Sermon by the Archbishop of York
Dr David Hope

Turku Cathedral, Sunday 15 March 1998

"Truly I say to you, whoever keeps my word, will never taste death" (Jn:8.51)

One of the features of life as an archbishop which I am somewhat slowly but very surely discovering, is the enormous variety of people and places , not only in my own Province and land, but across the world, where I find myself, as I do this morning, participating in the worship of Almighty God and having been invited to preach the sermon.

It is a daunting and awe-inspiring prospect, not only to be entrusted with the exposition of the word of God, but the more so on an occasion such as this is - an outward and visible sign of the first flowerings of the blessings of the relationship of communion between our churches as a consequence of the signing of the Porvoo Declaration.

I comfort myself however in the knowledge that long, long ago my fellow countrymen have already been in these parts. For in the very beginning and in the establishing of the Diocese of Finland in the twelfth century, it was an Englishman Henry who came among you , Henry - pioneer, apostle, martyr; Henry - after whom this cathedral church is named and who subsequently became the patron saint of this land; and then Thomas, Bishop of this See, who in 1229 laid the foundations of this very place. I honour them and pay tribute to their sacred memory; rejoicing with them and the whole church in heaven and on earth, as together this day we celebrate our oneness in the one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

"Truly,I say to you, whoever keeps my word, will never taste death"

Here is a saying which, coming as it does towards the end of just one section of a highly polemical and controversial passage in St.John's Gospel, seems to heighten even more the seemingly impossible list of claims which Jesus makes about himself. For His hearers, it is almost more than they can bear - a huge affront to their claim that they were of the stock of Abraham, their father in faith - Abraham, though, now dead. Yet here is Jesus, this young Rabbi from Nazareth declaring to them - "before Abraham was, I am". No wonder they took up stones to throw at him !

Given then the "controversial" dimension of so many issues with which the churches are engaged - both internal and external, it is sometimes tempting to look back and wonder- was it really always like this ? And the response must surely be "yes" - it has always to some extent been like this. For whenever anyone seeks to keep and obey God's word there is krisis and there is skandalon - so the New Testament. For as the writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews warns us - the word of God is "living and active,sharper than a two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit.....discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart....all are laid open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do".

There is, yes, comfort and encouragement; there is also exhortation and judgement. We cannot escape the controversy and the conflict which inevitably God's word brings upon us - ourselves, the church, the world. "Truly, I say to you, whoever keeps my word will never taste death" And in this particular saying of Jesus there is a clear echo of the prophetic tradition of the Old Testament, as it is reflected in our reading this morning from Jeremiah - "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk in the way that I command you, that it may be well with you". And the consequences of disobedience and of not so walking are spelled out with equal clarity.

I would suggest however, that if we are either as individuals, or as a church, the world itself - if we are either to keep or obey the word of God, there is a prior condition, namely that of attentivess to it; the duty of listening and of hearing.

It is precisely to this task that this season of Lent recalls us all. It is a challenge to us to return to our roots so that we may be refreshed and renewed in faith and holiness of life, thereby through God's mercy and grace, the stronger and more confidently able to challenge the demons of the desert of the age in which we live.

So what are the imperatives of this listening and hearing - so that we may keep and obey the word of God ?

First, there is the challenge to each and every one of us, quite regardless of the office or position we may hold and our particular church affiliation - to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest. The Scriptures, thank God we do have in common. And as Archbishop Cranmer writes in his Fruitful Exhortation to the Reading and Knowledge of Holy Scripture "as drink is pleasing to them that be dry; and as meat is to them that be hungry; so is the reading, hearing, searching and studying of Holy Scripture to them that be desirous to know God and to do his will".

This season of Lent has traditionally been a time when in a more concentrated, attentive and intense way Christians may reclaim the priority of scripture-reading for their daily lives. Ephrem the Syrian in one of his hymns for this season of prayer and fasting writes " in the midst of the fast the Scriptures are gathered like merchants, having in their possession a veritable treasure house of divinity........here are to be found garments for those invited to the wedding feast, here too are sackcloth and tears for all kinds of penitents, here in their midst is armour too for athletes;with every kind of riches are we filled........for this treasure house is the common property of everyone". So this Lent we should determine to make more visits to the supermarket of the Scriptures than the supermarket in our high streets and towns.

But then if there is a challenge to each of us personally, there is also a challenge to the churches to listen and to hear - a very timely challenge I would suggest at a time when in our society entertainment and distraction are such all consuming preoccupations, clergy and churches are also tempted to join the ranks of those who consider it their primary task to keep other people busy.

Clergy frequently find themselves in fierce competition with people and situations who offer something more exciting to do than they do. But as Henri Nouwen, the Roman Catholic writer points out - "our task is to help people concentrate on the real but often hidden event of God's active presence in their lives.. Here the question that must guide all our organising activity is how to keep people from being so busy - and that goes for us too -that they can no longer hear and obey the voice and word of God who speaks to us in the silence of our hearts".

But where has all the silence gone ? Why are our churches so preoccupied with committees and councils and consultations ? We need more silence and space and quality time to be with God, with and alongside Him in each other - open to listen and to hear what God is saying to us in and through His word and His world, lest the suffocating introspectiveness of the church's life reduce God's word to the banalities and the mediocrity of the babel of all our words.

There is too the massive challenge of the word of God to the world. For we cannot either be blind to or protected from the social, political and moral questions with which we are all faced in varying degrees as we draw towards the end of one millennium and the beginning of another. There are often no easy answers, no slick responses, nor should there be for any responsible Christian. Yes, there will be controversy and conflict on many issues - religious, moral, political, What is needed is less of entrenched positions shouted from the sidelines, and more an engagement in the fray - an engagement though which seeks to hear and to listen, to consider and reflect, if we are truly and together to seek the mind of Christ for today.

Hans Kung it is who properly argues that if we are to be true to the mission in the world entrusted by God to the church, then what is needed most especially as we look towards the third millennium is a critical, truthful and ecumenical theology; a theology which no longer sees in every other theology an opponent, but a partner; a theology which is not intent upon separation but on understanding - an understanding both inwards towards ourselves and our churches, and outwards towards others and our world - a theology which is truly catholic and apostolic in its origins, its tradition and its purpose. Please God that is what those of us who are here among you this morning, in this beautiful and holy place, are seeking both to effect and promote within the Porvoo Communion of Churches.

"Truly, I say to you, whoever keeps my word, will never taste death" Gathered together then this morning through the grace and in the power of the Holy Spirit, we hear afresh and anew the apostolic and prophetic word of God. We celebrate the presence of Jesus Christ both in the Scripture and in the Sacrament. It is the first day of the week - the day on which throughout the world the risen and living Christ gathers, greets and feeds those who come together in his name. The church on earth is one with the church in heaven, as we are drawn gracefully and gloriously into the presence and worship of the ever-blessed Trinity.

Past, present and future are captured in the mystery of this present moment - a moment of surrender and self-offering - a moment in which just as we are with our failures and our feebleness, our strength and confidence is refreshed and renewed, and in the transforming love and grace of God we are sent out and sent forth to continue Christ's own work of reconciliation and transformation - for the world and its peoples.