Reuben's Theme: "Happiness or Sadness"

(Trinity 9) - EVENSONG 1830hrs. at Saint George's - Cullercoats.
Sunday, 13th. August 2006 Anno Domini.

Morning Mass: 2 Samuel: 18.5-9, 15, 31-33 Ps: 130 Ephesians: 4.25 - 5.2 John: 6.35, 41-51
Evensong: Psalm: 91. Job: 39.1 - 40.4 Hebrews: 12.1-17

August 13, 2006 Cycle B Trinity 9.

COLLECT

Almighty God, who sent your Holy Spirit to be the life and light of your Church:
open our hearts to the riches of your grace, that we may bring forth the fruit of the Spirit in love and joy and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

FIRST READING
2 Samuel 18.5-9, 15, 31-33

A reading from the second book of Samuel.
The king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, saying, 'Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.' And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders concerning Absalom.
So the army went out into the field against Israel; and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.
The men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the slaughter there was great on that day, twenty thousand men. The battle spread over the face of all the country; and the forest claimed more victims that day than the sword.
Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on. And ten young men, Joab's armour-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him, and killed him.
Then the Cushite came; and the Cushite said, 'Good tidings for my lord the king! For the LORD has vindicated you this day, delivering you from the power of all who rose up against you.'
The king said to the Cushite, 'Is it well with the young man Absalom?'
The Cushite answered, 'May the enemies of my lord the king, and all who rise up to do you harm, be like that young man.'
The king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over the gate, and wept; and as he went, he said, 'O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!'

PSALM Psalm 130

R Out of the depths have I called you, O Lord [Lord, hear my voice].

1 Out of the depths have I called to you, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice; let your ears consider well the voice of my supplication.
2 If you, Lord, were to note what is done amiss, O Lord, who could stand?
3 For there is forgiveness with you; therefore you shall be feared. R
4 I wait for the Lord; my soul waits for him; in his word is my hope.
5 My soul waits for the Lord, more than the night-watch for the morning, more than the night-watch for the morning. R
6 O Israel, wait for the Lord, for with the Lord there is mercy;
7 With him there is plenteous redemption, and he shall redeem Israel from all their sins. R

SECOND READING
Ephesians 4.25 - 5.2

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Ephesians.
Putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbours, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil.
Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labour and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy.
Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear.
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.
Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, God in Christ has forgiven you.
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.



GOSPEL John 6.35, 41-51

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Jesus said to the crowd, 'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.'
Then the Jews began to complain about Him because He said, 'I am the bread that came down from heaven.'
They were saying, 'Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, "I have come down from heaven"?'
Jesus answered them, 'Do not complain among yourselves. No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise that person up on the last day. It is written in the prophets, "And they shall all be taught by God." Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Very truly, I tell you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live for ever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.'



POST COMMUNION

Holy Father, who gathered us here around the table of your Son to share this meal with the whole household of God:
in that new world where you reveal the fullness of your peace, gather people of every race and language to share in the eternal banquet of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Evensong:

Psalm 91

1. Whoso dwelleth under the defence of the most High : shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2. I will say unto the Lord, Thou art my hope and my strong hold : my God in him will I trust.
3. For he shall deliver thee from the snare of the hunter : and from the noisome pestilence.
4. He shall defend thee under his wings, and thou shalt be safe under his feathers : his faithfulness and truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5. Thou shalt not be afraid for any terror by night : nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6. For the pestilence that walketh in darkness : nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day.
7. A thousand shall fall beside thee, and ten thousand at thy right hand : but it shall not come nigh thee.
8. Yea with thine eyes shalt thou behold : and see the reward of the ungodly.
9. For thou Lord art my hope : thou hast set thine house of defence very high.
10. There shall no evil happen unto thee : neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11. For he shall give his angels charge over thee : to keep thee in all thy ways.
12. They shall bear thee in their hands : that thou hurt not thy foot against a stone.
13. Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder : the young lion and the dragon shalt thou tread under thy feet.
14. Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him : I will set him up, because he hath known my Name.
15. He shall call upon me and I will hear him : yea I am with him in trouble, I will deliver him and bring him to honour.
16. With long life will I satisfy him : and shew him my salvation.

FIRST READING Job 39.1 - 40.4
The first reading is taken from the book of Job, chapters 39 and 40.
"Do you know when the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer?
Can you number the months that they fulfil, and do you know the time when they give birth, when they crouch to give birth to their offspring, and are delivered of their young?
Their young ones become strong, they grow up in the open; they go forth, and do not return to them.
"Who has let the wild ass go free? Who has loosed the bonds of the swift ass, to which I have given the steppe for its home, the salt land for its dwelling place?
It scorns the tumult of the city; it does not hear the shouts of the driver.
It ranges the mountains as its pasture, and it searches after every green thing.
"Is the wild ox willing to serve you? Will it spend the night at your crib?
Can you tie it in the furrow with ropes, or will it harrow the valleys after you?
Will you depend on it because its strength is great, and will you hand over your labour to it?
Do you have faith in it that it will return, and bring your grain to your threshing floor?
"The ostrich's wings flap wildly, though its pinions lack plumage.
For it leaves its eggs to the earth, and lets them be warmed on the ground, forgetting that a foot may crush them, and that a wild animal may trample them.
It deals cruelly with its young, as if they were not its own; though its labour should be in vain, yet it has no fear; because God has made it forget wisdom, and given it no share in understanding.
When it spreads its plumes aloft, it laughs at the horse and its rider.
"Do you give the horse its might? Do you clothe its neck with mane?
Do you make it leap like the locust? Its majestic snorting is terrible.
It paws violently, exults mightily; it goes out to meet the weapons.
It laughs at fear, and is not dismayed; it does not turn back from the sword.
Upon it rattle the quiver, the flashing spear, and the javelin.
With fierceness and rage it swallows the ground; it cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.
When the trumpet sounds, it says 'Aha!' From a distance it smells the battle, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting.
"Is it by your wisdom that the hawk soars, and spreads its wings toward the south?
Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up and makes its nest on high?
It lives on the rock and makes its home in the fastness of the rocky crag.
From there it spies the prey; its eyes see it from far away.
Its young ones suck up blood; and where the slain are, there it is."
And the LORD said to Job: "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? Anyone who argues with God must respond."
Then Job answered the LORD: "See, I am of small account; what shall I answer you? I lay my hand on my mouth..."
Here endeth the first lesson.

SECOND READING Hebrews 12.1 - 17
The second reading is taken from the letter to the Hebrews, chapter 12.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider Him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.
In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as children - "My child, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when you are punished by him; for the Lord disciplines those whom he loves, and chastises every child whom he accepts."
Endure trials for the sake of discipline. God is treating you as children; for what child is there whom a parent does not discipline?
If you do not have that discipline in which all children share, then you are illegitimate and not his children.
Moreover, we had human parents to discipline us, and we respected them. Should we not be even more willing to be subject to the Father of spirits and live?
For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share his holiness.
Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed.
Pursue peace with everyone, and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springs up and causes trouble, and through it many become defiled.
See to it that no one becomes like Esau, an immoral and godless person, who sold his birthright for a single meal.
You know that later, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, even though he sought the blessing with tears.
Here endeth the second lesson.

Reuben's Theme: "Happiness or Sadness"

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

There's a lot of sadness in the liturgy for today.

Sadness for King David, in our first reading this morning.
Chapter 18 of the second book of Samuel cover's the defeat and death Absalom, and King David's grief.
David wanted Absalom's life spared.
In the part we heard this morning, we heard the cowardly way in which Absalom was killed by David's servants, while hanging helplessly, caught by his hair in the branch of a tree.
King David was devastated.
"O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!"

This morning's psalm, Psalm 130, is a psalm of praying, waiting and hoping for God's redemption.
"Out of the depths have I called you, O Lord"
The cry of a sorrowful soul.

In tonight's first reading, we continue with the book of Job.
Poor Job!
Where was Job when God made the world...
...light and darkness... ...wind and rain...
...the constellations in their courses?
What does Job know about the creatures of the wild...
...the lion... ...the goat... ...the wild ass and ox... ...the ostrich... ...the horse... ...the eagle?
Did he make them?
Can he feed them, tame them - as God can?
Job is on the tip of the beginnings of understanding his place in the scheme of God's creation.
Through all his sadness and suffering, he is beginning to see his position in relation to God.

In our second reading tonight, in the letter to the Hebrews...
...we are told that when we suffer...
...it's not because God does not care...
...but because he cares enough to discipline us for our own good.

Hang on, did I say, "When we suffer, it's not because God does not care, but because he cares enough to discipline us for our own good"?

Yes it clearly states in the letter to the Hebrews, "Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it."
Seems a bit rotten, that!
The letter to the Hebrews continues by telling us that we must not be discouraged or give up.
We are being given incentive...
...incentive to go on.
We are being watched by the great heroes of faith.
They are crowding round the track to see us run.
Let us strip off everything that hinders and run the Christian race with all we have.
Christ did not give up when the going got hard - neither must we.

I tell you, if the letter to the Hebrews wasn't written by Paul, it has to have been written by someone who learnt from him!
All this, 'It doesn't matter how bad it gets, God loves us and as long as we're good, we'll be OK' stuff.

The trouble is, he's right!

What would life be like with no sorrow and only joy?

Well, let's just think about that for a moment.

A world without sadness...

A young boy gets run down by a car in an accident.
He goes to hospital and ends up having to have his legs amputated.
The operation is a success and the boy ends up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
The driver of the car isn't sad, so it doesn't matter to them.
The boy isn't sad, he's alive and happy, so it doesn't matter to him.
The boy's family aren't sad, they have him with them, so it doesn't matter to them.

A life without misery or sadness - a life that doesn't matter to anyone.

If we had no misery or sadness, we would have no need to care about anything.

A life without sadness... ...is a life where nothing matters.

Without misery or sadness, there is no caring or compassion.

Without misery or sadness, there is no happiness or love.

If we are without love... ...we are without God.

We must strive, like the runners in the race, with perseverance the race that is set before us.

Paul tells us in his letter to the Christians at Ephesus, that we heard this morning, how Salvation is God's free gift, but that it comes with the obligation to live and behave, from that point on, as God wants.
Deliberately discarding the old selfish way of life and letting the new life change our thinking and remould our pattern of behaviour.

This calls for truth and honesty;
no harboured grudges...
...no spite and bitterness...

Instead; kindness and a new readiness to forgive.

In a word we are to copy God's character.

Even in tonight's psalm, Psalm 91, we are told to trust God and rest secure.
The voice of encouragement and the voice of God speak to those with faith.
Under God's protection, nothing can touch those with faith.
Neither man nor beast, by day or by night; not war, nor disease.
Not that life will be all happiness. We must have sadness.
As it says in verse 15 tonight; He shall call upon me and I will hear him : yea I am with him in trouble, I will deliver him and bring him to honour.

So let's look the most important reading today...
...this morning's Gospel...
Words from Jesus Himself...
...and you can't get more important than that!

Jesus shows us the way, brought to us in the beautiful metaphors and analogies as written by John.
Jesus tells us that He is the "Bread of Life"

Now, life can be looked at in two ways.
The physical... ...and spiritual.

Jesus tells us that He is the "Bread of Life"...
...that which comes from heaven.
Jesus justifies this statement by pointing out that no one can turn to Him without being drawn by God, who sent Him...
...and that the 'Bread' he talks of is not like physical bread, which only sustains our bodies... ...our bodies will die.
The 'Bread' He talks of is of a spiritual nature...
...giving eternal life.

The source of our eternal life is through His death.

In our lives today, we must take the bad with the good.
Striving to do our very best - like the runners in a race.
Striving to follow Jesus.
Striving to be like Jesus.
In joy and in sadness.
In health and in sickness.
(My daughter Georgina got married yesterday.)
In richness and poverty.
For better and for worse.
(You can tell can't you.)
When everything is good and when everything is bad.
He is the 'Bread of Eternal Life'...
...what more could anyone ever want?

Through Jesus, God is with us, loves us and will protect us.
Now and until the end of time itself.

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.