“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, 1 john 4.7

There is a lot said about love. In deed as Christians we have a lot to say about Love: think how many time the word appears in our sermons, our prayers, our hymns, in our Bible readings. In these Sundays of Easter we have been reading from the epistles of John which have one theme running throughout and it is Love.

    

Let us look in a little more detail at the words John writes in the 4^th chapter of his first letter, epistle.

In the two verses preceding our second reading this morning we see John touch on two important aspects of love. In verse 6, he writes, “And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments.” Christian love is most full understood as Love for God and in this verse he points to an important aspect of Christian love, that is first and foremost obedience to God. Love is not passive, not primarily an emotion we feel, love is something we do – obey God. Of course, when John says this, he is reminding us of the teachings of Jesus about love for the Lord our God being the greatest commandment. If we love God, we will obey him and the depth of our obedience is the mark by which we know our love.

    

In verse 5, John simply writes, “Love one another”, which echoes Paul’s teaching in Romans 8:8, “He who loves his neighbour has fulfilled the law”. “Love one another” – it is such a simple command… Christian love means to love others.

    

There is a lovely story told about John the apostle who was the only disciple to live into old age. As the Bishop of Ephesus, he lived a long time and had an active ministry to the day he died. But shortly before he died, he grew so frail that he had to be carried everywhere and he had little breath to preach for long. And time and time again, he would preach the same sermon; a sermon that was only 5 words long: “Little children, love one another”. Five small words that, for John, encapsulated the Christian message.

    

Loving God and loving others – two practical out workings of the Christian faith.

Turning to our reading verses 7-8: John tells us that God’s nature is love. “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.” Notice it says two things. Verse 7 says that “love is from God.” And verse 8 at the end says, “God is love.” These are not at odds.

Because when John says that “love is from God,” he doesn’t mean it’s from him the way letters are from a mailman, or even letters are from a friend. He means that love is from God the way heat is from fire, or the way light is from the sun. Love belongs to God’s nature. It’s woven into what he is. It’s part of what it means to be God. The sun gives light because it is light. And fire gives heat because it is heat.

So John’s point is that for we who live in Christ, we who renewed our baptism at Easter a month ago are acknowledging that we are part the divine life of God and that an essential part of that life is love. God’s nature is love, and in the new birth that comes with our baptism God’s nature becomes part of who we  are.

When we look at verse 12 of our second reading we read “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is perfected in us.”

In these words John is assuring us that the love we have when we are born again through our baptism is no mere imitation of the divine love, no it is an experience of the divine love and it is the divine love that we pass on when we fulfill the commandment of our lord – that is to love God and love our neighbour.

So the first way John links God’s love for us and our love for people is by focusing on God’s nature as love and how when we are made one with Christ, when we are born again, when we are baptized we are connected to that divine nature.

John then goes on to speak of how the love of God is manifested in history

Verse 10 we read “In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. ¹¹Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. ¹²No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.”

It is in Love, from love, because of love, that God could no longer stand by but chose to become part of the created order he has brought in to being through the word by the power of he Spirit.

When we see that All powerful, All knowing, Creator, Glorious but distant God moved by Love to become part of our lives we see how and why we also get involved.

Once again the people of this island have shown their deep desire to get involved in the life of others who are in need in the amazing giving of £15 million to the suffering in Nepal. But as impressive as this is it is does not really capture the meaning John is conveying when he speaks about the love of God revealed in Jesus Christ and our response.

Salvation history is filled with examples of those who have been sent, as a donation is sent, to guide, direct and even plead with humanity to love one another. In deed it is the revelation of Christianity that shows that such an approach is inadequate, Mohammad might well be the last of the prophets and peace be upon him, but prophets beginning with Adam are only like a donation sent across the world. The revelation of Christianity is that God himself travels across the vastness of time, across the void that separated our world from his and shows us love.

John tells us in verse 11 “Beloved since God loves us so much we also ought to love one another” when he says, “We ought to love each other,” he means ought in the way fish ought to swim in water and birds ought to fly in the air and living creatures ought to breathe and peaches ought to be sweet and lemons ought to be sour. As baptized people, we are born again and ought to love. It’s who we are. This is not mere imitation. For the children of God, imitation becomes realization. We are realizing who we are when we love. God’s Spirit is in us. God’s nature is in us. God’s love is being perfected in us. so that when people see us they see God, when people experience love they are experiencing the reality of God

Why can’t we give love that one more chance?

Why can’t we give love……

Cause Love’s such an old fashioned word

and Love dare you to care

for the people on the edge of the night

and love dares you to change our way

of caring about ourselves

                                    Under Pressure by David Bowie

“little Children let us love not in word or speech but in truth and action” 1John 3.18

In the 3^rd chapter of the 1st letter of St  John we read some of the most beautiful language of the Christian Tradition.

The concern of the Evangelist John in his writings is for the love of Christ to be manifest within the life of the early church because already there was division and disunity within the church. Precise dating is not possible but the consensus among scholars is that John was writing his epistles, his letters probably around the year 80 CE, so some 50 years after the crucifixion of Christ.

Sadly this reality of division and actions of Christians that betray the love of god revealed through our Lord Jesus Christ continues throughout our history and is present with us today in the life of the church throughout the world.

"God is love" declares the Evangelist John in another of his epistles and "to live in love is to live in God and is for God to live in us."

Let us love God and those whom he has given us and our neighbours, for this is how our faith should be seen, felt and put in action by us his children.

What we need to learn in life is how to love people and use things instead of using people and loving things.

 Mother Teresa once said
 It is not how much you do, but how much Love you put into the doing that matters.

Our prayers are with the people of Nepal in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake

Prayers for the Nepal earthquake (Christian Aid)

Loving God, 

We pray for the people of Nepal, devastated by an earthquake 
At this time, we know you are present among the suffering 
May your comfort be known by those in that darkest valley

We pray that help will reach all those who need it, 
And lift to you Christian Aid's partners in Nepal, 
As they seek to swiftly respond to those in need

In Jesus' name we pray, 
Amen.

Congratulations to our newest members of the Church universal

At St Matthias  Scott and Claire had their beautiful daughter Grace baptised,

at St John's Dwaine and Geraldine had their little boy Zachai baptised see below"

Zackai being held by his God father

Fr John holding a bottle of Venezuelan  Diplomatico a very unexpected gift !!

blessing to one and all

“They were startled and terrified” how to find the Risen Christ

Fear is paralysing, it can be likened to a mental fog that leaves us unable to move forward. There is a discription of fear that speaks of an ocean liner:

If an ocean liner could think and feel, it would never leave its dock; it would be afraid of the thousands of huge waves it would encounter. It would fear all of its dangers at once, even though it had to meet them only one wave at a time.

Fear is not just in the mind, indeed there has been some research done on the connection between heart disease and memory loss, the latter being a sympton of heart problems. so fear affects our hearts and minds.

the disciples hearts were pounding – they were startled

the disiples minds went numb – they were terrified

the disiples were all at sea and it was if they were enveloped in a fog of confusion, terror and fear.

I don’t know the last time you had to drive in fog, but if you have then you will know that it is often advised that one should dip ones headlights, not turn them off completely, but reduce their power in order to see better.

It may sound counter intutitive, it stands to reason that to see better then there needs to be more light,  but with less light it is possible to see better when caught in fog.

There are always time in our life when it is as if we are in the midst of a heavy fog.

People who suffer from depression will know the feeling of the world that seems to fold in on them, wrapping them in a blanket shutting out the light and warmth generated by others leaving them in the darkness of depression, alone and afraid they sink into the dark hole of despair.

Less severe is the experience of confusion and lack of perspective that comes about in our life when we become confused and cannot see clearly. It is an experience that is not dissimilar to that of a person driving in heavy fog. A time when because of grief or uncertainly we cannot see a way out of a particular circumstance. When the familiar landscape is transformed into a world of shadowy figures and half seen dangers. We are left alone searching for the way out, searching for the light to guide us out of the fog of our confusion.

The disciples were in a fog  - more profound than the sort created by the early mist of the morning that will be burnt away by the light and warmth of the sun.

Their Fog was caused by their fear and loss, they were in the grip of despair caused by grief, they were plagued by doubt – how can the dead walk…unless they are a ghost.

It is into this fog of grief and uncertainly that the risen Christ steps and provides the light by which they can leave the fear and uncertainty behind and go out into the world holding the light of Christ to the darkness of the world and offering the reality of their faith before the despair and confusion of the world.

So what are we to learn from this for our selves?

What do you do when you find yourself surrounded by a fog of conflicting demands, a multiplicity of tasks that require your attention

Competing claims for your time?

Do you turn on your headlights to full beam as it were and crash on ahead, or do you turn your headlights down and look for the guiding light of the risen Lord to appear before you so that you can follow that light and leave behind the darkness and embrace the light?

Listen to this poem by Maya Angelou an African American poet – entitled Women’s work. It draws upon her reflections concerning Woman’s work that is never done and how from the beauy of nature, God’s creation, she is able to draw strenght, feel blessings and find her faith that in turn gave her the guidance and strength to continue in the jounry of her extra ordinary life………..

I've got the children to tend

The clothes to mend

The floor to mop

The food to shop

Then the chicken to fry

The baby to dry

I got company to feed

The garden to weed

I've got shirts to press

The tots to dress

The cane to be cut

I gotta clean up this hut

Then see about the sick

And the cotton to pick.

Shine on me, sunshine

Rain on me, rain

Fall softly, dewdrops

And cool my brow again.

Storm, blow me from here

With your fiercest wind

Let me float across the sky

'Til I can rest again.

Fall gently, snowflakes

Cover me with white

Cold icy kisses and

Let me rest tonight.

Sun, rain, curving sky

Mountain, oceans, leaf and stone

Star shine, moon glow

You're all that I can call my own.

Maya Angelou

By turning down the headlights

By slowing the thing down

By stopping and listening

maybe we will find that we are in a better position to see the Lord before us holding out his hands to us, looking upon us and giving us his peace, allowing us to be enfolded in his embrace.

When we are in the fog of our confusion, loss or fear, let us stop and turn away from own restlessness, let go of our endless but futile efforts and let God, yes to let go and let God.

When we stop speaking and start listening we will be far better placed to hear the still small voice of God calling to us – why are you frightened look it is me!

When our own search beam of questions and doubts is dipped we will stand a better chance of seeing the one one true light standing before us and giving us purpose and meaning in our life

When we put down our own hands and bow our head we will be more likely to feel the gentle touch of Jesus Christ as he embraces us offering us forgiveness and healing, offering us his new life.

Easter Day - Warning do not go any further

I was in St Paul’s cathedral on Thursday morning along with around 400 other priests, it was the Chrism Mass that takes place every Maundy Thursday and at which two important things happen – first the oils that will be used by the church  for the next year are blessed and then taken back to the individual parishes.

The second is that every Deacon, Priest, Bishop and Reader present renews their vows, the vows they took at their ordination and consecration or licencing.

It is a very moving and beautiful service and coming as it does just before the beginning of the Tridium, the three fullest days of he Christian year, it is like taking an exceptionally good glass of wine at the beginning of a wonderful meal.

This lent we have been using the Bob Jackson Course Everybody Welcome to think about how truly welcoming we are as congregations, and churches. It reminded me that a few years ago as I was processing out of the magnificent cathedral past the font with the West doors open and the tourists ready with their cameras, I looked down and saw a sign that read:

Warning do not go any further

The notice was in red ink on a board that was placed on the outer step of the dais that has the magnificent font at its centre.

At first glance I was offended – Warning do not go any further – what a stark and bazaar message to place by a font, the very place where our Christian journey begins.

And then upon reflection I saw that in the light of this mornings celebration maybe it stands as a useful warning.

For this morning as we celebrate the central belief of our faith – that the one crucified Lord is the Risen and glorified saviour, we will renew our own baptism and once again affirm our promise to reject the devil and all rebellion against God, to renounce the deceit and corruption of evil, to repent of the sins that separate us from God and neibghbour and turn, submit and come to Christ the way the truth and the life.

For what is at the centre of our faith is the belief that Jesus has gone further than anyone else in showing the desire and steadfast love of God for his creation and you and me his children.

In the powerful re-enactments of the last supper, the agony of choice in the garden of Gethsemane on Maundy Thursday, the horror of crucifixion on Good Friday, the celebration of Easter on Holy Saturday night, we celebrate the power of God to bring life from death, light into our darkness.

In Jesus we see God refusing to heed the warnings and threats of violence and even the power of death to show his love and the power of that love to transform and bring life to this world and to you and me this morning.

And it is the gift of life that we celebrate – our lives that can with God be lived so differently, can find meaning and purpose because of Gods revelation in Christ Jesus. We celebrate and commit oursleves again to the life of Christ manifest in each one of us who carry on his work and mission in this world of darkness, violence and shame. Jesus crossed that line, that stark warning that divides and separates and in so doing reconciles and gathers in the lost and wounded.

And here is were a warning is appropriate for each one of us who renew our baptismal vows this morning.

For in our baptism,

In the promises that are made again this morning we are becoming one with Christ – one with his life, one with his glory. But, and there is always a catch yes – if we hope to wear the crown of glory then we will first have to wear the crown of thorns, just as Jesus himself did.

Today we are more aware than ever before of the numbers of persecuted Christians around the world. It is now a fact that Christians are the most persecuted faith community in the world with one Chrisitan being killled for their faith in Jesus every 11 minutes – that's two who have died sice we started our service this morning and by the end there will be 6 killed.

We keep in our prayers this morning our brothers and sisters in Kenya who were salughted  on Friday many simply for being Christian, We have and continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Nigeria who have been vicitms of sectrarian violence, and we have prayed and raised funds for Christians in Iraq, and the list goes on.

The Christian faith into which I was baptised.

into which you were baptised

is not a faith that takes us away from pain and loss,

from despair and betrayal,

form darkness and fear

but one that takes us through this:

To feel the joy of belonging in our true home – the Church  

To find the hope and steadfast love that will not let us go

To embrace the light and life of the risen and glorified Christ in this life and the next.

Alleluia Christ is risen he is risen indeed Alleluia. 

Alleluia he is risen : he is risen indeed alleluia

BU

We love soul finishes a perfect Easter celebration!!

Holy Saturday

O

All is silent, empty as a grave, waiting for the impossible by our own reckoning 

Good Friday - He takes away our fear

Long haired preachers come out every night

try to tell you what’s wrong and what's right

But when asked how ‘bout something to eat

They will answer in voices so sweet

Chorus

You will eat, bye and bye

in the glorious land above the sky

work and pray, live on hay

you’ll get pie in the sky when you die

                  Joe Hill 1911

Some years ago Christian Aid came up with the slogan “ I believe in life before death” The allure of pie in the sky when you die has never really done it for me. What the world needs, what I need to day is healing, is reconciliation of all that denies life and fragments life leading to a purposeless life. What I crave for is life before I die.

To have my life restored, healed, mended means that I have to acknowledge that it is broken, I am lost, I am ill at ease.

Good Friday is a day when we have to confront the painful truth that our lives are broken, that we can not live pain free, it is a false illusion to believe that nothing bad will happen to me, or those around me simply because I believe in God.

Good Friday offers at its heart an amnesty not amnesia, hope not pretense.

We have to look upon the cross, we have to behold the cross on which hung the savior of the world if we are going to be able to start the healing in our own lives.

There is so much that distracts us from this demand, that encourages us to avert our eyes or shield ourselves from the glare of this terror – just as a pair of sun glasses protect us from the harsh glare of the sun.

The story of our life will be the story of our life permanently, this is not a dress rehearsal, we only get one life but we do not have a time limited offer on forgiveness, healing or restoration.

Good Friday is God’s statement that is as powerful and eternal as the first word spoken so long ago “let there be light”. The eternal word of God now speaks  “Father forgive”.  These words are not words that seek to deny the reality of life, the brutality of the Romans soldiers who drive nails through flesh, the betray of love that leads to denial and the cry “Crucify” These are not air brushed from history or from our identity and the reality that we live, but the words of Jesus on the cross “Father forgive” ensure that our lives can be healed, restored and reconciled.

God doesn’t take away the kinks and twists or the hurt and humiliation, he does not airbrush out the wrinkles or paper over the crack. What he does through the cross and resurrection is take away from us the guilt and the fear, so that we can start again and life in hope.

Grace is forgiveness we can’t earn. Grace is the weeping father who looks out from his security and home to long and distant road looking for his lost son.

Grace is tragedy accepted with open arms and somehow turned to good.

Grace is what the wasteful death on Golgotha did.

In a moment we will come and kneel, bow, or simply stand at the foot of the cross and draw from this broken bleeding, despised and rejected figure strength and hope for this life, for the journey that is ours, for the decisions we need to make today.

As we stand, kneel or bow, before the Saviour of the world who for us hung upon a cross we find acceptance, forgiveness and healing for all that denies life – our life and the life of those around us.

Most people think

Great God will come from the skies

take away everything

and make everybody feel high

but if you know what life is worth

you will look for yours on earth

and now you will see the light

You stand up for your rights.

   Bob Marley 1973