Hebrews 10. 11 – 25
Mark 13. 1 – 8
Fr Alex
It’s been a pretty awful week in the life of the Church of England, to say the least.
It will have been more terrible still, of course, for all the victims and survivors of abuse in the Church, who will be reliving their awful experiences as all of this is brought to light.
As I said at the beginning of the service, we and the Church as a whole, must keep them and their welfare at the top of our prayers, and at the centre of our care and concern.
I find the Lectionary always seems to know what’s going to happen before we do, and today also happens to be ‘Safeguarding Sunday.’ This is an annual event promoted by the Christian safeguarding organisation ‘thirtyone:eight.’
They take their name from the book of Proverbs, chapter 31, verse 8: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; defend the rights of all those who have nothing.”
In his resignation statement, one of the failings that the Archbishop highlighted was what he called “the conspiracy of silence” around the long abuse of John Smyth.
In contrast, thirtyone:eight’s theme for Safeguarding Sunday this year is ‘Let’s talk about it.’ They say: “Many churches are working hard to get safeguarding right. However, to truly create places that are safer for all, we need to create open cultures where abuse has nowhere to hide.” The events of the last few days and indeed years, have proved them to be absolutely correct.
It is painful to talk about abuse that has been carried out in the name of Christ. We can’t possibly understand it, for a start. How can anyone who professes to be a Christian carry out such twisted and distorted acts?
And how can those entrusted with caring for Christ’s people, ignore or even cover up something which is the antithesis of Christ’s own deep concern for the welfare and the flourishing of all people?
We can’t answer those questions. It is only for God and those people to know the truth of their hearts.
But talk about it, we must, regardless of how painful it is. The Church has made significant strides over the years, but it is clear that much more still needs to be done. It’s no longer good enough to pretend it doesn’t happen, or tell ourselves it can’t happen anymore.
No one from this church has been involved in any of this, but we are sure to share in the consequences, along with the whole of the Church of England; in our interactions with people in our community, and many who have—quite understandably—become disillusioned with the idea of what we represent.
But we mustn’t lose hope. We cannot ‘fix’ the problems the Church faces on our own. As I often say, all we can do is to remain as faithful and as hopeful as we possibly can in our own time and in our own place, and to show that there is a better way; that God is still here, and still calls us to love and serve him.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that we retreat into a silo, our own lovely church on the top of the hill, isolated from everyone else and everyone else’s problems. Tempting though that sometimes is…
So how do we remain faithful and hopeful in this incredibly challenging time? Once again, our lectionary readings give us a clue.
“As Jesus came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, ‘Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!’ Then Jesus asked him, ‘Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down.”
The disciples looked with wonder at the enormous temple complex in Jerusalem, a vast creation of gold and marble, a marvel of the age.
But it wasn’t just the size and splendour of the temple that awed them. The temple was literally where God lived. The holy of holies was the place of the very presence of God on earth, hidden away behind the curtain that separated him from the people. Only the high priest was allowed behind the curtain, and even then only once a year to offer the appointed sacrifices.
But Jesus tells them that this seemingly eternal, divine structure, the very heart of the Jewish faith, would be utterly destroyed. “Not one stone left upon another.”
Just a few years later, Jesus’ prophecy would come true, as Roman forces overwhelmed Jerusalem and burnt the temple to the ground.
All the structures of their faith, all their foundational beliefs about who God is and how he interacts with his people: all of that was destroyed in an instant. Many believed God had forsaken them for good. The people of Israel had to learn how to carry on, how to be faithful without it; a process that took many generations, and perhaps still continues today.
But Jesus came to show us that, far from forsaking his people, God had in fact given them a new and wonderful way to come closer to him. Not in a temple made with stones, but in the temple of the body of his Son: a human being, who could be touched and spoken to
And not just for a chosen few priests at a special time, but for all people and in all times. The moment Jesus died on the cross, that temple curtain of separation was torn in two.
As we heard so powerfully in our passage from Hebrews, Christ gives all of us “confidence to enter the sanctuary” by his blood; to approach God “with a true heart in full assurance of faith” – “by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain.” And so we “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.”
Friends, this is what we put our trust in, this is what keeps us faithful and hopeful. Not institutions, no matter how ancient and timeless and unchangeable they may seem; not any human leaders, even very important ones like kings, presidents, or archbishops. All these come and they go. They are not perfect, and it is dangerous to believe they are or ever can be.
But as the writer to the Hebrews goes on to say, we put our trust in Jesus Christ, and him alone, who “is the same yesterday and today and for ever.” Christ who holds the past, present and future in his hands and will never forsake us. Christ who died for our sins, defeated all the worst evils we can possibly imagine, and rose again to bring us to the fullness of eternal life with him.
As we navigate this new and difficult phase of life in the Church, let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, and remember that he is always doing something new among us; sometimes despite the efforts of his own Church.
Let us turn again to him, in prayer for victims and survivors, in repentance for our sins and failings, with courage to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,” and in confidence that he is faithful, and will help us to overcome. Amen.