SERMON BY THE VICAR Sunday, 8th February 2026: 2 Before Lent

Readings: Genesis 1:1-2:3, Romans 8:18-25, Matthew 6:25-end

The last time we heard the Genesis reading in this church was at the Easter Vigil as our candidates prepared for baptism and confirmation. We will hear it again at the Easter Vigil this year. It is a foundational text for our place in the created order. As we turn our faces towards Lent, we need this context of creation and resting in the created order with Christ the new Adam. Why?

It is only to state the obvious that we are right now a confused, divided, and directionless society – there are of course many and multiple reasons. For me, two reasons stand out, both related. The first is lack of vision – “Without vision the people perish” and second is the militantly secular context in which we find ourselves. Secularism maintains that the highest good is the individual and his or her place in the state. There is nothing higher. In the twentieth century, the two catastrophic examples were fascism and communism, both of which systems placed the state at the pinnacle of human achievement. It was a guiding principle of Nazism that the highest good to which an individual could aspire was the State. The principal philosopher, on whom Nazism relied, of course, was Friedrich Nietzsche of Mensch und Ubermensch fame. Nietzsche shared much with contemporary political correctness of European secular fundamentalism in his belief, that, given the right conditions, religious belief would simply fade away. Nietzsche famously described religion as the “idiosyncrasy of the decadent revenging themselves upon life.”

But now, twenty-six years into the third Christian millennium, and having left behind a century of militant and murderous atheism, we see religious belief not only stubbornly refusing to go away, but growing, it seems, ever stronger. This is true globally, where faith is on the rise, and we should not imagine that our own faithless society is a model across the world. There are many acute observers, not least in the Vatican, who predict that the largest number of Christians in 2050 will be in China. Policy makers, it seems, will have to take this phenomenon seriously.

Why speak about this today? Firstly, the readings set for today. The Old Testament reading from Genesis and the reading from Romans state the central Christian belief proclaimed in the Creeds that in Jesus Christ we see the true and archetypal human and true God, existing from before and after the creation of the world. It also reminds us, that as Jesus Christ is the archetypal human being, so we as human beings share in the work of creation as co-creators with God. The animals and the rest of creation are a reminder that, as human beings work together, so we are called at the same time to work with creation as part of it. The New Testament reading from Romans continues this theme as Christ the creator of the world. In Christian art and theology, we call this the Pantocrator. In art, the Pantocrator is pictured seated above the globe as its creator. At the centre of the Gospel proclamation is Jesus Christ, assuring us that we can rest in the created order. Let me describe this in the language of symbols. The Lamb of God is surrounded by the four living creatures. This is pictorial language of course for the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and their symbols – the ox, the lion, the bull, and the eagle. In iconography this is called the zoomorph, and you no doubt know where all the zoomorphs are in this church. One is behind the head of the preacher. Christ is at the centre of creation as its creator. This is our only security – nothing else and certainly not the ramped-up testosterone fuelled language of international politics, the Third World War, and nuclear obliteration. Our Lent focus this year will therefore be on the image of Jesus and what that image means for Christians ecumenically, from whom we have so much to learn. It is also not be found in doomscrolling through social media, where my existence is constantly compared against the fantasy version of happiness projected by others. If the church had any voice at all, it would be calling, as some governments have done, to ban under 16’s from social media and thus release them from the damaging prison of life lived through social media.

For Christians, our faith is anchored in Jesus Christ, the same yesterday today and forever, and this gives a strong and stable base to move outwards and forwards as I hope we are always doing. And there is sound sense why the compilers of the lectionary put these readings for today as we approach Lent. These readings bring us back to the core on which we rely. Without this theological underpinning, the Christian Church and the Christian message is nothing. A strong and secure theological base will endure, and people will be attracted to it, especially if it is open and not a club.

Why is it important to us at St John’s that we are an open church? Is the living out of our faith through worship simply a disposable extra in our lives or is it central? At St John’s, we believe worship to be central to mental health and true happiness, and therefore this leaves us no choice to be an open church offering live sacramental worship now and, in the future, – whatever life throws at us. We lived through a pandemic six years ago. This was not the first pandemic through which the Christian Church has survived, and it will not be the last. This strong and stable theological base of belief in Jesus Christ gives real power to those who enter this Covenant - to become sons and daughters of God. In other words, to be born again. This is true happiness, and at this time of year we are reminded of the opportunities which Lent offers for personal re-birth as we examine our lives as sons and daughters of God. This Lent we will focus on the image of Jesus as containing all that we need for our security and yes, our happiness. Faith in Jesus Christ gives everything perspective. Let’s hear from China and be encouraged. The eight century Chinese monk Xuanzhang ended his epic narrative Journey to the West, with these words, “Never give up. Keep the faith.” This we will do, following the words of Jesus which we hear today “ Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Amen to that.