St John's Scottish Episcopal Church, Dumfries, Scotland

The Reverend David Balfour

Sermon

Preached on the 5th August 2007 at St John's Dumfries

The Eucharist (1)

I want to begin with a Canticle from the New Zealand Prayer Book that I think sums up what we are about when we gather for Worship.

1 We have come before God's holy mountain:

the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God;

2 we have come before myriads of angels

in festal gathering:

before the assembly

of the first-born citizens of heaven;

3 we have come before God the judge of all

before the spirits of the righteous made perfect,

and Jesus the mediator of a new covenant.

4 We are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken:

let us therefore give thanks to God,

5 thus offering acceptable worship with reverence and awe:

for our God is a consuming fire.

Hebrews 12: 22-24, 28,29

It is good now and then to reflect on what we are about when we come to Church and particularly on Sunday when the main gathering of the Congregation takes place. We all come on our own journey with God – and that is very precious - yet we have no journey with God apart from our Sisters and Brothers in Christ. This Sunday Central Act of Worship is the most important event of the week hence it is vital that, from time to to time,

we reflect on what we do

PREPARATION

During the week I want to invite you to pray for the Preacher, ( if you get a dud sermon on a Sunday and you haven’t prayed for the Preacher I believe that you have some responsibility) for the Celebrant, for Readers, the Choir, Tom, all those who will play some part in making our service happen. They act to help us worship and so need our support. Another way of preparing is to read the Gospel for the Sunday coming. All this requires commitment and a clear intention to make sure that the Worship we offer is worthy of God. It has true WORTH. it is not just another Ho Hum event - it is a vital activity of this part of the whole church.

COME AS YOU ARE

Some of us come to worship in pain , physical or emotional or psychological, we may not be in any fit state to offer Worship - that is fine because the rest of us in our worship will support you – in the worship we offer we create the space that allows you to be in the presence of God who desires to be with you in your pain.

STATIO

In the Dominican Order it was part of their worship to stop just outside the Chapel and reflect on what they were about to be involved in. May I suggest that we might sit in the car for a minute and do the same. Again what we are doing is underlining our seriousness to offer the best we can to God.

GREETING

We are Greeted – GREETING – is one of the most important ministries of the Church – the people who make us feel at home – who notice the visitors and help them feel at home. Those who greet you are your sisters and brothers. As we greet one another we meet Christ – the Christ who dwells in each of us. We may also speak to other members of the congregation, in doing so let it not be chatter but a recognition of the God whom we meet in the other. We are Gathering. Greeters, I would like to suggest that at least two of your number sit at the back and be aware during the service of any needs that might become apparent, a person lost in the books etc.

A PLEA

Years ago when we came to church we never spoke to anyone and often we left without speaking to anyone. ?to give you an example: Loma and I went to an Episcopal Church in Scotland in 1999. We arrived a little late and were given a book and told, ?Sit there?. At the end of the service no one spoke to us, then a person did and they too were a visitor. As we left the Church the Lady who had told us where to sit said, ?Enjoyed that did you?? We were not likely to hurry back there.

So we tend to come in and greet one another and there is a good bit of chatter. Please, please be aware that, often, folk are kneeling, praying, preparing themselves to offer worship– sometimes in the next pew and it is rude of us to talk over them. The greeting of one another is important but let us remember why we are here – to worship God and to have a care for one another. All this might sound trite but is vital so that what we do is the best we can offer. A number of folk have commented to me about how they find the chatter intrusive.

WORSHIP IS CORPORATE

In the past Worship was seen as a very private event – though when you look at the language of the 1662 Prayer Book that was not the intention.

Nowadays Worship has changed, the Service we come to is a corporate activity – it is something we all do together. It is a Dialogue between the Celebrant, Readers, Choir, Preacher and the Congregation.

The music at the beginning is not just to cover our arrival but can help us focus, settle, and be still – listening. The organist has practised the music and chosen it to fit the situation – let us listen – and in that still ourselves.

The moments of silence before the service are there to help us focus more deeply- together – A sentence of Scripture to add another focus so when we stand and sing the First Hymn we will give it our best.

The service began as we prepared during the week and as we all made our way here – greeted one another – said our prayers.

ROLES

The Celebrant, the Choir, the Organist, the Deacon, the Servers, the Reader, the Intercessor etc are not the important people – their role is to assist all of us to offer the best worship we can. IN FACT IN ONE SENSE IF WE ARE NOT AWARE OF THEM – THEY HAVE FULFILLED THEIR TASK AND POINTED US TO GOD. They have important tasks to help us CORPORATELY offer God the Praise and Glory that is God’s due. Worship is something we ALL do, one Hymn exhorts us to do it with “Our utmost Art”, that is everyone and not just the Choir.

LITURGICAL GREETING

Greeting – in the name of God – the Celebrant acknowledges the congregation and greets them in the Name of God.

We pray asking God for inspiration through the Holy Spirit – we are called to worship in Spirit and in Truth. We need the Holy Spirit to lead us in Worship.

CONFESSION

Confession – not our private sins – that is something we do at home, or in the confessional in front a Priest – this is our Corporate Sin. No Congregation has ever got is all right – there is always so much more to be done. Our private sins play into this so we gather them all together. We are authoritatively Absolved.

COLLECT

The Collect which is supposed to collect up the thoughts of the theme or readings of the day.

THE READINGS

The Readings --- do you move to the edge of your seat – lean forward – expectantly – or do you sit back and read – as though it is the newspaper. The thing about Scripture is that it is meant to be heard ? not really read. There is no point in the readers being at the lectern if we do not attend to them. Please look at them ? in doing so we encourage them ? listen for a word, a phrase, or a scene – through which God may want to speak to you. There is a parish in San Francisco where they take the reading of Scripture very seriously. All the readers meet together, once a week, and go through the readings looking for the emphasis that needs to be brought out. We have some great readers do please listen to them.

The GOSPEL

The Gospel Procession is to emphasise that the Gospel has been brought to everyone, that is why it is read in the midst of the congregation. One of the greatest gifts of the Reformation and the invention of the Printing Press was that Scripture was available to everyone. Hence the chained Bibles in churches. One negative aspect of this is what someone has said, “that everyone becomes their own Pope”. We can think that the Gospel is our possession, it isn’t it is God’s gift to us. that is why it is processed in and held high with great reverence. Some folk acknowledge this by bowing their heads as the Deacon passes by.

The Preacher - it may be obvious to say this but do be open to what God might say through the preacher. Of course some Sermons will not meet you, no one can preach a Sermon that touches everyone. If the sermon does stir something - ponder it. I had one friend who if something in the sermon struck him would go out for a stroll to think about it and come back in time for the Communion.

THE PRAYERS - the corporate prayers of the Church.

This first part of the service is a whole and we could quite easily stop there. In the early Church it was called the Missa Catechumen – the Work of the Catechumens. Those who were being prepared for Baptism and learning the Catechism. – there would be a dismissal and the un-baptised would leave. The doors would be locked, and only those who had been Baptised would remain for the next half of the Service, The Missa Fidelium – the work of the faithful.

A Comment about moving in the Spirit.

If our worship is going to be in The Spirit – then we have to always be ready to change direction. The role of the Celebrant is to Open the Space for worship to happen and to hold it open – to be listening to the Spirit and if necessary change direction. It may mean changing a hymn, calling for us to listen to something, being aware of something that has happened around which the service has been built, or needs to take the service in another direction.

THE CELEBRANT – THE PRESIDER – THE PRIEST please, please be aware of the responsibility they carry – please don’t give them an earful just before the service –I remember an occasion when, just before the service a lady came into the Vestry in a friend’s parish. The lady then went mad at the Rector because someone had thrown out the flowers she had done and replaced them. After the service she commented to the Rector that the service hadn’t gone well. What a surprise!

It is on their shoulders to help us move closer to God not by what they do – but by how they do it and being open to change direction if needs be.

This means that all of us are open to do it differently. The Choir will have practised the Hymns – but if it is necessary to change to another then we must be able to do so – or our worship becomes set in concrete and not necessarily following the Spirit. The same might apply to the readings and at times to the Sermon.

Let me finish by reiterating what the writer to the Hebrews says