Epiphany

Three definitions of the word "Epiphany"
1. a Christian festival held on Jan. 6, commemorating the manifestation of Christ to the Magi
2. the appearance to man, in visible form, of a god or other supernatural being.
3. A sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something

We are used to thinking of the call of the church as being to reach out to the local community. Partly I guess this is because we have become used to seeing empty chairs during our services. Partly it’s because we are increasingly aware of the deep spiritual hunger of many who have not been brought up to go to church and do not see it as a viable answer to their need. We know we need to reach out. So there is almost a dream-like quality to the image of crowds and crowds of people from all nations, all walks of life actively seeking us out in order to find God and spiritual fulfilment.
It’s as much a dream now as it was in Isaiah’s day, as it was in Jesus’ day. Picture it. Wouldn’t it be amazing? Imagine this whole neighbourhood having an epiphany, a sudden manifestation of the meaning of life, and pitching up here on a Sunday morning.
How would we cope if people suddenly started flooding in?
Would we be able to help them with their search?
Would we understand their questions?
Would we know the answers to any of them?
Would we be overjoyed to see them pouring through the doors, or would they pose a threat to the way we normally do things here?
What if they don’t behave like we do?
What if they make a noise, or interrupt, or bring their emotional baggage with them?

When Simeon finally met Jesus in the temple after a lifetime of waiting he described him in Luke’s gospel as a light to lighten gentiles. We need to recognise that being a light to lighten the gentiles can actually be quite disturbing. If we do, we can start to understand something of the hesitation that the Jewish people will have had about welcoming the early Christians in the early days of the church, many of them totally ‘unsynagogued’. It becomes clearer why Peter and Paul needed to work out their disagreements. Reaching out is scary. It can feel threatening. But we can also feel the excitement of a church moving in a new direction, of a church filled with hope as well as challenge. A church that is alive, that grows, that changes, that becomes more as God wants it, that is active in the world.

Epiphany is the time we remember the Messiah being shown to the gentile world, and it is of particular significance to us here at St Anne and All Saints. The light of the world is for everyone; all groups, all nations, all cultures, all ages…not just those who we are familiar with, or approve of, or who know how to behave in our church. Since most of us here are not Jewish, that is we are gentiles, we often tend to underestimate the significance of Christ being shown to the gentile outsiders. Surely it just means to people like us?

No. The reading said “all assemble and come from afar”. We need to ask ourselves who the nations and kings drawn to the light might be in this area, who the wise men might represent today, who the outsiders are in this time and place.
To enter into the spirit of Epiphany we need to alter our perception until we understand that to God there are no outsiders, no person or group excluded from receiving his mercy.
We need to alter our mindset so as to be welcoming to those who we don’t know.
When we come to worship all of us, not just those on duty to hand out booklets, need to be actively thinking about welcome, about putting people at ease if they don’t know what our usual routine is or if they don’t seem to be behaving like we do.
What do people experience as they enter? Try imagining it is your first time here next time you come in. Really notice what you see, what you hear, what you experience. I know it’s good to see each other here as we gather as a family, but the gospel demands of us that we look beyond fellowship to inclusion.

It was God’s delight to reveal his baby son to some searching pagan foreigners in order to fulfil his plan that the good news would be for everyone, as predicted by Isaiah 600 years before his birth. Just imagine if today someone arrived here seeking God and they ended up leaving baffled because no-one took the time to show them where to sit or what to do or took an interest in their journey here or spoke to them after the service. Imagine if they left having not met Jesus in any of us here.

Each of us, not just whoever is at the front, each of us, is responsible for bringing about the appearance of God in visible form, of bringing an epiphany to those who we meet.
Who does he want us to reveal Jesus to here and now?
As we have sung about these outsiders, travelling many miles over difficult terrain in order to find the for themselves the world’s enlightenment, we would do well to bear in mind all those in our own times, in our own neighbourhood, who are spiritually awake and searching, many travelling over difficult terrain, and to ask what we can do to ensure that the lamps are lit, ready to welcome them.
What can we each do to show Christ to someone who seeks Him?
Not just here on a Sunday, but during the 167 hours a week when we aren’t here.
And then we need to resolve to do it.

Alongside

Two people are out running. One seems very fit, the other less so. The fitter one turns to the other and says "You know, I find it really helpful running with you. I run much better, I am able to go faster, you really push me in a way that I just don't when I run alone".
Less fit runner has been struggling, secretly contemplating dropping back a little and then diving into a bush to hide. The pace has been right at the very limit. The thought had occurred that this fit friend must be feeling hampered, slowed down. It has just felt all wrong until this moment.
So what's going on? Often in life we may feel like we're holding our friends, family or colleagues back in some way, particularly at times of stress or great personal difficulty. We may feel like we are a burden, and assume that they would be better off without having us around so much. Yet we may have failed to consider that even in our times of weakness and struggle we can be positively influencing those around us. It says really early on in the Bible that 'it is not good to be alone'. This principle seems to be at play here-the lone runner does not perform as well as the one with company, even though the company is apparently struggling.
Don't isolate yourself when you struggle and don't be afraid to ask for help. You just don't know how you may be helping.

Expectation

“I wish it could be Christmas every day” goes the song.
Do you? Really? Christmas is long awaited, but most people today think it’s an annual knees up and gift exchange that happens to have a quaint story attached involving angels and shepherds. As Christians we are expecting more-gospel is not quaint-it is a radical, exciting message about the God who made the whole universe coming to earth as a weak, dependent baby out of love for each of us in order to allow us to come into relationship with him.

Luke 3, 1-6
In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— 2 during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 4 As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: “A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. 5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. 6 And all people will see God’s salvation.’”

The writer is very specific about exactly when and where this was happening, and then harks back to the writing of a prophet from 600 years earlier. We are invited to think about history unfolding, about hopes and expectations. So let’s think about our expectations.

What are you expecting for Christmas? Who has written a list? Our expectation of Christmas is based on and influenced by our experience of Christmas.

Christmas at my house when I was younger was always the same-presents in the morning, then church, then hours of sitting at a table drinking and playing silly games, making lots of noise and eating constantly. When my sons were young we took them to my family Christmas gathering and things had to change. My wife and I didn’t drink or join in all the games, the need for routine and nappy changes meant that we kept interrupting things, and afterwards one of my sisters said to me “Christmas was ruined”.
She had been so busy trying to recreate Christmases past that she couldn’t see the good news that was right before her eyes, new life and a possibility of even better Christmas gatherings in future.

We need to navigate our past in order to be able to bring the good news of the kingdom of God into the present. God did this with Jesus, navigating the past expressed through the covenant made with a bunch of rag-tag wanderers called Israel who were to become his chosen people to proclaim it afresh in the person of Jesus Christ, the good news of the kingdom of God for all humanity.

So just as God subverted and then surpassed the expectations of his chosen people around the time of that first Christmas, we too must be prepared to have our expectations subverted and surpassed. We need to have big dreams about what God could be doing in our lives this year. What might be possible?

I read recently of a debate about asking people “are you saved?”-The answer is simple: “I have been, I am being, I will be…” It isn’t enough for our faith to be about recreating a past event…it needs to keep being transformed, altered, developed. As we let God speak to us about the possibilities here, as we allow ourselves to imagine the kingdom of God ever more present, ever more evident in this place we need to be open to the fact that new dreams and expectations might require of us that we lay down some of our old dreams.

 In the 61st year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth the 2nd, while David Cameron was Prime Minister and Nick Clegg deputy Prime minister, and the MPs for the City of Coventry are Jim Cunningham and Bob Ainsworth, during the oversight of Archbishop Rowan, the word of God is coming to you.
What are you prepared to lay down from your past in order to be able to step towards your dreams?

Disconnected

Hmmm. Those of you watching a certain reality show set in an Antipodean jungle will have experienced Nadine Dorries, MP for Mid Bedfordshire, attempting to "connect" with the people of Britain by taking an unauthorised break from representing some of them and pocketing forty thousand pounds in the process. Not a great way to go about things, but it made me ponder on the nature of being a Christian. We, too, are called to connect with our neighbours by disconnecting from the world. As Christians we are called to model a different way of living which doesn't aspire to get rich by buying lottery tickets or by carrying out dodgy business dealings and that doesn't seek vengeance or power but offers instead forgiveness and service. We are called to disconnect from the mad rush of consumerist nonsense and to REALLY celebrate at Christmas. We are called to disconnect from the prevailing mood of pessimism and to invite our neighbours to join us in living within God's blessing.
So like Nadine we disconnect in order to connect. But we can't shout "I'm a celebrity..." when the going gets tough.

The way to run. Part 1: The mirror.

I've been thinking a lot lately about running. Now don't get me wrong, I've been going running, too, not just thinking about it, but it's been on my mind of late.
I remember that a few years back I used to look at people out running and wonder "where are they going?" It seemed to me to be such a fruitless exercise if it wasn't somehow combined with the rigours of the day and served a useful purpose by enabling you to get from location A to place B and feel good about yourself in the process. But to just run? To end up back where you started? I just didn't get it. Until I started to run.
Now I think I get it such an extent that I have formulated a sort of metaphorical rule of life based on running; The Way to Run.

Ok, so here is my starting point: we are integrated, holistic beings. Our so-called mind, body and soul are inextricably linked and make us who we are. So the health of our mind, body or soul will have a knock-on effect to the others. And being healthy is better than being unhealthy. So far so uncontroversial.

Now look in the mirror. Lovely. You were fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God. But when God made you, what do you think he had in mind as being the best exercise that will complement your body type and your present situation? If you see large hands maybe God wants you to be a boxer. If you've also got large legs, maybe He's thinking you'd be best at swimming. I don't know what a sky-diver looks like, but I guess that could be you. If, like me, there's not a lot of spare meat on you then maybe God wants you go running.

It took me many years to work out that God didn't make me to cycle but made me to run. You see, I have the tiniest calf muscles in the universe. Why would God want me to cycle when all natural born cyclists have enormous calves? And yet I spent years cycling. I cycled daily through central London and out to the South when training to be a nurse. I cycled in Coventry (where NO-ONE cycles on the road-even the police cycle on the pavement here!) when a community nurse (think Nerys Hughes with a skinhead and a goatee beard), and I cycled when I first became a minister. And it always felt like an effort.
No, I'm sure He made me to run.

But I worried for a bit that I have a weakness in one of my knees which occasionally fares up. Might this mean I shouldn't bother? Running is bad for the knees. Maybe I should take up high impact Guinness drinking instead? I realised that the weakness in my knee serves to remind me that although I was made to run, I am not perfect. I am not the perfect runner. I am flawed and have been injured in the past, but God still knows what I am capable of. He had a plan for me when He made me.

When I look in the mirror I see a runner. One who could be in better shape, but a runner nonetheless.
What do you see when you look in the mirror? What might God have made you to do to keep your mind, body and soul in good shape?

Spiritual Warfare? A sermon on Ephesians 6, 10-20

I watched Liverpool play their opening game of the season against West Brom the other week on MOTD, both of my sons having an interest in the fortunes of the team in red. There was this moment when the central defender had the ball on the edge of his own penalty area and as he looked at it intently and drew back his leg to pass it to a team mate a forward nipped round him unseen to try and poach the ball causing the defender to kick him accidentally in the leg and so concede a penalty. His pass might have looked good on the training pitch, but clearly he was playing as if there wasn’t an opposition nearby.

One of the mistakes that it is easy to make as Christians is to forget that by becoming Christians we enter into a spiritual battle.
First thing- we are in a battle. It can be confusing – we know that through Jesus’ death and resurrection the victory has been won, so it seems strange then to say that there is still an ongoing spiritual battle happening around us. This is because we live in the now and the not yet. Let me explain.
This is a bit like the time between D-day and VE-day in the Second World War. D-day in 1944 marked the turning point in World War II. From that point on, it was clear that the Allies had won the victory. However, it was almost another year until the Germans finally acknowledged their defeat and surrendered. Or like when the statue of Saddam was toppled, yet fighting continued in small pockets for a while afterwards.
We know that through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the enemy has been defeated. Jesus has claimed the victory. But until Jesus comes back to claim this victory once and for all, the enemy still attempts to cling on – and thus we are still in the midst of a spiritual battle.

Now you may not be totally comfortable talking about the devil and demons, but interestingly Jesus was, as was the writer Paul as we have just heard, but it’s also pretty clear that they didn’t spend their whole lives analysing whether or not something is a spiritual attack, so I guess we shouldn’t either. We know that the world is far from perfect and that we do not only see God’s will being done. We see illness and injustice, greed and lust. It would be a bit much to describe all of that as ‘spiritual attack’, but it is important to know there is a battle so that we understand the importance of the armour that Paul talks about. In particular we need to know that Satan’s biggest gripe is with the church, and so we must be especially careful that we play our part and don’t let him get a foot in.

Second thing-God gives as a means of defence. Note here that Paul’s language is one of defence. We don’t fight, but nor do we submit. We stand.
If you read what Paul wrote just before today’s passage, he says that the walk of the wise is characterized, in part, by the filling or control of the Holy Spirit (5:18), which, in turn is evident in our mutual submission one to another (5:21–6:9). So Paul focusses on the subject of our spiritual warfare immediately following his instructions on submission and obedience because this area is one in which Satan’s attacks can be expected. Submission is the giving up of our rights and the pursuit of our self-interest. The spiritual war is about not giving way, but standing fast. How often we tend to reverse these two. We are all too inclined to give up or to give in in matters where we should stand fast, and too eager to stand fast where we should give ground. We need to learn to stand where we are commanded to stand, and to submit where we are instructed to submit.

Remember, we aren’t the ones who fight the devil, because we are living in the light of a victory already won, but we have a part to play so in this passage, Paul uses very practical language – he does not say that by being a Christian we are automatically clothed in this armour. He says that we need to actively put it on.
To do that it can be helpful to recognise when we might be at our most susceptible to the enemy’s schemes. When we are more aware we are both more able to avoid these times, and be on our guard when we are particularly vulnerable to the enemy. For example the word STOP can be used as an acronym for: Stressed, Tired, Out of it (drink or drugs), Pained (reacting from a personal grievance or perceived injury). We need to learn to stop and think, ‘Am I in a particular vulnerable position at the moment? Am I hungry, or tired, or over-reacting because of my own issues?
Note that it was when Jesus was in the wilderness with no food that Satan tried to tempt him. I find that when I am doing something challenging or important in church that often I develop a migraine shortly afterwards, but only relatively recently did I learn, after Ali pointed it out, that I have what is called a ‘prodrome’, a bit just before, when I become emotionally distant, a bit stroppy, and sometimes a bit unaware of the specific boundaries around certain social settings. Which means I am in great danger of misunderstanding where people are coming from and so putting my foot in my mouth, or saying something hurtful. Which can threaten the success of whatever I am doing in church.

When a soldier goes into battle, he will make sure that every single part of his armour is pristine condition, certain that it will do its job. So our task today is to try to identify what part(s) of our armour are not in pristine condition:

• Do you struggle to accept the full truth of God’s promises and so need to tighten up the belt of truth? 
• Are there issues in your relationships that need to be addressed, so you need to spend time polishing the breastplate of righteousness? 
• Do you find yourself embroiled in conflict, fighting where no fight is needed, without feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace? 
• Are you plagued by doubts, unable to carry the shield of faith? 
• Perhaps you struggle to believe that you are saved, or more commonly that you are worthy to be saved, and so leave home without the helmet of salvation. 
• Or you are not confident in either your knowledge of what is written in the Bible nor in the guidance of God here with us in the present, and so leave the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, sitting in its scabbard?

Having identified this/these area(s), ask God to bring fresh revelation of this piece of armour and to clothe you afresh in it.

Last thing-claim the victory of God And then finally, when appropriately attired, claim God’s power over the enemy and pray for each other: We often totally underestimate the power that we have in Christ when we pray in the Spirit and when we call on his name. I have had quite some involvement in both deliverance and healing ministry, and have seen and experienced things that I cannot properly understand and have seen the most amazing things happen when, in faith, the name of Jesus is used. We literally have to call on the name of Jesus and open ourselves to letting God’s Spirit guide our prayers.. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Susan is given a horn with which she is to blow in desperate need and help with then come. Susan first used it when she was attacked by Maugrim the wolf as the Battle of Aslan's Camp was about to break out. Peter heard it and saved her life.
When we call on the name of Jesus, we draw on the authority of Christ over the enemy and in doing so defeat the schemes of the enemy, and given how much the church gets up his nose, we need to be praying for each other.
We need to ask for God’s protection over our fellow Christians, particularly those in our own congregation. Part of my role is to pray for you lot, as well as for the people from this district who are not here, and part of your role is to pray for me and for all who minister to you in Christ’s name. It makes a difference.
If I am to be your pastor, your shepherd, then I am called to walk out in front, so I need your prayers to keep me from being attacked or distracted, so we don’t end up failing to get where God is calling us to.
I believe that God has great plans to grow his kingdom here, which means that we will be challenged. Are we ready to go into that battle, unified like the Roman foot-soldiers used to be when they made themselves into a tortoise with their shields? Will we stand against any attempt to derail us or divide us?

So in summary, we are in a spiritual battle, and the church is especially vulnerable to attack, so we are all called to take a stand by identifying the weak spots in our armour and strengthening them before putting them on and then praying for each other. Then we can claim the good news of the victory won for us.

Things to look for in a preacher

I've been wondering about preaching lately. Paul distinguishes it from teaching. It isn't just about giving some information in an understandable way. We can read a book to get that. Preaching is so much more than that.
There has to be an encounter, with the preacher holding people's attention as a stand-up comedian or a Shakespearean actor delivering a soliloquy might do, yet it isn't just a dramatic monologue either.
 Some sermons are easily memorable, utilising acronyms and mnemonics so that they can be recalled at a later date, while others make us feel as if the preacher is speaking right into our lives in such a personal way (s)he must have been going through our waste paper bins in order to know that much about us.
But then again, the truth is, most sermons aren't actually that good. I've delivered some real stinkers in my time and so I try my hardest not to do it again, to learn from my mistakes and to grow in my ministry.
So I was interested to read this by a preacher called Mark Driscoll (he's an American, don't you know). He gave a list of 16 things he looks for in a preacher (although his bit of the church does have a 17th essential requirement, that the preacher is male, but that's where he and I disagree).

1. Tell me about Jesus. Connect it all to Jesus. If you don’t mention Jesus a lot, you need to do something other than preach. And tell me that Jesus is a person, not just an idea. Help me to not only know him but to also like him.
2. Have one big idea. Hang all your other ideas on the one big idea. Otherwise, you will lose me or bore me. 3. Get my attention in the first 30 seconds without being gimmicky. Get to work. Don’t “blah blah blah” around, chitchat, or do announcements. That will make me start checking my phone. Get my attention, and let’s get to work.
4. Bring me along theologically and emotionally. Preaching is not a commentary. Commentaries are boring for even nerds to read. Your job is to do the nerd work and bring it to life. Raise your voice, grab my affections, and bring the living Word.
5. Make me like you, trust you, and respect you so that I can't dismiss you. If you want me to follow you, you have to get me to that point.
6. Avoid Christian jargon and explain your terms. The average person has no idea what fellowship means, or even God for that matter. So, tell us what you’re talking about and don’t assume we have your vocabulary.
 7. Don't have points as much as a direction and destination. Take me somewhere. Take me to a place of conviction, compassion, conversion, etc.
8. Don't show me how smart you are, because it makes me feel dumb. I assume you’re smart since you’re standing up talking and we’re all sitting down listening. If you quote words in some language I don’t know, or quote dead guys to show you’re a genius, that makes me feel dumb, which doesn’t serve me well. Don’t come off like that kid in school that the rest of us wanted to give a wedgie to every time they raised their hand.
9. Invite lost people to salvation. Some people in the seats aren’t Christians. So, tell them how to become one. Talk about sin, Jesus, and repentance. At some point in every sermon just do that. If you do, people will bring lost friends. Don’t be a coward.
10. Whether it feels like a wedding or a funeral, be emotionally engaging and compelling. Some sermons are a funeral—convicting, deep, hard hitting, and life shattering. Other sermons are a wedding—exciting, compelling, encouraging, and motivating. Pick an emotional path. Have an emotional trajectory to the sermon, not just a theological point. If you pass the audition and get to preach publicly, have the entire service flow emotionally. If we do wedding songs after a funeral sermon, I’m emotionally confused. Likewise, if we’re singing melancholy hymns after a big motivational sermon, I’m also emotionally confused. So, you and the guy in skinny jeans with the guitar have got to get this figured out together.
11. Look like someone who has it together from clothes to haircut to overall presentation. You don’t need to be a model, but you should look presentable. If you have bed-head, your fly open, keep losing your place in your notes, your shoe is untied, your mic battery dies, and you say, “Um,” a lot because you’re unprepared, I may feel sorry for you but I’m not following you because you don’t seem to have a clue where you are going.
12. Tell the truth and don't be a coward. Look me in the eye and don't flinch. Don’t apologize for what God’s Word says—just say it. Say it like you mean it. Say it like it’s true. Sure, I may despise you, but at least I’ll know what God said. Get over your fear of man and assume that I may just hate you.
13. If you get lost or mess up, make a joke about yourself and keep me interested. I know at some point you’re going to mess up. The Bible is perfect, you aren’t. If I can laugh at you while laughing with you, I’ll trust you.
14. Don’t just preach repentance but also practice it. Don’t talk about everyone else’s sin and never your own. Don’t tell me all the victories you’ve had or that your sin was a long time ago. Jesus is the hero, not you. I don’t trust smug, religious folks who preach how great they are and how I can become like them. It’s smarmy.
15. Answer some objections. You know how most of us are going to push back, question, disagree, or wiggle off the conviction hook. So, anticipate those objections and answer some. Brawl with me a bit, show me you can go a few rounds, get me in a corner, and work me over until I give in and obey God. But, you have to work at it.
16. "It" is the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in you and through you. I’m looking to see if you have it. I can’t explain it, but I know it when I see it.