The Union Makes us Strong

This sermon was written for our Sunday morning service on 22nd January. In the news headlines recently had been much talk of strike action across various industries in the UK. It was also the Sunday within the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The previous Sunday, we had had a guest speaker come to talk to us about the Inclusive Church movement.

The Gospel that Sunday was Matthew 4:12-23.

I hope you enjoy reading the sermon!

If you’ve been paying any attention to the news at all over recent months, you will have heard of strikes across many and various trade unions across our country. There has been worker-led disruption across many industries for the last six months or so; some taking up more headlines than others: transport strikes, barristers, and the postal service; other high profile strikes across our healthcare system; and schools and universities – but there have also been strikes across local government, the refuse industry, the financial conduct authority, and my own industry of telecommunications.

There is – of course – a serious ethical and moral conversation to be had about the merits of strike action; these things are never one-sided – but do not fear; this is not the subject for my sermon today! There is one thing that is clear though – and important for my sermon today – and that is that when facing power, and potential injustice and oppression, there is a very real strength in unity. To quote the famous trade union anthem, Solidarity Forever, the union makes us strong.

 

Unity in Diversity

This week Churches Together mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. For me, that is particularly tied in with inclusivity, and I am thrilled that we at St Michael’s have committed to joining the Inclusive Church movement that Nick Campbell told us more about last week. As Paul implored the church in Corinth in our New Testament reading today, may we all be united in the same mind and same purpose – of proclaiming God’s good news. And, as Christ prayed towards the end of his ministry on earth, may we – his followers – be one, just as he and the Father are one, so that the world may know that Christ was sent by God the Father. A holy union; Christ in us and us in Christ and a single inclusive union – a true­ Church.

Because, we can’t go it alone.

Even Jesus couldn’t go it alone.

In the face of injustice and cruel oppression, when he was left alone, Jesus ran away.

 

Did you get that from our Gospel reading today? We gloss over it, but we heard it clear as day. It was the first sentence Caroline read out to us – “When Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.”

Withdrew – in the Greek that St. Matthew wrote in, it’s the same word used when the Holy Family fled to Egypt to escape the massacre of the infants. It means flee or run away.

When his cousin and partner in ministry was arrested and executed, Jesus ran away.

 

He ran into the darkness of Galilee – the land we heard about in our Isaiah reading; the land that once belonged to Zebulun and Naphtali; two of the sons of Jacob, a land that was now under the oppression and injustice of Roman rule.

But Jesus didn’t run into the darkness to hide from oppression and injustice.

He ran into the darkness in order to confront it.

He ran to gather a team.

 

In the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, the land of brothers, Jesus went to find some brothers.

Literally. He called the brothers James and John, and the brothers Simon and Andrew.

But spiritually too. He called his band of brothers, his disciples. A union of brothers – and sisters – that would be strong against the darkness.

 

Even Jesus needed other people.

 

My little girl Miriam is determined to be independent. This is great – it’s all part of growing up. When it’s time to get dressed, or clean her teeth, she’ll often shout at me “I don’t need you daddy!”.

But she’s wrong. She does need me. She can’t yet clean her teeth by herself. She’ll put her t-shirt on back-to-front. She needs me to help her. She needs me.

And I need her. She’s only three – three and a half, she’ll remind me(!), but I need her love. At the end of a particularly hard day at work, I need to hear her excited cry of “Daddy!” when she hears me come through the door. She – like the rest of my family – gives me strength when I need it.

I need them.

And I need you. My brothers and sisters. My family. My union in Christ. We need each other. We need our inclusive, united family of Christ.

That union makes us strong.

 

In our Gospel reading, Christ gathering his disciples together directly led to the proclamation of God’s Good News throughout the land of darkness. It led to teaching and healings. It directly led to the people who sat in that land of darkness seeing the great light.

Our union will do the same. Christ prayed it and prophesied it. When we are one, the world will know that he was sent by the Father. When we are one, when all our little, meagre lights are joined together, the world will see a great light – the one great light, the very light of the world himself.

When we are one, our one light will shine – strongly in the darkness – and the darkness does not, will not, and cannot overcome it.

 

Our union – with Christ, at our head and at our centre – makes us strong.

May we be one, as Christ and the Father are one.

Amen.