We’ve all been lost, in one way or a dozen. We’ve all needed someone to miss us and celebrate our return. We’ve all grieved over lost sons and daughters - ours or other people’s. The question is: how will we the church call for, watch for, run to meet, embrace and celebrate the return of all who are lost and the resurrection of all who are dead?
We’ve all been lost, in one way or a dozen. We’ve all needed someone to miss us and celebrate our return. We’ve all grieved over lost sons and daughters - ours or other people’s. The question is: how will we the church call for, watch for, run to meet, embrace and celebrate the return of all who are lost and the resurrection of all who are dead?
“Violence is what happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering.” (Parker J. Palmer, On the Brink of Everything)
“Violence is what happens when we don’t know what else to do with our suffering.” (Parker J. Palmer, On the Brink of Everything)
But it wasn’t just Jesus’ body that was rejected. It was his teaching and his way of life - his choice to oppose the foxes of this world with feathers and wings rather than with guns and swords; with loving vulnerability rather than lethal force; with empathy rather than empire.
But it wasn’t just Jesus’ body that was rejected. It was his teaching and his way of life - his choice to oppose the foxes of this world with feathers and wings rather than with guns and swords; with loving vulnerability rather than lethal force; with empathy rather than empire.
God is with us always, but each week we come to this place to be consciously and deliberately in God’s presence together. We see the light of Christ in each other’s faces, in the scriptures, in our songs and prayers, and in the bread and wine. With all those things and more, we charge up our solar panels so as to leave this place carrying God’s love, wisdom and justice in our entire selves. We take that light into a world that is both terribly afraid and desperately longing to meet God face-to-face.
Jesus calls us to love our enemies. This is not fluffy sentimentality. This is the hardest thing you will ever do. Some say this is the only truly new ethical teaching Jesus delivered, and I think they could be onto something. Most of what Jesus taught was distilled from his tradition – the Scriptures and teachings of his day. ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’: you can find that in the book of Leviticus. The Beatitudes that we looked at last week lare pretty much a summary of the book of Psalms. Love your enemies, though. It is hard to find that clearly and explicitly taught before anywhere Jesus. So it is basically the most Jesussy ethical teaching in Scripture. That doesn’t mean we like it, though.
Bishop Sarah Plowman's sermon for confirmation