“sunshine
and tears” – a SERMON ON ZIMBABWE AND THE GOSPEL
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This sermon was preached Readings: Isa 61:1-3, Luke 24:36-48 |
Sunshine and tears
This sermon was part of a service drawing on
contributions from a number of Zimbabwean members of our congregation:
·
Caroline and Len Colin, Stella Broadbent and Philip
Bhebhe (all members of our congregation and until
recently living in Zimbabwe) spoke, read and offered prayers.
·
Sino Bhebhe and Darren
Bennett brought the child Jaden for baptism
·
Rev Graham Shaw (former member at the Mint) sent a
video contribution from Zimbabwe
According to the Book of Genesis, the world in Noah’s day
(as often since) was very very wicked.
So God sends a flood to punish his people.
But God does not desert his people entirely –
God saves Noah, so that he can rebuild the human race.
And so Noah sails the floodwaters in his ark.
And when eventually the sun begins to shine again through the rain,
so a rainbow appears, and God says to Noah –
“This is a sign that I will stay with you always –
and ultimately the sun of my light and love
will always prevail over the rain and destruction of human sin & evil”
Today on
our World Church Sunday
we think particularly about Zimbabwe.
As we reflect on the agonies of that land at this time,
we see (as so often in human history) a part of God’s rich creation which has
been marred and threatened by human sin and sorrow –
overcome by the darkness of evil and floodtide of disaster.
But we
believe that the story of Zimbabwe,
and indeed the story of the whole human race,
is ultimately the story of Noah –
a story in which finally the darkness and flood-tide of human sin
will give way to the rainbow promise and light of God’s presence.
Zimbabwe
is – as Graham Shaw puts it in the video we have just seen –
a land of both sunshine and tears.
The tears
may fall like rain –
but ultimately (like Noah of old) we trust in God -
that in Zimbabwe as throughout the world,
the sun will one day shine through the rain,
and God’s rainbow promise of victory over evil and sin
will ultimately be fulfilled.
I am so
glad that we have been able to hear
Graham Shaw’s words this morning –
and also to hear Caroline speaking from her experience,
saying (if I may paraphrase her words)
“Yes, this country of mine has terrible trials and tribulations –
but still it is a place (and maybe especially it is a place)
where God is at work and can be known in the darkest places.”
Caroline
spoke of queuing for hours for bread –
the bread of Holy Communion is a symbol of God’s life and love offered to us,
but so too one loaf from the baker’s
can also be a powerful sign and symbol
of God’s continuing presence with us.
However
hard things are
·
we
can still see signs of hope,
·
still
find God at work,
·
still
pray with confidence:
‘sun of righteousness arise,
triumph o’er the shades of night’”
If you
want to understand how God deals with nations in crisis,
nations afflicted by evil and corruption,
read the Old Testament history of Israel.
Because of the wickedness and stubbornness of their leaders,
virtually everything the Israelite nation valued and stood for
is effectively destroyed, and the Israelites are sent into exile.
But – and
here is
·
a
word of hope for all exiles in a foreign land
·
a
word of hope for all who feel the powers of evil have the upper hand
·
a
word of hope for all who feel the rain and tears are blotting out the sun -
God stays
with his people even in exile and disaster.
Even
though they weep by the rivers of Babylon, God is with them.
Zion
(that is Jerusalem) has been destroyed,
but God has not forgotten her.
In the words of the prophet (Isa
61), God will bring good news to the poor -
“provide
for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair…”.
So God
promises that in his good time Jerusalem will be rebuilt.
The Book
of Nehemiah tells the story
of how that rebuilding finally came about –
a story of hope for those who see their nation in tatters.
Not that
the rebuilding is just a matter of a divine magic wand –
it
requires hard work and sweat and our tears like rain.
And this is a message for those of us
who may be tempted to think
an occasional casual prayer will suffice
for the crisis points of the globe –
to do away with sorrow and grief.
God asks much more than this of us –
He asks our deep committed concern
fuelled by a burning desire for God’s rule to be restored.
When tears are shed,
then we are called to weep alongside the sorrowful.
For it is when the light of God’s love shines through the tears of compassion,
that the rainbow promise is fulfilled.
I want to
read a few verses from the Book of Nehemiah
to give you a flavour of the hard work God calls ordinary people to do –
but also because these specific verses are particularly relevant today
(as will I hope become clear in a moment):
This is
one of those passages that lesson readers dread – with all the difficult names
-
3 The Fish Gate was
rebuilt by the sons of Hassenaah.
They laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.
4 Meremoth son of Uriah, the son of Hakkoz, repaired the next section. Next to him Meshullam son of Berekiah, the
son of Meshezabel, made repairs, and next to him Zadok son of Baana also made
repairs. …6 The Jeshanah Gate was restored by Joiada son of Paseah and Meshullam son of Besodeiah. They
laid its beams and put its doors and bolts and bars in place.
7 Next to them, repairs were made by men from Gibeon and Mizpah—Melatiah of Gibeon and Jadon of Meronoth
Do you
notice the name at the end there? –
Jadon, helping rebuild Jerusalem.
Today we have brought our Jaden for baptism
and asked God’s blessing on him,
that his life may be used by God to build his Kingdom,
to bring the sunshine of God’s presence
into this dark and tearful world.
Like Noah of old, God has in baptism
saved Jaden from the waters of death
and, here in this ceremony, has promised him new life -
and called him to be God’s light in a dark world.
And in
this Easter season,
that offer of new life, and that call to service,
is offered to every soul and every nation…..
So today:
·
We
ask God’s blessing on Zimbabwe
& on a dark and sinful world
·
We
ask God’s blessing on Jaden,
that he may indeed be Christ’s faithful servant
to struggle to build a better world of love and joy and peace.
·
And
we ask God’s blessing
on each and everyone of us here in this service.
We come from many countries –
looking around this morning I see friends in the congregation
from Zimbabwe, the UK, and Korea,
from China, Japan, India, Malaysia, the Philippines,
South Africa, Zambia, Kenya, Botswana, Nigeria, USA -
(and my apologies if you come from somewhere else
and I have missed you from the list).
Together, let us ask God’s blessing that we may do his work:
O Lord let each of us go forth in your power
to bring the love & light of your presence
into a dark and sinful world,
that through our work in your name
ruined lives & communities may be rebuilt,
the rain and the tears may yet abate,
the sun may shine again,
and all God’s children may know
God’s glorious light in their lives!!