Perhaps it is a terrible thing to admit to you as a Clergyman, but I find it very hard to listen to sermons, I always have! Maybe it’s because I’ve been going to Church all my life – or most of it, anyway – maybe it’s because I’m often being disappointed, or maybe it’s because I have, more often than not, listened to the same person over and over again; I’m trying to empathise with you here! A student ordinand once told me he usually preaches for 35 to 40 minutes – he is now in a so-called Church of Ireland Church whose rector does exactly the same thing, and my first reaction was, ‘Well, I hope your good!’

So whatever about listening to sermons, reading them is almost worse! Last week seemed to be a very busy week for various reasons, but I was glad to cover some ground, and even in between things I managed to read carefully a sermon that I had been sent in the post! I hadn’t really any choice. It was a sermon preached by the Bishop of Lincoln at King’s College, Cambridge last May. You’re not going to get that sermon back this morning, I promise you, but one quote stood out for me from W.E. Orchard who declared the genius of the Church of England to be

“that it had discovered just exactly how much religion the average English person can stand”. Isn’t that a great quote?

Now, like the very best quotes, that can mean what you want it to mean.

What it might mean is that Anglicanism has reneged on religious vigour just enough to keep us at least nominally affiliated, or, that Anglicanism, at best, has had the good grace to put aside the rules and regulations of religion to give space for faith!

Anglicans always have a way around everything, but the truth us that nobody’s perfect! I think what the quote is saying is that we are not so legalistic and dogmatic as to leave no room for emotional faith, not do we have emotional faith devoid of sound doctrine. Does that make sense to you? In other words, I think it means that in true Anglican style, we can travel the middle road with consummate ease!

Is that OK? What do you think?

I think the Parable of the two sons is deceptively easy to understand. According to some, the meaning is crystal clear: that the Jewish leaders are the people who said they would obey God and then did not, according to our old friend Barclay. And the tax collectors and prostitutes are those who said at first that they would go their own way, but then took God’s way! Both sons, however, are unsatisfactory. At least the first son obeyed the father, although he had originally said ‘no’. The ideal would have been the son who accepted the father’s orders and then fully carried them out.

The point is that none of us is perfect. How many times have we come across people who say one thing and do another; how many times have we done it ourselves?

But too many times I have come across the most wonderful-sounding Christians, and yet their actions belie what they say they believe.

On the other hand, how many people do we know who profess to have no interest in the church or in religion, and yet when it comes to the bit, they live more Christian lives than many professing Christians.

I love ‘arguments’, or discussions is a better word, with many a person I go to see in our parish, and one in particular I will never forget. I would love to mention names, but would rather not. He was playing devil’s advocate, in all seriousness, he had had ‘religion’ if I can call it that, rammed down his throat all of his youth, but now he had no time for it; his wife was really our parishioner. He spoke at length, and I found myself agreeing with almost everything he was saying. Even to this day, I think he would be astonished with my complicity. As he spoke, I could only think of the words of Jesus, and when I got my opportunity, I started by saying, “Well, Jesus would say...” and before I could finish, he retorted, “Oh, Jesus, oh I’ve no problem with Jesus...!”

To the so-called ‘religious’ of today, that man would not, in a word “qualify” as a Christian. His grievance was with the ‘package’ that Jesus came in! I have no doubt in the world, that many of you have had similar experiences. What on earth are we doing in our Churches? As the so-called religious of Jesus’ day, many are so ready to cut people off rather than to invite them in. Yes, there’s the veneer of welcome, but then we need to start using the language and talking the talk, when all the time Jesus isn’t looking for talkers, but for those who are actually prepared to walk the walk!

Neither of these sons in Jesus’ parable is perfect; far from it! But I would infinitely prefer to be the first son who initially said no to working in the vineyard but later changed his mind and went, than be the second son who talked the talk and even called his father ‘sir’ but then did not go!

What do you think? Neither is perfect; the truly good person is the one whose profession and practice meet and match, but alas, we are only human; we are only the way God made us! Anglicanism, imperfect as it is, allows us to have enough ‘religion’ and structure and dogma and all the rest, and yet have enough conviction of faith to follow with our hearts the Jesus that we know and love.

This is not a sermon about Anglicanism; I promise it’s not meant to be, but it is about following our Lord with conviction and truth and doing what we believe is right in his sight! The ‘middle ground’ is perhaps not the most perfect position, but it is hugely preferable to the false doctrine of words without action.

What do you think?