Introduction
Whenever we come to the Bible, we will be interpreters. And all those before
us were interpreters also. We try to discern what the message is. We have to
understand the situation and the context we have to determine what is the
message particularly for us – in this time of ours.
Genesis 21 is set in several chapters that tell of Abraham, Sarah Hagar and
the both of two sons. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah are in the
previous chapters. These series of events give little guidance to our dealing
with homosexuality today or gender preferences in loving relationships.
At that time as recorded in these chapters women and girls were accorded
no protection or value in the exchanges of everyday life. Abraham at one
point pretends Sarah is his sister to give her to be the wife of a powerful and
threatening chief. Lot has strangers turning up and hosts them as custom
dictated – but his neighbours hating strangers and aliens want to do harm
and rape them The same behaviour we witness in the course of wars today.
Boys were not protected and commonly used for sex by the powerful. The
prohibitions that appear in Leviticus seem to be a protection of the the boys
– ‘tamariki’. We have seen this week in New Zealand that 2 staff in ‘Oranga
Tamariki’ have abused their role with children. We need to be protective of
the young.
The verses we read are focused on the slave girl of Sarah. She had given her
slave to be a second wife to Abraham in order to bear him a son. When she
has a son herself she wants no competition and sends Hagar and her son
away. One will be the father of Arabs the other the father of the nation of
Israel. Both are blessed.
In the mess of life what is the
essential message. I think it is that
in those early times the major
concern was dealing with Holiness
that they felt awe at. The challenge
was to find a way of living that
matched their apprehension of
Holiness in their world.
The psalm has a sense of holiness
somehow touching our lives with
beneficence and compassion and
in response an awareness of God’s
magnificence which is wondrous.
In Matthew, the Jewish traditionalist with a care for the Jews who had
followed Jesus into a new way for their people, we find awareness of
needing to choose and the divisions even in families that choice of the Jesus
way will mean. Holiness has stringent expectations.
Then in Roman’s Paul put it dramatically with all the power and awe ablaze.
They are surrounded with danger because they have chosen this way. Paul
says we who choose to follow Jesus have
died and will rise again with him.
Reflection on Holiness, Awe, Wonder and
The Way
Holiness evokes awe and
wonder. I think that as a
baby we gaze out in awe.
When confronted by
mountains, oceans or a
single rose, begonia or
frangipani we have our
breath taken away and we
are filled with wonder.
Living in a world of nature
– travelling as nomad through deserts finding water and
pasture the people of the genesis time are close to the earth.
The earth demands awe, respect and the sense of the holy. The other, the
intensely powerful and awful. What is this power how do we negotiate our
relationship with this presence.
Even our name for this – what ever it is – we must make un-pronounceable.
We dare not pretend to be able to define it or name it. We dare not say it. The
four letters placed together cant be spoken together. If we try we have a
guttural sounding Y Ah W Eh “Yahweh” in the translation we Europeans boldly
write “Jehovah” – without regard for Jewish sensitivities and awe.
These nomadic families were as close to the natural world as the nomadic
small nation groups wandering their familiar routes across Australia for
60,000 years. Continue reading Sunday 25th June →

Sermon

Bible Readings

Genesis 18:1-15

The Lord appeared to Abraham at the sacred trees of Mamre. As Abraham was sitting at the entrance of his tent during the hottest part of the day, he looked up and saw three men standing there. As soon as he saw them, he ran out to meet them. Bowing down with his face touching the ground, he said, “Sirs, please do not pass by my home without stopping; I am here to serve you. Let me bring some water for you to wash your feet; you can rest here beneath this tree, I will also bring a bit of food; it will give you strength to continue your journey. You have honoured me by coming to my home, so let me serve you.”

They replied, “Thank you; we accept.”

Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick, take a sack of your best flour, and bake some bread.” Then he ran to the herd and picked out a calf that was tender and fat, and gave it to a servant, who hurried to get it ready. He took some cream, some milk, and the meat, and set the food before the men. There under the tree he served them himself, and they ate.

Then they asked him, “Where is your wife Sarah?”

“She is there in the tent.” he answered.

One of them said, “Nine months from now I will come back, and your wife Sarah will have a son.”

Sarah was behind him, at the door of the tent, listening. Abraham and Sarah were very old, and Sarah had stopped having her monthly periods. So Sarah laughed to herself and said, “Now that I am old and worn out, can I still enjoy sex? And besides, my husband is old too.”

Then the Lord asked Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Can I really have a child when I am old?’ Is anything too hard for the Lord? As I said, nine months from now I will return, and Sarah will have a son.”

Because Sarah was afraid, she denied it. “I didn’t laugh,” she said.

“Yes you did,” he replied. “You laughed.”

Psalm 116:1–2, 12–19 (paraphrase)

I love you, God, because you listen to my prayers every single time I call out to you.

What can I ever offer you for all you have done for me? I know: I’ll bring an offering of wine to thank you for saving me. I’ll bring it into the assembly of the people, so everyone can see that I appreciate what you have done.

How painful it must be for you, God, when one of your people dies.

But you have saved me from death. I will serve you just as my mother served you. I will give you my sacrifice of thanksgiving and offer you my prayers and praise. In front of all the people, in the midst of the Jerusalem temple, I will give you all I have promised, for you have been so good to me.

With all my being, I offer you my praise!

Romans 5:1-8

(divide congregation into four groups)

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand.

All: And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.

Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that –

Group One: Suffering produces endurance.

Group Two: Endurance produces character.

Group Three: Character produces hope.

Group Four: Hope does not disappoint us.

All: because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.

But God’s great love is demonstrated in this:

All: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Matthew 9:35-10:10

Jesus went around visiting all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues, preached the Good News about the Kingdom, and healed people with every kind of disease and sickness. As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were without a shepherd. So he said to his disciples, “The harvest is large, but there are few workers to gather it in. Pray to the owner of the harvest that he will send out workers to gather in his harvest.”

Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and every sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles; first Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeus; Simon the Patriot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

These twelve men were sent out by Jesus with the following instructions; “Do not go to any Gentile territory or any Samaritan towns. Instead, you are to go to those lost sheep, the people of Israel. Go and preach, ‘The kingdom of heaven is near!’ Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, heal those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases, and drive out demons. You have received without paying, so give without being paid. Do not carry any gold, silver, or copper money in your pockets; do not carry a beggar’s bag for the journey or a spare shirt or shoes or a walking stick. Workers should be given what they need.

Sermon ‘Compassion’

The Mathew reading tells us – “Jesus went around visiting all the towns and villages. He taught in the synagogues, preached the Good News about the Kingdom, and healed people with every kind of disease and sickness. As he saw the crowds, his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were without a shepherd.”

The phrase “his heart was filled with pity (or compassion) for them” can also be translated from the Greek as “his guts were twisted in pain by his compassion for them.” While a bit rougher than the first I like thus version as it saves us from some of the baggage the word ‘pity’ holds and emphasises how deeply moved Jesus was by the plight of the people around him.

And notice two things; Jesus is concerned not just about people believing his good news but in their physical and mental well-being. And secondly he immediately does something about it. After commenting that there are few workers for the harvest he doesn’t despair and say it’s all too hard. He looks at what he has and organises the twelve men he has to add to what he is doing.

In the Genesis reading which we only referred to today, we also meet a compassionate God. In this story we hear about Sarah’s infertility. She believes it is now impossible for her to have children, as both she and Abraham are just too old. But God has different ideas. And he promises a child, in fact a son, something that would wipe away all the years of shame at not producing an heir for Abraham. Finally. And Sarah laughs in disbelief.

And here we have the worm in the apple, especially on this day that has been designated Disability Sunday. Why does a compassionate God not cure every disease and sickness? Why does he let bad things happen to good people, or even just okay people, or to totally innocent children? Why?

Honestly I’m not sure if there is a simple answer. But what I do know is that often disability is not the problem, it is the way we use labels to categorise people. And that is ridiculous when you think about it because all of us are disabled in some way. Because really ‘disabled’ means ‘not able to do (something)’. And that is true for all of us. I am unable to sail an America’s Cup boat. I am unable to understand, build and launch a rocket. I am unable to keep most plants alive. I suspect you too may be able to come up with a list too. And yet the fact that I am unable to do lots of things results in me being rarely called ‘disabled’.

No, we tend to keep that label for the disabilities that are easy to see. And yet even then we are selective. I obviously wear glasses. Without them I am unable to see this sermon, your faces and probably how to get out of the building. Without my glasses I would be in truth be disabled, unable to cope in this modern world.

And that is often the criteria. You have a disability if you don’t fit in, if you face barriers when you try to live your life. Now when you use that as your disability criteria; that there are barriers to living life as you wish it – all of us are disabled. Some are unable to do what they want to do because of the colour of their skin. Some face barriers because of their gender. Some are unable to be who they could be because their brain does not work like other people’s and they are labelled strange or difficult or mad. Still others have physical characteristics that don’t fit the ‘norm’ (whatever that is) and so they struggle to go places or to do what is expected. And the list goes on. Continue reading Sunday 18th June – Disability Sun Compassion →

Readings

Genesis 12: 1-9

Writing of this passage Maurice Andrew reminds us of Colin Gibson’s hymn in which Gibson uses the image of the God of Abraham sending us on our way and ‘has called forth a response from many New Zealanders for whom ‘the road runs out.’

We can see plausibility in this saga as we reflect on our own migratory history of island hopping or migration across the globe.

We are told that God told Abram to leave Haran and, if we relate that to our own experience, the fact that migration was divinely inspired is often a hindsight revelation rather than a certainty when the decision is being made.

Furthermore, the journeys we make are often short trips strung together over a lifetime, like my grandfather who said he went to Canada because he was sick of washing his stepmother’s dishes.  If he knew he would end up in Auckland, he might have persevered with the dishes.

Matthew 9: 9-13, 18-26

Matthew the tax collector did not work for our IRD and the tax he collected was a toll on transported goods.  He would have contracted to collect a certain amount with any surplus belonging to him.

That system encouraged greed and exploited poor peasants and other producers, like fishermen, who transported goods to urban markets.  Such taxes served the empire’s ruling elite and secured the infrastructure in conquered areas to consolidate and extend Rome’s power.

To not collect tax was to undermine the empire’s way of life and control.  Therefore, the story of Matthew offers the suggestion that even despised tax collectors, can walk away from the oppressive imperial system to find God’s saving presence in Jesus and an empire that is life giving and merciful.[1]

More excluded people are repatriated in the next section we read where Matthew has condensed Mark’s sandwich of the healing of two women.

Sermon

Both our readings are about journeys, one across ancient lands to become a people of God and the other is part of the metaphorical Gospel journey towards becoming a new people of God.

Our Genesis reading is the beginning of the Abraham Saga that moves into the Exodus Saga which is all part of the Hebrew Journey to becoming the People of God.

The journey was started by Abram’s father in the previous chapter where it says that Abram had set out with his father and the rest of family from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan but had stopped at Haran. (Genesis 11:31-32).

These stories are narrowly focussed on the Abraham’s family but like all our own journeys they happen within the ongoing journey of humanity spreading throughout the globe as layer upon layer of peoples and culture evolve into the people of our world.  The inclusive challenge the Gospels present is to accept that all those people are potentially the whole people of God.

The Bible doesn’t tell us why Abram and his father left Ur of the Chaldeans or why after settling in Haran with his father Abram decided to continue the journey.

Likewise, my family know that the Perrys came to New Zealand from Plymouth to New Plymouth on the ‘Amelia Thompson’ because they thought they could smelt the Taranaki iron sands.  But we can only guess what motivated them to leave a smelting business in England and risk Split Enz’ ‘six months in a leaky boat.’ Continue reading Sunday 11th June – Our Journeys are also Faith Journeys →

Today is Trinity Sunday. We’ve just emerged from Pentecost- that hugely significant, challenging, and exciting celebration. We’re just getting our heads round the metaphor of the Spirit coming in fire and wind, and opening us to the experience of God in Christ present with us, and now we’re asked to take on board the whole Trinitarian package. It’s no wonder, that in many churches this is the Sunday when the regular preacher finds a substitute to deal with Trinity!

One of the biggest difficulties we have when we’re faced with mysteries beyond our experience, is to find words to describe them to ourselves. I think I’ve told you this story before but it’s worth repeating it. It’s a true story of a group of five-year-olds from Wainoni School who were taken to the beach. They had never been to the beach – it’s only 1km away from where they lived, but their families had nothing extra to cover the cost of picnics at the beach! They had no word for sand. They had never seen it, or experienced the feeling of it – they had no words. It’s hardly surprising that we struggle to find words to describe the mysteries of our faith. Even when we experience them, they’re so big that the words we use never seem satisfactory – there’s always something more.

After all, it took the early church centuries to hammer out a concept of Three-in-One, and One-in-Three that was helpful to them in building their faith. And the formula the Church came up with after 300 years worked for their time and knowledge, but, in the end, it wasn’t a glue strong enough to hold the Church together! The early Christians were passionate about their theology. There were riots in the streets over different interpretations about the nature of God. The arguments spilled out into the markets and the barbers’ shops, and ordinary people came to blows in the streets over the different formulae proposed. Our ancestors really cared about the doctrines of their faith. Continue reading Sunday 4th June, Trinity Sunday – Dangerous Images →