A brief reflection on Divine Love

A Reflection offered as part of an act of contemplative worship at St. Martin in Roath, Cardiff, 15th October 2017. The first in a series of six across this academic year. 

Divine Love

I’m offering a short reflection this evening, not a homily, simply a couple of vignettes to ponder concerning our theme of Divine Love. My thoughts are far from exhaustive or conclusive but hopefully they are helpful in taking us a little deeper.

But before I do, just a few words about this evening’s worship.

This evening’s act of worship is formed around beautiful music, spoken words and silence, all of which speak to our theme in different ways. It deliberately does not ask too much of us who gather but hopefully offers us plenty. It is aimed at creating space, a pause, an opportunity, for stillness and awareness and contemplation. 

There is a story about St. Augustine of Hippo: "St. Augustine was a great philosopher and theologian who wanted so much to understand the doctrine of the Trinity and to be able to explain it logically. One day as he was walking along the seashore and reflecting on this, he suddenly saw a little child all alone on the shore. The child made a hole in the sand, ran to the sea with a little cup, filled her cup, came and poured it into the hole she had made in the sand. Back and forth she went to the sea, filled her cup and came and poured it into the hole. St. Augustine went up to her and said, "Little child, what are doing?" and she replied, "I am trying to empty the sea into this hole." "How do you think," Augustine asked her, "that you can empty this immense sea into this tiny hole and with this tiny cup?" To which she replied, " And you, how do you suppose that with this your small head you can comprehend the immensity of God?" With that the child disappeared."

You might wonder why I start with a story about the Trinity? St. John Paul II said that in God’s deepest being there is relationship. For the Christian contemplating divine love means contemplating the Trinity.

The mathematical physicist and priest, John Polkinghorne, reflecting theologically on emergence* and quantum entanglement* (*briefly explain) has this to say “The interconnected integrity of the physical universe can be understood theologically as reflecting the status of the world of divine creation whose intrinsic relationality has been conferred on it through it’s origin in the will of the triune God.” 

To put it simply, there is an analogy between creator and creation. Here we see a resonance between physics and the insights of St. Thomas Aquinas.

The holy grail of physics is a Theory of Everything. For the Christian the true ‘Theory of Everything’ is the Trinity. 

Love is found in relationship, and the fundamental relationship is God. To come back to St. Augustine, one of his analogies of the life of the Trinity is that of the Lover, the Beloved and the Love that flows between them.

We have moved from divine love to the divine Trinity, from the divine relationality to the relationality of the created order, that of the cosmos itself. 

But what about us? What about at the human level?

As our Scripture reading says, “God is love, and those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.” If we have tasted something of true love then we have glimpsed something of God.

But Divine Love also has a human face.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” 

In Christ Jesus we see the human face of God and the human face of divine love. He reveals God to us and with us.  He invites us into relationship with him and through him with the Holy and Undivided Trinity. 

“It is love alone that gives worth to all things” St. Theresa of Avila

Amen.

Homily

Welcome Mass for Fr Phelim O'Hare (Annette, Fiacra & Owen)

Readings: Deuteronomy 8:7-16 ; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 and John 6:51-58

My text: v51 'I AM the living bread' 
ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος ὁ ζῶν

In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

As intro talk about season 1, episode 6 of 'Rev' called 'Is the answer Jesus, Sir?'

Assembly with Fr Adam. Question, who brought down the 10 commandments? Answers: Was it baby Jesus? No. Hand up - 'Isn't the answer always Jesus, Sir?' 

(Jokingly) now for those who know the series you'll be pleased to know I'm not making any comparison between Fr Adam and Fr Phelim. Etc.

Tonight as we gather for our Eucharist to celebrate the feast of Corpus Christi (The Thanksgiving for the institution of the Holy Communion) and to welcome a new parish priest. I trust that as we are gathered here, we can all have confidence that the answer we are seeking is most definitely JESUS, THE LIVING BREAD.

The central focal point of faith experience for many Christians is Holy Communion. In the Eucharist, unity with God becomes palpable, tangible. Through Holy Communion, we understand the type of God we worship, a God of self-giving and a God of relationship. We see this throughout our Scripture readings. And we called to respond in faith and thanksgiving, with the basic Christian disposition of gratitude, of the recognition of God's gift of God's very self. I AM the living bread. (cf. Moses & the burning bush. Who do I say has sent me? Say to them I AM has sent me to you.) The self disclosure of God, in the burning bush, in Jesus and in the Eucharist.

Eucharist - Eucharistia - THANKSGIVING is at the heart of what we are doing this evening.  The life, death, resurrection and ascension of our Lord is given thanks for, commemorated, made present to us, in the Eucharistic prayer. His body broken for us, powerfully links the Eucharist with the Cross. In HIS brokenness on the cross, OUR brokenness, our sin, is taken upon him and is transformed and healed. 

The One who came down from heaven for "us and our salvation" as we say in the creed, who died and rose again, and ascended to the right hand of the Father, also pours out his risen and ascended life in bread and wine that become His body and blood, OUR sacramental food, for US His body on earth, the Church, to feed and nourish us on our earthly pilgrimage. To form us in worship, in witness and in service to the World. 

Along with our thanksgiving this evening for such a great and precious gift as the Holy Eucharist, so we are also giving thanks for our new parish priest AND his family.

As Anglican Christians we believe that Christ has ordered his Church with the bishops as the successors of the Apostles. With them are their presbyters who share in the apostolic ministry of preaching the pure word of God and celebrating the sacraments of the new covenant, supremely seen in celebrating the Holy Eucharist. Fr Phelim comes among you to do this, to serve, to encourage, to bless and to enable the life of God's people in this parish.

He and his family bring their charisms with them and will share in the life and witness of the church in the place.  (Talk briefly about the family) I pray that you will nurture them too. 

Why do we offer thanks for all this? For the Eucharist, for our new parish priest and his family? Because I trust, that we know that JESUS is the answer, the answer to the deepest longings of our humanity. That we know and trust that Jesus is the "icon of the invisible God" who comes to us this night as the "living bread" of the Eucharist. 

In this, as in every Eucharist, let us be drawn into the very life and communion of the Triune God whom we worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

AMEN.