Sermon given by the Rector\u00a0on Easter Day, Sunday 20th<\/sup> April 2014<\/b><\/p>\n In the Name of the Risen Christ. Amen<\/p>\n Jesus Christ is risen today Alleluia Jesus Christ is risen today Alleluia So once again\u2026.. Jesus Christ is risen today Alleluia\u2026.. do you believe it?\u2026.. and just what relevance does this sweeping statement have to us in St John\u2019s 2000 years later.<\/p>\n Last night at the Easter Vigil, just before we renewed before Canon Tony The Promises made at our Baptism, I said the Prayer:<\/p>\n God of glory, by the raising of your Son you have One of the things that so many of us forget is that Christmas is a prelude to Well we all can picture our Lord as a baby in that manger , but how do each of you individually view our Lord\u2026. Like Charlotte used to as a man in a dress with flip flops\u2026. Or as something else\u2026 and if something else\u2026 what? We have over the last 2000 years formed a picture of Jesus as indeed a man in a dress and thong sandals, not unlike flip flops\u2026. I bought a very nice pair in Jerusalem in 2000\u2026. I\u2019ve still got them\u2026but as Loraine will tell you I NEVER THROW ANYTHING AWAY\u2026 but I should, I suppose, as Pip got them and they are now a bit chewed up!!<\/p>\n So here is Jesus in his dress with long hair and a beard\u2026.. do you really think he\u2019s like that. If you do\u2026 do you think he has any relevance to us today. The answer is we just do not know what Jesus looked like, neither the New Testament, nor the writings of the earliest post-Biblical authors say anything at all about his appearance.<\/p>\n In the earliest wall painting of Jesus from Syria now in the Yale University Gallery of Fine Arts, the physical features are hard to make out\u2026 in various frescos in the Catacombs he\u2019s shown as a good looking un-bearded young roman man. Then of course there is the Turin Shroud.<\/p>\n Our picture of Jesus has been conditioned by paintings and stained glass windows and of course there is another picture and that is to look at what first century Palestinian Jews look like and draw out our own picture\u2026 would we be right? Perhaps<\/p>\n But, we would have forgotten one important fact\u2026 and that is the Incarnation\u2026.although Jesus was in human form\u2026 in that he could bleed and die like any human being\u2026.and he did; that component that makes up every human being on this planet\u2026. The DNA\u2026 could be and probably was, very different\u2026. Jesus did not have a human father\u2026.In the words of the Angelic salutation\u2026.The Angel of the Lord spoke unto Mary and she conceived of the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n Jesus could look like anybody or nobody. In Egypt for example we see our Lord change colour, In Cairo he is that olive skinned dark haired bearded \u2018Palestinian\u2019 but the further south in Egypt one goes his colour changes so that by the time you get to the Sudanese border he is often portrayed as black, and that is how it should be.\u2026 Jesus is the man for all seasons\u2026.Yesterday\u2026 today and tomorrow and that\u2019s how I want us here in this Church to think of him.<\/p>\n The Risen Christ is for everybody, even the clubbers in their high heels and skimpy pelmets who I saw on my way home last night at the conclusion of the Easter Vigil\u2026. And what do they know of the risen Christ\u2026. I don\u2019t suppose they even give him or it a thought. In this hedonistic society of ours, the aim is for pleasure no matter what the cost\u2026 do the poor, the ravaged, the destitute or those caught up in war and conflict ever cross the minds of modern youth, clubbing the nights away\u2026.. I doubt it\u2026.. and yet are they any different from the crowds that hurled insults at Jesus on Good Friday.<\/p>\n And what of us\u2026 Think of the Hymn – “In Christ Alone”<\/p>\n In Christ alone, my hope is found \u2018No guilt in life, no fear of death \u2013 this is the power of Christ in me: From life\u2019s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand; Till he returns or calls me home- Here in the power of Christ I\u2019ll stand.\u2019<\/p>\n And that today is the meaning of the resurrection\u2026. Yes it\u2019s an event in the history of the world\u2026. The week leading up to Easter Day and Easter day itself\u2026 is the week that changed the world\u2026 the Crucifixion and the Resurrection have impacted on the world as no other event in history\u2026.<\/p>\n But we mustn\u2019t get caught up in thinking\u2026 well it all happened a long time ago\u2026. We are crucifying Christ on a daily basis throughout the world as we turn away from what is right and what is good, and not just by acts of war and terrorism, but by our own neglect and indifference to his call.<\/p>\n In the death and resurrection of Jesus, God saves from ourselves and we don\u2019t often say thank you\u2026. We do here every day and particularly on Sunday\u2019s and Wednesday\u2019s and on Friday\u2019s at St Peter\u2019s\u2026. but is it enough?<\/p>\n Jesus rose from the dead that we might have life\u2026.. not as we know it now on this earth, but a life for the soul beyond death, the soul the very essence of God that he freely gave us\u2026. He will call home.<\/p>\n The message of this Easter Day in 2014 is that Jesus is indeed the man for all seasons and the man for all people\u2026what does Peter say in our reading from Acts this morning: \u2018\u2018I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.\u2019 Jesus is the man and the God who doesn\u2019t care who we are or how we dress.. what kind of music we like or if we are fat, thin, black, white yellow green or blue.. whether we are straight or gay..whoever and whatever we are\u2026 this Saviour of our Souls reaches out his hands to us and bids us all come to him.<\/p>\n In the Easter Vigil, we are powerfully reminded of what it means to be a Christian as we move from the Creation of the world through the Old Testament readings to perhaps what many would class as the climax of the Service\u2026. It\u2019s not the lighting of the new fire\u2026 or that of lighting the Paschal Candle\u2026. And I lighted ours at 8.30\u2026.. no\u2026 it\u2019s the renewal of our Baptismal promises\u2026 when we speak for ourselves the promises made for us by our God-Parents\u2026. Where we as individuals promise ourselves to this man who is God\u2026 this man who died on the Cross and whose Resurrection we commemorate today.<\/p>\n In our commemoration and when we go to the Altar rail\u2026. Please don\u2019t think of the man in a dress\u20262000 years ago, but think of the God who is our Father, brother and friend\u2026.the God who as I said is for all – Look into the eyes of Jesus in your minds\u2026.see a myriad of emotions\u2026 of pain and suffering\u2026being gradually replaced by a gentle longing\u2026 .as he reaches out to you and says through his eyes\u2026 come to me\u2026. You are mine\u2026 I was with you when you where born and I will be with you holding your hand when you die\u2026 and then comes the twinkle\u2026 the whimsical smile\u2026 as Jesus says to you, life is for living\u2026 enjoy your life\u2026 and give back to me all that I have given to you, by helping your fellow men and women.. and then the grin\u2026. And Oh\u2026 by the way\u2026 don\u2019t forget to pray.<\/p>\n Amen.<\/p>\n In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.<\/p>\n It is a pleasure and a privilege to be here in the Cathedral once again, and to give you, on behalf of the Parish of Chester, our fraternal greetings in Christ.<\/p>\n Those of you who are over twenty can have a little sleep!!<\/p>\n Now hands up any of you who know who these guys are? (Show poster of ONE DIRECTION)<\/p>\n Well they are the boy Band \u2013 One Direction \u2013 and before I tell you how they relate to today\u2019s Sermon on Christian Unity, let me tell you a little story.<\/p>\n Just before Christmas I said to my daughter Charlotte \u2013 Charlotte, Daddy is going to pray for One Direction \u2013 Charlotte \u2013 Oh Daddy that is nice of you \u2013 Me Hmmm yes Charlotte I am going to pray that somebody teaches them to sing \u2013 \u2018Oh daddy that is so mean!!! \u2013 Well actually they aren\u2019t that bad!!<\/p>\n Obligatory joke out of the way \u2013 so just what have the pretty boy band One Direction got to do with Christian Unity \u2013 well it\u2019s all in the title \u2018ONE DIRECTION\u2019<\/p>\n There is but one direction that we are all following and that is to Christ Jesus, as Paul says in the Epistle:<\/p>\n To all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n One Direction, but many routes \u2013 today we begin the annual week of prayer for Christian Unity, but might I suggest that we need to do a bit more.<\/p>\n In Pope Francis and Archbishop Justin we are seeing a different approach to the problems we face. The old autocracy of Pius XII and the firm government of Archbishop Fisher is now well and truly behind us and we can all talk \u2013 but is talking enough.<\/p>\n As we move into 2014 let us take stock of 2013 and pledge ourselves anew to the Christian faith that we hold so dear.<\/p>\n Christianity has been the bedrock of our National life in one form or another since the days of the early Church, but that bedrock is under threat from both secularism and the growth of Islam.<\/p>\n Unless Christianity stops being frightened of its own shadow and afraid to speak its mind, then we risk being pushed even further to the sidelines. The secular world ignores us and is indifferent, but the world of Islam poses a different problem.<\/p>\n Muslims whatever their sect, are more attuned to their faith than many \u2018nominal Christians\u2019 and for that they must be praised \u2013 we must learn from them \u2013 not of course taking on board all of Sharia which is their moral code and religious law, although there are many points on which we would agree, but their submission to God.<\/p>\n As a Nation we have stopped looking over our shoulder to see if God is watching.<\/p>\n So let us declare 2014 the year in which we will push forward the faith of Christ Crucified; the faith of redemption and hope.<\/p>\n Within this New Year\u2019s message is a warning and a salutary one at that, unless we as Christians start working even more closely and bringing more people through our doors then in 50 years time, it is indeed possible that the predominant religion in this country and parts of Western Europe will be Islam.<\/p>\n And who will be to blame:<\/p>\n Not the Muslims, but ourselves.<\/p>\n We have not stood up for ourselves and have allowed ourselves to be sidelined and this has to stop.<\/p>\n Christian Unity has never been more important than it is today \u2013 a unity, not a uniformity, of purpose.<\/p>\n When the secular world sees us arguing amongst ourselves then they take the view that we are not serious about our faith because we cannot agree about it.<\/p>\n When that happens, the question of Women at the Altar, Gay Priests and Gay marriage assume a role that the secular world finds bizarre \u2013 when you have one section of the Christian Church saying \u2013 women priests, women bishops \u2013 no problem – and other part saying \u2013 hey this is wrong \u2013 it is against our Lord\u2019s view of the sexes!!<\/p>\n Another branch of the Church saying \u2013 Gay Marriage fine what\u2019s wrong with it and then the reverse side of the coin.<\/p>\n So the secular world out there scratches its head and says or thinks \u2013 for goodness sake they can\u2019t even agree on their own theology.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t get me wrong views on both sides of any argument are sincerely held, but when one part of the Church of Christ can\u2019t or won\u2019t agree with another then the problems start. This has to be clearly understood \u2013 no use sweeping it under the carpet<\/p>\n So instead let\u2019s go back to the very basics of our faith and these are enshrined in the Catholic Creeds. On these we are agreed.<\/p>\n Elizabeth I said there is but one Lord Christ, the rest is a disputation over trifles, whilst simplistic carries a real sting.<\/p>\n And that sting is do not get so embroiled in the minutiae of this and that so you lose sight of the goal.<\/p>\n Jesus says in Matthew 11:30 – my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.<\/p>\n And why did he say that \u2013 because he had swept away all that minutiae of archaic Judaism and replaced with something so simple yet so powerful that it should resonate through every Christian gathering and the passage I am using is from Mark 22 : 29 \u2013 31 \u2013 and begins with the Shema that powerful expression of Jewish belief: The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 30And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. 31And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There are no other commandments greater than these on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets<\/p>\n We sadly have spent the last two thousand years adding layer upon layer to the minutiae \u2013 when what we should be saying to any problem \u2013 what would our Lord do.<\/p>\n Well for a start he would talk and he would listen \u2013 he did not judge<\/p>\n Indeed although this is a week for declaring Christian Unity it is also a time when we need also to look at talking to working with other faiths yes – like Islam and Judaism as never before to halt the insidious spread of ill informed secularism, that is tearing at the very heart of a well ordered society and placing personal preference and greed above working together as human beings and respecting one another.<\/p>\n So back to ONE DIRECTION to finish and whilst I am still rooted in the Beatles and the Beach Boys there is one song that has a resonance for us all \u2013 now don\u2019t expect me to sing it \u2013 really \u2013 hey if I could sing \u2013 I would be applying for the post of Canon Precentor – and yes at times the words are pretty anodyne, but listen \u2013<\/p>\n The Song is One way or another –<\/p>\n One way or another I’m gonna find you I’m gonna get you, get you, get you, get you One way or another I’m gonna win you I’m gonna get you, get you, get you, get you<\/p>\n One way or another I’m gonna see you I’m gonna meet you, meet you, meet you, meet you One day, maybe next week I’m gonna meet you, I’m gonna meet you, I’ll meet you<\/p>\n So whatever our route in the One direction to the Eternal God in Jesus Christ \u2013 we are going to find him, we are going to get him around us and through him we will win.<\/p>\n We are going to see God and meet him, face to face.<\/p>\n And I leave you with the opening lyrics of their hits \u2013 the Story of my life:<\/p>\n Written in these walls are the stories that I can’t explain I leave my heart open but it stays right here empty for days<\/p>\n Well written in the walls of this great Cathedral and St John\u2019s are indeed stories we cannot explain because they are stories of faith \u2013 and we should leave our hearts open to Christ, but unlike the song they wont stay empty for days<\/p>\n So let us be bold and take that one direction together all of us of every shape and shade of Christianity. And declare –<\/p>\n I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made. Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified<\/p>\n This is our faith let us proclaim it with pride. Amen Who, for us men for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father [and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified<\/p>\n This is our faith let us proclaim it with pride. Amen<\/p>\n To us a child is born, to us a son is given: and his name will be called the Prince of Peace. In the Name of Him who is the Prince of Peace in the Holy Trinity One God, Father Son and Holy Spirit. Amen<\/p>\n At this Midnight Mass of the Nativity\u2026The First Mass of Christ\u2026Christ\u2026mass, we read the profound words from St. John\u2019s Gospel John opens a window into the very mind and being of God:<\/p>\n AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH and lived among us, and we have seen His glory, the glory as of the Father\u2019s only Son, full of grace and truth.\u201d<\/p>\n These are very powerful words, some might even say, and I am one of them, that this opening of John\u2019s Gospel is the most powerful passage in the whole of the New Testament.\u00a0\u00a0 On Christmas day itself we will read a portion of St Luke\u2019s Gospel and we will hear about the Shepherds coming to the manger.<\/p>\n In these two widely different Gospel portions the real sense of who Jesus is comes into very sharp focus.<\/p>\n In John we have a powerful explanation of Jesus as God\u2026God incarnate, existing before the world began indeed we might even say before time as we know it existed; and in Luke we have the host of heaven calling from their flocks the most ordinary of mortals\u2026humble and poor shepherds.<\/p>\n So on the one hand in John we have the absolute majesty of the infinite and in Luke the mundane.<\/p>\n John takes us back to creation and leads us profoundly to an absolute statement of might, majesty and power that overcame rejection. Who is The Word?\u2026It is God himself.<\/p>\n In Psalm 139 the Psalmist says to God: Where can I go from your Spirit, Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven you are there; if I make my bed in a grave, you are there also.<\/p>\n For God is everywhere and he says throughout our lives\u2026I am here for you seek me out\u2026God doesn\u2019t exist in time and space\u2026 he is time and space\u2026to followers of Dr. Who\u2026\u00a0 God is the ultimate time lord\u2026because he is the Lord of Time\u2026he\u2019s just there and always has been\u2026When Moses asked God his name, God said\u2026I AM; its as simple as that!<\/p>\n I am here, I am there, I am everywhere; I exist, I have always existed\u2026I will always exist\u2026.because I am existence itself\u2026 and then that leads us on to –<\/p>\n \u201cThe Word became Flesh\u201d.\u00a0 Put simply God, said I will go and live amongst my creation, but I will not go with power and might, I will put aside the infinite and I will go through the agency of a human woman to grow and live among my people<\/p>\n And the heavenly Host will not appear to the rich and the powerful, but to ordinary people.<\/p>\n Tonight, I’m not going to talk about the image of a nice and holy little child in the manger or about shepherds watching their flocks, nor am I going to dwell on Christmas being cosy and wonderful; nor the theology of either John or Luke, but I am going to talk about a gift, the greatest Christmas gift of all……..Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n Yes Christmas is rightly a happy time, and at this time of year we can be joyful, we can embrace each other in the spirit of love; but the world needs to remind itself why! For it is in Christ that we are taught to love, it is in Christ that we are taught to embrace all.<\/p>\n It isn’t wrong to make the most of this special time; we\u00a0don’t have to go around with miserable faces like\u00a0Scrooge, we can laugh and smile, but in the Christmas Carol by Dickens there is a poignant and very Christian message that we are all living in the world and must inter-relate with each other. The problem today is that\u00a0so many of us don’t.<\/p>\n The secular Christmas now plays the biggest part in people’s lives.<\/p>\n Don’t you think that sometimes Christmas seems almost obscene; the Television adverts extol us to buy bigger and more expensive presents and for many this means getting into absolutely horrendous debt…….that’s not happy or jolly, because the price is too high, the debt has to be paid.<\/p>\n A lady called Rachel Simhon in the Daily Telegraph put it succinctly a few years ago, \u00a0and I quote:<\/p>\n \u201c Have you ever wondered about that traditional song \u2018the twelve days of Christmas\u2019 When were the twelve days and where would they fit into the modern version \u2018the 17 weeks of Christmas.<\/p>\n For no sooner do the adverts for \u2018Back to School\u2019 leave shop windows than we see the first Christmas Trees go up.<\/p>\n In religious terms Christmas begins on December 25th<\/sup> and lasts for 12 days until Epiphany. Nowadays we have lost any sense of that.\u00a0 There is an enormous build up beforehand, ending, not beginning on Christmas Day.<\/p>\n This I suspect, is what accounts for the terrible sense of anti-climax that often accompanies Christmas Day. It is never as good as you hope it\u2019s going to be, and then it\u2019s all over \u201c.<\/p>\n What a perceptive comment. Perhaps if more people actually thought about God over Christmas, then they would not be so miserable afterwards.<\/p>\n Sometimes I suppose a part of me wants to say to the manipulators, go and find your own feast, and we\u2019ll have Christmas back please!<\/p>\n you\u2019ve contaminated it\u2026\u2026but whatever you do don\u2019t call your tawdry thing \u2018Christmas\u2019, because Christmas is a religious festival\u2026\u2026it is the Mass of Christ\u2026\u2026.<\/p>\n And isn\u2019t it annoying when we see in our newspapers or on television that this council or that has decided that Christmas Carols or Nativity plays are off the agenda in case in might offend this faction or that faction. I honestly think, No I know,\u00a0 that Jews, Moslems, Sikhs and Hindus think we are quite mad when they see such nonsense coming out of the mouths of the politically correct. St John\u2019s is on Facebook and so am I, and I have had messages from Jewish, Muslim and Hindu Friends wishing us all a Happy Christmas<\/p>\n One must accept that in say a school composed totally of Muslims or Hindus or whatever, it would be a little silly and to make such children take part in Nativity Plays and sing Carols; yet they need to be made aware of what the Christmas is all about. For Muslims particularly because Jesus is very special to them.<\/p>\n One sometimes hears Muslims say:<\/p>\n “Muslims honour Jesus more than so called nominal Christians do!<\/p>\n Islam has a fairly well-defined doctrine of Christ. Who is given is Aramaic name of Isa approximating to the Hebrew Yeshua. \u00a0\u00a0The Qur’an has more to say about Isa than you might think. \u00a0Isa son of Mary is frequently called “Al-Masih” (Messiah) and is also referred to as “the Word of God”, “the Word of Truth”, “a Spirit from Him”, “the Messenger of God”, “the Prophet of God”, and “the Servant of God”.<\/p>\n The Qur’an tells the story of the angel’s annunciation to Mary that she would have a son and the story of His virgin birth, and attributes to Jesus miracles<\/p>\n It becomes offensive therefore when a politically motivated Council denies that Christmas exists, and it is just a holiday<\/p>\n or<\/p>\n Is it because we ourselves have made it what it has become, that \u2018Christian Britain\u2019 has lost its sense of wonder and thanks for the gift of Jesus and I back this up by quoting from a magazine called \u2018Chat\u2019 that my wife brought to my attention;<\/p>\n The article is called \u201c Jesus had a girlfriend like Barbie\u201d and comprises the answers given by young children at a school in Wales to the question \u2018what these youngsters of mainly 5 years old, thought Jesus was like as a boy\u2026..the article says they had some surprising ideas\u2019 \u2026\u2026\u2026indeed they did,<\/p>\n and whilst some were extremely funny; I really do wonder what children are being taught both in the home and at school\u2026\u2026.these are some of the quotes:<\/p>\n First from Sam: \u201c Jesus lived with his mum and Dad in the North Pole, next door to Father Christmas. He helped Father Christmas deliver presents down chimneys\u201d! Here Jesus is denied the central role and becomes a bit player.<\/p>\n It gets worse, or better depending on your viewpoint:<\/p>\n Joe said \u201c Jesus lived in a stable \u2013 but it was cold, so God put a radiator up. His favourite group is Busted, but God says \u2018Turn the music down\u2019 at least our young Joe got something right\u2026.he obviously knew about the stable and he had some idea of God\u2026\u2026.but who are Busted!!!!<\/p>\n Oh, and then it does get worse:<\/p>\n Joanne comes up with the fantastic notion<\/p>\n \u201c I think Jesus had blue hair. He had a girlfriend who looked like Barbie. They\u2019d eat Candyfloss until they were sick. He never married her.\u201d\u00a0 I ask you !!!!<\/p>\n And then it gets terrible with this is from Toby:<\/p>\n When Jesus\u2019 teachers told him off, he\u2019d make himself disappear. If he were alive today, I think he\u2019d get a gun and shoot all the teachers<\/p>\n I really do think that comment alone is a real indictment not of Toby, but of our society, for giving such an impressionable mind, such shocking imagery.<\/p>\n But is all redeemed by Jack who tells us:<\/p>\n \u201c Jesus was good at telling stories and Jokes. Stuff like \u2018why did the chicken cross the road?\u2019 He could have had his own show on the telly.\u201d<\/p>\n I think not!!!!!!<\/p>\n So after those rather depressing thoughts, let\u2019s go back to the beginning:<\/p>\n \u201cIn the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. And God\u2019s Hosts appeared to humble shepherds in the fields; for the shepherds are us.<\/p>\n We are looking at something so momentous and awe inspiring that it really defies any other words than those used so powerfully by John and more simply by Luke<\/p>\n The angels of heaven sang for joy to the shepherds and this is the real meaning of Christmas, that love came down and lives among us, but love as the ultimate perfection, a love without pre-conditions, a love that is not wishy-washy and cloying but a love that is demonstrated by Jesus Christ taking to himself the sins of us all.<\/p>\n Here is no ritual sacrifice on a temple altar, but the bloody sacrifice of God on the altar of the world; the sacrifice is reversed. God is sacrificing himself \u2026\u2026. O saving Victim opening wide, the gate of heaven to man below.<\/p>\n I said earlier that Christmas is or should be a happy time, and it is not usual to talk about sacrifice at Christmas, but the Incarnation, is itself a sacrifice, because in the birth of the child in the Bethlehem stable, God commences the inevitable progression to the Cross.<\/p>\n That in choosing a young Jewish Virgin to bear a part of the Godhead, to be the Mother of God, God, rewrote the whole religious experience of humanity.<\/p>\n God sacrificed a part of his very being for us and for our salvation, and that we should never forget, but thank him with joyful praise.<\/p>\n Amen.<\/p>\n Sermon given by the Rector\u00a0on Easter Day, Sunday 20th April 2014 In the Name of the Risen Christ. Amen Jesus Christ is risen today Alleluia So once again\u2026.. Jesus Christ is risen today Alleluia\u2026.. do you believe it?\u2026.. and just what relevance<\/p>\n
\nSo once again\u2026.. Jesus Christ is risen today Alleluia\u2026.. do you believe it?\u2026.. and just what relevance does this sweeping statement have to us in St John\u2019s 2000 years later.<\/p>\n
\nbroken the chains of death and hell: fill your
\nChurch with faith and hope; for a new day has
\ndawned and the way to life stands open in our
\nSaviour Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n
\nEaster, without Easter there is no point in Christmas<\/p>\n
\nHe is my light, my strength, my song
\nThis cornerstone, this solid ground
\nFirm through the fiercest drought and storm
\nWhat heights of love, what depths of peace
\nWhen fears are stilled, when strivings cease
\nMy comforter, my all-in-all
\nHere in the love of Christ I stand
\nAnd then it reaches its loud and powerful crescendo in the last verse:<\/p>\n<\/h1>\n
Sermon given by the Rector in Chester Cathedral on Sunday 19th January 2014<\/h1>\n
<\/h1>\n
Sermon for Christmas Midnight Mass of the Nativity 2013<\/h1>\n
<\/h2>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"