Sermons from Rev David Jenkins in 2008

 A sermon preached by Rev. David Jenkins on 8 June 2008

 Almost every day we hear about some fresh incidence of knife or gun crime in which a youngster is murdered by other youngsters. Possible links with heavy drinking and drug taking by some young people increases our concern for a younger generation. The prison population continues to grow to bursting point, with the frightening statistic that up to a third of young men in this country have spent time in prison.

Across the world there are people in positions of power who flagrantly abuse their own people in an attempt to maintain their own power –situations in Zimbabwe and Burma come instantly to mind. The total disregard for human life and decency that we saw with the Stalin’s and Hitler’s of this world continue to be pursued with great cynicism.

But, of course, that’s only one side of how life is. Because television news is based on bad news stories, it is often necessary to remind ourselves of the existence of sheer human goodness.

Goodness is a quality that gets overlooked. It can easily be rubbished and written off.  But when we meet real goodness in a person we know that it matters supremely.

As one writer put it, “Nothing is so beautiful, nothing is so continually fresh and surprising, so full of sweet and perpetual ecstasy as the good; no desert is so dreary, monotonous and boring as evil. But often we’re given the impression that evil is fascinating and good is boring!”

Sometimes such goodness does make it into the News broadcasts. When parents of those knifed or gunned to death show understanding, forgiveness or measured wisdom in their statements, then, through their immense suffering, a very different set of qualities come into play.

How can the presence of all that is good in human life directly encounter the sub-culture of violence in which so many people in our society appear to live?

There are some deliberate attempts to engage in such a way. In Leicester the churches have trained volunteers called Street Pastors who wear a distinctive uniform and who are in the vicinities of pubs and clubs in the city centre on Friday and Saturday nights to listen, talk, help and advise the clubbers, homeless and club workers.

Schools have a particularly important role. But teachers can’t be expected to provide what may be lacking at home. And the concentration on testing, league tables and education as training for work rather than a rounded approach to living does not sufficiently impact on deep seated personal problems.

The trouble is that goodness can’t be taught. Neither can it be enforced. Attempts to frame a coherent moral education syllabus have largely been abandoned in the past because of the complexities involved in what seemed to be very simple and straightforward at the outset. It may also be because the majority of our moral decisions lie in grey areas rather than in black and white ones.

Young people need role models, but as a psychiatrist working with disturbed children in Chicago says, “A child will identify with a hero in a film, not so much with any sense of right or wrong, as with who arouses his sympathy and who his antipathy. The question for the child is not “Do I want to be good?” but “Who do I want to be like?”

In an age of anti-heroes when children already have to face a contemporary cult of toughness and brashness, role models who offer a gentler and kinder perspective are desperately needed.

The biggest teacher of all is example. It is at the crux of any attempt to make society better and safer and happier.

And there are icons of goodness as well as of evil. The impact of Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, the Dali Lama and others offer a measure of hope to a world which can seem fragmented and divisive.  

Goodness has a unique attractiveness. There are people who live in creative, spontaneous and loving relationships and we have been privileged to meet such people. When you meet a really good person you want to be like them.

One man had this epitaph on his tombstone-“He lit fires in cold rooms”. I would like to do that and be that kind of person-wouldn’t you?

How do we get there?

Realise from the beginning that goodness can’t be rushed. Maturity comes slowly not instantly.

Respond to the goodness you see in other people.

Work with each other. Together we can help to give a strong, positive and wholesome foundation for the shared life of our nation and to build the road to a better world.

Sometimes people will say to me, “How’s business going?” What they mean and the way I often reply has to do with numbers of people in church. But the business of the church is not simply about attracting more people to our services, as attracting more people to Christ and to becoming like him. Together we are in the business of producing more saints!

Present THE role model for human life and seek to live by that model ourselves. Millions of people around the world (of all faiths and none) are drawn to Jesus Christ. We recognise in the quality of his life something for which we are all seeking, something for which we all long. The more people who reflect the distinctive quality of the life of Christ and live out his teaching in our lives the more effectively will society be transformed.

If the secret of goodness lies in contemplating Christ, so that we become what we see, let’s not underestimate what an arduous climb and tough journey that can be. In this hard climb upwards, we’ll need more than Christ’s example. We will need to keep company with him. When you keep company with someone you don’t only share each other’s life and concerns, you actually, over a period of time and quite unconsciously, become like the one with whom you’re keeping company. The more Christ-centred we are, the more Christ like we become. And the more we have to offer for the transforming of individual lives and of our society. Our greatest need, as ever, is that of a developing relationship with Jesus Christ.

ON A JOURNEY

A sermon preached by Rev. David Jenkins on 13 July 2008

Do you like going on journeys? They can be very exciting, can’t they? Have you got some journeys coming up that you’re looking forward to?

Do you like those books and films where the main characters are on a journey somewhere? Perhaps it’s Indiana Jones searching for buried treasure; or Star Trek, exploring the unknown; or maybe real life adventures-the team that first climbed Everest, or discovered new continents.

Everyone who follows Jesus is on a journey. When Jesus says, “Follow me”, and we respond we’re setting out on a journey of faith.

It’s a journey where we may face known and unknown dangers, difficulties and challenges. It’s a journey in which there will be many surprises and all the time we’ll be learning new skills and ways of looking at life. We grow and mature as people when we are travelling on the journey of faith.

Many journeys are about searching for something, discovering something, exploring somewhere, and so is the journey of faith. It’s a journey where we seek for truth, where we discover inner healing and strength, where we explore love. And the more we discover the more we keep searching. One journey leads to another. We keep on moving on-not standing still.

The journey of faith takes us on at least 3 other journeys-the journey inward; the journey upward and the journey outward. Jesus himself went on each of these journeys and can help us as we travel on them.

The journey inward involves exploring our own inner being, trying to discover who or what we really are. What kind of people are we growing into? What convictions about life are becoming stronger or weaker? Where do we feel we are becoming more vulnerable and where are we becoming more confident?

Jesus’ inner journey is described at the beginning of Mark’s Gospel. He was baptised and this was a tremendous affirmation of who he was –“This is my beloved son”. Then he went into the wilderness. It was a time of temptation and testing that helped to shape life’s direction for Jesus. When he left the wilderness he began his active ministry with the dynamic message, “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom is near; repent and believe the good news”.

He travels with us as well as going on ahead of us on our inward journeys-when we are affirmed and valued; when we are tested and tempted; and when we live out our life’s purpose.

For Jesus’ inner journey the wilderness was an important place. He needed time and space on his own.

On our inner journey we will need solitude. That may mean, as it did for Jesus, being right away from the crowds. But could solitude even be found in the midst of a crowd or at odd moments during busy days? Maybe it could, but we will also benefit from longer times of quietness and spaciousness.

It sounds wonderful that-peace and quiet and space for ourselves –and it is wonderful.

But it can also be an uncomfortable place, a searching and challenging place, which may explain why so many people seem to avoid such a place through constant activity and noise and distraction.

Solitude is a place of brutal honesty where we face truth about ourselves. It is a place of losing and of finding- losing compulsion, anger, greed; finding the gentle, healing power that transforms our lives and gives us fresh direction.

As well as the inner journey there is the upward journey. This is the journey which brings us nearer to God; the journey in which we discover that life is not simply about living for ourselves. Are you on the upward journey? Are you encountering God more deeply as life progresses? Is your spiritual capacity being stretched or is it underused? Or are we treating God like some kind of back up resource, an insurance policy to be filed away and looked up if needed?

Jesus’ journey upwards was an ongoing through his life. There were special times of drawing near to God. He made time to pray as an essential priority. The relationship developed into one of mystical oneness and vivid awareness.

And he can help us on our upward journey. Like climbers attached to each other on ropes, we can choose to let ourselves be attached to Jesus and for him to guide and lead us into higher reaches of the spirit and towards wonderful new views of life.

There is the inner journey, the upward journey and the outward journey. This is the journey which brings us into closer relationship with other people, with those who travel alongside us, wanting to know them more intimately, grateful for their friendship and help and hoping to be a good companion to them.

Where are we on this journey? Are our lives making us more aware of other people or more self absorbed? Are we becoming more aware of how much we belong together and of how much we need each other, or are we becoming increasingly self sufficient? Is what we want out of life centred around ourselves? How prominently do other people figure in what we want out of life?

Jesus’ journey outwards led him into close association with a close circle of particular friends, male and female, as well as with a very wide circle of people with whom he came into contact. Significantly he has been described as “the man for others”, and it I through him that we learn how to relate to other people honestly and compassionately.

The journey outwards is one with which we can help us-encouraging us towards sharing insights with others, towards bearing the burdens of others and letting them bear ours. Through his companionship we can discover the journey outwards to include the precious joy of friendship and of what it means to love and be loved.

Where are you on each of these journeys?

• Are you making space for yourself-for your inner journey?
• Are you making space for God-for your upward journey?
• Are you making space for other people-for your outward journey?

With all the different journeys you’ll be on

Make space to reflect

• Recognise God’s presence with you
• And share with those who travel with you.
• May God bless, guide and lead us on all our journeys, Amen.

FUEL FOR THE JOURNEY

A Sermon first preached on 27 July 2008

Sometimes you run out of petrol; the battery’s flat; the car won’t start.

Some days you get out of bed tired, are sluggish through the day and still tired when you go back to bed.

There are occasions when enthusiasm wanes, compassion fatigue sets in and excuses begin for why all of a sudden we can’t be bothered.

What we need is fuel for the journey.

The story of Elijah is instructive. He was at a high point. The prophets of Baal had been shown to be worshipping a useless sham. The living God had proved his presence and Elijah had shown great faith. Now, the next day, reaction sets in, and the threat of Queen Jezebel to kill him sets Elijah into a panic and he runs for his life.

After a whole day’s journey into the wilderness he is depressed and despairing, frustrated and fed up with himself. He asks that he might die. “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life for I am no better than my ancestors”. Fear and exhaustion have brought him to the brink of collapse, and he has got things hopelessly out of proportion. Where is his faith in God now?

Then he falls asleep. When he wakes he receives food and water. Then he sleeps again. Again there is food and drink for him and the words, “Get up and eat. Otherwise the journey will be too much for you.”

And then the story says, “He got up and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food for 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb the mount of God”. That is where Elijah will encounter God in a still, small voice, restoring perspective and renewing purpose for him.

Some of our problems are like Elijah’s-when we let fear and panic take over, rule our life and cause us to lose proportion; when we push ourselves to the limit and neglect the basics of food, drink and sleep.

Also basic to the journey is God’s care, shown in practical kindness and concern; and such care that shows us that we are not alone can be glimpsed on our journeys when we have eyes to see.

We all need encouragement, fresh impetus, energy. You know how our energy levels drop when we are hungry and need an intake of food? Spiritual energy levels fall just as rapidly and are just as dependent on regular intakes of food.

What is the food, the fuel for our journey?

The obvious sources of our spiritual strength include worship. Holy Communion services are described as “a foretaste of the heavenly banquet” and the bread and wine are vivid symbols of “feeding upon Christ, the living bread”. All worship is designed to feed and sustain us.

If we neglect food, drink and sleep at our peril, neglecting worship can also be detrimental to our development.

The writer of the letter to the Hebrews comments “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another”.

Studies which in recent years have traced people who once belonged to the church and do so no longer, discover that, in the main, it is not because of some deliberate decision no longer to come, but by a gradual process of drifting away.

Jesus’ parable of the sower speaks of people for whom “the cares of the world, the lure of wealth, the desire for other things, come in and choke the word and it yields nothing”.

When Jesus took Martha to task, it was because she was “distracted by so many things”, and there are far more things to distract us now than there ever were in Martha’s day.

Of course there are pressures of home and work, of many different responsibilities crowding in upon us. There may be times when we long to worship but have to attend to other claims upon us.

But it’s not always pressures or the needs of others that cause us to miss out on worship. How often do our leisure interests take priority instead?

Now, of course, leisure can also be fuel for the journey, and that needs fully recognising. But we need the focus, the perspective, the extended horizons and the mutual encouragement of worship together. This is essential fuel for the journey.

The reading “TAKE TIME” speaks of other kinds of fuel for the journey, including leisure activities:

Take time to think; it is the source of power.

Take time to read; it is the foundation of wisdom.

Take time to play; it is the secret of staying young.

Take time to be quiet: it is the opportunity to seek God.

Take time to be aware; it is the opportunity to help others.

Take time to love and be loved; it is God’s greatest gift.

Take time to laugh; it is the music of the soul.

Take time to be friendly; it is the road to happiness.

Take time to dream; it is what the future is made of.

Take time to pray; it is the greatest power on earth.

We need to take time to play, to read, to laugh, to love and to be loved, to be with friends.

Sport, games, mental and physical play, reading, holidays, days out, laughter, relationships are of inestimable value. How easily we get bogged down if these are missing from our lives! How profoundly we can be lifted when they are present!

The reading also spoke about being aware - and television, radio, films and the Internet can all contribute to such awareness and have their place. They too can be fuel for the journey.

And the reading spoke about three forms of what we might call inactivity- thinking, dreaming and praying. To pause in what we are doing, to be as well as to do, “to take time out” is to find powerful refreshment and wisdom for the journey of the human spirit.

Paul’s vivid picture of “putting on the whole armour of God”, as a way of being “strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power”, reinforces that spiritual qualities sustain us on what is a spiritual journey.   

In another letter, Paul warned the early Christians, “let us not grow weary in doing what is right”.

Are we living as effectively in the present as we could?

Are we availing ourselves sufficiently of opportunities to reflect on life?

It’s easy to ignore and neglect our own needs.

It’s easy to convince ourselves that we are too busy to examine life when we may just not want the hard work and struggle of sorting out our interior muddle or facing our own inadequacies. Perhaps we feel that such introspective naval gazing is unworthy of the committed compassionate life to which we are called.

But if the most effectively busy people need such times, how come we don’t?

The more demanding the journey, the faster the pace, the more complex the route, the more we will need breaks along the way, to refuel, to receive food, drink and rest, to be refreshed and renewed.

There are numerous service stations en route - for goodness sake use them!