“CROSS AND
ORB”
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A sermon preached Readings: Romans
8:12-17, Mt 28:16-20
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Mt 28: 19 Go to the people of all nations and make
them my disciples.
Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit
Today we are formally to welcome friends who
have joined our membership roll
here at the Mint since last September.
Some of you were formerly members of other
Methodist Churches,
others come originally from other denominations.
To those who were originally made members in other parts of the Christian
community,
what we do here today is in no sense to negate where
you come from –
quite the reverse, it is good that as a congregation
we gain the perspectives and the insights of those from other parts of the
Church.
What we do do here
is to welcome those
who are now grounding their membership of the universal Church in this
particular place –
and it is a Methodist tradition that Church membership
needs to be worked out in a particular Church community,
wherever that may be.
As a Methodist people we obviously offer to
the wider Church our distinctive contribution.
A lot of what we stand for
is summed up in our Methodist Church logo.
It is used throughout Methodism –
it is on our Mint letterhead, it is also on the outside cover of our hymn books
and in many other places.
It is not just an arbitrary
brand label –
it has been carefully chosen to represent our deepest beliefs –
The orb represents the
world.
The colour red (the traditional colour for Pentecost)
represents the Methodist conviction that through the power of the Holy Spirit
all humanity may be saved.
On the orb is set a white
cross, signifying the victory of the risen Christ –
and there are no boundaries to the arms of the cross –
just as there are no limits to the grace of God.
Our faith is always turning
outwards to the world and its needs.
So how appropriate that on a day when we
welcome new members of the Church at the Mint,
our young people raise issues about third world debt.
To spread the gospel to all nations is to
spread the message of love and peace and justice –
and it is no good speaking peace and justice unless our actions match our
words.
There has been a lot
of media coverage about George Orwell lately -
this month marks the centenary of his birth.
You may recall that in the
totalitarian state of Orwell’s1984
The Ministry of Peace was concerned with war,
the Ministry of Truth with propaganda and the
“The Ministry of Love” with brainwashing and torture.
As a Church heaven forbid that we speak about
peace and truth and love
and actually live the reverse.
Rather In the words
of St Francis of Assisi, we are called to
“Preach the Gospel all the time – and if necessary use words”.
So please fill in the trade justice
campaigning cards today –
we need to act for justice as well as think about it.
And as members of the Church we are members
in that other sense –
members of the Body –
If a body is broken up it is dismembered –
we are called to be God’s body – his arms, legs, hands and voice –
members of the one Body – not dis-membered but united
in one body
There is an old
fable of Jesus ascending to heaven
and being asked by the angels how he planned
for his work to continue on earth.
Jesus said, I have appointed twelve apostles,
and they will carry my work forward in the power of the spirit.
But, said the angels –what if they fall away,
what if they do not keep the faith, what do you plan to do then?
And Jesus said – I have no
other plan
In the words of the Nicaraguan song –
Sent by the Lord am I,
My hands are ready now
To make the earth the place
In which the kingdom comes.
The angels cannot change
A world of hurt and pain
Into a world of love,
Of justice
and of peace.
The task is mine to do…
Someone in 1984 says
“If you want a picture of
the future,
imagine a boot stamping on a human face for ever”
Well we have another vision, another future –
To build a new building on this site, yes,
But also to build up the people of God in
this place,
And to become a power house for spreading
the gospel of love and peace and justice –
That together we become the
body of Christ
not pushing down but lifting up
the frail and the needy in the name of the Gospel.
When those who have joined our membership
roll
make their promises here in a few moments,
I ask every single person here to use that time
to make your fresh commitment to the Lord –
not merely to speak but to live the Gospel.
And who knows this morning what new
challenges
God is waiting to give you?
And perhaps we say – Who am I to do these
things?
I am only Liz or Valerie or Kath or Diana or
Andrew or Rene
or Jim or Angela or Peter or Maureen or Sharon or Rosemary
or Phyllis or Tim
But remember the answer you give – “With
God’s help I will” –
of course we cannot do this stuff on our own –
but with God’s help all things are possible.
In the last two days we have
shared in the joys of two weddings here at the Mint –
the photos are at the back of the Church for you to see –
Those who were here
yesterday will know that Crispin,
Janice’s husband as he now is,
was so enthusiastic at one point that he managed to answer “with God’s help I
will”
before I had even asked the question –
So let us all this day commit ourselves afresh to do God’s work, with God’s help.
This promise we make in the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit –
And so this day for each of us,
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May the God of earth and heaven becomes our Lord,
·
May Jesus himself hold our hand and lead us on,
·
And may the fire of the Spirit burn strong and fierce in our heart.
So may we become his people and spread and
live the Gospel to the ends of the earth.