Back to Home Group Page St
Peter’s Church Bredhurst
Home Group, Autumn Term 2003
A Series of Home Group
Studies on the Basics of Faith, Following the Communion Service
Session 1: September 22nd A Brief History of God
For reading: If you’re feeling really bold, sit down and read the whole of Genesis – the first book in the bible. Otherwise, have a go at reading one or more of these chapters from Genesis: 2,4,7, 15, 32, and 50. Also Psalm 19.
For information: No one knows where the Genesis story came from. We do know that the people who put it together about 2600 years ago would have laughed at any notion that it was a factual history. The story is woven together from a number (at least two and maybe as many as thirty) of different sources. It is thought to have been compiled during the Jewish exile in Babylon (Iraq) as a means of declaring the superiority of the God of Israel over the Gods of Babylon (chapter 1 is a point by point rebuttal of the Babylonian creation myth) and of showing that the Jewish nation was uniquely chosen by God to preserve God’s involvement in the affairs of the world – despite their forefathers being a generally useless bunch of no-good malcontents. If God could look after Jacob then he can surely look after us seems to be the subtext. Along the way, it also shows how people and God slowly drifted apart and the pattern of miserable human existence became established, in which God is a bit-part player who only occasionally intervened in their lives – as they hope he will now.
Some thoughts:
1) How does God change
through the Genesis story?
2) What do you make of the
people God “chooses”?
3) Most, but not all, ancient societies had religion as part of their life. Augustine said that we have a “God shaped hole in our hearts”. Is belief in God and/or a thirst for things spiritual natural or a product of our society?
4) Psalm 19 and other passages suggest that belief in God is only natural once you have experienced nature. Conversely, the 19C poets questioned how the God of love could have created a lion or a spider. Can we really believe in “God” when we are now Gods through science, understanding all things?
The sessions roughly follow
the communion service. This first part
is very short:
After the greeting and first
hymn, this prayer may be said
All Almighty God, to whom all
hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden: cleanse the thoughts of our
hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you,
and worthily magnify your holy name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.
This
prayer makes some bold statements that you might want to debate:
1)
That God knows, and is interested in, everything about us.
2)
That God can change the way we think and act.
3)
That the aim of our lives is to love and worship God.
Session 2: September 29th What’s sin got to do with it?
For information: Another aspect of the Genesis story is that it seeks to
understand the reason for the suffering that the people were experiencing. This was rewritten (from an earlier, longer,
lecture) on the morning the deaths of the Soham girls was announced.
On Holly & Jessica 18
August 2002
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not
answer, by night, and am not silent.”
Suffering,
for a Christian, is the biggest problem of all. For, if God is all loving, all knowing and all-powerful, why do
we suffer? Why do those we love suffer? Why does God not fix it? Why, in the midst of suffering does God seem
so powerless, so lacking in knowledge, so lacking in love?
Throughout
the bible, the writers struggle with this subject of suffering: Why suffering? Whose fault is it? How do
we get out of it? The answers, when
they are given, are often contradictory or found wanting. The first attempt is right back in
Genesis. Probably a compilation of very
ancient stories written down when the Jews were enslaved in exile, these
stories attempt to answer the unanswerable.
How did we get here? Whose fault
is it? How do we get out of it? And in their ancient stories they find their
own story, their own experience.
Read
Genesis quickly and it appears certain that the broken relationship, sin, is
the cause of suffering. That theme is
repeated in the accounts of the Exodus and in the stories of an Israel that
continuously walks away from God and suffers for it. It’s obvious: We sin; we suffer.
We do good; we prosper. There
is truth in this, and God calls on us to repent of our sins, to change our
ways, for as we rebel against him and his laws we invite trouble into our
lives.
The
story of Cain and Abel that follows uncovers an uncomfortable truth that the
exiles lived with – the good die young, while the wicked prosper. Ah, say some of the writers, they get their
comeuppance in the end. But they don’t,
and that still doesn’t explain the fate of the righteous. So the writer introduces another character –
the serpent, or Satan, the embodiment of evil, an evil force that we know and
feel on days like this.
But
dig deeper into the Genesis story and be amazed. For on page 3 of my bible, “the Word of God”, the writer poses
the ultimate question – is God to blame for suffering?
God starts by making us in
his own image, but two things appear to be lacking – God’s eternity, which he
sustains in us but may withdraw at his choosing, and the knowledge of good and
evil. The knowledge of what? Surely God, who is good, does not encompass
evil? But it is the beings made by God
in the image of God who sin; the serpent made by God who tempts them; the fruit
made by God which enslaves them in evil.
The Genesis writer offers no explanation, just a book-full of stories
about the utter mystery of God as we experience Him. Genesis would never have got shelf-room in a Christian bookshop
if it did not come packaged with Paul’s helpful letters.
Read
Genesis and the Psalms and you may come away with the idea that God is mixed up
in this mess of a world far more than we’ve been led to believe. And the writers don’t seem to care – for
this is their reality, their experience.
It is only those of us who have grown up with the idea of God as a
remote sugar daddy who find it difficult.
But go beyond Genesis into the New Testament and you discover that God
has mixed himself up in it even more.
The
words I began with (Psalm 22) are the words used by Jesus on the cross. There, God himself undergoes every form of
suffering, especially that of losing his faith, his knowledge of God’s
presence. Not just body, mind and
spirit but also personal integrity, his very being, utterly broken, darkness
the only clothing for his nakedness; darkness, his only friend. The thorns of the ground crown him; the
sweat of his brow waters the ground.
Dust swirls around him as he is planted like a tree back in the dust
from which he came. Wine, the fruit of
good and evil, is thrust into his parched throat. A flashing sword cuts off his last hope of access to the tree of
life and a stone is rolled across the exit from the garden tomb.
The
bible offers no glib answer to the “Why?” that we want to scream today. But its stories lead us to a God who enters
into the story, our story, who shares the pain, and bears in himself all the
evil and suffering of the world.
The
God who cursed us has become the cursed for us. The cross, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, has become the
tree of life, and we who have known good and evil are invited to reach out and
eat its fruit and to share that fruit with those who have tasted only the
bitterness of evil.
In the communion service we have this:
Let us confess our sins in
penitence and faith, firmly resolved to keep God’s commandments and to live in
love and peace with all.
All Almighty God, our heavenly
Father, we have sinned against you and against our neighbour in thought and
word and deed, through negligence, through weakness, through our own deliberate
fault. We are truly sorry and repent
of all our sins. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, who died for us,
forgive us all that is past and grant that we may serve you in newness of life
to the glory of your name. Amen.
And I say: Almighty
God, who forgives all who truly repent, have mercy upon you, pardon and deliver
you from all your sins, confirm and strengthen you in all goodness and bring
you to everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen
So,
1) What is sin and who defines it? (A quote from Ian Hislop of Have I Got News
For You: “One hundred years ago the church taught that fox hunting was the
highest calling of humanity and homosexuality the worst imaginable sin, and now
they’ve swapped them.”)
2) The bible (e.g., Psalm 32) suggests that sin creates a
barrier between God and us. What do you
think separates us from God?
3)
Is sin a satisfactory explanation for suffering?
Session 3: October 13th Dusty black book?
For reading: Psalm 19 (again). John chapters 20&21. All of 2 Timothy (or just chapter 3)
For information: The bible consists of 66 separate “books”. 39 of these are taken from the Jewish writings (the Old Testament, written and rewritten over millennia) and 27 from early Christian writings (the New Testament). The content and order were worked out over many centuries and debate continues to rage over which manuscripts most closely reflect the original intent. The division into chapters and verses is relatively recent. The arrangement of the books is different in some Catholic bibles and they also include the “Apocrypha” – a series of allegorical, historical and “words of wisdom” writings from about 200BC.
In the
communion service we read a passage from either the Old or New Testaments
followed by a passage from one of the gospels – themselves compilations of
stories about Jesus collected about 50 years after his death. After the reading we hear:
This is the word of the
Lord. All: Thanks be to God.
That’s a bold claim – that this collection of ancient
writings, compiled by committees of old men, transmitted by word of mouth or
hand-copying over millennia, originating in societies totally different to
ours, (in the case of the Old Testament, not dissimilar to Afghanistan under
the warlords), is somehow not only relevant to us but actually God’s means of
talking to us.
People who start reading
the bible tend to go through these phases:
a) What a dreary book. b) What a fascinating book. c) Wow!
d) I want to understand this. e)
Oo, er, this is much more difficult than I thought. f) Oh, so that’s what it’s about!
Few, if any of us, ever get
to the last stage; most of us get stuck part way.
Early Christians did not
have a bible. The Jewish Christians
would have had access to the Old Testament.
Letters from leaders were circulated.
Stories about Jesus were used in preaching. Down the centuries illiterate people have happily coped without
access to the bible, other than hearing the stories or seeing pictures portraying
the stories.
Some though provokers:
1) Where are you on
Graham’s scale?
2) What has been your
reaction to the bible passages you’ve been reading?
3) A question asked during my training: When does the bible become “the word of God”
– When it was written? When you read it? When you follow it? What do you think?
4) How could God speak to you through the bible? Why doesn’t He just whisper in your ear or
send you a letter?
Session 4: October 27th:Is anyone listening?
For reading: Matthew chapter 6. Psalm 42, Acts chapter 4. Graham’s true story (follows)
For information: Prayer in the bible is something that is taken for granted – people pray and God answers, or not. Either way, there is an expectation that simply talking to God can change the course of one’s life.
Prayer takes many forms, from “God!” through formal statements to silent meditation. Examples of all can be found in the bible – along with all sorts of suggested postures. Incidentally, it is very British to kneel for prayer – most Christians stand.
The content of prayer also varies – Adoration of God, Confession of sin, Thanksgiving or Supplications (a little list I learnt years ago – it spells ACTS) or any combination.
Some people pray silently; a certain Curate has been known to shout and swear at God – quite effectively it has to be said, though rubber soles help. Others pray using a “prayer language” – a language unknown to them but through which they communicate with God.
In the communion service “intercessions” we are invited to pray for the church, the world at large, our family and friends, those who suffer and those who mourn, and we remember those who have died. We use a set form of words, interspersed with the Minister’s own. The prayers often include this refrain:
Lord, in your mercy, All: hear
our prayer.
Merciful Father,
All: accept these prayers for the
sake of your Son,
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
These statements seem to imply the following:
1.
That God does not
answer prayer automatically – only if he feels like it.
2.
That our access to God
and his willingness to listen is because of Jesus.
Do you agree?
Here are some thoughts on prayer for you to think about and
discuss:
1.
“Prayer
is being in God’s presence.
Intercession (asking prayer) is being in God’s presence with others on
your heart.” M Ramsey, former Archbishop
2.
“If
you don’t believe in God, try praying for yourself. If you don’t believe in the devil, try praying for someone
else.” Anon
3.
“I
know that answers to prayer are only coincidences but why, when I stop praying,
do the coincidences stop?” G K Chesterton
4.
“Prayer
is to faith what breathing is to life.”
Anon
Prayer
can be done in a group or individually.
I’ve been to a service where for an hour and a half everyone prayed
together out loud – but all different prayers.
It was heavenly. Equally so was
a service I attended in a monastery where the monks sat in silence. Paul, writing to the church in Philippi,
says this: “Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again: Rejoice! ….
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” So, here’s an idea: Make a list of a few things that are
worrying you and agree as a group to pray (or do so now). And see what happens……..
A true story
Gary and Eileen were an
elderly couple we met when we moved to Medway 25 years ago. Eileen had Motor Neurone disease. Gary was, to put it bluntly, a few pence
short of a pound – he was a railway guard but how he ever managed to give
change for a ticket I’ll never know.
Amy and Chris were mutual friends with 3 young children. Chris was a postman and the family lived a
hand-to-mouth (or, more often, hand-to-debt-collector) existence.
I turned up on Amy &
Chris’s doorstep one day to find a For Sale sign on their rusty old Fiat and
them in great agitation. They had, yet
again, got themselves in deep money trouble and needed to find £750 by the
following evening or they faced eviction from their rented home. The rusty car might, if cleaned up and
polished and given a new MOT, have been worth £250. As Marilyn and I were equally strapped for cash, though
mercifully without the debt, I couldn’t see how to help. And, as £750 was two month’s income in those
days, my faith was not up to it either.
I went to see Gary and
Eileen. They had lived on next to
nothing for the best part of 40 years so why I thought they could help is a
mystery. Gary said, “we should
pray!” My response was, to say the
least dismissive. “You pray, Gary,” I
said, “my faith isn’t up to it.” So
Gary prayed. He only ever prayed one
prayer, the one he had learnt at school.
So off he went, “Our Father….”
“Yeah, thanks, Gary,” I mumbled as I left their house.
The next evening I got a
frantic phone call from Amy. How she
found the 2p to put in the box I didn’t ask, but she had a weird story to
tell. Chris had been on early shift so
they had their “last lunch” as they waited for the knock at the door. When it came there was a man standing
there. They expected him to hand over
some official papers but he said, “Is your car still for sale?” “Er, yes,” said Chris, adding in his hopelessly
honest way, “but it’s not very good and it’s only got a month’s MOT.” “I’ll take it,” said the man, “will £750 be
enough, cash?” He handed over a pile of
fivers, took the keys and the papers and drove off in their car. They’ve never seen or heard from him since.
Eileen died a few months
after this. George followed about three
years later. I sat with him as he
died. “Can we pray?” he asked. I didn’t have a clue what to say so just
mumbled something about not knowing what to say but he ignored me and started
his prayer. His last words were:
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.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Session 5 November 10th: Come on in.
For Reading:
You could read the whole of Mark’s gospel – it doesn’t take long. Or just chapters 14 to 16 or just verses 12
to 26 of chapter 14. Acts chapter 2 –
or just the last few verses, 42-47
For info: The communion service goes right
back to the beginnings of the Christian faith.
Based in part on the Jewish Passover meal it came to have much greater
significance. We can see from the
snippet in Acts that it was integral to a way of life that revolved around
their new faith. As the faith developed
the simple act of remembering Jesus at every meal became a more and more
elaborate ritual – to the extent that the state persecutors started spreading
stories of cannibalistic feasts. For a
few hundred years the ritual defined a Christian service – it took place in
secret, often in a forest or other hiding place – and was only open to true and
trusted believers. Those who were not
yet admitted to the inner fellowship had to leave the meeting before the
communion began. After the Roman state
made Christianity the state religion things began to change rapidly and the
strict terms of admission to communion were watered down, (literally, as infant
baptism for all became the norm.) As
the Roman church developed it again went secretive, but this time it was only
the priests who were allowed in to the inner sanctum. St Peter’s originally had a very small arch to the choir area –
with enough incense the people could not see what the priests were doing and
they only received communion once or twice a year, and then only the
bread. The 16C reformers
tried to bring this back and re-instated the idea of everyone gathering around
a table to share in the remembrance of Jesus.
In the event, the people voted with their hands and few took communion,
other than at Easter and Christmas, until about 50 years ago when the idea of
having communion at nearly every service took off.
These are the simplified
words of our communion service:
The Lord is here. All: His Spirit is with us.
Lift up your hearts. All: We lift them to the Lord.
Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. All: It is right to give
thanks and praise
It is right to praise you, Father, Lord of all
creation; in your love you made us for yourself.
When
we turned away you did not reject us, but came to meet us in your Son.
In
Christ you shared our life that we might live in him and he in us.
He
opened his arms of love upon the cross and made for all the perfect sacrifice
for sin.
On
the night he was betrayed, at supper with his friends he took bread, and gave
you thanks; he broke it (the
minister breaks the bread) and gave it to them, saying: Take, eat; this is my body
which is given for you; do this in remembrance of me.
At
the end of supper, taking the cup of wine, he gave you thanks, and said: Drink
this, all of you; this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for you
for the forgiveness of sins; do this in remembrance of me.
As
we proclaim his death and celebrate his rising in glory, send your Holy Spirit
that this bread and this wine may be to us the body and blood of your dear Son.
With your whole Church throughout the world we offer you this sacrifice of
praise and lift our voice to join the eternal song of heaven: All Holy,
holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, Heaven and earth are full of your
glory. Hosanna in the highest.
In
these few short words we have numerous things to think about:
1.
It
is assumed that God himself is present with us.
2.
We
are remembering the death of Jesus, as well as his last supper. The reason we remember his death is that
this was the sacrifice that “opened the gates of heaven” as it says in a
different version.
3.
To
take the bread and drink the wine is to associate ourselves with Jesus, not
only in his life but in his death. We
are saying that we will join him on the cross – part of his body and he part of
ours. Mystical stuff – what does it
mean?
4.
In
the full version we say, “We who are many are one body because we all share in
one bread.” In the communion service we
celebrate the oneness of the church – there is no distinction for we are all
part of each other.
It was being in communion services that convinced me
to offer for the ministry. Watching two
people take the bread and wine, symbols of their earthly life, to the altar
knowing that the one carrying the bread had just lost his job and was thus
“unable to provide bread” for his family, and the one carrying the wine was an
alcoholic “blew my mind”. I then
watched as the priest took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it back
with the people who had brought it. The
thing that would transform them was simply an emblem of their own life – broken
and shared with others. At St Matthews
you can see others receiving communion – it is very moving, especially once you
know what is going on in their lives. I
still find communion intensely moving and am often unable to sing the last hymn
because I am still caught up in what has happened by simply breaking bread.
5.
Some
of you receive communion and some do not.
It might be interesting to discuss your feelings when you come to the
altar rail, (or just sit in your pew).
There is a missionary element in the communion
service. At the end of it we may
pray: All:
Almighty God, we thank you for feeding us with the body and blood of your Son
Jesus Christ. Through him we offer you
our souls and bodies to be a living sacrifice.
Send us out in the power of your Spirit to live and work to your praise
and glory. Amen.
No wonder the Romans thought the early Christians
were into cannibalism. But the whole
thrust of Jesus’ teachings to his disciples was that we should be like him –
prepared to give up everything for others.
In taking the bread and wine we make that commitment and seek God’s
strength to fulfil it.
When I’m travelling I often “break bread” – in the hotel or factory canteen. As I do so I think of the people I’ve met that week, the people at St Peter’s, my friends and family. By simply remembering them as I remember Jesus in breaking a piece of bread, I think I’m closer to what Jesus meant than the most magnificent ceremony in a cathedral. And what of you, meeting round a table, sharing food and wine?