30 August 2009 - "The Rector’s Last Sermon in the Parish"

Alan Winton - St Mary's
James 1.17-27;Mark 7.1-8, 14-15, 21-23

It’s almost exactly ten years ago that I was instituted as Rector of Welwyn by the then Bishop of Hertford, Robin Smith. It was a lovely service followed by a rather superior bun fight up at St. Mary’s School. That night we were awoken at 3am by the sound of a helicopter hovering overhead: it stayed there for quite some time with a powerful spotlight searching the gardens round about Ottway Walk and Hobbs Hill. An interesting start to life in our new parish we thought, and we wondered what lay in store for us and what sort of place we had come to after the peaceful lanes of Whitwell: how would we fare in what seemed like the harsh environment of inner city Welwyn? Thankfully life in the parish of Welwyn proved to be rather more peaceful and pleasant than that opening night might have suggested.

But I’ve often thought back to that service and Bishop Robin’s sermon which focused on the challenge to preach the gospel anew to this generation, to find new and compelling ways of expressing the faith today. And I have certainly tried in my preaching to find ways of exploring the faith of Jesus Christ in fresh ways, trying to connect this faith with the challenges, the joys and sorrows of our lives today. I’ve tried to get behind the easy phrases that often trip off our lips in church, to tease out the meaning of words that can easily become platitudes, the lazy assumptions we can fall into the habit of making, to explore why faith and trust in God doesn’t seem to come readily to this generation.

And of course we need to go on trying to continue that task. Happily, there will be times when the words we use really do help answer people’s questions or address their needs in ways that open up doors to faith for them. There is nothing more rewarding than when you have the privilege of seeing that happen, of seeing the spark of faith re-ignited in someone’s life, of seeing someone finding their way back into the fellowship of God’s church.

But alongside all of that, it has become increasingly clear to me that we need to take with absolute seriousness the words addressed to us in the epistle of James today “be doers of the word and not merely hearers”. In fact, we might paraphrase that to say ‘be doers of the word and not merely speakers’.

Because, as we’ve observed on occasion before, ours is definitely an age in which the currency of language and communication has been massively devalued. Language is used in so many contexts to persuade and manipulate us that we become suspicious of mere words: when people are trying to sell us something that we probably don’t need or that may not be good for us; and in the face of 24 hour news, when everyone has become adept at having to spin the truth, trying to survive and get their message over in an often hostile environment. In this context, people rightly become suspicious and treat every kind of speech with scepticism, and this presents another an different challenge for the church. In this situation, surely the one genuine currency that we can obtain is the integrity that shows that our words are consonant with our actions, that there is a match between what we say and what we do – that sort of conviction is needed for people to begin to listen.

There is a lovely Peanuts cartoon from years ago, based on another similar verse in the letter of James on this theme. It shows Snoopy, the little dog standing in the snow shivering with cold. Two of the children in the cartoon walk by, wrapped up in warm coats and scarves and hats with thick mittens on their hands. They call out a greeting to poor Snoopy, “hey there, be of good cheer” they cry, and then they walk on, leaving Snoopy to shiver. Their offer of good cheer was empty: no integrity or match between word and deed. This has always stayed with me as the perfect image of a church if it speaks of God’s love but fails to act it out, fails to embody God’s love in its deeds.

We have to find ways of ensuring that the words we proclaim about our faith, about the nature of the God whom we worship, are backed up by the actions we take. Quite simply we cannot hope to speak afresh about the love of God to our sceptical generation unless we are looking for ways to embody that love in the ways we treat other people. Our world desperately needs that integrity, in fact, we probably live in an age where actions need to come first, and only then will we find people ready to listen to what we say in our worship, what we proclaim in our preaching, or what we have to offer when we are moved to share our faith with others.

And the actions we need to take are not complex, but they are demanding. It is about the welcome we offer people when they come into our churches or our neighbourhoods, accepting them with their differences but finding the grace to respect them nonetheless and even to learn from them; it is about the compassion and care we show especially to those who suffer, even when their suffering is not like ours or they don’t wish to follow the sensible advice we sometimes feel moved to offer; it is about the imagination and commitment we can bring to offering activities, groups and events to meet the needs of people in our communities, committing ourselves and making the sacrifices needed to give of our time and resources unselfishly and generously. All of this is to embody the truth of what we claim with our lips when we speak of God’s love for the world.

‘Be doers of the word, and not merely hearers or speakers’.

It has been a great privilege serving the parish and the team over these last ten years, and getting to know so many of you in the churches and in the wider community. Being a parish priest is still one of the most wonderful jobs I can imagine, and it encompasses such a range of possibilities and opportunities, not least in the times when I have been taken into people’s lives, sharing your greatest joys or deepest sorrows. I have got to know some remarkable people and have enjoyed seeing the range of gifts and skills people have brought to the life of the churches.

The creation of the team itself has been a wonderful thing, seeing new friendships and new possibilities for mutual support and encouragement opening up, building a wider community beyond the loyalties of this church to embrace our neighbours as well. And of course the challenge for us is always to stretch wider the boundaries of our love and friendship, not simply to love the people who are close to us or like us, but to embrace those who differ and bring different insights and different challenges to us. I imagine that is going to be one of the challenges I face in my new role as I visit the 290 odd churches in my area, experiencing at first hand the breadth of the Church of England, having my eyes opened to new ways of doing things, meeting people and communities whose lives are very different to mine. The challenge is always to see this newness and otherness as possibility and gift, and not as a threat or something to be feared.

I’m sure you will keep me in your prayers, and I will pray for you in the coming months, not least in the vacancy that lies ahead, under the excellent leadership and ministry of Coralie and Diane and Stephen and the ministry team, and the churchwardens across the team. There will be new challenges to you all in living together in a community of love and worship, and there will be tensions and challenges. In part this is because the life of the church is focused of issues and experiences about which we care deeply, about which our feelings are rightly strong. It should come as no surprise therefore that the task of shaping a community of love and friendship, of support and forgiveness, is the most important and difficult challenge we face in being a church that people want to join.

But once again James is there with good and wise advice, which, dare I say, wouldn’t make a bad motto for the months ahead: James writes this, “Let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger”.

So do listen well to one another, especially for the things that go unsaid but maybe lie just beneath the surface, because we’re often not very good at saying what is really on our minds. And in all the business and rush of the months ahead, when you are doing your bit in preparing for worship on a Sunday morning or organising some activity, remember to slow right down when a hasty word comes to your lips and to reflect long and hard before allowing anger to surface. And what James says about anger should also be said about criticism: be slow to criticize. It is amazing how the simple act of pausing and then choosing not to say something angry, critical or hurtful can bring grace into our lives, can ease a difficult situation.

Let me leave you with a prayer I discovered just this week, written by George Briggs a former Canon of Winchester. It’s one that I shall be taking into the demands of the ministry that lies before me as well as into the home. Bishops are called upon to speak on many occasions and it will be good for me to keep this prayer in mind: you might like to do the same in the new demands that you will face, especially if things don’t always go quite as you would like them to. It’s definitely a prayer of which James would approve.

Set a watch, O Lord, upon my tongue:
That I may never speak the cruel word which is untrue;
Or, being true, is not the whole truth;
or being wholly true, is merciless;
for the love of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

And now finally, my prayer for you:

May God guide your life together in these coming months, may it be a sign of God’s love in this troubled world, and may God’s blessing continue to rest upon this church and its people in all that lies before you, for Jesus Christ’s sake. Amen.