Saturday, 20 July 2024

SERMON 202 - SUNDAY 14 JULY 2024 - TRINITY 7

Sermon at St. John’s Parish Church West Grimstead  -  Trinity 7  – Sunday 14 July 2024

Amos 7:7-15; Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:14-26

May I speak in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Amen.

This morning I would like to share something of my past history with you which has something in common with each of our readings – especially the Old Testament and the Gospel readings.

Last week we had a General Election and as is my usual habit I stayed up half the night into the early hours of the morning watching as the results came in and seeing quite a few people, who I have known over the years, ousted from their erstwhile safe constituency seats in the Labour Party landslide which followed.

It is not my intention or wish to preach politics from the pulpit here this morning but to relate a story which happened to me.

In 1987, I was one of those candidates we saw the other week standing on the platform seeing somebody else win the seat.  I was a young up and coming politician, a councillor on Brighton Borough Council and Parliamentary candidate for the party which recently lost the election.  Following on from that defeat in 1987 I was tipped to replace a well-known politician in a safe seat at a later election. I was nominated and accepted the role of Leader of the Opposition on Brighton Council and short-listed for a number of seats in 1991.  Alas, I was not selected for any of those due to there being a surplus of former MPs looking for new safe seats.

As time went by I continued to support my party, becoming local Party Chairman and held other offices within the party. Then the day arose when the opposition party tabled a motion on the Council Chamber criticising my Party in Government over railway privatisation – something which I had already voiced my concern and wavering support.  My ward contained many commuters to London for whom the uncertainty of private rail networks was worrying. In support of those constituents, I abstained from the Labour Party motion in accordance with our own Party’s procedure when something seriously affects our constituents.  The Labour Party motion condemning rail privatisation was duly passed.  The result for me was subsequent de-selection as a Council candidate and my forced resignation from the local party. Literally overnight my fortunes had changed due to a simple following of conscience. Who knows, had I voted against my conscience to support railway privatisation I might have ultimately realised my dream of a place in Westminster; but it wasn’t to be.  Later, I put away my dreams of a political career and, instead, felt a calling to ministry which is why I am here today (more of that in a moment).

So, what is the purpose of this short testimony? Well, in any lifetime there will always be, in my experience, times when we have to make choices between following the popular herd and following our conscience.  To quote not from the bible but Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio “Let your conscience be your guide” – just as an aside I was once asked where in the bible somebody could find that quote – was it in the gospels? – took me a while to realise that it was from Walt Disney’s Pinocchio!  I always have believed that when our natural instincts and conscience pricks us that is God through the Holy Spirit leading us in the right path.

In our readings this morning, Amos, who is regarded as one of the “minor prophets of the Old Testament, describes himself as merely a humble shepherd but, in reality he has been called by God to reveal the truth about God’s plan for the people of Israel – to put them back on the straight and narrow using the illustration of a builder’s tool – the plumb rule. To pull down the old and build the new nation. In prophesying this truth, Amos finds himself falling foul of the Israelite king, Jeroboam and is exiled. Amos replies that his words are genuine because he is not an educated protester but a simple man with a simple job who has been unexpectedly chosen by God to preach an unpopular message.

In his letter greeting to the Christian community in Ephesus, Paul in our second reading reminds his readers that they are in a special place for by their knowledge of Jesus they have come to understand that God has a special place for all those who believe. That they are chosen to fulfil God’s plan for them.

In our final reading it is Herod who finds himself being comprised and not following his conscience and this story is perhaps the most telling of all. It is a well-known story so I will not dwell on it in detail but even as a child, when I heard it I couldn’t help but feel sorry for Herod even though he was, ultimately, the executioner of John the Baptist.

Herod  became the victim of his own vanity and peer pressure.  Despite the teachings of John against some of his unlawful behaviour, especially marrying his brother’s widow, Herod had simply had John arrested and imprisoned and not executed for treason because he realised that there was something special and unique about John’s preaching as well as his popularity with the people. It was only because of his vanity at a banquet and seduction by his wife and step daughter that he did something which pained him greatly – the one thing he did not want to do – take the life of John. He was swayed by those around him who had evil intent and who had their own agendas.

I recently attended a weekend course on how we should best be disciples – especially in the modern world and we were reminded of Jesus’s words in Matthew 7 – part of the Sermon on the Mount. In verses 13 and 14 Jesus addressed the crowd saying: “Enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it; but small is the gate and narrow the road which leads to life and only a few find it” (NIV).  In the ensuing few verses Jesus then tells us to watch out for false teachers and prophets – those who would lead us as a majority through that wide gate to destruction. Jesus tells us to be discerning and not simply follow the herd or popular culture and to guide others through the correct narrow way. 

For me, it cost me my political career which I now see as a blessing. For Amos, it resulted in exile, and for John the Baptist and Paul, it cost them their lives as it has done so many others throughout history.  Being a true disciple of Christ was never meant to be an easy option.

The question we need to ask ourselves and reflect upon is “how good are we as disciples?”; as good Christians?  Are we prepared to stand up or swim against the flow of those elements of popular culture which we see as herding us through the wide gate to destruction? Or are we prepared to stand up against falsehood and lies?  Are we prepared to go against our consciences for the sake of a quiet life or try and lead others to that narrower gate and path of righteousness?

It all really starts with discernment and the knowledge of God’s true will through the words and actions of Jesus.  Once we have that special relationship with Jesus through the Holy Spirit and using the power of prayer, then discerning truth from fiction becomes so much easier.

Let us pray.

Lord, I ask you to give me a discerning heart, so that I may understand your ways. Open the eyes of my heart to see situations and people as you do. Sensitize me to your gentle whispers, convicting and guiding me. Teach me to lean wholly on your wisdom, not my own.

Amen                                                                                                            

MFB/202/08072024

 



No comments:

Post a Comment