Remembrance Sunday

The first thing to say is that Remembrance of the war dead and those affected by war is always intensely personal. We all have our own stories. My paternal granddad, known as “Little Granddad”, (because he was little!), fought all the way through the first world war. Because he was a country boy and used to looking after horses that was his job on the front lines in France.

My maternal granddad was captured at Dunkirk and spent five years in a POW camp, an experience that broke him and he died well before his time.

And one of the most poignant trips in the last couple of years was making a pilgrimage to visit the grave of Louise’s Great uncle, Thomas Brooke, killed on the Somme and buried in a Graveyard near Thiepval called “Blighty Valley”, made more moving by the fact that as far as we know we are the first people from his family to visit his grave ever.

These and a million other personal stories are the content of Remembrance

It is also important to understand that Remembrance Sunday is a secular national commemoration and not a Christian festival. But it is a secular commemoration which the Church of England as the National Church lends its fulsome support and frames every commemoration up and down the nation from the cenotaph downwards.

That being the case, I suppose the question for us to reflect upon is what does the Christian faith have to contribute in offering the spiritual framework to the day which recollects the sacrifice of so many people during war?

And just at that point we have our first offering – the notion of sacrifice. The Christian faith is built on the notion of sacrifice.

That a sacrifice, is not an empty gesture, or a simple waste, but has innate power is written in to the Christian faith. In the case of Christ, we have a blood sacrifice and the sacrifice of that one man resulted in the defeat of evil, and the gift of hope to millions.

Using this motif, no sacrifice could ever be futile or meaningless but imbued with import, and should be received with gratitude. Sacrifice has meaning and can achieve things.

Pacifism is a noble position but the Church of England is not a pacifist church. It recognises that we are part and parcel of this fallen sinful world, and while we certainly hope and work for a future world of peace, we acknowledge that while we are part of this fallen creation with a heavy heart sometimes the unthinkable becomes necessary.

Remembrance is itself a word that Christians use all the time. “do this in remembrance of me” said Jesus Christ. Remembrance in Greek (anamnesis) in the Bible is much stronger than just “remembering”. It means to “make present”. We “make present”, in order to enter into the pain and misery, and ultimately death of Jesus. Applying this to the remembrance of the fallen soldiers - When you really enter in to the pain, really feel it, so that it becomes a moment of transformation. We hope it may become a powerful way of stopping us rushing quite so fast into yet another war if we can avoid it.

Also on the question of an example and an inspiration to others Christ offers an insight. In the manner of Christ’s life, his morality, courage, selflessness and sense of justice, we have a life worth emulating. There is something to inspire us. So too in the countless stories of courage and heroism do we find stories, lives, to inspire us.

So both as a sacrifice and an inspiriation, the Christian faith can speak into the commemoration of the fallen.

Thirdly we inevitably then should ask the question no one else asks. “Where are they now?” In a culture that routinely poo-poos the notion of a post death existence, Christianity is clear that one is not only possible but can in fact be positively assured by faith in Christ.

And lastly perhaps the greatest asset that the Christian faith brings to Remembrance Sunday is hope for a future world of joy, love and peace; a hope that is never extinguished no matter how much it is shaken.

We possess a hope that there is a new heaven and a new earth, where there will be no more tears, pain, suffering or death. And this must naturally also mean, no more war. This is our hope. Because of the sinfulness of mankind this must remain a distant hope. Mosul, Aleppo, Libya, Sierra Leone, extermination camps, medical experiments on humans, rape and  every kind of vile practice against civilians seems to have proliferated of late; yet we as Christians never lose our hope.

What insights Christians can offer to Remembrance Sunday are; sacrifice, inspiration to follow their collective character where they led, life after death, hope for the future.

For all the saints

Daniel 7:1-3, 15-18 (page 744 in our Bibles) Complicated! The vision starts with four beasts, representing empires emerging from the sea, representing chaos. We then switch to a judgment scene which is presided over by the ancient of days(v. 9) and the climax has one "like a son of man coming on the clouds of heaven" who is given dominion, and glory and a kingdom(v14). But the extraordinary thing is that this dominion shall then be given to the "people of the saints of the most high" (v 27). We share in the dominion of the new heaven and the new earth!

Ephesians 1: 11-23 (page 966 in our Bibles). A glorious piece of writing that talks of our "inheritance", and the seal of the Holy Spirit which guarantees it, and speaks of the church as the body of Christ which fills all in all.  

Luke 6:20-31 (page 862 in our Bibles) These blessings and woes are both directed to the disciples and are a challenging portrait of what the community of believers is supposed to look like. The fourth blessing is especially challenging. The gospel will not necessarily make you popular! We are called to be prophets and our fate may well be similar to the prophets of old.

One of the most inspiring speeches ever given started “I have a dream” when Martin Luther King articulated a vision of a better present and a future for America. Here is Daniel we have a vision, whose scope is much larger than America’s future. This vision is of the future of all creation with a special place within it for us, God’s children.

We start with the glorious prophetic imagery of the book of Daniel, which begins in the chaos of the world represented by the sea and the dysfunctional Kingdoms of this world vying for worldly power which are the beasts that emerge out of the sea.

So all the world seems chaotic, hopeless and random – unjust and unkind. But what books like Daniel are at pains to tell is that no matter how bleak or oppressive or hopeless the situation in the world seems – take heart and strength that God is in control and He has marvellous plans for us and the whole creation and because God is the guarantor of this vision we can be sure that it will come to pass.

God here is called the “ancient of days” and is envisioned as a marvellous spectacle as He takes his seat, he is ancient, denoting wisdom, his clothing is white as snow denoting purity and holiness, and the fire denotes judgement on everything that is going on.

Then comes the prophesy that all these earthly kingdoms vying for power on earth are as nothing because a superior unshakeable kingdom of God will be revealed. And then the coming of Jesus Christ and his kingdom is foretold.

And we know this vision is true and will unfold because the first part of it has already taken place. And behold with the clouds of heaven one “like a son of man” will be presented with a new eternal kingdom, and he will have an everlasting kingship.  And you will know of course that Jesus’ favourite way of referring to himself was “the son of man” and this is exactly this passage in Daniel that Jesus is referring to when he uses that term.

All kingdoms, all empires eventually fall; the Greeks, the Romans, the Persians, the Assyrians, the British, all which once seemed impregnable and unthinkable that they might decay and die. But they did.

But this kingdom, the kingdom of God will never die. Remember that this kingdom formed the content of Jesus’ first ever pronouncement. “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand”.

But then something even more extraordinary is announced. Whilst Christ is King in this new order, dominion is to be shared. Christ is not a dictator.

Who is this kingdom going to be shared with? “The saints of the most high will share this kingdom.

And just in case we didn’t get it the first time this is underlined in verse 27

“And the kingdom and the dominion shall be given to the people of the saints of the most high”

Who are the saints? That is us. We share in the Royal Dominon.  A saint, before the term was highjacked to denote a few super Christians officially declared “saint” was the term Paul used when he was addressing the whole community of Christians.

We are the saints of the most high whose inheritance is to share in the kingship of Christ in the Kingdom of God.

And Paul talks of our inheritance in his letter to the Ephesians. Saint means holy which means “set apart”. We are a people set apart for a great inheritance and our guarantee of that inheritance is the seal of the Holy Spirit. That is why we call ourselves “the body of Christ” and led Peter to refer to the church as “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Peter 2:9)

When we sing “For all the Saints” we are singing about ourselves and all Christians past, present and future who will share in this glorious vision.

Don’t forget we are holy, set apart, different. And Jesus pronounces some blessings and woes. He points out that it is not going to be plain sailing and in fact, it is not going to guarantee you popularity. In fact he says rejoice in that day when people hate you, and exclude you and spurn your name as evil on account of the son of man, for behold, your reward will be great in heaven”.

Jesus talks about our reward, our inheritance as co-heirs of the Kingdom of heaven. If you need encouragement in your faith, keep that vision of the new creation uppermost in your mind.

A glorious inheritance kept for us, the saints of the most high. We have a vision of that glorious future in the book of Revelation.

 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ² And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. ³ And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place^[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,^[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.^[c] 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away.”

In the beginning was the word

There is no other book in the world like the Bible. Or rather I should say books (plural). The Bible is a compendium of 66 separate books written at different times and by different people in different cultures over about 2 thousand years.

They include lots of different genres; Law, history, prophesy, apocalyptic, wisdom, poetry, gospels, letters, and they need to be understood both individually and with reference to each other.

What are they? They are a record of God’s dealings with creation, especially humanity, from the very begginning in the Garden of Eden, a relationship which goes wrong, is eventually restored through Jesus Christ and then looks forward to the re-creation of a renewed humanity in a new heaven and a new earth in the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. It is the story of our past, our present and our future

Christians have always regarded the scriptures as inspired by God. Or “God breathed” as the scriptures themselves say.

That doesn’t make them dictated by the hand of God but they are “inspired”. Because even the most arcane piece of scripture from the dullest of history books is inspired, any piece of scripture innately carries within it the capacity to inspire, to comfort, challenge or to give voice to our suffering and lament. God is woven into and through the text, so giving us the possibility to connect with God

Here is how Paul describes that facet of the scriptures in 2 Timothy 3:15-17

“and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,¹⁷ that the man of God^[a] may be competent, equipped for every good work.”

Christians use it habitually as a record of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as God’s plan  to fulfil his promise to humanity not to leave us dangling without hope, without a future but as our rescuer – usually called our saviour or our redeemer. He promises us eternal life in a glorious future.

Jesus is God’s rescue plan for creation. A rescue which was prophesied in many places and our first reading today is one such prophesy in Isaiah. Our gospel reading records that Jesus himself recognised another prophesy was referring to himself when he read from the scroll of Isaiah in the synagogue and declared that “This prophesy is fulfilled in your hearing”. The story of how that life and death and resurrection came about and the consequences resulting from that event are recorded in the gospels and letters and our third reading records one such outworking.

The Bible is our authority because Jesus regarded it as his authority and over time it has proved its worth and usefulness.

The Bible is unique and even in these godless times you may be surprised to know that it is the world’s bestselling book every year.

We all have our favourite bits of scripture from the 23^rd psalm to John 1 at Christmas perhaps to Romans 8:38-39 to Revelation. The Psalms are an extraordinary resource expressing every human emotion.

John 3:16 is one of the best known summaries of the Christian faith

“God so loved the world that He gave his only son, that whoever believes in him shall not die but have eternal life”

These, and many like it are words containing life which can inspire us to great things; As a Christian teacher I could do no better thing than lead anyone to the Bible.

We take the Bible seriously because the Bible takes us seriously. It takes our need of a permanent loving relationship seriously, our need for love, mercy and forgiveness seriously.

So as this is Bible Sunday I’ll end with these immortal words from Romans 8:38-39

³⁸ For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

"1 hour delay 2 miles ahead"

Faith and trust are words that can be almost interchangeable. We place our trust in so many things unconsciously. Getting up in the morning is an act of trust. That the world keeps spinning, the sun will rise and set, that our pay packet or pension is always there, that clean water is always in our taps...etc.

On Thursday and Friday I placed my trust in my satnav to get me to a village in Wales I’d never been to before for my Father –in-law’s funeral. If it had failed I would have been literally completely lost! All my trust, pretty small trust really was placed in that device – a trust that was sorely stretched when it took me down some pretty narrow streets in a Welsh village – but a trust that was rewarded when it did in fact lead me to the exact spot I needed to get to.

Faith in God can be sorely tested as well. Brian, whose funeral I was attending, was my first wife - Alex’s dad. Brian outlived his daughter, my wife, by six years. Consumed by my own grief at that time, I didn’t really stop to consider how bereft Brian must have felt. We both would have agreed with Habbakuk I’m sure when he cries out to God in despair that God appears either unwilling or unable to help.

The second chapter, which gives his own answer is to continue to live by faith or trust in God’s promises. What else can we do? There is a sticky point in Jesus’ ministry when people lose faith in him and start to leave and he turns to his inner core, the disciples and says. “Do you want to go as well?” and Peter answers

“Lord where would we go?. You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68)

Trust or true faith is one that has been tested by fire through thick and thin, through good times and bad times.

Jesus tells us that we only need a tiny amount of faith to make a huge amount of difference, but also, when our faith leads us to do or achieve great things, don’t expect a reward or any special treatment, because you are only doing what is your duty.

Is there anything practical you can do to maintain or increase your trust in God?

Yes there is, but it takes a bit of effort. The simplest thing you can do is memorise some verses of the Bible that you find inspiring and helpful. The Bible is inspired by God and if you memorise some parts of it, when you say them to yourself you have the word of God on your lips, in your mind, and on your heart.

Some of the most helpful come from two books we have been studying in our home groups, Romans and Philippians;

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (4:13)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (4:6)

If God is for us, who can be against us;

John 3:16, the 23^rd psalm, the list is endless and intensely personal.

Reading or praying scripture like that connects us with God. So does prayer whether using set words, impromptu words or sitting in silence with God on your heart. Communication with God through prayer and scripture is great for building your faith and maintaining it.

So when a crisis comes, and a crisis will come, our faith has strong foundations and while you will be jolted, perhaps for some time, you will stand firm.

I will end with a memorised piece of scripture that has always helped me and strengthened me.

 Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.

(John 16:33)

To tell you the truth....

Honesty is one of the most important virtues there is – if not the most important virtue. I’ll bet that every single person in this church has been lied to at some time or other, and some of us will have been lied to consistently and often. Recall what that felt like – how did it make you feel about the person and about yourself.

Honesty is essential because it builds trust and trust is essential in all relationships. Trust is essential in our human relationships and in our relationship with God.

Once trust has been broken and is gone it is terribly difficult to build up again because from that point on, you never are really sure what is true or false. The biggest cause of marriage break ups is the breakdown of trust because of betrayal and all the attendant lies that surround it.

The biggest cause of breakdown in people’s trust in God is the perception that they have been misled. They thought that God was a kind of big fluffy security blanket and no harm or struggle would ever come to them if they believed and prayed and then life throws them a curve ball and their mum gets cancer, or their sister dies young, or they lose their job and security, or a million other things, and they feel betrayed.....lied to.

Of course that understanding of God is a false one, but it is a very common one.

So honesty is vital and Jesus was always honest. He never promised that being a Christian would ever be easy, but he did say that we should be shrewd or wise in our dealings with people, especially with non Christians

You can take this lesson from today’s parable in Luke’s gospel and apply it to many different areas of church and personal life. We sometimes need to be much more canny, to use a N.E. phrase, in the way we approach people and situations, as Christians.

We need to be cleverer in using mass media, more creative in the way we present ourselves, creative in the way we present the gospel without watering down the essential truth of it.

We need to be realistic, down to earth, honest, but also gentle and persuasive. We can start by treating people’s current beliefs and perspectives with respect and using them as a starting point to introduce gospel values.

Sometimes that is the way but in some situations we need to be much more direct, and our dilemma is how to tell when which approach is the right one.

You can tell from our first reading today that Amos was no diplomat. He was harsh and direct but perhaps even there, that very boldness can be very attractive in a world where people are jaded, used to spin and lies. So there will be times when it is wise and prudent to use such a harsh approach.

In certain circumstances, bald, unadorned truth can be revolutionary and fresh in a world of warm empty words, compromise and political correctness.

But I still say that in most situations, we need to be cleverer than that. Even a person consumed by vanity and overwhelming self interest is not beyond reaching and being touched by God.

In my experience, appealing to someone’s sense of entitlement to the best of everything can often open a door to a materially wealthy man to the riches of heaven.

In short, we need to be honest and trustworthy, but we also need to be wise. Jesus as ever summed it up perfectly.

He said. “ I am sending you our as sheep amongst wolves so be as wise as serpents but as innocent as doves” (Matthew 10:16) 

Choose Life!

Choices, choices.  Life or death?

Mind you, even if you choose Life – Jesus says it isn’t an easy ride.

There are no riches or social status on offer. In fact Jesus says, it is probably a good idea to sit down and count the cost of following the one who proclaimed himself to be “The way, the truth and the Life”.

After some careful thought you might decide that you don’t have the stomach for it!

Jesus says that He has to be your number one priority, outranking everyone, even your mother and father, wife or children, brothers or sisters. I even outrank what I know is your number one priority – yourself.

With typical Semitic hyperbole Jesus says you have to “hate” those members of your family if you decide to choose Life and follow me as a disciple. In another place Jesus describes it as “taking up your own cross and following Him”

Discipleship calls for a particular kind of blinkered single minded belief that there is nothing greater or more important in the whole world than following Him.

If a sweetener were needed though, Jesus does say that if you are that single minded and really do seek first the kingdom of God then everything else will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33).

Many would see slavery and freedom as  natural opposites as Life or death, but of course the slave doesn’t have the freedom to make that choice for himself.

Paul’s friend Philemon has a slave called Onesimus whom Paul clearly wants to be set free, but Oaul doesn’t want to strongarm Philemon or issue a decree: Philemon is his friend and he dearly want him to come to the same conclusion for himself – from within.

If he can convince Philemon that Onesimus is a brother in Christ, just as Paul is, could he not convince him to see the truth that a brother in Christ can never also be your slave.

Paul treads a tightrope, wanting Philemon to see the light but without ordering him to set Onesimus free. We don’t know what happened but we can hope that Philemon did just that and within this short letter we have an example of how to persuade and cajole and get people to see sense and make the decision themselves.

There is a saying that goes “One willing volunteer is worth ten pressed men”.

Ordering people to change their ways because you say so doesn’t pay dividends, but if you persuade someone that it is the right thing to do and it was, after all, their own decision to do or believe something you have made a powerful convert convinced of the rightness of what they are doing.

Persuasion, with respect and gentleness is always more long lasting and effective than issuing orders no matter how self evidently right we may feel they are.

The promises of God

Today is all about Promises.

The Grand theme running through today’s readings and indeed through the entire Bible – the golden thread that joins everything together - are Promises made and Promises kept.

The Golden thread that binds the whole of the Old Testament together is that God has made promises to the whole of humanity, in fact the whole of creation, that in the end, Justice will prevail, Good will overcome evil, Death itself will be defeated and a glorious future of Life love and peace awaits those who keep the faith and the whole of the New Testament is a record of those promises of God having been kept.

Today in Hebrews we are given the start of a long list of characters from the Old Testament who believed the promises but never saw them fulfilled. For faith as the author writes (v 1) is this “the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen”.

Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua and then a whole host of minor characters, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, the prophets.

They all believed the promises given by God and they all acted in faith but never saw the promises being kept. They trusted God despite not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

That same Golden thread that weaves its way through the Old Testament emerges in the New Testament which is the record of all the people who saw that light shining in the darkness, recognised the light and realised that God had acted decisively to fulfil his promises made.

In short, Christian faith is trust that the promises of God have been fulfilled in the man Jesus Christ.

Let us remind ourselves of those promises. The promises of God are that in the end, evil would be defeated, Justice would prevail, the righteous would be saved, there would be a new heaven and a new earth, God’s Spirit would be poured out on all flesh, and we would be brought close to God and live with Him together in paradise. God would be all in all.

On the cross Christ defeated evil and opened a door to give us direct access God. Jesus described himself as the “gate” to the sheepfold as well as the shepherd. No one comes to the Father except through Him.(John 10:9)

Jesus asked the Father to pour out his Holy Spirit on all flesh on those who respond in faith and Pentecost is the festival on which we celebrate that fact. (Joel 2:28, Isaiah 44:3, Acts 2:17)

Jesus rising from the dead is the supreme sign given to us that the new Heaven and the new earth have been inaugurated. Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead. “Firstborn”(Colossians 1:18), meaning that many are going to follow and live forever in the new heaven and the new earth.

In the cross and resurrection we have seen the promises of God inaugurated but without being totally consummated.

We the church, the standard bearers and witnesses to the resurrection live in the time between the promises being announced but before the final end when the whole of time and history will be brought to an end only in order that the new beginning is known and seen by all and God will be all in all and every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

So there is a gap and the church is living in the gap between the Kingdom being started and finally being fulfilled, so just like all those characters in the Old Testament, Jesus tells us to have faith. 

Jesus tells us in Luke’s gospel not to get complacent or lose faith for our reward is coming. He tells us “stay dressed for action, and keep your lamps burning and be like men who are waiting for their master to return home from the wedding feast so they may open the door to Him when he comes and knocks.”(12:35)

This will happen when we least expect it.

None of us knows when our life will be taken from us and Jesus implores us to be ready. Any one of us could die today. We can die safe and certain of our own salvation and be at peace in the knowledge that Jesus is with us always and forever, or we could die as a stranger to God and be conflicted, frightened and alone.

So faith is still important even though we, as believers are witnesses to the resurrection.

We occasionally sing a hymn in church which is apt for today which goes

When we walk with the Lord   In the light of His Word, What a glory He sheds on our way;   While we do His good will,   He abides with us still, And with all who will trust and obey.
	Trust and obey, For there’s no other way To be happy in Jesus,   But to trust and obey.