Patronal ?

There was a young boy who came to Sunday school late one day. Normally he was very punctual so the teacher asked him why he was late. He replied that he had been planning to go fishing with his dad, but his dad told him that he needed to go to Church. The teacher was very impressed and asked the boy if his dad had explained why it was more important to go to Church than to go fishing. To which the boy replied, ‘Yes, he did, dad said he didn’t have enough bait for both of us !

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of St James the Great. It’s the second week running in the Parish we have celebrated a Patronal Festival, a Feast of celebration dedicated to those Saints our Churches are named after. This evening at evensong (in Pyle) we will think a bit more about St James himself, but this morning I want to think about Patronal Festivals, and what they really mean.

In simplified terms it is a birthday of the Church, and it is a time for examination of ourselves, our Church, our faith and our hope for the future. At any birthday celebration thoughts almost inevitably turn to what we’ve done over the past year, perhaps even throughout our lives – our successes, our achievements, our dreams, our hopes…

And in Church it’s ok to do the same, in fact more than ok, it’s absolutely necessary. In the gospel today (Matt. 20:20-28) we hear the famous account of the mother of James and John asking Jesus if they can have a special place reserved for them next to Jesus in heaven. Her faith is absolutely wonderful – she has no doubt that Jesus has the power to grant this gift. She also, understandably for any mother, wants the best for her children – a place next to Jesus in heaven for all eternity.

But this account also gives us a great insight into the teaching of Jesus who said, ‘whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve…’

An essential element of our Christian lives is service, and it’s a kind of service that’s so often misunderstood in a materialistic society where judgements are often made based on wealth, success, or even the person who shouts the loudest. Jesus didn’t qualify as ‘making it in life’ based on any of these things. He served, he loved, he gave his life as a ransom for all.

And that is what our Churches must seek to do today. I watched a programme on television last week called the Battle of the Bishops. It was a programme examining the various problems within the Anglican Communion today and as it ended I think it was impossible not to feel sorry for the Archbishop of Canterbury because it seems that neither side in the various debates that are taking place will listen to the other.

As clergy sometimes we spend a lot of time thinking about these things, discussing them even, but actually they are not that important to a majority of people who come to Church on a Sunday, and certainly even less so, to those who don’t. What is important to them is to see Jesus, to see the Church and all of its members dedicating our lives to service, and caring for one another and for the world around us.

Jesus didn’t come to earth shouting, he didn’t have political power or wealth, he didn’t manipulate his followers, he didn’t use any of the tactics we may be tempted to use – he used love and compassion, and he used his ability to speak in order to defend the rights of those who couldn’t defend themselves and to offer them some sort of hope for the future.

Today’s Church has a wonderful opportunity to do the same. This week Labour took a battering in the by election in Glasgow. There were all kinds of reasons for it, but ultimately it was a cry from people for something better, something different. It’s the same cry that is being heard in Africa, in South America and other parts of the world where people are finding that hope in the gospel of Jesus.

It’s the same cry that has motivated people to stand up for good throughout the world over many centuries, the same cry that led to the abolition of child labour and slavery in this country, and in more recent times, motivated people to stand up to end poverty. In the PCC in the week we had a talk from Mervyn Trigg about the Street Pastors Scheme in Bridgend. It’s been a huge success as trained Street Pastors have taken to the streets on a Friday or Saturday evening, not to preach to people, but to love them, to care for them… He mentioned that people were surprised to find Church members out on the streets at 2 or 3am on a Friday or Saturday night – the Church on the street !

And that is where we must be. The preacher George McLeod wrote, 'I simply argue that the cross be raised again at the centre of the market place as well as on the steeple of the church. I am recovering the claim that Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral between two candles, but on a cross between two thieves, on the town rubbish heap, at a crossroads so cosmopolitan they had to write his title in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. It was the kind of place where cynics talk smut, thieves curse, and soldiers gamble. That's where he died. And that's where Christians ought to be and what Christians ought to be about.'

Church structures have developed over many centuries. They are a useful form of order and even discipline, but the disadvantage is that they often formalise Christianity… the sad part of that is that Christianity is about love though, and love can never be formalised… It is spontaneous, it is reactionary, it is determined to overcome obstacles…

The Victorians did a lot of work on our buildings, and that is the reason why so many of them have survived in such good condition today. We have a lot to be grateful to them for, but the downside of that is that we often tie ourselves up reflecting on the beauty of building rather than on the beauty and glory of Jesus.

Nearly four hundred years ago a Prayer Book was written in this country which became the standard liturgy for our Church – recently I read that it was written in language that many people thought was too modern, and it was rejected by some because of it – now some people crave after that language, a language that has disappeared from everywhere else many years ago… As we seek to make Jesus known we have to do so in ways people understand, not watering down the wonderful message in any way, but adapting that message to the needs of people today.

Today’s Church must reflect Jesus in the world. It must, we must, be showing to everyone we meet the love and compassion of Jesus, the need to turn to him, and the benefits, the responsibilities, the privileges and the joys of being his disciples today…

I’ll finish with an old story but one which reminds us to put Jesus in the right place in our lives. A father wanted to read the paper, but was being bothered by his little daughter. Finally, he tore a sheet out of his magazine, on which was printed the map of the world. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to his daughter and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together."

After a few minutes, she returned and handed him the map correctly fitted together. The father was surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly.

"Oh," she said, "on the other side of the paper was a picture of Jesus. When I got Jesus in His place, then the world came out all right."

Let us pray and work to ensure that we get Jesus in his right place, and in so doing reveal him to a world that is waiting to hear. AMEN