Casting Stones

Last week @ connecT we reflected on John 8, the woman caught in adultery, and the casting of stones (throwing rocks @ people). This was in the context of a little series looking @ forgiveness. We all do it, sometimes: casting stones, that is. Forgiveness, perhaps, a little less, I would suggest. We are all adept at noticing the sins of others and the justifiable punishment we often feel should accompany them. We are not so good at noticing our own: 'whoever is without sin, cast the first stone'. As we enter into Advent, Tony Kelly has some wise words on this theme: Christ alone is judge. Our responsibility as believers is to pass no final judgment...to us is given the task of proclaiming his Gospel in patience and forgiveness, in giving and receiving, in dialogue among ourselves and with those who do not believe, and in holding the grace we have received as meant for all. (Kelly, T 1996, The Creed by Heart: re-learning the Nicene Creed, HarperCollinsReligious, Blackburn, Victoria, P. 155) Chris

Forgiveness # 1

Last Sunday @ 'connecT' we started to look at the issue of forgiveness: the very heart of the gospel. A significant moment for me was listening to the very wise words of Desmond Tutu: forgiveness of others sets us free (paraphrase). At the same time, we can't command others to forgive. It needs to be done in their own time and in their own way. I know that from my own history. This week we reflect a little on the woman caught in the act of adultery (Jn: 8 1 - 11). Some people find actions in others unforgivable, even if they themselves were not directly involved in the act. Sometimes people, and we are all guilty of this at some time, are quick to pick up stones and throw it at those who do not meet our own moral or ethical standards. Self-righteousness we might call it. So often we want forgiveness for ourselves, but fail to give it to others. We can't see the trees for the forest. Who do we throw stones at, I wonder?

Chris

Hosea - A love story

Last week we wrapped up our look at Hosea. John (not apostle, but connecT member)led us back to the beginning, looking at Hosea - A love story. Sometimes with the prophets, I must admit, I get lost in the oracles. I get caught up with the passionate language. Im not alone in this. So, it was good to be reminded with how it all started: Hosea and Gomer. It reminded me of a text in Revelation: '...you have abandoned the love you had a first. Remember then from what you have fallen and repent...(2: 4-5). So, going forwards by going backwards. This week at connecT we explore a Hosean theme: forgiveness. Chris

Hosea - take words with you.

At connecT we are wrapping our Hosea series. Last week I looked at Hosea  chapter 14.

Words are important things. Without them we would struggle to communicate. Not that we can’t use other means.  We can look, touch, play music, a loving gift, and a picture, we are told, is worth a thousand words, and sometimes, too, words fail us. We can’t say what we really want to say. We are literally stuck for words. Yet, words complete our communication in so many ways.  Lovers long for that magic word to be said – ‘I love you’. Perhaps, this is what Hosea longed for and, perhaps, Gomer needed to hear these words from Hosea. God needed to hear some words from Israel, too. Actions, in this instance, were not quite enough: ‘take words with you and return to the Lord’ (Hosea 14: 2)

 God has words for his troubled people too: ‘I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them (Hosea 14: 4). God provided then, and now, a home coming and a home: ‘they shall again live beneath my shadow’ (Hosea 14: 7).

Good words, rich words, important words: what words have you got to say to God?

Chris

Sermon – St. Jude’s Day - 2012

Text:  Jude 1-3, 17-25

Mission Statement

‘St. Jude’s is a Christ centred community growing in Faith, Hope and Love’

 Values

Inclusive – Welcoming all

Encouraging – Supporting one another

Inspirational – Diverse worship and learning in our faith

Community focussed – Reaching out and serving our neighbours.

The ‘Growing Congregations Committee’ has put together a mission statement, and this morning, on this St. Jude’s Day, I want to reflect theologically on that statement in light of the reading from Jude.

1)     St. Jude’s is a Christ Centred Community...

Let me begin with the first part of the mission statement: St. Jude’s is a Christ Centred Community. Jude begins his epistle with these words: Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James... (Jude 1). At the very beginning of his epistle Jude lets his readers know who he is and who he serves. Our mission statement attempts to do the same. We are St. Jude’s Church and we belong to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is at the very centre of what we do.  I see this working in a number of ways.

Firstly, the central message of the Christian Church is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is our very reason for being: our core business.

Secondly, it reminds us that, whilst there are many things that St. Jude’s Church does, Jesus Christ calls us back to keeping him at the centre of why we do what we do. On any given day I can be Chris centred or family centred, or parish or church centred, or centred on anything but Christ. Normal? Yes, of course, but the mission statement is there to remind you and me that we need to keep coming back to the centre.

Thirdly, St. Jude’s is a parish community made up of variety of people from different backgrounds with different theological and church persuasions. We have Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics, Charismatics and Traditionalists, Conservatives, Liberals, Post-Liberals, and people who are none of these. Christ the centre transcends all differences: theological or otherwise. Centre-Anglicanism has the grace and broadness to hold all these together.  We are an inclusive community that welcomes all!

2)     ... growing in faith, hope and love.

A hallmark of a mature Christian community is growth. It is a community that is comfortable with itself, and comfortable enough to accept others who may differ with it. St. Jude was writing to a Christian community that had been around for a while, yet it needed some encouragement. A church that says it is no need of encouragement is not a growing church, but a proud one.

Jude encourages them to build yourselves up on your most holy faith... (Jude 20). They are to be a growing Church built on the foundations of the faith. The faith once delivered to the Saints, Jude writes (Jude 3). By faith, Jude means the doctrinal core of the Christian message. As an Anglican Church we recite the creed and we are shaped by a liturgy that is profoundly Trinitarian and steeped in the traditions of the Church. We are also a Scriptural church. Our own individual interpretations of Scripture may vary, but scripture forms the foundations of our corporate worship and prayer life. Yet, at the same time, we are to be alive to the Holy Spirit and open to new possibilities. This is brought about by praying in the Holy Spirit (Jude 20). Therefore we are an ‘inspirational church with diverse worship and learning in our faith’.

However, in the Christian Church we also use the word faith in another way. Faith also means to trust: trusting in God who has redeemed us through  the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We trust God with the life of our church, which leads us to hope. Our faith is not a dead faith, but one that looks forward: look forward to the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life (Jude 21). It is too easy to dwell on the successes of the past and be fearful of the uncertainty of the future. Jude encourages his readers to look forward. Our Community focus - reaching out and serving our neighbours is born out of the hope that we have something good to offer. We are not the ‘end users of the Gospel’, as Brian McLaren (2004, P. 117) describes it.

Finally, Jude encourages his readers to have mercy on some who are wavering... We are in this Gospel business together! Sometimes, individually, we are strong in faith and other times we need encouragement and support: to build each other up. I need it and you need it. As a growing mature Christian community we are called to encourage each other and to support one another. At the same time, importantly, we need to make space for those who are not yet Christian or who are exploring the faith. We are to be an open Church, too.
As you can see our mission statement and values are bible based and theologically coherent. It is an inspirational document that can, under prayer and by God’s guidance, serve the parish well. It is short and punchy. We want to be able to write it on our minds and in our hearts. As the theologian Tony Kelly writes about the creed: ‘A blessed brevity and vividness had its place in the proclamation of ‘The Good News’ (Kelly 1996, P. 4). However, we want your thoughts and comments, so I commend this mission statement to your consideration.

Kelly, T 1996, The Creed by Heart, HarperCollinsReligious, Blackburn, Victoria.

McLaren, B.D 2004, A Generous Orthodoxy, Zondervan, Grand Rapids

The way God chases us - Hosea

We had our first connecT looks at Hosea. Great discussion in my group. Is this story for real? Would I chase like Hosea? Would I put up with a Gomer? Hosea's story has always troubled me a bit, I must confess. But then I remember that God has, does, and will continue to chase me and people like me. God's love never gives up! I reminded of the post-communion prayer:

Father of all, we give you thanks and praise that when we were still far off you met us in your Son and brought us home...

God chasing the Gomer in you & me.

Chris

Chapter 2 of Hosea @ connecT this Sunday.

Hosea - A Love Story

Hi all.

I had a break and now I'm back. At connecT this month we are spending some time with Hosea. So, I will be blogging around the weekly talk/discussions/questions and uncertainties surrounding this strange prophet and his even stranger family.

Some words from Eugene Peterson:

(Hosea) ...'is an astonishing story: a prophet commanded to marry a common whore and have children with her. It is an even more astonishing message: God loves us in just this way - goea after us at our worst, keeps after us until he gets us, and makes lovers of men and women who know nothing of real love.'

Intrigued? See you Sunday @ connecT @ 5.30pm.

Chris

Conversation # 6 – Beginning to think about Christian practices

Central to the Anglican way of life is the important place we have for the sacraments. I have already written briefly about Baptism in the first conversation. In this blog I will write about the Eucharist, and some other sacraments that are important to Anglicans. I will use their formal names, so we know what they are if other people refer to them in that way. A sacrament is often called an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace.

The Eucharist

The Eucharist, which means thanksgiving, is known by some other names: the Lord’s Supper, Holy Communion or Mass. In the Eucharist we receive the body and blood of Jesus Christ through the everyday forms of bread and wine. In the Eucharist we commemorate and celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. We repeat what he told us to do: ‘do this in remembrance of me’.  Through the Eucharist we celebrate Jesus’ eternal presence with us, and look forward to the time when we will be with Jesus forever. The Eucharist is a Trinitarian (I wrote about the Trinity 2 weeks ago) act of worship to the Father, through Jesus Christ in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. God the Trinity is present with us whenever we celebrate the Eucharist.

Some people get a little hung up about how the body and blood of Jesus is present. Do the bread and the wine actually change? Is the Eucharist just a form of remembering and nothing more? In the Anglican Church we allow for a number of interpretations, but the ‘official line’ is that ‘we feed on him in our hearts by faith with thanksgiving’, or as the 39 Articles put it: ‘the body of Christ is given, and eaten, in the Supper, only after an heavenly and spiritual manner.’ (Article 28)

Confirmation, Penance, Holy Orders, Matrimony, and Unction

The main sacraments of the church are Baptism and the Eucharist. These have been given to us by Jesus. However, we do have five extra sacraments in the church, which we call ‘commonly called sacraments’. These are not necessarily from Jesus, but have came to be valued in the life of the church.

Confirmation - In confirmation we confirm the promises made at out baptism. Some of us were baptised as infants and so we were not able to speak for ourselves. At confirmation we are given the opportunity to publicly take on for ourselves our Christian commitment. This rite is performed by the bishop who represents the wider church and is our chief Pastor.

Penance – In penance we make our own confession for sin. We normally do this together at the Eucharist, but at other times we can make private confession to a priest. The priest will offer us guidance, prayer and, normally, God’s forgiveness of our sins (absolution). Please speak to me if you wish to make a private confession. The Anglican rule for private confessions is: all can, none must, some should. Please remember that confession is confidential, accept in cases of the abuse of a child where the priest is mandated to report.

Holy Orders – Holy orders are the ministries of deacon, priest and bishop. All Christians are commissioned for ministry. However, holy orders are ministries given to the church for guidance, instruction, pastoral care and leadership.

Matrimony – Christian marriage is given to the Church to bless people who choose to live together in a loving partnership.

Unction - Christians are called to pray, lay hands upon, and anoint with oil those who are sick (James 5: 14 – 15). Unction is the ministry of healing. At St. Jude’s we have a healing service at the 9.30am service on the third Sunday of the month. At this service people are invited to receive the ministry of healing, either for themselves or in the name of another. However, the ministry of healing occurs at other times as well. Please let me know if you desire this ministry of prayer.

Once again, we will explore the above a bit further at our catch up sessions.

Next week I will look at reading the Bible and Christian behaviour.

Chris

Conversation # 5 – Beginning to think about Christian practices - Prayer

This week I want to start thinking about some Christian practices: prayer, sacramental worship, reading the Bible, acts of justice and kindness, and Christian behaviour. It will take me a few weeks to cover these. If you have any questions, as per usual blog or raise them in our catch-up sessions.

Prayer

All relationships need communication for them to be healthy and rewarding. We find that with our own families and friends. We need to communicate with them if they are to understand us and we them. That communication can take a number of forms. It can be deep conversation about something that concerns us, simple requests for something, angry expressions of displeasure or happy conversation where there is much humour and laughter. All these are normal human conversation and communication. They help us to be in a relationship with others.

Prayer to God can be exactly the same. We can talk to God in prayer, just sharing our day with God. We can bring to God our concerns and pray for those we love. We can express our disappointment when things do not quite go right, and, at times, we can express our anger with God about the injustices we experience in the world. Prayer often motivates us to take action about such things as we co-operate with God in God’s mission in the world.

One area that often troubles us is when God seems not to answer our prayer or doesn’t appear to be listening. We can feel that God has abandoned us. That experience is common to most of us. The answer to this is not straight forward, but I tend to think that sometimes God says no to our prayer, just like our parents say no to, what may seem to us at least, a fair request. God knows what is best for the long term and into eternity. At the other times, God may say not yet, but in time our prayer request may be answered. Other times, I have found, that God says yes straight away. Like many things in the Christian faith prayer is something of a mystery and we will not seem totally logical to us. Most important of all, however, is that prayer draws us closer to God and something of God’s heart shared with us. As with all relationships, there are times of great joy and at other times moments of struggle.

What does prayer mean to you?

Has God answered prayer the way you wanted?

Have there been other times when you have felt disappointed that your prayer has not been answered?

Chris

Conversation # 4 – God

This week we come to the heart of the Christian Faith – God. You may be wondering why it has taken me three weeks to deal with the very core belief of the Christian Faith. What I wanted to do, however, was say something first about how we come into contact with the Christian Faith: the Christian life, Baptism and the Church. However, without God none of these things make sense, of course.

So now let me speak a little about God. Many people throughout the world profess belief in God. There are many religions that profess a belief in something ‘other’ and beyond us, and many people, who would not say they are religious, still believe in a God in some form. Christianity shares with Judaism and Islam the belief in one God as revealed to us through the Old Testament of the Bible. Christianity, though, has a unique take on this. We proclaim that this God is Trinity, that is, God is one but also three. There is one God who is in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

To the Father is attributed the ministry of creation. To the Son is attributed the ministry of salvation, and to the Holy Spirit is attributed the ministry of sanctification. This is reflected in the Nicene Creed, which we recite together at our Sunday morning services.

For many people the Trinity just doesn’t make sense. How can three be one? There is always a danger when trying to explain the Trinity that we will either make people more confused, or we will explain it in such a way that makes God into three Gods (tritheism) or one God who appears to us in three ways (modalism). It is best, I think, and inadequate as it is, to say that the Trinity is a mystery that we will never fully understand in a purely logical way. The New Testament Christians experienced God in this three-personed way, and quite wisely, I think, left it unexplained (Matt 2: 19; 1 John 4: 3-14).

As you are thinking about these things, you might like to pay close attention to the words that we use at our Sunday morning services (the greetings, creed, prayers, Eucharistic prayers and blessing). They are all thoroughly Trinitarian. You may also like to look up the ‘Athanasian Creed’, as it is called, and the Catechism. These can be found at the back of the prayer book. At our catch-up time we will spend more time talking about what I have said here.

Some things to think about until then:

Do we need to believe in the Trinity to be Christians?

Do I believe in a God that is one but three?

What questions do I need to ask about the Trinity?

Please feel free to post your thoughts about the Trinity on this ‘blog’

. Chris

Confirmation Conversation # 3 – the Church

Hi all

This week I would like to move the conversation onto the church. It is word we use a lot, obviously, and has associations with many things. Sometimes we think of the church as the building, such as St. Jude’s. When we speak of St. Jude’s we often think of the building that occupies 444 Brighton Road. At other times, we think of the church as a place we go to on Sundays. We say we are going to church, meaning not only the building, but also attending the act of worship that takes place inside it. We also speak of belonging to a church, and by that we mean we belong to a group of people who assemble at St. Jude’s. We also speak of belonging to the local or global church, or the Anglican Church, or one of the other denominations. Church is word that covers a multitude of meanings.

However, the New Testament mainly understands the word church as a ‘people’ (see Matthew 16: 18; Romans 16: 1, 23; Ephesians 5: 25). Occasionally, at St. Jude’s we sing a song that says;

I am the church! You are the church!

We are the church together!

All who follow Jesus all around the world,

Yes, we’re the church together.

The truth of this song, as it goes on to say, is that;

The church is not a building,

The church is not a steeple,
The church is not a resting-place,
The church is a people![1]

When we are baptized we become members of this church of ‘people’, and all of us are full and equal members of it. St. Jude’s church building might one day close - we hope not!!! However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that the church itself will close. St. Jude’s Church could meet in a hall or school gym, because, ultimately, St. Jude’s Church is the people.

How do you understand the word church?

What does being a member of St. Jude’s mean to you?

Do you think the church could meet out of a church building and still be the church?

Chris

---

[1] Richard Avery & Donald March 1972, ‘I am the church’, Hymn # 467 in ,Together in Song, HarperCollinsReligious, Sydney, 1999.

Confirmation Class # 2 – Beginning to think about baptism

Last week I wrote a little about what it means to be a Christian. I didn’t, of course, say everything about being Christian, but gave you all a chance, I hope, to think about what it might mean to you to be a Christian. This week I want to write a little about baptism.

All of you, the ones I know, have been baptised, and some of you only in very recent times: what a great celebration that was. Baptism is sometimes described as the gateway into the Christian church, but, it does, have deeper meanings than that as well.  Baptism is the means by which we are united with Jesus Christ in his death and resurrection, and our sins forgiven.

The last statement about sin is a difficult one for many people. Many people do not like to think as themselves as sinners. Being a sinner sounds like something incredibly negative to them, or, at the least, should describe people who murder or steal and things like that. However, we understand sin to be that which separates us from God. The bible tells a picture story to illustrate this, and it is a story that we all know fairly well (The Book of Genesis chapter 3: first book in the bible).

Adam and Eve were in the garden made by God and they were happy and had everything they needed. Coaxed by the serpent, Eve encourages Adam to taste of the one fruit, forbidden by God, from the tree of life. They ate the fruit and then their eyes were open and they saw who they were and how they differed from God: they fell from perfection. After this they were banished from the perfect garden.

The world we live in is not perfect, and neither are we. We are all capable – and I do mean all, myself included – of doing nasty and spiteful things, treating people badly, gossiping, and other less than perfect things. This is part of our sinful nature with which we are born with. Something we all share in: the Adam and Eve that is in us. Like Adam and Eve we turn away from God and do not believe God or trust God. The Christian message is that we cannot place ourselves back in the Garden of Eden, but God in Jesus restores us to a right relationship with God by forgiving our sins through the death of Jesus. At the end of time we will be back in the garden (a place of perfection), but it will be a new one, so says The Book of Revelation chapters 21 & 22 (the last book in the bible: not a bad book, but a bit hard to understand!)

At our baptism we were asked four questions;

Do you turn to Christ?

Do you repent (meaning turning away from) of your sins?

Do reject selfish living, and all that is false and unjust?

Do renounce Satan and all evil?

We, or our godparents, on our behalf, answered ‘I do’ and then we were baptised (washed) in water to symbolize the ‘cleansing from sin that Jesus’ death makes possible’. Having been cleansed from our sin we become new ‘Adams and Eves’. The catch though, is that we still live in non-perfect world, and so we still sin from time to time. Having been baptised though, all we need do now is ask for forgiveness in prayer, turn away from our sin again, and ask God to strengthen us to do better (but more on that later).

Now, that is quite a bit to think about this week. We will have a chat about all this after the 9.30am service on 13 May. This week, May 6, we will chat about last week’s post, ‘Being a Christian’. Until then, please post a thought or a question.

Chris

On being a Christian - confirmation class # 1

Hi all.

Here begins a blog series for our confirmation candidates, people to be received into the Anglican Church, and general readers. It is incredibly hard to get everyone at the same place, at the same time on the same day for classes. So, I thought we will use the blog and catch up with the whole group a couple of times at church, and other places, over the next few months. There will also be a chance to catch up after the 9.30am service to have a chat about the blog. What I also hope is that some of my regular readers will join in the conversation and share their thoughts and wisdom.

Conversation # 1 What does it mean to be a christian? Over the next few weeks we will explore together issues around church, being a member of the Anglican church, baptism (confirmation), bible, worship, sacraments, and other christian issues as well. Where I want to start today is with what it means to be a christian. For many years we thought being a christian meant belonging, to say, a christian family or going to church occasionally or living in a christian country or being a good person with good habits. However, none of those things are what I think it means to be a christian. Quite simply, a christian is a follower of Jesus. A christian is someone who seeks to take the teachings of Jesus seriously and trys to live in world with a sense of justice, mercy and kindness. We also take, not only the teachings of Jesus seriously, but his life as well. What I mean by that is that we see his death as redeeming (big word: meaning,that by his death - Good Friday - our sins are forgiven: more on that in week or two. We also see his resurrection (rising from the dead - Easter) as bringing new life, hope and the gift of eternal life. As christians we like to celebrate these things with others who value these things as well (the church).

I grew up in a family where my mother was a practicing Anglican Christian. My mother took my sister and me to church regularly. However, it didn't really mean much until I was about 17, and then I became a christian: I took it seriously. Ironically, that was in another church denomination. After a few years I went back to the Anglican church and was confirmed at 21. That was about 28 years ago, and, to be honest, I am still learning about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Being a follower of Jesus does not mean knowing everything about the christian faith, nor is it about being perfect. It is about following Jesus as we are and for who we are. So, as you thinking about confirmation, think about what being a christian means to you. Some questions: How would you describe a christian person? What is important for you about Jesus?

P.S. Leave a comment on the blog or send me an email about what you think. Also, just to remind you,we will be having a chat about these things after the 9.30am service next Sunday.

connecT's big 3

This coming Sunday, 20 February @ 5.30pm,'connecT' celebrates its 3rd birthday, and enters into its 4th year. We are growing up! This Sunday we will hear from 4 members on why they are part of 'connecT', renew our commitment to our faith and to each other, have some cake and champers, and celebrate who we are in God.

Come and join us this Sunday.

Back to business

Christmas come and gone. Holidays come and gone: back to business. This little blog is primarily, but not exclusively, dedicated to tracking the life of 'connecT', our experiment in 'emerging church' life. 'connecT' will have its 3rd birthday this year (more will be said closer to the time). So, there is something to celebrate, I think.

Some people ask what is 'connecT' and what do we do and, more importantly for them, will they like it. 'connecT' started as an experiment trying to draw on insights from the 'emerging church/fresh expressions movement'. We discovered along the way, I think, that we are some of that, but not all of it. However, most 'emerging churches' don't see themselves simply as a franchise any way. We have grown and formed our own identity and have our own way of doing things, which is a sign that we are maturing. So, who are we?

We are congregation of about 30 representing a full range of ages and theological viewpoints.

We are people from a variety of denominational backgrounds. Some would describe themselves as post-denominational, but, obviously, bring some of their denominational experiences and expectations with them. However, we do regard ourselves as a congregation of St. Jude's Anglican Church, Brighton.

We are an inclusive church. Leadership is shared by a team. We try to encourage full participation in our worship. Sermons, if we have them, almost always include a chance for 'round table' discussion. We try hard to foster a safe environment where everybody can share their thoughts.

We try to draw on the whole Christian tradition, so it is not unusual for us to use 'stations' for private meditation or have times of silence and reflection. We use music in variety of ways through singing, reflection and prayer. We like to think we are imaginative and creative, and so, at times, we don't quite get it right, but we are also, importantly, in the light of this, a community of grace and forgiveness.

We celebrate the Eucharist (standing or sitting around the altar) together on the
1st Sunday of the month.

We like to eat together! A meal always follows the worship @ about 6.30pm, and, when we can afford it, we have some wine too.

So, if this sounds like it might be your thing (it won't be for everyone!) come and join us on Sunday evenings @ 5.30pm @ St. Jude's Anglican Church, 444 Brighton Rd, Brighton, South Australia.