NO WORDS...
A short version of my sermon on the Sunday after the Moderator's resignation and PCI's admission of Safeguarding failures...
On the Sunday, after the Moderator’s resignation and revelations of Safeguarding failures I was determined not to comment too much. However, as statements were read from PCI and our Session and we switched around our worships songs I became aware that pastorally I couldn’t do a hand brake shift. I had to say something into the issue on all heart, minds and souls. I sat down during the Children’s Talk and jotted down a short sermon…
The first thing in all of this are the victims. Those who have suffered as a result of PCI Safeguarding failures should be our priority.
I have learned in so many pastoral situations that the only thing I can say to people in trauma and grief is “There are no words…”
It is all that we can say to someone in their pain and sorrow that has been ignored and badly dealt with as a result of PCI’s safeguarding failures. There are no words… Apologies are needed. Acknowledgement is needed. There are no words for the hurt or these awful circumstances.
BUT there is a word. One word. The Word. In his Gospel John tells us that The Word became flesh and lived among us. God in flesh, Jesus is the one thing that we can offer.
My prayer is that everybody who feels pain from Wednesday’s statement would know The Word, as a comforter just now.
My secondary concern is how Jesus comes out of all of this. There are some who love this kind of thing. There are those who hate all things Church. Maybe some have been hurt and have good reason. I sometimes fear that in the media and across social media Jesus will be ripped apart.
Well here’s the thing. Jesus has already been ripped apart. He has already been on the cross. He has already had nails through his hands and feet. Jesus came to be ripped apart for the injustices and the hurts.
And he was resurrected. Jesus is more than strong enough to stand in the storms that our brokenness rages. He sits ascended at the right hand of God. I pray that this Jesus will be The Word ministering into the lives of the broken and all of us as we respond to this week’s news.
Lastly, we need to learn to carry our faith gently. Oh I do not mean that we do not have confidence in our faith. We should. The Word. The resurrected Jesus.
But we need to carry our faith gently. We need to be like the Publican who, in Jesus story, beat his chest and sought forgiveness. It is no time to be the Pharisee in the story and suggest that we are thankful that we are not like all the others.
We need to confess like the apostle Paul that we do what we do not want to do and do not do what we want to do. That like Paul we might have a thorn in our side.
We need to lean on the love of God, acknowledging that it is not through our works or piety or theological purity that we are saved but by grace through faith, so that no one can boast. There is no place for arrogance.
We need to learn and hold our faith with gentleness, tenderness and the humility of Jesus himself. This is the God who gave us the most incredible model of humility - laid in straw, riding a donkey, on his knees washing his followers feet, hanging on a cross.
I am back to my mantra in recent weeks. The God who is high and holy and beyond us is also with those who are contrite of heart (Isaiah 57:14). Contrite. There has never been a time when we need to be more contrite than now.