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Reuben's Sermon for the 6th. Sunday
after Trinity:
Proper 11:
Reuben's Theme: "Who's the Shepherd?"
(Trinity 6) - MORNING MASS
0800hrs. and 0930hrs at Saint George's Parish Church - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 19th. July 2009 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Jeremiah 23.16
Psalm 23 Ephesians 2.1122 Mark 6.3034, 5356
July 19, 2009 Cycle B Trinity 6 (Pentecost 7).
COLLECT
Merciful God, you have prepared for those who
love you such good things as pass our understanding:
pour into our hearts such love toward you, that we loving
you in all things and above all things may obtain your
promises, which exceed all that we can desire;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns
with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever.
POST COMMUNION
God of our pilgrimage, you have led us to the living water:
refresh and sustain us as we go forward on our journey,
in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord.
FIRST READING Jeremiah 23.16
A reading from the book of the prophet Jeremiah.
Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my
pasture! says the LORD.
Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the
shepherds who shepherd my people:
It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away,
and you have not attended to them.
So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD.
Then I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all
the lands where I have driven them, and I will bring them back
to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply.
I will raise up shepherds over them who will shepherd them, and
they shall not fear any longer, or be dismayed, nor shall any
be missing, says the LORD.
The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise
up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and
deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the
land.
In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety.
And this is the name by which he will be called: 'The LORD is
our righteousness.'
PSALM Psalm
23
R The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be
in want.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside
still waters. R
3 He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his
name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I
shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. R
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble
me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running
over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
R
SECOND READING Ephesians
2.1122
A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.
Remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called 'the
uncircumcision' by those who are called 'the circumcision'
a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands
remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens
from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants
of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought
near by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace; in His flesh He has made both groups into
one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility
between us.
He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances,
that He might create in Himself one new humanity in place of
the two, thus making peace, and might reconcile both groups to
God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that
hostility through it.
So He came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace
to those who were near; for through Him both of us have access
in one Spirit to the Father.
So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens
with the saints and also members of the household of God, built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ
Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.
In Him the whole structure is joined together and grows into
a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together
spiritually into a dwelling-place for God.
GOSPEL Mark
6.3034, 5356
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark.
The apostles returned from their mission.
They gathered around Jesus, and told Him all that they had done
and taught.
He said to them, 'Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves
and rest a while.'
For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even
to eat.
And they went away in the boat to a deserted place by themselves.
Now many saw them going and recognised them, and they hurried
there on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.
As He went ashore, He saw a great crowd; and He had compassion
for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and
He began to teach them many things.
When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and
moored the boat.
When they got out of the boat, people at once recognised Him,
and rushed about that whole region and began to bring the sick
on mats to wherever they heard he was.
And wherever He went, into villages or cities or farms, they
laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might
touch even the fringe of his cloak; and all who touched it were
healed.
Reuben's Theme: "Who's the Shepherd?"
+ In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
How many times have you heard people say,
"Religion is the main cause of all the
wars."?
or
"I'm not religious.
I don't believe in it."
Well, I can tell you now...
...that anyone who makes such comments...
is rarely saying what they mean to say.
In fact, they are accidentally hinting at a basic truth.
You see, when people say "religion"...
...most of the time they mean "faith".
When the hospital admission form...
...or indeed any other form...
...asks us what our religion is...
...we say Church of England.
Some of us, like to say Anglican.
(It makes them think.)
There is a huge difference, though, between "Religion"
and "Faith".
Religion is...
(and I quote from a dictionary):
"A particular system of faith and
worship."
Faith is...
(and I quote from the same dictionary):
"The strong belief in God, or in the
doctrines of a religion,
based on spiritual apprehension rather
than proof."
As Christians...
...our religion is actually the structure
that holds the Church
(that is Church with a capital "C"
the people)....
Our religion is...
...the framework that holds the Christian
Church together.
It's the Archbishops, Bishops, Archdeacons,
Priests, Deacons and Readers...
...who preach and guide.
It's the General, Diocesan and Deanery Synods...
...who make decisions.
It's the committees, groups and think-tanks
that hold endless meetings.
It's the churchwardens and P.C.C.s that work
so hard for local Churches.
Our religion is what gives structure to our
mission and worship.
Our religion is what gives order to our mission
and worship...
...in order to help us to act collectively
as Christians.
Supporting each other.
Helping each other.
Uniting us all, in the name of Jesus, under
the one true God.
So when the occasional person in the street
blames "Religion" as the cause of wars,
they usually mean "Faith".
But you and I know fine well that all religions...
...throughout the world...
...are not united.
There are many denominations of Christians...
many denominations of Jews...
many denominations of Muslims...
many denominations of...
...well I could go on and on
(and often do).
And why are there so many apparent splits in religions throughout
the world?
Well, as soon as we human beings try to organise
and formalise anything...
...we're always in danger of organising and
formalising it out of existence.
Causing splits, and fractures.
So...
...perhaps religion can cause conflict.
And that's where we come to our first reading.
I can tell you now that in our first reading
today...
...the government and religious leaders alike...
...get a stinging rebuke from Jeremiah.
Misrule and the lies pronounced in God's name will
not go unpunished.
God will set on the throne, a king of his own choice.
Jeremiah points to Jesus.
So with all these splits and fractures, misrule and lies, what
hope is there today?
Paul comes to the rescue!
In his letter to the Ephesians, he shows how
barriers are broken.
In the ancient world,
the Jew was separated from the Gentile
by racial, religious, cultural and social
barriers.
If Christ could bring them together...
there was, and is,
no human gulf too great for him to bridge.
And Christ did bring them together!
His death on the cross...
...is the one means of peace with God...
...for all mankind...
...without distinction.
And all who belong to him have a common bond.
Faith...
...which is deeper and stronger...
...than any of their former differences
of race or colour or status or sex or background.
Jew and Gentile are one in Christ.
Paul points to Jesus.
So it all sounds great.
What can go wrong?
Well there's the rub!
In Christianity alone there are many denominations,
schisms and even sects.
And religious leaders can sometimes be a problem.
and
Some religious leaders...
...particularly those who are heads of exclusive
religions
or breakaway organisations...
...are a major problem.
I have found that, in ANY religious organisation,
the people who use the words fundamentalist
or traditionalist...
...to describe their FAITH...
...those people are to be kept at arms length...
...treated with great suspicion...
...and avoided at all costs
(unless, of course, you intend to try and talk some sense into
them).
Your RELIGION can be as 'whatever you want
it to be' as you want...
...but your FAITH...?
YOU CAN'T PUT A LABEL ON FAITH
and
YOU CAN'T PUT A LABEL ON GOD!
So perhaps as Paul wrote about Jew and Gentile
being united in Christ...
...before we even try to get there...
...today...
...we need Christians to be united in Christ.
All our differences of opinion...
All our arguments about proper worship...
All our petty beefs about 'this is right'
or 'that is right'...
...or...
'It's wrong to do this' or 'wrong to do that'.
It all counts a nothing.
It's 'religion' Not 'Faith'.
All that counts is what comes to us through
our faith...
...not our Religion...
...our faith...
...in Jesus.
Just as the apostles, returning from their mission,
came back to Jesus in our Gospel today...
...all Christians, in their mission here on
earth...
...must come back to Jesus.
And it's not easy organising it all.
You must remember that our Gospel reading
continues from last week.
The death of John the Baptist had cast a shadow over the lives
of all the disciples.
Jesus was desperately tired and hard pressed.
Yet instead of being annoyed, or irritable,
with the crowds that were constantly pursuing Him...
...His heart went out to them.
Today's Christian Church...
...and I'm talking about the whole Christian Church...
...is a little like those crowds.
We are slightly lost like sheep without a
shepherd.
Don't get me wrong.
We are blessed with very spiritual and capable
Church leaders...
...leaders of the main Christian denominations
in this country.
But we must always remember that our true leader...
the one we must ultimately follow...
...is the one our Church leaders always point
us to...
...the one true Good Shepherd...
...who can heal the Christian Church...
...if only we reach out to Him.
Only through Jesus will we all find true salvation...
...for the whole world.
Then, one day...
...in the words Edward Plumptree wrote in 1889...
...we might just have...
One Church.
One Faith.
One Lord. Ref: New English Hymnal 485 - "Thy hand, O God,
has guided."
+ In the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
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