Creation Sermon - Genesis 1

In 586 BC
the Hebrew people had witnessed the destruction
of the Kingdom of Judah
by Nebuzar-adan
the captain of king Nebuchadnezzar’s body guard.

He had razed towns and villages to the ground,
split families,
burned crops,
stolen wealth,
and deported the Judaean nobility and leading citizens
to Babylon.

Perhaps most painfully,
certainly most symbolically,
the temple in Jerusalem,
built by King David himself,
was destroyed.

Gone was the worship,
gone the sacrifices,
gone the priesthood,
it was all over.

They even lost their language –
Hebrew was supplanted by the tongue of their captors – Aramaic
which 500 years later
would be a carpenter from Nazareth’s native tongue.

“How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”

The dream was over.

And they could not forget it.
Babylon was no shy beast,
her glory was on evident display,
as any who see their work
in the British Museum
will know.

Statues of gods looked out proudly over the people.

Sin – the sun god
Harran – the moon god
Anu, Enlil and Ea - gods of the dome of the sky
Apsu– the god of the sea and rivers
Nisroch – god of crops and fruit
Lahar – god of cattle and beasts
and Marduk – the god of life

And these statues reminded the Hebrews
of their predicament.
a people lorded over by new masters,
speaking a new language
and with their homes
and faith destroyed.
With no temple,
no sacrifices,
their God defeated,
what did they have?

“How can I sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?”

And so they told the stories from home
the stories about Abraham
and Sarah
and Moses
and Miriam
and Aaron.
And the stories took shapes
that could be remembered
and one day written down.


And they heard the stories of the Babylonians,
the flood and the Utnapishtim’s ark with its animals,
of the fiery angels who flew round the thrones of gods,
and the story of the creation of the world
from the waters of tiamat – of chaos.

And they began to retell these tales.
And like the enslaved after them,
from Roman to African slave,
they subverted their captors’ tales.

Noah not only had an Ark
but he witnessed the destruction of the proud,
the proud like the Babylonians.

The God of the burning bush
now also had seraphim,
literally burning ones,
who flew round God’s throne,
and the fiery ones of the Babylonians
worshipped the Hebrew God!

And then the Enûma Eliš
the Babylonian creation story.
The Hebrews retold this creation story,
but with a subverting current,
they told it against their captors,
and they even used the Babylonian seven day week…..

You have the night and day god?
Our God created night and day!

You have the dome gods?
Our God created your dome!

You have the water god?
Our God created the waters!

You have the crop god?
Our God created the crops!

You have sun and moon gods?
Our God created the sun and moon!

You have the god of the sea?
Our God created the sea!

You have the god of cattle?
Our God created the cattle!

With its repeated refrain,
There was evening and there was morning – the first day.
There was evening and there was morning – the second day….
And it’s repeated lines,
and God said,
and God said….
This song could be learned and chanted by the oppressed.

Like the afro-american spirituals
with their hidden anti-slavery meanings
Genesis chapter one,
the first of two different creation stories in Genesis,
was not a plodding explanation of the world,
but a song of hope and faith!
A song of high revolt!
A song of belief that their God of justice and freedom,
was above the gods of those who oppressed them.

And that freedom and justice did come,
and the gods of the Babylonians were lost in history,
in unexpected ways,
fulfilling the hope of the Hebrew song.
A song once sung by the captors,
but retold by the enslaved,
was remembered and recorded in rebuilt Jerusalem!


And then,
five centuries after the song had been sung
amongst Babylonian statues,
Yeshua ben Yosef,
Jesus son of Joseph,
who knew that song,
walked among the statues of mighty Rome,
of Jupiter and Mars and Caesar,
and went down to the waters,
where the Spirit
which the song spoke of brooding over creation,
hovered over him.
And he descended into the chaos of the world,
into its temptations and horrors,
in order to sing the song again.
A song of hope,
of justice,
of love,
of faith.
A song stronger than the one oppressors sing.
And coming out of the waters,
baptised, drenched, in that commission,
Jesus took up the song,
that leads through captivity
to true freedom from others’
and our own
hatreds, fears and oppression.




And now, 25 centuries after Babylon,
we are invited to allow the spirit to move us,
we who are baptised in the name of the Hebrew God,
to recite Genesis chapter one –
not as some trite, mindless explanation against science,
but as what it always has been,
a song of future hope,
of justice,
of faith,
of freedom,
before which fiery angels
and oppressors
bow down before!

Christmas Sermon

God said “let there be light”

The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness did not overcome it.



The Christmas stories are full of light and darkness.

Stars, and shining angels,
in the middles of darkness.

Yet we hear about this light so often
that we may miss it in the story.


Where is the light?

Where is the darkness in the Christmas stories?




Let us remember the story and look for the light and the darkness.


Upstairs in their house in Bethlehem,
Joseph’s family huddle safe behind closed doors.

They are safe from soldiers who march the streets
reminding them daily of the occupation of their country.
Safe from the influx of visitors
who have invaded their quiet town.

With the animals in the lower storey of the house,
the family slept the night in the family space upstairs,
the “kataluma”.

They knew how important family was
– and the importance of family values.
The family must be held in honour
and shame avoided at all costs.

So when their relative from Nazareth turned up
unmarried and with his pregnant girlfriend in toe
there was certainly no room for them in the kataluma,
a word sometimes also translated as Inn –
but here it is the family living space –
and instead they offered a place downstairs with the animals.

This is no kindly inn-keeper offering a stable
but a disgusted and proud family sending a pregnant girl
and her boyfriend
to sleep with the animals..
Because they knew what people thought of Joseph’s type.

So they were kept downstairs.

After all – what would the neighbours think otherwise?



So downstairs in the house in Bethlehem,
Joseph and Mary huddle with the animals.

Rejected by his family,
Joseph stays by the side of his disgraced fiancée,
in spite of the shame it has brought on him,
and the uncertain future it may bring.
Even if his family disapprove of his lifestyle.



Upstairs in the living space with family values and rejection
downstairs with the animals and public shame and love that risks everything.

Where is the darkness?

Where is the light?



In the synagogue in Bethlehem sit the local religious leaders.
They know who is in who is out.

To belong to the community you should do things properly
attend worship at the right times
after preparing yourself properly
and wearing smart clothes
and acting in the right way.

It’s not about judging people,
just sometimes you have to be tough
and keep the social order.


In the fields outside Bethlehem sit the local shepherds.
They know who is in who is out.

Their work means they can’t get to the synagogue all the time,
and have to work on the Sabbath.
They can’t do all the actions to keep themselves religiously clean,
and so they aren’t allowed to attend worship
or join in the festivals.
Though folk still eat their lamb
and use their wool.

Yet sometimes these shepherds
who live beyond the pale
see angels in unexpected places
and have to courage to seek peace on earth.

In the synagogue in Bethlehem with the socially acceptable.
In the fields outside Bethlehem with the outcast and angels.


Where is the darkness?

Where is the light?


In the power houses of the capital city are those who know the answers,
and can quote the Word of God to the minutest jot and tittle.
They tell folk what God says
and make sure that other people accept their authority.

They know that sometimes drastic action needs to be taken
for God’s word to be kept,
and for those to whom it is entrusted to keep control.

So when rumours of a new religious leader reach their ears
they know it may take violence to keep their power pure
and their version of faith and God’s control in place.
So children are slaughtered by soldiers
in the name of God ordained power
and by those reading God’s Word.

On the roads to the capital are those from distant lands,
foreigners who speak a different language,
who call God by a different name,
read different religious books
and are open minded enough to travel
and meet people who believe differently to them,
and listen to them,
and change their own ideas,
in order to discover a bigger truth than the one they thought they knew.


In the power houses of the capital city
On the roads to the capital


Where is the darkness?

Where is the light?


And tonight,

tonight, here in Bournemouth,



Where is the darkness?

Where is the light?


Where is darkness of judging others, and social seeking and close minded bigotry?

Where is the light of selfless love, outcasts who meet God and those with open minds?


Where are we?



Jesus said “You are the light of the world.”

All hearts are open

Well - it's been ages.....

After a really difficult first few months of the year, with horrible revelations and betrayals and with them the ending of my relationship, I had a great summer finding my feet, laughing LOTS, having an amazing Greenbelt, and being surrounded by amazing friends - some I'd known for years (Graeme, Su, Marty, Marcos...... and Mark proving his friendship and love so amazingly - i'll never forget how quickly he was at my side when I most needed him) and some brand new friends who have also turned out to be gold (Kevin, Nate, and Ant - I am so glad to have met you guys!!). Life has been fab - a grain needs to die etc..... and a new crop comes! By the time I got to Greenbelt (that spiritual and prophetic centre of my life) I felt fab!

BUT things then got even better.......

Just when i was centred, happy, sunny....I went and fell in love. Yay! I met the most amazing guy and it has all been awesome. He is funny, intelligent, inspiring, witty, loving, charming, sexy (oh boy!) - ok, ok, you get the impression I like him? LOL

I feel like me again. :-)

So now it's November and I'm heading from All Saints to Advent. This time of year I always read a text from my own tradition. This year I'm reading "The Cloud of Unknowing". Like many of the fab things in my life it is anonymous and mediaeval! LOL!

The book is about realising that knowledge is relational, that the heart beat of our life is love and embracing the mystery at the heart of all things pimarily through love. I love books and knowing stuff - but know that my life finds meaning in love (as the last two months testfy!). To enter into love is to enter the cloud of unknowing....in a real, lived-out, practical way.

What is "God"? - i don't know. Certainly (if that is anyway possible!) not the god of the fundamentalist nor the strawman of the radical atheist. I don't recognise those transparent deities. Yet there is a love at the centre of all things that i have discovered in and through the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth and in his person. It is a way - a word beyond words. We may as well call it "God" I guess. It is expressed by ++Tutu:

Goodness is stronger than evil,love is stronger than hate,light is stronger than darkness,life is stronger than death,victory is ours through him who loved us.

That is the mystery - that love will out. And the Cloud of Unknowing is about daring to approach that radical loving and to risk living it ( this is no vague, squshy love - this is the stuff that makes you feed the starving after all... ).

I hope i can learn to live this - cos i know that love does conquer all. A certain someone has transfomed my world with it....

The book begins with my favourite prayer. I've known it all my life and it is an English prayer - first known in the English Mediaeval Mass, where it looked like this:

Deus, cui omne cor patet,

et omnis voluntas loquitur,

et quem nullum latet secretum,

purifica per infusionem Sancti Spiritum

congetationis cordis nostri,

ut te perfecte diligere

et digne laudere mercamur.

The Cloud of Unknowing translates it:

God, unto whom all hearts be open,

and unto whom all will speaketh,

and unto whom no privy thing is hid.

I beseech thee so for the cleanse

the intent of mine heart

with the unspeakable gift of thy grace,

that I may perfectly love thee,

and worthily praise thee.

The version I grew up with was a modernisation of ++Cranmer's one in the book of common prayer:

Almighty God, to whom all hearts are open,

all desiers known,

and from whom no secrets are hidden.

Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts

by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,

that we may perfectly love you

and worthily magnify your holy name,

through Christ our Lord.

Yum!

I'll let you know how the book goes.

I am

Loved this today on Asbojesus.....



Asbojesus is one of my fave blogs - always worth a visit or three.

The price of love......

....committed same sex love at least....

Some odd pics

The West Window of Salisbury Cathedral,

reflected in the new font.

An outside service with inspiring Iona folk.....

Mmmmmmmmm hot chocolate!

But the company made this so good.....

Greenbelt quotes

As always, Greenbelt was awesome!

Lots of special times - many in the beer tent - but some challenging stuff too.....so two for you which really jump out of my notebook:

We read the Gospel as if we had no money,
and spend our money as if there were no Gospel. (Christian Aid)

and a reason why we never get of our arses and change the world....

I think I'm waiting to be Jesus. (Aradhna - amazing band!!)

Pick up your cross

Oh boy - let this slip again.....!!! Blame Facebook!

Firstly, a sermon from ages back....

Will you come and follow me,
if I but call your name?

Carrying crosses is never easy.
There is no place to put a handle,
no way of folding it neatly away,
no way of hiding it.

The call to carry your cross
is a call to live out your life following Jesus
at the risk of public disgrace.

Jesus calls you to love radically and outrageously
in public.
To give your whole life to loving his way.
You cannot carry a cross
half-heartedly
or secretly.

And simply preaching at people
to tell them you are carrying Jesus’ cross
is not the same as carrying it.

If you choose to care for the hurting,
to love the unloved,
to stand with those others find disgusting,
to speak for those with silenced voices -
your manner of life may draw attention to you.
Those who feel exposed by your radical loving
may choose to attack you in order to remove the spotlight from themselves.
They will find names to belittle you,
even mine the scriptures
for words they can throw
in order seemingly to have God on their side.

Just as happened to Jesus as he went to Jerusalem
and took up his cross.

And he calls us now to do the same.

To risk the hostile stare,
and carry on loving inclusively and completely.



Will you come and follow me,
if I but call your name?


The call to carry your cross
is a call to live out your life following Jesus
at the risk of your loving being unnoticed.

How often had Jesus healed and made whole,
touched and held,
and fed and brought new life
to the folk around him.

And yet on the way to the Cross
the love shown
is forgotten by those determined to hate.

Your love may also be missed by the crowds.

Jesus calls you to love radically and outrageously
even if no-one thanks you
or gives you honour.
To give your whole life to loving his way.
You cannot carry a cross half-heartedly
or without risk.

People may ignore your loving,
and not seek to praise you.

Just as happened to Jesus as he went to Jerusalem
and took up his cross.

And he calls us now to do the same.

To live at risk of being unseen,
and carry on loving inclusively and completely.


Will you come and follow me,
if I but call your name?

Carrying crosses is never dignified.
There is no place to hide on a cross,
no suit to disguise your nakedness,
no way of hiding your very self
as vulnerability and pain reveal the self you’d rather hide.

The call to carry your cross
is a call to live out your life following Jesus
as yourself, loved and vulnerable.

Carrying your cross
will show up all that is in you,
anger and hatred
prejudice and bigotry
are all shown up when we have to struggle.

You could claim a lemon was an orange
but under pressure
you soon know what juice it contains.

Jesus calls us to carry the cross of vulnerability,
to discover what is really in us.
But carrying the cross does more than
simply reveal what is in you
it is the way of healing.
When revealing what is in you
Jesus wants you to know that you are loved
not the you you pretend to be
but the real you that you hide inside.

Knowing that you are loved
is part of carrying your cross –
letting go of the way you may attack others
to reflect attention away from your true self,
or beat up yourself in disgust.
And as more and more
you find yourself loved
so more and more
you find that you can love God and others
as you love your self.
For this is carrying your cross.


Maybe for the first time in your life
you may find your true self on show.

Just as happened to Jesus as he went to Jerusalem
and took up his cross.

And he calls us now to do the same.

To live at risk of true healing vulnerability,
and carry on loving inclusively and completely.


Will you come and follow me,
if I but call your name?


To carry your cross and follow Jesus

is a call to live out your life
at the risk of public disgrace,
is a call to live out your life
at the risk of your loving being unnoticed,
is a call to live out your life
as yourself, loved and vulnerable.

Because it is the call to abundant life,
true life,
life that transforms the world around.


Will you come and follow me,
if I but call your name?

+Gene pronounces blessing.....

I found this today via his holiness Fr Madpriest...

Great words with which to head to Greenbelt - so this is for all who will go there with me, and for those I leave behind to make my pilgrimage...







I think I shall be learning these words.

cake!

Why is it that the gym has food programmes on the tv's when I'm trying to think about the X-Trainer? Thank goodness the guy in front had a nice arse to distract me!

Gorau awen gwirionedd

Well - it's five months since I blogged, and after some nagging from unexpected friends (I really thought it was only the holy ones who read this.....!!) I'm finally back.

The big thing since my last post was breaking up with my partner of four years. Lots of tears and pain..... those who know me well know the details and those who don't can safely leave it all in the past....

Work, in spite of the machinations of several episcopal bigots, is fab and keeps me fed and feeding which can't be bad. Read some good stuff, seen the odd good film (go and bop to Mama Mia if you haven't yet!), had a fab holiday (Gran Canaria with two ace guys), being looked after by awesome old friends and making some great new ones, some fab dates :-), and got my life back in gear.....

Through all of it I kept returning to a Welsh expression - Gorau awen gwirionedd - the best inspiration (lit: muse) is truth......

Anyway - I need an early night due to the Olympics last night (watching NOT participating) so catch you soon.

xxx