Sunday Sermon at St John's

Sunday 12th October 2008 ST JOHNS CHURCH 10.00am

2Sa 22:17 "He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters.
2Sa 22:18 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me.
2Sa 22:19 They confronted me in the day of my disaster, but the LORD was my support.
2Sa 22:20 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.
2Sa 22:21 "The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
2Sa 22:22 For I have kept the ways of the LORD; I have not done evil by turning from my God.
2Sa 22:23 All his laws are before me; I have not turned away from his decrees.
2Sa 22:24 I have been blameless before him and have kept myself from sin.
2Sa 22:25 The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to my cleanness in his sight.
2Sa 22:26 "To the faithful you show yourself faithful, to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
2Sa 22:27 to the pure you show yourself pure, but to the crooked you show yourself shrewd.
2Sa 22:28 You save the humble, but your eyes are on the haughty to bring them low.
2Sa 22:29 You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.

Mat 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.
Mat 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
Mat 5:15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
Mat 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

MESSAGE
I love the dark. Especially out in the African sky – in what we call the GAMADOOLAS – back of beyond – the sticks. When you look up at night – when it’s really dark – the stars are just amazing, Wonderful.

The problem is that by the time the light of those stars reaches us – we can’t be sure that the stars are actually still there. If the closest star is 38,000,000,000,000 kilometres away, then what we see has come a long way over many years! It still gives us great joy to look at the stars – even little children sing about them!

TWINKLE TWINKLE LITTLE STAR
How I wonder what you are
OR
He made the stars to shine (twinkle twinkle)
He made the rolling sea (roll roll)
He made the mountains high (so high)
And he made me (and he made you)
And this is why I love him
For me he bled and died
The Lord of all creation
Became the crucified!

Other songs; This little light of mine. I’m going to let it shine – which we sang just now = speak of the light! Light is a wonderful thing! It dispels darkness! It shows the way. It calms us when we are afraid! It steadies our nerves.

A candle – was the subject of Jesus’ teaching in the Semon on the mount. An insignificant thing really. Not something that lasts either. It burns away.

The point is simple – the effective candle is the one that is put on a candlestick – so that it gives light to the house. That’s what candles are made for! They achieve their purpose when people are blessed – where they benefit from the light.

The Old Testament reading is a psalm of David buried in the second book of Samuel – pretty much the same as Psalm 18. What I like about this is that there is another angle to the lamp/light/candle image here.

2Sa 22:29 You are my lamp, O LORD; the LORD turns my darkness into light.

We often think of ourselves FIRST as the light that has to shine.It is GOD who is the lamp here – David states quite clearly: “you are my lamp o Lord. You turn my darkness into light”.

The Presbyterian metrical Psalm of Psalm 18 has this:
The Lord will light my candle so,
that it shall shine full bright:
The Lord my God will also make
my darkness to be light.

The movement from DARKNESS to LIGHT is a picture of what happens when we become a Christian. Its not an unfamiliar image – we’ve heard people testify that they have “seen the light”.

Peter puts it this way:
1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

Paul puts it this way:
Eph 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light

And of course these words of Jesus:
Joh 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

What do we do with this?
It’s simple really. If we are to be the light we have to be in the light! We have to have the light of Christ in us. It’s our point of difference.

We should be concerned about the light of love shining in people’s lives in this community.
But most of all, we should want them to experience the light of Christ!

We should be concerned for justice for all – for the homeless and needy – for those who are hungry.
But we should also be concerned that those people discover the power of Christ in THEIR lives.

IN SHORT
The good news of what it means to have Christ in our lives motivates all that we do.
Whether we are concerned for ecology, global warming issues, or the use of toxic chemicals on our sports fields and parks where our children play –
WE NEED TO OFFER CHRIST AS THE WORD OF LIFE – the light of the world – who gives people direction and the right path to travel.

Paul puts it this way in Philippians
Do everything without complaining or arguing, Php 2:15 so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe Php 2:16 as you hold out the word of life.

We live in a society that is no different from that of Jesus’ day or Paul’s day. People have the same human needs – social and community needs – but the truth is that they are still struggling in the dark. Domestic violence is on the increase – or it is reported more – but it doesn’t go away. Neither does poverty.

And we have a light that should shine – we should make an impact on the community – the people we see – the people we work with – and the people who walk past this building.

The SYMBOLIC presence of the church stands for something. This church is known for its presence – its history in the city – and its signage. We had a church in Africa where lit banners on street lamps had a series of pictures of teens with interesting body piercing – and it ended with a message about JESUS – he too had his body pierced – on the cross.

Apart from our physical plant and its presence
OUR PRESENCE – as the LIVING BODY OF CHRIST - has to stand for something too. In fact it is the more important thing.

Research indicates that 90% of new people come to a church for the first time in response to personal invitations from family and friends. Only 2 % because of the preacher. But the ministry of preaching and teaching – the fellowship – and the community – will keep them there.

Here’s what may be happening:
We may be candles – but I suspect that we are under bushels. It’s almost a secret thing – our faith.
· We don’t share it
· We are terrified by the idea of inviting people to church
· We seldom really sit and talk about it

What we need is for the light of Jesus to burn in US – so brightly – that people will be drawn to the light like moths! Except they won’t be burned alive – they will be enlivened – filled with new energy. Revived – given new life – to pray, worship, love, speak boldly.

The church really grew not because of fancy buildings – or great plans – but because of a passion of a group of people who new how much God loved the world – that they went out to change it.

You’re going to hear promises galore in the next weeks – from American and New Zealand politicians. We are already! They’ll all promise to change things! And we need good leaders to change things!

The light that burns in us performs the deepest and most profound change – of our hearts and minds. Jesus – the light of the world!

The early church was crazy about the message – of Jesus and the resurrection.
They taught that the same spirit which raised Jesus from the dead dwells in us- bringing life and renewal.
Healing
Restoration
Forgiveness
Peace in times of trouble
Guidance
Provision

Driving out the darkness! - a story from Judaism

The pupils of a Hasidic rabbi approached their spiritual leader with a
complaint about the prevalence of evil in the world. Intent upon driving out
the forces of darkness, they requested the rabbi to counsel them.

The rabbi suggested that they take brooms and attempt to sweep the darkness
from a cellar. The bewildered disciples applied themselves to sweeping out
darkness, but to no avail. The rabbi then advised his followers to take
sticks and to beat vigorously at the darkness to drive out the evil. When
this likewise failed, he counseled them to go down again into the cellar and
protest against the darkness by shouting at it. When this, too, failed, he
said, "My children, let each of you meet the challenge of darkness by
lighting a candle."

The disciples descended to the cellar and kindled their lights. They looked,
and behold! the darkness had been driven out.

Let's keep singing - “This little light of mine - I’m going to let it shine”

Back to school

True to form, I am beginning to unwind just as the school holidays draw to a close. Always predictable and on target - it takes 10 days to really relax. When asked what I did in the holidays, I am seldom able to really recall. This recall thing is either drug related (all prescription of course) or an age factor (yes, yes I am approaching 50). So what has really moved me?
An art exhibition. The Rita Angus exhibition at Te Papa was awesome. I have little genuine appreciation for art, never having really been able to create much with pen or brush. This work moved me - ok I did not show the tears but it was profound in this sense - this was the deepest creativity of a woman ahead of her time. What can I say - a glimpse into the soul (looking into her eyes) and also looking through her eyes - the lens of shape and form, curious colours and wonderful vistas.
Enough of that. The exhibition is over and so was her life some decades back. Yet she lives and speaks. Abel too still speaks - the victim of a horrible fratricide. Millions of dead still speak - but how bad we are at listening. Will I still speak? Are people really listening while I live? When I cease to speak?
What else moved me this week? Brahms' German Requiem. I have always loved the fourth movement. The whole thing is not a good requiem in the Catholic sense - it is not for the dead but a Blessing for those who mourn. So on 9th November I will hear it in Wellington - commemorating the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht on November 9, 1938. A Remembrance concert - including Boris Pigovat's Holocaust Requiem - he will be here from Israel for the concert.
O gosh, I am too easily moved. I have been for almost two years - finding myself weeping at the contradictions, the deep griefs, the dreadful capacity of powerful people who miss the point despite the greatness of their dreams.
Well there is this movie you could watch. Guess the poet:

Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Not for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.

Perhaps I am trying to put my arms around the griefs of the the ages. The task is just a little too big for me.

Yes it is "In My Craft Or Sullen Art". See the movie "The Edge of Love" - the actor playing the poet is Matthew Rhys. See the movie.

So what of back to school? Would that more would try to put their arms round the griefs of the ages. The cheerful energy and reckless abandon with which the young men face their dreams and avoid their tasks is both liberating and scary. This last stretch takes us through to Advent and - hopefully - a fresh celebration of the coming of the Light of Christ into the dreary fears of this choked world. The markets tumble - yet poor and desperate alike live day or hour to hour for simple gifts of love and food to nourish - and here we sit sharing words of colour and question - words travelling through the cyber-routes that criss-cross such pain and horror on this hectic globe.

Whatever you go back to each day - may you embrace the griefs and dance the joys.