May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us all. Amen.
Collect
God of truth, help us to keep your law of love and to walk in ways of wisdom,
that we may find true life in Jesus Christ your Son. Amen.
Confession
Let us call to mind our sins, and make confession to our heavenly Father.
Most merciful God, we have sinned in thought and word and deed. We are truly sorry, and we ask you to forgive. Help us by your Spirit to live the new life in Christ, loving you with all our heart, and our neighbours as ourselves; for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.
May the God of love bring us back to himself, forgive us our sins, and assure us of his eternal love, in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Readings - 2 Corinthians, chapter 4 verse 13 to chapter 5 verse 1
Scripture says, ‘I believed, and therefore I spoke out,’ and we too, in the same spirit of faith, believe and therefore speak out; for we know that he who raised the Lord Jesus to life will with Jesus raise us too, and bring us to his presence, and you with us. Indeed, all this is for your sake, so that, as the abounding grace of God is shared by more and more, the greater may be the chorus of thanksgiving that rises to the glory of God.
No wonder we do not lose heart! Though our outward humanity is in decay, yet day by day we are inwardly renewed. Our troubles are slight and short-lived, and their outcome is an eternal glory which far outweighs them, provided our eyes are fixed, not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are unseen; for what is seen is transient, what is unseen is eternal. We know that if the earthly frame that houses us today is demolished, we possess a building which God has provided - a house not made by human hands, eternal and in heaven.
Mark, chapter 3, verses 20 to the end
Jesus entered a house, and once more such a crowd collected round them that they had no chance even to eat. When his family heard about it they set out to take charge of him. ‘He is out of his mind,’ they said.
The scribes, too, who had come down from Jerusalem, said, ‘He is possessed by Beelzebul,’ and, ‘He drives out demons by the prince of demons.’ So he summoned them, and spoke to them in parables: ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand; if a household is divided against itself, that house cannot stand; and if Satan is divided and rebels against himself, he cannot stand, and that is the end of him.
‘On the other hand, no one can break into a strong man’s house and make off with his goods unless he has first tied up the strong man; then he can ransack the house.
‘Truly I tell you: every sin and every slander can be forgiven; but whoever slanders the Holy Spirit can never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.’ He said this because they had declared that he was possessed by an unclean spirit.
Then his mother and his brothers arrived; they stayed outside and sent in a message asking him to come out to them. A crowd was sitting round him when word was brought that his mother and brothers were outside asking for him. ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ he replied. And looking round at those who were sitting in the circle about him he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’
Thanks be to God, for this his holy word. Amen.
A Reflection on the Reading (a shorter version of this Sunday’s sermon)
Peter Kerr lectured on pastoral studies at the theological college at which I trained for ministry, and he was very much a hands-on practical parish priest. Pastoral studies was a welcome change from all the academic study of scripture and church history and doctrine and New Testament Greek. It was about the stuff we were really there to prepare to do. I recall at one seminar reference was made (I don’t recall who by) of “those who are washing their cars on a Sunday morning instead of being in church.” And this question in response - “Who is guiltier in the sight of God - the person who isn’t in church on a Sunday, or the folk who are there, but haven’t invited him or convinced him?”
That raises all sorts of further questions, of course. Like, “If the vicar isn’t inviting or convincing people, how can we expect anyone else to?” and “If we speak of Christian discipleship in terms just of being in church on a Sunday, is that actually right or fair?”
Paul, though, is very clear in his Second Letter to the Corinthians; for him, the spirit of faith is about believing and therefore speaking out. Not all of us are called to be preachers, though; so maybe we should replace “speaking out” with “living it out” - living out the faith: people should be aware of a difference in us, because, as Paul again says: “Our eyes are fixed not on the things that are seen, which are transient, but on the things that are unseen, which are eternal.
Now I want to link that thought to something Jesus said in our reading from Mark, which is that every sin and slander can be forgiven, except slander against the Holy Spirit. Or “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit”, in other versions. What does he mean by that? Well, clearly he had the scribes, the religious experts, in his sights, because they were accusing him of being league with the devil. To mis-label what he was doing in that way was to speak evil of God, and to do so largely because the preaching of Jesus was a threat to their status and their comfortable lives.
What would be the equivalent today? Is it a slander against the Spirit to insist that our faith is “just between me and God”, and therefore not something for sharing or shouting about? No, I don’t think it is; mostly that’s just how many of us were brought up, being British, and reserved, and maybe a bit shy.
But what is I think a slander against the Spirit is when religion I used purely as a means towards personal gain. The person who knows the truth of the Gospel, or claims to, but then twists it to suit his own ends, and manipulates people in was that do damage. I am thinking of the tele-evangelists of the redneck Right, with their prosperity Gospel and (some of them) their palaces and private jets. But I am also thinking of those who’ve used their status and their charisma as church leaders to abuse and exploit others, and - sadly - even our own Church of England has not been immune from this.
Jesus said, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” You may think that somewhat disrespectful of his own family who were concerned for his safety and welfare; but it is also an offer and a challenge. God seeks a family relationship with us; and Jesus on Easter morning said to Mary Magdalene, “Tell my brothers that I am ascending to my father and their father.” The challenge comes when we think about the level of commitment he calls from us - not visitors, not enthusiasts, not members of a club, not employees with a job to do - but family.
Statement of faith - We believe in God the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. We believe in God the Son, who lives in our hearts through faith, and fills us with his love. We believe in God the Holy Spirit, who strengthens us with power from on high. We believe in one God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen.
Prayers - Pray for the Church everywhere to be strong in discipleship and mission. Pray for Christians in Myanmar (Burma), and for the Anglican Church in that land. In our own Diocese, pray we may safeguard those who are vulnerable among us, including children, those with special needs, and the elderly, and that our faith may be life-affirming for all.
Pray for the world: for those discriminated against because of race or language or creed, and all who live under the shadow of tyranny or conflict; pray for wise leadership and clear vision in the government of our own nation, and for all in places of power and influence in our world.
Pray for all who are struggling or in need today: for all who are grieving and for those who are lonely, or worried, or anxious. Pray for a measured and careful response to the new Covid variants that threaten the “road map” to recovery. Pray for all who are ill, and all who care for them, especially for intensive care staff. Pray too for carers within families, some of whom feel unsupported.
Pray for families and friends, and for the life of our communities. Pray for our schools as the new half-term begins, and for all for whom this will be their last school year before moving on to high school, college or university, or into employment or perhaps the lack of employment. Pray we may continue to look out for one another, and keep safe ourselves.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Blessing
May we be on our guard, standing firm in the faith, as people of fortitude and courage; and may all that we do be done in love; and so may the blessing of God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, surround and sustain us now and always. Amen.
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