We Have Another World in View
A Sermon for the 2nd Sunday after Pentecost
RCL Proper 11A [1]
14 June 2020
Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral
New Westminster BC
We have another world in view.
As a person who grew up during the charismatic revival in the Diocese of Colorado, I have an inner hymn book that occasionally pops a melody or lyrics into my head at unexpected times. This week, as I was pondering what to say today, my inner hymn book kept re-playing a Ghanaian folk hymn sung as people are walking to worship.
We have another world in view, in view,
we have another world in view.
We have another world in view, in view,
we have another world in view.
Our Saviour has gone to prepare us a place,
we have another world in view.
Our Saviour has gone to prepare us a place,
we have another world in view.
These simple words enshrine what I believe to be the reason God, through the Holy Spirit, has entrusted us to continue the ministry begun in the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth. These simple words form the foundation to our response to the events that have unfolded before our eyes since the untimely and unlawful death of George Floyd. These simple words form the essence of the message proclaimed by those who are committed to peaceful change and to the dismantling of the social and cultural structures that support racism in all its forms.
For two thousand years we have held to the hope that the world that God has shown us is possible will come soon. It was the hope of the first generations of Christians who, in the face of oppression, persecutions and martyrdom, called out in prayer, ‘Maranatha’, ‘Come, Lord. Come soon.’ It was the hope of the Reformers who shaped the Christian tradition in which we worship today that they could create a truly Christian society. It was the hope of the many social reformers who fought slavery, who sought justice for indigenous people, who worked for better living and social conditions for workers, that God’s reign of justice would come soon.
It is in the light of this hope that I read today’s reading from the Gospel according to Matthew.
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out labourers into his harvest.” [2]
As Jesus begins his ministry, he is proclaiming this hope, the hope that God’s promised reign was on the immediate horizon. The poor and marginalized among whom Jesus lived and to whom he brought near God’s healing and God’s good news were no different from those who long for healing and justice in our towns and cities, no different from those of us gathered for worship in the Cathedral and in our homes.
We still have work to do.
When Jesus says, ‘(the) harvest is plentiful,’ I hear him saying to his disciples and to us that there is still work for us to do. If that isn’t clear to anyone, then all we need to do is to look at the world around us. The unrest on the streets of the world’s cities is a symptom of a world that is still becoming what God would have it become. The troubles of the present are a reminder that we, made in the image and likeness of God, have the freedom to choose to give life and to withhold it. From the beginning we have shown great ingenuity in choosing badly and seeking self-interest rather than the common good. Undoing the evils of our bad choices requires the conversion of our hearts, minds and wills.
Converting our hearts, minds and wills is the work of the Spirit. Why? Because God, in God’s infinite wisdom, invites us to be co-workers in this great reclamation project. Ever since Adam and Eve were given the responsibility to tend the Garden of Eden, God has chosen human beings as agents.
We need to invite others to join us in this work.
But this is a massive project that has lasted for millennia and continues into the present day. To do this work well requires committed communities of faith who resist evil, who seek and serve Christ in all persons, who respect the dignity of every human being and who strive to safeguard the integrity of creation. We need such communities because being a co-worker with God is exhausting and the supportive love and concern of other disciples renews us for the work we face.
It’s no secret that the last decades have seen our numbers decline in Canada and elsewhere in the world. For many reasons Anglicans have been reluctant to do what other Christians have done: We’ve stopped sharing our faith and inviting others to join us in the work that God has entrusted to us. But this reluctance has to be overcome. If we need any incentive to invite others to join us in God’s reclamation of creation, then let’s look only to a world in turmoil. To use a term we hear frequently these days, God needs many more ‘allies’.
Ordinary people are God’s favourites.
The interesting thing is that God has a preference for ordinary folks as allies. This is good news for us since we live in an age of celebrity. We find it hard to imagine sometimes that most of the main characters in the Scriptures are not the rich and the powerful. They are fisherfolk like Peter, Andrew, James and John. They are women such as Mary, Elizabeth and Mary Magdalene. They are even people of questionable qualities such as Matthew the tax-collector and Judas Iscariot.
Some years ago a congregational consultancy conducted a survey about ‘believability’. They were wondering how congregations grew and who were the influential agents of growth. They discovered that ordained leadership was influential in the pastoral, liturgical and educational dimensions of congregational life. The most influential agents of parish growth were the laity because they are the most ‘believable’ when they share their faith with others. A word spoken in a coffee shop or at dinner or in a private conversation often has more impact that the most carefully constructed and passionately delivered sermon.
We have another world in view.
We do have another world in view. The world we have in view is a world where every human being is respected and treated with dignity --- especially those whom the majority or the powerful may consider undeserving of respect and dignity. The world we have in view is a world where ancient wrongs are made right and walls that divided one group from another are torn down. The world we have in view is a world where every human being has a home and need not fear hunger or strife.
How soon that world comes into being is only known to God. What can be known is that we have a part to play in bringing that world closer. The work before us is great. The need for more hands, hearts and minds to join in the work just as great. The good news is that the world is filled with the ordinary people that God trusts to do this extraordinary work.
Paul writes, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God.” [3] We eagerly await the world we have in view. Our Saviour has gone to prepare us a place. But, in the Spirit, God has entrusted to us a fair bit of work in the meantime. I actually find that good news in times such as these.
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