Parable of the talents

Matthew 25:14-30

This is a story told by Jesus known to many as the parable of the talents: and so we tend to think of it as speaking about gifts and abilities. It is, but it is about more than that.

Here is a person who is going on a long journey and who entrusts his wealth to his servants.

Jesus is the person going on the long journey. And he is the one who has entrusted his wealth to his servants. He is the Son of God. All things belong to him (cf John 16:15): This creation, material things: every mountain, every valley, every river, every ocean, every star; the possessions and things that we have belong to him; time belongs to him; creativity, music and art; people: family, friends, children; and of course our gifts and abilities. They belong to him and he has entrusted them to us.

It is a bit like parents going off for a week's holiday. They entrust their house into the hands of their older teenage son or daughter. 'Look after it; so that when we come back it is in good shape'.

 

1. JESUS GIVES AS HE CHOOSES

We read this and think, 'This is unfair. Why should some get 5 and some 2 and some only 1?'

To which the only answer is that this is the way the world works. There are some people who do seem to have far more of the world's resources than others - us, for example, by very virtue of where we live.

The hymn 'All things bright and beautiful' has a verse that we do not sing:

 

The rich man in his castle,

The poor man at his gate,

God made them, high or lowly,

And order'd their estate.

 

But it is true. What did we do to merit being born in our particular family, at this particular time, in this particular place? What did we do to merit your inheritance?

The danger comes when we start to think that what we have is ours by right, that we deserve it. Interestingly that is where the doctrine of reincarnation and Karma leads: My position in this world depends upon my virtue in the previous world. It might make sense, but think about it. It says that we deserve our privileged position in the world; it says that the poor deserve to be poor.

The bible never says that. When we start to think that we deserve what we have, or that because we have more than another we are better than them, or when we treat what we have (possessions or abilities) as if they belong to us – we are turning a blind eye to the fact that it is God who gives.

The person with one talent could have become a person with two and then four and then eight - and when there is no end to that process, it really does not matter whether you started with one or two or five.

This story does not tell us why there are haves and have nots. We look elsewhere in the bible for the answer to that question. But this story tells us that everything we have is gift: and that there is no reason for either pride or a sense of inadequacy because of our abilities or possessions; and that what is important is not what we have been given, but how we use what we have been given.

And although in this story it is the man with one bag of gold who is found wanting, I also know that it is true that 'to those whom much has been given, much will be demanded' (Luke 14:48), and so the fact that we today, in the West, are the haves – even in a time of recession - should make us tremble.

 

2. GOD IS LOOKING FOR FRUIT

Jesus is not looking for people who return what he gave to us untouched. He is looking for fruit.

It is a spiritual principle. God is looking for fruit. In the story of creation, when God created the world, he created trees and plants that bore fruit. He created animals that bore fruit. He created men and women and he commanded them, 'be fruitful and multiply'. And Jesus commanded his people to bear fruit; and he gives us his Spirit that produces in us fruits of love, joy, peace, patience and so on.

Jesus tells the story of a sower who sowed seed that fell on good soil, and it multiplied thirty, sixty, a hundred fold. And we are told how the Word of God grows and bears fruit.

God is into multiplication.

He says, 'Look what I have entrusted to you. How has it born fruit? How has it increased?'

People often think that we will be judged on the basis of the harm that we have done others.

But the judgment in this story is based on the good that we have not done: we have been entrusted with so much – what have we done with it?

Of course, if we think that the possession, or gift or ability, is ours by right, that it belongs to us, then we can choose to use it or not to use it. We can choose to work it, or invest it or bury it.

That was the issue here with the man who had one bag of gold. He claimed that the problem was that he was scared of the master: 'I was afraid', he said. The reality, Jesus said, was that he was not sufficiently scared of the master. If he had been, he would have tried to do something with the money – even put it in the hands of the bankers. It is a bit like a teacher giving homework. The child says, 'I was scared of you so I didn't do it.' That is not being scared of the teacher - that is taking the teacher for granted. If she had been scared of the teacher, she really would at least have tried to do her homework.

No, says Jesus, the real problem when we do not use the possessions and the gifts that God has given us for him is that we are wicked and lazy.

Wicked, because we think that it is our possession to do with as we wish. We reject the idea that it comes from God and belongs to God. We reject the idea that there is someone to whom we are in debt to, and accountable to.

And lazy: because we could not be bothered to do anything with what we have been given.

You have a natural gift and you do not try to use it; you have wealth and you do not use it - making more wealth, giving it away, whatever; you have ability and you do not use it; you have responsibilities and you run away from them; you have a message and you do not share it. Why?

Is it because you are scared - or is it because you are blind to the fact that it is God who has given you those things, and that you are accountable to him. Is it because you are lazy, and just don't want the hassle.

We've recently been round both County Upper and King Edward VI'th Upper School. Both of them had the same slogan on the wall: 'we do not expect you to be the best; we expect you to do your best'.

 

3. THERE IS REWARD AND PUNISHMENT

Humanly speaking this makes sense: if you have a gift or ability and you use it, it will improve and grow. If you do not use it, you will lose it.

And there is punishment: those who do not make use of the wealth entrusted to them for the master, will shrivel up to nothingness: beyond mercy and beyond pity.

But there is also a reward - for those who do use the wealth entrusted to them for the master.

There is the reward of his words: 'Well done good and faithful servant'

And there is also the reward of further growth. The one who has ten is given one more. In Luke's gospel the injustice is pointed out: 'But Lord', they said, 'he already has ten'. But Jesus is making the point that those who are faithful with what they have been given – whether large or small – will be entrusted with more. V29:"For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance".

 

I'd like to say one more thing. It might just have escaped your attention that we have a mission this coming week.

I have spoken in terms of possessions and abilities.

But there is another thing that this passage could be talking about: we have also been entrusted with a message – a message about the love of God; about the fact that in the person of Jesus, God has come and lived among us; that as a result of his death on the cross there is forgiveness and we can become friends of God; it is the message that Jesus rose from the dead, that Christ Lives and that as a result of his resurrection, sin and death has been defeated and there is a future hope. And it is the message that God promises to give to all who receive him the gift of his Holy Spirit, his presence.

We have the opportunity next weekend to share this message, in ways that I hope will be very easy. We have some great events, and some very gifted speakers who are able to present the message in a gracious but challenging way. Please could I urge you to make use of this opportunity.

It may be that you are not convinced yourself of the message and still need to think it through: please come along and listen and think and decide.

But if you are convinced of the truth of the message, may I urge you not to be like the servant with the one bag of gold who did nothing – because he said he was scared. Please come to the prayer meeting on Wednesday; and please pray and invite at least one person to one event, or to next Sunday's service. If they say 'no', that is OK – you've still done something, you've still made use of one small coin that our master has given us.

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY 2008

2 Timothy 2:8-13

Today, probably in greater numbers than we have seen for many years, men and women, girls and boys are gathering to remember.

Most of them gather to remember history, and those who made history: for the majority of people, the stories of the two world wars are stories about other people who lived in other times. But for many of you here, it is far more personal. They are not stories about other people who lived in other times. They are stories about those you dearly loved, who were to you husbands and wives, fiancées and sweethearts, fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, comrades and colleagues. And we give thanks to God for them and we honour them - as we give thanks to God for you and honour you.

But people are also gathering to remember those who fight today, and especially those who serve in military and civilian capacities, who have been wounded – physically or emotionally - or who have even given their lives, in places like Afghanistan, Iraq, the Congo and other parts of the world. This is above politics. Irrespective of whether we think a particular war is justified, these men and women, represented here by those of you from RAF Honington and USAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall, have answered the call of their country in being willing to lay down their lives for others. And we honour you and them.

So in villages, towns and cities, people have gathered round memorials to remember and honour such people. And many of those memorials, particularly those erected after the First World War, are in the shape of simple stone crosses.

And that is so very appropriate.

It is the cross that is the symbol, that tells the story of the supreme act of courage and self-sacrificial love; and it is the cross that is the symbol, that tells the story of our ultimate hope.

The cross tells the story of a man, Jesus Christ, who lived 2000 years ago, who chose to go through the most awful suffering in obedience to his Father God, and to give his life so that men and women could find forgiveness, reconciliation with God - peace with God, and new life.

It is the story of Jesus and the cross that has shaped the life of individuals and of our nation. It is the story of Jesus and the cross which has given us a framework for reflecting on events, which helps us to see them in true perspective. It is the story of Jesus and the cross which is our living example of all that is good and true, of virtue.

We get nervous of the person who triumphs by trampling over others.
We value those who lay down their life for their friends.
Why? Because virtue for us comes in the shape of a cross.

We are uneasy about the person who fights simply because they hate the enemy, or because they want revenge.
We value those who are prepared to give their lives for love of comrades or families or country.
Why? Because virtue for us comes in the shape of a cross.

The heroes of the Greeks and the Romans and Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia were supermen trampling down their enemies. When Alison and myself visited Volgograd, known to us as Stalingrad, we saw the colossal monument to the Soviet fighters. It is of the motherland portrayed as a female warrior, brandishing a sword, calling her children to the fight, and crushing all who stand in her way.

Our heroes are far less spectacular, but far more extraordinary. They are not men trampling over others, but men like Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher who threw himself on a grenade in order to save the lives of his comrades. They are men and women who are willing to sacrifice themselves in order that others may live.
Why? Because virtue for us comes in the shape of a cross.

And the story of the cross is also a story that gives hope when all hope is gone. On the first Good Friday, when they crucified Jesus Christ, it seemed that lies, evil and death had won. It seemed that self sacrifice and love had been crushed.

But they hadn't: three days later God brought Jesus Christ back from the dead. And his followers touched him and ate with him - and history was changed.
And whatever happens, however bad it gets, however deep we sink, the cross tells us of a God who brings hope out of despair and life out of death.

We love stories when people snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat: when people win world championships on the last bend of the last lap of the last race. Well God is the one who snatched ultimate victory out of what seemed ultimate defeat. He gives us hope when all hope is gone. Desmond Tutu said of the bible: 'Don't give up! Don't despair. I've read the end. It's OK. We win!'

 

War memorials have come in many shapes: statues, stones, flames, walls, obelisks, even a doughnut(s)! I do understand in these days of aggressive secularism why modern memorials avoid the shape of the cross. I understand but I fear. The stone cross in the centre of the community was a symbol that the story of Jesus and the cross was somewhere, even if only nominally, at the centre of our nation.

But today there is no story at the centre of our national life. We honour courage and virtue, but we are in danger of losing the understanding of what courage and virtue really is.

So I finish with a plea and a challenge.

A plea that we do not allow the story of the cross - whether we personally believe it or not - to become more and more sidelined by the stories that glorify celebrity, or money, or possessions (the advertisements tell their own story), or power. For the sake of our children, and of our children's children, do not exchange - literally or metaphorically - the cross for something beautiful but meaningless or for a statue to superman.

And a challenge: to each one of us personally: to make this story of the cross, the Easter story, the central story in our own lives. This is what it means to, 'Remember Jesus Christ'. It is Jesus Christ, crucified but risen, who sets us free to love others so that we are prepared to suffer for their sake, and who gives us the hope of eternal glory.

And it is his story, the story of the cross and resurrection, that gives focus and meaning to our remembering of those who have laid down their lives - whether long ago or more recently - for the sake of others.

 

Bible Sunday 2008

Psalm 119:9-16

Today is known as Bible Sunday, and we are looking at some verses from Psalm 119, the longest Psalm.

Psalm 119 is written by a person who is passionately devoted to the bible as the Word of God. It is interesting that as you look through these 8 verses, the word 'your' is used 10 times: 'Your word, your commands, your word, your decrees, laws that come from your mouth, your statutes, your precepts, your ways, your decrees, your word'

I say that he is passionately devoted to the bible as the Word of God, but that is not strictly true. For the Psalmist, the word of God was what we know now as the first 5 books of the bible. These are the laws and commands and decrees and statutes and precepts about which he writes.

For Jews who lived later, the word of God came to include all of what we call the Old Testament; and for Christians, the word of God comes to include what we know as the New Testament, the writings of the apostles and those who were with them.

And the reason that we accept the Old Testament as the word of God is because Jesus accepted the Old Testament as the word of God; and the reason we receive the New Testament as the word of God is because we receive the teaching of the apostles as authoritative, and the New Testament is the teaching of the apostles.

In other words, what the Psalmist says of the first five books of the bible, we can say of the rest of the bible - including these verses.

So what does the Psalmist say of the bible

1. He says that the Word of God brings great joy.

He delights in God's decrees (v16); he rejoices in following God's statutes as one rejoices in great riches (v14).

So often the attitude we have toward the bible is anything but that of joy.

For some, it is a book that is incomprehensible. They think, here is something we just don't understand: like when people read complicated poetry - it floats over our head.

To be honest, that is just not true. Maybe when all we had was the old version, which used 17th century English, glorious though it might be, it was difficult to understand. But today there are so many good modern translations, and also some excellent bible handbooks. If we wish to know what it means, we can find out.

For others, it is a book that is irrelevant: an outdated code of morality, a set of laws, telling us what to do and what not to do, written by people who lived in a far off place, in a far off time.

The problem is that unless we are someone who loves the history of religious ideas, philosophy or sources of trivia questions, the bible may be a best-seller, but it is a turn off. And if we do open the pages and start to read, then it may well seem hard to understand and irrelevant. It's a bit like when I've tried to read the Koran: I've got so far and given up (I have to say that I think the bible is objectively far more interesting than the Koran, because the bible tells a story)

But if we come to the bible, by faith, assuming that this is the Word of God, that it does - in its entirety - make sense, that this is God's wisdom, that it contains God's promises, that it points us to the one who can give us eternal life, and if we come seeking God and asking him to give us his Holy Spirit to help us to understand it and live it, then this book is not like any other book: this book is power, the Gk word is dunamis, dynamite.

Do you notice how the Psalmist says, 'How can those who are young keep their way pure? By living according to your word'. But then he says, 'I seek you with all my heart'. In other words, the bible on its own will do nothing. It is the bible with God that changes lives.

And when we get the bible and the Holy Spirit together, then this book is a light to our path; it is food for the heart and mind and soul. It is more precious than gold. It does bring joy and delight.

 

2. The Psalmist says that the word of God makes us pure.

'How can those who are young keep their way pure? By living according to your word'

For the Psalmist it was a matter of believing the promises of God and living the commands of God, of living the old Testament laws.

For the Christian, we have so much more. We still have the promises of God which we believe and we hold on to, but we do not need to keep the letter of the Old Testament laws, as the Psalmist did. Instead we are called to obey the Spirit who gave those laws and promises in the first place. They were good laws, they made sense for the Israelite nation, they embodied everything that is good and right and true, and they pointed forward to Jesus.

But for us, Jesus is the fulfilment, the embodiment of those laws: we interpret them through him.

So how do we keep our way pure; how do we get rid of the sin and rubbish in our lives, how do we become totally authentic human beings; how do we become transparently sincere; how do we become full of love?

The answer is the same as the Psalmist gave: by living according to God's word: by believing his promises, by looking to Jesus, by coming to him, by allowing his teachings to shape our inner being, by allowing his Spirit to live in us, by listening to what he says.

 

3. The Psalmist says that the word of God reveals God's ways

'I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways' (v15)

The bible is the story of God's love towards human beings. It begins with creation; it ends with the new creation. It is about the fall, the great disobedience, and God's rescue plan. It is about paradise lost and paradise gained. It is about the choosing of an individual and a nation to be the ones who bring God to the world. It is about human sin and rebellion against God, and how even the chosen nation rebelled against God. It is about how, out of that nation, a child was born, who was the Son of God. He died and rose again. He offered to people who put their faith in him relationship with him: new life in a new community with a new hope and a new destiny.

This is the story of the love of God, the justice and mercy of God, the purposes of God, the ways of God, the promises of God, the victory of God.

So this is the book that brings joy; that enables us to live pure lives; that shows to us the ways of God.

It is no wonder, the Psalmist finishes this section with a vow: 'I will not neglect your word'.

To reject or neglect this book is to plug our ears to the Holy Spirit; it is to silence God; it is to close off our life from ultimate joy and delight. It is like taking the gift of a £1million cheque, and either tearing it up, or putting it on a top shelf to gather dust.

I trust we do not wish to be like that. And there are three ways that the Psalmist shows that he has not neglected God's word.

- 'I have hidden your word in my heart': The easiest way to do that is to learn verses from the bible, by heart. It is a spiritual discipline, and it is very precious. I was on retreat this week, and decided to put this into practice: I learnt these verses. So I was able to think them through as I went for a walk; and one night when I couldn't sleep I was able to meditate on them. And if we have learnt scripture, when the enemy comes, when we are tempted, we can say to God: 'I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you'.

It doesn't need to be a long passage. It only needs to be one verse: 'I am the way, the truth and the life'. But to hide God's word in our heart is to know it, to live with it, to allow it to sink into our very being. And to those of us who preach the bible: we need to let it live in us. Read the passage on Monday. Learn it if possible. Let it sink in. Study it. Meditate on it. Live it. And then preach it.

- 'with my lips I recount all the laws that come from your mouth':

A great way not to neglect God's word is to speak it.

To speak it to ourselves: read it out loud. Listen to it being read on MP3 or CD.

To speak it in church: we speak the word of God; we sing the word of God. We're just sung, 'Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and light unto my path'. That is Psalm 119:105

To speak it in the world: that is the hardest. How do we speak and apply the teaching of the bible to our everyday life, to our colleagues and neighbours? It is a life-long learning exercise.

- 'I meditate on your precepts'.

We are called to meditate on the word of God: to think deeply about it. That is why we take time to read the bible. Many many people find it helpful to put aside time every day to read and to pray. That is where bible reading notes come in helpful. Personally, I've never found bible reading notes to work; I find that they are restrictive, and I much prefer following a pattern of reading that, for example, we have on our notice sheet: includes Old Testament, New Testament and Psalms.

Maybe you are someone who finds it difficult to make time every day. That is OK - so long as you give yourself other significant time to reading the bible and thinking it through.

There are so many things to help us: I've mentioned bible reading notes, commentaries - Tom Wright's series: 'Matthew for today'; study bibles; internet (but so easy to be distracted). So instead of flobbing in front of the TV, pick up the bible - read it.

And of course it does help to listen to what other people think. That is why we have bible study groups

May I urge you not simply to read this book, not simply to study this book so that you get it all right - may I urge you to read it and to study it, but more than that, to read it seeking God with all your heart, to read it as the Word of God - and then to live it.

If you notice, in v14, the Psalmist does not say, 'I rejoice in your statutes'. He says, 'I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches'.

 

 

 

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God

Matthew 5:8

As you will be aware, we've been going through the beatitudes. They're called the beatitudes because the latin for 'blessed' is 'beatus'. And the thing that has struck me quite forcefully this time is the fact they are about a present state, 'of being blessed', in view of what is going to happen in the future.

Imagine a baby born to a wealthy and loving family. Imagine the baby is hungry. Her hunger is taking her over. She has worked herself up into a state. She is screaming. You have a very unhappy baby. But an observer looking on, who knows the child's background, knows the child's destiny, knows that in a few minutes time mum is going to walk through the door, pick up the baby and feed her, could say, "What a blessed baby".

Blessing is not just about what we are feeling or experiencing now. The blessing that is being spoken of here is the blessing that comes when we see the complete picture.

At the moment we may be mourning – literally mourning the death of someone who we love. We may feel totally empty and abandoned. But we are blessed because there is a bigger picture. We may feel, be, the trampled ones in society – that was certainly true for the first Christians and it is true for many Christians today – but we are blessed because there is a bigger picture. We may be falsely accused by others, discriminated against, we may be the persecuted ones (I pray with all my heart that if there is ever a choice, the church will be the persecuted one and not the persecuting one) now – but we are blessed because there is a bigger picture.

In a few minutes time, the door is going to open, and mum is going to walk in. She will pick us up, bring us close to her and feed us. Isaiah 66:13: "As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you; and you will be comforted over Jerusalem."

And at least three of the beatitudes are explicitly fulfilled in the last two chapters of the bible. The promise of 'a new heaven and a new earth' (Revelation 21:1); of a place where there will be 'no death or mourning or crying or pain" (21:4); and specifically – with our verse in mind today – Revelation 22:4 – "They will see his face".

So is it to be 'Pure in heart'

We are talking here about inward stuff

The word 'pure' in the bible is mainly used of silver or gold: pure silver, pure gold. It is authentic. Through and through gold. It is like an onion. If you peel of one layer of onion, what do you get underneath? Tomato? No! Onion!

And someone who is pure of heart is undivided. They are someone whose heart, whose inner being, total self, is totally authentic. There is no separation between heart and mind. The guts and the head work together: there are times when I act from here (the guts) and not here (the head) or vice-versa. Someone who is pure of heart, lives here and here. They are undivided. They are free from, as someone said, 'the tyranny of a divided self'. There is a call to prayer in the service for daily Anglican morning prayer that goes as follows: "The night has passed and the day lies open before us; let us pray with one heart and mind".

And someone who is pure of heart is utterly sincere. "Their very heart – including their thoughts and motives – is pure, unmixed with anything devious, ulterior or base". There is a transparency about them, an innocence; they are not one thing with one person and another thing with another person; they are not one person in the bedroom or on their knees and another person in the boardroom or behind a steering wheel.

And someone who is pure of heart has clarity of vision. We look at the world with a vision that has been made grubby with sin, self-centredness, self-interest, fear and pride.

Andrew asked us yesterday, "What's the right way up for the world?" How do you answer a 7 year old when he asks that? I said the world was like a football, and asked him where the top of the football was. He said, "It doesn't have a top". And yet, we live as if we are the top of the world.

I look at the world and at people from my perspective: do they threaten me or promise me good. I judge them by my standards. I evaluate them by their significance to me.

Jesus speaks about this quite a lot. He rebuked people for trying to take a small speck out of the eye of another person, without taking out the beam that was in ours. He challenges us to see right: to get the eye right (Matthew 6:22-23)

And that I think is why purity of heart and vision of God are put together: "Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God".

Jesus, as with all the beatitudes, is the one who shows us what it means to live the beatitudes. He was pure of heart. There was nothing dark in him. He had complete clarity of vision. And he saw God: he spoke with God, his father, face to face

It is when a person is pure in heart that they see reality as it really is. The grubby spectacles are taken off: we begin to see the universe not just as a space filled with floating balls, but as God sees it – as part of his creation, an expression of his power and love. We begin to see other people as God sees them – as men and women, girls and boys made in the image of God, uniquely precious and valuable. We begin to see situations as God sees them.

Oswald Chambers wrote, "Faith is the inborn capacity to see God behind everything, the wonder that keeps you an eternal child. Wonder is the very essence of life. Beware always of losing the wonder, and the first thing that stops wonder is religious conviction. Whenever you give a trite testimony, the wonder is gone. The evidence of salvation is that the sense of wonder is developing."

 

So how are we to become pure in heart?

1. A recognition that we are not pure in heart: Psalm 51 was written by David after he had murdered Uriah the Hittite because he desired his wife.
   

   The prophet Nathan challenges David. David could have said to Nathan: "I am the ruler here. I do what I want". Many rulers have said that. But David recognised the truth that he has done wrong. And he is broken. And in Psalm 51 he confesses his sin before God.
   
   
   The first step towards purity of heart is a willingness to take a long hard look at ourselves. David does not, in Psalm 51, simply say, "I did wrong in ordering the murder of Uriah". He looked deeper. He simply says, "Surely I was sinful from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me".
   
   That verse has carried far more weight and far less weight than it should have done.
   It has carried far more weight, because people have built on it doctrinal towers about the sinfulness of the act of conception and about the sinfulness of babies. And they have no foundation.
   
   It has carried far less weight than it should have done, because this is about an experience of an individual who has been convicted of sin. He looks back over his life and he makes no excuses. He does not justify himself. He does not compare himself with others. Instead he sees that the pattern of sin, of disobedience, of self-centredness is repeated and repeated and repeated. And he is broken.
   
   This verse is not here so that I can point the figure at someone else and say, "You are sinful from birth because in Psalm 51:5 David says, 'Surely I was sinful from birth'. This verse is here, in the Psalter, so that I can kneel alongside David, with no excuses, no self-justification, and say with him - from the earliest of days, I have sinned against God and I have done evil. I acknowledge that I am far from pure, and I seek forgiveness and mercy and the power to change.
   

2. Asking God for purity
   
   David does not leave it there. He goes on to pray, "Create in me a pure heart, O God" (Psalm 51:10). It is the recognition that he cannot change himself. It is the recognition that only God can change his heart.
   
   And to ask God to give me a pure heart, is the same as to ask God to give us his Holy Spirit, wisdom, grace, love, salvation. But we need to ask.
   
   
3. Living the word of God
   
   Psalm 119:9 asks, "How can a young person keep their way pure?" And the answer comes, "By living according to your word."
   
   And this is not just a question of obeying God's commands – but also of trusting his promises.
   
   But a person who is serious about desiring a pure heart will, like the Psalmist, have a growing love for the word of God. They will have a desire to read it and to understand it and to encounter the God who speaks through it.
   
   
4. Looking to Jesus
   
   We cannot see God this side of heaven. Some people may have part visions of God: Moses ('You cannot see me and live'), Isaiah, Ezekiel ('saw the likeness of the glory of the Lord'), Paul, John the divine.
   
   We cannot see God fully this side of heaven, but we can still see God. Jesus says to Philip, 'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father'. So as we look at Jesus: as we seek him, discover about him, learn from what he said, trust him, commit our lives to him, obey him, come to him in prayer, wait for him – so he will come and live in us: and he will purify us from the inside.
   
   
   

I would like to say one final thing. I am not suggesting that as we grow in the Christian life, as God does purify our heart, we will have a clearer and clearer vision of God. There will be times when that vision does grow very bright True for people throughout the history of the church

 

[Aquinas: "All that I have written seems to me like straw compared to what has now been revealed to me."

 

Blaise Pascal and his famous note:

 

MEMORIAL

In the year of grace, 1654,

On Monday, 23rd of November, Feast of St Clement, Pope and Martyr,

and others in the Martyrology,

Vigil of St Chrysogonus, Martyr, and others,

From about half past ten in the evening until about half past

twelve,

 

FIRE!

 

God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, (Ex 3:6; Mt 22:32)

not of the philosophers and scholars.

Certitude. Certitude. Feeling. Joy. Peace.

God of Jesus Christ.

"Thy God and my God." (Jn 20:17)

Forgetfulness of the world and of everything, except God.

He is to be found only in the ways taught in the Gospel.

Greatness of the Human Soul.

"Righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee,

but I have known Thee." (Jn 17:25)

Joy, joy, joy, tears of joy.

I have separated myself from Him.

"They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters." (Jn 2:13)

"My God, wilt Thou leave me?" (Mt 27:46)

Let me not be separated from Him eternally.

"This is eternal life,

that they might know Thee, the only true God,

and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." (Jn 17:3)

Jesus Christ.

 

JESUS CHRIST

 

I have separated myself from Him:

I have fled from Him,

denied Him,

crucified Him.

Let me never be separated from Him.

We keep hold of Him only by the ways taught in the Gospel.

 

Renunciation, total and sweet.

Total submission to Jesus Christ and to my director.

Eternally in joy for a day's training on earth.

"I will not forget thy words." (Ps 119:16) Amen.]

 

 

But there will also be times when that vision grows very dim. That is not necessarily because of sin. Quite often it is at those times that we are called to live by faith, by faith in the promise of God that "The pure in heart will see God".

John writes in 1 John 3:2-3: "Dear friends, now we are children of God and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears,
we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure."

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”

Matthew 5:5

VERSION 1

"I had a lousy childhood. We had nothing. Never knew my father, and my mother had a stream of boyfriends. But I made it. Today I am at the top of my business, other people listen to me when I speak; I've just bought a fourth house - in New York.

I did it: I've worked hard; I've overcome the difficulties; I've made some cracking decisions and I've earned the respect and influence that I have. I firmly believe that you make yourself what you are. If you are quality it'll show. I don't like scroungers or layabouts: I'm not saying that bad things don't happen to good people, but you get what you deserve in life. Even this credit crunch: I'm OK. I've invested wisely; I didn't stretch myself too far.

You've got to believe in yourself, in your abilities. Nobody's going to help you. They want what you've got – they'll take it if they can. And nobody stands in my way. Three years ago someone tried to defraud me. It was the biggest mistake he made. I got the police to throw the book at him, and I made sure he went down.

I learnt quite early that people don't like conflict. That means that if you are prepared to stand up to people, you can usually get what you want.

I have my faults, I admit – but hey! What's life about? The girls love me anyway, and the wife – well, she stung me for £30 million. And last year I gave £150000 to the hospice. They named the ward after me. Without people like me, this country would be nowhere.

God? Yes, I guess I believe in God. He helps those who help themselves, doesn't he? I gave a grand to the church tower appeal in the village where I live. It's alright; you don't need to convert me. I'm one of the good guys

I'm going to retire in 2 years time. I've made enough, and I can put my feet up. It's all sorted. I've got this beautiful yacht: it cost me £20 million (less than the ex, and it doesn't nag), and I'm going to sail it round the world. I'm going to look after myself, don't you worry. I deserve it and I'm worth it".

 

VERSION 2

"I had a lousy childhood. We had nothing. Never knew my father, and my mother had a stream of boyfriends. She was not a great mum. It was rough, and I was screwed up. At one point I ran away from home, and ended up in a squat in Holloway.

I guess I could blame her, but she was really lonely, and she was desperate for love. I was difficult. I didn't help.

Anyway, I discovered I had a talent for business – I'm not going to tell you what I first did business in; I'm not proud of it - but I got a few amazing breaks. Do you know today we employ more than 30000 people? – and the thing that I am most proud of is that we have been able to set up a factory in one of those ghost towns after the pit closed 20 years ago. The staff there have done fantastic, the factory is flourishing and they've brought the place back to life.

God? I became a Christian many years ago. I was in a hotel in Manchester, and I picked up one of those Gideon bibles. To be honest, I was bored. I started to read, and as I read – and I don't know why apart from the fact that it was God – I understood it: it was about Jesus, a most amazing man – who loved people who were messed up and who died for me - and I wanted to find out more. Since then I made a commitment to him, got baptised and confirmed, and now he is my boss, my rescuer and my friend. I try to live in the way he wants me to live, which is not always easy. Someone tried to cheat us big time, one of the people I had trusted. I wanted the book thrown at him – but then was praying the Lord 's Prayer: 'Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us'. So I went round to his house and met him; we talked it through; I told him how disappointed I was: he'd let his family down, his colleagues down, himself down. I even said something about letting God down. But I said I would forgive him. We didn't press charges. I still don't know whether I should have done or not.

Biggest regret? That's easy. Seven years ago I had an affair. It was one of those stupid, stupid things. The marriage didn't recover. I hurt my wife so much, and the girl involved as well. It's not been great on the kids either. I know I said sorry to God, and although I find it very hard to believe I am forgiven, I trust him I am forgiven. But I still have to live with the consequences of what I did, and I suspect I will remain single for the rest of my life.

Yes, I may own one of the largest private companies in the country, but I'm also just the mixed up boy from Peckham to whom God gave one or two gifts, and who he reached out to in a hotel room in Manchester. I owe everything to him. I belong to him. I work for him. I depend on him. I try to see every person I deal with, employee, supplier, competitor or customer, through his eyes. They matter, as people, far more than the stuff I produce, or the profits I can make.

The future? Haven't a clue – it is in God's hands. I love what I do, but there will be a time when it is right to step back. I hope I can continue to serve - I'd love to do something back in Peckham. I'm also trying to rebuild my relationship with the kids. There are grandchildren now.

Death? I'm scared of dying. I've seen too many people die in not very nice ways, but I know Jesus will be with me when it happens. I love my life here, but he's promised he will come back, that we will be raised, there will be a new earth, and he'll be at the centre. I guess it will be a bit like this without all the rubbish – although to be honest I can't really begin to imagine it. But that's why I don't need to go everywhere now, see it all now, do it all now, or get all the stuff now. I can afford to wait. You may think I'm mad, but he said it, I trust him; it is my hope and it is my life.

 

 

The dream designer

Fashion show

Congratulations to organisers. Bury St Edmunds answer to London's fashion week - thank you to the firms who have provided the clothes - and the models, look stunning.

One word of warning: Dave Barry said, 'The leading cause of death among fashion models is falling through street grates'. When I said that to Alison, she answered, ''Some hope!"

So what has a vicar got to say at a fashion show - especially a vicar who is so well known for his fashion-consciousness. At least his wife makes up for him.  However I am being educated: I know now about colours - Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer - and styles and I know now not to wear socks with sandals. Although - in my more rebellious moments - I still do have some sympathy for Bruce Oldfield who said, 'I'm not that interested in fashion. When someone says that lime-green is the new black for this season, you just want to tell them to get a life'. 

 

The vicar wishes to say two things:

FASHION MATTERS

Mark Twain said, in what is a remarkably astute observation, 'Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence.'

What we wear, whether we like it or not, speaks so loudly about what we think of ourselves and our place in the world, and they do affect how people react to us.

 

Several years ago I went with a small delegation with the Bishop of London to Moscow, where we were meeting with senior leaders in the Russian Orthodox Church. He asked that in Moscow we wore cassocks at all times in public. For someone who claimed that he did not care less what he wore, I was mortified. 

I do not come from that part of the church that wears cassocks in the public arena. 

I would be different. 

I would be identifying myself with other people who wore cassocks. 

But that was precisely why the Bishop was insistent. He wanted us to say to our hosts: "We identify ourselves with you. Even though for you, wearing a cassock in public may bring ridicule and rejection, and a few years ago could have meant that you were sentenced to labour camp or even to death, we are here to identify ourselves with you". 

The clothes that we wear do identify us. They make a statement about who we think we are and who we think we belong to. The jacket and tie, jacket and no tie; the dress or jeans and t-shirt; the teenage uniform – the bare midriff, big belts, short skirts and leggings for girls; the pumps, hoody and long hair for boys; the Goth black; the Ascot uniform – actually written down this year (no bare midriffs and no bare shoulders); the cassock: they all make statements about who we think we are, who we think we belong to, and how we relate to the rest. 

That is why Trinnie and Suzanne work. Changing what we wear does change how others see us, and therefore how we see ourselves.

A new outfit promises a new life: wear me and I will give you romance, sophistication, freedom, uniqueness, respect, beauty and power; wear me and I will make you desirable and lovely.  Ralph Lauren said, 'I don't design clothes; I design dreams'

 

But although fashion matters, and it does make a difference, it is only a surface difference. It is not the real answer to our dreams.

You can have the figure of a Keira Knightley, and wear the dress of a duchess; you can have the physique of a David Beckham and wear a $10000 Hugo Boss suit, but they will not protect you from being broken, confused, mixed up, lost, guilty and ashamed. 

2. WE NEED TO BE WILLING TO LOOK DEEPER.

Fashion, someone said, is our defence against nakedness. And here I do not just mean physical nakedness.

One of the very first stories ever told was the story of how men and women got their clothes!

Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden. They were naked and they were not ashamed. They lived in freedom and love. They walked in the garden with God: they were right with him, right with each other and right with the world.

God told them that they could eat from any fruit in the garden. It was all theirs. The only thing forbidden them was to eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But because the fruit looked good, and because they were told that if they ate it they would become like God without God, they disobeyed God and ate the fruit.  The result: they saw that they were naked and they were ashamed. So they made themselves clothes of fig leaves and they hid from God. 

Now I am not asking anyone to believe the story as a record of what happened, but I am asking us to listen to what it tells us about the human condition.

·        We have rebelled against God

·        We have tried to hide from him: we are naked in his eyes and in our own eyes - And we try to cover it up with fig leaves.

And the reason that we are putting this on is to say that fashion is OK and does matter, and can be great fun, and can - to some extent - change lives; 

But we are also asking people to look deeper.

Later on in the year we will be having a series of events at which we will present the good news of the Christian faith.

It is good news.

A new outfit, new hairstyle, a makeover, is good news: it may make a new man or new woman of you, for a time.

But it is only God who can really make a new man or woman of you. It is only the dream designer who can fully satisfy the dreams that he has given us: dreams for love, belonging, uniqueness, beauty, peace, creativity, fulfilment, eternity.

The good news of the Christian faith is that - for those:

who have the courage to look beneath the fig leaves, who are aware of their rebellion against God, of the inner darkness and mess in their lives, and who are prepared to say sorry and throw themselves on God’s love because of Jesus, there is the amazing offer of forgiveness, an interior redesign job (illustration used in bible is that God will change our heart of stone and replace it with a living heart), a new life now, and the promise of dreams fulfilled. 

 

 

 

 

St Peter's 150th anniversary

MATTHEW 16:21-28

This weekend we celebrate St Peter’s 150^th anniversary. Congratulations.

It also happens to be Alison’ and my 17^th wedding anniversary today.

I do like the story of Pastor Jones who had heard that Ralph was celebrating his 50^th wedding anniversary, and so he decided to take advantage of using Ralph as a sermon illustration. He asked Ralph to come on stage and share some insight into how he managed to live with the same woman all those years.

Ralph turned to the congregation and said, "Well, I treated her with respect and spent money on her—but mostly I took her traveling on special occasions."

The pastor asked, "Trips to where?"

"For our 25th anniversary," Ralph answered, "I took her to Beijing, China."

The congregation nodded and murmured in appreciation. When things quieted down, the pastor said: "What a terrific example you are to husbands, Ralph. So, tell us where you're going now for your 50th anniversary?"

Ralph replied, "I'm going to go there again and bring her back."

Well anniversaries give us the opportunity to look back with thankfulness, and to look to the future trusting in God.

I guess when a church building reaches a particular age – and 150 is not bad – we need to recognise that in some ways the building is bigger than us. There is a heritage that we need to work with, just like a carpenter working with the grain of the wood.

And I am so grateful for the heritage that we do have here. A church building that is simple in design, uncomplicated, not fussy, that was built to be in the centre of the community to serve the community, and that is focussed on the reading and preaching of the word and the place where we gather to celebrate the Lord’s supper.

And I am grateful for the person in whose name this church building has been dedicated: Simon Peter – the disciple who first declared that Jesus really was the Son of God, and who went on to become the first president of the church.

And today I would like us to go back, not 150 years, but 2000 years – and look at that incident and also what happened afterward.  It is an incident when Peter makes the great confession, and then makes the great mistake: both of which we can learn from (can be found in Matthew 16:13-28)

 Peter’s great confession.

Jesus has asked his disciples: “Who do people say that I am?” They tell him: John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah. And then he asks them: “And who do you say that I am?” And it is Peter who answers: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God”.

In other words he confessed that Jesus is not only God’s king in God’s world, but that Jesus is the unique expression of God on earth, the presence of God on earth. He is, as Paul says, ‘the visible image of the invisible God’.

And then Jesus says, ‘I tell you are Peter (which means rock), and on this rock (Peter)  I will build my church’. And people argue whether Jesus means he will build his rock on the confession of Peter, or on the person of Peter.

But we do not have to decide. When Jesus changes Simon’s name and calls him Peter, what he is doing is linking Peter and his confession. Peter, in his role in the church, cannot be separated from his confession. Indeed, when Peter starts preaching someone other than Jesus Christ, preaches something that has not been revealed, he ceases – as we saw in our passage - to be Peter and becomes satan.

And when we as a community, who worship in a building which bears the name of Peter, preach Jesus, the Son of God, we are Petra, the rock, on which Jesus has founded his church. And when we as a community, cease to preach Jesus, the Son of God, and start to preach something else: our building, ourselves, what makes us feel good – we preach the words of satan.

This church has been known for its confession of Christ.

Its very existence stands as a witness to Christian worship.

Its name points people back to Peter and through him to Jesus

And for 150 years people have come in through those doors and confessed that Jesus is the Son of God, that he is Lord and Saviour

And for 150 years people have come in through those doors and worshiped Jesus, the Son of God, listened to Jesus, and received mercy and comfort and strength and purpose and grace from Jesus.

And for 150 years people have gone out through those doors and lived in the name of Jesus, under the Lordship of Jesus for Jesus.

And for 150 years people have gone out through those doors and declared to the world that Jesus is the Son of God

Some have not gone far – in fact just as far as where the double roundabout is, where they stood in the open air and preached – although it is sad that it became known as hell fire corner, rather than Jesus corner or salvation corner or resurrection corner. And a mission church was established.

And some have gone much further in the name of Jesus - most recently to India, to Ethiopia, and to Tanzania.

And it is with great joy that we today echo the words of Peter, and of those who founded this church, and of those who have worshipped in this place – and affirm the confession that Jesus, the Jew who lived in Palestine 2000 years ago, is the Messiah: God’s king come to claim God’s world, and that he is the Son of the living God.

Peter’s great mistake

When Jesus tells his followers that he is to go to Jerusalem to suffer and die (and to be raised from the dead), Peter tells Jesus that that must never happen to him.

Peter’s great mistake is THE great mistake.

It is the mistake that glory, praise, greatness and power is to be achieved through the things of this world – through self-assertion, money, influence and physical strength

It was Satan’s mistake. He saw glory and he tried to grab it.
It was Adam and Eve’s mistake. They wanted to become like God and they tried to grab it. 

Jesus says: That is not my way. “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (v24)

What does that mean?

The call to deny ourselves is not a call to a stricter asceticism; it is not a call to give up everything that is precious to us; it is not a call to feel guilty whenever we do something because we enjoy it. If it were saying that then we could always deny ourselves more. In fact a life of total self-denial in this sense would be pretty short: I would not eat or drink.
This call to deny ourselves is the call to put Jesus first: first before possessions, career, family and life. It is not necessarily a call to a greater asceticism, but to a greater devotion and obedience. It is about saying 'I will obey Jesus even if it means that I have to be crucified'.

And the call to take up our cross is the call to live as people who have been condemned to death by this world. A man carrying his cross was a man who had been sentenced to death. To take up our cross is to live as dead people to this world: dead to the trophies of this world, dead to the demands of this world, dead to the ways of this world. 

Paul writes in one of the most important verses in the New Testament about what it means to live as a Christian, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20

And as a community, which bears the name of Peter, we need to remember that we too are called to deny ourselves, to take up our cross and to follow Jesus.

The great mistake that so many church communities make is the mistake of seeking the trophies that this world offers - reputation and status and wealth - using the things of this world: celeb endorsements, high profile leaders, media management,  the latest technology and the current fashion or style.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t make use of those things. I am just saying that if we think that those things will buy us success and glory, we have made the big mistake. 

True success and glory comes when a community and a people deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Jesus.

This is not really the food and drink of birthday parties. It is hard stuff.

But it is so important. 

True glory never comes to a person or community when they seek their own glory. Glory comes when we give glory to God and we give glory to others.  

True praise never comes to a person or community when we seek praise or praise ourselves. True praise comes when we forget self and praise God and praise that which is worthy in others.

True greatness does not come through fame or reputation or achievement. True greatness comes when we learn to serve. It comes when we walk into a room of other people and do not think, ‘Here I am’, but ‘Here they are’. It comes when we pray for others in the name of Jesus, when we give to others in the name of Jesus and when we serve others in the name of Jesus. It comes when we kneel down and wash the feet of another. 

True power is not measured in terms of the age or size of our church building, or in the number of significant people we have in our congregation, or in the wealth of our people, or in the number of our staff, or in the size of our band, or in the number of events in our programme, or in the ability of our ministers, or in the quality of our miracles.  True power, the power that matters, comes when people give themselves in self-sacrificial love.

And the more that we are prepared to love others sacrificially – whether they are members of the congregation, visitors, people in the wider community – the more we will grow in true power

I came across a very powerful illustration of what this means. I quote, "At the close of a long day of speeches and music to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the coming of missionaries to the part of Africa that we know as the Congo Republic, an old, old man stood before the crowd and insisted on speaking. He soon would die, he said, and if he didn't speak, information that he alone possessed would go with him to his grave.

He said that when the missionaries arrived, his people thought them strange and their message dubious. The tribal leaders decided to test the missionaries by slowly poisoning them to death. Over a period of months and years, missionary children died one by one. Then, the old man said, "It was as we watched how they died that we decided we wanted to live as Christians."*

Those who died painful, strange deaths never knew why they were dying or what the impact of their lives and deaths would be. But through it all, they didn't leave. They stayed because they trusted Jesus Christ."

And, of course, the single greatest act of  power: the defeat and destruction of evil and death, came from the greatest act of loving self-sacrifice: the self-sacrifice of the Son of God on the cross.

So on this, our anniversary, we give great thanks to God for the men and women who had the vision and then made possible the building of St Peter's. We give great thanks for the heritage of this place: rooted in the teaching of the bible. We give great thanks for the men and women, some of whom we remember, many of whom we don’t, who have worshiped and served and been sent out from this place.

And my prayer for the future of St Peter's is that 

1. We will remain faithful to the great confession. So that when they ask, 'What is St Peter's all about', they answer, 'Oh, those are the people who believe that Jesus is the Lord, the Son of God, and they are the people who live as if Jesus is Lord'

2. This will be known as a truly great church: not great in the eyes of the world, but great in God's eyes - so that when the real story of Bury St Edmunds is told - the story that God sees, the story that will one day be revealed - people will be able to say, 'Yes, those were the men and women, girls and boys, who denied themselves and put God first, who lived as dead people to this world, who were faithful to his word, obedient even when it hurt, who went on trusting God even when he seemed absent, who allowed the Holy Spirit to work in them and who gave themselves in self sacrificial love. They really were - and are the great ones'.

 

 * Leith Anderson, "Mystery Martyrs," Men of Integrity, (January/February 2004)