WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:09.359 A man who was staying in a hotel was in the restaurant at breakfast time and he ordered 00:00:09.359 --> 00:00:14.560 his breakfast and he said to the waiter, I'd like you to bring me something very special. 00:00:15.640 --> 00:00:20.960 I'd like you to bring me two boiled eggs, one of them overcooked to the point where 00:00:20.960 --> 00:00:25.240 it's like rubber, the other one undercooked so it's really runny. 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:31.419 I'd like you to bring me some bacon that's really burnt so that the moment the knife 00:00:31.419 --> 00:00:33.560 touches it, it just crumbles into ashes. 00:00:35.060 --> 00:00:42.459 I want you to bring me some butter that's almost frozen and I'd like a pot of lukewarm 00:00:42.459 --> 00:00:43.560 weak coffee. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:49.500 The waiter said, that sounds rather complicated sir, that could be difficult. 00:00:50.579 --> 00:00:52.340 He said, what's what you gave me yesterday? 00:00:55.240 --> 00:01:05.200 Imperfection is a hallmark of what it is to be human. 00:01:07.260 --> 00:01:08.859 We live in a broken world. 00:01:10.219 --> 00:01:16.320 Today on Remembrance Day as we look back but also as we look forward and as we pray for 00:01:16.320 --> 00:01:22.540 peace throughout the world we were reminded of how no matter how many times history repeats 00:01:22.540 --> 00:01:26.020 itself we are a broken race. 00:01:28.420 --> 00:01:31.640 Imperfection is a hallmark of what it is to be human. 00:01:33.360 --> 00:01:43.320 Such that even if we try our very best to do the right thing over and over and over again 00:01:43.320 --> 00:01:45.560 we get it wrong. 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:54.600 Imperfection is a hallmark of what it is to be human. 00:01:54.599 --> 00:02:04.419 And we need to grasp that if we're to understand the fundamental message of Jesus and why we 00:02:04.419 --> 00:02:05.679 call it good news. 00:02:07.839 --> 00:02:15.259 Because until we fully grasp it and own it we cannot really understand the depth, the gravity, 00:02:16.259 --> 00:02:20.859 the power of the Christian gospel and why it is so transformative. 00:02:20.860 --> 00:02:26.260 None of us is perfect. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:32.240 And we cannot say that in a glib, we should not say that in a glib, pass off kind of way. 00:02:32.720 --> 00:02:35.520 We are broken people, every single one of us. 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:36.520 We are broken people, every single one of us. 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:37.520 We are broken people, every single one of us. 00:02:37.520 --> 00:02:50.480 And yet, in these words of Jesus, we are told that for all our brokenness, all our imperfection, 00:02:51.580 --> 00:02:58.480 all our refusals to learn the lessons from history, global history, national history, personal history, 00:02:58.479 --> 00:03:10.319 history, he not only forgives us, but says remain in me. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:15.239 What does that mean? 00:03:15.240 --> 00:03:21.520 Clearly, it's only possible if something unique happens. 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:31.379 And as Jesus talks about laying down your life for others, we see that modeled in Jesus' act of going to the cross, 00:03:32.040 --> 00:03:36.580 breaking the power of death and sin and being raised that we might come to him. 00:03:36.580 --> 00:03:46.340 But he doesn't just say in these words about coming to him or about being forgiven or about just being with him. 00:03:46.620 --> 00:03:50.080 He says remain in me. 00:03:52.040 --> 00:03:53.520 What does that mean? 00:03:53.520 --> 00:04:05.140 The term in Christ comes up over and over and over again in the New Testament. 00:04:06.480 --> 00:04:10.340 That if you are a follower of Jesus, you don't just follow him. 00:04:12.100 --> 00:04:13.140 You're in him. 00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:18.220 It's rather like if I take this Bible and a piece of paper. 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:22.720 This is Christ, that's you. 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:30.279 When you become a Christian, you don't just believe a load of stuff about Jesus, although you do. 00:04:32.799 --> 00:04:34.879 You're actually planted in him. 00:04:38.560 --> 00:04:41.139 Where this book goes, that piece of paper goes. 00:04:42.500 --> 00:04:44.180 Where Jesus goes, you go. 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:49.919 Jesus has gone to death and through death and out of the other side and is raised, 00:04:49.919 --> 00:04:52.139 which means that when you are in him, 00:04:52.139 --> 00:04:56.719 you're safe. 00:04:58.479 --> 00:04:59.680 For all eternity. 00:05:02.099 --> 00:05:03.539 Where he goes, you go. 00:05:04.899 --> 00:05:06.539 You are in Christ. 00:05:06.540 --> 00:05:15.280 And so when Jesus says, remain in me, wow, what a call, what a promise, what an invitation that is. 00:05:17.600 --> 00:05:19.140 How do we make sense of it? 00:05:19.139 --> 00:05:22.740 How do we make sense of it when God? 00:05:22.959 --> 00:05:29.259 God is God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, what we call the Trinity. 00:05:29.259 --> 00:05:31.259 Sometimes we run scared of it. 00:05:31.259 --> 00:05:33.680 Sometimes we run scared at that idea. 00:05:33.819 --> 00:05:35.399 It sounds way too complicated. 00:05:37.459 --> 00:05:40.800 And yet what I want to suggest is that in fact opens the way, 00:05:41.599 --> 00:05:44.939 when we understand God as Father, Son and Spirit, 00:05:44.939 --> 00:05:55.180 it opens the way for us to understand so much more fully what it is to be in Christ, to remain in him. 00:05:55.180 --> 00:06:00.780 Bear with me while we delve into a little bit of systematic theology. 00:06:00.779 --> 00:06:10.679 Often we trip up with the idea of the Trinity because we think of God, well, how can God be three and one? 00:06:10.879 --> 00:06:12.500 God is the Father, that's one. 00:06:12.599 --> 00:06:15.699 God is the Son, that's Jesus, that's another one. 00:06:15.799 --> 00:06:17.459 God the Holy Spirit and another one. 00:06:19.019 --> 00:06:22.919 God plus Father plus Son, that's one plus one plus one. 00:06:23.239 --> 00:06:24.479 One plus one plus one is? 00:06:26.119 --> 00:06:26.559 Three. 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:26.680 Three. 00:06:27.379 --> 00:06:29.800 So how can three be one and one be three? 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:30.879 It doesn't make sense. 00:06:33.079 --> 00:06:38.980 Now I'm not going to suggest for one moment that what I'm about to say solves the theological complexity 00:06:38.980 --> 00:06:43.340 that has been wrestled with by theologians for thousands of years. 00:06:43.439 --> 00:06:43.740 I'm not. 00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:47.259 Neither am I trying to oversimplify something that is genuinely profound. 00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:53.420 But I wonder whether perhaps we sometimes trip up over this idea 00:06:53.420 --> 00:07:00.780 of understanding the Trinity in mathematical terms as Father plus Son plus Spirit, 00:07:01.100 --> 00:07:02.140 in terms of additions. 00:07:04.340 --> 00:07:10.740 You see, if we were going to use abstract thought at all to understand the nature of God, 00:07:10.780 --> 00:07:15.460 it would make far more sense, rather than using the language of additions, 00:07:17.139 --> 00:07:20.379 if we're going to use a mathematical term, let's use multiplication. 00:07:20.379 --> 00:07:21.379 Why? 00:07:22.420 --> 00:07:25.740 Because when we see Father, Son and Spirit presented in Scripture, 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:30.240 we see them presented not as those that exist in addition to one another, 00:07:30.639 --> 00:07:35.000 but rather that coexist in such a way that magnify one another. 00:07:37.180 --> 00:07:43.939 Jesus, the Son, points to the God, magnifies, points to the Father, magnifies the Father. 00:07:44.180 --> 00:07:45.740 Says, here he is, come and know him. 00:07:45.740 --> 00:07:50.960 The Father says, by his Spirit as a Spirit comes upon Jesus at his baptism, 00:07:51.079 --> 00:07:53.420 this is my Son with whom I am well pleased. 00:07:53.660 --> 00:07:55.060 Each magnifies the other. 00:07:55.340 --> 00:07:59.740 If we're going to talk maths at all, multiplication makes sense. 00:08:00.019 --> 00:08:02.379 It's not Father plus Son plus Spirit. 00:08:02.660 --> 00:08:05.379 It's Father times the Son times the Spirit. 00:08:05.560 --> 00:08:06.519 And it goes on and on. 00:08:06.840 --> 00:08:11.819 Father times Son times Spirit times Father times Son times Spirit times Father times Son times Spirit. 00:08:11.900 --> 00:08:12.420 Are you with me? 00:08:12.420 --> 00:08:19.879 One times one times one is one. 00:08:23.879 --> 00:08:29.900 In classic theology, the word that's used to describe all of this stuff is perichoresis. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:32.100 Of course it is, you say. 00:08:33.740 --> 00:08:40.159 Perichoresis, when you break that word down, it means literally circle, peri, dance. 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:47.799 And theologians use that word to describe how God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:52.679 who live as one and bring glory to one another, 00:08:53.559 --> 00:08:57.319 live in a dynamic relationship with one another. 00:08:57.539 --> 00:08:59.039 Imagine that image of a dance. 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:02.059 It's been used in art, Christian art, for centuries. 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:08.639 So when we think of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, God the Spirit, 00:09:09.699 --> 00:09:13.799 we think of this circle, this relationship. 00:09:14.379 --> 00:09:16.000 But it's not a closed one. 00:09:20.079 --> 00:09:22.419 Because every time Jesus opens his mouth, 00:09:23.699 --> 00:09:26.439 he says words of invitation. 00:09:26.440 --> 00:09:28.260 Come. 00:09:29.500 --> 00:09:30.560 Come follow me. 00:09:31.560 --> 00:09:32.680 Come be with me. 00:09:34.260 --> 00:09:36.560 Come remain in me. 00:09:38.620 --> 00:09:43.040 So to bring this back to reality, or back to everyday life. 00:09:44.140 --> 00:09:47.700 When we talk about God as Father, God the Son, and God as Holy Spirit, 00:09:47.780 --> 00:09:52.620 it's not just some obscure piece of theological dogma that's gathering dust somewhere. 00:09:52.620 --> 00:09:55.580 Not if we understand it properly. 00:09:57.759 --> 00:10:02.600 God as Father, Son, and Spirit is a statement of who God is, 00:10:03.100 --> 00:10:06.060 as the open God, 00:10:06.460 --> 00:10:09.299 who causes us not just to believe in him, 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:11.740 but to actually partake in him. 00:10:12.899 --> 00:10:15.100 To be part of that Trinity. 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:18.820 To be in Christ. 00:10:18.820 --> 00:10:21.980 When you follow Jesus, 00:10:22.180 --> 00:10:24.360 you don't just believe stuff about God. 00:10:25.500 --> 00:10:27.040 When you follow Jesus, 00:10:28.700 --> 00:10:32.120 you become in Christ. 00:10:34.040 --> 00:10:37.680 You are part of the being of God. 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:40.480 For all our brokenness, 00:10:40.580 --> 00:10:44.560 for all our inhumanity, 00:10:44.940 --> 00:10:46.760 for all our sin and our destruction, 00:10:46.759 --> 00:10:49.080 God nevertheless in his grace, 00:10:49.840 --> 00:10:52.220 by the gift of Christ on the cross, 00:10:52.799 --> 00:10:54.939 opens up himself and says, 00:10:55.279 --> 00:10:57.819 come to me and be in me. 00:10:59.480 --> 00:11:03.299 To be in Christ. 00:11:05.860 --> 00:11:07.439 Remain in me. 00:11:08.500 --> 00:11:10.539 It's not just a once and for all thing. 00:11:10.860 --> 00:11:13.679 It's a call, an invitation for all eternity. 00:11:14.200 --> 00:11:15.939 To be in God. 00:11:15.940 --> 00:11:18.340 To be in Christ. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:24.720 Which means that you are known in a way by him 00:11:24.720 --> 00:11:26.700 that you can be known by nobody else. 00:11:27.260 --> 00:11:29.540 He knows you inside out and back to front, 00:11:29.740 --> 00:11:32.680 not only because he created you and sustains you, 00:11:32.940 --> 00:11:35.220 but because you are called to be in him. 00:11:37.900 --> 00:11:40.740 Which means there's nothing that you can go through or face 00:11:40.740 --> 00:11:43.360 that he doesn't already know about. 00:11:44.960 --> 00:11:45.980 Because you're in him. 00:11:48.279 --> 00:11:49.399 Where he goes, 00:11:50.100 --> 00:11:50.840 you go. 00:11:52.220 --> 00:11:53.180 Where you go, 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:55.139 you're held, 00:11:56.259 --> 00:11:57.259 remaining in him. 00:11:57.259 --> 00:12:00.860 But one last thought. 00:12:02.779 --> 00:12:04.720 When we hear that word remain, 00:12:05.799 --> 00:12:06.519 or abide, 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:08.879 as some translations of scripture would put it, 00:12:10.659 --> 00:12:15.559 we can kind of think of something that is static, 00:12:15.740 --> 00:12:16.220 as though, 00:12:16.639 --> 00:12:17.799 well, you're never going to go anywhere. 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:21.179 But you know the opposite is true. 00:12:22.399 --> 00:12:24.299 It means that wherever you go, 00:12:24.699 --> 00:12:25.839 wherever you go, 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:27.859 you remain rooted in him. 00:12:29.139 --> 00:12:30.199 Life changes. 00:12:31.399 --> 00:12:32.479 Circumstances change. 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:34.339 And we can face the future, 00:12:34.340 --> 00:12:36.660 and we can grip our hair into terror. 00:12:37.840 --> 00:12:40.460 Because we don't know what that future holds. 00:12:41.580 --> 00:12:42.060 Except 00:12:42.060 --> 00:12:45.139 that when we remain in him, 00:12:45.200 --> 00:12:46.700 and we are rooted in him, 00:12:47.480 --> 00:12:50.540 we can know precisely where we are. 00:12:53.680 --> 00:12:55.560 The ethicist John Kavanagh 00:12:55.560 --> 00:12:57.100 once sought out 00:12:57.100 --> 00:13:00.580 the advice of Mother Teresa, 00:13:00.580 --> 00:13:02.800 following the guidance 00:13:02.800 --> 00:13:04.700 for the rest of his life. 00:13:04.940 --> 00:13:06.400 He spent three months 00:13:06.400 --> 00:13:07.759 on a pilgrimage, 00:13:08.400 --> 00:13:09.660 going to see Mother Teresa, 00:13:09.940 --> 00:13:10.440 Calcutta. 00:13:12.940 --> 00:13:14.300 And towards the end 00:13:14.300 --> 00:13:15.660 of his time there, 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:18.840 Mother Teresa 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:20.080 apparently said to him, 00:13:20.580 --> 00:13:22.440 what can I do for you? 00:13:23.820 --> 00:13:24.580 And he said, 00:13:25.640 --> 00:13:28.000 I want you to pray. 00:13:28.940 --> 00:13:29.940 Would you pray 00:13:29.940 --> 00:13:31.500 that I may receive 00:13:31.500 --> 00:13:33.280 clarity for my future? 00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:38.440 Mother Teresa laughed at him. 00:13:39.600 --> 00:13:40.480 Said, no. 00:13:41.320 --> 00:13:42.320 I will not. 00:13:43.660 --> 00:13:45.600 Clarity is the last thing 00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:46.880 you are clinging to, 00:13:47.040 --> 00:13:48.480 and you must let go of it. 00:13:51.540 --> 00:13:52.380 John Kavanagh 00:13:52.380 --> 00:13:53.600 was rather taken aback. 00:13:55.400 --> 00:13:56.440 And he replied, 00:13:56.580 --> 00:13:58.520 but you always seem so clear 00:13:58.519 --> 00:13:59.799 about what you do. 00:14:02.539 --> 00:14:03.600 Mother Teresa 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:04.319 replied, 00:14:06.319 --> 00:14:07.799 I have never had 00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:08.720 any clarity 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:09.319 whatsoever. 00:14:12.199 --> 00:14:13.879 What I have is trust. 00:14:15.879 --> 00:14:17.259 So I will pray 00:14:17.259 --> 00:14:20.000 that you will trust Jesus. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:26.059 we are called 00:14:26.059 --> 00:14:28.580 to remain in him, 00:14:29.379 --> 00:14:31.960 to know that whatever else 00:14:31.960 --> 00:14:33.179 life may bring our way, 00:14:33.940 --> 00:14:35.799 we are rooted in him, 00:14:35.940 --> 00:14:36.919 held in him, 00:14:37.919 --> 00:14:39.679 and nothing can ever 00:14:39.679 --> 00:14:40.480 take that away. 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:43.860 May we trust that that is so. 00:14:43.860 --> 00:14:46.120 Let's pray together. 00:14:53.960 --> 00:14:54.480 Lord, 00:14:54.840 --> 00:14:55.639 living Lord, 00:14:55.800 --> 00:14:56.700 thank you 00:14:56.700 --> 00:14:58.300 that you call us 00:14:58.300 --> 00:14:59.560 not only to know 00:14:59.560 --> 00:15:00.500 about you, 00:15:01.740 --> 00:15:02.600 and not even just 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:03.500 to know you, 00:15:04.139 --> 00:15:05.120 but to know 00:15:05.120 --> 00:15:06.639 that when we are 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:07.080 forgiven, 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:10.159 we are in you, 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:12.700 held in you, 00:15:12.700 --> 00:15:15.300 so Lord, 00:15:15.379 --> 00:15:16.200 help us 00:15:16.200 --> 00:15:18.300 in our everyday lives 00:15:18.300 --> 00:15:19.379 to remember that 00:15:19.379 --> 00:15:21.020 by day 00:15:21.020 --> 00:15:22.060 and by night, 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:26.900 that we are in you. 00:15:31.700 --> 00:15:33.400 Give us that peace, 00:15:34.680 --> 00:15:35.759 give us that 00:15:35.759 --> 00:15:36.980 reassurance 00:15:36.980 --> 00:15:40.740 that can only come 00:15:40.740 --> 00:15:41.740 from that knowledge. 00:15:45.060 --> 00:15:45.899 Thank you. 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:49.100 In Jesus' name. 00:15:50.899 --> 00:15:51.299 Amen. 00:15:51.299 --> 00:15:51.440 Amen.