This morning I had the honour of preaching at Leicester Cathedral, as part of their Lent season theme “Salt of the Earth”, focusing on social action. Here is the text of what I shared (the recording is available here).
We live in a broken world. That much is clear from the news, from our own lives and the lives of those we know and love. We often want to ask “why?”, and we wonder whether there can be any hope, not just for ourselves, but for other people, for Creation and our relationships.
Today’s readings show us the common thread of our call to a relationship of trust in God, from the first command and the breaking of that relationship with humanity’s disobedience, through to its restoration in and through the obedience of Christ.
Genesis 2 and 3 give us a glimpse of humanity’s wonderful, whole, relationship with God, founded on trusting that God alone has the ‘knowledge of good and evil’, before we see it come crashing down as Adam & Eve decide that it would be better for them to have the ability to choose what is right and wrong for themselves, and be in control of the world around them. It is this seeking of control rather than a trusting relationship with God that summarises ‘sin’. I know that far too often, I try to justify my actions by my own knowledge and understanding, or I try to take control of my life in other ways, rather than trust God in what He asks of me.
This same undercurrent of longing to control our world, be that in responses to particular issues and situations, or in our broader attitude to our lives and the lives of those around us runs through each of us, harming others or ourselves, our planet and society, and through each human being that has lived before us. This is what Paul is saying in Romans 5: 12-14 – whilst the Law didn’t come until Moses, there was one command, right at the beginning, to trust God to hold the knowledge of good and evil, which all, intentionally or unintentionally, transgress.
When we do this in a specific and identifiable way, we can, like the psalmist, come before God, confess our sin and turn back to God, choosing consciously to trust in God for our salvation and our lives, rather than, as the psalmist describes, stubbornly behaving like a horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to do as it is instructed. For some reason, that image resonates with me more than I’d like to admit! The psalmist declares that “steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD”. It is those who repent – turning back to God – and seek forgiveness, who can rejoice and shout for joy, being ‘upright in heart’, because they have placed their trust in the LORD.
In many theological, artistic and musical reflections on Christ’s 40 days in the desert, he is imagined or depicted as being completely alone. Humanly, that is true, and yet all 3 synoptic gospels make clear that Jesus is not alone – He goes into the desert ‘driven by’, ‘full of’ or, in Matthew’s gospel, ‘led by’ the Holy Spirit, in order that he be tempted or tested by the devil. This time of testing in the wilderness is not something that takes place outside of or separate to, Jesus’ relationship with His Father. Indeed it is precisely this relationship which is the devil’s main point of attack, the first two tests use the accusation – “If you are the Son of God… then…”, directly calling into question the words of God spoken over Jesus at His baptism in the previous chapter.
Some have suggested that the three tests were related to either Christ’s Messianic mission or that they correspond with the three parts of the Jewish Shema – the command to love the LORD with all your heart, mind and strength. Whilst each of Jesus’ answers is taken from this key passage of Jewish Scripture, the focus in all the synoptic gospels is instead in demonstrating what God has done in Christ. Christ not only succeeds where Adam and the people of Israel failed, He releases us from their failures, by trusting in God’s authority and power, provision and protection, not trying to do it by human strength, and not making God His servant, but worshipping the LORD alone. This is only possible because Jesus knows who he is, whose he is and what His purpose is, with a confidence that He does not need prove to anyone, even Himself. After His death and resurrection, Jesus stood on another mountain, and was able to declare, because of His obedience to His Father, that “all authority, in heaven and on earth has been given” to Him, a greater authority than the devil could ever have offered Him.
It is only because of Christ’s obedience that we can have Hope, certain hope for our broken world and broken relationships. Paul summarises this good news in Romans 5:17 “If, because of the one man’s trespass, death exercised dominion through that one, much more surely will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness exercise dominion in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.” When we choose to repent, turn back to God and “receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness”, we receive life through the obedience of Jesus Christ. In this we choose a relationship of trust in God’s authority and power, provision and protection, not trying to live by our own strength and knowledge, but by the free gift of grace.
So what? What does this mean for how we live our lives? This is always my favourite question to ask of any passage, doctrine or theological point – what difference does our relationship with God have on the way we live our everyday lives? That is, in effect, the question posed to the Diocese in the Bishops’ 3 questions, framed in terms of “Everyday Faith”.
This, too, is what Bishop Guli is discovering on her pilgrimage this Lent – how we, as Christians, called to be Salt of the Earth, live out our faith in our everyday lives, through everyday acts of loving service in, with and of our local communities. Some of the examples Guli will see are local, practical examples of Christians recognising and meeting people’s immediate need, such as foodbanks and clothesbanks, Places of Welcome and dementia cafes. Others, such as CAP centres and money courses, and Together Leicester’s Cook & Eat hubs, seek to address some of the underlying causes behind these needs. Other acts of loving service call on those in power to address the structural and institutional barriers to God’s Creation and our communities flourishing, nationally and internationally. All are needed, and I’d encourage you to explore how God is calling you to get involved in your local community, considering the skills, experience & knowledge that you have to offer.
As Development Worker for Together Leicester, I support churches across the Diocese and county to serve their local communities, both with immediate needs and to identify and address the underlying issues. I would be very happy to discuss ways in which you could get involved.
The broken relationships between us and God, one another and Creation are reconciled in Jesus Christ. It is as a consequence of God’s reconciling grace that relationships are restored. In response to God’s mercy and grace to us, we seek to care for one another and for Creation. The good deeds that we do, the ‘social action’ we are involved in as part of our everyday faith do not earn us salvation, they are a grateful response to God’s mercy and grace, which we long to share with those around us, because we have experienced for ourselves what the psalmist discovered – that “blessed is the one who’s sins are forgiven”, and the joy that we long to share with others as we find ourselves surrounded by God’s steadfast love. If you are unsure as to whether your relationship with God today is based on trust, I encourage you to ask one of the team here to pray with you, today, that you would know God’s unfailing love and mercy for yourselves as you turn to Him.
Amen.
repairerofwalls 