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17th
March 2013 - Morning - Revd. Preb Maureen Hobbs |
Sermon
for Lent 5 - 17 March 2013
Isaiah 43
John 12.1-8
Today sees the start of Passiontide - that time in Lent when
thoughts begin to focus with new intensity on the coming events
of Holy Week. The triumphant entry into Jerusalem that we will
mark and remember next Sunday - Palm Sunday, followed by all
the drama of events leading up to the last supper, the betrayal
in the Garden, the arrest, trial and crucifixion.... leading
to - what? It could so easily just have ended there. A sad story
of one more revolutionary leader who perished at the hands of
forces more powerful, more implacable than he could hope to do
battle with.
But that isn't all and we know that it doesn't end in the sad
story of defeat - a broken body on a hillside and three gaunt
crosses against a stormy sky. If it had, then I very much doubt
that 2000 + years later we would still be talking about it, still
be wondering, still be celebrating.
Those of you who follow rugby will have known that yesterday
was full of passion too! Slightly different in character - although
watching the end of the Wales/ England match felt like a bit
of an execution at times! And I suspect that up and down the
land people were desperately trying to find a bit of Welsh heritage
in their family lines in order to salvage a bit of honour from
the day! At least, that is what seemed to be happening on Twitter
and the other Social Networks. Funny how we can be true English
stock one minute and the next be happy to lay claim to our mongrel
ancestry! And I speak as one who has more than a little Irish
blood in my veins... (not Welsh sadly - as far as I know!)
'Land of our Fathers' of course sounds magnificent when sung
at full voice, echoing around the millennium stadium in Cardiff.
The power of the singing alone would be enough to defeat many
teams - probably did not help the English yesterday, and it obviously
lifts the pride in Welsh hearts .... although I don't think that
is much of an excuse!
The strength of nationalist fervour and pride is what nearly
swept Jesus up in its power and glory. It was one of the biggest
and - I suspect - the most difficult of the temptations that
he had to resist. Because it makes us feel great - makes us feel
as though we belong; that we are part of something great and
noble and worthy and so much bigger than the sum of the individual
parts. That if you like, is the pride of the passion of our national
identity.
But Jesus knew so well that he could not afford to give in to
that sort of passion as his story reached its climax. He chose
to spend as much time as possible in these last few days with
his friends - those whom he was close to. He wanted to celebrate
the depth and strength of the ties of affection that bound them
together. And they in turn responded to the mood that he was
creating around himself. Martha did what she did best - sheltered
him and fed him. Presumably there were times of shared conversation
with Lazarus .... I wonder what he could remember of his time
when he was officially 'dead'??? And Mary - sensing that behind
the joy and gaiety of the evening lies something sad and sinister,
goes and gets her most treasured perfumes to pour over his feet.
Even the dissenting note of Judas, complaining about the extravagance
of the gesture that Mary makes, could not spoil the party. But
feelings - passion and pride - were running high - no doubt about
that.
God is about to do something wonderful ; incredible ; amazing.
And Jesus wants to know from his followers that they can sense
the power and the electricity in the air. God is about to stand
the natural order on its head - so that pathways appear in the
wilderness and streams of living water in the desert. Can you
feel the tension mounting? Can you feel the passion in the air?
God is about to take on and defeat nothing short of the power
of death itself - and all because he loves us - his people- and
wants the very best for us, wants us to be happy and joyful and
full of praise.
Don't dwell on the past! The prophet tells us.... "none
of that matters any more - All the things that you have thought
so important, pale to insignificance in the light of what I am
about to accomplish!"...
My closing thoughts this morning are with the new Pope - Francis
1. He has taken a new name; he is the first Pope from the Americas;
the first Jesuit Pope, and already the Vatican watchers think
there are many subtle signs that Francisco will be a different
sort of Pontiff. True, he has inherited a unique set of problems
and some huge challenges. But there is every indication that
in him, God is doing a new thing... It is reported that he has
already contacted his colleagues in Argentina to tell them not
to bother spend the considerable sums of money to attend his
inauguration service in Rome. Instead, they are commanded to
give that money to the poor - who are dear to the heart of Francisco
and whom Jesus tells us we will always have with us. That suggests
to me that we - along with our Catholic brothers and sisters
- have a spiritual leader with a passion for social justice -
and possibly a little impatience with the trappings and encumbrances
of power that surround the papal throne. He may have returned
to the land of his fathers - for Pope Francis is from Italian
stock, but he seems to be saying to us - "Don't dwell on
the past - none of that matters any more. God is about to accomplish
something wonderful and astonishing and surprising."
Thanks be to God. |
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17th
March 2013 - Evening - Revd. Preb Maureen Hobbs |
Address
for Passion Sunday Evensong - 2013
2 Chronicles
35. 1-6, 10-16
Luke 22. 1-13
There
is no getting away from it - Easter is getting closer - really
close now as we approach the final two weeks of Lent. Just one
more of our Lent course evenings to run... Just one more Lent
Lunch to come and then we will be into all the drama and events
of Palm Sunday next week.
But we are not quite there yet, so we get readings that help
us to prepare. That emphasise all the work that goes into a good
Passover celebration. And there is a sense too - in both our
lessons this evening, that preparing for this event takes special
people - people who are set aside for the task - marked out for
special duties as it were. They have additional responsibilities
but they too are to be cared for and catered for.
The Levites in our first reading are to have special care, to
make sure that all the people are included in the feasting and
ritual as set down in the Law of Moses, but also that the priests
are not forgotten in the business of all that they have to do.
( I must admit that I am very grateful that butchery does not
have such a key place in priestly duties today!!!)
But as well as being Passion Sunday, this is of course St Patrick's
Day too! Sadly we can only commiserate with our Irish friends
after the rugby yesterday!
St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, is one of Christianity's
most widely known figures. But for all his celebrity, his life
remains somewhat of a mystery. Many of the stories traditionally
associated with St. Patrick, including the famous account of
his banishing all the snakes from Ireland, are false, the products
of hundreds of years of exaggerated storytelling.
But what of Patrick himself.... Well the first surprise is that
he was not actually Irish at all. Patrick was, what is euphemistically
called "Romano Celtic". In fact he may even have been
Welsh - or at least Cornish/ or even Cumbrian - and it seems
that he was captured by an Irish raiding party when he was about
16 years old and taken to Ireland as a slave. After 6 years or
so he managed to escape and seems to have made his way back to
his own family but by a roundabout route that took in the Continent.
But having reached home, his previously nominal Christian faith
deepened and matured. Patrick travelled to Gaul and there trained
as a priest and was much influenced by the form of monasticism
he saw there, developing under the leadership of Martin of Tours.
When he was in his early 40s, he returned to Ireland as a bishop
even though at that time Ireland lay outside the protection of
the Roman Empire. He made his base at Armagh, which became the
centre of his See. He brought the gospel to the people of Ireland,
by walking across great distances, gently bringing men and women
to a knowledge of Christ. Ireland was not a united country but
beset with 100s of kings (warlords) ruling over their independent
kingdoms; Patrick worked to secure both their goodwill and their
bodyguards for his preaching tours. Sometimes he first won the
allegiance of the younger members of a royal family, or of their
mother; sometimes he paid the king money. He also worked to outflank
and 'Christianise' the poets, the lawyers and the druids, who
advised the tribal kings and were organised on a national basis.
If he had a rapport with the poets, the majority of the druids
seem to have opposed Patrick and his new religion, which they
presumably saw as a threat to their power base. The "Deer's
Cry" or St Patrick's breastplate, is an excellent example
of Patrick's technique as he tried to replace traditional charms
with Christian Faith.
Life was not all plain sailing and he encountered fierce opposition
and possible persecution, but he continued his missionary journeys
unabashed. And although he was not altogether successful in setting
up a church organisation in the same model that he had seen in
Gaul, his monastic foundations proved to be the infrastructure
required to maintain the faith after his death - which is reputed
to have occurred on this day in the year 460.
And so St. Patrick's Day is celebrated on March 17. The Irish
have observed this day as a religious holiday for over 1,000
years. On St. Patrick's Day, falling as it does during our season
of Lent, Irish families would traditionally attend church in
the morning and celebrate in the afternoon. Lenten prohibitions
against the consumption of meat were waived and people would
dance, drink and feast--on the traditional meal of Irish bacon
and cabbage.
It isn't exactly a Passover meal - not one that Jesus and his
disciples would have recognised of course, but there is a sense
too that this is an occasion for everyone to be included; everyone
should have a part in the festivities - whether high or low-born,
Bishop or slave...
The real Patrick was a strong man of action with a deep spiritual
nature, and an enthusiasm that enabled him to surmount all kinds
of trials and hardships. A man of hard work and intensive prayer,
he sacrificed his birthright, home and everything he was humanly
fond of in order to become, as it was put, "The last of
the apostles". He gloried in Christ as the fruit of his
labours, seen not as his doing, but as the gift of God and the
Spirit that dwelt within him.
And it was the early Irish missionaries - Columba in particular,
who were to travel to Scotland first and then to bring Christianity
south into the lands of the Angles and Saxons - long before Augustine
arrived with his monks from Rome and effectively took over the
evangelisation of the English!
Patrick's breastplate:
I arise today through a mighty strength, the strong name of the
Trinity
I arise today through the strength of Christ in his incarnation,
in his baptism, in his death on the cross for my salvation.
His bursting from the burial tomb; his riding up the heavenly
way
Through the strength of his descent to the dead and his coming
at the day of doom
I arise today through God's strength to pilot me.
His might to uphold me, his wisdom to guide me, his ear to listen
to my need.
God's shield to protect me, his host to secure me, alone or in
a crowd.
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