Sermon for Sunday 12th October 2014.
Who are the People of God?
Matthew 22: 1-14
St. Chad’s is entering what is often called in business-speak a ‘challenging time’. I occasionally hear senior clergy refer to an interregnum as a time for opportunity. However we like to think about it, the fact remains that an interregnum is always difficult for a church. Something of the identity of the church leaves with the outgoing Vicar, especially when the Vicar is someone as much loved and respected as Edwina, and the church will remain in a sort of limbo until a new incumbent is appointed and they have settled in enough to start to draw together the strands of identity and the church can start to move forward again. I think of it being something like an aeroplane approaching a runway and being asked to circle round until it’s safe to land. St. Chad’s is currently in a sort of ‘holding pattern’.
It’s at times like these that churches need to keep a very important question at the forefront of everything they do: What does it mean to be the People of God? More specifically, we might ask ‘what does it mean to be the People of God in this place?’
Over the past few weeks we have heard sections of an on-going discussion between Jesus and the Temple Authorities, the Pharisees and the Scribes. Jesus has told a number of parables, beginning with the Parable of the Two Sons, then the Parable of the Bad Tenants, and today we heard the Parable of the King and the Wedding Feast. All of these parables have a common theme, that of identity. Each of them address the question of what does it mean to be the People of God?
The Temple Authorities think they know the answer. They are the People of God, by virtue of their birth, by virtue of their education and authority, by virtue of their ‘holiness’. But the point Jesus is making is that these are not the criteria that God uses to decide who the People of God are. Is has nothing to do with who your parents are, or the colour of your skin, or how much money you have, or even whether you go to church every Sunday and say all the right words. There is a very different set of criteria that God’s wants to see.
The clue to what these things might be can be found in the other readings set for today. In Isaiah we hear that God is “… a refuge to the poor, a refuge to the needy in their distress, a shelter from the rainstorm and a shade from the heat” (Is. 25:4). This is what God intends the Church to be, somewhere where people can find refuge from the troubles of their lives. As the austerity measures look set to get worse, it can easy for people to feel unwanted, useless and despised. The Church should be a place where people wanted and loved.
We also hear a clue in St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians. He says this, “Whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things” (Phil. 4:8). The People of God are the ones who strive towards these values.
The purpose of the Church is to proclaim the Gospel in our wider communities, and to show these values of love and truth to everyone we meet. By doing this we prove ourselves to be the People of God. But we cannot do that if we are not living these values within the church, between us here and now.
It is too easy for us to break down into little groups, each with their own agenda, and form sides against one another. We cannot give into that kind of fear, because then the worldly pressures of life will draw us away from the invitation of God to share in the Kingdom and become the People of God. Jean Vanier once said that at the heart of everyone is a deep, dark pit of vulnerability. And this pit is guarded by a dragon. It needs to be – we have to protect ourselves from pain and hurt. But sometimes that protective instinct becomes too strong, and it guards even against love. A friend of mine often fosters rescue cats. She had one that been so traumatised that it could not bear to be touched, even the loving touch of a stroke or cuddle. The inner pain of the cat was so much that it rejected even love.
We, as a church, cannot give in to fear. We must recognise the vulnerability in ourselves and in others, without becoming so guarded that we become antagonistic towards each other. Change is upon us, and we will better equipped to face it if we support each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. St. Paul urges Euodia and Syntyche to be “of same mind in the Lord” (Phil. 4:2). Paul recognises that disagreements in a church are inevitable, and can be constructive. But they must always hold Christ at the centre, for He is our true unity.
One final thing: Don’t worry about what other churches are doing. It doesn’t matter how St. John’s or Holy Trinity, or St. Peter’s do things – we have been called to be the People of God in this place, and we must discern what God is calling us to do here. My hope is that people will talk of this place as “St.Chad’s, on Hollyfield Road, the place where the love of God richly dwells”. But they will only say that if we start to live it hear, within this congregation. I think it was St. Polycarp, an early Christian martyr, who was asked just before his execution why he had converted to Christianity. He said simply, “Because they love one another”.
It was the witness of a loving community that drew people to the early church. What might that do for us if people think of St. Chad’s on Hollyfield Road, the place where the love of God richly dwells?
That is might hope for this place over the coming months. Who is with me?
Rev’d Phil Morton.