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How this question reveals the need to venerate the image of God in Woman.

Doxological dialogues

Sermon for Trinity Sunday

You finish 

the last verse of the psalm.

Now what do you say?

Glory be to the Father

and to the Son

and to the Holy Ghost 

as it was in the beginning,

is now

and ever shall be

world without end.

Amen.

Why do we say that?

[PAUSE]

We really need

to know what we are saying.

To give glory to something

means that we recognise 

the impact something 

has in our lives.

The Hebrew word for glory

has a sense of weight behind it,

something substantial 

that makes a difference 

to our lives.

Glory often comes 

with light.

To see the angels 

in glory

at Christmas

is to see Heaven

impacting upon the Earth,

and this reinforces 

the impact of the Baby born 

in a manger

and the life He lives.

So we say glory to God

in recognition and in gratitude 

for the impact that He has

in our lives.

We end each psalm

with this expression of worship, 

and we now state

how we recognise 

the God Whom we worship.

We worship

God the Father,

God the Son and

God the Holy Ghost

Three Persons,

One God

the Holy Trinity.

In making this statement 

we are directing our attention 

to the One Who is unique.

No other being

can be three distinct persons

in one substance.

This is why all our attempts

to understand the Trinity

must fail:

He is unique 

and this means 

we have nothing with which 

to compare Him directly.

All our analogies,

diagrams, charts, 

formulae and philosophy 

fail to shed light

upon his it is that

God is three distinct persons

and how each of those 

distinct persons 

is fully and indivisibly God.

He stands outside our universe 

and so He stands outside

any means of our comprehension.

All we can do

is state our faith

and turn to the One Great

Incomprehensible.

[PAUSE]

We end our psalm

rehearsing our faith 

and seeing in the Old Testament 

the truth of the Triune God

Whose revelation is

completed in the New.

We are also stating

something important 

about the Glory of God:

it's the same in the beginning,

now and ever shall be,

world without end.

What does that mean?

Literally, "world without end" 

translates the Greek phrase 

"unto the age of ages".

This "age of ages" is rather 

mysterious,

but rather it refers to 

our human conception of age,

all finite and doomed to end, 

being taken up

into God's age

which is Eternal.

This glory of God

is our life in His age,

His Time,

His Eternity.

In glorifting God

unto the age of ages

we are recognising 

His impact in our lives

and yet beyond our lives

to Eternity.

It is an expression 

of the Christian hope

that we will receive 

Eternal life

by participating in His Eternal life.

And this Eternal life

will be all the Church together

worshipping the One God

in unity.

It is as if the whole Church

will become one human being

in a multiplicity of persons 

to reflect the truth 

of one God in three persons.

[PAUSE]

The Gloria at the end of the psalm

is called a doxology in Greek

Doxology means "word of glory"

and it is something which,

when prayed heartily

brings us into contact 

with the One Who stands

beyond our understanding 

and yet gives us

some way of knowing Him.

This is His glory for us.

Glory be to the Father 

and to the Son

and to the Holy Ghost 

as it was in the beginning,

is now and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

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Spiritual Sticking Power

Sermon for Whit-Sunday

By now,

we should understand 

how our relationship 

with the Holy Ghost 

pans out.

He's there

moving over 

the face of the waters,

the unformed 

and pure potential 

from which

all Creation springs.

We next see Him 

visible in the explanation 

of dreams

in Joseph.

Here, he is recognised 

by Pharaoh,

not by Jacob

and his other sons.

Then we see Him

in the craftsman

Bezaleel 

in building

and decorating 

the instruments 

for the Worship of God,

chosen by God

so that,

through his skill,

he might show to us

the vision that God has

for worshipping Him.

In the books 

of the history of Israel

He is known as 

the Spirit of the Lord.

We also see that

He falls upon 

Baalam, Saul,

Azariah, Zechariah

and even dear old Job

claims that He was made

by the Spirit of God.

So it's not as if

the presence of 

the Holy Ghost

should be a surprise to us.

Why does it matter now?

Why is Whitsun important?

[PAUSE]

We see in the Apostles

something old.

Prophecy.

No, not telling the future,

but telling the truth,

explaining the mystery.

St Peter becomes 

a prophet 

in the same manner

as St John the Baptist 

but more so.

In the Old Testament 

the Spirit of God 

would descend,

do the work

and then no more.

We see this in 

Baalam

who could only

bless Israel 

rather than curse

as he was bidden to do.

He still remains

an enemy of Israel 

and meets his end

in Hebrew hands.

Similarly, 

the Holy Ghost

descends upon King Saul

and yet still he loses his kingdom 

to David.

The Holy Ghost descends 

upon people

but it's as if 

there's nothing for the Holy Ghost 

to stick to.

[PAUSE]

This is not like the Apostles.

The idea of prophecy 

might not be new

but what is new

is the company of the Apostles.

The Holy Ghost 

stays with them

and works through them 

because they have gained

some sticking power.

What is this sticking power?

It comes from Christ Himself.

The Incarnation of Our Lord 

is precisely the difference 

between the 

Old and New Covenants.

Just as King David

was not able to build the temple 

for God 

but his son Solomon was,

so Christ builds His Church

not on the Old Covenant 

but upon His blood

which the Apostles receive

at the Last Supper.

This fulfils Our Lord's promise

to be with us

to the end of the Age.

This is why

Whitsun is called

the Birthday of the Church

even if the Church

had always sort of existed

in the Israelite people 

and the Levitical priesthood.

It's when the Church

becomes visible to the world

just as He is visible 

to Pharaoh centuries before.

As Pharaoh hears the prophecy 

of the need to obey

God's plans 

for the good of his people.

Likewise,

the people from all around

the Middle East

hear the mystery explained

in their own language 

for them

to obey and receive 

not just hope in dark times,

not just good news of joy to come

but the real, visible

and permanent

presence of God with us.

[PAUSE]

And we, too,

see the movement 

of the Holy Ghost 

in our little church

as we see new opportunities 

new ways to live the old faith,

not by abandoning 

the faith once delivered to the saints,

not by altering the covenant 

of the sacraments

to fit modem sensibilities 

but by being here

and speaking the wonderful words of God

to the people of today

with the same faith,

same hope

and same love 

that move on the face

of the waters of Creation itself.

And we turn to God the Holy Ghost

and we thank Him

profusely for dwelling with us

and devote ourselves 

to His will 

in His service

for His glory

and the joy of Mankind.

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What comes down must go up.

Sermon for the Sunday in the octave of the Ascension

Ten days.

We now have ten days wait

after the Ascension 

until the Birthday of the Church

when the Holy Ghost descends

and causes order 

from chaos.

What were the Apostles doing

for those ten days?

Were they sitting 

drawing up blueprints 

for the Church,

putting together 

codes of Canon Law,

and making sure that 

the priests will wear

the right colour

in the right liturgical season?

No. That's not what they do.

They meet together,

pray,

and wrestle with what they 

understand of the memories

of Jesus.

But they don't build a church.

They have realised that 

building a Church is a 

top-down activity.

[PAUSE]

If you think about it,

it's an odd way to build.

Can we really 

build a church 

starting with the spire

and building down 

to the floor?

Well, we can't do that.

We're subject to 

all the limitations of gravity.

But we need 

to realise these limitations.

The Day of Pentecost 

is not yet with us

and the Day of Pentecost 

is the undoing 

of the tower of Babel.

It's in these ten days

before Pentecost 

that we witness 

the deconstruction of Babel

and the safest way

to deconstruct a tower

is from the top down.

The building of the Church 

starts with the demolition 

of all that opposes it.

The crooked has 

to be made straight 

and the rough places plain

for the Gospel to be preached.

This demolition 

is a form of repentance.

These ten days of prayer

and preparation

in which the Apostles are silent 

are a form of repentance.

Of course,

you remember that 

repentance is not just

turning away from sin:

it is a turning towards Christ.

If we turn to Christ

then we necessarily 

turn away from sin.

The Apostles reflect 

upon the Ascension 

and what it means

and thus they turn their minds 

to Christ.

[PAUSE]

Our Lord's Ascension 

proves to us 

that He has descended 

from Heaven.

It strengthens our minds

that, truly, Jesus is the Son of God,

fully human and fully divine.

The Apostles see

exactly how Our Lord is the Way.

In ascending,

He has punched 

a human-shaped hole

in the veil

that separates us from God

and it is through this gap

that we see the Glory of God

and the joys of Heaven.

This shows them how

they are to build top-down.

[PAUSE]

When we try to build 

bottom-up,

the result is confusion

because we can only bring

earthly things 

into the building.

If we try to build a church

based on human ideas

of justice and mercy

all we will get is

confusion, conflict and 

consternation.

But,

to reach into the heavens

through Christ's Way

we build something 

that comes down from Heaven

to us.

This Church

separates Christians

from the World

and sanctifies their lives 

because it is built 

from the top down.

A building 

that does not separate 

from the World

bur rather blurs the

distinction between

the Church and the World.

It allows sin into 

the sanctuary 

and thus the sanctuary 

loses its sanctity.

[PAUSE]

That which is built 

from the bottom up

falls down.

That which is built 

from the top down

falls up.

Just as Christ descends

for our Salvation 

so He must ascend

so that we may too.

What comes down 

must go up.

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Trouble Praying

Sermons for the fifth Sunday after Easter

Why don't we pray

for no tribulation?

If we ask in Jesus' Name

then God will give it.

What's gone wrong?

[PAUSE]

Isn't it a bit rich of Our Lord 

to tell His disciples

that their prayers in His Name

will be answered 

and then to tell them

that they will suffer tribulation?

If God wants our joy to be complete 

why put us through the mill?

Why not hear our prayer

and prevent us from pain?

[PAUSE]

This is a hard question 

and one that many will use

as a reason for leaving Christianity

or for not taking it seriously.

It's a question that will 

never really be answered,

not in this life.

There are two points

to consider

which give us some clue

as to what Our Lord means.

First,

we are to ask 

in the Name of Our Lord.

How often do we pray

in the Name of Our Lord.

Just tacking on

 "in Jesus' Name" 

to our prayer 

doesn't make it a prayer

in His Name.

It needs to be a prayer

that He would want

to put His Name to.

It needs to be a prayer 

that we make in dialogue

with Him,

a prayer in keeping 

with His character 

and not ours alone.

It needs to be a prayer 

that is part of our ongoing 

conversation with Our Lord

that seeks His glory

and our happiness.

Indeed, His glory is our happiness.

This brings us to the second point.

[PAUSE]

Our prayers will be granted

so that our joy may be complete.

But our joy will not be complete 

not in this life.

Our lot as human beings

is to die.

We are only happy

for a short space of time

before we fall I'll

get hurt 

or die.

Our joy is never complete

in this world.

Our joy is not 

in this world.

Our joy is complete 

only after we have passed

from this life 

into the next.

Let's be clear,

God loves us now

and will answer our prayers

that we need now

but the purpose of our prayer

must be directed 

to our joy in Heaven 

and what is Heaven

if not to see

the glory of God Himself?

St Philip asks Our Lord

to show him the Father 

but Jesus says

that the disciples have seen the Father

in Jesus Himself.

Their joy will not be complete 

when they see Our Lord

bleeding and gasping

upon the wood of the cross.

It will not be complete 

when they see Him standing with them

but they do get a foretaste

of the joy that they are promised.

[PAUSE]

We will not see our prayers

not so suffer answered in this life.

They will be answered

in the next

where all our pain, sorrow and suffering 

will be given context,

explanation if we need it,

and sanctification 

as proof of Love.

Our prayer cannot

be a simple set of instructions 

for God to fulfill

like a genie on Checkatrade.

For then we will be 

disappointed.

If our relationship with God

is purely based on

transaction 

or wish-fulfillment

then we cannot expect 

our faith to grow

and we are in danger of losing it.

Our prayer must be

our continued contact with God

seeking His presence 

His will 

His glory

His love for everyone.

Our relationship with God 

must be rooted deeply in Him

and that means accepting 

the mystery of His fathomlessness

and of our own.

It means accepting pain

as our lives are bent 

back into shape

by the growing awareness 

of the presence of God in us.

But there are things

that God will always give us

if we ask for them now

in our continued conversation 

with Him 

- faith, hope love.

There is always 

a plenteous supply of those 

for us.