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
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