Bregeth Bach (1 October 2017)

I have said before that I am a fan of the Apostle Paul and his writings.  In a previous life, I loved teaching his letters to my students and getting them to look at and behind his writings. We never stop to think really that we are reading out loud someone else’s correspondence.

Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi is a joyful one. Even though Paul writes from prison in Rome, the letter is seasoned with joy.

The part of the letter we have heard read is from an early Christian song. From the words ‘Christ Jesus’ to ‘to the glory of God the Father’ we probably have one of the earliest Christian hymns.

Dw i’n wedi dweud o'r blaen fy mod yn gefnogwr o'r Apostol Paul a'i ysgrifau. Mewn bywyd blaenorol, dw i’n wedi wrth fy modd yn dysgu ei lythyrau at fy myfyriwr ac yn eu hannog i edrych arno ac y tu ôl i'w ysgrifau. Nid ydym byth yn rhoi'r gorau i feddwl yn wir ein bod yn darllen gohebiaeth rhywun arall yn uchel.

Mae llythuyr Paul i'r eglwys yn Philippi yn llawenydd. Er bod Paul yn ysgrifennu o'r carchar yn Rhufain, mae'r llythyr yn dipyn o lawenydd.

Mae'r rhan o'r llythyr yr ydym wedi'i glywed yn darllen o gân Gristnogol gynnar. O'r geiriau 'Crist Iesu' i 'i ogoniant Duw y Tad' mae'n debyg bod gennym un o'r emyn Gristnogol cynharaf.

The setting of the song in Philippians is one where Paul is encouraging the early Christians to be Christ-like? For Paul, part of being Christ-like was to be in agreement with each other. We know from Paul’s other letters, agreement was not easy. There were many things that divided the early Christians, not least some were Jewish and some were Gentile. The earliest church was also bi-lingual. Yet Paul urges, pleads with them to agree: yna gwnewch fi'n wirioneddol hapus drwy rannu'r un agwedd meddwl, dangos cariad at eich gilydd, a bod yn un o ran ysbryd a phwrpas.

He then paints why he thinks they should put each other first, by reminding them from the hymn that perhaps they knew so well.

The hymn describes how Jesus became human: not demanding divine status, as he could have done. Some of Paul’s hearers would have been slaves. They knew what it meant to have no rights. Jesus chose not to exercise his.

The hymn continues not only does Jesus become human, but Jesus becomes a servant. The more accurate translation would be slave. New Testament theologians have often seen in this a reference to the fact that Jesus washed his friends’ feet during his last meal with them. Certainly washing his friends’ feet was the task of the slave not the master.

Arguments would be far easily settled in life if we followed the example of Jesus.

Mae gosod y gân yn Philippians yn un lle mae Paul yn annog Cristnogion cynnar i fod yn fel Crist? Ar gyfer Paul, roedd rhan o fod yn Grist-hoff i fod yn gytûn â'i gilydd. Gwyddom o lythyrau eraill Paul, nid oedd cytundeb yn hawdd. Roedd yna lawer o bethau a oedd yn gwahanu’r Cristnogion cynnar, roedd rhai yn Iddewig, a rhai eraill yn Gentiles. Roedd yr eglwys cynnar hefyd yn ddwyieithog. Eto mae Paul yn annog, yn pledio iddynt gytuno: yna gwnewch fi'n wirioneddol hapus trwy rannu'r un agwedd meddwl, dangos cariad at eich gilydd, a bod yn un o ran ysbryd a phwrpas.

Yna mae'n peintio pam ei fod yn meddwl y dylent roi ei gilydd yn gyntaf, trwy eu hatgoffa o'r emyn y gallent eu hadnabod mor dda.

Mae'r emyn yn disgrifio sut y daeth Iesu yn ddynol: nid oedd yn gofyn am statws dwyfol, fel y gallai fod wedi'i wneud. Byddai rhai o gynulleidfa Paul wedi bod yn gaethweision. Roeddent yn gwybod beth oedd yn golygu peidio â chael unrhyw hawliau. Dewisodd Iesu beidio â'i ymarfer.

Mae'r emyn yn parhau nid yn unig y mae Iesu yn dod yn ddynol, ond mae Iesu'n dod yn was. Y cyfieithiad mwy cywir fyddai caethweision. Yn aml mae diwinyddion y Testament Newydd wedi gweld yn y cyfeiriad hwn at y ffaith fod Iesu yn golchi traed ei ffrindiau yn ystod ei fwyd olaf gyda nhw. Yn sicr, golchi ei draed oedd dasg y caethwas nid y meistr.

Byddai dadleuon yn llawer hawdd eu setlo mewn bywyd pe baem yn dilyn enghraifft Iesu.

Paul reminds the early Christians that Jesus did not only become a slave, he died on the cross. There was a scandal about the cross that we have forgotten. The Messiah was not supposed to die. This was not how the story was to end. The story of what should happen is re-written in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Paul writes, hyd yn oed i farw – ie, drwy gael ei ddienyddio ar y groes. Whenever I hear or read those word, I hear the song ‘The Servant King’ by the hymn writer, Graham Kendrick. It contains the sentence ‘hands that flung stars into space to cruel nails surrendered’.

The hymn moves on, and so must we. God raises Jesus from the dead. Not only that. God also exalts Jesus. Not only that. God exalts Jesus over and above all things. I think my Welsh sounds a bit clumsy here. If it does, good. Paul’s Greek was clumsy. He was perhaps too excited to express what he wanted too clearly.

Although, my Welsh vocabulary expands each week. I often find myself unable to express what I want to say because I do not have the words. I imagine that is frustrating for you, although I hope you sympathise with me as you listen. I am trying to learn more each week.

That is the point of our faith. Words cannot contain it. It has to be lived out, which is why Paul encourages the Philippians to be more like Christ.

May we have the courage to be more like Jesus too. Amen.

Mae Paul yn atgoffa'r Cristnogion cynnar nad oedd Iesu yn dod yn gaethweision yn unig, bu farw ar y groes. Roedd yna sgandal am y groes yr ydym wedi'i anghofio. Nid oedd y Meseia i fod i farw. Nid dyna sut oedd y stori i fod i orffen. Mae hanes yr hyn ddylai ddigwydd yn cael ei ailysgrifennu ym mywyd, marwolaeth ac atgyfodiad Iesu Grist.

Mae Paul yn ysgrifennu, hyd yn oed i farw - hynny yw, trwy gael ei ddinistrio ar y groes. Pryd bynnag yr wyf yn clywed neu yn darllen y gair hynny, rwy'n clywed y gân 'The Servant King' gan yr awdur emynau, Graham Kendrick. Mae'n cynnwys y frawddeg 'dwylo'r sêr sy'n troi i'r gofod i hoelion creulon ildio'.

Mae'r emyn yn symud ymlaen, ac felly rhaid inni. Mae Duw yn codi Iesu oddi wrth y meirw. Nid yn unig hynny. Mae Duw hefyd yn ysgogi Iesu. Nid yn unig hynny. Mae Duw yn tynnu sylw at Iesu yn fwy na dim byd. Rwy'n credu bod fy nghymraeg yn swnio'n rhyfedd yma. Os yw'n gwneud, iawn. Roedd Paul Groeg yn anystwyth. Efallai ei fod yn rhy gyffrous i fynegi yr hyn yr oedd am ei eisiau yn rhy glir.

Er hynny, mae fy eirfa Gymreig yn ehangu bob wythnos. Yn aml, canfyddaf fy hun yn methu â mynegi yr hyn yr wyf am ei ddweud oherwydd nad oes gennyf y geiriau. Rwy'n dychmygu bod hynny'n rhwystredig i chi, er fy mod yn gobeithio eich bod yn cydymdeimlo â mi wrth i chi wrando. Rwy'n ceisio dysgu mwy bob wythnos.

Dyna yw pwynt ein ffydd. Ni all geiriau ei gynnwys. Mae'n rhaid ei fyw allan, a dyna pam mae Paul yn annog y Philipiaid i fod yn fwy tebyg i Grist.

Efallai bod gennym ni'r dewrder i fod yn fwy tebyg i Iesu hefyd. Amen.

First Sermon Bro Eleth

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I wonder what your expectations are this morning of this sermon? Is it one that is supposed to wow, challenge, disturb or encourage you? Is it supposed to set the tone? Am I supposed to impress? For, although this is not my first sermon here in this church, it is my first as the vicar of Bro Eleth. Ficer Bro Eleth dw i. that is a title that will take a little time for me to adjust to. I have had my nephews and niece staying with me this week. They sometimes when they want something call me ‘Rev Kev: super uncle’ and have composed the following ditty about me, which goes to the tune of Postman Pat

        

        Vicar Kev, vicar Kev, vicar Kev and his black and white dogs

Early in the morning, when Shaun is always snoring, he will always sing his favourite hymn

I hope I might always be a super uncle. I am not though a super Vicar. Like you, I am called to this place, and in this particular place on the northern edge of Anglesey will attempt to listen to God for myself and for you, but always with you. 

Listening to God is of course part of prayer. If you think prayer is difficult, then you are in good company. The Apostle Paul writes, ‘we do not know how to pray as we ought’. This should encourage, not least because Paul penned some of those most beautiful prayers in the New Testament. His experience though was that it was not always easy echoes ours. I don’t know yet what your prayer lives are like. Mine is shaky. I do want us to look at ways which we can create opportunity to pray. I am advocate for prayer. In part, I stand before you because I have prayed as I have heard God’s call to leave Bro Cybi, a place which I loved, to come to Bro Eleth, places and people that I am getting to know.

Sermons are bi-lingual, aren’t they? For at their best they try to interpret the Scriptures so that we might listen to what God is saying together. It is bi-lingual because we as human beings are attempting to hear the voice of the divine, and although we are made in the image of God, we are not ourselves, divine; which is quite fortunate in reality. The Scriptures were written down in particular languages, not I am afraid were in English or Welsh, but Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek and at a specific time. We therefore try to interpret together what the writers of the Scriptures might be saying to us today. Indeed being a bilingual community, we have much in common with the earliest Christian communities.

I would like you to have the reading sheet, and focus particularly on Paul’s letter to the Church at Rome. This morning, I am going to have a broad canvas rather than go into particular detail. I will at times do the latter.  

The first and blindingly obvious thing to note is that we are coming in half way through a letter to someone else. Therefore we need to be careful lest we jump to assumptions. The letters really were intended to be read as a whole, and would in all probability have been read aloud in one sitting.

The second is that Paul is a theologian, he is therefore someone who thinks deeply and attempts to communicate simply. Paul’s vocation was to make sense of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus to the people of his day, whether they were Jewish or not, rooted in the stories of God or not, indeed I might add whether they were interested or not.

I blog, tweet, do Facebook and the like, but I am not great at understanding how PCs work or the internet for that matter. It just works or it does not. Periodically, I press something, and it asks me whether I might like to reset something or change the normal templates. I usually resist such an urge.

For Paul, Jesus has reset how the world is and should be understood.

Paul has confidence in God.

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? ³² He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?

God must be for us, argues the Apostle, he was prepared to give up his Son for us. Paul draws us on another, that of the story of Abraham being prepared to sacrifice Isaac. Notwithstanding the fact that this is a problematic story, when we attune ourselves to the Scriptures we see that they interconnect. Paul connected the story of Jesus with the stories of the Hebrew Bible that had fashioned and shaped him. They came alive in new ways.

Some of us might be wondering what having an eccentric new vicar will be like. What being one Bro Eleth might mean. I trust and pray that in being together we might rediscover our stories of faith, indeed that we might rediscover that God loves us and is for us.

For Paul, the life, death and resurrection of Jesus give him unshakeable confidence in God.

He asks those he is writing to, who brings charges against them? The answer is no one. As Christians, we can sometimes feel guilty

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     There are too few of us

o   How can I share my faith?

o   I hope the new vicar is not going to suggest that.

-      How are we going to pay our way?

o   I don’t want to do another fundraising event

o   It is always the same people

-      What can we do to maintain our lovely buildings?

o   Our families have been here for generations

o   They are all that is left that speak of the community that was

Such things might seem relatively unimportant given that Paul asks us what separates us from the love of God.

Paul is convinced that God is for us and walks with us.

I have three hopes

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    That we will become a people of prayer

-      That we will become people who know the Scriptures

-      That we will become people with a story

It may be that we are all those things already.

Perhaps just a little fine tuning is needed.

I hope I have passed the audition and you will walk with me into the future that God has for us.

Let us pray.

(Please note it may be that an entirely different sermon will have been preached)