In
the beginning was the Word.
What
is true in Scripture is sometimes true for us as individuals too.
It
certainly was for me. I grew up, amid the bells and smells of South
Coast Anglo Catholicism, hooked on beautiful words and beautiful
worship….but it wasn’t until my first term at university that I
began to really fall in love with God, when a far-sighted supervisor
set me an essay on Lancelot Andrewes, as a good route into the joys
of 17th
century literature. Not only did that period become my literary
heart-land – and remains so to this day – but my pleasure in
Andrewes writing launched me into a deeper exploration of his world,
and his influences. Where would his words take me? It transpired that
in addition to having a rather wonderful name, and inspiring T.S.
Eliot’s poem “Journey of the Magi” , Bishop Lancelot was part
of the committee that translated the King James Authorized Version of
the Bible. His gift with words shone through there too...words that
carry a magnetism all their own….that can draw readers and hearers
deeper into the heart of the mystery of God.
And
the same is true of the language of the Book of Common Prayer, which
we are using for our liturgy today. There is a beauty and a poetry
that can enchant the heart, even as it lifts the soul.
Words
matter right enough. It would be madness to deny it – and if you
grew up with the Book of Common Prayer, and have been missing its
music in the depths of your soul, then I do hope and pray that this
morning gives you the chance to drink deeply from its familiar
springs and be refreshed. Sometimes it does us good to revisit
familiar places, and to touch base with what is precious there...but
we need to remember, too, that we worship a living God, who is always
“going ahead of us into Galilee”...one who cannot be enshrined
and contained by even the most beautiful verbal reliquaries. The
beauty of the Prayer Book (modern language for its day) and of the
Authorised Version too is not intended to seduce us, or distract us
from the inexpressible beauty of the living God...Sometimes it seems
we struggle to remember that, for ourselves and for others.
You
see, poetry and clarity do not always sit well together. And the
things of faith seem impossibly obscure and abstruse to the many who
are living their lives quite happily without ever crossing our
threshold to pray or worship..so, although I continue to enjoy
immersing myself in beautiful language, and celebrate its power in
signposting me heavenwards, I’m relieved that our usual diet here
is slightly more accessible to newcomers. Only slightly, I’m afraid
– because most of what we do in the cathedral or in most other
churches is a such a long long way from the normal experience of the
majority that there’s still a colossal work of translation to be
done.
By
us.
Thou
and I.
Adopted
as God’s children through Jesus Christ we are part of his plan to
love the world whole once again…
“Part
of the plan”?
That
smacks alarmingly of a theology that assumes we have no freedom as
individuals...but it’s not where I stand.
While
I am utterly confident that God did indeed search and know us from
the beginning of our lives and the beginning of time, and while I am
even more confident that in the end, no matter what, we will be
caught up in the wonder of his love, the route that takes us there is
of our own choosing. We may be chosen to be holy and blameless –
but this doesn’t preclude us making our own choices that take us on
a very different route for a while. Actually, there’s huge
variation in our patterns of choices and direction every single
day...and those choices do make a difference for better or worse...as
we allow more or less of Christ’s light to shine in our lives.
You
may be deeply uneasy at the thoughts of divine selection too- “Chosen
before the foundations of the world” .
Why
me? Why us? Does this cut across the whole theology of inclusion on
which our reconciliation ministry, and our common life rests? Are we
supposed, after all, to think of “us” and “them”, the chosen
and the rejected, insiders and outsiders?
For
me this would be a deal-breaker. I could not love and worship a God
who allowed anyone – anyone
– to be lost... ...- but take heart. Even St Paul, who, let’s
face it, came from a long line of Chosen People, seems to have
grasped that God has a bigger vision
“To
gather up ALL THINGS IN HIM”
All
things.
Nothing
lost, nothing wasted…
The
best news possible
Jane
Williams, wife of the former ABC, puts it beautifully.
In
Christ, God has always chosen to be our God. Even before we existed
and certainly before we consciously turned towards God, God chooses
that we are to be “in Christ” and share that relationship between
Son and Father.
...This
is what we are made for. We are designed to be part of the ceaseless
flow of love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit.”
That’s
where we belong...that’s what we are for.
In
the here and now we are to so live that we make that heritage
evident…to live for
the praise of his glory,
says Paul...In other words, everything we do and everything we should
points to the God who has adopted us as his heirs.
Our
lives, our way of being, is the best language we have to inspire
others to join in the praise that is the inevitable outpouring of
hearts and souls awake to God’s presence.
Paul,
with his grounding in law, often uses legal metaphors as he reflects
on our relationship with God…
The
language of legacy is something he turns to again and again, - so we
might be forgiven if familiarity blunts its impact. – but it’s
pretty mind-blowing when you think about it.
We
are heirs.
Inheritors,
not just grateful petitioners and recipients of the riches of grace
lavished upon us….but INHERITORS,
part of the family, adopted children having equal rights with our
brother, Jesus Christ himself, who is also the route by which we can
come into that inheritance.
We
turn to Christ
We
receive the Holy Spirit
We
become part of that ceaseless flow of love that is the eternal
communication between Father, Son and Spirit – and in which we are
forever included.
Whatever
the language you prefer, whether ancient or moder….and regardless
of the way in which you interpret Paul’s theology – this is the
best possible news...and its ours to share.
You
see, words can sometimes hurt and exclude….and we’re not above
using them to do just that.
And
religious practices may make no sense, and may even drive people
away
But
a community whose dominant characteristic is love will draw others
in, because there is something unmistakeably attractive about that
way of being.
Love
is the irrestistable force which will, in God’s good time, gather
up all things in heaven and on earth.
Let’s
work with God to hasten that day, for his love’s sake.
