The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a catechism written in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians and laymen intended to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Scotland. It was intended to educate children and comes in the form of 107 questions and answers.
It asks first what is our chief end as human beings, in other words what is our purpose and meaning. The answer given is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
That answer is essentially based on the prayer that Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, which begins with a prayer that both Jesus and God the Father be glorified as they are one and then says that eternal life is to be found in knowing God as Father and Son (John 17. 1-11).
So, let's reflect together on why we are here; both here today and why we come to church at all. Asked that question, we might give a range of answers that might include fellowship and friendship, refreshment and renewal, service and witness. Last year a number of you completed questionnaires asking, among other things, about church services. People said they want the churches to contribute to a sense of community, provide support for others and be centres for peace and prayer providing a sense of Christian presence. People’s best experiences of worship were in family-friendly services where there were plenty of other people, often at Festivals, and where they felt welcomed. A sense of closeness to God was seen as being the most important experience in worship, with music, prayers, the Eucharist and fellowship/belonging all contributing highly to this. Finally, people had a range of different preferences regarding styles of worship ranging from traditional to contemporary, and from one style to many.
Whatever we get personally and individually from being part of church, that is not the fundamental reason for being here or for our lives as Christians, which is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.
Understanding and taking on board that aim is transformative because it shifts our attention from ourselves to God. When we come to church and think about our involvement in church, it's easy to make it all about us and focus on the extent to which we enjoy the service and the time together or not and the extent to which we enjoy being with others here or not. However, if our chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever, then our responses to what is going on and to other people are not the main point. Church isn't all about us, it's all about God.
On this day when we hold our Annual Parochial Church Meeting and review what has happened here over the past year, the first question we should be asking is not about our own reactions and responses to what has happened - what did we enjoy and what did we dislike - but, instead, how was God glorified in what we did together and, also, in our individual lives. In other words, where has our main focus been and what have our priorities been over the past year; has our year been focused on ourselves or focused on God?
Next, we see Jesus' prayer setting out how we develop that focus on glorifying and enjoying God; that is to receive all he is giving us because all he has has been given to him by God. In receiving from Jesus, both his words and his Spirit, we are receiving from God himself.
Now, it is important here to pause and recognise that Jesus' experience here on earth was primarily one of rejection. People at the time, did not universally receive him or his message. He is described as the stone which the builders rejected that has then become the cornerstone.
It is easy to think that, because we've responded to Jesus, we're on the right side of that equation, but the church has a whole has regularly been guilty of rejecting others, in the same way that Jesus himself was originally rejected. Whether we are looking at church justifications for the slave trade or for apartheid or for the exclusion of women from church leadership or, today, our lack of welcome for the LGBT+ community, the Church, as a whole, has often rejected and excluded others and been blind to the reality that by doing so it has been rejecting Jesus all over again. There are always people on the edge of church who feel overlooked, marginalised and rejected and these are the very people that God calls us to be with as they are the gifts from God which have the potential to transform and renew us all; just as Jesus himself was rejected but became the cornerstone of faith.
In his prayer, Jesus calls us first to glorify God, then to receive the gifts he is giving to us and then to live together in unity, as God himself is united. His prayer is that we will be one, as God himself is one. Unity is not achieved by our own efforts, as we are all too easily frustrated by or annoyed with one another. Instead, it comes as we participate deeply in God, experiencing the love that exists and is exchanged within the Trinity, between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The love that is continually exchanged within the Godhead overspills to us and draws us into that relationship of love so that we experience love and acceptance which enables us to then share love and acceptance with others. We have, in and of ourselves, the resources to do that but, if we are constantly receiving God's love and acceptance ourselves, then we have an endless supply of love and acceptance to give to others.
As we stop today to review the life of this parish over the past year, this prayer of Jesus, prayed in the most extreme of circumstances knowing he was about to die yet looking forward to all that his disciples would do and be in his name, is key to our reflections.
The key is not to start with ourselves, asking what have we enjoyed and whether our needs or wishes have been met, but instead to start with God; in what ways have we glorified and enjoyed God, what have we received from God, and how have we expressed our unity in God.
Beginning with these reflections enables us to travel well together, as Bishop Guli, the Bishop of Chelmsford, is encouraging us to do (see the Travelling Well Together booklet). The values that Bishop Guli commends to us are very similar as they begin with awareness of grace. So, we look firstly, not to ourselves, but to God, as God always provides the resources required for the mission of the church to continue. An awareness of grace engenders a spirit of thankfulness and enables us to notice what we have, rather than grieve for what we lack. Next, is a valuing of the small, the vulnerable and the marginal. Our calling is not to strain after worldly success, influence and power but to be a faithful and gentle presence and trust that God will use our conversations, encounters and all our efforts in ways we may never fully understand. Where there is growth we will rejoice and offer encouragement, whilst always remembering that God also treasures that which is small and fragile and we are invited to do the same. Then, there are kindness, mutual respect, gentleness and humility; virtues which are often underestimated and undervalued. They flow out of Jesus’ command that we should love one another. To embody them we need to practice them intentionally, treating others as we would want to be treated ourselves and assuming the best of one another. This will enable us to develop greater trust.
These latter virtues are to do with giving and sharing, something which is needed in order to keep our churches financially viable. Alongside, the Travelling Well Together booklet, we have also given you a leaflet explaining the new Parish Share scheme in the Diocese and the ways in which local Parish ministry is funded. If you would like to give regularly to support the ministry of this Parish and that of the Diocese, please think about joining the Parish Giving Scheme and, if you are a taxpayer, gift aiding your donations. Sharing financially in our mission and ministry is an important part of enabling us all to travel well together and thereby experience the oneness for which Jesus prayed.
We can be the answer to Jesus’ prayer, if we focus on glorifying and enjoying God, receiving from God, and expressing our unity in God. As we do so, let us allow awareness of grace to engender a spirit of thankfulness, value the small, vulnerable and marginal, and practice kindness, mutual respect, gentleness and humility towards others. Amen.
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Paul Simon - Seven Psalms.
