Social Justice

I find it's not that uncommon as a minister, if I'm out and about and not got this bit

of white plastic around my neck, to find myself getting into a conversation with somebody

I've not met before, and sooner or later they ask, so what do you do? And I tell them. And

I usually find that the conversation at that point goes in one of two different ways. It

either completely closes it down, or completely opens it up. My favourite response to that

question was years ago from the evangelist Jay John, who's a minister in the Church of

England. He describes how he was sitting down in a plane, about to go on a long-haul flight,

got into conversation with a lady sat next to him who he'd never met before, and she

spent quite a time describing to him her business that she ran. It was quite a big business, and

describing all the different things that they did. And then eventually she turned to him

and asked the question, so what are you doing? Rather than just tell her, he decided to have a bit of fun.

He said, I bet you can't guess. She looked at him blankly, so he started to say, I work for a global enterprise.

She said, do you? He said, yes I do. In fact we've got outlets in almost every country in the world.

Have you? She said, yes I have. We've got hospitals, we run hospices, and homeless shelters. We do marriage work, we've got orphanages, we've got feeding programmes, educational programmes.

We do all sorts of work with justice, and reconciliation, and mental health. He said, basically we look after people from birth to death.

And we specialise in the area of behavioural modification.

She went, wow. And by this stage, everybody else sat around, was also listening in.

She said, who do you work for?

She said, I work for the church.

Haven't you heard of us?

Today in a series of what would Jesus do,

we think about the theme of social justice, social action,

the place that that has within being a follower of Jesus today,

and asking themselves the question, what would Jesus do in this situation right now?

Sadly, there is the danger

that when we think about that theme of

social justice, social action,

that we can fall into one of two extremes.

On the one hand, we can fall into the extreme of thinking

that social action, and social justice is,

that's all there is to being a follower of Jesus.

That's a vital part of being a follower of Jesus.

But if we think that that's all there is to it,

then we lose sight, or are in danger

of losing sight,

of the fundamental reality

that being a Christian is about

knowing God.

Knowing God

who loves us.

Knowing God

who sent Jesus to die for us.

Knowing God as the one

who raises

his son to death.

The one who promises us

the gift of eternal life.

And so, it's not without reason

that over the years,

occasionally you'll hear,

I've heard people sort of

talk of social action

as part of the

expression of Christian faith,

and almost kind of

in a derogatory way,

sort of

write off what they would

call rather scathingly

the social gospel.

But on the other hand,

there is the other extreme,

and that's where

in response

to that,

we so emphasize

the importance

of

personal spirituality

that we exclude

the importance

of social action,

and reduce the gospel

to only

a matter of

personal,

individual

spirituality,

at the cost

of paying attention

to those around us

who need us

to take action.

It was out of

that extreme

that

the parody

that I'm going to

read to you now

was written years ago.

The parody

of

the story that

Jesus told me

he was talking about

judgment in

Matthew's gospel,

and how

eventually

we will all be judged

and separated

as a shepherd

would separate

sheep from the goats

and say,

but I was in prison

and you came

and visited me,

I was hungry

and you fed me,

and when Lord,

when were we

in those situations?

You know that story.

Here's the paraphrase,

sorry,

the parody

that was written.

I was hungry,

and so you formed

a humanities club

and discussed

my hunger.

I was imprisoned,

and you crept off

quietly to your chapel

in the cellar

to pray for my release.

I was naked,

and in your mind

you debated

the morality

of my appearance.

I was sick,

and you knelt

and thanked God

for your health.

I was homeless,

and you preached

to me of the

spiritual shelter

of the love of God.

I was lonely,

and you left me alone

so that you could

pray for me.

You see,

to separate,

to separate

social justice,

the importance

of taking action

from personal

spirituality

and faith

in Christ,

to separate

those two things

is a false

dichotomy.

They go together,

they're inseparable,

they're integral

to one another,

they're part

of that holistic

vision of expecting

and living in

expectation

of the kingdom

of God

that is coming

to us.

And in these words

that we see today

from Luke's gospel,

we see that

there is a particular

emphasis to the role

of the Holy Spirit

here.

See,

at this point

of the story

of Jesus,

Jesus has just been,

we're told,

blasted by the Holy Spirit

into the wilderness

for 40 days

and 40 nights.

And then we're told

that led by the Spirit,

in the power

of the Spirit,

he returns

to Galilee.

And it's then

when he walks

into the synagogue

and he takes

the book of Isaiah

and he reads,

the Spirit

of the Lord

is on me

because he has

anointed me.

And then he goes

on to say,

the Holy Spirit,

the Holy Spirit

anoints me

to proclaim

the good news

to the poor.

He has sent me

to proclaim

freedom to the prisoners,

recovery of sight

to the blind,

to set the oppressed

free and to proclaim

the year of the Lord's favour.

You see,

when the Holy Spirit

comes upon you,

two things happen

broadly.

You fall in love

with God

and you fall in love

with those around you.

Now,

Jesus sort of

put it that way

when asked

what the most

important commandment

is.

But you know,

even the word

commandment

can miss

the point

if we think

it is something

that's theoretical.

You see,

loving God

and loving neighbour

is not something

that we do

because,

well,

you've got to do it.

It's what happens

when the Holy Spirit

comes upon you.

And the Holy Spirit

turns that

which is theoretical

into that

which is experiential.

The Holy Spirit

takes what

at face value

may appear

to be a law

and makes it

a living reality

of the way

we relate

to those around us.

And so we read

of the key role

that the Holy Spirit

takes here.

The Holy Spirit

leads Jesus

and the Holy Spirit

upon Jesus

in Jesus

and powers him

with those words.

The Spirit

is upon me

to set

the people free.

And it's the same

Spirit

that Paul writes

is on every

single one of us

when we follow Jesus.

In 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

Paul says,

Now it is God

who makes

both us

and you

stand firm

in Christ.

He anointed us,

set his seal

of ownership

on us

and put his Spirit

in our hearts

as a deposit

guaranteeing

what is to come.

You see,

when the Holy Spirit

is upon us

and within us,

we catch this vision

that is central

to the message

of Jesus,

the message

that the kingdom

of God

is coming.

That ultimately

when the kingdom

of God

comes in all fullness,

we will be raised

for eternity.

There will be no more

death or dying

or suffering.

There will be no more

injustice.

But right here

and right now

it begins.

As the Holy Spirit

takes root

in our lives

and instills

within us

that kingdom

vision

to usher

in the kingdom

here and now.

That same Spirit

that anoints Jesus,

the same Spirit

that raises Jesus,

that same Spirit

motivated

William Wilderforce

and that same Spirit

motivated

Martin Luther King.

That same Spirit

motivated

Mother Teresa.

The same Spirit

motivated

and continues

to motivate

millions,

literally millions,

of others,

past and present,

to both talk

and walk

the way of Jesus Christ.

And that same Spirit

longs to dwell

in every single

one of us.

You see,

as the Spirit

dwells in us,

so we draw nearer.

And as we draw

nearer to God,

then we long

for his kingdom

to come

and live like

the kingdom

is about to come

more and more

and more.

not because we have to,

but we just want to.

You see,

as we draw nearer

to God the Father,

things change.

In our solar system,

we have this system

of planets

and some are closer

to the sun

than others.

Mercury is really,

really, really hot.

Pluto is really,

really, really,

really cold.

And the reason

why Pluto

is really, really cold

is that it's

a great distance

from the source

of heat,

from the sun.

Mercury is really,

really hot

because it's so close

to the sun.

Our spiritual temperature

changes

when we draw

near to God.

And things change.

And when we are

filled with the Spirit,

contrary to what

some would have us believe,

life doesn't get smaller,

it becomes bigger.

It becomes fuller,

deeper,

wider, richer,

far more meaningful

as we live in expectation

of this kingdom

that is coming

where we will be raised

for eternity

and there will be

no more suffering.

And we can now

begin to live now

and see that change

now in our lives.

Does anybody

like popcorn?

Sorry,

I haven't got any.

I'm not offering you.

Have you ever wondered

what makes popcorn

pop?

inside every kernel

there's moisture.

And when you

heat the moisture,

the moisture

turns to steam.

As it turns to steam,

so you get pressure

and it expands

and presses

against the shell

until the shell

can no longer

withstand

that pressure.

at which point

there is this

explosion of deliverance

as that which is inside

can no longer

be held hostage

to that which is outside.

Now there's an image

of what it is

to be filled

with the Holy Spirit.

whenever you yearn

for things to be

right in the world,

whenever you cry

out of that question

why is there

this suffering,

whenever you get

angry for a just

cause,

whenever you feel

that something

inside that

things aren't

right here,

you shouldn't be

surprised.

It's the image

of God that's been

there since you

were born.

When the Holy Spirit

meets with that

and begins

to set work

on that,

life gets bigger.

It gets bigger

and bigger

and bigger

such that we

no longer need

to be controlled

and defined

and determined

by our external

circumstances

but can dare

to live differently

by a different

dream,

a different

picture

and just start

to do something

about it.

So as we think

about this series

What Would Jesus

Do?

WWJD

it's a good

question to ask

but I've

read a book

recently

where I think

there's an even

better question

for us to ask.

It was a book

whilst I was on

sabbatical

I had the privilege

of being able

to read loads

of books

and one of the ones

that really stuck

with me

was a book

that was published

in January

this year

by John Mark

Comer

called Practicing

the Way.

Some of you

may have already

read it.

I think we might

even do a series

on it sometime

in the next 12

months as a church

but Practicing

the Way

is a book

John Mark

Comer wrote

about discipleship.

One of the bits

that really

stuck in my mind

is where he talks

precisely about

this question

what would Jesus

do

or WWJD

and he says

it's a good

thing to

put those

letters

somewhere

whether it's

on a wristband

a t-shirt

or a post-it note

or whatever

to remind yourself

of that important

question in discipleship

what would Jesus

do?

But he says

there's an even

better abbreviation

and it's not

WWJD

but

WWJD

IHWM

Now he does say

that perhaps

that's a bit

of a mouthful

but the point

is

he said

the problem

with WWJD

what would Jesus

do

is that

Jesus

was a

first century

Jewish

rabbi

whereas

WWJD

IHWM

asks the question

what would Jesus

do

if he was me?

Now maybe

there's just

a subtle difference

but it's an

important one

because when

we talk about

Jesus

we're not

talking about

somebody who

simply just

lived 2,000

years ago

he did

but he also

lives now

and the question

if we really

really really

want to get

close up

and personal

and meaningful

about this

is that

to ask the

question

what does

it mean

to pursue

justice

to pursue

the kingdom

where you

are

in a way

that only

you can

in the

life context

that you

find yourself

in right

now

given the

network of

relationships

that you have

that will be

unique to

you

given the

resources

that you

have

and don't

have

that again

will be

unique to

you

and given

the opportunities

that will be

unique to

you

so as we

come to pray

now

let's just

join

in a few

moments of

silence

as we

just hold

that question

before him

Jesus

what would

you do

if you

were me

right now

let's pray

together

Lord we

thank you

that your

kingdom

is an

invitation

to each

and every

one of

us

thank you

that

that is

an invitation

for us

to get

involved in

the most

exciting

movement

that history

has ever

known

and to

make a

difference

in the

lives

of others

thank you

that that

is an

invitation

that in

the midst

of all

of that

we get

to know

you as

our

friend

our

saviour

as the

living

Lord

in a

profoundly

personal

way

Lord as

we do

so

we ask

that your

Holy Spirit

would come

upon us

would fill

us ever

more each

and every

day

Lord let

us never

be satisfied

that we

have been

filled

enough

but may

we continue

to pursue

your presence

in our

lives

and as

we draw

nearer

to you

Lord would

you swell

up within

our hearts

that passion

to serve

you through

others

so Lord we

take a

moment of

stillness

now

and we

ask that

in this

stillness

you would

reveal to

each one

of us

something

of what

you would

have us

do in

our

lives

now

Lord help

us to

think of

the network

of friendships

relationships

whether that

be friends

family

neighbours

or colleagues

help us

help us to

see those

situations

in which

we can

do

practical

things

Lord

open our

hearts and

our minds

to those

causes that

you would

have us

engage

whether that

involves

campaigning

writing

letters

Lord

maybe

there

is a

specific

way

in which

you

would

have

us

serve

you

maybe

there

is a

particular

cause

that you

would lay

on our

hearts

to pray

for

Lord we

ask that

now and

in the

time to

come

you would

open us

up to

those

opportunities

and that

you would

embolden

us

to do

everything

we can

with our

time and

our energy

in service

of your

kingdom

may we

not rest

until that

kingdom comes

in all its

fullness

in Jesus

name

Amen

eth

how

about

in

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