St Peter
1991 (Year B), 30 June /
Pentecost 6
St Peter de Beauvoir Town
There was a suggestion that the new Bishop of Stepney might come here to preach today. Not to put too finer point on it, I’m absolutely thrilled that he couldn’t make it. Not because he can’t preach, he can. Nor because he’s not interesting, he is. But because this is a sermon that the Bishop could never preach, for he hasn’t been part of the journey which has brought us here.
And I say this as I reflect on all the work that has gone into this building over the past months. The planning, the hopes, the frustrations, the joys and now the pleasure. All the work done by so many members of the congregation. The work done by painters, electricians, carpenters, architects and the rest. And to that list must be added yet again the work of the flower arrangers.
We have a building which is glorious to worship in. It meets our needs. It speaks to us of the things of God. Yet if all the work that has been done to this building over the past year is simply to beautify it for those who come to worship week by week then our efforts will have been selfish. If the church is restored simply to ensure its survival for the next twenty or thirty years then our efforts will have been pointless in the sight of God.
I believe that this church of St. Peter is at a vital point in its history. It seems to me that the signs of the times and the history of the church are pointing us outward. Outward from ourselves to others; outward from our church to the communities we come from; outward from our communities to the whole of creation. Our task, the task of the church is to proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes and the only place we can do that is outside this building, outward from this holy place.
Many of us grew up with the vision of the church standing as a beacon of light against darkness and evil. And there is a notion that we come to church to receive a sacrament which will protect us from evil by fortifying us with goodness. We come here because the sacrament resides, it happens, within these walls. As this idea develops it becomes more sophisticated for it says that the more often we receive the better it is for us, the holier we are and the safer we are. And when we have finished receiving, fortified and sanctified, we go back to that evil world which just happens to be our human life.
We have this Holy place. It is beautiful. Its restoration, I hope is complete and it is glorious. It is a Gate of Heaven. Yet unless this church, the walls and wires, have been restored for its proper mission then our efforts have been in vain. What we have to do now is refound the church, the body of the people here, and that takes us to a totally different place. For in refounding this church we will discover the sacrament and holiness of God outside here.
This place is a Gate of Heaven. But it is only one gate. There are limitless numbers of gates waiting for us out there. When we refound the church our hearts are transported outward from the sanctuary and the altar, out into the midst of human life. I now recognise that old vision of the church for what it is, a distortion of the truth. There is another one, truer to the experience of our religious history. The prophets knew it, for they spoke out against Kings, Priests and the Temple. Against those who were satisfied with the truth and no longer searching for God. Our Lord knew it for he told his friends, ‘Go out to the whole world’ ... Go to my brothers ( and sisters) you will find me there.’
The vision is realised already as members of the Open Door Retreat find God outside themselves, in each other. It has been discovered by the members of Step by Step, Lay Training Course. And it’s preached by members of this congregation as they reflect on their ministries. I believe now that the ultimate purpose of
the church, and the final meaning of the sacraments, can only be found outside this building, in the arena of the world, in the midst of creation.
Our greater, task now that the building is finished is to go out into the world, to proclaim the Good News to all creation and to embrace the Christ who waits for us there. AMEN