Blogday 2025: 20 years of blogging

 

 Twenty years today!

Innocence and the sword

Sermon for the feast of the Holy Innocents

Today

is one of the most uncomfortable,

and even distressing feasts

in the Church Kalendar.

Today,

in amidst all the joy,

happiness,

feasting and merriment,

we are faced with atrocity

- naked atrocity.

Many of us 

try to turn away 

and focus on the events

of Christmas Day

rather than on the 

deaths of little babies.

That's natural.

So why remember it at all?

And if we must remember it,

why do we remember it here

at Christmas time?

[PAUSE]

Well,

the day after Christmas,

we remember the death

of St Stephen.

And that doesn't seem 

to bother us as much.

His death,

although distressing

is, in some way,

chosen by St Stephen.

He could have just shut up

and said nothing,

but instead glorifies God

and is killed for it.

His death doesn't 

affect us

in the same way

as the Holy Innocents.

But surely,

St Stephen was a baby once,

so why is the death

of the babies of Bethlehem

so much more dreadful?

Why is the death of a newborn

so much more horrible

in our eyes

than the murder 

of a young man?

[PAUSE]

We react to death

in the proportion

that we love.

We remember 

that grief is a transformation

of our love 

because we can

no longer engage

with the person we love.

The baby newly born

is small, innocent and helpless

born separated from mother

and separated from God.

A baby is born

needing love,

needing that human goodness

to be nourished

and cared for,

to grow and become

her own person.

And,

in Bethlehem,

instead of that love

the baby meets a sword,

[PAUSE]

If that appals you,

if you feel like crying,

if you are disturbed by that,

then there is love in you.

Well done!

In grasping this horrible truth,

you have shown yourself capable

of love

and meeting hatred head on.

The depth of our love

Is measured by its capacity 

to suffer.

And we Christians 

are born to suffer

because we are born to love.

And it isn't our personal injuries

that cause us to suffer

it is the injuries that others suffer

that we count as our own.

We mourn 

with those who mourn.

And there is no grief

like that 

of a bereaved mother.

[PAUSE]

For nine months,

mother and baby

are inseparable.

Within her grows

someone beautiful

of her own body

and of the father's.

When we gaze into the face

of a baby,

we see a beauty as yet

untouched by the world,

and this beauty 

is a reflection 

an ikon of God Himself.

To destroy this child

is an act against God Himself.

Conversely,

to love this child,

to protect her,

to nourish her,

to hold her close and keep her safe

is an act of love shown

to God Himself.

To remember the Holy Innocents

is to remember our own humanity,

our need,

not only to be loved,

but to love,

actively and fully.

St Stephen chooses to proclaim

the love of God,

knowing that

it will lead to his death,

and we love him 

for his bravery and faith.

But the babies

have no choice at all.

Death comes for them

in their innocence

and in that innocence

they, too,

bear witness to the death of Death.

In the Holy Innocents' fate,

we recognise 

not only the evil 

that we can perpetrate,

but our ability to love

that has not been lost.

If we can still feel love,

then we can still love

and there is some health in us.

We are not totally depraved.

And this means 

that God thinks

we are worth saving,

worth the shame and spitting

and the Cross.

[PAUSE]

But what about joy?

Why is it the feast of the Holy Innocents?

Because they are not dead.

In Christ, 

they are full of life,

full of humanity,

full of joy, peace and love.

And because

not only can no further evil touch them

but also that evil flees from them.

Love has conquered hate

and death is swallowed up

in Christ's victory

which they share.

They may have never spoken

a single word on the Earth

but they intercede 

for us in Heaven nonetheless.

And they invite us

into their joy

which is hard won

but worth winning.

An Anglican Catholic makes merry!

 

Wishing you a joyful Christmas!

An Anglican Catholic crosses from the Old Testament to the New

 

Why perhaps we ought to rethink the divisions of the Bible.

The Red Herring of Advent

Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury on the fourth Sunday in Advent

Suppose you want 

to stop a fox hunt

or a rabbit hunt.

What do you do?

One practice is to get

a smoked fish, 

wait until its gone

a bit ripe -

well, okay, a lot ripe,

and drag it across the track 

behind the rabbit

as it flees.

The stinky trail

will send the dogs off

in completely the wrong direction.

And which type of fish

would be best?

A herring!

And, if you leave it

for long enough,

it will turn red.

That's where 

the red herring 

comes from.

The red herring

is designed 

to throw us off the scent

and confuse us

so we don't see

what's going on.

Is St John the Baptist

a red herring?

[PAUSE]

The priests and Levites 

might think so.

There in front of them -

a man calling for them

to repent,

and not mincing his words.

Who is he?

Is he the Christ? 

No.

Well, that seems 

straightforward enough.

Is he Elijah?

No?

Except that he is.

God says through 

the prophet Malachi,

"Behold, I will send you 

Elijah the prophet 

before the coming of 

the great and dreadful day of the LORD."

God is not being literal

but identifying

the last prophet with Elijah

Jesus Himself

will say that St John

comes in Elijah's spirit.

But hang on!

All this is a red herring.

We are being side-tracked.

Do you see that?

[PAUSE]

What is the real issue?

Who is this John the Baptist?

We've just seen one red herring

perhaps this man is another.

Hear him,

"I am the voice of him

that crieth in the wilderness,

'make straight 

the way of the Lord!'"

That's as far from being

a red herring as you can get!

A red herring is

supposed put you 

off the scent 

not put you on it.

St John clearly 

points the way to Christ

so why don't the rulers

of Jewish society

go the way that 

St John is pointing?

The have received 

another red herring.

They are seeking the Christ

but they are not seeking Jesus.

Their senses have become

confused with the different

scents of the previous centuries.

Israel has erred and strayed

from the way of God 

like a lost sheep.

Israel has been overrun

and conquered

ruled by Emperors 

that think they are gods,

and by self-important kings,

like Herod,

who want to be gods.

The people of Judaea

seek the Christ,

but their eyes have become clouded

by politics,

and expectations,

and battles,

and protests,

and invasions,

and rulers in it for themselves.

This is the smell 

of the red herring,

one thrown into draw people

away from Christ

by the Devil

who knows that the time is near

when his head will be crushed

by a virgin bearing a child.

Only St John

in his rags,

poverty,

and disrespect 

for human vanity

points the way clearly

in exactly the same way

that the prophet Elijah might.

Only those

who sniff past

the stench of this world's

depravity and degradation

will smell the sweetness

of Christ Himself.

[PAUSE]

Our Advent has been spent

clearing our noses

from Hell's smells.

We smell the mulled wine,

the pine needles and mince pies 

the candles and the frankincense

but we know that 

they draw us on to the Lord

because we recognise 

His presence with us

despite the aroma of

the world outside.

[PAUSE]

The more we know Christ

the more we will be able

to sniff Him out

despite the red herrings

that are thrown at us.

An Anglican Catholic prophesies about Advent

 Why prophecy is so much more than people think.

'Tis the prison to be merry.

Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury on the third Sunday of Advent

Why does God hide Himself?

Have you ever wondered that?

Everyone would be a Christian

if they could see Him.

Wouldn't they?

But we can't see Him

and so we are 

left wondering.

Why does He hide Himself

from us,

His church?

[PAUSE]

St John Baptist

sits in prison.

It's deep, dark and cold,

but he can still get messages

to and from his disciples.

But he is out of the loop.

He remembers that man,

a cousin of his, 

in fact.

He remembers

baptising Him.

He remembers

the water,

the Spirit,

the voice from above.

And then silence.

Silence as He decreases

so that the Christ increases.

Thrown into prison

for telling the king

that he cannot steal 

his brother's wife.

There are rumours.

Oh yes there are rumours,

but this Jesus

is not revealing Himself

in the way that Israel expects.

He is not revesling Himself

in the way 

that St John expects.

Can it really be Him,

the one that is to come?

Or is it someone else?

So St John sends disciples

to find out.

[PAUSE]

They return with the message:

the blind receive sight

the lame walk,

lepers are cleansed,

the deaf hear,

the dead are raised

and the poor have 

the gospel preached to them

and blessed are they

who are not offended in Jesus.

At this St John rests assured.

God has not hidden Himself.

St John rests assured,

but do you rest assured?

Does this answer 

the question for you?

Why does God hide Himself?

[PAUSE]

The answer is 

that He doesn't

though not many

will be convinced at that.

We don't see God the Father.

Why not?

This is a bit 

tricky to understand.

How does Bugs Bunny

know the width of the film

that he is recorded on?

How does Desperate Dan

know the colour of the paper

he is printed on?

How does the algae

that spends its life

on the pond surface

know how deep the water is?

We cannot see God

with our created eyes.

It's not possible.

To do so,

we need to step outside

existence itself

to see Him.

But God wants to be known.

So what does He do?

He becomes like us.

God reveals Himself

not in the way that we think.

Never in the way 

that we think.

Our preconceived ideas

about what constitutes

the Messiah

are always transformed

by how He has

always revealed Himself.

St John's preconceived ideas

are challenged

but presented

with what he knows

in his heart of hearts.

As soon as he hears,

he knows it to be true.

Jesus isn't hiding Himself.

He is making God visible.

Anyone who sees Our Lord

sees the Father and the Holy Ghost.

But why does He hide Himself now?

[PAUSE]

For us here, 

we know that He doesn't

hide Himself.

We shall see Him

not with these eyes

but with the eyes of faith

when we see Him 

in the Blessed Sacrament.

When the priest elevates the host,

we are staring

for a brief moment

at the Centre of the Universe

at Our Creator

and Redeemer.

A consecrated wafer

is God's promise

to one

who cannot have the eyes

to see Him

in His glory.

And,

when we are raised,

we will have eyes to see Him

as He is.

But what about the others?

Why is God hidden from them?

Well, all they have to do,

if they really, really  want to see 

that God is not hiding from them.

is look in the manger

on Christmas Day.

An Anglican Catholic legalises Advent

 

What is the relationship between the Law and Advent

Turning the last page

Sermon for the second Sunday in Advent

Why do we want 

to know the future?

To be fair,

some of us don't.

Some of us are terrified 

of the future.

It seems that we have

a love-hate relationship

with the things that are to cone.

For many, 

the future stands before them

like the black hooded figure

in A Christmas Carol

ready to point out their grave.

But, think now.

What do you see the future

looking like?

[PAUSE]

There are lots of 

doom mongers out there.

Some use horoscopes

or pendulums

or will even claim

to talk with spirits

about the future.

Some will use science

and scientific data

to predict what will happen.

Some will even use the Bible

or the apparitions of saints

to discern the future.

But why?

We already know

what's on the last page.

[PAUSE]

Turn to the last chapter

of the Book of Revelation

and you see exactly

what Our Lord is telling us.

There will be disruption:

disruption to countries

disruption to the Earth

disruption to the Heavens

disruption even in Heaven itself.

Things will be turned on their heads

and then Christ comes.

That scares us.

We don't like disruption.

We like things to follow a pattern,

even if we are a bit ofba daredevil.

We might love a bit

of drama and chaos

but ww still have

an expectation

that things behave consistently.

We might like the adrenaline rush

but the thought of the Moon

crashing into our planet

would still be a concern.

Even we Christians

who know what it says

on the last page

are frightened of the future.

Why?

[PAUSE]

There are two reasons

at least.

First,

there might be the possibility

that we're wrong

and that the last page of the Bible

won't happen.

This requires faith.

Based on what we know of gravity,

if we throw a ball.into the air

in normal circumstsnces

we have good reason

to believe that it will 

fall back down.

This is faith in the law of gravity.

Based on what we know of God

and how He loves us

and how He wants every human

alive yesterday, today and tomorrow

to be saved,

we can have faith that the last page is true.

Second,

we might be afraid of the future

because

even though God loves us

Christians have gone through

and still go through

the most awful tribulation

to get to the last page

and He doesn't take away

the possibility of

extreme suffering from us.

Yes, this is disturbing.

But this is still an issue of Faith.

Our Lord chooses the death on the cross.

He specifically chooses it.

Even if He has to be executed

He chooses crucifixion,

slow and agonising,

rather than something quick

He does not have to choose it

but He chooses extreme suffering

so that our extreme suffering.

would end in Heaven.

This is our faith.

[PAUSE]

While the future 

may look scary

the back page is still true.

Of course,

people will say

that Our Lord's generation

has come and gone

and He has not returned

We can see why.

Our children and our children's children

still need to know the love of God

even if they have not yet been born.

They are still the generation

of the Apostles.

We are still the generation

of the Apostles

because,

while people are still being baptised

they are still being regenerated

into the Family of the Church

and of the Body of Christ.

The Church has not passed away.

And that's because Our Lord's worda

will not pass away.

[PAUSE]

We do not need to see the future

because we already know what it is.

We still have the Holy Spirit.

The Church is still the Bride of Christ.

The Spirit and the Bride

say, "come!"

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

An Anglican Catholic falls into Advent

 

Why St Andrew opens the door to our failure and to our salvation.

Chucking out time in the temple.

Sermon for the first Sunday in Advent, preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine of Canterbury

As the Lord rides

into the temple of your heart,

what will he find there 

to cast out?

Well, there's a nasty question

to be asked on a Sunday morning!

You want nice easy questions

to start the day off

such as

"Isn't it a lovely day?"

or

"don't the flowers look nice?"

or even

"how are you?"

But no,

as soon as you get into Advent

the voice from the pulpit asks,

"As the Lord rides

into the temple of your heart,

what will he find there 

to cast out?"

[PAUSE]

The trouble is

this is what happens

when you open the door

to Our Lord and let Him in.

Look at the chaos He causes!

They let Him into Jerusalem

and He comes in

sitting on a donkey

to shouts of "Hosanna!",

the crowd cheering

and waving palm branches.

And straightaway,

He's off His donkey

and throwing the moneychangers

and the dove sellers

out of the temple!

It's mayhem.

It sounds like Jesus

is not someone

you invite round

to dinner.

[PAUSE]

But people do invite Jesus

round for dinner.

We see this again and again.

And every time we see it,

He's causing some mischief.

And this is the Jesus

that we want to invite 

into our lives!

So it looks like the question

is important:

as the Lord rides

into the temple of your heart,

what will he find there 

to cast out?

[PAUSE]

It may seem impolite

for a guest in your house

to come in and 

immediately start

to throw out your throws,

chuck out your chintz

and shove out your sofa,

but we must remember

that Our Lord has one thing in mind

- our salvation.

Advent marks His desire

to come here at all

and save us all from Satan's power

when we have gone astray.

It's urgent.

Really urgent!

He wants us to be saved

and can't bear the thought of us

being away from God,

and suffering because

we are away from Him.

So straightaway,

He gets to work.

In the same way,

when a parent barges into a room

to deal with a child that has

hurt herself,

forgetting politeness

and courtesy,

Our Lord has the same ferocity

against anything

that is hurting us.

It's that immediate.

It's that intense.

[PAUSE]

This is why we're here.

We actually want Jesus

to come to dinner,

to be part of our lives,

to be our king.

And while we fling wide the gates,

and shout, "Hosanna!"

the question becomes

all the more important:

as the Lord rides

into the temple of your heart,

what will he find there 

to cast out?

This is why Advent

is a penitential season.

It is a time to look

at our lives

and see what we need to throw out

so that it comes as no surprise 

when He comes in

and throws out

all our pride and vanity,

all our wrath and cruelty,

all our lust, greed and desire to control,

all our laziness and envy

even if they don't look so bad

or if everyone else does them.

We have to let Him in

and we have to let Him

throw things out.

We don't need them,

not if He's king of our hearts

[PAUSE]

While this may make us

uncomfortable,

this is such

a refreshing thing!

If we let Him throw things out,

He will make a place

in our hearts in which He can live.

The worst thing we can do

is to bring back in

that which He throws out.

Oh, He will keep throwing it out

but if we will keep bringing it back

then at some point

He will stop and wait

until we are ready to let it go

but if we keep bringing back

something that Our Lord 

throws out,

then maybe

we love it more than

we love Him.

Or maybe the habit to sin 

is so strong

that we realise how weak we are

and must ask Him

to strengthen us

to let Him throw out

what He must.

God wants us 

to have a clear space 

in our hearts for Him

- not for His ego,

but for our good

for what is better

than having hearts

full of goodness and joy

and love and peace?

[PAUSE]

Advent is a penitential season.

We must take it seriously.

But not joylessly.

Indeed, to assist Our Lord

in His preparation

of our heart

so that he can live in it

will help us better

enjoy the truth of Christmas

with all its colour and song.

As the Lord rides

into the temple of your heart,

what will he find there 

to cast out?

Will you be happy 

if He does?

An Anglican Catholic and the Co-Mediatrix

 

What do words mean?

Takeawsy pop-up toast?

Sermon for the Sunday next before Advent

What do you think it looked like?

Did our Lord reach 

into a basket and 

pull out more bread?

Did it just appear in His hand?

Or did it just pop up

from who knows where

like slices of toast

on the mountainside?

Does Our Lord

have a toaster 

about His person

powered by divine energy?

It must have been something.

Yet nobody notices how,

because,

as usual,

Jesus doesn't make

a show of it.

He just gives the bread

to His disciples

and they go around 

distributing it.

So we miss 

how this bread appears.

[PAUSE]

In some way

this bread has to come

from the bread that's there.

It's not likely

to be freshly baked bread

of the moment,

because the bread that He is given

has been there listening to

Him teaching

with the lad

who has carried it up the mountain

and has been listening to Him.

Wherever it comes from,

this is good bread.

Everyone eats their fill

and there are baskets left over.

But where did this bread come from?

[PAUSE]

Our Lord doesn't say.

But there are hints.

First, 

we remember that

He teaches us to pray

"give us this day 

our daily bread."

The Greek word

we translate as "daily"

is only found here

in all of the Bible.

When we usual see

the Greek for daily,

it usually refers directly

to the Greek for "day".

But, in His prayer,

Our Lord uses a strange word 

Epiousios

which defies a literal translation:

it's sort of like

"exist upon".

Many people 

see this as meaning

"give us this day the bread we need"

and so you can see

why we often translate this as

"daily bread" - the bread we need

today or tomorrow.

It's an appeal to God

to feed us.

And this is exactly what we

see happening here

as the multitude who need bread

are given bread.

Our Lord says

that Our Father in Heaven

knows we have need of these things

and will supply what we need

if we turn to Him.

But the bread that He gives

seems to come

from nowhere

- it just is

- it just exists upon Our Lord's word.

Exists upon

Epiousios

And that is what

Our Lord teaches us

in His prayer.

[PAUSE]

But there is something else.

For the Lord says

"For the bread of God is 

he which cometh down from heaven, 

and giveth life unto the world...

I am the bread of life: 

he that cometh to me 

shall never hunger; 

and he that believeth on me 

shall never thirst."

"cometh down"?

Epiousios!

It's the same idea.

In many ways,

Our Lord is giving to the multitude

a taste of Heaven.

The bread they receive

is of the bread given by a lad

and given to the multitude

we know not how.

It is not the Eucharist

for Our Lord does not say,

"this is my body".

But this miracle shows

what Christ will do

for the whole Church.

He gives us what we need.

Food for the body.

Food for the soul.

And we ask for it

every time,

we pray the Lord's prayer.

[PAUSE]

We take away 

from the mountainside

more than just bread.

We take Jesus with us.

We take a greater faith

strengthened

by God Himself.

We take away hope

knowing that

God will provide

in some way.

We take away love

which we are to distribute

to all we meet

who need it.

Who needs a toaster 

up a mountain?

The Truth about Remembrance

 Why human beings need to remember. 

Why Christians should never pick up spades

Sermon preached at the Cathedral Church of St Augustine on the twenty-second Sunday after Trinity

Oh no. 

Someone has dug a hole

in your beautiful lawn.

You've been growing this lawn

for ages,

mowing it carefully,

pulling out all the weeds,

putting down lawn feed,

telling the cat very firmly

that this is not a litter box,

and that you expect 

to be obeyed in this.

It was a beautiful lawn,

and now there is a hole

three feet in diameter

and two feet deep.

The cat denies all responsibility.

What do you do?

Fill it in?

With what?

[PAUSE]

You can't just magic up some earth 

from nowhere.

You can take earth from 

another part of the garden

but that would leave you

with less earth there.

This hole simply can't vanish.

It needs to be filled in with something.

That's the thing with holes

they only get smaller

the more you add something to them.

They get bigger 

the more you take from them.

You could find the person responsible

and demand they fill it in.

That's only fair.

They need to fill that hole in

because they made it.

But what if they can't?

[PAUSE]

Sin and evil work 

in exactly the same way.

Evil is like a hole.

Practically speaking, 

it is a hole in what is good.

Sin, too, is a hole

in our relationship

with God.

The work in the same way.

The only way 

you get rid of evil

is by adding good.

The only way

you get rid of sin

is by turning to God.

But that's easier said

than done.

Let's take an extreme case.

Tom murders Jerry.

It's an act

which we know to be evil.

It's murder, after all.

But what if Tom

sees what he has done,

and realises the evil

he has committed?

He repents,

in anguish,

sorrow,

and with bitter tears

comes to Terry and says,

"I am so sorry,

I have done evil,

I have murdered Jerry,

I will take the punishment,

but please forgive me!"

Terry now faces a choice:

he can forgive Tom

or he can not forgive Tom.

He doesn't have

an obligation

to forgive Tom.

Tom cannot expect

to be forgiven,

but he can hope.

Which is the best course

of action?

[PAUSE]

Well, 

you know the best course of action

because you've been listening

to Jesus.

Forgiveness

heals.

First,

forgiveness 

doesn't take anything away

from the other.person,

so it doesn't increase Evil.

Second,

forgiveness

does not make

the separation from God worse

so it doesn't increase Sin.

Forgiveness

is like one of those

yellow panels 

that workmen put over holes

to stop people falling in.

But notice,

forgiveness

doesn't actually fill in the hole.

Whether or not 

Terry forgives Tom,

Jerry is still dead,

but Terry's forgiveness

stops the hole from

getting bigger.

So how do we fill the hole in?

[PAUSE]

To fill in a hole in the garden,

you need earth.

To fill a hole in what is good,

you need goodness.

To fill a hole in our relationship

with God,

we need God.

The only way

that Jerry's murder

can be rectified

is by God.

We can't do this ourselves.

We can't make things right.

We can't save ourselves.

We need God.

Only God can fill the holes.

That's His justice.

The Church has the authority

to pronounce God's forgiveness

of the sins we confess

but we still have accept 

the consequences -

that is justice.

But God still seeks our love

and bids us return to Him

for repairs and renewal - 

that is mercy.

Nonetheless,

we must forgive

and dare to forgive

even the apparently unforgiveable

because that is

what sets us Christians

apart from the World.

Forgiveness

helps us become truly holy.

Christians must not 

make holes bigger

by digging in them.

Now, tell that to the cat.

An Anglican Catholic remembers

 How do we win a war?

Miracles unaccompanied

Sermon for the twenty-first Sunday after Trinity

Did Jesus have 

to perform miracles?

Wouldn't His words

be enough?

He is clearly 

a charismatic preacher.

We hang on His every word

as He preaches 

the Beatitudes to us

from the mountainside.

He is witty

and good with puns

as Peter the rock

will tell you.

Isn't it to our shame then

that we won't believe Him

until He performs miracles?

[PAUSE]

That really depends 

on what the miracles are for.

Clearly, we do need them

otherwise, 

Jesus would not perform them.

They are expressions of His

compassion

and love.

They seek to supply

what is lacking

and correct

what is amiss.

Empty bellies are filled.

Senses are restored.

Life is given.

Our Lord shows

good faith to us

by allowing us to 

sample a little of

what He promises.

Enough to back up

what He tells us.

But these miracles

come only second to what 

He is trying to tell us.

The only miracle

that need prove the Gospel 

is the Cross.

Our Lord accomplishes

the redemption of mankind

in that one act 

of Death and Resurrection 

which

to our eyes

can only be a miracle.

That is the only 

necessary muracle.

Even that

isn't performed in order 

to be a miracle:

it is only a miracle 

in what we see.

[PAUSE]

As much as we would love

to see miracles, 

Our Lord wants us 

to have faith in Him

and what He tells us.

True,

we believe because 

He has backed up His words

with signs and wonders

but we now know

we can believe Him.

But what of those

who still don't?

Don't they need signs and wonders?

[PAUSE]

These days,

if you perform a miracle 

someone would post a video

on Youtube to debunk it.

Signs and wonders 

have never been enough

to convince everyone.

To some,

a miracle would

back up Our Lord's words

only for a while.

It is only by 

living with Our Lord

and getting to know Him,

listening to what He is saying,

eating with Him

laughing with Him,

watching Him in action

that we believe Him.

But people don't want

to spend time

growing in Faith.

They want

crash, bang, wallop!

And 

Hey presto!

But that doesn't get us

to the real Jesus.

[PAUSE]

Admittedly, 

it would be nice 

for us to have a few miracles today

to show people that

we Christians are telling the truth.

A star shining on our Cathedral, 

a Eucharistic miracle,

an apparition of Our Lady

would certainly 

gladdens our hearts

in a world of unbelief

and bring people to the Church. 

But it is Christ we preach,

and we rejoice in just

being able to speak of

the love He has for us

and showing others 

the same compassion 

that He has shown us.

If He chooses to give

us a sign and wonder

to follow what we say and do

then that is something 

we can rejoice in

and marvel at.

But a new miracle is something 

we don't need to expect

for the Gospel we proclaim

to be true.

The miracle of the Cross

will always do.

Remembering the Anglican Catholic way

 

Why remembering is much more than a mental exercise.

Bless your heart

Sermon for the Sunday in the Octave of All Saints

Someone one sneezes.

What do you say?

Why?

[PAUSE]

When you say, "Bless you!"

you are essentially asking

for God to bless the person

and prevent them from

falling ill.

That seems straightforward. 

That's not the same word

that we hear Jesus say

in the Beatitudes.

When He says,

"Blessed are the pure in heart,"

that's not the same as

"The one who sneezed is blessed."

Can you hear the difference?

How is it different 

to be blessed when you sneeze

from being blessed for being 

pure in heart?

And what does all this 

to do with the Saints?

Always go to the Greek!

In the Greek, 

to bless someone

usually means

to speak well of,

to praise,

to wish good things.

But when Our Lord says,

"Blessed are the pure in heart..."

He's using the word meaning

"Happy!"

Actually,  if we're being very picky, 

Our Lord doesn't actually say

"Blessed are the pure in heart..."

He says,

"Happy the pure in heart...!"

Can you hear it? It's stronger.

To be pure in heart is to be happy.

To be a peacemaker is to be happy.

To hunger and thirst after righteousness 

is to be happy.

To be persecuted for righteousness' sake

is to be happy!

To be persecuted is to be happy?

What's gone wrong there?

[PAUSE]

Nothing's gone wrong.

Look at the saints.

Are they not happy?

You might say,

"well, they weren't happy

when they were being crucified

or chopped up

or burned."

The trouble is

that to say that 

misses the force

of what Our Lord

is telling us.

Among the saints

are many martyrs

who indeed suffer

horrible torments for Christ. 

But their suffering 

is confined to this Earthly realm.

Their full selves,

their happy selves

are in Eternity 

where in some sense,

they have always been.

Their happiness -

our happiness -

is God.

It's not that our suffering on Earth

doesn't matter to God. 

It's that He perfects our suffering 

and gives it purpose

to be close to Him.

His suffering is part of ours

and our suffering is part of His.

God stands waiting for us

at the end of our Earthly lives

in order to give us Eternal lives.

It is in our Eternal lives

that our Earthly lives

are not destroyed 

but are perfected.

Grace perfecting nature!

If we hunger and thirst after righteousness 

then that is our Eternal life

poking through 

into our Earthly life.

If we are persecuted for righteousness' sake 

that is our happiness 

soaking through into

the little life we know now.

The lives of the saints

are full of these acts

and its how we know them

to be saints.

We see the fruit of their labours

and by their fruits 

shall we know them.

We recognise the saints 

because through their

purity in heart 

we see God's light shining.

[PAUSE]

Some may ask us,

where are your saints today?

Whose lives shine forth light?

Elizabeth Barton

who challenges even kings

to seek righteousness?

Fr Alfred Patten, 

restorer of the shrine of Our Lady?

Bishop Albert Chambers

the one who defies

unjust rules

to ensure that the sacraments 

are preserved?

And then there's you?

Why not you?

Bless you.

Christianity and the Occult

 

Why Christians need to take the Occult seriously but not embrace it.