I am sure we have all had the experience of visiting somewhere, only to find that there seems to be something special, something sacred about the place. It has happened to me on a number of occasions. I have visited grand cathedrals which despite their beauty have left me cold. Yet I have also entered small, insignificant, churches where I have felt that I have been standing in the presence of God.

A few years ago, Chris Peck, who was director of Lay Training in the Diocese of Liverpool (UK), set out on a journey around Britain to seek out sacred places. In his mind was a series of questions, for example: did some places have a natural sacredness of their own which was recognised by our forbears, or were places made sacred, by acts of worship over the centuries? Chris came to the conclusion that both seem to be true. Some places, like the island of Iona, seem to have a holiness of their own.

I visited Iona some nine years ago, staying at the Abbey. It was a difficult time for me, made more difficult by the fact that I did not get on at all well with the rest of the guest. The services in Iona Abbey where not to my liking and the whole thing could have been a disaster. However, releasing myself from the guests and the abbey I spent quite some time sitting outside on a rock, said to be the place where St. Columba had his cell. Here I communed with God, and it was as if heaven and earth were the same place. It was a sacred place.

As a family we have just returned from the Isle of Mann. Towards the end of the holiday we visited Peel Castle. One the two occasions I had visited the island before I had wanted to visit the site but had been thwarted; finally I got my wish.

The castle is built on St. Patrick’s Isle, an ancient site that has been used for many things throughout the years. At one time it was a Celtic Monastery and one of the original chapels still stands. Despite there being the ruins of far grander churches on the site, it was in this small space that I felt the veil between heaven and earth lifting. It was if I was at one with all my brothers and sisters who had worshipped there in the past. – Truly, for me it was a sacred space.

Creating our own Sacred Space

Sacred space is good; it is a place where we meet with God. Visiting such places is also good but it is also possible to create our own. We must remember God is omnipresent and can meet us anywhere Why not think about setting aside some place where you can meet with God on a regular basis. It need not be large; it can be the corner of a room. Place in it something like a picture or a candle on which you can focus your attention as a window into heaven. As you use your space so it becomes sanctified. It becomes the place where you and God can meet. A place that draws you into God, a place where your strength is renewed.

Dave

Time to Rebuild?

Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your panelled houses, while this house lies in ruins?

Now, therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.

Thus says the LORD of hosts: Consider your ways.

Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the LORD.

You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the LORD of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. (Haggai 1:4-9 ESV)

Sermon for Trinity 3

Luke 8:26-39

Luke’s Gospel is full of stories of healing. It’s not surprising really as Luke was a physician and it was these stories of healing that would have really grabbed his attention, especially those stories where it appears the medical profession could do nothing. And so we have the story of this deranged man, so dangerous that he had to be restrained and when that did not work, left to roam among the deserted tombs on the hillside. On first reading, it would be easy to dismiss this story as being fanciful and irrelevant – just another story written to illustrate the power of Jesus. After all, nobody today believes in things like demon possessed people and whole herds of suicidal pigs. But look deeper and the story has a lot to tell us about ourselves. So this morning I want to do just that by splitting it up and looking at the main protagonists: the people and the man.

The People

A number of things strike me about the people of the region; the first is that they are a people who have forgotten the laws of God. How do I know – simply because they are keeping pigs and animal forbidden under Jewish law. The second thing is they are a people living in fear. They are in fear of this man. They don’t know how to handle his violent outbursts and so they try to restrain him. When this does not work, it seems they are prepared to put the man out of sight in an area that is not frequently visited. They are in fear of Jesus. When someone does come along with the answer they don’t like it because that answer includes the very God they have rejected and that too brings with it fear of judgement. They are also a people who have put profit before the individual. They are more concerned for the pigs and what they represent than the man who has been made well. The more I think about it the more I realise they are just like us.

We in the UK are a nation who has forgotten the laws of God. At not so long ago it could be said that British Law to a great extent reflected the laws of God, I doubt that could be said today, laws are passed that constantly run against the teaching of scripture. But that is hardly surprising in a nation that puts spending a Sunday morning in Tesco above spending time with God. Consumerism now rules at every level – we prefer pigs to people, paying more in bribes in order to sell arms in one year than we spend on Mental Health in ten.

As God has become less and less important so fear has risen in the population. People now live in fear. We refuse to let our children play alone, for fear of the paedophile: we fear to go out because a couple of ‘hoodies’ are standing on the street corner; we are in fear of our homes being broken into and so we invest in all sorts of security; we are in fear of going to the city centre and so we have more CTV cameras than the most oppressive dictatorship. We are afraid of the young Muslim lad down the street because he has a beard like the 9/11 terrorists– I could go on.

So we try to deal with these people who have us in fear. We place them in chains, with restraining orders and electronic tags, but they break free and so we seek to put them out of the way in places we rarely go among the tombs of prison. Our problem is we are running out of places.

Finally, we are in fear of God. We have the new phenomena of aggressive secularism which seeks to erase God from all public life. We even have aggressive atheism, which is positively evangelical about spreading the message that there is no God. Whatever reasons people may give for not believing in God, or not coming into church, the thing I sense most is fear. Fear that if they engage with God, they will have to change and all they value will be taken away. The pigs may well run down the slope.

The Man

And so we turn our attention to the man. Naked and in the wild he is rejected by his family and society. He is being driven by forces of which he has no understanding and has little personal control over his life and what he does. But Jesus attitude to this man is in stark contrast to that of his community. Jesus immediately recognises the forces that are driving him and decides to do something about it. Instead of being afraid, Jesus approaches the man who responds by falling to his knees. There is a conversation, the outcome of which is the man is freed and is later found sitting “clothed and in his right mind.” The man desires to follow Jesus with his disciples but is given a more important job of telling his story to those who are at present just as driven, by their fear.

Just as there were parallels with our society and the people, so too there are similarities with the man. All of us are driven by forces of which we have no understanding. All of us, to some extent, live in our own private world which may be very different from the one people see. All of us need the healing that comes from Jesus that frees us from those hidden forces and private worlds and allows the real you and me to exist. And, having received that healing we need to make sure that the message gets around. The truth here that Jesus was not healing one man, but a whole society. None of us who have encountered Jesus do so just for our own benefit, but for the benefit of all with whom we come in contact.

Conclusion

This is a story of hope. It reminds me that however hopeless things may seem, Christ is able to redeem the situation. A later incident is recorded in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus lands once again on their shore “And after the people of that place recognised him, they sent word throughout the region and brought all who were sick to him, and begged him that they might even touch the fringe of his cloak: and all who touched it were healed.” Our man had done what was asked of him.

It seems to me that we have two options . We can live in fear feeling we are being driven by powers outside our control. Or we can accept the healing and freedom that Jesus offers and then confidently go and tell others.

Remember: no society is ever changed by its rulers and its laws which can only ever deal with external things. Society is changed however, by ordinary people who seek to free people from their fears and (for the want of a better phrase) the demons that drive them. Strikes me that all of us have some pretty important work to do.

Happy Birthday Liverpool

With all the hype over Capital of Culture, it would be easy to forget that this year Liverpool celebrates its 800^th birthday. Actually, it is older than that, but in 1207 King John granted the town a charter giving its citizens certain rights. John, of course, wanted something in return. The old pool and castle ensured that this would be a safe harbour for his ships whilst preparing for an invasion of Ireland. Whatever the history, this year will be a year of celebration with lots going on. The council even want street parties to rival those of the Coronation in 1953. (This is where I feel old as I remember both the Coronation and the celebrations for Liverpool’s 750^th birthday in 1957!)

Of course, we want this to be a success and we wish Liverpool well, just as we wish everyone a Happy New Year. However, I am aware for some people the New Year may not prove happy. Perhaps they are going through a worrying time, or are fearful of something that is due to happen in the weeks and months ahead. Maybe this is the first New Year without the company of a loved one and they are wondering how they are going to cope during the year ahead.

None of us can know for certain what the year ahead holds. This time last year Gill and I had no idea that during 2006 we would be attending the funerals of Gill’s Aunt, Uncle and both her parents. At New Year we hope for a good twelve months ahead, and it may well be, but it may turn out an ‘annus horibilis’, to quote Her Majesty.

So then, if life can be so variable is their anything or anyone that can be relied on to be constant? For the believer the answer to that question has to be the love of God as found in Jesus. The Bible says of him: ‘Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and for ever.’ (Hebrews 13:8). This means the Christ who loved us so much that he humbled himself to be born in a stable in Bethlehem that first Christmas: the Christ who loved us so much that he gave himself up to be crucified for our sins at Easter, still loves us and cares for us 2000 years later.

For me, 2007 is another Birthday. Forty years ago this summer, I made a decision to follow that same Jesus. Since then, life has thrown at me many things, some good, some bad, some that have made me very happy, and some that have brought me to the gates of despair, but in all of these things Jesus and his love has been constant. I know many people at St. David’s who could say the same; lots of whom have followed Jesus for much longer than me.

Some of you will be making New Year resolutions. Usually we choose resolutions that we hope will make our life just that bit better. Why not make the decision to get to know Jesus? From experience I know it will be the best decision you can make – better than all the other resolutions put together. Then, whatever the year ahead brings, you will have the joy of knowing the constancy of Christ’s love.

Wishing you every blessing for the year ahead

Dave