A sermon preached by the Rev’d Dr Daniel Dries Epiphany 4 Christ Church St Laurence – 29 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. “My Vicar told me that there are only two places to go to church in Sydney.” The other clergy of the Parish and I often hear these words at the church door on Sunday mornings. There may well be visitors in the congregation today who are here at someone else’s suggestion or perhaps even instruction. Interstate and international visitors often tell us that they have been informed that, when visiting the City of Sydney, there are only two churches where they would feel at home. One is Christ Church St Laurence, the other is that very charming brick and plaster church near David Jones’. For many years, this parish has boasted a reputation for fine liturgy and music (and perhaps even preaching), both throughout the Anglican Church of Australia and the worldwide Anglican Communion. We could give ourselves a little pat on the back, assuring ourselves that we have played our small part in maintaining this enviable tradition. Alternatively, we could be rather horrified by Paul’s criticism of the Christian community in Corinth, as he cuts them down to size; as he assures them that they have little of which to boast. Like so many Christians, even in our own time, the Corinthians have fallen victim to spiritual pride—they boast and claim victory with the risen Christ, at the cost of ignoring Christ Crucified. A deliberately brutal Paul assures the Corinthians that, even by worldly standards, they’re not really very impressive at all: Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world… In these brash statements, Paul brings the Corinthians down to earth. They are spiritually immature, and although they think themselves important, the rest of the world does not. In this parish, we treasure our history and beautiful traditions; we value our reputation throughout the wider church. None of this changes the fact that the vast majority of people in this city have no idea that we are here. It pains me to say it, but the majority of people who drive or walk past this church every day have no idea or even interest in what takes place within these ancient stone walls. In the fifth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew we read: 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…” ‘The Beatitudes’ are the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. Climaxing with the Lord’s Prayer, the Sermon on the Mount contains the longest continuous passage of Christ speaking and teaching in all of Scripture. Luke’s Gospel contains the shorter ‘Sermon on the Plain’. However, it is not surprising that, in Matthew—the most Jewish of the Gospels—this all-important teaching takes place on the mountain. This crowd, or at least their forebears, have been taken to the mountain before. Page | 1
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