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In touch

Up-to-the-minute jumping-off points for sermons, linking the reading to the latest news and global issues

God’s reality

The witness of life is more eloquent than that of words. (John 1:14)

Context

In March this year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) conducted a survey to discover the level of public trust in government and institutions. The results were striking. While 75% of the UK population reported that they are trusting of most other people, just 35% reported that they trust their national government, and 49% said they did not trust the national government.

When it came to the reasons for trust – or lack thereof – in the national government, one of the survey questions found that just 25% of the UK population thought that a high-level politician would likely refuse a well-paid job in the private sector in exchange for granting a political favour, while 62% thought it was unlikely they would refuse.

Whether these figures surprise us or not, they make for disturbing reading; for the objects of this survey are the people elected to make decisions that profoundly affect not only our own lives, but the lives of people across the world. Many people now expect politicians to say one thing, but do another. Politicians have been accused of misusing statistics, and sources such as the BBC’s Reality Check, Channel 4’s FactCheck are kept busy trying to hold politicians to account on the public’s behalf.

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

The idea that ‘God is truth’ is so fundamental to Christian belief (and to other faith traditions), that it has passed into everyday language, and is stated and restated in so many ways that many of us probably don’t even notice it: “It’s the God’s honest truth!”, “You can take that as Gospel!”, and even simply, “Cor strewth!” (a corruption of “God’s truth!”).

Behind all of these and many more expressions lies the belief that God represents a perfect alignment of word and action. In Jesus, we believe we see God’s Word-made-flesh, God’s Word-in-action, God’s perfect self-expression in a life both human and divine.

The title of this In Touch is a partial quotation from the Principles of the Franciscan Order which reminds us that, while what we say and the way we say it often has a significant impact – for good or ill – on the lives of those around us, what we do and the way we do it tells people even more powerfully what sort of people we really are. Our words convey to others an impression of who we are but, unless we align our deeds with those words, then we risk being seen as hypocrites. The Letter of James makes this point very forcibly (James 2:14-17), and Jesus himself reminds us that, whatever we may say, it is what we do that matters most (Matthew 21:28-31).

As followers of God’s Word-made-flesh, we are called to align the actions we take with the words we speak when we talk about our faith in Jesus Christ. We are called to follow him along the straight and narrow road of self-sacrificing love in the service of God and our fellow human beings.

 

Questions for discussion

• What is it about Jesus that makes him trustworthy?
• How do we measure up to the standard set by Jesus?
• How might we continue to close the gap between ourselves and Jesus?

Robert Beard is an NHS worker, freelance writer and Church of England priest.

 

See also: 

Word made flesh

 

Check-in

Connecting faith with everyday, real-life issues for young people

Christmas Day is here! All the advent calendar doors are open, the chocolates have been eaten and now we’re all settling down to mark this special day. For days, weeks and (for some of us) months, we’ve been gearing up to this moment to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ together. And it’s finally here!!

There has been a lot of change this Christmas: the run up has included a World Cup, we no longer have any Covid restrictions, and today we will have our first Christmas Day speech given by a King since 1951. And that’s just to name a few! Christmas Day is all about change – ­along with millions of people around the world, we honour the birth of someone so special, they created a seismic change in the earth’s history. And this change can be noticed in our lives when we welcome Jesus into our hearts and our homes.

As we gather in this year of change, how does the birth of Jesus make a change in our lives? What difference can this news make to us and to other people too? As we join together to celebrate Christmas, let us give thanks and ask God to help us share this life-changing joy with others – in ways that make a difference – this coming year.

Lindsay Wright is a freelance writer, blogger and artist based in Lancashire

See also:

	Around the world at Christmas for children
	Explore Christmas for young people

 

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