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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.

Hope and doing good

Better to suffer for doing good . . than for doing evil. (1 Peter 3:17)

The news as I write is filled with talk about antisemitism. I found it really helpful to hear Thought for the Day on Tuesday in which Rabbi Charley Baginsky reflected on this topic as a Jew. That brought home to me the impact for many of our Jewish neighbours of what the Prime Minister calls a crisis for all of us. What would it be like if our children had to be accustomed to security measures and training for emergencies at school?

Other issues in the news to which you might refer include modern slavery and the celebration of David Attenborough’s 100th birthday (much covered this week on the BBC). But above all do not forget Christian Aid Week.

 

Ideas for sermons or interactive talks

When I write for In Touch I often focus on international news - and the war in the Middle East is still with us - but may well have moved on by the time you use this material.

Antisemitism has deep roots in our society. Jews were expelled from England by royal decree in 1290 and Jewish property was seized by the crown. At that time similar action was being taken in other parts of Europe. How much has the church over the centuries helped to fuel antisemitism? It is no accident that the copyright holders of the Revised Common Lectionary have initiated a consultation, one of whose purposes is to reduce the antisemitism which can be read into the lectionary we use.

What would it be like to live as an attacked minority? Or to be blamed for the actions of the government of a State of which one is not a citizen? Yet these are real issues for British Jews today.

Some years ago I visited Auschwitz-Birkenau, a profoundly moving experience, albeit amongst crowds of international visitors. That journey (including a visit to the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków) brought home to me the levels of antisemitism in British (and American) society in the years before the Second World War and indeed the levels of scepticism in political circles as evidence of the holocaust began to reach Allied governments. Too many people failed to recognise the evil, partly at least because the same evil was present in our own society. We now know that it was 6 million people, mostly Jews, who died in the Holocaust.

If, along with the writer of 1 Peter, we speak of suffering for doing good, how do we seek to ensure that we find the good in the welter of stories about what often seems to be a largely evil world? It is one thing to recognise the evil in war and injustice and modern slavery across the world; but what might we need to suffer for peace and justice and compassionate humanity closer to home?

Across the world democratic governments have been cutting foreign aid - the work of Christian Aid (and organisations like it) is surely even more important against that background. Are we prepared to stand up publicly for a larger aid budget even if it means higher taxes?

 

Questions for discussion

• Is Sir Keir Starmer right to argue that antisemitism is a crisis for all of us? And what should Christians be doing about it in Britain today?
• How, in this complex world, do we distinguish between what is evil and what is good? And are we prepared to suffer for the good?
• What can we do in our local contexts to stand up for good and counter evil?

Dudley Coates is a local preacher in the Salisbury Methodist Circuit and a former Vice President of the Methodist Conference.

 

Check-in

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

This week joy broke out at a football stadium when Arsenal won their game against Atlético Madrid. With the cheers, the celebrations and fans still singing about it many days later, you’d be forgiven for thinking they’d won the Champions League already. Yet this was just them making it to the final, leading to the criticism: “They haven’t won yet.”

Yet the reason for this celebration comes down to the swell of hope. This wasn’t the final but it was a big moment and one that signified what could be possible after years of struggle. Our passage this week is a pep talk for a big moment. It shows how we too can let joy explode by sharing hope simply by talking about our faith.

Just as Arsenal fans are receiving criticisms for their hopeful cheers and celebrations, Christians can also face harsh words, setbacks, trials and tricky situations. As we explore our verse today we can misquote Ian Wright’s response to the criticism: “Enjoy yourselves, [Christianity's] about moments, and this is a big moment. Enjoy it and let’s hope...”

Don’t miss your moment - don’t miss sharing the hope of Jesus with others.

Lindsay Wright is a freelance writer and designer from Lancashire www.startswithabrew.co.uk

 

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