The shameless self-publicity of an Anglican Catholic

 

Anglican Catholics and the wider Catholic Church

 A few thoughts on where Anglican Catholicism stands in relation to the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

A few thoughts on where Anglican Catholicism stands in relation to the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

Measure for measure?

Sermon for the third Sunday after Trinity

How tall would you say you are?

Would you use feet and inches?

Would you use metres and centimetres?

Or would you use a different measurement?

[PAUSE]

In order to take measurements,

we need a standard to measure them by.

A yard is the distance

between the king’s outstretched arm

and the tip of his nose.

You see, the problem of course.

King Edward I’s yard

is going to be considerably longer

than King Charles I’s yard

at least before the latter’s execution.

A foot is twelve inches

and an inch is the size of a thumb.

An ounce is the weight of a thumb

which is why ounce and inch come from

the same Latin word for thumb.

But these aren’t fixed

so we have to be careful

to measure things against

the same standard.

[PAUSE]

Which is greater in value:

one or ninety-nine?

Of course,

we are very tempted

by the mathematical answer.

If ninety-nine is substantially

greater than one,

then that one is certainly

not as valuable as the ninety-nine.

You might then say that

it is better to look after the ninety-nine

and forget about one that is missing.

It makes no sense

to ignore ninety-nine sheep

over one lost sheep.

It’s just a sheep after all.

There’s nothing special about it,

we’re told.

It’s just one sheep out of a hundred.

One percent.

And yet, to the Good Shepherd,

it is as valuable as the other ninety-nine.

That takes some getting used to.

Any one of the hundred sheep

is as valuable as the other ninety-nine.

We can see that easily.

While the shepherd has left the ninety-nine

in search of the lost one,

one of the ninety-nine could wander off

and get lost.

How can any one sheep be as valuable

as ninety-nine other individual sheep?

[PAUSE]

The trouble is that we’re looking

mathematically,

and mathematics isn’t the system

that God uses to give value to His Children.

We know that from His very nature:

how can Three be One?

It’s clear that God is not concerned

with making value-judgements

based on numbers

or even on a notion of equality.

The labourers who arrive

at the eleventh hour

are paid as much as

those who were there at the first hour.

No-one gets defrauded

but everyone is treated fairly,

just not mathematically.

[PAUSE]

In our society,

we focus on

equal pay for equal jobs

equal rights

equal responsibilities.

These are good issues

to consider in a society

that seeks to be fair,

but here value is not really based on love

but on practicality.

When we consider

that we have no rights with God,

let alone equal right,

that we have no right to equal pay

for equal jobs,

that there is no

equality of outcome

or

equality of opportunity

in God’s valuation,

then we realise just how bound up

with human politics we are.

Our Lord shows us

that our value of human beings

cannot be based on number

let alone on social status.

It means that we cannot

value our neighbour

based on any comparisons

with anyone else.

Our love of neighbour

has to be unconditional

and unique.

We want their perfection

in God,

not based on what

we consider to be perfection

but a perfection determined by God.

When we are faced with those decisions

as to whether to save

five lives or one,

as long as we make the decision

in the agony of the purest love we can muster,

we do the right thing

because we aim for everyone’s perfection

and allow God to save the lost.

[PAUSE]

Love is not a

mathematical way of thinking.

It goes above and beyond

any form of measurement

that we have at our disposal.

The only thing we can count on

is the love of God.

 

The Titans of Consequence and Intention

I recently watched the film Titanic and I find myself somewhat devastated by the recent events with the deceased members off the Titan submersible. Search and Rescue searched the depths of the ocean for days in the hope that they could find the sub only to find that it had been destroyed days before and that their efforts had been in vain from the outset. The consequences of their decision to search for survivors is the realisation of tragedy. It saddens me that some people seem to think that these Search and Rescue heroes have wasted their time and tax-payers' money.

[BEGIN SPOILER ALERT]

I've also read reviews of Titanic, and a common observation is that, had not Rose stayed in the lifeboat, then Jack would have had enough room on the wardrobe to be saved. It's easy to say that with hindsight, and of course that is a very reasonable observation to make based on the events in the film. Those who make such an observation are missing something important. Both Jack and Rose in that time together have held on to the rule, “if you jump, I jump.” It's a rule that defines their relationship throughout the film that they are in this together sink or swim literally. We have to be careful here, because the outcome itself doesn't matter. The outcome is that Jack dies and Rose lives. Those are the consequences of the actions. Those are the consequences of " if you jump, I jump” but, as the theme song says, their hearts go on. The love that Jack and Rose have for each other which has grown throughout the tale has the character of Eternity and taps into the glory of being human and being alive. There is more to their experience than the dreadful tragedy that unfolds and the tale ends with Rose passing gently in her bed to be reunited with Jack in the great afterlife.

[END SPOILER ALERT]

What is especially resonating for the Christian here, is that it is never the consequences that have the final say. It is not just the consequences that determine whether an action is good or bad. Our actions are weighed by their intention more than the consequences. Throughout Holy Scripture we have people doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, for example the Pharisees. They hold the law so that they can be seen to hold the law and be praised for it. We see even good men like Abraham make questionable decisions, such as passing his wife off as his sister in order to save both their lives from a perceived threat that isn't actually there.

Actions are weighed in Eternity by our intentions, and our intention should always be measured against the word of almighty God. It is our intentions that come before the consequences, and we can never fully anticipate what the consequences will be. Consequentialism is not a valid moral theory on the grounds that we cannot see what the consequences will be. Good actions may have far reaching bad consequences. We can bake a cake for an poor, elderly person to celebrate her 80th birthday only to find later that her youngest niece has died from an anaphylactic reaction to the nuts that we used to bake our cake. The kindness intended is not obliterated by the tragic consequences.

The Christian duty to obey the Government is indeed a duty with its roots in Holy Scripture. If the Government issues a law which is truly unjust then the Christian should refuse to obey and willingly accept the consequences. If the Government imposes an order on its subjects that is not unjust then it should be obeyed even if the consequences are tragic because the Christian obeys the Government for the love of God. Like Jack and Rose, a good society says, “If you jump, I jump” or, perhaps more pertinently, “one for all and all for one”. To decide whether a law is unjust or not requires careful consideration and measuring against the full weight of Catholic teaching. If we know the mind of Christ well then we are in a better position to make that judgment.

The Christian needs very carefully to consider the intentions and why they follow the course of action that they do. It is only by living a life in God, acquiring the mind of Christ, that we know what is good. To focus on consequences alone misses the point. Consequences that we see in this life are earthly, they will pass away, and they will be rectified in the great final judgement of God who will make all things new. To sneer at those whose well-intentioned actions have had unfortunate consequences is the mark of one who misses the point of worship because they hold the consequences of this world to be of greater value than acquiring the mind of Christ on the grounds that they are more immediate. To shout, “I was right and you were wrong” whether in triumph or not does nothing to demonstrate Christian love but rather belies a bitterness of soul that requires healing from the Divine Master.

The fruit of the Spirit is grown not from consequences but from the exercise of love from the intentions made. Generosity cannot be grown from a heart that is made bitter with “I told you so”s but rather from a heart that is prepared to embrace the tragedy of another’s actions in Faith, Hope and Love. The remembrance of the consequences of our actions will pass away, but those three remain and we know which is the greatest of the three.

Searching for Secret Saints

 

Why do we commemorate St Gervasius and St Protasius?

Not the Wedding Singer

Sermon for the second Sunday after Trinity

The Christian tradition

has had some

truly wonderful consequences.

One of those consequences

is the choral tradition.

Every church is blessed

by singing of hymns and psalms.

What is truly wonderful

about singing in choirs

and singing with choirs

is that we sing together all as one.

We might not sing in unison.

Choirs usually have

four voices singing in harmony,

but they sing together in harmony.

This way the church lifts up

one united voice to God

in praise, thanksgiving and worship.

What this means is that not only are we united in voice, but we are united in spirit. There is another way we can be united in spirit but not to our benefit.

 

[PAUSE]

 

In the parable,

Our Lord tells us about

the guests invited

to the wedding feast.

We notice that

they reject the invitation

with one consent.

They decline as one, literally.

That's rather striking, isn't it?

These people,

invited to a wonderful wedding,

decline it almost in unison.

What can this mean?

We notice that

they each bring an excuse

for not going.

Why would someone

turn down a wedding

to look at oxen?

Why go and see

a piece of ground instead

of enjoy a wonderful feast?

And why not relive

your wedding day

by attending someone else’s wedding

and bring your joy to share?

 

These excuses appear feeble

to say the least.

But they are all made in the same voice.

They form a choir of feeble excuses

effectively inviting other people to join in,

to join in rejecting the wedding feast.

There is something

deeply upsetting about their behaviour.

Being presented with

a beautiful opportunity

to truly enjoy themselves,

these folk together mumble their excuses

and run away.

It's almost as if

the wedding feast

is unpleasant or even frightening.

Why would anyone think that?

 

[PAUSE]

 

Clearly,

the Master of the Feast

is someone who

polarises opinion,

you either love him or you hate him.

The way that

Our Lord tells this parable

suggests that

the people who

reject the invitation

are the Jews who have rejected God.

This is why the Master of the Feast

beckons in people

who would not be thought suitable.

These represent the sinners,

the strangers,

the gentiles.

That's not to say that

all the Jewish people

reject the wedding feast,

for clearly the apostles

and ma6ny other people of Jewish background

willingly embrace the invitation.

But it is the Scribes and the Pharisees

who look at Jesus in horror

as they watch him

dismantle the hypocrisy

and lust for status unearned.

[PAUSE]

What seems to be at issue here,

is what we truly value.

There is something about this feast

that people don't want,

or that they prefer their comfortable little lives

to attending the feast.

These are people

who are not willing

to be transformed by God.

They do not wish

to be clothed with His wedding garment

at His wedding feast under His rule.

They want their own way in life,

and they see in the wedding feast

a threat to the rule of their own hearts.

 

So they reject the invitation

with one voice.

Just like the church choir,

they are singing the same song,

and it is not a song about God.

Their song is of themselves and,

although they sing it together

with that one spirit of rejection,

they excuse themselves in different ways.

This song is discordant and dreadful to hear.

 

[PAUSE]

 

The people who attend

the wedding feast

know that they are

unwashed,

unprepared,

unworthy

and yet they still come.

They come because

they know that the wedding feast

is now open to them

and that they will be clothed

in wedding garments

which will look resplendent.

They know that they will

have the fine food,

hear the fine music,

drink the fine wine and rejoice.

They accept because

they have no desire

to put such a wonderful invitation

below the silly cares of this life.

They accept because

they realise the poverty

in which they live,

and see the riches which are freely on offer.

They reject their lives as they are,

and see something better.

 

[PAUSE]

 

Those who reject God's invitation,

will never taste of the feast.

That's what our Lord says.

They shall never enter into his rest.

That is their free choice,

the offer is there for them

but they don't want it.

The same offer is open to us:

do we really prefer our lives as they are

to the life of perpetual joy?

An Anglican Catholic reflects on the Mass

 

What is the significance of the Mass in Anglican Catholic worship?

Encouragement not to encourage

Sermon for the Feast of St Barnabas 

How encouraged are you?

We celebrate the feast

of Saint Barnabas,

though, of course,

his name is Joses.

Barnabas is his nickname,

if you will.

Some translations say that

Barnabas means

“son of consolation”,

others say that his name means

“son of encouragement”.

Which translation do you prefer?

[PAUSE]

The way that we use

the idea of encouragement

is not always positive.

You are encouraged to think about why!

Do you see that,

sometimes,

we understand encouragement

to mean being

directed towards something

that we might not actually want.

We hear of people being

gently encouraged

to accept something

that they might find undesirable.

Some people are encouraged

to the front door

which is then promptly shut behind them.

Perhaps these days

encouragement has this negative meaning

of being controlled subtly

with a pretence of niceness about it.

If we are encouraged

to do something that

we don't want to do,

how do we stand up against it?

 

We need encouragement.

[PAUSE]

You can see very clearly

that the word encouragement

really means to have courage

put into you.

You are encouraged,

you are given courage,

you are strengthened,

you are confirmed.

It's no wonder then,

that when you look at the Greek word

that is used to translate

Barnabas’ name into Greek,

we find that it is the same word

that we use for paraclete.

St Barnabas is a paraclete.

St Barnabas is someone

who is an ikon of the Holy Ghost.

This is why he is given

the name in the first place.

He is someone

who does not want

to direct, control or gently coerce.

He seeks only

to strengthen people

in their fight against

sin, the world and the devil.

St. Barnabas is well-named,

and he acts alongside St. Paul

in bringing consolation, strengths and hope

which accompany

St Paul’s own form of encouragement

in his teaching and preaching.

We can see that very generosity of spirit

in his giving up of

an expensive piece of land

giving the proceeds to the Church

in order to strengthen it

as it begins its great Mission.

 

Of course,

St. Barnabas and Saint Paul

are only human and they quarrel.

This, too, is an encouragement

because it shows that the Saints

are truly human

and share that fallenness with us.

It means we, too, do not need

to sit and bewail our fallibility,

but rather to present that fallibility

to Almighty God and allow Him to use our weakness

so that He might show His strength.

St. Barnabas is truly a saint

for us because he carries with him

the strength that God gives

to each of us through him,

and through the bishops who succeed him.

[PAUSE]a

St. Barnabas is on our side,

and because he is on our side,

we can be sure that

God the Holy Paraclete is on our side, too.

We are all encouraged to be more like St Barnabas

so that we might be more like

the Holy Ghost!

A moral dance with St Boniface and St Norbert

 

Will you, won't you, will you, won't you join the dance? (Apologies to Lewis Carroll)

The Importance of Pronouns

Sermon for Trinity Sunday

We still find ourselves

being accused of

worshipping three gods.

It seems very strange that,

even in this day and age,

we should still be accused

of worshipping three gods.

The church has this all sorted out,

hasn’t it?

 Are you able to say

why we do not believe in three gods

but one God in three Persons?

[PAUSE]

Our Lord says to Nicodemus,

 “verily, verily I say unto thee,

we speak that we do know,

and testify that we have seen;

and ye receive not our witness.

Our Lord’s use of the word “we” there

seems rather important.

Even right at the beginning,

God says let us make man

in our own image.

It seems everywhere

throughout the record of Holy Scripture,

that God himself uses

the pronoun “we” rather than “I”.

Yet he says to Moses,

“I am that I am.”

God’s pronouns are important.

Moses does not experience

Our Lord Jesus Christ

as the apostles do,

nor is the Holy Ghost yet made manifest

to the Israelites,

though surely He is there.

St John himself says

in his first letter

that there are

three on earth that bear witness:

the Spirit, the water and the blood

and these three agree as one.

 

The church certainly believes

that there are three in heaven

who bear witness:

the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost

and these three are one.

They bear witness to our faith in God

and we believe in one God.

[PAUSE]

We know that God is One,

and that he is not made of parts.

He cannot be broken down into

left and right,

up and down,

front and back,

or even past, present and future.

None of these things

make any sense

when it comes to talk about God.

If this seems a little tricky

to get your head around

think of your own mind.

Your mind doesn't have a

front or back,

or up or down.

Doesn't it really have a past, present and future?

Whether it does or doesn’t,

you are not your mind

for you have both a body and soul.

Unlike God,

you can be broken to bits.

But nonetheless

God is three persons.

We see them each

individually

throughout Holy Scripture,

and the Church Fathers

have consistently taught

the doctrine of the Trinity

that we recite weekly in our Creed.

Even Our Lord says explicitly,

the Father and I are One.

And He says,

“We testify what

we have seen,

and ye receive not our witness.”

The Jewish law courts

require the testimony of

two others to

corroborate someone’s witness statement.

So, even here,

as Our Lord speaks to Nicodemus

about the Holy Ghost,

He is calling upon the Father

and the Holy Ghost to bear witness

that Man needs to be born again,

to be born from above by the Spirit.

Here are three persons

that speak about Heavenly things

to Earthly people,

and their testimony is one.

And yet,

there can only be One God,

for if there were two,

one would limit the other’s being 

in some way,

and God’s being cannot be limited.

There cannot be two sources

of all being;

there cannot be two founts

of existence.

But God has three persons

and God cannot be divided,

so each of these three persons

must be fully God.

[PAUSE]

We struggle

because we only have experience

of human persons,

of individuals limited

to space and time.

We can think of each of

Father, Son and Holy Spirit

as individuals,

but we cannot go beyond that

because we are Earthly minded.

The task that we have is

just to believe the truth:

One God in three Persons.

This is faith,

to receive the truth

even if we don’t understand it.

[PAUSE]

If we do receive this truth,

then we receive truth

about Heavenly matters

because of our Faith.

If we believe that

we must be born again

of the Holy Ghost,

which Our Lord tells us

is an Earthly matter,

then the truth of the Holy Trinity

is open to us

through the faith that we are given

and the grace

which accompanies

that faith.

The idea of the Holy Trinity

jostles in our mind

as we try out our

mental gymnastics,

but that’s exactly what should happen

when we try to think about

the One Who Is

and Who has entered into our lives

to bear witness about Himself

so that we might know Him personally.

[PAUSE]

If we struggle to answer

those who accuse of worshipping

three gods,

it may well be that

their concept of a god is small enough

to fit in their own minds.

Ours isn’t

and that’s because He is the

One True God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.