{"id":3389,"date":"2019-10-06T13:17:06","date_gmt":"2019-10-06T13:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=3389"},"modified":"2019-10-06T13:17:06","modified_gmt":"2019-10-06T13:17:06","slug":"sermon-6th-october-2019-morning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-6th-october-2019-morning\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 6th October 2019 – morning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity \u2013 morning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 6th October 2019 <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Trininty 16 – Proper 22 \u2013 morning
\nLam. 3, 19-26
\nLuke 17. 5-10<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

\nHow many of you can still\nremember Tony Hancock? And who has memories of the famous Blood Donor\nSketch?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nFor any of you too young to\nremember or who have somehow never managed to see it on one of its\nmany repeats, Hancock played a caricatured version of himself. And in\nthis sketch he goes along to donate blood convinced that this act\nwill mark him out as some sort of super-hero in the community. In the\nwaiting room he congratulates himself and his fellow donors on their\npublic spirited altruism, but then goes on to lament that there is no\noutward sign they can take away so that others might identify what a\nselfless act they have all just done! \u201cNothing pretentious,\u201d he\nsays, \u201cjust something like: He gave it for others so that others\nmay live.\u201d Of course Hancock was a genius of irony and\npretentiousness was precisely what his alter ego was famous for!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWe can all recognise the need\nfor gratitude for the work we do, which is ludicrously exposed in\nthis sketch. It\u2019s a need we all share, even if most of the time we\nkeep it well under wraps; the yearning for recognition,\nacknowledgement and appreciation. \u201cNice service Vicar!\u201d is often\nthe phrase we hear at the church door, and don\u2019t get me wrong \u2013 I\nlike to hear that as much as the next cleric. But i wonder if anyone\nwould ever have the courage to say to me \u2013\u201c pretty ordinary\nservice today Vicar!\u201d \u2013 and how I would respond?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIt is especially relevant to\nthink about this today of all days, when out there are tens of\nvolunteers giving up their precious Sunday mornings to enable the\nBells Run to happen. I\u2019m not sure what the final figure will be,\nbut by the middle of this week over 600 runners had registered, which\nis an amazing effort and owes much to the hard work of many people,\nbut especially Tony and Lisa Ainsworth and all they and others have\ndone to publicise the race this year \u2013 when it may well be the last\nBells Run. I hope that all those taking part in whatever way will\nfeel that their effort and presence is appreciated \u2013 but if we\nspoke to any of them I am sure they would say, that is not why they\nare running, or why they have given up a Sunday lie-in, or a\nleisurely read of the Sunday Papers, or even their usual attendance\nhere. They are doing it for the greater good; for the good causes\nthat will benefit; and for the sake of the runners themselves,\nturning out to run whatever the weather and state of the ground!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe servant in our Gospel\nreading was expected to turn his hand to all sorts \u2013 whether it was\nwork in the fields or serving his master at table. But he would not\nexpect to get much thanks if any for his effort \u2013 because that is\nwhat he was paid for. He was only doing his duty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nToo often we hear about the\n\u2018entitlement culture\u2019 \u2013 where the focus is on rights, rewards\nand recognition. Disinterested service, freely given, for its own\nsake, without any thought for reward is often belittled \u2013 although\nthere are exceptions. I think those Thos.Cooke staff who have\ncontinued to work by showing up to man customer enquiry desks \u2013\neven though they will not be paid and are themselves out of a job,\nhave won the hearts and admiration of many these past few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nChurches are often places\nwhere people give service, faithfully and unobtrusively, without much\nthought of thanks or reward for their effort. I hope I am never\nungrateful for what others do to help keep this show on the road, but\ninevitably some folk may feel they are taken for granted. But\nultimately of course I am under no illusion that what people do, they\ndo for me. At least I hope that is not the case. For what all of us\ndo \u2013 paid and unpaid \u2013 is ultimately for the glory of God. And it\nis only when hearts are set on serving God, that we are weaned off\nthe entitlement culture. For we cannot make claims on God or build up\ncredit before him. When we have done everything possible, we are\nstill undeserving servants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nInstead, we should try to see\nourselves as apprentices, offering our work to God, through service\nto others, through the action of our daily lives, through our worship\nhere in church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd the good news is that if\nwe can really take that on board, the really good news starts. In and\nof ourselves we may be unworthy servants, but through Christ we\nbecome his friends, honoured, blessed and served by the One who,\nalthough a King, yet became poor for our sakes and offered himself to\nbecome the servant and host of all. Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity \u2013 morning Sunday 6th October 2019 Trininty 16 – Proper 22 \u2013 morning Lam. 3, 19-26 Luke 17. 5-10 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs How many of you can still remember Tony Hancock? And who has memories of the famous Blood Donor Sketch? For any of you too young to remember or … <\/p>\n

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