|
| |
The Yeshua Worldwide Network
of Churches
The Revd Janice Scott
The Ninth Sunday After Trinity
Readings:
-
Isaiah 1 vv 1,10-20 - God tells
the people of Judah their worship is worthless until they correct
oppression, cease to do evil and learn to do good.
-
Hebrews 11 vv 1-3, 8-16 - faith is the conviction of things unseen, and is
shown by Abraham and Sarah.
-
Luke 12 vv 32-40 - always be ready for the unexpected arrival of the Son of
Man.
Theme:
Priorities
Luke 12 vv 32-40
32. "Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is
your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33. Sell your possessions,
and give alms. Make purses for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing
treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 35. "Be dressed for
action and have your lamps lit; 36. be like those who are waiting for their
master to return from the wedding banquet, so that they may open the door for
him as soon as he comes and knocks. 37. Blessed are those slaves whom the master
finds alert when he comes; truly I tell you, he will fasten his belt and have
them sit down to eat, and he will come and serve them. 38. If he comes during
the middle of the night, or near dawn, and finds them so, blessed are those
slaves. 39. "But know this: if the owner of the house had known at what hour the
thief was coming, he {Other ancient authorities add [would have watched and]}
would not have let his house be broken into. 40. You also must be ready, for the
Son of Man is coming at an unexpected hour."
At the last Lambeth Conference in 1998, Anglican bishops from around the world
had wide-ranging discussions over a considerable variety of issues, and no doubt
gained enormously from meeting each other and hearing different points of view.
Hardly surprisingly, they all had
different priorities. For instance, the African bishops were deeply concerned
with financial debt, and the huge problem it produces in countries where for
every dollar received in aid, developing nations are sending $11 back to the
donor countries. And where the National Debt is so huge that every man, woman
and child owes the World Bank $186.
Some Western bishops wanted human
sexuality high on the agenda. That caused shock and horror amongst the African
and Asian contingent, who blocked any major discussion on the issue.
Another important item for some
bishops was the different ways of understanding Scripture. America's
controversial Bishop John Spong saw the African understanding as out of touch
with modern scholarship and scientific theory. He described it as
"superstitious." This caused a certain degree of uproar amongst the African
bishops, and Bishop Spong later apologised for using that term and said:
"Religion is a deeply emotional thing. It gets into the very fibre of our soul.
It is part of our security system." And he pointed out that cultural
differences between the church in the developed and developing worlds require
the Gospel to be communicated using different language and symbols.
And the Hispanic bishops felt left
out. The Bishop of Honduras declared "We are always the invisible Anglicans."
And the Bishop of Mexico said, "We feel ignored." In his view, the agenda
at the conference was centred on Africa or the Northern Hemisphere. He said
"We don't feel part of the Third World like Africa. We are caught in the
middle."
We all have different priorities even
within one community. So it's hardly surprising that people from entirely
different walks of life will have totally different priorities. But for me, that
Lambeth Conference threw into sharp relief the question of Christian priorities.
Are there specifically Christian
priorities? Priorities which are spelt out in the Bible and which are
unambiguous and should therefore feature at the top of the list of values of
every Christian, no matter what their circumstances or their culture?
It seems to me, Jesus had two major
values. Love God, and love your neighbour. I imagine there are few Christians
who would argue with either of those. But I'm not sure whether that takes us any
further, for we would probably all argue over our interpretation of those two
basic rules.
It also seems to me that Jesus'
theology is slanted towards an option for the poor. "Sell your possessions,"
says Jesus in today's passage from Luke's gospel, "and give alms. Make purses
for yourselves that do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no
thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also."
Perhaps the most telling phrase is
that last one: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. When
that phrase is put alongside another of Jesus' sayings, from
Luke 16 v 13:
"No slave can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and
love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
God and wealth." Then I'm forced to stop and think.
My problem is that I enjoy a material
lifestyle. Living in the West, it's almost impossible not to enjoy a material
lifestyle, to some extent. Even the very poorest in the West are wealthy
compared to the majority in the developing world. But in a way, that's an
unrealistic comparison, for we have no control over the place or circumstances
of our birth, and most of us have very little control in real terms over where
we spend our lives. We can't help living in the West.
Taking all that into account, I still
enjoy a material lifestyle. I enjoy the things that money can buy. I enjoy
books, and the television, and new technology, and holidays, and the car, and
the many devices to improve home comforts. If I can't serve God and wealth, does
that mean I can't serve God?
Taking the words of Jesus at face
value, it would seem that's precisely what it means. And yet I don't think we're
all called to be hermits. Jesus himself was very much "in" the world. He
didn't remove himself from the world in order to concentrate on God, but
recognised and interpreted God within the world of his day. And within
first-century Judaism, it was quite common and acceptable for a man to give up
family and work commitments for a few years, and to become the disciple of some
teacher. Those people would then be supported by the community, who would
consider that support as part of their giving to charity.
Life in the West twenty-one centuries
later is very different. The ethos of our way of life is that people work to
support themselves unless they are unable to do so for some reason, in which
case the State will support them at a minimal level. And this seems to me, with
my Western mind and Western values, a good ethic.
Over those twenty-one centuries our
lifestyle has changed out of all recognition. We can't exist without money.
Money is essential in our way of life, even for those who follow a
"self-sufficient" or "green" lifestyle.
And I don't believe it's wrong to
enjoy material things which are bought with money. In the end, all good gifts
are given by God, and it's surely right to enjoy his gifts. But problems arise
when those material things become a priority. When life is geared to earning
more and more, in order to buy more and more to support my Western lifestyle.
When life is geared to a good education, not for its own sake, but solely in
order to lead to a good job which will produce lots of money.
For Christians, money cannot be the
leading priority. God must be the priority, love of God. From that love grows
love of neighbour, for love of neighbour gives practical human expression to
love of God. Sometimes money gives practical human expression to love of
neighbour, for there's not much we can do for our neighbours in Africa and the
like, except give money and support any political moves to improve their lot.
But money is useless if faith, hope
and love are invested in it, instead of in God. Christian priorities demand that
Christians use money, but don't become obsessed by it, that Christians enjoy the
benefits money can bring, but as a bonus, not as a first priority.
Exploring, responding to,
experiencing, enjoying God brings deep, lasting satisfaction and delight. All
that experience and delight is available now, to anyone who is prepared to
invest time and energy in the exploration. And those who do, will discover God
in surprising ways and surprising situations. But those who are intent above all
on making money, will be unlikely to have the time and energy and patience
necessary to enjoy God.
With all their differences of culture
and attitude, I hope all those bishops who attended Lambeth enjoy God as their
top priority. I hope their treasure is in God, so that their hearts are there
also. I hope God is the very fibre of their soul. And I hope they've were on
that occasion able to enjoy him together.
AMEN.
Revd Janice Scott
If
you would like to submit a guest Sermon then send to:- Guest
Sermon Submission
Guest Sermon by Mar
Frederick Catholicos, Eastern Rite Bishop
ERCON Reading Fellowship,
Nigeria
Guest Sermon By The Right
Revd Dr. Donatus Okozi DD
Guest Sermon By The Revd
Paul Naumann
Guest
Sermon By The Revd Chris Hicken BA, AD, BBS
Guest Sermon By Patriarch + Mar Martin McGuire
PhD
Guest Sermon By The
Right Revd Dr.
Khern Steven Oliver DD - The Bishop of Lutterworth
If you would like to submit a guest Sermon then send to:-
Guest
Sermon Submission
Serving
Yeshua
International
&
The
Old
Roman
Catholic
Church
in England
The
Yeshua Worldwide Network of Churches
Back to Top
|
