{"id":1624,"date":"2018-04-22T20:17:41","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T20:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/?page_id=1624"},"modified":"2018-04-29T12:21:47","modified_gmt":"2018-04-29T12:21:47","slug":"sermon-22nd-april-2018-evening","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pattinghamchurch.org.uk\/web\/information\/sermons\/sermon-22nd-april-2018-evening\/","title":{"rendered":"Sermon – 22nd April 2018 – evening"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sermons index<\/a><\/p>\n

Fourth Sunday of Easter – evening<\/h1>\n
\n

Sunday 22nd April 2018<\/h3>\n

Easter 4 – evening
\n
\nJeremiah 15. 15-21
\nHebrews 11.32-12.2<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs<\/p>\n

\n

\"MaureenSo tonight we think about St George, the patron saint of England, and what it means to be English.<\/p>\n

But the funny thing is of course that George was not an Englishman and never set foot on these islands. He was chosen by the Crusaders because he was a soldier saint. Previously and indeed alongside him, the English celebrated King Edward the Confessor as our national saint. But a pious monarch did not capture the imagination like an heroic soldier!<\/p>\n

Several other nations, and some Arab groupings, also choose him for much the same reason, and the English Crusaders brought home with them his \u2018bloody cross\u2019 which is now flown proudly at the Commonwealth Games and other sporting events where England, rather than the United Kingdom, is being celebrated.<\/p>\n

Of course there is nothing wrong in feeling proud of the nation where one happens to be born, or where one has settled, whatever its faults, simply because it is ours.<\/p>\n

But we have been made very aware this week of what happens when \u2013 despite our feelings of pride and belonging, the bureaucracy conspires to reject someone\u2019s sense of national pride. The scandal of the Windrush generations has not reflected well on this nation of ours, and despite the posturing of all the political parties I don\u2019t think that any of them come out of it very well!.<\/p>\n

So St George joins St Andrew of Scotland; St David of Wales and St Patrick of Ireland, although confusingly he may actually have started out as Welsh before being captured and enslaved by the Romans…. it is all very strange! Am I alone in thinking it is a pity there is no patron Saint of Britain as a whole, to encourage unity and cooperation between the nations still known as the United Kingdom. Schools have been criticised in recent years for not teaching \u201cBritish Values\u201d to their pupils, to prevent them becoming radicalised, and it is suggested that immigrants should accept the tradition of their host country before they settle here permanently. But we cannot do that until we have some definition of what \u201cBritishness\u201d comprises. A liking for warm beer, a cup of tea at regular intervals and an understanding of the complexities of cricket is perhaps too narrow.<\/p>\n

Before the reformation it would have included adherence to the Catholic religion as taught by Rome. Afterwards, it would have been a question of following Puritanism. By the beginning of this century, a high proportion of the population follow non-Christian religions, or have no religion at all. An attempt to include specifically Christian values in the European Constitution proved divisive and had to be abandoned.<\/p>\n

Some years ago, Canon Alan Billings, writing in the Church Times suggested a set of contractual arrangements for people to agree to live together tolerantly in a liberal (small L) modern state. He proposed:
\nRespect for the rule of law
\nEquality of all citizens before the law;
\nDemocratically elected government;
\nFreedom of speech;
\nFreedom of worship;
\nFreedom of the individual to live his or her life as he or she wishes, subject only to not interfering with the rights of others.
\nAnd finally, tolerance and respect for those who differ from us.<\/p>\n

Now while there is nothing specifically Christian about this, few sincere believers in any religion would disagree with it. Christians would say that it is a true exposition of what Jesus meant by a community based on love.<\/p>\n

Society is changing, and most religions are slowly changing too. It is our ideals of mutual tolerance that prove so attractive to those fleeing life under violent and oppressive dictatorships.<\/p>\n

St George was killed by those who wished to make him change his religion by force. And sadly that attitude continued for centuries, even among Christians. But Jesus never demanded any sort of creedal confession from those who came seeking his help and healing. All he asked for was faith \u2013 however that person understood faith to be. So he could proclaim of the Roman centurion who came seeking healing for his servant, \u201cI tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.\u201d Nowadays we have begun to understand that sometimes the narrow boxes and definitions in which we seek to confine God are too restrictive, and we can see the good in other religions. That doesn\u2019t stop us speaking about the teaching of Jesus concerning love and mutual self-sacrifice, and trying to demonstrate it in our lives and as a community. So even if we retain a soldier-saint as our Patron, we will never use force as a means of evangelism \u2013 and in any case, rarely does it lead to any meaningful conversion. Free will is much more important for that.<\/p>\n

Happy St George\u2019s day \u2013 for tomorrow.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sermons index Fourth Sunday of Easter – evening Sunday 22nd April 2018 Easter 4 – evening Jeremiah 15. 15-21 Hebrews 11.32-12.2 Revd Preb Maureen Hobbs So tonight we think about St George, the patron saint of England, and what it means to be English. But the funny thing is of course that George was not … <\/p>\n

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