Flight AA 242

A Pre-Confirmation Sermon on Acts 2: 42-47

Some say what happened between 3.27 and 3.31 on 15^th January 2009 was a miracle.  What happened during those three and a half short minutes was so incredible, seemed so unlikely, there was no other word for it.

Minutes before 3.27, US Airways flight AA 242 had taken off from LaGuardia airport in New York, bound for Charlotte, North Carolina.  It was a full flight with 150 passengers and five crew, including pilot Chelsey Sullenberger, or ‘Sully’.

Flight AA 242 had taken off on time.  Accelerating along one of LaGuardia’s twin runways, it reached a speed of 170 mph and began its ascent.

Sully contacted air traffic control, informed them he had reached an altitude of 700 ft and a speed of 230 mph, and he received clearance to continue to 15,000 ft.

It would be dangerous for one Canadian goose to be sucked into an engine.  It would be darn unlucky for two.  But at 3.27, over the Bronx, that plane hit a whole flock of geese.  The angle of the ascending plane and the speed of the geese in flight were just at right combination – a one in ten million chance – for the whole flock to be sucked into not one engine but both engines.

Both engines failed immediately.  The geese were instantaneously liquefied, turned to what air-crash investigators call ‘bird slurry’.  Eeeeuuughhh.

Pilot Sully contacts air traffic control.  ‘Mayday, mayday.  Hit birds.  Lost thrust in both engines.  Need emergency landing at LaGuardia.’

Air traffic control acted in seconds, clearing both runways.

3.28.  Sully glances at the controls and information on the flight deck.  No thrust.  Not enough altitude.  A turn and glide won’t get him to LaGuardia.

‘Air traffic control, air traffic control, do you read me?  LaGuardia not viable.  Requesting New Jersey.’

Air traffic control only takes seconds to reply: ‘Affirmative, turn right 8-2-0, land at runway one, Teterboro, New Jersey.’

But Sully’s mind is doing the sums, calculating the distances, the velocities, the forces and the angles.

‘Negative, Air Traffic Control, we’ll be in the Hudson River.’

‘Say again, say again?!’

3.28.  With no thrust, Sully begins the glide towards New York’s biggest river.  Between him and the landing spot is the George Washington Bridge.  Sullenberger clears the bridge with just feet to spare.

3.30.  Sully makes his only announcement to passengers: ‘Brace for impact – brace, brace!’

3.31.  Sully raises the nose of the plane.  He knows that, if the water is choppy and the wing tip touches a wave, the whole plane will cartwheel.  Travelling at 150 mph, with no power, no engines to counteract gravity, US flight AA242 completes an emergency landing on the River Hudson, just three and a half minutes after its take-off from LaGuardia.

Passengers remain calm.  Some swim away in the freezing water, others wait to be rescued by boat.

All 150 passengers and five crew are alive.  Around half are treated for minor injuries such as scratches and bruises, the rest are unharmed.

+++++

So was it a miracle?

In a way, yes it was.  But I think there’s a better explanation for the amazing actions of pilot Sully.

You see, Sully had been in the skies for over 40 years.  Before that, he’d studied physics and mathematics.  Then he trained hard at aviation college.  He spent hours practising manoeuvres, in a simulator, day after day.  The habit stuck, and even after he got his pilot’s license, Sully continued to practice manoeuvres under all sorts of difficult conditions.

Sully didn’t save the day because of a bolt out of the blue.  It was the natural outcome of years of discipline.

+++++

Our Bible reading tells us what the first Christians did.  They devoted themselves to four things: the apostles’ teaching, the fellowship, breaking bread together, and the prayers.  (Repeat and enumerate)

The apostles’ teaching.  The CofI is an apostolic church.  We trace our beginnings right back to those first Christians at Pentecost 2000 years ago, and we try to follow that same pattern.  Lots of things change, but the apostles’ teaching stays the same. 

The apostles – people like Matthew and John, Peter and Paul, wrote their teachings in the New Testament.  They are summarised in the Apostles’ Creed.

If you read the Bible regularly, and soak up its teachings, you never know when you might need a miracle – and all those years of reading the Bible will kick in, like Sully’s aviation training, and help you out in a crisis.

The second thing is fellowship.  Meeting together and sharing our lives.  The step of confirmation isn’t one to be taken alone, just like the rest of the Christian life is a life together.  You have the support of parents and godparents.  You have become a tight little group over the past year.  We’d love you to keep meeting together and supporting one another – perhaps at Xplore or Saturday Night Live.  And as part of the church, we want to see you at worship with all the Christian family, old and young, on a regular basis.

The third thing is breaking bread.  We need food on a long, challenging journey.  And Holy Communion sustains us on life’s journey.  Make a commitment to receive Holy Communion regularly.  The minimum really is once a month, just to stay spiritually alive.  To be spiritually healthy, more often is far better.

And finally, the prayers.  Not ‘prayer’ but ‘the prayers’.  The first Christians prayed set Jewish prayers in the Temple, morning and evening.  Soon, distinctive Christian prayers developed.

Pray every day.  Make it the habit of a lifetime.  There’s a simple form of daily prayer in the inside cover of the BCP.  You can download an app like Daily Prayer or Sacred Space.  You can use a booklet like Our Daily Bread.  Whatever works best for you – but do it daily.

+++++

If you devote yourselves to these same disciplines as the first Christians, you’ll be like pilot Sully.

One day, there will be a crisis and you’ll need a miracle.  You’ll fail an exam, or not get the job you want.  You’ll make a big mistake and have regrets.  You’ll have a blazing row with your husband or wife.  You’ll lose someone you love very dearly.  These things happen to us all.

But if your life has been one devoted to the teachings of the Bible, taking part in church, Holy Communion and prayer, you’ll find that when the crisis comes, you know what to do.  Something inside you, someone inside you, will correct your course, keep you level, bring you to safety.

The Prophetess Anna

First Sunday of Christmastide                                  Luke 2:22-24, 36-40

The performer might or might not wear a kippa/ yarmulke, or a
tzitzit.  Highly anachronistic but might bring it to symbolic life. 
If doing so, we Christians have to make sure
we're not caricaturing the speaker or mocking him.

The speaker is a Jerusalem Temple equivalent of an Anglican churchwarden.

Shalom, good morning, now I don’t think I’ve seen you here before, have I?  Welcome!  I’m a church warden here at the Temple of Jerusalem.  There’s a wee psalm book.  Did you have a nice Hanukkah?  Here over New Year?  So nice to have visitors with us. 

What’s the name?  Joseph.  And this must be your lovely wife ... Mary, pleased to meet you.  Ooh!  And who’s this little fellow?  Hello Jesus, coochie coo.  Beautiful name.  What does that mean again?  “God saves”.  Great name.  Why, of course you can present him!  It’s the law for wee boys, after all! 

We’re a friendly bunch here at the Temple of Jerusalem, let me help you find a seat, and maybe somebody you can chat to before worship begins.

Is that a Northern accent I detect?  Aha, I thought so.  Nazareth – gosh, you’re a long way from home.  How did you get here?  Camel?  Oh donkey?  Yes, it’s hard this time of year, all the transport’s on holiday schedule.

Nazareth, Nazareth ... that’s Galilee, right?  Tribe of Asher country?

Oh, we have a regular here from your part of the world!  Mind you, she’s been here in Jerusalem ever since ... ever since uh ... actually, I think she’s always been here!  Anna, her name is.  Tribe of Asher.  Her father was a fellow called ... Phanuel, that’s it.  Unusual name that.  “Face of God” it means.

Poor old Anna.  She’s a prophetess.  You know, very godly.  Good Jewish woman, very devout.  She’s here day in, day out.  Never misses.  You know, I think she must sleep here!  Worships day and night, night and day.  She fasts and prays.

Sure, I’ll just take you over and introduce you, you know, seeing as you’re all from up North.

Yes, poor old Anna.  Was married at what, 13, 14, and the husband had passed away by the time she was in her 20s.  She’s what, mid-80s or so now.  Still keeps going.

Of course, many in her shoes would’ve given up. 

Aye, fair play to her.  You Northerners have suffered more than most.  Exiled, then you come back home and have to put up with a load of blow-ins living alongside you, living on land that used to belong to you.  No wonder a lot of you don’t bother much with temple-going any more. 

And then for the husband to die that early on ...  She must feel a bit invisible, you know powerless, insignificant ...

She’ll love chatting with some visitors.  Be nice for her.  I don’t think she has much to look forward to, you know.  It’ll give her a wee lift.

Now she usually sits ...  – oh, in fact here she comes.  Looks like she recognizes you!  Eh, Anna.  Anna.  (Jo, you might have to speak up for her.)  Anna, love, we’ve some visitors here from near where your folks came from.  What have you got to say about that?

o             O             o

What did Anna have to say that morning, when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the Temple to be presented, according to Jewish tradition?

She probably said something along the lines of ‘At last’ – because she had waited 84 years to see God’s promises come true, for him to send his Son to save us.

She probably said ‘I knew it’ because she was a faithful woman.  Maybe a bit invisible in a patriarchal society, maybe a bit powerless and insignificant to others.  But then God doesn’t ask us to be big and important, he asks us to be faithful.

Faithful, like her ancestors who continued to believe and pass on God’s promises.  Faithful like her grandparents who named her father Phanuel, Face of God, because they believed God would come and reveal himself to them in a special way.  And here Anna is, years later, looking into the very face of God!  Jesus is born!  God is with us!

Anna could have thought at 84 that she was past anything new and exciting, that she should let the next generation worry about those things, she could put her feet up and wait for ... well, heaven!  And whatever Anna said, she didn’t keep to herself.  She thanked God, and she went and spoke to anyone, everyone, waiting for God to fulfil his promises in their lives. 

o             O             o

As we look on Jesus this morning, with eyes of faith, what do we say in response?

Are we ready and expectant, full of faith in God’s promises?  Or have the years worn us down ... ?

What promises has he made you?  I wish I could say from this book (Bible) that you’re promised health and wealth, but I can’t find those verses.  And anyway, that’s not what sustained Anna all those decades.  But in the Bible, there are many, many promises to his people, promises of Jesus coming to save us.  Which ones are special for you?

Anna was 84 and she kept going with more faithfulness and enthusiasm than most people a quarter of her age.  Whatever your age, how is your faith?  Are you sharing it?  Passing it on?

What a lot we can learn from this remarkable woman.  And in a very youth-oriented society, what a lot we younger folk (I include myself) can learn from the generation/s above us, their wisdom and experience, their enduring faithfulness?  Because wait till I tell you, as we’re about to enter 2013, a new year, the Lord has not finished with any of us yet!

o             O             o

Let’s take a moment to hear how God is calling us to respond. [ pause ] Lord, help us to recognize Jesus and rejoice, this Christmastide.  Help us to pass on the joy of our salvation, from generation to generation.  Help especially the elderly in our parish.  Help them as they demonstrate your faithfulness.  Help them, and all of us, to know how beloved we are to you.  Amen.

Christian GUIdance

A Baptism & Pre-Confirmation Sermon on Genesis 12 & John 14

Prep: Letters spelling GUIDANCE on cards, held up by young people with G, U & I turned so the congregation can't see.  Have two people who are happy to make fools of themselves dance somewhere that people can see them.

WAY IN

[reveal word ‘dance’]

It’s nice to be invited to a dance.  Of course, we all like different dances: tea dances, line dancing, ceilidh, disco … and all these are terribly old-fashioned to our new confirmation candidates!

I DANCE

Dances are made up of steps: first steps, next steps, with some extra dramatic steps along the way for variety.

Our Bible reading about Abraham is all about first and next steps.

In the Bible, Abram is the grandfather of all faithful people.  When God calls Abram, in our Genesis reading, Abram has a choice.  He can stay where he is, quite comfortable.  Or he can accept the invitation and step out!  And the Bible tells us ‘And Abram went’.  Now he didn’t know where exactly he was going – God just said ‘to the land that I will show you’.  But Abram took that first step.

There’s a personal responsibility for each of us to step out. 

If you attend a dance, you don’t want to spend the evening standing on the edge watching others have fun, do you?  [cue Claire]

And sometimes you have to might feel a bit self-conscious, even nervous, but you have to get up on that dance floor and go for it!

 [reveal ‘I’]

Christian life isn’t like sitting on the sofa watching Strictly and commenting on other people dance.  It’s about responding to God’s call and joining the dance ourselves.  [Clare starts to dance]

We each have to decide how to respond to God’s invitation to follow Him.  We decide in little ways every day, in the things we do and don’t do; in the choices we make.  And sometimes we make definitive decisions, like in baptism and confirmation.

Starting this week, 14 of our young people are taking this very seriously as they begin confirmation classes.  They were baptised, maybe 12 or 13 years go.  Their parents and godparents and others made promises on their behalf, because all they could say at the time was ga-ga goo-goo.

And the point of preparation for confirmation is that they come to a point where they take personal responsibility for the promises made for them.  They will step up here in front of Bishop John and say ‘I choose, I follow, I dance, I take this step myself because I want to.’

U+I DANCE

Life isn’t meant to be lived alone.  When God invites Abram to take those first steps in our reading from Genesis, Abram steps out with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and some people who work for him.  And God promises to bless all the peoples of the world through him.

It’s not enough that I dance – but that ‘U+I’ dance together!  [reveal U; Willie joins Claire]

Same with Christian life.  Meant to be lived together.  Not enough to stay at home and read Bible yourself.  Jesus never told his disciples to find their own way in life.

Newly baptised have become part of our church family, in which we care for one another and belong to one another.

Confirmation candidates finding their place as young adults in church.  Serving not just about who I am and what my talents are (ref last week), but also look around at others – what are needs?

GOD +U +I DANCE

When two people dance, one thing can make it difficult and jerky – if no one leads, or if both try and lead.

[reveal G]  But in the Christian life, God leads us.  A gentle nudge or pull, this way or that, maybe in an unexpected direction.

Sometimes, like Abram, we don’t quite know where we’re going, or what next steps we should take.  But God promises us He’ll get us there.

WAY OUT

It’s nice to be invited to a dance.

And God invites us.  God, You and I Dance together – that’s what the Christian life is like.

He has invited N and N this morning to take their first steps in baptism.

He is inviting 14 young people and an adult or two to take next steps, in confirmation.

He invites all of us, young and old, to dance with him.  And to dance, you have to get close!  [Willie and Claire get closer - encourage a bit of congregational laughter/ ooooh!]  So get close to Him, as he leads us all in the next steps he would have us take.

And enjoy – dancing isn’t a chore, it’s a lot of fun.  So let’s have fun and adventure along the way in which Jesus Christ calls us.

Amen.

Come Down, O Love Divine

Come Down, O Love Divine is a favourite of mine.  This great hymn to the Holy Spirit was sung at Sarah's and my wedding, my confirmation and ordination.  It was also sung at a Service of Holy Communion at the Church of Ireland Theological Institute, the culmination of a two-day seminar on the Holy Spirit.  I decided that one way to draw together some of what I learned was to write a new verse to the hymn of invocation Come Down, O Love Divine which would be suitable for a communion service.

New Appreciation of the Hymn

Come down, O love divine, seek Thou this soul of mine, 
And visit it with Thine own ardor glowing. 
O Comforter, draw near, within my heart appear, 
And kindle it, Thy holy flame bestowing.

O let it freely burn, til earthly passions turn 
To dust and ashes in its heat consuming; 
And let Thy glorious light shine ever on my sight, 
And clothe me round, the while my path illuming.

Let holy charity mine outward vesture be, 
And lowliness become mine inner clothing; 
True lowliness of heart, which takes the humbler part, 
And o’er its own shortcomings weeps with loathing.

And so the yearning strong, with which the soul will long, 
Shall far outpass the power of human telling; 
For none can guess its grace, till he become the place 
Wherein the Holy Spirit makes His dwelling.

Rev Prof Frances Young

Rev. Prof. Frances Young, from the University of Birmingham, claimed that prayer to the Holy Spirit, specifically invocation, goes back to very early church practice.  The hymn begins with a prayer addressed to ‘O love divine’ which is an Augustinian understanding of the Holy Spirit as the bond of love between the Father and the Son.  Rev. Dr Graham Tomlin, Dean of St Mellitus College, discussed the nature of parental love as the purest, least conditional love, which even in its human expression permits a dim appreciation of God’s own love. 

Rev Dr Graham Tomlin

The Spirit is invoked in this hymn in regard to a number of actions attributed to the Second Person of the Trinity.  The metaphor of fire is used in connection with the process of sanctification, burning away ‘earthly passions’ and causing a sense of conviction and repentance over sinfulness. 

Furthermore, the hymn alludes to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  This is a prayer for the Spirit to descend upon and convey grace to a human person.  The spiritual and the natural come together.  The Creator meets the creature.

A New Verse for Sacramental Worship

Rev Dr Richard Clutterbuck

In keeping with these themes, I decided to crystallize my thinking in the form of a fifth verse for a Eucharistic setting.  There is no theological or stylistic reason for the traditional language used, other than to stay in keeping with the hymn as translated for the Ralph Vaughan Williams setting in our Church Hymnal today.

O Holy Bond of Love

‘Twixt Christ and God above

Descend, we pray, upon these lowly emblems.

Make ordin’ry bread and wine

Channels of grace divine,

Ourselves with Christ in God’s own love enfolding.

The Holy Spirit is addressed in line one as the ‘Bond of Love’, again echoing Augustinian understanding of the Spirit’s role.  This could be construed as an undermining of the full personhood of the Spirit, something which the Eastern Church has accused the Latin Church of.  However, I consider that Elizabeth Johnson’s treatment of the Trinity as non-monarchic, perichoretic and inter-penetrating is convincing counter-argument.  The understanding of the Spirit as the Bond of Love between the Father and Son was explored further by Graham.  He explored the missional role of the Spirit, sent into the world to bring people into the very heart of God, to participate in Christ and thus be incorporated into the Paternal-Filial love of God. 

Graham also spoke about the Spirit’s agency in the world, both direct and indirect.  Indirect work of the Spirit, he claimed, is seen most clearly through the church.  However, he challenged us to consider the agency of the Spirit in and through all of creation.  Just as the Spirit hovered over the primordial watery matter at creation, so He also works on creation today to bring it to perfection, a doubly important task in light of the fallenness of the created world.  He does this through ordinary means: work, human flourishing etc.

At this point, I expected Graham to mention ordinary things like bread and wine, water and oil.  Although he did not, the way was laid for the next day and Rev. Dr Richard Clutterbuck’s workshop on the Holy Spirit and the sacraments (he was at the time Principal of Edgehill College in Belfast).  In fact, the timetable dictated that I set up the table for communion during the third workshop session.  I hope I provided a meaningful visual aid for the others as I prepared the table and laid out the elements!  Hearing part of that sacraments workshop for a second time as I did so was a very meaningful experience for me.

Interestingly, Richard had just realized that the invocatory prayer in the Church of Ireland liturgy is much less strongly worded compared to the Methodist rite.  Even so, he explained a sacramental theology that I found very useful.  The Holy Spirit is called on to be especially present with us, through material substance like bread and wine.  Thus, these become channels of grace, since the Holy Spirit’s presence is there as bond of love to draw us into the love of the Father for the Son.  The tokens become efficacious channels of grace because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Later that day, as I considered healing and noticed the presence of oil in chapel, I attempted a further verse on healing (but with which I am less happy!):

Comfort the suffering

With the first flowers of spring

While yet creation groans for its renewal;

Through chrism oil impart

Healing of flesh and heart,

First-fruits as we await creation’s perfection.

This verse alludes to spring and first-fruits.  Writing it helped me reflect theologically on healing, and in particular why it seems that some are healed instantly while most are not.  The Holy Spirit is working to recreate everything, to effect renewal and perfection of God’s creation.  We see first fruits of healing that are both present reality and pointers towards a fuller outworking of the renewed creation we read of in the closing chapters of Revelation.  Thus, it is appropriate to use chrism oil as a material substance for a setting where the Holy Spirit is at work, be it miraculously and instantaneously or through medicine, surgery and talking therapy. 

Veni, Sancte Spiritus!

Church Welcome

I recently received a very warm welcome, and a disappointing one.  One was in a church, the other in a pub.  Guess which was which!

The disappointing one was in a place of worship (which I won't name).

A friend and I met to catch up.  And what do ministers do when they get together?  Well, we went to a cathedral hoping to sit quietly for a few minutes, talk about stuff and pray for one another.

But the entire worship space was blocked off by a series of partitions.  A young guy in a black coat told us we couldn't go any further without paying the entrance fee.

Really?  People can't just sit in a section  near the back, enjoy the quiet, lift a prayer book and get down on a kneeler?  We didn't want the run of the place, just two seats in a house of prayer.

Now I'm reasonably sure if we'd told this guy we're clergy in that denomination, we would've got in for free.  But 'Do you know who I am?' - nobody wants to be that guy.

I totally understand charging for tours and even self-guided visits to cathedrals that need the money to keep functioning.  And of course there should be a jar for 'offerings'.  But surely places of worship can let worshippers and seekers take a pew for a few minutes without buying a ticket?

Mainline churches complain that we can't attract people through the doors these days.  So, isn't it counter-productive to put off the curious by asking for money just to get past the door?

Cathedral worship is a significant growth area these days.  It appeals to post-moderns, whether for the sense of mystery or anonymity that big, dark, old buildings seem to foster.  Shouldn't we be encouraging drop-ins?

I mean, what is the church for in the first place?

We didn't pay.  We went to the pub instead.

Hanging outside a church in DC

We were greeted warmly, and shown seats.  OK so the drinks weren't free, but we found a space in the city centre where we could talk and pray. 

On holiday in the USA a while back, I was struck by the consistent strapline: 'The Episcopal Church welcomes you'.

Pretty much every Episcopal church, high or low, displayed the word 'welcome' somewhere prominent.  And most places allowed you to wander in, wander around, sit and pray.  Often, there was someone volunteering on the 'welcome desk' (not ticket desk), greeting people as they entered, encouraging visitors to take a walk around.

I liked the 'welcome' idea.  The displaying of signs in English and Spanish - not forbidding trespassing on private property or warning that CCTV is installed or reminding people not to make a mess.  No, telling the homeless when they could come to pick up a 'brown bag lunch', or just reassuring visitors that everyone is welcome for some time out with God, wherever they currently are in their journey.

For example, Saint Bart's on Fifth Avenue, NYC.  A homeless guy having a sleep on a back pew, beside a big, unambiguous sign reading 'Everyone needs a place'.

I like that.  Everyone needs a place.

We found one that day.  But sadly, not in the church.

Joseph and All God's Favourites

A Sermon on Genesis 37: 1-4; 12-28

JACOB AND THE PROBLEM OF FAVOURITISM

Way, way back, many centuries ago,

Not long after the Bible began

Jacob lived in the land of Canaan –

A fine example of a family man.

So begins ‘Jacob and Sons’, a song from the musical Jacob and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.  (I’m not going to sing it!)

The lyrics are ironic: Jacob is never going to win Dad of the Year.  He certainly won’t get a vote from eleven out of 12 sons, at any rate.  You see, Jacob has a track record of favouritism.

Stretch your mind back to some of the Bible stories we learned as children.  Do you remember how Jacob was his mother’s favourite son?  Rebekah conspired to trick Esau her eldest out of the family blessing, which Jacob got instead.  Brothers Jacob and Esau didn’t speak for decades after that.

And then Jacob had two wives, Leah and Rachel.  Rachel was the love of Jacob’s life.  And boy did Leah know it.  Leah gave Jacob ten sons, but she could never compete for Jacob’s affections.

When Rachel gave birth to Joseph, suddenly Jacob’s ten other sons were also-rans in the competition for Dad’s attention.  As the song goes:

Joseph’s mother, she was my favourite wife,

I never really loved another all my life.

And Joseph was my joy because he reminded me of her.

Through young Joseph, Jacob lived his youth again,

Loved him, praised him, gave him all he could, but then –

It made the rest feel second-best.

And even if they were brothers,

Being told we’re also-rans

Does not make us Joseph fans.

Some of you might know the damage it can do to a family when one child is singled out as the favourite.  The long-burning resentment, the festering wounds.

And sometimes, as in the story of Joseph, it gets violent.

HAS GOD A FAVOURITE TRIBE IN NORTHERN IRELAND?

Now, at this point, we have to grapple with a difficult question.  Does God have favourites?

God indeed works through Joseph especially during this period in Israel’s history.  It’s how the Hebrews end up in Egypt where they grow into a sizeable nation.

And the Bible says God has chosen Israel, of all the nations.

Throughout history, we humans have misunderstood God’s choosing.  God often had to remind Israel that he chose her to be a light to other nations, to share God’s blessing.  It doesn’t make chosen people superior.  When God chooses people, it is in order to bless others more widely.

Let us not be seduced with the notion that our church, our culture, our type of people, are God’s favourites and somehow superior.  In Israel’s history, all the tribes would be liberated from bondage in Egypt, all would receive their inheritance in the Promised Land.  God would expect them to work together as they settled, built new cities, cultivated the land. 

Nobody would be permitted to say, We are descendants of Joseph.  We are the favourite tribe.  Or, we refuse to work with others, because of what their ancestors did to ours many years ago.

No.  God would later expect the descendants of all the brothers – all twelve tribes – to get on with it and build a prosperous future.

Might there be a lesson there, in times where old nationalisms have resurfaced, rhetoric about manifest destiny, exceptionalism, our status as natural rulers and leaders in a world of many nations.

A lesson, too, for us in Northern Ireland, where two tribes still argue about who has the more legitimate claim to the land.  Where we are scared to work together in case past injustices are forgotten.  Where some people actually claim they are on God’s side and have been chosen and favoured over and against others.

THE RUBENS, THE JUDAHS, THE QUIET ONES

Back to Joseph.  The attempted murder in today’s story has been coming for a while. 

First, Joseph comes home to Jacob with bad reports of his brothers.  He tells tales.  The Bible says he was a ‘helper’ to them, but instead of helping, he’s telling tales on them.  The Bible doesn’t actually say that his brothers working in the fields were doing anything wrong.  Maybe they were, maybe they weren’t.  But talking badly of other people is just not helpful.  It gets us all into trouble.

Second, Jacob gives Joseph a coat of many colours: an amazing technicolour dreamcoat, if you like.  Walking around in his fancy coat, a coat you couldn’t ignore if you tried, it’s obvious to all that he gets Dad’s preferential treatment.  Now, in any society, if some people get more than others, if they’re treated better than others, you’re going to end up with trouble.

So, the Bible says, ‘they hated him and could not speak peaceably to him.’  The relationship has broken down.

But it’s when Joseph tells his brothers about his dreams that they decide to kill him.

In one dream, all twelve brothers are down in the fields gathering sheaves.  Joseph’s sheaf stands up straight and rises above the others, and the others’ bow down to his.  Hardly subtle.  Or tactful.  And if we talk and act like we’re superior to others, guess what, it’ll lead to – you got it – trouble.

In the next dream, the sun, moon and eleven stars bow down to Joseph.  This time, even Jacob scolds Joseph for having notions above his station.  The Bible says that Jacob ‘kept the matter in mind’ – so maybe at last he realizes he has spoilt his son.

But it’s too late.  It wasn’t difficult to hatch the plot among themselves.  Joseph was at home with his father while the others worked in the fields.  They knew he’d be sent to report on them soon enough, and then they’d have their opportunity.

They say, ‘let’s kill him and bury the body in a pit’.  Perhaps only one actually said those words, but they collectively agreed to go along with it.  There’s no use in pointing the finger at one when they all colluded.

Reuben speaks up.  ‘Let’s not actually kill him.  We’ll throw him down a dry well and leave him.’  The others are persuaded – maybe thinking Joseph will die anyway, and technically they won’t have committed murder but manslaughter.  In a side note, the Biblical author tells us that Reuben intended to go back later and rescue Joseph, once he got the opportunity.

Judah sees a train of camels on the desert horizon, and hatches a new plan.  Why not cash in on Joseph’s demise?  ‘Let’s make some money out of this.  If he dies, we’re rid of him.  If we sell him, we’re rid of him, and we’re quids in.’  The others agree.  They sell Joseph as a slave for 20 pieces of silver.

Old jealousies easily become open conflicts.  It’s no wonder that stories like this one, about a Bronze Age clan in the early days of agricultural society, are still told today.  They speak powerfully of the human condition. 

We know Reubens today.  Anxious to temper the violence around us, but not quite brave enough to lift their heads above the parapet and oppose violence, perhaps in case he becomes a target himself.

We know Judahs, too.  People who think, since we’re in this situation anyway, we may as well make the most of it, exploit it for our own ends.

There are plenty of people in the anonymous ‘them’, the nameless brothers who simply go along with the crowd.  None can individually be blamed for what happens, they might think. 

Where’s the brother who stands up and says, ‘He’s our brother.  No matter what an idiot he’s been, no matter how we feel about him, we can’t do this.  We can’t murder him.  It’s wrong.’

There is no such brother in the story.  And so Joseph is sold into captivity in Egypt.  As we know as readers, of course, that action will have repercussions down the generations, and all the descendants of all the brothers will end up slaves in Egypt.  What we sow, we reap.

FLASH FORWARD TO RECONCILIATION

I’m going to spoil the story, now, by telling you how it ends.  Because we’ll have episodes from the Joseph story as Old Testament readings for several weeks more, but I’m not sure whether the Dean or Revd Olie will preach on them.

And also, because the direction the Joseph story takes links it to today’s Epistle reading.

The years will pass.  Jacob, believing his favourite son was killed by wild animals, will never get over the grief.  The brothers will continue working the fields and growing the family business.  Until there’s a famine, and they have to travel to Egypt to buy grain.  And who will sell it to them?  Joseph.

In the intervening decades, Joseph has risen from the status of a slave to that of governor under the Pharaoh.  Without Daddy’s special treatment, Joseph had learned tact and humility and service of others.  His brothers have come to regret their dark family secret.

The scene is set for reconciliation: there’s forgiveness, hugging, kissing, reuniting.  Read it for yourself – it’s a great story, no wonder it made for a huge hit as a West End musical.

THE TECNICOLOUR CHURCH IN ROME – AND FERMANAGH

The apostle Paul is writing in the Epistle reading to the Church in Rome, which is an amazing, technicolour church.  Slaves and free, rich and poor, men and women, dark skin and light skin, ethnic groups from all over the Empire and beyond lived cheek by jowl in the Capital.  And that was reflected in the church there.  Ripe for jealousy, for one group thinking they were God’s favourites, better than others, or more entitled somehow.

But one division was wider and more destructive than any other at the time: the split between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.  Each interpreted the facts differently.  Jews were rightly proud of their history and special role in salvation history.  Gentiles felt they were the new favourites, chosen from other nations because the Jews had failed in their mission. 

And Paul writes to answer the question, Who is God’s favourite?

Paul answers: There is no distinction between Jew and Gentile; the same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him.  For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

‘Who is God’s favourite?’  We are all God’s favourites.  He is generous to all who call on him.

The Roman Christians will just have to overcome their ancient disputes and listen to each other, and worship alongside each other, and live together as one – not just live parallel lives and tolerate the other, but love one another.  Because they are all God’s favourites.

Who are God’s favourites in Fermanagh?  Protestant and Catholic, black and white, gay and straight, Brexiteer and Remoaner, whatever it is that divides us - God loves us every one, and wants to reconcile us to himself and to one another.  The same Lord is Lord of all and is generous to all who call on him. 

Lectio Divina

Friday 24th January 2014

A Time of Lectio Divina

GREETING          

The Lord be with you.

                        And also with you.

PREPARING OUR HEARTS

Our souls long for your presence, Lord. 

When we turn our thoughts to you, we find peace and contentment.

Lord, help us to know what you want to say to us.  Help us to notice your words of reassurance and challenge.

We ask for the grace to be free from our own concerns,

and open to what you would say to us.

We turn our thoughts to you, Lord.  We leave behind our chores and preoccupations.

We will take rest and refreshment in your presence, Lord.

                               

MEDITATING ON SCRIPTURE

This ‘King Melchizedek of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him’; ² and to him Abraham apportioned ‘one-tenth of everything’. His name, in the first place, means ‘king of righteousness’; next he is also king of Salem, that is, ‘king of peace’. ³ Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest for ever.

⁴ See how great he is! Even Abraham the patriarch gave him a tenth of the spoils. ⁵ And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to collect tithes from the people, that is, from their kindred, though these also are descended from Abraham. ⁶ But this man, who does not belong to their ancestry, collected tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises. ⁷ It is beyond dispute that the inferior is blessed by the superior. ⁸ In the one case, tithes are received by those who are mortal; in the other, by one of whom it is testified that he lives. 

(Hebrews 7: 1-8, NRSV)

One group member reads the scripture portion aloud, followed by silence.  What word or idea strikes us?

A second member reads aloud, followed by silence.  Where is Christ in what we read?

A third member reads aloud, followed by silence.  What does Christ call me to do?

A brief time of sharing follows.

PRAYING FOR ONE ANOTHER

                                Informal prayer in pairs

                                The collect of the day

                                Our Father in heaven …

DISMISSAL

The Lord be with you.

And also with you.

Let us go in peace to love and serve the Lord.

                        In the name of Christ.  Amen.

Acknowledgements

Front cover image accessed 23^rd January 2014 at www.decorative-films-by-maryanne.com

Prayers and service format based on Sacred Space, accessed 23^rd January at www.sacredspace.ie

Other liturgical material from BCP (2004) and New Patterns of Worship (www.churchofengland.org/prayer-worship)

Reproduced under licence from CCLI, Licence Nos. 1344568 and 1344575