Sermon, Tavistock 26th June 2022

Well, we are twelve weeks away from receiving our new incumbent, Matt. And it may be timely to be rehearse this question:

What do you want a priest for?

The answer would be different to that given by our predecessors 50 years or 100 years ago, not least because the reduction of clergy in the Church of England over 50 years by a half – from 16,000 to 8,000 – has forced us to ask “What is the quintessential role of a parish priest”. Is it as a manager, to run the parishes from top to bottom? To manage the arrangements of rotas, services, churchyards, fabric, finance, choirs, choirs, organists, flowers and bells; and personally to undertake all visiting, house communions and hospital visits, baptism and wedding preparation; to handle committee agendas, magazine editorial and production work?!

No, not nowadays – though that was generally the work of the parson 50 years ago, when there was one for nearly every parish in the diocese; and, of course, I caricature what they did – though not by much. Most of this was expected of me only 36 years ago in my first incumbency – even including flower arranging! (The rector’s wife had always arranged the flowers behind the altar. My darling wife was not gifted in that field of expertise, so it was suggested that I might do it. I didn’t.) I have always been blessed with wonderful  Churchwardens, treasurers, secretaries and Readers and they always played their part, along with PCC members – helping the clergy to do their job, as many viewed it.

Recent times have seen a massive shift in the workings of a parish – and you have witnessed this. Clergy have been forced (by God himself?) to delegate many things in the management and running of a parish – and in the mission and ministry of the church. Thank God. Clergy are learning, as all should, that “a failure to delegate is a denial of the Holy Spirit to do things in others”.

We have been forced (by God?) to re-examine what is the quintessential offering of service which the priest brings to the church. And this quote by Hans Weber may help us: “The laity are not the helpers of the clergy so that the clergy can do their job…. but the clergy are the helpers of the whole people of God, so that the laity can be the church”.

We may see, looking back, that for far too long the church was male, clergy dominated – clericalized – whereby the professional ministry and mission of the church was confined to the man in the dog collar. But a professional is one who professes. Of course, today it means a person who is paid for doing something (and isn’t it sad how the whole feel of a passion and talent changes when a sportsperson turns from amateur to professional?) But, in essence it means one who declares publicly, who “professes”, a skill in, and passion for, something. In this sense the clergy exist to enable you and me to become professional, professing Christians – declaring publicly in action and word what we have come to believe in, understand and live out. (And of course, I would never want to lose sight of the beauty of the word “amateur”, meaning one who does something for love of it: we are at the same time professionals and amateurs).

So, what do we want a priest for here?

1.     A priest is ordained into holy orders to live a life happily under the authority of the church and the discipline of those orders. This requires a rhythm of daily prayer and devotions, of study and reflection in order to equip others by their preaching, teaching and example.

2.     The representational roll: in public ministry the priest represents the church in a recognised way both to the congregation and the wider world; and is to be a visible sign of the church in the community. (I am mystified by fellow clergy who think they are more accessible and ‘ordinary’ in an open neck shirt and keep their dog collars only for special churchy occasions. I recall the number of times I have been approached in the street and asked for help, simply because I was identified).

3.     A priest is a focus for ministry in the church: and she or he gathers people in worship and this is especially visible in the Holy Communion where the priest presides and voices the words of Our Lord as bread and wine are blessed. The priest is a channel for the other sacraments of pronouncing absolution, blessing, healing, baptism and holy matrimony.

4.     A priest is an intercessor, both in prayer and in the sense of speaking for others and for God – heaven help him or her – a bridge builder and reconciler, bringing people to God and reconciling people to each other.

5.     Spiritual leadership. A priest is called always to be a prophetic voice, interpreting theologically in the life of church and society, holding a vision for both with gospel values. Priestly leadership is to be modelled on that of Our Lord Jesus and is therefore crucially one of servant leadership.

6.     Pastor. The pastoral work of a church is a shared ministry of the ordained and lay members, as in most things, But the priest is called to undertake quality pastoring him and herself, not least when the sacraments are part of that ministry.

There are other aspects of priestly ministry, of course, let alone the necessary duties of an incumbent of a benefice.

But whatever the functions of a parish priest, the importance of this person in church and community is as much about being as doing. And in order for a parish priest to be a person of prayer and study, of reflection and preparation for quality leadership and unhurried pastoring, then the running of the church has to be a shared affair.

We are looking for ministering congregations – as the church was always meant to be, if I read St Paul correctly in Ephesians chapter 4 – and not congregations centred around a minister.

Here at St Eustachius and around this benefice with those at Gulworthy and Brentor we thank Our Lord for so many people who bring their worship, their love, time, talents and giving to His church. The pastoral care networks are exemplary, if I may say, shared by laity and clergy.
Only you know if and how you may serve in the ministry of this church. For many, the days of much physical or mental output is limited by virtue of age. But your prayers are an essential part of this corporate ministry – in fact, the lifeblood of its health.

Above all, the church is to be an offering of love – for God, for Tavistock, for the world. If it is not, it is not the church of Christ.

I end with the superb words of St Paul in Ephesians chapter 4 – they give us a blueprint for how we are to be as God’s church here.

“The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ. We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine, by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming. But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love”.

God bless you as you prepare for the next chapter in the life of this church and benefice with the ministry of your new incumbent, Matt, in twelve weeks’ time. Pray to know your part in our corporate offering of love.

The Venerable John Reed.
26th  June 2022

Sermon St Mary St Peter 19 & St E 22 June 2022  Trinity 1 Year C P7  Demoniac
Ps 22v19-28                  Is65v1-9                  Lk8v26-39                  Galatians 3v23-29
Let us pray:

When we read the scriptures, when we read our bibles, there are often contained in its pages some very worthwhile questions to ask, and todays Gospel story from Saint Luke (Lk8vs26-39), is preceded by such a question.

Some years ago, when I was teaching Physics and Maths at the Anglican School in Jerusalem, Joy and I took a trip to see the Galilee region and visited the site where today’s Gospel story is set.

From His adopted home with St Peter in Capernaum, Jesus’ initial ministry would have been along the shores of the Sea of Galilee. From there Jesus may have looked many times across the lake to the other side and seen the city of Hippos, sitting atop of the plateau which overlooks the lake. That city was probably the one referred to by Jesus when telling His disciples that they were to be the ‘light of the world’, to be like “a city set on a hill that cannot be hidden.”   (Mtt5v14)

Now for those of you who know something of the Geography of the Galilee there is a clue in this account of Jesus’ crossing of the lake to the other side, as to just when this story may have happened.

They crossed to the small fishing village of Kursi set just below Hippos in the Gentile region of the Decapolis, and that was where the demonic lived amongst the tombs.

In the summer months a west wind called the Gharbiyer blows across the lake, cooling the intense heat, but not causing any storms. Whereas in the winter and spring months, an east wind named the Skarkiyeh blows, and can often result in the birth of sudden storms as happened to the disciples in this story of their crossing.

This then enables us to give a possible time for their crossing to around February of the year AD 29, and represents the first major trip of Jesus with his band of disciples away from the local towns around their base in Capernaum.

When the storm blew up the disciples implored Jesus to do something to save them. He rebuked the wind and the waves and the disciples asked “Who then is this, that he commands even wind and water, and they obey him”?

Now that is a very worthwhile question to ask about Jesus. Who then indeed is this Jesus? O that more peoples today would ask that very same question and so come to recognise the true person of Jesus.
Who then was this in the boat with the disciples? Could it be none other than the Lord of hosts, incarnate in the person of their Rabbi and master, Jesus? Was the miraculous stilling of that storm just another subtle pointer as to just who Jesus really was and is?

Who then was this? Well if the disciples could not yet grasp the significance of Jesus’ person, as we have seen in previous weeks, the hidden spiritual world, the world of the demoniac, certainly had no doubt.

Our gospel story tells us that when Jesus stepped ashore the demoniac cried out “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God”. The demons in him clearly knew who Jesus was. Remember in the letter of James (2v19), we read ‘You believe that God is one, you do well. Even the demons believe-and shudder.’ So just a belief in God is not really enough, it requires us to take action upon that belief.

In that invisible spiritual world, the realm that intermingles with our space and time, even the demons recognised just who Jesus really was. We may like to ask, ‘why is it so difficult for us humans, created in the very image of God, to do the same today’? To recognise Jesus as the living embodiment of the living God.

I trust that all of us here have asked that question and discovered just who Jesus is. If we have we can then testify to how that discovery results in the start of a complete change in life and perspectives. Just as with our demoniac Legion, when Jesus cast out the many demons from him and into the swine, Legion was then found sitting at the feet of Jesus and clothed and in his right mind.

If it was necessary for the healed demoniac in that first century to sit at the feet of Jesus, I would venture that it is still needed for each one of us today. If we wish to please God then we also have to come, and to metaphorically, sit at the feet of that same Lord Jesus our Master, the Rabbi and teacher Jesus. We have to learn from Him, and to be prepared, just like the original band of disciples, to take His truth and light out into today’s world, a world that seems to be sinking each day into an ever increasing haze of deception and darkness.

Our story then tells us that Jesus and his disciple were effectively forced to leave that pagan Decapolis region. Why? Because even though the locals saw Legion restored to his right mind, their livelihood had been taken away when Jesus permitted the many demons to enter the swine, who then rushed headlong over the cliff and into the lake. It would appear that this first bold attempt of Jesus to take the message of Salvation into a heathen territory like the Decapolis had been a real failure. But have we not all learnt that our first impressions can be very deceptive?

Legion, the healed demoniac begged Jesus to take him with the disciples as they set off back across the lake to Capernaum. But Jesus had other plans for him, and maybe Jesus has other plans for us also that we are not always aware of. Here Jesus commissions Legion as his first evangelist to this pagan world with the words “Return to your home and declare how much God has done for you.” And that is also what God asks of each one of us today, to tell what God has done for us. So the healed demoniac returned home and did just that, and with what result?

The apostle Matthew in his Gospel account of that same story tells us of the result which took place a little while later (Mtt14v34-36).  Some months later when Jesus returned to the Decapolis the people now recognised Him in a very different light. Having seen the change in the life of Legion as a result of that previous exorcism, and also hearing Legions testimony, they now brought to Jesus all their sick to be healed.
So it would seem that in the interim period Legion had done a pretty effective job at evangelising his neighbours. And from that we can also take encouragement.
God, through his Holy Spirit, can take the testimony of our encounter with Jesus to speak to our neighbours as well.

And so our healed demoniac Legion sets us a great example to follow. As we return to our homes and places of work, especially after we have met with our Lord around His table, we too need to tell of who Jesus really is. The incarnate Son of the one true and living God; and like the demoniac, to tell of what Jesus has, and still is, doing for us, and can also do for them.

Our prayer should be that our families, friends and neighbours would respond in such a positive way as to be confident to come to Jesus for His healing touch upon their lives.         Pray for them to recognise as Paul said to the Galatian Christians, ‘we are all children of God’ once we have put our faith and trust in Jesus, and so to give to them that same new and living hope that dwells in our hearts. A hope in the resurrection to eternal life with our Lord Jesus and with our creator God and heavenly Father.

Let us pray:
God of truth and love, help us to keep your law of love and to walk in the ways of wisdom, that all may be drawn to your healing touch, and find true life and hope in Jesus Christ, your risen Son our Lord and coming King. Amen

Sermon St E Sunday 8am, 9.45 12 June 2022          Trinity Sunday
Psalm 8(Responsory)            Proverbs 8v1-4, 22-31                        John 16v12-15                        Romans 5v1-5

Let us pray:- Father, Son and Holy Spirit open our hearts and minds this morning to the great mystery of your Trinity.         Amen

Can we ever expect to understand the mystery of the Trinity? I guess that most people would reply “probably not, or not in this life”, but that has not stopped some Christians from at least trying to explore the depths of this holy mystery in one form or another. So do not expect too much from me this morning for it is the one topic many hope never to preach upon.

You will have noticed that in our two readings this morning from the New Testament there was a common link, that of mentioning the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. From John’s gospel we read, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth, and will declare to you the things that are to come.”
It is said that the Holy Spirit glorifies God the Son, our Lord Jesus, who in turn owes all to God his Father and lives to glorify Him.

Saint Peter in his second epistle (2Pt1v4) declares to us a great mystery. A mystery that God has drawn us believers into the same unity of love that is present within the Holy Trinity. Peter gives to us who believe in the one true and living God the amazing promise of becoming ‘partakers in that divine nature’. Now that is a life transforming thought if ever there was one, and deserves of our time to seriously meditate upon.

At the last supper Jesus told his disciples that when the promised Holy Spirit was to come later at Pentecost, the event we celebrated last week, he would guide the disciples, (John 16v13) and I believe that also means us, ‘into all truth’. Even so the nature of the truth of the Holy Trinity still remains a tantalising mystery.

Yet the promise from Jesus of the Holy Spirit declaring to the disciples ‘the things to come’ was also shared in the experience of the Old Testament prophets, and one that the prophet Zachariah experienced many years earlier. He spoke an interesting prophetic word upon his return to Jerusalem from exile in Babylon around the year 520 BC, and one which I see as referring to this holy mystery of the Trinity. Speaking of a time yet to come, Zachariah wrote some very Trinitarian lines, (14v9 NRSV) “And the Lord-Yahweh-shall become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and His name one”, or as an alternative translation taken from the Hebrew bible, the Tanakh says, “The Lord alone shall be worshipped and shall be invoked by His true name.”
I am sure we all appreciate just how much of a person’s character is meant to be revealed within their given name, and this is seen so many times throughout the Bible. If we look at the name Mary, the mother of our Lord, her name originated in Egypt to become the Hebrew Miriam, meaning ‘beloved of God’. And that seems to me a most appropriate name for the one who was to become the mother of God’s Son.
Or the name Jesus. When we use his true Hebrew name of ‘Yeshua’ it is of no coincidence that the meaning is ‘Salvation’.

So what is that prophecy of Zachariah telling us? It is that when the time comes God will be invoked by His true name. At that time I believe we shall then receive a revelation as to the deepest and fullest nature of our Triune God through the revealing of the meaning of His true name.
In the meantime what may we say on this Trinity Sunday?

When we introduce the start of our communion service, we use the two commandments upon which ‘hang all the law and the prophets’. The first  is a quote of the Hebrew Shema, the Jewish statement of faith taken from the book of Deuteronomy (6v4).
This statement seems most fitting for today’s Trinity celebration. “Hear O Israel, Yahweh is our God, Yahweh is One.”
So you will want to ask the age old question, how can there be three persons within One God? Just what is the Trinity all about? That of course is the conundrum, and it is what has divided Christians and Jews for nearly two millennia. One God yet three persons, how can that possibly compute?

I am sure you have heard many people try to explain this mystery using various very inadequate analogies. Water, H2O, one substance can be in three forms, solid as ice, then as liquid and also as gas or vapour, but that, together with any other example, to my mind does not really help us. Why? For we are looking for a simplistic explanation of a holy mystery, and so coming at it from a completely wrong perspective.

There are a few other three in one similarities that we can also find in our natural physical environment. As a Physicist I particularly like the example of the atom. Generally regarded as constituted from three entities electrons, protons and neutrons, and those protons and neutrons also themselves composed of three fundamental particles called quarks.
But I do not see these as trying to explain the nature of the Trinity, I see them rather as crying out to us that our Triune God has written His very nature into the imprint, into the very fabric, of His created universe.
It seems to me God is crying out to us, “I am there for you to see me, just look, you cannot miss me, look at the way I have created things.”
Perhaps king David could see that when he wrote in psalm 19, “The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky above proclaims His handiwork which goes out through all the earth.” Just go and stand on Dartmoor on a cloudless night and see how the sky declares the beauty of our created universe.

So as we await that revelation of the true nature of our one God Yahweh, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, let us not spend our energies on trying to fathom out the depths of the Trinity. Rather may we let God’s nature of transforming love transform our lives as we seek to live for Him, and live to build His kingdom as we await his revelation, the coming return of Jesus our Messiah and King.

As God the Father has gone to the extreme cost of sending His Son our Lord Jesus to reconcile us to himself, and through our trust and belief in him has given to us His indwelling Holy Spirit, it behoves us to ask, ’how are we to walk our pilgrim lives here below?’

I would suggest it is in the way that we live out our lives as the ‘salt and light’ (Mtt 5v13) that Jesus has asked us to be to our world. We do that by taking responsibility within our present society for this our hurting world. Since God has redeemed us, how may we help in redeeming our environment, working for peace and goodwill between all? Be that locally, nationally or even on an international scale, all are part of God’s creation.

One thing we certainly cannot escape from at present is the dire need for our prayers during this time of international uncertainty, and for our prayers for deliverance from the increasing persecution of our brothers and sisters from unholy regimens. Prayer is one thing we are all called to participate in, but search your hearts as to other ways that you may also serve God, and we have a great opportunity ahead of us to build God’s kingdom here as we support Matt and his family when they join us.

Our hope is to be with God the Father when the kingdom is finally realised so let him now continue to transform our lives by his Holy Spirit in us.
It is God’s desire, and another mystery, that we may become like his Son our Lord Jesus. And that transformation is to be a sign to all around of God’s great love and mercy for them as well as us. In holding fast to that knowledge and hope in God’s transforming grace, Paul assures us that God is not going to disappoint us, there is far more ahead which exceeds anything that you and I can possibly imagine for those of us who love him.

I end with a this little story from Alice in wonderland that I have told before, but it fits so appropriately with the mystery of the Holy Trinity, and to what God has promised for us.

“Alice laughed: “There’s no use trying,” she said; “one can’t believe impossible things.” “I daresay you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was younger, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”

So have I given you this morning a number of impossible things for you to try and imagine before lunch? Not just ‘the mystery of the Trinity’, but what awaits us in God’s promised new creation. One thing is for sure, as Paul said to those Roman Christians, ‘we shall not be disappointed’.

Let us pray:- the shorter Collect for Trinity
Holy God, faithful and unchanging:
enlarge our minds with the knowledge of your truth,
and draw us more deeply into the mystery of your love,
that we may truly serve and worship you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and for evermore.          Amen