Lent, Liturgy, Identity
The sermon can be listened to here
Gate Pa – Year B 1st Sunday of Lent 2021
Readings:
Psalm
Psalm 25:1-10
First Reading: Genesis
9:8-17
Second Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22
Gospel: Mark
1:9-15
What I want to
say:
Lent
is a time to take stock of what shapes our identity. It was time of being
shaped in a new identity before baptism. In it we remember that in the
wilderness Jesus’ identity was based on being “the beloved Son”. That echoes
Israel’s wilderness experience where their identity was shaped by living in
presence of God who, in an outrageous act of love, had liberated them from
slavery. What shapes our identity as people of God, and what tempts or tests us
away?
Then
explore how our communal worship is primary means (within Anglicanism) we are
shaped and moulded as people of God
What I want to
happen:
People to more intentionally engage
with the sandpapering of Sunday
Mark 1:9-15
Common
English Bible
9 About that time, Jesus came from Nazareth
of Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 While he was coming
up out of the water, Jesus saw heaven splitting open and the Spirit, like a
dove, coming down on him. 11 And there was a voice from heaven: “You are my
Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find happiness.”
12 At once the Spirit forced Jesus
out into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by
Satan. He was among the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.
14 After John was arrested, Jesus
came into Galilee announcing God’s good news, 15 saying, “Now is the time! Here
comes God’s kingdom! Change your hearts and lives, and trust this good news!”
The Sermon
1. Introduction –
Who are
you?
Turn
neighbour and ask and answer that question maybe 3 times
-
plenary
lots of ways
to answer that
each shapes
how see ourselves
e.g I might
answer
-
husband
-
father
-
son
-
Franciscan priest
-
Anglican
All these
shape how I see myself in world
shape to
some degree how I live
Preparing
for Ash Wednesday
-
Burning palm crosses to make ash
-
Preparing liturgy – from dust you come and to dust
you shall return
-
Reminded that this world is made of dust – comes
from stars
-
We are made of star dust
-
God took this star dust and moulded humanity
o Profound
love breathed life into the star dust
o We are made
of star dust that God lovingly breathed life into
From dust
you come and to dust you shall return
Star dust
Moulded in
love and with life breathed into it
That blows
my mind a little bit
It invites
me see myself in a really different way
If someone
asks – who am I
-
I am star dust into which God breathed life.
-
Just let that sit for a moment.
“Now is the
time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Let that blow your minds and change your hearts
and lives, and trust this good news.”
2. Lent with Mark
First
Sunday in Lent
Been here 9
years
Like all
good first Sundays in Lent we hear story of Jesus in wilderness
-
Being tempted or tested
Bare bones
story in Mark
Jesus is
baptised and has his identity affirmed.
-
“You are my Son, whom I dearly love; in you I find
happiness.”
Then thrown
into wilderness by Spirit to have that identity sorely tested
Not a lot
of details
No fasting
What does
it mean to be the beloved son?
How does
Jesus understand that?
How does
Jesus live that out?
His
identity and all that shapes it is being sorely tested
After 40
days, and after John arrested Jesus comes into Galilee announcing
“Now is the
time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Let that blow your minds and change your hearts
and lives, and trust this good news.”
3. Lent old school
In many
ways that is where lent comes from
Origins
lent - early church time where
candidates to be baptised at Easter
Led through
own wilderness experience
-
Not learn about Christianity
o important
-
Not learn about what we do at church
o Important
-
Immersed into a new way seeing themselves in world
o New
identity
o Beloved
children of God
-
When went into water baptism old self would die
-
All old ways describing themselves.
o Family
o Trade
o Place in
empire
-
Replaced with beloved child of God
-
Who with their brothers and sister in God’s
community – church
-
living way of God found in Jesus life and death and
resurrection.
-
Bringing hope and healing to their world
-
Helping God’s work of creating world all thrive and
flourish
“Now is the
time! Here comes God’s kingdom! Let that blow your minds and change your hearts
and lives, and trust this good news.”
But the old
identities crept back in
As we read
in Paul’s letters
To his
frustration.
We are all
sorely tested and tempted to let go of our identity in God as beloved children
Unlike
Jesus
-
We slide back into less life giving ways of seeing
our selves and of living
Lent is
time to stop
Take stock
Ask what
shapes our identity
Our sense
of who we are
Which of
those do we need to pay more attention to
And which
do we need to let go of?
4. Being shaped as people of God - AAW
5. Being shaped as people of God – Worship
Within
Anglicanism one major means of shaping our identity
-
Our world view
-
Where see God at work in world
Worship
our
Anglican Liturgical tradition has been and continues to be one most significant
ways we are formed in our identity as followers of Christ
This
Anglican Liturgical Tradition is what lies behind our prayer book
Prayer Book
Commission described our prayer book as
“a pattern of worship which derives from a
heritage and tradition and scriptural interpretation that embodies the heart of
what Anglicans believe and commonly understand.
It
is a taonga (treasure) in every sense and has a ‘tikanga' of its own.
Our
doctrine is found in our liturgy.”
Want to
spend some time in Lent exploring our liturgy
In part so
that we can be aware of how it works and its importance
In part so
we can engage with it more intentionally
In part so
might encourage some of you take on new roles
6. Anglican Liturgical Tradition
Few
introductory comments
The
Anglican liturgical tradition is based on an understanding of corporate worship
that is much more than singing praise songs to God.
It is an
encounter between the Living God and God’s church, which changes and shapes
those who participate as individuals and as the Church.
In worship
we are invited by God into the life of the Trinity
7.
conversation
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