Sermon: Evensong - 3 Aug 2014

Preacher:

Date:

Sunday 3rd August 2014

Service:

Evensong

Readings:

I Kings 10:1-13

Acts 13:1-13

Listen:

Download Recording (MP3, 12.6M)

On a bright Saturday afternoon in the middle of June 2009, in the rolling green downland of west Oxfordshire, there is a wedding party. Several hundred men and women are gathered by the side of a great lake... The sun pours down. The guests sparkle like the champagne in their gleaming flute glasses. The bride arrives to the sound of Handel's "Rejoice", written for the arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Among the onlookers, two men lean their heads towards each other.

           "So what do you make of all this?" one asks quietly.

           "It is a statement," says the other, in an equally discreet whisper, "of power."

 

The wedding party in question marks the nuptials of Charlie and Rebekah Brooks, as recounted by Nick Davies, in his book Hack Attack.    Like hundreds of brides she chose Handel's music to mark her arrival; unlike them she is famous for being at the heart of a web of power. Davies, the reporter who broke the phone hacking story, describes her as ambitious, as a networker, an operator; as charming and beautiful.  If her wedding was a statement of power, it was a glimpse into the political, social and media web presided over by Rupert Murdoch. 

The Levenson Inquiry, a Parliamentary Select Committee and a trial at the Old Bailey have begun to untangle  that web.    A spotlight has been shone into the relationships forged by political or reputational expediency; by the need to gain, maintain or exert power. 

Today's readings through a different sort of light on the nature of power: they remind us of why we pray for those in positions of leadership, authority and influence; they remind us of our common human curiosity and pursuit of wisdom; they remind us of the ultimate power of God's will and purpose for us and for the world.

The Queen of Sheba has heard of Solomon's fame: she decides to test him with hard questions. Her arrival in Jerusalem is conjured up by Handle's lively, vibrant and joyous interlude.  The symbols of her own power and status are depicted by the size of her retinue and the richness of the gifts she brings - exotic spices, gold and precious stones.

King Solomon answered all her questions; she heard the explanations.  Yet wisdom was also something to be observed - in the house, the food, the officials, the servants, the clothes and the worship. If one of her aides had whispered 'so what do you make of all this?' it is conceivable that someone within her retinue would have replied 'it is a statement of power'.  

On arrival, the Queen of Sheba didn't believe the reports of Solomon's wealth, wisdom and accomplishments until she had seen it for herself.  However, she does not respond to the accumulation of possessions and personal gifts alone. First she notes the happiness of wives and servants; then she blesses God who Solomon knows as his Lord.  She attributes wisdom as a sign of divine favour and delight. 

But all that she sees and hears serves a greater purpose than the comfort of the court; worship of God and the pursuit of wisdom is in the service of justice and righteousness of all people.  The only way that the Queen of Sheba can acknowledge that all that her desires have been met, is to leave behind earthly riches. Yet I wonder if, when she returned home, she ruled her own nation with that peaceable wisdom and the qualities she so admired in Solomon.  Perhaps too her attention might have been shaped by knowledge of his Lord and God.

In our second lesson, we turn to another centre of power; to a vibrant and cosmopolitan city; to a place straddling trading routes on the eastern edges of the Empire; to Antioch where the church is already flourishing. Here we encounter human curiosity, the riches of the gospel and the seductive power of deceptive magical spectacles.

The church has established a pattern of ministry rooted in the gifts of teaching and prophecy.  To teach is to communicate the things of God in a way that is compelling and engaging; connecting as Solomon did with the questions that weigh on our minds.  Such understanding is transformative. To prophecy is to critically engage with the systems of oppression and exclusion; to name the ways in which power corrupts. Solomon gave to the Queen of Sheba every desire she expressed not by enabling her to accrue more earthly influence, but by revealing to her the source of all power and authority; and by witnessing to the consequences of living in relation to God - exercising justice, righteousness and ensuring the wellbeing of others.

Those exercising ministry within the church are a diverse group. They are all called by name; they have links to Jerusalem and to Gentile world. Together they worship and they fast. They focus on God in order to discern the next stage of their mission.  Response to the Spirit is a solemn matter:  two of their number are sent to witness to the word of God in new places.  Proclamation takes them to synagogues; it leads them to the seat of power.

The Proconsul is described as an intelligent man.  He was a powerful political figure. He seems to be fascinated by different cults or spiritual movements, including a magician; may be it was his innate curiosity that meant he was prepared to listen to Barnabas and Saul.  Or rather, as our reading expresses is, to hear the word of God.

Sergius Paulus is a man of substantial worldly influence and control: here he is confronted with difference spheres of spiritual influence and control.  On the one hand he is being courted by the deceitful and manipulative realm of the magical; to forces which oppose righteousness. On the other, he is faced by the intensity of Paul, who is full of the Spirit, who speaks truth and challenge.  In a scene reminiscent of his Saul's conversion, dazzling darkness affects the magician; he needs to be led, just as Paul was led on his journey towards baptism.

The Proconsul faces a choice: reliance on power that corrupts and deceives God-given gifts or spiritual power that reshapes our human capacity by the teaching of the Lord?   His astonishment turns to belief. But that was just the beginning; he faced a lifetime of relating love of God to the execution of justice and righteousness in a world that was as brutal, corrupted and fearful as our own.

In the next 24 hours, we will be pausing to reflect on Sir Edward Grey's ominous phase: the lights are going out all over Europe.  In this Cathedral Church, we will pause in our vigil to confront that darkness; to wait penitently before God as we commemorate the outbreak of the First World War.  As we do so, we are mindful of the consequences of decisions made in 1914 on the narratives we tell in 2014; we do so as the once vibrant cities of the Middle East, home to cultural, religious, commercial and intellectual life, are decimated by ferocious violence. 

We watch, wait and pray in a world where we are aware of human frailty and failure; and of our complicity in networks which determine the use of resources, the distribution of wealth and exercise of power. One hundred years ago, those who waited did so in hope of resolution.  They stood on the brink. They did not imagine a protracted war with such horrific proportions.

In a world where hundreds are killed in a factory explosion in  Xinhua, where parts are made for the cars we drive, commerce connects us and working conditions separate us. In world where relentless and disproportionate offensives increase fear and suffering on both sides, Lord Ashdown recognises the complexity of negotiating peace between Israel and Hamas; he acknowledges that brokering dialogue means confronting unpleasantness for the sake of stability.  There was both gift and cost in Bosnia, South Africa and Northern Ireland in the powerful outworking of processes of reconciliation, in order to embrace a more hopeful future.

 

In a world where xenophobia manifests itself in aggression, mistrust and competition for power, humanity yearns for, and cries out for, justice and righteousness. We pray for all in positions of influence and authority: politicians, negotiators, aid workers, journalists, artists, bankers, religious leaders, teachers, parents, one another.

May our zeal for the teaching of the Lord lead to a courageous recognition of the wisdom we are to embrace; and the power we are to lay aside. May we challenge those making crooked the straight paths of the Lord; when weak or strong demonstrate acts of compassion and seek reconciliation, may we say: It is a statement of power.  Amen.