Refreshing lives, transforming faith, at the heart of the community Haere Mai, Piki Mai
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A Sermon by The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf
Nelson Cathedral
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Readings:
Jeremiah 15:15- 21
Romans 12:9 - 21
Matthew 16:21 - 28
May I speak in the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.
That′s the first verse from the poem called JABBERWOCKY.
From Alice Through the Looking Glass, written by Lewis Carroll.
I don′t know about you but although I can appreciate the poetry, and feel an inkling of what it′s about, the actual meaning is really hidden from me.
Bishop Tom Wright says that Lewis Carroll set out to create a world where everything was the opposite of what we would expect it to be,
a world that is very hard to understand when you first come into it,
and he compares this to the world that Jesus′ disciples found themselves in.
In our Gospel reading, Peter has finally understood that Jesus is the Messiah
and is all set to put Jesus on the throne in Jerusalem.
But Peter sees the future in a totally different way to Jesus.
Jesus′ plans are in fact so completely opposite, that he likens Peter to Satan when Peter tries to stop him.
Instead of storming the fortress of the oppressor by force, Jesus proposes to allow himself to be captured, endure great suffering and ultimately lay his life down succumbing to the agony of crucifixion.
Not how the disciples had imaged things would go.
Then Jesus tells them that to follow him they too must take up their cross,
they too must suffer to the point of loosing their lives,
which of course the disciples did.
But Jesus words are spoken to all who would follow him.
"If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."
For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it".
Matt 16:24, 25
Just like Alice through the looking glass everything seems back to front;
Becoming King of Kings and allowing yourself to be killed,
Wanting to save your life and losing it,
Losing your life to find it.
So is suffering for our faith what Christianity truly all about?
Well yes the first Christians certainly did suffer.
But do I have to suffer? Do you?
To show that we are true followers of Christ?
When I read the OT reading that was set down for today,
and heard these words of Jeremiah:
"Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?"
I thought maybe that is what Jesus is proposing for all who would serve and follow him.
Now I can feel weighed down at times by my trials and troubles.
But they are no more than anyone else has to put up with!
In fact because of my faith
I can find peace and comfort even during the storms of life.
So do I suffer for being a Christian?
No, I don’t think I do!
In fact I know I′m better off!
So what does Jesus mean when he says:
" take up your cross and follow me" ? Matt 16:24
Well the answer, I believe, is in the next verse about saving and losing our lives.
We follow Christ, who suffered for us,
so that we can find our lives in Christ.
Yes we have to make lifestyle changes,
and yes we are asked to put our own agenda′s second to God′s,
but on the whole, following Christ is not about suffering, but about joy!
Christ suffered for us so that we can be set free from suffering.
Set free from mental anguish,
set free from fear,
and set free from concern about the material things of life.
We are asked to follow a way that requires self-discipline and change,
a way that doesn′t come easy,
but it is a way that leads to fullness of life.
It′s like trying to understand Lewis Carroll′s poem!
This way of life will cost us everything, but in return it will give us everything.
The cost means learning what it means to live life as a follower of Christ,
as a Christian.
Our passage from Romans 12 is teaching us about how to live life as a Christian.
9 Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good;
10 … outdo one another in showing honor.
11 Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord.
12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer.
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.
14 Bless those who persecute you; …..
15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty,
but associate with the lowly; do not claim to be wiser than you are.
18 ….as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
20 … "if your enemies are hungry, feed them;
if they are thirsty, give them something to drink;
21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Love, zeal, prayer, service, giving, compassion, hospitality, peace, mercy and charity. It′s a very tall order!
Doesn′t that sound just like Jesus?
Romans chapter 12 begins by telling us to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2)
Transformed into what? Into the image of Christ!
To be transformed, that is the cost.
The reward is in return we will be given everything we need
to live a full and rewarding life.
Transformation means changing our thinking and our behaviour.
So is being a Christian all about extreme self discipline?
Self transformation? Is that the suffering we must do?
This week I read an article by Joe Coffey, lead pastor of Hudson Community Chapel. He writes:
"I met with a man who had been attending our church for four years. He said he needed to ask me a theological question before he could join our church. He said that he knew people were saved by grace, but he wanted to know if I thought people were sanctified through their own sweat equity.
I thought for a moment and then told him that the only thing that ever really changed me was love. Ever since (my) mission trip (to India), I had been feeling that it was more important for me to understand how much Jesus loved me than it was for me to figure out how to love Him. I watched in amazement as relief spread across my friend’s face. He said he had tried for twenty years to be sanctified through his own effort;
it had ground him to powder, and he would not go back."
How many of us hear passages like Romans, Paul setting out how we should live as Christians and feel "I′m just not up to the task".
To be transformed into the image of Christ, to loose our lives in order that we can find them, is not about great spiritual self discipline, but about allowing the love of Christ to enter every aspect of our lives.
In our Oikos group we have been looking at 6 spiritual traditions.
Last week was the Incarnational Tradition and one of the exercises we were to attempt in our own time was to visualise removing the barrier that keeps God outside.
As long as we refuse to surrender ourselves, to lose our lives, we cannot find them fully; we cannot allow God′s infinite love to transform us.
As we remove the outer barriers, we can then ask the Holy Spirit to overwhelm us with his love, to take up permanent residence in our lives.
It is only when we know and accept God′s love for us
that we can then come to love and accept ourselves.
And it is God, the Holy Spirit that makes this possible, not our human efforts.
Once we have received God′s love then we can truly find our lives.
Then we can radiate God′s presence within us
and reach out to others with God′s love.
Only then can we keep on being transformed into the likeness of Christ.
Only then can we behave as Christians.
Davis Robertson writing in New Daylight says:
Spirituality is about behaving our faith. Those who are spiritually mature behave in a certain way: they are humble about their faults, encourage each other, listen to the spirit and sacrifice themselves for the sake of others.
The way Christians behave demonstrates the presence or the absence of The Holy Spirit.
God asks us to respond to his love:
To resist the pressures of a world system that pulls us in the wrong direction.
To renew our minds each day through prayer and reading God′s Word.
and To recognise His will for us and live according to it.
But we can only do these things in response to God′s love for us
and through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.
It is the presence of the Holy Sprit that will accomplish our transformation.
Such transformation means we can let go of the things that weigh us down.
Trying to do things like being perfect or forgive in own strength is like trying to save our lives, and as Jesus said, we will then loose them
Taking up our cross means choosing our direction,
making a commitment to follow.
The cost of following is the surrender of self,
but the reward it receiving far more that we could ever ask or conceive.
If we are given a choice between losing our lives for Christ
or trying to save them in our own strength, I certainly choose the first.
You only have to look at the world around us to see the results of going it alone.
It is today′s culture that brings suffering, not following Christ
Inner city poverty, suburban depression and loneliness,
bullying in schools, drug and alcohol addiction, family violence.
These are not Christ′s ways.
The world says what′s in it for me?
Jesus calls us to love our neighbour, to look to other′s needs, sacrificing self.
The world tells us that it is in the next thing we buy that we will find joy.
Jesus says
"Do not worry about what you will wear or what you will eat, but strive first for the kingdom of God and all these things will be given to you as well."
Matt 6:33 - 34
It is not the amount of possessions we own that gives us joy
but knowing that we are loved by God, and then giving that love to others.
We can′t take our possessions with us but love is eternal.
To lose our lives for Christ means we lose our selfish focus
and we gain our lives through unselfish service to God
Which brings me back to "Through the Looking Glass".
Those without faith just don′t understand why we as Christians behave as we do,
why our values are so different.
Our world seems completely opposite to theirs.
Not me first, but deny yourself.
Not the accumulation of possessions, but giving things away.
Not holding tightly to our lives, but letting them go,
secure that God is in control not us.
God′s ways are not the world′s ways.
Christians do behave differently.
I′d like to finish with a prayer written by Terry Gallagher:
Live simply,
Love generously
Forgive quickly
Serve faithfully
Speak truthfully
Pray daily
And leave everything else to God.
This is how we gain our lives, by losing them to God.
In the name of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Amen.
The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf
This sermon was written and delivered by The Reverend Yvonne McLean tssf at Nelson Cathedral, 31 August 2008 at 8:00 and 10:00
