Growing together

A short address from the double vow renewal that was held at St Michael's yesterday

I wasn’t sure if I was going to make an address today, but the more I thought about it this morning, the more appropriate it felt to take a moment during this glorious celebration of marriage and love, for Paula & Wayne, and Nica & Med, a moment to pause and reflect upon these milestones – 25 years for Paula & Wayne and 50 years for Nica & Med – for which this holy and sacred place has played such an important part.

We were looking at Nica and Med’s wedding photos yesterday evening, and it was so glorious not only to see the joy in their youthful and hope-filled faces and some very impressive fashion, but also the evolution of the church – oh and Med’s very impressive hair!

Because everything and everyone evolves over time, 50 years may not feel particularly long in the life of a church building (when some bits of it can be dated back to the 1500s) but there are some significant changes. Each of you will have evolved as people over the course of your marriages, and thank God you’ve grown and changed together when so many of us grow apart in our relationships.

There are 2 trees out the back of the church, near the garden of remembrance, which are so close that even though they’re different species, the way they’ve grown they’re so intertwined that even though you can see that they’re different trees, they’ve grown together to make something new, something beautiful and entirely unique.

The beauty of growing together is clear from each of your relationships – your bond of love and marriage has created something strong and something beautiful. And St Michael’s being part of that means that right from the start of your marriages God was there too, helping the nurturing, the growth and of course the love.

The reading from 1 Corinthians tells us how God loves and gives us a template for how we ought to love each other – with compassion, kindness, humility and patience. With a combined 75 years of marriage between you I think you’re probably doing OK with holding to these qualities, the things which nourish the roots of a relationship.

My prayer for each of you today is that as you continue your lives together, joined in the sacred covenant of marriage, that you continue to grow together in love, upholding and supporting each other through both the joys and challenges of life, and that through all of this you remember that God, who blessed you on your wedding day and blesses you today, is always with you, encircling you with never-ending, unconditional love. Amen.

Love is a many splendored thing

Love is a many splendored thing

Love lifts us up where we belong

All you need is love!

I was made for loving you

I will always love you

I can’t help loving you

The keen eared musical fans in the room may recognise some of the lyrics from the Elephant Love Medley from Moulin Rouge, a mash up of some of the best and most cliched love song lyrics, where our young hero, Christian, tries to convince Satine, a girl he’s literally just met, that love is the only thing that matters.

And he might be right, but that all consuming romantic obsessional love is not what Jesus was referring to in today’s gospel, but maybe it should make us as fired up and willing to devote our entire lives to, that’s certainly what happened in the case of the disciples.

“Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” How do you think we’re doing with that? Do we recognise other Christians by their signs of love, or do we recognise someone as a Christian by them declaring themselves to be one?

I don’t think I’m going to solve the centuries old theological debate of faith vs actions on this sunny May morning, but I do tend to side with the author of the letter from James that, yes faith is enough, but that true faith leads us to live our lives in a particular way, to act towards our brothers and sisters in the world in a particular way, that true faith transforms us into people who perform loving actions.

Not that we always get that right, almost every high-profile Christian we could name off the top of our heads also will have some sort of controversy linked to them or examples which only demonstrate that our humanity, even as loving, faithful children of God, makes each and every one of us messy, well intentioned, contradictions.

Speaking of which, let’s talk about Peter, as usual caught up in some new controversy. Now Luke, writer of the Book of Acts, thinks this episode is so important that he tells it twice.

What I love about Peter is how we see him get things wrong, but then learn and grow, and here we find him in the middle of an early church debate about rules, orthodoxy and what really makes you a follower of the way. And this has come about because people are joining their numbers, and have been since before Jesus died, who aren’t Jewish, who don’t have the same background of faith, customs and most importantly Mosaic law.

It's not going to be too long before the number of non-Jewish followers outnumbers Jewish followers, so these sorts of questions must have been really important.

How can they be one body of Christ, sharing in the eucharistic meal, if they can’t even eat in the same house?

There’s an argument that it’s the Jewish people’s differences that have assured their survival for so long, their laws, customs, strict rules around conversion and marriage, so they kept their identify despite the Egyptians, the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Romans. They maintained their identity as set-aside, God’s special people.

There must have been a real fear amongst the Jewish followers because everything in their history and experience up until this point has told them they are not like the gentiles that they must remain set-apart, yet the waters were muddied by Jesus himself who began ministering to non-Jewish followers, Romans, Samarians, Greeks, and inviting them to follow him.

So questions were asked – should the gentiles convert to Judaism, should they be circumcised, and should they follow the food laws. Peter tells them of his experience, and the words which have been so important to me personally “What God has made clean, you must not call profane.” God has created all things, all people, so there is nothing on the earth that doesn’t have its beginning in scared holiness.

What Peter demonstrates, with God’s stamp on it, is a living out of the commandment to love, which I try and apply to every area of my understanding of God, Jesus and the living out of my faith in the world. Does it come form love?

God is love and love is God. Did it feel like love to abide by the strict rules of their tradition, or did it feel like love to share food with a fellow believer? When we see contradiction in the bible, in theology, in dogma, in practice, we need to ask ourselves what feels like love?

Peter and the early church are coming to realise what we hear in John’s vision in the reading from revelation: “See, I am making all things new.”

What is developing is neither Judaism nor an assimilation of the customs of the various gentile groups, but something completely new. A new commandment, a new way of being, a new faith, whose followers have a personal, intimate relationship with God because God has walked beside them, broken bread with them, died for them, invited them to touch his wounds, and loved them. Through their flaws and imperfections – through our flaws and imperfections – God loves us because God has made us and that makes us Holy.

To return to recognising Christians by our love of other people, Jesuit professor Bruce Morrill, writes:

“What distinguished the followers of Jesus and successive generations of Christians was their outreach to the poor and sick, the practical love they demonstrated in openly forming fellowship groups (local churches) that actively reached out in service to the poor, the hungry, and the sick.”

And we still see that in the world today. Our systems of healthcare have their roots in our loving faith. Our faith is based in caring for others, in building relationships and being in fellowship with one another. To love each other we don’t have to agree on everything, but we do need to put loving people before rules. Also central to our tradition is how it evolves with our understanding.

Jesus and the early church invited those who were different, not accepted under the law, had terrible pasts or who were in other ways social outcasts because God loves them. We have evolved over the past few decades to marry those who’re divorced, ordain women, actively invite LGBTQ people to be in full communion with us because God loves them.

We’re now allowed to bless same-sex unions, even if the move that doesn’t go far enough in my eyes, because God loves them.

As I started with song lyrics I’m going to end with them too. The reading from revelation always puts in my mind a song I play every year at the end of our Good Friday Footsteps to the Feast Service – Trusty & True by Damien Rice.

We can't take back what is done, what is past

So let us start from here

If all that you are is not all you desire, then come

come alone, come with fear, come with love

Come with friends, come with faults

Come with me, and let go

Come so carefully close

Come with sorrows and songs

Come with yourself below

Come however you are

Just come

That’s all we need to do, come however we are to this new amazing thing God has gifted to us, to drink from the spring of the water of life so freely given, but not just to drink but to share it, to invite others to come, to offer them what is given to each and every sacred and holy person who desires it.

Because love dictates that this is way too good to keep to ourselves, it’s our job to share God’s love with each and every person we meet, whether they return love is up to them. Let our actions be loving so we can be known by our love, not by hate, disapproval or rules.

And we don’t just share that love with those we agree with, who look like us or act like us, that love, that invitation, our faith, is for each and every holy and sacred person in creation. Amen.

First Lesson: Acts 11:1-18

1Now the apostles and the believers who were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had also accepted the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him, 3saying, “Why did you go to uncircumcised men and eat with them?” 4Then Peter began to explain it to them, step by step, saying, 5“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance, I saw a vision. There was something like a large sheet coming down from heaven, being lowered by its four corners; and it came close to me. 6As I looked at it closely I saw four-footed animals, beasts of prey, reptiles, and birds of the air. 7I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8But I replied, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing profane or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But a second time the voice answered from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, you must not call profane.’ 10This happened three times; then everything was pulled up again to heaven. 11At that very moment three men, sent to me from Caesarea, arrived at the house where we were. 12The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. 13He told us how he had seen the angel standing in his house and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon, who is called Peter; 14he will give you a message by which you and your entire household will be saved.’ 15And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as it had upon us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?” 18When they heard this, they were silenced. And they praised God, saying, “Then God has given even to the Gentiles the repentance that leads to life.”

Second Lesson: Revelation 21:1-6

1Then 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. 2And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them as their God; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; 4he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.” 5And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life.

Gospel: John 13:31-35

31When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. 32If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will glorify him at once.33Little children, I am with you only a little longer. You will look for me; and as I said to the Jews so now, I say to you, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come.’ 34I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. 35By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Where's the good news?!

I had the absolute honour of not only preaching at St Michael’s this morning but also at the South Manchester Open Table service at St Luke's Wythenshawe this evening. Sermon based on Romans 6:1b-11 and Matthew 10:24-39

That made for cheerful listening didn’t it? Did you hear the Good News in today’s gospel? Were you comforted by what Jesus had to say? There is part of the liturgy we can use at a communion service called “The comfortable words” but what we heard just now is absolutely not part of it.

This is a more difficult gospel passage, like almost everything contained within the bible it can’t be taken at face value. I was once told that scripture is like a multi-faceted diamond which we must examine from every angle to truly appreciate it’s depth and beauty.

I think it’s really important to acknowledge the more difficult parts of scripture, and to acknowledge there are many facets to Jesus and his teaching, which reveals to us the complex and intricate nature of God.

To put things into the context of where we find ourselves in Matthew Chapter 10, Jesus has called and assembled his disciples and is now preparing them for life on the road with him. At the start of the chapter he gives them the authority to heal, preach, teach and reconcile in his name; he tells them to tell everyone they meet about the Good News we’re seeking in this account today, because he then goes on to prepare them for how hard that’s going to be.

One of the most difficult things I have to deal with as a chaplain is journeying alongside someone who feels God has abandoned them because they’re suffering through something undeniably awful- God must be letting the bad stuff like illness, pain, sepsis and depression happen as they have prayed and they have been faithful but no amount of prayer or faithfulness is alleviating their suffering.

It's hard because seeing someone in physical and psychological distress never gets easier and also how do you explain to someone in spiritual anguish that we haven’t been promised a life free of difficulty, in fact what Jesus is saying here is quite the opposite, we might suffer more for our beliefs, even to the point where our families and communities become divided.

Illness is not, of course, a choice, it’s something which for most people at some point is an inevitability. The most remarkable spiritual encounters I’ve had are with those very few, quite remarkable people who look at their illness and ask themselves “what can I learn about myself or God from this today”.

Faith isn’t a magic bullet to cure all ills or heal all divisions, rather it’s what connects us to the divine thread flowing through all creation, to help us know that when we suffer we aren’t alone and which helps us to recognise the injustice around us and gives us a framework for how we deal with that injustice. 

Because what Jesus is preparing the disciples for here is not how to keep faith through the things we experience that we can’t change, but the choices we have to make, the things we must say and do, to remain true to God and to ourselves, which may have consequences for the peace and happiness of our lives

Some of us here today may have suffered separation within their families through sticking by their beliefs, or may have left communities we once belonged to because we had to be true to ourselves. 

Jesus knew when sending his disciples out into the world that they would be at odds with the world around them, and even with their own people. 

Jesus reminds us here what we’ve seen so many times through the centuries- sometimes what is right, what is of God, needs to be fought for; woman’s liberation, civil rights, the rights of LGBTQ+ people, worker’s rights, voting rights, the list goes on. 

Believing in the rightness or even righteousness of these causes has set many families and communities against each other and continues to do so as we see the arguments used 40 years ago to vilify gay men and women now used against trans people and drag queens. We’ve seen this on our patch this week with the vitriol thrown at Rachel Mann’s appointment as the first transgender archdeacon in the church of England. 

What has given me hope are the number of people celebrating, affirming and supporting Rachel. 

There are fundamental values which I hold, which I believe to align with God’s values as communicated to us through Jesus that I could never compromise on, no matter the cost.

And I will continue to reject the things which I identify as unequal, exclusive or fear-based if I’m to stay true to the work I believe God has given to me. 

These values will look different for each of us as the work God has given you, using your skills in the places and communities in which you find yourselves, is yours to own and develop and to follow where God is leading you.

But we have this warning from Jesus that to follow where God is leading us may not always be a comfortable, peaceful place. And yet, we also have his consolation – the words repeated again and again; “do not fear”, “do not be afraid”. 

Paul reminds us that our baptism links us forever to Jesus, that we share his death and resurrection, and as such we can never, ever be separated from God’s love. There’s no going back. And in baptism we’re invited into a new family- the church family, a chosen family, who may still disagree and fight but who are bound together by God’s care and tenderness.

Jesus may be informing the disciples of the rough times ahead but here is also the reminder that if we belong to God we belong to the one who loves us so completely they know how many hairs are on our head, who we see explicitly in the care of creation, knowing God’s care for us is even greater.

So there is amazing, life giving, spirit lifting Good News to be found in this passage; the promise of God’s faithfulness. No matter what trials and chances come upon us, if we follow where God is leading, we can never, ever be separated from God’s love and care.

Advent word - Act

I'm a massive fan of James' epistle. I think what we do matters as much as what we think, feel and believe. If we think but don't do what does what we think matter? Our faith should drive our actions, there should be a congruence. Our actions should reflect our beliefs.

James 2:14 "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds?"

What will we do with the blessings God gives us in answer to prayer? When we pray and God heals us, what will we do with our restored health? When we cry out of our need and God meets that need, what will we do with the resources that have come to us in answer to our prayer?

-Br. David Vryhof

Advent word - light

Light is a remarkable thing. A rainbow, for example (such as the one displayed over Flixton at about 3pm today), is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky (thanks Wikipedia). In the right circumstances light is transformed into one of the most striking natural phenomenon.
It's often down to circumstances what we are- our beliefs and understandings, what we like, what we do, where we are in the world and we should celebrate our differences and marvel that we're not all the same.
But we should also remember that people's circumstances can mean they're in bad situations they're not responsible for, and good fortune is often just good "luck". Light doesn't become a rainbow through it's own efforts.

We will be a more luminous epiphany of the love of Christ not only when we love, but when we recognize Christ present in the loving hearts of others, whatever their beliefs or understanding of God.

-Br. Mark Brown