A sermon preached by the Rev’d Dr Daniel Dries Epiphany 2 Christ Church St Laurence – 15 January 2017 May the words of my mouth and the meditations of our hearts be acceptable in your sight: O Lord, our strength and our Redeemer. Amen. We read the words of the Prophet Isaiah: “I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.” Success can be difficult to measure. The majority of Old Testament prophets did not enjoy successful careers; most would have would have to be described as failures, at least by worldly standards. It could be argued that the most successful prophets were the ones who were completely ignored, as opposed to many who experienced a martyr’s death. The Prophet Isaiah is undoubtedly one of the most significant prophets to be included in the Hebrew Scriptures; Isaiah certainly provides us with the most complete Old Testament prophecy of the coming of Christ. Despite this, Isaiah describes his life’s work as a complete failure, at least by worldly standards. “I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.” Isaiah is forced to acknowledge that his life’s work achieved little measurable success, and yet his conviction and commitment to the faith remains absolutely unshaken. Winston Churchill said that, “Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” During this past week, we have listened to the farewell speeches by another significant world leader, forced to confront a not-entirely happy ending. Unlike many of our political leaders, Old Testament prophets were not driven by success, or by a desire for popularity and public affirmation. Instead, they had been called by God, and they spoke with conviction, integrity and truth—no matter what the consequences might be. Last Sunday, we celebrated the Baptism of Our Lord. Christ faced up to his vocation and ministry; his unique calling—knowing that, by worldly standards, this ministry would not be viewed as a success. In today’s Gospel, we read an account of a rather strange encounter between Christ and John the Baptist. John’s Gospel does not include a record of Christ’s baptism, but rather, the Baptist himself recalls this momentous event as he sees Jesus coming towards him. It is really one of the most peculiar lines in the Gospels. John says to his own disciples, “Oh, look, here is the Lamb of God!” It’s the sort of line in which the Monty Python team would have delighted, and yet, this rather peculiar conversation starter somehow results in the calling of the first disciples. Unlike the Baptist’s bold proclamation, the calling of Andrew and Simon Peter involves a series of questions. Christ’s response to their questions is simply “Come and see.” Like a good and unpopular Old Testament prophet, John the Baptist speaks with great conviction; throwing caution to the wind. In contrast, the first apostles are called to begin their journey with great uncertainty and this simple command, “Come and see.” Page | 1
We know that, even in our time, and particularly in our part of the world, people of faith still speak in two greatly contrasted ways. There are those who speak with great conviction and authority; people of genuine faith who tend to smile relentlessly as they speak about God. In contrast, there are people of faith who are rather more passive as they invite others to ‘come and see’; people of faith who gently invite others to enter into the great and dangerous mystery of God. Not surprisingly, Christ does not promise power, prestige or success to his uncertain followers— because he knows that it’s simply not possible to do so. In a sense, he is calling them to failure. He is calling them to leave behind security and certainty in pursuit of a better reality; he is calling them to abandon security in pursuit of truth, integrity and love. In his powerful little book Being Christian, former Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams reminds us that Christian discipleship is not about success or safety. Dr Williams writes: “Perhaps baptism really ought to have some health warnings attached to it: ‘If you take this step, if you go into these depths, it will be transfiguring, exhilarating, life-giving and very, very dangerous.’ To be baptized into Jesus is not to be in what the world thinks of as a safe place. Jesus’ first disciples discovered that in the Gospels, and his disciples have gone on discovering it ever since.” When Jesus calls the first disciples, he is calling them to failure, as least by human standards. Simon Peter may generally be recognised as the first Pope, but he was martyred in the reign of Nero around the year 65. Andrew was present at some of the most significant events in the Gospels, but he too died a martyr’s death. Security and success was never promised to them; there would be no happy ending; and yet, something there was obviously very powerful in this gently invitation, ‘Come and see’. Over the last four years, I have delighted in hearing the many and varied stories of what brought each of you to Christ Church St Laurence. We all have a unique story about how we came to be here. More importantly we all have a unique story and how we were brought to the faith in the first place. At this point, I could pass around a roving microphone and invite all of you to share your unique story about how you came to Christianity in the first place; but, fortunately, this is not that sort of church. However, I know that many of these stories are shared in other contexts. They are all unique, expect that at some and in some way, another person must have to said each of us, ‘Come and see.’ During the year ahead, this parish will be taking some bold steps in significant new directions. For many years, this community has talked about doing more in terms of ministry with children and young people. For many years, this community has talked about forging stronger connections within our very multicultural community. The time has finally come to move from talk into action. It’s all a bit dangerous; these initiatives may not be successful. Today’s very well-timed and poignant readings remind us that Christian discipleship is not about success, public affirmation, or even happy endings. Rather, Christian discipleship is about embracing every possible opportunity to say to another human being, “Come and see.” As we face an exciting, yet uncertain future, we remember that someone once said ‘come and see’ to every one of us. If they had not taken the trouble to do so, this church would be rather empty this morning. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Page | 2