Pentecost Sunday 23 May 2021 Sermon

Pentecost Sunday 23.5.21 Potential

This is a day of renewal, a day of transformation. From potential to actual.

An object will be stationary unless some force acts on it, and then it will move.

In the realm of faith we can be stationary, not going anywhere much, and then receive the force of the Holy Spirit to stir us into life.

Pentecost Sunday is the most famous example of this motivating force.

The apostles were still somewhat timid in their faith, even after the Resurrection. They needed another boost, one huge infusion of energy and so it happened.

They came out of the upper room and began to preach fearlessly; not caring if it cost them their lives, which eventually it would do.

It was the whole Church being renewed at that time, and so it has been ever since.

We are always, individually and collectively, in need of the Holy Spirit.

The problems are still there but now we have something that looks a lot more like a solution.

God wants to fill every person with His presence. “And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions.  Even on My servants, both men and women, I will pour out My Spirit in those days. (Joel 2,28-29)

God is central; He is not to be pushed to the margins.

We learn this, and eventually it sinks in. The Holy Spirit can work slowly as well as quickly. He can deal with each person as required.

He will give us an increase of understanding and of desire simultaneously. We understand God's intentions more clearly, and we come to want what He wants, to accept His will in preference to our own.

We live in a very imperfect world; we can be perfect, or at least less imperfect.

And we pray that others will have the same experience. Many are tying to avoid God, when they really need to know Him. They are too busy doing their own will to welcome any knowledge of His will.

We, the believers, need conversion too. We are not yet calling on the full power available to us.

Who knows how many potential saints are hiding somewhere and we need them as they need conversion for themselves?

Unbelievers believe; weaker disciples become stronger. Wrong beliefs are set right; bad people become good.  This is activating the potential.

It takes more than one day for most purposes. A lot of working on it. Some sins and errors are hard to dislodge. It needs patient application, lots of graces and mercies.

God gives us time to make progress. If we turn to Him we will make much faster progress. We can break free, to live ordered lives.

We have the freedom to choose how we respond. This freedom is a privilege but also a burden.

A privilege because it means we can cooperate with the will of God, and be partakers in His work of salvation.

A burden because when we use our free will wrongly we make a lot of trouble.

We have to get it right more often, till it becomes a habit; till our instinctive reaction to every situation is Christ-like. Hence virtue -  a habit for doing good.

The Church has been launched but it has not been an easy flight. It needs a lot of disciples applying themselves to the task, and we usually do not have as many as we need, but we can still do some serious good with what we have.

Come, Holy Ghost.    

Sunday after Ascension 16 May 2021 Sermon

 Sunday after Ascension 16.5.21 Heaven

We follow our Lord to Heaven in our minds and hearts. We know He is returning. There is a continual interaction between Heaven and earth. And He comes here as well, especially in the Eucharist.

The Ascension was needed in terms of being a completion of Our Lord’s stay on earth.

His true home was in Heaven; He did not belong here. He could not have just lived in a suburb somewhere. Heaven was the fulfilment.

It might help if we had a clearer conception of what Heaven is. Heaven is our true home (Ph 3,20)

Yet we have never been home to see it! We long for Heaven without knowing precisely what is there, or what it is like.

But we know it is all good , being so close to God. Peace, love, justice, etc - things we yearn for here, but get only bits and pieces.

Would it be boring in Heaven? No because boredom is itself an evil and would not be found in Heaven.

By contrast we would have so much to contemplate or pursue.

But the greatest pleasure of Heaven is not just being with loved ones, nor a continuation of earthly pleasures multiplied - but to see God face to face. To contemplate Him is our greatest need and greatest happiness.

Many would not see this, either why they need God or why they should praise Him.

We have much to learn. If we had behaved better up till now we would have less trouble understanding these things.

God is good. Consider that whatever we find attractive on earth comes from Him, so He must be more desirable than whatever that attraction is. He is the source of  all good.

Yet people reject Him while clinging to what He has made. After too many years of putting the bad things first, judgment becomes warped.

It should be helpful for us to meditate on the joys of Heaven. And really to make sure we are going there - which is under our power.

As people are vague about what is in Heaven, so they are vague about what it takes to go there.

Is there any difficulty?  Many today think that all you have to do is die, and there you are! Everyone, but everyone, goes there.

It is not that easy. On the other hand it is not so hard, but it does require a reasoned response from us, a movement of love expressed through repentance and obedience.

We are less afraid to die once we are convinced of Heaven’s reality. We usually do not want to die today, or anytime soon, but if we did die today, and went to Heaven, we would then be glad.

We do not wish our loved ones back, once we consider this. Those who die in the Lord have some share of His eternal and infinite life. We wish them to enjoy that.

It is better if we go to them; and that is our understanding of how it all works.

In the same light we do not resent God if He takes us, or someone we love.

His holy will can ensure the best possible arrangement of circumstances.

Our time on earth is brief, even when we achieve our full measure of years. We do not cling unduly to this life; rather we prepare ourselves for our true and eternal home.

5th Sunday after Easter 9 May 2021 Sermon

 

5^th Sunday after Easter 9.5.21 Discipleship 

A disciple is one who learns. What do we learn from Christ, His methods His words and actions, His overall plan incorporating the Cross and Resurrection?

The climactic events of Our Lord’s ministry were short in duration, but He has spent a long time forming the disciples – showing them as well as telling them.

He wants to teach us, to form us, to be more like Himself.

When there is sufficient closeness between disciple and master, the master’s legacy can continue.

The apostles and early disciples were never as good as Our Lord but they were close enough to be agents of many miracles and abundance of grace.

Now we are the disciples. It is our time in the sun. Do we shine with similarity to Christ?

We have graduated, or will be soon. It is time we stood on our own two feet. This is what Confirmation does. Of course, we are never entirely on our own. We always have access to the Lord.

We would be happier if Our Lord was still with us, in visible form.

But what if we cannot see Him? We can feel very vulnerable; yet we must carry on the work.

He assures us we have everything we need; it is just a matter of knowing where to look.

We learn by practice, from our mistakes and from our prayer for guidance.

When things are running as they should, good things will come about, as it were naturally. The supernatural becomes natural, we might say. Miracles will abound if there is enough faith and charity in circulation.

Some things are for all of us such as trust, forgiving others,

There are other things which go with the individual - particular gifts applicable to that person.

History shows how hard it is for Christians to be like Christ. Why is it so hard? Because it requires certain qualities to get going such as humility, patience, forbearance… and these are not easy to attain.

Being a disciple of Christ is not just doing a job and then going home. It applies in all times and places, and requires many different things according to the circumstances.

We are never off duty in this sense. We are on call. Like the wise virgins (Mt 25,1-11) or faithful servants (Mt 24,42-51).

It is not necessarily dramatic action required. Most of the time it will be quiet everyday things that emerge from our life situation. Household tasks like cooking, cleaning, nursing, unpaid work. Not forgetting prayer.

As long as it is what God wants us to be doing, whether it be normal or something special.

We bring His love into the place. We ask for charity wisdom etc to have the attitude right.

If we fail in some way we learn as we go and ask pardon.

Popular thinking makes it look easy to be a disciple  - just believe a few things, and perform a few ceremonies, otherwise not much trouble.

Our Lord wants perfection from us, at least in the heart. To be like Him is the goal.

We have a lot to learn. It is not easy to love one’s neighbour or forgive one’s enemy, or be always joyful etc.

Not easy but not impossible. It can be done by the grace of God assisting us.

This is why He took so long to form the disciples. These changes could not happen overnight.

But they did learn their lesson, and so can we.

All this is preparing us for Heaven, where by then we really will be images of the Master.

Ascension Thursday

 This Thursday (13th May) is Ascension Thursday.

Mass times: St Monica's, Walkverville 8am

Holy Name, Stepney: 7am and 6.30pm (Sung)

4th Sunday after Easter 2 May 2021 Sermon

 

4^th Sunday after Easter 2.5.21 Clarity

The Holy Spirit will make it plain – on a range of issues - once Our Lord has ascended back to Heaven.

There are mysteries about God that we do not understand, at least not yet.

There are, however, many things about Him that He does want us to know, and these things He has revealed, either directly, or in such a way that we can discover them.

What do we know? He is eternal, with no beginning or end.

He creates us from nothing, to share His life and happiness.

He forgives us even when we have defied Him so many times and for so long.

He will hear our prayer and answer them according to what is best for us, and is most likely to advance our salvation.

He encourages us to bring everything we need to Him. He knows it anyway but wants us to say it, by way of affirming our trust in Him.

We do not know precisely what He will do most of the time but we do know He will always act in our best interests.

We see that He deals plainly with us, certainly fairly.

He tells us plainly, that if we obey Him in all things, we will receive many blessings (eg Deut 28,1-2)  If we disobey Him we will have much to suffer (Deut 28,15ff).

That is so clear that we wonder why we do not take Him at His word. But we make hard work of something that should be so easy.

Imagine a prison where suddenly the walls fall down and the prisoners are free to leave.

All they have to do is walk through the spaces but somehow they cannot do it.

Israel was like that coming out of Egypt. They made a very simple command into a huge trial.

The human race has an even better offer. Accept Jesus Christ as Lord and you will have peace in this life and eternal happiness in the next.

What do we do with that offer? Every kind of stalling, dispute, misunderstanding comes in response.

We make heavy weather of what is put in front of us, in plain sight.

But there is another offer, even after that. we can always simply repent and then it is as though for the first time all these things are still on offer.

We need to retain this sense of simplicity. It will enable us to take the obvious remedies and avoid further entanglement.

We go back to God Himself and His nature. He does not want to make us suffer; He comes to free us from the suffering our sins have caused.

Take away the sin and with it goes all the disorder that comes with sin.

The kingdom of God would truly be in our midst. It is up to us how much freedom we want.

There will be some fallout, which we must expect, but even that can be reduced.

Being good can mean more suffering not less, but it is a purer kind of suffering, directly sharing in the Cross of Christ. It happens because we love Him, unlike the suffering which follows from not loving Him.

Israel did get to the promised land despite so many wrong turnings. The human race can do the same, certainly at least the Church and all faithful disciples.

Our Lord is renewing His offer in this season when we consolidate our belief in His resurrection and prepare for the deeper commitment of Pentecost.

Be plain with Him, leaving Him the licence to know how and when to help us.

The plainer we deal with Him certainly the more freely He will bless us.

Let us carry that simple message with us.