“All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”. Hope for dark times

 

The text of a sermon preached at Central Methodist Church Chippenham on 23rd February 2025

The English nun and Mystic Dame Julian of Norwich lived at the end of the 14th and the beginning of the 15th century. During those years the Black Death was the most devastating pandemic in human history, killing an estimated 75 million people. Julian was a Benedictine nun who herself was mortally ill. During her illness she had visionary experiences. Recording these visions, she wrote her Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest surviving English-language work attributed to a woman.

“And so our good Lord answered to all the questions and doubts which I could raise” she wrote “saying to me most comfortingly ‘I may make all things well and I can make all things well and I shall make all things well, and I will make all things well; And you will see yourself but every kind of thing will be well.’”

Very often this is summarised as: “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”.

This is not cheery optimism. Rather, it is an affirmation of the mystery of God's love in all things, in all circumstances, even in the midst of personal and enormous human tragedies. With the perspective of God, and God's own love being present in all things and through all things, Dame Julian was able to live fully and faithfully.

But of course, her statement “all shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well” can collide with our own experiences. From time-to-time things go badly. Children die of incurable diseases. People misuse power. People fight in wars. The reality is that when we watch the TV news, we see for ourselves that all is not well.

The writer of Psalm 37 understood that sometimes we feel all is not well. Writing in the evening of his life “²⁵ I was young and now I am old” he says in verse 25, he has seen for himself over a lifetime that not all is well all of the time. Things go wrong. He’s seen those

who prosper in their way,
    over those who carry out evil devices.

In fact, a bit later in the Psalm 37 he goes further:

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous,

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
    to bring down the poor and needy,
    to kill those who walk uprightly;

The old writer has “been there and done that” we might say. He’s seen how people can be. But nonetheless the psalmist is not deterred. He offers a far reaching and faithful word. Do not worry. Trust in God

¹ Do not fret because of the wicked;
    do not be envious of wrongdoers,
³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.

That assurance comes about from a hard won faith. From years of his experience of knowing that God is God, and shall be God, and with God all shall be well. In reading this psalm we get the sense that the psalmist is writing from personal experience. From having experienced God’s faithfulness himself.

The words of a hymn by Georg Neumark put it this way:

If you but trust in God to guide you

and place your confidence in him,

you'll find him always there beside you,

to give you hope and strength within.

For those who trust God's changeless love

build on the rock that will not move.

 It is upon this rock of God’s faithfulness, his changeless love, that the psalmist instructs his readers not to worry. Depending on which translation of the Bible is used we hear “Do not fret” or “Do not worry” repeated three times in verses 1, 7 and 8. The psalmist really wants to emphasise his point.

 And each time he tells his readers not to fret or not to worry, he makes the point that God’s saving work will happen in good time, in the future. Once again, we need to trust.

 “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”.

It is a living hope.

 In the early 1960s, the German theologian Jurgen Moltmann wrote a book called "Theology of Hope". This work takes as its assumption that true Christian faith can only have its transforming effect on the individual, on society, and on the world, when it is rooted in a vision of hope.

Moltmann wrote: "From first to last Christianity is hope, forward looking and forward moving, and therefore also revolutionizing and transforming the present."

Moltmann was not saying that by living in hope we are disconnected from daily reality. Living in Christian hope does not mean that everything in the garden will be rosy. Rather, to live with a vision of hope gives a person - and the Church - the inspiration and the motivation to never settle for the status quo. To never settle for the here and now. Rather, to live with a vision of hope leads us to challenge, and perhaps even work towards, the transformation of any part of life that is not in line with that envisioned hope.

In other words, we work towards the hope of the Kingdom of God being fully established.

This is something the psalmist picks up. With the assurance that God holds our tomorrows in his hands, the psalmist calls the faithful to

 ³ Trust in the Lord and do good;

 And

 ⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;

    trust in him and he will do this:

 The psalmist, writing of course before the time of Jesus, challenged people to live in ways that glorify God. As followers of Jesus, we seek to live our lives in a way that reflect Jesus to others. Even when we feel that this is fruitless and pointless, and everything seems overshadowed by people who “Carry out their wicked schemes”.

 The need for us to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8) remains, despite everything else that is happening around us.

 As Jesus’ life showed, trusting in God and “doing good” seeking to be true followers of Jesus, inevitably means Jesus followers run into opposition. It is something the psalmist dramatically emphasises:

 ¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword

    and bend the bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ways are upright.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

    intent on putting them to death;

You may have seen a month ago now, part of the sermon Bishop Marian Edgar Budde preached at the service following the inauguration of Donald Trump as President of the USA. The TV coverage only showed the last few minutes of her sermon. And inevitably Trump himself and the Trump worshippers, particularly those claiming to be Christians, were very vocal in their opposition to her. But if one reads the whole sermon, I can find nothing I wouldn’t preach. The need to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God runs right through it.

I sincerely hope and pray that in the case of Bishop Budde the wicked will not draw the sword, bend the bow and lie in wait for her. Though as we know Americans do sometimes have a tendency to do such things. Think of how Dr Martin Luther King was murdered for speaking out against in justice.

Of course, the need for us to do justice, and to love kindness and to walk humbly with God is tempered by Jesus commands to love our enemies and pray for those who abuse us. Never an easy task.

The only proof we can offer that God rules the world is the tangible existence of a community of believers, you and I and countless millions like us. Followers who are shaped by the character of God, and of God’s son Jesus Christ. We prove that God rules the world when we trust in God (Ps 37 vv 3,5), when we do good (Ps vv 3, 27), when we commit our way to God (Ps 37 v 5), when we give generously (PS 37v21), when we speak justice (Ps37v 30), when we open ourselves to God’s instruction ( PS 37 v31) and take refuge in God (Ps 37 v 40). All these things are explained in this psalm.

The remarkable thing about so much of the Bible is that although it was written and compiled thousands of years ago,

it still has much to tell us today. Psalm 37 is a case in point. It does not give simple answers about the human struggle to trust in God, especially when those who do not trust in him seem to be faring so well. Yet the psalm is a reminder to us all to encourage one another and to trust in God that

 “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”.

And the psalm is a challenge to each other not to give into anger or envy when God’s rule and God’s justice seem to lag behind the world. But to remember in God’s good time

 “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well”

Amen.

Acknowledgment: I am grateful to the writers of the Feasting on the Word commentaries for the inspiration for this sermon

Be a witness.

This is the text of a sermon due to be preached on 9th February. But I forgot my notes and had to preach off the cuff! (I've no idea whether the sermon was better for that or not.) But anyway I thought I'd share my thoughts. 

In a play about the crucifixion of Jesus, playwright John Masefield creates a conversation between Pilate's wife and one of the soldiers present at Golgotha. The soldier tells Pilate's wife that he does not think Jesus has remained dead and buried. When she asks where he might be, the soldier replies, "He is let loose in the world where no one can stop him."

Paul verifies this observation, as he recounts how many times Jesus appeared after the resurrection. No one was able to stop Jesus, not even the guards at the tomb. Nothing was able to stop him, not even locked doors.

Jesus is let loose in the world. Witnesses, testify!

What does it mean to be a witness? It’s a long time now since I studied law at university. In fact, as I was preparing this, I realised I left university in June 1985. 40 years ago. I’ve forgotten much of what I learned. But I do remember bits and pieces about the law of evidence. And one crucial thing is that for evidence to accepted in a court case, whether a criminal case or a civil case, it generally has to be first hand. In other words, I couldn’t stand in court and say that Fred had stolen John’s car because Becky told me that’s what happened. I’d need to have seen it for myself or established the evidence that that is what happened.

In our passage from 1 Corinthians today, St Paul is writing to the church in Corinth and reminding them of the basics of faith that he’s previously taught them:

“I passed on to you as of first importance^[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” 1 Cor 15: 3 – 4

Paul is able to do this for he is a witness himself. He was not there on the day of the resurrection. But he reminds the people in Corinth that Jesus appeared to him – on the road to Damascus. Therefore, Paul can bear witness first hand to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul can hand on to the Corinthians what he received directly. But Paul reminds the Corinthians of all the other “evidence” all the other witnesses.

 “He appeared to Cephas,^[b] (Which is another name for Peter) and then to the Twelve. ⁶ After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles”.

And let's not forget Mary Magdalene, who gospel writers Mark and John report was the first to see the risen Jesus.

Through the testimony of Paul, and all the other witnesses, perhaps some of whom also spoke to the Corinthians, the Corinthians have come to believe the Gospel of Christ.

To go back to my question What does it mean to be a witness? Or more specifically, What does it mean to be a witness for Christ?

Firstly, to be a credible witness to Christ, a person has had to receive for themselves “the good news”. A person has to have received the Gospel and taken it into their life. A person has to live the Gospel. It isn’t enough just to have heard the story and think “Oh that’s nice”. When we receive the Good News and become a follower of Jesus it’s about discovering in Jesus Christ a new way of being, a new centre of existence, a new power for living, a new perspective from which to view all things.

And this should mean that our very lives bear witness to Jesus Christ. It’s not about preaching, and dropping Bible verses into conversation. It is about showing, through our lives, that we follow Jesus.

The message I have for you today is that, just like the disciples Jesus sent out, you will have opportunities to witness to others about your faith. But before you do that, here are a couple of things to consider:

Don't be preachy, or you might come across as self-righteous.

Don't plan a lecture that you're going to deliver when you have some unsuspecting soul captive.

But do be honest about your life; about your flaws and your regrets and even your continued imperfections.

And be honest about this God who loves you just the way you are, warts and all; a God who knows your past, in fact, a God who knows your story better than anyone else. And he loves you anyway!

You see, that's the beauty of the Gospel: we don't have to be specially qualified to receive it, and we don't have to be specially qualified to share it. We only have to be honest about who we are, and how much God loves us.

As I’ve said you may only be able to bear witness to the power of the risen Jesus, by the way you live your life.

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul reminds them how the gospel is passed on from one generation to another. As evidence of the resurrection Paul writes of all those to whom the risen Lord appeared. The list starts with Cephas / Pete, then the twelve, then to five hundred more, and on to James and other apostles, and finally to Paul himself. This was probably over a 5 to 10 year period. One person sharing with another or several sharing with several more.

All of these witnesses proclaimed the Gospel of the death and resurrection of Jesus for the forgiveness of sins and the salvation that comes through Jesus.

They were doing this before the stories of Jesus began to be written down. They passed on their witness by word of mouth first of all. Telling people of their experience.

It has been said that Church, the body of believers and followers in Jesus Christ, is always (potentially) one generation from extinction. In other words, unless we who believe share our belief, give our testimonies, bear witness to Jesus to the next generation, the Church might cease to exist.

It is down to us to show others how Jesus Christ has made a difference in our lives.

In verses 8 & 9 of the passage Paul says:

⁸ and last of all Christ appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

That expression “abnormally born” or as other translations put it “untimely born” needs explaining. It is an ancient way of saying “premature birth”. What Paul probably meant was that his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus was like a difficult, unexpected birth. I suppose we could think of Paul saying he was born again but in a very difficult circumstance.

Paul’s former life as a persecutor of the early Church led him to think of himself as “the least of the apostles”.

⁹ For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

This wasn’t a display of false modesty. There seems a recognition in Pual that because of his history, he had so much to overcome in order to be accepted as one sharing the gospel. As he says in verse 10

¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

He’s had to work harder than the others in order to combat the suspicion of him given his history. But he has been able to do so through God’s grace.

What is Grace? And what are we offered because of it?

One well known definition of grace is “…the unmerited or undeserving favour of God to those who are under condemnation."

Of course, we hear of how St Paul fearlessly preached the gospel following his conversion on the road to Damascus and we can feel inadequate. We can think “We can never measure up to Paul.” And in a sense that is true. But we need to think in a different way. We are not called to be like St Paul. We are not called to be a witness like Paul. Rather we are called to witness in our own way. Each of has our own unique story of faith and when we came to faith.

¹⁰ By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. 

We have been shaped by our past lives, but we are who we are through the grace of God.

In his book “Testimony: Talking Ourselves into being Christian”, writer Tom Long says this:

Christians are on the witness stand to tell the story, not because it is a likely story or an advantageous piece of testimony, but because it is true. We know it is true because we ourselves have experienced it and witnessed its truth. That is why we are on the witness stand and have taken the oath to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth “so help us God”.

Whenever Christ turns a life around, heals a broken marriage, forgives a sinner, transforms a bitter heart, teaches a fearful person to love, or shows a greedy person how to give, there is a witness ready to take the stand and tell the story of the good news of God’s grace.

Go and be a witness. Testify!