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Acts 7: 55-end; 1 Peter 2: 2-10; John 14: 1-14.

The other day I had a Breakthrough moment!  No, not a senior moment, but a breakthrough moment.

You see last Sunday I was showing Fr Chrisoph, the Dean of Rouen, and his sister around the Cathedral. In the corridor leading to the Library we came upon the ancient print of London showing a comparatively small city of London with the very dominant Old St. Paul’s Cathedral and the splendid spire.  The discovery, my breakthrough moment, was that the equally dominant spire at Rouen is incredibly like that of Old St. Paul’s.  Had an angel transferred the spire, I thought, rather like the event described in the legend of Our Lady flying with the home at Nazareth to Loreto Italy: to set it gazing across the Adriatic at Croatia!  Perhaps not: the dates of the buildings don’t match.  And yet God does act in a mysterious Way with Truth and Life: hence many breakthrough moments occur!

When Jesus spoke of the way, truth and life he was trying to breakthrough to his disciples. It was no wonder folk asked questions? Thomas asked for information – “How can we know this way?” Philip needed even more, he wanted an experience – “Show us the Father then we’re satisfied” Well the mysterious God is an organisational God of way, truth and life.  And we who are created and configured by God are structured folk: and like some kind of order to things.  We organise and are organised: and this witnesses to something of the image of God in us.

Many have seen God’s organisation of things as a three tyre system: above, with angels and archangels, (heaven); below with Satan (hell); and ourselves trapped in the middle.  God organising a sandwich!  Of course the Jewish people thought it was even more complex with pillars holding earth up and above the waters of the firmament.  But it was still a belief in a God who organises things: with a high J on the Myers-Briggs personality indicator. With this organisation of creation God has enabled freedom and therefore incredible variety: including humanity; within humanity amongst others prophets and kingly leaders; a people for “his own possession”; and a Messiah-Son forming a new covenant and an organisation, the church. 

Down the centuries people have written music, poetry, hymns or painted to express God’s organisation of creation and celestial hierarchy.  Various religious groups considering themselves God’s elect, or is that select, claiming to know the exact, perfect form of organisation, a heaven on earth.  So they set up predestination communities, often complete with buildings, here on earth all ready for heaven.  In Gorton Square you will come across the church of Christ the King, once the church of such a group, the Catholic Apostolic Church: organised complete with throne for Christ on the last day.⁽¹⁾ 

As people creative and structurally orientated we shouldn’t deny the mystery of God.  God has and is continuing to make it possible for creative individuals to create. Breakthrough moments are occurring all the time!  Every minute we are discovering more the wonder of God’s creation and organisation: from the atom quantum physics, micro biology, to Joe Bloggs cleaning our streets and pop star Leoni singing to us! I must admit being rather delighted at one discovery by my namesake, the astrophysicist Michael Hart.  In 1978 he pointed out that the earth would be uninhabitable had it been 1% further or 5% nearer the sun. ⁽²⁾.  I’m sure St. Thomas Aquinas rejoiced over that for it was in tune with his argument the organisation of creation is proof of the existence of God: the mysterious and great God.  In the organisation of things the Incarnation proclaims that design is not heaven/ or earth but rather a both/and coming out of God’s Love.  For the birth of Jesus for us is about relationship, union and life with God. YES indeed God’s Breakthrough is Love..

Philip and others grew in their experience of Jesus through his resurrection for it revealed even more the Breakthrough of Divine Love. The information Thomas wanted was about the future, and indeed Jesus revealed divine hospitality and love when he spoke, as we heard in our gospel, John 14,of prepared places, and “many dwellings”.  So we find Augustine and other saints believed in an organisational God with building plans for the future of everyone. 

We can play with and development ideas about the meaning of “many rooms”. Perhaps there are four dwelling places – named after  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.  Or even like some convent and retreat houses: Our Lady of Fatima room; our lady of….  Or like my retreat last week: I was in a room named after St. Columba – but thankfully warmer than Iona! Perhaps God names rooms in relation to peoples Liturgical preferences: Room I: Latin Mass; Room 2 Fresh Expressions Worship; Room 3 “ haven’t got a clue about liturgy”; Room 4 “don’t want to have a clue about liturgy”.  We could go on pondering the rooms as allocations for different Faith Communities; Denominations; or age groups^(3).

Anyhow, the Way, Truth and Life God, the God of “many dwelling places”, seems to be well organised!  All Grand Design by God

Well our human organisation of things for example by our designer -architects seems to have moved from form follows function to consideration of eco friendly and self-energising design.  This is because of the importance of stewardship of creation and to help reduce the Carbon footprint.  Indeed this is a breakthrough time!

Stewardship is perhaps an old word: I think partnership is much better: for it emphasises both parties are involved.

Christians recognise God the Son came to be in partnership with us and that he wanted to draw us into even greater partnership with God. Human organisations like the Rochdale Pioneers, later the Co-op movement discovered the importance of partnerships.  The John Lewis partnership practices profit sharing with its partner-employees and customers.  This is about shared work and shared benefit.

As we reflect on God’s Grand Design we cannot ignore that the initiative is his: that we participate through the gifts and graces given to us; that we are indeed partners in God’s Mission and receive the benefits from that both now and for our future brothers and sisters.  It is what Paul’s doctrine of the Body of Christ is about. In affirming this to be true there is breakthrough and we have moved on in the Christian life. It is not so we can be all “heavenly”, but that we can incarnate God’s life, way and truth on earth.   YES indeed God’s Breakthrough is Love.

What then of commitment to this Divine partnership?   It is no use reiterating our baptismal promises or saying “WE believe” unless the importance of “we” in partnerships is recognised. It is no use us sharing the Peace if we keep it to a handshake!  The Peace of Christ is a sign of commitment for partnerships with one another and with God’s organisation for peace, love and hope.  It calls for putting our all into this divine organisation: and the church is sacramental sign of that.

In the Gospel today in answer to the questions Jesus in despair shows himself in a kind of “Site Manager” mode calling for a response “because of the work” if for no other reason.  Certainly we should be inspired by the sheer amount of Christian work that has and does go on.  At our Annual Parochial Meeting after this Eucharist we will more about that work and partnership-life here.  But I really do believe Stephen our first of many Christian martyrs shames the Church of today.  For what cost was he prepared to pay for partnership with his Lord Jesus! – Death by stoning – before Saul and others who inflicted that on him.  We are not likely to be asked to go that far.  But it took some time before a breakthrough came to Saul - and changed him to Paul, partner in the gospel and saint of the church.

I was reflecting on “partnership as commitment” – when another Breakthrough thing came this last week.  By the way, don’t do on a retreat unless you are prepared for some breakdown moments before the breakthrough ones.  Breakdown of self can call for greater commitment. It was when I realised that the 94-year-old Sister Margaret Clare who died just over a year ago had been a Professed Nun for 64 years!  That’s a partnership commitment to God and his church of a single, celibate woman for far longer than many a marriage!

Sometimes it is years before a Breakthrough happens – to move from saying “ nature is my God” to kneeling for half an hour before the shrine of St. Francis of Assisi took some time for the 77year old Mikhail Gorbachev ⁽⁴⁾)  But then the Relationship with God moves us into living partnerships for Mission: and he gifts us to get on with it.  So old Gorby. not only prays, he seeks to helps children who have cancer. YES indeed God’s Breakthrough in Love. A Very Grand Design by God.

There is however a Breakthrough cry: “Lord, Jesus, receive my Spirit”. It is not only the cry of a dying St. Stephen, it is the cry of the person who has entered their own inner dwelling, through prayer, and come to see the dwelling of heaven ⁽⁵⁾ It is the daily prayer of someone in partnership with God:  “Lord, Jesus, receive my Spirit.   Receive my all.”  This is partnership through a way, truth and life Jesus shares with the Father and extends to us. It does not come from my design nor my achievement but rather for God’s breakthrough of Love  It does mean breaking out of un-Christian responses, often status quo responses, and being moved by God’s generosity of love.  So we don’t just give what we can, what is possible, but give of our all.  So we think big: think and live generously.

      For the place for me is in partnership with God
      breaking through as part of his GRAND DESIGN.
      A Very, very Grand Design of Love that includes all.

………………………………………………………………………………

(1)   The Catholic Apostolic Church (sometimes called the 'Irvingites')
(2)   Bill Bryson “ Short History of Nearly Everything” p 304.
(3)   There is the story of the person trying to organise an InterFaith
       event with Pagans and Conservative Christians who decided
       to have adjoining rooms with an open door between so
       conversation was notionally possible.
       Gordon Lynch “The New Spirituality” p 35
(4)   Mikhail Gorbachev former Russian leader in Assisi
       Report in 19/03/2008 Telegraph.  
(5)   “Strive to enter within your inner chamber and you will see the
       chamber of heaven” St.Isaac of Ninevah  (Writings from “The
       Philokalia on the Prayer of the Heart”. Translated by E.
       Kadlovbovsky and G.E. Palmer.  P 220)

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