Not everyone who says to me "Lord, Lord", will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
And if that's true for individuals, then it must hold true for groups of individuals who come together and call themselves church.
Not every church that says to me "Lord, Lord", will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only they who do the will of my Father who is in heaven.
And in this, my final 10.30 sermon, it's the church I want to talk about because I care deeply for it. I care for it because it's Christ's body and I love Christ. I care for it because it's made up of your bodies, and I care deeply for you too. So I want to speak to you about being Church, and what God has to do with it.
When we call "Lord, Lord", we might be forgiven for thinking that Christ will hear us
recognise us and be pleased with us, so it comes as a bit of a shock that according to
St Matthew, Christ says that he might not.
This section of Matthew's gospel comes after a long discourse from Christ with a lot
of teaching that begins way back in chapter 5 with the beatitudes.
He talks about murder, adultery, divorce, justice, love for enemies, giving to the
needy, prayer, being anxious, judging others, in short - all the things that everyday
folk experience as part of their lives - the things that concern and affect them.
And just before we get to the part that was read out this morning, Christ gives us what
has become known as "the golden rule", in Matthew 7:12- which is "do unto others
as you would have them do unto you".
And, astonishingly, he says that this little rule sums up everything he's been saying
about the Law and the Prophets !
Now, I spent 2 years full time at a Theological college and 3 years here being trained in the ways of ordained ministry....., and some learned theologians spend their entire lives studying the Law and the Prophets - which represent over a thousand years of revelation, but which can apparently be summed up in "do unto others as you would have them do unto you".
I wish someone would have told me that earlier ! Might have saved me a lot of essays, and those theologians would surely be gnashing their teeth - "that can't be all there is to it..... there must be more to it than that" they'd say. "How can I write books and spend a lifetime teaching theology if that's all there is to it".
But I think that's the point, especially when we hear those words from the Son of God, who went to the Cross, and beyond, for our sakes. When we hear those words from the mouth of the man who is "God with us", the same man who, hanging from the cross, who said "Father forgive them for they know not what they do" we may perhaps take them rather more seriously than we do.
These aren't trite words about being fair, rather they are words concerning life and death, both for individuals and for the Church.
Jesus says, "Not everyone who says to me "Lord, Lord", will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven".
And what is the Fathers will ? What is his will for us, for the church ?
Some folks will say "Lord Lord, I prophesied in your name, I spelled out exactly how it's going to be for those who I know you don't like too much - you know, those whose sexuality isn't normal, those whose family life isn't proper, those who don't try hard enough to fit into the correct patterns of living. I told them, in your name, what it will be like for them if they don't change and become, well, more like me".
And Jesus says to that person, to that Church, "I never knew you".
And some folks will say, "Lord Lord, I called upon your name to drive out the demons that posses so many folk, there's so many need me to heal them. So many need me to drive out those demons that cause them to drink too much, or take drugs, or eat too much, or too little". I tell them, "doctors and nurses and family and friends can't help you now - you need the power of the Lord invested in me, and although I've no idea who you really are, and I don't love you, that doesn't really matter, I'll drive out those demons in the Lords name, and you will be well. And if you're not", I say, "you're not open enough to the work of the Spirit. Lord Lord, I drive out demons in your name".
And Jesus says to that person, to that Church "I never knew you"
And some folks will say, "Lord Lord, I've been opening the eyes of the blind to the miracles that can come through faith". I tell them, "it's only a lack of faith that stops you from benefiting from miracles; believe in God" I say, "and when I place my hands upon that tumour, it will go away. "Believe in God" I say, "and after I've prayed for you you'll get the job you want. Believe in God" I say, "and the Sun will shine on your garden even though it's raining on everybody else's. Lord Lord, I've been performing miracles in your name".
And Jesus says to that person, to that Church "I never knew you".
So what is the will of the Father ?
What are his words, that if we put them into practice we'll be like wise men building
on rock such that when the storms of life and faith come along we can stand firm ?
In another part of Matthew's gospel Jesus again summarises the Law and Prophets, in chapter 22, v 37-39, he replies to the question "which is the greatest commandment in the Law", by saying "love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and the greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments".
And all the Law and the Prophets did hang on these two commandments, because in Jesus Christ these two commandments were perfectly embodied, made flesh and blood for our sakes, and he was hung on the tree because of that.
Recently I was at a Retreat Association Conference with over 300 people in attendance. The finale of the conference was a discussion concerning belief, with Eley McAinsh a producer of Religious programmes for the BBC and Director of the Living Spirituality Network, and Christopher Jamison OSB, Abbot of Worth Abbey and star of the series "The Monastery".
The point of the discussion was to compare what Eley called "the New Spirituality", which in short found it very difficult to accept virtually any of the old doctrines and stories of the Church, and Christopher's view that nothing of the old can be changed, but might be re-worked and re-understood in the light of modern experience.
At the end of the discussion, the question was asked, "what next" ? It was almost as if people wanted to be told which version of the truth they should now accept as real, "how can we now be church with all this confusion around ?" "Should we go back and confront our vicar with these new ideas and demand some changes, or should we stick with what we've been taught by our Sunday school teachers and pooh pooh as heretical any other ideas" ?
But it seemed to me to be perfectly clear what we all had to do next. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind, and Love your neighbour as yourself, because everything we've just been listening to is nothing more than a "resounding gong or a clanging symbol" (1 Cor 13), if we don't love.
This, it seems to me, is the Fathers will.
This, it seems to me, is what God wills us to do.
Engaging in theology is very important, it's a joy, it's a frustration, it's a necessary
and vital part of the exploration as to how God is, and I for one very much enjoy
doing it.
But it's not our first duty. It's not why Jesus went to the cross, he didn't go there to
confirm or create a particular creed or doctrine. He went because "God so loved the
world", he went for love, for love of us - all of us, and not just Christians, and not just
those who call "Lord Lord", he went for love of the world. For everyone.
And he ask us to do the same. To shoulder a cross and follow him, that is, to love others in the same manner as he loves us.
And we know how to love because he has shown us - there's no mistaking it, it isn't shrouded in mystery, we don't have to spend a lifetime searching the Bible and reading books on theology to know what the will of the Father is or how we're to follow Christ. We know. The problem is that we don't want to do it enough, because it involves the Cross, and although we find talking and thinking about it interesting, stimulating and perhaps inspiring, actually doing it is scary and we'd rather not. So we carry on discussing how God is, rather than trying to emulate who God is.
I said at the beginning that I wanted to discuss about "being church, and what God has got to do with it".
Being Church, it seems to me then, is about doing the will of God. There are plenty of folk who'll spend a lot of time trying to work out what that is, and how God is - but that's not what is essential to being Christ's body - the church. Christ's body is for carrying out the will of God, and in the first place, that's about loving with all our heart and soul and mind and strength, taking up our cross and following our Lord.
It's what God's world needs of us. It's our calling as followers of Christ, it's my calling as I leave you and begin ministry at a Retreat Centre, it's your calling as you remain here and serve the people of Malvern, its visitors and pilgrims. It's glorious work, it's hard work, it might break our backs and our hearts, but it's the Lord's work and when we share in loving as he loves us, he will not say ""I never knew you", but rather "well done thou good and faithful servant".
May we all be good and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, doing his will, and may God bless you abundantly as you serve him in love.
Ian Spencer
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