Sermons And Gubbins

This sermon was given at our All Souls service on the evening of Sunday 30th October. I hope you enjoy reading it. I’d like to start this evening by reiterating the welcome Huw extended to you at the start of our service this evening. Whilst you may not wish to be here today – because the very fact that you are here tonight means that you are mourning somebody you have loved who is no longer with us on earth, you are welcome here. You are welcome to worship, or to mourn, or to do both, or do neither. You are welcome to join in, and you are welcome simply to sit, and to just be . This year as a nation, we have all taken part in a prescribed period of mourning for Queen Elizabeth II, and although that period was directed by such public institutions as the Royal Family, the government and the BBC, when it comes to personal mourning, there is no right way to grieve; there is only your way, unique to you.  That may feel an isolating experience sometimes. Grief is often lonely. But to...

There’s a phrase – five small words – that people utter when they’re trying to empathise with you. People say it with the best of intentions, trying to bridge a gap of grief or loss, attempting to reach out and find some common ground. It’s a phrase that tries to be kind; that tries to be helpful. … I think it’s the most annoying phrase in the English language: “ I know how you fee l”. I’m sure I’ve uttered it before, and I’m thankful I wasn’t met with a swift slap in the face, to be honest. It’s certainly what I’ve felt like doing when people have said it to me. Because, the thing is, standing here in this pulpit tonight, I don’t know how you feel. I’ve not lost a partner or a mother or a father, or a daughter or a son. I’ve not lost a brother or a sister. I have lost other relatives, and my life is unequivocally emptier without good friends I have known who have died in years gone by. I also carry with me the grief of nearly ten years of my wife and I being unable to ...

This sermon was preached on 30th October 2016, at our evening All Souls service; the service in which we think of, and pray for, those who have died. The Gospel reading was John 14:1-6 , 27 .   Have you ever wondered what Heaven will be like? Whether it’s all ‘flowing white robes’, and sitting on clouds playing harps? Does that sound a bit boring to you? It does to me, to be honest. It’s one of the questions we sometimes ask each other; “What’s heaven for you?”. We recognise that what one person enjoys, another might not, and that each of us has their own idea of paradise. Is this home your idea of paradise?  Jesus was asked the question too – just before our Gospel reading this evening, Peter asked him where he was going, and we heard his reply tonight. Christ, the itinerant preacher, with no place to lay his head , replies, “ I’m going to my Father’s house – a mansion, with many rooms. ” For Christ, who had no home on earth, Heaven was a home, large enough to ...