Sermons - September 2023

MORNING WORSHIP, ST. COLUMBA'S, PONT STREET
SUNDAY 10 th SEPTEMBER 2023 11.00 A.M.
(15 th SUNDAY after PENTECOST)

Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, (and I will observe it to the end.)
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart. Psalm 119:33

The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet’; and any other commandment, 
are summed up in this word, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ Romans 13:9

This morning, worship at our linked charge of St Andrew’s, Newcastle is suspended, 
due to the upheaval that the mega-sporting event, the Great North Run, 
brings to the city; crowds, road closures etc.
This year’s run is marked by the farewell/the final run, 
of four-time Olympic Champion, Sir Mo Farah – 
he of the famous Mo Bot celebration.

For many, Sir Mo will forever be associated with the 2012 London Olympics.
Farah's 10,000m gold capped an unforgettable Super Saturday for the host nation, 
following fellow gold medal winners Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford 
in delivering three spectacular moments, within one an extraordinary hour. 
Seven days later, he repeated that success in the 5,000 metres.

Having arrived in London the month before I recall - among some – 
the air of pessimism, about the Games, before they started.
“It’ll be awful. London will be so crowded – time to get out.” 
(Occasionally one hears the same refrain from residents of another capital city 
at the time of the Edinburgh Festival.)
What transpired in 2012, came as a surprise.
Somehow, from the outset there was a feeling – a sense of communal celebration -  
helped of course by some domestic gold medals – 
but thanks, in part, to the 70,000 volunteer Games Makers, 
who assisted at transport hubs and sporting venues.
Strange things happened. People spoke to each other on the tube.
It was like a wedding party, where you have free licence 
to go up and ask a complete stranger: “How do you know the bride/groom?
[For a time, there was a sense of being part of a “Tent/Tube of Nations.”]

A very gentle lean towards: “Love does no wrong to a neighbour; 
therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law”?

To love our neighbour, in principle, is great.
I imagine that in most of our heads, we are FOR it.
The reality is somewhat trickier.
Someone said to me this week: “Why is so difficult to love the people closest to us?”
As one wag put it: “I love humanity, it’s just people I have a problem with.”

There is a misguided assumption that because we are Christians, 
We will be conflict-free. We will be nice – 
nice people, nice to each other.
In contrast, Jesus, took it for granted 
that we would argue, disagree, offend, sulk, wound, 
and sometimes, walk away. 
Afterall, he had first-hand experience of ambitious, arguing disciples, 
self-serving and scarpering; 
he comprehended how the human heart works – 
both for great good and terrible harm.

Today’s gospel (Matthew) – written for the early Jewish-Christian community – 
wrestling with what it is/what it takes, to foster and sustain community: 
On the one hand - holding to inherited wisdoms and traditions; 
on the other - welcoming those, for whom such traditions meant little or nothing. 
To this fractious constituency, Matthew summons Jesus words: 
recognising, resolving, reconciling conflict.
“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven,
 and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Not whether there will be fallings-out; 
but how to react/behave when the toys get launched from the pram.
As one of the many, pithy quotes from the bestseller, 
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, the Horse, Charlie Mackesy) – 
with its exploration of friendship, empathy and kindness:
“One of our greatest freedoms, is how we react to things.” 

“Love your neighbour as yourself. 
Love does no wrong to a neighbour; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.”

There are numerous, quiet signs of care in any congregation – 
A friendly welcome at the door, an enquiry after someone not seen for a while,
a card, a telephone call, food prepared and shared,
the holding of a conversation or the holding of a hand – 
sometimes, the honest: “I am so sorry, I don’t know what to say.”
Paul, in the previous chapter to that read today advised the Christians in Rome:
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
Or, in words sent to me this week: (described as a traditional African saying):
“Eat and drink together, talk and laugh together, enjoy life together;
but never call it friendship until we have wept together.”

There are of course other communities beyond our own,
that can inspire or illustrate this love of neighbour.
I have spent the last two evenings at a British-Indian household,
welcomed to the ritual preparations for a wedding day – 
an event spread over two weekends that will combine 
traditions from Indian village life, Presbyterian prayers and ceilidh dancing.
What was apparent these last two nights, 
was the care and generosity conveyed by the hosts 
and the delight demonstrated in the inclusion of us all, 
into the rituals of a different history, culture and language.
It included a mass dance in the street, led by a drummer, 
designed quite literally to “Wake Up” the neighbours – 
the traditional the call and invitation to the village, to come to the wedding.

Perhaps it is easy to be neighbourly at time of celebration, 
but how about when times are tough?
I have spoken before of the Support Groups that regularly meet here – 
Alcoholics Anonymous and others.
As one member so beautifully encapsulated: 
“We are a bunch of strangers, with your (each member’s) best intentions at heart.”

So, meeting by meeting, the gathered company of friend and stranger, 
long-term attendee and first-time visitor, 
find strength and support together, enough for the day.
Meetings are characterised both by gratefulness – 
individuals share the conversations or encounters that have gone well.
Others, who are really struggling, offer that.
Meeting by meeting, a way/truth is worked out; 
a way/truth that was alluded to in a very different setting this week:
At a start-of-term school assembly, new pupils – 
rabbits in headlights, overwhelmed by mountains of new information – 
were asked by their Headteacher: 
“How do you eat an elephant?
Then reminded: “One bite at a time.”

[An echo of Chinese saying also sent this week:
“To get through the hardest journey, we need take only one step at a time;
but we must keep on stepping.”]

Centuries after the ancient commandment to love our neighbour,
early Church father, Tertullian wrote:
“Our care for the derelict and our active love, have become our distinctive sign… “
And Maximos the Confessor, challenges our love of humanity/struggle with people:
“Blessed is the one who can love all people equally, 
always thinking good of everyone.” 

A tough summons. Alone, beyond us. Together? Maybe.
As James reminded the first Christians of Jerusalem:
“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, 
Love your neighbour as yourself,'
you are doing right."