{"id":3722,"date":"2020-02-09T15:47:03","date_gmt":"2020-02-09T15:47:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=3722"},"modified":"2020-02-09T15:47:03","modified_gmt":"2020-02-09T15:47:03","slug":"sermon-9th-february-2020","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-9th-february-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 9th February 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

Third Sunday before Lent – morning<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Sunday 9th February 2020<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

3 before Lent – morning
\n1 Corinthians 2. 1-16
\nMatthew 5. 13-20<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

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

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

What\u2019s Love got to do with it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nA good question to ask in a\nweek leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day \u2013 that festival of all things\npink, gooey, alcoholic and heart-shaped that the retail industry\nhopes will make us part with ever increasing amounts of our cash. I\nwonder how many people are anticipating \u201cpopping the question\u201d or\nhaving a proposal made to them this coming Friday? We are noticeably\ndown on Weddings here at St Chad\u2019s this year \u2013 so I do hope I\nmight be getting some enquiries in the weeks to come! And I am a fan\nof marriage \u2013 (although I sometimes question some of the excessive\nfuss around weddings).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nWhat has love to do with it,\nis also a good question to ask in the light of the recent (not very)\nPastoral Statement that was recently issued on behalf of the House of\nBishops \u2013 although many of them have since tried to distance\nthemselves from its tone, if not its content!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nFor those who have no idea to\nwhat I am referring, this was a statement that was made in response\nto the Government opening up Civil Partnerships to couples who are\nmale\/female as well as same-sex. It was a reiteration of the Church\u2019s\ntraditional teaching about marriage \u2013 that this is the best \u2013\nindeed the only \u2013 context in which sex can be seen as a \u201cGood\nthing\u201d. Anything else \u201cfalls short of God\u2019s purposes for human\nbeings.\u201d The result is that I, or any C of E priest, am unable to\nhold a service of blessing for any couples \u2013 straight or otherwise,\nwho have entered into a Civil Partnership \u2013 and of course the\nChurch does not currently recognise marriage as being possible\nbetween same-sex couples \u2013 whatever the law of the land may say. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nNot a word about love, or\ncommitment or family life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI can bless a battleship (if\nso requested); I can bless any number of inanimate objects. But two\npeople wanting to make a commitment to each other in love and\nfaithfulness, I am not allowed to bless unless they are male\/female\nand agree to be married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nNo wonder the church is seen\nas increasingly irrelevant to many people outside these walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nAnd it flies in the face of\nall we are doing to reassure couples that they are welcome and\naccepted, whatever their domestic arrangements, provided they are in\na faithful and loving relationship and are providing a stable and\nloving environment for any children that they may have or care for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nHence the enormous amount of\nEpiscopal back-pedalling we have seen in the last week or so. It even\ndrew a public apology from the two Archbishops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThere will be those who\nmaintain that the Church should uphold its traditional teaching in\nthis and other matters, but it seems to me that to do so when society\nhas moved so far away from such norms and simply cannot accept as\njustified the rules we try to enforce is ridiculous. I can count on\nthe fingers of one hand the number of couples who have not<\/strong>\nbeen living together before marriage in the 20 plus years that I have\nbeen ordained. Years in which I have conducted well over 100\nweddings. And in your own families you will know this to be true.\nMany weddings take place with the children of such unions taking part\n\u2013 and a lovely, happy occasion it can be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI have never, and will never,\ntell them that they are \u2018living in sin\u2019; because I do not believe\nthat to be the case! On the other hand I can see that to remain in\nan abusive relationship or one where the love has long ago died, can\nbe called sinful and truly does\nfall short of God\u2019s purposes for humankind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nI wish we in the Church, could\nbe known for our emphasis on the importance of honesty and\ntruthfulness in relationships; of faithful sticking together through\nthe difficult times as well as the good times, above all of kindness\nin the way we treat each other, rather than continually being\npreoccupied with what consenting adults do or do not do in the\nprivacy of their own bedrooms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nFor me it comes back to Love.\nLove which is God\u2019s gift to his creation. And as Paul says in our\nreading this morning, \u201cWe have received the Spirit that is from\nGod, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nSalt that has lost its taste\nis no longer of any use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nLight that is hidden from the\nworld, has no relevance to that world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIf we persist in holding to\nrules and guidelines that the rest of the world cannot and will not\naccept \u2013 and moreover, rules and guidelines that our own clergy and\nbishops may observe in theory, while in practice they do something\nquite different, well, no wonder we are held up as hypocrites of the\nworst kind and worthy only of derision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nLove one another, as I have\nloved you. That is the only commandment that really counts for\nanything, surely? That and Love your neighbour as yourself. Be kind,\nbe considerate, and celebrate life-giving, life-enhancing love\nwherever you encounter it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\u201cFor I tell you unless your\nrighteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will\nnever enter the kingdom of heaven.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIt make you think, doesn\u2019t\nit? Happy Valentine\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n\n\n


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

Third Sunday before Lent – morning Sunday 9th February 2020 3 before Lent – morning 1 Corinthians 2. 1-16 Matthew 5. 13-20 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs What\u2019s Love got to do with it? A good question to ask in a week leading up to Valentine\u2019s Day \u2013 that festival of all things pink, gooey, alcoholic … <\/p>\n

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