Jesus, history & people

A businessman well known for his ruthlessness once said to the author Mark Twain, ‘Before I die I will take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, climb Mount Sinai and read the 10 Commandments from the top’. ‘I have a better idea’, replied Mark Twain, ‘Why don’t you stay in Boston and start obeying them.’

Mark Twain was pointing out to that man the importance of living out the words of the commandments rather than just speaking them. He was a businessman with many gifts and yet he used them badly. He used them for his own good to the detriment of others.

Many people look at this morning’s gospel reading (Luke 16:19-end) and think of it as a warning against building up earthly wealth. We hear about the rich man clothed in purple and fine linen who feasted sumptuously every day, and then about Lazarus, the beggar sitting at the gate of the rich man. When the rich man died he went to a place of suffering and pain – Lazarus, we are told, ended up with Abraham.

And so the story does warn us of the dangers of wealth, but more accurately it warns us of the dangers of misusing wealth, and indeed any other gifts that we given. Recognising our talents and our gifts are essential parts of our Christian lives, as is our thanksgiving to God for those things.

And this morning I would like to think for a short time about the gifts the Church has today. On a small scale as we think of the Anglican Church, we have heard recently of the worries of the break up of the worldwide Communion, with the African Church and the North American Church going in seemingly opposite directions, and the rest of us either joining one side or the other, or desperately trying to pull everything together from the middle.

But perhaps the best hope the Anglican Church has is to look at what actually does unite it, and there we will find far more than actually divides it, and that is true of denominations throughout the world. And so I’d like to think of 3 things which unite us, and which we as a Church can celebrate.

The first is, and has to be, Jesus. The gift of Jesus, who gave his life up for every one of us, reveals a love which cannot be compared with anything else. It is a love greater and stronger than any other…

The second gift that we have is history. We have 2000 years of Christianity to reflect upon – some good, some very bad, and we have the whole of creation to look at and recognise what God has given to us. In spite of all of our rebellion he has given us nations to care for, people to share life with, resources of the earth, technology, industry and so on – he has never stopped saying to any one of us, ‘I love you.’

And the third gift God has given to his people is people ! The people around us are a gift from God, and just as God loves every one of them, so he calls us to love and care for them too.

And so we have 3 gifts, Jesus, the history and people – and in many ways those gifts are unchanging – 500 years ago Jesus Christ was head of the Church, 500 years ago, there was a vast history to reflect upon and 500 years ago there were people, good and bad, and of all shapes and sizes !

Today as we think of Jesus as head of the Church though, we also recognise that it is a much smaller Church than it has been at times in the past. But it is no less powerful with Christ at the head ! In his time on earth Jesus lived a life amongst people of all classes and backgrounds, he ministered to people where they were, visiting their homes and their work places. He met people with love and compassion, but was never afraid to speak out for what is right.

In today’s world of quick images on television and computer news, in today’s world where the Church is actually in competition with so many other things, the Church needs to meet people where they are, and show that it, and more especially the message of Jesus, is relevant to them.

Today in the Church we look to Jesus – a popular teacher, a man prepared to put himself out for others, and we ask ourselves if we are willing to follow his example, because the best response to a good gift is wanting to share it with others.

And as we think of the history of the Church, we think of the beliefs that have supported and sustained people for centuries. We think of the great creeds of the Church, and those people who have sacrificed so much to bring the gospel to us today. I spoke a little while ago about tradition and the need not to be bound by it just for the sake of it, but there is undoubtedly a great comfort in knowing that the God who was worshipped in Churches hundreds and hundreds of years ago, the God of love and compassion, peace and justice, is the God we worship today.

We have the gift of history, the gift of faith of those generations who have gone before us. History can stop us changing sometimes, and dwelling on history can be a negative force, but history, used well, can also be a way of moving forward, inspired by those from the past who have done so much to share their values and their beliefs in ways that have made a lasting difference…

And that brings us back to the third gift. The gift of people. In the early Church the people were the centre of the Church – not the Priest, and certainly not the building, and perhaps we have lost sight of that fact at times. But the Church that relies on a Priest to survive will not survive, and the Church that is all about a building will inevitably, sooner or later, disappear.

People are a gift, together we can grow in worship and faith. Together we can share our gifts of Jesus and the history with one another and with others around us who are outside our Church community.

Jesus, the history and the people – these are wonderful gifts for the Church today, but they are gifts that must be used well. Society’s needs today are as great as they ever have been , people still need to hear that message that Jesus came to bring of love, peace and joy, that message of hope.

And so let us pray continually that we will become more aware of the power of Jesus, the needs of society around us, and be more ready, both as individuals and the Church, to serve both God and other people for his glory and for the extension of his kingdom, and to truly show our gratitude for the gifts we have been given as we move forward with Jesus at our head, history behind us, and people with us, giving thanks and sharing our gifts. AMEN