Angels in the Darkness

 

Why, on Michaelmas Day, we need to be reaching out to the saints and angels for defence against the darkness.

Anxiety anxieties

Sermon for the fifteenth Sunday after Trinity 

We human beings

are time-bound.

We are born,

we live and we die

and our lives are divided 

into past, present and future.

At every instant

we are aware of 

our circumstances now,

our histories then,

and our expectations to come.

Each comes with 

its own dreads.

We call the dread

of things happening around us

fear.

We call the dread 

of rembering the past

regret.

We call the dread

of things to come,

anxiety.

Each of these

stunts our lives

because dread

allows something 

to take control over us

and how we live.

Our Lord says very clearly

that we have a choice between 

two masters:

God and Mammon.

The one gives us life

and the freedom to live it.

The other controls our life

and takes living away from us.

It isn't that we serve Mammon

willingly,

though some do.

But rather that we allow 

material things 

to control us.

Dread is itself 

a sign that we trust more

in material things

than we do God.

[PAUSE]

Of the three dreads

anxiety is the worst

because it is so slippery.

Because we can't see the future 

we imagine what the future 

will be like

and our imagination 

can take many forms.

If our imagination

can take many forms 

then so can our anxiety.

This is why the Ghost 

of Christmas yet to come

is the most terrifying 

of the three spirits 

that visit Ebenezer Scrooge.

For Scrooge,

the terror of what might happen 

completes his redemption 

and helps him realise

that if he lives in love 

then love will live with him

in him and through him.

The genius of the Ghost 

of Christmas yet to come,

isn't that he instills anxiety

with some vague threat

but that he gives Scrooge

something clear to focus on

and avoid 

by changing his life.

[PAUSE]

Our Lord shows us the same thing.

He shows us lives

blighted by crippling anxiety

about what could happen 

in the future:

homelessness,

pain,

starvation,

loneliness,

misery,

pointlessness,

hatred,

exhaustion.

All these nebulous fears

about what could happen 

take control 

and stop us from living.

That's not what God wants.

[PAUSE]

Jesus is so clear.

Only God knows the future.

But God values you, yes you,

so much 

that He is willing to die

for your salvation,

eternal happiness

in a good eternal home,

eternally free from pain,

surrounded by those who

truly love you,

eternally refreshed,

eternally nourished and enriched,

and eternally fulfilled.

Even in this life

God knows what we need.

He even knows our anxieties 

and their cause

and their effect

and He wants you

to give Him control,

not to enslave you

but to fulfill you.

He isn't going to guarantee 

a future without hardship 

but He does guarantee 

that whatever hardship we face

will not define us,

will not control us,

will not last forever.

But we have to trust Him 

on that 

because our little lifespan

cannot cope 

with the presence of Eternity 

just as a balloon 

cannot cope with being

filled with the entirety of the sea.

[PAUSE]

The Cross is the proof 

of Jesus' words that 

we are each one

not only lovable 

but actually loved.

We cannot let our expectations 

of the future rule us,

nor can we allow the fear

of disappointment 

cause us to turn way from God.

Through prayer,

and living the Christian life,

we come to learn

to recognise the voice of God

so that,

when things get too dark for us to see

we can hear Him call

and guide us through

into His marvellous light.

The future might be a frightening place,

with anxieties and dreads,

but Eternity with God

is longer lasting

and more certain,

and this wonderful state

promised for us,

causes Dread to dread

and gives Anxiety anxieties.

Why do Anglican Catholics get so hung up on Liturgy?

 

The Liturgy is just a means to an end, isn't it?

The hunger of an apostle

Sermon for the Feast of St Matthew

When and where

do we first meet 

St Matthew?

We might think

that we see him first,

sitting at his table of custom.

But, in a strange sort of way

we first meet St Matthew 

at Christmas 

when we begin his Gospel.

"But all the Gospels

are anonymous!"

Well, that's what 

those who somehow

want to depersonalise 

the Gospels say.

They say that

to undermine 

the reliability of their message.

They want to make them

anonymous 

so to take away 

their authenticity

and their authority

in our Church.

The problem is

that St Matthew's gospel

is credited with being

St Matthew's Gospel

from the earliest times.

And St Matthew

is the first voice we hear

of the New Testament 

sounding out

the news of the Incarnation,

connecting Our Lord

with Abraham and David.

We don't see St Matthew first,

we hear him.

St Matthew's first words to us

are of Our Lord's place

in History,

in a family

and in a royal dynasty.

That's where we first meet him.

Only later

does he tell his backstory.

[PAUSE]

We first see St Matthew 

sitting at the seat of custom

as a tax-collector. 

Even if he were an honest tax-collector 

and not extorting extra money 

from his own people,

he is still a collaborator

betraying his people,

his family,

his heritage in the Jewish race

by working with 

the oppressors, 

the enslavers of Israel,

the new Egyptians,

the Romans. 

That's why many tax-collectors

charge more

and cream off the profits

just to make the job worthwhile 

in the face of such hatred.

Is it worth it?

[PAUSE]

Well, clearly not.

Just like the fishermen,

all Jesus has to say is

"follow Me!" 

and St Matthew is up

and after Him

seemingly immediately.

Like the fishermen,

St Peter, St James, St John,

St Matthew sees something in Jesus

that he hungers for,

something that will 

take him away from

this wretched job

that he was enticed to do

and which has brought

such hatred upon him.

He follows and,

with other tax-collectors and sinners,

he sits down to eat

with the One

Who preaches love 

and not hate,

Who seeks to reconcile 

and not ostracise,

Who seeks to feed and nourish

rather than throw money

and hope that will 

solve all the problems. 

[PAUSE]

St Matthew's discontent

with his life is clear 

and he embraces life with Christ 

and death for Christ

rather than betray 

his own humanity 

and his own heritage

by continuing in sin.

In choosing to become 

a tax-collector, 

St Matthew loses

his place in society,

his heritage,

his history and 

the connection with God

upon which 

the Old Covenant was built.

In seeing Christ

he realises how hungry he is

how empty,

how separated,

how lonely he is.

And then,

eating a meal with Jesus,

he finds himself

becoming whole again

part of a new society

part of a new heritage

part of a new history

- new but old.

For nothing is really changed

it is renewed,

restored,

mended,

healed.

It is the sick that need the physician

for there is nothing to heal

in the healthy.

St Matthew's Jewish heritage

is completed in

the Jewish heritage of Jesus

and extended

into the heritage 

of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church

- the Church in which

he becomes an apostle 

- the Church which is built 

upon his Gospel

and testimony of his redemption 

and salvation

in the Divine Humanity of Christ.

[PAUSE]

St Matthew hungers

and thirsts for righteousness 

rather than accept

a life of discontent

and contempt.

And he urges us

not to live lives

of dreary, hopeless nothingness 

but receive the fulness

of our belonging to Christ

and our salvation 

in which we are growing

day by day.

Whatever we hunger for

in this life

we might never receive. 

If we hunger for the true Christ

to whom St Matthew points,

then we shall receive Him

in abundance eternally.

Anglican Catholic, quiet and proud?

 

Why soap box evangelism is not the Anglican Catholic way.

A Glorious Crossing

Sermon for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

St Paul tells us

that we should 

glory only in the cross of Christ.

If you remember, 

the word Glory 

- chabod in Hebrew -

has a sense of weight

behind it.

Glory makes an impact.

Glory is something 

you can't fail to notice.

Glory weighs a ton!

It is the glory of the cross

that prevents 

Emperor Heraclius

from entering Jerusalem 

with it in triumph

after defeating 

the Persian aggressor

King Chosroes.

It weighs too much

for his worldly riches

to bear

and he must cast them aside

so that he can pick up the Cross

and carry it into Jerusalem. 

Heraclius' glory in his triumph

has itself been beaten 

by the glory of rough wood

upon which Our Lord

bled to death.

[PAUSE]

Often  we forget the fact

that the Cross is 

supposed to be

the image of a shameful death.

We Christians have done 

a good job of turning 

the meaning of the cross around.

Every Easter, though,

we ought always 

to remind ourselves that, 

although the Cross is glorious 

it is still the way 

Our Lord was killed.

The Cross does not allow

for its glory to be something 

flippant.

It's not a decoration

for a party,

painted in bright colours

and festooned with streamers.

Its glory is grave,

heavy,

a memory of both

agony and rejoicing

neither one without the other.

In the Cross,

we see human life mirrored:

the pain of living in

a world corrupted by sin

and inhumanity,

and the joy 

of Resurrection 

and the bliss of

the World to Come.

This is what glory looks like.

It is substantial,

something that is 

too heavy to bear,

but also something you

can cling onto

and know that you

won't be swept away

by the winds and the floods

of life.

Even if the Cross

exposes our sin and shame,

we cling onto it

because through it

we are forgiven.

[PAUSE]

If we are to bear our own cross

then we must venerate that, too.

What does that mean?

What is this cross we bear?

What is this thing

that Our Lord mentions

when He tells us that,

to follow Him,

we must deny ourselves,

take up our cross

and follow Him.

He is referring 

to His death and resurrection.

The same is true 

for us,

for we must suffer

for our faith in Him.

For most of us,

this suffering comes

from trying to renounce

Sin, the World and the Devil

and turn to Christ.

Turning to Christ 

MUST matter to us.

It's not something we do

with a nod of the head

and a signature 

on a bit of paper.

We have to recognise

the impact of Christ

on our lives

and seek actively

to repent,

to amend

and to progress in the Faith.

How do we know that

we are progressing?

We sin less!

If we sin less,

then we are coming closer

to God

by definition. 

But if we are to take up our cross

then we are to venerate it

and allow its glory

to change our lives

away from sin

and towards virtue.

If our faith doesn't have

a real impact on our lives,

then there is no glory.

If, however, we embrace 

the cross as where our God was crucified

then we shall embrace His glory

in Heaven. 

Anglican Catholic Purity? Anglican Catholic Clarity?

 

Which takes precedence, the Affirmation of St Louis or the Anglican Formularies?

Missing the great blancmange trick

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

Tubbo the clown,

that great children's entertainer, 

is performing his usual

magic tricks 

at Janie's birthday party.

In the middle of his act

he takes Janie

and three of her friends

into a corner

away from the rest of

the audience.

With a cry of

"abracadoodles!"

there is a squeal of delight

from the girls.

A puppy!

A puppy has appeared

from nowhere

it seems.

Girls and puppy

race back to the audience

all eyes focused 

on the confused

but happy little dog.

All eyes on dog.

Not on Tubbo

who wants to continue his act.

He stands there

trying to grab the audience's attention.

He wants

to show them 

his greatest trick 

of turning Janie's dad

into a six foot blancmange. 

What's gone wrong?

[PAUSE]

"Don't tell anyone 

about what you have seen!"

Does Our Lord

really expect that to happen?

Why do this incredible trick

of healing a deaf and mute man

and then tell people

not to tell others?

Just look at what is happening!

All eyes are on

the man who has been healed.

There's a kerfuffle. 

People running about

"He hath done all things well;

He maketh both the deaf to hear

and the dumb to speak."

What is Our Lord thinking?

Surely God

in His infinite wisdom 

knows this will happen. 

So why allow it?

[PAUSE]

It's a fact

that you can't get a dog

to go in the direction 

that you point to.

They don't look 

at where you're pointing

they look at your finger.

They look at 

what is doing the pointing.

It's the same thing here.

The girls are more interested 

in the puppy

than they are in Tubbo.

Tubbo has certainly 

succeeded in entertaining 

his audience,

but not by his performance,

rather by the effects of his performance. 

As a result,

the audience

miss out on seeing

a thirty-five year old

chartered accountant 

from Market Harborough 

being covered

in two gallons of pink dessert.

[PAUSE]

In seeing the formerly 

deaf and dumb man

healed

in a literal act of creation,

the multitude 

turns a miracle

into a magic trick.

They focus on the healing.

They don't focus

on the One Who heals.

They miss out 

on what Jesus is pointing to.

The miracle is only a sign,

an indication 

that God is with us

that He cares for us,

that He wants us to be saved

from our sins

and be reconciled to Him.

The miracle is there

for one man's physical good 

and everyone's spiritual good.

[PAUSE]

After Mass,

we have our healing service.

Perhaps we shall see

a physical healing

as a testament of God's presence. 

Whether or not we do

experience an immediate 

and full physical healing,

our focus must be on Christ

because in Him

we shall all be healed,

saved, blessed 

and know the power of his love.

Yes, we pray

for all our ailments to be taken away.

Yes we pray 

for an end of our pain

and infirmity.

Let's keep that up!

But if our ailments 

are taken away,

if our pain and our infirmity

are healed

that's not our focus.

Our healing can become

the distraction from Christ.

This is why many people 

give up on Him

when they do continue in pain 

despite praying that He take it away.

Yes, there are those in constant pain,

- constant agony -

who can only think of that pain.

We can help them

by praying not only 

that the pain be taken away

but also that they may find a way

of being able to focus on Christ 

despite that pain

and find blessing and comfort

in doing so.

[PAUSE]

The crowds that tell everyone

about Jesus 

being a miracle worker

now focus the minds of others

on the miracles 

not on the message.

But some are faithful

and listen.

This is how we know 

that Our Lord tells the witnesses

to the healing 

not to tell anyone else. 

If no-one was faithful,

we would only know

The Amazing Jesus Barjoseph 

in the same way as we would know

Tubbo the Incomparable

or the magnificent 

Honi the Circle-drawer!

Who?

Precisely!

If we are faithful 

then we know Our Lord

to be more than a miracle worker,

more than a teacher,

more than a healer

but our lover,

our hope,

our king,

our God

and our destination in life.

And that's worth more 

than blancmange.

Anglican Catholicism and the internet of the future

 

What does "love thy neighbour mean" in an age when there might not be anyone there?