Sermons at Bolton Priory

Bolton Abbey

Mothering Sunday 2025

Exodus 2: 1-10; Luke 2: 33-35

The Very Revd Canon Prof Martyn Percy

A tutorial question I used to set for students at Cambridge in the study of religion paper, was to sketch the connections that might link Moses, Buddha, Mohammed and Jesus. For one mark, you could say they are all great religious leaders. For a few more marks, one might be able to draw some parallels in their teachings. And for one or two more marks, one could perhaps compare and contrast their active ministries as adults.

But there is also something stranger that connects them. They are all adopted. Moses was abandoned by his birth mother and left to float in a small coracle in the River Nile and was picked up by the daughter of one of the Pharaohs and nurtured as one of her own. Mohammed was orphaned at the age of six and was brought up by his uncle in the ancient city of Makka. The Buddha’s mother died when he was less than a week old, and he was raised by her sister. Jesus, of course, according to Christian orthodoxy is not exactly the child of Joseph. Although Mary is clearly his mother, Joseph is not his biological father.

When most people think about adoption, it is a habit of the heart to believe that it is the child who has somehow been rescued, and that the adopted parents are the redeemers. However, one of the more extraordinary things about the of the world’s great religions is that this equation is turned around – as most things are in religion – so that the adopted child becomes the redeemer, or the gift. This is particularly true in Christian thinking where orthodoxy teaches a kind of double adoption: in return for our adoption of Jesus, we are ourselves adopted into the life of God.

Mary and Joseph both take a risk: ‘Mary asked the angel, "How can this be, since I have not known a man?" (Luke 1: 34). But in accepting something alien, rejection is avoided, and hospitality and love are shown instead. Hospitality, love and redemption are, in turn, bestowed on humanity through God in Christ.

The scriptures feed us well, but it doesn’t mean everything we eat is easy to digest. Sometimes you have to engage with the powerful emotions behind the stories we know so well. Perhaps you may know the Cherry-Tree Carol – a ballad reportedly sung in some form at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early 15th-century. The ballad relates an apocryphal story of the Virgin Mary, presumably while travelling to Bethlehem with Joseph for the census.

In the most popular version, the two stop in a cherry orchard, and Mary asks her husband to pick cherries for her. Joseph – cuckold by the Holy Spirit, let us remember – spitefully tells Mary to let the child's father pick her own cherries. At this point in most versions, the infant Jesus, from the womb, speaks to the tree and commands it to lower a branch down to Mary, which it does. Joseph, witnessing this miracle, immediately repents of his harsh words.

I was born in 1962 in what was called ‘a home for naughty girls’, in Blackburn, Lancashire – far away from the curtain-twitching terraced neighbors of my birth mother’s street in south Manchester. I was adopted – yet happily so. But I began life un-planned and unwanted. It was bad birth; and for about a year, doctors though I might be physically damaged and with learning difficulties.

As for my parentage, I was second child, born out of wedlock, and to a mother who would go on to have four children – and all by different men. She kept numbers one and four, and gave away numbers two and three. My birth father was married too – and I am the middle child of his three. His wife (deceased) and two sons had no idea of his extra-marital affair, and the resulting child. I am a Livingstone on his side, and a Rowlands on hers.

So bizarrely, a distant relative of both David Livingstone, the missionary explorer, and Henry Morton Stanley, the Times reporter who found him in Africa. But Stanley was not his real name. He had changed it after the American Civil War, dropping his birth name, Rowlands, for the more distinguished Confederate captain he had served, but who had died in combat. My birth name was David. So yes, I could have been Dr David Livingstone; and also related to the Times reporter who asks ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’.

Some four hundred years ago, the Revd. Thomas Fuller (1608–1661), an Anglican priest, focussed on the fathers in Jesus’ genealogy in a poem:

"Lord, I find the genealogy of my Saviour strangely chequered, with four remarkable changes in four generations.

I see Lord, from hence, That my Father's piety cannot be handed on: That is bad news for me. I see also that actual impiety is not hereditary, That is good news for my son!"

God has many children…but no grandchildren. You can’t inherit your faith through the family line – try as you might. Righteousness is not inherited. God has no grandchildren. That is why I love this poem, I am Joseph, from U A Fanthorpe:

I am Joseph, carpenter,

Of David’s kingly line,

I wanted an heir; discovered

My wife’s son wasn’t mine.

I am an obstinate lover,

Loved Mary for better or worse,

Wouldn’t stop loving when I found

Someone Else came first.

Mine was the likeness I hoped for

When the first-born man-child came.

But nothing of him was me. I couldn’t

Even choose his name.

I am Joseph, who wanted

To teach my own boy how to live.

My lesson for my foster son:

Endure. Love. Give.

Ultimately, we are all adopted by God. That is why our mothering matters so much. Our faith is not acquired by descent, but by nurture. So the link between the Exodus story and the start of Luke’s gospel is, literally, adoption. Mothering those who are not yours; your kith, not just your own kin. Caring for those outside your family; not just those on the inside. Being a mother to the motherless; a father to the fatherless. You can now see the point of our readings, and their implied stress on virtue and sacrifice. This is about us, right here and now.

There is a world of difference between a house, and a home. John’s gospel tells us that Jesus ‘made his home amongst us’; he dwelt ‘with us’. He is Emmanuel. Because God invites us home. That’s why Jesus made his home amongst us; so we might be at home with him. Now he beckons us to do this for others.

That is what today is about. Think of the struggle with Joseph to accept Jesus. And of Moses in the reeds, drawn out of the water. Today is about making home for the alien, the stranger, the orphan and displaced…and realizing they are God’s gift to us. So, today is not mother’s day at all. It is Mothering Sunday – a role, a life and a love we are all called to, no matter where we ourselves have come from. The Lord be with you. Amen

The Church of England and Anglican Communion:

Past, Present, Future[*] Professor Martyn Percy

 At the beginning of the Church of England and wider Anglican Communion stands at a crossroads. Can it be a comprehensive and catholic global church, or is it destined to become a Protestant federation and umbrella organization, mired in divisions over past abuses, sexuality and gender, and other issues?  Now facing seemingly unprecedented challenges we consider the scenarios going forward.

Past: Faith for the Future

There is nothing unique about the premature departure of an Archbishop of Canterbury. Archbishop Welby left office on January 6th 2025, the Feast of the Epiphany, marking the visit of the Magi to see the Christ-child. So, it is perhaps sobering to remember that, like the proverbial wise men, many of his predecessors left office to return home by some other route they had not initially bargained on.

We can date the Church of England from Thomas Cranmer, the first Protestant Archbishop of Canterbury from 1534. One of only two post-reformation officeholders to be relieved of the post, he was burnt at the stake in 1556 during the reign of Mary Tudor for being too Protestant. William Laud was beheaded in 1645, after the defeat of Charles I by the New Model Army for being too Catholic. You can’t win.

However, well before Cranmer, several Archbishops had their appointments vetoed by papal authority, whilst several chosen candidates thought better of it and declined the position. Some had their elections quashed or disputed by the reigning monarch. A couple of candidates died of plague before being consecrated, while another was excommunicated. One fled accused of high treason, and others resigned on being upgraded to the rank of cardinal – a promotion. Thomas Becket was famously assassinated in 1170, and Simon Sudbury was beheaded by an unruly mob during the Peasant’s Revolt of 1381. Once upon a time, untimely death in this office was an occupational hazard.

A personal favourite of mine is Cardinal Reginald Pole, who conveniently died of influenza just a few hours after Mary I had passed away on 17th November 1558. Otherwise, he’d have been executed (for being too Catholic). Earlier in his life, he had almost married Mary I, so he was well-connected and wealthy. But in 1556, he was ordained priest and two days later consecrated bishop to become the Archbishop of Canterbury. The Tudor dynasty really knew a thing or two about how to fast-track their favourites. And get rid of them when they’d served their purpose.

Archbishops of Canterbury are expendable and rarely memorable. Before the reformation, sixteen were canonised. Few will recall these saintly figures. Nowadays an archbishop might get a seat in the House of Lords upon retirement. Well, might. So, with Welby gone and soon to be forgotten, what are the lessons to be learned?

First, this is the only time the officeholder has left due to public pressure and been made to resign. Over 15,000 people signed a petition calling for him to go, and his departure is symptomatic of a public mood that has turned decisively against an unaccountable episcopacy and its ecclesiocracy. If the church resists scrutiny and external regulation, it will repeatedly fail as a credible public body and never be trusted.

Second, the resignation points to a much deeper malaise for the Church of England. This is not so much a church in crisis as a body nearing the end of its natural life. Like all organic bodies, institutions have a lifespan too; death is a normal part of the existential cycle. If there is to be a resurrection – not just endless attempts at resuscitation and rejuvenation – death must be embraced. The Church preaches this. It must live it too.

Third, the Church of England continues to live and flourish locally. All life is there, and that is truly hopeful. However, as a national hierarchical institution and international denomination, it is in an advanced state of decay. Death avoidance only means that the Church of England spends more time in a self-imposed purgatory of painful palliative stasis.

Undoubtedly, the nation (by which I mean England) is now at a turning point in history and culture. In 2034, the Church of England—a national Protestant church that decisively broke from Rome—will be 500 years old. Lambeth Palace has no plans at present to mark this event, as Anglicans are divided on whether this is their quincentenary. Some Anglicans think that the Church of England is a continuing Catholic church.

That is not how the Vatican views this national Protestant denomination founded in Swiss-German Reformed theology. Unable to explain itself, the Church of England hierarchy stays quiet on such issues, doubtless hoping that keeping up appearances (literally, by dressing up like Roman Catholic clergy in everyday attire and liturgical wear) will obfuscate the reality. (NB: The stained-glass window featured on the cover of this book shows how 18th century Episcopalian bishops usually dressed – in black gowns and preaching bands. Readers will note the lack of any modern liturgical accoutrements for the bishops depicted in the window – no pectoral cross, mitre, episcopal ring, purple cassock or dog collars, etc – all of which were vestments originating from Roman Catholicism and not adopted by Episcopalians until well into the 19th and 20th centuries, in the wake of the influence of the Oxford Movement and its variegated culture of ritualism).

One bicentenary that comes to mind falls in a few years too. In 1832, Parliament introduced the Reform Bill designed to level up the status and rights of other denominations. The Bill sought to overturn the Test Act of 1673 which had effectively barred Roman Catholics from holding public office and even attending university. The government had been chipping away at religious discrimination since 1828, with non-conformist denominations being extended some equality measures.

But in 1832, the Church of England stood its ground on privilege, and despite broad religious support for change, bishops in the House of Lords voted against to help defeat the Reform Bill on its first reading. Cue protests and mayhem. The Archbishop of Canterbury was heckled in public, the carriage of the Bishop of Bath and Wells stoned, and a crowd of almost ten thousand turned up to watch an effigy of the Bishop of Carlisle being burned. On the third reading of the Reform Bill, no bishop was found to be in opposition.

The Victorian era marked a sea change in how the public viewed the Church of England. The first census of 1851 found that of the 18 million population of England and Wales, around a quarter were Anglican—only fractionally more than those who identified as non-conformists. Pressure to reform led to the disestablishment of Anglicanism in Ireland (overwhelmingly Roman Catholic) and eventually Wales in the Edwardian period. The changes were slow but inexorable.

Perhaps the most significant shifts were directed towards the entitled, lofty elitism often displayed in the Church of England’s hierarchy.  The USA had acquired its native bishops in 1784 following the defeat of the British in the American War of Independence. Yet, well into the 19th century, Church of England bishops declined to recognise and affirm visiting American clergy, insisting they should be regarded as laypeople since they could not affirm allegiance to the crown. This “religion of class”, as John Henry Newman dubbed it, still believed in Rule Anglicana, and presumed to treat other denominations as inferior species, and even other parts of the Anglican church outside Britain as second-class citizens.

There is now mounting pressure on the Labour government to reform the House of Lords and, with that, address the anomaly of Church of England bishops sitting in the legislative chamber as of right. The Establishment has its stock of old canards to meet such demands. These include all the arguments about Church of England schools, and even occasionally, a conservative commentator might venture that bishops in the House of Lords go back to feudal times.

In truth, the history is more complex. Wales only gained parliamentary representation in 1536, Scotland in 1707, and Ireland in 1801. The anomaly of English bishops sitting in a UK parliament looked even stranger when the Irish and Welsh Anglican bishops were removed in 1869 and 1920, respectively. Scottish Anglican bishops have never been represented in the House of Lords.

Reforms to bishops sitting in the House of Lords are nothing new. The Clergy Act, also known as the Bishops Exclusion Act (effective from 1642), prevented clergy from exercising any temporal jurisdiction or authority. It was repealed in 1661 with the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. In the 21st century, under Charles III, there is no case for privileging English peers in the House of Lords, let alone a tiny group known as ‘Lords Spiritual’ who cannot conceivably represent the interests of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

One can contemplate the lengthy wish list compiled for the next occupant of Lambeth Palace. Many will call for calibration based on high-low, left-right, liberal-conservative calculations. One assumes prayerfulness, wisdom, compassion, pastoral care, depth-inspiring spirituality and theological nous would be taken for granted. Let us hope so.

But I think the one feature needed in the selection process this time will be new: realism. Faith in and for the future rests on that. The Church of England does not need another rallying call for revival. The people's hopes in the pews rest on an authentic and honest candidate who does not deny reality.

The church needs an Archbishop of Canterbury in the future who recognises that less will be more in the future. Cutting back on the hierarchy and top-down management of churches—'heavy pruning’, to borrow a phrase from Jesus’ teaching—might let in some much-needed light and air for local recovery and growth at ground level. Therein lies the hope.

Rather than trying to evade the death of an out-of-touch aloof hierarchical institution, the next Archbishop might embrace the end of the ecclesiastical establishment status theatre that hampers the Church of England in this kingdom. Let it die a natural death; or opt for an assisted end. Only then might the church gain some purchase on that other kingdom, much closer to the one Jesus so often spoke of and practised.

Present: A Law Unto Themselves?

Debates over rules and regulations for religion are hardly new. When Jesus wriggles out of a trick question on tax evasion (“Render to Caesar what is to Caesar, and to God what is God’s” – Mark 12: 17), he acknowledges that there are obligations to God, whilst others pertain to the state.

In short, there is sacred and secular law. But following  W. C. Sellar and R. J. Yeatman (1066 And All That) it does not follow religious law is necessarily a Good Thing. Saint Paul’s Epistle to the Romans (2: 14) delivered a chastening verdict levelled against the pagans. They were apparently “a law unto themselves” and did as they pleased, replete with their own self-justifying codes of practice.

So, to whom are religious bodies accountable? The answer from the church leaders for two millennia has been consistent: God. Yet it has never been that simple.  In the aftermath of the revolutions that swept Europe across the 18th and 19th century, Catholics were left with two competing schools of thought on how the church was to be governed.

Some clung to what eventually became known as Ultramontanism (literally, beyond the mountains). This was a clerical political conception which maintained that the independent powers and prerogatives of the papacy came from beyond but could overrule in secular affairs. That the church was indeed a law unto itself.  Others opted for the Gallican school of thought, which maintained that secular authority – the state or the monarch – could trump Roman Catholic religious law.

English Anglicanism adopted a compromise, upholding the authority of the church in some spheres, whilst also affirming the primacy of common law in others. Many English people regarded this hybrid as a paragon of virtue. But as secularisation began to gain a grip in the 19th century, the Church of England was plunged into internecine legal disputes over ritualism.  

The Oxford Movement and its successors led to the reintroduction of surpliced choirs, candles, incense, bells, vestments and other pre-Reformation practices into ordinary English parish churches. Some reacted with visceral horror to ‘Romish’ influence. Some Church of England priests were actually jailed for ritualism, and there was even an attempt to put the then Bishop of Lincoln, Edward King, behind bars.

On the surface this was a theological war (of sorts). However, the underlying causes of the conflict lay in jurisprudence. Was the Church of England a self-governing self-regulating body, or was it under the law of the land? What quickly became clear was that the secular courts were disinclined make rulings on whether or not a priest or congregation had decided to embrace smells and bells.

The government had to act in the wake of these bitter local disputes. A Royal Commission on Ecclesiastical Discipline was established between 1904-1906. In their final report it recommended that the law on public worship should be devolved and the Church given powers to make such changes.

A revised constitutional settlement in 1919 created the first devolved parliament for the Church of England (then known as the Church Assembly). It was eventually superseded by the General Synod. This should mean that the Church of England was governed under a capacious dome of democracy. Today, however, on governance, safeguarding, equal marriage, gender, sexuality, transparency, and accountability, the Church of England has arrived at an entirely new impasse.

The General Synod of the Church of England ought to be the ecclesial parliament that delivers self-governing and self-regulation. But just as ritualism ripped the church apart over a century ago, General Synod now finds itself mired in disputes it cannot resolve. To make matters worse, its democratic processes have been undermined and depleted by the combined forces of episcopacy and unaccountable ecclesiocrats.  General Synod has shown itself to be incapable of adopting standards of truthful conduct that are otherwise expected of normal public institutions. 

Bishops have been seduced by Ultramontanism. They have adopted the heresy of impeccability and believe that episcopal office and the church are to be without sin. Furthermore, in conflating their identity with God, they are omniscient too. So, they function as though they cannot err, and there is nothing on which they are not expert.

Today’s more Galician public don’t buy this for a second. Standards of justice, HR, safeguarding and accountability in the Church of England are many miles below the most basic protocols operating in the public sphere. The gulf between models for honesty and integrity within the church compared to secular-public bodies has become colossal.

This moment of crisis – an opportunity – has arrived. The Church of England’s hierarchy can continue with their exceptionalism being a law unto themselves. That road leads to disestablishment and more decimating internal disputations.  Alternatively, as national church, it can become a law-abiding, fully transparent and accountable institution as other public bodies are.

At present, the Church of England hierarchy wants to have its cake and eat it. So, run like a quasi-regal and elitist private fiefdom, covering up abuses of power and authority with endless opacity, yet enjoying all the privileges of a public platform. But when a national church no longer meets the bar for basic standards of conduct in public life, the time has come for a new Royal Commission.

The Church of England needs the next Archbishop of Canterbury to lead it out of the self-imposed exile of being a law unto itself and into the responsible freedom of becoming a properly accountable public institution. The church must be subject to fully independent regulation and comply with normal secular law. Only then could it recover itself to serve the English nation as a body fit for purpose in the 21st century.

Future: A Post-Colonial Archbishop of Canterbury?

In a recent article for The Critic (‘More Than Just a Figurehead?’, 14th February 2025), its influential Anglican columnist the Revd. Marcus Walker took aim at the alleged plans to strip the See of Canterbury of its international primatial symbolism. The arguments marshalled by Walker for the global significance – prestige, even – of the seat of St. Augustine rested on a number of very English presumptions that assumed a certain pre-eminence. Awkwardly, rather like British Prime Ministers and American Presidents, there is presupposed to be some “special relationship” between the Pope and the Archbishop of Canterbury that no other denomination enjoys.

Walker is at pains to highlight the various tokens and gifts that successive Popes have bestowed on Archbishops of Canterbury, as though these were expressions of how the papacy really thinks of and esteems the Church of England, rather than the ‘official’ Roman Catholic position, which (uniquely) decreed Anglican claims to holy orders as “utterly null and void” (Pope Leo XIII, ‘Apostolicae Curae’, 1896). Leo XIII was far from being some ecumenical reactionary. His papacy ushered in an era of transparency and democracy in the church. Leo XIII commissioned the first Vatican Council, and made strenuous political strides in promoting trade unions, rights for workers, improving health and social conditions across Europe for the working class, including the establishment of a hospice in the midst of a cholera epidemic. Leo XIII also elevated the Anglican convert John Henry Newman to the status of Cardinal.

Facts tend to get in the way of arguments for esteem. Westminster Cathedral lists Archbishops of Canterbury, but the roster stops at William Warham (1503-32). The Roman Catholic Church does not recognise the presumptive occupants of the See of Saint Augustine after that date, since the Church of England broke away from Rome. The difficulty of English Anglicans talking up the “special relationship” with the papacy is that other denominations and their leaders also get special treatment, and receive warm, filial symbolic tokens connoting degrees of recognition and ecumenical hospitality.

The presumptive nature of English Anglicanism is infused – salted with – a kind of Empire-mythos, which even in the wake of the post-war settlements (i.e., after 1945) assumes that the status of Britian (but really England, in fact) retains some global significance that sets it apart from its near-competitors in Europe. In this Empire-mythos, the Second World War precipitated the weakening of British extensity but left its intensity of influence largely intact. Whilst some case can be made for this outlook, most scholars would see the post-war world in a very different light.

For example, Ashley Jackson and Andrew Stewart carefully note in their Superpower Britain: The 1945 Vision and Why it Failed,[†] that the British thought that the very idea that China might be regarded as an emerging superpower was “poppycock”. Eden, writing in 1942, opined that the American view that China ranked alongside Russia as a superpower was plainly erroneous. Churchill wrote to Eden in even more colourful terms, stating “that China is one of the four great world powers is an absolute farce” and “it is nonsense to talk of China as a great power”. Peter Clarke (The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire, 2007) and John Darwin (The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World System, 1830-1970, 2009) concur that the strategic catastrophe of the Second World War had a devastating impact on Britain, and that any recovery after 1945 only amounted to the briefest remission. It is only with hindsight that this is now grasped; it was not seen at the time.[‡]

Yet as historians of every stripe have shown, the British are still invested in the ongoing life and legacy of the Empire due to other factors. The English language is the ‘new Latin’ of modernity. And in popular culture, as British political and economic fortunes declined, the nation reinvented itself as entertainers to the world. Through James Bond, Agatha Christie, JK Rowling, pop and rock music, film and television, and more recently video gaming, Britain punches above its weight.  But this also masks underlying ongoing decline.[§] 

The British struggle in the post-war period was rooted in the global decline in deference towards the Empire, and shaking off imperialism in favour of national democracy.  Britain found herself – still – casting herself as the mother of modern parliamentary democracy, yet only very begrudgingly setting aside its steady-state imperialism that it still used to rule over its territories, colonies and dominions.

The global Anglican Communion held up a mirror to this polity too. Devolved authority, democracy and independence – yes, of course; but not yet, and only when we give the green light. English Anglicanism, with its inherent class-based elitism, frequently operates with the same presumptions that shaped earlier British Empire-mythos which assumes models of hierarchical and quasi-imperial governance. In turn, and in the episcopacy, this is often quasi-regal, presuming local deference and obedience towards the hierarchy to be superior to democracy and devolution.

As with post-war Britain, the leadership of the Church of England cannot conceive of a global Anglican polity that is not infinitely better off with English Anglicans in charge, and Lambeth Palace central to the future direction of the denomination. Democracy and meritocracy are therefore subordinated to the ongoing culture of deference and elitism. The consequence of this (rather strange) worldview is that many English Anglicans overestimate their significance in Anglican global affairs, and are both puzzled and perturbed when ignored or snubbed by their denominational kith and kin.

The underlying fear for English Anglicans is comparable to those that overshadow the post-war Empire and the end of imperialism. If Britain is no longer a global superpower, then it becomes (again) what it was under Henry VIII. Namely, a nation with some regional leverage, but by no means pre-eminent in wielding power. That would be true for Britain and the English in the 21st century – and it lags behind China, Russia and America, and in Europe, behind Germany and France.

For English Anglicans, the reality is similar. Despite a fondness for talking up the number of Anglican adherents globally to 88 million, it is more likely to be 50–55 million. Numerically and in terms of extensity it is likely that Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists and Lutherans can make comparable or better claims on numerical strength and range than Anglicans. In short, English Anglicanism is no longer a global ecclesial superpower. It is collapsing back into what it began as, namely a European Protestant national church, albeit with some regional denominational strengths. But that is a long, long way off being a global ‘Communion’ (i.e., ‘ecclesial superpower’), in much the same way as the British Empire, or the successor Commonwealth, can no longer exist or rule by imperial decree in a post-war world. And certainly not in the 21st century.

In this, there are many in the Church of England who are adrift of the wider polity in the Anglican Communion. As Peter Clarke records of the British in 1948, most were unable to explain the difference between the Empire and the Commonwealth, and between a colony and a dominion. (The difference is in governance, with a colony under the direct rule of the empire, whereas a dominion has attained a degree of self-governance, whilst yet remaining within the British family ethos). In the same way, most English Anglicans would struggle to differentiate between autonomous provinces of the Anglican Communion, dioceses outside the Church of England that link directly to the Archbishop of Canterbury, extra–provincial areas, churches in full communion with Canterbury but were not in fact Anglican, and so forth.

Clarke goes on to note how many in Britain in 1948 could not contemplate national survival without the Empire for support.[**] I suspect the same pertains to the Church of England. It cannot imagine itself without the wider Anglican Communion, and it cannot conceive of a world in which it does not continue to be primus inter pares. To lose that status will seem unbearable to those who cling to the myth of being an ecclesial superpower. Somehow, to just regress into being a national Protestant church would mean it becoming some very Small Thing. And yet that is exactly what it was in 1534 – the Church of England. That, and that only. Not of Wales, Scotland or Ireland, let alone some international ecclesiastical confection. The Church of England has, like the British Empire, eventually ceded its powers abroad, retired to being at home, and must now turn its attention to its own convoluted internal affairs.

The English Anglican Communion leaves behind an extraordinary global legacy. Moreover, some of those bonds remain powerful and vibrant such as the Mothers Union and continue to shape local and regional initiatives. But like the British Empire of old, and more recently the Commonwealth, the Anglican Communion need not heed the bidding of the Church of England. Those days are over, and the once–upon–a–time pre-eminence of the global Anglican Communion, now just a memory.

So, is the Archbishop of Canterbury more than just a figurehead in the wider world?  Probably not, although the answer may still partly depend on who you ask. But it seems clearer now, more than ever, that the See of Canterbury is no longer pivotal to how Anglican polity thrives or survives in other parts of the world. Devolution and democracy are here to stay. The old order of white-male English, elitist imperialistic deference has passed away. Anglicanism is not an ecclesial superpower, and no number of gifts and gestures from the papacy can occlude that. But what new forms of organisation, federalism and polity that will eventually take the place of this global Anglican Communion are yet to be born.

Conclusion

It is an something of a heavy irony that Safeguarding Sunday in the Church of England fell in the same week that it was announced that the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, resigned over his handling of the abuses perpetrated by John Smyth QC. This is without precedent in the 500 year history of the Church of England.

John Smyth was one of the most prolific sexual abusers in recent Church of England history, yet with substantial evidence of coverups and inaction protecting him at the very highest levels. The report into the abuse was conducted by Keith Makin, and despite being subjected to lengthy delays by lawyers acting for Lambeth Palace, Justin Welby’s position quickly became untenable. The Makin Report was published on November 7th 2024, providing forensic accounts of the failures and coverups, if not systemic corruption in the culture within the ecclesial hierarchy. Welby resigned on November 12th.

Welby’s tenure had failed to create a culture of transparency and accountability in the upper echelons of ecclesial governance. This is the protruding tip of a very large smoldering volcano.  John Smyth QC died in 2018 without ever being brought to justice, and represents “the Church of England’s Jimmy Savile crisis”. Smyth hailed from an impeccable elite public school and upper-class Oxbridge pedigree, and had been a prominent mover and shaker in the conservative evangelical world from the 1970s. That culture had played a large part in forming Justin Welby’s Christian faith, his eventual arch-episcopal governance, and a whole generation of English bishops.

Historians will pick over this ecclesial car-crash in the generations to come. Imperialism and benign superiority is no longer a trusted mode of governance for the vast majority of Anglicans.  Bishops and their senior advisors have no accountability, are aloof and averse to external regulatory oversight. Bishops lecture the rest of the world on democracy and equality, but refuse to be subject to the laws that govern everyone else. Like ancient demi-gods, they invest in omniscient and omnicompetent myth-presumptions, as though by becoming a bishop they acquire sufficient knowledge to lecture the world on anything they hold a view about.

Our times are different. These days, people in the pews expect democratic accountability and transparency. They might consent to being under authority, but only provided it is subject to independent external scrutiny and regulation. Alas, the majority of Anglican bishops would prefer the hot fires of hell to such egalitarian answerability.

Welby’s resignation might be seen as an updated episode of 1776 And All That: no taxation without representation. Why should any punter in the pew fund governance rooted in autocracy with pretentions towards theocracy? Increasingly, the indications are that they won’t put up with authority they did not elect, yet somehow presumes to rule them – and can even tap them for compliant semi-obligatory financial support.

Welby is arguably a representative harbinger of an ecclesial revolution. It has been coming for some while. As the former Labour Party MP Tony Benn (1925-2014) repeatedly asked of those in authority,

“What power have you got? Where did you get it from? In whose interests do you exercise it? To whom are you accountable? And how can we get rid of you?”

If the answer to every one of those questions from the bishops and senior ecclesiocrats is “only God, or maybe the reigning monarch”, then the stage is fully prepped for open revolt by those in the pews.  In many respects, the story of global Anglicanism – not yet 500 years old – is one of Protestant democratic polity vying with regalistic notions of autocracy and theocracy.

The regal model presumes it does not need to give an account of itself or even consult. It just rules and reigns, and when subjected to questions, ignores its people and the media as though they were insolent and unruly serfs. It will spurn democratic accountability and treat congregations as medieval monarchs might once have regarded lowly subjects.

This has not always been an English problem. Let us not forget that Samuel Seabury, the first American Anglican bishop to be consecrated (1784) without the approval of the Church of England, wore a specially made mitre fashioned from beaver-pelt and gold filigree wherever he went, in order to signal his self-proclaimed divine authority over a bemused American citizenry. Seabury believed his cathedral was wherever he happened to be celebrating the eucharist, and he demanded monarchical deference.

Seabury did not believe the laity should have any say at all in the governance of the church, and his diocese, Connecticut, did not change that until later in the 20th century. Seabury’s lofty regal outlook matched his pro-slavery and high Tory leanings.

Yet these views have not prevailed. American Episcopalians are assiduously pro-democratic, and their ecclesial polity is progressively Protestant, albeit with some catholic accents. That spells the end for English Anglican imperialism at home and abroad. Its time is up, and the resignation of the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury demonstrated that the public have little patience with an institution that does not practice what it preaches. If democracy, equality and accountability is good for the rest of the world, then English Anglicanism will need to model that too. 

Until it does, dismissal by the public and decline will continue. To paraphrase Ernest Hemingway, bankruptcy happens in two ways: first very slowly, then all of sudden. Leading the Church of England from hereon will be like trying to ascend the proverbial glass cliff.  Falling further and faster is the most likely result. But clinging on for dear life is hardly an option. The only future left for Anglicanism lies at ground level. The leadership needs to climb down, and as fast as possible.

The issue is simple. Any power imbalance always creates the space for power abuse. Bishops and their courtiers, advisors and senior ecclesiocrats expect to rule and reign.  Safeguarding in the Church of England is overseen by mercurial, unaccountable, unlicensed, non-transparent and unregulated officers. Every bishop refuses to level the playing field by balancing power, and becoming subject to independent external professional regulation and oversight.

The result is inevitable. Nothing in such a safeguarding system can ever be safe. It is wide open to abuse, incompetence and coverups. All the evidence for that is lengthy and legion. But bishops and their officers will still not cede their power. So they cannot and will not be trusted.  In the meantime, we remain at the mercy of episcopal hubris. But more importantly, we are at the mercy and judgment seat of God.

As the gospel has it, “heaven and earth will pass away”, as will the church and its governance. Only God’s word is eternal. Nobody knows the day or the hour of judgment. These are but birth pangs; the beginning of some new creation. Who knows where this all leads…

[*] See Martyn Percy, ‘Credo’, The Times, January and April 2025 and The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism: Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England, London: Hurst Publishing, 2025.

[†] Ashley Jackson and Andrew Stewart, Superpower Britain: The 1945 Vision and Why it Failed, Oxford: OUP, 2025, pp. 214-15.

[‡] Peter Clarke, The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire, London: Allen Lane, 2007; and John Darwin (The Empire Project: The Rise and Fall of the British World System, 1830-1970, Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2009.

[§] Dominic Sandbrook, The Great British Dream Factory:  The Strange History of our National Imagination, London: Allen Lane, 2015.

[**] Peter Clarke, The Last Thousand Days of the British Empire, London: Allen Lane, 2007, p. 506.

Sermon

Third Sunday in Lent

Sunday 23rd March

“Balaam and the Donkey”

In 2024 my wife and went on holiday to Uzbekistan

Indeed, “we made the journey to Samarkand” and, in the course of our travels, we came across the beautiful city of Bukhara

Bukhara has many wonderful sights but is also home to a famous statue

Not of a great ruler or indeed a great general but instead of a “fool” by the name of Kohja Efendi

I would be surprised if anyone had heard of him here this morning

Because the story of Kohja Efendi was only unearthed by a Soviet writer called Leonid Solovyov in 1942

But his statue has him riding on a donkey rather than a horse

His seemingly asinine behavior, as a fool, reflected by his mount

But Kohja Efendi’s is honored, not because he was a fool, but because, as a fool, he spoke truth to power

Kohja Efendi was a central Asian version of “the fool” that we have in our Western culture

The fool goes back to Roman times – where in Plato’s Republic we are introduced to the “ship of fools”

But the fool is most prominent in the works of William Shakespeare and appears in no less than seventeen of his plays

Harking back to my days at school, I remember the fool in King Lear which was one of our set texts

In King Lear, the fool acts as both a companion and comforter to the King

But, above all, he is fearless in speaking the truth to power

In pointing out to the King that his decisions will prove disastrous

And indeed he is right

However, despite all the kings’ failings,

The fool accompanies him on his journey through madness until his death

In our Old Testament reading this morning we chance upon a tale which, in my view, is a precursor of the Western tradition of the fool

It is one of the most bizarre episodes in the Bible/ and involves a donkey/ and its owner Balaam

The story is hard to follow, particularly as we only get a snapshot in our reading

But the story goes roughly as follows…

The Israelites were nearing the end of their time in the wilderness

Moses was still alive but the Israelites had not yet reached the promised land

And in order to do so, they had to defeat some of their enemies, including the Moabites

Who, in turn, thought that the Israelites would defeat them

In desperation, the King of the Moabites tried to invoke the services of a prophet called Balaam

Whom he thought could usefully put a curse on his enemies

He sent a delegation to Balaam to try to win him over with money

But Balaam refused the bribe, and instead spent the night in prayer where God told him not to co-operate

But when Balaam refused the Kings offer, the King came back with an even higher offer

And this time Balaam gave in

It is on his journey to go and curse the Israelites, that the bizarre episode we heard about this morning takes place

As they are travelling on the road, an angel stops them in their tracks - but only the donkey can see the angel

Balaam then beats the donkey in his frustration, but the angel still stands in his way

The donkey then lies down on the ground causing Balaam to claim that he is mocking him

At this display of arrogance, the donkey then miraculously speaks, saying

“Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?”

As a result of the donkey speaking the truth to power

God opens Balaam’s eyes, and he too sees that the way ahead is blocked by an angel

Causing him to fall on his face in reverence

So what are we to make of this bizarre Biblical passage this morning?

On one level, it is about being obedient to God

Balaam sought God’s view on whether he should go and curse the Israelites and was told very firmly No

At this point, the story is an abject lesson in not giving way to temptation

Because, although Balaam professes obedience to God, greed got in the way

And, as a result, he was, literally, brought crashing down to earth

It is a reminder to us all, how temptation can cloud our judgement even when we know what is right and what is wrong

However, despite these lessons, I think it is the donkey which is pivotal to this story

For despite the wisdom of Balaam and his prestige as a prophet

And it is only the donkey, the ass, who points out to Balaam the error of his ways

Put another way, it is only the “fool” so to speak, who can speak truth to power

In this regard, the story stands in a long Judeao/Christian tradition and is not dissimilar to Kohja Efendi whom I encountered in Uzbekistan

But this peculiar story also reminds us that, in less than a month, we will encounter another donkey

This time on Palm Sunday conveying our Lord into Jerusalem

Jesus is no a vainglorious fool like Balaam, but is instead the Son of God

Who is “The way, the truth and the light”

But God conveys this message of truth once again using a donkey

St Paul said in his letter to the Corinthians, (1: 27) “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise”

And he is right, because on this coming Palm Sunday

We are fools for not listening to the message conveyed by a donkey

We are fools for putting Christ to death on the cross

And we are the ones like Balaam, who will eventually see the error of our ways

And fall down in reverence

Second Sunday in Lent

16th March 2025

Joseph of Nazareth

In a couple of weeks’ time, we will be celebrating Mothering Sunday

It is a lovely service, in which Mother’s, and all they do for their children, are remembered and honored both in Church and at home

However, although we have a celebration of mothers in the Church

I have to ask, what about fathers? Do we get a day to ourselves?

The answer of course, is no

But this coming week, on Wednesday, we celebrate the Feast of Joseph of Nazareth

it is often overlooked that St Joseph has an important role in the life of the Church

He is venerated as a Saint in both the Catholic and Anglican traditions

And, in the Catholic Church, the month of March is dedicated to him

Indeed, Pope Pius IX declared St Joseph to be both the patron and protector of the Catholic Church

Yet despite this prominence, Joseph of Nazareth is a little-known figure in the Bible

Unlike his wife, Mary, he disappears soon after Jesus’ childhood

In Luke’s Gospel, we learn that Jesus’s parents went to the temple in Jerusalem

Luke tells us that Jesus was just twelve years old at the time

And that Jesus goes missing on the way home

However, it is not so much that Jesus goes missing, but rather Joseph who goes missing in action

Because we never hear from him again

By contrast, we know that Jesus’ mother was never far away

She is with Jesus at the wedding feast, at the foot of the cross and the empty tomb

But where is Joseph?

And what part did he play in Jesus’ life thereafter?

But there is also another curiosity about Joseph and his life which has rather intrigued me?

We know from the Bible that Joseph was a carpenter

Indeed, I saw a lovely painting the other day by pre-Raphaelite painter John Everett Millais

It was called “Jesus at the House of his Parents” where Jesus is depicted beside his father’s carpentry bench

It is a wonderful romantic image

And it is not unreasonable to assume that Joseph passed some of this skill onto his son

Indeed, the hymn “Lord of all hopefulness” has the wonderfully evocative line about Jesus stating

“his strong arms were skilled at the plane and the lathe”

But despite this observation, I can find no evidence to support this

Not once does Jesus refer to anything to do with carpentry

Not a saw, not a joint, nor a lathe

It’s as if carpentry never touched his life at all

By contrast however, Jesus’ is constantly making reference to farming

To sheep, shepherding and to the cultivation and tending of crops

Did Jesus really learn from the hand of his carpenter father?

Or was he sent out to work early as an agricultural laborer as his parables suggest?

Once again, the truth is hard to discern

So what do we know about Joseph?

And what might we be able to say about his life with certainty this coming week?

First of all, we know that Joseph was the step-father of Jesus

Obviously not his father, as Jesus was conceived by the Holy Ghost

But a surrogate Father instead

Put simply, Joseph adopts Jesus as his own

Jesus is his adopted son and this is, perhaps, is a model we can both praise and emulate

Joseph showsthe love and acceptance that would be shown by any father - natural or otherwise

Proving, perhaps, that fathering can transcend the familial?

But secondly, Joseph demonstrates some further noble human qualities

We are all familiar with the Christmas story of Mary being with child

But rarely do we stop and think what this must have been like for Joseph?

Not only does he find out that he is not Jesus’ father but goodness knows what he thinks of Mary’s explanation too?

But nevertheless, Joseph is, seemingly, able to put mother and child before his reputation

As the theologian Martyn Percy said

“He is a model of adoption, embodying the triumph of grace, where nurture is placed before nature, father to a child that is not his kin”

This is a very tall order for any man and, once again, Joseph meets this challenge with both grace and dignity

An example to us all

And so, returning to his Feast Day which we celebrate on Wednesday

For a man we know very little about and whose life is still shrouded in mystery

So perhaps we need to imagine what he was like instead?

We are now in the season of Lent

When we remember Jesus in the wilderness and are also looking forward to Holy Week and beyond

And I thought I would leave you with a poem by the poet and screen writer Gareth Jones

Who imagines Joseph continuing to care for his son for the rest of his life

I lost you in the crowds, Small, slow, already gone.

I lost you in the hills, Sea, towns, not really lost; found

I lost you in the desert, forty days and nights searching:

Until I found you, brought you home, my son.

Once I lost you in the Temple, my tiny marvellous boy,

full of games and stories

Yesterday, I lost you to the air

Raised up. Knowing: I cannot bear the horror of my love

First Sunday of Lent

Sunday 9th March 2025

“Into the Silent Land”

When I was a school chaplain, we held a Eucharist every Friday night at 9.15pm

For most of the year, the chapel was bathed in darkness and candles were lit all the way up the aisle

It was a very beautiful setting

As it was a school, there was no legal requirement to follow services “authorised by canon”

And a chaplain, many years previously, had put together a rather lovely service which began with the words

“Come and spend some time amidst the anonymity and peace of the Eucharist”

It is a lovely thought, but it is hard for a priest to find “anonymity and peace” as we are normally taking the service

But if the choice is mine alone, I always pick a service where I can find some solitude

It is a form of self-chosen exile from the busyness of the world

One of my enduring criticisms of being a school chaplain, was what the monk and theologian, Thomas Merton described as “the violence of busyness”

There was so much going on in a school that one was constantly “busy”

From an early start in the morning, flat out all day and then collapse into bed at night

But the same could be said of many of us today – where we too are always “busy”

This was something that changed for many of us during COVID when that “busyness” was briefly abated

I preached a sermon at the time about people allowing their souls to catch up with their bodies

And I was amazed by how many people came up to me afterwards and thanked me, recognizing this blighting of their own lives – and for what?

The psalmist said “be still and know God” but how many of us ever find that stillness?

I had a chance to test this out at Theological College, where we had to spend a whole day in silence

We rose in silence, breakfasted in silence, spent the morning in our rooms or walking the college grounds, in silence

I even spent an hour or so in a deckchair overlooking the rolling Oxfordshire countryside

It sounds idyllic

But in fact it is incredibly hard because our minds are so full of stuff

Only when you are “silent” do you realise how much is going on in your head

How much noise there is and how little room there is for God

How our whole lives are full of distractions – people, phones, computers, television, radio, commitments and responsibilities etc

But this desire for solitude has been part of my spirituality since I was a boy

I was brought up on the side of a farm in a village in North Yorkshire

We had access to the farm at all times and I used to love to walk, alone, in the countryside

I knew every hedgerow, rabbit hole, roost and lie

The solitude was an integral part of my spirituality

It was the solitude, amidst God’s creation, which helped me to find God and walk with him

I found school hard in this regard, living cheek by jowl with my fellow men

The first thing that I did on my return home was to escape – deep into the countryside

The last thing I did before I went back to school, was to go deep into the countryside again

The Welsh poet and priest, RS Thomas put it like this in his poem “The moor”

It was like a Church to me

I entered it on soft foot

Breath held like a cap in the hand

It was quiet

What God was there made himself felt

Not listened to, in clean colours

That brought a moistening of the eye

[But] In movement of the wind over grass

But somehow this silent world of my youth dwindled

The older I got, the more I became caught up in cares and responsibilities of our earthly world.

Work, marriage, children, controversy and the death of my parents

Heaped more and more responsibility upon me – more to look after, more to tend, more to distract

One theological commentator put it like this

“Our lives are rather like that of a deep-sea fisherman who was fishing for minnows while standing on a whale

The minnows are the cares and distractions of our daily lives

The whale of course, is God, who we don’t even recognise in our distractions”

As you may know, this is the first Sunday of Lent

When Christ found himself in a form of exile in the wilderness – in what has been termed “the silent land”

Christ’s time in the desert is marked by a period of self-examination and penitence

When he was able to re-order his life

And put his earthly desires behind him, in preparation for his ministry which lay ahead

So in this period of Lent, which came upon us this week, let us think about silence

Let us, like Christ, enter into the wilderness, the silent land.

St John Climacus said

“The friend of silence comes close to God”

The German Mystic and theologian, Meister Eckhardt put it this way

“The noblest attainment in life is to be silent and let God work and speak within”

Sermon for Ash Wednesday 2025

Today is Ash Wednesday

It is the beginning of Lent which is a penitential season in the Church

In the Bible and in the Medieval Church, covering one’s head with ashes was considered a sign of repentance, sorrow and mourning

Quite literally we mark the start of Lent and we do so with ashes

To show that, we too, are entering a period of repentance, sorrowing and mourning

The forty days of Lent, of course, also reflect Christ’s sojourn in the wilderness

And we try and recreate the privations and temptations by/artificially/ giving something up.

I am sure that some of you will have already resolved not to eat chocolate, drink tea or wine etc

But before you embark on these Lenten “disciplines”, I thought it is worth reminding ourselves that:

To give up chocolate – does not remind us of hunger

To give alcohol – does not remind us of thirst

And whilst it is good to be daily reminded of the privations of our Lord

If we are not careful, Lent can become a parlour game - when it should be a time for serious reflection and action

What then should we be focussing on?

First of all, before we start anything, we all need to remember that Lent is real, in the sense that

If you have not yet been driven into the wilderness in your life you almost certainly will be

I suspect that most of us however will have already experienced that barren place and can recall what it is like

Metaphorically, it is like a night on a dark mountain and we are all alone, in a silent land

The theologian Father Martin Laird remarked in his book “Into the Silent Land”

“I believe that in this turmoil, grace is working gently, if painfully, in the unconscious… inviting our true selves, to emerge from the womb into fullness of life. Quite often the whole process of crisis is nothing less than a mystical experience of death and resurrection to a new life which is filled with true joy”

He went on “It is unfortunate that our anxiety… blinds us to the forces of liberation at work”

But the irony of being in the wilderness, in “the silent land”, is that our prayer life so often begins to flourish

In times of plenty, we often pay lip service to prayer

But when adversity strikes then, paradoxically, prayer seems to find its rightful place

The Desert Fathers said of prayer that “there is no labour greater than praying to God”

Such discipline in prayer is often forced upon us when we are/ genuinely/ in the wilderness

And we should continue that struggle in Lent as we reflect on our own mortality too

Thirdly, I suggest we should reflect on our material goods and our relationship to wealth

When I was a boy, we had a family doctor who retired and bought a small holding in the Yorkshire Dales

I went with my mother to see him towards the end his life

As we were leaving after tea, I remember commenting on a lovely walking stick he had by the porch

To my surprise he gave it to me

As a man close to death, he insisted that I should keep it

In other words, mortality brings a proper perspective to such things

When put alongside our mortality

We could all probably show much more generosity of wealth and spirit

And Lent should be the time when we do so

Finally, perhaps we should all be focussing on social justice instead?

God spoke through the prophet Isaiah who said in the Old Testament

“The kind of fasting I have chosen: [is] to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, …to share your food with the hungry provide the poor wanderer with shelter— when you see the naked, to clothe them, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

The cry for social justice is at the heart of the Gospel message

And perhaps should be at the heart of yours for Lent?

I would therefore invite you on this Ash Wednesday

To focus on prayer rather than privations

To focus on generosity rather than wealth

And, above all, seek social justice

As Isaiah says – if we approach periods of penitence -properly

Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Amen

The Paradox of Repentance

Lord…

Thou hast brought me to the valley

Where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights

Hemmed in by the mountains of sin I see thy glory

Let me learn by paradox…

That the way down is the way up

That to be low is to be high

That the broken heart is the healed heart

That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit

That the repenting soul is the victorious soul

That to have nothing is to possess all

That to bear the cross is to wear the crown

That to give is to receive

Let me find…

Thy light in my darkness

The joy in my sorrow

The grace in my sin

The riches in my poverty

The life in my death

In no one else but thy Son, my Saviour, Jesus Christ Amen

Sunday 2nd March 2025

Quinquagesima

“Dewi Sant”

Late last year I was invited to a dinner at the Army and Navy Club

It was the annual dinner of the Royal Welch Fusiliers, a Regiment with whom I had served with as a young lieutenant in 1992

They were a most hospitable and welcoming Regiment

And back in 1992, I was fortunate enough to be with the Regiment for St David’s Day

Which, as you almost certainly know, falls on the 1st March

On St David’s Day itself, rum and tea were served to the men in the Company lines

Which was then followed by a muster parade and various sporting events during the day

The day culminated in a St David’s Day dinner in the mess in the evening

I have never been to anything like it

The officers wore leaks on their mess kit and a goat was paraded round the room

All the subalterns had to drink from the loving cup whilst standing on the table

And then tip up the cup over their head to prove everything had been drunk

Wonderful days - which I enjoyed it very much indeed

Alas, gone all too soon, like my youth

But to my shame, I suppose

I did not give much thought about St David himself in all these celebrations

Who was he?

What did he do with his life?

Why is he the Patron Saint of Wales?

And what might St David have to say to us today in these modern times?

All these questions remained unasked and unanswered

Until I sat down to think about this sermon earlier this week

Who was he?

St David was born in approximately 520AD, according to tradition, on a cliff top during a fierce storm

He had impeccable Welsh credentials

Being the son of Sandde, Prince of Powys and Non daughter of a Wesh Chieftan

David grew up wanting to be a priest, and was educated at the monastery of Hen Fynyw under the tutorage of St. Paulinus.

According to legend, David performed several miracles during his life

Most famously, during a battle against the Saxons, David advised the soldiers to wear leeks in their hats

Which is supposed to have brought them victory Ands why the leek is one of the emblems of Wales today

Sometimes, as a self-imposed penance, it is said he would stand up to his neck in a river of cold-water reciting Scripture!

Today he might be called a wild swimmer?

What did he do?

After he was ordained as a priest, David became a missionary who went on to found various religious establishments He founded 12 monasteries - including Glastonbury and St. Davids

He also established a very strict monastic order

Where the brothers had to live on a diet of bread and water

No personal possessions were allowed: even to say "my book" was considered an offence.

He was appointed Archbishop of Wales at the Synod of Brevi and died on the 1st March 589AD

He was canonised in 1120 at the same time being declared the Patron Saint of Wales

Such was Davids influence that many pilgrimages were made to the city of St. David’s thereafter

The Pope decreed that, two pilgrimages made to St. Davids, equalled one to Rome

While three pilgrimages to St David were worth one to Jerusalem!

But whilst it is interesting to learn something about St David’s life,

What might he have to say to us today?

The most important gift that St David is considered to have given to the Western world was his “holiness”

His sense of vocation to the Church - from the earliest age - his missionary work, his founding of monasteries and churches and his aesthetic lifestyle

Are all regarded as evidence of a “holy” man

But what is the essence of holiness?

Holiness is enormously difficult to define

But Christian spirituality regards holiness as the gradual ascent towards union with God

Eventually being united with God himself

The former archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, himself a Welshman, wrote this about the holiness of St David

“St David speaks to us as a stranger, a divine exhilarating, terrifying stranger. His is a word from beyond…it’s a gift, it’s a surprise and our possibilities for love, forgiveness, mercy and reconciliation are more than we ever imagined”

So returning to despite my revelry as a young man

In the midst of all the celebrations, the wine, the goat, the leeks and high living

I should have turned my mind to higher things but perhaps I was not yet ready

As St Augustine said, “Lord make me good…but not just yet”

But despite my failings as a young man, let us all give thanks for St David this weekend

Whose words and actions somehow spoke to that which is deepest within us all

And I leave you today with his final words

Which came from the sermon he gave on the last Sunday of his life

Where he said

'Be joyful, keep the faith, and do the little things that you have heard and seen me do.'

Sermon

Sunday 23rd February 2025

Second Sunday before Lent

“If you see George Herbert”

This week the Church of England remembers one of its great priests namely George Herbert

He was born in 1593 into an aristocratic family and had a glittering early career

Cambridge then fellow of Trinity College

And, after becoming a Public Orator, he then became a MP at the age of twenty-five and was destined for a distinguished life at court

However, he eschewed high office and was, instead, ordained

First a deacon in 1626, then priested in 1630 before being given the cure of souls of the parish of Bemerton just outside Salisbury

He died on the 27th February 1633

George Herbert left a great literary and clerical legacy

Reminding us to give thanks to God “seven whole days, not one in seven”

A collection of poems was published after his death entitled “The Temple”

And some of his work was set to music and is found in our hymns today such

· The King of Love, my shepherd is

· Teach me my God and King

· Let all the world in every corner sing

His only work of prose was “The Country Parson, His character and the Rule of Holy Life”

He described it as "a mark to aim at", and the book has remained influential to this day

He is remembered for living up to the ideal in his book

Unfailing care for his parishioners, preaching dutifully, administering the sacraments and providing food and clothing for those in need

As his biography notes “he never neglected the cure of souls” and “encouraged attendance at daily prayer”

The poet Henry Vaughan called him "a most glorious saint and seer"

The very model of pastoral and rural ministry

This reference to the, saintly, George Herbert seems wonderfully attune with the reading this morning

Namely, the Parable of the Sower

At the end of last year, I went to the Van Gogh exhibition at the National Gallery

Where I was treated to a feast of his wonderful paintings

With their bold colours and striking brush strokes

One of the paintings on display was called the Sower

The Parable of the Sower was clearly of particular interest to Van Gogh who painted no less than thirty paintings on the same theme

It is not clear why he was so fixated on this theme save for the fact that he was the son of a minister

And indeed, briefly trained for the ministry itself

But as with so many of Van Gogh’s paintings, it was the colours which shone through

In this case the glorious colours of yellow and purple

The bright yellow sun looked like a halo, which, in turn, turning the Sower into a saint

The Sower, of course, could be either God himself scattering his Word of life

Or a Minister spreading the Good News of the Gospel in the world

Whoever it is meant to be, it is in the tradition of George Herbert as it presents ministry as a rural idyll

This is not the only example of such imagery, indeed, the Bible is full of such references

The psalmist says that “The Lord is my shepherd ”and asks us to sit down in pastures green

In the New Testament, Jesus is portrayed as the Good Shepherd

Most vividly depicted in the Parable of the Lost sheep where Jesus is often portrayed as carrying a lamb around his neck

This saintly image was reinforced further by Charles Wesley

Who wrote the well-known lines “Gentle Jesus meek and mild”

But it is very easy to get carried away with this imagery which we fondly believe epitomises both Jesus and priest alike

But the sad thing is it is not true

We are currently preparing ourselves for Lent and at the end of this season, Jesus will be dead

A while ago, I read an excellent book called “If you see George Herbert in the road, kill him”

It is written by an Anglican priest by the name of Justin Lewis Anthony

The central premise of the book is that George Herbert has given the clergy and the church an unrealistic model of ministry

There is no doubt that George Herbert ministered faithfully to his flock and is seen as an exemplar of ministry

However, as Lewis Anthony points out, by 1632 Herbert was obliged to employ a curate on account of his worsening health

He died in 1633, having been a parish priest for two and a half years - less time than a modern-day curacy

As Anthony puts it “a parochial theorist rather than a practitioner… his priesthood is in his poetry rather than in reality”

But Anthony goes on to explore the enormous pressure placed on the clergy as a result of the romantic notion of parish ministry

Trying to analyse the multiplicity of task that are placed on ministry he concludes

“Clergy cannot find affirmation in completing a task because the task of the Good Shepherd can never be completed”

He quoted a priest who remarked of the “utterly impossible task with which he was confronted”

The priest went on to say “The parish will quite literally kill me”

These are brutally honest and insightful comments by priests who are prepared to be honest and confront the realities of ministry

I don’t quote them as an excuse or some sort of disguised plea

But I bring them to your attention to provide an insight into the world that Christ was living and in which those who live vicariously also choose to dwell

In this preparation for Lent

It is worth reminding ourselves that to spread the word of God is a wonderful aspiration

But it can also contain the seeds of your own destruction

As it did for our Lord Jesus Christ

Sermon for Septuagesima Sunday 16th February 2025

(Genesis 1: 1-5; Matthew 20: 1-16)

God’s Parable of Grace and the Labourers of the Vineyard.

May I speak in the name of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

As you may have already seen in the weekly sheet, this Sunday is known as Septuagesima in the liturgy of the Book of Common Prayer. And I have to confess I had to consult my liturgical reference books just to remind myself of its meaning and significance, basically because it has now been discarded by most Western Churches.

It actually marked the beginning of a season of preparation – for the forth coming season of preparation known as Lent, which was in itself a preparation for Easter. And it was felt, probably rightly so, that this extra season of spiritual preparation kind of watered down the significance and arrival of Lent. So it was discarded.

But it did embrace all the spiritual disciplines of Lent; prayer, meditation, self-denial and service to others.

And the disciplines of the Christian life are what I am going to explore this morning, and how we can more fully understand them through the bible readings that we have heard this morning.

But fundamental to all of this, is an understanding and appreciation of what we know as God’s grace.

Grace, is God’s unconditional love for you.

Grace is Jesus turning to the sinful woman and saying ‘Neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more’ when she could have been stoned.

Grace is the Father of the Prodigal Son embracing his wayward boy while the faithful older son becomes resentful – a situation highlighted in today’s parable which I shall look at in a moment. Grace is Jesus turning to the thief on the cross and saying: Today you will be with me in Paradise; when there was no time to be baptized or join a Church.

Grace is Jesus dying on the cross for you as if you were the only person in the world. Grace is God’s smile to us all, God’s favor, God’s undeserved and unconditional love for everyone. And grace is what makes Christianity unique among the religions of the world.

But Jesus did NOT reckon God’s grace to be cheap, or easy. It comes at a cost. For us, it comes with a demand to change our ways and sin no more. But above all, it is costly

because it cost God the life of his Son. St Paul reminds us all in 1 Corinthians: ‘You were bought at a price’.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German priest and theologian who was murdered by the Nazis in World War 2, in his book ‘The Cost of Discipleship’, makes a distinction between cheap and costly grace.

According to Bonoeffer: ‘Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church guidance, communion without confession, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus the Christ.

In contrast, costly grace confronts us as a gracious call to follow Jesus. It compels us to submit to the yoke of Christ as our leader. It is costly because it condemns sin, and graceful because it justifies the sinner.

And we always need to make a distinction between sin and the sinner. God welcomes into his Kingdom all who repent of their sins but he will never welcome sin. And it is, of course, the Bible that teaches us what is sinful and what is not.

I’m afraid that those of us who have only thought of Jesus as our friend and comforter, need to remember that he is also our judge, the one to whom we are ultimately accountable. In the letter to the Hebrews it says: ‘And it is appointed for all to die once, but after this the judgment’ (9: 27). ‘For we shall all stand before the judgement seat of Christ’ (Romans 14: 10).

For many people this doesn’t sound particularly attractive or pleasant. And I think I can confidently predict that for many people it will not be particularly pleasant.

But of course the Good News, the great news for Christians, is that as faithful followers of Jesus Christ our sins have already been dealt with on the cross at Calvery. For this reason, on the day of judgement we shall in fact be declared righteous, not because of what WE have done, but because the righteous Christ has already taken upon himself the punishment for our sins through his sacrifice on the cross.

Jesus has fully satisfied the father on our behalf. Our apparent failures will make no difference to our standing before God. He loves us not because of what we do or have done, but because we’re in his Son: ‘I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me’ to quote St Paul (Galatians 2:20). Christ has freed us, so live in that freedom giving Him thanks and praise each and every day, it is the least He deserves, and don’t let anyone rob you of your complete security in Him.

Now, at first, our two readings this morning may seem unrelated, but together they reveal a beautiful harmony about God’s creative work, about His sovereign grace, and His invitation to all people to participate in His kingdom.

From our first reading, Genesis sets the tone for the whole story of Scripture. God is the Creator who brings life, order, and meaning into the world. He is also Master of the vineyard, calling all creation into existence and giving it purpose. Just as He brought light into the darkness at the beginning of time, so He brings His grace into the chaos of our lives, calling us to His vineyard and share in the light of His kingdom.

The Parable of the Laborers reflects the generosity and sovereignty of God. The vineyard is a symbol of God’s kingdom, where He invites all people to participate and share in His joy. His call to the laborers at different hours of the day mirrors the inclusivity of God’s grace.

And like the light in Genesis 1, God’s grace shines on all equally, regardless of who they are or when they are called. The laborers hired at the eleventh hour receive exactly the same reward as those hired in the morning. And to us, this may seem unfair. But this is not a statement about fairness by human standards but a revelation of God’s boundless mercy.

And we need to ask ourselves: Are we like the early laborers who grumble because they compare their reward to others? Who believe it unfair that someone whom they regard as less deserving receives the same reward? Or do we, like the latecomers, approach God with awe and gratitude, knowing we have received far more than we deserve?

Well, the message is clear: our salvation is not earned by the length or intensity of our labor but is a gracious gift from God.

St Paul reminds us in his letter to the Ephesians: ‘It is by grace that you have been saved, not by your works’. Our good works are a result of our faith, not the cause of our salvation.

This truth humbles us as we prepare for Lent, calling us to prayerfully examine our hearts and our response to God’s grace with repentance, humility and service.

So, as we reflect on these truths, let us continue the journey set before us with thanksgiving, knowing that the God who began the work of creation will bring it to completion in the heavenly Kingdom, through the loving grace of God our Father, where all the faithful will be welcome.

Amen.

Funeral

Betty Flather

14th February 2025

“St Valentine’s Day”

We meet together today to say farewell and give thanks for the life of Betty [Flather]

Wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother

By her own account, she has had a wonderful life and has been very blessed

Living for just over ninety-six years

The psalmist says

“The days of our years are threescore years and ten;

But Betty was blessed with fourscore years and sixteen and has had her fair share of joy and sorrow in that time

Being blessed with a lovely family and a very comfortable life

Whilst at the same time, like all of us, having to endure loss as well

With the death of her husband Jack in 2000 and of her son Chris in 2020

Anthony has paid tribute to Betty’s indomitable character

Something which I discovered when I went to visit Betty just before Christmas

We had a lovely half hour together in her room at Abbeydale

Where she made some wonderfully penetrating observations about what heaven might be like

And how many souls might already be there?

But I then asked her what she was planning to do for Christmas

To which she replied promptly and directly, “I hope to be dead”

It showed such resilience and courage, not least as she knew her life was ebbing away

“Just feel my wrists” she said, “they’re just skin and bones”

She showed such great spirit that it uplifted me

I ended my visit by asking her if she would like to be blessed

And I put my hand on her head and blessed her so that was ready to meet God face to face

I am conscious that today is very special

Not just because we meet here together to say farewell to Betty - which is special in itself

But also because this service takes place on Valentines’ Day –

Which makes it a day we are all likely to remember

even if we have forgotten our spouses…

St Valentine was a Saint who lived in Rome in the third century AD

He is thought to have been a priest or even a bishop during the reign of the Emperor Claudius

But is celebrated one thousand seven hundred years later as a Patron Saint of love

Quite as to why St Valentine is celebrated as the Patron Saint of love is not clear

But there are a number of theories

First and foremost, he is associated with secretly performing weddings for Christians

Enabling them to escape conscription into the Roman Army

It is said that Valentine gave the Christian couples hearts, cut out of parchment, to remind them of their marriage vows and God’s love for them

Another story goes that, whilst in prison Valentine is supposed to have written to the jailers’ daughter signed with the words

“from your Valentine”

Which appears in our own cards today

Finally, it is suggested that Valentine’s Day is associated with romantic love because it was believed that birds paired in mid-February

Whatever the true origin, this day has been celebrated for close on two thousand years

But as well as being an auspicious day, St Valentine also speaks to this Memorial Service

Because today is also about love

It is about the love for Betty shown by her family, not least her son Anthony

Who has arranged this memorial service out of love of his mother

Knowing that this was her dying wish

And we celebrate that love today

It is also about the love of the rest of the family,

Extended family and friends

Who have come here today to express their love at this memorial service

But it also wider than that

Because today is also about love that Betty had for husband Tony, with whom she is re-united today

And also her love for her son AC who will join them in that celebration

But finally, the service is also about the love of God

The love that God showed to Betty during her lifetime

And the love returned by Betty herself

Who remained a faithful disciple to the very end of her life

But, above all, the love that God showed to us all through his Son Jesus Christ

Who lived as an example to us all and will now take Betty to God’s heavenly home

As St John put it

“ In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places…I will come again and will take you myself, so that where I am, you may be also.

In the name etc

Sermon

Fifth Sunday after Epiphany

Sunday 9th February

“The wheat and the tares”

A couple of years ago, we took a lovely holiday to Montenegro

I remember it well, not least because it was the first time my wife and I had been on holiday together for some time

But it was also the first time that I had my Irish passport whilst my wife was stuck with her UK passport

I had visions of sailing through borders, at speed, whilst she was delayed in the slow lane

“I will see you by the pool later darling”

But whilst we were passing into the departure lounge, I noticed an intriguing fact

That all the border guards appeared to be first-or-second generation immigrants

I don’t mind in the slightest – as you know, I welcome immigration

And I believe that we need to embrace immigration, if we are to grow our economy

However, I could not help feeling a tinge of irony

That former immigrants were now employed to stop other immigrants entering the country

The reason I mention this this morning, is that the Gospel Reading is about rejecting people

We have just heard the parable of the wheat and the tares

Where the “lovely” wheat is growing in the “beautiful” fields and is ready for the “glorious” harvest

What could go possibly wrong?

But along comes the tares to spoil the show, so to speak

The harvester is then left with the dilemma as to what to gather up at harvest time?

The story reminded me of the current machinations in the Church of England over same sex relationships

The conservative wing of the Church wish to exclude

Whilst the liberals, like myself, try and remind us that everyone has an equal portion of God’s kingdom

The parable this morning however, tells us something about the essential nature of the Kingdom of God

And how God seeks to include, rather than exclude other people

And follows a number of other parables in a similar vein

First and foremost, there is parable of the laborers in the vineyard

A parable which we all know

and where, to the alarm of capitalists, everyone is paid the same wage at the end of the day

No matter how long they have labored in the vineyard

However, this parable is not about worldly economics

But about the Kingdom of God, where everyone is treated equally

And the point is very obvious if you give it a moment’s thought

After all, you cannot be half saved –

You can’t be half baptized or receive half the eucharist

Salvation does not come in half measures

So why do we seek to exclude others from the Church?

So too with another well-known parable, namely the parable of the prodigal son

Which tells us of a loving Father who rushes out to greet his long-lost son

And who receives him back into the fold without any conditions attached

The parable leaves us with two options

You can either side with the prodigal son

Or alternatively, with the bitter and resentful brother who believes that the party and celebrations are undeserved?

But the parable contains shocking news - the news of God’s foolish abundance

God’s mercy and grace are infinite and everyone receives the same

After all, you can’t be half loved by God

But the parables, simply illustrate, in fictional story form what we are told elsewhere the Bible

Jesus tells us that our differences won’t matter in God’s kingdom either

As he says in Matthews Gospel

“For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven”

If we are all like angels in heaven, why is there so much concern here on earth?

This point is clearly understood by St Paul also who tells us in his letter to the Galatians (3:28)

“There is neither Jew nor Greek..male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus”

In his letter to the Romans, he puts it this way

“When the kindness and love of God appeared, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy”

In other words, salvation is not something that you acquire provided that you are very good

No one deserves heaven

But accept God into your life and He will share his home with you for eternity

And so returning to Montenegro, and my reflections on the UK Border Service

I could not help likening it to the parable of the wheat and tares this morning

Where we try and exclude other people from the Kingdom of God when none of us are “worthy” ourselves (whatever that means)

I was reminded of a quote by the priest and theologian, Martyn Percy who said

“So often the Church tries to act as a kind of Border Agency for heaven…where Christians offer their well-meaning services to Jesus as Immigration Control Officers for Paradise”

“Jesus isn’t interested in our proposals to police his kingdom, thank you very much”

But he went on to give the following advice to us all

“So instead of policing the boundaries and borders of God’s Kingdom, acting as passport or immigration officers, we are invited instead to gather up everybody – [wheat and tares alike] to share in precisely the same fortune that we already enjoy”

In other words, leave the judging to God

And in the meantime, love the world and invite all to share the Good News

In the name etc

Candlemass

Sunday 2nd February 2025

“Maximillian Kolbe”

Last week I received an email out of the blue

It was from a Catholic Priest in charge of the Parish of Maximillian Kolbe in Beeston in Leeds

He explained that the Catholic Church, as a whole, was observing a “Jubilee Year of Hope”

And asked to bring two Catholic Primary Schools in his parish to visit the Priory as part of the Jubilee year

However, it was not just a request to visit the Priory, but also to celebrate Mass with the children

As a parish priest myself, I was very touched by the request and readily agreed to host the visit on the 19th June

To me, it seemed a wonderful opportunity for ecumenical co-operation

As well as joining in, albeit vicariously, with the Catholic Churches’ Jubilee Year of Hope

A year when the Catholic Church remembers, amongst others, victims of war

However, as well as being touched by the request, I was also struck by the name of the parish

Namely the parish of “Maximillian Kolbe”

Some of you may be familiar with his name

But he was a Polish Catholic Priest who was born in Poland in 1894 and who, as a nine-year old boy, had a vision of the Virgin Mary

He said of his vision, that Mary offered him two crowns

One of White and One of Red

The White Crown was one of purity and the Red Crown was the crown of martyrdom

Maximillian Kolbe told Mary that he would gladly accept them both

In 1907 he joined the Franciscan Order and enrolled at the seminary the next year

During World War One he was sent to study in Rome

And in 1918 he was ordained as a priest

And then worked as a missionary in East Asia

In 1936, he returned to Poland and started a radio station at the monastery

And, at the outbreak of war, was one of the few monks to remain at the monastery which was then being used as hospital

However, he was now living in a country under German occupation

And was first arrested by the Germans in 1939 for refusing the sign what was called the “Volksliste”

Which would have effectively given him the same rights as a German citizen

However, he insisted that he was not German

When he was released, he continued his work at the monastery

Which was now providing shelter for refugees as well as hiding over two thousand Jews

He also continued with his radio station which was now becoming increasingly anti-nazi

He was clearly now on a collision course with the German authorities

In 1941 the Monastery was shut down

And Kolbe and four other monks were imprisoned before being transferred to Auschwitz

At the end of July 1941, when a prisoner escaped from the camp,

The commandant picked ten men to be starved to death by way of retribution

One of the men selected cried out, when picked, saying “My wife and my children”

As a result, Maximillian Kolbe volunteered to take his place

It is said that whilst awaiting his death, he was seen standing among his fellow prisoners

Leading them in prayer

At the end of the fortnight, only four prisoners remained alive

And the guards decided to hasten their end by giving them lethal injections of carbolic acid

Kolbe is said to have raised his left arm calmly and awaited his fate

His body was cremated on the 15th August 1941, which is the feast day of the assumption of the Virgin Mary

In 1982, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II

Who described him as a “martyr of charity” and an “Apostle of Consecration to Mary”

Mary, of course, being one of the Patrons of Bolton Abbey

I must confess to my shame

That until last week, I had not taken great notice of the fact that this year is the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz

And that the liberation took place on the 27th January, was is the same day as Holocaust Memorial Day

It fell on Monday last week

You will have seen it reported on the news

A day on which the world remembered the six million Jews who were murdered in the Holocaust

Which included over a million murdered at Auschwitz, including Father Kolbe

How extraordinary therefore that I should receive a letter from the parish of Maximillian Kolbe Leeds the same week

Indeed, it was only as the week progressed, that I realized the extra-ordinary co-incidence of it all

However, there is another extra-ordinary element to this last week

And that is the fact that, today, we celebrate the Feast of Candlemass

It is called Candlemass because there used to be a candlelit procession in Church

And the reason for the candles is because Candlemass records the manifestation of the Christ Child to Simeon and Anna

Which prompts Simeon to describe Christ as a “Light to lighten the Gentiles”

I thought of this when eighty candles were lit at the service of Remembrance at Auschwitz

Including one lit by King Charles himself

The candles were there to remind us that the light overcomes darkness

To us the light of Christ, to others the light of God

But at the same time, it also reminds us of the extraordinary witness of Father Maximillian Kolbe

A light to every man and women - of whatever faith or none

One evening when I was at Theological College, I was attending a lecture on Church History

As always, it was a good lecture and, at the end, the lecturer handed out a prayer list to all the members of the class

Nothing unusual about that you might say - after all it was a Theological College

However, I was uneasy about a prayer list just being handed around, seemingly without proper explanation

So I decided to push the matter further, and went up to the tutor and asked her what I was meant to do with the prayer list?

I was being deliberately awkward and provocative

But I felt that we had not had sufficient instruction in prayer and what it might mean to pray for someone or something?

In other words, what is prayer and how do we even begin to pray?

This encounter was, inevitably, reported back to the Principal, who immediately knew what this disruptive student was driving at

As a result, he sent a letter to all the students on the course as to why we had prayer and therefore prayer lists

He had however touched on a difficult subject

The first question of course, is what is prayer and then, secondly, how should we pray?

It also raises the wider question as to the efficacy of prayer and whether it works?

And what does it say about God when it doesn’t?

Then there is the even wider question as to prayer offered in different faith traditions

To a different God and in a different way

Does that work?

And then of course, there are those who don’t pray and don’t see the need for prayer in any event?

Does that matter either?

It is, of course, an enormous subject and far too big for a ten-minute sermon

But, in essence, prayer is the communion of the human soul with God

Jeremy Taylor, the seventeenth century Anglican devotional writer, said that, at its heart prayer, is “an ascent of the mind to God”

Such ascent is often instinctive and was described by George Herbert as simply “something understood”

But prayer goes back to the earliest times in our faith

At the beginning of the Bible, we learn that Moses prayed to God for guidance in the wilderness

The Psalms, in the middle of the Old Testament, have been called the “Prayer book of the Old Testament”

And, at the end of the Old Testament, Daniel prays to God for the forgiveness of the Israelites

The tradition of prayer continues into the New Testament

We know that Jesus went into quiet places to pray but that he also prayed, formally, in the Synagogue

He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed upon the Cross

However, the most pertinent moment for me, is when the disciples say to Jesus “Lord teach us how to pray”

And Jesus responds by teaching the disciples the Lord’s Prayer

But Jesus provides other guidance as well

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus says “when you pray, go into a room by yourself, shut the door, and pray to your father who is in secret”

But whilst some of us might choose to pray in secret, most of our prayers is done in public

Such as a church or a prayer group

But, if you are from the Orthodox tradition, then you stand to pray, having lit a candle and often whilst standing in front of an icon

Some prefer contemplative prayer which concentrates on listening to God

From other traditions, meditative prayer has become popular

My favorite prayers are what are termed “arrow prayers” which are shot directly to God

“Come down O Love Divine”

Saying one’s prayers can be done in a myriad of different ways

From the silence on one’s own room, to the midst of public worship

From standing, to kneeling or adopting a particular body posture

I don’t think that there is a right or wrong way

And the best advice I have heard on the matter was from the Benedictine monk, Dom Edward Butler

Who said “pray as you can, not as you can’t”

The New Testament reading this morning contains two fine examples of prayer, direct from the heart

The leper says “Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean”

And the centurion “Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented”

Both are direct and unselfconscious prayers

Both are an ascent to God

And both prayers are duly answered

The reason I have focused on prayer this morning

Is not just because of the leper and the centurion,

But because we have just completed a week of prayer

A “Week of prayer for Christian unity”

It started in 1908 as an observance within the Roman Catholic Church

And was a response to Christ’s prayer in John’s Gospel “that they all may be one”

Of course, that prayer has still yet to be answered

Which takes me back to my gentle probing at Theological College

What does it say, for example, about God when he doesn’t answer prayers?

John Pritchard, the former Bishop of Oxford put it this way “Prayer is a risky venture…but our responsibility is simply to pray”

Just like my question at college, it is a risk we all have to take…

One thing that has always intrigued me in the liturgy, is the position of The Creed

As we all know, in the Book of Common Prayer, the Creed is said before the sermon

However, in Common Worship the Creed is said after the sermon

In my curacy we used Common Worship at the main service

And I used to think that the positioning of the Creed, after the sermon, was a way of cleansing the Church from any heresy uttered by me from the pulpit

Now I serve a Prayer Book Church, where the creed is said before the sermon

And, by contrast, think I am being reminded of the orthodoxy of the Church before I begin to preach

I simply don’t know and, perhaps, I am letting my imagination run away with me?

There are, of course, different creeds

There is the Apostles Creed, the Athanasian Creed as well as the Nicene Creed

And it is the Nicene Creed which we use in our Prayer Book Services here at Bolton Abbey

Yesterday we began the “Week of Prayer for Christian Unity”

Which this year marks the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea – from whence the creed comes

And the intention of this week is to reflect on the common faith as expressed by the Council and manifested in the Creed

However, I have had a long-standing issue with the Creeds as a statement of faith

For the simple reason that I don’t believe that credal statements of faith in the Church are static

Let me explain

Does “I believe in God” mean the same today as it did in Nicea in 1700 years ago?

Or does it mean something different today?

And if it does not mean the same thing, how is it a statement of faith?

The question of doctrine has long plagued the Church of England

As a priest, I am required to make a declaration of assent to the faith and doctrine of the Church

Affirming, in part, that my belief is “set forth in the Catholic Creeds”

But if the statements and understanding of the creeds have changed over time, then presumably I am only assenting at a given moment in time?

By way of example,

Statements such as “incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary” have undergone endless theological revisions over time

And, in the case of the virgin birth, have been radically reappraised in the 20th century

Another example is the statement “who proceedeth from the Father and the Son”

Which has also been challenged, not least by Orthodox Christians

On the grounds that, if there is co-existence in the Trinity, one cannot proceed from the other”

What we believe today, is almost certainly different from yesterday, and is almost certainly going to change again

But this does make the Church, and particularly the Church of England, look rather wishy-washy?

The Anglican Bishop, Stephen Sykes, described the Anglican Church as akin to “an eight laned motorway”

And posed the question

Do Anglicans have doctrine, or is Anglicanism an empty container, into which one can pour whatever one likes?

The Church of England has been accused by him, and others, as being a Church “without any specific doctrinal or confessional standpoint”

But I think that the criticism is unfair

Because the issue is more complicated than simply taking credal statements at face value

But in response to this difficulty, the Church of England has adopted what has been called the “Doctrine of Comprehensiveness”

A doctrine which was expressed as early as 1938

Michael Ramsey, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury in the 1960’s, referred to the “provisionality and partiality of all concrete expressions of Christianity”

As he put it

The Church is there to bear witness “not to the perfection of those who share it but to Gospel of God”

Rowan Williams, writing over a quarter of a century later, spoke of the need to expose

“the destructive longing for final clarity and totality of vision, which brings forth the monsters of religious and political idolatry

To encounter Christ, he said “is to step into faith rather than definitive enlightenment”

As I mentioned at the beginning of my sermon, yesterday, we began the week of prayer for Christian Unity

Our Deacon, Reverend Tony Cantlow has very helpfully put up prayers and information on our prayer board in the Tower

Which you can read after the service and during the course of the week

As mentioned before, the theme this week is the Council of Nicea

Which provides, the “unique opportunity to reflect on…the common faith of Christians”

And the chosen Biblical text, for this week, is from the Gospel of John

Where in the eleventh chapter (11.26), Jesus states to his disciples

“Do you believe this?"

The same question might reasonably be put to us today

But not in the form of “this is the truth” as contained in the Creeds, although it might be found there

But alternatively, in another way

Where we understand and accept that

“the apprehension of truth is a growing thing and we only gradually succeed in knowing the truth”

May we continue in that growth during this week of unity

And in the fulness of time - when all will be revealed

My brothers and sisters in Christ, today we gather to meditate on one of the most profound moments in the life of Our Lord—His baptism in the River Jordan. This event, though seemingly simple, reveals the great mystery of our salvation, the humility of Christ, and the love of God that reaches out to all of humanity.

We are told by the Evangelist that Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. Picture, if you will, this moment—the sinless Son of God approaching John the Baptist, that austere figure, clothed in camel's hair, calling the people of Israel to repentance. Imagine John's bewilderment, his awe, as the Lamb of God steps into the waters. "I need to be baptized by you," John exclaims, "and you come to me?" (Matthew 3:14).

And yet, our Lord insists: "Let it be so now; for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness" (Matthew 3:15). Here, in this humble act, Christ gives us a glimpse into the heart of God. He who is perfect, who has no sin, steps into the waters of repentance, not for His own sake, but for ours. He enters those waters to sanctify them, to make them the wellspring of grace for all who would follow Him.

Christ did not need to be baptized, but in His infinite love for us, He chose to unite Himself with the sinners He came to save. In that moment, as He stood in the Jordan, He stood in our place. This is the great mystery of the Incarnation—that the Almighty God, who dwells in unapproachable light, takes on human flesh, walks in our footsteps, and subjects Himself to the things we need for salvation. The humility of Christ in His baptism is but a foretaste of the humility He would show on the Cross.

But more than that, Christ’s baptism reveals something even greater: the Trinity itself. As Jesus emerges from the waters, the heavens are opened, and the Spirit descends upon Him like a dove, and the voice of the Father is heard: "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Here we witness the unity of the Godhead—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—all present and revealed together. This moment, my dear friends, is a manifestation of God’s very being. It shows us that the mission of Christ is not just an act of one person of the Trinity, but a divine movement of love from the whole Godhead. The Father sends the Son, the Son redeems, and the Spirit sanctifies.

In the waters of baptism, we are invited to participate in this divine life. Through our own baptism, we are joined to Christ, we are adopted as sons and daughters of the Father, and the Holy Spirit is given to us. We are made new creatures, cleansed from the sin that separates us from God, and called to live as members of His Kingdom. But baptism is not just a moment of cleansing—it is a call to a lifelong journey, a journey of following in the footsteps of Christ, who leads us not only through the waters of baptism but ultimately to the Cross, and beyond the Cross, to the glory of the Resurrection.

Let us then, as we contemplate the baptism of our Lord, renew our own baptismal promises. Let us remember that we are a people set apart, called to live lives of holiness, humility, and love. Christ has sanctified the waters for us; let us sanctify our lives for Him. May we always hear the voice of the Father speaking over us: "This is my beloved child."

Amen.

This is the first time, to my knowledge, that AI has been used to prepare a sermon at Bolton Abbey

If it is, then it is an extra-ordinary milestone in our almost 900 year history

This sermon, came about as a result of a conversation I had with my children before Christmas

When we were discussing AI and, in particular, Chat GPT

Almost as a joke, I asked my son to ask Chat GPT to write a sermon

“On the baptism of Christ in the style of Cardinal John Henry Newman”

And so it did, in a matter of seconds and you have just heard the results a moment ago

AI is a revolution taking place in front of our very eyes

This revolution is all around us – in our homes, cars, offices, hospitals, the internet

On the battlefield, in space and now in the pulpit

The Nobel Physicist Geofrey Hinton said that AI “could bring about changes comparable with the industrial revolution or electricity”

And who knows where this might take us?

When it comes to theology, I think that AI could enrich this field of learning in many positive ways

As we have just heard, it can make a very decent fist of a theological question

And so it should, as it can draw on far many more sources that the hard pressed vicar or even student – in fact every source known to man

Given the diagnostic ability of AI in medicine, I am sure that AI could serve a similar function, theologically

Diagnosing the human condition and providing theological remedy

It could bring further insights into textual criticism that progressed so rapidly in the 19th century

AI has the ability to learn, understand and exceed human intelligence

It also has the ability to be creative and, dare I say fun

Try this for size?

As a follow on, I asked ChatGPT to write a short sermon on the baptism of Christ in the style of Karl Marx

The baptism of Christ, though often viewed through a purely spiritual lens, can also be understood as a profound act of solidarity with the oppressed. Jesus, the carpenter's son, a man of the working class, entered the waters of the Jordan not for His own benefit, but to identify with the marginalized and the dispossessed. In this act, He symbolically submerged Himself into the very depths of human suffering and exploitation, uniting with those weighed down by the oppressive structures of the world.

John the Baptist, a voice crying out in the wilderness, called for repentance—a turning away from the corrupt systems upheld by the elite, the religious rulers, and the imperial forces of Rome. When Jesus steps into the waters, He joins that revolutionary call. His baptism is not merely a private religious act, but a public declaration against the powers that perpetuate inequality and injustice.

The voice from heaven declares Him the beloved Son, but this declaration is not for the privileged; it is for all those who have been silenced, overlooked, and downtrodden. Jesus' baptism foreshadows His mission: to upend the structures of oppression, to lift up the poor, and to inaugurate a kingdom of justice, equality, and liberation for all

Perhaps in future, clergy should star their sermons by saying

“May AI speak in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost”

When I was at theological college, our principal, the Very Reverend Martyn Percy, would tell us how much he enjoyed reading his horoscope

He said that it was one of his favorite things when he read the paper

And would always read his horoscope when travelling on the train

Martyn was a very senior cleric

A first-rate theologian

And was/is one of the most original and authentic voices in the Church of England

I am not sure therefore why he told us that he liked reading his horoscope

Whether it was to shock us, wind us up, or whether he genuinely believed that there might be some truth in it?

However, the general view today is that horoscopes are not worth the paper they are written on

Despite this, I suspect that there are very few of here today who do not know their star sign

I am Sagittarius, making me a fire sign

My wife is a Cancerian, which makes her a water sign

Cancerian’s, are supposed to be a good match for Sagittarians

Don’t ask me why

But such stuff today is generally thought to be superstitious nonsense

Indeed, it was rumoured that evangelical clergy would ask aspiring candidates for the Church what star sign they were?

In the hope of weeding out the superstitious from the truly religious

It never happened to me

But this seeming contempt for astrology always left me feeling uncomfortable

As did the question posed to those seeking ordination, which I felt was a bit underhand

And one of the reasons for being uncomfortable with this blanket dismissal

Are the references to astrology in the Bible as well as other forms of divination

Indeed, in the Bible, both astrology and the telling of oracles has a long and even revered tradition

When it comes to reading the stars, and being assisted by them, there are numerous references

The prophet Isaiah, from whom we heard this morning, refers to astrologers being able to save the Israelites

Isaiah says in chapter (47:13)

“Let those who study the stars and at each new moon predict what shall befall you”

In the Book of Judges, the stars and the moon were used by God to stand still

Allowing the Israelites to triumph over the Amorites (Judges 10:12)

As the writer says, the stars acted as Israel’s ally in battle where they “fought from heaven” (Judges 5:20)

Even St Paul in his letter to the Hebrew’s states that we all need

“Someone to teach [us] the basic elements of the oracles of God” (Hebrews 5:12)

It is strange that all this has fallen out of fashion

But when it comes to astrology, this study of the stars has a long and revered tradition in this country too

And particularly amongst religious men and women

I am was always fascinated by the fact that Henry VIII had a chart drawn up by astrologers on the birth of his son Edward VI

Even though he was a great theologian and described by the Pope as the Defender of the Faith

But he was not alone

Cardinal Wolsey interest in astrology was said to be notorious

And enthusiasm for astrology was said to have extended into the court of Elizabath I and beyond to the Restoration

Shakespeare himself said in Henry VI, part 1

“Comets, importing change of times and states, Brandish [their] crystal tresses in the sky”

Whilst this might seem strange to us today

It was not seen as the slightest bit odd to men and women of the time

Indeed, there was even a distinction between astronomy and astrology

Astronomy was seen as the junior discipline as it was seen as being just about the collection of raw data

Astrology was seen as more important as it sought to make sense of that data

Indeed, astrology was seen as “an essential aspect of the intellectual framework in which men were educated”

And that would have included us

If we were fortunate enough to have been educated men and women living at that time

And so to the Feast of the Epiphany today

We love this festival,

With its three Wise Men and their gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

But one fact which tends to get overlooked is the fact that the Wise Men were astrologers

Men from the East who studied the stars

And who made decisions based upon that study

A study which would turn out to inform the most important decision of their lives

Furthermore, if the story is to be believed, God revealed himself, in the stars as well

Today, Christian astronomers speak of detecting the hand of a divine creator in the universe

Allowing the unique conditions for life on earth to exist

But years ago, it was the astrologers who were in the lead and they too saw the hand of God in the stars

I don’t know either way, nor am I qualified to judge

But my advice is this - rule nothing out when it comes to God

As the prophet Isaiah said

“My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine”

Earlier this month, we were treated to an carol concert sung by the choir of Harrogate Ladies College

The concert included a couple of pieces from the Ceremony of Carols by Benjamin Britten

Which I myself had sung, as a thirteen-year-old schoolboy, in 1976

It is scored for a three-part treble chorus and consists of eleven movements

One of which is called “This Little Babe”

The title of this particular movement takes its text from a poem by the Catholic priest Robert Southwell

Who wrote a poem is called “A Newe Heaven and Newe Warre”

Which was published shortly after his death in 1595

It envisages the Christ child as having come down to earth to wage war with Satan

As the poem says “This little Babe so few days old is come to rifle Satan’s fold”

But this language is, seemingly, at odds with the Christmas message today of “peace and goodwill to all men”

This seeming paradox is answered, in part, by the life and times of Robert Southwell himself

Born at the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth I (1558-1603),

He was sent to school in Douai before entering a Jesuit College in Rome

He was ordained in 1584

The same year which saw a radical clampdown on Catholic priests landing on English shores

Catholic priests were prohibited from staying in the UK for more than 40 days –

And you outstayed your visa upon pain of death

Southwell, stayed for the next six years

But was subsequently betrayed, arrested and hanged

The poem, for Southwell, was a way to express how the true faith, as he saw it, would eventually prevail

But when the Ceremony of Carols came to be written, nearly four hundred years later,

It was a very different set of circumstances which confronted Benjamin Britten

The piece was written in 1942

Whilst Britten was at sea, travelling from the United States to England.

His ship was under constant threat of German U-boats

And during the journey, due to a fire, the ship had to leave the safety of the convoy

As Britten said “we stood quite still for ages, attracting submarines for miles”

The words of the poem which he used in the score seem so appropriate centuries later

When the world found itself pitched against the evil of Nazism

An evil which had to be confronted and defeated

Indeed, this little Babe so few days old had come to rifle Satan’s fold

But perhaps these martial images, used by Southall, might help us to see Christmas in another way too?

The French theologian, Oscar Cullman who lived through the second world war

Wrote in the 1960’s that the birth of Jesus Christ is the midpoint of our history

A history which runs

From creation at the beginning of time, to the second coming of Christ at the end

And this history – our history - is now punctuated by the birth of Jesus Christ

The day when heaven, literally, broke into earth – as we remind ourselves tonight/today

Cullman used the analogy of D-Day,

Which seems so appropriate in this 80th anniversary year

As he put it, D-Day meant “victory assured, but still being accomplished”

In simple terms, Christ has landed on the beaches but still has so much work to do

Put theologically, heaven has broken into earth

And Christ’s redeeming work is now at hand, through his Church and people

It is an inaugurated eschatology

This analogy made by Cullman chimes so well with the martial imagery of Richard Southwell nearly 450 years earlier

Because, despite our sentiments of “peace and goodwill” at Christmas, Christianity is still fighting, sometimes for its life

Last year, nearly five thousand Christians lost their lives and a staggering one in seven believers still suffer persecution for their faith

Not to mention the wars which are being fought as I preach this morning between so-called Christian peoples

But it is not just in countries around the world but, in front of our own eyes

If Christ were born in the UK today

He would find pensioners, shaking with cold, as fuel poverty bites this Christmas

A land where over 3 million emergency food parcels were delivered in the past year

Where over 5000 people are homeless, living on our streets this very day

There is so much more to be done

But returning the words of Robert Southwell,

Heaven has indeed come down to earth and we remember it today, with joy

However, we still have so much further to go and, as Christians, we still have to “fight and win the field”

But, despite the seeming paradox of the martial imagery and the sentiment of goodwill at Christmas, there is another paradox and that is the heavenly babe

Because, despite all that it is ranged against us,

Our fight to establish God’s Kingdom Is not with arrows and martial ensigns

But with a child - cold, weak, naked, feeble fleshed

But a child so powerful that even the gates of hell “he will surprise”

On this Christmas Day, take strength in the Christ child,

Because, whatever adversities you may face, around the world and in your own life this coming year

This little babe “will be your guard”

May you all have a very blessed Christmas

I dare say that most of us have been spending the last few days or even weeks preparing for Christmas, and trying our best to ensure that we get it right. We get the tree up, the decorations out, send and receive cards, we want everyone to be happy, we want peace and joy to abound. We may even want it white and bright.

But in our struggle to get it right, we can also get it wrong. In reality, the lead up to Christmas, for many, can become a real struggle. We can be rushed and pushed for time. We spend more money than perhaps we should. We end up more frustrated than we should.

But God, of course, is not interested in a white or bright Christmas. He wants us to have right Christmas.

So how can we achieve this? What do we need to understand and change in our lives that will allow Christmas to be a time of blessing, replenishment and wonder, and how does this fit in with our readings today?

The Gospel of St John does not write about angels, shepherds, stars or sheep. But he does something the other gospel writers do not do. St John puts Advent and the Christmas story into context. He tells us how we can prepare ourselves for the coming of our saviour, the challenges we may face and why, and what we really need to know in order for us to have a right Christmas.

And he does this by revealing three distinct area’s that we need to take into consideration and reflect upon.

The first is, that our culture, our surroundings, the people we engage with, need to be appreciated and understood in order for us to discover our own identity and purpose as Christian believers. John the Baptist knew his environment – and adapted. He wore camels hair, lived in the wilderness and ate locusts and honey. Now, I’m not suggesting that you ‘Go, and do likewise’ but his lifestyle was a testament to his dedication and spiritual devotion.

Secondly, he knew his mission, his purpose: ‘a voice crying out in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord’, and we are called to the same mission – to make Christ known. Whatever our environment or culture, we are to proclaim His praises, his mercy, his grace, his goodness and love to a world that desperately needs to hear it. And for us to do this well, we need to appreciate the prevailing culture in which we find ourselves. John the Baptist understood this. And he understood the people amongst whom he lived. He made

himself ready for the coming of the Lord by taking into account the environment around him.

Thirdly, we do well to observe the character of John.

John the Baptist was a man of humility. He recognized that he was not worthy to untie the sandals of the One coming after him. He understood that his role was simply to prepare the way, to make straight the path for the Lord. A man who was not concerned with his own reputation. He was not seeking to build a following for himself. His sole aim was to point people to Christ. He said of himself, "I am not the Christ, but I have been sent ahead of Him." He understood that his role was to decrease so that Christ might increase.

And there’s a lesson for us all; we too are called to be people of humility. In a world that often encourages us to promote ourselves, to seek our own glory, we are called to a different path. We are called to make much of Christ, not of ourselves. We are called to be like John, pointing people to the Savior, not seeking to draw attention to ourselves. We are not the light, we are simply the reflectors of the Light. It is the light of Christ that shines through the darkness, not the questionable perceptions of our own goodness. This understanding is pivotal in establishing our identity as committed Christians so that we are properly prepared for the coming of Jesus Christ, and are prepared to point others to Christ.

I’m sure that you’ll have all seen that TV series called ‘Who Do You Think You Are?

And for people to truly discover who they really are, they delve into their family history, their backgrounds and their environments. And it is fascinating.

John too, was confronted by the question: ‘Who are You?’ In fact, they knew who he was. He was John the son of the priest Zacharias.

But he had been doing some rather unusual things: preaching repentance and baptizing in the river. So, for the religious leaders and Pharisees, it was more a question of ‘Who do you think you are?’. But John was ready for their questions:

He was definitely not the messiah. He was not Elijah or the promised prophet. His answer was that he was nothing but a voice bidding people to prepare the way for the Lord, quoting the prophecy of Isaiah which we heard in our first reading.

Of course, John would not have had a Bible as we know it today. But he focused his life on the truth he knew from the available Old Testament scriptures. Likewise, we can discover in God’s word the truths he wants us to know. And as these truths work in us, others too will be drawn to Christ and appreciate more fully what it means to celebrate his coming.

So, this Christmas, for a right Christmas, make time to reflect on your identity as followers of Christ. Your character. Your purpose and your mission to make His love known in the world.

That’s really what Christmas is all about. The love of God manifest in the world.

And, like John the Baptist, we must point beyond ourselves to the One whose example we follow. Prepare yourselves, and prepare the way wherever you may be. So that we, and those around us, are ready and able to rejoice in the arrival of our Lord and saviour on Christmas Day.

Amen.

It was with much joy that in 2024, we witnessed the flowering of a vocation at Bolton Priory

On the 29th June, Lorna Heatly was ordained at Ripon Cathedral

And is now serving her title post in Richmond, North Yorkshire

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the ordination

But I am grateful to those from the parish who went along to support her

Those of you who attended, will know that, during the service, the bishop charged the candidates with their priestly ministry before them

And, in the very first line stated that priests are “To be the messengers, sentinels and stewards of the Lord”

And it was the word “sentinel” that particularly caught my attention in this Advent season

As it seems to be a part of priestly ministry that is often overlooked or ignored

However, the use of the word sentinel, begs the question as to what exactly it means?

The word sentinel comes from the Latin, sentire meaning to perceive

And is often used in the context of the military where a soldier keeps guard over someone or something

But sentinel means more than that, because the job of a sentinel is to also scan the horizon

To look out, see what is coming, to announce and to warn

The word can, therefore, be used in a variety of ways

But of the all the references in the Bible to the word sentinel

The majority are used in the Old Testament

Indeed, there no less than thirty-six references

Which speak, not only of God, who is sentinel over us all

But also of the prophets, who are sentinels of the Lord

When it comes to God acting as sentinel, Job describes God as “a watcher of humanity”

Those of you who know the Town Hall in Ripon will know that written above it are the wonderful words of the psalmist

“unless the Lord guards the city the watchman watches in vain” (Psalm 127)

One can only begin to imagine how God feels as he watches over humanity this Christmas?

But is not just God who acts as sentinel, but also the prophets too

Hosea states that “The prophet is the sentinel for God” (Hosea 9: 8)

Acting for Israel itself

The prophet Isaiah, who we heard this morning, stated

“For thus sayeth the Lord to me, go post a lookout and let him announce what he sees”

These words are important because they pre-empt the fall of the northern Kingdom of Israel to the Assyrians

Something that the prophets can foresee, but the King and his people cannot

Indeed, it is only the prophets who can foresee the danger ahead

But at the same time, the prophet is not only the one who can see

But also the one who announce God’s coming in peace and salvation too

To quote the prophet Isaiah again

“how beautiful are the feet of the messenger who announces peace, who brings good news and who announces salvation”

As we remind ourselves each year

The Prophets prophecy the coming of Christ into the world

This prophecy brings us neatly to the New Testament

Where reference is also made to the disciples being able to see what others cannot

Jesus tells his disciples in Matthew’s Gospel

“Blessed are your eyes for they can see”

Somehow God is at work in the opening of their eyes

And those disciples who can see

Are charged with the extra duty of telling others what is to come

And so to the New Testament reading this morning

In this season of Advent, we hear once again about the prophet, John the Baptist

The same prophet who foresees the coming of Christ into the world

A man who prophetically looks out as sentinel, and sees what is on the horizon

The man who announces to the people what is to come

But the reading this morning also reminds us that Christ too is also a prophet –

Indeed, more than a prophet

A prophet who comes to proclaim the Good News for all mankind and announce the coming of the Kingdom of God into the world

This indeed is the message of Christmas

And so returning to the ordination service

Which remind us that the priest is to be a “messenger and sentinel…of the Lord”

In this period of Advent, we act as sentinel like never before

Scanning the horizon, keeping watch, announcing and warning of the coming of the Lord into the world on Christmas Day

And then our job is done

But the priest is also there as sentinel throughout the year

And for good reason

As the Advent Sunday reading from Matthew’s Gospel remined us all

We are like the wise or foolish bridesmaids

We have to be ready and our lamps lit

Ask yourself therefore, today, are you ready for the coming of Christ into the world at Christmas?

Are you ready for the coming of Christ into the world, indeed for the second coming of Christ at any time during the year?

As sentinel, I charge you again with the words of the Gospel

“Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour”

BOLTON ABBEY, 8 DECEMBER 2024

I greet you all in the Name of Christ and wish upon you all the peace and blessings of God.

Thank you for your kind welcome, Nicholas

HIGH FIVES (CITY OF SANCTUARY LOGO)

The High Fives shape makes the City of Sanctuary logo. It speaks of shelter, particularly shelter in community. In the words of an old Celtic proverb, “it is in the shelter of each other that the people shall live”.

I am here because Joyce Simson heard me when I gave a talk in Horsforth, and recommended me to the Rector, and here I am. Thank you Nicholas for the invitation.

It is a pleasure to be here to share some reflections with you, and to invite you to work towards being a recognised Church of Sanctuary.

The Church of Sanctuary mark recognises proven commitments to learning about sanctuary issues, embedding practices of hospitality and inclusion, doing this loud and proud as followers of Jesus and inspiring others to follow this lead.

This is a constructive example of standing up to racist rhetoric and behaviour around refugees, and showing “a more excellent” (1 Corinthians 12:31) way forward.

I use this rope I am wearing as my stole.

I picked up this rope on a capsized refugee boat. The boat caught fire and broke in the Mediterranean Sea in October 2013, 359 people drowned.

I also picked up this sock on the boat? Whose sock is this?

I broke off a piece of the boat and made a cross.

What stories would like rope, and sock, and this wood tell us if they could speak?

According to the United Nations High Commissioner on Refugees there are 122 currently million people in the world displaced by violence, war and weather. Of this number, 43 million refugees in the world today, seeking sanctuary.

The vast number seek sanctuary in neighbouring countries, like Lebanon, Chad and Pakistan.

Those who travel further are smaller numbers.

They are fleeing danger to their lives, terror, war, extreme weather.

There are no safe routes for them to travel to Europe, so they fall into the hands of criminals who offer passage by unsafe means such as dingys and leaky boats.

Around 70 people died by drowning in the English Channel this year.

These are the signs of the times.

They say to me that something is wrong.

We need responses which are led by humanity and hospitality, not hatred. Challenge hostility with hospitality.

People fleeing danger need safety and sanctuary.

Bolton Abbey is visited by people from all around the world, including many who are in the UK seeking sanctuary, refugees, and pray here for safety.

What does safety mean?

What does it mean to be recognised as a Church of Sanctuary?

I have written about this in my book Hospitality and Sanctuary for All. You can obtain copies from me. The book can be used as a study guide for Lent/Advent studies in groups.

I have something to say on sanctuary, grounded in biblical wisdom.

I live in Sheffield. I offer you some words of Andrew Motion which are written large on the Sheffield Hallam University Main Building:

WHAT IF?

Pause now, and let, the sight of this sheer cliff, become a priming place, which lifts you off, to speculate, What if...? What if...? What if...?

What if we had the opportunity to make a better world, what would we do?  What would you do?  What three things will you commit yourself to doing?

For me, there are three basic challenges to live by:

Be human, and call others back to their humanity

Be hospitable, and call others to be hospitable

Always challenge hatred, you do this whenever you challenge inhumanity and inhospitality.

This is the basis for hope, because I believe everyone is capable of doing these things.

What if we could really achieve that?

In the Bible are illuminating insights to help us.

The Bible places God at the centre of all creation.

God is revealed as a companion, accompanying people in all their journeys, with all the challenges these bring, and present with them in all contexts. It is in their journeying that people encounter God, and particularly in the context of hospitality to “the stranger”.

The Bible discloses God as a Migrant God, and a God of a migrant, travelling, people.

This Migrant God takes another journey, a self-emptying journey, to be revealed in human form (Philippians 2:7), incarnate in Christ. This is the heart of the Good News declared in the Bible. God is revealed in Christ, as God who comes to us, dwells with us and is with us in the journey of life.

This is what we celebrate at Christmas.

God is revealed in Christ.

In Christ is the revelation that God is encountered in the vulnerability of a child, a child whose parents have to flee as refugees for safety.

In John 1:14 the Good News disclosed in Jesus is summarised:

“And the Word became flesh...and dwelt among us.”

The Greek word translated as “dwelt” comes from a root verb and its corresponding noun meaning “tent”, a word used also for the “Tabernacle” where the Ark of the Covenant was housed.

The “Tabernacle” was the portable sanctuary associated with the wanderings of the Hebrew people in the wilderness. It was the sacred space where God took sanctuary among people.

Biblically, the first one for whom human beings are required to provide sanctuary is God.

This sanctuary for God was not a house, not a mansion, not even a stable, or anything solid and permanent. It was mobile, reminding people that God travels with them, accompanying a travelling people in all their journeying.

God is a migrant. God is encountered in the migrant, the migrant who asks for sanctuary.

This is the inspiration of my work of City of Sanctuary.

Let me tell you a little about City of Sanctuary, and how the Golden Rule can work in practice.

SANCTUARY AND HOSPITALITY: STORY OF CITY OF SANCTUARY

The City of Sanctuary is a grassroots movement of local groups building coalitions of organisations from all sectors which make a public commitment to welcome and include refugees and people seeking sanctuary in their usual activities.

The origins of City of Sanctuary are modest. It emerged from an initiative I took. I have lived in Sheffield since 1987. From my earliest days in Sheffield, in my work as a Methodist Minister, I have been associated with key organisations working with refugees in the city, and their work. In conversation with others working in this context, it became clear to me that if the various organisations formed a network and worked together their contribution to supporting refugees would be even greater.

In October 2005, with my colleague Craig Barnett, a meeting was convened which led to the launch of the City of Sanctuary initiative.  The meeting, held in Sheffield, was attended by around forty representatives of organisations working with refugees in the city. 

At the meeting, participants were invited to describe the work they were doing.  Each organisation represented took a few minutes to describe their work.

All the participants agreed that if the groups all collaborated and shared their wisdom, it would have a bigger impact on the city and work towards building a culture of welcome, hospitality and safety, especially for asylum seekers and refugees. 

It was also agreed that if all the initial participant organisations were to sign a pledge of support, and, get up to one hundred organisations in the city to become committed supporters, it would then be possible to ask the Local Authority to support this.

If this could be achieved, there would be a strong case to be declared a City of Sanctuary, a city with a wide range of groups and organisations committed to working together to build cultures of welcome, hospitality and safety for refugees.

The target was to achieve this by 2015.  The idea was to encourage a new and collaborative approach to working with refugees, and to link local refugee organisations under a common purpose and image of sanctuary.  The numbers of those pledging support grew quite rapidly.

In only two years however, in 2007, Sheffield was declared the UK’s first City of Sanctuary.  Very quickly people in other cities began to ask how they could follow this idea.  To assist, Craig Barnett and I produced a short book entitled Building a City of Sanctuary (2010) with inspiring practical ideas. 

City of Sanctuary reflects the belief that the most effective change comes from a mobilised grass-roots movement. This is a politics in which the lead comes from people by acting collectively for social cohesion and change.

City of Sanctuary is a shared vision of places where many organisations and individuals work together to build cultures of welcome, hospitality and safety for all people, especially those whose lives are in danger, places they can be proud to live in.

By creating such a vision, and work, people can demonstrate the desire build a more just and humane approach to people seeking sanctuary among us.

The vision can be applied in many different contexts, such as Universities, Schools and Places of Worship.

No one is safe until we are all safe.

City of Sanctuary is a contemporary expression of an ancient Biblical idea of Cities of Refuge.

As in the past, it is about respectful manners, behaving well towards others with welcome and hospitality, treating others as you want them to treat you, being safe to be with. 

Social media and news reports form opinion everywhere. It is important to be informed and to correct/challenge ill-informed, or prejudiced opinion everywhere.

There is a human, legal, moral and spiritual obligation on us all to provide safety and sanctuary to each other, and especially to those whose lives are in danger. This is important and urgent in our times of open hostility and hatred particularly towards people from other countries seeking security and sanctuary among us.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

We live in a world of immense diversity.

We can work together for the safety and welfare of all, especially the most vulnerable. Our values give us direction. We can strengthen our resolve to work more closely together. In all that you do, always, be human, and call others to their humanity, be hospitable, and call others to be hospitable, challenge hatred. You do this by challenging inhumanity and inhospitality. And, always treat others well, as they and you want to be treated.

Thank you and God bless you in all your efforts to build hospitality and sanctuary for all. I assire you of my prayerful solidarity.

Sunday 1st December 2024

“Live by the light of faith”

On this first Sunday of Advent, you will have noticed that we started the service by lighting the first candle on our Advent Wreath

Each candle represents something different

The first candle represents the Patriarchs

And the last candle represents Christ himself – “the light of the world”

The prayer this morning therefore is about the calling the Patriarchs to “live by the light of faith”

As fascinating reference to the patriarchs who are called upon to be “watchful and ready to receive Christ”

But as with all these prayers – what might this light look like in our ordinary lives?

Well, of course, we are all different, And all our lives are different too

And it will mean different things to different people

In myriad ways

But I thought I would share this morning the story of a student called Hannah Williams

She is a very ordinary girl – no one in particular

Who spent a gap year teaching in Wuhan Province in China in 1998

And faced the prospect of,

Not only her first Christmas away from home

But trying to celebrate Christmas in a Communist country

And here’s what happened……….

My first Christmas away from England was tough, until my students made an incredibly thoughtful and unexpected gesture I spent the Christmas of 1998 in Wuhan, working as an English teacher. Everyone has heard of this Chinese city now, thanks to coronavirus, but back then the name meant nothing to much of the world. My knowledge was certainly scant when I arrived in February of that year. Nothing could have prepared me for the heat and humidity of a Wuhan summer, and the odour of fermented tofu deep-frying outside the university gates at 7am certainly took a while to get used to. Ten months later, however, I’d got over the culture shock and was feeling very much at home. I’d made some friends, knew my way around and had one Chinese pop song in my karaoke repertoire. Life was good.

But at 25 I’d never spent Christmas away from home, and the realisation that this was going to be very different hit me hard. No carols, no cheesy movies, no decorating the tree and, worst of all, no automatic right to a day off. Christmas Day in China is just another working day. This was a first for me. At home, I’d always worked right up to Christmas Eve and then again on Boxing Day, but never on Christmas itself. It was a holiday – always had been, always would be.

I asked the university’s avuncular head of foreign affairs if I could take the day off. In fact, I probably just sort of told him in passing that I assumed I wouldn’t need to work on Christmas Day. He looked at me blankly. Of course I’d have to work. My students were expecting a lesson and Christmas Day in China really wasn’t anything to make a fuss about. He would have been well within his rights to tell me to grow up, but he was a kind man and he didn’t.

Why was I so determined to have the day off? I have absolutely no idea. I was simply being stubborn. And maybe just a little selfish.

So it was with a heavy heart that I hauled myself out of bed on the 25th and walked to class. My already foul mood darkened as I walked down the corridor and saw there were no lights on in my classroom. A power cut? Seriously? How could I work like this?! It was at that moment, trying to find the light switch, and griping about how unfair my life was, that I heard something. It was the sound of my students, all 30 of them, getting to their feet, clutching hastily lit candles, to sing Silent Night in quiet but joyful unison. That incredibly thoughtful and unexpected moment is easily the most magical thing that has ever happened to me at Christmas. Possibly ever.

I stopped wishing I wasn’t working on Christmas Day after that. I didn’t get another impromptu classroom carol concert (more’s the pity), but I did have some fun and, more importantly, I didn’t either need or expect the world to bend to my will to have a good time. There are times when letting go of a tradition gives you the space to create something better.

Hannah was an ordinary girl

Away from home and living in a foreign land

With none of the trappings of Christmas – the feasting, the parcels the socialising

But the light of Christ came into her life at Christmas in a way which she could never have been expected

And shone, paradoxically, all the more clearly, in another land

As she put it “letting go of a tradition gives you the space to create something better”

So as we begin our wait in this Advent season

Waiting for the coming of Christ into the world

May we too try and escape some of the trappings of Christmas

and so let the light of Christ come into our lives too

"Never think of the Church apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, from the Father and the Holy Spirit"

"The Church is one and the same with the Lord — His Body, His flesh and His bones.

These are the words of Father John of Kronstadt who was a Russian Orthodox Priest

Who lived in Russia in the 18th century and died just before the Russian Revolution in 1918

He was expressing what he saw as the indivisible nature between Christ and his Church here on earth

In the Orthodox tradition, the Church is indeed the Body of Christ

Christ and his Church are one and the same

In the Anglican Church we too acknowledge that unique relationship

Quoting St Paul’s, we repeatedly affirm that “Christ is united with his bride, the Church”

Today is the Feast of Christ the King

It is the end of the Church year

And we choose this moment, after Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension to proclaim His Kingship

When I was the Rector of the Falkland Islands, I was visibly reminded of Christ’s Kingship each and every time I was in Church

For there in the East Window was a representation of Christ the King,

Seated on his throne with orb and sceptre

Literally, bestriding the Falkland Islands and South America

It was a representation of Divine Kingship over the earth – or certainly the Southern Cone

And was magnificent and overtly political at the same time

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But the title “Christ the King” is potentially misleading

Because, in the New Testament Christ does not take on the trappings of Kingship – that we have here on earth

Christ is not someone who mixes with the highest echelons of society

Rather he mixes with those who are on the fringes

Such as sick, the lame, the lepers and outcasts

Nor does he dress in fine raiment or eat splendid meals either

Instead, he shares our daily bread

There is a very telling moment in Jesus’ trail before Pilate when he is asked about his kingship

Pilate asks Jesus “Are you the King of the Jews”

Jesus replies “My Kingdom is not from this world”

Indeed, it is not

St Paul states

“Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God…emptied himself, taking the form of a servant…”

Jesus has literally emptied himself out

Giving up a part of his nature as God to become fully human

But it goes further than that

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus describes his kingship as follows

“I was hungry and you gave me something to eat… thirsty and you gave me something to drink… I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”

The Anglican theologian Martyn Percy put it this way

“When we stare up at the throne where we expect to see Jesus, the throne is empty. He tells us himself that we will not find him there. He is in prison he is begging for food. He lies defenceless in the cradle. He lies tortured and dying on the tree. Behold your King”

That is what Christ the King looks like

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But as I mentioned at the beginning of my sermon

The Feast of Christ the King must also tell us something about the Church too because "The Church is one and the same with the Lord”

But how does the Church fare in all of this?

At one level the Church still enjoys the trappings of Kingship – princely Bishops and palaces and I include myself in that number

But there is another kind of princely power in the Church and that is the arrogance of power

A failure to listen and to respond to the world in which it finds itself

Rather like a monarch who speak to “his” people, so the Church has a tendency to do the same

Except nobody is listening

And, in return, the world increasingly finds the Church incomprehensible

“Especially in spheres like sexuality, gender, equality and the exercise of power”

And so on the Feast of Christ the King, we remember once again the Kingship of our Lord Jesus Christ

How Christ emptied himself and came to serve us here on earth

But this Feast Day is also a time to remind ourselves that the Church is Christ here on earth

And that we too have to empty ourselves and show the same humility

But even more that that

We need to recognise, that God might choose to speak to the Church from the world

And not the other way around

In other words, we the Church, need to humble ourselves

And only then might we become one and the same with the incarnate Christ “His body, his flesh and his bones”

In the name etc

We meet together today at this private funeral

To remember before God, our brother in Christ, Brian Haggas

Husband of Judy

Father [of James, Clare, William and Simon, and father to Guy, Jason, Suzi and Lydia]

And naturally grandfather and great grandfather

I am conscious that this is a private funeral

And that Brian’s, “public”, memorial service will take place on Monday 16th December

When the Church will, no doubt, be full,

Not just family

But of his many friends and acquaintances who have known Brian through the course of his long and distinguished life here on earth

And, to whom, I will have a chance to say more at a later service

This is a small private service

Here at Bolton Priory, where Brian has worshipped for many years

And certainly throughout all the time I have been the Rector

Indeed, he was a committed Christian throughout his life

And those who are regular Church goers, like Brian, know that each and every year, we tell the Christian story

Not just to ensure that we know the story

But to allow us to ground our lives and view them through the life of Christ

Recognizing parts of our own life as being akin to Christian

And I think that a private funeral –

Has a warmth and intimacy that is not always present at a larger funeral

And which allows us, perhaps, more room to make such observations and comparisons

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One of the last times I recall seeing Brian this year was at the funeral of his life-long friend Harry Fell

Who died in June and whose funeral took place in July

Brian gave a very moving eulogy, recalling all the happy memories they had had together

And Brian ended his eulogy by saying that he would see Harry again in heaven

Intimating, perhaps, that this might not be a very long time in coming

He was right

But I was moved by his tribute at the time

And it reminded me, even then, of Christ weeping over the death of his dear friend Lazarus

Just before Christ himself began his walk to calvary

Just as Brian was to begin his, just over four months later

The account of Lazarus is in John’s Gospel

And I was also taken by another similarity, namely Christ’s death and burial, which was attended by very few people

Not a great crowd, but just a handful –

Whenever I am at a graveside with a just a small number of people, I can’t help being struck by this story

A that resonance that will be with us at the graveside when we lay Brian to rest at the end of this service

The other similarity I would like to mention is that Brian is being buried in the churchyard at Bolton Priory

I am always struck by the words in John’s Gospel about the burial of Jesus

“Now there was a garden in the place where he was crucified, and in the garden there was a new tomb in which no one had ever been laid…and they laid Jesus there”

Whenever I go into the graveyard at Bolton Abbey, particularly in the margins of the day

I am always struck at just how beautiful it is down there

When all is quiet, all you can hear is the river and the silence of the day

Today, there is again a “new tomb in which no one has ever been laid”

Which is to be Brian’s final resting place here on earth

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But as we stand at the graveside shortly, I would ask you all, not just to look down into the grave, but to look up as well

To look up to the great East Window which towers over the graveyard itself

The Church faces East for a reason

Because Christ himself is meant to come again from the East

As St Matthew tells us

"For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man" (Mtt 24:28)

This striking architecture bears witness, not just to a once great building

But also to the eternal truth,

That Christ himself spoke of at Lazarus’ funeral

“Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die”

The East window towering above the graveyard - which will now include Brian’s grave

Reminds us all

Of Christ

His triumphant reign here on earth

His defeat over death by rising from the dead

And his coming again in glory

And we rejoice today in the promise of eternal life

In the name etc

1 Samuel 10: 17-24

Matthew 8: 23-34

‘Why are ye fearful?’

What a question for Jesus to ask the disciples in the middle of a terrifying storm. Why is it not blindingly obvious to Jesus that his friends, experienced fishermen, are rightly desperately afraid? Their ship is tempest-tossed, creaking and groaning, the wind whipping wildly around them, the waves overwhelming them. And there is Jesus – a still point in all of the chaos, asleep. And when he is woken, in all versions of this miraculous stilling of the storm, he asks his famous question ‘why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith?’ before rebuking the winds and the sea into a great calm. The disciples are thunderstruck that their ‘friend’ can command the waves.

Whenever Jesus asks seemingly unnecessary questions, we need to look deeper. In doing so, maybe you are brought up short by his bracing question? For many of us at the moment, it may feel as though we too are beset by a great tempest, in danger of being overwhelmed by waves of worry. Looming anxieties seem ever present and our perceived powerlessness makes them feel worse. Whether it is geopolitics; or worries about the horrific human cost of conflicts across the world; or devastation at the ongoing abuse of innocents across the world; or anxiety that the search for the next Archbishop of Canterbury may inflict deeper and more bitter wounds within the Church. And all of that is before we confront our own individual fears – whether about our ourselves, families, and friends – fears about health, relationships, finances, jobs and so on.

Against this backdrop, fear seems to be a natural response. So, we need to stop and think when Jesus asks, ‘why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith’, considering not only why he’s asking this, but also how we hear him asking this. Because how we hear this question changes our understanding of why he is asking this. If we ‘hear’ Jesus asking this question in a critical or disappointed tone, we will feel defensive and discouraged. But, if we imagine Jesus asking this question with a loving grin, it encourages us to think about what he is really saying. I do not know how you imagine Jesus – but I often think of him laughing – a lot! Clearly, he was serious and reflective. But too often we can forget that the Jesus we meet in the Gospels is not some wishy-washy, meek and mild anaemic character. Instead, he jumps out of the Gospel stories – he is magnetic, engaging, fully alive, joyous, someone who obviously loves spending time with people, eating and talking with them.

That is why I imagine him, looking with love and laughter at the disciples with their rain-soaked faces, just waiting for them to see the punchline of the joke that they just do not get. Because yes, they are on a ship that looks as though it is about to sink, but they are on a ship with Jesus Christ, who is the great ‘I am’, the Son of God, the Creator of the whole universe and everything in it, the One who speaks order out of chaos and ‘sees that it is good’, the One who promises that we will not perish, but will have eternal life! So, when Jesus asks us ‘why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith’ he is whipping wildly around them, the waves overwhelming them. And there is Jesus - a still point in all of the chaos, asleep. And when he is woken, in all versions of this miraculous stilling of the storm, he asks his famous question 'why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith? before rebuking the winds and the sea into a great calm. The disciples are thunderstruck that their 'friend' can command the waves.

Whenever Jesus asks seemingly unnecessary questions, we need to look deeper. In doing so, maybe you are brought up short by his bracing question? For many of us at the moment, it may feel as though we too are beset by a great tempest, in danger of being overwhelmed by waves of worry. Looming anxieties seem ever present and our perceived powerlessness makes them feel worse. Whether it is geopolitics; or worries about the horrific human cost of conflicts across the world; or devastation at the ongoing abuse of innocents across the world; or anxiety that the search for the next Archbishop of Canterbury may inflict deeper and more bitter wounds within the Church. And all of that is before we confront our own individual fears - whether about our ourselves, families, and friends - fears about health, relationships, finances, jobs and so on.

Against this backdrop, fear seems to be a natural response. So, we need to stop and think when Jesus asks, 'why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith', considering not only why he's asking this, but also how we hear him asking this. Because how we hear this question changes our understanding of why he is asking this. If we hear' Jesus asking this question in a critical or disappointed tone, we will feel defensive and discouraged.

But, if we imagine Jesus asking this question with a loving grin, it encourages us to think about what he is really saying. I do not know how you imagine Jesus - but I often think of him laughing - a lot! Clearly, he was serious and reflective. But too often we can forget that the Jesus we meet in the Gospels is not some wishy-washy, meek and mild anaemic character. Instead, he jumps out of the Gospel stories - he is magnetic, engaging, fully alive, joyous, someone who obviously loves spending time with people, eating and talking with them.

That is why I imagine him, looking with love and laughter at the disciples with their rain-soaked faces, just waiting for them to see the punchline of the joke that they just do not get. Because yes, they are on a ship that looks as though it is about to sink, but they are on a ship with Jesus Christ, who is the great 'I am, the Son of God, the Creator of the whole universe and everything in it, the One who speaks order out of chaos and 'sees that it is good, the One who promises that we will not perish, but will have eternal life! So, when Jesus asks us 'why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith' he is reminding us that there literally is absolutely nowhere safer that we can ever be, than to follow him and stick close.

Our Old Testament reading shows how hard this can be. Despite Samuel's prophecies and God's signs, Saul is so desperately afraid of God's call to be King of the Israelites that he hides. When his name is drawn by lot from thousands, he is discovered hiding among theʻstuff - among the supply waggons, trying to remain unnoticed. This is the man who is acclaimed as the King of Israel, but his leadership will be fatally flawed by his underlying fear which time and again leads him away from God and towards disaster and ruin.

And Saul's reaction is understandable. Following God's still small voice can be highly costly. Speaking up for what is right does not often lead to popularity - no wonder that it is so very tempting to hide like Saul'among the stuff , to stifle our concerns and to believe the worldly-lie that the 'ends justify the means'. But the Kingdom of God does not work like this. As Christians we are charged with protecting and treasuring the weak and the vulnerable, not shoring-up the institutional status quo. The dangers of forgetting this are all too evident in the appalling evidence and findings of the Makin Report laying bare the horrific abuse perpetrated by John Smyth. How much harm was caused to innocent people by good people keeping quiet about what they knew, because they apparently 'thought it would do the work of God immense damage if [Smyth's activities] were public? We all, every single one of us, and as the Church, must continue to create a strongly safe place for everyone. Thank God, the centrality of safeguarding is now much more deeply understood and entrenched than it has ever been, and this has been underlined by the recent resignation of Archbishop Welby taking personal and institutional responsibility. But we cannot be complacent - as Christians we all have a duty to be curious, to stand up and speak out to protect the weak and the vulnerable, even where that is costly to us. This requires significant moral courage, but thankfully we do not do this resting in our own strength, but in Christ and his power is immense.

We see just how immense his power is in the miraculous healing of the two demon possessed men, who are outcasts only half-alive among the tombs, consumed by inner chaos, and who strike fear into the townspeople. And yet when Jesus frees them from their torments, casting out the devils that plague them, restoring them to wholeness, the towns people are afraid. There is no rejoicing that the lost have been found again. hope and rooted in charity, we may so pass the waves of this troublesome world and come finally to the land of everlasting life.’ So, when Jesus asks us ‘why are ye fearful, o ye of little faith’, he is reminding us that he is with us all the way to, and through, to the other side of the Cross. So, let us hold onto the truth that there really is absolutely nowhere safer that we can be, and no one safer to accompany us. Amen

Remembrance Sunday

“D Day”

As many of you know, I served my title post at the Church of St Mary the Virgin in Gillingham in Dorset

It is a little known parish situated somewhere between Salisbury and Exeter

But whilst I was serving my curacy, I happened to chance upon a reference to Vera Brittian  

Who had come to speak in the town  

Vera Britain was a figure I recognized from my youth as her brother went to the same public school as me

And was killed in the First World War  

By chance, his Commanding Officer, Charles Hudson, was educated at Sherborne School  

And I used to stand by his memorial before I went into Chapel

But the reason Vera Brittian came to visit to Gillingham was to speak about the League of Nations

Which was the first worldwide intergovernmental organization whose aim was to maintain world peace

Vera Britian was a great proponent of the League of Nations after its inception in 1919

She became a League of Nation’s speaker and would go round the country  

Seeking to promote world peace through internationalism

The aim of the League was to prevent wars through collective security and disarmament

Aspiring to settle disputes through negotiation and arbitration

As she said in one of her speeches in 1924

“The logic of history lies upon the side of Internationalism

Could the new generation be taught to perceive that logic? before the passions and hatreds generated by the Great War lead a tired and tormented world into yet another

Of course, we know the answer  

As the world was plunged into World War II just fifteen years later

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The Second world war was largely about the rise of the Third Reich  

And the scourge of Nazism that swept across Europe and beyond in the 1930’s

It was an evil which had to be confronted

And this year is particularly poignant as it marks the 80th anniversary of D Day

The day that Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy  

Finally having the strength and numbers to roll back the Nazi forces  

In this anniversary year, the fighting on D Day provides a graphic illustration of the sacrifice that millions of men and women make in war

Those of you who have seen the film “Saving Private Ryan” will have the seen the brutal illustration of what a contested beach head landing looks like

The film shows the young soldiers heading for Omaha beach in Normandy  

The sickness and raw fear which accompanies the troops before landing  

The hail of bullets which meets them as they open the gate of their landing craft

The incoming fire, the raking of the beach with machine guns

Limbs being torn off by mortar and artillery fire

And the dead and wounded staining the beach with their blood

This is what sacrifice looks like when stripped of our cosmetic and romanticized language  

In a sense, the courage shown on D DAY, represents all our servicemen and women who have seen active service

Throughout the past century and beyond

Men and women who have given their lives in myriad fashion for their country  

But the sacrifice and courage is not theirs’ alone

It is also those who were wounded, some whom bears the scar to day

It also belongs to their parents, family spouses and partners  

Those whom they love and those who steel themselves for what might be

People like Vera Brittain who not only lost her brother Edward but her fiancé Roland Leighton

We salute them today, as we do each and every year  

And pledge ourselves, again, to remember them    

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But in this anniversary year, there is perhaps more to remember than usual  

More than just the courage of those who fought and the scars they bear  

Important though that is

It is particularly important today as we are all beneficiaries of what our armed forces achieved that day in 1944

As General Sir Peter Wall said this year

“The history of the world would have been very different had D Day not been a success

The democracy and freedom which we have all enjoyed for the past eighty years was secured on that beach head  

And we should all just stop for a moment and what that has meant for all our lives?

But whilst I was listening to the D Day commemoration  

I listened to a very thoughtful interview with Sir Anthony Selsdon

As an educator, he made the very important point that the significance of D Day should be taught to all young people today

Not just for the reasons I have just mentioned  

But to realize that, at times, we have at times to fight to preserve democracy  

And that might now include them – just as it included Vera Brittain in the 1920’s

But it was more than that because, as he said

“We fight and die to attain democracy, but somewhere along the line a complacency, an arrogance comes in and we lose sight of just how fragile democracy can be”  

Our values and freedoms are now being challenged once again

We have been complacent  

And our values and freedoms are once again under threat, in a way no one thought possible

With the threat of Russia in the east and the far right in the west, there could not be a more appropriate time to say - in this D Day anniversary year

“We will remember them”  

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Sermon

23rd Sunday after Trinity

All Saints Day

“A Hidden Life”

As some of you may know, the selection process for ordination takes place over three days  

The prospective candidates are interviewed at length, by numerous different people, one of whom is a lay assessor

And I recall being questioned at length at the Diocesan House in Ely

But one question, in particular, stood out for me  

And the question was “When did I last cry”?

I have been reduced to tears on very few occasions so the question was not easy – and rather disarmed me

But the time of the interview, I had recently watched a film called “Atonement”

Based on the novel by Ian Macwan, it tells the story of a young man falsely accused of rape  

Who goes to jail before joining the army in WW2  

He dies of septicemia at Dunkirk before he had a chance to clear his name

The film was a story of a manifest injustice  

Skillfully contrasting what happened to the young man with what might have been

I must confess that it made me well up at the end

Many years later, I was also deeply affected by another film, which affected me so deeply that it still haunts me today  

This time it was a true story

About an Austrian peasant farmer called Franz Jagerstatter

He was born and brought up in the small village north of Salzburg  

On the German/ Austrian border

He had a wife called Franziska and was blessed with three lovely daughters

Like so many others, he found himself called up at the beginning of World War Two  

And, along with the other able-bodied men in the village, he was ordered to attend for basic training with the German Army

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When the young men first arrived at the barracks they were required to swear an oath of allegiance to Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich

Franz Jagerstatter however could not bring himself to do so

He was pulled off the parade and thrown into military custody

But still refused to swear the oath  

The mayor of his own home town came to see him to tells him he was a traitor

The Bishop of Linz also tried to intervene telling him to co-operate with his German overlords

He refused

His former friends in the village increasingly began to ostracize his wife and children  

And he is soon aware that his refusal to swear an oath of allegiance may result in his death

However, he is sustained by his faith in God and the love and support of his wife and family  

Inevitably his refusal ends up with him being incarcerated  

First in a jail in a town called Enns  

Where he is severely beaten by the prison guards

He is then taken to Berlin  

Where once again he is beaten and urged to swear the oath of allegiance by his lawyer who is assigned to represent him at trial

He refuses

His case is eventually listed for trial

And the trial judge is so taken aback too that he tries to reason with him to try and have the case taken out of the list

Again, he refuses  

When the matter comes to trial he is harangued in court by a Nazi lawyer and, invevitably, found guilty

The end of the film is almost unbearable

After a last visit from his wife

He is taken to be executed by guillotine in the most macabre fashion

The last scene is of his wife laboring in the fields with their daughters

While the tolling of the Church Bell announces his execution  

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The title of the film was “A hidden life”

And was taken from George Elliot’s Middlemarch  

The author, Mary Anne Evans said

“the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts…half owing to the number who faithfully lived a hidden life, and now rest in unvisited tombs”

Eliot, in turn, took the title from St Pauls letter to the Colossians where he said

“For you died, and [now] your life is hidden with Christ"

Franz Jagerstatter indeed lived a life “hidden with Christ” until his story emerged many years later

The Austrian theologian and author Erna Putz, praised the film for its “spirituality”

I was pleased and comforted by her observation as I too found the film deeply theological  

Above all, the film was about a simple man with a profound faith  

Who found himself unable to swear allegiance to Hitler and the Third Reich

Indeed, he was prepared to die for his faith and, like Christ himself, went uncomplainingly to his death

If I had had my interview for the Church later in my life, I would have willingly admitted that I cried during that film

The film hurts me even now

And so on this All Saints Day which we celebrate each and every year

I would like to dedicate the day, this year, to those unknown saints

People who show exceptional courage and faith but whom are barely noticed or who are never recognised at all

Those like Franz Jagerstatter who bear such simple but powerful witness  

Setting an example to us all

And those who saintliness and courage is never witnessed or recognized

We give thanks today for all their “hidden lives”

And for all those unknown saints who now dwell with the all the saints above

“Petri Heil”

It is with great sadness as well as great joy that we celebrate the life of Peter today

A sadness because parting is always tinged with sadness

But also a joy

Joy for a life well lived

But also joy as Peter now leaves this life to take his place in God’s heavenly kingdom

Peter made it clear in his instructions for his funeral, that he wanted something joyful to go out to

And that wish has been faithfully carried out with the choice of Widor’s Tocatta and Fugue

Which you will hear at the end of the service

It is most appropriate however that joyfulness is at the heart of service

Not just because we are celebrating his life

But also celebrating the start of Peter’s journey into God’s heavenly kingdom

Where he will find his eternal rest

I did not know Peter particularly well because he went to the Dales Nursing Home during COVID

At which point, I had only been at Bolton Priory for a year

But we had already struck up a good friendship nevertheless based on our mutual love of fishing

I recall he wore a Salmon and Trout Association tie

We would speak about fishing at the Church door

Indeed, I wrote to Peter just before he went into a Nursing Home telling him that I was shortly to go fishing on the River Tyne

Indeed, whilst I was fishing again this year on the Tyne when I heard of Peter’s death

I am sorry not to be able to tell him that there was lots of water

And that only one fish was caught

But whilst I was fishing on the Tyne this year

We had just kitted up with the help of the ghillies and were about to go our respective beats

And just before my fellow fishermen were about to set off, I used the German salutation

“Petri Heil”

It means “Hail to St Peter”

And is a reference to the disciple Peter, who is the patron saint of fishermen

Fishing and fishermen have a particular Biblical resonance

As we have heard from our Gospel reading today, many of the first disciples were fishermen

Simon Peter, Andrew James and John

They left their nets and chose to follow Jesus

These fishermen became the nucleus of the disciples that Jesus gathered around him

And Peter later became the disciple whom Christ loved most

And who was entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom before his death

That is why we have the Cross Keys, which is a symbol of St Peter and is the name of many of our public houses

I have been a fisherman all my life

And used to take Benedict, my son, fishing from the earliest age

On one of his birthdays, I took him fishing at Shearwater Lake just outside Warminster

We were both pretty clueless as to how to fish the Lake

But we were approached by a kindly fisherman gave us help by providing us with the bait and tackle we need

As a result, we had a very successful day and a good draught of fishes was caught

I remarked to my son afterwards that, perhaps, the fisherman was a disciple of Jesus?

After all, he told us where “to cast our nets”

It was a bit of contextual theology at a tender age

But it made a point about the kindness of strangers and the fact that Christ’s disciples may well be fishermen today

Hold that thought…

Because today we also remember today Peter’s discipleship

Like everyone else at the Priory, I have only known my parishioners for a short time

And in Peter’s case, only for a year

But, he was a faithful servant of the Church

Religiously coming to Church and remaining in communion all his days

Towards the end of his life, he took particular care in writing to me to ensure that his funeral would take place at Bolton Priory

Which shows a commendable religious maturity

Accepting that he, like everyone else, is mortal

And making provision for his funeral according to rites and customs of the church

As well as choosing his hymns and readings

Peter bore wonderful witness to his faith

And remained a faithful disciple until the very end

And so we say goodbye to Peter today

We remember his life

And all the blessings that were bestowed upon him

But above all, as a fellow fisherman, we remember his discipleship to the end of his life

And, like Simon Peter before him, we commend him to God’s heavenly Kingdom

Where saints abound

And, where he too can both give and receive the greeting

“Petri Heil” Hail to St Peter

"Thoughts and Adventures"

Today we meet together to say farewell to our sister in Christ, Val Fell

Wife of Harry

Mother of Ali and Michael, grandmother of Karen, Lucy and Henry,

And Great Grandmother of Ella, Wilf, Izzy and Reuben

Val has had a very full life spanning ninety years

The psalmist says

“The days of our years are threescore years and ten;

But Val was blessed with fourscore years and ten and has had her fair share of joy and sorrow in that time

Being blessed with a lovely family and a comfortable life

Whilst at the same time, having to endure illnesses in various forms

The last time I met Val was when she came to church after Harry’s death in August

I was delighted that she came to church, aided by Ali, and that she was able to make her communion until the very end of her life

However, it was quite a surprise when I heard that she had died, so suddenly, after Harry’s death in the summer

When I heard, I was reminded of the Book of Ecclesiastes where it refers to the seasons of our lives

As it says “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven”

A time to give birth, and a time to die”

It was Val’s time, and Harry’s too

And we give thanks for the blessings they both received during their lives together

Which were entwined, even until the very end

When we were putting the service together, the one thing that really stood out for me in this service however, was a choice of reading

Not the Bible reading, which I have heard it many times

But, the reading from “Thoughts and Adventures” by Winston Churchill

The book was first published in 1932 and was written in his so called “wilderness” years

This secular piece of writing conveys so much religious thought that, in my view, it would be worthy of any book in the Bible or religious writer

It is an inspired choice which I have never heard before, not least at a funeral

And it is worth reminding ourselves what he had to say

First of all, Churchill reminds us to be content with the lot we are apportioned in this world

This echoes King Solomon’s words of the Book of Ecclesiastes, which states

“Every man to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and…power to eat thereof, and to take his portion…this is the gift of God”

We must be satisfied with the riches which God has so graciously bestowed upon us

And not constantly seek more and more

The passage also implores us to accept the natural order of things

As Churchill puts it “The world of space and time” and “the mysterious rhythm of our destinies”

Once again, everything in its season

Thirdly, the piece reminds us to give thanks for our blessings

People sometimes say to me, “oh you have done this and you have done that”

But none of it would have been possible, in any of our lives, without God’s grace

And the same applies to Val and Harry and all of us too

And furthermore, what would this world be if it were just monochrome?

A world where everything turned out fine?

Life is not like that, and to enjoy our blessings, there must be something to contrast it with

As Churchill says “The glory of light cannot exist without its shadows”

“Good and ill must be accepted together”

And we do just that in our farewells today

But the final words belong to both Churchill and our Bible reading too

The last line of Churchills passage refers to the journey

A journey which “has been enjoyable and well worth making”

This is true

But the journey is not concluded yet

For as we heard in our Bible reading from the Book of Revelation

Today there is “a new heaven and a new earth for the first earth has passed away”

“I am making all things new”

“A new city is coming down out of heaven from God”

For Val and Harry

“[They] will be with God now and they will be [his] children”

Amen

Reading

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “See, the home[a] of God is among mortals. He will dwell[b] with them; they will be his peoples,[c] and God himself will be with them;[d] 4 he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.”

5 And the one who was seated on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. 7 Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.

In the course of my lifetime, I have made numerous journeys to Scotland

First as a student at St Andrew’s University and then to the Cairngorms

Where we owned a small farm whilst the children were growing up in Sherborne

As we normally stopped off to see my parents en route, we would then travel up the A1 and go past Gateshead

Which was one of my favorite parts of the journey

Not because we had reached Gateshead, but because we went past the “Angel of the North”

I am sure that you are all familiar with the sculpture by Anthony Gormley

It stands 20 meters tall with a wing span of 54 meters- and is taller than the Statue of Liberty

It is made out of 200 tons of steel

And is an “industrial angel” to celebrate a region which was once based on heavy industry

However, this sculpture also says something about the age in which we live

Because even though we live in an age of religious decline, angels are as popular as ever

I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago at the Feast of St Michael and All Angels

And noted that angels are everywhere

They appear in art, literature and cinema

Angels have appeared in films such as “Finding John Christmas” and “Pokemon and the Sky Warrior”

Well-known actors such as John Travolta, Denzel Washington and Emma Thompson have all played angels

There have been no less than thirty-eight films about angels since the millennium

Indeed, if you search for angels on the internet it gives over 287 million hits

Five times as many as Christianity

Whilst religion is seemingly in decline, angels are as popular as ever

But as well as being ever present in our modern age, they make numerous appearances in the Bible and the other Abrahamic faiths

They make an appearance at the very beginning of the Bible

When three angels mysteriously appear to Abraham at Mamre in the Book of Genesis

And they are in the last book of the Bible too

Indeed, the Book of Revelation is “chock full” of them with no less than 30 different mentions

There appear to be some distinctive characteristics among the angels

There are some who are messengers, such as Gabriel

Others who are guardians, such as the archangel Raphael in the Book of Tobit

There are angels in heaven, angels who have fallen and this morning we are introduced to an angel who wrestles

We are introduced, for the first and only time, to a “wrestling angel”

The story, of course is well known

Having tricked his brother of his inheritance and deceived his father

Jacob is on the run, attracting more enemies on the way

Fearing the he might be murdered, he decides to cross the river Jabbock

He has, literally, been run to ground and has nowhere else to turn

And it is at this point in his life that he wrestles with the angel through the night

You might think that a guardian angel would have been of more use at this point

But whilst wrestling with an angel might be unusual

Wrestling with God is not

The most famous of all is the Book of Jonah who tries to run away from God

But God strong arms him back to where he wants him to be

Similarly with Moses who is chosen to lead the Israelites to the promised land

“Please chose someone else” he asks God, but God had already made his choice

And Moses leads the people to the promised land

Likewise, Jacob has been run to ground and yet goes on to found the people of Israel

At first blush, this memorable story this morning might seem rather remote and removed from our lives

In fact, the opposite is true

In a sense, the struggle with the angel is the struggle we all have with our lives

Like Jacob, Jonah and Moses we don’t want to let go of the security we have created for ourselves

We too are on the run – not necessarily from our enemies but from God himself

And we wrap ourselves with financial, intellectual and social capital and cling to it as long as we possibly can

No wonder Jacob did not want to let go – and nor do we

But the angel resolves this by dislocating Jacob’s hip, causing Jacob to let go of his security once and for all

And he now faces the very real prospect of living and dying on the margins – as we too will too

However, although this looks like the end, as one commentator remarked

“Out of weakness comes strength; out of powerlessness comes power, out of death comes resurrection, life. This is part of the radical witness that Jesus places before us”

It is in fact a blessing – and why Jacob himself is then duly blessed by the angel

And so returning to the Angel of the North

That wonderful icon of the North of England which dominates the landscape for miles around

It is a reminder to us all of angels

Their presence in the Bible and perhaps their presence in our lives too

But whether you believe in angels or not

A belief in God necessarily entails a struggle - with an angel or God himself

So that he might get what he wants from us and our lives

So when you next drive past the angel of the North

Think of God and how he might prevail in your life too

At the beginning of this year, a small but significant story caught my eye in the paper

It was about a prison chaplain who had been sacked from her job

As I myself had worked in a prison during my curacy, I was intrigued to learn more

And so read on

The article was about a Quaker Chaplain called Liz Bridge

She had worked for eight years as a chaplain in HMP Wandsworth in London

And, during her time, she had become concerned, not just about the welfare of the prisoners

But also, what happened to them when they left

As a result, she made some small payments to a number of prisoners to help them out on their release

At first blush, this seemed to be an act of great kindness

The sums extended were relatively modest being between £15- £30

As the chaplain herself said

“These were men who were going to leave homeless and were very, very frightened about how they would cope”

You might have expected the prison chaplain to be praised for showing such compassion to her fellow men and women

But the opposite was true

Whilst sorting out socks for the Christmas appeal, she was told to go security where she was sacked on the spot

The prison service said she had committed “a very serious breach of professional standards”

And that they would not hesitate to take action against those who put themselves and others at risk

To add insult to injury, the kind prison chaplain has been banned from working in prison for the next five years

I thought of the prison chaplain when writing this sermon because, yesterday, the Church celebrated another prison “chaplain”/worker

Namely Elizabeth Fry

She was born in 1780 and married a man called Joseph Fry who was a strict Quaker

Elizabeth Fry was then herself admitted as a Minister in the Society of Friends

And devoted much of her time to the welfare of female prisoners at Newgate Prison in London

I recently read an account of her life was very taken by a number of aspects of her ministry

In the first instance, I was moved by her ministry among those who had been sentenced to deportation to Australia

Not surprisingly, they suffered great distress and Elizabath Fry was drawn to give them comfort and support

In particular, she was keen to ensure that they would find employment when they arrived in Australia and made sure they were trained before they left

She also made sure that she was there at their departure

There is a lovely story about Elizabeth Fry being present whilst the female prisoners were loaded onto the boats

According to the commentary

Mrs Fry stood at the cabin door…and opened her Bible

The crews of the other vessels, attracted at the very novelty of the scene, leaned over and listened with great attention

After reading, “she closed her Bible and knelt down on the deck and prayed, and implored a blessing upon the women”

Many of the women wept bitterly and, when she left the ship, they followed her with their eyes until they could see her no more”

We might think of this as something belonging to a more brutal past

But it is worth reminding ourselves that this country was once again on the verge of deporting people until July of this year

This time refugees, who had done no wrong at all

And which would have effectively taken this country back to 1814 –

Thank goodness we were saved from this barbarity

But the second aspect which moved me, was her ministry to those sentenced to death

Again, there is a very moving account of her meeting with a female prisoner and how it affected her

She wrote “My mind has been deeply affected in attending a poor woman who was executed this morning”

This event has brought me into much feeling, attended with some distressingly nervous sensations in the night

This poor creature murdered her baby and now has had her life taken away as well

The whole affair has been deeply afflicting to me

One can only begin to imagine how distressing this must have been

But as well as dealing with trauma of prison life, there was one final part of her ministry which caught my attention

Much of her time was, obviously, given up to the day to day running of the prison

She set up a school for the children and went about creating gainful employment for the prisoners

Which included making clothes

But, unexpectedly perhaps, the women employed in making clothes were very industrious

And, within ten months they had made a small profit

Which allowed them to provide a small fund for those leaving prison

Elizabeth Fry was rightly lauded for her compassion and is remembered by the Church today

Liz Bridge showed similar compassion, but was sacked

There is little difference between the two

Sadly today, two hundred years later, our prisons are still in a deplorable state

Indeed, the compassion shown by Elizabeth Fry is sore missing today

And compassion can even get you sacked

But despite these depressing facts, let us gives thanks today for both Elizabeth Fry and Liz Bridge

And all those who work for the betterment of our prisons and therefore the betterment of our society at large

“THERE was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him”

These are the wonderful words we have heard this morning from the Book of Revelation

Unusually, I have chosen an Epistle rather than an Old Testament reading

Because today we are marking the Feast of St Michael and All Angels today (29th September)

These words are forever etched on my mind

Because when I taught at Sherborne School, I also oversaw the Cranmer Awards

Which was annual competition to promote the Book of Common Prayer

And I used the reading from Book of Revelation for the Feast of St Michael and All Angels

As the entry reading for most of the boys under my instruction

It is so wonderfully dramatic

And makes a deep impression on those who hear it, however many times

I am sure that, having learnt it by heart, it will stay with many of the boys, for the rest of their lives

But it was not just the wonderful text which drew me to the Feast of St Michael and All Angels

But the fact that the first academic term at Sherborne School was called the Michaelmas term

I was intrigued that a school term was named after the Archangel Michael

It seemed gloriously old fashioned

But when I came to research the matter further,

I found that “Michaelmas terms” were used by no less than

· 88 Schools

· 11 Universities including Oxford and Cambridge

· The Legal profession

Indeed, over a hundred institutions use the name of an angel

But these extraordinary facts beg the question as to whether anyone actually believe in angels anymore?

But I think the answer is not quite the one we might expect

If you asked this question in the Middle Ages the answer would have been a predictable Yes

The medieval theologian, St Thomas Aquinas, asked himself,

Not whether angels existed, but whether they can be in more than one place at once?

Famously in the question, How many angels could dance on a pinhead?

The Pilgrim Fathers/on their journey to Plymouth/ believed that those who looked after them on the way were in fact angels in disguise

This is the reason why may pubs/even today/ are called the “Angel Inn”

Even in our locality, there are Angel Inns at Leyburn, Hetton and Bowness-on-Windermere

But surprisingly we have not departed too far from this in our modern times

Indeed, angels have never been more popular

They appear all the time in films, cartoons, advertisements and on our Christmas trees

And most commonly of all in nativity plays

According to Google, the word angel registered 287 million hits in a year

Which was five times as many as Christianity

When I was teaching, I even rang up the tattoo parlour in Sherborne to ask if you could get a St Michael the Archangel tattoo

It was if I had asked stupid question!

Although these facts are rather amusing, we should remind ourselves that, we too

· Listen, without question, to the story of Jacob wrestling with an angel

· Of Mary being told by the angel Gabriel that she will bear a child

· Or the angels proclaiming Christ’s birth

We readily accept angels as part of the Christian story

Indeed, angels show no sign of taking flight from our modern culture

So how should we approach angels today?

On the one hand we could just accept them – they exist on earth and in heaven and that is that

But perhaps there is another way, and indeed there may be a clue, hiding in plain sight, at Bolton Priory

If you look up, there are thirty-five angels bedecking our roof

The reason they are there is because Bolton Priory was restored by 19th century architects

And to such architects, in the High Church tradition,

Everything that was outwardly visible had an inward and spiritual reality

In the case of angels, they remind us that God guards us and his Church against evil

So on this feast of St Michael and All Angels

May we, first, be reminded of our Christian heritage

And the fact that Christianity still lies at the heart of much of our national life

Secondly, may the feast day remind us of our need to guard against sin and the help and protection we receive from God in so doing

And finally, may we give thanks for our Lord Jesus Christ and his ministering angels

For having fought the powers of darkness on our behalf, that we might be delivered into the light

Today we mark and celebrate the accession of King Charles III to the Throne

Given that King Charles was crowned King on the 6th May 2023

The choice of date might, at first blush, seem a little odd

But most of you will have realized that the King acceded to the throne immediately upon the death of his mother

And Her late Majesty died on Thursday 8th September 2022

And at that point, His Majesty became King of the United Kingdom of Great Britian and Northern Ireland

As well as fourteen other Commonwealth Realms

And today we mark the second anniversary of that accession

However, not only is this an auspicious day for the nation

But it is also an auspicious day in the life of the Priory

Because this year we have been blessed with the installation of King Charles Coronation memorial doors

Thanks to the enormous generosity of the Friends of Bolton Priory

The doors bear the Coronation emblem

Which was used during the Coronation and which reflects King Charles love for the natural world

But the door also bears the inscription “Glory to God in the Highest”

Which is a tribute to the man who saved the Tower from ruin, namely Canon Maurice Slaughter

Whose grave bears the same wording

The inscription, of course, being a reference to the song of the angels in Lukes Gospel

As they proclaimed the birth of our Lord as we do today

When it comes to accession to the throne

I read an interesting article the other day by the former Bishop of Exeter

It was entitled “Wisdom, Service and Integrity in the Exercise of Power”

And examined the Coronation of King Edgar of England in 959 AD

Whilst reading his Coronation service the bishop noted that, as well as the people making their oath of allegiance to the King

The King also made an oath of allegiance to his people in return

And this oath of allegiance came in three parts

In the name of Christ, the King swore

· To keep the true peace in his Church and his realms

· To forbid all acts of greed, violence and iniquity in all ranks and classes

· And thirdly to exercise justice and mercy in all his judgements

This is a remarkable oath of office

But in making such an oath, he was making a very profound statement about the purposes and uses of power

Not just by the King, but all those who act on behalf of the crown

A thousand years later, the role of the Crown in this country is very limited indeed

Powers have been stripped away over the centuries

And, under Queen Victoria, the monarchy became largely constitutional

Which remains the case today

But the powers, once vested in the Crown, have passed to those who now act on its behalf

And are very extensive

The powers vest today

In the Government

At national, devolved and local level

The judiciary, from the Supreme Court downwards

The Armed Forces, police, border and prison officers

And then those who work for the body politic as a whole

Which includes the Church, including the Church of England

And the former Bishop of Exeter posed a profound and fascinating question

What if those who exercise the power of the Crown today were faithful to the Coronation oath of King Edgar in 959AD

Can you imagine if all politicians and public servants strove for peace today?

If politicians and other public servants renounced greed, violence and iniquity

If those involved in the administration of justice, sought to exercise justice and mercy in all that they did

What a country we might be?

When I was the Rector of the Falkland Islands, I was invited to celebrate Holy Communion at Government House

The idea was, that the power of the Holy Spirit might flow through the office of Governor, acting on behalf of the Crown

To all those who held public and private office in the Islands

In a sense it was a similar aspiration to that of King Edgar a millennia before

And echoes the words of Thomas Cranmer’s who petitioned God in one of his collects that “justice and mercy may be seen in all the earth”

And so returning to our new King Charles Coronation Memorial Doors

In use for the first time since the accession and coronation a

And shortly to be blessed

May we too today hope and aspire, that all those who pass through these doors

May likewise, serve God, in the service of others

May strive for peace and justice

May renounce greed, violence and iniquity

But, above all, may they, like the angels before them, proclaim the good news of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ

As I was preparing myself for the fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

I noticed in my Church Diary that, yesterday, we remembered “Charles Fuge Lowder, priest 1880”

Despite years of studying Church History, I must confess that this name had escaped me

So I looked him up

He was a priest in the Church of England in the middle of the nineteenth century

And remembered particularly because he was the founder of the Society of the Holy Cross

This was a Society for Anglo Catholic Priests in the Church of England

And still exists to this day

Members of this organization wear a distinctive decorative crucifix in their lapel

And the Society seeks to promote the Catholic tradition in the Church of England

Charles Lowder was born in June 1820

He went to Kings College School in London before reading Greats at Oxford

Whilst at Oxford, he went to the Church of St Mary the Virgin where he heard John Henry Newman preach

It was John Henry Newman who inspired him to go into the priesthood

And John Henry Newman which took him to the Catholic Wing of the Church

After ordination, Charles Lowther sought a curacy at St Barnabus’ Church in Pimlico

However, this was opposed by a church warden called Mr Westerman

Who was opposed to Anglo Catholic clerics generally

So determined was the warden, that he hired a man with a sandwich board to walk up and down outside church in protest at the subsequent appointment

In reply, Louder then gave money to the choir boys to throw rotten eggs at him

For which he was fined by the magistrate and suspended for six weeks by the Bishop!

But Lowther began his priestly ministry at a time when there was a battle for the heart and soul of the Anglican Church

A battle which continues to this day

In essence there were/are two competing wings of the Church

On the one hand there ws the Anglo Catholics who were deeply hostile to the Reformation

As one of the principal Anglo-Catholics commented at the time

“The Reformation was a limb badly set, it must be broken again in order to be righted”

For the Anglo Catholic’s, the Church of England was still rooted in the Fathers of the early Church

And therefore remained loyal to its’ catholic heritage

On the other hand, there was the evangelical wing of the Church

Who were those opposed what they saw as the “Romanizing tendencies”

By contrast, they sought to establish that the English Reformation was a clear and distinct break with Rome

As they put it “To maintain the purity of the Gospel…and stewards of the mysteries of Christ”

In an attempt to bear down on these “Romanizing tendencies” the evangelical wing of the Church of England decided to strike against them

The Public Worship Regulation Act was introduced as a private members Bill by the Archbishop of Canterbury no less

With the stated aim of “putting down the ritualists”

The Act came into force in 1875

And the Church Association then set about prosecuting those with “Romanizing tendencies”

This could include putting candles on the altar, putting water into the wine, kneeling at the Eucharist and making the sign of the cross when administering a blessing

No less than seventeen priests were prosecuted for “ritualism” and some went to jail

Among them were three priests from the Society for the Holy Cross

Indeed, there was a failed attempt to prosecute Charles Lowder himself

Although prosecutions ended in 1906 when a Royal Commission recognized the legitimacy of pluralism in worship

The Act remained in force for 91 years and was only repealed in 1965

It is not always easy to preach continually on the same readings every year which is why I have chosen to preach on Charles Fuge Louder today

And his life and witness should inspire us all

However, his life and work are, arguably, related to the readings this morning

Because, both readings today are about “outsiders”

In the Old Testament we heard about Naaman who is a high-ranking Aramaean military officer

Who is an outsider, not just because of his ethnicity, but also because he has leprosy

Nevertheless, he is made clean, made whole, one again

In the case lepers /“who stood far off”/ they too are restored by God even though they come from Samaria

As Jesus said “thy faith has made thee whole”

But whilst Naaman and the ten lepers are so obviously outsiders

Charles Louder also, peculiarly, found himself as an outsider in the Church

Many of his fellow priests were outcast from the Church and thrown into jail

But despite being outcast, their faith and witness shone through and they were restored to full communion

And not just that, they helped the Church to flourish

Lowder himself not only founded the society of the Holy Cross but also St Peter’s Church in London Docks – which continues to this day

And so, on this fourteenth Sunday after Trinity

We give thanks for Charles Louder

The Society of the Holy Cross

And the church he founded in London Docks

But above all, we give thanks for all those outsiders who have been brought back into the Church

All those outsiders whose faith has made us all “whole” again

May I speak in the name of the living God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

During recent weeks the country has witnessed some terrible acts of violence and disorder, many of which were claimed to be a reaction to the murder of those three dear children in Southport. I am not going to comment upon the rights and wrongs of those reactions, or the circumstances surrounding them, suffice to say that rioting and violence can never be condoned, legitimized or presented as some sort of self-righteous justice. Never. And perhaps the worst example that I saw, and maybe you too, were people attempting to burn down a hotel full of people. You could clearly see the occupants of the hotel in the windows. It was awful. Thankfully, the police, who were under sustained attack themselves in trying to protect the hotel, were eventually able to disperse the mob without any harm coming to the migrants or refugees that were in the hotel.

Unfortunately there seems to be a level of growing resentment, or even hatred, among some communities towards migrants, Muslims, boat people, or asylum seekers.

2000 years ago there were similar feelings toward the Samaritans, who were a hated and despised people in the eyes of Jews. They were distrusted and regarded as dishonest, unfaithful and unworthy.

So, I hope we can already see a connection emerging from the readings we have heard this morning.

If Jesus was teaching the lesson of the Good Samaritan today, he may well have called it the Parable of the Good refugee or migrant.

And although it is probably the most well-known of all the parables, it can still teach and remind us of how to be faithful, loving Christians.

Now many believe that it is principally a lesson on how we should treat those in need. And although this is true to a degree – which I will explore further in a moment, it isn’t primarily what the parable is about.

The initial question presented to Jesus and giving rise to the parable was presented by a lawyer. Not a lawyer as we understand the term today, but a person who was an expert in the Mosaic Law – the Law of Moses. An expert on the Hebrew Scriptures, and probably a scribe. He asks ‘What shall I do to inherit eternal life?’

So this parable is primarily about eternal life and salvation.

But Jesus turns the question around and basically says, ‘Well, you’re an expert in the law, you tell me! ‘What is written in the law? How readest thou? And the lawyer answers ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all my heart, with all thy soul and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and love thy neighbour as thy self’.

And Jesus said unto him, ‘Thou has answered right, do this and ye shall live’.

The lawyer used passages from Deuteronomy 6:5, and the Leviticus passage that we heard this morning.

But the crux of Jesus’ message is this: yes, to receive eternal life you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength, And love your neighbour as yourself. But, of course, actually achieving this is another matter. No one, in all probability, is able to fulfil that deep level of loving commitment and devotion for both God and their neighbour. Hence our need for Jesus.

But the lawyer, not wanting to be outshone as it were, responds ‘And who is my neighbour?

And then the parable begins.

Jesus was, of course, addressing a Jewish audience. And through the parable we learn that those who may be perceived to be Godly and righteous – the priest and the Levite, can allow traditions or perhaps a moto of ‘safety first’ to distract them or prevent them from acting in loving response to those in need. And the one person whom the Jewish audience would have put money on to do nothing, or even rob the victim further, the despised Samaritan, turns out to be the only one who was willing and able to care and rescue the victim.

Any person of any nation who is in need is our neighbour. Our help must be as wide as the love of God. The help must be practical and not consist merely in feeling sorry. No doubt the priest and Levite felt a pang of pity for the wounded man, but they actually did nothing. Compassion, to be real, must involve deeds.

The epistle of James says: ‘Faith without works is a dead faith’. Faith without works is a dead faith because the lack of works or good deeds reveals an unchanged life or a spiritually dead heart. There are many verses that say that true saving faith will result in a transformed life, that faith is demonstrated by the works we do. How we live reveals what we believe, and whether the faith we profess to have is a living, loving faith.

But let’s be clear: James is not saying that our works make us righteous before God. But that true saving faith is demonstrated by good works. Works are not the cause of salvation; works are the evidence of salvation.

And it is worth noting that the story of the Good Samaritan may well be true. Luke uses the term ‘parable’ 17 times in his gospel, but he does not in fact use the term to introduce this story.

And I believe that this story is as relevant today as it was 2000 years ago. It is telling us that an unresponsive heart to God will be unresponsive to a neighbour in need.

And there are further lessons that we can learn from this parable.

The first lesson we can extract from this story is Jesus exposing a cultural touchpoint rooted in racism.

He’s demonstrating the sacred worth of Samaritans, and people of different races than ourselves.

We know that all people are created in God’s image and therefore deserve to be treated accordingly. The blood of Christ was shed for all people, which tells us that His blood declares the worth of all people.

And did you notice, there are seven verbs describing what the Samaritan does for this man.

As he journeyed, the Samaritan came to where he was—there was a physical presence.

When he saw him, he had compassion—there’s empathy, sympathy, emotional connection.

He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine—there’s medical care.

Then he set him on his animal and brought him to an inn—there’s transportation and providing shelter.

The next day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, “Take care of him; I’ll pay the bill.” There’s financial aid.

Jesus utilizes a Samaritan to share not only the dignity and value of all people but also that the hero in the story was not indifferent to the brokenness around him.

Jesus shows us that the requirement, or the invitation, is to have such a vibrant and loving relationship with God that you have the heart of God for all people, which includes your enemies.

How can you bless your enemies? Pray for them. Love and forgive them. Look for ways to demonstrate love in their life. See our so-called enemies for their sacred worth.

You could say that the Jericho Road stretches around the world. It is near at hand to each of us, calling for our care and compassion, needing a Christianity with its sleeves rolled up, binding the wounds of broken humanity.

For when Jesus said to the scribe ‘Which of the three was a neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves? The scribe answered ‘he that showed mercy on him’.

And Jesus’ reply is his message to us all: ‘Go, go and do likewise’.

We meet today to pay tribute and say farewell to our brother in Christ, Robert [Stell]

Husband of Barbara

Father of Amanda and Simon, grandfather of Emma and great grandfather of Luca

As we have heard so movingly in the eulogy, Robert has had a very long and distinguished life

First as an Army Officer during his National Service

Then in the family business, William Stell Limited before branching out into different business ventures

But I think that the thing that stood out for me most

Was the common theme from so many of his friends and acquaintances

That he was the very epitome of a gentleman

A man who was faultlessly courteous

A man who was kind and honorable

A man admired and respected by all those who had the privilege to know him

And who make up the vast majority of us here today

I too have had the privilege of knowing Robert for the past couple of years

After I took Barbara’s funeral at Bolton Priory in 2022

I too found him as described

He had a certain presence

Immaculately turned out and always so polite

He was of the old school and enriched all our lives

And will be sore missed by all those who knew him

Or even just made his acquaintance

It is difficult for me to know where to start in a sermon, particularly as I only knew Robert for the last two years of his life

It was at a sad time for him as he had just lost his wife Barbara

And the rhythm and predictability of his long life was changed for ever after neatly seventy years

Like so many others, at the very end of our lives, we are forced to move on

As St John says

“when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you”

And this often means a move away from our familiar surroundings

It will happen to most of here at some stage of our lives, if it has not done so already

On one level it may seem rather harsh to have to move from the comfort of what you have known

However, on another level, and looking at it dispassionately,

It is all part of life’s earthly pilgrimage

I often remind those who are getting baptised

That we have both earthly life and a spiritual one too

We too journey through this earthly life, just has Robert has done

In our earthly life

We study, work, raise a family and try and keep ourselves together financially

But so often this comes at the expense of our spiritual life

It is so easy to lose one’s bearings spiritually to the chances and changes of this fleeting life

As Jesus reminds us

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

Guarding your soul is remarkably difficult in any walk of life

But Robert seems to have maintained this too

I was taken by the remarks in his eulogy about his patience and acts of kindness

Which are all gifts of the Holy Spirit

Which he seemed to be the very embodiment

I don’t know how Robert found this life spiritually or otherwise

It was not something he divulged in the short time we knew each other

But his life reminds us all today that we are all travelers and always travelling

Travelling through this earthly realm towards heaven

And it should always be this final destination which motivates the journey

And which motivated Robert during his life here on earth and which should motivate us too

But I think the greatest testament to Robert is the reading from Philippians which was chosen for his funeral service

And speaks so clearly about Robert today – almost as if it was written about him

As St Paul says

“Let your gentleness be known to everyone”

Just as Robert did to us all

But above all,

“And whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about] these things”

“And the peace of God will be with you all”

In the name etc

It is my great pleasure to be conducting the baptism of Romilly this morning at Bolton Priory

Her parents, Nigel and Fiona Mary married at Bolton Priory in 2020

And have now been blessed with a daughter

Who they have now brought to holy baptism

A very warm welcome to you

To Romilly

And to the Godparents and other friends who are with us today

When I was asked to take this baptism, I was reminded of the words of John the Baptist at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel

Who said of the coming of Christ

“I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I… will come and baptize you with the Holy Spirit”

Today Romilly is baptized

Not just with water but with the Holy Spirit

And the seal of the Holy Spirit will be marked on her head with the sign of the cross

With the holy oil of chrism

I am relatively confident in saying that the vast majority of us here this morning will have been baptized

But whilst we might ordinarily think of baptism being with water

It is easy to overlook that we are also baptized with the Holy Spirit

And perhaps it is an appropriate occasion therefore to remind ourselves what this means

And what it might mean for our lives

First and foremost,

Whilst the gift of the Holy Spirit is a gift to the Church it is also a gift to each of us personally

As such we become bearers of the Holy Spirit or Spirit bearers

We are personally blessed by God, and individually conferred with this dignity

This confers on each and every one of us a divine dignity as Romilly reminds us today

But it also confers the same dignity on our fellow men and women

And how we might treat them in our daily lives?

However, the gift of the Holy Spirit does not mean that we all receive the same gifts

Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12: 4) tells us that “there are different kind of gifts”

But distributed by the same Spirit

Rather than expecting us to display a collectively uniformity, the Bible tells us something different

Bishop Kallistos Ware put it this way

“Life in the Church does not mean the ironing out of human variety, nor a rigid and uniform pattern on all alike”

But the exact opposite

We are all different and we all bring our different gifts of the Spirit to bear

And I am sure that Romilly will bring her gifts to bear upon the Church too in the fulness of time

But what does the conferring of the Holy Spirit tell us about the Church?

Whilst it is clear that the gift of the Holy Spirit leads to the diversity of gifts among its people

When it come to the Church, the gift of the Spirit lends itself to the opposite conclusion

Taken together collectively the gifts of the Spirit “are for the common good” for the Church is the manifestation of the Body of Christ

The Russian theologian Aleksey Khomiakov put it like this

“The Church is one…not a multitude of persons in their separate individuality, but a unity of the grace of God, living in a multitude of rational creatures, submitting themselves willingly to grace”.

These are magnificent and inspirational words

Reminding us all of the gifts bestowed today

On Romilly,

Ourselves and on the Church

As another is added to its number today

We learnt this morning from our Old Testament

That Moses’s face became radiant when he encountered God upon the Holy Mountain

It became a brilliant white,

Washed clean by his encounter with God

And whilst this is different from Holy Baptism,

Romilly too encounters God today

She is restored in the image and likeness of God

Having been cleansed by the waters of baptism

And by the agency of the Holy Spirit

Her life in Spirit, makes her radiant divine

And reminds us too, through her reflected glory

That we too are fellow bearers of the Holy Spirit

Today we meet together to say goodbye to Muriel

Beloved wife

Mother and grandmother

It is clear that she was much loved and cherished throughout her long and fruitful life and will be sore missed

And we mourn her together today

Whilst sharing happy memories of her life, many of which we have shared at this service

It is difficult for me to know where to start, particularly as I never really knew Muriel

However, she was a member of the congregation at Bolton Priory for many years

And continued to worship here until she went to live in Edinburgh when the COVID pandemic struck in 2020

Like so many others, at the very end of our lives, we are forced to move on

As St John says

“when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you”

And this often means a move away from our familiar surroundings

It will happen to many of us here at some stage of our lives, if it has not done so already

On one level it may seem rather harsh to have to move from the comfort of our home and homestead which we have known and loved

However, on another level, and looking at it dispassionately,

It is all part of life’s earthly pilgrimage

I often say to those who are being baptised here at the Priory

We have an earthly journey and we have a spiritual one too

And the Priory, perhaps makes this makes this point more clearly than most churches

Because the only part of the Church which remains after the Reformation is the nave,

A word which comes from the Latin “navis” meaning a ship

Making the congregation part of the ship’s company, so to speak

Travelling on a spiritual journey together towards heaven

And having a foretaste of God’s heavenly Kingdom when we celebrate Holy Communion together

But pilgrimage is not just about journeying but also about abandoning ourselves to God

Something we all might like to consider today

Celtic Christians used to take part in a pilgrimage known as “peregrination”

This type of pilgrimage was a journey for the love of Christ alone – nothing else

And one was required to abandon oneself completely to God – to throw yourself on his mercy

As the spiritual writer Esther De Wall said, it is “To find the place of one’s resurrection, the resurrected self…[our] true self in Christ”

This is, in a sense, an extreme form of pilgrimage – if you like for extreme pilgrimages

But whereas it might seem extreme, it is not as extreme as you might think

Because ultimately, we will all find ourselves at the mercy of God

At the end of our lives

Wandering in an unknown region with only Christ as our guide

But Muriel’s journey of faith is clearly reflected in the hymns and readings which have been chosen for today

Indeed, Muriel chose them many years before she died

Her first hymn, “For the beauty of the earth”

Reflects the joy and delight she took in God’s creation

Saying on behalf of us all

“Lord of all to thee we raise, this our sacrifice of praise”

Psalm 121 refers to God being our guide

“My help cometh even from the Lord who has made heaven and earth”

“He is thy keeper”

And shall preserve thee from this time forth and for ever more

And “Dear Lord and Father of Mankind” speaks of our need for repentance when we fall from the way

And God’s forgiveness when we need to be restored to a state of grace

And finally, like Muriel today

We all journey to the New Jerusalem

A new heaven and a new earth

Where tears have been wiped away and death is no more

But above all we remind ourselves that whatever else might befall us

Whatever might distract us in this world,

In the words of the Lord’s Prayer

Which we will say together in a moment

Nothing changes the reality that

“Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen”

I am relatively confident in asserting that a sizeable number of you here today are part of what is termed the Silent Generation

Born between 1928 – 1945, you are otherwise known as “traditionalists”

Broadly speaking, you lived through times of prosperity as young adults, economic upheaval in middle age, and relative comfort in later life.

You trend towards conformity and traditionalism

And are statistically more likely to vote Conservative

Above all you are the most likely generation to go to Church

By contrast, I am a Boomer, having been born in 1962

As such, I have lived through a time of economic prosperity and technological progress

As well as the counter cultural revolution -although I was, sadly, rather late to the party

I have enjoyed increasing affluence and government subsidies in housing and education

When it comes to religion, as you can see from Church this morning

Nearly half of boomers have left the Church with just 23% remaining

I rank among their number

My children, by contrast, are all Generation Z

They were born from the mid 1990’s to 2010

And have been identified as being more educated and well behaved than their paernts

But more stressed and depressed at the same time

Given the prevalence of IT they have been called “digital natives”

And are more concerned with academic performance and job prospects than their parents

They consume less alcohol and have fewer teenage pregnancies

But generally speaking, they don’t go to Church

It is not unreasonable to point out that our failure to get young people into Church today

Is in fact, largely, a Gen Z problem

Recently I read a book called “Gen Z explained”

It was by a group of academics from Oxford and Stanford Universities

Who realized that they were now teaching a generation, markedly different from before

The book seeks to identify the values and world views shared by most Gen Z’s –

So the academics could better understand them and adapt their teaching accordingly

And they pointed out some marked characteristics

First and foremost, the book points out that Gen Z’s are “digital natives”

The first generation to live their lives largely on-line

Furthermore, they have access to information the like of which we have not seen since the advent of the printing press

It is a revolution in the way people live their lives - one the Church has barely begun to touch

Secondly, Gen Z are more likely to cluster around those institutions which respond to the global challenges we currently face

These include our eco-systems, sustainability, equality, justice, and freedom from oppression

The recent protests over fossil fuels are examples of socio-political organization and resistance they might join

But these movements do not rely on faith-based sponsorship

Indeed, when it comes to such issues, the Church so often sits on its hands

When it comes to religion, the book points out that Gen Z are more likely to focus on values rather than religion

These values include integrity, fairness, justice, truth, kindness and honesty

By contrast, institutions which fail to exemplify these values are not trusted by Gen Z’s –

And they just won’t go

The failure of the Church to properly address sexism, homophobia and the lack of accountable government

Means that Gen Z is likely to stay at home instead

This all paints a fairly dismal picture

The Church of England is simply not reading the signs of the times

If for a moment you put the Church of England alongside Gen Z outlook, then the Church is highly likely to fail

As the theologian and former Anglican priest Martyn Percy said to the Church

“Listen and learn…and strive to recover the grounded authenticity which has been lost”

Gen Z are well aware of what is missing

And they will be missing from Church until the Church of England makes the effort to adapt

As I was writing this sermon, I allowed myself a flight of fancy

And asked myself what generation Jesus would belong to if he was alive today?

If 2024 was the last year of his ministry then Jesus would have been born in the mid 1990’s

In other words, he would be Gen Z

And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that he exhibited some of the Gen Z characteristics

Like them, he too focused more on values that religion

When it came to issues of justice and fairness, he firmly sided with the outcast

Seeking equality, justice and freedom from oppression above all else

And when it came to communications, he found a revolutionary method of teaching through parables

Just as we have a revolution in information today

The Church of England is rather like the Temple of old

It spends much of its time seeking money, membership and loyalty and aligning itself with the State

So it is little wonder then that Jesus overturned the tables in his time

Just as Gen Z are doing today

One of my favourite paintings is “The Return of the Prodigal Son” by Rembrandt

It was one of his last paintings before he died and many of you will be familiar with the painting

It shows the father of the prodigal son, with his hands on his sons shoulders

The son has his back to viewer

And is dressed in threadbare garments with a shaven head

The painting is surrounded by darkness save for the father and son who are bathed in a pale mellow light

The scene is set for the father to forgive his son

And the act of forgiveness has an almost sacramental dignity

Above all, the kindness in the eyes of the Father, suggest that this is an act of unconditional love

I love the power and emotion that radiates from this painting

And the fact that the father forgives his son has always brought me great comfort

And may well do the same for you

However, there is one detail in the story itself which I have always found problematic

And that is the phrase “when he came to himself”

In Greek, the word is “metanoia” and means coming to one’s senses

And is generally understood to mean repenting of his sinful ways

But this understanding has led me into many debates with my fellow theologians about forgiveness

In simple terms, does repentance have to precede forgiveness

Is it necessary to repent of your sins before God will forgive you?

Or is the love of God unconditional?

It is a question which continues to puzzle me to this day

At first blush, the evidence seems to suggest that repentance is necessary for forgiveness

We learn at the beginning of Luke’s Gospel that John the Baptist

“Went into all the region…proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins”

This message is reinforced by Jesus himself when he told the Pharisees that

“I have come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32)

And at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel Jesus says “Repent and believe in the Good News”

But it is not just a general exhortation to repentance but an individual one too

In the story of Zaccheus in Luke’s Gospel

Zaccheus repents by paying back what he had defrauded from others (Luke 19: 1-10)

Later on in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus says that

If someone sins against you seven times and says “I repent”

Then you must forgive

However, there are other stories which suggest something different

There is the story of the woman taken in adultery in Lukes’ Gospel where Jesus intervenes to save her,

But Jesus does not demand repentance for her forgiveness - he just forgives her

Likewise with the sinful women In Luke’s Gospel who anoints Jesus’ feet,

Her faith alone is enough – nothing more is required

There is a lovely fictional story in Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables”

When Bishop Myriel, gives shelter to a vagabond

The vagabond repays the hospitality – so to speak - by stealing some of the bishops’ silver

But when the police apprehend the villain

Instead of turning him in, the bishop seeks to defend him instead

And does so by telling the police that the silver was his gift from to the thief

The vagabond was so moved by the unconditional forgiveness

That it moved him to repentance

But in that case, repentance followed - rather than preceded - forgiveness

But returning to a story I have told you a few times before about one of the Desert Fathers who was on his death bed

He was one of the holiest men in the community

When he came to die, his fellow monks surrounded his bed where they noticed that his lips were moving

They asked “who are you talking to, Father”

He replied

“I am talking to the angels…and I am asking for more time to repent”

His brothers said “[But] you have no need to repent”

But the brother said “Truly, I am not sure I have even begun to repent”

If some of the holiest men are unable to repent, then can we ever be sure that we or anyone else has truly repented?

Ask yourself to what extent have you truly repented – and like me

The answer will become clear, very quickly

And so returning to the Gospel reading today and the prodigal son who “came to himself” before he was forgiven by his father

My issue is not the “coming to his senses” or repentance but the circumstances in which this came about

The son does not make a voluntary confession of his sins

He does not say I repent either

He is driven by sheer force of circumstances to this position – he has nowhere left to go

Indeed, he is left helpless before God, as we all will be one day, when we come to die

But then, as it suggests in Rembrandts’ painting

The Father is there to welcome us home,

Irrespective of what we might have done

For the simple fact that “thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is now found”

In 2017, the Collins Word of the Year was “Fake news”

This was because, in the preceding year, the Collins English Dictionary had noticed a 365% increase in the use of the word

Which was largely down to Donald J Trump’s 2016 Presidential election campaign

Of course, false stories are the stuff of all election campaigns and public fife

At the time of the Roman Empire

Octavian started a fake news campaign against his rival Mark Anthony over his sobriety and his relationship with Cleopatra

In the reign of George II, false stories abounded about the health of the King

In Victorian times, newspapers made up stories about fantastic creatures on the moon

Just to sell papers

And in the First World War, the Daily Mail invented a story about the Germans making soap and margarine from dead bodies

To try and convince their readers that Germans were all barbarians

There was only one problem – they were all lies

But it begs the wider question as to what is true and what is not?

And how are we to know?

But this question is not just an issue in our politics but in our faith as well

As a forerunner of “Fake News”, we are introduced this morning to the term “False Prophet”

“Beware False prophets” Jesus tells us“ the wolves in sheep’s clothing”

If you slightly adjust the wording, the point he is really making is

Make sure you discern the “Good News” from the “Fake news”

But how we are meant to do this?

Of course I have posed myself an enormous question

And the canvas is far too great for me to even begin to examine all the books of the Bible

However, when it comes to the term “Good News” this is the literal translation of the word Gospel

Which comes from the Greek work “evangelion”

The Gospels together are, generically, termed the “Good News” because they contain the wonderful news of our salvation

A salvation brought about through the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

But how do we discern the Good News from the Fake News – indeed, why is it even a question?

When it comes to the writers of the Gospels, the journalists of the Bible, if you like,

It seems to me that they have impeccable credentials

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were all Christ’s disciples

They were called by Christ, lived with him and shared his daily bread

They were all witnesses to the Resurrection and went on to found the Church here on earth

It doesn’t come much better than that

Indeed, I remember the theologian and philosopher Keith Ward saying “Why would the disciples lie”

And he has a very good point

However, despite these impeccable credentials, the composition of the Gospels is more complicated

The earliest Gospel is likely to be the Gospel of Mark which was written after AD 70

Therefore, the first eyewitness account is written over forty years after the event

And the rest follow thereafter

In addition, common material is found in both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke

And it is generally assumed that both drew on a common source called Q

John’s Gospel also appears to have drawn on separate material

But you have to ask yourself does this make any difference?

Because the underlying reality of the Gospels is that they are not pure history

But what instead, is termed salvation history

Not there to satisfy historical accuracy but to proclaim the faith so that it might be known to non-Christians

St John puts it very simply when he states “These things are written so that you might believe” (John 20:31)

It is as simple as that

When it comes to false prophets at the time of the Gospels, we cannot really know what Jesus was talking about because there is no record

If there were false prophets at the time, they fell away

And it is hard for us to judge

But what it does illustrate is the men and women needed to be on guard two thousand years ago

Just as we need to be on our guard today

When researching this issue, I was rather taken by a modern guide to assist people in recognizing fake news

The guide called upon readers

Check the authors (to see if they are real and credible)

Consider the source (to understand its mission and purpose)

Read beyond the headline (to understand the whole story)

Review your own biases (to see if they are affecting your judgment)

Had Jesus been living today he might have suggested something similar?

Instead, Jesus gives us his own test

And that is to discern right from wrong by the fruits of those who proclaim the news

But, either way,

If we heed his advice, or use our own modern take on the problem, we should have nothing to fear

We meet today to say farewell to out brother in Christ, Harry Fell

Husband of Val

And Father of Ali and Michael

He has been blessed with many years on this earth

Far in excess of the three score years and ten which the psalmist tells us are the number of our days

And we give thanks for all the blessings which Harry received and which he gave to others during his earthly life

I did not know Harry well save for the conversations we had going into and coming out of Church

But three things stick in my mind

First and foremost was the fact that he went to Sedbergh School and always seemed to wear an Old Sedberghian tie

I don’t know much about Sedbergh

Save for the fact that some of my colleagues from Prep School went there

And we always seemed to have a housemaster from Sedbergh at out cricket matches in Scarborough, scouting for cricketing talent

However, the fact that Harry always wore his tie, reminded me to invite Sedbergh to sing Choral Evensong at Bolton Abbey

Which they did on 25th February of this year

With the choir singing “O Thou the central Orb” as the anthem

And ending the service with a “Gaelic Blessing” by Sir John Rutter

I am so pleased that Harry’s Old School were able to come Bolton Abbey in what now seems a fitting tribute to Harry himself

It was perfect, if unintended, tribute to Harry himself

My second memory of Harry is his love of fishing

Again, I do not have anything specific to report, save for the fact that he always asked me about my fishing when I said goodbye on a Sunday

Indeed, at what turned out to be Harry’s last Sunday at the Priory

He asked me when I was going to fish the Tyne later in the year

And to let him know how it went

The results of that fishing trip are yet unknown

But fishing and fishermen have an often overlooked Biblical resonance

Because many of the disciples were fishermen

Simon Peter, Andrew James and John

Became the nucleus of the disciples that Jesus gathered around him

Simon Peter, becoming the disciple whom Christ loved the most and who was entrusted with the keys to the Kingdom before his death

I have been a fisherman all my life

And used to take Benedict, my son, fishing from the earliest age

On one of his birthdays, I took him fishing at Shearwater lake just outside Warminster

We were both pretty clueless as to how to fish the Lake

But a kindly fisherman gave us help by providing us with the bait and tackle we need

We had a very successful day and a good draught of fish

But I remarked to my son afterwards that perhaps the fisherman was a disciple of Jesus?

After all, he told us where “to cast our nets”

It was a bit of contextual theology at a tender age

But it made a point about the kindness of strangers and the fact that Christ’s disciples may well be fishermen today

Hold that thought…

Because the final thing I remember about Harry is his discipleship

Like everyone else at the Priory, I have only known anyone for a maximum of five years

But in that time, there have been those who faithfully come to Church each and every Sunday

And Harry and Val have been amongst them

Coming to Church through thick and thin

Latterly by taxi

And also making their way to their pew aided by their sticks

Harry bore wonderful witness

And remained a faithful disciple until the end of his life which we mark today at his funeral

And so returning to the evensong sung by Sedbergh School earlier this year

Evensong is the evening service of the Church

Towards the end of the day

It contains the wonderful words of the Nunc Dimittis – which means “now let us depart”

And the words seem so fitting for this service

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

So we say goodbye to Harry today

We remember his life

And all the blessings that were bestowed upon him

But above all, as a fellow fisherman, we remember his discipleship to the end of his life

And like Simon Peter before him, we commend him to God’s heavenly Kingdom

Where saints abound

And, good news, there are plenty of fishermen too

One of my favourite passages from the Bible is found in John’s Gospel

It is towards the end of chapter twenty

And describes the encounter between Christ and his disciples in Jerusalem shortly after the crucifixion

Unsurprisingly, the disciples are scared

And have locked themselves in a safe house

You can imagine the scene as they are all cowering behind a closed door

Then, all of a sudden, Jesus appears and offers them a sign of the peace and forgives their sins

But despite this Thomas is still wracked with doubt

He cannot believe that he is encountering the risen Christ and demands more

It is only when he is able to put his finger into Christ’s wounds that he is certain that he has encountered the risen Christ

I have always loved this passage

It seems to me, above all, that this moment is a moment of healing

Despite all the violence, the murder and the betrayal and human frailty displayed by the disciples

Relationships are made whole once again -nothing is beyond the redemptive power of Christ

But this passage also contains a pivotal piece of evidence in making the case for the resurrection

For it is clear that the disciples not only saw the risen Christ, but Thomas actually put his hands in his wounds

As a result, he able to say “My Lord and my God”

What better evidence can you get than that?

Evidence which, in my view, should prove highly persuasive as to the truth of the Resurrection

But if only life were so straightforward

Despite my assertion as to the compelling nature of this evidence

The disciples were in the privileged position of seeing the risen Christ for themselves

And Thomas was provided with the physical proof as well

As a result, they were in no doubt

And went on to devote their lives to the establishment of the Church here on earth

But those of us who come later are not so fortunate

Not for us sight of the risen Christ or indeed the chance to put our fingers in the wounds

By force of circumstances, the vast majority of us are probably “doubting Thomas’s”

But I think that it is, perhaps, wrong to look at doubt in this way

The German/American philosopher and theologian, Paul Tillich, wrote a book called the “Dynamics of Faith”

And, not surprisingly, deals with the question of doubt as part of this dynamic

Tillich describes faith as “a state of being ultimately concerned”

Faith in the divine, naturally, being man’s ultimate concern in this world

However, this “ultimate concern”, inevitably, drives us into confrontation with reality

A reality which, in the case of religion, transcends our own finite existence

And inevitably, this means that doubt plays its part

However, rather than being despondent about this

Tillich pointed out that, when it comes to science for example, doubt always plays a part in scientific reason

Yet science and scientific reason are an essential components of our lives

And that includes doubt

Similarly with religion, where doubt is similarly inevitable

Because faith, is an existential claim – which again always carries risk

But rather than looking at this negatively,

He put it like this

“Many Christians feel anxiety, guilt and despair about what they call loss of faith. But serious doubt is [in fact] a confirmation of faith”

One of the most moving books I have ever read is called “Leaving Alexandra – a memoir of faith and doubt”

Which was written by Richard Holloway, the former Bishop of Edinburgh

It is an autobiography, describing his journey into the Church and then out of it

And the part played by doubt in that process

In the book, he wrote very movingly about his experience saying

“In the spring of 2000 I announced my resignationand preached my last sermon. I told them that when I arrived as their Rector thirty-two years earlier, I had just emerged from a period of radical doubt and had fallen into a very common trap of attacking doubt and uncertainty in others. I condemned in others what I had been afraid to look at in myself”

He went on….

“I felt gutted with the verbal promiscuity of religion and the absolute confidence with which it talked about what was beyond our knowing”

Put another way, rather than attack doubt, we must learn to live, honestly, with faith and doubt at the same time

Today’s readings may seem a long way from the subject matter of my sermon

But the Old Testament bears witness to an event that could cause any of us to lose our faith

Mankind has no sooner set foot on the earth before it is stained with human blood, with its first murder

But on Wednesday, we also celebrated the Feast of St Thomas the Apostle

And for me, there seemed to be a synchronicity between the two

Could any of us not harbor doubts after a murder?

Where is the loving God that allows the death of young man in such a tragic fashion?

But at the same time, the encounter of Thomas with the Risen Christ gives us all hope

For despite the murder of Jesus Christ

We are reminded that Christ can still bring healing and reconciliation to the world

And despite the doubts that we may harbor in our faith

We too, one day, will meet with the risen Christ and also be able to say “My Lord and my God”

May I speak in the name of the living God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Yesterday was the Festival day of Saint Peter, and the Anglican Church describes this period of June as Petertide. It is a time each year when the Church ordains those who have answered a specific call to ministry, and indeed yesterday our very own Lorna Heatly was ordained at Ripon Cathedral, as she now begins her ministry as a deacon. Our prayers are with you Lorna.

So, this morning I thought I’d focus on what it means to be called, to be called by name, by God, into his service.

First of all, it is very important to realise that as believers in Jesus Christ, we are all called by God. We are all called ‘out of this world, and into His light’.

God calls us all into a relationship with Jesus for the purpose of being “conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:29). God’s purpose in calling us is twofold: for our good and His glory (2 Thessalonians 2:13–14; 1 Peter 2:9). But what does ‘being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ mean?

Well, it begins with character, as revealed by St Paul in his letter to the Ephesians: to live a life worthy of your calling, be humble and gentle; be patient, bearing one another in love. Keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace’ (Eph 4 1-3).

That is the first calling we are all to fulfil. But then there is the more specific calling, of living out what God has planned for your life.

Identifying the call is not usually difficult. Often you will sense, through the Spirit, what may seem like an irritating and persistent push to do something you would probably rather avoid! The difficulty, for many however, is in answering that call.

Because I think that deep down, we know that to answer the call requires commitment and sacrifice. And to leave the pleasures of worldly living, where it’s all about the love of self and move to a life where it’s all about the love of Christ, may not seem like a great trade off.

But in reality, answering our call is our response to what Christ has already done for us on the cross; sacrificing his life so that we may enjoy the Kingdom of God and receive eternal life. Therefore, I would suggest that answering God’s call is the least we can do in return. And at the end of the day, it all helps restore God’s loving Kingdom on earth. It helps make the world a better place in the here and now.

It is a wonderful privilege to be a part of God’s mission, but yes it can be costly.

The Life Application Bible describes it thus:

There is a cost to following Jesus and each of us must be ready to serve, even when it requires sacrifice. What does Jesus want from us? Dedication, not half-hearted commitment. We can’t pick and choose among Jesus’ ideas and follow him selectively; we have to accept the cross along with the crown, judgement as well as mercy. We must count the cost and be willing to accept the cost. With our focus on Jesus, we should allow nothing to distract us from the manner of living a life in answer to his call.

And, of course, it can be a call to many things. St Paul writes:

We all have different gifts according to the grace given to each of us. Some are called to prophesy, some are called to serve, some are called to teach, to encourage, to give, to show mercy, some are called to lead, to preach (Romans 12 6-21).

– and even if you think you won’t be much good at it, it is surprising what the Spirit can achieve even through people like me!

But as I said before, often our immediate response can be to ignore God’s call. Excuses are made in order to evade the call. And people can come up with some pretty convincing arguments!

Did you notice for example, that in each of this morning’s readings, the initial response to God’s call was to give an excuse. God’s call to Elisha came through Elijah: – ‘yes, I’m with you’, says Elisha. ‘But let me just go and say goodbye to my mother and father – and then I’ll be right with you’. Elijah’s response? He says: Go back then, what have I done to thee? Thankfully, Elisha promptly returned and ministered unto him.

When Jesus called Simon, James and John and said ‘Launch out into the deep and let down your nets’. Simon replied ‘Master, we have toiled all night, and have taken absolutely nothing. Nevertheless, at thy word I will let down the net’. Then, when they saw the result, they forsook all and followed him.

And excuses have arisen throughout the history of the church. One of my favourites is when Saint Augustine of Hippo, attracted by worldly passions, is aware however, that he needs a pure heart, so he prays to God: Give me a righteous heart, O Lord; but not just yet!’

And when Jesus was walking along the road to Jerusalem later in Luke’s gospel, he calls upon a man to follow him. The man replies: ‘Lord, first let me go and bury my father’. Jesus replies: ‘let the dead (the spiritually dead), bury their own dead, for you are to proclaim the Kingdom of God’. And still another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family’. Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plough and looks back is able to serve in the kingdom of God.”

But what does he mean by this? He is telling us that our commitment to this world and its traditions have no precedence or authority over the will of God. And God knows that there is often a greater temptation to abandon the call of God if we return to engage with the expectations of the world, no matter how short that engagement may be.

And I’m as guilty as anyone!

For the best part of forty years, I made every excuse imaginable to avoid answering God’s call. I was convinced I didn’t need him. I was happy and content. I had a good career and a nice house. Everything was fine. But God’s call was like that irritating scratch that you can’t reach and won’t go away.

And I soon realised that everything was not fine. Not in this world, or in my life. And for that to change I knew I had to do something pretty drastic. That’s why I tried to avoid it. But I realised that the only real hope in this world was for people like you and me to cast aside our own desires, and to follow the desire of Jesus Christ, the great Lord of love and prince of peace.

I believe He is the only answer with the power not only to transform lives, but to save lives and to save the world.

My friends, we all have a call. We wouldn’t be here otherwise. We all have a call as Christians to surrender our lives for the sake of the kingdom, so that it may flourish here on earth. And whatever that call may be, please embrace it!

Don’t make excuses. God doesn’t like excuses!

But give thanks to God in Christ, for calling each one of us by name.

So, as you approach the altar this morning, why not bow down before him, and praise him, as you receive and remember his sacrifice for us and his call to us all, so that we can go forth from here into the world as dedicated and confident Christians, feeding on him, as we say each week, in our hearts by faith, and with thanksgiving.

Amen.

Today we meet together to say goodbye to our sister in Christ, Pat

As we have heard from the eulogy, she had a full and varied life

Meeting Bill, getting married and being blessed with two lovely sons Simeon and Russell

She enjoyed the outdoor life camping, swimming, running and hiking

As well as loving the Lake District and Welsh mountains along with her garden

She loved God’s creation

But whilst at home she threw her life into charity work

And had varied interests such as acting in her early years as well as dress making

She was married to Bill for no less than 57 years

And we give thanks to God for all the blessings she received from God

And for the blessings she bestowed on others in that time

But of course, Pat was also a devout Christian

Starting her life in the Unitarian Church

Becoming part of a Catholic Community as a members of the [Achille Rati] Climbing Club

And then worshipping at Bolton Priory for the last years of her life

I was quite taken by Patt’s move across different Christian faith traditions

But as her son Simeon said in his eulogy

“Patt spent a lifetime listening to God’s small voice reassured of his peace and presence”

If that is your guiding star,

Then it does not matter where you worship or indeed which Christian tradition you belong to

Pat had a simple trust in God which accompanied her throughout her life

And we also give thanks for her faith,

And for the witness she bore

Of course, I only knew Pat for the last few years of her life

I always used to enjoy Pat and Bill coming to the Priory as they were so appreciative

Particularly of my sermons

However, COVID bit and Pat’s health deteriorated which mean that she was not able to come as often as she like

However, she would always follow the service on-line if she was unable to make it

And, in that regard, Pat is one of our first regular on-line worshippers to have her funeral at Bolton Priory

And marks a very important milestone in our nine-hundred-year history

At the end of my first year at Bolton Priory, when the pandemic struck, I was forced to close the doors

My wife and I would record services every week and then publish them on an audio podcast

Which proved very popular indeed

But it soon became apparent that we needed to install cameras

This was completed in 2022

And we have streamed our services ever since – indeed it is being streamed today

I said at the time that, even if just one person was able to join us on-line, then the installation would have been worth every penny

This has been a huge development in the life of the Church

And I am so pleased that Pat was able to benefit from the new technology

However, I think there are some profound theological points which need to be made as well

First and foremost, Pat remained a member of the Church and a faithful Church goer throughout her life

She was resolute to the end and this was enabled with the advances in technology

And for that we give thanks today

But secondly, Pat remained part of our Holy Communion too

She joined us for the eucharist and was able to join us in the breaking of bread and the sharing of the cup

And for that we rejoice

But this digitally enabled communion also reminds us that Pat’s participation does not end today

Because, above all, we are a community, not just of the living

But of the faithful departed too

Every week we say the words

“Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify the Holy Name ever more praising thee and saying”

These words are not gratuitous, they mean what they say

In God and his Church, there is no division between the living and the departed

Whether alive or dead, we still “laud and magnify” HIS “Holy Name” together

When I was writing this sermon, I was reminded of Bishop Kallistos Ware who spoke about the first time he went into an Orthodox church

He said,

My initial impression of an absence was now replaced, with a sudden rush, by an overwhelming sense of presence. I felt that the church, so far from being empty, was full — full of countless unseen worshipers, surrounding me on every side. Intuitively I realized that we, the visible congregation, were part of a much larger whole, and that as we prayed we were being taken up into an action far greater than ourselves, into an undivided, all-embracing celebration that united time and eternity, things below with things above.

And so as we say good bye to Pat today

We do so with grateful hearts and give thanks to God for all the blessings in her life

But above all we remind ourselves that

We still worship together

We are still in Communion together

We are still a Holy Family and, above all

We are still the Body of Christ

One of my earliest memories of “Church” as a child was walking back from Markington Parish Church after a Sunday service

I was with my parents as we had all attended what was probably a service of Mattins

My parents were both regular church goers

But as they grew older, their Church attendance began to wane

It did not affect me particularly as I was away at boarding school most of the time where church attendance was compulsory and regular

But whilst my parents church attendance began to diminish

My father read a book which, in a sense, changed his faith for ever

The book was the “Diary of a Yogi” by the Hindu monk and guru, Paramhansa Yogananda

The name is probably unfamiliar to you

But Paramhansa Yogananda was born in North West India in 1893

And in his early years became a disciple of the yoga guru Swami Giri,

At the age of 27 he migrated to America seeking to prove the unity between Eastern and Western religions

And in 1946 published his now famous “Diary of Yogi”

I suspect that most of you have not heard of the book

But it has been described as one of the “100 best spiritual books of the 20th Century"

Over four million copies were sold

Steve Jobs was so taken by the book that he ordered 500 to be handed out at his funeral

To my shame, I have never read it

However, Paramhansa made the amazing claim that he had met with Jesus Christ

This encounter with Christ happened whilst Paramhansa was meditating and described thus

“The entire room became like an opal flame.  In that light the radiant form of the blessed Lord Jesus appeared”

For my Father, the fact that Jesus had appeared to a Hindu guru meant that Christ was not only real

But that all faiths, potentially, were a route to find God and his son Jesus Christ in our lives

Paradoxically a Hindu guru had reinforced his Christian Faith

To my regret, the rest of the family did not take my fathers’ religious insights seriously

And we considered him something of a crank

Like Steve Jobs, he bought numerous copies of the book and handed them out to his friends

I am not sure that anyone ever read them – which is a shame for us all

However, I too was to have my own profoundly challenging moment when confronted by those from a different faith background

It was whilst I was at Theological College when we had an inter-faith weekend

It was one of the most contentious and argumentative weekends I have ever attended

But we were privileged to have the Muslim Chaplain from Eton College

As well as a Hindu speaker called Akhandadhi Das

He was a Hindu theologian and a trustee of the Avanti Hindu schools in the United Kingdom

As well as being a regular contributor to “Thought for the Day” on Radio 4

Indeed, I had listened to him many times on the radio

During the course of his talk he said that he had started his life as a Christian

But that “Jesus Christ had subsequently led him to “Hari Krishna”

Hare Krishna is a Hindu religious movement which is derived from the ancient Hindu scriptures

Adherents believe that Lord Krishna is the Supreme Lord and that human beings are trapped in a cycle of re-incarnation

Intrigued by the talk he gave about Hinduism and his faith journey,

I went to speak to him in the interval

I asked him about the compatibility of Hinduism and Christianity

He remarked that, as a Hindu, he had no problem in believing that Christ rose from the dead

In other words, he accepted the central tenet of the Christian faith without reservation

You might reasonably ask why the Rector is preaching about this, this morning

It is for the simple reason at when I was looking at the Church calendar this week

I noticed that we celebrated the life of Sundar Singh

He is described as a Sadhu (Holy Man), evangelist and teacher of the faith

Intrigued, I did some research and discovered that Sundar Singh was born into a Sikh family

When he was young, his mother took him to sit at the feet of a Hindu Holy man

And, in an attempt to learn English, he was also sent to a Christian School

But his questioning of the two traditions left him confused

As a result, he resolved to kill himself by throwing himself under a train

But before he did so, he asked that whoever was the "true god" to appear before him

That very night he had a vision of Jesus.

And, as a result converted to Christianity and dedicated his life to missionary work  

The story and celebration of the life of Sundar Singh is a fascinating conversion between Sikhism, Hinduism and Christianity

Which is rightly celebrated in the Church calendar

But all the biographies and encounters I have mentioned this morning speak about the enrichment of Christianity from the perspective of other faiths

From Paramhansa Yogananda to Akhandadhi Das to Sundar Singh

They all speak of inclusivism rather than exclusivism

And they all speak to the narrowness of our own perspectives in Christianity

And they all speak about not judging others, particularly those from different faith traditions

I should have read the Diary of Yogi that my Father found so enriching

The students at Theological College should not have been so hostile to our inter-faith speakers

Nor should we close our minds to anything

And if we can do just that, then our faiths too might be enriched by those we have heard about this morning

In the name etc

One of the more remarkable events in the history of the Church was the voyage of the Mayflower

This was a vessel which set sail from Plymouth in 1620

Carrying a group of Englishmen known as the “Pilgrim Fathers”

It carried a crew of thirty and one hundred and two passengers

And, after a voyage of about ten weeks, it dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod

Where the pilgrims decided to establish what they termed “A new promised land”

After a very harsh first winter, in which half the pilgrims died, they were blessed with a decent harvest in year two

Which is celebrated today in the United States in the annual holiday known as “Thanksgiving”

The landing of the Mayflower is a cultural icon in the United States – but less well known in this country

And the reasons for this epic voyage are not well known at all

It has its origins in the Reformation when this country broke away from the Roman Catholic Church

A reform born, not so much out of theological conviction, but rather political necessity

However, there were those who were doctrinally wedded to Protestantism

Who gradually came to the view that the Reformation in England did not go far enough

They grew increasingly dissatisfied with the Church of England

And began to separate from it

Some fled to Holland but, in 1620, they decided to set up their own colony in America

As one of them put it,

"We verily believe and trust the Lord is with us and that he will graciously prosper our endeavours”

But the fact that the Pilgrims Fathers, or Puritans as they became known, were in opposition with the State,

Led them to be very negatively portrayed

Indeed, the very name Puritan can still be a term of disdain today

They were maligned at the time, with some justification, for being “prohibitionists”

Indeed, in Cromwellian England, they tried to ban Christmas itself

But perhaps the most enduring image of Puritanism are the Salem Witch Trials

So brilliantly portrayed in Arthur Millers’ play “The Crucible”

Where religious hysteria and mania led them to put both men and women to death

Whatever the truth behind the depictions,

My favourite description of all was by the social commentator Henry Mencken

Who defined Puritanism as “The fear that someone, somewhere may be happy”

However, this very negative image masked men and women who lived very devout and sacred lives

Above all they were driven by a desire to lead a Christian life

And, at the heart of Puritanism, was the desire to make God’s will one’s own

As part of this life, they were insistent, above all, that they should be guided, in all things, by the Bible

But not just the Bible, but the Bible in their own language too

In other ways they were remarkably progressive

They demanded a university educated cleric in each parish to preach the Gospel and to promote education

They sought to redefine marriage and other institutions

And to adopt a participatory form of Government where Puritans could obtain political power

Above all, they wanted to make society into a godly kingdom

However, despite these godly intentions they repeatedly found themselves in opposition to the State

And a good example of this is Richard Baxter, whoM the church remembered on Friday of last week

Born in 1615, as a young man he joined the court of Charles I

But was so appalled by the low moral standards that he decided to study Divinity instead

He was ordained and took a post as a curate in the West Midlands

Where he distinguished himself as a preacher and administrator

And he wrote many devotional books which influenced evangelicalism well into 19th century

Although he opposed the Civil War

But he could not bring himself to take the oath of obedience to Charles II

And so was deprived of his license and ended up in prison

Like John Bunyon before him, he continued to have a lasting influence on the Church of England

And, despite his rejection, he continued to advocate for a national church until his death

When I saw the feast day of Richard Baxter this week and read the New Testament reading this morning

I could not help being struck by the parallels between the two

The Bible reading is well known, and is about seeking out the lost sheep which have strayed from the flock

In the case of the Puritans, it seemed to be a combination of two things

Leaving the flock of their own volition and being pushed out at the same time

But as is so often the case, when we look back at what we have done in the past

We wonder why we did it

We often see the errors of our ways more clearly than at the time itself

Indeed, you could say that Richard Baxter, by finding himself celebrated in the Church calendar this week

Has returned to the flock

And so, like the reading today we can, four hundred years later

Rejoice…for we have found the sheep which was lost”.

In 2023 there was an remarkable confluence of dates in the Mercer family 

First and foremost, it was our 25th wedding anniversary 

Then it was my 60th year 

Amelia turned 21 and Fabian turned 18 in the same year 

Almost the only thing missing was a wedding itself - a joy hopefully awaits us in the future 

So rather than try and celebrate all the events separately, we decided to hold a large banquet instead 

It was to be held at the Naval and Military Club  

And I had the joy of working out the menu with the catering manager at the Club 

I was presented with a large range of different options  

And after much pondering and deliberation, decided on the following menu 

We started with Dorset crab  

Fresh, delicious and prepared in its shell 

We then moved on to the main course of roasted sea bass with mediterranean vegetables 

For pudding we had warm apple tarte tatin with ginger ice cream 

Before going on to cheese and biscuits  

Ending the evening with coffee and chocolates 

As for drinks we had   

Champagne and elder flower cordial when guests arrived 

A lovely crisp French white with the seafood 

A sauterne with the tarte tatin 

And then a Reserve Port to finish off the evening 

But as well as the menu, we paid great attention to the tables and seating plan  

Everything was organised to the last detail  

And on the day of the party itself, back in our respective rooms, we changed into some of our finest clothes 

The men in black tie and the women in their evening gowns 

Dress, make-up and hair complete we went downstairs to the party itself 

Except that nobody came 

We received a few texts conveying an apology  

COVID, traffic, a hold up at work and a last-minute emergency  

No-one turned up so we sat in our finery in the bar feeling utterly forlorn 

Of course, the story is fictitious – we had a lovely evening 

But can you imagine if it had been real? 

We had collectively gone to all that effort  

All that time, expense and generosity  

But no-one bothered to show up 

But I rather suspect that all us have probably known that feeling, to a greater or lesser degree, in our lives 

How many people here have prepared a meal for someone they love? 

But who fail to materialise? 

How many have prepared a family meal which was cancelled due to some external event  

Or spoilt for some reason or another? 

And even if we havn’t, just imagine yourself for a moment having prepared Christmas lunch or dinner? 

All the time and effort which it takes 

The planning, the shopping, the cooking, the preparation and the love 

Except that no-one shows 

The food is wasted and the person who has prepared it feels utterly deflated 

It is devastating to prepare a meal and to have it thrown back in your face 

But of course, although the parable today is not about a wedding feast as such 

It is really about the invitation of God to share in the grace and riches he bestows upon us  

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, put it this way  

Jesus' parable of the great marriage feast is both one of the most joyful and one of the most challenging of his stories;  

It begins with the picture of a great monarch who wants nothing but to invite people freely to feast with him. He has made all the preparations; there is enough for everyone to eat; he wants his guests to be joyful and fulfilled – in body and spirit! 

And then the responses begin to arrive. One after another, the guests find excuses for not accepting his generosity. They are too occupied with their own private interests to come and share a great public celebration.  

“And so the king throws the doors open instead and invites anyone and everyone who is willing to come – anyone who is hungry enough to walk through the door, anyone who is eager enoughto come and enjoy it. All the king wants is that his gifts should be received and that they should create joy” 

Think this is a remote or fanciful story? 

A made-up story that has no relevance in our lives? 

Well, you’re wrong – because it happens each and every week 

The banquet is prepared  each and every week, at Bolton Priory and up and down the land 

All you have to do is attend  

Imagine God’s feelings if you don’t? 

Those of you who are attentive to detail may have noticed that I add an extra prayer at the end of the Eucharist

Instead of going straight into the Lord’s Prayer, I say another prayer instead

And that is the Collect for Corpus Christi

The prayer is an optional extra found at the back of your service book (p17)

But I love the words,

And think that they are so appropriate for a community which has just celebrated Holy Communion together

The words resound with the eschatological event which has just taken place

Holy Communion being a foretaste of God’s heavenly Kingdom

But where did this Feast of Corpus Christi come from?

I must confess that before I wrote this sermon, I had not heard of Juliana of Liege

She was born in 1191, orphaned at the age of five, and then entrusted to an order of Augustinian nuns

At the age of just sixteen, Juliana had her first of many visions

But her vision was always the same

It was of the moon, crossed with a dark stripe

At first, she did not understand but through prayer, began to comprehend that

The moon symbolised the life of the Church on earth and the opaque line represented the absence of the Eucharist in the world

To Juliana, the celebration of the Eucharist was essential in our daily lives

It led to an increase in faith

The advancement of virtue and the forgiveness of sins

It is said that on her death bed she was able see the blessed-sacrament displayed in a monstrance

It was as a result of her devotion that the feast of Corpus Christi was established in 1317

Corpus Christi, of course, means the Body of Christ and the feast began in the Diocese of Liege

The Feast became increasingly more elaborate over the centuries

But, as might be expected, it was abolished at the time of the Reformation

In the Anglican Church, it has now been replaced with the so-called “Thanksgiving for Holy Communion”

Which was celebrated on Thursday

One of the most striking things about my time at Bolton Priory has been the different manifestations of Holy Communion over the past five years

We started, as we do today, receiving both the bread and the wine

But at the very end of my first year, the Church was locked

And although there was nothing to stop us praying and meeting on line for worship

Holy Communion was problematic

My wife and I first celebrated together, in a locked church, publishing the audio service on-line on behalf of the community

When the Church, tentatively, re-opened, those who attended simply came up to be blessed by the host

And, as we became more confident, we received first the bread and then the wine by way of intinction

But such was the residual risk of COVID, we maintained this practise until Easter Day of this year

However, the pandemic brought about another variation to our celebration

And that was the advent of cameras

Since 2022, our services of Holy Communion have been streamed

Indeed, the on-line figures are very healthy each and every week

There are a number of people in the parish who are unable to come to Church

But who join us nevertheless on-line

I am sure that St Juliana of Liege would have been thrilled by this development

So too, the pioneering nun Sister Catherine Wyborne – who died in 2022

Who was known to her followers on Twitter as the “Digitalnun”

Over the past five years, we have been on a journey

From the audio to the visual

Then from blessing to receiving

And as I was writing this sermon I could not help thinking about St Juliana of Liege, and giving thanks for her life

First of all, for her insistence on the celebration of Holy Communion itself

Something we have faithfully adhered to at Bolton Priory even when the Church was locked up or socially distanced

But it was the reference to St Juliana on her death bed gazing at the host that intrigued me most

Even though she may have been too sick to receive, she was able to look upon the host and see the love of Jesus

There were times too when, all we could do at Bolton Priory, was gaze

And this ability to gaze, has been greatly enhanced through the enormous leap forward we have made with technology

How wonderful to think of St Juliana with an ipad today and what this might mean for us all?

The Dominican Friar, Father Timothy Radcliffe wrote a book called “Why go to Church”

In his book he said

“The Eucharist is the foundation of all our gathering (as Christians)…every Christian assembly is founded on the moment He is remembered”

In other words, the Eucharist binds us all together whatever may befall us

And so when I raise the host today, think of St Juliana of Liege

And her vision of the moon and what it means to celebrate Holy Communion together

As the words of the Collect for Corpus Christi state, may we

“give thanks for the wonderful sacrament”

“Reverence the sacred mysteries…

“And show forth in our lives the fruits of Christ’s redemption”

Today is the Feast of Pentecost

The day when we remember the coming of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples in Jerusalem

A day when they were able to speak in tongues and yet be understood by all

One of the most beautiful hymns sung on this feast day is “Come Holy Ghost our Souls Inspire”

In Latin it is known as “Veni Creator Spiritus”

The hymn is used widely in the Catholic Church

Being sung at the Feast of Pentecost as well as papal conclaves and various monastic offices

It is widely used in the Anglican Church too

It first appeared in in 1660 having been translated by Bishop John Cosin

Who was the Archdeacon of the East Riding before going on to be Bishop of Durham

Indeed it has a local connection

However, as well as being a hymn of great antiquity

It is also a hymn which has been used at every Coronation since the reign of Charles II

Which takes us back to 1660

This means it has been sung at no less than sixteen Coronations

More recently, it was sung at the Coronation of Charles III

Just before his anointing

However, at the Coronation last year, for the first time in its history, there was a difference

For the hymn was not just sung,

It was sung in four different languages

Namely, English, Welsh, Gaelic and Irish

It was not just an irenic gesture towards the four quarters of the United Kingdom

But an expression of hope that there can be unity in diversity within our Realm

But it seemed to me that this hymn, sung at Coronations and elsewhere, was a perfect metaphor for the Feast of Pentecost

First and foremost, the Holy Spirit is a gift to all God’s people

When the Holy Spirit descended on the disciples all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit

This gift is not conferred on just bishop’s, clergy and office holders in the Church, but on everyone

Young and old, black and white, rich and poor, refugee, prisoner, politician anyone you can imagine

We are all touched equally – we are all Spirit bearers

And given this equality

Think how that might affect your relationships? Your politics?

How you should treat your fellow men and women when we are all bearers of the Holy Spirit?

“Come Holy Ghost our souls inspire”

Secondly, the gift of the Holy Spirit confers the gift of unity upon the Church

As bearers of the Holy Spirit, there is no rank or station,

We are all equal in the eyes of God

As a result, we become “the Body of Christ”

This should enable us to identify with other Christians, not only in our own land, but across the world

But it is not just identifying but understanding

The passage we have heard this morning is truly remarkable because, as it states

“everyone understood one another”

Just like the singing of the hymn in four different languages, it should and can be understood wherever we come from

“Teach us to know the Father, Son and Thee, to be but One”

Thirdly, the receipt of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost also confers the gift of diversity

As we heard, the tongues of fire which descended on the disciples are cloven or divided

Not only does the Holy Spirit make us all one, but it makes us all different at the same time

Many of these different manifestations of the Spirit are set out in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians

Wisdom, understanding, courage, fortitude, knowledge and piety

As St Paul says

“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit”.

The former Orthodox Bishop and theologian, Kallistos Ware put it this way

“Life in the Church does not mean the ironing out of human variety, nor a rigid and uniform pattern on all alike”

But the exact opposite

But diversity does not mean controversy

“Keep far our foes, give peace at home, Where Thou art guide, no ill can come”

And so, returning to the Coronation of King Charles III

The day the whole nation came together, to see our Monarch crowned

Like the Feast of Pentecost itself

We came together as one people, united behind one throne

Conferred with the gift of unity despite our diversity

And able to understand and sing together in English, Welsh, Gaelic and Irish

Just as our forebears, on this day, understood Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Judaeans, Cappadocians and Asians

“May this may be our endless song”

It is strange to think that just a decade ago, all our family were either working in Sherborne or being educated at one of its wonderful schools

When I arrived at Sherborne in 2014, Graham King was the bishop

But he resigned the following year

The Revd Karen Gorham was appointed in his place

And after her consecration in 2016, we all went to a service of welcome at Sherborne Abbey

No one really took much notice of this historic event

It was just a pleasant Church of England service with little or no fuss, followed by a cup of tea

The bishop told an amusing story when she preached that evening

Just prior to her consecration at Westminster Abbey, she had gone to get her hair done with a new hairdresser in Sherborne

And the female hairdresser asked if she was getting her hair done was for a special occasion?

She replied it was for her consecration

When the hairdresser asked what that meant, she said that she was going to be consecrated as the new bishop of Sherborne

“Oh that’s nice” said the hairdresser

But despite the mundane and almost indifferent response

The reality was something completely different

It was momentous event in the history of the Church

And of Sherborne itself

Prior to 2015, there had been no female Bishops in the Church of England at all

Karen Gorham was just the eighth women to be appointed as a CofE Bishop

And the first female bishop at Sherborne in its 1300year history

But despite being a low-key affair, the service of welcome spoke volumes about the history of the church

First and foremost, the inordinate amount of time it had taken the Church to ordain women, never mind female bishops

But this was the result of a received Biblical narrative which has always distorted or downplayed their role

When it comes to distorting the narrative, this starts at the very beginning of the Bible

Where Eve is presented as the antagonist in the garden of Eden

As a result, the author of Genesis states “thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”

In the New Testament St Paul states that "Christ is the head of every man, and a husband the head of his wife” (I Corinthians 11)

Going on

“For a man is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man”

This blatant patriarchal language sealed the fate of women in the Church for the next two thousand years

And as a result, they were never allowed positions of substantive authority in the Church

But secondly, the role of women has also been, not just distorted, but downplayed particularly in the New Testament

As one feminist theologian put it “Women are first at the cradle and last at the crucifixion”

Yet surprisingly absent from the Church itself?

But not only are women at the very beginning and end of Christ’s life

They also play a central role in proclaiming the resurrection - which is at the very heart of our faith

After all, it was three women who were the first to the empty tomb on Easter morning

But whilst they proclaimed the resurrection on Easter morning,

But they were not permitted to proclaim it for the next two thousand years

At the Feast of Candlemass, I noticed an interesting detail about Anna, namely that she was a prophetess

There are a number of prophetesses in the Old Testament and they ranked above priests

At least they did until the foundation of the Christian Church

However, it was also another detail in the New Testament reading this morning which led me down this line of thinking

Christ tells us that, after he has ascended to heaven, we will not be left alone

It is put in this way

“When the Comforter is come, whom I shall send unto you.…he shall testify of me”

The reference in the Bible states that the Holy Spirit is masculine

But this is not the case

The original Hebrew word for the Holy Spirit is “Ruach” and is a feminine word

However, when the scriptures were translated into Greek the scholars used the word “pneuma” which is a neuter word

But the gender migration did not stop there

Because when the Bible was translated into Latin, the word “spiritus” was used instead, turning the Holy Spirit masculine

When it was nothing of the sort

But gender, in this case, is important

Because the gifts of the Holy Spirit are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity gentleness and self-control”

And without being too sexist, these are often very feminine in character

But more importantly than that, the fact that the Godhead – the Holy Trinity – is both male and female is so important in our faith

It speaks to equality and it speaks to diversity from the very beginning

And it exposes the misogyny of two thousand years of Church history

Like the service of welcome, we might pass this reading by with indifference

But if we do, we miss an event of enormous significance

Both for us and for the life of the Church as a whole

A life lived and sustained by Father, Son and a, female, Holy Ghost

We meet together this evening to celebrate Ascension Day

Ascension Day is a time for rejoicing and falls at a lovely time of year

We have had our first taste of summer and the days are longer and weather warmer

In times gone past, we used to make much more of Ascension Day

Indeed, when I was a schoolboy, we had a holiday on Ascension Day and the whole school would spend the day on the beach at Cayton Bay

When I was a University, the chapel choir would sing at dawn from St Rules Tower

When we lived in Germany there would be big signs everywhere proclaiming the “Himmelfahrt” or heaven travel

But in latter years, celebrations seem to have subsided and I am not surprised

Because Ascension is not easy

Forty days after Easter - Christ ascends into heaven

And the disciples are left here on earth somewhat bemused and beweildered– like us

So I think it is important to remind ourselves each and every year of the significance of this event

First of all, ascension is a reminder that, as Christians, we inhabit both an earthly and heavenly realm

If Jesus - descends to earth and ascends into heaven - then the two realms clearly co-exist

Heaven and earth co-exist at the same time –

We often don’t stop and think about this and what it might mean

But, when we say in the Eucharist, “Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glorious name”

We proclaim this co-existence each and every week in our service of Holy Communion

As we do this evening

Secondly, the ascension of Jesus provides us with reassurance about our own heavenly home

In John’s Gospel (John 14: 1-6), Jesus says

“My Father’s house has many rooms and I am going there to prepare a place for you”

This passage is often read at funerals but these reassuring words are only explicable in the light of Christ’s Ascension

· Christ tells us about the heavenly realm we will one day inhabit

· Christ tells us he going there

· Christ tells us that he will prepare a place for us

His ascension completes his foretelling and gives us the hope and comfort of our place in heaven

Thirdly, ascension vindicates Jesus’ earthly ministry

As we have heard in our Gospel readings since Easter, Jesus has been intimating that he will leave us here on earth

As he said in John’s Gospel

“A little while you will no longer see me and again a little, and you will see me” (John 16:23b)

His Ascension means that his words are true

And that he is true to his word

But despite these insights

Christ’s departure leaves us with the enduring problem of what some theologians call the “in between time”

That is the time between Jesus’ ascension to heaven and His coming again in glory

But how is the ascended Christ present – here on earth - in our lives today?

First, Christ is present in his Church

The Church and its founder Jesus are inextricably bound together

To quote St Ignatius “where Christ is, there is the catholic Church”

The Church is Christ with us

And the Church is nothing less than a continuation of his prophetic, priestly and kingly ministry

Secondly, Christ is present in the Eucharist

“This is my body” – “this is my blood” – (pause)

We don’t say this for fun – these are Christ’s own words

Heaven again breaks into earth

His presence is real in the bread and the wine – at our Eucharist – in our Church

Here this evening

And finally, we also meet the risen Christ through direct personal experience in our lives

Christ is not only transcendent but imminent –

So many have experienced loss in my five years here as the parish priest

But the Risen Christ walks alongside us in our grief

And the Son of God shares our suffering and sustains

And so as we meet again to celebrate Ascension Day

The Day when we remember Christ being lifted up to the heavens

We remind ourselves of that sacred mystery

Of Christ’s taking his place at God’s right hand

And of his presence here on earth at the same time

And we all look forward to that time when

“This Jesus who has been taken up from us into heaven, will come in the same way as we saw him go”

I have a post card in the back of my Bible with the title “Chilean Bread”

I am not sure why it is in my Bible and I can’t remember putting it there either

However, at the very least, it is a memento of a wonderful family holiday in South America

When we travelled to Chile, Uruguay and Argentina

Like every family on the move, we had to constantly stop and find something for lunch

And Chilean bread was often our mainstay

We would particularly enjoy the “Dobladita”

Which is a flat bread normally filled with ham and vegetables such as tomato and avocado

It was called “dobladita” from the Spanish “doblada” meaning to double down or fold over

In other words, there was much more bread than you first expected

Bread, in all its various forms, is the most widely consumed food in the world

Many of you will have started today with a piece of toast, probably with marmalade or jam

But as you scrape your toast you probably don’t realise what an impact bread has had on the world

In many parts of the world, bread has been a fundamental of life, making it a very potent political force

In 18th century France, Bread riots preceded the French Revolution, which is why the words “let them eat cake” was so incendiary

In 19th century Britain, the Conservative Party came adrift with the repeal of the Corn Laws

Which had imposed large tariffs on grain imports driving up the price of bread for the poor

In 20th century Russia, there was the battle cry of Land and Bread in the Russian Revolution

Bread can not only bring down a government, but cause a revolution as well

But bread, as a staple, has a long history in the Bible too

When the Jews escaped from Egypt, they ate unleavened bread to sustain them on the journey

In the wilderness, the Israelites found Manna on the ground

Which was described as “the bread the Lord has given you to eat”

But one of my favourite stories is in the Book of Kings when there was a famine in the land of Canaan

And the prophet Elisha went to the Wadi Cherith

There he was fed bread by the ravens who brought him “bread and meat” day and night

These stories foreshadow the feeding of the four thousand which we heard this evening

Jesus, like his Father before him, providing for the physical needs of the crowd

But this short history of Bread in the Bible, shows that the provision of Bread is not about pure physical hunger

There is an element of Divine providence as well

When the Israelites fled from Egypt, it was God who instructed them what food to take

When the Israelites were starving, it was God who fed them Manna

Similarly with Elisha

In all these stories, we are continually reminded of the Lords’ Prayer

Where we ask God to “Give us this day our daily Bread” - and he does just that

This Gospel reading this evening is also about bread

Jesus and his disciples are surrounded by a crowd who have had nothing to eat for days

When the disciples inquire as to how they might feed them, Jesus tells them that that there are just seven loaves

As we hear, he “gave them to his disciples to distribute” and, at the end of the meal, they were able to fill a further seven baskets

But even a casual reading of this passage suggests that there is more to this story than the physical feeding of four thousand people

So what is the story really all about?

It is seen by some theologians as being a rehearsal for the end of Christ’s life

Where it is believed, there would be a great banquet in the sky – over which Christ would preside

This was possibly a trial run - not just a physical event, but an eschatological one too

But the story also hints at something more

Because, as we hear “after giving thanks [Jesus] broke [the bread] and gave it to his disciples”

It suggests that those four thousand people had a foretaste of that Heavenly Banquet in their earthly lives

Just as we do ourselves in our Holy Communion

And so on this Fourth Sunday after Easter

Where we hear of the feeding of the five thousand

Let us remember that bread forms a vital part of our daily lives and to give thanks to God for “Our daily bread”

But, just as bread is a staple in our earthly lives, so too is the bread of heaven

Which sustains our bodies and souls at the same

With that in mind, we also need to remember the power of bread to bring about a revolution in our spiritual lives

For, above all, the body of our Lord Jesus Christ is “The Bread of Life”

Like the dobladita, we enjoyed on holiday, there is far more to bread than we had originally imagined

We meet today to pay tribute and say farewell to our brother in Christ, Keith Simpson

Husband of Anne

Father of Richard and Edward and grandfather of Oliver, Tom and William

As we have heard so movingly in the eulogy, Keith has had a very long and distinguished life

With a career in banking

And with many hobbies and interests

But I think that the thing that stood out for me most about Keith was the fact that he was the very epitome of a gentleman

A man who was chivalrous, courteous and honorable

whose conduct conformed to the highest standards of propriety and correct behaviour

A man admired and respected by all those who had the privilege to know him

And who make up the vast majority of us here today

I too have had the privilege of knowing Keith throughout the five years I have been at Bolton Priory

I found him as described

He was most engaging and faultlessly courteous

And even though our politics were dissimilar

He showed that people can disagree respectfully and courteously – a lesson for our modern age

Accompanied as always by Anne, his wonderful wife

I think I can safely say that we all had the greatest admiration for him

And we will miss his presence

Not least among the Friends of Bolton Priory

As well as the congregation here at the Priory where he has worshipped for so many years

Keith enriched all our lives and was an example to us all

But of course, Keith not only had a family and professional life

But also, like all of us, a life in the spirit too

And one of the things that stood out for me was Keith’s spiritual journey as a Christian

I learnt that Keith first went to church as a chorister at St Cuthbert’s Church, Burnley

And, at the very end of his life, worshipped here at the Priory

Which, by a strange co-incidence, also has St Cuthbert as its Patron

Those of you who are walkers will know that there is a walk called St Cuthbert’s Way

It is sixty-two miles long and goes from Melrose to Lindisfarne

Melrose is where St Cuthbert began his religious life

And if you continue on the walk, you will visit the three great Border Abbeys of Melrose Jedburgh and Dryburgh

You will then sweep though the Cheviot Hills

Cross the River Tweed

Find shelter in St Cuthbert’s cave where the monks sheltered with his coffin

Before finally arriving at Holy Island off the coast of Northumberland

Which became the eventual resting place of St Cuthbert and the site of his original shrine

What I have described, of course, is a pilgrimage

A journey that anyone can take and many of you will have been on pilgrimages yourself

Most probably to Lourdes, Santiago del Compostella or Medjugorje in Croatia

Such pilgrimages have their genesis from the Old Testament

Where Jews were expected to make the journey to Jerusalem every three years

To worship at the Temple

As the psalmist said “Happy are those in whose heart are the highways of Zion” (Psalm 84)

By way of contrast, there are other types of pilgrimage too

Abraham made his sojourn through the wilderness to the promised land

Just as the Jews left the land of Egypt, led by Moses, where they were landed “safely on Canaan’s side”

But as the last two examples suggest, pilgrimage is not just about travelling physically

But is also a metaphor for our earthly life

We are all travelers and always travelling

Travelling through this earthly realm towards heaven

A journey which is invariably difficult and often akin to the wilderness

But a journey to a sacred place nevertheless, fixed on a glorious goal

It should always be this final destination which motivates the journey

And which motivated Keith during his life here on earth and which should motivate us too

Shortly after Keith was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he sent me an email

It was calm, measured and faultlessly courteous as always and just as you would expect

It took stock of the new reality which meant the end of his earthly life

When he could no longer come to Church [and just before he went to Manorlands]

We all celebrated Holy Communion together at the flat at Audley

The chalice was restored and our Holy Communion was a foretaste of the heavenly banquet which Keith will enjoy today

It is the end of his earthly race

Like St Cuthbert, he too will be laid to rest in a sacred place here at Bolton Abbey

In a sense, Keith has walked the St Cuthbert’s way

And so today we say goodbye to Keith

We give thanks for his life and all his blessings

We give thanks for the example he set for us all here on earth, both in the way he conducted himself in his daily life

And his faithful witness in the Church

And we remind ourselves that we too are journeying together

Pilgrims on that sacred way until, we too, take our rest in God’s loving arms

“ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me”

Today is the Third Sunday after Easter

And we heard two interesting readings this morning

The first was the reconciliation between Joseph and his family after all the family fallout

A fallout which arose as a result of the favoritism shown to him by his father

Which, inevitably, caused jealousy among his brothers

The second reading, by contrast is very much in keeping with the liturgical season

We are now in the period after Easter, between Christ’s death and Ascension

And, by any reckoning, it is a confusing part of the year

Jesus has died and then risen from the dead,

However, he is not with us all the time and keeps appearing and disappearing from view

Even when he is with his disciples, he tells them cryptically that “ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me”

Leaving the disciples as confused as we, possibly, are this morning

But alongside these two readings

We were all privileged to hear the wonderful sermon from Sister Margaret Atkins last week

She preached about St Augustine and the Augustinian Community

And what it meant to live in community

According to the Augustinians, to live in community was “to live together in harmony and to have one heart and one mind on the way to God’.

When it came to leading the community, the superior should consider themselves fortunate to serve in love’

Conversely, those who worked under a superior, were to view their obedience as an act of love in itself

But her profound words reminded me of a story I had once heard which I am going to share with you this morning

Read passage from The Different Drum

The story seems so relevant in the light of the readings this morning

We heard first a story of disunity

Something which affects all families and communities

Put simply, it is very hard to live together

And all communities, whether political or religious, have a habit of falling out

Whilst this can sometimes be a catalyst for change

Over time, it can also cause a community to wither away

But this is nothing new

The New Testament records the disunity among the disciples in the aftermath of the death and crucifixion of their Lord and Saviour

They were on the run and hiding in Jerusalem

And were about to scatter completely when the risen Lord appeared among them

and was present in their midst

And as a result, they were galvanized and strengthened to such a degree that they went out in the world

And established his church here on earth

And both these readings and the story should give us all strength and hope

Just imagine if one of here today was in fact the Messiah?

Have a look around you and see how it might be

And if you don’t know, then treat everyone as if they might be Christ

Or that it might be you?

And if you do that then I am sure that we too, like the monks in the story and the disciples themselves

Can achieve a remarkable renewal

Readings:

Old Testament: Ezekiel 34. 11-16a KJV

The Gospel Reading: St John 10.11-16 KJV

In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

FECISTI NOS AD TE, ET INQUIETUM EST COR NOSTRUM, DONEC REQUIESCAT IN TE.

Don’t be alarmed - I’m not going to give the whole sermon in Latin!

I just wanted to start with what is probably the best known line from the best known of all Augustine’s many books. It comes from the first paragraph of his book, Confessions. That was the name he gave his spiritual autobiography – a kind of extended prayer – a confession of sin, faith and praise. The sentence if we translate it literally goes like this. Fecisti nos – you made us – ad te -towards you, et inquietum est – and unquiet is – cor nostrum – our heart – donec requiescat -until it rests – in te – in You.

You made us towards you, and unquiet is our heart, until it rests in You.

It’s a bit odd in Latin as well as in English. What does ‘you made us towards you’ mean? And why ‘our heart is’ – not ‘our hearts are’?

Confessions is a story of a journey. It is a journey that starts with God – ‘You made us - -‘. It is a journey towards God – Augustine was always on the move, geographically, intellectually, and spiritually. And it ends in God.

It is Augustine’s own journey – but never just his. ‘Augustine was rarely alone.’1 It is a journey that he always made with others, and a journey that we make together.

And it is by making it that we become united – with each other and with God. Our separated hearts, often cut off from, and opaque to, each other – gradually become one. Instead of ‘our hearts are’, we can say ‘our heart is’. ‘Our heart’ is no longer ‘unquiet’ because it rests in You.

Just in this one sentence then we have three great themes of Augustine’s teaching, and three great themes of the Christian life:

1. The initiative is God’s. Compare this with our reading from Ezekiel: ‘For thus saith the Lord: Behold I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out’.

2. The human life is a search for peace – the peace promised to the sheep by the Good Shepherd in the readings from both Ezekiel and St John.

3. We find that peace when we are made one by love. As Jesus said in St John’s Gospel: ‘there shall be one fold and one shepherd’.

Why then were these themes important to Augustine? And what have they got to do with us here in Bolton Priory in the 21st century?

Augustine was born in a small town in North Africa, in 354. For the first half of his life he was a restless wanderer. He abandoned his childhood Christianity, distracted by alternative religion, by intellectual difficulties, by love affairs, above all by desire for worldly success. But God took the initiative. Augustine thought he was progressing up the career ladder. Looking back he realised that every rung of this ladder was in fact leading him to his conversion. At the age of 32 he was baptised, along with his best friend Alypius (again, he did not do this alone). He returned to Africa with several of his friends who had made the journey with him.

From then on he always lived in community, as a monk.

Then, when he very reluctantly became a bishop, he lived with the priests of his diocese. He encouraged them to embrace a common life, to share their goods. His model was the early community denoted in Acts 4.32 ff. (cf. Acts 2.44 ff.):

‘Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and one soul, and no one said that any of the things which he possessed was his own, but they had everything in common.’

Augustine wrote for his various religious communities: the clerics, the ordinary monks, and also the nuns, a short Rule describing the basics of their way of life.

This Rule was adopted by the canons who came here to Bolton in 1155 and built this beautiful church. And it is used today by many communities across the world, including our own Sisters at Boarbank Hall in Cumbria. (Last week we had some guests to Mass for a celebration. It happened to be the day for that same reading from Acts 4. One of the guests came up to me afterwards and said: ‘The reading came to life for me. I thought – ‘You are doing that! You are living it here.’ It was a moving moment.)

So, what are we trying to live?

Augustine’s Rule begins: ‘The reason why you are gathered together is to live together in harmony and to have one heart and one mind on the way to God’. Again, note Augustinian movement: God calls us to move towards him, by becoming united, one heart and one soul. All the details of the Rule are shaped by this goal of unity and peace in mutual love. For example:

*The reason we do not have private property is not because poverty is a good thing in itself. It is so that our life is, as fully as possible, shared.

*The brother or sister in charge is responsible for distributing what each person needs, showing a special care for the frail and sick.

* There is great attention to avoiding and making up quarrels.

* The Superior is not to think power and authority important, but ‘to consider herself fortunate to serve in love’. Conversely, the obedience of the Community to her is also an act of love. (This is a really practical thing, as I’m sure you know from your own experience of having responsibilities. If people don’t make a fuss about unimportant things, it makes life so much easier all round.)

In the conclusion to the Rule, Augustine quotes 2 Corinthians 2.15, encouraging the Community to exude ‘the fragrance of Christ in the goodness of your lives’. This unity is not just for religious communities. It is meant to spread, like a beautiful fragrance. For Augustine the ideals of Acts apply to the whole Church, the body of Christ – and Christ is our peace (cf. Ephesians 2.14, one of his favourite quotations). Religious communities are a visible sign of what we are all called to.

But the point is bigger even than that: the Church is a model for the whole world being reconciled in Christ. Indeed the whole of Creation was made to reflect God’s unity and love.

But what has all this to do with Bolton Priory here and now in the 21st century?

Today’s world is marked more than ever by division – between rich and poor, between political groupings, between countries at war. As environmental pressures grow, as food and water and land become ever shorter, the divisions are likely to increase.

More than ever we need communities of reconciliation, communities which can model the peace of Christ and bring it to others. These will be oases of hope in a world that is growing darker.

All small churches are facing big decisions today - about buildings, about leadership, about worship. When we are searching for answers to these questions, Augustine invites us to remember our deepest purpose. What, after all, is the point of keeping Bolton Priory alive?

He invites us to ask, why have we come together in the first place? And there are few better answers than his own: to be of one mind and one heart on the way to God.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

Nearly forty-three years to the day, in a small hospital chapel in South America, a priest was taking a service of Holy Communion
Just like us this morning, the service started with the liturgy of the word
Which concluded when the priest delivered his sermon from the pulpit
After he had finished, he stood once again at the altar to continue with the rest of the service
As he was elevating the host
A red car stopped outside the door of the church
Two gunmen got out and fired a number of shots, one of which struck the priest in the chest
The priest collapsed at the altar and died later in the hospital
As the two gunmen sped off, one of them said to the other “mission accomplished”

The priest, of course, was Oscar Romero
A Catholic Archbishop who spoke out against violence and social injustice in El Salvador
He was declared a martyr by the Catholic Church
And made a saint just eight years ago in 2016
At his beatification, Pope Francis said that his ministry was
"distinguished by his particular attention to the most poor and marginalized in society”
His death, of course, has obvious parallels with the death of our Lord Jesus Christ
A ministry also marked by “attention to the poor and marginalised”
He too, was put to death for being a perpetual threat to the Roman and Jewish Authorities
Not least for pointing the social injustices in Jewish society
But of course, Christ did not die from a bullet but by crucifixion
But it might have been different today
But whilst this might seem remote and from another part of the world
When I was a teenager, I went to the Royal Academy to see an exhibition of paintings by the artist, Stanley Spencer
He was born at the turn of the last century and many of his paintings imagine the life of Christ in rural England
In his case, the Berkshire village of Cookham
And one painting in particular stood out for me
It was entitled “Crucifixion” and depicts Christ being nailed to the cross – in his Berkshire village
It is the most violent of all his paintings and shows two gargoyle-like carpenters on ladders
With hammer in hand and nails in their mouths
You can almost imagine the terror that would have been experienced by Christ
But the point the painter is making is that, we too, are perfectly capable of putting Christ to death ourselves

But of course, today is not just about the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, but about his resurrection
And with ironic timing,
Just before he was assassinated, Archbishop Romero wrote forcibly and prophetically about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
And what it might mean for our lives
Romero said that, through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ
“Christ has… opened the gates of heaven even though we are sinners”
He went on
“Sins are forgiven because Christ became the price for our debt and now we can all die in the hope of heaven”
That is the message of Easter morning
Today we know that Christ has conquered death which changes all our lives for ever
Ther has been a paradigm change
And we can now all live our lives in the sure and certain hope of the resurrection
We celebrate this morning as “resurrection people”

But of course, this begs the question, what about those who put Christ to death?
The Roman soldiers?
The gunmen who gunned down the archbishop as he celebrated Mass?
The carpenters who hammered in the nails in leafy Berkshire?
What happens to them on Easter morning?
Romero stated
“As I have stated so often before, those who are responsible for so many injustices and so much violence, those who have caused weeping in so many homes, those who are stained with the blood of so many murders, those who hands are tarnished with torture, those…who feel no pain at seeing beneath their boots so many people humiliated, suffering, perhaps near death, To all of them I say, your crimes…are ugly and horrible and have violated the highest dignity of the human person. But God calls and forgives you”
God’s redemption reaches all people today without exception

And so we meet together on Easter morning once again to proclaim and celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ
But we do so in a world still embroiled in bitterness and fighting
In the Middle East where innocent men and women are being slaughtered on both sides
In Ukraine where, not only the innocent are killed, but thousands of young men and women caught up in events bigger than themselves
But it does not have to be a war in another land – it is here too
It is the Windrush generation, stripped of their nationality and deported
The refugee, manacled and strapped to the seat of an aircraft
The postmaster or mistress reduced to penury and public insult because people are too proud to admit their mistakes
The list is endless
They too suffer the humiliation of the Lamb, as we ourselves drive the nails into their hands
But it does not have to be this way because, today
“the definitive victory is the triumph of life over death, the triumph of peace, the triumph of joy, the triumph of the alleluia’s, the triumph of the resurrection of our Lord”

In 1972, I went to York Minster with my mother and her sister to see the Queen after the Maundy Thursday Service
I was nine years old at the time.
However, the memory of the event stayed with me as the Queen stopped to talk to us after the service and we were on the News
How exciting for a child
At the time, I knew the name for the service, but not the reason
I had no understanding as to the deeper meaning of Maundy Thursday either

The word Maundy is a corruption of the Latin word “mandatum” meaning commandment.
And the commandment, on this particular occasion, is the commandment given by Christ to his disciples to
“wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example” (John 13)
Which we heard in our reading this evening
This commandment is given at the same time as the commandment to celebrate the Lords Supper
And both are traditionally observed together on Maundy Thursday

In a sense, our foot washing this evening, is a token gesture
It is a ritualised form of service to our neighbour
In a Western setting, the fact that foot washing has become ritualised, is understandable
Rarely does someone come to our house, footsore and with feet covered in dust-
We simply don’t live in that sort of climate
In fact, if I offered to wash someone’s feet when they came to dinner or even to the house
They would think I was quite odd
However, although foot washing has become ritualised, in a sense, this does not matter
Because rituals not only speak for themselves but, often, speak far louder than words
The ritual itself speaks of a deeper reality which words often cannot convey

When it comes to foot washing
• It reminds us of our equality before God
• It reminds us of our humanity as washing someone’s feet exposes us and our common humanity to the world
But above all it reminds of our service as Christians
• Our service to one another, without ceremony, formality or gain
• But above all, Christ’s service to us all

Christ is not only the King but the servant King
Not only did he come down to Earth but he humbled himself to the lowliest in society at the same time

I think that there is one other point from Maundy Thursday that we need to remind ourselves of
And that is that God is not found amongst the rich and powerful but amongst the lowliest born
In today’s world, that could be the homeless, the refugee, the aged, the street worker, the unemployed
Imagine their feet and there you find the feet of God

When I was Rector of the Falkland Islands, I went to see a tourist in the hospital in Port Stanley who was in a coma
He was taken ill during a cruise and was taken to where he was placed in a hospital bed to die
He never regained consciousness and died five days after his arrival
I would visit each day but, one day the nurse said that she had washed his hair
I was extremely moved by this gesture
He was not going to recover
He was not going to recover consciousness
He did not care about his appearance, nor did anyone else
Yet she washed his hair

For me it was a selfless act of love to a dying man
An act as saintly as Christ himself in washing the feet of his disciples
This was an act of servanthood to someone she did not even know
An example to us all on this Maundy Thursday

Today the Maundy Service took place at Worcester Cathedral
There will, no doubt, have been children in the crowd hoping to catch a glimpse of members of the Royal family
His Majesty the King was not able to attend but Camilla was present and I am sure she stopped to speak to people afterwards
However, the King recorded a message instead which some of you might have heard
Where he reminded us
That Jesus set an “example of how we should serve and care for each other”,
and how as a nation “we need and benefit greatly from those who extend the hand of friendship to us, especially in a time of need”

In the name etc

As you all know, we are in Holy Week, the start of which was marked by Palm Sunday
As Christians, we follow the events of our Lords last week on earth as closely as we can and today is Maundy Thursday which marks the start of last three days of our Lord
This is known as the Paschal Triduum
Maundy Thursday is the day when we traditionally celebrate the Last Supper of our Lord in the upper room and then follow him, as disciples, into the Garden of Gethsemane, which we mark with our own vigil.
At the same time, the altar is stripped bare as we mark the desolation of our Lord
During the service, we will also wash the feet of a few members of the congregation to remember Christ washing the feet of his disciples and to remember that we are all called to be servants of Christ.  

Today we meet together to say our farewells to our brother and friend in Christ, Keith

Father of Tim, Mark, Jane and Sarah

Grandfather of Amy and Harry, Callum, Isabel and Max, Daisy and Chloe

And beloved husband of Kathleen – who died in 2009

And whose death marked the beginning of Keith’s journey of faith here at Bolton Priory

He was confirmed in 2015

And his funeral today marks his final initiation into the Christian Church

I often take funerals for people I have never met before - which is inevitable because I have only been at the Priory for five years

But Keith is different because I met Keith immediately upon arrival at the Priory

And, from the beginning, we struck up a very warm friendship

For some reason, we seemed able to make each other laugh and enjoyed doing so

The first thing I remember is Keith coming up to me and feeling the lapel of my suit

And then ask me where I got it!

He did the same when I was wearing a sports jacket at a social event later

No one else has ever done that to me before or since!

He would also, invariably, ask me about my Land Rover Defender and how much it had increased in value since we last spoke

I would occasionally offer to sell it to him but he never took me up on it

I would joke with him about Leeds United and being looked after by what he termed “Charlie’s Angels”

I was very privileged to know him and feel the loss very keenly today

I visited Keith a number of times before he died – and in the final agonies of his illness

He was so complimentary about the Priory that it touched my heart

He told me in his last fortnight, that “Bolton Priory” was the best thing that had ever happened to him

But there was also another unique moment which has never happened to me before

I received the news of Keith death early on a Sunday morning

Before any service, I am invariably popping in and out of the office

And just before the service began at 8am, I noticed that the light on my phone was flashing

I quickly listened to the message to hear from Jane that Keith had died just a few hours earlier at 3pm in the morning

On receipt of this sad news, I had no option but to immediately take the service

I take lots of services, but this time was different, as I had Keith on my heart as I did so

And the result was not sadness but joy

As I read the preface to the prayer of consecration, I did so using the comfortable words

“Therefore with angels and archangels and with all the company of heaven”

My heart filled with joy as I knew that Keith was now amongst the faithful departed

But I was asked a very interesting, but difficult, question by Jane when the family came to arrange the funeral at the parish office

Jane asked me whether I believed that Dad would be with Kathleen in heaven?

Of course, I don’t know because I have never been

But I do know this

That our celebration of Holy Communion is a foretaste of God’s heavenly Kingdom

It is an event where our earthly and heavenly realms are intermingled

And on the morning of Keith’s death, I felt his presence so strongly

His beloved wife Kathleen is also buried at Bolton Priory and I am sure that both will now be present in our worship together

And throughout time

But there is a second part to my answer

Today is Maundy Thursday, the start of the Easter Triduum in Holy Week

This evening, we will remember the Last Supper which Jesus celebrates with his disciples

After which he journeys with his disciples to the Mount of Olives

Where we recall his suffering until his death on the cross on Good Friday

But this sequence of events speaks so clearly to us today

We all enter Jerusalem in our lives

Triumphant at first, just as Keith did as a successful businessman

But we all know that, ultimately, death will befall us all

Like Keith, we too will suffer the agonies of the garden, which we remember today

But majesty of Christianity,

The majesty of the story is that we know that death was conquered by our Lord Jesus Christ

The despair of Good Friday gives way to the joy of Easter Day

When we are able to proclaim, as we do today, that death has been conquered

And that we all live in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

And so we say goodbye to Keith today

A man who has enjoyed great success in life and particularly in his business but who was ultimately triumphant in his faith too

A great friend to me and to countless others

Reminding us all of the virtues of hard work, application and tenacity

But he also reminds us of the greatest gift of all

The glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ

And on Easter Day will all be able to say, as we do today

“Christ has Risen” Allelulia

Today marks the beginning of what is termed “Passiontide”

Although it is in the Church calendar, I always think it is a slightly confusing moment in the life of the Church

Because, in a sense, it is super-imposed over both Lent and Holy Week

We are still in Lent until Maundy Thursday

And we begin Holy Week, next week, on Palm Sunday

But we are now also in Passiontide – where three seasons seem to co-exist together

The position is further confused by the fact that, although Passiontide originated in the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions

It was dropped by the Roman Catholic Church in 1969, yet retained by the Anglicans  

Yet here we are nevertheless

But cutting through the liturgical thicket, Passiontide commemorates the suffering of Christ

And it is the suffering of Christ we reflect on today

But suffering is not an easy thing to reflect upon,

Never mind preach about

Indeed, why should we meditate on or glorify suffering at all?

It is a probably the most unpleasant part of our earthly journey

But recently, I came across a very personal story told by a Benedictine oblate from Melling Abbey in Kent

An oblate, as you may know, is someone who has affiliated themselves with a monastic community

And who follow the Rule of the Order in their civilian life as far as circumstances might permit

And I thought I might share her story with you this morning

This particular oblate was called Margaret Spafford

And she had a very sick daughter who was in a children’s hospital

And she told a story of being in the hospital one day

“I remember an occasion when a pious friend came to see me in the middle of that long year on the ward of the hospital where our daughter was a patient.

The day my friend called, I was trying to comfort another anguished child on the ward. Words were useless and only touch would do. But as I reached out my hand to stoke the child’s head, a nurse intervened and said hastily, “Don’t touch him, his skull might fracture”

My friend, who was observing the situation, then said enviously,

“Your faith must be such a comfort to you”

But as Margaret put it “my faith was no comfort to me at all”

As you might expect, this experience had a profound impact upon her

As she put it

“That experience led me to question, in a very fundamental way, whether Christianity had any valid application at all to this very real and painful world which I found myself in”

And she went on to describe the state of utter hopelessness in which she found herself

As she put it

“Christianity isn’t an insurance policy. It does not mean that you, or your family. Won’t get cancer, that my bones won’t break, that my daughter won’t go into neurological failure.

Those people to whom it is an insurance policy, who think that it means that the feared thing won’t happen, perhaps even that they should prosper, are in for trouble. They are thinking of magic, and then, when the magic does not work, when they meet disease, or poverty, or death, they think that they perhaps have lacked faith themselves, and that is why God has failed them”

Her daughter died of neurological failure later that year

Given the blackness, the utter despair and her reflections, you might have expected her to lose her faith

But she hung on

As she said “As I thought about these things on those terrible wards, I also thought about the incarnation (of Jesus Christ)”

As she put it

“Isaiah said of the suffering servant who was to come “a bruised reed shall not he break”

And if a bruised reed would not break, then why should she?

But she then directed her thoughts to Good Friday

Which is the destination for us all of us today as we begin this two-week season known as Passiontide

As she said

“Jesus himself in his pain on Good Friday lost the conception of Easter Day. That is the point of Good Friday. If everyone had been able to retain a cosy, reassuring memory that something else was supposed to happen afterwards, it wouldn’t have been Good Friday. Nor would it have been redemptive. We only have hope because Jesus lost it, and therefore totally shares our darkness. There is nowhere we can go where he has not been, no abyss where he cannot be encountered. On the cross, he too forgot - that Good Friday and Easter Day are one event”

So returning to my original comments about the beginning of Passiontide which we mark today

It is a moment in the Church calendar that can almost get lost

Which sits awkwardly between and on top of Lent and Holy Week

And which seems to begs the question whether or not really want to go there at all?

But looked at from another angle, perhaps it does sit naturally after all?

Over the next fortnight we might, once again, get lost in the pageantry and drama of Easter

With donkeys, palm branches, feet washing and Easter Eggs

But underpinning it, and overlaying it, is the Passion of Christ

Something we should not forget, indeed should always be reminded of 

So that we never forget the most important message of today

That Good Friday and Easter Day are indeed just one event

Although it feels as if I have been at Bolton Priory for quite a long time I have to remind myself that it is only five years

And of course, I did not know Shelia - which makes preaching, potentially, quite problematic

Nevertheless, it is a great privilege to preach at Sheila’s funeral today and to listen the loving eulogies from her sons

However, despite not knowing Sheila, I have had a chance to meet the family and to hear much about her life

And the first thing I was struck by uncanny co-incidences

First, I noted that Sheila was born in Sedbergh

This was the first co-incidence as Sedbergh School visited Bolton Priory just a week after Sheila died

Giving us a wonderful concert as well as singing choral evensong

It could almost have been a tribute to Sheila herself

Then there was the family association with Scarborough

Where I spent five years of my life as a school boy on the Filey Road, and where Nick’s daughter also went to school

But the other important co-incidence, although that is not quite the right word, was Sheila’s association with Bolton Priory

Sheila worshipped at the Priory for many years

She was a guide, helped with counting the collection as well as making some of the kneelers

But Bolton Priory was also the place where her beloved husband had his funeral in 1981

And where Nick got confirmed and then married in 1985

Given the long association with Bolton Priory and all the various co-incidences,

It feels only right and proper that I should be taking Sheila’s funeral today

However, whatever our differences, similarities or co-incidences

There is one common denominator that we all share in common

And that is the life of Christ

A life which is a prism through which we can all view our earthly lives

Which is why we remind ourselves continually of the Christian story each and every year

And the Christian story, once again, speaks to us today

First and foremost, we are still in the season of Lent

A season when we remember our Lord in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights

Although we mark this season liturgically, we all travel through Lent, at some point, in our lives

This period of desolation and darkness is common to us all

It can happen to any of us at any time of our lives

And many of us will recognise it in our own lives already

But it is important not to consider this too negatively

It is, of course, a penitential season which starts with Ash Wednesday

A day which reminds us of our mortality and human frailty

But this is a good thing, as it should bring about humility in us all

We are all mortal flesh and a reminder of our frailty

Reminds us to give thanks to God for all the blessings bestowed upon us

And to live life as fully as we can

Indeed, it is the state of mind required to lead our lives today and to seek to fulfil God’s purpose for us here on earth

But as well as being the season of Lent, today we also stand on the eve of Holy Week

Which begins next Sunday

When we celebrate Palm Sunday

A day when we remember Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem

The former Archbishop of Canterbury said about Palm Sunday

As we stand at the gates of the city…

Jesus does not steer us away…and send us back into the holy silence of the desert…he keeps us close…and tells us that these are also the gates of heaven.

We stand not just at the gates of the city… but also at the entrance to the Garden of Eden.

Which brings us all to the heart of our faith which is our Lords glorious Resurrection on Easter Day

Although we journey through the darkness of Lent

Although we enter Jerusalem – triumphant at first, we know that, ultimately, death will befall us all

But majesty of Christianity, the majesty of the story is that we know that death was conquered by our Lord Jesus Christ

The despair of Good Friday gives way to the joy of Easter Day

We are able to proclaim, as we do today, that death has been conquered

And that we all live in the sure and certain hope of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ

And so today, when we meet to say our goodbyes to Sheila

We naturally do so with sorrow in our hearts

But also with joy at the same time – a joy for all that was good in her life

And a joy and confidence in our shared faith

That when Sheila is laid to rest with her beloved husband

They will, once again, be “together” in God’s heavenly kingdom

Thank you so much for the invitation to preach here this morning, in this incredibly beautiful church, dedicated to Our Lady, Blessed Mother Mary, on the Sunday on which we give thanks for Holy Mother Church.

On this day, I’d like to offer you a job. By the way, just by being here, you are actually effectively agreeing to undertake it!

There is no formal contract, but it is for life. You can’t really leave this job once you’ve begun – well, you can, but it’s exceptionally hard and it will leave a hole in you that nothing can mend.

The duties are flexible, but demanding – and also fulfilling. You will be on call 24 hours a day seven days a week. There is no pension, no retirement date, and no formal role description. Additional responsibilities or tasks may and probably will be given without notice or consultation.

You will need to be able to think on your feet, respond effectively and with compassion to emergencies, nurse the sick, tend the injured, bind up the brokenhearted, feed the hungry, wash, iron, play, drive, teach, clean, nurse, inspire and encourage.

Ah yes, remuneration. It’s unpaid, and full time. You may have to take on another job in your spare time to enable you to fulfil this one. You will also have to explain to your other employer that you will have to drop everything at very short notice if needed in this role.

Humour and flippancy aside, Mothering is something which is very often underrated, undervalued, or worse taken for granted and invisible. Perhaps that is because it is not possible to value it in money. The love and nurture of a mother cannot be bought, only given. It cannot be earned. It cannot be quantified in terms of GDP and net contribution to the economy. And so it inhabits that space in between.

As an aside, I ask the pardon of the fathers here – I know you do wonderful things and love your children dearly, but it’s not the same, and today is for the mothers. Where there is a mother present in the family, Fathers get the rest of the year to be praised for being wonderful dads every time they actually do childcare. Plus a special day in June. Mothers are simply expected to do the job, because it’s what we do. And if you’re outraged by that, may I ask you to consider why, and consider your average fellow man of the past couple of millennia.

Stay with me….

Today is a day for both celebrating and reflecting on Holy Mother Church, upon the nurture and mothering (by women and by men) we find within the Church, and within our worshipping communities; on the concept of ministry as mothering; and of course in the love that we receive from God, who is our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer. 

In the presence of an apparently all-male Trinity (I’ll tackle the question about the Holy Spirit another day), Holy Mother Mary and Holy Mother Church stand as the figures – the pillars – which allow God to be known and experienced here on earth, in our lives and through our actions, individually and collectively.

Through Mary, and her courage and obedience in saying yes to God, God is incarnate in Jesus.

Through the Church on earth – in all its many and glorious (and less glorious!) forms, the Body of Christ is constructed, God’s hands and feet in this broken and hurting world, bringing God’s love and comfort to one another in myriad practical ways.

These two mothering figures hold the space within which God is made known in our lives day to day.

One reason that Mothering Sunday is so important is that Mothers are always there when we need them, and (if we’re honest) generally ignored and taken for granted 90% of the time, more so as we grow older and think we know best.

Yet we expect them to pick us up when we fall. To salve graze knees, to mend broken bones and dreams, to bind up the bleeding wounds inflicted by the wider world. And then off we go again, blithely ignoring their advice and warm homely wisdom, into our next adventure, trusting that mother will always be there when next we fall, or need comfort and the sense of being held, tenderly, firmly, safely, as a child. 

 That may not be your experience of mothering, but I bet it’s part of your mental “ideal” image. That “ideal” may owe a lot to 1950s American advertising, but ironically it’s not just wishful Hollywood idealism. For that is what Holy Mother Church (at her best)  is and does for us - though the hands that bind and the ears that listen are ours, and those of fellow members of this Body – which is the Body of Christ. 

 Which leads me to God as Creator, back to Mother Mary, and to Jesus, Emmanuel, God With Us, Incarnate.

The patient Creator, who lovingly watched and held His new creation and creatures as they tried and blundered and messed up and tried again.

The patient Mother, who watched and waited and held her beloved Son throughout His life, so that He could teach and heal and mend, renew and reconcile. Who held Him also in Death, enduring the pain of loss, waiting for Resurrection, love and life renewed and restored.

The loving Reconciler, who stopped, took time, touching the untouchable with love, and giving time to the poor and “worthless” who were precious to God even if society failed to value them.  

God is always about Being, not merely Doing – something which is deeply maternal. Of course Mothers do endless tasks, most of which are ignored or taken for granted until one day they aren’t done, and we suddenly realise how valuable and important they were. But Mothers also do the one thing most of us forget. They simply are. They have the ability to sit and watch over their children, loving, waiting, being present. Mothers are place of comfort and quiet when everything else has gone to pot, and we have reached the absolute end of our resources and ability. 

Today’s gospel – Jesus says to Philip, where shall we buy bread that these people may eat? Philip replies, six months wages would not buy enough for them all to have a morsel! His hyperbole makes it clear – you’ve got to be kidding! We can’t! Don’t be daft! This task is impossible. This relationship built through food is impossible. To nurture this crowd is impossible. To DO what needs to be done is impossible.

One of the things which my mother taught me was to make a feast out of very little, and that additional guests at no notice for a meal would be welcomed as a joy rather than dreaded because the food might run out. There was always something extra one could put in which would make it stretch far enough, no matter how many ended up staying for the meal.

Rereading today’s gospel passage from St John  reminds me of that. It’s not an obviously or overtly feminine image of Jesus, but the provision and preparing of food was then (and if we’re honest usually remains) very firmly the realm of women, most of whom in Jesus’ day would also have been mothers. And yes, this is a role which God repeatedly takes on in the Bible: He gives manna in the wilderness; He feeds Elijah in the desert; He creates food for 5000 out of five loaves and two fish; He creates overwhelming abundance out of what looks like incredible scarcity.

In the same way, the deep well of God’s love is inexhaustible, just as is His provision. It will not run out or fail us – though it may not look like what we expected or wanted!

And in the same way, God’s love for us never grows old, wears out or cuts us off.

Knowing that we are loved gives us courage and assurance.

And to know and hear that we are loved, and to experience love, is not only delightful and highly beneficial to us but it invites us to respond... by loving one another, even as He has loved us.

Thus with God, all things are possible. Something comes of nothing, abundance comes of scarcity, peace comes in conflict, reconciliation comes where there is implacable division.

This is what the Church is called to be and do, in imitation of her Lord. This church in which we sit today is a monastic foundation, whose bedrock and founding principles include hospitality and care. The Church brings people together in relationship who would otherwise never meet, let alone recognise our kinship, so that we can be nurtured and nurture in turn. This is the ministry of the Church as our spiritual Mother, holding Christ out to others even as Holy Mother Mary held the infant Christ for us all.

For Holy Mother Church, and for mothers everywhere – for all those (of every gender) who undertake that wonderful and sacred ministry of mothering others, in every way – thanks be to God.

It is a great honour to be preaching at this Service of Thanksgiving this morning

Indeed, it has been a privilege to have served as the High Sheriffs’ chaplain during the past year

Unfortunately, I have not been able to do as much as I would have liked in this role

However, I was able to attend the Annual Legal Service as well as some visits in the local community

But there was a lovely moment before Clare’s swearing in when she asked if I would consider being her chaplain

“Of course” I said and then, over lunch, asked her where she would get her uniform from?

Clare thought it came from Ede and Ravenscroft

As I was educated in Chancery Lane many moons ago, I suggested that we might go together

And then imagined a possible scenario with the two of us in the shop

“Madam is this your husband” asked the assistant, “no…it’s my chaplain”

But the uniform of the High Sherrif is indeed quite remarkable

Prescribed in extraordinary detail, it consists of

A coat of blue or black velvet, cocked hat, wig bag, hose, swords, gloves, buckled shoes

All this was laid out by the Lord Chamberlain in 1839

But contained vestiges of court dress from the reign of King George III

However, you could say the same about the dress I am wearing in Church today

Not that I am here to compete over dresses!

But my vestments, known as choir dress, are laid down in the Ornaments Rubric in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer

And comes from the second year of the reign of Edward VI

But, in contrast to the High Sheriff, choir dress is laid down in the law of the Church

And is part of our Canon Law

But clergy dress has been problematic since the time of the Reformation

The issue however, was not so much about vestments, but about authority

Who had the authority to tell clergy what to wear? Was it the Monarch, the Bishops or the Bible?

The Reformation historian J W Allen remarked that

“It was for the Monarch to declare authoritatively what doctrines were in Scripture…so the authority of Scripture became a kind of legal fiction”

Nevertheless, in this case, the bishops, on behalf of the Queen made the final decision

Quoting St Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, they pointed out that there was an obligation on the Church for “all things be done decently and in order”

And that meant being properly dressed

The so-called “authority” therefore, was a fusion of Crown, Bishops and Bible

But the reason I mention this controversy, this morning, is that it is illustrative of the origin and importance of the Rule of Law

For which we give thanks today, and which is embodied in the Office of High Sheriff

It is one of the oldest offices in the country and dates back to Saxon times

When the “Shire Reeve” was responsible to the Monarch for the maintenance of law and order within a shire, or county

And this Service, helpfully, reminds where this law comes from – at least from the perspective of the Church

First and foremost, it comes from the Bible

The first reading this morning sets out the Ten Commandments -a summary of principles by which men and women may live together

Reminding us that much of our law derives from the Bible itself

But there are, obviously, those areas which the Bible does not cover – such as clergy dress

Situations where we have to use our human reason

But human reason it is not just a personal whim but is derived from and inspired by God

“In the beginning was the Word” wrote St John

And that Word or logos both confirms and supplements Divine Revelation and, in the Church, is called natural law

But, of course, that is not the complete picture either

Because the law is also based on the democratic will of the people, vested in the Crown

And as such, we cannot always ensure that such law adheres to our Christian heritage

However, this does not mean that the law can go where it will or be subverted

Not least because the separation of powers offers certain checks and balances

And the Church too participates in the democratic processes

We still have bishops in the House of Lords

Their constitutional role being an extension of their vocation to preach God’s word

And to give voice to the poor, marginalised and oppressed - lest we forget

But this this brings us onto the last piece of this jigsaw

Which is law and grace

And whilst the first two readings set out the basis for the law and our duty to obey

The Gospel reminds us all of a higher law “To love our neighbour as ourselves”

As the prophet Micah put it “to do justly, love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God”

And so today we give thanks to God for the Office of High Sheriff

· For upholding, supporting and sustaining the rule of law

· For strengthening, supporting and encouraging all those involved in the law and the administration of justice

· And for all those, within our society, who exemplify love of neighbour in their work within our communities

And so at the end of this year of the High Sheriff, and for the year to come

May we too resolve to uphold the law

May we too seek to ensure that all things are “done decently and in order”

But, above all, may we all, “do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God”

I recently heard a very interesting question posed at the Said Business School at Oxford University

It was posed by a Fellow who asked

“What is the oldest constitution in the world by which people live today”

The students, who were on the business management course, scratched their heads

Some thought that it might have something to do with the British Constitution

Which goes back to 1265

The more astute pointed out that the Icelandic parliamentary system went back even further to AD 930

However, the Fellow was looking for a religious answer,

And the answer to the question was “The Rule of St Benedict”

A constitution which goes back to AD 540 and is still widely used to this day

Management of course applies to all institutions and the Church of England is no exception

Like every other walk of life, there is an increasing tendency, even in the Church, to look to modern management techniques

Particularly since the church selected its latest Archbishop from the oil industry

Not surprisingly therefore, in 2014 the Church of England produced a report entitled

“Talent management for future leaders: A new approach”

It was the result of a working party steered by the former chairman of HSBC

And proposed a two-stage process for future Deans and Bishops

The first was to attend a business school

Where the candidate would undertake three management modules

And then secondly, on successful completion of the first part of the course

To enroll the so-called “talent pool” on an intensive training course

Not surprisingly this proposal has met with its critics

Martyn Percy, former Dean of Christ Church Cathedral said

“What is on offer is a dish of basic contemporary approaches to executive management, with a little theological garnish”

He said perceptively that

The Churches’ targets for efficiency and growth were not reflective of the Christian mission,

As he put it, Jesus "didn't spend a lot of time going on about success."

All very interesting, but you may wonder why I am airing these familial grievances in public this morning?

My reason is twofold

First and foremost, I do have some sympathy with the Church of England

Since I was ordained and took over the running of a parish – if that is the right term

Much of my life has been managerial

It takes a great deal to run a parish and requires managerial skills and my previous life has equipped me for this, to a degree

For example, when it comes to church growth, I am not overly concerned as numbers can become idolatrous

But the Diocese is concerned, mainly for financial reasons, and requires me to return my “annual statistics for mission”

At the same time, I am increasingly being driven towards corporate standards, notably in compliance, safeguarding and GDPR

I don’t have any problem with trying to ensure that the highest standards are in place

Indeed, they are essential and important

But the administrative burden is large

When I worked in a school, we had a large HR department and a bursary

But the Church has no such things - nor could it- and therein lies the problem

Churches are voluntary organisations who may lack the ability to be organised in this corporate fashion

And even if they do, they often lack the robustness required to be compliant

The greater the demand for business efficiency, the more churches are likely to fail

Secondly, there is a more general point which is related to the Gospel reading this morning

It is arguably one of the most unpalatable readings in the lectionary

The disciples are obstructive and Jesus is pointedly rude to the Canaanite woman

However hard you look, there is little justification for his behaviour – he likens the poor women to a dog

But just imagine for a moment a modern take on this story?

Jesus would, undoubtedly, have been identified as being a future leader of the Church

So he was not on the road with his disciples, but enrolled instead in a business school

But because the Canaanite woman had lodged a formal complaint

He was now suspended, pending further investigation

I don’t want to make light of these things

Because Jesus and his disciples get it badly wrong

However, there is a redemptive end to this story and that is the fact that Jesus is forced to listen to the woman

And, as a result, her daughter is healed

But perhaps the point is this?

Christian living can be messy and things do go wrong

But it is Christian living and not Corporate living

Returning to the Rule of St Benedict, written nearly one and a half thousand years ago

The Rule begins with the simple word “Listen”

It tells us that, if we live as a community, we must first learn to listen

And then try and exercise charity, compassion, hospitality, and holiness in all that we do

It is not easy but we must strive nevertheless

Management theories may come and go

But the fact that this rule for Christian living has endured longer than anything else

Shows that it is, perhaps, the corporate world which should listen to us, and not the other way around

Some of the most moving words I ever heard were uttered, not by a politician or a priest, but by a Judge

As a young Army officer, I was sent to Northern Ireland in 1995 – two years before the ceasefire

And one of my jobs was to represent soldiers who had been injured in the line of duty

As they were entitled to receive compensation for the “criminal” injury they had sustained

In this particular case, it was a young soldier from Royal Irish Regiment who had his legs blown off in a car bomb

As you might imagine, it occasioned horrific injuries and he had been awarded a sizeable amount of compensation

But included in this this award was a sum to train in Sheffield with the paralympic basket-ball team

However, the poor young soldier had grown despondent and given up

And who could blame him, as he now had to spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair

But there only one problem - the State now wanted its money back…

We instructed counsel to act for the young soldier in the High Court in Belfast

And after the arguments for both sides had been heard we waited outside the court room

I remember talking to the soldier in his wheelchair

His trousers folded over the stumps which were all he had left of his legs

We talked about his wife and family and about ferrets too

And after a nervous wait, we were eventually summonsed back into court

Everyone was very apprehensive, but the judge then said something I have never forgotten

When considering the soldiers state of despondency, he said

“Which one of us has not lain awake in the night when all around us seems lost”

It was a very profound comment which still resonates with me

The judge then went on to increase the sum awarded the soldier rather than reduce it

I am sure that I am not alone however in relating to the comments made by the Judge

Indeed, which one of here has not lain awake at night feeling utter despair?

If we have, we know that mostly this experience is relieved in the morning

But there are instances, in all our lives, where the darkness consumes us both day and night

And where there is no light at all

The former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams wrote of this darkness in an essay entitled “The Dark Night”

He noted how other Christian writers had described this phenomenon as “the dark night of the soul”

And had likened it to the sufferings of Christ himself

However, he was dismissive of attempts to describe this darkness in such terms

As he put it

This reality is that this darkness “is the end of all religious experience”

“an emptiness…a bottomless black pit”

He was also sceptical of organized religion’s ability to come to our aid

Because, as he put it

“There are no guiding lines in the darkness, there is no straightforward religious experience we can hold onto”

“If we can pray at all, we talk to an iron heaven, empty of signs”

The dark night is “God’s attack on religion”

His comments reminded me of a nun I had read about called Mother Maria of Paris

She was born to an aristocratic family in Russia and moved to Paris with her husband in 1897

But after her marriage fell apart, she became a nun

And was then faced with the death of her daughter

But it was her reflection on her daughter’s death which most resonated with the comments of the Archbishop

She described being at her daughter’s graveside, where, as she put it

“Into the black, yawning grave fly all hopes, plans, habits, calculations, and - above all – meaning...meaning has lost its meaning”

But despite the brutally honest observations by both commentators, neither believed all was lost

Rowan Williams remarked that there is only one response to such darkness, and that is to

“Let the darkness come upon you, the darkness of God”

And if we are capable of allowing the darkness of God to come upon us, we may find a way back to religion

Because by being brought to this point

“you can honestly confront whatever comes to you without fear of the unknown”

Mother Maria of Paris put it this way

“Anyone who has had this experience of eternity, if only once…will find it hard to turn away from this path if amongst them he sees the one companion carrying his Cross”

And so to our reading this morning

Once again, we hear about Christ going into the wilderness –

Into the unknown, and into the darkness where he is tormented by the devil both day and night

Christ too “has no option but to let the darkness come upon him”

But as we can see,

By accepting this darkness, he is capable of honestly confronting whatever he encounters “without fear of the unknown”

Becoming for us “the companion carrying the cross”

And so this morning, we give thanks for Christ’s example

And for walking with us in times of darkness

But we also must remind ourselves that, even though God seems to have abandoned us

Even though we lie awake at night, like the poor young soldier

Ultimately, we too will be granted an increase in faith

An increase that we thought was being taken away

One of the undoubted glories of Bolton Priory are its stained-glass windows

We have the magnificent early Gothic twin lancet windows on the south side of the Priory

Which are embellished with dog tooth and filled with Pugin glass

On the north arcade we have deep set clerestory windows which flood the Priory with light

And at the west end of the north aisle, we have a brilliantly colored small window depicting St Cuthbert

However, on the north aisle we have some ordinary Victorian windows which are often overlooked

Save for the 14th century heads of some unknown kings and queens

However, it was whilst I was looking at one of these Victorian windows, that I noticed something unusual

It is the window dedicated to Louise Carter

I know nothing about her, save for the fact that she came from Ben Rhydding

And lived between 1857 and 1923

She died aged 66

Her memorial windows depicts’ the risen Christ in predictable Victorian form

Christ is shown having risen from the dead and blessing his flock

To either side is the Alpha and Omega

Whilst the words “I am the Resurrection and the Life” are written on a scroll above his head

The window is dedicated “to the Glory of God and the dear memory of Louise Carter”

But otherwise you might pass it by

However, whilst I was looking at the window for the umpteenth time that I noticed something that I had not seen before

Because Christ was standing, not just on a verdant pasture

but next to a rainbow

Of course, I do not know that was in the mind of the person who designed the window

However, it is just possible that it is related to the Old Testament reading this morning

Which was about God establishing a covenant with his people

The Hebrew word for covenant is “berit”

Which simply means a promise or agreement

We learn this morning that God entered into a covenant with his people after the great flood

Promising them that there shall be no more floods “to destroy the earth”

And the sign of this covenant was a rainbow – something we can all gaze upon in the sky to this day – or indeed in the window

But although God entered into a covenant with his people

Covenants are not easy

A neat illustration of this is the marriage service

Which contains both a vow and covenant between those who get married

Yet approximately 50% end in divorce

In more recent times, the Anglican Church tried to draw up a covenant

This time to try and deal with the enduring problem of same sex marriage in the Anglican Communion

This too failed

One of our most memorable moments of Church tourism was when we went to Brechin Cathedral in Scotland

Not for any great architectural reasons

But because the Bishop of Brechin once preached a sermon there with two loaded pistols in the pulpit

This was because of the opposition to the English prayer book in what had been termed the “National Covenant”

But the covenant made between God and his people at the time of the great flood was equally problematic

The Old Testament prophets refer to its “brokenness”

And the “faithlessness” of God’s chosen people

According to the prophets, it had been “profaned” and “corrupted”

But you might reasonably ask why is Jesus is depicted standing astride a rainbow, the symbol of the covenant made many millenia before

The reason is that the New Testament brings about a “new covenant“

This time between ourselves and Jesus Christ

St Paul’s in his letter to the Hebrews describes Jesus as “the mediator of the new covenant”

So that that those who believe in Christ “May receive the promise of eternal life”

This covenant is not represented by a rainbow this time

But by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross - which we remember every time we make our communion

As it says in St Mark’s Gospel “This is my blood of the covenant which is shed for you”

And reiterated by St Paul, where the chalice is described as “The new covenant in my blood”

When we celebrate Holy Communion at Bolton Priory we simply say “this is my blood of the New Testament”

But the meaning is the same

But it is more than that

Christ represents not only the new covenant but the restoration of the Old Testament covenant too

And so returning to the stained glass window in memory of Louise Carter

I know not whom she was

Nor is the window remarkable either

But through her legacy to Bolton Priory, she does remind us of the covenant that God has made with his people

A covenant that he will never again destroy the earth

But, above all, a reminder that even when we mess it up – which we will

We are, nevertheless, promised everlasting life though the new covenant with our Saviour Jesus Christ

Think of these things when you next look at the window

And think of these things when you next see a rainbow in the sky

Today we celebrate Candlemas, also known as the Presentation of Christ in the Temple.

In one sense, Candlemas is the end of the liturgical season that had Christmas as its centre. A time of waiting, promise, fulfilment and reward. That theme continues now with Simeon and Anna, whose waiting is also rewarded when they saw, and identified the baby Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem.

Joseph and Mary had taken Jesus there forty days after his birth to complete Mary’s ritual purification after childbirth and to perform the consecration of the first-born, as written in Leviticus and Exodus.

But this morning, I want us to focus on the on the often-over-looked role and presence of Simeon and Anna, who some may regard as almost irrelevant in the grand scale of things. After all, this is the only gospel in which we meet Simeon and Anna, and all that we really know of them is that they are old and devout. Anna is described as a prophetess and, although 84 years old, never left the temple, praying both day and night. Waiting. Hoping. Praying.

So, perhaps the first thing we can reflect on, in our current age of instant everything, is that Candlemas can give us an opportunity to stop and remind ourselves that God’s work in the world is often anything but instant; in fact, it tends to be long and slow.

The Jewish people had to wait centuries for their Messiah to come; Simeon and Anna had to wait nearly their whole lifetime before they saw salvation with their own eyes; and Mary would have to wait thirty more years before she’d see Jesus begin to visibly fulfil the promise she’d been given about him. Thirty years of obscurity with nothing much out of the ordinary apparently happening – except that, in the very obscurity and apparent normality of it all, the long, slow work of God was quietly unfolding.

And here, at the Temple, unfolding before the eyes of Simeon was the presentation and revelation of the Christ child, and it is this that prompts Simeons most famous response which we have heard this morning, and known by many as the Nunc Dimittis. It is one of the most beautiful passages of the entire Bible and there is much within it that can be preached upon.

But this morning I would like to focus on verse 32, where Simeon describes Jesus as ‘A light to lighten the Gentiles’.

The first thing I would ask you to notice though, is the fact that both Simeon and Anna are basically ‘unknowns’. Here, in the Holy Temple, God chooses to present and reveal himself

to the world through a couple of unknowns. And, given their apparent permanent presence around the Temple, it is very possible that they may have been regarded by others as rather eccentric, odd, or strange.

Rowan Williams has described the scene and says: ‘as so often in Luke’s Gospel, figures who might seem marginalised are brought into the circle of light. And, although we know little of Simeon and Anna, the words that Simeon speaks are words on which we can reflect for a very long time.’

Because they are words that express something of exactly that moment where strange, outside, marginalised people are brought into the circle of light. A light to lighten the Gentiles says Simeon. The Gentiles – the ones who don’t belong to the people of God.

And it’s a promise – that Jesus will be there for those who think they don’t belong.

Our world is still full, indeed, of people who think they do not belong, for all kinds of reasons; national, social or economic.

The feast that the Church celebrates today is a feast of the Jesus who is there for the ‘non-belongers’.

They may be the eccentrics, the oddities, the forgotten, the people who we’d rather not think about. They may be near to us. They may be far away.

Jesus is the one who brings the forgotten and the ignored into the circle of light.

And we need to reflect: where are those people who feel they don’t belong? When have we ignored or shut out individuals or a class of people because of our own fears and apprehensions?

The ones who don’t think they belong, are the ones who are literally in the spotlight this morning.

It can be natural to be afraid of the stranger, to be afraid of these people who don’t belong to us, or with us.

But welcoming the stranger is an instruction given to us all who believe in Christ. In the letter to the Hebrews, it is written: ‘Keep on loving as brothers and sisters in Christ. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. Remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated, as if you yourselves were suffering’. That’s how important this is.

But perhaps the most well-known verse comes from the gospel of Mathew, chapter 25, where Jesus himself says: ‘Depart from me you who are cursed...for I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in’.

Like Simeon and Anna, the real evidence of our belief is the way we act, and our response to Jesus Christ and to those whom he has come to save. We should treat all those we encounter as we would treat Christ himself. It is no easy task. We too, need the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit, and we can learn from Simeon and Anna to cultivate an openness to the Spirit if we’re to keep our faith receptive and alive. What we do for others demonstrates what we really think about Jesus’s words to us...feed the hungry, care for the sick, welcome the stranger. Because these are the people whom Jesus loves and welcomes into his circle of light.

So finally, we must ask for the Spirit of Jesus that will allow us to open our minds to lighten our thinking, so that we, with Jesus Christ, may be a light and an example for the Gentiles, for the outsiders, because in God’s love there is never any person or situation beyond reach. There are no insiders and outsiders. There are only those for whose company and well-being God is totally passionate.

I suspect that most of us have some random memories from our childhood

For some reason I can remember being on the lawn in my pram!

But it was a later memory which came to mind when I read the NT reading this morning

I came from a Yorkshire business family

We always sat down to dinner and discussed the affairs of the world

I am not sure how the subject arose, but as a teenager, I happened to comment one night that wages were related to the cost of living

My father stopped me very abruptly and corrected me

“Wages are not linked to the cost of living” he said “they are related to profit”

I am not sure that either of us had the economic ability to substantiate our positions

Save for the fact that my father ran a successful business and I didn’t

But in my teenage naivety, it struck me that a worker had to support, not only themselves, but their family, if they had one

It is a question that has remained at the back of my mind ever since

And sadly, I still don’t have the economic ability to answer the question fully

However, rather than economics

I suspect that my observation arose from an innate sense of social justice

Which is often so much stronger when we are younger

But my parents would tell me that if I wasn’t a socialist before the age of twenty-one, I did not have a heart

And if I was socialist thereafter, I did not have a head

I clearly don’t have a head, because the older I have become, the more I drifted from my conservative roots

But it is a question which has intrigued me ever since

Of course, we live in a capitalist society which, broadly speaking, breaks down into two separate camps

First and foremost, there are the capitalists

Those who control the means of production and seek to profit from their endeavours

Capitalists are driven to maximise profits – not through greed necessarily, but because that is how markets work

And what every employer tries to achieve is to produce as cheaply as possible

Workers are therefore constantly required to work faster, harder and better

But this runs against the interest of the second camp, namely the workers

Who, by contrast, want wages to be as high as possible with a work life balance to make things tolerable at least

To sugar this pill, the prevailing philosophy has been that the wealth created would trickle down to the less well off in society

In fact, what has happened is that the rich have got richer and poor have got poorer

But it is not just the economic consequences which get increasingly hard to tolerate

It is the society it has created

As the demand for faster, harder, better has increased, the UK has seen the rise of the so-called “gig economy”

Characterised by workers who do not have a contract of employment,

But simply take on temporary and part time positions – stripping out yet more cost from the labour market

It goes without saying that such work is insecure and risky

A recent cross-party report concluded that such workers were “surviving not living”

Over half those in the gig economy earn less than the minimum wage

They are often required to work between 15-18 hours a day to cover the basic cost of living

The Pew Charitable Trust reported that 70% of gig workers could not even pay their bills

In the UK, 1 in 6 workers are part of the gig economy and in America it is 1 in 4

As for trickle- down economics, it’s a myth

Inequality has grown ever wider in this country even though wealth production has increased

As a noted journalist and commentator put it “it does not have to be this way”

But neither capitalism nor the gig economy are new

Today’s reading is about the gig economy in Biblical times

Labourers in vineyard who could be hired on a daily or even hourly basis

As we heard, some were still standing idle at the eleventh hour

But there is a twist

Because the owner of the vineyard chooses to pay everyone the same rate

Even those who had started much later in the day

But of course, this is a parable

And the story is not about capitalism, but about the Kingdom of God

And it does not matter whether you labour in God’s house all your life or just for a moment in time

The heavenly rewards are the same

But there are some lessons to be learned

First, it is a shock to find that we have not moved forward since Biblical times

Two thousand years later we still have a gig economy/and there is still abuse in the work place and grotesque inequality

It is morally indefensible to saying to the poor that your rewards will be in heaven

And incumbent on us all to strive to implement God’s kingdom first here on earth

But returning to the debate with my father when I was in my teens

Nearly fifty years later, I still hold to my position because I don’t think the issue is just economic but theological too

We should pay the workforce fairly because that is a Kingdom value

And whilst I may not have a head, I do, hopefully, have a heart

Ironically, one of the hardest things for members of the Armed Forces to do is to leave the service

The military is such an all-consuming way of life that many struggle to adapt to the outside world

The armed forces provide a structure and a way of doing business that is unlike any civilian equivalent

When you want to get something done

There is a command structure

There is someone to give the orders

And there are those who make sure that they happen

You generally know what you are doing and what part you are expected to play

Generally, we will “get the job done”

And when this structure is removed, it is not surprising that many lives fall apart

This cultural difference, which so many find so hard to navigate today, lies at the heart of our Gospel reading this morning

When Jesus meets a centurion

As the title suggest, a centurion was a commander of a military unit consisting of 100 men

And held a powerful position in the Roman Army

According to the Roman Historian, Flavius Vegetius a centurion had to be

“at least 30 years of age, literate…and be able to inspire his men in battle”

He was

“chosen for his size, strength and dexterity and for his skill in the use of his sword and shield”

As for personal skills, above all

“He had to be strict in keeping up proper discipline among his soldier”.

This was always going to be a most interesting encounter

But I am not sure that the Gospel account paints the full picture

I am a great fan of the film director Ridley Scott

And one of his masterpieces is the film Gladiator

The film starts with a battle scene against the Germanic tribes which graphically depicts what it meant to serve in the Roman Army

The command is given to “unleash hell” and the opening scenes are of the bloody battle that ensues

But whilst Roman soldiers are “unleashing hell”

Jesus is offering a diametrically opposite way of living - “unleashing grace” if you like

Ministering to the sick, seeking out those on the margins of society

And calling on mankind to love their neighbour and turn the other cheek

The pacifist meets the warrior – but the results are not what one might expect

First of all, the centurion shows much intelligence and empathy when petitioning Jesus

He is a tough man, used to battle conditions and is a member of the occupying power

The centurion could have readily issued an order for Jesus to come and attend to his servant

Yet the centurion shows him great respect

Instead of asking him to come to his house he simply says

“Lord…only speak the word and my servant will be healed”

The title “Lord” comes from the Greek work kurios - which means Sir

He was addressing Jesus as his superior, even though there was no immediate reason to do so

But equally, Jesus shows remarkable flexibility too

First of all, he breaks with societal norms by first of all coming to Capernaum

Capernaum had previously shown itself hostile to the teaching of Jesus

But Jesus was quite prepared to come to what could be seen as enemy territory

Secondly Jesus was clearly prepared to consider coming to the house of a non-Jew

Jews were not permitted to come to the house of a gentile but Jesus does not appear in the least bit interested in such rules

Thirdly Jesus’s response to the centurion is immediate “I will come and heal him”

Jesus is prepared to drop everything to come to his aid

But, in my view, it is the exchange of words which is the most remarkable

The centurion says

“I am a man under authority, with soldiers under me, and I say to one “Go” and he goes and to another “Come” and he comes”

But now he has to dispense with such command structures

Not just because the outside world does not work like this, but because it was not necessary

Instead, he says, “only speak the word, and my servant shall be healed”

In reply, Jesus says “Truly I tell you, in no one in Israel have I found such faith”

The centurion gives Jesus an authority over and above anything that he might encounter in the Roman Army

And Jesus shows that he has compassion for his fellow men and women regardless of where they come from and who they are

The Gospel reading this morning is about a clash of cultures

The soldier versus the civilian

The soldier willing to tear up the rule book that has governed his life

And the civilian Jesus, who was always prepared to tear up the rule book when it came to his ministry

And, as a result, the centurions’ servant is healed

But the question of authority still lurks beneath the story

Because, at the heart of it all, the authority does not vest in the centurion

But in God and his son Jesus Christ

The command structure is reversed because

As St Paul says in his letter to the Romans “there is no authority except from God”

Whatever our background, whatever our profession, whatever chances or changes we encounter in life

If we accept the authority of Jesus Christ, he will always come to our aid

He will in military parlance, “get the job done”

Last Easter when I was staying in London, I decided to visit the National Portrait Gallery

Visiting art galleries is one of my favorite occupations

And, as I was staying in my Club, it meant walking down Pall Mall to Trafalgar Square

As I walked down the road, I unexpectedly bumped into an old friend

We had also been at university together and subsequently in the army

We had therefore known each other, on and off, for nearly forty years

And we exchanged a few pleasantries

My colleague said that he had now retired from the army and was enjoying some well-earned leisure time in Wiltshire

I explained that I had now been ordained was Rector of Bolton Abbey

This piqued the interest of my long-time friend and colleague

He explained that he was currently living outside Salisbury and was now worshipping at Salisbury Cathedral

He then asked me, tentatively, what I thought of same sex marriage?

This was an issue, he explained, that members of his congregation had been discussing in Salisbury

I told him that, whilst I would be happy to conduct a same sex marriage, it was not yet lawful in the Church of England

However, I said that, in my view, the Church faced a dilemma

Because, whilst the Church might believe that marriage was only between a man and woman

Marriage was not the sole preserve of the Church

The State also had a stake in marriage and was quite entitled to take a different view

I said that it the role of the Church was not to condemn, but to find the sacred in the secular

It is perhaps an understatement to remark that Christianity has had a long and tortured relationship when it comes to marriage

First and foremost, there are numerous families in the Old Testament who are polygamous

Esau, Jacob, David and Solomon to name but a few

And God does not bat an eyelid – indeed they are chosen of God

But this issue is not confined to the pages of the Old Testament

This was a problem for Bishop Colenso in the nineteenth century

He was Bishop of Natal –

Who refused to condemn Zulu polygamy even when Zulu Chieftains converted to Christianity

Causing a crisis at the First Lambeth Conference in 1867

But if you think this is no longer an issue, think again

I was recently talking to a Bishop in N Yorks who said that this was still an issue for the Anglican Church

Not least because polygamy is still prevalent in the Anglican Communion in Africa today

But even within traditional marriage, the goalposts move all the time

Whilst it is correct to say that marriage is understood as being between a man and a woman in the New Testament

This was originally governed by a very strict patriarchy

St Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians said that “the husband is the head of the wife”

And that wives “should submit to their husbands in everything”

He also condemns sex before marriage

And thus children born out of wedlock –

And whilst this so-called ideal might be honoured in some Evangelical marriages today

It bears no relationship to the vast majority of most modern marriages

Once again, as Rector, I don’t sit in judgement ready to condemn

But rather rejoice that so many still choose to get married in Church

But any discussion about marriage would be incomplete without same-sex marriage

This was first permitted in the UK as a result of the Same Sex Couples Act 2013

The understanding of marriage being changed once again

The Church of England is still trying to catch up – tying themselves in knots as they do so

Priests cannot marry their same sex partner but they can be in a civil partnership

However, in other parts of the Anglican Communion, you can marry your same sex partner

Bishop Jean Robinson in New Hampshire being the most celebrated example

But the reason why I have preached about marriage this morning is because of our New Testament reading

The wedding at Cana of Galilee is mentioned every time I conduct a wedding service

Held up, unthinkingly perhaps, as the model for all marriages – but it is anything but

Marriage in ancient Jewish Society is not what we would find acceptable today

In essence, it was an arranged marriage and would probably be illegal under the Forced Marriages Act 2007

And so returning to the conversation with my erstwhile friend

Marriage is not the sole preserve of the Church

Wider society also has a stake in this debate

Furthermore, marriage has always changed and will continue to evolve as it has done markedly in our own lifetimes

And whilst some see their role as trying to sustain what they call “traditional marriage”

In my view, that is a hopeless task because there is no such thing

We must instead, try and find the sacred in the secular

And just as our Lord was present at a wedding at Cana in Galilee two thousand years ago

So must Christ, the Church, be present today, however marriage is understood

And if he is present, then I have no doubt that water will be turned into wine once again

Today we meet together to say farewell to our brother in Christ, Alan

Husband of Jaqueline

Father of Dave and Paul and Grandfather of Jensen and Amelie

He lived on this earth for 97 years

Well in excess of three score years and ten which is mentioned by the psalmist (Psalm 90)

He has been truly blessed by the time allotted to him by God

I was very taken by the details of his life

As a former soldier myself, I read with interest that he was a fitness instructor in the Army Physical Training Corps

And eventually reached the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major

I am sure this will have had an influence on the family – not least his two sons

It was also good to hear about his love of military history as well as his sense of humour

Not least over the exploding Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie

He seems to have been a man of humour and a man of strength at the same time

And we give thanks for his life today and all the blessings he received from God

And the blessings he bestowed on others too

Like so many former parishioners, I did not know Alan personally

He moved away as he became much older and I have only been at the Priory myself for just short of five years

But I was interested to know that he was a regular Church goer as well as being a parishioner here at Bolton Priory

Alan’s life has been, not just a journey of ninety-seven years

But a journey of faith too

From Alan’s baptism to his funeral here today

And I think that the time and season of Alan’s death and funeral speaks directly to this journey

First and foremost, Alan died at the beginning of December during the season of Advent

The season of Advent is when we prepare ourselves for the coming of Christ at Christmas

It is a time of penitence and self-reflection

But. if it is represented by anything, it is by lighted candle in the middle of the Advent wreath – which I have lit today

The candle reminds us of Christ coming into the world

And of darkness being overcome by the light

But, above all, it reminds us to keep awake for the coming of Christ

None of us know the time and place of our deaths but we need to constantly ask ourselves, are we prepared?

Alan too made this journey of faith in his lifetime

By recognising the light of Christ and walking in that light during his earthly life

Keeping awake for the coming of Christ into the world

But when it comes to journeying, it should also be remembered that Alan’s funeral takes place during the season of Epiphany

A feast we celebrated just a five days ago

The Feast of the Epiphany, holds enormous importance in the Church

Because it is the day when we remember the Wise Men visiting the Christ child in a stable

Bring him gifts of Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh

But the Feast of the Epiphany is important for other reasons too

First and foremost, the word Epiphany means “manifestation”

Because when the Wise Men visited the holy child, he was made manifest to the world, rather than just the Jews alone

This funeral service is also a “manifestation”

Because Alan’s faith, brings us all face to face with Christ himself whatever our faith or none

But, above all, Epiphany is about journeying - which speaks to all our lives

Because it is about the journey of life - from birth to burial

A journey which we all undertake, whether we consider ourselves religious or not

And, in some cases, a journey within that life to find Christ himself

The poet TS Eliot wrote a poem called “The journey of the Magi”

Where he made reference to this journey observing that it took place in the “very dead of winter” and that

“The ways (are) deep and the weather sharp”

This makes reference to the fact that this journey of life is not easy

And that a journey of faith is not easy either – for any of us

But he concludes the poem by commentating that the witnessing of the Christ Child changed the Wise Men forever

As a result of their encounter

The Wise Men “returned to their places, these Kingdoms, but no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation, with an alien people clutching their gods”

Put simply, having found the Christ Child – their lives are changed forever

As they now live in the light of Christ itself

And having learnt the truth - they can say triumphantly

“I should be glad of another death”

And so today

We say goodbye to Alan

Giving thanks for all the blessings he received and those which he bestowed

And we give thanks for a life of faith on which he journeyed all his life

And we give thanks that, like the Wise Men, he too can now see the Christ child face to face

May he rest in peace and rise in glory

I have just enjoyed some leave after Christmas and this is my first Sunday back in Church

Like all of you here today, we are all back for the New Year which now lies ahead of us

Today marks the beginning of the liturgical year, after the Christmas festivities

The beginning of a work year which will soon mark my five-year anniversary at Bolton Priory

And the beginning of a political year too

A year that will probably see profound political change

With a General Election likely in the United Kingdom and an American Presidential election that will definitely take place in November

Elections which may have a profound impact on us all

But as well as our social and political lives we also have a spiritual life - a life in the spirit

This is a not subject to anniversaries or elections in the same way, but a continuum throughout our lives

But our life in the Spirit does have a beginning, and that is at our baptism

And it is appropriate, perhaps, that we should be reminded of this at the very beginning of this New Year

And what better occasion than the Baptism of Christ, which we celebrate today

But this celebration of the Baptism of Christ begs the question as to what our baptism might mean for our lives

Particularly as we age

This is however a difficult question

I am always struck by the words of Jesus at the end of Matthews Gospel where he instructs the disciples to

“Go and make disciples of all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28: 18-20)

However, Jesus gives us no further explanation as to what baptism means

As with so much else, we are left to puzzle this out for ourselves

Understandably, St Paul - as the immediate successor to Christ and his apostles - sets about trying to make sense of baptism

In his letter to the Colossians (2:12), he explains that baptism symbolises the mystical burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ

As he put it “When you were buried with him in baptism, you were also raised with him in faith”

As such, in baptism we “put on” Christ and become members of his body, the Church

Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury suggests that this “putting on of Christ” makes us, above all, messianic

Someone who is divinely inspired to change the world

Which he breaks down into three distinct elements – the royal, the priestly and the prophetic

It is often forgotten that by being baptised as Christians we all become a royal priesthood

As the Apostle Peter said

You are a…royal priesthood…his own special people”

As Rowan Williams explains, this enables us to be

“Sovereign with Christ – free of the powers of class, ideology and nationality”

Only in Christ, do we exercise true sovereignty and have the freedom to act accordingly

Only in Christ do we truly “take back control”

Secondly, baptism makes us priestly at the same time

At first blush, this may seem rather confusing

We have priests and we have the people and, if we are not careful, we can live separate lives

But, of course, we do nothing of the sort

Amongst other things, a priest is charged with trying to put together a broken world

But this responsibility extends to all the baptized as well

To be frank - we have broken our planet and we have broken and fractured relations across the world and our country

And there could not be a better year to remind us of our responsibility to repair this brokenness

Finally, Baptism calls us to be prophetic

This is not just about speaking out – but as Rowan Williams put it

It is about “patiently and steadily recalling the whole community to its own integrity”

It is so easy for a Society to lose its bearings

In my own field, I have to remind society that we tortured our enemies

We tortured them as prisoners of war and we watched on in Guantanamo, Pakistan and Libya

But this loss of integrity happens in all walks of life – In our hospitals, schools, churches and politics

No doubt many of you will have seen the superb drama about the Post Office Scandal

Where an institution, led by a priest, completely lost sight of its bearing

Prosecuting people who had done nothing wrong and seeking to destroy those who spoke out

The baptised in Christ should be saying to each other in this New Year and indeed in every year

“Don’t forget who we are in Christ”?

Our prophetic role as the baptised people of Christ is to restore the integrity of the community

This is a challenge to us all at the beginning of 2024

And so we begin this New Year

A year which will likely see great change and in which we must all play our part

But not just a matter of our civic duty,

But also as the baptised people of God

Putting on Christ and exercising our royal, priestly and prophetic role in Society

And perhaps there is no better way to describe this as through the wonderful exhortation of St Paul in his letter to the Romans today

Where he said

“I BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”

Today we meet together to say farewell to our brother in Christ, John

Husband of Myra

Father of Andrew, Helen and Ed and grandfather of Molly, Jack, Holly, Lucy and Emily

He lived on this earth for eighty-seven years

Blessed both in his work and in his domestic life

As we have heard, in his working life, he qualified as a pharmacist

Enjoying the managerial side and obviously showing a great deal of competence,

He was promoted to run a department before moving to Head Office in Nottingham

And then to be an area manager

In his personal life

He enjoyed a very happy childhood, particularly on his mother’s family farm

He then Met Myra whilst at college and, after they married, he was blessed with three children

After a very accomplished career

He took early retirement where he enjoyed a range of pleasures

Including walking, travel and bridge

I was particularly taken however by his love of fine wine and fine dinning

A wine cellar in his garage

And then occasional fine dining at restaurants such as the Box Tree in Ilkley

His long and happy life was crowned by a Diamond wedding anniversary in 2023

And even a congratulations card from the newly crowned King Charles III

As Andrew said, this was indeed “A life well lived”

And so we give thanks to day for all the gifts that God bestowed on John in his earthly life

Put simply, he has been truly blessed

Blessings and being blessed is the thing that stood out for me most about John

Not just in his secular life but his spiritual life too

It is so easy to forget that our lives are, not just about career and family, but also about the spirit

And, as we have heard, John has been coming to Bolton Priory for the past thirty years

And was even a sidesman at one point

I have only been at the Priory for five years and am, naturally, unaware of much of what has gone on before

However, both John and Myra have always worshipped faithfully at Church since I arrived

Regrettably, I did not get to know John particularly well

However, one thing that always stuck out for me was that John would always come up for a blessing when receiving Holy Communion

Rather than receiving the bread and wine, he would opt just for a blessing instead

I say “just opt for a blessing” because a blessing is a wonderful thing in its own right

But what is a blessing?

A blessing is described as “the authoritative pronouncement of God’s favour on people, place, events and even objects”

A blessing presupposes a benefactor and a recipient

In this case, the benefactor was God and John was the recipient

There are a number of examples of blessing in the Bible

In the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis tells us that God blessed all of creation

In the New Testament, blessings or being blessed are seen as the spiritual state of those who belong to God’s Kingdom

At the Feast of Candlemass, which we will celebrate shortly, Jesus was himself blessed for the first time by Simeon

And this act of blessing set Jesus apart and made him “holy”

It also elevated him from being a child – to a child who has been blessed

Blessing someone or something makes a difference

John too being set apart by the pronouncement of God’s blessing upon him

But of course, coming up for a blessing meant that John had not been confirmed

I am always impressed by those who show the integrity not to commit to something in their life of faith

Because, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we all suffer from doubt rather than certainty

That is part of the human condition

Over Christmas I read an article by an Albanian philosopher called Lea Ypi

She was discussing what it was to have hope rather than belief

And she described hope as an attitude that sits somewhere between desire and belief

And she said:

“We look for evidence in the world to see if it conforms to our wishes, and if we find it we have hope”

John had hope in the life and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ

And was prepared to publicly bear witness to that hope

A hope which we see confirmed today in his final initiation into the Church

And so today we say goodbye to John

Giving thanks for all the blessings he received and for those which he bestowed

And we give thanks for a life of faith on which he journeyed all his life

And the hope he expressed in the death of resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ

He completes his journey today

Entrusted into God’s loving arms and ready to partake in the heavenly banquet – the fine dining - that has been prepared not just for John

But for the rest of us too

It is perhaps an understatement to say that this has been a momentous year
Tragically, once again, there is war in the Middle East and still political unease at home
But in stark contrast, for the first time in seventy years, in 2023 we crowned a monarch
And for the first time in eighty-seven years, we crowned a King
And in the midst of this great constitutional change in our land, there was a very interesting comment by a journalist from the Washington Post
He had been sent from America to cover the Coronation and noted that
“For a country which is so secular, and where so few of you go to Church, you sure mention God a lot”
Indeed, it was a great irony
That, in an increasingly secular country, the Church played such an enormous role
In funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the subsequent Coronation of King Charles III

But these two events, perhaps, were occasions when the Christian faith of this country was most on show
Some likened the queues to see the Queen lying in State as a sort of “pilgrimage”
And many were seen crossing themselves and bowing in veneration
Her magnificent funeral service took place at Westminster Abbey
But it was more than matched by the subsequent Coronation
A service framed within a celebration of Holy Communion which, perhaps, came closer than anything else to touching the heart of this nation
When the King swore “To maintain the laws of God and the true profession of the Gospel”
And by doing so, put God and his son Jesus Christ at the very heart of all our lives
As one commentator remarked
“The death and accession revealed Britian to be a more religious country than the statistics of decline might suggest”
The monarchy is, perhaps, the only institution in our national life to reveal the simple, but paradoxical truth
That so often our Christian faith is hiding in plain sight
Some the great religious buildings of this nation were inspired by Christian monarchs
Such as Westminster and Dunfermline Abbey’s
But it is not just buildings/
Edward VI was instrumental in the Book of Common Prayer
And James I bequeathed to the nation the King James Bible –
Which we use today at Bolton Priory without really thinking about the King
But in addition to tangible property
British Monarchs have often displayed great personal piety and devotion in their private lives too
Queen Elizabeth described Jesus Christ as “the inspiration and anchor in her life”
And her elder son remarked that love was “at the very heart” of his Christian belief

You might reasonably ask why I am making so much of our Kings and Queens on this Christmas Eve/morning?
But the answer is simple:
It is principally because our Old Testament and Gospel readings seem so appropriate for a Coronation year
Because these Bible readings are also about a King
A King prophesied by Isaiah in the Old Testament
Who spoke of “authority resting upon his shoulders”
And the account by St Matthew in the New Testament, also telling us about a King
Lying, not in State, but in a stable
Where he too is visited,
Not just by ordinary people, but other Royals families
Bowing down before him and presenting gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh
Two thousand years ago, people coalesced around a King too
Their collective faith clear for all to see
And it struck me that the accounts of the birth of Jesus have so many parallels with our lives today
Christianity lies at the heart of our nation but we barely notice it
Because much of our faith remains hidden
There are great buildings whose genesis remains unknown
Hospitals and schools named after Evangelists and Saints but whom we scarcely stop and think about
Or individual piety too which is either unknown or which scarcely gets a mention
Our spiritual hearts masked by our secular lives

But Christmas changes all that
Rather like a Coronation, Christmas is one of the great religious events in the life of this nation
When we all come out to pay our homage to a new born King
Like the shepherds, we may be laboring in the fields for most of the year
But not at Christmas
When carol services are full and churches swell with worshippers’,
And when our hearts turn towards charity and love of neighbor
And, for one day at least, our hearts our turned towards God and his son Jesus Christ
Like our own monarchs, it takes a King to represent and articulate the spiritual feelings of the people
And when it does, it becomes clear for everyone to see just how much Christianity still lies at the heart of our nation
When, like the shepherds or the wise men
We too make the extra effort to bow down and worship Him
And say “Glory to the New Born King”

‘May my thoughts and words this day be acceptable to you oh Lord.’

My thanks to Nicholas for his introduction this morning. I hope I’m able to enlighten you a little as to what Advent means to me.

Let’s look at the Advent wreath and what it represents. The first candle a purple one symbolises Hope also known as the ‘Prophecy candle’ in remembrance of the prophets especially Isaiah who foretold the birth of Christ the Messiah.

The second candle, also purple, represents Faith. AKA the Bethlehem candle it reminds us of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem.

The third candle is Pink and represents Joy. Again it is also known as the Shepherds candle. Additionally the third Sunday of Advent is known as Gaudete Sunday and reminds us of the Joy the world experienced at the birth of Jesus.

The fourth candle is purple and represents a time of prayer and penance as we wait for the birth of Christ. Known as the Angel’s candle it symbolizes Peace and good will towards man.

Finally the White candle, the ‘Christ Candle’ It is White and pure and assures us that Jesus is free from sin.

Now the wreath holding the candles. The significance here symbolises the circle of life. Think about it for a moment… There is no beginning or an end, neither is there a beginning or an end to our Lords belief and love for us… It is never ending.

Advent for me comes in two parts, a before and an after. It is very much about the 4th candle the Angel’s candle. All my life I have been a Christian from times as a child at Sunday school up to now it has been punctuated by me meeting some Angels in real life; and all my encounters with them have mostly been around Advent, Christmas time.

Going back 50 years, it’s a late November night, 11pm freezing cold on an isolated moorland road and a huge accident.

As I climbed out of my car I was surprised to see a man leaning over what was left of the wall I’d just destroyed. We actually spoke for some time until some other motorists eventually came along, he just disappeared then; that for me was my personal road to Emmaus.

December 28 years ago, I wasn’t in a good place when someone knocked on my door; delivering a Christmas card. They took one look at me and sent me away back here to Yorkshire, the alternative was they’d have me sectioned that night for my own safety.

2 years later on a pilgrimage back to my old church in Ilkley, St Margret’s, an acquaintance saw me and invited me to sit with friends. There was a psalm in the service; I opened my book and it fell open at Psalm 34 where someone had underlined in pen verse 18 ‘The Lord is close to those who are broken hearted and the crushed in Spirit he saves.’ The lady looked at me and said. ‘Peter, if you ever needed a sign, I guess that’s it.’

These are just 3 examples of Angels coming into my life at times of crisis. My last meeting with an Angel was in December 1998. I think God decided I was monopolising too much of his valuable time and perhaps I could use a dedicated Angel of my own; in fact I married this one and in May next year we will celebrate our silver wedding.

(Bear with me a minute, we’ve got a Blue Peter moment.)

Here’s an Angel and you can clearly see it’s virtually impossible to wrap an Angel up for Christmas with wings. Solution… Take the wings off!! I’m still looking where my Angels wings fit.

So that’s before, now part two; after.

Elaine and I were both committed Christians before we met. We also both have birthdays in December so our run up to Christmas doesn’t begin until the day after them. That’s when the tree comes out and is

decorated, when the presents are wrapped and put under the tree in an ever increasing heap now as more grandchildren arrive.

Ten years ago, one of our sons, who was working abroad at that time, wanted to be married here at the Priory the following year so we attended to represent him while he attended the Anglican Church where he was living. We came and we stayed, that’s really when the true meaning of Christmas changed for me and I started to see the more liturgical meaning of living through the season of Advent and understanding the meaning of the Advent wreath.

Right now, out there in Skipton or Harrogate or Ilkley most of the people rushing around doing the last bit of shopping are hooked on mass consumerism, the hype, the adverts for this great new toy or gadget or that new must have amazing interactive computer game. By the time we get to Candle mass they’ll probably be bored with it or it will be broken. It’s almost as if they’ve forgotten just who’s Birthday it is we are about to celebrate in around 13 hours. Our lives are governed by time and your diary and we live at 100 miles an hour. STOP… stop rushing …. Listen, if you stand still and listen, you will hear the sound of peace. Elijah shouted at God in the wilderness, God answered him in a still quiet voice. STOP and listen and you will hear him speaking to all of us.

So the first Advent candle is for Hope, the second for Peace. More than anything this year my prayers are for a calmer more settled world and a plea to my God, our Lord that in some way he can guide the world’s leaders to seek a just end to all the terrible conflicts and unimaginable suffering of millions of people in the world that we hear about daily. Nearer to home we must think too of the families and homeless people struggling to live through the current cost of living crisis.

The third candle is the Shepherds candle representing joy at coming of Jesus the Messiah. We need to share our joy as Christians with

those less fortunate than us and, to that end, many of you have contributed to what has been a fantastic toy appeal to give some children a gift this year. This morning we lit the fourth candle, the Angel Candle to remind us to pray as we wait and watch for Jesus’ coming, to celebrate in the light of our Lord and to love our fellow man, and most of all for peace on earth.

Now we wait and watch for Christ’s coming tonight, that his White candle will be the light to lighten our darkness. All through this annual Advent journey there have been Angels in there somewhere either in the Bible or in our day to day lives.

I’m, going to leave you with a challenge. To you here in the congregation this morning and those watching the live stream or listening to the pod cast.

This challenge was given 2000 years ago by the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Hebrews Chapter 13 verse 1, and it is still out there today calling you to act.

‘Keep on loving eachother as brothers and sisters in Christ. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some have done this and entertained Angels without knowing it.’

This is what Advent means to me, it’s what I watch and wait for. May the peace of our Lord be with you all at this time.

Prayer: Dear Lord, through this time of preparation, open the doors of our hearts to behold the beauty of your presence in awe and wonder. Amen

At a birthday our greeting is: ‘Many Happy Returns of the Day’: for ‘Days are where we live; They come, they wake us, Time and time over’[1]; we experience life through recursive patterns; we move through the cycles of day, month, and year. Each year children excitedly add just one year to their tally; but adults soon yearn to exchange addition for subtraction. We know this life will end. Grown-ups hear ‘time’s winged chariot hurrying near’[2]. As Samuel Beckett trenchantly asserted in Waiting for Godot: women ‘give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it's night once more.’[3]

In the north of England, at the dawn of Christianity, a pagan king listened to Paulinus preach the Gospel. The king asked a counsellor what he made of this new teaching. Bede recorded the counsellor’s reply:

‘The present life of man upon earth, O King, ---is like the swift flight of a sparrow through the mead-hall where you sit at supper in winter, with your  - -thanes, while the fire blazes in the midst, and the hall is warmed, but the wintry storms of rain or snow are raging abroad. The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, - - - is safe from the wintry tempest, but ---- he immediately vanishes out of your sight, passing from winter to winter again. So, this life of man appears for a little while, but of what is to follow or what went before we know nothing at all.’[4]

 A sparrow flying from darkness into light and back into the dark. If that is all life is, then mid-winter feasting on December 25th, cheered by blazing fires or candles amidst family and friends is indeed a comfort, and possibly still the nation’s favourite escape from a tough world, a much anticipated, brief respite.

But Paulinus brought good news, the Christian conviction that this life is also a journey to the life of the world to come. If that is the truth of our human condition, then we have both hope and accountability. We have life and a deeper purpose. In Advent this existential choice is ours. Either we prepare for Christmas as a dwindled fable adorned with reindeer and sleigh rides, yielding an over-large credit card bill; or Advent is a time to prepare to come and worship the child of Bethlehem as our God. In our day secularism presses hard and confronts the Christian community with the key question: ‘is it true?’ Are we putting our trust in a fairy-tale?

And is it true?  And is it true,
This most tremendous tale of all,
Seen in a stained-glass window's hue,
A Baby in an ox's stall?
The Maker of the stars and sea
Become a Child on earth for me?[5]

There has been a time in my life when I have tried to evade that question, a time when I have rejected its truth claim as an antique fable, lacking historical credibility, and turned aside. The Advent cry, ‘Wachet auf’, ‘Wake up’, ‘Pay attention’ brings sadness, a sense of loss, when we feel the message is no longer alive for us, that we can’t make it our own. How far this year are we making it our own?

 How do we make sense of the central claim of the Christian faith, that Jesus of Nazareth is God in human form, God en-fleshed. Incarnation is an abstract word with a big history. How do we make sense of it? In his prison cell, John the Baptist wrestled with this question. He sent his disciples to ask Jesus who he really is. ‘Are you the one Who is to Come, or shall we look for another?’ (Mt. 11:3 and Luke 7) In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus himself ask his disciples: ‘But what about you? who do you say I am?’ This powerful question is the crux of Advent. We cannot take it on somebody else’s say-so: we must ask it for ourselves: ‘Who do I really think Christ is?’  Peter’s affirmation rings out: ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God’, (Matthew 16) Do I identify with that? Wholeheartedly, or with reservations? If I affirm Peter’s recognition, other questions follow: how far do I live in the light of that truth? And what do I need to do now to realise that truth in greater depth in my life? These are very challenging questions.

This is where that recursive circling round of the Church’s Year is helpful; it renews for us the love and mercy of God.  It’s as if our Lord is saying: ‘Yes, I know you are not very good at even the basics of being a disciple, but here’s another chance’. Though I know myself to be fitful, not faithful, our Lord in Advent says, ‘Why don’t you try again?’ Advent brings sharply into focus both the fierceness of God’s loving quest for our love, and the resistance that holds us back. This is the tension Advent invites us to confront: will we keep to a closed-in way of being, one that puts our own small interests at the centre? Or might we step out, make a journey into the wilderness, walk through this dark solstice, to confront the forces that impede the conversion of our inmost being?

A sonnet written in Spain in the Golden Age, translated by Geoffrey Hill, dramatizes the conflicts in the human heart: intuitively sensing itself beloved, and yet stuck, resistant, holding back, making a good intention, and then drawing away. The sonnet addresses Our Lord:

What is there in my heart that you should sue
so fiercely for its love? What kind of care

brings you as though a stranger to my door
through the long night and in the icy dew

seeking the heart that will not harbour you,
that keeps itself religiously secure?
At this dark solstice filled with frost and fire
your passion’s ancient wounds must bleed anew.

So many nights the angel of my house
has fed such urgent comfort through a dream,
whispered “your lord is coming, he is close”

that I have drowsed half-faithful for a time
bathed in pure tones of promise and remorse:

 “tomorrow I shall wake to welcome him.”[6]

And there’s the rub. ‘Tomorrow I shall wake to welcome him’. As a child I was told, ‘Tomorrow never comes’. All we ever have is the precious fleeting moment, ‘now’; and yet the fantasising trick of the mind is potent, projecting into tomorrow an idealised version of the self. The Baptist’s cry is ‘Wake up’, yet it finds me drowsy, half-faithful, making efforts ‘for a time’, taking a warm bath in thoughts of ‘promise and remorse’, and leaving the matter there. St. Augustine, that great teacher of how to be honest before God, recorded his youthful prayer, ‘Make me chaste Lord, but not yet’[7]. And so often I pray variants on that theme: ‘Make me prayerful, attentive, compassionate, contrite, but not yet’. I procrastinate: ‘Tomorrow I shall wake to welcome him.’ So most deeply what Advent means to me is the urgent cry of John the Baptist: ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand’: accept as gift the challenge of the present moment; on this day become more aware, in this present moment; respond here and now to the discipline of self-examination. Trust God’s promise of a new beginning, and so draw a little closer to that good place where with Mary we receive God’s gift of His presence amongst us and say in our hearts, and with full assent: ‘Be it unto me according to Thy Word.’ (Luke 1: 38)

Amen.

[1] P. Larkin, ‘Days’, Whitsun Weddings, Faber, 1964

[2] A. Marvell, ‘To his Coy Mistress’, ed. H. Gardner, The Metaphysical Poets, Penguin Poets, 1957.

[3] S. Beckett, Waiting for Godot’, Faber, 1956

[4] Ed., L. Sherley-Price, Bede, A History of the English Church and People, Book II ch. 13, Penguin Classics, 1955.

[5] J. Betjeman, ‘Christmas’, A Few Late Chrysanthemums’, John Murray, 1954.

[6] ‘Lachrimae amantis’, ‘The Tears of a Lover’, Lope de Vega Carpio, 1562-1635, Sacras Rimas Soneto dieciocho: ‘Que tengo yo que mi Amistad procuras’. Translated by Geoffrey Hill in Tenebrae, 1978. Tenebrae (darknesses) is a liturgical sequence that moves from the Crucifixion to Resurrection; a movement into darkness in order to find light.

[7] St. Augustine, Confessions, Book 8, ch. 7: Da mihi castitatem et continentam, sed noli modo.

Today we meet together to say farewell to: Ruth
Wife of Max
Mother of Barry and Graham /Grandmother of Faye, Amy and Mia
All of whom she was so proud
As we have heard, Ruth had a wonderful life spanning over seventy years
With so much packed into her life here on earth

Although I did not know Ruth, the things that stands out the most prominently for me – and probably everyone else today - is the fact that farming was in her blood
I was struck by the number of farms she had lived and worked at
Black Hill Farm, Black Foss Farm, Upper White Well Fand finally Chelker Hall Farm
Ruth was also hugely accomplished at farming – milking, feeding, rearing, tractor driving, silage making, grass raking and latterly accounting
From the start of her life to the end farming was in her DNA
The second century Saint, St Irenaeus said “the glory of God is man fully alive.”
And Ruth exemplified this in her everyday life because when she farmed, she was indeed “fully alive”

But farming was not all that she was and all that she did
Because, it is clear from the eulogy that Ruth was blessed with a loving family and friends
She liked dancing, travelling, sport and motor cycles
I spent the five years of my preparatory schooling on the Filey Road in Scarborough,
So I might have even heard Ruth heading up to Olivers Mount!
Ruth is a reminder to us all of how important the simple things in life are
And how love for your family, friendship and passion for your work are more important than almost everything else
And so today we give thanks for her life - for all the blessings which were bestowed upon her and which she bestowed upon others
And we give thanks for all the wonderful memories we treasure today

It is always difficult for a vicar to preach on the death of someone he does not know
Inevitably, I cannot possibly know those who were in the parish from previous times
But who have since moved away, as was the case with Ruth
But although others can speak as to the facts about her life
What shone out for me most clearly was her life in the Holy Spirit
When I saw Max and Graham at the parish office, I was very taken by their comments about how calmly Ruth accepted her death
She remained calm and tranquil, accepting her illness as part of her life
And this spoke to me as someone with a maturity of faith - reflected in the service today and particularly the hymns

Her first hymn, “How Great Thou art”
Was written to the words of a Swedish composer called Carl Boberg
Who explained his inspiration as follows:
“It was that time of year when everything seemed to be in its richest colouring; the birds were singing in trees and it was very warm; a thunderstorm appeared on the horizon and soon there was thunder and lightning. When I came home, I opened my window toward the sea. There evidently had been a funeral and the bells were playing the tune of "When eternity's clock calls my saved soul to its Sabbath rest". That evening, I wrote the song, "How Great Thou Art"”
This hymn seems to encapsulate everything about Ruth
Inspired by the natural world, in which she worked, it is a proclamation of God’s glory
And, in perfect keeping with today, as her soul is returned to her Sabbath rest

But the second hymn also speaks to the natural world and farming in particular
The hymn is closely associated with Harvest Festival, but it also speaks to the seasons of the year,

He sends the snow in winter,
The warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes, and the sunshine,
And soft, refreshing rain.

When Ruth died at beginning of November, the leaves were still on the trees displaying their wonderful colours
But today, the trees have shed their leaves, and autumn has yielded to winter,
The Bible reminds us that everything has its season and, as a farmer, Ruth will have been more aware than most
But there are seasons in our life too
As she knew and accepted, that this was the end of her earthly life as it now yielded to a new season – in God’s heavenly Kingdom

But it was the final hymn which, for me, speaks more clearly than everything else
“Love Divine All loves excelling” is normally sung at weddings
But it is also appropriate for funerals too – indeed it was sung at the funeral of the late Queen
However, for me it is the final two verses which speak so strongly today

Finish then thy new creation:
Pure and spotless let us be;
Let us see thy great salvation
Perfectly restored in thee;

Changed from glory into glory
Till in heaven we take our place,
Till we cast our crowns before thee,
Lost in wonder, love, and praise.

Ruth has today completed her earthly journey, and is now “perfectly restored in Christ”
She is changed “from glory into glory” and takes her place in heaven
And may we all be “Lost in wonder, love and praise”

In the name etc

What does Advent mean to me?

Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

That is the answer I would have given to you, fifteen years ago.

Before I became a Christian, I had no idea what Advent really meant. I wasn’t even sure when it started or how long it lasted.

It had no real meaning or purpose. And I am sure that’s still the same for many people beyond the Church.

All I did know is that it was a time before Christmas that many of my friends would call ‘Merry Mayhem!’ That time of year when everyone would be rushing around buying Christmas trees, presents, cards and plenty of food and drink! Offices would have parties, shops would be open extra late, and churches would hold a sort of carol service to improve interest!

In one sense, all these people were right. They’re preparing themselves for that great day when gifts are both given and received. That’s good. But it is basically a period of perseverance and endurance. And yes, a time of waiting – but for them it was the boring bit before we get to the exciting bit. And the sooner the boring bit it was over, the better!

Thankfully, that’s NOT our experience, is it?!

The Bible says ‘Do NOT be conformed to this world. But be transformed by the renewing of your mind so that you may discern what is good and perfect and the very will of God...’ (Romans 12:2).

And for me, therein lies the real purpose of Advent. It’s the reality of knowing that you need to take time out, in which you can withdraw from the busyness and mayhem of the world in order that your mind and your soul become refreshed, renewed and focussed on and through the Spirit of God.

It is, indeed, a time of transformation. Whereby you may more fully appreciate the love of God in Jesus Christ and of his presence in the world.

And it is the reason I am now stood before you, as a person transformed by the reality and love of God as revealed to us through His Son.  

So, for me and for many, Advent is a time of reflection. A time to step back and take stock. A time of self-examination. Of repentance. A time of preparation and a time of expectation when you can actually fall to your knees in prayer, giving thanks for the coming of our saviour, and for all those who prepared the way for his arrival.  

Our Advent candles serve as a reminder of just how important all this is. But don’t be distracted by its own beauty rather than the beauty it represents.

The four candles! The four candles? The four coloured candles represent hope, peace, joy and love, achieved and received through the centrality of Christ in our lives – a light in the darkness, the light of the world. They also remind us of those who prepared for the coming of Christ: The Patriarchs, the Prophets, John the Baptist, and the Virgin Mary.

I have found that Advent can be a super-rich spiritual season, full of purpose and available to all if only we are prepared to take time out in order for it to take hold and flourish.

And it is through this waiting and learning that we begin to engage in the preparing.  

As we already know I am sure, we are not only preparing ourselves for the coming of the Christ child at Bethlehem, but also preparing ourselves for the Second Coming of Christ.

But what is often overlooked, I have found, is the third coming of Christ, or the intermediatory coming of Christ.

This Advent I have been reading some works by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, a 12th Century Benedictine Abbot, who wrote about this third, intermediatory coming of Christ. I like it because it highlights a simple yet significant aspect of our faith that is often overlooked or taken for granted during Advent. He writes:    

‘I have come to know a threefold coming of the Lord. This third coming takes place between the other two. The two are clearly manifest but the third is not. In the first coming the Lord was seen on earth and lived among us...In his last coming ‘all shall see the salvation of our God’. But the other coming is hidden. In it, only the faithful see him within themselves and their souls are saved.

In brief, his first coming was in the flesh and in weakness. This intermediatory coming is in the spirit and in power. The last coming will be in glory and majesty.

This third coming is like a road leading from the first coming to the last. In the first coming Christ was our redemption, in the last he will appear as our life. In this intermediatory coming he is our rest and consolation’.   

Our rest and consolation.

Advent is a time to utilize the gifts of this spiritually rich third coming, in order that we arrive prepared and ready for Christmas Day.   

To be honest, it is the spiritual life that has affected me more profoundly than any other. It was by engaging in the spiritual disciplines of solitude, silence, submission, prayer and meditation that I began to become fully receptive to the presence and love of God everywhere and in everyone.   

And the best place that I found to encounter it was at a monastery. It was the one place where everyone and everything was devoted to worshiping and praising God. It’s a bit like a spiritual fuel tank. A bit like Advent all year round. But it’s also a centre of submission, sacrifice and service to God.

And even though I have become a member of a monastic community as one who is joined to a monastery but lives in a parish, the level of their devotion is something that most of us, me included, might find difficult to achieve. But it really is something worth exploring if you feel drawn to the contemplative life.    

And yes, I am fortunate. It will be easier for me than it will be for many of you to engage in Advent freely and without pressure, especially those of our brothers and sisters who are church leaders, and whose journey through Advent can seem more like a marathon, rather than a period of waiting and hope.

Advent IS a period of waiting – which some people find uncomfortable, but it is not a passive waiting. It is an active, intentional period of waiting – a time when we can prepare our hearts and minds for the arrival of our Lord and King. It invites us to pause, to reflect, to re-orientate ourselves towards the eternal truths of God’s love and grace.

And it’s wonderful. For it leads us ultimately to a very real encounter with a very real God.

And that is why I am here today. And I hope that you too, will endeavour to encounter our living, loving God, that little bit more closely now, as we draw closer to Christmas.

Finally, I would like to share with you one of my favourite passages, a short verse but full of Advent significance, from Luke Chapter 1 and the Song of Zechariah:

   ‘By the tender mercy of our God,
    the dawn from on high will break upon us,
to give light to those who are in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    to guide our feet into the way of peace.’

Amen.

Good morning. If I may  -  a few sentences about myself that hopefully give a sketchy context to my thoughts about Advent… What it means to me and why.

I’m a family mum and grandma, now long retired from teaching headship of a tiny village primary school. My youth and previous lives included most church roles and lay offices  - serving as churchwarden for a couple of decades, alongside involvement in all aspects of the village community life.

But, with my retirement, I resolved to “read a lot, write a little and try to “join the dots“, that is, …. to search for relationships between the seemingly disparate areas of life.
For example – did all healing therapies and modalities have something in common? Were they linked to our spiritual lives, to an animating force in the world?
Why do we believe what we believe – – – and is that valid? How do we know it is? What sources do we consult?
Are there universal beliefs across a variety of faiths? If so how did this shared element come into being?. And so on.

One of my tasks as churchwarden was to prepare for church physically for the season of Advent by dressing the altar with its purple frontal. In the ancient church where I worshipped, once the chapel of a nunnery, the “no flowers before Christmas“ meant that the huge, grey, stone fabric hunkered down with increasing coldness. Yet the towering bleakness spoke to me of Endurance…, a sense of strength and continuity through the ages. Stripping back seemed to expose a kind of Constancy.
. The Advent mantra “come Lord Jesus…“ birthed a deeper consciousness, felt as a need to be thoughtfully alive, sensuously aware, ready to respond, to move or to make perhaps…  an journey, …perhaps an inward journey.
One learnt that Advent was a time to prepare our hearts and homes for Christ’s coming and birth into the world. But here in lay the seeds of some confusion.

Whilst the first Advent candle traditionally reminds us of HOPE  – the eternity of God’s love, - going about the in the everyday world one, was and is, faced by an overwhelming consumerism, an insatiable appetite.  Moreover today, newspaper headlines and soundbites seem bent increasingly on convincing us all that HOPE  is a commodity born out of desperation. Realism seems ‘the new kid on the block’ .

So, truth to tell,   Advent - and to some extent Christmas itself, …  have over the more recent years stirred up mixed messages, sometimes painfully, that I find hard to navigate. The whole season seems definitely “out of joint “ (Shakespeare) .

I read that the Advent theme of “repentance“ comes from a root word….’metanoia’ -indicating a summons …to a complete change of life… for the individual or society…..the absence of which today  is poignantly and clearly seen in the present human tragedy unfolding in the Holy Land itself.  Notice though, the interpretation of the notion of ‘repentance’ : …a change or turning around.
So, I ask myself – if at the beginning of this new church year – if we made a fresh ““image“,  … if we’ reimagined / re..imaged the word repentance… would that serve humanity more richly?
The very words we associate with our faith and our beliefs, they become our drivers, our construction tools and so, knowingly or otherwise, seed into our individual and collective consciousness.       Let me briefly give an example as food for thought.

Over many years I, probably like you, have listened to and deeply enjoyed the beauty and tradition of the service of ‘ Nine  lessons and Carols’  marking the prophesying and the coming of Jesus into the world. But again, … that little voice of disquiet inside me has grown louder over the decades… making me question whether my faith is indeed “always dynamic, permanently rebirthing,”; or is it locked up/ frozen in time.!

The amazingly accurate (in the sense of order and progression) story of creation in Genesis, places God at the top of a pyramid, humans in the middle –“ with dominion over the birds of the air and the beasts of the field.“ Jesus when he came was a
‘ whole-maker’…who gathered together the disconnected and wounded parts of individuals and communities. He created new viewpoints.
A Christ-coming, a moving into us ….surely is a call to change..’ to re-image’, make anew, ‘repent’ in an active form of the word.

Myth-making and the use of story is complex and revelatory… but it often requires nuance,  understanding,   and perhaps even…instruction. The power of the message enshrined in the words “dominion over“ perhaps doesn’t best counter the expression of attitudes all too prevalent in our society’s history and consciousness even today. Too often we see instances of human activity of omnipotence  in our dealings with the natural world … to our collective detriment, I’m sure you with all agree.

Psychology today warns us that…  our collective and individual mindset is formed by what we read, expound and say. Images formed in childhood and adulthood stay for life… unless there is periodic re- image making, “reimagining”; a kind of “repentance“: a  turning to the Light for a clearer, purer picture of life.
What if Advent actually rebirthed a level of consciousness that enlarged our spiritual practices, our images?
So it may not be so much a case of “hear again the voice of the angels“, but rather shift towards listening with more critical, fresh ears, embracing perhaps some discomfort of questioning, some inner turbulence which propels( if not a journeying to Bethlehem,)….then an inner journey.

Looking back over the last few years, perhaps my quest to “”join dots”, to see connectivity between things of apparent diversity has been something of a long Advent. It has been a journey…a kind of looking for stars to guide me, to open up one’s mind hoping to find an echo of the Christ-child born in a barren place.
So ..Briefly, I would offer an Advent gift to yourselves, a recommendation , this morning – should you care to pursue it.

A few months ago, a healer and spiritual guru friend I have known a long while, pressed into my hands are thin book entitled “Prayers of the Cosmos: Reflections  on the Meaning of Jesus”  by Neil Douglas Klotz,  a renowned scholar, mystic and spiritual teacher who in 2005, received the Kessler-Keener Foundation  “ Peacemaker of the Year award“… for his work in the Middle East. (I actually believe it isn’t entirely a coincidence that his work has come to my attention at this time)

For me it was an Advent voice – a chance to re-image what I thought I knew ..or more accurately … to shine a light into an area of very limited knowledge. The foundation of all Douglas-Klotz’s work revolves around the fact that Jesus‘s listeners were poor, native ARAMAIC speakers – not versed in Greek or Latin. !! Moreover, Aramaic offers a very different way of looking at the world which was intrinsic to them but somewhat alien to us.  Life was an inter-related whole. Their notion of “separateness” did not correspond to ours.  Moreover all Sacred discourse was always to be heard and examined in the heart from least three points of view – the intellectual, the metaphysical and then the universal. Theirs was an oral society: sense …and then TRUTH was FELT as well as heard. Feeling truth was not less valid than intellectually expounding it. This has a whole raft of implications .

So, for me, advent has become something of an ongoing season: it is THAT energy, assigned for special consideration to the beginning of the Christian year… perhaps though to be carried through the rest of the year’s progress. It is a time of reawakening, asking for light out of darkness, and perhaps it is not only individuals that are summoned. Through the grace of HOPE, I wonder if such institutions as the COP conventions, governments of whatever designation, …and dare I say it …- even the church itself … may they address that which prevents us all reawakening,
re- image making. If not now…when? How we say what we choose to articulate matters.
It has brought us collectively to where we are.

For me, asking for Jesus “to come” in prayer and hymn, invokes a revelation, a desire for a larger, grander vision of what it would be like if we collectively raised our level of consciousness.  I suggest that this would be a stepping-stone beyond the ‘ sorry’ aspect of repent.
This is my Advent voice.

I am just in the process of ordering new Orders of Service for the Priory

This is for the simple reason that the old ones include prayers for Queen Elizabeth and therefore need changing

But it goes without saying that 2023 has been an historic year for the Monarchy

The Queen had been on the throne for so long that we had grown accustomed to her reign

Yet change, inevitably, came about with her death in 2022 followed by a Coronation the following year

Apart from a few protestors, the Coronation went well, and the heir to the throne was duly crowned in Westminster Abbey

The Coronation also meant that, for a day at least, the whole nation was focused on the King

And perhaps what Kingship might mean for the King and his people?

Whilst we might only have had one Coronation in the past seventy years

The Church celebrates the feast of Christ the King every year and reflects on what his Kingship might mean for our faith

At first sight however, it appears that the Kingship of Jesus Christ is much like our own

Someone of noble lineage taking their, so-called, rightful place on earth

This year we have had the reading from the Book of Jeremiah

Where he prophesies about the royal credentials of a future King of Israel

As he said “Behold, the days come…that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch”

At Advent and Christmas, we shall hear similar prophesies

We learn that Jesus’ birth will take place in Bethlehem which is the “City of David”

And hear the Angel Gabriel declare “To you in David’s town this day, is born of David’s line”

Matthew will remind us that Jesus was greeted by the “three kings” of the Orient

And even thirty years later, when Jesus enters Jerusalem, the crowd still shout “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord”

The Feast of Christ the King, which we celebrate today however, is altogether different

It was instituted by Pope Pius XI (eleventh) in 1925

In response to growing secularism and secular ultra-nationalism across Europe

At the time, Pope Pius XI (eleventh) said

“the manifold evils in the world were due to the fact that the majority of men had thrust Jesus Christ out of their lives;

The encyclical drew on the writings of the Early Church Fathers such as Cyril of Alexandria who stated

"[Christ} has dominion over all creatures…by essence and by nature”

But this also gives the impression that Christ ascended the throne by virtue of his birth alone

It is not surprising therefore, that the Feast of Christ the King has been described as

“possibly the most misunderstood of all feast days”

And I think this is for good reason

When there is a proclamation of Kingship, there is an automatic association with Kingship as we know it here on earth

A King like those who have gone before and since

But therein lies the mistake, the fundamental error

Because Jesus is not like other Kings

And perhaps the biggest clue of all are his birth and his entry into Jerusalem

He is not delivered by a Royal physician at St Mary’s hospital, but in a filthy stable

He does not arrive in Jerusalem in the state carriage, but on a donkey

And whilst people might hail him as King,

Christ himself does not conform to their notion kingship

St Paul articulates the difference very clearly in his letter to the Philippians, where he states

Though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.

The hymn writer, Emily Elliot (1826-1897) , put it this way

“Thou didst leave thy crown and thy kingly throne when thou camest to earth for me”

The Kingship of Jesus Christ is indeed very different from the earthly kings who have gone before or since

There is no doubt however that the Kingship of Jesus is complex and ambiguous

There is a mixture of meekness and majesty, suffering and triumph and there is little wonder that there is confusion between the two

But Christ’s Kingship does beg the wider question as to whether our own earthly kingships, indeed our own Kingship is redundant or idolatrous?

If Christ is King, why the need for any more?

But Jesus never attacks earthly kings, telling us instead to render unto Caesar what is due to Caeser

And I think the message to earthly rulers, including Charles, is not that they are redundant

But can instead, provide a Christ like model for human Monarchy

Indeed, a conflation rather than a confusion of the two

And that is a monarchy based on Christ’s own “royal” attributes

Of justice, mercy, wisdom, peace, humility and sacrifice

Or in the beautiful words of the Book of Common Prayer

“That we may be Godly and quietly governed“

And if earthly monarchs’ model themselves on the virtues of Christ the King

There will be every room for Christ to fully establish his reign here on earth

Just before I was ordained, I went on a three-day retreat at Hilfield Friary

It is an Anglican Franciscan Order just outside Sherborne

Where the monks still farm the land whilst living together in community

All ordinands are taken away on retreat before ordination and Hilfield Friary was a perfect location for the retreat

Our Retreat leader was Canon Eric Wood who was then Rector of Sherborne Abbey

And, in a very kind gesture, he gave us all an Ordination Card in advance of the big day

I can’t remember what was on the front but, inside, he put a Biblical quote which rather took me aback

It was taken from St Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians

Where he states that “we are treated as imposters and are yet true”

The quote is about Christians in general and not just the clergy

But the quote was very stark

We were on the verge of responding to God’s call by offering ourselves for ordination

Yet here was St Paul describing us a imposters

Although this description is qualified by the phrase “and yet are true”

I was at a loss to understand what it might mean?

Commenting on the same passage, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams put it more forcibly when he said

“We are not merely harmless spinners of fantasy, we are deceivers and frauds, misleading men and women in the most vulnerable areas of their lives”

But he went on to say

“The accusation that we are imposters has not changed over time…do not let us delude ourselves that the Gospel and the world are any less in opposition than they ever were”

And, herein, lies the clue as to what St Paul might have been trying to say

When it comes to charges against the clergy, you don’t have to look much further than our own current politics

Recently, Justin Welby took the Government to task over its now, illegal, policy to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda

Pointing out the inconvenient truth that 'this is not how God calls us to treat one another'

But the vitriol he received for just proclaiming the Gospel was deeply unpleasant

I looked up some of the comments in the press

· We should kick the bishops out of the Lords

· Stay out of these affairs

· Get these meddling priests out

· The Church of England has lost all credibility

Really?

But one comment, in particular, caught my eye when a reader said

“Shut up and go and find somewhere else where you can continue to dress up…like stage acting which is mostly what you do”

Although this comment was made in anger. the reader was, inadvertently, reflecting the comments of St Paul two thousand years ago

The clergy do indeed “dress up”

We use borrowed finery and the ill-fitting trappings of spiritual authority

But lest we forget, we are commanded to dress up – “to clothe ourselves in Christ”

And to that extent we are all “imposters” as the spiritual authority belongs to Christ alone

But the charge of imposter reveals an even deeper truth about ourselves and the Gospel

The former Archbishop of Canterbury again

“Nothing is easier than to respond [to the world] by preaching a gospel that cannot be disagreed with, that is not open to the charge of deceit, because it affirms nothing”

“Such a Gospel degrades human beings because it is not the Gospel”

What is required instead is a Gospel which leave the preacher “exposed and helpless, unable to predict its workings”

This is the Gospel of Jesus Christ

And whether it is preached by Justin Welby or anyone else, it can leave us helplessly vulnerable - and it does

But, as I mentioned at the beginning, the charge of imposter is not just levelled at the clergy but against all Christians too

That means every one of us here this morning

St Paul makes no distinction

Indeed, in the Early Church, holy orders were very much in their infancy

It is not just the clergy, but also the laity who are also called upon to preach the same, implausible, Gospel

I was reminded, the other day, of the words of the baptismal service

Where it states in the liturgy

“Here we are washed by the Holy Spirit and made clean. Here we are clothed with Christ, dying to sin that we may live his risen life”

You too put on the improbable clothes of Christ

You too live the risen life

Next time a Gospel issue, like refugees, comes up over dinner or wherever, try proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ see what happens…

Today we have heard the Old Testament reading from the Prophet Isaiah

The prophet who heralds the coming of Christ into the world as we will too, once again, during the month of Advent

However, despite prophesying the coming of Christ

Isaiah sets out the fundamental characteristic of the Gospel - that it will not correspond with our world,

Because as God says

“my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways”

But if we do take heed of He that cometh, then

“the word be that goeth forth from your mouth, shall not return unto me void; but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it”

That is the Gospel message and political lesson for all imposters

Earlier this year I was coming back to Bolton Abbey in the car having just visited a parishioner in Ilkley

As usual, I had the radio on and was listening to a program about the novel Peter Pan

The book was written at the beginning of the last century and had the alternative title of “the boy who would not grow up”

It became so popular that it was adapted for the stage in the West End

But, problematically, the play contained the line “to die will be an awfully big adventure”

Whilst we have all been led to believe that changing words in book and plays is a new phenomenon

It most certainly is not

The irony was that many of the boys who saw the play

Went on to die themselves in the First World War

As a result, the words were removed

Such words being deeply hurtful and insensitive to those going to the Western Front

Listening to this fascinating detail brought to mind the film “All Quiet on the Western Front” which I had recently watched on Netflix

Based on the famous novel by Eric Maria Remarque and published in 1928,

The book describes the First World War from a German perspective

And, in particular, the extreme physical and mental trauma suffered by the young soldiers in the German Army

The book follows a soldier called Paul Baumer

And describes how young men, like him, believed that they were taking part in some grand adventure

But were instead, like the British counterparts too, exposed to the realities of war

The film and book is brutal and barbaric

And is a polemic against war itself

And whilst we might think that the type of war fought in the First World War is a thing of the past

The recent conflict in Ukraine has shown that it very much part of the present too

I recently saw some pictures comparing the two conflicts

The images of soldiers fighting in the trenches in Ukraine

Are like the mud filled trenches of WW1 and what our forefathers had to endure

The trees torn and lacerated in Chateau Wood near Belgium in 1917 are like the trees torn to pieces near Bakhmut today

The landscape pock marked near Izyum in Eastern Ukraine are like the cratered landscapes of the Western Front in 1917

But, above all, it is the appalling casualties that bear the closest comparison

The thousands of Russian soldiers sent to their deaths in wave after wave

Are all reminiscent of the “meat grinders” of the First World War

Which led to the deaths of so many of our forefathers and members of our parish

If you want to remind yourselves of what our brave soldiers had to endure in the First World War

Then all you have to do is look at Ukraine today

But lest you think that the end of the World War One heralded a less lethal world

Then simply avert your gaze from Ukraine and look to Israel and Gaza instead

From the atrocities committed by Hamas, reminiscent of the Third Reich

We can, at the same time, see the appalling suffering of a war conducted, to date, largely from the air

The scenes of buildings being struck from the cockpit of a fighter jet are truly chilling

Buildings collapsing to the ground after a missile strike – no doubt still with civilians inside

Streets full of rubble

And the inevitable casualties when we see child after child being rushed into hospital

The scenes we see in Gaza today are reminiscent of the Blitz in 1940

And the bombing of our own cities like London, Coventry, York, or Hull

Or Dresden and Hamburg –

Remembering that our so called “enemies” suffer like us too

But nevertheless, there is a still tendency on Remembrance Sunday to be like Peter Pan and think that this is some “awfully big adventure”

That was me too – the boy, like so many others, who would not grow up

Until I went to my first operational tour in the Balkans in 1995

I was working in the Ops Room when news came in of British casualties in NW Bosnia

A British reconnaissance vehicle had struck an anti-tank mine

Blowing the vehicle onto its side causing a second mine to detonate killing all the crew as well the commander of the vehicle

I recall to this day the medical personnel advising the combat medics how to evacuate the bodies blown to pieces by a mine

And it subsequently fell to me to write the terms of reference for the Board of Inquiry

Where details of the deaths, including photographs, were recorded in graphic detail

I subsequently stood in silence on the airfield watching the coffins being loaded onto a transport aircraft

As I found out, war is not some “awfully big adventure”

It is bloody and brutal and we should all resolve to work, collectively, to see that it is no more

Today we meet again as a nation

To salute all those who have given their lives for our country since 1914

Those who have been killed, wounded, bereaved, or have had their lives blighted for ever

And those civilians too who are the innocent casualties of war throughout the decades

It is naïve of us to think that war can be avoided, despite the fact that the grotesque effects are around us all to see

Even this morning

But the Bible does give us some hope

Hope that one day, that the wolf and the leopard will lie down with the lamb

And the eternal comfort,

That despite all the horrors of this world, ultimately, nothing can separate us from the love of God

Earlier this year, my wife and I had a lovely holiday in Montenegro

We stayed in a small village called Petrovac and spent our days either swimming, sunbathing or sightseeing

One of the trips on offer was a day trip to Albania, which makes up part of Montenegro’s Eastern border

The trip took us down the Montenegrin coast

Before crossing into Albania at a place called Murican

After visiting a castle in Murican, we went for lunch in the town of Shkodra

And, to my surprise, when the bus stopped in the middle of the town, there was a statue to Mother Theresa

Although she worked in India, she was Albanian by descent

And a statue in her honor was erected after she was canonized in 2016

It is also reminded us that in 1979, Mother Teresa received the Nobel Prize for Peace for her charitable work in India

However, this was not the only surprise on our day trip to Albania

During our free time in the city of Shkodra,

We visited a museum called “The Museum of Witness and Memory”

The Museum is on the site of a former Franciscan Monastery which was taken over by the Communists in 1946

With supreme irony, the building was transformed from a Monastery into a Ministry

The Ministry of the Interior where suspected insurgents were brought to be interrogated and tortured

Indeed, Shkodra was also known as “the prison city”

But what was even more remarkable about the museum

Was the astonishing number of clergy who were murdered by the Communist regime under Enver Hoxha

During the Second World War, the Italian fascists followed by the Germans, invaded Albania

But they met strong resistance from mainly communist partisans

The country was liberated in 1944 ushering in the Albanian Communist Party

But many resisted the new Communist regime too, including the clergy

The Hoxha regime tried to abolish the Church completely, declaring Albania the first atheist State in 1967

The resistance continued until the regime collapsed in 1990

But on this Feast of All Saints, I wanted to share a few stories with you this morning just some of the Albanian martyrs we learnt about at the museum

First of all, Alfons Tracki was a Catholic priest who joined the resistance in 1945

His “offence” was to give the last rights to a wounded soldier and was arrested for performing “an illegal priestly act”

He was sentenced to death in July 1946 and was executed by firing squad the following day

His last words were: "...

“I do not regret dying, as long as I'm dying together with my brothers, and I have contributed, as much as they have…for the religion of Christ."[

Maria Tucci, was a Catholic nun

She was arrested on August 10, 1949.

After refusing to answer her captor’s questions, she was tortured over and over again

She required hospitalization and died from her injuries on October 24, 1950.

She was just 22 years old.

Shtjefen Kurti was a Catholic priest who wrote to the Pope informing him of the persecution against the Church in Albania

As a result, he was imprisoned for twenty years

On his release in 1970 was asked to baptise a child which he did in secret

He was arrested once again

At the trial the judge asked him why he had baptised the child?

He explained it was part of his role as a priest

As a result, he was executed by firing squad in October 1971

As for Mother Theresa, she left Albania when she was eighteen and was never allowed to return

She was not even allowed to visit her mother as she was dying

As she said

“Dear God, I can understand and accept that I should suffer, but it is so hard to understand and accept why my mother has to suffer. In her old age she has no other wish than to see me one last time.

By the end of the Hoxha regime

38 members of the clergy had been murdered

including 2 bishops, 21 priests, 7 monks and even an oblate for the Franciscan Sisters of the Stigmata

The Orthodox Bishop, Kallistos Ware said

“no Orthodox bishops had survived and less than 21 priests were still alive, most of them too infirm to officiate”

However, as a result of their brave witness to the Christian faith

A beatification cause was opened in 2002 and all thirty-eight were beatified in 2016

On this feast of All Saints, there are some things we can take away from this group of martyrs today

The first is that we tend to think of Saints as belonging to a bygone age

However, the Albanian martyrs have all arisen from the last century – many in our lifetime

And represent an astonishing array of religious people prepared to die for their faith

Secondly, Albania is much vilified today

It is an unfortunate symptom of our politics that we always seem to need and find another culture or race to hate

But whilst we were condemning Albania, in 2016, the Pope described Albania as a “land of heroes” and a “land of martyrs”

And the final thing is that the witness of these brave men and women show us that religion can never be extinguished

As one of the martyrs said before his death

“I die innocent, I forgive those who have accused me and who killed me. Long live Christ the King”

Today is the Feast of All Souls

In the Western Church, this Feast Day is celebrated on the 2nd November

A day that was instituted by the Benedictine monk and Abbot Father Odilo of Cluny in AD 998

According to legend, a pilgrim was thrown onto an island during a storm

Where he had a vision of souls in purgatory

So when he returned home, he went to see Father Odilo

To ask whether there could be one day in the year where prayers could be offered for the departed

Odilo instituted the annual commemoration of all the faithful departed,

To be observed by the members of his community on the 2nd November

A custom soon adopted in the whole Western church

And a custom which we follow today over one thousand years later

This tradition took root

And, indeed, subsequently flourished in the Middle Ages

And then again after the devastation of the First World War

Indeed, in my first parish in Gillingham, there was the chantry chapel of the Good Shepherd

Which was built by Mr and Mrs Carleton Cross in memory of their son who was killed in France during the First World War

But saying prayers for the dead does not stand in isolation with the rest of the year

We have prayers for the dead in our intercessions every week

We pray for those “in heaven and on earth” during the Eucharist

And, of course, we offer prayers for the dead during our funeral services

As a community of faith

We are also a community of the faithful departed

Meeting as we do today to remember those we have loved and those we have lost

I noted from the list in the parish office that we had said goodbye to no less than fourteen of our number over the past year

That is a lot of people and a lot of grief and, of course, this will be compounded year on year

But despite our sadness,

This service must also be an occasion, not only of remembrance, but also one of hope too

First of all, this service is an act of Remembrance

A service when we remember, those we have known and those we have loved

To re-member something stands in contrast to the word dis-member

When we dis-member something, we pull it apart

But, when we re-member something we put it back together

As we do this evening

But remembering is not just about making sure we don’t forget

It is about bringing together the past, present and future

To be made whole once again - in paradise – which should be a great comfort to us all

But even though we remember our loved ones today,

We must remind ourselves that they are not absent either

In our Worship every week we say the words

“Therefore with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven we laud and magnify the Holy Name ever more praising thee and saying”

These words are not gratuitous

“With angels and archangels and all the company of heaven” – means exactly that

In God and his Church, there is no division between the living and the departed

Whether alive or dead, we still “laud and magnify” God’s “Holy Name” together

In a sense, each and every act of worship is a service of All Souls too

But it goes further than that in our celebration of the Eucharist

The Eucharist is a foretaste of God’s heavenly kingdom

An eschatological event where heaven breaks into earth

You may have lost the company you loved here on earth

But that company is now part of a Holy Fellowship and becomes our “Holy Communion”

So when you make your communion,

Think not just of a Holy Communion with God and his son Jesus Christ,

But with all the company of heaven - which includes your loved ones

And so on this feast of All Souls,

when we remember those loved ones’ we have lost

Remember, above all, that all is not lost

We remember our loved ones and remind ourselves that we will all be together, one day, in paradise

But for now/

We still worship together

We are still in Communion together at Holy Communion

And we are still a Holy Family regardless of the thin line between heaven and earth

Together, we are the Body of Christ

As it says in the Eucharist;

We are the mystical body of all faithful people

I think I can assume that most of you will have watched the Coronation earlier this year

I was amongst you and was watching the liturgy with great interest

Particularly as this was the first, and possibly only, Coronation of my lifetime

But, in my view, one of the most surprising elements of the service was the presentation of a Bible to King Charles III

Not least because he probably has numerous bibles of his own already

The Bible was presented by the Moderator of the Church of Scotland who said to the King

“Sir, to keep you ever mindful of the law and the Gospel of God as the Rule for the whole life and government of Christian Princes”

Armed with the Bible, the King went on to swear a number of oaths, which included an oath

“[To] maintain the Protestant Reformed Religion”

Intrigued, by this part of the service, I subsequently looked up when this custom began

It was first introduced at the Coronation of William and Mary in 1689

The year of the so-called “Glorious Revolution” when the last remaining Stuart King went into exile

The presentation of a Bible was at the behest of the Bishop of London who had been an opponent of James II

And was seen as a way of distancing the Monarch from Roman Catholicism

As a result, the Act of Settlement was passed shortly afterwards,

Ensuring that the Crown could only pass to a Protestant line of succession

Which accounts for the fact that the throne subsequently passed to George I, Elector of Hannover in 1714

And why we have had a Protestant line of succession ever since

Charles simply being the latest in the Protestant line of Saxe Coburg Gotha

Or, as we like to call it, Windsor

However, as well as being fascinated by this part of the service, I could not help being struck by the irony of this new ritual at the same time

First and foremost, the introduction of this presentation of the Bible was thanks to William Compton, Bishop of London

You might have expected the Archbishop of Canterbury to have made this change

However, he refused to play any part in the Coronation as he had pledged allegiance to James II – who was still alive and now in exile

The Bishop of London was the most senior Bishop to have renounced his vows and was therefore able to take the service

But the man who was quite content to swear an oath one day and then renounce it the next

Now took it upon himself to remind the King of his divine duty to rule with integrity

As Compton put it

“[The] Book of the Law of God, was to be the Rule of his whole life and Government”

But I think it is obvious to all that this was an act of gross hypocrisy

By a man who had forsaken his own vows months earlier and who was now using the Bible to play politics with the Crown

Secondly, as I mentioned before

The presentation of the Bible was also introduced as a way of distancing the monarch from Roman Catholicism

Medieval Coronations had included making oaths upon the sacrament laid upon the altar

And this innovation marked a move away from the sacramental with all the theological hazards that lay therein

But it was not just about theological differences but also mixed up with a much baser motive

Namely a suspicion of foreigners

As Professor Ian Bradley put it

“A widespread popular and visceral anti-Catholicism at the time was reinforced by a…little Englander xenophobia and distrust of foreigners”

However, this “visceral anti-Catholicism and xenophobia” resulted, not in an English monarch but a foreign one instead

First Dutch and then German – indeed, we have a German Royal Family today

But there was a third element to this innovation which struck me as the most ironic of all

The presentation of the Bible was seen as a way of reminding the King of what the Bishop of London termed “The Royal Law”

As he put it,

“The Royal Law”, was to be the foundation of “the Rule of his whole life and Government”

This reference to “The Royal Law” came from a reference in the Letter of James which states that the Royal Law was

“[to]l love your neighbour as yourself” (James 2:8)

This reminder to “love our neighbour as ourselves” was, of course, highly commendable

But the presentation of the Bible at the Coronation was designed to do the exact opposite

Indeed, it reminded us that we did not love our neighbour, be they catholic or foreigner alike

It struck me as being the very antithesis of the Gospel message

Of course, these historic vestiges were absent from the Coronation Service this year

Mercifully, they have been washed away in the tide of time

But the presentation of the Bible was still part of the service

But a service which now had a very different complexion from any Coronation which has gone before

Because, for the first time, not only did faith leaders from other Christian denominations take part

But so did the other major world faiths as well

Indeed, the King stated last year

I am a committed Anglican Christian – [but] it is my duty to protect the diversity of our country, including protecting the space for Faith itself

The King went on

“This diversity is not just enshrined in the laws of our country, it is enjoined by my own faith too”

For the first time in our nations’ history, the Crown has taken upon itself a new constitutional role

A role which is inclusive, rather than seeking to exclude

In the words of our Lord “To love our neighbour as ourselves”

Or in the words of William Compton, “The Royal Law as the foundation of Government”

Today is Bible Sunday

It is a day of thanksgiving to God for the inspiration of Holy Scripture

To thank God for the existence of his Word in the form of the Bible

To teach, nourish and guide

And we give thanks to God for his gift to us all today

But as can be seen from our chequered history

The Bible has, so often, been used a political weapon against our so-called enemies

And to supress those with whom we disagree

However, despite the historic stains on our national life

It is hoped that the Coronation, this year, might mark the end of such divisions

And indeed, a new chapter

Where, in keeping with the Gospel message, old enmities might be put behind us

And where those of all denominations and other faiths

Might feel included in our national life as equal and valued partners

In 2014, I travelled by bus to the South of Gaza

I was on a tour of the Holy Land which was designed to show us as much of Israel as possible

And we were scheduled to see a crossing point known as Kerem Shalom

I remember very clearly travelling down the 232, which is the main highway down the Gaza strip

And, as I looked out of the window, all I could see was mile after mile of wall

Known as the “Iron Wall”

It runs for approximately 40 miles and effectively walls the Palestinians into Gaza

It does not just wall them in however, it is also monitored continually by camera and automatic machine gun emplacements

On the other side was the sea – blockaded by the Israeli Navy

The purpose of our visit was not to see inside Gaza itself, but to visit a check point known as Kerem Shalom

The crossing is at the very southern tip of the Gaza Strip and used by trucks carrying goods from Israel or Egypt

Ironically, the name of the check point means “vineyard of peace” but there was nothing peaceful about it

The check point is composed of a number of blast chambers into which trucks have to drive before being inspected

We were privileged – if that is the right word – to view the various inspection chambers

And then had a chance to speak to one of the soldiers working at the crossing

One of the group asked him why he worked in this oppressive environment?

And I never forget his answer

He simply pointed at his wrist with his fingers –

Never again did he want to be a victim of the holocaust

And to be tattooed with a number on his forearm

What happened last Saturday was, of course, akin to the holocaust

Described by one commentator as “the most lethal assault against Jews since the Holocaust”.

The death toll was horrific

At the time of writing this sermon the death toll stands at over 1,200

This was not just soldiers’ however – of whom 44 were killed

But, in the main, innocent men, women and children who had nothing to do with the security in Israel at all

But it was the not just the wanton killing either

Many of the victims were mutilated

There are photographs of a baby riddled with bullets, soldiers beheaded and young people burned alive in their cars

On top of that, 150 or so hostages were taken back to Gaza itself

As the Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken said "It's simply depravity in the worst imaginable way,"

These are, undeniably, acts of terror

But of course, this explosion of anger and barbarity did not come from nowhere

The conditions in Gaza are utterly inhuman and degrading too

Just imagine yourself for a moment, walled into some of the most densely populated territory on earth

And then there is the appalling treatment of Palestinians themselves

Which has become ever more brutal since Netanyahu came to power in 2022

Since his election, there have been more Palestinian deaths since the Second Intifada

Last year, was the deadliest year for Palestinian children in 15 years

With Israeli forces killing at least 34 children as of August 2022

It is ironic that, when a Palestinian child loses their life, seemingly no one cares

But when a Jewish child is killed then the world recoils in horror

At the root of all this tragic violence however is the failure to find a just and equitable settlement for both the Jews and Palestinians since 1948

And until there is a just settlement, the violence will continue to spill over

This is the deadly scenario which confronts us all this Sunday

These events have overtaken everything else in the world -other events now taking an back seat

Indeed, I even rewrote my sermon to take account of this fast-changing situation

But I was very taken by the fact that the two readings for the service today speak directly to the conflict

In the Old Testament reading, God is mulling over the destruction of two cities

And how to resolve the problem of the righteous being killed along with the sinful

He even considers the question of proportionality

Something which will lie at the heart of many of the decisions to strike targets in Gaza as we speak

Abraham comes to a deal with God and a few are saved

But eventually God, in his anger, destroys both cities – something which I think might happen in Gaza in the coming week

This is all terribly depressing

And confronts Christians with the problem of the vengeful God of our Old Testament

But the New Testament reading does provide Christians, and indeed those of other faiths, with a glimmer hope

As we have heard, Jesus meets a sick man with palsy and forgives him his sins

Jesus is chastised for his actions

But the transforming part of the story however, is that even a sinful man can be forgiven

And made whole once again

And perhaps this is where our hope lies this morning?

There are undoubtedly grave sins on both sides

But, if both sides can somehow confront their past and repent of their sins

Then, at least, there is the faintest of chance of creating a just and equitable society

Where the God of Anger becomes the God of Love

One of the most beautiful features of Bolton Priory is the Reredos

Coming from the latin word meaning back,

The Reredos is normally an ornamental screen covering the wall at the back of an altar

But Bolton Priory is unusual because the Reredos is painted on the wall instead

Indeed, it is right in front of you and we look at it every time we come into Church

Painted by Thomas Bottomley and R G Greenwood in the 1870’s,

I am occasionally asked to identify the plants and am confident I will now get them right

However, the really distinctive feature of the painting is the Madonna Lily

Indeed, there are five of them standing tall among the other plants

And every time you look at the Reredos, you do indeed “consider the lilies of the field”

Which is Christ’s instruction to us in the Gospel reading this morning

In the case of Bolton Priory, the lily represents the Virgin Mary to whom this church is dedicated along with St Cuthbert

But how did the association between Mary and the lily come about in the first place?

There is no biblical link between Mary and a lily

But the lily has traditionally been regarded as a symbol of purity which is why many paintings of Mary included a lily as a result

I recently saw Rossetti’s wonderful 19th century painting of “The Annunciation”

Where the Angel Gabriel presents a lily to the frightened, adolescent, Mary

Hagiography relates that St Gertrude received an apparition of our Lady in the 13th century

And that Mary herself requested to be honored by reference to a lily

She made it known that, if anyone saluted her as the lily, she would appear at the hour of their death

So that they may anticipate the very joys of heaven

If you are not into Mariology, I quite understand

I recently found a lovely piece by a 17th century Baptist preacher called Benjamin Keach

He was the pastor at a Church in Southwark and wrote a piece likening Jesus to a lily

And I thought I might share his thoughts with you this morning

He wrote:

A lily is a sweet and a fragrant flower with a strong scent.

Our Lord Jesus has a sweetness in His ministry. St Paul said, He gave “himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” (Eph 5:2)

A lily is white and very beautiful.

What better representation of the purity of Jesus Christ, than the one “who knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21)

A lily is very fruitful.

One root may put forth fifty bulbs.

Through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He brings forth much fruit (John 12:24).

A lily is the tallest of flowers and yet hangs its head down.

This a beautiful picture of the greatness of the Son of God, matched only by the greatness of His humility (cf. Phil 2:6-8).

The lily has many medicinal qualities.

According to ancient teaching, it could be used to restore a lost voice, help faintness, was good for the liver, and helped to reduce fluid retention.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the great physician and capable of curing all diseases and maladies of the soul.

The Lily is a beautiful picture of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I have found a perfect Friend in Jesus. He’s everything to me.

Thank You, Lord.

But as well as being likened to Mary or Jesus, the Lily can also stand on its own feet so to speak

It is a thing of great beauty in its own right

And Christ is right when he comments that “even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”

I don’t have a great love for gardening myself

But I love being in the garden

And earlier this year I noticed that a single pansy has somehow seeded itself and made its home, on the corner of the lawn by the porch

It was an exquisite cornflower blue

Lighter in the middle with black lines radiating from the centre

It was tiny

But a thing of great beauty nevertheless

To which I extended my admiration every time I passed by

It only lasted a short time but not even Solomon could have been arrayed like one of these

Or radiated such joy

The word pansy comes from the French pensée – meaning to think

And perhaps therein lies the clue for this morning?

That whenever we see a lily

Either in Church in front of you/or in the field

We too should stop and think

If only for a moment

And “consider the lilies” too

Last year on Easter Day I rose very early in the morning

I was sleeping badly at the time and would often come to my office in the early morning

When I came downstairs on Easter Day, I noticed that the message button on my phone was flashing

I immediately thought that the call was some kind of emergency – had someone died?

I felt I had to check - so pressed play

To my surprise it was not a parishioner, but an SMS message instead

And the message simply said “Christus Resurrexit”

Someone had taken the trouble to proclaim the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ first thing on Easter morning

About three hours later - and still unable to sleep - I decided to switch on my radio

This time the Easter message was different

The news bulletin reported on the sermon which the Archbishop of Canterbury was about to deliver later that morning at Canterbury Cathedral

He was preaching on the Government’s proposal to send asylum seekers to Rwanda

A policy he described as “cruel”

Remarking that such a policy “cannot carry the weight of our national responsibility as a country formed by Christian values”

The sermon was duly delivered and heavily criticised

But since that sermon, the bishops’ have continued their opposition in the House of Lords

Twenty-six bishops’ sit in the House of Lords and provide an independent voice and spiritual insight to those who govern our country

They have stated publicly, that the Bill is “morally unacceptable” and that 'this is not how God calls us to treat one another.'

Their collective view being that

“the policy must stand the judgement of God, and it cannot”

As one might imagine, the politicians and press were quick to criticise

The Prime Minister accused Justin Welby of being “softer on Vladimir Putin than he was on the Rwanda”

Another veteran Tory MP accused the Archbishop of “sharpening political divisions” and “wanting to live with law breaking”

And the Home Secretary added to the fray by saying

“it’s surprising that those institutions that criticise the plans fail to offer their own solutions.” –

As if we had failed to think about it

But the most interesting debate, in my view, was an interview on the BBC

Mindful of the Easter celebrations,

The interviewer asked the Conservative Minister whether he would “send Jesus to Rwanda?”

The business minister responded by saying it was a “ludicrous question”.

I am sorry that the Minister thought that it was ludicrous

Because the question was nothing of the sort

Indeed, there is a strong indication as to how Jesus would have dealt with this matter from the New Testament reading this morning

As we have learnt, Jesus was confronted by ten lepers

Not only were the ten afflicted by leprosy but, to make matters even worse, they were Samaritans at the same time

One can only imagine what the headlines in the “Galilee Gazette” might have said today

Spongers, swarm, infestation,

A danger to public health and so and so forth

But stripping away all the rhetoric, the simple fact is that the lepers were excluded

Excluded from the centre of social, political or religious life

Just like a refugee

And just like the refugees, they too were shipped off to colonies – leper colonies

It might as well have been Rwanda

But paradoxically, that is exactly where Jesus is to be found

Indeed, he is in the midst thereof –

In the midst of the “paradigm shift” that is going on across Europe as we speak

But the New Testament reading this morning reminds us, above all, of the example of our Lord Jesus Christ

An example we should all seek to follow

It reminds us that Jesus hardly ever heals anyone with any social, moral or political status

But looks for the lost, rejected, marginalised and fallen instead

But Jesus is doing more that seeking out the marginalised,

He is breaking down barriers too

Whilst we are dumping people in colonies, Jesus is breaking those barriers down

But he is not just breaking down barriers, he is re-ordering society at the same

Demonstrating that we can all live together – we can make everyone clean

But above all, Jesus is prepared to take on the stains of his society by getting his hands’ dirty

Just like the Bishops in the House of Lords

They too were willing to take on the stigma of the refugee and seek to them redeem at the same time

And we salute them for adopting the model that Christ displayed in the reading this morning

But returning to the SMS message which I received on Easter morning

Above all else, the proclamation of the Resurrection stands at the heart of our Christian faith

Through the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, we are all conferred with the dignity of His risen life

To quote the Archbishop just one more time

He said that the decision to transport Refugees to Rwanda

“cannot carry the weight of resurrection justice, of life conquering death…It cannot carry the weight of the resurrection that was first to the least valued”

So we give thanks this morning for the example Jesus provided to all Christian people in our Gospel reading this morning

And we give thanks to our Bishops and the people of God, for following faithfully in his footsteps

It is now many years ago since I was a student at St Andrew’s University

In many ways, I was a student like any other – worked hard and played hard

And, in my first year, I took New Testament studies which required a basic proficiency in Greek

During the Lent term, the set text was the Passion narrative in the Gospel of Luke

Which we had to be prepared to translate in the end of term exam

This obviously meant very close attention to the text – something which would never happen in one’s own language

However, this embrace of the text led me to experience the closest thing I could describe as an encounter with God

For one day, while working at the translation, I suddenly felt consumed with an intense joy

I was so overcome that I went out into the library garden where I felt the power of God more strongly than at any time in my life

I was, literally, radiant and it is probably the closest that I have ever been to God

I was very blessed to have this religious experience – but I had done nothing to deserve it

Years later, I read a wonderful book called “The Orthodox Way” by the Bishop and theologian Kallistos Ware

In his book he said

“Direct glimpses of the divine glory are sometimes conferred by God on a person as an unexpected gift, before that person has even begun to repent and to commit himself to the struggle of the active life”

That person was me

I had certainly not committed myself to “the struggle of the active life”

But, despite this, I believed I knew what it was to experience the radiance of love Divine

To quote the hymn, I felt “Thine own ardour glowing”

Whilst not wanting to elevate my experience

It is possible that the Old Testament reading this morning is in a similar vein

As we have heard, Moses ascended Mount Sinai with two tablets of stone where he encountered God in the midst of a cloud

It is there that the Ten Commandments were narrated to him by God

And where he was instructed to write them down

After this close engagement with the text, Moses descends the mountain

Where his friends and colleagues encountered him once again

Except now, they noticed that “His face shone - because he had been talking with God”

Indeed, “The skin of his face was shining and they were afraid to come near him”

This is not the only occasion when an encounter with God leads to radiance divine

A few weeks ago, I preached on the Feast of the Transfiguration

Taking an alternative view of what it might mean to be transfigured

But there is a remarkable similarity between the accounts of the Transfiguration and the Old Testament reading this morning

In the story of the transfiguration, we learnt that Jesus went up to high mountain

Where he too met with God and was affirmed by Him

As a result, “his clothes became dazzling white - such as no one earth could bleach them”

And such was the radical transformation “they [the disciples] were all terrified”

Whilst it is only natural for those who encountered such radiance to be taken aback

There is no need to be afraid

St Paul, in his second letter to the Corinthians tells us this

“Whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over our hearts.  But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed… and we all, with unveiled face(s), behold the glory of the Lord

As he put it, “we are transformed…from one degree of glory to another” 

What St Paul is trying to tell us

Is that if we remove the veil from our own hearts and allow God to come into our lives

We too can be transformed, brilliantly

Returning to Kallistos Ware, my great spiritual guide and mentor

Whilst acknowledging that direct glimpses of God can be an unexpected gift

He also suggests a three-fold way that all Christians can gain glimpses of the divine glory for themselves

The first stage is repentance

By which we obtain purity of heart and are no longer the prisoner of passing impulses

Secondly, by obtaining the purity of heart that comes from repentance,

We can discover that God is present in everything

And so daily encounter God through our conscience and participation in His creation

And thirdly, when this is done

The Christian can meet His Creator face to face, leaving him or her transfigured and radiating a brilliant whiteness

What Kallistos Ware is describing is a journey whereby we too can be transformed from one degree of glory to another

But whilst it may sound simple, don’t underestimate the task

For he tells the story of the desert Father, who was the holiest and best loved of the old men in his community

When he came to die, his fellow monks surrounded his bed but they noticed that his lips were moving

They asked “who are you talking to, Father”

He replied

“I am talking to the angels who have come to take me, and I am asking for more time to repent”

His brothers said “[But] you have no need to repent”

But the brother said “Truly, I am not sure I have even begun to repent”

One of my favorite anthems when I was at school was by the composer William Boyce

He is not particularly well known

But was Master of the Kings Music and the organist at the Chapel Royal in the reign of William II

Given his Royal patronage, it is probably fitting that his music was used for a Royal wedding

And the allegro from his first symphony was recently played at the marriage of Harry and Megan

I did not know this until I looked up his anthem “O where shall wisdom be found”

And the reason I looked up the anthem was because it came to mind when I read the Old Testament reading this morning

In the reading, Solomon is asked by God what he would like in return for his devotion

And, instead of asking for a material reward, he asks for wisdom instead

We all know the phrase “the wisdom of Solomon” but what might this mean?

The question of wisdom is vexed

A few years ago, a book called “The Bell Curve” was published in America and it took the country by storm

The book tried to get to the root of what makes someone clever

In essence, the book claimed that intelligence is affected by both genetics and environment

In other words, your family can have a substantial impact on your intelligence

However, the findings of the book also attracted much criticism

And one can understand why

We all know of children of privilege who are not blessed with very much

And equally those who have shown enormous ability from some of the humblest backgrounds

The question of intelligence is remarkably difficult to pin down

I recently read a book on intelligence myself by a professor of psychology at the University of Edinburgh

Who tried to examine the question in greater detail

And asked a series of very interesting questions

• Is there one kind of intelligence or many?
• Are there sex differences in intelligence?
• Do we get more intelligent as we get older?
• Does intelligence increase from one generation to another – are your children cleverer than you?

But despite all his investigations he had to conclude that, although there was evidence of genetics at play, it was very hard to pin down

Importantly however, he pointed out that there is little known about other human abilities

Such as “creativity, wisdom, practical sense and social sensibilities”

It seems that science and social science have made little inroad into the question of intelligence

As well as the curious attribute of wisdom – though the two are not necessarily the same

Whilst the Social Sciences have made little headway,

Theology however does provide its own insights which are worthy of reflection

There is little doubt that wisdom is highly prized

In the Bible, wisdom is likened to a lavish banquet and the Book of Proverbs likens wisdom to fine jewelry (Proverbs 8: 19)

But, despite the prize, the source or essence of wisdom proves very hard to find

The anthem which I mentioned at the beginning of my sermon takes its words from the Book of Job

Who asks the question “O where shall wisdom be found and where is the place of understanding”

But he does not make much progress either

Job acknowledges that wisdom is not found in the “depths of the earth”

Nor is it found in “the seas”

He realizes that it cannot be “gotten for gold” but is unable to find an answer as to where it might be found

Job concludes that God has hidden it from our eyes and that only God knows the way to it

However, it is the New Testament which perhaps gets us closer than anywhere else

Because Jesus himself is seen as the personification of wisdom

We know from St Luke (2: 40) that Jesus was considered “wise” from the beginning

As he says in the first chapter of his Gospel

“The Child continued to grow… increasing in wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him”

We know that he continued to grow in wisdom, as recorded by St Matthew who said

“He came to His hometown and began teaching…they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get his wisdom?”

St Paul in his Letter to the Colossians describes Jesus as the one

In whom “Are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge”

O where shall wisdom be found?

It is to be found in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ

And so returning to our readings this morning

Solomon asks for wisdom and it is granted to him by God

He is famed for his wisdom and even today we refer to “The wisdom of Solomon”

But even Solomon, in all his wisdom, could not prevent himself from making a massive error of judgement

With catastrophic results

Put simply, his wisdom made him arrogant and he acted unwisely as a result

But Jesus, the embodiment of wisdom told us today that

[he] “that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted”

Above all, wisdom demands humility

The humility to know that we are nothing without the help and guidance of God

And the humility to recognise that Jesus Christ is the fount of all wisdom itself

Or as William Boyce put it to music all those years ago

“Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding”

In 2013, I was invited to Israel by the Council for Christians and Jews
It was a wonderful tour of the Holy Land which, inevitably, included a visit to Jerusalem
We stayed on a Friday night and had dinner with a Jewish family before heading to the Wailing Wall as darkness began to fall
It was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life
There were exuberant crowds
People were praying with shawls, scrolls and phylacteries
And some were dancing in large circles
Later in the evening, I went down into the foundations of the Temple with the Bishop of Hereford, who was also on the tour
There we saw people, young and old, including children, praying fervently
The bishop remarked that he wished he could inspire such religious fervor back in England

The religious fervor we witnessed was that of the Jewish people
Who, in the main, had been able to return to Israel since the end of the Second World War
As a former parish priest once remarked to me “The Jews are back in history”
But the New Testament reading this morning takes us back even further
To a time when Jerusalem was, again, occupied by the Jewish people
Before the city was besieged by the Romans and raised to the ground in AD70
But this was not the end of sieges
Jerusalem was besieged and conquered by a Muslim Army in AD637
Falling to the Crusaders in 1099
Then being retaken by Saladin in 1187
And then by the British in 1918 when the Ottoman Empire was defeated in the WWI
You could also add the Arab Israeli War of 1948 to the same list
This quick overview is just a snapshot of some of the empires which have laid claim to Jerusalem over time
And provides a clue as to why there has been so much conflict
As the historian Simon Sebag Montefiore said “Jerusalem is the house of one God…[but] the temple of three religions”
And this multiplicity of faiths was almost, inevitably, going to end in conflict

To the Jew, obviously, Jerusalem is at the heart of their faith
Established by King David,
It is the capital of the promised land which was given to them by God
Where Solomon built the Temple and where Jews still await the coming of the Messiah
As I realized when I visited, the Jews have a very strong connection with the land itself
One of our tour guides was a young Jewish girl from Brooklyn in New York who said that she had come on holiday to Israel with her parents
And knew instinctively that Jersuslem was “her home”

But Christianity also lays claim to Jerusalem
Christians not only claim the same Biblical heritage as the Jews
But Jerusalem is also the place where Christ was crucified and rose from the dead
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, marking the site, is the holiest place in Christendom
And pilgrims can also visit the Upper Room, the Mount of Olives and Golgotha
There is little wonder that the Crusaders wanted to claim Jerusalem for Christ once again

But just to add to the complexity, Islam also lays claim as well
Mohamed made his night journey to what is now known as the Al-Aqsa Mosque
Where he prayed before ascending into heaven
As it says in the Quran
“Glory be to the One Who took His servant ˹Moḥammed˺ by night…to the farthest Mosque whose surroundings We have blessed. (Quran 17.1)”
One can perhaps begin to see why the visit by the far-right Israeli politician Itamar Ben Gavir caused such rioting earlier this year
As Jesus predicted, enemies have besieged Jerusalem and crushed it to the ground
And have continued to do so throughout the ages

So what are we to make of the New Testament reading this morning?
In the first instance, it is not unreasonable to assume that Jesus was able to foresee the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70
In this regard, he was no different from the Old Testament prophets who foresaw the first siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 590 BC
And whilst it is probably stretching things to suggest he could have foreseen the rise of Islam
He could clearly foresee the fighting that a fallen humanity was likely to occasion
Even upon the holiest city on earth

However, as Simon Sebag Montefiore also said, Jerusalem is “the only city to exist twice – in heaven and on earth”
And in this regard Jesus also points us this morning to where the problem might lie
For as well as foreseeing death and destruction, he reminds us that the House of God should be a House of Prayer and not den of thieves
In other words
We need to look towards matters heavenly rather than be subsumed with earthly matters, which only lead to strife and conflict
Given the history of mankind, this seems unlikely
Jerusalem is still a city of sieges and destruction and will likely remain so
And one can only hope and pray for a change
And whilst this might be depressing, the Book of Revelation however does give us some future hope however
When it tells us that
“[when] the first earth had passed away… I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven.…and I heard a loud voice saying … “See, I am making all things new.”
The New Jerusalem belongs to God’s peace, but is now hid from our eyes

One of the most contentious issues of our age is what is called transitioning
In our time, it is transitioning from one gender to another and it is a highly charged debate
Although I was only vaguely aware of this when I was younger, it is insubstantial compared to the issue today
Now transgender issues proliferate
There are issues in our schools, in our prisons and in our hospitals
There are arguments in the public space notably among writers and athletes,
Transitioning has never been more contentious
People, understandably, feel threatened on both sides of the debate
But I must confess that, above all, I remain confused

Today is a Feast Day about another transitioning issue, two thousand years ago
Not transgender, but transfiguration
Transfiguration is defined as a “complete change of form or appearance into a more beautiful or spiritual state”.
And today is the Feast Day
It is a feast day however that is so often overlooked, as it seems inexplicable and sits so uncomfortably in our scientific age
Yet there are accounts of the transfiguration in three of the four Gospels
In each account we learn that Jesus is led by three of his disciples up a high mountain where his clothes became dazzling white
But there is a human impact to this transitioning
All four Gospels record that the disciples were terrified and fell to the ground
When Jesus tried to explain it, they decided not to speak about it to anyone
Put simply, they were confused,
Baffled by this change in form and appearance
However, whilst the reaction of the disciples is wholly understandable
We are in the fortunate position of living two thousand years later with the benefit of centuries of theological reflection
And whilst researching the matter, I was particularly taken by a definition given by Helen-Anne Hartley, the former Bishop of Ripon
She described the transfiguration as “focusing on Jesus’ identity and his place in the purpose of God”
And it was her mention of Jesus’ identity which intrigued me most

Because, when it comes to identity, all is not as it seems
Jesus may have the appearance of a man this is by no means the whole picture

First and foremost, he is not just a man but also the Son of God –
This is apparent from the Gospel reading this morning which is similar to Christ’s baptism
When God says for the second time “This is my beloved Son”
But this, not only makes Jesus a man and the Son of God, it also makes him part of the Holy Trinity at the same time
The Holy Spirit appearing this time, in the form of a cloud
Appearance is not all that it, initially, sems

But, as well as being part of the Trinity, it goes without saying that Jesus is also divine
Indeed, it is his divinity allows him to be transfigured in a way that made him dazzling white
Again, this may appear extraordinary, but it is not something which should surprise us
Because this ability to be transformed is not unique to Jesus - it is a property which belongs to us all
I am constantly reminded of this at the funeral service where the liturgy states that Christ
“will transform our frail bodies, that we may be conformed to his glorious body”
At the Feast of the Transfiguration, we get a glimpse of that glorious body
And remind ourselves that, our resurrection body will also share Christ’s transfigured body
When we transition from this world to the next
We too are not all that we might, initially, seem to be
But the Feast of the Transfiguration is not just about transitioning but also about understanding
As I mentioned a moment ago, the story of the transfiguration is also about cloud
A cloud which represents the Holy Spirit, and plays an important part in this story
Because, at the same time, it reminds us that what is revealed can often remain hidden at the same time
When Moses meets God on Mount Sinai, it is notable that he meets God in thick darkness
Where you can’t see anything
But this is where, paradoxically, the voice of God is heard most clearly
Similarly, on Mount Tabor, God is not revealed in the clear light of day
But in a cloud
Yet it is in this darkness, in this fog, that we come closer to God than we ever can imagine
And it is in this cloud of unknowing that God speaks to us so clearly

And so, on this Feast of the Transfiguration
It is only natural that we should find ourselves, like the disciples
Confused and possibly fearful
Trying to make sense of Jesus’ identity and his transition from the human to the divine at the same time
This human reaction is only to be expected

However, as we now know
In the fullness of time and listening to the voice of God
This is not something to be feared, but part of God’s divine revelation to us here on earth
The transfiguration, transitioning is
Not something to be feared/not something to rail against
But something we must try and understand, patiently
Discerning the voice of God in the midst of the cloud and confusion