{"id":3676,"date":"2020-01-20T10:27:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-20T10:27:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=3676"},"modified":"2020-01-20T10:27:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-20T10:27:29","slug":"sermon-19th-january-2020-morning","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-19th-january-2020-morning\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 19th January 2020 – morning"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Second Sunday of Epiphany – morning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 19th January 2020<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Epiphany 2 – morning
\nIsaiah49. 1-7
\nJohn 1. 29-42<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

\nWell if we were not convinced\nabout the importance of the baptism of Jesus last weekend, we get a\nsecond account of it this week! And repetition is a sure way in\nBiblical references of guaranteeing significance. But this week we\nare also witnessing the passing on of authority and a role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nFor this week we see how John\nacknowledges that as Jesus\u2019 star rises, so his own must decline \u2013\neven his disciples seem to be drifting away and towards the latest\nsensation to arrive in town \u2013 the charismatic carpenter from\nNazareth is collecting followers as he goes \u2013 seemingly without\nmuch of a fight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd we are also introduced to\nAndrew \u2013 who surely should be the model for our own efforts to\nevangelise. Andrew is the one that people obviously find approachable\nand he is the one who is continuously \u2013 or so it seems \u2013 bringing\nothers to Jesus. Whether it is his own brother, Simon – who gains a\nnew name or nickname \u2013 Peter \u2013 The Rock. Or a small boy with some\nfish and loaves or later still in the story a curious crowd of Greeks\nwho come seeking Jesus, but who speak first to Andrew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nDo you know someone like\nAndrew in your lives? The person everyone turns to for an\nintroduction to others in a circle of friends? The one who is good at\nmaking connections? The one who can persuade others to try something\nout when they are feeling shy or uncertain? Or is that a role you\nmight fulfil?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAs we begin this New Year and\nbegin thinking about those people who might be elected to be members\nof our PCC or as churchwardens for the year ahead, it is a good model\nto have in mind! I know the Annual Meeting is a way off as yet, but\nit will soon come around!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cAmong you stands one whom\nyou do not know\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThat is the great paradox\nabout seeking Jesus, isn\u2019t it? It was true for the first disciples\nand the crowds that came to see what all the fuss was about whenever\nsome new preacher arrived in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nOnce, when the Queen was\nwalking around the village of Balmoral in her holiday uniform of\nheadscarf, tweed skirt and sensible brogues, she was stopped by\nsomeone telling her \u201cYou look just like the Queen!\u201d To which the\nQueen is reported to have replied, \u201cHow very reassuring,\u201d –\nbefore resuming her walk \u2013 still unrecognized for who she really\nwas. And, having once seen her myself at some horse trials with\nPrincess Anne, I can vouch for how very ordinary and unremarkable she\ncan appear! \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSo if the woman with one of\nthe most recognisable faces in the world can pass for a stranger, how\nmuch more can we overlook the presence of Jesus in our midst? The one\nfor whom we have no reliable image? No selfie. No portrait. No coins\nor stamp bearing his effigy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cAmong you stands one whom\nyou do not know\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nHave you ever seen that TV\nseries where a millionaire goes undercover? They work in needy\ncommunities and with support agencies to try and understand, first\nhand, what the problems of such people are and how best to target\ntheir wealth. And the unrecognized Jesus lifts up and helps and\nnourishes the invisible, overlooked people who stand among us, whom\nsociety too often doesn\u2019t see \u2013 let alone know. But these are the\nvery people to whom Jesus came to preach the Good News and with whom\nwe too should be communicating on his behalf today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cAmong you stands one whom\nyou do not know\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIf you are sitting there\ncongratulating yourself that you do\nknow him. If through the gift of faith you can recognize him \u2013 then\nrejoice and be thankful. It is not obvious or natural, but if \u2013 by\nthe gift of grace, – you can see the Lamb of God who takes away the\nsin of the world, you can also see all those other people among us\nfor whom Jesus is still unknown, who sorely need to know the Lamb of\nGod, and you too can point them towards him. You can tell them what\nyou have discovered about Jesus \u2013 you can be an Andrew to their\nPeter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nJohn had to realise that Jesus\nwould achieve far more than he could \u2013 I wonder if today we would\nknow anything about John were it not for the part he played in the\nstory of Jesus? And Andrew would see his brother Peter go on to be\nnamed by Jesus as the one to take on the burden of leadership\nfollowing his death \u2013 I wonder how Andrew took that on board? Being\nthe first person to spot something or someone does not guarantee that\nyou will be the one to be remembered, but that is OK if you believe\nthat a greater purpose is being fulfilled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cAmong you stands one whom\nyou do not know\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Who might that be?…….. \u2013 I wonder?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Second Sunday of Epiphany – morning Sunday 19th January 2020 Epiphany 2 – morning Isaiah49. 1-7 John 1. 29-42 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs Well if we were not convinced about the importance of the baptism of Jesus last weekend, we get a second account of it this week! And repetition is a sure way in … <\/p>\n

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