Sermons

The Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Sunday 24 September at 10am

Lesley Ashton
Readings: Mark 9:30-37; James 3;13-4.3 &7-8a

'The disciples could not understand it and they were afraid to ask him about the matter'.

In the gospel reading last week Peter confesses Jesus as Messiah and Jesus speaks to his disciples about what this means, that he will be rejected, that he will suffer and that he will die. The response that Peter gives shows how far his understanding of Messiah differs from that of Christ and when he rebukes Jesus he is quickly put in his place and along with the other disciples told what the cost of true discipleship will be.

In this week's gospel reading we find Jesus again trying to speak about his death and his resurrection, we can note that this is important teaching because Jesus has again taken his disciples aside to walk and talk with them. They do not understand and they are afraid to ask the questions that might give some clarification. Instead they engage in diversionary tactics and argue between them selves about who is the greatest. It seems that they still have that vision of their Messiah being someone who will exercise power, who will rule and hold worldly might and authority. Their concerns are more related to the level of royal patronage they might enjoy, being one of the Messiah's chosen few, a member of his inner circle.

As onlookers it could be easy to feel frustration with the disciples, when oh when will they understand what Jesus is trying to say to them. How many times will he have to speak with them before the penny drops? What we need to remember is that what is being required of the disciples is for them to do a U turn in their understandings, to think outside of the box they have created for Jesus or for their understandings of Messiah.

I am sure that in some way we can all identify with the disciples. How often do we put our own heads into the sand when we are warned of difficult things ahead. E.g. As individuals and as a country most of us have failed to hear and respond to the warnings we keep getting about the state of the environment. We want things to continue as they are, we don not want to sacrifice some of the comforts of the lifestyle we have come to enjoy.

In a similar way when we get bad news about a situation, about our health or job prospects we can be stunned into disbelief and we fail to ask the questions that will bring more understanding. Perhaps we can only cope with so much difficult information at any one time and a period of adjustment or reconciliation is required before we can hear more.

Sometimes, perhaps more frequently than we like to acknowledge or confess we hold a view or a position about a subject that we do not want to be moved from. We hold fast to an attitude ,a prejudice or belief, in the face of overwhelming evidence or experience to a contrary perspective.

We state our position, and having done so find ourselves backed into a corner from which it is very difficult to remove ourselves. We are afraid of losing face and we do not allow ourselves to hear a different viewpoint, to ask questions or to reconsider our position.

Yet from my own perspective I think that the people for whom I have the most admiration are those who are open to changing the minds, those who admit that they need to hear other views, those who are willing to move from a position they have held with deep integrity but who have been persuaded to think otherwise. And especially when this has happened because a person has prayerfully been open to the work of the Holy Spirit within their thinking and deliberations. People who are not afraid to ask the hard questions.

If we went through the gospels we would find that Jesus asked many questions. In fact the
gospels are full of questions asked by Jesus. In Mark's gospel alone he asks more than 50 questions; sometimes because he wants to hear the answer, but quite often he asks a question to enable the disciples or whoever he is speaking with, to think for themselves, to explore what they believe or to challenge their attitudes or views.

Jesus is not a dictator,by asking questions he opens doors to help our thinking and to aid our understanding. Unfortunately far too often we have shut the door and bolted it from the inside. We have decided what we believe and what we don't believe, we have sometimes allowed one bad experience to cloud our judgement, sometimes we have found a faith which keeps us comfortable and we don't want our comfort to be challenged or upset. Sometimes we fear that if we look at a subject more closely our faith will be undermined or eroded. I suspect also that we too often have been influenced by an individual or an institution when we would be far better walking with Christ and trusting him and the Holy Spirit to bring us into all truth.

I feel this morning that I want to encourage us all not to be afraid of the questions that arise for us as we journey in faith and also to not be afraid to voice them The questions asked by people who are new to faith or who are returning to faith are some of the most important to listen to, they are often the ones that take us back to the nub of our faith and which revitalise us. The questions asked by those who are struggling with their faith or with difficult situations in their lives, are some of the most challenging ones we may hear. Remember we don't need to have all the answers, we simply need to respond and to prayerfully trust God to bring enlightenment.

I would encourage us all to look through the gospels at the questions that Jesus asks ( and I have a list if anyone would like one). Find one of his questions that speaks to you and stay with it, pray with it. Unbolt the door of your heart, be prepared to think outside of the box allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. You will not be disappointed.

Ask questions of one another draw upon our own community here at St Edmund's, we are a very mixed community, we represent many different church traditions and understandings. We also span all generations from 0 to 90 plus and each of us bring our own perspective and wisdom. A person who has lived through world wars will have had their faith tested and enlarged differently to someone who has not had that experience. Conversely a younger person will be able to teach us more about how their faith is relevant in the high pressured business world or in a workplace where there are people of many different faiths. We need to listen to and learn from each other. Allow the Spirit of God to break through the self enclosed worlds that we inhabit, so that others can come in and help us to become more like Christ. We need one another in order to do this, for Christ abides in each of us and we are marked in different ways by Him.

My hope and prayer this morning is that each of us may be willing to ask the questions that lie deep within us and that we respond to the questions that Christ asks of us, through another or through his word. May we always be open to the possibility that we have more to learn, more to discover and most importantly more to become in Christ, for his sake and for the sake of his kingdom. Amen

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