Click here for Astrid's video messageMatthew 25:14-30 1 Thessalonians 5:1-112nd Sunday before AdventThe story goes of a minister who dreamed that he was preaching a sermon and when he woke up he realised that it was true. Whether it’s a true story or not, to me it sounds like a nightmare. But staying awake can be a bit of a challenge. I remember the time when my family and I travelled to New Zealand, to spend our holidays with my sister. The journey was long and at the end of it, the time difference turned my body clock totally upside down: for the first few days, I was awake half the night and falling asleep during the day. Our upside-down world took some getting used to!The readings for today are set to help us not to lose the natural sleep that we all need, but to help us stay awake in the spiritual sense; to see the light of salvation and not get lost in the dark. First, there’s the parable of the talents that Jesus told:The master being away for some time, and entrusting his servants with some valuable resources, to work with during his absence: five talents to one of them, two for the other, and one talent for the third. (A talent, by the way, was a unit of money, about 15 years’ of a labourer’s wages, so quite substantial sums were handed out!) We know how the story goes: the first two servants got to work with their talents and increased their value; but the third servant went and hid his talent and didn’t do anything with it. When the master returned, the first two were commended for their diligence, but the third servant was thrown out into the dark for his lack of obedience and for his disrespect for the master. We may wonder what this is all about: the treatment of the third servant may even seem a little harsh to us. Well, as in previous sayings of Jesus, we are to understand it in the terms of the relationship between God and his people. And the third servant stands for the scribes and the Pharisees, who had been given the Law of Moses, the Temple, and the promises, through the prophets about God’s blessings for the whole world. But they had buried them in the ground, disregarding God’s generous gifts, and rejecting the giver. Now, as their master has returned – in the shape of God’s Son, Jesus – they are called to give an account. And they are found wanting.The other two servants are those who respond to Jesus’ call, and as they accept him, they develop God’s gift through the change in their hearts, and make it grow into a harvest for the Kingdom. The light of Christ has begun to shine in their lives, so they are no longer living in darkness. They have become day-time people, and, having watched the sunrise of the new day, they belong to the new world that God is creating.Paul, in his description of the change in those who have responded to Christ’s call, uses several metaphors that may sound a bit confusing at times, as they tumble over one another in their eagerness to make the point. The woman in labour, the thief in the night, the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of the hope of salvation: they are images of the dramatic change for the children of light who have escaped the darkness of sin and death. As you can imagine: a burglar leaves their mark on a property; a child born into a family changes them for ever, and the faith and love and hope that come with the Good News of Jesus Christ will change a person’s outlook in a very noticeable way. From now on, a believer will ‘wear’ their faith and hope, and will have a new ability to love, as he or she has found that God loves them, with an everlasting love. The new light of Christ that has begun to shine on the world can never be put out. That’s a promise.Therefore, we are encouraged to be awake, and alert to the fleeting changes of this life in this world. Especially now, at this time, what with winter approaching and the restrictions to our common life. We do not need to fear the dark. Christ has already overcome it. But we do need to stay alert, so that we may shine with the light of Christ, as he has called us to do. ‘For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.’And so, I’m reminded of this little verse:‘Jesus bids us shine, with a pure, clear light.Like a little candle, burning in the night.In this world of darkness, so let us shine.You in your small corner, and I in mine.’Amen.
Click here for Astrid's video messageMatthew 25:1-13 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18Remembrance SundayWhy do we remember? On a day like this, at a time when we’re struggling to cope with the invisible enemy that threatens our lives and that may leave deep scars to many, we may feel that remembering those who fought for our freedom in armed conflict, should take a bit of a back seat. Our focus is so much now on staying safe among our peers, not on fighting battles on the shores. However, that would be a mistake. Remembering those whose lives were given for their loved ones and others, is a good thing, because it connects us with a part of our story that should not be forgotten; because it helps us live now and in the future. And yet, even that human story of past and present wars is not the complete picture. If we were to stop at that, at simply remembering the conflict and reading the names, we would not do ourselves or even them any service. Why? Because we all need context. And the context of Remembrance is not only the past; it is the future. Let me explain, first with another question:Why do you think the story of my late husband’s grandfather is still remembered in his family? Jan de Pagter, who was a member of the Resistance during World War Two and was betrayed and taken away to die in a concentration camp, gave his fellow prisoners a life-line by reading from the small Bible he had managed to take with him in the deep pocket of his overcoat when he was arrested. And this story, which was written down in letters from survivors to his widow after the war, has been kept alive in our remembering, as a sign of hope, even in our own lives, in our own context. It has given his family a perspective on life which helps us deal with issues of the present in the light of the future. Again: Why? Because of hope. There is hope in remembering what has been achieved in the past for the good of others. We remember those who gave so much, because we realise that our lives would be very different if they hadn’t done what they did.So today we remember. We remember those whose names are on crosses and memorials and cenotaphs and we show our respect for lives that were lost in battle; the lives of their families changed with them forever. We also remember those whose acts of bravery never reached the memorials – who were faithful in their efforts to protect their families through other means, like hiding people or printing forbidden news and encouraging those in prison. We remember, because it is part of our story, and it helps us move on into the future.There is also another side to the story of Remembrance, as the reading from Matthew is hinting at: the parable of the ten bridesmaids, who waited for the arrival of the wedding party. Five were wise and five were foolish, it says. It is a parable that speaks to us about not losing hope and to remain prepared. It means understanding what the future – from God’s point of view – is all about. That means, among other things, remembering. Remembering what God has done for us in the past, so that we may have hope for the future. And also being thankful for the lives of those who were obedient to the call to protect others in the face of injustice and terror. When the five wise bridesmaids left home that day, they remembered to bring their lamps but also enough oil; for they didn’t know how long they would have to wait. When the five foolish bridesmaids left home that day, they only took their lamps and didn’t think about the oil that would keep them going. They were like those who go to battle without proper preparation. The five wise ones, on the other hand, were like those who realise that the battle may take a long while and that there will be a risk of being caught out for not having the right gear. Among other things, the right gear in the face of adversity and, possibly, simply making it through what life throws at us, is faith. And that takes us to the future hope of 1 Thessalonians 4, which talks about the day when all shall be revealed and redeemed in the return of Jesus Christ, and there shall be peace for ever.We remember because we need to realise what is at stake. We remember, because faith, and hope, are vital in times of uncertainty. And we remember, because we want to be prepared for the future. So that, one day, we may see justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Amen.
Click here for Astrid's video messageMatthew 5:1-12 Revelation 7:9-endAll Saints’ DayHow are you?On the whole, we tend to be good at small talk: from our greeting: ‘How are you? I am fine, thanks.’ – to the topic of casual conversation: ‘So glad it’s not raining’ – or variations on the weather, we tend to stay on the surface rather than going deeper. That doesn’t go for all cultures and societies; for example, the closer you get to the Mediterranean, the simple greeting ‘How are you?’ will evoke a much longer answer and engagement with the topic, ranging from a personal state of being to that of the second cousin twice removed.Whenever people meet, it seems that some people are better at taking time to share the latest news, about their own families and friends or even the state of the nation, than others. And on the whole, the British are not known for taking that time. Until, that is, the moment when Covid-19 hit us early this year.During my daily walk for exercise I noticed people would stop to have a chat rather than pass by with a hurried ‘you alright?’ – all of a sudden, when we had to keep our physical distance, time became more available for deeper conversation and sharing. It’s as if we began to try and build a kind of ‘bridge’ to narrow the divide with communication, now that we couldn’t be close to our loved ones for some time. No doubt psychologists will have more to say about that.But today, All Saints’ Day, we’re also looking at communication at a deeper level. The sayings of ‘blessed are…those who mourn; the meek, those who hunger for justice, etc.’ in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, are not just simple truths for all time about human behaviour and the way the world is. Only too often, those who mourn are not comforted, those who hunger for justice don’t get it in this world, and the meek don’t inherit the earth. So, if it’s not an announcement about the state of things now, then what is it? When Jesus said, ‘Follow me’ to the disciples, he didn’t tell them that they were going to have a great time. What he did say, though, was that great things were going to happen; and they would begin with him. It’s gospel, good news, not good advice. The list of good news in the Beatitudes (from the Latin ‘beatus’ which means ‘blessed’) was to announce God’s new plan in his new covenant with the people. They were to be offered a way out of their ‘land of slavery’ in their present state, and into a new ‘promised land’ of the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus, God’s Son himself, would open the gates and show the way. The Beatitudes are images of how that new covenant would look.Another image is offered in the reading from Revelation 7: ‘After this I looked, and there was a great multitude … from every nation, … standing before the throne and before the Lamb. And all the angels stood around the throne .. and worshiped God, singing, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever!’When this great multitude is referred to, it is also said that ‘they will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’The saints are Christians who have been identified through time as those who did special things because of their faith, sometimes in the most difficult circumstances and deep suffering. We remember them collectively today as examples and an encouragement to us. They are sometimes referred to as their stained glass pictures: people that the light shines through. They remind us of the way Jesus built a bridge between us and God, and a road that will carry us home. We don’t really know what heaven looks like, but we know it’s God’s space and that he is building a new earth that will have a place or connection with heaven. The life of heaven is to become the life of the world, where beauty and peace reign, as God has intended.The Beatitudes invite us to live in the presence with the future in mind, even at this time, and to go deeper at all levels of being. It’s as Julian of Norwich says, when she quotes Jesus’ words to her: ‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.’ Amen.
Click here for Astrid's video messageMatthew 22:34-46 1 Thessalonians 2:1-820th Sunday after TrinityIt is important to know who somebody is. A person’s name and context give us the meaning of their identity on the basis of which relationship is formed. Or that’s roughly how these things seem to work. An example of this is the play ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’, that you may know from its filmed adaptations too. In case you haven’t seen it, either as a play or a film, I shan’t give away the plot. But an Army journal, a Who’s Who, plays an important part towards the end of the story.The Pharisees who are questioning Jesus this time in Matthew 22, are also trying to have a look to see where Jesus appears in their own Who’s Who. They hold the law of Moses in front of him, figuratively speaking – all 613 commandments of it – and ask him, ‘Now, which of these is the greatest?’ Jesus has no trouble answering it, quoting from Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbour as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.’ This answer could not be questioned: it was a perfect summary of the law, and one that was even shaped into a daily prayer for every devout Jew; a prayer that is prayed even to this day. However, Jesus has always been challenging the people about their outward religious observance when it was not matched by an inner resolve to observe the intention of the law from the heart. Words are not enough for a person to be made whole; the heart needs to be renewed as well. So, the crux of the matter becomes apparent in the question that Jesus asks the Pharisees in turn: ‘What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ In their answer, ‘The son of David’, they are not wrong in itself, but their answer is incomplete. Yes, Jesus is the son of David, or in the line of David, as Matthew, the gospel writer says before. But he is not just a king who would win military battles for the Jews, which is the popular image of the son of David at the time. A king like that would hardly encourage people to love God and their neighbours in the intended meaning of the law.But what if David’s son is also David’s Lord and Master? What if God became human and brought the healing and saving rule of his Kingdom to the whole world? As such a Son, he would change the picture dramatically and change the entire meaning of who the real enemies of humanity were: not just a political oppressor, but the universal problem of sin and death.David, as the writer of many of the Psalms, and inspired by the Holy Spirit, had said, ‘the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.’ The first Lord is God; the second Lord refers to the Messiah.Simply put: God is creator, Messiah is his Son. Jesus is both son of David and Son of God. Prophesies about him were going to be fulfilled, as he would show the world what it really meant to ‘love God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind; and to love your neighbour as yourself.’ From this time onward, no one dared ask him any more questions. His answer to any of them would not have been in words anyway, but in actions that spoke louder than words. His submission to God’s plan of salvation for the whole world, even unto death, would show what the summary of the law was all about: love – for God, and for our neighbour. This would tell everybody who Jesus was, in a new Who’s Who edition that showed an open tomb as evidence of his identity, and the true importance of being earnest about love. Amen.
