Sermon – 2nd Sunday After Epiphany – Ordinary 2 – John 1:43-51

January 15, 2012 1 Comment

Calling Disciples, by He Qi.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts remain acceptable in thy sight o LORD our rock and our redeemer.

“Jesus answered, ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Phillip called you.’”

                Well whanau, I must have annoyed whoever puts our Ministry Team Roster together, because, as if preaching last week, the first Sunday in Ordinary time wasn’t hard enough, I have been put down again to preach this Sunday. Although it may seem like that is rather bad luck, I don’t think it is. The themes that were started last week continue this week and allow us another opportunity to reflect on what we are being called to do as we enter the year proper.

Last Sunday we celebrated the Baptism of Jesus and this week we follow on from that in the natural progression from baptism, to putting those baptismal obligations we spoke about last week, into action. During the season of Epiphany the themes we celebrate revolve around Jesus revealing himself to us and this week is no different. Here, this week with the calling of Phillip and Nathaniel we experience the revelation of Jesus in Galilee, a revelation that is revealed to us in his calling of Nathaniel.

According to Peter Woods, the imagery of the fig tree here in John points to the Old Testament idea of the Fig Tree being a place of blessing and comfort. On the other hand the fig tree in the New Testament is most often seen as a cursed place, an image of a withered fig tree is what we are given in Mark, chapter 11 . Although these two interpretations seem to be miles apart, and on different ends of the scale, it is this space that Nathaniel is occupying in this reading, and it is the place that we risk occupying too if we let ourselves slip into the “ordinary” this Ordinary Time.

This coming week marks a return for a lot of people. If they haven’t already, most people will be returning to work this week and although there is a few more weeks before uni and school starts back, book shops and malls are already starting their “Back to School” sales. Before we know it we will be lost in another year of School, work, and other priorities. It won’t be too long before we are all caught up in our own lives and our own issues, but one thing we must remember, even though thoughts of Christmas may be fast becoming a distant memory, is that we must take forward with us, into the year and the ordinary time, the spirit of Christmas and the Good News of the birth of Jesus Christ.

As Christians, wherever we go, and whatever we do, we carry with us the essence of our faith, the belief in Jesus Christ. This means, whether we like it or not, we are symbols of our faith and for Christ wherever we are. This responsibility calls us to live out our faith at all times. Not just at Christmas time or during Lent when we might be a little more conscious of our faith, but in all places and at all times. This calling to live out our faith is even more important during the normal, mundane times of our lives, and this time of the year is a good time to be reminded of that. Before the hustle and bustle of the year kicks in and we are truly overwhelmed by the pressures of life it is important to stop and reflect on our faith and what our faith calls us to do, before the year grabs a hold of us and before we know it, it is Christmas time once again and we have lost another year. Every interaction, every moment is an opportunity to live out our faith. That doesn’t mean that we should be standing on a street corner preaching or we should be actively trying to convert our friends, but rather that we should live our lives informed by our faith in Christ and become a walking, living testament to that faith. As St. Francis of Assisi put it, we are called to preach the gospel at all times, and only if necessary, use words.

Since October here in New Zealand, and all over the world there has been a group of people living out a type of faith. Since last year a movement called Occupy have been responding to what they perceive to be an injustice. The basic thrust behind the movement is an attempt to name and increase awareness about the inequality around the distribution of wealth and political power. Their main slogan is “We are the 99%.” This is reflective of the fact that 80% of the World’s wealth and power rests with a mere 1% of the population. The people involved in Occupy are responding to their beliefs, and their actions are being informed by those beliefs moving them to express their concern through various occupations throughout New Zealand and the world. Currently the movement in Auckland has occupations at Aotea Square, Queen Street, Albert Park and Victoria Park.  Now, whether or not you support the movement, or think what they are doing is the best way of going about raising awareness, we cannot deny that this movement is at least doing something. Just like the people of the Occupy movement we need to let our beliefs and our faith inform our action. Of course, this doesn’t mean we all need to go and pitch tents outside Holy Trinity Cathedral, but rather that we need to be ready to step out in faith because of our beliefs. We need to be ready to leave the comfort and shade of our own fig trees in an attempt to effect change. To do this though we need to be constantly aware of our faith and the obligations that comes with being followers of Christ. This means not taking a place at the banquet table if our brother or sister is denied one, it means being ready to deny ourselves for the greater good, it means we need to preach the gospel, not with words but with actions.

Only when we, like Nathaniel leave our own fig trees can we truly effect change and whole heartedly live out our own calling in Christ to love and to serve. If we don’t we risk turning our fig trees into withered, cursed places of selfishness and greed, instead of life giving places of strength and foundation.

And so I leave you with those thoughts in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.         AMEN.

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Sermon – 1st Sunday After Epiphany – Ordinary 1 – Mark 1:4-11

January 15, 2012 Leave a Comment

The Baptism of Jesus, by He Qi.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts remain acceptable in thy sight o LORD our rock and our redeemer.

When Michael texted me during the week to see if I could preach, I must admit I was a bit nervous. Not because I didn’t want to preach or because the thought of preaching scared me, but rather because here we are, only the second Sunday of the year, but also the first Sunday after all of the hype and excitement of Christmas, New Years and the Holiday Season. Today is a hard day to preach… For the past month we have been spoilt for options when it comes to preaching. We have had the dramatic lead up to Christmas in Advent, we have had Christmas Day itself, and last week was New Years day. In the Church calendar today marks the beginning of two “seasons,” today is the first Sunday after Epiphany, and the first Sunday in Ordinary time. Although these things make it hard to preach on a day like today, I think that it is on this very day where the meaning of Christmas hits home and becomes real. Just like we recited together at Midnight Mass on Christmas eve with the poem: The Christmas Hymn: “When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and princes are home, when the shepherds are back with their flock, the work of Christmas begins:…” The rest of the poem goes on to tell exactly what the work of Christmas is: “…To find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people, to make music in the heart.”

Christmas is a time of year where, more than any other time, the difference between the rich and the poor is made obvious. It is at this time of year when the struggles of those on the lower end of the Socio-economic scale become front page news and for this one time of the year, the spirit of Christmas calls us all to respond to this poverty that is all around us. Here and now, on this, the first Sunday in Ordinary time, it is good to be reminded that poverty doesn’t just affect people during Christmas but also on the other 364 days of the year. The Herald reported that this year’s turn out to the Auckland City Mission’s Christmas lunch was an all time high, and so many people turned up that some had to be turned away.  It is now, after the struggles of the poorest of our community is no longer making it to the front page of our news papers that we should be responding to our calling to love and to serve. A calling that is inside every one of us that claim to be followers of Christ, a calling that is instilled in us at our baptism and nurtured for the rest of our lives.

Baptism, it is something that we do quite often here at Te Karaiti and in a couple of weeks we will be doing it all again as we welcome the Chanel and Tui who will be bringing their Children to be baptised. What a beautiful thing, a young newly married couple living out their faith in such a way that causes them to realise the promise, the potential and the hope that is signified in baptism. For Chanel, Tui and their whanau it will no doubt be an emotional time. Memories of past baptisms will come to mind…thoughts will turn to loved ones who couldn’t make it and still others who are no longer here. But the overwhelming feeling on the day will be one of joy.

This morning, although there will be no baptisms, we celebrate and remember all those things that baptisms mean; promise, hope, and potential…in the Baptism of Jesus. The gospel of Mark does not to have a Nativity Narrative, that is, there is no account of the birth of Jesus, instead we are taken directly to Jesus’ baptism.

Jesus’ seeking and acceptance of baptism is a sign of unity with and an example for us to follow. Although the baptism being offered by John was one of repentance, Jesus’ sinless nature meant that there was no sin needing to be repented, but rather the necessity for baptism and the importance of baptism was as a starting point, and an opportunity for a new beginning. For many, the baptism of Jesus signifies the beginning of his ministry, a new phase in his life. At this time of year and on a day in which we remember the Baptism of Jesus we are given an opportunity to reflect on the past year and think about our own new beginnings and the promise, hope and potential that the New Year brings. When we think of the bible and the theme of New Beginnings we most often call to mind the creation story in Genesis, but the bible is full of New Beginnings and this, the baptism of Jesus is an example of just that.

Here, today, we are given an opportunity to once again stop and reflect. First of all on the past year, the good times, the bad, the successes, the failures, the ups and the downs. But it is also an opportunity for us to look to the future, the New Year and see where our baptismal obligations are leading us, and what those obligations are calling us to do.

Here and now, as we remember the Baptism of Jesus, we are being called to reflect on those words of the baptism liturgy which call us to “walk in the faith of Christ, crucified and risen, to shine with the light of Christ.” Although the needs of the poor and the marginalised have all but disappeared from the front pages of our news papers, the calling still remains with us to respond to our baptismal obligation and be the light of Christ amongst those whose own lights may have grown dim. In order to do that we must firstly and whole hearted live out the words of the Christmas Hymn: “…to find the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to release the prisoner, to rebuild the nations, to bring peace among people…”

And so I leave you with those thoughts in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.         AMEN.

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A Piece of Art.

January 15, 2012 2 Comments

Matua Hone, doing what he does.

In my brief career as a preacher I have come to the opinion that preaching is a true art form, and sermons a piece of art.

Like most works of art, there are things that work well and things that don’t. Things that depend on the viewers’ (or listeners’) perspective and things that are just plain horrible no matter what perspective you take. This means that the act of preaching and indeed the sermons themselves become a very intimate thing, almost to the point when the sermons themselves become a piece of you and a little bit of you is weaved within the sermon.

For these reasons some preachers (this one included) can become a little bit shy about preaching and our sermons. Of course there are those for whom preaching seems to be natural. I have been blessed to witness some true masters of this art form in action, most notably the Venerable Dr. Hone Kaa, Kaumatua Priest and Mentor for scores of ministers here in Aotearoa. I am convinced that the reason Matua Hone is so at home in the pulpit is because what he preaches at Church on Sunday he is living on Monday, Matua Hone’s faith informs his action. Matua Hone isn’t always the most eloquent preacher and at times he comes very close to “the line” and may even step over it, but what Picasso or Michelangelo could do with a paint brush, Matua Hone can do with words.

In an attempt to get over my own shyness and to one become a quarter the preacher that Matua Hone is, I have decided to post my sermons here from now on. I realise that that could mean this blog is about to deteriorate into a theological wasteland, but it is pretty much already that so why not go the whole hog!

I apologise in advance for the ensuing sermons!

Kia koa, kia hari –Rejoice and be glad!

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Remembering 9/11 – Sermon Pentecost 13

September 11, 2011 Leave a Comment

I don’t usually post or present my sermons online or anywhere else other than in the Church or for the congregation they were written for, but I have decided to post my most recent sermon here. Given that the topic for this particular sermon is of such a wide reaching nature I thought it would be nice to share it. I will share the transcript below but for those of you who don’t have the time to read it I will post the video of my sermon. If nothing else, the video at least shows what a beautiful Whare Karakia (Church) Te Karaiti is.

 

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in thy sight O Lord my rock and my redeemer. AMEN.

“Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.”

Our reading this morning continues the theme, and subject of this part of Matthew’s Gospel, namely that of living in community.  Our gospel reading last week gave us ways in which we can resolve conflict within the community and within the Church and this week we continue that theme with a teaching on forgiveness.

Peter asks Jesus, ‘If someone sins against me how many times should I forgive them?’ Being Peter, he thinks he knows the answer and proposes 7. Here Jesus rebukes him and says, not seven, but seventy seven. Jesus then goes on to illustrate his point through the parable of the unforgiving servant.

Jesus’ command to not forgive someone 7 times, but 77 isn’t a literal command but rather says to us that we should always offer and be prepared to offer forgiveness. Not once, or twice or even seven times, but as many times as is necessary for that forgiveness to be taken. This means that as followers of Christ we are called to always be ready to offer forgiveness. We are called to always have our hands stretched out in forgiveness in the real hope that someone will accept it.

Every generation has it’s ‘news flash’ moments. Events that happen in our lifetimes that, no matter how old or young we are we can remember where we were and what we were doing. For my Dad, it was the landing on the moon. He had just left Primary School and was in 3rd form at high school in Gisborne. For my Mum, it was in 1977, she was 21 and Elvis Presley had just passed away. For me it was when I was 13, in 3rd form at Cashmere High School. I had PE for my first period this particular day and when I was getting changed my friend said to me, ‘have you heard? Someone has just bombed America.’

Today is September 11 2011 – the tenth anniversary of 9/11 and in churches all over the world there is a debate going on. Church leaders, ministers and preachers are wondering what they should do. Should they acknowledge this day? Should they ignore it? Should they just have a prayer and then move on with the karakia? Whanau, here, this morning we do acknowledge what happened on this day 10 years ago. We remember those who died; the passengers on the planes, the workers at the World Trade Centre, the people at the Pentagon, all those who died, we remember them. And with their loved ones we also reflect on the past 10 years.

The readings we do each Sunday here at Te Karaiti and at all Anglican Churches across the world come from this book, the lectionary. I am not sure who puts it together and who chooses the readings, but the readings for this morning, especially the Gospel are very helpful as we remember and reflect on the events of 9/11 and how the world has changed, if at all because of what happened on this day 10 years ago.

For the last 10 years America and several other nations around the world have been involved in a ‘War on Terror.’ This War on Terror was America’s response to the attacks of 9/11. Our gospel this morning is helpful in reflecting on the War on Terror and America’s response to 9/11. Where did this response come from? What was the foundation for this reaction? In light of our reading it seems that America may have been touch brash in their response to 9/11. Our reading this morning calls us all to forgiveness. The hard part here is, if America didn’t respond in the way it did then would we be better or worse off here and now, 10 years on. To be honest, I don’t know, but what I do know is that forgiveness doesn’t invade a country, forgiveness doesn’t launch a war, forgiveness doesn’t imprison people without trial, forgiveness doesn’t kill.

What we need to remember about 9/11 is that it didn’t happen in isolation. America wasn’t the only place in the world to change forever that day, nor were they the only people who would feel the pains of terrorism and war, no, the War on Terror ensured that scores of other innocent people would also experience the horrors of war. It is 10 years on and the people of America are beginning to return to some sort of normality. The rebuilding and creation of a memorial at Ground Zero are going well with the latter all but completed, people are starting to move around New York with more ease and most people aren’t nearly as nervous about flying as they were 5 years ago. But what about in the Middle East and Afghanistan? What about those innocent people who live in the countries where this War on Terror is playing out? It is important that here and now, 10 years on we remember them, those who continue to suffer as their homes and lives are torn apart by the ongoing war on terror, just as much as we remember those who died on 11th September 2001.

The real hard part about preaching on a day like today isn’t that I am scared I might say the wrong things, it isn’t that I am worried I may offend some  people, it isn’t even the fact that Matua Hone is sitting at the back giving my sermon a score out of 10. The real hard part is that while this day, 9/11, is a day of sadness and tragedy; we know that right outside our doors is a community that needs healing, a community that needs love, a community that needs forgiveness.  While thousands upon thousands of people died in the events of 9/11, and while that is a tragedy of epic proportions, we need to remember that here, in Mangere and in communities all across Aotearoa and the world; people are suffering and dying needlessly every day. It was just last week that Matua Hone himself was in the Herald speaking out against issues of child poverty.

As Christians, it is part of our calling to condemn anything that brings about suffering, from child poverty to hopelessness to war and unnecessary death in any form it takes. By virtue of our calling we are commanded to preserve life and ensure that its innate dignity is protected. Today is a reminder to us that we need to continually use our voices to condemn the ongoing War on Terror. America’s response to answer violence with violence was, simply put, the wrong one. Here this morning, our Gospel reading and our calling to follow Christ tells us how to respond to situations like these. We are called to respond from a place of love, a place of concern and perhaps most importantly, a place of forgiveness. True forgiveness demands that we don’t attach conditions or ultimatums, but rather offer freedom and wholeness. True forgiveness comes without any strings attached and is offered fully. Even when it seems that our offer of forgiveness is declined or goes unanswered we must respond to Jesus’ command to forgive seventy times seven if need be.

And so I leave you with those thoughts in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  AMEN.

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