Tower and Town, March 2016 (view the full edition)Sermon of January 31 2016: The Presentation Of Christ In The TempleExtract From David Maurice's Sermon 8am January 31st in St Mary's The significance of what Luke is telling us is that the ways of God are radically different to the ways of our world. What we learn from this is that the kingdom of God does not come with a raw display of power but through sacrificial love. God does make himself known, but in unexpected ways. When Jesus was presented at the Temple, the significance of this baby completely bypassed the religious authorities. But a holy man and woman, two people whose lives were steeped in prayer, discerned that God was at work in that insignificant family. So how might this passage speak to us today? As we look around at the world today, it is easy to feel how probably the Jews at this time felt - where is God? Why is there not more evidence of him at work? Why do the evil prosper? Why, in spite of our prayers, do wars not cease? When the so called Arab Spring started there was great hope and expectation that those countries in North Africa and the Middle East would be freed from oppressive dictators. Now things are arguably worse than ever, and in those supposedly Christian countries such as ours, with the increase in secularism, Christianity, along with other religions, is seen not just as a minority interest but as positively harmful - as "bad news" for the world. It is easy to feel on the defensive. Yet God is at work in our world today. It may not be obvious. Evil may often seem to prevail. But the "good news" is that God has entered into the mess of this world in the person of Jesus, and he is still at work today in drawing people into relationship with him in ways that can transform lives and communities. It may not be obvious at times. So may we have our eyes opened afresh to the presence of the living God in and around us. Like those people in the Bible, we also long to see God acting to usher in a new world as we pray every day: 'Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven'. But our calling is to be in some way the answer to our own prayer. We are called to be a people who are channels of God's grace through which something of God's future kingdom may come here on earth as in heaven. May we have our eyes open to what he is doing, to be thankful for it and to join in with it. David Maurice |