Last Sunday in our
Gospel reading we heard Jesus say that he would do whatever his disciples ask in his name, so that the Father may be
glorified in the Son. That is, Jesus will do anything that those who seek to follow
and learn from and join in with what he is doing – his disciples – ask that
will represent him – in his name – with the result that God our Father might be
given glory. “If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.”
And we saw that
Stephen, while being murdered by a crowd of zealots, asks Jesus to receive his
spirit and to forgive those who were putting him to death, not holding this sin
against them. A disciple of Jesus, in a situation Jesus had found himself in,
responding in the way Jesus responded.
This week we see the
evidence that Jesus did, indeed, do what Stephen asked, and that the Father was
glorified in the Son. For the young man who held the coats of Stephen’s
murderers and approved of his death would go on to have a change of heart,
becoming the church-planter and letter-writer Paul, through whom the good news
was - and continues to be – proclaimed across the world. On Paul’s first
missionary journey, he too was stoned and left for dead by an angry mob who had
pursued him from place to place. That took place in Lystra, in what is today
Turkey. Unlike Stephen, Paul survived, and – incredibly – returned to Lystra on
his second missionary journey, where he added to his team a young man called
Timothy who would become like a son to him. Paul and his co-workers, Silas and
Timothy, continue on their journey and are led by the Holy Spirit to cross into
northern Greece, adding Luke to the team on the way. Their reception in Greece,
as everywhere else, is mixed. Paul is again pursued from city to city and for
his own safety is eventually taken as far as Athens, en route to the port of Corinth, travelling ahead of his team.
But Paul is a
committed team player. When Silas and Timothy are delayed in joining him, Paul
carries on to Corinth, looking for people to team up with. There he meets
Aquila and Priscilla, who become his latest co-workers. But now we are ahead of
ourselves.
For now, we are in
Athens with Paul, and – cut off from his companions – Paul takes the
opportunity to do a little sight-seeing. This is Athens, after all – the
birthplace of Western culture!
But Paul doesn’t look
at the world through the same lens as the locals. He looks at the world asking,
what
is God up to here? What are the connection-points
I can use to help people move from a vague belief in the existence of a god
they don’t know to a saving knowledge of the God who created the world and
everything in it; who is at work behind the scenes in human history - both at
the level of nations and at the level of each one of us; who moves towards us
in the hope that we might move towards him; and who has appointed Jesus as the
one who will arbitrate between the peoples and teach them to live together in
peace?
Viewing the city with
this lens, Paul looked carefully at
the things they worshipped, at the
things they produced as a response
to the things they worshipped, and at the stories
they told about themselves.
So, what is God up to
in Sunderland? What are the connection-points we might make between the things
people are worshipping, or the things that are produced as a result, or the
stories they tell about themselves, and Jesus the one appointed by God to
arbitrate between the peoples and teach them to live together in peace?
We’ve just had the
outcome of the local elections and we await the results of the European
elections, but I would suggest that there are some who worship nationalism, who
produce fear and contempt, and who tell stories of being English that edit out
the immigration that formed us. They are perhaps a minority, but they are
putting forward their case with passion, and winning a hearing.
Rather than
dismissing them, don’t we have something to say about the changing fortunes,
boundaries and alliances of nations, or political groups – their being raised
up, and being brought low? How might we speak of God being at work behind the
scenes? We might ask whether the best goal of a people is to protect their own
interests; or whether we might entrust our interests to God, and seek to work
with other nations to see them blessed? We might tell the story of how God made
all nationalities from one common ancestor – that we are all one family. We might
tell the story of another ancestor, Abraham, the father of Jews and Christians
and Muslims; a man who was an economically prosperous immigrant, through whom
his host community was not undermined but blessed; a man whose descendants were
economic refugees in a major power, who were dehumanised by their hosts, and
rescued by God.
We might ask whether
we are most truly described in terms of what we produce – which will always set
us in competition with others, and enslave us to the god of Money – or whether
we are more truly understood as works of art crafted by God?
We might ask whether we
are rightly the judge over the motives of others, or whether we will willingly
allow Jesus to judge our hearts now –
before the day when he will do so whether we are willing or not?
But of course there
are other things the people of Sunderland worship, other things they produce,
other stories they tell – some of them weird and wonderful – from the Stadium
of Light to the Lambton Worm!
Over
June and July, I would like to work with you – as co-workers together – in two
particular areas. The first is this: I would like to spend
a day with members of the Minster family in the places where you spend the
week. I would like to spend time with you, discovering what God is up to in
Sunderland. And I would like to photograph you, on your own or with others, in
that setting; and afterwards to display all the pictures as an exhibition in
this setting – as a celebration of the life of Sunderland Minster beyond these
walls and throughout the week.
I’m asking for
invitations from young and old, to spend a day (it need not be a whole day)
with you in your workplace; in the place where you study, or volunteer; with the
people you play bowls or go out to lunch with; in your home: anywhere where you
are during the week.
My hope is that this
will help us to build up a picture of what God is up to, and the ways in which
we are joining in; and a better idea of how we might support one another in
that. If you would like to take part, I would love to hear from you.
The
second area is this: we are hosting a civic service on Monday
4th August to commemorate the outbreak of the First World War. This
is not a Remembrance Service, when we mark the cost of conflict; but an
opportunity to tell stories of Sunderland and the War, and to make connections
between then and now. Let me give you an example. In Sunderland, as well as the
battalions that were raised, many men served the duration of the War in the
shipyards. Among other things, they built landing craft that played a crucial
part in the very successful withdrawal from the disastrous Gallipoli campaign.
But these men were targeted by patriotic young women forcing white feathers on
men who would not serve their king and country, until special badges had to be
made identifying them as making a vital contribution to the war effort. Is it
possible that we might misrepresent the contribution of others to the life of
our city today?
Many of you will have
family stories relating to the First World War, and not only concerning those
who went off to fight but also those who stayed behind. If any of you would
like to share those stories with me, so that they can be told – if not on the fourth
of August, at some point over the next four years – I would be very interested
in hearing them.
Two opportunities: a
project recording our lives today; and a project commemorating our past – both of
which might help us imagine our future. Together, as co-workers for the sake of
the gospel, let us explore the breadth and depth of Sunderland, in order that
the people of this great city might hear of the breadth and depth of God’s love
for them.
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