I've listened to alot of the crap recently about David Cunliffe's apology for being a man. People who really didn't find out much about where he said it, or why he said it. Just jumped on the band wagon. Which of course is where most of our media and most people seem to be.
Which is sad. Because what David Cunliffe said was right. In the context he was speaking, a context of women abused by men, it needed to be said. And until we can be that honest, not much will change really.
Thank you Graham for your thoughtful words on this issue
Friday, July 11, 2014
Being Rooted in God
15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Readings:
Psalm: Psalm:
119:105-112 :
First Reading:
Genesis 25:19-34
Second Reading:
Romans
8:1-11
Gospel: Matthew
13:1-9,
18-23
What I want to say:
That today’s readings help us explore being blessed to be a blessing.
In the story of the sower we are offered picture of a recklessly generous god
who sows seek life wherever. While we can read the soil types as different
people, it is also us. We are a mix of soils. And that reckless God keeps on
scattering that within us.
What I want to
happen:
How do we nurture our good soil and
help that seed grow, that we might be a blessing
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Bethel –
blessed to be a blessing
trouble is
– not sure if blessed
good enough
what need to do?
even when
might think blessed
not sure who blessing for
what are limits of this?
limits got very narrow
Jesus
and who is my neighbour
how to be a blessing
what does that mean?
what involve?
bible is
really all about this
today’s
readings are all about this
2. Gospel
well known
stories
parable of
sower
irony is
don’t spend a lot time on sower at all
dispute
about technique of sower
some – normal
others – seen as incredibly
wasteful
no way poor
peasant waste precious seed in this fashion
they carefully
place it in prepared soil had best chance harvest
like many Jesus stories – this
is shocking picture
This sower
scatters seed willy nilly
where ever
no care for chance harvest
Use this
as picture God scattering seed life
either
reckless
wasteful God or
recklessly
generous,
abundant
God
scatters
seed life and blessing wherever and everywhere
Go back
old Bethel course
God
scatters blessing all over place
don’t have
do anything receive
there it
is
scattered
all over us and around us
3. Soil
next part
reading Jesus explanation about the soil
which some
suggest not Jesus at all
but early
church trying make sense of this story in light experience
trouble
was
despite
stories of amazing growth find Acts
reality
was
hard work
work among
poor attracting attention
not all –
positive
weren’t
vast numbers
not
everyone stuck
persecution
making life hard
numbers
converts drifting away
kind of
like today
we don’t have persecution as
excuse
early
followers of the way in Matthew’s community trying make sense of that
this story
offers an explanation
some were paths – seed not grow
at all
some rocky ground – some
response
but
then heat is on – they are out of there
some have lives full of thorns
choke
response
at one
level –
all this is helps us understand
why mission is so hard
yes God is
abundantly, recklessly generous
but soil people’s
hearts not always ready
4. Problem
There is a
problem with this
becomes
really tempting for those us seemingly have responded
feel
pretty smug about it all
look
at us
responding
to God’s blessing
we
are good soil
leaves
us feeling somewhat self-righteous
which unfortunately
can leaves
us thinking that blessing is for us
forgetting
all about 2nd part that equation
suddenly
no longer good soil
join those
others out there
only
we don’t notice
too
busy congratulating ourselves.
sad thing
is history littered
us Christians treating other
people really badly on basis that we are righteous
blessed
they are unrighteous
deserving God’s judgement
which we have then enacted on
God’s behalf.
at point
we stop
being good soil
somewhere
else in continuum of soils
5. Another reading
lead us to
another reading of this story
yes – all
us here will be good soil
welcomed seed reckless God
scatters
bearing fruit faith
result –
trust in God
centre our lives in love God
be blessed
but if we
were honest
other times we will be like path
or rocky soil
or thorns that grow and choke
no better
than anyone else
which
leaves us wondering
if we are good enough
if we truly are blessed
6. Rebekah and her family
first
reading heard this morning heard story about people just like that
ongoing story Isaac and Rebekah
two
sons – Esau and Jacob
some ways
extraordinary family
ever case
having more one wife
when one wife barren – no
children
no heirs
name, legacy –
disappear
Isaac
stays true to Rebekah - good soil
but given
picture real people in this story
some ways
call this dysfunctional family
Jacob
and Esau – fighting even before born
parents
and sons filled with
complacency
jealously
intrigue
these do
not seem to be the kind of people we would describe as good soil
not
kind people on which God’s promise to all humanity hinges
yet that is
exactly who they are
for all
humanness
are good
soil at times
history
changed through them.
history
littered followers of the way
despite
all their faults
all times they
were paths, rocky soil, filled with weeds and thorns
lived
lives blessing all those around.
7. Good news
all which
good news
brothers
and sisters
we do not
need be good soil all time
if think
you are
deluding
yourself
by definition
aren’t good soil
here is
good news
God’s seed
planted in us anyway
blessed
anyway
God
changing world through us
anyway.
let us
give thanks that there is good soil in there somewhere
that seed God
is planted within us despite all failings
panted even in those failing
let us tend
good soil
be people
who live
blessing
for other
How do we nurture
our good soil and help that seed grow, that we might be a blessing?
Wednesday, July 09, 2014
Being deeply rooted in God’s love and hope.
All
three of today’s readings speak about the theme, being deeply rooted in God’s
love and hope.
The
parable of the sower is a well-known and loved parable. But I wonder how well
known. I wonder how often we pause to think about how normal the method of seed
distribution used was, and what that might have conveyed to those original
listeners about the nature of the sower. We too often quickly follow Jesus’ lead
and focus on the soils, thanking God that we are good soil and the seed has
grown in us. But here’s a question. Who decides who is good soil?
The
story of Rebekah, Isaac and their two sons is also well known. None of them
come out well in this story. Esau seems too interested in food and does not
take God’s promise or his birth right at all seriously. Jacob is jealous and desperate
to swindle Esau. Rebekah seems most unmotherly and sides with the younger son. Isaac
seems to play little role. And within all this deceit, division, strife and
complex relationships God’s promise continues to be fulfilled. Not despite it,
but within it.
All
that brings us back to the soils and Paul. We are complex. At times we will be
good soil, and at other times shallow. Like Rebekah and her family we can be
and will be deceitful, dishonest, conniving – all the stuff Paul likes to talk
about. That’s what it means to be human. And yet God is at work in all that
soil. Which takes us back to the sower.
While
some read this as pretty typical of how sowing happened, others understand this
to be an incredibly wasteful way of operating. Reckless even. That’s how God
is. Generous, reckless, wasteful, abundant. Sowing hope and love even in the
midst of our complex unprepared lives. Paul’s message was simple. Stop trying
to achieve this life yourself through being good enough. Just trust into God’s generosity.
Sink your roots into this abundance.
In
churches around the world, the second Sunday in July is Sea Sunday. This is a day set aside to remember
and pray for seafarers and their families and to give thanks for their lives
and work. It is also a day we can pray for the work of the Mission to Seamen,
which some of our parishioners are involved in. Working with God in offering an
abundance of love and hope. Our city depends on the port, all those who work
there, and all who work the ships that pass through there. Over the next week I
invite you to pray for all those whose livelihoods are linked to the port; to
all the seafarers and their families who will travel through our port; and those
who seek to bring God’s love, peace and hope into all that happens there.
Saturday, July 05, 2014
Having another look
Gate Pa – 14th Sunday of
Ordinary Time
Readings:
Psalm: Psalm:
45:10-17
First Reading: Genesis
24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67
Second Reading: Romans
7:15-25
Gospel: Matthew11:16-19,25-30
What I want to say:
Use the story of Rebekah to
introduce being open to a different life. Then use story of Francis to explore
opening ourselves to a greater vision for life.
What I want to happen:
People to engage in a penitential life, after the example of
Saint Francis
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Meet in this morning’s first reading
remarkable young woman
Rebekah – extraordinary
young
woman shows such generosity – to unknown strangers
to
their animals
boldly
agrees to go with this stranger to marry someone she has never met
land
she knows nothing about
with
no guarantees
clearly remarkable person
saw opportunity to have different type life
than expecting
seized it
people in this congregation made similar
choices
moved here for someone
live life very different from what know
at least known person marrying
Rebekah not even have that
Result of this courage and faith
extraordinary union –Rebekah and Isaac
kind of take granted
in this world polygamy was norm
offered
protection women
not
cast out when husband decided too old and needed younger version
as
can happen today
stayed
in family system
under
husbands care
biblical account that Rebekah and Isaac were
monogamous couple
no
mention other wives, concubines, slaves,
no
other children
just
Jacob, smooth man
older
brother Esau – an hairy man.
Her decision is key moment in biblical story
without it all that follows, pretty much
everything
fails.
at this point promise to Abraham hinges on her
answer
I wonder if any us have courage make her
decisions
wonder led her to make those decisions.
2. What about us?
what about ujs
would we make that decision
and if so why
and if not why not
what does that reveal about what we hold dear
in our lives
What
leads us to make the decisions we make
what
motivates us to do the things we do
what
passionate about
what
inspire us
3. Richard Rohr and Penance
currently listening book by Richard Rohr – who
is he
exploring life Francis using works
contemporary writers in variety fields
began book exploring some key events Francis
life
suggests – based on Francis own writing -
lived life penance
what
word evoke for you?
defined as:
a punishment undergone in token of penitence
for sin.
a penitential discipline imposed by church
authority.
a sacrament, as in the Roman Catholic Church,
consisting in a confession of sin, made with sorrow and with the intention of
amendment, followed by the forgiveness of the sin.
4. Francis and Penance
Rohr suggests that for Francis penance –
making room in our lives for God
God
revealed lives those not normally see
not
want in our lives
those
fear, loathe, despise,
maybe
just those dislike,
wish
to have little or nothing to do with.
might
describe as “the others”
Francis,
like
Jesus
like
us
lived
in violent world
son
new breed person
wealthy
middle class
wealth
not in land
but
money made through trade
like all wealthy people, all wealthy groups,
important to protect that wealth
important to keep yourself and your wealth
safe
with
force
Assisi city layers
higher your were more important you were
important
keep those lower (actually and metaphorically) out
protect
yourself from them
plain lived peasants and lowest of low
lepers
all those deemed particularly unsafe
cast out
feared
loathed
abhorred
Francis like everyone else feared them and
loathed them
there was no room in his world for them
he and God had no time or compassion for them
until one day as he rode past leper hospital
on plain
heard bell of leper
moved other side and covered mouth – as he
normally did
looking other way so as not see or smell foul
creatures
this time could not ride past
felt compelled stop
dismount
physically embrace and kiss the leper
filled
fear and loathing
filled
with revoltion
filled
with wonder
gave money
returned horse and rode on
revolted
elated
changed
his closed world ripped open
began to make room in it for all kinds people
people he would not have even seen in the past
renounced all possessions – because to own anything
meant he had to protect it from others
moved down hill to lowest places
all joined him invited live as one poorest
working among lepers
learning make room for all
all
people - even lepers and Muslims
-even
refugees and poorest beggars
all
creatures
all
creation
5. Inspired Penance
What inspired him?
all people, all creation
reflected God to him
saw each loved by God
rather protecting what was his
sought common good
world where all honoured and blessed as
children of god
as I drove home Friday night listening to pray
as you go
website
offers 10 minutes podcast - time reflection and
prayer each day
listen to as you drive or whatever doing
takes the gospel reading set for day rcl lectionary
reads
it and offers some reflections and questions
story Matthew of Jesus going home tax collectors
and response Pharisees
asked – who is it we feel uncomfortable being
with at our table
who
we not want have present
sadly name some people
no-one in this parish hasten add
are people drive me nuts
invited wonder what Jesus saying to us
how might I welcome these people
I responded – do I have to?
suspect Francis is telling me - yes
6. Gospel
we began this morning inspiring story Rebekah
suggested offered us example someone embraced
possibility different world
here we are with Francis – embraced
possibility world radically different from one lived in
people his world largely motivated by need
preserve what was theirs through any means necessary
saw all those classified as other – contemptible
deserving
whatever did to them keep them at bay
Francis instead embraced all to himself
embraced all as brother and sister
willing to share all that he had with
called this life penance
this is not an easy calling
not an easy life
people abused him
and if we follow to extremes he did
will abuse us
today gospel Jesus finishes with words which
so familiar
so familiar in fact really hard to read from
our version bible
different
those words of promise
we will be yoked – not sound that inspiring
really
in fact miss – yoked in pairs
others like us
with Jesus himself
Once Francis eyes were opened by leper
actually found life penance easy
found yoke Jesus as easy
called hardest times – perfect joy
like Rebekah
just trusted
So
what motivates us in decisions we make each
day
whatg stops us making different decisions
who might be our leper?
what mean for us to live lives of penance?
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