Epiphany 2014 part 2

Mrs Gerbil and I did one of our occasional double acts today at Quarry Kirk.  What follows is the second part of today's service.  Part one was preached by Mrs Gerbil.  Part two is based on

Ephesians 3:1-12

There’s foreigners amongst us.

Take a good look around.  They are everywhere

 

Once upon a time, as all the best stories start, there were two churches.  Oldchurch was very old, with a leaky roof, leaky windows and some pretty dodgy floorboards.  So they realised they would have to temporarily move out to get the repair work carried out.

The minister of Newchurch told his session that he had extended an invitation to Oldchurch to join them in worship for a few weeks while the church was fixed, and how he was looking forward to welcoming them and sharing a cup of tea after the service.

At that, a hand shot up at the back of the room and asked “if they are staying for tea, will they be bringing their own biscuits?”

Imagine that.  Strangers eating our biscuits.  Imagine the tabloid press reporting on an influx of Bulgarians coming over here and making off with our digestives. 

Paul is in prison.  It’s an occupational hazard for followers of Jesus.  What’s Paul’s crime?  He is accused of teaching  against the law and bringing Greeks into the temple.  Nobody mentions if the Greeks were going to eat the temple biscuits as well.

In Paul’s letter this morning, Paul lets us know that, through the Spirit, God’s message which was for many years hidden away, is now revealed to all people.  Not just the Jews, but to everyone.  Jew, Greek, and eventually, even the Scots.

When Paul was preaching his message, you couldn’t even say that Jews were one united group.  In the Bible you will have heard about the Pharisees and Sadducees.  Then you have the Zealots, and the Sicarii, plus a few  more, all with their own interpretation of Jewish Laws.  All were expecting a Messiah to come, and to ratify their interpretation of living under Gods laws. Then Paul preaches a message that in Christ, everyone who was not part of God’s promise has now been grafted back in.

Imagine Paul preaching today, would he turn up and say that Jesus came for the Church of Scotland only, or would the message be for us, the Methodists, the Catholics, the Jews, the Muslims, the Zoroastrians, the Wiccans, the Scientologists, and those who have expressed no faith at all?

All who accept Jesus into their hearts will be saved, regardless of their previous background.

This wasn’t an easy message for the Jews to accept. That the Jews, who for years had been God’s chosen people would have to share in God’s love and plan.  But that is what happened.

On this the Sunday closest to Epiphany, when we remember God revealing Himself to the world through the birth of His son, there’s another epiphany, another moment of revelation taking place, where Paul reveals that Christ’s message is for everyone.

The other day, restrictions on migrant workers ended, and the tabloid press worked itself into a foaming rage about “Them” coming over here and taking our jobs.  I won’t mention names, but by and large, it is the same section of the tabloid press that was described by the Spectator as appealing to people unaccustomed to thinking.  The same papers accuse migrants of coming over here and taking our benefits.  So would they please make up their mind, are they coming to work, or coming to take benefits?  Who knows, they might even take our biscuits.

So there’s the comparison between the Jewish society of 2000 years ago, and the UK of today.  Take one group that thinks it is entitled, and watch them get their knickers in a knot when they are told that they are going to have to share the things they believe they are exclusively entitled to. 

You would be surprised, but in a lot of places, church attendance is actually on the increase, driven in part by an influx of immigrants.  Ina nearby town, which has traditionally had strong connections with the Polish community, attendance is very good at the Catholic church, and I know there are people who travel from as far away as Newcastle to attend the Coptic Orthodox church in Kirkcaldy.  The independent churches are also doing well, because they form a community.

Churches that extend a welcome to their new neighbours are growing.  It’s not enough to think you are at the heart of the community, but to demonstrate that you are.  To grow a church we need to welcome everyone that moves in.  And we need to engage with the people that have fallen away.  Is Sunday really a good time to welcome people into the church.  I hate to say it, but people do actually work on a Sunday. Because Jesus’ saving message isn’t for the minority that is in here, it’s for the majority that are out there.

So where do we go from here?  Don’t look to me for answers.  How are you going to re-engage with the community?  If people can’t get into church on a Sunday, what about opening the doors on a Wednesday morning?  Welcoming in people who might want to meet up for a brew.  You don’t have to be able to make it to church on a Sunday to still be part of a church community.  People still have a need for spirituality, but when was the last time you had a deep conversation about your faith?  When did you last share your testimony, if ever?  And yet, it’s the sharing, and not just the sharing of tea and cakes, but the sharing of our spiritual knowledge that builds the community.

So if I’m going to leave you with one idea for the year ahead, it is this.  Just like Paul, the only way to grow as a community is to share. 

But I’m keeping my biscuits.