Welcome to the Lord’s Table – Week 2

Welcome to the Lord’s Table – Week 2

Sermon for St Mary’s 10am Sung Eucharist 

by Revd James Percival,

18th January 2009

2nd Sunday of Epiphany, & Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Readings:

1 Samuel 3:1-10; Psalm 139:1-18; Revelation 5:1-10; John 1:43-end

Jesus : “Come and see” (John 1:46)

Lord Jesus, help us to know you more clearly, love you more dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day. Amen.

 

“Come and see,” says the child who wants to share a new discovery with you. “Come and see” says Philip to the sceptical Nathanael about this strange and compelling figure, Jesus. “Come and see” is the church’s invitation to you week by week to seek and find him; “come and see” is the church’s calling to recognise him and make him known – as on the brass plate in the pulpit up at All Saints’ which reminds the preacher what his or her job is with a verse also from John’s gospel: 

“Sir, we would see Jesus.” [John 12:21]

 

But how do we see him? If you want to see Wayne Rooney you can buy a ticket for Wembley next time England are playing. If you want to see George Best or Bobby Charlton, you’ll have to resort to archive films. If you want to see Sir Simon Rattle conduct, you can buy a ticket for a concert. But if you want to come and see what all the fuss is about Beethoven, well a CD of the passion and fury in his last quartets would give you a good idea. Read more

Knowing & Being Known (Psalm 139:1-18)

Epistemology. Epistemology

Don’t worry: I haven’t begun this morning’s service by swearing. Epistemology is a real word. Epistemology is that branch of philosophy concerned with how we know things. Now, don’t panic, I’m not going to launch into a complex philosophical sermon this morning, but it is worth pausing to think for a moment as we begin about what it means when we say the words ‘I know’. Read more

Welcome to the Lord’s Table – Week 1

Welcome to the Lord’s Table – Week 1

Sermon for St Mary’s 10am Sung Eucharist
by Fr James Percival,
11th January 2009 – The Baptism of Christ

Readings:
Genesis 1:1-5; Psalm 29; Acts 19:1-7; Mark 1:4-11

Who am I? Our identity as children of a loving God

Lord, speak to us and help us to trust in your love. Amen.

So our question for today:
WHO AM I?
Since my dad’s family came from West Ham, and he’s a football fan, I was brought up with Alf Garnett and my first thought in answer to this question is to remember him bellowing at his home help who fell foul of just about every one of Mr Garnett’s prejudices: ‘He knows what he is…’

Moving on. Who am I? Well that’s simple. I’m James. I was called James for 2 ½ years before I was baptised in that name. But not everyone calls me James. In Redhill as Curate I was Reverend James. Here I’m Father James for some people. In court as a barrister I was Mr Percival. In a restaurant with a polite waiter I am ‘sir.’ Ten years ago as a senior Surrey football referee on the Surrey Premier League, the answer to ‘Who am I?’ was occasionally a number of things which I can’t share with you publicly, but suffice to say that I sent some of them off!

As a tax payer and bank account-holder, I am long numbers. To my wife I’m husband, to my children daddy or dad when they’re feeling grown up. To my dad I’m JFP, these being my initials. And to one of my brothers I am often greeted with: ‘Ah, hello there Ted!’ after Father Ted of the sitcom of the same name!

Each one of you will have a similar but unique array of different identities.
So perhaps the answer to the question ‘Who am I?’ isn’t so simple after all.

The cruelty of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease leaves the victim, family and friends disoriented and bereaved, because it strips out very much of who that person is. Very often the question ‘Who are you?’ is mixed up with question ‘What do you do?’ So – who am I? I’m a vicar. Who are you? You’re a gas man. Who are you? You’re an accountant. Who are you? You’re a full-time mum.

But our job, how we spend much of our time, is not the same as who we are. We may well find deeper identity in our closest relationships as son, daughter, parent, friend.

But is there a deeper identity still, not separate from all of these, but embracing, over-arching and underpinning them all?

Is our deepest identity really as children of a loving God? Read more

Heaven & Earth United: The Baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:4-11)

This sermon was, in reality, three meditations using two pieces of artwork and a meditation from a book by Austin Farrer. The pictures, The Baptism of Christ by Piero della Francesca & The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs can be found on the National Gallery website.

FIRST MEDITATION

As Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw heaven being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice camefrom heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased”.

This morning I’m going to offer three short meditations on the story of the baptism of Jesus that we’ve just heard. Two of them will use pictures to help us; the third will involve a short reading.

The story of the baptism of Jesus somehow involves both heaven and earth. Jesus is not some woozy spiritual presence: he’s a real human person, a creature of earth. But, we read, he sees the Spirit descending from heaven  and everyone, it seems, hears a voice from heaven. Read more