{"id":2782,"date":"2019-03-25T10:10:15","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T10:10:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=2782"},"modified":"2019-03-25T10:10:15","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T10:10:15","slug":"sermon-24th-march-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-24th-march-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 24th March 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Eve of the Annunciation – evening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

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

Eve of the Annunciation – evening
\nWisdom 9.1-12
\nGalatians 4.1-5<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

\nSo, the good news is, tomorrow it is just 9 months to Christmas!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat, no cheering?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nYou don\u2019t want to think about that yet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWe are on the eve of Lady Day…. a day that means quite a lot, I am\nsure to all the farmers here this evening! Because Lady Day meant \u2013\nor means still probably, the day the rent falls due on agricultural\nland…. am I right? And this day would also mark the point of entry\ninto a new contract or to a new farm if farming families were on the\nmove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut in the church we remember it as the day when the Angel Gabriel\nvisited a young girl in a rural backwater called Nazareth, in a\ntroublesome part of the Roman Empire called Palestine \u2013 to inform\nher that \u2013 providing she consented, she was to be the mother of a\nvery special baby. A baby born without benefit of a human father,\nalthough her fianc\u00e9 would agree to bring the baby up as his own son.\nA baby who would call God himself his father, and would enjoy a very\nspecial relationship with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut for now, all Mary had to do was listen, agree to God\u2019s plan and\nthen undergo nine long months of waiting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nFor us it falls in the season of Lent, but this too seems\nappropriate, because Lent is a time of waiting, of preparation \u2013\nnot for a birth, but a death. But we know it is coming just as surely\nas an expectant mother knows that eventually, she will hold her child\nin her arms \u2013 having held it safe within her own body during the\nlong months of waiting and preparing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut what, I wonder, does it mean to be told that God has a special\npurpose for your life?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn a way, that is an experience that we can all share \u2013 whether or\nnot we ever know what it is like to give birth. God visits each of us\n\u2013 although we may not always be aware of his presence beside us\nunless we are particularly open to his message. And God always knows\nthe unique place that we occupy in this world. We are all equally\nloved and valued and we each have a role to play in bringing about\nthe kingdom here in God\u2019s world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo the feast of the Annunciation, which we mark as beginning from\ntonight (days in Biblical terms always begin at sundown the previous\nevening, not at sun up) is for each one of us. Not just for Mary. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut listening to and even accepting God\u2019s call on us, does not\nalways mean that things change instantly. Sometimes it takes a while\nfor the seed to germinate and to grow. That time of gestation; of\nwaiting and preparing. Sometimes it may be months or even years later\nthat God\u2019s purpose becomes clear to us \u2013 even though we may then\nbe able to look back and see the origins of a major event or change\nin our lives many years previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSometimes it brings with it great joy; sometimes there is an element\nof sadness \u2013 perhaps realising that God\u2019s call can come at a\ncost. Mary certainly had both in her life didn\u2019t she? The joy of\ngiving birth to a much loved son; the sorrow of seeing him grow into\na wonderful young man, only then to see him die horribly on a cross,\nwithout, at the time fully realising why this had to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn a very real sense the Annunciation to Mary marks not only the\nstirring of new life in her, but also the announcement of death and\nloss to come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nKing Solomon \u2013 who supposedly wrote the book of Wisdom from which\nwe heard our first reading this evening, achieved great celebrity in\nhis lifetime, even outshining his illustrious father, David. Solomon\nit was who built the Temple and further elaborated the Royal Palace\nin Jerusalem. Solomon was the one with all those wives (although\nmaybe that wasn\u2019t, in hindsight, the wisest of his moves!) Solomon\nwas the one whose fame spread to neighbouring courts and made other\nmonarchs come to see his wealth and admire his judgement. And Solomon\nwas famous for his wisdom, yet it seems that he always realised that\nthis was not due to his own credit, but was a gift from God. And that\nwithout such a gift and God\u2019s personal guidance, he would never be\nfit to sit on his father\u2019s throne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut all the wealth and the celebrity and the reputation did not\noutlive Solomon\u2019s death. Eventually it would all fade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nBut \u2013 in time \u2013 there came another descendent to occupy the\nthrone of David. This time there would be no wealth, or fine linen.\nNo wives at all (as far as we know!), and the life lived would be cut\nshort violently. And yet the fame of this son of David would never\ndie or fade even after more than two thousand years. Here truly was\nthe heir to the kingdom \u2013 one that he freely shares with us, if\nonly we listen to his invitation and respond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe announcement is being made. Will we give our assent and will we\nplay our part in God\u2019s purposes for his world? What new life, new\npurpose, is stirring in us today?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eve of the Annunciation – evening Sunday 24th March 2019 Eve of the Annunciation – evening Wisdom 9.1-12 Galatians 4.1-5 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs So, the good news is, tomorrow it is just 9 months to Christmas! What, no cheering? You don\u2019t want to think about that yet? We are on the eve of Lady … <\/p>\n

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