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Journeys
SERMON – 10.15am, Emmanuel Church, Pokfulam, Hong Kong
Sunday 4th Jan 2009
Revd. Matthew Vernon
Dear Friends, you have sat patiently through my sermon for eight long years.
You travails are nearly over.
Just an hour and a half to go!
Seriously, you have been generous in your comments about my words.
But I should thank you, as it is a privilege to preach
• and I have received immeasurably through preaching these eight years in Emmanuel.
It is mutually enriching.
And preachers are usually preaching to themselves anyway.
Kate's parents live in Aldeburgh,
• a seaside town just an hour from Bury St. Edmunds,
• where we are moving to in England.
They live right on the sea front with wonderful views of the sea.
The beach is not the soft sand of Hong Kong's beaches,
• but the hard pebbles of a Suffolk beach.
• beautiful and ancient pebbles, though.
On that beach I often think of a poem by Norman McCaig; it's called "Small Boy".
He picked up a pebble
And threw it into the sea.
And another, and another
He couldn't stop.
He wasn't trying to fill the sea.
He wasn't trying to empty the beach.
He was just throwing away,
Nothing else but.
Like a kitten playing
He was practising for the future
When there'll be many things
He'll want to throw away
If only his fingers would unclench
And let them go.
We had the packers in on Monday.
They were wonderful and carried off our:
• sofas, tables, beds, lights, plates, cutlery, TV, DVDs, toys, clothes, books, carpet
• and all the amazing amount of stuff we manage to get into a home.
All packed and gone.
Preparing for the packing is an exercise in letting go.
For weeks we've been sorting through draws and files and cabinets.
Some things can be quickly ejected.
But others things:
• those old photos that have sat in a draw, but seem so important
• that T shirt, now full of holes, but from that sporting event I went to years ago
• that pottery bowl, that's cracked and chipped and never used, but was a gift from…
It's hard to let go of all those possessions that build up and we secretly judge ourselves by.
We know our true value comes from God's love for us,
• not from material goods or wealth,
• but…
Letting go is one of life's most difficult skills,
• but it is at the heart of the spiritual journey.
Some say it is what the spiritual journey is all about.
Letting go of materials possessions is just one dimension.
As we grow up we have to let go of childhood securities.
As we grow as adults we have to let go of youthful certainties.
As our bodies get older we have to let go of youthful beauty and athleticism.
As we get older we have to let go of our loved ones as they die.
This is mirrored in the journey of faith.
As we grow in faith we learn to let go of childhood securities.
As our faith deepens we learn to let go of youthful certainties.
As our faith matures we learn let go of our cherished images of God – to let them die.
Our images of God are by definition human and so inaccurate.
St. John of the Cross said that the way to God is
• "nada, nada, nada' –
• nothing, nothing, nothing –
• let go, let go, let go.
Let go of our attachments:
• those things we feel we can't live without:
• possessions, status, relationships, image of self, appetites.
And our attachment to images of God.
We have to learn to let God be God.
My head is full of journeys at the moment.
Our stuff has started its journey to England.
Tomorrow we're off to Australia for a holiday,
• before coming back to Hong Kong for two nights
• and then leaving for England.
So Epiphany, and the journey of the wise men, fits very well.
The wise men set out on a journey into the unknown.
All they had to follow was the light of one star –
• not the bright, dazzling light of the sun,
• but a single star
• and stars are visible only half the time.
Their journey was more about following a hunch,
• following their feelings,
• than following a bright beacon.
And they had to let go:
• to step out of their comfort zone
• and let go of their certainties.
For example, it made perfect sense to go to Jerusalem to look for a newborn king.
It must have been a big surprise to discover that this king was born in humble surroundings in Bethlehem.
Another favourite poem is by W. H. Auden, "For The Time Being".
He imagines the wise men saying:
"the weather has been awful,
the countryside is dreary,
marsh, jungle, rock;
and echoes mock, calling our hope unlawful;
but a silly song can help along yours ever and sincerely;
at least we know for certain that we are three old sinners,
that this journey is much too long,
that we want our dinners,
and miss our wives, our books, our dogs
but have only the vaguest idea why we are who we are.
To discover how to be human now
is the reason we follow this star."
The wise men made a long journey of discovery.
They weren't sure which way to go,
• other than to follow the star shining in their hearts.
Each of us is on a journey like that.
Following the light of Christ to uncover more deeply who we are.
Letting go of what is past to walk into a blessed future;
• to discover inner growth and peace.
There was once an old man who had lived a long and happy life on a beautiful island.
He loved his homeland very deeply.
There on his island, all this family, through all the generations had lived, loved, made their homes and worked.
When he realised that he would soon die, he asked his children to take him outside one more time.
He knelt on the ground and gathered a handful of the soil and clutched it tightly.
Soon afterwards, the old man died and came to the gates of heaven.
The angels greeted him warmly.
"Welcome, friend, to the kingdom of heaven. Please come in."
The old man tried to pass through the gates of heaven, but as he did so, an angel gently explained, "You must let go of the soil you are clutching."
"I could never do that," he cried. "This is my native soil from by beloved island home.
Sadly the angels went back to heaven, leaving the old man wandering, outside the gates.
A long time passed and the angels came again.
They brought the old man a taste of the heavenly banquet and ate with him.
The tried to persuade him to join them for all eternity, but again, when they asked him to let go of the soil he was clutching, he couldn't bring himself let go.
So again, they left him there.
Finally, after another long period, the angels came and brought them the old man's granddaughter.
She now had grown old and died herself.
She was delighted to see her beloved grandfather.
"Grandpa, I'm so happy to see you. Please come and join us in our heavenly kingdom."
The old man was overwhelmed to see his granddaughter and in his joy flung out his arms to embrace her. As he died so, the soil slipped through his fingers.
And with great joy, the angels led him into his heavenly home.
And there he saw the whole of his beloved island, waiting to greet him.
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