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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. 

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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.

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Real righteous reality

Sermon for the eleventh Sunday after Trinity

What's wrong with 

being a pharisee?

You don't extort money.

You don't commit adultery.

You act according to the law.

You are follow the religious practices. 

You fast like you're supposed to.

You give alms like you're supposed to.

Everything has been done

according to the very rules

that God has set down

for you to live your life by.

The Pharisee does nothing wrong.

But we know that's 

not the real issue here,

don't we?

[PAUSE]

St Luke tells us 

right from the start 

why Our Lord preaches 

this particular parable

"unto certain which trusted 

in themselves that they were 

righteous,

and despised others."

We can see exactly 

what's gone wrong,

can't we?

The Pharisee despises the Publican.

But that's not surprising

if you think about it.

A publican doesn't run a pub.

He'd be more popular 

with his community 

if he did.

No. 

This man is a tax-collector,

like Zacchaeus,

like St Matthew.

He is a tax collector,

collecting money 

for the Romans who oppress

Israel and Judaea.

Not only that,

he's charging more

and creaming the profits

off the top.

He extorts 

and he is unfaithful 

to his country and his God

- no better than an adulterer.

Is the Pharisee not justified

in his assessment 

that he is more faithful to God

than one who is not?

Is the Pharisee's sin

really that he despises

someone who is contributing 

to the ruin of God's nation?

[PAUSE]

And what of this Publican?

If we look at him

as he bows his head

and strikes his breastfeeding

and begs for mercy in his sinfulness,

isn't he agreeing with the Pharisee?

So why does he go home

justified

and the pharisee not?

Well,

we know why.

The Publican 

goes home a changed man 

like Zacchaeus,

like St Matthew.

He has been made right,

he has been justified.

Something about him

is different. 

He enters the temple

a sinner,

he leaves it righteous.

His prayer to God

is for him to be made righteous again.

He doesn't thank God

for himself

because what he knows of himself

is sin

against God and against his neighbours,

and he sees it

and he hates it.

And so, 

he does what only he can do.

He comes to God

bearing only his sin

and begging for healing in his soul.

And that's what he gets.

He is made righteous. 

Not just declared righteous, 

made righteous,

really righteous.

And what of the Pharisee?

What does He bring God?

[PAUSE]

All God is presented with 

is the Pharisee's opinion

of himself

in relation to others. 

The Pharisee offers God 

nothing of the reality of himself.

Yes, 

he keeps the law

and respects the prophets

and fasts and gives to charity

and does all the things 

that you are supposed to.

But he gives God

nothing of himself.

What does he want God for?

Clearly not for forgiveness!

A medal?

a reward?

a blue plaque on his house?

Is he asking God to receive his thanks?

Well, yes, 

thanks that he is more righteous 

than other people.

Why should God receive his thanks?

There's nothing real here

that the Pharisee is thankful for.

He's done the work.

He's not extorted.

He's not committed adultery.

He's fasted.

He's given tithes.

Where is God in his thanks?

It seems little more 

than lip service. 

The Pharisee wants nothing 

and so he receives it in abundance. 

He leaves the temple 

unchanged,

no better, no worse.

His heart empty

and his life its own reward.

[PAUSE]

Every Mass,

we come to God

with an opportunity 

to offer him ourselves 

as we really are.

And we come here,

not to be smug

and happy that we're 

better than others

but to bring to God

that brokenness 

that needs healing.

Of course,

we bring thanks,

thanks for what God is doing

thanks that we have not 

got what we have deserved,

thanks that God is willing to make us

right with Him

based on who we really are

not on how we think we are,

especially in relation to

other people.

[PAUSE]

The way that we should live life

is determined by God Himself

because He is what it means 

to be righteous.

God does good

because He is what it means

to be good.

The Publican knows this

which is why he can only

approach God 

in humility

not presuming on God's mercy

as a done deal,

but actively desiring it

and only expecting it

because that's how God is

and for no other reason.

The Pharisee's idea of goodness 

lies in his keeping of the Law

and forgetting Who gives that Law.

If God is what it means

to be righteous, 

then this means

righteousness is real 

something to be lived

and experienced

and grown.

Not a list of rules

and consequences. 

To be justified 

means more than 

"well, you're okay with me."

It means

being really infused

with God Himself. 

Justification 

isn't just something 

that is pronounced;

it isn't just a legal statement 

ratified by a judge;

it is something in us

that is planted and grows

and grows by how much 

we tend it

through engaging

actively

with Our God Who

gives Himself to us

in the Holy Eucharist. 

[PAUSE]

The Pharisee may do what is right

on paper

but it is the Publican 

who goes home

with God in his heart

rather than scrolls 

of parchment. 

We, too, can leave here

with parchment in our hearts

or God Himself.

It depends on what

of ourselves we truly offer God

in the sacrifice of the Mass

and why.

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