St Margaret's Church Prestwich

Rev Christine preached this sermon on Sunday 8 September 2024. Here it is for you again:

Last week we were thinking about how God created the earth and all living things. We ended the readings just before he made human beings, Adam and Eve, which we have heard about today and he gives them dominion over all living things that moved on the earth.  Quite a big undertaking when you think about it to be given the care of a beautiful garden and everything that lives in it.

Sometimes when I’m in Heaton Park I stop in the some of the wooded areas, where all the wildflowers and grasses grow unhindered and marvel at the fragile flowers growing among the tall grasses.  I often stop, stand and listen to the birds and try to identify some of them and wonder what it must be like in the middle of the night when other creatures begin to roam around.  It’s a euphoric feeling and I can’t but marvel at God’s creative work and the trust he put in human beings to care for his creation.

But let’s think for a moment what makes us human beings?

We’re all made of skin, bone, muscles and sinews as are so many other creatures, but the most intricate parts are the many cells that carry messages to the nerves that allow us as human beings to communicate and to interact with the world around us.  God made this complex network to give us life and the ability to think for ourselves so we could care for his creation.

God wanted everything he made to be good, so whether or not he intended us to learn about good and evil, we’ll never know, but the choice was made and so then God gave us free-will so we could choose between right and wrong.

Unfortunately, mistakes were made and continue to be made.  We are fruitful we have multiplied, but people have ignored God’s will time and again and we haven’t particularly taken good care of his creation.

Humans unfortunately, are frivolous we struggle to do God’s will and haven’t always done what was right with regards to creation or other people and God has tried so many times to put us back on the right path.  To show us how to live our lives for all creation and not just for ourselves.

The OT tells us a lot about the struggles between nations and how people continually ignored God’s will for their lives.

Today unfortunately, there are still conflicts between nations and it’s difficult to see where God is sometimes, but we know he is around us, we believe and trust that he is there with all people in their distress and happiness.  He still wants everything to be good.

We don’t know or understand sometimes what causes these conflicts, but sometimes it can be a minor thing like that of the disciples.  Unfortunately, it’s called jealousy.  Thinking that someone is going to get something better than they are. John and James have no idea what they are asking.

They are still imagining Jesus as being a human like them, they have not yet recognised his divinity.  They are seeing him as King sat in a Palace on earth choosing his right-hand men or household.  Unfortunately, they are still thinking of him in physical terms and not heavenly, divinely terms, even though he has hinted at it so many times before.

Mark goes to quite a few lengths in his Gospel to tell us what others have seen and understood through Jesus’ actions and his words.  Today’s passage is an example of Mark looking in on an event where Jesus is giving an example of how everyone should be humble and how we, as human beings, should be a servant to all.

Jesus is explaining that although some people may see themselves as better than others, in the sight of God they are all men and women made from the dust of the earth.  Jesus wants his followers to be humble in the same way he has been and to understand that if they are to be counted as one of his disciples they should follow his example of being a servant to others.

He plainly says, “…….. whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, ⁴⁴and whoever wishes to be first among you must be slave of all. ⁴⁵For the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’

Paul is speaking in much the same way to the Philippians.  He is exhorting them not to be selfish, not to think only of themselves, but to be of the same mind as Jesus, who though God incarnate he did not put himself on an equal standing with God, but became humble.  He took on the form of a servant and for our sakes allowed himself to be exploited and was obedient to the point of death.

Jesus taught his disciples from the start how to care about people, from that first day on the beach, when he told Simon who was to become Peter and Andrew, “come follow me and I will send you out to fish for people” (Matthew 4: 19).  From that day on the disciples were taught to give of themselves, to be humble to share what they had.  Unfortunately, it took quite a few lessons and reprimands for them to learn and even today people are still learning to share, to love, to be humble and to care for God’s creation.

God sent us an example of how to live a good and fruitful life.  He sent his Son Jesus as a role model and what better human being could there be, to teach us how to be humble and a servant to all.  He taught us by example and word how to serve.  How to care for his creation, how to love the people we meet and to remind us that we are God’s children, born from the dust of the earth to care for his creation and all living things.

We are all now carers of this earth and we need to nurture it and all that dwells in it.  God came in human form to the earth to save us from ourselves, so we can be reconciled to him and be forgiven for ignoring his command to care for everything that he has made then and now, so that we can understand that what God made can still be good, if we will but care for it.

Let us pray:

Lord, we confess that at times we struggle to see the vision you have for our life and your creation.  We pray for faith to trust you in all things and that through your love we may be made good in your sight.  We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ.  Amen.