I remember a few summers ago I committed myself to preaching on the Old Testament lesson. And one Sunday the reading was from the Song of Solomon! (Or the Song of Songs). It’s was about love, and it’s a reading for this evening’s service, and today’s Gospel reading is all about love. I think they go together better! You don’t get many sermons about the Song of Songs, but since I had made the commitment, I went ahead! The Song of Songs is erotic poetry; that’s what it is, and isn’t it great that it’s in the Bible? That’s a very particular type of love.

However, it is a very different kind of love that Jesus talks about here as recorded by John. You know this well, because we’ve been through it many times before.

I remember meeting a couple on holidays a long time ago, and, as always, they find out what you ‘do’. After bombarding me with all kinds of questions, I asked him, “Look, when you boil it all right down, what do you think Christianity is all about?” And he said, “I suppose it’s about faith”. And I thought, no it’s not; it’s all about love. Why there is so much about the judgement of God in the Old Testament and in the New Testament is because love and justice are two sides of the same coin.

Two best friends went through school and university together. But they lost contact as life went on. One went on to become a judge, while the other ended up a criminal. One day the criminal appeared before the judge for a crime to which he pleaded guilty. The judge recognised his old friend. He was the judge and so he had to be just. On the other hand, he didn’t want to punish the man, because he was his friend. So he fined his friend the correct penalty for the offence. That is justice. Then he came down from his position as judge and he wrote a cheque for the amount of the fine. He gave it to his friend, saying that he would pay the penalty for him. That is love. As Christians, we know that scenario very well. Jesus is our judge and our saviour at the same time.

Love is the reason for our existence as Christians; it is the motivation behind all we do. It is why we give to Christian Aid, and all sorts of other agencies, because isn’t it our duty to do so? That is what love does, it gives. We support out of love and because it is just and right to do so.

I was in our son Simon’s school for a very important meeting last Monday evening. The South Eastern Education and Library Board has decided to cut its spending on children with special needs; you may have heard about it on the news. Now I’m not making a political point here, but it does ultimately come down to government spending.

By accident, Tor Bank School found out that this has serious consequences for the school, as you would imagine. In the short term, the proposed Summer Scheme, which was already cut to two weeks last year (instead of three) will have to be scraped altogether this year.

For some parents, I am sure, this has even more ramifications than our own situation.

But you don’t really want to know all of this and this isn’t really my point, anyway. The point is that at that meeting in Tor Bank School that night, the first thing we decided to do was to write letters immediately to Board representatives. A few were going to put together the letter, and we would then put our names and addresses on the letter and sign it, all before the meeting which takes place tomorrow morning. You know the kind of thing!

So the other day, the carefully worded letter came through the post, and not only were Board members listed (available to anyone) but they were categorised into those who “voted against education cuts”, those who “voted for education cuts” and finally those who “did not attend the meeting”

Here is what I find astonishing: all the clergy members of the South Eastern Education and Library Board who attended the meeting on 23^rd March 2006, including one of my own colleagues (to whom I have spoken since), voted for education cuts for special needs children.

As a clergy family, we decided to target the clergy members who voted for these cuts and send them our letter, and at the end of the letter to my colleague I said, “Dear …. It is extraordinary that all the members of the clergy who attended the meeting on 23^rd March 2006 voted for education cuts for special needs children.

What does this say about a caring Church?”

It is not fair that people in our world die because of the lack of food and medicine and education. Should not a ‘civilised’ society (or world) be judged on how it looks after their vulnerable members, the handicapped, the sick the elderly, the hungry? It is not fair that millions of pounds are squandered by cretinous politicians in this part of the world, and elsewhere, who cannot get their act together and who are unable to use some of that wasted money and put it to good use. Don’t quote me on the facts and figures, but something like the cost of six weeks of not meeting in Stormont would see the Department of Education here flush with cash! It costs us all something like a million pounds a week; that amount would see the Board home and dry! And we have Hazel Johnston and the fantastic gang of Christian Aid collectors killing themselves to raise money for the hugeness of the problem of third world poverty, if we’re lucky, say a couple of thousand pounds.

Is it just me, or does the whole situation seem ludicrous? Love and justice, and concern and care are all out the window, as far as I can see. And the Church fools itself into thinking it’s doing a good job! I am at a loss to see how all this fits together and make sense!

John 15 talks about the life of Jesus’ chosen people. He calls us to be partners. He calls us to be ambassadors. He calls us to be advertisements to bear fruit, fruit that will last. I think we have a lot to learn and we have a long way to go.