Quest for God

I am not sure this is finished. But it might be. It is possible I will talk more about silence, solitude and fasting. We shall see.

Gate Pa – Lent 1 2014

Readings:

Hebrew Scripture:     Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7                       

Psalm:                         Psalm: 32                                                       

Epistle:                        Romans 5:12-19                    

Gospel:                        Matthew 4:1-11                    

What I want to say:

Use the Genesis and Matthew story to introduce lent as a time to Quest for God and then go on to introduce the need for silence, solitude and fasting

What I want to happen:

People to find space for solitude and silence, and to think of ways they can introduce/develop fasting as a Lenten discipline

The Sermon

      1.      Introduction:

My experience of Ramadan in New York

focus on three of 5 pillars Islam – prayer

                                    fasting

                                    almsgiving

not enough to do them or to do them for own sake

only of any use if done as means to re-evaluate their lives in relation to God

stuck – pretty remarkable

struck with how similar lent is for us

same message holds true for us

      2.      Identity

turn to neighbour and ask “who are you?”

our identity is nearly always defined by our relationships with others

clue – deepest identity is found in our relation with God

see that at play in readings this am

            - especially Genesis and Gospel readings

      3.      The Fall

lets bring this relational identity into Genesis reading

might describe Adam and Eve as

            created by God in God’s image

            invited into God’s dwelling place – God’s guests

                        (not paradise created for us)

tempted to forget all this

invited to redefine themselves as somehow lacking and in need of something

Invitation to place who they are in relation to God to one side

place themselves at centre

in control of own lives

“if you do this you will be…….”

Tempted to forget who they really are

terrible consequences

breaks relationship with God who created them

with themselves

with each other

with all of creation

Easy to read this as story set long ago

not story about when

story about how

you and I are told everyday that we lack something

            (bald, overweight, hairy, old looking, unfit, lacking energy, not cool enough)

But “if you do this I will be…….”

which has same effect had on Adam and Eve

            we tempted to forget who we are

to place who we are in relation to God to one side

place ourselves at centre

in control of own lives

how often do we give in to

            “if you do this you will be…….”

      4.      Wilderness

Jesus was offered same invitation

time in wilderness and wrestling with Devil

            is also wrestling with his identity in God

just been baptised – declared beloved son

taken by Spirit into wilderness

place where have let go self-reliance and own talents and gifts

            and trust in God

            and who he is in God

There tester – devil

            this passage more like devil in Job who is agent God

(term Satan comes secret Persian officials whose job was test loyalty subjects)

debatable if first “if” translated – “if” or “since”

Since you are son of god – how do you understand that?

            how will you act?

each of three temptations invites Jesus to place himself first

to forget who he truly is

break the relationship

Unlike Adam and Eve

Unlike us

Jesus does not forget

He trusts

rather be desperately hungry

unknown

with no fame, power, achievements

To be the son is to trust even to the cross

At what point do we reach our limit

            no longer willing to trust

            expect more

            take control of the situation

what price do we pay

      5.      Lent

most time we don’t even hear invitation to forget who we truly

told should be in centre all time

            don’t notice

told all we need is to do this or that

            don’t notice

norm

too much noise

too busy

Lent then is time to notice

time to pay attention

            to notice all those voices

            and to put them to one side

Lent is time to remember who we truly are

that our identity is in the end only found in God

Lent is time follow Jesus into wilderness and to remember

      6.      Spiritual Practices

over last two thousand years Christians have built on the spiritual practices of those gone before

developed new practices

allow us pay attention

these practices invite us to focus less and less on ourselves

            own needs and wants

focus more and more God

            God who created us

            in God’s own image

            invites us to live in God’s world

see God at work in this world

as we do so we are given ways to remember who we are

and through we are led to love

love God

love ourselves

love world we live in

      7.      Lenten Studies

over next few weeks introduce some of these practices

            time after morning tea for more discussion about each of these

list of these in pew sheet, and will be in Parish Web

two practices look at today come out gospel reading:

solitude and silence

fasting

It is all about me

As we begin Lent and enter this time of deepening faith and perception we are offered two of the great traditional Lenten readings – the story of the Fall in Genesis, and Matthew’s version of Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days and nights.

We often read these two stories as being about temptation, and they offer us hope in our own struggle with temptation – whatever we are tempted by. The trouble is that this can easily just be about me and my struggle with sin.

Several commentators suggest that these readings are really about relationships and identity. In the Genesis story we hear how Adam and Eve are tempted to forget that their identity is found only in their relationship with God. They are tempted to believe that if they were wiser they could have a better understanding of who they are. The trouble is the moment they give in they forget who they truly are. The story of Jesus tussle with Satan in the wilderness is also a struggle of identity. Does Jesus really trust that his identity if found in the title “Son of God” (so named in the previous story of his baptism). His knowledge of God’s character and purposes is deeply tested.

Lent is a time for us to test how much our identity is found in God. What do we understand by that? Are we willing to trust that we are beloved sons and daughters no matter what happens? How well do we know God’s character?

Living Perfectly - again

This looks alot like the sermon I put up last week. It is. I decided it really was two sermons in one. So I preached the second half and left people with the question "What is perfection"? This week I explore that question

Gate Pa – Epiphany 8 – March 2 2014

Readings:

Hebrew Scripture:           Isa 49:8-16                          

Psalm:                                   131                                                        

Epistle:                                 1 Cor 4:1-5                          

Gospel:                                Matt 6:24-34     

What I want to say:

I want to explore what “God’s perfection” might mean, suggesting it is more about God’s compassion for all creation, mercy, justice and love. I then want to apply that to today’s readings and suggest that Jesus offers his followers a way of living perfectly (i.e. with Compassion, mercy, love justice and love) in a way that challenges the excepted norms.

What I want to happen:

I want people to rethink their assumptions around righteousness, holiness and perfection, and to begin to think about living perfectly in terms of how we treat other people and creation

The Sermon

     1.       Introduction:

over last few weeks listening to Sermon On Mount

Last week finished Jesus inviting/commanding us to “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect.”

invited you think about what God’s perfection might look life

                how would you describe that

so – how would you describe God’s perfection (Discuss)

     2.       Righteousness

as I said last week and in pew sheet,

                righteousness is one key themes in Matthews Gospel

and in sermon on mount –if not the key theme

                seems to be used interchangeably with

                                God’s perfection (in last week’s reading)

                                holiness

                and righteousness

these are important words

because how we understand these terms reveals and shapes

                 how understand God

                how we really understand what Jesus was about

                what Christianity is really about

3.       A Moral Gospel

e.g. Understand God’s perfection to be without guilt or sin

and Righteousness is the state of moral perfection required by God to enter heaven.

Morally upright;

J  morally good : following religious or moral laws 

then point Jesus is provide way for us – sinner – to have access to perfect and righteous God who cannot abide us to be near without us paying the price.

Is this good definition of perfect

                how words used were defined

                more importantly – How perfection, righteousness, holiness is defined by Jesus life, ministry and teaching?

suggest that is it an imperfect understanding.

      4.       Perfect Bible Stories

Perfect tense – means completed

teleos – Greek word translate as perfect also better understood as complete

fits with whole story of Bible

story of our creation and our completion

ð  what would that look like?

J  (NT Wright) The central biblical discussions of righteousness thus principally concern membership in the covenant and the behaviour appropriate to that membership.  … these passages depend on a theology in which God is creator and judge of all the earth, and in which God’s people are to reflect God’s own character.

      perfection is found in God’s character

      righteousness is when we reflect God’s character

takes us back to plot of bible

some call - moral arch story of bible

moral arch of story of humanity

                bringing humanity and all creation to point where we reflect God’s own character

when we become perfect like God

God is beginning and end, last and first

God as perfection then is God as endpoint

                point of completion

we will be perfect when we reflect God’s character

This is very different way understanding Gospel

not about our moral failure

not about our sinfulness

not about someone having to pay the price so that we can enter heaven and be with sinless God after we die

this is about God ongoing work leading us, journeying with us, waiting for us

to be all that God created us to be

Point Jesus life, ministry and teaching

                show us both what character of God is

                offer example what human society might look like if we lived out those characteristics

                if we were perfect as our father in heaven is perfect

Jesus also shows us that end point of life as we currently live it is death

end point of understanding perfection, righteousness, holiness as morally upright and without sin is also death

                Paul and Jesus make that clear again and again

Jesus offers us a new way

      5.       An alternative

two weeks ago I used  Rob Bell and Don Golden talking about

                describe key characteristics of God as compassion, mercy, justice and love

                suggest God wants people who will enflesh compassion, mercy justice and love

we might add – these people will be righteous, holy, perfect

encounter this understanding   

                mosaic law

                prophets

                life, teaching and ministry of Jesus

what Jesus meant said that our righteousness needed to exceed that of Pharisees and scribes

                their God was moral judge who determined who was acceptable and who was not

                                righteousness was about obedience to moral code

                                who said who was in and who was not

                but if we read woes at end Matthew 23 that book end with Beatitudes Jesus says

(23) “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.

be righteous means to live compassion

be holy is to live mercy

to be perfect is to live justice

This understanding is at heart of understanding Sermon on Mount

      6.       Conclusion

about enter Lent

wonder if one things we need to give up is seeing God as perfect moral judge

        sends Jesus offer way into life with God after death

instead see God’s perfection in God’s mercy, compassion, justice. love and peace

wonder

what habits might you need to develop to grow in this understanding of God

what habits might you need nurture join God developing society  built on God’s justice, peace, compassion and love.

Jesus said – “In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

                Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect