A firm place to stand It could be said, that in many aspects of life today, we face uncertain and in some cases difficult times. The world is troubled, there are tensions rising between nations, distrust, fear and anxiety, which bubbles up into violence. This last summer has been extremely hot and dry and we have seen wildfires sweep devastatingly across swathes of land, destroying precious ecosystems, and we are being warned that the El Nino will bring storms and rain this autumn, and potentially an even hotter summer next year. So what do we do when life seems difficult? Whilst walking the Camino, one of my hardest days, was a very steep, rocky descent from the highest point, into the town of Molinaseca, the path was treacherous, and at one point, I found myself walking alone for what seemed like ages, I could see no one in front and no one behind. I had started the day, reading a couple of verses from Psalm 40: ‘I waited patiently for the Lord, he turned to me and heart my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.’ As I walked I found myself crying out to the Lord, asking him to give me a sign, that I wasn’t alone, that if I fell, someone would find me! Immediately, from behind I heard the familiar and unmistakable sound of a second set of walking poles, it was as if, though not literally, my feet had been set on a rock, and I had been given a firm place to stand. I had the reassurance I needed, that I was not alone, indeed that I am never alone, God is always there, before, behind, beside, above and inside me. We don’t need to feel overwhelmed by the troubles of the world, we just need to wait patiently on the Lord, knowing that he is with us, he has not abandoned us, he will set our feet on the rock and give us a firm place to stand. May God bless you Reverend Heather
Trinity 15/A - Genesis 50:15-21; Matthew 18:21-35 & Romans 14:1-12You might have seen, Norwich Prison featuring on the local news this week, which reminded me of the time I spent in Norwich prison, as a visitor I hasten to add! Whilst I was there, I got to meet several of the men who attended the prison alpha courses and one of the chapel assistants. As we sat and chatted, he told me about how he had come to faith whilst in prison, and it was a profound story of hope, he told me about how the Holy Spirit had completely transformed his life, and how it felt to him to know the forgiveness of God. He told me a little of his story, but of course, he told me nothing of why he was in prison in the first place, just that he was a ‘lifer’ and so clearly, whatever it was it was significant. But what struck me and has always remained with me, is his comment, that although he knew he was forgiven by God, he could never forgive himself, he would live with the guilt for the rest of his life. And that challenged me, because I could see a man, who although he had accepted Jesus into his life, was still trapped, not just by the four walls of the prison, which was justice, but by his guilt. And it made me wonder about what being forgiven looks like, how does it, how should it change us, if know that we have been forgiven? Now of course, this is an extreme example, but in our bible readings today, this is something that crops up a couple of times. Let us look again at our passage from Genesis. In our reading, it said that when the brothers sent their message to Joseph saying ‘your father left these instructions before he died: ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they have committed in treating you so badly. Now please forgive the sins of the servants of God of your father.’ Joseph wept. Joseph wept … why … because he had already shown his brothers forgiveness, he had already forgiven them, but had the brothers ever fully recognised the forgiveness they had received, or as it appears, did they believe it was only conditional on their father Jacob still being around, and so when he died, they panicked and thought Joseph would know exact his revenge … no wonder Joseph wept and in his compassion, reassures them, that they are forgiven, and assures them of his ongoing provision for them and their families. To know you are forgiven is to be freed from the bondage of fear and doubt, wondering when the person that has forgiven you might just change their mind? In psalm 103 we are reminded, ‘as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.’ When we consider the forgiveness of God, our sins are forgiven and forgotten … so that we might be set free, or as we will be singing later ‘Long my imprisoned spirit lay, fast bound in sin and nature’s night, thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; my chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed thee.’ So to know that you are forgiven is to be freed from the bondage of fear and doubt, but what about our reading from Matthews gospel this morning. It is a familiar parable, told in response of course to the question, how many times should I forgive my brother when he sins against me and so the bedrock, I am sure for many sermons on forgiving others. But what about what it looks like to know you are forgiven. Because as I was reading and reflecting on this parable this week, I wondered did the unmerciful servant really know that he was forgiven … certainly his actions didn’t match the forgiveness he had been shown. And so of course, he is freed from a huge debt by his master, only to then not forgive one of his fellow servants who owed him a small debt, having him thrown into prison. I wonder if that really looks like the actions of someone who knows that they are forgiven … and in the light of our reading from Genesis, I think he looks a little like the brothers, anxious that his masters generosity may not be sustained, there is fear. And perhaps he was right to be anxious, after all when his master hears word of what he has done, he is handed over to the jailors to be tortured until he paid back what was owed … an impossible amount. But only because …. He didn’t show the same amount of mercy as he himself had been shown. Being forgiven, knowing that we are forgiven, should lead to a change in our hearts a change which leads to action, as you see the world with fresh eyes. With compassion and with love. Mercy, love, justice, kindness and forgiveness are all gifts from God. These are the signs and symbols of God’s living presence with us. God is calling us today to live a life of forgiveness. Over and over we are forgiven by God. Not seven times seventy, but endlessly. God’s love precedes us, is beside us, surrounds us and leads us home. Our call, our response is to live as forgiven people, forgiving others and ourselves. Paul in Romans reminds us ‘We do not live to ourselves and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord’ so then, whether we live or whether we did, we are the Lords (Romans 14:8). Such forgiveness is not something we do alone, but in community. As we model forgiveness, we receive abundant forgiveness and help others see God’s mercy working in their lives. So how do we become the people of forgiveness and mercy in this fractured world? We start by forgiving ourselves. God forgives you, so forgive yourself. And when we accept our own flawed humanity, we notice that others around us are human too – and as prone to failing as we are – and compassion grows. To know we are forgiven ourselves, frees us to be people of forgiveness, forgiving others and ushering in God’s kingdom of mercy and justice. So as we leave our worship later today, may we live into the freedom of the forgiveness we have received. Amen.
Trinity 14 Year A – Season of Creation Ezekiel 47:9-12; John 7:37-39 A couple of days ago, I received an email from the diocesan finance department, asking why I had used 64% more water than expected in the last quarter. The email frustrated me, because of course, like everyone else, we have been doing everything we can to keep our water usage to an absolute minimum. Our paddling pool which was full before the hosepipe ban came in, we painstakingly emptied into our three water butts, so that we could continue to water the garden, with the salvaged water. I made the decision to only water the tomatoes, and one other pot, in the garden and only ever from the water butts or grey water from the kitchen. So I was frustrated, when I felt accused of consuming way more than my fair share of water … and no doubt the diocese is frustrated because they have got to pay for it. What made it all the more annoying, was that this is not the first time it has been suggested our water usage is more than expected. This has been going on for the last 18 months, every time a bill comes in. We have been asked to look for leaks, when we couldn’t find any, a plumber was sent. Then nothing happened until the next bill and we did the same, checked for leaks and confirmed we couldn’t find anything a miss … And so the cycle has continued, until this final bill. After a quick email to the property and finance department, at 8.30am the next morning, I had a builder on my doorstep, and the leak has been located, somewhere in the pipe leading from the mains to the house … sadly, unlike here at St. Johns, it has not turned our grass green and revealed itself to us over the recent dry months. And so hopefully in the next week or so the problem will be resolved. This summer we have been visibly reminded of the importance of water! We have been asked to do what we can to conserve water, with most of the country having hosepipe bans. We have seen the devasting effects of wild fires ripping through parched lands. We have been reminded how important water is to us. This morning, we begin the season of creation, this years theme is ‘living water’ which was picked up on in our bible readings. Ezekiels vision reframes water – the most basic element of life – as a divine agent of renewal, justice and hope, a life-giving force flowing from God’s sanctuary. The vision begins with a small trickle – droplets of water flowing from the place of prayer and sacrifice. From a tiny stream it grows to an unstoppable river – the first marvel. The river grows as it flows from the temple, nourished by the worship and prayers of God’s people. But the second marvel is greater still. The river does not merely sustain life, it restores entire ecosystems. The prophet saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on one side and on the other. But we face a water crisis. According to the united nations, 1.7 billion people lack basic hygiene services at home, and 2.1 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water, that is 1 in 4 people on the globe. As climate change intensifies, and groundwater extraction increases, several countries are now reaching a so-called ‘point of water bankruptcy’ that is a condition marked by irreversible losses of natural water capital. Although access to drinking water is a human right for all, the multifaceted water crisis disproportionately affects vulnerable communities, future generations, and non-human life that has no voice in political or economic systems. The impact on ecosystems and biodiversity is devastating: according to the world wide fund for nature, we are facing catastrophic declines in aquatic wildlife, with freshwater populations dropping by a staggering 85% and marine populations by 56% in the last 50 years. From a theological perspective, this crisis reflects broken relationships – between humankind and God, within the human family itself and between human beings and other living beings. Ezekiels vision however is ultimately one of hope. As co-workers with the creator, our relationship with non-human creation should be grounded in the biblical vision of creation as an interconnected community of life. This relationship is one of sacred partnership and mutual custodianship rather than domination. Pope Francis described it as ‘A relationship of mutual responsibility between human beings and nature.’ We are called to confront the aforementioned injustices and to reject a worldview that treats water as a disposable resource. On every continent, inspired by our faith, Christians are acting: rivers are being restored, water sources are being protected from pollution and extractive industries – and arid lands are becoming green again. Wells are being dug and water provided for parishes, villages and health care centres. Scripture repeatedly associates water with divine healing and renewal. Think of Naaman dipping himself in the Jordan river, and the healing of the paralysed man sitting by the pool. Ezekiel himself is immersed progressively deeper into the river, echoing baptismal imagery and symbolising transformation. Earlier in the book of Ezekiel, God promises cleansing, a new heart and a new spirit precisely through water. We are reminded of the water and blood that flowed for healing from Jesus’ side. As believers we are promised that if we receive and accept the water from the temple – that is, God’s healing – then ‘rivers of living water’ will also flow from our hearts. As we are healed and renewed – living water will also flow from us for the healing of others and of creation. This years symbol for the season of Creation, immersion in Living water – is a symbol of renewal and birth: water flowing from the temple as a sign of God’s caring and healing for us. We are called to step into the water, until we are so deep that we must depend on God’s grace to sustain us. Those who receive this water are invited to become sources of life for others, allowing God’s love to flow through them into the world. And thus the water of God will become in us ‘a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ And so as we reflect on this image, how might we as individuals and as a community be springs of life? What small or bigger actions can we take to protect and preserve our precious water supplies? We have been reminded of the living power of water in the last few days, when just a little water falling from the sky, has begun to transform our hedges and grasses … with a fresh green colour once more. There is always hope – there is always something we can do. So we are going to have a moment to reflect and perhaps chat together if that is helpful, but think about what actions you might take as individuals and what we might be able to do as a church, and as you do you might colour in a fish to go on our ‘Season of Creation’ display, making that your pledge, your prayer, your response
Trinity 13 Year A – Pilgrimage talk part 3 – Genesis 12:1-9; Luke 24:13-35 The first time I met Brooke, was in a launderette whilst staying in Puenta La Reina, 4 days into our walk. Having found ourselves, my sister Avril was with me at the time, in a hotel come hostel, with launderette facilities, we decided to try them out. Having waited for some time to get a free machine, as you do, we had just loaded it and pressed start when Brooke rushed in asking if we had seen a sock. No, we hadn’t and of course a quick search around revealed nothing. I didn’t think much more about the encounter until I was folding my laundry a short while later, and found an odd sock, one of the Kintoe socks, much desired by walkers … and realised it must have been in with my washing all the time. The challenge now was to find Brooke. Avril suggested we took the sock to supper with us … that way if we saw the lady from the laundrette (obviously we didn’t know her name at that time) we could pass it to her. We ate our meal, but we didn’t see her. Keen to reunite sock with owner, I can’t emphasize enough how important socks are on the Camino … we decided to hand it into reception. Although it was by now a very clean sock, having been washed twice, you would have thought we were passing the receptionist something truly horrific, anyway she took it, rather reluctantly, and we decided to just trust that all would be well. The next morning, as we ate breakfast, Brooke walked in, Avril recognised her and we went across, and told her that her sock was now at the reception desk, to say that she was thankful would be an understatement. Over the next few days, we would get to know Brooke, from Australia quite well, often bumping into her in the evenings. She was walking the Camino with a friend, and like me would be joined by her partner from Sarria. Her scheduled walk, had her arriving in Santiago several days ahead of me, and so when a few days after Avril left, Brooke vanished, I wasn’t too surprised, realising that she must have simply got ahead of me. What did surprise me however, was her turning up again when me and Geraint got to Palais de Rei, with just 3 days of walking left. we walked into a restaurant for an evening meal, and there she was, by now with her two walking companions. For the next few days are paths crossed, as they do on the Camino, quite regularly. On the last day, our walk into Santiago, it seemed our paths were constantly crossing, and there was one thing that seemed to be occupying our minds. From arriving in Galicia, the final region you walk through on the Camino, the marker signs, informed you of distance, not just in KM’s but in Km’s and meters. All of sudden, from Sarria onwards, particularly on reaching the 100km to go point, those KM’s and Meters seemed to disappear at an astonishing rate. Our preoccupation was about what next, what do you do when you haven’t got to just get up and walk every day, how to you return well back into your normal everyday life. As our steps took us ever closer into Santiago, we reflected on how we simply didn’t know how we felt … it was in many ways too overwhelming to put into words, so many emotions, but I think for me, and for Brooke, the biggest one, was that although we had made it, which was an achievement, we didn’t really want it to end. And so, I wanted the markers to slow down, I wanted time to slow down … I wanted to stay in the moment, to just be there for a little longer. Over the last few weeks, we have been reflecting on the call of Abram and the disciples on the road to Emmaus. In our reading from Genesis, there is almost that sense, that from time to time Abram wants things to slow down, is looking to stay in the moment, as he waits for the Lord to show him the place that he will settle. In Canaan, he builds an altar to the Lord, the Lord having appeared to him and told him ‘To your offspring, I will give this land.’ And then again, he pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east, and built an altar to the Lord, and called on the Lord, before continuing to the Negev. These were places where Abram had significant spiritual encounters with God, and so he built altars, and I suspect a part of him might just have wanted to linger for just a little while longer, to slow down time, to simply be in the moment. And of course, we don’t know exactly how long Abram and Sarai might have stayed in these places, but their journey always continued on until they settled in the Land the Lord would show them. As the disciples reach Emmaus, seeing that the man that had walked beside them, making their hearts burn within them as they talked, looked like he was going to carry on … they urged him strongly ‘Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.’ And so he went in to stay with them. I can sense the disciples desire to just hold onto this moment for a little longer, to be in the present … to just linger. And so how excited they must be, seeing this man coming to join them. But of course, as he breaks bread, and their eyes are opened to realising that they have been walking with the risen Lord all this time, Jesus vanishes from their sight. And rather than staying in moment, they find themselves jumping up and returning, one can only imagine with great haste, back to Jerusalem, where they are met by the eleven and those assembled with them saying ‘It is true! The Lord has risen and appeared to Simon.’ Before they add their personal testimony, of their encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus, and how they recognised him in the breaking of the bread. And so those final steps into Santiago, we walked in with Brooke and her companions. I tried to savour every moment, to try and process all my emotions, to soak up the atmosphere. But as that journey finished, I knew that it was only one part of the much bigger journey of faith that we all travel. And so I came back, and of course, I was very excited to see family once more and to be back in my own bed, to not have the spectre of a different hotel room each night wondering where the light switches if I needed them in the middle of the night. As I have come back, I have been reminded that with God, nothing is static, everything is always moving and shifting, just as you think you might know where things are going, God, opens our eyes to a new direction and a new way of thinking, and makes our hearts sing afresh. Some of the changes as I have returned to the parishes have been really painful and unexpected, and the impact I know will be felt for sometime to come, others of course are more joyful, but as in all things God has a plan, and will show us the path that is set before us. 4 days before the Camino ended, we arrived in Portomarin on Pentecost Sunday, and having arrived, I thought I would just double check the service times, normally 8pm, Monday – Saturday the guide book told me, but at 12.30 on a Sunday, but just perhaps, this being Pentecost Sunday, there might be another service. The guide book, as it turned out, was correct and so at 3pm in the afternoon, we had missed any services, but went to have a look around this lovely church anyway. A church that literally had been moved brick by brick, from the valley floor in old Portomarin to new Portomarin, when the river was dammed and the reservoir filled, literally a church on the move, the numbers on the bricks still visible, to aid getting it all put back in the right order. Anyway, we popped into the church, and as I sat there reflecting on the Pentecost story, of the disciples being filled by the Holy Spirit, and leaving the safe surroundings of the upper room, going into the market place, I was struck by the open door of the church. A door which welcomes us in … yes … but we also have to leave … and go back out into the world, that is where the Holy Spirit is always propelling us, we can never stay exactly where we are … there is always something new around the corner, that of course may cause us to be fearful, but each step of the way the Holy Spirit is there to equip us, Jesus promises to travel alongside us, making our hearts burn within us, and God knows the plans he has for us. So this week, as you reflect on the final leg of our mini pilgrimage across the parishes, some questions to ponder in your quiet times. When have you felt the pull to stay, and linger? What made that moment special? Where is God leading you today, where do you sense God is leading us a group of churches? How might we look more like a church on the move? Let’s pray Lord of our Journey, we thank you that, as you walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, you walk with us each and every day, opening up your scriptures afresh to us, and inviting us to share in your ministry in the world. May your Holy Spirit fill us afresh today, renew us and excite us for the journey you have set before us, individually and as a group of Churches. In Jesus name we pray.
