| Date | 23 January 2005 |
|---|---|
| Sunday | 3rd Sunday of Epiphany |
| Preacher | The Revd Dan Tyndall |
| Readings | Isaiah 9. 1 – 4 1 Corinthians 1. 10 – 18 Matthew 4. 12 – 23 |
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The final whistle blew. It had been a great match. And as the crowd began to leave, the man on the PA was heard to say: “And don’t forget, we travel to Barnet on Saturday 22nd January; and our next home match is on Saturday 29th January against Forest Green” The manager was delighted with the players, even though they lost. The whistle went. Exeter City were out of the FA Cup. Beaten by Manchester United in a replay. Exeter City lie 7th in the Nationwide Conference league. That’s a long way from the top of the Premiership where Manchester United are used to being found. But the FA Cup throws up some surprises and Exeter baffled the pundits a couple of weeks ago. At Manchester United’s home ground of Old Trafford, in front of a crowd of 67,551 mighty Man U were held to a goal-less draw by the Mighty Grecians, thus earning them a home reply last Wednesday evening, in front of a crowd of 9,033. If you had been at Manchester’s Old Trafford two weeks ago, if you had been at Exeter’s St James’s Park on Wednesday, you would have been in no doubt who followed Man U, and who followed Exeter City. The trouble for Paul (that’s Saint Paul of the Bible, not Paul Jones Exeter’s goalkeeper) is that the church in Corinth was plagued with the same kind of divisions. Some say, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to Apollos’, or ‘I belong to Cephas’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ What’s OK on the football terraces is not acceptable on the church benches. Has Christ been divided?
These are the questions Paul asks of the church at Corinth some two thousand years ago – but they remain compelling today. At the international level, what are our church leaders doing to bring about the unity of the churches? This is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Every year we mark our intention and desire to be one church, but we never seem to get any nearer to that vision. At the institutional level there is still a cry of ‘I belong to the Anglicans’ or ‘I belong to the Baptists’ Locally, our relations with churches of other denominations is getting better and better. We work closely with our friends across Earley and East Reading, and across Woodley and Wokingham, on a range of issues and projects. But then at one level, that makes me question our divisions even more: if we can work together and pray together, why can’t we worship together and be together. Has Christ been divided?
But if we’re really going to address this particular issue, we have to go one more step. This isn’t just an issue that faced the Corinthians two thousand years ago, this isn’t just an issue that faces our international church institutions. Rather, this is an issue that comes to the heart of each and every one of us – of you, and of me. If Paul were writing to us, what would be his challenge Some say, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to St Nicolas, or ‘I belong to Dan’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ Has Christ been divided?
Let me ask you this. It is a personal question, and I make no apology for that, but then you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But consider this … You’re in a conversation with a person who’s face is familiar, but you don’t know that well; possibly a colleague or neighbour; someone at the bus-stop or the school gate. For some reason you get chatting. For some reason you begin to go through your weeks. On Tuesday (says the other person) I go to my mother in law, she’s confined to the house so I do my bit to help her out. On Thursday it’s Bingo. And on Sundays we have a lie in. We don’t get up until 11.00. It’s great. I love those lazy Sunday mornings – don’t you? You’re caught. It’s a direct question, which, out of politeness to this new friend, you have to answer. What do you do? There’s no Phone-a-Friend. You can’t Ask the Audience. And going 50-50 isn’t an option. Some say, ‘I belong to Paul’, or ‘I belong to St Nicolas, or ‘I belong to Dan’, or ‘I belong to Christ.’ You could, of course, lie and say that you also enjoy those lazy Sunday mornings. But I’m going to work with the assumption that you won’t do that! So how do you answer that question: • Well actually I’m a churchgoer, so I … • Well actually I’ve met this really nice vicar, so I … • Well actually I’ve been a member of St Nicolas for years, so I … • Well actually I’m a Christian, so I … As I say, I’m not going to ask you to own up to which of those four options you feel most comfortable with, but I will give you my answer. If I am going to be completely honest, it is only in the last five or six years that I have determined (that I have made up my mind) to stop calling myself a church‑goer and to start calling myself a Christian. I understand why you might want to shy away from using the word ‘Christian’ to describe yourself. It has association with bible‑bashing, guilt‑inducing, sandal‑wearing individuals, who proclaim their own salvation and denounce others to hell, who speak of God’s love for themselves and God’s wrath for others. Well, I decided that the time had come to reclaim the word; to give it renewed meaning; to let the world know (well, my little bit of it) that • following Christ is about knowing yourself as beloved of God • being a disciple of Jesus means following him wherever he wants us to go (even to church!) • being a Christian is good and wholesome and life‑giving and fun! So I invite you to join me in this crusade; to rescue the name of Christian from the narrow minded view that most people have. And the only way to do that is to stand up and be known • not as member of St Nicolas • not as a fan of Dan, Dan the Vicar man • not as a churchgoer= • but as a follower of Jesus, a disciple of Christ, a Christian. |