Readings: Isaiah 51:1-6, Psalm 138, Romans 12:1-8, Matthew 16:13-20
Three hymns – two relatively new sets of words and one very well-loved hymn came to mind during preparation for today.
- When circumstances make my life
The words of a recent addition in Singing the Faith (no 641), can be found here: https://www.methodist.org.uk/our-faith/worship/singing-the-faith-plus/posts/when-circumstances-make-my-life-too-hard-to-understand-stf-641/
2. Take my life and let it be consecrated Lord, to thee
3. Community of Christ
Prayer of approach
Lord God we gather to give you thanks and praise from the bottom of our hearts. We adore you and lift up your holy name as we contemplate your steadfast love and goodness to us.
Even when we have experienced difficulties in life, you are there with us, leading us, guiding us. You were ahead of us, as we prepared for worship today; so we ask you to lead us, so that we may face the future with confidence. Amen.
Collect
Holy God, you liberate the oppressed and make a way of salvation. Unite us with all who cry for justice, and lead us together into freedom; through Jesus Christ. Amen
Confession
Lord, you ask us to confess your holy name, not just with our lips, but in the way we think and act. You call us to be your people in your world, inviting others into the kingdom, and showing your love in the way we respond to those in need.
Yet sometimes our words do not reflect what we have learned of you, and our actions do not speak of your love. Forgive us we pray, and may be grow in encouragement, faith and love as we seek to be good news in this place. Amen
The Gospel is full of insights about Jesus, but in the Gospel reading, Simon Peter has a moment of revelation when he declares Jesus to be the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.
it stands in contrast to a much quoted piece:
I am much struck with the contrast between Christ’s mode of gathering people to himself and the way practiced by Alexander the Great, by Julius Caesar, and by myself. The people have been gathered to us by fear; they were gathered to Christ by love. Alexander, Caesar, and I have been men of war, but Christ was the Prince of Peace. The people have been driven to us; they were drawn to him. In our case there has been forced conscription; in his there was free obedience.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821)
Regretfully, for all his astuteness, Bonaparte did not seem to put into practice that which he understood about Christ. But surely, when you know who Jesus is, it should affect your relationship with God, with one another and will shape the way you live.
So, if you say, ‘I am unchanged by my encounter with Christ,’ I would love to have a long conversation with you about this! If you say, ‘I have been a Christian for so long, I can’t really identify what makes my life so different’, I would probably agree up to a point. But following Jesus – which is what is really this question is about, here in the Gospel – should make a difference:
When we talk about our community here, we usually use the word ‘church’; its roots are in Greek and it really means the Lord’s House. It is a good description. But in the new testament, the gospel writers always use that other great Greek word: ekklesia, which means to be called out.
We are people who have been called out. And one of the best descriptions of the ‘called out people’ is not clergy, minister or priest, because all of God’s people have a calling; no, one of the best depictions is that given by St Paul in Romans 12. It involves us all, and it involves all of us.
Here are two important ideas:
- Transformation is part of our spiritual worship
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and perfect.
So, in Christian terms, spirituality is about worship, it is about transformation and it involves our hearts, our minds and our bodies. Curiously – no mention of singing! (Which is what fills so many discussions as we talk about returning to our buildings for worship.) The main activity mentioned here is, giving our bodies as a living sacrifice. It is about doing following Christ in a way that Napoleon was unable to grasp. He never translated what he knew about Christ into action.
Being transformed is really, really important. Look at that great old hymn by Frances Ridley Havergal, ‘tale my life and let it be consecrated, Lord, to thee’. She has it absolutely spot on, and it is well worth looking at the range of consecration she is making, and inviting us to make too: our time given over to ceaseless praise; hands and feet engaged in ministry; singing and speaking for God; money, ability to think, the will, the mind, the heart – all to belong to God. How often are we tempted to snatch them back for ourselves?
- An ability to work together as a body
The second part of Romans 12 teaches about the corporate nature of the church. One of the most amazing gifts of Methodism is its emphasis on the Connexion. It is more than just a name for ‘headquarter’, it actually should remind us of this passage in scripture, where we each take of different roles according to the gifts given to us.
Both here and in Corinthians, St Paul gives us a remarkable list of activities in church-life – by no means exhaustive, there are lots of other gifts that are needed
Prophecy, ministry -speaking God’s message, teaching, exhorting – encouraging, giving, leading, compassion, wisdom, faith, healing, miracles, speaking in tongues and explanation.
In church-life, it has often been the more exuberant and public aspects of such gifts that have been praised or highlighted. Whereas, encouragement, compassion, wisdom and faith, together with giving seem to be much less remarked upon.
How often have you heard someone say, oh such and such a person is a remarkable preacher! In contrast, how often have you heard someone remark upon the compassion or encouragement of a member of the congregation? Yet the whole-body image used by St Paul suggests that each gift is valuable when exercised in building God’s kingdom.
This probably indicates that we have all the gifts, skills and expertise we need in within our church-community, when God calls us to build the kingdom here and now. But sometimes we have lacked the courage to move out in faith.
I pray that God will lead and inspire us, so that many will be called into the kingdom of God. And to help with this prayer, here are the words of Shirley Erena Murray’s hymn for contemplation:
Community of Christ, who make the cross your own, live out your creed and risk your life for God alone: the God who wears your face, to whom all worlds belong, whose children are of every race and every song. Community of Christ, look past the Church’s door and see the refugee, the hungry, and the poor. Take hands with the oppressed, the jobless in your street, take towel and water, that you wash your neighbour’s feet. Community of Christ, through whom the word must sound – cry out for justice and for peace the whole world round: disarm the powers of war and all that can destroy, turn bombs to bread, and tears of anguish into joy. When menace melts away, so shall God’s will be done, the climate of the world be peace and Christ its Sun; our currency be love and kindliness our law, our food and faith be shared as one for evermore.
Worship at home 