Sermon Details

The Church, the Poor and Capitalism

A sermon preached at the Mint Methodist Church Exeter,

on Sun 6th November 2011 by the Minister, Rev Andrew Sails

Readings:

Amos 5:11-24, Mt 25:1-13

So how do we respond to the events outside St Paul’s Cathedral in recent days and weeks?

One banner flying amongst the tents asks

“What would Jesus have done?”

And as followers of Christ, what are we to do?

Well let’s begin with a simple statement -

the way the current economic system operates is corrupt and ungodly.

That is not to say that all markets are necessarily bad -

at the basic level, a market allows people to obtain food & the necessities of life. Markets can generate wealth

which is used for health, education and the common good. But the way the global free market works right now -

whether because of the depersonalising nature of the technology or because of the temptation to human and corporate greed - seems to have slipped its moral moorings.

The protestors outside St Pauls and elsewhere may be naïve and incoherent in their solutions to the problem,

but anyone with a Bible knows that they are right to protest.

When Amos looked at the way the market traders rooked their poor customers with rigged scales, he pronounced the traders ungodly.

When he saw manipulative and greedy traders making sacrifices to God on the Sabbath

and then immediately returning to their wicked ways,

he tells them that God despises worship which is not grounded in caring ethical living -

liturgy for God without justice for the poor is a worthless charade.

A guy was outside St Pauls last week dressed as Jesus and carrying a placard reading

“I threw out the moneylenders for a reason”

Actually the guy needs to read his Bible more carefully -

they were moneychangers not moneylenders - but that aside -

Jesus threw out the moneychangers because they were fleecing the poor.

Temple worshippers had to buy sacrificial animals using special temple currency - the money changers forced poor worshippers to change

their secular money into temple money at exorbitant exchange rates. Jesus threw them out saying what they were doing was ungodly.

What would Amos or Jesus have made of the current economic regime? We live in a world where in the midst of near financial meltdown,

wealthy directors are still voting themselves 50% pay rises. We live in a world where the world economic order

seems unwilling and/or unable to help the poor nations out of grinding poverty. And if that is not enough, we live in a world (witness Cannes this week)

in which the whims of casino capitalism threaten not only the weak nations but even the so called powerful nations too.

There can be little doubt that the witness of Christ and the Scripture is for the protest movement.  -

Against those lining their pockets in the marker place,

and against religious observance which offers prayers without working for justice.

So then, should we then be seeking to destroy capitalism or mend it? You know the old saying

about the difference between Capitalism and Communism? “Under capitalism, man oppresses man.

Under communism it is exactly the other way around.”

There isn’t time here to follow that one through -

we can however all agree that both capitalism and socialism are vulnerable to abuse by the powerful and the greedy seeking to manipulate the system for their own ends.

Richard Harries the former Bishop of Oxford discusses this in a recent book and concludes that Capitalism is probably on balance the “best worst option” - that is certainly damning with very very faint praise -

and there are doubtless some of us who would feel that even that was being a little over generous.

But whether or not we agree or like it,

we are for the time being living in a capitalist society.

Given that, we need - as a Church and as individual Christians -

to seek to make capitalism a fairer, more just and equitable system.

A Godly version of Capitalism (if that be possible)

· will aim not for increased profits, productivity and GDP

but will aim for an enhanced quality of life, material and spiritual

· will be judged not on how well it looks after people on average, but how well in particular it looks after the poor & marginalised.

And as Archbishop Sentanu has said this week,

we need a culture shift in society so that greed becomes culturally unacceptable in just the same way as racism and homophobia.

This is idealistic of course - but so is the Lords Prayer - “Thy Kingdom come on earth as it is in Heaven”

and we are not going to stop praying that.

You don’t give up on ideals just because you can’t deliver 100% today - they are the vision to inspire

Today’s set Gospel passage is about the bridesmaids awaiting the call to the wedding feast.

The wise girls have a light ready - the foolish ones do not.

We as Christians are living in a dark world of economic crisis & greed. We are awaiting the Feast of the Kingdom -

when the darkness of evil will finally be replaced by God’s glorious rule of love, peace and justice.

In terms of the parable, we are called to light the lamp of justice and peace in a dark, unjust and violent world. That’s the way we prepare for the coming of the Kingdom - by anticipating it in the way we live our lives here and now.

You don’t welcome the dark - you don’t run away from the dark - you light a lamp of love and justice there in its midst.

Jesus was willing to talk and share and give his full attention and care to anybody and everybody - Herod, Pilate, prostitute or tax gatherer. But wherever he was -

dealing with his equivalent of city bankers or protest campers - never ever did he compromise on his concern for people

and ultimate solidarity with the poor and the needy. That is what it means

· to serve God and not Mammon,

· to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s but unto God what is God’s.

· to be in the world but not of it,

That is Christ’s way and should be ours also.

Finally some reflections on the Mint and St Pauls.

Today we have our Church meeting looking at our aims and objectives as a Church.

Of course we are not St Pauls.

For good or ill we haven’t got a Christopher Wren Cathedral and a great Piazza. But we have got a new building and a car park.

The question for us is the same as the question for St Pauls:

do we use our presence in the city centre,

to make alliances and open dialogue with those seeking peace and justice, or do we turn our backs on them and protect our own vested self interest?

I was reading comments this week from Chris Chivers, formerly on the staff of St George’s Cathedral, Cape Town, where, as he says, they were more used than are St Pauls to protest groups outside their front door.

He said the big difference in Cape Town was

that the protesters were all well known to the Cathedral,

through many years of solidarity in the struggle against apartheid. At St Paul’s, he said, those links had to be built overnight.

That is our challenge.

One of the joys of the last 18 months has been not just the transformation of this building -

but particularly the use of the premises

to welcome community groups through our doors,

and to build up dialogue with many parts of the wider city society.

We shouldn’t be complacent - we have only just begun - but insofar as we succeed,

we avoid the danger of becoming either only a worshipping Church community or only a neighbourhood action campaign -

the two go together - each informing, enriching the other.

I leave you a question from a column in the Guardian: Where would Jesus be this week?

Would he be camping outside in this freezing weather, speaking out against inequality,

or inside the religious building, worrying about the revenue from tourists?

I think we know the answer to that -

And we rejoice that when we are out in a cold and dark place,

- spiritually, physically or emotionally -

Jesus will not lock himself in the chapel or the cathedral, but will always be out there, with us and for us.

As he is there for us, let us be there for others

ORDER OF SERVICE

Hymn STF 8 “God with us” (see screen) (Tune “Ode to Joy”)

Prayers

(Young people leave)

Bible Readings: Amos 5:11-24 (p 920) and Matthew 25:1-13 (p 994) Hymn STF 706 “Christ, be our light” (on screen)

Sermon: “God and Mammon: the Church, the Poor and Capitalism”

Hymn STF 713 “Show me how to stand for justice” (see screen) (Tune Corvedale)

Prayers of Intercession and Lord’s Prayer

The Peace

Minister: The peace of the risen Christ be always with you. People: And also with you.

[The people greet each other in the name of Christ]

[members of the Korean congregation and Young Church enter]

Hymn STF 499 “Great God, your love” (see screen) (Tune Abingdon)

(the collection will be taken brought forward during this hymn)

Holy Communion

Minister: The Lord be with you. People: And also with you. Minister: Lift up your hearts. People: We lift them to the Lord. Minister: Let us give thanks to God.

People: It is right to give our thanks and praise.

Minister: Living God, we offer our thanks and praise to you; creator and lover of all humanity. Even when we turned away from you, you never rejected us, but spoke words of mercy and love

promising to swallow up death forever and to host a life-giving banquet for all people; And so, with all the company of heaven and earth, we praise your holy name as we sing:

People: (all sing  - Tune “Santo” - STF 779 - sung twice)

Holy, holy, holy.

with joy my heart adores you!

My heart cries out to worship you:

holy are you, Lord!

Minister: Holy God, this meal which we share today is indeed the celebration that death has

been defeated.   We celebrate how your Son gave his very life for us that we might have life eternal.

When he was at supper with his friends, our Lord Jesus Christ took bread and gave you thanks; he broke it and gave it to his disciples, and said: “Take this, all of you and eat it.  This is my body, given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.”   When supper was ended, he took the cup and gave you thanks, gave it to them, and said: “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the new covenant poured out for you and for everyone, so that your sins might be forgiven.  Do this in remembrance of me.

God of all power, breathe your Holy Spirit upon us, and upon these gifts of bread and wine, that they

may be for us the life of Christ and that we may make that life visible through our faithful witness to him.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen

[The congregation is seated to sing:]

As the deer pants for the water

[Bread and wine are shared among the people.  All who wish are invited to come forward to receive bread and wine.  Please come forward when the steward beckons your row]

Prayer after communion:

People: God of truth, we have seen with our eyes, and touched with our hands, the bread of life. Strengthen our faith,

that we may grow in love for you, and for each other;

through Jesus Christ our risen Lord.  Amen. Hymn STF 340/HAP 278

“Ye servants of God”

 

Blessing