Christmas 2 St Peter’s 5 January 2003
Revd
Mark Bonney
Since this is the first Sunday
of 2003 may I wish you all a very happy New Year! We’re long enough into it
for all bu the worst of hangovers to have worn off, for the majority of
resolutions to have been broken – long enough for reality to be with us again
as we face an uncertain world on the brink of we know not what.
But – “Blessed be the God
and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us in Christ with every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” Should we ever be in danger of
gloom or despair this morning’s reading from the letter to the Ephesians is
worthy of much reflection and prayerful meditation. It is one of the most beautiful passages in the Bible – a
paean of praise as, with repeated words, the piling up of phrases and the
circling around a central theme it gives us a deep, deep reservoir of hope and
praise.
It is a vital reminder that the
heart and ground of everything is GOD – what an obvious thing to say – but
so easily forgotten as we busy ourselves with all the things that we have to
busy ourselves with. The passage sketches for us a circle of blessing –
nothing more wonderful can be imagined or spoken of than God – and this
blessedness reaches out to embrace all God’s creatures with every spiritual
blessing – and the circle is complete when those thus blessed affirm God as
their source and resource.
After this opening paean of
praise there is a strong element of everything happening at the will and
choosing of God – “he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the
world” – “God destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus
Christ” – “With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery
of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a
plan for the fullness of time.”
A favourite phrase that echoes
through the passage is “in Christ” – “In Christ we have also obtained an
inheritance… In him… you also were marked with the seal of the promised Holy
Spirit.”
I have to admit that I always
wince a little at phrases that suggest that somehow there’s a great laid out
plan for everything – hints of predestination – being chosen and being part
of a great divine plan can so easily suggest that in the end we’re just
automata and have no choice about anything at all. But that certainly isn’t
the way we experience life – and I don’t think that’s what this passage is
really saying – God choosing us in Christ before the foundation of the world
is a beautifully eloquent way of talking about the constant presence of God –
a presence that has no beginning or end.
One of the challenges for us
comes in the way these verses insist again and again on our utter dependence on
God – To assert that God creates, God destines, God reveals, God accomplishes
his own plan means that we human beings, in and of ourselves, accomplish
nothing. That’s a real assault on our Western sense of independence and
autonomy. We like to see ourselves as important, as significant players who can
make a difference – and we are important, we can make a difference – but only
because of the gracious gift of God in Christ – whether we recognise it or
not we’re utterly dependent on God.
And another way that this text
cuts across the grain of many of us modern Christians is its insistence on the
obligation to praise God. The passage reiterates for us the wonderful things
that God has done in Christ “glorious grace bestowed on us … redemption
through his blood.. forgiveness of our trespasses.” The self-reliant
twenty-first century person is likely to respond to this by saying something
like, “What am I to do? I stand in God’s debt, I must make some
repayment for this.” Our reading this morning however stipulates no repayment
– for the debt can never be paid. Instead the exhortation is to give God
thanks and praise. It is to worship. Sadly for so many people this is no
response at all – yet it is fundamental to our existence as God’s creatures.
For me this reading from Ephesians recalls the words of one of old Catechisms
– the first question was “Who made me?” answer “God made me.” Second
question “Why did God make me” -
answer “to glorify him and enjoy him for ever.”
The cynic might think that God
is some kind of ego-maniac wanting to be worshipped and praised by everyone –
but that is rather to make God in our own image. God didn’t create the world
and us to get millions of worshipping admirers! The insistence on praise and
worship that’s revealed to us in the scriptures is to do with something that
is essential for us as human beings. The capacity to appreciate, to admire and
worship is an essential feature of what it is to be a human being – without it
we’re lost.
Many of you may know the
extraordinary play Equus by Peter Shaffer. I remember first reading it at
a retreat some twenty-five years ago. In it a sick boy who has blinded horses,
is sent to see the doctor, Dysart. Dysart recognises that in the boy there is a
passion, which is indeed literally distorted, but one that nevertheless shows up
his own life. Referring to himself Dysart says, “The finicky, critical husband
looking through his art book on mythical Greece what worship has he ever
known? Real worship! Without worship you shrink, it’s as brutal as that
This capacity to worship and
adore is crucial to what it means to be a human being. We only truly develop to
the extent that we are able to recognise and respond to glimpses of truth,
goodness and beauty outside of ourselves. And when we catch those glimpses
it’s not a case of, “oh, well I’ll do that when it suits me” – shop
today – worship tomorrow – worship and God become the thread that runs
through everything. “Seven whole days not one in seven” George Herbert says.
And it’s that glimpse of truth
goodness and beauty that I hope is at the heart of this and every Eucharist as
we will soon utter in worship with angels and archangels, “Holy, Holy, Holy
Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory –
hosanna in the highest.”
Amen.