Sermons

The Fifth Sunday after Trinity - 20th July 2025

I have recently been listening  to a series of programmes on the radio called “Post-War”. They focused on the 1945 General Election and the many changes that were to follow with the election of a Labour government. Churchill, the wartime Prime Minister, was shocked, as were many other people, when he lost that Election.

People wanted change. In 1945 they wanted to put the War behind them, they wanted to build more houses, create a Health Service, improve education, and increase job opportunities for the soldiers returning home. They voted for change.

But so often we don’t like change, we resist it, we deny that it is happening, or that it can happen. When change is happening, we close our minds and carry on living as if nothing is changing.

We live in a time when we are experiencing many changes, and rapid changes, in many areas of our lives. We are experiencing climate change, and we live once more with international insecurity and the threat of war. The developments in new technologies are exciting for some, bewildering to others. It is also a time of economic uncertainties and the institutions that were respected and powerful after 1945 are weaker and ignored by the most powerful nations in our world.

Our churches have undergone huge changes since 1945. I’ve only been at St Andrew’s for 20 years, but in that time many things have changed. Like everyone else we can resist changes, we can ignore changes, we can close our eyes and ears to changes we don’t like and pretend none of it needs to affect us.

Today we have heard two stories about 2 women, Sarah and Martha. Sarah denied that change could happen, Martha denied that change was desirable. Sarah was challenged by God, and Martha by Jesus. 

The first story that we heard from the Old Testament is strange in many ways and we only heard half of it this morning. It is the middle of the day, when because it is hot, people would not walk about outside but be resting in their tents. Yet 3 men suddenly appear outside of the tent. They have a message for Abraham and Sarah, Abraham is told Sarah will have a son. The 3 men are sometimes described as men, sometimes as angels, and when they speak they are described as God! However the message is clear, Sarah is to have a baby!

This was where our reading ended, with the story half told, so I am going to read the rest of it! (read v 10B – 15).
Sarah laughs, how ridiculous she thinks. I can’t have children at my age! God says to Abraham “Why did Sarah laugh?” She then lies and denies that she has laughed. God’s question   embarrasses her; God insists that she will have a child, for all things are possible for God. Sarah is frightened and denies that change can happen.

The second story is the well-known story of Martha and Mary. Jesus is a guest at their house and Martha is doing all the work. It’s not clear what Martha has been busy doing, whether it is preparing a meal or other chores, but Mary has opted out, she is sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to what he has to say. Martha thought Mary’s place was in the kitchen, that’s where the women of the household were expected to be. 

Martha thought she knew what was right and expected Jesus to agree with her, but he rebukes her, saying Mary is in the right place. Martha thought she knew what was right, knew what her role as a woman should be. I think Martha was not a person who could easily change her ideas, accept that roles could change  

If Sarah had believed the 3 men, or Martha had listened to Jesus, both women would have avoided arguments, rebukes from God and from Jesus. Listening instead of protesting, they could have been open to the possibility of change in their lives. 

Sarah responded negatively to the offer of a huge new change in her life, Martha poured out her own concerns, sure that she was doing the right thing, she thought it was Mary who needed to change, not her. If Sarah had really listened to God, if Martha had listened to Jesus for a while, by listening they could have become open to the new possibilities in their lives.

How good are we at listening? We are often good at voicing our own opinions, but do we really listen to the opinions of others?

In 2016 Pope Francis said the following “Listening means paying attention, wanting to understand, to value, to respect and ponder what the other person says. Knowing how to listen is an immense grace, it is a gift which we need to ask for, and then make every effort to practice.”
 
Pope Francis knew the Roman Catholic Church was divided on many issues. He didn’t impose a ruling on the whole Church but brought leaders together, not to make decisions on anything but so that they could sit together and listen to one another, so that under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the Church could move forward.

The Anglican Communion and our own Church of England is divided on several issues at present. The 2 big issues that General Synod has been debating are, firstly, whether gay clergy should be allowed to marry. The State allows gay marriage, but Church law at present does not allow gay priests to marry. There is also disagreement over whether gay couples could have prayers of blessing in church. 

We have not been good at listening to one another, some clergy, some whole congregations, have refused to discuss the issues with their fellow Church members. Some have decided they must remain firm in their convictions that both these things are wrong. They see no point in listening to others. Maybe they fear others could influence them, and so help to change their minds!  Surely, if we pray together, listen to one another, can we not trust the Holy Spirit to guide the Church?

Finally let me end with a few words from a poem. I try to read a poem every day. Recently I read one by the Scottish poet Edwin Muir called “Horses”. He imagines a time when things have radically changed; the world as we know it is now very different. After war the old world has gone. The technology we know now, even tractors on farms, have gone, the horses have returned. 

Yet the poet says it is not a time to regret that change has come. The poem ends with these words “Our life is changed, their coming, our beginning”.

Janet Fulljames

Dedication Festival - 13th July 2025

Every year at this time we celebrate the dedication of our church on the 14th July 1881 from the extraordinary gift of the then vicar of Holy Trinity Church, the Revd. Frederic Jeremiah Smith.  I can’t imagine any vicar in 2025 having the spare money to endow any church, let alone one of this size.  So well done, Fred.  We appreciate the immense generosity that has meant that this building has stood as a proud witness to the Christian faith of our congregations down 164 years. 

It is surprising how church buildings still have a powerful impact upon the mentality of local people even in this supposedly secular and post-Xian era.  In my previous parish a very large church in another very poor part of town, whose congregation had over time dwindled to about twenty souls, announced its imminent closure because the church-goers could no longer keep up the maintenance of their large Victorian building. 

The local citizenry, none of them ever likely to darken the doors of any church, was outraged and angrily petitioned the Bp. of Rochester demanding that THEIR  church be kept open and functioning.  He very sensibly replied that, if they wanted that to happen, they would have to put their hands in their pockets and start actively supporting their parish church.  

Amazingly the local people responded accordingly, the building was indeed  saved and by the time I arrived in Gillingham, the congregation of that church had trebled in size and it was flourishing in remarkable ways.  It must have felt like a mini-Resurrection experience to the elderly folk who had attended the church faithfully for decades previously.   

Nor is it just the reaction of local people which can surprise you, when certain churches suffer damage or loss, especially those that have iconic status.  For example, when Notre Dame de Paris burned down in April 2019, the whole nation seemed to go into mourning and donations towards the cost of the reconstruction of the church flooded in from all over the world.   

This surely cannot be for purely aesthetic reasons.  Churches symbolize something of real but intangible value to their locality, or (if they are buildings of international  significance like Notre Dame or Christchurch Cathedral in NZ, destroyed by two earthquakes in 2010 and 2011}, such buildings are seen as of incalculable moral value to the wider world.   

I cannot believe that the motivation of people who do not ordinarily go to church, but eagerly support appeals to repair them, is merely sentimental.  Given that all the world faiths dedicate buildings to service the spiritual needs of their adherents – mandirs for Hindus, mosques for Muslims, gurdwaras for Sikhs, synagogues for Jews and pagoda-temples for Buddhists -  such buildings serve many purposes beyond being a place where the faithful can worship God congregationally.  Their reach beyond the narrow confines of their location can be extensive.       

We can think of a church as just an edifice, or we can think of it as a congregation, a group of people who gather there to offer worship.  Worship in any religious tradition is about demonstrating reverence for what you value most highly, that which has the greatest WORTH in your life, hence the word, WORTH-ship.  In all faiths God is always the object and focus of their worship.   

King David and his son, Solomon, thought it important that their God, Yahweh, should have a house, a home in the holy city of Jerusalem.  A magnificent Temple to house the Ark of the Covenant would be the hub, the focal point of the community of faith, where God would be honoured daily with sacrifices and prayers. 

From our first reading from the 1st Book of Chronicles we see that the sums given by ordinary Jews to finance the building of Solomon’s Temple outweighed even the contributions of King David, indicating the total commitment of his people to this ambitious project.  The Temple could only be completed by sacrificial levels of giving by the community, if it was to be a worthy symbol of God’s majesty.  We would do well to remember this aspect of giving, when the next appeal for church funds comes up. 

If the church represents the essence of what we most value in life and if God is to be honoured in the worship that we offer in it, it should hurt our pockets and bank accounts, if our donations are to be truly meritorious.  This may be an uncomfortable truth especially in times of economic hardship like we are all experiencing at this time, but King David understood an accompanying truth which he expressed in the beautiful prayer that we sometimes use at the Offertory:  all things come from you, O Lord, and of your own do we give you.   

The king’s point is that all the blessings of our lives, both material and spiritual, ultimately are gifts of God’s superabundant benevolence; therefore we are stewards, not hoarders of our own wealth and stewards also of all the treasures of the good earth, its lands and seas, its air, its flora and its fauna.  One way in which we prove our Love for God and for his generous provision for us is by giving sacrificially not only to the church, but to those far worse off than we are in every continent. 

Do you feel as angry as I do that governments have reduced the Foreign Aid budget from 0.7% of GDP down to 0.3%?  Does it have to be the poorest of the world who are to pay the price for what is admittedly a necessary increase in our defence budget, when we are the 6th wealthiest nation on earth?  I have my doubts.   

It’s OK to feel angry about certain important principles, especially if sacred places are being used for malpractice and injustice.  In our gospel reading Jesus uses extreme violence to clear the Temple of traders.  This is supposed to be  house of prayer, not a market place, he says to justify his prophetic action before the Temple authorities.   

This rebuke leads into a highly significant reference to the Resurrection, when to the bemusement of everyone present he uses the Temple, the habitation of God, as a metaphor for his own life, soon to be surrendered at Calvary with wondrous consequences: Destroy this temple, and I will raise it up in three days. 

St. Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians cp.2 uses CHURCH as a different metaphor.  We are reminded that we are members of God’s household, of which the cornerstone is Christ, who joins together the whole structure, so it may be a holy temple in the Lord. 

Paul tells us that our common faith builds us together spiritually into a dwelling place for God, so not only is our fine building in which we offer our worship in sincerity and truth, a location for God’s Holy Spirit, but the totality of human beings down two millennia in every land who have professed their faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour – in all of us God in Christ is vividly and vibrantly present.  What a thought!  May we be worthy and grateful recipients of his grace and goodness this day and always.  Amen.      

Munna Mitra

The Third Sunday after Trinity - 6th July 2025

One of the reasons I enjoy reading political autobiographies is that you can gain an understanding of the people behind the news stories. What really happened? What were their motivations? What was the kind of thinking that went on as events unfolded?

Very often you need time and perspective for this to work well. Even better if you get a range of views. For example, I have read about the fall of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister back in 1990 from such diverse personalities as Ken Clarke, Tony Benn, Betty Boothroyd, John Major naturally Geoffrey Howe and even Margaret Thatcher herself. Each has their own perspective on their times.

Of course, the reason why I can do this is because each of those politicians have written books. They may have done so for posterity, or as a historical record, but I suspect that, most of all, it was because they wanted to get their message across.

Maybe one day we shall hear in this way from Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves. Maybe we won’t. Either way, setting aside politics and the issue in hand, it’s good to remember the humanity behind the personality.

Today we hear about the time when Jesus sent out the Seventy to proclaim the Gospel.

Now we don’t know who these 70 were, and how there came to be more than just the basic twelve disciples. There is an interesting echo from the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament where 70 elders of Israel were given a share in God’s Spirit just at a time when Moses was finding the leadership and management thing a bit tough and needed a hand. As the Exodus unfolds, it was this body that lead their people forward. So now, Jesus, who leads the new Exodus of all God’s people, appoints 70 agents to lend a hand.
But how did this band get across their message?

One thing is for certain, that no expensive PR company or communications adviser was appointed to train them. I suppose they may have knocked on doors or found  a hearing in the marketplace.

Which is quite interesting in comparison with today. How did you receive the last person who knocked on your door to give you a political message, never mind a theological one? We don’t always want it, do we? Especially if our nicely cooked hot meal is icing over on the table in the background while we are trapped on the doorstep!

And people who get up and speak in today’s marketplace are usually and summarily dismissed as cranks and crackpots. Sometimes, they are not very nice, as one of our number found out a few years ago.

Maybe in those days it was different, but it can’t have been easy. 

We, too, are called to be witnesses. So how would you go about being a witness for the Gospel today? How would you get a hearing?

Some people, who know that we are believers, and know us well, will dare to have a conversation about faith. Others won’t, for they are afraid of where it will lead because coming to faith means change.

Sometimes we can be witnesses to the Gospel through our actions. We become known as people of kindness, integrity and a willingness  to serve others. An old colleague of mine used to define mission as, “being nice to people and hope they work out why.” That sounds a bit feeble, but there is a point there. As Jesus said, “By their fruits you shall know them.”

And then there are people like me who write or speak the faith, although 99% of all I write and say already believe! Though you never know…
It probably helps to go back to our Gospel story and look at what happened. We need to ask, what did the 70 say and how did they say it?

First and foremost, their message was one of peace. When being hosted by the locals, Jesus instructs them to say, “Peace to this house,” the moment they walk through the door.

Peace. How we all want peace! Peace in the world, in any number of situations that are all over our TV screens and newsfeeds. Peace in our neighbourhoods, where so often there can be tensions of different kinds. And, above all, peace in our own lives as we undergo the many knocks, challenges and hurts of everyday lives and relationships. If someone is offering us true peace, we want to listen.

If peace was their message, then the way they proclaimed it was, as Luke puts it so often, “in the name of Jesus.”

In biblical culture, the name was a powerful thing. It gave you control over another, at the very least because if you call someone by name they are more likely to respond, especially in a crowd. The name also represented something of their nature and character. When Jesus invites us to ask for something in his name, he’s not advocating a kind of heavenly slot machine – in goes the name and out comes the result. It is more about aligning our hopes and desires with those of Jesus himself. The 70 went out and followed Jesus’ example, presumably in healings and in casting out demons, miracles of different kinds.

Sometimes, there is opposition to the Gospel. Not everyone wants to hear it. Occasionally, they fight against it. Opposition can come in many forms… snakes and scorpions of all shapes and sizes. Then, the name of Jesus is a powerful protection.

But it is a reminder, too, that these things are only possible in the name of Jesus. In other words, the power comes directly from God and not themselves. They are but channels. And so are we. The great thing is to allow ourselves to be used.

When the 70 return, Jesus rejoices with them in seeing the powers of darkness being defeated again and again as they minister in his name. But it is for this very reason – the need to trust in God and not in yourself – that Jesus reminds them of the point of it all…

That their names are written in heaven.

For it is in their discipleship that they are known to God, recognised and beloved as his children, who holds them safe into eternity, and gives them that peace which passes all understanding.

Amen.

Rev'd Preb. Robin Lodge

St Peter & St Paul, Apostles - 28th June 2025

Morecambe & Wise, Simon & Garfunkel, Romeo & Juliet, Jekyll and Hyde, Laurel & Hardy… Peter & Paul.

I have to say that, when you Google, the most famous duos of all time, that Saints Peter and Paul, sadly, don’t make it into the top 20.

Some on my list are comedians, two are musicians, others are literary characters. Some are real people, others are fictional. At least, I suppose, Peter and Paul have the former in common. Both were real people. Neither were quoted cracking jokes, neither are recorded singing – except possibly Peter with the Twelve as they finished the Last Supper and headed off to the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Much of what we know about both men can be gleaned from the Scriptures. Some of it is biographical, the rest is what they said and taught.

Saint Peter, originally named Simon, was a fisherman by trade. Jesus called him to be a "fisher of men," and it was Peter who first declared Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God. This confession of faith became the cornerstone of the Church. Despite his human flaws and moments of weakness, including his denial of Jesus during the Passion, Peter's profound faith and leadership were evident. He was present at key events such as the Transfiguration and the Resurrection.

After Jesus' ascension, Peter assumed a leadership role in the early Christian community. He was instrumental in the decision-making process at the Council of Jerusalem and took part in missionary journeys that spread the Gospel far and wide. Tradition holds that Peter met his martyrdom in Rome, crucified upside down because he felt unworthy to die in the same manner as Christ. His burial site is believed to be beneath St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Saint Paul, formerly known as Saul, was a zealous Pharisee who persecuted Christians until his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. This transformative encounter with the risen Christ changed the course of his life. Paul became one of the most fervent evangelists, dedicating his life to spreading the Gospel to the Gentiles.

Paul's missionary journeys took him across the Roman Empire, where he established numerous Christian communities. His epistles, or letters, to these early Christian communities form a significant portion of the New Testament and offer profound theological insights into the nature of Christ, salvation, and the Church. Paul's teachings emphasized faith in Jesus Christ as the path to righteousness and eternal life.

Paul also faced persecution and imprisonment for his unwavering commitment to Christ. Despite these trials, he remained steadfast in his mission. According to tradition, Paul was beheaded in Rome during the reign of Emperor Nero.

Two different men you couldn’t hope to meet. Peter, working class, a fisherman, loyal if somewhat hot headed, yet fearful. Paul, middle class, intellectual, a Pharisee trained in the law, initially antagonistic to the Gospel, cool headed, confident. Yet both became key leaders in the New Testament Church, giving it that grounding that makes it what it is today.

Yet, both men, guided by the Spirit, taught the faith well. They had different emphases and were called to serve different sections of the Christian movement, but they display common features that are an encouragement on our own journey today. It is upon these that I invite us to reflect as we celebrate their common feast today.
It is in Matthew’s Gospel that we hear of Peter’s confession of faith. “Who do people say I am,” asks Jesus. “You are the Christ the Son of God,” Peter replies. Peter doesn’t always engage brain before mouth, but on this occasion he is spot on. Simon becomes Peter the Rock on which Christ would build his Church.

A few years later, and angry and driven Paul meets Jesus in a vision on the Damascus road. So vivid is his experience, he falls off his horse, blinded by the light, and asks, “Who are you, Lord?” and hears the reply, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting,”

In this way, both men identify Jesus for who he is, the Son of the Living God.

In spite of his great confession, by the time we meet Jesus again in that passage from Acts, he’s been on a bit of a journey. For all his declarations of loyalty, Peter has been broken by his fireside denial of his Master, he’s witnessed the death and resurrection of Jesus, been forgiven and restored and set out into the world, in Jesus’s words, “to feed my sheep.” But now he finds himself in prison for the Gospel. For all he knew his execution would follow that his friend James the very next day.

As Paul writes to Timothy, he also finds himself in prison, his own execution drawing near. Peter’s journey to maturity and leadership had been a slower burn than that of Paul. Nevertheless, he too has to be broken. Blinded by his Damascus Road experience he has to be led by the hand to a house in the city, where this Pharisee would come under the tutelage of Annanias, his faith and knowledge refocussed towards the Gospel before he sets out, confident once again, to proclaim New Life in Jesus Christ.

We have heard how, when in prison, Peter is visited by the angel, who bids him to fasten his belt, put on his sandals, wrap his cloak around him and follow him out the cell.
I wonder, when was the last time you were rescued by an angel? When were you called out of a difficult place by God, looked after, made fit, given a new road to walk and reminded to follow Jesus?

Angels come in many forms and so do prisons. Sometimes we need to be broken before we can follow, humbly, the path that God has set before us. But God is a God of liberation and longs to set us free. To echo other words of Paul, we need to remember to fasten the belt of truth, to remember that our feet are protected by the sandals of the Gospel so that we need not fear where they take us, and to wrap ourselves in the cloak of righteousness and faith, so that we need not fear the chill winds of sin and death. Then we need to follow God’s lead even if the path looks difficult, or even a bit odd, trusting in God’s grace to see us through.

For it is God’s way to take ordinary people, like Peter and Paul, and like you and me, yet precious in the sight of God, and send us on our way that other too might find liberation, and a fullness of life beyond their wildest dreams.

But we can only do these things in the power and strength of God’s Holy Spirit, and not in our own. Both Peter and Paul needed to learn that one, and so do we. For it is then that God can truly use us to make a difference both here and wherever he may call us.

Amen.

Rev'd Preb. Robin Lodge

The Sixth Sunday of Easter - 25th May 2025

The Fourth Sunday of Easter - 11th May 2025

The Second Sunday of Easter - 27th April 2025

John 20: v19 - end

As a child I remember being told “Shut the door!” or shouting the same words myself to some other member of the family. These were the days before central heating, keeping the warmth inside a room during the winter was very important.

Keeping the door shut (indeed making sure it was locked) was all important to the disciples. On that first Easter Day, the day of the Resurrection, they were hiding. They were afraid that as the temple police had arrested Jesus, so the police would be looking for them and they would be in danger of being arrested as well.

A week later they were still hiding behind a locked door. They had met the Risen Lord and yet could not find the courage to face the ordinary people of Jerusalem. They felt safe hiding behind a locked door.

When we shut the doors in our own homes, we too can feel safe, shutting out the world and its problems if only for a while.

Here is a painting by a favourite English artist Holman Hunt known as The Light of the World. It shows Christ standing outside a closed door knocking to be let in, as the door has no handle, the person inside must open the door. 

This painting was very popular early in the twentieth century. It is a painting that is not just about Jesus as the Light of the World but is one that invites us to open the door and let Christ into our hearts. 
He does not force open that door, he waits for us to open it. 

We do expect to be with Jesus when we gather for Sunday worship, when we receive him in Holy Communion. We are also with him from Monday to Saturday, we live with him, wherever we are, whatever we are doing. We are with Jesus at home or here in this building. but do we have the sense that we are being sent out into the world as those first disciples were?

The disciples met Jesus in that room where they were hiding, but they are told by Jesus to leave that place. Jesus said, “As the Father sent me so I send you”. They are to leave the safety of that room. They are being sent out into a world that is not safe, to tell the world that Jesus the Messiah is alive. In the world they will face hostility, misunderstandings, persecution, imprisonment and death. 

Yet it is outside that room where Jesus will meet them and will go with them. It is as they tell people the Good News that Jesus is alive, that they will discover where God is at work in the world. In the safety of that room, they can do little, for Jesus is “out there”, they cannot tell other people that Jesus is alive if they remain in hiding, so they need courage to face the world, and Jesus gives them the gift of the Holy Spirit so they receive   courage and strength to be his disciples and spread the Good News.

We too must expect to find Christ out in the world, to see what the Holy Spirit is inspiring people to do. We can discover what God is already doing if we open our hearts and notice, notice where there is love, kindness and compassion, forgiveness and reconciliation and see all this as the work of the Holy Spirit.

During June this year, on Wednesday evenings at 7.30.p.m. here in the church, we will be thinking about our neighbourhood, our local community. We will be learning about the good things that are already happening and thinking about the needs that are here, and how we might discover what part we can play in helping the people who live here. Please put the dates on your phone or in your diary!

The challenge for all of us is this. Are we content to live in a room, at home, or here in  this church, to sit quietly with Christ and feel good and safe, but lack the courage to go out and share the Good News that Jesus is alive; and with the help of the Holy Spirit create situations where God can  work with us to bring in Christ’s kingdom. As disciples in some places we may face criticism, we may be misunderstood, we may be laughed at, sometimes we may feel it’s too hard, sometimes we may feel we are doing nothing useful, but if we are doing good, God will be with us.

Some of us are less active than we used to be, but we can work with God in the world in many ways as well. We have friends, neighbours and families we can share the Good News with. This can be very difficult, some people may show no interest or even be hostile, but we must look for the right moment, not be afraid to speak out at an appropriate time and in a helpful way.

We can all pray, and we can use our money to help others spread the Good News in this country and across the world. We all have a part to play as disciples of Jesus Christ, we are all called to share the Good News that Jesus Christ is risen. We can’t do that hiding at home or hiding in the church. We never retire as disciples of Jesus Christ!

We all need a safe home and a church where Christ is present and then we can recharge our batteries, but God is busy outside our homes and outside our church buildings and invites us to join in the work of spreading the Good News.

Our Collect today that we prayed at the beginning of this Eucharist said “Risen Christ, for whom no door is locked, no entrance barred, open the doors of our hearts, that we may seek the good of others and walk the joyful road of sacrifice and peace, to the praise of God the Father”. This prayer is printed on the front of your newsletter, please take it home with you and use it every day this week.

 Our final hymn is a well -known one “Colours of Day”. The chorus invites us to “open the door” and we will sing   “go through the park and on into the town” because “Jesus is living and His Spirit is near.” Enjoy singing it!

Janet Fulljames

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