24th December 2008

Midnight Mass Sermon

As I write, I am sucked in by the ad for tomorrow’s Eastenders - ‘Who is the daddy?’ Only a little while to go and we will know, perhaps!, the truth about the parentage of Roxy’s baby, Amy. I am not a fan of the soap I have to say, but it’s the sort of thing that Alex irons to and that I will half watch if I am in.

Nothing is ever simple in Walford. Families are never ordinary or normal. No 2.4 children. No happily married for 30+ years. It’s all fiction I know, and so do you, but I wonder, was Oscar WIlde right when he said, ‘All that I desire to point out is the general principle that life imitates art far more than art imitates life?’ Perhaps nearer the truth is American singer/songwriter Ani Difranco when she says, ‘...Yeah, art may imitate life. But life imitates tv...’

I am not trying to suggest that tv soaps lead the way that society lives, but I wonder whether to a degree, the media in general becomes a mirror that we can hold up and view ourselves, our famillies and our neighbourhoods in. Speaking personally, I don’t much like what I see in that mirror at the moment.

More than 70 teenagers have been violently killed this year alone. Some 3000 people have died from the Cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe. Unemployment in the UK has reached nearly 2 million - an 11 year high - a direct result of the Credit Crunch...

It is into these stories, that God, ‘the Word made flesh’ speaks. Into this world, God comes.

But St John does not tell of an arrogant Creator God, who slaps the corporate wrist and puts back everything the way that it was. John reminds us of what we celebrate tonight - God becomes flesh and blood like us, weak and needy like us, and lives among us. John literally says that God pitches His tent among us. In other words, he doesn’t move among us like some sort of ghost - in the world but not part of it. God comes into our world, living among us, as a vulnerable baby.

We celebrate the birth of that baby tonight, but that in itself is not miraculous as many babies are born in UK hospitals and homes every day. The baby we celebrate born tonight is born in poverty, but that in itself is not miraculous as many babies are born and survive in similar situations all over the world today. Tonight we are reminded of the parentage of this baby - he is God’s Son. Even that is not the Christmas miracle that we celebrate tonight.

The Christmas miracle that we celebrate tonight is that this baby grew to be a man. Through this man, God spoke and demonstrated what it means, how it feels and what it costs to love and be loved by God and each other. Through the life, death and resurrection of this man, we can not only know about God and His

ways, but we are welcomed as members of the family. The Christmas miracle we celebrate tonight is not that God becomes a human being. The Christmas miracle we celebrate tonight is that through this baby human beings can come to God.

The message of Christmas challenges our complacency an our prejudices and our misconceptions about God and humanity. For this baby was not born amongst the wealthy, the intelligent, or the powerful, but rather was born in the poorest of situations, to parents who were not formally educated and who in the eyes of others had no influence or status. God values the humanity of the ordinary man or woman so much that he chose to come amongst them, trusting them for love and life. In return he offers us as ordinary men and women love and life, and he trusts us to share it with others.

The Christmas miracle that we see and hear tonight, celebrates a God who embraces our humanity completely and sees every single one of us as a potential stand in for him. As potential stand-ins for God therefore we each need to be treated with value, dignity and respect: the God who comes to us in humility tonight as a baby, later as a man speaks forcefully to our pride, our economic and social status, our sense of justice and the importance of our sheer human worth, and calls us to simply love each other. As such, in the killing, raping and

looting fields of Darfur; in the broken nation and a broken people of Zimbabwe who have been forcefed with injustice and can swallow no more; for the unreconciled children of Abraham in the Middle East - the Palestinians without a viable state they can call home and Israelis hungry for peace and security; for the refugees, the homeless and people caught up in human trafficking; in the walls of silence the abduction of Madeline McCann, the murder of Rhys Jones and the failure for any to take responsibility for the Omagh bombing – God is being daily violated and blasphemed.

Through the birth of Jesus, we are reminded that the tragic human plight that we see and read through the media, is God’s plight. Through the birth of Jesus, we are reminded of how much God loves that ordinary humanity, enough to make it his own. Through the birth of Jesus, we are reminded therefore that apathy to horrendous news stories is no longer an option. It is all to easy to change the channel to avoid them, but because of the birth of Jesus, those stories are not about ‘others’, but about men and women like us, amongst whom he was born, whom he trusted for love and life, and who he continues to trust to love.

Tonight we are reminded that through the birth of a baby, God clearly demonstrates the depth of his love for ordinary men an women by being born

vulnerable and helpless amongst us, trusting us for love and life. Tonight we are reminded that through the birth of a baby, God longs for each of us to be loved by
Him, to know that in the midst of complicated family life that he is our Father. Tonight we are reminded that through the birth of a baby, that we are worth loving and so should love each other in turn. Amen.

Four Last Things - Hell

Everything stops in our house at 9pm on Thursday night. Why? We have thoroughly enjoyed, if that’s the right word, the BBC programme ‘Apparitions.’

Without diverting into too much detail, the series centers around a Roman Catholic priest, Fr Jacob, who practices a ministry of exorcism. During last Thursday night’s episode Fr. Jacob, referring to a tormented soul in Hell, said something like. ‘People are not sent to hell, they choose it when they deny God.’

During Advent, the church has traditionally meditated on what it calls the Four Last Things - death, judgement, heaven and hell. They are traditionally the things that the dying contemplate on before the inevitable, or to put another way, they are the four things that the dead encounter after death. In this final address this morning I want to think about Hell.

There was a time when it was very a la mode for preachers to talk about, Hell, hellfire and damnation. Yet as a doctrine, whilst still central to the teaching of the church, it is mentioned very infrequently these days, so much so that one could seriously wonder whether the church has completely ditched it.

The Church though places the doctrine of Hell at its’ heart. The 39 Articles of Religion, the basic summary of the beliefs of the Church of England, composed back in 1563 but still one of the founding documents of the church today, refer to Hell. Article III reads, ‘...As Christ died for us, and was buried, so also is it to be believed that He went down into Hell...’

Back in March 2007, in a Lent sermon, Pope Benedict XVI said, "Hell exists and there is eternal punishment for those who sin and do not repent."

Using the Gospel reading of John where Jesus saves the adulterous woman from death by stoning by saying "let he who is without sin to cast the first stone", Pope Benedict said: "This reading shows us that Christ wants to save souls. He is saying that He wants us in Paradise with Him but He is saying that those who close their hearts to Him will be condemned to eternal damnation....Only God's love can change from within the existence of the person and, consequently, the existence of every society, because only His infinite love liberates from sin, the root of every evil...”

Dante's The Divine Comedy is a classic inspiration for modern images of Hell with its flames and winged, diabolical-looking beasts. The 15th century Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch also seared his vision of Hell into the popular European imagination, with pictures showing half-man, half-beast creatures.

There is no one specific definition of Hell in the scriptures, but rather three different traditions. Firstly within Judasim there is Gehenna. The name derived from the burning rubbish dump near Jerusalem, metaphorically identified with the entrance to the underworld. It was a foul smelling place, outside the safety and sanctity of the city where rubbish and the bodies of dead animals and criminals were burned.

Gehenna is cited in the New Testament and in early Christian writing to represent the place where evil will be destroyed. Gehenna as a destination of the wicked is different from Sheol, the abode of all the dead.

Secondly there is Sheol as it is called in the OT, Hades the Greek New Testament. Hades was the place of the dead in general rather than the abode of the wicked. It is a place of waiting before the Final Judgement. The parable of Lazarus and Dives is unusual in that Jesus links Hades to a place of torment for the wicked.

Thirdly there is Hell. A fiery vision of Hell is mentioned in the Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew 25, which describes: "the eternal fire prepared for
the Devil and his angels", while the Book of Revelation talks of "lakes of fire, brimming with sulphur". Hell is a place or a state in which the souls of the unsaved will suffer the consequences of sin and for those who have rejected Jesus.

In the 1968 book, Introduction to Christianity, Joseph Ratzinger, described Hell as a state of existential abandonment, "the loneliness into which love can no longer reach".

Our world feels like a loveless place from time to time, whether that’s in a Harringay flat or a Merseyside pub car park or in a refugee camp in Darfur or a Zimbabwean hospital. Yet even these places are filled with colour, love and light compared with a time and place where the love of God cannot reach.

God does not condemn souls to Hell, it is somewhere people choose when they willfully turn their back on love, God’s love. Love draws us in. It transforms loneliness into friendship, relationship and intimacy. God created in love, he fills the world with love, and shows us His love in Jesus Christ. As this season of Advent draws to a conclusion, Hell stands as a warning sign to us all, not necessarily to believe or behave in a certain way, but rather to live in love, to live by love and be judged by love. Amen.

23rd December 2008

Very moving reflection from Rt. Rev'd. Stephen Cottrell...

One of my best Christmas memories is from the church in Chichester where I was the parish priest. Because the building was so small, and because every other available inch of space was needed for chairs, we used to put the crib underneath the altar.

One Christmas morning, about halfway through the service, a little girl, Miriam, toddled up to the front of the church. She can only have been about two or three at the time. For several minutes she stood before the crib, gazing intently at the figures. Then, very carefully, so as not to wake the baby, she stepped inside and sat down. And as people looked at the crib that Christmas, as well as the shepherds and the angels and the ox and the ass, and Mary and Joseph and the baby Jesus, they saw Miriam. She sat there for the rest of the service, content to have become part of the story.

She was the best Christmas sermon I have ever experienced. I think this is also the best example I can muster of the how to get ready for Christmas this year.

STOP


* Now that all the preparations are done – or at least now that there is no more time for any more preparing – stop, and find a place of quiet.

* Be still. Get inside the story. Sit down. Make yourself smaller. In your imagination go to Bethlehem. Bend beneath the lintel of the door of the stable and come in.

* God comes to us in the vulnerability of a child. We can come to him in stillness. We can find him in silence. And Christmas can be put back together. And enjoyed.


Do Nothing Christmas is Coming. By Stephen Cottrell. Published by Church House Publishing 2008

22nd December 2008

I loved this, from Paula Gooder's excellent book...

It was only when I was pregnant with my first child that I realized I had completely misunderstood what waiting was about… Waiting makes me anxious, restless and uneasy. Imagine my bemusement then to encounter an experience that is entirely about waiting…

It was during the period of enforced waiting that I began to discover that waiting is not just about passing the time between the moment when the expectation is raise and when it comes to completion, in this instance between conception and the birth, but that it has deep and lasting value in and of itself.

…The waiting of pregnancy is about as active an occupation as one can hope to engage in. Pregnant waiting is a profoundly creative act, involving slow growth to new life. This kind of waiting may appear passive externally but internally consists of never-ending action and is a helpful analogy for the kind of waiting Advent requires. For many of us, Advent is such a busy time with our preparations for Christmas that the thought of stopping and sitting passively – while attractive in many ways – is simply impossible. Advent, however, does not demand passivity but the utmost activity; active, internal waiting that knits together new life.

The Meaning is in the Waiting, Pp5 and 6 by Paula Gooder. Printed by Canterbury Press, 2008

21st December 2008

It's easy to get believing in God all the wrong way round. We think we need to understand have all the answers - or at least most of them - before we can believe. Many people find that it works the other way round; they believe in order to understand. They start from the premise that it might be true, that those feelings inside them that tell them that there might be more to life that what they see around them might be right after all, and then, inch by inch, as they participate in the life of the church and try to behave in a way that matches up to those beliefs, understanding slowly grows.

This is faith and it's not the same thing as certainty. It always includes doubts. And there is never a time when all these questions are answered. One question leads to another. And if your children ask you questions, give them honest answers. Don't pretend you know it all. Most of us have a bit of faith, it just needs nurturing and tending. FInd a place for both you and your children where your questions can be explored.

One of the names that Jesus is given at his birth is Emmanual. It means 'God with us.' The Christmas story is about God revealed in a person, living among us, and known in relationship. Just like all human relationships, this one with God, requires honesty and trust. What we need to do now is to give it a go.


From 'Do Nothing Christmas is Coming' by, Stephen Cotterall pp 50 ff, Church House Publishing, 2008

20th December 2008

Found this on the 'Why Are We Waiting' website... it resonated with me today... Sounds good!

While you are waiting today - review your day-to-day life and work out what makes you feel alive and what drains you; make a note of them.

In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

Spirituality: Those who regularly attend religious services and engage in religious activities such as prayer and reading religious material score are more likely to be grateful. Grateful people are more likely to acknowledge a belief in the interconnectedness of all life and a commitment to and responsibility to others (McCullough et al., 2002). Gratitude does not require religious faith, but faith enhances the ability to be grateful.

Materialism: Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods; they are less likely to judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of others; and are more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.

Source Robert Emmons, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA, author of Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier (Houghton-Mifflin)

19th December 2008

While you are waiting today - review your day-to-day life and work out what makes you feel alive and what drains you; make a note of them.

In an experimental comparison, those who kept gratitude journals on a weekly basis exercised more regularly, reported fewer physical symptoms, felt better about their lives as a whole, and were more optimistic about the upcoming week compared to those who recorded hassles or neutral life events (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).

Spirituality: Those who regularly attend religious services and engage in religious activities such as prayer and reading religious material score are more likely to be grateful. Grateful people are more likely to acknowledge a belief in the interconnectedness of all life and a commitment to and responsibility to others (McCullough et al., 2002). Gratitude does not require religious faith, but faith enhances the ability to be grateful.

Materialism: Grateful individuals place less importance on material goods; they are less likely to judge their own and others success in terms of possessions accumulated; they are less envious of others; and are more likely to share their possessions with others relative to less grateful persons.

Source Robert Emmons, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Davis, USA, author of Thanks! How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier (Houghton-Mifflin)