My Heart’s Desire
This is in two podcasts
The first on My Hearts Desire can be listened to here:
The first on My Hearts Desire can be listened to here:
Gate Pa – te Wiki o te Reo Māori. 18th
Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings:
Psalm Psalm 51:1-12
First Reading:
2 Samuel 11:26 –
12:13
Second Reading:
Ephesians
4:1-16
Gospel:
John
6:24-35
What I want to say:
To ask what is our heart’s
desire really – and look at John 6 in light of that
talk about why I use te reo
Maori in our services
What I want to happen:
What is my heart’s desire
Appreciate te reo more
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Few years ago someone came up to me after
service and said had word of knowledge
always little sceptical
This one stuck in my head
she said God grant my heart’s desire
What is my heart’s desire?
superficial level
Desire
have enough money to do few things
pay
off children’s student debt
help pay studies
pay
for these tvs
like
go visit aunt England again
really
want to do course at St Georges College in Jerusalem
like
go Istanbul
see
Liverpool play Anfield
trouble is when get stuck with the “enough
money” – turn that into hearts desire
are people say that is what benefit being Christian
all about
not
look at what that money hopefully is really about
for me
just
nice
children
start life without burden debt
è comes out of my desire for world to be better
for my children
to
be place where they can thrive and grow
so is that my hearts desire?
not
bad one –
many
people do stop there
I think I can go even deeper
desire
is for world be place where everyone can thrive and grow
not just my children
not just my family
not just people like me
want
us take seriously climate change – fear future if don’t
want
governments enact policies that allow all people in all countries to have
enough
world
filled with kind of communities where all know they belong
significant members of that
community
Is
that my hearts desire?
today – it is that world will be as I
understand God intended
place
limitless generosity
infinite
love
same
kind love Jesus felt and exhibited on cross
turns out my hearts desire is pretty tricky
thing to nail down
makes hard God grant it
suspicion
is that God better idea what hearts desire is than I do
trouble is
I
don’t really think about it much
so
don’t really focus on my heart’s desire
instead get waylaid
distracted by other wants and needs
point
to my heart’s desire
but
aren’t that actually desire
I
suspect all do
2. John’s Gospel
want to suggest that that is what is going on
in our gospel readings last week and over the next few weeks
in feeding 5000 – have a story Jesus meeting
need of hunger
not
ask for this to be met
just
did it
as said last week – John describes this as a sign
sign
of God’s freely given unasked for abundant generosity
as
sign what more God offering
which is same as word knowledge to me
God
meet their hearts desire
kind of got
but
didn’t
understood their desire to be rid of Rome,
Herod, current high priests etc….
so
saw sign
thought
that he was one lead them to this new world
-want
to make him king – one lead them to victory
did that without ever going deeper
caught
up in the overthrow Rome
not
ask what kind of society did they long for?
è that was world
where
land restored
where
all have enough
peace
and justice
dwell
again presence of God
the kingdom of God
sounds great
so
much more than what they thought they desired
Jesus was and is offering even more than this
offering
a vision of new communities
built
around the qualities of God he points to in his actions and teaching
God limitless generosity
unbounded
love
created
all in God’s image
imagine that world
è that is eternal life
è that is bread Jesus offers to feed us with
well removed from what those listening to him
thought
even a lot hearers struggled
as we do
got lost on the way with our own desires and
needs
God’s heart desire for us remains hidden.
So what is it we long for?
What is our hearts desire?
What is it we give our soul to?
And what is it God longs for us, for this place,
for this world?
3. Te Reo Māori
(This can be listened to here as a sepereate podcast)
This week is Te wiki o re reo
Māori
thought good time outline again some of the reasons I
think using te reo in our services is important:
·
who we
are as Anglicans in this country
o
language
first Anglican church (te Haahi Mihinare)
§
language
of this diocese
o
language
of our tikanga partners in this land
·
enable
us to worship with Tikanga Maori partners with confidence
·
welcoming
for Maori speakers to hear their language
·
Te reo
Maori is a gift from God, cultivated by our ancestors and bequeathed as a gift
to all generations it behoves us to fill our hearts with what is good and just.
·
Lutheran
work on relationship of liturgy with culture:
o
trans or
beyond culture
o
contextual
o
counter
cultural
o
cross
cultural
In summary:
don’t use te
reo Maori because
·
it is
cool or because it is PC
·
I use it
because it is who we are
using te reo
Maori honours:
·
who is
here
·
who we
are as an Anglican church
·
our
context in these communities
·
liturgy
as a vehicle that moves us
o
out of
our culture
o
helps us
embrace other cultures
o
hold our
culture up to the gospel
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