What image does the word love conjure up for you? Perhaps it's a romantic candlelit dinner, a walk by the sea with the sand beneath your toes, hand-in-hand with someone special. Is it a young couple running through beautiful meadows with the sun beating down, and their golden locks flowing in the breeze?

Well life isn't always like that: well least it isn't for me, perhaps it is for you, I suspect not though. Thank God sometimes there are special moments when we share wonderful experiences with the people we love, but in day-to-day living these tend to be few and far between.
There is a great deal about love in the Gospels, Jesus tells us to love one another as he has loved us, but I don't remember any reference to the disciples having romantic candlelit dinners with Jesus.

I saw a sticker the other day in the back window of a car, it said in huge letters Jesus loves you, but then in tiny letters it went on to say but everyone else thinks you're an idiot.
Well isn't that just the point? Jesus loves us regardless of how we are, what we do, how evil we are, or even what other people think of us. He showed that love for us in an amazing way, by dying the most horrific and painful death. Nothing very romantic and lovey-dovey about that. Jesus shows us in that one action that Love is about sacrifice and commitment. We celebrate that love today, that's what the mass is all about. The elements of bread and wine in a mystical way become Christ's body and blood shed for us on the cross . So when we come to Communion we are actually tasting the love of God . We are called as Christians to take that love into the world and at the end of mass I will invite you to go in peace and love to serve Jesus, out there beyond the doors of All Saints . Jesus tells us to love one another as he has loved us . Clearly he doesn't want us to die for each other, although some have done that particularly the martyrs and saints. What I believe we as Christians are called to do is to start by being accepting and understanding of others. After all isn’t that just what Christ himself did. He accepted those that society excluded, the tax collectors, lepers, prostitutes and thieves. But it doesn’t stop there. In the same way that we have a relationship with Jesus through our prayer life and by meeting him in Holy Communion we need to build relationships with one another. It is clear from the gospel where we are told to love our enemies, that one another does not mean just other Christians, although that isn’t a bad place to start. It's pretty easy to love people we like and get on with, but what about those we really can't bear or all those we totally disapprove of? Then of course there are those who hurt us.
’Owe to no one anything except to love one another'

It's a pretty clear message isn't it?

Someone once said to me love isn't a feeling it's a decision. I thought at the time it was just one of those clever academic, smug things to say. But having thought about it and I'm sure there is a huge amount of truth in it. The love of those nursing sick relatives through the long drawn-out illnesses for example is not about feelings it's about commitment and self-sacrifice. The sort of commitment and self-sacrifice that Jesus made and calls us to make.
As part of my theological training I was involved in a project to provide food for homeless people. An old church hall had been converted into a place where those living on the streets could come to have hot drinks and something to eat. It was called the Gatehouse Project and allowed people to take shelter from the weather for a couple of hours, sit and chat, read the newspapers, play cards or dominoes or just have a snooze. Quite often I really enjoyed it but I have to admit it could be really hard work. A lot of those that we referred to as the clients were really lovely people but some could be quite abusive and rude and others simply stank. There were lots of times I really didn't feel like going especially on cold winter's evenings when there was a roaring log fire in the college common room and my friends were enjoying a glass of wine or beer, but I had no choice I had to go. The other volunteers however didn't have to they were just that volunteers. The majority of them were Christians and many were young people studying at the University and I was incredibly impressed and humbled by their commitment to those less fortunate than they were. That would turn out regardless of how they felt or what sort of day they had had. That showed to me real commitment and self-sacrifice and I think that it gave me a glimpse of what love in the true Christian sense is all about.

Another great help to me came from a surprising place, a children’s story, written in the 1920s and called the Velveteen rabbit. It tells the story of a toy rabbit and I would like to read part of it to you (so if you are sitting comfortably then I will begin)

THERE was once velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen.

He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him. The poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse.

The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others.. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else.

" What is REAL ?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, " Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle ? "

" Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real."

" Docs it hurt ? " asked the Rabbit.

" Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. " When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

" Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

" It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. " You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

The Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him.

There was a person called Nana who ruled the nursery..

One evening, when the Boy was going to bed, he couldn't find the china dog that always slept with him. Nana was in a hurry, and it was too much trouble to hunt for china dogs at bedtime, so she simply looked about her, and seeing that the toy cupboard door stood open, she made a swoop.

" Here," she said, " take your old Bunny I He'll do to sleep with you !" And she dragged the Rabbit out by one ear, and put him into the Boy's arms.

That night, and for many nights after, the Velveteen Rabbit slept in the Boy's bed. At first he found it rather uncomfortable, for the Boy hugged him very tight, and sometimes he rolled over on him, and sometimes he pushed him so far under the pillow that the Rabbit could scarcely breathe. But very soon he grew to like it, for the Boy used to talk to him, and made nice tunnels for him under the bedclothes that he said were like the burrows the real rabbits lived in.

And so time went on, and the little Rabbit was very happy—so happy that he never noticed how his beautiful velveteen fur was getting shabbier and shabbier, and his tail coming unsewn, and all the pink rubbed off his nose where the Boy had kissed him.

Spring came, and they had long days in the garden, for wherever the Boy went the Rabbit went too. once, when the Boy was called away suddenly to go out to tea, the Rabbit was left out on the lawn until long after dusk, and Nana had to come and look for him because the Boy couldn't go to sleep unless he was there. He was wet through with the dew, and Nana grumbled as she rubbed him off with a corner of her apron.

" You must have your old Bunny! " she said. " Fancy all that fuss for a toy!”

The Boy sat up in bed and stretched out his hands.

" Give me my Bunny!" he said. " You mustn't say that. He isn't a toy. He's REAL!”

When the little Rabbit heard that he was happy, for he knew that what the Skin Horse had said was true at last. The nursery magic had happened to him, and he was a toy no longer. He was Real. The Boy himself had said it.

When someone really loves you then you become Real

Can I take this opportunity to thank you all for the love that you have shown me since I came to All Saints. Most of my hair was rubbed off long before I came here and I am hoping that my eyes don't fall out or that I get too shabby, but I am very grateful for what everyone here has done since I joined you back in July to make me feel real.

Christian love surely is about making people feel real and I think that's what we need to do here in Bishop's Stortford. It doesn't have to be necessarily huge things. Perhaps just a pleasant word or a smile to the staff at the checkout at Waitrose or Sainsbury's or being polite (and this is a hard one for me) to that person usually called john or Sharon who is clearly ringing you from Bombay to sell you double glazing or a new phone is all that is needed. Or it could be resisting the urge to tell someone perhaps a grumpy boss who is abrupt or rude to us where to get off, we don’t know what they are going through in their lives and being rude back will definitely not help them. I don’t think it is that difficult it just takes a little thoughtfulness.

Jesus wants us to change the world and I believe in the words of the old Beatles song All You Need Is Love.

Fr Michaels 2^nd Sermon 9^th October 2005 Matthew 22.14-

It may not be obvious, but during my time at theological college I had to attend sermon classes. I remember vividly at one of the first such classes the lecturer saying that we would always struggle when writing and preparing sermons. If that wasn’t the case he said, we would fail. Well if the opposite is true and the more we struggle the better the sermon then all I can say is this will be the best sermon ever. Unfortunately I am sure that is not the case (but I can always go for the sympathy vote). Certainly today’s Gospel is not the easiest to understand so it was quite encouraging to hear those exact words earlier in the week from Fr Kevin.

Well my first reaction to today's Gospel was wow that's bit harsh. To be bound hand and foot and thrown into the outer darkness where there will be grinding and gnashing of teeth for not wearing a wedding robe. After all he wasn't expecting to be at the wedding since the King had sent his servants into the streets to invite him as the original guests had refused to come to the party. (Makes my old schools policy on uniform seem quite lenient.)
In society today it would seem that the importance of dress is less relevant than in the past. The Chancellor of the Exchequer turning up for a black-tie dinner in the City of London in a lounge suit hit the national news a few years ago, but now no one seems to bat an eyelid. One just has to see how people dress for weddings today and compare it to how they would have dressed 20 years ago to see that things have changed. For example a man without a tie on would have seemed unthinkable back then, but now it's commonplace. (Yesterday’s wedding here at All Saints however put the lie to that.) So on the face of it, it looks as if being dressed correctly is irrelevant in today's post-modern society. However if we take a look below the surface I think it is as relevant now as it ever was. Those tie less men at weddings these days may have open collars, but their shirts and suits are unlikely to have been bought from Marks Spencer’s or Burton’s. Designer labels are the order of the day. Designer labels and indeed having the right label is essential I've even heard about children being bullied because they haven't got the right designer label trainers. So let's not kid ourselves that the right dress is not as important today as it ever was. As Christians we need it as St Paul says in his letter to the Romans, put on Christ , clothe ourselves in Christ . What we wear says a great deal about us , and our attitude . If we go back to the guys at the wedding in their designer gear , it's fairly obvious that they are wearing it out of respect for the bride and groom . It's an important occasion and their response is to wear expensive clothes . On the other hand if we see somebody in a school uniform it tells us that they belong to a particular school . Someone dressed in black with a dog collar is either a priest or deacon or on the way to a fancy-dress party . In the same way if we clothe ourselves in Christ it lets people know that we belong to Christ . And clothing ourselves in Christ is about becoming like Christ . Christians have the ultimate designer label Christ himself and you can’t get better than that.

Then there is the other point that the man in the story was bought in from a street and had no chance to get himself properly dressed for the occasion. Again on the surface that seems quite a tough one to explain. Well what we don't hear, but would have been obvious to those to whom Jesus was talking, was that it would have been common practice for the host to supply the necessary Robes for the guests. This puts a completely different slant on it doesn’t it. The man actually refused to wear what he was supposed to even when it was offered to him. And what's more when he was questioned by the King about it he was speechless. He reminds me of the archetypal teenager portrayed by people like Harry Enfield or Katharine Tait. I can just see it, his reaction to being offered the robe to wear........” Whatever”, and when the king spoke to him “am I bothered?”.
It is still however quite a harsh punishment, and to find out what it's all about I think we need to look more closely at the story. The parable relates to the chosen People of God the Jewish people rejecting the invitation to the banquet, in other words rejecting the invitation to be part of the kingdom of heaven. So the invitation is then opened up to everyone. We read that the slaves went out into the streets and gathered all whom they found both good and bad. But what becomes very clear is that it is not enough just to go to the wedding feast, in other words when we learn about Christ and what he has done for us it's no use carrying on as if nothing happened, we must react. It is absolutely essential for Christians that our reaction to the invitation is to change. Our response cannot be and must not be “whatever”, or “am I bothered?”. At the risk of sounding like an old-fashioned hellfire preacher we must repent. What I mean by repentance, it is not about beating our breasts and going about in sackcloth and ashes, it's about turning away from evil and injustice and walking a different path - God's path . And that path leads to a banquet , a feast , something full of joy and hope, a party . Well that is pretty good news isn't it . To hear the kingdom of God is going to be a party , I am quite relieved really , and can think of nothing worse than spending eternity sitting on a cloud playing a harp , mind you with my musical ability that would be pretty awful for the rest of you.

The Church is about amongst other things bringing God's kingdom to earth , bringing the wedding feast to the here-and-now.
It is significant that last week here at All Saints we revisited our commitment to the church . We revisited our response to the invitation to the wedding feast; we adjusted our robes so to speak . We need to regularly reassess our response to what God has done for us. Christ who was and is God lived among us and died for us. Our response to that is to love in return. Not out of fear that we may end up bound hand and foot and thrown in to the darkness (although that is a pretty scary prospect) but because God is so wonderful we can do nothing else. We are all at different stages in our Christian journey and the level of our response is going to be different, but we do need to build our relationship with God through daily prayer, regular bible reading and through committing ourselves to meeting him at the altar regularly at Mass. Our response can also be by getting involved more in the daily life of the Church and sharing in the fellowship that the Church offers. The response needs to extend beyond the Church into the world so we also need to love our neighbours, standing up against injustices and loving God’s creation. We can’t just do all these things just when we feel like it, our commitment to the church is a reflection of our commitment to God, so we can not afford to be like the man at the wedding feast and let our response be “whatever” or “am I bothered?” and I am sure none of us wants to be like that. It is difficult to do that alone and God will support us in whatever we do in his name, and we as the Church should support each other too in our attempts to follow the path to God. That is why I am saddened when I hear people say that you don’t have to go to Church to be a good Christian. Often those saying that, have had bad experiences of the Church or they just don’t see the relevance of worship. That is something we as Christians need to take seriously because it can indicate a failure by us. It is certainly possible to have a relationship with God through our private prayer life and there are some wonderful people in the world doing so much good work for others who never come to Church. There are many from whom we as Christians could learn a great deal. But the parable this morning tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a wedding banquet and it is obvious that a wedding banquet needs more than one person to make it a feast.

Those of you who were at the late night session of the half night of prayer at the beginning of our commitment weekend may remember the following words of St Teresa of Avila that I read which I think are very helpful in helping us to realise what our response should be.

Christ has no body but your body now on earth, no hands but yours, no feet but yours: yours are the eyes through which he is to look with compassion on the world, yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good, and yours are the hands with which he is to bless us now.

So let us pray

Lord Jesus we give you our hands to do your work, we give you our feet

To go your way; we give you our eyes to see as you do, we give you our tongues to speak your words, we give you our minds that you may think in us, we give you our hearts that you may love through us, we give you our whole selves that you may grow in us, so that it is you, Lord Jesus who live and work and pray in us.

AMEN

Fr Michaels 3^rd Sermon 6^th November 2005 All Saints Hockerill

Wise & Foolish virgins

It seems that every time I preach at All Saints the Gospel has some connection to weddings and marriage. I don't know if somebody is trying tell me something ….. maybe it is pure coincidence.

Once again in this morning's Gospel Jesus uses the idea of a wedding to get over his point. This particular Gospel reading relates to the second coming of Christ. The early Christians as we read in some of St Paul's letters were convinced that the second coming was imminent. Obviously we now know that this was not the case. Over 2000 years have passed and the second coming is still awaited. Many have prophesied that it was about to happen. Ignatius wrote in 110 AD "the last days are upon us. Weigh carefully the times. Look for Him who is above all time, eternal and invisible." Hippolytus reckoned in 236AD that Christ would return by 500AD. Even Martin Luther in about 1500 wrote "We have reached the time of the white horse of the Apocalypse. This world will not last any longer . . . than another hundred years." In more recent times the Jehovah's witnesses are often predicting Christ's coming again. Back in about 1916 a number gathered to greet Jesus on his return and when nothing happened it was claimed that he had returned secretly.

But Jesus warned us about this in the previous chapter of St Matthew's Gospel He makes it clear that firstly no one except God the Father knows the time of Christ’s return. And secondly he makes it clear there will be no doubt that he has returned. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather. Immediately after the suffering of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven will be shaken. Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see “the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven” with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. So I think it's a sure thing that were not going to miss it when it happens. The problem is that we can easily be lulled into a false sense of security. Like the bridesmaids we read about in the Gospel, who because the groom was delayed ran out of oil. So when he did return they needed to go off to get more oil and by the time they returned it was too late, they were no longer welcome at the feast . Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

It's easy to think that it won't happen to me after all it is 2005 and things that that just don't happen do they? Or do they? It reminds me a little bit of games of hide and seek we used to play as children. The person who was on would count to a hundred and then shout ‘ready or not I'm coming.’ According to this parable that's exactly what it will be like with Jesus when he comes again . Ready or not I am coming . Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

When I first came to the parish I saw a young man in one of the shops on Snowley Parade wearing a T-shirt which said Jesus is coming. I thought perhaps he was a devout Christian but on closer inspection I read Jesus is coming so look busy . Well amusing as that seems it won't do any good it will be too late . Looking busy will be pointless but I think knowing that is what adds to the humour .
So how do we make sure that we keep oil in our lamps if we look at Psalm 119 verse 105 it says Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

So clearly as Christians our faith in Jesus is the oil in our lamps . But it is essential to keep that faith fresh and alive, otherwise we will be like the foolish bridesmaids.

I wonder if any of you are members of the gym or do regular exercise . I know when I joined a gym many years ago I started out with great intentions . I had visions of having a magnificent toned body and being incredibly fit . Well the six-pack I imagined resembles more of a barrel and I’m nowhere near as fit as I should be . The problem was it was too difficult , it was boring , and it didn't become part of my everyday life . We are told by experts that the best way to keep physically fit is to build exercise into our daily lives . Leave the car at home and walk , use the stairs rather than the left , and do exercise that we enjoy so we won't get bored . Another thing that helps is to do it with some body else . I used to regularly play squash on a Sunday evening with a friend . Even when I did not really feel like it the fact that I would be letting my friend down was an incentive to carry on .

In some ways the same things are true of our spiritual life . If we try to take on too much and be like one of the great spiritual giants such as St Teresa and Ignatius we will probably give up fairly quickly. It's a bit like trying to run a marathon before you can walk to the shops without stopping for breath .
We need to fit spiritual exercises into our everyday life so that it becomes a natural thing to do in some respects a habit. Saying our prayers every day, reading the Bible and , going to Mass on Sundays is the way the Church recommends we grow in our faith . Or to use the analogy of the Gospel story the way to keep the oil in our lamps . Also in the same way that playing sport with a friend can be motivating the community aspect of the Church can have a similar effect . We are not in this alone . It can also be helpful in a similar way that athletes have coaches to have a sort of spiritual coach . Someone to share with how things are going to provide encouragement and help particularly if things get tough . I would certainly recommend that everyone should occasionally at least have a chat with someone about their prayer life . Father Kevin and I are both happy to do this or to recommend someone else to you if you prefer .

The important thing is that we need to stay in shape spiritually if we are to be awake and ready for Christ . One question we perhaps all need to ask ourselves is , if you knew tomorrow you would meet your maker would you do anything differently today ? If the answer that question is yes then don't wait do it today . In the words of the hymn live this day as if it were thy last .

Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Fr Michaels 4th Sermon 4th December, 2005
Advent 2

As last week was the beginning of a new year for the Church the readings we hear on a Sunday have changed. Last year the Gospel readings were taken from St John's Gospel and then after Trinity Sunday from St Matthew's Gospel. Well now as we heard earlier we are looking at St Mark's Gospel. Today I read the first few verses of that Gospel and I wonder if anything struck you as odd.

In the first chapter of his Gospel Matthew takes us through the genealogy of Christ, the family tree and then goes on to tell us about Jesus' birth . St Luke too gives us some background before dealing with the Nativity. Interestingly and perhaps a topic for another Sermon the two accounts of the first Christmas in Matthew and Luke's gospels are different and do contain some contradictions. Perhaps you might like to read them some time and see what I mean. St John's Gospel is sometimes called the theological Gospel and the familiar but mysterious words of the first chapter ‘’ in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.' Leave us in no doubt who Jesus was . That is the whole point of both Matthew and Luke's gospels . All three Gospels were written for different audiences and therefore the truth is told in a way that will engage with them and make sense to them. We are very fortunate to have the Gospel stories told in so many different ways, allowing us to see the different facets of the truth. Scholars think that Mark's Gospel was the first to be written and is actually one of the main sources of both Matthew and Luke's Gospel. They think also that it was written for Christians in Rome and some people even reckon that St Peter had a hand in writing it. The point is that much of what Matthew and Luke wrote in the first chapters of their Gospels is written for people who were fully conversant with the old Testament and had clear expectations of a Messiah. Mark however was writing for Christians who were being persecuted by the Roman authorities for their faith. It's likely that they didn't have time to go into much detail so Mark had to get straight to the point. Verse one states clearly 'The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ the Son Of God .' So those reading the Gospel know immediately who Jesus is . He then backs it up with a quotation from Isaiah just to leave us in no doubt . There seems to be a tremendous sense of urgency in getting the message over and this in fact continues to some extent throughout the Gospel. So after this statement , what happens ? John the Baptist appears. No mention of angels and mangers, shepherds or wise men. Just John the Baptist. so why in the run-up to Christmas does the Church decide to give us a Gospel reading about John the Baptist.
Well in the Church of England, Roman Catholic Church and some other churches , although not all it has to be said, celebrations for Christmas don't actually begin until 24th December . Leading up to Christmas is the period of advent which is a preparation time, for both meeting Christ and the Crib on Christmas morning and an opportunity to get ourselves ready for his second coming something we have heard a lot about in the Gospel readings over the last few weeks. Because of the society we live in Advent has become something it was never meant to be the busiest time of the year for most of us. Traditionally as I said Christmas started on 24th December and people celebrated for a full 12 days. I think it is significant that in many places by January 2nd all Christmas decorations are down and in some places preparations are being made for Easter. I've even seen hot cross buns in the shops on 27th December . Now as Christians living in this sort of society most of us have been sucked in to largely ignoring Advent some denominations ignore it all together. This morning's Gospel shows us that Mark knew well that before Christ comes into our lives we need to encounter John the Baptist. It has to be said that John the Baptist was a bit weird and freaky. We saw how he dressed in camel's hair with a leather belt round his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. Very odd. Mind you having seen what Carol Thatcher and Jillie Golding ate on I'm a celebrity get me out of here this week locusts and wild honey don't seem too bad really . Any way John the Baptist I would think is someone you would not want to bump into in the street. He didn't even fit in 2000 years ago and lived in the wilderness. It is very strange that Mark chooses John to start his Gospel . Or is it ? John was chosen by God to deliver a message. It is amazing how God chooses some strange people to do his work . As I said John was chosen by God to deliver a message, and that message is actually so relevant for Advent, so relevant as we prepare to meet Jesus in the Christmas crib, so relevant as we prepare for Jesus’ second coming, so relevant as we come to meet Jesus in Holy Communion today. And that message is to repent. John is challenging us to confess our sins, trust in God, take our eyes off the things of this world. Repentance means turning. The people thet went to see John had to go out into the wilderness, they had to turn from their comfort, their securities, and their privileges and go into the desert. That is what we're being called to do today, to turn, to repent , to take our eyes off the things of this world . Advent is the time to do this , to take time out of the madness of the pre-Christmas rush time to think about what being a disciple of Christ is all about. Advent is traditionally a time to make our confession. We can do this privately or in the presence of a priest by making a formal confession. Either way do take time out to do it, let us not miss the opportunity that advent gives us . People have said to me in the past confession to a priest is not Church of England . Well actually it is , and has been since the Church was founded thank God for that. Jesus told the Apostles 'if you forgive the sins of any they are forgiven them '. That authority given to the Apostles has been passed on to all priests today . If you've never made your confession then think about doing it this Advent , it isn't for everyone and the Church has no expectation of us to do so . But it is there for everyone. If it is something that you're considering or just want to learn more about then I know Father Kevin would be happy to talk to you . There are also some very good books on the subject. Take it from me it's a wonderful feeling to hear those words the Lord has freed you from your sins . It is so much easier to repent without the burden of sin .
Please don't think I am being a killjoy that's not what I am trying to get over . When Christmas does come we should celebrate , we should party , as hard as we can. Go mad with decorations , (but please this is Bishop’s Stortford so keep them tasteful please) fill our Houses with Christmas trees , holly , whatever , our larders with mince pies and Christmas cake . And lets party spiritually with our fellow Christians at Midnight Mass and on Christmas morning . Because lets not forget we do have something fantastic to celebrate . But a celebration is so much more special if we firstly remember what we are celebrating and secondly if we prepare for it not only by being part of the mad rush that has become Advent but also spiritually by keeping a good Advent a traditional Advent.
I am sure we have all seen posters urging us to put Christ back into Christmas . I think we would all say Amen to that. Well my message this morning is that we should put John the Baptist back into Advent and I hope you will join me in saying Amen to that too.

Sermon for Sunday 5th February 2006

Last time I preached I said that most of the Gospels allocated for the Sundays I had to prepare sermons for seemed to feature weddings. Well this morning we move on to mother in-laws. Simon's mother in-law in fact. There are some other famous mother in-law stories in the Bible Ruth's mother-in-law Naomi for example and other less well known ones. The passage I am about to read tells of one of the lesser known ones and features King Solomon.

Then there came into King Solomon’s presence two women, dragging between them a young man.and they stood before him. "My Lord” said the first one “This young man agreed to marry my daughter," "No! He agreed to marry MY daughter," said the other. And so they argued in the king’s presence, until he called for silence. "Bring me my biggest sword," said Solomon, They brought in a sword and the king gave an order “Cut the young man in half. Each of you shall receive a half." The first lady. said, "Oh Sire, do not spill innocent blood. Let the other woman’s daughter marry him." But the second lady said ‘Let neither of our daughters have him cut him in two” Thereupon the king gave judgement. "This man must marry the second lady’s daughter," he proclaimed. "But she was willing to cut him in two!" exclaimed the king’s court. "Indeed," said King Solomon. "That shows she is the TRUE mother-in-law!" When Israel heard the judgement which the king had given they all stood in awe of him.

Well Simon's mother-in-law is not like that is she? When Jesus comes with his disciples to Simon's home he learns that Simon's mother in-law has a fever. When Jesus was told about her he took her by the hand and lifted her up. The fever left her. Her response to this is something we Christians should take to heart. She began to serve them. I think they would have been quite understandable if she had just wanted to rest, but no, her response to what Jesus had done was to serve. What is our response to what Jesus does for us? We have an example in Simon's mother-in-law of what our response to Jesus should be….. to serve him. We can't afford to carry on as if nothing happened, we must respond, we must follow Simon's mother-in-law's example, we must serve him.
Jesus had a really busy time that day. He returned from his work at the synagogue and then he was at it again firstly healing Simon's mother-in-law as we just heard. Then as soon as the sun had set we then hear that the whole city gathered around his door. If it had not been the Sabbath he would have been even busier. They wouldn’t have waited until sunset. So the instant the Sabbath ends people are clambering to get to Jesus for cures and to have demons cast out. The following day was just as busy. He went to neighbouring towns to proclaim the message, the message that God loved them. But he didn’t stop there, he went on. In fact we are told he went through the whole of Galilee proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons. A non-stop whirlwind of preaching healing and casting out demons. (Sounds like a day in the life of a curate). But there is one very very important part of the Gospel that I read this morning that I have missed out. In the morning while it was still very dark he got up and went out to a deserted place, and there he prayed.
Jesus took time out; he took time out of his busy schedule to pray.
Most of us lead it very very busy lives. That is what is expected of us in this postmodern world. We often drive ourselves day in and day out, often not stopping for meals. After all ‘lunch is for wimps.’ And we feel guilty if we are not doing something. I don't know about you but unless I am rushing around doing things I do not feel as if I'm working. Well Jesus supplies us with a model. He too was very busy as we have heard and the stuff he was doing was top priority but he took time out …….to go to a deserted place and pray. It is vital I think in our busy lives to follow the model that Jesus's has given us. If we don’t we will burn out. We will have to give up altogether we will be pretty useless. I heard recently of a priest who was confronted by parishioner one Sunday morning who was really quite stroppy. I phoned yesterday and you were not available she said to him. The priest explained that it was his day off on a Saturday. Day off said the woman; the devil doesn't have a day off. That's right said the priest and if I didn't take time out, I' would be just like him.

We all need to take time off and God provides another model for us in the creation story when he rests on the 7th day. This is later enshrined in the law as one of the Ten Commandments instructing us to keep the Sabbath.
A story which illustrates well the affects of overworking is the one about a chap who was looking for work as a lumberjack. He approached the foreman of a logging crew and asked for a job. “That depends,” replied the foreman. “Let’s see you fell this tree.” The young man stepped forward and skilfully felled a great tree. Impressed, the foreman said, “Start Monday.”

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday rolled by, and by Thursday afternoon the foreman approached the young man and said, “You can pick up your pay packet on the way out today.”

Startled the young man replied, “I thought you paid on Friday.” “Normally we do,” answered the foreman, “but we’re letting you go today because you have fallen behind. Our daily felling charts show that you dropped from first place on Monday to last on Wednesday.”

“But I’m a hard worker,” the young man objected. “ I arrive first, leave last, and have even worked through my coffee breaks!”

The foreman, sensing the boy’s integrity thought for a minute and then asked, “Have you been sharpening you axe?”

The young man replied, “I’ve been working too hard to take the time.”

So we too in our busy lives need to take time off to sharpen our axes. It will mean that our performance will be so much better.
We need to take time out if we are going to encounter God. Time-out in prayer. Time-out to sharpen our spiritual axes.
It's important too that our prayer life doesn't get over busy. For a lot of us prayer is simply a huge list of requests, please God make Aunt Nellie well, help me with my exams, give me more confidence, let there be peace on earth, make me good and so on. And it is quite right that we should make requests of God but prayer is about more than that it is about building a relationship with God. It is necessary therefore sometimes to just be in God's presence. To be silent, to listen. I am sure we all know the story of Elijah in the Book of Kings. Elijah is told to go on to the mountain for the Lord is about to pass by. There's a great wind, which tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper a still small voice.
Mother Teresa wrote ’ God is rarely found in the midst of noise and restlessness: instead he is the friend of silence.’

Presenting God with a wish list is something I learnt to do at a very young age. And as I said earlier God wants us to do that some of the time. In our relationships with our earthly parents we develop. It would be very odd if a 40 year old related to their mother or father the same way as they did when they were 4 or 5. I know we sometimes regress and sometimes parents encourage this. I know my Mum still treats me sometimes as if I was about that age. But in the main the relationship has moved on and that is what should happen with our relationship with God. It needs to develop and mature and that can only be done by being with God in quiet and silence some of the time.

The message this morning is to take time off, take time out for yourself take time out for your friends, take time out for your family and most importantly take time out for God. Forget the expression don't just sit there do something and replace it with don't just do something sit there. It is good for the soul, it is good for the mind, its good for our relationships with each other and it is good for our relationship with God. I am sure if we try it we will find ourselves amazed by how much happier and contented we become and how much our faith will grow.

Let us pray, Father Breathe through the heats of our desire, Thy coolness and thy balm. Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire; Speak through the earthquake, wind and fire. O still small voice of calm.

Amen

Sermon 5^th March 2006 First Sunday in Lent

We first encountered John the Baptist on the first Sunday in Advent. Well today is the first Sunday in Lent and we again find ourselves meeting John the Baptist. This time he's living up to his name and he is baptizing Jesus. Mark as I explained on Advent Sunday wrote his gospel with a sense of urgency. Probably for Christians in Rome. Christians who were persecuted and killed for their faith. This urgency is obvious both in the language used, immediately is a word we hear a lot of in his Gospel, it is also seen in the brevity of his account. Often what is not said is as powerful as what is said. It certainly allows us to ask questions and in this account of the baptism of Christ we are left to ask the question why did Jesus need to be baptised. In Matthew's account, John is the one who says that Jesus should be baptising him. But this is part of Jesus's final preparation to begin his ministry. He needs to identify with sinful humanity, so he is baptised by John. Then we hear that the heavens open and the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of a dove and God's voice was heard from heaven declaring that this was his beloved Son in whom he was well pleased. Jesus then went immediately into the wilderness, again to help identify with humanity, and those words were ringing in his ears ‘You are my beloved son in whom I am well pleased’

In the wilderness there was little reassurance of God's love. The same can be true for us. We have periods of wilderness, of silence and despair when we don't feel God is there. Jesus didn't hear repeated confirmation of his father's love for him in fact there are only two occasions when those words were spoken. We see the first today and last week when we heard the account of the transfiguration and we heard of the other occasion. But Jesus held on to the fact that God loved him and resisted temptation.

Mark doesn't explain what those temptations that Jesus faced are, he simply tells us that Jesus was tempted by Satan and he was with the wild beasts and the angels.
It's not very fashionable these days to think of the Devil as a being. The old pictures of a horned man usually a bit red with a spiky tail are a bit too Hollywood for us to take them seriously. Other images are to say the least very non-PC. But whether or not you believe the Devil is a fallen angel, or a metaphor for evil is not important. What is important is that we realise that there is a huge amount of evil about in our world.

The Devil once came dejected before God and wailed, "Almighty God -- I want you to know that I am bored -- bored to tears! I go around doing nothing all day long. There isn’t a stitch of work for me to do!"
"I can’t understand you," replied God. Surely there is plenty of work to be done. Isn’t your job to lead people into sin?"
"Lead people into sin!" muttered the Devil contemptuously. "Why Lord, even before I can get a chance to say a blessed word to anyone they have already gone and sinned."

Those of us familiar with the office of Compline will know the verse from the first letter of Peter

‘Beloved be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the Devil is as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith.’
A modern translation may not have the beauty and elegance of those words but it may help us to understand just how to deal with this evil.
’ Keep alert -like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around looking for someone to devour. Resist him steadfast in your faith.
I remember some years ago I went through quite a difficult time in my life. My father had died about a year before and although my faith had been a tremendous help in getting me through the grief, other things had happened and it just felt as if God wasn't there. Well I was fortunate that I had a very wise and holy man as my spiritual director. He was a monk, a member of the Community of the Resurrection at Mirfield. I suggested to him that it was a little pointless coming to see him as I was really very unsure about whether God even existed. He pointed out that this was a wilderness time for me. He told me to carry on doing those things I had been doing, saying my prayers daily reading the Bible going to Mass every Sunday, in other words to be steadfast in my faith. He told me that many of the Saints had experienced exactly the same wilderness times, some for many years and by remaining faithful had come through and once again heard the voice of God saying You are my beloved in whom I am well pleased. Well you don't need me to tell you that I'm no saint, but I did follow his advice. I have to say not

Father Michael's first sermon

When someone really loves you then you become Real

Fr Michaels 2nd Sermon 9th October 2005 Matthew 22.14-

Fr Michaels 3rd Sermon 6th November 2005 All Saints Hockerill

Wise & Foolish virgins

Sermon for Sunday 5th February 2006

Sermon 5th March 2006 First Sunday in Lent

Fr Michaels 2^nd Sermon 9^th October 2005 Matthew 22.14-

Fr Michaels 3^rd Sermon 6^th November 2005 All Saints Hockerill

Sermon 5^th March 2006 First Sunday in Lent