Lent 2015 (2nd Sunday Before)
8 February 2015
This may sound slightly vain, but I wonder how many of us actually take the time periodically to look at ourselves in the mirror? If we do, then do we necessarily like what we see? The answer is that we may, but if we are honest and truthful, it’s more likely we don’t.
But I’m not just thinking about how we look. No, I’m thinking about something much deeper. I am thinking about all of us having the courage and honesty to take a look in the mirror at our whole being.
Yes, perhaps a small part of that is about how we look, but it’s also about how we act, how we behave, our whole interaction with others.
If we take a good hard look at all of these factors, then we may not necessarily like what we see, and realise that there are certain things about ourselves and about the way we live our lives that we might want to change.
Acknowledging that we need to change is one thing. Having the courage to actually do it though is quite another.
Usually when I’m preparing a sermon and I start to look at the scripture for the day, the first place I normally go to is the Gospel reading.
This morning though is a little different, as it is something from St Paul’s Epistle to the Corinthians which struck a chord with me.
In particular, in what is a comparatively short reading, three statements made their mark for me when referring to our Lord Jesus Christ:
· “He is the image of the invisible God”
· “For in Him, all things in heaven and on earth were created”
· “For in Him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell”
These three statements are key for me this morning and I’ll come back to them in a few moments. For now though, I want to hold my focus on our Lord for a moment or two.
At His birth, in His coming to us as Immanuel (God with us), through His earthly life and through His ministry, He provided us with an example. An example of living in the love of, and in the ways of, God.
He taught us what it means to be, and how to become, true disciples. As I’m sure each of us finds out from time to time during our lifelong journey with our Lord, it’s not easy. It sometimes involves us making tough choices, standing up for and speaking out against injustice where we see it, when it would be so much easier to let everything pass us by.
It may place us in situations and lead us to places where we would rather not be.
It may involve us working for the relief of those in need, a task which in itself can at times be distressing for all of us, as we witness the struggles and suffering of others. Nonetheless, it is a vital part of discipleship.
It may involve working for peace and fostering understanding, tolerance and co-operation between different cultures. None of this is easy.
It’s a huge task and if we commit ourselves to it, something of a daunting one. Given all of this, looking back to where I started this morning, I suppose the next questions should be:
· Why is it so important for us to take a good honest look at ourselves in a mirror from time to time?
· Why are those three statements from the letter of St Paul to the Corinthians so central to all of this?
In truth, the two questions can probably be taken together and answered as one. The fact is that in many ways, those statements relate to us too. Let’s just think back for a moment to those statements from our New Testament reading this morning, and let’s think about why they relate closely to us.
· “He is the image of the invisible God”
My brothers and sisters, let us not forget that by God’s grace, we too are all made in the image of God
· For in Him, all things in heaven and on earth were created
We too were created by God as part of that great company in heaven and here on earth
· For in Him, all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell
Again, let us not forget that if we open ourselves to Him, God is pleased to dwell in us too. However, as His disciples, this does mean that we have responsibilities and a job to do.
We must look closely at ourselves from time to time and recognise that as disciples, made in the image of God, there may be aspects of our lives which, when we look in the mirror, we need to change.
Not an easy thing to accept and still more difficult to do. Even if we do take steps to make changes in our lives, they may be things we have to work through and work at, and may not, as the saying goes, happen overnight.
But why is recognising the need for change so important? It is because we are tasked with showing something of the love of God to others as we live out our lives.
We are God’s hands and feet here on earth, and as such, we are tasked with working for a more just and equal world. Working for peace, standing (where we can) against injustice, and working for the relief of our brothers and sisters less fortunate than ourselves.
This is by no means an easy task for any of us. It’s worth reflecting though that we have all been given so many gifts and talents which manifest themselves in so many different ways. These different gifts are part of what makes us unique.
It’s a blessing for us that by the grace of God, each of us have been granted these gifts. Wonderful as they are, part of our task, part of our responsibility as disciples is to be bold. We need to use those gifts responsibly, wisely, and in so doing, to the glory of God.
May our prayer this morning be that, by our example, words and deeds, we make a difference for the better to the lives of those in this community which we serve and to all whom we meet.
Through our words and deeds, may all those whom we meet see something of the love of God in us, and may they witness it at work in the world through us.
AMEN