Temples, bodies, sacrifice & encounter: A Lent sermon

 Preached as a sermon at Croydon Minster. Gospel text John 2.13-22.

 

‘[Jesus] was speaking of the temple of his body’ John 2.21

 

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For centuries the temple in Jerusalem sat at the heart of Israelite religion.

 

The temple was the place of sacrifice and of encounter with the presence of God in all his holiness.

 

Housing the Ark of the Covenant, the very presence of God, the temple’s roots are deep in the story of God’s people.

 

Early on, in the account of the Exodus it is as a roving sanctuary, resting on the journey as the people of Israel moved through the wilderness before entering the Promised Land.

 

Eventually, brought by King David, God’s presence in the Ark came to rest on Mount Zion and his son, Solomon, began the work of building the temple to house God’s presence.

 

Solomon’s temple fell into disrepair when Israel was captive in exile in Babylon. Yet under the priests Ezra and Nehemiah it was restored, and by Jesus’ day it had recently been rebuilt by Herod the Great, taking some 46 years.

 

That brings us to this visit of Jesus to the Temple, as recorded in all four gospels (Matthew 21.12-17; Mark 11.15-19; Luke 19.45-48).

 

Indignant at what he finds Jesus sweeps away the buying and selling which is a spin off from the necessity to have animals to sacrifice in the temple.

 

Some see this as an example of Jesus’ anger, an example of his humanity. On one level that is right - Jesus has assumed our humanity - but it’s not that Jesus is ‘losing his rag’. As the disciples later remembered, it is ‘zeal for God’s house’ that has consumed him: it’s zeal; it’s passion.

 

Re-read today’s gospel and we see that what Jesus is doing, in the tradition of the prophets, is a purposeful, intentional act of resetting the Temple to its original purpose: sacrifice to God is not about trading animals; encountering God is not a commercial transaction.

 

The temple is to be a house of prayer, a place of encounter with the Living God.

 

What is new, and different from the prophets, is that this is a divine visitation on an institution that had become all too human: as the prophet Malachi had said, ‘the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple’ (Malachi 3.1).

 

The stone-built temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, some forty years after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. So where is the temple now? So where is the place of sacrifice now? Where is the place of encounter now?

 

The clear statement of our gospel today is that the temple is a temple of flesh: the temple of Jesus’ body. So, that’s the place of sacrifice; that’s the place of encounter with the living God. The Body of Christ is of course profoundly what the church is: you and me together, who feed on the Body of Christ in the sacrament.

 

This is the place of sacrifice, Jesus Christ gives his life that we might live. Jesus Christ is both priest and sacrificial victim: ‘worthy is the Lamb once slain’ (Revelation 5.12), not a lamb traded in the temple precinct, but the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

 

The temple is not abolished by Jesus but transformed and relocated in his flesh.

 

Read the letter to the Hebrews and the Revelation to John and you see that the temple, recast by Christ, feeds the Christian life and imagination.

 

In its cleansing, the liturgical life of the temple - its rituals, customs, sacrifices and services - are transformed by Jesus and embraced by the church, not to exploit God’s people but to feed them.

 

So, then, where sacrifice and encounter with God take place there is the temple. In Christ this is a temple cleansed and fit for worship.

 

So as Christians when we speak of the temple we speak of Jesus Christ, we speak of our church building and we speak of ourselves.

 

Our church is a temple, a place of sacrifice – where lives are offered and life is received – and this holy place is a place of encounter.

 

And you are too.

 

As St Paul says, ‘Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?... God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple’. (1 Corinthians 3.16,17).

 

Christ’s Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the pioneer of this reality. The power of the Most High dwelt in her body, she gave her body – her human body, her woman’s body - as the Lord’s temple; her life was opened to receive his life.

 

This all points to the reverence and honour we have for the body as Christians: we believe in the resurrection of the body, the ultimate statement of optimism about human bodies.

 

So we reject the separation of body and soul, the ancient heresy of Manicheism, which sees the soul as too good or pure for one’s body; the body is seen as a terrible encumbrance on a free spirit, and it means life is only lived through the body and physical gratification. That is the path to self-loathing. It afflicts many in our culture today.

 

We are body and soul together.

 

Christ visits the temple of our bodies and as we pray in Lent, ‘wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin’ (Psalm 51.2). That is a prayer that Christ might purge us, turn over some tables and upset some of our cosy bargains with God, so that we can become more truly people of sacrifice, offering our lives to Christ, the Lamb of God, that he might give us life in this bloodless sacrifice of the Eucharist.

 

Let us pray that we might be worthy temples of the Holy Spirit, a worthiness which is not earned but is Christ’s gift, in the words of the Book of Common Prayer:

 

We offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies, to be a reasonable, holy, and lively sacrifice unto thee; humbly beseeching thee, that all we, who are partakers of this holy Communion, may be fulfilled with thy grace and heavenly benediction. (Book of Common Prayer, Order for Holy Communion)

Flowing Blessings: A Sermon for the baptism of Christ

First preached as a sermon at Croydon Minster on the Feast of the Baptism of Christ, 12^th January 2020. Readings: Isaiah 42.1-9; Matthew 3.13-17

                                                                            

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The liturgical year moves swiftly on,

like a mighty flowing river.

No sooner than we celebrate the birth of Jesus

Than we celebrate the Epiphany,

            and the visit of the Magi would have been some while

            after his birth.

And today we celebrate

            the Baptism of Christ,

which we know to have been 30 years after his birth.

The liturgical year

            isn’t concerned with keeping to time,

                        but with

            revealing the mysteries of God.

The Baptism of Christ sits beautifully

            in this wonderful season of light    

                        that spills out

            from the celebration of his birth.

It is a rich,

and densely packed,

mystical moment.

            The heavens open!

It is another Epiphany,

            a manifestation,

                        a showing forth

            of the glory of God

                        revealed in human flesh:

            it is an incarnation moment.

It is a moment

when we apprehend

the movement of the Blessed Trinity –

            Father, Son and Holy Spirit –

                        the Spirit descends like a dove,

                                    and the Heavenly Father declares

                                                of Jesus,

                                    ‘this is my Son, the Beloved’.

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I was at our cathedral church in Southwark last week

            for the Mass of Requiem

of a former Vicar of Croydon,

            Bishop Ronald Bowlby,

who died just before Christmas.

Bishop Ronnie was Vicar during the centenary celebrations

            of the consecration of this church,

                        and this afternoon we begin our celebrations

                                    of 150 years since the consecration.

In the cathedral

there is a crib scene

of life size figures around the font of the cathedral.

Flanked by his blessed Mother, Mary, and St Joseph

            the Christchild

appears to be resting on the font itself.

It’s a fascinating juxtaposition

            of the birth of Christ

                        and our baptism.

Baptism is a birth:

            birth into

                        the life of the heart of God;

            birth into

                        the Church,

                                    the Body of Christ;

            birth in

                        the Holy Spirit.

And that life itself

            should flow out of us

            into the world

                        that is created

                                    and hallowed

                        by God.

One of the tasks of a Christian

             day by day

is to proclaim,

            live out

                        and be

God’s blessing

            in a world that seems bereft of blessing today.

An expression of that

will take place today

from the cathedral, as, after the Eucharist,

the Bishop and congregation goes out

            to bless

                        and hallow

            the waters of the River Thames

from the bridge linking Southwark Cathedral with St Paul’s.

It’s not just a quaint ceremony,

            but a confident declaration

                        that God’s blessing

            is the life

            running through our communities

                        like a mighty river.

As Christ was plunged into the waters of baptism

            at the hands of our own patron saint, St John the Baptist,

so he bestows

            and hallows

the waters of the new Creation:

            as he says,

‘The water that I will give will become in [you] a spring of water gushing up to eternal life’ (John 4.14b).

Water is the stuff of life;

            the stuff of life

                        is made holy

            by Christ:

                        the One

            who transformed water

                        into rich wine at the Wedding Feast.

The River Wandle

            no longer runs past the Minster,

but if it did,

I hope we would be out there

            blessing the waters.

In the absence of an actual river

            we’re prompted to reflect on the blessings

                        that we yearn

                                    to see

                                                flowing

                        from this church today:

            we can touch people’s lives and hearts

                        with the flowing blessings of Christ.

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We want to see

            the gospel of Jesus Christ flowing

                        like a mighty river

            through the heart of this town of Croydon.

We said that in our church vision day last summer.

This church

            is the ancient

                        and enduring

            spiritual heart of Croydon.

We don’t want it to be

            a stagnant tributary,

                        but a life bearing river,

            teeming with blessing

                        and hope.

In the prophet Ezekiel

            we see a vision of the Temple

from which flows water.

            It’s the text known as Vidi Aquam

                        that will be sung

            as water is sprinkled

                        from the font in this liturgy.

Water flows from each corner of the Temple

            getting deeper

                        and deeper,

            flowing from the Temple,

                        out

                                    beyond itself

            into a stagnant salty sea

                        which is then transformed

            and teems with fish

                        and life.

Oh to be that sort of Temple!

In the 150^th year

            of the hallowing of this building

                        may our culture and expectation here

                                    be one of abundance

                                                and not scarcity;

            one that celebrates the blessings,

                        the life of the teeming town of Croydon.

When it rains heavily

            the Minster can appear to have a moat,

such is the poor drainage.

We don’t want to be

            a moated,

            cut off community –

                        quite the opposite! –

            we yearn to be

                        a community that flows out

            with life beyond ourselves:

                        are you; are we, ready for that?

A church is consecrated;

            people are baptised.

Both

are temples of the Spirit,

            houses of prayer

                        and of the abiding presence

            of Christ.

Tomorrow the Church Council, the PCC,

            will be considering

                        how we renew the life of this church

            by beginning to sketch out a ‘strategy’

                        for our work with Children and Young People (CYP).

            The young bring life.

As we consider the place of the CYP of our church,

            and honour that place,

we find that it tells us about the sort of church

            we might really be.

Do we merely tolerate

            or really welcome

the young,

            or anyone for that matter?

How a church treats its CYP

            reveals a great deal:

                        about

                                    how seriously it really welcomes, cherishes and values

                                    everyone - regardless of age, background etc, - unconditionally;

                        about

                                    how open it is

                                    to transformation

                                    and growth;

                        and about

                                    how it really values people

                                                for who they are now,

                                    not just as some sort of insurance policy

                                                for the church

                                    continuing when we’re all dead!

Developing a strategy for CYP

            is one a way in to clarifying a vision

                        of the church

            and it has a missional impetus too:

engaging with CYP means

also engaging with

                        their families

            and supporting parents and carers,

                        who are the primary catechists –

                                    teachers and nurturers in the church;

it makes us reflect

            more widely

            on catechesis beyond the young in years,

                        to the young and immature in the faith

                                    (who may be advanced in years);

it makes us reflect

            on the sacraments of initiation – baptism and confirmation;

            about how we equip,

                        and are equipped to be,

                                    lifelong disciples;

it makes us think

            about how we connect

                        with other aspects of the life of our wider community

                                    institutionally and personally,

                        with schools, playgroups, young carers.

Christ stepped out of the River Jordan

            and his public ministry

                        of healing,

                        forgiving

                        and revealing the mysteries of God

            flowed out from him

                        in the wilderness.

As we celebrate the consecration of this building

            and our own baptism

both to be temples of the Holy Spirit,

may we be:

             healed and healing;

                        forgiven and forgiving;

                                    alive and life-giving.

Then we will truly be

            a blessing

                        to our community

                                    it all its teeming diversity.

Pray that the Holy Spirit

            will flow around this church,

                        and this community.

Pray for discernment and wisdom

            and please pray particularly

for our children and young people,

            giving thanks

                        for the life they bring to us

                        in Christ.

Amen.