What are you doing here?

Trinity 4c

1 Kings 19.1-15

Luke 8.26-3

I was looking out of my bedroom
window on Wednesday morning. Watching the sheep, in the field opposite, the rabbits running about, a few crows looking for lunch. The sheep are always a good reminder of the 23rd Psalm and that we should spend some time metaphorically lying down in green pastures and restoring our souls except that morning although most of the sheep were lying down, they weren’t all happy. One was lying on its back with its feet in the air. It was twitchiing now and again but certainly didn’t look at all comfortable, in fact I guessed it was very disconsolate and frightened. I duly phoned the owners but didn’t get a reply. Then I sent a text message – still nothing. So I decided  the best I could was just to keep an eye on the sheep.

There was someone doing quite a lot of lying down in the story from Kings this morning  – and that was the prophet Elijah. He was lying down under a broom tree disconsolate, frightened and depressed. How had he ended up there?

Well you probably know the story.

Israel at the time was being ruled by one of the kings who did evil in the sight of the Lord – King Ahab married to the infamous Jezebel.

For three years Jezebel had been encouraging the people to worship the Baals.

But there had been a long time of drought. The grass was withered, plants has died there was almost nothing left to eat. And into this scenario walks the prophet Elijah. He is one prophet against 450 prophets of Baal and he comes with a challenge- lets put the Baals to the test.

They set up two altars one to the Baals and one to the God of Israel. All day the prophets call on their gods to bring down fire on their altar but by evening nothing has happened. It is Elijah’s turn and in spite of dousing the whole thing in water God’s fire comes down and burns the sacrifice, the altar and even dries up the water. The drought is ended, the false prophets are slaughtered, a great victory.

When Jezebel hears about it all she hits the warpath, threatening Elijah with all sorts and he becomes so terrified of her he takes himself off, heading for Mt Horeb (Sinai ) after a days journey he sits down under a broom tree and prepares to die.. the great prophet who has just seen a huge miracle.

Wouldn’t you think that having experienced the power of God he would be full of courage, full of praise. Surely if God could bring down fire he could also protect Elijah.

But no maybe the little doubts had begun to creep in. Maybe it wasn’t a miracle maybe it was just a flash of lightening – after all it had been followed by rain, perhaps God wasn’t so powerful, perhaps God didn’t really care about him, perhaps God didn’t really love him or the people after all.

Some of us have probably been there too – had an amazing experience when our faith was so strong, we’ve seen God work, seen him provide for us then something happens, the doubts creep in, things don’t seem quite so good after all. We start to worry, we start to look around us at our situation gradually our faith fades away and we end up lying under our own broom tree. We’re a bit like the sheep, we’ve got ourselves stuck and we can’t put things right. We can’t roll over and get back on our feet again.

But just as I was keeping an eye on the sheep God is keeping his eye on us.

He might let us lie under our broom trees for a while, but he is watching.

Elijah has decided to travel to mount Horeb – God didn’t tell him to go but sometimes it seems God understands that we have to do what we have to do. He lets us go along a path we have chosen but stays close by. God provides food for him, cakes and some water.

When Elijah finally arrives after 40 days God  finally asks him, “What are you doing here?” What are you doing here?

Elijah had what may have been a well-rehearsed reply, if not an answer. “I’m the only one left to stand for you, the people are faithless, and the king’s people are hunting me down to kill me!”  It was an answer born of frustration, weariness, and fear. “I alone am left and they are seeking my life to take it away.”

God tells Elijah to stand on the mountain before the Lord.

Elijah appears not to move toward God at first. He stays put in his spot deep in the cave when winds and earthquakes and fires signaling God’s presence shake and light up the mountain. Then the drama ceases and there is the  “sound of sheer silence.” That’s when Elijah moves to the cave’s mouth wrapping his mantle about him.

And then the same question comes again, “What are you doing here Elijah?” Elijah gave exactly the same response as before.

But this time God says to him. “I have work for you to do and places to go. Go to Damascus, and anoint Hazael as king. Then come back to Israel, and anoint Jehu. Then find Elisha, and anoint him as your replacement.

Elijah is given space and time to come to God at his own pace.

God didn’t rush him he kept an eye on him he sustained him.

Sometimes like Elijah we need to have some time out.

Sometimes, we get overwhelmed. Sometimes life is just too hard for us.Things happen. This week the news of the murder of Jo Cox, coming after the massacre in Orlando made us sick to the stomach.

The poet John Donne wrote  “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind”.  I certainly felt diminished this week. This is not the kind of world I want.

And we cannot forget the thousand hidden tragedies of this week – refugees still dying in the Mediterranean, conflict in countries that never make the news, climate change squeezing the life from poor communities. All causes Jo fought for.

And we may feel absolutely ,  like giving up going to lie down under our broom tree, disconsolate, anxious, depressed. Where is God in all this?

Brendan Cox said of his wife: “Jo believed in a better world and she fought for it every day of her life ….and what she would want is that we all unite to fight against the hatred that killed her. Hate doesn’t have a creed, race or religion, it is poisonous.”

We have to fight against the poison that isolates us, demonises others, and diminishes us all.

if we make decisions on the basis of what is best for me, if we say me first, if we use language which paints others as a threat or as lesser humans we are all weaker.  We fail to embrace God’s invitation to love and be loved, to celebrate our full potential as humans made in God’s image.

Desmond Tutu said “We are made for goodness. We are made for love. We are made for friendliness. We are made for togetherness.”

In our political decision-making we are called not to weigh up our own self interest, but to love our neighbour. The Good Samaritan took risks, his care for the injured man was costly to himself.  But he loved his neighbour, who might be seen by others to be his enemy.

Whichever way we vote this week it must be because we believe the outcome will be the best way to love our neighbour.

Our story from the gospel shows another deranged man.

It’s another scene of noise and chaos, blood and violence.

Jesus reaches into the heart of the agonised man who has no control over what is happening to him. He reaches inside him casting out all the turmoil all the exhaustion all the grief.

Jesus reached out to the madman in the confusion of his thoughts in the shouting, screaming and the drama.

God is still reaching out into our violent, chaotic,  world.

His question to us – What are you doing here? There is work to be done.

And what about the sheep what happened to her ? Well after a while I decided to do something, managed to get into the field and rolled her over. Sometimes we too just need a big shove.

Knickerbocker Glory

One of my favourite ice cream treats is a knickerbocker glory – I find them very hard to resist especially on a hot summers day at the seaside.
First I love the appearance all o
f those different layers. Then I love the surprise as you gradually burrow into it with those especially long spoons and get all the different flavours. It is truly glorious! There are many glorious things in the world – no less beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
My friends have all been talking about sunrises lately.
I seemed to keep missing them and had just assumed I was getting up too late until I realised that my view of the sunrise is actually mostly veiled by the house next door.

I have called you by name

Isaiah 43.1-7
Luke 3.15-17,21,22
The other day I had an appointment for a check up at the dentist. I went along but the receptionist couldn’t find it – I’d made a mistake it was not January 4th but April 4th. So I was quite relieved.
Like most people I don’t like going to the dentist even if it’s just for a check up but there is one thing I do like about the dentist in Downham Market – the one in the High Street, Instead of sitting and waiting for a number to come up on a screen the dentist himself comes into the waiting room and calls your name, it makes the whole experience more pleasant. And I do have to say the dentist I have at the moment is the best I have ever had!

Of course if he saw me in the street he probably wouldn’t recognise me and I wouldn’t expect him to remember my name.

We’ve all been in the situation where we bump into someone we’ve met before and we just can’t remember what their name is. I try all sorts of things and one thing that works best is if I associate them with someone else who has the same name. So if i meet an new Carol I make a picture of them with Carol NL if it’s Wendy, – with our Wendy, Nick and John and so on….

Six Miles to Bethlehem

“The Journey of the Magi” (1894) by James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French painter and illustrator, 1836-1902), oil on canvas, Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Ephesians 3: 1-12

Matthew 2:1-12

I don’t know about  you but I’m not very good at recognising the constellations. I can find the Great Bear and the Plough but apart from that, I don’t really have a clue.

But thinking about the star the wise men followed made me want to know more. So I downloaded a couple of apps on my phone which tell you exactly what you are looking at. All I need now is a clear sky!

The people who lived 2000 years ago knew a lot more about the stars than most of us do now. They used the stars to find their way before the days of sextants and compasses. And they also believed that important events on earth were reflected in the heavens and also the other way around that changes in the night sky predicted important happenings on earth.

So what was the star of Bethlehem? Modern day astronomers have come up with different possibilities, including a comet, a nova, a supernova, and a conjunction of planets.

What Happened to the Mustard Seed?

Mark4 :26-34

Last week someone came up to me in church thanked me for a nice service and then said – What a shame more people aren’t here – I think there were about 10 of us. This is said over and over again, especially in rural churches.  We struggle to keep the lights on, the church heated the insurance paid, and let’s not even begin on the Parish Share and we’re all getting older who is going to take over when we’re past it and so on.. doom and gloom.

Questions

Well it’s been an eventful week, beginning with the royal baby – endless speculaiton about when she would be born, then when finally the baby did arrive the discussion continued about what she would be called.
Will the royal baby girl be named Alice, Diana, Elizabeth, one of the most royal names of all — or maybe  Alexandra, Charlotte or even Victoria? But of course after a little while all the speculation and guessing came to and end as the news was released that it was Charlotte, Elizabeth, Diana.

But no sooner was that all over when all the speculation started in avengence again as the general election hove into view and the political pundits tried to envisage every single outcome and what it might mean – A hung parliament, a Labour victory the SNP holding the balance of power, alliances here, pacts their. Everyone hedging their bets.
And this carried on into the night, after the polls had closed. Was the exit poll wrong? What about the other polls etc etc. speculation, questions, arguments, lots of interaction interspersed with some quite sensible comments of well let’s just wait and see we will know in a few hours.
On Friday we celebrated the 70th anniversary of VE day and thought about the many who had lost their lives in the second world war.

May 8th – everything will be new and shiny!

Easter 3b Acts3:12-19, Luke 24:36-48

luke,I’m really looking forward to waking up on May 8th because then we will begin living in utopia- at least that’s what the politicians tell us if we vote for them. Lots of promises, money put into the NHS, tax relief for hard working families, improvements in schools, one party was pledging 18 billion pounds in tax cuts, hope not despair, everything will be refreshed, everything will be new and shiny.

In Jesus day they Jews were expecting a new king, someone who would overthrow the Romans and give them back their land so they could govern it themselves. When the new king came everything was going to be different,  there was going to be a new utopia.  Unlike us, they didn’t live in a democracy, they had no vote.

Turning everything upside down…

You may have heard this week about something described in the popular press as

‘Stephen Fry’s furious rant about God,’ in which he said God was   “utterly monstrous, selfish, and deserves no respect”

Stephen Fry, a known atheist was being interviewed on an Irish TV programme,  ‘ The Meaning of Life’ Fry is asked what he would say to God if he died and had to confront him. In his imaginary conversation with God, Fry says he would tell him:

“How dare you create a world in which there is such misery that is not our fault? It’s not right. It’s utterly, utterly evil.  Why should I respect a capricious, mean-minded, stupid god who creates a world which is so full of injustice and pain?”

Something Has Gone Wrong!

Trinity 5 Year A

Matthew 13:24-30; 36-43

When I was a child my Grandad owned a corner shop where he sold sweets. We were often treated to a Sherbert dip…. remember those?

It consisted of a stick of liquorice which you dipped into a tube of sherbert. When the sherbert hit your tongue it was like a mini explosion in your mouth.

Jesus’ parables were a bit like that, they had a powerful impact,  an immediate effect.

In the culture of his time many people were illiterate, generally they would not be used to long discourses and complicated arguments, so he used parables or allegories to make people think.

A TV advert is in some ways similar, something short, succinct, and bitesized, often exaggerated, sometimes funny, designed to make an impact, to be memorable, and to give the hearers something to reflect on.

Jesus uses parables to explain what his kingdom is like.

Living the Trinity

 

Essay for LLM course :-

Your vicar tells you that he’s never really understood the Trinity, and so wants you to give an extended sermon on Trinity Sunday. With reference to the collect set for that day, write a sermon that enables the congregation and the vicar to leave church sensing that the Trinity may not be so much a doctrine to be understood as a reality to be enjoyed.