A fortnight ago, I spoke of the faith that overcomes adversity. In the great battle between David and Goliath, the seemingly defeated David won, because he realised that he had God on his side. Last week, we heard of a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years who put faith into action when she reached out to touch Jesus - AND WAS HEALED.

Today, I would like to continue these thought on Faith picking up from the Gospel, Mark's commentary on Jesus experience in Nazareth. "And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief."

It appears from my reading of this text that in spite of his divinity, Jesus was unable to act because the onlookers had no faith in him. Here is Jesus, who could in Capernaum, raise a child from the dead and restore a longsuffering woman to full health. Yet here there was little he could do. No power and the only difference, is that the crowd did not believe in him.

It seems then that faith is the essential ingredient when it comes to God acting in our world. The faith of the onlooker will influence the outcome. No faith - No deeds of power. Have you thought about what it is that this says to us about God. Although God is all-powerful, he has chosen to work within the limitations of human frailty. Although it is not now recommended, perhaps many of you learnt to drive a tractor sitting on your father's knee Your hands on the wheel not even notice that your father had control. He would let you steer - indeed you had the power under his watchful eye. And our Father in Heaven does that with us. His work is done with our cooperation. Although he has the power, He is giving that to us in the way that he requires our cooperation. Like the tremendous boost that gave us as children, so it is that we are part of the process.

So implicit in all this is the sense, that the church has a purpose in all these things. We have set before us ministry and it is our role, responsibility and calling to do it.

But of more import is the importance of faith. Were I to ask you, "can you recount God miraculously acting in your life or in the life of those close to you?" What would your answer be? Now I am not talking about the testimonies of others that we find in books, I am talking about where we are today. When were you last involved in a miracle? For most of us this is not an expectation. And perhaps this is why we find ourselves feeling defeated.

How can I explain this?

I have a strong belief that we are not able to do all that we should be doing for God, because we have weak or non-existent faith. (And I am talking about the church at the diocesan level as much as here in this place). For some reason, Anglicans seem to have lost that essential ingredient - Faith. The lady who was bleeding believe that she could be healed and she was, and in Nazareth, they could not believe in Jesus the was no miraculous demonstration.

But my criticism is not of the Parish but of the clergy who have led us over the years. How many can you remember who spoke of the miraculous as the normal event for the church? How many can you recall that have sought to act by faith and not prudence? How many have worked in the currency of faith and showed others how to recognise it? In my own case, I am sorry to say, not many.

But faith is the essential ingredient in our work together for God. And don't get me wrong, it is not that we really have a lack of faith here, but more often than not we don't recognise it as faith. We are a miracle. This parish should not exist. The numbers do not add up, but we, you and I, believe in this parish and so it remains because of our faith. Yes there is the hard work, but there is the faith as well. If you like our existence is proof of God acting out our faith. But do we carry this through? As we move towards the Annual General Meeting - to the pastoral review of this parish and our planning for next year; are we looking with the eyes of Faith?

Now I not talking about building a thousand-seat auditorium but is what we are expecting in the future based on our understanding of what we can achieve, or on our understanding of what it is that God would have us do? We may spend time looking at the Balance Sheet or the Service Numbers, but are we spending time with God, seeking his will as individuals and together.

The end of my first two years with you is just about up. Some commentators refer to this as the honeymoon period for there is a certain gentleness about it but now we move on, and I would like to give you fair warning, that I intend to ask a lot of you in the years ahead. I would like you to see your faith stretched by what we do together. I would like you to learn with me what it means to act on faith and witness the miracles. Perhaps better put, I would like us together to recognise God's miraculous acts in and amongst us.

This passage asks us the fundamental question - are we building God's work in this place or are we holding it back through a lack of faith?

Are you prepared to take that risk of faith and see God act? Let us urge each other to continue on in our faith and may prayers be answered and our God be glorified.

Is this Nazareth or Capernaum?