Sermon by Clare Heard, St George's Church Campden Hill, Sunday 17 September, Trinity 14
Sermon by Clare Heard, St George's Church Campden Hill, Sunday 17 September, Trinity 14
Freedom and forgiveness
What is freedom? Freedom is a
word in frequent use, but do we ever stop and reflect on what it means or how
to achieve it?
I think at a high level we
would all agree freedom is good, people should be free and not enslaved. Indeed,
the Biblical narrative is the story of a God who brings freedom to his people.
Firstly through the Exodus, and then through the life and death of Jesus.
The story of the Exodus we
heard today is one of the foundational stories of the Hebrew Scriptures. It is
the story of God leading his people from slavery to freedom and it has echoes
of both the creation narrative and baptism within it. The wind blows over the
waters – God separates the land from the waters - the Israelites pass through
the waters to freedom and new life. This is a new creation. God’s people are
now free. The scene is set for a new start and a right relationship with God.
I wonder where you see
yourself in this story? I expect most people will identify with the Israelites,
after all they are God’s people and the centre of the story, but what about the
Egyptians? Do you ever identify with them? After all, we live in one of the
wealthiest parts of the world. Most of us don’t need to worry about a roof over
our heads, or where our next meal is coming from. And yet, perhaps, our actions
are causing others to be enslaved.
The link between slavery and
poverty has been highlighted in recent years by Christian Aid and many other
not for profit organisations. The 2016 Global Slavery Index reports that nearly 46
million women, children, and men are enslaved around the world today. (That’s
16m more than the 2013 figure). Their slavery has many forms including forced prostitution,
marriage, labour, crime, armed combat and even forced organ harvesting.
Remember the
headline from only last week of the traveller family jailed for modern day
slavery, with the police commissioner reporting that there were 5 other active
investigations ongoing. Slavery remains a very real issue today.
And who are most vulnerable
to slavery? Those with less power in society… Those lacking education or job
opportunities. Those living in poverty and debt. Minorities and outsiders who
do not speak the language. Migrants who are cut off from their networks of
support, who are eager for opportunity, who have limited protections. “Risks
are greatest in contexts characterized by crisis, transition, instability, and
corruption. Understanding who is at risk can help us to prevent slavery.”
When we do nothing to rectify
the inequities that leave whole groups of people in our society vulnerable to
these conditions, we support and sustain the economy of slavery. We are the
Egyptians.
When we buy cheap retail
clothing, cheap food, cheap furniture, we are, whether knowingly or
unknowingly, supporting and sustaining the economy of slavery. We are the
Egyptians.
When we turn a blind eye to
the pornography and sex industries, accept the premise that human beings can be
used and viewed for pleasure until they are consumed, abused, and thrown away,
we support and sustain the economy of slavery. We are the Egyptians.
Justin Welby said that “proclaiming
the good news of Jesus and transforming society are indistinguishable”. So, we
need to ask ourselves, what can we do to ensure we are not supporting and
sustaining slavery?
We know we need to think
about how we shop, how we use our resources, and yet, I’m not sure if we always
realise the impact this can have. Money speaks.
If we only spend our money in
shops with clear ethical standards, if we only buy fairly traded or organic
products, simple supply-demand economics will kick in. Companies that treat
employees badly and enslave workers will cease to profit.
And yet there is more. As a
church, we are challenged to speak out when we see injustice. When situations
like Grenfell arise, we are called to join the voices challenging the power
structures that allowed this to happen. We are called to let our MP know what
our concerns are. We cannot stay silent. For, as Edmund Burke said, “the only
thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing”.
Now this goes against the
grain for many of us. It requires effort, it may take up valuable time, it may
cost more. But we aren’t given permission to simply turn a blind eye. And yet,
at the same time, we can’t do everything. We would become slaves ourselves in
the process.
So today let’s acknowledge
that many of us have the power to support and sustain the slavery of others,
let’s look for God’s guidance for what we can do to protect and support those
most in need, and let’s trust to God’s mercy for all those that we aren’t able
to help.
Now let’s turn back to
identifying with the Israelites. Most of us have things in our life which trap
or enslave us, prevent us from being truly free.
This might be overly
demanding work, it might be physical disabilities or restrictions, or it might
be feeling overstretched financially. It could be more subtle; perhaps we have
an addiction, for example to shopping, food or technology; perhaps we live with
a constant sense of guilt or shame, perhaps we are unable to forgive someone
who has hurt us.
There are so many things both
out there and within us that prevent us from being free. I wonder what it is
for you?
The gospel reading today
focusses on forgiveness. For Christians forgiveness is not an optional extra,
it is part of the foundation of our faith. It is in the Lord’s prayer, Jesus
commands us to forgive.
Lewis B. Smedes writes “To forgive is
to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was
you." Forgiveness is an essential step in the journey to freedom.
Jesus doesn’t say it will be
easy, and he doesn’t say you will be able to do it quickly, it may be a long
journey, but we must all try, and keep trying, to forgive, as God forgives us,
or we will never be free.
As Christians we are called
to do all we can to end slavery and bless our world, but we are also called to
freedom for ourselves. And this brings me back to my first question, what is
freedom?
I’d like to suggest that
freedom is living in right relationships with God, with our communities and
with our world. It is the ability to forgive, and receive forgiveness. It is
the freedom from shame and guilt. It is the freedom to share and be generous.
It is the freedom to love and be loved. It is nothing more or less than our
salvation.
We are called to receive the
love of a God who forgives us and blesses us. We are called to follow Jesus. John
says “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free”. Jesus is
the way, the truth and the light, he is the way to freedom. He is our
salvation. Amen
Ref: Anathea Portier-Young, Associate
Professor of Old Testament at Duke Divinity School