Sermon preached on Sunday 8th February, 2nd Sunday before Lent

By Rev Petra Elsmore

​​

Bible Readings

Romans 8. 18-25

 

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that[a] the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

​

Matthew 6.25-34

25 ‘Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

28 ‘And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

 

SERMON

 

If I can start by asking you to make a tight fist.

Hold it strongly. Clench it. Don’t let it open. Keep holding it for a few seconds.

 

How does that feel? Tense? Uncomfortable? A little tiring? So still clenching your fist tight, that is what it feels like to hold on too tightly. Perhaps not only with our fists, but also with our minds,  and with our habits. 

 

Now look at what I have here. Chocolates, of course. Our Lucy always says the best sermons involve chocolate. Are you still holding on tight?

And see this treat, a gift. 

Something good. Something meant to be received and shared.

But here is the question: Can you take it while your fist is closed?

Of course not. To receive, you have to let go.

 

So slowly… open your hand. Let the fingers relax. Let the tension fall away. How does that feel? Lighter? Freer? Are you ready to receive the little treat? (Chocolates are given out).

 

It seems to me, that most of the time we live in the world which is marked by anxiety. A world that is like a tight fist. What we witness in the news is overwhelming. Wars and conflicts that don’t seem to have solutions, while all the time innocent people suffer. Environmental concerns that weigh heavily on us as we witness the ongoing abuse of our planet, and yet whatever we try to do as individuals, to live more sustainably can feel insignificant beside what the governments of the world and large corporations fail—or refuse—to do.

 

In Romans, Paul writes that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed,”

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus turns our attention to birds in the air and lilies in the field and tells us not to worry about tomorrow but to seek first the kingdom of God.

 

That does all sounds good, but how does it lessen the suffering of innocent people, or answer the deep concern we feel for the state of our planet? How do we hold together what Scripture promises with what we see and experience in the world today? Neither reading denies suffering, nor do they invite escape from reality. Instead, they help us see that life with God opens a vision of the world as it could be—one we are called to be part of and, one we can help to transform.

 

Such world offers honesty, it is grounded in trust and it finds expression in faithful living in a relationship with God.

 

A closed fist can be a symbol of many things:
a closed mind, resistance to change, or refusal to accept responsibility,
We can hold tightly on to convenience, consumption, and short-term security—if we don’t do it personally, the governments of the world certainly do, even when the cost is a wounded earth, suffering communities,
and an uncertain future for generations yet to come.

 

But an open hand is different.
An open palm is ready to receive, willing to learn, it has courage enough to change and it is free to share rather than grasp. An open hand can receive a gift, and it can also accept responsibility. To live a life in this way, it requires honesty and trust.

 

When Paul speaks of present suffering, he does not describe the groan of death but the pain of childbirth—suffering that anticipates new life and hope. We recognise this image in what is happening within God’s creation today. 

 

It is important that we are honest about the threats our planet experiences, so that by acknowledging them, we can seek to change our ways., we need to open our minds to both, the gift God has given and the responsibility it carries. These dangers will not disappear on their own; without change, they will only deepen. Many people move between denial, pretending nothing is wrong, and doom, believing nothing can be saved. Faith points us to another way: an honest hope which is rooted in God’s love and faithfulness. Such hope is not merely a feeling , it is a choice— a choice to live faithfully and responsibly, caring for one another and for the earth which is entrusted to us.

 

When Jesus says: “31Therefore do not worry, saying, “What will we eat?” or “What will we drink?” or “What will we wear?” ….33But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He does not dismiss the real suffering people experience, he offers a vision of a different world. 

 

Consumerism thrives on anxiety. It keeps telling us that we never have enough, that our safety lies in accumulating more possessions, it makes us to want more.

 

The scripture offers us a different way. A way that starts with trust and responsibility. We learn that the creation is sustained by God’s love and care, that our own security comes from knowing that we belong to God and from accepting the responsibility to take care for God’s creation. To seek first the Kingdom of God is an invitation to live in our world with different priorities. It calls for attention to what truly matters: justice, mercy, and love towards our neighbours, towards the strangers in our midst and towards the whole of Gods’s creation. 

 

In our Thursday morning prayer, we read Romero Prayer, a prayer attributed to Oscar Romero, and points to the long view of things. It says:

 

There is a strange freedom in recognising that we are not the master builders of God’s kingdom, but workers within it. Our task is not to accomplish everything, but to do something with love, trusting that God’s grace will carry it further than we can imagine.

 

We may feel overwhelmed, we may feel like we are loosing hope when we are faced with the challenges of our world today. 

But we need to be honest and seek to understand what the problems are.

We need to stop living in denial about the seriousness of the situation.

We need to rethink our priorities and stop seeking our own comfort.

And we need to trust God and his faithfulness and to know that the small things we can do, if we do them well, they can make a big difference.

 

So may God take our lives, our actions, our love and may He, by his grace, carry it further than we can imagine.

 

Amen.