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The Readings.
What good is it, my brothers and sisters,* if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.
But someone will say, ‘You have faith and I have works.’ Show me your faith without works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. Do you want to be shown, you senseless person, that faith without works is barren? Was not our ancestor Abraham justified by works when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was brought to completion by the works. Thus the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness’, and he was called the friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. Likewise, was not Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she welcomed the messengers and sent them out by another road? For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is also dead.
Luke 21.5-19
When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said, ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down.’
They asked him, ‘Teacher, when will this be, and what will be the sign that this is about to take place?’ And he said, ‘Beware that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name and say, “I am he!” and, “The time is near!” Do not go after them.
‘When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for these things must take place first, but the end will not follow immediately.’ Then he said to them, ‘Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues; and there will be dreadful portents and great signs from heaven.
‘But before all this occurs, they will arrest you and persecute you; they will hand you over to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors because of my name. This will give you an opportunity to testify. So make up your minds not to prepare your defence in advance; for I will give you words and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, by relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your souls.
The Sermon
Prepared by The Revd Canon Dr Alan Billings.
One of the temptations for people of faith is to suppose that having faith
guarantees that bad things won’t happen to us.
In today’s gospel, Jesus warns his followers that this is not right. This is not
how faith works in our lives.
He’s speaking in the Temple in Jerusalem. A magnificent building. Solid.
Impressive. Beautifully adorned. For Jews, this was the place they wanted to
go to as often as they could. It was the rock-solid centre of their faith. A place
of stability and reassurance.
And yet, Jesus says, the days will come when there shall not be left here one
stone upon another.
This upset people. It undermined their belief that their faith, centred on this
building, guaranteed that life would go well for them, for ever.
And Jesus goes on to list other bad things that will happen. Wars and tumults.
Nations rising against nation. Earthquakes, famine, pestilence and terrors.
And all through history there have been times when the natural world
threatened human communities.
In Europe, the most catastrophic was probably the Great Lisbon earthquake
of 1755. If you’ve ever been to Lisbon, you will know that the city was almost
completely destroyed when an earth tremor, 120 miles out at sea, caused
earthquakes and a tsunami. They hit the city out of the blue on a November
morning. Buildings collapsed, fissures as wide as 16 feet opened up. Thirty
thousand people lost their lives. Many simply disappeared. Christian Europe
was terrified and shaken. How could this happen to people of faith?
They had forgotten these words of Christ. There will be natural disasters.
And not only natural disasters. There have been other times when we have
been threatened by human ones: conflicts we inflicted on ourselves; but just
as frightening.
We were reminded of that on Remembrance Sunday, when we laid wreaths
at the war memorial boards in church. So many names, especially from the
First World War.
Our last vicar, Melanie Fitzgerald, traced many of those names, discovering
who the men were, and where they lived in Walkley. A blacksmith from Fulton
Road, a farrier from Palm Street, a cutlery worker from Freedom Road …
Practically every street had someone who was killed in the war. It touched all
Walkley families.
War seems a long way from us now. But it came closer when Russia invaded
Ukraine. And every day we watch the relentless destruction of villages and
towns there.
How do people live without lapsing into total despair, when their home has
gone, loved ones killed, and there seems to be no hope for a better future.
What is the role of faith?
In the past, when shocking events occurred, people often felt that what they
were living through was not just the end of their world but the end of the world
itself.
And this is what Jesus is getting at in today’s gospel.
He speaks of the destruction of war. He speaks of earthquakes. He speaks
too of a time when his followers would be persecuted, simply because they
were his followers. How that might lead parents to betray their friends, their
family, even their children. Times when it would be only too easy to fall into
utter despair and feel that the end of the world had come.
By the time Luke wrote his gospel – about fifty years after the death and
resurrection of Jesus - the temple had indeed been pulled down by the
Romans and the persecution of Christians was happening.
That was surely one reason why Luke wrote. He wanted to capture in his
gospel how Christ’s followers should think and react when life around them
seemed threatening or uncertain, when they were tempted to feel despair and
give up.
What the passage we have read today seems to be saying is this.
Having faith does not guarantee you a smooth path through life. You may well
get caught up in natural disasters or conflicts. You may well be attacked
because of your faith.
But don’t think of faith as if it were some sort of magic talisman that wards off
all evil, all harm. There are no lucky charms and we shouldn’t think of faith
that way.
Faith does not prevent evil happening to us. Rather it gives us the resilience
we need to come through, to be a survivor rather than a crushed victim.
Faith is a resource. It builds us up inwardly so that we can face what
happens to us outwardly.
And in that way, Jesus says, ‘by your endurance you will gain your lives’.
The Prayers
Prepared by David.
United in the company of all the faithful and looking for the coming of the kingdom, let us offer our prayers to God.
Give to the world and its peoples
the peace that comes from above,
that they may find Christ’s way of freedom and life.
Hold in your embrace all who witness to your love in the
service of the poor and needy;
all who minister to the sick and dying;
and all who bring light to those in darkness.
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Bless Pete and Leah our bishops and all ministers of your Church.
As they set the culture, and seek to lead us in our worship and witness,
give them wisdom, humility, and courage to follow Jesus’ example of servant leadership.
Help us support them in their role, to pray for them,
and ensure they have others around them who can help, challenge, and encourage them
so that we might be a safer place for everyone.
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for all those who have suffered hurt and harm within the family of the Church,
whether they are known to us or not, we know that you know them by name.
For those who feel trapped, grant them a way of escape,
For those in pain, bring comfort and healing,
For those who seek justice, may they have courage and strength.
As Church we are one body and if one part suffers, every part suffers with it.
Give to all who suffer, people who will listen, support, and walk with them
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We pray for all those who serve in a safeguarding role within our Church.
We especially pray for Catherine, our Parish Safeguarding Officer and the Diocesan Team,
Sian, Rachel, Elina, Debs and Claire.
Thank you for their willingness and time they give to fulfil this important task.
Give them your wisdom, discernment, and strength.
Help us support them in their role, and respond to their requests and advice
so that we might be a safer place for everyone.
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Touch and heal all those whose lives are scarred by sin
or disfigured by pain,
that, raised from death to life in Christ,
their sorrow may be turned to eternal joy.
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Remember in your mercy all those gone before us
who have been well-pleasing to you from eternity;
preserve in your faith your servants on earth,
guide us to your kingdom
and grant us your peace at all times.
Lord, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
We give you thanks
for the whole company of your saints in glory,
with whom in fellowship we join our prayers and praises;
by your grace may we, like them, be made perfect in your love.
Blessing and glory and wisdom,
thanksgiving and honour and power,
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen.
Common Worship: Times and Seasons, material from which is used here is copyright (c) 2010 The Archbishops' Council