SELECTED SERMONS

AT
HOLY TRINITY
SLOANE SQUARE

15 FEBRUARY 2009

SECOND SUNDAY BEFORE LENT

THE REVD ROB GILLION

RECTOR

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Holy Trinity website
www.holytrinitysloanesquare.co.uk
 A Sermon for the
Second Sunday before Lent

15 February 2009
The Revd Rob Gillion
Rector
such a relief when we seek to cooperate with God,
rather than expecting him to cooperate with us.
How can we make the shift? How are those who can,
achieving it? We move from me–focus, to God–focus by
pondering him, witnessing him. Following Paul’s wisdom
“Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are
changed into the same image from glory to glory, even
as by the spirit of the Lord.”
Beholding him changes us. Let’s give it go. Who knows?
We might just discover our place in the universe. May
God rescue us from political correctness – which is self-
centred thinking – for when we finally meet with the God
of Love at the doorway to heaven – as you approach let
us hope he will greet you with six wonderful words. “Well
done, good and faithful servant.”
Colossians 1.15-20 / John 1.1-14
“Make us in your own image” – Christ has first place in
everything! “The Word became flesh and lived among
us.”
Until Copernicus came along in 1543 we human beings
enjoyed centre stage. Fathers could place an arm
around their child, point to the night sky, and proclaim
“The universe revolves around us.” Let the other planets
hurtle through the skies. Not us. We stay put. No
orbiting, no rotating. The Earth is the anchor of the
universe.
But then came Nicholas, Nicholas Copernicus with his
maps and drawings, he pointed a lone finger towards the
sun, and announced “behold the centre of the solar
system.” People denied the facts for over half a century.
When Galileo like-minded, they locked him up and the
Church kicked him out.
What Copernicus did for the Earth, St John does for our
souls. Tapping us on the shoulder in this purple passage
John I, simply points to the Son, God’s Son, and says:
“Behold the centre of it all”. We aren’t allowed to offer to
pray with someone, we mustn’t mention religion in a
hospital. If you speak too much the name of Jesus you’ll
be dismissed from school. We must surely stand up – in
love and be counted.
For me, God raised Christ from death and sat him on a
throne in deepest heaven – in charge of running the
universe – everything from galaxies to governments. Not
just for such a time as this but forever. In charge of it all
– He has the final word. At the centre of all this Christ
rules the Church (Ephesians 1.20-22).
When God looks at the centre of the universe, he
doesn’t look at you or me – when heaven’s stage hands
direct the spotlight towards the star of the show, no light
falls on me.
Appreciated, yes, loved dearly, but central, essential,
pivotal – No! The world doesn’t revolve around you or
me. Our comfort is not God’s priority.
If it is all about our comfort – then challenges like an
Australian bush-fire, a plane crash in the U.S., death,
disease, credit crunches or tsunamis, then he has made
our world deeply uncomfortable.
Could then a Copernican shift be in order? Perhaps our
place is not at the centre of the universe. God doesn’t
exist to make us the centre of the universe – we exist to
acknowledge that HE IS. I AM.
Now this Valentine weekend I’d like to suggest the moon
models our role.
What does the moon do? She generates no light.
Contrary to the lyrics of the song, the harvest moon
cannot shine on. Apart from the Sun, the moon is
nothing more than a pockmarked rock, but properly
positioned, the moon beams. A moon, black rock,
becomes a source of inspiration, for romance – the
moon reflects the greater light. What then if we truly
accept the word from our epistle and gospel this
morning, and accept our place as Son reflectors.
The trouble is we’ve been born with a default drive set
on selfishness. I want, self promotion, self preservation,
self centeredness.
But what chaos this philosophy creates. What if our choir
followed such an approach? Each chorister clambering
for self-expression. Sopranos singing shrill notes to get
attention, basses blasting out non-stop. Sheet music
disregarded and Andrew, our Musical Director, ignored.
Harmony? Hardly.
We’re not made to live in that way but guilty of doing just
that. What if we made His song our priority. Less “Here
is what I want”, more “What do you suppose God
wants.” (That’s the challenge for the Trinity Arts & Crafts
Guild – I want God and his story of Christ to be at the
centre of the stage, or canvas. Not us!) If we really saw
Christ as centre stage, we’d see our suffering differently.
“My pain and discomfort proves God’s absence” would
be replaced with “My pain expands God’s purpose”;
reflecting the Cross of Christ.
Life makes sense when we accept our place – life is