Reuben's Sermon for Epiphany 3:
SiOT 03 year C:

Reuben's Theme: "Our Christian Potential"

(Epiphany 3) - HOLY COMMUNION

0900hrs at TheMethodist Church, Broadway, Cullercoats.
Sunday, 21st. January 2001 Anno Domini.
Holy Communion Luke: 4.14-21

January 21, 2000 Cycle C 3rd. Sunday in Epiphany (Epiphany 3).

Holy Communion:

GOSPEL Luke 4.14­21
Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Luke.
14 Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country.
15 He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone.
16 When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read,
17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written:
18 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free,
19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'
20 And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.
21 Then he began to say to them, 'Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.'

Reuben's Theme: "Our Christian Potential"

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

This is the week of "Prayer for Christian Unity".

Many of us find Christian Unity a little worrying.

The prospect of losing the identities and traditions that our different Christian denominations have to offer, frightens us.

Do we all want to be the same?

Throughout my life, sameness and uniformity has been bursting out all over. A very gradual process, but as I look back I can see it.

Let me take you on a speedy journey through time:

You see, I was born on December 3rd. 1952.

These were the days when industry rang with names like the chimes of bells: Metropolitan-Vickers, Morris, Rootes and Hawker Siddley. Swan Hunter, Wallsend Slipway, Armstrong-Whitworth, British Leyland, Rediffusion. E. M. I. - the electronic heart of Britain, British-Thompson-Houston Generators - Turbines and Transformers - Power for Prosperity.

We made cars for the roads of the world, airliners for its skies and ships for its seas. It was Furguson for tractors, Foden for coaches. Sheffield was steel, Nottingham was cycles. We were a proud nation - proud of who we were and proud of what we could do.

My memories of the fifties hold echoes of purpose and pride.

Proud of our country, proud of our region.

The "War" was well behind us and we were a nation looking forward to peace and prosperity .......AND FUN.

As a child. I learned to speak with the added help of the "Light Programme", with people like Julia Lang. When the music finished, Daphne Oxenford was there to speak to me, Derek McCulloch (Uncle Mac to you and me) played music for me and a frighteningly well spoken David Jacobs announced many programmes.

I learned to count, and tell the time, to Bill Haley's "Rock around the Clock" and my rock-'n'-roll heroes were Tommy Steel and Cliff Richard.

Rock-'n'-roll and Teddy-boys gave way to Rhythm and Blues, Mods and Rockers and "The Sixties" evolving into "Flower Power", "Love and Peace" along with drugs, riots and a few other major problems. The youth of the country seemed to be still looking for a purpose - a direction (I know, I was one of them).

The sixties, people will tell you, were "Swinging" and I can confirm it, although some of the time it was like knowing there was a great party going on, but not being able to find it.

We had "Pirate Radio Stations" which led to the birth of "Radio One" (along with Two, Three and Four) with a fond farewell to the "Light Programme", the "Home Service" and the "Third".

Then, before we knew where we were, it was "Hullo BBC2" and colour television. Men walked on the Moon and we still felt as though the human race was actually getting somewhere.

Human achievements were becoming more and more spectacular.

Yes, suddenly we were thinking of ourselves in an international, rather than a national, way.

Throughout the seventies I witnessed the evolution of "Heavy Metal", "Rock" and "Disco" music. "Punk" came and went.

We had some very hot summers and some very white winters and the music of the era still echoes around today - mostly on Radio 2.

Throughout the Eighties and into the Nineties I have watched things develop a type of uniformity.

As communications become more advanced, almost by the minute, the world seems to be getting smaller.

Hundreds of television stations available to you by cable and satellite.

You can stand on a street corner, with a mobile telephone, and talk to anyone in the world.

Email and the internet links all the peoples of all the nations of all the world.

Looking back on how everything has changed throughout my life, I can't help but get the feeling that people are losing their individuality.

As a region, the North East of England lost that spark of tenacity and personality that Tyneside used to have.

Tyne Tees Television, now called "Channel 3 North East", has lost it's famous theme-tune. In fact Tyne Tees Television is now owned by Yorkshire Television.

It's happening all over the country... ...and starting to happen all over the world.

Our individuality is disappearing.

We are slowly becoming similar and the same.

Many good people believe that as (throughout the world) we all become the same - losing our national and regional individuality and pride; conflicts will cease, wars will become a thing of the past and there will be peace.

It is beginning to happen - I've been watching it all my life.

I know that there are parts of the world where peace is still a long way off - but slowly, it is coming!

IS THIS WHAT WE WANT?      -     "YES!"

But part of me sees the world travelling a route to a grey existence, where the banks and corporations will rule the world.

Wars will be fought in the boardrooms and stock-exchanges of the world...
...and the casualties of these wars will be the millions of poor, starving and homeless, dying on the streets of the world.

YES! EVEN IN TYNESIDE - ask my brother Maurice at the Byker-Bridge Housing Association. He hates the cold weather because, as he so movingly puts it, he loses customers. Yes, they die on the streets...
...EVEN IN NEWCASTLE!

So, it would seem that the loss of our individual uniqueness in the world is possibly something to be avoided.

So let's look at Christianity.

Our wonderful mish-mash of denominations.

Christian Unity is slowly coming.

How will it affect us, our children and our children's children?

Well, I don't think we have anything to worry about.

(Reach down and pick up the Altar Version of the "Revised Common Lectionary - Hold it up for everyone to see).

The New Revised Common Lectionary (quite a mouthful).

These are the appointed readings for Sundays and Feast Days throughout the Christian Year.

It has now been adopted by the Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist and indeed most of the Christian Churches all over the world.
Or should I say, 'The Christian Church - all over the world'.

The Gospel reading you heard this morning, has been (or will be) read all over the world.

From Westminster Hall to The Vatican

From Canterbury Cathedral to The Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.

All the churches in Cullercoats will hear this reading today.

All the Christian Church - United (throughout nearly all the year) by the same (or very similar) readings...

...each Sunday and Feast Day.

The Christian Church all over the world - reflecting on the same readings - TOGETHER.

The word "United" springs to mind.

Christian Unity!

Christian Unity does not mean that we must become different from what we are now.

Christian Unity is a unity between our different denominations, while respecting our differences.

In today's Gospel reading, we hear an interesting story.

A story of the beginning of Jesus' mission and ministry...
Jesus returns to his home town of Nazareth...
...and to put it in a nut-shell...
Local boy done good... ...Local boy returned home...
...Local boy upset the local church leaders and congregation.

So, to coin a (now popular) phrase.... ..What's that all about?

It's all about our local Church!

It's all about our local Congregation!

It all about US!

The person in front of you!

The person behind you!

The people beside you!

It's about YOU!

The individual members, of the Christian Church Universal.

With our individual personalities....
Our individual hopes... ...Our individual dreams...

and

Our unrecognised skills... ...Our unrecognised talents...
Our unrecognised value in the Christian Church for Today!

In our Gospel today, even God is not recognised.

On returning home to Nazareth. Jesus, went to the synagogue on the sabbath day.

The scroll of the prophet Isaiah is given to him to read.

He opens the scroll and selects a passage to read.

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.'

Jesus rolls up the scroll, gives it back to the attendant, and sits down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him.

Jesus says to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Everyone was amazed and surprised at His eloquence. "Is not this Joseph's son?"

Jesus went on to examine, question and express his views on various sections of the Bible and ends up, not only upsetting the congregation who don't recognise what Jesus can do for them (let alone who He really is) but, causing a riot.

The congregation drive him out of town and lead him to the brow of a hill, so that they might hurl Him off.

In the chaos, Jesus passes through the midst of them and goes on his way.

If God himself can't be recognised for his skill, talent and potential in his own local congregation...
...what chance do we have to exercise our own mission and ministry here?     today?     now?

Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet's hometown.

As Christian Unity comes closer and we worry about our own churches...

...our own congregations...

...our own denominations...

...be them Methodist, Anglican, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostalist, United Reformed or whatever.

If we all unite, will they become grey and the same?

Although faiths and denominations have to have names, as soon as a group of people have a name, we are far to eager to put them into a pigeonhole and separate them from all the others.

Perhaps if we forgot about our labels occasionally, and were prepared to find out a little more about our fellow Christians, we might get a little surprise once in a while.

We might discover people with Christian Potential.

We might discover our own Christian Potential, (and on the way - make a few new friends).

All Christian Churches and Denominations have so much to offer...
...for different people... ...in different ways.

It is important to maintain the many rich traditions of the Christian Church Universal.

Let all Christians in the world, become proud of what and who we are and respect other Christians for who and what they are.

Let all Christians be prepared to accept the potential, the mission and the ministry of our local Christian friends.
We Christians are a colourful bunch... ...and it would be terrible if the "Rainbow of Christianity" was blended into one boring, single, colour.

Like a rainbow, we can all be united, but none of us are ever the same.

If only the Christian Church would learn a little bit about itself and each-other, perhaps we might all get somewhere (and possibly even arrive there at the same time).

We must remember the difference between: religion (or faith) and denomination (the label given to our personal group within that religion).

We are all one faith, one religion, one body: "CHRISTIANS"

When Dave Allen used to end his programme with the words "May your God go with you!" he struck an interesting note.

The thing we Christians have to remember, is that we all have the SAME God...
...AND - WE ALL HAVE THE SAME SAVIOUR!

So, spread the word - THE GOOD NEWS, because only through Jesus Christ and a UNITED CHRISTIAN FAITH - THROUGHOUT THE WORLD, will we have what I pray for every day.

CHRISTIAN UNITY AND PEACE.
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.

© (excluding Bible text) Reuben Condie 21/01/2001