Martyrs and witnesses

This week the Church remembers several important ‘martyrs’ amongst them Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer. They were both Bishops, important figures in the English reformation and ultimately victims of its tumultuous politics.

Their legacy to the English Church is significant. Ridley was Chaplain to Cranmer when he was Archbishop of Canterbury and had an important influence on the Book of Common Prayer. Meanwhile, Latimer was a great preacher and eventually became Bishop of Worcester.

Eventually, when Mary Tudor came to the throne and restored Roman Catholicism, both Ridley and Latimer were burned at the stake in Oxford. According to tradition the older Latimer cried out to Ridley as the flames grew higher, “Be of good comfort master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England, as I trust shall never be put out.” Over four hundred years on, it seems his final wish was granted.

Today, we understand martyrs to be those who have died for their faith or for a cause. Interestingly, the ancient Greek word, ‘martyros’ refers to ‘a witness’. It was only later within the life of the persecuted early Church that it became clear that to be such a witness sometimes called for the ultimate sacrifice.

St. Paul tells us that we must all stand ready to give an account of what he describes as “the hope that lies within”. So whilst none of us are likely to be martyrs, all of us are called to be witnesses.

A very modern idol

Several years ago, when Helen and I were planning our wedding we decided that it would be fun to work with a jeweller to make wedding rings for one another. This involved spending a day melting a lump of gold, pressing it into a band and bending it round, creating the join and smoothing out the curves, before finally buffing and polishing.

This complex process was all assisted by an attentive jeweller over our shoulder and a glass of bubbly within easy reach. It made for a memorable day and I’d be happy to recommend them to any engaged couples here this morning.

Melting down gold jewellery is also a significant feature of our Old Testament reading this morning. The infamous story of the golden calf. Moses, we hear, has been away on the top of Mount Sinai, speaking with God and receiving the ten commandments. Meanwhile, the people of Israel seem to have given up on him and God- deciding instead to make a god for themselves. And so they gather-up their gold, cast the image of a calf and bow down in worship- as Aaron proclaims, “These are your Gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”

This is perhaps the classic story of idolatry in the Hebrew Scriptures. A story that is replayed again and again as Israel turns from God and his law and puts in his place a variety of idols. Sometimes they chose gods of more powerful nations. At other times they chose gods who seemed more accommodating than the God of Israel- with his tiresome laws. And on more than one occasion they preferred eastern fertility gods with what we might politely term their ‘exotic’ worship practices.

Time and again we hear the prophets preach against these idols and mock those who bow down to lifeless statues. Isaiah challenges these idols to predict the future, knowing that they will be silent. Jeremiah asks what kind of people go around swapping gods- exchanging the glory of the one true God for a worthless lump of wood. Meanwhile, Ezekiel takes it a stage further suggesting that people have set-up idols in their hearts and that it is not just an outward temptation but also be an inner obsession.

Talk of idolatry can seem an ancient irrelevance. Surely these are merely the bizarre practices of a bygone age and an ignorant people. And yet, there are some very modern idols. Indeed only last week, as turmoil on the financial markets deepened and Gold reached £16/gram the Archbishop of Canterbury suggested that the western world has made an idol of the market.

In an article in the Spectator, he argued that capitalism has its own mythology. One which proclaims that the market has a reality, authority and mind of its own. Reading the papers this week, it does seem as if the market has a global power which all must recognise, that we must follow wherever it leads and that huge, possibly human, sacrifices must be made to it. It seems that the Archbishop may have a point.

In the Old Testament, idolatry in the Temple was seen as the cause of decay in wider society and potential national ruin; justice was forgotten, the poor trampled under foot and foreign nations threatened war.

This week, there has certainly been a lot of comment on the failure of ethics and regulation within our own financial markets; whether it be unrealistic borrowing, trading in toxic debt or bonuses that reward recklessness. This in turn has given way to even more worrying talk of a wider economic recession.

We do have to be careful about reading Scripture on to the modern world. But might these events be the result of our idolisation of the market? A belief that greed and fear are the only economic principles?

Perhaps the most developed Christian analysis of the market can be found in the social teaching of the Catholic Church. It understands the market positively as an effective engine for progress and development, however, it warns that the market must never be allowed to become a law unto itself.

Rather the market should be seen as an effective means to a higher end. That higher end is the ‘common good’ and flourishing of all humanity. And this requires us to use justice, freedom and truth as our guiding principles and love as our final regulator.

It would seem that this idol is now crumbling before our eyes. Possibly, collapsing under the weight of its own rich decoration. In the face of these momentous events there are, of course, many lessons to be learnt not only for our bankers and politicians but also for all of us who borrow and save.

But perhaps the most radical response that we can make as the Church, is to worship. To worship the one true God, to allow his love to fill our hearts and overflow into lives which seek the common good of all humanity made in His image and likeness.

Amen.

Funeral Prayers for Shakilus Townsend

The video above is a Home Office anti-knife Crime video. Copies of this were circulated to young people attending the recent funeral of Shakilus Townsend at St. Stephen's south Dulwich. Below are some of prayers that were said at that funeral.

Creator God, we give thanks for Shaki’s life. For his cheeky smile, for his friendship, his love and for each of the special memories that we cherish.

Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us

God of faithfulness, you have called Shaki to yourself. Forgive his sins and failings we pray, welcome him into your presence so that he may find his rest in you.

Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us

Christ you called us to be a neighbour to all. And so we give you thanks for all those who were with Shaki in his last moments on earth. For members of the public, for the paramedics, and for the doctors and nurses of St. George’s hospital.

Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us

Father of all, whose Son is the Prince of peace. We pray for all our young people that they may know the power of your love and may see it in the care of their own family and friends.

Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us

Christ said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” and so we pray for all working to bring an end to this violence and commit ourselves to bring peace to our streets.

Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us

We pray for all who miss Shaki so much, especially Nicola, Derek, Shaki’s brothers and sisters and all those who love him. Father, we offer you our anger, our grief and our tears. We pray that you may hold us tightly in your arms so that we might know your peace, your comfort and your love.

Lord hear us
Lord, graciously hear us

Father God, you are our beginning and our end. We pray that we may live in the light of that knowledge and ask for your wisdom and grace that we might to use well the time left to us on earth.

And so we say together…

God of mercy,
Entrusting into your hands all that you have made,
And rejoicing in your communion with all your faithful people,
We make our prayers through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
Amen.

Forgiveness...

A couple of years ago, I was one of several leaders organising a Church youth club camping trip. The minibuses were packed and before we set-off, we decided to fill-up at the petrol station opposite the Church. I went over and dutifully filled-up with about £50 worth of diesel. That’s back in the days when £50 bought you quite a lot of fuel!

Anyway, I drove the minibus back over the road. The young people piled in and I turned the key in the ignition. In response the engine spluttered, thick black smoke poured out of the exhaust but forward movement- there was none. I wonder whether you have spotted my innocent mistake? Yes. This minibus ran on unleaded petrol and was not going anywhere.

The person leading the trip did not take this development terribly well. Indeed, it would be fair to say that she was apoplectic with rage and did not speak to me until we had rented a new minibus, unloaded, reloaded and driven in silence to the campsite. It was a long journey during which time, I had ample opportunity to meditate upon my need for forgiveness.




The unforgiving servant


In our Gospel reading today we hear of others in need of forgiveness in the ‘Parable of the Unforgiving Servant’. This story tells the tale of a King who discovers gross mismanagement of his accounts by his servant and is about to sell his family into slavery when the servant pleads for mercy.

His debt of ten thousand talents is vast. One talent represents 20 Kilos of silver and ‘ten thousand’ was a turn of phrase for the largest number imaginable. The servant’s plight seems to be hopeless.

To our surprise, however, the King displays an outrageous generosity and forgives the debt. The servant’s memory is, however, very short and rather than allowing this gracious experience to change his life he rushes out to demand full payment of one hundred denarii grabbing his debtor by the throat. The King hears of this, calls the slave back to him, tortures him and demands he pay back the whole, original debt. Something he will never achieve.

So what are we to make of this parable?

Is God an angry King and are we merely miserable sinners in need of forgiveness? Our modern secular society would say no. Instead it would suggest that we are responsible individuals, requiring no higher authority for our lives. So, it would conclude that we need neither God, nor his forgiveness. I would like to suggest, however, that this is not true.

Firstly, I believe that we know our need of forgiveness inside ourselves. We wish to do the right thing and to live out the Gospel and yet too often what we pray and desire on a Sunday evaporates under the pressure of Monday.

Secondly, we know our need of forgiveness in our personal relationships. We may wish to do good by our friends, neighbours, even our loved ones. And yet we all carry memories of regret. For selfish choices, for things said in anger or- not said in fear.

Thirdly, we know our need of forgiveness in our wider world. Whilst many God-given energies are making the world a better place. We read daily of hunger in a world of plenty and pollution in a world of abundant blessing.

So perhaps the image of God as a merciful King is not so unhelpful. Perhaps the idea of ourselves as people given huge responsibility, and yet flawed, isn’t so wide of the mark. And maybe the idea that this forgiveness needs to be shared around starts to make sense.

Forgiveness is a fundamental plank of the Gospel.

For it is forgiveness that reconciles us to God and one another. At its heart, forgiveness is about relationships and it points us back to the relationship of unending love and understanding shared between the three persons of the Trinity.

Reconciliation, is also one of the sacraments of the Church, and it is offered to us when we come to baptism. In Baptism, we are invited to turn to God in response to his overflowing love. And in a few moments this is the profession that Jose will be making and all of us will have the opportunity to join with him in repenting of our sins and turning to Christ.

When the people of Israel passed through the Red Sea they were liberated from slavery. And, as Jose passes through the waters of baptism, he will be liberated from his sin. As they stood on dry ground, Jose is now putting his life on a firm foundation. And as they sought the promised land, so too Jose take the next step in his journey of faith.

And so, brothers and sisters, I invite you to join Jose as we are reconciled with God and one another and march on together to the promised land.

Amen.