Our
Benefice theme for this year is the phrase I
will tell and Julia on behalf of the Benefice Ministry Team introduced
this a fortnight ago. I too stand before you today to continue the narrative
and Angie Milne will carry it on further in 2 weeks time.
My theme for today is taken from the last few
verses of Matthew’s Gospel; these are commonly known as The Great Commission.
Reading
from verse 16
Then
the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them
to go. When they saw him, they worshipped him; but some doubted. The Jesus came
to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey
everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very
end of the age.
The
first thing that popped into my mind when I read this was a few lines from a
hymn:
Go, tell it on the
mountain, over the hills and everywhere.
Go, tell it on the
mountain that Jesus Christ is born.
Shortly
afterwards I read a piece in the newspaper about a monk who had been living on
a bleak hill in Northumberland since 1971; first in a caravan and latterly in a
house he built with the help of friends. The site now has a church and 4 monastic
cells also built with occasional help. Brother Palmer could be described as a
hermit but he is not a full recluse having visitors every week or two.
I
started to ponder how to square the idea of the great commission with this life
of comparative solitude spent largely in prayer and saying the various daily offices.
For me the answer is in the epistle reading set for last week and today from 1
Corinthians. Paul describes how each of us is given different gifts; we are not
to have all the gifts, but some of them, and we are to work together as a team
helping each other.
Brother
Palmer’s gift is for prayer and he has used it to provide a retreat where
others who want to experience prayer in solitude can come and join him. He has
chosen a life not of going out evangelising but of visibly witnessing to God
mainly on his own. It seems to me that his vision of telling it on the mountain
is to set a clear example of following Jesus that anyone can look up and see.
The invitation is implicitly there to come and join him for a while and engage in
prayer with the aim of becoming closer to God.
Frankly
it is not a life or a lifestyle that I feel comfortable with – for one thing I
have stood out on too many draughty building sites in the cold and rain and I appreciate
my creature comforts in Piddington. That led me to think about some of the
people I have known over the last 40 years and who have prayed in all 3 churches
in our Benefice. One of the things that struck me as I reflected was that many
of the people of my parent’s generation had a faith that was grounded in a
thorough knowledge of the Bible and they were not apologetic about sharing it
with anyone. A Christian Life was important to them and it showed in what they
said and did both inside and outside the church.
Of
course times have changed but I wonder how many people could say of each of us
- I can see that they are Christian by the way that they lead their lives, by
the example they set, and that they are prepared to justify their beliefs in public.
Today’s
Old Testament reading is from Nehemiah. In Chapter 8 Ezra, the priest, reads to
a large gathering from the Book of the Law of Moses. This is probably the
Pentateuch – the first five books of the Bible where among other things Moses
is setting a way of living for the Jews. Ezra is telling the people God’s word
and the people are listening carefully.
The
Gospel Reading from Luke Chapter 4 sets out that Jesus has been teaching in the
synagogues and today he starts to give a clue to who he really is – he has been
already, and is now, telling them what the Christian story is going to be.
Both Ezra
and Jesus are speaking publicly, their actions and their words are inextricably
linked
So
what does Go and make disciples of all
nations look like. While I was reading round I came across some
figures.
According
to research the ratio of non - believers to believers has steadily declined
over the centuries.
At the
end of the first century (AD 100) there were 360 non - believers for every
single follower of Jesus on earth.
By the
end of the first millennia (AD 1000) that number shrank to 220!
By the
beginning of the Reformation (AD 1500) there were 69 non - believers for every
Christian.
As the last century began (AD 1900) the number
was down to 27.
After
two world wars (AD 1950) progress was still being made. The number of non -
believers for every Christian totalled 21.
By
1980 that number had diminished to 11 non - Christians on earth for every
“Great Commission Christian” – those committed followers of Jesus who are
trying to spread their faith to others.
To be
fair that sounds good; however the number of people on the planet has also
vastly increased so in terms of actual numbers there are a lot more people who
still have to learn about our Lord
Also a
couple of figures from the Diocesan website I found last week:
· 52% of mission is led
by non-licensed lay people (31% clergy, 17% licensed). Often not picked up by
the system these hidden gems are doing outstanding mission work all across the
diocese.
· 77% of all contacts
with non-church goers happens in and around primary schools.
Going
back to Brother Palmer, the monk on the hill, he was definitely not someone
like Billy Graham who was comfortable talking to thousands but someone who
interacted with no more than 2 or 3 people at any one time – and that it was
where I personally feel more comfortable, along with, I suspect, many other
Christians.
So where
does that leave us here in Quinton / Hardingstone? How can we show and tell
today?
Here’s a couple of ideas - could anyone help
support the Benefice Pastoral Team by giving a small portion of their time to
visit a lonely person. Alternatively the Children’s Team are running Experience
Jesus days at the end of March for the local schools in Hackleton and
Hardingstone. I know many of you have volunteered to help previously at these
events and found them very spiritually rewarding both for the children and themselves,
please speak to Gill Watson if you can help. We are going to need additional
help this year because Gill needs another replacement knee operation and will
be out of action during the schools’ visits.
For an
action –
At
Piddington I suggested that it would be good if we could tidy up Church Walk again
and trim back the tree overhangs so that the children can reach the church
safely. A lot of people use that path, it’s on the dog walking circuit and it’s
another way of showing the church in action.
In
Quinton I was very impressed with the display of poppies on the church for
Remembrance Day. Is there anything else that the church here can do to show
that it is not just contained within these walls.
Here in
Hardingstone you can now see the church from the High Street thanks to the
efforts of a group of volunteers but is there anything else that the church
here can do to show that it is not just contained within these walls.
In our
brown hymn books the hymn immediately after “Go tell it on the mountain” has a
chorus that goes
Freely, freely you have received;
freely, freely give.
Go in my name, and because you believe,
others will know that I live.
In
many ways I think those few lines say a lot about Christian living and sum up
what I have been saying earlier.
Go
tell it on the mountain by all means – but much better to tell it here in
Living Brook in both word and action.
Amen
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