Apostasy, Apathy and

Complacency

are the fruits of

Doubt, Desire and Disillusionment,

and these are the weapons

used against us in the world.

These are the things 

each of us must overcome

in our lives

if we truly wish to 

endure to the end

and be saved.

And yet we already have the victory!

[PAUSE]

St John tells us

very clearly

that Faith is our victory.

Why?

Faith in God

holds fast to the truth

that we have already experienced

in our lives. 

It holds fast to 

the reality of God 

even when His reality is

obscured by cares and woes.

Faith is not a blind hope

that all will turn out well

in the end.

It is the trust in 

what we have already experienced,

the testimony of the experiences

of others,

and the evidence that

we have already seen.

This Faith is not faith in 

members of the Church.

Their sins, 

and ours,

will be judged

by the Bridegroom

of the Church.

Our Faith is not

in the morality of Society,

for Society twists the morals

it receives from the Church

into a mockery of the Good

to satisfy its own desires.

Our Faith is in 

the One Eternal and True God,

Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

Faith in God comes to us

through hearing the Gospel

and believing it

and allowing it to grow.

Ultimately, 

we must face the temptation

to think that our faith is meaningless.

If you are here

facing doubt rather than Faith

then you are not alone.

The disciples too doubt.

They doubt the evidence

of the empty tomb.

They doubt the evidence

of the ever-faithful 

St Mary Magdalene.

They doubt the tales 

of those around that

He is risen.

They doubt,

and there He is

offering up His wounds 

for scrutiny,

eating and drinking

and bringing merriment

to the dumbfounded.

The doubt of the Disciples

is there for us

when we face doubt.

[PAUSE]

We have every reason to doubt.

There are so many scandals

and scoundrels 

in the Church.

There is much evil being done

supposedly in the Name of Christ.

There is so much enticement

to change your meaning

of what is good

and what is bad.

But the evil that surrounds

and even penetrates the Church

does not change the truth

of the Resurrection.

It does not change the truth of Christ.

That evil may try 

to change what He really says

to make us disillusioned

to make us doubt

and make us desire 

that which is not good for us.

Yet, we have Faith,

and this Faith protects us

from the Devil like a shield.

Any attempt

to change what the Church 

has always believed

is a deliberate attack 

on our spiritual health.

This means that we must struggle.

And when our faith is well rooted

within the Church,

we can win the struggle.

[PAUSE]

By faith, 

our ancestors did wonderful

things for the Kingdom of God.

By faith, 

so will you,

for, by faith,

you have victory

within your grasp.

A Resurrection of Unity

 

Why theology needs to be done properly and careful of its subject matter

The humiliation of resurrection

Sermon for the Sunday of the Resurrection

Together this Triduum,

we have been looking

at the humiliation

which Our Lord accepts 

in order to save us.

We are learning

that humiliation is

a return to being grounded.

We see Our Lord

ground Himself

to wash the dust off our feet

so that we can be exalted.

We see Our Lord

mocked, 

spat in,

slapped

and laughed at in His agony.

We see Our Lord

placed in the tomb

with the intention

of allowing Him 

to return to earth,

a final expression

from His lovers

that He was not no-one.

We have seen Our Lord

show us what humility is.

How then can the Resurrection

be an act of humility?

[PAUSE]

Surely the Resurrection

is the exact opposite

of humility.

Surely the Resurrection

says, "look at Me,

I've beaten Death!"

Surely the Resurrection

is an act of self-exaltation

a showing off

an "aren't I brilliant?"

Surely the Resurrection

is not an example

of having your feet on the ground.

[PAUSE]

It is when you realise

that the Resurrection

is for our benefit alone

and not for Our Lord's

that His humility

is shown even here.

In the Resurrection,

Our Lord's human nature

willingly submits

to His divine nature.

Human nature

goes to the grave.

Divine nature

cannot die.

After such brutal punishment,

human nature would see Death

as a release,

an end of pain

an chance of unlimited rest.

After His death,

Our Lord could simply

have returned to Heaven

and ruled from there.

That's not what He does.

He does not take up 

His crown.

He does not wear 

His robes of state

not carry His orb and sceptre.

He is not raised 

in a blaze of glory

in the sight of His persecutors

and executors.

His Resurrection is small.

It is intimate.

It is for those who love Him.

Yes, He has triumphed over death.

But His victory 

does not come

at the expense

of forcing people

to see Him as He is.

He would rather choose

a simple, quiet, joyful Resurrection

than a loud, brash 

incontrovertible statement

which forces people

to be a Christian.

His Resurrection is not for Him.

It is for us.

[PAUSE]

Our Lord's Resurrection

is grounded in truth.

Christ is God

but He does not cling to being God

out of love, respect, 

and to offer us Himself

as He really is.

This is humility.

There is no pretence.

There is no distortion of the Truth.

There is no ulterior motive.

In His Resurrection,

He offers us Eternal life

with what really is,

not what just appears to be.

[PAUSE]

One day,

we will see Him in glory.

And then, 

St John reminds us,

we shall be like Him

for we will see Him 

as He really is.

The dust of Death

 

Why the burial of Christ is a blessing for us.

Breaking the spirits

 

Why is the cross something Christians venerate?

Washing off the Dust.

 

Why the Lord washes our feet.

Clatter, Chaos and Crucifixion

 

Why is the end of Lauds so noisy during the Triduum?

Questions for Palm Sunday

As you listen to Our Lord's Passion today, think upon these questions.

Where in the narrative do you feel most uncomfortable? Where do you feel the most fear? Where do you feel the most grief? What do these answers say about you? How do you want to be saved?