St Michael's Church (Church of England)

Last week we focussed on the truth of ourselves in relation to the possible end of the world – and realised, I hope, that no last minute flurry of presumed Christian activity would earn us extra points for our personal judgement. Rather that how we live each day is the bench mark of our growth in faith and discipleship and will be the true measure of our lives.

I guess one of the words we use in Christian parlance about how we live is ‘grace’. I hope you have a printed sheet of some sayings on Grace, just a selection I found all of which have merit and though we cannot look at them all there are a couple we could glance at today.

In this Easter season might we consider

Grace: “ God’s Riches at Christ’s Expense”

the cost of our salvation, the pardon for the sins of humanity was achieved, some say ‘bought’, through the willingness of Christ - a man filled with human fear and divine knowledge of the true cost and pain of death by the most violent, barbaric means of the day.

Christ’s expense was in his relationships with others, through the loss of the respect of people around him, loss of belief in him. Loss of followers, loss of all the potential he seemed to have to transform the society, culture and very nation he belonged to.

Christ’s expense was the loss of his choice of pathway, letting others take him, brake him and do with him mentally, physically and spiritually as they chose.

Christ’s expense was to look like a looser, and ultimately to loose his life and die on the cross alone and in pain.

God’s riches were, by Christ given to us, riches of blessing, of relationship with him before we are able to live as we are called to be. Our riches are found within the present of God with us in Jesus Christ and the Holy spirit, all this is given to us by Grace.

The quote I think full of practical wisdom is the one from John Henry Newman, the second on our list: just scan that for a moment as I offer some potential failings we probably all recognise:

a cheerful heart,(when we are grumpy and judging someone)

an even temper,(not loosing it because of a build up of other influences or just frustration or tiredness)

sweetness, gentleness,(don’t think this is pink and fluffy stuff, Jane Austin and sewing by the fire, rather a kindness approaching others appropriately to their need and situation) and brightness of mind,(who said Christians have to be meek and mild or leave their brains at the church door – how exciting to engage with God with the same rigour as we approach the crossword or a new job or a new book)

the final paragraph: speaks for itself especially the overpowering and sweeping away of the vexations of life.

On our own we are not truly capable of living by grace, we might be able to sustain it for a couple of hours, or even a day or so, but to develop our Grace-full-ness we need God’s help - by his spirit we can be transformed into people we hardly dare to imagine.

Grace is not for us to keep for a Sunday, or for difficult people or special situations.

Grace is to be used in how we queue in the petrol station or supermarket, how we wait for our children or grandparents. How we treat others or speak of others at our church meetings, how lay up for a Sunday service or how we serve coffee. How we fold the washing or wash the car - Grace is relevant to the whole of our lives.

Grace is something freely given to us, but which cost deeply for us and we recognise will cost us too because living in grace means living in self sacrifice. Sacrifice of our thoughts: of our knowing a better way, of our doing something better or faster than someone else does.

True transformation does not come by one person doing everything. Christ did not stay on earth going on forming new disciples, shaping communities, setting up models and strategies for churches, with deep lists of rules and guidelines. Correcting when things were going off his plan, or how he would do things.

He stepped back, or out, and invited in a bunch of forgetful, inept, doubting men and women to take the task on. To tell of God’s kingdom, to proclaim his glory and to go and make disciples.

On Thursday we remember ‘observe’ his stepping back, his returning to the divine Godhead by what we call Ascension But he did not leave us alone. John chapter 14 v 18 states Jesus saying: “ I will not leave you orphaned: I am coming to you. This is not speaking just about the Holy Spirit and Pentecost, remember here he is speaking before the crucifixion, and is predicting his resurrection.

He did return, and this ‘coming to them’ began with appearances, culminating in the final one of the ascension and even then, it's only complete in human experience with the sending of the Holy Spirit.

The Advocate or Helper is the Holy Spirit – one of the Persons of God, separate from Jesus yet fully representing him in character, knowledge and authority. The Spirit, sent from God the Father, is the Spirit of God, and therefore also the Spirit of Jesus.

So when we receive the Holy Spirit, it's the Spirit of Jesus that is with us for ever. As Jesus said, “On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.”

We have 2 weeks to prepare for a day when we try to be particularly open to the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost, this year on June 12^th we strive to immerse ourselves in that action of God.

But I would encourage, even plead with us to take this opportunity of focused preparation to use it as a watershed a main plank in helping our life as church.

Back at the annual church meeting in April the vision offered for this year was one of consolidation. Not to stay put and set in stone what we are doing, rather to look at what God has and is doing in this church and work out how we are called to join in with that.

What is God doing in this church?

We have the Community and church resource centre, moving from a picture and plan, to reality of an empty space, the buildings in that area are no more and we have soil ripe for the transformation into new opportunity of use and life.

We have a growing church family, joining together on a Sunday to praise God and hear good news in familiar and new ways. In that growing church we have people of all ages, and of all conditions, bouncing with health and creaking at the edges, bringing their children, coming for themselves, knowing loads about being church, mission and ministry, or wondering what that stuff is all about and was it relevant anyway. We are my friends a true cross section of Gods world.

I see that empty patch of ground behind the hall as our very own living parable of both our building and ourselves. We have the soil of Christian community, we have the seeds of faith and future in ourselves.

We have if you like the challenge of building good foundations, real and metaphorical, getting our roots of faith and future down; the challenge of erecting a safe and useful infrastructure, to provide and sustain communication, support, welcome, energy, sustenance, and shelter. That building can represent our personal growth be it spiritual, physical or emotional and our service to others around us.

But if we look hard at that empty patch of ground behind the hall that parable for our time, it is not like a normal building site, or field ready to sow the harvest. With hearts full of openness to God we find that Christ is standing at the centre, the corner stone of our building and the worker in the field.

We have a duality or presence because by the Ascension He has stepped back yet through Holy Spirit. He is present.

How do we understand that?

let me remind us that in Jerusalem when he stepped back he invited in a bunch of forgetful, inept, doubting men and women to take the task on. So by us he steps into this place, into this vision of Gods kingdom for we, just as we are, dare to be his disciples, trying to be people of grace and hope. People growing in confidence to tell of God’s kingdom, to proclaim his glory and to make disciples.

That great command to Go and make disciples is easy - you make a disciple by being a disciple.

Being a disciple is a little more tricky, for that we need effort on our part of developing our understanding about Jesus and his teaching. We need to try and live grace filled lives fuelled by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

As we look forward to the growth of our church – people and buildings I ask that we pray for God to equip us with his strength and discernment for the tasks ahead.

I suggest that with the many challenges there will be, both joys and hardships, we will not flourish, or find life in abundance if we do not move forward within the Grace of God.

So as we look towards Pentecost may we have faith that the Holy Spirit will be present with us at this wonderful transforming time and may we strive to live alongside each other by Grace. Amen.

Extra work/ thoughts.

Have you tried google-ing ‘Christian riches’ ? interesting exercise. Such links come up as ‘some dangers from seeking after riches’

‘Riches, a recession-proof Christian life’

and ‘Tithing – How much should a Christian Give?’ from the redeeming riches stable.

More interesting was the spiritual riches vs worldly riches, a Christian community and the quote from Matthew 6.33 Don’t seek happiness in worldly riches or you will neglect your spiritual riches. But seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness.

Christian riches are not money or fine clothes or possessions. They are nice and we are fortunate to be blessed in having them but essentially they are not God’s riches which are given through grace and are also the receiving of God’s Grace.

Augustine, in endeavouring to preserve man’s free will distinguished between prevenient grace (grace before conversion), which is the free gift of God, and subsequent grace, in which the Divine energy co-operates with a person after their conversion. For many years theologian, clerics and different denominations have tried to explain Grace offering evermore complex doctrines .

In the 20^th century various theologians have tried to offer simpler such that now in the theology of Grace the following distinctions have commonly been drawn:

habitual or sanctifying grace: The gift of God inhering in the soul, by which we are enabled to perform righteous acts. Normally conveyed in the sacraments: for example baptism, marriage and holy communion.
Actual grace a certain motion of the soul, bestowed by God ‘ad hoc’ for the production of a good act. Can exist in all, baptised and non baptised.

Pevenient grace. That form of actual grace which leads us to sanctification before receiving the sacraments. It is the free gift of God and entirely unmerited.

To receive the Holy Spirit you may find the acronym WASH helpful: Wait in prayer, thinking of God's presence; Ask him to come upon and within you – to fill you with his Holy Spirit; Submit to his lordship – the authority and leading of Jesus, giving your life to him; and Hold – take hold of the Spirit's presence within you as a gift from God, thanking him for it.

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