Lossiemouth Church of Scotland

This is Rev. Geoff McKee’s sermon for the eleventh Sunday after Pentecost – 05 August 2018.  Click here if you would like to download a PDF version of it.

Ephesians 4:1-16 (New International Version)

Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ
4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

7 But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. 8 This is why it says:

“When he ascended on high,
he took many captives
and gave gifts to his people.”

9 (What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? 10 He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

The pyramids of the Giza Plateau are possibly the most famous structures in the world.

The pyramids had great social meaning when they were built. Much more than just royal tombs, they represented the dignity and power of kings. So building a pyramid was a national project involving the entire country. Every household in Egypt sent workers, grain, and food to contribute to this project, which enabled the king to become a god in the afterlife.

The final step in the building program was to place a capstone encased in gold on top of the pyramid. The capstone signified that the monumental project was finally finished, and it was a time for dancing and singing as the entire nation celebrated completion of the national project.

In this sense, it was the pyramids that built Egypt rather than the other way around. The pyramids unified the nation in the service of one great and monumental achievement.

In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn’t.

“What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?” asks Linus.

“These five fingers,” says Lucy. “Individually they’re nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold.”

“Which channel do you want?” asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, “Why can’t you guys get organised like that?”

Two very different illustrations of the power and impact of unity. [Read more…]

All good sermons are prayers. Rev. Geoff McKee’s scripture for 29 July 2018 is Ephesians 3:14-21, which is headed ‘A Prayer for the Ephesians’. In a wide-ranging discussion, from Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs, to CS Lewis’s reflections on the nature of prayer and the Jesus’ story of the Prodigal Son, Geoff explains why the Gospel is for everyone and why there can be no us and them in God’s family.

You can download a PDF version of the sermon by clicking here.

Ephesians 3:14-21 (New International Version)

A Prayer for the Ephesians
14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Our Bible reading in Ephesians today takes us to the heart of Paul’s sermon to the Ephesians.

For that is surely what it is.

All good sermons are prayers.

There is the implicit recognition in the preacher’s words that all is offered to God on behalf of the people.

Here we have a beautiful offering from the apostle Paul.

The text begins with the words “for this reason” and, as the lectionary has omitted the previous verses, we would be quite right to ask the question – for what reason?

For what reason does Paul bow before his heavenly Father?

Well, looking back at the earlier chapters, we learn that the great mystery that God was now revealing related to the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s plan of salvation.

And their inclusion was on exactly the same basis as the Jews – the undeserved love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.

The Gentiles were not admitted to God’s family via the back door.

Theirs is not a second class citizenship but, instead, they are welcomed as brothers and sisters, for this is the family of God.

Paul began the text this week with, “for this reason I bow my knees before the Father (pater), from who every family (patria) in heaven and on earth takes its name.”

The word ‘patria’ is rare in the New Testament. Normally, it means tribe or lineage but, here, it has the extended sense of family. All descended, so to speak, from the Father.

And so Paul will argue strongly, as he expands his thinking through Ephesians, that there cannot be two families of the one God.

There is only one family and so do not try to segregate or discriminate. If you do that you will tell the world a lie about the nature of your God, who is one.

There is no ‘us’ and ‘them’ in God’s family.

This was the mystery that is now being revealed to the world and it has life changing implications for all who are willing to take it seriously. [Read more…]

Rev. Geoff McKee’s scripture for 08 July 2018 is 2 Corinthians 12:2-10 in which the apostle, Paul, sets out one of the greatest challenges in Christian living – how we reveal Christ’s power through our personal weakness rather than (necessarily) by asserting ourselves.

You can download a PDF version of the sermon by clicking here.

2 Corinthians 12:2-10 (New International Version)
2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. 5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

There were a good number of commissioners who spoke at this year’s General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh.

After attending a number of General Assemblies, you get used to the pattern and dynamic of debate. For example, you become aware that whenever a former Moderator of the General Assembly speaks in favour of a motion it is very likely that motion will be passed.

Former Moderators carry significant clout and the fact that they are invited to every General Assembly makes them a force to be reckoned with. Also you will frequently witness the same people speaking regularly while the vast majority stay in their seats. So, when someone rises to speak who has not been heard before, it is usually because the individual has something to share that has been brewing within them for some time. And that kind of contribution can often bring an honesty to a debate that would otherwise lack soul.

This happened at the recent Assembly for me when a minister of long standing rose to share his sense of insecurity, bewilderment and angst over his perceived expectations of the function of parish ministry.

• Was he expected to be an executive manager of a charitable trust?
• Was he expected to dream-up and initiate all sorts of social care programmes that would justify his church’s role in the local community?
• What did it mean to be a minister of Word and Sacrament in all of this; the very thing to which he believed he was originally called to be, but is now not understood or valued?

I felt for him – as, I would imagine, did most other ordained ministers in the Assembly Hall – and I somehow think that the apostle Paul would have felt for him too.

You see, Paul, in this perplexing little passage, was challenging the boasts of the so-called ‘super-apostles’.

With reference to their extraordinary experiences, these super-apostles were suggesting that the Corinthian church should be heeding them and not the impostor, Paul.

Paul’s call and function and usefulness for the church in Corinth was being called into question.

How was Paul going to be able to bring something new to the table to justify his existence?

So he told them that he knew someone who, fourteen years ago, had an incredible ecstatic experience that revealed supernatural wonders. He almost lets slip that the individual in question is, in fact, himself! He goes into no real detail about the incredible experience even though, in all likelihood, he was the one involved. [Read more…]