Here is a riddle for you... What connects the following. The choir awards that we are about to make, Fairtrade fortnight, the Big Society, and the temptations of Jesus that we've just heard about? Any Ideas?
(Short answer is 'this sermon!') The clue is in the word 'connect', what connects them, because that IS the connection! Let's take them one at a time.
1) All of you in the choir are connected to each other – a sea of red in front of me. When you receive an award it says 'we recognise that you have made a commitment to singing in the choir, and this is the next level of recognition’. Here is another way of identifying you with the choir – blazer. Who went on tour to Spain? When in Barcelona you were connected to each other when you wore your blazer AND connected with the cathedral. Whether you like it or not you are a representative, not just of the choir, not just of the cathedral but of Bradford itself! At that point, the only thing people might know about Bradford is that it has a good choir from the cathedral but sing well and behave perfectly when out and about in public!
2) Fairtrade fortnight. It ends today, but if you were here last Sunday you will have heard the wacky Chris Howson tell us that the value of Fairtrade is not just a fair wage for growers, but that it reminds us that we are connected to people we would never normally meet. What we eat, wear, drive and the computers we use will come from people in other parts of the world. That's why it was so wonderful last week to have two women who grow cocoa beans in Ghana standing just a few feet away from our Fairtrade stall. On the stall are these bars of Divine chocolate, made from cocoa grown in Ghana. Harriet and Fatima told us that selling their cocoa through the Fairtrade cooperative had transformed their communities, including enabling them to build eight schools. The way we chose to spend our money will either support Fairtrade or (as the Lord Mayor put it) support Foul trade. Why Foul trade? Because we are taking advantage of the powerlessness of the weak. E.g. I find it a rather foul thing that the American basketball player Michael Jordan was paid more to advertise Nike trainers than 18,000 workers earned in a day to make them. Not only that, when the workers formed a union to press for fairer wages the company disbanded the union and closed the factory. I also find it a foul thing that African cotton farmers can grow cotton for 1/3 of the cost of US farmers but US subsidies put the African farmers out of business. This year's campaign 'Show off your label' aims at challenging this kind of injustice. And it's injustice that I am part of and so are you. We can't change everything but we can become a little more aware of our connection with those who are treated badly to enable us to buy cheap clothes or food.
3) The next connection is the PM's Big Society campaign. This is apparently about helping ordinary people to realise the power that they already have. And encouraging people to re-connect with each other to use that power to change their communities for the better. Here's what David Cameron said recently “...” Helping people to take responsibility for themselves, strengthen families and bring communities together. Sound familiar? This is what the church has been trying to do for over 2,000 years. Following Jesus is NOT just about me and my faith; it's about how I connect with those around. This takes us to...
4) The Temptations of Jesus. To understand this I want to call Lucy out the front. Whilst she does, anyone else here hoping to study medicine and practice health care?
Like some of you will be doing before long, Jesus was setting out on his life's work. The temptations Jesus faced are ones that all of you are likely to face, in different forms. Ask Lucy what her aim is? ** Noble and good, but supposing you get tempted?
[1] Jesus was tempted to turn stones into bread. To use God's resources to feed himself. Doctors get v well paid, so you will face hard choices about how to spend your money. I have known a lot of medics who were extremely generous, their giving made possible lots of great projects to assist the needy...
[2] 'Throw yourself down from the high point of the Temple, Jesus. God will save you and then everyone will know you're special and so will you.' Whatever we do in life, getting respect from others is something which is earned slowly, over time. There are no short cuts. If we boast to others to make ourselves look good, we are falling into a trap. Lucy, if you end up as a Senior Consultant, the temptation of pride will be great. Do you recognise that danger?
[3] Then there was status. Jesus was human like us and had the desire to be recognised, to be honoured. The danger with success is that it brings status, which can be used to wield power over others. We see it today in our celebrity culture: famous people are watched and worshipped. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy and says 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.' So Lucy, if we leap forward 20 years; you are now a highly respected hospital consultant, in the NHS. (There's a leap of faith in itself, that there IS an NHS!) Problem is that you could be earning a lot more in private practice. Would you be tempted? And then someone says they desperately need someone with you specialism in the slums of Nairobi, but there's v little money and even less prestige. What would you do? But you can see the temptation can't you?
(Thanks – please sit down).
Jesus knew what God had called him to do – and it wasn't to feed his own appetites, create a name for himself or use his power for his own gain. If he allowed himself to be deflected from his core mission, he would have failed. His mission was to serve, to live alongside the poor and needy and reveal God's love for them. He was to be, as Simeon put it, a light for the Gentiles and the Glory of his people Israel. He needed to succeed in that mission where his people Israel had failed. They too had been called to reveal what a covenant relationship with the One True God looked like, but had got tempted away. Israel was supposed to be God's representative in the world, just as when the choir are on tour they are representing the cathedral. What those outside the nation of Israel thought of Israel was what they thought of Israel's God. What those outside the church think of Christians will largely influence what they think of the God we worship. And here is the astonishing connection.
Please refer to the blue sheet...***
This is quite a responsibility. But it's not something we undertake on our own as individuals. Of course, the choices we make as individuals are crucial. That's why we are offered a Spiritual Health Check through the questionnaire. Use the guide sheet that looks like this ***
But how you live as a follower of Christ will either encourage or discourage me in my discipleship. And how I will live will affect you. We ARE connected to each other. Come on March 19th to the 'You're Lent' morning, to explore with others how we can work on staying true to the calling God has placed on us to be his light-bearers. Jesus dismissed the darkness so He could live as the Light of the world. We can encourage one another to deal with the darkness in us, so that together, not as individuals, but as the Body of Christ we reveal His light to a needy world. May He enable us to do that. Amen.
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