The Church and wider society

Sermon preached at the 11am Parish Eucharist at St Mary the Virgin, Lapworth on Sunday 19th September 2010. Other versions of this sermon were preached at the 8.30am Said Eucharist and at St Michael’s Baddesley Clinton’s for the 9.45am Service of Holy Communion.

Context: Visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Britain 16th-19th September 2010
Readings: 1 Tim 2: 1-7 Luke 16: 1-13

Our scripture readings today are about living out our Christianity within wider society. In 1 Timothy Paul tells us to make prayers and supplications for all people, not just for Christians. He asks us to pray especially for rulers and those in high position in society. He asks us to live our Christian lives in a quiet and peaceable way, with dignity. He emphasizes that God wills salvation for all people, and that the ransom that Christ paid on the cross was for all people. These are pointers towards the way in which church should fit in with the wider society around it.
Then the parable that Jesus tells is about our economic relationships with one another. It is a parable that biblical scholars often struggle with. It can be helpful to think of the rich man as a shrewd and exacting, absentee landlord, rather than thinking of him as God. Luke himself offers three different interpretations at the end of the parable. It is all to do with how we handle money and wealth, and our economic relationships with the people around us.
In this country, for well over 1000 years, Christianity has been the religion of almost everybody. Our culture and language have been profoundly influenced by Christian values which are foundational to political and legal system. But since the 1960s there has been a change. Immigration has introduced significant religious minorities, especially Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus, and this has disturbed the Christian consensus. And then there has also been a drift towards secularization, such that in the 2001 census about 20% of the population preferred to describe themselves as Atheists or Agnostics rather than as belonging to a major world religion. And this secularization has also affected many of the 72% of the population who chose to describe themselves as Christian. Most of the population still think of themselves as Christian, but most of them seldom come to church and all too easily they pick up behaviours and attitudes which are much more influenced by secular experience than by the teaching and example of Christ.
So as practising, worshiping Christians in this country we find ourselves in a minority position in society. And this feels like a new and frightening experience. There can even be is a temptation to panic! But actually this is not a new experience at all. In the first three hundred years of the churches life, Christians were always a religious minority, sometimes tolerated, sometimes persecuted by the wider society and the Roman empire. Because of this experience, there is a great deal of wisdom in the New Testament and in the writings of the early church to help us to understand and cope with this situation of being a Christian minority.
And I think more than anything else, this is what the Pope has been talking about during his current visit to Britain. I have learned than it is very important with religious leader to read the actual text of their speeches rather than the bits that the media pick out. The media prioritise the items that might boost audience figures or newspaper sales. Consequently they focus on anything controversial, and on anything to do with sex, and this means that we get a very distorted view of our religious leaders if we only follow what is reported in the papers or on TV. Because of this I spent a lot of time yesterday looking at the full text of the speeches made by the Pope, and I have to say I found it very interesting, especially on this point about how Christians and wider society should relate to each other. So what has the Pope been talking about?
Well first thing that is very striking, is the very wide variety of people who the Pope has been talking to. There have of course been speeches and sermons aimed directly at the Catholic faithful, as we would expect, but there have also been speeches aimed specifically at children, young people, non-Catholic Christians, the Archbishop of Canterbury, people from other religions, the Welsh, politicians and leaders of civic society and one speech directly addressed to Her Majesty the Queen.
And what comes over, first and foremost, is a deep love and appreciation of British culture and the things that Britain has contributed to the world stage, to the whole family of humanity. The British heroes mentioned include St Edward the Confessor, St Margaret Queen of Scotland, the venerable Bede, St Thomas More, William Wilberforce, David Livingstone, Florence Nightingale and John Henry Newman, a Birmingham man who appears to be a personal hero of the Pope’s. The British Parliamentary and legal system, so influential throughout the world was also singled out for praise.
Another thing that comes over is the Pope’s appreciation of the Christian heritage in English culture. He often refers to the buildings in which he speaks and points out how profoundly Christian they are in their origins. For example he spoke about the Holy Rood (Crucifix) of Holyrood Palace and the angels on the Ceiling of Westminster Hall. He points out just how deeply and profoundly our society has been affected by Christianity. He urges us not to forget that, and not to marginalise the voice of the church.
The pope talks about the role of the church in a multi-faith society. He emphasises that it is not the role of the church to set political policies. He accepts that it is not even for the church, alone, to set down the moral framework that should underpin a sound political system. Rather he urges people to recognise that the church has a very important contribution to make to a wider discussion of the common moral framework. He emphasises that democracy must be underpinned by moral principles that are more solid and enduring than social consensus or public opinion. He sees the churches role as a participant in this dialogue about moral foundations, helping to purify and refine such principles. He emphasises the importance of political processes working for a common good. He emphasises the importance of a continuing dialogue between different kinds of people, for the common good.
The Pope also appeals for a proper respect for the moral consciences of individuals and of organised religion. Basic freedoms such as the right to follow your religion and to assemble for worship are very important. He advocate respect and openness between people of different religions. Dialogue is all important, from the simple dialogue of living side by side to the more complex discussions on principles. Without these freedom, respect and norms, religion cannot play its proper role in the public square, and he sees the contribution that religion has to make as vital.
Anyway, I have found it all very encouraging. I hope that the Pope’s visit will refresh and enliven Christianity in this country, and will help it contribute constructively to the life of the whole nation. Amen.