Evening Prayer. A psalm, two bible readings – set in our lectionary for this Rogation Day. Not a particularly grand choice of readings for this special day as we come together for the first time in worship in our new (yet to be named) deanery.
It all seems deceptively easy for the writer of Deuteronomy. Obedience to God brings blessing. Not blessing in the far and distant future…not blessing in what we might call the ‘kingdom of God’ or in heaven…but blessing here and now. Here in the down to earth business of farms and produce, fruit and cattle, kneading bowls and baskets. ‘All these blessings shall come upon you…if you will obey me and my commandments.’
Hundreds of years later it was anything but easy. Obedience did not guarantee blessing…or at least, not so obviously. ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests’ said Jesus, but he didn’t have anywhere to lay his head. The disciples who had given up everything (farms and fields and family) to follow him clearly felt the strain…only to be told that blessing would be theirs in the Kingdom of heaven. It is hard to marry Deuteronomy with Good Friday.
And the problem doesn’t go away, even after Easter. Don’t be surprised, says Peter, at the ‘fiery ordeal that is taking place among you, as though something strange were happening to you.’ We’re a long way here from the confident declarations of victory and prosperity promised by God in Deuteronomy! Far from receiving blessing, those who are obedient to God as they follow Jesus ‘should not be surprised’ if the going is tough, if they face a ‘fiery ordeal’, if they are misunderstood and on the sharp end of ill treatment.
What do we make of this? What do we hear this evening?
Both readings commend obedience, faithfulness and single-hearted commitment. Each one of us here signed up for these things at our baptism, to ‘seek first the kingdom of God’. And so we cannot but stay true to seeking God’s will, not just in our own lives but in the life of our communities. Ours is a mission to the parishes we serve in their entirety, not just to our churches: the way we farm, the way we relate to one another, the way we educate our children or conduct business, the way we care for those who cannot care for themselves, our concern for the environment, our support for those who are unwell or in need ‘in any other kind of way’, these all fall within God’s call upon our lives. Both Old and New Testaments seek God’s Kingdom ‘on earth as it is in heaven’: this means engaging with policy makers and local councils and community groups and schools, seeking God’s presence amongst us wherever we might find it and promoting the well-being of all in Jesus’ name.
But we should not be surprised if we are misunderstood. We should not be surprised if our refusal to let go of our faith commitment means that we are the last to be consulted rather than the first, that our voices aren’t trusted or heard in the public square as perhaps they once were. Let us not pretend in the least that the church in this land suffers the persecution that Peter spoke of or which others continue to suffer around the world but let us also recognise that it is a hard thing to be a Christian in Western Europe in the 21st century. Our churches have seen a continued decline in attendance. Our buildings are a great gift but also a heavy burden. We struggle with our finances. We are still struggling to find a language that can speak to this generation and we are not exempt from the changes that are sweeping away so much that we have valued and treasured in society these last 80 years and more: everything is being shaken and tested and we do not know how the pieces will fall.
And so, what to do? How do we lead when we don’t know where we are going? Stay true. Stay true to who we are – chosen and beloved people of God, ‘called to proclaim the mighty acts of him who called us out of darkness into his marvellous light’. Hold firm to those things that sustain us: the scriptures and the sacraments. And remember that we do not travel alone: Each person, each church is a gift. We are all part of one another, we can learn from one another, we can care for and support one another, we are accountable to one another. And finally, pray: Peter said ‘entrust yourselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good’. We are His, we have his commands and we can be a blessing to others wherever we are set and wherever he might lead.
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