Saint Swithun's Blog

It is true that more people will have watched Bruce Almighty or Groundhog Day last night than will be in church this morning to hear a sermon!

And that is absolutely ok, because both of those films talk about what we do with power and, given absolute power, how we need to learn how to use it.  The message is that our tendency is to use our power for our own ends and selfishly – it is a good message.

In the film Bruce Almighty – the one I watched for the nth time – Bruce is given the power of God for one week.  He wants to be a great lover to his girlfriend and so pulls the moon towards him so that it is huge and romantic.  The next day we discover that unusual activity of the moon has caused Tsunamis killing thousands of people.  His saying “yes” to all the prayers he receives results in thousands of people winning the lottery but only $17 each.  This causes social rage and anarchy – leading to lootings and rioting in the previously calm and peaceful town of Buffalo.

There is a happy ending – Bruce has a moment of revelation so powerful that he is hit by a truck – well it is a comedy after all.  In heaven, he tells God that he does not want his girl friend back, he simply and genuinely wants her happiness with a man who is unselfish enough to love her as she deserves. You can guess the rest – resuscitation and happy endings.

In most of our relationships we are selfish and looking out for what we can get – it’s true.

Love has to be learned.  We are not born loving – we are born needy and demanding.  We need to be taught to love and to consider others – not as objects to satisfy our needs but as infinitely precious human beings – equally loved by God.

Do you remember Harry Enfield’s impersonation of Kevin – the transition from a delightful 12 year old with manners and social skills – into a sulky, rude and non-communicative teenager?

We laugh because it is true.  Each one of us can see ourselves in Kevin and every parent can see their child.  I hate you says Kevin, life is so unfair, says Kevin.  Some of us never grow out of it – or at least some of us some of the time revert to the sulky adolescent.  Of course we do.

God, in Bruce Almighty gives Bruce his powers for one week.  He restricts his influence and the prayers he hears to his immediate area but tells him that he cannot interfere with people’s free will.  Bruce’s breaking point is when he learns that he cannot force his girlfriend to love him.  He has to change.  It’s so unfair, why has this happened to me, I hate you.

The image of God as mother is very important.  It is ok to hate God.  It is ok to hate our mothers.  It is part of growing up.  Deane (my son) hates me sometimes and I hated my mother sometimes.  Most of the time we hate our mothers is when we are doing something or want to do something that is likely to harm us or get us into trouble.  I want to go to the all night party at the Strand – you are stupid – if I wanted to get into trouble, I could do it in the daytime.

If we are lucky, our mothers provide a safe framework for us to work out our anger and our boundaries so that we enter adulthood with maturity and confidence.

My mother recently said to me: I know I made mistakes, but at the time I did the best I could with the information available to me and my limited wisdom.  I think all mothers could relate to that!

I the readings this morning we meet examples of motherhood which give us a glimpse of God’s motherhood for us.

Hannah cannot have children.  She prays and prays to the Lord to give her a child.  Her husband tells her he loves her anyway she does not have to give him a son.  But she is desperate.  But what does Hannah do when the Lord grants her a child?  Does she smother it with protective love and try to control its life?

No, as soon as the child is old enough, she gives him back to Eli the priest to work in God’s house.

Not only that but she was handing her son over to someone who did not have a great reputation – to a household that was known for the bad behaviour of the sons.  She was not putting him in a situation that would be easy for him or give him a better upbringing.  She knew in her heart that this child was destined for important things.

Jesus comes to live amongst people as the son of God.  Mary, the teenager, says ‘yes’ to God in order that the Son of Man might be born.

Both men will transform society for those who will listen.  And both of them will suffer in different ways at the hands of those who will not listen.

Samuel is the he last judge of Israel and the father of all prophets.  We learn that he dies and was buried at Ramah and all Israel mourned him 1 Samuel 28.3.  But his heart is broken when the Israelites turn away from God and demand a king like all the other nations around them.  They no longer want to be ruled by Judges – rulers under God, but by Kings.

Twice God speaks to the people – at his baptism and at the transfiguration – this is my Son, listen to him.  Some do and change their lives, some don’t and take his life – treating him, not as a great leader but as a terrorist.

Hannah and Mary, like all mothers, are stewards of their children, laying the foundation of their lives through love and discipline.  They are not God, so they get it wrong sometimes.

Today on Mothering Sunday we honour our mothers in all their brilliance and failings.

When mothers are great, we applaud them and celebrate them.  When they are not so great, we ask God for the compassion and wisdom to reach out to them in love and understanding.  And we remember that we can be difficult too.

If we are parenting now, we ask for the courage and grace to give our children what they need to be the people that God knows they can be.

Have you noticed how small children and animals have a way of knowing when adults are upset?  There is a wonderful passage in the book “Lovely Bones” where the little brother of the sister who has been murdered, goes into his father who is sitting on the floor by her bed – and he puts his arms around his neck to comfort him.  Animals can be similar – a cat will come and sit on your lap if you are unhappy, a dog will give unconditional love.

In Luke’s gospel we read that Mary, Martha’s sister sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to what he was saying. Luke 10.39.

Mary in John’s gospel is quietly anointing and kissing his feet.  There is no mention in the story of noise or performance.  Mary simply goes and gets the expensive ointment she is saving for Jesus’ burial, anoints his feet and wipes them with her hair.  It is the quietness of this event that is so striking.

Jesus is on his way to the Passover feast at Jerusalem.  He goes to Bethany to the friends he has outside Jerusalem. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead – he is on the run – he is a subversive terrorist – the authorities are out to get him:

“ Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. ⁵⁶They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, ‘What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?’ ⁵⁷Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus^* was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.” John 11.55-57

By stopping off in Bethany, it is likely that Jesus is putting his friends in danger.

Mary is sitting at the table with her friend and teacher.  Sitting at the table is her brother restored to life.  She knows that Jesus faces great danger.  No wonder her emotions are in turmoil.  Mary does not know whether she will be able to get near him in Jerusalem, so this is possible her last chance to show him how much she loves him.  Words are not enough; she has to make a gesture.

When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead it aroused anger and perhaps jealousy.  But for those who understood knew that it was a sign of the chosen one, the Messiah.  Mary’s gesture angers Judas for its extravagance.  Judas does not understand in the way that Mary understands.  But it is worse than that. We know that Judas is going to betray Jesus and he already knows that too.  The guilty secret is like a knife in his heart.  The outburst comes from this pain.  Why is Mary wasting resources?  We could have sold this ointment a given the money to the poor.  It is a good story, sensible and plausible, and rather unselfish and righteous.  It does not fool him and it does not fool Mary, or us.

Do you remember that wonderful episode of the Vicar of Dibley when they raise a large sum of money for a new stained glass window?  At the great opening event the curtains are drawn back to reveal the glory of God’s creation as the sun sets over the village.  The glass is clear, the money has gone to support people who are starving.  This is the opposite of Judas story – true concern for the poor – the superficial sacrificed for the worthy and holy.

Mary sees Jesus for what he is.  The people of Dibley through the clear glass of the church, see God as he is through the beauty and glory of his Creation.  Judas is trying to muddy the waters for his own motives.  Mary has the clarity of her purity of spirit.

The plain glass window touches the hearts of the people present.  It touches them with the truth.  Mary’s gesture touches the people around the table – it touches them with the truth.  There is silence.  Like a truly great work of art, words of explanation are inadequate. We have to see with our heart.

We are approaching the wonderful mystery of the Passion liturgy.

Next week is Palm Sunday when we will join in with the crowds shouting and singing – Hosanna to the Son of David, Hosanna to the King of Kings.  And then we will turn to an angry mob as we shout: Crucify him; Crucify him.  The crowd is us and we are the crowd.  We then enter the last preparation for Easter – Holy Week.  We join with Jesus on his road to Calvary – through meditation, the stations of the Cross and fasting.

The Triduum is the climax of Holy Week.  On Maunday Thursday our feet are washed, as Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and as Mary anointed the feet of Jesus.  We sit with Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, as the disciples sat in the garden trying to keep awake to be with their friend in his agony.  On Good Friday we live through the injustice of his trial and the suffering of his crucifixion.  Then there is black Saturday. Jesus is dead.  The disciples sat in black despair and disbelief.  We prepare the church for the great celebration of Easter, for we know that it is coming. Then there is the Easter vigil early on Sunday morning. We hear the great story again of the people of God from the garden of Eden to the great resurrection of Easter morning.  The fasting is over – the feast begins!

Listen to the words of St Paul in his letter to the Philippians:

“I want to know Christ^* and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

We have the benefit of knowing the story.  But this knowledge can make the story ordinary.  The picture of Mary anointing the feet of Jesus in simple adoration, reminds us of how we once felt.  Or it makes us yearn to feel a deeper love for the Lord.

We have two weeks left this Lent to rekindle our love for Jesus, to walk his journey and feel his pain, so that we might truly know the power of his resurrection.

We say with Paul, “I want to know Christ^* and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, ¹¹if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

What is wrong with this plant?

Mythbusters, a programme on the TV, tests common wisdom such as talking to plants and giving them attention.  In one programme they tested the response of plants to communication.

Apparently a plant does not mind what sort of noise it gets – heavy metal, classical music, abuse or sweet talking – it will thrive pretty much equally with attention.

Someone said to me – throw it away and get a new one.  I cannot bring myself to do that

The gardener says to the owner of the fig tree – give it another chance.  The master is not getting any fruit from the tree – the tree is barren and taking up space where a new one might thrive.

But what if there is something wrong with the soil?  What if the plant has not been given what it needs to thrive?

The gardener says – let me water it, dig around it to give it some air, feed it properly – and next year, if it is still not bearing fruit then get rid of it.

When I was around 13 I was confirmed, and I remember being really frustrated with my church.  The service was boring.  To be honest, the confirmation classes were boring as well – as dusty as the vestry we had them in.   But the most significant omission for me was the lack of work for me to do.  I wanted to help in some way – I wanted to be noticed and used.  We felt ignored as young people – apart from the youth club where to be honest again, I learnt most of my bad habits and behaviour.

It all seemed rather dead and pointless so I left.

You know, when I look back now I wonder if someone had phoned me to ask why, I might have stayed.

I don’t think young people need entertaining – I think they need a sense of worth and belonging.  This is why the uniformed organisations do a good job.

There is a positive flow of energy into the world when we do good things.

The fig tree is linked to the rather gruesome stories of walls falling on people and Pilate mixing martyrs’ blood with his sacrifice.  This is disgusting dark magic in the extreme.  Something out of the latest horror chic flic.

Forest Gump famously said – bad things happen – not exactly in those words you will remember but a similar sentiment!  The writer is very keen to tell us that the people involved were not being punished.  Things happen in the world because they do.  Accidents happen, people do evil things and we can be caught up in them.

The lesson, I think is that we live in a world that is dangerous – physically and spiritually and it is best to be prepared.  My teenage years became reckless – talk about babies and bath water – church out – mischief in.

But, and this is the serious bit – I remember that for most of my teenage years I was pretty unhappy.  The problem with seeking risks and thrills is that there is no end, not satisfaction, simply frustration and loneliness – negative energy.

It is a good job that God is patient with us.  God never gives up on us – he never lets go.  He may allow us to be very uncomfortable – but would I have listened before I was ready to listen – I don’t think so.

The lesson for us as individuals is clear – the paradox that sits at the centre of Christianity is that when I do stuff for other people – I am happy.  When I follow my own selfish desires, I am miserable.  See the people clearing the rubbish at the railway embankment in Springbank Road yesterday – laughter, community, fun.  The people who ripped up the path in Mountsfield road yesterday – I wonder how they are feeling – anger and destructiveness have a habit of feeding on themselves.

The lesson for the church is even clearer.  Unless we nurture our people with the food of the Word, the water of the Spirit and the love of God – how will they be able to bear fruit.

Thank God there was a gardener to save the life of the fig tree.  Are we in this church prepared to do what is necessary to save lives in this parish and especially the lives of our young people? Amen

Please stare at the picture below.  Now close your eyes.  What can you see on the inside of your closed eyes – apparently on your eyelids? Be patient – it will come!

Leading into Lent we looked at the word Religion and understood that it meant to reconnect to remember – and some of us made a promise to God to try to do that during Lent – to renew, refresh and enliven our relationship with God over the 40 days.

On Ash Wednesday we looked at how Jesus, when faced with an angry mob, took time to centre himself, to defuse the animosity, and access the wisdom of God.

Last week we saw that going into silence to reconnect with God may wake up all those demons and thoughts that tempt us, trap us in our ego and take away our freedom and power.

As we continue on our journey through Lent we are building on our theme of meditative prayer and as we enter the silence and the stillness and move intentionally into the heart of God – we begin to see the world through the eyes of God.

The gospel reading this week is often referred to as Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem.  He has not yet arrived;  there is a journey to be taken and teaching to be done before his final entry into the centre of religion and place of his death.  And most of that teaching is about hypocrisy, injustice and greed.

When we go into meditative prayer we begin to get closer to the heart of God, we listen to God and become of one mind with God.  We start seeing the world in a different way – the way that God sees it.  It is hardly surprising that we begin to feel outraged at the injustice of the world around us.

There is a story about a man who arrives in heaven.  As he walks through he sees the saints and angels weeping.  He says to his guide – why is everyone weeping in heaven?  His guide says – when we look upon the earth what else can we do?

God created humankind to love him and be in relationship with him.  Jesus weeps over Jerusalem because the very heart of the people has become corrupted with greed, hypocrisy and exploitation. He yearns for them to be reconnected with God.

I have just been in Amsterdam delivering two days of Presentation training.  I shared with you that my Lenten intention was to abstain from alcohol.  After the first day, I said to myself, “I deserve a large gin and tonic!  I have worked hard and I am simply going to have one”.  There was no wrestling with conscience.  There was simply a fleeting memory of my Lenten intention, followed by a simple decision to do what I had promised God I would not do.  That is how sin happens.  It is not dramatic or colourful; it is simply an act of the will, a decision to be disobedient.  Other things then follow naturally and inevitably, if we are not vigilant.

God is not angry with me but sad.  God knows that I am far more cross with myself; I feel I have let myself down.

The image we are given in Luke’s gospel is not one of punishment but of a mother’s love – a hen gathering her chicks to her.  Imagine being a little chick, vulnerable and small.  The world looks a big and exciting place, but not without its dangers.  After running around the yard exploring and experiencing, the little chick comes back to the soft breast of the mother hen.  Imagine what that must be like.  You are warm, safe and protected – the great breast and wings of the mother hen surround you with love and peace.  You lean up against the breast and hear her heart beat.  Jesus says, I long to gather you to myself, like a mother hen draws her chicks to her breast; where you will be protected under my wings and hear my heart beat.

The heart of God breaks for the world, but the heart of God also beats for the world.  The breast of God that nurtures, and protects us beats for us in love, acceptance and forgiveness.

In our wilderness of Lent, let us come to the heart of God in stillness and silence.  Yes it will cause us to weep as we share God’s pain; but it will also be a haven of comfort and rest to renew and refresh us to do his work.

Be honest with yourself – when was the last time you sat in silence or walked in silence – when you let go of all the world and simply allowed yourself to be yourself in stillness?

The problem with the story of Jesus, the  wilderness and the devil in our gospel today is that it is too easy for us to remove ourselves from it.  There is Jesus, the Son of God, a desert in ancient Palestine and a devil.  This does not really resonate with what is going on in our lives.

But let us look at the wilderness as silence and stillness.

Silence and stillness is not just a challenge of time and space.  It is more a challenge of facing what we need to face in the silence.  We will do anything to avoid silence and being with ourselves in stillness.  We fill the void with busyness, music, incessant mobile phone conversations, TV and so on.  Yesterday in the Cathedral, Andrew Nunn asked us to turn off our mobile devices.  What he said was: if you have a mobile phone, Blackberry, bleeper or any other instrument of the devil – turn it off now.

People laughed but in the way that people laugh when they are a little uncomfortable, recognising a deeper truth – in the way we laugh at good satire.

We are afraid that when we go into silence we will be assaulted by our woundedness, our ego, our demons.  You can call these the devil if that is helpful.  If it is not, remember that the world Satan in Hebrew means Deceiver; the word Deil, or Diabolos in Greek means Accuser or Slanderer; and the word demon historically refers simply to spiritual power.  We could equally use the word Ego to describe the forces that come upon us when we remove ourselves from familiar noise and experience.

In this story the devil and Jesus are having a conversation, there is a dialogue going on – an argument.  It reminds us of the conversation in the Garden of Eden – the deceiver and Eve discussing the meaning of knowledge.

When we go into stillness and silence, we will begin to have a conversation with our ego; our demons will be active; and silence threatened by the internal noise of our worries, pain and insecurity.  For some of us our internal noise is so loud that it completely blocks us from our true selves and makes it impossible for us to relate truthfully and authentically to other people.

I could sit with you for half an hour and tell you stories of my life that would make you cry; would make your toes curl and your hair stand on end.  Some would make you outraged towards me and some outraged in defence of me.  And each of you could do the same.  No-one in this church this morning has a monopoly on woundedness and sin.

This story of the wilderness is about you and me facing that woundedness and our personal demons.  Lent is our opportunity.  If we make some space through giving something up, we must fill that space with stillness and silence.  If we don’t, the space will soon fill up with other noise.  Finding stillness and silence is the most important thing we will do this Lent.  For God’s sake, if you are prone to busyness, do NOT take up another task for Lent – this will simply make your internal noise even louder and more insistent.

According to the early church father, Evagrius, greed, envy and self esteem are the demonic drivers of the wounded ego.  Let’s bear this in mind as we unpack this story

Firstly, the Deceiver says, ‘If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.’  The ego tries to persuade us that it is our Lenten observance is futile and rather silly – what a waste of time.  If we are children of God, God loves us and wants us to be happy.  It won’t matter if I have this glass of wine, it won’t make any difference, anyway I need it to relax.

No, says Jesus, I am focusing on other things, there is more to me than my bodily needs, I need to strengthen myself spiritually for the journey.

Secondly, the Deceiver says, ‘To you I will give their (all the kingdoms of the world) glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. ⁷If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.

Our ego craves recognition.  If we have given up things for Lent, we want to be seen for our self control and piety.  We want to be seen to be giving up for God, to be making our devotions.

The Deceiver wants us to assign the things of the world value and worth and not recognise them for the illusion they are. Listen to the words of the early church father, Evagrius, “A wise man who offers to God honor and worship is known by Him. So he is in no way troubled if he remains unknown to all men.”  We need to replace the illusions of the ego with the bright light of the reality of God.

Thirdly, Jesus’ Accuser says: ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, ¹⁰for it is written,
“He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you”,
¹¹and
“On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.” ’

This is clever; the Deceiver is using scripture to make the point.  This reminds us how easy, and dangerous it is to take scripture out of context.  Using it to either justify a position or beat ourselves up are equally damaging to our spirituality.

The final blow of the Deceiver presses the button of our self esteem.  Why me? If I am truly loved by God then surely this should not be happening to me.  The other side of this coin is the saddest thing I hear from people on the fringes of the church, ‘I am not worthy to come in.’ This is the greatest victory of the Deceiver: keeping people distant from him by fooling them that they do not deserve his love.

Jesus teaches that we must give up ourselves in order to find ourselves; this is at the core of meditative prayer.  Going into our personal Wilderness is a spiritual adventure, not without risk and danger; the demonic mischief of our egos will attack as soon as we enter that place.  So find a guide, join the meditation group.  Don’t listen to the voices that would dissuade you from this path to spiritual growth and maturity.

This Lent we are going to focus on prayer and in particular meditative prayer.

If we look closely at what happened, this week’s gospel tells us a lot about Jesus and his example of prayer.

A woman is brought to Jesus – caught in the act of adultery.

Imagine the scene – there is noise, indignation, self righteous posturing and positioning.  The crowd is after blood – the penalty for adultery is stoning to death.

If you have seen the film, ‘The life of Brian’, you will have some idea of what is going on.

But this is not funny.  This woman is being brought to Jesus for judgement.  But who is really being judged?  The penalty is quite clearly laid down in Leviticus:

If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death. Leviticus 20.10

Hang on a moment – the adulterer and adulteress must be put to death.  This is the first clue.

The woman is surrounded by a crowd of men – Scribes and Pharisees – they have caught a woman in the very act of adultery.  They are testing him.

Jesus then does something that seems on the face of it very strange.  And yet, isn’t this what we do in Godly Play?  The teacher in a Godly Play session diverts the children’s attention to the story.  The world disappears and the focus of attention moves to the hands of the teacher.  The children calm down and are rapt with attention.

This is what happens to the woman.  She is drawn to the hands of Jesus – writing in the sand.  I do not think it matters what he is writing.

He is calming the situation, focusing attention away from the woman and onto himself and his hands writing in the dust.  In this moment he centres himself – he gets in touch with his Father – he plugs in to his Father’s thinking.  This is too difficult for worldly wisdom – he needs to access the mind and wisdom of God.

He invites the woman to join him.  He encourages the woman to focus on him and away from the crowd.   There they are, Jesus and the woman – in a place of quiet and calm amongst the storm of questioning and hatred.

When he has created a stillness and calm – Jesus looks up.  The insight and wisdom is irrefutable:  at its simplest, two people are needed for an act of adultery.  Jesus extends his judgement to the men before him: can anyone say with honesty that he has not committed a sin.  Is Jesus actually saying to them: can any of you honestly say that you have never been intimate with a woman who is not your wife, or thought about it?

They are busted – every one of them – starting with the most senior, the elders, and moving through the ranks of the men standing in accusation before the woman.

Jesus and the woman are now alone.  “Woman, has no-one condemned you?”  Do we dare to imagine a wry smile, a shared joke?  The woman says, “No-one sir.”

Jesus says, “Neither do I condemn you.  Go your way, and from now on do not sin again.”

Jesus has raised this woman above her accusers.  He has exposed their hypocrisy and elevated her.  She does not have to live according to the rules of men.  She is free.  She has been with Jesus in a place of connection and peace.

Take time to be with Jesus this Lent.  Find a quiet space each day for meditation.  Simply sit quietly with God.  This simple act will re connect you with God and feed you spiritually.

The woman was no longer trapped by her previous life.  She was no longer living the life that was dictated to her by men who exploited her then exposed her in their hypocrisy.

We do not need to be trapped.  Jesus came to set us free.  Start that process now with Ash Wednesday confession and carry on building your confidence during Lent.  We were meant to live life abundantly – let us start now!