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| Trinity in the Burning Bush, Jyoti Sahi, 1973 |
A homily given and prayers written for Choral Evensong at St Stephen’s Church, Rochester Row on Sunday 17th October 2021, the Twentieth Sunday after Trinity based on readings from Joshua 14.6-14 and Matthew 12.1-21.
Upstanding, law-abiding folk like you and me know - in our hearts - that the Pharisees’ interpretation of the law is wrong.
It’s an interpretation which would see the hungry being refused something to eat - and the sick continuing to suffer - all because of a strict understanding of how to abide by God’s commandment to keep the sabbath. In this binary - “black and white” - interpretation, plucking grain and healing the sick is deemed by the Pharisees to be “work” - to do which was a violation of the holy day of rest.
Jesus does not suggest that the law - God’s commandments - should be broken. The Gospel of Matthew reminds us repeatedly that Jesus came to fulfil the law and the prophets.
In his encounters with the Pharisees, Jesus demonstrates that it is their binary, black and white interpretation of the law that needs rethinking, not the law itself. First, Jesus draws on precedents - reminding the Pharisees that while David was on the run from Saul he ate the bread of the presence (which was reserved for priests alone) as this was the only food available.
Then Jesus pulls up the Pharisees by saying they do not understand the words of the prophet Hosea; that God desires mercy and not sacrifice. We learn later in the gospel that this desire for mercy - or love - is a divine priority. When Jesus is asked which is the greatest commandment. He replies; "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' And that as well as loving God, we are to love our neighbour as ourselves.
That feeling we have in our hearts - the one we get when the Pharisees suggest that by adhering to God’s law people go hungry or suffer - might be called mercy or love. A love that comes from God.
Unlike the “should/shouldn’t”, “black and white,” binary approach of the Pharisees, fixated on their interpretation of the law and the people’s adherence to it - when we listen to the love in our hearts, there is another voice at work - a third person enters the conversation. When we listen to that third voice, we understand what it means to seek mercy over sacrifice; to wholly follow God’s commandments.
It’s
very easy to kid ourselves into believing we are acting with mercy and not
sacrifice when, in fact, we are being just as binary as the Pharisees.
Perhaps we can think of people we know who become so
committed to serving others; helping at night shelters and food banks and
projects to support the lonely and those in need - people who get so caught up in
that work – that service - that they end up tired, empty, burnt out. They may think
they are fulfilling God’s commandments - loving their neighbours and in doing so
showing their love for God, but they are forgetting to make time for their own self
care; there’s no time for spontaneous invitations - like celebrating a birthday.
When we forget to love ourselves in our quest to love God and our neighbour, we
too are living in the two dimensional world of the Pharisees.
On the surface, our Old
Testament Lesson seems just as binary. Caleb reminds Joshua that he had been
promised an inheritance from God because of his faithfulness; and Joshua facilitates
this. Simples.
But we soon learn that
there’s more to this story. Caleb and Joshua were part of a group of twelve men
sent out by Moses on a reccie to
the promised land.
Ten of those twelve
returned having seen the joys of the land of milk and honey - but paralysed by the thought
of taking on in battle those who occupied the land. Rather than fess up about
their fear, they reported back to Moses and the people that to continue on
their journey would be futile : the Israelites would be like ‘grasshoppers’
compared to the ‘giants’ who lived there.
But Caleb and Joshua
didn’t see the challenge ahead in binary terms. They saw the reality of the
battle - but that reality included the presence of God. With faith in
Him, they would receive the Promised Land.
Caleb explains that the
false report of the unfaithful caused the “hearts of the people to melt”. That
organ - that symbol - of love and mercy, denuded, withered. In so doing, the
worldview of the people reduced from three audible voices to two. One of grasshoppers
vs giants. Us vs them.
Caleb’s faithfulness for
“wholly” following the Lord – by making space for the voice of God - gained him
an inheritance; Mount Hebron.
Our inheritance, our salvation, is that through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ we have been brought into the life - the love - of the Trinity. We are all non-binary because we are called into that divine relationship of three-in-one. Called to love God, ourselves and the world. A world which is constantly changing.
Do we go forward in the
way things were before the pandemic - go back to the same patterns of life and
work - because that’s what we’ve always done? Perhaps we do?
But to wholly receive our
glorious inheritance, we need to make sure that before jumping from thought to
action we must make space to ensure the third voice is heard - so that we don’t
build the binary, two dimensional world of the Pharisees but build a world where nobody goes hungry, nobody suffers. A world where we live in the fullness of the life of the Trinity into whose love we have been drawn. It is only there that we
will find our Sabbath rest.
In the name of the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
Amen
Prayers
Almighty
God, our Heavenly Father, by your Son and through your Spirit we have received our
great inheritance; being drawn into life and love with you.
We pray for the church worldwide; for its Bishops, Priests and Deacons; that it
might share this great gift in its fullness.
May
we learn to see the world not in black and white but in the joyous kaleidoscope
of every colour and shade of your glorious creation.
We ask for your blessing on our link parishes, on our local churches and on our
clergy, Graham, Helena, Jeremy and all who minister here.
Lord
in thy mercy
Hear our prayer.
Living God, source of all power, send wisdom upon Elizabeth our Queen, the
Government and all those in positions of authority and influence.
We
hold before you all those whose lives suffer as a result of unjust systems and
structures.
Strengthen
the hearts of the judiciary and all responsible for maintaining law and order.
Grant
them the humility to create space between thought and judgement; to listen for your
voice.
Lord
in thy mercy
Hear our prayer.
Generous
God, source of all that is good,
We ask for your blessing
on all who work in this parish supporting those at the margins and on the
edge.
Guide each of us as we
seek to follow your call through the changes and challenges ahead; remembering
especially this night those facing difficult decisions.
Help us to care for
ourselves whilst loving our neighbours and loving you.
To remember that it is
through your love that we find our rest.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Loving God, source of all
strength
Send your healing Spirit
upon all who are sick and suffering this day; all affected by the Covid virus;
all who feel empty and exhausted.
We hold before you
especially those listed on our service sheets and all those whose names are
written on our hearts. Hold them close to you, may they find rest in the
assurance of your love.
Lord in your mercy
Hear our prayer
Eternal
God, source of everlasting life
Welcome
the recently departed into the eternal rest of your Kingdom.
We remember with fondness the names of all those whose years mind falls at this
time.
Comfort those who mourn in the knowledge that while our beloved may no longer
be with us on earth they now reside in the glorious company of the saints in
light.
Lord
in thy mercy
Hear our prayer.
Image : Trinity in the Burning Bush, Jyoti Sahi, 1973
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