{"id":3070,"date":"2019-06-02T18:44:26","date_gmt":"2019-06-02T18:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=3070"},"modified":"2019-06-09T15:06:24","modified_gmt":"2019-06-09T15:06:24","slug":"sermon-2nd-june-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-2nd-june-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 2nd June 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Sunday after Ascension \u2013 evening<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 2nd June 2019 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Easter 7 – Sunday after Ascension \u2013 evening
\nIsa. 44. 1-8
\nEph. 4.7-16<\/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 any of you discovered the\ndelight of Audiobooks? I find that during a long drive, it is great\nto listen while someone reads me a story! Probably takes me back to\nPrimary School and Friday afternoons!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nMost recently I have been\nlistening to a book written by a friend of mine, Paula Gooder, who\nhappens to be a New Testament Scholar \u2013 but this is no heavy\ntheological text book. Neither is it \u2013 she insists \u2013 a novel.\nRather it is something inbetween; an exercise in the imagination\nwhere she takes the character of Pheobe \u2013 who Paul commends to the\npeople of Rome in his letter to them. She is described as a Deacon\nand a Benefactor and the church in Rome is asked to give her all the\nhelp she might need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nPaula has taken this and\nworked out a complete backstory that explains how Phoebe \u2013 who\nbegins as a child captured into slavery and brought to Rome by a\nnoble soldier, grows up to endure various hardships \u2013 some of which\nare of her own making \u2013 before winning her freedom and becoming a\nwealthy woman in her own right. The story imagines her being sent to\nRome from Corinth by Paul with instructions to make preparations for\nhis planned missionary trip to Spain \u2013 the final journey we know\nthat Paul was anxious to make, but never actually did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAs the tale unfolds we see how\nPhoebe\u2019s faith develops through her contact with the Christians of\nRome. How her confidence also grows until she is able to acknowledge\nthat maybe God is calling her to undertake the voyage to Spain on\nPaul\u2019s behalf and to ensure that the gospel is taken \u2013\u201cto the\nends of the earth\u201d \u2013 at least to the outer reaches of the Roman\nEmpire, which was the same thing then.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nPaul often talks about the\nneed to develop spiritual maturity when in correspondence with the\nyoung churches over which he has pastoral oversight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn the case of Ephesus, he is\nencouraging them even more directly than with Rome and Phoebe, to\n\u201cgrow up\u201d in Christ. That they may come to maturity in the full\nstature of Christ, moving as it were, from milk to solid food. He\nasks them to consider the gifts they have been given by God, and how\neach might be called into use for the building up of the church.\nThis, he says, requires them not only to receive, but also to give\ngenerously of themselves for the sake of the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSuch advice is just as useful\ntoday as it was 2000 years ago. The Church of Christ is made up of\nordinary people exercising extraordinary gifts \u2013 some which are\nobvious, others less so. Some yet to be discovered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSome are still called to be\napostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers\n\u2013 some are naturally hospitable, some sing, or play instruments,\nsome arrange flowers, some clean, some garden, some bake. In order\nfor any church to thrive \u2013 as we well know here \u2013 its members are\ncalled to reach a level of maturity by which they are able to take on\ntheir share of ministry for the benefit of all… (not, please note,\nas a favour to the Vicar!) They move from being people who are\nprimarily \u2018fed\u2019 whether literally or spiritually, by others, to\npeople who are themselves called to nurture others in the faith. And\nfaith \u2013 they say \u2013 is best \u2018caught\u2019 not only taught. Everyone\nhas a part to play and this is perhaps what Paul means when he talks\nabout growing up in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat do we need for this to\nhappen? The writer of Psalm 68 assures us that God gives power and\nstrength to his people. This is then affirmed in the words of the\nprophet Isaiah, where God shows us our destiny as his children whom\nhe has known from the beginning. God will take his seed of life and\npour out his blessing upon it so that we each spring up \u2013 if not\nlike willows, then perhaps like the grass and even weeds that seem to\nbe doubling in size every day in our gardens at present!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nChrist\u2019s gift to us \u2013 his\nHoly Spirit which we look forward to next Sunday, is without limit\nand has the power to help each one of us find the gifts we have been\ngiven to then share with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn her story, Phoebe discovers\nthat she cannot simply continue to enjoy the quiet life of a\nrespectable Roman matron, enjoying the family that she never dreamed\nshe would ever have and enjoying the love of a good man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nLoving God; loving Jesus,\nrequires her and us to risk it all, but we will not be left with\nnothing. There is a reciprocity among the people of God that may be\nrelied on. Experience is a gift \u2013 but so too is enthusiasm,\ndiversity and a fresh perspective. As Isaiah puts it, we all belong\nto the Lord, and we all therefore have a gift to share in his name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nLiving the Christian life is\nnot something we can passively observe and leave it at that. We are\neach called actively to participate and share in the life of the\ncommunities of which we are a part. Every member of every church has\na ministry, and the challenge for each one of us is to discern what\nthat might turn out to be, and even more importantly, how it can be\nshared to build up the life of the Church in this age and in the\nfuture. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sunday after Ascension \u2013 evening Sunday 2nd June 2019 Easter 7 – Sunday after Ascension \u2013 evening Isa. 44. 1-8 Eph. 4.7-16 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs Have any of you discovered the delight of Audiobooks? I find that during a long drive, it is great to listen while someone reads me a story! Probably takes … <\/p>\n

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