Sermon

5th July 26

Three weeks ago, we had the joy of celebrating the baptism of Anne and Tim’s grandson, Teddy.  I was chatting to Anne’s sister-in-law, Valerie, after the service.  I’m not sure how the conversation got around to the subject, but it turned out that her father taught me Maths at Harrow County School about sixty years ago.

I remember Mr O’Brien as a kind man and a good teacher.  I can still picture sitting in a classroom watching mainly his back as he wrote with chalk on the blackboard.  Thanks to him and a couple of other teachers, I passed O Level maths, and went on to take two A Levels in the subject.  I guess that most of us remember our teachers, mainly the good ones, but sadly also one or two awful ones: in my case, one who was so unpleasant that I gave up biology at the first opportunity after only two years at Grammar School.

I had planned to teach: indeed, I had a place to do a Post Graduate Certificate in Education at Strawberry Hill.  But God, the Church, and the Bishop, intervened, and I went to Theological College instead.  But, as Chair of Governing bodies, I often had the opportunity to see many examples of good, and occasionally what Ofsted would label excellent, teaching.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his audience: “learn from me; for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls”.  Jesus is a superb teacher.  But, unlike many of his contemporaries, he does not demand the slavish rote learning of hundreds of petty laws, rather he teaches about loving God and loving neighbour. 

He does that primarily through his example of caring for others, especially the poor and the sick.  He does that through his many parables: those stories he tells using situations that are easily understood by his hearers.  He does that, finally, by offering up himself and, in dying, becomes the ultimate sacrifice.

We have seen the massive harm done to its reputation by a Church that is all too willing to lecture others, whilst tolerating appalling behaviour from within its senior ranks.  We know too of the damage caused by condemning others for what it considered moral wrongdoing, whilst ignoring the gospel of love, tolerance, and forgiveness preached by Jesus.  Contrast that behaviour with Jesus’ teaching in today’s gospel.

We were thinking last Sunday about the willingness of folk to criticise their leaders.  Jesus warns against this as he shows how John the Baptist was criticised for his austere life, whilst he (Jesus) is criticised for eating and drinking in, what some would consider, bad company!  

We need to learn from Jesus our Teacher: not pages and pages of laws, but rather of the need to love God and neighbour.  And we too will find that he “will give rest to all who labour and are heavy laden”, for his “yoke is easy, and his burden is light”.

Amen