Sermon delivered on the 11th Sunday after Trinity, the 4th
September 2011 by Fr Nicholas JG Sykes in the congregation of St. Alban's
Church of England, George Town, Cayman Islands for the service of Holy Baptism
and Holy Communion.
Scriptures: Ezekiel 33: 7-11 Romans
13: 8-14 S. John 3: 1-8
S. John 3: 5 Jesus
said: “Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom
of God.”
HEAVENLY SOLIDITY
C S Lewis' idea of the state of heaven as he expressed it in his
book "The Great Divorce" visualised individuals there as possessing
great solidity. Compared to the great solidity of life in heaven, we here in
earth are like shadows or ghosts to them, Lewis supposes. There is in our own
experience of living here in earth something of that also. If we are
disoriented from the course of our life perhaps by some sin, like a sin against
our marriage, or perhaps by the death of a child or other loved one, or perhaps
by some misfortune like a burglary at our home or workplace or the strike of a
hurricane, we may have the sense of lightness and disconnectedness. We feel
like a gas balloon, floating away and unable to keep ourselves earthed to
reality, something that is no doubt being felt at the moment by many people who
live in parts of the Bahamas chain or the flood-affected areas of the United
States, or even more by the drought-affected in the Horn of Africa or by our
brothers in the faith fearing persecution in various parts of the world. On the
other hand the sense of God's fatherly guidance to a Christian who has embarked
upon something in faith, grants to that man or woman a sense of connectedness,
of having feet on the ground, a sense that no matter how difficult or unknown
the path is, and no matter how poor our qualifications to walk in such a path
may be, we are where we should be. Strength will continue to be given to us
through the difficult times. The exercise of hope, faith and love in the sense
of agape gives to a person that connectedness, that earthiness, that
homeliness that imparts to him in the eyes of others sometimes the sense of
being larger than he physically is, a sense of reality.
THE DEBT OF LOVE
Let us think, then, of the admonition to the prophet Ezekiel about
warning his people with this imagery in mind. If Ezekiel or, by extension, we
in the communion of the church are given by God some warning for our community,
what we are being called to do is to pull them from that state of
disconnectedness to which they are in danger of being lost, and to help them
get connected again; connected in the way we have thought about, to the earthy
and homely purposes of God for us. For instance, we are called at this time in
the second decade of the twenty-first century to warn and admonish and
encourage our younger brothers and sisters in the faith, and indeed our
neighbours in general, to do whatever it takes to strengthen the bonds of
marriage and the family. We are told by God to warn people to discipline their
sexuality, to say No to desire whenever desire is destructive, to say No now in
order that our Yes in the future might be meaningful, and so on. If we fail to
give such warnings and encouragements, then when we contemplate someone
struggling with AIDS or with abortion issues, it perhaps becomes a symbol of
what we failed to do. We, the Church, have been told to warn and to encourage,
but more often than not we have passed by on the other side, preferring to
think it was none of our business, the way other people live. But helping
people get connected to the path of reality and solidity, and helping them turn
away from the courses of disconnectedness and fading away, is our business of
love and care - a primary business in God's eyes, surely. Why else would He
have put us here? "As I live, says the Lord God (in the language and
thought of the Old Testament), I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
but that the wicked turn back from his way and live." It is our business
as members of the household of God, to give to the Lord that pleasure, and to
share it ourselves. St. Paul says in our New Testament lesson, "Owe no one
anything, except to love one another", and I am told that the the famous
teacher Origen taught, "It is our duty always to pay and always to owe
this debt of love." Love as a duty, always to pay it and always to owe it:
it takes this real love to go on warning and encouraging, as well as solid
right thinking, formed by faithful doctrine. What the Church is now faced with
requires nothing less than these strengths.
JESUS AND BAPTISM
Our Lord counselled Nicodemus about this connectedness when He
spoke to him of baptism. “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of
water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” Entering the kingdom
of God is manifested in that largeness, that strength, that connectedness with
the wise and great purpose of God that we have thought about. Baptism, being
born of water and the Spirit, is spoken of by Jesus here as the first step
towards this condition of being a citizen in God’s Kingdom. A good cross-reference
from Jesus’ words is to Galatians 5: 25 ff. St. Paul counsels: “Husbands, love
your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He
might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the
word, that He might present the church to Himself in splendour, without
spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.”
The passage is as remarkable for what it says about the call to a husband to
care for his wife, as for what it says about the call of us the church to grow
in our response to the love of Christ. So today we have this little one to be
cleansed by the washing of water with the word; but there are many tomorrows,
in which he will be called not to be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ
crucified, as we are counselled in the baptismal liturgy itself, called
therefore to grow in his response to the love of Christ, who gave Himself up
for him and for us. It will be our responsibility, as well as that of the
godparents, to put him in mind of these matters, as we are prompted to by the
Spirit.
THE DUTY OF LOVE
Now if Origen is right about love as a duty, as he surely is, this
real and often uncomfortable love for others as well as for this little one is
indeed our duty. It's not a matter of unnecessary interference or fulfilling a
selfish desire of poking one's nose into other people's business. It is a
matter of caring that our brother or sister grows in the solidity and reality
of discipleship until he reaches that place where we will be truly solid. It is
a matter of caring to help our brother or sister avoid the paths of shadows and
disconnection. All of us ourselves need that helping hand at times. The prophet
Ezekiel was told that he was made a watchman for the house of Israel. The
calling of godparents is likewise to be watchmen for their charges. But in the
Church the call to be watchmen is one for all of us. It is well to listen to
our brother or sister in Christ, as he will have much to teach us about growing
in discipleship. But we need to hear God’s word and to hear and heed His
warnings to us above all. Love, listen, warn, encourage one another: this is
today's counsel. Let's receive it and let's exercise it. It can soon be too
late for some if we neglect it.