Sermon on Acts 10:44-end and John 15:9-17

Sermon on Acts 10:44-end and John 15:9-17
Originally given 05 May 2024 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry

Lately I have been thinking about the idea of belonging. What does it mean to belong? Why is it important to belong? I have spent a lot of my life feeling like I don’t belong. As the baby sister, my brother, who I adore, would keep me out of his friendship circle when we were growing up, because I was too young and a girl, so I didn’t belong. At school, I was academically gifted, but I struggled to create friendships with people who looked down on my working-class background, pointing out my non-branded clothing, a visual sign that I didn’t belong. Growing up in the ‘Bible Belt’, I struggled with my sexuality, because it was made clear by the Christians around me I would only be accepted if I was in a heterosexual relationship with someone who was cis-gender, so as someone who was made with open attractions I didn’t belong. As an immigrant in this country, I regularly meet people who hear my accent and ask about where I am ‘really’ from, a question that suggests I am in a place where I don’t belong. According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, ‘belonging’ falls right in the middle of what a person needs to survive and thrive. It is not as important as basic physical and safety needs, but it is necessary in order for us to develop our self-esteem and to experience self-actualisation. So psychology tells us that we have to belong, or feel accepted and loved by others, before we are able to fully accept and love ourselves. 

Both our readings from today talk about belonging in some way. In Acts, it is about the Gentiles belonging to God and the community of believers, and in John it is about belonging to God and each other. The reading from Acts describes how the Gentiles experienced the Holy Spirit when they heard Peter preaching. The Gentiles, who were seen as outsiders by the circumcised believers, were filled by the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues and extolling God. This group of people do not fit the expectations of those following Peter, so Peter has to explicitly order that these Gentiles be baptised. He recognises that in the holy waters of Christ, there are no outsiders. And so this group of Gentiles, who were once on the outside, move into the acceptance and belonging of Jesus through the waters of baptism. This group of Gentiles, who faithful followers said did not belong, were overcome by the Holy Spirit. Because every single person belongs according to the Holy Spirit since we were all made in the image of God. And to be clear, that image is not a set criteria, but rather a plethora of images which we see reflected in the diversity of the human race. 

We then have the message from the Gospel reading, which is quite clear: love one another, just as Christ loves you. Loving others and feeling loved by others is the basic definition of belonging. And the love from Christ which we are told to express for each other is not something superficial, but a deep bond, one in which we abide with Christ. We live in Christ, and Christ lives in us through his love for us and our love for him. But that love is only fully expressed through loving each other. Loving each other, allowing for each of us to feel that sense of belonging, is what shows our love for Christ. It is impossible to love Christ without loving each other, and if we do not love each other, then we do not love Christ. 

I appreciate this can be a difficult idea to accept, especially when you come across challenging people. You may be familiar with the saying, ‘you will never look into the eyes of someone God does not love.’ I often turn to this saying when I find someone challenging to love. But I also remember that not only does God love the person I find challenging, God also loves me, with all my flaws and imperfections. God actually sees me, and all people, as perfect because we were all made in God’s image. And it is because of this unconditional, unfailing love from God that I am able to feel like I truly belong somewhere. I may be an outsider in various ways, but when it comes to the love of God, I know I am always on the inside, I always belong. I know that the love of God lives inside of me. And I know that the love of God lives inside each one of you, my sisters and brothers.

Let this be a reminder: If ever there is a time when you feel like you don’t belong, when you are told by people, or institutions, or governments that you are not allowed because of who you are as a person, whether it’s because of your gender or race or sexuality or ability or immigration status, remember who you are. Remember you are the beloved child of God, made in the image of God, and you belong to God. You will always belong. And because you always belong in the love of God, then all who you meet also belong in the love of God. It is through God’s love that we love each other, so we not only belong to God, but we also belong to each other. And we show that belonging through loving each other. Because the greatest command is to love God and love each other. So let us rise up as one church and go out to fulfil this command: Love!

Sermon on Matthew 17:1-9 (Transfiguration)

Sermon on Matthew 17:1-9 (Transfiguration)
Originally given 19 February 2023 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry

Becoming
Beloved
Believing

As I read through today’s Gospel, retelling the Transfiguration of Christ, it was these three words that kept repeating in my heart: Becoming, beloved, believing.

A few Christmas’s ago, I received Michelle Obama’s autobiography, which is called Becoming. While the book itself is remarkable, it was first the title that I found to be incredibly moving and gave me pause for thought. This one word seems to perfectly summarise all our journeys in life. God knits us together in our mother’s womb, but we are not born as a final product. We begin life waiting to be shaped and moulded into the people we are meant to become. Our lives are not static, but constantly changing and growing. The very essence of who we are is not something we are born into, but rather who we become over time. When I started theological college, someone told me, ‘don’t fake it ‘til you make it, fake it ‘til you become it.’ I think that can be incredibly difficult and even terrifying. Because we never, in fact, fully become who we are until the day we die. 

In the Transfiguration, a few of the disciples got a tiny glimpse of who Jesus was to become. A figure clothed in blinding light, not meant for this world. Do you ever think about who you are becoming? Do you see yourself becoming a more perfect model of Christ’s love in the world? Do you see yourself becoming disillusioned with the lack of love in the world? We are called to love God and love each other in our life, so are we becoming a reflection of that calling? Are we fully embracing who it is we are meant to become?

Thinking of loving God and loving our neighbour, the Transfiguration also reminds us that God loves us. The Transfiguration is the second time we hear the voice of God saying, ‘this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.’ The first time we hear this is at the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist in the river Jordan. Jesus is baptised, the Holy Spirit appears in the form of a dove, and the voice of God declares, ‘this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.’ Whenever I do a baptism, I always try to read the Baptism of Jesus as the reading for three main reasons. Firstly, in reading about the baptism of Jesus, we are shown a model of what we should do as Christians, which is to get baptised. Second, this is one of the few times that the trinitarian God is clearly present and allows for an opportunity to talk about our faith in a single, yet triune God. Thirdly, and for me the most important reason I read this passage to the people and families who come for baptism, is that we hear the voice of God saying, ‘this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased.’ I make clear that those who go for baptism are the beloved children with whom God is well pleased. Being beloved is not reserved only for Jesus Christ. Every single one of us is a beloved child of God. 

And as we reflect on whether we are becoming the people God has called us to become, we also have to reflect on whether we are showing all of God’s people that they too are God’s beloved children. Do the people on the street know how much God loves them by the actions of those who walk by? Do people in the LGBTQ+ community know they are deeply loved by God? Do people from the Black and Asian Minority Ethnic community feel the full love of God reflected on them through the Church? Do people who are differently abled know that they too are a beloved child of God exactly as they are? How much are we doing as people who love God to show every single person that God also loves them? That God loves every single part of them? Whether or not we humans understand each other, whether or not we agree with each other, God made every single one of us and loves every single one of us and commands that we love every single one of us, not in our words but in our actions.

At the end of today’s Gospel reading, Jesus says, ‘Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.’ I wonder what the disciples made of such a bold comment? Surely they didn’t even fully understand what they had seen, so how could they have possibly relayed what they had seen to anyone else? In a few months’ time, we’ll hear the Gospel reading from John 20 when Jesus says, ‘blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’ Those of us who claim Christ as practising Christians can count ourselves among the blessed who have not seen, insofar as we have not seen the Transfiguration. We have not seen Christ Jesus crucified and resurrected. We have not seen the nail marks in Jesus’s hands, feet, and side. 

But we are gathered here today because we have seen something or someone in our lives that leads us to continue believing. We are here because we have reason to keep believing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We are here because we keep believing Jesus was God incarnate who showed us how to love each other. We are here because someone else, believing in the Gospel message, showed us Christ’s love. We are here for so many different reasons, but all these reasons can be summarised in the fact that we know it is right to keep believing regardless of what the world or logic may say. It makes no sense that God chose a weak human body to show us love. It makes no sense that God allowed a brutal death on the cross. It makes no sense that we are called to believe without seeing. 

But we are here. We are on a journey of becoming the people who reflect God in our actions. We are here as beloved children of God who will show all the world they too are beloved children with our Gospel of love. We are here believing that God will continue to guide us on our journeys ever closer to God’s loving embracing.

Becoming
Beloved
Believing

Sermon on Philippians 1:1-18

Sermon on Philippians 1:1-18 (Luke 9:46-48)
Originally given 22 May 2022 at St. Alban’s Church, Coventry

Our first reading today is taken from Saint Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We know the letter was written to followers of Christ in Philippi, and that it was written by Paul when he was imprisoned, but we don’t know where exactly he was imprisoned. Of course, it doesn’t necessarily matter where he was writing from, but sometimes it can be helpful to know context, especially when reading through Paul’s letters. For example, we might know the general population he was writing to, but we don’t know the specifics of who he wrote to or even why he wrote this letter. And we certainly don’t have the other side of the letters, such as an initial letter or a response to this letter if there was one. 

Now it might sound like I’m being overly critical of details, but when it comes to Paul, I have to admit he is not particularly a favourite of mine. For me as a queer woman, many of the words attibuted to Paul have painfully been used against me throughout my lifetime. He has been known as the author of some of the so-called ‘texts of terror’ which have made Christian life difficult for both LGBTQ people and women. But when I went to theological college, I discovered that Paul didn’t necessarily write everything he has been given credit for, and I also learned that context is vital in order to appropriately interpret Scripture. So to add a bit more context to today’s reading, I will say that it was written in the early days of the Church when the majority of people had not yet heard of Jesus Christ.

Quite often in the Church of England, I have heard the term ‘bums on seats’ referring to how many people we can get into a church service. It is a phrase that makes me bristle because I feel it misses out on the heart of the Gospel message. Of course we are meant to spread the Good News of Christ Jesus, but not for the sake of getting more bodies into our church buildings. We should bring the Gospel out into the world because we are moved to love others like Christ who modelled perfect love for us. And the people sat in church buildings should be there because they have discovered the love of Christ and they want to grow to love Christ more. In Philippians 1:15 when Paul says some ‘proclaim Christ from envy and rivalry’, to me that feels like a ‘bums on seats’ reasoning for spreading the Gospel. Then Paul says motives do not matter as long as Christ is proclaimed, which is increasingly problematic for me at first glance.

This is one of those moments in Scripture that I have to pause, take a deep breath, and remember the context. For us in our modern times, in this church building, in this country, I think it is quite easy to have pure motives and reasonings for spreading the Gospel. Although there are still and will always be gaps where the Gospel has yet to reach, most people in our context have at least a basic knowledge of who Jesus Christ is. Paul was not so fortunate. He lived at a time when the majority of people had never heard of Jesus Christ, so he rejoiced at every new encounter, regardless of motivation. And perhaps Paul’s faith was strong enough that he believed no matter how people discovered Christ, the Holy Spirit would work to make their hearts pure in their belief of Christ. So maybe this time I’ll cut Paul some slack.

And there are a few other points Paul makes in this passage that I think are helpful to us today. In verse 6 Paul talks about the good work that God began in us that will be completed on Christ’s return. Although he was addressing the people of Philippi, I think we can take comfort in knowing that we are all a work in progress. We were not born as the finished product. We all have made and will continue to make mistakes. But God is still working on each of us. Helping us to grow and to one day be made whole. But that day will not come until we have a new heaven and new earth. And a new us, made good and perfect by the love of God. 

While most people probably think of 1 Corinthians 13 when they think of Paul’s take on what love means, I think Philippians 1:9-10 is a helpful snippet concerning what Paul thinks is the character of good love. Paul describes a love full of knowledge and insight that helps determine what is best. I think this is a love that asks questions and challenges injustices. It is a love that brings us closer to the Kingdom described by Jesus in today’s Gospel reading, when Jesus speaks of the subversive nature of God’s Kingdom. By putting the focus on a child who is considered weak and with no authority, Jesus is showing that the love of God’s Kingdom brings the mighty low and exalts the lowly. The love of Jesus is full of the knowledge of right and wrong, and it is good for us to strive to copy that love.

The final verse that I would like to highlight is verse 12, when Paul says, ‘what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel.’ What has happened to him is that he has been unjustly thrown in prison. What has happened to him is that he has been tortured. What has happened to him is awful and inhumane. Nevertheless, Paul is able to find the joy of God among the challenges. Without a doubt, this is a difficult task in our lives as Christians. There will be occasions where we feel at a complete loss, as if our whole life has shattered around us and our heart along with it. But even then, God is there among the ruins. In the darkest times, there is always a glimmer of God’s hope if we look for it. I won’t pretend to know why bad things happen to good people, but I do have faith that God has the power to turn the most desperate situations into something good if we have the faith to look for it. Sometimes it’s not easy. Sometimes it feels impossible. But with each passing day we can look back and see the seeds that have been planted that God has turned into flourishing hope and joy.

So while Paul may not be my favourite, in the context of his time, I think he did make some good points that we see in today’s reading. Firstly, God is working on each of us to make us whole and good, ready for the day Christ comes again. Second, full knowledge is foundational to a Christian love that helps us make good choices in our daily lives. And finally, we can find God in all situations and continue to rejoice even among the ruins.