This sermon was made up more or less on the spot on Sunday morning Feb 15th:

 

Thinking about the subject of today’s service I was reminded of something Harold Pinter said; the most emotive four letter word in the English language is  ‘home’;

The ancients created temples in which to house their gods.

We build wall around ourselves in order to create protection against not only the elements but also each other – which makes one wonder about the experience of living outside

The people of Israel created a very clear ritual space in which they could worship Yhvh, they built careful structure in to their ritual too. The temple – do you remember the story we heard about the building of the temple? that it was built on the place where two brothers discovered they had secretly been sharing each others good fortune; the Temple became a symbol of the whole of faith and the presence of God was understood to be most accessible there. Every religious Jew would be committed to visit there – as is reflected in the Gospel stories.

In exile they needed to discover a different way to respond God – an entire revolution in spiritual thinking was created with realisation that each of us carries the Temple in our hearts.

We sometimes build walls and idolise the protection they afford, little realising that we have built our problems inside, with us. Security may become over comfortable, even stifling, and we sometimes need to recognise other values, other things occurring.
We call a catastrophe that blows a roof of a house an Act of God curiously, the occurrence that topples the structure and over turns the tables in the temple… an act of God.

One of my favourite books as a chid was the wind in the willows and I can imagine how comforting it must have felt to be lost in that world of riverside excitement and fun. As an adult I realise it is an incredibly cleverly written book, its a deeply spiritual book but it deals with someone being forced out of their home; even the title ‘The wind in the willows’ reflects that wind of change, the Ruach-hodesh or the breath of God that ‘blows where it lists’, disturbing our over comfortable sense of security, impelling us to action and change. listen to this the very opening of the Wind in the Willows

‘The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring- cleaning his little home. First with brooms, then with dusters; then on ladders and steps and chairs, with a brush and a pail of whitewash; till he had dust in his throat and eyes, and splashes of whitewash all over his black fur, and an aching back and weary arms. Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing. It was small wonder, then, that he suddenly flung down his brush on the floor, said ‘Bother!’ and ‘O blow!’ and also ‘Hang spring-cleaning!’ and bolted out of the house without even waiting to put on his coat.’

Lets allow a wind of change to sweep in and re-arrange some of the furniture. Isn’t it therapeutic when we clear those drawers that are so over stuffed they wont open, when we get rid of the junk that has somehow filled the garage…

This place is a spiritual home, but it should also be a spiritual resource centre, a hub of inspiration, a place where ideas meet and plans can germinate…