Sermon preached at St Paul's Church, Oadby
Sunday 26 February 2006 - Morning Worship service
Hugh James
In church for the sermon: 80 adults
It’s because it is so natural to think our group, - or our nation - is best -- so inborn -- that we need to be on our guard.
The bible readings used in this sermon are Revelation 5.6-14 and John 18.33-38. Click
here for the readings.
There is no audio recording of the sermon but the full text is shown here...
I still remember the run-up to the Falklands War. There was a lot of debate. The British Foreign Office had been quite keen to get rid of the collection of expensive rocks in the Southern Ocean. Rocks that we had conquered from the Spanish -- the predecessors of the government of Argentina. At that time, you couldn't even get to the Falklands without flying to Argentina first and changing planes.
And then at that time, people in the Falkland Islands, with so-called British passports, didn't even have the right to settle in the UK. But then the Argentines seized the Falklands – with a little bit of force. A territory that now belonged to Britain – and had been British for hundreds of years -- taken it by force. It was lawlessness -- and very humiliating. How should we respond? The arguments ran back and forth in the press.
And then Margaret Thatcher declared war. All discussion ceased. The band struck up, the troops were dispatched -- and debate stopped. Our country was at war, and our duty was to support our boys. But was it: "our country right or wrong?"
Before we consider the Christian position on this; - a little song -- a very English song – and as someone born in the North of Scotland, with a Welsh grandfather, I apologise in advance to everyone who is proud of not being English.
(The English are best A Song of Patriotic Prejudice By Michael Flanders and Donald Swann)
The English, the English, the English are best
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest.
The rottenest bits of these islands of ours
We've left in the hands of three unfriendly powers
Examine the Irishman, Welshman or Scot
You'll find he's a stinker, as likely as not.
The Scotsman is mean, as we're all well aware
And bony and blotchy and covered with hair
He eats salty porridge, he works all the day
And he hasn't got bishops to show him the way!
The English, the English, the English are best
I wouldn't give tuppence for all of the rest.
The Irishman now our contempt is beneath
He sleeps in his boots and he lies through his teeth
He blows up policemen, or so I have heard
And blames it on Cromwell and William the Third!
The English are noble, the English are nice,
And worth any other at double the price
The Welshman's dishonest and cheats when he can
And little and dark, more like monkey than man
He works underground with a lamp in his hat
And he sings far too loud, far too often, and flat!
And crossing the Channel, one cannot say much
Of French and the Spanish, the Danish or Dutch
The Germans are German, the Russians are red,
And the Greeks and Italians eat garlic in bed!
The English are moral, the English are good
And clever and modest and misunderstood.
And all the world over, each nation's the same
They've simply no notion of playing the game
They argue with umpires, they cheer when they've won
And they practise beforehand which ruins the fun!
The English, the English, the English are best
So up with the English and down with the rest.
It's not that they're wicked or naturally bad
It's knowing they're foreign that makes them so mad!
For the English are all that a nation should be,
And the flower of the English are Donald (Michael)
Donald (Michael) and Me! I must confess to considerable embarrassment as my children went round a French campsite singing that.
Now have a look at the image on the OHP.
(Lord Kitchener)
I apologise for the quality -- but I couldn't find a more detailed image.
I don't suppose any of us is old enough to remember seeing the originals of this poster. You'd need to be about 95. But I expect that we all recognise it -- even with its poor quality. It was Lord Kitchener's famous recruiting poster for the First World War. The war that wiped out a whole generation of young men. And if you can tell me why it was right for Britain to go to war in 1914 -- please tell me afterwards.
But the cry: "your country needs you" was enough to send millions to their death. So is it: "my country right or wrong." Let's try and see what Scripture has to say about it. May we have our Bible readings, please?
Reading - Revelation 5:6-14
Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7:He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne.
8:When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9:They sing a new song: `You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from+ every tribe and language and people and nation;
10:you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving+ our God, and they will reign on earth.'
11:Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12:singing with full voice, `Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honour and glory and blessing!'
13:Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, `To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honour and glory and might for ever and ever!' 14:And the four living creatures said, `Amen!' And the elders fell down and worshipped.
2nd Reading: John 18:33
Then Pilate entered the headquarters+ again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, `Are you the King of the Jews?' 34:Jesus answered, `Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?'
35:Pilate replied, `I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?'
36:Jesus answered, `My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.'
37:Pilate asked him, `So you are a king?' Jesus answered, `You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.'
38:Pilate asked him, `What is truth?' After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, `I find no case against him. I think the statement: "your country right or wrong" makes us ask ourselves three different questions.
1. Does being British, make us special? Does it make us right?
2. Are we obliged to do what the authorities command us?
3. Which country do we belong to?
I don't very often preach three point sermons, - but today’s an exception.
.
1. Does being British, make us special? Michael Flanders and Donald Swan certainly claimed that being English is best. I'm proud of being born in Scotland -- but I know the Scots' opinion of Sassenachs. And isn't Welsh the language of heaven?
We're all proud of where we come from. And there's nothing wrong with that. But that raises the question: "does that mean that we're better than others?" Flanders and Swan obviously thought so -- and we chuckled. But so did the Nazis in the 1930s. Germany was the superior race. And it's easy to claim superiority -- something Britain certainly did during it's time of empire. And then it's easy to use that to justify denigrating others -- or even persecuting them -- and from that it's only a small step to exterminating them.
It’s because it is so natural to think our group, - or our nation - is best -- so inborn -- that we need to be on our guard. Writing to the Philippians St Paul said this: "3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Philippians 2:3-4)
In all that we say and do, we need to bear that in mind. It's not easy to be self-critical. Following the murder of Steven Lawrence, there was a debate in the Church of England's General Synod. I was there. The inquiry had suggested that there was institutional racism in the police force. One of the speakers went on to suggest that there was institutional racism in our legal system.
Every judge and JP -- and there were a lot of them on Synod -- was outraged. But judges and lawyers are only human. They're fallible, like the rest of us. And it's because we're fallible that we need to be on our guard. We may not be seeing the culture as God sees it. Our culture -- our country -- may be at fault.
In the 19th century, belief that "Britain was best" justified the enormous conquests that led to the British Empire. No matter that we shed blood, or invented the first concentration camps -- in the Boer War -- or massacred unarmed protesters at Amritsar in India - Britain was best, so its actions must be right.
If we read our tabloid newspapers, we still find that Britain is best (well, we did win the World Cup in 1966!). But we also find an awful lot of rubbishing of other countries. If a foreign leader has a good idea, our press is very slow to acknowledge it.
A lot of British people were against the Iraq war -- so was President Chirac. But how much support did he get here? Of course he's French. And the French have been our enemies since William the Conqueror's troops killed King Harold in 1066. But does that mean that they are automatically wrong?
Don't get me wrong. We don't have to be ashamed of all our history. There are times when Britain has been a beacon -- done things of which we can be proud.. For example, the lead she took in getting slavery banned. But we do have to stop being unselective. My country is not right just because it says it is. We must judge the issues.
We're still a long way from seeing others as better than ourselves. And as Christians, that should be our default position.
My country right or wrong -- the second question
2. Are we obliged to do what the authorities command us?
This has been a problem for the Christian church in the West ever since the Roman emperor Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire. State and church became mixed up. What does the state have the right to oblige us to do? Is the state God's agent?
The Jews were very unhappy at paying taxes to Caesar. Those taxes went to Rome and supported the oppression of their country, Judaea. So when the Pharisees asked Jesus the question: "should we pay taxes to Caesar?" It was a trick. Say "no" and it was treason against Rome. Say "yes" and it was hostility to his own country.
And yet Jesus did say "yes" -- he looked at the head on the coin. -- Caesar's -- Rome is providing the services, so you should pay your taxes.
So Jesus doesn't give us permission to avoid paying our council tax if we don't agree with the frequency with which our dustbins are collected. But Jesus also added: "render to God the things that are God's." And the Bible reminds us that on many occasions that can be costly.
Daniel in the lions' den, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the burning fiery furnace, and the death of the apostle James and Stephen all remind us of the Christian duty to stand up in the face of evil. And particularly to stand up for our faith.
It may well become harder still to stand up for our beliefs. There is a big debate going on about the right of conscience. Up until now, doctors have had the right, on grounds of conscience, to have nothing to do with abortion. At present, it’s seriously being suggested that that right should be withdrawn.
If euthanasia were legalised, -- and there’s a lot of people calling for it to be -- would it then be suggested that Christian doctors couldn't refuse to be involved in that, either, on grounds of conscience?
So, no, I believe that Scripture shows that it's not enough that my country's laws say that something is legal. It may still not be right in God's sight. My responsibility is to be faithful to Him. But to say: "my country is not right" may well be costly.
My country right or wrong raises the third question:
3. Which country do we belong to?
I think both the two previous questions: "Does being British, make us special?" And "Are we obliged to do what the authorities command us?” are important. But I think that this one: “Which country do we belong to?” is the most crucial. It was the one picked up in our readings. If you follow Christ, you are a citizen of a new kingdom -- the kingdom of God -- the kingdom of heaven. That kingdom's the subject of many of Jesus parables. So often they begin: "the kingdom of God is like..."
The kingship of Jesus is important in the Christmas story. When the Wise Men came, they brought gold -- a gift fit for a king. When they couldn't find the baby, and asked those who studied the Scriptures, they replied that the prophets had foretold of the coming King -- in Bethlehem. That's why King Herod got so fearful -- even to murdering all the baby boys in Bethlehem.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus taught about his kingdom. The kingdom totally unlike any other -- a kingdom where the least are greatest -- and the greatest are least.
And then we come to his trial, and Pilot asks: "Are you a king?" And Jesus replies: "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.”
37 Pilate asked him, `So you are a king?' Jesus answered, `You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth."
When finally Jesus reaches the cross -- there, nailed over his head is: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."
When we come to the book of Revelation, we find the Saints -- all those who trust in Christ -- that's you and me -- gathered around the King. The king with the citizens. This is our country. We're at home at last. And who are we with? Certainly not just with Brits -- though I hope there will be some -- I hope many. But no, it says: "every tribe and language and nation."
Do you sense yourself part of that country? These are your co-citizens -- your brothers and sisters in Christ. Are you rejoicing where they are rejoicing? Are you weeping when they are persecuted? Are you generous when they are in need.
As a country, we love nationalistic songs. Land of Hope and Glory, Jerusalem, I vow to thee my country. I fear that at root they're very insidious. They blind us to the failings of Britain. They isolate us from others around. And perhaps worst of all, they hide the other kingdom -- the one Christ came to bring.
But they've got lovely tunes and we've used some of those tunes today. I hope you enjoy singing them. But we've used words that don't glorify "my country -- right or wrong." We've used words that glorify the true king -- King Jesus.
Let's pray:
Oh saviour of the world,
whose death at Calvary opened for all
citizenship of the kingdom of God.
Save us from thinking of ourselves as better than we ought,
and make us appreciate those outside our little circle
that we may worship you with Saints
of every age and from every nation.
Amen
