John the Baptist
Luke 1:57-66, 80
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. Her
neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown his great mercy to her,
and they rejoiced with her. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the
child, and they were going to name him Zechariah after his father. But his
mother said, "No; he is to be called John." They said to her,
"None of your relatives has this name." Then they began motioning to
his father to find out what name he wanted to give him. He asked for a writing
tablet and wrote, "His name is John." And all of them were amazed.
Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue freed, and he began to speak,
praising God. Fear came over all their neighbours, and all these things were
talked about throughout the entire hill country of Judea. All who heard them
pondered them and said, "What then will this child become?" For,
indeed, the hand of the Lord was with him. The child grew and became strong in
spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to
Israel.
Once again Luke the storyteller is the only New Testament writer to tell us
anything about the birth of John the Baptist, but his account is supported by
tradition. According to the apocryphal gospels, Zechariah, John the Baptist's
father, was a priest of the course of Abia, the eighth of the twenty-four
courses into which the priests were divided (I Par., xxiv, 7-19), and
Elizabeth, John the Baptist's mother, "was of the daughters of
Aaron".
In his gospel, Luke calls Elizabeth Mary's "cousin", and according to
St. Hippolytus (in Nicephor. II, iii) this was true. Hippolytus said that a
certain Mathan had three daughters: Mary, Soba, and Ann. The eldest two, Mary
and Soba, married at Bethlehem. Mary married a man of Bethlehem and was the
mother of Salome, but Soba married a Levite, a member of the priestly caste, by
whom she had Elizabeth. Ann, the youngest, married Joachim, a Galilean, and
produced Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Thus Salome, Elizabeth, and Mary were first
cousins, and Elizabeth was "of the daughters of Aaron" on her
father's side, but was the cousin of Mary on her mother's side.
But an old Persian version of Luke's gospel uses the translation,
"mother's sister" for the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth. In
other words, Elizabeth was Mary's aunt. Elizabeth eventually married Zechariah
while Mary married Joseph, and according to a tradition which can be traced
back to the time before the Crusades, Elizabeth and Zechariah's home was the
little town of Ain-Karim, five miles south-west of Jerusalem, so a considerable
distance from Nazareth in Galilee where Mary and Joseph settled.
Both Zechariah and Elizabeth were regarded as godly people, yet Elizabeth was
barren. This follows an Old Testament tradition of godly women who had appeared
cursed by God because they were barren, but who eventually produced. Each
produced a son who became famous in the service of the Lord. Thus Sarah
produced Isaac when she was past childbearing age, Manoah's wife (whose name we
never discover) produced Samson when all seemed lost and Hannah produced Samuel
against all the odds. The fact that John the Baptist's mother was also
considered barren, associates John with this well-known Old Testament theme in
which God miraculously keeps his promise of "seed" for the nation by
producing male babies who grow up to become famous leaders of their people.
Like all the husbands of these apparently barren women, Zechariah can't believe
his ears when the angel tells him that Elizabeth will bear a son. Unlike the
others, Zechariah is struck dumb for his insolence in doubting the word of the
angel, but finds his tongue again when he tells the world that the new baby
will not be called after his father or grandfather following the usual
tradition, but will be called "John".
After his birth, we're told only that "the child grew and became strong in
spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to
Israel." Some early writers speculated that John was taken into the desert
by his parents to escape Herod's massacre of all the newborn babies when Jesus
was born, since John would only have been about six months old at the time. But
we have no reason to believe that Elizabeth and Zechariah were in Bethlehem,
and most scholars have discounted this as legend. Another legend adds that
Herod had Zechariah executed between the temple and the altar, because he had
prophesied the coming of the Messiah, but again, this is unlikely to be founded
in fact.
However, there is a considerable body of thought which believes that John might
either have lived the life of an anchorite in the desert, or might have been
trained by and served in the Essene community at Qumran (the site of the Dead
Sea Scrolls). The Essene community were strong at the time of the gospel
events, yet aren't mentioned at all in the New Testament. Some scholars believe
this is because it was such common knowledge that John (and possibly Jesus)
were from the community or associated with it in some way, that nobody thought
to spell it out for the readers of the gospels.
There are some similarities between John's work and the work of the Essenes.
The Essenes were the only other branch of Judaism at the time to practise a
form of baptism, although it was more a ritual washing than was John's baptism.
This feature of his ministry, more than anything else, attracted public
attention to such an extent that John became known as "the Baptist".
The Essenes also spoke of a "Teacher of Righteousness", upon which
John's prophecies about the coming Messiah might be based.
John emerged from the desert and began his ministry around the age of 27,
wearing a leather belt and a tunic of camel hair, living off locusts and wild
honey, and preaching a message of repentance to the people of Jerusalem and
"making the way smooth" for the coming of the Messiah. John was a
fierce and terrifying figure, the last echo of Moses and Elijah, the final
challenge of the fire and thunder of the God of the ancient Jews.
John was well aware that he was a forerunner, not the Messiah, but that his job
was to prepare the people to receive the coming Messiah. He said, "I
indeed baptize you with water; but there shall come one mightier than I, the
latchet of whose shoes I am not worthy to loose: he shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost and with fire." (Luke 3:15-17). He also proclaimed Jesus as the
Messiah on at least one occasion, saying to the disciples, "Behold the
Lamb of God, the one who takes away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I
spoke." (John 1:29-30).
But later, when John was in prison for denouncing Herod's relationship with his
sister-in-law, he seems less certain about Jesus' identity. He sends some of
his remaining disciples to Jesus to ask Jesus, "Are you the one?"
(Luke 7:19-23).
John died in prison when he was decapitated by Herod in response to a whim by
Herod's seductive stepdaughter, Salome (Mark 6:21-28). Even the Jews were
shocked by this summary execution, and when Herod was defeated shortly
afterwards by his father-in-law Aretas, it was commonly attributed to divine
vengeance. (Joseph. loc. cit.) After John's death, his disciples "came,
and took his body, and laid it in a tomb" (Mark 6: 29), "and came and
told Jesus" (Matthew 14:12).
John the Baptist's death is remembered on 29 August, and his burial-place has
been fixed by an old tradition at Sebaste (Samaria), although if John was
executed at Machaerus in the prison there, it's hard to understand why he was
buried quite so far from the Herodian fortress. Perhaps his remains were later
carried to Sebaste. At any rate, by the middle of the fourth century his tomb
was honoured at Sebaste.
John the Baptist had a very contrasting manner and a contrasting ministry to
Jesus, yet the two complemented each other. Close in age and probably cousins,
they may have shared some time of training together in the desert. It says a
great deal for John's humility that he was able to accept that there was one
coming that would be greater than he himself, and that he was able to step back
and allow his younger cousin to take the leading role in ministry.
But perhaps above all John teaches us the importance of those who sow seeds;
those who prepare the way for others to reap the harvest. We are all supremely
valuable in ministry and like John and Jesus must learn to work together, for
without John to prepare the way for him, how would Jesus have succeeded in his
ministry?
Another of the great feats in June is that of the Feast of Saints Peter and
Paul. Here are a few thoughts about these two great men and why we celebrate
their festival on the same day.
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Saints Peter and Paul
Matthew 16:13-19
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said,
"Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah
or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I
am?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the
living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon son of
Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in
heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
Saints Peter and Paul share a feast day because on June 29th around AD 258
under the Valerian persecution, what were believed to be the remains of the two
apostles were both moved temporarily to prevent them from falling into the
hands of the persecutors. Both Peter and Paul are thought to have been martyred
in Rome by the Emperor Nero, on the same day in the year 64. Other traditions
claim that Peter was martyred in the year 64 and Paul three years later, in AD
67. They had both been imprisoned in the famous Mamertine Prison of Rome and
both are said to have foreseen their approaching death, although neither death
is recorded in the pages of the Bible. Saint Peter is traditionally thought to
have been crucified upside down, but Saint Paul, being a Roman citizen, had the
privilege of opting for decapitation by the sword.
The present Church of St Peter on Vatican Hill in Rome is said to have been
built on the site of Peter's burial, replacing earlier churches built on the
same site going back to the time of the Emperor Constantine. Excavations under
the church suggest that this belief is actually older than Constantine.
Peter and Paul were as different as chalk and cheese. Peter was a married
fisherman, in business with his brother Andrew and with James and John, the
sons of Zebedee. When Peter's confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah was
dragged out of him at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus gave him the nickname of
"rock" and stated that it was upon the rock of Peter's faith that the
Church would be built (today's reading).
Peter was poorly educated, impulsive and often got it wrong when he was with
Jesus. He frequently seemed to speak for the other disciples in denying that
Jesus' coming death would happen (Matthew 16:22), in telling Jesus at the last
supper that Jesus would never wash his feet (John 13:8) but then asking for the
whole of himself to be washed, and in deserting Jesus in his hour of need, then
denying three times that he knew Jesus. (Luke 22:61).
Paul was just the opposite. He remained single throughout his life and was a
well educated Pharisee and a Roman citizen. From the time of his dramatic
conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul never looked back or flinched in his
service to the Lord, no matter how trying his circumstances. Paul travelled
around most of what was then the Roman Empire establishing Christian
communities, and his many letters to those Christian communities form the bulk
of the writings of the New Testament and the earliest writings after the death
of Jesus.
Both Peter and Paul took the Church to the Gentiles. Peter had a dream at Joppa
in which he was told by God to eat food which he had always considered
"unclean", according to strict Jewish practices. This persuaded him
that Gentiles should be admitted to the Church, although we're not told of any
missionary journeys which he undertook and his name seems to be associated
mainly with Antioch and Rome.
It was Paul who really spread the gospel, by undertaking three missionary
journeys and founding innumerable churches in the places he visited. Before his
missionary journeys began, Paul went to Jerusalem taking with him a collection
from the Gentile Churches as a gesture of solidarity and to help out with the
terrible famine conditions in Jerusalem. Along with the other elders in
Jerusalem, Peter accepted the gift, and the two men discussed together the
mission to the Gentiles.
Peter was the acknowledged head of the Church in Jerusalem, but despite this
fact he and Paul didn't always hit it off. On one occasion Paul publicly
denounced Peter for kowtowing to the Jewish Christians and refusing to eat with
Gentiles, despite his dream. And when the big split came over the issue of
circumcision, Peter and James were on one side of the divide while Paul was on
the other (Acts 15). However, in true Christian fashion they were able to patch
up their differences and Paul carried the day, thus truly opening up the Church
to become a world-wide institution.
It's encouraging to know that even in the very earliest days of the Church,
things didn't always run smoothly. If the leader of the Church in Jerusalem and
the leader of the Gentile Church could disagree so violently such a relatively
short time after Jesus died, our own disagreements don't sound quite so bad.
Perhaps the fact to remember is that they sorted out their differences.
Perhaps it's significant that we in the Church of England often have
ordinations at Petertide, for Peter and Paul show us that priests can come from
entirely different walks of life and can approach the gospel in entirely
different ways. They show us too that we won't always agree, but that the way
to sort out our differences is to face them openly.
Today both Peter and Paul are recognised as the earliest leaders of the
Christian Church and it seems entirely fitting that both Peter and Paul should
share this day together.
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St. Thomas
John 20:24-29
But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when
Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and
put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not
believe." A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas
was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them
and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your
finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not
doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!"
Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed
are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe."
Thomas the twin (Didymus) was probably a Galilean, but is best known because of
his sceptical nature. When Jesus "set his face towards Jerusalem",
Thomas commented to the other disciples, "Let us also go, that we may die
with him!" (John 11:16). Just before the Last Supper when Jesus warned his
disciples about his coming death and said, "You know the way to the place
where I am going," Thomas' response was, "Lord, we do not know where
you are going. How can we know the way?" (John 14:4-5). But perhaps his
best known response and the one which led to him being known as "Doubting
Thomas", was his disbelief when the other disciples told him that they had
seen Jesus alive again after his crucifixion. Thomas said, "Except I shall
see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of
the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John
20:25). But his scepticism didn't prevent Jesus from appearing to Thomas or
using him in God's service, for just a week later Thomas met with the risen
Christ for himself, and was at last able to say, "My Lord and my
God!" (John 20:28).
This is all that is contained in the Bible and all we know for sure about
Thomas, but there is quite a lot of apocryphal literature which bears his name
and which may contain some truth amongst all the obvious fiction.
The "Gospel of Thomas" originally Gnostic, is merely a fantasy about
the childhood of Jesus, and contains weird and wonderful stories as well as
some which are less than pleasant to modern ears. There is also a
"Revelatio Thomae", which has recently been recovered from various
sources in a fragmentary condition, but which was condemned as apocryphal in
the Papal Decree of Pope Gelasius.
The most well know piece of apocalyptic literature is the "Acta
Thomae", which is almost certainly Gnostic in origin. It's dated to the
beginning of the third century, before AD 220, and is thought to have been
written at Edessa (in Mesopotamia), where Thomas' relics are known to have been
venerated.
The legend which puts Thomas (eventually) in Edessa, says that when the
Apostles were finally dispersed around the world on different missions, Thomas
drew the lot to go to India. But being typically Thomas, he refused to go. So
Jesus appeared in a vision to Abban, the envoy of Gundafor, an Indian king, and
sold Thomas to him to be his slave and to serve Gundafor as a carpenter. After
that Abban and Thomas sailed away until they came to Andrapolis, where they
landed and attended the marriage feast of the ruler's daughter. Here, various
odd things then happened, not the least being that Christ, under the appearance
of Thomas, exhorted the bride to remain a virgin!
Upon coming to India, Thomas undertook to build a palace for Gundafor, but
spent the money entrusted to him on the poor, telling the King on his return
that the king could see his palace after his death. Gundafor immediately (and
not surprisingly) threw Thomas into gaol, instructing that he be flayed alive,
but Thomas miraculously escaped, whereupon Gundafor was converted.
A slightly different version of the legend claims that the King's brother died
and saw in heaven the palace that Thomas had built for Gundafor. The King's
brother was allowed to return to the earth and buy it for himself. However, a
chastened Gundafor refused to sell and instead set Thomas free and was baptised
by him, along with his brother and many of his people.
Thomas then began to move about the country preaching, and needless to say, met
with many strange adventures from dragons and wild asses and the like. Then he
came to the city of King Misdai, where around the year AD 72, he converted
Tertia the wife of Misdai and Vazan, their son. After this atrocity (in the
eyes of the king) Thomas was condemned to death, led out of city to a hill and
pierced through with spears by four soldiers. He was buried in the tomb of the
ancient kings but his remains were afterwards removed to the West.
We don't know the truth of any of this, except to say that from around the
years AD 20 to AD 46 there actually was a king Guduphara reigning over that
part of Asia south of Himalayas now represented by Afghanistan, Baluchistan,
the Punjab, and Sind, and Thomas has always been known as the patron saint of
India. From very early times there certainly have been Christians in the
Malabar coast area of India, and a group there, known as the St Thomas
Christians, claims that he personally evangelized that area. This tradition
holds that St Thomas was martyred, by spearing, near Madras in AD 72 and was
buried at Mylapore, a suburb of that city. The St Thomas Christians use a form
of Syriac as their liturgical language, but we don't know for certain whether
this Church dates from the time of St. Thomas the Apostle, or from a later
Thomas. The tradition that St. Thomas preached in India was wide spread in both
East and West and is to be found in many early Christian writers (such as
Ambrose, Jerome, and, later Gregory of Tours.)
The reputed relics of St. Thomas were certainly at Edessa in the fourth
century, and there they remained until they were removed to Chios in 1258 and
thence on to Ortona.
The story of Thomas emphasises the importance of encouraging and supporting
Christian seekers - those who are interested in Christ but who may be sceptical
about many of the claims of Christianity. Jesus didn't condemn Thomas for his
doubts, but used them to affirm Thomas and strengthen Thomas' commitment. It's
clear that Thomas remained a sceptic - at least until his time in India - but
the whole continent of India believes that its Christianity came originally
from Thomas. Not a bad record for a sceptic!
If you are unsure about Jesus, welcome! If you are unsure about miracles,
welcome! If you are unsure about God, welcome! Like Jesus and Thomas, we
journey together through life, exploring the mystery of Christianity together,
allowing God to work within us and remembering that his strength is made
perfect in our weakness, as the life of Thomas so clearly shows.
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St. James the Apostle
Matthew 20:20-28
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to him with her sons, and kneeling
before him, she asked a favor of him. And he said to her, "What do you
want?" She said to him, "Declare that these two sons of mine will
sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." But
Jesus answered, "You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to
drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to him, "We are
able." He said to them, "You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit at
my right hand and at my left, this is not mine to grant, but it is for those
for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard it, they
were angry with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said,
"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever
wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be
first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."
James the Apostle, friend and confidant of Jesus, is sometimes known as James
the Greater to distinguish him from that other James, James the Lesser. James
the Lesser was a step-brother or cousin of Jesus. James the Greater, probably
so called because he was bigger in stature than the other James, was brother of
John and son of Zebedee the fisherman. Zebedee was probably comfortably off
with his own fishing business in which his sons worked. Zebedee is thought to
have been married to Salome (Matthew 17:56; Mark 15:40; 16:1), who was the
daughter of a priest and may have been the sister of Mary the mother of Jesus.
Zebedee and Salome and their sons, James and John, probably lived in or
Bethsaida (John 1: 44), perhaps in Capernaum where Peter lived. Although John
was personally known to the high-priest (John 8:16), presumably through his
mother, it's unlikely that James and John received the technical training of
the rabbinical schools. In this sense they were unlearned and without any
official position among the Jews (Acts 4:13). But because of the social rank of
their parents, they must have had some Jewish education and they often came
into contact with Greek life and language, which were already widely spread
along the shores of the Galilean Sea.
If Salome was a sister of the Mary the mother of Jesus, so that James the
Greater and John were first cousins of Jesus, this may explain the call of the
two brothers to follow Jesus. It may also explain Salome's extraordinary
request on behalf of her sons to the first position in Jesus' kingdom. And it
may be the basis of Jesus' recommendation on the cross, of his mother into
John's care, if John was her own nephew. But it has to be said that the
relationship of St. James to Jesus is by no means certain.
Jesus nicknamed James and John "the sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17).
When the Samaritans refused to receive Jesus, James and John said: "Lord,
shall we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them?" (Luke
9: 54) Perhaps their Galilean origin explains to some extent this energy of
temper and the vehemence of character, for the Galilean race was known to be
religious, hardy, industrious, brave, and the strongest defender of the Jewish
nation.
James was present at some of the key events in Jesus's life, such as the
Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-13), the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37)
and the Agony in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37). The fact that the name of James
nearly always occurs before that of his brother seems to imply that James was
the elder of the two. Interestingly, James isn't mentioned at all in John's
Gospel.
The only certain fact recorded of James after the gospels is his martyrdom by
sword at the hands of Herod Agrippa in AD 44 (Acts 12:1-2).
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St. Paul
Much of St. Paul's theology is based on the concept of justification by faith,
or being made right with God because of belief in and following Jesus Christ.
Paul has no time for "the works of the law" (Galatians 2:16, 3:2, 5,
10). By this he seems to mean those aspects of the law, such as circumcision,
observance of special days, and the food laws, which separated Jew from
Gentile. Paul is at pains to make religion inclusive and to break down the
barriers which exclude those who are not Jews.
Paul was a deeply religious person. He was a strict Pharisee and a contemporary
of Jesus, although he never met Jesus in the flesh. He was a Jew of the tribe
of Benjamin, a tribe with a high social standing. He was named Saul and he
studied under Rabbi Gamaliel, a guru of his day. Unlike Jesus who was a
countryman and who therefore uses images from the countryside and farming, Saul
was a city dweller and so the images he tends to use are those of the army, the
race course, the ringside and the market, all of which would be familiar to
urban people. Prior to his conversion Saul was a Rabbi, and like all Rabbis
pursued a manual trade, in his case that of a tent maker. But Saul was also a
Roman citizen, and used his Roman name of "Paul" after his conversion.
It was his deeply felt religious beliefs and his life dedicated to God in the
only way he knew, that caused Paul to persecute the new Jesus movement, a
growing sect of Judaism. As a Jew, Paul knew that anyone who was executed by
crucifixion was under God's curse (Deuteronomy 21:23), so for Paul, Jesus
couldn't possibly be the promised Messiah. Therefore Jesus could only be a
sham, a dangerous blasphemer who was drawing people away from the true path.
But then came the journey to Damascus, when in a very powerful moment literally
out of the blue, Paul "met" Jesus for himself. Paul instantly
recognised the blinding light and the voice which spoke to him as an epiphany,
a meeting with God, and asked God to identify himself. The response, "I am
Jesus, whom you are persecuting," plunged all Paul's preconceived ideas
into utter confusion. His zeal for God had blinded him to God's desires and
designs for the world, and for a few days after his conversion experience, Paul
was indeed blind, reflecting his previous state and probably too, a symptom of
the inner turmoil he was now experiencing.
It's unlikely that Paul himself would see this amazing experience on the road
to Damascus as a conversion. He was much more likely to view it as a calling, a
change in the way in which he viewed and worshipped and responded to God. The
biggest change was the change from the exclusivity of Judaism as the only
people chosen by God, to the inclusiveness which brought Gentiles too into that
special relationship with God, and Paul saw clearly after his Damascus Road
experience that this change was brought about through Jesus Christ.
After his experience, Paul had to revise his understanding of the Jewish law.
Although he continued to live his life according to the spirit of the Torah, he
began to see that applying the strict letter of every minute detail of the law
actually worked against God rather than towards him.
One huge obstacle for him was the fact that Jesus had died on a cross, and
therefore according to the Law, under God's curse. Paul had to revise his ideas
about the cross and he began to see the cross as divinely inspired, rather than
as a divine curse.
The other big problem was the need for circumcision. Circumcision was an
unquestioned fact of life for all Jewish males, for it was the sign and seal of
the covenant between God and his chosen people. Anyone uncircumcised would be
outside that very special covenant relationship and therefore outside the
presence and love and guidance of God. Around ten years after his conversion,
Paul embarked upon three missionary journeys, probably between AD 47 and AD 58.
When Paul wanted to open up the Jesus movement to include Gentiles, it never
occurred to the Jews that Gentiles might not wish to submit to circumcision.
For all Jews, circumcision was essential. There could be no covenant with God
without circumcision.
When Paul insisted that Gentiles should be allowed to embrace the Jesus
movement without submitting to circumcision, he caused massive scandal to
Judaism and the first major rift between the new sect and the old Judaism.
There was a huge row between some of the apostles in Jerusalem led by James the
brother of Jesus, and supported by Peter, even though Peter was in favour of
admitting Gentiles to the ranks.
As Paul works out his theology he realises that the law itself cannot put
people into the right relationship with God (Galatians 2:16). In fact it can do
the opposite, because by convicting people of sin, the law can actually condemn
and imprison them (Romans 7:8-11). Therefore, says Paul, the law was only
intended to be temporary. It was a teacher designed by God to guide his people
until Christ came (Galatians 3:23-25). But Christ came to free people and to
make all people the heirs of God's promise of blessing which was given to
Abraham (Galatians 3:26-29). To insist that Gentiles should be subject to all
aspects of the law was a retrograde step, taking them away from the freedom
given by Christ back into the imprisonment of the law (Galatians 4:1-5:1).
As we all know, thankfully Paul eventually won the day, although the cost was
the split between Christianity and Judaism.
Paul's experience on the road to Damascus was a wonderful, spiritual
experience, but it was also a huge challenge. Paul found he had to reassess
previously unquestioned assumptions, and then stand alone against the might of
the apostles who had actually been with Jesus and who were the acknowledged
leaders of the Church in Jerusalem, God's holy city. Paul's experience also
brought him into conflict with the secular authorities and he suffered horrific
punishments because of his teaching and preaching. His life changed on the
Damascus road, but it didn't become any easier, quite the reverse.
God has continued to challenge his people throughout the ages since, and
continues to challenge us today. Christianity isn't a comfort stop along life's
way, but is a challenge requiring from us in response, more than we have to
give. Paul could never have achieved his great theological insights and could
never have endured his terrible life, without the support and the inspiration
and the strength given to him by God through the Holy Spirit.
Will you take on God's challenge? Are you willing to give up your ease and your
comfort in order to respond to God? Will you, like St Paul, allow Jesus to
enter your life so utterly that you're prepared to risk anything for him? If
you are, like St Paul, you too will experience untold richness and depth of
life and a wonderful relationship with Jesus.
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St George
John 15:18-21
"If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you.
[19] If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because
you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world--therefore the world hates you. [20] Remember the word that I said to
you, 'Servants are not greater than their master.' If they persecuted me, they
will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. [21] But
they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not
know him who sent me.
Some saints were real people, some were angels or archangels. St George was a
real person. He was a nobleman, born into a Christian family in Cappadocia
during the third century. His mother was Palestinian, and when his father died,
George went back to Palestine with his mother. The idea was that George should
run the family estate there. But unfortunately George and his mother were there
during the reign of the infamous Emperor Diocletian (245-313) who was a
notorious persecutor of Christians from about 302.
George was a tribune in the Roman army, and objected volubly to the persecution
of Christians. Needless to say, Diocletian deplored this personal intervention
and George was thrown into prison, tortured, dragged through the streets, and
since he refused to recant despite all this, was later beheaded at Lydda in
Palestine. There are many colourful tales told of miraculous happenings through
George's life and even through his corpse. One legend insisted that milk
instead of blood flowed from George's severed head.
After the execution, the Emperor's wife Alexandria became a Christian because
she was so impressed with George's courage, but her reward for embracing the
Christian faith was to embrace a similar sticky end.
As well as being the Patron Saint of England, George has also long been
venerated as a soldier saint. He was said to have appeared to the Christian
army before the Battle of Antioch, to have appeared to Richard I (the
Lionheart) during his Crusade against the Saracens, and many stories are told
of his bravery and protection in battle. Some of these stories are told in
"The Acts of Saint George", which was written at a very early date
but outlawed by Pope Gelasius in AD 496, but there was another set of Acts held
by the Greeks, and these Acts were thought to be more accurate. It's in these
Acts and the writings of Metaphrastes, that the legends are told.
Apart from his amazing exploits in battle, the golden legend surrounding St
George is that of the slaying of the dragon. It dates from the 14th century and
has a number of variations, but the main legend is as follows:
The dragon lived in a marshy swamp near Silena in Libya and terrorised the
town. Worse, the dragon's swampy breath was causing pestilence amongst the
people. In order to placate the dragon and satisfy its hunger, two sheep were
thrown to it on a daily basis, but in due course the sheep proved to be
insufficient to appease the dragon's voracious appetite. The hierarchy of the
town then decided that human sacrifice must be the order of the day, and
needless to say, pure young virgins were those chosen to be fed to the
rapacious dragon. When the supply of pure young virgins was exhausted, it fell
to the lot of the King's only daughter to be fed to the dragon. Enter St
George, drawing his lance and riding his white charger. As the fair princess
dressed in her bridal gown prepared to accept her fate, St George made the sign
of the cross, rode straight at the dragon and pierced its heart with a single
blow of his lance.
After this astonishing feat, George then converted the admiring locals by a
wonderful sermon, and he further deeply impressed them by giving away to the
poor the large reward he'd earned from the king. Then he rode away.
Some people suggest that the symbols in the legend are representative. The
dragon is said to represent Satan and the Princess to represent the Christian
Church. St George rescued the pagans from evil by vanquishing the dragon and
thus he saved the Church from being devoured by the insatiable forces of
darkness.
St George was greatly admired and venerated from the 10th century onwards, and
in 1222 the Council of Oxford appointed 23rd April as his Feast Day. By the
15th century his feast day was as popular and important as Christmas. He was
always seen as a knight on horseback, and as such he was the inspiration behind
the celebrated Knights of the Garter, who are actually Knights of the Order of
St George.
Like today's gospel reading from John 15, the New Testament has several
passages warning Christians about persecution when they follow Christ. George
is one of the saints who by his own example of chivalry and courage, enabled
Christians to withstand persecution in the early years of Christianity. Like
Jesus, St George stood firm in the face of torture with legendary bravery and
eventually gave his life for his beliefs.
Few Western Christians are called upon to withstand physical persecution today,
but we are called to stand firm in the face of hostility and apathy. Perhaps we
too can follow the example of St George and slay the dragons of hostility and
apathy if we wish to rescue the princess of Christianity in our own day.
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St Mark
Mark 13:5-13
Then Jesus began to say to them, "Beware that no one leads you astray. [6]
Many will come in my name and say, 'I am he!' and they will lead many astray.
[7] When you hear of wars and rumours of wars, do not be alarmed; this must
take place, but the end is still to come. [8] For nation will rise against
nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various
places; there will be famines. This is but the beginning of the birth pangs.
[9] "As for yourselves, beware; for they will hand you over to councils;
and you will be beaten in synagogues; and you will stand before governors and
kings because of me, as a testimony to them. [10] And the good news must first
be proclaimed to all nations. [11] When they bring you to trial and hand you
over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say; but say whatever is
given you at that time, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. [12]
Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child, and children will
rise against parents and have them put to death; [13] and you will be hated by
all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
St Mark may have been the author of the gospel which bears his name, for Papias
in AD 135 described Mark as "Peter's interpreter" and the gospel is
thought to be based on Peter's recollections. But the gospel is more than just
Peter's account of the events of the life and death of Jesus. The author has
put together a number of different traditions both oral and written, to speak
to the people of the day. The gospel is thought to have been written some time
around AD 70, around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem and when Roman
Christians were facing persecution. Most modern scholars believe it to have
been written not by Mark the Evangelist, but by an unknown Hellenistic Jewish
Christian, possibly in Syria.
But even if he wasn't the author of the gospel, we do know a good deal about St
Mark the Evangelist from the pages of the Bible. He's thought to be John Mark,
cousin of Barnabas (Colossians 4:10) and called "my son" by Peter (1
Peter 5:13) although he may actually have been the son of Peter's old friend
Mary, from Jerusalem (Acts 21:12). Whoever his mother was, we know she was a
prominent member of the Christian Church in Jerusalem, for it was to her house
that Peter went on his miraculous release from prison (Acts 12:12-13).
At around this time, Mark joined up with Paul. When Paul and Barnabas had
finished their work in Jerusalem, giving alms to the Church to help out with
the famine in AD 45-46, they took Mark with them on their return to Antioch
(Acts 12:25). Soon after that they set out on what became know as Paul's First
Missionary journey, and they took Mark along to learn the ropes and to help out
in the background. He may have begun some preaching while on this journey (Acts
13:5). But when Paul decided to go on into Asia Minor, Mark gave up and
returned to Jerusalem (Acts 13:13).
It took a long time for Paul to forgive Mark for jumping ship, and he refused
to take Mark with him on his Second Missionary journey. This in turn led to a
split between Paul and Barnabas. Barnabas went his own way, sailing to Cyprus,
and made a point of taking Mark along with him (Acts 15:37-40).
We're not told what happened next for Mark, but we do learn that ten years
later he was again with Paul, this time in Rome when Paul was imprisoned there
in AD 59-61. He may have been there in Peter's company, but by now Paul had
forgiven him for any past sins and recommended the Colossians to receive him
(Colossians 4:10). And Paul sends greetings to Philemon from Mark, whom he
names among his fellow-workers (Philemon 1:24).
Shortly before his death, Paul wrote to Timothy at Ephesus and asked him to
collect Mark and bring him to Rome, adding "for he is profitable to me for
the ministry" (2 Timothy 4:11). Clearly over the years Mark had grown
enormously in stature in Paul's eyes, and Mark was probably in Rome with Paul
when Paul was martyred.
Although he refused to go with Paul in the early days, Mark may have reached
Asia Minor eventually, for the first letter of Peter was addressed to the
churches in Asia Minor and carries a greeting from Mark who was presumably
known to many of the churches there. (I Peter 5:13). He may have gone to Egypt
too, for a later tradition claims St Mark as the founder of the Church of
Alexandria, although it's uncertain when he reached Alexandria.
Interestingly, it's thought that Mark might have lost a finger joint at some
point in his travels, for early in the third century Hippolytus referred to
Mark as "stump-fingered". Some have suggested that after Mark
embraced Christianity, he cut off his thumb to unfit himself for the Jewish
priesthood, but others claim that his fingers were naturally short and stumpy.
The date of Mark's death is uncertain. St. Jerome says it was in the eighth
year of Nero (62-63) but if he was alive when the second letter of Timothy was
written (2 Timothy 4:11), that can't be correct. Neither do we know with any
certainty how Mark died, although the "Acts" of Mark and the
"Paschal Chronicle" say that he died while being dragged through the
streets of Alexandria. But since this information comes from as late as the
fourth century, it may not be entirely accurate. Some say that St Mark's body
was then removed from Alexandria to Venice, where it remained, giving a high
profile to St Mark in Venice ever since.
In Christian literature and art, St. Mark is symbolically represented by a
lion, but this might be a surprising symbol given his earlier history. It's
comforting to know that even saints were fearful at times, and that Mark turned
away from the rigours and deprivations of following Christ. There were even
rumours for quite some time that he turned his back on Jesus, and was one of
those who gave up after the feeding of the five thousand (John 6:66). Be that
as it may, Mark certainly returned to Christianity, and became one of our
greatest saints, working for the rest of his life in the service of the Kingdom.
He was loved by God even when he gave up, and was forgiven by God for all his
faults. God's strength was made perfect in Mark's weakness, and Mark achieved
the sort of success in spreading the gospel, which few would have dreamed
possible.
We can all take heart from Mark. He may have been the young man who ran away
naked when Jesus was snatched in the garden (Mark 14:51-52), for running away
seemed to be a pattern in his life for some time. But Jesus can change negative
patterns and replace them with positive patterns, as he did with Mark. Jesus
continues to do the same today. He can transform us into the people we might
be, if only - like St Mark - we let him.
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The Blessed Virgin Mary
Luke 6:6-11
On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man
there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him
to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an
accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to
the man who had the withered hand, "Come and stand here." He got up
and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do
good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?" After
looking around at all of them, he said to him, "Stretch out your
hand." He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with
fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.
Many people visit our churches, to research their ancestors. And for every one
that visits, there are two or three more who ring up or write, asking for
details of the parish registers.
Our Parish registers go back to the early 17th century, and you can even see
some tombstones that old in the churchyard, although tombstones only really
became popular in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
I don't have any ancestors in this area, but some of you who were born and bred
in the village may have ancestors going right back to the beginning of parish
records, and actually, even longer if you did but know it. There's something
quite special about continuing in a long line of ancestors. You're part of the
history of your family, and many of you are also part of the history of this
church, through your family and through the Parish registers.
Why is that sort of history so important? Partly because society as a whole has
suddenly got much more interested in finding out their own family histories,
and partly because it gives us an anchor. We discover we're not alone, but that
all those generations of our own family have trod this particular piece of
earth before us, and it's fascinating to discover where we belong and where
we've come from.
If you were to start reading Matthew's gospel, you would discover that
Matthew's gospel begins with what sounds like a long and incredibly boring list
of names, but it's actually much more than that. It's a list of Jesus'
ancestors supposedly going right back to Abraham, the founder of the Jewish
race. It presents the coming of Jesus as the climax of Israel's history, and
the events of his conception, birth, and early childhood as the fulfilment of
Old Testament prophecy.
The genealogy is probably traditional material that Matthew edited. In its
first two sections (Matthew 1:2-11) it was drawn from the Old Testament books
Ruth 4:18-22; and 1Chronicles 1-3. But except for Jechoniah, Shealtiel, and
Zerubbabel, none of the names in the third section (Matthew 1:12-16) is found
in any Old Testament genealogy. We don't know where Matthew found those names.
One of the problems in researching the ancestors is that you might find out
something you'd rather not know, like someone hanged at Tyburn or exported to
Australia on the prison ship or burned as a witch. Jesus was no exception to
this, for his genealogy in Matthew's gospel reveals quite a chequered history.
The women Tamar (Matthew 1:3), Rahab, Ruth (Matthew 1:5), and Bathsheba,
(Matthew 1:6), all bore their sons through strange and irregular unions.
Tamar was raped by her brother, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth seduced a distant
cousin of her mother-in-law and Bathsheba bore her son Solomon as the result of
adultery with King David. None of those events are glossed over in the Bible,
they're all down in its history and they're all part of Jesus' own family
history.
Interestingly, Jesus was related to all these ancestors not through Mary his
mother, but through Joseph, his father. No records were kept of ancestors in
the female line, for females were utterly unimportant.
How refreshing it is then, to have one female who stood out from the crowd and
who has been venerated and admired for 2000 years.
What was she like, this young woman who we celebrate today, for whom many
churches are named, and who became the mother of God himself? In some parts of
the Christian church she's known as Mary Theotokos Mary Godbearer.
Imagine this girl, probably a young adolescent of fourteen or fifteen, being
visited by the Angel Gabriel to tell her that not only would she bear a child,
but that that child would be the Messiah, the Saviour of the whole world.
Naturally Mary was terrified, and objected to the angel's words, "Oh no!
Not me!" As well she might, for it isn't so very long ago in this country
that to bear a child out of wedlock was considered the most appalling disgrace
that could fall upon a family.
Joseph, the man who had been chosen by her parents as a suitable husband for
Mary, was so shocked by the news that she was carrying a child who wasn't his,
that he wanted to end the marriage contract there and then.
He could have been much more vicious, and demanded that a girl apparently
carrying the evidence of adultery in her body should be executed by stoning, as
the Law allowed. It's a measure of Joseph's own stature and humanity that he
simply wanted to quietly ditch the arranged marriage. In the end, of course, he
too was visited by an angel, and he stood by Mary.
But what of Mary herself, this young girl probably still in her teens, whose
dreams of a happy marriage and a stable home must surely have been shattered by
the angel's terrifying news? Not only was she to be disgraced before the whole
community, but she was told she had the responsibility of raising God himself,
God in a human being.
It's tempting to think that once she said "yes" to the angel,
everything was all right. But that's not actually the case. There are hints in
the Gospels that Jesus was regarded by many as illegitimate (eg. Mark 3:31-35,
Luke 11:27-28, Luke 12:51-53 and see the Gospel according to Jesus by Stephen
Mitchell), and there was a well-known rumour circulating for many years after
his death, that his real father was a Roman officer.
At that early stage of the angel's visit, it was predictable that life would
never be easy for Mary. Yet after only a very brief and half-hearted protest,
she not only acceded to the angel's wishes, but burst into a song of praise for
God. That song of praise is the Magnificat, and our last hymn this morning is a
lovely version of it.
We don't know much about the childhood of Jesus, and so those years are lost to
us from Mary's life too. We do know she had some difficulties with her son
after he'd begun his ministry, for on one occasion she rounded up his brothers
and went in search of him to bring him home, for she thought he'd gone
completely mad (Matthew 12:48, Mark 3:33). This was at the time when he was
beginning to wind up the authorities by his words and his actions.
But that was nothing compared with what was to come. The death of a child seems
like the worst thing any mother ever has to endure. But the execution of a
child in a most brutal and shaming way is infinitely worse.
I wonder what it feels like to learn your son is to be executed as a criminal?
Yet Mary had the courage to stand there at the foot of the cross as her son
hung from it. She had the courage to be there for her son when he needed her
support, no matter what the cost to her. Somehow she found the strength to
stick it out, to be alongside him in his hour of greatest need.
And for me, this is the lasting impression of Mary. Someone warm and loving and
gentle, as in all those pictures of the Virgin and child, but someone who was
no pushover. Someone who had a tough life, but who handled it well and who was
very resilient. Someone with enormous courage and strength of will. And perhaps
above all, someone who was very close to God. So close, that she didn't moan
about the awful way life had treated her, but simply got on with it, clinging
to God and praising him even during the bad times.
Perhaps that's something we can take home from this magnificent church of St
Mary the Virgin. A picture not so much of an innocent and inexperienced virgin,
which incidentally is translated from the Old Testament Hebrew word
"almah" as lass or damsel or maiden, and which is translated from the
New Testament Greek word of "parthenos" as maiden or unmarried
daughter. So a picture not so much of a virgin, but more of a woman with
enormous emotional strength, with tremendous unconditional love, and with a
demanding and challenging closeness to God.
Our family history may not be quite the same as Mary's family history, but we
can all take inspiration from this amazing woman. She had no advantages in
life, yet she came out on top. She was given an impossible task bringing
up the Messiah and she managed it. She knew unimaginable suffering and
she handled it. We may not be quite like Mary, but we too can be the best that
we can be, and we too can be as close to God as she was if we dare!
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St Bartholomew
Luke 22:24-30
A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as
the greatest. But he said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over
them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with
you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the
leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or
the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one
who serves. "You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer
on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat
and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the
twelve tribes of Israel.
Bartholomew is mentioned only in the lists of the twelve apostles (Matthew
10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:14), and in the list of apostles in Acts (1:13). The
name "Bartholomew" means "son of Talmai" (or Tholmai) which
was an ancient Hebrew name. We do therefore know that Bartholomew was of Hebrew
descent; it may have been his genuine proper name or simply added to
distinguish him as the son of Talmai. Other than the lists of apostles,
Bartholomew isn't mentioned again in the New Testament.
Nothing further is known for certain of Bartholomew, but many scholars identify
him with Nathaniel (John 1:45-51; 21:2). This is because Bartholomew is never
mentioned in John's Gospel while Nathaniel is never mentioned in the synoptics.
And Bartholomew's name is coupled with Philip's in the lists of Matthew, Mark
and Luke, and Nathaniel is shown by St. John to be an old friend of Philip, who
brought him to Jesus. Nathaniel/Bartholomew is thought to hail from Galilee,
where Jesus found many of his disciples.
After their experience of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the
disciples drew lots to decided where each of them was to preach the gospel.
Bartholomew and Philip, still together, were allocated Syria and Asia Minor. In
their preaching, they are thought to have separated across the region, and then
to have met up together again. They suffered the usual bad treatment and
hostility, and eventually met up with John, going with him to Phrygia.
Needless to say, they performed many miracles, especially miracles of healing,
and at Hierapolis were so feared and hated that they are both said to have been
crucified upside down. Their execution precipitated an earthquake which so
terrified the people that they rushed to take them down from their crosses.
Philip died from this treatment, but Bartholomew was executed slightly later
than Philip, so was on the cross for a shorter time, and miraculously survived.
After this unsettling experience, Bartholomew moved swiftly on to India, where
he's said to have converted the gospel of Matthew into the local language, and
to have converted many people. He's also said to have written a gospel of his
own, but no trace of this remains. There are, however, some very early
Christian writings from that area.
Bartholomew then visited Great Armenia (the country between the River Kura and
the upper stretches of the Rivers Tigris and Euphrates), where he not only
performed many miracles but also healed the daughter of the emperor Polimios
from the demons afflicting her. The emperor gratefully sent gifts to
Bartholomew, but Bartholomew refused to accept them, saying that all he wanted
was the salvation of souls. Lots of people, including the emperor and his
daughter, were so impressed by this magnanimity (and the miraculous healing)
that they were then baptised. But the local pagan priests were not amused, and
through the intrigues and malevolence of the pagan priests, Bartholomew was
seized by the emperor's brother Astiag, in the city of Al'ban (now the city of
Baku), and again crucified upside down. Although tradition claims that even
from the cross he didn't stop preaching. Finally, on orders from Astiag, they
flayed the skin from Bartholomew and cut off his head. Believers placed his
remains in a pewter coffin and buried him. Hence the somewhat gruesome emblem
for St. Bartholomew of three flaying knives on a red background.
By the tenth century, part of Bartholomew's relics had been transferred to St
Bartholomew-on-the-Tiber Church in Rome by various miraculous means, where they
remain to this day. But rather surprisingly, other parts of Bartholomew are
said to reside in Canterbury Cathedral.
Nathaniel/Bartholomew was known to be a gentle as a dove. Despite his
horrendous and gruesome treatment at the hands of ignorant and hostile crowds,
he never renounced his mission and is remembered with honour and affection,
especially by the people of Armenia, for whom he is their patron saint.
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All Saints.
There are three varieties of saints in the Bible, although many of them were
declared to be saints long after the Bible was put together. Two of the three
varieties are human, the other variety is angelic. Thus all the Archangels are
Saints - Saint Gabriel, Saint Michael, Saint Raphael, and Saint Uriel.
All the apostles (with the exception of Judas Iscariot) are saints, as is St.
Paul, but also, in the early Church all Christians were known as
"saints". In those days you didn't have to die first or even have a
miracle associated with your name, but it was simply used as a nickname for
Christians. Even today we continue to talk about the "communion of
saints" whenever we recite the Creed. And whenever we use that expression
we affirm our belief that all those who have died and gone before us meet with
us in the Eucharist and share our Communion with us.
It seems to me to be something of a shame that this last understanding of the
word "saint" has been replaced by the image of someone who isn't just
an ordinary human being, but someone who is somehow larger than life. When we
talk about "Saints" today we generally mean the Mother Theresas of
this world - people who are so good and so unselfish and so generous and so
loving that they seem to be nearer to the angels than to ordinary human beings.
Few of us will ever get to meet that sort of Saint, but many of us meet
everyday saints every day, even though we may not necessarily recognise them as
saints. They're people who live just around the corner, and they're made of
flesh and blood. They might sometimes be angry or upset, because they're human
beings. But they probably laugh a lot with a good sense of humour, and they
have a heart of gold. You know you could call on them if you were in trouble
and they'd be only too willing to help you out. They're very good friends to
have, because they never let you down and they don't talk about you behind your
back. They're often down-to-earth people with practical skills like gardening
or woodwork or washing or cleaning or cooking, and they use these skills for
the benefit of other people without thinking twice about it. Good churches are
full of them and Jesus described them as "salt" for society.
In fact Jesus spoke about them in a sermon he gave up on a mountain side, a
sermon which was read to us today from Matthew's gospel. Jesus called all those
saints "blessed" or "happy". Listen again to those whom he
specially singled out for mention.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. That is,
those who are without material possessions and whose confidence is in God.
Material possessions don't mean much to them; they're content just as they are
without always wanting or needing more.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. That is, those who
have been through that terrible grief of bereavement and have faced it, and
come through the other side. Through that experience they find themselves
clinging to God. God himself comforts them, and they emerge as stronger people.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. The Kingdom of God won't
come by violence, and violence has never yet solved world problems. There is a
different way, and it's the way of the meek, the way that Jesus showed us when
he told Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane to put away his sword because
violence is no way to grow closer to God.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
filled. These are the ones who can't bear to see injustice and who have the
guts to stand up to it and to make their feelings known, even if it destroys
their popularity. In the end, they gain so much more than they lose.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. These are those who pop
next door to see that their neighbours are OK, even if the folk next door have
proved themselves to be the neighbours from hell. The merciful forget all that
when their neighbour has a need. The merciful don't see the bad things, they
only see the need and they go out of their way to fill that need. The merciful
never throw up their hands in horror and never condemn other human beings.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. It's what comes from the
inside that defiles a person, said Jesus, not that which can be seen on the
outside. The pure in heart are OK on the inside. They're close to God's heart
and they'll see God for themselves.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. The
peacemakers don't add to the gossip that's going around. In fact, they don't
even listen to the gossip. Neither do they nurture hatred or pay people back.
Instead, they give themselves to try to heal situations and relationships and
to bring peace to a community however small.
And finally, blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. You're not cursed but blessed when people
insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you. It's a
terrifying feeling if that happens to you, but if it does happen, rejoice and
be glad, because great is your reward in heaven. It's always been the same, all
down through the ages; the good people have been persecuted. Not always in big
ways although some have given their lives for God's sake, but often in small,
mean, hurtful ways, and most Christians have to suffer that from time to time.
People who are becoming blessed or happy in any of those ways are saints. Or at
least, are well on the way to becoming saints. There are many saints in
churches today. They aren't Archbishops of Canterbury or Mother Theresas,
they're ordinary, everyday folk who live ordinary, everyday lives in ordinary,
everyday ways. But as we can see from Jesus' sermon on the mount, in God's
eyes, the ordinary is extraordinary and the everyday is actually quite rare.
We are members of the Church of All Saints, and today is our Patronal Festival,
when we remember all the saints who have gone before us. You can probably
remember some saints of your own; people who were unremarked and unremarkable,
but people who were special to you. Let us give thanks for all the saints, and
pray that we too might become saints for God.
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St. Valentine
Mark 7:31-37
Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of
Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought to him
a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand
on the man. After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers
into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to
heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, "Ephphatha!" (which means,
"Be opened!"). At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was
loosened and he began to speak plainly. Jesus commanded them not to tell
anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. People
were overwhelmed with amazement. "He has done everything well," they
said. "He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak."
February 14th is a day to take care, for if you don't watch out, Cupid's arrows
may dart your way and fill you with love! That may sound quite a pleasant
prospect, but remember that Cupid is often presented with a blindfold, because
love is blind. In Christian terms this is probably a good thing, since if we're
to love our neighbours and our enemies, we probably need a good bit a
blindness. But it may not be quite so good for those choosing a mate.
February 14th is associated with love because around 1477, when the Feast of St
Valentine is thought to have started, people believed that this was the day
that the birds started mating. This idea may have originated with Chaucer, who
wrote: "Valentine's day, when every fowl doth choose his mate."
Gradually the custom of young men and women writing love letters to their
Valentine started, and other traditions, such as pinning bay leaves to your
pillow on Valentine's Eve so that you will see your future mate that night in
your dreams, have also become associated with this feast. However, as well as
two obscure Valentines commemorated on 14 February, there is a still more
obscure one associated with 2 May, and Chaucer may have had this date in mind.
May is perhaps a more likely month for birds to be building nests!
The feast day of February 14th was also originally the Roman festival of
Lupercalia, the day when traditionally Roman boys drew girls' names in honour
of the sex and fertlity goddess, Februata Juno, so was an appropriate day for
Christian priests to commandeer for Christian purposes.
But why St. Valentine? Who was Valentine and why is he associated with love and
lovers?
Valentine is thought to either have been a priest in Rome, or to have been a
bishop from Ternia. Both Valentines are commemorated on the same day, and are
now largely assumed by scholars to be the same person. At any event, the Roman
Valentine was also a physician, and when he himself was imprisoned for giving
aid to martyrs in prison in the persecution under Claudius II, he apparently
converted the jailer to Christianity by restoring sight to the jailer's
daughter.
Valentine was sent by the emperor to the prefect of Rome, who, on finding all
his promises to make him renounce his faith a waste of time, ordered him to be
beaten and beheaded. But this is where the love interest seems to come in. The
reason Saint Valentine was beheaded, was that he continued to marry young
couples even though Claudius forbade it. Apparently Claudius thought that
married soldiers weren't as effective as single soldiers. Not surprisingly, the
soldiers thought otherwise, and Valentine upheld them. After his martyrdom,
Valentine became associated with the union of lovers under conditions of
duress.
He died around 270 at Rome and was buried on the Flaminian Way. In William of
Malmesbury's time what was known to the ancients as the Flaminian Gate of Rome
and is now the Porta del Popolo, was called the Gate of St. Valentine. The name
seems to have been taken from a small church dedicated to the saint which was
in the immediate neighborhood.
What is it about Christianity which so grips people that they're prepared to
suffer agonising brutality and death rather than renounce their faith? Perhaps
Valentine captured the kernel of the Christian message with his willingness to
marry young couples no matter what the state said. For the Christian God is not
simply a god of love like Cupid or Eros, but is love itself.
Anyone who has known true love, has known God, for it's impossible to genuinely
love without God being part of that process. The romantic love of young lovers
produces intense feelings of passion, but after marriage, if things go as they
should go, those feelings settle into a depth of love which is rarely so
intense, but which grows and deepens and blossoms with each passing year.
When two people love each other in a good marriage, they're so full of love
that it gradually overflows and spreads to other people. First to any family,
then to friends, and eventually becomes a real love and concern for strangers
too. This is what Jesus showed in his time on earth, and today's Gospel reading
when Jesus healed the deaf and dumb man, gives just one example of his great
love and concern for all human beings. Those who give a voice to the voiceless
today, especially under regimes of terror, are following in the footsteps of
Christ himself in the love they show towards their fellow human beings.
In these days of living together, the Christian Church continues to be
insistent on the commitment and contract of marriage because it provides such a
wonderful opportunity to experience and respond to God's huge love for us, love
which was demonstrated by Jesus Christ in his time on this earth, and which
continues in human hearts today.
Real love is rarely smooth. Sometimes it's coupled with anger or hatred or
jealousy or hurt, but if it's genuine love, it will be able to face and
overcome all negative emotions. This is what God offers to all human beings -
the opportunity to work through all negative aspects of self and to explore and
enjoy the depth of happiness that he has waiting for us. The commitment of
marriage means a commitment to work through bad times rather than running away
from them, and that commitment is rewarded by an increasing knowledge of self
and an increasing human love.
So enjoy St Valentine's Day. Enjoy the romance and excitement of young love,
and allow God himself to be part of that love so that it deepens and grows with
the years, and eventually overflows to all other human beings.
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