{"id":2637,"date":"2019-02-24T16:51:39","date_gmt":"2019-02-24T16:51:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=2637"},"modified":"2019-03-04T15:33:03","modified_gmt":"2019-03-04T15:33:03","slug":"sermon-24th-february-2019-morning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-24th-february-2019-morning\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 24th February 2019 – morning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sermons index<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

2nd Sunday before Lent – morning <\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 24th February 2019 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

2 before Lent – morning
\nGenesis 2. 4b-9;15-25
\nLuke 8. 22-25<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n
\"Maureen<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\nHave you ever had the feeling\nthat it is all a bit overwhelming? That, sometimes, life is just too\nmuch? Too many decisions, too many choices (remember, I talked about\nthat last week?), too many demands on our time, our wallets, our\nattention?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI can\u2019t help wondering if\nthat is how Adam felt. It was all very well being given the whole of\nthe garden of Eden…. and to have all the animals for company \u2013\nbut then he also had to come up with names for all of them! Those of\nyou who have agonised over the name of a newborn baby will know\nsomething of that responsibility!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd after a hard day\u2019s\nnaming, to be left with the nagging sensation that something, or\nsomeone was missing? It was all very well to be given authority and\npower over all of creation as a kind of steward for God; and lovely\nwhen God was there to walk and talk with of course…. but God could\nnot be there the whole time. So who would Adam be able to share all\nthat with?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n[Now don\u2019t get the idea that\nthis is history. This is not fact that we are expected to take\nliterally. The creation stories are myths; which is to say that they\nare wonderful poetic stories that reveal to us much that is true\nabout the nature of God and the nature of humanity, without needing\nto accept that every word is the literal truth!]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn this version of the story,\nthere is a touching and lovely sense of intimacy between God and the\nfirst human being he has made. A sense of playfulness and abundance.\nBut also a hint of what is to come. Amid all the lushness of the\ngarden, there is just one tree \u2013 that of the knowledge of good and\nevil, which Adam is forbidden to taste. And please note that here,\nthe command not to eat is given to Adam on his own, before the\ncreation of Eve, which makes the tradition of blaming everything on\nher particularly unjust!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd the other dark note comes\nin God\u2019s understanding that Adam is lonely. And that out of God\u2019s\nlove and generosity comes the creation of one who is both part of\nAdam himself and yet also other. But one who can be his companion and\nshare in the both the pleasure and the responsibility of looking\nafter God\u2019s world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo everything in the garden\nappears rosy \u2013 at least as this point. Of course with the benefit\nof hindsight we know that it is all about to change. Humanity is\nincapable of staying within the confines that God gives us \u2013 or\nmaybe we just had to grow up and gain that knowledge of good and\nevil?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhatever the truth of the\nmatter, the deep level of trust and intimacy that existed between God\nand his created beings in the early days of Eden is destined to be\nbroken and Adam and Eve will be faced with the overwhelming\nconsequences of their actions. Consequences that are still being\nplayed out today in the more broken aspects of human nature and the\nworld in which we live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo\nin the gospel for today it is not surprising to discover that the\ndisciples have forgotten how to trust God. All they can focus on is\nthe strength of the wind and waves that are hammering their small\nboat, threatening to overturn it and lead to their untimely end. And\nwe still have an innate fear of wind and water and at times we are\nvictims of the natural forces in this world. Just think of the recent\ndeath of the footballer and pilot, Emiliano\nSala and\nDavid Ibbotson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut\nthe disciples need not fear \u2013 Jesus settles the raging waves and\nrebukes the storm. There is calm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut\nthere is something more. He settles the storm, but unsettles the\ndisciples. As well as saving them, he amazes them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThey\nare amazed he could sleep through such weather, but even more amazed\nthat he can calm it. And he asks them \u201cWhere is your faith?\u201d \u2013\nwhich could conceivably mean at least two things…. either \u201cWhy\ndidn\u2019t you have the faith to stop the storm; why did you wake me?\u201d\nOr, \u201cYou are with me; why did you think the storm could possibly\nwin? Do you still not know who I am?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nFor\nmy money it is the second explanation that I find the more credible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n In\nthis story we see the understanding of the disciples expanding. They\nalready knew that Jesus was a great healer and teacher. Now they\nwitness something else: the winds and water obey him. Which compels\nthem towards the conclusion that is the foundation of Christian\nfaith: Jesus is not just someone who does the work of God; Jesus\nis God<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo\ndo we have faith? Have we had our understanding expanded? Is our\ntrust in God and his creative power restored? Do we have faith that\nwith Jesus beside us we can be safe, whatever the world and life may\nthrow at us? And do we have faith that we too might be channels of\nthat peace and good order we see in Jesus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nRemember\nthat faith does not mean certainty \u2013 but trust. Like the disciples,\nlike Jesus himself, storms will come and sometimes we will be\nterribly unsettled and feel overwhelmed, but resting secure in God\u2019s\npresence and the affirmation of God\u2019s love, we can trust in the one\nwho calms the storms, even the ones raging in our hearts and minds\ntoday.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sermons index 2nd Sunday before Lent – morning Sunday 24th February 2019 2 before Lent – morning Genesis 2. 4b-9;15-25 Luke 8. 22-25 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs Have you ever had the feeling that it is all a bit overwhelming? That, sometimes, life is just too much? Too many decisions, too many choices (remember, I … <\/p>\n

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