Trinity 13 - breaking the rules and crossing the line

Just this week I was walking the dog and got into an interesting debate about Islam and Christianity with two young men. There were many questions beginning with who created the dog man or God? and why Christians eat pork and why Christians did not worship on the Sabbath.! Todays Gospel story of course is one of many that could be sighted in an explanation that Jesus came to challenge a religious system , to break the very rules and customs that had kept the chosen people chosen. Followers of Jesus came to understand that obedience to the law alone would not be sufficient for salvation.

In this incident Jesus is doing what every Rabbi has done since, attend shul where he worshiped and taught. On this occasion he then crossed the line by reaching out and healing a woman doubled over. Of course Jesus is not the only one to break the rules, to cross the line. In this story the woman who has no name also broke the rules by walking in to an all male environment where she was not wanted or welcome. Sometimes it is necessary to break the rules to do the right thing.

I came across this story told by Billy Graham’s  long time songleader George Beverly Shea, who tells a story about one of Graham's classmates at Wheaton College: 

Mr. Frizen, called Bert by his friends, was a talented and popular singer on campus, involved with several singing groups . . . .  He went on to serve in the military during World War II and was involved in the famous Battle of the Bulge . . . .  Bert was wounded during one of the attacks and lay on the battlefield, slipping in and out of consciousness. At one point, with his eyes closed, he started singing his mother's favorite hymn as best he could, "Jesus Whispers Peace." When he opened his eyes, he saw a German soldier standing over him with a drawn bayonet.  Bert understood enough German to know that the soldier was saying to him, "Sing it again; sing it again."  Bert continued the song; "There is a Name to me most dear, like sweetest music to my ear/And when my heart is troubled, filled with fear/Jesus whispers peace." Soon he felt himself being gently lifted up in the arms of the enemy soldier, who carried him to a rock ledge nearby where the American medics found him a short time later, taking him to safety.

In the midst of war, one German soldier broke the rules in the name of love, in the name of compassion, in the name of Jesus. God calls us to look deep within and to find the courage and the faith to break the rules in the name of love, in the name of the love of God which is ours in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Assumption - Mass tomorrow at 7:30pm

The feast of the Assumption of our Lady begins with evening prayer today.

This is one of the great days of the Christian year. We celebrate Mary being taken into glory as a sign of the glory that we all hope for.

We will be celebrating at St Matthias tomorrow with a Sung Mass at 7:30pm. We will have a visiting preacher, Mother Carrie Thompson from Forton, and special music. This will be followed by a party which, weather allowing, will be on the vicarage patio.

Please come, and invite your family and friends.

Almighty, ever-living God,

  you have taken the mother of your Son,

  the immaculate Virgin Mary,

  body and soul into the glory where you dwell.

Keep our hearts set on heaven

  so that, with her, we may share in your glory.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

  one God, for ever and ever.

 Amen

12th Sunday of Trinity - Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also

“‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions, and give alms.” Luke 12.32-33

New frontal donated to St Matthias by Aisha
memory of her late husband Emmanuel RIP

The question of possessions and the challenge of Jesus’ words to go and sell them  were put to Mr Cameron a few days ago in a question and answer session in Darwen near Blackburn, it was also a challenge for congregations up and down the country today as Jesus’ words reverberated around countless churches up and down our land.

When one reads the gospel it shows that Jesus spoke about two things more than anything else, the Kingdom of God and money. Interestingly Jesus seldom talked about one without talking about the other.  In his preaching and teaching the two are intimately intertwined.

The kingdom of God is like – a man who had two sons and the younger came to him and demanded half of the inheritance.

The kingdom of God is like – a vineyard owner who pays everyone the same, no matter how much or how little they had worked.

The kingdom of God is like – a master who gives his servants varying amounts of money and then judges them on how they have managed it.

Jesus knew what he was saying and he said it very plainly. The already but not yet kingdom of God has very important practical implications for how we treat our neighbours and how we treat our money.

In this Gospel passage, Jesus makes it very clear that the coming kingdom is firmly rooted in the gospel of grace. The kingdom is not something we achieve or earn.  The kingdom is an unmerited and undeserved grace.

“Do not be afraid little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

Yes, the kingdom is a gift; it’s free, no strings attached.

But, receiving the kingdom into our lives is costly.

The kingdom changes the way we live our lives, it changes the way we define the purpose of our lives, it changes the things we care about and worry about, it changes the way we treat our neighbour and yes, it changes the way we manage our money.

“Sell your possessions and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear our, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”

The question to ask ourselves is where is our treasure or put another way what is it that we treasure, and the answer to that question will reveal where our hearts desire lies.

Accepting the Kingdom of God and its priorities frees us from our captivity to the here and now.

Accepting the Kingdom of God and its priorities frees us from anxiety about worldly success, the pursuit of all that glitters and leaves us free to embrace the love of God and neighbour with all our heart mind soul and strength.

Congratulations to Tom& Leena married today

St James Day - 25th July - we pray for all who work at Kings Cross and St Pancras Stations

July 25th is St Jame's feast day. James along with his brother John were fishermen earning a modest and sustainable living from the waters of Lake Galilee 2000 years ago. They were called one day by a charismatic figure in whose footsteps they followed for the next three years and for the rest of their lives sought to continue that which they witnessed and were part of as the first disciples of Jesus Christ. tragically this year St James feast day has been associated with death and destruction as the facts of a train crash outside Santiago Compostela because clear this morning. Some of the passengers were  pilgrims travelling to join in the festivities planned for St James.

Kings Cross has had it moments of tragedy, the kings cross fire of 1987 was  commemorated last year on its 25th anniversary at the church of the blessed sacrament. One of the legacies from that tragedy was a tightening up of safety on al l underground stations, a complete ban on smoking was introduced immediately after the fire and wooden escalators were replaced throughout the system.  With millions of passengers travelling though these stations every year it is their safety that is paramount in the mind and actions of the train companies. Emergency planning, in which faith leaders play an essential role, is an important part of the churches work in our city and it is the church leadership that provides the vital link between the statutory agencies, institutions and in the case of Kings Cross Station the travelling public.   

Merciful God 

whose holy apostle St James

leaving his father and all that he had

was obedient to the calling of your Son Jesus Christ

and followed him even to death.

help us, forsaking the false attractions of the world

to be ready at all time to answer to your call without delay.

through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,

who is alive and reigns with you 

in the unity of the Holy Spirit

one God now and for ever. Amen

The journey of discipleship, like that of life, is one into the unknown. James was the first of the Apostles to be martyred for his faith, he showed that he was ready to answer that ultimate call of faith to
share in the sufferings of Jesus himself so that he could then partake of the reward and goal of that journey. We pray for those who died in the terrible train crash in spain, for their  families whose lives have been shattered by that loss
 and for all who work within the rail industry who strive to keep us from harm. 

Reflection for the Eighth Sunday after Trinity

 Greek Orthodox icon of the prophet Amos

This morning's Old Testament reading sees the prophet Amos doing what he does best, denouncing the abuse of the poor:

Hear this, you that trample on the needy,
and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying,
 “When will the new moon be over
  so that we may sell grain;
and the sabbath,
    so that we may offer wheat for sale?
We will make the ephah small and the shekel great,
    and practice deceit with false balances,
buying the poor for silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
    and selling the sweepings of the wheat.”

The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Surely I will never forget any of their deeds.

The message is quite clear, those who are responsible for the economic exploitation of others are subject to God's judgement, and it is the task of the prophet to proclaim this.

As Christians, with a share in the prophetic work of Christ, we are called to proclaim this message in our own day. Sadly there are plenty of opportunities.

We live in a world where children die hourly from diseases curable at a cost of a few pence. We live in a country where some of the most vulnerable are being made to bear the cost of a recession they did nothing to cause.

People in power are very happy when the churches offer care to the poor. Recently there has been a lot of interest from 'think tanks' in the ability of churches to provide social care. It is easy for Christians to be uncritically flattered by this attention - it's always nice when people notice us!

But there are real dangers here. We are not called to be a cheap alternative to Social Services. We are called to be prophetic: and that involves denouncing the causes of poverty and human suffering. Let's pray today that we don't give in to the temptation to abandon that calling.

Reflection for the 6th Sunday After Trinity

In today's gospel, Jesus sends out some disciples in pairs. They have important work to do - exactly the same work that Jesus does, the prophetic work of healing the sick and preaching the Kingdom of God. We see here the beginnings of the Church's ministry as a share in Jesus' ministry.

If the contemporary Church were sending out a large number of people to do vitally important work, we would no doubt put a lot of planning into it, establish plenty of committees, do a lot of fundraising, and in general make sure the seventy two raw recruits were - to use a piece of ugly management-speak - well resourced.

So what does the Jesus of Luke's gospel do?

He sends them out without purse, bag, or sandals: without the means to keep money or food, making them utterly dependent, They depend for the first part, of course, on God. Later in Luke's gospel, Jesus will teach his disciples to pray for their daily bread. They will also depend on other human beings - on each other, as well as on those who feed them in their houses. Here Luke's gospel anticipates the book of Acts, where we read about the disciples holding their possessions in common, sharing for the good of all.

This passage serves as a reminder to us, at a time of change in the Church, where a lot of thought is going into mission, and where we are experiencing quite a bit of change. Unless our life as a missionary church begins with reliance on God, which finds expression in liturgy and prayer, and is lived out in generous, sharing, communities, it will have little in common with the mission of Jesus.

The Birth of St John the Baptist

Today is the feast of the birth of St John the Baptist. You can read about it in the first chapter of Luke's gospel.

Almighty God and Father,

  you sent Saint John the Baptist to the people of Israel

  to make them ready for Christ the Lord.

Give us the grace of joy in the Spirit,

  and guide the hearts of all the faithful

  in the way of salvation and peace.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

  who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

  one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Reflection for the 4th Sunday after Trinity

Icon of Elijah

The story we heard from the book of Kings at Mass this morning is a beautiful one. Elijah, the great prophet, is told that the Lord will pass him by - an Old Testament way of saying that he will encounter God. And then lots of noisy spectacular things happen, a fierce wind, an earthquake, a fire... Yet God is not in any of them. Finally the Lord comes to Elijah, as the reading puts it "in the sound of sheer silence".

Elijah meets God in silence. We too can meet God in silence.

Time for silence is an important need in every Christian life. Silence gives us time to listen to God, to allow him to transform us and our desires. Silence is also a way of acknowledging that God escapes all our words and our concepts.

It can be difficult to find quiet time in this very busy world, with all the pressures of work and family life. However, we need to do so, however small the amount of time is that we find each week.

Sometimes it can be helpful to talk over our prayer life with another Christian, a 'soul friend', to share experiences, and get help about planning prayer time. The clergy at our churches are always happy to do this.

Creed and coffee

Have you ever wondered about the Creed that we say at Mass on Sundays? 'We believe', it begins - and it expresses the Church's central beliefs about God and what God has done for us. But what do the various things the Creed says mean? What is their history? And what do they say to us in the modern world?

We'll be discussing these things informally over coffee in Starbucks, West Hendon Sainsburys, during July. So if you'd like to learn more about our faith come along:

Friday 12th July - We believe in God the Father

Friday 19th July - We believe in God the Son

Friday 26th July - We believe in God the Holy Spirit

We will meet at 11am for about an hour. All welcome!

Reflection for the Second Sunday after Trinity

We're back today into reading through Luke's gospel on Sundays. Today we heard the story of the widow of Naim.

A woman in a desperate situation, not only confronted with human grief but also with the reality of loosing her only son, on whom she would have depended economically, encounters the power of Jesus. This power conquers even death itself, giving the widow's son back to her. It is a power exercised, as the gospel puts it, with compassion. It is a power exercised on behalf of someone at the 'bottom of the heap' socially.

This is the Lord we follow, a Lord who exercises power in a compassionate way. As Christians we need to proclaim both halves of the message. We cannot shy away from the reality of Jesus, the Son of God, who reigns in power and conquers death. But equally we cannot ignore his divinely human compassion - the message, of course, of last Friday's feast day - which puts down the mighty from their seats, raises up the lowly, and comes as good news for the poor.

Also in the news today!...

Congratulations to our Churchwardens who attended St Pauls Cathedral to make take their oaths of office and be part of the launch of Capital Vision 2010 Creative Compassion leading to a Confident proclamation of the Gospel




Well done to our two newest servers at St Matthias..

A feast of love, the Sacred Heart

Today we celebrate the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Jesus' heart is a sign of divine love made human. God comes to us in fragile human flesh, like our own. He comes to share in our sadness and our joys. He comes to offer us love, no matter who we are or what we have done in life. There is nothing that we can do that stops God loving us. No matter what, he loves us, and calls us home to him.

Corpus Christi

To day we celebrate Corpus Christi, in the time honored language of the church – Thanks giving for the institution of holy Communion in the language of the modern Church of England.

The celebration of the Eucharist, translated from the Greek word meaning “thanksgiving” the Mass; the Lord Supper is not universal to the body of Christ but it is central to many of us within the body of Christ.

The Eucharist, with its roots in the last supper Jesus celebrated with his disciples on the night before he was betrayed is a meal that is not supposed to leave us unchanged. Meeting God is not supposed to leave us just as we were. Encountering the Lord in the sacrament or in any other way means that we change, and change for good, forever. What we do today changes us. And this one thing I have learned in all of these experiences of being part of a celebration of the Eucharist is – that we are loved and loved and loved by God.

For it is in this meal that we can find the most telling signs, the most powerful symbols, the most pressing reminders and the most startling revelations of that simple love of God who came and mingled with us and walked among us. The Eucharist is a reminder that God offers us the sustenance of faith and the intoxication of love, not just today but every day.

Corpus Christi affirms us in the human instinct that is in the blood of every Christian, that the most profound words we can ever utter are the words ‘thank you’. Once we grasp this, we see life in a new way, a Eucharistic way. The transformation of broken bread and poured out wine into heavenly food and drink becomes a symbol of renewed attitudes within us. G.K. Chesterton put it like this.

You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the play and the opera, and grace before the concert and the pantomime, and grace before I open the book, and grace before sketching and painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip pen in the ink.

And, we should add, before we face the suffering, the deprived, the neglected, our brothers or sisters in whom the image of Christ is most to be honoured.

The Visitation

Today is the feast of the Visitation of our Lady, when we recall the story in Luke's gospel where Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth. Mary is greeted by Elizabeth as full of grace, and the child in Mary's womb (John the Baptist) leaps for joy. Mary sings her song, the Magnificat, which we use every day at evening prayer:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior

for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:

the Almighty has done great things for me,

and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him

in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,

he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,

and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,

and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel

for he has remembered his promise of mercy,

the promise he made to our fathers,

to Abraham and his children for ever.

There is a danger of spiritualising away Mary's words in the Magnificat, of thinking that all this talk of the lowly and the hungry is really about people who are inwardly humble, or who hunger for God (rather than for food*). No: the clear message of the prophets in the Old Testament is that our God is on the side of the poor and powerless, and this message finds an echo in Mary's song. In these times of economic crisis, it is a message we should take on board!



*Of course, it's a good thing to hunger for God - it's just that this isn't what this passage of scripture is talking about!

Funeral of the late Jean Thorpe RIP

Many of us gathered to say our goodbye's to our sister in faith Jean Thorpe. Jean has been a faithful member of the congregation of St Matthias for decades and we honoured her faithfulness and generosity that along with many others contributed to the very church building in which we gathered to celebrate the Mass.
A big thank you to Frances who organised the refreshments and ensured that Jeans wishes were fulfilled.
Rest Eternal Grant unto her and let light perpetual shine upon her.

Walsingham

Picnic lunch in the grounds of Walsingham Abbey

Yesterday I went with friends on the National Pilgrimage to Walsingham. It was an exhausting, but wonderful day, involving being up at the crack of dawn, a coach journey across East Anglia, Mass in the grounds of Walsingham Abbey, a fabulous picnic lunch, a sermon from the Archbishop of York, a procession and Benediction.

In his sermon the Archbishop reflected on the words of Mary's song, the Magnificat:

The words of Mary's Magnificat shake us abruptly from our complacent confidence. They turn the World topsy turvy.

Walsingham is the national shrine of Mary. Our parishes attend their annual youth pilgrimage. Why not have a look at the Shrine's website? And if you find yourself in Norfolk, why not visit?!

Reflection for the Feast of the Most Holy Trinity

Today we celebrate our faith in the one God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

People can be quite sceptical of Christian belief in the Holy Trinity. Aren't we claiming to know too much about God? Aren't we doing away with mystery and offering a roadmap to God, a description of the divine?

On the contrary, our Christian faith frankly admits that God is a mystery. The creator of everything that exists has to be beyond our ability to understand. What the doctrine of the Holy Trinity teaches us is that the utterly mysterious God, who lies behind and beyond everything, is - if you like - eternally able to invite us to share in his mystery.

This is the God who, as Father, reaches out to us, by sending his Son in flesh like ours and by, as our second reading puts it, sending his Spirit, pouring love into our hearts. This is the God who reaches out to draw us in, to embrace us. This is the God, in other words, who is love.

Far from Ordinary!

The season of Easter ended yesterday with our celebration of Pentecost.

Today we re-enter the season known as Ordinary Time: green vestments are usually worn at Mass, and our hymns and readings lack any particular 'seasonal feel'. Our Paschal Candle has moved out of the sanctuary, and is now by the font. It will be used at baptisms and funerals throughout the year until next Easter. At St Matthias yesterday we extinguished our candle at the end of Mass, blowing it out after singing 'Happy Birthday Dear Church'!

Writing from South Africa, our reader Angharad has this to say:

In the Church kalender we are now back in 'Ordinary time'. This does not mean 'unimportant time' or 'less-holy-time'! Ordinary Time is called 'ordinary' simply because the weeks are numbered. The Latin word 'ordinalis', which refers to numbers in a series, stems from the Latin word 'ordo', from which we get the English word order. SO... Ordinary Time indicates the ordered life of the Church.

It's fitting that this longest section of Ordinary Time begins with our holding onto the challenge and excitement of Pentecost of being challenged to live lives inspired by the Holy Spirit - in the everyday! That's why there's nothing "ordinary" about Ordinary Time.

 Now that Easter is over, we say the prayer known as the Angelus again. Perhaps you would like to make this part of your prayer life during this season.