Top Floral Arrangement of the Year…

I can only imagine this captured the spirit of the man… (taken at the Crem yesterday as I was walking out – it must have been from a funeral earlier in the day).

These flowers, beauties of God’s creation, and costing huge sums of money will now simply rot. What a waste. All those acres of entries in The News, all those letters spelling G-R-A-N-D-M-A which only serve to proclaim to others how you feel, rather like the rich man in the temple and which serve no good in this world. That money would be better sent to charity.

When I die it will be a hessian sack and a single red rose from our own garden. You can spend the money on the parish, or on mission, on a candle in prayer or on a drink in memory of me, or better still, all four.

All I really want to specify, and you are now all my witnesses to this, and I have bored close friends and family with this ad nauseum is a really lovely full-on Requiem Mass: into Church the night before, the beautiful Vespers for the Dead (Black Vestments), Requiem Mass the following day in White Vestments for the Resurrection and then a westward-facing burial  – in vestments and biretta if they havn’t already been given away - (as is traditional with a priest – laity are buried eastward-facing as that is from whence Christ will return and priests are buried westward facing towards the people in their cure). Spend no more money on funeral directors than is absolutely necessary, share the sacraments and pray for my soul.

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A Short Introduction

When someone dies, those who are left behind feel many emotions – grief, sorrow, relief at release from pain, fond memories of a life well spent, regret at lost possibilities. Yet, in the face of death, the Church proclaims that God has created each person for eternal life.

The Office for the Dead is a part of the daily cycle of prayer for the church, and through this affirms that death is itself a part of life, and that we are continually joined in prayer with those who have gone before us before the Throne of Grace.

The hymn is said together, and the psalmody is said antiphonally, with the officiant beginning the antiphon to be joined by the congregation. The officiant says the odd verses, and the congregation responds with the even verses. The psalmody is said without pauses, and all end with:

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. World without end. Amen.

THE OFFICE FOR THE DEAD VESPERS

HYMN (SAID TOGETHER)

Merciful Saviour, hear our humble prayer,
For all your servants passed beyond life’s care;
Though sin has touched them, yet their weakness spare.

Refrain: O grant them pardon, Jesus Saviour blest,
And give their spirits light and endless rest.

O gentle Saviour, Lamb for sinners slain,
Look on your brothers, cleanse their hearts of stain:
Your cross has won them everlasting gain. (Refrain)

Lord, at your passion love did conquer fear;
Now share that triumph with these souls so dear:
Banish their sorrows, let your light appear. (Refrain)

PSALMODY (SAID ANTIPHONALLY)

Ant. 1: The Lord will guard you from every evil, he will guard your soul.

Psalm 120 (121)
I lift up my eyes to the mountains:*
from where shall come my help?
My help shall come from the Lord*
who made heaven and earth.

May he never allow you to stumble!*
Let him sleep not, your guard.
No, he sleeps not nor slumbers,*
Israel’s guard.

The Lord is your guard and your shade;*
at your right side he stands.
By day the sun shall not smite you*
nor the moon in the night.

The Lord will guard you from evil,*
he will guard your soul.
The Lord will guard your going and coming *
both now and for ever.

Ant. The Lord will guard you from every evil, he will guard your soul.

Ant. 2: If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?

Psalm 129(130)
Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord,*
Lord, hear my voice!
O let your ears be attentive*
to the voice of my pleading.

If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt,*
Lord, who would survive?
But with you is found forgiveness:*
for this we revere you.

My soul is waiting for the Lord,*
I count on his word.
My soul is longing for the Lord*
more than watchman for daybreak.
Let the watchman count on daybreak*
and Israel on the Lord.

Because with the Lord there is mercy*
and fulness of redemption,
Israel indeed he will redeem*
from all its iniquity.

Ant. If you, O Lord, should mark our guilt, Lord, who would survive?

Ant. 3: As the father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

Canticle: Phil 2:6-11
Though he was in the form of God,*
Jesus did not count equality with god as a thing to be grasped.

He emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant,*
being born in the likeness of men.

And being found in human form,*
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,*
even death on a cross.

Therefore God has highly exalted him*
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name,

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,*
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

And every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,*
to the glory of God the Father.

Ant. As the father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone he chooses.

SCRIPTURE READING 1 Cor 15:55-57

Death, where is your victory? Death where is your sting? Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for giving us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

SHORT RESPONSORY

R: In you, O Lord, I take refuge. Let me not be lost forever. Repeat R:
V: I will rejoice and be glad because of your merciful love. R:
V: Glory be. R:

INTERCESSIONS

Let us pray to Christ who gives us the hope that our mortal bodies will become like his in glory.
R: Lord, you are our life and our resurrection.

Christ, Son of the living God, you raised your friend Lazarus from the dead; – grant life and glory to the faithful departed, redeemed by your precious blood. R: Lord, you are our life and our resurrection.

Compassionate Saviour, you wiped away all tears when you gave back to the widow of Nain her only son; – comfort those who mourn because the one they love has died. R: Lord, you are our life and our resurrection.

Christ, our Redeemer, destroy the reign of sin in our mortal bodies; – let us not receive the wages of death but the reward of eternal life. R: Lord, you are our life and our resurrection.

Christ, our Saviour, look on those who live without hope and do not know you;- let them believe in the resurrection and the life of the world to come. R: Lord, you are our life and our resurrection.

You restored sight to the man born blind and opened the eyes of his faith; – reveal your face to the dead who have not seen your glory. R: Lord, you are our life and our resurrection.

Lord, be merciful to us when we leave this earthly dwelling; – make for us a home in heaven that will last forever. R: Lord, you are our life and our resurrection.

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come; thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
Amen.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Grant, Lord, we pray,
that as our faith is built on the Risen Christ,
so too may our hope be steadfast, as we await the resurrection of your servant N. from the dead. We make our prayer through our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ
Amen

The priest and the people depart in silence.
A vigil may be kept by the coffin.

Copyright Information:The Office for the Dead is taken from The Divine Office: the Liturgy of the Hours according to the Roman Rite, published 1974. Used within the Parish of S.Thomas the Apostle in accordance with Canon B5. Jan 2005

Sermon: Ordinary 16, Year A “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”

Text: Matthew 13:24-43

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”

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

I have heard it said that Heaven really must be a wonderful place, because no-one has yet come back to complain!

It is certainly something which we think we have an idea about, it is certainly our goal and perhaps through the grace of God, it will be our reward also. But we do not properly know what the Kingdom of Heaven will be like: cartoon images abound of clouds and angels with halos and wings compete with pastoral images of rolling golf courses and big houses.

Christ spoke frequently of the kingdom of heaven and its relationship to this earth, but only obliquely described it in practical terms. It was far more important for him to outline the nature of heaven than its substance. For us, it is the nature of heaven which should be our concern, not the substance.

Thus, this pericope, or gobbet of scripture serves to bring together two explorations of the Kingdom of Heaven by likening it to something familiar to the people of the age. Both times in this reading he uses the phrase “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”

• Like the growth of plants, which happens without our truly perceiving it
  Like a mustard seed which starts small and grows into something mighty
• Like yeast which suffuses throughout dough

We should be careful not to overstep our understanding of these similes, for Christ does not say “The Kingdom of Heaven is”. We are not ready yet for what the kingdom actually is, and so it is revealed to us in language and concepts that we mere human beings can handle.

Both of these examples gives us a glimpse of an aspect of heaven, but without the full picture. Christ, who came from heaven to earth is the only one who is gifted with that full picture.

When we are always with our children, we don’t really notice them growing. One moment, they are light and easy to pick up and the next… One moment that blazer engulfs them and in the twinkling of an eye it is halfway up their arm. Those marks on the door post serve to prove what their Aunties remark when they havn’t seen the children in a while: ooooo – havn’t you grown.

Just because we don’t notice something, doesn’t mean that it isn’t happening. How often do people blame God for all the bad things that happen in the world and neglect to praise him when something good comes off? How often do we write off God’s blessings on us as the work of our own skill, our brilliance, and forget to thank He who makes all of this possible?

The Kingdom of Heaven has come to earth, in hidden form, before our eyes and we did not spot it, for it came in the form of a man. That Kingdom will come crashing into earth again in the future, and when heaven and earth coincide, and it will be like nothing we have experienced ever before.

A friend of mine was a viticulturist, a grower of vines and the creator of some of the south coast’s best vineyards before he ran away like me to join not the circus, but the priesthood. He spoke of the link between the fermentation of wine and our growth in the spirit: it takes a little yeast, it works in a mysterious way, it works hidden in the dark, and transforms simple grape juice into something so much more.

Just like our love, wine is created in the warmth, it grows under the pleasure of God. It is more than simply for ourselves that we experience this growth, for we have preached this faith for far longer than the modern ‘self-help’ gurus and life-trainers; the faith in Christ moves beyond the personal and into the collective, making us children of God. We are transformed, like wine, in subtle ways, and the ordinary is made extraordinary, fruit sugar becomes alcohol.

Of course, this is what Christ does for us each and every day. He takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary; he takes the bread and wine and gives us his body and blood. He takes our ordinary lives and transforms us.

The humble mustard seed is transformed into a shrub, it expands and takes over, filling the area and beyond. That is growth, growth in the spirit, growth in faith and love, growth in our humanity.

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like…” Well, like nothing on earth really. The Kingdom of Heaven is beyond our human understanding, but on the authority of Christ it will be better than anything we can imagine. It will be broader than the mustard shrub, when heaven crashes into earth it will be beyond belief. It is not us or our values who will decide who is there – for that is God’s choice alone. For now, we must continue to grow in Christ’s likeness.

This is why coming to church, participating in the mass and receiving the Eucharist is more than a duty. This is why the breaking of bread is the unique, the only hallmark of authentic Christian Community It is more than something we do, because we have always done it so. We continue to do this, and to encourage others to do this, because it is a part of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our lives; we might not be able to see it happening, but it happens under our very noses – transforming us from a seed into a great harvest. This is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like!

Amen.