Sermons

Unity

Sermon preached by the Reverend Peter Murphy
Sixth Sunday of Easter, April 27, 2008

Duet sung by Fr Peter and Dana in the choir, accompanied by John (Director of Music) with apologies to GERSHWIN!

Things have come to a pretty pass
Fraternal love is growing flat,
For I like this and the other
While I go for this and that,

Goodness knows what the end will be
Oh I don't know where I'm at
It looks as if we two will never be one
Something must be done:

I like potato and I like potahto
I like tomato but I like tomahto
Potato, potahto, Tomato, tomahto.
Let's call the whole thing off

I say tradition, for me its perdition
I say its scripture, I say it’s picture
Tradition. Perdition

Scripture. Its picture

Let’s call the whole thing off.

I wave my hands high and you just say “God, Hi!”

I say you need works and you say that faith works

Hands high,      God…Hi!

Faith…works… faith… works

Let’s call the whole thing off.

But oh if we call the whole thing off then we must part
And oh, if we ever part, then that might break God’s heart!

I’ll go to Lambeth     No, its Jerusalem
I’m for “Inclusive”   Exclusive is what I am!
Lambeth, Jerusalem
Inclusive, Exclusive!
Let’s call the whole thing off! (together)
Let’s call the whole thing off! (together)

Coming to the States again has brought to the front of my thoughts the questions of unity and disunity. If you think you are the only ones to have a big problem in this regard you can think again. You are not alone.

We in England have the same difficulty with Parish Churches and Communities threatening to succeed if this or that bit of
literal thinking
or biblical understanding,
or eccesiatical tradition
is not accepted as gospel truth.

 I thought a version of this Gershwin song could be adapted as an Introit hymn for the 2008 Lambeth Conference. “Let’s call the whole think off!”

If anyone thinks that our Anglican Communion is in a bit of a mess they can find  plenty of evidence if they really want it.
They might think that starting again would be a good idea.

They might be justified in thinking that way about the whole idea of an Anglican Communion…
“Let’s call the whole thing off and start again!”

The Gospel reading today has some interesting insights into the problem.

Two major themes emerge
1stly      if you love me you will keep my commandments
2ndly     Jesus says he will not leave you friendless, alone or uninspired. (God’s spirit will be your comforter and advocate)

In day to day living out of the Gospel of Jesus it is so easy to take you eye off the ball
To get Bogged down in the detail
Forget the big picture
Fail to see the wood from the trees
(to mention but four metaphors….take your pick!)

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments”, says Jesus

What commandments are they?
Elsewhere in the gospel, Jesus tells us that the whole Law and traditions of Moses comes down to
The two great priorities or Commandments around the word…Love
Love God
Love neighbor your as yourself

The parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke’s gospel gives us a hint as to what that means.

But we tend build up artificial walls
Tradition
Morality
Scriptural quotes
Judgments
“differences”
pontificate about what is correct and what is incorrect
and  just plain old fashioned prejudices
as if these had some automatic seal of divine approval about them

The parable and most of the New Testament says no to that kind of judging.

If the good Samaritan had gone along with many of the laws and traditions of his day he would have been bound to walk bye on the other side like the scribe and the Pharisee.
He would only have been obeying the Law!!
He was a Foreigner! He was himself Unclean.
The bloody victim was Ritually untouchable
But in the parable the Samaritan frees himself from all that and is able to obey the voice of Jesus and the second commandment

Paul is making a related point on the debating forum in Athens…there is only one God to acknowledge and worship…and he may have many different names…..not “mine” but “ours”. Can’t split him up and say “This is my God…yours is yours!”

At the time of the Reformation
Henry VIII, Edward and Mary tried to impose
firstly a reformed kind of Catholicism under Henry
then a Calvinistic fundamentalism with Edward,
then traditional Catholicism again under Mary.

But then came Elizabeth trying to encourage these extreme ways of following Christ to live together.

The process was continued and strengthened by James 1st with the implementation of the 1662 Prayer Book and Authorized Version of the Bible.
This set the tone for what became the hall mark of the Anglican Communion for the next 400 years.

It also became the, “via media”, the middle way and the attitude of creative compromise that allowed extremes to flourish and live together.
With a few exceptions over the years this has remained the character of both the Church of England and the Episcopal Church until now and has been the character of most of the Anglican Communion.
It has been our traditional form of unity and of living together as the Body of Christ with all our differences.
Relatively few members have said “Let’s call the whole thing off” and gone their own way.

Sadly today that is not the case. Some Church of England and Episcopal churches are seeking oversight of other Bishops because they cannot live with ideas, practices, theology or life styles of their brothers and sisters within the same Communion.

Sadly too these widespread issues can filter down to parishes like yours and mine and that spirit of “loving living” and natural compromise gets lost even in Vestry and Parish Council meetings.

Worse than that it can infect the heart of a Church to become inward looking, exclusive and judgmental.
A lot of wind it seems to me is being expended unnecessarily and deflecting from the real game
We take our eye off the ball.

“If you love me, means keeping my commandments…”
There are masses of commandments in the Old Testament but I am not a Jew so I follow the New Testament Gospels and there are only two…
Loving and worshiping God who is like a good shepherd, a generous householder, a welcomer of prodigal sons and daughters,
(think of all those images and reflections of the character of God we have had over the weeks since Easier.)
and
Loving and caring for our neighbors
The two great commandments.
 

This was something reinforced for me on the New Orleans Mission Trip.
Some of us worshiped with the Catholics across the road from the Hostel in which we were staying.
Some waved their hands in the air and shouted Alleluias with the Black Gospel Church we attended.
Others worshiped traditionally in the Episcopal Cathedral
And yet others preferred meditation at St Jo’s!

God did not leave us comfortless or without inspiration.

But our unity was intact as we were all obeying those two great commandments
Loving God
Loving our neighbors as ourselves

So I will go back to England on Wednesday night with my vision of God renewed and my perception of Christian ministry more focussed after the delight and privilege of being part of Emmanuel Church in New Orleans and once more here in Newport.

Thank you.