Wells Cathedral Sermon, Canon Dr Graham Dodds - Sept 21 2014 - We Have a Gospel to Proclaim
Wells Cathedral Sermon, Canon Dr Graham Dodds - Sept 21 2014 - We have a Gospel to Proclaim
‘We have a gospel to proclaim, Good news for men in all the earth.’ Edward Burns’ hymn, written in 1968 may not have caught up with the movement to promote inclusive language,[1] but it certainly was a forerunner in the movement to encourage mission in the Church of England.
Burns was ordained in 1961 and wrote this hymnin response to the 1968 Blackburn diocesan initiativeentitled, ‘Call to Mission’. He said he wrote it ‘out of the conviction that as a church we have been too hesitant in the vital matter of proclaiming the message’. And in this sense he articulated an opinion others would follow.
With the emphasis on mission in the 1988 Lambeth Conference, the decade of evangelism in the 1990s, the birth of the missionary Springboard team, and the report Mission Shaped Church in 2004, the Church has placed its eggs in the mission basket. And rightly so, for as Jesus said at the end of Matthew’s gospel in Chapter 28 - As you are going, make disciples of all nations. I preached on that theme on Trinity Sunday earlier in the year and I’ve been musing on Matthew’s gospel since then. So today as we celebrate St Matthew I’d like to share my musings and reflection on Matthew’s gospel
There’s so much written about it and too much to cover in the time we have here, so I’ll also put on the website with this sermon one or two books references that I’ve found helpful by John Fenton, R.T. France and Benedict Green. So perhaps this is more of a meditation on the whole gospel part of which was read just a moment ago in the service.
Like any book of the Bible, scholars have spent oodles of time trying to decode the authorship, date and circumstances of Matthew’s gospel. We could spend a lot of time this morning thinking about sources such as Q and M and how much of Mark’s gospel is included in Matthew and so forth, but I suspect I might just bore you to sleep, so just a couple of relevant points about the background.
It is more than likely that the ‘Matthew’, in whose name the gospel is written, is the same as Levi in the gospel reading this morning. If that is so, then Matthew the Levite was one of the apostles named in the lists in Matthew 10, Mark 3 and Luke 6.
Although it is technically possible that the apostle Matthew wrote the gospel, it is probably unlikely that he did. My personal belief is, and it might be wishful thinking, that it was written within a community of which Matthew was,at sometime, a part. Historic sources such as Bishop Papias, Ignatius of Antioch and Eusebius, the early historian, all link the piece of writing to a person named Matthew and so maybe there is some link back to the apostle. But that is speculation.
As to when it was written, most scholars date it about 80-90 AD and almost all accept it was written in the aftermath of the tragic and brutal Roman Jewish wars of the late 60s. This date, after AD 70,is important because it suggestssomething of the nature of the gospel.
We’ve heard much about nations seeking independence over the last days and here in the 1st century,the fractious relationship between the Jews and the Romans in Israel had reached breaking point.
Roman economic oppression of the Jews had been one of the causes of the Great Jewish Rebellion of 66 AD and tax collectors were hated. So it isquite surprising that the gospel of Matthew is written,at least in the name of one who was known as a tax collector – a seeming enemy of the people. It is a provocative gospel. The gospel was written in a time of huge uncertainty. The Great Rebellion led to the destruction of the temple and the ferocious sacking of Jerusalem in 70 AD. Religious people fled to hideaways and what was needed was some encouragement. Matthew’s gospel is devised to be both a courageous and a comforting gospel. Third, the followers of Jesus were at the crossroads of deciding whether to remain Jews, reform Judaism or form a separate church. And although the gospel encourages an argument for Jewish reform - to incorporate Christ, it doesn’t compromise the distinctiveness of the message of Jesus, and so almost inevitably becomes a gospel of a new movement.
And so it is in the midst of this context that the embryonic gospel of Matthew makes its appearance, and by 115 AD had become established as a significant piece of writing.
It is a synoptic gospel, meaning it gives a synopsis of Jesus life,[2] but its structure is interesting for it forms five sections within the narrative of Jesus’ life and times. These five discourses, as they are called, have one central theme – the kingdom of Heaven. And this emphasis on the Kingdom, in the light of the chaos of the wars and persecutions and dilemmas I spoke of a moment ago, hints at what good news is.
So I’d like to spend time considering these five discourses with some extracts and I’m grateful to a colleaguefor reading them for us.
After the first few chapters on the lineage, birth and preparation for Jesus’ ministry, the gospel outlines what it means to be a disciple in the kingdom of heaven, and we come to what I regard as one of the most beautiful passages in the whole New Testament – Chapter 5, the Sermon on the Mount, and in particular the Beatitudes:
[Reader]
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
This pure poetry has been inspirational for so many people throughout the ages. It forms a basis for our hope, a foundation for our behaviour and a goal for our devotions. Chapters 5-7 give way to the description of the calling of Matthew the Levite as one of the twelve disciples, read as the gospel this morning and this leads into the second discourse in Chapter 10 about the mission of Jesus:
[Reader]
Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness…
These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
This second discourse shows how Jesus called his disciples to a vocation – to share the healing and transformative works of God. The good news of God is that within the kingdom is a chance of a new start, our damaged-ness repaired, our broken lives made whole.
Having inspired us in the first discourse with the beatitudes and persuaded us of the potential of a holistic life in the second through the sending out of the disciples, the gospel then tantalizes us with the mystery of the kingdom of heaven in chapter 13. Here are some extracts:
[Reader]
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow…
He put another parable before them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed…
The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened…
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up…
The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it…
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind…
This kingdom of heaven both is and isn’t like this world – it turns the values of the world upside down, gives hope and new life, forgiveness and grace.
The first discourse - Inspiration and the promise of living life to the full, the second – sent out to share the good news, the third – mystery and adventure in finding the kingdom – the disciples are intrigued and want to know more about who will inhabit this kingdom? The fourth discourse in chapter 18 tells it quite plainly:
[Reader]
At this time the disciples came to Jesus and said, 'Who is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven?' So he called a little child to him whom he set among them. Then he said, 'In truth I tell you, unless you change and become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven. And so, the one who makes himself as little as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven. 'Anyone who welcomes one little child like this in my name welcomes me.
Whether we are aunts or uncles, mothers, fathers or grandparents, one thing we all share in common is that we were once children, and indeed we are always children. To forget the vocation to be a child is to lose the grace God gives and this fourth discourse makes it clear that we should treat each other with care, as our heavenly Father treats us.
So how do we attain this good news kingdom? The fifth and final discourse gives the answer at the end of Chapter 25:
[Reader]
The King will say to those on his right hand, "Come, you whom my Father has blessed, take as your heritage the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you made me welcome, lacking clothes and you clothed me, sick and you visited me, in prison and you came to see me."
Then the upright will say to him in reply, "Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and make you welcome, lacking clothes and clothe you? When did we find you sick or in prison and go to see you?" And the King will answer, "In truth I tell you, in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me."
Who will attain the kingdom? – those who provide sustenance for life, who give hospitality, who preserve human dignity, who are compassionate to whoever they meet.
Gospel means good news. So I ask myself how does my life proclaim good news? How do I show others the kingdom of heaven - my friends; family; neighbours – those with whom I work with; those who I encounter in the street; those who I don’t know but see on the news each night?
And so I have mused on Matthew’s gospel. And maybe during this week we might be persuaded to read it again. That we might be inspired by the beatitudes; we might hear the call of Jesus sending us; we might recognise the mystery of the kingdom and become child-like as we engage with others; in order that we might proclaim the gospel – good news for us, in all the earth. And I pray that as the Church of God, as this Cathedral in Wells, as followers of Christ, as citizens of the world we might inherit the kingdom of heaven:
Now we rejoice to name him King
Jesus is Lord of all the earth
This gospel message we proclaim
We sing his glory tell his worth
Book references
Below are the titles of just four commentaries about Matthew’s gospel worth looking at for their different points of view, of course there are many others:
Saint Matthew by John Fenton, published by Penguin Books
The Gospel according to Matthew by H Benedict Green, published by Oxford University Press
The Gospel of Matthew (The New Century Bible Commentary) by David Hill, published by Marshall, Morgan and Scott
Matthew – Evangelist and Teacher by R.T. France, published by Paternoster Press
1
[1]There are versions of the hymn now that are inclusive
[2] The synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke means that the synopses of Jesus’ life and times may be compared by putting them alongside each other. The ‘synoptic problem’, as it is often termed concerns itself with how the gospels were written. Which was written first? Who borrowed material from the others, and what extra material was available? This has given rise to sources such as Q, from a German word (Quelle) meaning source, and other sources, sometimes termed M.