Wake up and smell the coffee

Readings:

Hebrew Scripture:     2 Samuel 11: 1-15
Psalm:                     14
Epistle:                      Ephesians 3: 14-21     
Gospel:                      John 6: 1-21    

What I want to say:

Love is to be the basis our understanding who we are
We are invited to open our eyes wide to the reality God’s generous love in our lives
-          where do we see God’s abundant, generous love?
-          where do we need to have our eyes opened?
-          what does it mean to be planted in God’s love?

What I want to happen:

people to open eyes wide to the reality of God’s generous love in their inner most being, that they might built their sense of who they are on that on not on other things, like moral correctness, good enough, personal sense of authority etc….

The Sermon

1.     Introduction:
sometimes I can get very depressed about the world
huge things are happening – feel powerless to respond
wonder, where is God in all this?
            look in disbelief at the economic situation Europe and across the West
 - bankers who earn millions and still misbehave
                        - People pay – ones played no part creation crisis
                                    pay is cut
                                    lost jobs
                                    lost their pensions
seems to be no justice in this at all.
2.     Psalm and David
how psalmist felt
powerful people his time were behaving badly with little care poor or others
just as they were during Jesus time
      imposters
sordid story David and Bathsheba is great example
they behaved as it God did not notice or care
-         there is no God of Israel
-         and the sad thing is their behaviour led people believe that God of Israel did not care
o   God of Israel was absent
vision of God was simply too small
Nathan and Psalmist call bigger vision and realisation that God does care.

3.     The Big Vision
Letter to the Ephesians all about bigger vision of God
passage heard this morning begins by stating that any exercise of power and authority (described as fatherhood) must be based on way God is if it is to have any legitimacy
begs question – how we understand the way God is?
What is our image of God?
too often all powerful moral judge
demands righteousness or offers death
not picture presented either writer to the Ephesians or John

4.     Johns stories
Johns stories – told as signs
      doors though which we understand who Christ really is
      in doing so begin understand the way God is
they point to a reality beyond story
      point to reality of God
these 2 stories also told together in Mark
-         pushes them
-         fills them echoes Exodus story
§  set Passover
§  bread and mana
§  water echoes safe crossing both Red Sea and Jordan
-         echoes too Elijah – whose return will bring the messianic age
§  5 barley loaves
-         tempting focus explaining away mystery of the story
explore generosity drawn out by those gathered
this is a story about people’s generosity
this is a story about God
this is a story about God’s abundant generosity
            unasked for
            freely given
-            at times we might get hung up about miracle walking water
§  did he really do it
§  is that possible?
this is a story about God
            revealed in Jesus
story about Jesus who masters perils deep
all that fills them with fear
simply says “I am”
story that echoes creation story
spirit hovered over deep
brings all into being
These are stories designed to open our eyes to reality God present in this Jesus
who is present in lives of readers as risen Christ
5.     Ephesians
Writer Ephesians talking about the same Risen Christ
who is present in people’s lives
            present with abundant generosity
            calming our deepest fears
offering this wonderful image
            through Christ our deepest selves is planted in love
God seeks to open our eyes so that we might see the height and width and depth of God’s love
even when all seems lost
we might understand that we are our true selves when we are rooted in God’s being
we might see that love is the basis our understanding who we are
So:
-         where do we need to have our eyes opened?
-         where do we see God’s abundant, generous love?
-         what does it mean to be planted in God’s love?


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