TRINITY 10

TRINITY 10, 2022 Sermon by the Vicar:

Readings:  Jeremiah 1:4-10, Hebrews 12:18-end, Luke 13:10-17

Climate change is with us, so in this country we see brown landscapes, dried up water sources, and fires. The effects of course are much more dramatic and life threatening in other parts of the world. But we are fortunate in this city and this church in having plenty of green spaces- if we care for them. Trees and green are therapeutic, especially for city dwellers – I know that a green environment is therapeutic for me, especially trees. In a dilettante way, I have enthusiasm, even if I lack the knowledge. One tree I have always been keen on is the tree boswellia sacra. You will immediately identify that of course as the frankincense tree, so plentiful in Yemen, Oman, Somalia, but best of all on the island of Socotra off the Horn of Africa. Only once I gave some talks on a cruise ship on the incense trade and routes for the export and sale of incense from the tree boswellia. This must have been riveting, as one man who had been asleep on the front row for the whole of the talk woke up at the end and signified that he wanted to ask a question. “Fascinating talk, padre,” he said, “but why so much talk about incest?” As we move towards the end of summer and the beginning of Autumn, we will be with our ecumenical partners in the season of Creation Time. You will find details of how we plan to mark this season in the hand-out creation time at St John’s, but I wanted to speak today about why it matters and what it means, by focussing on two themes which also, for me, come through the readings set for today. These are Organic Growth and Harmony.

So first, organic growth. Churches, like trees and plants are organic, and if they grow or decline, they do so organically – at least in times devoid of warfare and persecution. You could define organic growth as encouraging the natural order to enable the plant or the church to flourish. Churches like plants need constant nourishment and nutrients. Churches receive their nourishment and nutrients from the riches of the spiritual tradition they inherit, which includes of course the biblical inheritance. In order to grow, churches must first draw on their nutrients to be fed. I hope we are doing this here. You see the evidence of organic growth all around you – new areas of ministry in music, and a flourishing Filipino Chaplaincy. All organic plants have shoots which are healthy and growing and others which are less productive and need encouragement. As you know, one of the areas where we underperform in this church is in the level of giving of regular worshippers which we call stewardship. Healthy giving and healthy commitment is a very sure sign of spiritual vitality. When I first started to be involved in the church as an adult, it was only when I was asked for money that I realised this was a real organisation as opposed to a talking shop. This autumn we will be asking all our regular worshippers, new or long established, to prayerfully consider their giving. Archbishop Justin Welby has said “Everything to do with money is simply theology in numbers.”  I am acutely aware of the cost-of-living crisis, which affects us as individuals, as families, and as churches. Here, our utility bills for gas and electric last year were £10,000. This year, it is likely that they will be around £30,000. This affects us dramatically, and we appeal to you to help if you can. So in most areas of our church we see organic growth springing up, and in areas where growth is poor – such as our giving, we need to give this attention and to encourage growth there too. If you are the sort of person who needs a biblical hook for that, the prophet Jeremiah says in the first reading today “Do not be afraid.”  We are not afraid, and we will rise to this challenge, as we always have. We have moved on. We have grown.

Now to Harmony. At the same time as knowing that the natural order has a wonderful harmony, we also know that it is red in tooth and claw. In a recent walk I saw a hawk make off in a spectacular stoop with a small rabbit. It was both violent and beautiful. So too in organic groups such as churches and other human communities. They need frameworks for conflict resolution, if the strong are not to unhealthily dominate. The Gospel today provides one such framework with the healing of a woman on the Sabbath. At the same time, Jesus challenges the powerful in society – that’s to say, the religious leadership. Benedict recognised this in his maxim for Benedictine communities” Restrain the strong. Encourage the weak.” This has always been my maxim for Parish ministry. Conflict resolution needs also to be at the heart of organic communities such as churches and nations. Let me take the example of what is happening in Ukraine now. We are not standing idly by and wringing our hands in the face of the evil of the destroying of innocent lives. We have responded immediately by sending money for relief – over £8,000 so far, we collected collecting clothes for use by refugees, and we have kept up the pressure on our elected political representatives for a generous and appropriate asylum policy- which at the moment is neither of those things. We need our politicians to respond to human need, not constantly looking over their shoulders at how they can appeal top people’s baser instincts of me first. We can and will make a difference to lives shattered by violence in different parts of the world. We can and will contribute to the building up of stable and safe environments in those countries, and our own. In conflict resolution, we need to remember the early church maxim that our life and our death are with our neighbour. This is true in the international order too, with the churches and faith communities leading appropriate action now in the absence of policy from our elected leaders.

So be encouraged as we approach the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, that God is constantly doing new things in his Church, through organic growth, and sometimes through conflict to harmony. Through the signs of the natural order, and through the depth of our own spiritual tradition, particularly through the sacramental signs of Baptism and Eucharist, we can see that God is indeed making all things new –which is why we put these words on our doors for all to see. So come with us on this autumnal journey of creation time – ask yourself where you are growing and where you are dry. Ask yourself also what you can do to help the growth of the church here and further afield- as near and far are organically connected through the sacramental unity of baptism which we already enjoy. And remember that is is God who goes with us – again I quote Jeremiah, “Do not be afraid.” Our eternal God is with all of us all the time, and will lead us, through organic growth, to harmony. Isn’t this amazing, and doesn’t it make you want to respond with generosity and thankfulness?