Great Expectations!

On Thursday (22^nd March) in preparation for a preachment on the following Sunday I wrote my first sermon draft. (I usually preach from full notes). However I watched the fascinating series on BBC 2 ‘Reverse Missionaries’ on the Friday and felt compelled to rewrite my sermon.

Friday’s ‘Reverse Missionaries’ followed Pastor John from Blantyre Malawi to Blantyre Scotland. In particular John was retracing the steps of David Livingstone. In Malawi Pastor John has grown a large lively Church and he is overflowing of praise and thankfulness to Livingstone for having brought the Gospel to Africa. He spent time with the Congregational Church in Livingstone’s birth place, Blantyre.  Pastor John was astounded to discover the lack of faith in the people of Blantyre, especially the young people. He was also disappointed by the lack of zeal of the members of the Church who appeared to be into managed decline with little hope of things being different. 

In some ways this also linked in with my having caught on TV part of one of my favourite films ‘Sister Act.’

Added into this mix on Tuesday and Wednesday I was taking part in a Rural Ministry Course organised by the Arthur Rank Centre.  www.arthurrankcentre.org.uk

Here again we shared and discussed struggling rural churches where there appeared to be resigned acceptance of continuing decline, although there are enough innovative enterprises and community engagements to offer  some hope.

So – my sermon was based on ‘expectation’ which I am convinced is very important for the life and health of the Church. I asked ‘just what are you expecting to happen this morning,’ perhaps some hymns you like, a short sermon, being able to sit in your favourite place and all done and dusted in under an hour. This is hardly the stuff to change the world and very little recognition that each and every faith community is called of God to be active in the redemption of the cosmos.  We read, as we did today, the story of Jesus, today it was from John 12:20-33, the story of Greeks seeking an audience with Jesus and John (the Gospel writer) portraying this as sign of the unfolding plan of God for the redemption of the cosmos. Jesus in this passage speaks with passion about the path he knows he is called to tread, to be rejected and suffer an ignominious death as a common criminal. (Today is Passion Sunday) But it is through this way and on into the resurrection that opens up God’s ongoing plan. And we, as Christians, individually and corporately are invited to play our part.  

‘You are a unique and irreplaceable actor in the drama of human history, and Jesus Christ has need of you to make known his salvific work in this particular place and at this particular moment in history.’

Michael Quoist in his book ‘The Christian Response’

Expectation is also linked with experience - we need to raise our expectations, see our endeavours as part of God’s unfolding plan and experience God’s hand at work in our lives and in our communities, which is exactly what we ask for every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer.  But do we really believe it?