Sermon Reed, 27th September 2009 – Back to Church Sunday September 28, 2009
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Isaiah 40.28-32; Luke 19.1-10
The Rev’d Sarah Hillman
Welcome back to church! Welcome back if you were last here yesterday. Welcome back if you were here last Sunday. Welcome back if you were last here at Christmas. Welcome back if you’ve not been here for five or ten or twenty years. Welcome if you’ve never been to church before.
In short: welcome to you all.
Now I know said that at the beginning of the service but it is important that we all know that a church is a place where every single person is welcome and has a place.
Sometimes, sadly, people don’t feel welcomed in the church.
It can be for a number of reasons: sometimes the fault of the congregation or clergy – perhaps someone comes to a service and can’t work out what is going on; maybe they turn up and don’t feel that they have been given as good a welcome as they could have been; perhaps someone inadvertently or deliberately upsets them; or they come across a rude and grumpy vicar.
But it’s not always the church itself or its congregation that stops people coming to church. Sometimes people don’t feel good enough to come; others can’t walk into a church without being reminded of a sad funeral. Some people have other priorities on a Sunday morning; others are just too lazy. Some have begun to doubt whether God exists.
But this morning what is important is that, however much or little you attend worship, you are all welcome.
And you are all welcome, not because this morning I’m in a good mood and have decided that you can all be here, but because you are welcomed by God.
Church buildings have for hundreds of years been known as “the house of God”. And in God’s house, whoever wants to be there, is welcomed.
Jesus told some parables in the Bible about feasts and parties, about people who were invited and not, but the one thing all those stories had in common is that the people who ended up at the parties were the ones who wanted to be there. They had accepted the invitation.
And God issues invitations to all of us to come and join his family.
If we look around our church today, we can see young and older; male and female; those who look smart, those who are wearing ordinary clothes; those who are good at academic-type stuff, and those who are much happier and more skilled in the garden or with their hands; there are people here who are 100% well, and others who are not so good.
There are married people, those with partners, those whose husbands or wives have sadly died, those who have always been on their own. It doesn’t matter who we are or what we look like, all of us are welcome to accept God’s invitation.
You can’t be much more of an outsider then Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was the little man who wanted to be big. Zacchaeus had a job that made him money. It didn’t make him popular though. He was a tax man. Not a popular profession today, but back then it was ten times worse.
First he collected money for the enemy. Second he collected far more money than was necessary. The Romans didn’t pay their tax-collectors but allowed them to collect more money than they were owed and keep the rest. The temptation to ask for more than they really needed was something the collectors often did.
So, as people paid their taxes, Zacchaeus’s wealth grew. But money didn’t give him everything. When he heard that Jesus was coming, he was desperate to see him.
He’d probably heard how Jesus attracted large crowds. He’d have heard about the healings and the miracles. He’d have learned how so many people were finding their needs met when they followed Jesus. Something about Jesus draws him, and when he discovers that Jesus is coming to his own town, he is determined to catch sight of him.
As Jesus makes his way through Jericho, Zacchaeus is desperately trying to see but with no success. He’s not a child who can slip through the crowd’s legs to the front, but a grown man. I sympathise with him: being short in a crowd is not easy. People jostle and push for space but somehow short people always end up behind taller ones – I know, I’m speaking from experience!
So Zacchaeus uses his ingenuity and climbs a tree. Not a place where a celebrity would automatically look when wanting to talk to someone. But Jesus always sees beyond the obvious. He sees more than what is on the surface. He calls to Zacchaeus up in his tree.
The crowds were dumbfounded. How could Jesus choose to associate with that man, a tax collector, a collaborator with the enemy, a cheat, a sinner. They grumbled.
But in their grumblings, they failed to see three things.
First, that Jesus doesn’t mind what we are like before he encounters us.
Second, that they, as much as Zacchaeus, were sinners.
Third, that everyone can begin again.
Zacchaeus recognised these things. Jesus knew he was a sinful man, but he still wanted to associate with him.
Being with Jesus transformed Zacchaeus who promised to put right the wrongs he had done.
This year’s Back-to-Church Sunday slogan is “Come as you are”. You don’t need to dress up in Sunday best to be acceptable to God. You don’t need to lead a sin-free life before you can come to God. You don’t need to be anything other than what you are.
If you came to church in wellies and torn clothing, God wouldn’t mind. If you come with your lawn mower and your dogs, God doesn’t care. Church is not about looking good, but about coming to Jesus, and joining with others who are doing the same.
Sometimes human conventions get in the way of our relationships with God. Don’t let that happen.
For Jesus is reaching out his arms to each of one of us.
As to Zacchaeus, he is saying to us – Come as you are. Come down from the tree; come out of hiding. I want to dwell with you today. Yes – you get things wrong; so does everyone else. You don’t need to be perfect before God loves you. Your life can be transformed.
That’s a promise for us all. Back-to-Church Sunday is about more than coming to St Mary’s, Reed.
It’s about returning to God, a God of forgiveness and love, a God who will renew the strength of the faint and tired, so that they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Letter from Sarah – September 2009 September 21, 2009
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Back to Church Sunday
Lots of new things begin in September. Children go to new schools or move up a class; others move from nursery to school, teenagers and adults from school to college or university. People start new jobs or return to education after a long period away.
Over the past few years, the Church has also used a particular Sunday in September (this year the 27th) to persuade people to think about returning to church.
Many people used to belong to churches but have drifted away. There are many reasons why people do this. Perhaps family life has taken over with other activities now taking priority on a Sunday; a sick relative needs care; maybe church has seemed boring or irrelevant. Some people fall out with the vicar; others move house and never establish themselves in a church in their new community. Some people find that their faith has waned, feel that God has let them down or simply that they can’t be bothered and would rather stay in bed.
If you are someone who has previously belonged to a church community, but now doesn’t, ask yourself why. We miss you. The church is like a family, so when people leave or drift away a hole is left. Church at its best is a close-knit group of Christians who wish to worship and learn together, to care for each other and for those outside the church, to pray for the world.
I am always saddened when people make promises at baptism services that they will bring their children up as part of the church community, and then we never see them again. Being part of a church is a way of being encouraged in one’s faith, in learning new things about God, of helping others. Each time a member of the church is not present someone important is missing. Church is far from being just about me and God, rather it is about the whole community of Christians.
So, why not, if you have been part of a church, in the benefice or elsewhere, consider coming back this September. We will be holding a special back to Church Sunday service on Reed at 10.30 a.m. on 27th September, but you would, of course, be welcome at any service in September or at any other time.
With best wishes, Sarah
Letter from Sarah – August 2009 September 21, 2009
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The miracle of life
Bill Oddie, the former Goodie turned naturalist, once said: “The saying is ‘One swallow does not make a summer’, but I say ‘One swallow makes a miracle.’” He was reflecting on bird migration at the time. And it certainly is something miraculous: that small birds can fly thousands of miles across continents to find the right conditions for breeding and survival.
Last night I heard a lecture given by John Polkinghorne, an eminent physicist, who gave up his professorship at Cambridge in order to be ordained. His theme was “The friendship between science and religion”. So much today is written about irreconcilability of these two disciplines that it was a refreshing change to hear how they can complement each other. He pointed out that both, in their own ways, are searching for truth.
If we think about migrating birds, science can tell us how birds fly – the movement of their muscles and feathers, the forces which enable to stay in the sky, the conditions that they need in order to thrive and why they are best ones, and so on. Science understands the processes.
But science does not look at the value and purpose of such things. Birds are a valuable part of creation, part of the miracle of life on this earth. When we think about life in those terms, it causes us to wonder, and to ask where life comes from and why. It raises all sorts of questions – how did the world begin? Who started things going? Why does the world exist? There are two sorts of answer we can give – a scientific one and a theological one. One focuses on the how; the other on the why.
In an interview, Polkinghorne said: “One of the rewards of doing science is the sense of wonder when we see the wonder of the world. I actually think that the experience of wonder that scientists have is a religious experience, whether they realise it or not.”
“Of course,” he added with a chuckle, “not all my scientist friends see it that way.”
Whatever we believe about the source of matter and the creation of the world, we can all stop this summer and wonder at its beauty. I hope we don’t let the miracle pass us by because we are too busy doing things that we forget to stop and marvel at the amazing phenomenon that is life on earth.
With best wishes, Sarah
Letter from Sarah – June 2009 September 21, 2009
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Communities at their best
I am writing this in the week following Barkway market, which was a huge success. I hope the team who organised it feel very encouraged by their triumph. I have heard so many positive comments as I’ve walked around the benefice from those who attended.
It struck me that such events – and they are, of course, not confined to Barkway, I’m looking forward to others in Barley and Reed during the summer – show communities at their best.
Fund-raising is a large part of such occasions, and in order to keep village life thriving, money is always needed, but as I see it they are about much, much more than finance.
These markets, shows and fêtes can only exist when people willingly give of their time and skills to create a good atmosphere and a place to which people want to come. And when some of the community act in this way, it draws together the rest in support. We find ourselves included in a social gathering, a chance to see friends old and new; we contribute financially to village groups, people’s livelihoods and charities; and all ages and backgrounds are brought together. It unites people from village, school, church, pub, and gives a chance for them to offer what they have, either in terms of goods to sell, time manning stalls, the talents on show at the craft exhibition in the church and in the bell ringing, morris-dancing, band-playing etc.
I think that these occasions are when community is seen at its best. A true community is one in which every person is valued, regardless of age, creed, colour, background, sexuality, and so on. These village celebrations bring all of us together. And stable, happy communities also welcome others in from outside. They may go away again at the end of the day, but they will leave their mark on those whom they have met. And I don’t only mean those who played a part in what is on offer – those who attend from outside are as important as those who contribute in more practical ways.
Community at its best mirrors the kind of life that God hopes we all manage to lead, where every person is valued and none are shunned because of who they are or what they hold dear. Everyone is important, and everyone has something they can contribute to village life. That is, of course, one of the greatest joys of living in a small place – everyone really can play a part in community life.
With best wishes, Sarah
Letter from Sarah – May 2009 September 21, 2009
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Good stewardship
This month, on Sunday 10th May at 10.30 a.m. in Barley church, the diocesan stewardship adviser, Geoff Fletcher, is coming to preach at our joint service. He will help us to think through our responsibilities, and in particular, how they relate to the church.
Stewardship is not a word used that much these days, but it is something that Christians have thought important for many years. It is often mistaken for fund-raising. However, the two are entirely different. Stewardship is about the on-going responsible use of what we have. One dictionary definition of stewardship is “the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one’s care”. Christian tradition, and beginning before that Jewish culture, has a long-standing commitment to caring for God’s world. There is a sense that all we have has been given us by God, and that we have a responsibility to use well what we have been given.
There are many commitments, especially financial ones, that we all face nowadays, and perhaps, for many, times are particularly tough at the moment. But stewardship is something for prosperous and less prosperous times. However, much or little we have, we can choose to use it wisely or not.
Traditionally Jews and Christians gave ten per cent of their income – a tithe – to Temple, synagogue or church, and in many church communities tithing still occurs today. The money was used in different ways – to aid worship, to support ministers, to care for the poor. Christians do not all agree on whether tithing is a principle that should be followed today. Now that much of the care for the poor is carried out by agencies other than the Church, some people give five per cent of their income to church and five per cent to charities working with the poor and disadvantaged. Other people order things differently. Many are extremely generous.
There is no getting away from the fact that giving away some of what we have been given by God is a longstanding tradition for people of many faiths. If you don’t have very much, no one is expecting you to bankrupt yourself by being generous – Jesus did not condemn the woman who could only pay two small coins into the Temple treasury, but rather commended what she had given.
We all have something we can give, and it is up to each one of us to decide what our priorities are. But, if you want to make use of the village churches for baptisms, weddings and funerals, do consider whether you want some of your giving to go to them, so that we can remain open and available for you when you want us. We will, of course, welcome you with open arms.
With best wishes, Sarah
Letter from Sarah – April 2009 September 21, 2009
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God’s Springtime
As I write it is a beautiful Spring day. The sun is shining, and has done now for several days. The daffodils and crocuses are blooming and brightening up the villages. The birds are singing; the Barkway ducks have started their attempt at traffic-calming by crossing the High Street in a slow, meandering fashion. On the surface, everything looks wonderful, and there is a feeling of joyfulness in the air.
I think one of the reasons Springtime makes such an impact is because it follows winter. The contrast between the dull, drab, cloudy, nondescript days, when everything seems grey, and the brightness of the vernal sunshine and the way in which it lights up the world, is a strong one, and helps us to appreciate more the blossoming of new life.
For Christians, it could be said that Lent is a little like winter. In winter, things are going on under the soil that we cannot see; birds and animals are resting and quietly preparing themselves for the leap into reproduction and new life. Lent is also a time of preparation. That means penitence and fasting, paying more attention to one’s spiritual life, so that when Easter comes, we are ready to spring into action and celebration and joy. The dullness of Lent makes the contrast of resurrection seem all the more glorious.
My sister is currently pregnant and due to give birth on 8th April. She has been experiencing sickness for the whole of the previous 8½ months, but once the baby is born, she will no doubt forget about the trials of nausea. The joy will enable the pain to pale into significance. But she will also need to be as prepared as she can possibly be before “Peanut” (the name she and her partner have given to the bump) arrives, so that she can concentrate on the baby.
At Easter, Christians believe, God the Creator restores his Son Jesus to life, following crucifixion and burial. The joy of the celebration is contrasted with the bleakness and blackness of Good Friday. At times, Lent may seem like winter; but that will make the new life of Easter seem even more abundant.
May you all have a happy, joyful and abundant Easter
With best wishes, Sarah
