Category: Sermons
The Feast of Saint Matthew
Matthew the Apostle, detail of mosaic from facade of the Romanian Patriarchal Cathedral, Bucharest, Europe
Last Sunday was the feast of Saint Matthew. At St John’s we had a presentation on the state of our finances, so I preached a very short sermon. However, the priest I live with was taking the service at one of the other churches in our team. so here is what Mother Anne-Marie said.
Which do you think are the least trusted professions in the United Kingdom? (And personally it is a bit of relief to me that that still includes Scotland?) The least trusted professions? Well a recent survey in the Daily Telegraph put politicians and journalists at the bottom – no doubt based on recent experiences. Third from bottom was bankers, sixth from bottom civil servants and seventh from bottom accountants. It will be no surprise that estate agents and builders were also amongst the top ten least trusted. Apologies to you if one of these is or was your profession! It’s a survey, not me saying this. Continue reading
Holy Cross Day
A little late, but here is the sermon that the priest I live with preached for Holy Cross Day here at St John’s.
On this day, the 14th September, one thousand six hundred and seventy nine years ago, a part of the cross of Jesus, discovered by Saint Helena, was taken out from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem – out from the church which had been dedicated just the day before – taken outside so that all the believers in Jesus Christ could come and venerate it. Holy Cross Day is kept on this day to commemorate that event. And this year there seems to be a rather satisfactory symmetry about the date. It is of course today the 14th September 2014, and it so happens that the 14th September this year is a Sunday, so we can gather here together at our normal Sunday service on Holy Cross Day itself, to both commemorate that occasion in 335AD and to celebrate together the life giving cross of Jesus. It is appropriate too that we should have a baptism in our service today, as later I will sign N. with the sign of the Cross. How wonderful for her to be given that sign on Holy Cross Day. Continue reading
What I said last Sunday – Let Jesus deal with your fears
Last Sunday’s gospel reading was Matthew’s account of the calming of the storm by Jesus. Here’s what I said.
Many of us, at some point in our lives, find ourselves gripped by fear or panic. Sometimes that fear may be well-founded. But at others it may seem totally irrational – either to ourselves or to others. Fear is a very powerful and controlling emotion, and not understanding why we feel afraid or fearful can be awful. And there’s no shortage of good advice around from experts and self-help gurus on how to deal with those things that cause us unbearable fear or stress.
Advice such as this: Named must your fear be before banish it you can.
Anyone know who said that? It was, of course, Continue reading
What I said last Sunday – What’s the Kingdom worth to you?
Here is my sermon for Sunday. Jesus is speaking about the Kingdom of Heaven, and what it is worth.
What does it feel like to be able to buy absolutely anything you want, no matter the cost, and not to have to worry about whether you can afford it. Presumably the person who ran a repair garage in Mitcham, has some idea of what that feels like, having scooped the £108 million jackpot on the Euromillions lottery in March of this year. Having given up his garage, he can now buy pretty much anything he likes without batting an eyelid. Even a top of the range executive jet would only set him back a few million. Any time he suddenly thinks “I’d like one of those” he can just indulge himself and not have to worry about his bank account.
Money, of course, won’t buy everything, and often the things we really want in life aren’t things we can just go and buy however rich we might be. And people want all kinds of things. There are internet sites that are specifically designed to let people ask questions about anything, and then others can answer the questions. And one very common question that people ask is “What do you want more than anything else in the world?” It led to some interesting answers as well as answers you’d expect:
- A big fat savings account said one person
- To not ever have to worry about money again, which means that I could shop and buy to my heart’s content
As you’d expect, lots of variations along the lines of lots of money. But they weren’t all about money. Take these desires … Continue reading
The Sower – the sermon from last Sunday
The priest I live with was preaching last Sunday. The gospel reading from Matthew was the parable of the sower. Here’s what she said.
I sounded out a friend this week about sermons on the parable of the sower – the gospel reading we have just heard. John is a very committed Christian and has heard many sermons – in fact he is a church organist. He said “Oh they’ve nearly always been sermons where I’ve felt told off – I’ve come away from church thinking I’m either the seed that fell upon rock or the seed that fell amongst thorns, and I’ve left church feeling depressed.” Continue reading
What I said for Corpus Christi
The Thursday following Trinity Sunday is kept as the feast of Corpus Christi in the Anglican Church. This year we kept it on the following Sunday. Here’s what I said.
1 Corinthians 11.23-26; John 6.51-58
By 1965 Bob Dylan was recognized as one of the leaders of the folk music revival in America. Songs like The Times They Are a-Changin’ led to him being called “The spokesman of a generation”. And then he went and did something that alienated many of his fans. On July 25th 1965, appearing at the Newport Folk Festival, a bastion of traditional and authentic folk music. Sandwiched between two traditional performers, he made the spontaneous decision to appear not with his usual acoustic guitar but with an electric guitar and backed by a fully amplified band. There is film footage of his performance. Within a few bars of his first song you can hear the cheers – and you can also hear the booing. Continue reading
What I said for the Feast of the Holy Trinity
Last Sunday was the feast of the Holy Trinity – usually called Trinity Sunday. As those who preach regularly will know it’s not exactly a favourite Sunday for preaching! Here is my sermon.
Isaiah 40.12-17, 27-end; 2 Corinthians 13.11-end; Matthew 28.16-20
How many persons in the Trinity?
Before you answer that, let me tell you a story. It’s not my own story, it’s a story from Donagh O’Shea, a member of the Irish Dominicans.
I want to pass on to you (he says) an insight I received years ago in a small church in Rome: the preacher was a tiny vivid Italian with flashing eyes, and a chasuble and gestures that were both far too big for him. He was preaching in a church beside the Tiber, on Trinity Sunday He told of his earlier years in a parish near Naples. In those days, he said, the days ofhisyouthful enthusiasm, he had begun to wonder if the people in his country parish remembered any-thing of Christian doctrine. They were good people, he said, but he wondered how much they knew of the faith. There was only one way to find out: he had to ask them. So he would ask them, out of the blue, in the middle of a conversation or:when he met one on the road: “Franco, how many Sacraments are there?” or “Cristina, tell me, what are the precepts of the Church?” One day, he said, he was talking with Gianni, a very poor farmer with a large family and hard put to it to feed them. “By the way, Gianni,” he said, “can you tell me how many persons there are in the Trinity?” “Persons in the Trinity!” said Gianni with amazement; “l don’t know. Four, five, ten. I don’t know, and I don’t care. I don’t have to feed them!” Continue reading
What I said last Sunday for the Feast of Pentecost
Last Sunday was, of course, the Feast of Pentecost. Here’s what I said in my sermon.
There’s not much that’s more annoying than a flat car battery.
You know what it’s like! The last time you used the car there was nothing wrong. Then you go out to go somewhere – and it’s always when you’re going somewhere important and are in a hurry – and the car won’t start. These days, with electronic central locking, you are forewarned because the remote control key won’t unlock the car. And you get that sinking feeling. And yet, having had to use the key the old-fashioned way and actually put it in the lock, you get in and even though you now know you have a flat battery you still try and start the car. You know it’s not going to work but you try anyway. No power! And you’re not going anywhere. And the worst thing is you know that it’s almost certainly your fault. Either you’ve left headlights on though that’s increasingly difficult these days. Or you’ve left the interior light on. Or – as I managed to do recently – you’ve left the boot slightly ajar so that the boot light had not gone out! Continue reading
What I said this Sunday – Easter 6
“I should never have switched from scotch to martinis.” The final words of Humphrey Bogart just before he died at the age of 57.
Famous last words. Some clearly thought them through. Some tried to be amusing at the last. Others simply didn’t know what to say. And yet if you’re famous you can guarantee that your final words will live, and be repeated, long after you are gone. And one of the problems of being famous is that you are often expected to leave behind you something inspirational. Karl Marx, as he neared death, was asked by his housekeeper who was the only person with him, for some profound and meaningful last thoughts. “Go away!” he shouted at her, “Last words are for fools who haven’t said enough!” and she fled from the room to leave him to pass away in silence. And yet last words can often be deeply moving and inspiring. Continue reading
What I said this Sunday – Easter 4
This Sunday was Good Shepherd Sunday. Here’s what I said.
A question for you.
When is a door not a door?
When it’s ajar!
No – it’s not funny is it? That’s one of those jokes that was around when I was a child. I didn’t understand it and never found it funny in the slightest. As I got older and the penny dropped and I realised why it was supposed to be funny, it still wasn’t funny!
People who heard Jesus’ teaching may well have seen the joke. After all, when he told people not to worry about taking a speck out of someone else’s eye because they had a whopping great plank sticking out of their own eye, and they should sort that out first, people would have seen the joke. Continue reading
View from the Valley 