The Stuff of God - Sunday 27th August 2017

To read this, you are using (or have used) a devise that has metal at its heart. Have you ever paused to wonder where metal comes from? Metal can only be formed when a very large star explodes in a supernova. (Our own star, the Sun, wouldn’t be nearly big enough). So, what you are looking at right now is the direct result of an immense explosion in space. Quite literally, you are holding a piece of star dust. Indeed, you yourself are made of star dust.
That is amazing, but it is not the most amazing thing about us human beings. Far more amazing than the atoms that make up our little bodies is our capacity to care for each other, to disadvantage ourselves for the benefit of another person. Metal is relatively common in the universe, but as far as we can currently tell, the only place you will see love in action is right here on this rocky little planet we call Earth.
Where does love come from? Love is not forged in the heart of a dying star (romantic though that notion sounds). We may be made of star dust, but our faltering acts of love and care have an even more astounding place of origin - God.
Jesus’ disciple, John, summed up the essence of his rabbi’s message like this: “God is love. Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God lives in them.” Sweeping aside all the ins and outs of religious law and tradition, John reduces human meaning to its most fundamental ingredient - acts of practical love. Love comes from God. Love only comes from God; it has no other source. And only love comes from God. Love is the very essence of God. When we chose to love and care for our fellow human beings, we are doing the work of God. And when we fail to love and care for our fellow humans, whatever our claims to have faith, we are nowhere near God’s page.
Love is the stuff of God. When anyone is doing love, they are doing God stuff, an God is working directly through them - whatever their background or belief system.
I’ll let John have the last word. “ Friends, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love."

Tough Lessons - Sunday 11th December 2016

Why doesn’t God make life easier for us? I suspect we have all asked that question.
I feel a lot of sympathy for Joseph. God sent an angel to Zechariah to announce John the Baptist’s birth. He sent an angel to Mary to announce Jesus’ birth. But no-one told Joseph what was about to happen. The first thing that Joseph knew was that his fiancee was pregnant, and the baby wasn’t his. Heartbreak!
Why didn’t God make it easier for him?
Joseph then faced a dilemma: he was a man who closely followed a religious law which required that Mary should be severely punished (even be stoned to death); but Joseph loved Mary deeply and didn't want to hurt or shame her. It was a painful dilemma which probably consumed his energy for a considerable time. After much heart searching, Joseph resolved to divorce Mary as discreetly as possible. It was only then that God sent an angel to explain what was going on.
Why didn’t God contact Joseph sooner?
Joseph’s dilemma is one that leads to the very heart of Jesus’ mission: law and/or love. Jesus’ message - in word and action - was that God does not deal with us according to our failures; he deals with us according to his great love for us. If Joseph was going to bring Jesus up and be his father, he needed to learn this truth right into the very core of his being.
God’s desire for each of us is not that we have an easy life. His desire for us is that we learn to be loving and forgiving. That requires a learning process that cuts right to our hearts.

Changing times - Sunday 6th March 2016

It was wonderful, on Sunday, to have so many visitors from St Catherines' past as we celebrated our church's centenary. It was good to be reminded how other people have served God before us. It was inspiring to discover that, over 40 years ago, an energetic young vicar had come to an ageing congregation, had scratched together a small group of young adults, and that that group still continues to meet today, even though they have all moved away and grown older.

Society has changed enormously over the past few decades, and we need to ask again what it means to serve our community with the knowledge and experience of God’s love. 

Jesus lived among people who had a strong belief in God, who believed that God favoured the righteous and the rich. He challenged that assumption: God loves the poor people, the disabled people, and those who’s lives fall short of social correctness. Jesus demonstrated that message in his actions. 

Today’s Western culture has different concerns. People do not worry about the consequences of their sinfulness, as Jesus’ contemporaries did; they search for happiness rather than righteousness. Also, belief in God has been stretched thin by the advance of science. 

How can we best serve this generation with the knowledge and experience of God’s love?

One central question in today’s society is: what is the meaning and purpose of life? The Gospel of Jesus can contribute to that conversation. The meaning of life does not lie in possessions or technological advance. The key to a good life lies in good relationships. That leads us directly into the heart of Jesus’ message.