Now and Not Yet; Grace Anyway
As Christians we all live in a Liminal space.
Sermons are preached to a certain audience at a certain time. This means often the sermon may not make sense or have "holes" where the local congregation knows but an external reader does not.
An important piece of context is that the Parish is going into a time of change with the locum departing Easter Sunday, and myself departing after over three years on the 2nd Sunday of Easter.
Readings: Philippians 2.5-11; Matthew 27.11-54.
Father as we approach this week of the great glorification of your Son,
May our hearts be open to you,
May your Spirit work in all of us,
May we known your Son more intimately,
Amen
Today makes the start of the climax of the Christian year, Lent has called us into a time of reflection but now more then ever we are moving the edge of our seats. Holy Week, consists of eight days; the count down to the death of Christ from Today when we recounted the triumphant entry and read the passion of Christ. Maundy Thursday we reflect on the great servant Heart which washed the feet of his disciples the night before he died. Then Good Friday, the death, before the silence and rest of Holy Saturday ends on the eight day with a great sign of New Creation; Easter. Today, Palm Sunday and Sunday of the Passion holds the next seven close.
There is a concept of liminal space in the Christian life, this means to stand on the threshold of two places or to stand in both. Today we stand in both with the celebration and the death; Holy Saturday we stand on the threshold waiting for the wind to knock us into Easter. It's my understand that as Christians in our everyday life we are in a liminal space, a time of now and not yet, Grace anyway.
We all have something to look forward to, a key hope in Christianity is a sense of eternal life that even if we die today, we will breathe again. The issue that comes with Hope is it can often be passive. It is steady railing in our life as we walk down or up the wet staircase, the handle above the door when the driver is driving a bit too much for us — or we just find it comfortable. The great issue here, sometimes we can end up out of reach or find the railing ungraspable. I have definitely seen a lot of hope sapping away lately.
The war in the middle east is just the next thing in a whole long line that have put people to the test. Of course the great calamity is the loss of life but we also see a loss of dignity, sovereignty, loss of choice (out of the peoples hands in so many ways), we hear about it ended but we can't see any sign to say it is. From this it has caused a fuel crisis, both directly and indirectly by peoples responses. Some are panic buying, some are restocking like farmers wanting to ensure they won't miss critical timings in crops, even worse some are getting rich on the commodities market. Places in the world that will go into a fuel shortage will suffer from lack of harvest which can have major affects.
There is a social effect to higher prices in the case that this Easter, a time where families gather may be very different. Some people won't be able to afford the trip and for the first time since COVID many family gatherings might just not happen. What is worse is in the war fields of this world where families are mourning losses of time and life; casualties in wars that people never wanted. Our every life is in a liminal space of now and not yet. The not yet is often unknown; for us as Christians that is in our hope. If Christ defeated death, and we are waiting on him to come again and stop the atrocities of war which is a hope, what is grace asking us to do in this liminal space.
Our grace should be calling us to be active in the world around us; to share the love of Christ. Being more and more ready to serve and looking out for our neighbours of all kinds. Where possible grace calls us to speak against injustices such as at the Palm Sunday rally today. Grace calls us to an active prayer life, not a passive one. Grace calls us to be present in our space. Which I think our church does really well.
Now our church has a now and not yet too. We are well respected by the community around us, we have a great food pantry serving a hundred families, White Elephant is able to help many people too. The shadow on the now includes a number of things but I know one that has been on many peoples minds is the locum and I. This week we are both here, next Sunday the locum leaves and then I follow the Sunday after. What happens next? Well the hope can be found in the Bishop's words,
"...I will advise on arrangements for continued provision of ordained ministry. In the longer term I remain committed to ensuring your Parish has an ongoing worshipping and missional presence in Hackett and beyond," Hope can also be seen from Bishop's words last week with the CAB board prodding a new potential locum but I have seen that hope dwindle in the last few months. Grace calls for a different story.
I have walked with you all for over three years, and have seen your long term response to challenges which shows grace working; this gives me the hope for your future here. You are a committed core of people committed to your parish; servicing the local community and beyond; and a great desire to overcome challenges. It is my hope this overcoming nature continues through grace as an active outpouring of love in the community.
Globally as we look at the church we can be the first to point out its failures. That is a good thing; to know when the church failed to protect, failed to spread the good news due to opposing actions and just failed to love. It is through grace that I believe that restoration is not only possible but happening. If I didn't believe that I am in the wrong job.
Our passion narrative today has the lonely death on a cross, the disciples were long gone; Yet we know through grace Jesus reconciles them; just like in our liminal space of everyday life, Jesus reconciles us to lets us keep going. A truth ever so more reflected in Philippians 2 where we see the lowering of Christ to the point of death. We know that he has walked in our shoes too. As we approach the end of a paragraph, but can't quite read the next we know he has never stopped working
Grace anyway. When we walk into the unknowns of our lives, the nows but not yets; it is grace. It is grace we must look to when we make the wrong and the right decisions. We live this way as Christians for as hope shines dimmer, love picks us up ever stronger if we let it. A we see our Messiah, our King and Lord, hang in the torturous death; we can open ourselves to the confusion and even doubt. Grace anyway; for that is a real and tangible sign of love from Godself.
May our week ahead, be a gift in trial and salvation. To know God's purposes and plans for us as we Go forward, knowing that this place, this church has all the grace it needs to not only continue, but continue well.
