Add a headingLENT EDITION: Lent 6
28th March Palm Sunday:
John 19 Crucifixion and burial
IT JUST ISN’T FAIR…. 


“I am not a good advertisement for God” said Bono in his conversational Biography “Bono on Bono”.

How good an advertisement for God are we?

The reason Bono gave was that he was fundamentally selfish, the way most artists and musicians are. It’s part of their artistry, he claimed.

The point of the cross is that humility, and selflessness is Jesus’ advertisement for God. Mercy and grace flow from the cross. Jesus submitted to the unfair trial and the brutal punishment, so that we would know mercy.

The gospel is a story of self-less-ness.

Gospel men and woman need to selflessly say “It’s not about me.”

Me: I am white. I am a man. I live in a good sized house with plenty of room. I have sufficient to feed ourselves with a few treats along the way. I have a loo that flushes into a public sewer system and I have running water that is clean when we turn the tap. I am not arrested just walking down the street. I am allowed to criticize our government. I am free to worship. No one in authority is watching my Zoom church events and censoring them. I create lots of rubbish and recycle most of it (but not all). I have a gas boiler and two cars. I own a UK passport and am generally free to travel. I am a UK citizen. I have a state to call my own. I am straight. I am not addicted to drugs. I do not carry a knife or any other weapon for my own safety. I had two wonderful parents and I love my family. I had a good education and have had access to free schools, universities and healthcare. I have drawn benefits in the past without sanction.

Not everyone’s story can tick all of those boxes. They face injustice as a result.

Justice is the fourth mark of mission.

“To transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and pursue peace and reconciliation” to be precise.

Carl Knightly preached on this in November 2019 * and in his sermon he gave us a challenge and an encouragement. The challenge was to take the opportunity to Pray, Partner and Provide in relation to fighting injustice.

The encouragement was “Start small, don’t worry, we have a big God” . Carl emphasized this, quoting Mother Teresa– “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone in the waters to create many ripples.”

And the waters have been vast recently.

The murder of George Floyd last year caused much pain and anger to black people, including our brothers and sisters in Christ Church. Not all see this in the same way or have the same experience but all see it through the same lens. The injustice that is inherent in many white systems and structures.

The murder of Sarah Everard has in recent weeks caused distress and anger to woman. The problem is with men. Educate the men, to help women feel safe by changing men’s behaviour. It’s a continuing injustice until that happens.

Democracy protests in Hong Kong and Myanmar. Access to vaccine in poorer countries. A post-truth world in western democracies. Hunger. Disease. Refugees in camps. People persecuted for their faith. Safeguarding children, vulnerable adults, and partners at home. Knife crime. Homelessness. The list of injustice in the world goes on….a vast ocean.

The problem with these issues of injustice is that they don’t go away. They are ever present. Sometimes they rise up the media agenda due to a particular example that flares the imagination, the emotion, the hurt and the pain.

And then we react.

But that’s not what the injustice of Jesus dying on the cross calls us to. It’s not what God’s challenge to us through the prophet Micah, the generations,  calls us to. Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God (Micah 6:8).

Jesus was innocent. He kept his silence. Pilate could see nothing in him to be punished, “I find no basis for a charge against him.” (19:4). They shouted “Crucify, crucify”. They used any argument to get their way – “He broke our law…he stands against Caesar”. “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar” they yelled. On which basis Pilate yielded to the injustice. It was the easier option. Yet, when Pilate wrote that this man was “King of the Jews”, those same leaders protest that he claimed to be the King.

So,  surely he was merely deluded?

“I have written, what I have written”, said Pilate.

He was convinced. He knew that it was an injustice. He gave in anyway. Because it was just easier that way.

So, it is with injustice. Not talk about it. To ignore it. It’s just easier that way. Until it rises up. After which our voices can sound hollow and reactive.

But,  what if there is a different way?

What if justice is part of the programme?

Where voices are systematically raised before it hits the headlines? And sustained well after the news rooms have moved onto something else?

Maybe justice can be a part of the constant chatter – in sermons, in workshops, through Mission Partners, through updates, through campaigns of letter writing, through appropriate use of social media. In many other ways.

How can we throw stones on the pool and make ripples every week, every month, every year?

Starting now. Prompted by the sight of the man on the cross who knew no sin, but who bore the sins for all of us. The man in whom Pilate could find no basis for charge. Ultimate injustice.

Ultimate self-less-ness.

Help us all make injustice a topic right now and usher in a greater glimpse of the Kingdom to come.

Prep talk 6: Let his selflessness turn our selfishness to humility; advertise God by the ripples we make against injustice!

Wishing you every blessing

Doug

Vicar@christchurchpurley.org.uk for your ideas on how to make this a reality.

* Carl’s sermon can be found here or on Christ Church podcasts

Blessings all
Doug
vicar@christchurchpurley.org.uk

If you are affected by any of the things mentioned in this blog and would like someone to talk to, to pray with or would like to highlight an injustice just text 07704 328538.

LENT EDITION: Lent 5 - John 18 WHAT IS TRUTH?... 

LENT EDITION: Lent 4 - John 16-17 I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD…. 

LENT EDITION: Lent 3 - John 15 and 16 THE OPPOSITE OF LOVE ISN’T HATE…IT’S APATHY 

LENT EDITION: Lent 2 - John 14  INCLUSIVE EXCLUSIVITY… 

LENT EDITION: Lent 1 - JOHN 13-21  BOTH/AND….HOLD THEM IN TENSION..