Start-Stop:Faith and Politics

Worship - From the Beatitudes of Love by Stanley Spencer

Start:Stop at St Stephen Walbrook allows busy commuters to start their day by stopping to reflect for ten minutes. Prayers and reflections start every quarter of an hour from 7.45am until 9.00am each Tuesday morning. This is my reflection from Tuesday 5th November 2019. 

Good morning and welcome to Start:Stop. This reflection and prayers will last around ten minutes and you are welcome to come and go as your schedule dictates. 

Bible Reading – Matthew 5.1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

Reflection

Today, more than any other day, might seem like an appropriate time to reflect on faith and politics - but rather than looking back to the gunpowder, treason and plot of 1605 I want to turn our attention to tomorrow. Just after midnight, parliament will be dissolved and the General Election campaign will begin. For the next five weeks we will listen to the policies of the candidates vying for our vote. Writing in pre-Brexit 1774, John Wesley had this advice for those who had the privilege of being on the register of electors in the rotten boroughs of the time;

1)   To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy.

2)   To speak no evil of the person they vote against; and,

3)   To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.

Paul Bayes, the Bishop of Liverpool, offered more guidance as to which candidates might be considered worthy of our vote, when he tweeted last week: “If you are a Christian then (after praying, reading and learning) cast your vote in the way that you believe will help the poorest most.”

A sentiment which, I think, would have been shared by Archbishop William Temple, who is remembered by the Church of England tomorrow. His life and death - he was the first Primate to be cremated – had a transformative effect on politics and public opinion. Described as “the most significant Anglican churchman of the twentieth century” his radical thinking played a foundational role in the formation of the Welfare State – some claim he even invented the phrase.

Ordained in 1910 he was Rector of St James Piccadilly during World War One. He went on to become Bishop of Manchester and during the General Strike of 1926 played an important role in mediating between the parties. While Archbishop of York he honed his skills as a moderator within the fledgling ecumenical movement.

It was in 1942 - the year he became Archbishop of Canterbury- that William Temple published his most famous work, “Christianity and Social Order,” which called for the provision of universal access to healthcare, education, decent housing, proper working conditions and democratic representation. The publication strongly influenced the report of his friend William Beveridge and the development of what became the welfare state.

Whilst a supporter and sometime member of the Labour Party, in his essay, William Temple set out the case for change through the clear articulation of Christian principles, rather than a specific political agenda.

He wrote; the “Church’s impact upon society at large should be twofold. First [it] must announce Christian principles and point out where the existing social order is in conflict with them. Second, it must then pass on to Christian citizens....the task of reshaping the existing order in closer conformity to the principles.”

Principles which are to be found throughout the Holy Scriptures of course, but perhaps expressed most succinctly in the Beatitudes that we have just read. Recorded by Matthew at the start of the Sermon on the Mount, these nine blessings have been described as “the most important words ever written” and, for the early Christian community which formed Matthew’s first audience offered a promise that the sacrifice and persecution they were enduring as a result of their faithfulness, would lead to the future joy of the Kingdom of Heaven. A promise which endures forever. This focus on the world to come is, as William Temple explains, what makes the Good News much more than a manifesto;

“Political issues are often concerned with people as they are, not with people as they ought to be. Part of the task of the Church is to help people to order their lives in order to lead them to what they ought to be.”

“All Christian thinking [he wrote], must begin not with man, but with God.“

A principle which lies at the heart of the Beatitudes from the outset, which begin with a recognition that we do not have what it takes to bring about this change by ourselves.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Or, as Eugene Peterson put it; “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.” The theme of dying to self – part of the cost of discipleship – rings out in the following beatitudes (or beautiful attitudes as Billy Graham described them). Blessed are those who have lost what they have loved and held dear (those who mourn). Blessed are the meek - those who put aside arrogance and vanity and act with humility, which, William Temple explained, “does not mean thinking less of yourself than of other people, nor…. having a low opinion of your own gifts. It means freedom from thinking about yourself one way or the other at all.”

  

The Beatitudes go on to describe the behaviours of those who will find the Kingdom of Heaven - they are merciful, their actions match their words and prayers (they are pure in heart) and seek to reconcile those in conflict (they are peacemakers). They also have a “hunger and thirst for righteousness.” “Christianity,” wrote William Temple, “is a truth of universal application.” In other words, there are no specific Christian methods of solving homelessness, abolishing the need for foodbanks or stopping refugees from dying in the back of container trucks. “I cannot tell you what is the remedy [Temple wrote]. But I can tell you that....if you are not doing all that you can to find the remedy, you are guilty before God.”

Those who seek the Kingdom of Heaven must have a hunger and thirst for righteousness that is all consuming and life-giving – and accept the risk that this brings.

As the beatitudes conclude; blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, those who are persecuted for being followers of Christ; William Temple warned that the church will face accusations that it has become political when all it is doing is stating the fundamental principles that Jesus taught, but;

“If the Church is faithful to its commission, [he wrote] it will ignore [these] complaints and continue as far as it can to influence all citizens and permeate all parties.”

It is said that during a service at the University Church in Oxford, William Temple stopped the congregation singing the final verse of the hymn “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross” and challenged them to read the words to themselves. “If you mean them with all your heart, sing them as loud as you can,” he said. “If you don’t mean them at all, keep silent. If you mean them even a little and want to mean them more, sing them very softly.” As the organ began playing again, two thousand voices whispered the words “Love so amazing, so divine, Demands my soul, my life, my all.”

Perhaps we might do the same - asking those standing to represent us in parliament as well as all of us who are called to serve in different ways, how loudly we will sing the words of the Beatitudes each day of our lives.

Meditation

A few moments of silence before we pray.

 

Prayers

In our prayers, the response to : Gracious God is : continue to change us, we pray.

Gracious God,
continue to change us, we pray.

Sovereign Lord, we have all been called to serve you.

We pray especially at this time for all prospective parliamentary candidates.

Help us to fulfill our calling faithfully.

May we set aside our preoccupations; our arrogance and our vanity;
to speak no evil of those with whom we disagree

and act always with grace and humility.

Gracious God,

continue to change us, we pray.

Lord of all,

Give us the courage to proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom

Bring comfort to all those who are persecuted for righteousness sake; for following you.
We remember the names of all those written on our hearts who are in particular need of your merciful loving kindness today.

Gracious God,

continue to change us, we pray.

Merciful Lord, you fill us with a hunger and thirst for righteousness.

May we never cease striving to bring about peace and justice for all on earth;

Let us, each day, sing aloud the words of the Beatitudes in all we say and do,

so that your will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

Gracious God,

continue to change us, we pray.

Blessing

Let us go now,

   not to serve ourselves,

   but to serve others;

   not to seek our glory,

   but the glory of God the Father;

   and so may all we are and do

   make Him known.

And may the blessing of God Almighty, Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with us this day and always.

  

Amen.

Thank you for joining us this morning for Start:Stop. As we carry the words of the beatitudes in our hearts, have a blessed day and a wonderful week ahead.
This reflection will begin again in a few minutes.