Easter 7  May 24th

A school teacher once gave me some very wise advice. They said that in order to know the student, it was helpful to meet the parents. Meeting Mum and Dad often helped to explain all sorts of things about the student and gave you a bit of background.

I thought about this as I read John 17:3

“And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent”.

So in order to know Jesus, it might be helpful to reflect on Mary and Joseph. They are the bits of the jigsaw puzzle that surround the central figure of Jesus.

Mark and John start their gospel with an adult Jesus. It is left to Luke and Matthew to give us the scanty bits of infant narratives and reveal something of the people who had most the intimate connection with Jesus.

So what do we learn?

From Lukes gospel we learn that Mary and Jospeh set out when Jesus was old enough to go to Jerusalem for the rite of purification. And…

Each year they used to go up to Jerusalem for the feast of the passover.

Jospeh and Mary were good practising Jews. They would have gone to the synagogue on a regular basis and this in part explains why we read in Jesus adult life.

“When Jesus came to Nazareth, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as… was… his… custom”.

And I reckon there must have been times when the homily at the synagogue was tedious, or their local rabbi made a mistake, or the parishioners, like us, struggled with their faith. But Mary and Joseph would have persisted and got themselves to synagogue on the sabbath.

So thats one thing we learn about Jospeh and Mary - faithfulness.

What else do we learn?

Mary and Jospeh were open to Gods surprises for them. The Archangel Gabrielle was a surprise for Mary. Jospeh is a man tormented by dreams where he is encouraged to take his fiancée as his wife when he has privately made up his mind to do other wise. Their travel plans back home to Galilee were messed about first by Herod and then by Herod's son Archelaus.

When they lose their son in Jerusalem they are surprised at Jesus response when they vent their understandable angst and relief.

“Did you not know I must be about my Fathers business?’

I wonder if Mary and Jospeh told child Jesus about the interruptions to their humdrum life. Certainly if Mary was anything like my Mum, she would be frequently recounting his mysterious, yet joyful birth and the time he wandered off all by himself. Perhaps Mary told Jesus about or fleeing from Herod.

My guess is that Jesus knew he also worshipped the God surprise and mystery. Always just getting a small part of the picture which tantalised and drew you into wanting to know more and understand more deeply.

Jesus grew up knowing that God interrupts with surprises and plans of his own and sometimes they are not altogether to our liking and certainly they are frequently beyond our understanding.

One final thing about Mary and Jospeh. They knew that it wasn’t about them. Yes they were important and without Mary saying Yes and Jospeh’s protection there may not have been the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.

But after all the dreams, surprises, tricks and giggles, Mary and Jospeh understood that it must always be about what God wants. They lived that out in all its ache and sparkle and wonder as they watched Jesus grow and mature. As Luke so beautifully puts it. “Mary pondered all these things in her heart”  and … “the child grew and became strong in Spirit”. It was never just going to be about them. It was always going to be about their son Jesus, the Messiah, the Christ, the son of God.

So too, Jesus knows that He is sent to do his Fathers will and this wrestle is made very clear in the Garden of gethsemane and on the cross.

“Not my will but your will”. “Into your hands I commend my spirit.”

So what might we learn?

That our vocation is to simply to be faithful. To rock up as often as we can and connect in what ever way we can, and love him as passionately as we can.

We learn that we worship a God of surprise and that we ought not to be surprised, if we are surprised.

Finally its always been about Him and clergy in particular need to be reminded that it always about the one true high priest.

So by reflecting on Mary and Jospeh, we get a  more comprehensive understanding of who Jesus is and nudge each other just a little closer to eternal life.

Remember where we began?

And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

The Sunday Morning Mass on the 24th of May will be live streamed at 10:30am from Christchurch Hamilton We are pleased to announce that  there will be weekday services for up to 10 people at Christchurch Hamilton.

Morning Prayer 7:15am Tuesday - Saturday

Evening Prayer 5:00pm Tuesday - Saturday

Eucharist  10:00am  Wednesday

In order to ‘book’ one of these highly desirable places, please contact Fr. David no later than the day before you wish to attend.

Ph. (03) 5571 1317

M / Text 0423 671 692

Email droulton72@gmail.com

We need to keep your details in order to comply with government regulations.

If you aren’t feeling well, it is probably best that you wait a while before attending.

In order to maximise social distancing all 4 church doors will be open and these services will be held in the main body of the Church.

We look forward to welcoming you back!

The Sunday Morning Mass will be live streamed at 10:30am.

We are pleased to announce that  there will be weekday services for up to 10 people at Christchurch Hamilton.

Morning Prayer 7:15am Tuesday - Saturday

Evening Prayer 5:00pm Tuesday - Saturday

Eucharist  10:00 am  Wednesday

In order to ‘book’ one of these highly desirable places, please contact Fr. David no later than the day before you wish to attend.

Ph. (03) 5571 1317

M / Text 0423 671 692

Email droulton72@gmail.com

We need to keep your details in order to comply with government regulations.

If you aren’t feeling well, it is probably best that you wait a while before attending.

In order to maximise social distancing all 4 church doors will be open and these services will be held in the main body of the Church.

We look forward to welcoming you back!

From Tuesday 26th of May there will be weekday services for up to 10 people at Christchurch Hamilton.

That’s great!!… what else do I need to know??

In order to ‘book’ one of these highly desirable places, please contact Fr. David no later than the day before you wish to attend.

Ph. (03) 5571 1317

M / Text 0423 671 692

Email droulton72@gmail.com

We need to keep your details in order to comply with government regulations.

If you aren’t feeling well, it is probably best that you wait a while before attending.

O.K… So when are these services being held?

Morning Prayer 7:15 am Tuesday - Saturday

Evening Prayer 5:00 pm Tuesday - Saturday

Eucharist  10:00 am  Wednesday

The Sunday mass will be live streamed from St. Marks Cavendish on Sunday 17th of May at 10:30am.

https://www.facebook.com/AnglicanHamilton

A reflection for Sunday May 17th

Easter 6, May 17th

God first took the initiative by loving us. God always takes the initiative and He always will. Its just that we don’t realise it and we are always playing catchup.

An example of this is the sacrament of ordination. In our heady rush to get to the altar the clergy can be tempted to  think that that have cooked the whole thing up themselves. But God had this planned a long time ago.

And for me at least Jeremiah 1:5 sings very loudly

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

and before you were born I consecrated you;”

Let me offer some other times when God has taken the initiative for us all.

God took the initiative when He gave us the gift of creation.

God took the initiative in giving us the commandments.

God took the initiative by sending us His Son Jesus.

Jesus took the initiative by His willing acceptance of death.

God took the initiative by rising from the dead.

Jesus took the initiative in giving us the eucharist.

God has taken the initiative in giving us the gift of baptism.

God has taken the initiative by giving us the example of the foot washing.

God has taken the initiative by sending us the gift the Holy Spirit which is what this mornings gospel is alluding to. You will also see in the gospel that there is the dance of initiative and response.

Listen closely  and see if you can see this dance of initiative and response.

15 ‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you for ever.

18 ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. 19 In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.

 It’s complex stuff and I encourage you to read it again in your own time. But lets unpack it just a little.

God first takes the initiative in giving us the commandments. Our response is to keep those commandments.

In turn Jesus asks the Father, to send us  another Advocate, to be with us.

Also in response to us Jesus will come to us, we will see Him and  we will live.

And I want to come back to this delightful lovers dance of initiative and response a bit later.

Next in the gospel there is a very exciting bit.

Jesus says You will know several things.

1. That I am in my father
2. You will be in me
3. I will be in you.

This is thrilling  because it means that

The closeness, intimacy and relationship that Jesus has with the Father, is exactly the same closeness, intimacy and relationship that we are called to enjoy with Jesus.

Uh huh.

The closeness, intimacy and relationship that Jesus has with the Father, is exactly the same closeness, intimacy and relationship that we are called to enjoy with Jesus.

And what is more…

This is the same closeness, intimacy and relationship that we are called to enjoy with each other.

And this is where I come back to that scary, tentative  dance of initiative and response.

I began by pointing out that God has alway taken the initiative in loving us. For God that was a risky, risky business and the cost was eye-wateringly high. There are big chunks all throughout the bible where God takes the initiative in loving his people, only to be disappointed and you can probably think of a few examples yourself.

But I believe that taking the initiative to love and serve is not just God’s vocation but it is also our vocation. This is not easy. It is treacherous territory and if we love and serve properly, there must inevitably be times when we also are rejected and dejected. In this love business, there must be a cost, as well as reward. So whenever you find yourself paining for whoever, or whatever, then you will know,… know in very the deepest part of you, that you have authentically loved and that you are walking very closely with Him who is love.

You will arrive at that point and come to that understanding when…

“You know him, because He abides with you, and He will be in you.”

I have dabbled in that which I swore I never would. That formidable world called “Facebook”. I have tiptoed in with much trepidation. What would I discover lurking in the depths of this vast ocean of social media? To be honest I think that I am only splashing around in the shallows and that suits me just fine.

There is much to be commended about this platform. People do reach out to each other to encourage and inform. This is a positive thing and I am grateful for those who simply put one of those smiley faces on my words or live streamed services. So what’s not to like?

What saddens me on social media and the ‘other media’ is the posturing by a minority of folk to inflame anger or apportion blame. I find this disappointing, because it is often misinformed. Further it also amplifies some voices at the expense of the defenceless. But what is most scary of all, is that it seems that we are unable to disembark from this downward spiral of mutual antagonism.

To consciously choose to perpetuate an adversarial narrative at this distressing time, shifts our focus away from those who are most vulnerable in our society and perpetuates the illness of prejudice that is even more devastating, infectious and lingering than COVID 19 itself.

Our energies and prayers are more properly and appropriately directed to those who have no voice at this time and those whose work is devoted to saving their life.

Is it not clear that the childish retaliation of petulant words, cannot solve today's global problems? Sabre rattling, and witch hunting are not signs of greatness, but are admissions of defeat and by their very nature, political shenanigans must always fails us.

Sunday mornings mass will be live streamed from Christchurch Hamilton at 10:30am https://www.facebook.com/AnglicanHamilton on May the 10th

I was in grade 5 at Warracknabeal Primary School, when the principal walked into our classroom and calmly said. “Johnny,” (obviously not his real name) “There is a message for you at the office.”Johnny promptly left the classroom and the real reason for the principals visit tumbled out.He explained that over the weekend Johnny had been caught stealing a radio. Things didn’t get better. Johnny had an older brother and in secondary school they frequently used to spend their lunchtimes in a passionate game of fisticuffs until either a teacher came, or one of them fell to the ground bleeding.On the night before Johnny was due to go to prison he took his life into his own hands.  I want to come back to Johnny later.This mornings gospel is one we are used to hearing at funerals. “Do not let your hearts be troubled, trust in God. In my Fathers house there are many rooms.” But it is the disciples questions that I find most encouraging. It starts with good ol Thomas.Jesus has politely explained that …He is going away and they know the place where he is going.Thomas replies, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’

Then Phillip gets on board and has a go.Philip said to Jesus ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’In response to Thomas and Phillip, Jesus points back to himself. To Thomas ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.To Phillip, and here Jesus frustration is beginning to show.“Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me, has seen the Father?So the answer to the disciples questions, and therefore our questions, is to direct our attention back to the Master himself.

All that is right, and good, and proper, but in these irksome days some of us, myself included, might be finding it a bit harder to see Him. We are unable to partake of Him in the bread and wine of the altar in the usual way and the chances of us seeing him in the faces of others is greatly diminished in this time of social distancing and staying at home.So what do we hang onto?A few things that I find useful and perhaps you might too.Someone once gave me a little metal cross. Its about the size of the palm of my hand and I hold onto it when I say my morning and evening prayers. Sometimes the hard metal digs into my skin and reminds me of a few uncomfortable, but helpful truths.The other thing that I enjoy is holding onto the prayer book or bible. I know that you can do all of morning and evening prayer on a tablet, or phone these days, and I get the whole … ‘not having to look up the lessons thing’, but for me at least there is something quite reassuring about holding a book in my hands. Finally, I discover things that I have missed in the reading of the scriptures. I’m chugging along and thinking “Oh yeah.. I know how this bit goes” and all of sudden I see something that I have never seen before. Or at best, I rediscover something I had learnt years ago and forgotten.Something else to think about. Perhaps the trick is not just wanting to see, understand and reach out to Our Lord. Part of it must be allowing ourselves to be accessible to Him. To be open to the possibilities of what He has to teach us and show us. Maybe its as simple as just making ourselves available and accessible to Him. We willingly schedule time into our diaries to listen and learn from others… why not for Our Lord as well. What is it that he wants to bring to his meeting with you?So what of Johnny. Johnny came to mind the other day at morning prayer. So I found myself praying for him, which is something I should have been doing for the last umpteen years.  The cross dug into my hands as a little reminder of someone who  also died a grizzly, lonely death. By a marvellous coincidence the lesson for morning prayer was something that finally made sense of Johnnys life in a fresh, helpful  and hopeful way.  ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe[ in God, believe also in me.  In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.