Reuben's Theme: "The 'Little Man' inside"
(Trinity 13) - MORNING MASS
0800hrs. and 0930hrs at Saint George's Parish Church - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 25th. August 2002 Anno Domini.
Morning Mass: Exodus: 1.8-2.10 Ps: 124 Romans: 12.1-8 Matther: 16.13-20

August 25, 2002 Cycle A Trinity 13 (Pentecost 14).

COLLECT
Almighty God,
who called your Church to bear witness that you were in Christ reconciling the world to yourself:
help us to proclaim the good news of your love, that all who hear it may be drawn to you;
through him who was lifted up on the cross, and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.

FIRST READING Exodus 1.8 - 2.10

A reading from the book of Exodus.
A new king arose over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
He said to his people, 'Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and more powerful than we.
Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, or they will increase and, in the event of war, join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.'
Therefore they set taskmasters over them to oppress them with forced labour. They built supply cities, Pithom and Rameses, for Pharaoh.
But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread, so that the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites.
The Egyptians became ruthless in imposing tasks on the Israelites, and made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar and brick and in every kind of field labour. They were ruthless in all the tasks that they imposed on them.
The king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, one of whom was named Shiphrah and the other Puah,
'When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women, and see them on the birthstool, if it is a boy, kill him; but if it is a girl, she shall live.'
But the midwives feared God; they did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but they let the boys live.
So the king of Egypt summoned the midwives and said to them, 'Why have you done this, and allowed the boys to live?'
The midwives said to Pharaoh, 'Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are vigorous and give birth before the midwife comes to them.'
So God dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very strong.
And because the midwives feared God, he gave them families.
Then Pharaoh commanded all his people, 'Every boy that is born to the Hebrews you shall throw into the Nile, but you shall let every girl live.'
Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman.
The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months.
When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river.
His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.
The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it.
When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him, 'This must be one of the Hebrews' children,' she said.
Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, 'Shall I go and get you a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?'
Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Yes.' So the girl went and called the child's mother.
Pharaoh's daughter said to her, 'Take this child and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.' So the woman took the child and nursed it.
When the child grew up, she brought him to Pharaoh's daughter, and she took him as her son. She named him Moses, 'because,' she said, 'I drew him out of the water.'

PSALM Psalm 124

RR Our help is in the name of the Lord [the maker of heaven and earth].

If the Lord had not been on our side, let Israel now say;
If the Lord had not been on our side, when enemies rose up against us;
Then would they have swallowed us up alive in their fierce anger towards us; RR
Then would the waters have overwhelmed us and the torrent gone over us;
Then would the raging waters have gone right over us. RR
Blessèd be the Lord! he has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth.
We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken and we have escaped.
Our help is in the name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. RR

SECOND READING Romans 12.1-8

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God - what is good and acceptable and perfect.
For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of yourself more highly than you ought to think, but to think with sober judgement, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.
For as in one body we have many members, and not all the members have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another.
We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.

GOSPEL Matthew 16.13-20

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew.
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?'
And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist, but others Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.'
He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?'
Simon Peter answered, 'You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.'
And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.'
Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.

POST COMMUNION PRAYER
God our creator, you feed your children with the true manna, the living bread from heaven:
let this holy food sustain us through our earthly pilgrimage until we come to that place where hunger and thirst are no more;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Reuben's Sermon:

Reuben's Theme: "The 'Little Man' Inside"

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
In 1944 Billy Walker (who directed the film Sunset Boulevard) directed a film based, on a novel written by James M. Cain.
Adapted by writer Raymond Chandler (who wrote "The Big Sleep") the film was called "Double Indemnity".
A thrilling story about an insurance man, Walter Neff (played by Fred MacMurray), who schemes the perfect murder with the beautiful Phyllis Dietrichson (played by Barbara Stanwyck).
Together, they plan to kill Phyllis' husband and make off with the insurance money, but of course, once the deed is done, things go wrong...
The insurance investigator, Walter Neff's boss, is Barton Keyes (played by Edward G. Robinson).
The first time I saw the film, and I've seen it several times since, was about 40 years ago. I would have been almost 10 years old.
The one thing that stuck in my mind, all those years ago, was when Barton Keyes, Walter's boss, said he always knew when an insurance claim was false because there was a little man.
A little man in here. [Holds clenched fist hard against the top of the stomach, just below the chest.]
He knew when something was wrong because that little man would eat away inside him.
He could feel it. [Holds clenched fist hard against the top of the stomach, just below the chest.]
I knew exactly what he meant.
You can tell when something is right, or something is wrong because that little man is there in all of us.
There are times in your life when you know something is right.
There are times in your life when you know something is wrong.

The Christian Church has a recognised birthday.
Pentecost - or Whit Sunday.
The anniversary of the day the Holy Spirit came upon the Apostles. Rushing wind - tongues of fire.
The anniversary of the day that Peter preached the first Christian sermon and converted thousands of devout Jews to Christianity.
Some people feel that the Christian Church was born on the day of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour - Jesus Christ. The first Easter Day.
Jesus, the Risen Lord, appeared in the garden.
"Mary" He said.
Mary Magdelene knew it was Jesus.
She knew as her heart leapt on hearing his voice.
Deep inside - she knew. [Holds clenched fist hard against the top of the stomach, just below the chest.]
There is another moment that marks a beginning of the Christian Church.
The day the foundation stone is discovered.
It happens in our Gospel reading today.
Jesus is with the disciples, when he suddenly says to them, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
The disciples look at each other "Oh-Oh - He's asking questions again! No one said there was going to be a test. Have we all been paying attention?"
One of them speaks, "Some say John the Baptist."
He'd done his homework!
The silence having been broken, another chips in, "But others Elijah!"
Another smarty-pants.
Someone else comments, "And still others - Jeremiah!"
They're on a roll now.
And someone adds, "Or one of the prophets."
He hadn't done his homework, but could see the way the conversation was going.
These answers seem to cover everything they have heard.
Phew! That was close!!
But then, Jesus turns to them and says, "But who do you say that I am?"
Oh Pooh! They look at each other - lost for words.
Suddenly, the expression changes on Peter's face, something is dawning upon him.
Something inside.
He does not know why, but it's all becoming clear.
He can feel it! [Holds clenched fist hard against the top of the stomach, just below the chest.]
He knows he is right.
Like the only child in the classroom who knows the answer, he is suddenly bursting with this tremendous revelation which has come upon him and no one else seems to have worked it out!
Please please - ask me! ask me!
Jesus looks to Peter.
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!"
The others look at Peter, "What?"
But Jesus answers, "Blessèd are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven."
Nothing physical, nothing he had seen or heard had revealed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God to Peter.
Peter just knew! [Holds clenched fist hard against the top of the stomach, just below the chest.]
He could feel it deep inside.
Peter was right!
Jesus tells him "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."
Not only is Jesus revealed to the disciples - for who he is, but Peter has also been revealed to the disciples - for being someone special. The rock on which the Church is to be built.
Christ may be a sure foundation, but the foundation stone of the Christian Church is Peter and Christ is the architect and builder.
So, you could say that that was the very beginning of the Christian Church.
Peter was the first one to know the truth about Jesus.
He wasn't told - he just knew.
Let's take a moment to think.
Why are we here, in this building, now?
We are here to listen to the Scriptures, the word of The Lord.
We are to listen to the Gospel the "Good News".
We are here to think about what we have heard.
We are here to worship God.
We are here to pray to God.
We are here to give thanks to God.
We are here because Jesus told us we must "in remembrance of Him".
But all of this rests on one thing.
Who do we say that Jesus is?
All of this rests on the fact that we truly believe that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
And there's only one way that we really know this...
In here, deep inside. [Holds clenched fist hard against the top of the stomach, just below the chest.]
OK, we have the Bible
The history of the world (from the beginning) and particularly relating to the Jewish nation...
Stories of prophecy, written by the great prophets such as Isaiah who prophesied the coming of Jesus...
The Psalms, which cover every aspect of life.
Love songs in the Songs of Solomon...
Stories of the Holy Family.
The story of the ministry of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ Himself, "God in person".
The adventures and ministry of the disciples and the Apostles.
Loads of letters and correspondence, mostly from Paul.
The book of The Revelation, which quite frankly does my head in at times.
But more than all this we have something special.
We know that Jesus Christ was and is the Messiah, the Son of the living God.
We know deep down in here. [Holds clenched fist hard against the top of the stomach, just below the chest.]
And when we falter, when we make mistakes, when we go wrong...
Jesus is still, and always will be, there for each and every one of us.
The Messiah, the Son of the living God.
We know - in here. [Holds clenched fist hard against the top of the stomach, just below the chest.]
People say to me, "You're good, you go to church."
I say, "I'm not good. I try to be good. I do my very best to be good, but I'm not good."
Here's an original quote, and it's 100% Reuben:
'You don't have to be good to go to church.
People who want to be good go to church.
People who are good... ...are in heaven.'
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

© Reuben Condie July 2002
©Bible texts: Morning Mass - NRSV