SERMON AT WILTSHIRE FREEMASONS’ ANNUAL CHURCH SERVICE AT ST. MARY THE VIRGIN PARISH CHURCH, CALNE WILTSHIRE – SUNDAY 16 OCTOBER 2022
Joshua
1:1-9; 1 Timothy 2:1-7
May I speak
in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and may my words be a blessing
to all who listen to them.
First of
all, a great big thank you to Revd Teresa, David Bevan lur organist and all those
connected with this wonderful church for once more allowing us to hold our
Annual Church Service here in this sacred and lovely space. Also, thank you all
for attending this annual event when gives us the opportunity to sing praises
to and worship our Christian God, reminding ourselves that to Him do we owe all
things and should at all times give him thanks and praise.
This year
has been a year of great change and challenge when many of our traditional ways
of thinking have been disrupted and changed for good. During the course of 2022 we have seen the world
order disrupted in Europe by the aggressive invasion of Ukraine by the Russian
Federation plunging Europe back into war the likes of which we haven’t seen in
eighty years, we have seen a change of Prime Minister and Cabinet following
upheaval in our own Government, a change in the monarchy after seventy dutiful years
and finally, and more locally, a change in our own Provincial Grand Master
after eight years. I am also sure that
during the course of this year there have also been many personal changes in
each of your lives – some for the better and others more a challenging.
I think the
one thing which we have all had to take on board over the last three years or
so is the need to adapt and change some of the things we do. We had to face suspension of our activities
during the Covid lockdowns and adapt our lives and ways of working accordingly,
which I think we did exceptionally well through the use of technology and by
maintaining frequent contact with each other. It was so heartening to see the manner
in which, despite the difficulties encountered, this Province continued to
survive and indeed flourish so that our numbers have remained buoyant and we
can now move forward with much optimism.
Our
scripture readings today were chosen with care to reflect upon the situation we
now find ourselves in.
The first
Old Testament reading comes from the beginning of the Book of Joshua. Many of
you will recall that Joshua was called upon by God to lead the Jewish people
into the Promised Land after Moses had successfully led them out of captivity
in Egypt and then wandering in the wilderness for forty years. Moses had been
an inspirational leader, in contact with God throughout, but not without his
critics and throughout those forty years of wandering in the desert lands
between Egypt and Israel, his leadership had been continually questioned by
those who were impatient to find and enter the Promised Land – indeed on one
occasion they had told Moses that it would have been better for them to have
stayed enslaved in Egypt rather than wander around seemingly aimlessly. However, it was during this period of seeming
futility that the foundations were laid for the establishment of the Jewish
people as a cohesive group with their own laws and customs firmly established. When eventually God thought them ready to
enter and settle in the Promised Land, Moses was an old man and died before he
was able to lead his people across the border into Israel.
That honour
fell on his successor, Joshua, as recounted in that first chapter of the Book
of Joshua read to us this afternoon by our new Provincial Grand Master. Indeed,
it fell upon Joshua to take up the reigns of Moses and to establish and secure
the Promised Land as their new home. As
we know, it wasn’t an easy task and the Book of Joshua contains stories of the
numerous battles he had to fight against indigenous tribes in order to secure
the land – something we are reminded of in our Second Degree ritual.
It does seem
a little unfair that Moses, who had taken upon himself much hard work and suffered
much deprivation to attain the Promised Land, was not allowed by God to
enjoy the fruit of his labour. How many times we do feel that too when we see
others achieve what we failed to or where not permitted to? This story is also repeated with King David
when he was also told by God that he would not be allowed to build the Temple
at Jerusalem and that this honour would be bestowed upon his son and successor,
King Solomon. Both of these stories
remind us that we are all subservient to God’s will and that as such we work as
a team for a common goal or purpose, not personal fame or glory. I am sure you can think of many incidences
when things which you have started have been completed by others. Rather than
envy them we should be grateful that our work has been fulfilled.
The
importance of the Joshua story is to remind us that when changes occur, that
does not necessary mean and ending; indeed, in most cases it means a
continuance of something already started.
So often we hear people speak of “an end of an era”. Indeed as with the passing of our Great Late
Queen, the Elizabethan era has now come to an end but our monarchy and our traditional
way of government has not – we have a new King and we owe him the same due
allegiance as we did the late Queen. The
smooth passage of one monarch to another, as we witnessed last month, is
testimony to the fact that change does not necessarily mean a loss of
continuity or destruction.
So it is
with our Province. There may be some changes ahead in the way we do things in
our lodges over time but our institution has survived for over 300 years and so
long as we acknowledge that change does not mean an end we shall continue for
another 300 years or more. As we move
forward we shall no doubt break new ground, we are even looking at the
possibility of how we might make changes to this annual service in future
years, but the important thing is that whilst structures may change our
unwavering Faith and desire to serve God endures.
In our New
Testament reading from St. Paul’s letter to his brother in Christ, Timothy, Paul
reminds his protégé, Timothy, of the importance of worship and in particular
that intercessory prayers should be made for everyone – nobody is to be
excluded – and he makes special reference to kings and those in authority (often
those opposed to the new Christian Faith in fact) – “that we may all live
peaceful and quiet lives”. As we
enter new eras in the authorities over us, nationally and locally, it is
especially important that we give such praise and prayers – that is why the
intercessions led by our Assistant Provincial Grand Master were worded in the
way they were. It is also important to
remember that it is essential to give praise and prayer daily in our ordinary
lives and not just on those occasions when we are in church. Remember the “twenty-four inch gauge”
represents the twenty four hours of the day – one third “to be spent in prayer
to Almighty God”. Our masonic
forefathers knew this well and it is for this reason that prayers are offered
at the beginning and end of each of our meetings and we say grace before and
after each of our meals when we break bread together. In other words, it should be as much a part
of of daily life as labour and refreshment and helping others in need.
There is a
hymn which we are not singing today but whose words of refrain are very
relevant to the theme of today’s service:
He changeth not, he changeth not
Yesterday, today and evermore the
same
He changeth not, He changeth not
Just the same kind loving God, praise
his name.
And again in
that more familiar hymn “Fight the Good Fight” –
Faint not nor fear: God's
arms are near.
God changeth not, and thou art dear.
Only believe, and thou shalt see
that Christ is all in all to thee.
So, in
conclusion, whilst everything around us might change, just as the seasons
change, just as day turns into night, just as the Moon goes through its
different phases, we can rest assured that there will always be some continuity
for so long as we put our trust and faith in the one true and living God
Almighty.
Amen MFB/176/15092022
